Rating: 
Summary: Unnecessary reading
Review: Necessary Madness was pressed on me by two friends who swore it was "the best book they had read in ages." Oh had I remembered that these pals read only when they can find nothing on cable to absorb them! Come to think of it, perhaps that's what turned me off. The characters reminded me of the cardboard cast that a Lifetime or USA original movie would parade before me in the guise of presenting me with compelling individuals. A brilliant but beleaguered scholar for a father, a brilliant but bedeviled cellist for a mother, a brilliant but embattled artist for a husband... Gloria, the punk revolutionary turned English teacher, has quite a supporting cast for her little psychodrama. And let us not forget Jascha, the brilliant but bereft artist who wishes to assemble a retrospective of Bill's work (even though the grieving widower resented Bill's happy family). Argh! Tell me I wasn't the only one left cold by the overwrought characterizations and the forced plot line. Necessary Madness isn't a bad book... nor is it a "dazzling debut" or "breathtaking achievement." Admittedly, there were moments in which the widow's anguish was palpable (and believable), but the rest of the time I was left wondering what was on t.v.
Rating: 
Summary: raw and beautiful
Review: The language in this book is so beautiful at times that I had to stop and write quotes down. I had to tell someone, read them a passage and shake my head at its stunning clarity. This is an important story written compactly and stringent, yet encapsulating a wealth of personal emotion in 200 pages. I wept. I replayed my adolescense. I understood. This book will get inside of you and shake your soul. I dare you to read it, especially if you are happily married with children. It will scare you and at the same time force you to grasp tightly to what you have and rejoice over health and happiness
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