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Rating: 
Summary: Unworthy of Oprah's endorsement
Review: I agree with the first three reviews I read...simply not worth the time. Maybe Oprah saw something I didn't, but I can honestly say I've never been so frustrated by ANY fictional characters as I was with the entire Fermoyle family. What a bunch of losers! Usually I can empathize with downtrodden characters, but Ms. Morris took these past my limit. I finished the book only because I kept hoping it would get better.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite book of the year
Review: So much has already been written by previous reviewers that I am reluctant to add more. However, what stays in my mind two weeks after finishing this wonderful book is the fact that none of the characters, no matter their difficulties and unhappiness, was a victim. They all had choices to make and chances to make other choices. Often they made poor choices, but there was another chance, and another. Even Renie LECHANCE got a second and then third and even fourth chance. Now at the end, Norm and Benjy made their brave choices; Alice made hers and Marie will too. Sam finally made the choice to seek treatment on his own. This book was fascinating. Even evil Omar Duvall at times had my sympathy. I really believe he did not set out to hurt anyone. I was touched by his offer of the wood to help Benjy at the end, the very piece of wood that Benjy used to hit him with. Enough. Read the book yourself. It is a real page turner and good entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: A rich, engaging, wonderful read
Review: There's been a lot of earlier discussion about how dark and depressing this book is, and I don't disagree that the characters largely lead stunted, often miserable lives. But the gentle humor imbued in the writing helped lighten the load -- I didn't come away from each chapter depressed at all, only eager to get back to the book and see what happened next. Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much is True" was FAR darker and more depressing, as far as I'm concerned.It's amusing to watch all the irony involved in Omar's twists and turns to avoid being found out -- you just want him to get caught, get flat-out caught, but you know he's too much of a snake and Marie too trusting, that he'll wiggle out of it somehow. I love long reads, where you can really dig in and live with the characters for a while, and this book delivers. The writing is direct and precise, but lyrical enough not to feel too "modern." Some sentences were so well-crafted I'd go back and read them again, just to savor them. I'd put this novel near the top of my all-time favorites list, no question.
Rating: 
Summary: Like Seeing the Skeletons Inside The Closets of Everyone
Review: This was the first McGarry Morris book I've ever read and I have mixed feelings on it. The entire mood of the book was quite depressing. No happy endings here, no sir. I also found the behavior of many of the characters to be unbelievable, thereby causing the entire tale to lose credit. For instance, I found it amazing that, after commiting murder, con-man Omar Duvall chose to take up residence in the same town where he killed a man, and the rotting, putrid body still lies. I'm not a criminal myself, but if I commited such an act, I imagine I'd want to miles away from the scene of the crime!
Next, we have Marie Fermoyle and her three unusual children. I found it sad that she was so desperate for love, that she fell for the fat, slovenly Omar Duval in his one and only shabby suit and his see-through lies.
Overall, the entire cast of characters and their individual miseries interweave into an overall story that plays out rather well. Basket-case USA.
One thing that really stuck in my craw was Alice Fermoyle's treatment of Blue Mooney. Maybe because I've always been attracted to just such a guy, I thought she should have given Blue more of a chance. Oh well. That's my opinion.
If you want to read a book that has a multitude of characters and sub-plots, this is a good choice. But don't expect a happily ever after.
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