Blessings

Rating:
Summary: Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans
Review: This is the first book I've read by Anna Quinlen. It's an imaginative story with characters who seem like people you might run into at church, at the country club or at the grocery store...folks you've seen here and there and maybe wondered about the lives they're living.

When Skip Cuddy, handyman/gardener on the Blessings estate, decides to keep a foundling he finds quite literally on his doorstep, he discovers more about life and about himself than he could ever have imagined.

As the story develops, Quinlen deftly interweaves past and present, all the while painting memorable word pictures of settings and individuals. The reader must pay close attention as memories flow -- Lydia Blessing, who is 80+, shares the protagonist role with Skip. Through her the reader participates in the natural flow of an aging mind. These parts of the story are quite skillfully done; and are clearly recognizable to someone who is familiar with the elderly.

The writer's use of language is delightful. I get so tired of choppy, incomplete sentences in modern novels. Quinlen's writing is not only intelligent, but gloriously descriptive. The story becomes a delightful dream that unfolds in the imagination.

The ending is not one I would have chosen, but I did have the impression that there's more to be written about these characters, especially little Faith and Jenny and Skip. Whatever happens to Skip in the rest of his life, the lessons he has learned during the course of the events in the book have changed him and he will create a future for himself that is far better than he would have had if little Faith had not come into his life.

Anna Quinlen is an immensely talented writer. I'm looking forward to reading her other books and I'll certainly eagerly await the next one.

Rating:
Summary: Worth your time!
Review: If you haven't read "Blessings" by Anna Quindlen, do so now. I just finished it, saw a fellow colleague at church today, described it, and she will check it out tomorrow.

The story begins with an abandoned baby dropped off at an estate, not at the main house, but at the caretaker's garage. He is the new man,young,drifting, just out of jail.

The owner of the estate is a woman, elderly, sickly, alone, and bitter.

The caretaker decides to keep the baby. The owner discovers his secret. And as the plot evolves, the owner's secrets are also revealed.

The interrelationship between the owner of the estate and the caretaker is the crux of the novel.

Who can keep the existence of a baby a secret? To whom does the baby belong? Is a single man capable of raising a child? Who decides who is best to raise a child?

And then the twist at the end. You will know from reading the novel that it will come eventually, but how will it all conclude?

I have my own disappointments at how it ends, but don't let them deter you from reading this book. Positively riveting!

Rating:
Summary: Life is more than what it seems
Review: Blessings is the third Anna Quindlen novel that I've read and enjoyed. She is such an eloquent writer with accurate descriptions of the silent suffering and happiness that occurs in the human psyche. I enjoyed this story of Lydia Blessing and Skip Cuddy who through the nuturing and love of an abandoned baby girl make an usual "family." Much of the story takes place in a bittersweet remembering that occurs in Lydia's mind as she reviews the last eighty years of her life. The reader is touched as Lydia remembers both the pleasures and pains of being a Blessing. She once again feels the sadness of her mother's rejection and her subsequent treatment of her own daughter. The sorrow from her brothers death and the realization of her naivete. The baby makes her yearn for a life that is gone but at the same time encourages her to try for another level of relationship with her daughter and the people around her. She realizes that life is not a static, preset karma, but a flowing river of choices that can always be made in the moment. In the same respect the character of Skip parallels Lydia's feelings by trying to become more than his families history. Quindlen has crafted a touching story that resonates at the core. Can life be changed or are we bound to become what is expected? New life, like the baby that is found by Skip and Lydia, presents us with a blank page of innocence that challenges us to become more than our limitations.

Rating:
Summary: A touching little story
Review: Anna Quindlen's Blessings is a touching story about love, family secrets, coming to terms with them and how life can change through the smallest discoveries.
Skip Cuddy lives above the garage at the estate Blessings, owned by Lydia Blessings, an 80 year old society "recluse". Mrs. Blessings knows how things ought to be done, and Skip, being on parole for a crime he did not commit, does what he is being told. He is not sure that life holds anything for him, as well as Mrs. Blessings in her old age tries to come to terms with her own, somewhat "wasted" life. There is not much joy in this book's first pages, where a teenage couple leaves a newborn baby girl to on the steps to the garage. Skip finds the baby girl next morning, and decides to keep her. He also decides to keep it a secret from Mrs. Blessings and the nosy housekeeper Nadine. Mrs. Blessings figures something out by accident, and for some reason she decides to help Skip with the baby. During the book we go back and forth between the present day, Mrs. Blessings past, and we also get a look into Skip's past. The language of this book is masterly done, and the going back and forth in time never becomes confusing. Both Skip's and Mrs. Blessing's lives are described with feelings, and you will feel that you know those people. It is hard not to be touched by this story, although it sometimes seems a tiny bit far-fetched. But then again, this book is fiction, and far-fetched things are supposed to happen in fiction

Rating:
Summary: A Story Lovingly Told
Review: In this book Anna Quindlen delivers a lovely story of strength, support, and love.

Late one night, a teenaged couple abandons their newborn baby at the garage door of "Blessings", an estate inhabited by the elderly Lydia Blessing and her young handyman, Skip Cuddy.....and thus set off a chain of events that will propel both of these characters on a journey of discovery.

Skip, who lives over the garage and finds the foundling, will discover unexpected depths of feelings for this little one, whom he names Faith. He also discovers the nurture of which he is capable--and what the tribulations of fatherhood can be. This baby gives Skip's life a structure and purpose that it never had before. Lydia discovers that perhaps doing what is expected is not always the "good" thing to do....and questions what the "right" thing to do really is. She has lived in the past for so long, thinking about her family's many secrets, but this baby brings her into the present with a welcome jolt.

Despite trying to keep Faith's presence a secret, Lydia finds out that Skip has taken on the role of "father" to this baby, and the three of them become an unlikely sort of family. Quindlen shows us how a family is not necessarily comprised of those related by blood, but can be a unit made up of people who need, support, and care for each other. Together, Skip and Lydia find unexpected joy in Faith and find resources within themselves of which they were unaware. These two characters, of such different backgrounds and ages, also allow the author to tell the same story in two very different ways.

Quindlen has written a richly descriptive and moving novel, one of redemption and personal growth, and about doing the right thing. Her observational skills, so evident in the columns she has written over the years, make us understand and care about these characters, their pasts, and how their lives affect others.

I loved the double meaning of the title,"Blessings"...for not only was it the name of a house, but blessings were what these characters bestowed on each other.

A wonderful reading experience that this reader will remember with great pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: Blessings: an amazing novle
Review: "Well, I'm assuming the place won't be called Blessings anymore."
"No," the woman said. "Leave it where it is. People love the idea of a place with a name." (Pg. 256)

After reading Blessings by Anna Quindlen, you will feel as if you have become Skip Cuddy. Everything that Skip does, one can relate to very easily. The main thing that can be learned from this book is to take what you can get from life, and enjoy every minute of it.

In the beginning, a boy and a girl drop a box off at the foot of the garage at Blessings. Skip finds this box and discovers that there is a baby wrapped up in a flannel shirt in it. For a few weeks Skip tries to keep the baby a secret from Lydia Blessing, the owner of Blessings. Lydia Blessing is an 80 year old woman who has so many stories from her past to share. Some of them make her happy, and others make her sad, like the death of her brother Sunny. Even though Lydia meets Skip in a Wal-Mart parking lot, she decides to let him live in the apartment above the garage that the Fosters used to live in so that he can help around the house with the yard work. The one thing that Lydia found out about Skip is that he had served jail time for a crime that he didn't commit. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time with his friends, who really committed the crime.

Throughout the next few months Lydia learns to be more open to things and learns to trust Skip, or rather, Charles more. Lydia didn't like to call people by a nickname. Skip falls in love with the baby, and names her Faith. Skip enjoys watching her every chance he gets. One can tell that even Lydia begins to love Faith for she would listen for Faith on the baby monitor when Skip was out. One other way that Lydia changes is that she actually tries to talk to her daughter Meredith more, and even invites her to come and visit.

One night Skip sees a light on in Lydia's house that isn't normally on. Then he sees a shadow walk by the light, and can tell that it is not Lydia. He makes a comment that he wishes that Lydia had put a phone in his apartment. So, Skip decides to go down and find out who is there. Sure enough, it is Skip's old friends Joe, Chris, and Ed. They are trying to rob the place. Chris being there made Skip so angry that he picked up the teapot that was on the floor and wanted to throw it at him. As moments passed, Lydia came into the room and saw Skip holding the teapot in one hand, and a gun in the other hand. Lydia had never seen Skip like this. Once the police arrived, they took Skip away because having the gun was a violation of his parole. Later on, Lydia felt very bad about what she had caused Skip to go through again.

So, what will happen to Skip and Faith? Will Skip be able to keep Faith? What happens to Lydia? If you want to know what happens and the answers to these questions, you must read this book. Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down. I just wanted to continue reading it. You have to give a lot of credit to Anna Quindlen for writing such an amazing book. She makes you feel as if you are in the story by referring back and forth from Skip's past and Lydia's past to the present. This is a must read book.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully Written
Review: In Blessings, Anna Quindlen expertly winds together two stories, that of a handyman who takes in an abandoned baby, and the elderly woman who employs him to care for her farm. Both the handyman and the elderly woman struggle with their pasts. He fights to escape his past and the bad characters associated with it in order to make a good home for this baby. She tries to come to terms with secrets buried within her own family.

As usual, Anna Quindlen's prose is impeccable. While at times the plot is slow to develop, its intricacy makes the read rewarding. And the characters are as well developed as close friends.

Rating:
Summary: Blessings
Review: I have to say that I was disappointed it this book. In the beginning it was very difficult to follow, because the story jumped back and forth from the present to different periods in the past. The author's description of the home "Blessings" was beautiful and kept me reading, but I was again disappointed in the ending. Her writing was beautiful, but I think the plot and ending were lacking.

Rating:
Summary: Quindlen does it again
Review: Anna Quindlen shows us she is still an incredibly gifted writer with the uncanny ability to draw us into a story and become part of the character's lives. We love them, we hate them, we feel sad for them, and we cry for them.
In her latest book, Blessings, Anna tells a tale that reads like a soft breeze on a balmy summer day. And just when you relax into the softness, Anna orchestrates a startling turn of events where all the characters remain true to their roles. A master of storytelling!

Often I will not continue to read an author after they have published a few works. It seems like popular writers hop on the "write as fast as you can and forget about quality once you have a readership following" band wagon. I do not see that trend with Quindlen and will continue to seek out her works.

This one's another winner.

Rating:
Summary: Nice easy read
Review: What a joy it was to pick up a book that was easy to read, well-written, and had a satifsying ending. I'd give this six stars if that was available but suppose I'll have to make do with five.

Rich in imagery and well-developed characters, BLESSINGS is by far the best thing I've read in ages. Quindlen's sense of timing, her great dialogue, and the way the story unfolds is remarkable. Why don't more authors have her sense of style?

Also recommended: Black and Blue, Bark of the Dogwood by McCrae, and Pompeii