Rating: 
Summary: My First Anne Lamott--and I Liked It
Review: "Blue Shoe" is my first Anne Lamott, though my pastor has been quoting her other books for years. Now I know why. Lamott's characters are not perfect--far from it. But Lamott has an almost perfect eye for capturing them and their moments. I too could kick Mattie for sleeping with her ex-husband, but having had an ex-husband, I understand the impulse. It wasn't about sex, though Mattie thought it was. It was about revenge, and, contradictorily, about wanting him back. Not pretty emotions, but very human, and part of her letting go of him. And letting go can take a very long time. As for her falling for Daniel when he was still married to Pauline, well, there are degrees of married, too. Daniel was looking for strength to leave a woman whose own strength bound him in ways good for neither.
The relationships at the heart of this book of relationships, so many that they might have spiraled out control in hands less skilled, are those in the original family of Alfred and Isa and their children Mattie and Al. As is always the case, today's relationships between Isa and her children are based on those of Mattie and Al's childhood, when their parents were important people in the community, but largely absent to their children. The blue shoe they find in their father's old car (the one plot device that seems a bit forced--why would that car still exist, and show up in their neighborhood?) leads them on a trip of discovery that at first is terribly painful and then liberating. The best-drawn relationship in the book, I thought, is the one between Mattie and her mother Isa, as the always-together Isa slips into dementia and their roles reverse.
At its root, this is an incredibly spiritual book. Mattie goes through trials, some of her own making, finds peace and hope in God and the church and the community of her friends and family, grows and changes, and ultimately celebrates. I'll read more Anne Lamott.
Rating: 
Summary: "Something to hold on to."
Review: Anne Lamott is an popular writer, immensely so here in Boulder, where she drew a standing-room-only crowd on her recent visit to promote her latest novel. BLUE SHOE is an uneven novel about unpredictable relationships that will appeal to Lamott's loyal following of readers. "Life was so strange" for her quirky protagonist, Mattie Ryder, "the weather shifting so often. There were warm, bright days, and days that were dark and quiet and cool" (p. 280). Recovering from a failed marriage to a philandering husband (Nicky), Mattie finds comfort in the passing seasons of west Marin County, her troubled children (Harry and Ella), her increasingly senile Mother (Isa), her faith and church, her older brother (Alfred), her friends, and a pest control man (Daniel), who doesn't like to kill anything. But at the risk of stepping on a few toes here, Lamott's latest novel is a disappointment. In her character's 291-page search for "something to hold on to"--whether it's a little blue shoe or another man (Daniel)--Lamott never allows Mattie the potential to realize comfort and strength in herself as a woman. Fiction and nonfiction alike, I've delighted in all of Lamott's books, including BLUE SHOE. But BLUE SHOE is not Lamott at her best.G. Merritt
Rating: 
Summary: Blue Shoe Lacks Color
Review: Anne Lamott's Blue Shoe reminds me of a California version of Seinfeld, only with children. Both Blue Shoe and Seinfeld are about average people dealing with the minutiae and events of everyday life, including friends, family, parents, and relationships, and like Seinfeld's characters, Lamott's have strange qualms and neuroses. But while I like Jerry Seinfeld's adventures, I am not so fond of Lamott's main character, Mattie's. There are three main storylines in the book: the decay of Mattie's mother, Mattie's love for her already married best friend, and Mattie's search for her father's secrets. Any one of these could have made an interesting book of its own, but Lamott gives them to us all at once. The book begins with Mattie recently divorced with her two kids and living on her own trying to make ends meet. Soon she develops a friendship with the man who comes to exterminate the rats in her walls and spends the rest of the book lusting after him. She also finds an old toy, the blue shoe of the title, amongst her father's belongings and becomes obsessed with finding where it came from. This search leads her to discover that her father had a secret life she knew nothing about. The whole time she still has to deal with the daily problems of her children and her career, not to mention fight with her mother who is slowly losing her mind to a mysterious disease but refuses to admit it or be treated for it. The amazing thing about a Seinfeld episode is that the characters have their own stories but by the end they will all have intersected somehow so that the events of their lives seem, like our own, as a web. Lamott's storylines are like parallel lanes of traffic and just when we are becoming interested in one of them she changes lanes completely disorientating us until we stop caring about any of them. And that is the main problem with the book. Lamott gives us so much information that we stop caring. The background she provides helps make better-developed characters, but it doesn't make them any more interesting. We see Mattie whine and cry over such small things that by the time we learn the truth of her father's secret, we feel it is meaningless. Not that there aren't occasional moments when Lamott shines. The section when her dog is put to sleep or the misadventures with her pet iguana hold their own, but the main plots lumber along beside them and other less interesting sidebars only slow the progress more. If you read this book, I suggest you start at Chapter 2. The first chapter merely contains background information, all of which can be found within the context of the rest of the book. Chapter 2 begins with the entrance of the important character Daniel, the man Mattie falls for, and introduces the blue shoe. I am convinced had I started here, I would not have had the time to become bored with the characters before the plot began. I'm not sure I would have been anymore entertained, but with a book like Blue Shoe, you take what you can get.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointing journey
Review: Blue Shoe was a miserable ride from begining to end. I loved Bird By Bird, also by Anne Lamott, but Blue Shoe was completely horrible. I kept waiting for some lessons to be learned, maybe some hope to be found for the obviously fragile children. Nothing. I can appreciate struggle and grief and mental instability as much as anyone, but frankly I just didn't care about any of the characters in this book. I had to force myself to pick it up every night all the while hoping that the ending would make the read worthwhile, but I had no such luck. Sorry Anne, but Blue Shoe was just too blue for me.
Rating:
Summary: Who cares?
Review: I am a big fan of Anne Lamott. Her books Traveling Mercies and Bird By Bird are two of my favorites. It was out of loyalty to her that I stuck this book out even though I couldn't wait for it to be over. It's not a terrible book, it's just terribly blah. There are some shocking things that the characters do but the way it's written, it's like "yeah? So what?" Like Mattie having sex with her ex-husband when he's newly remarried and when he has a new baby. The readers could have been brought to a place of disgust or deep insight into Mattie's character through this revelation. But for me it was written so matter-of-factly it was more like, ho-hum, so what? This is the way the whole book is.
I never developed any gut understanding of Mattie's psyche. The revelations about her father could have been devastating and supposedly Mattie was devastated some of the time, but it just didn't come through. I couldn't feel what Mattie was feeling.
Seems to me, Mattie had a charmed life. Yes, her father was a [...] in a way and watching your mother deteriorate is a bummer. But she's got a house for free, she's surrounded by really good friends who stick by her, he has jobs that she likes and are apparently enough to pay the bills, she's got a good relationship with her ex and even his new wife, she's got good kids who she loves, her mother finds a devoted friend who apparently has no flaws at all, has a great relationship with her brother and sister-in-law, the man she falls in love with loves her back, etc etc. The relationships between characters seemed so perfect most of the time, even the fights were tidy. So why so much angst? What's the point of the story? Did she grow by the end of the book? Didn't seem like it to me.
I wish I could have liked this book more.
Rating:
Summary: God helps those who help themselves
Review: I enjoyed the beautifully written descriptions of the lead character's surroundings. It was interesting to note the degree of self-centeredness for her. Even the wonderfully articulated weather reflects exactly Mattie's inner state. I found myself frustrated while reading this novel. I wanted to scream, "HELP YOURSELF!" while she constantly blamed others for her poor circumstances and plead with God. It was a good book, but one that annoys all the while. I felt as though Mattie never grows during the course of the novel.
Rating:
Summary: Same old, same old
Review: If you've read Bird by Bird, Operating Instructions or Traveling Mercies, don't bother with this one. Anne has simply recycled her same old material, giving the characters new names. She can be so funny and droll, I'd just love to see her branch out and try something new, stretch herself, maybe even pick a different setting for a change. Would not recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Anne Lamott does it again!
Review: Lamott has once again translated potential heartbreak into a spiritual experience that defies the mere flesh. There is so much to love about this book. She hits the nail in the head when Mattie analyzes her parents' marriage. Did she follow her mother's pattern when she married her philandering husband? It's hard not to connect with a book that touches on familial love and reality during crisis in a way that captivates all who have watched a loved one, or parent, suffer the cruel and senseless blows of a failed relationship. Her signature poignancy cannot be missed. As always, I find her styling and characters superb in their authenticity -- she once again demonstrates an unerring voice for dialogue and transmits emotion into a funny, moving account. Even though this isn't as memorable as Traveling Mercies and Crooked Little Heart, Anne Lamott hasn't lost her keen observations and ability to convey the same. If you liked any of her previous books, I guarantee this will not be a disappointment...
Rating:
Summary: A sense of humor would have helped.
Review: Matte is a recently divorced woman with two young children who slowly recreates a fulfilling life. While told in the 3rd person, Blue Shoe is written entirely from Matte's viewpoint: I suspect this is simpler than using the first person, but perhaps not as effective. To my taste, had Matte had more of a sense of humor, it need not have been inconsistent with the rest of her character, and it would certainly have made Blue Shoe more enjoyable. On the other hand, the evolving relationship between Matte and her declining mother is superbly done, one of the highlights which makes this book worthwhile. In general, the secondary characters and Matte's relationships to them are the strength of Blue Shoe. Lamott frequently employs paragraphs of short sentences, which sometimes works, and sometimes gets tiresome, but perhaps that is Lamott's objective. While other readers have been impressed with Lamott's use and description of skies and weather, and certainly they add to the book, I don't think Lamott is particularly sharp at metaphor and language.
Rating:
Summary: A sense of humor would have helped.
Review: Matte is a recently divorced woman with two young children who slowly recreates a fulfilling life. While told in the 3rd person, Blue Shoe is written entirely from Matte's viewpoint: I suspect this is simpler than using the first person, but perhaps not as effective. To my taste, had Matte had more of a sense of humor, it need not have been inconsistent with the rest of her character, and it would certainly have made Blue Shoe more enjoyable. On the other hand, the evolving relationship between Matte and her declining mother is superbly done, one of the highlights which makes this book worthwhile. In general, the secondary characters and Matte's relationships to them are the strength of Blue Shoe. Lamott frequently employs paragraphs of short sentences, which sometimes works, and sometimes gets tiresome, but perhaps that is Lamott's objective. While other readers have been impressed with Lamott's use and description of skies and weather, and certainly they add to the book, I don't think Lamott is particularly sharp at metaphor and language.
|
