Vinegar Hill

Rating:
Summary: Vinegar Hill - Sour taste
Review: I find it hard to believe that Oprah read this book before recommeding it to millions of people all over the world. Normally, I am a big fan of her selections (She's Come Undone, I Know this Much is True, Midwives, just to name a few) but this book was just plain awful. The story never went anywhere and I didn't care about any of the characters, especially Ellen. Ellen was in desperate need of a personality and a backbone. The in-laws were angry, frustrated and unhappy and the husband was cold, unfeeling and insensitive. I waited for over two hundred pages for something shocking or exciting to happen -- something that would redeem this book and justify the hours wasted, but it never came. I only gave this book one star because I wasn't sure if there was a NO Star option.

Rating:
Summary: Vinegar Hill
Review: This book went no where. You are thrust into the life of an unhappy married women who has no idea what she wants to do or what to do about it. Nothing is ever accomplished in this book. She makes no decisions and nothing happens. It almost made me happy to read it because my life will never be that boring.

Rating:
Summary: Jump right in.
Review: This book just jumps right in to the middle of a story.Right from the first page I wanted to jump in the book and tell them how to fix their lives.I wanted to be Ellen's best friend so that I could tell her dump the loser.I wanted more from this book then it was willing to give.There is no ending,but then you can always hope for a sequel or dream of one on your own.Most people I know enjoyed this book.I was a little disappointed at not having an ending but it was still a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: I bought the audio book
Review: Listening to this tape was frustrating because you kept waiting for something to happen,and nothing much did happen. The characters were abrasive, of course, and so was the reader's voice. Ellen was always so quietly sweet, that you just wanted to shake her to wake her up! Couldn't she scream at someone just once? Maybe she did-- maybe I just happened to fall asleep while she screamed!

Rating:
Summary: 15 hours I'll never get back.
Review: I've agreed with most of Oprah's selections, but what on earth was she thinking when she promoted this one? It was boring, boring, boring! Who was I supposed to root for? I didn't like Ellen. I didn't like her husband. I didn't like his parents, her nosey sisters, their bratty children. Everyone was miserable, and kept throwing Catholicism out as the reason they couldn't move on.

Rating:
Summary: ZZZ ZZZ ZZZ,,,,,,,,,,
Review: This book has no beginning and no ending. What's this book about anyway? I only finished the book because it was only 240 pages loooonnnnggg. Time to move onto something a little more interesting.

Rating:
Summary: for lovers of good literature
Review: If you are someone who enjoys the literary equivalent of a TV sit com, stick to the fluff--you will hate this book. But if you're an avid reader of good literature (Jane Hamilton, Dorothy Allison, Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Atwood) you will find Vinegar Hill to be one of those stories that stays with you. All of us know that woman who, for whatever reason, can't/doesn't/won't leave a marriage, hoping against hope things will get better. Here is a chance to get inside her head, and the heads of a family immersed in old-school Catholicism. This book contains some of the most beautiful writing I've read, and while it has its dark moments, the language of its telling, and its hard-won conclusion, make it a terrific read. I read it in one sitting. For another Wisconsin chiller, check out Stewart O'Nan's A Prayer for the Dying. Ansay's new book, Midnight Champagne, is very different, but also recommended.

Rating:
Summary: good potential, but never got to the point
Review: i have to say that i was amazed that this was an Oprah pick. There was definitely the potential for an excellent book here. The point was never gotten to. Characters were mentioned, but never fully explored. You were left hanging about 95% of the time with the question WHY?

Rating:
Summary: AWFUL
Review: I could scarcely get through the first chapter..who cares who got what part of a dry roast and how they chewed for three pages. The underwear discription was the last straw!...."practical panties, with blood stains at the crotch, perhaps, or elastic sagging at the waist. James wears boxer shorts with flies that are stained the pale yellow of daisies"....I'm supposed to sympathize with this supposedly educated woman who has never heard of bleach? It seems to me that this book is an insult to rural German Catholic families. I logged on to read other reviews, and find I'm not the only person who wonders what Oprah was thinking of to recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Slow and Boring
Review: This book was so SLOW, BORING, and depressing. There is no real storyline and I wouldn't reccomend it to anyone.