Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful Writing and Images Make Up for Sagging Middle
Review: Do people get wiser as they get older? Do they learn something more about life as they go along? I wish that were true...but I don't really think so. The main character, Jo, in "While I was Gone" certainly proves my point. She's still the same ungiving person in her 50's as she was in her 20's, and though she is wistfully aware that her daughters automatically turn to her husband, she's incapable of changing her behavior. She can't even tell her husband that she's ready to go to the police station to reveal her information, which is to me the most shocking (and unforgivable) thing that she does in the entire book. Now, a great many readers may find such a character too maddening to spend 300 pages with, but I enjoyed reading about an unsympathetic character who seemed very realistic to me--the sort of person that everyone bumps into now and then. Daniel, however, did seem to be too good to be true. I didn't buy Miller's defense that he wasn't perfect "because he was a workaholic" as an adequate response; he simply wasn't very well drawn. Both the tomato scene and the sex scene (which I agree was out of place and too graphic) seemed forced as if Miller needed to add some more dimension to Daniel. The vet scenes struck me the same way--I could too easily see Miller in some vet's office earnestly taking notes. All this really bogged down the middle of the book for me. There were many things I enjoyed, however, about "While I was Gone" Some of Miller's "set pieces" such as the image of Jo and Daniel in the book's start were brilliant, and she expertly portrayed the restlessness that Jo feels even before she meets Eli. I enjoyed the unresolved ending, too, the feeling that these characters were really going to have to work at getting back together, and that their efforts may fall short. Speaking of Eli--it is, of course, all too obvious what he is going to reveal, but I will answer all those readers who don't believe that anyone would confess to an old murder to simply read the papers. Why, someone just confessed to his new girlfriend about a murder he'd committed over a decade previously in my old hometown, and this girlfriend promptly told the police. Sound familiar? Many people are incapable of keeping their mouths shut. As to a minister's wife not having faith herself being unrealistic--just read L.M. Montgomery's journals.
Rating: 
Summary: Riveting
Review: I found this book to be a very good read. I am at about the same age as Jo and had a 60's lifestyle as a teenager. Nothing like what Jo experienced. I could relate though, to her feelings towards Eli and her own life in general. It was so real and so compelling. This is really life that Sue Miller writes about.
Rating:
Summary: A new Sue Miller fan.
Review: I had never read Sue Miller before, but this book was excellent. I couldn't put it down. I admit, when I first purchased this book, it didn't take. But a few weeks later I gave it another go, and I loved it. It has a twist that I didn't expect, (which is good of course), and the characters seemed very well put together and real.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure drivel
Review: This "book" would have been better off as a very, very short story. Instead Sue Miller wrote an overly long, boring, blathering novel. At the end you wonder why it took so long to say so little. A waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read but had slow points
Review: There were so many exciting and interesting things about this book. I enjoyed the telling of Jo and her housemates. Describing each one in such detail, their mannerisms and how they related to each other. The book had several places that just slowed down for me though. I had to stay at it to keep interested at some points along the way. The one thing I truly didn't like was that Daniel was a pastor and Jo really had no real belief system. That just doesn't work. It's not consisted with a conventional pastor and his wife and the role that each should play. Over all though I enjoyed the book, but at times was a laborous read.
Rating:
Summary: Very deep
Review: This book, to me was very deep. It was also close to home for me and I felt sort of meloncholy while reading it because it made me realize the same mistakes I had made in my life. It was a very well written book.
Rating:
Summary: what was the point?
Review: The way I judge if a book was worth the time and effort I put into reading it, is how the book made me feel at the end, and what it taught me. This book did not teach me much. THe characters were there, but they weren't really there. I didn't get the personal relationship feeling that makes me care about the characters. When I finally finished the book, I had to ask, what was the point of that? This was the first book I read by Sue Miller, and it will probably be the last. I didn't understand why Eli would have suddenly decided to confess what he did. He went 30 years without anyone suspecting him, without anyone asked him about it. And he suddenly has the urge to get it off his chest...yeah right. Then there are Jo's daughters. They are all very different from each other, but very socialy stereotyped characters. And almost to offset Jo's behavior, the husband is a pastor. The characters barely fit together.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I found Sue Miller's writing in this book to be smooth and spellbinding. I enjoyed it from cover to cover and had a very hard time putting it down. I felt as though I was on the emotional rollercoaster along with the main character. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a deep, heartfelt read.
Rating:
Summary: One of my least favorite Oprah reads...
Review: I have been reading the Oprah choices, and this one was not up to par. The character development was completely lacking in all aspects. Near the end of the novel, I didn't care what happened to Jo...she became very selfish, critical and had no inner strength or spark. I felt the entire novel was intended to make the reader feel "sorry" for Jo, poor Jo. Not a favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Playing with Flirtation and Harmless Fantasies
Review: Jo Becker has a great life: a thriving veterinary practice, three grown daughters, and a beautiful home in the Massachusetts countryside. She's happily married to Daniel, a pastor and stabilizing, if not predictable, influence on the family.An eerie sense of premonition--a warning--summons Jo to alertness. Something in her life is about to change. Someone from her past, a roommate in a shared communal house moves to her quiet town, stirring memories of a carefree, and yet tragic time. Suddenly Jo finds fault with her charmed life. As she is drawn closer to Eli, her fantasy life leads to irritation with her husband and daughters. The promise of excitement is in Eli and she willingly casts her valuable life aside. But reality comes crashing in when Jo learns Eli's role in the tragedy they shared. This is a suspenseful tale: will Jo sucomb to temptation? Will she reveal what she knows about Eli? The pace of the story is interesting--it seems to climax during a flashback. The meat of the story, the modern-day tale, is small in comparison.
|
