Rating: 
Summary: Great book, zero resale value
Review: I loved this book -- but buy it used, because you won't be able to resell it (I tried -- they wouldn't take it anywhere). The plot is a bit unusual, but it's a real page-turner and you won't be able to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Very slow...but worth it
Review: I started to read this story a number of times but for whatever reasons I lost interest. I finally picked it up again and forced myself to get through the first 50 pages, then the story picked up and I enjoyed it. It is not a book that I would recommend to friends b/c in my opinion it's truly difficult to get into the story, but once your there it's a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Good read; bad ending
Review: I thought this was a nice book. Miller's prose is vivid and she gradually builds suspense throughout the novel. I had a hard time sympathizing with Jo, the main character, although she was definitely believable, and of course flaws help make characters realistic. I was disappointed that the ending did not further resolve the murder of Jo's friend, Dana. We know who did it, but still no resolution.
Rating:
Summary: Vicissitudes of a Veterinarian
Review: Jo Becker is a middle aged veterinarian married to a Minister, and sort of proud mother of grown up but not necessarily mature daughters. As the story opens Jo is having one of those "Is this all there is?" flashes. She leads a comfortable life with her husband, despite the fact that neither her nor daughters have any interest in the Lord's Work. Yet something is amiss. A man from her past re-enters her life one day, and the author takes us on a sizeable flashback that is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the book. That's saying a lot for me, because I usually groan audibly when flashbacks interrupt the story. While in her twenties Jo lives in a communal house with a group of twenty-somethings. She becomes an especially close friend with one of the other women living there, who, to everyone's horror, is murdered one day. Jo is interested in renewing a friendship with the newly arrived Eli, if for no other reason than to discuss old times. But, middle aged rut trekker that she is, wisps of adulterous ideas begin to flit through her mind. We, the astute readers, also know that more information on the years-ago murder will undoubtedly emerge. What did I like about this book? As I said the flashback is the truly most interesting part of the book. And the rest of it? The events in the present are often interesting, but they are burdened by the humdrum lives of the Becker family. Frequent digressions occur where we have to patiently put up with the antics of the dreary daughters. We are captive guests during an extensive (in pages) family holiday reunion in which nothing happens to further the story. It's like the author insists we sit through several hours of dull home movies. And the husband? Well he gets to play the role of a ministerial cipher, who is tested, and fails to follow the kind of advice he undoubtedly would dispense to a parishioner who feared that a spouse might be flirting with the idea of an affair. I know that the NY Times Book critic was caught up in spasms of joy over this book, but this humble reviewer is at a loss in coming up with many superlatives to describe my reading experience. Mind you the story is somewhat entertaining, and I did not have to fight my way through to the end. It's just that an obscure book on estate tax law would have provided me with an equally good time.
Rating:
Summary: great story, so so execution
Review: i liked the story very much - it was real.
however, her writing style/delivery was a bit (boring). it could've been a bit spicier - though i realise its not in the romance category - didn't feel much passion in the main character.
that said: worth reading
Rating: 
Summary: Satisfying read for Women of all Ages!
Review: Much has been said about the plot. The woman is believable. We identify immediately with middle-aged Jo as she tells us about her life both present and past. We understand her frustrations and her secret thoughts and desires. And as she deliberately brings her past into the present, we wonder about the wisdom of her choice as she plunges into a relationship that might destroy all she cares about now. I worried about her and wondered how it would all end. The novel hold attention and interest. (However, I doubted Jo's freedom of choice, for in reality, she would have had to be more involved with her husband's church ministry than she was in the novel. It seemed his vocation was one in which she shared little with him,and this is not true of minister's wives I have known who must serve equally with their husbands.)
Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Books One - Three
Rating:
Summary: A good read with some twists
Review: This book was entertaining although not as good as I had hoped. It had interesting aspects and some twists and turns along the way but ultimately it wasn't a book that I was running home to read each day. I recommend it as a casual read with no big expectations.
Rating:
Summary: She is gone, all right!
Review: I read "While I Was Gone" thinking Sue Miller would portray a woman as she reaches middle age....her family, her husband....but Miller more portrayed the dangers of what can happen to a family -- when one of the members is "gone." "Jo" was - emotionally - gone:"I felt suspended....waiting...between all of these worlds and part of none of them." Jo seems to be waiting for most of her life -- for something to happen. The waiting ends when a former housemate, Eli Mayhew, moves into Jo's town. She has not seen him for years. While Jo believs that his secretive behavior is a turn-on and brings the two of them closer together, it is actually his secretive behavior that brings the two of them together. It also makes Jo take another hard look at her life -- The message? I think, go NOWHERE -- it is true - there is NO place like home!!
Rating:
Summary: The past stays with you. . .
Review: I found "While I was Gone" an emotional and again slow-paced book by Sue Miller. Jo makes a decision in the 60's to leave her marriage and live in a commune situation. The experiences and memories of the men and women she met during that time stays with her throughout her lifetime. Consequently, she lives with guilt and lies. Bringing her past and present together she justifies her decisions, lies, and deceits. Fortunately for Jo, she's married to a kind, compassionate man, Daniel, who gives her enough time to work through some present day decisions. I thought the story moved slow but picked up the pace towards the end. The novel is a story of betrayal and forgiveness. I enjoy the emotional level Sue Miller brings to her books. This is the second book I've read by this author.
Rating:
Summary: A page-turner
Review: I have to admit, I read this book in two days. I couldn't put it down. The author weaves two time periods together into one amazing story. The main character's previous 1960's life, merges with today's middle-age life. The only thing that troubled me throughout the book, was the main character's relationship with her current husband. The way she described him, the adjectives she used, and her general tone, almost left me feeling like she was married to an up-tight, priss of a man. Then, when she almost destroys her marriage by getting cozy with a man from her past, she is suddenly dying to be near this cold, aloof man again. It drove me nuts - but it kept me turing the pages didn't it?
I really enjoyed this book, and the only problem I had with it was some of the editing. There were descriptive segments that sometimes went on far too long, and I found myself skimming, or forcing myself to pay attention. But that was only in a few places. Overall, a good read.
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