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Summary: Think you have problems?
Review: This story is something you should read when you are feeling down about your life. Some people (if they were "real") do have it worse. This character for instance. It shows how hard it can be to live with a traumatic event in your past. I really enjoyed this story, I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: An exceptionally well written family drama
Review: Sue Miller's "While I was Gone" is an exceptionally well written family drama that won't just appeal to women readers. Guys are just as likely to identify with Jo Becker's situation because Miller hits bulls eyes with this wonderfully resonant and keenly observed psychological thriller. Jo isn't perfect but she's real and utterly believable. Her itchiness to put her marriage at risk and recall if not re-experience her bohemian past with Eli Mayhew, the most shadowy member of her 60s gang, may be foolish, giddy headed and wrong but it's entirely credible and describes behaviour you encounter in real life. Miller's control over her plotting and pacing is nothing less than consummate, for when she pulls the jaw dropping shocker on us, I nearly freaked out. From then on, the novel darkened and never read the same. Eli is a stroke of genius in characterisation. He's creepy (a loner), morally ambivalent and by far the most interesting character. Daniel, Jo's pastor husband, is sympathetic but oh-so-boring. His hurt and slow to heal response to Jo's betrayal makes him a bit of a prig. The grown up children (Cass, Nora and Sadie) complete the family. Though they aren't really essential to the plot development, they - notably the rebellious Cass - help us understand Jo better. If not for Jo's past, how could anyone conceive of a pastor's wife, truly proud of and cheering her wasted daughter on at her gig ? Among modern female novelists writing about domestic life, Sue Miller must rank alongside greats like Anne Tyler, Jane Smylie, Alice Munro. There was never a dull moment reading "While I Was Gone". Poignant and gripping, it is a wonderfully entertaining novel and comes highly recommended.
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Summary: Good read but THE WORLD BELOW was far better!
Review: I read THE WORLD BELOW and had to read another Sue Miller book because it was so good! I picked up this one, WHILE I WAS GONE, and while I did enjoy it, it didn't move me as the other did. I find it always very interesting how authors can write such a wonderful novel and then a so~so one also.The story is woven well but there are parts which I feel lacked information and when I ended the book, I didn't feel I really did know Jo Becker at all. I enjoyed the writing style but the plot around the 60's and the group house was not something I could relate to. I felt Jo was evasive to her family and friends when she didn't have to be. I don't think Jo really knew herself. I'd say it is worth reading but not one of Miller's best. I give it a weak 4.
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Summary: Dreary But Made Me a Little Thoughtful
Review: Overall I liked this book. In the end I guess I felt a bit let down by how it ended yet it had some insightful stuff about life and how we relate to it...how we all seek out forgiveness. I loved the metaphor about the afterlife being our memories as much as anything other beliefs we have. That to feel pain when those we love die also affords us the opportunity (should we choose it) to remember the GOOD with the bad. It reinforces the idea of how pain makes us appreciate the goodness we have in our lives. The central character is a bit self-centered but she tries so hard. This book is very much like all of Oprah's other books...dark, dreary at times and the lesson is learned the hard way.
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Summary: Good, but I ruined it...
Review: I was looking forward to finally getting While I Was Gone read and alphabetized on my bookshelf,... And while I found the book very engrossing and the writing superb, I couldn't keep my mind off "who-done-it" and it did spoil the fun for me. While I Was Gone tells the story of a restless wife, Jo Becker, who, after 25 years of marriage to her husband, Daniel, still can't find her bliss. Nothing ever seems to suit her. Her career as a veterinarian is rewarding, but sometimes being stuck in a routine bothers Jo. Then one day, a blast from the past comes sweeping through the vet door, and Jo's world is turned on its side. Talk about something to spice things up... Jo's blast comes in the form of Eli Mayhew, her former roommate from 30 years ago when they lived in a group house with five others during college. It was a magical time for Jo, despite the secrets she carried with her, until it tragically ended with the death of one of her best friends. Now with Eli back on the frontburner, those memories of the person she was and the life she was trying to escape from come back with full-force and threaten to destroy the boring life she leads now, the one she thought could use a little excitement. I'm sure my rating would have been a five if only I had the pleasure of finding out the mystery on my own. Once the mystery was revealed, I was bummed -- I missed out on the delicious shock-value I look forward to in books like these. I think a major part of the appeal of this book is the "who-done-it" and is best left for the reader to relish alone. Excellent writing skills and a great storyline helped pull me along despite knowing the outcome.
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Summary: While I was Gone by Sue Miller
Review: While listening to this audiobook I often wished that I was gone from the vehicle. I found the plot line predictable and the characters were poorly developed. Why did this lady become a vet? At no point in her Cambridge days does she express a desire to help anyone or anything but herself. Why does she marry a minister? At no point does she explore her own faith. I found her very self-centered and unlikeable--someone who is watching life from the outside, always living in a dreamworld and never truly talking the risks that would allow her to grow. Pass this one up.
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Summary: While She Was Gone, I Found Something Better...
Review: No, really. I did finish this book, but it was tough. The story is pretty much based on the idea that whenever something gets tough in Jo's life, she leaves that life for a while. She left her first husband and lived in a quasi-commune for a while. Then that life comes back to haunt her when she meets up with an old friend, and things become strained in her current family life, so she escapes from there for a while by withdrawing into a kind of fantasy. Her husband is patient and her kids don't even know what's going on. I thought most of the characters were pretty whiny. I liked Jo's mom, her husband Daniel, and her daughter Sadie. I can understand where the story is coming from, because I think everyone has wanted to just escape for a while (I know I have), but the realities of life set in and you realize you really can't escape. I thought that the book was well written, I just think I was expecting something different.
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Summary: Slow and boring!
Review: I will usually finish each book I start, but there was no way I could finish this book, no matter how hard I tried. I barely made have to chapter 8 and was still waiting for something...anything of interest to happen. Would not recommend to anyone!...
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Summary: Slooooow!
Review: I found this book very dull reading. The characters were shallow, self centered and unbelievable. A good book to read if you can't sleep at night. No minister I ever knew was anything like the wimp in this story and no self respecting pastor would ever marry a selfish woman like he did because a ministers wife is extremely important in her husband's work. The story was so slow moving that it took me 10 times longer to read it than any other book because It was a chore to get through it.
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Summary: A quality novel
Review: I chose this book for two reasons. One, it's in Oprah's book club. Two, the narrative sounded intriguing. I was pleasantly surprised. I usually find deep, meaningful reads synonymous with boring. The story is in fact intriguing and deals with difficult familial issues. I found Miller's writing style a bit wordy yet she writes so beautifully you don't get bored with it. Oh, and it does have sex and murder also, but it's dealt with on an entirely different level than your typical fun, fast reads. This is definitely not a "fun, fast read." You have to take your time and slow down with this one.
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