Rating: 
Summary: I wouldn't recommend it.
Review: I've never read a book that didn't have some redeeming qualities, however this one leaves me wondering just what I walked away from it with.
I didn't like the characters. The main character was self absorbed to the point of disgust. Her husband was a minister, a sad excuse for one. Hopefully he is not based on a real character.
Just a waste of time. I've never read anything else by this author and I'll not be inclined to.
Rating: 
Summary: If you suffer from insomnia, a must-read!
Review: While I was gone
Sue Miller is on a path to seek enlightenment thru the character of Dr. Becker, a veterinarian; I don't recall her first name, because she changed it during the story, because she ran away from her first husband, because she wasn't happy, because there was something missing, because....because.... Too many trifling banalities make it hard to focus on the story line in this book; my mind wandered to shopping lists or things to do while I couldn't focus on her love for animals, her dogs and other page fillers. I once read a page half filled with bla, bla, bla, blas by Ellen Degeneres. I thought that was wittier than most pages in "While I was gone".. A good thing, this Dr. Becker is married to Daniel the pastor, because it turns out the story is about forgiveness... and that ought to be the number one virtue of Christians. Without forgiveness we could still be Neanderthal pagans ripping eachother apart.... Right!! If you have the patience to get to that part in the book, you will find out that betrayed Daniel wasn't too much steeped in forgiveness, either. He managed to throw a tomato at her, but deliberately misses, because he didn't want to hurt her. Her best friend was murdered, and in true female fashion, she never questioned "who's done it". The curiosity of females drifts on the surface like old lumber. That's why most of them a poor writers, Sue Miller no exception. In true female passivity years go by and then the murderer comes to her and confesses. Bingo! Because we have this hidden curse to tell all.... And then expect forgiveness..... the benediction. This book is a wholesome benediction to cure insomnia-sufferers. By the way, it is another of Oprah's book club choices, which doesn't surprise me anymore. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Memorable and well-written--worth the read
Review: When Jo was in her 20's, she ran away from her family and created a new life for herself. She called herself Felicia--a happy name--and joined a motley group of men and women living together in a sort of commune. She felt genuinely happy for a time, until a tragedy brought her unwillingly back to reality. Now Jo, a middle-aged mother of 3 and wife of a minister, again feels restless. She runs into Eli, one of the members of her old group, and the past comes rushing back. Although readers may have a hard time relating to Jo because of her choices, Jo is compelling enough that the reader keeps rooting for her. Daniel, her husband, is a little too flat a character and an unbelieving Christian minister (it seems like more of a job than a belief or way of life). All things considered, though, WIWG is a well-written novel that weaves themes of forgiveness, possibilities, memory, and love that will make you think.
Rating:
Summary: Just Okay
Review: I had a hard time liking this book and its main character. Something about Jo and why she did things just didn't quite make sense to me. If you're thinking of reading this borrow it. It certainly is good writing style to read and I think it definitely does have an audience it does appeal to. Just wasn't my cup of tea!
Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent Read from Sue Miller
Review: I have always enjoyed Sue Miller's books and "While I was Gone" was no exception. The most memorable part of this book was four well written and beautifully descriptive scenes. The boat ride on the lake in the beginning and the ice skating scene later on was romantic and beautiful. Daniel's sermon on grief after the death of one his parishoners was poignant, and showed how a good minister can preach to a whole group but make you feel like he is talking to you personally. And what pet owner wouldn't shed a tear when poor Arthur had to be put to sleep. Jo Becker, the main character of this book, I found to be selfish along with other reviewers, but thats what makes her seem so real to me. In real life people are not perfect and to show her flaws while keeping her likeable is just great writting. Even Daniel who seems so perfect shows another side to him, when he throws a tomato at Jo in anger. This book was very enjoyable and hard to put down. I highly recommend reading this book or any other written by Sue Miller.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: Not only did every plot device leap out like a signpost shouting "warning! tricky situation ahead" - I felt absolutely no connection to the self-absorbed characters in this ho-hum take on middle age. What some critics call fascinating detail on ordinary life reads to me like mindbendingly dull and ultimately pointless navel gazing -- and that's forgetting the fact that no real person could be as relentlessly self-aware/intuitive as the main character. Ms. Miller asks us to swallow a highly improbable chain of events (ok no biggie here) as well as patently unbelievable reactions to them. One example of many (I won't get into specifics here in deference to those who will not heed my warning) -- ask yourself what competent minister in the world would blow off a killer's confession, to focus on another trivial aspect of the tale entirely, to the exclusion of an innocent's pain? I didn't buy it, and neither should you.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting and worthwhile read
Review: "While I Was Gone" is certainly an apt description of the central character Jo Becker. She never seems to be totally satisfied or grounded in the present, which results in her putting physical or mental distance between herself and her current reality. She seems to be well situated as a community veterinarian and as a wife to Daniel, a minister. Yet her main comfort seems to be in dealing with her animals; her reserve impacts her relationship with her daughters and her husband. The main event of the book revolves around a vague premonition of Jo's which is realized in a chance meeting with Eli, one of several residents of a rooming house with whom she hooked up while escaping an unsatisfactory first marriage some thirty years earlier. An inexplicable murder of Dana, a resident and larger than life woman, triggered Jo to move on with her life at that time. But the meeting with Eli brings the covered over past rushing into the present. The remainder of the book explores both Jo's actions and thoughts as she meets Eli with vague intent and the ramifications to her family. One could quibble with the plausibility of some of the actions taken by Jo, Eli, or even Daniel the supposedly level-headed minister. Yet life is not lived according to a blueprint. Mistakes are made; thinking can get confused. "While I Was Gone" is a believable window into one path that life could take.
Rating:
Summary: A Likeable but Slow Read
Review: This book was difficult for me to "get into." I normally love Sue Miller's novels and find that her lyrical style and insightful descriptions of her characters and their motivations are something that I can really identify with. I think what happened here is that Jo the main character was just not likeable. I didn't "buy" her justifications for her secrets and her actions. She was self serving and manipulative.
The second half of the book is when the pace picks up and I became more engaged with the story line. Bits and pieces that at the time seemed to be long and drawn out descriptions come into play and all seems to make sense in a taut suspenseful conclusion. All in all a fairly good read but not my favorite Sue Miller novel.
Rating:
Summary: Not an attention grabber
Review: I began this novel from Sue Miller and after over 100 pages I still wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. The main character Jo Becker lives in a beautiful farmhouse with her minister husband and three almost grown children. She loves animals and is a veterinarian. One day a dog is brought to her office which leads her to discover a link to her past... the owner of the dog. She tells about running away from her first marriage and leading a bohemian lifestyle until one of her roommates was brutally murdered. I just did not find this character very interesting, didn't really care why she kept running away from things and didn't care about who committed the murder. I don't think there was a lot in the book for me to connect to... Overall, I still think I would give another novel by Sue Miller a chance, but I'd pass on this one. It just wasn't all that interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Very real characters....
Review: I enjoyed this book and found it very real and relatable.
It's a story of a woman about to enter the empty-nest syndrom and she starts to actually have mental time to herself. This thinking time has Jo reflecting on her past and the events that made her the woman she is.
Jo thinks about her very good friend that was brutally murdered. She also thinks about all of the "what ifs" that being in your 50s brings to your mind.
Jo tries to share her thoughts and feelings with Daniel, her wonderful husband, but his responses just don't make her happy.
It's a story of the all-American family and the situations between a strong willed child, an accomedating child, and a sucessful child with their parents.
It's a great book. I highly reccommend it to women who grew up in the 60s and 70s and also to all career women. It's also a great book for anyone to read and maybe get a better idea of how things were growing up back then.
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