Rating: 
Summary: While she was gone
Review: I found myself totally absorbed in this book from the first page forward. This is the first book I read by Sue Miller, and I cannot wait to read another. I loved the depth of her thinking as she wrote, the intimate thoughts of simple moments of everyday life. The details of this book are like vivid genre paintings of the Dutch masters, or the 20th Century American realists.(just to compare it to a few things) I admire her ability, perhaps, to remember and write her own intimate thoughts of these everyday moments, private nuances, that some of us forget right after they have taken place.
Yet, in some aspects, I differ. I did not understand why Jo had to lie and create a new name and background when she moved to Cambridge. She really did not have anything to hide. Also, I wondered why she was not smart enough to figure out the aftermath of the killer's confession, before she acted on it. She should have arranged another meeting with him and questioned him further, maybe, in a public place, so they would have been casually seen together. In this case, she could have denied the entire Ritz incident. She could have played detective, she could have hidden a tape recorder and gotten his confession on tape. But, that was not Jo, I am talking about somebody else now. Not meaning to rewrite this wonderful book, but as a veterinarian who is in touch with everyday realities, she acted awfully unrealistically. But overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to all of those who lived or whose lives touched the lifestyles of the 60's. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I started this book just as some light reading before going to bed, but after a few days, I just couldn't put it down. It's one of those books that you never really know where it's going to end up and then the least expected happens. It's not really a mystery, yet you always have to turn the page to find out how it's going to turn out. I would highly recommend it to someone who wants to read for pleasure over a vacation. It's something that makes you want to go to bed earlier just so you have more time to read!!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: What a wonderful book! I couldn't put it down!
Rating: 
Summary: While I Was Gone
Review: I'm a 26 year old graduate student in Mechanical Engineering ...not your typical reader. But, I picked this book up to read during the winter break from classes and finished it in three days. Despite the other reviewers complaints of the book being too long and boring, I found it to move very smoothly and found times where I just couldn't put it down. My favorite aspect of the book was the way that everything tied together so well. There are so many instances where you could draw parallels, it was almost endless. The main character didn't change, but that was reassuring to me. There are certain personality traits that people simply cannot change. She was someone who toed the line on morality, and kept you wondering when she would cross it, IF she would cross it. She was utterly and completely human to me. Maybe it wasn't the most exciting book, but I'm rather sick of reading about women who's lives have been so tragically screwed up, I can't see how they go on after the story is over. I thought the ending was quite adequate.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: This novel is very well written. The protagonist, Jo, seems to have everything in life: a loving husband, beautiful children, a good job..... Yet, she doesn't seem happy. This book takes us through a time in her past that is revisited when she runs into an old roommate. A time of her life that she has tried to leave behind and not deal with. Jo doesn't even confide in her husband who is a minister, and at times he seems "too good to be true".It is a book of self-revelation. A journey for Jo that we, as the reader, are propelled into. This was one of those books that I found hard to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: get to the point!
Review: I found this book to be very slow in getting to the point. The writing is good, but there's just way too much detail.
Rating: 
Summary: What a horrible, stupid book!!!
Review: I love books, but this one was a horrible waste. I waded through all the pain, all the trauma, all the incessant meaningless detail, and in the end, NOTHING happened! It was an extremely unsatisfying waste of my time. The only thing that's really stuck with me from the book are a few disturbing images, which I would rather not have. I love Oprah, but I have lost all faith in her taste in fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, but that's okay
Review: Like most Oprah picks, the pace of this book is slow. But Miller's book is rich enough to carry you through anyway. It reminded me of a clutch of close friends I had in my college years, while playing out a murder mystery at the same time. Good read!
Rating:
Summary: Great Oprah selection
Review: I have recently decided to read as many Oprah books as I can. This was my 3rd book. It is not a quick read, but it was an enjoyable book. It took me about 2 months to read, but it was well worth it!!! If you are skitish about the death of pets, I would steer clear of this book, though. There was a scene in the book that just left me in tears for days!
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Blessing
Review: Sue Miller's While I Was Gone, the "coming-of-age" story of a middle-aged woman, is a mixed read. The story revolves around the marriage of a female veterinarian and her minister husband, whose well-adjusted life is unsettled by the abrupt intrusion of another lifetime. Sue Miller's account of her first-person narrator's past life in the 60's is vibrant, and her supporting characters are keenly drawn. But the novel's present-time narrative often sags with banal detail. It is difficult not to lose patience with fussy descriptions of dinner menus and office procedures. At times the novel has the feel of a pretentious short story--without a short story's excuse for all the detail. It seems that in While I Was Gone, Miller strives to uncover the sacramental in the commonplace, but this is a difficult art, and while she succeeds at times, her efforts result in a cluttered field that often buries her story. Miller's ambitious eye for detail gets in the way of the simple and striking truths she DOES manage to unearth.
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