Rating: 
Summary: Great Story!!
Review: I felt that Sue Miller's While I was gone was an excellent novel. This is the first of Miller's books that I have read, and because of this book, I will seek out others. She is a very talented author who is able to slip from recollection of the past into the present seamlessly. This is not always the case. While reading this book, I found myself liking all of the characters, who were developed wonderfully. This novel helps us to look back on our own pasts and consider what could have been. The story line was quite original and Miller keeps the reader's attention throughout the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Smart page turner
Review: I picked up this book up with no idea what it was about. I have read other Sue Miller books and short stories and felt it was a safe bet. I was richly rewarded for taking the chance. I do not want to give any of the book away, because it was so much better for me to not know anything about it. I have read some other reviews that have said that Jo, the narrator, was unlikable, self-centered or in a plain way, just a jerk. I find that a shallow look at her. Jo was a very human character. I think that Sue Miller showed you Jo, warts and all. Jo never thought anything or did anything that she did not analyze deeply. Her actions never seemed false to me. This is an outstanding book and one that I won't soon forget.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read; Interesting Dilemma
Review: This book poses the age-old question "would you screw up your entire life if it meant doing the right thing"? Jo Becker certainly finds out! Through chance, she reunites with someone from her past who confesses a terrible secret. In her haste to "do the right thing" she never imagines how it will turn her entire world upside down. I was very disappointed in the ending, though (I'd love to say more, but don't want to give anything away)!
Rating:
Summary: A clear, believable story about middle-age
Review: I'm 29 years old and when I bought this book I was thinking it would be about something totally different. I thought the mystery would be more pronounced, or the characters would be less perfect...But... I was surprised to find a story about a middle-aged woman (Jo Becker), with a bad hip, a loving husband, and three 20-something daughters. The story seems to mostly revolve around her coming to grips with middle-age. To spice things up a little bit, the author weaves into the story an under-plot about Jo's life during the 1960s when she lived in a community-style house and lost a housemate to a brutal murder. This sets the stage for Jo's run-in with one of the housemates, Eli Mayhew, in present time which itself sets the stage for a series of rather difficult events and results. The book is well written, the characters are believable. I was engaged, and interested throughout the entire story. I will say that if you are under the age of 35, you might not be able to empathize that well with the main character. In many ways she reminded me of my own mother, which allowed me to connect with her. But, primarily, this is a story about a woman's choices as she learns to handle her middle-age. Women who are going through this time in their lives I think will really connect with Jo. I think they will also pull out some very beautiful insights.
Rating:
Summary: Very provocative
Review: This book is definately a book I'll read again. It made me wonder about my own sense of self... The charachters in the book are presented very well. There are many times when I found myself contemplating different aspects of life and though this book is a work of fiction, just about anyone can find truth in it for themselves.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: I was very disappointed that Oprah picked this to be one of her book club selections. It was terrible!!!!!! This book just dragged and dragged.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I read this book about a year ago and still recommend it. Its a well written story, with great character and plot.
Rating:
Summary: Not For a Twenty-Year-Old
Review: This book shocked me, partly because I have never read Miller's work and partly because of the lack of a summary on the book. Personally, I dislike buying a book without reading a synopsis on the back cover or inside flaps. I had expected this to be a romance novel with some mystery and intrigue contained. I was somewhat intrigued by the drama found near the center of the book with the murder of the main character's friend. I liked, but felt disconnected from the main character, Jo. Jo was at times a very likely female and at other times did not seem a part of the female gender at all. The fact that she doesn't particularly care about her appearance or how other people perceive her is one example to her "unfemale like" qualities. Another example is how she is disconnected from her children. The portion of the book where Jo lives in the house with four other single people was perhaps the most interesting part of the book. It also leads up to the climax which is when her friend and roommate is brutally murdered. Daniel, Jo's second husband, is an interesting character that you grow to love. Not only for his timely entrance into Jo's life, but for his forgiving, kind, and compassionate nature. (I loved it when he threw the tomato, showing raw emotion.) Eli is a former house member that comes back into Jo's life with much surprise. There is almost the idea of infidelity, but much graver things happen instead. This is a good book for those in the middle of their lives, perhaps contemplating their former, younger, selves and thinking about their future, older, selves. Myself, in my mid twenties, did not enjoy it as much as I might twenty years from now.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Oprah picks
Review: When I picked this one up I was getting a little tired of the theme of most of Oprah's selections (depressed woman in peril saves herself) but this one was much more suspense driven. The heroine is easy enough to identify with along with her family problems and neighborhood dynamic - but thrown into all of that is a past that many of us could have lived, but most of us didn't so it really sets your imagination towards "what if." If you're looking for something light to carry you through a day on the beach or your train commute to work - I highly recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: Terribly boring! I kept waiting for the story to begin. About 3/4 of the way through it picked up a notch- but only for a second. If you have a hard time getting into books~ don't read this one!!
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