Rating: 
Summary: HS English Teacher reviews Disobedience
Review: As a high school English teacher in a small town in central Wisconsin, I have been a fan of Jane Hamilton's work both personally and professionally. I use a lot of her writing in my composition classes to teach aspects of writing such as character development, sentence structure, and voice; and this novel is by far the best example of her writing I have read so far. I highlighted many passages from the book as I read, and I plan to use those examples in class. This novel also had an added dimension that I had not noticed in her other writings. Perhaps I hadn't connected personally with the other novels as I had with this one, or I just missed it--either way, this novel gives my literature students an opportunity to explore subtle thematic elements. I will put this on my Advanced Placement choice novel list because of this depth. The motif of disobedience plays out in several ways in the novel, and I can foresee pairing it with other novels I teach in a unit on forbidden love. Because the protagonist is a young male, this novel may appeal to the young men in my class. I think that Voltaire's Candide or Bronte's Wuthering Heights could be paired with this novel as a wonderful comparative study. As a teacher, this novel obviously has great potential for class use; however, that is not the reason why I really enjoyed it. As with the film American Beauty which also intrigued and captivated me, I think Disobedience is everyone's story. We have all connected with the young protagonist's story to some degree, and anyone who is in a long-term relationship has felt the pull of disobedience. I enjoyed the connection to Eve's disobedience in the Biblical story. In a way, Jane Hamilton plays out Eve's curiosity in a modern retelling of the classic myth of original sin.
Rating: 
Summary: OK
Review: This is the first book by Jane Hamilton I have read. It was pretty good, and I want to read more of her writing. It's a great idea for a story. My main criticisms are 1...the narrative will just get going, and the author will go off on some tangent about feelings for far too long (we're smart enough to figure it out, we don't need everything spoon fed to us), and 2...the 17 year old male narrator is sometimes witty and cannily observant, but often smug and annoying. I wouldn't want him for a friend.
Rating:
Summary: I am NOT a fan of Jane Hamilton...
Review: but everything I had heard about this one suggested that she was undergoing a Smiley-esque genre change, so I picked it up and found a Jane Hamilton of a different voice than other works. Oy,oy,oy, though -- the angst of poor dear Henry (now a recovering Morris dancer), his closeted, but ironically hilarious younger sister Elvira, and the disingenousness of his pedantic, tiresome dad, all living on the dole of rich grandma Minty (honest!)are contrasted with the lyrical fantasy of mother and violinist engaged in rhapsodic lovemaking in rural wisconsin.The eavesdropped e-mails are the stuff of great fantasy. Call me easy, but I was lured in to this neurotic world. The wonderfully imbalanced view of mothers (the three-named virgin, whore or madonna as Henry saw fit), the efforts of Elvira to be truly engaged in a time and place, and the almost-disastrous results, the dual female relationships Henry maintains with his first carnal love and his first intellectual love are just plain good reading. The less-than-five star rating here reflects, however, a dull sheen that envelopes the last 1/4 of the book, as pace slows, story lines melt into a murky confluence and Henry brings us no closer to knowing why he has told us his story. This is the Jane Hamilton I have come to know and be stultified by. Still, the book is worth a few hours for entertainment and depth. My test for "worth it"...did it make me a) chuckle to my self afterwards? b) go back and reread a piece or two afterwards?or c) read a portion aloud to someone because of deftness or brilliance? I answer yes to all three. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Striking storylines, striking parallels - amazing!
Review: The mother, pretending to be the faithful wife she's not, is having an affair, which threatens to divide the family into two. The sister, pretending to be a soldier she's not, is obsessed with the Civil war, a war that threatened to divide our country into two. The men in the family observe from the sidelines and wait, paralized, for the women they love to be exposed, for their own fates to be decided, for the delicate balance and unity of the family to return to it's norm. In the midst of looming consequences, both women must discover their true identities the hard way. We see all this through the eyes of the adolescent son. On the verge of adulthood, he begins to see his parents' flaws in a new, truthful light. We listen to his thoughtful narrative, we observe his actions, and we are there to see how he functions (or doesn't) in his own flawed relationships with his own best friend and his girlfriend. We see his trust in women falter accordingly. We see him forced into a position of power that he doesn't seem to want. This is not a book that is heavy on plot. It is about the ever-changing relationships and dynamics in a family full of bright, eccentric, intellectual/acedemic people. The novel has a surreal, voyeristic quality that allows the reader a prolonged look behind closed doors (and secret passwords) at a difficult year in the life of this remarkable family. It manages to beautifully weave in so much: war/political issues, gender/sexuality issues, Oedipal issues, identity issues, philosophy and reincarnation and... so much more as this story unfolds. It is about the fragility of the bonds that hold us together, and a son's harrowing realization of that fragility. The characters are flawed only in the ways that real people are. The narrative is flawed only in the way it would be if actually told by a coming-of-age son. The family is flawed only in the ways real families are. Hamilton's writing is flawless. Some have commented that the son's narrative is confusing - sometimes adult and sometimes child-like. I'd argue that this is how any one of us would describe something difficult from our past: Sometimes with the wisened perspective adulthood gives us, and sometimes reverting to the voice of that scared child of the past, still struggling to make sense of something not totally within our then-limited childhood comprehension. For the record, I've read "The Book of Ruth", "A Map of the World", "Short History of a Prince", and this, Hamilton's latest work. This is by far my favorite. It's not as intense as "Book of Ruth", and not as depressing as "A Map of the World". While I was a bit disappointed by "Short History of a Prince" for multiple reasons, I was delighted with "Disobedience". I'd highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointment
Review: Why all the stars for Disobedience? I was excited to begin Hamilton's new book since I have loved all her previous novels. But this one is flat, flat, flat. Dumb plot, unbelievable characters except for Elvira who is more quirky than real. Somehow I canot believe in Henry even though he is writing about all this 10 years after. Miss Hamilton's writing can be arresting and it is for fear that I will miss a beautiful string of words that I am plodding slowly and painfully to the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Deception
Review: Jane Hamilton came to Eau Claire, Wi in November promoting this book. After hearing her read the first chapter, I knew Disobedience had to be my selection for our January book club. Upon reading everyone else's reviews, I feel the major point of the book has been missed. The central theme is "deceptions". The deceipt of each character is woven into the fabric of the story: Beth Shaw's affair, Elvira Shaw's cross dressing, and Henry Shaw's spying on his mother through reading her email. One begins to wonder what Mr. Shaw's deception is......I feel that Jane Hamilton has surpassed herself with this novel. Each chapter slowly unveils the untruths of her character's lives. And of course we get only a one sided picture of each family member as seen through Henry's eyes. I can only wonder how fascinating this book would be if each character had a chapter and retold the story. We are given a glimpse of this in the Chapter on Shiloh. Henry relates the "outing" of Elvirnon in quite a different manner than his friend Karen does. I have read each of Ms. Hamilton's books and this one by far is my favorite. I love the construction of her sentences, and how she is able to convey so much meaning with so few words. I am definitely recommending this book to all of my friends, and anticipate our book club's get together.
Rating: 
Summary: A Variety of Themes
Review: "Disobedience" touched on a variety of themes - Oedipus, midlife crisis, reincarnation, coming of age, adultery. Everything thrown together to finally make a great story, with a very satisfying end. But till I got there! But don't be scared away. If you stay with this, its worth it. It's typical Jane Hamilton - flawed, realistic characters well worth getting to know. As in Book of Ruth and Map of the World, these people could be your friends and neighbors with all the chinks in the armor. One problem - we're seeing it all through her teenage son's eyes - so are we getting a true picture? Who cares - it's definitely worth reading and will make you think long after you put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: The Chef's night off.
Review: I'm beginning to feel that I have just had a terrible meal at a restaurant that everyone else has raved about! Try as I may, I could not get through Jane Hamilton's recent book without struggling through every chapter. I found the plot rather thin and for the most part, boring. There were countless times when I put the book down for the final time. A few memorable sentences held my attention, but for the most part I did not find the writing to be of the standard I expect from this author. I have finished- and just as I thought, the dessert did not meet my expectations.
Rating:
Summary: Only the disobedient had fun!
Review: Those who obeyed were dull, like the father in this story. The son was disobedient, he read the mother's email. The sister refused to be feminine, and the mother, well, she cheated on her husband. Nuff said. It took awhile to start to like this book, but once I did, it was great. At first I was put off by the son, whining about what he thought his mother was doing while he lived to invade her privacy. But the ending was great. Sometimes things are the way they are, and perfect isn't always that.
Rating:
Summary: a great and risky novel
Review: You have to wonder sometimes if reviewers have all read the same novel. One of my favorite things is to read reviews after I finish a novel and see what others thought. I loved this novel. The narrator is confused and that is one reason his voice is confused, but I wasn't confused as I read and I related to the pain of this boy who believes and needs his mother to be perfect. It's a risky subject since the son clearly adores his mother and that has to make some of us squirm. Hamilton has incredible compassion for the tangled mess of all modern human families. The odd juxtaposition of his view of his sister's experience and his friend's version was incredible. He sees what he can handle, and believes only what he is willing to accept as real. With the same incredible genius she displayed in Ruth, Hamilton takes us on a personal journey through the experiences of a family. I would say I felt very satisfied at the end. This young man still hasn't let go of his family as he recalls the story, but he's managing and that's enough closure for me. I learned something along the way too.
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