A Blessed Event : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Struggled to finish this one
Review: I can easily see this novel being turned into a sappy Lifetime channel movie, replete with melodramatic music. I was surprised to see other reviews with 4 stars; I definitely was glad to reach the end of this tedious, flat novel.

Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: What a debut novel! From the first page you are powerless against it. It starts with an explosive event, pulls back to reveal characters and the lines that connect them, and then, with each chapter, adds emotional flesh to their bones -- and considerable momentum to the plot -- building to a deeply emotional payoff that feels wholly earned. Page writes with luminous compassion and a finely tuned ear, drawing deeply defined (and deeply flawed) human beings. A beautiful story, beautifully written. Do not miss!!

Rating:
Summary: tender and knowing
Review: What a wonderful new writer we have in Jean Reynolds Page! Again and again, I'd find some new passage or exchange that touched me to my soul, and I'd stop and think: "she can't know what THAT'S like." But she does, inevitably. I was astonished by the confidence and sensitivity with which Page set her scenes.

I'm going to go back and read some favorite parts aloud -- the best test of a book, or so I find. "A Blessed Event" is not just a "good read," it is a work of art.