Mother of Pearl

Rating:
Summary: Good characters undermined by weak "sacrificial lamb" plot
Review: A real crash-and-burn novel, the characters are great but the structure is loose. Just as I wondered why Nicolas Sparks ended Message in a Bottle on such a tragic note, I find myself asking Hayne the same question. I see her attempt at restoring those with tragic pasts, but the way in which she accomplishes this just could not happen in 1956. My willing suspension of disbelief could not sustain itself in the final chapters. She covered her tracks to make the loose ends tie together, but the characters were watered-down by then. Incorrect and vague references: "dentil" when referring to an architectural decoration is incorrectly spelled "dental." At the end, I had to read a paragraph three times to understand what "her" means because of an improper antecedant. Once again, I love her characters.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding writing!
Review: As powerful as The Triumph and the Glory, as inspiring as I Know This Much is True, evocative of Faulkner at his finest, Mother of Pearl is a masterpiece, a brilliant novel!

Rating:
Summary: I loved it, but embarassed to let my mother know I read it!
Review: It was a very good book, although I'll agree that it did seem a little too discriptive. The story was great and the ending suprised me. I did feel like I was intruding on these people's lives, yet I could not stop evesdropping at the door.

Rating:
Summary: This is a book with a story that you won't want to end.
Review: This book is so well written, you feel like you are there, living every word. When the book ended, I wanted more!

Rating:
Summary: If you were born in the 40's, this book brings it all togeth
Review: I believe there are authors who can crawl into so many skins that they themselves don't realize how well they do it...from the seeds of Mississippi, of the flowers ...to the colors of the river...this author took us to a higher ground,thus, the flood that dregded everything else up..and brought it all out in the the light................................

Rating:
Summary: MY self was best helped by this self-helper: help yourself!
Review: Goodness where would I be without a little magical reality fiction in my life! Having exhausted the usual recourses to my feelings of uselessness (the television, dressing up, bearing children), I trained my eyes to follow linearly arranged symbols and make sounds out of them. The question then became: "WHAT to look at?"! Who's got time to waddle through all the choices, what with all the different competing libraries and billboards calling "Hey Meg over here"? Oprah to the rescue. What I treasure most is the sense of empowerment and a deeper understanding of relationships I had after sounding this one out. It mixes just the right amounts of true-to-life disappointing episodes (don't get me started on those!) and ready made solutions to everyday problems provided by the superhuman abilities of Judy Too Sun. If my head were capable of housing a brain as large as Oprah's must, I'd have a show just like she does, and I wouldn't remove myself from the audience pool because my feet were overflowing my shoes that's for sure. I've been to Oprah twice. ~Oo> (<---That's a mouse!)

Rating:
Summary: Take the time to read this book. You will be glad you did.
Review: Anyone who was not deeply touched by this book obviuosly was not paying attention. Even if you have to read that first page ten times to grasp it - do it. If you don't then you don't deserve this book. If you let it this book will take you into another world. As I read it I don't just see typed pages. I see the faces of Even, Valuable, Jackson and everybody else. Somewhere along the way they stop being characters in a book and become so much more. How many books have you read that made you dread reaching the end of the story? Read this book. Even if you only get half as much out of it as I have you will never forget it. They are part of my life now and for that I am forever grateful to Mrs. Haynes.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother reading this book.....
Review: I really had a hard time reading this book...it was extremely pondorous, and pointless for so long, it was a real struggle to finish it. If I hadn't bought it in hardback, it would be fireplace fodder by now. This is the second Oprah book I have read -- and I really disliked the first one -- and swore I would not read another one. Well, I am renewing that vow --NEVER AGAIN! I think Ms. Winfrey has an extremely odd taste in books. If she wants people to read more, she should stop recommending these types of books!!!

Rating:
Summary: don't bother!
Review: i have read most of the oprah picks, and this one is one of the worst. the writing was impossibly wordy,the characters are loosely defined,and i could not follow a plot. i have been a practicing english teacher for 20 years with a master's degree in secondary reading,so i am not a stranger to recognizing quality literature. i loved white oleander and both of wally lamb's books. i hope the next book is better.

Rating:
Summary: Changes speed halfway through the story!?!!?
Review: I had to reread the first page about three times just to try to get into this thing. It starts off rough and you question where she is going with the story. About halfway through, the characters really start to come alive. I laughed out loud for the last 100 pages or so, but I had to force myself to get that far!