Blessings : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Deeply Affecting Story of Three Very Different People
Review: Quindlen's writing is terrific. She often made me stop to roll one of her sentences around in my mind and think about the significance of it. With its themes of secrets and loss, it could have been a sad book, but instead it is reflective. We see three very different people--an elderly, aristocratic woman; a young, man searching for his place in life; and a newly minted baby who can only depend upon others--whose coming together makes for a most unusual "family" unit. The story gives us the disappointments of real life, yet at the end, we see the growth of the characters and the changes they have brought to one another. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thoughtful, character-driven novel.

Rating:
Summary: Count your Blessings
Review: "There was a weight to the emptiness of rooms in which you had once lived that was more fearsome than anything she had ever encountered in life, not because they were haunted, but because they were not. The conversations, the quarrels, the long fraught silences, the tears: they had disappeared utterly and completely. A cemetary was a place intended to be still. It was here, where once there had been life, that death was felt most profoundly."
This magnificent piece of literature helps you to understand loss, life, love and lonliness. Within it's pages you expirience that of the young, the old, the naive, and the courageous. While one might anticipate for this story to be about adoption or death, you soon realize that it's mostly about a house... a home and all that it's walls have encompassed.
I was very touched by her attention to detail in describing how characters felt. This is a great read that will leave you speechless.
"Maybe every picture was a way of saying click click, bye bye. I will love you forever."

Rating:
Summary: Blessings
Review: this book was really good, but not fantastic. yeah i would recommend it, but not for some one whos looking for a book full of excitement. its one of those books you read on a slow winter day. its also not one of those books you can read in one sitting

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a Skimmer
Review: The description of the book emphasized the plot, but its contents barely touched on the plot. It seemed to me that the actual purpose of the book was to detail the personality and background of some of its characters. It had a plot which seemed interesting at the outset but the author constantly jumped from the plot to reminiscing about the past. Its continuity got lost so many times that I wonder why I would read another book by the same author.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely, slow-paced tale of the beauty & pain that is life.
Review: This was my first book by Anna Quindlen and I purposely did not read reviews because I love surprises and I came across many as I read this unabridged audiobook (forgive me for any name misspellings).

The story starts out when two teens drive up to a fancy schmancy estate called "Blessings" and leave a mysterious box.

The newest caretaker, Skip Cutty (Cuttie?), discovers the box. When he sees the beautiful baby girl bundled inside he impulsively decides to keep and care her. Because he's an ex-convict on parole (he's a good guy but was in the wrong place at the wrong time) he knows this is the last thing he should be doing but his heart tells him it is right. So Skip securely straps the baby, who he names Faith, to his chest as he performs his daily tasks and does his best to keep her a secret from the other employees at Blessings.

Mrs. Blessing the brittle, set-in-her-ways dowager of the Blessing estate enjoys spying on her employees with binoculars and is very curious about Skip. Eventually Mrs. Blessings discovers Skip's secret but much to his surprise agrees to keep the baby a secret, even going so far as helping him care for Faith.

Slowly a friendship and trust develop between Mrs. Blessing, Skip and a young lady named Jennifer. The bulk of the story is told from Mrs. Blessing's point of view as she questions many of the choices she made during her long life and regrets the way she lived her life and raised her daughter (their relationship is distant at best). Skip and baby Faith seem to be the catalyst for her reflection.

I enjoyed this book. The writing is absolutely beautiful however I would've enjoyed it more if the story had been told more from the point of view of Skip. Mrs. Blessing wasn't nearly as interesting to me as Skip. Here is this young guy who has stumbled through life with very little love and the lowest of expectations. As expected his childhood friends all turn into hoodlums but Skip wants something more, even though he never knows quite what that may be (to simply be a respectable person maybe?). Instead of using his past as a crutch, as so many with his background tend to do, he decides to work hard and do the best he can. His love for Faith was exquisitely portrayed and lovely to read.

I'm glad I had the opportunity to spend some time with Skip, Jennifer, baby Faith, the cranky housekeeper Nadine and even Mrs. Blessing.



Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: I find it stunning to read some reviews here that say "Blessings" is slow or confusing. I found it exceedingly full, fleshed, and refreshing from the usual "kick, boom, bam." Here is real writing, with such a sense of realism that you'll find the truth about life itself: It's not what you think you've missed that matters, but the things you find happiness in right now. Those things are everywhere - you just have to open your eyes to them.
The sense of place in "Blessings" is wondrous; the characterization exquisite. For those who complain that they didn't like that some things weren't explained exactly - that's what your imagination is for, and life is never fully explained exactly. If so, what would be the purpose of curiosity?
Interestingly, one of my favorite passages is when Skip tells Lydia the baby's name is Faith. She is so glad it isn't something odd or different, like "Summer." I can't wait to show my daughter this passage - my daughter, Summer! And her sister's name is Savannah! Gotta love it!