Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: Quindlen is an accomplished writer, but even the best can only wring so much from this situation. Although I consider her One True Thing one of the best books I've ever read, it took me months to read Blessings. I picked it up a few times, and put it down. I wouldn't quite call it boring, but the story is so slow, and the detailed descriptions, which do have a role in the book, can only push the plot so far. After a while, they and the real lack of feeling between the characters, lose the reader. Still, there are some wonderful images and symbols. The image of the needy herons, one who flies off after the death of the old woman, is poignant. But the big problem is that the main characters seem to have very little emotion or feeling for eachother. They are put in this poignant situation, but while they can handle the little issues, when the big problems come, they are emotionally dead. The mother betrays her child, and the caretaker adopts her, so far so good. He struggles to adjust to keeping the baby, and the old woman becomes a part of that. But eventually, the old women betrays the caretaker in a critical moment. The caretaker walks away from both the old woman after her betrayal, rather than taking a risk and trusting after that crisis. When the mother comes back for the child, he lets the baby go with very little expressed anguish. In the end, all are alone again, and there's a sense it left barely a ripple in the lives affected. The emotions are all suppressed to the point where almost no one can feel them. Perhaps this was meant to express power through understatement, and the reader can sense some of that, but it falls flat. It might have meant more if the old woman left the caretaker the house outright rather than money and the right to live in the garage, which he doesn't take up. There might be the thought that he could recreate that sense of hope and joy with his own family there, and carry the memories forward, even after the old lady and child are gone. But in the end, everyone goes away, even the daughter, and nothing, not even the herons are left. Not a very uplifting ending, and you wonder why you plowed through all those pages for so small and curtailed an outcome. There was a lot of promise in all these restrained emotions, betrayals and situations, but in the end, there's the sense that all came away with nothing. The woman dies, the baby "won't remember who cared for her the first eight months of her life", the daugher sells the house, the caretaker leaves. Certainly the reader feels the disappointment and loss, at the end, but since the characters were emotionally disconnected at the beginning, and end up that way at the end, you wonder if this was really worth the read?
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: A tender story; great descriptions of the baby.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Author
Review: The book is simply lyrical. I had never read a book by Anna Quindlen before and will be sure to watch for her books from now on. The author is extremely adept at painting a picture.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice, feel-goog story
Review: A baby is abandonned by its teenage mother at the Blessings estate in a cardboard box. When found the next morning by Skip, the caretaker who has associated with the wrong crowd in the past, he decides to keep her. Blessings is the story of how this child changes Skip's life, as well as that of old, bitter matriarch Mrs. Lydia Blessing, who surprises us by helping Skip keep the baby. This slow-paced, descriptive novel uses flashbacks from Mrs. Blessing's life, allowing the reader to discover this woman little by little, from her childhood, to her brother Sunny, to her marriage and her relationship with her daughter. This novel includes some unexpected twists that help to make this cast of wonderful characters oh so human. I hope you enjoy this book as I did.
Rating:
Summary: Worth your time!
Review: If you haven't read "Blessings" by Anna Quindlen, do so now. I just finished it, saw a fellow colleague at church today, described it, and she will check it out tomorrow. The story begins with an abandoned baby dropped off at an estate, not at the main house, but at the caretaker's garage. He is the new man,young,drifting, just out of jail. The owner of the estate is a woman, elderly, sickly, alone, and bitter. The caretaker decides to keep the baby. The owner discovers his secret. And as the plot evolves, the owner's secrets are also revealed. The interrelationship between the owner of the estate and the caretaker is the crux of the novel. Who can keep the existence of a baby a secret? To whom does the baby belong? Is a single man capable of raising a child? Who decides who is best to raise a child? And then the twist at the end. You will know from reading the novel that it will come eventually, but how will it all conclude? I have my own disappointments at how it ends, but don't let them deter you from reading this book. Positively riveting!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific book worth your time!
Review: BLESSINGS is set in mysterious Cape Mason, a town where time seems to have stood still since the protagonist, Lydia Blessing, retreated there to raise her daughter after the death of her spouse in WWII. Lydia is a very proper dignified lady of the estate who still not only has a staff of servants but who manages to maintain them despite her rather dictatorial manner (servants must make the coffee but not enter the house). The conflict arises when her handyman, an ex-con, finds a baby on the doorstep of the estate garage where he lives. It only gets better from there. I purchased this book through Amazon.com right after another great purchase, THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez, about an unlucky writer addicted to the personals. Both are wonderful, recommended books. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Jo Ann, Germantown, Ohio
Review: I read this book in less than 24 hours and found it very compelling and heartwarming. Many have critiqued the outcome in the book, but in looking back, I realized there were no losers in the story. Everyone benefitted in the long-run! It was not realistic to think the young man would get to keep that baby forever. I loved the book! Next I am reading "The Pact" ... I hope it is very good as well!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent read
Review: I picked this up to read on the plane and finished it in a few short hours -- I couldn't put it down! I have long been an admirer of Anna Quindlen's columns and, when this book came out, I thought it sounded like an interesting story: A baby is abandoned at a beautiful but elderly estate and discovered by the caretaker, who has recently been released from jail. The caretaker (Skip) and the homeowner (Lydia) conspire to raise the baby, creating an unlikely but heartwarming family. I love Quindlen's writing -- the small details she provides about the characters and their settings, as well as the backgrounds on the characters themselves. Lydia's youth was particularly well described; it made her come alive as a vibrant woman who was eventually stifled into the bitter woman we first meet in the book. If you enjoyed "The Lovely Bones" or Anne Tyler's novels, this will definitely be a read you will cherish.
Rating:
Summary: What Can I Say? Read on....
Review: I have never read Quindlen before, so I don't know what she writes like or if this is anything like her other books. This was selected for our book club to read, therefore I did and the story line sounded like it would be good by the jacket and reviews. Blessings is the name of an estate named after a prominent family and Lydia Blessings is the owner and last namesake in line. She is now an 80-year old woman living alone on the property with caretakers. Much of the book is about her memories and some of them very frivolous and not relevant to the story line. She sometimes confuses the reader as she jumps from past to present so rapidly that you have to follow closely to know what she is thinking about, and then find you don't really care anyway, it doesn't matter to the story. I had to skim over a lot of it because the author gave me more than I cared to know about her. Not enough information was given about the main story, however. It is about an infant girl abandoned on the Blessings estate, in the garage, by a teen couple unable to care for a newborn. The infant is discovered by the estate's caretaker, Skip, who falls in love with the baby and decides to keep her. That part of the book was good, but I was left wanting to know more about Skip the man, other than that he had rowdy friends. I also wanted to know more about the infants real parents and their backgrounds. She just skims over that part and goes on and on about the old lady. Admittedly, the reader gets to like Lydia Blessings a little better as the story goes on and she conspires to help Skip care for the baby girl. It was an OK read, but I was able to put it down easily enough.
Rating:
Summary: Count Your Blessings
Review: This is a lovely, lyrical book about family, change, and our need for one another. It's the first book by Anna Quindlen I've read, and she is definitely added to my "Favorite Authors List."
I appreciate her insight and wisdom into the complex family bonds that sometimes extend to those outside our family circle. Thoroughly enjoyable and worth your time.
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