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Summary: A study of 'doing the right thing' presented in novel form
Review: Anna Quindlen used the form of a novel to present a sociological study of the family and the transorming power of love.
An unlikely pair, an wealthy octegenarian recluse and her young handyman, find a foundling on their proverbial doorstep and manage to create a family of sorts on the grounds of Blessings, the widow's gone-to-seed family estate. The baby, predictably, is the spark that initiates a great healing in her caregivers, but the idyll, for such it is, is tenuous - and readers rightly see it as a bubble about to burst.
A character study of love and decency, well worth reading.
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Summary: booklover
Review: This was a quick read. I liked the story. Ultimately it was just OK.
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Summary: BLESSINGS SHOULD'VE BEEN TITLED BORING!!!
Review: WHAT A WASTE OF TIME. NOT ONE OF ANNA'S BEST WORKS. THE CHARACTERS LACKED DEPTH AND THE STORY DRAGGED ALONG LIKE A SLOW DEATH. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.
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Summary: WHY NOT ME?
Review: Do you often wonder why some books get published and make it to the best seller list and others get trashed on the reject pile? This is one of those books that depending on who reads it ,is either wonderful or not worth the paper it was printed on. I am a writter ( non published to date) and feel that this book was at best a beginner novel, which of course it is not. I fell asleep each time I picked it up and was glad when I turned the last page.
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Summary: curses
Review: This book was boring and predictable. There wasn't one phrase or sentence I lingered over. If I didn't have to read it for my book club...I would have put it down about the third chapter.
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Summary: Not worth the time
Review: The characters were the only reason I gave this one star. The plot was dull and many of the "twists" I found unbelievable. The dark secrets were a bit dated and certainly predictable. Please try again Anna as we know you're a good writer.
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Summary: An extraordinary Book!
Review: I am sorry I held off for so long reading it because of some of the reviews on Amazon[.com]. Just goes to show I am not in the mainstream. It is a superbly written novel - as good as any of the prze winners that I have read this year. As for the ending -it had to naturally resolve that way. It is my first novel by Quidlen and I plan to read more. A truly complete and well written piece - 99.9% of the books out today can't compare!
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Summary: Who Cares?
Review: The story was sort of fun, if unbelievable, but the character development was really poor. I think we were supposed to really admire Ms. Blessing, but I found her life incredibly narrow and her late life "enlightenment" too little, too late. In all, a very unsatisfying read. Compared to her brilliant "Newseek" essays, Anna Quindlen writes rather silly novels.
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Summary: A lovely book
Review: Blessings is a very quiet, lovely book. I really enjoyed it and found myself very moved. It shows that a person's true character can emerge at the most unlikely time. Sweet and slow moving like honey.
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Summary: Life is what happens to us while we're making other plans
Review: This is the first book I've read by Anna Quinlen. It's an imaginative story with characters who seem like people you might run into at church, at the country club or at the grocery store...folks you've seen here and there and maybe wondered about the lives they're living.When Skip Cuddy, handyman/gardener on the Blessings estate, decides to keep a foundling he finds quite literally on his doorstep, he discovers more about life and about himself than he could ever have imagined. As the story develops, Quinlen deftly interweaves past and present, all the while painting memorable word pictures of settings and individuals. The reader must pay close attention as memories flow -- Lydia Blessing, who is 80+, shares the protagonist role with Skip. Through her the reader participates in the natural flow of an aging mind. These parts of the story are quite skillfully done; and are clearly recognizable to someone who is familiar with the elderly. The writer's use of language is delightful. I get so tired of choppy, incomplete sentences in modern novels. Quinlen's writing is not only intelligent, but gloriously descriptive. The story becomes a delightful dream that unfolds in the imagination. The ending is not one I would have chosen, but I did have the impression that there's more to be written about these characters, especially little Faith and Jenny and Skip. Whatever happens to Skip in the rest of his life, the lessons he has learned during the course of the events in the book have changed him and he will create a future for himself that is far better than he would have had if little Faith had not come into his life. Anna Quinlen is an immensely talented writer. I'm looking forward to reading her other books and I'll certainly eagerly await the next one.
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