Blessings : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: An unlikely premise
Review: I have read the previous works of Anna Quindlen and have enjoyed them quite a bit. I wish I could say the same thing for "Blessings", I just could not get past the incrediably unlikely premise that this story is based on. We have Skip, a twentysomething single guy, down on his luck, and needing a break after taking the fall for a robbery attempt and spending some time in jail. He goes to work for Lydia Blessing an elderly, wealthy, widow with more than her share of personal and family secrets. Now enter baby "Faith". Skip finds a newborn foundling left on his doorstep (he lives over the garage at Lydia's estate), and what does our petty criminal with a heart of gold decide; I'll keep this baby as my own, yes, that won't cause any concerns with my parole officer. Honestly what do you think the chances of a 20 year old guy with a whole heap of issues, taking on the dauting responsibilities of caring for a newborn not his own are? After I suspended all disbelief, I began to think, well it is possible. Then I remembered what a newborn is all about and thought no way, no how. In any event, the story moves on with Lydia finding out about the baby and the two forming an odd friendship based on their growing and mutual adoration of the infant. There was likely no way to end this story "happily", but this ending felt rushed and forced to me, not at all satisfying. I actually found the side story about Lydia Blessings early life, her secrets and family far more interesting than the Skip and the baby route. The author could easily have written a far more compelling novel, by focusing just on this storyline. As it stands this one comes off about as bland as baby formula.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant here and there...mostly just okay
Review: This book was only a little over 200 pages; thus, I thought I would finish it in one day. It took me a little over a week. I would read some and then put it aside. The premise of the book held promise. A handyman on an estate inhabited by an ancient woman finds an abandoned baby. He turns into a wonderful father, and the old woman seems to have found new life. But, alas, all for naught because the old woman doesn't trust him after all. While the robbery seemed contrived to me, there had to be some way to end this. Given the brevity of the novel, apparently Anna thought the same thing. The last fifty pages were the best. Once again, Anna did show her ability for fine writing, but the characters were a bit one-dimensional. I would have like to have explored them a bit more in depth.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant, reflective and well-written
Review: OK, this isn't really a page-turner, but if you like to take your time and just let the story unfold, you won't be disappointed. I was in the right mood so I loved the pace and the story-line. Skip's character was particularly interesting to me. I identified with his love for the child and his need to find a sense of family. I'm an Anna Quindlen fan so I enjoy what she writes even if it's not the riveting journalistic style of her Newsweek pieces. She's not at her best here, but even when she's not, she's worth the time and the effort compared with other writers.

Rating:
Summary: Veering off the path
Review: This book is richly written. It is about the joy of heading off in a new unexpected direction in life at any age and making cracks in the family and societal expectations and roles and life patterns that are hard to escape. Quindlen again captures the complexities of families and the redemption of acknowledging the family truths that are known consciously or sub-consciously anyway. Her writing places the reader at Blessing hearing the gurgling sounds and sharing the delights of watching the miracle of a baby growing. There is right and wrong but it is often found in the most unlikely place or character.

Rating:
Summary: A reader
Review: I heard so many wonderful things about this book and had to read it. I like the book, but was not too impressed with the writing style. I felt as if the book was a slow read. I felt that Anna Quindlen jumped around and never went into much depth. I read it all the way through hoping it would get better, but never did.

Rating:
Summary: I liked this story, you have to overlook the words.
Review: This story is about how even the meanest, nastiest, people can be overcome by the power of love. A baby left in a cardboard box by the richest woman in town's house. The maintenance man finds it, and the baby, he decides the first time she smiles at him, is his. But he cannot keep the baby a secret forever, he must hide her from his former cellmate and law breaking friend, and mostly from the lady of the house. The house is called "Blessings", and throughout this book, many blessings are bestowed on this house, the people in it, and the power of one small infant to change everything and everyone. The ending, a little disappointing, but look behind the words, there is so much meaning you can grasp and incorporate into your heart.

Rating:
Summary: A Blessing it was short.
Review: Page after page of waiting for something with substance to happen. (If you really want to read this, wait until it comes out in paperback.) Not what you would expect from Anna.
It was very good at provoking impatience in the reader.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable but Sweet
Review: Outside of the fact that one wouldn't expect the handyman to find the baby, this book was predictable. The other reviewers who wanted it to end "their way" should have known better.
I will admit it had a sweet, quiet current. It was an enjoyable, quick read.

Rating:
Summary: It lodges in the mind as few recent novels have.
Review: The book is inspired, original... As the mountains gentle toward the sea-with mother and child locked in a ghostly grip-the narrative tact, the perfect economy of effect defy criticism. The analogies with Moby Dick are patent. Anna Quindlen invites the prodigous comparison. What more can one say?

Rating:
Summary: Could the book have been more depressing?
Review: In reading the description of this book provided on the dust jacket, I thought I was in for a sweet story about the love a baby can bring to people's lives. I was right about that part but little did I know I would be in for a depressing read. The old lady is just a tired old biddy living in the past and can't seem to get past the memories of a repressed life and orders perfection from all those around her. She has not a redeeming quality in my opinion. Skip is a nice man (her live-in handyman)who basically gets screwed over for being nice and it is so sad what happens to him and the relationship he formed with the baby. He is a strong gentleman and basically between him and his learning to take care of a baby and the love growing between them is the only thing holding this novel together. It could have had so much more potential in a world where stuff like this happens in our towns everyday. We read it in the newspaper, see it on the news. Why waste buying and reading a novel about it too. I like novels to transport you to something besides everyday life.
But that is only my opinion.