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Summary: If you want car crashes adn steamy sex, skip this one...
Review: ...but it's a powerful, moving and well written book (just what we've come to expect from Ms. Quindlen). Abuse has a ripple effect -- radiating from the husband and wife to the children to the extended families. Everyone suffers. This book probably has a happier (I use the word loosely) than many, even most, abuse stories. But this "happy" ending finds the abused woman, the abusing husband and the child of that union still suffering up to and way beyond that happy ending.This book is for women who suffer in secret, for their friends and families who suspect but are afraid to ask, for people raising children who want to be sure those children know how to handle anger and for anybody who wants to read a gripping and interesting story.
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Summary: Probably One of the Most Depressing Books I've Read
Review: Thankfully, this book is short. If you are interested in battered women, divorce and upheaval, then this is the book for you. I found the book depressing and sort of going no where. This lady never seems to get herself together and is constantly running from something. Maybe I just didn't get it, but maybe you won't either.
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Summary: This Was My Life Story for 12 years
Review: As a former battered woman whose abuser is a police officer I felt Ms. Quindlen captured the true range of emotions a woman feels. I could not put the book down. The emotions it stirred were as if I was living the pain all over again. I thought the author truly captured the very soul of how a battered woman can feel helplessness, fear and finally courage, especially when the abuser is the law. I highly recommend this book to any woman, but especially to any woman up against the system. The Blue Wall of Silence really does exist.
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Summary: A Dramatic and Powerful Novel!
Review: After reading this novel I discovered the severity of Domestic abuse and the effect it has on the family. Anna Quindlen used extremely vivid detail in describing the way that Fran Benedetto's husband Bobby beats her. Quindlen continusly is using the most vivid detail in all of her memories of her husband. This book is similiar to most books that I have read in the way that this author goes deep into the life of the characters and portrays their life in detail for all to understand. This topic of domestic abuse is a common topic especailly in this day and age. Too many couples are getting involved in abuse, Anna Quindlen realizes this and shows one woman who escaped the horror and moved her son to Florida under protection. The trials that mother and son go through are very challenging. Suspense is the key to this novel, the fear of Bobby Bendetto finding them and what he would do, even in her memories there is suspense because the detail is so real, "...after he'd grabbed me by the hair, and another time he's pushed me down, and another time, and another." The voice of the character is very strong, Quindlen portrays Fran Bendetto as a weak woman in the beginning and then her courage and strength is built up and by the end she is fearless and capable of anything. I liked this because it showed strong character and showed that Bobby didn't take everything away from her when he beat her. This story is very realistic, it's as I have mentioned, vivid. This makes the novel more powerful and leaves the reader feeling the impact of the abuse. This novel shows the inner spirit in the characters as they grow and change making this a well rounded book for all to enjoy. There is a setting change and is not only a physical relocation but and emotional relocation, this adds to the emotions felt by the characters and even the author's thoughts and feelings are revealed. This novel may be a little too emotional or feeling orientned for some readers. Overall this is an excellent novel.
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Summary: Excellently Written!
Review: This novel by Anna Quindlen was very insightful. It allowed me to really feel for the characters. The way that she portrayed Fran Benedetto allowed me to see the situation, actually visualize it. This novel I read for an independant study and through it I was able to incorporate many aspects of my topic. I enjoyed reading this book. I was able to learn and then progress my topic accordingly. Because of this book I have a greater understanding of the aspects of abuse and the mind-set of the victim.
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Summary: interesting look at a hidden crime
Review: this book starts off with a descrption of frans abuse by her husband. the discription of how it began and how she hid it from the world was very rich in details. The plot is preety good but once she escapes from new york with her son it really slows down. The ending was not surprising, overall reading this book is a good way to spend your time if you are taking a trip or it is a rainy day.
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Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS THAT I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME. ANNA QUINDLEN KEPT ME TURNING THE PAGES IN EVERY CHAPTER, AND IN TEARS AT THE END.
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Summary: Typical Anna Quindlen book
Review: I've read most of Quindlen's book and have been a little disappointed every time. This was no acception. The characters are your typical stereotypes of Italian/Irish/Catholic New Yorkers, the circumstances are uncreative, and the story lines tend to drag on as you suffer through constant repition of the character's thoughts over and over again. As several people have already mentioned, the editing was quite poor in this one.
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Summary: Intriguing, but mediocre...
Review: The beginning of the book is intriguing because of the way Anna Quinland describes the scenerio. As the story progresses, Fran Benedetto recalls the abuse she has encountered from her husband, who is a policeman. She escapes from her husband by relocating to Florida with the help of an agency. The story drags a little because your waiting for the moment in which her husband is going to find her.
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Summary: A story about a woman who runs from her abusive husband.
Review: This book was interesting and suspenseful in a number of ways: It had a catch 22 situation. She didn't want to stay because he was abusing her and she also wanted to protect her son. She was fearful of leaving because she might be killed. Her husband was a cop, therefore she couldn't get help from a cop.
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