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Summary: A little heavy, but very well written. I had to finish it.
Review: I was a little sad when I finished. I felt her pain long after I put the book down.
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Summary: A much needed topic addressed
Review: The emotions, behaviors, and thoughts of an abused woman are illustrated in a realistic manner. The book is well-written and easy to follow.
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Summary: A Must for all readers, Especially Women!!
Review: This book had me mesmerized, & appreciating what a great life I have. But I did give it to my badly battered cousin (whose husband is now serving 10-20 years for attempted murder on Laura). She could truly relate & quite often had to put the book down out of fear. Very well written, I can't imagine what that poor woman went through! Any woman who can get their hands on this book should read it, if not to help someone they know...
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Summary: Proof that not all writers can write fiction
Review: I have enjoyed Anna Quindlen's New York Times column over the years in part because she seemed to have an above average abilty to cut through the illusions of contemporary American life. She is clearly a smart and compassionate woman, which is one of the main reasons this dispassionate novel left me cold.Start with the heroine. Her voice is jarringly like Quindlen's, making the details of the character's lower middle class life bizarrely uncovincing. This is the literary equivalent of seeing a glamorous Hollywood actress play a street person. Second, the novel was poorly edited with glaring errors in content and punctuation. I'm stunned that Random House allowed such a high profile author to be so poorly attended. Third, and most bizarre, a final sequence of the novel has a Jewish woman telling a moving story of being saved by a Jewish soldier during World War II. My problem with this passage is that the anecdote is a nearly word for word copyright infringement from a interview in a documentary on the Holocaust that predates the book by a few years. While Quindlen may be used to using real life stories in her columns, using them in fiction is unacceptable. She may have done so unintentinally but a good editor should have caught the error.
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Summary: A terific book on a tragic subject.
Review: I find it hard to say great things about this book because of the subject matter. The book was very well written and very true-to-life by someone (presumably) who hasn't experienced this herself (I have). The most unfortunate part of this story is that very few woman get the courage to leave like Fran/Beth did, and most, I dare say, don't have all the wonderful "things" she had, and hated to leave. Anna Quindlan did a wonderful job capturing all the aspects of these people's lives. For those of you dissapointed in the ending-wake up! This novel ended on a much happier note than the thousands of women's lives that are actually like this. I, like Fran, had so much hope for a happy ending, but I don't think that was a realistic hope, unfortuantely. No one can truely understand this subject unless you've been there, but Anna Quindlan does a wonderful job of taking the reader inside the heart and home and mind of " Fannie, Frannie, Fran", and coming as close to understanding as you can get without living it.
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Summary: Quindlen spoke with a true voice.
Review: after reading some of the harsher reviews, I am confused. I cannot understand what these readers want from a book and how they judge a book as good. Fran/Beth is a true chararacter who acts and thinks like a real person not a MFA candidate or a pain in the butt from Rutgers. I feel that I know and care about the characters in this book--The main character, Fran/Beth is now a part of my life and will stay in my heart. This is what I consider the measure of a good book.
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Summary: Very realistic portrayal of an abusive relationship.
Review: I thought this book was a very good portrayal of life in an abusive relationship. Being a survivor of domestic abuse and also working for a battered women's program, it is a haunting reminder of how life can be. I read it quickly and with curiosity and found it to be very realistic. The line "What are you going to do, call the cops?", brought chills as her husband was in law enforcement. We now include this book on our "must read" list.
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Summary: I need more
Review: A serious subject matter but I do think after Fran (Beth) leaves home the story slows down considerable. It kind of left me at the starting gate. When she made the decision to leave she left. That's good! After she gets to Florida she seems to loose site of her goal. That's bad! I could understand SOMEWHAT the pain and inner turmoil she would have daily placed in the same situation. The fact that her husband was a policeman didn't help matters. Where were her parents, her family members besides her sister? For the life of me I don't understand why women don't take a stand. Why do the women and children have to disrupt their lives? I would have like a more in depth story line. Educating us and making us more aware of domestic violence. It would help to fully understand the complexity of this subject. I find it very disturbing. I don't think the storyteller did that. I am beginning to wonder about the television book club. I'm not finding the picks as positive. An award-winning journalist, not on this one. One thing is for sure I need to thank God daily that I'm not placed in this situation.
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Summary: One of the best books I've ever read!!!!!
Review: Black and Blue was my first Anna Quindlen book, and I loved it. I read it in a day. Fran Benedetto aka "Beth" runs from her abusive cop husband Bobby because she fears for her life. She and son Robert make a new life for themselves until Fran is spotted on TV for saving someone's life. You'll be surprised at what happens at the end with Bobby, Beth and Robert. What a great book!!! I give it 2 thumbs up!!!!
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Summary: Amazed by negative reviews
Review: Amazement is the overwhelming emotion I feel when I read the negative reviews of Black and Blue by other readers. That, and also anger, because this book is a wealth of insight to the mind and soul of battered women that should be cherished and praised rather than picked apart. Several criticized Anna Quindlan's grammar and style of writing in this novel. Hello, people! It's written in the "voice" of the main character. It is suppose to sound like the thoughts, fragmented and often rambling, that run through our minds. This book touched my heart like no other I have ever read. I could taste the fear this character felt. I was overwhelmed by the spirit of courage and hope that prevailed.
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