Black and Blue

Rating:
Summary: This book rings true about domestic violence.
Review: As a therapist, I work with women who have experienced domestic violence. Quindlen's book catches the incongruity of seduction and despair that often serve as diametrically opposed forces in abusive relationships. I think that Fran would have seemed more real if she was able to express her anger, rather than appearing so measuredly determined in much of the book. I love Quindlen's writing and I loved this book. I am thankful that a writer of Quindlen's caliber chose to tackle this subject and write a book so accessible to so many.

Rating:
Summary: A very enjoyable and educational read
Review: This was my first Anna Quindlen book and I really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were very well developed and I truly cared about each of them -- even Bobby. I would recommend this to everyone!

Rating:
Summary: if you loved her in the NY TIMES, you'll love her novels
Review: First a suggestion: when writing a review, don't tell the ending and when reading a review, try your best not to read a suggestion of an ending. Reading the ending before I got to it in the book was a terrible disappointment though the ending still was different than I expected. There are a lot of memorable phrases in the book and some that seem to have been worked on too much but (although I am a man) she seemed to have caught extremely well the complicity between beater and beaten that must go on. I have a 10-year old boy and the boy was caught beautifully. Thanks, Anna

Rating:
Summary: A chick book.
Review: The book is written in the first person, which gives it a very intimate quality. But the main character never mentions a book she has read, a serious piece of music she likes, or even a good movie that made her cry. Also, since you are literally placed in the main character's head, the author must think like such a person. The author almost pulls it off, except occasionally, there are sentences that come from a well-read Harvard graduate: "[My son] particularly liked the [story] about the time a man with a gun had robbed the bakery on a Sunday morning when I was sixteen, in the desultory fallow period between 9:00 and 10:30 masses,..." Desultory fallow period! A Ph.D. in English lit would have choked on those three words strung together.

Rating:
Summary: intense
Review: I cannot believe how powerful and intense this book was. The feelings were so real. If you think that the women who are in abusive situations should just leave you get a different perspective of how it really is if you leave. She lost soooo much. You wanted everything to be okay at the end of the book and you were left with so much saddness. By trying to regain her self respect and her very life she lost so much that was important. The writing was so powerful and the feelings were so real I wanted to hug Fran and Robert and make evrything okay. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks the answer is to leave. I don't think there is any easy answer for the entire family in an abusive situation.

Rating:
Summary: Realistic portrayal of domestic abuse.
Review: This book provides you with the harsh realities of what happens in domestic abuse cases after the woman/children flee the situation. It shows hope coupled with hopelessness and gives you a greater insight into why so many women stay.

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Summary: Terrific Audio!! Superb reader!!!
Review: I just loved this audio! I think that the story itself was terrific, suspense-ful! I can relate to this story but did not stay with the man. "Black and Blue" had me flipping the audio over as soon as it was finished. I'd sit in my car when I got home & just sit... listening. Lili Taylor puts such feeling into the reading of this novel. I actually felt like she WAS Fran. You have got to listen to this audio if you are an avid audio listener!!

Rating:
Summary: Fast paced enjoyable read
Review: This book was a fast paced novel which told a horrifying tale of spousal abuse. Although I enjoyed this novel I would have like to get to know the characters in more detail. The ending of the story was a surprise to me and was very realistic. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in reading about a family torn apart by battering. This novel certainly makes the reader think long and hard about spousal abuse and what happens to the victims. I was especially moved by the portrayal of the son.

Rating:
Summary: for those of use who do not understand
Review: Having never been hit by a loved one, I always found chronic domestic abuse hard to understand. Why would anyone let another person beat them (more than once)? This book did make me understand because (1)it was not psychobabble (2)it gave no pat answers (3)Fran was flawed as well as Bobby and acknowledged such. The small fragments presented from the other character's lives were very believable to me because that is usually all we know about others - small snippets. I finished this book less than 24 hours after it arrived at my door. The ending did leave me a little disturbed. It was as if Quindlen wanted to be realistic but not so much so that her book would not be made into a movie. I also compared it to Rose Madder (by S. King) but enjoyed both the books understanding that niehter was meant to be the quintessential work on spousal abuse.

Rating:
Summary: A tragic tale which needs to be told again and again
Review: While not as emotionally written as "One True", Black and Blue portrays a very chilling tale of a modern day epidemic. Hopefully women in Fran's situation (or getting there) will take heart and find help and resolution. Ms Quindlen is a marvel and I applaud her.