Rating: 
Summary: A true disapointment
Review: I was really looking forward to this book but boy what a disappointment. The characters are a joke and although the basic idea for the plot is good, how it is developed is very poor. Also, the characters are inconsistent. For example, the author depicts the beloved housekeeper as a Madonna like figure. Yet, we find a very contradictory descriptionn a few pages later - she was a busybody. Well which one is it? A busybody or the all nuturing mother figure. I can't even bring myself to finishing this book. It is a complete disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: Dont waste your time with this one!
Review: After reading all the reviews for this book, I was really excited to read it. Boy, was I disappointed! This is a stupid book full of insipid, fully unlikeable characters. There was no one even remotely appealing. And I did not understand this great "love" between March and Hollis, as it did not seem to be anything except lust, even from the beginning. If you still must read this book, get it from the library. That way you still may lose several hours of your life reading it, but at least you wont waste any money. Just make sure you return it on time as it is not worth the 5 cents a day overdue fees.
Rating:
Summary: An item of interest...
Review: Although I have not yet read this novel, my interest has been piqued. It is currently being made into a movie, and the film crew is working on the project this week in my neighborhood, on Summit Avenue in St. Paul next to the University Club. Word from a crew member is that the script barely resembles the book though. Thought you readers might like to know... If you live in the area, it might be worth checking out!
Rating:
Summary: The worst book I've read in years...
Review: My 12-year-old daughter bought it and I think I remember being enjoying Turtle Moon (although after this book I wonder if that's a bad memory), so I read it (I enjoy sharing books with my children). The characters and the main thesis were so unrealistic that continuing to read to the end was painful. None of the 4 main characters could be believed - they were comic book characters. The secondary characters were almost as shallow. March is an affront to motherhood and Richard is unbelievable as a father. Mom could not care less, Dad leaves without making sure he talks to her first. And his superficial "appraisal" of Gwen when he arrives! Has he never seen her before? Gwen might get more love and care as an orphan! March's worship at the altar of sex is offensive and should offend every man or woman - Hollis decides where she should go, what she should think, and pretty soon would tell her what to dream? Taking care of her own bathing, eating, and thinking is beyond her capability? Exerting control over heat and transportation is beyond her? Caring & being honest with her daughter and friends is irrelevant? And yet March is educated, well-loved, creative, self-directed, and was one of the real "winners" in her home town growing up. She has a nice home and family. If you like the fantasy of a woman finding all-consuming sex and losing ALL control of her life, do you think it should get 5 stars when the heroine is being physically abused, mentally abused, isolated (or "jailed"), and her daughter is getting the same? When the heroine ignores her family, friends, and incest? This reaches unacceptable, immoral, and certainly illegal. 5 star reviews should be saved for books with believable characters - characters who "feel" like people you actually know or have known. John Irving, Peter Straub, Wally Lamb, Stephen King, or the thousands of writers make the effort to make their characters come to life. (And I included King to make a point - his reputation is based on the surreal, but the characters in Insomnia, Bag of Bones, Green Mile have texture & flesh. Or give 5 stars for excellent inspiration, motivation, or education. But none of these apply.
Rating: 
Summary: A good tale, but also a dissapointment
Review: Having read many of Alice Hoffman's books, I was rather dissapointed by Here on Earth. Though it was a well written book and was quite intriguing, I felt it didn't live up to Hoffman's capability. Though one of her more realistic books, I found it extremely disturbing. Hoffman still holds the spot of my favorite author, but things might change if she writes another book like Here on Earth.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is the best book .
Review: This is the best book . One of Alice Hoffman's best work. She truly captures the nights of the females. I would recommend this book to any teen or Adult. Not to the little kids because of the graphic content. I give this book 5 great big stars.
Rating:
Summary: My strongest reaction to the book was its lack of ethics.
Review: The book was "Wuthering Heights," and it was fairly distressing that an author could use the story line without crediting the original author. I would have enjoyed her variation, but was too 'haunted' by the author's lack of ethics. Did those who disagree really read Wuthering Heights?
Rating:
Summary: A Great Page Turner - keeps you guessing with every line!!
Review: This is a perfect lazy day read
Rating: 
Summary: some really disturbing messages here
Review: This novel is pretty misogynistic in a lot of its messages. On the one hand, it punishes March for finding a gratifying sexual experience. In what seemed to me a pretty transparent morality tale, March is punished for this great sex she's having with Hollis when Hollis is revealed to be a psychopath (to everyone but March, that is.) I mean, could the guy be more evil?! On the other hand, what are we to gather from a novel in which the female protagonist is so thoroughly unaware of her situation (as if she were drugged/in a daze)? Clearly victims of domestic violence should not be blamed for the actions of their abuser, but what message is sent when March is written as if she were utterly blind to what was going on? Isn't it a little more complex than that? There are some contradictory messages here, none of which are particularly kind to women. Messages aside, some of the prose was interesting, but this mystical-flowery trip gets a little old after a few hundred pages.
Rating:
Summary: Likeable Characters?
Review: So what if there aren't any likeable characters? We all need a variety...and this just shows how realistic this story is, you don't like everyone in real life, am I right?
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