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Summary: The characters kept my interest & kept me up
Review: Whenever I have trouble following a narrative, I blame myself not the author. The characters kept my interest and kept me reading. It wasn't until I reached Consolata's chapter that I was able to solve some of the novel's mysteries. My advice is to keep reading.
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Summary: VERY different read
Review: I loved this book. I loved the way the first paragraph is really the last and you keep reading to find out why those people are in the convent. It was an incredible book, I highly recommend it.
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Summary: I didn't get it, but Oprah liked it so it must be good.
Review: After watching Oprah, I decided to read this book. While I didn't enjoy it very much, I think the fault lies with me. I must not be smart enough to understand it. I'm going to read it again and maybe I'll enjoy it more.
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Summary: An outstanding tour de force. Brilliantly written
Review: This book was excellent. We all speak English but Alice Hoffman has a way of linking words that is brilliant. I love her mind. Unlike some books that you can sit and read without thinking, Alice Hoffman makes you think.
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Summary: Great Piece of the Author's Talent
Review: I had a little trouble following it at first but I understood it, and I'm only 13. I love how the author presents her characters. She shows them from many different angles and each time the reader encounters them, their complex personalities become clearer. Overall this book is a great piece of literature.
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Summary: Refreshing
Review: This is the first book I've read by Hoffman and now I'm dying to read the rest of her books. I was dissapointed that so many people gave it one or two stars because THEY thought she stole the idea from Wuthering Heights. If that's true, then all books known in existance today has been copying each other.
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Summary: Hoffman missed Bronte's heights
Review: With "Wuthering Heights" Emily Bronte took a stock story and created something frighteningly new. Hoffman, using the same elements, tries but fails. You can match HOE characters and incidents tit-for-tat with WH: March and Hollis are, of course, Cathy and Heathcliff, Richard is Linton, Belinda is Isabella, Alan is Hindley, Gwen is Cathy Jr., Hank is Hindley Jr., etc. etc. Indeed, the match-ups are so precise that they are severely distracting for anyone who has read "Wuthering Heights." Why did Hoffman do this, borrow someone else's plot? Heathcliff is a horribly abusive figure, his own abuse being no excuse for his later cruelties; Hollis is not a new or better representation of such a personality. For those who do not know the whole of Bronte's novel, the retelling by Hoffman could be a powerful experience. But to tell a story of obsessive love and abuse, Hoffman would have been better advised not to try superficially to modernize a genuine classic. Hoffman is a good writer and can be a very good storyteller. One wonders what the result would have been had she stold the story of WH from the perspective of, say, Isabella -- the way Jean Rhys re-told Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre" in "Wide Sargasso Sea," from the perspective of Rochester's mad wife....
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Summary: What a bore...
Review: When I bought this book, I didn't expect great literature; but, I did expect a good love story. Yech! The characters are pathetic people who refuse to take charge of their lives. The storyline is so predictable you might as well watch TV.
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Summary: Amazingly realistic
Review: I really enjoyed this book, but as a fan of good endings, I was let down. It fell flat. I refuse however, to let the ending stop me from recommending this book since the pages that led up to it were quite wonderful. The love that March has for Hollis is one that I feel most people can relate to. Sometimes we have loving eyes that never see the negative things in the one we love. This book should hit home for many readers.
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Summary: This isn't Wuthering Heights
Review: To date, all books have been copies of previous works. Wuthering Heights isn't even original and may not even have been the first to think up such a devilish man like that of Here on Earth's man. Here on Earth has to be reasoned with for that of it's explicit, accurate, and deadly realistic case study of abuse. You fall in love with this man like the girl, and in the end are still somehow attached to this man and "feel" for him even though he beats his wife and controls her every move. For a very painful book to read on abuse, Here on Earth is the best bet. One of child abuse, written for kids, is Bruises...also painful and chilling to read.
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