Rating: 
Summary: Great story, highly developed interesting characters
Review: Mediocre writing, wonderfully developed characters. I thought the writing was a little bland, but I loved the way Hoffman developed the characters in the story. By the end of the novel, the reader feels completely different about the main characters than at the beginning..... GREAT story-telling.
Rating: 
Summary: No family can be this dysfunctional.
Review: What a great beginning! The story brought me into the small world of a Massachusetts town. The characters were believable and down to earth. Unfortunately, the book did not continue to be either believable or down to earth. I have never read about so many dysfuntional people or situations. There was alcoholism, incest, battering, sex with a 14 year old, low self-esteem, divorce, animal cruelty, small town politics, emotional abuse, and more machinations than anyone should put in one book. I could not relate to many of the main characters by the end of the story, although the daughter was the most interesting. Often the prose would get so flowery and/or detailed that I ended up daydreaming while trying to read. The greatest sadness was that I know this could have been so much better. That faith in the author kept me reading until the end. I do look forward to reading other books by Alice Hoffman, hoping that this one was an anomoly.
Rating: 
Summary: Stolen plot from the classic "Wuthering Heights"
Review: The relationships in Hoffman's book mirror exactly the key relationships in the classic "Wuthering Heights." Of course, "Wuthering Heights" is a much better novel, and the fact that Hoffman's relationships (biological, family relations, and love) are lifted from this classic make it all the more disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: A spell will be cast over you heart .
Review: The book will grab you and keep your attention until the end. Your heart will just go out to Gwen and Hank. Please pass this book on to a friend.
Rating: 
Summary: This is one of Alice Hoffman's best books.
Review: I have read quite a few of Hoffman's books, and always find her writing engaging and her sense of the magical transporting. Here on Earth is perhaps less magical than some of her other books, but the plot is more engaging. The tale of an all-encompassing, but self-destructive love is fascinating, as are the mother-daughter themes. Alice Hoffman is one of the best authors now writing, yet is often underrated.
Rating:
Summary: This is why we get what we NEED!
Review: Sometimes love consumes our entire being-- logic and reality do not exist. Such was the case with March, she lost herself in Hollis (as so many of us do when we are trying to escape reality). When obsession and control are the key factors in a relationship, the worst is bound to develop. I read this story in 2 days. It normally takes me 2 years to complete a book!! Excellent reading for anyone who has felt incomplete in their current relationship and choses to explore other options. We may not always get what we want out of love, but we do get what we need.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I selected this book because it was an Oprah recommendation. Like most of the other Oprah books that I have read, this book leaves the reader depressed and wondering aren't there any uplifting, enjoyable books out there that Oprah could recommend?
Rating:
Summary: What a disappointment!!
Review: This book was trashy and poorly written. The characters were impossible to like. How anyone could read this book in one sitting is truly a mystery to me. Reading it was almost a chore. I would rather go to the dentist! Poor choice Oprah.
Rating:
Summary: Hoffman's Worst Novel
Review: I didn't pick up this book because Oprah recommended it. I picked it up because I love Alice Hoffman's work. It started off well enough, with Hoffman's extraordinary ability to create a sense of place. But it fell flat after the first chapter. With the exception of the character of Gwen, the characters were underdeveloped. March's level of blindness and passivity, as well as her lack of even the slightest maternal instinct, simply was not believable. And Hollis was the stereotypical villan. The actions of all of the characters seemed arbitrary instead of natural, because they could not flow from the psychological states which Hoffman failed to really explore. I got the feeling that the subject matter was perhaps a little too close to home for her, (either personally or empathetically) and she simply did not yet have the clarity to write about it with any depth, understanding or compassion. The ending was not only abrupt, it was a cop-out. The real story about an abusive relationship is what happens when the victim tries to extracate themselves. The hell starts after the victim leaves and the abuser refuses to let go. By having Hollis conveniently taken out of the picture, Hoffman robs the reader of any truthful resolution. Sadly, the falseness of the ending echoes the contrived quality and artificial feel of the whole book.
Rating:
Summary: Not a love story -- but a terrific novel!
Review: Reading some of the other reviews, I was disappointed to see that Oprah had billed this as a love story. No wonder that readers expecting a sweet romantic tale were so disappointed!This novel is about love -- its ability both to bring years of happiness and to destroy people utterly. Love often doesn't turn out the way you want, and there are very few happy endings to the relationships in this book. It's no wonder, then, that March's best friend Susie is still unmarried and terrified of actually falling in love and needing someone. Hoffman does an excellent job of intertwining the plots of several relationships, not just the affair between March and Hollis. All of the supporting characters are real, three-dimensional people. Even the adulterous relationships are poles apart in their nature and their consequences. And yes, the book does take a disturbing and unexpected turn. But for me, it just made the book more emotionally gripping as Hollis became more horrifying -- especially since Hoffman presents him in the opening chapters as an object of pity. I thought Hoffman did a great job of presenting the relationship as objectively as possible, allowing the reader to think and draw her own conclusions. All in all, this was one of the most emotionally intense and gratifying novels I have read in quite a few years. If you liked it, I would recommend "The Bone People" by Keri Hulme -- another intense novel, satisfying but not for those who would rather ignore the dark underside of life.
|
