Rating: 
Summary: Another Purchase for The Wife
Review: Bought this for my wife. If she's happy, I'm happy. And she liked this one, although she thought the ending was disappointing. I'll take her word for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Read it all the way through/waiting for it to redeem itself
Review: That this book was very "readable" is the best thing I can say about it. The main character March should be named "Marsh" instead (short for marshmallow) because she is just the wimpiest, most sorry excuse of a woman(and mother)I've met in fiction recently. Sorry, I just didn't buy the bit about her being so "in love" she just lost her way in it. Why don't we just call this what it is -- a 40-something woman answers a major booty call from her first lover and sells out herself, her daughter, her husband, her friends, and very nearly humanity at large, in the process. Some others have said this is a prime example of "battered wife" syndrome. I think this does a disservice to those who truely suffer this fate. There's no basis for March to behave in the manner she does. That Hollis should have this hold on her -- even if he does deliver mightily in the bedroom -- just doesn't seem credible based on her background and the circumstances of her life. From the minute she meets up with Hollis, she just lets it all go. Doesn't even bother to comb her hair -- now can you get more far gone than that?As for the rest of the characters, they are either wimps themselves standing by watching other characters destroy their own lives and the lives of others, or they are wise way beyond their years (March's daugher Gwen who goes from surley Goth-queen to wise meadow-maven in the blink of an eye. The other youngster, Hank, also demonstrates great maturity despite having horrible Hollis as his primary adult role model.) Other reviewers have criticized that the story left so much unresolved. Even worse than that though, is that I really didn't care if things were unresolved. That' how little I cared about this cast of characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Hauntingly beautiful! Alice Hoffman shows her talent!
Review: This was my first and so far only Alice Hoffman novel, and I was more than impressed. It is one of the most beautifully written novels I have read in a long time, with a story that stays with you long after the last page has been read. As soon as I finished, I felt like I needed some time before I could just move on to the next book, or else I would be betraying or undermining its value. For days I couldn't stop thinking about Gwen and Hank, or March and Hollis. I found myself constantly picking it up and skimming through it, rereading random pages, and each time being once again blown away. Not only is it a powerful story, but Hoffman's writing is amazing. The characters in this book become friends to you. They are each so complex and magnificent. Each one undergoes such an amazing journey and transition that you cannot help but be inspired. There was not one part of this entire novel that I felt was unneeded or overdone, and that is rare. I was also completely enthralled by the use of mythology Hoffman placed, using nature to show that there is so much more than the eye can see. I have always thought that the woods and forest hold so many secrets within them, and Hoffman showed this aspect off beautifully. Read this book. I cannot express my love for it enough. Alice Hoffman not only writes beautifully, but she truly has nailed down the art of storytelling. I haven't been this impressed with a novel in a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Gaak!
Review: Did Ms Hoffman recieve permission from the Bronte estate to rewrite Wuthering Heights into this soap opera?
Is it my imagination or do all the comparisons to that great classic simply fail to say that she simply changed some names to protect the innocent?
Geez you guys, what's going on here?????
Rating:
Summary: Here on Earth
Review: Love is blind and it will take over your mind. This is demonstrated in Alice Hoffman's book, Here on Earth. In this outstanding book, March was happily married to a handsome man, Richard. When Judith Dale, the woman who raised March and her brother Alan, had died, March had to go back to where she grew up, a town called Jenkintown, so she could attend Judith's funeral and take care of all of her belongings. When she got back into town she began to think about her first love, the one she waited for over a year to return for her. His name is Hollis, and now he owns most of the town.
The story takes place in a little town where everyone knows everyone and everything about them. The beginning explains the founder of Jenkintown and how everything got its name. For example, Fox Hill, is the top of the hill where you can see the whole town. People would see many foxes up there until they were killed off so they named it Fox Hill. Hollis knows that March is back in town, but he knows not to go to her and she will come to him. They grew up together so he knows everything about her.
When March had been young, her father had to make many trips to Boston, which is part of the reason Judith Dale took care of March and Alan. One day he came home with Hollis, and he began to take care of him. "Can we keep him?" is what March asked Alan when she first saw him from the window. She had loved him ever since. They spent as much time together as they could after they warmed up to each other. March's father died and left everything he owned to Alan because he hadn't got a chance to fix his will after March was born. Alan didn't like Hollis, so he made out a bill for him to pay since the first day he started living there. He had to pay him for rent, food, clothes, and other things like that. Now many years later, the love returns in March's heart as she returns to Jenkintown and things begin to twist with Hollis's obsession.
The story doesn't really come from one person's point of view. It tells what everyone is thinking and saying whether all the characters are there or not. My favorite part from the story is this: Gwen rushes for the door to Tarot's stall and swings it open. "Go!" she screams.
Rating:
Summary: A modern-day Wuthering Heights
Review: First off, despite the shared title, this is NOT a novel of the teen movie (starring Chris Klein, Josh Hartnett, etc) of the same name!
This is, however, one of the best books I've ever read! At times there is a little too much 'folklore-ish' writing ("the people of the town are afraid to go in this part of the woods and the kids still say...." type of stuff), but the atmospheric qualities make up for that. The feeling of moving from California to Massachusetts is an experience I can relate to (it happened to me!) and the love story is VERY reminicsent of Wuthering Heights!
This novel is intense, emotional, and beautifully rendered like a classic! It has appeal for women and teens (since March's daughter plays a big role, too) and the story will captivate anyone who decides to read it! (you have to get a few chapters into it before you 'feel' the story, but it's very worth it!) Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Complete letdown...or a good waste of valuable reading time
Review: Don't be fooled by the interesting synopsis on the back of the book...this book doesn't deliver. I don't expect a happy ending in every work of fiction, but this one leaves you completely high and dry. The first part is full of wonderful detail and introspection, unfortunatley that part takes up three-quarters of the book. There is no climax until the book is 75% over and the reader is left feeling that the end is very rushed. "Come on, Alice. Time's up!"..."Oh, O.K....just give me another five minutes." I appreciate foreplay as much as the next girl, but the finish has to count for something! Romance is best the first time around, we get that, but did she have to take up so much time getting to the point? I'd pick another book before I'd recommend this to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: This was a great book...I was especially drawn to the story of March and Hollis, and how obsessive and consuming "love" can be. However, I was a bit disappointed by the ending. I needed more of an explanation of why March left...
Rating:
Summary: Good writer, unlikable characters
Review: Unlike many of the other reviewers here, I have never read Wuthering Heights, nor do I know the plotline, so I cannot comment on how "Here on Earth" stacks up to the story that apparently inspired it. However, I don't feel that should really be relevant to reviewing the book. I liked this book, and I like Hoffman's writing. It's very fantasy-like, she sprinkles in some magical realism here and there. She writes in a style that is easy to breeze through, and very descriptive, making you picture the scenes she paints very clearly. However, the characters were just totally unlikable to me. I felt all kinds of feelings towards them, including, hate, pity, shock, and distaste. A quick rundown: March: A sorry excuse for a woman. I have never been in a relationship that abusive, so I guess it's unfair of me to say I could understand her position, but no matter how much you love someone, if you have any strength or dignity in you at all, you do not put up with the [stuff]that she takes from Hollis. Even when they were younger, he wasn't that appealing. It was TOTALLY a relationship based on lust, that's IT, there's nothing more to it... Gwen: I also agree that her thoughts and actions were too mature for a 15 year old, and that being in Jenkintown for such a short time would not change her completely, making her personality do a complete 180. I liked her toughness, and how she talked back to Hollis, but she should have tried to talk some sense into her mother, instead of ignoring what was going on with her and Hollis for the most part... Hank: I actually liked Hank, but as much as Gwen was tough, he was too bland and wishy-washy. He should have stood up to Hollis more. I understand he was indebted to Hollis...Hollis: I KNOW that the reader is supposed to despise this character, and boy did I despise him. However, I think it would have added more to the book if you had been able to see a redeeming quality or two in him. At least then you would have been able to hope for his redemption, or understand why March loves him so much. The closest thing we get to seeing why he's such a beast...He was simply one of the most disturbing, evil characters I've ever read about...I would have liked a good scene at the end of the book... Also, as with a lot of books these days I find, the end left me unsatisfied like many readers. Why do authors find it so hard to give some closure to their stories? What happened to March and Richard and Gwen after they reunited in California? Just a little tidbit, a little epilogue would have been nice. All in all, I wouldn't say NOT to read this book, but it was depressing, and you'll probably feel sort of an uneasiness about the merits of humankind when you're done. It definitely held my interest, but most of the time I felt like shaking my head in disappointment at the characters.
Rating:
Summary: Nowhere near "Wuthering Heights"
Review: My favorite book of all time is Wuthering Heights; I also spent a semester in college English going over WH in extreme detail, so I was looking forward to being entertained by an author who, presumably (according to the jacket description), enjoyed it enough to attempt a take-off. WRONG! Hoffman missed the mark on so many characters. The whole point of WH was that Heathcliff and Catherine were two of a kind, both cruel and selfish. Catherine would've eaten Hollis for dinner; Heathcliff would have dismissed March as not even being alive for all the backbone she showed. This was basically a book about a abuser/victim relationship, and March was just one of those women who believed, "I'm the only one who really understands him ..." The constant use of the "F" word was distracting and trashy, and I had so many questions it was uncomfortable. Why didn't March go to Hollis' funeral if she loved him so much? What happened to the "great love" between Hank and Gwen; Gwen goes to California and they never speak again even though they're cousins? Isn't Gwen even concerned about Tarot? There are so many loose ends.
|
