Rating: 
Summary: Cheap rip-off of Wuthering Heights.
Review: There should be a law against such blatant copying of a classic novel (in this case, Wuthering Heights). It is beyond me how this is being reviewed as the 90's version of that great love story and not a vulgar theft.
Rating: 
Summary: Alice Hoffman is up to her usual magic
Review: This book was wonderful. I've been trying to write a review, but could only think of all the "usual" things people say about books that move them. I guess I should just say that I love Ms. Hoffman's books. It's as simple as that. She gets inside her characters in such a way that I feel she's getting inside ME, too, and though the worlds she creates are just slightly skewed (enough so the "regular" rules don't seem to always apply), they're entirely believable. I would recommend this book to everyone. Ms. Hoffman, if you happen to read this, thank you so much for everything!
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Summary: A disturbing look into the soul when it comes to love..
Review: This is certainly not Alice Hoffman's best, but it as true to how love can take over a person's better judgement, and if you have ever been sick in love, you will relate to this book. Tragic love story...
Rating:
Summary: greatly disappointed
Review: I looked forward to reading Here on Earth, because I had so enjoyed Hoffman's previous novels. Part of the enticement to continue reading a book, however, is an identification with the characters. In this case, there wasn't any. I kept on waiting for a sympathetic attachment to March, Gwen, Hank, Alan or Richard. There was none forthcoming. Instead, I kept on wishing they would use their native intelligence, rather than pure emotion (or in Hoffman's world, the scent or essence of emotion). I actually kept on reading just to see if they would come to their senses!! I was keenly disappointed, and in the end, their fates did not concern me. That is the ultimate failure of the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Mas o menos
Review: I really thought this book was going to go somewhere and as I got closer to the end, I was waiting for a great climax to the story. I was definitely disappointed in the end. Everything just kind of peters out and falls flat. I won't sum up the story .. that has been done before. However, I will say that I thought the book had some promise but after closing the cover I realized it was just an exercise in futility for me. All in all ... kinda blah.
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Summary: A modern-day Wuthering Heights
Review: Did you shiver reading Wuthering Heights? Did you weep for the power of the ugly-toilsome and all-comsuming love of Catherine and Heathcliff? With a similar storyline--"similar" is kind-- whereas "ideantical" might be a little unfair--Hoffman gives us the modern-day equalivalent of the age-old drama. There's a mystery here that is the heart of all revenge. The wise reader, the honest reader will see him/herself in both roles as victim and perpetrator. Everyone is twisted by the passions they have felt. Some just more than others. This is a book for a cold autumn night when you are willing to let in the ghosts of lost loves and to cry for their loss. Get ready to hear Catherine clawing at the window and get ready to let her in again to your heart. Get ready to re-experience the obsession of first love and its devastation.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the prose- -hated the plot!
Review: Alice Hoffman has the ability to enchant and totally enthrall her readers with her brilliant use of the language. "Practical Magic" is one of my favorite books. In "Here on Earth," however, Hoffman misses the mark. Her story of obsessive love immediately brings to mind the classic "Wuthering Heights." Someone should have told Hoffman that once was enough. The tragedy of Cathy and Heathcliff worked for Victorian readers, but I have my doubts about how it will play today. I had several problems with the story. 1. March Murray is not a stupid woman. She's bright, talented and has lived a full life. She's not your typical moon-faced teenager waiting for her love to return. Yet, the moment she sees Hollis for the first time, she loses any modicum of sanity and drifts aimlessly into netherland. 2. March's daughter, Gwen, isn't dumb, either, but she cannot resist a relationship with her 1st cousin. This relationship never rang true for me. It's hard to believe that someone as street smart as Gwen could turn to mush over a teen-age boy, even if he is the only really believable character in the book. 3. March's husband, Richard, would have come after her once he realized she was being isolated from the world by Hollis. He adored her and would have never let the situation drag on, especially since his daughter was also living in Hollis' house. 4. March's best friend, Susanna Justice, is not the type of woman that would let March waste away in the clutches of an evil man like Hollis. Susanna, if you believe Hoffman's description, is a force to behold. She would never sit still for March's destruction. I love Hoffman's description of the bleak New England fall and winter. I was cold in the middle of a Texas heat wave just reading about the grey skies and the white snow. I'm just a little disappointed that all this beautiful prose is wasted on such a useless plot. The Cathy/Heathcliff story worked in "Wuthering Heights". It doesn't seem to work here in the 1990's.
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Summary: Mystical journey into the dark side of love long lost
Review: Alice Hoffman's whimsical and mystical stories usually leave you with an upbeat feeling. This book is definitely about the dark side of love and the upbeat feeling isn't there. Some of the language and sexual scenes make you wonder if this was really necessary to tell this story.
The magical,whimsical quality of her writing seems to take a hit with this approach.
Rating:
Summary: B-o-r-i-n-g!
Review: I came across this book at a garage sale, and because it said it was one of Oprah's Book Club selections, I couldnt wait to read it. Ugh. I struggled through, and thought it was the worst thing I've ever read. The whole concept was boring, the writing was boring, and I'd say...'dont bother'. I am one that has to finish something once started..so this was torture. I kept thinking that its going to get better, and the only halfway decent part was at the very end. I thought this story was most unbelievable. Dont waste your time and money!
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Summary: Hoffman, what happened?
Review: I loved "Practical Magic" and "Turtle Moon", but this book was such a disappointment. Nothing about how March reacted to Hollis made any sense, beyond her girlhood dreams about what might-have-been. If he'd been waiting for her all his life, he had a funny way of showing it. And nothing that we knew about March would prepare us for how downright silly she is. The man is an abusive creep!
Some of the writing was her usual wonderful(The entire first chapter, for example), but I never got over the Kathy/Heathcliff/Wuthering Heights story. There was something ridiculous about them, too. Way too much melodrama, not enough insight.
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