Rating: 
Summary: The most inane read of all time.
Review: March Cooper, mother of fifteen-year-old Gwen, has returned to her place of childhood in New England for the funeral of her surrogate mother, leaving her husband in California to tend to his work. Without any regard to her family, March takes up with an old boyfriend, allows her daughter to date a close relative, and leaves hubbie Richard to rot in California. Then, surprise, surprise, her life doesn't stay perfect and the reader is supposed to feel sympathy? This only chance this book ever had was a decent plot because the writing is atrocious and March is a terrible mother and wife represented as a fool for love which makes all of her decisions acceptable? I don't think so.
Rating:
Summary: Find something else to read!
Review: Accompanied by her adolescent daughter, March returns to the small, rural town she grew up in to attend the funeral of a long time family retainer. In this cold, bleak New England environment, she reforms a relationship with her childhood sweetheart, who originally entered her life when March's father brought him, a disturbed and underprivileged teenager, into their family home. Their hot and heavy teenage affair, interrupted when Hollis went off to make his fortune and was unheard of for several years, had ended 20 years or so ago, when March stopped waiting for him, married another local fellow, moved to California and had a child.Before she realised what was going on, March had been manipulated by a seriously disturbed, violent predator into a situation where she could no longer think straight (but I doubt she ever could), and had given up almost every bit of power she might have had. Along the way her daughter, Gwen, had to learn a whole new set of skills just to survive. This story of jealousy, control and obsession, though written well enough to keep me reading to the end, irritated me immensely. The characters were poorly developed, cardboard stereotypes. March was such a wimp, she could hardly be described as a character and, except for the twirling moustaches, Hollis could have stepped straight out of a melodrama. The only interesting central character was Gwen who, with no help from her mother, made the difficult transition from a self-absorbed child into a young woman, doing what she had to so that she and those she'd grown to love could survive (in fact, if the story had have been written with her as the central character, I think it would have worked much better). In a town full of people protecting secrets, the secondary characters were much more fascinating. But what annoyed me most was how this whole story was wrapped up, with a whole lot of bedraggled loose ends, within about five pages of a scene of life and death madness. Did Ms Hoffman just get tired of writing it, or did she somehow know I would be completely sick of reading it by then? After all that, I still don't know what happened to Gwen, Hank, Tarot, Belinda, Louise, etc. I don't care what happened to March. Having now read what has been touted everywhere as an up-to-date retelling of "Wuthering Heights", I have resolved to leave that book off the list of classics I must read. And though I don't like to judge an author on the basis of one book, I doubt if I'll worry too much about seeking out any of Ms Hoffman's other efforts.
Rating: 
Summary: Alice at her best!
Review: I could not put this book down! Bravo Alice for using the theme of "Wuthering Heights" and making it modern for today! It was experience worth reading. And for years I had thought to myself what would had happened if "Heathcliff" and "Catherine" stood together. Ms. Hoffman proves that it is not a good idea with "March" and her childhood love. The title says it all, "Here on Earth" their love was not meant for earth but beyond. However, it's a "love" (more of an obsession) that will destroy them if one of them doesn't get out! Captivating book I can't wait for more from Ms. Hoffman
Rating: 
Summary: This book left me going, huh?
Review: Alice Hoffman is a fine and talented writer but she does not do this novel justice. It was quite gutsy of her to reivent Emily Bronte classic, but she does it poorly. First of all, there is a lack of character development or rather depth. The only fully realized character in this novel is that of the daughter. Secondly, she fails to tie the loose ends in the novel i.e. Belinda. Why bring up issues if your not going to address it later in the novel? If you are looking for a dark romantic book please pick up Wuthering Heights.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow...
Review: This book was absolutely moving. Alice Hoffman captured every aspect of the characters in a way that no one else could. She gave them depth and mystery. This is an absolutely charming yet heartbreaking story about a woman who knew true love in two ways and had to struggle to find a balence between them.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling book at times, but some things are missing...
Review: When I first started this book, I didn't have high hopes for it. It seemed like it would be just another trite, "I-can-predict-everything-that-will-happen" book. While it turned out to be better than that, the author does leave a few things out. There is almost no character development at all, and the way the story is written, there are about twenty different viewpoints, not only from those who are considered the main characters, but also from a lot of the people who live in that same small town. Maybe that's the reason you never get to know any of them except very superficially. Also, the ending leaves a lot to be desired; it's almost as if the author got tired of it and just abruptly wrote the finishing chapters. But the way Ms. Hoffman writes seemed to pull me along somehow, to the point where I wanted to keep reading to see what happened, so I can't say it's a bad book. Since this was the first book I've read by this author, I may check out one of her others, since a little more depth when it comes to the characters might make a big difference. All in all, I have a feeling that she is a gifted writer, and I would say that this book is, in the end, worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: A BAD soap opera....and an insult to females..NO STARS
Review: I love probably 3 out of 4 of Oprah's book club books I read. This was one of the "4's." I didn't like this novel at all. I thought the turn of events in the novel were so outrageously unrealistic & insane. This may sound strange, but they were so crazily unrealistic that you could PREDICT what would happen by just thinking..."what would be the most crazy thing this character would do next..?" And they would do it! It literally reads like a bad soap opera...where crazy things happen just to keep you in amazement of how insane some people are. I don't even feel as if this book is worth any stars at all. I also felt as if the way March treats herself and allows others to treat her is a great insult to females everywhere. Not to mention the insult that Louise Justice is to females. Most of the book left me with a sick feeling in my stomach. STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS, WOMEN! If I could, I would have given it ZERO stars.
Rating:
Summary: A great incorporation of an old classic
Review: March Murray comes home from California only to come face to face with Hollis, her first love. With her is her daughter who finds a somewhat comforting companion in her cousin, Hank. This meeting between March and Hollis sets off a chain of events which rekindles an intense, yet destructive, passion that to consume them. Anyone who has read the original will see the parallel. The story of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw has been immortalized over the years and Hoffman has incorporated that love story in a fundamental way. Hoffman does a fantastic job of integrating a contemporary what-if spin on Bronte's novel, Wuthering Heights. I read this book on the recommendation of a professor after reading Emily Bronte's novel but it sparked my interest in the selections Oprah does choose for her Book Club. As a book, on its own, this novel can stand, but foreknowledge of the parallel premise between it and Bronte's novel is what makes Here on Earth a moving story.
Rating:
Summary: an easy, good read
Review: I have never read an Alice Hoffman book but will read the rest of her work. I really enjoyed her style of writing. I found it easy to read. Her characters at time were a bit shallow in that like another reviewer I didn't feel she delved into why the characters behaved the way they did which in some cases was awful. Her way of presenting life through the different view points of characters was right on the money.
Rating:
Summary: Who would have thought it would be so great?
Review: The novel "Where The Heart Is," an Oprah's Bookclub, and the movie "Practical Magic," based on a novel written by Alice Hoffman, were the source of encouragement for me to read "Here On Earth." Although the first couple chapters of this book bored me, I continued reading any way, only to find out that it was truly a great novel. Despite my minor disappointment with the ending, I thought that over all that "Here On Earth" is a terrific book. I really wish that Gwen would have taken Hank with her, and for someone to put more effort into trying to be there for Alan. Although I felt bad for Hollis at the beginning, I hated the character he transformed into. It's a twisted love story that really pulls your interest. The whole time I read the book I felt as if I was there with the characters because Alice did a great job with the descriptions. I would get so caught up with the book I wouldn't go to sleep until three in the morning so it's definitely a book that you can't put down.
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