Rating: 
Summary: A last grace note from Carol Shields
Review: Carol Shields knew she was dying of breast cancer when she began this novel, and it's a testament to her valor that she didn't try to do a Tuesdays with Morrie kind of book. There's no hint anywhere in the pages that this is some banal last gasp of a wonderful author.
Unless is a difficult and painful book concerning Reta Winters, a well-known author whose oldest daughter, Norah, leaves college and voluntarily takes to the streets with a sign hung around her neck. The sign reads: Goodness. The story begins on a light note as Reta, who is writing a romance, tries to make sense of her daughter's decision in a rather circuitous way. Then, however, the book and its story turn darker and more serious as the true nature of Norah's situation becomes clearer. Shields is able to weave a feminist message into this novel with threads that somehow artfully tie together love, family, writing, and understanding.
RIP, Carol Shields, and thanks for this last book.
Rating:
Summary: THOUGHT PROVOKING, BUT NOT A PAGE-TURNER
Review: The reviews already posted seem to either love or hate this book, with the main reason for reader disappointment being the lack of a plot. Given the dramatic event on which the book hinges -- Norah, the responsible, oldest daughter of a loving family has suddenly dropped out of school and is spending her days panhandling on a street corner, wearing a placard with the legend, "goodness" -- it's understandable that many readers expected the book to be a fast-paced crime novel, focusing on efforts to "rescue" the daughter, who surely had been brainwashed by some cult. This is one way the story could have been developed, but it's not Carol Shields' way. Instead, the family remains loving but helpless, reluctantly going on with their lives. Reta, Norah's devastated mother, continues to cook casseroles, meet friends for coffee, and most of all continue work on a lighthearted novel she is writing.Reta herself wonders how she can concentrate on fiction when her daughter is living on the street. But her novel is a refuge, a world she can control, where the characters do her bidding. (As a writer of fiction, I found Reta's characters admirably compliant, unlike the way my own sometimes behave.) When she is not deciding the direction of her novel, she spends much of her mental and emotional energy trying to figure out what has driven Norah to a life on the streets, and what is the meaning of "goodness." I found Reta convincing. Her concern for her family, her reliance on her friends and her work all lend her credibility. (One reader couldn't believe that the family wouldn't have forcibly dragged Norah off the streets and gotten her into mental health treatment, rather than simply visiting her with packages of warm clothes and food; I'm not familiar with Canadian laws, but I question whether they could legally have done so in the case of an adult daughter.) But Norah herself remained a shadowy figure to me. Reta seizes on the idea that Norah has "dropped out" because she recognizes that her talents and ambitions will be stifled by a society which gives little recognition to female achievements, but this seemed projection on her part. I never saw any indication that Norah was either particularly ambitious or a strong feminist. I have to confess that I was one of those frustrated by the slow pacing at the novel's beginning. But as I read further, I could see how carefully Shields was spinning out her story (and yes there is a story at the heart of the book). I also saw that unlike some books with terrific pacing and little else to recommend them -- such as the mysteries I buy to read on plane trips -- I would remember and think about this one long after I had come to the last page. In fact, the diversity of reaction to this book suggests it would make a good choice for a book discussion group.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring!
Review: I am surprisd how many people gave this novel good reviews.
Somebody picked it for our book club and then no one finished it. There certainly was no plot and where there was some expectation of understanding the family dynamics and the seriousness of a lost duaghter per se.......all the reader gets from this book is diversion.
One minute the book leads to the (lost daughter)"Norah" story and the next minute we're reading about the marital status of some librarian friends. Totally irrelevant. I read a lot of books, some good some okay......this was so boring that I didn't even bother to finish it.
Rating:
Summary: Full of the brooding intimacy of female contemplation
Review: Women novelists dominate a genre in fiction that attract mostly female readers. These writers specialise in stories about ordinary lives. Burrowing deep into the psyche of people who live normal unexceptional lives, these stories typically explore the interiors of our human existence for dark troubled spots that lie just beneath the surface, waiting to explode and when they do, the fallout is undoubtedly damaging though seldom sensational. Anita Brookner is one such writer. Carol Shields is another. If you're male and don't consider yourself the sensitive type, chances are that you're not going to enjoy such books. Unless you read for the pleasure of language and derive adequate compensation from oodles of tremulously and articulately written prose. "Unless", Carol Shields' latest and possibly last novel, is as the titled preposition suggests. It's one long drawn out pause, during which our heroine Reta Winters strikes a pose as she ponders over the myriad details of her life and in the process questions their significance. She ruminates over her accidental career transition from translator of memoirs to light fiction novelist, the routine itinerary of her book tours, her regular morning coffee gathering with fellow feminists and friends, visits to the neighbourhood library, her complacent yet unconscious relationship with her husband Tom and three teenage daughters, Norah, Christine and Natalie, etc. Reta's bout of self examination is sparked off by Norah's sudden abandonment of home and college to sit by the roadside begging with a signboard that says "goodness" hung around her neck. Was she somehow responsible for Norah's inexplicable act of surrender ? Did she cause Norah to despair at such a tender age of ever leading a life of significance ? As Reta's internal dialogue runs its course and the story draws to a close, she learns a few things about herself and about the possibilities of life. Despite her new male editor's pushiness, she shows she can still after all stand her ground and maintain creative control over the second light fiction novel she is writing. On the other hand, Reta's self absorption makes her blind to the loneliness of her mother-in-law whom she thinks is congenitally silent until she learns that the old lady opened up to a complete stranger one evening when the family was away from home. The mystery behind Norah's sudden turn is revealed in the last chapter. I won't say what it is so as not to spoil it for readers. While sufficiently explanatory, it is also not entirely satisfying. It lets Reta off the hook somewhat but it did bring her self awareness if nothing else. "Unless" has been highly praised by critics. It was shortlisted for the Booker and appears on the Orange Prize longlist. While by no means a spectacular piece of work, Shields' trademark qualities are stamped all over it. Beautifully articulate and well written, "Unless" will appeal to readers who love the brooding intimacy of female contemplation.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely
Review: Carol Shields' Unless is a lovely novel, a reflection, in novel form, on what it means to be a writer, a parent, a woman, many things. A word of warning: there is not much of a plot and if that's going to bother you, then perhaps this novel isn't for you. Unless is narrated by Reta Winters, an author who, while attempting to write her second novel, must deal with the painful actions of her oldest daughter. Norah, her nineteen-year old daughter has dropped out of college and taken to panhandling in Toronto. She is in an almost catatonic state, and won't speak to her family. The mystery of why Norah is behaving like this is almost destroying Reta, yet somehow she goes on with her life. This novel is her account of what that life is like. It is intelligently written. Reta is a smart, quick narrator. It isn't until the end of the novel that the actual story gets moving. You finally get the sense that a resolution with Norah, and with Reta's novel, may be ahead. Shields is saying a lot in this novel--much about being a writer and the creative process, but there is also some feminism in there too. The novel is fairly brief--a little over 200 pages, but Sheilds manages to fit much in those pages. Unless is a thought-provoking, thoughtful read. Enjoy
Rating: 
Summary: light on plot & it doesn't matter
Review: Unless is less a novel & more a meditation. The plot takes the shape of a woman whose daughter has foregone university, only to sit outside in the cold of Toronto- wearing a sign around her neck with the word 'goodness' scrawled across it. Why her daughter, Norah, has taken this route- no one can say. The narrator, a translator of feminist french novels & memoirs, has written a light hearted romantic novel that has sold quite well, and is in the midst of writing a sequel. A sequel she is torn up about. Who is she to write these light little cake frosting books? And how can she make sure her other two daughter's are getting what they need? Has she failed Norah in some irrevocable way? There's definatly enough by way of plot to fill the book, but Shield's chooses instead to use the plot points as a way of jumping off into meditations on what it is to be a woman today. Where do women stand? What is their place in the literary canon? How far have women really come, when there is still so far to go? The chapters are interspersed with letters to editor's & author's addressing these questions- letters she will never send. I found the novel stirring, thought provoking, funny & altogether lovely. Carol Shield's is a brilliant writer & I always look forward to reading her work. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Wow -- Shields just gets better and better
Review: I loved this book. I'm amazed at the negative and lukewarm reviews here. A friend turned me on to Carol Shields' work. I first read "The Stone Diaries," which I thought very well done (as it should be, considering it won a Pulitzer). Then I read "Larry's Party" and liked it even better. I was blown away by Shields' artistry as a writer, her insights about people, and just the fun of reading her work. Now that I've read "Unless," which in my opinion is the best of the three, I plan to read everything else Ms. Shields has written. If you're looking for action or mystery, forget it -- none of the books I've mentioned are plot-driven. Instead, you're treated to creative writing at its best -- glorious metaphors, stimulating insights, exquisite descriptions, interesting character development, and plots that hold up. Shields' work is literary without being ostentatious or dull. Her writing is a joy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Picturesque
Review: The novel was very lenghty, and seemed like it covered too much information for one book. It was however, highly descriptive, one of the books that if it was ever made into a movie would be nothing like you'd expect it to be because of all the details that Moody incorporated. I expected to get a light plot with twists to keep your attention; I ended up with a book that was very deep into the relationships that one woman has with the world, and especially her best friend, though in the middle, it seemed to have been forgotten that the title of the book was "Best Friends".
Rating:
Summary: Barely Readable...
Review: I bought this book expecting, not a fast-paced novel, but an introspective look at a woman in pain over her fractured family. This book is not an introspective, it is a hodge-podge of fractured thoughts, conversations, images, and self-acknowledgements. The book annoyingly begins with the heroine of the story Reta Winters, who is an author [gasp] reciting every book she has published. The soon to be ever-present Danielle Westerman, Reta's friend or object of obsession, depending on how you read into it, makes her debut in these pages, because most of Reta's published work involves translations of Danielle's work. Why do we need to know what Reta Winters has written? The boring, self-absorbed tone of these first few pages should have been a red flag for me, but I had been hooked by the first pages, and wanted to know what had caused Reta's self-described "period of great unhappiness." When I learned in later pages that her eldest daughter, Norah had removed herself from normal life, and was living on the streets, I was intrigued and wanted to find out more. What a mistake.... The bits and pieces scattered through the novel that actually tell the story of where Norah is and why are simply morsels to keep one reading a tortuously laborious novel. Reta goes on and on about topics that are fragmented and seem to have no relation to one another. Imagine your everyday thoughts, random as they can be, written down and passed off for a novel. That is what "Unless" has to offer. I found the all too frequent references to the great Danielle Westerman [I could never understand why she was such a figure of worship for the main character...] are annoying and distracting. I read hundreds of books each year and don't give up easily on a novel, but I found myself skipping large sections of this novel, looking for the name "Norah" so that I could get back to the story line. I do realize that this novel is supposed to be about what goes on in Reta Winters' mind as she goes through such a painful event as a daughter who has turned her back on life, but I lost patience with Reta's self-absorption. If I spent as much time self-obsessing and Danielle Westerman-obsessing, as this character does, I would never accomplish anything. I would not recommend this novel to anyone, unless you are prepared to waste your money, your time, and end up frustrated by the loss of both.
Rating: 
Summary: Family Dynamics
Review: I was immediately drawn into this story. The main character's internal dialogue is the most successful & realistic element of this book. I found her easy to identify with, as if she was a real person that I was acquainted with. Her character was so well developed I found myself caring more about her as the book progressed. The mystery driving the book develops, the tension builds, and permanent looming loss threatens the family. Pre-conceived notions about her daughter and their relationship are poignantly described. Carol Shields is attuned to the anguish of a mother that is loosing her daughter to mental illness. She conveys of absolute powerlessness a parent has to help or fully understand an adult child who enters this realm. My only complaint about this book is that it pastes on an unrealistic ending that too easily resolves the issues that were explored earlier in the novel.
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