Rating: 
Summary: Painful
Review: I heard Carol Shields on a radio interview, and I heard a woman who was exceptionally intelligent, sensitive and had clearly thought a great deal about many things. I couldn't get enough. I'm sad to say though, that "Unless" is about as interesting as a cold pancake at a bad diner. Passages about "charm" or "sincerity" seem like so much self indulgent blather. It feels like a lazy book, one where the author had found the sound of her own words seductive.
Rating: 
Summary: High expectations..
Review: .. can be dangerous. I thought, like Norah's mother, that Norah's behaviour was caused by society in general, and no specific event. The finale was such a setback, the novel simply crumbled. Norah's reaction might have been strange, but with the new reason, I just lost interest. To think that I expected a reward for patiently staying attentive throughout the whole story..It might be an interesting exercise to re-write the last chapter(s). And to remove the middle 2 thirds of the book. I find feminism rather tedious.
Rating:
Summary: Unless: a feminist tract
Review: Make no mistake when reading this review, I enjoyed the book(except the letters sprinkled throughout which seem to accomplish nothing for the plot and only act as a review of the story so far). My problem with the book is that it starts out with very little to cause the author to jump into the feminist ranting. Some of the feminist ranting is even worthwhile but with very little to get you to that point, it seems excessive. And the feminist talk definitely goes overboard at a few points. So what did I like about this book? Well I loved the idea. A daughter suddenly taking to the street with a sign and a mother with no idea why. Instead of explaining from the beginning it was an entire book of speculation on the wreckage that the mother's life became in the wake of her daughter's actions. The conclusion (don't worry I won't give it away) simply removes any significance the feminist tract could have had. So in the end it's all for naught.
Rating: 
Summary: Unless - Reminding You Of What's Important In Life
Review: I thought this book was phenominal! Carol Shields takes you through the stages of a trauma. And, what one goes through to deal with the trauma. You could feel her loss for Norah in everything she did - from her back to basic actions such as dusting her own house again to the goodness placed with her character Alicia in her new book that she was writing. It was remarkable how her descriptions took you right where she was in every way. I truly enjoyed Unless and was able to relate to it in a lot of ways.
Rating: 
Summary: Cop Out
Review: The book is slow and thought-provoking, but with an erratic insertion of feminist resignation ("Oh, woe is us, we aren't appreciated! If someone came into our coffee shop with a sword intent on killing us, I guess we'd just have to let him do it, because we're so helpless! We wouldn't even try to fight back. Why bother?") kept throwing me out of the book and making me angry with the author. I could not see any reason why, if Norah had been a boy, he would have been any less likely to be on the street with a sign around his neck.
Rating:
Summary: Patience
Review: Reading these reviews, I am filled with a great deal of sadness. Apparently I never got the memo that said all books had to be quickly-plotted, action oriented material. Does anyone have patience to simply read a real, work of art? So many ideas were encompassed in this novel, it blew my mind. How beautiful and thought-provoking, yet how simply drawn was this family's struggle. Reta's search for answers were honestly convincing and made me reevaluate my own opinions on meaning and hope. Maybe some people should take a second look at this book.
Rating:
Summary: Missing the point?
Review: I just finished this book and was completely inspired and moved by it. I logged on to see what other readers were saying and I have to say that I think they missed the point. Although this novel moves and is described as a narrative story (with a plot: beginning, middle and end) the more important thing I think is that Carol Shields uses this story to move forward a concept. That being that the female perspective, our narrative, our life story as a whole is not considered as important as the male story. (This idea was recently discussed when literary minds chose the TOP 100 books all time and they found very few female stories or writers on that list.) The character struggle the reader needs to focus on is not the daughter's story (although that would have made a fabulous book too) but the mother's struggle to try to understand how she and society had contributed to an otherwise healthy, intelligent, young woman's "dropping out" or "giving up". What's important here is not whether she as a character is correct in her assumptions of the "why" but the focus of her struggle through the event and what that shows about both her and our culture as a whole. I believe "goodness" is used specifically because it is considered a female trait. That said it's a good novel if you don't get that from it, but it's a GREAT novel if you do.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing...
Review: I was ready to love this book - and I didn't. I found the story to be bland and the characters uninteresting. She feels the need to tie up all of their problems in a tidy bow at the end of the book which bothered me a lot. The answer to all their problems was all too simple. If you are looking for a good read, keep looking.
Rating:
Summary: Admirable but boring
Review: I really thought this novel would amount to more. I admire Carol Sheilds as a writer, but really don't like her writing, if that's possible. Margaret Atwood blows her away as far as I'm concerned.Unless was not as rich or as deep as I had expected. It seemed almost simple, but perhaps I'm missing the point. I did not feel satisfied or happy after reading the book. In fact, I gave my £8 copy to the local library as a donation after reading it. I would never read it again. Sorry carol....
Rating:
Summary: Interesting idea, never discussed
Review: I bought the book because I thought it was an interesting premise, the main character's daughter with everything going for turning into a panhandler. Unfortunately, the author never discusses it! (maybe on five pages it's mentioned!) She could have expanded on that interesting premise.
| 
