Rating: 
Summary: POV Confusion
Review: Although I enjoyed this book, I found the author's constant switching of perspective distracting. In my opinion, the story would have been stronger if she'd stuck with one POV, such as the 13 yr. old, or her mother. There are too many interesting characters for so short a book, so none of them really gets fully developed. She should have focused on one perspective, or else written a far-longer book. But the story itself is interesting and the author succeeds in making you care about the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Object Lesson:Anticipation Sometimes Leads to Disappointment
Review: As a summer reading assignment I thought that Object Lessons would be boring as most reading projects usually are. Except this was not the case. One of my friends also assigned the books had started reading when she told me that it was a great book. Thus I began reading and was unable to put Object Lessons down. The book gave great examples of hatred within a family such as between John Scanlan, a full blooded Italian, and Connie, his Irish daughter in-law. The books shows how because of different hertiages one whole family within an extended family seemed to be alienated. Yet the end will suprise you on John Scanlan's true feelings. It was great for as much as Moncia seemed to believe that she was better than Maggie's family she was no better. Also Object Lessons shows a person is able to continue when they lose two people who are really important to them in a very short time. I loved this page turner even if it seemed to have too many characters. But if one of the characters was not their then the book would not have had the qualities that it has and been as great as it is. For example, Maggie's other grandfather was needed to give perspective on John Scanlan and the differance on how Tommy and Connie were raised.
Rating: 
Summary: One of those books that you can not resist
Review: As a summer reading assignment I thought that Object Lessons would be boring as most reading projects usually are. Except this was not the case. One of my friends also assigned the books had started reading when she told me that it was a great book. Thus I began reading and was unable to put Object Lessons down. The book gave great examples of hatred within a family such as between John Scanlan, a full blooded Italian, and Connie, his Irish daughter in-law. The books shows how because of different hertiages one whole family within an extended family seemed to be alienated. Yet the end will suprise you on John Scanlan's true feelings. It was great for as much as Moncia seemed to believe that she was better than Maggie's family she was no better. Also Object Lessons shows a person is able to continue when they lose two people who are really important to them in a very short time. I loved this page turner even if it seemed to have too many characters. But if one of the characters was not their then the book would not have had the qualities that it has and been as great as it is. For example, Maggie's other grandfather was needed to give perspective on John Scanlan and the differance on how Tommy and Connie were raised.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorites . . .
Review: Every now and again, we may come across an author whose writing style really touches us. And, every now and again, we may come across a story that stirs in us some indescribable, inexplicable, deep emotion within the core of our very soul. I believe I have found that author and that book. Anna Quindlen would be that author, and Object Lessons would be that book.The first book I had read by Anna Quindlen was Black and Blue, which I had borrowed from my sister. Black and Blue was a highly captivating book because there was a lot going on with the plot of the book, but it was a bit sad at the same time. Black and Blue dealt with an abused woman who ran away with her son, and changed her identity so her husband wouldn't find her. As a result, that book was a bit on the darker side. Object Lessons has a total different feel to it. In this book, it's about an Irish-Italian family named the Scanlan's. This book centers mostly around Tommy Scanlan, and his Italian wife, Connie, and their 12-year-old daughter, Maggie. The couple has three other boys who are mentioned, but only in passing. The other three children are just background characters. Many a time, there's too many characters in a book, and in this case, it's very obvious that Anna Quindlen had an objective to focus on only a few main characters. Tommy had married Connie when she became pregnant, and his Irish family -- his father, John Scanlan, in particular -- didn't approve. Since then, Connie had felt like an outsider with the other wives, and more than put out by her controlling father-in-law. John Scanlan was one of those larger-than-life characters, as he made a drama about most everything, and felt he had to control his sons, and only daughter, Margaret. Margaret escaped by going into the convent, but Tommy, as well as his brothers, found that John would take control of their lives by putting them in the family business, or buying a house, or sending their children to private school. John had such control over Mark, one of Tommy's brothers, that he prevented him and his wife from adopting children, as Mark had difficulty getting his wife pregnant. John Scanlan even had control over his wife, Mary Frances, making her drift into the background like faded wallpaper. Without much warning, John Scanlan became gravely ill one day when he had a stroke, and the family started changing. Maggie, Tommy's and Connie's daughter (and John Scanlan's favorite grandchild), was going through a tough growing-pain period. She was about to enter her teen years, and she was having a hard time coping with the things that were happening around her. Her relationship with her best friend, Debbie, was changing when Debbie started hanging around other kids who had a negative influence on her. Maggie's parents always seem to be distant or fighting, and now her grandfather was sick and she was seeing how her family was changing. This wonderful story takes you though this family's life, the Scanlan's, in such a realistic and creative way. One of Anna Quindlen's best talents as a writer is her characterization. This is only the second book I've read of hers (One True Thing is another book I have put aside to read in the future), but I can safely say that her characters are so three-dimensional, and full of depth. They are so human. You don't only get a peek into the minds of her characters, but you also get a glimpse of what is in their hearts. Feelings are what Anna Quindlen is all about. I especially had a kinship with Connie and Maggie Scanlan. I could relate to the feelings of this mother-daughter pair, and I loved getting to know them with such intimacy. I cannot rave enough about this book, because there are no accurate words to describe how good it really is. To experience it, you would have to read it for yourself. I do know that this is one of my favorite books, and I do know that Anna Quindlen is one of my favorite authors. She's right up there with other favorites of mine: Connie May Fowler, Pearl Cleage, Alice Hoffman, , and Wally Lamb. Each of these authors are special in his/her own way, and Anna Quindlen has her own voice, and it's a strong one that you can't help but listen to. Object Lessons was truly an enjoyable experience to read, and it's a book I'm going to have to purchase for myself (since I borrowed it from the library). It's one of those books you would want to go back to for seconds.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but not bad either.
Review: Having read One True Thing and Black and Blue, I knew I could rely on Quindlen to teach me new things about myself and my family--that she does, quite well. However, Object Lessons is much more weighed down by direct narrative than the other two books--at times, I found myself wishing the characters would talk to each other and quit thinking so much. I also found Maggie's age implausible--even the most precocious 12 and 13 year olds do not possess her incredible depth. Connie's relationship with Tommy and subsequent realizations about what marriage is are the most powerful points in the book, and I credit Quindlen with another "perfect" ending--she is one author who does not leave her readers confused or disappointed on the final page.
Rating:
Summary: Roxanne
Review: I am so glad that I took this book out of the library and didn't waste money on it. There was no plot to speak of, the characters were so sterotyped--Irish Catholics vs Italian Catholics, the domineering grandfather who conveniently dies...the parents don't use birth control and dad is shocked when his wife is once again pregnant...yawn, yawn...a silly and dull book that might have made for a short story--if the author could throw in a plot somewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Not believable or true to life and hard to follow the point
Review: I found this book a little common place and not up to her standards. An aritcle about her life after her mother's death in a magazine was much better. This book had children burning down houses in a development and was hard to follow the point of the whole thing. It didn't mirror any family with which I'm familiar. She can do better, and maybe should stick with subjects she has experienced.
Rating:
Summary: I found it hard to follow
Review: I had to read Object Lessons as a summer reading assignment going into my Junior year of High School and it was a very well developed novel. At first i couldn't really understand what was going on, but as i continued i seemed to really enjoy it more. I found it hard to follow though, because she kept changing the character as i read. Then i would get confused and have to go back and read it again. But what i could understand was very interesting to me because the problems that Maggie and Connie and Tom and Monica faced where sometimes difficult to deal with and sometimes rewarding. It was exciting in the end even though i had a few unaswered questions that made me confused. But for the most part i enjoyed the book and look forward to reading other books by Anna Quindlen. I heard Black and Blue is excellent!
Rating:
Summary: not my favorite
Review: I LOVED One True Thing and Black and Blue -- but I just could not get into this book. I got half way through the book and still couldn't figure out the plot. I gave up...and reread One True Thing!
Rating:
Summary: Object Lesson:Anticipation Sometimes Leads to Disappointment
Review: I read Anna Quindlen's column regularly, for over a decade, in "The New York Times." I clipped many of them and saved them. I thought she was a wonderful writer. I eagerly anticipated the publication of this, her first novel. As I said in my title, anticipation sometimes leads to disappointment. She's a great columnist, but a weak novelist (according to this humble reader; I know a very famous "literary leader" was quite taken with another of her novels). I gave away this book the minute I turned the last page, to a co-worker whose taste in literature was 180 degrees different than mine. I can't remember whether she liked it or not; I just remember how much I couldn't stand it (it was plain old BORING). My recommendation? Stick to Quindlen's NON-FICTION, and you won't be disappointed.
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