Object Lessons

Rating:
Summary: A 46-year-old woman's book
Review: Really enjoyed this book-having been born in 1950 myself and having also undergone the ugliness of a thirteenth year. (I've always said I wouldn't be thirteen again for anything!) this book was insightful and sometimes even profound and touched on feelings and sentiments that were real and painful. My only real complaint about this book was that there were, at times, a few expressions used in the dialogue that I thought were out of step with the times. Off the top of my head, the two I remember were "Get real" and "Gross!" -both of which I believe came along a lot later than 1963, which is when this story takes place (not in the late 1960's as the synopsis reads). Still, in most repsects it captures the spirit and the sense of the times. A very nice read.

Rating:
Summary: I finished it.
Review: Such a story of family relationships should have been written from the perpective of just one person. Connie's story - which to me was the real story - could have been told much more believably from Maggies eyes (and ears) while we watched Maggie grow. The telling felt fractured and the story inconsistent; eg how could Tom, with no apparent business knowledge immediately make sense of his father's business concerns?. We had sat insde Tom's head, but he showed us no such skills - and for me such inconsistencies lead to a loss of credibility. It reads as a first novel (maybe it is?) before the author has realised her strengths and abilities. It should have been so much better.

Rating:
Summary: How one man can or cannot run his own family
Review: The book is situated in the 60ies, just outside New York. It describes how the Grandfather and Father, Brother and Father in law John is running and ruining his own family. Outsider, such as the main character's mother, have it difficult to get comfortable within their spouse's family as they are all expected to change. Furthermore, the story tells the changes Maggie has to go through and how her life and her relationships are affected by it.

Rating:
Summary: Silly pointless book
Review: There are sufficient descriptions of the storyline of this book in previous reviews. There aren't too many characters IMO, and if the conflicts of the protagonist don't seem deeply examined, perhaps Ms. Quindlen should receive kudos for not writing a twelve/thirteen year old girl who has all the insights of an adult. We are, after all, seeing her conflicts through her eyes. It's a quick and easy read, and as it is written largely from the perspective of an adolescent, it is a bit like going back and re-reading a book from one's own adolescence, with the possible twist of also re-living one's own adolescence a bit. This book never made me cry, nor did it ever make me laugh out loud, so if you're looking for cathartic involvement, this may not be the book you're looking for. If you're looking for a quiet read that examines emotional transitions with some distance and objectivity, you're closer to the mark. The story's best moments are those which describe Maggie's times alone, which include some nice sense-memory descriptions and accurately portray the near-disembodied feelings of isolation of an adolescent girl. I was drawn to Maggie's parents, and while there is some nice development of her mother Connie (particularly with respect to her relationship to Maggie and her relationship to motherhood in general) I found myself at the end of the book without the corresponding insight into her father Tommy that I was looking for. The story is strangely simultaneously depressing and comforting- the resolution is that there are no real resolutions, and as Maggie's mother says, that things aren't good or bad, things just are.

Rating:
Summary: Light Reading- Not great, but charming
Review: There are sufficient descriptions of the storyline of this book in previous reviews. There aren't too many characters IMO, and if the conflicts of the protagonist don't seem deeply examined, perhaps Ms. Quindlen should receive kudos for not writing a twelve/thirteen year old girl who has all the insights of an adult. We are, after all, seeing her conflicts through her eyes. It's a quick and easy read, and as it is written largely from the perspective of an adolescent, it is a bit like going back and re-reading a book from one's own adolescence, with the possible twist of also re-living one's own adolescence a bit. This book never made me cry, nor did it ever make me laugh out loud, so if you're looking for cathartic involvement, this may not be the book you're looking for. If you're looking for a quiet read that examines emotional transitions with some distance and objectivity, you're closer to the mark. The story's best moments are those which describe Maggie's times alone, which include some nice sense-memory descriptions and accurately portray the near-disembodied feelings of isolation of an adolescent girl. I was drawn to Maggie's parents, and while there is some nice development of her mother Connie (particularly with respect to her relationship to Maggie and her relationship to motherhood in general) I found myself at the end of the book without the corresponding insight into her father Tommy that I was looking for. The story is strangely simultaneously depressing and comforting- the resolution is that there are no real resolutions, and as Maggie's mother says, that things aren't good or bad, things just are.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! A REMARKABLE BOOK!
Review: This book has literally changed my perspective on life. I had to read this as a summer reading right before my junior year in high school and not only was this book fascinating, the characters that Anna Quindlen portrays are so true to life as are the situations. If ever you want to just curl up and read a book, this is the one. Literally, I tell all of my friends about this book. I can relate so much to Maggie's character and her journey through adolescence and maturity...

Rating:
Summary: Exasperating and Dull
Review: This book is clearly the work of an amateur; it reads as though it is Ms. Quindlen's first work, perhaps left unpublished since early adolescence (and with GOOD reason), and picked up in the early nineties by hungry publishing executives. It reads as though it tried to be a Young Adult book but was far too boring, so it was slightly retooled for adults. The problems are too simple; anyone, even a 12 year old, with the slightest bit of backbone could have broken free of Papa Scanlan's money-based power and lived a meaningful life. Such weak characters deserve no time pulled from the busy life of an avid reader. If you want to read Anna Quindlen at her best, pick up a copy of "Black and Blue". Don't waste your time with "Object Lessons".

Rating:
Summary: Anne Tyler-ish
Review: This is a good coming-of-age story not only for adults, but for advanced teen readers as well. However, it's not just the story of Maggie, a 12 year old at a watershed between childhood and adolescence during one suburban New York City summer in the 60's. This is just as much Connie's story (Maggie's mother), and there is an entire cast of interesting, compelling supporting characters as well. I found this book to be somewhat Anne Tyler-ish in the acute perceptions of everyday family life. I highly recommend it to adults and teens alike.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite
Review: This is the best book I have read in a long time. Many of my friends complained that it moved too slowly, but I attribute that slowness to the development of the characters. Although Maggie is the main character, I think of her as a catalyst to telling the "real" story: that of the metamorphasis of her family. Everyone comes to the point in their lives when they realize that their family is the the epitome of perfection, and this is the point in time when Maggie realizes this for her family, her friends, and herself. This is one of the few modern books I will keep in my personal library.

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite
Review: This is the best book I have read in a long time. Many of my friends complained that it moved too slowly, but I attribute that slowness to the development of the characters. Although Maggie is the main character, I think of her as a catalyst to telling the "real" story: that of the metamorphasis of her family. Everyone comes to the point in their lives when they realize that their family is the the epitome of perfection, and this is the point in time when Maggie realizes this for her family, her friends, and herself. This is one of the few modern books I will keep in my personal library.