Rating: 
Summary: Don't wait for the movie--it would be a snoozer!
Review: I dislike giving a bad review to any author but this time, I really cannot say BUY THE BOOK when I don't mean it. It took me forever to read this. There was so much talk throughout the book about Ruth's Drowning (title tells you that this happened) and I kept thinking I may have missed where this story told of it. I thought I slept through it. Not until toward the end do you find out when, why and how it happened. The voice(s) of the story teller were too many. The story jumped all over and was very frustrating to follow. I hope the author's next book is more fulfilling than "Drowning Ruth" was. Just please tell your story in one voice instead of several and you may have me hooked.
Rating:
Summary: distracting craft problems - I agree
Review: I wholeheartedly agree with the "reader from NYC", although I rate the book higher than one star - mainly because I wanted to know how it ended. The back-and-forth between scenes made for a very confusing read; that style is used in many books, just not used well here, I couldn't start reading again w/out reviewing the last couple of pages. The story itself was interesting, to remember how unaccepting society was of women that would choose a different path. And the characters were developed well. I would give it 2.5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Best "first" novel since Grisham!
Review: So pleased with the author's first novel....in-depth, thought provoking, endearing. Even though the storyline is disturbing, Ms. Schwartz does a great job writing in a sytle that I've never seen pulled off as masterfully. An excellent Book Club read to stimulate interesting conversation and soul searching concepts.
Rating: 
Summary: Distracting craft problems
Review: As a former Milwaukeean, I was drawn to this book set in historical Wisconsin but was very disappointed in it to the point where I couldn't finish it. The story jumps around too much, the shifts in voice are very badly handled, and the historical details often shaky--a WWI era photographer urging a girl to "smile" for her photograph? Never! I'm really sorry I jumped on the Oprah bandwagon and shelled out for this one in hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: It could have, but it didn't
Review: The story could have taken soo many twists and turns to keep it enticing, but it didn't. I kept reading hoping that in the next page it would get me jump started, but it didn't. I thought up of soo many fascinating endings that could have saved the story, but it didn't do that either.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing first novel.
Review: Christina Schwarz's first novel takes a lot of risks.Schwartz does not give herself a lot to work with. The main character is not particularly likable, and certainly not heroic. The plot moves back and forth--frequently--over a period of about 20 years. The setting is about ten square miles of the Rustbelt around the Depression, populated by a handful of ordinary people.How do those factors combine to make a good story? The book catches the voice and morals of the setting. It and shows what can happen when two people from the same family make different decisions about the same event. Someone dies. Someone almost dies. Someone lives, but feels dead. And all this is unwrapped for the reader, page by page, in a way that is believable, heartbreaking, and fascinating. Let's be clear. If you love zooming through fast-paced whodonits, this is not the mystery for you. If you reach for towering family-saga novels, this may not be your style. If, however, you want to get a feel for what life was like in your grandmother's generation, a time that feels much farther away than 70 years ago, you'll love this book. This was a time when a women still unmarried by age 25 were called spinsters and viewed with suspicion. A woman had no social or societal value without a husband. And a woman could ruin her chances of getting married by actions considered totally harmless today. Decisions about personal actions were always carefully considered in the light of how others would interpret them. "What will people say?" was a daily guideline for behavior. Schwartz understands all this. Her story unfolds, again and again, each time from a different viewpoint, until the reader is absorbed and waiting for the next decision that will lead to happiness or to failure. This book is worth a careful read and should bring up some lively discussions in a book club.
Rating:
Summary: Saving Amanda
Review: A terrific offering from a first time novelist. In this tale of two sisters, their daughters and the men in their lives, we journey from the beginning to the middle of the 20th century. Schwarz writes with an exquisite voice, effortlessly giving us the perspectives of Amanda and her niece, Ruth. The narrative switches between the past and the present while maintaining a clear delineation between the two. The characters are presented with true depth. Readers will find themselves alternately sympathetic and appalled at the actions of the protagonists. The author should also be commended for instilling the reality of small town life, a community loyal unto itself, at times splintered by the narrowness of its inhabitants. Ultimately, this book is about the ties of family, how they bind, how they can be hurtful, how they can save us all. This is a fine novel that really nails down the complexity of not only family relationships but also friendships and romantic involvements. Not recommended as a light bit of beach reading, but a definite must for people who like delving deep into the souls of those they read about. Have the tissue box ready and come along for a wonderful,heartwrenching,amusing, thoughtful read.
Rating: 
Summary: fantastic!
Review: Schwartz has written an astonishing novel. It's suspenseful, complex, provocative and heartbreaking. At one admirable, pitiful and enraging, Amanda is one of the most multi-faceted characters I've encountered in fiction. The setting could not be more stunningly captured. I couldn't put this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Big disappointment.
Review: I've read ever Oprah pick and was very disappointed in this one. I felt the characters were weak and uninteresting and the plot was too predictable. I didn't feel any of the characters were likeable and was very happy when I finished the book. I'm beginning to get the feeling that Oprah isn't actually reading these before they are recommended!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Predictable
Review: This was hardly the fantastic read I was brought to believe it would be. I thought the entire story was extremely predictable. While I've loved other Oprah selections, such as Poisonwood Bible and White Oleander, this was a disappointment.
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