Rating: 
Summary: Slow going for the first one-third.....
Review: I agree that this isn't Anne Lamott's best book, but it's still worth reading. The book is slow going for the first one-third of the story, but then things get really interesting. So if you're tempted to give up, stick with it. It's worth it in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Really awful
Review: How many times can you say it's raining? For several paragraphs?How many pages do you need to say that Winter is Back again and again and again and it's foggy, and now the son is 2 and now he's 3 and now he's....you get the idea. In a book of total boredom of trivial detail, we have a page here and there of a story of Our Heroes' father impregnating the daughter of a friend and other unpleasantness as THE explanation of why their mother and their families are a falling apart. I rarely throw books out, but this one went to recycling. I hope the new paper gets a better story printed on it.
Rating:
Summary: Shockingly bad
Review: This book reads like notes for a novel that could have become good with a lot of work, but the work wasn't done. How could she have let this get out when it was so bad? Is she that callous about her reputation that she doesn't care how badly it is tainted by the truly awful writing in this book? The writing is disjointed, muddled, and awkward. The characters are boring and whine too much. There are some cute lines from the Harry character. I suspect those lines were all she really had in mind when she started writing. But all writers know that you don't just spew out words and then you're finished! This never would have been accepted by a publisher if it weren't by Anne Lamott who has otherwise written all marvelous books.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have always loved Lamott's writings, and consider Crooked Little Heart to be one of my favorite books of all time. Unfortunately Blue Shoe didn't live up to my expectations, coming from such a great writer. I alternated between feeling pity for and frustrated with Mattie, but never got around to actually liking her. Her "Christianity" was also disappointing - she went to church every Sunday and prayed, but she was almost always praying for help for herself. Except for her one instance of foot washing, I did not see any other Christian qualities in Mattie. Skip this book and return to Lamott's classics.
Rating:
Summary: Please pass the turkey, the cranberries and yes, "Blue Shoe"
Review: I am very appreciative of Lamott's work. I have read "Traveling Mercies" and "Bird by Bird" and was really excited to spend my Thanksgiving Weekend with family AND this new novel. I found myself laughing out loud in some places and I ALMOST want to give away the funniest line in the whole book... but lets just say this: its when Angela and Mattie are discussing Mattie wanting to (jokingly) end her life. Angela's line is brilliant: I may borrow it someday. Who knows, perhaps tomorrow! I also admired Lamott's usage of metaphor... it added her signature flavor as the story unfolded. She also frequently labeled people as "beautiful" or "stunning" and then described them microscopically. Putting together the pieces I thought, "That is what YOU see as beautiful?!" (Pauline as an example.) Very thought evoking.... sneakily thought evoking! On the weaker side, I found myself longing for more depth: didn't really know much of Mattie beyond the surface. Perhaps that is Lamott's intention: for the reader to create more of the character ourselves? Given that the book covers more than 4 years of Mattie's life, I can understand that individual characterizations may lose something if the author doesn't want to write an encyclopedia-length book.... nonetheless, I longed for more insight into Mattie's responses to all the events which took place. There was some picture painting and I would have appreciated one or two sentences more in these snapshots. It could have made all the difference in the world. I was curious about Abby... and then decided, "Its Mattie's book, not Abby's book" and then I realized there was no particular feeling of closeness with Mattie either, for that matter. In one respect, this book is sort of like watching a few seasons of television's "thirtysomething" with a more eclectic, weathered by life California cast. I enjoyed "thirtysomething" so I consider that a positive thing. If the thought of that makes your skin crawl... then don't start with this one.... check out "Bird by Bird" also by Lamott to get a taste of her style which I found to be consistent in this novel. I find it especially appealing that the main character in this book is a Christian woman who "normal".... meaning flawed, angry and out of control at times, lustful with a menagerie of friends and a truck load of skeletons in her closet and in her surrounding closets. A refreshing way to retreat from my own family skeletons in order to get to know Ms. Lamott's characters.
Rating:
Summary: Shockingly Disappointed
Review: Anne Lamott is an established maestro of the writing craft. I have always delighted in her books. What happened? This story is a meandering weave of mishmash. It wanders here, wanders there, but doesn't go anywhere. After trying to read the first few pages of the book, I had to put it down figuring I am wasting my precious time. I can only shake my head wondering how did this nonsense get published? Too bad I didn't buy it used.
Rating: 
Summary: Not one of her best
Review: The device of a blue shoe being passed back and forth seems trite and hackneyed, which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the novel. I just couldn't get interested in these very flawed people with their terribly dull and frustrating lives, even if the whole idea is that life can be dull and frustrating. A novel should reflect the truth of life, yes, but a great novel can make even failure and frustration interesting -- which this doesn't. Actions here seem so random, characterizations inconsistent, moments don't seem to emerge from previous moments, and after awhile as the reader I simply ceased to care. Lamott has been down this path before with similar (much more vivid) characters and made more of a success of it -- I'm thinking of All New People in particular which, though sometimes depressing, I found completely riveting. Having seen Ms. Lamott recently at UCLA I found myself wondering if she's going through a depressed period, which can affect the quality of one's writing. If so, I hope she emerges from it soon and becomes once again her former funny, scathing, hopeful, compassionate self.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the story?
Review: I listened to about half of the audiotape, waiting for something, anything to happen, aside from a bunch of whining and meandering dialog. While "slice of life" novels can be great, this one just had nothing to give it forward momentum. Sometimes, things were too ordinary, and other times, too hard to believe, such as that a 7-year-old would become practically suicidal because his dad's girlfriend was expecting. Halfway through this long slog, I was just so bored, I gave up. Overall, a mess of a novel. I expected more from Anne Lamott.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent read
Review: I loved this book, I would have given it 5 stars, but very few books are truly worthy of 5 stars.
the blue shoe kept me reading and not wanting to put it down. I loved how she needed to keep the blue shoe with her for comfort. But the comfort she got from holding and knowing that shoe was in her pocket was much more than just a toy shoe. It was a piece of her past that she needed for comfort.
She led a very complicated life, which I think she made more complicated herself with some of the choices she made.
I intend to read all the books this author has written.
Rating:
Summary: An honest book full of genuine people
Review: Anne Lamott's Blue Shoe, like her other books, is a story that resonates with me. Her characters do battle with the ordinary demons we all meet, and her main character, Mattie Ryder, is honest enough to acknowlege the uglier parts of herself as she strives to make sense of life when she is tossed on the waves of circumstances beyond her control. This is Lamott's strength; her people ring true. The only criticism I have for Blue Shoe is that it is a little heavy handed with metaphors. For example, in one scene, Mattie and her friend Daniel are repairing a broken fence in Mattie's yard. Daniel, showing Mattie and her children how a level works when cementing in the fence posts, says, "Now that we know these posts are level and true, everything can be measured from them. Once you know where true is, it defines everything else that has to happen." Reading that was a bit like being hit over the head with a bagful of metaphorical Quikrete, but it didn't spoil the book. Like a previous customer reviewer, I too wanted to give Mattie a shake, especially when she continued to stay with boorish William, a man obviously unappreciative of Mattie's homespun honor. But I suppose this is another instance of Lamott's truthful writing; many of us have known or have been a woman capable of compromising herself in this way due to loneliness or the bewilderment of life. Particularly well written were the parts of the book dealing with the distintegration of Mattie's mother, Isa. Lamott aptly captured the seesaw of emotions that comes with dealing with aging parents. I admire her ability to write about painful situations such as this without sugar-coating. To see characters dealing with pain with honesty and grace, sometimes making mistakes, sometimes muddling through, is a validation to the reader who has found him or herself in a similar situation. Lamott also has the rare ability to write in a palatable way about characters who find strength in religion without being one bit preachy, which is a rare and refreshing thing in a book. Overall, this is a very good read.
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