Blue Shoe

Rating:
Summary: disappointing journey
Review: Blue Shoe was a miserable ride from begining to end. I loved Bird By Bird, also by Anne Lamott, but Blue Shoe was completely horrible. I kept waiting for some lessons to be learned, maybe some hope to be found for the obviously fragile children. Nothing. I can appreciate struggle and grief and mental instability as much as anyone, but frankly I just didn't care about any of the characters in this book. I had to force myself to pick it up every night all the while hoping that the ending would make the read worthwhile, but I had no such luck. Sorry Anne, but Blue Shoe was just too blue for me.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it
Review: Simple: I enjoyed this book. Like all of Anne's books; she made me laugh, she made me cry, she made me wish that I had an old beat up van to pack up and hit the road... I'm SURE that if I could head north, up the California coast; I would run into Mattie and Daniel, walking along the beach with Isa and the kids. I'd keep an eye out for Abby as well. I'd recognize her, for sure. Anne has this uncanny ability to create characters that are not perfect people. Their flaws are revealed, and you can't help but love them anyway. You don't just see the "Christmas Card" portrait of these characters - you see what's hiding in the shadows, what clasped in the sweaty palm behind their back. If you're an "Anne Fan", read this book. If you're interested in not-so-perfect people that manage to be loveable, then read this book. If you've ever thought "OK God, I'm going to have to trust that you still love me right now, because I'm not feeling it", then read this book. If you've ever muttered it out loud in the middle of the super market, then ... well ... you understand.


Rating:
Summary: God helps those who help themselves
Review: I enjoyed the beautifully written descriptions of the lead character's surroundings. It was interesting to note the degree of self-centeredness for her. Even the wonderfully articulated weather reflects exactly Mattie's inner state. I found myself frustrated while reading this novel. I wanted to scream, "HELP YOURSELF!" while she constantly blamed others for her poor circumstances and plead with God. It was a good book, but one that annoys all the while. I felt as though Mattie never grows during the course of the novel.

Rating:
Summary: A sense of humor would have helped.
Review: Matte is a recently divorced woman with two young children who slowly recreates a fulfilling life. While told in the 3rd person, Blue Shoe is written entirely from Matte's viewpoint: I suspect this is simpler than using the first person, but perhaps not as effective. To my taste, had Matte had more of a sense of humor, it need not have been inconsistent with the rest of her character, and it would certainly have made Blue Shoe more enjoyable. On the other hand, the evolving relationship between Matte and her declining mother is superbly done, one of the highlights which makes this book worthwhile. In general, the secondary characters and Matte's relationships to them are the strength of Blue Shoe. Lamott frequently employs paragraphs of short sentences, which sometimes works, and sometimes gets tiresome, but perhaps that is Lamott's objective. While other readers have been impressed with Lamott's use and description of skies and weather, and certainly they add to the book, I don't think Lamott is particularly sharp at metaphor and language.