Like Normal People

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Summary: An Extraordinary Literary Debut
Review: "Like Normal People" is a novel of rare insight and unusual compassion--all the more startling because it is a first effort. In the tradition of Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty, Grace Paley, and John Cheever, it nevertheless stakes out a territory that is all its own. It is by turns shockingly funny, and then suddenly sad, and then very, very beautiful. Bender is a virtuoso; she can do anything her story requires, and by the end, you feel that you've lived next door to her characters your entire life. You will never forget Ella, Lena and Shelley.

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Summary: Heard it on NPR
Review: "The Other Sister" of overpriced bestsellers. It just plain didn't seem that good. Read a real book instead.

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Summary: A wonderful (if not extraordinary) debut novel
Review: ...I think the book stands out among debut novels by youngishwriters because of its generous spirit. Bender's tone is the oppositeof the jaded, ironic, name-brand dropping style that some new writers adopt as a cheap substitute for real-world experience. Bender's writing is empathetic towards all her characters strengths and foibles and for that I say hurrah.

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Summary: Like Normal People
Review: A poignant, evocative story examining the intersecting lives of 4 beautifully wrought women and 2 men who love (some) of them. The author is pitch perfect in describing the decline of old age, the adolescent on the verge of discovering sexual feelings, and , perhaps most importantly, the essential dignity of people called "different" or "retarded" by most of us whose yearnings are universal. Don't make the mistake of viewing this as a women's book, it is a book for everyone!

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Summary: Not great - but still pretty good
Review: After reading all the glowing reviews, I rushed out and bought a copy right away, even recommended it as a selection for my book club. I was only slightly disappointed to find it wasn't exactly the debut of the year I'd been expecting. Not that it's awful - it just isn't great. Like Normal People is a sweet, simple story that might have been better had it been the author's second or third book. Karen E. Bender is definitely an author to watch for in the future.

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Summary: Wonderful Debut!
Review: As a fellow novelist and a person who worked with the mentally retarded for several years, I must say that not only is this one of the most exquisite debut novels I've read in recent years, but also features the most realistic depiction of a mentally retarded person I have ever read. Bender moves effortlessly through time and voices--equally authentic--of an 80-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl. The characters in this novel have stayed with me for days, as have the images of fire, travel trinkets, shoes, and so many others. As a fan of her sister Aimme's debut collection, I must say that talent abounds in this family! Karen, your novel is wonderful. I'd love to talk with you about it--you can e-mail me at [e-mail]. Wishing you all the best success!

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Summary: Karen's thoughts on Like Normal People
Review: Hello. I'm Karen Bender, the author of Like Normal People. It is wonderful and surreal to read comments (from actual customers!) about my novel on the computer where I wrote it. This is especially miraculous because I began my novel before email actually existed! I thought I'd take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about how I wrote this novel, and my writing process. I began Like Normal People about 7 years ago, when I was 28 and single, and wondering how I would evolve, further, into an adult. What would it be like to get married? To have a child? To be 40, 50, 60 years old? I wanted to write about growing up at different stages of a life--at 12, at 78, and about a character who is limited by her own capacities, but who tries to reach maturity in her own way. I thought I could try to teach myself to grow up through the process of writing. I wanted to write from the perspective of Ella, who had been married, raised children, and been through many different experiences than I had, because I wanted to try to understand things I didn't even know that I understood. On a personal level, I wanted to write about a character like Lena because I have a member of my own family who struggles with similar issues. I knew how the entire family was affected by the difficulties this person faced. I also knew that she was, at times, quite intelligent and perceptive, other times more limited. It was important not to underestimate her. I began writing by what I call optimistic blundering. I began with a few scenes describing Lena and Bob's first dates--then I wrote many scenes going into the future, and then into the past. After some time, I had 600 earnest pages--but no plot. I had been somewhat snobby about plot, thinking that including a plot on my novel would require adding say, terrorists or car crashes. Oops. When I eagerly showed it to my writing friends, thinking it was finished, they read it and said, "Good start! But you need a plot." I was crushed. Then I remembered--I knew how to write short stories. One miraculous day, I put some scenes--the ones describing Lena and Bob dating and their marriage in Las Vegas--together. I read them and realized--this was a story! I finished it and sent it out. When it was published in 1996 in Granta, suddenly people were interested in my characters! It was a great relief. And I knew how to rewrite my novel--I had to learn to focus and find pressure in the narrative. Then I finished my book. I teach writing in New York, and I tell my students that there are three things that lead to good writing. One is honesty. Honest writing makes me feel-I'm not alone. Someone out there feels the same way I do. The second is craft, the form that contains the honesty. The third is patience. I learned great patience in my journey writing my novel, and, in the process, wrote things I never thought I was capable of writing. A final thought: great writing makes me feel somehow comforted. I hope my readers feel comforted, too.

Rating:
Summary: Overpraised Prose
Review: I approached this book with tremendous enthusiasm. Unfortunately, when I actually sat down to read LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE, I was stunned. The writing was uneven and forced. In many places, the author appeared to be struggling to sound "literary" at the expense of narrative flow and character development. Lately, I've seen so many books over-praised and over-hyped for the sake of sales and market share. I hate to say it, but LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE is one of them. I think the writer is skilled, but this book does nothing to showcase her talents. Disappointing all around.

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Summary: Excellent imagery
Review: I enjoyed this story very much. It's tender and funny, and it contains some very lovely imagery. I'd definitely recommend it.

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Summary: The Perfect Summer Read
Review: I thought this was a warm, incredibly touching portrait of three generations of women. Although some reviewers below have suggested that Bender doesn't breathe life into her characters, I thought that her depiction of the mentally-handicapped Lena and her husband, Bob, were some of the realest, most honest portraits of the mildly retarded that I've ever read. Particularly the material dealing with their sexuality - I know from friends with mentally handicapped family members that this can be, as it for Ella, one of the most challenging issues "normal" people have to deal with. And the portrait of Ella, the caretaker who must learn how to be dependent as she ages, rang incredibly true for me, as it must for anyone with a strong-willed aging parent or grandparent. The book is absorbing, easily read, and immensely touching -- a great beach takealong.

Yes - this is clearly a first novel - some of the subsidiary characters, such as Lou (Ella's husband) and Vivian, her "normal" daughter, never quite come to life the way the three main characters do. Indeed, one gets the feeling that the book could have easily been longer -- Bender had more stories to tell about this family, but the structuring device (flashbacks within a single day of "real time") limited her ability to quite tell the story.

Still, one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time.