Saturday, May 05, 2007
Blessings by Anna Quindlen
Saturday, March 17, 2007
>>I was not excited about reading this novel but there are very few authors who name starts with "Q". So I was very pleasantly surprised that I did enjoy the book. It has a creative storyline, interesting characters and intelligent prose. Here is the treatment on the back cover:
"Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard home on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work there are changed forever. Skip Cuddy, the caretaker, finds a baby girl asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep the child . . while Lydia Blessing, the matriarch of the estate, for her own reasons, agrees to help him. Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person or a life legitimate or illegitimate and who decides; and the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, 'Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.' "
>>I liked getting to know the characters in this book and how they changed as they interact with each other and the baby. Quindlen uses these complex characters and the setting itself to draw the reader in. The story has a happy/sad ending that I found very satisfying.
Rating: 4
Posted by Framed at 9:24 AM
4 comments:
booklogged said...
I remember liking this book when I read it. I think it's the only book I've read by this author. Have you read others?
11:39 AM
Joy said...
This sounds good, Framed. Thanks for the review.
5:03 PM
Les said...
It's been a few years since I read this and I had to go back to my journal to see what I thought. I gave it an A- (8/10 Very good). Didn't write much about it, though. Just this:Very "jerky" narrative! Lacks transitions between past and present events. Nonetheless, I got swept up in the plot and grew to care about the two main characters and the predicament they became involved in. I wanted a happy ending, but also didn't want it to be too pat and predictable.
7:12 PM
Framed said...
Book, this is the only Quindlen book I've read. Joy, it was one of those books that are just relaxing to read.Les, Hmm, I didn't mind the transitions. I found it interesting. But I see you liked it any way.
10:12 PM
>>I was not excited about reading this novel but there are very few authors who name starts with "Q". So I was very pleasantly surprised that I did enjoy the book. It has a creative storyline, interesting characters and intelligent prose. Here is the treatment on the back cover:
"Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard home on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work there are changed forever. Skip Cuddy, the caretaker, finds a baby girl asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep the child . . while Lydia Blessing, the matriarch of the estate, for her own reasons, agrees to help him. Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person or a life legitimate or illegitimate and who decides; and the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, 'Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.' "
>>I liked getting to know the characters in this book and how they changed as they interact with each other and the baby. Quindlen uses these complex characters and the setting itself to draw the reader in. The story has a happy/sad ending that I found very satisfying.
Rating: 4
Posted by Framed at 9:24 AM
4 comments:
booklogged said...
I remember liking this book when I read it. I think it's the only book I've read by this author. Have you read others?
11:39 AM
Joy said...
This sounds good, Framed. Thanks for the review.
5:03 PM
Les said...
It's been a few years since I read this and I had to go back to my journal to see what I thought. I gave it an A- (8/10 Very good). Didn't write much about it, though. Just this:Very "jerky" narrative! Lacks transitions between past and present events. Nonetheless, I got swept up in the plot and grew to care about the two main characters and the predicament they became involved in. I wanted a happy ending, but also didn't want it to be too pat and predictable.
7:12 PM
Framed said...
Book, this is the only Quindlen book I've read. Joy, it was one of those books that are just relaxing to read.Les, Hmm, I didn't mind the transitions. I found it interesting. But I see you liked it any way.
10:12 PM
# posted by Framed @ 5:28 PM 
