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She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club) (Mass Market Paperback) (平装)
by Wally Lamb
| Category:
Hard life, Story |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Rape, obesity, self-hate, attempted suicide, a mental institution - what more could happen to this woman? |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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Glamour (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
A heroine to cheer for....This supremely touching journey to adulthood may remind you of The World According to Garp and other sagas of emotional liberation.
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People (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
There are at least two surprises in store for readers of Lamb's memorable debut novel. One is the author's sex. This male writes so convincingly in the voice of a female, tracing her life from 4 to 40, that you have to keep looking back at the jacket picture just to make sure. The second surprise is how such a string of trials and tribulations can add up to such a touchingly funny book...
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The New York Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
An ambitious, often stirring and hilarious book. |
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Sandra Peters (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
When I first started reading this book, my attention span rather fizzled after the first chapter because the book seemed to be going nowhere. Years later, I came across the book again and wanted to give it a second chance after all the rave reviews. Needless to say, the book has become one of my all-time favourites - it just takes a chapter or two to really get into the book.
The book centres begins with little thirteen year old Delores, or let me rephrase that, grossly overweight Delores, and her pathetic, forlorn, over-sexed mother. The years are not kind to Delores. She suffers from severe depression and when you look at her life, no wonder. Her life has been filled with Mallow bars, Pepsi, potato chips and a mother who could have just stepped out of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
The book is written with plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor, and the sassy, spunky character of Delores keeps one wanting to read more. There is an extremely sad edge to the story as Delores plunders through life facing rejection, scorn, and mistrust to the point where self-esteem seems as far out of reach to her as the moon. This fascinating girl will have you reading with a gamut of emotions. Once I got into this book, I didn't want to put it down. The only downside to the book - it ended.
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Tracey (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
My grandmother sent me this book several years ago as part of a birthday gift and it took me several years to even open it. It wasn't my sort of thing, yet when I finally read it I was amazed at the books ability to keep me wanting to read more.
This book centers around a girl named Dolores Price and her trials and tribulations growing up from a very young age to an full grown woman. What made this book so good was that it didn't focus on outlandish happenings, but rather upon things that happen every day to people. This book gave an 'in' to seeing just how people react to events in their lives and how they handle it. It covers so many subjects; parental affairs, domestic abuse, divorce, mental illness in a parent and oneself, rape, bullies, spousal affairs and so much more.
I have read this book several times and can easily pick it up and read it a few times in a row without growing tired of the story. A definate 5 stars to this intelligent book.
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Cynthia K. Robertson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I'd rather read than do almost anything else. But there are few books where I'll sacrifice sleep to read. Wally Lamb's books are the rare exceptions.
Lamb's books are not short, but I'm always amazed at how quickly I finish them. She's Come Undone is a moving, emotional, heartbreaking yet heartwarming coming of age story. The book opens when Dolores Price is a young girl experiencing a typical childhood. But soon, a number of events will transpire to change her life forever. When she is in 8th grade, Dolores becomes the victim of a violent act, and her mother starts plying her with food and junk in an effort to pacify her daughter and alleviate her feelings of guilt. The 5 foot 5 inch qirl quickly balloons to 250 plus pounds, and being terribly obese will now present Dolores with an entirely new set of issues. She's Come Undone follows her life as she struggles with her weight, her sexuality, her low self-image and her family.
Lamb is a master storyteller and we are drawn to care deeply about the flawed ,vulnerable but sometimes sassy Dolores. Lamb also provides us so many lessons and observations. We learn that people should not be judged by their appearance and that the effects of cruelty can last for years. We see that sometimes you should be careful what you wish for as you just might receive it. Lamb shows us that it's important to come to terms with your family, and how sometimes the most important family is the one you create. Also, we're more likely to find romance when we're not actively looking.
Besides great writing, wonderful characters and a moving plot, Lamb also gives us a bonus-a snapshot of culture in the 1960's and 1970's. It was fun hearing references to music and television programs that were around in my youth. Some of those shows (Mannix, The Mod Squad, Ironsides, etc.) I haven't thought about in years.
My one downside about Lamb is that he's not more prolific. We have to wait too long between books. But maybe that's what makes them so good.
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Jessica Lux (MSL quote), Canada
<2007-01-25 00:00>
This book is well-deserving of all the critical acclaim it has received. Reading the back of my paperback copy, I saw the main character, Delores, compared to Garp from The World According to Garp. I recoiled a bit at the comparison to such a literary masterpiece. Delores as an adolescent was nowhere near as lovable for all her shortcomings as Garp was. In the end, I think Delores stands as a literary character in her own right, but I can see where the comparison came from, because both Delores and Garp surrounded themselves with a fantastic cast of characters who brought beauty and richness to the world in their own unique way.
I enjoyed watching Delores develop and grow as a person, and I moved from finding her selfish and intolerable to loving her for all her personality traits.
Once you've finished this, pick up Lamb's I Know This Much is True. I didn't think anything could top She's Come Undone, but Lamb's next book is even more amazing. I'm eagerly awaiting more from this author. I'm glad he's not rapidly churning out trash just to sell books on his reputation, though.
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Lily Icangelo (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
It all started in 1956, the day Dolores Price and her family had a free television delivered....
A depressingly funny and heartbreaking tale of an outcast trying to fit in, a fat girl attempting to become skinny and a loner wishing for friends is the book She's Come Undone. It is an intense ride for anyone attempting to read through it. To not feel like Dolores at some point of the book is completely unfeasible, to not cry is humanly impossible and to not laugh feels like a sin. Some how, Wally Lamb, was able to dig deep into a girl's transition into womanhood. The pain she feel's when becoming obese, the sadness she encounters after being told she cannot have children and the rape she lives through at age 13, was executed perfectly in this amazing book. The voice of Dolores Price is so real so believable, you almost forget that a man wrote it.
Every Character is unbelievably real and incredibly painful to read about. So much death and loss occurs in Dolores's life, it's incredibly hard to bear. But even through her pain, there is hope and a sense of accomplishment. When she loses half of her 257 pound self, I felt hopeful and happy, when she finally expresses love for her mother, even after her mothers death, a feeling of sad joy overcomes my body. Literally the first half of the life of the fictional character "Dolores Price" is written about in She's Come Undone. From the abandonment and abuse of her father at a very young age to the adultery and abuse of her first husband in her late 20's, I was glued to the book all the way through. Never wanting to put it down, I completely missed math class as I was so engaged in Dolores's messed up life.
Never would I have thought that whales would have such a great meaning in this book or that two hippies and a baby could change a person's direction in life. I learned so much about a person who I don't even know, though Dolores the character was made up there are many real Dolores's out their and after reading this I can somehow, in a very distorted way, relate. I love this book because of its depressing overtone and because of the overall effect. It's definitely not for everyone but a book very much worth trying. It has changed the way I think and changed my belief that no man could ever write a book completely believable, about a girl.
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Deanne Kelley (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
There are a lot of sad events in this book. Rape, divorce, death, mental illness. And even though it was a bit depressing, I liked the book. I don't know if I was marvelling at Dolores' resilence, or just amazed that she survived so many sad events. (Maybe I was happy to read about someone who suffered so much and looked at my life and realized, "Wow...my life could be a lot worse".)
Wally Lamb creates complex characters and certainly moved the story along at a decent pace. (This is my first Lamb read).
I read into the wee hours to see how Dolores would handle the adversity thrown her way, so I have to give this book 4 stars out of 5. It was a well-written story, that kept me interested to the end.
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Anukis (MSL quote), Denmark
<2007-01-25 00:00>
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb is one of the best books I have read this year. I was reluctant at first, but it did not take me more than 20 pages to really get into the life of Dolores, her parents, grandmother, friends and foes.
Dolores lives a pretty normal and safe life until she is around 10 years old. From that point on, certain happenings shape her into the woman she is becoming 25 years later. Dolores, and a lot of the other characters in this book, goes through many things before Dolores' journey is over. Dolores' life is not easy, and it is not an easy book to read. There is nothing wrong with the writing, which flows easily, but some parts of the book are very emotional, and it is hard not to feel a little bit of Dolores pain. I really recommend this book.
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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