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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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Sherri (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
Wally Lamb will most defiently grab your attention from this book if your into the comical, dramatic and inspirational type of books. This book is sure to make you laugh as Dolores takes a wild, crazy, and heart breaking trip through young adulthood.
Dolores Prince. What more can I say? She's a wise-mouthed 13 year old who acts 20. After many confusing family problems and being on sort of an emotional rollercoaster she starts to loose her grounds. Dolores Prince unfolds the tail of her life, telling many heartbreaking stories. She has a very troubled childhood. She ended up being raped by a previously friendly neighbor,struggles with her obesity, has mental illiness and then enters a trouble marrage. She ends up spending her days in front of the TV, eating potato chips and drinking pepsi, infact this becomes an everyday thing for her. When she finally realizes she's about to go under and she's falling completly apart she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before she really goes under! Such a great book. Having such a great book we must give credit to the author. Wally Lamb is truly a wonderful writer. Before writing this book he spent 25 years teaching and working on his books part time not thinking that they would ever become so popular. Lamb was born on Oct. 17 1950 and was always known as the quiet type. He was always reading and writing as a child. Now Lamb after written two books that were a great success is known as an "overnight" success. Author of She's Come Undone written in 1992 and I Know This Much Is True written in 1998. Both books worth reading!
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A reader (MSL quote), Germany
<2007-01-25 00:00>
If someone would have told me six weeks ago that by now I would have read and been completely absorbed by the tale of a 257 pound girl named Delores I would have told them they were out of their mind. But strange things happen when I find myself without something to read. Invariably I turn to our home library to consider reading a book that my wife purchased, or perhaps re-reading one of my old favorites. This time "She's Come Undone" caught my attention. "Mine is a story of craving; an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered," said the back cover. "That's an interesting hook," I thought. "And the author is a man delivering a first person female narrative? Hmmmm... may have to give ole Wally a few pages of my interest."
That was all Wally needed. Within just the first few pages describing Delores' perfectly natural early childhood and allusions to her future woes I was engrossed.
This book is about the possibly healing affects we can have as friends and the potentially destructive power we have as family. It is about the undeniable value of positive self-image and the brutal consequences of inappropriate guilt. It is about divorce, it is about AIDS, it is about obesity, and it is about rape and abortion. It is about hope and love. It contains several hundred of the most physically painful pages that I have ever read, interrupted only intermittently with some dark joke made as Delores faces her struggles. In the space of 465 pages Wally brings to life not a classic heroine who defeats all of her foes, but a woman simply trying to survive. Even after a week I feel sympathy for this illusion created by Wally Lamb, and throughout the day I look for her. Sadly, I see her in many faces.
A highly, highly recommended read for anyone who feels they have the stomach for it. While many of the topics addressed should be discussed with teenagers, I would not recommend a young reader going this one alone. There are astonishingly important lessons here. Lessons for all of us.
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Michael Erisman (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I picked up this book recently and once I started it I couldn't put it down. This book is written exceptionally well, and the characters and story flow smoothly and realistically. I was stunned when I realized it was not an autobiography, and was written by a man! The first person voice of a female is quite convincing. I was more than impressed with the writing and the story. Any book that can evoke emotions like this does, is worth looking into.
That said, should you read this book? It depends. All of the highlights above are true, but, sadly the overall effect is depressing. I kept waiting for the situation to improve, for the story to pick up, for the victim mentality to end. It doesn't.
I gave the book 3 stars, 5 for writing, and 1 for the investment of several hours into what proved to be a draining and disturbing look into the life of a troubled young woman. I liken the experience to waking up from a bad dream, and feeling the lingering effects into the day. Your call as to whether you wish to jump on board and go along for the ride.
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Gadget Chick (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I read this book when it first hit the Oprah book list several years ago. Recently, a friend asked me if I had read it, and if I would lend her my copy. I said she could have my copy, because I didn't really feel the need to ever read the book again. When she asked me why, I had to think about it for a minute, then I told her.
The book just doesn't ring true for me. On the surface, it seems like a very heartfelt, authentic account of a woman who suffers through a lot of misfortune. Once you begin to look deeper, and really think about the situations Dolores gets herself into, it quickly becomes obvious the book was written by a man who thinks he has a lot of insight into women, but actually does not.
I have known many women in my life who have suffered through the things Dolores suffers through in the book - rape, abandonment by a parent, death of a parent, depression, isolation, struggles with weight problems, abusive relationships, abortion etc. I have suffered through some of those things myself. The difference is that the women I know who met with misfortune usually took proactive steps, after they were through the worst of it, to pull themselves up and try to figure out what happened to them, why it happened, how they got into a situation that was so bad, and how they could prevent it from happening again. As part of that process, they learned about themselves and were able to develop some defense mechanisms. Dolores goes from bad situation to bad situation and never seems to be able to see two steps ahead of herself. One of my friends who had read the book and had been in extensive therapy said she doubted very much anyone could go through 7 years of hospitalization in a mental facility, complete with intensive psychotherapy, and not be taught some coping skills about how to recognize emotionally dangerous situations and how to repattern herself so she wouldn't make the same mistakes over and over. I thought about that, and I think my friend is right. After years in the mental hospital, Dolores exits with no self-esteem, no coping skills and no ability to extract herself from a bad situation. How realistic is that?
I also don't know very many women who would allow themselves to be victimized over and over the way Dolores allows herself to be victimized - and I'm not talking about the rape. Dolores stays in a bad marriage with an abusive, cheating partner, has an abortion at his request despite very much wanting a child, and submits to all manner of humiliations, seemingly without ever batting an eye. At many points I wanted to grab her by the shoulders, shake her, and say, "stand up for yourself, for God's sake!" The abortion was especially unbelievable for me - many women find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, and many of their partners are unhappy and want them to terminate. But I don't know of very many women who really desperately want a child who terminate just to stay with their partner, if they have any other options for supporting themselves. For someone who had such strong convictions about things, she allowed herself to be pushed over by basically everyone in her life.
And that is ultimately why I decided I didn't like the book. It's a story of a woman who wants to take absolutely no responsibility for herself or for her situation in life. Dolores is obviously a very intelligent person, but even in the end, despite support from many loving people, she can still only take very minute steps to better herself or improve her situation in life. It's all about being a victim to all of the bad things she's gone through, and I have a hard time with that. Dolores is definitely a martyr, and martyrs are hard to relate to. Like many reviewers, I didn't find a lot of humor in this book. Mostly, it was unbelievably depressing and irritating at the same time. If you want to feel bad about humanity and get irritated about how women allow themselves to be victimized, give it a read. If you get enough of that from the daily news, skip it.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-25 00:00>
I have been looking at this book for quite a few number of years, and suffice to say, I have no clue as to why it took me so long to pick it up. Several friends of mine had read it and just raved about how excellent it was, and now that I have just finished reading it, I can see their reasons why. This is definetly one of the best novels I have read in a looong time, and I will recommend it to others who love reading as much as I do. While I can understand why some people found it depressing, I was nevertheless riveted the whole way through Dolores' sad, but ultimately uplifting journey. Wally Lamb has an incredible insight into the way some women think and tackle their problems; whether they deal with obesity, rape, callous husbands, or the overall cruelty of others' opinions. I am in agreement with other readers in the fact that Mr. Lamb convincingly tells Dolores' tale from a female perspective...his dialogue and characterizations of her many friends, foes, and relatives were all very three dimensional too. What I found most remarkable about this wonderful book was that no matter how bad the situation Dolores was faced with, she discovered inner strength to overcome her problems and become a better, loving person. By the end of the story, she convinced herself that she was truly worthy of love and accepted it when it was offered. In a nutshell, this novel is ultimately about human emotional survival and whether a person chooses to remain a victim or rise above it. I will definetly pick up Lamb's next book, "I Know This Much Is True"-and I am hoping it will be just as good, if not better, than this one was. I have the feeling I have just "discovered" a new favorite writer, and hopefully he is hard at work on his next offering. I for one can't wait!! |
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1 2 Total 2 pages 15 items |
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