Ordinary People

SPOILER ALERT TO A DEGREE I’ve just put down this book. I’ve decided not to overthink a review, but first I had to take a breath; stare out the window for a while. My heart aches. I have a multitude of emotions, not excluding a type of joy. What a novel! Judith Guest knew what she was doing here. But......more

It is one thing to read a book written by a contemporary author, set in the not-too-distant past; it is another entirely to read one written in and completely of its time. To read Ordinary People is to step through the looking glass into the sweetly familiar terrain of mid-1970s. But beneath the sur......more

I saw the very excellent movie, Ordinary People, starring Donald Sutherland and my one time crush Timothy Hutton first. That movie moved me very deeply. The book was just as memorable and I have my own copies of both, and watch and reread them every once in a while. Conrad and Buck are out sailing wh......more

Boo! But rather interesting, is it not, how I find myself choosing below-par novels lately which have, somehow, spawned off better-than-average silver screen adaptations*! Here--the underrated work of the artist otherwise known as the screenwriter in its glory. This is bizarrely lame--the subjects bec......more

A classic for good reason: a devastating exploration of the losses that tear a family apart, and how, after an inexplicable tragedy, the survivors try to move forward. Beautifully written and impeccably observed -- and without a single wrong note. Just a treasure.......more