Rating:  Summary: FIONA is enthralling Review: I have to say this is the best book I've read this year. The main character, Fiona, is constructed so well that you feel as if you know her and her family because the detail given is so in depth. Upon reading the first chapter, I had to find out what was going to happen to Fiona. I hungered to know whether her life would ever be settled. Fiona you see, is a 30yr old waitress who is known as the town trouble maker. But reading this novel from her perspective you see what a kind-hearted person she really is and you will root for her. Although she sometimes does questionable things and the reader knows what Fiona is doing is wrong, you can't help but pray that things turn out for her. I really, really enjoyed this novel and plan to recommend it to all of my friends. The brilliant writing will keep you hooked!
Rating:  Summary: the best book I have read this summer Review: I have read several books this summer but this one tops the list. I read it in just a few days and couldn't put it down. The plot keeps thickening all the way until the last page. I would recommen this to everyone! If you like this book you should also read Morris's "Songs in Ordinary Time". It is also excellent.
Rating:  Summary: A Great Read........................... Review: Once I picked FIONA up I couldn't put her down. I suspect that's how a lot of the other men whom she encountered in her life felt too. FIONA is voracious and demanding and very pleasing as well. Bet you can't tell if I mean the heroine or the book itself. You've got to get this one and find out. I can't get FIONA out of my head. ENJOY!
Rating:  Summary: Bit disappointed Review: After I read Songs in Ordinary Time, I was hooked and searched for all of M.M.M's books. I LOVED her earlier books. I was a tiny bit disappointed in Fiona. I found myself becoming tired of her continual "bad luck." Her earlier books were more meaty and real. Good but no cigars.
Rating:  Summary: Thanks, Mary - this is the Hell that was my life... Review: Once again, Mary McGarry Morris has given us a masterpiece of gut-wrenching, hilarious/tragic writing that is not to be put down until it comes roaring to a cymbal-crashing halt. Her photograph on the inside back cover tells me that she has suffered like her quirky heroines - her eyes look sad. I could identify with this particular protagonist more than any of the people in her other books (though my favorite Morris work is 'Vanished'). What I loved about this is Morris's total skewering of "peppy," "upbeat," "traditional" families - the whole "family values" hoo-ha. She just layered dysfunction upon dysfunction in this book and had me cracking up or crying all the way. Poor Fiona. Though both my parents were alive and known to me growing up, I often felt like the "poor relation" or "odd pet" of my family. The "secret" was that my popular, lovey-dovey parents were deeply insecure and financially unstable and took out their problems on their children by abusing them and belittling them privately, while putting on a "happy face" publicly. I also loved the jaundiced eye Fiona turned on her family's "good deeds" that brought them such public acclaim but which were actually smokescreens to cover the brutal dysfunction underlying their apparent saintliness. I had that in my family, too - the "you can never give too much" attitude that I consider a hallmark of co-dependency. I wonder if it is also a New England thing, since I was brought up not far from where Morris (or Fiona Range) lives. I have only one criticism, and I also voiced it after I read "Songs." It is this: I felt the ending was too pat - I won't give it away here. But I am a writer myself and I felt that the endings of "A Dangerous Woman" and "Vanished" were much more satisfying - as a writer I felt they were perfectly "true" - "real" - whatever. But I do see where Morris was coming from. I guess I just wanted something a little, say, "richer." My husband, upon hearing my complaint, said (channeling Steve Martin) "Well, EXCU-U-U-SE ME!", taking Morris's side. He heard me chuckling and sighing all week as I ploughed happily through this book, and feels I'm quibbling with a great piece of literature. In any case, my heartfelt thanks to MMM, who is truly one of America's greatest living storytellers.
Rating:  Summary: Depressing! Review: For a book as long as "Fiona" is, one might think that the author would be able to create likeable, sympathetic characters and bring their actions to some type of believable conclusion. HOWEVER, this novel was 400 pages of sad stories, meaningless sex, and nonstop disappointment. I expected so much, and kept waiting for the good stuff to start... I didn't like any character, and the ending was a monstrous let-down! Read if you need something to waste your time.
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing Review: Finally done with this book! Fiona Range is by far the worst book I've read by Morris. It was near torturous trying to finish this novel with its multitude of typos and grammatical errors. Whoever attempted to proof/edit this novel should be fired. I found the story boring and the characters lifeless. I couldn't wait for Fiona to slice her wrist or do something equally stupid given that her sole talent in this novel seems to be her ability to make one stupid decision after the other. The book's ending did not surprise me; I'd predicted it before halfway finishing the book. If you're interested in truly experiencing this author's talent read Vanished or Songs in Ordinary Time.
Rating:  Summary: Could have been better. Review: This is the story of a 30 year old waitress who hasn't done anything with her life and seems to do nothing but cause problems. I enjoyed reading this book but wish that it wasn't so transparent. Mary is a gifted writer but this book needed a little more meat and some speed to it. This short review comes from a reader who's favorite books include, She's come undone, White Oleander, Amy and Isabel and loved the Bridget Jones'
Rating:  Summary: Predictable, but good reading anyway Review: Poor Fiona Range. If only people would LISTEN to her, she'd probably not be in half the trouble she got into. At times I wanted to scream at Fiona to tell those around her to just sit down and shut up, already, so they could hear her side of the story before they judged her. But if she did that, we wouldn't have a story, now would we? At any rate, I found this book enjoyable, but somewhat frustrating, as I figured out before I had gotten past the dust jacket one of the big secrets of the novel, and the other secrets became just about as obvious as the novel went on. Still, this novel teaches its readers a very important lesson, one that hit home with me, anyway -- peace at any price is not worth it.
Rating:  Summary: Save your money... Review: This is my first MMMorris book and my first Amazon review - I read a lot but have not taken the time to ever write a review. I feel compelled to because this book was so bad - I want to warn others about it so they don't waste their money! The story was so repetitive and boring and MMM's writing was very poor. The story line was transparent - there were no surprises whatsoever. I had it all figured out about 1/3 of the way through and just slogged through the repetition and confusion so I could see if it got any better. Also, the editing was horrible - the book was full of typo's, missed punctuation, and incorrect words (cold instead of could, for example). I want my money back from the publisher - shame on them!
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