She's Come Undone

Rating:
Summary: A decent read, but doesn't hit pay dirt
Review: It is intriguing that a male author chose to write about a character such as Dolores Price. In some moments of the book Dolores' thoughts are so much like mine, I had to remind myself that "she" was a creation of a "he". The book was a good read and I've since passed it along to a friend.

My emotion throughout the book was that of anticipation. I kept waiting for the book to turn the corner and allow me to learn of Lamb's epiphanic reasons for telling me the life story of Dolores. It never happened. The book moved along slowly, occasionally stopping to slam her into yet another traumatic event.

Wally Lamb keeps time in the book by throwing in references of pop culture and historic events. There is humor and sadness woven into several parts of the book, but all in all, I didn't get the feeling of satisfaction I would have liked. I kept reading diligently, but the payoff was minimal.

Rating:
Summary: through hell and back to tell the tale
Review: Most people when they see someone in public who is obese, look away, either in self-righteous disgust or from pity. The author resists this urge and hurls the reader into the dysfunctional (but not cliched) world of Dolores Price. Many writers spend their time creating idealized versions of themselves - book shelves are crammed with protagonists who are smarter, prettier and more sensitive than anyone around them. How refreshing to meet a character who is human, with all the shortcomings of anyone walking down the street. "She's Come Undone" charts the life of a young woman who survives abuse and eventually finds peace and self-respect. This is a well-worn theme, but the journey she takes is uniquely hers.

It is hard to describe the book without using the cliches of the self-help movement, but it easily soars above the typical Oprah recommendation. Maybe Renee Zellweger can plump up again to play the protagonist because I sure would love to see this book on the big screen.

Rating:
Summary: Bottomline...I feel better about myself
Review: Overall it was a well written book (the author can tell a story and the editors did their jobs). However the content was a little hard to take in. I often found myself having faith that the next page will have something good for Dolores but I was left disappointed. It was sad and slow with no real closure of every tragedy in her life unless it ended up in death. I often heard that this was a great book and was waiting to see where it was so great. It wasn't so great.

Rating:
Summary: She Undid Me as Well
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully Written
Review: Wally Lambs book She's come undone, was the best book I have read in years. I read all 469 pages in 3 days. I could not put the book down. I found myself reading in at work, before school, and at home when ever I got a second from my kids. I locked my self in the bathroom so I could read a few more pages before I had to cook dinner. The writers ability to write from a females perspective was astonishing. At times you wander if he is a female. At the began of the book the author develops his characters in such great detail you feel you have known them for years. Delores the man character catches your heart. Every girl is faced with issues that Delores Price struggles with a daily basis, at some point in their life. Delores struggles with family problems, family lose and extreme obesity, nothing seems to go right in the poor girls life. She's come undone is a very inspiring book. I have known many people including myself, that have been obese and read this book and it inspired them to lose weight. At many times in the book I caught myself shedding a tear, feeling Delores's pain, then feeling proud of her for her daily accomplishments. Delores makes you feel like there is hope in this work. She gives you strength in the darkness. The book is truly astounding. I recommend this book to everyone. If you have not read Wally Lamb's She's come undone, go and buy it now, or check it out at your local library.

Rating:
Summary: I've Come Undone!
Review: One of the best books I have ever read! I have read this book a couple of years ago and yet I could still vividly see Dolores Price on my mind. I never reread any books because my goal is to read as many books as I can in this lifetime. This is the only book I seriously considered to reread. If Dolores Price can make it, I can make it too!

Rating:
Summary: Best book in 10 years
Review: This is perhaps the best book I've read in 10 years. I can't believe Wally Lamb (a man) got this female character so right. You will swear it's written by a woman. Sad in spots, but never depressing; by the end you're cheering loudly for Dolores. Other good ones like this: An Egg on Three Sticks, A Girl in Parts, Shadow Baby.

Rating:
Summary: sob-fest
Review: This was the most rediculous sob-story I have ever read. Billed as "hilarious" by the New York Times, this book was anything but. I felt so miserable after reading it, all I wanted to do was crawl into a cave with an etch-a-scetch and die. Mr. Lamb did manage, in this horrendous soap-opera, to allow every plague of modern society to settle on one unlucky person (ad nauseum). Poor self-pitying Dolores Price suffers the divorce of her parents, rape, depression, death of family members, obesity, clinical depression, sexual/physical abuse, a homosexual encounter, a bad marriage, an abortion and infertility. Whew, sucks to be her. And yet Dolores is so spiteful and self-absorbed that I could never give her an ounce of the sympathy she so pathetically craved. Despite all her sufferings, I just wanted to wring her neck. And some of the scenes are so graphic that I found myself reading with the cover barely cracked open, praying that no one could look over my shoulder to see what was written on the page. Do not waste your precious time and hard-earned money.

Rating:
Summary: Stellar!
Review: My first thought on reading about the premise of this book was, "Oh, no. Surely not." I couldn't imagine myself being taken with a novel that deals with a two-hundred-something pound girl, let alone one who has the myriad problems she has.

But the most intriuging aspect of Lamb's book is that Doleres Price is a real person. Well, not literally, but the way Lamb paints her, she's a lot like one of those people we've all met at one time or another--and probably looked the other way. She's flesh and blood (and a lot of it, by the way) and the delving into the psyche that Lamb provides via Doleres is just, well, amazing.

Well written, with eccentric yet believable characters, like McCrae's "Bark of the Dogwood" or Boyle's "Drop City" this unique achievement deserves all the accolades it has received. A truly stellar performance from the master himself.

Rating:
Summary: Another incredible book
Review: Wally Lamb continues to amaze me with his writing. I had previously read his other book, "I Know This Much Is True." I just couldn't get enough of his writing and so I picked up this book. The ability of Lamb to write in the voice a girl as she matures into a woman was astonishing. The feelings and emotions put into this book kept me from being able to put it down. I couldn't get enough of Delores and her complicated and touching story. I recommend this book to everyone, a wonderful read!