Rating:  Summary: Unrealistic melodrama Review: How many horrible things can happen to one person? I think that's the question that this novel sets out to answer. Instead of having the heroine deal with one, two, or maybe three, major traumas of her life, every chapter of Dolores Price's life is filled with tragedy, cruelty, and let's face it, felonies! The local police agency should really talk to her, because she can implicate lots of people as she is the victim of at least 3 felonies. The story isn't boring, and I read the whole thing in one night, but about half way through, it was a stubborn determination that drove me. I kept on thinking "Surely nothing else terrible can happen to this woman", and I kept on being proven wrong. If you like to read a story of someone who went through hell and made it out alive, you might like to read this book. Because Dante would have placed her journey somewhere between 4th and 5th level of hell. Personally, I found the whole exercise preposterous.
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: Great book! Good storyline and definitely not boring! Review: I love this book, but then I love all of Wally Lamb's books. Read this one first, then read "I Know This Much is True". It's a little more challenging, which I like, but it's around 900 pages, so have fun!!!
Rating:  Summary: wonderful book Review: i read this book after I know this much is true and was not dissapointed. this is a really lovely book. the story is really good and its a page turner. I really wanted to know: what will happen to dolores? the ending was slightly dissapointing, but this should be ignored - the rest of the book is fabulous.
Rating:  Summary: A Must Read Review: Wally Lamb the author of She's Come Undone does an amazing job at portraying the life of a woman. Throughout the book it was hard to believe it was written by a male. Due to the great detail and description the book has you will truly believe a woman wrote the book. This book was featured in one of the nation's largest book clubs, the Oprah Book Club and one became of the best sellers. Dolores Price wants to lead a normal life but first must deal with obstacles that lead back to her childhood. Throughout the book Dolores has her up and down moments. One day Dolores will be communicating with her family, and other days they aren't talking at all. During the down times, Dolores struggles with how to deal with these communicating problems. Her source of comfort doesn't come in healthy forms, they come in the form of smoking, eating, television, and blocking out the ones who care for her. Some people in Dolores' life have learned to get around her mood swings, and bad days, and Dolores learns to trust these few people throughout the book. Some of the most traumatizing events that happen to Dolores happen to her when she is a young girl. Being raped would have to be the number one thing. Second, this rape was not done by a stranger; it was done by Dolores' upstairs neighbor that was named Jack. This event took away the trust Dolores had in many people away. While dealing with this and keeping it a secret, Dolores must also deal with a divorce her parents are going through. The trust Dolores had in her father was lost and she wasn't able to speak with her mother. Now, you would think that having these problems at home would be enough to deal with, but school doesn't get much better. Dolores having lost all trust with her family hopes that going to school will be interesting and a good experience, but what was waiting for her within the school was the exact opposite. With name calling and harassment at school, Dolores is forced to be the girl who looks at the floor when she walks, and sits in the back of the room alone. Although school is a place Dolores dreads going, she does have a guidance counselor she finds trust and friendship in, his name is Mr. Pucci. Mr. Pucci helps with the many problems Dolores faces at school and at home, but he hasn't prepared her for the future out of school and the "real world" that awaits her. Dolores learns to deal with many deaths throughout the book, dealing with death is once again, not to easy for Dolores. The issue of death is so much for Dolores to handle that she ends up one day in a mental hospital. This is hard for her to do seeing that her mother had gone through the same thing. While at the hospital Dolores meets the second person who helps her deal with her problems, Dr. Shaw. Dr. Shaw takes Dolores on an amazing trip of re-birth, in which time Dolores finally learns to forget her past and move forward into the future. With the luck Dolores has this won't be as easy as she had hoped after being re-born. Overall, She's Come Undone is a great book about the struggles we face in life. Dolores faces events that everyone can some how relate to, and learn from. Parts of the book are slow, but by the time you notice it, something major happens to Dolores that catches your attention once again. In the book as I stated before, it's hard to believe a male wrote it. Dolores is so real you feel like she's your best friend and that shows that Wally Lamb does a great job of describing setting and characters. Wally Lamb lets you think about the subject of the book and relate it to your life, by putting Dolores in some extreme everyday situations. By comparing your life to these events you learn to overcome anything you want, and trust the people around you. Everybody's life is challenging in some ways, but with hope and overcoming obstacles everyone can live a happy life. You learn from Dolores that life isn't all was a piece of cake and that sometimes it takes a while to overcome certain things. Everyone has things they wish could change or a different life to live, but life is a full time job that requires lots of hard work, but you can achieve that life if you want hard enough. After reading this book, you will feel good about what you have and most of all learn to appreciate the ones you love and the ones who love you even more.
Rating:  Summary: Highly entertaining but over the top Review: Wally Lamb did a fantastic job capturing the voice of Dolores. Several times I flipped to the back of the book to reexamine his photo and marvel that a man could so accurately capture the female voice. His descriptive and true-to-life style brought the story alive for me. I laughed out loud numerous times reading (e.g. Dolores calling one of her classmate's "flipper ear" or incredulously noting that "Dante was naked in [her] pocket) and really emphathized with her. However, I found it a bit over the top that Dolores endured so many negative experiences. Dolores suffered sexual abuse, ridicule from her peers, low self esteem, emotional overeating, manipulative relationships, etc. etc. What bad thing didn't happen to her? I'm not positive that Dolores and Dottie sleeping together rang true to the story the way that other events did. I wasn't convinced that Dolores would do this with Dottie, a person she was clearly ambivalent about and had never before expressed a romantic interest in. The thing that bothered me most was how Dolores seemed to magically lose weight. She pictured mold growing on her food and then wasn't hungry. Yeah right! If it were that easy everyone would do the same. For a woman like Dolores, who used food as a protection and defense mechanism in the aftermath of sexual violation, it would not be so easy to let her guard down like that and expose herself by shedding the weight. That was where I lost respect for the story because until then I pretty much could believe the things that happened to her.
Rating:  Summary: Amazing Journey Review: I came across this book by accident and I am surely glad I did. Dolores Price is a wonderful character. She is a human being in a life that was no fault of her own. Her life struggles begin with unstable parents, which in turn molds her unobtrusive life. As we are all molded from our parents this book like no other proofs that fact. You will find a connection with Dolores, maybe her struggles are not exactly as ours are, but it is all relevant. Sit back and enjoy her amazing journey..I did.
Rating:  Summary: She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb Review: In short, it's safe to say I've easily read over 1000 novels in my life. She's Come Undone is, without question, my favorite.
Rating:  Summary: A truly moving. life changing experience Review: For anyone who as ever felt that your life is useless and seems to be a never ending battle to simply stay afloat, this book is a light in the darkness. Dolores came to me when I was lost and we stumbled through the disasters of her life together and we both made it out alive. This book will change your life, all you have to do is read it...
Rating:  Summary: A young girl's journey to keep from falling apart... Review: 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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