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Summary: a poignant look at life and loss
Review: Judith Guest does a magnificent job with the character of Conrad. The loss and despair he feels grips the reader and you realize that life is, indeed, very fragile. This is a book for both younger and older readers.
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Summary: It ranges far beyond Lake Forest, Illinois
Review: Ordinary People definitely works on a 'universal' level. Although the places, characters and cultural references are genuinely American, the novel and the film had an enormous impact on me as a fifteeen-year-old, in my Central European surroundings. Conrad's angst and attempts at connecting spoke to me like hardly anything else in those influential teenage years. More than a decade later, when re-reading or re-watching Ordinary People I still can feel the pain and the struggle it radiates. This is a novel that stays with you if you were once a sensitive high school kid - on either sides of the Atlantic.(If you only have place for three teenager-books on your shelf, Ordinary People, J.D. Salinger's Catcher In the Rye, and Jean Cocteau's Les Enfants Terribles are among the strongest contestants.)
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Summary: An extraordinary novel about dealing with a death.
Review: I read this book because I found it lying on one of my teacher's desks. Even though it was meant for juniors and I was only a sophomore, I quickly read it and fell in love with it. Going through depression, I understood Conrad's feelings. Even though I resented Beth, I understood her feelings. The characters are well crafted by Guest so that everyone can find a character they can relate to. All the characters play a superb role in making readers think about how the human mind works. I recommend it for all high school students and parents of teenagers.
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Summary: This book spurred many realizations I hadn't made before.
Review: Reading Ordinary People had me putting myself in Conrad's place. Trying to feel the way he felt made me realize how dear life is to me, and how important my own siblings are to me. Because such a trajedy happened to "ordinary people" I now understand that anything can happen to ANYONE.
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Summary: AMAZING AND COMPELLING
Review: Ordinary People is about ordinary people. There are no happy endings or fast solved solutions. You find yourself sympathyzing with everyone in this book, even Beth. I especially loved Berger's words of wisdom. "People who keep a stiff upper lip find that it d--- hard to smile"
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Summary: This is a grrrrrrreat book!
Review: I enjoyed reading about the struggles of a modern day family. I had a lot in common with this book. I suggest this book to ANYONE who enjoys realistic fiction!
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Summary: One of the best books i have ever read
Review: The book was the best. Having had experinces with people commiting suicide that have been very close to me, i realted with the book. It was real life stuff, stuff almost everyone can relate to. The Jarett family is real not some made up fary tale family. It is real life, that is what kids my age need to read about
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Summary: An excellent book/movie
Review: I am just in ninth grade and my English teacher has been showing us the movie in class. Although I find the struggles of Conrad somewhat depressing , I find myself glued to the screen almost totally connecting with this boy that I have never met or talked with. This story not only talks about death , and suicide it also discusses relationships with parents and friends. I thought it was a wonderfully written story by Guest. We still have not finished the movie and I am hoping that I will soon know the end of the story.
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Summary: Complex relationships
Review: Reading Ordinary People, I see a typical American family trying as well as can be expected to recover from the loss of the eldest son. I really enjoyed that book but it took me long time to appreciate and understand it to the full. I feel compassion for Calvin. He is in an awkward position, but with all his soul he desires to settle back the family ties. Although he feels lost and doesn't know what to do, he throws himself headlong into this undertaking. It is all the more to his credit. In no way I can guess what is in Beth's minds. What does she really think about Conrad? I'm not clear my own mind about it. That makes it more difficult to judge her. As for me, Ordinary People is better understood when read with classmates. This book provides for ESL students background knowledge of the American family culture.
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Summary: Thought provoking and challenging
Review: Having read this book in high school as a teenager it was oneof a few books that made me think and in some ways helped me torelate. Wondering how I would relate to it as an adult, I have selected it for my New York City book club to read in May 1998.
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