Ordinary People

Rating:
Summary: A Common Family with Uncommon Problems
Review: The characters in Ordinary People are faced with common, everyday problems. The lives of the Jarret family were turned inside-out after the death of Jordan, also known as Buck Jarret. Each character dealt with the pain and loneliness of losing Buck in a different way. However the one thing they all had in common was that the death of Buck completely destroyed everything they knew to be true, and influenced every aspect of their lives. Their grief and despair made it difficult for them to form new relationships or maintain ones they already had. Once Buck died, the family fell apart, and the complex relationships they each had with one another began to become corrupt and transformed them into less of a family and more of enemies. It seemed as if Buck was the joining force of the family and when he was gone the family lost cohesion. Cal, whose life revolved around making sure his family was content and satisfied found that he felt incompetent and lacking when he couldn't provide them with what they really needed: closure, happiness, a sense of complacency that no longer existed once Buck was gone. He spent most of his time wondering who he was, how he could define himself, and what he could possibly do to make everyone sane again. His constant obsession drove his wife crazy. A perfectionist, she had to have everything go smoothly. Buck's death not only put a wrinkle in her concept of the perfect family, it put a glitch in her social life. After Conrad is admitted to the mental institution for trying to commit suicide, she deals with it by taking trips and she falls into a spiral of denial. Conrad, of course, is hurt and offended by his mother's apparent apathy towards him. He finally realizes that he can't change his mother, and with this realization comes a sense of acceptance. Conrad, after he comes home, is faced with the task of being 'ordinary' again. He deals with his problems one at a time. He sees a psychiatrist and makes attempts at getting back his life. He is still unsure of himself and insecure, but by talking to his analyst, he slowly learns to be comfortable with who he is. His conflict is internal. He has trouble with the guilt of Buck's death, and is hurt by his mother's lack of concern. His finally is able to gain control of his life after he quits the swim team. By taking that decisive action, he took the reins into his own hands and took control. However he doesn't tell his family and Beth is mortified to hear the news from her friends. Beth is not concerned that he quit the team, merely with how it might look to others that she is unaware of her 'crazy' son's activities. Conrad finally snaps and accuses her of not caring. This is Conrad's turning point. He is able to express his emotions instead of bottling them up. Ironically, Conrad, the one most affected by Buck's death, comes to terms with it before his parents ever even acknowledge the fact that they are having problems. Conrad moves on, still grieving and still in pain, but stronger, and more in control. In my opinion, this book was quite enjoyable. It makes you think about how you would react if you lost someone you loved. It shows the true nature of ordinary people who are faced with tragedy. It's an intimate view of a family's battle with misfortune.

Rating:
Summary: Helped shape my early adulthood
Review: I read this in high school the semester after I read Catcher in the Rye. At the time, I couldn't relate to Salinger's Caufield, but something about Conrad and his family really resonated with me. I still consider this one of the best books Ive read. It is painfully real, and almost impossible, as far as I can see, not to relate with. In the time since I read "Ordinary People," I have come to appreciate Salinger's work at least on the level of this book, though in a different way. Conrad and Holden Caufield are two of the only modern characters who have really affected me. Conrad when I was a bit younger, and Caufield more recently. If you liked "Catcher," you should really give this book a read.

Rating:
Summary: Best on the 2nd and 3rd read
Review: I think most people will agree that Ordinary People is a very good book, in its content. Some may think that it was a little confusing or over-dramatic. I can guarantee you that you will change your mind the second time you read the novel. Honestly, this book gets better and better every time you read it. It doesn't hurt to watch the movie a few times either, though i prefer the book over the movie any day. I think one of the best things about the novel is how there's no ONE protagonist or antagonist. You might say the story was all about Conrad. But couldn't it also be about Cal? or about Beth? This novel prevents you from putting labels and tags all over it. It is just too realistic and very emotional and everyone should read it!

Rating:
Summary: This is the book I love best, and I read a lot!
Review: I think this book is immensely true to life and its language is timeless... Somehow it never gets boring read after read, but always stays so fresh, so relevant. It breaks my heart over the main character.

Rating:
Summary: This novel was captivating, and quite enjoyable!
Review: This is a story of a typical American family, living a typical American life. Then the unthinkable happens. The death of Buck, the family's eldest of two sons, brings Conrad to depression, which eventually leads him to attempt to attempt to take his own life. Follow Conrad and his parents as they recover from the painful tragedies they have recently suffered. Through these hard times their relationships are constantly challenged. The family is torn apart by these experiences, but are joined together in their struggle to heal. Live through their daily struggles to become normal once again: Conrad returns to school and must deal with curious and all to often cruel teenagers. His parents must return to work and friends, all the while explaining "why" when they themselves aren't even sure what went wrong. Showing the true uniqueness of each character is what Guest does best in this book. She brings the characters to life so that you can feel their pain and their joy; their deep hate and intense love for one another. We would recommend this novel to anyone. Throughout the story, the reader is given the ability to see the results of suicide from many points of view. You can see and feel each character's desperate steps in trying to get their lives back on track, overcome denial, and just live.

Rating:
Summary: A great all-around book.
Review: A magnificently written book centered about a boy in his late teens, and his life. It keeps you reading like no other book has. An amazing story all together. I wont spoil it for you so buy this book it is worth it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Great Pleasure Reading -- Bad for Psychology Assignments
Review: Wow- what a great book. I really enjoyed reading Guest's interpretation of the American family. I reccommend this book to all. Just never - ever put yourself in the position to have to analyze this book in essay form for a psychology course. It will kill you! I give the book a 4.5 star rating because it was so good, professors make assignments from it. That is by far the fastest way for a book to lose popularity. To all who are not in the same boat, ENJOY!!

Rating:
Summary: The movie did the novel some justice...
Review: I didn't like the presentation of the book, there were times when I had no idea who the speaker was until four pages later. In my opinion, the book would have achieved more power had it been written in standard form. The plot was great, but the presentation made it campy and boring. The movie was great!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I've ever read.
Review: I just finished this book last night. I read over two hundreed pages of it last night I started to read and just wanted to keep reading. This book is great. I thought it would be horrible by the looks of the cover and I read the back and said eh, but this book was really good. A little bit of a confusing style of writing but other than that it was awesome!

Rating:
Summary: Great, but confusing
Review: This is an amazing book! I'm in the middle of reading it, and it's really starting to come together. Unfortunately, I find it to be a very confusing style. I'm not familiar with some of the terms that Guest mentions, such as "Platinum Plus" and "off myself." I'm young, but the retro 70's style of this book is way to "far out" for me. I'd love an explanation. It's really emotional, too.