The Book Club

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Summary: Five women meet crises
Review: Mary Alice Monroe has created five different women who come together out of a love for reading and for one another. Each one faces a crisis for which she is unprepared, during the course of the book. Eve is the central character, and her world is rocked when her "perfect marriage" comes to an end as the result of the death of her husband. At first she retreats into herself, but eventually she forges a new life for herself and her children. Annie is an independent, self-starter who is used to achieving anything she sets out to do. However, her obsessive desire to have a child, although she is 43-years-old, drives her husband to despair. Although she is used to being in control, she discovers that her body is one thing she cannot control. Doris is a wealthy woman who is used to being the perfect wife, mother, and hostess, at least to the outside world. She finally realizes that much of her life is a lie and she has to come to terms with who she really is and what she wants out of life. Midge is a single woman who longs for love and belonging, but doesn't seem to know how to go about it. She has an uneasy relationship with her mother, and she is not pleased when her mother moves from Florida to the Chicago area to be closer to her. Gabriella is not as fully developed as the other characters, but she faces the problem of having a husband who is out of work which forces her to get a job and keep expanding her hours. Each woman's story is interesting and the interactions between the characters are delightful. My main criticism would be that too many of the women's problems are solved too easily and the bad attitudes and wrong thinking that they display seems to "magically" disappear in order to give the book a happy and tidy ending.

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Summary: This book is inspiring; a true celebration of life!
Review: Mary Alice Monroe's THE BOOK CLUB is a wonderful story of friendship, loss, life and love. The characters come alive, the dialogue is sharp and beautifully written and I found that I just couldn't put it down. It was an emotional ride, and one that I want to take again.

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Summary: I loved this book!
Review: Monroe really makes you feel like you are one of the group. A compelling read. I started reading it on the beach and couldn't stop until late that night!

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Summary: Insightful read
Review: Monroe wrote an insightful book about the power of friendship and the effect books have on our lives. A great choice for bookclubs, especially with the Topics For Discussion included in the back. My bookclub loved it.

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Summary: Monroe's done it again
Review: Monroe's consistantly heartfelt stories keep me coming back for more. I can relate specifically to the character Eve as I have also lost a significant person in my life. I could identify with her and through her strength, could find my own. Monroe excels at developing realistic characters who deal with the everyday hardships we can all identify with. I always pick up one of her novels whenever I need my spirits raised. She's motivated me time and time again and can't wait to get started on her new book Skyward.

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Summary: Good for a backdrop to discussions on friendship
Review: My book club selected this book for our October meeting, which is themed "Celebrating Friendships." The book does provide a good backdrop for discussions about friendship because it raises interesting questions/issues: how do you deal with jealousy in among friends, how to deal with a friend who is depressed or going through life transition, what to do when your best friend gets a "new" best friend or the relationship cools, how to handle conflict among friends, how to confront friends with unpleasant truth, etc. Excellent! But the characters themselves were not impressive. Certain characters weren't developed. Some story lines were so fairy-tale like and unbelievable (Eve's 2nd love) that I lost sympathy for the character. I could only understand why 2 of the women were friends, and only those two seemed to have a genuine friendship. The others were facades or unrealistic. Sometimes the dialogue went on too long and certain major life transitions barely caused trouble for the characters. Not realistic. Read this to provoke thought and discussion about how issues are handled in friendships and to see one (not five) deep friendship in action.

Rating:
Summary: Good for a backdrop to discussions on friendship
Review: My book club selected this book for our October meeting, which is themed "Celebrating Friendships." The book does provide a good backdrop for discussions about friendship because it raises interesting questions/issues: how do you deal with jealousy in among friends, how to deal with a friend who is depressed or going through life transition, what to do when your best friend gets a "new" best friend or the relationship cools, how to handle conflict among friends, how to confront friends with unpleasant truth, etc. Excellent! But the characters themselves were not impressive. Certain characters weren't developed. Some story lines were so fairy-tale like and unbelievable (Eve's 2nd love) that I lost sympathy for the character. I could only understand why 2 of the women were friends, and only those two seemed to have a genuine friendship. The others were facades or unrealistic. Sometimes the dialogue went on too long and certain major life transitions barely caused trouble for the characters. Not realistic. Read this to provoke thought and discussion about how issues are handled in friendships and to see one (not five) deep friendship in action.

Rating:
Summary: Great Characters...couldn't put it down
Review: Our book club selected this book for the title, and were blown away by the beautifully crafted characters and their stories. This was the first book by Mary Alice Monroe I had ever read, and will certainly search for other titles by the same author... I read the book and reached last page wanting more. A great read for groups!

Rating:
Summary: Great Characters...couldn't put it down
Review: Our book club selected this book for the title, and were blown away by the beautifully crafted characters and their stories. This was the first book by Mary Alice Monroe I had ever read, and will certainly search for other titles by the same author... I read the book and reached last page wanting more. A great read for groups!

Rating:
Summary: What a waste of a promising premise!
Review: Rousing discussions of good literature layered with subtle narratives of the key participants' lives. Natch! This book wastes the reader's time. What's particularly disturbing is that something so poorly and unimaginatively written got past a junior editor's first read, let alone got published. Save your time. Save your money.