CantPutDown.com

Emotionally Provoking. That's a simple summation of how I felt about this book. I experienced a wide variety of emotions while I read this story, but the emotion I felt the most was irritation. I had a difficult time "listening" to Delores; the main character in the story. I found myself many times sighing when I knew I would have to start reading She's Come Undone. The character Delores was shallow and pitiful and often brought my mood down. She felt like that pessimistic, self absorbed friend that you try hard to help at first; only to later find that you have to politely steer her out of your life. When I finished the book, I was relieved to be done with Delores' journey. Unexpectedly however, when it came to discussing this book during book club, I was delightfully surprised by the fabulous discussions that this book provoked.

I read quite a few reviews on this book before I started reading it. And because of the reviews I thought it was going to be extraordinary. Some reviews even regarded the author; Wally Lamb, as a literary lion and extremely gifted. Reviews even stated that Wally lamb slammed dunked his perspective as a female character. Sure, I can agree that he is gifted in that he actually created and followed through with writing and publishing a novel. That in and of itself is a major accomplishment. However, I'm bewildered. I may be completely unfair here but I just can't agree with the reviews. I don't feel that based on one book that critics can dub anyone as a gifted literary lion. Perhaps if critics said "an up and coming gifted literary lion" then I think it would have some meaning to it. I'm so tired of everything becoming an instant classic. Number #1 bestseller. I think ostentatious comments such as these can diminish the accomplishments from those authors that the majority of us actually deem as timeless.

I am so conflicted with this book. If you ask me what I think of She's Come Undone as a book I would say this; read it if you have nothing else to read and make sure you go to the library to get it. But if you ask me as a book club pick then I would say to you that it is a spectacular book to discuss. All of the girls in our book club had a fervent comment about the book. Many of us could relate aspects of Delores' life to someone we knew; whether to a friend, family member, or even to a friend of a friend. Some of us pitied her, some loathed her, and some sympathized with her. The whale was even a great discussion topic in and of itself. We had several discussions trying to determine the whale's symbolism. We could all agree however that we could not find the gut bursting humor that we were hoping to get. Granted there were some good one liners, but that was the extent of the humor.

Overall I was let down with the book. If you are looking for a great book to discuss in book club then you won't be disappointed with She's Come Undone. But if your looking for a book that you just can't put down, then She's Come Undone will disappoint you for sure. What are your thoughts about this book if you have read it?