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White Oleander
by: Janet Fitch |
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Binding: Hardcover Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54 EAN: 9780316569323 Edition: 3rd ISBN: 0316569321 Label: Little, Brown and Company Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 390 Publication Date: 1999-05 Publisher: Little, Brown and Company Release Date: May 06, 1999 Studio: Little, Brown and Company |
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| Customer Reviews | ||
  - Desperate LoveJanet Fitch's White Oleander is a female Catcher in the Rye. A teenager tries to cope with the evil to be found in the adult world. It is an exquisite depiction of a mother-daughter relationship in which both are intelligent, creative, and artistic. It is also an exquisite depiction of the daughter's ambivalent love-hate relationship with a mother who is clearly disturbed, evil, and egotistic. The mother is, however, the only mother she has, and the daughter strives valiantly to frame her selfish mother in a favorable light. Otherwise the daughter will be completely bereft in a cold, dangerous, and chaotic world. The form and the content of the story are perfectly consonant. The artistic perception of the teenaged narrator is completely in tune with the content of the story. Each sentence is crafted through an artist's sensibility. The mother eventually shows a redeeming shred of unselfishness and love. This seems to be an artificially forced happy ending. In reality such a mother would be unlikely to do anything other than continue in the selfishness she has exhibited all her life. In reality a happy ending would more likely consist in the daughter recognizing and accepting her mother's unregenerate nature, squaring her shoulders, and vowing to be better than her mother. So it seems that Fitch, like the daughter, refuses to fully accept the mother's evil. Yet the story remains a true and honest depiction of the torturous ways and wiles of the human spirit. Rating: - Hard to put down, a bit anti-climacticLove this book, read it in three days, just couldn't put it down. I was a bit disappointed in the ending. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but without beging a spoiler, it seemed a bit flat. Janet Fitch's words are fluid, poetic, beautiful and ugly all at the same time. She is an amazing writer and I vividly imagined every scene she verbally painted. The characters were full, round, well defined, well described. Astrid's suffering is crucial to the plot. About 3/4 of the way through the book, you grow a bit tired of the sorrow though. The development of Astrid was amazing, you felt her growing up, learning lessons. She was a character, but as human and real as almost anyone you know. Good book! I love stories that you stay up too late just to read "one more page," which becomes one more chapter. I just hoped for a bit more of closure, if not for Astrid's sake, for my own. Rating: - What a great, if disturbing book.I loved this book. Be warned, it was a bit difficult to read at times, but that is a testament to the skill of the author. I felt really connected to the main character, finding myself rooting for her and sad for her bad experiences. I never saw the movie, but I can't imagine that it was a captivating as the book, because I, personally would never have been able to sit through it if it were. Rating: - Could not put this book downVery touching novel. From beginning to end, there is excitement. I really couldn't put this book down. In this book many relationships are examined such as mother-daughter, man-woman,and father-daughter. For me, the book made me think about how much women give men power over them and let them rule their reactions and how they deal with their own children. All in all it is a beautiful book and I would definitely recommend it. Also check out the movie, even though the story has more info than the book Rating: - Silken writing, striking storyI simply love this book. Have read it 2X and listened to it on tape. The 'voice' of the main character is spot-on. Intense and hypnotic and thoroughly readable book. |
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