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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
This was an ok book...definitely an interesting take on how a family functions when the husband/father is incarcerated for a long time (28 years in this case). This was a dysfunctional family to begin with, as Patty is fairly naive and clueless about her husband's after hours activities. It's never made clear exactly what Tommy's role was in the incident over which he & his friend are arrested, but it is clear that Patty believes him to be the more innocent party, and in that respect I tend understand more her decision to stay with him throughout his incarceration. Dysfunctional though it was, she did keep her family intact and in touch, and in the end she was able to pull them out of the rut of poverty they were in, find a stable job for herself and make a life for her family. Her mother's sacrifice(s) on her behalf are astonishing, and given the tenuous relationship between them, it was gratifying to see that when push came to shove, correct decisions were made with regard to their welfare, and rather than breaking up even more, they created stability and found a way to live together peacefully.
I really felt for the the main character, Patty, as she struggles years of being a single mom following her husband's incarceration. I guess I expected the narrative to go somewhere, however. I caught myself checking to see how many pages remained in the book and wondering if there was enough space for the surprise or dramatic plot twist that never occurred. Years go by in Patty's life, sometimes in the span of one page, where nothing major happens. Perhaps the reader is expected to simply endure, like Patty must, but it doesn't make for especially good reading.
This was a really good story. I didn't know if I'd like it at first but I'm glad I picked it up.
***
At the age of twenty-seven, pregnant Patty Dickerson's husband and best friend enter a house in the hopes of robbing it. Minutes later, someone's dead and the men are facing serious jail time. Patty's once simple life is turned upside down overnight, as she's faced with raising their son alone and supporting her locked up husband, who insists he didn't do it.
***
This was a well written book. I didn't even mind the slow pacing. In fact it made sense and at times you felt like you were just waiting beside Patty for something good to happen. It wasn't an overwhelmingly sad story but it kinda was. Even though Tommy isn't a saint, you feel sympathy for him and the author does a good job in making you see why Patty would support him through all those years. I really wish we got to find out what happened to Gary but I suppose not knowing adds to the realness of this story. All the characters were very realistic and well written and I liked the writing style and how the author seamlessly skipped through two decades. Oh, and Patty really lives up to the book title, cause Lord knows I couldn't do it.
***
At the age of twenty-seven, pregnant Patty Dickerson's husband and best friend enter a house in the hopes of robbing it. Minutes later, someone's dead and the men are facing serious jail time. Patty's once simple life is turned upside down overnight, as she's faced with raising their son alone and supporting her locked up husband, who insists he didn't do it.
***
This was a well written book. I didn't even mind the slow pacing. In fact it made sense and at times you felt like you were just waiting beside Patty for something good to happen. It wasn't an overwhelmingly sad story but it kinda was. Even though Tommy isn't a saint, you feel sympathy for him and the author does a good job in making you see why Patty would support him through all those years. I really wish we got to find out what happened to Gary but I suppose not knowing adds to the realness of this story. All the characters were very realistic and well written and I liked the writing style and how the author seamlessly skipped through two decades. Oh, and Patty really lives up to the book title, cause Lord knows I couldn't do it.
Liked this because it was edgy (for no particular reason) and well-written.
If your husband robbed houses without you ever knowing, accidentally killed an old woman during the process, got arrested, got sentenced to 20-30 years in jail, never explained himself, and left you with nothing but an unborn baby, would you wait around for him for 20 years, visit him routinely though he was inprisoned thousands of miles away, and pine for the good old days? Me neither. I couldn't believe this story.
I love Stewart O'Nan's work. He is the master of the quotidian, the champion of the ordinary, though this was not my favorite of his novels.
This is, quite simply, the story of Patty, a woman whose husband makes a stupid decision and winds up in prison for twenty five years. Pregnant at the time of his arrest, she spends the next two decades waiting for him, and we follow her through the appeals and prison visits, financial strife and dashed hopes as she waits for him to come home.
I have found that listening to a novel on CD creates a unique intimacy between reader and text. And I found myself slipping easily into Patty's life, as though I were there with here through the twenty-five years she waits for her husband to get out of prison.
Perhaps it was because I am familiar with O'Nan's work (Wish You Were Here, for example), but I did not expect the riveting plot line that some readers missed. My complaints were rather with Patty and how little I understood her dedication to her husband (feeling that her allegiance to him came simply out of pride and resignation rather than something more potent and meaningful). I was also troubled by her relationship with her son. I was confounded by her lack of sympathy and compassion for him as he grows up in these troubled circumstances.
However, I did feel like O'Nan, once again, authentically and beautifully paints the portrait of a working class family.
This is, quite simply, the story of Patty, a woman whose husband makes a stupid decision and winds up in prison for twenty five years. Pregnant at the time of his arrest, she spends the next two decades waiting for him, and we follow her through the appeals and prison visits, financial strife and dashed hopes as she waits for him to come home.
I have found that listening to a novel on CD creates a unique intimacy between reader and text. And I found myself slipping easily into Patty's life, as though I were there with here through the twenty-five years she waits for her husband to get out of prison.
Perhaps it was because I am familiar with O'Nan's work (Wish You Were Here, for example), but I did not expect the riveting plot line that some readers missed. My complaints were rather with Patty and how little I understood her dedication to her husband (feeling that her allegiance to him came simply out of pride and resignation rather than something more potent and meaningful). I was also troubled by her relationship with her son. I was confounded by her lack of sympathy and compassion for him as he grows up in these troubled circumstances.
However, I did feel like O'Nan, once again, authentically and beautifully paints the portrait of a working class family.
I read (and watch) plenty of police procedurals, so this was an interesting change -- the protagonist isn't a detective or a vengeful survivor, but a young, pregnant newlywed whose husband has just been arrested for murder in a burglary gone awry. The novel moves us through the trial, appeal, and almost thirty years of incarceration.
The author never suggests that the husband is innocent, but he doesn't demonize him either. It really isn't about him at all; instead, we watch a woman struggling to raise her son and keep her family as intact and normal as possible, despite financial difficulties, social stigma, and the casual cruelty of the prison system.
The author never suggests that the husband is innocent, but he doesn't demonize him either. It really isn't about him at all; instead, we watch a woman struggling to raise her son and keep her family as intact and normal as possible, despite financial difficulties, social stigma, and the casual cruelty of the prison system.
This was a good story, but the ending was a bit anticlimactic. Considering there was very little action or mystery, it still managed to keep me engaged throughout.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes