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lisawhelpley's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it, but didn't like most of http://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/7924084#the characters that much.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
A scruffy high school history teacher and his wife live with their two young children in a hip area of Brooklyn. He's struggling to finish his dissertation, while she struggles with the ongoing popularity contests and rivalries among the stay-at-home moms at the local playground and coffee shops. But then they are both dazzled by the arrival of a rich and beautiful new neighbor, a woman who takes an interest in this couple for unknown reasons.
lorieac's review against another edition
3.0
It was interesting and a good way to kill some time while working. The author used "clearly" way too much. The audio book faded out a lot and it seemed like they were trying to set a tone but it was just annoying. It made me think something was wrong with my player. I liked the multiple character point of view narration.
sarahjoyce's review against another edition
1.0
Tim Welch is a history teacher at a private school still working on his dissertation about loss. Kate Welch is a stay at home mom who loves taking care of her children. Everything changes when they meet Anna Brody. Tim takes a year off, Kate gets a job. New feelings appear. Told from several different perspectives, but mainly Tim and Kate you get to learn what life is like in the Heights.
Hedges, who wrote both the novel and screenplay for Whats Eating Gilbert Grape as well as several other screenplays has come up with one of the most over told stories ever. It's rare for an avid reader, such as myself to think "This would be better as a movie" but it's true. The story unfolds like some mediocre character driven drama. The book itself reads like an Oscar nominee, not an Oscar winner, one of those dry dramas where everyone makes bad choices and says terrible things and people rave about it for a few weeks and then when they think about it years latery they're all like 'yeah, that was kind of terrible'.
The characters themselves are contrived, Kate is endearing in the beginning before she becomes annoying. Tim is interesting before becoming pathetic. Anna Brody is always mysterious before you realize she is about to cause to most uneventful causal event ever.
There is obviously a demographic for novels like this, and with it being only 293 pages it's a little hard to justify putting it down. Hedges, stick to writing for the screen. Love your movies, hated this novel.
Hedges, who wrote both the novel and screenplay for Whats Eating Gilbert Grape as well as several other screenplays has come up with one of the most over told stories ever. It's rare for an avid reader, such as myself to think "This would be better as a movie" but it's true. The story unfolds like some mediocre character driven drama. The book itself reads like an Oscar nominee, not an Oscar winner, one of those dry dramas where everyone makes bad choices and says terrible things and people rave about it for a few weeks and then when they think about it years latery they're all like 'yeah, that was kind of terrible'.
The characters themselves are contrived, Kate is endearing in the beginning before she becomes annoying. Tim is interesting before becoming pathetic. Anna Brody is always mysterious before you realize she is about to cause to most uneventful causal event ever.
There is obviously a demographic for novels like this, and with it being only 293 pages it's a little hard to justify putting it down. Hedges, stick to writing for the screen. Love your movies, hated this novel.
enelvee's review against another edition
3.0
Really a 2.5. Readable, but nothing new under the sun here: married couple seemingly happy but not really, they change family positions, no hilarity ensues. Tom Perrotta should feel ripped off.
Hedges is clearly a much better screenwriter than a novelist.
Hedges is clearly a much better screenwriter than a novelist.
emilybryk's review against another edition
2.0
On page 8, two things happen. A character says "What is it with men that they all want to fuck us in the butt?" and Kate, one of our narrators, elaborates on the difficulties of living in an absurdly tiny apartment that's twice the size of John and my last place.
That pretty much tells you what you need to know.
That pretty much tells you what you need to know.
sde's review against another edition
3.0
Mildly entertaining book about an insular group of people living in a mostly well-to-do neighborhood in Brooklyn. In the first half of the book, I was drawn into the story of the main characters in the book - a high school history teacher and his stay-at-home/foundation employee wife. I felt the characters became more annoying and more of a caricature as the book went on. I didn't feel I had a real sense of the reasons behind why they did what they did. I especially didn't feel I really understood one of the pivotal characters - Anna Brody, the young wife of an older very wealthy man - at all. I would have liked to get into her head a little more. Although I didn't like the second part of the book as much, I was definitely caught up enough in their lives to finish the book.
blevins's review
2.0
Disappointing. Alternating chapter novel about a married couple in Brooklyn who struggle with keeping their relationship together despite various pressures--jobs, money, kid, female & male temptations. Nothing really unique or interesting among the characters in this book unfortunately. Just kind of predictable and rather bland. It's a breeze to read though.
redroofcolleen's review against another edition
2.0
A just okay fluffy summer read in the midst of spring rain. I definitely like his movies better.
abstract_amber77's review against another edition
3.0
I waffled back and forth between giving this book 3 and 4 stars. It's a solid 3.5 stars. Entertaining, but not riveting, this is a story of a couple that has been married 9 years. It's a typical tale of marriage at this stage. Kate stays home with the kids, Tim is a teacher, then things change and Kate gets a great job. Additionally a new glamorous family moves into the neighborhood. Both the job and the new neighbors change the dynamic of the marriage, and that is pretty much what the story is about. There are enough strings to pull you along to keep you interested and make you want to finish. The ending is very ambiguous, which I'm conflicted about. Ambiguous is good sometimes, but I don't think it fits this kind of story. Though it is mildly philosophical, I didn't think it was philosophical enough to have such and open ended conclusion. Decent read if you are looking for something easy. The audiobook was entertaining, ready by three different actors.