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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
The movie, starring Kate Winslet, was nominated for three Academy Awards (I didn't see it.). The book wasn't that great. I mean, it wasn't bad. If it had been, I would've stopped reading it. I'm not one of the many people I know who feel compelled to finish reading a book once they start it. The book kept me reading in the first half because I thought it had potential for a big payoff in the second half, but then it mostly disappointed. The storyline involving Ronald James McGorvey, convicted sex offender, took some interesting and disturbing twists, but otherwise nothing unexpected happened.
Little Children was depressing to me. It's important to note the difference between depressing, as in the case of Little Children, and sad, as in the case of The Time Traveler's Wife. For one thing, it's very easy for a book, movie, or show to make me feel sad. I'm a cryer. Also, I like to feel sad sometimes, especially about books, etc. It's very cathartic. On the other hand, I hate feeling depressed. In Little Children, there is not a single happily married couple. It focuses on 3 very unhappily married couples, but manages to highlight at least four other unhappy marriages throughout the course of the novel. I'm not just being a wide-eyed idealist here. I'm not looking for perfection; In fact, I find that in fictional characters imperfection is usually preferred. But, Perrotta seems to be making some greater commentary about marriage as the end of happiness, and I'm just not willing to accept that.
At first, I was going to give Tom Perrotta credit for making me feel something, even if it was just depressed. Generally, I think having an emotional response to a book is a sure sign of good writing, even if you don't like the book. Take, for example, Catcher in the Rye (That's right, I just said I don't like Catcher in the Rye. In fact, I hate it. What are you going to do about it?). If I ran into that punk-ass imaginary brat Holden Caulfield on the street, I'd trip him. But seriously, I've got to give it to J.D. Salinger for creating a character that irritates me so thoroughly. But, back to Tom Perrotta. By the end of the book, I realized it wasn't really anything in the book that made me feel depressed. In fact, I've got about zero sympathy for any of the characters. I simply find the idea that there is no such thing as a happy marriage depressing. The book itself was mostly just...m'eh.
There was one thing I really appreciated about the story at the end. SPOILERS AHEAD!! I like that Sarah and Todd don't end up running away together. I was rooting for them a little, I admit. But, in general, I'm not a huge fan of books or movies romanticizing adultery. As much as I get sucked into those fictional relationships, I'm always aware of just how distasteful I find them to be in real life. If Sarah were my friend, I'd definitely want her to leave Richard and to be happy. But, I'd want her to do it before she slept with someone else. And, I can't help but imagining myself on the other side: as Todd's wife Kathy. Working all day, supporting my husband while he has a summer fling with someone else. Anyway, I was glad it didn't work out. It seemed more true-to-life to me. (I know, I know, I was just griping about how Perrotta didn't give me a single "happily-ever-after" couple. And it's true, I probably would've liked it a little if Todd and Sarah had been that couple. But, I liked the way he resolved it.)
Little Children was depressing to me. It's important to note the difference between depressing, as in the case of Little Children, and sad, as in the case of The Time Traveler's Wife. For one thing, it's very easy for a book, movie, or show to make me feel sad. I'm a cryer. Also, I like to feel sad sometimes, especially about books, etc. It's very cathartic. On the other hand, I hate feeling depressed. In Little Children, there is not a single happily married couple. It focuses on 3 very unhappily married couples, but manages to highlight at least four other unhappy marriages throughout the course of the novel. I'm not just being a wide-eyed idealist here. I'm not looking for perfection; In fact, I find that in fictional characters imperfection is usually preferred. But, Perrotta seems to be making some greater commentary about marriage as the end of happiness, and I'm just not willing to accept that.
At first, I was going to give Tom Perrotta credit for making me feel something, even if it was just depressed. Generally, I think having an emotional response to a book is a sure sign of good writing, even if you don't like the book. Take, for example, Catcher in the Rye (That's right, I just said I don't like Catcher in the Rye. In fact, I hate it. What are you going to do about it?). If I ran into that punk-ass imaginary brat Holden Caulfield on the street, I'd trip him. But seriously, I've got to give it to J.D. Salinger for creating a character that irritates me so thoroughly. But, back to Tom Perrotta. By the end of the book, I realized it wasn't really anything in the book that made me feel depressed. In fact, I've got about zero sympathy for any of the characters. I simply find the idea that there is no such thing as a happy marriage depressing. The book itself was mostly just...m'eh.
There was one thing I really appreciated about the story at the end. SPOILERS AHEAD!! I like that Sarah and Todd don't end up running away together. I was rooting for them a little, I admit. But, in general, I'm not a huge fan of books or movies romanticizing adultery. As much as I get sucked into those fictional relationships, I'm always aware of just how distasteful I find them to be in real life. If Sarah were my friend, I'd definitely want her to leave Richard and to be happy. But, I'd want her to do it before she slept with someone else. And, I can't help but imagining myself on the other side: as Todd's wife Kathy. Working all day, supporting my husband while he has a summer fling with someone else. Anyway, I was glad it didn't work out. It seemed more true-to-life to me. (I know, I know, I was just griping about how Perrotta didn't give me a single "happily-ever-after" couple. And it's true, I probably would've liked it a little if Todd and Sarah had been that couple. But, I liked the way he resolved it.)
This book has almost nothing to do with kids- other than the fact that they are literally there.
Pretty good book, interesting story lines following 4 families (all with 'Little Children')
Pretty good book, interesting story lines following 4 families (all with 'Little Children')
This book is being discussed in an upcoming book club I've been thinking about joining and I have heard some good reviews about it but I just could not bring myself to care about the characters of this story of suburbia, apparently unhappy marriages, and a blatant dissatisfaction with the life of stay at home parenting. I can understand that these topics are a reality for millions and it's not that I cannot read a book that I can't relate to personally - I can and have. And frankly there were things I could relate to but I could not seem to care about any of the characters at all. It was like watching a handful of sad people trapped in boxes they'd knowingly climbed into - and being forced to sit inside those boxes with them. The best part of this book was putting it down and being greeted by my own life, which is kind of the opposite of falling into a good book. I feel like I'm trying to make excuses for not finishing this book, like I've done some horrible misdeed but at the end of the day I have to remind myself that I have better things to do with my time than read a book I'm not enjoying, whatever the reasons.
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was intrigued to check this book out after I had seen the author who wrote the screenplay of the movie adaptation with the Director.
It’s always interesting to see similarities and changes between mediums. this is one case though where I think I preferred the movie.
It did a better job of refining the story, which is prone to wandering in the book. You also feel a bit more sympathetic for characters.
It’s always interesting to see similarities and changes between mediums. this is one case though where I think I preferred the movie.
It did a better job of refining the story, which is prone to wandering in the book. You also feel a bit more sympathetic for characters.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this book was supposed to be funny… it was not so many people in this book should be in jail!!!!! Very well written but I don’t think I liked it??? Probably will think about this one for a long time
I totally DID NOT read this book because of the sex scene in the movie. I also totally DID NOT substitute Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson for the main characters.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was quite a quirky book. I got it for $1 at goodwill and it did not disappoint. I didn’t like any of the characters much but they were amusing as a cast and the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading.
My favourite part was the guy buying the underwear online
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes