Reviews

Larry's Party by Carol Shields

cd3364's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

jess_mango's review against another edition

4.0

Larry Weller is your typical, ordinary guy. His life isn't terribly exciting or glamourous. We meet him in the 1970's when he is in his 20's and the book carries through until the late 1990s. Larry initially works as a floral designer in Winnipeg until he discovers a passion for hedge mazes while on his honeymoon in the UK.

Each chapter in this book focuses on a different aspect of Larry's life...flashbacks to his childhood, his marriages, his work, and yes, there is even a chapter entitled "Larry's Penis"...so yeah. Each chapter could seemingly be published as a standalone short story since each seems to re-introduce Larry and recap some aspect of his life that we've already read about. I didn't mind this too much since it seemed to go with the concept of having to sometimes double back in a maze or head back in a direction that you already came from. I found the book to be clever and had an odd touch of humor. I liked it better than I expected to as I often get bored by "day in the life" everyman type of books.

katykelly's review against another edition

4.0

A surprise. I did think at times it was going to be dull, or too literary or just really boring reading about a man's life from young adulthood to his mid-forties. But no. I found it intriguing and well-written. It did go into too much detail at times as to Larry's thought processes (do we care THAT much about how another person feels about their ageing body?!). Some incidents were covered twice in the narrative with slight additions on the second run-through.
An interesting read, not difficult.

evilisarelaysport's review against another edition

lighthearted

esther_a_'s review

4.25

Throughly enjoyed this one. A slow paced and entertaining story of a man  and the different stages he goes through in his life from his twenties - forties. 
Really felt it was a man’s perspective which was so well done by a women author. 

hectaizani's review against another edition

3.0

This was one odd duck of a book. It followed the life of Larry Weller, through his marriages, divorces, and obsession with creating hedge mazes. It was slow going, as life is, and not much happened, I guess that's also par for the course with life.

Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction in 1998 (used to be the Orange Prize).

martidc's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Canadian author

laila4343's review against another edition

4.0

Carol Shields was a master of making the ordinary extraordinary. This is sort of a slow, character-driven read, but it reaps big rewards at the end, when you realize just how lovable Larry is.

fiberreader's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

nanc_282's review

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0