When a woman murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life, her daughter must navigate a new reality--that of a series of foster homes, each its own universe, each with its own limits and dangers.
Read More
When a woman murders a former lover and is imprisoned for life, her daughter must navigate a new reality--that of a series of foster homes, each its own universe, each with its own limits and dangers.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains. Bundled media such as CDs, DVDs, floppy disks or access codes may not be included.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 8vo-over 7; Type: Hardback Type: Hardback Seventh Printing. Hardcover and Dust Jacket in Very Good Condition. Clean, tight & solid book, with a few faint chalk-like spots on front black panel. Pages 35-39 rumpled, otherwise pages clean with no markings. Jacket is clean and bright, with a small closed tear at the spine tail. The author's debut novel. The story of Astrid, child of a single mother, a brilliant, obsessed poet, who keeps Astrid isolated, in a life of ritual and mystery, Astrid's mother becomes obsessed with a man who rejects her and she murders him and goes to jail. Astrid then has to find her life and herself when living through a series of foster homes in San Francisco. She confronts the challenges of lonliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become. 390 pages. 6.5 x 9.5 inches. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA 1999.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. Pages are crisp and clean, binding tight. Cover shows light edgewear, shelfwear. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. Orders received before 3PM PT typically ship same day. All profits support the non-profit community.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in fine first state dust jacket with no Oprah designation. A tight, clean, unread copy. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. 384 p. Audience: General/trade.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Advanced Uncorrected Proof in printed paper wraps, fine unread copy w/publisher material. Only flaw is Borders Promo stamp on title page. A very collectible copy of True First Edition! Not a hardcover. Printed Paper Wraps/ Advanced Uncorrected Proof. 384 p. Oprah's Book Club (Hardcover). Audience: General/trade.
This is one of my all time favorite books. A very beautiful but disturbed woman finds herself obsessed with a very unlikely man, and finally poisens him with Oleander. She is convicted for the crime and her daughter is left at the mercy of the foster care system. The story is very dark and haunting, but what elevates the book for me is the writing. It is beautiful and lyrical in the descriptions of Los Angeles and its suburbs. Having grown up in this area I could feel the winds, hear the sounds of traffic on a nearby freeway overpass, picture a beautiful sunrise in a seedy neighborhood. Some might say this story is a little over the top, but it is still dark and beautiful as you watch this young girl who has always lived in the shadow of her mother finally find herself as she " goes through the fire" of one bad placement after another. This is a book I will read again just to enjoy the poetic writing.
grrrace
Nov 22, 2008
Readable, but not a joy
As I loved the movie, I thought it would be interesting to read the book for a further exploration of the characters. Unfortunately, I found the movie to deal with character development in more depth than the book. While readable as a way to kill time the book is mired in endless similes and metaphors, some dreamlike, most leaving the reader caught in a fog of like and as. However, as a writer myself, I am constantly dismayed by the poor punctuation and grammar that seems to be prevalent in so many of today's "literary classics." I would have thought that someone who teaches creative writing at the university level would have honed her craft a little more sharply. Perhaps Janet Fitch is attempting to appeal to the mainstream reader, who unfortunately seems to be interested in reading only those books one does not have to think about; sadly, that reader is not me.
Maggy
May 28, 2008
This book is very good. Incredibly depressing, but good. Fitch shines as a writer, and the only complaint I have about this novel is that her protagonist consistently makes the wrong decision, to the point where it seems Romeo-and-Juliet-esque. Both an exploration of a mother-daughter relationship, and an exploration of the aspects (mostly bad) of the foster care system.
WMiles
Apr 30, 2007
A mother-daughter thing
Astrid grows up in the loving claws of her mother, who ends up in jail for murder. Since her mother is single, Astrid ends up in an orphanage after which she gets shunted from one family to the next; one of her foster parents commits suicide (the one she gets to love most). How can a girl turn into a woman under these circumstances? She does, and she becomes a woman of integrity in spite of her mother?s pleas to ?remember who you are?. When an opportunity arises for Astrid to tell the truth about her mother (and the murder) she gets to understand that her mother loves her in spite of all the things that happened in their past. It?s honestly a story that needs to be read more than once.