Black and Blue (Oprah's Book Club)

Anna Quindlen is one of my Favorite Authors and I have to say that Black and Blue has to be her at her finest. This was a book I was not able to put down at all. The characters are very realistic and you get a true understanding of all the emotions that they are feeling.

Fran Benedetto, a nurse who lives in NYC and seems to be happily married to her husband Bobby but she is a victim of Domestic Violence. The book deals more with Fran trying to escape her situation by going underground and assuming a new identity with her son Robert but its extremely hard to run away from a police officer. I was able to feel the suspense on every page wondering if or when her husband would catch up to her.

Anna Quindlen does an excellent job describing each and every emotion that Fran must have been feeling and this book gave me a new understanding of Spousal Abuse. This book is a real pageturner and it is one I would highly recommend and I would also highly recommend One True Thing also written by Ms. Quindlen.

[Warning: a review below by "Drea248" unwittingly divulges a crucial element in the story line. Though a positive review, if you plan on reading this book, avoid the review.]

Anna Quindlan's latest work of fiction "Black and Blue" has the potential to do what few so called "women's books" are able to accomplish, have an intrinsic appeal which serves both genders. This is a story with the ability to be accessible on many levels and that is one of its strengths.

This is a book about women, about children, about men, about the building up and breaking down of relationships, about strength and weakness, about truth, about secrets, about courage, and about trust. It is enlightening, entertaining, and exciting; once started it will be difficult to put down. This is not an easy book to read or forget.

The issues raised, some resolved some not, remind us of the frailties and shortcomings we experience in our own lives. Hopefully the main topic is one with which many are personally unfamiliar. The description of the effort involved to achieve escape velocity from the gravitational pull of an old life is simultaneously interesting and frightening. But can you really escape?

This is the focal point of the story. The day-to-day events of the principal characters as they establish their new lives is beautifully and touchingly developed in every way, you almost forget how the main characters arrived where they are. Present experiences are cleverly woven with past memories throughout the narrative. However, this is a story that also has all of the underlying tension and menace of a good suspense novel, neither of which are ever very far from the surface.

I gave this book three stars, because it, in some respects, is typical Anna Quindlen. Well-written, with a well-paced plot, lyrical flow, and gentle style.

I could not, however, ever quite manage to transcend my dislike for the main character. Yes, Fran has been victimized, and, yes, she has flaws and is imperfect and human like the rest of us. Her behavior, however, is so disjointed and dislikeable, it was impossible to warm up to her, and a remark the character makes toward the end of the book makes it clear she has learned nothing from her experience. In her effort to show the strained dance between abuser and abused, perpertrator and victim, Ms. Quindlen creates a character who, despite her best efforts, would enable the same behavior that nearly destroyed her.

This story left me with very little hope for any of the main characters. A real disappointment from the usually-excellent Anna Quindlen.

This was a great book that I had a hard time putting down....it was also VERY depressing because it brings you to a reality that these violent domestic circumstances really exist and how it affects the innocent children. I strongly urge you to read it!

After reading this novel I discovered the severity of Domestic abuse and the effect it has on the family. Anna Quindlen used extremely vivid detail in describing the way that Fran Benedetto's husband Bobby beats her. Quindlen continusly is using the most vivid detail in all of her memories of her husband. This book is similiar to most books that I have read in the way that this author goes deep into the life of the characters and portrays their life in detail for all to understand. This topic of domestic abuse is a common topic especailly in this day and age. Too many couples are getting involved in abuse, Anna Quindlen realizes this and shows one woman who escaped the horror and moved her son to Florida under protection. The trials that mother and son go through are very challenging. Suspense is the key to this novel, the fear of Bobby Bendetto finding them and what he would do, even in her memories there is suspense because the detail is so real, "...after he'd grabbed me by the hair, and another time he's pushed me down, and another time, and another." The voice of the character is very strong, Quindlen portrays Fran Bendetto as a weak woman in the beginning and then her courage and strength is built up and by the end she is fearless and capable of anything. I liked this because it showed strong character and showed that Bobby didn't take everything away from her when he beat her. This story is very realistic, it's as I have mentioned, vivid. This makes the novel more powerful and leaves the reader feeling the impact of the abuse. This novel shows the inner spirit in the characters as they grow and change making this a well rounded book for all to enjoy. There is a setting change and is not only a physical relocation but and emotional relocation, this adds to the emotions felt by the characters and even the author's thoughts and feelings are revealed. This novel may be a little too emotional or feeling orientned for some readers. Overall this is an excellent novel.