Book Review #5

She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club) by Wally Lamb

I nearly came undone while attempting to read this. It was the epitome of the type of book approved by Oprah’s book club (East of Eden and A Fine Balance being exceptions), which is the type of book that led to my fiction crisis: one in which the torturous life of a woman retold with too much detail.

I almost bought this book at Borders years ago. The clerk compared it to White Oleander and said it was a series of fantastic events that just were too much. I couldn’t agree more (although I love White Oleander, the difference in these books lies in the storytelling). I can handle a series of fantastic events, but when they are all seamed together by grief, anger and psychosis, I wonder what good finishing the work is going to do me.

I finally bought this book when I found it for less than a quarter, and I still regret it. By the time I reached page 213 I felt like I’d been run over by a truck while wearing a fat suit. This is not what I look for in a good read. I had to get it out of my house so I wouldn’t obsessively finish it and subsequently eat an entire package of cookies to try to put it behind me. I gave it to my good friend while heeding many warnings.

When I first started the book I thought it was another Starry Sally J. Freedman as Herself, i.e. typical Judy Blume book set in the 1940s. What stuns me about this fact is that it was written by a man. I thought Judy Blume's books were estrogen charged but boy! Mr. Lamb must be taking his wife's vitamins or something to that effect.

Length of time to read before bansishing from my presence: 12 hours (to page 213)
General consensus: If you are looking to cure mania, try this book.