- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Riverhead Trade; Reissue edition (Sep 2 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1573223425
- ISBN-13: 978-1573223423
- Product Dimensions: 20.5 x 13.2 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 318 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #343,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
One of the few progressive Christian writers with a national voice, Anne Lamott's work (Bird by Bird, Operating Instructions) ranges from the meditative to the hilarious. Blue Shoe falls somewhere in the middle of that range. A slow, thoughtful novel, rooted in the domestic routines of child-raising, Blue Shoe follows the newly separated Mattie Ryder as she moves back into her childhood home, recently vacated by her elderly mother, and undertakes the renovation of her entire life. Her best friend Angela has left the San Francisco Bay area to move in with her new lover, Julie. Mattie's ex-husband, Nicky, has settled so quickly into a steady relationship with a young woman named Lee that it is clear they were involved during his marriage to Mattie. Nicky and Mattie's two children are displaying signs of emotional disturbance (Lamott is at her best in describing the quietly weird behavior of young children). And to add to the mix, Mattie's mother is falling into a senile dementia characterized by pleading phone calls and wacky assertions of independence. All Mattie wants is a little more money, a decent boyfriend, and for her philandering father to rise from his grave and solve all her problems. Is that so much to ask? Some of the action in this novel could have been compressed, and the major subplot involving Mattie's father fails to excite, but the strengths of Blue Shoe--humor, unflinching characterization, and keen observation--more than compensate for its weaknesses. --Regina Marler
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Memoirist and novelist Lamott (Operating Instructions; Crooked Little Heart, etc.) brilliantly captures the dilemma of a divorced woman from the so-called "sandwich generation" in her latest, a funny, poignant and occasionally gut-wrenching novel that tracks the efforts of Mattie Ryder to cope with her divorce, find a new man, deal with her mother's aging and restore the emotional equilibrium of her two young children. The divorce dominates in the early going as Mattie continues to sleep with her sexy but egotistical ex-husband, Nick, even though his new romance with a younger woman is clipping along at a sprightly pace. Meanwhile, Mattie grows close to a married friend named Daniel, who also feels a romantic pull although he's happily married. Mattie's feisty mother, Isa, ages precipitously and becomes increasingly disoriented, leading to a series of calamities. Mattie's touching relationships with her kids, two-year-old Ella and difficult but sensitive six-year-old Harry, become the emotional anchor for the novel, and narrative momentum is provided by the gradual unfolding of a family secret, which reveals the infidelities of Mattie's late father. Most of the comedy is of the domestic variety, and Lamott continually displays her gift for finding the right combination of humor and small but significant revelations in ordinary moments. The ensemble cast is another major strength of the book, providing a backdrop against which Mattie, Daniel, Isa and the children emerge as powerful and memorable individuals. Lamott has explored similar terrain in her earlier works, but the scope and freshness of this novel could make it a breakout work for her.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tenderhearted, Yeah.,
By
This review is from: Blue Shoe (Audio CD)
Since everybody else has had their say about elements of style, plot and lack thereof, let me just add that it's a morale-buster when Mattie doesn't even learn the lessons of her hard-lived life.Theme: searching for why her family is so screwed up. Discovery: (1)her dad was a self-serving adulterer/pedophile who inflicted emotional pain on everyone he was close to, and (2) he probably got that way because he was knocked off his moorings by being sexually abused as a kid. So what does Mattie, his spiritual and tender-hearted adult daughter, do? (1) Knocks both her kids off their emotional moorings with her sexual blundering and floundering, and (2)casually crushes Pauline underfoot--- Pauline, a nice woman who never did Mattie any harm and who was, in fact, outlandishly generous toward her--- in order to steal her husband Daniel. All the while making like this is so very understandable and so very special, because she and Daniel like going to church! So t'hell with Pauline and too bad for the anxiety-tortured kids --- give 'em a snuggly hug, right? --- because kids can always adapt, right? Mattie: so perceptive, so self-aware, so honest. Tenderhearted as a rusty knife.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book with Depth, Beauty, and Empathy,
By
This review is from: Blue Shoe A Novel (Paperback)
I thought this was an absolutely wonderful book. I read a number of very negative reviews about this book on this site, and wondered if the reviewers had read the same book as I did? I could only surmise that those reviewers have not personally experienced much tragedy or pain in their lives. Had they done so, they would have understood so much more about Anne Lamott's story. The main character is going through a "dark night of the soul", where she feels as if everything in her life has come out wrong, or certainly not the way she planned or hoped. And she is struggling with trying to make sense of it all, to find meaning, and to discover the path she needs to take in her new life.She is recently divorced, a single mother, part of the sandwich generation - taking care of both her children and her aging mother. She was raised in an unstable and abusive environment. She is perceptive, bright, aware, and intelligent, trying desperately to sort out the confusions, losses, challenges and growth in both her past life and for the future. I would highly recommend this book to any women (in particular) who have questioned themselves, their paths, their choices, and find themselves at mid-life with no "happy ending" ......yet. The book is compassionate, insightful, messy, strong, and very much about the human condition.
3.0 out of 5 stars
God helps those who help themselves,
By Liz "word girl" (Waterford, MI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Blue Shoe (Paperback)
I enjoyed the beautifully written descriptions of the lead character's surroundings. It was interesting to note the degree of self-centeredness for her. Even the wonderfully articulated weather reflects exactly Mattie's inner state. I found myself frustrated while reading this novel. I wanted to scream, "HELP YOURSELF!" while she constantly blamed others for her poor circumstances and plead with God. It was a good book, but one that annoys all the while. I felt as though Mattie never grows during the course of the novel.
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