Oprah's Book Club
Selection
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Amazon
Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 1997: A dark secret lies at the heart of Mary McGarry Morris's extraordinary novel, Songs in Ordinary Time. Rooted in the delicate web of emotions, lies, and truths that bind people together, the story takes place in the primarily Catholic town of Atkinson, Vermont, during the summer of 1960. Here Marie Fermoyle struggles to raise her three children. She already has two strikes against her: she married above her station and now is divorced from her alcoholic husband, Sam. That he is the town drunk and a laughingstock only further marks the Fermoyles.
Enter Omar Duvall, a confidence man. He comes to the door asking for bread and sees an opportunity. Soon he has insinuated himself into the Fermoyle family, promising Marie companionship, love, a willing pair of shoulders to share her burden. Twelve-year-old Benjy knows something terrible about Duvall, but, desperate for anything that will make his mother happy, he hides the truth. This silence gives Duvall time to bring Marie to the brink of financial disaster and lead her sons into mortal danger.
Songs in Ordinary Time includes a chorus of other Atkinson inhabitants: town cop Sonny Stoner and his dying wife; insurance salesman Bob Haddad, so enthralled with his beautiful wife that he's willing to steal for her; and Father Gannon, the young priest with whom Marie's daughter Alice becomes involved; and the Klubock family next door, who epitomize all that is normal to young Benjy. With these lives threaded through her bittersweet tale of the Fermoyles, Morris strikes all the notes of loneliness, hope, and familial love.
From Publishers Weekly
Set in Vermont during the summer of 1960, Morris's latest concerns a dysfunctional family that falls prey to a dangerous con man.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
On the day that Duvall came Benjamin Fermoyle was twelve. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
On the day that Duvall came Benjamin Fermoyle was twelve. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Unworthy of Oprah's endorsement,
By "rita0721" (NC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Songs in Ordinary Time (Paperback)
I agree with the first three reviews I read...simply not worth the time. Maybe Oprah saw something I didn't, but I can honestly say I've never been so frustrated by ANY fictional characters as I was with the entire Fermoyle family. What a bunch of losers! Usually I can empathize with downtrodden characters, but Ms. Morris took these past my limit. I finished the book only because I kept hoping it would get better.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you have patience...,
By Theresa W (mi, usa) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Songs in Ordinary Time (Paperback)
If you can get through the first 150 pages, you'll be happy you did. With a slow start, that's when the story really starts to pick up & you start to remember the characters, there's a lot of them! I agree with an earlier reviewer in that there were too many sub-plots & characters.I did end up liking the book, and I was VERY close to putting it down & not finishing it. I am glad I stuck it out. The characters are memorable. Their plights, long & hard. You will cringe with them when things go wrong. It's a story that is so believable it feels real. I see why Oprah picked it. Just remember, there are many books that start off slow, but they don't always have such a rewarding ending.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The search for Truth,
By A Customer
This review is from: Songs in Ordinary Time (Audio Cassette)
This story is an excellent snapshot of small town life and an intimate portrait of vulnerable people. My life has been less than perfect, so I felt a kinship with the characters in Songs in Ordinary Time and their struggles. I was especially impressed with the accuracy and detail which the author delivered in portraying the emotions and behavior of the alcoholic ex-husband, the lonely divorced mother, the ostracized teenagers, the timid child, and the master of manipulation, the con man. This book has something for everyone: love, sex, drama, murder, and best of all, lessons in living. I almost forgot it was fiction. The story seemed so real to me, that my heart ached for justice for the unfortunate family. Yet the frustrations of the characters are so drawn out that I hoped for resolution long before the end came. I couldn't put it down and spent the morning of my day off finishing it. I highly recommend it for the drama and sentiment. It is not just entertaining, it blooms with the pain, longing and unfulfilled dreams of real life.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
