Ordinary People
by Judith Guest
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Book Summary Information
Author: Judith GuestEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1982-10-28
ISBN: 0140065172
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780140065176
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Ordinary People
Book Review: Ordinary People With an Uncommon Life
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently for English class we were assigned this book, and when I looked at it, I thought, "Oh great, it is another boring book picked out by boring people to bore my life." Boy was I wrong. This book was much more interesting then I imagined it would be. I learned a lot of information and changed many of my personal opinoins, such as how I thought that depression wasn't a disease, it is just a mental block that people need to work through. Seeing the struggle of Conrad, the main character, trying to want to live and not want to die is very descriptive. Even through certain chapters you see an outside look at him from his father Calvin's views. You learn more and more about what caused him to do it, and the signs he was showing, as if asking for somebody to notice and help him. By the time somebody cared about him and realized what was going on, he was on the edge of a cliff ready to fall. His father found him in the bathroom with a razor, which is hard to believe the way I was brought up, always losing negative energy and trying to make the best of the worst. The way Judith Guest displayed the scene, and I mean display as in showing us instead of telling us, it seemed as if you were in the bathtub watching him, you were the razor cutting deep in his skin, you were even him at some points. His feelings, his thoughts, his actions seemed to be what you were doing, Guest made us relate to the main character and have empathy.
Another genius of Guest was how she talked about characters. We knew what Conrad and Calvin were thinking, and main actions of everyone, but one person stood out. This person was Con's mom Beth, who is a very strange character becuase we never learn anything about her except for the information about how she was on vacation when Conrad was healing in the hospital. She cares more about her image it seems then she does about her soon growing healthy mentally. Near the end of the book, I realized that I knew very little about her becuase the book never got into her, and it made me start thinking that the reason we never learned her thoughts was becuase her personality was of someone who had closed doors and she didn't let us get in. So, it is really hard to say if she is as horrible as we thought she was in the beginning of the book.
Another interesting thing I personally noticed in the book was how Judith Guest sort of played with our emotions toward Conrad. He is around the age of 18, my class was basically 16 years old so we weren't far off. We could relate to the girlfriend Jeannine, and driving a car, and basic things like that, and just as Conrad seemed to be normal, you find out he is taking walks alone at 2 in the morning without telling anyone. That is my only problem with the story, suicide is a problem today, but the way it happens in the book just kills us. We feel like if Conrad was a real person, we could be friends and hang out, and we are having this tight connection with him, and then he starts thinking about his older brother drowning. It is hard to read this book if you are trying to relate to it, but other than that, it is GREAT. I recommend it for anyone who could read...or has a mom that does that kind of thing them. :)
Summary of Ordinary People
The Jarrets are a typical American family. Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain...and ultimate healing.
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