White Oleander (Oprah's Book Club) by Janet Fitch
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Book Reviews of White Oleander (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Excellent, original book
Summary: 5 Stars
"White Oleander" by Janet Fitch is one of the best books I've ever read. The writing style, character development, plot and presentation are nothing short of sensational.
In the beginning of the book Astrid is a twelve-year-old girl who is awed by her eccentric mother, Ingrid, an extremely talented poet who doesn't enjoy her job one bit. Astrid feels guilty for holding her mother down and sometimes blames herself for her unhappiness. One day her mother meets a man named Barry, who slowly wins her over and they fall in love. At first Ingrid is head over heels for him, a completely new woman to Astrid. Then their relationship falters and Ingrid kills Barry with the poison of a white oleander. She is sentenced to life in prison for murder.
That's when Astrid stars traveling from foster home to foster home. Sometimes she doesn't like it at all, sometimes she enjoys the people she lives with but ends up disappointed and hurt. The people Astrid encounters couldn't be more different; they range from a jealous transformed Christian woman named Starr to a greedy, thrifty Russian. Though Astrid is often thwarted by her experiences, every person she meets helps her grow and enriches her character development.
In the end of the book Ingrid gets another chance in court. If she is pronounced innocent she and Astrid will unite. If she is pronounced guilty she will surely spend the rest of her life in jail.
Ingrid surely isn't the most sympathetic literary figure in recent years, but she's one of the most interesting. The climax wasn't too exciting, but Janet Fitch's writing style makes reading about Astrid's every day life a pleasure. Fitch writes poetically and uses many metaphors, which may turn off some readers, but I found it unique and mesmerizing, just like the tale she's telling.
"White Oleander" was filmed with Michelle Pfeiffer, Renee Zellweger, Alison Lohman and Robin Wright Penn. The film leaves out much of the book, similar to Harry Potter 3, but I don't think there's another option when a book is so long and complex. I would recommend the movie to anyone who enjoyed the book, Lohman really shines playing Astrid throughout her journeys.
Book Review: A One-of-a-Kind Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
First, the vain yet extraordinarily talented poet. A mother with golden hair yet an anything but golden heart. A murderer with a promise she couldn't keep, despair driving her to seek vengeance of a kind no one could imagine. Second, the innocent and artistic young girl. The daughter of hate, arrogance, and genius with everything to overcome. She is lost in her chaotic world with no one to guide her out of the dark which swallows her and drags her down to the pits of Hell.
White Oleander is a masterpiece about these two women: Mother and daughter, each in their own battle for freedom yet each of a different kind. When Ingrid (the mother) poisons her ex-boyfriend, she is sent away to prison, leaving Astrid (her 13 year-old daughter) to fend for herself through a series of horrible foster homes, each involving tragedy. Only her love of painting can bring her through the difficult times she is faced with.
One of the foster mothers called Starr is extremely religious, yet it is ironic how she wears miniskirts and low-cut shirts while she praises the Lord's name. Astrid is immediately attracted to Starr's boyfriend, who is the only person who has every really shown any affection for her and they eventually become seriously involved with each other. When Starr finds out, she becomes furious and in her rage and sends her away.
The next foster home she stays at treat her like dirt and force her to be their maid, while Astrid finds comfort with the seemingly-flawless prostitute Olivea next door. Astrid finds her self following the guilt-ridden path that Olivea took and because Astrid visits Olivea so much, the foster family she is staying with turns her away.
Astrid travels from family to family until she finds Claire, a struggling actress, and her husband. Then, disaster strikes in a caring household and Astrid turns her back on the only love she has ever known.
As Astrid journey's through time and place in a search to find herself and not become her mother's daughter, the reader finds themself almost knowing the character personally. I love this book more than life itself and this book is a must-read for anyone who considers themself an 'avid reader.' Thank you Janet Finch!
Book Review: White Oleander: Rare Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
Being of such a young age, I think I am yet to fully understand the depth of Janet Fitch¡¦s White Oleander. But, as a high school student, it is my God-given right to speculate, and that I will. I finished reading White Oleander at eight in the morning, having started reading it from ten o¡¦clock the previous night. It was intended to serve the purpose of light reading before bedtime, but for some unexplainable reason, I just couldn¡¦t put the book down. Well, perhaps I can attempt to explain it. Janet Fitch¡¦s writing is truly remarkable. It is not only filled with rich language and amazing descriptions, but it is so unbelievably real. It¡¦s like ¡§get out of my head!¡¨ scary. She is able to not only completely become Astrid, a depressing but very real girl, but wholly capture the essence of the stupidity Starr suffers, the mediocrity Mabel enjoys, and the vulnerability Claire bears. This novel exposes the dark side (and is there another?) of foster-homes, and shows how Astrid attempts to mold to each of her drastically different environments in order to find an answer, an answer that her mother won¡¦t give her. And why? Because it delights her oh-so-clever ultra-feminist poet self to watch her daughter cope with society as she sits behind bars for murder? I don¡¦t know. What¡¦s more important is to observe the cultivating of one girl¡¦s entire philosophy through her experiences. Astrid goes from being a young trusting 11 year old to an 18 year old tough-as-nails, and the reader is with her all the way. It¡¦s marvelous that Fitch doesn¡¦t merely create new, ¡§older¡¨ lines for Astrid to speak. She creates new thoughts. My only complaint is that at times, one does start to wonder how the reader is expected to believe that this fantastic sum of horrible, horrible things could really happen to one person. And if it could, God, do we live in a world filled with selfish people, twisted people, not-so-great people, and no one (except for maybe Paul) is exempt. If I had to describe this book in one word (which really isn¡¦t possible), I would say: thought provoking. If you can handle it, read it.Book Review: White Oleander: Strangely Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book almost a year ago, and didn't actually pick it up and start reading it until a few days ago. Actually, although I am an avid reader, I really wanted to see the movie, which was my motivation for beginning to read this book. However, now, after having finished the book, I don't know if I want to see the movie. I feel as if the book was too beautiful, too perfect, and I highly doubt that the movie could portray this beauty in a way that would satisfy me. At times, this book was harsh and made me cringe. At other times, the language Janet Fitch used overwhelmed me with its poetic perfection, each sentence a flowering idea, full on the page, but leaving much room to discover its hidden meanings. This is not a book to read lightly; the author's ideas on the meaning of life are embedded here, and whether you agree with them or not, they will envelop you in their simple complexity. The characters came alive for me, however bazaar they are. They are unlike anyone I have ever met, or even read about, but they were so believable, and it challenged me to think: these could be the people living right next door. I have always had a very hard time understanding the reasons some people make such destructive decisions, but this book almost allowed me to understand the thought process, the desperate need, that leads people to these ultimately harmful decisions.
We follow Astrid Magnussen's painful childhood to her early adulthood, and nothing is ever perfect for her. Her mother, imprisoned and somehow increasingly possessive, dominates her life. While trying to become the exact opposite of her mother, Astrid finalls sees in herself her similarities with this woman she rebels against, and comes to understand and live with who she is.
A powerful, thought-provoking read, this book kept me entwined in its rich, symbolic language and heartbreaking story of a girl trying to find herself among despair and looking for the glimpse in her life that could, if even fleetingly, be happiness.
Book Review: JANET FITCH, ARE YOU AFRAID?
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this book.... and really didn't expect to find it so compelling. I thought the writing was beautiful. I've never been a knowlegable fan of poetry, but an avid reader, ...enchanted with the written word, when done well... since I was a child. I know this is a strange comparison, but when reading this book, it made me remember reading "Heidi" as a child. To this day, I can vividly picture Heidi and her grandfather toasting cheese over the fire, eating it with crusty bread. I can smell the Alps, the flowers, feel Clara's lightness, and the Grandfather's love beneath the rough exterior. This is how I felt reading "White Oleander." I savored the writing as I do fine cuisine, carefully prepared, creatively inspired, lovingly served. I would read the lines over and over feeling their beauty as if it were something tangible. Ms. Fitch put so much thought into each sentence, each emotion, and I believe she expressed it with insight, intelligence and creativity. To compare feelings with seaweed? It would never have crossed my mind... but it so perfectly expained Astrid's mindset at the time... the green, the tangling, strangling vines, floating. I felt Astrid age, mature, however much she was hampered by circumstance...how she managed to display the childlike thoughts confused with, poisoned or wisened, maybe both, with the maturity that was thrust upon her...the perplexity between the chilishness and the wisdom that were both beyond her years, at times inappropriately young, and conversely too old. I have no idea how Ms. Fitch was able to so profoundly express these deep complexities that resided inside this unusual chararcter. The story? Not really that exciting or novel as stories go...however, what I found amazing is that she took this subject matter and molded it into what I perceive as a beautiful work of art. Now, Ms. Janet Fitch, are you afraid? Why have you followed this work with nothing else? There is always more inside of you. Take the leap, lady!