Customer Reviews

Hanging Up

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking for a light-hearted page turner and found one in Hanging Up. Colorful characters and the split-chronology device kept what could have been a dull storyline alive. These three sisters seemed very human in their struggle to balance independent lives with responsibility and in finding compassion for their difficult father. Sure, it's not literature and definitely has a Meg Ryan-movie flavor, but this is a satisfying read if you're looking for a warm, contemporary story and a few good chuckles.

I have never read a novel that triggered so many emotions inside of me. I felt that someone had peeked into my life. I am the oldest of four sisters and I can only say that Ms. Ephron's family and mine are one in the same. I cannot tell you how emotionally vunerable I am at this time. I watched the movie last night and I cannot stop crying. Needless to say I have not learned to hang up or to disconnect. Our nightmare and frantic phonecalls are still going on. Our Dad is still with us (mimi strokes and divorce and crying for a very distant mother to each of us on a daily basis). This is actually more of a plea than a review. I felt so connected with this family. Is there somehow that I could actually let the author know how much the novel meant to me?

This has to be one of the best books I've ever read. I've read it many times and the quality of Delia's writing is superb. From Eve's troubles with her father, to Georgia's nationally known magazine, to Maddy's consistent wrong choices, this is a book full of non-stop laughter and fun. Sometimes we get so caught up in work, that we're always on the phone and don't take the time to realize that we're missing the most important things in our lives. Sometimes, it is necessary to disconnect. This book has a great moral and you won't be able to put it down. Don't forget to check out the movie (Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, Walter Matthau). It's one of the best!

Overall, I enjoyed Hanging Up. It's a story of three sisters in a wildly disfunctional family. They communicate pretty much exclusively by phone, mostly over the condition of their increasingly senile father. It was very entertaining at times, but for the most part the oldest and youngest sisters are too self involved, and the middle one is a complete doormat for her father, sisters, and son. There is a bitter tone throughout the novel, yet I still had a hard time putting it down.

I loved "Hanging Up"! I found the characters to be very realistic in their emotional reactions to their situations. I can very much relate to Eve's allowing herself to be taken advantage of to such an extent. Also, her relationship to her sisters was aptly portrayed in that while she was talking to Georgia, she was the child seeking approval, but with Maddie, she tried to be the adult and expected her younger sibling to follow her guidance as she herself followed Georgia's. Each sister seemed to feel that no event in her life - no matter how important - had any merit until it had been shared with the others. It is very rare that I find a modern book that enjoy so well.

I thought this was a great funny read and I can just see Diane Keaton as Georgia, Meg Ryan as Eve and Lisa Kudrow as Maddy. Its not very often that I read a book and am laughing down to the bottom of my belly - I think that the way Delia Ephron deals with the lives of this family through the eyes of Eve was great fun and I really recommend this book, I hope she writes more adult fiction and I really look forward to the movie.

This book disappointed me twice. First, when I slogged through the book itself, thinking it would have to improve; second, when I found out it will be a Meg Ryan movie. Lucky for the author, she's the sister of Nora Ephron. If anyone else wrote it, it would never have gotten published. It reads like a treatment for a Meg Ryan movie, which will probably be adorable. But you certainly don't need to READ it.

I have to say that this is very possibly the only book I have ever read in which I detested every single character: Eve, the self-absorbed doormat; Georgia, the self-absorbed career woman; Maddy, the self-absorbed "actress"...and the list continues with the parents, the spouses, the children...the only reason I want to see the movie is to see how irritating the characters are on screen--or how much they were changed by the screenwriter.

This story is what I am living through now, but my life is not quite as funny. The story is very close to home for me - though funnier than what I am experiencing. I felt as though Delia Ephron had interviewed me to get her story line! Even if you are lucky enough not to be able to identify with the story personally, you will still gain a great deal from this true-to-life look at fractured families, caregiver trials and hate/love relationships.

Hanging Up is about three sisters; Eve , the proclaimed 'doormat', Georgia, the 'self absorbed' magazine editor, and Maddy, the fun loving tv actress. With a dying father on top of many other problems, Eve is forced to take care of him, since the others don't seem to have the time.
Hanging Up is definately one of the best book-to-movie adaptions that stays true to the book, except for a few minor details. In the movie, it's Meg Ryan who gets in the whole "oops i was too busy on my cellphone to look so i accidently hit your car and my insurance is high so can we settle this privately" matter, while in the book it's her son Jesse. Overall, the story is a heartwarming journey through the three sisters estrangement back to their convergence. If you liked the movie, you'll definately like the book.