Customer Reviews

If Love Were All: A Novel

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

 

 

The negative review above, written by the reader from Pennsylvania, finally persuaded me that people as frightened, narrow-minded and selfish as the ones depicted in this book, and towns dominated by such people, must still exist in the modern United States. But even as I read, convinced that Judith Wall's portrait of life in a small Nebraska town was overdrawn, I was fascinated. Ms. Wall can write.

And the "soap" dig in the Kirkus review above, probably written by some over-educated, actually quite unsophisticated, recent graduate of Vassar, is quite undeserved--unless, that is, you consider sad, complex, lifelike dramas of courage in the face of almost overwhleming odds typical soap opera fare.

This very well-written, gripping book has only one flaw that I can see, and I may, again, be refusing to face reality. Charlotte, the appealing, confused, stubborn and very attractive heroine of this story has no friends, no allies, absolutely no one on her side. Could this be? Are there really places and people that bad? I do sincerely hope not.

I told my wife, who is tougher than I am, something about this book as I was reading it and she said, "Why doesn't she tell 'em to shove it and take off?" Well, I can see why she doesn't, and that's one of the things that makes the book so good--Charlotte is herself part of this milieu, and, no matter how she tries, she can't help seeing things from the point of view of her tormentors.

Oh, yes, this is a very good book.

Charlotte Haberman loved her spouse Stan, a newspaper owner-operator. So did their three children and just about every resident of Newberg, Nebraska who felt Stan was a great person. When Stan dies after twenty-seven years of marriage, Charlotte and her children mourn their loss as do most of the townsfolk.

However, Charlotte decides to do the unthinkable. She sells their home and begins a quest to find out what happened to her first love, Cory Lee Jones, who ended their relationship while serving in Nam. For the first time in three decades, Charlotte is doing something for herself. She needs to know if there remains any spark, not so much for the present or future, but for what could have been an alternate life for her if Cory had returned to her.

This is an amiable tale that provides readers with interesting insight into moral dilemmas. Charlotte, her children, and the deceased Stan are all great characters, who feel like any functioning family. However, it is the poignant story line with its multiple messages that make this must reading for fans of modern mainstream fiction. The relationship walls that individuals hide behind are brilliantly but effortlessly peeled away by the talented Judith Henry Wall.

Harriet Klausner

I had never heard of Judith Henry Wall. I came across her book in my local library. I read it in one day! More often than not I find myself flipping to the last few pages of a book to see how it ends because I have become bored with what I am reading, or I can see the outcome in the first two chapters. Not so with this well written novel. Wall has taken the things in life we all must face in time and woven them into a well defined story line. Charlotee Haberman is a woman in change, Her husband has died and she wants to sell the family home and move into a smaller place. This does not set well with her three grown children. Besides them she must deal with a difficult mother and a sister who has her own corss to bear. I expected it to end one way but was not disspointed when it ended quite another. I admit I cried more than once while reading it. I had flash backs to my own life and relationships and home, places and people that are no more. Let the nay sayers have their time at bat.. however I think you will enjoy reading this book, and gain some insight to your life along the way.

Maybe it's because I recently turned 50 that I found this book to be a real wake-up call and an incentive to examine my own life and the perceptions/expectations I (and my family) have about me. [...] a story of a woman who would "pine for what could have been" because the whole point of her journey--both physical and spiritual--was to put the past aside and live a life that would fulfill her needs rather than continue the pose her family and community expected. I appreciated this book's gentle reminder that we can't please all of the people all of the time and that the bonds of love don't have to be chains that imprison us.

Charlotte Haberman has spent her adult life being a good wife to Stan and her three children. Now, still in her 40's, Stan dies of cancer and her three grown children seem to want her to stop living and be a memorial to their father's memory.

But, Charlotte has other ideas. A long-ago, pre-Stan lover has haunted her. Why did Cory Lee, the love of her life, not return to her when he came back from VietNam? Charlotte decides to put an end to the fantasy and find Cory Lee. She embarks on a journey in which she discovers a lot about herself. Unfortunately, Charlotte has no one in her life who is sympathetic to her. Her children are furious that she sells the family home, her sister is condescending, her mother is downright hateful. It is only when Charlotte removes herself from the small-town she has lived in all her life that she feels she can truly be herself.

Judith Henry Wall has done an excellent job of defining many of the characters and places Charlotte in interesting situations. However, Charlotte never seems to see herself as anything other than victim. Will she find Cory Lee? Will he change her life? Will her children ever ease up on her? Will her sister and mother ever offer her an ounce of support? Read the book and decide if it's best to let sleeping dogs lie.

I will say off the bat that I only read 1/3 of this book. I thought the story sounded great--middle aged widow tries to find a new life for herself, but the author introduced so many characters and all their junk that it took away from the story. I finally just skipped to the end to see if she ever found Cory and how it all turned out. I kept hoping it would get better, but the whole think just gave me a headache with all the side stories on everyone else.

Although Charlotte created many of her own problems by all the little white lies she told, still, I thought her desire to be three-dimensional was reasonable, everyone in her family was as irritating as heck, and she was admirable in her continual determination to prevent them from flattening her. Character development and plot movement were decent. I did think her son was a sanctimonious, selfish hypocrite who never got called on his behavior and never changed for the better (unlike the other characters who finally lightened up a bit).

I felt with each page something new developed. I enjoyed this book. There were twist and turns with every chapter and i wanted to keep reading to find out what was happening next. If you are looking for a book about family secrets,and drama. Read this book

I wasn't too enthralled with this book. It was kind of hard to keep reading, but I make myself finish any book just in case things get better or there is a poetic phrase or two that I love and want to remember.
So, I kept reading, but really didn't enjoy the story. It was too contrived. And in parts, the writing seemed so juvenile. I did find a couple of good statements to make me think about religion, so I am glad I read the book.

As much as I enjoyed this book for its literary beauty and possibilities, I found the story to be depressing and dark. A woman who essentially feels she's wasted her entire life and has a sordid affair with a man young enough to be her son is hardly the story I would recommend to someone looking for a captivating story. I suppose I sound judgemental, but it seems we should be reading spiritually uplifting stories that encourge the sanctity of marriage, not encouraging women to pine for what could have been. The more I write this review, the more I've just decided I really didn't care at all for this book!