Customer Reviews

An Independent Woman

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a fan of Fast's Immigrants Saga since I read the first book. Imagine my suprise when I saw a new book to a series that I had thought had been concluded. I cannot say that this is as good as the Immigrants series has been, but it isn't terrible. It was mostly a trip down Barbara Lavette's memory lane. This book mostly made me decide to re-read and try to find copies of the books that lead up to this one. It does seem that Mr. Fast got tired while writing the story and decided that he was done, so stopped by giving Barbara cancer. I will read this book again, and I do recommend it to any fan of Fasts Immigrants saga, just to take the walk though the Lavette's and Levy's interesting lives.

Ten minutes ago I finished reading 'An Independent Woman.' Saddened at the untimely death of Barbara Lavette, I feel the book was aptly titled. The book, to the end, portrayed a woman with incredible character. I can't share in the disappointment of the previous reviewers. It was a joy to share in the Levy/Cohen/Lavette families again. My only complaint - the walking tour of Jerusalem seemed to be filler. A great wrapup to a great set of books. Read them all.

As a third generation Italian-American who lives in San Francisco, I fell in love with the Immigrant series when I read it in high school years ago. Upon hearing that this last book in the series had been published, I eagerly reread all the previous books to prepare myself for "An Independent Woman." Unfortunately, I have a good memory so the inaccuracies and editing mistakes took some of the enjoyment off of what in all was an good experience. (My favorite mistake was Joanna and Steve Cassala's return from the dead.) Putting this aside though, I loved getting immersed in the Lavette-Levy tale again, and cried as it ended. I wish that Barbara had lived to go on more adventures - that she wasn't struck down in her prime - but then again that is how life works sometimes. Even though, this wasn't the end I had envisioned for the Immigrant series, I am happy that I read it, and would encourage any fan to buy it.

I was totally surprised when I saw "An Independent Woman" in the bookstores, and also excited. I have loved "The Immigrant" series of books since they first started, and have read them over & over again. The characters have always been well-written and highly believable. Sadly, I do not feel that I will be re-reading this book anytime soon and cannot recommend it to those who have read the series. I felt that this was not in the same caliber as the other 5. The thing that I was most disappointed in: People that had died 2 books earlier were now alive (one glaring example: Stephan Cassala's wife Joanna). It was almost as if someone else wrote the book instead of Mr. Fast. Did the editors of this book ever read the first 5? If so, wouldn't they have checked for errors in chronology/family history/content?

This book was such a fantastic tale woven by Howard Fast. I loved how it took the reader through so many parts of Barbara's life and the family issues and in the end, I really felt I had lost someone I knew as very good acquaintance. I would recommend this book to anyone. And yes, I really did cry.

AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN is, overall, a disappointment. Two characters return from the dead due to sloppy editing, and many plot points from previous books in the series are rehashed. If you're reading all six in a row, as I did, there will be an uncomfortable amount of repetition. There were a few moments that were reminders of why I love Howard Fast's writing. There is a sequence that takes place in Israel which is fast-paced, moving and inspirational. The final twenty pages or so, encompassing Barbara's passing, are beautifully written and brought tears to my eyes. I can tell that Mr. Fast based this loss on his own experience of losing his beloved Bette.

Because I so loved the Levys and Lavettes, I am glad I read this book, if only to get to spend another 300 or so pages with them. It wasn't as good as the earlier efforts, or as good as it could have been, however, and that is a pity. Recommended for hard-core fans of the series, but you won't miss a great deal if you have to skip it.

I had not heard of this series before this, but loved the book. The character relationships were a bit confusing, but it was an excellent read. I would have given it 5 stars if this was more clear. I especially enjoyed the narratives about religion, faith, marriage, and love. I plan to read the other books in this series. The ending of the book was satisfying and real. Things happen unexpectidely and I did not feel this was a cop out.

I have read the six books in a row and it's true it has a lot of mistakes. The book seems to have been written by someone different from Howard Fast. It's a pity that the saga ends like this, because the five previous books were fantastic.

I glanced over the array of new books and saw Howard Fast's Independent Woman. His entire series have been exciting, wonderful. Didn't think he would write another. I read everything he wrote and was always entranced with his San Francisco sagas. And here was yet another to take the story further. He had done it again. Except he hasn't. Sad, but this novel is a pale reflection of his past literary achievements and should have been left unpublished until he had a chance to reconsider, to write a finished draft.

and I am glad I did not pay full price for it. It was an ok book. I have never read any of Howard Fast's books before and I probably won't bother with any others.

I felt that the book was rambley and disjointed. I did like the fact that the author made it easy to read this book without reading the others in the series.

I also liked reading about Jerusalem, wine, and Unitarianism. These were wonderfully researched and discussed and it was good to learn new things and explore new ideas, especially in relation to faith and God.

In books that I really enjoy, the characters are alive, I feel close to them and am sorry when the story comes to a close. I did not have this feeling at the end of "An Independent Woman." The end was sad, but I never felt that I really knew Barbara or her family and, therefore, I felt removed from the events.

It is a good and interesting story, but I was not able to warm to the characters.