Customer Reviews

Like Normal People

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This shapely, loving, glowing novel moved me so much; all the way through I kept thinking, "Well, THIS scene must be the climax, it's so heart-wrenching (or it's such an epiphany, or the writing is so darned beautiful)" -- but what a payoff in the final pages! The characters are funny and vain and hopeful and tender and utterly believable, especially the 45-year-old retarded Lena and her control-freaky mother, Ella -- but 12-year-old Shelley is also rendered with great sensitivity. This novel has everything: unflagging plot, memorable characters, layers of meaning and complexity, and beautiful, sometimes quirky, always unexpected writing.

This is a terrific book. Bender chooses to focus her story on those family members whose lives, in some fashion, revolve around Lena, rather than on Lena herself. This works brilliantly: most readers, after all, are going to identify themselves as "normal people." It's very easy to visualize ourselves living a life like Ella's, Lou's, Shelley's, Vivien's, with a loved one who presents challenges such as those presented by Lena. Yet Lena too seems "normal" in many ways: she is curious, lively, loving, jealous. The book catches us in its narrative movement and reading on becomes irresistible, but unlike lightweight plot-driven fiction, this one is also well written. Some critics can find an infelicitous phrase here and there, but most readers are more likely to be struck by the freshness of the prose. And the book ends in an utterly satisfying way too! Not with a major climax, but with a reasonable--and fitting--finale. Book groups ought to read this novel; I hope mine will.

I'm not going to tell you about plot, because you can read that above. I just want to tell you my personal experience with this book...

I read Like Normal People several months ago, in the hallway of my high school during lunch hour over several days. This information is important because it means that I probably did not give the book my full attention. My reading of it was broken up, interrupted by people coming to look at my math homework, talk to me about the history lecture, or tell me about their latest crush.

And yet...most books I read in this fashion are enjoyed at the time but soon slip away until I can barely remember them. (Yes, I read Dead Souls. There was a guy in it...and he did something, I think.) But Like Normal People was different. Even now I could tell you every detail of the plot. I could tell you about each character, recalling their names and personality quirks. And that's no small accomplishment.

This is Karen Bender's first novel, meaning that I was prepared to be forgiving of it. I didn't have to be. This novel was better than many author's second or even tenth novels. It passed the test of lunch hour reading...simply unforgettable.

Proving that a novel can be beautifully written and accessible to a mass audience, Karen Bender's deceptively simple story, focusing on three generations in the same family, each searching for what is "normal," is a triumph of storytelling and craft.

Not many first novelists can manage the shifts in voice that Bender does, from the 80-something Ella to the 12-year-old Shelly, she depicts realistically and empathetically, the lives of these women who rise to the occasion.

Thoughtful, tender, and moving. Karen Bender is already approaching a mastery of her craft.

I thought this was a warm, incredibly touching portrait of three generations of women. Although some reviewers below have suggested that Bender doesn't breathe life into her characters, I thought that her depiction of the mentally-handicapped Lena and her husband, Bob, were some of the realest, most honest portraits of the mildly retarded that I've ever read. Particularly the material dealing with their sexuality - I know from friends with mentally handicapped family members that this can be, as it for Ella, one of the most challenging issues "normal" people have to deal with. And the portrait of Ella, the caretaker who must learn how to be dependent as she ages, rang incredibly true for me, as it must for anyone with a strong-willed aging parent or grandparent. The book is absorbing, easily read, and immensely touching -- a great beach takealong.

Yes - this is clearly a first novel - some of the subsidiary characters, such as Lou (Ella's husband) and Vivian, her "normal" daughter, never quite come to life the way the three main characters do. Indeed, one gets the feeling that the book could have easily been longer -- Bender had more stories to tell about this family, but the structuring device (flashbacks within a single day of "real time") limited her ability to quite tell the story.

Still, one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time.

This book came to my attention while I was a book review editor at a disability magazine, and I remember enjoying the novel because it depicted people with disabilities so sensitively and realistically. I've read some of the other reviews and had no idea it had become a bestseller. Good for her if it has. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

...I think the book stands out among debut novels by youngishwriters because of its generous spirit. Bender's tone is the oppositeof the jaded, ironic, name-brand dropping style that some new writers adopt as a cheap substitute for real-world experience. Bender's writing is empathetic towards all her characters strengths and foibles and for that I say hurrah.

After reading all the glowing reviews, I rushed out and bought a copy right away, even recommended it as a selection for my book club. I was only slightly disappointed to find it wasn't exactly the debut of the year I'd been expecting. Not that it's awful - it just isn't great. Like Normal People is a sweet, simple story that might have been better had it been the author's second or third book. Karen E. Bender is definitely an author to watch for in the future.

Very touching story of a family with their oldest daughter being born mentally retarded. How their dreams were dashed but lived on. How each member loved the other and lived each stage of their life. Very moving and insightful into the lives, wishes, needs, dreams and love of women, mothers, sisters, and nieces.

I enjoyed this story very much. It's tender and funny, and it contains some very lovely imagery. I'd definitely recommend it.