Customer Reviews

Looking Back

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have read all of Belva Plain's books; I enjoy the story lines, the way they move along, and her stand for morals and clean dialogue. But this title just does not "cut the mustard."

The first half or so of the book is interesting, with a fairly good plot, but the characters are shallow, and not well-developed. Several are intent on destroying their lives, as well as those around them.

The ending is totally depressing with no redeeming value that I can think of; they all (main characters) end up screwing their lives in a miserable manner. This is an unusual twist for Belva Plain. Most of her stories have a good, if not happy ending. I was depressed at the end, and reluctant to pass my copy on to another of her fans.

All in all, it was a disappointment and I do not recommend purchasing it. If you are a die-hard fan, wait until the paperback version comes out or borrow it from your local library.

I am one of those people who tend to pick up a book, and if it's good, read it in one or two days. This book took several attempts before I could ever get into it enough to even finish. The first 200 pages are painfully boring and monotonous. The plot is lifeless and predictable and the characters are shallow and under-developed. I have read other books by Belva Plain, and I have to say that this is her worst effort in my opinion. For fans of the author, I wouldn't recommend paying full price because you will be disappointed. For readers who are not familiar with Plain, don't read this book first, or you will never give her other, better books a chance.

This book really does not seem to be Plains best effort. The characters lacked depth, not to mention morals. The plot was disjointed and flat. I am sorry I bought the book. If you have not read any of Plains other titles, please do so. This title is just a fluke! She is a wonderful storyteller and you can get so wrapped up in her characters world, you won't want to come back!

As a long time reader of Belva Plain, I wonder where she has gone to. I'm afraid to say that her last few titles have left me shaking my head thinking back to some of her earlier books and hoping her newest books will be as good. Sadly her latest book, Looking Back, didn't do anything for me and fell into the category of, "I wish I hadn't bothered."

Unfortunately, Looking Back, was a rather dreary and almost predictable read which had me had me thinking same old, same old. And while I realize that themes are often repeated these days, this one wasn't well developed or the characters either memorable or even interesting. Like many of Plain's more recent books with present day themes of rape, incest, child abuse, sibling rivalry and embezzlement, Plains newest title further explores family life at its worst and fits right in with other titles such as The Carousel, After the Fire and Secrecy.

Looking Back begins on a college campus where three good friends are about to graduate and proceed with their lives. In time they will all marry, some for better, some for worse. But then jealousies arise between the three friends, two of whom who are sisters in law and one woman goes so far as to have an affair. The climax and end of the book, while fairly predictable is also rather ridiculous but by then I was looking forward to selecting my next read. I doubt it would have even bothered me if I hadn't bothered to finish this title.

I think I continue to read Belva Plain's books hoping for another one as good as Evergreen or other titles in that series. It hasn't happened recently except for Legacy of Silence published a few years ago. So I offer a bit of advice for those not familiar with Ms. Plain's books. Either get a copy of Evergreen, her first book and other titles in that series or her later book, Legacy of Silence, which I loved to see how good she once was at writing family sagas. And if you've already read these books, eithe reread them or join me in looking forward someday to a better read from this author.

Cecile, Norma, and Amanda met during college and have remained good friends in spite of their different backgrounds. Cecile comes from a wealthy family and was raised with many privileges and is the first to marry. Amanda agrees to marry Norma's brother, Larry, even though she's not sure she really loves him, and Norma remains single for a long time but finally marries one of her fellow school teachers. The novel seeks to answer the question of whether the bonds of friendship forged in their early years can stand the tests of time. The novel alternates between telling the story of their lives from the perspective of each of the 3 women, but the book is lacking in character development and I never really felt that I knew any of them well. Amanda is self-absorbed, selfish and uncaring of her devoted husband and ultimately betrays him in the worst possible way. From the moment of her betrayal, I could see no possible way for a satisfactory ending to this novel but I plodded on until the end anyway. "Looking Back" chronicles in a plodding, uninspired manner the many sad and frustrating experiences of the characters, and is simply not the caliber of writing I have come to expect from Belva Plain, one of my favorite authors.

This book is a real bore. Waste of money. I liked her books so I bought this one. What a drag. Nothing. I mean nothing is new here. What a disappointment.

I simply adored this book. The characters were so real. I could see how all of the characters' actions fell in to place. What a shocker-- Larry's Dad!! (I must admit-- I picked up on this scenario from the get-go) I read this book in two days and passed it along to a friend immediatley. She loved it also. I guess my only question would be-- how in the world did Amanda spring back so fast in the end and do so well-- what with little money, and landing on her feet so firmly? Larry was certainly a strange character. Although I did find myself laughing at some of his comments. Poor Amanda-- she wanted to live like Cecile -- but at least she garnered some of her good taste and know-how for setting a fine table. (This was the least of her problems.) Norma-- not the person we thought she was in the beginning. To be honest, I had to go back and re-read some of the first chapters to put all of this in prospective. I enjoyed this book very much.

What can I say? Never read a book of hers, picked it up
as a book on tape at the library, and found it to be rather
entertaining, though it's a moralizing, sermonizing, simplistic piece of work. Another reviewer said it when she pointed out that the characters seem to come from the
forties - it's real "gee whiz" and "oh gosh" kind of stuff.
Hand-wringing, gaping, gasping, wheezing...now and then
a cell phone to remind you that it's contemporary. Hello.

If you're looking for a little diversion, but don't want to have to
think very much (unless you can call her periodic sermonizing or philosophizing...."no one ever really knows another person"...thought) take this book to the beach with you. What's sad is that you know someone (the author?) worked very hard to produce this book, but it's kind of empty and charmless. The characters are all rather boring, plodding, prosaic. The visualizations are so lacking that it's hard to get a fix on them. I recommend that the author re-read her Dickens, for a lesson in descriptive characterization.

It does have a rather odd ending. So much unbelievable convolution...in a way, it was fun following the author around as she tried desperately to bring it to some sort of conclusion. I have a feeling she didn't have a clue how it would end when she began it, which can make things difficult for a writer. Though a book takes its own strange twists and turns, it helps to have a sound denoument in mind. This had an implausible ending, but hey - you won't lose much sleep worrying over it.

I suppose she needed a new swimming pool, or aluminum siding for her country house, and the advance from such a book brought in the money...had to be that, cause what else is the point?

I finished this book and wondered what the point was. I did not feel connected to any of the characters. They had no depth and were hard to care about. Many of the characters did things that were out of character and made no sense (ex: Peter accusing Cecile of talking about his project - not to mention her parents accusing her). I also felt that the story was slow & drawn out until the end and then years and years rushed by without really having any meaning other than to hurry up & end the book. It is as if the author got tired of the story too and just wanted it to be over!

What bothered me most about this book is that the characters' language and conversation never rang true. It is set in contemporary times (the young women would listen to CD's) but they all speak and act as if they are in the 1940's! The women seem so false as a result, that it is difficult to care about them. A great and grating disappointment.