Mary After All [Hardcover]

Bill Gordon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Dial Press, New York (2005)
• ASIN: B002F1J73I
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Debut Novel, June 17, 2005

By 

Tanya L. Schaub "TSchlaack" (Livermore, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mary After All: A Novel (Hardcover)

Mary was born in Jersey City in the 70's to an American Italian family. She has and "Uncle" who has done time, and a Grandfather who runs a "Coffee House". You learn this early in the story as you are told snippets of Mary's life as a child, through her memories. At the age of 12 Mary finds out that her mother has Scleroderma and she takes over caring for the house and her mother. Her father a "musician/truck driver" spends most of his time away from the home.

Mary winds up marrying too young (17), has two kids too young and finds herself taking care of everyone but herself. Her husband is never home, her father drops her mother off every day to be cared for my Mary and she has 2 young boys. Along the way friends come in and out of her life and relatives offer advice. When Mary figures out that her husband has moved his "fling" upstairs in their duplex she takes matters into her own hands. She kicks him out and starts to make changes in her life.

Follow Mary and see how she deals with what life deals her, and what she will and won't forgive. This is a heartfelt story about life's realities.

I have to say that at first I was unsure about the format. You are reliving Mary's life by her telling short stories about her past. But, at the same time I was intrigued by the reality of her stories. There are tough decisions to be made about taking care of her mother and the infidelity of her husband. I found that after a bit I couldn't stop reading the book. I wanted to know that she was ok in the end and that even if it wasn't a fairy tale ending that it was one where the character was still a strong woman and dealing with what life had dealt her.

One of the most surprising parts of this debut novel is that it was written by a man...

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, February 17, 2005

By 

cindyramone (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary After All: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a great book, and I was surprised to like it as much as I did. I never expected a man to write a female character so well, with humor, truth, it is right on the mark. I also did not expect to like it as much as I did, because Bill Gordon started the story with so many characters, that at first it is difficult to get them quite straight, but suddenly the book just takes off, and you are in Mary Nolan's world of family, friends, aunts, you name it. Plot driven, character driven, and it just rings true. Read this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read, January 24, 2005

By 

Lexie (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary After All: A Novel (Hardcover)

Mary Nolan grew up in Jersey City. She married young and had two
sons. Her husband cheated on her, her father forced her to care for her dying mother, and her best friend moved away.

Bill Gordon is a genius. His book is written in the first person. The man totally understands the mind of a woman.
Bravo!