Customer Reviews

ORDINARY PEOPLE

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2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Judith Guest wrote a remarkable book about an ordinary family's response to an extraordinary tragedy; it was so popular in its time precisely because the Jarretts could be any American family and what happened in their family could happen in anyone's family. Well, maybe not in anyone's family; most Americans aren't wealthy enough to live in a McMansion in an upper-middle-class bedroom community nor do most families own a boat; but income aside, the Jarretts are like most people one knows: a hardworking father, a mother who wants the best for her family, and two teenage sons, one outgoing and confident, the other quiet and retiring, living in his older brother's shadow. A freak boating accident leaves the older brother dead by drowning, and the family devastated. The parents, Cal and Beth, and their younger son Conrad, are left to cope with the aftermath. "Ordinary People" is the story of how they cope - or fail to.

When the story opens, Conrad has been referred to a psychotherapist following hospitalization for a suicide attempt, after his depression over his brother's death becomes more than he can deal with. Conrad is suspicious, withholding, resentful; he's out of the hospital and no longer deemed a threat to himself, so why should he talk to this guy? But the shrink seems okay, he doesn't push or pry; he'll let Conrad open up when he's ready. And gradually, Conrad opens up.

But the more Conrad opens up, the more his mother, Beth, retreats into the wall of denial she has built up around herself. Beth is by far the most fascinating character in this book; fundamentally insecure emotionally, she has reacted by creating a world in which all is perfection: she's the perfect wife and mother, the perfect hostess, presiding over the perfect home in the perfect suburban community. There's no room for mess or disorder in her world. Her older son's death broke her perfect world apart. But her younger son's suicide attempt trashed it. This woman is so self-centered that she takes his action as a personal affront; he did it to hurt her. And so Conrad not only has to work through the anguish of his brother's death, but also the pain of his mother's rejection.

Guest is a skilled writer and she makes her characters live and breathe; we see Conrad in all his anguish and adolescent awkwardness, working through pain and grief to realize that some things can't be explained or rationalized; they just are. Conrad's father, Cal, a self-made individual, is devastated by the family tragedy but strong enough to be there for Conrad when he needs him. It's Beth, whose uncompromising rigidity appears to hold her up through the immediate aftermath of the funeral, who will ultimately crack under her inability to let go and externalize her pain.

"Ordinary People" shows us how ordinary individuals and families can come undone by events beyond their control. One reads this book and comes away realizing that strength and weakness are not always what they appear to be. Sometimes the weaker are the stronger after all.

Judy Lind

The Jarretts are the perfect family leading a perfect life in a perfect world: wealthy, respectable, an expensive house in an exclusive neighborhood, European vacations, Texas golf trips. But perfection comes at a price, and when older son Buck dies in a boating accident and surviving son Conrad attempts suicide the difference between the American dream and American reality becomes painfully apparent. The mask of perfection cracks, and those who hide behind it find themselves emotionally unable to rebuild their lives.

Judith Guest brings the reader into the story at the middle, shortly after son Conrad's release from the hospital--and with a somewhat sparse but remarkably eloquent style quickly develops the characters that people Conrad's world as he fights to find balance between his parents and himself, as he works desperately to find a way out of the expectation of perfection imposed upon him by both himself and the society in which he moves.

Guest's characters move with considerable reality and a touching humanity above the novel's unexpectedly complex underpinnings, and the author's prose is smooth, easy to read and understand, and completely faultless. Among the most astonishing elements of the work is the fact that Guest writes the entire novel in the present tense--a risky choice, but one which she brings off with amazing skill. A beautifully written novel and a powerful look at the downside of the American dream. Strongly recommended.

The characters in Ordinary People are faced with common, everyday problems. The lives of the Jarret family were turned inside-out after the death of Jordan, also known as Buck Jarret. Each character dealt with the pain and loneliness of losing Buck in a different way. However the one thing they all had in common was that the death of Buck completely destroyed everything they knew to be true, and influenced every aspect of their lives. Their grief and despair made it difficult for them to form new relationships or maintain ones they already had. Once Buck died, the family fell apart, and the complex relationships they each had with one another began to become corrupt and transformed them into less of a family and more of enemies. It seemed as if Buck was the joining force of the family and when he was gone the family lost cohesion. Cal, whose life revolved around making sure his family was content and satisfied found that he felt incompetent and lacking when he couldn't provide them with what they really needed: closure, happiness, a sense of complacency that no longer existed once Buck was gone. He spent most of his time wondering who he was, how he could define himself, and what he could possibly do to make everyone sane again. His constant obsession drove his wife crazy. A perfectionist, she had to have everything go smoothly. Buck's death not only put a wrinkle in her concept of the perfect family, it put a glitch in her social life. After Conrad is admitted to the mental institution for trying to commit suicide, she deals with it by taking trips and she falls into a spiral of denial. Conrad, of course, is hurt and offended by his mother's apparent apathy towards him. He finally realizes that he can't change his mother, and with this realization comes a sense of acceptance. Conrad, after he comes home, is faced with the task of being 'ordinary' again. He deals with his problems one at a time. He sees a psychiatrist and makes attempts at getting back his life. He is still unsure of himself and insecure, but by talking to his analyst, he slowly learns to be comfortable with who he is. His conflict is internal. He has trouble with the guilt of Buck's death, and is hurt by his mother's lack of concern. His finally is able to gain control of his life after he quits the swim team. By taking that decisive action, he took the reins into his own hands and took control. However he doesn't tell his family and Beth is mortified to hear the news from her friends. Beth is not concerned that he quit the team, merely with how it might look to others that she is unaware of her 'crazy' son's activities. Conrad finally snaps and accuses her of not caring. This is Conrad's turning point. He is able to express his emotions instead of bottling them up. Ironically, Conrad, the one most affected by Buck's death, comes to terms with it before his parents ever even acknowledge the fact that they are having problems. Conrad moves on, still grieving and still in pain, but stronger, and more in control. In my opinion, this book was quite enjoyable. It makes you think about how you would react if you lost someone you loved. It shows the true nature of ordinary people who are faced with tragedy. It's an intimate view of a family's battle with misfortune.

Ms Guest tells the story, which the movie faithfully followed, of an upper middle class family in suburban Chicago. Calvin Jarrett is a successful tax attorney and his wife Beth is the queen of the country club crowd, but their son Conrad has just returned home from a sanitarium after slashing his wrists following the death of his beloved older brother. As Conrad tries to readjust to school, friends, a new psychiatrist and most of all his parents, he plumbs deeper into the depths of his own soul and comes to some startling realizations about himself and his family. At the same time, his father begins to realize that there are terrifying depths lurking beneath the seemingly successful surface of his marriage.

The book continually prompts the shock of recognition as we discern character traits and even scenes out of our own lives and we come to see that the Jarretts are truly "Ordinary People". The extraordinary tragedy in their lives has merely revealed fault lines that lie beneath many of our own lives.

GRADE: A+

"Ordinary People" is the story of a family's struggle with death and serious mental illness. Through the loss of the older son in a tragic boating accident, each member of the family grieves in their own way. The hardest struck in the family is the younger and remaining son, Conrad, who was present at the time of the death. Soon after the death of the brother, Conrad attempted suicide. The story begins after his return from the hospital. The process of mental recovery is one that takes a huge toll on the family. The parent's lack of understanding for his illness is cause for a breakdown from within the family.

Judith Guest uses conflict to develop the theme that in life we all face internal battles and, though these battles may seem difficult, in the end they mold us into the people we are. Guest's molding process takes place in mainly one form, and that is the mental conflict within the son Conrad. He fights with himself almost constantly throughout the book. After the accident it seems almost impossible for him to control his life. Conrad wishes also for his mental battle to be understood. Most of the problems within the family originate from his will to be understood.

"Ordinary people" by Judith Guest we can encounter a great deal of vulnerability and artificiality in The Gerads , an upper -middle class American family. It tells the story of the devastating effects loss can have on what to all appearances is a "model" family. The family consists of Beth, the mother who is perfectly callous, cold and unfeeling, Cal,the father who is constantly manipulated by his wife, but is in a constant fight to keep his family together, Conrad, the emotionally unstable teenage son, and Buck, the "perfect" son who died in a boating accident. The story is set in Illinois, which adds to the trauma of the story line.

The atmosphere the family lives in before the tragic death of the perfect son, Buck is "great". Buck made the entire family proud. After his death in the boating accident the facade the family lived in started falling apart. Conrad felt he was responsible for the death of Buck and blamed himself. He even tried committing suicide and this just made his "perfect" mom mad. This family has trouble communicating and they just avoid talking about their problems. Whenever Cal and Conrad try speaking up Beth interrupts with her attitude and brings up supposedly "happier" memories. Berger, a psychiatrist that Conrad was seeing made him realize the truth about what really was going on in his family. He was of great help to Conrad and Cal, but Beth didn't want to see him because she thought family problems should be fixed within the family. Overall, I think this book is really good in making you realize that your own problems are so normal and many people go through the same thing. Even though they had more severe problems like depression, it helped me see my issues aren't that bad when compared to others. I recommend you watch the movie because it's easier to understand the meaning of their situation.

This book was by far the best book I have read in a long time. It's short in pages, but very long in thoughtful wisdom. The story is about a boy who's lost his brother in a boating accident, of which he was part of. When he tries to commit suicide, feeling guilty about his brother's death, this story takes a twist you could not have expected. His parents, himself, his grandparents turn into anything but Ordinary People, and I think the title is a play on words, almost sarcastic, because of all the things this family is, ordinary was NEVER one of them. The father is a caring, almost over-doting but well loved by the reader, the mother an absolute villain, and the boy, who can be nothing but himself, does not know that that is precisely who he is. A very strange but loveable psychiatrist helps to do the trick, but the inner strength of the boy is what shines through every page, the paradox being he is certain he has no inner strength. Infinitely treasurable, the story becomes as real to you as yourself. If only all books and stories could be written like this one, with page turning drama and straight from the heart, there would never be another book review. 10 stars to the author on this one, plus a Grammy and an Emmy and an all around standing ovation.

I think most people will agree that Ordinary People is a very good book, in its content. Some may think that it was a little confusing or over-dramatic. I can guarantee you that you will change your mind the second time you read the novel. Honestly, this book gets better and better every time you read it. It doesn't hurt to watch the movie a few times either, though i prefer the book over the movie any day. I think one of the best things about the novel is how there's no ONE protagonist or antagonist. You might say the story was all about Conrad. But couldn't it also be about Cal? or about Beth? This novel prevents you from putting labels and tags all over it. It is just too realistic and very emotional and everyone should read it!

They had two sons: now they have one. It used to be Conrad and Buck, but now it is just Conrad. What do parents feel like when one of their children gets killed in a freak boating accident? And how does the one that survived feel?

Conrad Jarrett was a normal teenager. He liked to swim and chase girls. He had good grades, often, A's. But before this book starts something drastic happens. His older brother drowns is a boating accident. He was on the same boat, and yet he survived. He tries to commit suicide, but fails. He has been through many shrinks and almost a year at the hospital. Now he is back at school: the A's have gone to D's and he has withdrawn and become very secluded.

This tells about him getting out of the shell. It almost seems like his parents keep him in the shell. His mom makes him feel unwanted, and his father makes him feel too loved. But this story is not only Conrad's: it is the story of his family of not so `ordinary people', changing after their oldest son dies. The story really touches your heart and makes you think.......

This book is a great coming-of-age story. The unique twist that Guest puts in the story, however, is that the character who is coming of age has already hit his turning point before the story begins. Many coming-of-age books focus on the character's turning point within the story.Judtih Guest makes the characters in the story so real, they all seem like people we all know. There is the mother who is cold and emotionless because of the death of her son. The angered teenager. The mid-life father, who seems to be having trouble with his marriage. The title of the book creates an ironic story. The characters are not ordinary, but they are very real. The title is a reflection of each character's longing to be ordinary. Everyone in the book wants to be portrayed as normal, yet no one in the story is. The story is heart-touching, and the struggle that Calvin goes through to help his marriage and that Conrad goes through to cope with the death of his brother are depicted in a very true fashion. Judith Guest does a great job at capturing the pain and anguish that comes with understanding and forgiveness. Conrad needs to forgive himself. Beth, Conrad's mother, needs to forgive Conrad. The two characters have a ruined relationship as a result of Conrad's suicide attempt. Each character realizes that the other cannot forgive him/her. Calvin goes through a ridiculous amount of pain while trying to understand Beth. Guest makes it clear that the characters are not the 'normal' happy couple they once were. I suggest this book to anyone who enjoys reading books in which the main character must overcome a great obstacle to mature.