Customer Reviews

Roxanna Slade: A Novel

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although so many of his books are wonderful, this one of Price's spoke most clearly to my heart and soul.I felt that I was being given the privelige of sharing the life of a remarkable woman, although her life would seem ordinary to most - the life of one "average" woman living in the South, a woman often struggling with great hardship, trials and challenges. I've rarely read a novel which looks so honestly at the realities of the racial views of those times, the ways blacks and whites were so separate and why. The often constrained life of women is also portrayed, the endless days with long stretches of time between chores and mealtime and nothing else to do. What is so amazing is how Reynolds Price can make a riveting tale out of such seemingly trivial material - and make the lives of these people reveal a view of the world that is both spiritual and real and absolutely believeable. While the book is far from overwhelmingly gloomy, Price's description of the four year depression which Roxanna suffers at one point in the book is the most honest, unsentimental and yet vivid portrayal of depression I've encountered in a novel, one that those in the mental health professions would do well to read. The real heart of this book lies in Roxanna, of course, and she is a woman both flawed and saintly. An unforgettable character, the kind that will be walking beside me in my thoughts for awhile.

I was so touched by Roxanna's look at the world - her words of wisdom, her experiences, what she admits to feeling and being... I hope to be as lucid and content with my life at 90! So many of her thoughts had me laughing and thinking and looking inwardly... I'm going to recommend this to the special women in my bookclub - and I look forward to reading more by Mr. Price (emphasis on "mister" - can't believe a man wrote this and could understand a woman so deeply and as if he were looking through our eyes).

One of the best books I have read in years. From an ordinary life with its share of sorrows and joys, Reynolds Price shares wonderful insight about what life is really made. How can a man creep into a soul and body of a woman with such authenticity? Just reading this book reminds me of the pleasure of reading KATE Vaiden, another book I enjoyed. Bravo, writing well can still be moving.

I am surprised at the unanimity of praise by previous reviewers. I think the book was well-written, and most of the time it kept my interest, but, really, some of the characters and motivations did not ring true at all. The conflict between Roxanna and Olivia was always said to be there, but the actual episodes described were quite mild and did not justify the narrator's conclusions that, for example, her actions caused the stroke and ultimate death of her mother-in-law. The character of Palmer was, I thought, quite undeveloped and "wooden". As a matter of fact, virtually ALL the characters other than Roxanna were poorly-developed.

Roxanna Slade was the first Reynolds Price book I ever read. Price's ability to make Roxanna become a flesh & blood person through words is amazing. He puts the reader right in the middle of the story and it's like YOU ARE THERE. The other characters are very sharply drawn also, expecially Roxanna's mother-in-law. Naturally, when I read Roxanna Slade, I couldn't wait to check out his other works and the first one I chose was Kate Vaiden. In my estimation, this book, which was widely acclaimed, fell far short of the mark. Of course, since Price seems to be headed in the right direction, I'll be waiting for his next venture.

Since my acquaintance with Kate Vaiden, Reynolds Price's award winning teenage heroine, I have been eagerly awaiting another wonderful female subject. And, Price has not disappointed. How does he get into our shoes, heart and soul? Obviously, he has observed and cared about the women who have peopled his life. For me, another astonishing accomplishment in this book is Price's ability to depict the agony of reoccurring depression better than most clinical textbooks describe it. Like Roxanna, herself, the definition of depressive disorder is simple, it is the invisible enemy, full of fury and pain, disappearing and returning without warning or compassion for its victim, and her frustrated and helpless family.

I'm fascinated reading the other reviews printed here, for people seem to either really enjoy or really dislike this book. My Book Group of 7 women did not care for this book - the general consensus being, among other things, the lack of character development among key, critical characters, the heavy-handed foreshadowing, the excruciatingly slow pace, and the unconvincing female voice delivered through Roxanna's character. We did wonder if the group did not appreciate the story because none of us were raised in the South... I've noticed that many of the favourable reviews are from people who can recall their own experiences in a Southern town. Nonetheless, we felt the book was flawed in numerous ways and would have had difficulty finishing it had we not felt compelled to for book discussion purposes.

One of the truly best books I've read in a long, long time. Roxanna's voice is full of truth and wisdom and reality. She encounters all the day to day things in life, ordinary things, but what is ordinary in any life? She brings her expressions of level truth to all of them in such a way that I wanted to slow down and savor, read and re-read, to lap up each little detail of the telling. The subject of depression, marriage, and life in the 50's were especially poignant.

Mr. Price shows his mastery of language and unique voice of the South in this wonderful novel. Amazing that he can write so convincingly in a woman's voice! Roxanna is a wise, but ordinary woman who knows the value of a normal life. Her life has mystery, love, and sorrow, and it she tells about it all in an unfailingly honest way. As a native North Carolinian and a woman, I felt all her experiences deep in my heart. Her episodes of depression are expressed as tenderly as her feelings of love and family life. A long life related by a woman comfortable in her own value. A wonderful read! Mr. Price does it again!

Although well written, this story of an "ordinary" woman became rather dull. Roxana had many gifts, yet in my opinion she never reached her full potential. Roxana's power struggle with her mother in law and her relationship with husband and her children were described, yet I never felt any real depth or passion. Perhaps the author was trying to show the detachment that Roxana felt from others as she suffered from severe depression, but the result was that I felt rather detached from Roxana as a character. I didn't find her insightful or interesting. I wanted Roxana to question her husband's affair, have some kind of meaningful conversation with her mother in law, have some friends over for tea, make a quilt--do something-- instead of meandering through life in such a passive way. I thought the writing was at times beautiful, but I wanted more from Roxana.