Customer Reviews

Slow Motion (Harvest Book)

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

 

 

"Slow Motion: A Memoir of a Life Rescue by Tragedy" by Dani Shapiro is her bestselling memoir that was originally published more than a decade ago, and is currently being re-printed in a new edition.

At the age of twenty-three, Dani is reluctantly pursuing a career as an actress and dating Lenny Klein, a rich, married lawyer who is twice her age and the step-father of her college friend Jess. Despite dropping out of college, Dani seems satisfied with being Lenny's mistress and living luxuriously--until a tragedy changes her life and makes her re-consider the choices she's made.

Most of the book focuses on Dani's life following the highway accident that leaves both of her parents in the hospital fighting for their lives. The writing itself is very poignant and nostalgic. Shapiro's story takes place in the New York of the mid-1980s and can be construed not only as a coming-of-age memoir, but an account of self evolution.

From Shapiro's writing, it is clear she wants to change but has trouble facing up to all of her problems. Dani's older lover disgusts her, but she feels both morally and financially dependent on him. Shapiro loves both of her parents, but is constantly made to choose sides and participate in the family feud. She wants to go back to college, but feels too old knowing her one-time classmates have already graduated. She feels religion would bring her closer to her family, but simultaneously detests the sharp constraints involved. This frequent sense of conflicts is what keeps the story interesting.

Overall, especially considering that this is a true story, I found "Slow Motion" to be an engaging and very emotional memoir. If you're looking for a light beach read, you may have to look elsewhere. But for the more serious readers, I think this book would be a memorable read. I don't know how Shapiro found the courage to write about the traumatic events in her life, but I thought the result was a compelling story.

I was impressed with this autobiography on one hand and a little disappointed on the other. However, the disappointment was due to the writer's skill in vividly portraying a time in her life that left this reader wanting more. Although I agree with another reviewer who felt there were holes in the recounting of her life, who could reveal every little nook and cranny of their life? especially; when it concerns the subject matter at hand. I believe subsequent books by this author deal with her life in even more detail (Family History).

This book tells the story of a young woman who lost her way early in life. Her whole self image is caught up in her looks (through no fault of her own) and since there seems to be no consequences to any of the bad choices made once she enters college, her life spirals downward fast. She ends up having an adulterous affair with the stepfather of her closest friend, drinks heavily, and has a mega cocaine habit. As she withdraws into the four walls of the cage of her own making, Dani Shapiro's withdrawal from the real world shatters when she receives the phone call telling her that her parents have been in a terrible car accident. This part of her life is even more emotional as we view the family dynamics. We find out more about her life growing up and what her father and mother were like as parents and as people.

Her whole story was fascinating and hard to put down. One thread really stuck one for me: Dani and Jess (her best friend in college) relationship. They become estranged when Jess finds out (from her stepfather) that Dani has gone out with her stepfather. Dani apologizes and confesses that all they've done is kiss and she was repulsed by it. She promises she won't ever see him again and they become close friends once again. Then Jess invites Dani to her birthday party at her house. Dani refuses telling her that she doesn't want to run into her stepfather but when Jess assures her he will not be there, Dani agrees to go. The stepfather is waiting there to greet her and Jess avoids her for most of the party except to give her a look which Dani can't interpret. Of course Dani ends up having an affair with the stepfather and years later, after it has ended, Dani runs into Jess who calls her a "whore". They talk and Dani tries to mend fences but too much has happened. Dani asks a question that has haunted her - why did Jess invite her to the birthday party? Why was she set-up? Jess replies that it's too complicated and that Dani should consider herself lucky that she's gotten rid of the stepfather since Jess never can...... This was an emotional moment that never really answered any questions but instead, only raised new ones. Was Jess motivated purely by self-interest? Was the expensive sports car Jess received a reward for getting Dani to attend the party? Or was it darker still and the stepfather had a relationship with Jess too? My mind raced through numerous possibilities and never knowing the answer made the story all the more real for this reader.

Sharp and poignant writing made this story well worth reading. Dani Shapiro shares a very painful period in her life and even though she didn't give everything away on these pages (and who would?), she gave enough to make me pause and reflect on my own life. She was brutally honest about herself and those around her and I commend her for this magnificent effort!

I finished Slow Motion last night after not putting it down for two days. What a gorgeous and courageous book! This is the story of how a family falls apart, and of how a young woman finds herself in the midst of great trauma--really, about how trauma can shape us. I think Shapiro is an amazing writer. The language is spare and beautiful, but yet somehow everything is here. I loved this book, and would recommend it to every woman I know who has ever come out the other side of anything difficult--a relationship, a family tragedy. This is a book that can help and inspire.

An interesting thing happens when people write memoirs of terrible things that happened to them: readers are afraid to say anything bad about the books themselves, because it looks like they're being unsympathetic towards the tragedies described. I felt for Dani Shapiro when her father died, but without that incident, this reads like the work of a self-obsessed rich b*tch who epitomizes solopsism: nothing in the world matters to her but her own experience and what people think of her. It is very important, by the way, that you think she is beautiful, as she reminds you constantly throughout the book. That, to me, is the quality of someone who hasn't quite worked out her own problems--someone who is sadly aware of how she acts and says and what you think of her as a result--and someone who is probably not completely honest with you, dear reader, because the ugly parts of her--the ones for which you won't feel sorry for her--are most likely omitted.

Another dysfunctional family accounting. Dani Shapiro is not that interesting of a person. All the lamenting and agonizing is boring. The last 20 pages are the only interesting and un-soap-opera part of the book.
Memoirs are a ticklish and problematic art form. This book comes off more as journalism, both the reporting kind, and the narcissistic psychiatry kind.
As a comparison, Kafka Was The Rage read as a good memoir and a work of art.
In the spirit of art criticism though, keep on writing. Recognizing when one has done a boring work is part of evolvement.

I have read this book three times in the past year and a half, and I always get something different from it. Not only is it brutally honest -- I have trouble with some of the reviews shown hre that say she needs to "get a life," as it appears, by writing about her life, she *is* getting one -- it is also artistic writing, each section carefully chosen, the words carefully placed. Her writing is haunting, the tone of each sentence showing what, exactly, it is like to live a life submerged, only to finally re-emerge by making life-altering decisions. In case you can't tell, I highly recommend this book. Even if you aren't into the writing, the story and the details she chooses are captivating.

My cousin recommended that I read this book only because we had been looking at Sarah Lawrence College for my daughter; however, I truly did not expect this book to be a "can't put it down" type of read. I found it totally engrossing. The succinct, spare writing got right to the heart of the matter - Dani's appraisal of her life and the people who affect her, both positively and negatively, touched me tremendously. The ambivalent and confused feelings many of us feel about the people we love are epitomized in Dani's relationships with family and friends - particularly with her mother. It also gives hope to those who may feel that they are at the bottom of a well - you can always fight your way back up.

This book was so disappointing. I was drawn to it because the jacket emphasizes that the author was an Orthodox Jew, yet lead a secret life as the mistress of a married man. But, instead, the book was so superficial! The author should stop looking in the mirror, and start looking more deeply at life. The book contains no analysis of the big questions presented: Why did the author have an affair with the married, rich man? What did her parents' tragedy mean to her? To her sense of life, religion, anything at all! The author just presents the facts: nothing more. At least her father felt Orthodox Judaism was important, but he was the only person presented who did not lead a completely superficial life. The only interesting part of the book is when the author finally leaves the apartment her boyfriend has set her up in, and spends some time living in what she describes a "normal woman's" apartment and wonders what a "normal" life must be like; what kind of books would she read, how would she spend her time, etc. But, other than this unfortunately short segment, the rest of the book deals with the latest Rolex watch her married boyfriend gives her, or the fact that the author hated the Hebrew tutor her parents hired, because he was not attractive. The answer to the author's problems can be summed up quite easily: get a life. And I mean a meaningful life, one that isn't completely focused on looks, expensive gifts, and your mother's maids. Unfortunately, the author completely fails to do this whatsoever.

The book itself is well written. I read it over the course of 3 days and it held my interest. I was not familiar with the writer or her work prior to so I had no expectations. She bothered me.. Maybe because I'm a plain Jane but I really didn't want to hear anymore about her blonde hair and blue eyes and how she was a child model and no one can beleive she's Jewish and throwing up in the toilet and being too skinny and Lenny's nickname for her, "FOX" and how he would tell her all the time, "everyone is looking at you, everybody.. ' how she looked like a young Jacqueline Bisset.. blah blah blah. Poor poor pitiful me. The relatives are feuding, I dropped out of college, I'm being kept by a married lawyer who has children. She seemed to have no qualms about accepting furs, jewelry, pricey cars, exotic trips and ritzy hotel rooms.It makes me wonder how/if/when she developed a conscience. Having recently lost my mother to uterine cancer, (and my father a dozen years ago) I could relate to some of what she was going thru and she did seem to grow/mature/change for the better during the course of the book. Getting off of booze and coke , going back to school. I just really resent her using her looks to open doors . Doors that are slammed in faces like mine. LOL But the book itself is a good read, she does have talent and I enjoyed it.

Raised by Orthodox Jewish parents in the New York City suburban part of New Jersey, Dani Shapiro gave up Sarah Lawrence to be a trophy girlfriend to an older married attorney though Lenny Klein is the stepfather of her BF. One call while she enjoys a San Diego spa changes everything into before and after. Aunt Roz tells her that her mom and dad were in a car accident; both are in ICU at Overlook Hospital in Summit; no one has called her father's other daughter from his first marriage while a blizzard shuts down the airports. Uncle Hy tells has that her dad is in a coma and her mom may never walk again. Adding to her fears and suddenly found maturity is the blizzard has shut down the New York airports.

This is a fascinating heart wrenching memoir because the tragic incident proves a revelation for Dani Shapiro as no miracle saves the day yet she rises to the occasion with a maturity her family would not have believed she possessed prior to the accident. Readers will cry on at least two occasions re her father seeing her mother for the first time after the accident and her chat with her father in the cemetery obviously after his death. She realizes what her parents taught her about what matters in life and death is the truth.

Harriet Klausner