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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A gal's best friend on a rainy day., October 31, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Tully (Mass Market Paperback)
I picked up Tully at a book sale on a rainy day off work when I took salvage at my local shopping mall. I am an avid book worm and had come to realise that I couldn't remember the last time I actually sat down to read...and Tully brought me the reminder I needed of why I loved to lose myself in books. I got home from shopping, curled up on the couch with a cup of tea and didn't move for the next 8 hours when incidentally, I was reaching for the Kleenex. Tully takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of a ride that I think every woman can relate to at some point in her life - an alarmingly unhappy childhood, the loss of a best friend and the heartbreakingly delicacy of being in love with two men at the same time. Beautifully written and pieced together so intricately, I turned the pages and walked beside Tully as she battled with the insanity of trying to decipher life and conquering the lessons that we all have to learn at one point or another. This debut novel from Paulina Simons had me intrigued from the first line and kept me wrapped around it's little finger right to the closing word. I don't think I have, since reading that book, had my emotions wrung so completely. One minute my insides were screaming for Tully's pain while the next moment saw me positively glowing for the small victories she encountered in her battle to keep her head above water and not drown in the mediocracy of being "that girl" growing up in a small Kansas town. And when it seems that Tully finally has her life on track after such an unforgiving and violent upbringing, Jack comes home and brings with him the unbearable reminder that life was never meant to be easy... I gave this book to my best friend for Christmas that year and it has a primary position in my personal library for frequent reference. It has been my dream for as long as I can remember to be a writer and although I am only amateur now, I hope that one day I will be able to pen a story that will affect others the way Tully did to me.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very enjoyable novel, May 14, 2000
This review is from: Tully (Mass Market Paperback)
Tully is one of those books that you believe is your own secret discovery, and then you realise that lots of other people have also been reading it and reacting in the same way as you...It's one of those books that you fall in love with, without knowing exactly why, and you return to it again and again. I've read Tully so far at least five times, especially certain parts of it...and I'm certain I'll read it again in the future. But why such a fuss over a first novel by an unknown american author? (whose two subsequent books, by the way, didn't even come close to Tully).One of the reasons I loved Tully was Tully herself: a one of a kind, special woman who grows up under horrible circumstances, but still learns how to survive, and even how to give and take love. A woman who got to me, for some reason, maybe just because she's tough and at the same time very vulnerable. Paullina Simmons wrote her heart out in this book. Especially the second part of the novel is exquisite: in it you'll find a powerful love story, not a soap-opera kind of love story, but a true to life description of people and feelings. People who have to make choices and have to live with their choices afterwards. People who learn that love isn't a moment but a whole process, and who learn, in time, to appreciate what's important. All in all, Tully is one of those books that'll take over your life for a couple of days. So chose a quiet weekend and read it.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Recommend, but only marginally, May 19, 1999
This review is from: Tully (Mass Market Paperback)
I had very conflicting feelings about this book. The first half of the book seemed to drag; I didn't like the characters; and I almost put it down countless times. On the other hand, I was glued to the second half of the book and couldn't tear myself away from it. The main premise of the story is a young woman who is very damaged by her childhood, and the struggles she has in coming to terms with her adult life. In essence, the book paints a picture of how childhood scars can continue to wreck havoc in an adult life. The major problem I had with Tully is that in the first half of the book, all of the characters come across as flat and one-dimensional. It was difficult to like them and it was even more difficult to understand what their connection was to each other. I just didn't feel Tully's great attachment to Jennifer, her best friend, nor I get the sense of any great warmth between her and Robin, one of the major male characters. And, to be quite honest, the way she was involved with two men at once (this happened twice in the book) bothered me; I especially didn't like the way Robin was treated. However, although he is portrayed as a very decent man, I never fully understood his connection to Tully as there didn't seem to be any depth in that relationship. I think that the second half of the book worked better for me, because the characters were a bit better developed and the story became more interesting. But most important of all, I think that the extent that Tully was hurt in childhood became a lot clearer, and that, I think, helped me to understand the characters. I really wish that the author had done a better job of explaining this in the beginning of the book, and had made the characters more three dimensional. I liked how the book ended and what will stay with me, after reading it, is the idea that you can like your life, even if it doesn't turn out as it planned, and also how you may not realize how deeply you care for someone, until they leave. In the end, I'm glad I stayed with the book and didn't put it down, although, I think some readers will not be able to get through this book. If someone were to ask me if I recommend it, I would say "yes", but only marginally.
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