Customer Reviews

The Whiteness of Bones

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

 

 

Yeah...no. The back of the book was far more compelling than the actual novel. Some well-written scenes and occasionally a lovely sense of time and place, some well-crafted caricatures -- none of it is enough to rescue the self-concious, coming of age tone, despite the author's obvious attempt at something much more noble and searingly insightful. It's as if we get a lot more anatomically involved in "Are You There, God, It's Me Margaret" when what the author was shooting for was "The Vagina Monologues." The book is readable, but only if you've checked it out from the library.

I also read this book in college, more like 15 years ago for me. It was part of a Contemporary American Fiction course. Even then I found myself wondering if this was really the representative of the best than contemporary fiction could offer. If so, I was happy to stick with older works. While other reviewers remember lush scenes, I remember a sorid Hawaiian themed bar in NYC and the main character's rape with a plastic tiki. I can stomach rough scenes when they are purposeful. I found little of purpose in this story. I think there are far better uses for your book money than this book.

I read this book 7 years ago in college and still think of it frequently. Moore's lush settings and precise literary technique underscore the personal, deeply held pain of Mamie and Claire's past. I have read all of Moore's books and this one is the best.

I agree with the other readers, with one caveat: an annoying distraction for me while reading this otherwise excellent book was the author's chronic use of incorrect terminology when referring to female genitalia. There are at least 5 or 6 points in the book where she refers to a woman's vagina, when what she clearly means is vulva. It's just irritating when female writers, especially, don't know the parts of the female body.

One of the best contemporary novels I have read. The scene from which the title comes offers a BEAUTIFUL, original and mouth watering image that will stick with the reader forever.

I have to agree with the other readers, this book is a gem. You will feel like you're right there with the characters! A must read.

How some of these books actually get into print and does it not seem that several of the reviews are from the same person...

I might have given this two stars but had the misfortune to meet the author perhaps on a bad day. She was postivitely doting over a man in front of me and then a real haughty bitchy way of condensendingly signing her book which on a camping trip a week later and running out of Charmin I used it.....My rear end had several paper cuts- <the cut below>However my penuriousness in stars for this book is a mixture of unfortunately having met the author...Sometimes its better to just order the book off Amazon........and leave the rest to the imagination.