Ordinary People (Paperback)

by Judith Guest (Author) "To have a reason to get up in the morning, it is necessary to possess a guiding principle..." (more)
Key Phrases: Van Buren, Lake Forest, Conrad Jarrett (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Describes a youth's breakdown and recovery and how it affects his family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 28, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140065172
• ISBN-13: 978-0140065176
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Family, interrupted, March 3, 2003

By	JLind555 - See all my reviews

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

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Perfection, July 23, 2002

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Common Family with Uncommon Problems, December 10, 1999

By	Lance Waidzunas (Naperville, IL) - See all my reviews

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.