Loud and Clear (Hardcover)

by Anna Quindlen (Author) "PERHAPS IT WAS INEVITABLE that we'd wind up with a couple of second-generation writers around the house..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, United States, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bestselling author Quindlen (One True Thing; A Short Guide to a Happy Life; etc.), a veteran reporter and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary, couldn't have picked a more apt title for her latest collection of columns from Newsweek and the New York Times. Whether or not readers agree with Quindlen's opinions on everything from youth culture to gun control, these razor-sharp musings will open avenues of debate and discussion long after the book is closed. Quindlen is at the top of her game when she turns her eagle eye on the tiny threads that make up the fiber of domestic life. After all, "The world of children and child-rearing is social history writ small but indelible, whether it's the minutia of Barbie dolls and Power Ranger action figures or the phenomenon of books like Harry Potter or The Cat in the Hat. It's a shared experience, not just for the children but for their parents, and a snapshot of where we were then." The only weak link in this memorable book is the scant connective tissue between sections. Quindlen divides the essays by theme—heart, mind, soul, voice and body—and while the individual pieces shine, the overviews of each topic provide thin explanations for why they are grouped this way. Overall, however, this is not a matter of great concern. Quindlen's columns speak for themselves, loud and clear.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
In her first retrospective essay collection since Thinking Out Loud (1993), best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Quindlen continues to unscramble gnarly social issues with splendid clarity and pithiness, wit and compassion, and uncommon common sense. As always, the autobiographical energizes her persuasive arguments and sense of justice, and Quindlen writes with her signature candor about her children's metamorphoses into young adults, her decision to give up her prestigious New York Times column to write novels, including Blessings (2002), her felicitous return to journalism as the back-page columnist for Newsweek, and her experiences of September 11 and its aftermath. So true is Quindlen's moral compass, and so lucid, vital, and forward-looking are her insights, that her opinion pieces not only stand the test of time but also provide an invaluable gauge of where we've been and where we're going. Here are probing essays about "overscheduled" children and homeless children, the tremendous advances women have achieved and the persistence of misogyny and sexual aggression, personality and politics, gun laws, tobacco wars, women's health issues, Barbie, pedophile priests, and Iraq. A valiant writer who addresses every aspect of our lives with both gravitas and humor, Quindlen is a tonic for mind and soul. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (April 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400061121
• ISBN-13: 978-1400061129
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #807,131 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anna Quindlen Doing What She Does Best, April 8, 2004

By	Michele Cozzens "www.michelecozzens.com" (Cloud 8) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was a big fan of Anna Quindlen's column, Life in the Thirties. Each time I read a piece by her, it spoke to me-almost sang-made me feel like I not only knew her, but myself a little bit better. I missed her while she was "gone" but read and enjoyed her fiction as well.

This newest collection of columns/essays/speeches, Loud and Clear, is just that: Anna Quindlen loud and clear. With pieces ranging from the early 90s, interspersed with her more recent work, she allows us a glimpse back into the years when her children were still quite young-to the world she faces today as a woman in her fifties and on the threshold of an empty nest. We get to grow and evolve with her as she points out the obvious, makes clear the hazier issues, and always, with refreshing honestly, makes us feel as if we know her as well as we know our next door neighbor.

I especially enjoyed, "Fall from the Nest," (as it made me think about everything we do to protect our children) "17 going on 18," (a warning to young people who take up cigarette smoking), and "Anniversary," (which made me miss my mother, dead since 1999.)

While many won't agree with her politics, I believe Quindlen puts into words the things we all feel in our hearts, minds, bodies and souls. I highly recommend this book. Thank you for the opportunity to review it.

Michele Cozzens, Author of A Line Between Friends and The Things I Wish I'd Said.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living Proof, July 21, 2004

By	M. McKee (Naples, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am living proof that one need not agree with Anna on politics to enjoy her writing. As a Republican, I find myself at odds with just about every political stance she takes, but I so admire her style of writing that I want to read on to see how she is going to present her ideas, and I am never disappointed by that presentation. I recommend this book to all aspiring writers as a guide to the craft of essay writing.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Thought-Provoking and Self-Assured, April 18, 2004

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Anna Quindlen --- or perhaps someone who works for her publisher --- seems to have a curious affinity for the word "loud." Her last two books of collected columns were respectively titled LIVING OUT LOUD and THINKING OUT LOUD. Now comes another serving from the same pot, LOUD AND CLEAR.

A curious choice of word --- for Quindlen does not come across as a loud literary voice.

The 65 short pieces in LOUD AND CLEAR are drawn from her popular columns in the New York Times and Newsweek. Two or three of them are obviously speeches that she delivered on unspecified occasions. They deal, from her own very personal standpoint, with a nicely varied array of subjects, many of them geared especially to women readers: childrearing, feminism, health care, welfare reform, women in the workplace. There are also comments on such issues as gay rights, gun control, the death penalty, school prayer, the sexual problems in today's Roman Catholic church, 9/11 and politics in general. Her stance is pretty much on the liberal side, but she generally avoids the hectoring, sermonizing tone that can alienate even a sympathetic reader.

Certain moments in her personal life seem to bulk large in Quindlen's thoughts --- the early death of her mother, her relationships with her siblings and with her own children, her decision to leave a dream job at the Times to become a freelance novelist. These subjects pop up in different contexts throughout LOUD AND CLEAR. The pieces are not arranged in any chronological order but only loosely by subject matter. The reader must note the date on each one to orient himself. A few of the pieces bear no date, but are still certainly worth reading.

Quindlen is a bright and quotable writer. Even those who may disagree with her views, if they appreciate good writing, will enjoy reading this book. She pleads, for example, for American kids in the midst of their frantic and over-scheduled lives, to be given "the gift of enforced boredom" --- i.e., time to simply sit back, do nothing much and savor the life around them. "From one generation to another," she observes pertly, "the complaint is always the same: They are not like us." You can call this book a bag of literary popcorn, if you wish --- available in bite-size pieces and hard to resist --- but, unlike popcorn, these small essays do make you think about life --- hers and your own.

One of the best pieces in this book is a reflection inspired by a production of Waiting for Godot, in which Quindlen's son was appearing. The lesson drawn from Beckett is that young people should look within themselves, to their own dreams and capabilities, for direction in life, and not wait for the arrival of some external event, person or seal of approval. It is a worthwhile lesson, deftly expressed.

The book is certainly not free from clichés, and Quindlen's reflections on 9/11, written immediately after the event, seem inadequate at a distance of two-plus years --- but so of course do the reflections from that time of many other writers.

Anna Quindlen's large fan club will not be disappointed in this latest potpourri of her pieces. Most of them retain their whimsy and freshness nicely between hard covers. One only hopes that her next collection will not be titled FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

--- Reviewed by Robert Finn