I finished "Blessings" today and I my reaction to it is mediocre at best. Nothing great, nothing terrible. I guess I found it pretty bland, boring, and constricted.....like the main character Lydia Blessing. I liked Skip and thought his personality was very likeable and easy to identify with. Not that I had anything in common with him but I could see other people from my life in his personality. The idea of him taking in an abandoned baby was a bit silly, in my opinion, especially when Lydia decided to go along with it. That didn't make much sense to me and made the whole book seem implausible.Ironically, I have thought about this book a little more than I would have imagined because it followed directly after me reading "Orphan Train". I loved Vivian, the elderly lady in "Orphan Train" and didn't really grow to like or understand Lydia Blessing. However, they both lived during similar times and experience some common themes and historical events (war, death, strained family ties, etc.).I sit here and wonder what the point was to this story and what was the take home message. I'm not sure I know. Don't judge people. Tell people you love them. Worry less about appearances and more about living. Live in the present. Stay close to the past but don't let it consume you.I think I will easily forget about this story. The one thing that had my complete interest was the story about Lydia's brother, Sunny. So much potential was there but never truly developed. He could have been the silver lining to this story with his golden personality but there was not enough there and his tragic death left a giant hole that was never filled and seemed underdeveloped.I was afraid to read this after the horrible experience with "Every Last One". This wasn't horrific for the same reasons but certainly a disappointment.
Original review posted hereAnna Quindlen is one of those authors who holds the power to knock the socks off of me. Every time I go to pick up one of her books I know that, at some point, I’m going to end up in tears – so I have to pace myself accordingly.Blessings was no different. While it didn’t contain nearly the same amount of tragedy some of Quindlen’s other books have (Yes, Every Last One, I’m looking at you), it still had some heartbreaking moments, but, in true Quindlen style, I knew that these characters would be strong enough to overcome it.Blessings is the story of a family, an unlikely family, but complete with all of the past wrong-doings, mistakes, loves and hurts that a “normal” family might have. This family consists of a Korean housekeeper, an 80ish year old woman, and a convicted felon groundskeeper… and one tiny, helpless baby. Of course, there is also the house, which is filled with history and memories and can’t be left out of the mix.I was completely charmed by Charles “Skip” Cuddy and his treatment of the unlikely turn of events that culminated in his finding a baby in a box on the steps of “his” barn. I held my breath through each hurdle and ached for him as he learned the correct way to care for the child, and, when the end came (as it always does in these types of stories), my heart ached for him.Blessings is a story of redemption, unlikely love, strength of character where there was none before and of making the right choices, no matter the pain involved to those making those choices. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it did wonders to “reset” me after reading a few bad books in a row.
What do You think about Blessings (2004)?
Skip Cuddy has had a rough few years, due to a disconnected family and poor choices in friends. But one day, he happens upon Lydia Blessing, the elderly owner of the Blessings estate, and is hired to be her caretaker. The woman is tiring, the job is monotonous, but one night, Skip discovers a box in the garage. Inside, there's a baby girl, and before he knows it, Skip has decided to keep and raise the baby. As the story unfolds, Skips secrets and Lydia's are both brought to the surface.Blessings seemed a little slow to me at first, but I quickly became engaged in the writing and the character development, and halfway through, the plot become more interesting and, at one point, even riveting. I had recently finished Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen, and though the writing sounded familiar (she often used some of the same quirky descriptions--eyebrows as accent graves), the plot and characters seemed entirely different, fresh, and new. The characters who inhabit Blessings are definitely worth the read, in spite of the book's slow start.
—Katie
I would rate "Blessings" a 3.5, not quite as good as "Rise & Shine" and "Every Last One"--- the others I read for my book club (or "Black & Blue" and "One True Thing" which I had read before and thought rated 5s). The story was very much Silas Marner like, with a groundsman finding a baby on the garage steps and deciding to take care of it, unbeknownst to Mrs. Blessing, who is the rich owner of the house the garage belongs to. Mother/Daughter is a relationship that is studied here, along with the real definition of what makes a family. The tragedy toward the end of the book occurs again, but this time, I didn't like the way the book ended. It was realistic, but not satisfactory to me. I don't want to say more to those of you who haven't picked up the book yet, but once again, the minor characters are well done, the main characters have several sides to them and are very universal and realistic. It is beautifully written, a quick memorable read, and I recommend it, but not over the other quindlen books I have mentioned above.
—Donna Barnes
Maybe it's just some personality defect on my part, but Anna Quindlen kind of bugs me. I never got into her columns, and I wasn't crazy about her novel, "Black and Blue." And anyone who has the chutzpah to publish a book of "life secrets" that's only 64 pages -- and to charge $12.95 for it -- is someone I don't want to know very well. That said, I thought "Blessings" was an okay book. Not terrific, but worth a read if you're 3,000 miles from home and don't have a lot of other choices (which was my circumstance). Was I in love with it? Put it this way -- after I finished it, I left it in the hotel room.
—Lain
