This book was neutral... Not particularly deep, but I liked the meandering quality of the writing. Sometimes it got slow, but overall I was interested in the narrator enough to stick through it. I really felt like she was this quirky woman. So often a narrator feels a little bland, but Sharon was incredibly opinionated and the book was saturated with her POV. The way she explained her mental reasoning (which was usually like- 'and then that got old, so I did something else...' or 'my boyfriend and i broke up, so I moved on...) made me ask "wtf!?" every so often, but was so internally consistent that I could see that was her character. It made me wonder, "Do people REALLY think like this?? That explains my friend X!" As someone else said, Sharon's a total spaz. Sure, I wanted to hit her a few times- "Geez, can you just COMMIT to something, really?!" But on the other hand she has something I admire- a fluidity to her life, she doesn't get "stuck" for too long, she's constantly moving on and exploring. Still, she is SO FLAKY IT KILLED ME!!I have to admit I enjoyed the not-really-concealed references to Bialystoker chassidim (Chabad) and 617 (770) in Crown Heights. Also, having personally gone on a (Jewish) spiritual journey, it was fun to see someone else's take on it, and her evolution. One idea I enjoyed was her transition from reading and studying ABOUT religion, to realizing she actually wanted to PARTICIPATE in one. I think this is crucial to living a spiritual/religious life- studying ABOUT a faith can never adequately describe what it is like to keep it. Still, this was less introspective than Eat, Pray, Love (which I didn't find that deep either, really.) This book is more about what Sharon ended up DOING, than it really being about her deep-hearted exploration of 4 different religious traditions. I wouldn't call this book intellectual. It's just a crazy batshit woman who did a bunch of things and couldn't keep any of her commitments- and was-oddly-OK about it! (Wow, she never got the Jewish sense of guilt, huh?)Overall, sometimes enjoyable, sometimes boring and aimless, and very, very silly. Didn't induce any deep thinking in me, but was a fun and odd ride. (Hawaii?? Red-footed boobies? Pot planting? Sea-World working? Horah-dancing? All that in one life?! Crazy!)
One thing being sick is good for: reading a lot. Well, as long as you're not TOO sick.This novel begins in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1960s, moves to the U.S. West Coast, hops to Hawaii & lodges there for quite a few years/chapters, migrates to Bellevue, Washington, then makes its way back to the East Coast, with the final chapter leading us back to an Israeli folk dance at MIT in Cambridge. The sense of place is stellar--not just apt descriptions of landscapes but intuitions of the soul of each place.Sharon, the protagonist, is rattling loose in the world, having been abandoned at 13 by an alcoholic mom & later rejected by a disapproving dad. She hooks up with various guys, becomes part of a number of communities, & periodically has intense mystical experiences of God's presence. Her quest for her people, her place, & her God is passionate & endearing.
What do You think about Paradise Park (2009)?
I just finished reading a book, Paradise Park by Allegra Goodman. Paradise Park is this crazy novel about a young woman, Sharon, who gets stranded by a self-centered, overly serious boyfriend in Hawaii. Virtually penniless, with no one to come to her aid, Sharon continues her quest to find love, community and meaning. At first I thought this novel was insane. How could so much happen to this woman? How could she be so scattered? As the story progressed I thought for sure the author was indeed trying to drive me mad, since the plot didn’t seem to advance and the main character seemed quagmired in blame and victimhood. I like my books the way I prefer my life: neatly packaged and with a point. I felt like screaming, “Connect the dots! For the love of God, connect some dots for me!” Still in the end, I find that I loved this book. Goodman took me on an amazing, albeit downright bizarre, journey. Through Goodman, Sharon seeks out an identity that she can embrace, but ultimately creates her own, both rich and deeply satisfying. And even though I feel very little relationship with Sharon as a character or personality, I connect with her in the conclusion as someone who has lived largely by her own rules, who has lived a life, balancing regret and acceptance. This book is certainly worth the read if you are willing to have your mind blown in a less than traditional odyssey.
—Tiff
This one was a hard one to get through because I didn't care for the character much and found my self very annoyed by her. After having talked to one person in my book group who did like the book and the character I was able to see the character through her eyes and wasn't as annoyed. I read word by word until a little bit more than half the book and then I decided to skim the rest because I was having trouble with the character. The book did raise some good discussion. It would be a good book group book because some people might like the character and other might not, which happened in our group.
—Elyse
I appreciated this book, more than I loved it. It's so smartly written, all the detail really putting you in the places and situations being presented. I went into it being interested in the main character's (Sharon) spiritual journey, and found it totally believable and sometimes laugh out loud hilarious for that reason. But Sharon annoyed me because I was so frustrated with her at times - which to me means she was, again, so believalbe and such a strong character. But, I guess I didn't absolutely love the book for two reasons: 1. I didn't empathize with Sharon enough to care about her much; 2. after reading reviews, I expected to be reading a Saul Bellow novel, and while I can see some commonalities, it didn't blow my mind like his do.Definitely an entertaining book, and one I'm glad I read, it just doesn't top my list.
—Barbara
