Alternate Side Book Reviews

AUTHOR
Anna Quindlen
SCORE
4
TOTAL RATINGS
376

Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen Book Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Captures the angst and anxiety of modern life with . . . astute observations about interactions between the haves and have-nots, and the realities of life among the long-married.”—USA Today

A provocative novel that explores what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miller’s Valley and Still Life with Bread Crumbs.

Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life—except when there’s a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home, or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another’s children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they maneuver for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block’s small parking lot.

Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city. The fault lines begin to open: on the block, at Nora’s job, and especially in her marriage. 

Praise for Alternate Side

“[Anna] Quindlen’s quietly precise evaluation of intertwined lives evinces a keen understanding of and appreciation for universal human frailties.”—Booklist (starred review)

“Exquisitely rendered . . . [Quindlen] is one of our most astute chroniclers of modern life. . . . [Alternate Side] has an almost documentary feel, a verisimilitude that’s awfully hard to achieve.”—The New York Times Book Review

“An exceptional depiction of complex characters—particularly their weaknesses and uncertainties—and the intricacies of close relationships . . . Quindlen’s provocative novel is a New York City drama of fractured marriages and uncomfortable class distinctions.”—Publishers Weekly

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Book Name Alternate Side
Genre Literary Fiction
Published
Language English
E-Book Size 2.96 MB

Alternate Side (Anna Quindlen) Book Reviews 2024

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Alternate Side. I read this because I’ve loved other books she has written. This was the worst book I’ve read in as long as I can remember. It was just boring and droned on and on and nothing happened.

Alternate Side. This book is well written but extremely boring. Nothing really happens , and I like slow books but c’mon.

Keeps going until the end. No dumb subplots, just a realistic, interesting story. Lots of true life type vignettes and New York style philosophy. Good solid read.

Stream of consciousness writing. While offering a basically good storyline, the author seems to stand apart from her characters in a way that keeps the reader from fully investing. Huge segments of the story are interjected at random points in the narrative, which makes it all seem disjointed. Still there is a certain beauty to the way the author puts sentences together that kept me turning pages.

Well written. I thought it was much longer than it needed to be. She weaves a good story and is an excellent story teller but this story didn’t really resonate as much as her others.

Pointless. Have read all of this authors books. I have enjoyed all of her other novels. This book was very disappointing and pointless. Not worth reading

Pretentious. If you are an uppity person from New York you will love this book. If you are not; you will wonder why you took the time to read this pretentious woah is me I am rich and sad garbage. Get your dictionary out.

The Alternative Side. I’ve read a lot of this author”s books, but found this one a little disappointing. The characters were all so similar and not very complex and the plot was not well developed until the end. I was glad to be done with it, though it did leave me with plenty to think about retrospectively.

Shockingly classist. As someone who lives on New York’s upper west side I’m so tired of inaccurate and silly depictions of the way people live here. The people here who are actually as privileged as Charlie and Nora are a small minority. Most people I meet live here because it is relatively safe and has great public schools, and most pay upwards of 70% of their income in rent in order to live here. The author’s cavalier attitude towards the subjects’ obvious privilege as opposed to the cliche manner in which she portrays the “help” is ridiculous and appalling. I can’t even believe someone decided to publish this. The author could have explored these class differences in more nuanced and interesting ways and instead glossed over and used vague stereotypes to describe what are very complex relationships. Also, nothing happens in this book!

Excellent Characters, Weak Plot Point - And I Liked It. The writer poses the question “Are sometimes things better when they are worse” and yes, that is true - and this book itself proves it. The “better” are the characters; they are wonderful. Drawn before, during and after a catalystic event, they resonate - I felt I could “see” them and relate to them. (I might even argue I am them in some ways.) The “worse” is the actual event, which I thought came a little late in the story and in fact had less impact than I would have expected, on the characters and on me as a reader. I am not even sure it was necessary to the story. But I am glad she had the idea for the event, because if not, we would likely never meet the characters, and I would be less for that. First book I read in a day and a night in a long time.

Not Finishing. Based on the author’s previous works, I gave this a try. Now I’m wondering why. I am a third of the way through it, and have just discovered what the “terrible incident” is. Without spoiling it for those of you who might pick up the book, suffice it to say that it is so meaningless/inconsequential that I am going to stop reading. I have only done that with 1 other book in my 50 years of avid reading. This is a total waste of time! As patts552 stated, BORING.

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Summary of Alternate Side by Anna Quindlen

The Alternate Side book written by Anna Quindlen was published on 20 March 2018, Tuesday in the Literary Fiction category. A total of 376 readers of the book gave the book 4 points out of 5.

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