Blessings Author:Anna Quindlen Lydia Blessing is 80 years old, and her mind drifts into the past of her impeccably WASP-y family--a past that includes her miserably married parents, her gay brother who committed suicide, her own bad marriage, and a strain of Jewish blood. Lydia figures her life is essentially over. And then she finds a baby on her doorstep.... — Late at night,... more » a teenage couple drives up to the estate owned by Lydia Blessing and leaves a box.
In this instant, the world of the estate called Blessings is changed forever. The story of Skip Cuddy, the Blessings caretaker, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him, Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person, a life, legitimate or illegitimate, and who decides; the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community.« less
have you ever read a book so good that you didn't read anything else for a couple of days just to keep that feeling you get when you read a piece of literary art? This was one of those books for me.
To say I truly enjoyed it would be an understatement.
A moving tale of a lonely old woman with many secrets looking back at her long life and a responsible kind ex-convict and the abandoned baby that connects them together. I didn't care much for the ending but the story is worth reading.
A beautiful, moving, well crafted novel that will leave you pondering the deeper meaning of what "family" means, and how love can grow between the most unlikely people. Savor the descriptions, the prose, and the feeling in every line.
A well crafted story about figuring out what truely are the blessings in your life and finding out where home is. I enjoyed reading this book. There is a lot of sad/unhappy people in this book learning to come to terms with the hand life dealt them, but in the end everything mostly come out alright. There is a fair amount of symbolism in this book, not all of it I comepletely understood, but I enjoyed reading this book.
This is reminiscent of 'Where the Heart Is.' You feel for the plucky, down on their luck characters. The young man's redemption and determination, his commitment to truth, and his openness to love, make for a warm and satisfying story. His ability to engender to love of an old woman and a little baby, as well as his own love interest, are charming. One of Quindlen's best, I think, and very easy to listen to on CD.
Another reviewer wrote "Savor the descriptions, the prose, and the feeling in every line." That is exactly what I did, since this has such great characterization, which seems to be Quidlen's gift to her readers. A moving story that is well told. One of my favorites! D.
Blessings is a beautifully written book about two characters whose lives become intertwined by the abandonment of a newborn. The book addresses issues of class and can people really change the economic class into which they are born. One main character is a miserly older woman who feels "the world has lost its compass." Throughout the book, she becomes melancholic and evaluates her life or rather not living her life due to societal demands. Towards the end, she observes "what a soft patina the passage of time gives." It is only with the passage of time, is she able to figure out some of the secrets of her upbringing and come to grips with family ties. The other main character is a young man who wants to improve his circumstances and do the right thing in spite of an impoverished, dysfunctional background. The novel is short at only 226 pages. It is a great read without being overtly philosophical, it compels one to think about the meaning of life and relationships.
This is the story of Lydia Blessings, an elderly woman who lives alone in a large house. She has a gardener and handyman, Skip, who lives in an apartment above the garage. She also employs a cranky maid, Nadine.
One night Skip finds a newborn baby lying in a box on his doorstep. He wants to keep the baby so he attempts to hide her from everyone. But soon Lydia and Nadine find out about the her. Eventually they begin to see their lives transformed by the influence of this tiny creature. Lydia especially finds her own heart softening and begins to relive past memories of her own childhood as well as her daughter's.
The message I found while reading this book is the old adage that "no man is an island" or "it takes a village".
Lydia has become a recluse but upon learning about the baby she watches Sip as he goes about his work with the baby attached to him. The more she watches, the more she opens up. And as she begins to open up her world enlarges and she becomes not so distant.
I really enjoyed this little novel and had a very warm and fuzzy feeling after the read.
