She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club)

by Wally Lamb

Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Read

Publication

Pocket Books (1998), 480 pages

Description

Fiction. Romance. HTML:In this New York Times bestselling extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. "Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered...." Meet Dolores Price. She's thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly up. In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years. At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably lovable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections. She's Come Undone includes a promise: you will never forget Dolores Price.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member ccavaleri

If I could give this book less than a half star, I would. This book taught me a very important lesson though. If you are half way through something and it is miserable and irredeemable, don't just keep going because you are already half way through. This is true in life and books.

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LibraryThing member auntangi

Mr. Lamb tells the story of a woman who is a victim of a sexual assault as a first person account. And as such, he was applauded for being such an enlightened man to be able to tell such a story. I am most definitely NOT in this camp. To me, it felt like he was writing what a man THINKS a woman is

experiencing when she goes through this kind of trauma. And he made his main character weak, which was offensive. We all need to jump off that bandwagon, because Mr. Lamb is not deserving of the accolades.

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LibraryThing member indygo88

I loved Wally Lamb's "I Know This Much is True" and while I was not expecting to like this one as much as that, I really had hoped to like it more than I did. I found this one very mediocre and really kind of wonder why many readers have rated it so high. It was just "okay" -- nothing spectacular &

I wasn't blown away. I did think Lamb did a fairly good job of writing from a female's perspective, but I also think his writing was totally different in this (his first novel) in comparison to his sophomore novel. I have his third on my shelf & am quite curious to see how it compares as well.

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LibraryThing member tiddleyboom

I read this book years ago, and, for me, it has tainted Oprahs' book recommendations until she selected [Night] by Elie Weisel.

[She's Come Undone] is a hopeless, bottomless inferno of dispair by an unlikable character with a ho-hum ending. This book has the distinction of the first book I've ever

thrown away. And I would gladly toss every copy I see.

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LibraryThing member mr._sammy

Sometimes you come across a book which makes you forget you're reading a book. You think about the characters when you're away from them, wonder how they are doing, hoping they'll make the right choices, or what what the hell they're doing with their life. This is an amazing book that makes you

forget about your own life for a short while and makes you really, really see how another person life's is just as hard and full of problems, even after looking peachy from the outside.

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LibraryThing member piefuchs

This book was absolutely horrid and makes you cry out for negative stars in the ranking system. The character was a complete cartoon and the plot manages to squeeze in, as subplots, the story of every LifeTime movie/ABC afterschool special. In general I find Oprah books reliable readable, if not

good. With Lamb's book you have the exception. Do not bother.

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LibraryThing member mazda502001

I read this book after hearing everyone in one of my book groups rave about it. Well, I don't know why. I read about 50 pages of it and then it got thrown to the wall.

Back Cover Blurb:
In his extraordinary coming of age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain

and renewal. At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably loveable, Dolores Price is as poignantly real as our own imperfections.

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LibraryThing member ClaudiaMoscovici

It's probably no accident that the heroine of Wally Lamb's engaging first novel, "She's Come Undone," is named Dolores, just like Nabokov's young heroine, Dolores Haze, better known as Lolita. The plot lines of these novels also have some obvious similarities, since both heroines are raped by

sociopathic older men posing as father figures. But whereas Nabokov's Lolita comes undone from this experience, Lamb's Dolores becomes a survivor after being a victim. She has a lot to overcome: the unraveling of her parents' marriage; her difficult relationship with her mother; being raped at a young age; being ostracized by her peers at school. Dolores copes with her difficulties by rewarding herself with food, but predictably, overeating only adds to her problems. Even the man she falls in love with and eventually marries turns out to be nothing more than a narcissist in love with her adulation rather than with her. Yet by the end of the narrative, the heroine becomes stronger and more self-sufficient rather than weaker because of her troubles.

The best contemporary fiction, it seems, offers us two Aristotelian alternatives, as an escape from the humdrum of our lives: heroes that are somehow better than us and who can inspire us or antiheroes whose lives are so disastrous and whose problems are so heart-wrenching that they make our own lives seem downright easy by comparison. In "She's Come Undone," Wally Lamb magically manages to do both at once, which is not an easy task. This master of psychological fiction depicts a compelling heroine who is first defeated, only to rise above the worst life has to offer.

Claudia Moscovici, Notablewriters.com

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LibraryThing member Nickelini

Some people find the protagonist quirky and hilarious. I find her frustrating and annoying. This book fits the typical Oprah book club selection frame: a woman has a lousy life, a bunch of lousy things happen to her, the ending is sort of lousy. Pretty blue cover, though.

LibraryThing member CynthiaBelgum

I rarely don't finish a book, but this one of those. I read half of it and gave up in disgust. It's the unremittingly boring desperation of this young girl's life which left me uninterested in completing the journey with her.

LibraryThing member dotholden

I kept on coming across this book on different blogs and book sites and each review was glowing so I thought I would give it a go. This is Wally Lamb's first book; it began life as a short story and it was Lamb's mentor who encouraged him to develop it into a full-blown novel.
It is very much a

coming-of-age tale, the central protagonist is Dolores Price; the reader follows her from childhood memories through to being a grown woman in her forties. I think she is possibly one of the most complex characters that I have ever come across. In some chapters she completely repulsed me and made me want to put the book down , in others I just felt sheer compassion and recognition.
Life has not been kind to Dolores, it begins with her parent's divorce and generally goes down-hill from there. The events and unhappiness in her life lead her to overeat until she is clinically obese; this then informs her behaviour in the future and the choices she makes. Wally Lamb packs a lot into this book; his description of Dolores' development from a small child, through puberty and on to adulthood is brilliant on its own. He misses nothing out; the physical changes that women go through plus the many changes and attitude are all there.
It is hard to review this book without giving anything away and I don't want to spoil it for anyone wishing to read it themselves. There are many different events in this book and once I had got used to the character of Dolores, I was completely hooked and couldn't put the book down,
Through his central character, Wally Lamb really does explore how our childhood experiences affect us and can alter the path that the rest of our life takes. The relationship between Dolores and her mother is central to the book and I think that is what will really stay with me. As a young child Dolores makes many assertions about her mother which feed the utterly destructive relationship that the two share. It takes many years for Dolores to reassess her perceptions of her mother and reach some kind of real truth and peace. How many people do we do this with in our own lives?
This book made me both laugh and cry. It is not necessarily a 'nice' book to read but I found it an extremely worthwhile experience. Dolores Price is a beautifully created character; she will stay with me for a long time.

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LibraryThing member Djupstrom

Another stinker from Oprah's suggestions. I didn't think it needed to be as long as it was. The characters never seemed to develop for me.

LibraryThing member Maggie_Rum

Like the rest of Lamb's novels, She's Come Undone follows closely the story of Dolores; through all her heartbreaks, challenges, successes, and day to day events. While it is probably my least favorite of Lamb's works, this is still a story that entices you to continue reading.

LibraryThing member maurinha

One of the best book I have ever read. I weeped and rejoiced with this character.

LibraryThing member BDartnall

Never got around to reading this when it first came out 15-17 years ago, but on the recommend of another great reader friend, I picked it up for a road trip and didn't put it down until I finished it,! Whoa - what a roller-coaster ride of a coming-of-age novel. There's definitely no one like

Dolores Price, and her troubled young life: her irreverence, her deep longing for a father who abandons both her and her mother; her naiveté about the adults in her life, her struggles to feel like she belonged -anywhere-just like any adolescent girl, her searing trauma of rape at 13 years old, and her desperate attempts to cope with the event is only compounded by the sudden accidental death of her mother. She's only able to break out of her self exile in her grandmother's home, (binge tv watching and eating herself into oblivion) when she gets on a bus and travels to the college her mother and sympathetic high school counselor had worked so hard to get her admitted to, in spite of Dolores' stubborn resistance. The painful struggles she experiences as one of the ten new college freshmen girls in her dorm- to fit in somehow, fat as she is- are sometimes cringe-worthy, but always genuine. After another humiliation by her roommate's intoxicated boyfriend on the dance floor at a college party, hapless Dolores falls into the clutches of yet another lonely, self seeking adult, intent on using her sexually. Ugh -that episode was definitely miserable to read but it does drive Dolores into a rage that leads her to a turning point. Will she destroy herself? She flees her college, and everything, everyone in her life, by embarking on a last ditch trip to Cape Cod, which culminates in her all night "watch" over a beached, dead whale at the shore's edge - a giant black behemoth - and her suicide attempt in the water next to it. This poignant, dreamlike treatment, contrasting her despair, and pain with the underwater ocean images is truly an original passage. The author deserves the kudos he's received for this book for chapters such as this - thankfully, Delores can't quite do herself in, and after she is found and taken to a psych hospital and then halfway house facility, we readers get to cheer her on as she discovers truths about herself, her past, and lose the crippling weight that has literally and figuratively dragged her down.
Her determined efforts to drive herself forward into "normal" adulthood, (as Dr. Shaw, her counselor had trained her: "Visualize your solutions! PIcture an answer to your problem. Then make the picture real.") sends her seeking out her roommate's teenage boyfriend (Dante) who she discovers is now a teacher in Montpelier, Vermont. Her romance with the now adult Dante, and their four year marriage is another leg of her growing up journey, and again we can foresee that Dolores' troubles can result in another psychological "crash", but she rights herself, with the help of several colorful characters from her old neighborhood. The loss of her grandmother brings more maturity and perspective to Dolores, and as we zig-zag with her through the early 80s, we know she's beginning to be the person she always could be. With all the great cultural references (rock n roll songs, the supposed death of Paul McCartney- Beatles references, Woodstock, more 70s rock, Watergate, the peace & love movement, the moon walk, the growing tragedy of AIDS) we have another foul mouthed, frustrated, always questioning female Holden Caufield in her own Catcher in the Rye, with a scope and reach that hearkens back to 19th bildungsromans. Dolores' life is a '70s version of other female protagonists as varied as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, or Weetzie Bat from Francesca Lia Block's eponymous 1989 y.a. novel but with a wider range of colorful, often eccentric characters, some kind, some bumbling,all a mix of sinster, self serving or ignorant. Sometimes too crass and explicit for my taste (or teen readers!), this book and especially Dolores Price becomes totally real, a woman we always root for, and who experiences (eventually! ) a redemptive present, brilliantly told with humor and razor sharp dialogue and description.

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LibraryThing member scofer

Over all, I enjoyed this book but it is probably not for everyone. There were parts in the first half of this book that were cringe-worthy and depressing and parts where I was horrified by Delores (I can never understand or relate to animal cruelty of any sort). But for the most part, I felt

extreme compassion for a child struggling with extreme obesity, rape, dysfunctional parents and self destruction. Kudos to Wally Lamb for his ability to convey so realistically the neuroses of an obese adolescent girl!

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LibraryThing member Peleiades44

Wally Lamb can write. "She's Come Undone" has a good flow to it and Lamb's writing is thorough and descriptive, but the positives end there. The story just seemed to drag on and on and I caught myself on more than one occasion wondering "Why, why, why is this story worth telling?" I've read so many

books like this that "She's Come Undone" just seems redundant. "Rapture of Canaan," "Bastard Out of Carolina," "Tuesdays with Morrie," "Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Go Ask Alice".... the list goes on. There was a little bit of "Angela's Ashes" in this book, but unlike McCourt's fabulous work, this one is FICTION, so again, I'm wondering why bother? Then there's the story itself. The first 2/3 of the book seems plausible enough, but then the last third is one part fairy tale and two parts hogwash and I'm left wondering, where did the realism go all of a sudden? And did I somehow miss the part between sections 2 and 3 when Dolores was given a lobotomy because the change in her character seems forced and unrealistic? I get the impression that readers were supposed to like Dolores, but I didn't. The blurb on the back of the novel describes her as being "heartbreakingly comical," but I found her to just be mean, rude and selfish. 5 stars for Wally Lamb's writing abilities, negative 4 stars for choosing an uninteresting story to begin with and topping it off with an unlikable heroine.

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LibraryThing member tinkerbell8285

I actually liked this book. I thought it was interesting that Wally Lamb could write from a fat teenager's perspective like he did. It was so right on. He got the attitude, the language, the thoughts, and everything correct. It astounds me.

LibraryThing member divawaldo

WOW did this chick's life suck. If this book doesn't make you feel greatful for all that you have then nothing will. It was hard to put down once you picked it up cause you just wanted it to eventually get better for her. Excellent!

LibraryThing member seka760

Dolores Price tells about the situations she finds herself in throughout her life. Some are unconventional and some she is very unhappy with. But she learns to live with herself and even like herself a bit.

LibraryThing member Stefanie2505

One of the best books I ever read and my personal favourite!

LibraryThing member psomom

Moving, disturbing, inspiring story of a girl from age 4 through age 40. Did not find it funny as noted on the cover - but still loved the story, identified many times with the lead character - I have a feeling this character will be with me for a long time.

LibraryThing member creyola

This was an interesting book, but I found the narrator was drawn so hard that I couldn't completely forgive her all her faults, regardless of her struggles. Wally Lamb does a pretty good job writing through the eyes of a woman, but something still felt incomplete. Worth a read, but only one.

LibraryThing member kattepusen

This is a page turner for sure - but that does not equate to great writing my any means. Yes, the story has lots of unexpected twists and turns, but then it has several overly predictable "oh-I-can't-believe-he-just-went-there" moments.

You become quite fond of Dolores, the main character - and you

cheer for her on and off. However, there is such an overwhelming artificial grittyness to her, which makes her little more than the tired stereotype of the "self-destructing fat girl".

Furthermore, the "in-your-face-sybmbolism" such as the beached whale scenario is so cheesy it almost hurts...

Overall, a decent book for the beach or the stair master - but great literature it is not.

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LibraryThing member corgidog2

An unusual read--unlike anything I've ever read before and unlike anything I hope I'll ever read again. It is a woman's life from ages 6-40, told by a man, in the first person.

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