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.
Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded 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 orbits 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 she really goes under.
Oprah Book Club® Selection, January 1997: "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." So begins the story of Dolores Price, the unconventional heroine of Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. Dolores is a class-A emotional basket case, and why shouldn't she be? She's suffered almost every abuse and familial travesty that exists: Her father is a violent, philandering liar; her mother has the mental and emotional consistency of Jell-O; and the men in her life are probably the gender's most loathsome creatures. But Dolores is no quitter; she battles her woes with a sense of self-indulgence and gluttony rivaled only by Henry VIII. Hers is a dysfunctional Wonder Years, where growing up in the golden era was anything but ideal. While most kids her age were dealing with the monumental importance of the latest Beatles single and how college turned an older sibling into a long-haired hippie, Dolores was grappling with such issues as divorce, rape, and mental illness. Whether you're disgusted by her antics or moved by her pathetic ploys, you'll be drawn into Dolores's warped, hilarious, Mallomar-munching world.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Wonderful novel:
I read this years ago, and I still think of how much it moved me. Excellent read.
Well-written, but terribly, terribly depressing beyond words:
I cannot believe that Wally Lamb is the author of this book. No, not because he is a MAN, and because "Goodness, I can't believe a MAN should have such insight into the struggles of WOMEN as to dare write a book from a woman's point of view!" Please. Men are capable of writing from a woman's point of view just as women may write from the man's point of view. Ever hear of a little book called "The Outsiders"? No, I can't believe that he is the author of this book because it is truly a complete 180... more info
Favorite book of all time:
When people ask me what my favorite movie or favorite song, I never have a clear answer. I name a few that fall within the favorite category. Not so when it comes to the topic of books. When someone asks me what my favorite book is, the answer is simple - Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone." Read it and fall in love.
What an unfailingly annoying character:
I am generally an easily pleased reader, but I could not wait to finish this book. I found Dolores so annoying that she actually put me into a bad mood. She is dramatic, whiny, and self-absorbed. She never really improved, she just expressed the crazy in slightly different ways. If I had the ability to put a book down once I started, I would have done it with this book. Instead, I trudged through to the end, becoming more and more irritated with her character. The only redeeming quality of the book is that... more info
