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Laddar... Under the Influenceav Joyce Maynard
   Books Read in 2016 (547) To Read (332) Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken.  mattorsara | Aug 11, 2022 |    ) Sunandsand | Apr 30, 2022 | The relationship between the main character, a lonely desperate alcoholic and a seemingly philanthropic couple is awkward and inappropriate. When Helen joins Match.com the couple look forward to hearing about her dating "plights." The irony of the title Under the Influence having a much broader meaning in regards to the characters in the story. It is frustrating when characters are manipulated and "influenced" by others. It questions what friendship means to people and what that would look would like. Is it a friendship when it is clearly one sided? ***I just read an ARC of her memoir due out Sept 2017 and it certainly puts this story into perspective for me. The Best of Us: A Memoir by Joyce Maynard is a book written from her heart with such blatant honesty. The struggles she endured financially and emotionally over the past few years explains the pain and confusion experienced by the character in her book. (  ) marquis784 | Sep 28, 2020 | ) janismack | Mar 19, 2020 | ) kelshaw2 | Feb 20, 2018 | inga recensioner | lägg till en recension
"The New York Times bestselling author of Labor Day and After Her returns with a poignant story about the true meaning--and the true price--of friendship. Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet taking portraits of school children and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He's drifting away from her, fast. When she meets Ava and Swift Havilland, the vulnerable Helen is instantly enchanted. Wealthy, connected philanthropists, they have their own charity devoted to rescuing dogs. Their home is filled with fabulous friends, edgy art, and dazzling parties.Then Helen meets Elliott, a kind, quiet accountant who offers loyalty and love with none of her newfound friends' fireworks. To Swift and Ava, he's boring. But even worse than that, he's unimpressed by them. As Helen increasingly falls under the Havillands' influence--running errands, doing random chores, questioning her relationship with Elliott--Ava and Swift hold out the most seductive gift: their influence and help to regain custody of her son. But the debt Helen owes them is about to come due. Ollie witnesses an accident involving Swift, his grown son, and the daughter of the Havillands' housekeeper. With her young son's future in the balance, Helen must choose between the truth and the friends who have given her everything"-- Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
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 Google Books — Laddar...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Klassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg: (3.91)
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6
Helen is under the influence. She is under the influence of alcohol in the beginning of the story, and that causes her some serious problems, but she then falls under the influence of two people with money and possessions and a lifestyle that she wants, and that almost costs her everything. Its a complicated story about self-respect (or lack thereof), about parental responsibility, about listening to that inner voice that warns you when things are not what they should be.
The story is well-paced and believable and while you are screaming at Helen "don't go there", you are also looking at yourself and thinking is there any Helen in me. Would you resist the friendship of someone who offered you all the material goods and attention you have craved in life if you recognized the price to be loss of your autonomy? How much would you surrender for that connection? Would you lie to yourself? Bury your own feelings for someone else? Shun a friend or a lover?
Maynard poses some serious questions through her character development. She weaves an interesting tale and she writes a very satisfactory ending for it. I have another of her novels on my Kindle and I will not hesitate to read it. (