Black and Blue

I love her writing and throughly enjoyed this book so much that I've ordered 3 more of her books. Her characters are in depth and the book flows easily.

Anna Quindlen is one of my Favorite Authors and I have to say that Black and Blue has to be her at her finest. This was a book I was not able to put down at all. The characters are very realistic and you get a true understanding of all the emotions that they are feeling.Fran Benedetto, a nurse who lives in NYC and seems to be happily married to her husband Bobby but she is a victim of Domestic Violence. The book deals more with Fran trying to escape her situation by going underground and assuming a new identity with her son Robert but its extremely hard to run away from a police officer. I was able to feel the suspense on every page wondering if or when her husband would catch up to her.Anna Quindlen does an excellent job describing each and every emotion that Fran must have been feeling and this book gave me a new understanding of Spousal Abuse. This book is a real pageturner and it is one I would highly recommend and I would also highly recommend One True Thing also written by Ms. Quindlen.

I read this book about a year ago, and was deeply tocuhed by the story Quindlen told. I am son of a battered woman and while never witness to the attacks my father inflicted on my mother, this book allowed me to expereince her pain. The book afforded me the opportunity to find the truth behind what it means to be abused, to have one's dignity and self respect stripped from one's being day by day hit by hit verbal barb by verbal barb. The thing that I found most compelling about Quindlen's novel is that she did not conclude the story with a "pretty bow on the box". While it is true that brusies and scars heal, victims of domestic abuse never truly recover from being abused, as the psychological scars stay with them their entire lives. I applaud this book for its honesty, and I found Quindlen's character developemnt of Fran and the exploration of her internal motivations to be very compelling. This is an excellent book for readers who want to know about the impact domestic violence has its victims and the ripple effects the experience of being abused has on victims lives.

What a fantastic book! From the moment I started to the very ending I did not put it down. Anna Quindlen weaves a complex tale of an abused woman on the run with child from her abusive husband. The plot starts with her escape and proceeds to show us the beginning of a new life for her provided by an agency that helps out women such as herself. The main character Fran/Beth is sympathetic mainly because she seems to be a real human being with flaws just like the rest of us. Her frustration in building the new life and worrying about her son really hits home. I admire the fact that Ms. Quindlen did not sugar coat any aspect of the book and gave us a realistic view as to what it would be in a relationship so horrific as well as the impact it could have for all involved. Definitely recommended if you have a few hours to spare - this book cannot be read in stages for it is impossible to put down.

[Warning: a review below by "Drea248" unwittingly divulges a crucial element in the story line. Though a positive review, if you plan on reading this book, avoid the review.]Anna Quindlan's latest work of fiction "Black and Blue" has the potential to do what few so called "women's books" are able to accomplish, have an intrinsic appeal which serves both genders. This is a story with the ability to be accessible on many levels and that is one of its strengths.This is a book about women, about children, about men, about the building up and breaking down of relationships, about strength and weakness, about truth, about secrets, about courage, and about trust. It is enlightening, entertaining, and exciting; once started it will be difficult to put down. This is not an easy book to read or forget.The issues raised, some resolved some not, remind us of the frailties and shortcomings we experience in our own lives. Hopefully the main topic is one with which many are personally unfamiliar. The description of the effort involved to achieve escape velocity from the gravitational pull of an old life is simultaneously interesting and frightening. But can you really escape?This is the focal point of the story. The day-to-day events of the principal characters as they establish their new lives is beautifully and touchingly developed in every way, you almost forget how the main characters arrived where they are. Present experiences are cleverly woven with past memories throughout the narrative. However, this is a story that also has all of the underlying tension and menace of a good suspense novel, neither of which are ever very far from the surface.

This was a great book that I had a hard time putting down....it was also VERY depressing because it brings you to a reality that these violent domestic circumstances really exist and how it affects the innocent children. I strongly urge you to read it!