Original Sins

or a political novel with a lot of heart and real-seeming characters that stick in your mind after you read about them.Tackles the big questions of American life from sometimes in the fifties through to the nineties without clubbing us over the head with any of it, and some of the questions clearly don't have easy answers. Less funny than a lot of Ms. Alther's earlier work, although misunderstandings between people are often good for a chuckle. I bought it as a deal of the day, but probably would have paid full price for it.

Pretty good. It was very predictable in many places. It would’ve been nice if the characters didn’t follow an extremely predictable path.

The character development was good. That's the positive comment. The story, however, moved very slowly and did not keep my interest.

Interesting picture of life in the South; accurate? I don't know. I grew up farther north and moved south to retire.

Very painful reading experience, characters unbelievable and shallow, story read like a very cheesy, comical soap opera. So much extraneous detail added to the chore of trying to finish book. Worst book ever read in my 50+ years of reading. Do not waste your time or money. This is my first negative book review because I have never felt so strongly about needing to warn other readers.

Didn't care for this book at all. Sorry I purchased it. Very hard to stay with the story. Will not be buying anything else from this author.

Interesting! It tells of a time of change in America, and you live those days through the pages of this book.

First of all, let me tell you, I read books for escape. But sometimes, I might learn a thing or two. And it is with a humble acknowledgement that I gave this book three stars.Look, I lived through the 1960s and feel that nowadays we have reverted back to the 1860s so revisiting all the bigotry and misogyny of the country through this book during a time when cops shoot kids because of their menacing faces in real life, and reading this nonsense as my escape--well, let's just say the truth. I nearly threw this book away for most of the first 40%. Then at 43-46% I was ready to be finished as the pages were repeated and out of order. But somehow I was drawn in like vampire to a train wreck??? So much was wrong I hoped there was a single drop I could glean from it.Okay, this should be required reading for everyone in high school. It could be used to teach English. Look, I understand making the characters sound a certain way but to continue beyond the dialogue was horrid! Then you could use the book to teach patience and tolerance about people who may seem like they are different. Then use it in a Sex Ed. class to show what not to do. Then for a feminism classes to show men and women what not to expect.I am so glad I didn't buy this book. I picked it up through Kindle Unlimited. I know a lot of people loved this book. It was through a book group who recommended this to me that I read it. I feel no closer to a truth or an escape having gone through this. And that makes me feel horrid. Sorry.

I read this book years ago...when it was first published and re-read it now - feeling the kinship of old friendships since childhood in a Southern life...

I read this many years ago when it was first published, and was delighted to find it on Kindle.A second read didn't disappoint! Highly recommend this book!

An old favorite. Catches the flavour of growing up in the 60s.