Be warned this book is long and contains nearly as many characters as a Dickens novel. I felt let down and extremely disappointed with this book - it was almost as if Morris had given up trying to move the plot along around page 600. There was so much potential in each one of the multiple storylines, but nothing, to me, panned out. A few things still stick with me, most notably the gentleman making crude phone calls and the woman who spoke to him. Not really recommended unless you like stopping books part-way through.

I loved this book. In the beginning I felt a little overwhelmed with
the number of characters being introduced so quickly. I thought I would never be able to keep them straight. I was completely wrong the author has a wonderful way of including the reader in her story. I could not wait to get home from work to read this book. I liked it so much I even considered caling out of work so I can finish it. A great read

A fascinating story about a poor and lonely woman who tried to raise 3 kids with an alcoholic husband. It described her pain and frustration very realistically living in a small town... The plot was amazing, taking the reader through a forbidden romance and a crime as well as other family mishaps. McGarry Morris painted an overall sense of urgency and hopelessness that made you feel sorry for the characters. I was easily pulled into the plot and I had trouble putting it down until I got to the end!

Yikes, I am not sure how I felt about this book. I really liked it, and yet, was so disgusted by the stupidity of the characters. But I couldn't stop reading...a weird plot...a con man selling soap to the whole neighborhood, a woman falling in love with this charlatan at the expense of her children, weird in-laws. Just couldn't put it down.

I adored this book and just couldn't put it down. Morris really delves into the characters. You don't want it to end.

An excellent read. You will g et caught up in the dynamics of the Fermoyle family. You will wonder how anything good can come from so much disfunction yet I found it to be a story of survival and triumph.

A fascinating story about a poor and lonely woman who tries to raise 3 kids with an alcoholic husband, describing her pain and frustration very realistically living in a small town. The plot takes the reader through a forbidden romance, a crime, as well as other family mishaps. McGarry Morris painted an overall sense of urgency and hopelessness that made you feel sorry for the characters.

I was easily pulled into the plot and I had trouble putting it down until I got to the end!

I couldn't put this book down. Very interesting but depressing, too.

This was really hard for me to read for some reason. Writing wise.

It might be "ordinary time", but these aren't ordinary people. Interesting characters.

Read All Book Reviews of "Songs in Ordinary Time"

For me this book drug on and on...I had to work to get through it. It was disappointing that it wouldn't get moving more and their were a ton of different characters to keep track of, which in the beginning drove me crazy. So I wasn't too excited by this book, but did finish it after a week.

This novel tells the story of the down-and-out Fermoyle faily. Living in Vermont in the 1960s, Marie Fermoyle and her three children live in poverty and desperation, for more money, more security, and more affection. Marie Fermoyle, a hardened cynic, is so desperate for all of the above that she falls victim to the wiles of a con man. The Fermoyle children are blatantly aware that their mother is being fleeced, but the emotional distance of all the family members makes it difficult for any of them to communicate or to trust one another. As Marie falls deeper under her now-boyfriend's spell it is the Fermoyle children who feel this lack of communication most acutely. The most difficult character in this book is Marie Fermoyle: cold, cynical, and emotionally abusive towards her children, Marie is clearly a woman who has been deeply wounded and is now striking back, albeit at the wrong people. In this book Morris has crafted a deeply complex narrative with fantastic chracter development. Truly, she has created a whole world in this Vermont town. The characters' lives are richly interwoven with one another, and actions by one reverberate to affect the whole. This is a deeply moving and engaging novel.

A real life cruise of samall-town USA with the top down and the volume up. In her graphic, stiletto chapters, Mary McGarry Morris is a cross between Elizabeth Gaskett and David Lynch." Minneapolis Star Tribune

bottom left corner of book in front needed a little scotch tape for reinforcement. Oprahs Book Club books are always special in their own way.

its the summer of 1960 in vermont.marie fermoyle is a strong but vulnerable divorced woman whose loniless and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man omar duvall.marie's children are alice,17-involved with a young priest:norm,16-hotheaded and idealistic:benjy,12-isolated and misunderstood,and so despreate for his mothers happiness that he hides the deadly truth he knows about duvall.we also meet sam fermoyle,the childrens alcoholic father,sam's brother -in-law,who makes anonymous love calls from the bathroom of his failing appliance store,and the klubock family,who-in contrast to the fermoyles-live an orderly life in the house next door.

(from the back cover) This is a story about Marie Fermoyle, a vulnerable divorced woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man Omar Duvall. The book is a masterful epic of the everyday, illuminating the kaleidoscope of lives that tell the compelling story of this unforgettable family.

It's the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. Marie Fermoyle is a strong but vulnerable divorced woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man Omar Duvall. Marie's children are Alice, seventeen-involved with a young priest; Norm, sixteen-hotheaded and idealistic; and Benjy, twelve-isolated and misunderstood, and so desperate for his mother's happiness that he hides the deadly truth he knows about Duvall...

When you start this one you just can't put it down untill you are done.

From the back cover..."It's the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. Marie Fermoyle is a strong but vulnerable divorced woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for dangerous con man Omar Duvall. Marie's children are Alice, seventeen-involved with a young priest; Norm,sixteen-hotheaded and idealistic; and Benjy, twelve-isolated and misunderstood, and so desperate for his mother's happiness that he hides the deadly truth he knows about Duvall."

Couldn't finish this one. I tried for almost 3 years to read it, but I just couldn't.

Read All Book Reviews of "Songs in Ordinary Time"