Search - Amy and Isabelle

Used Book ~ Amy and Isabelle by author Elizabeth Strout
Amy and Isabelle
Author: Elizabeth Strout
Book Information
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Rating: 102

ISBN-13: 9780375705199 - ISBN-10: 0375705198
Publication Date: 2/1/2000
Pages: 320

Book Description:
In her stunning first novel, Amy and Isabelle, Elizabeth Strout evokes a teenager's alienation from her distant mother - and a parent's rage at the discovery of her daughter's sexual secrets. In most ways, Isabelle and Amy are like any mother and her 16-year-old daughter, a fierce mix of love and loathing exchanged in their every glance. And eating, sleeping, and working side by side in the gossip-ridden mill town of Shirley Falls doesn't help matters. But when Amy is discovered behind the steamed-up windows of a car with her math teacher, the vast and icy distance between mother and daughter becomes unbridgeable.

As news of the scandal reaches every ear, it is Isabelle who suffers from the harsh judgment of Shirley Falls, intensifying her shame about her own secret past. And as Amy seeks comfort elsewhere, she discovers the fragility of human happiness through other dramas, from the horror of a missing child to the trials of Fat Bev, the community peacemaker. Witty and often profound, Amy and Isabelle confirms Elizabeth Strout as a powerful new talent.

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Genres:
Other Versions of this Book: Audio Cassette (Abridged), Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Audio CD (Unabridged), Hardcover


Top Member Reviews

Charissa T. (summerset22) from BIG RAPIDS, MI wrote on 7/26/2006...

7 member(s) found this review helpful.

A coming of age story, well-written, a good story about the relationship between girls and their mothers, set in the days of free love and sexual exploration. Some harsh language.

Melanie B. (melbird) from APO, AE wrote on 9/11/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

I didn't have any expectations going into this book but I was pleasantly surprised. It was a simple, quick read but definitely kept you interested because you wanted to know what happened next. It's a good story about a disconnected mother/daughter relationship -- I enjoyed it!

Mary B. (eagles) from COLUMBIA, SC wrote on 7/18/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

When I started this book, I had no expectations. But I was immediately intrigued by the story. The topic is uncomfortable at times, but the writing is good and keeps you interested. A deep psychological book with insights/thoughts that made me think.

Julie S. (flutterbythebay) from SAN FRANCISCO, CA wrote on 2/18/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

A lovely account of a mother/daughter disconnect, and the ability to love though it.

Karen M. from EAST SANDWICH, MA wrote on 2/5/2007...

4 member(s) found this review helpful.

A wonderful read with haunting characters. I almost thought about keeping this one to reread again at some point. One of the best books that I have read in a long time.

Lisa S. from BURTONSVILLE, MD wrote on 5/7/2007...

3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Oprah always picks the best books. You will love it.

Nicole Z. (Sunsprite) from CRARYVILLE, NY wrote on 12/3/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Excellent Book!! You definately get swept up into it! Highly recommend.

Stephanie L. (mumof4) from CHERRY HL VLG, CO wrote on 11/24/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

A very good read. NOt too long - you really can identify with the characters.

Linda H. from LUFKIN, TX wrote on 4/13/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

An Oprah Winfrey presents movie book....about a mother and her 16 year old daughter...good...

Robin B. from SAN DIEGO, CA wrote on 4/12/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Good family saga


Rate These Member Reviews

Danette G. from CLAREMONT, CA wrote on 9/8/2006...


Good story!

Elaine B. from STAMFORD, CT wrote on 8/29/2006...


Great book!

Stacy J. (StacyJ) from ALEXANDER, AR wrote on 3/21/2006...


"In most ways, Isabelle and Amy are like any mother and her 16-year old daughter, a fierce mix of love and loathing exchanged in their every single glance. That they eat, sleep and work side by side in the gossip-ridden mill town of Shirley Falls only increases the tension. And just when it appears things can't get any worse, Amy's sexuality begins to unfold, causing a vast and icy rift between mother and daughter that will remain unbridgeable unless Isabelle examines her own secretive and shameful past." (From back)

Molly G. (mbgring) from NORTH ANDOVER, MA wrote on 10/26/2005...


Mother/daughter relationships

Jamie C. (jamielee) from VALLEJO, CA wrote on 9/2/2005...


I read this years ago and enjoyed it, although don't remember much about it any more.

Sheryl O. (Everett-Reader) from EVERETT, WA wrote on 7/25/2005...


FROM THE PUBLISHER
Amy and Isabelle explores the secrets of sexuality that jeopardize the love between a mother and her daughter. Amy Goodrow, a shy high school student in a small mill town, falls in love with her math teacher, and together they cross the line between understandable fantasy and disturbing reality. When discovered, this emotional and physical trespass brings disgrace to Amy's mother, Isabelle, and intensifies the shame she feels about her own past. In a fury, she lashes out at her daughter's beauty and then retreats into outraged silence. Amy withdraws, too, and mother and daughter eat, sleep, and even work side by side but remain at a vast, seemingly unbridgeable distance from each other. This conflict is surrounded by other large and small dramas in the town of Shirley Falls -- a teenage pregnancy, a UFO sighting, a missing child, and the trials of Fat Bev, the community's enormous (and enormously funny and compassionate) peacemaker and amateur medical consultant.
SYNOPSIS
A much talked about first novel that explores the secrets that jeopardize the love between a mother and her daughter.
FROM THE CRITICS
Mademoiselle
If you read one book all year, let it be this exquisite first novel.
New Yorker
Unflaggingly engaging...What a pleasure to gain entry into the world of this book.
Jeff Giles
Lovely, powerful. —Newsweek
Time Magazine
Strout's insights into the complex psychology between [mother and daughter] result in a poignant tale about two comings of age.
Vanessa V. Friedman
...[I]n Strout's sure hands[the central revelatory] truth isn't awful butin factrevelatory. —Entertainment Weekly