2,434,714+ Books Available - 1,079 Members Online
Your source for swapping books online - Read...Swap...Save!
How To Swap Books?
Sign Up
Search 
Kiosk
All Books
Book Browser
Advanced Search
Books Posted Today
Club Wish List
Member Book Reviews
NYT Best Seller List
Login
Community
Member Directory
Discussion Forums
Live Chat
Box-O-Books
Book Journal
Maps
The Eclectic Pen
Fun Stuff
Top 50s
Pulse of PBS
Spread The Word
Photo Gallery
Recipes
Club Tag Cloud
Member Testimonials
Help Center
Kiosk
Need Help?
Search - Black and Blue
|
|
|
||
Book Description:
For eighteen years, Fran Benedetto kept her secret. And hid her bruises. And stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father. And because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son's face, Fran finally made a choice--and ran for both their lives.--Members who requested this book also requested:
Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. And in this place she uses a name that isn't hers, and cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. And despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time.--
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Similar books to this author and title:
 |  |  |  |  |
Genres:
- Literature & Fiction >> General >> Contemporary
- Literature & Fiction >> Authors, A-Z >> ( Q ) >> Quindlen, Anna
Top Member Reviews
Jane K. (
26 member(s) found this review helpful.
I read this book a while ago, and it's worth a read. Fran escapes from her abusive husband by using an underground network that helps abused women "disappear". She brings along her son, so that he will no longer be exposed to the violence her husband unleashes on her. She sets up a new life, but always in fear that her husband may find her. A heartbreaking account of what abuse does to a woman and her household. I'd give it more stars, except the ending really wasn't as good as the rest of the book. I didn't expect a "happily ever after" finish, and it had a bit of a twist, but it just seemed flat when compared to the rest of the novel.
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an excellent book. It is a novel about an abused woman escaping via the underground with her son. It goes through her thoughts about leaving and about why she stayed as long as she did. You experience along with her what it would be like to pick up and leave everything you knew, including your identity, behind.
Michele W. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Absorbing story of a woman who decides to take back her life, for the sake of her child. Highly recommend!
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I really enjoyed this book it was hard to put down.
Patrice D. from NORMAN, OK wrote on 5/4/2007...
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I re-read this and enjoyed it again. It's uplifting in spite of it's despair.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Good book...a bit sappy, but easy to read.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Sad, depressing, horrible ending
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Quindlen renders the intricacies of spousal abuse with eerie accuracy, taking the reader deep within the realm of dysfunctional human ties. However, her vivid descriptions of abuse, emotional disintegration, and acute loneliness at times numb the reader with their realism.
Valerie H. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
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.
Nancy F. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
The main character was stupid from beginning to end, so it was difficult for me to muster up even a little sympathy for her tragic situation.
Rate These Member Reviews
The story itself is sorta depressing but I really enjoyed reading it. You start to feel for the characters and can't help but wonder what will happen next.
I read this start to finish, but never really got into it...made myself finish it. The story has been written before, and more powerfully. I just didn't see the allure.
This book had me from the start. I think I read it in 2 nights. Nothing can come between a mother and her child. I would highly recommend it.
The courage that drove her groundbreaking New York Times op-ed page column surfaces in Anna Quindlen's third work of fiction, Black And Blue.
This is a stunning story about marriage, propelled by carefully crafted suspense and the believable and sympathetic character of Fran Benedetto. As Quindlen described to Matt Lauer on the set of NBC's "Today" program minutes before I sat down to talk with her, relationships are all about power. From the margin of domestic violence, Quindlen reveals the less poisonous power struggles inherent in all relationships.
Nicole F. from PLEASANT GAP, PA wrote on 1/16/2008...This book is amazing. Anna Quindlen is truly a great author.
Very quick and easy read. Not too compelling, but I read it because it was on Oprah's list. Kind of a sore ending...not a fairy tale ending at all.
Jennifer O. from SHAKOPEE, MN wrote on 10/4/2007...Oprah's Book Club!
This is in Oprah's Book Club. Very good book.