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Gloomy,
Dramatic,
Insightful

8 reviews

She's Come Undone (Oprah's Book Club)
by Wally Lamb

Published: 2011-04-12
Kindle Edition : 0 pages
23 members reading this now
56 clubs reading this now
39 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 5 of 8 members
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.

"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, ...

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Introduction

In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Wally Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years.

"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered. . ."

Meet Dolores Price. She’s thirteen, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood good-bye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she’s determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.

At once a fragile girl and a hard-edged cynic, so tough to love yet so inimitably lovable, Dolores is as poignantly real as our own imperfections. She’s Come Undone includes a promise: you will never forget Dolores Price.

Editorial Review

Oprah Book Club® Selection, January 1997: "Mine is a story of craving; an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered." So begins the story of Dolores Price, the unconventional heroine of Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. Dolores is a class-A emotional basket case, and why shouldn't she be? She's suffered almost every abuse and familial travesty that exists: Her father is a violent, philandering liar; her mother has the mental and emotional consistency of Jell-O; and the men in her life are probably the gender's most loathsome creatures. But Dolores is no quitter; she battles her woes with a sense of self-indulgence and gluttony rivaled only by Henry VIII. Hers is a dysfunctional Wonder Years, where growing up in the golden era was anything but ideal. While most kids her age were dealing with the monumental importance of the latest Beatles single and how college turned an older sibling into a long-haired hippie, Dolores was grappling with such issues as divorce, rape, and mental illness. Whether you're disgusted by her antics or moved by her pathetic ploys, you'll be drawn into Dolores's warped, hilarious, Mallomar-munching world.

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Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by cindi l. (see profile) 10/01/23

 
by Elisa J. (see profile) 07/04/20

 
by Sonya S. (see profile) 09/29/18

 
by cristina r. (see profile) 09/25/18

 
  "Depressing"by Jennifer E. (see profile) 09/14/13

I found this book hard to read and depressing.

 
  "Good for discussions"by Kim R. (see profile) 04/16/12

The book reads well and has good topics for book club discussions. However, I didn't like reading about all the negatives.

 
  "So glad I read!"by Tracy G. (see profile) 03/26/12

 
  "Rather Depressing"by Leane M. (see profile) 03/01/11

I've been told my many people this is a good book and a must read but maybe I didn't get it. Nothing about the book was earth shattering. It was rather depressing and thought the main character was too... (read more)

 
  "slow moving depression"by Alice V. (see profile) 01/01/11

this book goes on and on and the protagonist rarely moves forward. not worth the effort.

 
  "Couldn't put it down."by Trish S. (see profile) 08/23/10

I went into this book thinking it was going to be slow and hard to dive into. That's what I get for judging a book by the cover. I couldn't put it down and found myself sneeking off to read a chapter,... (read more)

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