The Big Love was a book that seemed offensive by some and humourous by others. Keep in mind our group varies in religious beliefs and in age which allowed for variety of topics for conversation.

Some of us enjoyed the casual conversational tone of the book. This related to getting together with your best friend and sharing your true feelings about love and sex. Others viewed it as "unmittigated trash" with the hopes that their grown children would never choose to read a such a book.

Many found her character to be weak, lacking self-esteem. It took Alison way too long to call off her relationship with Tom. Many were frustrated with her character due to her inability to make her own decisions.

The book left us wondering what had happened to Alison between the ages of her younger 20's and her age now (32)? Did she lack a nuturing relationship with her father/stepfather? Is this why she suffers such insecurities with men? She lacked a sense of maturity that we found difficult to relate to. How can a woman of 32 still be so unsure of herself and her direction in life?

In addition to one member finding the sexual content extrememly offensive and crude, another member was deeply offended by the characters take on religion. This member was able to relate to some of the events that took place in Alison's life as a young woman. Lashing against the very religion she was brought up with "mocks those who made the other choice to follow their religion".

A group of us did find the attempts at humor entertaining and were not as deeply offended by the sexual and religious nature of the book. Some of us felt the religious aspect brought on a new twist that is not often seen in novels.

Our ratings for this book varied greatly. Where one would rate it a 0 another would rate it a 4 (Scale of 0-5, least-best). Overall our score averaged out to be a 2.6.

We are all grateful to have taken part in this review and look forward to reviewing more books in the future.

Sincerely,

The Gilbertsville Girls

I read this book a few months ago. It did have a couple of humorous moments and I could empathize with Alison in the beginning but as the novel progressed it became harder to identify with. I noticed that they are billing this book as appealing to fans of Price and Prejudice as well as The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing. Well, I loved P&P and thought The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing was very overrated. Honestly, this book has nothing in common with P&P. Don't expect too much and you shouldn't be disappointed.