Blue Shoe is a wonderful book. Anne Lamott writes characters very well, and they have all of the quirks and imperfections of real people without being weird.

The story revolves around a woman's quest to understand her family, her history and her own life. She longs for relationships and yet sees people (and herself) the way they are.

I wonder if the people who aren't as fond of this book perhaps haven't had the experiences that are the focus of the story. As a woman from a dysfunctional family with a geriatric mother, I'm always trying to understand the circumstances in which I find myself. This book was like a friend saying, "Yeah, I've felt exactly that same way. I've been through the same thing." Lamott's books aren't for everyone, but they are full of integrity and her own spirit. This book, in particular, is well written, with great dialog and a wonderful insight into people you know.

Another favorite of mine is Lamott's, "Rosie". Wonderful book. ( )

Many times while reading this book I asked myself why I didn't just stop and start something I might like better. As it was recommended by a friend, I remained hopeful that there would be some redeeming value to the story. Please--at least give me protagonist that exemplifies some values and good judgment or at least learns something in the end. Lamott's lead character of choice starts right off with sleeping back and forth with her ex-husband (who is in a relationship with a pregnant girlfriend), and a grocer she grew up with, while lusting after her handyman (who is also married). The main storyline dealt with her trying to learn more about her now-deceased father, triggered by coming across the contents (including a small blue shoe) of the glove box of a car her father used to own. Come to find out--surprise, surprise--more dysfunction. I felt I was being drug through a woman's trailer-trashy life, complete with equally dysfunctional family members. There wasn't a single character in the book I could feel any sympathy with or relate to in any way. ( )

Blue Shoe was my first Anne Lamott reading experience. I enjoyed the writing style and the characterizations much better than the story. As I became more familiar with the author, I understood that the best parts of her novel were the real life people and things she was writing about, and the weakest was the plot. Life rarely has an exciting plot. Blue Shoe is a pleasant diversion, but for the real deal, read Anne Lamott's essays, where her genius shines through as she tells you about life from her perspective. ( )

As in Lamott's wonderful memoir, one of the few I've enjoyed, we see a young woman struggling with the day-to-day details of life, including raising two young children after a divorce, a friendship disrupted by distance, another friendship with a man disrupted by his marriage to a depressed, demanding spouse, and, most of all, coping with a mother succumbing to increasing dementia, while she & her brother uncover troubling family secrets. It's familiar ground for Lamott, but she covers it with sensitivity & wit--& most unusually (though typically for her)--unobtrusively integrates some of the main characters' reliance on faith & on their church to cope with their problems. ( )

Vintage Ann Lamott book. What shines through is the main character's unalterable faith in God and prayer. ( )