this was a hot mess of slurs being thrown around, confusing and inaccurate snippets of holocaust history, and trauma porn, and it was basically just the narration of a shitty lifetime movie ( )

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Some recall. A woman escapes with her child from an abusive husband via help of the underground network . . . But the story of relationships does not end there." ( )

I used to read this often. I tucked this into the corner of my bookshelf a few years ago, though, and haven't picked it up again until now. This book flows so smoothly. I've tried reading other books of Quindlen's and they didn't come close. Here, I'm always instantly absorbed. The way past and present are contrasted in every paragraph is wonderful, and the placement of a single sentence in a time garners a lot of emotion. I liked how realistic the dialogue was. I always marvel to myself how much research Quindlen must have done about ER nurses, and medicine in general, to write this book realistically.

She writes character voices well. My favorite this time around was Cindy. I like Grace, too. The book would have been bleak without them. It was an interesting choice to have the woman who helped Frannie out, be so victim-blamey, rude, and controlling. An intensely unlikeable character to be sure, but still, an interesting choice. There's a lot of rules in a real-life situation like this, but the woman clearly couldn't empathize with the women she was helping, anymore. I always find the prologue to be interesting. The PI didn't research criminal laws well. There's a ton of information about what taking Robert out of New York would have legally been considered in 1997, when this takes place. The PI ignores this. I think this book might have given hope to some who needed it, however that happened. I'm glad I got ahold of a copy. ( )

You might think this topic wouldn’t be something that would make a decent book or a story that anyone would want to read... but it makes an interesting, gripping story that will have the reader literally engrossed in Fran’s life...both before and after Bobby. The protagonist and several other characters are quite likable, the elements of suspense and frustration is there in spades. You might wonder why it took Fran 10 years to have had enough and take her son and run. The reasons are anything but “simple” ... the heart of the matter is that no one would have believed her. She couldn’t go to the police because the police were already in her home...her abuser was a decorated police officer and the father of her son...so Fran runs for her life and starts a new life with a new name. and slowly things begin to fall in to place. But no matter what her friends tell her...Fran knows that Bobby will one day find them...and when he does... her life is over. I want my books to have a happy ending...but as interested as I was in the story and Fran’s life...I just wanted this one to be over. Not because it was badly written or that I wanted to see Bobby get everything he had coming to him... but because it left me feeling a bit of heartache for the life that could have been and the unfairness of it all.

Black and Blue. Anna Quindlen. 1998. A book that will stay with you longer than you want it to. Fran Benedetto is a battered wife and mother, The novel opens as she is leaving her husband and going into hiding. The story is told in flashbacks as she and her son settle in a nondescript town in Florida under assumed names. My friend who told me about the book said her friend who recommended the book said it was the most realistic picture of an abusive marriage she’d ever read. Suspense builds slowly, but you just know the SOB is going to find her. Hard to read but well-written. ( )