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March Murray, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up to attend the funeral of Judith Dale, the beloved housekeeper who raised her. After nearly twenty years of living in California, March is thrust into the world of her past. She finds that Mrs. Dale knew more of life than March could have ever suspected; that her brother Alan, whose tragic history has left him grief-stricken, has turned to alcohol as his only solace; and that Hollis, the boy she once loved, is the man she can't seem to stay away from. Here on Earth is the dramatic and lyrical account of the joys of love, as well as the destruction that love can release. Erotic, disturbing, and compelling, this is without a doubt Alice Hoffman's most unforgettable novel. "[Hoffman is] a dreamy and mesmerizing storyteller," - The New Yorker… (more)
How do I describe a book with which I have a dysfunctional relationship? It had so much potential and then it never delivered. The main characters are in need of a good ass-kicking for being stupid, selfish, and spineless people. And the ending? don't even get me started on that!
My biggest pet peeve with a book and its plot, is when an author throws in tiny side stories or mentions things that never get resolved or finished.
To put it simply, it's like watching a train-wreck and not being able to look away because it's THAT bad and you want to watch until they clear the scene.
In all honesty, the book had it's tiny moments of glory, but overall it was too cliché, and I felt like the narrator should be someone from Savannah, Georgia; what with all of the "Why, this blah blah" & "why, that blah blah"
I dont know...if you're desperate for something to read and aren't picky about it, then this is for you. ( )
This is a hard book. Not just to read, but to accept. This book talks about obsession in love, to the point of destruction. It address the taboo subject of domestic violence in the world of “mind your own business.” It addresses seeing and doing nothing. Of pretending what we do not wish to see really isn’t there; for victim, abuser, and bystander. Especially when it comes to the ones we love. I hated Hollis. I hated March for not being able to wake up to what is happening to her, her daughter, her life. But, that is the reality for so many people who suffer from domestic abuse. Alice Hoffman does a heartbreaking, raw, and horribly accurate job of portraying what domestic violence is capable of inflicting in both it’s physical and mental capacities. It isn’t pretty and I put this book down many times because it was too hard, too ugly, too aggravating, and I too unwilling to see what was playing out. March got away, but not without suffering and not without cost. Not everyone has the chance to get away. Not everyone can. We as people see what we want to see and believe what we want to believe. Whether or not those things are true is another story. Books like this one demonstrate that reality in a brutal way. ( )
The Hollis trope just goes on too long...he remains such a jerk-hole that it becomes predictable and boring... though readers may be impressed that NOTHING gets past him.
With March overcoming her descent into oblivious and blinding,obsession, the plot should have been so much better!
I'm giving this book a 4 because even though I just liked it - it has stuck with me. I'm so glad to learn about Alice Hoffman and I am excited to read more from her. I almost stopped reading this book from some of the other Goodreads comments but I think the haters misunderstood what the book was about. More than affairs of the heart and adultery I think this book was about abuse and regrets. I think there are many more instances of real abuse where the abuser has unseemly power over the victim where everything ends badly. The ending of this story was perfect and just. ( )
For countless kindnesses and twenty years of generosity and support the author wishes to thank Elaine Markson.
Dedication
To E.B.
First words
Tonight, the hay in the fields is already brittle with frost, especially to the west of Fox Hill, where the pastures shone like stars.
Quotations
Last words
But Hank knows better, and on the first day of every year, he will always make certain to say a prayer for those to whom he wishes peace, both the living and the dead.
March Murray, along with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Gwen, returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up to attend the funeral of Judith Dale, the beloved housekeeper who raised her. After nearly twenty years of living in California, March is thrust into the world of her past. She finds that Mrs. Dale knew more of life than March could have ever suspected; that her brother Alan, whose tragic history has left him grief-stricken, has turned to alcohol as his only solace; and that Hollis, the boy she once loved, is the man she can't seem to stay away from. Here on Earth is the dramatic and lyrical account of the joys of love, as well as the destruction that love can release. Erotic, disturbing, and compelling, this is without a doubt Alice Hoffman's most unforgettable novel. "[Hoffman is] a dreamy and mesmerizing storyteller," - The New Yorker
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Book description
After nineteen years in California, March Murray returns to the small Massachusetts town where she grew up. For all this time, March has been avoiding her own troubled history, but when she encounters Holis, the boy she loved so desperately, the man who has never forgotten her - the past collides with the present as their reckless love is reignited. This dark romantic tale asks whether it is possible to survive a love that consumes you. The answers that March Murray discovers are both heartbreaking and wise, as complex as they are devastating - for in heaven and in our dreams, love is simple and glorious. But it is something altogether different here on earth... (0-425-16731-3)
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6
My biggest pet peeve with a book and its plot, is when an author throws in tiny side stories or mentions things that never get resolved or finished.
To put it simply, it's like watching a train-wreck and not being able to look away because it's THAT bad and you want to watch until they clear the scene.
In all honesty, the book had it's tiny moments of glory, but overall it was too cliché, and I felt like the narrator should be someone from Savannah, Georgia; what with all of the "Why, this blah blah" & "why, that blah blah"
I dont know...if you're desperate for something to read and aren't picky about it, then this is for you. (