A Dangerous Woman

Although I can completely understand why some felt this book was not their cup of tea, I really love Mary McGarry Morris' novels and this is no exception. I think she is one of the most underrated novelists in part because she does her job so well as she tends to focus on the different, the uncomfortable and the painful. And, she does it exceptionally well here with the story of Martha. This character is so interesting to me - fascinating really. We never really find out for 'sure' what Martha is in terms of a diagnosis. We know she's 'off' but not what really causes her very odd and uncomfortable demeanor. I found the character to be so compelling while at the same time so difficult to read about. It gave me a great deal to think about show more in terms of how I (and society) treats those who are different. How we make assumptions. How we make judgments. I felt that the author's writing of her story really made me feel what it must be like to be Martha as well as what it must be like to be around her. At times, I felt as if I were THERE, watching it all unfold in front of me. I found the story to be heartbreaking overall. The story is dark and there isn't necessarily a light at the end of the dark tunnel. But, in the end, I think that was appropriate. I think a 'happy ending' would have been contrite and missed the entire point of the story. I really enjoyed this book and plan to seek out other books by this author that I haven't yet read. show less

An interesting and worthwhile read. Not exactly my usual style, but nonetheless it kept me going right to the end . . . not because it was in any sense a "thriller" (although a superficial reading might put it in this category), but because the character development made me want to keep reading to find out more about what made the characters tick.

I guess the take home message of the book was that if you start off in life a little different from everyone else, you're likely to be treated in such a way that you become more and more isolated from the world, to the point where you become labeled as 'deviant'. The book did particularly focus on women as victims and men as perpetrators, but that's reality, isn't it?Actually there were quite show more a few shades of gray in the representations of both sexes, and this was one of the very attractive features of the book. No one was a simple goodie or baddie, everyone had a variety of aspects of their character. The more I think about it, the more I am impressed with the strength of the portrayal of the relationships between men and women.

I was interested to catch myself being annoyed with the main character - exactly as her fictional friends and acquaintances were. At the same time I felt her feelings of the injustice of the world. That's got to be a sign of good writing, n'est-ce pas?

I suppose the only negative for my enjoyment of the book (which is not a criticism of the book per se) was that I didn't personally identify very closely with any of the characters all the time. My allegiances would shift from one to another and various situations unfolded.

This is my first Mary McGarry Morris; I'll definitely be back for more. show less

Although I can completely understand why some felt this book was not their cup of tea, I really love Mary McGarry Morris' novels and this is no exception. I think she is one of the most underrated novelists in part because she does her job so well as she tends to focus on the different, the uncomfortable and the painful. And, she does it exceptionally well here with the story of Martha. This character is so interesting to me - fascinating really. We never really find out for 'sure' what Martha is in terms of a diagnosis. We know she's 'off' but not what really causes her very odd and uncomfortable demeanor. I found the character to be so compelling while at the same time so difficult to read about. It gave me a great deal to think about show more in terms of how I (and society) treats those who are different. How we make assumptions. How we make judgments. I felt that the author's writing of her story really made me feel what it must be like to be Martha as well as what it must be like to be around her. At times, I felt as if I were THERE, watching it all unfold in front of me. I found the story to be heartbreaking overall. The story is dark and there isn't necessarily a light at the end of the dark tunnel. But, in the end, I think that was appropriate. I think a 'happy ending' would have been contrite and missed the entire point of the story. I really enjoyed this book and plan to seek out other books by this author that I haven't yet read. show less

Although I can completely understand why some felt this book was not their cup of tea, I really love Mary McGarry Morris' novels and this is no exception. I think she is one of the most underrated novelists in part because she does her job so well as she tends to focus on the different, the uncomfortable and the painful. And, she does it exceptionally well here with the story of Martha. This character is so interesting to me - fascinating really. We never really find out for 'sure' what Martha is in terms of a diagnosis. We know she's 'off' but not what really causes her very odd and uncomfortable demeanor. I found the character to be so compelling while at the same time so difficult to read about. It gave me a great deal to think about show more in terms of how I (and society) treats those who are different. How we make assumptions. How we make judgments. I felt that the author's writing of her story really made me feel what it must be like to be Martha as well as what it must be like to be around her. At times, I felt as if I were THERE, watching it all unfold in front of me. I found the story to be heartbreaking overall. The story is dark and there isn't necessarily a light at the end of the dark tunnel. But, in the end, I think that was appropriate. I think a 'happy ending' would have been contrite and missed the entire point of the story. I really enjoyed this book and plan to seek out other books by this author that I haven't yet read. show less

Although I can completely understand why some felt this book was not their cup of tea, I really love Mary McGarry Morris' novels and this is no exception. I think she is one of the most underrated novelists in part because she does her job so well as she tends to focus on the different, the uncomfortable and the painful. And, she does it exceptionally well here with the story of Martha. This character is so interesting to me - fascinating really. We never really find out for 'sure' what Martha is in terms of a diagnosis. We know she's 'off' but not what really causes her very odd and uncomfortable demeanor. I found the character to be so compelling while at the same time so difficult to read about. It gave me a great deal to think about show more in terms of how I (and society) treats those who are different. How we make assumptions. How we make judgments. I felt that the author's writing of her story really made me feel what it must be like to be Martha as well as what it must be like to be around her. At times, I felt as if I were THERE, watching it all unfold in front of me. I found the story to be heartbreaking overall. The story is dark and there isn't necessarily a light at the end of the dark tunnel. But, in the end, I think that was appropriate. I think a 'happy ending' would have been contrite and missed the entire point of the story. I really enjoyed this book and plan to seek out other books by this author that I haven't yet read. show less

I much prefered Morris's "Songs in Ordinary Time." Essentially this is a book about a "dangerous" woman who is a woman who just makes her own choices and is a bit odd and different. Nothing too dangerous about that. The protagonist seemed a bit of a hyperbole, though, and I wasn't too interested in her and her choices.

I knew from almost page one that this book was not going to have a happy ending. Useful to learn more and become more compassionate regarding people with emotional problems.