Helpful Score: 1
I really enjoyed this book about a regular guy named Larry. It made me wonder if most people really do go through life on auto pilot, more or less and if women really are the main players. The chapter about "Larry's Penis" was a bit tedious, but the last chapter, which chronicles the party is a treat beyond compare. Keep reading and finish the book, it's well worth it!
Helpful Score: 1
Carol Shields has not let me down again. I love her work. Her writing is very insightful, very entertaining, as usual. She captures be by page 4 in all her books (Unless, Stone Diaries). And in this one, it was especially interesting to discover a few things about garden mazes (of all things........what a fabulous idea to enlighten people on). Just great!
Helpful Score: 1
This "gentle satire" is a story about Larry, a "regular guy," who's quest is to be a good person. He is a maze maker and each chapter is started cleverly by a configuration of a maze, which foreshadows what the chapters will be about. You follow his life as he searches for true love and finds it where and when he least expects it!
A thought provoking novel, written by Pulitzer-Prize winner Carol Shields.
A thought provoking novel, written by Pulitzer-Prize winner Carol Shields.
Helpful Score: 1
This is a complicated and tedious book. I spent twice as long reading this book as I usually do, and almost put it down once or twice. Ultimately I'm glad I stayed with it. The look inside Larry Weller's mind was unusual and kind of scary. He ended up being a very successful man while being a victim and a doormat along the way.I guess we all do this as we try to make our way through the complicated maze called life. The dialog in the party scene in the last few pages makes this book worth reading. I would say that I predicted the ending, but truthfully it was probably just what I hoped would happen! It makes me wonder how many opportunities I've missed simply because I was not ready to understand them.
Maze gardens are fascinating.
She is a brillant author!
Terrific read- I loved it.
COMPLETE & UNABRIDGED - 8.5 hours on 8 cassette tapes.
Collector's Edition in Clam-shell Case.
From the back cover:
Meet Larry Weller, an ordinary guy made extraordinary by his creator's perception, irony, and tenderness. In episodes between 1977 and 1997, we follow Larry, a floral designer, as he journeys from youth into middle age, through two marriages and divorces, stumbing toward the millennium and adapting to society's changing expectations of men. All the while, we witness his deepening passion for garden mazes -- structures strangely reminiscent of life itself, with their teasing treachery and promise of reward. With sharp wit and unerring poignancy, Carol Shields captures the odyssey of a Canadian Everyman at the end of our century.
Collector's Edition in Clam-shell Case.
From the back cover:
Meet Larry Weller, an ordinary guy made extraordinary by his creator's perception, irony, and tenderness. In episodes between 1977 and 1997, we follow Larry, a floral designer, as he journeys from youth into middle age, through two marriages and divorces, stumbing toward the millennium and adapting to society's changing expectations of men. All the while, we witness his deepening passion for garden mazes -- structures strangely reminiscent of life itself, with their teasing treachery and promise of reward. With sharp wit and unerring poignancy, Carol Shields captures the odyssey of a Canadian Everyman at the end of our century.
National bestseller and a New York Times Notable Book by the author of Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Stone Diaries."
