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May 27, 2008

Shannon rated it:

What is it with Oprah? Really. I don't always know when I'm reading an Oprah book (I come into possession of a lot of books with no covers somehow), but after I read this one I just knew it was on her list, had to be. It was very bleak, as most of her selections are, and had very little to make me want to finish it. If I hadn't been very bored at the time I probably wouldn't have. It's exhausting to read about constant sadness, and I hate stories that feature weak, mama's boy husbands.

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Feb 12, 2009

Margery rated it:

Depressing.
The writing is repetitive, and the visuals are uncreative and obviously depressing. She hits you over the head with the misery of her characters, but to what point?
Shockingly mean and violent events abound, but again I saw no point. The only character that was suprred to action by the violent events is not even alive in the time line of the novel. We never meet her and it is only through the fog of time that she manages to "help" our main character. And that help More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2008

Kellie rated it:

This books takes place in the 70’s in the mid-west. Ellen and James are married and have 2 children, Amy and Herbert. Struggling financially, James decides they must move in with his parents. I don’t know if it was typical of the time or not, but James parents, Mary Margaret and Fritz, are the most sour, mean spirited people depicted in a book. I should have known, this being an Oprah book, that it would be sad, depressing and include a dysfunctional family. I do not see anything great abou More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Mar 19, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

This book is about a strict Catholic's family dysfunction--but quite interesting. If you find it fascinating how people used to stay unhappily married for LIFE (despite verbal and/or physical abuse) and base the rationale as their religion then read this.
My favorite part of the book is when the one of the characters looks down on another female character when she comments that she no longer has any desire for her husband in the bedroom. The other woman then belittles the woman saying t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 16, 2008

Simi rated it:

This is a bitter and depressing story about a woman who has to live with her furious and acrid in-laws and finds herself further estranged from her husband. She has two children whom she fights to raise well, but cannot in face of such utter hatred. The story itself was absorbing (I read it in one sitting in three hours from 11 pm to 2 am) but it was not very well structured or well written. The ending was disappointing, not for what happened, but for the way it was written. It felt like the aut More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 14, 2009

Nicki rated it:

This just might be the worst book that I've ever read. Or at least the worst book that I've read in the last few years. I'm only adding it because I'm making a new shelf for books that I read in 2008 and this is one of them. I never would have picked it out myself but a co-worker brought it to me to read - so I felt obligated. Not very well written and depressing.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 17, 2010

Chantal rated it:

A. Manette Ansay’s Vinegar Hill is a novel (it says so on the cover), yet each chapter is essentially a short tragic story unto itself. Alice Hoffman’s Local Girls is a collection of interconnected stories narrated in alternating voices, first and third-person -- one critic has suggested that, had Hoffman taken the time to coherently narrate her stories, Local Girls could be a novel. I wonder.
To be fair to both authors, I need to praise the writing. Both Ansay and Hoffman write m More...

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Apr 04, 2010

Bookventures rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 28, 2010

April rated it:

I read this a few years ago so this review is not exactly "fresh" but I still remember how this book affected me. At the time I read the book I enjoyed it.. I couldn't put it down because you could just feel the tension building within the house and the family. It was like the author put a microscope on one family's situation and homelife and honed in on it and exposed it in the form of this book for everyone to see. It was at times disturbing - I wanted to sometimes step into the book More...

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Jan 31, 2010

John rated it:

It's the 1970s, and James Grier has lost his job; accordingly, he takes his family to live with his elderly parents in the small Wisconsin town of Holly's Field. For his wife Ellen and their two children this is a descent into a pit of misery, for James's father is -- and always has been -- viciously abusive, and this has the effect of poisoning all relationships between those around him. In the course of Vinegar Hill we learn this and a whole string of similar secrets, many of which seem More...

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Sep 25, 2009

Kit rated it:

This is the second time I've read this, but it had been awhile, and I was in a hurry to grab something to take on a trip. I believe this is the only book I've read by Ansay, and I think I'd like to try another...she's a good writer. I must admit I was skeptical when I saw it was an Oprah pick, as my experience with her recommendations hasn't been particularly rewarding.

When her husband loses his job, Ellen Grier and her two children are forced to move in with her in-laws in a small More...

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Dec 01, 2009

Scooter rated it:

I feel like the downside to Oprah's book club is that it exacerbated our culture's tendency to lump "real literature" and "books about women" into two mutually exclusive blobs. I absolutely loved this book: the way Ansay gives or implies just enough about each character that a reader can't maintain his or her antipathy towards them, the way the petty things about being a child or a frustrated wife or a bitchy mother in law are neither glossed over or caricatured, the way you More...

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Jun 26, 2009

Karyl rated it:

I read this book in just two days. Obviously it is a very quick read, and I kept wanting to pick the book up again and read a few pages. Yes, this book is bleak and depressing, but it seems very realistic. Before divorce was as common as marriage, people stayed together no matter what, regardless of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse -- all of which occur to the women in this book. I find the end to be very hopeful; the wife decides to make a change right as her daughter stands on the brink More...

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Sep 11, 2008

Rhonda rated it:

Good book, a little depressing, but I empathized with the woman in the story. Takes place in the Midwest in the 70's. Husband is unemployed and he makes the decision to move his wife and their two kids in with his parents. Not only is that a disaster in itself, but the parents are TERRIBLE to the wife and the kids, while the husband sits idly by, never saying a word. (yes, he's a jerk). I thought it was a good story, and enjoyed it!!!

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Nov 13, 2007

Zoe rated it:

Another book about abuse. The unique perspective here is the cycle of abuse and the gray between being abused and becoming the abuser.
In stark contrast to this novel is Prodigal Summer - which I loved! I've decided I want to read about strong women making strong decisions and NOT because they are overcoming oppression or oppressors.
But if you're still reading about surviving and survivors, feel free to check this one out.

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Aug 06, 2011

Meredith rated it:

How do you rate a book that you can't put down, that you dream about and that disturbs you for days? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I liked the writing and plot of this book, but it cast a creepy aura over my life for a few days.

This novel is set in rural Wisconsin in the 1970's in a community of patriachal hellfire-and-damnation Christians. I like to believe that these types of abusive cultures don't, and never did, exist and perhaps that self-imposed naivite is what made th More...

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May 20, 2010

Cindy rated it:

To me, Oprah's Book Club seal of approval guarantees me at least a few of the following:

1) Female, middle-aged protagonist, typically a mother
2) Generally bleak and depressing
3) Emotional and/or physical abuse
4) Jackass husband
5) Horrible children
6) Death

Vinegar Hill offers 5 of the 6 - no horrible children. It's a very quick read - maybe not light enough fare for the beach but for the subway ride to and from work, it's perfect. A brief syno More...

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Oct 10, 2010

Shaun rated it:

I actually like this book (and I had no idea it was an Oprah book club pick). Everything - the characters (ALL OF THEM - even the kids), the setting, and even the prose - are downtrodden and depressing, but that's how life is sometimes. It didn't stop me from enjoying story.

It isn't great, though. Religion is shoved down the reader's throat almost every page to the point of ridiculousness, and even though the author definitely wasn't trying to convert anyone with their views and ideas More...

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Aug 09, 2011

Lori rated it:

I'm giving this novel 3 stars only because of the quality of the writing. The actual story itself is morose, and rather self-indulgent... I'm afraid that novelists often feel that to write well they must include and focus upon the truly horrible aspects of life while ignoring any of the light. There was not one character in the novel I could relate to; they all seemed extraordinarily weak and childish. When Ellen, the pseudo main character, finally decides to use her backbone, the novel is sudde More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Chella LaNiece rated it:

Vinegar Hill is one of the saddest books I've ever read. Set in 1972 in Wisconsin, we meet James, his wife Ellen, their children Amy & Bert and James' parents Mary Margaret and Fritz. James & Ellen are forced by financial circumstances to move back in with James' parents, temporarily. The author gives an account of events of one year with this family, from different view points of the different family members while also giving us a haunted back story. The book is filled with stories of regre More...

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Jan 24, 2012

Andrew rated it:

This is a very dark but powerful story. What some will endure in the name of doing the right thing is amazing. Ellen is a very sympathetic character that is torn between her Catholic upbringing and common sense. It's sad to think of families putting their religion over the health and welfare of their own flesh and blood, but it happens. I guess I wanted the book to continue on a little more. I wanted to know Ellen and her children's fate. I wanted to know James reaction to her leaving. I wanted More...

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Mar 15, 2010

Sharon rated it:

This is a quietly powerful book. It's about a wife and mother and her extended family and her husband's extended family, set in the early 1970s. It's a statement about how cruelty and abuse affect each generation, and perhaps how difficult it is to break that cycle. It's about those who live with victims and how it affects everyone. And it's about a woman breaking free of this repression and madness. It's also about how twisted religion can be and has been in many lives. This book borders More...

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Mar 29, 2009

Robyn rated it:

I read River Angel on a recommendation a long time ago, and then decided to come back to Ansay. Vinegar Hill was fascinating for its darkness and yet humanity. Though many of the people in the book are fairly horrible, they're not villains so much as just people who have been damaged in various ways. I like the way in which she usually portrays communities or families of people. She's a bigger picture writer. It was very comforting after having spent some extended time with my own family to More...

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Aug 21, 2011

Denise rated it:

Vinegar Hill was an easy read. Even in my bleary-eyed 11pm reading states this week, I was able to finish it within a few days. That said, I won't pretend it was a great story, but it did hold my attention. This family is full of disfunction, and so it was sort of like that fascination of watching a train wreck-- some of it was horrifying or gruesome and yet I couldn't stop reading, wanted more; I wanted to know what happened next! Soo... a great read but not a great story.

I think, to More...

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Aug 09, 2011

Ashley rated it:

This is a bit depressing, but realistic. While I can't relate to the specifics of the characters, I can relate to the challenges the main character endures. This is most certainly a book about relationships and relating to others. It’s also about reaching a point in your life when change must occur, regardless of who it hurts because ultimately the change is necessary for your individual survival. While the topics were depressing and hard to digest at times, I think you get a real snap shot o More...

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Nov 22, 2010

Jeanne rated it:

Wow, this book was gripping! What an powerful story about a time in the recent past when women had few options to get out of horrific marriages. The misery in this book is all psychological: the heroine is surrounded by self-centered, sometimes cruel, always unthinking people and it comes close to crushing her and her children. Thank god for a hopeful ending. Speaking of god, yet another book with an ugly portrayal of catholicism that doesn't resemble any parish or priest I've ever met, but h More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Olivia rated it:

Grief upon grief upon grief. How much abuse and grief can a person take? Seems like Oprah really likes books where women are abused in every way imaginable. For anyone that has lived with men of, or in, this generation the story rings true. 1972 may be the last year of the monster male, at least for Ellen. For those of us raised in a household of stressed silences because of over active emotions and past circumstances, much of the material is completely relatable. The writing style of A. Ma More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 13, 2010

Andrea rated it:

It's funny... I cheated a bit before reading, scouring the reviews on this book. Most were negative because the book is a real downer. I, however, really enjoyed the book and enjoyed the author's choice of language and descriptions. Yes, definitely not an uplifting book but I tend to like these kinds of books that make you reflect on how lucky you are. I cannot imagine feeling "trapped" in a family in marriage like this main character in this book. The loveless existence is unbearab More...

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Dec 01, 2009

Chelsey rated it:

Is there such thing as no stars? That said, let me tell you my opinion. This book is an Oprah book and I haven't had any luck with most of her books but I had this one so I read it. It has a pretty interesting story but it is just a sick and sorry life. So I finished it and just felt BLAH. So we went for a long drive and I told my husband the whole story. He thought it was very interesting. My 12 year old daughter was listening and she thought it was so interesting too. So I guess the st More...

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Jul 28, 2010

Vicky rated it:

wow--pretty depressing. I didn't get a feel for these characters. All of them were beyond belief except for Barbara (the friend) and the young son. I kept thinking, "It's 1972--that wouldn't happen!" Maybe in small town Wisconsin, but I grew up in small (Catholic) town Minnesota and we were beyond that in 1972. I just couldn't find any redeeming qualities in Ellen, the main character. She was spineless, and her husband James wasn't much better. Why would he ever live with his ab More...

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