Picturing Will, the widely acclaimed new novel by Ann Beattie, unravels the complexities of a postmodern family. There's Will, a curious five-year-...
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reviews
Dec 17, 2011
James
rated it: 
I cannot begin describe how intensely moved I was by this novel. Beattie takes as her main subject a 5-year-old named Will and while the book is told in the third person and split into three distinct sections - Mother, Father and Child - I always felt we were seeing everything through the young boy's eyes. The resulting narrative is very dreamlike and subtly allows the reader to view adults the way a child does - as if someone is speaking to us through a garbled PA system. Halfway through, Will
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Nov 22, 2009
Oscar
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No me ha gustado. Admito que compré este libro por ser de Ann Beattie, ya que la lectura de 'Postales de invierno' me entusiasmó. Pero en 'Retratos de Will' no he encontrado los personajes frescos y "vivos" que sí encontré en Postales. Son más bien anodinos. Beattie se pasa toda la novela relatándonos escenas costumbristas de algunas parejas, dando mucha importancia al oficio de ser madre/padre. Y hay algunos pasajes que me asquearon bastante y de los cuáles no voy a hablar. La prosa d
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Oct 23, 2011
Núria
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Había leído ‘Postales de invierno’ de Ann Beattie y (a pesar de algunos defectos; básicamente un final demasiado feliz y forzado, y nada acorde con el tono general de la novela) me había gustado lo suficiente como para precipitarme a comprar el siguiente libro de la autora tan pronto como me enteré de que había sido publicado. Lo que me pasa siempre: compro de forma compulsiva y luego puedo dejar años sin leer estos mismos libros adquiridos en un frenesí consumista. No ha sido hasta ahora que me
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Mar 31, 2011
Suzanne
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Typically Ann Beattie, this book is a lyrical tale of a child from a very broken family, spending time with his beloved mother, distant father, and devoted step father. There is some disturbing sexual abuse early on that never is exposed, but otherwise we see how a potentially dysfunctional childhood is turned into a nurtured, loved and protected period, due mainly to his stepfather, whose reminiscences at the end tie the book together. I enjoyed it more and more, though it did take me a whil
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Jul 20, 2009
Susan
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I found this book years after reading lots of positive reviews about it. Perhaps I was setting myself up for disappointment but even though I liked her writing style I wasn't super enthused about it. Overall a good book but not great.
Nov 21, 2010
Mrs. Cyberhobo
rated it:
Pretentious, self conscious, writer's writing. Imagery is too vague to hang on to, and nobody cares. Oh well Ann Beattie I thought I'd found a new favorite author. Maybe this one is an early work?
Dec 13, 2008
Lori
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A different, stylized book where the key characters are all an important part of Will's life. A couple of soliloquies on childhood here are remarkably written.
Feb 09, 2012
Jenelle
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I love the way this book is written. It is very artistic and I very much enjoy this writers point of view. I am happy with this book.
Jan 21, 2010
Sherry
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Disappointing. Follows young boy as his parents divorce and find new relationships. Mother driven, Father a "loser"
Dec 31, 2010
Vince
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I really liked the first half of this book, when the story centered on Jody, Will and Mel at their life, but then it drifted from Virginia, to New York and then Florida. Along the way, we meet other, not as prominent persons in Will's life and follow the misfortunes of Will's father and his family. In the end, we find out Jody becomes an absentee mother, attached to career, letting Mel, her now husband, to become the primary care giver in Will's life, but the reader is not shown this, but told
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Oct 21, 2011
Pam
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I hadn't read a book by Anne Beattie for many, many years. I had forgotten how much I enjoy her writing.
Jun 23, 2009
Ann
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Ann Beattie's writing is beautiful, but I was left lukewarm by the story of young Will and the people in his life. Perhaps because it was never clear to me exactly who the book was really about and whom I was supposed to care about, I ended up not really caring about anyone.
Oct 25, 2008
Charlotte
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My brother bought me this book, that takes place in Charlottesville, VA, soon after we moved here. What I learned is that the spring ants are inevitable!
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Sep 02, 2010
Mindi
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was so not ready for the situation with Spencer. Guess I should have been.\
Feb 09, 2012
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