91st out of 169 books
—
224 voters
Tully
Paullina Simons's Tully is the powerful story of a young woman from the flat plains of Kansas. Tully's story is as embracing as the wheat fields and as sweeping as the prairies from which the drama unfolds. Five young Kansans, struggling to find a place in the world, are touched by a tragedy which alters and shapes their lives for more than a decade. Three women - best fri...more
Hardcover
Published
by St. Martin's Press
(first published January 1st 1994)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
I never thought I would hate a novel by Paullina Simons, but here it is. This overly long first novel deals with the life a young woman named Tully Makker. She comes from a horribly abusive family and her background, as well as tragic loss, sets the stage for the poor life choices she makes throughout the novel.
The plot moves at a turtle's pace taking us through Tully's devastating teen years where her mother's attentions range from nonexistant to severe beatings. Tully dances at frat parties an...more
The plot moves at a turtle's pace taking us through Tully's devastating teen years where her mother's attentions range from nonexistant to severe beatings. Tully dances at frat parties an...more
This was such a long, hard journey of a book accompanying Tully as she tries desperately not to feel anything, not to have children or fall in love but along the way somehow finds herself in love with her husband, her child, her lover, her lover’s child, her house, her home and her life.
The ending was a good one, but not the best outcome for everyone. Someone had to be sacrificed and perhaps it was the only possible ending after a lifetime of Tully steeling herself.
Feeling unloved and uncared fo...more
The ending was a good one, but not the best outcome for everyone. Someone had to be sacrificed and perhaps it was the only possible ending after a lifetime of Tully steeling herself.
Feeling unloved and uncared fo...more
Jun 01, 2008
Amanda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
All my girl friends
Recommended to Amanda by:
Randomly found
I started out this book with apprehension... oh great another coming of age story about a mistreated teenager...
However, I really liked the character Tully, and the story was original and entertaining. The author paints a very vivid picture (warning some very "naughty" scenes) and you very easily are taken back to the 80's. I would not consider this book a real "page turner," as I had no problem putting it down, but it was compelling enough to keep picking it up and wanting to know what was goin...more
However, I really liked the character Tully, and the story was original and entertaining. The author paints a very vivid picture (warning some very "naughty" scenes) and you very easily are taken back to the 80's. I would not consider this book a real "page turner," as I had no problem putting it down, but it was compelling enough to keep picking it up and wanting to know what was goin...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
One of the most intense books I have ever read.
Tully is about a group of high school friends that are each individually shattered by a specific tragedy that befalls one of them. And this book shows how this tragedy shapes their lives, pushes them apart, and eventually brings them back together. It follows a small group over the course of a decade and shows how people either learn to cope with grief and loss or they let it destroy them. Tully is the main character and she was horridly abused and...more
Tully is about a group of high school friends that are each individually shattered by a specific tragedy that befalls one of them. And this book shows how this tragedy shapes their lives, pushes them apart, and eventually brings them back together. It follows a small group over the course of a decade and shows how people either learn to cope with grief and loss or they let it destroy them. Tully is the main character and she was horridly abused and...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
2 1/2
Alguien debería haberle dicho a Paullina, llegados a cierto punto, que lo dejara estar; que dejara de escribir, para que el nivel no fuese cayendo y una historia que podía haber llegado a rozar la belleza en su melancolía se convirtiese en algo tan manido y previsible. Del mismo modo que el personaje de Tully, y tal vez alguno más, van perdiendo a partir de cierto punto su carácter único para convertirse en más de lo mismo...o, peor: en ese personaje que te crispa, a tal punto que pierde to...more
Alguien debería haberle dicho a Paullina, llegados a cierto punto, que lo dejara estar; que dejara de escribir, para que el nivel no fuese cayendo y una historia que podía haber llegado a rozar la belleza en su melancolía se convirtiese en algo tan manido y previsible. Del mismo modo que el personaje de Tully, y tal vez alguno más, van perdiendo a partir de cierto punto su carácter único para convertirse en más de lo mismo...o, peor: en ese personaje que te crispa, a tal punto que pierde to...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Tully Makker is a survivor. She survives her father's abandonment at the age of 7. She survives her uncle's "attentions" at the age of 12. She survives her mother's abusive hands throughout her childhood and adolescence. Her best friend's betrayal in her senior year of high school is the hardest for Tully to survive. She survives....but not without scars....scars on her wrists, scars that haunt her in her sleep, scars upon her heart. There are those who try to help Tully throughout her life. The...more
I loved this story about a rough and tough girl who battles some very serious adverse life events and survives. I'll admit there are times when I really don't like Tully! But I do admire her. She has not had any positive role models in her life so it is realistic that she would not aways make sound decisions.
The main theme that stands out for me is "love." Clearly Tully is not shown or given any love as a child and as an adolescent. She is rejected by her father and abused and neglected by her m...more
The main theme that stands out for me is "love." Clearly Tully is not shown or given any love as a child and as an adolescent. She is rejected by her father and abused and neglected by her m...more
I struggled to give "Tully" three stars. This book started out really intriguing - the first third of the book I thouroughly enjoyed. As I started to get into the middle of the book, I realised that it would have greatly benefited from proper editing. It is obvious that 'Tully' is Paulina Simon's first book, and at times it seems she has something to prove.
This book was far, far too long. It repeated itself so much and drew out unecessary sub-plots with too much description. Halfway through the...more
This book was far, far too long. It repeated itself so much and drew out unecessary sub-plots with too much description. Halfway through the...more
PS introduces us to Tully, someone who has you experiencing lots of mixed emotions. She is a dark character with many secrets and a past that she wants to move on from, but a loveless childhood filled with anguish, abandonment and abuse is difficult to deal with. Tully makes certain choices through her life which leaves you feeling frustrated, sympathetic and emotional throughout the book.
She meets Jennifer and Julie who become her closest friends and help to fill the void and provide an escape...more
She meets Jennifer and Julie who become her closest friends and help to fill the void and provide an escape...more
Wow.
Wow.
Wow.
Este libro fue asombroso.
Paullina Simons me demuestra una vez mas porque es una de mis escritoras favoritas.Si no es mi n°1.
El libro engancha desde la primera pagina, su forma de escribir es maravillosa, la manera en que te 'envuelve', los personajes tan bien desarrolados, la trama que no tiene un objetivo en particular y que todo en encaja a la vez. Amo su forma de escribir.
Tully es un personaje que comete errores, muchos errores, con una vida dura, de abandono y malos tratos. Hay...more
Wow.
Wow.
Este libro fue asombroso.
Paullina Simons me demuestra una vez mas porque es una de mis escritoras favoritas.
El libro engancha desde la primera pagina, su forma de escribir es maravillosa, la manera en que te 'envuelve', los personajes tan bien desarrolados, la trama que no tiene un objetivo en particular y que todo en encaja a la vez. Amo su forma de escribir.
Tully es un personaje que comete errores, muchos errores, con una vida dura, de abandono y malos tratos. Hay...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I’m not really sure how to rate this book. Reading it involved a lot of eye rolling and cursing out loud every other page. I think my loathing was more for the characters than for any faulty writing or for the book itself. I have never read about a character that I loathed more than Tully, which I suppose is better than being completely indifferent. I couldn’t relate to anyone in this story, which is a good thing considering they were all seemingly masochistic people who, for whatever reason, we...more
Extremely realistic character - she doesn't do the right thing A LOT. Frustrating and you want to keep reading. There is a "foreign" feeling to this book sometimes - I believe the author is Russian (?) and sometimes the American style of teenage isn't quite right. Nevertheless, Tully's actions and feelings are right on for a girl with a lot of problems.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I read this book a while back. It was a book rec from a good friend. I borrowed the paperback from her. What I remember most of all is how much the story, albeit written very well, made my heart ache as I read through it. I felt so bad for the main character, Tully, and all the crap she goes through. A few scenes are harder to bear than others. Those who've read this book know what I'm referring to. Anyway, Although I really enjoyed the story I wasn't blown away by it so I am just giving it thre...more
Tully Makker is a tough young woman from the wrong side of the tracks and she is not always easy to like. But if Tully gives friendship and loyalty, she gives them for good, and she forms an enduring bond with Jennifer and Julie, schoolfriends from very different backgrounds. As they grow into the world of the seventies and eighties , the lives of the three best friends are changed forever by two young men, Robin and Jack, and a tragedy which engulfs them all. Against the odds, Tully emerges int...more
Tully took me a while to get into, but I am pleased I read it.
I found Tully extremely selfish but when you look at what she had going on in her life it isn't any wonder really why she wants to put herself first! The story is based on friendship, betrayal, family, pain and love. These topics are interwoven together well, sometimes you laugh at Tully's antics, sometimes you wonder what on earth she is doing!
If you can put aside the fact that Tully is a very selfish character then I think you'd en...more
I found Tully extremely selfish but when you look at what she had going on in her life it isn't any wonder really why she wants to put herself first! The story is based on friendship, betrayal, family, pain and love. These topics are interwoven together well, sometimes you laugh at Tully's antics, sometimes you wonder what on earth she is doing!
If you can put aside the fact that Tully is a very selfish character then I think you'd en...more
Overall, this is a good read. It's simply written and pretty straightforward. Some of the topics dealt with and events that happen are more than uncomfortable, indeed, they're disturbing....perhaps all the more because they are so stark and therefore real (but in a detached way).
"Detached" sums up this book quite well.
Tully can be hard to get to know or like sometimes. even we as readers, have the sense that she holds us at a distance emotionally.
She's a survivor, but paying a high price for...more
"Detached" sums up this book quite well.
Tully can be hard to get to know or like sometimes. even we as readers, have the sense that she holds us at a distance emotionally.
She's a survivor, but paying a high price for...more
Todavìa me cuesta creer que la autora que creò a Alexander Barrington sea la misma que en este libro me regalò a Jack Pendell , a Robin DeMarco y ,màs que nada , a la enigmàtica (aunque en el fondo ,no tanto) TULLY .
El libro empieza con una amistad : con Tully , Jennifer y Julie , las tres de diecisiete años . En el exterior son chicas normales : una bailarina , otra porrista y la otra , indecisa .
Pero , obviamente , nada es lo que parece .
Corre finales de los '70 ,la època de "El Francotirador"...more
El libro empieza con una amistad : con Tully , Jennifer y Julie , las tres de diecisiete años . En el exterior son chicas normales : una bailarina , otra porrista y la otra , indecisa .
Pero , obviamente , nada es lo que parece .
Corre finales de los '70 ,la època de "El Francotirador"...more
Oct 25, 2007
Anna Goldsmith
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Pessimists
Oh my god the shittiest book I have ever read. No kidding it took me over a year to read this as I just kept getting sick of Tully and her miserable existance.
Aug 10, 2007
Dave
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone but seems to strike a cord with teenage girls
By far her best book
the rest are a sad disappointment in comparison
Tully holds its own in suspense, intrigue, love and insight
mostly insight
the rest are a sad disappointment in comparison
Tully holds its own in suspense, intrigue, love and insight
mostly insight
It's quite hard to pin-point exactly what is wrong with this book. The unlikeable main character fails to develop; she makes the same mistakes, lingers on the same past issues and essentially seems to create her own suffering. I found that the first half of the novel moved at a glacial pace, whilst the second half rushed through the years, jumping between summer and winter and kept using the same words and phrases. At points I found the book completely boring yet I wanted to know what would happ...more
This is a book that is so different from anything I have ever read - this author wrote The Bronze Horseman and their sequels as well as Red Leaves and The Girl in Times Square which I also loved a lot. Well this book is like it is written by a completely different author. I did not like the main character Tully at all but I just had to know what happened so I kept reading it. I would actually give this book 2 and a 1/2 stars. I don't know I have such conflicting views for the book. Liked the two...more
I hated this book when I read it. I skimmed a lot of it. But I was on a long, long road trip and ended up reading it again. Tully is not always a likable character. And there is some distance between her and the reader, which I'm going to guess Simons did on purpose. You kind of have to figure out why Tully is doing some of the awful things she does.But there are reasons--huge reasons--and after another read through, Tully made sense to me. My heart went out to her. She pushes people away and it...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tully - tortured soul or selfish whore? | 1 | 4 | May 20, 2013 11:16pm | |
| Translated to Persian | 2 | 11 | Nov 24, 2012 09:22am |
Paullina Simons was born in Leningrad, USSR, in 1963. At the age of ten her family immigrated to the United States. Growing up in Russia Paullina dreamt of someday becoming a writer. Her dream was put on hold as she learned English and overcame the shock of a new culture.
After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullin...more
More about Paullina Simons...
After graduating from university and after various jobs including working as a financial journalist and as a translator Paullin...more
Share This Book
4 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...

Loading...




























May 05, 2013 04:23am
updated May 19, 2013 11:44am