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4th out of 17 books
—
13 voters
Before and After
The New York Times Bestseller
A New York Times Notable Book
Carolyn and Ben Reiser moved to Hyland, New Hampshire with their two children for the comforts of rural life. But when the local police chief comes looking for their seventeen-year-old son Jacob to question him about the brutal murder of his girlfriend, the Reisers' lives begin to unravel.
A compelling story that w...more
A New York Times Notable Book
Carolyn and Ben Reiser moved to Hyland, New Hampshire with their two children for the comforts of rural life. But when the local police chief comes looking for their seventeen-year-old son Jacob to question him about the brutal murder of his girlfriend, the Reisers' lives begin to unravel.
A compelling story that w...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
March 1st 2005
by Picador
(first published 1992)
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If I could give this 4 1/2 stars, I would. I was totally hooked into this story and loved it, until the final, wrap-up chapters. The resolution to all the built-up intrigue was told mostly from the perspective of the teen daughter and after the fact. So she was looking back and telling how it all worked out. It sort of felt as if the author was hurrying to finish the book because it was already long. So some of the elements I most wanted to see play out, were revealed in a lackluster way. I also...more
Great book on the challenges and and resilience of a family tragedy. Gives each members stuggle dealing with their high profile after the son accidentally/impulsively kills his girlfriend in a small town.
A powerful concept: an event that is so cataclysmic that it divides your life forever into "before and after."
I loved the movie, and usually if I love the movie, I love the book even more. NOT so with this book. I picked it up at a paperback sale and it was like swimming through lava to get through it. It just dragged on and on and on and on. The different POV were interesting (although I don't get why Ben was written in first person and Judith and Carolyn in second person) and I am sure that the scattered train of thought of the parents was meant to accurately portray just how scattered any parents wou...more
Sorry, but this book was not for me. It's not the kind of books I usually read, and this one in particular did not convince me either. The only real positive thing I can say about it is that it offers a somewhat original point of view for a story. I at least had not given much thoughts about the families of people involved with the law before. But that's about it. Sorry I couldn't share the amazement so many others seems to have found. My advice is to read the book yourself and see if you are mo...more
I'll admit it. I'm a bit of a book snob. I don't generally pick up books just because they've been on the New York Times Bestseller list; I don't normally go for the books that have that smooth cover art that reminds me of Dan Brown's empire of "history"-thrillers or any given murder mystery. It's not that I don't think those books will be enjoyable, I'm sure they are. It's just that when I look for books to read, I'm looking at writing style. I'm looking for authors that have something new to t...more
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This is a pretty interesting read. It's a novel about a teenage boy who murders his girlfriend. It follows the entire family through the experience. Each chapter is written from a different family member's perspective. It was assigned as a book to read for one of my classes, where the intent was to diagnose and/or explain the behaviors of the family based on what I knew about abnormal development and mental health disorders. From that perspective it was a really interesting read!
this was a somewhat strange book. it concerns a father, mother, son and daughter, living in hew hampshire. the teenage son bludgeons his pregnant (but not by him) girlfriend to death. the father tampers with the evidence, and the son disappears. the book is in segments dealing with each of the family members--how they feel, and how it affects them. eventually there are two trials. this is an interesting supposition, showing how people would deal with such a tragedy.
I loved the point of view of this novel, but found the internal dialogue too much. I get that we need to have a good representation of the motivations from the characters, but there is such a thing as information overload. In fact, toward the end I was just fed up. Overall, it is a worthy read. The character of the father really ticked me off though. I think he is just a plain flat out jerk. And some of the information that comes out is really quite irrelevant in the scheme of the plot.
What a sad, sad story. The writing style is a little clunky, disjointed, and scattered, but she had some fascinating insights into the human psyche, family relationships, and compassion. The author made an interesting choice in allowing the narration to jump between dad, mom, and sister of the accused killer, with the dad being the only one in first person.
This was a pretty good book, but I think I enjoyed it more than I normally would have because I was just happy to finally have time to read something in its entirety. The story revolves around a teenage boy who (supposedly) accidentally kills his girlfriend in a sudden rage, and the narration moves back and forth between his mom, dad, and younger sister. All three of their lives are destroyed by the event (they live in a small town with plenty of judgment), and they take sides against each other...more
Family torn by tragedy. A murder by a teenage boy brings turmoil to this family of a young girl, female doctor and male artist. Mother will not lie for him. Father fabricates a story. Jacob gets set free because of a hung jury. All move to Texas to start fresh. Written from mother, father and Sister Judith's voices. Could not put it down.
So far, I'm having a really hard time getting into this book. It seems to drag on and on with no interesting point. Hopefully it gets better...
Ok, I'm done with the book and sad to say, it didn't get better. I started skimming pages towards the end just to finish it and see what happened...which turned out to be nothing great. Sorry, but this is one book on putting on my "do not read again" list.
Ok, I'm done with the book and sad to say, it didn't get better. I started skimming pages towards the end just to finish it and see what happened...which turned out to be nothing great. Sorry, but this is one book on putting on my "do not read again" list.
What happens when an unspeakable tragedy falls on a family? This is the question that is explored by Brown in this compelling and haunting book. The story is presented from the points of view of three of the family members. We learn what motivates the people and how they try to cope with what has hit them.
not a fan of this book, interesting side of a tragedy to tell similar to Jodi Picoult but wasn't written nearly as well. Didn't care about the characters and the story just seemed to keep going, didn't like the ending either.
I read this book a few years ago, and it was one of the first that told the story of what happens to a family after a tragedy. If you liked "We need to talk about Kevin" you will like this book.
Jul 05, 2010
Renee
added it
I couldn't finish this one. The plot: a parent's nightmare. You son's girlfriend is found dead and all signs point to your son. You cover for him then spend 300+ pages fretting and full of guilt.
Lost interest and stopped reading after page 130. This book was promising in the beginning, but it dragged on. Not a fan of her writing. It's way too scattered. Was very disappointed.
Excellent so far - can't wait until I can sit & read it!
I had such high hopes...it wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as I had hoped....long-winded sections that were quite dull, unlikeable characters one & all. If Jacob were my son, I'd be afraid to turn my back on him if he was in a bad mood. By the same token, I'd feel like locking him in a room for the rest of his life....
Read Defending Jacob rather than this if you haven't read it - similar (the boys even share a name); not dul...more
I had such high hopes...it wasn't terrible, but not nearly as good as I had hoped....long-winded sections that were quite dull, unlikeable characters one & all. If Jacob were my son, I'd be afraid to turn my back on him if he was in a bad mood. By the same token, I'd feel like locking him in a room for the rest of his life....
Read Defending Jacob rather than this if you haven't read it - similar (the boys even share a name); not dul...more
Tried to read this several times - once I finally got into it I enjoyed it. Lots of interesting family stuff - what would our family do in the same situation?
It was pretty good. I did find myself a little angry at the characters at certain parts but it was okay all the same.
Family & loyalty are the 2 words that describe this book to me. Many unexpected but believable turn of events.
A small town New England family must cope with the after affects when their teenage son is accused of murdering a girl.
A master at her craft. Anything she writes is excellent.
Jul 12, 2011
Mary Anne
added it
Very interesting and a fast read, troubling story.
Jan 25, 2013
Sara Nowak
marked it as to-read
called "gut-wrenchingly good" by CHicago Tribune
A great book about a family's moral dilemma.
Incredible book. Worst nightmare for a parent.
Would be 5 stars were it not for all the errors!
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Mar 04, 2010 04:16pm