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Dec 08, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

This is my third Lorna Landvik book and probably the one I liked the most. I read Angry Housewives Eating Bon-bons because my dental hygentist told me I would love it. The Second one I read was Patty Janes House of Curl which I read because my mom wanted to know what I thought of it. I had pretty much decided to not ever read another Lorna Landvik when the book club I decided to join picked this as the first read. *sigh* I know - Poor me. :)

So this one is the story of Joe Andreson. W More...

14 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 08, 2008

Beth F. rated it:

The scope of this novel was ambitious. We meet Joe Andreson, the narrator, at the beginning of his senior year of high school and 300+ pages later, the story ends at a surprise 50th birthday party for Joe’s wife.

To borrow the most overused first sentence ever in primary school book reports across the land: “This book was about…” Well, this book was about one person’s life.

Joe was born and raised in a small town in northern Minnesota. When Joe was 14, his father w More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 25, 2011

Margaret rated it:

My 40th high school class reunion is this year. I received a list of names and addresses of the 150 or so former classmates and this began to make me think. Myself, I've traveled far and wide and lived in a number of places. But others in my graduating class have stayed at home... all forty years after high school. Has this determined who we are?

Joe and Krista graduate the same year and head to university. Krista, head cheerleader, keeps up a shining facade while underneath she More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 18, 2011

Ali rated it:

So usually Katie and I agree on like 1/10th of the books we read. And that's okay because mostly we swap charmers and beach reads as needed for a tough week or a fun vacation. I'll love one that she thinks is just okay and she'll adore one that I think is so-so.

But when we hit on those books we both find delightful, it's always a treat and we're glad we shared the other nine to arrive at that one.

The View From Mount Joy is one we both agreed on. It's not going to win any awar More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 03, 2010

Barky rated it:

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

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Feb 17, 2010

Cindy rated it:

The best word I can come up with to describe this book is "weird."

It tells the tale of Joe Andreson, starting in high school through college graduation and beyond, with details of his childhood sprinkled throughout. It also describes his relationships with his mother, his aunt, and his friends Kristi, Kirk, and Darva. Later, we learn about how he came to be a grocer, a father, and finally, a husband.

What should have been an interesting tale of one individual More...

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Jun 09, 2010

Karen rated it:

I enjoy reading Lorna Landvik books. I suppose they kind of qualify as "beach reads" or something. She's humorous and the story is always good, with a few surprises thrown in, but the stories don't necessarily stick with me very long after I'm done.

This story follows Joe Andreson from high school through mid-life. He had dreams for his future, but things didn't turn out the way he anticipated. Instead of a career as a journalist or a hockey player, he works in a grocery More...

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Sep 29, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

What a surprisingly great read this was. I read most of it and finished it on my travels to Portland, Maine, on Friday. I got to the airport early, had two flights and a long layover in NYC and had this treat of a story to read. Surprisingly great read because it was deeper than I thought it'd be. The title for one ... at the beginning when I was reading about teenage Joe I thought the title was just a silly sexual inuendo of his time with Kristi, and maybe it was, but as I read on, I learne More...

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Dec 17, 2008

Indra rated it:

I had a hard time not being annoyed with much of this book, and I am a fan of two of Landvik's previous books. (Haven't yet read a couple of them.) Pretty much everything about the Kristi character was hard to believe and/or take. She didn't fit in with the Joe character once he turned the corner and grew up, which I wasn't sure he ever truly did. Certain aspects of the story were given more airtime than others--I would have liked to hear more about Darva and Joe's friendship, and Jenny seemed More...

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Nov 30, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

I enjoyed this book. I was especially glad that the author moved the story line past the high school antics and into Joe's adult life. (The teenage sexuality and drug use made me think of my students, whom I'd rather not think about on my days off.)

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2011

Kristel rated it:

Lorna Landvik is one of my favorite Minnesota authors but I wasn't impressed with this book. I listed to the audio and read this book for a game my local library is doing. The protagonist is a man. I am used to female protagonists from this author. The story starts in highschool and is told through the male voice as we follow him through the years and his infatuation and friendships in high school, college and adult years. The author seems to be trying to cover all the issues in this book; drugs More...

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Jun 08, 2010

Maria (Ri) rated it:

Landvik writes another gorgeous book! Her stories are so simple, yet feel so deep, so resonant. I enjoyed following the course of Joe's life. He is certainly the type of person that we all know, the type we want to know. I liked how Landvik subtly tied this book to another, Patty Jane's House of Curl, placing them both in the same small town, but without intermeshing the characters so much that it felt forced. She merely provided another story of the depth of real lives that exist in one place. More...

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Nov 11, 2008

Paula rated it:

She is a good writer. Creates wonderful characters and even if the story is sometimes a bit "pat", it is a good read and I didn't want to put it down.

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Josslyn rated it:

I won this book in a raffle and had no idea what to expect but really liked it. It's about a man and his life from high school up until his daughter marries and all the changes life takes you through. It's a little risky sexy wise in the high school and college portion if you are ok with that, I'm ok with it and appreciated the male point of view on those years. Overall, a good story that I did NOT figure out ahead of time and it kept my interest.

I only gave it a three because it More...

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Jan 29, 2009

Kate rated it:

Lorna Landvik has done it again! I love all the books she's written that I've read, but this one ranks right up there with Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, which was amazing. I just finished reading it and I had tears in my eyes--not because the ending was sad, but because the book ended. The characters were amazing, warm, fun, funny, flawed, frustrating, and infuriating. The Andreson family was wonderful--reminded me of my family in so many ways. Joe, as a main character and as a man writ More...

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Aug 16, 2009

Angela rated it:

I love Lorna Landvik's books. What I love is that they have some elements that don't happen to everyone (there tend to be a lot of celebrities), but people act like real people do.

Mount Joy celebrates everyday life, people who don't make it big or get their name in the paper. People screw up and fix it, but some of them don't. Much like Swati Avasthi's upcoming Split, Mount Joy is satisfying because, as in real life, people don't fix all of their problems. Part of the resolution More...

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Aug 04, 2011

Terry rated it:

The latest literary feast from Ms. Landvik has everything one comes to expect from her -- fascinating characters, dramatic storyline a nostalgic look at old Minneapolis. We basically follow the lives of Joe and Kristi, Class of '72. Both follow very different paths; one a sinner, one a saint. While not my favorite of her works ("Patty Jane's House of Curl" and "Your Oasis on Pine Lake" are my favs,) this is still a good read. The ending didn't work for me, but most everyt More...

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Mar 27, 2008

Susan rated it:

I've read all of Lorna Landvik's books, after a woman at the hospice house where I work said Patty Jane's House of Curl was one of her all-time favorite books. And, I'm the sort of reader that once I get hooked on someone's writing, I tend to read everything they have written and continue to write (with a few exceptions... Anne Rice lost me awhile back, as did Sue Miller).

This story has a male, first-person narrator, which doesn't always work for me when a woman is the author. And f More...

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Feb 26, 2008

Eileen rated it:

I learned here that Lorna Landvik can write in the first person and that person is a male character, all to well! Joe Andreson is the character, and he is the main protagonist of "The View from Mount Joy".
It's basically a coming of age story that starts the last year of high school in the early 70's and brings us up to the current date with Joe realizing his true 'view of mount joy'. It is a great story, great characters and i like how Landvik brings up 'Patty's house of curl' More...

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Mar 30, 2010

Krista of the Many Sparkles and and Shimmies rated it:

After most of the members in our book club heard this author speak, we decided to read one of her books. This was an excellent selection! It had us engaged in discussions, loving the characters, and recalling the book even as we progressed to other books. The story comes to life with unforgettable moments and characters you wish actually lived in your neighboorhood. There is an excellent grocery story in this book where I would LOVE to do all my shopping! That alone is worth the read.

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Oct 05, 2009

Jeana rated it:

What can I say...I'm a sucker for Lorna Landvik. I had fun reading this book. I enjoyed the story line. I loved the characters. I could relate to many things happening in the book. I'm also getting to that age where I can get real sentimental and bit melancholy. Ultimately, reading this book made me think about my "Mount Joy". I am still overcome with emotion when the little things...the everyday things stop me in my tracks and help me to remember what life is really all about. More...

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Sep 08, 2010

Trish rated it:

This is my first Lorna Landvik read, and I will certainly look for her books again. The View From Mount Joy is a cozy, gentle novel about a would-be hockey player turned grocer from his teen years to around his 50th birthday. It begins in the 1970's and moves onward. I really loved the protagonist, Joe, and his family, and would have enjoyed even more focus on him and less on his high school (and college) crush Kristi, who was a supremely irritating character.

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Dec 22, 2008

Lorie rated it:

This book was just ok for me. I was really drawn in by the characters in Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons, but the characters in this novel left a lot to be desired. Joe, the main character, was kind of wishy-washy and seemed like he was always crying about something, and I kept trying to figure out why he indulged Kristi and her off-the-wall antics through the years. She was one of the most selfish and unlikeable characters I have ever come across in a book. The book did have some feel-good mom More...

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Feb 20, 2008

Jane rated it:

This is the second Lorna Landvik book I've read, the first being (pay attention, Julie!) Patty Jane's House of Curl (a long time ago). Just spotted this one at the library and picked it up. I liked it alright--Landvik does a good job of writing from a man's perspective, despite being a woman--but as Julie noted about "Patty Jane's...", there is a lot of melodrama--and I also found lots of typos/editing errors. Am I just seeing more of these now in books, or am I getting better at sp More...

1 comment like

Jun 24, 2010

jeannine rated it:

What a great summer read; I found myself laughing uproariously one moment and then sobbing the next. A bit formulaic, but whatever. I good read for the start of vacation. I've read several of her other books; there's always some underlying, deeply woven thread of seriousness in her books, but it's tempered nicely with a funny story that makes you wish you could move next door to the characters in the book.

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Mar 30, 2009

Karleen rated it:

I admit this was a pleasant time passer. However, I did have several issues that I struggled with after the book was over. Joe, seemed seeped in estrogen, and I argue that a sensitive man need not seem feminine in his emotions to be sensitive. Difficult task for a woman to write in a man's voice. Joe reminded us of his masculinity with his penchant for breasts and sex, yet becoming verklempt during emotional times. It sounds like several other of her books were good, so I will give them a t More...

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Feb 26, 2011

Kris rated it:

I love Lorna Landvik! Her books are everything that is good about the Midwest. Her characters make me want to cheer for them or wish them dead, but most of all, make me care about what happens. Landvik has such a gift for humorous writing, that I wish she could put out a new book every month instead of every year or so, and I anxiously await her next book the minute I finish the current one.

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Nov 24, 2008

Stephanie rated it:

I can't believe that time has slipped by enough, and I missed a release of a Lorna Landvik book. Just goes to show that I'm not in Minnesota anymore. This book is classic Landvik -- set in the Twin Cities -- just specific enough so you can imagine where these people live, but not actually 100% factual. Her character development, as usual, is excellent. It was a good story, and a great read while I was home sick in bed.

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Jan 17, 2012

Nancy rated it:

I bought this book at Odd Lots for $3. I had seen some really good reviews of this book, but every time, I picked it up to read, I put it back down. The synopsis on the back just didn't appeal to me. I recently had nothing else to read, so I decided to try it. I am so glad that I did! It was a wonderful book! Don't read the synopsis of this book, just read it!

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Jul 05, 2009

Katherine rated it:

Lorna Landvik's latest. Enjoyable, but the last third went on way too long for me. I did enjoy the main character Joe, accidental grocery owner and his relationships with his mother, aunt, best friend Darva and her daughter Flora. His relationship with Kristi - cheerleader who invites him for blow jobs during school was at time funny, sad or just mundane.

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