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Oct 25, 2008

Philip rated it:

In Lost In The Forest, Sue Miller inhabits the family. It’s an extended family, of course, extended in the twenty-first century Anglo-Saxon sense of it being stretched and disrupted by divorce, re-marriage and identity-seeking children. The book starts in what seems to be a conventional setting. Mark and Eva have been divorced for several years. Their two daughters, Emily and Daisy, are approaching adolescence. Theo, their brother, is a toddler, the son of Eva’s second husband, John. Eva’s first More...

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Dec 29, 2008

Liz rated it:

I really like Sue Miller as an author. Although this is not one of her best stories, I think she does a very good job exploring the different characters' reactions to the loss of the new husband/step-dad to two girls/father to a young boy. When I picked this book up in the store, I didn't remember that I had already read it, and even in reading it again, I didn't remember most of it. So, either I read it too fast the first time, or it didn't make a lasting impact on me (as has some of her oth More...

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Jan 31, 2010

Heather rated it:

Rating: D-

Review: This is the second of Miller's books that I've read, and I'm finding that she has some consistent patterns. Some are good patterns, things that keep you reading; some are bad patterns, things that make you want to throw the book at the wall (or at least roll your eyes hard enough to harm your vision).

The Good Pattern: She loves the theme of messy marriages. And she's right, it's not easy. I like reading about the way she writes marriages. The way she tal More...

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Jul 26, 2009

Sharon rated it:

I'm so glad that I found this author. Her book is a beautiful and sometimes haunting story of a family and the experiences that shape their lives individually and as a family unit.

Eva is the mom and her story is in the background of the family's lives, though Daisy, the middle daughter, has the most compelling story.

I found myself wanting Eva and Mark to get back together, and I liked them together. They had divorced due to Mark's infidelity and Eva got remarried to John, More...

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Feb 11, 2010

Cindy rated it:

I picked this book up in the local library off the shelf that the librarians use to "spotlight" certain books. The story sounded intriguing so I picked it up and gave it a try.

I like books that describe the complex relationships among family members, and in that regard, I would rate this book very high. However, Miller seems to try very hard to cram a lot of complicated story lines into this book, and so some of the details are lost while others are way too descriptive (t More...

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May 15, 2011

Khim rated it:

Goede psychologische roman.
Het verhaal begint met het ongeluk van John, die omkomt. Emily belt haar vader en vraagt of ze met z'n drietjes opgehaald kunnen worden. John is de tweede echtgenoot van Eva. Je leest hoe Eva worsteld met het grote verlies van haar echtgenoot. Theo die het niet beseft wat er eigenlijk is gebeurd, Emily gaat veel op stap met jongens om zo het verdriet te verwerken en Daisy trekt zich meer terug in haar eigen droom wereld. Ze begint later een relatie met de echtge More...

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

Who needs family therapy when one has Sue Miller? Lost in the Forest expertly unfolds to a display of realistic characters and troubled situations, including the sexual initiation (or violation?) of a teenage girl. Yet Daisy's affair represents only one of many challenges the family faces after John's death__and there are no easy answers. In understated, powerful prose, Miller moves back and forth in time, a device critics saw as either artful or interruptive. There were divergent views on the e

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Mar 04, 2010

Elysabeth rated it:

I would have given this 3.5 stars if possible, but it's not so I'm going to round up. I did like this novel a lot more than The Senator's Wife, which is the only other Miller that I've read. I liked the shifting point of view, but was really mostly focused on Daisy. She was an extraordinarily complex character, and as a reader, I found myself navigating her conflicts the best I could. Seeing her sexual relationship (slash abuse?) through HER eyes made me start to question whether or not it w More...

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Jan 05, 2009

Valerie rated it:

I have mixed feelings about this book. I can't tell if it's the writing or the story itself. I've read books by Sue Miller before and at first I really liked her. This is the third book of hers that I've read and something feels off, but I just can't put my finger on it. It feels almost as if her characters aren't deep enough... like I don't really know them. I like the way Miller writes, succinct and too the point but at the same time descriptive and new. I just feel like I don't really get to More...

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Jan 30, 2009

Diane rated it:

I've always been a fan of Sue Miller's writing and this book is no exception. Her story centers on the lives of a family, torn apart by a sudden death. Everyone in that household feels the pain of this loss and must somehow come to grips with it.

Each person's story is told here. Their love, their loss and their journey through it all is superbly written.

Daisy's story is the core of this novel and it is heartwrenching to follow. Her sexual awakening is definitely a cause More...

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Nov 13, 2011

lee lee rated it:

I think I enjoyed this book because I'd read Miller's memoir of her father; I understood the themes and her tendencies as a writer better... And I know that Miller is a "good" writer. But I'm still grappling with whether a book such as this has a {worthy} literary purpose. Do I understand more about humanity after reading it? Do I understand more about myself? Probably, on both accounts. So, why does it not feel "good enough" to me? Why can't this be the kind of writing I s More...

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Jul 19, 2011

Diane rated it:

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

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Mar 13, 2011

Debra marked it as to-read

Stephen King says: "If I tell you this is a short novel about a 15-year-old girl's affair with a 53-year-old man, you might shrug and say, ''Been there, done that, got the Lolita T-shirt.'' But Sue Miller has a uniquely American voice, and few women have ever written better about families (maybe Jane Smiley, early in her career). Daisy's descent, triggered by the death of her adored stepfather, is so harrowing that I literally had to put the book aside on a couple of occasions. You can call More...

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Dec 27, 2011

Karli rated it:

Meh.

Set in Napa...
50-something bookstore owner with ex-husband who works in the vineyards, getting over the death of her second husband who was just a really "nice" guy. One daughter is fine, the other is alone, rejected and turns to an older man for consolation (very Lolita-esque this part).

BORING!
Best parts were the descriptions of the California country-side which of course made me miss home but then I wouldn't have my own bookstore in Napa, living i More...

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May 26, 2010

Laurie rated it:

This book was pretty formulaic and the writing was just ok but with little flashes of style/poetry scattered about. But there is something about Sue Miller's books that totally capture my attention while I'm reading her. I remember reading "The Good Mother" a while ago, and despite the same ordinary writing, there was a moment of such pure and utter sadness that I still think about it today. Maybe that's the point of her writing--to present the truly mundane lives us humans live and pu More...

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Sep 13, 2011

Gretchen rated it:

I thought the character development in this book was great, i was very involved and invested. The story contains several plot lines and I thought the author could have done a better job balancing them. The story concerning the younger daughter started late and then went on for quite some time, leaving me anxious to get back to the story concerning her parents. In the end i see why things were weighted the way they were just they order and way there were presented left me annoyed rather than s More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Ginnie rated it:

One in four female children report being sexually abused to their parents or another adult. Many more go unreported and countless number of girls are not unbelieved when they do tell an adult. 90% of those abused know the perpetrator; he or she is a family member or a friend of the family. In her usual insightful way, Sue Miller tells the story of a 15 year old abused by a family friend in the midst of several years of family crisis - her parents' divorce and her mother's remarriage and subsequ More...

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Aug 31, 2009

Kolleen rated it:

***SPOILERS*** This book was neither outstanding or terrible, it just was. Overall, I liked it, it just wasn't a page-turner, and I'm not exactly sure I would recommend it. The story is ulitmately about the heartbreaking reality of the mundane, everyday life... about how sometimes, life isn't happy or end happy, life just is. Although this story was about death, I feel it centered on the infidelity of Eva, the main character's, former husband. The affair led to the demise of the entire fami

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Aug 18, 2009

Brianne rated it:

I hardly ever write reviews on books. For this one, I had to. I don't even remember why I got this book, I guess because the jacket made it sound interesting? However, this is probably one of the worst books I have ever read. I just didn't get the point. The description sounds great - I don't think the book really went into any of that; at least not in any sort of detail to make you think you know the characters. I forced myself to keep going with it. I skipped some of it though. I don't More...

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Nov 16, 2008

Jen rated it:

This book was very well-written, and the story was compelling. I had a hard time putting it down sometimes, and so I couldn't allow myself to read any in the morning before work because I would have been late. Despite this, I gave the book only 4 stars because of how it made me feel - meaning that it's just a book about being sad. At least the first two-thirds of the book are all about how different family members are sad about a tragic death. Well, yeah - of course they are! It turns out t More...

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Jun 04, 2009

Jeanne rated it:

When her stepfather is killed in a car accident, Daisy is lost. Her mother is overwhelmed by grief and her younger brother is oblivious. Nobody considers Daisy's loss. After all, she loved John more than she loved her own father, Mark.

Daisy's coping skills are not great. The teen will lie, steal, and engage in a sexual relationship with the husband of her mother's best friend. Nice, huh? Very sordid.

Miller's novel focuses mostly on the period in which Daisy is " More...

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Mar 19, 2008

Holly rated it:

I'm pretty sure Lost in the Forest went on my TBR list because Donald Maass used it as an example in one of his books. If not, who knows what I was thinking. These are my opinions only and in no way reflect on the inherent value of the book, or the author, or people who enjoyed the story.

Don't you just hate it when you come across a book you know you should like, and you just can't, no matter how hard you try? That's how this one was for me. The beginning was terrific, started of More...

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Mar 31, 2007

Wormie rated it:

In “Lost in the Forest”, Miller explores a family in transition. Eva and her three children, Emily, Daisy and Theo are shocked by the sudden death of Eva’s husband, John. Eva’s first husband, Mark, the father of the two girls, steps in to help as the family tries to cope with their loss.

As one would expect each family member deals with their grief in a unique way. Eva, initially paralyzed with emotional pain, slowly learns to return to normalcy. Emily, takes control and tries to gui More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Susan rated it:

I really enjoy this author. She captures people and situations very well, and makes me think a good deal about the situations. In this particular book, I found myself wondering who was the central character of the novel. A man's death has a rippling affect on an extended "blended" family, and particularly on one of his stepdaughters. I finally decided that the central character was actually a relationship -- the relationship of the one daughter with both of her parents, with each of he More...

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May 10, 2009

Brynne rated it:

My stars really say it all--"I liked it" I didnt think it was extraordinary but I finished it. It didnt really teach me anything, but I was interested enough to keep turning pages. I would never buy it for anyone or recommend it but I would be very proud of a friend if she wrote it. Its one of those books that sits in the middle, ready to perk up a down day or to mute down (a bit) an amazing one. Have I said anything? Well written, a great accomplishment, just didnt make any part of me More...

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May 12, 2009

Susan rated it:

Very good read. The book starts off from the point of view of the father of two girls, Daisy and Emily. Then by the fourth or fifth chapter it's all from Daisy's point of view. I've enjoyed a few of Sue Miller's books in the past and this one is also very tightly written. She is never maudlin but usually deals with inter-family relationships, loss, love, sex and pain. I would recommend this one; especially if you've read and liked her work in the past. Big thumbs up!

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Jan 06, 2011

Tania rated it:

Man, Miller is good at detail. Overwhelmingly so, in fact.

The story centres on a broken family that are thrust back together when something awful happens to them. The youngest daughter, Daisy, is a bit of a misfit and she finds herself in quite a tricky situation.

It's not easy subject matter (and to be honest the plot isn't all that original and exciting) but it's so beautifully written.

I'll be looking out for more of Miller's books to read.

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Apr 16, 2010

Shareen rated it:

I'm only giving this three stars. Although I like Sue Miller and have read some of her other books, this one was a little flat for me. Of all the characters, the one we are supposed to feel most connected to (the middle daughter, Daisy) is the one I felt least connected to in the story. I guess I don't feel like I completely wasted my time, but at the end my only thought was, "I am just not buying that!". Read at your own risk, I guess.

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Aug 17, 2009

Shari rated it:

I liked this book about a family that suffers through several crises. I liked the characters, Mark (the central character), the ex-husband of Eva and father of Emily and Daisy (affair with an older man for attention). When Eva’s second husband John is killed tragically, Mark’s involvement with Eva, his daughters and even Eva’s son from her second marriage, changes and changes him for the better. Mark is a smart character.

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Jul 01, 2009

Christine rated it:

This was a wonderful book. The story told by one of the characters, the youngest child of a divorced couple living in the Nappa Valley. As we listen in to her conversation with her therapist when she is an adult, she comments on the divorce of her parents, her mother's remarriage and subsequent widowhood, her affair with an older family friend and the redemption of having family around you. I enjoyed being along for her ride.

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