Black and Blue

by Anna Quindlen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER •  “Intimate and illuminating and, as is true of most anything Quindlen writes, well worth the read.”— People

For eighteen years Fran Benedetto kept her secret, hid her bruises. She stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father, and because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son’s face, Fran finally made a choice—and ran for both their lives.

Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. In this place she uses a name that isn’t hers, watches over her son, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Bobby always said he would never let her go, and despite the ingenuity of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one It is only a matter of time.

Praise for Black and Blue

"Heartbreaking." — Time

"Beautifully paced—keeps the reader anxiously turning the pages." — New York Times Book Review

"A gut-wrencher—another stunner." — Denver Post

"Impossible to put down—the tension is both awful and mesmerizing." — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Engrossing—compassionate and tense." — New York Times

"Her best novel yet." — Publishers Weekly

"Absolutely believable—Quindlen writes with power and grace." — Boston Globe

"A moving masterpiece." — Lexington Herald-Leader

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Book Club, Chick Lit, Adult Fiction, Abuse, Novels

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

Anna Marie Quindlen is an American author, journalist, and opinion columnist.
Her New York Times column, Public and Private, won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992. She began her journalism career in 1974 as a reporter for the New York Post. Between 1977 and 1994 she held several posts at The New York Times. Her semi-autobiographical novel One True Thing (1994) served as the basis for the 1998 film starring Meryl Streep and Renée Zellweger.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read when it came out in 1998 because it was an Oprah's bookclub selection, Black and Blue made me a lifetime fan of Quindlen's writing. A powerful book about the survivor of an abusive marriage and her son who is putting the pieces of her life back together, Black and Blue is a poignant tale of perseverance of a strong female protagonist.

[Candi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

"I stayed because I thought things would get better, or at least not worse. I stayed because I wanted my son to have a father and I wanted a home. For a long time I stayed because I loved Bobby Benedetto, because no one had ever gotten to me the way he did. I think he knew that. He made me his accomplice in what he did, and I made Robert mine."

Anna Quindlen's book about domestic violence will leave you saddened, enraged and also hopeful. She allowed me to really see into the heart and soul of Fran Benedetto, a mother and wife that stayed with an abusive husband for what she thought were the right reasons. Until one day. One day that was worse than the others. One day that Fran decided to save herself and her son, Robert. Bobby Benedetto may never have left a single mark on Robert’s body, but Fran recognized the relentless damage to his spirit. A spirit that she did not want to see extinguished in a son she loved so dearly. So with the help of a local organization, Fran and Robert are relocated, renamed, and restarted in a new life. As Beth and Robert Crenshaw, Fran and Robert will learn that there are still sacrifices to be made and life is far from easy when starting over. How could it be after a lifetime spent in fear? Fear does not disappear with a new identity. It’s just as palpable as ever before, especially for a mother that will protect her son at any cost. Perhaps what she feared even more than another blow was the effect the years of tolerating, lying and hiding secrets would have on an impressionable young mind. "My little boy, who had always had something of the little old man about him, was becoming a dead man, too, with a dead man’s eyes. There are ways and ways of dying, and some of them leave you walking around."

I found myself completely engrossed in this novel. I felt Quindlen did a superb job in giving a voice to Fran, a voice that made me listen and start to understand a topic that may be all too easy for us to ignore if it doesn’t affect our own lives quite personally. Even Bobby, a man that I despised, was well-drawn and Fran’s reaction to him honest and affecting. "As rich and persuasive as Bobby Benedetto’s voice, that was how full and palpable was his sorrow and regret. And how huge was his rage. It was like a twister cloud; it rose suddenly from nothing into a moving thing that blew the roof off, black and strong. I smell beer, I smell bourbon, I smell sweat, I smell my own fear, ranker and stronger than all three." I agonized over Robert’s safety and his overall well-being right along with Fran. I was tense and afraid of what would happen to this woman if her police detective husband ever discovered her whereabouts. My heart ached. I truly felt I walked in Fran’s shoes, and I am quite certain that this is what the author intended and accomplished with this book. You can make a change. You can start anew. It won’t be easy; you will always wonder if you did the right thing. There is hope.

[ZaBeth Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have been lucky enough never to have been hit by a man, Anna Quindlen Black and Blue is written so that you can walk in a beaten woman’s shoes. No intelligent woman would ever stay with a man who hits her, right? But love does many things to a person and intelligence is usually the first thing that goes.

No one argues that love and lust of a woman, such as the beautiful Helen, which poets have written about for centuries, could launch a thousand ships. So why is it so amazing to think that a woman is courageous enough to think that if she is good enough, strong enough, loves him enough, that he will never hurt her again. Women are caregivers by nature. If they are in love with a man – regardless of how twisted the love is – she believes that she can fix him if she just gives him what he needs. All she has to do is figure him out. And fix him. Or fix herself. Somewhere along the line the problem switches from him to you. It becomes easier to believe the problem lies at your own feet.

The lucky ones are the ones who finally wake up. The ones who are strong enough to wake up before they die both inside and permanently. Bruises heal. Your soul can only take so many beatings before it dies.

There was only one line that I disagreed with. Frannie mentioned that she was beginning to forget Bobby’s voice within that first year. She never would. You never do! You hear his voice calling for you in phrases that other people say when you least expect it. It comes at you, and grabs you around your neck like quick moving fog. It makes your skin tingle. It haunts you in your sleep like a ghost whisper. The slamming of the door from a strong, windy day still makes you jump and duck, before the next hit, kick, slap, and punch. Once you learn those instincts, they never leave you. It’s like learning to ride a bicycle. Some lessons are for life.

Anna is right about one big thing though. You spend years covering up that you are in a violent relationship and then you spend the rest of life covering up that you were a battered woman. No one wants that label. I can talk about it to my husband sometimes in small patches. I can talk about it to my guy friends detached as if it was some other woman. However, I can’t tell my girlfriends. That’s too shameful. No one battered woman wants to see the pity and shame in another woman’s eyes. It is just another secret you learn to live with forever. Some bruises never heal.

Maybe reading books like Black and Blue will help with the healing.

[Susan Siraco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was entering 9th grade, and it changed my life. This may have been because of my age, but for me, Fran was a woman who did what I had never realized you could do- she left a horrible situation to make her life better. This book still inspires me, still makes me cry, and still gives me hope that no matter how bad something may get, you still have the power to help yourself. I would recommend this book to anyone over 15!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4'7🌟)

"[...] Los hijos impiden que te arrepientas del pasado. Son sus mejores frutos. A veces, los únicos."

Creo que empezar esta reseña diciendo un típico "me ha encantado" no sería lo más apropiado, al menos no con el tema que trata, uno tan duro y real que muchas mujeres tienen que vivir cada día. Así que en su lugar diré que este libro es uno que deja huella, una muy profunda la verdad, ya que lo terminé anoche y todavía no supero ese final.

He de admitir que iba preparada para lo que iba a leer. De los tres libros que he releído este año, este era el que más presente tenía. Recordaba el principio y también sabía cómo iba a terminar (porque me pasó justo lo mismo la primera vez que lo leí). Pensaba que al haberlo leído con varios años de diferencia el impacto sería menor, pero qué va. Ese final no se supera. O bueno, yo no lo he superado.

Qué más puedo decir. Es una historia dura. A veces Frances podía parecer algo paranoica, pero puedo comprenderla y más aún después de lo que ha pasado al final. No es fácil empezar de cero una vez que sales (o más bien huyes) de una relación abusiva de años, y menos aún cuando sabes que tu marido es policía y hará cualquier cosa por encontrarte, a ti y a tu hijo. Yo también viviría con miedo todos los días, a todas horas.

La mayoría de personajes secundarios de esta historia me han gustado mucho. Cindy, Mike y la señora Levitt son como un pequeño soplo de aire fresco en la historia de Frances, y se agradece. Leer tantas cosas malas sobre su relación con Bobby era realmente desesperanzador. Muchas veces quise entrar dentro de la historia para poder darle un abrazo a Frances y pegarle un tiro a Bobby. Menudo asco de hombre. Literal, todo lo malo que puede tener alguien lo tenía él.

Respecto a los capítulos, algunos son largos pero para nada se hacen pesados, a mí por lo menos no me lo parecieron. Sí que es verdad que a veces había saltos temporales que me liaban porque pasaban de un momento a otro, pero es que eso no me ha impedido meterme de lleno en la historia. Se me ha hecho muy corta (y no ha ayudado que tuviera solo 237 páginas).

¿Recomiendo el libro? Sí, si estáis preparados para leerlo y empatizar con el personaje de Frances. Sino, ahorraroslo. Lo más seguro es que no os vaya a gustar.

[Sammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that I wasn't very surprised when I looked up this title on Internet Movie Database and saw that this book had been made into a movie. Nor was I surprised that it was a made for TV movie. And I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say it was specifically made for Lifetime... Television for Women. Because everything about this book kept bringing up that whispery woman's voice as the narrator. I kept hearing, "Anna Quindlen... A writer for women..." No joke.

But don't get me wrong. The book was good. Not life altering. Not wonderful. But a good read. At moments quite stereotypical, other times very absorbing.

Anna Quindlen has written very well-developed characters, and she clearly has an idea of what's going on. Either she has experienced spousal abuse, knows someone who has, or she has done thorough research... at least that what it felt to me. I have never experienced abuse, so someone who has and read this book may think otherwise. But this isn't their review, it's mine.

The book is long-winded though. At times clearly dragging. There are many run on sentences with no punctuation, which could very easily drive some people crazy. I didn't mind it too much because it fell in with the style of the narrative, but I often did have to go back and read it over to pick up the cadance of the sentence or paragraph. But back to the long-windedness. This book could have easily been shorter and not left anything direly important out and could have still gotten a clear message out. Our narrator repeats herself many times throughout the book. Possibly this is a style Quindlen is trying to make because a few times the narrator (our abused housewife Fran/Beth) speaks of how comforting pattern is, how reassuring it is to have a sort of daily ritual that takes place. Maybe this is why we often have her resurrect topics more than once.

Besides those few points, the book was a pretty good read. I do highly recommend this book to anyone who has suffered from domestic violence, because maybe from a different perspective, you can see exactly how important it is to go seek help. Or if you even know someone who is suffering from abuse, I advise you to tell them to go get help and suggest reading this book. Because maybe they, and you, can learn from this book that you can get out of the situation you're in and you can start a new and better life.

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book first came out in 1998 and is about a woman in an abusive marriage who finally decides to leave after 15 years. At the time I read the book I was married to an abusive husband and really identified with the characters. I did end up leaving my 14 year marriage less than a year later.

[Juushika · Rating 2 out of 5]

Black and Blue is the story of a woman who flees an abusive relationship, taking her son and attempting to disappear into residential Florida, all the while waiting for her husband, a New York cop, to find and hurt her. The book is not Quindlen's best and while it is readable, and at less than 400 pages a manageable length, it feels like little more than a Lifetime "woman's" movie in novel form. I wouldn't recommend this book, especially in comparison to Quindlen's other work, although the lessons of what abuse is, how it happens, and how difficult it can be to escape are good ones to learn about, even in a fictional context.

Anna Quindlen is also the author of One True Thing, a book-cum-film about a daughter's experience with her mother's terminal cancer. That book is good--realistic, emotional but not maudlin, and challenging. Black and Blue is merely an example of weak writing that reads like a made for TV movie. It made its way into Oprah's book club but would never make it on to any of my must-read lists. Facing the realities of abuse is a good lesson to learn, and so the subject is worth reading about, but Quindlen's portrayal is less than realistic or compelling. All of the checklist facts are there: abuse leads to abuse, specifically carried from father to son; some women are drawn to the type of men that are/become abusers; legal protection can be inadequate; violence can lead to death. So on, so forth. The list of facts is there but the emotional context is filmsy, centers on children (rather than personal strength) and strange, powerless situations. Even when she flees her husband, things seem to be done to the protagonist rather than done by her. It's unfulfilling and disappointing to the reader and detracts from the whole text. In fact, the more interesting characters are mere foils and supporting roles like her new friends and romantic interest. They seem to have more personality and depth than the protagonist.

It will take less time and energy, and induce the same emotional response, to watch any one of the numerous women's TV daytime movies about the same subject. Black and Blue is gripping only because you want to know if her husband will find her or not, and presents very few challenges, either in the writing or the ideas, to the reader. It's readable and I was able to get through it, but it's still a poor example of literature and even of the lesson it attempts to teach. Don't waste your time on this one. There is so much out there worth reading--spend your time on it.

[Shan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book compelled me to read but I didn't really like it. I was never really engaged with Beth and the writing style made it very difficult to empathize with her. The book is about domestic violence and a woman's escape and her new life, but so much of it is simply within Beth's head it is difficult to really get caught up in the story. It's almost like the reader is just thinking along with Beth and it's dull, everyday thoughts. Her relationships with the people she meets in La Plata are shallow and superficial and even her relationship with her son comes second to her self indulgent thought processes.

I was told I would love this book. I'm actually surprised I finished it considering how little investment I had in the story.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I stayed because I thought things would get better. I stayed because I wanted my son to have a father" I stayed because I wanted a home. I stayed because I loved Bobby."

This book is a MUST read for anyone that says "Whys don't they just leave?", often said without compassion or understanding.

I worked for a large Domestic Violence agency for many years and I have talked, safety planned and sat and listened to many women (and some men) in these situations. The answer to the question, "Why don't they just leave", is never an easy answer. It is never black and white. It is never something that unless you have lived it, that you can fully understand or judge.

This is just one window into a situation, but it is a good and clear window.
Read it, maybe it will help you understand, maybe help you recognize it in someone else, or at the very least maybe make you less likely to say, "Why don't they just leave?"

[When Funmi Met Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever read a book that you almost felt like you didn't have a right to criticize?

This book made me feel that way, and that is why I have put off writing a review. However, I told my teacher that I would eventually do it. I was required to pick a book out to read for my last week of high school in my Advanced Literature class that had some type of connection to my family. So, I chose this book. My family is quite familiar with this book's topic. I'm blessed in that I am not personally affiliated but I wanted to understand more about what some of the people who i love most have wen't through.

Just a little synopsis, this book is about a woman, Fran, who is in a relationship that is full of domestic violence at the hands of her NYPD husband, Bobby. However, its not just her who is being affected physically and mentally but her little son who is constantly hearing the abuse and the excuses that Fran says such as...Mommy had an accident. She decided to run and enters into what I consider to be some type of a batter woman's underground railroad.


Okay, so I believe that books that center around such a serious topic such as domestic violence, they have two duties.

1. You have to keep it real, because you are telling the story of not just the possibly fictional heroine but of every woman who has encountered this situation and picks up your book.


2.You have got to make the people who have never encountered domestic violence understand as much as possible. You got to reach deep within in them and make them cringe, you have to educate them. Through education comes liberation.


This book might have succeeded on goal 1, but for me it didn't succeed on goal 2. Might sound crazy, but this book wasn't sick enough for me. The beginning was pretty scary in that I was tense and was afraid for the heroine and her child. However, id say the next 80 percent of the book was just Fran and her Son in a new place and adjusting, making friends, and living. That was disappointing to me. With a title like Black and Blue, I expected to read about some horrid things in detail. I expected to cringe. You see, while Fran was living her "new life" it was obvious that her husband Bobby was looking every where for her. He was tormenting her family, and using all his cop connections. However, that little fact was not kept in the forefront of this book. Instead, we read about soccer practices and field trips and selling avon products. It would have been really cool if the book switched perspectives from Fran, to Bobby, to maybe even her Son. I just thought that as a journalist it would have been way more controversial, uncomfortable, and scary! Plus, Fran had a way of infuriating me. You see her decisions were reallllllly freaking stupid. It lead to her demise. I truly believe that you never know how strong you are until strong is the only choice you have. Fran needed to be strong and in some ways she was and in many ways she wasn't. It really angered me because I wanted her to get away, be safe, same for her son. However, it was pretty obvious as the story progressed that her decisions were gonna really come back to get her. However, I am not a battered woman and I cannot judge her to harshly because I know not. One thing I do know however, is that the battered women group that was helping her was not depicted right. These groups help woman, they give them support, they uplift them, they help them realize their power in this world. However, the one helping Fran was demeaning, power stripping, and overbearing...just like her husband was. Anyways, all that being said it is still a good book.

The strength of this book is in two things.

1. Quindlen has very lyrical writing. Her writing is so smooth and clear.

2. The perspective. Everything is from Fran's point of view. While, I didn't want it to be that way. It is still very cool. Fran is a abused and has had nobody to unburden her heart to. She had no therapy and therefore, what some people may not know is that you are reading the world through the eyes of a unfiltered battered woman. her thought process was so screwy and wrong in so many ways. However, this is quite possibly how an abused person thinks. It was eye opening in that
regard.


I believe this is a great book for someone who is young and has never read about domestic violence, someone who wants to read about it but not read something earth shattering and depressing beyond belief, and as a book club read with lots of discussion.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

You might think this topic wouldn’t be something that would make a decent book or a story that anyone would want to read... but it makes an interesting, gripping story that will have the reader literally engrossed in Fran’s life...both before and after Bobby. The protagonist and several other characters are quite likable, the elements of suspense and frustration is there in spades. You might wonder why it took Fran 10 years to have had enough and take her son and run. The reasons are anything but “simple” ... the heart of the matter is that no one would have believed her. She couldn’t go to the police because the police were already in her home...her abuser was a decorated police officer and the father of her son...so Fran runs for her life and starts a new life with a new name. and slowly things begin to fall in to place. But no matter what her friends tell her...Fran knows that Bobby will one day find them...and when he does... her life is over. I want my books to have a happy ending...but as interested as I was in the story and Fran’s life...I just wanted this one to be over. Not because it was badly written or that I wanted to see Bobby get everything he had coming to him... but because it left me feeling a bit of heartache for the life that could have been and the unfairness of it all.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not have picked up Black and Blue, with its proudly-displayed "Oprah's Book Club" emblem, had it not been a quarter at the annual neighborhood yard sale, but seeing as it was under a dollar, and was written by a journalist I admire, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Basic plot: smart woman in abusive relationship almost dies from a beating, and finally leaves with her son. She starts a new life, but it is clouded by the threat of her husband finding her. Quindlen creates a believeable world that includes some very well-written supporting characters, and she made the point that smart women can end up in abusive relationships. Got it. Not an utter waste of time, but not really my thing.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kept my interest mostly

I liked this book all right. I found it to be predictable and your typical domestic abuse story. It was an easy read to me and did hold my interest.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

So--I'd put Anna Quindlen on my short list of favorite authors, for a half-dozen reasons with the most important being her lucid, lyrical writing. Every Quindlen book I've read turns a commonplace story (and domestic violence is as commonplace as it gets) into a gorgeously rendered, delicately layered case study of ordinary life events. In many ways, Anna Quindlen is the diametric opposite of the Lifetime movie writing--none of her characters are all bad or all good, and her plots aren't predictable tragedies or feel-good endings.

In "Black and Blue" Quindlen does a really good job of explaining how love and attraction and family get in the way of personal dignity and self-determination. Even a bad-dude character like Bobby is made human, and the life Fran built with him a mix of the good--her son, her home, her job--and the terrifying. I thought the story ended the only way that it could and the last chapter was luminous.

[☮Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why but I found this book really intense and couldn't put it down. I learned for the first time that organizations exist that will relocate battered wives and set them up with completely new identities, and how difficult but very necessary this is for the wife and her child(ren). Anna Quindlen's style is easy to read and follow. In no time I felt I knew Fran and all her emotional and physical bruises well.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't like wife beater books, then this one's not for you. Fran Benedetto begins her first person narrative while sitting on a bench waiting for further instructions from a woman who's helping her run away from her alcoholic and wildly abusive husband (with their 10-year-old-son in tow). The book follows her as she begins her new life, which in my opinion is much better than reading about her getting beaten all the time wondering why she won't leave. Good insight into the horrifying and all-too-common abusive home but her constant fear at being discovered by her estranged husband gave me ulcers. And the ending had me so frustrated I wanted to tear my hair out. But good overall.

[Dwayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The description of domestic abuse is authentic and the story itself is decent (as is the writing). Outside of that, there isn't anything particularly groundbreaking or outstanding. I also wanted a different ending, but I guess I see what the writer was going for.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character was stupid from beginning to end, so it was difficult for me to muster up even a little sympathy for her tragic situation.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written from a first-person narrator's perspective, this is an insightful view of domestic abuse from the victim, Fran Benedetto. Fran was in an abusive marriage for 18 years when she finally had enough, took her son, and went into hiding under a new identity. This book is filled intensively with Fran's feelings about the relationship with her policeman husband, her reasons for staying with him, and her feelings/fear after leaving. I think it helped me understand a little better why a woman might stay with a man under such circumstances. I've always been one of those people who thinks 'why doesn't she just leave'. This one would make a good lifetime movie - I kept thinking the whole time that I'd read it before or seen it before.

[Stacey · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had 2 redeeming moments - the first was it contributed to one of the soundest night’s sleep I’ve had in years, the second was it led to a rare unanimous assessment at March 2019 bookclub. The premise sounds like it should be a fantastic story. Instead I (and everyone else) found it tremendously boring. The book rambled on with dull, one dimensional characters and the author trying to cram in social issues that were not important to the story. I kept reading assuming that something would happen - eventually skimming through huge chunks in an effort to save my sanity. When finally the “exciting” moment came it was ridiculously anti-climatic. The story then meanders to a lackluster ending.

Probably more disturbing was the author’s note at the end where she mentioned that she had done no research before writing this novel. No surprise - that was glaringly evident to the readers throughout the entire novel. To tackle such an important topic as domestic violence without doing any research is frankly disrespectful. The book read like exactly what it was - an entitled woman writing a stupid story about an issue she knew nothing about. I will certainly not read a book by this author in the future.

[Sharon Huether · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fran is a nurse and her husband Robert is a cop. He has taken his authority too far. He beats her, not just once, but too many times.

From a co-worker Fran finds out there are safe houses out there, but you have to change your identity, call no one form your past.

Fran allows this to happen...if she doesn't death is her alternative.
She and her ten year old son Robert move to Florida. Everything is going ok. During the holidays, she is lonely for her sister and calls her and talks for twenty three minutes. She broke the rules. The person in charge wants to move her and her son again, with new identities.

Later in the year Robert calls his dad. He wanted to know the truth in a matter. He was still loyal to his father.

Next thing Robert the cop finds them in Florida and taken he son with him. Claimed his wife kidnapped their son.

As Frances reflects on her life in Florida. She doesn't have her son, but now she has a little girl she recently gave birth too. There is a nice man in her life. She is never beaten again. It was a trade off.

[Sassacaia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Oprah books, okay? I just do. I love dark, heavy depressing subjects. I always have, most likely always will. I love reading about betrayal and revenge and cheats and liars. So I enjoyed this one. I didn't love it; it was sometimes predictable and wasn't always well organized, but it kept me engaged and wanting to hear more, which is all I really ask of a book: ENTERTAIN ME. If they do more, that's fantastic. This one wasn't fantastic, but I still enjoyed it and wanted to find out what would happen next.

[Adriane Devries · Rating 2 out of 5]

Black and Blue portrays the plight of an abused wife who, after years of living in domestic terror and shame, finally decides to flee with her son to a new, anonymous life. As the bruises from her most recent, most violent, encounter heal, her new life provides the peace and safety for her to heal emotionally, to discover who she really is underneath the trauma she’s been surviving. In particular, she uses the time to bond with her son and to watch carefully for signs that he, too, will become an abuser like his father, like his father’s father before him…Can they break this tragic cycle? Quindlen’s chilling tale explores the complexities of obsessive love, how it seeks to own and subdue another person in order to satisfy horrible and insatiable inner needs. Though most couples agree to premarital counseling before getting married, I wonder if reading a book like this might give women insight into what the seeds of abuse look like before it blooms after the honeymoon is over.

[✿Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not a cheery book, but spousal abuse is not a happy subject. Even though it took Fran a long time to finally break away from her husband, I admired her for being strong and doing what she needed to do for her son. The author did a good job of making me feel Fran/Beth's emotions. I read a few reviews where the readers didn't like the ending, because it wasn't happy. Even though the ending was hard to read and made me very sad, I appreciated that the author didn't end it the way a book like this typically would have.

[Jonas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for book club. An interesting take on a woman escaping domestic violence. There was a theme of duality throughout the book with all of the characters. I liked that. Each character being two people while living one life. An interesting concept to explore and discuss. The story stayed with me for quite some time. Couldn’t stop thinking about it.

[Isis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book - no real surprise given the author. A story of a woman whose marriage has slipped into one of domestic abuse, impacting not just the two of them but their young son as well.

But this book is powerfully crafted, and surprisingly, told in the first person. Ms. Quindlen manages to cover both the major dramatic moments, as well as the mundane moments that make up daily life. And she does an excellent job of putting a face to domestic abuse, and helps to explain why it happens so often. Not why it takes place, but rather why the abused party remains in the relationship until they've been there so long that to leave is to risk their life (even when they know they risk their life every moment longer that they remain). And to help show that this can happen to anyone, no matter how well educated, the main character is a nurse - who sees victims of domestic abuse and suspected domestic abuse on a daily basis while at work. And to add to the challenges she faces, her husband is a cop.

She shares her fears for their young son, and the heartache of knowing that she wasn't the only one being abused in the marriage. Even though her son was never physically or overtly mentally abused, hearing and seeing what took place between his parents left him with his own mental and emotional scars.

The risks of leaving an abusive spouse are high, and carry with them huge costs - having to repeatedly learn new identities, alter your appearances, and the potential need to disappear into the night at any given time (making putting down roots very emotionally risky). And the wrenching pain of having to sever all your connections and relationships forever, without getting the chance to say goodbye or explain.

And to all of this Ms. Quindlen brings a freshness that has been lacking. Though a sad and depressing lifestyle, she manages to infuse the story with more than just gorey details and sensationalism. She brings the mundane, the boring, those daily tasks and details that most of us can relate to. And she helps paint a clearer picture of why a woman might stay with an abusive husband. (This is not to exclude those men that are abused by their wives, or same gender spouses that have an abusive relationship.)

Well worth the read. And pleasantly the book did not leave me feeling emotionally wrecked as I'd been anticipating. Instead I am left pondering many of the details she shared, and looking at the world around me with an expanded set of filters/tools.

[Book Club Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fran Benedetto has been hiding a terrible secret for years, but when her husband, Bobby hits her so hard he breaks her nose and splits her lip, she knows she has to leave. Patty Bancroft, a famous women’s advocate, knows exactly what to do to help women like Fran. So Fran trades one secret for another and leaves New York with her ten-year-old son, Robert, to start a new life with a new identity in a secret place.

Black and Blue takes a hard look at the complicated dynamics in abusive relationships. Bobby and Fran had once been young sweethearts, and there are still traces of attraction between them. Bobby has a volatile temper. She never knows what will set him off, and for undefined reasons, she takes his abuse. In a strange triangle of denial, Bobby, Fran and Robert fall into a pattern, determined solely by Bobby’s moods.

Fran (now Beth) and Robert begin their new life, with the constant worry that Bobby will find them. And they soon discover that it’s hard to break ties with the past. Robert misses his father and Beth misses her sister and, as time passes, even Beth becomes more reminiscent of their little family, and of Robert’s father.

I enjoyed reading Black and Blue because of the complex problems between Quindlen’s characters. She also asks, will the son become just like the father? These important points show how hard it is to break out of an abusive relationship. And when there are children, it’s nearly impossible to make a clean break. In addition, Quindlen gives Bobby a voice, showing his take on their marriage, a man whose twisted desire for control over his wife often includes confused feelings of love and devotion.

While these are compelling issues, Quindlen writes them into a somewhat flat story with undeveloped characters. It’s hard to get to know Beth’s new friends, including love interest Mike Riordan, because their personalities and actions are unremarkable. Some one dimensional side characters, especially Cindy Roerbacker and Mr. and Mrs. Levitt, seem forced. Stereotypical names, such as Robert’s Cuban friend, Bennie Castro, also take away from the story.

The danger of being found, however, carries the plot to a surprising finish. I think the finish makes the story stronger because it makes you realize that you never know what someone will do.

Black and Blue is a fast and light read about an important subject.

[Jane Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ½ stars. It was good because it was thought provoking. But it had a downer quality. Not entertaining enough.

This book showed what Fran’s life was like during the first year after she ran from her violently abusive cop husband. She was in hiding. A group helped her by giving her a new name, id cards, a job, and an apartment. She’s not happy but doing ok. She makes a few friends. Her son is around age 11. He is doing ok but shows psychological scars from years of being around his mother getting beat up.

The end had more sadness than happiness, but it was ok. If you want happy endings and a feeling of being uplifted, you won’t want this. But it might be good if you want to think about the following. The goods and bads of kidnapping a child and keeping him away from the other parent. How one parent might find the other, or not find the other, and what to do if they find them. And how the child might have a need or desire for one or the other.

This was an Oprah Book Club selection. She prefers more serious books than I.

DATA:
Narrative mode: 1st person Fran. Story length: 291 pages. Swearing language: strong including religious swear words. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: about one. Setting: around 1990s in New York and Florida. Copyright: 1998. Genre: womens fiction, domestic abuse.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen.

Black and Blue is about Fran Benedetto who flees an emotionally and physically abusive marriage with her son, Robert. Fran's husband, Bobby is controlling, manipulative, and downright nasty to her, and after a particularly severe beating, she has had enough so she takes off.

The plot then relates what happens to Fran and Robert after they are relocated. It is a story of survival, of standing up for one's self, of new beginnings, and of hope for better things in life.

The characters were well developed and believable. I sympathized for Fran and Robert. Bobby Benedetto was well portrayed as the evil, hateful, abusive, drut of a husband. I also enjoyed the other characters like Mike, Cindy, and Mrs. Levitt. All played important roles in the story and they were all interesting characters.

Setting was also well done and Quindlen had quality descriptions that helped me visualize where the characters were and again, it all felt realistic.

So, overall, Black and Blue has a lot going for it and it is a believable story about escaping an abusive relationship. It hit a lot of nerves and some parts of the story made me uncomfortable but that is okay. Sometimes that is what a good book is all about - getting out of your comfort zone a little bit!