Object Lessons

by Anna Quindlen

It is the 1960s, in suburban New York City, and twelve-year-old Maggie Scanlan begins to sense that despite the calm surface of her peaceful life, everything is going strangely wrong.

When her all-powerful grandfather is struck down by a stroke, the reverberations affect Maggie's entire family. Her normally dispassionate father breaks down, her mother becomes distant and unavailable, and matters only get worse when her cousin and her best friend start doing things to each other that leave Maggie confused about sex and terrified of sin.

With all of this upheaval, how can she be sure that what she wants is even worth having?

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Coming Of Age, Family, Chick Lit, Novels, Adult Fiction

323 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 9, 1991

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

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not understand the low ratings on this wonderful book. Full disclosure though-Anna Quindlen is one of my favorite authors, and if she decided to re-write the dictionary, I would read every single word. This book so resonates with me. It takes place in the late 60’s, the main character, Maggie, is almost 13, so we are similar in age. She is part of a large Irish family, with a domineering patriarch, except for her own mother, Connie, who is Italian and feels she is an outsider. The story takes place during one summer, and Maggie is in the awkward, frightening time of a girl’s life where she feels her world is about to change-she is not a girl, but not grown, and she, and her family, and her extended family are going to go through some changes. I so remember the feelings this young girl has, so mixed, and trying to change some days, and trying not to, on other days. The rules are changing, and it is disconcerting.
There are great life lessons here, involving women’s issues, best friends turning traitorous, parents, birth, death, sex, marriage, beginnings and ends. One summer that is a microcosm of life. One line stands out to me: “And she could not bear to think of a different kind of life, a life where things went bad and fell apart all the time, in which people stepped over, trampled really, all the lines she had counted on to give order and shape to every day.” Oh my God, ladies, who does not remember that feeling?
Just a gorgeous, ruby red ripe apple of a book to take a bite out of. ❤️❤️

[Marcie Crandall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I forced myself to "muddle" through this one because I feel like I have given up on so many books lately. It seems that for every good book, there are 100 terrible books (this one falls into the latter category). I don't even reccomend it...to anyone. Sorry.

[Carol Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anna Quindlen has many gifts, but subtlety is not one of them. Nor is originality. Just about every character and plot device in this novel has been used before -- many, many times before. Oddly, for a hell-on-wheels nagging feminista, Anna Quindlen seems unduly influenced by male authors (and cliches.) She steals much, but understands little.

Let's see, a family saga about a wealthy immigrant clan ruled by a shady, all-powerful patriarch. GODFATHER, anyone? Just as John Scanlan is clearly Don Vito, so is uber-achiever teen girl Maggie Scanlan clearly in the Michael Corleone position. She's all but anointed as his successor -- at thirteen! The only problem is, all the tough moral questions Michael Corleone has to face are carefully airbrushed away for Maggie. The old man is a brute, a bully, and all the usual feminist crybaby stuff -- but it's perfectly all right for Maggie dearest to inherit all that yummy money.

On the other hand, this book also owes a surprising debt to TOM SAWYER. Tom Sawyer and Maggie Scanlan are both the smartest, liveliest, most charismatic kids in the neighborhood. Both are surrounded by dumb, weak-willed sidekicks who exist only to make them look good. Maggie has the blandly obnoxious Debbie Malone, and Tom has Ben Rogers, Joe Harper, and -- dare I say it -- future hero Huck Finn. Tom Sawyer and Maggie Scanlan are both expected to have brilliant futures, if they don't drown, burn, or blow themselves up in the process of having their amazing but never truly subversive teen adventures.

The most interesting TOM SAYWER parallel is in the use of the hero's nemesis or arch-enemy. Tom has Injun Joe, and Maggie has her cousin Monica Scanlan. At first glance a vicious murdering half-breed and a luscious Grace Kelly lookalike might not seem to have much in common. But it seems that compassionate feminista Anna Quindlen hates blondes even worse than Mark Twain hated Indians -- she's just less honest about what she feels!

Look at all the amazing similarities. Injun Joe and Monica both torture the hero in secret, when no one can see them. Both are masters of disguise. Both meet horrible fates that the heroes don't create but -- oh, so sorry! -- don't manage to prevent on time. There's a certain have it both ways hypocrisy in both novels. Twain claims to present America as a land of innocence and hope -- only the Indians have got to go. Anna claims that Maggie and her luscious college girl mentor Helen are going to build "A New World" for all women -- but first the blondes have got to go the way of the Indians. Ah, Sisterhood!

This tiresome business of bashing beautiful women goes back a long, long way in feminist literature. Poor Monica Scanlan is in good company, along with Hetty Sorrel, Rosamund Vincy, and Lucy Deane. (You can look up these fascinating ladies in the novels of George Eliot -- better yet, don't bother.) It's good to know that, like the nobility of the Bourbon restoration, the feminists of today have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.

Did I mention that the budding romance between Maggie and her shy boyfriend Bruce is handled with unusual skill and sensitivity? It's the best part of the book by far. Anna Quindlen has missed her calling -- she should be writing YA romance!

But of course, that sort of novel would be beneath a Barnard graduate.

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

12 year old Maggie Scanlan has one of those pivotal summers that people in books always seem to have. I enjoyed the book - it is well written and never dull. I am also of that generation which was 12 years old about the same time as Maggie so I could relate to some of it - and some not. Maybe because I grew up on the West Coast and was not a Catholic kid in New York, maybe because I was patently out of the loop (or backward) when I was 12, I have a hard time believing in what to me are implausibly precocious 12 year olds. I spent the summer I was 12 playing marathon Monopoly sessions with my brother and another neighbourhood kid - not obsessing about death and sex. Perhaps I am being unfair to the author, but I think that when one is 12, one is bombarded with experiences perhaps but one does not have the acumen to sort them out into neat threads. Only adults have that capability (or the urge to categorize their memories).
Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this - Anna Quindlen writes very very well indeed - and I recommend it to anyone interested in large Catholic families with domineering pater familias and one super smart grandkid. Oh and I loved the graveyard stuff.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy Anna Quindlen and I read this book in the early 90's. The new lessons, phrases and ideas this re-read sparked, however, really surprised me. I guess "ages and stages" in life really does make a difference in what will resonate with a reader. Great read. Again.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel got off to a slow start and I must admit I set it aside for a few days while I read other things. In the interim, I had the pleasure of hearing Anna Quindlen speak at a luncheon. I have been a fan of Ms. Q for quite a while, especially the columns she used to write for Newsweek. In this, her first, novel, the times are changing and so are many of the characters' lives. The family patriarch, John Scanlon, is used to getting his way in all things. He came from poverty to amass an impressive fortune. He is very used to getting what he wants and tends to bully his large family while also making them financially dependent on him. His son, Tommy, scandalized the Irish Catholic family by marrying an Italian-American girl. His wife Concetta ("Connie") loves Tommy and her four children but is rather depressed and feels isolated. Their eldest child and only daughter is Maggie, who is a favorite of John's. Maggie is the central character of this novel. Connie loves her daughter but feels betrayed by Maggie's closeness to John Maggie does not feel close to Connie but is very close to her best friend, Debbie's mother. Over the course of the summer when Maggie turns thirteen, the lives of all of these characters change causing changes in all of the relationships. While not a book with a fast moving plot, the characters are well drawn and I found myself being more and more drawn as I read through the book. In the end, I did like the book quite a lot and would recommend to to those who like strong characterization within a family drama.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I loved that is was essentially a feminist coming of age story, I had heard so many great things about Anna Quindlen that I expected to like it more than I did.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate this book a solid "fine". Quindlen's first book, it lacks the devastating plot points of her later work. I thought it made for pleasant reading without much to provoke thought or feeling.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the characters in this one, and the life lessons. Excellent.

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a reason Anne Quindlen won the Pulitzer! It's because she is an incredible writer. GREAT coming of age book.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took awhile for the book to get going but it's worth reading. I'm always a sucker for anything set in the 60's.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read some really good books by this author but reading this was a chore. I had to force myself to slog through it, hoping it would get good. It didn't.

[Lynn Dickerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Anna Quindlen’s work but not this one. I slogged through it. None of the characters were likable. I found it very depressing.

[Muhammad Adib Mohamad Roshidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is really hard to read if you didn't know how to feel living in 60s at suburban new york. The story is really confusing until the middle of the book(could be me) there a lot character that I need to remember what role there are which is one of the reason why I can't focused on. But at least the ending was a good ending albeit it's look like unfinished.

I hope I can enjoy this book but It wasn't for me unfortunately.

[Mo]

The story is very well written, it is just not what I want to be reading right now.

Put aside at Chapter 14 page 133.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in a Little Free Library, and holy shit, what a treasure. Mostly focusing on young teenage Maggie, who is navigating family dynamics and changing friendships, this novel explores three generations of the Scanlon family, who are both terrified of and terrified of losing, Patriarch John. I loved this glimpse into this family and Maggie’s world.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quindlen has a way of making me like her, but I'm not sure why. This book was hurkey jerky in its story and the grandfather Mr. Scanlan made me mad. But even though I didn't love the story, Quindlen will sometimes write an insight from a character that will make me gasp-and consequently understand myself more!!

The insight in this story was when Margaret told Tommy to leave his mother alone when she couldn't decide on the details of a funeral. Margaret said, "It's called displacement. You focus on the little details so you don't have to face the bigger ones." And suddenly I thought of myself and why I did the things I did when my father died. I also thought it was insightful the way she described how Maggie's life could change so much in one summer. And how Mary Frances' life was forever scarred by the loss of a baby daughter. Okay and one more, how Connie's father poured all his quiet love into the care of the cemetery plots.

So although I didn't love the book, I will keep seeking Quindlen out for reading material. She's like a friend that annoys me but I like all at the same time.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the reviews that I read said that this book moved too slow for them and they gave up on it. I think that if you are the type of person who likes to be pulled in immediately by the story and dislikes when so much of the story takes place in the characters head (i.e. thoughts), then you would probably not care for this book. But I like books that pull you into the motives behind the actions. However, I wasn't completely gripped until page 188
The main character is Maggie Scanlan, but we are also introduced to other members of her family and get to know them just as intimately as we do Maggie. The book jacket I have describes them as a "quirky, loving Irish-Catholic family", but is being pretty kind. I would call them a dysfunctional family with John Scanlan, the patriarch of the family, at the center of the dysfunction.
The entire book takes place in the summer of 1966. To me, it seemed like the story of change in the family. Maggie turning 13 and entering womanhood; the changes coming for women and there roles in society; and the change in the whole family dynamics when the patriarch no longer has his tight grip on the family.

[Nenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A coming of age novel, both in a literal and figurative sense. Young and old alike, the characters all realized in the end that whatever effect that other people have on them - genetically or otherwise, it is what they decide on what or who they will become that matters.

The narrative was well put together, but I am a little bit wanting for more dialogue. Paragraphs seem to be unending, and they almost always lulled me to sleep.

[Curlemagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quindlen is really the queen of the highbrow
middlebrow: this book is so accessible and compelling on familiar domestic themes that it doesn't take much focus to follow, but with an elegant style and thoughtful reflection that makes it feel slightly fancy if not profound. The book pairs well against the novel Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, with the midcentury NYC Irish-Italian relationship tension, though this novel runs multigenerational POVs and is softer, somehow. Huge
Catholic families are long gone in suburban life now. And John Scanlan's brash bigoted smug charisma is compassionately yet bluntly depicted. Both grandfathers are so poignantly and vividly realized.

Apparently this was Quindlen's first novel, and while it's not a patch on her later book Blessings, a true multigenerational bittersweet domestic masterpiece, it's comfortable and thoughtprovoking and worthwhile all the same.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Anna Quindlen. Haven’t ever read this, her first book, and it’s not her crowning achievement but it’s a good first novel, especially as it illustrates the “write what you know” advice given to aspiring writers. There’s not much of a plot, but the world Quindlen creates rings true, and the writing is lovely. Four stars.

[JoAnne Prout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something about the way this talented writer can put into a beautiful string of words, exactly how I feel or am thinking. So much of Quinland’s writing resonates with me. She puts into words the thoughts I can’t articulate.

I get sucked right into the stories. This was no exception

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 2011

[Tine Bjornlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warning to not betome the person who everyone is happy to see 6 feet under.

[Katja Nielsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Quindlan but this one didn't quite hang together. After I was done, I read it was her first novel, so I understood. I'd say it was only for die-hard Quindlan fans.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book teaches that we are always in a phase of learning and discovery about ourselves, our relationships, and our environment. I would like to say it is mainly a coming of age story, but the mother and father are also learning lessons. Quindlen has a marvelous way of expressing feelings that we experience as we learn these lessons. The second quote (I typed below) rang SO true to me, it was like she could read my mind.

----------------------------------------
"...and Maggie had lost the knack for being happy there. Until this horrible sweaty season, lines had been drawn, in her house, her neighborhood, her relationships. Some of them were lines that connected people - mother and father, friend to friend. They had al een rubbed out as surely as if they had dbeen written in chalk, not stone, and Maggie knew she could not live without them. Sometimes she sat for hours with her back agasinst the rough bark of the tree, blowing on a blade of grass beteen her fingers, wondering what would happen next. Often she cried."

"..there are somethings that aren't important. There are things that seem tremendously importat at the time and then years later you look back and thing you can't believe you ever worried so much about them."

"She had supposed that a husband and children would teach her to be one of the group, but instead she felt more and more alone among more and more people, a woman whose universe was containeed beneather her own sternum."

"This was what his entire married life had been like: long stretches of tedium illuminated by moments, unexpected, when he knew that without her he would be lost. For weeks or months they moved through their separate lives ad slept side by side as though they were two strangers who had mistakenly been assigned the same hotel room. And then something would happen and he would find himself staring at her as though he could see the soul of her, looking for an end to his troubles inside the loop of her arms, and he would be snagged with the fishhook of herself, with the barbed hook of his powerless infatuation with something that she seemed to have, some answer that she seemed to offer."

"She's one of those people who sees everything bad. And there are other people who see everything good"

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did, because it was Anna Quindlen's first book. I picked it up at a used book sale some time back, and had kept it as a back up read for when I didn't have a book.

While it was a coming of age book, I kept expecting Maggie and her mother to be at complete odds by the end of the book. Instead I was pleasantly surprised by the bond/understanding they formed. I also expected the parents to be divorced, and Maggie's father Tommy Scanlan to commit some horrible act, but he's just a decent guy who loves his wife. I liked how at the end of the book there were some exchanges between family members and actions that were meaningful.

One reader/reviewer commented that Maggie at 12 (almost 13) did not seem realistic, as she (Maggie) was doing things that a 12/13 year old wouldn't be doing. I guess that depends on the 12/13 year old. Maggie's character and actions for that age resonated with me, and were comparable to others I had known at that age.

One part that didn't sit well with me was the continuous bickering/nasty exchanges between Monica and Maggie, as it seemed that some of the comments Monica made about Maggie's involvement in a criminal action would have sparked more curiosity or questions by other around them who would have heard the conversation.

One part I particularly enjoyed was the description of Connie's father Angelo Mazza, and the Italian-Catholic cemetery he cares for. And the comparison between this cemetery an the one grandfather John Scanlan is buried in.

[McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am surprised that I did not love this book more. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I was expecting to not be able to put it down. I was expecting one of those really easy to lose yourself in books. I had started another of her books a few months ago while I was waiting for someone in the library. I was really drawn into that book, and wished that I was at a point where it was practical for me to start reading another book. But I wasn't, so I left it in the library, thinking "when summer comes..."

I don't know if this book is just not as good as the one I dipped into before, or if the other would have been similarly uncaptivating.

This book is sort of the typical mid-life crisis of female protagonist that leaves the husband sort of bewildered--the sort of situation where after 20 years of marriage a wife thinks "hey, maybe there is more to life than just being a wife and mother? Maybe I have some identity as a human being besides those things?" Not like there is any wild abandon or anything like that at all, it's just the viewing of an awakening.

The awakening in this novel, however, is not limited to the wife. Much of the book is about her daughter growing into her own identity, as well. I liked the character of the daughter quite a lot.

Other subjects the book covers: Irish American bigotry (against those not Irish American); family power, dynamics, and coercion; death; duty; love.

[Nelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very quiet and thoughtful. It's a coming of age, so the main focus is on the sweeping changes in the lives of a mother and daughter over the course of a summer. It's about finding your voice, about learning to accept and love who you are, about breaking away from constraint and oppression to find fulfillment even if that means simply realizing that you've had the things you've wanted all along. This book is full of strong, smart, amazing female characters. Set in the 60s, the setting is very "wholesome," while still showcasing the rumblings of change the decade brought about.

While I enjoyed the portrayal of the town, the family and the characters of Maggie and Connie, I did find some of the storytelling a little sleepy. Even the main characters seemed at a remove and I couldn't quite get a grasp on who they were. Even at the end, once they each find their voice, I still felt like I didn't know them at all.

I think feeling more of a connection would have warranted a better rating for this book, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the read. I really like books like this and need more of them in my life.