Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Summary (via the book jacket)
The Jarrets are a typical American family. Calvin is a determined, successful provider and Beth an organized, efficient wife. They had two sons, Conrad and Buck, but now they have one. In this memorable, moving novel, Judith Guest takes the reader into their lives to share their misunderstandings, pain...and ultimate healing.
My Opinion
I rarely read books that are brand-new; I either buy used copies or check books out from the library. I usually love the broken-in, pre-loved feeling as part of the experience but not so much in this case because the person apparently read it for a class so there were lots of highlights and notes in the margin. It would've been great for CliffNotes if I was also reading it for a class but was a little distracting since I wasn't. Nothing to do with the book, just a sidenote on my reading experience.
Since most of it was in the form of dialogue it was easy to get sucked in. It was written like actual conversations, with interruptions and back-and-forths, so it was very vivid.
This got me: "...depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling. Reduction, see? Of all feeling. People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile."
Quote from the Book
" 'Sometimes,' Berger says, 'people say stupid things. They feel like they gotta say something, you know?'
'Sometimes people say stupid things, because they're stupid.' "
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