i thought it was a bit over rated... good, don't get me wrong, but not worth all the hubbub. Thought "she's come undone" and "i know this much is true" by Wally Lamb were better.
I disagree that White Oleander is overrated...I thought it was a very well-written novel with a lot of imagination in the plot and an amazing attention to details. I'm going to make a point to check out those titles by Wally Lamb though because if they are, in fact, that much better than White Oleander, I definitely want to read them .
I liked it, it is very overrated but it was great and I enjoy it. It has been quite a bit since I have last read it though.
I really love that movie but haven't yet read the book. As usual, people say the book is better than the movie so I'll probably enjoy it.
I think the book and movie were beautiful... I love the book so much I think I've read it three times by now lol
I've been meaning to read it for a long time. Two of my best friends read it last year and said it was great. It's on my list of books to read... Someday I'll get around to reading it.
Me 2 = ) I luv the movie I get it all the time from the library I wanna put the Book on hold 2 an read it But I kinda hava problem reading Movie-based books when Ive seen the movie 1st lol I end up gettin irratated 4sum weird reason
I think that maybe people who read a higher quality of literature are the ones who find the book to be over rated??
I think it's more a matter of personal opinion. Different people like different books. Obviously, some books do not have a high literary quality, but I'd personally be more inclined to say that they were of the Danielle Steele and Janet Evanovich variety.
I picked up a copy of White Oleander at Salvation Army on a whim. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to soon. I caught parts of the movie, and what I saw was pretty good.
Icedteapriestess~ I loved "She's Come Undone"! I thought I must have been the only person who read it! Any time I ask someone about it, they've never heard of it. I thought it was a geat book. Definitely one that sucked me in! I couldn't put it down until I read the last page.
The "higher quality literature" designation seems a little extraneous...White Oleander is an excellent book. Plot-wise I will concede that it has some flaws, but Janet Fitch's writing is a hugely sensory experience--poetics that are almost tangible and feel indulgent. Her evocations of the different regions of Los Angeles are breathtaking. It's exciting that someone has done this with words. Her newer novel, Paint It Black also has a few plot deficiencies, but these are deliciously overruled by the lush, trance-like writing. I highly recommend both. I've seen Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone mentioned a few times--while the books were perhaps featured in the same late-nineties Oprah book cluster of coming-of-age type of stories, I would see the two as somewhat different. SCU though has many merits of its own...it's a little less dramatic than Fitch and at times a little more down-to-earth...however Dolores's hell is just as engaging as Astrid's. Another great one.
I wonder if they are also the ones with sticks up their asses...? Or maybe that is just you. Sorry to be a bitch, but this is just a really snotty statement. Who died and made you judge of what is and is not "high quality literature"?
Maybe...I don't think so much it was overrated for me, as it was too sentimental/melodramatic in certain places, seemed like some of it was trying too hard. The beautiful imagery and descriptions could have stood on their own without angsty overkill. It does however, ground itself back down through nitty-gritty realism, though...overall it was pretty darn good and the true underlying themes were subtley mentioned in a way the reader can't stop analyzing.
Overall I really loved the book, and I pretty much agree with Bad Metaphor, though also with artsyfartsy. I found the prose to be really beautiful, and though some parts were melodramatic I think that it is important to remember that the story is being told from the point of view of a teenager.
