Off Keck Road

by Mona Simpson

Book Overview

In this flawless novella, Mona Simpson turns her powers of observation toward characters who, unlike Ann and Adele August in her bestselling Anywhere but Here, choose to stay rather than go. As a high... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375410104
• ISBN13: 9780375410109
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Slice of Outsider Life

At first it seemed odd to me that a novel that spans a lifetime is less than 200 pages long. However, after I finished the book it became clear that its short length is in keeping with the quiet, but interesting lives of the characters. Bea and Shelley are two women from "opposite sides of the tracks," but as single women they share outsider status in their community. Bea's mother does not appreciate her daughter's good qualities until the end of her life, focusing instead on Bea's lack of a husband and children; she prefers her self-centered, indifferent older daughter because she is a wife and a mother and therefore more socially acceptable. Shelley's mother is a less developed character than Bea's mother, but it is clear that she thinks along similar lines. Simpson has accomplished something that seems rare in fiction: the portrayal of unmarried women as fully realized human beings instead of as caricatures.Don't read this novel if you're looking for a lot of action. It is a character-driven book, not a plot-driven one.

Stayed With Me

I started this book thinking, "A simple read." And I thought it was, at first. In fact, I finished the book in just a few hours. But it was after I finished the book that I realized how powerful it was. Lying in bed that night, I couldn't get it out of my head. The characters and their humble stories stayed with me. To me, this is the sign of an excellent book.

exquisite writing

as always a pleasure to read her work. Nice to have a heroine who doesn't try to save the world. Bea's life typifies many lives yet captures the singularity of one life. What more could be asked for?

I enjoyed this book more than any I have read in a long time

Enjoyed is perhaps not strong enough. But let's just say that I finished the book at 4:45 pm and now it's 5:08 and I'm online typing the review. There are a few small problems - at first I couldn't keep the characters straight and towards the end the book dawdles a little. But what strikes me is that this is the kind of book I really really like but never seem to be able to find. Few writers are interested in the ordinary lives of people and few writers have the ability to write about them in a way that makes them interesting. She writes well and that makes the book move.

Quiet Lives in Wisconsin

This is Simpson's best book since "Anywhere But Here." The lives of the two main characters, Bea and Shelley, are told in a series of interconnected stories. Her style in this book reminded me of Alice Munro. The two characters lead quiet lives, but sometimes surprising (yet believable) things happen to them. I enjoyed reading about "real" people!