Summary:
A book review of the novel She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb.
This book is about a girl named Dolores Price. She goes through many ups and downs throughout her life. She has probably been through anything you can think of. It all started when she was five years old. From her parents divorce, getting raped, and becoming 300lbs by the time she was 13. Later in her teenage years, her mother dies; she attempts college, and then ends up going to a mental hospital for 6 years of her adult life. From then she gets married, divorces after four years because of a cheating husband, and then after her grandmother's death, she moves back into her old home. Throughout all of these instances, she makes and loses many relationships.
Dolores Price is the main character in this book. She is a spitfire and doesn't really care what anybody thinks. Roberta, the lady that owns the tattoo parlor across the street thinks so too by saying, "Dolores, you are one tough cookie, I don't think anyone could get to you."
Dolores's Mother is another key part to this book. She is a people pleaser. Whatever Dolores wanted, she got. "Do you need anything else Dolores, I can get you whatever you want."
Dolores's Grandma is a total Christian. She lives her life by the Bible. "Dolores you need to start acting like how I did in school, respective and mature."
Dr. Shaw is her counselor at Gracewood Mental Hospital. He is a very relaxed and patient man. He so badly wants to help Dolores get through everything. He will do anything to help her. "Now Dolores, work with me here, talk to me about your childhood."
Dante is Dolores's first husband. He was a very demanding and disloyal husband. He was cheating on Dolores with a student of his. "Dante, I thought she just wanted to talk? So why is she sitting here in her underwear."
The first incident that started this whole book out was Dolores getting raped by her neighbor. He seemed like a very nice guy always giving her rides home from school and buying her ice cream. No one, especially Dolores, thought that he would do something like this. He had a pregnant wife, a good job, why would he do something like this. "It hurt so bad. He hated me; he just wanted to hurt me, for what reason I don't know."
The next significant incident in her life was when she was in a mental institute for about six years. Her mother had gone to one too. She thought that it might just be a genetic thing, that it wasn't her fault she was all messed up in the head. This helped her get over everything that had gone on in her life like: her parents' divorce, her mother dying, her rape, being molested by an older lady, and her drug use. "Well Dolores, I feel I actually helped you. What do you think"" "Yeah, you helped a lot; I think you might have saved my life."
The final event in the book was her own divorce. Her and her husband ended up divorcing after four years. She couldn't take him cheating on her and spending all of her money. She then moved back to her old home and was a caregiver from her old friend Roberta across the street. "You don't need him anyways Dolores, you are better off; but you should have kept the car."
The theme of this book was that life has many downs. However, it is your choice if you want them to bring you down or change yourself because of them. Dolores chose to start over and get help and make herself a stronger person.
This would be a good book for a person who likes fiction books that are realistic. I recommend it however, to high school age and older. Some of the events that happen to her are very serious and only someone older would probably understand and maybe even relate to.
This is the complete article, containing 657 words
(approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page).
