Rated of 5
by Lisa B. (Denton, TX) Community vs. Freedom
I highly enjoyed Arcadia, once I adjusted to the style in which it was written. At first, the use of the present tense made me feel disconnected from the story, but soon I was sucked in and felt that Dicken's Ghost of the Christmas Past had taken me on ride to view the commune and I felt like I was really there, feeling their hope and anticipation for a better future. I also enjoyed the hints at the Utopian ideals and communities of the 19th century, which most people seem to have forgotten.
Bit's integration into mainstream society was interesting, and a part of the book that I would have liked to know more about. I thought the ending dragged on longer than it needed to be and I had trouble getting through that part.
At the end this book gave me a lot to think about and says quite a bit about modern society. In today's world people have a great deal of freedom, but they have lost the sense of community they once had. I liked the way that Groff had the Amish helping the commune, even though on the surface the Amish were so different, in some ways they had the same objective in the long run.
Rated of 5
by Nikki M. (Fort Wayne, IN) Didn't knock my socks off...
Having LOVED "The Monsters of Templeton" by Lauren Groff, I was anxious to dive into "Arcadia". I was, unfortunately, underwhelmed. I found the story and characters rather flat and uninteresting. Disappointing....
Rated of 5
by Patricia L. (Seward, AK) Not Quite Ready...
This book could have been fascinating-and some of it is: creating and building a communal life in the sixties, kids of view of that life, some well defined characters. Groff's prose is brilliant in some places yet tedious and mundane in most. The book feels like a first or second draft, especially the first chapters. Recommended only for those who have the stamina to weed through the chaff for the seed.
Rated of 5
by Annie P. (Murrells Inlet, SC) Arcadia, by Lauren Groff
When I first began reading this book, my feeling was that the author was spending entirely too much time on the little boy Bit. As I continued to read, it dawned on me that the reason for loitering in his early childhood was to give the reader a feeling of what it was like to live in a commune, the people, the general living conditions, the food, the beliefs and who was in charge of all the decisions, if anyone. Everything in his early childhood gave Bit the outlook on his entire life and how he was able or not to cope with the outside world. His family was first in his life, but he took on many people, relatives by blood or marriage, or Arcadia. This book cleared up a lot of questions of why the true hippies never really assimilated into “society,” at least the kind we take for granted when we haven’t been exposed to a totally different kind of life. The only ones we ever hear of are the addicts and the addled. Very little is told of the people who lived off the fruits of the earth, never ate meat or killed another being, and accepted a very different version of truth and religion, adjusting it to meet their needs. At the end, I loved this book, and wanted it to keep going. I wanted to find out more about Bit and his daughter. I missed Hannah but admired Bit for his devotion. Thank you, Ms. Groff, for a lovely, unusual and fulfilling story. I will look forward to another book in the near future.
Rated of 5
by Diane D. (Blairstown, NJ) Fascinating, but disturbing book
I enjoyed the book, which held my interest throughout, but the lifestyle of Arcadia disturbed me, as I thought it would. The characters were very well done, which you don't always find in a book.
I think this would be a great book for a book club, because there is opportunity for a LOT of discussion! I don't remember reading anything comparable to this one, and I think a lot of people would get a lot out of it.
Rated of 5
by Lynn W. (Calabash, NC) Arcadia
This is the first book by Lauren Groff that I have read and I will make of point of reading her other works. The story of a 70's commune rang very true to me. She has an assortment of characters and her follow through with all of their stories was well done for the most part. The story is told with vivid, almost poetic descriptions and kept my interest throughout.
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of 5
by Lisa B. (Denton, TX) 
of 5
by Nikki M. (Fort Wayne, IN) 
of 5
by Patricia L. (Seward, AK) 
of 5
by Annie P. (Murrells Inlet, SC) 
