Rise and Shine: Summary and book reviews of Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen, plus links to an excerpt from Rise and Shine and a biography of Anna Quindlen.
Rise and Shine
by Anna Quindlen
Hardcover: Sep 2006,
288 pages.
Paperback: Apr 2007,
288 pages.
From Anna Quindlen, acclaimed author of Blessings,
Black and Blue, and One True Thing, a superb
novel about two sisters, the true meaning of success,
and the qualities in life that matter most.
It's an otherwise ordinary Monday when Meghan
Fitzmaurice's perfect life hits a wall. A household name
as the host of Rise and Shine, the country's
highest-rated morning talk show, Meghan cuts to a
commercial break–but not before she mutters two
forbidden words into her open mike.
In an instant, it's the end of an era, not only for
Meghan, who is unaccustomed to dealing with adversity,
but also for her younger sister, Bridget, a social
worker in the Bronx who has always lived in Meghan's
long shadow. The effect of Meghan's on-air truth telling
reverberates through both their lives, affecting
Meghan's son, husband, friends, and fans, as well as
Bridget's perception of her sister, their complex
childhood, and herself. What follows is a story about
how, in very different ways, the Fitzmaurice women
adapt, survive, and manage to bring the whole teeming
world of New York to heel by dint of their smart mouths,
quick wits, and the powerful connection between them
that even the worst tragedy cannot shatter.
Strong on characterization but weaker on plot, Rise and Shine is a tale of two sisters and one city. A fun, mildly contrived, satirical New York tale, with a family drama at its heart. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Los Angeles Times - Susan Salter Reynolds
The biggest problem with this novel -- which is very entertaining, more so if you recognize all the stages of success than if you don't -- is that it takes on the shape of a doughnut, built around a character, Meghan, who isn't worth the attention .... Even fairy tales used to have more depth than that.
Publishers Weekly
The prose is top-notch; readers may be more interested in Quindlen's insights than in the lives of her two main characters.
The Post-Dispatch - Patricia Corrigan
[The] lyricism and several fully drawn characters make Rise and Shine well worth reading.
The Washington Post - Carolyn See
Anna Quindlen has developed an enormously likable writing voice, and by telling her tale through the humble voice of an unassuming naif, she allows her readers the illusion that we all might live securely within the velvety pink confines of the New York maw, safely out of the way of those silver teeth. She makes the city accessible and downright neighborly.
Library Journal
Best-selling author Quindlen has created a thoroughly engaging story peppered with memorable characters, who are humorously and touchingly drawn. Highly recommended.
Booklist - Carol Haggas
Quindlen pens a lavishly perceptive homage to the city she loves, while her transcendentally agile and empathic observations of the human condition underlie the Fitzmaurice sisters' discovery of the transience of fame and the permanence of family.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Maureen Another great Anna Quindlen book Thoroughly enjoyed this book about the relationship between sisters after one of them ends up in hot water and how it affects the rest of her family. I would recommend this book very highly. It would be a great book club pick.
Q: In dreaming up this
novel, what came to you first: the sisters, the setting,
or Megan's on-air slip? And how did your storyline
evolve from there?
Anna Quindlen: I always begin a novel with a
theme. Black and Blue, for instance, began with
the theme of identity, Blessings with the theme
of redemption. Rise and Shine grew out of
constant thoughts about the disconnect in modern
American life between appearance and reality. The more
I thought about that disconnect, about how we've all
come to believe that what looks good is good, the more I
thought I should write about someone famous. That's
where the dissonance is greatest, it seems to me, and
the public interest weirdest. And then I thought that
the story would be best told by someone on the outside
looking in. (Yes, I have read Gatsby.
Many many times.)
Q: Do you share any qualities and/or characteristics...
A vivid portrait of an
American family in the middle decades of the twentieth century.
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(899 words).
Los Angeles Times - Susan Salter Reynolds
Publishers Weekly
The Washington Post - Carolyn See
of 5
by Maureen
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