Don't Miss

• Morrison's Gift Picks
• Holiday Catalog 2009
• NYRB Classics: Save 30%
• Paperback Favorites
  for Book Groups
• Springer Math Sale!
• Subscribe to Indiespensable

More at Powell's

• Featured Signed Editions
• Rare and Collectible Books
• eBooks | Audio | DVDs | Blu-ray

---

Interviews | December 1, 2009

A Meaty Tale: The Powells.com Interview with Julie Powell

1 comment By Megan

Julie Powell charmed readers with Julie and Julia, in which she chronicled her quest to cook, in one year, every recipe out of Julia Child's... Continue »

---

1. 
   $17.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

   Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

   Julie Powell

Report Comment

---

You are reporting a comment on the following title:

---

You are reporting the following comment:

crowyhead, February 13, 2009

This novel, written in free-verse poetry, is set at a mental institution and follows three teens who tried to commit suicide. Conner is a rich kid with a "perfect" life who tried to shoot himself. Vanessa, whose mother is also bipolar, is a cutter who went too far one day. And Tony, who lived on the street after being abused as a child, tried to kill himself with a drug overdose. Now they are all at a private mental hospital, trying to come to terms with what has brought them there.

I'd heard good things about Hopkins, but my ultimate reaction to this book was "bleh." I knew it was going to be a "problem novel," but I had hoped that Hopkins might do something interesting here. Instead, the characterization was often either flat (as in the case of Conner and his family) or full of holes (as in the case of Tony). Vanessa is the most well-fleshed-out character, but Hopkins leaves at least one major plot element just sort of dangling -- it's mentioned a few times, and then dropped. I suppose it might be in part due to the first-person nature of the narrative, but I was also disappointed by the way that Conner, Vanessa, and Tony seemed to be the only human characters in the novel. The other patients were characterized solely by their mental illnesses, and were very rarely treated with any kind of sympathy. I also didn't quite feel that Hopkins did a good enough job evoking the different voices of the main characters through the poetry, which was supposed to have been written by them: it all seemed as though it was written by the same person.

I think this could be popular with upper middle and high school students, but it's likely to rub some more mature readers the wrong way.

---

Your email address:

---

Reason for report:

---

Are you a robot? We didn't think so. But just to be sure, please type what you see in the following image into the box below.

---

Confirmation:

Are you certain you wish to report this comment?

---

Terms and Conditions

We welcome your comments and ideas, but we ask that you refrain from:

• Obscenity
• Spam
• Illegal content
• Copyrighted material
• Commercial solicitations

By posting your comments you are granting the good people of Powells.com the right (but not the obligation) to make your comments available to others over the Internet, and to copy and distribute your comments via other media, in each case on a royalty free basis. These terms govern the rights and obligations of the person posting comments and Powells.com; there are no intended third party beneficiaries of these terms.

Posted comments are subject to monitoring, editing, and removal at any time. Please see our Terms of Use for our complete terms and conditions.

---

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act

In accordance with The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, you must be at least 13 to submit comments on Powells.com.