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Vinegar Hill
In a stark, troubling, yet ultimately triumphant celebration of self-determination, award-winning author A. Manette Ansay re-creates a stifling world of guilt and pain, and the tormented souls who inhabit it. It is 1972 when circumstance carries Ellen Grier and her family back to Holly's Field, Wisconsin. Dutifully accompanying her newly unemployed husband, Ellen has brought her two children into the home of her in-laws on Vinegar Hill -- a loveless house suffused with the settling dust of bitterness and routine -- where calculated cruelty is a way of life preserved and perpetuated in the service of a rigid, exacting, and angry God. Behind a facade of false piety, there are sins and secrets in this place that could crush a vibrant young woman's passionate spirit. And here Ellen must find the strength to endure, change, and grow in the all-pervading darkness that threatens to destroy everything she is and everyone she loves.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 1994
215 people are currently reading
11178 people want to read
About the author
A. Manette Ansay
22 books154 followersA. Manette Ansay grew up in Wisconsin among 67 cousins and over 200 second cousins. She is the author of six novels, including Good Things I Wish You (July, 2009), Vinegar Hill, an Oprah Book Club Selection, and Midnight Champagne, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, as well as a short story collection, Read This and Tell Me What It Says, and a memoir, Limbo. Her awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Grant, a Pushcart Prize, the Nelson Algren Prize, and two Great Lakes Book Awards. She lives with her daughter in Florida, where she teaches in the MFA program at the University of Miami.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,192 reviews
September 19, 2013
I now know why Oprah gave away cars and other amazing gifts to the guest of her show. It was to combat the depression that the members of her book club had encountered over the years. If you see the Oprah’s Book Club logo on a book you are about to crack open, take your Zoloft now.
Now, hear me out. I have never been disappointed with a book from the Oprah Book Club list. Drowning Ruth, Gap Creek, Jewel, The Pilot’s Wife. They are always amazing stories that will bring on a slue of intense emotions. I am no way suggesting you should shy away from them. Unless your dog just died.
Vinegar Hill has an amazing cast of characters, 98% of which I wanted to strangle on a regular basis. If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen tweets suggesting that I already had a deep hate for someone thirty pages in the book. My hate list just grew and grew. Then Ansay threw a monkey wrench into my hate wagon’s spokes and brought on the flashbacks. As the story unfolds, you get introduced to events that made these insanely obnoxious people the way they were.
OH! Do I continue to hate them because they are assholes or do I walk a mile in their shoes? Damn you, Oprah! Damn you!
I found myself wanting to give the characters advice. If I could pull her aside for just one minute and say, “Run! Run for your life!”. This is why non-book people think book people are crazy. I’m whispering life changing suggestions to fictional characters.
What I hate about writing these reviews is avoiding spoilers. There is so much I want to tell you, but I don’t want to ruin it for you! Grab your Zoloft, grab Vinegar Hill. You can thank me for the multiple emotions you experience later.
Now, hear me out. I have never been disappointed with a book from the Oprah Book Club list. Drowning Ruth, Gap Creek, Jewel, The Pilot’s Wife. They are always amazing stories that will bring on a slue of intense emotions. I am no way suggesting you should shy away from them. Unless your dog just died.
Vinegar Hill has an amazing cast of characters, 98% of which I wanted to strangle on a regular basis. If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen tweets suggesting that I already had a deep hate for someone thirty pages in the book. My hate list just grew and grew. Then Ansay threw a monkey wrench into my hate wagon’s spokes and brought on the flashbacks. As the story unfolds, you get introduced to events that made these insanely obnoxious people the way they were.
OH! Do I continue to hate them because they are assholes or do I walk a mile in their shoes? Damn you, Oprah! Damn you!
I found myself wanting to give the characters advice. If I could pull her aside for just one minute and say, “Run! Run for your life!”. This is why non-book people think book people are crazy. I’m whispering life changing suggestions to fictional characters.
What I hate about writing these reviews is avoiding spoilers. There is so much I want to tell you, but I don’t want to ruin it for you! Grab your Zoloft, grab Vinegar Hill. You can thank me for the multiple emotions you experience later.
May 20, 2010
To me, Oprah's Book Club seal of approval guarantees me at least a few of the following:
1) Female, middle-aged protagonist, typically a mother
2) Generally bleak and depressing
3) Emotional and/or physical abuse
4) Jackass husband
5) Horrible children
6) Death
Vinegar Hill offers 5 of the 6 - no horrible children. It's a very quick read - maybe not light enough fare for the beach but for the subway ride to and from work, it's perfect. A brief synopsis: Ellen + husband + their 2 kids are forced to move back into the house that her jackass husband grew up in and live together with his abusive and emotionally unavailable parents. Actually, everyone in this book is emotionally unavailable and also a little off their rocker so I bet you can imagine all the fun that will ensue. Oh yes. Reading this is akin to watching a train wreck - and who doesn't love a good train wreck? I couldn't turn away.
1) Female, middle-aged protagonist, typically a mother
2) Generally bleak and depressing
3) Emotional and/or physical abuse
4) Jackass husband
5) Horrible children
6) Death
Vinegar Hill offers 5 of the 6 - no horrible children. It's a very quick read - maybe not light enough fare for the beach but for the subway ride to and from work, it's perfect. A brief synopsis: Ellen + husband + their 2 kids are forced to move back into the house that her jackass husband grew up in and live together with his abusive and emotionally unavailable parents. Actually, everyone in this book is emotionally unavailable and also a little off their rocker so I bet you can imagine all the fun that will ensue. Oh yes. Reading this is akin to watching a train wreck - and who doesn't love a good train wreck? I couldn't turn away.
May 27, 2008
What is it with Oprah? Really. I don't always know when I'm reading an Oprah book (I come into possession of a lot of books with no covers somehow), but after I read this one I just knew it was on her list, had to be. It was very bleak, as most of her selections are, and had very little to make me want to finish it. If I hadn't been very bored at the time I probably wouldn't have. It's exhausting to read about constant sadness, and I hate stories that feature weak, mama's boy husbands.
Just once Oprah should shock the world and recommend a happy book.
Just once Oprah should shock the world and recommend a happy book.
April 26, 2022
<یک افتضاح پرمدعا>
دستانم عرق کرده. چند روز است که حمام نرفته ام و به بزرگ ترین جاذبه توریستی شهر مگس ها تبدیل شده ام.🤢 هوا به شدت گرم است و گرد و غبار اجازه نفس کشیدن نمیدهد. تیشرتم را در می آورم. پنکه را روشن میکنم و رو به کاناپه تنظیم میکنم. خودم را روی کاناپه می اندازم. تلویزیون را روشن میکنم. طبق معمول هیچ چیزی ندارد. این وسط هیچ کسی هم نیست که بودنش انگیزه ای به من بدهد. یعنی تمام کسانی که دوست دارم کنارم باشد، اصلا به من فکر هم نمیکنند. شاید مشکل از من است. باید از دوش گرفتن آغاز کنم.😌
کتاب<«آمده بودم تا موهایم را ببافم»> درباره یک خانمی به نام الن است که دو تا بچه و یک شوهر دارد. وضع مالی خوبی ندارد برای همین با مادر شوهر زندگی میکند و زندگی اش مثل خودش کسالت بار است پس تصمیم میگیرد شوهرش را ترک کند.😐
نمیدانم چه اشتباه محاسباتی در ذهنم رخ داد که تصمیم گرفتم این کتاب را بخوانم. نه کسی معرفی کرده بود نه تعریفش را جایی شنیده بودم. فقط از اسمش خوشم آمد و اینکه دیدم نوبل ادبیات گرفته. امیدوارم این اخرین باری باشد که فقط به خاطر اسم یک کتاب، جذبش میشوم.😬
در میانه راه احساسات متفاوتی داشتم. گاهی حس میکردم فمینیستی است. گاهی از نثر روان و تکنیکش انگشت به دهان می ماندم اما الان که تمام شده و از بالا به آن نگاه میکنم میبینم اصلا خوب نبود.🤮
1- هیچ تعلیق درست و حسابی و جذابیتی نداشت که مرا علاقه مند به فهمیدن ادامه آن کند. با بی رغبتی به سمتش میرفتم و فقط میخواستم نیمه کاره رهایش نکرده باشم.🙄
2- توصیفات و صحنه سازی ها بیش از حد، آزار دهنده و بیشتر جنبه تفاخر دارد که نویسنده بگوید من هم بلدم. غرق شدن نویسنده در توصیفات و گفتن به جای نشان دادن همانا و افتادن از ریتم همانا. وحشتناک کسل کننده بود.🥵
3- حتی شخصیت ها هم جذابیتی نداشتند. چرا من برای شخص اول داستان(الن) که دماغش آویزان است🤧، بچه هایش از او بدشان می آید، شوهرش محل سگ به او نمیگذارد و بچه های کلاسی که به آنها درس میدهد، به او میگویند جادوگر دلم بسوزد؟ چرا من باید او را دوست داشته باشم؟ اصلا در این کتاب لعنتی شخصیت دوست داشتنی هم بود؟ دختر بزرگش ایمی که اسکل است و توهم دارد همیشه خدا. پسر کوچکش هم فریب خورده عالم و آدم. شوهرش جیمز هم مثل لاشه سگ متحرکه. تو روح همشون!😾
4- پایانش باز بود. (برای این مورد هنوز فحش مناسبی پیدا نکردم)🤬
5- هیچ مکاشفه ای نداشت. نویسنده درباره این کتاب میگوید که این را برای حل معمای زندگی مرموز خانوادگی ام و جایگاه متزلزل زنان فامیلمان نوشتم که به نظر من صرفا الهام گرفته از آن بود و هیچ حل معما یا حل مشکلی نداشت.😵
6- خودش را کشته بود تا مسیحیت ستیزی کند و کشیش را دست و پاگیر نشان بدهد. از دلایلش در این باره هیچ فهمی ندارم. خب حالا فامیل تو مثل شوهرت شود. به نظرم چیز مسخره ای است اما چیز خاصی هم نیست. خب بشود. کل شخصیت و هویتت از تو گرفته شد؟ نه بابا. بیا برو تو کوووووچه!🤥
7- تنها نکته مثبتش این بود که داستان رو از زاویه دید دانای کل نوشته بود و درباره افراد مختلف اطلاعات میداد و نمیگذاشت یک طرفه به محکمه بریم. بخش بزرگی از داستان جیمزی که به نظر الن بی مسئولیت بود را توصیف میکرد و از زندگی و بچگی سختش میگفت که درک او را آسان تر میکرد.💨
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<در کل به نظرم زمانی میتوانیم به بد بودن شرایط اطرافمان اعتراض کنیم که خودمان خوب باشیم و تمام تلاشمان را کرده باشیم و مطمئن باشیم که اینگونه بوده. فرار از مشکلات، هیچ مشکلی را حل نمیکند. > این را نمیفهمد این کتاب لعنتییییییییییییییی
اتمام ۱۴۰۱/۲/۶
دستانم عرق کرده. چند روز است که حمام نرفته ام و به بزرگ ترین جاذبه توریستی شهر مگس ها تبدیل شده ام.🤢 هوا به شدت گرم است و گرد و غبار اجازه نفس کشیدن نمیدهد. تیشرتم را در می آورم. پنکه را روشن میکنم و رو به کاناپه تنظیم میکنم. خودم را روی کاناپه می اندازم. تلویزیون را روشن میکنم. طبق معمول هیچ چیزی ندارد. این وسط هیچ کسی هم نیست که بودنش انگیزه ای به من بدهد. یعنی تمام کسانی که دوست دارم کنارم باشد، اصلا به من فکر هم نمیکنند. شاید مشکل از من است. باید از دوش گرفتن آغاز کنم.😌
کتاب<«آمده بودم تا موهایم را ببافم»> درباره یک خانمی به نام الن است که دو تا بچه و یک شوهر دارد. وضع مالی خوبی ندارد برای همین با مادر شوهر زندگی میکند و زندگی اش مثل خودش کسالت بار است پس تصمیم میگیرد شوهرش را ترک کند.😐
نمیدانم چه اشتباه محاسباتی در ذهنم رخ داد که تصمیم گرفتم این کتاب را بخوانم. نه کسی معرفی کرده بود نه تعریفش را جایی شنیده بودم. فقط از اسمش خوشم آمد و اینکه دیدم نوبل ادبیات گرفته. امیدوارم این اخرین باری باشد که فقط به خاطر اسم یک کتاب، جذبش میشوم.😬
در میانه راه احساسات متفاوتی داشتم. گاهی حس میکردم فمینیستی است. گاهی از نثر روان و تکنیکش انگشت به دهان می ماندم اما الان که تمام شده و از بالا به آن نگاه میکنم میبینم اصلا خوب نبود.🤮
1- هیچ تعلیق درست و حسابی و جذابیتی نداشت که مرا علاقه مند به فهمیدن ادامه آن کند. با بی رغبتی به سمتش میرفتم و فقط میخواستم نیمه کاره رهایش نکرده باشم.🙄
2- توصیفات و صحنه سازی ها بیش از حد، آزار دهنده و بیشتر جنبه تفاخر دارد که نویسنده بگوید من هم بلدم. غرق شدن نویسنده در توصیفات و گفتن به جای نشان دادن همانا و افتادن از ریتم همانا. وحشتناک کسل کننده بود.🥵
3- حتی شخصیت ها هم جذابیتی نداشتند. چرا من برای شخص اول داستان(الن) که دماغش آویزان است🤧، بچه هایش از او بدشان می آید، شوهرش محل سگ به او نمیگذارد و بچه های کلاسی که به آنها درس میدهد، به او میگویند جادوگر دلم بسوزد؟ چرا من باید او را دوست داشته باشم؟ اصلا در این کتاب لعنتی شخصیت دوست داشتنی هم بود؟ دختر بزرگش ایمی که اسکل است و توهم دارد همیشه خدا. پسر کوچکش هم فریب خورده عالم و آدم. شوهرش جیمز هم مثل لاشه سگ متحرکه. تو روح همشون!😾
4- پایانش باز بود. (برای این مورد هنوز فحش مناسبی پیدا نکردم)🤬
5- هیچ مکاشفه ای نداشت. نویسنده درباره این کتاب میگوید که این را برای حل معمای زندگی مرموز خانوادگی ام و جایگاه متزلزل زنان فامیلمان نوشتم که به نظر من صرفا الهام گرفته از آن بود و هیچ حل معما یا حل مشکلی نداشت.😵
6- خودش را کشته بود تا مسیحیت ستیزی کند و کشیش را دست و پاگیر نشان بدهد. از دلایلش در این باره هیچ فهمی ندارم. خب حالا فامیل تو مثل شوهرت شود. به نظرم چیز مسخره ای است اما چیز خاصی هم نیست. خب بشود. کل شخصیت و هویتت از تو گرفته شد؟ نه بابا. بیا برو تو کوووووچه!🤥
7- تنها نکته مثبتش این بود که داستان رو از زاویه دید دانای کل نوشته بود و درباره افراد مختلف اطلاعات میداد و نمیگذاشت یک طرفه به محکمه بریم. بخش بزرگی از داستان جیمزی که به نظر الن بی مسئولیت بود را توصیف میکرد و از زندگی و بچگی سختش میگفت که درک او را آسان تر میکرد.💨
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<در کل به نظرم زمانی میتوانیم به بد بودن شرایط اطرافمان اعتراض کنیم که خودمان خوب باشیم و تمام تلاشمان را کرده باشیم و مطمئن باشیم که اینگونه بوده. فرار از مشکلات، هیچ مشکلی را حل نمیکند. > این را نمیفهمد این کتاب لعنتییییییییییییییی
اتمام ۱۴۰۱/۲/۶
April 15, 2020
There are many ways to describe Ellen Grier: wife, mother, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, caregiver, teacher. All of these different roles and yet Ellen still feels incomplete…invisible almost. She had been happy in Illinois in their rented house, but after her husband lost his job, she and her family are back in their hometown of Holly’s Field, Wisconsin and living with her in-laws at 512 Vinegar Hill—a harsh, loveless, and cold home filled with secrets. She wants to be happy, but finds herself drowning under a sea of hopelessness and despair. Can Ellen save herself and the ones she loves before Vinegar Hill consumes them all?
"Vinegar Hill" is an Oprah’s Book Club selection. I’ve read several of her recommendations and often found them to be “hit” or “miss”. This book is clearly a “miss”. On the back cover, a review from Washington Post Book World calls it “Sweet, tender, and chilling.” After reading this and several other critics’ comments printed on the book, I’m wondering if I actually read the same novel that they did. Sweet? Tender? "Vinegar Hill" is the type of book that would make Edgar Allan Poe pause and say, “Wow! Now THAT’S dark!” This is a depressing, depraved, and disturbing story devoid of purpose, value, or meaning. We’re introduced to several generations of individuals whose intolerance, callousness, cruelty, meanness and spite are clearly hereditary. It’s an endless cycle of verbal and physical abuse with a skosh of religious hallucinations and psychological delusions thrown in for interest. Ellen’s daughter, Amy, “buries” her “dead” dolls in shoeboxes; her husband, James, sees his children as the personification of Halloween with their skeletal hands and sunken ghostly eyes; and her elderly and bitter mother-in-law, Mary-Margaret, has dreams of her deceased twin infants growing back inside of her. THIS is sweet and tender? The Chicago Tribune even called "Vinegar Hill" “one of the year’s best books.” I’m absolutely speechless. I found the characters unpleasant and unsympathetic, religious judgements are frivolously tossed out as if they were beads at Mardi Gras, intelligence is scorned and vilified, and helplessness is encouraged and celebrated.
When Ellen sought advice from her fellow co-worker, she was told, “No one gets used to anything, they just get numb.” After a while, with the constant derisions and disparagements, I too became numb and found myself eagerly counting down the pages until I could finally close the covers of this book and walk—or actually run—away from Vinegar Hill and all of its inhabitants...never to look back again.
"Vinegar Hill" is an Oprah’s Book Club selection. I’ve read several of her recommendations and often found them to be “hit” or “miss”. This book is clearly a “miss”. On the back cover, a review from Washington Post Book World calls it “Sweet, tender, and chilling.” After reading this and several other critics’ comments printed on the book, I’m wondering if I actually read the same novel that they did. Sweet? Tender? "Vinegar Hill" is the type of book that would make Edgar Allan Poe pause and say, “Wow! Now THAT’S dark!” This is a depressing, depraved, and disturbing story devoid of purpose, value, or meaning. We’re introduced to several generations of individuals whose intolerance, callousness, cruelty, meanness and spite are clearly hereditary. It’s an endless cycle of verbal and physical abuse with a skosh of religious hallucinations and psychological delusions thrown in for interest. Ellen’s daughter, Amy, “buries” her “dead” dolls in shoeboxes; her husband, James, sees his children as the personification of Halloween with their skeletal hands and sunken ghostly eyes; and her elderly and bitter mother-in-law, Mary-Margaret, has dreams of her deceased twin infants growing back inside of her. THIS is sweet and tender? The Chicago Tribune even called "Vinegar Hill" “one of the year’s best books.” I’m absolutely speechless. I found the characters unpleasant and unsympathetic, religious judgements are frivolously tossed out as if they were beads at Mardi Gras, intelligence is scorned and vilified, and helplessness is encouraged and celebrated.
When Ellen sought advice from her fellow co-worker, she was told, “No one gets used to anything, they just get numb.” After a while, with the constant derisions and disparagements, I too became numb and found myself eagerly counting down the pages until I could finally close the covers of this book and walk—or actually run—away from Vinegar Hill and all of its inhabitants...never to look back again.
October 30, 2013
I’m crunching here at the end of the year trying to meet my goals on the book challenge. I chose a book with less than 300 pages and hoped for the best. This book had been sitting on my shelf for a little while and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. This was actually a good read and I’m going to give it 4 stars.
Vinegar Hill is one of the most appropriately named books I’ve read in a while. The Grier family is a family that is completely affected, influenced, formed, created and responding to the very “vinegar” that has been steeped into their individual lives. Adjectives that come to mind: raw, bitter, dysfunction, pain, fear, confusion, hurt, anger, in need of serious SERIOUS therapy every single one of them. James and wife Ellen have financial troubles so they take their two children and move back to the small town, cold home of his already completely dysfunctional parents Mary Margaret and Fritz. As a reader, we walk into an atmosphere that reeks of secrets, pain and a spirit of something very very wrong. I must say this author is so skillful because I literally felt this every time, as we read, we are in this house. If this house could talk, I’m sure it would cry. If it had ghosts, it would need an exorcism. The people who live here are all fighting past experiences that they have allowed to fester and form their current selves. Now forced to live in this overcrowded house together, things are coming to a head. This is their story.
A. Manette Ansay is a very skillful author. I loved her style of writing because it is very unique. Vinegar Hill is very easily read. No analogies or symbolism to decipher here, just good writing. I enjoyed how each chapter unfolds a little more of the characters as well as involves the readers emotions in the story. I always believe if an author can get any kind of rise out of me, that’s good stuff. I was most definitely involved. The story is very raw and real. This could and may very well be some real family struggling somewhere.
Do I recommend it? Yes I do. I will read this author again. I do recommend it to those enjoying the historical fiction genre because it does take place in 1972, however, it is more contemporary fiction. I give it 4 stars for the skill of the author, good story and emotional involvement.
PS. I still want to magically jump into the book and knock a few folks in the head: some for sense, some for stupidity and some because bullies need put into their place no matter how old they are. Read the book and find out what I’m talking about. ;oP
Vinegar Hill is one of the most appropriately named books I’ve read in a while. The Grier family is a family that is completely affected, influenced, formed, created and responding to the very “vinegar” that has been steeped into their individual lives. Adjectives that come to mind: raw, bitter, dysfunction, pain, fear, confusion, hurt, anger, in need of serious SERIOUS therapy every single one of them. James and wife Ellen have financial troubles so they take their two children and move back to the small town, cold home of his already completely dysfunctional parents Mary Margaret and Fritz. As a reader, we walk into an atmosphere that reeks of secrets, pain and a spirit of something very very wrong. I must say this author is so skillful because I literally felt this every time, as we read, we are in this house. If this house could talk, I’m sure it would cry. If it had ghosts, it would need an exorcism. The people who live here are all fighting past experiences that they have allowed to fester and form their current selves. Now forced to live in this overcrowded house together, things are coming to a head. This is their story.
A. Manette Ansay is a very skillful author. I loved her style of writing because it is very unique. Vinegar Hill is very easily read. No analogies or symbolism to decipher here, just good writing. I enjoyed how each chapter unfolds a little more of the characters as well as involves the readers emotions in the story. I always believe if an author can get any kind of rise out of me, that’s good stuff. I was most definitely involved. The story is very raw and real. This could and may very well be some real family struggling somewhere.
Do I recommend it? Yes I do. I will read this author again. I do recommend it to those enjoying the historical fiction genre because it does take place in 1972, however, it is more contemporary fiction. I give it 4 stars for the skill of the author, good story and emotional involvement.
PS. I still want to magically jump into the book and knock a few folks in the head: some for sense, some for stupidity and some because bullies need put into their place no matter how old they are. Read the book and find out what I’m talking about. ;oP
December 29, 2024
Content:
Language: one use of the f word. 2 (?) uses of the s word. And lots of overall crude language.
Violence: abuse: physical, mental, and sexual (nothing described. Simply stated). Also mentions of horror scenes from dreams that left me feeling weird.
Sexual: as mentioned above: sexual abuse (nothing described). Too many sexual comments and conversations.
Now as to the book, it was bleak. It was dark. It was depressing.
The writing itself was beautiful in a strange way, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style once I got used to it. The characters were strange and unique.
I think this book would fall into gothic. But maybe not. The setting was pretty dismal and the characters were all fairly bleak.
I didn’t dnf because I had hope for a redemption arc, which sorta came but not to the extent that I wanted. So there was hope in the end but just not the true hope that I was wanting.
This book did make me so grateful for knowing that God is a loving father (the characters in this story believe in a stifling oppressive view of God and religion). Honestly I saw things in this book that I recognized from some religious settings that I have personally seen. This book is truly not far off from the truth. Which is another reason I finished it.
I think this book is ok if you don’t mind the content I mentioned. I rated it on content, not enjoyment. Because I truly did enjoy it. But I didn’t appreciate the content.
Language: one use of the f word. 2 (?) uses of the s word. And lots of overall crude language.
Violence: abuse: physical, mental, and sexual (nothing described. Simply stated). Also mentions of horror scenes from dreams that left me feeling weird.
Sexual: as mentioned above: sexual abuse (nothing described). Too many sexual comments and conversations.
Now as to the book, it was bleak. It was dark. It was depressing.
The writing itself was beautiful in a strange way, I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style once I got used to it. The characters were strange and unique.
I think this book would fall into gothic. But maybe not. The setting was pretty dismal and the characters were all fairly bleak.
I didn’t dnf because I had hope for a redemption arc, which sorta came but not to the extent that I wanted. So there was hope in the end but just not the true hope that I was wanting.
This book did make me so grateful for knowing that God is a loving father (the characters in this story believe in a stifling oppressive view of God and religion). Honestly I saw things in this book that I recognized from some religious settings that I have personally seen. This book is truly not far off from the truth. Which is another reason I finished it.
I think this book is ok if you don’t mind the content I mentioned. I rated it on content, not enjoyment. Because I truly did enjoy it. But I didn’t appreciate the content.
June 27, 2009
I read this book in just two days. Obviously it is a very quick read, and I kept wanting to pick the book up again and read a few pages. Yes, this book is bleak and depressing, but it seems very realistic. Before divorce was as common as marriage, people stayed together no matter what, regardless of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse -- all of which occur to the women in this book. I find the end to be very hopeful; the wife decides to make a change right as her daughter stands on the brink of puberty. One hopes that she has saved her daughter in time from making the same mistakes.
Other reviewers complain about the claustrophobic and bleak nature of the imagery, but for me it reinforces the claustrophobia and the bleak world in which the protagonist lives. When you're living in depression, you can barely see past your own nose, and the author did a wonderful job of expressing that.
This isn't one of the best books that I have read, but it did hold my interest and occupy me for a couple of days. If you are one for light and amusing chick lit, I would not recommend this to you.
Other reviewers complain about the claustrophobic and bleak nature of the imagery, but for me it reinforces the claustrophobia and the bleak world in which the protagonist lives. When you're living in depression, you can barely see past your own nose, and the author did a wonderful job of expressing that.
This isn't one of the best books that I have read, but it did hold my interest and occupy me for a couple of days. If you are one for light and amusing chick lit, I would not recommend this to you.
February 12, 2009
Depressing.
The writing is repetitive, and the visuals are uncreative and obviously depressing. She hits you over the head with the misery of her characters, but to what point?
Shockingly mean and violent events abound, but again I saw no point. The only character that was suprred to action by the violent events is not even alive in the time line of the novel. We never meet her and it is only through the fog of time that she manages to "help" our main character. And that help is feeble, uncelebrated. Our main character seems to want to change, seems to suggest she might, but I have no faith that if the book continued she would change or find happiness. A book needs a point, and this book's point must have been to be pitied.
The writing is repetitive, and the visuals are uncreative and obviously depressing. She hits you over the head with the misery of her characters, but to what point?
Shockingly mean and violent events abound, but again I saw no point. The only character that was suprred to action by the violent events is not even alive in the time line of the novel. We never meet her and it is only through the fog of time that she manages to "help" our main character. And that help is feeble, uncelebrated. Our main character seems to want to change, seems to suggest she might, but I have no faith that if the book continued she would change or find happiness. A book needs a point, and this book's point must have been to be pitied.
July 20, 2011
I'm giving this novel 3 stars only because of the quality of the writing. The actual story itself is morose, and rather self-indulgent... I'm afraid that novelists often feel that to write well they must include and focus upon the truly horrible aspects of life while ignoring any of the light. There was not one character in the novel I could relate to; they all seemed extraordinarily weak and childish. When Ellen, the pseudo main character, finally decides to use her backbone, the novel is suddenly over. No one else seems to experience much growth, though we are shown, in memory sequences, why everyone is as messed up as they are... and a lot of that seems to be based around how religion can be twisted to justify cruelty and misogyny. Which, let's face it, is a tired old Stephen King construct. So... I often caution against the bad writing/great story combination. Sorry to review one that is the exact opposite! Oh, and can we all agree that Oprah's Book Club picks are NOT to be trusted?
March 1, 2017
This book is definitely not for everyone. It is stark and depressing. The characters are not likable. I would only read bits at a time, which is why it took me so long to finish it. However, it still resonated with me. For those who have grown up in a dysfunctional family, have been in a dysfunctional marriage, or have had negative experiences with strange, manipulative religion, you might appreciate this book.
The author creates a perpetual winter with this story, both in setting and within the characters themselves. Bitterness is laced throughout, including in the title and the location of the house where the story takes place in, Vinegar Hill. Ellen, the main character, must find a way to live amongst vile in-laws, an emotionally absent husband, and demanding children, without allowing them to break her. The father-in-law is controlling and abusive, her mother-in-law an overly critical, hateful woman who carries her own secrets of pain and betrayal. Every character, no matter how horrible or weak they may be, has a past that helps paint a picture of why they turned out the way that they did. I appreciated the authenticity of this, and I believe it added richness to the story.
Ellen also has to endure stifling religion perpetuated by everyone close to her, from the in-laws to her own sisters. The decisions that she faces are hard ones to make, especially considering that the story takes place in the '70's. She wrestles with her faith at times while trying to come to terms with the state of her life, her marriage, her happiness. This is the story of her journey through a very harsh winter, literally and metaphorically. Although the ending didn't seem to fit quite right in my opinion, this is a book that I will pick up from time to time to digest bits and pieces. It's somewhat like therapy in that sense, and it will, at the very least, probably make you feel better about any hard times you may be going through in your own life.
The author creates a perpetual winter with this story, both in setting and within the characters themselves. Bitterness is laced throughout, including in the title and the location of the house where the story takes place in, Vinegar Hill. Ellen, the main character, must find a way to live amongst vile in-laws, an emotionally absent husband, and demanding children, without allowing them to break her. The father-in-law is controlling and abusive, her mother-in-law an overly critical, hateful woman who carries her own secrets of pain and betrayal. Every character, no matter how horrible or weak they may be, has a past that helps paint a picture of why they turned out the way that they did. I appreciated the authenticity of this, and I believe it added richness to the story.
Ellen also has to endure stifling religion perpetuated by everyone close to her, from the in-laws to her own sisters. The decisions that she faces are hard ones to make, especially considering that the story takes place in the '70's. She wrestles with her faith at times while trying to come to terms with the state of her life, her marriage, her happiness. This is the story of her journey through a very harsh winter, literally and metaphorically. Although the ending didn't seem to fit quite right in my opinion, this is a book that I will pick up from time to time to digest bits and pieces. It's somewhat like therapy in that sense, and it will, at the very least, probably make you feel better about any hard times you may be going through in your own life.
March 12, 2010
Accordng to the Oprah Book Club reviews I have seen, most were negative. I decided to take a stab at one. WOW, now I completely understand why.
In short this book is chaper after chapter of family dysfunction. Although I appreciate the author's sense of style where the ingredients are sprinkled throughout and eventually the full recipe is revealed. The end result is a tasteless tale.
If you like books that leave you feeling mentally drained and you cannot help but skimming the last few pages because you just want it over with, then this book is for you.
In short this book is chaper after chapter of family dysfunction. Although I appreciate the author's sense of style where the ingredients are sprinkled throughout and eventually the full recipe is revealed. The end result is a tasteless tale.
If you like books that leave you feeling mentally drained and you cannot help but skimming the last few pages because you just want it over with, then this book is for you.
October 18, 2016
Bitter. Dark. Haunting.
Vinegar Hill is so, so much darker than expected when I first picked up the book from a Book Sale. It tells of a story of a woman living in her own stifling world of marriage, religion, and expectations.
Ellen Grier steps out of her in-laws house every night. For all appearances, Ellen looks like any other wife and mother out for her daily walk and the house looks like any other house, which shadows visible on its window any other old married couple. But, no. There are unspeakable secrets behind the flower curtains. There's cruelty distributed regularly along with dry roasts on white, daisy-decorated plates. And Ellen is a woman feeling trapped to the brink of desperation. She knows she can't stay on the same place but all her choices are stifled, her world(Midwestern 1970s) so utterly patriarchal, her husband stupidly stubborn or vice versa, and even her own family so traditional in its views about marriage and women. This alone is enough for the book to qualify as horror for me.
A. Manette Ansay has a gift of cruelty. She captured it so well with little nuances, calculated words, and small acts of selfishness. I started hating everyone and everything about Vinegar Hill from first chapter. Even Ellen's helplessness grates on my nerves.Then of course, I learned some things about the characters' past, small and powerful glimpses which were so well-written and almost too hard to swallow that turned my hatred to mere dislike and eventually heartbreak. For of course, the characters in this book are not regular people at all. They are badly wounded, badly twisted animals trapped in one dark, loveless place. How can they not strike at each other?
The book is a quick read with one apparent theme since page one to the last- Suffering. Never-ending suffering. Before you do anything, please, PLEASE don't read the book if you're already sad. Even I who was reasonably happy before reading it felt the need for a big bar of chocolate after.
Vinegar Hill is so, so much darker than expected when I first picked up the book from a Book Sale. It tells of a story of a woman living in her own stifling world of marriage, religion, and expectations.
Ellen Grier steps out of her in-laws house every night. For all appearances, Ellen looks like any other wife and mother out for her daily walk and the house looks like any other house, which shadows visible on its window any other old married couple. But, no. There are unspeakable secrets behind the flower curtains. There's cruelty distributed regularly along with dry roasts on white, daisy-decorated plates. And Ellen is a woman feeling trapped to the brink of desperation. She knows she can't stay on the same place but all her choices are stifled, her world(Midwestern 1970s) so utterly patriarchal, her husband stupidly stubborn or vice versa, and even her own family so traditional in its views about marriage and women. This alone is enough for the book to qualify as horror for me.
A. Manette Ansay has a gift of cruelty. She captured it so well with little nuances, calculated words, and small acts of selfishness. I started hating everyone and everything about Vinegar Hill from first chapter. Even Ellen's helplessness grates on my nerves.Then of course, I learned some things about the characters' past, small and powerful glimpses which were so well-written and almost too hard to swallow that turned my hatred to mere dislike and eventually heartbreak. For of course, the characters in this book are not regular people at all. They are badly wounded, badly twisted animals trapped in one dark, loveless place. How can they not strike at each other?
The book is a quick read with one apparent theme since page one to the last- Suffering. Never-ending suffering. Before you do anything, please, PLEASE don't read the book if you're already sad. Even I who was reasonably happy before reading it felt the need for a big bar of chocolate after.
February 1, 2018
"What she wanted now was to frighten him with her own flesh, with what he had rejected; to make him feel ashamed the way he made her feel ashamed."
Chosen for Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge - "an Oprah Book Club selection".
To set the scene: we're in the midwest United States, in the 1970s. Ellen, James and their two children move back in with James's parents after he loses his job. He seems content to stay there, oh, forever, and Ellen could not conceive of anything worse. Their relationship, which we come to find out was only pushed to such a permanent state due to the impropriety of being stuck overnight together in a car during a blizzard, is barely existent. Ellen is so desperately unhappy; her mother-in-law Mary-Margaret is frail and bitter and caustic, her father-in-law has an explosive temper and quick fists.
Ansay does her best to nudge you toward one view of Mary-Margaret (awful) through Ellen and her daughter's points-of-view, and then turns it around so we can get a glimpse of what it's like to be Mary-Margaret, with a Level Four Tragic Backstory. Don't get me wrong, it's terrible (child death and domestic abuse and marital rape), but I found it difficult to feel anything more than vague pity because she was still inflicting emotional pain onto others with her behavior in the present narrative.
Ellen is troubled and depressed and angry and apathetic, all of which comes in waves. She finally learns some Real Truths about her husband's family (see: Tragic Backstory) and this, in the end, is when she is finally able to come to a decision for her own family. It is a very bittersweet ending, with only the slightest bit of hope to cut through the bleakness of the overall tone of the novel. I didn't dislike it, but god, was I ever sad after it ended.
Chosen for Book Riot's 2018 Read Harder Challenge - "an Oprah Book Club selection".
To set the scene: we're in the midwest United States, in the 1970s. Ellen, James and their two children move back in with James's parents after he loses his job. He seems content to stay there, oh, forever, and Ellen could not conceive of anything worse. Their relationship, which we come to find out was only pushed to such a permanent state due to the impropriety of being stuck overnight together in a car during a blizzard, is barely existent. Ellen is so desperately unhappy; her mother-in-law Mary-Margaret is frail and bitter and caustic, her father-in-law has an explosive temper and quick fists.
Ansay does her best to nudge you toward one view of Mary-Margaret (awful) through Ellen and her daughter's points-of-view, and then turns it around so we can get a glimpse of what it's like to be Mary-Margaret, with a Level Four Tragic Backstory. Don't get me wrong, it's terrible (child death and domestic abuse and marital rape), but I found it difficult to feel anything more than vague pity because she was still inflicting emotional pain onto others with her behavior in the present narrative.
Ellen is troubled and depressed and angry and apathetic, all of which comes in waves. She finally learns some Real Truths about her husband's family (see: Tragic Backstory) and this, in the end, is when she is finally able to come to a decision for her own family. It is a very bittersweet ending, with only the slightest bit of hope to cut through the bleakness of the overall tone of the novel. I didn't dislike it, but god, was I ever sad after it ended.
December 30, 2023
A very depressing book about someone’s shitty life. I liked seeing the different generational perspectives of feminism and the impacts on a family, but didn’t find the story line that compelling.
March 27, 2014
I don't care what the description says, there is nothing "triumphant" about this.
I felt obligated to try an "Oprah's book club" book. I'm a woman, so these books are supposed to speak to me, right? Books I feel "obligated" to read are funny things. They either turn out to be amazing or dreadful. Guess which one this was.
I'm not sure what kind of audience this book was written for. It it bears any resemblance to your life, it's going to depress you further. If it doesn't, it's just going to depress you, end of story.
The one-dimensional characters plodded through their lives, lifting their heads long enough for a crop of flashback sequences that made it clear that their lives had always been full of the kind of bleak everyday horrors that made them the bleak horrible people they became. The story limps on to a conclusion that is no real conclusion at all. It just kind of stops. There is this vague suggestion that things are going to be better now, but it's almost impossible to believe it after the rest of the novel.
I felt obligated to try an "Oprah's book club" book. I'm a woman, so these books are supposed to speak to me, right? Books I feel "obligated" to read are funny things. They either turn out to be amazing or dreadful. Guess which one this was.
I'm not sure what kind of audience this book was written for. It it bears any resemblance to your life, it's going to depress you further. If it doesn't, it's just going to depress you, end of story.
The one-dimensional characters plodded through their lives, lifting their heads long enough for a crop of flashback sequences that made it clear that their lives had always been full of the kind of bleak everyday horrors that made them the bleak horrible people they became. The story limps on to a conclusion that is no real conclusion at all. It just kind of stops. There is this vague suggestion that things are going to be better now, but it's almost impossible to believe it after the rest of the novel.
November 14, 2011
I should have known better. When I saw it was an "Oprah Book Club" book I should have just put it back down. But no, I had to subject myself to the agony of an Oprah favorite. Luckily, it was short. All the characters had only one dimension: despair. Ms. Ansay - remember, humans are multi-dimensional, your characters must be as well. After a while, their sorror, angst, and depression seemed like a joke, almost gratuitous as some point. You even made little Bert have "issues" by the end! Who would read something like this? Oh, that's right, Oprah.
June 18, 2014
I picked this one up at a used book store on impulse, when I checked it out on GR I saw its ratings were on the low side, but my inner voice kept telling me to give it a chance. So glad I did. It's a tough read but so well worth it.
February 28, 2010
I read this a few years ago so this review is not exactly "fresh" but I still remember how this book affected me. At the time I read the book I enjoyed it.. I couldn't put it down because you could just feel the tension building within the house and the family. It was like the author put a microscope on one family's situation and homelife and honed in on it and exposed it in the form of this book for everyone to see. It was at times disturbing - I wanted to sometimes step into the book and become a mediator but as in life, when you are so closely involved you can't see the big picture.
Now, a few years after reading this I have a whole new appreciation for this book because my family had to move in with my grandparents for a couple years. It's surprising how the smallest things can blow up when tensions are running high within a tiny house with too many people.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read, or to understand what goes on behind closed doors of people who are forced to share a house together (family or not.)
Now, a few years after reading this I have a whole new appreciation for this book because my family had to move in with my grandparents for a couple years. It's surprising how the smallest things can blow up when tensions are running high within a tiny house with too many people.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read, or to understand what goes on behind closed doors of people who are forced to share a house together (family or not.)
June 5, 2012
Dreary, depressing, bleak, grim... sour, really. It's no wonder the book is called Vinegar Hill.
In a nutshell: A family of miserable characters sit around day after day, eating dry roast beef, and think about how much they hate each other. In case you are still considering picking this up (because it somehow earned Oprah’s magical stamp of approval), I have selected one sentence from the book that really sums it up:
“James will be quiet from having slept all day, his eyes glazed, his face still wrinkled from the dingy sheets Ellen hasn’t washed in weeks.”
MY eyes are glazed. This book makes me feel like I’VE been sleeping in dingy sheets. On a rainy Sunday. Feeling sorry for myself.
I pushed myself to keep on reading, because I was convinced there would be a dramatic conclusion that would make it all worthwhile… There isn’t. A few family secrets were revealed that should have shocked – but I was feeling so depressed by the time I read them that I didn’t care anymore.
In a nutshell: A family of miserable characters sit around day after day, eating dry roast beef, and think about how much they hate each other. In case you are still considering picking this up (because it somehow earned Oprah’s magical stamp of approval), I have selected one sentence from the book that really sums it up:
“James will be quiet from having slept all day, his eyes glazed, his face still wrinkled from the dingy sheets Ellen hasn’t washed in weeks.”
MY eyes are glazed. This book makes me feel like I’VE been sleeping in dingy sheets. On a rainy Sunday. Feeling sorry for myself.
I pushed myself to keep on reading, because I was convinced there would be a dramatic conclusion that would make it all worthwhile… There isn’t. A few family secrets were revealed that should have shocked – but I was feeling so depressed by the time I read them that I didn’t care anymore.
December 30, 2015
I read this book in just two days. Obviously it is a very quick read. I made it quick because it is bleak and depressing, but it seems very realistic. Before divorce was as common as marriage, people stayed together no matter what, regardless of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse - all of which occur to the women in this book. I find the end to be very hopeful; the wife decides to make a change right as her daughter stands on the brink of puberty. One hopes that she has saved her daughter in time from making the same mistakes.
This isn't one of the best books that I have read, but it did hold my interest and occupy me for a couple of days. If you are one for light and amusing chick lit, I would not recommend this to you.
This isn't one of the best books that I have read, but it did hold my interest and occupy me for a couple of days. If you are one for light and amusing chick lit, I would not recommend this to you.
June 16, 2008
This is a bitter and depressing story about a woman who has to live with her furious and acrid in-laws and finds herself further estranged from her husband. She has two children whom she fights to raise well, but cannot in face of such utter hatred. The story itself was absorbing (I read it in one sitting in three hours from 11 pm to 2 am) but it was not very well structured or well written. The ending was disappointing, not for what happened, but for the way it was written. It felt like the author was trying to wrap up rather than let the story logically find its end.
February 26, 2009
What I learned from this book: that it is possible to be a beautiful writer and use your powers for evil rather than good. This book has WONDERFUL sentences, lovely flow, interesting angles, and it's so bloody depressing! I started skimming about 2/3 through because it was so depressing. A real mood piece, lovely images.
Do what I did and keep a really nice chocolate bar on hand for when you finish. It will help keep you from sliding into utter despair.
Do what I did and keep a really nice chocolate bar on hand for when you finish. It will help keep you from sliding into utter despair.
March 5, 2016
I was disappointingly let down by "Vinegar Hill."
Although the writing was solid and the characters well fleshed-out, I couldn't help but think that the back stories on some of the characters were too vague, and that the plot was unimaginative: a woman is discouraged by a troubled marriage and feels helpless. It all felt like it had been done before, and "Vinegar Hill" didn't really bring anything else to the table.
Although the writing was solid and the characters well fleshed-out, I couldn't help but think that the back stories on some of the characters were too vague, and that the plot was unimaginative: a woman is discouraged by a troubled marriage and feels helpless. It all felt like it had been done before, and "Vinegar Hill" didn't really bring anything else to the table.
June 7, 2023
This was not an easy read. An adult coming of age set in the 1960/70s. This is the story of one family mired in generational trauma compounded by the patriarchal oppression of Catholicism. This is a feminist story, but it is mostly told through descriptions of a life lived without any of its benefits. The writing is evocative and moving, I was rooting for Ellen and her children and finished this in difficult book in one day. Recommended.
CW for violence, SA, child death.
CW for violence, SA, child death.
March 17, 2022
i enjoyed this book! 4/5 stars for me. i highly recommend it. i hated james and i LOVED amy. she was a girl boss at the pool what a queen tbh
December 19, 2015
This downer is not my cup of tea. Sure made me glad I wasn't a '60s-era Catholic wife, though.
July 8, 2018
James had always been interested in Ellen's sister, but since she rejected him several times, he decided to take Ellen out on a date. On the way home, they were stranded in his car by a snowstorm. When it finally ended the next morning, they knew that marriage was the only option for both of them.
But now James has, with no warning, quit his job. He's just announced that he's moving his family in with his parents. Ellen has no idea how much her life is about to change.
Helen and her two children have moved into a house filled with hate, bitterness, cruelty, greed, false piety and horrifying secrets. The only time I found myself cheering was when she finally got enough backbone to leave.
The only thing I can say about this book is it was the most depressing book I've ever read. I don't care how the characters came to their circumstances, I don't care that it has the Oprah Book Club seal on the front cover, getting through the book was like going through hell with these characters.
Halfway through the book I was tempted to trash it, then I started skimming and skipping through the pages enough to get the gist of the rest of the story. By the time I finished, I actually ended up with a headache.
All I can say is that the book is aptly named.
But now James has, with no warning, quit his job. He's just announced that he's moving his family in with his parents. Ellen has no idea how much her life is about to change.
Helen and her two children have moved into a house filled with hate, bitterness, cruelty, greed, false piety and horrifying secrets. The only time I found myself cheering was when she finally got enough backbone to leave.
The only thing I can say about this book is it was the most depressing book I've ever read. I don't care how the characters came to their circumstances, I don't care that it has the Oprah Book Club seal on the front cover, getting through the book was like going through hell with these characters.
Halfway through the book I was tempted to trash it, then I started skimming and skipping through the pages enough to get the gist of the rest of the story. By the time I finished, I actually ended up with a headache.
All I can say is that the book is aptly named.
January 28, 2008
This books takes place in the 70’s in the mid-west. Ellen and James are married and have 2 children, Amy and Herbert. Struggling financially, James decides they must move in with his parents. I don’t know if it was typical of the time or not, but James parents, Mary Margaret and Fritz, are the most sour, mean spirited people depicted in a book. I should have known, this being an Oprah book, that it would be sad, depressing and include a dysfunctional family. I do not see anything great about it. The thoughts were scattered and confusing. The book bounced from inside the head of one family member to another. I did see talent in the writing style but the depressing tone of this book took away from it. I think the only reason this book sold a million copies was because Oprah read it, otherwise it would be nothing special
August 28, 2012
For those who rated this highly, I'm not quite sure what they found to rave about. (?) This book left an overall feeling of hopelessness and discouragement. It's about an extended midwestern German family of an older time (not quite sure when) and their sense of living according to God's word and their sense of duty to family. That way of life was often stern and forbidding, especially if you were unlucky enough to be forced into a loveless and unhappy marriage and/or born into a miserable childhood. Of course, those circumstances created some characters with very skewed thinking...I often found myself wondering who would possibly imagine such wild and incomprehensible thoughts. Not a happy book.
I would have given it 1 star except that it was very readable. I liked the format of dividing the tale of woe into separate stand-alone stories which made it much more palatable.
I would have given it 1 star except that it was very readable. I liked the format of dividing the tale of woe into separate stand-alone stories which made it much more palatable.
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