Second Heaven

by Judith Guest

Attorney Michael Atwood, divorced father of two, joins with divorcee Cat Holzman to help Gale Murray, a deeply troubled boy trapped by his parents, the law, and despair

Genres: Fiction, Novels

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If possible, this is even better than Ordinary People, her previous novel. "As for love, that most passionate of religions . . ." I've read and reread this beautiful book.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book feels like Ordinary People #2 and since the author in 1982 claimed it took her 6 years to write this novel and OP was published in 1976, the observation seems apt.

I started noticing the similarities also when I read on page 52 that the troubled teenage boy, Gale, had “bitten-down” finger nails just like Conrad Jarrett and that his favorite author was Thomas Hardy and that he was a classical music lover. But Catherine Holzman’s dialog with Dr. Anderson, her psychiatrist, revealed a man so close to Conrad’s Dr. Berger that I thought for a minute I’d picked up the wrong book.

Somewhere in this volume is the observation that the theme of the action is not “marriage is bondage vs. freedom” but rather ”marriage is bondage vs. aloneness.” It’s a distinction that applies to the marriage of the Jarrett’s in Ordinary People as well to the highly dysfunctional union of the Murrays in this story.

The writing here is just as clear and riveting as in OP. But as I sped through these chapters, I began to sense too much of a good thing - it was like a meal of all desert and no salad or potatoes. I felt like I was immersed in the second volume of a series - and I’d been here before.

Perhaps, I muse, I’ve over-dosed on Judith Guest - having been charmed out of my shoes by Ordinary People. I’m not even sure what I was expecting from Second Heaven… maybe the title pertains to readers like me with our high hopes and all we were looking for - and not to the principals of the plot. Fortunately for them, the outcome was inevitable. For me it was a lot less.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty boring.....Not worth the read.

[Gary Branson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, wonderfully believable characters. Have enjoyed all of Guest's novels. The dialogue is crisp and enlightening, very few authors do dialogue as well as Guest. The ending was perfect, no nice neat bows, just very satisfying.

[Emily T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for the second novel from a slush pile author, though doesn't quite live up to it's older brother (bonus points if you catch the symbolism). Good summer easy read.

[Shay Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful, heart-rending, heart-healing books I have ever read.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judith Guest, PB-B, @ 1983, 1985. A novel about a 16 year old boy who runs away from his abusive father and a newly divorced woman who takes him in and they form a family of sorts. Okay.

[Theresa]

Bland. Didn't make me want to keep reading. Ordinary People was bland too. The movie brought the story to light.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was in a bargain box I got from the library. There's something about the way that it was written that felt real to me. Maybe it didn't have to be so drawn out, but you really felt for the characters and wanted them to push through their flaws.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure of my rating.
Read 1988

[Karlajansenmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was tough to put this one down and not finish it in one or two sittings.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book for over twenty years and just finally got a chance to read it. Bought it because I liked her first novel "Ordinary People" but never got around to reading this one.
I waited far too long - it is very good. It is about child abuse but is handled very well although I was wishing that Gale would get his story out faster than he did and when the novel ended, I was really hoping for a sequel. After all this time, I would guess there won't be one so I would have liked the novel to have gone further and let us know how these three characters' lives turned out.
Worth the read.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author takes a lot of care with her characters she writes about and I was very interested in them. The story line was good too but it dragged on a little too slowly for me. Also the end of the book felt to me like it was the middle of the story, like maybe there would be more - a sequel, a second in a series, etc. It left me wanting more.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite good. Read it when it first came out.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not "Ordinary People," but it's still a damn good novel.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should make a Goodreads folder called "Books I couldn't finish because they are so dang boring."

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

About unhappy people.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great care for her characters.

[Haniya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pure BORING!!!

[Aarti]

False

[Lois Reed · Rating 1 out of 5]

self-indulgent, shallow, boring

[Cws]

F Gue