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Second Heaven
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
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 5, 2007
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.
March 28, 2025
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.
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.
December 18, 2019
Pretty boring.....Not worth the read.
July 9, 2014
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.
January 21, 2011
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.
March 4, 2012
One of the most beautiful, heart-rending, heart-healing books I have ever read.
March 1, 2016
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.
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January 23, 2018Bland. Didn't make me want to keep reading. Ordinary People was bland too. The movie brought the story to light.
September 12, 2025
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.
June 29, 2023
4.5 stars
July 20, 2024
Not sure of my rating.
Read 1988
Read 1988
September 20, 2025
Was tough to put this one down and not finish it in one or two sittings.
March 28, 2011
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.
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.
October 12, 2015
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.
April 30, 2008
Quite good. Read it when it first came out.
February 15, 2009
It's not "Ordinary People," but it's still a damn good novel.
June 24, 2011
I should make a Goodreads folder called "Books I couldn't finish because they are so dang boring."
October 31, 2011
About unhappy people.
December 19, 2012
Great care for her characters.
June 9, 2015
Pure BORING!!!
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June 11, 2015False
April 3, 2016
self-indulgent, shallow, boring
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August 28, 2008F Gue
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews