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She Poured Out Her Heart
National Book Award finalist Jean Thompson traces the complicated friendship of two very different women who meet in college. In the tradition of her bestselling novel The Year We Left Home, Thompson has crafted a novel of remarkable psychological suspense, cast with the kinds of deeply realized characters that have been heralded as “emotionally fluid” and “deeply familiar.”
The night that Jane and Bonnie meet on a college campus sets them on paths forever entwined. Bonnie, the wild and experimental one, always up for anything, has spent the past two decades bouncing between ill-fated relationships; while Jane, whose seemingly perfect life, perfect husband, and perfect children appear to have materialized out of a fantasy. But these appearances contradict the quiet, inescapable doubt Jane feels about her life. One night, in the middle of her own Christmas party, she steps outside into the snow, removes her clothing and shoes, and lies down in the backyard. When she is discovered, nothing is the same for anyone. As Jane begins to have visions and retreat into a private inner world, Bonnie finds herself drawn inevitably into an affair with Jane’s husband.
Thompson’s mastery of complex emotion begets a novel of desire and the nature of love—who we love, how we’re loved, and, most important, that we reach urgently and always for a higher love, regardless of our circumstances. She Poured Out Her Heart is a finely wrought, haunting story of female friendship and deception, and the distance in between.
The night that Jane and Bonnie meet on a college campus sets them on paths forever entwined. Bonnie, the wild and experimental one, always up for anything, has spent the past two decades bouncing between ill-fated relationships; while Jane, whose seemingly perfect life, perfect husband, and perfect children appear to have materialized out of a fantasy. But these appearances contradict the quiet, inescapable doubt Jane feels about her life. One night, in the middle of her own Christmas party, she steps outside into the snow, removes her clothing and shoes, and lies down in the backyard. When she is discovered, nothing is the same for anyone. As Jane begins to have visions and retreat into a private inner world, Bonnie finds herself drawn inevitably into an affair with Jane’s husband.
Thompson’s mastery of complex emotion begets a novel of desire and the nature of love—who we love, how we’re loved, and, most important, that we reach urgently and always for a higher love, regardless of our circumstances. She Poured Out Her Heart is a finely wrought, haunting story of female friendship and deception, and the distance in between.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published May 31, 2016
43 people are currently reading
1329 people want to read
About the author
Jean Thompson
52 books287 followersJean Thompson is a New York Times bestselling author and her new novel,
The Humanity Project
will be published by Blue Rider Press on April 23, 2013.
Thompson is also the author of the novel The Year We Left Home, the acclaimed short fiction collections Do Not Deny Me, and Throw Like a Girl as well as the novel City Boy; the short story collection Who Do You Love, and she is a 1999 National Book Award finalist for fiction as well as and the novel Wide Blue Yonder, a New York Times Notable Book and Chicago Tribune Best Fiction selection for 2002.
Her short fiction has been published in many magazines and journals, including The New Yorker, and been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and Pushcart Prize. Jean's work has been praised by Elle Magazine as "bracing and wildly intelligent writing that explores the nature of love in all its hidden and manifest dimensions."
Jean's other books include the short story collections The Gasoline Wars and Little Face, and the novels My Wisdom and The Woman Driver.
Jean has been the recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, among other accolades, and taught creative writing at the University of Illinois--Champaign/ Urbana, Reed College, Northwestern University, and many other colleges and universities.
Thompson is also the author of the novel The Year We Left Home, the acclaimed short fiction collections Do Not Deny Me, and Throw Like a Girl as well as the novel City Boy; the short story collection Who Do You Love, and she is a 1999 National Book Award finalist for fiction as well as and the novel Wide Blue Yonder, a New York Times Notable Book and Chicago Tribune Best Fiction selection for 2002.
Her short fiction has been published in many magazines and journals, including The New Yorker, and been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories and Pushcart Prize. Jean's work has been praised by Elle Magazine as "bracing and wildly intelligent writing that explores the nature of love in all its hidden and manifest dimensions."
Jean's other books include the short story collections The Gasoline Wars and Little Face, and the novels My Wisdom and The Woman Driver.
Jean has been the recipient of Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, among other accolades, and taught creative writing at the University of Illinois--Champaign/ Urbana, Reed College, Northwestern University, and many other colleges and universities.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
June 16, 2016
3.5 stars. I think many people may not be taken by She Poured Her Heart Out. It’s kind of messy, it’s long, the end feels like there's been a sudden genre switch, and the characters are not particularly likeable. But somehow I still ended up feeling engaged by it and quite liking it. The story focuses on the friendship between Jane and Bonnie. Their story is somewhat familiar, but the author pushes the characters a bit further than the norm for books focused on female friendships. Jane and Bonnie meet in college. They are very different. Jane follows all the rules, is well organized and marries a medical student soon after graduating. Bonnie is messy and has a messy life – no steady relationships, lots of sexual partners, and a complicated relationship with her pretty dysfunctional family. Over the years, things slowly shift for Jane and Bonnie. Jane becomes obsessive about her children, recedes from any real interaction with her husband and experiences periods when she is removed from reality – she appears to be experiencing some kind of mental health issue that eludes diagnosis. For her part, Bonnie starts to find her role as unstable party girl wearying – she seems to crave some kind of deep connection, but success is elusive. This all leads to a pretty crazy development and some unusual consequences. (I can’t bring myself to say more to avoid spoilers even though the GR book synopsis spills the beans.) The story is told alternatingly from Jane and Bonnie’s perspectives in jumpy staccato timelines – i.e. my assessment that this book is a bit messy. Despite a certain structural inelegance and some unnecessary meandering, I mostly enjoyed reading this book because I felt that Thompson drew me deep into Jane and Bonnie’s perspectives. She took me to a place that made them understandable and real. I wouldn’t necessarily want to be their friend, but I felt like I could ache with them – because, be forewarned, this is a gloomy book -- except at the end when the book feels like it switches from drama to parody a la Fay Weldon -- as I say it's all a bit messy but I still found that it worth the read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
December 8, 2016
This book is about female friendship which is usually the type of book I avoid but this was a easy, engaging read. Bonnie is wild and free spirited and Jane is controlled and repressed so their chance meeting in college that evolved into friendship was thought provoking and entertaining. At the beginning, I liked both Bonnie and Jane, as well as Eric, Jane's doctor husband, and found their banter hilarious. As the story when on and all their lives gradually fall apart, the characters all became gradually less likable. Jane's mental state deteriorates to the point where she has a mental breakdown and believes that her "zoning out" is a spiritual practice of detachment even though she could not control when it happens. Bonnie never really matures into an adult that can have a healthy relationships with men or women and ends up starting an affair with Jane's husband on the night of Jane's breakdown. They all gradually become people that they dislike and can't stand being around. This book makes you question what is the right thing to do in this gray areas of life and how and if you can come back from the horrible decisions you have made.
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read Program with no requirement to review book.
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Penguin's First to Read Program with no requirement to review book.
July 5, 2016
First let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed losing myself in this novel; it was a good way to spend a summer day reading on my deck. I loved the Chicago locale and the sharp dialogue between two lifelong friends. Thompson makes some keen observations about what it is to grind through life, just managing to put one foot in front of the other. There's a lot of truth in this book and some of it hit pretty close to home.
But...
The plot was so unbelievable contrived. I just couldn't swallow the central plot twist. Sorry, not buying the second half of the storyline at all.
I also felt that Jane and Bonnie, the two protagonists, veered too far into melodramatic archetypes instead of fully realized, three dimensional characters.
It's hardly fair to compare, but coming off the brilliant Amy and Isabelle, another Midwestern story of women in conflict, this one pales in comparison.
How's that for mixed feelings?
But...
The plot was so unbelievable contrived. I just couldn't swallow the central plot twist. Sorry, not buying the second half of the storyline at all.
I also felt that Jane and Bonnie, the two protagonists, veered too far into melodramatic archetypes instead of fully realized, three dimensional characters.
It's hardly fair to compare, but coming off the brilliant Amy and Isabelle, another Midwestern story of women in conflict, this one pales in comparison.
How's that for mixed feelings?
July 11, 2016
Rather to my surprise I loved this book, which I happened on by following a random goodreads thread! It sounded like chick lit, and perhaps technically it is, so that usually has a very high bar for me. Most of them I can’t tolerate! However, this stands apart. And not that I’m a literary snob – my reading tastes are far from highbrow! Here, though, Jean Thompson has written a rich, readable novel which I had difficulty putting down.
She Poured out her Heart is unpretentious but truly engaging from the first page. The main characters, two vastly different girls who become fast friends in college, are believable in their struggles, and their unique perspectives ring true.
‘He wasn’t anybody’s idea of a good idea, but he was available and agreeable. In bed he was enthusiastic, if sometimes sloppy from alcohol, and largely oblivious to his partner’s needs in a way that Bonnie found restful. So many men were intent on demonstrating, in the most exhausting manner, their skill set and well-studied choreography. Patrick was the sexual equivalent of McDonalds.’
There’s pathos and wry humor, even some laugh out loud parts, which temper the anguish. What a find!
She Poured out her Heart is unpretentious but truly engaging from the first page. The main characters, two vastly different girls who become fast friends in college, are believable in their struggles, and their unique perspectives ring true.
‘He wasn’t anybody’s idea of a good idea, but he was available and agreeable. In bed he was enthusiastic, if sometimes sloppy from alcohol, and largely oblivious to his partner’s needs in a way that Bonnie found restful. So many men were intent on demonstrating, in the most exhausting manner, their skill set and well-studied choreography. Patrick was the sexual equivalent of McDonalds.’
There’s pathos and wry humor, even some laugh out loud parts, which temper the anguish. What a find!
June 1, 2016
My review of Thompson's latest novel was in the Milwaukee Journal:
How could you?
This is the question at the heart of most character-driven stories; and our search to understand why people break rules, take foolish risks and behave badly is what often propels us to read them. Who better to navigate this messy psychological terrain than National Book Award nominee and acclaimed novelist Jean Thompson, who also happens to be one of America's most celebrated short story writers (just ask David Sedaris, who, among others, has anthologized her work). Thompson takes up residence in her characters' heads and charts their impulses and attempts at self-reflection with nuance and humor, and with such startling precision that you might experience the unsettling feeling that she's privy to your own secret thoughts and unspoken feelings.
Thompson's latest novel, "She Poured Out Her Heart," is no exception. Here she explores the complicated relationship between two unlikely friends, Bonnie and Jane. Bonnie is a single, sexually restless "bad girl" who "carried on like she was some kind of female pirate, as if she was allowed her excesses because she was a creature of tempestuous moods and passions and sensibilities." Jane, the suburban mother whose phone conversations with Bonnie are always accompanied by the sound of a running appliance, is the "good girl." Only maybe Bonnie isn't so bad, and maybe Jane isn't so good. And what does it mean to be bad or good, anyway?
Friends since college, the women find that their connection to each other is sometimes a thread and other times a rope, but always a reassuring constant. Bonnie moves to Chicago and works in crisis intervention, while Jane marries Eric, a heart surgeon, and has two children. Their choices reflect the differences in their personalities. After an argument, Bonnie says to Jane, "You know the secret of our success? You and me? Neither one of us wants to be the other."
After some relationship mishaps and a series of family troubles, Bonnie wonders if she should settle down, while Jane struggles with "little spells of weirdness" and a wicked case of low self-esteem. "She'd been convinced she was a slightly second-rate person, gawky, comical, slow, who might, with luck, fit into some ordinary life." Bonnie can't quite figure out unhappy, disaffected Jane's ordinary life, or her marriage to Eric, yet the couple become fixed points in her world, offering the reassurance and stability of family — that is, until Jane falls apart and Bonnie and Eric find themselves caught up in an affair, breaking the cardinal rule of friendship: never sleep with your best friend's husband.
The affair becomes the giant rock the women need to trip over in order to ask important and perhaps even necessary questions about their identities, the choices they've made and the strength or fragility of their relationship. Jane wonders, "Who were you once you took that step outside yourself, beyond what you believed yourself to be? What name did you call yourself, and to what name did you answer?"
In a less capable writer's hands, it would be easy to know who to root for and who to condemn in this awkward love triangle, but Thompson muddies our ideas about culpability and blame. In doing so, she elevates a plot that might have the makings of a soap opera into a nuanced study of marriage and friendship, fidelity and deceit, and our lonesome search for meaningful connection. "She Poured Out Her Heart" might be described as a generous book, one that explores the ambiguity of what might otherwise be considered a morally bankrupt situation. Thompson is less concerned with what's right or wrong, and more vested in exploring how hard it can be to say no, how vulnerable we are to our own weaknesses, the enduring value of friendship, and the ways in which our mistakes can also offer opportunities for personal growth and redemption.
Christi Clancy is a visiting assistant professor of English at Beloit College.
How could you?
This is the question at the heart of most character-driven stories; and our search to understand why people break rules, take foolish risks and behave badly is what often propels us to read them. Who better to navigate this messy psychological terrain than National Book Award nominee and acclaimed novelist Jean Thompson, who also happens to be one of America's most celebrated short story writers (just ask David Sedaris, who, among others, has anthologized her work). Thompson takes up residence in her characters' heads and charts their impulses and attempts at self-reflection with nuance and humor, and with such startling precision that you might experience the unsettling feeling that she's privy to your own secret thoughts and unspoken feelings.
Thompson's latest novel, "She Poured Out Her Heart," is no exception. Here she explores the complicated relationship between two unlikely friends, Bonnie and Jane. Bonnie is a single, sexually restless "bad girl" who "carried on like she was some kind of female pirate, as if she was allowed her excesses because she was a creature of tempestuous moods and passions and sensibilities." Jane, the suburban mother whose phone conversations with Bonnie are always accompanied by the sound of a running appliance, is the "good girl." Only maybe Bonnie isn't so bad, and maybe Jane isn't so good. And what does it mean to be bad or good, anyway?
Friends since college, the women find that their connection to each other is sometimes a thread and other times a rope, but always a reassuring constant. Bonnie moves to Chicago and works in crisis intervention, while Jane marries Eric, a heart surgeon, and has two children. Their choices reflect the differences in their personalities. After an argument, Bonnie says to Jane, "You know the secret of our success? You and me? Neither one of us wants to be the other."
After some relationship mishaps and a series of family troubles, Bonnie wonders if she should settle down, while Jane struggles with "little spells of weirdness" and a wicked case of low self-esteem. "She'd been convinced she was a slightly second-rate person, gawky, comical, slow, who might, with luck, fit into some ordinary life." Bonnie can't quite figure out unhappy, disaffected Jane's ordinary life, or her marriage to Eric, yet the couple become fixed points in her world, offering the reassurance and stability of family — that is, until Jane falls apart and Bonnie and Eric find themselves caught up in an affair, breaking the cardinal rule of friendship: never sleep with your best friend's husband.
The affair becomes the giant rock the women need to trip over in order to ask important and perhaps even necessary questions about their identities, the choices they've made and the strength or fragility of their relationship. Jane wonders, "Who were you once you took that step outside yourself, beyond what you believed yourself to be? What name did you call yourself, and to what name did you answer?"
In a less capable writer's hands, it would be easy to know who to root for and who to condemn in this awkward love triangle, but Thompson muddies our ideas about culpability and blame. In doing so, she elevates a plot that might have the makings of a soap opera into a nuanced study of marriage and friendship, fidelity and deceit, and our lonesome search for meaningful connection. "She Poured Out Her Heart" might be described as a generous book, one that explores the ambiguity of what might otherwise be considered a morally bankrupt situation. Thompson is less concerned with what's right or wrong, and more vested in exploring how hard it can be to say no, how vulnerable we are to our own weaknesses, the enduring value of friendship, and the ways in which our mistakes can also offer opportunities for personal growth and redemption.
Christi Clancy is a visiting assistant professor of English at Beloit College.
May 18, 2016
When I read the synopsis for this book, I wanted to read it immediately. It sounded so interesting and provoking. Unfortunately, the book itself did not achieve the same level of interest as the synopsis. I found the storytelling to be incredibly slow. I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters. Jane is painted out to be a boring and doubtful person. Therefore, I couldn't connect at all with Jane or her story. Bonnie, on the other hand, is made out to be the bad guy from the start, giving away the secret that she will ultimately betray Jane. I found her character to be much more interesting but unfortunately she is portrayed in a more negative light. Sadly, I couldn't even bring myself to finish this book because I got so frustrated.
March 20, 2022
I enjoyed the character development throughout the book.
November 23, 2016
Not that great. Just dragged for me.
August 12, 2017
Jean Thompson's "She Poured Out Her Heart" is billed as a "novel of remarkable psychological suspense", and I wonder if the person who wrote the blurb had even read the book. What it actually is, is 414 pages of unlikable characters complaining about their own unlikability: "Why do I keep making the wrong choices, picking the wrong men??"....."I'm not good enough, I'll never be good enough, why did he pick me, he probably felt sorry for me".
Bonnie is a compilation of every stereotypical "bad girl": the broken family, the excessive drinking, the promiscuity. Jane is Eeyore in human form: gloomy, depressed, unable to take pleasure in the simplest things that most people find enjoyable.
I would imagine that the "psychological" aspect of the book is Jane's bizarre "episodes", where she blacks out (whites out?) for brief periods of time. But since these are never fully explained or diagnosed, even though her husband is a doctor with access to all kinds of tests and the best specialists, their recurrence in the book becomes more of an annoyance than a point of interest.
As for the suspense? Let's just say that I waited for over 400 pages for something to happen, and nothing ever did. Thompson brings us to the brink several times, at which point you think, "Oh, now it's going to get good!", but then she pulls back and the story falls flat. I don't want to give away any plot details, so I'll come up with an example of my own: "The car careened to the edge of the cliff, the driver recklessly accelerating, until only the blue sky was in view......but then thought the better of it, slowed down, and went out for ice cream". Huh?
I don't mind a novel where none of the characters has any redeeming qualities, or characters that you "love to hate". But in "She Poured Out Her Heart" every character is self-pitying and self-indulgent (Jane, in particular, made me want to smash her face in with a brick), the plot goes nowhere, and you're left scratching your head and wondering why you wasted your time.
Bonnie is a compilation of every stereotypical "bad girl": the broken family, the excessive drinking, the promiscuity. Jane is Eeyore in human form: gloomy, depressed, unable to take pleasure in the simplest things that most people find enjoyable.
I would imagine that the "psychological" aspect of the book is Jane's bizarre "episodes", where she blacks out (whites out?) for brief periods of time. But since these are never fully explained or diagnosed, even though her husband is a doctor with access to all kinds of tests and the best specialists, their recurrence in the book becomes more of an annoyance than a point of interest.
As for the suspense? Let's just say that I waited for over 400 pages for something to happen, and nothing ever did. Thompson brings us to the brink several times, at which point you think, "Oh, now it's going to get good!", but then she pulls back and the story falls flat. I don't want to give away any plot details, so I'll come up with an example of my own: "The car careened to the edge of the cliff, the driver recklessly accelerating, until only the blue sky was in view......but then thought the better of it, slowed down, and went out for ice cream". Huh?
I don't mind a novel where none of the characters has any redeeming qualities, or characters that you "love to hate". But in "She Poured Out Her Heart" every character is self-pitying and self-indulgent (Jane, in particular, made me want to smash her face in with a brick), the plot goes nowhere, and you're left scratching your head and wondering why you wasted your time.
April 14, 2016
This is the story of two friends - Jane and Bonnie. They meet in college and they are totally different types of people. Jane is very quiet, very organized and spends a lot of time in her own space. Bonnie is a free spirit, always willing to try something new with a lot of boyfriends and lovers. The book takes place over a 20 year time period and is told in alternating chapters by Jane and Bonnie. Jane gets married and has two children and appears to be living the perfect life while Bonnie continues to bounce between relationships....but things aren't always as they appear to be. The friendship between the two is a very convoluted friendship as are the lives of the two main characters. It's very interesting to read how they choose to live their lives and the decisions that they make.
Even though I didn't always like the two main characters of this book, I definitely enjoyed reading their story and I thought that this was an excellent novel. I highly recommend it to readers who are interested in female friendship and dysfunction.
Thanks to First to Read (Penguin Books) for providing this book for a fair and honest review.
June 7, 2016
(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)
First line—'Someone should tell her he's not worth it.'
That first line really takes on deeper meanings the further into the story the reader gets. She Poured Her Heart Out is rich in characters who find themselves in intertwining relationships. I don't think the characters themselves even know if their relationships are based in love or revenge. And the reader is the innocent observer, watching the goings on and wondering how it will all play out.
She Poured Her Heart Out is a wonderful, character driven novel with complicated players, in complicated situations, each for their own complicated reasons. I was drawn to the end because I was intrigued to see how it would all shake out and to see which relationships would survive and which ones wouldn't.
I received a copy of this e-book from First to Read in exchange for my honest opinion.
First line—'Someone should tell her he's not worth it.'
That first line really takes on deeper meanings the further into the story the reader gets. She Poured Her Heart Out is rich in characters who find themselves in intertwining relationships. I don't think the characters themselves even know if their relationships are based in love or revenge. And the reader is the innocent observer, watching the goings on and wondering how it will all play out.
She Poured Her Heart Out is a wonderful, character driven novel with complicated players, in complicated situations, each for their own complicated reasons. I was drawn to the end because I was intrigued to see how it would all shake out and to see which relationships would survive and which ones wouldn't.
I received a copy of this e-book from First to Read in exchange for my honest opinion.
August 15, 2016
I love Jean Thompson's writing. I just do. Therefore, even though this book does not quite make it in terms of it's totality, I am rounding it up to 4 stars just for my enjoyment of her prose.
This is a story of friendship, love, betrayal and desire. Jane and Bonnie have a long and complicated friendship that began in college. They are very different women, and their paths in life diverge accordingly. And although I found some of the character's reactions and behavior to the circumstances in this plot a bit hard to believe at times, I was always engaged while reading it.
This is a story of friendship, love, betrayal and desire. Jane and Bonnie have a long and complicated friendship that began in college. They are very different women, and their paths in life diverge accordingly. And although I found some of the character's reactions and behavior to the circumstances in this plot a bit hard to believe at times, I was always engaged while reading it.
June 19, 2016
I'm rounding up my 3.5 stars. This is a little long but still quite good. Jean Thompson approaches female friendship head on, writing about aging, motherhood and marriage and the lack of both, depression, recklessness, betrayal, etc in a way that is believable and smart and full of her lovely and fiercely provoking turns of phrase.
And, the city scenes of this book are set quite literally blocks from my house. Thompson is a master of the modern Midwest and someone who can write Chicago like no other.
And, the city scenes of this book are set quite literally blocks from my house. Thompson is a master of the modern Midwest and someone who can write Chicago like no other.
July 31, 2016
Meh. Unlikeable characters and a boring (and sometime head-scratching) plot line. Too much stuff unanswered- what is wrong with Jane? Why is Eric so darn selfish and clueless, and why is Bonnie so tied to these 2 miserable people? Happy to return this book to the library.
August 14, 2016
I stopped 1/2 way thru. I just didn't care what happened next.
October 26, 2021
“She Poured Out Her Heart” (2016) was the “next up” on my stack of Jean Thompson books, which I amassed recently after “discovering” her wonderfully compelling novels and short stories a couple of years ago. (Better late than never!)
We are immediately introduced to “ordinary” Jane (it’s in her NAME!), late 30s, married mother of two young kids, and her long-time BFF Bonnie, who is her opposite; single, sexually adventurous, and occasionally self-destructive.
In Jean Thompson’s world (as in our own lives) nothing is a simple as it seems on the surface. Human lives are complex - a mixture of heartbreak, hope, and hilarity. In her perfectly paced, captivating, insightful, and witty way, Thomson lays bare the “real” Jane and Bonnie - characters I came to care about and won’t soon forget.
Thompson has us in her literary clutches from the first pages until the satisfying, but never obvious, ending. Now, on to my next Jean Thompson!
We are immediately introduced to “ordinary” Jane (it’s in her NAME!), late 30s, married mother of two young kids, and her long-time BFF Bonnie, who is her opposite; single, sexually adventurous, and occasionally self-destructive.
In Jean Thompson’s world (as in our own lives) nothing is a simple as it seems on the surface. Human lives are complex - a mixture of heartbreak, hope, and hilarity. In her perfectly paced, captivating, insightful, and witty way, Thomson lays bare the “real” Jane and Bonnie - characters I came to care about and won’t soon forget.
Thompson has us in her literary clutches from the first pages until the satisfying, but never obvious, ending. Now, on to my next Jean Thompson!
March 4, 2020
Jane and Bonnie, both in their late thirties, have been best friends since they were in college together. Jane is married to Eric, a doctor, and they have two children; Bonnie never could stay in a lasting relationship. But there's more of a difference between them than just their marital status. Jane finds it hard to commit completely to her husband, possibly because of occasional mental lapses that no doctor has been able to diagnose. Or is it simply because she married the wrong man, and had been derailed by her relationship with Bonnie? There are frustratingly few answers in this well-written but often tedious book.
October 16, 2022
The writing itself was fine but who on earth would give a care about any of these morons.
February 22, 2017
This book was recommended by Nancy Pearl. I really liked it. I listened to it so it felt like somewhere between a book and a radio show. I liked the characters, warts and all. The story was interesting. It was nice to be able to get inside the heads of the two main characters. They couldn't always say the things to each other that they were feeling so it was interesting having all the information to fill in the holes in the conversations. Aren't relationships challenging sometimes? I love how these two women had to keep assessing whether their friendship was worth what they were going through. Isn't that life, though? We're constantly assessing our relationships. I really liked the ending. It soared.
June 24, 2016
Jane and Bonnie have been friends since college, despite the fact that the pair are quite different. Quiet, reflective Jane leads a seemingly picture perfect life with her doctor husband, Eric, and her two young children. Impetuous Bonnie, meanwhile, works as a crisis counselor, and is always shuffling between ill-fated relationships and boyfriends. The two remain friends well into adulthood, however. Still, Jane can't tell Bonnie about the malaise she feels about her life and the episodes she has, where everything appears white and she disappears briefly to a different (happier) place. Then one evening, Jane has a more severe episode, and must be briefly hospitalized. The same night, Eric and Bonnie find themselves drawn to each other, and they begin a complicated affair.
This is a really strange book, and I'll certainly say that it's not for everyone. It's probably one I wouldn't typically enjoy, usually: the characters are not particularly likable, the plot is odd, and it meanders along with no real resolution. However, there was something about this novel that drew me in, despite its odd, somewhat incestuous seeming plot. It's extremely well-written (and told from Jane and Bonnie's point of view over various time periods). Both women are oddly addictive characters. In total, they may not be the most likable, but they were quite realistic, and I could find myself relating to pieces of each of them.
I don't want to say much more as to not give away much of the book and truly, I'm at a loss at how to describe it. It's almost a bit of a "trippy" experience to read. Overall, I'm glad I picked this one up; it's a solid, weird 3.5 stars. If you're looking for another recommendation, The Year We Left Home is still the favorite I've read of Thompson's work so far.
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This is a really strange book, and I'll certainly say that it's not for everyone. It's probably one I wouldn't typically enjoy, usually: the characters are not particularly likable, the plot is odd, and it meanders along with no real resolution. However, there was something about this novel that drew me in, despite its odd, somewhat incestuous seeming plot. It's extremely well-written (and told from Jane and Bonnie's point of view over various time periods). Both women are oddly addictive characters. In total, they may not be the most likable, but they were quite realistic, and I could find myself relating to pieces of each of them.
I don't want to say much more as to not give away much of the book and truly, I'm at a loss at how to describe it. It's almost a bit of a "trippy" experience to read. Overall, I'm glad I picked this one up; it's a solid, weird 3.5 stars. If you're looking for another recommendation, The Year We Left Home is still the favorite I've read of Thompson's work so far.
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July 21, 2019
Drek. Absolute drek. Women looking for husbands,women finding husbands women loosing husbands, women finding new husbands,women loosing new husbands.WHO IN GOD'S NAME gives a single shit about women that are this dull, this lifeless, this soggy ??Who cares about woman who devote their time on this earth doing nothing, nothing, nothing but looking for a man.
Books like this should be censored from human history.They have nothing but nothing to contribute-except 100000 pounds of dead weight. Pure junk.JM
Books like this should be censored from human history.They have nothing but nothing to contribute-except 100000 pounds of dead weight. Pure junk.JM
January 19, 2020
The title caught my attention. I loved the synopsis. It sounded like a great book. I've made it to page 78 and I just can't bring myself to keep reading. I can't seem to connect to either of the girls and it's a very slow read. Maybe I will pick it up again in the future, but for now it will be a DNF.
August 1, 2016
Not much to say but what a bunch of unlikeable a-holes. They were all jerks and I couldn't find any redeeming qualities about any of them. Because of that I didn't care at all what happened to them and just couldn't immerse myself in the story.
December 7, 2016
Two very different friends meet in college. Jane seems conventional, but has episodes that reveal a deep dissatisfaction with her life. Bonnie is self-destructedly impulsive.
May 26, 2018
I enjoyed this book which is not written in a particular genre and is hard to classify. It is about relationships and friendships and about marriage, but it is not exactly chick lit. Jane and Bonnie became close friends in college, and the story continues until the women are in their mid-thirties. Bonnie is outgoing and daring, a modern day cool girl who has disdain for marriage or any kind of conventional life. Jane is quieter and has some mental issues throughout her life, although I'm not sure if we are to see them as mental or spiritual issues. She has times when she spaces out and sees a white light-which is ok if you are home alone, not so much when you are driving with your children in the car.
Jane is married to Eric, a doctor who loves his family but is frustrated and impatient with Jane, who doesn't seem to care much about anyone or anything and who only longs to be in the 'white light'. At a party the couple (and parents to two children throw), Jane takes off her clothes and lays down in the snow. Bonnie and Eric bond while trying to help her and the two have an affair.
I found the plot more interesting than the characters. Also, we seem to know Bonnie much more than Jane. I would have liked more scenes with Jane's family. I would recommend this book if can deal with a relationship story which doesn't really have a tidy ending.
Jane is married to Eric, a doctor who loves his family but is frustrated and impatient with Jane, who doesn't seem to care much about anyone or anything and who only longs to be in the 'white light'. At a party the couple (and parents to two children throw), Jane takes off her clothes and lays down in the snow. Bonnie and Eric bond while trying to help her and the two have an affair.
I found the plot more interesting than the characters. Also, we seem to know Bonnie much more than Jane. I would have liked more scenes with Jane's family. I would recommend this book if can deal with a relationship story which doesn't really have a tidy ending.
March 8, 2018
I love well-written books that are a deep dive into characters and the intimate details of their lives, which is why I've rated "She Poured Out Her Heart" five stars. Jean Thompson traces the arc of Bonnie and Jane's friendship from college through middle age. To say Bonnie remains single and Jane becomes a suburban mom is to suggest stereotypes that are nowhere to be found in this novel. The role Bonnie plays as a close friend, with no partner and children of her own, to Jane and her family is both familiar and, shall we say, quite surprising.
Bonnie's the more sympathetic character to me because she's looking for something she can't seem to find, and periodically reflects with humor and straining insight into what that might be, and why she doesn't find it. She remains mostly opaque to herself, but her appetite for life and the poignant details of her expertise as a kind of SWAT team advisor, haphazard apartment, and relationship with her family of origin give us clues as to what she can't seem to grasp. Jane is damaged, too (aren't we all, really? Thompson's novel seems to ask), but felt more psychologically complex to me, and not in a good way. She asks herself hard questions, but is curiously without emotion when she comes up with weird answers.
Bonnie's the more sympathetic character to me because she's looking for something she can't seem to find, and periodically reflects with humor and straining insight into what that might be, and why she doesn't find it. She remains mostly opaque to herself, but her appetite for life and the poignant details of her expertise as a kind of SWAT team advisor, haphazard apartment, and relationship with her family of origin give us clues as to what she can't seem to grasp. Jane is damaged, too (aren't we all, really? Thompson's novel seems to ask), but felt more psychologically complex to me, and not in a good way. She asks herself hard questions, but is curiously without emotion when she comes up with weird answers.
May 15, 2021
This is a long book but for me, it was the type of book that I didn't want to end!
Bonnie and Jane meet while in college and remain steadfast friends over the years. No two women could be more different. Bonnie is wild, spontaneous, full of fun and excitement, willing to do everything and anything. Jane, on the other hand, is reserved, quiet, shy, and spends much of her time trying to be perfect. Yet, they are good friends.
Then something happens between the two of them that will change the dynamics of their friendship forever and always. Can they get past this huge obstacle between them? Can they remain friends and forgive and forget?
I love Jean Thompson's writing. This book is down-to-earth and full of wonderful characters. It's a great story full of angst, heartache, love, deceit, and life. I have only read one other of her books...THE YEAR WE LEFT HOME...and that too is a great read. I am happy she has a nice stash of books I have yet to dive into and read.
Check this one out. I really enjoyed it!
Bonnie and Jane meet while in college and remain steadfast friends over the years. No two women could be more different. Bonnie is wild, spontaneous, full of fun and excitement, willing to do everything and anything. Jane, on the other hand, is reserved, quiet, shy, and spends much of her time trying to be perfect. Yet, they are good friends.
Then something happens between the two of them that will change the dynamics of their friendship forever and always. Can they get past this huge obstacle between them? Can they remain friends and forgive and forget?
I love Jean Thompson's writing. This book is down-to-earth and full of wonderful characters. It's a great story full of angst, heartache, love, deceit, and life. I have only read one other of her books...THE YEAR WE LEFT HOME...and that too is a great read. I am happy she has a nice stash of books I have yet to dive into and read.
Check this one out. I really enjoyed it!
August 20, 2019
Thought this book by Jean Thompson was medicore. Perhaps because it showed a side of humanity that I'm not all that familiar with. But then again perhaps I am a young mother feeling lost thinking is this what I signed up for.... Life happening all around her & her feeling the heavy of all with two small young children. Then the Best Friend who is adventurous & always seeking out the next thrill with men, alcohol & a bit of drugs in search of something. In the end both remain in the situations they were in not much changed except for the fact that they were accepting of it....
July 16, 2017
Thompson is one of my favorite prose stylists. Like Anthony Trollope, she is able to generate characters that are believable but not predictable. She also captures the texture of American life better than anyone, except maybe John Cheever. I didn't think the plot went in very interesting directions compared to Thompson's other books (like The Year We Left Home), but I would still highly recommend it.
November 4, 2017
Jane and Bonnie meet in college and become good friend despite opposite personalities. Their friendship continues despite the very divergent paths they follow. Jane becomes a doctor's wife and stay at home mom while Bonnie becomes a hostage negotiator for the Chicago police department. There are lots of minor players and subplots which add to the story. In a nutshell, very fine chick-lit entertainment.
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