Meghan’s Comments (group member since Jun 02, 2011)

Meghan’s comments from the Reader's Ink group.

Honestly the fact that they sanitized teh violence to hit that pg 13 rating. The book was overtly and graphically violent and disturbing...the movie it was implied but not overt....it should have been overt and gone for an R rating...but I get they needed the teenage demogrpahic...but I think they lost a lot of adult fans bc they dumbed it down.
They changed the Mockingjay pin story line completly which is important later...she didn't get it at a market, the majors daughter gave it to her.

They also cut out the fact that Peeta got his leg amputated on the train back...which is HUGE.

Sorry for the rant but I am a major proponent of don't mess with a good novel...the movie people messed with it and dumbed it down too much...

okay I change my vote....extend hiatus. I like this idea the holidays are insane.

this is a great book....I have read it many times.

I would have liked the movie to be more accurate to the book...and let it be rated R to do that. They cleaned up the violence too much and lost me because it wasn't true to the story. And they cut out major story lines. I was actually disapointed overall.

I have already read Hunger Games to death..its a easy read to do on your own.

I have also read 19 mintues so I can lead disscussion in December on that if everyone wants....keep it simple.

least: Remarkable Creatures

best: A dog's Purpose and Lonely Polygamist

and man am I behind in this year's selections.

amen Ashley!

I better hurry up and get this downloaded.

It did not....it actually reinforced my opinion that the lifestyle is unsustainable in a healthy family dynamic and more often than not dmaaging to those involved.

Duggars for sure Ashley....and many other religions promote the same...whatever happened to quality over quantity...that I think is Udall's message.

Ashley I agree...i also think Glory's death was likely a major factor in Golden's meltdown. Who knows what he could have done with his family if she had not passed in such a tragic way....he basically blamed himself and shut down after that.

might have been? totally would have been...he was a dysfunctional person.

NOOOOO I had the same picture in my head....ahahahahahahha

I love that perspective that the "man" of the family actually ends up being the most disposable as the women and children build their own society without him being part as he is stretched to thin too often...so true...and yes his commentary is subversive but i think his commentary is also about family in general not just polygamist families...

Lauren good points...I too had mean wishes for Golden and his selfishness.

I gave it a 4.5. I really liked the plot, the different characters, the subplots, and the character development over the course of the novel. I flew thru the book. With that said there were some parts that drug on, and others that needed more detail. Overall I thought that Udall did a nice job capturing the reader and making different characters appeal to difference types of people.

Yes I do think it was accurate in a sense. Chaotic, power struggles, jealousy, not enough time or resources to go around, following ones relief system at any cost even when you question it. This is not to say these same issues don't arise in "normal" families....but in a large polygamist one it seems amplified and thus the consequences that much more impactful.

I think it is a critique of overall family dynamics more than polygamy itself...although he does seem to view polygamy negatively, from the aspect of raising children and valuing time. However, that is true for any family. I think he is critical of any family dynamic where one gets so caught up with themselves they fail to realize their family unit is crumbling around them until it is too late. We operate in our own little worlds sometimes and fail to see the bigger picture and bigger problems right around us until it is too late.

I agree Rusty was the most important but for different reasons. His story was tragic, this was an innocent little boy who was bullied by his siblings, ignored by his father, persecuted by his "mothers", and had no support system at all, except to an extent June. His downward spiral was the centerpiece of the plot that tied everyone together as well as all the subplots. I felt so bad for this innocent little boy who was just doing what any kid would do to try and be heard. In many ways he was wise beyond his years.

What was your overall impressions of the novel and what did you rate it?