Genres
Collection
Publication
Random House (2002), Edition: 1, 240 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. HTML:Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard home on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work there are changed forever. Skip Cuddy, the caretaker, finds a baby girl asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep the child . . . while Lydia Blessing, the matriarch of the estate, for her own reasons, agrees to help him. Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person or a life legitimate or illegitimate and who decides; and the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer Prize�winning writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, �Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.�.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I really enjoyed this. Quindlen has a strong, clean prose style that skillfully picks the telling details that vividly evoke both setting and character. Blessings is the name of an estate in upstate New York. There are passages that lyrically put before your eye the pond with snapping turtles and
Whether it's the small details of how an infant moves or smells, or the habits of mind of an elderly lady born in the 1920s, Quindlen writes it in a convincing way you think of as authentic. If I don't rate this higher, its not because I'm not conscious of flaws, but it just doesn't rise to a level where it moved me, made me think, made me want to dogear the pages because of a particularly striking quote or surprised me. But it was a warm, feel-good and entertaining read.
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leaping trout, the herons, the apple orchard. And the characters are well-drawn too, the two major characters are a study in contrasts. There's eighty-year-old Lydia Blessings, born to wealth and her young estate caretaker Skip Cuddy, who came to work for her straight out of jail and lives above the garage. They're bound into an unlikely friendship when a newborn baby is left on their doorstep that Skip is determined to raise as his daughter. Whether it's the small details of how an infant moves or smells, or the habits of mind of an elderly lady born in the 1920s, Quindlen writes it in a convincing way you think of as authentic. If I don't rate this higher, its not because I'm not conscious of flaws, but it just doesn't rise to a level where it moved me, made me think, made me want to dogear the pages because of a particularly striking quote or surprised me. But it was a warm, feel-good and entertaining read.
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LibraryThing member SugarCreekRanch
Blessings starts out strong with a teenage couple abandoning their newborn at a mansion, and the newborn being found and cared for by the handyman. But then the pace drops to a crawl. It's a poignant story with strong characters, but the plot just isn't there.
LibraryThing member TheLostEntwife
Anna Quindlen is one of those authors who holds the power to knock the socks off of me. Every time I go to pick up one of her books I know that, at some point, I’m going to end up in tears – so I have to pace myself accordingly.
Blessings was no different. While it didn’t contain nearly the
Blessings is the story of a family, an unlikely family, but complete with all of the past wrong-doings, mistakes, loves and hurts that a “normal” family might have. This family consists of a Korean housekeeper, an 80ish year old woman, and a convicted felon groundskeeper… and one tiny, helpless baby. Of course, there is also the house, which is filled with history and memories and can’t be left out of the mix.
I was completely charmed by Charles “Skip” Cuddy and his treatment of the unlikely turn of events that culminated in his finding a baby in a box on the steps of “his” barn. I held my breath through each hurdle and ached for him as he learned the correct way to care for the child, and, when the end came (as it always does in these types of stories), my heart ached for him.
Blessings is a story of redemption, unlikely love, strength of character where there was none before and of making the right choices, no matter the pain involved to those making those choices. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it did wonders to “reset” me after reading a few bad books in a row.
Blessings was no different. While it didn’t contain nearly the
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same amount of tragedy some of Quindlen’s other books have (Yes, Every Last One, I’m looking at you), it still had some heartbreaking moments, but, in true Quindlen style, I knew that these characters would be strong enough to overcome it.Blessings is the story of a family, an unlikely family, but complete with all of the past wrong-doings, mistakes, loves and hurts that a “normal” family might have. This family consists of a Korean housekeeper, an 80ish year old woman, and a convicted felon groundskeeper… and one tiny, helpless baby. Of course, there is also the house, which is filled with history and memories and can’t be left out of the mix.
I was completely charmed by Charles “Skip” Cuddy and his treatment of the unlikely turn of events that culminated in his finding a baby in a box on the steps of “his” barn. I held my breath through each hurdle and ached for him as he learned the correct way to care for the child, and, when the end came (as it always does in these types of stories), my heart ached for him.
Blessings is a story of redemption, unlikely love, strength of character where there was none before and of making the right choices, no matter the pain involved to those making those choices. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it did wonders to “reset” me after reading a few bad books in a row.
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LibraryThing member JaneSteen
This book was a selection for my daughter's book club. Let me say straight off that I loved it!
A baby is left by the garage of the local "big house" by a couple of teenagers, and found by the handyman who lives over the garage. A strange complicity develops between him and the house's owner, and
So now I'm going to talk about the rules it breaks. You get a lot of talk on writer blogs about never starting your novel with a backstory dump: Blessings sets up the action and then gives you 70 pages of backstory before the story moves forward. You're told to use short, punchy sentences. Blessings is strewn with long and sometimes somewhat clunky sentences.
So why does it work so well? The answer has to be that the writing is beautiful, the characters are immaculately drawn and very convincing, and the setting gets just enough--but not too much--attention. It struck me that the main story is in fact quite slight, and that without the backstory setup I'd probably be thinking "so what?" as it gets going. But by the time the action gets going, I was so thoroughly invested in the lives of the characters that I devoured the rest of the book.
This is a story to study for its structure. There's something very sure about Quindlen's touch; in a very short read (just over 200 pages) she packs in a lot of literary wallop.
A baby is left by the garage of the local "big house" by a couple of teenagers, and found by the handyman who lives over the garage. A strange complicity develops between him and the house's owner, and
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two people from opposite sides of the social divide enter into a friendship that reconciles their own pasts. So now I'm going to talk about the rules it breaks. You get a lot of talk on writer blogs about never starting your novel with a backstory dump: Blessings sets up the action and then gives you 70 pages of backstory before the story moves forward. You're told to use short, punchy sentences. Blessings is strewn with long and sometimes somewhat clunky sentences.
So why does it work so well? The answer has to be that the writing is beautiful, the characters are immaculately drawn and very convincing, and the setting gets just enough--but not too much--attention. It struck me that the main story is in fact quite slight, and that without the backstory setup I'd probably be thinking "so what?" as it gets going. But by the time the action gets going, I was so thoroughly invested in the lives of the characters that I devoured the rest of the book.
This is a story to study for its structure. There's something very sure about Quindlen's touch; in a very short read (just over 200 pages) she packs in a lot of literary wallop.
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LibraryThing member 1morechapter
Blessings is the family home of Lydia Blessing, an 80-year-old woman with strong opinions about the right way to say and do things. Her new caretaker of Blessings, Skip, doesn’t seem to be making the grade in Lydia’s eyes. He’s keeping strange hours and doing his work at odd times. The
Blessings by Anna Quindlen is not just about Skip and Faith, but also about family secrets and relationships. There is an entire back story of Lydia Blessing that adds a lot to the novel as well. I listened to the audio CD narrated by Joan Allen, and she did an outstanding job.
2002, 226 pp.
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reason? He’s taking care of a baby. Not his baby, but a little girl that a young couple abandoned at Blessings. Skip doesn’t have the first clue how to take care of an infant, but he manages after awhile and even keeps her a secret from everyone for a time. Then, Lydia finds out. Although shocked at first, Mrs. Blessing’s heart is warmed by the child as well. Will Skip get to keep Faith, the little girl that has won over everyone at Blessings, including Mrs. Blessing, or will the little girl’s mother return to claim her?Blessings by Anna Quindlen is not just about Skip and Faith, but also about family secrets and relationships. There is an entire back story of Lydia Blessing that adds a lot to the novel as well. I listened to the audio CD narrated by Joan Allen, and she did an outstanding job.
2002, 226 pp.
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LibraryThing member circlesreads
Although the storyline was interesting, for some reason her writing annoyed me. It seemed contrived and the descriptions forced.
LibraryThing member jeniferbal
I was surprisingly pleased with this book. The story was compelling and the characters were impeccably developed. They never felt false or overdone. This is not the sort of book that I am usually impressed with. I usually gravitate toward books that are more creative; I am always looking for
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something "different". I picked up Blessings at a Friends of the Library book sale and I am glad that I did. I really enjoyed it. Show Less
LibraryThing member mhgatti
After a slow start, I was very impressed by this book. From the reviews and description on the book jacket, I was afraid that this would be Anne Tyler Lite. While I like her writing very much, this book was much deeper than what I have read by Tyler, if not as intimately written as Tyler's books.
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Like Richard Russo's Empire Falls (one of my all-time favorites) the book deals with a wealthy matriarch living in a large estate. But unlike that book, which held the old lady up as an enigma, Blessings gets into her mind by having her help her groundskeeper raise an infant left on his garage/apartment doorstep (the baby was obviously left there to be taken care of the rich owner of the estate). The most interesting parts of the book are the flashbacks into her own life that explain what forced her out of Manhattan debutante life and into lifelong exile at her family's country estate. At time the book reminded me of Ian McEwan's Atonement, but never actually reaches the heights of that book. Show Less
LibraryThing member MarianV
A harmless but enjoyable story with standard warm-hearted characters -- a kind but lonely elderly lady, an earnest young man 7 a tiny little baby that mysteriously appears in their lives. The characters are well drawn & the story, tho predictable is well written.
LibraryThing member Whisper1
A delightful book. A quick read filled with poetic poignancy.
LibraryThing member mzonderm
This book does not require much effort to read. Everything slides along in a fairly predictable way, so much so that even that bigger moments in the story sometimes slide by without being noticed. Don't look to this book for a gripping plot or very-compelling characters (although Skip, the main
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character, is very sympathetic) but read this book for a nice story, and you'll enjoy it. Show Less
LibraryThing member kshaffar
This is the story of a rich old woman "stuck in amber" and a young man who falls in love with a baby once it's left on the steps of a garage. The characters had interesting moments and flaws, but were difficult to sympathize with. The old lady is just plain mean.
The man is nice, but hard to
I liked this book but found it oddly disappointing. It's my first foray into Quindlen's fiction. I admire her work and her politics so I will try another title, but this one didn't blow me away.
The man is nice, but hard to
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believe as the suddenly loving father. For sure there are other characters and the world they occupy is interesting and very far from my own. Having said that, it was difficult to follow at times, and at others just plain boring. I liked this book but found it oddly disappointing. It's my first foray into Quindlen's fiction. I admire her work and her politics so I will try another title, but this one didn't blow me away.
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LibraryThing member tloeffler
A newborn baby is left on the steps of the garage apartment of a young man working on the estate of an elderly woman. [Blessings] is the story of this young man's behavior after finding the child, and the transformations the child unleashes in the young man and the elderly woman. I've read this
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book twice, and could read it a dozen more times. By turns sad, happy, nostalgic, and retrospective, the book doesn't always progress the way you want it to, but it progresses along the way of the world. A great read. Show Less
LibraryThing member writestuff
I wanted to rate this one higher because the story was good; and I felt the characters were well developed and touched me...BUT, the overall writing was disappointing. Quindlen is in love with the word 'had' and it appears so frequently in this book that I found it distracting (for example, one
'She'd had had too much to drink, then insisted that everyone at her table go on the subway to a place she'd heard about downtown for breakfast'...that's 4 hads in one sentence counting the two contractions she'd, which translate into: she had!!). She also jumps out of scenes into flashbacks which at times got
confusing; and uses far too many filters. Despite what I felt was poor writing at times, Quindlen gets an A+ for plot. The story revolves around two main characters, a 24 year old guy and an 80 year old woman, who find common ground caring for an abandoned infant. The idea that most of us carry deep secrets which impact our lives on every level is revisited time and time again as the story unfolds, and it is this theme which drives the plot forward to its surprising conclusion.
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sentence read:'She'd had had too much to drink, then insisted that everyone at her table go on the subway to a place she'd heard about downtown for breakfast'...that's 4 hads in one sentence counting the two contractions she'd, which translate into: she had!!). She also jumps out of scenes into flashbacks which at times got
confusing; and uses far too many filters. Despite what I felt was poor writing at times, Quindlen gets an A+ for plot. The story revolves around two main characters, a 24 year old guy and an 80 year old woman, who find common ground caring for an abandoned infant. The idea that most of us carry deep secrets which impact our lives on every level is revisited time and time again as the story unfolds, and it is this theme which drives the plot forward to its surprising conclusion.
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LibraryThing member PermaSwooned
I like Anna Quindlen's writing, and decided to read this after finishing "Every Last One", which I thought was excellent. This one, not so much. The descriptions were very visual, and I liked the main character, but I thought the relationships were not really developed and the ending was very
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unsatisfying to me. Ultimately disappointing. Show Less
LibraryThing member E.J
Eh. I got it for a dollar at a used bookstore in KC. Mrs. Blessing resonated with me very much because she reminded me of a lady we used to stay the night with to make sure she was okay but that was the highlight here and made me up it a star.
LibraryThing member goldnyght
I really deeply enjoyed this book: I could only wish it was a little longer
LibraryThing member lostinpages
Halfway through this novel I find myself bored. The characters haven't drawn me into their lives. I can put it down easily, and it's an effort to pick it up again instead of opening another book. The writing itself is good, the author provides a rich visual experience with her skilled use of
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language to describe the setting and the characters experiences. I just wish there was more connection to these characters. There is a lot of potential so I will continue to read and see if she draws me into the experience of the characters as the story progresses. Show Less
LibraryThing member mazda502001
What a beautifully written novel this was. I couldn't put it down - its a novel of love, redemption and personal change. First by her that I have read but will definately read more by her.
Back Cover Blurb:
This novel begins when, late one night, a teenage couple drives up to Blessings, the estate
Back Cover Blurb:
This novel begins when, late one night, a teenage couple drives up to Blessings, the estate
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owned by Lydia Blessing, and leaves a box there. In this instant, the world of Blessings is changed forever. The story of Skip Cuddy, caretaker of the estate, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him. Show Less
LibraryThing member silenceiseverything
Blessings is the second Anna Quindlen book I've read with the first being Black and Blue. Since I thought Black and Blue was so great, my expectations of Blessings were fairly high. Unfortunately, those expectations weren't necessarily met.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the premise: a baby is
Another issue that I had with the book was that for a 230 page novel, this moved way to slowly. While I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, the slowness of it really didn't have me anxious to pick it back up once I put it down. However, I was anxious to finish it. So, this book was just okay. Nothing ground-breaking and wholely forgettable.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the premise: a baby is
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abandoned outside of a caretaker's garage and he then decides to keep it while simultaneously keeping it a secret. The premise is great. However, there were just so many other things mentioned that I really didn't care about. Case in point: Mrs. Blessings early life. I seriously didn't care about how she got to be that way she was. And the character of Jennifer was so unnecessary. I really couldn't get the point of her at all. My main interest were of Skip, Faith, and Mrs. Blessing (her current life, not her past one). So, the parts of the book that had these three characters together were naturally my favorite parts of the book and the ones that went by more quickly. Another issue that I had with the book was that for a 230 page novel, this moved way to slowly. While I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, the slowness of it really didn't have me anxious to pick it back up once I put it down. However, I was anxious to finish it. So, this book was just okay. Nothing ground-breaking and wholely forgettable.
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LibraryThing member tipsister
Blessings, by Anna Quindlen is one of those books where the story just stays with you because of it's simplicity. There isn't an overwhelming plot, no truly unexpected twist, and a relatively small cast of characters. It's truly the story of two people and how a baby that doesn't belong to either
Skip is a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being released from jail, he goes to work for Mrs. Blessing. She is an elderly woman who owns the grandest estate in the area. She likes Skip and hires him as her groundskeeper. She's formal, stuffy, and very much into her routine. She's got secrets though and is not as perfect as she looks. They are an odd pair.
Skip finds a baby that was left at the estate and secretly cares for her. He's afraid to turn her in and grows to love the baby girl, considering himself her father. When Mrs. Blessing finds out about little Faith, she assists in her care and the deception.
The descriptions of the house and land are so lovely that the house almost becomes a character in the novel. Mrs. Blessing is described so beautifully that I can see her standing at her window, looking disapprovingly at everything she sees. While the book isn't long, it is full of wonderful words. I truly enjoyed the story and recommend it to everyone.
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of them, changes their lives. Skip is a young man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being released from jail, he goes to work for Mrs. Blessing. She is an elderly woman who owns the grandest estate in the area. She likes Skip and hires him as her groundskeeper. She's formal, stuffy, and very much into her routine. She's got secrets though and is not as perfect as she looks. They are an odd pair.
Skip finds a baby that was left at the estate and secretly cares for her. He's afraid to turn her in and grows to love the baby girl, considering himself her father. When Mrs. Blessing finds out about little Faith, she assists in her care and the deception.
The descriptions of the house and land are so lovely that the house almost becomes a character in the novel. Mrs. Blessing is described so beautifully that I can see her standing at her window, looking disapprovingly at everything she sees. While the book isn't long, it is full of wonderful words. I truly enjoyed the story and recommend it to everyone.
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LibraryThing member GaileeSue
Beutifully written but somewhat shallow
LibraryThing member thebookfaery
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Quindlen’s novel Blessings. She creates each character with such life suited for their particular “lifestyle”. We watch a young man who finds hope within a small bundle that transforms his life forever. We become a fly on the wall learning about the family secrets
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of the Blessings estate and how it affects the lives of those impacted. You can’t help but feel for her characters as they battle their own inner struggles before they can reach some sort of peace. And at times you can’t help but want to slap or punch them into reality. My only disappointment at the end was that I wish the main characters from the Blessing estate remained a big part of the little girl’s life. Why must they leave when she had finally breathed love into their souls? Show Less
LibraryThing member witchyrichy
There is immense sadness and loss in this quiet story. But, the tragedies woven throughout Anna Quindlen's novel Blessings occur in a world where love and forgiveness can still be found.
Skip Cuddy is the new caretaker for the Blessings estate. Once home to a wealthy family, it is now inhabited by
The story is told in a matter of fact way that mirrors the quiet of the world of Blessings. The novel moves from the present to the past as Lydia Blessing remembers her own life, first as a debutante in New York City and then as the disgraced daughter relegated to the country where she finds she is content to stay.
This isn't a dramatic book: life happens, and we witness it, with characters who, for the most part, are trying to do the right things in a changing world. But it is a lovely written tale and worth the time.
Skip Cuddy is the new caretaker for the Blessings estate. Once home to a wealthy family, it is now inhabited by
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the sole remaining child, an elderly daughter who is cared for by a maid who comes each day and Skip, who mostly tends the property. Skip, on parole after being released from jail, seems happy with his simple life, until he finds a baby on his door step. He makes a decision that changes everyone's lives.The story is told in a matter of fact way that mirrors the quiet of the world of Blessings. The novel moves from the present to the past as Lydia Blessing remembers her own life, first as a debutante in New York City and then as the disgraced daughter relegated to the country where she finds she is content to stay.
This isn't a dramatic book: life happens, and we witness it, with characters who, for the most part, are trying to do the right things in a changing world. But it is a lovely written tale and worth the time.
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LibraryThing member Kelslynn
I needed a break from reading grim gritty novels, and this was a good choice. I like Quindlen's storytelling style, but I thought the storyline itself was a bit transparent: Old haughty lady hires hardworking down-on-his-luck young man; a baby mysteriously disappears on his doorstep and changes
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their lives forever. Just too pat. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2002
Physical description
240 p.; 9.51 inches
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |
ISBN
0375502238 / 9780375502231
Other editions
Blessings by Anna Quindlen (Hardcover)
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Pages
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