Paradise Park

By Allegra Goodman

Book Overview

Allegra Goodman has delighted readers with her critically acclaimed collections Total Immersion and The Family Markowitz , and her celebrated first novel, Kaaterskill Falls , which was a national bestseller and a National Book Award finalist. Abandoned by her folk-dancing partner, Gary, in a Honolulu hotel room, Sharon realizes she could return to Boston--and her estranged family--or listen to that little voice inside herself. The voice that asks: "How come Gary got to pursue his causes, while all I got to pursue was him?" Thus, with an open heart, a soul on fire, and her meager possessions (a guitar, two Indian gauze skirts, a macram bikini, and her grandfather's silver watch) Sharon begins her own spiritual quest. Ever the optimist, she is sure at each stage that she has struck it rich "spiritually speaking"--until she comes up empty. Then, in a karmic convergence of events, Sharon starts on the path home to Judaism. Still, even as she embraces her tradition, Sharon's irrepressible self tugs at her sleeve. Especially when she meets Mikhail, falls truly in love at last, and discovers what even she could not imagine--her destiny.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385334184
• ISBN13: 9780385334181
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Random House Group
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A solid sense of place and time

Having grown up in Hawaii, I found the sense of place communicated by the author to be very credible and fun to remember. Hawaii as a real place with real, complex people and cultures, and real boring jobs and crummy housing. I also like remembering the UH and the culture of the 70s. The main character is sure flaky but pretty honest about her flakyness. Without that naivety Sharon would have settled long ago, and the rich and weird story of her life would have been much shorter and less fun to observe. I didn't love the character, she would have driven me nuts as a friend, but I loved the characterization, sense of place and guide to religious and spiritual issues, in a non proselytizing way. Great fiction, these characters seemed real and three dimensional to me, which is a mark of a well told story, in my opinion.

Excellent

Best novel I've read in a long time. The author does the impossible: portrays a young, confused, naive, even silly character without judging her in the least. As a result, I feel compassion for her instead of ridicule. When I laugh at things she says (Jesus "still lives with his father"), I'm partly laughing at my own young, deluded self. It's a characterization that is generous to both the character and the reader. I love this book.

A Holden For Our Time

I dutifully read Kaaterskill Falls for my book group, but only out of loyalty to my fellow members. It was so slow and so small, I thought. So I avoided Paradise Park until I saw it in the street for a couple of bucks. Then I remembered how much I had loved what I had read of Allegra Goodman in the New Yorker and I gave her another chance. Besides, Kaaterskill Falls was such a success, so beloved by everyone except me, why should I hold it against her? Why should she write a book especially for me? Well, as it turned out, she did and it's Paradise Park. Goodman got to me in the same way that Salinger captured me in junior high school. I ended up talking like Sharon Spiegelman for a week. Now I have my eighty-five year old mother reading the book. She not only thinks it's really funny (which we'll pay retail for in my family) but she's starting to talk like Sharon too. I am horribly fascinated by all the negative reviews, from critics and customers alike. If America hates Sharon Spiegelman, how do they feel about me? It's truly shaken my confidence. Do I sound self-absorbed? Do I sound like Sharon Spiegelman? Good!

Loved it!

This is the first book I've read by Goodman and I thought it was great. There are so few fiction books written about a young woman's spiritual quest. The main character is easy to understand and life like and appealing. I know people just like her and can relate to some of her experiences myself. Haven't you ever noticed how often people who have a troubled childhood take A LOT longer to grow-up? Sharon is like that,too.

Different from Kaaterskill Falls, but just as good!

I'm a little surprised by some of the negative reviews here--this is another well-written, absorbing novel from a writer I've come to admire a great deal. Yes, Sharon Spiegelman, the heroine, is flaky, but that's part of her charm, along with her determination to "find" herself and her spiritual calling. I like Sharon because she's not the frosty, competent professional woman one finds in so many quality novels, or the frightened victim one finds in the rest. She reminds me of a friend from college--a warm-hearted, curious girl whose bright smiles masked a deeper sadness. I recommend Paradise Park without reservations.