[.ca] Blessings (ISBN 0345468694)

From Amazon.com:
The plot of Anna Quindlen's novel Blessings is constructed on the same model as E.T.: adorable orphaned creature is found by unlikely caregiver who against his or her better judgment falls in love with the little beast, while all the while, the authorities loom in the background, threatening to take the foundling away. In Quindlen's book, however, the foundling in question isn't an alien, but a squalling baby left at Blessings, a vast estate owned by an ancient, crabby matriarch named Lydia Blessing. By a fluke, the baby's parents abandon her by the garage rather than at the front door, and so she is discovered by Skip Cuddy, Lydia Blessing's newly hired handyman, who happens to be an ex-con. The plot proceeds from there in fairly E.T.-like fashion, minus the Reese's Pieces and flying bicycles. Skip, Lydia, and the baby they name Faith form a surprisingly loving and sustaining, albeit temporary, family unit. Quindlen wrings a remarkable amount of pathos from this somewhat simple setup. One of her strengths as a writer is the quietness she brings to her story; family secrets of paternity and lost love are buried deep in the narrative, hidden in descriptive paragraphs where they subtly zing us with their news. Her ear is good, too: we believe Skip and his bad-boy friends when they're shooting the breeze. Best of all is her flair for observation. The book wouldn't work at all if she couldn't make us feel Skip and Lydia's amazement at the small joys of a baby ("The deep pleat in the fat at her elbow made her arms look muscled"). Here is a book that lives up to its title. --Claire Dederer

Life is more than what it seems:
Blessings is the third Anna Quindlen novel that I've read and enjoyed. She is such an eloquent writer with accurate descriptions of the silent suffering and happiness that occurs in the human psyche. I enjoyed this story of Lydia Blessing and Skip Cuddy who through the nuturing and love of an abandoned baby girl make an usual "family." Much of the story takes place in a bittersweet remembering that occurs in Lydia's mind as she reviews the last eighty years of her life. The reader is touched as Lydia remembers both the pleasures and pains of being a Blessing. She once again feels the sadness of her mother's rejection and her subsequent treatment of her own daughter. The sorrow from her brothers death and the realization of her naivete. The baby makes her yearn for a life that is gone but at the same time encourages her to try for another level of relationship with her daughter and the people around her. She realizes that life is not a static, preset karma, but a flowing river of choices that can always be made in the moment. In the same respect the character of Skip parallels Lydia's feelings by trying to become more than his families history. Quindlen has crafted a touching story that resonates at the core. Can life be changed or are we bound to become what is expected? New life, like the baby that is found by Skip and Lydia, presents us with a blank page of innocence that challenges us to become more than our limitations.

Blessings: an amazing novle:
"Well, I'm assuming the place won't be called Blessings anymore." "No," the woman said. "Leave it where it is. People love the idea of a place with a name." (Pg. 256) After reading Blessings by Anna Quindlen, you will feel as if you have become Skip Cuddy. Everything that Skip does, one can relate to very easily. The main thing that can be learned from this book is to take what you can get from life, and enjoy every minute of it. In the beginning, a boy and a girl drop a box off at the foot of the garage at Blessings. Skip finds this box and discovers that there is a baby wrapped up in a flannel shirt in it. For a few weeks Skip tries to keep the baby a secret from Lydia Blessing, the owner of Blessings. Lydia Blessing is an 80 year old woman who has so many stories from her past to share. Some of them make her happy, and others make her sad, like the death of her brother Sunny. Even though Lydia meets Skip in a Wal-Mart parking lot, she decides to let him live in the apartment above the garage that the Fosters used to live in so that he can help around the house with the yard work. The one thing that Lydia found out about Skip is that he had served jail time for a crime that he didn't commit. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time with his friends, who really committed the crime. Throughout the next few months Lydia learns to be more open to things and learns to trust Skip, or rather, Charles more. Lydia didn't like to call people by a nickname. Skip falls in love with the baby, and names her Faith. Skip enjoys watching her every chance he gets. One can tell that even Lydia begins to love Faith for she would listen for Faith on the baby monitor when Skip was out. One other way that Lydia changes is that she actually tries to talk to her daughter Meredith more, and even invites her to come and visit. One night Skip sees a light on in Lydia's house that isn't normally on. Then he sees a shadow walk by the light, and can tell that it is not Lydia. He makes a comment that he wishes that Lydia had put a phone in his apartment. So, Skip decides to go down and find out who is there. Sure enough, it is Skip's old friends Joe, Chris, and Ed. They are trying to rob the place. Chris being there made Skip so angry that he picked up the teapot that was on the floor and wanted to throw it at him. As moments passed, Lydia came into the room and saw Skip holding the teapot in one hand, and a gun in the other hand. Lydia had never seen Skip like this. Once the police arrived, they took Skip away because having the gun was a violation of his parole. Later on, Lydia felt very bad about what she had caused Skip to go through again. So, what will happen to Skip and Faith? Will Skip be able to keep Faith? What happens to Lydia? If you want to know what happens and the answers to these questions, you must read this book. Once I picked up this book, I could not put it down. I just wanted to continue reading it. You have to give a lot of credit to Anna Quindlen for writing such an amazing book. She makes you feel as if you are in the story by referring back and forth from Skip's past and Lydia's past to the present. This is a must read book.

Birth, re-birth, love and redemption:
When a tiny baby is found outside of a caretaker's garage at a down at its heels estate, many lives are changed. Anne Quinlan touches the reader's heart on many different levels. A bitter, eccentric old dowager who has no heirs, an ex-con with a heart of gold, and a brilliant Eurasian girl are the main characters. Oh, and yes, there is the baby, named "FAITH". Faith is the cornerstone of this novel. Times change, mores change, and people can grow to become bitter, or more open to others. The only thing which annoyed me was the mother of the child, the teenaged mother, who doesn't deserve the baby. Obviously,the author leaves you believing that her parents will take over the childcare of the baby and all will be well. Secrets of long ago color the present, adn when the dowager dies, the future as well. A great book to be read in a couple of days. A heartwarmer. Even if loose ends tie up a little too easily, and characters redeem themselves too nobly in the end it is a great read. If everything seems a little too perfect, enjoy it for what it is;a book of second chances.

Beautifully Written:
In Blessings, Anna Quindlen expertly winds together two stories, that of a handyman who takes in an abandoned baby, and the elderly woman who employs him to care for her farm. Both the handyman and the elderly woman struggle with their pasts. He fights to escape his past and the bad characters associated with it in order to make a good home for this baby. She tries to come to terms with secrets buried within her own family. As usual, Anna Quindlen's prose is impeccable. While at times the plot is slow to develop, its intricacy makes the read rewarding. And the characters are as well developed as close friends.

A Heart-Warming Story to Make You Count Your Blessings:
Blessings is one of those rare novels which takes a single-word title into seven-dimensions of meaning in a delightful story about family love. Before introducing the story, let me outline the "blessings" references to help you appreciate the subtleties of this book. 1. Blessings is a place, the country home of the Blessing family. 2. The Blessings are a family that has had its ups and downs and sees its extinction coming. 3. Blessings are those gifts that we receive from God every day that we take for granted . . . like our families, the beauties of nature around us and our health. 4. Blessings occur when a new child is born . . . something we often call a blessed event. 5. Blessings are ours when others show love and appreciation for us. 6. Blessings can move us to live a better life when we are inspired to turn to goodness. As the story begins, an unwed couple is sneaking up at night on Blessings, the home of 80 year-old Lydia Blessing. Startled by a security light, the father takes their baby to the bottom of the stairs to the garage apartment rather than the main house. There, handyman Skip Cuddy discovers the little girl and takes her in. He finds himself totally charmed and challenged by this baby. Soon, Lydia Blessing realizes that Skip is parenting a baby alone and agrees to help him tend Faith. From that awkward beginning a strong bond develops among the three of them. Strengthened by this chance to nurture Faith, Skip and Lydia discover new depths of love, understanding and respect in one another. How well will these bonds endure when the world's expectations and perceptions intervene? The answer to that question is what makes this a grand story. Many will be disappointed with the story's ending, finding the transcendent focus of the conclusion to be unsatisfyingly spiritual . . . rather than tangible. For me, the book's main weakness was a tendency to over draw characters and situations which made the story clearer . . . but less convincing. If you read it more like you would a fable, you will undoubtedly rate the book as a five-star effort.