Blessings: A Novel

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars | 2,200 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 01-25-2025


About this item

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A well-told story of love and redemption” (The Washington Post Book World) from the bestselling author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs
 
“A polished gem of a novel . . . lovingly crafted, beautifully written.”—The Miami Herald
 
Late one night, a teenage couple drives up to the big white clapboard house on the Blessing estate and leaves a box. In that instant, the lives of those who live and work at Blessings are changed forever. Skip Cuddy, the caretaker, finds a baby girl asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, 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.
 
Blessings is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer.

Top reviews from the United States

  • Judi from Georgia
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Satisfying Read
    Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2022
    The style of writing and the language is excellent. While easy to read, I found myself checking the dictionary more often than I have with other books, which delights me. The characters seem like real people and I won’t forget this story. The dialogue flows naturally and well defines the characters. The story is that of an abandoned baby and the people who find and love her. I had a feeling that it would end badly and was almost tempted to look at the end, but I didn’t. I read it in two days; could hardly put it down. It’s been on my Kindle for a long time, probably two years. I’ve recently decided to either read or delete lots of my older books, so I started this with a ho hum attitude, but got engrossed very early on. I highly recommend this book.
  • N. Sausser
    4.0 out of 5 stars Heart Warming Story
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2003
    A newborn baby is abandoned at an estate called Blessings and is discovered by the young caretaker. The story that follows is a heart warming tale with wonderfully rich characters. There are many tender and sweet moments that made my eyes fill. Descriptions of an old, closed-off woman gradually opening up to the marvels of a small infant. A young man discovering he is an important part of someone's life. And the simple discoveries a baby makes every day. Quindlen has an interesting writing style. She doesn't describe her characters in full at the beginning, but reveals them layer by layer as the story evolves, like making a new friend in real life. The two main characters, Charles "Skip" Cuddy and Mrs. Lydia Blessing are absolute jewels and well worth getting to know. If you need a lift, this is the perfect book to read. And if you know a friend who needs to feel good about something, give them this book to read. It is a story for sharing.
  • SUE COUSAR
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024
    A really good book, but Amazon doesn't get any credit for that, but it took longer than it should have to send it to me after ordering.
  • MistressOfTheCastle
    5.0 out of 5 stars made me cry
    Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2024
    This book totally made me cry in a really good way. I read it years ago when it was first published, and I just re-read it electronically. Such a fabulous book. I read it in a day without putting it down.
  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars terrible ending!
    Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2024
    The rating is a 3 because the ending was terrible and not in keeping with the book. It was just an ok read. A little unrealistic at times.
  • Author Groupie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Blessings Book Club
    Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2013
    After a few starts and stops, I finally gave my full attention to Anna Quindlen's Blessings and was determined to finish. Although the beginning failed to hook me, once I reached the meat of the story, there was no turning back. A story of an elderly woman, a convicted felon, and an aspiring young doctor whose lives all come together as a result of the unexpected appearance of a child.
    The setting of the novel, Blessings, a rural family retreat, is not only idyllic in location, but also a domicile of familial dysfunction, both past and present. Through careful unveiling, Quindlen highlights the tragedy associated with truths withheld over generations.
    What was refreshing was the life, revitalization, and perspective of the female protagonist, Lydia. While philosophizing about life itself, she explains the tragedy of young death, the shock of middle-age death, and the inevitability of elderly death, how herstory, in essence, revolves around the loss of others. In addition, kudos to Quindlen for allowing the younger male and female in the novel to have meaningful interaction without the presence of romance.
    For the purposes of book club, a picnic lunch near a creek much like Lydia shared with Benny and Sunny as adolescents complete with bacon sandwiches, peanut butter cookies, and a big Ball jar of lemonade may be the perfect conversation starter.
  • A Devoted Reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Page Turner
    Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2024
    Even though the book had some hard to imagine happenings - it was all believable.
  • Victoria Zlotkowski
    5.0 out of 5 stars A quiet read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2022
    At first I expected a different kind of book, but it turned out to be a quiet and unexpected novel about a family with a past and the psychological turns after a newborn is left at the doorstep of the Blessings Estate.
    There are three main parallel stories about mothers and daughters, much different, unpredictable in their outcomes.
    There were very few things I missed, it takes patience to dive into the Blessings family‘s history, and I would have loved to know a bit more about Skip‘s life. Without a spoiler I cannot say much more, the ending left me a tiny bit dissatisfied, but than that is life.
    What are (happy) endings anyway?
    A good book.

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