(#24) / Ordinary People / by Judith Guest / (Book)

Opening

Bibliographic Information:

Ordinary People / by Judith Guest

ISBN-13: 978-0140065176 / Penguin (Non-Classics)

p. 272 / $10.20 (Amazon)

1976

Body of Content

Summary: The Jarretts are the everyday family – typical Americans through-and-through.  But circumstances change for the family, as their older son (Buck) dies in a water accident, while the younger son (Conrad) escapes the drowning fate of his brother.  Filled with survivor’s guilt – as he, the younger, less strong of the two brothers – Conrad struggles to deal with the tragic event.  Ultimately, Conrad attempts to take his own life, cutting his wrists in the family’s bathroom.  His parents – Calvin and Beth – seek out professional counseling services for their son – turning to psychiatrist Dr. Tyrone Berger.  Other friendships develop – Jeannine Pratt as a love interest and Joe Lazenby as a sport buddy on Conrad’s swim team.  But the road to recovery is a long one – as Ordinary People describes how a typical family deals with the unexpected and tragic events that enter their lives.

Critique: The book is a psychological book – well versed from the author’s educational major in college.  One of the reoccurring themes in the book is shame – how Conrad must deal with it and learn to overcome it.  Having attempted to kill himself in the family’s bathroom, that room holds a connotation of shame – as Conrad’s parents discovered him there – bleeding to death.  Conrad bears the physical scars of his suicide attempt – often wearing long shirts to hide the marks.  Dealing with self-esteem and self-identity issues, Conrad doubts his ability to find love, though one character (Jeannine) helps him in this regard.  Still, their relationship is often talked about within sessions with Dr. Berger.   

The novel deals with grief, death, and loss – but given that the main character must strive to find a way to live with the events – with both his brother’s death and his ill-fated attempt – the novel deals with shame.  Through the constant physical reminders and embarrassment, Conrad must overcome the shame that overshadows a person when they fail at suicide – and more questions than answers enter the equation.      

Teaser: “After a family loses their son in a water accident, they must face the prospect of losing their other son who survived.”

Information about the Author: Hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Guest studied English and psychology at the University of Michigan.  Shortly thereafter, she married, started teaching a first-grade elementary class, and had her first of three sons.  Guest faced rejection for publishers earlier in her ventures into novel writing – with one publisher rejecting the manuscript for Ordinary People saying, “While the book has some satiric bite, overall the level of writing does not sustain interest and we will have to decline it” (Guest, 2005).

But one publisher did pick up the novel – and Viking Press followed by printing her second novel Second Heaven.  With various publishers, Guest further her writing credits – with the works Killing Time in St. Cloud, Errands, and The Tarnished Eye (Guest, 2005).  

Supplemental Material

Genre: Drama

Curriculum Ties: Psychology – suicide, recovery, self-esteem, survivor’s guilt  

Booktalking Ideas: 1) If your sibling died in the same accident that you survived, how would you react? 2) How do attempted suicides affect surrounding family members?

Reading Level: The main character is a teen – and about survivor’s guilt – and thus, it represents a problem novel dealing with teen suicide.  Teenagers throughout high school (15-19) represent the intended audience.  This book would prove difficult, though, within a lower educational setting – if attempted for educational use in middle school, given the premise.  

Challenge Issues and Defense: The book deals with a teenager’s life – after an attempted suicide effort.  The book, thus, contains a heavy premise.  The main character in the book also talks about his sex life and habits in the novel within discussions with his therapist. The film adaption won the best picture award from the Academy – and overall, the work is known as a novel of merit.  Such supports help defense of the book. 

Personal Reasons for Inclusion: The book is very simple – (i.e not overly dramatized like some problem novels) – but the novel is well-written.  The author portrays a complicated issue – as the reader wants the best for the character, as his story develops.

Last Thoughts

References:

Guest, J. (2005). Bio [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.judithguest.com/bio.htm

Listening to (Music):

Artist – Sara Groves / Album – “Invisible Empires”