- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd (15 Feb 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099735709
- ISBN-13: 978-0099735700
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 864,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The War of the Roses
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Product Description
New York Times Book Review
"Warren Adler writes with skill and a sense of scene."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
West Coast Review of Books
"Tight, unique, intimate . . . fascinating and unusual."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
A cold rain whipped across the clapboard facade of the old house, spattering against the panes. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A cold rain whipped across the clapboard facade of the old house, spattering against the panes. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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9 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
On the wrong track...
13 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback
I have seen several reviews of this book which were negative. I have also seen the movie. The conclusion that I have come to is that most people--including the script writers--have missed the main point of the book.
The impression that I have is that everyone thinks this book is about the moral destruction that divorce can cause. Admittedly, there is a lot of this in the book. Still, I feel that the main point is that the moral destruction isn't caused by the divorce so much as it is the passion for material objects.
The Roses define who they are by what they own, and giving away any part of what they own must therefore diminish who they are. As a result, the only outcome of a property division is obviously a fight to the death. Not even the children matter as much. And the finale, with the children following the parents' footsteps, is truly chilling. One does indeed sympathize with Anne.
In the end, remember that this book was written in 1981. Don't read it as a black comedy on the horrors of divorce. Read it as a black comedy on the horror of the onset of the Yuppie phenomenon.
The impression that I have is that everyone thinks this book is about the moral destruction that divorce can cause. Admittedly, there is a lot of this in the book. Still, I feel that the main point is that the moral destruction isn't caused by the divorce so much as it is the passion for material objects.
The Roses define who they are by what they own, and giving away any part of what they own must therefore diminish who they are. As a result, the only outcome of a property division is obviously a fight to the death. Not even the children matter as much. And the finale, with the children following the parents' footsteps, is truly chilling. One does indeed sympathize with Anne.
In the end, remember that this book was written in 1981. Don't read it as a black comedy on the horrors of divorce. Read it as a black comedy on the horror of the onset of the Yuppie phenomenon.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Negative, Realisitic, and Gritty, but the best book ive read
15 Jan 2003
Format:Hardcover
I was obsessed over the movie for a long time and when I read this book it had the same theme and characters but it was vastly different than the movie. The ending was almost the same, but it was shocking how much they did to each other. Everyone seems to think it was about materialism only. I disagree. It was about investing twenty years of your life and wanting something to show for it, and I think their anger and revenge stemmed more from an attitude of 'How dare you waste my life' or 'How dare you ruin our family' that it was more the main theme than the house. The house just happened to be caught in the crossfire. It definetly makes you think, and is by far one of my favorite books.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Good book - better movie
7 Dec 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of the extremely RARE times when the movie was better than the book. In the movie, things escalate logically, with a little humor to keep it from getting too dark. Even at the end, when both spouses have "lost it," there was an enraged logic to their actions. In the book, things got TOO over-the-top. Filling a bathtub with rancid food, turning the whole house into a booby-trap, it was just not believable.
At times, it digressed into a "women's lib" commentary on how a woman exists just to validate a man. A key plot point is that Jonathon doesn't understand why his wife wants a divorce. In the movie, we can side with Barbara at times, just as we side with Jonathon at other times. In the book, she just comes across as needing some cheese with that whine.
Get the movie, skip the book.
At times, it digressed into a "women's lib" commentary on how a woman exists just to validate a man. A key plot point is that Jonathon doesn't understand why his wife wants a divorce. In the movie, we can side with Barbara at times, just as we side with Jonathon at other times. In the book, she just comes across as needing some cheese with that whine.
Get the movie, skip the book.
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