Eh. This story had a pretty good build-up, but given the extremely anti-climactic ending of this book, I just could not bring myself to give it higher than 2.5 stars, which is a shame because much of the story was strong, with the mom/main character trying to put her life back together after escaping an abusive husband, but there was no sense of justice or vindication by the time I finally finished the story.

The description of domestic abuse is authentic and the story itself is decent (as is the writing). Outside of that, there isn't anything particularly groundbreaking or outstanding. I also wanted a different ending, but I guess I see what the writer was going for.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I thought this book did a pretty good job describing what domestic violence can look like and how it can impact children. I did feel bad for Fran and Robby at times, but I also felt that the author inaccurately captured the feelings of fear Fran must have had, because I've read other books that mention a woman never forgets the fear and even small things will bring back the fear.
I liked how the book went from the past to the present as I found the past helped to give Fran a background and allowed me to understand what she might have been thinking. That said, I wish the book had ended differently and was a bit disappointed with the ending.
Overall, I thought this was a well-written book that did a good job at depicting a violent relationship but the ending left a lot to be desired.

Expecting a sermon...got a story....

"I stayed because I thought things would get better. I stayed because I wanted my son to have a father" I stayed because I wanted a home. I stayed because I loved Bobby."

This book is a MUST read for anyone that says "Whys don't they just leave?", often said without compassion or understanding.

I worked for a large Domestic Violence agency for many years and I have talked, safety planned and sat and listened to many women (and some men) in these situations. The answer to the question, "Why don't they just leave", is never an easy answer. It is never black and white. It is never something that unless you have lived it, that you can fully understand or judge.

This is just one window into a situation, but it is a good and clear window.
Read it, maybe it will help you understand, maybe help you recognize it in someone else, or at the very least maybe make you less likely to say, "Why don't they just leave?"

I just started reading Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen. I haven't finished it quite yet but so far it is amazing. So far Fran Benedetto has escaped a life of abuse and neglect. Fran has a 10 year old son named Robert. Once Robert was old enough to talk he would ask him mom how she hurt herself.
He would wake up every morning to find a new mark or welt or cut on his moms face. What Fran didn't tell Robert was that his daddy had beaten her.
Bobby (the dad) was a firefighter for New York. Fran met Bobby at a bar. She says he made her feel alive. After they got married and had Robert the beating got worse. So she left her old life behind. She left her husband her job in the ER even her identity. She cut off all her red hair and dyed it blonde.
She changed her name completely but only changed Robert's last name. She was now Elizabeth Crenshaw from a small town in Delaware.
Robert and her escaped with the help of Patty Bancroft and her women, her secret women. They now live in Florida and Robert is now starting a new school.
She just got a job as an assistant for Home care. Beth lives in an apartment with her son. He has made a new friend, his next door neighbor Bennie.
This book is just getting interesting and I can't wait to finish the book.

A resolution of mine for 2013 was to read books by authors new to me. I have several favorite writers, and I concentrate much of my reading on their works. I had heard of Anna Quindlen over the years, but had never read anything by her. I picked up this paperback in a Goodwill store. Even though I believed that it was primarily directed toward a female readership, I thought it sounded interesting and decided to buy and read it. I retired after working twenty-four years as a police dispatcher, so I am all too aware of the problems of domestic abuse. I found "Black and Blue" to be an amazing work by an amazing writer. Quindlen has done a tremendous job in showing the many and varied things that abused women endure. The characters were very genuine and believable. In fact, at times I had to remind myself that it was a novel I was reading. I am so glad that I read this book, not just as a diversion from my usual novels and authors, but as a work which has reminded me anew what a terrible thing domestic abuse really is. This book has been out for several years, but if you have never read it, I heartily recommend that you do.

3.5 stars for Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen.

Black and Blue is about Fran Benedetto who flees an emotionally and physically abusive marriage with her son, Robert. Fran's husband, Bobby is controlling, manipulative, and downright nasty to her, and after a particularly severe beating, she has had enough so she takes off.

The plot then relates what happens to Fran and Robert after they are relocated. It is a story of survival, of standing up for one's self, of new beginnings, and of hope for better things in life.

The characters were well developed and believable. I sympathized for Fran and Robert. Bobby Benedetto was well portrayed as the evil, hateful, abusive, drut of a husband. I also enjoyed the other characters like Mike, Cindy, and Mrs. Levitt. All played important roles in the story and they were all interesting characters.

Setting was also well done and Quindlen had quality descriptions that helped me visualize where the characters were and again, it all felt realistic.

So, overall, Black and Blue has a lot going for it and it is a believable story about escaping an abusive relationship. It hit a lot of nerves and some parts of the story made me uncomfortable but that is okay. Sometimes that is what a good book is all about - getting out of your comfort zone a little bit!

This book had 2 redeeming moments - the first was it contributed to one of the soundest night’s sleep I’ve had in years, the second was it led to a rare unanimous assessment at March 2019 bookclub. The premise sounds like it should be a fantastic story. Instead I (and everyone else) found it tremendously boring. The book rambled on with dull, one dimensional characters and the author trying to cram in social issues that were not important to the story. I kept reading assuming that something would happen - eventually skimming through huge chunks in an effort to save my sanity. When finally the “exciting” moment came it was ridiculously anti-climatic. The story then meanders to a lackluster ending.

Probably more disturbing was the author’s note at the end where she mentioned that she had done no research before writing this novel. No surprise - that was glaringly evident to the readers throughout the entire novel. To tackle such an important topic as domestic violence without doing any research is frankly disrespectful. The book read like exactly what it was - an entitled woman writing a stupid story about an issue she knew nothing about. I will certainly not read a book by this author in the future.

I know a young woman who is going to be married in a few months and her future husband is already emotionally and verbally abusing her. Unfortunately, she doesn't recognize his behavior for what it is, but I'm sure that in the months and years to come she will. In Black and Blue, Anna Quindlen tells the story of Fran Benetto who marries Bobby at age 19 and 17 years later she runs away from her abusive marriage taking her ten year old son with her. Bobby and Fran live a seemingly perfect middle class life. He is a New York policeman and she is an emergency room nurse--ironic since her husband has broken her nose, cracked her collarbone, split her lip, and blackened her eyes over the years causing her numerous medical emergencies. In running with her son through a battered woman's "Underground Railroad", Fran becomes Beth Cranshaw living in a small duplex in Florida. This book is a wake-up call reminding all readers about the complexity and frequency of domestic violence in contemporary American society.

"Black and Blue" is about a woman, Fran, who is married to an abusive man. She realizes that the influence of her husband on her son is damaging and decides that it is best for her and her son to leave their home. However, because Fran's husband is a police man, she knows it will be hard to keep her secret life. This book discusses the very serious topic of abuse, and I think that the author, A did a great job expressing the emotions of a victim of abuse. However, I was not too fond of Quindlen's writing style. It was very repetitive and Quindlen provided too much excessive information which made the book seem to drag on.

Quotes:
Page 71 "When I'd imagined marriage, when I was standing at the altar of St. Stannie's, I'd never imagined staring at the ceiling, the back of my hair matted with blood, willing my husband to get done and get off."

Page 72 "When we were dating, I thought it would stop when we were married. When we were married, I thought a baby would help. After the baby, I thought if we had another child he'd feel better. When Robert was 2, I couldn't leave because those were the formative years. When Robert was starting school I couldn't leave because school was a big adjustment. And I couldn't leave in May because I'd screw up our family summer vacation, and I couldn't leave in Novmeber because it would screw up the holidays. So I stayed, and stayed, and stayed."

Page 215 "I stayed with him a lot longer than I should have because eventually I thought I'd get perfect enough to make things better. I figured just by being nice, or being quiet, or being pretty, or sweet or stupid, I could make things all right. I was wrong."

Page 293 "Everyone says that I did the right thing, that I shouldn't look back, that I had no choice. Maybe they're right. I still don't know."