The book is well written and kept me interested, but it's heavy - the subject matter, domestic violence, is an important and complicated issue. Anna Quindlen did a good job of touching on the difficult choices for a woman in a violent relationship. For those of us who have never been there, done that, it's easy to say I would never, or I would leave, or I would not allow it. Not so easy, I think, when you're in that situation - especially when there are children involved.

Black and Blue is the story of a woman who flees an abusive relationship, taking her son and attempting to disappear into residential Florida, all the while waiting for her husband, a New York cop, to find and hurt her. The book is not Quindlen's best and while it is readable, and at less than 400 pages a manageable length, it feels like little more than a Lifetime "woman's" movie in novel form. I wouldn't recommend this book, especially in comparison to Quindlen's other work, although the lessons of what abuse is, how it happens, and how difficult it can be to escape are good ones to learn about, even in a fictional context.

Anna Quindlen is also the author of One True Thing, a book-cum-film about a daughter's experience with her mother's terminal cancer. That book is good--realistic, emotional but not maudlin, and challenging. Black and Blue is merely an example of weak writing that reads like a made for TV movie. It made its way into Oprah's book club but would never make it on to any of my must-read lists. Facing the realities of abuse is a good lesson to learn, and so the subject is worth reading about, but Quindlen's portrayal is less than realistic or compelling. All of the checklist facts are there: abuse leads to abuse, specifically carried from father to son; some women are drawn to the type of men that are/become abusers; legal protection can be inadequate; violence can lead to death. So on, so forth. The list of facts is there but the emotional context is filmsy, centers on children (rather than personal strength) and strange, powerless situations. Even when she flees her husband, things seem to be done to the protagonist rather than done by her. It's unfulfilling and disappointing to the reader and detracts from the whole text. In fact, the more interesting characters are mere foils and supporting roles like her new friends and romantic interest. They seem to have more personality and depth than the protagonist.

It will take less time and energy, and induce the same emotional response, to watch any one of the numerous women's TV daytime movies about the same subject. Black and Blue is gripping only because you want to know if her husband will find her or not, and presents very few challenges, either in the writing or the ideas, to the reader. It's readable and I was able to get through it, but it's still a poor example of literature and even of the lesson it attempts to teach. Don't waste your time on this one. There is so much out there worth reading--spend your time on it.

A story about an abused woman who flees with her son to escape her husband who hits her. All written from Fran’s/Beth’s perspective in a remembrance style of writing. The way the author interspersed the past (telling her love & abuse story) with the present worked. I just thought it wrapped up too quickly and didn’t really think the choice to end it in this way was realistic for Bobby’s character.

Read when it came out in 1998 because it was an Oprah's bookclub selection, Black and Blue made me a lifetime fan of Quindlen's writing. A powerful book about the survivor of an abusive marriage and her son who is putting the pieces of her life back together, Black and Blue is a poignant tale of perseverance of a strong female protagonist.

I am certain that this book, written in the 90's, was the prototype for a flood of social issue novels (especially those which dealt with domestic and child abuse) which flooded the market after its publication. And I am equally sure it remains one of the best. Told in the narrator Fran Benedetto's deadpan voice, it details the cruelty inflicted on her by her angry vengeful husband Bobby, who also happens to be a cop and her desperate efforts to keep herself and her son safe from him. Finally Fran is forced to flee her home and is aided by a mysterious organization which hides abuse victims and their children. She does start over in a dumpy town on Florida,from where she gradually builds her life again. But she never stops looking over her shoulder and one of the sadder aspects of her life is that the violence she has endured has robbed her of her faith and in life and has isolated her from all around her. For me the most pernicious consequence of this problem is what it has done to her son who has buried all of his conflicted feelings about his broken family and who,in Fran's words, has become like "a little old man", old and afraid. And even sadder is the fact that almost 30 years down the line, we know that all of the restraining orders in the world won't stop a crazy spouse from getting his revenge. The story doesn't really have an upbeat ending. How could it, as much of the damage is irreparable? But it does depict the silent hell which many women and children endure.

What? I read a book in only 2 days (both of which were days I worked a full shift) and still only gave 2 stars? But why?

Well, here's the thing. This isn't the sort of book I normally read. Black and Blue would not have blipped on my radar, except for the fact that I own it. And why do I own it? I don't know! But if I have to venture a guess, I'll say that my sister-in-law either gave it to me directly, or she was culling her own collection of books and I picked this one up. I've never been one to take note of Oprah's book club, but I'm doing a reading challenge that includes that very prompt, and I went with this choice.

So anyway, the book. Obviously it was readable. It wasn't a slog or complicated, it didn't have too many big words. I'm not saying that as a positive or a negative, it just is. The subject matter was heavy, being about a woman, an abused wife, who takes their son and leaves to start a new life, while always expecting her husband (a NYC cop of all things) to show up, because of course he would! So, you know, this wasn't a fun book.

But it was exactly the kind of book I'd have expected to be chosen for a book club (Oprah's or otherwise), and the kind of book my sister-in-law, who thought Nicholas Sparks was a pretty good author until recently, would read. It's a book that takes something ugly (domestic violence) and makes it palatable for the casual reader, just like what The Help did for racism and what The Kite Runner did for the Taliban and Afghanistan. Again, I'm not trying to say that as a positive or a negative, though it probably sounds like I'm being a big snob :) And maybe I am, but that doesn't mean I don't think other people won't like this book, or get something out of it. If you do like it and/or get something out of it, more power to you!

This is an amazing book - no real surprise given the author. A story of a woman whose marriage has slipped into one of domestic abuse, impacting not just the two of them but their young son as well.

But this book is powerfully crafted, and surprisingly, told in the first person. Ms. Quindlen manages to cover both the major dramatic moments, as well as the mundane moments that make up daily life. And she does an excellent job of putting a face to domestic abuse, and helps to explain why it happens so often. Not why it takes place, but rather why the abused party remains in the relationship until they've been there so long that to leave is to risk their life (even when they know they risk their life every moment longer that they remain). And to help show that this can happen to anyone, no matter how well educated, the main character is a nurse - who sees victims of domestic abuse and suspected domestic abuse on a daily basis while at work. And to add to the challenges she faces, her husband is a cop.

She shares her fears for their young son, and the heartache of knowing that she wasn't the only one being abused in the marriage. Even though her son was never physically or overtly mentally abused, hearing and seeing what took place between his parents left him with his own mental and emotional scars.

The risks of leaving an abusive spouse are high, and carry with them huge costs - having to repeatedly learn new identities, alter your appearances, and the potential need to disappear into the night at any given time (making putting down roots very emotionally risky). And the wrenching pain of having to sever all your connections and relationships forever, without getting the chance to say goodbye or explain.

And to all of this Ms. Quindlen brings a freshness that has been lacking. Though a sad and depressing lifestyle, she manages to infuse the story with more than just gorey details and sensationalism. She brings the mundane, the boring, those daily tasks and details that most of us can relate to. And she helps paint a clearer picture of why a woman might stay with an abusive husband. (This is not to exclude those men that are abused by their wives, or same gender spouses that have an abusive relationship.)

Well worth the read. And pleasantly the book did not leave me feeling emotionally wrecked as I'd been anticipating. Instead I am left pondering many of the details she shared, and looking at the world around me with an expanded set of filters/tools.

I only gave this book 4 stars because I didn't feel that 3 were quite enough. I enjoyed this story and couldn't get its characters out of my head when I wasn't reading. It did get a bit long winded towards the end, but overall an interesting read.

"And there is another American profession that has a significantly more alarming problem with domestic abuse. I'd urge everyone who believes in zero tolerance for NFL employees caught beating their wives or girlfriends to direct as much attention—or ideally, even more attention—at police officers who assault their partners. Several studies have found that the romantic partners of police officers suffer domestic abuse at rates significantly higher than the general population. And while all partner abuse is unacceptable, it is especially problematic when domestic abusers are literally the people that battered and abused women are supposed to call for help." Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic Monthly September 19, 2014

Bobby Benedetto is the poster boy for cops who beat their wives. Fran Benedetto in fear of her life after suffering multiple beatings at the hands of Bobby takes her son Robert and vanishes from Brooklyn with the help of an advocacy group. She and Robert assume new identities, new lives, in a new town. Fran, now known as Beth, still looking over her shoulder for the inevitable appearance of Bobby, gradually begins to adapt to the situation. Robert makes peace with aspects of his new life but is conflicted about what he feels for his father and what he knows about his father's behavior.

There is no happy ending. Lives are forever scarred. Unsatisfactory trade offs are made. Wounds will never heal. And, it would seem, cops protect their own.

Liked the pace of this book and again - another that I didn't predict the ending. It scared me, as it should, and I felt that it was fast enough to keep my attention Poignant, meaningful. Great read.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Mixed feelings on this one. I hated the ending. I feel like  it would have been hard for Bobby to hide from Beth. I just couldn’t believe that part. He would have to work to support them since no one would help him like Fran had help.  So other than the ending I felt it was very believable. I hadn’t read many books on the topic of domestic abuse and I feel like this one was well done. I would just like to have an epilogue with  Robert and Beth reunited and for him to have realized the truth about his father so he doesn’t repeat the cycle. .

Written from a first-person narrator's perspective, this is an insightful view of domestic abuse from the victim, Fran Benedetto. Fran was in an abusive marriage for 18 years when she finally had enough, took her son, and went into hiding under a new identity. This book is filled intensively with Fran's feelings about the relationship with her policeman husband, her reasons for staying with him, and her feelings/fear after leaving. I think it helped me understand a little better why a woman might stay with a man under such circumstances. I've always been one of those people who thinks 'why doesn't she just leave'. This one would make a good lifetime movie - I kept thinking the whole time that I'd read it before or seen it before.