I usually only give books I cannot finish a 1 star rating, but somehow I actually managed to finish this - I'm just not sure how. At 50% , I realized that the characters were so dysfunctional, if they were real people I would have to distance myself from them simply to preserve my sanity. I was skimming so much by the end, that I may be giving myself too much credit to say I finished the book. Then again, I don't think the story finished, either; rather, it just seemed to...stop, with a few "neat" little endings thrown in for good measure.

I'm with those who wrote they didn't know what Oprah saw in this book, way back in 1998!

Bought it for bus rides. I'd rather risk eye contact with the nuts on the bus instead. Bad bargain bin book.

I learned nothing, and I have no idea what Oprah was thinking. For 740 pages I stuck with this book, thinking it has to get better, there has to be something more. There isn't. Everyone ends up in the same place they started.

An amazing tale of a family struggling to meet social and economic demands in a 1960 Vermont town. This story really draws the reader into the time period while juggling the individual thoughts of all of the characters.
The story is centered on Marie Fermoyle, who as a lonely divorced woman never gives up her ambitions for her children----Alice, a seventeen year old troubled teen involved with a local priest; Norm, a driven sixteen year old; and Benjy, a 13 year old boy confused and lacking self-confidence. As the family implodes, the characters evolve ----even Marie, though she fiercely denies it.

It took me forever to finish reading this book. This came off the free table- I should have known better. This book is actually well written, the characters are realistic and unique, but holy crap it is depressing. I can’t believe how many sad lives are very well described in this book: married too young, alcoholic, loveless marriage, wife dying, young boy witnessed a murder, anger issues, the list goes on. I think my favorite character was Renie: married but lonely failing appliance store owner who makes semi obscene anonymous phone calls to ladies. He is weirdly sweet with them- and most are so lonely - I think they rather look forward to his calls. He is very gullible, but loves his niece and nephews- and his storyline has a somewhat happy ending. I have a bunch of characters that I didn’t care for: Father Gannon, Marie, Helen, Omar... the amount of people who are gullible, make poor decisions and are self deluded in this story is truly amazing. I’m glad Alice made it to college.

This book was beautifully written. I’m giving it a 4 instead of a 5 because there was the barest recognition of racism in the 60s in a way that seemed problematic and unnecessary for the plot.

Boy am I glad I spent that quarter on this at the church rummage sale because of it’s Oprah’s Book Club sticker. I can’t say it much better than the Globe blurb on the back- “deep and thick as a long hot summer.” It’s exactly the kind of book I love- huge canvas, third person omniscient narrator, salacious, and just dark enough.

The criticism that the author seems to enjoy tormenting the characters is probably fair, but damn it’s juicy. And there are moments and passages here that really did make me reflect- two characters in particular wonder why it seems nobody loves them.A heartbreaking thought but God, you know people are thinking it ever day- maybe we can remind them that they ARE lovable. I appreciate that every character in this book is dealing with their own collection of disappointments, frustrations, jealousies and vices; some huge, some unnoticeable. It’s a reminder that even though you might grow up thinking something’s wrong with you because your dad drinks and your house looks like shit compared to the neighbors, the neighbors might be fighting every night and close to bankruptcy. It’s not the most pleasant thought, but it might make you feel less alone. Does that sentence lift your spirits a bit? If so then you can handle this book. And like me, you might find it utterly engrossing, binge worthy, like falling into a lake.

This book was the most depressing, disheartening book I have ever read. For over 800 pages you keep thinking "Things can't get worse, they've got to start getting better." Oh yes they can and oh no they don't. Unless your life is really crappy right now and you want to read the only book where people have it worse than you, don't waste your time.

Could not finish. Too long and who cares about any of them!

Character-driven novel about the people living in a small town in Vermont in 1960. The storyline revolves around a con artist involved in an act of violence, who hides in plain sight by taking advantage of a lonely divorcee. The woman is supporting three children with no help from her alcoholic ex-husband. The story branches out to cover numerous people residing in the town, including the police chief and his family, the former police chief (now blind) that runs a popcorn stand, a dishonorably discharged marine trying to get his life back on track, an insurance salesman with financial issues, and many more.

None of the main characters are very likeable and it would have been nice to have at least one or two in such a large cast of characters. Surely the entire town isn’t populated with unpleasant people. It was a struggle to keep reading this at times. I kept waiting for a bright spot. There are a few small glimmers of hope, but not many.

Here’s a sampling of primary characters:
-tA con artist selling pipe dreams to people that can’t afford much of anything
-tA woman who constantly berates her children
-tAn alcoholic father that neglects his family
-tA priest taking advantage of a minor
-tA thief stealing from local businesses
-tA woman that poisons her husband’s dog
-tA “heavy breather” making crank calls
-tA man that has an affair while his wife is dying of cancer

All that said, it is very well-written. Themes include the ramifications of choices and how people can be entrapped by their hopes, fears, and desires. The characters are multi-layered. The author does a great job of getting inside the heads of the three children, ages 12, 16, and 17, as well as the divorced wife, alcoholic father, and various colorful characters living in this small town. The rationalizations of the con man seem very realistic, as he comes up with excuses to justify his atrocious behavior. For example:

“People were just dying to find someone they could trust, and intimate, someone who not only understood, but knew things without having to be told. And he didn’t regard it in any way as taking advantage or preying on their troubles, because the truth was, he cared about people. He really did. Even when they turned on him. It pained him to see anyone hurt. There were still nights when he could not close his eyes, but what images of Earlie came to mind, that most headstrong, stubborn, and selfish young man who in a very real sense had been the instrument of his own harm. And of this he had no doubt. None whatsoever.”

I appreciated the writing and would have probably liked it more if it were shorter and less repetitious, but after almost 750 pages, I am glad to be finished.

I tried not to like this book. The reviews hit me in all the wrong places. The story centers around a dysfunction family living in a dysfunctional town ... what could go wrong?? But, the characters slowly trapped me and I was hooked.

Oh, Oprah! Whatever did you see in this book? Only because of my hard-and-fast rule that I must finish reading every book I start, did I complete "Songs in Ordinary Time". Had the book been capped at, say, 300 pages it might have been, at least, moderately tolerable. At page 600, I was ready to physically hurt people . . . and there were still 152 pages to go! I'm truly at a loss for even one kind word to say about this book. The whole thing was fraught with far too many characters, many with woefully incomplete story lines, and every one of them needed to be medicated and could benefit from more than a few hours on a therapist's couch. I think I registered only two emotions reading this book - neither good. It was dark, depressing, and oftentimes confusing as hell. The writing was awkwardly bad. And what was up with the creepy old sister living with the dead judge for weeks in his room in the sisters' boarding house? Nobody smelled anything? And nobody clears out a JUDGE's room of personal and professional papers when he dies? Give me a break. Implausible and totally unbelievable. Oy Vey! I dunno, maybe it's a Vermont thing? Hey, it's the holidays . . . if you've got people you hate on your gift list this year, give them this book. Otherwise, avoid at all costs.