The kudos for the quality of Ann Patchett’s writing in general and of Truth & Beauty in particular are well known. But many sophisticated reviewers far from the red clay of South Carolina were as disturbed as we were. It is hardly a consensus for a University-wide read.

“To be frank, it gave me the creeps.”

--Enid of Chicago

This book reminded me of the art house film 91/2 weeks, except for the fact that in this case the protagonists are both females.

--Freida of San Francisco

This book should be read alongside other more explicit works of its genre.

Justine of Nashville

Sorry readers but slogging through this “tribute” to friendship was about as enjoyable as a root canal… Like other reviewers, I took issue with the author revealing every sordid detail…

--J. Fercho, Calgary

Truth, Beauty and Kink. At least this was the consensus of my reading group.

Harriet, Daytona Beach

This book reminds me of a 1950s lesbian pulp novel where the protagonists meet, fall I love, marry men, but remain lifelong intimate friends. This is a work of nonfiction, but I believe the analogy is still valid.

--Ruth Steinberg of Atlanta

I wondered throughout the book whether it had a lesbian content, active or subliminal

--Allyson Hamilton of Los Angeles

I’m wondering if “A Romance” might be more appropriate.

Brooklyn, NY

Lots of Beauty, Little Truth. Yes, Ann’s prose is beautiful. But where is the content. I was baffled by this book.

--Edmund Maloney of Seattle

An Evil Friendship. I would recommend this book to anyone interest[ed] in socio-pathic relationships.

--Merloyd Miller

The overall image I had upon finishing this book was of a Harlequinn romance set in a ghastly, macabre amusement park where nothing is as it seems.

--Kathleen Sullivan of San Francisco

[She had sex so much]. When did she have time to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, shoot heroin, or throw up newly purchased apricot nectar?

--Midwest

Beautiful, elegant writing…the story is another matter.

--Vibiana of Kansas

Portrait of an unhealthy relationship. This was a quick, engrossing, well-written but dissatisfying read… While I continue to like Patchett’s writing, this book seemed self-indulgent and repetitive. Lucy and Ann’s friendship was annoying and unbalanced, much like the text itself.

--Kate of Australia

Not your mother’s friendship tale….delightfully subversive…engaging for the open-minded.

--Ormond Beach, FL

Spoiled girls. This book reads like a high school essay filled with angst and constant drama. Recommended only if you’re a fan of Nancy Diaries or other reality books.

--Chicago

All of the sordid details got very tiresome…

--Portland, OR

…told with too much almost-voyeuristic detail to be a respectable biography…It would have been better in my opinion as an essay without spending what amounts to a large part of a book going into all the sordid personal details of Lucy’s life and struggles.

--Rachel of California

Well-written, strangely powerful and often horrifying. I can’t quite recommend it. It’s a special sort of pathology that many of us have encountered.

----Readerville

“Left me wondering (after I started rooting for heroin towards the end)…”

--A Reader

“Voyeuristic.”

--E. Northrop