Peyton Place (Hardscrabble Books-Fiction of New England) by Grace Metalious Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Peyton Place (Hardscrabble Books-Fiction of New England)
Book Review: Peyton Place
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched Peyton Place on TV as a teenager (I think that is how old I was), and I loved the show and the characters. Reading the book all these years later brought me back to those years. I loved the characters, they were really brought to life for me in the book. It was a blast from the past. I read this book with one of my book clubs, made up of women in their 50's and 60's and we all truly enjoyed the book. I would recommend it to others to read.
I bought this book thru Amazon.com and it was a new book.
Book Review: Peyton Place
Summary: 4 Stars
I totaly enjoyed the book. If this book was considered sleazy the readers of then would want to die with the
different versions of sexual reading in this generation. Looking forward to read Return to Peyton Place.
Thanks to Barbara Delinsky if not for her book I don't recall knowing this book existed. Even though my daughter
seems to recall seeing the TV series or the movie recently on TV and she is only 23. As some readers commented this could very well be the small village where I grew up.
Book Review: Peyton Place - Still Scandalous
Summary: 4 Stars
I read this book on the recommendation of a good friend. I was very sceptical since I don't love "soap operas", but this is so much more than a soap opera.
Peyton Place is a small New England town where everybody knows each other and their business. There are the very poor shack people, the middle class and the wealthy. Peyton Place is a place to be feared - gossip will ruin you and nobody apologizes for it.
What amazes me is that nobody escapes this book unscathed. There is rape, child abuse, drinking, spousal abuse, rumor spreading, abortion, cover ups, a murder trial, lovers dying, lovers leaving and even incest. No skeleton is hidden for long in Peyton Place and everybody will know about your troubles.
I was impressed actually by the frank discussions that were had regarding sex. For the time, it was certainly considered progressive and scandalous, but I liked that it was honest and out in the open for those few people who spoke of it. I kept hoping against hope that all would be righted in the end, but true to small town form, that was not the case.
While this is not a great piece of literature, it is well crafted with believable characters. Reading this book today is not completely shocking, but it still holds an element of scandal. Kudos to the author for writing this book under her own name and paving the way for other female authors to do the same.
Book Review: Peyton Place revisited is a different place!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first read Peyton Place upon its publication in 1956 this book was considered highly immoral and downright trashy. What kind of woman must this Grace Metalious be to pen such a book? Sinful, sinful was the common consensus. It is a pity that Metalious did not live to see its reprinting. Reading it now from the vantage point of almost 2000, one is shown the underbelly of a small New England town, with all its conflicts and crosscurrents. The story is told simply, with clarity and truth. Shining through is a deep compassion for the weaknesses and failings of humankind. Living in such a town as Peyton Place, the author knew what she was writing about and it shows. Read this book again if you read it before. First time readers, see how simple honesty, skillfully portrayed in the stories of small town life spun here, makes for an exceptionally well written book even in 1999!Book Review: Reason for name changes
Summary: 3 Stars
Peyton Place is a fun read although hardly great literature,thus the 3 stars. As a woman author writing a steamy
novel that focused on the inner lives of women, Grace was
well ahead of her time, and I applaud her courage and
outspokenness. But I found the novel overly
sensationalist; she could have made many of her points
without some of the gratuitous kink, particularly
in the life of the Norman character. Anyway, the reason I am
writing in is to explain to a prior reviewer the reason
for the name changes. I am reading "Inside Peyton Place",
Grace Metalious' biography, and apparently Grace
used the names of real people in the town she was
living in (Gilmanton, NH) for some of the PP characters.
One of them named Tom Makris brought a libel suit against
her, and as a result she had to change the name of that
character in the paperback, movie and television
versions of PP.