I got into it more and more as I read it, and especially liked the way the story unfolded with some unexpected twists. ( )

Mattie and her two children move into her mother's old house after her husband leaves her. Blue Shoe is the story of how she knits together a new life for her family. Anne Lamott is an essayist I have followed for about 15 years. She's written other fiction but it just didn't grab me. This one did. It's just a nice story told in a very nice way. ( )

A bunch of deeply flawed and unlikable characters in search of a plot that never comes together. What happens to Isa? What happens to Noah and his mother? Do Mattie and Daniel ever get married? Frustrating. ( )

I love Anne Lamont’s writing. I remember reading her columns in Slate and being enchanted. We both grew up in Marin County, went to adjoining high schools about a year apart. When she mentions Samuel P. Taylor park, I know exactly where it is.
I like her style, her politics, her theology and experience of church. But. (There’s always a But) This novel had annoying flaws - so much smelling and s l o w movement. I lost patience with the heroine. One more description of Lewis’ complexion and I was going to rip the page out.
Still, it was a Brave book, to describe a mother’s slow decline and how (sensing)
our parents’ secrets (has) have consequences. Angela has such good advice: what a friend! So I read to the end, came out richer for it, but I like her non-fiction better. ( )

I've decided that while I'm quite a fan of Anne Lamott's non-fiction work, I don't tend to like her fiction books, and this one is no exception. Lamott is at her best when she's writing about her own struggles with faith and her writing, but while reading this book I was conscious the entire time that I was reading her writing. The story itself was decent enough, but I never had a moment where I was able to be absorbed into the story. I was quite aware the entire time I was reading words printed on a page, instead of being told a story. I'll look forward to Lamott's next non-fiction work, but I think I'm not going to try any of her stories again for awhile. ( )