Books : The Third Child: A Novel (Piercy, Marge)
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by: Marge Piercy
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780066211169
ISBN: 0066211166
Label: William Morrow
Manufacturer: William Morrow
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: December 01, 2003
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: November 25, 2003
Sales Rank: 1377494
Studio: William Morrow
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The renowned novelist and poet Marge Piercy tells a contemporary love story set in the twin realms of college and national politics
In the politically prominent Dickinson family, ambition comes first, and Melissa, the third child, has always felt that she comes last. Going away to college offers her a chance at a life free from her brilliant mother's constant scrutiny and her famous father's lack of interest.
There she meets Blake, a man of mixed race and apparently unknown parentage. His adoptive parents are lawyers whose defense of death- row cases has brought them head-to-head with Melissa's father, the former governor of Pennsylvania who is now a U.S. senator.
Melissa and Blake's attraction is immediate; their affair, fiery. Yet Blake is keeping a dangerous secret from Melissa, one that could destroy them -- and their families.
Dealing with themes of love, honesty, identity, and the consequences of ambition, this thoughtful, beautifully written story is a remarkable and provocative page-turner.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Amateurish dialogue
As a Piercy fan, I expected more. The plot was well executed, but the dialogue was ridiculous. Many times I just had to laugh at the stilted words spoken by these characters. What happened to Piercy? Was she rushed to get this book on the market? I did finally finish it, but I still can't believe Marge Piecy wrote something so amateurish.
Rating: - So what?
Like many other reviewers here, I've been a Piercy fan for years and years. I've read nearly all of her considerable ouvre. I therefore eagerly greeted this novel, being further excited by the prospect of a main character who would appear to be a bit of stretch for Piercy. Piercy's shtick of the last 20 years -- Jewish, artsy female character struggles with sex (but never her sacred identity) -- has gotten just a little tiresome and I was looking forward to seeing one of my favorite authors ... Read More
Rating: - Pros and cons...
This book had its pros and its cons. I found it more interesting from an abstract, symbolic, 'flashback to those thought provoking discussions in freshman-lit' kind of way. There was the modern day Romeo and Juliet angle, the commentary on today's political world, the parallels that I assume the author was trying to draw between Blake and Melissa's dad (i.e., what made one act admirable and the other criminal).
As with many books of that nature, however, I didn't connect with it on a more ... Read More
Rating:  - Not Piercy's best work
Like many of the other reviewers, I've been a Marge Piercy fan for years. "He, She & It," "City of Darkness, City of Light,", and "Gone to Soldiers" (not to mention much of her poetry) are books I love and come back to over and over again. As a biracial Jewish woman who is active in politics, I couldn't wait to read this book. Once I started, though, I wish I hadn't. Trite, predicatable, cliched, with characters that are uninteresting, hollow stereotypes, there is nothing to recommend this novel. While ... Read More
Rating: - Such a relief after Tom Wolfe
This novel has been adequately evaluated by many other reviewers - I just want to say how happy its view of college made me, after having read Tom Wolfe's "I am Charlotte Simmons".
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