She's Come Undone
Encyclopedia
She's Come Undone is a 1992 novel by Wally Lamb
which was widely read after being chosen as an Oprah's Book Club
selection in December 1996. Lamb's breakthrough novel was named a finalist for the 1992 Los Angeles Book Awards' Art Seidenbaum Prize for first fiction. Lamb's other novels include I Know This Much Is True
and The Hour I First Believed. She's Come Undone has been translated into eighteen languages and is read worldwide.
Following the accidental death of her mother, she decides to attend college in Pennsylvania. There she is ridiculed for her weight and cultivates a secret obsession with her peppy roommate's long-distance boyfriend, Dante, who sends love letters and nude photos in the mail. After an ill-conceived one-night stand with her university's lesbian janitor, she takes a long cab ride to Cape Cod, where she witnesses a beached whale dying. She feels kinship with the animal and wades into the water to drown herself.
After her suicide attempt, she is institutionalized for several years and begins to work through her issues with the help of her therapist. She loses over 100 pounds, but becomes frustrated with the slow-moving therapy. She decides to move to Vermont, where she has located Dante, the object of her college obsession.
Dolores gets a job at a local grocery store and moves into an apartment right across the hall from Dante. He is working as a high school English teacher but is frustrated with the stagnation in his life after having given up his youthful goal to become a priest. They begin a relationship, and eventually marry. However, Dante continues to dominate Dolores and has affairs with his female students. When Delores becomes pregnant (something she dearly wanted) Dante pressures her into getting an abortion. After the loss of her baby, she becomes resentful of the control he has over her life. After her grandmother dies, she eventually admits to Dante that she orchestrated their entire relationship after becoming infatuated with him through his photos. They divorce and she then leaves and moves into her late grandmother's house, which she inherited.
At her grandmother's funeral, Dolores is able to reconnect with several friends from her past, who form a surrogate family for her in Easterly. They encourage her to pursue her dreams, and she enrolls in some college courses while working. Here she meets Thayer, a single father, who is immediately smitten with her despite her troubled past. Initially she rebuffs his advances, but is charmed when he sends his teenage son to recite a rap
about how much he likes her. They begin a tentative romance, predicated on Dolores's desire to have a child. Dolores realizes that for the first time, she has a man in her life who she can trust and who will treat her as an equal. Thayer supports her as they receive IVF treatment, but they do not have enough money for a second attempt after the first one fails.
Dolores is depressed by the idea that she will never be a mother (by now she is in her late 30's) and Thayer takes her on a whale watching vacation to help her feel better. While on the boat, Dolores muses on her past and future. She decides that her life now is wonderful and is enough. The novel ends with her being the only one to see a whale
breach the ocean symbolizing her new found peace.
The book's title comes from the song "Undun" by The Guess Who
on their album Canned Wheat
.
Wally Lamb
Wally Lamb is an American author known as the writer of the novels She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, both of which were selected for Oprah's Book Club.Lamb was born in Norwich, Connecticut...
which was widely read after being chosen as an Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club
Oprah's Book Club was a book discussion club segment of the American talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show, highlighting books chosen by host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey started the book club in 1996, selecting a new novel for viewers to read and discuss each month. The Club ended its 15-year run, along with...
selection in December 1996. Lamb's breakthrough novel was named a finalist for the 1992 Los Angeles Book Awards' Art Seidenbaum Prize for first fiction. Lamb's other novels include I Know This Much Is True
I Know This Much Is True
I Know This Much Is True is a novel by Wally Lamb, published in 1998. It was featured in Oprah's Book Club in June 1998.-Plot summary:...
and The Hour I First Believed. She's Come Undone has been translated into eighteen languages and is read worldwide.
Plot summary
Dolores Price is heartbroken when her handsome, but immature, father leaves their suburban home for another woman. She and her mother move into her uptight Catholic grandmother's house in Easterly, Rhode Island, where she finds herself an outsider in the adolescent social hierarchy and the strict Catholic school she attends. After being raped by a charming neighbor, Jack Speight, she turns to food and television for comfort. By the age of 17, she has eaten her way to clinical obesity and is over 250 pounds.Following the accidental death of her mother, she decides to attend college in Pennsylvania. There she is ridiculed for her weight and cultivates a secret obsession with her peppy roommate's long-distance boyfriend, Dante, who sends love letters and nude photos in the mail. After an ill-conceived one-night stand with her university's lesbian janitor, she takes a long cab ride to Cape Cod, where she witnesses a beached whale dying. She feels kinship with the animal and wades into the water to drown herself.
After her suicide attempt, she is institutionalized for several years and begins to work through her issues with the help of her therapist. She loses over 100 pounds, but becomes frustrated with the slow-moving therapy. She decides to move to Vermont, where she has located Dante, the object of her college obsession.
Dolores gets a job at a local grocery store and moves into an apartment right across the hall from Dante. He is working as a high school English teacher but is frustrated with the stagnation in his life after having given up his youthful goal to become a priest. They begin a relationship, and eventually marry. However, Dante continues to dominate Dolores and has affairs with his female students. When Delores becomes pregnant (something she dearly wanted) Dante pressures her into getting an abortion. After the loss of her baby, she becomes resentful of the control he has over her life. After her grandmother dies, she eventually admits to Dante that she orchestrated their entire relationship after becoming infatuated with him through his photos. They divorce and she then leaves and moves into her late grandmother's house, which she inherited.
At her grandmother's funeral, Dolores is able to reconnect with several friends from her past, who form a surrogate family for her in Easterly. They encourage her to pursue her dreams, and she enrolls in some college courses while working. Here she meets Thayer, a single father, who is immediately smitten with her despite her troubled past. Initially she rebuffs his advances, but is charmed when he sends his teenage son to recite a rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
about how much he likes her. They begin a tentative romance, predicated on Dolores's desire to have a child. Dolores realizes that for the first time, she has a man in her life who she can trust and who will treat her as an equal. Thayer supports her as they receive IVF treatment, but they do not have enough money for a second attempt after the first one fails.
Dolores is depressed by the idea that she will never be a mother (by now she is in her late 30's) and Thayer takes her on a whale watching vacation to help her feel better. While on the boat, Dolores muses on her past and future. She decides that her life now is wonderful and is enough. The novel ends with her being the only one to see a whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
breach the ocean symbolizing her new found peace.
The book's title comes from the song "Undun" by The Guess Who
The Guess Who
The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Initially gaining recognition in Canada, they also found international success from the late 1960s through the mid-1970s with numerous hit singles, including "American Woman", "These Eyes" and "Share the Land"...
on their album Canned Wheat
Canned Wheat
Canned Wheat is an album released in 1969 by Canadian rock band The Guess Who. It peaked at #91 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts. Two of the band's hits were taken from the album: "Laughing" and "Undun"...
.