She’s Come Undone By Wally Lamb Source:

Biography: Wally Lamb Wally Lamb is a nationally honored teacher, critically acclaimed writer and bestselling author. His work includes the #1 New York Times bestseller, SHE’S COME UNDONE (Pocket Books; 1992) which also hit USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly and other national bestseller lists He has published fiction and non-fiction in The Missouri Review, Allure, USA Weekend, Northeast, The New York Times Magazine. He was the editor of the poetry collection, Always Begin Where You Are (McGraw Hill; 1979). His second book, I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE (ReganBooks), was released in June 1998.

SHE’S COME UNDONE was chosen as a finalist for the 1992 Los Angeles Times Book Awards’ Art Seidenbaum Prize for first fiction. It was named a notable book of the year by numerous publications, including The New York Times Book Review and People. The book was also chosen by the Oprah Winfrey Show as a "Book Club" selection in early 1997, and is one of the bestselling titles chosen for that honor.

Lamb is the recipient of the 1998 Governor’s Arts Award, State of Connecticut, a past recipient of the NEA grant for fiction and is a Missouri Review William Peden fiction prize winner. He was the director of the Writing Center at the Norwich Free Academy, Norwich, Connecticut from , and is currently an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Connecticut’s English Department. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in Education from the University of Connecticut and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College. Lamb lives in Connecticut with his wife and three sons.

Style Point of View Setting Language and Meaning Structure

Point of View The book is written in first person from Dolores Price's point of view. This point of view is at least slightly limited because the reader doesn't know what others are thinking and only knows of the actions of others when Dolores is present.

The limit is not a huge problem for the reader because the story is meant to be truly from Dolores' point of view. The point of view is somewhat less limited by the fact that there are pieces of dialog and exposition that explain what happened whenever there are gaps.

The fact that the story is in first person means that the reader has the opportunity to look at the inner thoughts, dreams, and fears of Dolores herself. Though that may seem to be very helpful, Dolores is often confused herself and doesn't know why she does a particular act. That confusion may become a problem for the reader.

Setting The book is set in the New England area and takes place over the lifetime of Dolores Price, ending in the 1980s. Dolores describes her childhood homes in terms of strong memories and psychological turmoil. Dolores then moves to Rhode Island to her grandmother's home, where she stays until she goes to Merton College. She travels to Cape Cod and then spends some time in Vermont, but returns to her grandmother's home in Rhode Island.

One of the chief scenes is at Wellfleet, a Cape Cod town. Dolores goes there to see the whales that are beaching themselves. That beach and those whales become important to Dolores. A therapist suggests that she was actually searching for her mother "under the dead whale." Dolores and her husband, Thayer, return to Cape Cod after they're married to see the whales.

Language and Meaning The book is written in a very straightforward style though the meaning is sometimes obscure and difficult to understand. There are many passages that are simply left to the reader to evaluate. There are several sections of symbolism that are important to the story but are not always overly obvious. The whales are among the most obvious. The book as a whole is readable and flows smoothly.

Structure The book is divided into three sections and twenty-nine chapters. The first section is Our Lady of Sorrow and goes through the life of Dolores beginning when she was four and going through the time when, at thirteen, she has a traumatic experience. Part two is Whales and takes place when Dolores has another psychotic experience on the shore at Cape Cod. Part three is called The Flying Leg and begins with Dolores' sinking deeply into psychosis. The chapters are of varying lengths.

The plot is convoluted and sometimes difficult to follow. Despite that, the story flows fairly well. The reading is not difficult, but it's often hard to understand Dolores' actions. Brought back to its most basic level, the story's plot is simply to follow Dolores' life from childhood to adulthood.

But Dolores is an angry young woman and makes many situations much more difficult than they have to be. Dolores' family interaction is complicated as are her relationships with everyone until she's older. Dolores' quest for acceptance and love are main themes of the book, but it seems that Dolores sabotages herself, often leaving the reader confused as to the reason for her actions and her purpose.