Ordinary People | Critical Overview
Critical response to Ordinary People has been mixed. Reviewers have found much to praise and much to criticize in Guest's novel. Many have found her characterization of Conrad Jarrett, the alienated teenager just released from a mental hospital, the most impressive aspect of the novel. Lore Dickstein writes in the New York Times Book Review that "Guest portrays Conrad not only as if she has lived with him on a daily basis—which I sense may be true—but as if she has gotten into his head. The dialogue Conrad has with himself, his psychiatrist, his friends, his...
[The entire page is 936 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Tell a friend about Ordinary People at eNotes.
