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Blue Shoe Paperback – September 2, 2003

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 178 ratings

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The New York Times Bestseller from the beloved author of Bird by Bird, Hallelujah Anyway, and Almost Everything

Mattie Ryder is marvelously neurotic, well-intentioned, funny, religious, sarcastic, tender, angry, and broke. Her life at the moment is a wreck: her marriage has failed, her mother is failing, her house is rotting, her waist is expanding, her children are misbehaving, and she has a crush on a married man. Then she finds a small rubber blue shoe—nothing more than a gumball trinket—left behind by her father. For Mattie, it becomes a talisman—a chance to recognize the past for what it was, to see the future as she always hoped it could be, and to finally understand her family, herself, and the ever-unfolding mystery of her sweet, sad, and sometimes surprising life.

"Layla" by Colleen Hoover for $7.19
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Messy, brave and weirdly lovable...a substantial literary pleasure.”—New York Times Book Review

"Moving and funny, fetchingly irreverent and soulful, Blue Shoe is an absolute joy."—Chicago Sun-Times

”Everybody loves Anne Lamott...[she] writes with an emotional shorthand that’s instantly decipherable and funny to anyone who’s had children—or parents.”—The Christian Science Monitor

"Irresistible...Lamott has created a work full of shaggy, truthful charm."—San Francisco Chronicle

”Glorious...After reading Blue Shoe, you feel as if you had sat on the kitchen floor and talked with the author late into the night about your mothers, your bodies, your lovers, and God. And that, in a nutshell, is the minor miracle of Lamott’s writing.”—The Atlanta Journal Constitution

”Philosophical, honest, and poignant, Lamott writes about real life and how it goes on, through good and through bad.”—Boston Herald

”The novel’s effect on the reader is profoundly springlike: It is tonic.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Anyone who's ever had a heartache—or a family—will relate to Anne Lamott's poignant novels."—Rosie Magazine

"Blue Shoe is a gift you will want to give yourself."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

About the Author

Anne Lamott is the New York Times bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; StitchesSome Assembly RequiredGrace (Eventually)Plan BTraveling Mercies; Bird by Bird; Operating Instructions, and the forthcoming Hallelujah Anyway. She is also the author of several novels, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; Reissue edition (September 2, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1573223425
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1573223423
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.85 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 178 ratings

About the author

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Anne Lamott
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Anne Lamott is the New York Times bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow; Small Victories; Stitches; Some Assembly Required; Grace (Eventually); Plan B; Traveling Mercies; Bird by Bird; Operating Instructions, and the forthcoming Hallelujah Anyway. She is also the author of several novels, including Imperfect Birds and Rosie. A past recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and an inductee to the California Hall of Fame, she lives in Northern California.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
178 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and easy to read. They appreciate the author's writing style, describing it as wonderful and almost non-fictional.

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7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find it engaging and say the opening few pages draw them in.

"...Almost reads like non fiction. Such a great book" Read more

"...Thanks for another great novel, Anne!!!!!!!!" Read more

"...the blue shoe kept me reading and not wanting to put it down. I loved how she needed to keep the blue shoe with her for comfort...." Read more

"...A good read and one that you will read again and again. I highly recommend it." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the writing quality. They say it's wonderful and almost non-fictional.

"Exciting and funny but with suspense. Almost reads like non fiction. Such a great book" Read more

"...Some of the writing is wonderful…this is Anne Lamott after all…but I was so bored by the repetitive angst that I just couldn’t keep going...." Read more

"Love everything she writes!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2019
    Exciting and funny but with suspense. Almost reads like non fiction. Such a great book
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2005
    While Anne Lamont writes well, I never connected with her characters. Mattie, the central character, seems to be wafting about in the daily current of her life. I kept asking myself why she never attempted to improve her boring neurotic exsistence. Given a "do-over", I would select a different novel to read.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2002
    Just when you think that Anne could not possibly get another story from her life, here comes "Blue Shoe". I loved every single inspiring word of this funny, uplifting, starkly honest, tale of the life of Mattie, a quirky divorcee/everywoman dealing with 2 children, an ailing mother, a dying pet, a budding romance with a married (but soon to be divorced) friend and her father's shady past....Anne weaves it all together into a touching tapestry of a story that is guaranteed to make you laugh, cry and nod your head in understanding. Thanks for another great novel, Anne!!!!!!!!
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2003
    I loved this book, I would have given it 5 stars, but very few books are truly worthy of 5 stars.
    the blue shoe kept me reading and not wanting to put it down. I loved how she needed to keep the blue shoe with her for comfort. But the comfort she got from holding and knowing that shoe was in her pocket was much more than just a toy shoe. It was a piece of her past that she needed for comfort.
    She led a very complicated life, which I think she made more complicated herself with some of the choices she made.
    I intend to read all the books this author has written.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2002
    It wanders, it digresses, it circles around and sneaks up on you from behind. It beguiles, it teases, and it delivers. Mattie's life is a mess, her love affairs are a mess, her mother is a mess . . . and aren't we all in some kind of mess? What I especially loved about Blue Shoe is that there's a little mystery thread running through all the messiness that somehow manages to connect everything in a very tidy way that's not typical of Lamott's writing. Very clever and simple, at the same time.
    Read it.
    16 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2023
    I rarely stop reading a book, but I was half way through and still waiting for something to connect me to the characters. Some of the writing is wonderful…this is Anne Lamott after all…but I was so bored by the repetitive angst that I just couldn’t keep going.
    I realized that I didn’t care about a single one of the characters…not even the dog and cats, which, for me, is very unusual. A dying dog, and I’m shrugging. I just couldn’t continue.
  • Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2015
    Bought this for a book club. Those that finished this book did not like it. Too tedious to remember all charters...personally didn't like any of them. The book I purchased was in good condition.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020
    I seldom reread a book but caught with nothing to read I picked this off the shelf and began to read. The only thing I remembered was that I loved this book. That was the reason it was still in my library. But I found that I didn't love it any more. Why why why? Lamott still amazed me by her writing, oh so readable! I am an avid reader and tend to read classics, older books and nonfiction. I think I have matured as a reader, but giving credit where it is due, I still liked the book, it is good. It moved a bit slow, it is a family story. After a divorce, Mattie who is a people person became involved with dozens of people and her elderly mom aged so slowly that I felt it was real time. All of the characters were well developed and contributed to the story. I think that her life was as busy and involved as my life and and it all made me tired. It was real life and Mattie coped with her problems everyday-----with the help of God. Mattie was heard to say. Help me God often.
    One person found this helpful
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