Anywhere But HERE

Anywhere But Here is a novel written by American novelist Mona Simpson. The book was a commercial success and earned the author the Whiting Prize for her .
Table of contents

Ann, who is somewhere between the ages of 9 and 12 begins luring young children to her house, asking them to take off their clothes, and taking pictures of them. She apparently touches them as well. Now I'm not a prude, and I certainly don't believing in burning or banning books, but this is the first time in my life that I've felt like straight-up throwing a book in the trash. This scene, which runs about 3-pages in length, made my skin crawl. I don't really want to continue reading at this point, and am disgusted by what I read to the point that I'm sorry I read it.

I'm quite sure the rest of this book is probably a good read. It is quite dark and depressing, but that's never kept me from enjoying a book. I think this one just crossed my personal comfort line. Kids molesting kids is just too much for me. View all 4 comments. Aug 28, Brice rated it really liked it. Great multi-generational physchological study of the female coming-of-age experience! Mar 06, Barbara rated it did not like it.

The book was given rave reviews wherever I looked, but I just couldn't get into it. I found it quite dark and depressing - not the genre I want to be in right now. I'll give it another go sometime soon. What I did read was definitely well-written. Nov 02, Wfbcreeds rated it liked it Shelves: No matter how hard you try, you'll never get to her.

And when she dies, the world will be flat, too simple, reasonable, fair. Ann does hate her at times; Adele does indeed come pretty close to ruining Ann's life on numerous occasions, or at least scarring it, and yet, ultimately, it isn't possible not to love her. As Ann puts it: But her lifelong dream and goal "It was our secret, a nighttime whispered promise" turns out, like so many things in the Augusts' lives, to be lackluster when it becomes reality.

Adele merely feeds on fantasy and drags her daughter along. Nevertheless, it's hard not to worship her. We hear from her mother, her sister, from Ann, and finally from Adele herself, and no matter how she's used people, what trouble she's gotten into, or what lies she's told--and there are plenty of all three--a certain amount of awe always remains.


  • God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Lockes Political Thought;
  • Nuclear Fallout from the Nevada Test Site 1951-1970 in Florida.
  • Anywhere But Here – Variety;
  • The Cross and the Crown - Harmony of the Gospels Commentary, Part 6 of 6?
  • Understanding a Womans Place of Authority;
  • Contribute to This Page.

When we come upon Ann's proclamation that "it's always the people like my mother, who start the noise and bang things, who make you feel the worst; they are the ones who get your love. Anywhere But Here gives truth to this statement in a way that few books ever have.


  1. Countering the New Terrorism;
  2. Anywhere But Here by Mona Simpson?
  3. Anywhere but Here (novel) - Wikipedia;
  4. Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors;
  5. Neuropathology Review.

    6. It's dense with misery and amazement all tangled together--a realistic and thus rare portrait of love. Feb 03, Roland rated it liked it. Mona Simpson's debut novel is pretty much a memoir, which could be titled "This Girl's Life. Of interest to me, which I discovered only after starting this book, is that Simpson is married to Richard Appel, producer of The Simpsons, hence the character M Mona Simpson's debut novel is pretty much a memoir, which could be titled "This Girl's Life.

    Of interest to me, which I discovered only after starting this book, is that Simpson is married to Richard Appel, producer of The Simpsons, hence the character Mona Simpson who is Homer's mom. More interesting, however, is that Steve Jobs is her long-lost brother He'd been given away for adoption before she was born and the two never knew they were siblings until well into adulthood. Their father was a Syrian academic who left Simpson's mother when she was three she's since written a book about her search for him.

    Anyway, much of the autobiographical info regarding Simpson's upbringing makes its way into the book. The book is written in first person but via three separate POV's: Ann's, Adele's and Carol's Adele's sister and Carol's aunt. Most of the book takes the voice of Ann, retrospectively, and is ably done.

    Movies in Theaters

    The daily struggles the girl and her mother endured--always trying to live above their means while barely staying afloat, are effectively drawn in compelling fashion. However, the other sections of the book are done in summary, and seem largely pointless, providing background to gaps in the story which aren't worth filling. I'd suggest skipping those sections altogether, it would make the book a much more pleasurable read Apr 06, Kristin Brancaleone rated it really liked it.

    View all 6 comments. Jan 19, Carol Kowalski rated it it was amazing. A brilliantly drawn portrait of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship along with tour-de-force sketches of their kin that is both eccentric and eerily familiar. We can't believe such a selfish, smart, dysfunctional mother exists, yet still empathize and even recognize flashes of our own motives in her.

    We ache for the daughter and wonder how she will survive and keep bouncing back and always again toward her mother! This is one of those master novels that makes cinema-lovers like me t A brilliantly drawn portrait of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship along with tour-de-force sketches of their kin that is both eccentric and eerily familiar.

    This is one of those master novels that makes cinema-lovers like me think movies are a feeble, one-dimensional medium. The authentic voices, the sense of time and place, and the expression of change and stasis over a family's life arc a reading experience for every lover of great novels. Aug 07, Matthew Gallaway rated it it was amazing. I recently reread this book and loved it. I will never not love this book, sorry haters! Jun 29, M rated it it was ok. I vacillated between two and three stars for this one - a lot of what I disliked were actually the book's strengths - but felt too negatively to go the extra star.

    This book centers around a selfish, immature and heavily delusional mother who packs up her daughter and runs off to California to pursue the daughter's Hollywood career. Through a series of linked annecdotes and flashbacks the reader eventually pieces together all the ways this mother has let Ann down and in many ways created their pr I vacillated between two and three stars for this one - a lot of what I disliked were actually the book's strengths - but felt too negatively to go the extra star.

    Through a series of linked annecdotes and flashbacks the reader eventually pieces together all the ways this mother has let Ann down and in many ways created their problems and in essence taken advantage of her power as a mother. So on the one hand I think Simpsin does a fantastic job sketching the Mom whose name escapes me at the moment - she definitely irritates the reader which creates indirect sympathy for Ann - yet, it's hard to have a central annoying character without someone else redeeming to focus on, and Ann as victim wasn't enogh - she didn't have enough of a voice, in my mind, for there to be real motivation to see this book through.

    As to the writing, everything else fell away - the mom was characterized very well albeit really annoyingly, and difficult to read at times, as she time and again put herself first and then made Ann feel bad for being 'selfish' but there were a lot of avenues that were not explored, a lot of plot twists that were not explained, and Ann's growth of finally learning to take a stand for herself didn't seem to come about through real development.

    I think the premise was interesting and it was certainly readable, but overall Simpson;s writing was weak when it came to the general narrative - there was a lot of talking to the reader and little subtlety, and a lot of linked narratives that ended up just confusing the overall focus. Feb 01, Marjorie rated it did not like it. Slow, boring and dull, this book disappoints.

    Navigation menu

    The last straw was when the daughter starts taking semi-pornographic photos of other children. I don't find this engaging or entertaining. It just gives me a bad feeling all over. Nor did I find the mother to be a particularly engaging character. I tried three times to read this book and finally gave up. Oct 30, Linda rated it it was ok. Reading this drove me crazy.

    I couldn't decide whether to be more annoyed by the sentences, the narrative lack of structure, or the celebrated assholery of the characters. Thematically, this book is right up my alley, and I wanted to like it, but it was so poorly executed. Don't even get me started on the wrong Great Lake Jul 04, Jessica rated it it was ok. The mother-daughter relationship is a pivotal, intriguing, and never simple one, and I suppose the multi-generational, semi-memoir like point of view changes gave interesting insight into this particular mother-daughter relationship, but really, this book was a long, boring look at a delusional mother and what she puts her daughter Ann through.

    But Ann's voice was the weakest in the book in my opinion, and while she gained my sympathy for 2. But Ann's voice was the weakest in the book in my opinion, and while she gained my sympathy for dealing with her mother, I never quite liked her either. Apr 15, Ali marked it as to-read. Jan 17, Dan Sherrell rated it it was amazing Shelves: A painful-joyous roller-coaster of a mother-daughter relationship. Simpson gets under the skin of blockbuster emotion, and the honesty of her characters stops you short, leaves you wondering why all other protagonists are so flat.

    Apr 29, K rated it liked it. Not sure what all the hoopla is over this book. It has a few good moments, and you're sort of drawn into the whirlwind of Adele's crazy mind and the life she throws at her suffering daughter Ann. But it's kind of clunky, and long sections aren't interesting at all. The format of the book is perhaps part of the reason Not sure what all the hoopla is over this book. The format of the book is perhaps part of the reason it garnered praise. It's a series of first-person narratives of people from an extended family, talking about both the current moment and also times past.

    As these stories pile up and reflect on some of the same incidents -- moving either forward or backward in time -- a fuller picture of the lives of the participants emerges. It's an interesting device, but it's hardly unique to author Mona Simpson. Weekend Box Office Results: View All Photos 1. Mona Simpson's acclaimed novel comes to the screen in an adaptation directed by Wayne Wang.

    Tired of her life in a pleasant but unremarkable Midwestern city, where everyone knows everyone else's business, Adele August Susan Sarandon packs up her belongings to move to the bright lights of Beverly Hills. But her teenage daughter Ann Natalie Portman isn't as excited about the move; Ann has a sense of practicality that her mother lacks, and their shift in locale puts a serious strain on their relationship, as Ann makes plans to move away for college.

    Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Susan Sarandon as Adele August. Natalie Portman as Ann August. Bonnie Bedelia as Carol. Shawn Hatosy as Benny. Hart Bochner as Josh Spritzer. Caroline Aaron as Gail Letterfine. Corbin Allred as Peter. John Diehl as Jimmy. John Carroll Lynch as Jack Irwin. Eileen Ryan as Lillian. Heather DeLoach as Ellen. Ashley Johnson as Sarah. Ray Baker as Ted. Jennifer Castle as Girl on TV. Heather McComb as Janice. Faran Tahir as Hisham. Samantha Goldstein as 4-Year-Old Ann. Scott Burkholder as Man with Mercedes.

    Yvonna Kopacz as Assistant Hotel Manager. Kieren van den Blink as Girl on TV. Bebe Drake as Mrs.

    Anywhere but Here (film) - Wikipedia

    Allison Sie as Teacher. Sharona Alperin as Real Estate Agent. Mary Ellen Trainor as Homeowner. Elisabeth Moss as Rachel. Stephanie Niznik as Waitress. Harrison Lindley as Janice's Mother. Michael Milhoan as Cop. Bob Sattler as Bernie. Nina Leichtling as Josh's Wife. Jay Harrington as Waiter. Andrew Bowles as Mourner. Rick Hurst as Reverend. How did Ann's audition go? Did her projection of her mother's personality win her the part? And, what is it that the man does in bed only with a woman he feels special about?

    Inquiring minds want to know rather than make stupid guesses. For the record I would rate these in this order: Too bad, but that allows me to say that this is very much an underrated film. See it for both Susan Sarandon, who is as good or even better than she ever was--and that is very good indeed--and for Natalie Portman, who is stunning, and as an actress, mature beyond her years. Sadies 2 December Being a freshman in college, this movie reminded me of my relationship with my mom. Of course, my situation doesn't parrallel with Natalie Portman and Surandon's situation; but my mom and I have grown up with the typical mother and daughter fights.

    There is always the mother telling you what to do, or not being the kind of mother you want to be. I was balling my eyes at the end of this movie. Surandon's reaction of her daughter going to the East coast, miles away, after all they've been through reminded me of how I felt, being from a small city in the West coast, going to New York.

    User Reviews

    The movie is meant for women who have children that are now all grown up. It is very touching, I was moved by the movie. Every feeling out of the characters in this movie was utterly real, you didn't get any phony sentimentality. I was sitting through the credits at the screening of this movie, alone, wishing my mother was sitting next to me so I could hug her and thank her for everything.

    This movie is a bit corny of course, but everything is trully momentous. Its all about what a mom can learn from her child; and what a child learns from her mother. Anywhere and Everywhere Windwalkerz 26 May I picked this movie up because I was curious to see Natalie Portman in something that was pre Star Wars. I liked this movie. Natalie and Susan were wonderful as mother and daughter. Susan Sarandon is such an outstanding actor.

    Better and better with every movie she does. Hatcher 7 September This is no less so in this film with the prodigious Natalie Portman: The film is saved precisely by the Sarandon-Portman tandem providing an energetic display of a mother, divorced, skidding along frenetically almost hysterically, and her adolescent daughter trying to keep her young head on her shoulders and pointing in the right direction. Even so, my vote is slightly higher than the IMDb average.

    Anywhere But Here

    I really like this movie, it's really nice. Susan and Natalie are 2 of film's all-time greatest actresses, especially Portman who's like top 5 pure actress, easily top 10 of all-time. Sarandon is nearly as strong. But more so than their talented acting skills these 2 together possess even brighter starpowers. It's very gratifying seeing Sarandon with Portman coupling for one of the better dual-performance driven movies. Susan Sarandon is in her 50s, and from head to toe she looks hotter than ever, I mean that.

    Natalie's pretty too, ughhhhh. Anywhere But Here is a smart, well-made coming to age story filled with touchy, affectionate drama. Mother and daughter Adele and Ann August are the primary focus for the duration of this pleasant and authentic feeling film. The mother Adele is overambitious and overbearing, and too lost in her own world. The daughter Ann is astute and searching for affection from Adele but feeling rejection from her mother. Ann and Adele are experiencing varying outlooks towards life. I love this movie. I love both actresses. This is a 7, but one of the best 7s. It has the makeup and presence of an 8, but barely blunders without having enough eventful occurrences, no impacting unfolding story lines.

    It's really a homely movie. Anywhere But Here is really good, I love it, did I say that already? Anywhere But Here" is every inch an classic coming of age story from the female perspective. Sarandon and Portman are astounding in their perspective roles.

    They work beautifully together playing characters that are not easy to like yet very believable and people you care about. I am a daughter and now a mother of a grown up daughter and I loved this film in a way only someone who has been there on both fronts can appreciate, their heartfelt performances. A very perceptive Beverly Hills cop who gives the best advice any parent could ever have: In conclusion Sarandon and Portman hit all the right notes in their stormy but loving relationship.

    I was able to see "Anywhere But Here" last night as a free sneak preview. I think that speaks volumes of the outstanding performances of both Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman. Sarandon was just the right actress to portray Adele and after leaving the theater I could not think of another actress in the role. Portman was also excellent as Ann. She brought a sense of maturity and intelligence to the role that I don't think any other teenage actress could.

    I think it would the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should give credit where it is due and nominate both Sarandon and Portman for Awards in the "Actress" and "Supporting Actress" categories. It would be a shame if they were overlooked. Well, I have not much to say about this film except that it was a truly wonderful film. Natalie Portman is absolutely fantastic as the daughter in this lovely mother-daughter relationship film. The interaction between Portman and Sarandon was quite interesting, and I was really sold on the mother-daughter relationship. It is a family story that isn't dulled down by frills and special effects; a story of how it really is.

    I couldn't help but give of a sigh at the end of this movie for alas it is a well told bittersweet tale of growing up and relating with family and friends. The acting was quite exquisite and I hope we'll be seeing both Portman and Sarandon in familiar roles down the road BeaGee 21 November My one-line summary hints that this is not a good film, but this is not true. I did enjoy the movie, but was probably expecting too much.

    Adele, who is solidly portrayed by Susan Sarandon, did not come off as a very likable character. She is flighty and irresponsible to what would be an unforgivable degree were it not for the tremendous love she has for her daughter. This is the one thing she knows how to do without fail. Adele's daughter, Anna, is a sad girl who is so busy making up for her mother's shortcomings that she does not seem to be only years old.

    This, of course, makes Natalie Portman the perfect choice to play Anna since she never seems to be 17 years old either. Portman pulls this role off with such ease that you almost forget that she has not been making movies for 20 years. Yet, even with the two solid leads, Wayne Wang never seems to quite draw the audience in as he did with The Joy Luck Luck and even more so with Smoke. Though I have not read the book, the film feels as if it has made necessary changes to the story to bring it to the big screen, changes which may drain the emotional pungency of the story.

    I enjoyed the film for the fun of watching two wonderful actresses do their work, but I never got lost in the experience and I never related to their plight. Painfully Familiar Jolie 15 November From the moment the trailer for "Anywhere But Here" flashed across my television set, I knew that I had to see this film. It was one of those irrepressible urges that leads you to brave the wildest roller coaster at the amusement park or kiss your best friend on a whim.

    On the contrary, "Anywhere But Here" shattered the boundaries of my expectations and left me wanting more. Natalie Portman is a phenomenal actress. When she stood in front of the Beverly Hills Diner with tears welling up in her eyes and nearly evoked tears from my eyes without saying a single word, I knew that I was in the presence of greatness. One stony look at her love interest spoke volumes. The vision of Ann gazing out the window while the blinds cast alternating shadows and light onto her face was sheer brilliance on the part of director Wayne Wang.

    Yet what makes Ann such a heartbreaking character is that she resembles everyone. We have all felt the tremors and unexpected tragedies of growing up. Ann has an especially difficult life with her outrageous mother Adele August Susan Sarandon. Yet she handles all of her problems with phenomenal self-control and patience.

    See a Problem?

    It is almost ironic that Adele's daughter Ann is the first to notice that her mother engaged in a one night stand and the man didn't want to hear from her anymore. We watch Ann progress from slouching teenager in baseball cap and baggy jeans to a self-assured, beautiful young woman. She undergoes the change that all of us must undertake to reach adulthood, and emerges relatively unscathed. At the beginning of the film, Susan Sarandon runs around in leggings and off the shoulder sweaters, telling fictionalized life accounts to strangers.