Guest sent the draft of Ordinary People to three different publishers with no letter of inquiry nor an agent. This course usually leads any hopeful-eyed writer to their defeat. The first two publishers turned her down flat. Within the next eight months, Viking Press, who originally sent her story to the slush pile to be sifted through with all the other failed works, took a chance on Ordinary People ("Judith Guest" 102).
Within the next two years, Judith Guest's novel, Ordinary People, became first on the bestseller list. She went from being turned down and told her story was not good enough, to being an author of the most successful book published in 1976. Many people would give up after being denied of their dreams over and over. What made Judith Guest continue with her passion? As Guest stated in her biography, she had become deeply rooted in her characters, seeing them fail in this novel would be like seeing her three sons fail in their lives. Her drive for success sparked a new literary classic, as well as a successful movie, produced just four years after the release of her book.
Ordinary People is a novel like no other. It dives into the lives of a typical American, middle class, suburban household, and their daily struggles ("Judith Guest" 101). It opens en media res, after the death of Buck and the suicide attempt of his younger brother, Conrad, have already occurred. Conrad is caught in a whirlwind of emotions after he returns from the mental hospital, blaming himself for both the death of his brother and the troubles in his parents' marriage. Now, he is faced with assimilating himself back into school after being away for nearly eight months, where it seems he never has enough time to catch up with his peers. He makes steps toward normality such as quitting the swim team and joining choir, but there is a void that he is still unable to fill. As Conrad's mental state is improving, his feelings toward life and his purpose for being alive are still unclear, which leads him to several near death episodes.
