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Review Date: 6/9/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"This would be an ideal read for a T.S.Eliot fan, or perhaps someone with a deep understanding of TS Eliot, fan or not. It is tightly written, a tad too esoteric for my tastes. It revolves around Matt, the archivist, his wife Judith and later Roberta, a TS Eliot scholar. It is set during and after WWII and relates to holocaust atrocities.I believe it was a first novel and as such it takes a huge bite into how guilt and passion affect the life of an otherwise compulsively ordered man."
Review Date: 6/9/2007
"This book hits many chords of resonance with women who were raised in dysfunctional families.A sometimes painful coming of age of a very intelligent Irish woman."
Review Date: 4/27/2010
"I liked this a lot. It isn't just another story of 3 women, the way I feared. It is a very will integrated story of several families and how they are affected by these 3 ladies. Who are they? Cornelia-fresh out of sophisticated NYC and into the burbs. Married to Teo, as yet childless and totally clueless regarding the ways of suburbia. Piper-the queen of suburbia , married to Kyle, two perfect children. Elisabeth= alas her starring role is to die of cancer fairly early on in the book, leaving her two perfect kids and husband Tom, more or less in the hands of Piper."
Review Date: 2/26/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"More from Precious Ramotswe and her marvelous detective agency. Precious is part social worker, part seer and part sensible-lady-next-door."
Review Date: 1/18/2007
"I bought this at a swap meet, not realizing it is intended for young adult readers with a spiritual, moralistic intent. I suspect the story is "gripping" and fun to read for teenagers.It received a Newberry medal and was published in 1961 and then renewed in 1989."
Review Date: 10/21/2007
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I was very disappointed in this book. I rec'd it from a friend, who as far as I know is feligion-neutral and sophisticated in literary taste. This book rates right up there with something you might five your 12-15 yo relative, who is questioning her Mormon faith. The author states her intention as exploring Mormon faith and its effect upon an adolescent believer who experiences a hedeous trauma. Through the years I have met a fair number of Mormons who have told me beliefs of the church, attitudes toward women, attitudes toward the body and sex, that simply did not show up in this book. Therefore, I do no think the author met her goal Secondly, schizophrenia and the effect of drugs upon it is poorly represented. Scizophrenia is not a one-shot-kill-a-bunch-of-people-then-take-your-drugs-and-be-OK kind of a disease. If you would like to find out what Jacquelyn Mitchard knows about the Mormon faith and schizophrenia, read it!"
Review Date: 1/12/2008
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"A good read for lovers of history and romance. It is about Katherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, daughter of Isabella ( the Queen who commissioned Christopher Columbus) and Ferdinand, rulers of Spain. It is set in England in the 1400-1500 era. In order to become Queen of England Katherine must tell one huge whopper of a lie. She does and it works for some time. Full of intrigue and believable characters. I liked it a lot."
Review Date: 10/21/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Nicole Mones also wrote "Lost in Translation." This was an amazingly erudite, well written novel based on a trip to China of a young woman named Lia Frank, who is an authority of Chinese fine porcelain and is asked to appraise the contents of a large number of crates of ancient porcelain bowls, cups etc. which had been hidden away in the Forbidden City inorder to save them from the ravages of war. Lia is amazingly believable, her knowledge of china vast and her story compelling. There is a love story blended in and the reader meets several interesting folks with whom she interacts along the way. I liked it a lot."
Review Date: 8/7/2007
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Sorry, I didn't read this. My husband did and liked it a lot. It tells of the early years of Barack up to Harvard. It does not cover his political life."
Review Date: 10/21/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I have no idea how I happen to have this book, but I totally enjoyed it.I like good adventure stories that I can get lost in and this is one of them. An asian fleeing for his life gets mixed up with some folks who live in Hog Hammock on Tupelo Island. If I could remember more of the details I would try to draw you in....but I read it quite awhile ago and what I mostly remember is that I really enjoyed reading it...5 stars"
Review Date: 10/21/2007
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
"A "male" story. This is about Ben Givens, a 73yo former cardiac surgeon who is dying of colon cancer. It is not depressing. He sets out to do some bird hunting and ret5urn to his boyhood home with the intention of killing himself in order not to suffer the last stages of cancer. Along the way he has both experiences and people that change his mind. He also reminisces about his earlier years, when he was in the war as a Private, when he met his wife, how he and his older brother Aidan grew up. Guterson is a very graphic writer...you can see his hills and dales and smell his sage and hear his birds. Altogether a totally enjoyable read, and a lesson in the philosophy of dying. 5 stars"
Review Date: 10/21/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I can't find the review I wrote shortly after finishing this book. As I recall, I was a little disappointed.It is about a girl whose brother receives a traumatic injury and falls into a coma. She goes, at great expense to her career, finances, life in genera, to nurse him back to health. Unfortunately he has a strange mental problem in which he cannot believe that his sister is his sister, and believes in spite of all sorts of proof to the contrary, that she is an imposter. This is, indeed, how a fixed delusion works. The story then revolves around Mark trying to solve the mystery of how he became hurt in the first place and why. Interesting, and the "Capgras" syndrome is deftly woven into the story line. See what you think...."
Review Date: 6/9/2007
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Great story! Some love and romance, some mystery and intrigue. Believable characters in semi-believable circumstances. Andy, Eden Close and her mother and father Edith and Jim are all intertwined in a rape, a murder, the blinding of a young girl and a small town in Kansas where everyone knows everyone elde's business, or think they do. I recommend this as an excellent read!"
Review Date: 6/9/2007
"A great story! Some love and romance, some mystery and intrigue. Believable characters in semi-believable circumstances.Andy, Eden Close and her mother and father Edith and Jim are all intertwined in a rape, a murder, the blinding of a young girl and a small town in Kansas where everyone knows everyone else's business, or think they do. I definitely would recommend this...it's an excellent read."
Review Date: 6/9/2007
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
"If ;you like Kaye Gibbons~~~~~backwoods Southern with homegrown characters with homegrown philosophies, you will love this book. I did. Oprah did. It is a very short, very satisfying read. About 4 stars on this one."
Review Date: 6/23/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"My take on this book is so different from others I've read that I am including it. First of all, this is a lot of book...many ideas, several pathways, rich characterizations all crammed into it.It is worth the effort to read it but I found several things that were annoying.
1.Frequent quotes in other languages, some of which clarified a premise but many that seemed to be ostentation.
2.Sexual fantasy disguised as reality.
3.A protagonist I could not identify with and characters different enough from the norm that it was a stretch to imagine them as real people.
4.An ending that called itself a new beginning but was disappointing for all but the main character.
I gave it 3 1/2 stars...I'm glad I read it, but will not pursue other books by the same author. Other reviewers in this book club were much more generous with their applause than I."
1.Frequent quotes in other languages, some of which clarified a premise but many that seemed to be ostentation.
2.Sexual fantasy disguised as reality.
3.A protagonist I could not identify with and characters different enough from the norm that it was a stretch to imagine them as real people.
4.An ending that called itself a new beginning but was disappointing for all but the main character.
I gave it 3 1/2 stars...I'm glad I read it, but will not pursue other books by the same author. Other reviewers in this book club were much more generous with their applause than I."
Review Date: 6/9/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I found this difficult to get through because of all the DC "innies" I do not know or am not familiar with. I agree with the basic messages in the book and that always makes for a good read. It is a well researched, well organized and well thought out book. If you are into national politics, if you are unhappy with our involvement in the Iraq war, read this book."
Review Date: 6/9/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"I read this book while in and out of the hospital. It would have been better for me at that time if it weren't quite so depressing!
Man's inhumanity to man...this is part of what the book is about. Also, man's ability to reach out to other men. There are many characters in this book and how they relate to the problems presented to them, as well as how they related to each other uncer both good and adverse circumstances...that's what the book is about. Even the strangest and oddest people are included in the cast, but Mistry makes them all believable and in some cases, endearing.
I would heartily recommend this book with the caveat that it is not a happily ever after Maeve Binchy kind of story...this is instead a Rohinton Mistry huge slice of life."
Man's inhumanity to man...this is part of what the book is about. Also, man's ability to reach out to other men. There are many characters in this book and how they relate to the problems presented to them, as well as how they related to each other uncer both good and adverse circumstances...that's what the book is about. Even the strangest and oddest people are included in the cast, but Mistry makes them all believable and in some cases, endearing.
I would heartily recommend this book with the caveat that it is not a happily ever after Maeve Binchy kind of story...this is instead a Rohinton Mistry huge slice of life."
The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs (Professor Dr Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
68
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
68
Review Date: 2/11/2007
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"Not as "insane and rarefied" as the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency...but it just may be a matter of taste!"
The Full Cupboard of Life (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Bk 5)
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
224
Author:
Book Type: Paperback
224
Review Date: 1/9/2007
"I love all of the No1 Ladies Detective Agency books. This is no exception."
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