Helpful Score: 6
I loved, loved, loved this book. This is the first book I have read by the author and I will be thinking about it for a long time. Very enjoyable and very interesting. I highly recommend it and am so sorry that I finished it - nothing can top it!
Helpful Score: 5
Beautifully written. The story starts out a bit slow, but then leaves you with lots to think about and discuss. It's a good book club selection...
Helpful Score: 5
A very good novel. I enjoyed the Amazon setting, the mysterious, reclusive Dr. Swenson and her dedication to her scientific research, and the wonder of what her research might bring. Patchett wraps the novel up with an emotional, bitter-sweet ending. Highly recommended.
Helpful Score: 4
I'll admit, when I first started this book, I did not necessarily expect to like it. With as many tears as it cost me, you might conclude that I didn't like it in the end, but I did. Patchett has a beautiful way of writing that describes things you would never expect and answers questions you would never think to ask. The places to which she takes you are at once horrible and beautiful; it seems to change at each moment. Patchett is not afraid to write about the uncomfortable and, sometimes, really terrible parts that are integral to the story. In fact, sometimes she jumps in very suddenly, and I am so shocked that I am unsure how to react afterward. All-in-all, this book is fantastic, but don't read it if you are wanting a happy ending. Not that it is unhappy per se, but there are two sides to everything in this novel, and sometimes it is hard to tell on which side you are standing.
Helpful Score: 2
I just started reading this book yesterday, but I can't put it down. Ann Patchett is a masterful story teller. I'm thoroughly enjoying this complex tale and will write a proper review when I finish it.
