This was a reasonably good, light read that moved quickly. I felt that the author lost some opportunities for deeper characterizations, but it was an easy read that kept me turning the pages to find out what happened.

I enjoyed this book. The author writes in a very moment-to-moment style and he is often painfully self-conscious and overwrought, but that's part of the charm. It's very stream-of-consciousness in its approach, but also bogged down for me in the overlong middle. All-in-all, it was fun and clever.

From the Amazon page: Whether it's a young co-ed who has lived her life succumbing to passion and authority, a woman struggling with the intense demands of motherhood, or a newlywed whose new mirror-filled home proves too much for her fragile psyche, these thirteen stories-edgy and alluring-inexorably peel back the layers of the women they portray. By turns lyrical and haunting, plainspoken and frank, award-winning writer Mary Akers' finely crafted debut collection WOMEN UP ON BLOCKS explores the price women pay when they allow the roles of wife, mother, daughter, or lover to define them.

Anthony Doerr writes with joy. He makes even the bleak setting of Europe during WWII into an inspiring, ecstatic read. Our entire book club loved this book--and that NEVER happens. Beautiful and heart-rending and wise.