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| Name : | Carene O. |
My Reviews
A fun first book club book.
Some of us loved it, others couldn't get into it.
A very short book - easy to read in one sitting. Good thing, because you won't want to put it down anyway. I thought it was going to be a postscript to her first book, but it is a lovely "letter" to her kids - all about how very much mothers love their kids.
Having enjoyed "The Beach House," I was looking forward to this but found it very predictable and unrealistic.
best book any of us have read in a long time!
I really enjoyed this book. One thing that bothered me is that although the author does a very good job of describing situations, events, places and some people, I never had a really good picture in my mind of what Shiva/Marion LOOK like.
our book club liked the family parts (although we found his childhood very depresseing) but could have done without the travel parts.
Recommended since its a classic, but it is hard to read. Better once you get to the part in Victor Frankenstein's words. Those of us who got through the book (not many!) were all surprised that the story was not what we expected, and is a good story. Others now want to go back and read it.
Overall, we found this to be a light read. Most of us enjoyed it, but those of us who read it over a longer period of time found the all-letters format a little confusing; trying to remember who wrote what to whom. Very interesting hostorical background.
"Brilliant" because it is so different from anything else we have read. Writing from Jack's point of view - a child who has never seen the outside world - makes it very surprising. The details about "Room" and the things they must face as they leave it are so unexpected - that is the "interesting" part. But, overall, the subject matter is "dark." Our book club consensus is that the book is "good, but disturbing." Once you start it, you want to keep reading to see what will happen, but you just keep thinking, "I can't even imagine...!"
Very silly but fun at first. I laughed out loud a few times! Quickly got to the point, though, where we thought "OK, we get it. That's enough." Some members found the SPQ's attitude offensive.
This book is great. Several of us were skeptical about Death as a narrator but it is really good!
A little tough to get into, but an interesting story.
A quick, easy summer read, but very predictable and didn't leve us with much to discuss.
Very well-written in a unique style of back-and-forth narration. Despite the subject matter, it is not a gloomy book. I found it hard to put down - just as Clay found it hard not to listen to all the tapes in one night!
While I LOVED Nora Ephron's newer books ("I Feel Bad About My Neck" and "I Remeber Nothing"), this one was a challenge because it is a collection of articles and essays she wrote in the sixties and so the references were too old for us to understand. Her personal stories in the other books are much better - she is a funny lady!
hits a little close to home for those of us with kids almost ready for high school, but a great read!
My thrid checkbox would be "predictable" if it was offered, but it was still an enjoyable read. I chose "unconvincing" instead because my one criticism is that some of the conflicts seem to get resolved a little too neatly and quickly.
...and not in a good way! The title does suggest that the main characters are loners, but it is so extreme as to be unbelievable. There are some other points that are also hard to believe but I don't want to ruin the story for anyone who cares to read it.
We loved this book! It is the one of very few books I really wanted to read again later (and I have!)
We really liked this book - we had some great discussion about women's rights, education, and the role of power and money in the church at various points in history.
I thought this would be a light summer read - a wedding on a new england island! - but found it depressing and did not think any of the issues/stories were tied up particularly well
I didn't really 'get" what the book was about until halfway through it. Details are missing and then filled in in a strange order. I haven't read "Gone Girl" but find this book kind of a twist on "Defending Jacob." While I did not enjoy this book, I can see where it lends itself to some good discussion.
I really enjoyed most of the book. The relationships that develop are very interesting. The characters are so isolated from the outside world that the reader may forget to expect any surprises.
I loved this book. But - full disclosure! - I am a science teacher. The stories that go with each chapter are very interesting and well-written, but each can stand alone. You could focus on one particular plant for a group discussion if you wanted to. Apples and cannabis chapters stick in my mind as particularly good ones!
I loved this book!!
wonderful book. a little hard to believe in parts, but really very good - and led to good \"what would you have done?\" discussions.
beautiful, sad, uplifting, gut-wrenching, triumphant....this was a very good read.
can't imagine being on a train like that. Absolutely loved parts of this book. Other parts not so much but I don't want to spoil the story...
You\\\'ve got to root for this guy.
Isabelle never gives up. I\\\'m not going to say any more because I don\\\'t want to ruin it for anyone!
I really liked this book, but I had the luxury of reading it over only a couple of days. I imagine that if you tried to read just a little at a time, it would be very hard to follow, as it jumps around in time a lot. That said, the twists and how it all comes together is very very good!
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