For our book club, we have decided to try reading a book in each genre, even (and maybe especially) ones we wouldn't normally consider. As a first foray into the Fantasy genre, this is a great book. It's not completely far-fetched or beyond understanding. You get a good sense of the main character and why he would even consider pursuing a "magic kingdom" for sale. You get involved in the story and end up cheering him on. Every obstacle is believable and it's interesting to see how he deals with them, keeping his Chicago lawyer persona throughout. It was an enjoyable book, though a little hard to find.

The thing I hated most about this book was that I couldn't stop reading it even though I hated the storyline! About halfway through the book, the storyline about the woman 20 years in the past was literally making me ill. However, the book was written well enough that I wanted to discover some of the motivations behind the characters and to see what happened. There were at least two chapters that I had to really struggle through to get the pay-off, though. Unfortunately, I don't think the pay-off was that great. As a happily married woman (not that it's always been rosy), I could not relate to the storyline in the past at all. I could not conjure up any sympathy for the characters. The present-time storyline was a little easier in that regard.

The story made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. Switching back and forth between characters made it hard to put down the book, because I couldn't wait to get back to the last character to see what happens! The topic of these state "schools" was informative and eye-opening. It's sad to think that this was reality for all too many people. I'm glad we've come such a long way from the social shunning (although we still have a long way to go) and what it means to be institutionalized.

The first third of the book had some pedophilia allusions that made for a very uncomfortable read. The second third had me cheering for Alice, though it was apparent something crucial has happened but they didn't say what. The final third was a bit sad, but we did find out what had happened. The notes from the author at the end helped explain more about the book. It was definitely an interesting read.

This was a good crime novel, but not anything that sparked a lot of conversation. The topic we most discussed was the difference in society between 1940 and now. The characters were not really memorable, and in fact I had trouble remembering who was who. It was a good crime novel, but not something I will read again. The most interesting part was the forward about the author!

I can\\\'t speak to the accuracy of the historical information, but I loved this book. It was such an engaging novel and I really liked Zelda. She was such a spitfire! I really felt like I was a part of her life and marriage. I read this after reading The Paris Wife, and it seemed to me that the Fitzgeralds had a marriage of equals (as opposed to the Hemingways) and I really felt they had a chance. I didn\\\'t know their story really before this, so I kept hoping for a redemptive ending.

Our book club had a very lively discussion of the book. Some were Team Scott and some were Team Zelda, so there was a lot of debate about different points of the novel.