Brilliant and unique writing by first time author. Darkly dramatic coming of age story about twins in Indian family. Glad that I read it with book group.

Darkly beautiful writing about Iraq war experience.

I really enjoyed this novel based on real characters: a very young union soldier and the freed slave he meets in Virginia. They become friendly during \"Sherman\'s March to t he Sea\" and the soldier invites the slave to go home with him. Very interesting description of the battles, the generals and how soldiers survived the hardships of war.

A family story about refugees from WWII Hong Kong who go to Vietnam to escape the Japanese. The main character\\\'s father has already immigrated years earlier to support his family, but never returned. The advantages of being from the more sophisticated Chines culture become a liability during the Vietnam War once the Americans depart.

Just like her book "The Secret History" I found this dark story pushing everything else from my mind.
Sort of like watching "The Sopranos," you can't look away from this totally absorbing book. She may write the great American novel one day with such a gift.

I read his reviews but was unaware that Anatole Broyard and his family lived 2 towns away from me in one of the whitest enclaves in the U.S. His daughter did not find out that her adored father grew up black in NYC until the funeral, where she met her grand parents and other relatives. The daughter becomes obsessed with meeting her father\\\\\\\'s relatives and learning the family history. This takes her to New Orleans where she traces her ancestors\\\\\\\' Creole past. Well written, makes for a good discussion of race in America.

I enjoyed this history of womens' role in building the bomb. Choosing some characters and detailing their personal lives was how the author made the story come alive. Many were young women who had never left home so it was quite and adventure for them.
If you liked the British shows "the Land Girls" and "Bletchley Circle" you'll enjoy reading about their American counterparts in WW2.

I enjoyed this novel about a blind girl who survives the war with her resourceful thinking. It is told through the eyes of 2 different characters, which I wasn\\\'t crazy about. I also didn\\\'t like the way the story \\\"telescoped\\\" towards the end and the author skipped ahead in time.

This was an interesting story set in modern Haiti, about different classes of people interacting. Most were poor, and a few rich people they interacted with provided the drama. The storry was told through the eyes of a girl growing up, quite effectively. THe writing was disjointed, however, it appeared to be some short stories thrown together, with too many characters not flowing smoothly. Towards the end I felt a list of characters was needed to remember all of them.

I preferred his other masterpiece, One Hundred Years of Solitude. This is also a magical novel and I did enjoy it.

Hodgman\\\'s description of his life growing up in Paris, MO, as an only child who knows he is different and finally realizes he is homosexual is touching, hilarious and a new topic to me. His description of living as a young gay writer in NYC, at the dawn of the AIDS outbreak, is heartbreaking. Most of the book, however, is about his time living with his beloved mother, Betty, as she sinks into dementia. This is also hilarious and touching, and unique. Wonderful writing and storytelling.

I enjoyed this novel, although nothing like Life of Pi. He is an original writer and the setting was unusual, in a tiny town in a hilly area. (There are no high mountains, title is something of a joke.)

Michael Lewis can make any subject interesting with his humorous and easy to understand explanations. This creative collaboration between two Israeli psychiatrists that resulted in the theory explaining how decisions are made is a good example. The psychologists themselves, their personalities and their collaboration make the story. Their theory resulted in the Nobel prize for Economics, in the field of behavioral economics.