The language in this book is captivating and gorgeous. It is contemplative and deep. Short in terms of content, but long in terms of substance. The story covers one man's deathbed memories, so there's not a lot of action in the present moment, but I still became fully immersed reading this.

Beautifully written with a lot of imagery and mirroring.

the subject was dark and the writing style was over the top and a bit excessive. the author could have aid it all in half the time and let the poor man die.

Very random. We didn't feel like it created a relationship with any of the characters for us. Poetic, but almost like he was trying too hard.

If you like long flowery description of things then this is the book for you!

Mixed reviews here. I loved the prose of the book. Amazing writing. But I think this book is for more literature lovers versus just readers. I don't think it is a bad book and I did enjoy it, most of the group had a hard time with the language of the book.

The book was extremley difficult to read and keep the attention of the reader. The book bounced back and forth between diffrent character's and setting and the repeated ramblings of clocks.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book, but it still disappointed me. If you read books for plot lines, then this probably isn't for you. If you read for the beauty of the written word, then you will probably enjoy the book. I fall into the former category and found the style to be frustrating. The story lines jumped back and forth between father and son without much of a connecting thread and often the writer would create verbose self-indulgent passages that didn't further the story. I did not find myself caring about the characters and when I reached the end all I could think was, "what was the point?"

The characters (father and son) drive this thin novel which is packed with beautiful prose. If you appreciate the beauty of language and would like a break from the predictable "page turners", then read this one. Plenty to discuss, as there are lots of large themes which are explored in the novel.

This book won Pulitzer so I was excited about reading it. I kept hoping it would all come together. I felt it never did. I think it's for very intellectual people that have the time to ponder very detailed chapters. I wasn't in that place in my life.

I had a hard enough time understanding the reviews on the back flap of this book, let alone understanding the book. george is dying and in his last fews days , as he drifts in and out of conscsiouness, he relives his life and memories of his father. But they are not just his memories. The story of his father is told as well. One paragraph you are in george's life, the next you are in his fathers - difficult to follow. The ending was abrupt. Did not care for this book at all.

Some of the book was tedious. I really liked the ending though. George is reunited with his father at the moment of his death and Howard reunites with his son long after he's died. When does a life truly end?