Reviews (16)

I'm sorry but I'm sooooo bored
I've read all the glowing reviews here and I will say that I loved Cold Mountain.I'm only 1/2 way through Thirteen Moons and I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to finish it.It is so boring that I read pages and pages and realize that I have no idea what I've just read!It might as well be a book on economic theory for all the pleasure it is giving me.

Who the hell is Claire?
a mysterious girl named Claire.... we never found out who she is, what
Did I miss something too?
Like an earlier reviewer, I wonder what I missed that others did not.Though the author writes beautiful prose, I think his story (or the lack of one) makes for one of the most boring and uninteresting novels I have ever read.I recommend that you not waste your valuable time reading this novel. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

Best known for his Border Trilogy, hailed in the Read more

Reviews (76)

Thoughts along "The Road"
It is true that art is in the eye of the beholder. In fact, literature is a medium that is art in its highest form and you can therefore think of it as not being confined to restrictions of form, content, idea or characterization. I have always enjoyed the challenge of reading McCarthy, but I found "The Road" perhaps his least challenging read, at least as far as sentence structure goes. I can remember a particular sentence in "Blood Meridian" where he is describing the terrifying horde of marauders that was an entire paragraph and contained, oh, 250 words. That was challenging. In my view he has toned down his verbosity about five clicks in this latest work. It was, however, quite fetching in its sparsity.
He'd fail in my class.
I don't care how "artistic" a writer may think he or she is. He or she cannot use this as an excuse for poor, ungrammatical writing.And that's what is in this book .Take the first three "sentences," for example.Two of the three are not even sentences at all, but merely sentence fragments. I think there are more sentence fragments in this book than there are sentences. There are very few commas in this book, though many are called for.The dialog is not even placed within quotation marks. It is not readable at all.
The Road Of Destruction
Take a dark journey on a postapocalyptic road, with a father and his son, in a cold, stark, barren, lifeless empty world. Where sudden terror could strike. So real is this world that you have no doubt of its existence. You feel their plight only too well. You know where its ending, still you turn the pages. Any realist cannot but dread, are we headed down that road?
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Literary    5. Mccarthy, Cormac - Prose & Criticism    6. Fiction / General   

Reviews (12)

To Be Or Not To Be, That Is The Problem.
To Each His Own, But To Deface History in This Way.
Horrible
After reading Inheritance of Loss, I immediately turn to read Salman Rusdie as a way of reminding myself what great Indain writing is.
Ambitious but Satisfying
Cho Oyu, a crumbling old house in the foothills of the Himalayas is home to the main characters of Kiran Desai's Booker shortlisted The Inheritance of Loss.
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Subjects:  1. Asian American Novel And Short Story    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Literary    5. Popular American Fiction    6. Fiction / Literary   

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Long distance relationships    5. Soldiers    6. Fiction / General   

Reviews (32)

This is a story about nothing.
Every year or so,a news anchor or politician inadvertantly swears while their microphone is on, unbeknownst to them.It's in the papers in the gossip section for a few days, and it's laughed about on TV, but how can that little gaffe produce enough material to write a book about?This book gives the answer: It can't.

Rise and Shine
It seems pathetic to me that once a mediocre author has a hit, they become a commercial sucess and churn out books just to satisfy their publisher.In short, this book started out with a fair amount of interest and deteriorated into a heap of unravaled garbage.At the 1/2 way point, it was so boring and stupid, I quit.
I couldn't finish this boring, poorly written and researched book
I'm baffled by the praise for this book.I was bored from the very beginning, read about 1/3 and am returning it to the library today.I've always enjoyed her columns but something is lacking here.For one, I kept finding errors as one reviewer mentioned.For example, there is no surf in Long Island Sound.Ikept thinking as I read this book, "Who cares?" ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Sisters    5. Women journalists    6. Women social workers    7. Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (1561)

The classic classic... that I still don't get why it's one.
This is another of those books that everyone tells you how wonderful and incredible it is. I read it, and... okay. It's a book. And a not-bad one at that. But is it amazing? Is it the greatest, most thought-provoking book of all times? Is it truly just overrated?
"It's a great book....."

A Classic Can Be Interesting
Scout Finch is a girl that wants to be just like her father, even though the rest of the world wants to see her as a young lady. She worries that when she's away, Calpurnia, her cook and friend, will not have anything to do. She is also very protective of her family, especially her father Atticus.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fathers and daughters    3. Fiction    4. Girls    5. Legal    6. Literature - Classics / Criticism    7. Literature: Classics    8. Race relations    9. Trials (Rape)    10. Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

Since his debut in 1951 as Read more

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• Unabridged

Reviews (2665)

Nothing incredible
This book rather disappointed me. It wasn't able to catch my attention, and didn't really have a point. There wasn't really a plot, and the character was a rather flat, bland young man. The writing style was interesting, certainly, but it got extremely annoying and repetitive after a while. Too many things were used again and again, which didn't help this story one bit.
American Classic
This coming of age story should be read by everyone. However, smart young people will gain more from it than less observant (or more stupid) young people. Take the test, if you like the book, then chances are you are smart. If you didn't like the book, or you didn't read the book, then you are probably stupid.

"...incredibly attractive breakdown."
Some people really hate this book -- I can see why you think Holden is irritating, but...it's not that he's right about things, or that you're meant to think he's right. Or that you should even BELIEVE half the things he says. He's not going to come out and say,
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Literature: Classics    5. Fiction / Classics    6. Modern fiction   

Reviews (322)

Excellent book!
Joan Didion is able to capture for the reader what a terrible ordeal losing any loved one is, let alone two within a very short time. She deals with the fast death of her husband and the longer, slow death of her daughter. The writing is excellent, the sadness you feel is unbelievably real. What's true is that in all of our lives, what is one way one minute can change ever so quickly the next.Ms. Didion captures this feeling to a tee.

A beautiful book, but it's not really intended for other people
I'm trying to think of how to delicately recommend against reading Joan Didion's latest (for which she won a National Book Award). Some disjointed notes:
Two types of Research
More than anything else, I think Didion's latest book shows her truest colorsas a reporter.Though ostensibly a memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking is at its center an in-depth investigative report on the effects of grief, from its onset and onward a year.Didion blends research in the "field" -- hospitals, all the venues of her own experience -- and research with doctors and through print media to give us not only a moving record of her own experiences, but also a critical study into the personal, psychological, physiological toll grief can take on a person.Like her earliest works, thisbook seems effortless, almost spoken, in very measured and easy prose, which seeps into the reader and makes you even more moved by her accounts.An excellent book, both from the stand point of memoir and reportage, and an exceedingly excellent book from the stand point of being both blended into one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Didion, Joan    7. Didion, Joan - Prose & Criticism    8. Dunne, John Gregory - Prose & Criticism    9. Dunne, John Gregory,    10. Family relationships    11. Journalists    12. Literary    13. Novelists, American    14. Personal Memoirs    15. United States    16. Women    17. Biography & Autobiography / Literary   

Editorial Review

"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If all Truman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experiment that has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more than that. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The images of this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old Nancy Clutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock's black '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreams of gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final "thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks. ... Read more

Reviews (371)

One of the best I've read.
I had no idea what this book was about when I bought it.It was years ago now, and I was given a list of "Good Books" to read as a present: A deck of cards, each card representing a great work in American Literature that everyone should read.This was one of the books.I liked it a lot. At the time, I had no idea who Capote was (I still don't) and it wasn't until recently when movie after movie keeps coming out about this "Capote" character that I realized he was the author of this book.It's a good book, and a well-told story, but I don't see why Capote has recently been thrown up on a pedestal and worshiped by Hollywood. Regardless, this book is worth your time.

amazing on all levels
Intrigued, I wondered how Capote could manage to write a book about a crime that, while gruesome, at first glance doesn't appear to be the sort to sustain a book. Upon starting it I was hooked, he not only found the story but manages to tell it from many different perspectives while keeping the raw emotion intact, putting you right there throughout. At the same time he comes across as unbiased in his telling. Not only does he create a genre with this book, he defines what it is at it's best. As an aside, to watch the movie Capote after reading this book makes clear the methods he used, unprecedented access to the criminals, etc. in order to create this masterpeice.

Beyond true crime
This is as near perfect as a book can get. Capote gets you inside each person he writes about like no one else. Remarkable. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Criminology    3. Homicide    4. Kansas    5. Murder    6. Murder - General    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. True Crime / Espionage    10. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (4)

First half great- then what happened?
I loved the beginning of this book - the characters are so richly developed.The main couple is very interesting.Then about half way through, when you have barely read any detail about their children, the book turns from them being children to them being in college.I hate it to blunt, but half way through the book, I hadn't developed any interest in the children so the fact that the whole second part of the book is about them and with little more about the parents (who were the main characters) left me very disappointed.Itseemed almost like the writer lost track of what was happening in the book and started a new story line without the main characters in it.Very disappointing.

Into the Wind
In After This, her sixth novel, Alice McDermott returns to her chosen milieu of postwar New York and Long Island and the Irish Americans, who are, as always, acquainted with grief and dealing with life's losses in a way that shows them at their noblest and best.The characters in this novel are ordinary, stunningly ordinary.Her two main characters are John and Mary, the seeming everyman and woman of the postwar era.The ways these ordinary characters cope with the huge changes in American society in the postwar decades forms one stream of conflict and tension in the novel. A deeper stream is how they cope with the tragic condition of human life itself.
Ordinary People
Alice McDermott is a good writer.She casts a wise and loving eye over her turf, the suburban New York City Irish Catholic scene during the baby boom years.In several books, especially Charming Billy, she successfully evokes the humor and pathos of her chosen people.She's particularly good on the bonds of family, the ways in which fealty to one's tribe can simultaneously prop up and chafe a soul.
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Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Domestic fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Literary    7. Mcdermott, Alice - Prose & Criticism    8. Social life and customs    9. United States    10. Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

One of Chinua Achebe's many achievements in his acclaimed first novel, Read more

Reviews (468)

Enjoyable, quick read.
Not my favorite book of all time but definitely kept my attention and was a quick enough read that I'd recommend it to anyone. Strong characterization and interesting story.

Expand your cultural horizons with this easy to read gem
There is a profound need for Americans to read books about non-Western cultures. This is especially true for those in political leadership positions. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is one such book.
A Masterful Look at the Paradoxes of Life in Africa
This is the first African novel I ever read, and it really impressed me, in the same way that life in Africa impressed me: it is direct and without concessions, and yet it has an eternal, mythical quality.
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Subjects:  1. British    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Igbo (African people)    5. Literary    6. Men    7. Nigeria    8. Africa    9. Fiction / Literary    10. Modern fiction    11. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (76)

Flagg does Southern Justice
Can't Wait to Get to Heaven is Fannie Flagg's best work. It is southern fiction at its finest, which is quite a compliment because when it's done right, it's amazing. We're back in Elmwood Springs with characters we know and love, and Flagg's characterization is pristine. This book is funny, touching and quirky. She's managed to create a town most people would love to live in with down-home charm and a dash of trouble.
Some books are just plain fun
Sometimes you want to read a novel that just makes you feel better. And if you are in that mood, you'd be hard pressed to find a better one than this. Here you don't expect to find terrorists blowing things up, you don't find all kinds of grief and sadness. Instead you find an interesting group of characters from a small southern town with concerns like 'will the world end before I get to collect Social Security.'
Not as good as past novels
I love Fannie Flagg's writing - and have enjoyed her past books.Sadly - this time around - this title does not measure up to her usual fine quality. Her past novels were glib, engaging, heartfelt... This installment is flat.Great characters - but they don't go anywhere.I have loved her past works - folksy, charming, real characters that you wish you knew.In the past - I could not put down her books and could not wait for this to come out.This one - I literally put down half way through.I was disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Humorous    6. Near-death experiences    7. Older women    8. Fiction / General   

Reviews (196)

*Blood Meridian* for Dummies...

Great Writing; shortchanged plot
I am a Cormac McCarthy fan.I don't care about punctuation or grammar.His writing, as usual is superb.The story draws you in from the first page.I understand the draft he delivered to his editor was 600 pages.We are left with about half.I believe the editor mistakenly left out the last fifty pages and plugged in what should have been chopped.I'm shaking my head for what might have been an awesome novel.

Too artsy for its own good
I thought I was going to get a thriller when I first heard of this.Instead I got a pseudo-sequel to COLD MOUNTAIN set in 1980 Texas, and I have rather low opinions of COLD MOUNTAIN.It was difficult to follow the story due to McCarthy's decision to not only avoid using quotation marks to identify dialogue (a move I've always considered to be a pretentious affectation), but also commas, apostrophes, and proper spelling, such as not capitalizing "English" or using "livingroom" instead of "living room" and "mam" instead of "ma'am."I don't know if this is something McCarthy does in all his books or this was a one-time deal, but it was a major turnoff and made the experience grueling rather than enjoyable.I also didn't see the relevance of the italicized monologues of Sheriff Bell at the beginning of each chapter/section, as he tended to ramble on about life afterWorld War Two and how it wasn't uncommon to see 22-year-olds as ordained ministers or 25-year-olds as sheriffs of counties the size of Delaware.Hopefully its movie adaptation (which I legitimately pity the Coen Brothers for having to wade through) is more accessible. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Drug traffic    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Mccarthy, Cormac - Prose & Criticism    7. Sheriffs    8. Texas    9. Thrillers    10. Treasure-trove    11. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (2)

Well-written page turner, very worthwhile
Restless is the story of a mother who has concealed her true identity from her daughter.Chapters alternate between WWII and contemporary Oxford.The characters are complex and the settings detailed and evocative.I loved this book and read it in one sitting--I wish it had been longer.I love William Boyd's novels--he has a historically detailed imagination and knows how to tell a story.

One of his best
Over the last twenty years, William Boyd has, for me, been among the most consistent writers of narrative fiction.There have been books that will stand the test of time (New Confessions) and ones that already seem dated (Stars and Bars), but Restless finds him in good form.Boyd, as flexible as ever, turns his attention to the spy genre.We are presented with a double narrative, mother and daughter.The plot is hampered by a slightly overwrought literary device, the mother doling out her diaries at intervals, conveniently allowing the author to flip back and forth in time.Still, Boyd remains a wonderful writer.His characters are incisive, full blooded and captivating, even the ones we're not supposed to like.Boyd, like McEwan, manages the perfect blend of literature and thriller and Restless reads very quickly.That alone is a reason to buy it, but add in the Paris of 1939, spymasters and double dealings and Boyd is on to another winner. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Boyd, William - Prose & Criticism    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. Great Britain    6. Historical - General    7. Mothers and daughters    8. Secret service    9. Women spies    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Fiction / General   

Reviews (1032)

White and Nerdy
I think "Of Mice and Men" was an good book.It had some good parts in the book along with some bad parts in there. I thought that the book taught a good story of people living a different life.Then also it was a sort of racial and had a lot of cursing in it.I think that older people should read this book and not young kids.

Of Mice and Men. Breaz*Plum, Student at Maces Lane Middle School.
The book, "Of Mice And Men," is one of the best books I have ever read. It is about two men, Lennie and George. They ran away from thier old ranch, Weed because Lennie is mentally retarded and he grabbed a ladies dress because he likes soft things. He got accused of rape. Later, they found a ranch in Salinas, California. Many events occured at this ranch, Lennie got in a fight with curly. Curly is a little man unlike Lennie and he is jealous of big men. You will have to read the story to find out the best ending. If you like breathtaking, loving, but yet harmful books you should read this book.

Great Book!C.L.M. Student at Mace's Lane Middle School
The book "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, has a very good plot and good setting. The setting of the book is in Salinas,California. The two characters Lennie and George are two people who have travelled together ever since Lennie was on his own. They have gotten all of their jobs together, and they have gotten fired together. Then they finally get a job as ranch hands and they get paid fifty dollars at the end of each month. While the two are there they meet seven more people, but I will let you figure them out for yourself.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Literature: Classics    5. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (567)

The House on Mango Street
The House on Mango Street is a story of Esperanza Cordero.Esperanza is sharing her life in a poetic form.She writes poems to describe her life on Mango Street.She is embarrassed to point and say, "That's my house."Her mama says, "It's for the time being," papa says, "its temporary."Esperanza shares her stories of love, friendship, and the trail of life.Esperanza's friend Sally gets into lots of trouble with boys and her papa doesn't tolerate this.Working at such a young age isn't very easy, but papa doesn't want Esperanza to go to public school, he believes you'll turn out bad.Living in the ghetto of Chicago can get difficult sometimes in ways that can just confuse you, like your friend getting married when she hasn't even reached eighth grade.Sandra Cisneros will share Esperanza's feelings and descriptions about neighbors and family great.Boys, where should we start?To Esperanza, they live in separate worlds, you can really only rely on your true friends.In the end, all these moments of feelings only equal one word, Life.
this book is so weird
this books chapter titles were random as hell and so was the book. its so weird.there is no plot whatsoever. i hated it, don't buy it cuz it sucks major balls.

For ESL students
I teach a beginner writing course for ESL students preparing for college, and we u