Editorial Review

Settle down to enjoy a rousing good ghost story with Diane Setterfield's debut novel, Read more

Reviews (57)

What is the truth?
Margaret Lea, the narrator of The Thirteenth Tale is a solitary, intelligent woman, with a true passion for the written word.However, true to the gothic styling of the story, she has her own compelling secrets to discover.She is commissioned to compose the dying Vida Winter's (the world's best selling and most peculiar{?} author) biography...or has she?
A Modern Classic
This book is written in the grand old style of the 19th-century authors, and it's amazing.It gives a strong nod to Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, so if you liked those books you may like this as well.But the plot is not copied from those books, it's just written in a similar style.The Thirteenth Tale will sit nicely beside my Jane Austen and Bronte sisters, and I would welcome more books by Ms. Setterfield.

I could not put it down.
Ms. Setterfield has written a book lover's book, with a wave of her pen acknowledging Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Scheherazade and countless Gothic heroines. This book has it all: strange family members, incest, rape,sadism, murder, madness, secrets and lost children. Quickly, the plot. A biographer is hired by a well known, much loved author to tell the truth about her life. The author, Vida Winters, has outwitted one interviewer after another by sharing marvelously inventive and utterly untruestories about her background.Now dying, she feels compelled to tell the truth. Margaret, a bookish young woman and reluctant biographer, has secrets of her own.
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Subjects:  1. English First Novelists    2. Female friendship    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. Fiction - Historical    6. General    7. Historical - General    8. Literary    9. Recluses as authors    10. Women authors    11. Fiction / Historical   

Reviews (166)

Absolutely Fascinating!
I was hooked after reading only the first line!What a wonderful picture of Life in 19th Century China.Gloriously written.I've not read anything by Ms. Lee before, but I'm definitely going to explore some of her other books!

Touching and informative
The setting of this book is 19th. century China, a time when men's and women's roles are rigidly defined by age-old customs and rules.The two main characters are Lily, the narrator, and Snow Flower, her "laotong", who are bound together by contract and by love developed through many shared experiences.They are closer than husband and wife, or parent and child and they give one another much-needed love and support in a society where they are women and therefore useless for anything other than producing sons.Lisa See reveals details about many practices of the day, including foot-binding and nu shu, a specialized "women's writing" which is used by Lily and Snow Flower to communicate.They write hearfelt messages to one another on a fan, which becomes a chronicle of their intertwined lives and their most priceless possession.This is a fascinating look at what life was like for Chinese women in the 19th. century, and on another level it is a timeless lesson on the necessary components for a successful friendship between women.I highly recommend this book.

Intriguing Look into A Different World
What I thoroughly enjoyed about Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was becoming engrossed in the time period of the novel, learning about a culture I knew little about, and coming to understand the role of women in the Chinese society of the day. The friendship between Snow Flower and Lily was very well drawn, but the relationships between all of the female characters in the book was intriguing. This novel proved to be an excellent choice for my women's book club! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asian American Novel And Short Story    2. China    3. Female friendship    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. Fiction - Historical    7. General    8. Historical - General    9. Popular American Fiction    10. Psychological    11. Reminiscing in old age    12. Women    13. Fiction / General   

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   

Reviews (7)

Other than Kenyon, awful compilation
I didn't like one story in this book other than Kenyon's, and even that wasn't her best.The book was actually so bad that I resent the money I paid for it.And to add insult to injury, the other book I bought that was a compilation including Kenyon was even WORSE.Just a total waste of money.Two of the stories are written in the first person -- and come on, are you a 12 year old writing a story for composition class? -- and all of them are hokey and, to be blunt, lame.

severely disappointed
Severely disappointed is the only way to describe my reaction to this anthology.I ran right out to buy this book because of all the positive reviews.Save your money and buy it used.

Some are silver and the others gold, but all GREAT!
To say that I was looking forward to this book for the authors that I already know and love is an understatement.I couldn't wait to read L.A. Banks' story and Sherilyn Kenyon's.However, I have to say that I not only enjoyed the stories from the authors that I am already familiar with and love, but I enjoyed the stories from the authors who were previously unknown to me as well.What a great introduction to something new!I am definitely going to be broadening my book collection with some new authors and of course will continue on with the ones I love and know already.This was a book filled with interesting, romantic and exciting tales and I would recommend it to anyone.KUDOS to these writers for a capital accomplishment.
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Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - General    3. Fantasy - Short Stories    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Horror tales, American    7. Occult    8. Weddings    9. Fiction / Fantasy / General   

Reviews (1209)

Avid Reader
I usually read one book and then open the next one without a thought. I finished this, sat down and had a good cry (which i never do) and spent some time leafing back through the pages to find out what touched me so much. Turns out it was the whole book and the intricate way the author painted a love story.

MOVING * UNUSUAL * HEARTBREAKING * IT JUST DRAWS YOU IN
I'm not very fond of fiction but after a recommendation from a bookstore employee, I decided to give it a chance and I am just GLAD I did. I totally loved this story. It's so unusual yet touching that you will not want to put it down.
Worthy of Re-Reading Every Now and Then
I've a copy of this one in my bedside table because every now and then I like to get it out and read a few pages, because it makes me feel good.
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Subjects:  1. American First Novelists    2. American Science Fiction And Fantasy    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Librarians    7. Married people    8. Science Fiction    9. Science Fiction - General    10. Time travel    11. Women art students    12. Fiction / General    13. Reading Group Guide   

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   

Subjects:  1. Christian fiction    2. Domestic fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - Religious    5. Religious - General   

Editorial Review

In an author's note at the end of Read more

Reviews (125)

Doesn't dazzle but has a great dialouge.
On Beauty takes place in a suburb of Massachusetts and follows two families:The Belseys and The Kipps.Howard Belsey is an Art History professor at the prestigious Wellington University.His archrival Monty Kipps comes to Wellington for a year with his family as a visiting professor.Howard and Monty represent opposite ends of the spectrum:liberal and conservative, non-religious and religious, pro-Affirmative action and anti-Affirmative action and on and on.Their views are brought to life as On Beauty covers the year they share at Wellington.
Dry and Boring
It was just that dry and boring I never really connected with any of the characters, Igave up reading about 3/4ths of the way through.

An inteligent, witty, and utterly readable masterpiece.
Mark Twain, one of America's greatest wisecrackers, once said that you should never let schooling get in the way of your eductaion. On Beauty is, among other things, the story of a school that can't educate. It's also the tragicomic tale of the fate of the Belsey family, a hilarious satire of self-serving pretension, and a biting attack on the essential hollowness of the struggle between liberal and conservative. Zadie Smith is a considerably talented writer, and she's managed to spin quite the yarn: It's a funny, inteligent, and moving tale blessed with memorable characters, a twisting and addictive plot, instantly memorable diologue, and a genuinly heartbreaking climax. Smith uses the story of a fading college town as a springboard for an original and brilliant social commentary that embraces political rivalry as well as race, personal belief, love, class, guilt, and redemption. On Beauty is one of the finest novels of the year, and sharp, witty slice of social criticism as well as a ripping good read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. College teachers    2. Domestic fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Literary    7. Massachusetts    8. Popular English Fiction    9. Sagas    10. Fiction / Family Saga   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (135)

A very good read - the series continues
If you are a Terry Goodkind fan, you will have little trouble liking this book. Sure, the story line is somewhat played out, and many fans just want the final confrontation to resolve itself. But Goodkind has committed to taking us on a trilogy ride in the battle between the Richard Rahl side vs. the Jagang side. And guess what? Kahlen is in the middle of it. Again.
almost over...
if you're like me, you're reading this book because it's the second to last and you just want to finish the series.because the series started out as amazing books that had non-stop action without all the nonsense and unrealism and lecturing that we get to deal with now...one more to go and then richard and kahlan can live happily ever after.yay!

Loved it
Ok I have to admit I wasnt expecting the "old" Terry to show up in this book but he did. It was interesting and exciting and enjoyable -It left me really looking forward to the next book and wishing it wasnt going to be the last.It is true that the word "phantom" is mentioned too often - and there is some of the usual lecturing that comes in all of Mr. Goodkind's books but it is no where near the last one or two.In short I enjoyed it from cover to cover .... now when is the next one being releasted? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fantasy    2. Fantasy - Epic    3. Fantasy - General    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - Fantasy    6. Married people    7. Missing persons    8. Science Fiction And Fantasy    9. Fiction / Fantasy / Epic   

Reviews (16)

A real disappointment
If these stories were by some unknown writer, they would have been boring and dull.But from Jennifer Weiner, they are a real disappointment.I can't imagine this book would have been published but for the fact that it was an automatic "sell" to Weiner fans.
Stinker!Big disappointment!Save your money!
Her other two books were awesome so I expected the same out of this one but was sorely disappointed.I kept slogging through the short stories expecting them to be connected in some way but alas, I was wrong.The entire book is a series of short stories that go nowhere.They're not connected with at all.I'm left totally unsatisfied.
Gloomy & Boring
Jennifer Weiner is such a good writer; if only she could get past her neuroses! Enough with divorce, enough with overweight women! Many of these stories made me uncomfortable or turned me off altogether. There was a reason why various publications rejected these stories way back when, and so should have her current publisher. Ms. Weiner needs to break from the advice of many a writing teacher, i.e., write what you know. Explore new situations, new emotions, and include some happy endings! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Popular American Fiction    5. Short Stories (single author)    6. Single women    7. 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 (94)

I try to give a 5 star sparingly
I picked this novel up from my wish list while, interestingly enough, staying with my younger sister after the birth of her second child. I read this novel so quickly it surprised me!
Tyler never disappoints
and she does not with this latest novel. I love her writing, her characters, her eye, her voice. And her gentleness. The author just amazes me with the kindness of her eye. I don't think I have ever read an author who has the impact of me that she does.

Typical Tyler Magic
This book is a little unusual for Tyler.
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Subjects:  1. Assimilation (Sociology)    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Intercountry adoption    5. Iranian American women    6. Literary    7. Psychological    8. Tyler, Anne - Prose & Criticism    9. Fiction / Literary   

Reviews (2)

"Everything she did was wrong"
In this poetic story of mothers and daughters and grandmothers, memory and remembrance perpetually shroud and encapsulate the present. As the novel begins, Dilly, a woman of advancing age is told that she must go to Dublin for observation.
You can take the author out of Ireland but you can't take Ireland out of the Author
The book is somewhat cryptic and much happens. But you realize three quarters of the way in that the story is not in the actions, but in the unsaid. And there's lots of unsaid.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. Literary    4. Mothers and daughters    5. Popular English Fiction    6. Psychological    7. Women novelists    8. Fiction / Literary   

Editorial Review

In her first novel, award-winning Indian screenwriter Arundhati Roy conjures a whoosh of wordplay that rises from the pages like a brilliant jazz improvisation. Read more

Reviews (832)

Poetic
This novel is beautifully poetic.You get the impression the the author is luxuriating in language as much as she is telling a story.The characters have the strange quality of being both familiar and exotic, especially the children.The book moves backward and forward as if gathering up the momentum for the ending, which is somehow both jarring and disturbing, despite the fact that you know it is coming.Altogether, this is an incredible first novel.

Small is Not Always Bad.
This was a strange book, unlike any I have seen before.The writer uses a lot of capitalized phrases:
An eloquent fictive exposition into what ails India and society in general
Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things" is intimately concerned with the minutiae of life, particular rural life in the Indian state of Kerala. Her fixation with the seemingly trivial aspects of this life slowly lulls the reader into a polemic that reveals India, and specifically middle class Christian life within Kerala, to be far from this picturesque world of familial affection, spiritual enlightenment, harmonious tradition, peaceful coexistence and bastion of progressive thinking and intellectualism that many politically correct minded western thinkers and social critics tend to depict India to be. Through the guise of fiction and the employment of language that is resplendent in vivid imagery Roy provides a cogent exposition emphasizing the very duplicity that lies at the very heart of this idealistic portrayal of the subcontinent; a depiction that is peddled by its inhabitants and credulously accepted by western minds. Though Roy does a superb in her nonfiction essays and books (An Ordinary Person's Guide To Empire, The Cost of Living, War Talk, Power Politics and The Algebra of Infinite Justice) in showing the morass of contradictions that is India and the United States, to do it through the medium of fiction makes it seem less caustic to politically correct minds that idealize eastern life at the expense of truth.
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Subjects:  1. Domestic fiction    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. India    5. Literary    6. Psychological fiction    7. Sagas    8. Social classes    9. Twins    10. Fiction / Literary    11. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (116)

Sweetest Story
This story was so sweet! I loved Claudia and Ben's characters and towards the end I couldn't stop reading the book. It took me three days to read. This story leaves you hanging untill the very end. It's a really easy to get through and its well worth it. I really have enjoyed Emily Giffin's books. She is a great writer. I highly recommend this story along with her others.

Highly entertaining!
This is the best book I have read this summer.It is a great examination of one couple (really, one woman) struggling with the baby issue and how that fits into her life and her marriage.Emily Giffin looks at this issue from almost every perspective and writes with a lot of humor and wit.I found the book to be very well written and Claudia's fears and feelings rang true with me even though I have always wanted children.I loved it, especially the OHenry ending.

Weak Character
I should have been rooting for Claudia, and at the beginning of the book I was.I felt outraged on her behalf.She'd made it clear that she never wanted children, and her husband Ben was sure he felt the same way.Then Ben suddenly changed his mind and decided that there should be children in their marriage.I agreed with Claudia when she said that Ben was breaking their deal.I hated that he was pressuring her so much when getting pregnant and having a baby was something she obviously didn't want.
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Subjects:  1. Couples    2. Domestic fiction    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Novel    7. Fiction / General   

Reviews (43)

Awesome Journey until the end . . .
I loved this book, the premise, the characters, the descriptions of the places visited. I felt that the ending was a rushed.I wish the author took more time to wrap up the lives of these amazing women that I came to know and love through earlier chapters.

Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral
I received this book from a sorority sister who's husband had recently died.
Should I read this or not??
Well, here's a "review" from someone who has NOT read this book yet, but checked amazon reviews before buying it. A friend highly recommended it at a recent college reunion, but I always "check" books out first. The reviews here on Amazon are so far apart that it's actually kind of funny. People either love or can't stand this book! There isn't a whole lot in between. I guess I'll have to get it and see what happens. It sounds as if I'll fall into one camp or the other very soon into it.... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Female friendship    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Funeral rites and ceremonies    5. General    6. Inheritance and succession    7. Popular American Fiction    8. Fiction / General   

Reviews (109)

What happened to N. Sparks?
I have laughed and shed tears over all of the authors books. Im am completely dumbfounded as to what he was thinking when he wrote At First Sight.Like me, you probably loved all the characters in his previous books.He makes every character in this book NOT loveable! I kept asking myself, who am I rooting for?Do I care if things go well?The best part were the medical issues but only a few pages in the book - could have been a story in itself.I miss the old spark.

Redeemed!
After being very disapointed in "True Believer" I felt this novel was much more realistic and connected better to the characters. He has redeemed himself in my opinion with this novel. A good easy read, very enjoyable.

Readable but not worth the money...
This book was on the bestseller's shelf at my local bookstore.I asked an employee about how books were selected for that shelf and was told that selection is based on a number of factors including positive customer reviews.Shocking.As a number of other customer's have commented on this site, this book was not worth the money it cost.It was silly, contrived and unrealistic.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - General    3. General    4. Married people    5. Pregnant women    6. Romance - General    7. Romance: Modern    8. Fiction / General