"Still Life" is a wonderful novel about the journey of two women in different ...
923079
"Still Life" is a wonderful novel about the journey of two women in different lifestyles, the author digs deep into the soul of each revealing the fear, pain, the damaged ability to love again, and all that makes us who we are. Well written, thought provoking, emotional.

Well done Christa!

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
4730648
It isn't very often that you find a novel that is intelligent, well-written and moving. A wonderful portrait of a woman in love with an enigmatic anthropologist. A fascinating look at love and gender.  Don't be put off by other Amazon reviewers who couldn't get through this book.  If you are a strong reader who enjoys a challenging well-crafted novel, this book is for you.
555697
This is such a beautifully written, powerful novel.  Barbara's struggle to make peace with the past and pave a new road for her future is one to which we can all relate.  Through the rich and honest portrayal of friendships and relationships, she takes the reader on an amazing journey through shameful secrets and devastating pain to forgiveness of self and others.  The author deftly captures nuanced subject matter with great care and detail.  This wonderful novel will stay with me for a long, long time.
3733746
Wonderfully written the characters come alive in this story of two strong women whose lives intertwine.  Follow their journey through time.
1439998
This is a fascinating novel that explores both the personal journey of a young man into adulthood, while providing an insightful view into Malaysia and its people.  The main character lives in a culture that is an often uneasy blend of ethnicities, sometimes loving (as in his delightful band of city comrades)and sometimes in conflict (as with the tumultuous politics he wanders into).  Another uneasy blend is reflected in the marriage of the main character's own parents: a mother who struggles with an artistic spirituality and a father who enjoys fabulous material success but is often perplexed and clueless about his own wife. The main character must learn and come to accept the often painful conflicts and tragedies in his upbringing before moving on to make a life of his own.  This novel is crisply written and sensitive without sentimentality.  I highly reccmmend it.
726526
What captivates me about this novel is the parallel between time of seventy years ago to present day. How two teenage girls both going thru life adveristy find a sense of wholeness and companionship in each other.
3133450
Nayomi Munaweera's second novel is beautiful, thought-provoking, and courageous. It paints an intimate portrait of a woman growing up in Sri Lanka, then America, who is haunted by the trauma of her own childhood as well as her mother's buried trauma. It's a story about being a mother and being the daughter of a mother. It's about the pressures that women experience around our bodies, particularly around fertility and childbearing, and the social pressures to which mothers in the U.S. are subjected. Munaweera explores the nuanced depths of navigating these pressures as a woman first in a traditional society where the genders inhabit separate spheres and fulfill prescribed roles, then as an immigrant woman of color in the U.S., with subtly and insight. The book embraces and explores - even celebrates - the female body and its processes, as well as the processes by which shame and fear are instilled in women around their bodies by family and society. The book's emotional arc is devastating and masterfully drawn. Munaweera's prose, which was luminous in her debut novel "Island of a Thousand Mirrors," continues to shine and shows even more control. Her second novel's pacing is perfect and her voice has matured. I read "What Lies Between Us" basically in one sitting because the writing and the plot drew me in so completely. In spit of the book's heavy subject matter, there is a lot that sparkles; Munaweera does an excellent job of portraying the full range of human emotions that a person experiences during a lifetime. Highly recommended!
2873730
This book was one I didn't want to put down. I'm a fan of Kristan's romantic novels and this looked different, but I delved into it anyway because she's a wonderful writer. I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't long before I was pulled into the lives of two sisters, both face the kinds of real life trials that life sometimes brings to us. Kristan's usual witty style and deep characters were present here, and I didn't care that it wasn't the same type of book as her other novels. Instead, I enjoyed the well-told journey for what it was. A great work of romantic women's fiction that really touched my heart in some very surprising places. Highly recommend this one!
2516332
This is one of those rare novels that I read in only a few days.  It isn't because it's short (it's nearly 400 pages).  It is because the story is endlessly engaging and thought provoking to say the least.  What the author has accomplished is an examination of Christianity through the experiences of one nun at a time when women were certainly expected to keep their opinions to themselves.

It starts out in 1938 after a family tragedy and quickly pulls you into this small town in Vermont called WhiteRidge.  It then alternates between 1955 (the present time for the purpose of the book) and 1938.  The author then moves forward from '38 into the war years while deftly switching back and forth between that time and '55.  I felt the slow drifting toward convergence as the "present" Anna comes to know the "past" Anna.  It's a terrific technique that works because the older voice is distinctly more mature and wiser than the younger one.

The convent years are both sorrowful and joyful as I'm sure they would be for anyone who decides to commit their life to God.  But overhanging it all is the unsolved event that pushed the main character, Anna, into the convent life to begin with.  This disturbing atmosphere keeps the reader's attention through each scene.

I grew fond of Anna Miller almost immediately from her introduction as a precocious little girl to her years as a nun to her present period as a wife-to-be.  Few authors these days know how to capture the female voice and spirit.  Howard Cobiskey can certainly claim to have accomplished this.

Each person in the book has their own "Trinity" that they seem to be seeking out and the word certainly has double and triple meanings within the context of the book.  The cast of characters will not be soon forgotten and one benchmark of a well-written novel is the feeling of sadness when the story is over and you find yourself thinking of all of them.  I hope we all see more.
78802
An incredibly poignant novel that reads and feels as sharp and clear as a freezing cold running stream.
The author writes crisply, economically and precisely to reflect the times and circumstances of the lifestyle of Lydia Sanderson.  Lydia is widowed and decides to purchase what remains of a forsaken homestead in the Blue Mountains.  The challenges that she must face up to are great, being a woman, even greater, still.  The work she must do is brutal, the weather a force to break men's souls, the physical labor more demanding than anything she knows.  Yet she accepts this completely.
In brilliant detail the author portrays how this woman lived alone and prospered. It is a fascinating accounting of her lifestyle; the items she has in her possession, what she eats and how she transports herself and her animals.  All of this is told conservatively as her journal recounts the challenges that unfold before her.
In contrast to her personal life, the reader is introduced to the folk that live nearest to her.  These are strong and beautiful characters, tough and tender, strong and bending. In very difficult times, they came together and helped each other.  Their spirit is reflected through the accounting of Lydia's story.
2861197
This well- written novel depicts a woman's journey to connect with her past and awaken the spirit of Duende within her.
1082276
Woman Enters Left had me hooked from the first paragraph.  This is a beautiful, layered novel with wonderful, complex characters that I loved and who deeply affected me.  The author vividly places her characters in two different time periods, with all the little nuances and details that make you feel they truly belong there.  Its a marvelous book.

Louise Wilde is a movie star in the 1950s.  She has been starring in a series of silly musicals, always playing the same simple girl who, in the end, discovers theres no place like home, and ends up exactly where she started.  She longs for more meaning in her roles, but no one pays attention to Louise:  the studio heads talk to her as if she were her character.  Her current home situation is making her discontent worse.  Her beloved husband has become a recluse, angry at the world due to circumstances that we slowly come to understand as the novel progresses.

Louise unexpectedly inherits the estate of a famous script writer, including many unused scripts that have the kind of roles for women that Louise aches to play.  She also is surprised to find the woman was friends with Louises mother, who died when Louise was a child.  She does not realize she also inherited the diaries of these two incredible, courageous women, who, in the 1920s, set out in a Model T to drive from New York to California at a time well before interstate highways, GPS navigation systems, drive-through windows at restaurants, and roadside motels.  They were also dealing with much more serious, heartbreaking crises, one of historical significance.  We learn about their journey and their struggles from excerpts from their diaries, and they are astonishing in so many ways.

Louise sets out driving to a film location, but, unwittingly, winds up on a totally different journey that retraces, in reverse, her mothers trip.

You can read this novel simply as a journey of self-discovery, but just as Louise wants to show she has deeper layers than the character she portrays on screen, this novel, too, has many deep, dark and moving layers.  I don't want to get too much into them for those who like to discover them on their own, but they are so important -- and there already is one review from a person who was totally clueless as to history -- that I really want to clarify.  Ill put some important information below in a Spoiler Alert for those who don't want to know in advance, but I will keep it to a minimum for those who just want a hint.

I cant tell you how much I enjoyed this book and its many surprises.  The writing is wonderful; it totally drew me in and kept me turning pages as quickly as I could.  The author beautifully captures two different time periods, with all the little touches that place the characters in their time and place.  She dramatically gives a face and a heart and a soul to several important events that took place during those times.  Its the best book Ive read in quite a while.

****SPOILER ALERT*****  I don't want to give away too much, but remember that the 1950s was the era where Joseph McCarthy and his House Un-American Activities Committee ruined the lives of countless people in Hollywood and elsewhere over Communist and homosexual witch hunts.  It is especially important to remember them in the current political climate.  ****EXTRA SPOILER ALERT*****  If you don't know who The Radium Girls are, look them up.  You need to know.  They were, and still are, important.  They changed laws and lives, and many people today owe them a great deal.  They paid dearly, but they saved countless lives.  We build monuments to war heroes, but not to heroes like those women, and that is wrong.  There are several fiction and non-fiction books on Amazon about them.
418747
I love to read and I read a variety of books, especially since I became unemployed. Sometimes I get very depressed and it is hard to pay attention to a story even if by a favourite writer. This book "Still Life'' was absolutely wonderful. It caught my interest and never let it go until I had finished it. Now I want to go back and start again. I had to re-read that this was her debut novel. The characters are well drawn and the story is enticing and psychologically sound. Was the resolution of the mystery a little too obscure, perhaps, but I loved the journey. The people are fleshed out and the relationships of the characters felt real. I would have liked to have met some of those people, and would have despised others. That, to me, is what a good story does. It takes you out of your life (good or bad) and transports you into the story. Thank you Ms. Penny.
4192511
Being an avid reader of biographies and historical books, I found this a refreshing change of pace.  This memoir was like embarking on a wonderful journey and through a sometimes exotic landscape and sometimes completely human realm of love, exploring one's self and the the world as certainly we all do in our 20's.  Of course, being a romance at it's core between the author/actress Christina Haag and John Kennedy Jr. it is the journey of two individuals, known, yet not known even to themselves and that is part of the fun as they explore the world.  The writing is literary and vivid, yet welcoming and accessible.  You feel as if you have been invited to dinner at your friend's house and served a wonderful meal with wine and the hours pass as conversation and unfoldment moves you.

The New York creative and artistic scene of the late 70's and 80's is always a backdrop and is brought to life.  A scene and mileau that although inhabited by the rich and powerful, was also the landscape of the talented and imaginative.  People did seem to have more of a sense of play and exploration and this is a part of the book.  Christina gives us an intimate, human portrait the Kennedy's one rarely sees.  As mentioned before, we are carried through the intertwining of two souls and each finding their own destiny and with some sadness going their separate ways.  As the fork in the road becomes clearer, Christina Haag goes into the arts and acting.  He moves into law and what one could call the shifting values of celebrity culture of New York in the 1990's.  He seems to look back longingly at her artistic life and we are left to wonder "What if?" had he taken another path.
3891487
It's not often that I read a book about a woman's love affair with life, sex, religion and men. And, there is no doubt that Angelina and Men by Shaktima Brien is such a book, I found this novel not only intriguing, but exciting and inspirational. As the author's alter ego, Angelina is struggling with her identity, focus in life, career, issues with men, along with her hopes and dreams. It is these dreams and rejection of much of her early upbringing that bring her from the cold north to sunny California. Yet this is not a journey of escapism as much as it is a journey of discovery of herself and those with whom she encounters along the way. Told with directness, humor and sensuality, Angelina finds that being bound by the rules of home, religion and propriety do not match her love of life, evolution and sexiness. It is a fun trip... go for it... you'll have a great time along the way.
3044474
Brief summary and review, no spoilers.

This fascinating and thought-provoking novel starts off in the year 1985 when we meet the main cast of characters. The first is Greta Wells, who narrates the story. She and her brother Felix have just turned 31 years old but it is not a happy time for her - Felix is dying from AIDS and his partner Alan has come down with the disease as well. We also meet Greta's eccentric (and wonderful) Aunt Ruth, who lives in the same building as Greta and we meet Nathan, Greta's live-in partner of 10 years.

When Felix dies near the start of the story and when her relationship with Nathan sours, Greta goes into a deep depression. Medication does not seem to help and her doctor recommends another type of treatment.

In a way that is explained later in the story, Greta is transported back to two different time periods - October of 1918 and October of 1941. Both are pivotal times in history; a war is just ending and another is about to begin. In other ways the three time periods seem to mirror each other; there is the Spanish flu in 1918 comparable to the AIDS epidemic of 1985. As Greta goes back and forth in time and body, she tries to "correct" and improve her own situation and the lives of those that are near and dear to her. But her efforts have surprising and incredibly profound and intriguing consequences.

I don't want to give away more than what I've just said because there are certain revelations and discoveries that Greta makes when she is transported in time and I think it would benefit the reader (as it did me) to not know in advance what those are.

I started reading this novel earlier tonight and I just finished it a few minutes ago. I could not put it down. It is after 1:30am here and I am deliriously tired but I am also feeling that wonderful "reader's high" when you've read something really special.

This story has many wonderful twists and turns, but what I loved most about it was the beautiful writing and the big philosophical questions it provokes. What would you do if you could go back in time and lead three different lives? Would you choose to stay in any one of them knowing there might be children or lovers that you would miss? How do you choose?

As I got near the end I was worried that I might be disappointed with the choices made, but I wasn't . I thought the denouement was just perfect and very satisfying.

Needless to say, I highly recommend this novel. I already know this is going to be one of my top novels of the year. It's that good.
1252577
This book. Sonja Yoerg has taken the story of so many women who have battled mental illness, she's exposed their experiences in recent history by giving voice to them through three generations of characters who are real and accessible to contemporary readers. The subject matter is so personal for many women, including myself and my family, and I was moved so deeply at times that I had to put the novel down. I reread passages and called friends to share. The language is lyrical, the themes in the novel were beautifully rendered and as a reader who appreciates setting, I found Yoerg's gift for description visceral and her love for Vermont so clear I was transported. I recommend this book as one of my favorites of the last five years.