dazzling & superb winner of a book
937066
I can't recommend this book more highly. Unlike the other related titles you list, this is goes way beyond the racial stereotype tearkerking genre to reach the stature of a major literary work. Stout writes beautifully and  with depth and enormous compassion. This is an unsentimental and moving  book, which I urge others to read and pass on to their friends. Forget that  sniping review from Sydney!
799170
Readers should not miss this beautiful book -- beautiful in its descriptions and the crisp economy of its prose, as well as in the photographs and illustrations that grace many of the pages. If you liked that big book on T.S. Spivet; if you are a fan of A.S. Byatt and Joanna Scott; or if you love Central Park, architecture, Renaissance and Cubist paintings; layered narratives that still engage with a driving story and a warmly honest single narrator -- you will LOVE this book.

The style is very visual. You are taken inside the mind of a writer who lives near Central Park and who circles through the Park often, discovering its treasures, while revisiting characters in her novels in dazzling flashes. The book's enormous talent is to make you care about the day to day experiences of this main writer-character -- a woman with an unmistakable voice who is increasingly confined and vexed by a heart condition. At the same time, you get a lot of flashes of a wider world -- a silly, misguided President called "Cheerleader" (hmm, "What Happened" readers, anyone?); the people the writer encounters in the hospital where she's taken after various medical events.

What stays with you, as you read the book is the arc of a life, the arc of a lovely marriage and what it's like to value every moment with grandkids. Every sentence is carefully crafted, looks effortless, yet holds a penetrating observation or a heartfelt thought.

The book has been highly anticipated and the previous novels in the series very well received critically. DON'T MISS IT!
774792
I came across this quite extraordinary novel by Naeem Murr while looking through some books by Iris Murdoch; which is to say, accidentally or, put in a happier light, fortuitously. I was intrigued by its title, the description on the back cover, the fact that The New York Times listed it as a notable book and, especially, its opening lines. In fact, the first chapter promised a novel of an unusual degree of finish and ingenuity. Broadly, the book tells the story of a teenage male prostitute (or rent-boy, to use the deliciously apt descriptor favored by the author) and the devastation he brings to the people around him. Said people are, primarily, Sean, his (foster) father, who spends the book searching for him; Megan, his step-sister; Ronan, Theresa, and Caitlin, caretakers at a home for boys where he lived; and a wonderfully drawn character called the Fatman (a cunning reference to the bomb dropped on Japan during World War II?), with whom the boy is having an affair. The boy may be pure evil, but the tragedy of the story derives from the emptiness of the lives of the people around him. Each one is seeking to fill a need and, so, finds him attractive in their own way (although we are told repeatedly that the boy is beautiful): for Sean the attraction is primarily familial, for Megan it is (for lack of a better term) psychological (she suffers from clinical depression), for Ronan it is sexual, for Theresa it is religious, and for the Fatman it is emotional. But even though the boy is an instrument of nothing but death and ruin, the characters are convinced that, without him, their lives would hardly be worth living: Faulkner once wrote that, forced to choose between grief and nothing, he would choose grief.
The book is not perfect. Although the writing and plotting are extraordinary, some passages are (as the British would say) too clever by half. The male characters emerge as much more fully drawn than the female characters. In particular, the character of Ricky, the 12-year-old rent-boy with a cold sore under his nose and a head too large for his body, and whose greatest fantasy is to convince people that his mother works as a make-up artist (or is it a hair stylist?) for the BBC, is supremely touching. On the other hand, Theresa, Caitlin, and Megan too often emerge as caricatures, and the dialogue between Sean and Caitlin, who develop a relationship of their own, has a cutesy awfulness out of keeping with the rest of the book. The conclusion, while dramatically satisfying (in fact, the lengthy final chapter represents some of the most sustainedly dramatic writing in the novel), is not (quite) intellectually convincing: while the final act that Sean commits is understandable given the circumstances, nothing in the 200-some-odd pages that preceded it led me to expect it could really happen. And yet, the most devastating moment of all comes just before the end. Sean, confronting the boy about something that occurred between him and his half-brother and -sister, says, But they were innocent, to which the boy replies, They were not innocent. I loved them both. In its context, that line is shattering.
I see that this book was published 4 years ago. I have no idea whether Mr. Murr has written anything since, but even if not, he has given the world a novel to reckon with, and that is something for which I, for one, am profoundly grateful.
4653500
The title is evocative and the book itself, a fascinating journey into a sublime world- one of colour and imagination; of myth and inspiration. When you finish reading this book, you will say to yourself three things. 1. What a delightful book. 2. What a lovely idea!  and 3. How come I never thought of this?!

It seems to be the first of a series. If so, I think kids could be in for a treat, an outrageously colourful feast.
4731546
This was, in short, a lovely book. Although it took me over a year to complete (life and school present many distractions), this book kept me enthralled with its stunning, brilliant, and at times quite perverse imagery, dazzling metaphors and relatable characters.
This book was exceptionally well written, and while I enjoyed the author's use of diction and sentence structure, I often got so caught up in the story I hardly noticed it, which, to me, is the sign of a engaging read.
Amazing story, except I did feel a twinge of disappointment at the ending. They never caught Mr. Harvey. I understand that the point of this was to show that her family had moved on from her death, but still...I wanted them to catch him! Haha. I also wish it had shown more about Ruth and Ray Singh and their relationship with Susie.
All in all, a very strange portrayal of a murder mystery novel, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who delights in a dark and thrilling novel.
3339265
This is the most fascinating book I've read in years.  Though structured around one pivotal event in the author's life -- her experience in a utopian commune -- any moment or facet of her life as a whole can come up in the telling at any time, in vivid synchronicity.  As an impassioned personal quest (the "Lost" aspect), the story breathlessly sweeps you forward like a thriller.  But as "Found"ness, the book also has blissful built-in non-linearity and can be read the way one reads the I Ching -- jumping in anywhere.  (As a matter of fact, the Ching itself keeps popping up throughout the story.)  One reviewer has said "You don't want this book to end", and that's true, but luckily it doesn't have to end.

Hollenbach has an astonishing ability to get the cadences of natural speech onto the printed page.  This is one of the great pleasures of the book:  The characters and the protagonist-narrator herself speak so livingly off the page it can be almost eerie.

"Lost and Found" is a rich, profound, enlightening book.
338763
The synopsis on the sleeve of this book is an overly simplistic and misleading introduction that does not do justice to the story about to unfold. With twists and turns on every page, the Observations is an authentic page-turner if there ever was one. Steeped with mystery, humor, controversy and even a terrifying haunting- it holds a gamut of unexpected surprises, capturing hearts and imaginations. However, the true gem in this book is the remarkably witty and endearing narrator whose charm and audaciousness keep readers mesmerized. Page after page, readers are gripped with suspense, forced to read on by a personal desire to come upon the glorious turn of events that would signify hints of a happy ending for Bessy and her beautiful mistress, Arabella. Jane Harris does a wonderful job of holding this suspense until the very last chapter- until alas, with only a few pages left to read- the reader loses all hope for a happy ending for our heroines in the traditional sense.

I would have given this book 5 stars but for the ending. Up until the last chapter I was convinced this was the best of it's genre (and am even more impressed that unlike similar books, it did not turn into a sappy love story!). However after racing through this book and falling in-love with Arabella and Bessy, one cannot help but be upset by the novel's conclusion- a conclusion that you had not envisioned for characters you have grown to love and cheer on. But again this is a matter of personal taste. I highly recommend this book if only for the wonderful narration alone.
3395141
Can I give it 17 stars, or 26?

Stunning. Awe-inspiring. Metaphysical. Beyond Reality. Supreme. Michael Marshall Smith shares a gift in common with the equally superb Kealan Patrick Burke: literary eyes that glimpse beyond what we in consensus reality perceive, and not just glimpse, but observe-study-analyse-consider-recount. "The Intruders" is over-the-top perfect, as is Mr. Smith's "Bad Things," and although I read it through apace, I am at a loss for description. Reading his novels (and Mr. Burke's) is like coming upon a Universal Translator, and for the first time, reading novels in a language you never knew.

Jack Whalen is a former L.A. cop-no, surprisingly, not a detective. Just a ten-year patrol veteran, who put together a book of places, photographs and text, called "The Intruders," picturing locations of home invasions and other such often-fatal effrontery. His wife Amy, a big wheel in advertising, decides they should lease a country home about an hour and a half from Seattle-because with her new higher position, she needs only ready access to an airport, occasionally. Jack is currently stuck in place, unable to find a hook to a second book, but all that is shunted aside as his life begins to unravel, and he discovers his wife is not whom he thought at all-and in ways no one could ever imagine.

When you read "The Intruders," I think you might never look at life in the same way again. Certainly I will not.
3375072
Jenny Colgan at her best! This time with a fictional setting (as opposed to her previous books) but stunningly beautiful nonetheless.
I read all of Jenny Colgans latest novels that somehow include some cooking or baking or anything alike. I admit, I didn't expect much when buying "The Summer Seaside Kitchen" for I thought it would just be old ideas bundled anew. Silly old me! The book turned out to be one of my absolute favourites and kept me reading all night through. (It took me less than a day to read it - couldn't put it down.) The book surprised me with many new ideas, a completely new (and - as mentioned - for the first time fictional but perfectly outlined) setting and a really ingenious combination of every-day-life-story and age-old-myths-and-traditions. I considered the book even more "unusual" - meaning magical - than Jenny Colgans previous books and somehow stronger. To me, it was more gripping and "real" than some of the previous books because the problems the characteres face in the story are something I could very easily identify with.
It is true that most readers will guess quite early on, what the main character, Flora, will do in the end, whether she will stay on the island or leave again. Some may therefore call it a boring read since the end can be guessed while reading. NEVER JUDGE ANY JENNY COLGAN BOOK LIKE THAT!!! Read it completely, front to back, right to the end - particularly "The Summer Seaside Kitchen". There are so many quite unexpected twists & turns or open-up-to-the-last-minute questions that really make it worth reading ... and yes, reading it front to back, completely. "The Summer Seaside Kitchen" in the end held a surprise for me that I wouldn't have guessed like that and I simply loved it - not just the ending itself but also that the book offered suspence and magic up to the very last page.
AND - as usual - a bunch of very tasty-sounding recipies which I will sure give a try myself.
I conciously avoited saying anything about the story or (happy?) end itself in my review. I don't want to spoil your fun. You'll have to find out those details on your own. But I can say that much: The book is highly recommendable for everyone appreciating a light read full of "magic", strong characters, the challenges of everyday life, the complications of love, the comforts of good food and the immense beauty but also dangers of a stunning island setting in the almost mystical high north of Europe. The book really provides for a good break from your own everyday problems and takes you along to a far-off place, that might just as well be real, with a gripping and entertaining story that has all the potential to touch your heart and remain in your head for quite a while after reading.
500694
I'm putting this at the top of my list as the best book of the year. I loved it! Absolute pure enjoyment from beginning to end. Beth Hoffman is a wonderful storyteller and gifted writer.

All the characters in this story are so REAL and the writing is so colorful and vivid that I felt like I was living in Savannah the whole time I was reading. I laughed and I cried from one page to the next. There is such a depth to the lessons CeCe learned from the women who helped her heal. Each character is beautifully developed and gives something remarkable to a little girl who has lived without much for most of her life. This story is far more than entertaining because it made me think and reflect and rejoice at the beauty of female friendships. I'm going to buy copies for my mom and sisters.

This is one of those rare books that I will read again and again.
2383695
This book is pure butterscotch.  Now you'll wonder what on earth I'm talking about.  Some books form an instantaneous sensual impression for me through the combination of art and text that blend together in a single image.  In this case, that image is butterscotch: scrumptious flowing artwork in vibrant glowing colors and marvelous lines of story that invite the reader to settle into a comfortable chair by the fire and read, or listen as the tale unfolds.

Accomplished author, Jennifer Armstrong pens this delightful Chinese story about a haughty widow and the lesson she must learn.  Chin Yu Min is a proud and arrogant woman who feels the wealth that she has is only what she deserves, and she mistreats others around her to show her power.  But when her husband dies suddenly, she is left alone and the money slowly runs out.  Chin Yu Min is too proud to accept the help of her neighbors-too proud to admit her poverty to anyone.  But when she is desperate enough to try fishing for herself for food, she happens upon a most remarkable cat that can catch fish with his tale.  Our crafty widow strikes a deal with the cat-he will catch fish for her and she will provide him with a home to stay in.  The cat agrees and the new bounty of fish allows the widow to become wealthy again.  But Chin Yu Min's new partnership gradually turns to friendship with the cat, and when her old arrogance threatens to separate her from the ginger cat, the widow will have to decide between her material wealth and the value of friendship.

Each page is full of Ms. Armstrong's trademark descriptions and lyrical imagery: "The fine lacquer bowls were dulled by hard use, and the lettered scrolls of sheerest paper flapped like ragged ghosts from the walls."  The setting and details clearly evoke China without feeling uncomfortable to a reader who may be less familiar with the setting.  The themes of this story are universal.  As a reader who finds words a feast, this is a sumptuous meal indeed, but it may be a bit complicated for younger listeners, and a challenge for new readers.  The book is text heavy, so it may be a challenge to read aloud and probably too long for younger children.  The grade school child is likely the best audience for this story.

All on its own, the story is a marvel.  But what truly makes this book "butterscotch" are Mary Grandpre's masterful illustrations.  Some of you might recognize Ms. Grandpre's artwork on the covers of the Harry Potter series, but before she had turned her talents to Mr. Potter, she created books such as this.  I would not have guessed this was the illustrator's first picture book had it not mentioned it in her bio, her talent shines through and it was the pictures that first enticed me to pull this book from the shelf to page through.  The art is stylistic without losing the human touch to it, and all the lines feel soft and fluid.  There's a warmth and light to the images that creates a truly rich tapestry for the story.  The ginger cat comes to life in her pictures, especially his long and elegant tale as it catches fish out of the water.  Rather than going for realistic scenes or single story perspectives, Ms. Grandpre creates scenes that capture movement and emotion in each image, allowing the reader to feel the glow of contentment when Chin Yu Min and the cat are seated together by the fire, or the terrible sorrow the widow feels when she realizes she's lost her friend and her scrolls go tumbling around her to the floor.

The book has become a beloved favorite in my collection.  If you enjoy this story, you might wish to take a look at Pockets, also by Jennifer Armstrong and illustrated by Mary Grandpre.  For other multicultural tales, you might also wish to check out Monsoon by Uma Krishnaswami and Musicians of the Sun by Gerald McDermott.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad
1002043
I bought this book on the spur of the moment, attracted by ...my need for some light summer reading for the beach last weekend.  Rather than rehash the plot for you, I will just say what I got out of it.  I could not have been more surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  "Luminous, brilliant, astounding..." are not overstatements.  I felt the whole book had a glow to it, and this reader, far from a mushy book lover, not a chick-flick type of girl, fell hard for this book (For the record, I'm a Roddy Doyle, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan fan, so this is out of my usual author pool!).  I could barely put Lovely Bones down for two days long enough to reapply sunscreen.  There are so many thought-provoking angles to this story.  The exploration of the different family relationships, the adolescent realtionships and of perceptions of death and heaven made me think, but not in a depressing or morbid sort of way.  This is such a wonderfully, beautifully written story that I can't say enough about it.  Highly recommended.
3247682
The main protagonist of this story is a witty, seven-year-old girl, Elsa, who discovers the secrets of the people closest to her through uncovering the hidden meaning behind the fairytales of the Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, which her grandmother has been telling her all her life.

I am just in awe of Fredrik Backman's incredible imaginative storytelling and the ability to completely pull the reader into his wondrous yet also highly realistic novels. His characters in the first instance may come across as caricatures of ordinary people for comedic purposes, yet as the story progresses the reader comes to realise that there is far more to them than initially meets the eye. They're like onions; each chapter peels back yet another surprising layer, which ultimately creates his complex and fascinating cast of characters.

In My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises, each character was one that took me by surprise during Elsa's journey throughout the novel. Tasked to deliver letters from her grandmother to the people who live in the same building as her, people who have been around Elsa her entire life, she uncovers one surprising thing after another; there are monsters living in the flat, heroes and even a Wurse, who is a little bit of both. And as the lines between her granny's imaginary Land of Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas start to blurb with the real world, Elsa discovers something incredible about those around her, something that even with all her wit beyond her years and excessive use of Wikipedia she hadn't realised before.

A spin-off on the novel focusing on the character of Britt-Marie has already been published in the author's home country of Sweden and will be released in the UK next year. While Britt-Marie is probably my least favourite character from My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises, I just know that my opinion of her will drastically change once I have the opportunity to view the world through her eyes in the unique way that only Backman can, and discover what makes her tick. I don't want to wish away my time but I, for one, can not wait to have the opportunity to delve back into Backman's imaginative and incredibly funny mind.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises is a magical and oh so clever fairytale, suitable for all ages, about the real world. Give Fredrik Backman all the awards already, because this is the most memorable and brilliant book I've read all year and I doubt something quite a special will come along before 2015 is over.
3754539
It is not often that I rush to gush about a book that I just read. "The Book of Illusions" is a spellbinding book, with many subtle layers hidden through it, that plays with classical, yet haunting themes across the two covers.
The author's style is magnificent, at the same time precise and elegant, never detached but close enough to the story and the reader that it keeps even descriptive passages taut and dramatic. The style never takes away from the story, nor the story from the style: you can read this book for the story only, although you cannot help but be won over by the style as you go!
The story itself is original, although reminiscent of several classical themes. The presence of these themes, I think, makes the story more rather than less interesting, by echoing other books into this one in a way that makes this story richer by its associations. The two male characters are well designed, although sometimes a bit "easy" (in the sense that some aspects of the character predict other aspects a bit too easily), yet attractive and very easy to identify with. The themes are haunting enough that you will think about them and need to read the book again - like food that you just must come back to.
In the end, this book is one that is difficult to put down, easy to come back to, and memorable. It is satisfying at many levels, be they sheer enjoyment, style, or psychological complexity. If you read for fun and require quality in the style of your authors you will not regret this book - unless there is an urgent task waiting while you are reading it:-)
2141956
This is a thrilling, romantic, fascinating book and will probably be my favorite book read this year. Carter Beats the Devil is a historically fact-based novel about magician Charles Carter who performed in the golden age of magic (1890s thru the 1920s). This story pits Carter against rival magicians and Secret Service agents who suspect Carter had a hand in the death of President Harding. I was drawn in from the get-go. This book is full of suspense, humor, and panache. It came highly recommended from Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer-prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (also an excellent book). Carter Beats the Devil is a richly imagined story full of wonderful characters and it has perhaps the most thrilling, exciting, whiz-bang conclusion I've come across in ages. Great, great book.
1839372
No words come close to capturing the depth and sweep of this incredible novel. Not only is the story completely compelling but the writing is, quite simply, beautiful. There are times when the action moves with such momentum that you could almost miss the intensity of the language, which makes it a book I'll keep returning to, if only to savour the words themselves.
Few novels deliver everything but this one does: vivid and complex characters; delicate observations of everyday details; a plot which is intimately connected with the lives and emotions of the characters; philosophical ideas cleverly interwoven with the story; stunning and powerful writing..
The scope and range of this novel is vast, intricate and unforgettable; a book you can't stop reading and yet you never want to reach the end.
278716
If you haven't read this book yet, whats keeping you? Such a breath of fresh air! Brilliant read, from the first page to the last.

Written in a very original voice, this novel is full of unexpected surprises. The characters are beautiful people, not perfect, yet still able to show so much love towards each other. The plot is chock-full of twists and turns. The concept  pure genius! A seer who gets on the wrong side of a ghost is not a new idea, but the way the story unfolds is unique. The action is non-stop. Dynamic, suspenseful, thrilling. Dialogues  natural and unforced, and so witty you won't stop laughing.

The story of Nolan and Harley is not a funny one by any means, nor is it a drama. Regardless, this novel packs so many life lessons, so much wisdom and truth. Loved every word of it. The Irish and Scottish inflections are accentuated phonetically, and it was funny to read some of the dialogue aloud. Again, playing on the stereotypes proved to be a wonderful way to bring some extra fun to the more intense, suspenseful scenes.

As for the finale Boy, does this author know how to build up a happy ending! Brilliant! Absolutely fantastic. Couldnt have been improved in any way.

All in all, a very well-written book, which has given me hours of entertainment (and not only because Ive recently moved to Ireland), To Have & To Haunt is well-deserving of five stars. Wholeheartedly recommend it.