One of the most though-provoking, redeeming novels I've ever read.
929533
"The Kite Runner" played on my emotions and my conscience with incredible ease. I felt "embedded" in an Afghan household, deeply entwined in the lives of two boys whose upbringings as members of this one household are nonetheless diametrically different;they are of different "castes" and absolutely nothing, not war, not street violence, not anything else will change this, yet each boy is taught, over and over, by lesson and example, to learn honor, respect, love of kin and country. At the same time, boys will be boys, and although the more priveleged child recognizes his own callousness, still he believes that he, being the master's son, is expected to be protected by the other boy, believed to be the servant's son, and any abuse or degradation the servant boy suffers is part of what marks their class differences. The author's words are so achingly real that reading this novel in my comfortable home in New England, I could nearly feel the dry desert air against my skin, the grit in my eyes and teeth. I shared the great thrill of the kite-flying competition, the soaring hearts of little boys. I felt the deep depth of anguish of losing one's self respect, and, at the very end, the incredible sense of redemption.

This novel is perhaps one of the greatest first novels I've ever read.  I recommend this book heartily, and I'm only sorry I waited so long to finally read it.
211337
I think A RELIABLE WIFE is one of those books people either adore or don't "get." I'm decidedly in the former camp, as are several close friends who also loved it and recommended it to me. A RELIABLE WIFE has all the ingredients I yearn for in a novel: sumptuous language, a gothic setting, complex characters, and a tension-filled twisty plot that kept me guessing until the end. It's also daring and sensual and dark. And the endingoh, the ending is so beautiful that it made me cry, there's so much forgiveness and humanity in it. I read ARW in one 24 hour stretch, unable to put it down. Once I finished, I immediately reread sections out of appreciation for how impeccably it was structured. Highly recommended.
3823263
Rarely does one have the impulse upon finishing a novel - and not a simple novel by any means - to turn all the way back to page one and being reading again, but I did with Far from the Madding Crowd, and have already promised myself I will reread it once its themes and complexities gestate a little in my mind. To summarize the plot isn't difficult - Bathsheba is a prideful, strong-willed, often vain woman whose beauty captures the interest of three men, one similar to her, another somewhat mad, and finally, one stable and even-keeled (ergo the least interesting...) - but the book is so much more than the plot. There are several moments where the prose lights up the page and begs to be read out-loud to someone else. I can see why this would be required reading in high-school - it's for the teachers! Intertwined with astounding moments of cinematic beauty are hilarious interchanges between an amazing supporting cast of characters and cutting and often prophetic moments of insight (for example: "We learn that it is not rays which bodies absorb, but those which they reject, that give them colors they are known for; and in the same way people are specialized by their dislikes and antagonisms,..."). Nature plays an important role and serves as a bit of an elegy to times past. In the chapter, The Great Barn and the Sheep Shearers (from which the earlier quote was taken), a beautifully descriptive and subtly non-judgmental analogy is made between the barn and religious architecture, all the while sheep are being shorn of their wool and appear as babes, somewhat baptismally so. Later, in the chapter The Storm, "Heaven opened then, indeed... the forms of skeletons appeared in the air, shaped with blue fire for bones-dancing, leaping, striding, racing around, and mingling altogether in unparalleled confusion." Farmer Oak, the sturdiest of Bathsheba's suitors, often plays the flute, evoking for me an almost melancholy Pan. What a joyful experience reading this novel was, I hope whoever reads this review is able to share in close to the same.
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.
216707
This is one of those rare novels that is highly compelling when you're reading it (I could not put it down, consumed it quickly, but really didn't want the story to end) and also stays with you a long time. I still think about the wonderfully vivid characters, the interesting settings and the exciting plot to this day .... and I read it last year. I also thought at the time it would make a terrific movie, and I keep expecting to see a trailer for it at the cinema. Let's hope it's as wonderful a movie as it is a piece of writing!
2895004
This has become one of my favorite novels.  The two main characters are not given names; the third person narrator refers to them only as the man and the boy.  In my opinion, this conveys a universal quality, as though the characters are archetypes to which the world can relate.

The love and devotion of the father for the boy, set against the post-apocalyptic hellscape, conveys a poignant beauty, much like a candle appears brighter when all else is dark.  The man makes an existential leap everyday, and it's not inspired by what one would necessarily call faith.  It's a leap that he must make because of the love he has for his son.
2371792
This novel is absolutely, utterly transporting, and written by someone who clearly understands the power of tone. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

It's important to understand that this is not a novel that attempts to be a "fantasy" story in the sense that modern readers have come to expect. It's definitely fantastic, and its wry, pseudo-scholarly tone has echoes of some of the best British fantasy of the early century (and, in the way that scions of the same man resemble each other, evokes shades of the Harry Potter novels without being anything like them.)

The book is at once a parody and a celebration of a certain sort of literature, and is meant to be read by people for whom the act of reading almost awakens their sense of taste. If you are such a person, and if you have an affection for folklore and the contradictions of power, you might expect to find in this book a rich supply of paragraphs worth reading aloud to an empty room.
4242379
Beautiful in every way: beautifully written, completely absorbing, sensitive, thought provoking and fantastic character development. This is one of the best cross-cultural novels I have ever read. Despite some historical content, it is highly relevant to today's world, and deeply moving. In a world where it is only too easy to feel "stuck", this novel offers hope.
4724521
When I began reading this book, it was a little difficult to get through - it may have been the writer's British way of writing or maybe I was just distracted in general.  However, as soon as the conflict really began in the novel, I was hooked.  I couldn't help but cry every time I imagined what this character could be feeling.  Even if the reader considers certain parts of the plot unlikely, the heroine is very convincing, compelling, and complete.  The novel seems to remind us that life brings you unexpected events - sometimes it's someone's fault but often it's no one's fault.  That's life. Crap happens.  However, we can always pick up and go on.  No matter how difficult the path, there is always a way.  It's a heart-warming, painful, and yet lovely novel.
3213850
I struggled with Han Kang's much-lauded "The Vegetarian", only to abandon it. Now, after reading "Human Acts", I fear I'll have to give it a second chance, because this deeply impressive novel is one that keeps rippling through my mind in odd moments, days after I finished it, and I think will resonate with me for weeks and months to come.

It's the story of the Kwangju uprisings -- but told in an esoteric fashion. Rather than look at the student protests, or the big backdrop, the author narrows her focus to the tiniest point: a single individual, a middle school student named Dong-ho. Looking for his friend, whom he has seen shot in the street beside him as the young teenagers joined the protestors, Dong-ho ends up standing guard in the building where all the still unidentified bodies are gathered, waiting for friends and families to give them names and take them for burial. That's where the story starts, but it is told in choppy segments, as we follow, then and in later years, the lives of individuals whose fate was entwined with Dong-ho in one way or another, from the spirit of his dead friend (now part of a pile of corpses elsewhere) to a factory worker struggling with the aftermath of her experiences following the final assault on the city center (and Dong-ho's death).

The events that underlie this novel are part of Korea's history, as traumatic in their way as the Kent State murders (although with thousands dead, rather than a handful.) The author, a native of the area, brings her own perspective to the story in its final pages, blending truth and fiction imperceptibly. A brilliant novel, with a translation that does it full justice. It's not an easy book to read, in that it deals with issues that are too little known outside of Asia and in that Han Kang is so adept at portraying the pain and grief of bereavement and torture, but it's an important one.
3439922
This is one of the best novels I've read in quite a long time. I could go on here for paragraphs and still not convey why. In short, though, the writing itself  is stark, simple masculine poetry. The characters, to a one, are richly yet economically defined. More compelling to me, though, are two particularly elements. First, the thread of secret lives that runs through the book, which is covered in several ways (some spectacularly inventive). The compartmentalized life of the lead character (Nat) speaks to me as a reader. The other element that particularly stands out is an  email dialog between two characters which rings truer that any electronic dialog I've seen in fiction anywhere. As one who's conducted life on line for nearly two decades, this alone won me completely over. Yet there's so much more in this fairly short novel. It was so rich that I had to consume it in small bites, lest it end too quickly. As a reader, and a writer, I urge you, go buy this book. And Mister Katrovas, I user *you*, please, continue writing.
4505804
The following section contains one of the most beautiful concepts I've read in a Christian novel.

It seemed like a strange thing to say, but with every repetition she drove a tiny seed of hope further into my heart. I almost didn't want it there--hope is not a promise, merely a wish, a yearning for something that may never materialize--but it sank down deep where I could not extract it and began, even in that moment, to put down fragile roots.

It was the hope that scared me most of all, and only when I had felt it tremble inside me did I begin to cry.

My review:

That section from the story (above) spoke most deeply to my heart. It's what we all need when the world seems to be caving in on us. We need hope. We need someone to gift us with it so we will see things from a different perspective. We don't need judgment or condemnation. This fallen world dishes out plenty of that, and what the world doesn't dump on us we heap on ourselves. After the Leaves Fall is about hope.

There were so many beautiful and profound discoveries that Julia made about herself in the story, which is more like a coming-of-age journey, that I don't know where to begin. I don't want to spoil any of the precious treasures the reader will discover along with Julia. My heart broke for her and yet it also understood her. There is a little piece of Julia in all of us. Children need affirmation from a mother, and without it they spend their lives second-guessing themselves. This came out in so many of her internal thoughts and her impulsive decisions. Often as she contemplated her life I found myself doing the same.

After the Leaves Fall is so impressively introspective with it's gorgeous prose that words are inadequate to describe it. And on some deep level, every wounded child wants to do what their parent did, but do it right this time. No one wants to duplicate mistakes, but the deep need to be loved often drives our behavior. It's truly amazing how that works, but it's how God created us...to need love. Anyway, this is one of the most emotional and wonderful books I've ever read and it has impacted my heart deeply. I can't recommend it highly enough. If all authors were as gifted as this debut author, I would never get anything done.
2782323
When I noticed this book was a translation, I must admit I balked at reading it. I have had regrettable experiences in the past with novels that were originally written in a language other than English. That said, once I read the first couple of paragraphs I was totally absorbed. The rich descriptions of people and places, the ease of reading what was written and how the words were crafted, pulled me in seamlessly.

Though the story and setting draw much from the seedier side of humanity and the darker circumstances of the time period in which the story is set, I found beauty, humor, hope, and a poignant apathy that can be inseparable in the human spirit when life has dealt a bitter existence for some who were born into a world with little empathy for those who are different.
479295
Every so often a book comes along that questions who we are as humans, a book that shows us exactly how flawed we are, while reminding us that we're nonetheless deserving of love. Apostle is such a book. As I read this, I judged and reviled the main characters for the apparent ease with which they committed their evils, yet found myself caring about them and stubbornly rooting for them. I was riveted to this book not because the characters were perfect (they're definitely not), because I wanted them to see the error of their ways. I wanted them to realize their noble dreams because, for reasons that stretch my moral beliefs, the author made me feel compassion for them. I felt as if Beth and Benji were my children who had wandered down a dirty road of tragic mistakes, and as much as I disapproved of their actions, I still loved them and wanted them to eventually find the righteous path. The writing is akin to Steinbeck in its matter-of-fact style, and true to style, it questions our morals and motives as humans. Make no mistake about it, there is a hell of a lot of evil in this book, but this isn't an 80's slasher story. Apostle is reminiscent of early 20th Century literature rather than the current pile of pulp that generally gets published these days.

Quick synopsis:
Beth, a naive young girl of sixteen, is drawn to good-looking serial killer Benji at a campground in Ontario. Benji takes her under his wing, feeling that he must be her protector and mentor. He teaches her the thrill and release (and sometimes justification) for killing. Having been drawn into dire circumstances, Beth tries to prove to her new companion, and to herself, that she is a worthy student. Taken with Benji's charm, she exceeds his expectations as a killer. Together they become a Bonnie and Clyde sort of team. Tension between them mounts, neither acknowledging their feelings or confessing them to the other. When Beth is seized by a human monster more evil than her beloved Benji, she is forced to undergo a transformation in character. Benji, too, in his fruitless search for her, is forced to become someone he never thought he'd become.

In order to see if Beth escapes with her life, and just how much of a life remains for her, you'll have to read the book for yourself. I won't spoil it for you. But trust me, I've read dozens of books by new authors and found that most of them delivered little more than amateur storytelling. This one, however, was well worth my time and money.
4839645
I have only read one Albom novel previous to this, Tuesdays with Morrie. But "The first phone call from heaven" was so beautifully crafted with great characters, succinct and pleasant prose, and stirred my soul with a greater desire to open my heart to more faith. I found the story plausible and that made it even more powerful. I was stunned with the terrific conclusion; it was simply brilliant. Albom writes in such a simple yet compelling fashion: he doesn't over elaborate or include flowery, needless description. I was literally moved to tears by this book, as it helped me to see so many facets to how losing those we love influences our faith in many different ways, and how love and hope are so powerful and needed. I'm not a religious/spiritual person, but still was moved by this book. I'll never forget how it filled me with wonder and pulled at my heartstrings. Read it. Enjoy it.
4118319
`You Wish' is the first novel I've read by Terry Tyler and it more than came up to expectations. It's a tight, imaginative and poignant story, ingeniously structured and fluently told with an impressive cast of very human and humorous characters (Sarah's job interview at the optician's, for example, is hilarious and so recognizable). It's also a highly perceptive psychological study of adults and young people alike, particularly concerning the emotions of (often irrational) guilt and anxiety which can fester in our minds and consume our lives. Also, it achieves the difficult feat of presenting the gritty surface of everyday reality while suggesting the magical and supernatural which may be lurking just beneath it and be woven into it. This is handled with such subtly and restraint that the author avoids the trap of so much `magic realism' - that of getting carried away and demanding too much of the reader's suspension of belief. Not only was I kept guessing throughout about the direction the story was going to take and how it was going to resolve itself but also found myself thinking about the very nature of life itself and the forces orchestrating it. In a society which is constantly feeding our desires and aspirations, do we really want or need the things we are constantly wishing for, and are our lives really governed and determined by our choices and free will anyway? This colorful novel is so thought-provoking, with so many nooks and crannies and nuances that I would happily read it again and know I would find new things in it. If I could give it more than five stars, I would. Superb.
3863665
The novel 'Of Human Bondage was one of the few novels (along with Memoir of a Geisha) which ever drew me in so deeply to form a bond with the main character, but this one was even more intimate. I became increasingly frustrated with the main character Phillip and with his arrogance and self pity, cruelty and foolishness of his behavior. I will not give the book away, but it is one of the novels I can most readily recommend to anyone, and it is the only book I have ever read which I was still emotionally attached to the character months afterward, still frustrated with his behavior and still wanting to change him and make him do the right thing, only stopping after continually telling myself it was just a book. I recommend it highly.