A very important novel
935641
Koestler was a remarkable mid twentieth century figure.  A multilingual polymath - Zionist, journalist, writer, communist and, from 1938, ex-communist.  The product of - and commentator on - a very troubled time.

In Darkness at Noon, he explores the mentality of one of the old guard Soviet leadership who faces the prospect of a show trial and possible death.  Much of the drama of the narrative focuses on the experience of prison and the interrogations of Rubashov, the old guard representative, by two very different interrogators.  Koestler's knowledge of the Soviet union and his personal acquaintance with many of the senior Soviet leadership, make the picture he paints quite fascinating.  Culturally and historically this is one of the major novels of the twentieth century.
1849021
A very believable and well written novel.  One would suspect that the author speaks with truth.  The very descriptive book from chapter 1 through the last chapter left me hoping that a series of follow on books might be forthcoming.  However, I am not able to find any sequels by the author.  I endorse this book as a very important story of how a smart young lady shares her youthful cultivation into adulthood with the reader.
4452708
A testament to the power of internal strength, Ross Ponderson's "Child of Privilege" is an important work. It's important for all the obvious reasons (recognition of less-written about themes, a clear knowledge of vocabulary and plot structure, etc), but it's the tackling of rather taboo issues that still face modern society that are perpetually swept under that old, damn rug.

The novel finds Dana Van Werner, born into immense wealth and a much-desired social status, leaving the only world she's ever known in hope of safety and personal truth. It's rather safe to say, and un-spoiler-y at that, that Dana's upbringing was intense, at bit. A victim of physical, emotional, and mental abuse by her father, Dana makes the incredibly risky step to leave all that she's ever known behind to live in the 'real' world, whatever that may be.

Fortunately, she's got a strong resolve, something she's had to acquire due to her father's unreasonable dislike of his own daughter. While she has no idea where she is to rest her head at night, the relief of not having to suffer any more beatings trumps over any feelings of worry.

So, obviously, Dana has a lot to learn as she enters 'big city' life, which has its own set of learning curves and experiences to endure. Fortunately, the author has crafted a protagonist that is not only a clear victim, but also an accessible, realistic woman who is on the rollercoaster of life, just like the rest of us. Her father clearly is looking for her, and with his never-ending financial resources, acquires private investigators aplenty to locate his missing daughter. Dana is not only escaping her terrible past, but also the relentless pursuit of those hired to capture her once more.

I was extremely entertained and invested in "Child of Privilege". Not only is it a well-paced, tightly-plotted novel that is unpretentious, but it's also a clever statement on the perils in the wealthy, and the dynamism of the human soul. Oh, and it's surprisingly funny.
24764
Bill Gladstone's "The Twelve" is a fascinating and erudite novel. It's amazing for a first novel, and I'm not surprised that it has rapidly become a best-seller. "The Twelve" is a story that can be understood on many levels. At the lowest level, it's an intriguing and fast-paced quest that takes the reader all over the world and spans many years. It's rich in detail. and the main characters are interesting and well-developed. For those with a taste for meditation, numerology, Kabbalah, or mysticism, the book offers many deep insights. Those with no previous exposure to these subjects will end up learning quite a lot about a world that has existed for many centuries, and was handed down, teacher to disciple, mostly orally or in manuscripts. I found the parallels among various ancient religions to be remarkable. It is said that coincidence is God's way of staying anonymous. One of the points of this novel is that there are, in fact, no coincidences, and it is our job to try and understand why things happen, and what are their inner meanings. Above all, it is a human story.

While I don't want to spoil the end for the reader, I can say that the ultimate message of the "end of the world, as we know it" which according to the Mayan calendar occurs in 2012, is upbeat and redemptive.

I look forward to Gladstone's next work.
1640315
I just finished reading this one for a class.  It is a very complex novel that I think would benefit from multiple readings.  The novel is extremely discriptive and tells the story of two women from different parts of the world and how their paths ultimately cross.  Brand's prose is intricately woven with a combination of confusion, wonder, and anger that emminates through fresh use of voice and perception.  The book illustrates the impact of the imperialism and the slave-trade in the Carribean and takes place in both the islands and Ontario.  I recomend this one but caution that it is a book that takes effort to really get into it.
4185355
A truly important novel. Pamela Geller writes a startlingly true novel at a breakneck pace! Fatwa: Hunted In America will leave you stunned and wanting to know more. The history is fascinating, the information is shocking. I sat down to read it one night and refused to put it down. It's not wonder the main stream media wants to hide this book. It's truly important and should be read.
1485171
This is by far one of the best novels I have read in a very long time. It's a true literary contribution to our understanding of what it means to be a human. Wecker offers the reader a vivid journey through vintage New York City. Most importantly, Wecker provides a historical novel that explores good and evil and the importance of a well-formed conscience.
1535811
A very good novel that explores the emotions, the scars and the questioning that arise when a loved one suddenly disappears overnight from a tight-knit group of friends and community in small town America. While maintaining a tight pacing on the plotline, the novel manages to delve into the emotions and self-examination that beset those left behind as they struggle to fill a hole in their life and meaning, and have their faith tested. Above all, though, this is a reminder, a poignant one, that we all have choices, that we often are free to make our own decisions, and that our decisions in large part make us who we are, for good or bad. That is the coming-of-age lesson Lillian learns, and one which we all should take to heart.
3109870
This gripping novel based on the true story of the Tower of David, in Caracas, Venezuela pulls the reader in from the first page and keeps the reader's attention until the final sentence. It is a story that many can relate to, the eternal struggle of the have-nots against the haves and, as it is a universal experience, where it takes place is less important than why.  The reader is made to see these struggling masses as individuals and as more and more is revealed about them throughout the novel, the reader realizes that many of them had lost their own identities while simply trying to survive. It is highly recommended for all those interested in social justice and righting inequalities in our world today.
1601231
Perhaps the loftiest of literary goals--and particularly that of the novel, as an art form--is the advancement of society. A novelist can, by means of telling a compelling tale with characters who deal with the most insidious causes of societal decay, create a profound and positive impact, and so stir the reader to thought and action. Diane Klein, with her book, "In the Name of Help: A Novel Exposing Psychiatric Abuse", is such an author--one who passionately tells a powerful story through admirably-crafted characters with guts and heart enough to, in order to help a friend and family member, take on the psychiatric industry and the legal system it uses to enforce employment of its destructive practices (i.e., drugging and ECT, etc).

There is nothing more lethal to the survival of a culture than that which claims to help but, instead, knifes with violence. The alarm this very entertaining story has served to sound for over fifteen years--warning of the abuse that psychiatry wreaks upon our world while masquerading as a helpful profession--rings yet louder, today: one is hard-pressed to find a show on television nowadays which is not sponsored by the latest psychiatric drug, and there are few among us who do not know at least one close friend or family member who has fallen prey to the chemical imbalance ruse foisted upon society by Big Pharma and its handsomely-remunerated pushers, psychiatrists.

"In the Name of Help: A Novel Exposing Psychiatric Abuse" illustrates clearly that real help for mental problems is not only possible, but overcome only though hard work and caring. Diane Klein's novel lays bare the despicable laziness, and desire for obscene profits without any real product, which prompts psychiatry's pharmacological approach and, as such, represents an important work of contemporary literature.
213439
If ever there was a novel which could be seen as a case of cultural appropriation, this is it= but it's also so much more and so much more important.  Hicks, who acknowledges the incongruity,  has written a beautiful, painful novel of love and loss during Reconstruction. There are some terrific scenes in here, so carefully done and poignant.  HIGHLY RECOMMEND>
2807416
I give this beautiful novel 5 stars, the highest rating, as it will make your heart soar.  It is the compelling and spellbinding story of one man's journey to find serenity, love and God.  Along the way, he encounters hatred, prejudice, racism and ugliness that will break your heart.  However, our protagonist ultimately finds hope and a spiritual reawakening that is both beautiful and inspiring to read.  This is an important book in these troubling times in which it seems that racism, religious intolerance and hatred towards the "other" are disturbingly on the rise.  As both a sociologist who studies culture and diversity, and as a "student of life," I highly recommend this book to everyone as a tonic for the spirit and soul.
541887
Very extraordinariy novel by Geoffrey James Aguirre it has a lot of details and the structure of life and death how they connect the author really has the extra ordinary imagination for his book it gets even better when you go further along the story. The characters are very strong in this novel I haven't read the whole novel yet but I can say its something most people wanna read these days. Starting from the first chapter it brings you the focus and attention you wanna give to an interesting novel every small thing like a touch or a bite is very detailed in this novel. This novel starts off slowly because it has so much depth in it I think Im gonna enjoy it even more when I finish this book to know what happened in the end.
2529525
I thought this was a very good book, considering I had to read it for school. At first I thought I would not enjoy it because it was very wordy and there were a LOT of characters that seemed to have no real importance, but as I continued reading, I realized that it was a very well thought out and well written novel. I wish that I were fluent in spanish so that I could read the original version, but the english translation will have to suffice. I highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in Latin American politics and communisim, but also to anyone who is looking for a challenging and intriguing read.
3011360
This book is one of the best novels that I have read for several reasons. First, the style of writing is very lucid and simple. Unlike many novels, the reader will find himself hooked on to the book in the early stages, not because of the story, but because of the way the story is told. Second, this book is about a family, and this is why there is a sense of coherency and continuity even though important characters die at different stages of the novel. The emotions that are linked to the death of important characters are missing from other novels, except at the very end in some cases, because the death of the main character would result in a loss of interest in the rest of the story. In this book we are allowed to live and feel these emotions without them having a negative effect on our interest. By the time one of the main characters grows old and is ready to die, a new one is born and a new angle is woven around him. Third, the ending of the story is simply amazing. Some say that our last impression of the novel is the real deciding factor. In this case the ending of the story is probably one of the best parts of it and the reader closes the book while still imagining the picture that the author carefully painted in the last few sentences.
3276434
Small Kingdoms is an important novel that sheds light not just on life in the Middle East but also on what it means to be human, to be engaged in the world at large. It takes big issues and examines them on a human scale. That Anastasia Hobbet pulls this trick off while also giving us a gripping, multi-layered narrative only underscores her gifts as a writer. Both moving and intelligent, Small Kingdoms is nothing short of amazing.
1336061
I should get the biggest issue out of the way first. For me, this novel was difficult to read in the sense that it is a challenging novel. There are a few passages in particular which flat out confuse me and I don't know how to read them. This is important for a few reasons. First, this novel is polarizing. Not because of its content, but because some people will either really like it or hate it. They will either love Rushdie's language--like I do--or hate it. This isn't the most difficult novel I have ever read, but it is definitely in the top 3.

The main story involves two actors, Gabriel and Saladin, meeting on a plane which is hijacked. After around 100 days, the plane takes off and explodes. However, the two men survive the explosion, the plane ripping open and miraculously manage to land on the ground safely. The two separate after this and there are a few stories within the story of the novel. I think there are about 5 stories in the entire novel, most of which aren't resolved until the last third of the novel.

To me this book isn't about one thing. It is about faith, love, family, home, identity, England, immigration, madness, death and revenge. There are multiple interpretations of the events in the novel including who is the hero, the villain and the victim. In fact, the actual "Satanic verses" doesn't refer to one specific thing.

I think the biggest injustice against this novel is that it isn't all about religion (it is only partially about religion) or some grand critique of religion (it isn't). The first time religion is brought up is when somebody loses his faith and the negative consequences he faces afterwards. The real "criticism" of religion, which is actually pretty funny, appears only 200 or so pages into the novel.

When I read this novel in a literature class, most of our time was devoted to talking about madness, religion and the fantastical elements, including several instances of magical realism, in the novel. However, while I was interested in those topics, as well as the revenge subplot and identity, I also wanted to talk more about the issues of family and home.

You don't need to be a scholar of India to understand and enjoy everything in the novel. Think about it, you don't need to be an expert of Africa to enjoy "Things Fall Apart". Are there things I don't understand or didn't catch in the novel? Of course, but it isn't hurtful towards my overall experience. This is a 550 page novel which was rewarding for me with regards to Rushdie's writing style, characters and the themes he tackles. If I missed a historical or cultural reference, so be it, but I don't feel like I'm left in the dark. If anything will do that, it will be what I tried to hint at earlier: the difficulty, the writing style, the ambiguity or the number of different  stories in the novel.