It sticks with you long after you've finished reading.
351883
This one is sticking with me hours after I finished reading it. It was strange in a hypnotic sort of way and some of the first few chapters I didn't want to like the book, but I couldn't stop reading. There are mysteries upon mysteries and eventually you get it all figured out... no you don't, but the ending was satisfying in that it was right and not unexpected, but jarring. It's left me thinking about it and that's what a good book is supposed to do. It's amazing that you end up rooting for the murderer and just hope the characters. Their actions are in line with their characters, even when you don't want them to do what they do, but that's life. By the end, I was gripping my hair and wincing. By the end, I was emotionally invested.  Good job!
895269
This book is beautifully written.  It is an incredibly tough read, but well worth it.  I finished about a week ago, and it's still with me. The subject matter is difficult, and the story will put you through the ringer, but it will change you.  It changed me.
4195995
this one was a tough rating for me.  I eventually gave it a four for the fact that it kept me reading for 500 plus pages and for its ending,  which left me extremely moved and saddened.  But I was close to dropping it to a three for its many flaws (one of which being that it was 500 plus pages).  So fair warning, I think you'll be more than happy if you finish it and reach the powerful ending, but don't be surprised if you don't finish it, or get there a bit annoyed.
  The plot basically a love story between normal Clare, whom we see from ages six to eighty and her husband the main character, who is unstuck in time and moves freely back and forth between his present, his past (mostly) and his future (rarely), arriving sometimes in familiar places and sometimes not and always arriving naked.  The structure, as one might expect, is complex, with constant shifts in time and also many conversations which do the same, as Henry speaks with people who know sometimes more of his present/future than he does.  Beside shifting in time, the book also shifts perspective, moving from Clare to Henry and back.  While the structure is complex, however, it is seldom confusing, as the book moves inexorably forward in the reader's mind, despite the many "sidetrips".  Don't mistake "not confusing", though, with "easy".  This is not a book to pay secondary attention to while watching television and is probably best digested in as few sittings as possible so as to retain the many plot references to past and present.  Overall, it is a stimulating, smooth ride.
  Clare is a strong character and one whom we get to see develop from a young child to a mature woman. Her voice is consistent and likable despite the time changes and her parts were often my favorites.  Henry is a more complex character, and the reader may find some shifting attitudes toward him.  The author is unafraid to make him unlikable in places and he is at times strangely removed for being the focus of several hundred pages.  He isn't as sharply defined as Clare and sometimes when he is, it is too much through broad statements rather than revealing action.  By the end, though, he has grown enough on you so that what happens has a strong impact.
  Side characters are unfortunately all too quickly sketched and sometimes seem to be more plot devices than full characters.  This is true of almost all of them I found and while a few have some rich potential, their lack of development of it is all the more annoying.  the book seemed overly long to me, with the author crossing the line here and there between reinforcement of theme/character and repetition.  I  think it would have been a more compelling read 100-150 pages shorter, or if some of those 500 pages had been rebalanced a bit to fill in some of the other characters beside Clare and Henry.  I could also have done without the graphic sex/discussions, not from any prudish point of view but because they just seemed utterly out of place and at times out of character.  In other words, they pulled me out of the book rather than along with it.
  Even with some problems with character and plot and some triteness, by the last quarter, the book picked up and became compelling both in terms of plot and emotions, and the last few sections are, as I've said,truly moving and well-worth the journey to get there.
  In the end, I'd recommend the book pretty highly and tell people not to feel bad about skimming here and there (I know, I know, but you all know you've done it yourselves :)
4525752
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a book that I had been yearning to read for a long time. A friend of mine had been reading it and I borrowed it one day in class to fill up my free time. I was immediatly sucked in after reading the first chapter.

 Once I picked up the book a second time, I realized that it gets very confusing past the first couple of chapters. The story turns into more of a portal through which you can read Bradbury's thoughts and ideas of what the future might be like, and what he would do about it. There are many different issues brought up and many ideas conveyed through the story of a fireman whose purpose is to burn books.

 I picked up the presence of a lot of anger while reading this book. Anger towards authority, anger towards the society that Bradbury envisioned. And all this anger was channeled into Mr. Montag's (the main character) story.

 Everything within this book captivated me, and definately made me think a lot. It takes a mature mind to read and then understand this book, and I know I'm not fully there. I'm still not sure I received the message Bradbury might have been trying to send. Maybe there isn't one. But this is the kind of book that you would want to read more than once in your life. I know that the next time I read it, I will understand just a little bit more, and learn a little bit more.
4893651
There are stories from this book that stick with you. The drowning man lifting Jeff above the water. The pallet episode on the fishing ship. Coupled with his return and the impact. The village in Fiji and sliding down the muddy hill with laughter. The heart-rending interactions with the boys who would become his sons. Read this book. It will impact you as well.
209735
This is not an easy book. It is not a book for the faint hearted or for those wanting a pleasant poolside summer read and yet it is a book that stays with you once read and continues to ask questions of you long after it has been returned to the shelf. It is at times brutal in its honesty and yet always gentle and caring in its philosophy and reason. It can be a struggle to read and to understand which is surely as the author wishes thus giving the reader the experience by proxy of the terrible confusion of cancer, its treatments and its consequences. It is powerful, it is moving and it is, at times, beautiful and scaring in equal measure. I would recommend it to all living in the shadow of this disease and to others who enjoy a challenge.
507057
When I started this book, I wasn't sure I would like it. Told from the point of view of a 10-year-old Romanian girl named Silvia in 1968, the story takes a few pages to pull you in. But once it has you, it doesn't let go.
Silvia deals with all the normal things of childhood, school, friends, learning the times table, wanting to have things her family can't afford, and puzzlement at the behavior of adults. Her family is struggling, not as poor as the relatives on the farm, but unsure whether they can grant Silvia's wish to spend two weeks at a seaside camp.
Confused by the political scene and the vulnerability of anyone who speaks out against the government, Silvia soon realizes that her parents, and other adults, are even more fearful and unsure of what the future brings. Enemies are no longer clearly marked by such childish things as sticking out ears. Even the sweet old lady who sells bors for the family stew can't be trusted.
Gabriela Popa's characters are complex and memorable. Not only does Silvia wrap around our hearts, but her innocent little sister who is transformed by the chance to wear a paper crown, her mother who wants more than anything to grant Silvia's wish to go to the beach, and her father who must now wear a soldier's uniform he does not want, become important and real to the reader.
Symbolism and metaphor are lightly scattered throughout the book. Popa's writing is subtly poetic. When the community expresses anger that a large hole has been left in the street risking the safety of children, no one is able to do anything about it. Inevitably, a little boy is killed. Still the hole remains open. This is a microcosm of life for the powerless people of Romania.
My only complaint about this book is that I wish it had been longer. I was given a free copy of this book for review.
2186558
I put this book down after the first 100 pages and almost didn't go back to it.  I found that it didn't hold my attention because I am accustomed to novels that utilize only one perspective and I'm ashamed to say, I found this difficult to follow.  I found it frustrating to constantly wonder which character is narrating the story.  It wasn't until I gave it one more try and finally realized that this novel is unlike any other I've ever read that I began to really enjoy it.  Kesey tells a rich, 360-degree story, from the perspectives of all the characters as well as a third-person narrator simultaneousy.  He uses variations in the formatting of the text (italics, parentheses) to distinguish between the characters, however after a while it becomes secondary as the reader grows more familiar with the different voices.  In addition, Kesey's thoughtful, deep descriptions and characterizations make this a story not to read, but to experience. It is now one of my favorites and I'm afraid novels I read in the future will seem flat in comparison.
1106002
It has taken me a while to post this review, because this book hit a little too close to home for me.  I had to spend some time thinking about it because this is a book that sticks with you even after you finish it.  This book touched me in ways I didn't expect.  It takes you through the raw and ugly desperation in the world of addiction.  This is by no means an easy ready but I recommend it to anyone who doesn't understand the depths of addiction.
1187020
It took me a long time to finish this book. It gave me a lot to think about.  I won't go over the synopsis, you can read that yourself. But be prepared for a very intimate story from many perspectives. The story of several lives and the daily, tiny desecrations of the spirit that occur to people living under an oppressive government and how each of them reacts.  You won't like them all, but you will be taken in by the story and the progression of their lives.  Engrossing, thought-provoking and timely, I highly recommend it.
3712293
I originally just liked this book, but the more time passes, the more I think about the story and realize I LOVED it. It's disturbing, and there is some graphic content that might upset you if you're easily upset by uncomfortable sexual situation. There was one point in the book, during Wavy's deposition, that I thought maybe this wasn't the book for me. I'm SO glad I stuck with it, as I grew to love these characters.
587628
Trieste is a difficult book to read, it is history that is haunting and disturbing.  Woven through the facts is Haya's narrative, which gets lost at times, but resurfaces frequently enough to keep the story moving.  You can not read this book without being emotionally devastated by the 9,000 names listed - page after page of names - no commas between them - just page after page of names of the Jews who were killed in Trieste during the war.  It is not a book you love, or really even like, but once you start it, it is not a book you can stop reading until you are finished.
611948
The kind of story that stays with you.  And that you hate to finish.
3606105
This book definitely takes patience to read. It is a long book, but it seems to draw you in  and you feel empathy and incredulity at the continuous misfortunes bestowed upon one particular character. You keep reading, hoping things get better, and they do, then the clouds return. It is a story of 4 friends who develop a tightly formed friendship, repeatedly tightening and unraveling.  You ask yourself ,how much can the human spirit endure? Abuse in all existing  forms, bouts of happiness,  forgiveness, jealousy, redemption, bitterness, and  survival. This is an unapologetic story that does not answer your questions and only creates more.  It is dark but well written.
129653
Some books just stay with me after I finish reading them.  This is one of those books.  Just read it.
661656
You know it's a good book when you think about it long after you're done reading it.
2547366
This is not an easy novel to read.  The protagonist, Trilipush, is an overwhelming narcissistic bore.  Just when you wish to slam the book down, he suddenly shocks you with an astonishing observation of the nature of humanity or the meaning of a deep relationship.  He is in addition pursued by a curmudgeon from Australia who suspects him of great misdeads. The story folds you in and once it is finished you will find the tumblers keep falling into place for days afterword.  This book will stick with you for a very long time.