a well-written novel with some interesting points to make...
343785
"Ship of Fools" by Katherine Anne Porter is a work about a group of individuals traveling by ship from Mexico to various European ports in the 1930s.  The beauty of this work is both in the descriptive language used by Ms. Porter, and in the interactions between the passengers--each of which provides a mirror for some trait of the character to be exhibited to the reader.  The story is simple, and it does drag a bit, but it remains a beautifully written novel with clear messages about humanity and humans for the reader.
171771
The discovery of nineteen gruesomely murdered people in an isolated hamlet in Sweden has police baffled.  There is one clue: a red ribbon found in the snow.  Most of the victims are elderly, and many share a family name.  One of those family names is Andren.

Elsewhere in Sweden, Birgitta Roslin, a middle-aged judge recognises this name and believes that one of the murdered couples was her mother's foster parents. Birgitta Roslin becomes involved in the case, and finds a number of connections which she draws to the attention of the police.  The police treat much of Ms Roslin's information with polite disinterest and her interest in the case, combined with a number of extraordinary coincidences led Ms Roslin - and the reader - into a complex world of events, both historical and current, and vengeance.

Events in nineteenth century China and Nevada carry the key and the action crosses the globe (Europe, China, Africa and America each feature) from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century. The shifts in action are not always chronological but are clearly delineated.

For me, this novel is a curious blend of historical fiction, murder mystery and political comment.  To some extent, the murder mystery is overwhelmed by the history and politics.  By the midpoint of the novel, the only mystery about the murders is whether the police will actually solve the crime.  The readers know who did it and why but the solving of the crime - in the novel itself - has become secondary to broader global political issues and related history.

I enjoyed the novel: the writing kept me turning pages even when elements of the story were not totally absorbing.  This is a novel that ultimately raises more questions than it answers.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
4970636
I thought it was an interesting and enjoyable novel which struck a nice balance between the intrigue of space travel, the adventure of new worlds, and the predictability of human nature - with a twist of genetics thrown in.

One thing that I wasn't overly fond of was the way that the generation jumps that occurred, about four times in the narrative in all, took you away from the story just when you started to feel comfortable with the characters.  That being said, I did find this device to have been relatively well executed, with enough references to the earlier generation(s) to hold the thread together.  In all honesty I found Jene and Sirra far more likeable than Yallia (Kuarta's character I felt was too shallow and quick a stop on the way for me to really invest), but that may have been a deliberate contrivance by the author and reflected the differing circumstances each found themselves in. Yallia was very much a figure representing change and transition, with her rage unsettling her and her time.  The others were at different ends of the spectrum of change and therefore easier to enjoy as characters.  The jumps were also a good way to advance the story to its ultimate conclusion.

Whilst not necessarily a novel tale at its most base level, it certainly had enough interesting elements built on this foundation which elevated it above a typical colonisation tale, and at times was thought provoking.  It might be said that the overall message, or perhaps warning, of the novel was sometimes a little heavy-handed, but nevertheless it never entirely subsumed the story so as to make it unreadable.  I found it to be a genuine page turner and was disappointed when it had ended. A sign of a good read.

Rounding up the critique, there is an awful lot in the story struggling for attention. Moreover there are one or two threads which seem a little out-of-place, and elements of the story and characters which were not so well sketched out and so did not sit so well with the rest. For example, the apparent socialist bent of the colonists was never truly explained or explored, and the evolution and ultimate purpose of the flight team was frankly as unexplained as it was baffling.

The very real feeling the story leaves you with is that it is desperate to mean something, but realises that it has to tell a story and so its message is constrained.  This apparent tension pervades the writing to some extent, but in no way spoils the story.

Overall I found any issues that I might have with the book in no way acted to the detriment of the reading pleasure or the enjoyment I got from the story.

Put simply I really enjoyed Vale of Stars and give it a solid four stars.
2362097
The Absolutist is set in England and France. Half the plot occurs during World War I with the rest occurring after the war when a vet, Tristan Sadler, travels to Norwich from London to deliver a set of letters to the sister of Will Bancroft, a soldier who fought in France, alongside Tristan. Will died during the war, but not in battle. He was executed for an act of cowardice. The book has multiple themes running through it including the horrors of war, the issues homosexuals dealt with in an era more repressive than our current time, and a definition of bravery.

Tristan lies about his age so he can enlist at seventeen. The reason he feels the need to escape from his home life is revealed as the novel progresses. He finds himself in an outfit run be a sergeant and corporals who use sadistic methods to turn the boys into warriors. This is expected in any boot camp situation, but the way one soldier, Wolf, is dealt with appears to go way over the line. This incident affects Will more than any of the others and also affects Tristan, because he was jealous of Will's relationship with Wolf. The soldiers go on to France to fight the war along with the same men who trained them. Now they are living in trenches, risking their lives daily, and watching as young men they know well die.

The issue of homosexuality is introduced with a long section about a room in a boarding house. The prejudices of the time were also shown later as Tristan's problems became known, so this section could have been left out without hurting the book. It felt as if Boyne was trying to establish the theme for himself rather than the reader. But other than that early portion, the issue of Trisan's sexuality was handled brilliantly. The bigotry was made clear. The lines between friendship and love and between comfort and sexual attraction were blurred. The shame was there, sometimes subtle and sometimes not. And the novel's ending was powerful because of the careful development of the characters.

I believe the book was named The Absolutist because the definition of bravery is its main theme. There are many examples of both bravery and cowardice throughout the novel and different readers will come to different conclusions about them. Certainly fighting for one's country is one example of courage, but although this novel has the trenches of wartime France as one of its main settings, the most interesting examples of courage or lack of courage are in the subtle issues relating to principle and acceptance.

Steve Lindahl  author of Motherless Soul and White Horse Regressions
2865925
The building itself is as much a part of the story as the people who inhabit it. This is the story of a community of people who live in a building which is now in gradual if still generally genteel decline.

The novel tackles some subjects considered taboo in traditional Egyptian society, including homosexuality.  The people in this novel, including a corrupt iman, are human with all of the faults and frailities this entails.

I enjoyed this novel because it is well-written, because the characters were multi-dimensional and because it demonstrates that no one society is 'better' or 'worse' than any other.

Highly recommended to those who'd like to read some contemporary literature from outside a predominantly western framework.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
212598
This novel is certainly an interesting look at Japan in the years right after World War II (and during its final stages via flashbacks), and it can be quite thought-provoking at times on the issues of war, violence, and responsibility & guilt--and of their social and psychological repercussions. And in some ways the whole novel is an intriguing meditation on the arbitrary nature of value systems and of how they may shift rather suddenly after a national trauma.

Of course, none of this would go far if the novel didn't work well as a novel, and for the most part it does. The minute psychological depiction of the protagonist, Takuya, is very complex and convincing. This is by far the strong point of the book. The story unfolds in a realistic yet riveting manner with a  level of suspense appropriate to such a story (it's not supposed to be a mystery novel, after all), and Yoshimura's keen eye for detail enables him to paint landscapes of devastation in vivid, almost palpable hues.

Still, "One Man's Justice" has some noticeable flaws. The most glaring one is in the final 30 or 40 pages, which is rushed and hurried, forfeiting a concrete sense of Takuya's mental states and their changes (hence forfeiting the novel's strong point). We are "told" rather than "shown" for the most part; this is of course the cardinal sin in fiction, and it flies in the face of most of Yoshimura's strengths as a writer (at least as is evident from the prior majority of this novel). I'm sure he had a lot he wanted to cover, but next time he needs to keep his finger off the fast-forward button.

The other flaw is less serious, but still important for a work of historical fiction such as this. Yoshimura has clearly done some in-depth research on the history of the time-frame in question, both the events major and minor and the texture of everyday life at the time. And for the most part it works. But it also falls into the rut of depicting World War II in terms of Japan vs. the USA (reflecting the rather simplistic postwar historical memory on both sides of the Pacific), whereas at the time Japanese propaganda depicted the war as a fight against the Anglo-American empires for the sake of a Greater East Asia under Japan's leadership. While today we can know this was so much empty rhetoric, at the time to the average Japanese subject it was believable and inevitably informed their understanding of what they were doing. And yet we see almost none of this in Takuya's mental landscape, from which "Greater East Asia" is unconvincingly missing. This would have gone a long way towards rendering more fully his sense of not being guilty of war crimes, too.

These flaws are serious enough to keep "One Man's Justice" from being a major classic, but it is still quite a good novel worth reading and pondering, especially in these days of wars and rumors of wars.
369730
This is an enjoyable, relatively short, iconic novel.  This novel is on many lists of greatest novels.  I particularly enjoyed the edition with a forward by Stephen King.  However, I intentionally waited until I read the novel before I read the forward and I am glad I did.

In that the novel is somewhat short, there are some intriquing questions left unanswered.  There is a war that occurs that is mostly unexplained.  There is an air plane crash that is not really described.  I would have loved to read the author's version of what was occurring.

The story itself seems to me to be an allegory.  Stephen King stated he read the book as a youth and felt it represented what reality would be under these circumstances.  Broadly speaking, I agree with Mr. King.  I often wonder how thin the line is between civility and chaos.
1360443
four and a half stars
Overall, I thought this was an interesting read, certainly relevant to much of what's going on in the Middle East right now, but applicable on a wider level to how anyone can be caught up in a "transformation" perhaps not entirely of one's own choosing.  I found the main character perhaps a bit too idealized as the seemingly-perfect teen gone astray but was struck by the push-pull relationship with his mother who, although she seems to badger and annoy him, is always present in his thoughts and decision making. The father is mostly way back in the background. There's very much a female/male divide in the active presence of supporting characters in the two halves of this short novel.  As some have noted, the ending may seem a bit abrupt/incomplete, but that seems to be what the author was going for thematically with this sub-theme of "transformation." It's been a long time since I studied Arabic (and I know no Pashto), but some of the transliterations looked a bit odd to me, but not a big deal.
1743481
George Ribeiro's novel explores several themes - belonging, home and the heroic dilemma of "what is the right thing to do?" He takes a seemingly hateful person (Roger Sherman, lover of evictions) and slowly changes your perception with a quasi sci-fi set of beings. Ribeiro does a good job of explaining how it takes something not of this world to make you see your place in this one. This novel is a good read. I look forward to his future work.
4126373
I'm not a literary critic by any stretch; nor am I completely ignorant of what makes a great novel. One thing that I very much enjoy is when an author conveys in their writing a compelling idea or feeling in a surprising way. While I find the ideas and emotions behind this story (e.g., the perils of ambition, the emptiness of success, the loneliness of greatness) very compelling, I felt as though I were reading a comment on The Fountainhead -- not surprising and definitely not unique.

It was as if Millhauser set out to warn us about the other, darker half of Howard Rourke's world. In fact, Martin Dessler seems the mirror image of Rourke in many ways (e.g., the rampant eclecticism of his hotels versus Rourke's utilitarian architectural style). Certainly, we should all be reminded of the downside of success and unchecked ambition. After reading Martin Dressler, I felt that Millhauser's reminder could have come in a more subtle and inventive package.
2457048
This novel centers around the moral dilemmas faced by Christopher, a member of a collective dedicated to effecting social change through nonviolent means. It begins with Christopher being contacted by an anonymous person he met through the internet who requests Christopher's help in writing a manifesto for an unspecified form of protest.  While plagued with reasonable doubts (Who is this Chagall person? What might he do with Christopher's manifesto? What if it were used for an act that Christopher wouldn't approve of?), Christopher nonetheless goes ahead and signs on to the task. The novel thus addresses one of the most profound philosophical questions of all time:  Does the end justify the means? To what extent is it acceptable to engage in violence or actions that might harm others in the service of a greater good for humankind?

Loyalty is another major theme of the novel.  A major subplot involves the recent release from a Mexican prison of Brendan, one of the collective's members, who confronts the terrible question of whether his imprisonment was the result of an unfortunate accident or the deliberate betrayal of his comrades.  The novel also includes several other subplots touching on similar themes, most notably one involving a blockade of a freeway in order to protest genetically modified foods that goes awry with tragic consequences.

And thus it is no accident that the title of the novel is "Consequence," as the theme centers on the consequences--both intended and accidental-- of one's deliberate decision to engage in destructive activism.  I found this book to be much more intellectually and philosophically engaging than a typical work of fiction, and that is one of the strengths of the novel. The fact that Masover manages to create sympathetic characters out of individuals whom many would consider dangerous or criminals (or both) is a credit to his writing skill.  But it also means that the book was a bit preachy in parts, which is one of its few weaknesses. I was also bothered slightly by certain aspects of the plot that elicit skepticism; how plausible is it, for example, that somebody would agree to write a manifesto for a complete stranger that could be used to justify an act of domestic terrorism?

Those are minor quibbles, however, and overall the book is an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.  I recommend it highly to anybody interested in probing the dividing line between activism and terrorism.
3101537
This is a well-written novel. It has a realistic view of the effects of an EMP attack. In some ways it has a optimistic view of human nature, but then I am a bit of a pessimist in that area.
3551724
Danzy Senna's novel "Symptomatic" is really two novels in one.  The first describes a young, attractive biracial female who is fighting a losing battle in her search for identity while living and working in New York City.  This is a struggle that many of us have faced at one time or another, and Senna does a fine job placing the reader into the psyche of the unnamed narrator who seems to be disconnected from the life that she is living.

  The second part of the book is the narrator's relationship with another older biracial female, co-worker Greta Hicks, who takes an unnatural interest in the narrator's life, and becomes increasingly bizarre and downright psychopathic.  Although this character adds tension to the novel's atmosphere, I believe that the author might have been more concerned at this point about writing a Hollywood script as opposed to a superior novel.  That being said, I believe that Danzy Senna is a talented author, and I look forward to reading "Caucasia," as well as her future offerings.
2003685
As I read THE TRANSITION WITNESS, I found myself thinking: This is a well-written novel with an interesting premise and decent characters, and yet something seems to be missing.

As I read further, it grew increasingly clear what that missing element was: what I was reading was more of a description of a story than the story itself.  It struck me as ironic that author Teresa Tsalaky has her characters speak at length about the life force that binds us all together, and yet she has, in my opinion, failed to breathe the force of life into her novel itself.

To me, the greatest strength of the novel was the passion of the author herself, but in my view  once again - that passion did not manifest itself in the characters and events, which were depicted in what to me was a disconcertingly detached way  as through a glass dully, if you will.

As a non-fiction book on spirituality, I might judge the results differently, because there is a lot to like in it.  But this is a novel, and its prime directive is to tell a story, not describe a philosophy.  If the author cannot find a way to breathe *fire* into her characters and their lives, then I fear for the fate of her series.  I suspect she has the fire within herself; she just has to find a way to release it.
2313645
Interesting premise--the robbing of ancient Etruscan graves kicks off a series of violent murders in the city of Volterra (Tuscany).  An visiting archeologist researching a particular Giacometti-like Etruscan statue of a young boy is drawn into the graves and murder mystery.  The tie-in between Etruscan history, ancient art and modern archeological research grabbed my attention; and the author's reputation and an earlier book, "A Winter's Night" led me to this novel.

"...Curse" certainly has some good writing and interesting moments, but I had some problems accepting a major genre jump that is required of the reader.  If I say more about the problem, I will be getting into spoiler territory, so let me conclude by advising the prospective reader to buy this book if you don't mind a story that wanders a bit from factual history in the direction of fantasy/horror.
4571394
Although this book was intriguing and interesting, there were a few things I didn't like about it. For me, it didn't get that interesting until half way through the book. Also, there seemed to be many irrelevant details and characters. I still enjoyed reading it as it had a unique plot and kept me interested.
3669239
This is a good story made relevant by kidnapped children, electronic gaming, traditional mystery, personal relationships and ideas that stretch across social mores and encourage the reader to explore their own perceptions of social correctness and inter-relatedness of the friends and acquaintances we meet every day.

A decent writing that promises some mind works, the action elements are well developed and reflect details that allow the reader to get a good understanding of each scenario.  With the good descriptions and mind-challenging puzzles, the novel will keep the reader's interest.  As the story unfolds, the reader will question the realistic potential for the explanations offered, though the logic works.  The denoument provides an awkward explanation of the culprit's motivation, and the final twist is somewhat disconcerting when applying all the careful thoughts that led up to to that final point--asking the reader to believe that the characters who used careful critical thinking skills and performed with experienced skill and honed intuition would behave in such an uncharacteristic manner in order to achieve that twist is a bit discrepant and unbelievable;  however, that twist would seem to be consistent with the author's idea of marketable relevance.

A decent book with a good action-filled plot, this book is recommended for those interested in the way the mind works when challenged with pushing the boundaries of traditional social constructs--as well as for readers wanting to challenge the mind with logic puzzles.