Marian

Totally two-dimensional characters and no real plot. Also way too much detail about the swimming. Don't bother.

I really enjoyed the way all of the stories tied together without being so obvious. A beautiful and sad story.

Why do I keep coming back to Anita Shreve when I know better? This book tried to cover too much – WWI, rape, women's property rights, homosexuality, shell shock and more! And yet at the end it is all tied up and handed to us in a pretty little package with everything working out and a love story to boot. Quite ridiculous. Really just deserved 1.5 stars.

The first chapter almost put me off, but once I got past it I really enjoyed it.

Let me start by saying that the writing is amazing – colorful, evocative, rich in detail. Now I understand why people have been waiting for so long for Donna Tartt to publish another book. However I just couldn't give this more stars. It started out with a bang – the first act really was great. The second part of the book also had me completely hooked but for completely different reasons. It was so gritty and real, I couldn't stop reading. But then it started to lose me. The story and the main character just went meandering along. It all seemed to be too good to be true (which it is) and then abruptly we're thrown into a violent, drug-induced, too crazy to even possibly happen portion of the book. I didn't want to give up though since I only had another 100 pages or so, but then when everything was tied up neatly and the main character started “talking” to the reader I felt cheated. I would love to read another one of Tartt's novels since I loved her voice, but I'm not sure this was the story for me.

Some great tips and easy to follow and digest. This would make a great Christmas present, but I think I'll keep it for myself!

After hearing all of the amazing reviews on NPR and elsewhere, I expected more. As always, the writing was exquisite, but I didn't feel that it ever moved beyond an accounting of the character's lives. I had read that it was gripping and suspenseful (even noted on the dust jacket), but I disagree. The character's lack of emotion when recalling the pivotal moment of the story made it read more like a historical essay. Enjoyable, but definitely not my favorite book by her.

I like Philip Roth so I had higher expectations for this book. He kept bringing the reader to the edge of terror and then backing down. Still a scary “what-if” scenario.

Each story was so different, but the voice in each was so strong. Loved it all.

I really wanted to like this book. The premises was cute, the writing was good, but the story was just too long. It would have made a great short story and a nice light rom-com movie. You could honestly read the first couple of chapters and the last couple and get the idea.

Although I enjoyed this book (especially the last couple of chapters), it could have been condensed into almost half and not lost any of the storyline. There were times I felt that the other was beating me over the head with just another example of the main character's “stories”.

I would probably give us 3.5 stars, but I bumped it up. The first was a little slow going, but the second half really hooked me. He is always a solid writer, and loves his twists.

I kept having to remind myself that this was NOT fiction. The writing was wonderful and the story compelling. I was inspired, angered, amazed and disgusted all at the same time. I wanted more.

I haven't read this since high school. Still disturbing and moving at the same time.

Disturbing, but compelling. Reminiscent of Room.

The writing was superb, but the story got a little too crazy for me towards the end. A pleasure to read.

A disappointing follow-up. Yet I still want to know what happens in book #3, so I'm hooked to some degree!

This was like a bad David Mamet play. It couldn't hold my suspension of disbelief. A disappointing follow-up to Life of Pi.

I was very excited to win this on Goodreads! It is absolutely worth reading. As some other reviewers have noted, I was nervous about the lack of punctuation for dialogue, but after the first few pages I didn't even notice. In fact, it made me feel like I was in the narrator's head. I really came to care about the main character, a 13-year old Ojibwe boy who is seeking to redeem the brutal attack of his mother. His voice was so unique that I couldn't get this story off my mind for some time. A great read. I can't wait to read some of her other novels.

The characters were so petty I couldn't empathize with any of them. The writing was strong, but I don't feel like I got anything from this book and was just depressed by the end.

I LOVE Nick Hornby, but this was a struggle. I'm not into football and I thought I could get more out of this book that just recaps of matches, but I was wrong.

If you liked The Road by Cormac McCarthy you'll enjoy this. A completely different take on a post-apocalyptic world – more human.

This would have made a good short story, but didn't really work as a novel.

The character studies at the beginning really had me hooked, but the ending was too ridiculous. Totally lost me.

Great little slice of life stories. Such a unique voice. Read in one day.