Amy

On the back of my copy of this book was a quote by Eddie Vedder in which he described reading the book as a long ride on the tour bus with TP and the Heartbreakers. The book reads like a long Rolling Stones article. I heard about it on a podcast and assumed it was more about his personal life, but really his music was his personal life. I was amazed by all the connections he had to so many other prominent artists and to see those connections through his songwriting. I liked the way Zanes traced Petty's ebbs and flows of life and the manifestation of those in his albums. I'll never listen to his music in the same way again. I grew up in Florida and lived in Gainesville for a couple years, so seeing those connections was a nice bonus :)

Very McEwanesque in style. The narrator/main character's neuroticism and insecurities make the book difficult to engage with at times, but that's the whole point. It's like a book about self-discovery with almost no self-discovery. The acknowledgments and admissions are often lost in he narrator, but again, that's the point! And the ending . . . Oh my goodness, totally worth the read.

I love this series!

Most of what I thought about this sequel is in the other low-star reviews. I expected it to have the same amount of historical-fiction as the first, meaning more references and relevance of crimes to the characters' lives. The actual events (infant killings) were just sprinkled in here and there and by the time there was an actual connection to the plot (almost at the end), I was already over the book and was reading to merely finish. The supernatural element took over and just became absurd. Plus, the cannibalism made my stomach turn. I like her writing style and I think she tells a good tale, though, so I'll read more of her works. I just don't recommend this particular one. Stop after Mayhem.

I was really disappointed by the ending. I was hoping there was a twist, but I pretty much had it figured out by 1/4 of the way through.

This non-fiction story about the author's 15 month captivity is written with beautiful descriptions of the places she travelled and a matter-of-fact tone that makes her horrific experiences in captivity that much more horrifying. One of my favorite quotes from the book comes after the two captives, Amanda and Nigel, celebrate Christmas by creating gifts for one another with whatever was available and trading them through a bathroom they shared: “I loved him in that moment, on that day, more than I'd ever loved anyone, in a way that reached past the standard boy-girl love and hit some sort of deeper bedrock. I loved him as a human, with no complication.”

This is one of my favorite books. It is a collection of short stories that are written chronologically over a 30-40 year period. The main character, Olive, is either a main character, a minor character, or simply mentioned in the stories. She is lovable but unlovable at the same time, very much human. The writing is beautiful. Elizabeth Strout is able to capture every emotion with perfection. I have read the book three times through, and sometimes I just pick a story to read individually. I use it in my teaching, too.

Captivating from start to finish! I appreciate the amount of research that was put into writing it, and I love how it read like a novel.

After reading Behind Her Eyes, I was interested in reading another one of Pinborough's books. This one is a novel about the Thames Torso Murders that were taking place when Jack the Ripper was active in London. At the time, many believed the killers were one and the same. t's hard to believe the Torso Murders have not gotten more notoriety (or at least I wasn't well aware of them). The book seems well-researched. I looked up some details as I was reading and ended up in a few rabbit holes myself. She uses a supernatural spin, which I think makes the book fun and exciting. It's pretty gory, obviously, but I will definitely read Murder, the second of two books in this series.

Cute and clever.

I assigned this to two groups of students while covering a memoir unit. Both groups and I all agree that this book is not really worth the read. First of all, the synopsis on the back cover is misleading. It leads you to believe that the book will be full of mystery and excitement, when it is in fact just the opposite. The “mystery” of the writer's mother's secretive life is revealed at the beginning of the book. The remainder consists of the writer traveling to meet her mothers' siblings and cousins, and she recounts basically the same event: the writer's paternal grandfather's severe physical and sexual abuse of the siblings. While the book evokes sympathy from the reader, there is a lot of overkill with the details of the sexual abuse. There are only so many of those details that are necessary to get the point across.

I really appreciated getting the perspective of a child with autism. Seeing that perspective and learning the emotional, psychological, and physical motivations of behavior was definitely eye-opening. It is in Q & A format with small stories written by the boy. The only issue I had was that some of the questions were repetitive in content. Otherwise, well worth the read and it takes almost no time to get through.

I wasn't crazy about the characters themselves, but the stories within the story were better than the “story.” Knowing McEwan, that was done purposefully, which would give it a higher rating for me.

It was an easy read with a good message. Some nice aphorisms to take away with you.

I did not care for this book. I really appreciate Barbara Kingsolver's novels. I used to teach several different titles, and I try to keep up with her newest novels. This is one I hadn't read until now. I had trouble finishing; when I had about 100 pages left, I read some reviews to see if I was just struggling for my own personal reasons (distracted, tired, etc.) or if others were feeling what I was about this book. I read several reviews that identified my struggles. I usually savor her character development and while these characters were nicely developed, I felt that some were cut short or overdeveloped for the purpose they served in the novel. Several people noticed parallels to other novels of hers. I did too, but they felt more like repetitive motifs and forced ideas (allusions, political viewpoints, etc). I get that the novel is an environmentally conscious book, and that was the most vibrant, successful portion of this book in my opinion. I love learning about true topics via fiction. However, I felt like there were forced sub-plots and unnecessary embellishments. This book could have been better with about 130 pages of text eliminated.

Like many other reviewers, I only read this book because I think the movie looks interesting. I was not expecting it to be so compelling. From early on, there was a heavy sense of irony. I felt dread and sympathy for many of the characters. There is a deep psychological, pathological development that takes the place of anything “exciting.” The twist at the end, and I mean the end, was a delightful surprise. I had to sit for a second thinking, “Did that just happen?” Anyway, I loved it, and I hope the movie doesn't disappoint . . .

I only rated it low because of personal preference. I can certainly see why it's a book within the canon. I don't love magical realism, and I did not know many of the references, so I spent a good deal of time researching people and terms. I recommend this book, but it's time consuming if you want to really be engaged with the style, and the references and their importance.

Great historical fiction. I really liked how Alvarez created the narrative voices from her research, especially using Dede, the only surviving sister. She certainly allows an attachment to each character and, I believe, purposely reinforces the unreliable narrator. I think this adds to the realism of the book. I would recommend for sure, and I may teach it one day.

I thought the writing style was effective - the present to past tense, intrusive memories. I felt it fit the situation of the main character well, her depression with her past/present and her anxiety and hopelessness about her future. There were some great moments of characterization, but there were some subplots that weren't complete enough for me. Also, I thought the ending was abrupt. I needed more “closure,” maybe? I just thought it ended too quickly.