Diana Stevan
I read The Pilot's Wife years back and enjoyed this author very much. For some reason, I had a hard time getting engaged at the beginning of this story, but I'm so glad I hung in. Anita Shreve skillfully shows us the power of love to not only occupy all of our thoughts and feelings but also to hurt when that love is denied. This novel vividly shows the sexual desire of the protagonist (without being too graphic) but also the disappointment when love is lost and forbidden. A highly recommended read.
Read this decades ago. Fear factor high and I couldn't help turning the pages to see how it all was going to turn out. A gripping suspenseful read.
A fascinating look at a larger than life ego, based on a true story of internationally admired architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. His affair with a feminist back in the early 1900s shocked the nation, as both were married and with children. When they chose to leave their families in order to be together, it affected them in ways they hadn't expected. The ending shocked me; I'm still recovering.
A classic. Anything by John Steinbeck is worth picking up. This and his Grapes of Wrath spoke of the Great Depression like no other author did.
Interesting read. Well worth it especially if you have doubts. Raises lots of questions. For me, the author didn't present a different view of Jesus than the one I grew up with. I had some problems with his thesis, as far as “balance” is concerned, but as we are all individuals, I won't foist my objections here.
This is an astounding book from a number of perspectives. It's every family's story. It was touching to read (and read) the adult children's voices, as well as their father's. It was easy to read, and yet captured visually and emotionally a family trying to make sense of what had happened to their mother.
Very well written. It had me turning the page as there were a lot of surprising turns. However, I found the end less than satisfying, to the point where it was treading believablility
I recently attended a workshop that Roberta Rich gave on historical fiction. I was so impressed by her talk that I had to read her first book in the series. What a fantastic read! Once I started, I couldn't stop as the story is so rich in detail. It took me back to a Jewish ghetto in 16th c. Venice, where we meet Hannah, an exceptional midwife, whose skills and talent have become known in the Christian quarter. She's an appealing protagonist–brave, resourceful, and honourable in her quest to find and free her husband Isaac.
I kept thinking as I read the story about what literary agent and master teacher, Donald Maass, says about writing. An author needs to keep putting their protagonist in danger and raise the stakes and keep raising them higher and higher. Roberta Rich does this so well. There are no shortcuts in this novel. She's done her homework and woven in imaginative details that ring true.
Fascinating account of Josephine's life with Napoleon. I never thought of him as a likeable character and yet, in this story, I discovered his humanity, all through Josephine's voice. As a mother, wife, lover, and astute politician herself, Josephine is a great character. Sandra Gulland does a magnificent job. It's obvious she did a lot of research to bring that time to life for her readers.
I loved this book. It perhaps helps that I am of Ukrainian ancestry, but the humour in the book, and the way the author introduced us to her eccentric family made me want to keep reading.
Loved this story. Author did a great job. I've written a review of the book on my web site. http://www.dianastevan.com/2013/writing/intimate-stories/
I was enthralled with this story, not only because of the subject matter, but also because of the way it was written. Kathleen Winter wrote sensitively about a child born with both feminine and masculine genitalia and how he and his parents coped with his unique sexuality in a community in Labrador, more isolated than most. What was also different about the writing here was the author's choice to use the omniscient third person point of view. It allowed the reader to get into the heads of so many of the characters and add a dimension that is often missing in these kinds of stories. It's a book I hope to read again. I rarely read a book twice unless I find the writing exceptional. Highly recommended.
A very inspiring read. Touching. It particularly hit me as my daughter was diagnosed with breast cancer this past year.
Ten North Frederick won the national book award in 1956. I touched on it in my blog. http://www.dianastevan.com/2012/writing/fiction-and-the-republican-party/ It's a book I've always wanted to read, but it wasn't easy. John O'Hara wrote it with no chapters, and long paragraphs.
What was fascinating about this story, was how well he depicted the characters in this small town and their political manoeuvrings. As the American election of 2012 just took place, I found what went on back in the 1930s mirrored what went on today. Politics is a dirty business, and John O'Hara showed some of its complexity.
As well, he is frank on sexual matters and my understanding is that he was taken to task for the way he did this back in the 50s, which were considerably more repressed than the age we're living in now.
Enjoyed this book immensely. The author, Daphne Kalotay, masterfully told the story of Nina, a Russian ballerina, during Stalin's reign in Russia. I was taken behind the scenes of the ballet company and into the lives of those who mattered to Nina then and later in her life, when she had escaped the stranglehold of that regime to live in Boston.
The novel begins with Nina in a wheelchair ready to sell her jewels at an auction. These jewels bring together the auction house representative and a university prof. who has some relationship to Nina in an unexpected way. As well, Nina discovers her past was not what she thought it was. Highly recommend this story for a glimpse of what it meant to be an artist under the communist system, as dictated by Stalin. Romance, mystery and history.
Great writing. Liked Mystic River the best. Also read Given Day. Realize this is not the genre I enjoy reading.
I love books that take me into another culture as this one does. An intimate look at a four Chinese-American families. Told with humor, grace, and poignancy.
Nabokov is a master at prose. His character descriptions are vivid, so much so, that I wasn't sure I could finish the book. To read about a child molester's feelings and actions was difficult. Humbert exploits the young Lolita. The author uses humour perhaps to convince the reader this is a story worth puruing. He also shows that his protagonist Humbert was fully aware that what he was doing was wrong. I wondered as I read the story how he managed to get into the mind of his protagonist.
I wanted to read it as the book is considered as a classic and the author a brilliant one.
This story was intriguing as it tackles an unusual mother-daughter relationship through the daughter's exposure to one monk and a monastery.
I was so impressed by this book. I loved the fact that Cassandra, the protagonist, was so multi-faceted. Not only was she strong and courageous, but she was also loving and giving, and therefore very appealing. The author, Catherine Knuttsson, wove in First Nations mythology, the supernatural, and herbal medicine as she told the story of a family in the future, trying to survive in a land at a time when so much was uncertain. It seemed that with every chapter, things couldn't get worse, and yet they did, over and over again, keeping me glued to the page and up at all hours of the night. I call that a good read.
This book enchanted me, as it introduced me to the Indian culture. I saw Mumbai, the good and the bad. And I was exposed to its culture, through the relationships the author portrayed in the story. When I got to the end, I cried. It was very moving. I didn't see it coming.
Stieg Larsson is an amazing juggler, so many characters and sub-plots, and yet he keeps them all in the air and the reader enthralled. Great read!