Marian

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

I had trouble getting into this book, but ultimately enjoyed it. Definitely not my favorite of his though.

I originally read this in 2000 and just re-read. It is just as powerful the second time around. Higly recommend.

Disturbing, but compelling. Reminiscent of Room.

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.

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

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!

Enjoyed it until the last 30 pages. I feel like he wrote himself into a corner and had to resort to a trick to get out.

I would really give us 3.5 stars if I could. I enjoyed the beginning, but was unsatisfied with the way it ended. I loved the slow pacing of the story and the everyday life that was familiar, yet so foreign since it was set in Iran. I wish I had discovered the glossary at the back earlier, especially for some of the political terms and history.

As the saying goes, “hindsight is 20/20”. Never has this been more true. Gets you to thinking about all of the other possibilities had someone stood up to Hitler in the early days, and all of the missed opportunities. Also introduced me to many new historical figures and events that I didn't know about. A great read.

I just inherited this book from my childhood book collection. It is a great way to introduce children to sex and explain where they came from.

This definitely could have been better edited, it tended to wander. But overall I enjoyed it.

Really liked this one. Lots of suspense. Couldn't put it down.

Interesting approach to a story. I loved the photos throughout. Sort of lost me with the feeling that it was a mash-up of too many genres, times, etc. But I still wanted to know what happened, so generally I enjoyed it.

Cute, very quick read. Would have been great for the beach or pool.

I wasn't sure what to think about this, I'm not usually into zombies, but I kept hearing good things about it so I gave it a try. I really enjoyed it, but it will give me nightmares for some time to come. Not just the zombies, but the societal collapse. I wold definitely recommend.

I had trouble getting into the first group of short stories, but I really liked the second half of the book which focuses on two characters. Overall another great read.

I was late in coming to this book, but I'm glad I read it. The people are memorable and it is hard to believe that this truly happened in the US within the last century. Amazing story, well written, and an easy read.

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 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.

I had trouble getting into this at first, but then I really enjoyed it. Not at all what I thought it was going to be. Sad, but also scary in parts.

Great character studies, though somewhat sad. But very real nonetheless.

Not as compelling as The Snowman for me, but still a good read. I really didn't know who did it until the last couple of chapters!

Really enjoyed this book, but it left me wanting more.

This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Highly recommend it! Great human interest story with a lot of moral and ethical questions. Something I will think about for a long time.