Hal Tepfer

As a fan of books that are tied into events that actually happened, I found “The Jerusalem Inception” to be a great example of historic fiction. Upon discovering this book, I was captivated by reading about a time/place (Israel, 1967...the time of the “Six Day War”) that I have a great interest in, but little knowledge about, and I compliment the writer in the way that he draws the reader into that time and place. It's rare to find a book that weaves together both war and romance, and does it as gracefully as the author has done here. I especially enjoyed the way the author describe the 1940s-era and the conflicts and relationships that arose, while atrocities were going on all around.

The characters were well-developed, especially the ‘hero' of the book, Abraham Gerster. I found that the way the non-romantic triangle between Gerster, his “friend” Elie, and his lover, Tanya, was both well done and surprising, since the more typical approach that I was expecting was more of a romantic undercurrent between the characters. And, the twists that happen in the latter half of the book kept me reading well beyond my bed time!

All in all, a very fine book, and an excellent book about the atmosphere of Israel in 1967.

I was happy to find that Mr. Azrieli continued strands of the plot from “The Jerusalem Inception” and even happier that he continued the same level of excitement. He's fast forwarded over two decades from the original book, and still has a good eye and ear for Israel as it continues to mature. I was delighted to catch up with the characters from the first book, and surprised to find that my thoughts about them were proven faulty.

The focus has shifted to a character that I didn't like so well in the first book, but now that he has been fleshed out so that some of his inner thoughts, his inner workings are clearer to me, I can appreciate why he is doing what he is doing. In fact, as I read the book, I reevaluated my first impression of Elie in the “Inception” novel.

And, if you'll pardon the expression, a “caper novel” involving an assassination gone wrong was a great centerpiece to the book.

I would suggest, though, that anyone who is interested in this book read Mr. Azrieli's “Jersulem Inception” novel before reading this one, since (a) it gives you background on characters and motivations and (b) it will double the pleasure of this saga about Israel as it grows from infancy to the near-present.

Good start; predictable finish. But, the path the author took to get there was full of wit, and also reminded me of how much I have enjoyed so many other cultural items (movies, books, video games).

Wow, what a disappointment. I was looking for something that would have an edge to it, and the Amazon review led me to think this would. It didn't. I found it poorly written and meandering. And, there were too many times to mention that it felt as though the authors were trying to be too cute about the atmosphere. The plot had more holes than a bagel shop, and didn't really come together. The style that they started with (checklist at the start of a chapter) quickly stopped, as though they changed direction, which added yet another layer of confusion to the book. While I can see what they were trying to get at by “updating” Les Liaisons Dangereuse, it failed. No character development, dead ends that were just a waste of time, literary cruelty to dogs, sex scenes that were cut and pasted from some not-great book... I could go on.

So, in sum: I didn't like this too much.

This sometimes frustrating, always entertaining, and ultimately satisfying book is a gem. The author mixes a detective story, full of twists and unexpected events, with a discussion of the writing process itself. The result is a book that is fun to read and one that keeps the reader, even one jaded by other detective stories, riveted. I found the dialogue to be wonderful, and the plotting really was fun. Events that were incompletely described early paid off later as the book reached a surprising and unexpected finish. All the while, the author talked about the process of writing a book: this book. In doing so, he added a layer of complexity to what was already an enjoyable read. To discuss the plot would be to repeat what others and the dust jacket have done. But, I will say that I completely agree with and always have agreed with the author's coda: “[the reader] should look at the jacket and smile a little sadly because he is already missing all the characters.” Yes. Yes. Yes.

The Three is one of those books that either grabs you and pushes you to finish it in one big gulp, or distances you from its plot early, leaving you free to mow the lawn or bake bread or however else you spend your days. Fortunately for me, I'm in the first group. I found the plot of these three children to be a wonderfully interesting concept, but more than that I liked how I was reading a book about a book about them. And, I liked that the author within the “book within a book” had her own voice, one different than the Ms. Lodz. I found that the plot held together, and that the teasing of the future that we continually got glimpses of was a great and surprisingly effective way to tell a story that had so many facets to it. Having finished it within the hour, I find that I have many questions about what it was that I read, and yet I am not frustrated by that; I look at it as a sign that the book teased and pulled back and that Ms. Lodz is allowing me to fill in some gaps on my own.

All in all, I think this book is fun, interesting, and a good “summer” read.

Some people may call this 2013's version of Gone Girl but that's not true. In fact, I think I saw a couple of websites that told me that this was this year's model. But, the only thing that these two books have in common is that there is a man and a woman who are married and that they tell their story in alternating chapters. This book goes much deeper into the mind of the characters; the minds of all of us. The author really knows how to describe the mind and what goes on in it what people think its various points in their lives. She also, in my opinion, does a fine job talking about some tenets of psychiatry, which I really enjoyed. As I did the whole book. I recommend this highly, but if you're looking for this years Gone Girl, keep looking.

This book was so well written and such a great read that I regretted reaching the end of it. I thought that it raised some really good issues in addition to the plot: about language, about love, about privacy, all really important and I was blown away by how well Mr. Barry was able to integrate them into such a good tight action novel.

So, I'm late to the party on this one, having known about this amazing book for a while, but not getting to it. Until now. And, I'm glad that I did because it is - as others, including the critics and award-givers have said - an amazing portrait of illness. It is truly amazing to me how Mr. Green is able to inhabit the mind and body of a young woman, a woman who has foresight and consciousness about herself, and yet one who - for all her wisdom and remarks - is still very young. I was most taken by the banter between Hazel and Gus, and it reminded me of what it was like to be a teenager (albeit, perhaps not as clever or wise as either of them).

But, the portrait that Mr. Green has painted of the two of them, their relationship with each other, and Hazel's with her parents is really great. Typing this, I can still hear the characters, and most of them are telling me that I'm being far to trite, but I'll leave the wonderful dialog to Mr. Green.

I only hope that unlike the sad author Van Houten, Mr. Green finds a way to continue with his writing.

Okay, I was a huge fan of Ms. Pessl's first book, and was so excited about the prospect of a new book that I placed my order on January 1, 2011, when I first heard about it. In the time between then and now, I received a large number of emails from amazon.com, telling me that the date was pushed back and pushed back and pushed back (and, occasionally, pushed forward). But, I calmly waited, sure that it would be worth the wait.

And, now, Night Film has come out, and it's only sort of worth the wait. There was much about this book to like, and I know from reading other reviews that others have written about a lot of it.

But, I wanted to talk a bit about what disappointed me. I did love the way the book began, with the pastiche of web sites and the Times article as an introduction about the world that we were about to enter. I was glad, by the way, that I bought a hard copy, since I can only imagine the difficulty in navigating an e-book.

And, from those first pages, I thought we were being set up to dig into the works of Cordova, and that some of what was alluded to in the early dialogue and description would infuse the plot. As I read, and had to abide by most of the characters' needing to “talk to someone” or “get something off their chest”, I let it pass, despite the fact that it did not ring true. I mean, if one of these people were real, a real person, they'd more than likely say nothing or be cryptic or run away or whatever. But, I understand that sometimes such moving parts are necessary to move the plot forward. It's just that I expected more from Ms. Pessl, given how wonderful the first book was.

As the book continued, and the unlikely group came together to investigate (trying not to give too much away, here), I felt as though this was far too random to be true. Sure, there are perhaps other reasons it would happen, and so I assumed that would later be revealed. Still, it was a disappointment that there wasn't more to this.

And, most importantly, for the bulk of the book, aside from some glancing comments about Cordova and his philosophy and life (and, of course, the big ‘set piece' toward the end), there really wasn't much about those “films” that were mentioned initially. I felt this to be a great let down. I felt as though the entire book, a twist on a murder/mystery, could have been set anywhere with any “patriarch” and family, and that the tease about the films wasn't exploited nearly enough.

All in all, while I found the book to be somewhat entertaining, it was a let-down. Which is not to say that I didn't like it; I think that my expectations, both as a result of her first book and the first part of this one, were perhaps too high.