I guess I just like Nicole Krauss. Her other book (History of Love) quickly climbed to my list of all-time favorites, and while I didn’t feel quite as strongly by this novel, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. She has a knack for letting the reader really get inside the main character. Wasn’t a huge fan of the science-experiment days described in the middle of the book, that I thought was its biggest downfall. Very interesting premise of a man who, at 31, is found wandering in the desert and has lost all memories from age 12 onwards.

This is undoubtedly a fascinating story. I was really looking forward to reading this book after all the press and the reviews. Though the events were interesting, the writing left quite a bit to be desired. Its hard to judge someone who has gone through so much, but the bottom line is that the flow of the book was hindered by the writing.

This was the perfect book to pick up in the Dublin airport and finish well before landing at JFK. I like historical fiction, and the story of Griet and get relationship with the painter Vermeer and is family was fascinating. Both a country and time period that it was great to learn about through this story. Highly recommend (its written well too, which is always nice)!

Very thought-provoking book. Great story as well even without digging further into the undertones. This book really makes me think about the decisions we all make and why and how those small decisions affect the trajectory of our lives. All in all, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Great book, but different than I anticipated. Rory Stewart writes about his walk across Afghanistan in the style of a travel writer. Because he is constantly moving, the reader doesn’t learn much about any character other than him. We meet many men (no women) across the country, but only briefly and not in any depth. I found this slightly disappointing, but it did allow Stewart to give us a broader picture of all the different areas of Afghanistan, rather than narrowly focusing on one (and we all know there are many good naratives that focus on the people of one place in Afghanistan – Bookseller of Kabul, Kiterunner, etc.). Overall I’d recommend, but be prepared!

I’m not usually much for awarding superlatives to books, but tihs is one that deserves every bit of praise I can imagine. It is thoughtful, compelling, and so amazingly original that I even went as far as to hide it from myself so I wouldn’t read it too quickly. I tried to make it last! The characters are so real and interesting, while being completely ordinary at the same time. I feel like I know them, and like I could be Alma Singer wandering NY looking for the solution to the puzzle that is the History of Love. I adored this. Read it!

This is a fascinating book. Its quite a heavy read, takes some time (at least for me), but well worth it. The style is a bit confusing at first and I had to constantly refer to the family tree at the front of the book because all the male characters have the same name! Uses surreal events to point to real world issues and keeps you pondering about what Garcua Marquez was thinking while he was writing this. Definitely recommend…

Enthralling. I don’t know how else to put it. Niffenegger draws the reader into this twisting chronologically absurd tale of two lives. The interspersed quotes and poems and lyrics though are really what impressed me. I usually don’t bother reading or at least don’t think clearly about that type of addition to a story line—but here it is beautiful and essential to fully experiencing this book. Beware: emotional and sad at times, but always expressing such an understanding of the human heart and mind…it will blow you away.

Yes, it may get a bit repetitive towards the end, but rarely do I find a book that has me audibly laughing on the subway and wiping tears (from laughing too hard) away. This is totally my type of humor—dry, ironic, sarcastic. I totally recommend this for just a silly read and I wouldn’t feel too badly if you put it down half-way through. Its a book written for the jokes, not for the story line.

The characters in this book are so interesting! Mari is my favorite…her story was really eye-opening, taught me a lot about real illness of the mind. I’d definitely recommend this especially to anyone interested in mental illness or the idea of “freedom”—are we free to do what we choose in society? Who decides the rules? Are people who don’t or can’t conform to those rules insane?