Completely different from anything I’ve read before. Some of Alex’s attempts at English phrases are laugh-out-loud funny, but overall I found the book a serious, intriguing account of a journey and a relationship between two guys very close in age to me.

In one word: aerial-view. This was a view of the world of Rhoda through a fuzzy, semi-transparent piece of glass. While I didn’t particularly enjoy the fact that there was no insight whatsoever into what any character in the book was thinking, it was an interesting style to read. Rhoda’s life is horribly pathetic and while I’d love to feel bad for her, not knowing her emotions made that difficult.

I finally managed to start this book, and it was well worth the wait. I’m half way through now and really enjoying Gourevitch’s writing although it is slow going…

Ahhh…at last I finished! Definitely an interesting perspective, but I found it dense and difficult to understand without a significant understanding of the topic beforehand. I recommend this to anyone up on the Rwandan genocide, but if you were just a self-absorbed teenager at the time (like me), do a little background research first!

I would totally recommend this book. It struck me first because of the excellent writing of Lahiri and second because of the story. Gogol’s experiences seem both mundane and extraordinary, and I enjoyed that much of the book focused on a time in his life I can relate to.

plain and simple, I could not put this down. challenged most everything I ever thought about illness and family dynamics.

This book is clearly great and the topic is extremely interesting. Not one to be read in bits and pieces, however, so I had a hard time loving it because I couldn’t ever read enough at once.

While the story line taught me several things about mental illness and life in another era and place, I never could get excited about Murakami’s writing style. I found it dry and overly descriptive and simplistic at the same time (maybe I should blame this on translation?).

This is a truly remarkable book. The descriptions are so vibrant that I felt I was living alongside the characters. I noticed after finishing the book that I genuinely missed it. Its a book you wish could go on forever so that puts it on my Top 10 list!

Recommended

Just adding to my list of Pulitzer Prize books…