The Laws of Evening12 reviews Mary Yukari Waters, 2003 Startlingly memorable + Exquisite portraits of post-WWII life in Japanese society + About time and relationships. + Beautiful Language + Breathtaking             The End of the Affair (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)126 reviews Graham Greene Penguin Classics, 2004 The space between us + A moving love story & a complex view of spirituality + All Time Top Ten + If You've Seen The Film + Greene's Greatest?             Sweet Hereafter: A Novel101 reviews Russell Banks Harper Perennial, 1992 Utter perfection; calm, subtle and heartbreaking perfection... + The Sweet Hereafter + The literary inspiration for one of my favorite films. + Haunting             High Lonesome: Stories 1966-20068 reviews Joyce Carol Oates Ecco, 2006 A dark collection that is truly gripping! + Read this as your introduction + Classic Collection + The Best Oates Anthology Since 1994's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been + Comprehensive             The Knockout Artist6 reviews Harry Crews Harpercollins, 1989 Over the top, yes, but for good reason. + Writing That Doesn't Back Down + wow + Perhaps the best work of the great Harry Crews.             The Bell Jar: A Novel (Perennial Classics)486 reviews Sylvia Plath Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2000 The most famous book you've never read + how did I miss this one?? + Believe the Hype + "To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is the bad dream."             A Woman of Means: A Novel5 reviews Peter Taylor Picador, 1996 Deceptively straightforward style + A (re) Publishing Phenomena! + Taylor is great-he died in Nov.1994. Warren is dead also + From THE WASHINGTON POST: + Review by Robert Penn Warren             House of Sand and Fog (Oprah's Book Club) (Vintage Contemporaries)746 reviews Andre Dubus III Vintage, 2000 GREAT READ + Suspenseful, keeps you reading! This is a great story of tragedy. I found it an easy read and couldn't put it down. I finished it very fast because the writer keeps the story moving. Very good writing as the characters are strong and easy to imagine. Highly recommended.             Interstate: A Novel5 reviews Stephen Dixon Holt Paperbacks, 1997 flabbergasting + Love Him or Hate Him A work of staggering intensity, Interstate is one of finest literary creations of the past twenty years. And twenty years from now it will appear on the Modern Library's 100-best list. Read it.             Flaubert's Parrot31 reviews Julian Barnes Vintage, 1990 A review of Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes + Words, colors, images....and deceptions + Brilliant! My J Barnes Fav! Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes is a book I have had queuing up to read for some time. I don't know why I have never got round to reading it. Perhaps it's because of the overtly "literary" tag that was attached to it when it was short-listed for the Booker Prize. I am not against "literary" ...             Freedomland76 reviews Richard Price Dell, 1999 Price novices, Start here (I'm guessing) + It's wonderful in SO Many Ways - - - BUT..... I've never read anything by Richard Price before and I was enthralled by this book. I'm usually a pretty slow reader, but I knocked back about 200 pages a day. I could not put this book down. I cancelled (or reluctantly attended) social engagements because of this book. One afternoon my hand went ...             Revolutionary Road102 reviews Richard Yates Vintage, 2000 Classic tale of the suburban nightmare. + Revolutionary Writing + Makes Mad Men look like Happy Days Richard Yates' 1961 novel, "Revolutionary Road", is a classic that has taken far too long to get the recognition it deserves (considering Yates died in 1992). With the Hollywood version coming out the best way to describe this haunting novel in cinematic terms would be: "American Beauty" meets ...             Empire Falls477 reviews Richard Russo Vintage, 2002 Thoughtful On the surface this is a book about an average guy who is stuck in a rut in an average small town. But when you delve deeper, you see that the book is about how pivotal choices and events shape who we are and where we end up in life. The characters in this book are memorable, realistic, and well ...             All the King's Men176 reviews Robert Penn Warren Harvest Books, 1996 The Web Of Things + Why did I wait? + A Great Book Read By A Great Voice + great literature, sinfully delicious             One Hundred Years of Solitude (P.S.)55 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006 Hater of Magic + Garcia Marquez is great! + Excellent, but not typical of Marquez. I knew I would hate the book. I can't stand magic, fantasy books or huge sprawling books. The short elegant novel is for me. But I thought I'd just try a few pages. A day later, my work copletely ignored, I emerged exhausted but exilerated. Yet, this is one of the greatest books I've ever read ...             The Son2 reviews Gina Berriault Counterpoint, 1998 ground breaking book This is a stunning, ground breaking book. As a reader and a writer, I feel indebted to Counterpoint Press for reissuing it. My sadness is that not enough people know about it. All writers-in-training should read The Son to learn how dangerously deep one must go to write true literature. My ...             The Fifth Child46 reviews Doris Lessing Vintage, 1989 The monster within + Hard to Place + Enduring fate + The Fifth Child             Women with Men : Three Stories5 reviews Richard Ford Vintage, 1998 Take Two + An insightful and anxiety-inducing triptych of tales + A required read for Ford fans I think this is one of Richard Ford's best along with Wildlife, Rock Springs, and The Ultimate Good Luck. The subject matter and setting are quite different from the Americana we've come to expect from him, yet the depth of insight is there in maybe even more intensity than in any other works. ...             The Known World: A Novel295 reviews Edward P. Jones Amistad, 2004 Gorgeous + Riveting! You'll never forget it. + Gripping + Difficult to read but well worth it             Flaubert's Parrot31 reviews Julian Barnes Vintage, 1990 A review of Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes + Words, colors, images....and deceptions + Brilliant! My J Barnes Fav! Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes is a book I have had queuing up to read for some time. I don't know why I have never got round to reading it. Perhaps it's because of the overtly "literary" tag that was attached to it when it was short-listed for the Booker Prize. I am not against "literary" ...