Black Swan Green: A Novel63 reviews David Mitchell Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 Survivors of Adolescence Unite! + Wonderful coming of age novel + Black Swan Succeeds The characters in this book, from the narrator/protagonist 13-year-old Jason Taylor, to those who make the briefest of appearances, are so richly drawn, so multi-layered, and speak with such convincing dialogue, that the created world of the small English town of the title becomes as real as the ...             White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception8 reviews Sarah Collins Honenberger Cedar Creek Publishing, 2006 An Auspicious Debut by a Fine New Novelist + White Lies + White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception + Powerful Pen + White Lies             Confinement9 reviews Carrie Brown Berkley Trade, 2005 best read in years + A beautifully sad story + character driven historical tale 'confinement' is one of the best books i have read in many years. usually i shy away from refugee stories because they become horribly sentimental, but this is just a nice story about a displaced german tailor. the writing style is good, the characters are well developed, and the ending is ...             Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods1 review Kathleen Quinlan, Peter Strauss Rhi Entertainment, 2007 Made for TV movie and it shows. While Tim O'Brien has written several novels that could each be described as the definitive story of Vietnam, this movie, based on one of O'Brien's best novels, feels half-hearted at best. The adapted script, the direction, and acting all feel underwhelming. Kathleen Quinlan gives a fine ...             Gilead: A Novel303 reviews Marilynne Robinson Picador, 2006 This is a nearly perfect book + A Hill of Testimony + beautifully written novel of reflection Gilead is a nearly perfect book. It is quiet, multi-layered, and deeply spiritual. Composed in the form of a letter from the elderly protagonist, John Ames, to his young son, the work is a meditative near-monologue about faith, anger, love, and forgiveness; emotional patrimony, isolation, and ...             Coal Black Horse23 reviews Robert Olmstead Algonquin Books, 2007 A fine read + A Stunning Sleeper + A Classic I have to admit that in the first few pages, I wondered if Olmstead's love for antique words and less-common constructions would get in the way of telling the story. In short order, however, I stopped worrying about it because I was caught up in the action. When I finally put the book down, I ...             The End of The Alphabet: A Novel14 reviews Cs Richardson Doubleday, 2007 Excellent short read + Wonderful little book + A Melancholy Love Story Delightfully clever with the full range of human emotion, yet succinct enough to be read in one sitting. The author knows how to stimulate the senses with true depth, eliminating the quest for shock value that lesser writers often use in place of talent.             OLD SCHOOL: A scholarship boy at a New England prep school grapples with literary ambition and insecurity in ... TOBIAS WOLFF Vintage Contemporaries, 2003             Black Swan Green: A Novel63 reviews David Mitchell Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2007 Survivors of Adolescence Unite! + Wonderful coming of age novel + Black Swan Succeeds The characters in this book, from the narrator/protagonist 13-year-old Jason Taylor, to those who make the briefest of appearances, are so richly drawn, so multi-layered, and speak with such convincing dialogue, that the created world of the small English town of the title becomes as real as the ...             White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception8 reviews Sarah Collins Honenberger Cedar Creek Publishing, 2006 An Auspicious Debut by a Fine New Novelist + White Lies + White Lies: A Tale of Babies, Vaccines, and Deception + Powerful Pen + White Lies             Gilead: A Novel303 reviews Marilynne Robinson Picador, 2006 This is a nearly perfect book + A Hill of Testimony + beautifully written novel of reflection Gilead is a nearly perfect book. It is quiet, multi-layered, and deeply spiritual. Composed in the form of a letter from the elderly protagonist, John Ames, to his young son, the work is a meditative near-monologue about faith, anger, love, and forgiveness; emotional patrimony, isolation, and ...             Tim O'Brien's In the Lake of the Woods1 review Kathleen Quinlan, Peter Strauss Rhi Entertainment, 2007 Made for TV movie and it shows. While Tim O'Brien has written several novels that could each be described as the definitive story of Vietnam, this movie, based on one of O'Brien's best novels, feels half-hearted at best. The adapted script, the direction, and acting all feel underwhelming. Kathleen Quinlan gives a fine ...             Confinement9 reviews Carrie Brown Berkley Trade, 2005 best read in years + A beautifully sad story + character driven historical tale 'confinement' is one of the best books i have read in many years. usually i shy away from refugee stories because they become horribly sentimental, but this is just a nice story about a displaced german tailor. the writing style is good, the characters are well developed, and the ending is ...             OLD SCHOOL: A scholarship boy at a New England prep school grapples with literary ambition and insecurity in ... TOBIAS WOLFF Vintage Contemporaries, 2003             Coal Black Horse23 reviews Robert Olmstead Algonquin Books, 2007 A fine read + A Stunning Sleeper + A Classic I have to admit that in the first few pages, I wondered if Olmstead's love for antique words and less-common constructions would get in the way of telling the story. In short order, however, I stopped worrying about it because I was caught up in the action. When I finally put the book down, I ...             The End of The Alphabet: A Novel14 reviews Cs Richardson Doubleday, 2007 Excellent short read + Wonderful little book + A Melancholy Love Story Delightfully clever with the full range of human emotion, yet succinct enough to be read in one sitting. The author knows how to stimulate the senses with true depth, eliminating the quest for shock value that lesser writers often use in place of talent.