The Namesake: A Novel475 reviews Jhumpa Lahiri Mariner Books, 2004 A great and superbly written story + not as good as the short story collections + Tale of a 1st generation Indian immigrant - different! Jhumpa Lahiri writes about a very interesting and commonly neglected new American phenomenon: the rise of the Indian-American middle class. This book is about cultures, values, life and death, love and misery. It is about America. It is about India. It is also universal. Lahiri writes with ...             Memories of My Melancholy Whores108 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Vintage, 2006 Minotaur-mania: Garcia Marquez Explores the Myth of Love + "It is a triumph of life that old people lose their memories of inessential things" + The desires of an older man + That obscure object of imaginary desire...             Everyman139 reviews Philip Roth Vintage, 2007 Death Comes + fantastic + Intense emotional insights into regret and aging Reading through many of the already posted reviews, it seems many people missed something in reading this book. It is in fact a book about living and ceasing to live. Yet there is something far deeper in these pages. The temptations of sexuality, battles of personal health and mortality, and ...             High Fidelity502 reviews Nick Hornby Riverhead Trade, 1996 High Fidelity + Good music, good writing + Worst book ever written! + Like a woman trapped in a man's body + straight out of my head             Beasts of No Nation: A Novel44 reviews Uzodinma Iweala HarperCollins, 2007 War in Africa + Great book but will leave you with nightmares... + Great start, loses strength at the end A first-person acccount of the experiences of a young boy, forced into a war. Vivid and credible. Hard to set it down before finishing. Then impossible to forget it. (We all need to be aware of the forces that are displayed here!)             The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test132 reviews Tom Wolfe Bantam, 1999 Interesting and well-written + Mind-blowing experience + Very good...not great. Tom Wolfe takes us through part of the acid-movement of the 60's with Ken Kesey (author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") and company as they embark on their journey across America to popularize acid. Wolfe writes in a way that sort of makes you feel that you are on acid too. His writing ...             The Kitchen God's Wife162 reviews Amy Tan Penguin (Non-Classics), 2006 A Story of a Woman's Relationship With Her Daughter + Riveting, inspiring and educational + Savory! This brilliantly written novel by Amy Tan tells the story of a mother's life in China during WWII and, later, her relationship with her daughter, Pearl. The author's use of voice brings the story to life remarkably well. Amy Tan develops her characters with intense detail, and I could almost feel ...             A Thousand Splendid Suns1294 reviews Khaled Hosseini Riverhead, 2007 Heart-wrenchingly beautiful + Amazingly told...a must read! + Great second novel + Spendid is spendid             Blindness (Harvest Book)357 reviews Jose Saramago Harvest Books, 1999 read the novel before you see the movie + Man, mirror, Woman, hope I first read this book over 4 years ago; the "reading experience" was unlike any other I have had. People react strangely when I tell them that my favorite book is about contagious blindness! The story is impeccably written, but, again, the experience of reading the book is what is so remarkable. ...             The Perks of Being a Wallflower1268 reviews Stephen Chbosky MTV, 1999 Freakin' Awesome + Thoughtful coming-of-age story + Pretty good. + Left wanting to know more... + Favorite             The Memory Keeper's Daughter861 reviews Kim Edwards Penguin (Non-Classics), 2006 A real page turner I am so stunned by all of the negative reviews on this book! I think I tend to be very critical of books, and have a very short list of favorites. I absolutely loved this book. I thought the characters were very well-developed, and the author's writing positively flowed. The relationships ...             Chronicle of a Death Foretold121 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Vintage, 2003 Creative, Brilliant Novella - Absolutely Fascinating, Even After Repeated Readings Through the Years + Death foretold; character revealed + Marquez & magic realism---start here Chronicle of a Death Foretold was published in 1981, the year before Gabriel Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The story begins with sentence: "On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat that the bishop ...             Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith152 reviews Anne Lamott Riverhead Trade, 2006 Anne Lamott Strikes Again + Anne is back I love Anne Lamott and this book is no exception. As always, she writes with honesty and humor about her everyday experiences. She helps me see the lighter and darker side of Christianity and life in general. I can relate to her foibles and rejoice with her in her human triumphs. I'm glad for ...             The Perks of Being a Wallflower1268 reviews Stephen Chbosky MTV, 1999 Freakin' Awesome + Thoughtful coming-of-age story + Pretty good. + Left wanting to know more... + Favorite             Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith152 reviews Anne Lamott Riverhead Trade, 2006 Anne Lamott Strikes Again + Anne is back I love Anne Lamott and this book is no exception. As always, she writes with honesty and humor about her everyday experiences. She helps me see the lighter and darker side of Christianity and life in general. I can relate to her foibles and rejoice with her in her human triumphs. I'm glad for ...             The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test132 reviews Tom Wolfe Bantam, 1999 Interesting and well-written + Mind-blowing experience + Very good...not great. Tom Wolfe takes us through part of the acid-movement of the 60's with Ken Kesey (author of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest") and company as they embark on their journey across America to popularize acid. Wolfe writes in a way that sort of makes you feel that you are on acid too. His writing ...             A Thousand Splendid Suns1294 reviews Khaled Hosseini Riverhead, 2007 Heart-wrenchingly beautiful + Amazingly told...a must read! + Great second novel + Spendid is spendid             Memories of My Melancholy Whores108 reviews Gabriel Garcia Marquez Vintage, 2006 Minotaur-mania: Garcia Marquez Explores the Myth of Love + "It is a triumph of life that old people lose their memories of inessential things" + The desires of an older man + That obscure object of imaginary desire...             The Kitchen God's Wife162 reviews Amy Tan Penguin (Non-Classics), 2006 A Story of a Woman's Relationship With Her Daughter + Riveting, inspiring and educational + Savory! This brilliantly written novel by Amy Tan tells the story of a mother's life in China during WWII and, later, her relationship with her daughter, Pearl. The author's use of voice brings the story to life remarkably well. Amy Tan develops her characters with intense detail, and I could almost feel ...             The Memory Keeper's Daughter861 reviews Kim Edwards Penguin (Non-Classics), 2006 A real page turner I am so stunned by all of the negative reviews on this book! I think I tend to be very critical of books, and have a very short list of favorites. I absolutely loved this book. I thought the characters were very well-developed, and the author's writing positively flowed. The relationships ...