I really had to force myself through this one. It’s a bit cold and most of the characters I found extremely difficult to connect with (or even to want to).
However, I absolutely adore (ADORE!) her next book “The History of Love” and I would highly recommend you read that one (instead of this OR any other book!). (Search this page for the title or author to hear my enthusiasm. It was one of my very favorite reads of 2005.)
Bought:
This book is fantastic. The characters are hilarious and deep and interesting and quirky and the plot is both silly and serious and there’s love stories and friendships and fights and just so much to love.
There were two small things that I felt were a bit surprisingly … dropped off at the end (lacking sufficient explanation as to their closure). But that did not stop me at all from loving the ending the rest of the characters get.
Kalix is a fantastic character. I would be sorely tempted to use that name for my firstborn, were there going to be one (there isn’t).
Highly recommended from me to you. (Recommended to me by someone on Flickr after they saw I had read and enjoyed The Good Fairies of New York.)
Our challenge book for December. Dad skipped out on this one (after I skipped out on November). 🙂
I liked it but didn’t entirely love it.
Liked the MN winter setting. Liked the kid and his inner thoughts. Found some of the mom / kid stuff handled a bit weird. Liked the little brother stuff. Hated the girlfriend’s dad storyline and found it a bit distracting. Some unexpected twists. I liked it better at the beginning than the end.
I would be interested in reading what Enger does next.
Now all I can think about is how long it’s been since I’ve been out on a frozen lake visiting the ice fisherman. You would NOT even believe how much stuff some of them put in their icehouses. I mean we’re talking electric generator-powered heaters and TVs and all kinds of crazy stuff. NO JOKE!
A roadtrip novel! You KNOW how I feel about roadtrips, right? (PRO.) I also bought this book while on a road trip!
Just as with her earlier novel “A Complicated Kindness” (at least I think it was earlier. It was earlier for me!), this book is full of really quirky and quirkily strong characters. Unusual, unexpected, unpretentious.
Fun but sometimes exasperating and sometimes worry-inducing. The frustrations of family.
Although: when I read the blurb in the back about another book of hers “Summer of My Amazing Luck” the plot seems eerily similar to this one. (And by eerily I don’t mean eerie, I mean, is she writing the same book again?)
Thanks to Cathy for the loaner!
Really funny in the worst of circumstances. Both the main characters, Lev and Kolya, are completely engaging. Witty dialogue. Recommended.
I didn’t realize he had also written the book (and the screenplay) “The 25th Hour” which I liked as a movie (maybe I’ll go back and read the original now).
subtitled: A professor and a punk rocker discuss science, religion, naturalism & christianity.
I found this book super annoying. While in many ways, I would agree more with Graffin’s arguments, I thought he was being kind of a dick the whole time. You shouldn’t agree to be in a CONVERSATION with someone if you aren’t actually interested in conversing.
While Jones, the religous one, was coming at things from a “this is interesting to think about / it’s interesting to hear other viewpoints and try reconciling them with my own and pondering” viewpoint, Graffin seemed to coming from a “what I think is right and you are wrong and I will just tell you YOU ARE WRONG over and over again” viewpoint.
Graffin seemed to only want to talk about THE EXACT FACTS and how anything else was RIDICULOUS; Jones was interested in exploring WHY do people believe, whether it’s right or wrong. (It ain’t all about the facts.) Most of the time, Graffin’s response was basically “NO.” Then why even respond? Why bother discussing it? It really didn’t seem like he even heard the other point of view.
I mean, I understand. There’s a reason I don’t discuss politics with Republicans. I don’t fucking care what they think. But I wouldn’t bother writing back to their letters and saying “NOPE YOU’RE WRONG” everytime either.
Reminiscent of Betsy Crane’s “All This Heavenly Glory” in that while these are short stories, they are all interrelated / they are all telling some bit of Leah’s overall story.
An overall story about teenage-dom and cruelty and popularity and curiosity and loneliness and families.
Good. Bittersweet. Sometimes intense.
Read in October. Since I’ve been doing reviews in any old order…I’m almost caught up!! Yipee!!
Also known as Book 3 of the Millennium trilogy. I am SUCH a huge fan of this trilogy. I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on a whim. Blew through it like a crazy person. LOVE. Then I was so excited in Dublin last February to find The Girl Who Played with Fire already out there. Loved that one just as much. As SOON as book 3 was released in the UK, I ordered it from amazon.uk because HELLO I could NOT wait.
And it was completely worth it.
These are dark, nasty, sadistic books. They are also exquisitely plotted with seriously intelligent, persistent, strong and attractive (in more than one way) characters. They are entertaining and deep and completely fascinating and honestly it is so hard to get anything else done when you are reading them because you just do NOT want to put them down.
So bummed that there will be no more books by this dude (he died shortly after turning in all three manuscripts to his publisher) because they are some of the best books I’ve read in years.
Stieg Larsson and Tana French: revolutionizing the SMART mystery category. These are so far above genre books. Truly literature. Truly fantastic.
Yay thanks to Stephanie for sending me this for my birthday, because she knew of my love for Larbalestier’s Magic or Madness trilogy.
This was SOOOO different than those books. And SOOOO GOOD. Such deeply written characters. Tangible emotions. Poignant. Sometimes funny. Very affecting.
As you move from section to section in this book, you get absolutely turned around. Fantastic.