Nicholette Anand
What a wonderful book. I was fully transported not only to South Africa but to the lives of the three main characters. The multiple points of view in this novel were handled with deft skill, and every sentence was well crafted and to the point. The writing and tight plot propelled me through this book in record time, and I kept thinking about it for weeks after finishing. Bianca Marais‘ exploration of the themes of race, sexual abuse, grief, and family was both insightful and fascinating. I originally discovered this book after binge-listening to the authors podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, and I was very happy that her writing did not let me down. If there weren't so many other books on my To Read list, I would be tempted to re-read this book just to take notes on the craft of writing and book structure. I will definitely be reading her previous book. Hum If You Don't Know the Words, as soon as possible.
I am really sad this book is over! It is an extremely well-written and fascinating story that was completely engrossing.
I love this book. I've only recently started reading nonfiction, and I am now inspired to read both his other books and Neil Degrasse Tyson's latest book. Bill Nye provides a lot of information about a fascinating and diverse array of topics, yet manages to bring them together in an inspiring and well thought out manner. I learned about solar power, GMO crops, why puns are good (!), what ice core samples in Greenland tell us about air pollution, astronomy (which never previously interested me in the least), physics, artificial intelligence, driverless cars, the ongoing conflict between religion and science, etc. It was also quite synchronous that I was concurrently reading Origins by Dan Brown, because he also addresses some of these topics. I have an arts, not a science background, but I thoroughly enjoyed Bill Nye's book. He provides a wonderful antidote to the anti-science rhetoric so popular in much of the media and politics at the moment. Nye provides lots of concrete and empowering solutions that everyone can get behind. And if you listen to the audio version, he is a very entertaining narrator!
I enjoyed this book! It was a pleasant foray into the Italian countryside with some interesting characters. And a bulldozer. I have read lots of McCall Smith books, and I would say this is the best one in recent years.
A riveting and thought-provoking book. Very well written! It makes the reader think about history, politics, human nature, and how much our assumptions inform the way we think. The concept and plot are quite unique and original.
Having said that, I did find some parts very disturbing to read. To be fair, I suppose that was part of the point, but it did make me want to rush through the last eighth of the book so it would be done.
Disheartened by the current state of the world? Feeling pessimistic about all the climate change doom and gloom? Maybe you feel helpless to make any change yourself and wonder aimlessly if anybody out there is doing anything to improve the situation? Then this book is for you!!
Bill Nye provides tons of interesting information about current scientific developments and examples of people who are working on solutions to a whole host of our problems. He also provides lots of his own ideas to improve not only our environment but our society. One thing I particularly like is the way he shows how a lot of these developments are economically viable and make financial sense as well. He is humorous, inspiring, optimistic, and always informative. I am an English major with no scientific background but I have now developed an interest in both science and engineering – go figure. I can't recommend this book enough! If you listen to the audio version, he narrates it himself and doesn't excellent job.
I can completely understand why this book won the Pulitzer Prize. A very intriguing story that is beautifully written.
What an amazing book. A huge story, grappling with the great philosophical questions, and conveyed by beautiful writing.
I had high hopes for this book, as I loved the author's previous book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. This book also starts with an unlikely event that sets the whole plot in motion. But that is where the similarity ends. Although Perfect is very well-written, I wasn't drawn into it or particularly motivated to keep reading. Some of the characters were undeveloped, some characters and events didn't really seem necessary to the plot, and I felt that some editing would have been in order. Overall, it was OK. There were parts I enjoyed but it was a bit of a letdown compared the Harold Fry.
After looking at the cover of this book for several years and assuming for some reason (?) it was about a child, this book took me completely by surprise. Although he did remind me at times of Sheldon from The Big Bang theory, the protagonist is a character unlike any other. His quest for self understanding, and his struggle to reconcile rationality with emotion, was at times hilarious, always interesting, and consistently well written. I loved this book and have already begun the sequel!
Really enjoyed this book. It certainly gives a nitty gritty authentic portrayal of servants' lives at that time in history. Makes me very happy to live my privileged modern life. But back to the book... really well written, interesting story, and you will enjoy it even if you haven't read Pride and Prejucide. If you have read P&P (and you should!), then you will enjoy it all the more.
Not as engaging as Peter Mayle's other novels, but a pleasant holiday read. A mental meander through the charming south of France with a little excitement mixed in.
This book was all about plot. And the plot was clever but because the characters were so poorly developed, and so static, it didn't grip me at all and was annoyingly unrealistic.
Peter Robinson at his best. He's always excellent, blurring the lines between novel and mystery.
I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as the first in the series, The Passage. It dragged on and seemed to need a good editor. I kept reading just to learn the resolution of the plot but was relieved when I had finished. The characters weren't nearly as well developed here and they had few meaningful interactions.
Beautiful, gentle contemplative story that is yet very compelling. Highly recommend it!
I really enjoyed the last 150 pages of this book. But prior to that I couldn't see that there was much mystery, and it just seemed to ramble on a bit. I did still enjoy it as a novel with a very interesting historical and social context. I felt that I could definitely tell it was Kate Marton's first book because her other mysteries get going much more quickly. In the end I would still recommend it. I do wish I had read her acknowledgements and commentary at the back of the book before reading the actual novel, so that I could better appreciate what she was trying to do.
Very funny book. Kept my husband up because I kept snorting and laughing out loud. I think Ms Kinsella captured the Tavishes as a “British Intellectual” type quite perfectly. Their conversation and her dinner/scrabble game at their house were very well done. Entertaining bedtime reading for sure.