At last Sunday's Academy Awards, Olivia de Havilland and Nicole Kidman both spoke of the great importance of art in times of war. Art can serve so many different functions at such times: it can ease our minds, build sympathy for other humans, show us...
Pros: The characters become your friends. Cons: A bit contrived at times.
I’ll be ashamed to admit to my grandchildren that reality television was a product of my generation. Taking up residence on an entire floor of a Vegas hotel (all expenses paid) with five strangers as roommates, being barricaded in a single-family...
Pros: Immersive, Magical, Real. The power of music, the power of love, to transport you. Cons: One-dimensional characters. Simplistic episodic plot. Lack of development. Fizzles.
“When the lights went out, the accompanist kissed her” begins Ann Patchett’s imaginative, magical, enrapturing tale, a portrait really, of what happens when you put 60 strangers, picked to live in a house to find out what happens when people ...
Pros: Fascinating plot, wonderful characters, unusual plot to say the least! Cons: The book had to end...
This novel has such an unusual plot: A female American opera singer is at a dinner party in an unnamed Spanish-speaking country, when guerrillas burst in and take the guests hostage. The hostages include many important people from several different...
Pros: Captures your attention from page one and makes you care about every character. Cons: Too short. Some characters could be expanded upon but there is only so much room!
I was given this book by a friend and never would have picked it up on my own otherwise. However, I was absolutely mesmerized and surprised by how the subject matter was handled. It was beautifully and lyrically written. Every page offered insight ...
Pros: Not "dated", beautifully worded, universal Cons: Stretches the suspension of disbelief in places.
I got this book as part of one of those "3 for 2" deals at my local Borders. I hadn't really heard of this novel before seeing it on the shelf, but it was a major award winner, so I figured, "give it a try." Bel Canto is set in non-specific Central ...
Unexpected twists throughout by noratriepke ,Mar 28 '07
Pros: Medium length read filled with thoughtful beauty Cons: Strange ending
A pleasureable read of a tragic situation. The ending threw me off completely in a dissastisfying way but Patchett's word craft and masterful situation development more than compensate.
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Ja...More at Barnes & Noble.com
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