What a long slog of a book! Since I read and loved House of Sand and Fog, I know the kind of story Dubus is capable of writing - this wasn't it. I don't mind that most of the characters were unlikeable; in spite of that the author skillfully allows us to really get into their heads to understand why they think the way they do, BUT, he does it over and over and over. Some of the passages were brilliantly written, but the book became a chore to read because it just went on and on. I would have skipped over sections if I hadn't agreed to read it for this review. I have not given up on him, though....maybe next time will be different.

Yes, it was, and it started out as a confusing one as well. So many characters, but I sorted them out eventually. I really liked the writing: almost every chapter or change of scene was so richly described the image of the place would just come into view in my mind's eye. (My favorite kind of writing)
The storyline, with the main characters being both black and white was really in depth, going back and forth from one character's viewpoint to another's. Lots of period and cultural detail. Quite an interesting story, but I think it could be shortened a bit without losing anything major. Not a fun read, though, it'll be great for book club discussion.

Daphne du Maurier was one of my first longtime favorite authors, and Rebecca one of my favorite books. Since then, two more of her books, The House on the Strand, and The Scapegoat have been added - each of the three very different from each other - a testament to du Maurier's scope,
Tatiana de Rosnay has written a truly reverential biography of du Maurier, which any fan of hers will find of interest. I suspect she took great liberties with the dialogue, as it reads more like a novel than a biography, but she did have diaries to work from. Since I had no clue whatsoever what du Maurier's life was like, I did find Tatiana's book quite interesting and well written, although a bit overlong. More editing in the middle, perhaps.

I was so looking forward to this. I LOVED "The Good House", and also enjoyed "Outtakes From a Marriage", which I would call a good beach or airplane read, thanks to its page-turning writing and humor.

"The Children" just meanders through many pages of dialogue, as its unreliable narrator segues through one scene or character after another. A good editing might help, but, ultimately the book didn't seem to have a plot, and, to be honest, I didn't care for any of the characters. Sorry, folks, them's my thoughts. I am, however, looking forward to her next book.

I had high hopes for this book - so much for that. It took me at least 3 weeks to get through it, as I was so bored, and then irritated by the thought of having to finish it for this review. I didn't find any of the characters to be interesting or even likable, except, perhaps Barkley, the younger son. The book goes on and on about not much, really. I never cared one whit about what happened to any of them. Even if the book were drastically shortened, it wouldn't have helped. A definite waste of 3 weeks of my reading time, which was both a surprise and a disappointment. I just don't understand all the positive reviews...

What I liked best about this book were the descriptions of the mating habits of various birds and animals at the beginning of the chapters, and then trying to see how they often tied in to the chapters. What I didn't like was the lack of clarity, the awkward run-on sentences, the characters themselves, and on and on....
I forced myself to read the last half of the book; I just didn't care about the characters, and had a hard time remembering which daughter had which problems. The language used was also too cut and dried for my taste, almost like reportage. I can appreciate that others like that style, but it's just not for me (I actually would like to give this a 2 star rating, but don't want to be so mean-spirited in my review.)

In this book, the protagonist, Ada, was someone I couldn't connect with very much; her personality seemed flat, somehow, and incapable of showing much emotion. The story line was good, although it proceeded too slowly for my liking. I did enjoy the author's scene-setting talents, her ability to almost put you right in the landscape, feeling the breeze and smelling the scents. She seemed less proficient in portraying people's feelings. A number of the characters were almost totally undeveloped, Dawn and Rosemary in particular. Fleshing out those two characters would have helped the story (for me, at least). A good first book, nonetheless - book clubs will like it.

I'll start with the positives: yes, I will probably read this author's next book, the reason why is because of the hauntingly beautiful, evocative writing this debut author exhibits. I found myself marking sentences and paragraphs as I went along, reading them over, sometimes aloud, as poetry (Kudos to you for that, Ms. Loyd!).
That said, I actually read the entire book twice, because the storyline was so dense with the characters' actions and details I couldn't digest it properly in one read (not really a criticism). My main criticism is of the gratuitous sex throughout, with violence towards women. Though I understand why the author might have done that, I'm sorry she did. I guess what bothered me just as much was that the characters did not really seem to have changed at the end of the book, even though the author ended the book on an upbeat note (but it wasn't, really).
I loved the the themes of separateness, privacy, personal boundaries, lost and found love, but the pervasive unhealthy sexual relationships kind of soured the whole reading experience for me.

This book is sure to be a hit with book clubs - so many ethical issues to debate. I found myself changing my mind more than once about certain characters during the course of the book. The letter exchange format is something I find enjoyable, and also enjoyed the author's many plot twists (a bit too many, perhaps, at the end of the book). I wish we could use half stars in our reviews - I'd up my review to 3 1/2 stars. Unfortunately, I found the characters, themselves, not at all interesting, and the language the author used also lacked any poetry - just straight reportage, in my opinion. I did find the book rather enjoyable, nonetheless, as I'm sure many others will also.

Couldn't figure out this book at all. Thought about rereading it to see if I had missed something that others seemed to see, but decided not to put myself through it again. Didn't like any of the characters and wasn't interested in their lives. I was very surprised, as I was looking forward to this book. Sorry, folks.

Whew! Feel like I need to catch my breath after this one. So many things going on - all the time. I really wanted to like this book, and I did, from time to time, but it was too scattered. I feel like every time the author had a new idea she just had to include it. I think the book has a very interesting premise, but some good, hard editing would make it so much more readable.

Will definitely be buying copies to pass out to friends. What a compelling story. The author starts out as a rather clueless, unfocused individual, with good intentions, and as as the book progresses, we see him grow up, focus on a goal (and what a goal), and come into his own as a writer as well. This book has everything, humor, pathos, adventure, suspense, surprise, love, and even a happy ending. What more could one want - I'll tell you - PICTURES. I do hope the publishers include pictures and a map of the region; it will greatly enhance the readers' experience. Great memoir. Thank you, BookBrowse folks for affording me the experience of reading it.

[Editor's Note: Susan was reading an 'advanced reader's copy' of "Little Princes". As ARCs are produced some months ahead of publication date they are often missing inserts such as pictures. In this case, we're happy to confirm that the finished version of "Little Princes" has both a map and photos (and some wonderful images and videos can also be found at NextGenerationNepal.org]

As another reviewer stated - this book has everything. A bit confusing to read, but totally worth the effort; it was hard to put down. The amount of detail of so many characters' lives packed into this book is astounding. A thoroughly satisfying read and will be great book club material. Check out the author's website: she is quite a fascinating character in her own right.

A very timely topic, to say the least. I found myself wondering what I, myself would do if my family were in the same situation. The author increased the complexities of the story as it went along, making the book more "unputdownable" as it progressed; a good tactic. Yes, it will be a great book club read, but I think it would be an invaluable tool used in a high school lit class as well - so many topics could be gleaned for discussion.

A quiet, thought-provoking account of a socially inept loner (based on the actual lieutenant William Dawes), The Lieutenant explores a host of questions: what is friendship; to whom should one be loyal; are the values one is brought up with necessarily good for all societies, and if not - what to do about it? Of particular interest to me was the way in which the author portrayed the young lieutenant's burgeoning preoccupation with the intricacies of the aboriginal language and culture. I very much liked Grenville's use of language and am looking forward to reading an earlier book of hers, "The Secret River" next.