I was mesmerized by not only the writing, but the story itself. It is refreshing to hear about women who were not gods, but mortals who made the gods who they were. This story of two sisters and their lives among the immortals and men often left me with so many emotions and frustrations. There is so much to unpack in this lyrical novel concerning the narrative of womanhood.

Even weeks after reading this book, I find myself thinking about it. It is such a raw and honest portrayal of immigration and the lengths people will go to for their survival and the survival of the ones they love. Cummins' writing is beautiful with wonderful character development. It should be required reading in high schools/colleges and I encourage everyone to read this powerful book.

From the description of the book, I thought I would like it, but I more than liked it - I loved it! It was so well written and the characters so well developed, I felt empathy for all of them. Part love story, but much more with just the right amount of tension to keep me reading far past my bedtime. From the beginning of the Prologue to the end, it evoked the full gambit of emotions like all good books should.

Maybe it's because I just recently finished A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True (which is also about Poland during WWII and one of the best books I have ever read),but I was somewhat disappointed in Once We Were Brothers. I had high expectations for the book of which it fell short especially in the beginning. About three quarters of the way through it did pick up; however, I still felt at the end that I didn't know the characters as well as I had hoped I would. Additionally, I occasionally found portions of the book a little unbelievable with respect to all the escapes and rescues. Overall, I have read better books about this time period, but I have also read worse.

I had not read any of the prior books in this series, so that may have affected my view of this book. Even though the historical descriptions of the WWI settings in France and England were very detailed, the characters could have been developed a little more.

This being said, it is still an average historical mystery with a couple of twists and some suspense. So if you are looking for an quick and easy, as I call them, "vacation read" (one that doesn't make me think too hard), An Unmarked Grave would be a good choice.

I struggled through the first 50 or so pages because there were so many characters - it was hard to keep track of how they were all connected. Once I got passed that, I was hooked! Haja does a terrific job exploring a multitude of difficult but import themes. In addition, she does a wonderful job explaining the Muslim religion, the differences between cultures and religions and drawing you into these characters worlds by moving you with their voices. I will be recommending it to my friends.

After reading about this author's success in Japan and the premise of the novel, I was looking forward to reading The Devotion of Suspect X. I was disappointed though in the pace of the novel and in the development of the characters. I am not sure if this is the author's writing or the translation, but whichever I struggled to finish the book. Additionally, the ending fell short of what I would have hoped for this novel - the plot is a good one if the writing had equaled it.

This is a great read with plenty of action, twists & turns. Don't expect a vacation read as you will have to keep track of what's going on and the level of reading is not beach material, but more than worth your time. I did not read the first Bricklayer novel, but this book stands alone just fine. However, after reading Agent X, I will definitely go back and read Noah Boyd's first book. I hope for more in this series.

This is one of my favorite books. I have to admit it is not a vacation book from either a writing viewpoint or from a subject matter. The atmosphere of Sri Lanka during that time is hauntingly brought alive in Ondaatje's prose.