World Literature

In this novel Lisa See gives us a harrowing and compelling insight to the secret inner realm of women's world in China during the early 1800's. See assures us repeatedly that the women of this book do not take on an adventure full of action and...
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This book is just not well written. It feels flat and one dimensional. You do not get an emotional attachment for any of the characters in the book. One thing that stood out for me is that it was more like a dumbed down happy ending type book that...
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After having read and LOVED Memoirs of a Geisha, I was eager to dive into this novel in hope of finding a work of similar breadth.
I won't say this was a disappointing read, as it was very well-researched, but this book cannot compare to...
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"The Alchemist" is a delightfully inspiring journey as it transports you into a boy's journey to discover himself, to learn his own narrative. Each one of us is on a journey toward finding our own "Personal Myth" and in today's world where...
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A shepherd boy in Spain has a recurring dream about the Great Pyramids in Egypt. He consults a gypsy dream interpreter to figure out what it all means, and she tells him he will find treasure there. He meets an old man who corroborates the...
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Coehlo's prose is simple and eloquent and in the first pages there is a promise of a riveting story about self-discovery. However, it turns out Coehlo's new-age message is old, almost cliche. I kept thinking of the Alchemist as Obi-wan and...
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I love it! I think this book was aboslutely great and everyone who enjoys any type of historical fiction will be pulled in to this story with the first sentence. Phillipa Gregory is an amazing writer and I have enjoyed all of ther novels dealing...
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I found this book boring and an awkward read. Phillipa Gregory's other books were MUCH better and more interesting! Wish I had waited until it came out in paperback OR had a higher discounted price!!!
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This is a good historical read, particulary for Phillipa Gregory fans. It focuses on three women who lived during the reign of Henry VIII.

The first is his 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, perhaps the least known of all of Henry's wives....
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A book that is not done justice by the movie at all. Couldn't put it down.
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I just don't see what the big deal is. I received this book as a gift and sat down to read it one night. It nearly put me to sleep so I set it aside and decided to come back to it the next day. Same thing happened. The story is slow moving and...
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Noting the author's shameless treatment of history, I found this book at times fascinating, and at others, ridiculous. I thought it rather funny that she bastardized history in the book, and the movie bastardized the book. I sometimes read the...
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This is the mainstream style readers love to read and writers love to achieve. No critique needed. I'll just say I'll buy every single book this author writes from now on. Mr. Albom never disappoints.

The Five People You Meet in...
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First of all, I loved Albom's book "Tuesdays with Morrie". This is a truly inspirational book about lesson on life and death and the struggles of an old man suffering from an incurable disease. An excellent read! However, I absolutely hated the...
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An enjoyable and easy read. Mitch Albom's style is very easy to dive into and his usual deeper meanings are found. It is not his best work, but good nonetheless.
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This book is about how one secret decision slowly but surely haunted everyone involved. It masterfully weaves a story of how a family's lives were changed after a tragedy, one shrouded by deceit and guilt. A decision is made by Dr. Henry to...
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Like others here, I bought this book at the bookstore because it was on the bestseller table and the cover was cute and it had an interesting synopsis. NEVER judge a book by its cover! The writing was tedious, the characters uninteresting. I...
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I was expecting something better but all in all it was readable. It was a little more interesting than Zadie Smith's White Teeth which I couldn't even finish. It wasn't the kind of book that you can't put down and I wouldn't recommend it for a...
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This is book is far to good to be filed in one category, and unfortunately categorization is probably hurting the range of it's audience. What we have here is a great tome of African American literature to be sure, but the work far transends...
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This novel seems to be just one big blurb that is trying to be expressed by as many words as possible. Things that could be summed up in a few words can take pages and pages to dictate. This makes the presentation awfully muddy and hard to...
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This is an important book in the sense it sheds light on the trials and tribulations of an educated black man in the mid 1900s. Not my favorite piece of literature, but it was well worth my time and was easy to read.
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I'm amazed how she can weave the plot in her books. Her details of forensics is fascinating.
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I have been avidly following the Tempe Brennan series, not only because of the suspense and forensic science, but also because of the ongoing romance between Tempe and Andrew Ryan. I was hoping that Bones to Ashes would allow Tempe and Ryan to...
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Although I watch the 'Bones' TV series, I was unfamiliar with Kathy Reichs' books until reading 'Bones to Ashes'. Just going by the book jacket description, I was intrigued at how the original character differs from her TV counterpart. If only the...
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