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Mermaids in the Basement
Michael Lee West
Harper, 2008
Southern writing at its best!
+ Couldn't Put It Down
Ms. West never fails to make the South come alive. As other reviewers have already said, you can smell the gradenias & taste the mint juleps. Soutern stories are my favorite & Mrs. West is one of the best. I loved all the characters, even Isabella, and thought her tricks very creative. Only the ...
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Chez Moi
Agnes Desarthe
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2008
Make yourself at home in Chez Moi
+ magical
Agnes Desarthe's Chez Moi is a classic novel in the style of Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies and Chocolat that revels in the sensual and emotional power of truly great food. Its narrator, Myriam, is a talented cook with a forged ...
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After Hours at the Almost Home
Tara Yellen
Unbridled Books, 2008
A Rising Star at the "Almost Home"
+ This book will be a movie one day
+ Great read
Tara Yellen has a way with words that describes places, people and their lives in a way that compels you to keep turning the page. The setting is a bar in Denver on Super Bowl Sunday, not a locale that I know - or didn't - until I read Ms. Yellens first novel. She breathed life into her characters ...
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Díaz
Riverhead Hardcover, 2007
Impressive
+ Junot Diaz is amazing and so is Oscar Wao
This book delves into layers of history, despots, struggle, and the courage of everyday human beings in a less than welcoming world. A masterpiece!
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The House at Riverton: A Novel
Kate Morton
Atria, 2008
Enchanting Fiction
+ The House at Riverton
+ Loved this book
Ms. Morton is a gifted storyteller. This is a gently paced, softly told story which takes place primarily in the decades surrounding the first world war. In this story a ninety eight year old grandmother, Grace, recollects the events of her youth. She tapes these recollections as a gift for her ...
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The Gift of Rain: A Novel
Tan Twan Eng
Weinstein Books, 2008
Packs a Huge Emotional Punch
+ A triad of cultures
+ A True Gift
+ Magnificent, Masterful, Mesmerizing!
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So Brave, Young and Handsome: A Novel
Leif Enger
Atlantic Monthly Press, 2008
another hit for Enger
+ A great modern western
+ Good historical novel about writer's block, personal relationships and redemption.
+ On the road with the last of the Old West
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Willing
Scott Spencer
Ecco, 2008
Yes Yes Yes
+ Stunning
+ Willing Reader
+ **SPOILER REVIEW**
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The Outlander
Gil Adamson
Ecco, 2008
Superb reading -- finest kind
+ Read Out Loud
+ Great Read
This superb novel will be at the top of my list for best books of 2008. Set in the wilderness of Western Canada in 1903/1904, the story follows the travails (in the main) of a young widow who is on the run from dispensing rough justice of her own. Finest-kind reading; terrific story, gorgeous ...
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Perfect Family: A Novel
Pam Lewis
Simon & Schuster, 2008
Perfect Family is a Perfect Summer Book
+ Enjoyable Read
+ An entertaining and intriguing read...
+ Enjoyable read, though a bit too easy
+ compelling reading
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The Hearts of Horses
Molly Gloss
Houghton Mifflin, 2007
DID NOT WANT THE BOOK TO END
+ Book
+ Finding A Way
+ Lovely and quiet
+ Take the ride
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The Forgery of Venus: A Novel
Michael Gruber
William Morrow, 2008
Classic Gruber
+ Fascinating
+ A Novel with Sprezzatura
+ A Painter's Read
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The Soul Thief: A Novel
Charles Baxter
Pantheon, 2008
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
+ A Problem of Identity
For readers who knew this graduate student scene at UB in the early 1970s, Baxter's evocation of its inside terrors is a very convincing performance.
It was a real scene with occasional interlopers like Gregory Corso, the beat poet camp follower, who used to show up on the outdoor staircase at ...
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Run
Ann Patchett
Harper, 2007
This is a Story You'll Remember
+ RUN To Get this Book
+ Not as simple as it looks.
+ 24-hour story
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The Sugar Queen
Sarah Addison Allen
Bantam, 2008
A Delight to Read
+ Yummy Feel Good Read!
+ Just a good, sweet book!
+ Sweet...
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