Chain Reading

Reynolds' writing is spare, poetic, and gut-wrenching.

This is the story of Finch, a badly-disfigured woman who takes care of a cemetery like her parents before her. The difference is she talks to the dead--in fact, she feels more at home with the dead than with the living, and the story's about her growing away from the dead and learning to be comfortable in her own skin.

She learns that others more beautiful than she have scars that are hidden--and just as devastating. The basic, compelling theme of this book: We are all the same under our skin.

An absolute must-read.

I'm probably in a minority. I absolutely did NOT like this book. It read like a compilation of old jokes from his other books. I was very disappointed.

This is the audio version of a superbly edited version of Twain's luminous work about the relationship between men and women.

Prometheus Publishing took a wonderful work and mangled it with bad editing.

A marvelous version is by Fair Oaks Press. (One of my top ten all-time-favorites)

What I enjoy about Picoult's writing is that she doesn't paint monsters of people. She fleshes out her characters as people with frailties and strengths, people I can relate to.

This is about a young woman who starts having odd flashbacks, then receives a visit from a policeman who tells her her father's been arrested for a decades-old crime--kidnapping her. The story's told in different voices, revealing the motivations and fears of the characters, and showing the reader how life can abruptly change. The story deepens with each revelation until you come to a very satisfying conclusion. I am being careful in this review because I don't want to spoil the book.

This is an absolute must-read.
If you enjoyed Time-Traveller's Wife, or The Curious Incident of the Dog, you'll enjoy both this story and Picoult's writing.