I loved this book, which examines class, race, family, and connections between each of them. I liked it more than Bel Canto, but not as much as The MAgician's Assistant

I loved this short book, which I heard Chabon refer to as "Jews With Swords"

Outstanding new book from a long time favorite author. I liked it as much as Anil's Ghost, but not as much as In the Skin of a Lion

The story of a Haggadah's trip through history. Well done, her best book yet.

Well written story set in SE Asia during WWII. The characters have to make difficult choices and there are no good options.

This is a deceptively complicated book disguised as a simple one. It the the 21st century immigrant's story, well told.

The book is straight forward in some ways but it tells a complicated story, revolving around the Russian frontier in WWII==the price that one pays to get out with one's life.

I am not going to have too many murder mysteries on this list, but this new voice in the genre is outstanding, and it is well worth reading even if you are not a fan of the genre it belongs to.

I love this author, and this book is terrific. It twlls the tale of a fictional candidate for the 1972 presidential campaign, including all the seamy underbellies of politics as wel know them, and how people can go from good to bad, and sometimes back to good.

This is light, but enjoyable in a kind of Maeve Binchey way. The story is a bit too interconnected--real life can be this way, but it is a stretch to believe it. Well written, none-the-less

Unusually constructed book that I loved from start to finish--complex and yet easy to read

This book focuses on a middle-aged couple's marriage and satisfaction with where they are in life.

Richard Russo does a marvelous job of capturing the rhythm of small town life, and the people who stay and why and the people who go and what becomes of them.

Outstanding story of the effect that generations have on each other--it is the story of a man, his father, and his son. They are connected with each other, and those connections may have some faulty wiring. Thought-provoking book, with events from WWII continuing to effect people into the 21st century.

This is a very clever idea for a young adult book, which incorporates a basic knowledge of physics into the novel's theme, so there is some passive learning that goes on.

This book is set in WWI, and describes the generation of young people who were young enough to participate in the first war, only to be devestated again by the second one. Well written, and captures the sense of war and destruction without purpose that was part of the war in the trenches.

Absolutely brutal book about the traditional Muslim community, and their complete lack of regard for women as people. It is very well written, but I would never ever want to spend any length of time in the Pakistan that he describes.

Very fun biography of Julia Child's time in France and her writing of the cookbooks, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She is not a natural, and it is a lovely window into her personality to read this.

I found this book difficult to read, because it is a mother musing all night long about her life, and whether to tell her children about where they come from--the whole time I am screaming in my mind "don't do it", which keeps a level of tension as you read through the well told story.