Customer Comments

Knowing that this book was pretty much engineered to make the reader cry, I was surprised when it actually succeeded, and at a moment I least expected. There was a depth of knowledge and feeling I did not anticipate.

One of the most intelligent books I've read in a long time about the current state of the world and how one person's religious belief informs her perspective on, well, pretty much everything. I am not a Calvinist, yet she presents Calvinism in a way that is compassionate and compelling, dispelling many myths and leading me to reconsider all I've learned and thought about it over the years. It is not just that, either- it is the depth and breadth of her thought on literature, science, economics and so much more. This one's a keeper.

For me, this is Kingsolver's best book to date. I live in the region where the story takes place, and she captures it beautifully, its hardships as well as its moments of beauty. I also love the way she interweaves environmental concerns and personal stories. If I didn't have so many books in my to-read pile, I'd read this again in a heartbeat.

I actually listened to this book during my daily 3-mile walks, rather than read it in traditional book form, but all the same, it got to the point where I simply could not tear myself away from it. I was adding time to my walks, listening to it while working around the house, and generally not getting a lot of other things done just so that I could listen longer! Calliope's story is original, compelling and brilliantly narrated against a cultural backdrop that is in many ways foreign to me, yet utterly familiar in the depth of its humanity. An absolute must-read.

This book completely captured my mind and my heart. It was the first time in a long time I encountered a book I simply could not put down, passing up sleep and meals just to keep turning those pages. I could identify with the settings and characters 110 per cent, and the love story was a lot more compelling and a lot less saccharine than most I've read in recent times. No, the plot is not always entirely plausible, but it is so well-written that I was more than happy to suspend belief.

This is easily the best book I have read this year, and definitely in contention for best of the decade. I am a voracious reader, and generally jump from one book to the next within minutes, not to mention I usually have at least 2 going at a time. This one captivated me so much that I abandoned the second book, and needed a couple of days to "recover" from the beauty of this one before I was ready to move on! On a scale from 1 to 5, a 10!

This book actually stopped me in my tracks. In the summer I usually devour books at an insatiable pace, but this one hit me so hard that I had to stop and just enjoy its lasting effect. By turns funny, intelligent, satirical and profound, with an ending that left me in tears, it got to me in a way few newer works of literature have. Bravo to the author for such an amazing work!

What a page-turner! I first discovered McEwan when I saw the film Atonement, then read the novel on which it was based, and decided I wanted to read more by him. I was not disappointed. A great way to start the summer reading season!

I LOVED this movie! It has some similarities with Le destin fabuleux d'Amélie Poulain, such as having a waitress for a main character and being filmed in Paris, but it's a completely different part of Paris, a very different waitress, and the film has a completely different feel. Like Amélie's, Jessica's story charms and warms the heart, but in a distinct way. This film is a fairy tale of a sort, sweet and romantic, with more than passing commentary on relationships, love and art, yet never so heavy that the viewer gets bogged down. Precious.

I saw the film before I read the book, which is rare for me since I almost always read the book first and save the movie for later. In this case, I was scarcely aware of Ian Mcewan's work before seeing this film, but I loved it so much that I couldn't wait to get the book! The book did not disappoint; to the contrary, as usually happens, it far outdid the movie. In fact, I have ordered two more books by Mcewan and I cannot wait to read them! His page-turning narration and plot development, along with his complex character development, keep the reader enthralled from beginning to end.

A lovely book! Her views on life, love and all we have lost in our technological, "modern" society are refreshing and inspiring. I read this while trying to survive a particularly rough period in my life and it really helped keep me going.