evaB

• Rated 4 stars

“Whew.”

evaB wrote this review Friday, October 28, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“This is an odd book. Hard to call it fiction when it really reads like a mating of journalism and fiction, the characters mouthpiecing issues in journalese as part of a journey across the landscape of a ravaged country and failed state. But after all, as the key character, Malilk, says, "every criminal activity known to mankind is occuring in Somalia" and the knotty history requires some blatant exposition. So even if this novel is not satisfying as story, it does illuminate a most dire siituation. You wouldn't want to live there.”

evaB wrote this review Thursday, October 13, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“A great read, grim and unrelenting, with superior descriptions of rubble and the ravages of war on a city. The snipers are up close and personal, there is vodka, there is defiance, and there are amazing guerrilla warfare situations. As if you were there. This is a thrilling book that at moments becomes so visceral I had to put it down and yet had to finish. I have wanted to read about Stallingrad but now I think I have a better idea than a non fiction book would give me. You are in there, in the heart of a siege and by the sides of an icy Volga. Recommended.”

evaB wrote this review Saturday, August 27, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“A polemic. A jeremiad.”

evaB wrote this review Wednesday, June 15, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“Whew. Haunting and engrossing and well worth a read just for the descriptions of mounting isolation.”

evaB wrote this review Saturday, May 21, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“A tiny gem of a book, vignettes of ice-days of the Thames across the span of centuries. Humphries' prose is always haunting, wistful and wonder-inducing. Who wouldnt want to be part of a Frost Fair after reading about its instances over centuries? Reading this book made me feel like I know ice, its heft, creak, thud, solidity and treachery. If you have read Orlando and the sole scene you recall is the skating over the frozen Thames, you will love this book which comes, splendidly, with pictures. There is a joy of the ice in this book.”

evaB wrote this review Sunday, April 24, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“This book is not Didion,by far: it is more barebones and less lyrical, but it is interesting and more proof of how denial work though Brady does have to face the truth in the end. A good read. Not a great one, but a good one, and one that takes on a lot of issues that occur in any marriage, but most importantly, love as well. The dilemmas of love are conveyed nicely and it is well worth the time spent.”

evaB wrote this review Wednesday, April 6, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 2 stars

“I agree with so many readers. Beautifully written but I have no clue why and just browsed through to the end. ”

evaB wrote this review Friday, April 1, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 3 stars

“Any book that can connect kairos and crows has my vote. And the woodcut prints are wonderfully evocative. The chapter on death is stunning. I learned about passerines!”

evaB wrote this review Friday, March 25, 2011. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 4 stars

“The writing is splendid and the story very romantic. Every sentence a truffle and every paragraph like the turning of a page in a forgotten diary. The language intertwines sensibilities, past, present, objects, impressions, memories and reverie in a very textured way because really, this is a novel of longing, waiting, reaching, missing: a stately dance with time. And to me, not a kindle book, but a book book of how time suffuses daily life. Most importantly, this is a book about reaching. About the reach out and the wait within.”

evaB wrote this review Sunday, March 27, 2011. ( reply | permalink )