Book reviews written by jillmarie

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Displaying 1-10 of 14 reviews

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

by Rajiv Chandrasekaran
- Rated 5 stars
“A scathing portrait of US "nation-building" techniques and approaches in Iraq...after reading this I came to the pretty common idea that failure was the only option available with the "head in the sand" attitudes CPA personnel brought with them. And what's with the prerequisite question of "What do you think of Roe v. Wade?" to gauge would-be applicants who wanted to serve on the CPA? What a farce!

Great read.”

jillmarie wrote this review Wednesday, June 4 2008. ( reply | permalink )
The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East

by Robert Fisk
- Rated 5 stars
“ The outspoken journalist has done it again with his magnum opus. This is an a most important book for those interested in the history of middle east. Took me quite a while to finally finish GWFC but I wasn't disappointed. His brutal honesty is refreshing. He knows what he's talking about; he was there.”

jillmarie wrote this review Sunday, February 17 2008. ( reply | permalink )
The Book Thief

by Markus Zusak
- Rated 5 stars
“Without a doubt, the best novel I have read in the last decade. Brilliant narrative. I was skeptical at first, seeing the book was classified as a young adult read, but once I read the first 3 pages I could not put this book aside. Read it in 2 days. ”

jillmarie wrote this review Monday, December 24 2007. ( reply | permalink )
The Emperor's Children

by Claire Messud
- Rated 3 stars
“Impressive cast of characters. The plot could have been improved upon.”

jillmarie wrote this review Sunday, October 21 2007. ( reply | permalink )
Suite Francaise

by Irene Nemirovsky
- Rated 5 stars
“Definitely one of the best books I've read in the last two years. The author made me feel I was fleeing Paris during the coming onslaught of the Nazi invasion. Some disturbing incidents to get through, but war is as such. Irony isn't lost on the fact that the author died in a concentration camp, but her depiction of the German occupiers is quiet sympathetic. Eerie to say the least. Outstanding read.”

jillmarie wrote this review Wednesday, August 22 2007. ( reply | permalink )
The Inheritance of Loss

by Kiran Desai
- Rated 3 stars
“Amazing use of language. Interesting read of history/incidents of certain ethic clashes in the provinces of India. The struggles of recent immigrants to NYC was interesting to read as well. ”

jillmarie wrote this review Wednesday, August 22 2007. ( reply | permalink )
Beach Music

by Pat Conroy
- Rated 5 stars
“I have to admit, a friend thrust this book at me one day and said "You absolutely have to read this" .......I expected not to care for it...

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

This was one of the very few books that had me sobbing at the end.

Excellent story-telling.”

jillmarie wrote this review Tuesday, March 6 2007. ( reply | permalink )
The Hungry Tide

by Amitav Ghosh
- Rated 5 stars
“Simply an absolutely wonderful read.”

jillmarie wrote this review Friday, March 2 2007. ( reply | permalink )
The Stories of John Cheever

by John Cheever
- Rated 5 stars
“"The Death of Justina" is a masterpiece of short story. I never, ever tire of reading this collection. ”

jillmarie wrote this review Friday, January 26 2007. ( reply | permalink )
Godless: The Church of Liberalism

by Ann Coulter
- Rated 0 stars
“I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than to put a single cent into her pocket. Ann Coulter is particularly striking and charismatic, just like other right-wing success stories like Mussolini and Hitler.”

jillmarie wrote this review Thursday, January 18 2007. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink )