Bleak House - Charles Dickens (W.W. Norton & Co, 1977) A 500+ page book with a focus on an obscure aspect of 19th century British law doesn't exactly sound gripping and yet Dickens brings it all to life in a story filled with humour and emotion. In many ways, all of Dickens' best elements are… Continue reading Book Review: Bleak House by Charles Dickens
My copy of this book had 1,474 pages. It is divided into 19 sections. The actions of the story takes place over approximately a year, beginning and ending with a wedding. It takes place in three or four cities (and more regions) and has multiple family trees at the beginning to help the reader keep… Continue reading Book Review: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
My main problem with The Luminaries was that it was too big. Not too long - I definitely could have read more from Catton. The book is over 800 pages and in hardcover it was just too large for me to hold with one hand. And since I do much of my reading these days while… Continue reading Book Review: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Where to start talking about a book like Winter's Tale? Almost more of a philosophical venture than a novel; it's magic realism, fantasy, historical fiction, a little bit of cyber punk. There's even time travel. Sort of. Blurbs will tell you that Winter's Tale is the story of Peter Lake, a thief who falls in… Continue reading Book Review: Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
I've been sitting on this review for a while, pondering how I feel about A Little Life. Turns out, the longer I wait, the less I feel as though I really liked this novel. I heard several rave reviews of it before I started (including the cashier at Powells when I picked up a used… Continue reading Book Review: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Here I Am is 500+ pages and it took me about half of that to begin enjoying the novel. Having read Foer's work before, I was sure my commitment would pay off. At the same time, my expectations of Foer's work led to some initial disappointment with Here I Am. Foer's two previous novels, Extremely… Continue reading Book Review: Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer
Karissa Reads Books 