Rating: 
Summary: Difficult to plough through
Review: Having been ordered by my English teacher to read this rather distatesful novel, I grimly buckled down and tediously ploughed through Snow Falling on Cedars. Through a snowy expanse of multitudinous minor and instantly forgettable characters, irritating main characters, innacurate court action, a disproportionately small amount of plot compared to description, and completely unnecessary glimpses into everyone's intimate lives, I wished more than once I could just drop the book for good and read something fun. Fun this is not. Depressing and much too long, Snow Falling on Cedars is more an exploration of an entire community and its prejudices than a tightly plotted story. I understand some may enjoy this kind of thing; hence the three stars. On a completely subjective scale, it would have been a one star. Read if you like WW2 historical fiction, moderately good law novels, or an admittedly well-done atmosphere (if occasionally overly symbolic); avoid if you're looking for a plot-driven book.
Rating:
Summary: If it wasn't so obvious it would be good.
Review: Guterson has chosen issues that are relevant and important to our past but the ways in which they are present are so obvious. A bit less of the 'self-discovery-for-truth' and a bit more internal conflict would have made the story much more interesting. The actual story rang true but as a novel, it was a bit bland.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremly well written. I did not want it to end!
Review: This is the most enjoyable well written novel I have read in a long time. I savored each word and was sad when it came to the end. The details were so real and Guterson developed his characters to the point that they became real. After just a few pages this novel took less shape of a story and more of an account of history. The murder mystery aspect of this novel is secondary to the underlying importance of the characters and their history, past and present. I understand some of the previous comments about the predictability of the murder trial and it's lack of suspense. However, this book, in my opinion, is not a murder mystery but a briliant account of the people who were some how connected to the court proceedings. I can't stop thinking about the characters and the lives they experienced.
Rating:
Summary: A book "banned" (in a "free" society) is a "must read"!
Review: Book Banned, Teacher Blamed - (BOERNE) -- School officials in Boerne have banned a popular book after a high school English teacher assigned it to her classes. Principal Sam Champion says "Snow Falling on Cedars" contains graphic violence, racial bigotry, and depictions of sex. Champion says the teacher who assigned the book is being disciplined. He says Boerne is a conservative community. He adds there are plenty of great books available for his English students. The novel is about a Japanese-American charged with murdering a fisherman in Washington state in the fifties.
Rating: 
Summary: Tiresome, overrated
Review: After a while I just got bored with the endless and pointless biographies of every character that do nothing but interrupt the flow of the book. The love story was obvious, and after a while I just didn't care about the murder mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: For a different type of book that is well written, I advise you to read this one. A tragic time for the characters in the story and the author makes me feel like I am there. Learning the history of each character makes the reader feel more compassion and understanding for what happens to them.
Rating:
Summary: My heart aches......
Review: This book was so da*n sad my hurt aches for the main characters...wishing i could've changed their fate. Despite of it's drawbacks SFOC is a really good novel good interesting plot that keeps you going. The melding of the past and present was like a to be continued kinda thing. And the writing was one of the best ones i've come across to in ages. I read this book about a week ago but i still think about it every book i pick up i keep comparing it to SFOC the prose as somebody said is like poetry....
Rating:
Summary: Just Lovely!
Review: What is going on with all the complaining about this book? It was wonderful! Guterson does an outstanding job rendering his characters and bringing the island of San Piedro to life. Granted, this may not be a "plot" book (though it certainly kept me turning pages!), but I found joy in his sensitive expression of the strengths, weaknesses, and ultimately the humanity of his characters. Very enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Shallow and Gratuitous
Review: This novel is bloated, callow and meandering -- without purpose or effect. It certainly doesn't work as a murder mystery! It's shallow melodrama about distinctly unpleasant people. Generous dollops of gratuitous sex and violence. (The sex scenes, actually, are queasily embarrassing to read, because they are so inappropriate and out of place.) When I was done I felt that I'd just read a self-important Danielle Steele novel. I do agree with the other readers who liked the cover. Very pretty.
Rating: 
Summary: more mindless mediocrity for the mainstream
Review: This book was dull and formulaic, fit only for the truly inexperienced reader. There is nothing special about this book other than its popularity, which serves as a reminder just how intellectually undemanding our culture seems to be.
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