Rating: 
Summary: The only thing I hated was that it ended
Review: As a sometime aspiring writer, I read the work of Justin Cronin with envy and awe. What a beautifully written study of family, love and tragedy. As another reviewer stated, I too am not typically a fan of the novel composed of "linked" short stories. This author however connects the characters in such subtle and clever ways that you will truly be left wanting more when it's over. Just a lovely little book, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Tender and Loving Book
Review: I bought this books months ago and it sat on a shelf for far too long. How could I have let a gem like this remain unread for such a long time?The first story, "Last of the Leaves" grabbed my heart and did not let go. It was so exquisitely rendered -- powerful yet tender at the same time...a wonderful story of love. The rest of the book follows Mary and O'Neil through the their separate and together lives and those of some family members. Each story/chapter both illuminates, and revolves around, a defining moment of their lives. Death, illness, birth are all explored and written of with such lovely prose, each word seemingly polished to perfection. Without using a lot of description, Cronin somehow manages to thoroughly familiarize the reader with his characters and their lives. A book to remember.
Rating:
Summary: Quiet, elegant, perceptive, mesmerizing.
Review: I heard J. Cronin speak at Univ of Iowa in the summer of 2001, when this book had just come out. How I wish I'd bought this book then to add to my signed first edition collection. I only recently purchased it and just finished it last night. It's a book to read in a quiet spot, to savor, to melt into as Cronin carries you very gently through three generations of O'Neil's family.
The book is written as a series of short stories; each can be read without benefit of the others, but together, they prove the statement that, sometimes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Very beautifully constructed. Not a book I'm likely to forget anytime soon. Thanks to Justin Cronin for writing about the simple, everyday lives of rather ordinary people with such finely-crafted elegance.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put down
Review: I usually read non-fiction, but I was taken by this small, but mighty novel. Although the story was purposefully dramatic in parts, I really understood the characters. Sometimes really terrible things really do happen to regular people. As a result, what is normal behavior when extraordinary things happen? The writing was a pure joy and I look forward to future work by this younger author.
Rating:
Summary: Just a lovely little book
Review: I'm normally not a fan of short-stories turned to novels, but this book works surprisingly well. It's really more of an episodic novel, because in reality, most of these taleswould not be as meaningful if not strung together. Interesting, fate-infused stories about very average happenings...birth, death, illness, family life, weddings...told with subtly and a complete lack of preciousness. I can't wait to read his next work!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful characters, breathtaking prose: read this book
Review: Justin Cronin's book is nothing short of breathtaking. All of the characters are deeply imagined; they are loveable and flawed people -- real people -- and Cronin portrays their moments of quiet heroism with great compassion. The letter Arthur must write to his almost-mistress Dora, Kay's decision to accept her husband's philandering, O'Neil's unwavering loyalty to his dying sister: each story illuminates an important choice in a character's life. And the prose is just beautiful. The book is filled with great lines you'll want to underline. I loved this book, plain and simple. This is a writer to watch.
Rating:
Summary: The best I've read this year (so far)
Review: Ordinarily, I hate books of the "Novel in Stories" variety. I usually find them to be a confused jumble of pieces without any elastic to hold them together. I admit that I had low expectations of this work when I started it due to this prejudice. What a pleasant surprise! Other reviewers have mentioned the beauty of the prose, so I will skip a description of it. Suffice to say that it is not only beautiful, but clever. If you happen to be a writer, you will find yourself WISHING that you could condense the essence of being into phrases like Cronin's. The weaving of the stories is extraordinary: how many times have you read about a character and wondered what his/her parents were like, or what his wife was like before she entered the plot at their first meeting? Here you get that depth of information, not only through the strength of the writing but also through the structure and selection of the moments Cronin chooses to reveal. I'm not sure when the last time a book moved me to tears was, but this was one that did.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great, Great . . .
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in years. I've recommended it to virtually every literate human being I know and they've all agreed -- it's just wonderful. I agree with the reviewer whose only problem with the book was that it had to end. I'd also recommend his new book, The Summer Guest.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great, Great . . .
Review: This is one of the best books I've read in years. I've recommended it to virtually every literate human being I know and they've all agreed -- it's just wonderful. I agree with the reviewer whose only problem with the book was that it had to end. I'd also recommend his new book, The Summer Guest.
Rating:
Summary: An honest voice revealing emotional warmth and depth
Review: While I have known Justin personally for several years [disclaimer], this is actually the first time I have experienced his writing in depth. I also tend to gravitate more toward escapist writing and don't seek out "realistic" fiction dealing with contemporary characters and situations, so I wasn't sure how I'd react to this book. I have to say that I found myself thoroughly immersed in the book. The characters are drawn in such a way that they seem vivid and familiar throughout the stories. The stories are told with a graceful and casual ease--as though they were being related to us through conversations with the characters (though the book is all in third person). As important as the characters themselves are the webs of relationships--primarily familial--in which they are enmeshed. I think this aspect of the book is its greatest success, revealing that the title characters, while seeming adrift, are held up (and sometimes back) by these webs of relationships. This book is an excellent collection of stories about loss, love and family. The prose sparkles throughout. Read and enjoy!
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