Mother of Pearl

Rating:
Summary: Hard to follow
Review: I am sorry I wasted my money..I don't understand what the dreams have to do with anything..and whats up with the pig thats shows up in the dreams? Took forever to get through.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully descriptive
Review: Having grown up in the late 50's and 60's on the Mississippi Coast just South of Petal, Hattiesburg, Grand Bay, AL and very near the Bay and St. Stanislaus, it was a book that I just couldn't put down. The depictions of people, places and events were charming.....enough description but not too much. I thought the story line was tragic yet beautiful....and there are many twists in life (regardless of where you live) that are both tragedy and beauty in truest form. It left me thinking of the story and characters over and over again. Hats off to the author!

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: I enjoyed this book more than I could believe. Did not want it to end. Loved the various stories that melded together. Beautiful characters...different than most top-sellers. Hoping this will be the first of MANY MORE>

Rating:
Summary: I hope you have a lot of time for this one
Review: It will take you forever to get through this novel.Getting through the first 300 pages is like trying to walk through quicksand. The final 100 pages has a riveting storyline. But why did it take the author so long to get everything to come together?

Rating:
Summary: Pretty disappointing. Falls apart quickly.
Review: I love to read and this book started out with high hopes and fascinating characters. So promising! And Oprah said, "Stay with it until after the flood!" so as I was enjoying the book up to the flood, I thought "Wow--if this is the low part of the book, I am really going to enjoy it!" But then the story just fell apart. The characters never developed and seemed to just be filling the remainder of the pages with ramblings; their personalities drifting into nothingness. I usually will re-read a book a few months later--this one I have already given away.

Rating:
Summary: A superb literary achievement
Review: Yes, MOTHER OF PEARL, as one of the other reviewers noted, does ask you "to think as you read" (!). If a reader doesn't want to think, he or she should be watching TV, not reading! This is a sweeping, incisive, beautifully written book. If you are seeking mere "entertainment," read a purely commercial book; if you want quality literature that involves the reader by forcing him/her to make connections and put effort into the reading experience, then you will be amply rewarded.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: What a great book! I was captured from the start. I cared about the characters....and still do. I will read this one again!

Rating:
Summary: A gripping, intense and moving piece of literature!
Review: This book was one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a long time. But as others have stated, Ms. Haynes style of writing is very wordy. I found myself having to reread certain passages two or three times. At the time I almost resented having to do so but after finishing the book I realize that this also contributed to "the story." I feel that I now know these characters personally. I can hardly wait for the movie! Being a white woman born immediately after this time period gave me an advantage in being able to get to know these complex characters of Ms. Haynes. Also, being form the South , I found myslelf being able to associate people from my small town childhood with Val, Cannan, Joleb and especially Evan. Keep writing Ms. Haynes. I am encouraging my 21 year old daughter to read this book. She is an avid reader and I am very curious to hear her thoughts on the book. Again, the movie cannot come to us soon enough.

Rating:
Summary: Disgustingly difficult to decipher. Not worth your energy
Review: Melinda Haynes wrote an absolutely difficult book to immerse oneself. Characters have grossly unusual names, backgrounds and circumstances. Impossible to tough-out. As an educator, and an avid reader, I closed this miserable book at 300 pages.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book which takes concentration to read.
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. I found that once I began to read it I had a hard time putting it down. It is however, not for someone who likes light uncomplicated books which require few thinking skills. Due to the way that the book is written, with a great deal of descriptive language you have to think as you read and get used to the author's style of narration. It is a challenge but a rewarding one which you will feel glad that you undertook when you are finished. The book is unlike any that I have read in a long time and I enjoyed reading something a little deeper than my usual Maeve Binchy, Rosamunde Pilcher fare but I also was glad that I had read reviews by other readers which told me to persevere with the book and not give up too easily.