This might very well be the best book I read all summer. It combines two of the genres that I love, fantasy and horror. I am a Stephen King fan, and as I read this, I could hear him commenting “Well done”. A 9-year-old boy who is socially isolated becomes a central part of a series of horrific events, during which he is befriended by an 11-year-old girl who lives near him. But she and her family seem to understand what is happening and provide him with protection. And on top of all this wonderful action, the writer provides the perfect narrative with just the right amount of emotion and description. If you like these two genres, you’ve got to try this!

Wow. What a story! AS you read this book, you may think you know what is going to happen next, but trust me you will not see these sharp turns coming! I sounds simple; a man is sold a liquid, by a traveling salesman, that when applied to mirrors makes the person reflected in the mirror, look better. Not perfect or amazing, just a little more full of life and with the rough edges smoothed out. No big thing, right? Wrong!

This was an interesting look at Russian life set in the early 1900’s. Though one sister is unhappily married, another will marry a man she does not love just to be married, one sister is in college and worried about the future, and a brother who is gambling away their home, they all share the belief that life would be better in the city than in the country and there is a circulating feeling that life may be, should be better in the future. A good read.

This is the second time I read this book, and I enjoyed it just as much the second time, picking up parts of the story more intensely this time. This is a perfect story of 2 generations who are in need of each other and who come together in the best way possible. While each of the 3 central living characters (and I have to include living as one character who feature prominently is deceased) has their challenges, they come together to help one another perfectly, even if for some the motivation may be selfish. This is a story that will touch your heart.

Let me first say that this was a really good book and I definitely recommend it. BUT I read a lot of read a lot of Stephen King and books like this, and I am good at suspending disbelief so that I can fully enjoy the story. And I don’t want to give anything away, but who, or actually what, the author chose to be the evil overriding force in this story was something I could just not buy into. And once I found that out, it took a little bit of the enjoyment of the book sway from me.

This is a most touching story of a grandfather and his relationship with his son and grandson as he devolves into Alzheimer’s. We experience his thoughts as he begins to live inside the past as the present slips away. It is beautiful and sad and told from the grandfather’s point of view. Everyone should read this.

This story follows the life of a man from young adulthood to death. It examines his work, which is for much of his life, a logger. We get to watch how he changes and views the world as he falls in love and has a family, only to lose those he loves, and with them a large part of himself. It’s about continuing on and staying put at the same time. A very enjoyable read.

I would say that the central part of this book is solid and enjoyable, but some of the peripheral stuff I could do without, including names of many people who have little or nothing to do with the story. And maybe it is just me, but I found the ridiculousness of the names, virtually all of them, to detract from the serious central plot. There is a god story in here, but you just have to wait for it to rise to the top.

This book was absolutely hysterical! It’s done as a compilation of short stories, from the man’s point of view, about being a man. For Example, the first story is about the God Dionysus who has lost his immortality and is now 50 years old and who was previously in charge of wine and orgies, but because of his age is now only in charge of wine. If you want something to make you laugh out loud, this is it!

Full disclosure: I am a Stephen King fan. But as I read this I was a little disappointed in the first half as I found it predictable. But I should have had faith in King, because the second half delivered what I was waiting for. A young man hitches a ride from his college to the hospital where his mother has been taken. When it comes to choosing a ride, do you use your head and logic, or do you listen to your instinct? King will help you look at this a whole new way.