Rated of 5
by Kitty Hall Prose for the discerning
I will reread Monique Truong's The Book of Salt just for the enchanting way she has written this story. To put it simply she writes beautifully. The story of the man on the bridge is poetic as are several other parts of this book. I'm glad she won some prizes; I think she should have won more.
The interview on BookBrowse is excellent, Thanks
Rated of 5
by Ginney Dominic Well-flavored creation
The Book of Salt is such a touching novel with Binh, the Vietnamese cook, who works for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in Paris, mixing his metaphors as he reluctantly sails across the seas from Vietnam to Paris. His remakable journey is told with sincerity, but there are vague insinuations that make me wonder if he will ever find peace in life. Excellently narrated with a poetic flavor and keen inner vision. I hope Ms. Truong will write another novel soon.
Rated of 5
by Philippa
I don't recommend this book. Truong's writing style is so elliptical that sometimes I didn't know what was going on--and I don't think that was always the intended effect. I found it hard to believe that the narrator could be as articulate as he was, and that he knew as much about what was going on in the lives of his employers as he did. The author worked too hard to create a romantic/mysterious/melancholy air about everything; in short, the novel felt overwritten to me. I only finished it because it was selected by my book group.
Rated of 5
by Anonymous
I just finished reading, The Book of Salt. It was the most delectable, positively poignant and intriguing book, fact and/or fiction, that I have read in, approximately, the past 12 years. On average, I read 40+ books per year. Ms. Truong's use of words drew this reader deeper into thinking about the meaning of her words, wondering how she learned to bring unique understandings and meanings to her words in the contexts of a narrative type of presentation. I found the book to be tantalizing in the sense that the prose was a combination of exacting, sensitive, visual image prone and presented in sweeping tones of breadth and depth. This book offers gave me a reading experience that was so indulgent that I was led to take it in relatively small bites, that is, not more than 30-40 pages per reading session. Each bite was worth savoring until the next one was taken. I look forward to reading the next book that she has published.
Rated of 5
by Stephanie
Not a bad book but not intriguing enough to make me feel like I had to finish it. Had it not been selected for my book club (by me by the way) I don't think I would have finished it. I'm a novice "foodie" which is why I thought I'd like it. I felt as if there was no real drama and no real conclusion.
An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master's Son follows a young man's journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world's most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.
War, natural disaster, reckless gods and the recognition of impermanence in the world are just some of the threads that AS Byatt weaves into this most timely of books. Linguistically stunning and imaginatively abundant, this is a landmark.
A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, exploring how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths.
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the great houses of England, never stopped aiming high.
Vivid, daring, and unforgettable, The Printmaker's Daughter shines fresh light on art, loyalty, and the tender and indelible bond between a father and daughter.
After hearing the interview on NPR with the author, Ayad Akhtar, I was intrigued.
This is a timely, contemporary novel concerning topics of...
read more
I read The Healing in two sittings it is a fascinating story of plantation life at the beginning of the Civil War. Granada, a slave newborn child...
read more
Amazon to open bricks and mortar store in Seattle(Feb 07 2012) Last week, the word in the blogosphere was that Amazon was considering opening a bricks-and-mortar store. Over the weekend goodereader.com added substance to...
Full Story
Arizona bills Amazon for $53 million in uncollected sales tax(Feb 06 2012) The ongoing sales tax battle between many US states and large online retailers, most notably Amazon, continues with a thrust from Arizona which, last week,...
Full Story
of 5
by Kitty Hall 
of 5
by Philippa 
of 5
by Stephanie 
RSS feed
