Rated of 5
by Deborah N. Layers and layers
"Angelmaker" is, as protagonist Joshua Joseph Spork scoffs, an exaggeratedly corny name for a doomsday machine powered by clockwork bees. But as we discover, everything about this story has a double meaning at least, and no one--not even the hapless Spork, despite what he thinks--is quite who he or she seems. Part steampunk, part wry London contemporary, it's "Auntie Mame" meets "A Prairie Home Companion" meets (incongruously) "Clockwork Orange" meets "The Mouse that Roared". Harkaway integrates elements from the news in his depiction of government paranoia, from the comically annoying (Antisocial Behavior Orders) to the truly grisly (clandestine prisons and waterboarding). But he manages to balance the graphic grimness of his villains with whimsical and talented opposition, and the laughs, which start out subtle and ironic, pick up steam in a most unexpected way. "Angelmaker" combines too many different ideas and motifs for an easy beach read. It's one of the most entertaining novels I could have imagined about the consequences of seeking perfection through mechanical complexity.
Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
First time novelist Vaddey Ratner captured my heart and senses in this novel based on her childhood in Cambodia. Her story transcends any news story...
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From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years...
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Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part...
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Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate(Jun 12 2013) Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position...
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of 5
by Deborah N. 
