Carole A

It is always exciting for another Gail Tsukiyama to appear! I enjoy her skill with language and the ability to build a plot and characters that draw you into the book from the beginning. A Hundred Flowers was no exception to this expectation. It offered a bouquet of language, setting, plot and characters. Yes, I always want more information about the characters and the situations. One test for me of an enjoyable book is finishing and wanting more - the next chapter. Perhaps the next book. The facts about China at this period and time were interesting and gave a good insight as to what the citizens were enduring. Certainly the story was specific to China at this time but in a broader sense many of the emotions and situations encountered by the characters held true for other people in other countries. Tsukiyama gives a true vision of what extended family should mean and how it enhances life for the very young thru the golden years. A Hundred Flowers would make a good Book Club selection for the discussions of China as well as how the personal life situations encountered are handled.

So Sad because I really wanted to love this book as much as the "Physick Book of Deliverance Dane" and I couldn't. It was slow getting into; however, because of my love of the previous book I slugged thru. Unfortunately I kept waiting for the AH-HA for a big bang or for my love of the book to set in. While the various stories were interesting and well written and were linked I felt the diversion left them all a little lacking. I am wondering if there had been three short stories if I would have viewed the collection differently. All that being said I think it is worth taking to the lake or the beach this summer as it will prove a diversion and certainly better than some of the other books I read on my recent stay at the beach. Howe is an author to keep following - she is not, I am sure, going to be a one book author. I look forward to her next endeavor.

It is always uplifting to see that one average although not really can make a difference! While I felt the writing could have been tightened up this was a good read. What a wonderful example of how easily the socio-economic status of a community can be changed. King Peggy is certainly a book that should appeal to book club discussions. My book club would enlarge the discussion bringing more information about the area and how one person goes about making a difference. For these same reasons this would be a great young adult book as a basis for a research project or paper. While similar to Three Cups of Tea in idea and similar outcome this was not as dynamic. King Peggy was a worthwhile read will certainly be passed along to my reading companions.

I'm always excited to read a new book and almost always read it straight thru. I picked this one up and put it down and repeated the process three times. Finally made myself sit and read to the end. The memory of George Gershwin is not one I expected. As a "tell all" I wasn't particularly interested in the other "all's". In my opinion this was a great exercise in therapy for Ms. Weber but not a particularly interesting read for those who are not familiar with the rest of the players. In this day and age infidelities, unfortunately, are not all that unusual or interesting. While I am a frequent supplier of books to several reading groups as well as family and friends - this book will not be the only one from Book Browse that will not be suggested ... there will be no memory - of all that.

Nafisa Haji engaged me and kept me involved from the first word to the last. For the first time in many books I was sorry to have the book conclude. This book is, in my opinion, a winner! The reality of all the characters, situations and connections felt strongly reality based and for many of the twists extremely timely. I actually double checked to be sure this was a novel and not a true story. While one could delve into more detail I would not want to spoil the story as told. Suffice to say insight into customs between the cultures of the countries and the religions was enlightening. The blending of the Christian and the Muslin families was wonderful. This is a book that I have already recommended to three book clubs and many friends.