Robert

This is a wonderful meditation in miniature about aging, memory, the actions of our past and our responsibility for our effect on others. Don't let the diminutive size of the book fool you. Barnes has weaved a rich poetic lyricism into his text here that makes you slow down, savor and flip back a few pages to revisit. Wonderful.

Easily one of my favorite Murakami novels. There is a lot here for his fans sink their teeth into. One of the advantages of the novel being so long is that the atmospheric hauntingly lonely never land that you travel to in most Murakami books, sustains for so long here. This book crept into my dreams and popped its head up regularly in my daily routines. On a subtle level I kept expecting to see the world of the book everywhere I looked. One of the main characters is a novelist, so there is some rare instances of Murakami actually writing about writing and reading that is a real treat for fans who have been craving such material for so long. Overall there is more of a typical (as much as you can stretch the meaning of that word to relate to Murakami)hero journey than you find in most of his books, which really helps keep a clean satisfying arc to a long novel. Its interesting the choice of setting the book in 1984. There is the obvious Orwell reference. There is also the convenient fact that cell phones and internet searches didnt exist then, both of which would have completely changed the nature of the characters options and the plot. As the book was winding down, however, I started to think about another possible connection. In the book there is a novel that is published that causes quite a stir in the world of the book. I was wondering whether there was an indirect notion on Murakami's part that publishing and the role of fiction in the world has changed enough since then that a work of fiction couldn't have the same impact today. If so, in typical Murakami fashion, this is posed as a question puposely unanswered.

This is NOT a vampire novel. Fang is the last name of the family in this utterly charming novel. The book examines, in the most unusual ways, what it means to be part of a family and how we define ourselves as members of that group and individuals outside of it. I would happily have spent another 300 pages with these characters.

This is one of the most moving novels I've ever read. The comparisons to Ian McEwan are right on. The haunting tension in each scene is perfectly balanced in this story of clearly flawed but good people who cannot sidestep their way out of the tragic path that fate has in store for them.

This is one of my top 5 favorite novel's of the year. It tells a little discussed chapter of Latin American history (the tensions between Jewish German immigrants and German Nazi immigrants to Colombia during and after WW II. It also plays with time and voice in a way that reminded me of Ian McEwan's Atonement. - Robert

I was constantly intrigued with what Dyer was playing with here. Its one of those novels that has a great narrative that pulls you along, but also lets you know that the author is up to something bigger in the background. I never read The French Lieutenant's Woman, but now I will have to after the reference in this book. - Robert

What does Zen enlightenment look like when you live in LA? The Haskell in John Haskell's new novel thinks it might look like Steve Martin. Or at least "being Steve" is a step on the road to enlightenment.

Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this meditation on being and self.

I loved his collection "I am Not Jackson Pollack" and after this, I will need to go back and give his novel "American Purgatorio" another shot. -Robert

While being a black kid who spends his school year in a white private school in Manhattan and then his summers in a mostly black resort community in Sag Harbor is not really even close to the reality of my teen years, the fact that I was the exact same age (15 years old) as the narrator in 1985 (the year the book is set)certainly helped my appreciation of this book. But overall, Colson Whitehead finds the universal in his, admittedly, autobiographical childhood experience. - Robert

This is a book that, over the years, has come up again and again as a book that a number of novelists have cited as one of the pivotal books in their reading development. I really wanted to get it under my belt before the onslaught of movie previews came out for it this Fall. It is a brutal and aggressively critical but empathetic look at middle class suburban life. Published in 1961 and set in 1955, it certainly has a bit of a dated feel to it : what was clearly shockingly critical and revelatory at the time does not quite have the same effect today - many others have followed Yates' lead and carried on. Yet, still the novel has an incredibly powerful punch. If you read this merely as a commentary on society, the novel does not quite have the thread you would think it needs. But it is actually Tragedy (capital T intended). Every small point early in the book is groundwork for what is to come. No character is safe from the author's harsh view of the world, nor are the abandoned in that world - they are all given their due sense of purpose and entitlement. It is touching and appalling. It is hard to recommend something this unpleasant and bleak. But here I am saying, get your high ball glass, fill it three fingers high, hold it tight and dive into this book. - Robert

Lennon's writing is addictive. This story of a man who buys a huge piece of property in a remote area, only to find a large bulding in the middle of the property that he does not own, is chilling. - Robert

I really loved this book. It chronicles 30 years of 2 families that live across the street from one another in Sheffield, England. All 9 of these characters are richly drawn and Hensher brings incredible humor and compassion to their stories. For my tastes, its form and writing style are pretty traditional. But this author shows that style does not need to be constantly reinvented to convey beauty and humanity. Of course, this novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, which I previously thought should have gone to the longlisted Netherland by Joseph Oneill (or at least to also shortlisted Sebastian Barry's Secret Scripture). But it would be tough for me now to decided between Northern Clemency and Netherland. - Robert

This is the ultimate novel for the film obsessed. Taking a surreal outsider journey through Hollywood with an unlikely guide : a cross between Chauncey Gardner (Being There) and Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver). This book sucked me in, swept me up, roughed me around a bit and ultimately won me over. Highly recommended! - Robert

Do not let the size or subject matter of this book disuade you from giving it a shot. After the first 25 pages, you will not be able to stop. This incredible book, 30 years in the making, gives us a fresh necessary look at the experience of combat. My thoughts on Vietnam will forever be colored by my reading of Matterhorn. - Robert

There is a very fine balancing act that John Brandon pulls off here. The characters and their actions are pretty hard to read about, but you can't stop following their story. Creating empathy for characters who end up on the wrong side of the evening news is pretty tough. Brandon does so without asking us to forgive or excuse their behavior. Once you start this book, you won't want to put it down. - Robert

The loneliness of failed relationships, the longing for things that never were, and the subtle melancholy of regret all quietly blister in the empathetically and economically drawn characters in James Salter's gorgeous short stories. Many authors struggle to imitate the potent minimalism that Salter here seems to offer so effortlessly. He is the real deal. - ROBERT

You will be hard pressed to find a funnier book this year. The author's willingness to humiliate and be cruel to his characters is only matched by this novel's large and generous heart. This book has a lot to say about how we live now. - Robert

I loved this novel on so many levels. Set in an unnamed Eastern European country in and around decades of conflict, this gorgeous novel is steeped in the region's folklore and mythology. Readers of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Milchail Blugakov will find a new favorite here.

I could not put this book down. I really (excuse the pun) tore through it. This true story of a man-eating tiger on one hand is a heart-pounding adventure in a "Jaws" kind of way. Yet it also does a great job of putting the incident in a socio-economic, environmental and geopolitical context - giving us an unforgettable portrait of a region and way of life many of us know very little about.