La figlia perfetta

Anne Tyler, the queen of quirky but loveable, has done it again. She reaches into the heart of people who seem so different than ourselves, and reveals them to be just like us. Why is it that when we feel insecure (or like we aren’t like other people or that everyone has the key but us), we can’t lo Leggi tutto

First of all, I'm a HUGE Anne Tyler fan. To my mind, she can do no wrong. Reading one of her books is like curling up on the couch in a baggy cashmere sweater. That said, this is definitely not one of her strongest. She doesn't develop the characters in any particularly complex way and it's really h Leggi tutto

[ 3.5 stars ] I enjoyed this story, though the first half dragged quite a bit. By the latter half I was much more invested in the characters' lives, especially that of Maryam who I think really should've been the central character all along. When it focused on her perspective and how she viewed the goi Leggi tutto

The book I'd give 5 stars -- but only 4 for the audiobook version. Was it the fault of the recording company? Or the performer? Or both? When the reader's general reading was great -- but the central character is Iranian and she voiced her with an Indian accent! Never mind that she pronounced many o Leggi tutto

What I anticipated versus what actually unfolded in this book were quite different. I was bored halfway through but wanted to endure the last half to find out what the ending would be. When I got to the very last page, I couldn't help but say "that's it?!" An uneventful ending to say the very least. Leggi tutto

As I was reading this book, even when well into it, when almost done and racing to the end, I came to a section that made me judge it as uneven. Then I finished. For a minute I just sat there. Then I burst into sobs. I had just been complaining the other day that I couldn't understand catharsis from Leggi tutto

This was one of those funny reading experiences that started out plain, then turned a bit boring but then ended very much enjoyably. In this story, we get to meet two American families who both decide to adopt a Korean baby. They happen to be simultaneously present at the airport on the day they ado Leggi tutto

I must admit that the only thing keeping me out of the newspaper in yet another road rage story are the audio books I download or check out from the library. Listening to audio books while fighting rush hour traffic on 1-65 is my equivalent of counting to ten. Anyone remember the actress Blair Brown Leggi tutto

I've read all of Anne Tyler's books, many of them more than once. What never ceases to amaze me is how much emotion there is between the lines. The proposal scene will break your heart. I confess after studying it that I still don't quite understand how its emotional impact is achieved. Understated , Leggi tutto

Digital audiobook narrated by Blair Brown A story of the immigrant experience and two families united by the decision to adopt. The novel opens at the airport where the Donaldsons and the Yazdans wait for the daughters they’ve adopted from Korea to arrive. Bitsy and Brad Donaldson, their parents, sib Leggi tutto