RavePittsburgh Post-Gazette... wonderful ... Among Shipstead’s many talents as a writer is her ability to create and develop authentic, knowable characters. Marian is the beating heart of the novel, but her story is one among many. It unfurls in the context of an ever-widening circle of related characters, most notably her brother Jamie. Shipstead develops each of these many characters so that we understand them as real people. Their motivations and desires, their choices and compromises are all part of a complex weave of intersecting paths in the rich and resonant world of the novel ... This is a novel that is epic in scope and stature.
Sue Monk Kidd
PositivePittsburgh Post-GazetteThe scenes at the Nazareth homestead, tableaux of everyday life, were the ones I found most satisfying. In other segments of the book, the emphasis on action and plot can sometimes flatten the characters, overshadowing the complexity of their motivations ... I came to this book to imagine what life was like in the time of Jesus. I walked with Ana, wearing a necklace of lapis beads and a headband of silver coins, into the crowded marketplace in Sepphoris. I sailed with her on a ship from Caesarea into the glittering harbor of Alexandria. I stood by her side when she confronted the guardians of power and force. But, for me, it was in the dusty courtyard of the Nazareth homestead, with the goats and chickens, when the years were slow and peaceful, that I found what I was looking for.
Hilary Mantel
PositivePittsburgh Post-GazetteThe Thomas Cromwell that Ms. Mantel creates is both shockingly modern and bracingly alive ... When you read it, keep your focus and pay attention. The cast of characters is large and the shifting relationships are complicated. The dialogue is crisp and quick and each page is packed with meaning. There are many players—at court, in the countryside, and across the channel — and many plots. At the center is Thomas Cromwell, pragmatic, insightful, ambitious. The path he follows, first with Wolsey and then with Henry, is a dangerous one. As powerful as he manages to become, he is unable to hold back the tide of events that swallows up his plans, his aspirations and, ultimately, his life.
Emma Donoghue
PositivePittsburgh Post-GazetteFans of Ms. Donoghue may find this book a bit tame in comparison to some of her other novels ... Compared to her other work, this is a quiet story in a lovely setting. It is about the development of a relationship between two people who don’t seem to have much in common ... Ms. Donoghue charts this developing relationship with sensitivity that never liquifies into sentimentality. Our understanding of these two characters remains clear-eyed, grounded in respect for their differences and concern for their vulnerabilities. As compelling as this emerging relationship is, the mystery surrounding Noah’s mother never quite becomes as interesting ... Ultimately, it is the relationship between Noah and Michael that provides the forward momentum of this story.
