U itibaren Mansingpur Rajauli, Bihar, Hindistan itibaren Mansingpur Rajauli, Bihar, Hindistan

Enjoyable, and I swear I could feel the cold, even though I was reading this on the beach. Found myself scanning though paragraphs at points, thinking "Ok. I get it. Now get to the PLOT!!!" But I don't necessarily chalk that up to the author's failures as much as to my own impatience and focused interest in seeing what happens next.

I read the book in a 5 hour stretch and enjoyed it. I wasn't drawn into it emotionally, but had fun with his words and the pictures he drew. This is actually the first book I have read by JF - never got around to The Corrections, for no good reason. I feel there are two camps: those who LOVE this book and those are backlashing against the JF-mania of 2010. I fall in the middle. I just couldn't get all hopped up over his This Book is Important Testimonial on Life in These United States thesis that lay in the center. I did like the characters, but it didn't come together for me in a wholly satisfactory way. Meh.

I've been meaning to read this and The Fountainhead. They've been sitting on my shelf for years.

To date, this is my favorite of Chevalier's books. Beautiful, mystical, and poignant.

I am not reading this from beginning to end, but dipping in from time to time to time and enjoying this immensely. It's a beautiful, lively book that feels very intimate. If you love to read about what others cook and eat, you can't go wrong with this.