Pamela Dolan > Recent Status Updates

I’m so excited to finally be reading a book by this author, a friend from grad school and a truly gifted writer. Downloaded the audiobook today!

Well! I’m 13 chapters in with only 30 to go! I’m grateful that it takes its time on theological and intellectual issues and isn’t only concerned with personalities, political intrigue, and the like. I’ve picked up another huge tome I want to get through at a faster clip, so I might be taking a break from this one again for a bit, but I’m sure I’ll return.

I’m only two chapters in and I already recommend it! It’s an excellent piece of the puzzle in giving context to so many of the issues roiling our country right now.

I’m rereading this (for the first time since I was about 12) in preparation for a lecture I’m attending later this month. It’s tough going indeed.

I’m almost done and goodness gracious I hope there’s a stunning turn near the end that makes it worthwhile. I think I know what it’s going to be, but wouldn’t bet on it. Meanwhile I’m annoyed that it’s so formulaic and stilted.

I hardly ever post about books when I’m only partway through them. But this novel is a revelation. If you care about fiction, about ideas, about the future of our planet, or about trees—especially about trees—-you really might want to check it out. Seriously.

Hard to read and also hard to put down.

What a wondrous book. At first I was worried that the main character's prejudices about religion (and the Irish!) were shared by the author. I know that sounds silly, but that's how good the writing is. It completely sucked me in and even though I saw the few plot twists coming, there was still a beautifully organic unfolding quality to the character development and the story as a whole. Just stunning.