BEFORE I FALL (Lauren Oliver) - November 30/10

This entertaining but long book follows a teenager as she dies in a car crash and subsequently spends the day of her death over and over again. It's an intriguing premise that's utilized to consistently readable effect by Oliver, as the author manages to transform a bitchy teenager (and her bitchy friends) into a thoroughly likeable figure. The inclusion of Twilight-esque bits of romance works well and it's ultimately clear that teenagers will enjoy this book the most. But Oliver occasionally forgets her audience and offers up an overly arty writing style that obscures the plot and the emotion of the story (and results in a weird, deeply unsatisfying conclusion that's rather confusing). (I mean, she died, right? I read it over a few times and I'm still not positive.) *** out of ****

THE CRY OF THE OWL (Patricia Highsmith) - November 24/10

What an absolute mess of a book. The first half is kind of readable, once you overlook the inherently ludicrous nature of the premise. (A woman falls in love with her peeping tom? Really?) But the book just gets worse and worse as it goes along, as Highsmith seems to have no idea where to take the story and just makes things up as she goes along. Having the woman commit suicide is disastrous, as it results in about 100 pages of interminable pointlessness. (Who cares about Robert's efforts at proving his innocence? We know he's innocent, so it's all just so meaningless.) Ugh, what an ordeal. * out of ****

NEMESIS (Philip Roth) - November 20/10

A typically depressing and bleak effort from Roth, Nemesis tells the story of a circa WWII 23-year-old who eventually becomes convinced that he was the carrier of the polio that maimed and killed several teenagers - which effectively ruins the remainder of his life (he leaves his loving fiancee because he doesn't want her to be saddled with a cripple). The lack of plot does take some getting used to, but Roth's compelling writing style undoubtedly compensates for the book's rather thin storyline. It's just so downbeat, though, as Roth includes questions of faith and the entire final 50 pages are devoted to flashbacks in which we learn just how Bucky, the vigorous hero, turned away from life following the polio scare. *** out of ****

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST (Stieg Larsson) - November 15/10

As was the case with its two predecessors, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is overlong by about 200 pages - with the first 200 pages jam-packed with names and references that are often impossible to easily follow. But there reaches a point at which the narrative picks up and takes off and doesn't stop until the very end. (The cinematic sequence in which a dozen rogue Sapo agents are simultaneously arrested is nothing short of thrilling, while the court case of Lisbeth Salander is equally captivating.) I'm also happy that the book ended with a fair amount of finality, as Blomkvist apparently finds happiness with that cop... As for Lisbeth, well, at least she forgave Blomkvist and let him back into her life. A special, once-in-a-decade trilogy. ***1/2 out of ****