Tree-hugger

I especially like the way that for most of the book there's this intriguing group of people, and you're desperate to know more about them and what they're up to, but you get this frustrating sense of being kept on the outside along with the narrator. Which was very effective. It had me hooked.

I'm with tcook, I loved it. A magical story, told in a really rich language that totally drew me in - life seemed pretty tame whenever I put the book down. And what a cast! The depressed clowns, especially, have stuck with me, I don't think I'll ever forget them.

Spent several hours in the company of Tory-boys, reading this, and loved every minute of it! Never thought that would happen...

Very Wilkie Collins - all dastardly villains and fiesty heroines. Totally engrossing. Highly recommended.

A highly enjoyable tall tale, populated by a cast of wonderfully eccentric characters. I read it on a long haul flight and the time passed by in a flash. Funny, wise... an all round great read.

This is a book about the effect of slavery on the oppressor, rather than the oppressed.

The narrator is a slave owner, and she is a very unsympathetic character, which is quite unusual, and quite brave. It's one of the reasons why the judges awarded it the Orange Prize. It comes across a cold, distant, cruel, selfish, inhuman book - because that's what slavery does to the oppressors. Which makes sense, it's a clever thing to do, but it's still an unplesant book to read.

I think the reason I disliked this book is because it has nothing positive to say about the human spirit. It makes you think though. Why does slavery have such a negative effect on the slave owners? It'd be nice to think it's because deep down they know it's wrong, but there's no indication here that Manon questioned the morality of slavery at all. Martin's slave owners are disturbed people because they don't like being financially dependent on the productivity of slaves who hate them and who are, in their opinion, inferior to them - they're scared of revolt, and they're scared of disease. I can't empathise with these people at all, and that stopped me from enjoying the book.

I'm still giving it a high rating though because I enjoyed disliking it, and it made me think.

Homes writes like she's on a power trip, getting off on turning readers on against their will. This is a book about paedophilia, and yet there are parts which are uncomfortably erotic - the reader is forced to think about what we can and can't accept being turned on by and why. It's a very confrontational and a highly traumatising book, and I can't get it out of my head!

Last temptation is a long hard slog, but it's richly rewarding, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Kazantzakis has a great deal to say about the nature of human relationships and about the human condition, and he uses the story of Jesus to explore these themes. He's a very wise and insightful writer and I keep coming back to him again and again.

However I describe it I make it sound dull! Try it... and if you like it come back and write a more enticing description than this!

This is my all time favourite book. Ali Smith's writing is awe-inspiring. It's so beautful, and accurate, and playful, and economical... sometimes a short little sentance will come along and it's so perfect it's like being punched in the stomach.

I absolutely agree, and you've expressed it perfectly. This is one of my favourite books. I felt so alive while I was reading it, like all my senses had been heightened so that I could fully appreciate the richness of everyday life which I usually miss. It's an overwhelming, beautiful experience and I think everyone should read it.