Here We Are Among the Living [Paperback]

What I loved about this book was the author's attention to detail. This is a book that is not afraid of its Toronto setting. Samantha's full and colourful portrait of the life and experiences of a dissatisfied-hippie's daughter grounds the interesting -- and so currently pertinent -- artistic and political concerns of the memoir. Intellectual issues that could get weighty are explored through everyday (and sometimes miraculous) joys and sadnesses. I felt immersed in her life, and that of her family and friends. Through her eyes, I cared about all of them. It is a difficult balance to achieve, but the very specificity of the novel speaks to the generality of human experience: little things make big things possible. Samantha is a powerful, new Canadian voice and I look forward to hearing more from her.

What a lovely novel! Reading 'Here We Are Among the Living' feels a bit like peaking into Samantha Bernstein's personal diary - her choice to write this book as a series of emails exchanged between friends is playful, while the story itself is vulnerable and poignant, joyful and profound. I found myself re-reading paragraphs and dog-earing the pages because some of the phrases were so insightful.

HERE WE ARE AMONG THE LIVING is a must-read, if you're looking for something completely original, well crafted, funny and touchingly insightful. Bernstein has captured the voice of her generation, as they try to find their paths and figure out how to live ethically in a corporatizing world. She has an outstanding ear for dialogue, and presents her characters in epistolary format with a twist: the book is written in emails. HERE WE ARE AMONG THE LIVING is personal at the same time it is political and intergenerational. Baby Boomers ( my generation) will find this equally compelling as Bernstein's generation will, as she examines the world the Boomers are handing over, wishing at times she had been there for the romanticism of the sixties at the same time as she rages against what now seems to her naive and possibly superficial. This is also a love story: between Bernstein and her on again/ off again lover ; between family; and in her community of friends & classmates. The book's Prologue, where she attends a tribute for her father, a poet & teacher of renown who has been an absent figure as she grew up, is touching and poignant. The first entry captures the conversation BernsteinHere We Are Among the Living & her mother have when they first react to 9/11, and with that, the book is off & running. If you thought Dave Eggers' A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS was good , I urge you to get HERE WE ARE AMONG THE LIVING right now: it's way, way better.