Marie Gagnon

Fascinating!, Mar 24 2011

Finally a truly inside view of Afghanistan. At the risk of her own life, Malalai Joya has chosen to stand up against oppression and to work actively towards a better society. Speaking out her reality, her words thoroughly depict a sombre situation that is only getting worst as time goes on. Balancing between the personal and the political, her narrative makes for a powerful story supported by strong data and eye opening facts. At the very least, it is food for the thought; you may even end up reconsidering things you thought you knew.

Highly recommended, I hope many, many people will read this book. If you have even the slightest interest about the Afghanistan situation, I… Read more

Wow... and wow... and wow..., Feb 24 2008

This may be the best collection of short stories I have ever come across! The stories are consistently well rendered, imaginative and, most important to me, emotionally charged. I found myself having to stop reading after each one to ponder and better absorb its impact. Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyways :-)), this book is a keeper and I very highly recommended it.

Note, as a token of my objectivity, that I do not know the author nor do I have any interest, financial or otherwise, invested in this collection (contrary to some incensed reviews one can find on Amazon...) I simply loved this book. Read it, you won't be disappointed.

Not up to expectations, Feb 24 2008

I own all the books Robert J. Sawyer has ever written, buy each one of his new books on sight and have been a fan almost from the beginning. Unfortunately, reading "Rollback" has left me feeling somewhat let down.

To start with, "Rollback" is based on fascinating premisses and the ideas it brings forth are just the kind of stuff I love to read and think about. However, I felt that it's rendering did not live up to the author's previous proficiency:

1. Sawyer's prose is usually fluid and most enjoyable. In "Rollback", reminiscing is used profusely, to the point that the back and forth narrative halts the flow of the story; I became annoyed by it.

2. While the… Read more