Rating: 
Summary: A story of shattered dreams told with mastery
Review: This is definitively one of the most marvellous novels I have ever read. Despite the fact that it is a full-blooded American story, it deals above all with universal feelings, such as love, despair and disillusion. Each character is wonderful in its own manner and, in a way, Jonathan, Bobby, Alice and Clare seem to be complementary to each other. The chapter in which Jonathan has a conversation with his father in the desert of Arizona, and asks him "Why can't I seem to make a life for myself?", is extremely poignant.
Rating: 
Summary: Took off like fireworks but fizzled toward the end.
Review: I devoured this book. I was very impressed with the structure of the chapters. Having the chapters divided by the character was a great way of getting to know the characters. I thought it was very well written and the characters were well developed and colorful. However I felt the the first half of the book was much stronger than the second. I had a much better sense of Johanthan, Bobby, and Alice in the first half than the second. I was also disappointed that the author only eluded to Erich and Johnathan having AIDS rather than coming right out and calling it what it is. The ending left me feeling empty rather than satisfied. Overall it was a great book and I have recommended it to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: A permanent home in my heart
Review: Melodrama aside (that one-line summary above just set itself up), this book really is wonderful, particularly one of the first chapters, told in Bobby's voice, that was published in the New Yorker as "White Angel." It's all about what you can call "family," and how Jonathan, Bobby, and Clare re-define that word to work for their relationships, not just the three of them together, but with each other. The end is a crashing disappointment, however, and I still feel betrayed in retrospect (melodrama again), which is why it only gets 4 stars. I've read all three of Cunningham's in-print novels and this one is definitely the best of them!
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreakingly beautiful
Review: I first read an excerpt of this novel as a short story in the New Yorker. When I saw it on a bookstore shelf after it was first published in hardcover, I snapped it up. I wasn't disappointed; Cunningham manages to take the immediacy of the short story and sustain it throughout the novel. The writing is among the most heartbreakingly beautiful I've ever read. Cunningham's imagery and the voices of his characters (the book is alternately narrated by Jonathan, Bobby, Clare and Alice) give the novel an emotional intensity that is breathtaking and, in many scenes, shattering. Definitely on my list of top 10 novels of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Redefining the family
Review: Whenever I am asked to recommend a book, this is the one. I've read about 150 books since A Home at The End of The World was published and have not read one better. The first paragraph alone does more with language and character than the great majority of novels concocted in this decade.This book has complex, living charcacters, exquisite prose, moving episodes and on top of it all, is about something. Cunningham considers the question "what is a family" and explores it movingly. His answer, as you'd expect, has little to do with bloodlines and legal bonds, and everything to do with love.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant book.
Review: This is a beautifully written and compulsively readable portrait of friendship and New York City in the 1980's. A luminescent novel.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant, well written, a 5-star achievement
Review: Cunningham has written a first novel that dives deep into human soul's journey for reconciliation with itself and with the material world of the body. A truly human story that will travel you on a magical journey.
Rating:
Summary: A thoughtful family novel written with astonishing grace.
Review: The second chapter of this book, which was excerpted in the New Yorker, is about the best coming-of-age story I've ever read. So wise, haunting and glaringly beautiful that it sets an impressive stage for a deep and rewarding novel.
Rating:
Summary: Sexual coming of age
Review: Amid family tragedies found in almost every home and town, these boys have a homosexual awakening that continues for Jonathan but retreats for Bobby, who ultimately fathers a child with Clare. All three come to grips with each other over a series of years as their lives intertwine, grow, and end. The book is not what you would expect--either way--and yet is a fascinating, wonderfully crafted, and excellent read.
Rating:
Summary: Where do we belong?
Review: That's the question that all these characters basically ask themselves. What are they supposed to do with their lives? Who are they? These are all questions that we all ask ourselves as we go through our daily (usually stress-filled) lives. I think that the author has done a fine job of creating characters that seem, well, really "real." There are basically four main characters: Jonathan, Bobby, Alice and Clare. (Although the storyline mostly revolves around Jonathan and Bobby). I found it interesting when different chracaters talked about how they see themselves and the people around them. The only real complaint I have is that the characters, when speaking from their points-of-view, sounded quite simillar in language, tone, and all that good stuff. But, the novel, in my opinion is still very much worth reading for its characters and their own unique look at life. I'm looking forward to watching the movie version of "A Home at the End of the World," especially since Michael Cunningham (the author) wrote the screenplay. Plus, I've heard lots of good things about it. -Ater
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