Rating: 
Summary: Well worth a look
Review: Very engaging book with a good blend of the personal and the political.
Interesting characters and a strong sense of pacing and drama to keep, and hold, your interest.
I also admired the way Ozeki alternated, from one section/chapter to the next among different characters' viewpoints and first and 3rd person and among past and "current" events; all this added to the layering of detail and the insights.
Unlike some authors, Ozeki is not shy about showing her character's "warts" and complexities, their likeable side and their cranky, difficult side.
I also recommend Ozeki's "My Year of Meats" -- as well as a look at her Web site and her blog.
Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant accomplishment and a joy to read
Review: When I finished reading Ozeki's first book, My Year of Meats, I knew that I would be anxious to read her next one. Sure enough, this was definitely worth the wait. This author has an enviable ability to take important issues, whether the use of chemicals by the meat industry, or the genetic engineering of potatoes, and develop her position regarding these issues within the context of exquisitely written literature. In All Over Creation, she succeeds in drawing her readers into the lives of characters who are complex, fascinating and very real. She stimulates thought by artfully imparting information without preaching, weaving it seamlessly into the fabric of plot and character. Above all, again and again she moves the reader deeply with her ability to convey the depths of human relationships, as well as the joys and tribulations of youth, maturity and old age. Her exposition of the many forms that the family dynamic can take is done with great feeling and delicacy. Parent and child, man and woman, husband and wife, young and old, she explores them all with great wisdom and compassion, all the while maintaining the edge that is required to treat some very large issues of good and evil. I do not like to read reviews that give away too much plot, but I cannot praise this story enough. It is thought provoking, gut wrenching, warm, frightening, heartening, joyous and sad, all at once. This is a book that draws you deeply into the lives of the characters, and when you come to the end of the story, you are left with a profound feeling of having partaken in their journey. Once again, I can't wait for Ms. Ozeki's next one.
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