Dream of the Blue Room: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Dream of the Blue Room
Review: An adventure through a tortured soul. Richmond is expert in developing the drama that exposes the sensual desires that Jenny still feels for her lost lover. The fantastic plot turns left me in suspense and wanting more, and more, and more....Not only does Richmond create a vivid drama of the past, but also brings the painful realities of her current relationship with her husband to abrupt confrontation. Jenny's anguish, and attemtps to find emotional escape through her physcial rather than emotional relationships with others, added to the excitement of this artful novel. I can not wait until Richmond's next work comes out, nor until Dream of the Blue Room hits the big screen.

Rating:
Summary: An erotic literary masterpiece!
Review: Finally, an erotic novel in which the story and the writing are just as good as the sex scenes. My book club spent half an hour discussing the scene in the cave...Richmond combines lush, poetic prose with page-turning suspense. A book club winner!

Rating:
Summary: sad and lovely
Review: Michelle Richmond's novel is an impressive, impressionistic vision of a woman suffering one loss after another, and growing incredibly strong along the way. There's a vivid evocation of China, almost a secondary character in the novel. And there's even a villain or two for the reader to hate. There are many moments of luminous writing, reflecting the dreamlike quality suggested by the title. And, oh yeah, there's some really good sex too.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST novel I have read in years!!
Review: The setting in this book is described so vividly that it almost becomes a character itself. The Yangtze River and the small Gulf Coast town where the main character grew up are so clearly drawn, you feel like you're actually there. The most moving aspect of this novel is the love story between the main character and Amanda Ruth, who is murdered when she's 17. A great book for summer!

Rating:
Summary: A vivid journey through China
Review: This novel takes you up the Yangtze River during the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The descriptions of abandoned villages and bustling riverside cities are lush and unforgettable. But something more is happening in this novel. While the main character, Jenny, travels up the Yangtze, her marriage is falling apart. The dissolution of the marriage is captured with painful accuracy, and the memories of Jenny's adolescent relationship with a girl named Amanda Ruth are both sensual and poignant. Jenny and Amanda Ruth were so close and Jenny's love for her was so strong that, even though Amanda Ruth is dead, she is a constant presence in Jenny's mind.

If you've ever been to China, or if you ever plan to go, this book should be your travel companion!

Rating:
Summary: This is a great book!
Review: While I was on vacation in Florida last month, I came upon a review of this book in some newspaper. The review was so good that it inspired me to go out and buy the book two days later. On my flight back to Germany, I simply could not put it down--I read the entire way! It is such a great book! The woman next to me on the plane said that I looked so completely engrossed in the book that she had to know what it was. This is the best novel that I have read in a long, long time!