Rating: 
Summary: An amazing, beautifully plotted extravaganza
Review: When I started this book, I thought "no, this is not the right time to read this." I've been under a lot of stress at work and felt that I would not be able to devote the intellectual concentration that this book would require. Boy, was I wrong. This novel was about the best therapy that I could find. I found myself slowly but surely becoming totally, obsessively involved in this complex and wonderful story. It became a mix of Dickens, A.S. Byatt, Stephen King, and John Le Carre all rolled up into one. It is truly historical fiction at its best. I found myself literally wanting to come back to the book to discover what happened next at very late hours of the day. And although the plot is extremely complex and all is not revealed until the last pages of the book, Norfolk wraps up all the loose ends and even gives us a happy ending. . .I think. Do yourself a favor--find and read this book!
Rating:
Summary: Modern Classic
Review: When I was first presented with this book for a research project, I was not really interested. However, as soon as I started to read it, I could not put it down. The quick pace of the movements among John Lempriere, the goings-on of the East India Company, the French Revolution, The Siege of Rochelle, and many other events and perspectives keep you turning pages all night long. It is admittedly a slow read, but it is well worth it. Many of the events in the book were real, and John Lempriere really did exist and write the dictionary mentioned in the title. The book is one of the best I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Modern Classic
Review: When I was first presented with this book for a research project, I was not really interested. However, as soon as I started to read it, I could not put it down. The quick pace of the movements among John Lempriere, the goings-on of the East India Company, the French Revolution, The Siege of Rochelle, and many other events and perspectives keep you turning pages all night long. It is admittedly a slow read, but it is well worth it. Many of the events in the book were real, and John Lempriere really did exist and write the dictionary mentioned in the title. The book is one of the best I have ever read, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning, beautiful, elegant, confusing, brilliant
Review: [I read the English edition] This book is hard, but well worth the concentration needed to get through it. It was a surprising book from start to finish. I never knew where it was going, or how it could end, not until the last minute, so to speak.I couldn't possibly describe the whole book, and I wouldn't want to ruin the plot twists. There isn't a pigeonhole to fit this into, either - historical, biographical (perhaps not!), fantasy, thriller, romance... there's something of all of those in this. If you feel like a challenging read, and if you have the stamina for a long book; if you have an open enough mind to enjoy different types of book, grab a good dictionary and get stuck in. Superb.
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