Rating: 
Summary: The only thing I hated was that it ended
Review: As a sometime aspiring writer, I read the work of Justin Cronin with envy and awe. What a beautifully written study of family, love and tragedy. As another reviewer stated, I too am not typically a fan of the novel composed of "linked" short stories. This author however connects the characters in such subtle and clever ways that you will truly be left wanting more when it's over. Just a lovely little book, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written first novel
Review: As a sometime aspiring writer, I read the work of Justin Cronin with envy and awe. What a beautifully written study of family, love and tragedy. As another reviewer stated, I too am not typically a fan of the novel composed of "linked" short stories. This author however connects the characters in such subtle and clever ways that you will truly be left wanting more when it's over. Just a lovely little book, highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: The Sentimental Realist
Review: Cronin, on the LaSalle faculty page, describes himself as an "unrepentant Realist with a sentimental streak." I think Cronin knows himself very well, because that's Mary and O'Neil in a nutshell, and the book's high points and low points corollate highly with these two rather divergent characteristics.There was much I admired and loved about this book. Cronin's language is exquisite, his descriptive powers incredible, and the strongest part of this book may be his intelligent choice of scenes. For example, there's the story about Mary's pregnancy, and it ends right before she tells her husband, and it couldn't have been more perfect. This was the exact place where the scene (and the story) should have ended, and Cronin nailed it. He does this again and again, and for this alone this book is worth a second reading. What weakens M&O is Cronin's sentimental streak. When I read the end of "Orphans," the second story, I asked myself how I'd suddenly stepped into a Julia Roberts movie. This unfortunately happens on more than one occasion, but hey, I knew this going in, so you might brace yourself for some unmitigated sappiness if that isn't your cup of tea. Although this book is labeled a "Novel in Stories," it reads more like a novel than an "arc" of short stories, like Denis Johnson's "Jesus's Son" or Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried." The plotting and the relationship between stories is way tighter than those two works. I enjoyed the first one the most, "The Last of the Leaves." It is perfection. - SJW
Rating:
Summary: Worth every cent in hardback
Review: I bought this book based Washington Post book review (something I've never done before) and it was worth every penny--even in hardback! You will recognize the characters in this book--they are Every-people. The first three stories are especially good, especially if you like a writer who shows rather than tells. He has captured the fine details of living with such precision; I admire his skill. As a critique, the middle story and the last story seemed like a bit of missed opportunity but don't let that scare you away. If nothing else buy it to see how this man captures the essence of childbirth--WOW! I hope I made you curious now GO BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: A Tender and Loving Book
Review: I bought this books months ago and it sat on a shelf for far too long. How could I have let a gem like this remain unread for such a long time? The first story, "Last of the Leaves" grabbed my heart and did not let go. It was so exquisitely rendered -- powerful yet tender at the same time...a wonderful story of love. The rest of the book follows Mary and O'Neil through the their separate and together lives and those of some family members. Each story/chapter both illuminates, and revolves around, a defining moment of their lives. Death, illness, birth are all explored and written of with such lovely prose, each word seemingly polished to perfection. Without using a lot of description, Cronin somehow manages to thoroughly familiarize the reader with his characters and their lives. A book to remember.
Rating:
Summary: Quiet, elegant, perceptive, mesmerizing.
Review: I heard J. Cronin speak at Univ of Iowa in the summer of 2001, when this book had just come out. How I wish I'd bought this book then to add to my signed first edition collection. I only recently purchased it and just finished it last night. It's a book to read in a quiet spot, to savor, to melt into as Cronin carries you very gently through three generations of O'Neil's family.
The book is written as a series of short stories; each can be read without benefit of the others, but together, they prove the statement that, sometimes, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Very beautifully constructed. Not a book I'm likely to forget anytime soon. Thanks to Justin Cronin for writing about the simple, everyday lives of rather ordinary people with such finely-crafted elegance.
Rating:
Summary: The only thing I hated was that it ended
Review: I really loved this book of inter-connected short stories. I would put it down and not read it for days on end because I didn't want it to end.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put down
Review: I usually read non-fiction, but I was taken by this small, but mighty novel. Although the story was purposefully dramatic in parts, I really understood the characters. Sometimes really terrible things really do happen to regular people. As a result, what is normal behavior when extraordinary things happen? The writing was a pure joy and I look forward to future work by this younger author.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put down
Review: I usually read non-fiction, but I was taken by this small, but mighty novel. Although the story was purposefully dramatic in parts, I really understood the characters. Sometimes really terrible things really do happen to regular people. As a result, what is normal behavior when extraordinary things happen? The writing was a pure joy and I look forward to future work by this younger author.
Rating:
Summary: An Emotional and Beautiful Story
Review: I was caught up into this book after the first few pages. Even when I sensed that things wouldn't happen as I had hoped, I couldn't stop, even briefly. These are people you will come to care for and wish you knew. After I finished the last page, I immediately went back and started reading the first chapter again. I think you could go around and around again in this book.
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