Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I loved this book. Alice Hoffman has a wonderful talent, especially for a writer who can keep this type of POV throughout the entire novel without flaw. The characters were flexible and the little touches of "magic" here and there make it a very cozy, interesting book. Haunting, however? I don't think so...
Rating: 
Summary: Looking for love, overcoming fear and isolation
Review: I picked up this book on a summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard and was both charmed and entertained by it. The tradition of Illumination Night and the summer gatherings of Methodist families on the island make a kind of magical, firefly-lit ambiance for this tale of people, young and old, whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. The most fascinating character for me was the agoraphobic young wife, trapped in her house by fears she can barely articulate. Hoffman's treatment of this characters is so realistic and convincing that after reading the novel I felt for the first time that I not only understood this condition; I had lived it. While the gentle-giant young man is a bit of a surprise for someone reading Hoffman for the first time, she also makes this character perfectly plausible and sympathetic. You can accept the young girl's falling in love with him because we come to care about him ourselves, while realizing that she has the power to break his heart. As a writer, Hoffman leaves you with the impression that she feels deeply for her characters, regardless of their weaknesses and shortcomings. And putting down this novel, you can feel in yourself a tender-heartedness for others that most books either don't try to evoke, or try and fail.
Rating: 
Summary: IT WAS OK
Review: i thought it was ok. i wouldn't go around bragging about it but it was ok.
Rating:
Summary: Easy and enjoyable...
Review: I thought this book was an easy, interesting read. I could hardly put it down, but it was not so much because it was irresistable or that it kept you at the edge of your seat. It was just because I wanted to see what would happen, I wanted to know what the characters were thinking, what they were going through. It is a great book to read that gets in the minds and feelings of the characters involved. There is a married couple with a small, very smart son. Living next to them is an old woman whose teenage granddaughter comes to stay with her. And it tells how these families' lives entertwine over approximately a two year period. It is a good book, though somewhat startling at times. I have to agree that this is a good summer read.
Rating:
Summary: It's a wonderful but dangerous world, how to react??
Review: Illumination Night is a sadly sweet story of a slightly disfunctional young family coming to terms with their disappointments as well as their mortality. Simon, the slight four year old who only yearns to grow, is juxtaposed with his elderly neighbor who seems to be getting smaller and younger. His mom is becoming unnaturally fearful as the dangers of the world seem to increasingly threaten her family. Meanwhile the rebellious teenager of the elderly neighbor has found meaning in caring for her grandmother, and the giant down the road only wants to be loved. What a cast of characters! Ms Hoffman lets you see into the heart of each. Her slightly askew but likable people remind me of the type of characters Anne Tyler invents. This was my first Alice Hoffman story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing, fast read . . .
Review: Illumination Night is the seventh book I have read by Alice Hoffman. I wasn't too sure I would like this book, but it was a delightful surprise. This book centers around Andre and Vonny, a couple who lives on Martha's Vineyard with their four-year-old boy, Simon. Andre and Vonny are having some martial problems, which is complicated by Andre's failing business and financial troubles, the worry that Simon has some defective genetic disease that prevents him from growing, and Jody, who moves in next door. Jody is Elizabeth Renny's grandchild, and she was sent there in part because her parents were experiencing marital problems of their own, and also in part because Elizabeth was having trouble seeing and getting around. Jody is a sixteen-year-old teenager who likes to steal cars, manipulate boys, smoke cigarettes, skip school, and sleep with the neighbor's husband. Jody becomes Simon's baby-sitter, and pretty soon, Andre can't control himself. Soon after that, Vonny snaps and can no longer leave the house. She finds out that she's having panic attacks, which seems to make her and her husband grow closer for the time being. Jody finally loses interest in Andre when she spots the beautiful Giant in the woods, named Edward. At this point, you are sucked up in a romance of two unlikely people, much like a Beauty and the Beast. This detailed and intricate storytelling is woven around high-charged emotions and mystical surroundings. It is this kind of tale-telling that Alice Hoffman is known for, and what she does best. Illumination Night is a truly engrossing read, and is shows further evidence of what a great writer Alice Hoffman is.
Rating:
Summary: typical Hoffman
Review: In all of Alice Hoffman's books there 3 characters. There is the bad boy, that women just seem to be mesmerized by, although ignorant and uncharming. There is the noble older wiser character, the Atacus Fitch of the novel. Lastly, there is the women of the novel, always attracted to the bad boy with little or no substance, usually wronged by him, and trying to right her life. This novel is no different. While these people occure in all Hoffman novels, I have to admit they do capture the reader. Maybe its the magic, her perfect description of the seasons, I don't know, but all her books keep me reading to the last page.
Rating:
Summary: typical Hoffman
Review: In all of Alice Hoffman's books there 3 characters. There is the bad boy, that women just seem to be mesmerized by, although ignorant and uncharming. There is the noble older wiser character, the Atacus Fitch of the novel. Lastly, there is the women of the novel, always attracted to the bad boy with little or no substance, usually wronged by him, and trying to right her life. This novel is no different. While these people occure in all Hoffman novels, I have to admit they do capture the reader. Maybe its the magic, her perfect description of the seasons, I don't know, but all her books keep me reading to the last page.
Rating:
Summary: Easy and enjoyable...
Review: This is one of Alice Hoffman's earlier books. It's filled with the magic realism for which she is known. The characters are all well drawn, especially Vonny and Mrs. Renny. I couldn't understand the husband's actions, however, and just did not feel much sympathy for him. Anyway, I love anything written by Alice Hoffman and always find her characterizations so natural. The people and their actions usually ring pretty true. Ms. Hoffman paints beautifully with words, and this is a perfect book for summer. Kathleen
Rating:
Summary: A good summer book.
Review: This is one of Alice Hoffman's earlier books. It's filled with the magic realism for which she is known. The characters are all well drawn, especially Vonny and Mrs. Renny. I couldn't understand the husband's actions, however, and just did not feel much sympathy for him. Anyway, I love anything written by Alice Hoffman and always find her characterizations so natural. The people and their actions usually ring pretty true. Ms. Hoffman paints beautifully with words, and this is a perfect book for summer. Kathleen
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