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Anonymous
Posted August 26, 2011
Fave!!
By far my favorite read. Purely beautiful story.
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8096914
Posted May 3, 2011
Easy read!
Couldnt put this book down
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EMM31
Posted February 16, 2009
Great story!
Charles Baxter compiles characters that are real and a story that flows.
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Anonymous
Posted July 1, 2008
Enchanting
This is the first Charles Baxter novel I have ever read and I simply loved it. The characters are living, breathing people that, like us all are living, loving and are interconnected in a way that is entertaining as well as poignant. I highly recommend.
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Anonymous
Posted June 15, 2008
I love this book!
I am currently deployed and my best friend sends me random books to read. At first when I got it in the mail I was half tempted to throw the book to the side and just watch the movie. I am glad I didn't. Once I started reading the book, I couldn¿t put it down. When I was finished with it, I watched the movie and I am just going to say, the movie does NOT compare to the book. Chloe and Oscar are amazing in the book you feel like you know them and want the love that they share together. In the movie their meeting and other life changing events weren¿t so emotional because of that! I highly recommend the book. I did not think the movie was worth watching once I read it.
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Anonymous
Posted December 21, 2006
Can't get enough!
It was my first Baxter book and completely adored it! The Feast of Love tops my favorite book list. Though it took a while for me to get into it, I became addicted. The book is a thinker and makes you say 'oooh.' I loved his style, the humor and the sadness. I bought my second Baxter book, Saul and Patsy.
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Anonymous
Posted November 26, 2006
Interesting and enjoyable
I listened to this book and audio and found it to be very enjoyable. The readers did an excellent job with the story and the story had some great insights into love and relationships
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Anonymous
Posted August 9, 2003
Poignant
This book is one of the best books I have read! Very Poignant and deep. This book makes you want to highlight parts of it because it is indeed very poetic and very moving to say the least. Just like a puzzle each piece is relevant and the whole picture comes together at the end. Not a love story, but a story about love, change and hope.
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Anonymous
Posted January 13, 2003
Every relationship should have stories as memorable as those in this wonderful novel.
Charles Baxter develops his characters into full & complex individuals by letting them tell their own stories. Reliable or unreliable, these narrators spin their tales like a Greek chorus, giving us fragments at a time that spin ultimately into a beautiful whole. Highly recommended.
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Anonymous
Posted September 24, 2002
Lovely
I randomly picked out this book at the JFK airport about two years ago before a long flight. And I still remember every page in that book. Baxter has a great writing style and it's easy to read. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others.
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Anonymous
Posted August 27, 2002
A great find!
This book was a wonderful book to come across. I found it just when I was getting frustrated with all the bad books that I have read lately. This work stood out for its originality when so many books are beginning to seem the same. I look forward to reading more of his work.
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Anonymous
Posted July 2, 2002
Good, but not great
Since every review of this book has gotten a five (and only a handful of books should actually get a five, especially when combined with multiple reviews) I feel compelled to write a little blurb here which avoids the 'just read it and I love it!' mentality that so often enraptures us in the post-finish weeks. I will admit, The Feast of Love kept my interest, even though I am not partial to love or romance books. Mostly a fan of satire/war/dark novels, I found myself enjoying this book more than I had anticipated (it was recommended by a former girlfriend). But, where the story fails is in its ability to move along the story without falling into cliched sentiment. Some of the little stories of 'love' work well, while others seem like so many stories recycled again and again, with no real face or heart. The strongest character in the book is Chloe, a young teenager on the verge of a new love with a fitting boy. Although sometimes stereotyped way too much (type of dress, hair color, etc.) Chloe is able to develop a unique voice that doesn't seem like cheap sentiment or false sorrow. She seems to have been a side character that Baxter simply couldn't ignore, and she really ran with the book. Bradley, the main character through most of story, is also unique, but melancholy and sappy in ways that make him seem less interesting than others. His trials with love are often entertaining, but he reaches for it with such desperation that we lose touch with him. The older couple in the novel are also a bit glum and if you haven't lost a child to drugs or hatred, it is very difficult to connect with them. They seem more like story-movers than actual people, and their lives seem better left from the story. Other than these things, and the fact that every character referring to Bradley as 'toad' is simply annoying, the book seems to achieve its purpose. One of the best parts of the story is when Bradley goes to retrieve his dog (also named Bradley) from his sister and brother-in-law, who have sort of taken him hostage. Bradley gives his little nephew money in exchange for his silence, which causes the scene to appear as bribery. The book's best message comes near the end, when the Bradley character is beginning a new love. He has a short chapter in which he gives no stories, because he states that when we are in love, we have no stories to tell. All stories are of heartbreak and woe, and in the good times, we must sit back and enjoy, living fully for the moment. Amen.
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Anonymous
Posted May 7, 2002
Stunning
I wandered into my local bookshop, read the back of this book, and took it home without any real expectations. One week later, I had finished the book and was heart-broken and awe-struck. It's marvelous. Beautifully written and masterfully constructed, it left a lasting impression on me. I can't recommend it enough.
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Anonymous
Posted January 12, 2002
my favorite
i looooooooooved this book. it was so fantastic in describing the lives of everyone around this man, bradley, in a way that left me speechless, knowing i will never forget them.
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Anonymous
Posted July 29, 2001
The promise of a feast was well fulfilled
Charles Baxter has created a wonderful tale in which he seemlessly weaves the lives of almost a dozen people together to make one intricate journey into the dimensions and facets of love.
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Anonymous
Posted July 28, 2001
Stunningly Heartbreaking and Beautiful
When you have to stop reading to think to yourself 'God himself could not have written and more eloquent sentence than that one...' at countless points during the consumption of a novel, you know without a doubt that you are in the presence of greatness. Brutally truthful in style and substance, I can not express, within the confines of the english language, the depth of admiration I feel for both this book and it's author. I beg you to read it... no, DEVOUR it - you owe it to yourself!
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Anonymous
Posted May 7, 2001
Phenominal
This book nearly tore my heart out by the end, but in the best way.
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Anonymous
Posted October 13, 2000
Beautiful Novel
I absolutely adored this book. I go through so many novels that I do not enjoy at all, or novels that do not really speak to me, but this one is just the opposite. I loved the stories, and read several chapters out loud to people I love. The novel has a message which we always hear, but it is told in such a poignant and beautiful way. Highly recommended.
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Anonymous
Posted May 31, 2000
Everyone has a story...
..and it's not necessarily what really happened, at least according to the other participants. The characters are finely draw, honest and interesting even when distasteful and unappealling in their habits. The part about the psychic in Ypsilanti is too funny - you want to read it out loud to a friend. The last chapter I have read several times. Life is sad, funny, passionate and full of missteps- but our time here is short - we should appreciate it.
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Anonymous
Posted May 30, 2000
Stunning Acomplishment
Never has a book kept me up all night. Feast of Love is a rare look at the passion behind what really makes a relationship work. The way you are able to relate to there struggles and emotion is nothing short of outstanding. Highly charged. A must for any avid reader.
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