Alejandra Herrera Herrera itibaren Moho Bk., Maharashtra, Hindistan itibaren Moho Bk., Maharashtra, Hindistan

Very quirky read. The scene with the road side crosses is very memorable.

My favorite theme running through this book was the idea of "human wastefulness." It's not talking about physical wastefulness, but the idea that people waste so much time on things that don't matter. “For the past several months now, Ira had been noticing the human race’s wastefulness. People were squandering their lives, it seemed to him. They were splurging their energies on petty jealousies or vain ambitions or long-standing, bitter grudges. It was a theme that emerged wherever he turned, as if someone were trying to tell him something.” This won the Pulitzer in 1988. Although not packed with action, and without a main character to root for, this book still kept me reading. The dialogue and thoughts of the characters was truly realistic.

I wouldn't so much say that I really liked this book as that it's a really important book. Although the author has written better and more pleasing books, this one needed to be written. It's a horrible, ugly, terrifying subject, and I would try to encourage my own socially awkward teenaged daughter to read it. As a parent, I just felt disappointed about Littman's depiction of adult characters, and I would like to see her develop her parents better, giving them more depth and making them more realistic and believable and less stereotypical. I think I recognized Abby's father from central casting; didn't he play the part of Jussy's mother in Closet Catholic?

Best read early in life, and then repeatedly. I hate the South, I hate the Civil War, and I hate bitchy girls who always get their way. But damn, I love this book.