"“Cloud Atlas,” combines dystopian sci-fi, spy novel, seafaring tales and more in a good puzzle structure. I especially love the outrageous young wannabe composer and the creepy futuristic use of “soap.”"

"Perhaps my favorite contemporary novel by someone I’m not married to. It’s about a holocaust survivor who ends up with three wives. Every scene is a goldmine of insight about human nature."

"This is a brilliant new novel by E. Lockhart. I’ve always adored a good generational drama and this is deeply fascinating reading and soaked in suspense. And the ending is utterly spooky"

"A recent college graduate moves to Japan to teach English and struggles with a) her feelings and b) local rules about disposing of garbage. This novel is very smart and very funny."

"In this gorgeous, lyrical novel, the writer Stephen Crane dictates from his death bed the story of a young rent boy and his relationship with an older, married man. An American masterpiece."

"A sensational novel in all sorts of ways, this study of gender, history and power was one of the books that made me want to start writing historical fiction of my own."

"This was, and still is, the ultimate bohemian novel to me. There is a certain young age when you feel that Hamsun, Dostoyevsky and Hemingway speak to you and only to you."