Lila Shaara

I'll always be grateful to this book, it introduced me to Alan Watts. His quotes were used to open each chapter and they've stayed with me since I've read the book.
At first I didn't see why Shaara had to take up so much time and space decribing the protagonist's relationships with her extended family and odd duck neighbor, when the plot centered around two of her students' crimes. Now that I've finished reading this massive tome, I finally understand Shaara's intention. She really spent show more time crafting the atmsphere and back story so the final reveal would be all the more shocking. Like the title suggests, there are lots of secrets, big and small, being revealed along the way. The reader gets tugged along, seeing more and more of the big secret(s?) at the end, not quite sure if one should keep going, since there is quite a bit of daily minutiae in between. Kind of like life, now that I think about it. show less

A traumatized journalist starts over as a lecturer in a rural Florida town, there he meets some locals who tell fortunes and communicate with extraterrestrials. He's especially intrigued by a woman who's all wrong for him, age and class-wise, yet he can't help seeking her out every day. At the same time, he's investigating a intellectual patent case which have some unexpected impact on his new life. The big surprise is well-hidden and threw me for a loop. Each chapter starts with a tarot show more card and a three-line poem. show less

It has taken me quite a while to read and finish this book. Not that I didn't find it interesting just that I am traveling and life is interfering with reading. I am finding the protagonist slightly unbelievable on several levels. 33 years old and obviously very intelligent. ...phd and all that....but so dense! For example was she adopted? Check your birth certificate. And I am learning beauty is not only skin deep but very dangerous. Too many characters. I found myself having to pause at show more times to establish who was who. Too many sisters, too many girl cousins, too many boyfriends, co - workers, students etc. You get the picture. Then for good measure she throws in a whole new set of names and family in the final few pages. show less

Harry Sterling has lost much in recent years: his brother, his marriage, his job, his self-esteem. A teaching post at a small college in Florida has given him an opportunity to reevaluate his life and reconnect with his teenage son. But Harry is above all a reporter, so when he stumbles upon a rumor about physicist Charles Ziegart--world-famous for a breakthrough discovery in electrical conductivity--he feels compelled to investigate. Could it be true that the highly respected scientist show more stole the credit for the "Ziegart Effect" from one of his students?

This book was very intriguing and had a surprise ending. I was not looking or even thought of that ending. I don't know if I would read more of her books. It was a good read, but very slow. Maybe I didn't like it because it was so "scientific" in parts. I am reading another of her books (at the same time I was reading this one) called "Every Secret Thing." That one seems a little more interesting. show less