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Tag Archive for: praise

San Antonio Current

“At times both hilarious and heartbreaking, Makkai creates eccentric characters the reader can’t give up on, even at their very lowest, least likeable points. Makkai’s witty and engrossing writing style belies the nearly Dickensian way she layers characters over time, revealing hidden identities and unknown connections. It is also a very frank story of the lives of working artists and writers: the trade-offs, the losses, the liberation and the need for both community and isolation.

From the opening line to the last, The Hundred-Year House is utterly absorbing. Deceptively light and fast-paced, the story will stay with the reader long after the satisfying conclusion.”

Full review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on August 14 2014· Tagged: , , ,

People Magazine

“The darkly funny Makkai seeds the narrative with so many mysteries and surprises – star-crossed lovers! mistaken identities! – that those 100 years race by.” More here.

Posted in News, Reviews on August 14 2014· Tagged: , , ,

Denver Post

“What a clever, twisted story Rebecca Makkai has created in The Hundred-Year House… Full of unexpected storytelling and wry humor… Revelations, increasingly delicious and devastating, come faster and more furiously as the text progresses…” Full review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on August 14 2014· Tagged: , , ,

THYH praised in Winnipeg Free Press

“It’s a wonderful novel, as beautifully written as it is painstakingly plotted, with the structure to please any literary critic, and a story absorbing enough to satisfy the most ravenous reader… Rare indeed is the novel that combines beautiful prose with ideas as robust as those on display in The Hundred-Year House — not to mention a story like a set of Penrose stairs, connected in the most playful, the most surprising of ways.” Full review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on August 14 2014· Tagged: , , ,

Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Ingenious… the work of a master builder”

“Both clever and heartfelt, this is a book with something for pretty much everyone. Makkai has furnished it like a sturdy yet finely detailed old house, with comfortable nooks, doors with keyholes, mirrors in every hallway, and, oh yes, that restless ghost in the attic.” Read the full review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on July 19 2014· Tagged: , ,

Toronto Star calls THYH “a smart comedy with a satisfyingly fierce pace”

“Here, we find a writer with an innately intelligent and assured comedic voice, someone who obviously has a deep literary pedigree but appears more interested in having fun on the page and puzzling out the complexities of a tightly woven plot. The pleasures of Makkai’s novel are contagious, all of which makes The Hundred-Year House an ideal novel for this hot summer.” Read the full review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on July 19 2014· Tagged: , ,

Starred Review in Library Journal

ljLibrary Journal has given The Hundred-Year House a glowing starred review, saying “This novel is stunning: ambitious, readable, and intriguing. Its gothic elements, complexity, and plot twists are reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. Chilling and thoroughly enjoyable.” Read the whole review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on June 10 2014· Tagged: , ,

Starred Review in Booklist

booklistThe Hundred-Year House has received a lovely starred review in Booklist, which you can read here. From the review: “…Such close quarters provide the perfect setup for farce and scandal, and Makkai choreographs both in a dazzling plot spiked with secrets and betrayals hilarious and dire. Her offbeat characters and suspenseful story could have added up to a stylish romp. Instead, Makkai offers that and much more as she stealthily investigates the complexities of ambition, sexism, violence, creativity, and love in this diverting yet richly dimensional novel”

Posted in News, Reviews on May 31 2014· Tagged: , , ,

Starred Review for The Hundred-Year House in Publishers Weekly

pwPublishers Weekly has given The Hundred-Year House a starred review, calling it “lively and clever… exceptionally well constructed, with engaging characters busy reinventing themselves throughout, and delightful twists that surprise and satisfy.” Read the full review here.

“Makkai’s (The Borrower) second novel is a lively and clever story starring an estate with an intricate history.”

Posted in News, Reviews on April 9 2014· Tagged: ,

THYH a “most anticipated” book by The Millions and Bookpage

Many thanks to both Bookpage and The Millions for naming The Hundred-Year House one of the most anticipated books of 2014! (I mean, I’m sure as hell anticipating it, but it’s nice to know other people are too…)

Posted in Reviews on January 26 2014· Tagged: , ,

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