Mary Mc Garry Morris - Review Excerpts

Review Excerpts

Vanished

“Astonishing… Morris’s book should be judged on its own merits, and against the work of our most highly practiced and accomplished novelists.” Vogue

"A dazzling first novel… Events are presented with such authority that they hum with both the authenticity of real life and the mythic power of fable. This is a startling and powerful debut” Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Vanished is a splendid accomplishment. It is notable for its concept and structure, for the fluid elegance of its language, and, perhaps above all, for the facility with which Ms. Morris enters the point of view and articulates the feelings, instincts and thoughts of characters who would never be able to express themselves with anything resembling the author’s stark composure.” Pittsburg Post-Gazzette

A Dangerous Woman

“At once deeply thrilling and deeply affecting...should burnish Ms. Morris’s reputation as one of the most skillful new writers at work in America today.” The New York Times

"Brilliantly acute ...Remarkable ... Morris' magnanimous ability to portray her characters with so much tenderness and cruelty may be her novel's finest strength." Boston Sunday Globe

Songs In Ordinary Time

“A gritty, beautifully crafted novel rich in wisdom and suspense ... Secures Morris’s status as one of our finest American writers.” The Miami Herald

"Morris seems merely to have been sharpening her skills when she wrote Vanished ... and A Dangerous Woman. Now she has brought all her gifts to bear on Songs of Ordinary Time. The flowing sentences and scenes make every page worth reading." The Philadelphia Inquirer

Fiona Range

“Morris is a master storyteller, an acute observer of small-town America and of people who struggle, sometimes in vain, to have lives that amount to more than hard work and a cold bed… Fiona Range, the novel, is a wealth of passion and heartbreak.” USA Today

“While Morris’ earlier work has often been compared to Steinbeck and McCullers, here she seems unmistakably under the spell of the Bronte sisters ... Morris grounds her storytelling with compelling characterizations and masterful plotting.” New York Newsday

A Hole in the Universe

"Welcome to the world of Mary McGarry Morris — and what a world it is. Richly atmospheric, bristling with dialogue, so tightened with suspense it threatens to snap. Morris is a master at sympathetic portraits of those clinging to the peripheries of society. And nowhere is her talent more evident than in her extraordinary new novel, A Hole in the Universe. Morris a superb storyteller ... and undeniable compassion for and intuitive understanding of her characters' lives make us know and care about these people, too." Washington Post

The Lost Mother

“Never one to shy away from the messy and bleak, Morris unflinchingly illuminates the bitter existence of neglected children and their inspiring resilience, once again proving herself a storyteller of great compassion, insight, and depth.” Publishers Weekly

“The Lost Mother paints a nuanced portrait of small-town life ... Morris’s characters are finely drawn, her dialogue rings true, and the epic sweep of her storytelling draws apt comparison to Dickens and Steinbeck.” The Orlando Sentinel

" subtlest novel that ever kept me up into the small hours of the night, unable to look away.” Washington Post

The Last Secret

“Keeping secrets leads to calamitous consequences in Morris’s disturbing domestic thriller. Morris (The Lost Mother) knocks over a domino chain of events that ... confirm the importance of comprehending past mistakes to avoid future ones.” Publishers Weekly

"The Last Secret would be another ... story of a woman discovering her husband's betrayal, but Morris pumps that old tale full of adrenaline by running a wicked psychological thriller in the background ... It all leads to a propulsive climax that makes this sensitive work of literary fiction also incredibly exciting." Washington Post

“Morris, a PEN/Faulkner finalist (Vanished) and Oprah Book Club author (Songs in Ordinary Time), here offers a ... plotline that develops into a memorable, cinematic novel through strong portrayals of complex personalities ... As suspense builds, Morris adds context and depth by carefully revealing inner lives dominated by deception and loneliness, creating empathy for a variety of flawed characters, including even monstrous Eddie.” Library Journal

Light From a Distant Star

“Mary McGarry Morris doesn't so much tell a story as spin a delicate and powerful web. With her elegant prose, beautifully drawn characters, and perfect pitch dialog, she lured me in. And with her intense and gripping plot, she had me ensnared. I was in love with the sensitive, smart and plucky Nellie from the very first moment I met her and I'll be thinking of her for a good long time. Light From a Distant Star is a wonderful, powerful novel not to be missed.” Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of "Fragile"

“A timeless and timely look at small town life ... Morris' page-turner, (which evokes To Kill a Mockingbird) will satisfy her fans and send new readers searching for her earlier titles.” Washington Post

"Morris' finely crafted prose—simple and lyrical—captures perfectly that sliver of pre-adolescence when the very world around us seems to shudder and shift, when the adults we admire suddenly reveal their flaws, and everything we treasure seems to be slipping away." Associated Press