Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking

This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel

I loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I great first novel. I can only hope she gives another soon.

I loved this book. Beautifully written. Sweeney's style is staightforward and uncomplicated. Almost like poetry. A page turner but interweaves greek myths and Shakespearean theme in thought provoking way on top of fascinating and moving story of girl who chooses New York City over an island in Maine where she grew up alone with her father. Miranda's loneliness is heartwrenching as she searches for clues to who she is and what happened to her mother. This is a really special book. Easy to read but perfect gift for your book lover friends.

I loved this book! I found it beautiful, gritty, magical, completely moving, and sometimes very funny. It is an unconventional coming-of-age story that is terse and tough-minded but unafraid of portraying raw emotion. It is also a story about art-making, art's entanglement with life, and the imagination's ability to feed, transform and give shape to experience. Finally, it is a terrific read--with all the suspense of a mystery (which it is also), the intrigue and humor of a social satire (which it is also), and the stark lyricism and metaphoric depth of a poem (of the plain-spoken, restrained variety). The characters drive the plot and are totally engaging and idiosyncratic, most especially Miranda, the protagonist. She is a stalwart, dreamy loner whose adventurous impulses seem driven by a desire to break out of her isolation. On route, there is disappointment but ultimately hope and complicated, dogged love--love between men and women, women and women, men and men, father and daughter. Love in Miranda's world is a force that clobbers or saves or sometimes both. Despite these sobering investigations, Sweeney maintains a light touch and a sense of exuberance. Did I mention that Among Other Things... is also a playful feminist revision of The Tempest? Do I need to give you any more reasons to read this book?