Illumination Night

This book starts off slow and I thought I wouldn't like it, but it becomes a thrilling book that you won't be able to put down! There are many different stories to follow and they develop over time. I would recommend this book to anyone! Alice Hoffman is great and another book by her Here on Earth is another great read!

This was the first book I ever read of Alice Hoffman, and I was completely amazed by her talent of writing such vivid and enchanting tales of ordinary people. Illumination night is a somewhat sad tale about destructive and longing love, that is destined to fail from the beginning. I could feel the pain that the young girl felt, knowing that the man she loved could never be hers. This is a story of passage, a young girl grows up and faces reality and her grandmother grows older and faces the fact that death cannot be avoided. After reading this book I got hooked on Hoffman's books. This is still my favorite book, alongside HERE ON EARTH. I really recommend this book if you aren't afraid of getting touched. Tears will fall, but in the end you will feel very whole.

I loved this book. Alice Hoffman has a wonderful talent, especially for a writer who can keep this type of POV throughout the entire novel without flaw. The characters were flexible and the little touches of "magic" here and there make it a very cozy, interesting book. Haunting, however? I don't think so...

Illumination Night is a sadly sweet story of a slightly disfunctional young family coming to terms with their disappointments as well as their mortality. Simon, the slight four year old who only yearns to grow, is juxtaposed with his elderly neighbor who seems to be getting smaller and younger. His mom is becoming unnaturally fearful as the dangers of the world seem to increasingly threaten her family. Meanwhile the rebellious teenager of the elderly neighbor has found meaning in caring for her grandmother, and the giant down the road only wants to be loved. What a cast of characters! Ms Hoffman lets you see into the heart of each. Her slightly askew but likable people remind me of the type of characters Anne Tyler invents. This was my first Alice Hoffman story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.