The Whole World Over

Julia Glass is a magnificent writer. I, too, was blown away by "Three Junes" and eagerly awaited this next book. And, while by and large I understand the various criticisms put forth by some reviewers here, I must say that for me, "The Whole World Over" was an enormously satisfying book. I loved it! What Glass does particularly well is voice. Ray and Walter are the prime examples here, but equally so are the voices of the six-year-old George, and of Greenie's imperious mother, of Michael and Uncle Marsden... indeed there isn't one from this large cast of characters that isn't dead-on. I also find Glass an attentive observer of minute but telling domestic detail, which adds a glorious richness to most scenes. As in the "Three Junes," the story lines of various characters intertwine in quasi-serendipidous ways (indeed, there are some holdovers from the first novel) which may seem contrived to some. To me, it is wonderful metaphorical illustration of her title: the big world is really only made up of small interconnecting webs. I was reluctant to finish this book, but find the characters have remained with me. It was a deeply affecting read.

This book was a breath of fresh air to me. It got me out of my non-fiction rut and back into fiction in an overwhelmingly joyous way. Like another reviewer, I read this before Three Junes and therefore did not have expectations. I truly loved this book and could not put it down, tearing through it in about three days (very fast for me). I found Glass's characters very sympathetic and truly wanted to know what happened next to all of them. Several reviewers mentioned a disjointed feeling to the separate story lines but I disagree. They all meshed together and seemed to make perfect sense to this reader. This book is worth reading for the character of Saga/Emily alone. She is a phenomenal character who I would love to hear more about in (hopefully) a coming book of Glass's. I could relate to her struggles for a variety of reasons, but mostly because she captures the pain of being human in such a real way, although her struggles are considered to be a result of a disability of sorts. This is a book I would go out of my way to ask a friend "have you read this??? It's sooo great!"

I loved this book. I found the characters rich and compelling. The descriptions are beautiful. It's not a book you want to tear through, but one you want to sit with and savor. What I liked best was the essential decency in all the characters. It's much easier to write a frightning psychopath than to keep the readers interest when describing real people who may hurt one another, but who always care.

Julia Glass' character development is complex and real-identification with the characters grows as the book is read. In addition the author's language use is at once lyrical and picks up the nuances expected in each scenario by the given character. Information about New Mexico, ranch life,excellent catered menus, NYC everyday life and even the life of the character who sleeps in a restaurant garden of on occasion all draw the reader furtherinto the story andthe lives within it. The reader begins to care for each of them even when astonished at their individual behaviors. Turning pages to learn the fates they face often keeps one reading longer than anticipated; a book that is hard to put down. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to other readers and will pass on my copy to friends.

I am totally floored by some of the other reviews here. I found this book extremely engaging, intelligent, beautifully written, funny -- a mature, well-crafted novel by a writer at the height of her powers. Julia Glass does an amazing job of getting close to a wide range of characters of different ages, genders, and viewpoints, and offers a fascinating range of takes on parenthood, relationships, work, and love. I tend to be a pretty impatient reader who needs a lot of plot to keep going forward, but I found that in spades here. It's one of those books that makes you feel happy all the time knowing you have it to dive back into whenever you find a moment to escape. I loved it and fully believe most smart sophisticated readers would too!