Lark and Termite Audiobook

" I found this to be a wonderful study in perception since all of the books characters see the world so differently. You are inside the head of the father who is dying early in the Korean War, inside the head of Lark who is in high school and whose world is, at one level a normal teen, and at another bounded by her relationships to her mysterious and missing parents, and Termite, her younger brother handicapped by hydrocephalus. You are also in Termite's head and at moments perceive the world through his almost extrasensory perception with a delicacy of feeling and made me wish to touch the world in the same way. "

" The story of a sister and her brain damaged brother quickly fills up around you like the flood waters that drench the poor West Virginia town where it is set. Interesting use of multiple narrators somehow allows a character who doesn't speak to communicate to the reader in a very real way. Minor quips with the neat ending but overall very enjoyable. "

" This book hooked me. I struggled with it, at first, but once I gave myself over to what the author was doing, it really swept me off my feet. "

" This was a bit difficult to follow as she changed characters each chapter as well as time frames. I guess I was a bit disappointed as I had heard rave reviews about the book. "

" Nuanced and lovely. "

" Exquisite prose and an interwoven narrative make this an unforgettable novel. "

" Very, very pretty writing. And surprisingly engaging for not having much in the way of plot until the last seventy pages. Loved it. "

" I just couldn't get through this at all. Sorry to say, but it sounded like a good plot, but it was dry, dry, dry. "

" this one took me a while to love, but about halfway through i got there. I will most definitely read this a second and probably a third time...it's so lush, dense, and i know there's so much I missed. Reminds me a lot of Faulkner's Sound and the Fury, and as difficult in places, but also worth it. "

" Really, a 3.5. Interesting and poetic. "

" Worth a re-read to "get it", but overall a well-told story from unique perspectives. "

" This was a cool book and unlike any book I have read - it's a quick and captivating read. "

" I've heard this book is only worth reading the last 1/2, but I loved it from Chapter One! "

" Very cleverly constructed, switching back and forth between A battlefield in Korea and West Virginia, this is a compelling story about what family means and what each of us owes another. And who can resist kids named Lark and Termite? "

" It's simply a beautifully written book. The story is multi-layered with several narrators. However, it is not hard to follow. Life is not explainable and Phillips uses the mystical to illustrate this truth. BTW, there is a trade paperback copy at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore in Sylva. "

" This might be one of those books that should be read in print. I listened to the audiobook, and while the narrators did a great job, I lost interest, particularly during Termite's father's parts. "

" This book was a chore for me. I wanted to engage in parts of the story, but found myself daydreaming in other parts. And the parts that did interest me, ended in a very unsatisfying resolution. "

" I liked the plot line and really enjoyed the way the author brought all of the threads together. It was more of a magic realism book than I expected--mystical, I suppose, but not in an "angels and sunbeams" way. Well done use of multiple viewpoint characters. "

" Too wordy, too slow. "

" This was a hard read. I almost quit reading after the first third. I am glad I stuck it out until the end. "

" This is getting raves all over the place, but I found it really uneven--parts were amazing, other parts were meh. Overall, worth the read, but glad I got it from the library. "

" I enjoyed this one, though I could have done without the sections written by the disabled kid (I generally don't like when authors write as someone who doesn't speak). "

" It took some time getting "into" this book. The only reason why I finished it was because it was our book club selection. "

" As the layers of the story unfolds it all comes together in the end. A story of family and love. "

" Lovely prose with distinctive narrative voices told from multiple points of view. Time shuffling happens here. This took me quite a few occasions to actually finish the book - at least a week. My only quibble with this ebook edition was that it was poorly formatted on my Nook screen. *sigh* "

" I am going to be re-reading this book at some point--the quote on the back cover says it all "luminous and haunting and singular". "

" I really liked this book. This would be an excellant choice for a book club as there are many interesting things going on in this novel "

" Poetic novel that alternates between the last hours of Robert Leavitt (pinned down in a tunnel in S. Korea in 1950)and the story of his disabled son, Termite (9yrs. old) living with his half-sister, Lark, and their Aunt Nonie in West Va. "

" This is a well-written, and richly imaged book. I just didn't particularly care for the story. Which makes me feel unsettled, as if I'm somehow being unfair to it. "

" This story was written differently. Each character used first person, but it made it a little hard to understand what was going on. Sensory perceptions took precedence over rational thoughts. "

" It's simply a beautifully written book. The story is multi-layered with several narrators. However, it is not hard to follow. Life is not explainable and Phillips uses the mystical to illustrate this truth. BTW, there is a trade paperback copy at the Friends of the Library Used Bookstore in Sylva. "