I loved Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. The pacing was excellent and the story compelling. The fact that it is a true story of a double murder and no one really knows (or likely will ever know) what really happened was handled in a way that seemed to enhance rather than ruin the ending. The fact that so many aspects of human nature and the mind and memories and dreams were not well explored in the mid-1800s also adds to the mystery.

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I first read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald back in high school and liked it on a more “romantic” level – not so much about the love story component but the overall pathos of the book, if that makes any sense. There was a sense of characters being swept up into their storylines, which seemed new and different and a bit exciting. When I reread it about seven years ago, I really felt sad that there were so many people in this story who were either unhappy with their choices in life or uncomfortable with who they were as people.

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This wonderful book by Wilkie Collins was published in 1860 and is an early mystery novel. It plays with structure and presentation by having different chapters narrated by or focusing on the various main characters. The story was gripping and fascinating; the characters were very well-drawn and compelling.

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