Cynthia Black

I loved this book. It has an enduring perfume to it like rich patchouli and lush oriental rugs. It is daring in it's sensuality just approaching really naughty without ever becoming too much. It's amazing how Anne Rice has woven this all together from a snowy French province to exotic Mediterranean sea. And the way she juxtaposes so many diverse characters into a complex story so well that the interest and depth of it all needs no plot. When she gets to the Egyptians, now alive yet frozen in antiquity I wanted to walk into their beautiful chamber and never leave it. The whole story has a wonderful feeling of infinitude

I read "The Painted Bird" around 25 years ago so it is not fresh in my mind . But I quickly became absorbed in it once I started reading. I do remember my reaction to the horrific scenes he described and his struggle to find a safe place only to be disappointed by another horror. The stories within the book and this boys terrible experience immediately struck me as authentic. Reading through other people's reviews seems inexplicable to me. On the one hand are the known atrocities of the Nazis not to mention the horrors created by humanity over the time of recorded history. Surely people writing these reviews must realize the dark side of the human "soul" and what it is capable of and yet these '"reviewers" express disgust and outrage at what Kozinski was apparently narrating as fact. Why are the scenes of depravity worse than what the Nazis committed or any number of other dictators or nameless Individuals? The only reason I am giving this book 3 stars is due to the fact that it is, in my opinion, a unique work, difficult enough to make it worthy of a particular number of stars. For those who want to read an excellently written book that uncovers the darkest side of human nature I think 5 stars would be right. Especially that found in small towns where those who are different are ",put to the test". One other thought I have about this book is that it reminds me of