Sorry you didn't like the review. I gave the book a well-deserved A. You should read Marylynne Robinson -- Gilead, Housekeeping. I'm not dissing her by the mention any more than I'm dissing Egan. Just noting a reality: Slap a woman's name and a photo of a sweet young thing on the cover of your book (as the publishers did on Egan's last two hardbacks), and bookstore browsers will mentally file your novel away with the other books that look just like it. It's not fair, and that's exactly what I'm trying to say.

I read a lot of women's writing, and by no means do I think it's navel-gazing crap. Check out the rest of my reviews to see a lot of great women's fiction that I've praised on the A.V. Club.

Hope you'll continue reading and providing feedback on the A.V. Club message boards. And I hope you'll read the book -- it's fantastic. -- Donna B.