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"Nameless" This book has earned a place in the short list of books I will treasure forever. I found myself slowing down at the end because the thought of there being no more story was heartbreaking. The writing is lovely, satisfying. So many books have interesting ideas but are just so badly written that I have to walk away. To find such exquisite writing in a first time author, knowing he has many a book in him. sigh. There's not much better.

At first, for all the good writing, I wasn't enamoured with the book at first, or rather, the main character. When he sang out the opening lines to Habanera (of Carmen fame), I was hit with the fleeting thought of another omniglot Mary-sue (Of course, I feel awful of the thought now). However, this as quickly erased, and within a few more pages, I'd warmed rather nicely to Christopher. The community of Low Ferry was very reminiscent of a small community I once lived in myself, so I was quickly surrounded by nostalgia (not a bad thing!). I could go on, but I can only say that the characters felt, acted, and evolved completely naturally, which is hard to find in more than a few books.
The... More > only flaw I can see would be... the story feels as if it's rushing through the beginning to get the the meat. Of course, this is relatively speaking as the book reads in a very slice-of-life way.
The only other bone I have to pick is the off-hand comment of the townspeople waiting for a storm to break to wash out the humidity. I blame this on my meteorological background, but... Any sort of rain makes it more humid, as the air temperature typically cools, and the water content in the air rises (thus raising humidity). Of course, this is nothing important, just something I laughed about to myself while reading.
All in all, the book has a nicely lazy summer day feel to it, leading to a very pleasant over-all reading experience. I certainly recommend it! < Less

Fabulous writing! A gem of a novel!

A novel you won't regret picking up until it's 4:30 in the morning and you have just finished reading. Nameless transported me to Low Ferry so thoroughly, I'm just a bit confused as to how I got back to New Mexico. Sam sets a dreamy, slow pace that's perfect for the modern fable he presents.