"Hamilton has used both her considerable empathy as a writer and
her experience in the Middle East to create an intimate portrait of
21-year-old Jonas Meitzner. It's not easy to like him for what he
intends to do, much less admire him, but Hamilton makes us aware of
his humanity...Sensitive, lonely and full of the anger and doubt
many young people feel, Jonas seems in Hamilton's hands not a
stranger, not an impenetrable figure of dread whose behavior is
beyond our understanding, but the ordinary, fragile child of
ordinary, fragile people. You don't exactly want to look at the
story of what happens to Jonas, but Hamilton has made it very hard
to tear your gaze away."--The Washington Post "Riveting.... a
potent psychological analysis on the true meaning of loyalty -- to
friends, family members and country -- and what any of us, given
the chance, would to do to uphold it."--The Minneapolis
Star-Tribune "Highly readable...keeps us engaged most with the
desire to answer the standard thriller question: Can the killer be
stopped?...Hamilton arrays her characters smartly, then points them
toward the subway...Women, in particular, will inhale this
book."--Cleveland Plain Dealer "One of the best novels I've read
this year."--Carol Fitzgerald, founder, BookReporter.com "Gorgeous
and complex....a very tense narrative, vividly imagined and eerily
plausible."--Publishers Weekly "How much can we ever know the ones
we truly love? So asks Masha Hamilton in her riveting new novel, 31
HOURS. It kept me up all night, and left me in tears."--Amanda Eyre
Ward, author of Sleep Toward Heaven, Love Stories In This Town
"Fascinating."--Booklist "A literary novel that is also as
suspenseful as a thriller. "31 Hours" is Hamilton's third book, and
while the phrase "break-out book" is often bandied about too
easily, Hamilton has written something singular...Masha Hamilton's
new book has the pace of the most entertaining thriller, the
information of an educational documentary, the compassion of an
enlightening text, and the coherence of an artwork."--The Book
Studio "Asks questions that have plagued our nation since the 2001
terrorist attacks."--Cleveland Scene "You don't just read this
gut-wrenching book; you become part of it in a deep, primal way.
Hamilton's story is so real and so raw, it takes over your thoughts
and feelings and never lets go. We need to start a global book club
and make this its first selection." --Lois Alter Mark,
StyleSubstanceSoul.com "Masha Hamilton uncovers the complex
humanity behind the horror of terrorism. Read it for the exquisite
craft, but also for the entry into a world that's often splashed in
the headlines, but seldom so brilliantly revealed." --Caroline
Leavitt, author of Girls in Trouble and Coming Back to Me "A book
of hope, despair and yearning that stays with you far beyond the
final page. This book is poetic, frightening, and absolutely
impossible to put down. Masha Hamilton is one of my very favorite
writers, and stories like this are the reason why." --Laura
Fitzgerald, author of Veil of Roses and One True Theory of Love
"Equal parts thriller and poetry, Masha Hamilton's 31 Hours had me
turning pages late into the night and thinking about its startling
conclusion long after I'd read the last page. In compelling readers
to reconsider how we think about terrorism, this beautiful novel
will provoke understanding, and perhaps even inspire us toward
much-needed change."--Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Wednesday
Sisters "In 31 Hours, Masha Hamilton tells the poignant story of
mothering a misguided, idealistic, puzzling yet familiar young man
in today's alarming political climate. It is a deep meditation on
the roots of terrorism - and how closely related they can be to
one's own family and home. The title is straightforward yet fraught
with meaning; the gorgeous prose that follows wastes neither a
phrase nor a sigh."--Barbara Fischkin, author of Muddy Cup and
Confidential Sources "Hamilton's novel raises many
thought-provoking questions, which makes it a strong choice for
book clubs and for readers who enjoy character-driven fiction with
contemporary political relevance."--Library Journal
"Without giving anything away, the ending can, and certainly may,
spark discussion. (I can picture this book being discussed in a
classroom setting.)...Hamilton masterfully sets up the tension
until you, as a reader, get to the point of finishing a chapter and
looking at your watch to see if you have time to fit in another.
It's like every character is a grain of sand spiraling down an hour
glass. They slowly come closer and closer together until they all
meet in the middle...Hamilton's mastery of words will pull you in
and not let you go."--minnesotareads.com "Brilliantly
understated...as stark and quietly terrifying as anything I have
read recently....A thriller in every sense of the word, it is also
a work of literary fiction, a cautionary tale for the times taking
place somewhere at this moment and for the foreseeable
future."--bookreporter.com "Sometimes, even after the last word is
read and the final page turned, a book is so full of unique and
deftly drawn characters that they seem to continue living, free of
the pages, ink, and binding that contained them. Masha Hamilton's
31 Hours is such a book, and each character, no matter how brief
the appearance, is so vibrant and fascinating that the idea of the
end of the book, the end of the reader's ability to follow them as
they live their lives, feels like a deep and tragic loss."
--Bookgeeks.co.uk "I highly recommend 31 Hours ... I'm still
thinking about this haunting novel. Hamilton makes astute
observations about human nature, the current political and social
climate in the U.S., and she does this through characters that I
truly came to care for and worry about." --Julie McGuire, fiction
editor, Internet Review of Books "Gripping...I read with an
increasing sense of urgency as the clock ticked down the thirty-one
hours to the story's climax."--Food for Thought "Perceptive and
cohesive throughout, 31 Hours makes for tautly-building
suspense."--Blogcritics.com
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