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Jun 05, 2010

Sparrow rated it:

There is no particular type of person so easy to make fun of as the teen or twenty-something man who takes himself really seriously. And yet, despite Ali Shaw basically falling into that category, imao, I don’t want to make fun of this book. I knew this guy, a while back, who was an emo musician surfer, and he was also so handsome that people apparently didn’t tell him he was wrong very often. This one time, when I first met him, he told me that Bright Eyes was the new Bob Dylan. That ended More...

26 comments like (34 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Jo rated it:

4 ¾ Stars.*

“I should take a photo.”
“No. Just remember it, and us in it.”
He swallowed.
She smiled. Here was rightness of place and time.”

There isn’t much I can say about this book that other people haven’t said in the other comments here.
This book is absolutely breath taking: it’s perfectly executed, immaculately paced and I fell in love with every single character*- flaws and all.
The world that Shaw creates is so lush and full of vivi More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Feb 21, 2011

Jillian -always aspiring- rated it:

It seems that 2011 is the year to reaffirm the list of authors to whom I would like to dub the title 'I Am Not Worthy of Your Greatness' (thanks to my Goodreads friend Galla for giving me the idea in the first place). Among the authors on said list are: Suzanne Collins, Melina Marchetta, Juliet Marillier, J.K. Rowling, and Markus Zusak. Basically -- you do not make the list unless I actually fret when I think about how much I love your writing, your storytelling, and your characters and wonde More...

12 comments like (18 people liked it)

Feb 22, 2011

Erica (daydreamer) rated it:

Warning: this review is long and gushing because I love the book so

The Girl with Glass Feet is a beautiful, achingly romantic tale, full of breathless wonder and untold promises. It captured my heart, and I became a part of the story, part of the enchantment. And I loved it, oh so dearly. This book is like a fairytale, a poetically beautiful fairytale. Yet it’s more reminiscent of the original fairytales, with the flow of the writing and the very detailed descriptions. Ali Shaw, thou More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 29, 2010

AtenRa rated it:

I have contradicting feelings about The Girl With The Glass Feet.There were times when I absolutely loved it and times that I was sure I was not gonna be able to finish it.
Let me elaborate:

The book describes how a girl named Ida, is slowly turning into glass because of white monster that she saw in a bog(?? That's all I know,believe me!)and it somehow "cursed" her.Ida, meets Midas, a very shy and introverted guy-daddy issues-who falls in love with her and tries to sav More...

4 comments like (8 people liked it)

Apr 06, 2010

Melinda rated it:

Oh but I did not want this book to end. I didn't want to get to the end as I knew it would break my heart. And it did, but in a good way.

Let me tell you about this wonderful book.

Ida Maclaird visited St. Hauda's land a year ago and met a strange man. Henry Fuwa accidentally told her about the moth-winged cattle and she'd heard of the beast whose glance could turn anything it fell on pure white. And so when she remembers him mentioning the glass people in the bog, she kno More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2011

Suzanne rated it:

I just love the concept of this book! A girl that turns into glass? Amazing! I can hardly wait to read this one!

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I just finished this book today, and I have a lot to say about it!

First of all, the great things:

Ali Shaw writes amazing and beautiful descriptions. When it comes to describing the world he is writing about, he doesn't miss More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 29, 2011

Kitty rated it:

Entrancing

At first I was a bit skeptical. I picked it up because of its fairytalesque title but then reading the description on the inside cover I gre afraid that I had picked up some boy-meets-girl in the lonely gray landscape of some random small town island. The kind where 'their love for each other melts the winter's chill'. But I was very very happy to find that it is probably the exact opposite of that kind of book. Yes there is a man who meets a woman on some island in winter. But th More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2012

Olivia rated it:

Das Buch ist einfach zauberhaft. Schon von der ersten Seite hat es mich mitgenommen auf eine Reise nach St.-Hauda's Land. Der Schreibstil ist einfach wunderschön, denn obwohl Ali Shaw normal gebräuchliche Wörter, und keinesfalls aufgeblasene benutzt, wirkt es so zerbrechlich, so zart, real und einfach wunderschön! Ein wenig anspruchsvoll war er trotzdem, durch viele verschachtelte Sätze und Metaphern.
Der Roman hat mich zutiefst berührt, auf eine Weise die mir an der ein oder anderen Stelle More...

0 comments like

Dec 17, 2011

Christina (Reading Thru The Night) rated it:

Ida is a vivacious young lady determined to experience everything in life. Or at least she used to be. Her lively spirit has turned more defiant as she comes to terms with her ailment. Ida has returned to the wintery island of St. Hauda’s where she believes her transformation began. She must seek the only man that she knows who might help this unrelenting disease which is slowly turning her into glass.

When she first met Henry Fuwa, he was rather distraught. One of his winged bulls More...

0 comments like

Oct 17, 2011

Jill rated it:

The fantasy portion of this book was as enchanting as promised by the lovely cover and the reviews, but the love story didn't live up to those standards for me. The ending was romantic, if a bit Titanic, but throughout the book, I wasn't clear on what was pulling these two together other than lonliness, desperation, and proximity. I thought Midas was fairly well developed, but Ida was still missing something for me...sure she travelled and now has this curse/disease, but that was most of what More...

0 comments like

Oct 16, 2011

Marike added it

I am not going to hide it (not sure what that means) but there is probably a basic spoiler. I don't really give a summary as description:

The girl with glass feet by Ali Shaw

This is a book I was so prepared to like. I’ve read so many wonderful reviews of it. I had it on my wishlist and a friend then chose it as a birthday gift. And at long last I got round to read it. And I feel let down by it and slightly ashamed of my disappointment, as if it’s letting the friend down. W More...

0 comments like

Jul 15, 2011

Joe rated it:

When I read the synopsis of this book, I was intrigued to say the least. The idea of the central female character slowly turning to glass, and the central male being a photographer immediately seemed to imply an interesting subtext to be explored, all with an air of a classic fairytale. The book certainly exploits its 'fairytale' positioning, with elements of (seemingly) fantastical Scandinavian folklore woven through the tale. Jellyfish explode into light when they die, and creatures roam the w More...

0 comments like

Apr 22, 2011

Ribka rated it:

Awalnya aku pikir buku ini sejenis fairy tale which ended happily ever after. Tapi ternyata dugaan saya salah total. Buku ini berpusat pada hubungan antara Midas Crook dan Ida Maclaird. Midas adalah seorang pemuda introvert yang tinggal di St Hauda's land dan memiliki hobi fotografi. Sedangkan Ida Maclaird adalah seorang gadis yang menderita penyakit aneh yaitu kedua kakinya berubah menjadi kaca. Ida pergi ke St Hauda untuk mencari Henry Fuwa agar ia mungkin saja bisa mendapat petunjuk dan pen More...

0 comments like

Mar 30, 2011

Chanel11 rated it:

I am rather confused as to whether I liked this book or not. I guess I should start with what I liked:

The writing was lovely, very picturesque and descriptive.
The idea of the story was interesting.

Now on to what I didn't like:

The way the story unfolded fell short for me. Not only that, I had to push myself to keep reading, as much as I wanted to find out what happened in the story, it felt like I was being 'blocked' somehow from doing it. Whilst it was nice and More...

0 comments like

Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

I actually saw this book the first time through the Amazon Vine program; I ended up getting it from the library instead, but the cover and book description intrigued me. I liked some parts of the book and disliked others; overall it ended up being an okay read. It was more a tale of people making bad decisions about love than a fantasy though; you should know that before you pick it up.

Most of the tale centers around a young girl Ida and a photographer Midas. Midas is very introverted More...

0 comments like

Nov 25, 2010

Chibineko rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jun 01, 2010

Michael rated it:

Ali Shaw has written a wonderful parable in his first novel. For anyone who has ever dealt with a life-threatening condition (either personally or in the case of a loved one), reading this book is relevant. For anyone who might ever have to deal with a life-threatening condition, reading this book is prudent. The book is an exploration of love, loss, and wonder, set in a magical archipelago inhabited by Dickensian characters, miniature moth-winged cattle, a mysterious creature with the medusa-li More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 31, 2010

Michelle rated it:

An amazing idea, gorgeous prose... and a completely boring middle. This book would have fared better as a short story. There is so much to love about this book (i. e. the descriptiveness) but that is exactly what weighs this book down. I read the first couple chapters, got bored out of my mind, and skipped to the end. And the sad part is, I don't feel like I missed anything by skipping the middle. The end is where the best stuff is. All my skipping around could have been avoided by making this n More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

May 22, 2010

RNOCEAN rated it:

An inventive and richly visual novel about young lovers on a quest to find a cure for a magical ailment, perfect for readers of Alice Hoffman
Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts, a mainlander who has visited the islands only once before. Yet during More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2010

Karen rated it:

I was really pleased when I was offered an advanced reader copy of Ali Shaw's debut novel. I was intrigued by the synopsis. It seemed like just the kind of book I enjoy most.

The Girl with Glass Feet is the story of Midas Crook, a young man who uses his camera to shield him from the world, and Ida Maclaird, the titular character (and if there is a single protagonist it is Midas not Ida). The novel is also very much concerned with its setting, the strange, snowbound archipelago of S More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 08, 2010

Victoria rated it:

Just finished reading this as Barnes and Nobles tonight. I really liked the book alot. I thought it was a really interesting premise. It's one of those books that isn't a fairy tale. It's not real life either, but it is a book that just shows you that life isn't perfect and sometimes, no matter how much we want something, it just doesn't come true. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people and there is no real reason for it, it just is.

The book was re More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 13, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda’s Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts, a mainlander who has visited the islands only once before. Yet during that one fateful visit the glass transformation began to take hold, and now she has returned in search of a cure.

Midas Crook is a young More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2009

Allison rated it:

I loved, loved, loved this book. I had been spending a lot of time in YA fantasy and figured it was about time I made my way back into the adult literary world. This seemed like the perfect book to help me find my way. I've developed quite a soft spot for magical realism, and I think that this story vindicates my favoritism from that "genre."

Ida discovers that - tendon by tendon, vein by vein - she is slowly turning to glass. It begins with a splinter-sized piece on t More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2012

Dianais rated it:

Amazing! Intricate and eccentric, this is one of the most beautiful love stories but also fantasies I've ever read.

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 03, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Today I finished this book. Last week I had gone out of my way to grab a copy after stumbling across a review of the author and his blog. I was intrigued to know where in Dorset Ali Shaw came from, and a bit of digging led me to discover he was from Dorchester. Not that this impacts on his book at all.

So, the book. Two main characters: Ida and Midas. Midas Crook is the son of Midas Crook who was a hands-off father and husband who seemed to have brought much unhappiness to his family More...

0 comments like

Mar 29, 2010

Robyn rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Oct 22, 2009

Aarti rated it:

Plot Summary:
St. Hauda's is a cold island way up north where narwhal fishing used to be the trade of choice. Once that was banned, most of the population left and the island is now dull, quiet and secluded. This is perfectly fine with Midas Crook, who doesn't like being around too many people and certainly doesn't like touching them. He prefers, instead, to view the world through his camera and make sense of it that way. Ida MacLaird comes to St. Hauda's Land hoping for a cure to her stran More...

2 comments like

Jan 05, 2012

Lettersalad rated it:

Midas, ein leidenschaftlicher Fotograf, der jedoch gezwungen ist in einem Blumenladen zu arbeiten, da er mit seinen Bildern auf der Einsiedlerinsel St. Hauda’s Land kein Geld verdienen kann trifft im Wald auf Ida Maclaird, ein sehr selbstbewusstes Mädchen mit hellblonden Haaren und tiefen, grauen Augen. Das Auffälligste an ihr sind ihre riesigen Stiefel. Als Midas einfach ein Foto von ihr macht, werden ihre Füße von der Kamera mysteriöser Weise nicht erfasst; nur ein seltsames Licht erscheint. E More...

0 comments like

Nov 14, 2010

Blair rated it:

Occasionally I find that a particular book, for no obvious reason, keeps popping up everywhere - in my Amazon recommendations, in mentions on friends' blogs, in magazines' books-of-the-year lists - until I end up feeling like I almost HAVE to read it. The Girl with Glass Feet is one such book. Based on the premise (a love story, set on a somewhat fantastical fictional archipelago, about the relationship between Midas, a shy photographer, and Ida, a girl who is slowly turning into glass) I wasn't More...

2 comments like