The Fig Eater
A Novel

I don't know what to give this book. I loved reading it. I read it in a couple days, during my commute, stayed up late, because I wanted to see how it would all work out. UNFORTUNATELY I can totally see why people are unhappy. SPOILERS, so don't read further if you don't want it spoiled. Here are some o......more

Finished The Fig Eater while lingering over a cup of coffee & freshly-baked Gruyère gougères today. Perfect. If you have some decadent food or wine or coffee or fruit or pastry to have with this book, all the better. I absolutely loved this book. It is full of spare beauty, of opposites (the rational......more

This book made me very grumpy. You see, it's the first book I've read since my daughter Ava was born 2 months ago. I was really excited to finally have time to read, and I spent a little downtime with The Fig Eater each night. The writing was fine, and the descriptions of early 20th-century Vienna w......more

I was so surprised to find that people hated this book with such passion since I thought it was riveting, haunting, and gorgeous! I could not put it down and would stay up late to finish reading. I loved the subtlety of Ms. Shields writing that allowed the reader to engage with this book in a read-b......more

Disturbing, grotesque, sensual, intelligent, darkly fanciful. Grounded in understanding of the pscyho-socio background of Freud's Vienna and Hungarian folk belief. Shields's writing style is beautifully restrained, leaning towards screenplay. It is more novel than whodunnit. Multitudinous themes are......more