A Partial History of Lost Causes
by Jennifer DuBois
A Novel
- Percentage of approved critics who have given this book a positive review.
Critic Rating
71%
Critic Reviews: 20
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- User rating from iDreamBooks & iTunes
Reader Rating
82%
Reader Ratings: 81
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Synopsis
"[An] astonishingly beautiful and brainy debut...[a] stunning novel."-O: The Oprah Magazine "In Jennifer duBois' gorgeous novel, A Partial History of Lost Causes, the personal, theoretical, and political are braided together into a seamless whole.... Moving yet startlingly funny-full of bravado, insight, and clarity. A Partial History of Lost Causes is a thrilling debut by a young writer who evidently shares the uncanny brilliance of her protagonists."-Elle... more
About Jennifer DuBois
- All Critics: 20
- Positive: 15
- Negative: 5
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Time Out New York | 28 Mar 2012
Jennifer duBois’s debut novel is an ambitious and remarkably assured work, one that adroitly achieves the daunting task of commingling love, chess, Russian politics and the ravages of terminal illness into a coherent and moving narrative.
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BookNAround | 29 Mar 2012
DuBois is a very talented writer and the book is one that will haunt me for some time
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Publishers Weekly | 7 Nov 2011
Dubois deftly evokes Russia’s political and social metamorphosis over the past 30 years through the prism of this particular and moving relationship.
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Oprah.com | 16 Mar 2012
...astonishingly beautiful and brainy debut novel
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Kirkus Reviews | 25 Dec 2011
Dubois’ impressive mastery of her Russian material makes one hopeful for a more credible story line next time around.
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Book Reporter | 22 Mar 2012
duBois tells this gripping tale of political intrigue, romantic idealism, pathos and triumph over crushing obstacles in a political thriller at once heartwarming and heartbreaking.
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Washington Independent Review of Books
It is a fascinating novel that rewards its readers with memorable characters and beautiful, lyrical prose.
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Dallas News | 31 Mar 2012
The novel, a real page-turner, is a psychological thriller of great nuance and complexity.
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Slant Magazine | 20 Mar 2012
There are some brilliant passages and more compulsive ones, culminating in an ending as quick and satisfying as a checkmate
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Brodart Vibe Blog | 20 Feb 2012
A Partial History of Lost Causes will uplift you and break your heart. It is a treasure for those readers who love chess, history, rich characterization, or those who have lost causes of their own.
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The Star | 7 Apr 2012
...a brilliantly executed novel by a young woman of enormous talent. She displays a control usually seen only in the finest writers at the top of their game, and many readers will be captivated throughout the story.
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The New York Times | 16 Mar 2012
DuBois tells a tight story with boldface themes. Drama is constant. Conversations get right to the point. Everything means something.
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Christian Science Monitor | 11 Apr 2012
...the plot starts to sprawl out of control near the end, when Dubois abandons chess for a political thriller.
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San Francisco Chronicle | 25 Mar 2012
duBois needlessly tosses her heroine into a political romance thriller and mercilessly pursues and knots up "loose ends."... the tighter and tighter interweavings of the plot sometimes suffocate.
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Everyday eBook | 29 Mar 2012
Jennifer DuBois is a truly talented young writer whose words are epic, beautiful, and mesmerizing. This is a truly heartfelt novel that will resonate with you well beyond its perfect ending.
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BookPage
...a deeply thoughtful novel, a pensive, multilayered look at a culture in transition and the lives of the two complex, memorable characters at its core.
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The Daily Beast | 6 Apr 2012
The symmetry of its plot is one of this novel’s pleasures, but that’s not all A Partial History of Lost Causes has to offer.
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The Wall Street Journal | 17 Mar 2012
Ultimately, Irina's self-aware, chatterbox internal monologue deprives her struggle with mortality of the gravitas that the author seeks.
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She Treads Softly Blog | 5 Apr 2012
Eventually, I did end up feeling somewhat detached from the characters... as A Partial History of Lost Causes progressed, my interest in what would happen to both Aleksandr and Irina lessened.
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Luxury Reading | 25 Mar 2012
A Partial History of Lost Causes is beautiful and sad. DuBois’ writing is fluid. With little effort, she seems to capture the mood of her characters and their setting.
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