VANITAS - KIM DERNES - 08/12/2010 20:23:21
N OT SURE MY OTHER REVIEW GOT THROUGH. SO LEAVING ANOTHER ONE. A BRILLIANT READ. SO COMPELLING COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.MATTHEW HAS A REAL TALENT FOR WRITING NOVELS,BELIEVE ME I AM HARD TO PLEASE. LOOK FORWARD TO READING MANY MORE MATTHEW,THANKYOU.

Vanitas - Lesley B - 13/01/2011 22:18:37
I was one of the first British people to read this book and am ashamed that it has taken me so long to post a review.Vanitas is a compelling page turner. I read Matthew's first novel ("Fates, Flowers") in the summer of 2010, and was surprised and delighted to find a connection between that and his new work. The books are not inter-dependant but the recollection of two particular characters makes the reader feel welcomed, at home, sharing a little secret with the author.Our heroine in this tale is in many ways an anti-heroine; her story, however, is one we could only dream for on her behalf, and keeps us reading well past lights out even though we are given a taste of her future right at the outset.My personal heroes, however, are two equally lovely men without whom Florinda could not have functioned.I'll leave you to read this masterpiece to discover their identities.