It was Gabriella’s voice, Sabina’s face. The past and the present were superimposed on each other, and he was caught between them, knowing he couldn’t stay in both dimensions.

The action takes place in ancient and modern day Rome, as well as early 1900’s and modern day New York City. The author does a pretty good job acclimating the reader to the setting quickly, which is important with characters hopping around in time and space.

If you read for plot, you will love The Reincarnationist. It moves quickly and my only complaint is that the stakes didn’t seem quite high enough. But I may be picky. World domination may have gotten into the wrong hands if our hero hadn’t intervened. The constant reminders the author gives for what’s going on sometimes made me feel I was watching a soap opera, but maybe that’s how plotty novels go.

I rarely read suspense or mystery because the characters in this genre bore me. The characters in The Reincarnationist didn’t break the mold. They seemed to exist only to serve the plot. Worse yet, none were interesting enough for me to care about. Apathy had me skimming through the chapters to get to the end. However, by the middle of the book I have to admit to being fairly interested in finding out how things got resolved. While there were moments of wonderful character sketches, such as the brief look at the heroine’s landlady, most character portraits were painted with a large brush.

I loved all the information about pagan rituals, vestal virgins, and the roman requirement for Christian conversion.

The old ways would die a little more with every priest who was murdered and with every temple that was looted and destroyed until there was nothing left and no one to remember.

While rich in historical information, the whole novel seemed like a case for convincing the reader to believe in reincarnation. If that was Rose’s goal, she certainly went about it in a very creative and entertaining way.

Personal experiences led author and self-titled reincarnation obsessive M.J. Rose to dig deep into the subject of reincarnation. She has created a blog dedicated to the subject. It may be worth a look as she claims such figures as Einstein, Ben Franklin, and Mark Twain were believers.

If you read this book, come back and tell me what you thought about the sandalwood and jasmine!

Who hasn’t wondered what they’d do if they won the lottery? I know I’ve spent some time pondering how I’d distribute my millions. But the truth is more complicated than any of my fantasies. I don’t know what I’d really do unless it actually happened. I’d like to think I’d go on living my regular life, but with a whole ‘lotta extras! I realize it may not be that easy. In his book, Money for Nothing, One Man’s Journery Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions, Edward Ugel gives us a tiny peek at what it’s really like when people win.

Money for Nothing is a fascinating look at a world most of us will never experience firsthand. It’s a page-turner and an intimate glimpse into the mind of a gambler. Plus, it’s funny – in a dark way and isn’t that the best kind? In the end this book was completely satisfying, albeit for different reasons than I had expected.

Ugel’s subtitle, One Man’s Journey Through the Dark Side of Lottery Millions, as well as the flap description sell a book full of anecdotes about desperate lottery winners and their dealings with the unscrupulous lump sum payment industry, which it is. However, what is even more compelling than the lottery winner anecdotes is Ugel’s personal story. It’s not really a book about the lottery. It’s the memoir of a compulsive gambler. The information and stories from the world of the lottery, and the fact that he ended up there are all merely the background for the author’s story.

A lot of tales of lottery winners seemed to start, but wither away before conclusion. I got the feeling that the author was ever cautious of legal action and that he filtered or left out key accounts of actual people. However, where Ugel speaks about himself, just the opposite is true. His personal story is constant and raw. I have met men (usually trying to sell me a stereo) who are the man Ugel was in his lotto industry days. It couldn’t have been easy to face his identity on paper with such an unflinching eye. Then again, this persona could be a fabrication ala James Frey. To me it doesn’t matter because in the end it’s a great read.

I loved the epilogue where the author focuses the narrative completely upon him, but I wished that material were more evenly represented throughout the book. For me, Ugel’s struggle with the beast of chance was more interesting than anything else and more of it would have only illuminated the other stories. Ugel drew some powerful parallels Ugel between himself and the lottery winners.

Another gripe is the constant message of how Ugel’s industry preyed on peoples’ poor judgment and weakness. Yes, I can understand how someone who suddenly becomes responsible for a substantial amount of money is bound to make some reckless decisions. But the author seems to imply in a vast generalization that winning the lottery is about the worst thing that can happen to a person. On the cover, Maxim magazine says, “You may never scratch a Quick Pick again.” Come on. I’m not much of a player myself, but if I were, would this book really deter me? I would have liked to read an account of your basic middle class winner who made some good and some bad decisions. I’m sure Mr. Ugel will provide us with a sequel!

Complaints aside, I loved this book. I was pulled through it. While Ugel disappointed me with the unfulfilled promise of the real story of lottery winners, his own story more than made up for it. Every time I closed the book I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I know a lot more now about the lottery and all that surrounds it than I did before, but I will be looking for another book from Ugel to give me even more of the dirty details.