Nope. No can do. Madeleine's Ghost is not my thing. First person, slow as molasses, raunchy, depressing and dark. The writer can write, his characters are real, as are the settings, but they are not anyone I care to invest my life in. I did not get past page 50 other than some skimming because in spite of the fact that the other reviews said the pace picked up, it still looked to be raunchy and depressing. YMMV Found myself not wanting to read at all and that is always the final determiner for me. ( )

A friendly page-turner set in Brooklyn, New Orleans and the parishes of southern Lousisiana. A young historical researcher has a ghost problem in his ancient, run-down, Brooklyn apartment. In the meantime, he is hired by the priest of a local church to find evidence of sainthood for a nun who lived and worked in the neighborhood two hundred years ago. The researcher also has a history of his own.

This was Girardi's first novel, and in places the book certainly reads like a first novel, with, for instance, metaphors sometimes skirting, or even crossing, the line between effective and "trying too hard" and a somewhat overwrought story-within-the-story romance.

However, all-in-all, this was a comfortable read for, say, a relaxed, rainy weekend. It works fine as an easy, "don't have to think too hard" experience. And I don't want to over-state the case: I was interested in the characters and the storyline, and there was plenty of engaging writing, as well. ( )

I very rarely read novels written by men anymore, but for some reason I picked this one off my shelf (after a fifteen year snooze there) and I am so glad that I did. It is simply one of the best novels I've ever read.

It didn't strike me that way in the beginning, though it was good enough. We meet Ned Conti, a rather directionless, down at the heels graduate student who gets a job finding documentation to support the canonization of a nun who died nearly a century ago. The past seems to have it in for Mr. Conti; his apartment is haunted by a female spirit, and he himself is haunted by the memory of a short but intense affair with a woman named Antoinette, in New Orleans ten years before.

Antoinette Rivaudais is indeed unforgettable. A raven-haired, pill-popping, charismatic, lost, wayward rich girl, she captured Ned's heart and mine as well. She is so flawed, but so heartbreakingly so. In time, the ghost reveals what she wants, and Antoinette reappears in Ned's life. It may kill him or save him to pursue the three interwoven storylines (counting the nun) to their resolution. I'll just say that, by the time I closed the book, I knew I would never forget it. ( )

Although I felt some of the details in the story were pretty vulgar and unnecessary the main plot line was well done, captivating and full of rich details. ( )

A little slow, but the way it all tied together was satisfying to me. Some people may say the coincidences were a little too uncanny but for me it really worked. The beautiful writing and strong sense of place added to the intricate story. ( )