(5) Tree Line
John Shors set out to write a book as grandiose and majestic as the edifice whose story it tells, but his poetic style and the length of the tome aren't what make this one difficult. Nope, what makes Beneath a Marble Sky a tough nut to crack is that it has some pretty rough stuff in it: rape, murder, battle, violent death, calm death, disease, emotional hardship, verbal abuse—you name it, our book's got it.
So you won't need a thesaurus at the ready, but if you have a therapist (or maybe just a good friend) to unpack some of these events with, that person might come in handy.