the single most "astonishing" novel I have ever read.Main Entry: astonishPronunciation: &-'stä-nishFunction: transitive verbEtymology: probably from earlier astony (from Middle English astonen, astonien, from Anglo-French estoner to stun, from Vulgar Latin *extonare, from Latin ex- + tonare to thunder) + -ish (as in abolish) -- more at THUNDER1 obsolete : to strike with sudden fear2 : to strike with sudden and usually great wonder or surprise <was too astonished to speak>