Review A Book

[mono]

This morning, I finished reading The Gift, a collection of poetry by Hafiz, translated by Daniel Ladinsky.
Feeling very reminiscent of Rumi, both categorizing as Sufi poets, I found much of Hafiz's poetry deeply philosophical, introspective, some humorous, and very reflective; needless to say, he also inspired me greatly with an immense writing binge to compose lots of poetry, while getting that creativity flowing. Some of his poetry seemed a little too religious for me at times, but I can certainly perceive his attempt at objectivity, especially while referring to God/Allah/Yahweh and co. as multiple alternative terms, such as Friend, Beloved, Generous Merchant, etc. Regardless, I could not but offer my highest reverence for his thoughtful, metaphysical poetry.

My rating: 9.5/10.

[Virgil]

Hey mono. Tomorrow is Friday and time for a new poem of the week. Would you want to post a poem from the collection you just read for the week's discussion?

[mono]

Hey mono. Tomorrow is Friday and time for a new poem of the week. Would you want to post a poem from the collection you just read for the week's discussion?
Possibly, yes. I would have great difficulty choosing a favorite out of the collection of poetry, but will certainly attempt finding one.
Thanks for the offer, regardless. ;)

[Taliesin]

2004 by fs

So, one acting group of our school made a poetry programme on the book and won a special prize for the most sincere weltschmerz. We had the fortune of hearing the programme some time ago and so, we took the book of poetry from the library and started with it. It is in estonian and hasn't been translated to english, so we take the freedom of translating some lines.
Fs starts with quite a long and ironic vers libre about estonians and who they are. All of his poems are in vers libre and *gasp* without capital letters.
He wirtes about how passionate estonians are, like italians, but inwards. It doesn't show out. The poem ironically stresses on keeping ones feelings in and not opening up to the world.


and therefore one must
make small windows to a house
what good is there anyway
in outside
and walls must be thick
slate is our wealth
heavy, faceless and grey
we are single-minded and laborious
if you still didn't understand
then i'll repeat
hard liquors and culture
they keep alive
otherwise we would freeze to death
or go insane
passionate as we are

The motto of the collection is an exerpt from "1984".
We don't know how it is exactly in english, but it is the part where O'Brien tells Winston how they have defeated and broken him and destroyed hisself-esteem and made him betray everything and asks if there is anything he hasn't betrayed.
Winston replies that he hasn't betrayed Julia and O'Brien agrees.

It fits exactly. The collection is heavy on painful irony and existential jokes, dealing on the darkness city life (death is carried with big cars/day is dim/stone is grey/electricity gives no love) and depression and of death and evil luring behind the door, of disgrace and vulgarity, of the painfulness and heavyness of seasons, but there is a lightbeam, a hope and remembrance of woman(s) he loved/loves (both physical and spiritual love) In the strongest and most powerful poem of the collection that culminates the whole book, he says finally out the only thing that matters despite all. The poem is called "And only one question remains" and i think that after mono, we would like to try to translate it and post it as the poem of the week.

10/10. Honestly.

[Maya_Nikolova]

Hello! I am writing an essay on Neil Ferguson's "Spinach". The problem is that I cannot find any critical essays on this particular short story. Can you help me with a useful link? Thank you!

[scoooter5]

Finished Faulkner's "Sanctuary". This wasn't nearly as complicated as "Absalom, Absalom!", which I read a few months ago. Of course, it still is Faulkner so it took some work to figure out what was going on, but the style is a little easier to digest and the story is a little sensational. I've also gotten into the habit of requesting a few pieces of literary criticism from the library that I either read along with the book or just after finishing it and this has really served to increase my understand of subtle points, historical context, etc.

[Pensive]

The Long Walk By Stephen King

Novel is about a walk, the walk of terror, the path which can lead you to death. Every year on the first May, boys meet for an event known throughout the whole country as "The Long Walk." The main story focuses on Ray Garraty, a teenager. He knows the rules, everyone does and that after three warnings, they will get the ticket, the death ticket and guess what? Throughout the whole walk, there can be only one winner so Garraty has to compete even among his friends, a difficult task, isn't it? See the results of competition by reading this novel...

I will consider this novel very exciting and suspenseful, a very good read and it is especially for those people who call Stephen King, good-for-nothing. In this novel, Stephen King comes up with a very good style which forced me to love the suspense in it.

It surely deserves 10/10. Three Cheers for The Long Walk! :banana:

[RJbibliophil]

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

This novel is a classic published in the late 1940s. It tells the tale of a group of people, most of them living in central Florida. The book is written as a narrative, changing from person to person. The Russians send lots of nuclear missiles onto the U.S. completely destroying most of the major cities and military bases. This book tells of a group struggling to survive in an uncontaminated zone, when all of Florida has been declared a contaminated zone. They must fight against hunger, disease, radiation, high-way men, and other problems. The electricity has gone. The phones don't work. The radion has almost stopped. No food is available for purchase, nor any medical supplies. No gas means no cars. And yet, somehow, they manage to survive.

I found the book very interesting, a good page turner, though it was possible to put it down. The book is well written. I liked the way it changed from person to person, so more perspectives are shown. The story has a good plot, and Frank thought up a good, and realistic ending. It raises good questions. What would happen if this was real?

I'd give this book 10/10 :D

[SpecteR]

The Deadliest Denial - By Colleen Thompson

I really liked the book. After i read the final chapter I was just shocked. So if you're looking for a good suspense thriller, check it out.

Here's the synopsis:

The worst day of Calire's life begins with a 5:00am knock on her door, the summons every cop's wife dreads. But instead of telling her Spence is gone, killed in the line of duty, hist sergeant has even worse news for Claire. Her husband is in jail. For murder. And there is irrefutable evidence that the person he really wants dead is her .

But betrayal turns to terror when Spence skips out on his bail and someone begins vandalizing her horse ranch. In the fury of a Texas thunderstorm, her husband reappears with a story that sounds all too credible and a seductive magnetism Claire has never been able to resist. Is her refusal to turn him in, her need to believe in his innocence, nothing but... The Deadliest Denial.

[SpecteR]

Rampage - William P. Wood

This courtroom drama was so so, I guess. Part of me wanted to just stop reading it but I wanted to put it down due to some parts just dragging on and on and on. It would of been a much better book if the author had knocked off 100 pages or so that just ran on with little accomplishment.

I think what attracted me to the book was reading the synopsis stating how DA Tony Fraser was going to be responsible for bringing down justice of these atrociously violent murders. What I didnt realise was that the murders would have been completed early on in the novel, leaving nothing but courtroom blabble. Maybe I should of realised it from the start... I didn't.

[SpecteR]

Lullaby - By Chuck Palahniuk

This is the first book I've read by Chuck Palahniuk. Imagine there was a lullaby pubished in a book of poems that whenever it was read to someone they would instantly die.

I was drawn to it from the first chapter and just had to read it straight through. Although, there were a few points in the novel that I was kind of hoping he would speed it up a tad but the ending really made up for it. It was so bizarre and twisted that I dont think that anyone could have predicted what was going to happen.

I'm going to read some of his other novels sometime very soon. I heard Haunted was pretty interesting to say the least. Has anyone read it?

[Shannanigan]

Cell, by Stephen King

I was worried at first when I started to read it that the storyline was going to be too in sync with movies like Dawn of the Dead or 28 Days, but the small differences prove big in the end. It was definitely an enjoyable read, it raised many questions for me about how people define evolution and the "dominant species." It definitely was not what we consider a sane human today in this story.

The ending threw me, definitely. I would say it was evasive but I'm sure others are thinking "genius!" I probably would have done the same thing and prayed for more people to vote "genius" than "loserish," though.

[mono]

Last night, I finished reading Jude The Obscure by Thomas Hardy.
As swiftly as a few authors have graced me, this book bumped Hardy into the list of some of my favorite authors, and some of his narrative style with the twists-of-plot remind me much of D.H. Lawrence, another favorite of mine.
The novel Jude The Obscure compelled to express nearly every emotion: I felt depressed in many parts, happy in others (and even laughing), and angry in certain chapters (anyone who has read this likely understands). Very few novels have had this immense effect on me, which impressed me only further. The storyline, plot, very in-depth characters with individualized psychology, surprise turns in the story - all excellent!
Unfortunately, I have had very little exposure to Thomas Hardy, but this certainly inspires me to read more of his fiction soon (as I have read a considerable amount of his poetry - also worth reading). Needless to say, I fell madly in love with this novel. :nod:
My rating: easily 10/10

[Pensive]

East Of Eden By John Steinback

I read this book for Book Club. It was surely worth-reading. The story is mainly based on two families; Hamilton amd Trask. This novel portrays the human characteristics in a very good way and makes the reader to want to know more about the characters or questions and statement like this arise in reader's mind:
"Oh, wouldn't it would have been lovely if I would have met Smauel Hamilton?" or "If I would have met Cathy, I would have killed the *****"

Along with good character-formation, in this novel you will see good writing. The writing style is very good, especially the style of narrator is very, vey interesting.

Without any doubt, this wonderful book deserves 10/10. :banana:

To find more discussion about this book, visit this (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=229580#post229580) thread.

[mono]

Earlier today, I finished reading Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. I read this primarily because I read Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe a few years ago, and, needless to say, fell in love with the story. Of course, finding the older English rather difficult to fully understand, Marlowe coming from the age of Shakespeare, the helpful footnotes, introductions, and explanatory notes helped immensely. :nod:
The plot proceeded the same as Goethe's Faust with a few exceptions, partially because I think Goethe existed more in the well-renowned Romantic era. Overall, though I have difficult comparing the two objectively, I think I liked Goethe's version more, mainly because . . . well, Goethe composed it, but I must give Marlowe many kudos for such originality, multiple allusions, poetic style, and containing so much in such a short play.

My rating: 9/10. ;)

[mono]

Yesterday, I finished reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.
Finally, I have found a book by James Joyce in which I did not have to do a lot of research in order to understand! :D Sometimes, I found this book particularly difficult to follow, as the plot wandered sometimes, but many parts of the novel seemed like very in-depth, incredible philosophical discourses, especially on aesthetics. The last part of the last chapter (as a ***SPOILER***) consisted of journal entries, which I thought very interesting; finally, the reader can see deeply into the mind of the main character, Stephen Daedelus.
Considering the name of the main character, the many, many allusions to Metamorphoses by Ovid did not surprise me, particularly to the tale of Icarus and Daedelus. Other popular allusions referenced St. Thomas Aquinas, whose aesthetics greatly interested me (perhaps another book to add to my mini-library soon).
In summary, I thought the novel incredible - the masterpiece of James Joyce (though I have yet to read only Ulysses by him), and a great representative to flight-of-consiousness literature.

My rating: 10/10.

[mono]

Yesterday, I finished reading The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli - a very short, quick read, but saturated with thought. No doubt, nearly everyone knows of the Machiavellian ethics - the way of coercing and owning one's power over pampering and such spoils. As said in another thread, I mainly wanted to read it because it seemed a book frequently referenced, but not read as often.
Though I cannot quite agree with some of Machiavelli's philosophy, I have no doubt of his very superior intelligence; and I think the era in which he lived inspired his thought more than anything (he definitely had a strong affinity for politics and history). Despite his rather obvious immodesty, I felt the author had a lot to say, and definitely something worth reading; then again, I frequently feel I can learn more from someone of whom I disagree, rather than agree. Nonetheless, regardless of seeming labeled to have inspired the 'devilish ethics' in his time, I consider him one of the many great, older Italian authors.

My rating: 8.5/10.

[fAnGsss]

The last book I read was "Romeo and Juliet"... gosh... it's so dramatic o.O But it's kind of nice... tragic ending though... abit like... you die I die sort of thing... haiz... most of you should know this play by William Shakespeare XD

[Schokokeks]

During my summer stay in France I completed Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne.
As a child I always wanted to become a marine biologist (that was before I knew that this involved dissecting animals, too :D) and I had read this novel somewhen in middle-school, but now I wanted to re-read it and see what impact it would have now that I'm a bit more familiar with literature than I was then.
The book is about a professor and his servant taking part in a voyage on a ship that is to find out the truth about a mysterious monster that emerges at different places all over the world. However, they are thrown overboard by a shock and get picked up by the "monster", turning out to be a huge metallic ship, the "Nautilus", built and governed by the famous Captain Nemo. The Nautilus holds a great many wonders and the newcomers get to the depths of the ocean by accompagning Nemo on his voyages to the Indian coast, the Mediterranean, and even the South Pole.
I definetely don't regret having taken up the book for a second time. It is amazing how Jules Verne must have had some kind of foresight when describing the way the Nautilus operates by means of electricity, their diving suits, Nemo's measuring instruments, etc. that come very close to our technical devices today. The account of the marine life the heros encounter is also quite intriguing, although I found that especially these passage tend to be a bit lengthy at times, zoological names of fish being specified over three pages and such (maybe Jules Verne wanted to make clear that he definetely has done a lot of research :D).
The travels of the Nautilus and the crew, however, are quite exotic and interesting to read. The professor allows the reader to explore the Nautilus and the abyss of the ocean through his eyes and gives an insight into the unique personage of Nemo, who really remains unforgettable as a character after having read the book.
My rating would be 7/10.

[mono]

Earlier today, I completed reading Tess Of The D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
I read this slightly longer novel many years ago, probably at an age of which I did not understand it fully; having read Jude The Obscure (by the same author) very recently, I recalled wanting to read Tess again to make further my comprehension.
The language itself flows like poetry, and, despite Hardy's verbosity that could make Dickens' literature look vaguely described, the words alone define the art of the novel. In terms of a plot, the novel seemed to proceed in circles quite frequently, and exclude some parts of time that I thought important; otherwise, the storyline unfurled with suspense, ethical dilemmas, and much of the deep, introspective thought of the author, shining through the main title character.
Though overall I must say that I enjoyed Jude The Obscure more, Tess Of The D'Urbervilles certainly provides a definition of art in turn-of-the-century literature.

My rating: 9/10.

[Pensive]

I Am Lord Voldemort By Nemesis

Today, I have read the best Harry Potter fanfiction of my life and that is I Am Lord Voldemort By Nemisis. Someone told me about it a year and a half ago. I looked at the given link but it was no longer there as author had removed it and then yesterday, someone asked me about some good Harry Potter fanfics and I suddenly remembered it. I really wanted to read it so I used way back machine and finally found it!

It's a great fanfiction, about Lord Voldemort's years at Hogwarts and how he changed from an innocent (not really innocent but far more innocent that he was later) boy into a dark wizard. It's a great read, style is very much similar to that of Rowling's and I am really thankful to Nemisis for writing it.

It was written in 2001, I think. And I have noticed that old fanfiction writers are better than those who lurks around today, writing nothing but slash between Snape and Harry.

Oh well, this fanfiction (a kind of book as it's very long) deserves 10/10!

[HarryPercy]

Ah I see that someone had just finished Joyce's, A Portrait. I am reading about halfway through it at the moment and I love it. But I finished Joyce's grander and infinitely more difficult Ulysses just today, quite the toil and trouble. Well worth it though, for the relaxing nature it gives to read a more relaxed book such as "A Portrait" right after it/at the same time. I feel after reading Ulysses I will approach and divulge the more difficult in the literary world with more ample preparedness, and possibly training? To those who can consume Ulysses readily and wittingly I commend you, that power is beyond me, but the beautiful and intricate meanderings of the narrative allusions, poetry, and wit drew me to work for what I was reading and it was rewarding nearly everypage

[Zooey]

André Gide’s Straight is the Gate strikes me as a story of tortured and self-sacrificing love that only a European could write: it’s all muted shades of feeling and delicacy. To me, this is Chekhov territory, and this just doesn’t compare—that said, it does have a number of beautifully realized moments and the occasional burst of emotional truth that makes it worth reading.

[melancolia]

I've just read Slaughter house 5 Or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut. There is this satirical tone he employs; it's quite appealing, to me anyway. I think that his choice of approach , this "black humour" kind, adds an element of tragic reality to the whole portrayal of the Dresden bombings...
It was a pleasant read , not too long and not too short

[mono]

Yesterday, I completed reading a book including Notes From The Underground and The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Having always loved Dostoevsky, and enjoyed several of his novels (Crime And Punishment, The Brother Karamazov, and The Idiot), I expected nothing less than genius, and certainly read more of the author's profound talent in literature.
Much like how Jean-Jacques Rousseau and St. Augustine wrote their Confessions, I thought the same of Notes From The Underground, but not, of course, the thoughts of Dostoevsky himself, and the fact seemed obvious. Parts of it seemed rather lewd, invasive, and well thought, yet more involved with late Sophism than the logic I would subscribe to and prefer.
The Double started somewhat slow-paced, yet soon enough, as goes the nature of Dostoevsky's fiction, picked up with all sorts of whims, expressions of inevitable human nature (in a dark way), and the author's often dark, brutal honesty. Overall, it seemed well written, but, thus far, nothing quite dominates The Brothers Karamazov.

My rating: 10/10.

[melancolia]

Gothic horror fiction mmmm... exquisite. I have just completed reading Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. This novel explores quite thought-provoking and perhaps controversial themes such as ... aestheticity (not sure about spelling), homosexuality, and hedonism, etc. The narrative is impressive, though I found myself very much in disagreement with many, or most, of Lord Henry's critiques/views concerning "beauty" and life in general.
Nevertheless, a delightful read, definitely worth it.
:nod:

[underground]

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
A governess's story.

I felt like I couldn't sympathize with the main character (Agnes). She sounds snobbish just because she happens to be a daughter of a reverend and is, by that time's standard, "educated." There are a few occasions when she humbles herself, but her consistent holier-than-thou attitude can be annoying. Her pupils are even more annoying, though, so you can't help siding with her anyway.

There's no real plot, and this in fact sounds too much like an autobiography. I'm sure Bronte did a good job in portraying how important education is to every social class, but as a whole, not too enjoyable. Bronte was smart and perceptive, I'll give her that. (At least, some of her sarcastic comments are amusing. :p)

[Lina365]

As I began reading Cuba, I Remember You by Oscar M. Ramirez-Orbea, I was intrigued by the unusual layout of the pages. The collection of short stories is presented in both English and Spanish in a way that is easily read and followed.

Although I have never been to Cuba-and probably never will go there-the author took me there with his descriptive words of the island, houses where he lived, introduction of family members, vivid images of childhood friends, and other memories of his life before and after the revolution. I was surprised to see the introduction, acknowledgements, and dedication all combined; however, this was effective and served as an overall introduction to the intriguing and informative stories.

The author begins his writings on a light note as he describes his Aunt Carmita whom he calls a character with an eccentric personality, but does so with strong feelings of respect and love. His description of her as she attempted to sing classical opera brought tears of laughter to my eyes. When this beloved aunt died at the age of ninety-two in California, having been forced to leave Cuba years earlier, the author relates how her death marked the end of a period in his life-the end of an age.

Dr. Ramirez-Orbea, who was forced to leave Cuba at the age of ten, realized that with her death and that of other family members, he needed to do something to keep these people alive through his words. He didn't want the memories to be lost with the passing of time. Thus he began writing an extensive journal for his private use, and this book contains selected content from this journal.

The author's relationship with others is paramount to the stories that he tells. Though it is definitely not a political or historical book, we see some aspects of both as his stories unfold through narrative that is written with deep feelings and honesty. Love is the thread that binds all the stories together-the love of a small child for his homeland, parents and relatives. His experiences, before and after the revolution, are told in a truthful and often humorous way, but there is no doubt that they eternally impacted his life.

As he relates memories of his grandparents' house-a home for all-as well as the more modern house into which his family moved, readers see the world clearly through his young eyes. As an adult, the author uses his talent for writing to share both the bad and good memories of his early years in Cuba. There were terrifying experiences and situations-ones that he was happy to leave behind when he came to America. Still, they do not take away the memories of the way it once had been.

Cuba, I Remember You is a book about family, love, relationships, and survival in difficult circumstances that all readers will find to be a wonderful reading experience. Family photographs illustrate the 14 short stories, making the narrative even more interesting. It is a personal story, and though autobiographical, it is a fascinating book, blending humor and love with adventure and reality. The author succeeds in giving his family and homeland immortality through written words. This is a MUST READ!

[mono]

This morning, I finished reading Ulysses by James Joyce. Usually, I would not read such a challenging book so swiftly, yet I could hardly place the book down to rest my eyes.
As with any book I have read by the same author (Dubliners, A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man, and Finnegans Wake), Ulysses posed an immense feat to comprehend, and I found that out of all of his books, A Portrait . . . probably read the most simply.
Before reading Ulysses, I made it a point to review The Odyssey by Homer, hoping it may help, but, I warn everyone, it merely helped with the several abstract allusions made by Joyce. Regardless, this seems a gem of stream-of-consciousness literature, and its challenge appears far worth the diligence of attempting to comprehend the difficulty of James Joyce. The plot, itself, wanders, and, though a rather long book, takes place over a small amount of time, mostly showing multiple events in different places. Throughout the fragmented sentences, the peculiar descriptions, and allusions, however, one reveals the brilliance and uniquity of the plot - of moral dilemmas, science, adultery, and culture.

My rating: 9.5/10.

[Viridis]

I'm kind of cheating here, since this wasn't technically the last book I've read, but I did read it fairly recently and have to mention it as one of the all time greats - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. This is not for the casual reader. The unabridged version is well over 1,000 pages, and Hugo takes many side trips into history, scene descriptions, etc. But the journey is well worth it - this could be a book that changes your life. The story of Jean ValJean is the story of the transformation of a soul.

[Pensive]

Forbidden Love By Norma Khouri

I completed it just now, a few minutes ago. The novel gripped me badly. It's about the life of women in Jordan. The writing style and the basic theme is very much similar to that of Jean Sasson, I think.

The story inside the book is Norma's own story, her friend's story, the story of all women who wanted to bring change in their countries. I wouldn't say that I was impressed by Norma's choosen words or grammar but what gripped me was the novel's theme, Jordan's woman telling her story. The story, I found, very much similar to those we have here in Pakistan, even worse.

I never had the idea that a country like Jordan, which is thought to be succeeding very fast has the same desert values and morals.

I will put the novel at 7/10.

[thibs23]

I just finsihed reading Perfume by Patrick Suskind, a very very good book, I must say that this is the only book that I have heard of that is completely devoted to the sense of smell. This gave the book uniqueness. Grenouille the Main Character/Murderer was incredibly interesting, even though he was hard to relate too, it was hard to imagine 18th century France, although my love of history seems to be doing its jobs. Perfume is an excellent example of literature written in the modern day about the old world. A great pieces.

Thibs' Rating: 8/10

Also I have read a few other books at the start of our school year and I thought I would mention them.

Treasure Island-Stevenson- 7/10
Slaughter-House 5- Vonnegut- 9/10
Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde- Stevenson- 5/10
The Loved One- Evelyn Waugh- 3/10

[Leelie]

One of Conrad's short stories I had to read for my English Literature course. We also had to express our opinion about it in about 100 words and give it a rating. Here's mine:

I liked Heart Of Darkness because it is both a very dark and a very real story. Not only because of its exotic location or because it has part of Belgium’s past as its theme, but mainly because Conrad managed to create an atmosphere that constantly sucks you into the story. Various elements contribute to this atmosphere: the fact that the story is told by another – mysterious – narrator, the quest for Kurtz and Marlow’s eagerness to meet him, the vivid jungle descriptions, etc. Even when Kurtz has been found and the story is nearly finished, Conrad manages to keep your attention by making you wonder – along with Marlow himself – how he will deal with Kurtz’s death and how he will be able to pick up his normal life after these morbid last words.

(For the record, I am from Belgium, that's why I mentioned it in the review :). Not that I was very proud of it when reading the story...)

[Bookworm Cris]

I have just finished Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen. I haven´t seen the movie, but decided to read the book. It´s a very interesting book, that shows, in several vignettes, stories lived or witnessed by Kaysen in her two-year stay at the psychiatric hospital she´d been. Although it doesn´t follow a linear narrative structure, the stories help us to understand what it was like to be in such a situation. She was (later) diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, and in the end managed to live her life normally (reading this book we begin to think what this word, normal, really means).
I´ve read that the movie changed some events and characters present in the book (the author was one of the screenwriters), and tried to follow a more-Hollywood-like style. I liked the book, and don´t intend to see the movie (even liking the actresses of the movie).

My rating: 8/10 (interesting, but not a masterpiece):D

[CourtnyG]

I finished Royal Charles by Antonia Fraser on Sunday. It's a history, so I'm not sure if it's okay that I review it on here. But I enjoyed it enough that I wanted other readers to know a little about it in case they might be interested. Please let me know if I shouldn't post about historical biographies or literary biographies because I tend to read both.

Royal Charles is about King Charles II of Great Britian. I knew nothing about Charles II other than he was Mary Queen of Scots great grandson, and what little they show of him in The Libertine (which I didn't take as fact because it was a movie about Rochester, not Charles II). It was a very interesting read. I had no problems even though I know nothing about the period. Fraser did an excellent job of explaining all the politics. I found the whole Glorious Revolution, followed by the Restoration to be most interesting and surprising.

Often when I read historical biographies I find that the writer obviously was biased and had a hidden agenda (either to vilify or sanctify the subject). Fraser did a good job of stating what is known, then listing her entrepretation, without it sounding like she had an agenda, or that her entrepretations were set in stone and must be the only way to entrepret events. I finished the book having enjoyed every single page, with a new knowledge of the period and of Charles II. I've read historical biographies on Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, but I found Royal Charles better written and more interesting than the other two.

I found Charles II likeable as both a King and a man, though I did not see him as perfect. This has never happened to me before when reading a biography of a King or Queen. I'm usually able to understand why they make the decisions they make as a ruler, but I can't justify their actions as a person. Or I understand that they made the best decisions as a person, but not the best decision for their position in their country. Charles did an excellent balancing act (being a good ruler, while being a decent man). Not to mention his balancing acts between the Netherlands and France, French money and Parlimentary power, and Monmouth and James II. I really respected his treatment of the Catholics. That is one of my favorite things about his great grandmother, Mary Queen of Scots. I'll never understand why no one was allowed religious freedom for so long. And the people seemed so changeable. I don't know if I would have returned for the Restoration, or stuck it out so long with such a fickle people and such an uncooperative and manipulative parliment. I honestly think I would've given up, but Charles never did.

9 out of 10

Courtny

[Pensive]

I read My Feudal Lord by Tehmina Durani yesterday. It was an autobiography based on the life of Tehmina Durrani, the wife of Mustafa Khar. Mustafa Khar was a very important and famous politician of that time, who called himself very "liberal" but what he did were rapes and gave important places in government to his side-kicks.

In the book, Tehmina depics the bad behavious of Mustafa Khar with women -
how he had eight wives, and how much he tortured them, both physically and mentally.

The book was good, but the thing which really annoyed me was Tehmina Durrani trying to pose that she was the most innocent and badly-treated woman. She ignored her mistakes, after all Mustafa Khar had not forced her to marry him. She left her husband who loved her and married Mustafa for the sake of his good fortune/wealth. She also had affairs, if not as much as Mustafa but there were. And she had tried to portray that she was the best Muslim woman ever. What a hypocricy!

I will put the book at 5/10.

[bazarov]

Patrick Sueskind-Parfem; very interesting, not too long, about a serial killer in 18th century but killings are somekind of irelevant. They made a movie with Dustin Hoffman, but I've heard it's bad.

[Xander]

So, the last book I've read was Eraldo Baldini's Like a Wolf (not sure for english translation). The book is mysterious, with nice descriptions, and thrilling all the time.
There is a valley hidden among high peeks of italian mountains and there is a village with odd people who don't seem to like strangers and they are well known for the wine they make. It is strange that they have such good grapes and wine in such a place and ground, etc. But there is a legend, they believe in it for three hundred years and it has helped them so far...
Nasario escaped from the city where his wife had died and his daughter had started getting more and more often epileptic fits with some kind of visions before each of them....
and wolves. they are not so essential in the book as i thought they would be, but it's nice, they help Nasario decide whether to go after his desires or his professional ethic....

actually, I like more unrealistic books, but anyways, a good one.

[shortysweetp]

ok so i just finished the Jean Auel Earth's Children series (well there is one more coming out) and i really liked it. There were times when the repetiveness (?not sure of spelling) got to be too much and at times she got way too descriptive. i would rate them as a series a 7.

I also just read all of the Candace Bushnell books well sex in the city, 4 blondes, trading up and lipstick jungle. I would have to say that this will be my guilty pleasures for the year (ok probably not I do like to read easy books once in awhile). rating of 6

[Pensive]

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time
I just completed it a few minutes ago. What can I say! It was an awsome epistolary novel. At first Christopher's behaviour made me really sad...and the whole plot about how his mother left him. But the end made me feel good. I will give it 9.5/10. It would have been a 10/10, if there wouldn't have been so much Maths in it. :p

[fiqrhi]

hai everyone

[Pensive]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Another epistolary novel which I liked a lot. In the very start of the novel, I was getting really annoyed by Charlie's long sentences, but very soon, Charlie over-came his silly habit on the advice of his teacher, Bill, which made the book easier for me to read.

Most of his thoughts really resembled that of mine, or we can say any teenager, this aspect gave Charlie's character a "real feeling."


So, what's the point of using words nobody else knows or can say comfortably? I just don't understand that!

By real feeling, I mean that his character was not like that of the boy in The Curious Incident of Dog in Mid-night. That character, unlike that of Charlie, looked like a robot sometimes.

Anyway, it was a good read but one thing really confused me. That thing was the person to whom he was writing his letter....I think I will never be able to figure out that why he wanted to write that person the letter......to cry his heart out....or whatever it was...but I don't think so that there was a need for it anymore as things had gotten fine. I hope one day I will be able to solve this puzzle.

9.5/10 is my rating for this a very, very good novel. :)

[Hippolite]

I recently reread Milan Kundera’s "Life is Elsewhere". I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time (I'm quite a Kundera fan) but this time decided that Kundera was perhaps unfairly gloomy. By this I mean the novel is more than merely a story of how a narcissistic and insecure young man (with a little of his mother’s complicity) becomes a monster. He ties the story’s framework into the whole literary tradition of the lyrical poet with flashbacks to the lives and ideas of these lyrical poets themselves. Since these very artists, Shelly, Rimbaud, Pushkin and the like, have created some of the most beautiful lines in literature Kundera seems to be implying that there is a dark underside to the urge towards transcendent beauty. I came away from the novel not unconvinced that this might be the case but still not convinced that it’s fair to ascribe the same horrific psychological tendencies of the young Jaromil to these other, I think rather wonderful, artists.

Still, the novel provides much food for thought and perhaps some first person insight into the collaborations between the post-war intellectuals and the totalitarian communist states. I get the sense that there are some autobiographical elements to the novel and that it may be partly a confession of sorts. I’m always fascinated by the process by which humans become monsters, and the germs of monstrosity that may be latent in all of us and may become expressed even in our more noble pursuits of beauty, perfection, truth and the Absolute.

[EAP]

Pensive,

The protagonist in The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time suffered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism (Autism). Mark Haddon was lauded for his realistic depiction of an autistic child in the novel. If you are interested in reading other novels with austistic characters, check out Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark.


The letters were like a personal diary to Charlie.

[Pensive]

Pensive,

The protagonist in The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-time suffered from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism (Autism). Mark Haddon was lauded for his realistic depiction of an autistic child in the novel. If you are interested in reading other novels with austistic characters, check out Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark.
Yes, I know what he suffered from. All that talk about special school, and the way his teacher taught him. But it was really sad, the way sometimes his mother would treat him when he was little. :(


The letters were like a personal diary to Charlie.
Okay, seems like it.

[Schokokeks]

I recently completed Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach.
Being a fan of utopian and dystopian literature and having read the like by Plato, Aristophanes, Thomas More, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Jonathan Swift, George Orwell, Ernst Bloch and Aldous Huxley, I wanted to have a look at a more modern idea of an ideal state. I found Ecotopia on sale in a bookshop, read the back cover text and decided to give it a go.
The story is about an American reporter called Willy Westron who is sent on a coverage to the country of Ecotopia, which consists of the largest part of California and has recently separated itself from the rest of the United States. The book was published in 1975, the fictional separation of Ecotopia took place 19 years earlier.
The narration in the novel changes between the official, factual reports on Ecotopian politics, life style and people that the first person narrator Willy wires to his newspaper office in Washington, and his personal diary entries summarising events that happened to him during his stay in Ecotopia.
The main point of Ecotopian policy is, as the name suggests, the absolute respect for nature, animals and fellow humans. Since its foundation (that was forced by threatening Washington with weapons of mass destruction!), Ecotopian politicians have established a sophisticated system of recycling all waste produced. Air pollution has been reduced to zero by the abolition of cars and planes, the former were replaced by a subway system covering the whole country area. To increase the inhabitants' quality of life, the 20-hour working week was introduced, cities were rearranged providing more living space in the centres, and marihuana, of course :D, was legalised.
Considering the publishing date of the book, issues like the Vietnam War, make-love-not-war paroles and, finally, a society respecting nature and the environment by eco-friendly behaviour are very prominent. After all, I think the book was worth reading for the new ideas on how a society should look like that are presented. From the literary point of view, however, I would not consider Ecotopia a must read. Neither the style nor any other narrative feature was very remarkable to me, and the story's conclusion (Willy decides to stay in Ecotopia for life, converted from a full-blood American to a full-blood Ecotopian) is not convincing to me.
I'd rate this book 7/10 and would recommend it to readers interested in the history of ideas and Utopia who don't mind a rather poor literary quality :).

[Nightwalk]

Hello fiqhri, welcome to the forums.

[subterranean]

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time
I just completed it a few minutes ago. What can I say! It was an awsome epistolary novel. At first Christopher's behaviour made me really sad...and the whole plot about how his mother left him. But the end made me feel good. I will give it 9.5/10. It would have been a 10/10, if there wouldn't have been so much Maths in it. :p

I'm currently reading this book. I'm enjoying the book so far, yet I'd have to disagree with you on the Math parts. I'm very slow in Math and those parts of the book are the most fascinating ones for me :p.

[subterranean]

The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time
I just completed it a few minutes ago. What can I say! It was an awsome epistolary novel. At first Christopher's behaviour made me really sad...and the whole plot about how his mother left him. But the end made me feel good. I will give it 9.5/10. It would have been a 10/10, if there wouldn't have been so much Maths in it. :p

I've finished it last night (thanks to the amnesia :)). Contrary to Pensy's, I don't feel sad with Christopher's condition. He's smart, very determined, and in a way, he is independent (even though he’s very dependent on logic and Math). Cheers for the parents as well. It is easy to blame the mother or father for what they have done, but when I try to put my self in their shoes, the thought of labeling them as less bad parents gone instantly. I like the way Haddon described Chris' thoughts and personality, very concise. Make me feel like I know Chris very well.
I'll give it 8.5 points. :)

[Pensive]

I've finished it last night (thanks to the amnesia :)). Contrary to Pensy's, I don't feel sad with Christopher's condition. He's smart, very determined, and in a way, he is independent (even though he’s very dependent on logic and Math). Cheers for the parents as well. It is easy to blame the mother or father for what they have done, but when I try to put my self in their shoes, the thought of labeling them as less bad parents gone instantly. I like the way Haddon described Chris' thoughts and personality, very concise. Make me feel like I know Chris very well.
I'll give it 8.5 points. :)
Well, As I said in my previous post that in the start his mother's behavior, when I did not know what was the actual matter, made me really angry at her, but later after reading her letters, I actually felt pity for the poor woman. But on the other hand when everything was revealed, I felt better. And as for Christopher's character, I totally agree that it is very precise and concise. I am glad you too liked the book! :D (Nice new avatar man!)


The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night-Time
I just completed it a few minutes ago. What can I say! It was an awsome epistolary novel. At first Christopher's behaviour made me really sad...and the whole plot about how his mother left him. But the end made me feel good. I will give it 9.5/10. It would have been a 10/10, if there wouldn't have been so much Maths in it. :p

[Eagleheart]

Aleksis Zorbas -Kazandzakis

Now this is a real story of a daring life, a unique philosophy in the book and its uniqueness largely based on the simplicity of the main character. Zorbas is one of those fine fellows, quite familiar with the illusionary nature of the compellingly introduced topics that nevertheless lack the depth. If not for anything else - the author produces a remarkable harmony between plot and philosophical development of arguments and his character Zorbas a proverbially humanistic man, who in his ardent critic of the wickedness of man still finds his strenght to live with him and accept him without the ornaments of the imaginary and idealistic...Wonderful book...

[Erna]

The plot against America by Philip Roth

Let me start with my conclusion: what a dissapointing book. The idea of the book really made me think it would be interesting: what would have happened when the USA would have a had a president cooperating with Hitler in 1930-1945? And the books start quite interesting.

But unfortunately a lot of speeches given by important people are totally written down, containing a lot of names and years which don't mean anything to me (maybe because I'm not American and therefore don't recognise the names?). And the things happening are mostly on family level. I would have preferred a wider view over the country...

So an interesting idea but not worked out well...

My rating: 4/10

[Serenata]

The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown

I saw the movie first and liked it so I decided to read the book, which was a lot better than the movie. I know it has gotten really controversial, but I really enjoyed it. I tend to go for some action in the plot. There was quite a bit.
I didn't like how every chapter was a cliff-hanger, but the diction of the book was pretty easy to read. The history provided in the book was probably the best part.

8/10

[brainstrain]

Hmm...i guess my last read would be, sadly, A Tale of Two Cities. Not that the book was bad, but that was several weeks ago. I really don't read as much as i should =(

Well, it was amazing. A legendary plot, legendary characters, and many modern day applications!

Who hasn't felt like their life is a failure and been tempted to become like Sydney Carton and give up completley?

Who hasn't known (or wish they knew) someone like Lucie Manette, whose kindness and mercy knows no bounds

Who hasn't heard of or experienced themselves selfless, untainted, uncontrollable love at its purest like Lucie and Charles?

And who couldn't imagine the wrath of centuries of neglect, abuse, and downright inhumanity boiling over into a breif time of Impartial and Unstoppable Vengance, also known as La Guillotine?

I can imagine quite well that vengance, and plan to incorporate it into my next book (if i ever get around to starting it =D)

10/10!!! I liked it, my sisters liked it, and my mom is going to like it once i make her read it hehe.

If you haven't read this book, I will find you and steal all your cheese, potatoes, and grain products if you don't read it in the next month. That's not a threat, its a promise ^_^

[malwethien]

The Prestige - Christopher Priest

More than just a story between 2 rival magicians, Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier; it is a story of obsession, deception - of others and of self, and misdirection. Eerie and captivating, it will make you double back to re-read passages you have already read - or thought you read. By the end of the book, readers are left with more questions than answers. Reading The Prestige is like watching a magical act - where anything can happen, but nothing is as it seems.

The novel is much more complex than the movie and it was a good move on the part of the "movie makers" (i.e. screenwriters, directors, etc) to present a more "tamer," "simpler" version on the novel. The novel is so much more fantastical that if viewed on the screen will seem so unbelieveable, to the point of being absurd. However, it works wonderfully well on paper.

A must read for everyone in the literate world :)

[Pen&Ink]

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Just finished this a couple days ago. I loved it. I was crying at the end.:bawling:
I love the plot and over all story. I personally could have done without the 30 page retelling of the battle of waterloo, and sometimes it was a bit slow,but over all it was a really great book. ^_^ I would recommend it to anyone who has the patience to read such a long book.

[EAP]

To be honest, I liked the movie of The Prestige more than the book. It's edgier, darker and more emotionally involving.

[malwethien]

To be honest, I liked the movie of The Prestige more than the book. It's edgier, darker and more emotionally involving.

Well the movie is more "realistic" than the novel...like I said the book seemed so "fantastic." But on the whole I liked the novel better...

[ghideon]

I just finished two books.
1) "I": The Creation OF A Serial Killer by Jack Olsen
2)Middle Passageby Charles Johnson

I will write about Middle Passage because it is a much more substantial work. Johnson won the National Book Award in 1990 for this novel and at the time there was a great deal of contoversy. Some NBA members believed that the book won the award because of cultural and political dynamics and not because the book was great in a literary sense.

The story is basically this:
A young black man, an ex-slave, is living in New Orleans and surviving by petty theft and nickle-dime hustles. Through a bunch of twists and turns he finds himself faced with a choice: marry a woman who he does not want...he does not want to marry anyone. Or get killed by a Big Time Gangster for a debt he owes.
Well he takes the third option and the day before the wedding he jumps aboard a ship setting out to Africa to pick up "cargo" (i.e.Africans captured for slavery).
The bulk of the novel recounts this Rutherford Callhoun's experiences aboard the slave trader called The Republic. To make a very exciting tale much too short I will simply say that after three months at sea(involving a mad captain who dies, a 1st mate who is eaten, and a takeover of the ship by the chained but mystically powerful Africans) Rutherford is transformed, one could even say he finds redemption.:)
There are some very moving passages :( in the short 210 page novel. At one point, we are told that the Africans who have taken over the ship and killed many of the crew are now in very deep water emotionally and spiritually for they have acted out of rage and vengance.:flare: They have become as morally corrupt as those who had chained them and they will suffer for that for a long long time. Reading that I felt a great deal of compassion for the slaves who revolted and even admired how deeply they felt over any act of violence. And I was left comparing such an ethics with the moral compass in the society I live in where death and murder, arson and rape is everywhere and thus nowhere, talked about so much that there is very little actually said or discussed.
The author is on a bit of a mission. He is widely known for calling for a new form of African-American literature. One that embraces Western philosophy and culture rather then always positioning it in contradiction or opposition to it. And Middle Passage is full of references to all sorts of philosophies and philosophers some widely known and others much less so. I thought that at times these parts of the story were quite engaging and at other times I found them damn distracting.
I would give the novel about 8 stars. I could read it again. I will remember it. And it gave me a very different perspective into that time in our history.

[brainstrain]

Ok, so I was just on two 8 hour car trips (to little rock arkansas and back) so I had a LOT of free time. On the way there I beat Final Fantasy 1 on my gameboy, but on the way back I read a book or three. Here's what I thought:

Book One - Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony

I saw this an Arkansas Bookshop, it was a pleasant suprise. This is the fifth book in the Artemis Fowl series, and I had no idea it exsisted. The basic plot is that Hybras, the Isle of Demons, sent itself into Limbo to protect from the onslaught of humans. It had, however, been there too long and the Time Tunnel that brought them there was collapsing. So they have to travel through, time, space, and history to save the 8th family.

I LOVE this book, Eoin Coifer's writing style is just so free and wonderful...the last scene, were all the main characters are flying (along with the demon's island) though the collapsing time tunnel is just amazing...

10 out of 10!

Book Two - The City of Ember

This was, if nothing else, a fascinating book. Despite the bizzare names (Lina and Doon. :lol: ) it is a very good, fast-paced read. Though pretty obviously by an amatuer writer (lots and lots of uneccesary detail), it is a great plot. Two kids struggling against a corrupt mayor to find a way out of a dying city. Quite the cliffhanger ending, though :bawling:
i'd say 7 out of 10

Book Three - The People of Sparks

Fortunetly, the city of ember was published a while ago, so I bought the sequel along with it :p. You can tell she got some feedback from her readers, LOTS less of that annoying uneccesary detail. It is a little hard to read, as you can tell exactly whats going to happen (and you know you aren't going to like it). You also know the general way it has to resolve itself (some kind of large catastrophe to untie everybody) but you don't know what it is. She does, however, beatifully interlace the catastrophe with the plot, making this overall a great read.

8 out of 10 ^_^

[euterpe]

Sappho's Leap by Erica Jong

I honestly didn't know what to expect with Jong interpreting Sappho's fragments and telling her story...but it was actually very well done. I'd give it a 9/10

[Bii]

A Wild Sheep Chase ; Haruki Murakami

Wow!!! I'm yet to come across a Murakami book I don't love. Read the above after Dance, Dance, Dance (which is a sequel - didn't realise!) but it definitely stood up on it's own. I love the way that Murakami manages to weave isolated, rather introverted characters, with drama, love, sex, intregue, mystery and the down-right bizarre. Love the "Sheep-man". Fantastic book which kind of gets into your veins.

For those who haven't ever read a Murakami novel I'd strongly recommend. Whatever it is you're looking for, it's probably in there.

[Kenny_Shovel]

Of all literary techniques, stream of consciousness is the one I have the most problem with. Unless the subject matter and author combine and try damn hard to catch my imagination, it’s all just going to wash over me, however critically acclaimed the work may be. Leaving writers like Joyce, Woolf and Sebald all firmly labelled in my mind as worthy but dull.
Thankfully, experimentation in some of his books by one of my favourite authors, Bohumil Hrabal, persuaded me that my aversion might be down to content rather than style, and lead me to take a risk on ‘Summer at Baden-Baden’ by Leonid Tsypkin. This is a joy of a book and one where the technique is used not as a means to an end, or a flamboyant literary example of the Emperor’s new clothes, but as an integral part of the story.

‘Summer in Baden-Baden’ is a bibliophiles book, and one in particular that should be read by every fan of Dostoyevski. Tsypkin was himself a dedicated admirer of the Russian master and the narrative of the story encompasses and links them both.
The book is framed by a train journey Tsypkin took in the late 1970’s to St Petersburg. A trip to visit and photograph various locations from Dostoyevski’s life and books, in particular ‘Crime and Punishment’, and one that he hoped would bring him closer to understanding the author. As Tsypkin travels he reads from a gift his Aunt has given him: the diary of Dostoyevski’s second wife Anna, covering the period in 1867 when they lived in Baden-Baden.
It is here that the book takes off, as the text flows from first to third person narratives and from the point of view of Tsypkin, Dostoyevski and Anna. The switching of POV and narrative style allows the characters of the married couple to be explored from inside and out in a way that Dostoyevski himself would have been proud of. The changes are made seamlessly, often mid sentence, but you quickly get into stride with the tempo of the writing, to the point were the style of prose seems the most natural way of telling the story. It’s effortless and breathtaking at the same time, and full credit needs to be given to Roger and Angela Keys for their wonderful translation.

Dostoyevski’s battle with his addiction to gambling takes centre stage for much of the time. It reveals many of his flaws: his weakness, obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and mood swings that lead him to push away those closest to him. So whilst at times you can hear echoes of a number of Dostoyevski’s works in the text, it is ‘The Gambler’ you are most reminded of, to the point where ‘Summer at Baden-Baden’ seems like a shadowy ‘Double’ of that book.

The relationship between the ever-faithful Anna and her husband is used as a mirror for one of the major themes of the book. How can Tsypkin, a Jew, reconcile his admiration for Dostoyevski with Dostoyevski’s attitude towards his faith? It’s a question that is touched upon throughout the book, often obliquely referenced, until Tsypkin finally reaches St Petersburg where he directly and honestly addresses it.

As I mentioned before, this is a book for fans of Dostoyevski, and some knowledge of his work, life and times are needed to get the most from it. Some of the nuance of meaning from his meetings with various other Russian writers and the historical accuracy of the events described were a bit beyond my knowledge. But that didn’t effect my enjoyment.
Special mention also to the 2001 edition which included an excellent introduction by Susan Sontag and reproduction of Tsypkin’s photographs from his trip to St Petersburg. Want to see the building where the moneylender in Crime and Punishment lived? It’s in here. Although to be honest it looks like it could be from any of the modern day Eastern European cities I’ve visited.

But whether you regard this book as a fantasy, a fictionalised documentary or an extended piece of fan mail is ultimately unimportant. ‘Summer in Baden-Baden’ stands alone as an exquisite masterpiece, and Tsypkin an author worthy of sitting on the shelf next to Dostoyevsky without fear of being out of place.

K-S

[Kenny_Shovel]

I love Czech literature. Writers from that region have a wonderful ability to talk about nothing and everything at the same time, all wrapped up in a warm dark humour that reveals a great love of life. Perhaps it’s a twentieth century tradition that stems from the writing of the humorist Jaraslav Hasek and his greatest gift to Czech literature, ‘The good soldier Svejk’? Perhaps the origin is earlier and beyond my knowledge? But the influence can be seen in the work of Ivan Klima, Karel Capek, Bohumal Hrabal, and probably countless more I’ve never even heard of. I’ve always got half an eye out looking for writers in a similar vein, a search that somehow led me to miss what was already under my nose.

‘The Engineer of Human Souls’ by Josef Skvorecky has been sitting in my to-be-read pile for some time, probably a couple of years. I’d bought it on recommendation, but the ominous sounding title (a reference to Stalin’s opinion of a writers function) plus a hefty 571 page count, well above my normal comfort zone, had seen me passing it by for newer purchases on a fairly regular basis. And what a glorious book I was ignoring.

The story revolves around Danny, a jazz loving writer from Czechoslovakia, living in exile in Canada and working as a university lecturer in literature. The parallels with Skvorecky’s own life are very strong, to the point where the book comes close to a Japanese I-novel in style. The narrative shifts between Danny’s current life amongst the Czech émigré in Canada and significant periods in his past, all neatly tied together with letters from those he knew from his homeland who have taken refuge in other parts of the world. As the story progresses, we learn the different paths chosen by Danny and his friends during wartime, and how their lives pan out. Much is revealed as the characters live through ever changing times: democracy, Nazi rule, communism and for the lucky ones who escape, exile.

The subtitle to ‘The Engineer of Human Souls’ is: An entertainment on the old themes of life, women, fate, dreams, the working class, secret agents, love and death. But that reveals only the tip of this book’s iceberg. How a seemingly meandering tale, with a fairly basic plot can say so much is a testament to the skill of Skvorecky.

Familiar Czech literary obsessions of food, wine, women and song make regular appearances, and at times Danny’s laid back attitude to life is reminiscent of the ‘good soldier’ himself. But there is much more under the surface. Bravery, cowardice, motivation and duty are put under the microscope as we learn of Danny’s wartime experiences working in a Messerchmitt factory, and his flirtations with the resistance movement. Flirtations that are fed more by desires towards impressionable young girls than desire to do the right thing. This proves to be an enduring attraction to Danny, as his older self becomes ever closer to a young student in his class.

Life under Nazi rule, the communist regime, and abroad as an exile are subtly compared. Contrast skilfully made between the younger man living under oppression and fighting against it in his own way and the older wiser man amused by the attraction of totalitarian states to those who have no experience, or real understanding, of them.

This is a bibliophile’s book as well. The discussions Danny has with his students’ flow throughout the story, and literary references abound. The book is even divided into seven chapters named after famous authors. The result is a book that moves to the love of literature, as well as the love of life.

I’m still undecided if this book has crossed the line to becoming a masterpiece or not, I need a little longer to mull that over. But it is a fantastic read: warm but cynical, naïve but knowing, straightforward but complex, a book full of contradictions, but one that never stops being a joy.

[LauraJayne]

I've just completed, as in literally 10 minutes ago, Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

This is the first book in the 'Inheritance Trilogy.'

It follows the struggle of a young farm boy, Eragon, who finds a Dragon egg, which hatches, thrusting him into the life of a Dragon Rider. Along with his Dragon, Saphira, he meets many different characters throughout his journey, most of whom aid him in the final battle at the end of the book.

Overall, I think it is a brilliant story, very detailed and gripping. In some parts, itt became a little dreary, although these were only short passages, and made no effect to the overall enjoyment of the book :]

I truly found it fascinating, and find Paolini a deeply talented, young author. [He started writing Eragon at 15 :)] It is a wonderful fantasy adventure, although there are certain areas which appear similar to such works as Lord of The rings. Whilst some people I know who have read it found this a problem, and rather annoying, I still think that Paolini made this book unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! I would definately reccomend this book :], and now I'm off to start the second book in the 'Inheritance Trilogy' - Eldest!!

x

[Jetxa]

The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell. Books one and two in a story of King Alfred the Great and the invading Danes through the eyes of a young boy who, as he grows to manhood, fights on both sides of the fray. Lords of the North, the third book in the series is due out February 1. Can't wait!

[Captain Pike]

I recently read "Cruising in Serafyn", by Lin and Larry Pardy, the true account of a couple sailing their home built 24 foot cutter down the California coast, through the canal and across to England. Very bohemian and humbly exciting. He built the boat, she wrote the book -- great reading.

[sezen887]

hi all!
A few minutes ago,i read the short story "The Door" by Guy De maupassant,but i am lost at the end of the story.Really,i did get nothing if you read this story,will you let me know what is going on at the end of it???I am very curios...

[Erna]

I just read "The unbearable lightness of being" by Milan Kundera. It's a fantastic book. History and different view on a certain period of life are nicely combined. And the story makes you think.

[Domer121]

G.K Chestertons: "The Man Who was Thursday"
The hero, Gabriel Syme, is brought into what he believes is the dark underworld of anarchy, led by the 7 officers, representing the days of the week, of course being led by Sunday.
I am a fan of Chestertons writing, but this was, by far, my favorite of his works, that I have read.
It is a quick read, if you do not want to unlock the hidden messages behind it.. I highly recommend it.

[UnPrepared]

Please someone! I need your help! I have a questionaire due today in English. 10 pages. 88 questions. And 39 of them i cant answer. Please i dont need them all answered just i need help!!!

[Pensive]

The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving

Story of a bear. A story of sorrow. A story of love. In fact, it is a story of a family and how they go through different problems. Would they ever be able to overcome their fears? Would they ever be able to overcome their sorrows? A story of deaths. A story of revenge.

A very well written story - full of twists and turns. Humorous on some places, and on others, it looks as if there has never been such a complex and serious novel. Characters are very interesting. Plot is like a road having lots of turns in it that the traveller forgets where he is going. A very insightful novel which everyone should try. A story of full of pun too.

I would rate it 10/10 definitely.

[papayahed]

I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

It's about a country girl who goes off to a prestigious college and the usual problems of fitting in, it seems like the book is trying to make a point about how society views athletes and the "cool" kids but it trys to hard. Overall an interesting read.

7.8/10

[JamesXavier]

I just read Sula, for class. It was amazing for the author's ability to use the dirt on the ground to symbolize the cosmic battles of good and evil. Fully supports the saying "a bird is never just a bird, in literature".

[lectura]

I just finished reading Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. What a long and complex book. The first part was pretty much straight forward, but the second one was perplex and confusing. But that is what makes this book so great. Now I really want to watch the movie.
So if someone has nothing to do and feels like reading twelve hundred pages of satire on knighthood, go for it :)

[Stieg]

The Complete Wandering Ghosts by F Marion Crawford.

A decent collection of all this author's ghost and horror stories. Wonderful writer of the creepy and skin-crawling shivers. However, the stories are abit outdated by style and by construction. He does a fair job of developing characters yet there is a predictability usually via a twist ending or grisley denounement quite imaginable with the expectant accompanying music sting. But these were written mostly in the 1890s.

My favorites being "The Screaming Skull", "The Upper-Berth", and "The Doll's Ghost".

Certainly not on the level of some of his latter more sophisticated more popular posthumous contemporaries of M R James, Lovercaft, Machen, or Blackwood. These are simply short atmospheric delights. Chocolates in a tin.

I feel Crawford is best accentuated and represented bookended within the pages of an horror collection.

2.5 out of 5

[aydin]

Three men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

The title would be an adequate synopsis, but the beauty is in the writing, every paragraph being a comic gem. One of the funniest books I've read.

[Schokokeks]

I recently completed The Golden Pot (http://www.amazon.com/Golden-Pot-Other-Tales-Translation/dp/0192837230/ref=sr_1_4/104-4643868-4146319?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174419877&sr=1-4) by ETA Hoffmann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._T._A._Hoffmann).

One of the most interpretated works of German Romanticism, it is subtitled "A Fairy Tale of Modern Times". And indeed it contains singing snakes, a salamander-magician antagonising a nasty witch, a heroic student in love, and a happy end.
Contrary to all other fairy tales I've read so far, The Golden Pot is not set once upon a time, and the setting is not a fictionary distant country, but the city of Dresden around 1800. These two levels of fiction (the magical characters and tokens and their anchorage in the historical Dresden) this is one of the point why I found the short tale so interesting.
It is not only a fairy tale, but also a medical treatise of melancholy, a portrait of the bourgeoisie in contrast to the bohème, and the study of a character developing from a law student into a poet.
The Golden Pot might be interesting for all those interested in the key texts and theory of European Romanticism, and for those enjoying a piece of fantastic literature by the scariest author of German literature :D.

I'd rate The Golden Pot 10/10.

[Stieg]

To Walk The Night by William Sloane

Finished this one quickly at only 228 pages, and say, what a huge disappointment. Read like a overlong episode of Outer Limits or Twilight Zone where not much really happened and an equal amount of vague allusions centered mathmatical equations that open the portals of time and fourth dimensions.

The novel was made entirely of a series of switch-backs where the author successfully avoided creating any sense of mystery, suspense, and atmosphere. I can't count how many times the main character (and novel's narrator) thought or spoke descriptively of another whether it be her strange apparel, her quiet high intellect, or pale skin.

Or the protagonist's lifelong friend obsession of said woman.

In all practicality, read a sentence or two and one basically has read entire page.

The conclusion was an absolute letdown after reading 190 pages of build-up failed to provide any resolution or straight answers and the book raises dozens of them but rather a dull resignation of mild consequences.

This hill was a terrible near maddening climb with few "startling" revelations. I will read William Sloane's other more famous novel Edge of Running Water as it is more genuinely horror in nature dealing with the dead becoming unwelcome returnees.

1 out of 5

[CourtnyG]

I recently read The Warden and Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope. I would recommend reading Barchester Towers right after The Warden as they contain many of the same characters, and the plot flows from The Warden right into Barchester Towers. I started Doctor Thorne (the next book in the series), but so far I haven't run into any of the same characters and I think there is a considerable jump in time between the first two novels and Doctor Thorne. Both novels were very enjoyable. A huge cast of hilarious characters, thrown into odd situations, always makes for a good novel.


Courtny

[Janine]

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

[Quote]Just finished this a couple days ago. I loved it. I was crying at the end.:bawling:
I love the plot and over all story. I personally could have done without the 30 page retelling of the battle of waterloo, and sometimes it was a bit slow,but over all it was a really great book. ^_^ I would recommend it to anyone who has the patience to read such a long book.

Pen&Ink,I read this very long book a number of years ago and thought it was the greatest book I ever read. I cried, too at the end. It is a magnificent read. I was fortunate a friend had all the volumes so I read it in it's entirety - wonderful!

Brainstrain, Other great novel "Tale of Two Cities" - absolutely a perfect novel, and as you stated a few posts back, it had so many elements you could relate to; it definitely had something for everyone. I adored it.

[Madhuri]

East of Eden -- John Steinbeck

I am so glad I was able to finish it, going by the number of pages; I had thought it will take me six months to complete the book, considering what a slow reader I am. But, it really was a good book, after a long time I have read such a book that made me want to read further, everyday while coming back from work I would think what will unfold next (Kite Runner was another book like this).

In the beginning, there were three parallel stories going on (Adam, Cathy and Samuel), I had no idea how eventually all the characters will meet and become a part of each other’s life so well. The beginning was very descriptive; something like the author is trying to set a stage for the whole drama to begin. At the back of my mind also I was trying to think how they all will meet, which made me eager to read further and see if that is what will happen.

The two main turning points in the story were – When Cathy landed at Adam and Charles home and when Adam planned to relocate. Falling in love and then betrayal was what changed the course of story, mainly, and other circumstances and people (like Lee and Samuel) helped greatly in binding the story till the end. These two people were like anchors in the story, like when one needs a piece of advice they look up to people like Lee and Samuel.

There were certain conditions that were symbolic also, or so I think. For example: - Cathy gets arthritis in her fingers. Although this condition can occur on anybody, but I was thinking what could be the reason? The explanation I could give myself was that since she did many dirty deeds using her hands, such as – setting her home and family on fire, shooting Adam, and perhaps that never ever lovingly held her babies in her arms. I thought it was symbolic.

The writing style of Steinbeck is so good. He doesn’t divulge all information. I mean he also makes the reader think and come up with their own ideas as to why certain things happened. At least in my case that happened or if not then of course it was my lack of comprehending what he was trying to say. For example: - When Adam went to see Cathy in her house – at the end of the meeting, he was smiling with content, which also made Cathy angry. It was never made clear by the author as to what exactly Adam was being content at? I wanted to know what went on in Adams mind at the point of time? Also, I was wondering why Cathy left everything that belonged to her to Aaron and not to Caleb.

But it was interesting to read the analogy later on – that Aaron might have felt the same way as Adam who inherited money that was ill-begotten and had to live off that money.

There were so many general philosophies too that I came across -- thou mayest; and how people deal with their insecurities all the time, like Caleb and his realization that its okay if one is not perfect; like Aaron’s dream world, out of which he never wanted to come to reality, and likewise many others.

The story ended in everyone being forgiven, so that they can start off afresh.

Rating -- 10/10

This is my understanding of the story, I am not a critic.

[Aiculík]

Diary of a Country Priest, by Georges Bernanos.

The book is the fictional diarz of a young priest in rural France. It is his first parish and he is utterly dedicated to it. Except doing his sacramental duties, he visits every family in the parish, teaches catechism, visits sick, tries to create a club for young man. But the world around him his hard, often cruel, not accpeting him, and he considers himself to be a failure. For example, he is very ill - at the end it is found out it was stomach cancer - and one sort of fine wine relieves pain a bit, but villagers began gossip that he's alcoholic. One of the kids he teaches catechism, about 13-year old girl, Seraphita, also enjoy spreading rumours about him at every opportunity. That's why the young priest considers himself a failure, poor instrument of God's grace. He would like to be as his friend, a priest in neighbouring parish, de Torcy, who is much more relaxed. Together they have long discussions about God and religion.

It is a novel that has both spiritual value and literary quality (and that's not seen that often). What I liked about it was, that it was very believable, realistic, giving you good impression of what priest's life is like, but also a picture of French society. It shows how empty is intellectualism without God, how Church fails to present God's love - but on the other hand, it shows a power of a man really dedicated to God.


But, I must also write a warning:
It is complex, quite difficult - one of those books that you either love or throw away as dull and boring. :rolleyes:

Personally I loved it - fell in love with Bernanos, in fact and now I'm going to find his other works. :)

10/10

[Stieg]

Dark Forces edited by Kirby McCauley

I would call this collection more dark contemporary fantasy rather than horror, Kirby McCauley is a reknown anthologist but there is alot hubris surrounding this collection.

The some of the strongest stories were represented by Robert Aickman, T.E.D. Klein, Ramsey Campbell, though Aickman's contribution is comparitively weak especially the ending for the master of ambigious psychological ghost stories.

The very best were written by Russell Kirk, Manly Wade Wellman, Gahan Wilson, and the father/son duo Richard Matheson/Richard Christian Matheson. Coincidently, these four tales were a perfect balance of the macabre and laugh-out loud comedy. Delightfully sinister collection of winks and gasps.

Now for the bad, the rest of the bunch were very predictable neither shocking or scary and disappointing like the worst episodes of Tales From The Crypt.

But the biggest malefactor was Stephen King's novella The Mist, after 42 pages of pretty decent atmospheric build-up King finding his rthythm, character's developing and the typical witty anecdotes rolling when King suddenly pushes all stops and the story explodes into mayhem and green-blooded horrors. Though King's infrequently shines through in moments of disasterous gratuity or comic relief there is a moment when some voluteers amongst survivors of this castrastrophe holed up in a grocery store go to check the generator back near the docks and receiving, that had me anticipating the worst "Oh god.... oh no.... oh no" ........ "Eh?... what?... oh hell that's downright asinine!"

Stephen King and his excessiveness fumbles again.

There are many other horror anthologies and author short story collections I'd recommend before this one.

I give 3.5 out of 5 for a mostly disappointing collection from great authors and one seriously ridiculously overrated Stephen King novella.

[37,5° C]

the last book I read entirely was CELINE's Voyage au bout de la nuit (sorry, I don't know the english title). a book for depressive people who try to suicide without finding enough courage.

more seriously, a very interesting story and a very interesting way to tell it. does anyone know how the english translation is ?

[optimisticnad]

Celine's journey on a boat at night?

:-)

[37,5° C]

I don't really know what you mean...

I don't think it's the english title. I would rather have imagined something like... no, I don't see anything. sorry.

Journey to the end of the night... wasn't really hard to find it, in reality.

[Bakiryu]

Just finished: To Kill a Mockingbird, for my english class, I cried a bit.

Certainly better than what they had us read last semester, I know a lot of people may think this is the greatest book ever, but I don't ever want to read again Great Expectations.

[Orual]

The last book I read was The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck. It is set in pre-revolutionary China is about a poor farmer who rose to wealth. The book follows the farmer, Wang Lung, from his wedding day to shortly before his death.

I had never read anything about China before this, so I was pleasently surprised. The book is very well written and easy to read (it took me one day), but provides much to think about. I found myself most often wondering whether Wang Lung was actually happy with his life (I won't say exactly why since I would hate to spoil the book. I'm not sure how much to reveal), but that may just be from the fact that pre-revolutionary Chinese culture is so different from modern western culture.

I found The Good Earth to be a very worthwhile book. It isn't the sort that I would read over and over, but I'm glad I read it.

[bazarov]

Victor Hugo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame; finished it late last night. A masterpiece, I highly recommend it to everyone.
The story is placed in Paris, somewhere about 1450., about a priest who got in love with beautiful Gipsy dancer and all tragedies that comes from it...A lot of unhappiness and death; it's a realism, so nothing strange actually. Very very interesting, many interesting ideas, great thoughts and quotes, and priest and his hunchback are really great developed.
Now I can't wait for Les Miserables( as Chris Rea would say; I'm looking for the summer...)

5 of 5, if I must.

[Stieg]

The Moorstone Sickness by Bernard Taylor

Probably should have introduced myself to this author via one of his more popular works than this infrequently mentioned novel. A quiet English thriller in a quaint English setting. Slow build up but the pay off is excellent. Not particularly scary or suspenseful abit predictable yet capped with a great finish. The pace is the real toe curler here.

3 out of 5

Mother's Boys by Bernard Taylor

Now I know why Taylor is such a reknown name in modern British horror literature. The book is a deep plunge into the darkest day. One of the more exciting waking nightmares I've had the pleasure of reading. One part of the book basically serves as the centerpiece of events, sparked a shocking revelation, preceding and proceding that makes William Golding read like a child author. If you like syrupy feel good endings like say a typical Koontz novel? Don't look here. I'd advise against it. This book antes up the frozen marrow factor brilliantly! Simply awesome!

5 out of 5

[papayahed]

The City of Fallen Angels - John Berendt

The author arrives in Venice a few days after the famous Teatro La Fenice burns down, he follows the story of it's rebuilding. The book is chockful of colorful characters he meets along the way. It's in the same vein as his other book , Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but just as if not more entertaining.

4/5

[andave_ya]

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I was pleasantly surprised by the book. It is the tale of a boy who finds a dragon egg. Eventually the egg hatches and both their lives are intertwined as the boy finds out he is one of the fabled dragon riders and he is actually a Very Important Person.
The only thing I had a problem with was that there were a lot of parallels between LOTR and Eragon. For example:
urgals=orcs
kulls=uruk-hai
Eragon=Frodo or Aragorn (I couldn't decide which)
Brom=Gandalf
Murtagh=Boromir
I don't know if that's just because I'm picky when it comes to LOTR but it irked me a little bit. Though I would still suggest it if you enjoy fantasy. 4/5

[Prometheus'Wake]

Last book I read was Umberto Eco's Feucault's Pendulum. The man's vocab is imense and his understanding of medieval history and philosophy is very impresive. The book is as witty as it is insightful. Character's are well drawn and individuated. It can get a little bogged down with litany of obscure occult factions which are woven into the tapestry as the three friends are drawn deeper into the world of the "Diabolicals", but this is not so discuraging as to ruin or even really interrupt the enthralling narrative of Casaubon.

Eco's writing reminds me strongly of Salman Rushdie.

[Nick Rubashov]

Just finished "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck a couple of minutes ago. Great novel. Jerked a tear from my eye.

[Stieg]

Sweetheart, Sweetheart by Bernard Taylor

Hadn't had much time to read and it created abit of a funk in me. But I did finally finish my third book written by Taylor and will say it was one of the kinkier ghost stories I've read. Slow starting and will say it quite likely one of the worst predictable ones I have read and concerned a cottage with a history of generational mysteries and untimely deaths.

Matheson wrote the greatest paranormal investigative ghost stories of all time in Hell House with a hair-raising climax that goes all balls out by the end (which is completely absent from the film adaptation directed by John Hough btw). Michael McDowell wrote some of the finest modern ghost stories incorporating geography and elements along with a smashing dash of Southern Gothic eccentricity.


But by the finish of this novel, the narrative becomes an improvisational comedy troupe where characters appear on stage and disappear off stage at a moments notice and with a most logic jarring lengthy intervals and injuries come via a most lethal perplexing convenience. Reader beware, keep one self away from suspect knitting needles, duck ballestic roof tiles, and flee from dressers the size of a sedan please. How these characters teleport at five-ten paces apart from another is beyond me.

1 out of 5

I'll read the next three at a later date.

[Nick Rubashov]

I would also like to add that "Cannery Row" contained one of the funniest sentences I've ever read, I had to put the book down and lost my page because I was laughing so hard. Chapter 32 beings with


Doc awakened very slowly and clumsily like a fat man getting out of a swimming pool.

I'm not exactly sure why that sentence made me laugh so hard, I just know I absolutely love it.

[Stieg]

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Interesting mystery novel, definitely an influence of those Italian sleazy giallo films and books so predominate during the 70s. However the novel becomes quite monotous, the dialogue can get dry, and that failed to develop a proper level of suspense and atmosphere. And most of all, for the whole duration of this terrifying crisis the characters had a tendency to take everything in stride (yes, they were amoral people but still), no hysterics or desperation a la no realism. In a event such as this, something has to give!

I, the reader, could hardly wait anticipating every move perpetuated by the killer.

Mixed thoughts on the book, liked conclusion that reveals the culprit in a rather tricky plot and offers more on the hows and whys. Still, I can't help dwelling on the fact this probably isn't one of Christie's more intricate or difficult to solve mysteries. I was not blown away by it but appreciative.

4/5

[CourtnyG]

I just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I started it Saturday at 4:00 pm and finished it by Sunday at 1:00 pm. I literally couldn't put the book down. It was a hauntingly beautiful novel that I'll never forget. The person who told me about the book did not recommend it. She couldn't get past the fact that the destruction is never explained. I tried to tell her that there must be a reason for this, probably because the destruction of the earth as we know it isn't the point of the story, but she just couldn't get past it. It didn't bother me at all. I was far too worried about where the next meal was coming from, or whether they would survive the night, to care about how things became that way. I was so moved by their love for each other, their bond, I was constantly worried about the mental and physical health of the boy, that the hows and whys of the situation were irrelevant. I actually sobbed at the end. Books never make me cry. And allthough I felt sad at the end I also felt hope. I do feel emotionally drained after reading the novel.

Courtny

[Susie_Q]

The Chemistry Of Death by Simon Beckett

For a debut novel i must say this book was fantastic and would highly recommend it to any crime/thriller fans, especially those who like authors such as Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs and Karin Slaughter

In a nutshell the story is about an ex forensic anthropologist who leaves London to work as a GP in a small village in Norfolk. Then when women start to disappear and get brutally murdered in his village he finds himself helping the police out with their enquiries.

I loved reading about the whole forensics side to an investigation and the attention to detail in this book is incredible. Also, the author does a great job of leading you off track, I was convinced i'd guessed who'd 'done it' but i was completely wrong lol!

[Tuesday]

I just finished William Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!"...and I'm floored. It was the first novel by Faulkner that I read and at times it was pretty tough to keep concentrated (and I certainly missed a lot of small details and subtleties)...but Dear Lord, this has to be one of the greatest novels ever written. The setting, the characters, the twists and turns, the different narrators...the sheer atmosphere is overwhelming. I think I have never read a book before that was as intense as this one. Before, the expression "Southern Gothic" was just another term for me - now it's the image of the rotten Sutpen mansion in the midst of the swamps on one of those hot summer evenings.

I'm not sure how Faulkner's other novels compare to this. As a matter of fact, I chose this one to begin with because I found its title so intriguing.

As for his style: After the initial shock of the first chapter I think you get used to it pretty fast. After a while, you don't really look for seperate sentences, anyway. It all becomes one continous flow of images and sounds. Almost the same as it's in the case of all the neologisms in Clockwork Orange. Before you realize it, you almost begin to use "horrorshow" in your everyday language ;)

It's probably most important to realize that you are not meant to understand everything from the beginning, because things will unfold later on. I guess this might be the main reason why people quit this book after the first chapter or so.

The being said, I can't wait to lay my hands on his other major works :)

[andave_ya]

Eldest, sequel to Eragon.

I liked this book a whole lot better than Eragon. It builds up on the story, brings Roran's POV into the book, and has a couple of twists and turns. Without too much happening, Galbatorix (the villain of the piece who wants to enslave everyone) sends troops to attack the main rebellion left against him. Eragon and Saphira his dragon lend their aid but are nearly floored by a new familiar protagonist who lets them go.

4/5

[Stieg]

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg

Not going to waste too much time on this one, only say that the film Angel Heart is far more shocking, far more economized and tighter (makes a big difference here), and has a far more dramatic, thrilling, and ultimately horrific ending (the novel is too comic book). Hjortsberg adapted his own book into the screenplay. If you seen the film don't bother reading this or you'll find yourself most assuredly bored because the former follows it very closely. Graded mostly for style and any greatness this book could have further achieved is lost in the shadows of the film.

2.5/5

[Derringer]

I'm going to review two books to make me feel special! I also read two books, so that's another reason.
Book one:

The Lost Cosmonaut by Daniel Kalder. This is an anti-tourist book. The intention is to go to undesirable places, have an unpleasant time and more or less, have a bad vacation. Kalder goes to several republics in Russia, all of which have hard names to remember and even harder names to write, so I'm not going to bother. The book is 'snippets' of very short adventures, descriptions, dreams, and some of them are entertaining because the things he writes about are not something that would be expected from a travel book.

The major downside to Kalder's book is that it is terrible uneven; he eats at McDonalds (it's everywere!) and then talks philosophy and it makes little sense, a 'jolt' to the reader. He insults a Russian and then makes some Nietzsche-inspired point about being insignificant in the scope of the world-- again , making little sense. The purpose of his book seems to be 'tagged on', but it could have been a good book.

2.5/5

Book Two.

The Third Policeman by Flann O'brien (a pseudonym)

This book was too funny. I was laughing out loud and had many people give me queer looks in the library. I would ruin the book if I explained it in full, but the best part is that the author manipulates the reader - lengthy footnotes, ridiculously hard words used on purpose, non sequiters that pull the reader in to a completely absurd world. Definetly recommended.

4.5/5

[Susie_Q]

Season of the Witch (http://www.natashamostert.com/) by Natasha Mostert

I just spent a long Bank Holiday weekend lazing in my garden (or conservatory when it rained) reading this dark and intriguing mystery novel (with a bit of magic and mysticism thrown in to boot). The author very boldly chooses the present day as her setting, with the novel starting out as a cyberspace thriller but progressing into tale of witchcraft, psychic powers, love and death. The characters are wonderful - the protagonist Gabriel Blackstone is a flawed but brilliant private investigator asked to find the truth behind the disappearance of his ex-lover's stepson, meeting the mysterious Monk sisters in doing so. Both are highly brilliant and intelligent women in very different ways - and it's really pleasing for me to find two strong female characters. Too many books, especially in the mystic/fantasy genre, have no female characters of any substance or who are convincing, so to create two distinct ones is a real treat.

The mystery within is a gripping one, with a nice whodunnit setup and an ongoing romantic subplot (for all his skills, Gabriel is unable to work out which sister is in love with him). And the mystic concepts are really well explained and researched - the author has done her homework and creates a really engrossing world inside the book. I really liked the book, although the start left me sceptical by the end I was engrossed and the ending (without giving away too much!) is heartbreaking but fitting at the same time. A highly recommended book, especially for anyone who is trying to get in touch with their mystic or spiritual side.

[Eagleheart]

The Collector - John Fowles
Sparse literature style is now rehabilitated in my eyes after I have read this work of Fowles. Screaming, incisive lines - even every exclamation is like a new story to be unfolded...Caliban is undoubtedly a deranged specimen, but unconventional in his "pursuits"...
Sociopathy loses its remote features and becomes terribly realistic and close...Moreover it is not simply defined, it is given power and life...
Mind-altering...

[Stieg]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Whew, one of the funniest books I have ever read since Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a satirical presentation of war and the 20th Century seen through the cracked lenses of mad wit and irony. I'll not witness ramblings of the Three Musketeers in a funnier light. I can understand why this book is favorite book of many to re-visit.

5/5

[Quark]

Albert Camus, The Stranger


Whether you agree with Camus' ideas or not, this novel should be read.

Some novels are read because they're entertaining. They hold our interest with an exciting plot, lovable characters, or a witty narration. I wouldn't put this novel in that class. It's characters are not really likable--they're not really even knowable. The narration is the plain, unadorned prose of the main character himself. But, where this novel lacks excitement, it redeems itself through its extreme significance and relevance to our lives. It approaches a constantly recurring debate, and provides insight into the inscrutable workings of consciousness. Camus may not have been an entertainer, but he had a connection to humanity greater than anyone around him. The Stranger is a hunt for genuine humanity in a society that has given up any claim to life.

Meursault, a middle-class Algerian, commits a random murder in this novel by Camus. At the trial, Meursault is asked the question that the readers must have on their mind: why did he do it? Meursault blurts out, "it was because of the sun". He believes that random circumstances drew him to the beach with a loaded revolver, and that he chose to commit murder without any other influence but his own will. This response baffles the court, and they throw it out as impossible. The lawyers and the judge try to prove that he committed murder because he was either grief-stricken over his mother's death or an inherently evil person. The court wants to believe that action are prompted by ideas like love, morality, and other-worldly faith. They refuse to accept that Meursault killed the stranger on the beach because he simply made a choice in the circumstances at that time. And, Meursault refuses to believe that the large over-arching ideas that the court holds should affect a person's action. He argues that those around him have given up their lives by believing that their actions are controlled by ideas. This is the basic human conflict that separate the characters in this novel. No matter what you think of Meursault at the end of the novel, I think people should read this novel. They have to take part in this discussion, or a large part of their life will go unnoticed.

[Captain Pike]

Cruising in Serafin, was a great book about a young couple back in the late 60s who built and sailed their own 24 foot cutter down the coast of California, through the Panamá Canal, up the East Coast and ultimately across to England.

I had been very interested in taking my family cruising in our own boat, until other circumstances changed the course of things, at least for now. But these two folks, Lyn and Larry Pardey, seem to have just the right mix of humility, frugality and adventurousness to make the story really attractive to me. Lyn actually wrote the book, and Larry, at least in the beginning, was more of a sailor. The things that seemed important to this couple really appealed to me: they weren't bragging or boastful, they did this on a shoestring budget, often, having to stop places to pick up on work to build up their funds to support their travel. For example, their boat was completely lit by kerosene lanterns and had no motor at all -- in the ocean!

This couple continues to sail and write today, in fact, they have a meager web site:http://www.landlpardey.com/Where/Where_Now.html



I really enjoyed the book, it made me happy and sad.

[papayahed]

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

Great Book, interesting insight into the behavior and thoughts of how and why the murders occurred.

4.375/5

[stella]

the last book i read was "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald & it was simply amazing ,i met a lot of people like those mentioned in the novel maybe that is why i liked it

[Stieg]

The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

What started as a crackling great ghost story with an intriguing engrossing plot eventually degenerated into a hackneyed superflous reworking of the Turn of the Screw twist with pieces of The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived In The Castle, and Woman In Black for good measure. Halfway through the novel I had the ending pinned and figured.

It began with a most attention grabbing mystery centering on what dark secrets and history may one's parents hide from their children. At one time, the book drew it's attention to death of one of the protagonist's parents (mild spoiler sorry) and then it is suddenly dropped that altogether and never picked up again.

The Ghost Writer is a story of revenge of the coldest most manipulative nature. A revenge that is most methodical.

The book does have moments where Harwood seemingly appears to be channeling M R James from the grave. Those moments I enjoyed the most. And the ending does provide the novel a backbone overall despite how Poesque and LURID it is because it actually gave me, the reader, plenty to meditate upon when looking back at the destructive nature of revenge accompanied with lingering unease. Recommendation: read the other titles I posted in this review instead.

2/5

[adagiosostenuto]

A friend compelled me to read THE BOURNE SUPREMACY.
Well. Nightclubs are raided. Machine guns are fired. A girlfriend is captured. Plots and counter-plots are revealed (and more plots, and more counter-plots, and more plots...). As I progressed through BOURNE I realized that I was supposed to be excited by all of the above. One problem: I wasn't. Why? Two reasons.
First, the characters are cookie-cutter action-hero types straight out of a Hollywood summer schlock-buster; they're every bit as over-the-top and radically gung-ho as the Wachowskies' Matrix characters—Tank: What do you need, besides a miracle? Neo: Guns, lots of guns. As a result, I didn't care whether the good-guys lived or died.
Second, there are too many plot twists. A shattering revelation is interesting... once in a while. But in BOURNE everyone, every organization, every plot-point is like jello, and can fundamentally transform at a moments notice. There is nothing the reader can latch onto—no heroic slew of good-guys to love, no dastardly villain to hate.
And, in addition, as Ann Dillard wrote, there is this: "The printed word cannot compete with the movies on their [movies’] ground, and should not. You can describe beautiful faces, car chases, or valleys full of Indians on horseback until you run out of words, and you will not approach the movies’ spectacle. Novels written with film contracts in mind have a faint but unmistakeable, and ruinous, odor. I cannot name what, in the text, alerts the reader to suspect the writer of mixed motives; I cannot specify which sentences, in several books, have caused by to read on with increasing dismay, and finally close the book because I smelled a rat. Such books seem uneasy being books; they seem eager to fling off their disguises and jump onto screens.”
If you like BOURNE, I mean no offense. But in my oh so very humble opinion it catches a 2 out of 10.

[Stieg]

On The Road by Jack Kerouac

Sorely disappointed in this book, dreadfully monotonous, following the author in a shifty matchbook narrative living a bum's life on the road with a dash of Hollywoodesque classic melodrama thrown in. The book is only half believable though it could be entirely true. There was nothing rich and picaresque. Loafers, dreamers, users, losers, and itinerants of the dullest kind. Furthermore, the book's voice is terribly dated and lost it's ability to shock modern readers with it's "provocative" subjects. And though his work has been cited as inspiring "the Beat Generation" and partly Sixties radicalism I wouldn't care to pick up another Kerouac book ever again.

1/5

[Orual]

I just finished David James Duncan's The Brothers K. I read it solely because it sounded like The Brothers Karamazov. Which was completely intentional, as I found out; the books have quite a few similarities. The Brothers K is one of those sprawling books that can't really be summarized, but it follows the life of a family from about 1950 to 1975, predominantly through the eyes of Kincaid Chance, the fourth of six children. The entire book has sort of a patchwork feeling--sometimes the story is continued through an essay one of the children wrote, sometimes the point of view changes, but all to great effect. Religion and baseball are central themes, and go together surprisingly well. I thought it was completely brilliant because it combined my two favorite things (baseball and Russian literature references).

I strongly recommend this book, but feel obligated to warn that there is some strong sexual material and of books I've read, the profanity is second only to The Catcher in the Rye, and sometimes the book is just very, very heavy. It's probably not a book you would give to your twelve- or thirteen-year-old. But this is one book that I think will still be around in 50 years. It is very good.

[Scharphedin2]

For anyone, who read and loved Marquez' Love In the Time of Cholera, Memories of My Melancholy Whores will feel like a brief afternoon's nostalgia of the earlier book; brief, because Melancholy Whores extends to only 116 pages, and is printed in large font.

We spend a few moments with our protagonist going through the blues of anticipating his impending 90th birthday. At 89, he is still a bachelor, and has apparently never known real love, which is not to say that he has not been a dedicated and frequent patron of the red light districts. In his professional life, he has carried on the job as editor on a newspaper for half a century longer, than anyone of the paper's staff or readership feels was strictly necessary.

With the creeping sensation in his bones that his 90th birthday will be his last, he decides that he will spend the night of his 90th birthday in the embrace of a virgin, and manages for the matron of a local whorehouse to make the arrangements. Needless to say, the encounter between lecherous old man and virgin whore does not transpire in exactly the manner predicated by either the anniversarist's (or, the reader's) imagination. The encounter does, however, set the story in motion, and precipitates a number of changes and events in the old man's life.

The book snugles nicely next to the author's other works both in theme and style, and feels most of all like a small present to loyal Marquez readers everywhere. If sitting down on a first date with Marquez, I would recommend one of his earlier novels, but then again, this could do the trick for anyone with only a couple of hours to spare, or, a reluctance to get completely naked with the author.

[Midnight Runner]

The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe

This was an amazing book. It followed famed author Ken Kesey as he led the Merry Pranksters, who were basically the earliest hippies, the bridge between the Beat Generation and the Flower Generation. Their absurd lifestyle, living life on a whim, getting on the bus, living their movie, traveling across the country, hiding out in Mexico from the authorities because Kesey'd been convicted of marijuana possession, flouting the black shiny shoed masses with their every breath, those average people who did not understand what it meant to be a beautiful person...this book shines. One of my favorites. Defines a generation. Out of ten starts I'd give it a nine point.

[Mortis Anarchy]

The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, by Tom Wolfe

This was an amazing book. It followed famed author Ken Kesey as he led the Merry Pranksters, who were basically the earliest hippies, the bridge between the Beat Generation and the Flower Generation. Their absurd lifestyle, living life on a whim, getting on the bus, living their movie, traveling across the country, hiding out in Mexico from the authorities because Kesey'd been convicted of marijuana possession, flouting the black shiny shoed masses with their every breath, those average people who did not understand what it meant to be a beautiful person...this book shines. One of my favorites. Defines a generation. Out of ten starts I'd give it a nine point.

Thanks for posting this, its on my list to read books and I was a little unsure about buying it.:D

[Mortis Anarchy]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. For those of you who think this book is more for teens or whatever, I must say give it a try. It is a moving story of a young highschool boy and his experiences. Chbosky writes in the form of letters to someone who is not know to anyone except for the narrator who uses a fake name in order to avoid recognition. The narrator writes in an openly honest way that lets readers understand the emotions and inner thoughts of the main character. Truly mindblowing.

5/5

[Pensive]

The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. For those of you who think this book is more for teens or whatever, I must say give it a try. It is a moving story of a young highschool boy and his experiences. Chbosky writes in the form of letters to someone who is not know to anyone except for the narrator who uses a fake name in order to avoid recognition. The narrator writes in an openly honest way that lets readers understand the emotions and inner thoughts of the main character. Truly mindblowing.

5/5

I loved the book when I read it but it was really sad!

[Mortis Anarchy]

I loved the book when I read it but it was really sad!

Yeah, it got me really depressed. I was a sophmore...? When I first read it...I started thinking if I was missing out on highschool experiences...my mom actually told me I should stop reading for awhile, she said that I am too, urgh um I guess into books...I dunno. Its still a really good and mindblowing book. My favorite still.

[quasimodo1]

"Peeling the Onion" about Gunter Grass.Nothing is what it seems, especially to the author, who in this chronicle of his first 32 years, from his childhood in Danzig to the publication of “The Tin Drum” in 1959, often describes himself in the third person and treats himself as a fictional character in a story subject to memory’s endless editing. from NYTimes review. I remember the Tin Drum as an exquisite piece but had no idea the author was so complex. Many will dismiss him since he was briefly part of the German war effort but then he was exposed to those contemporary pressures; present readers ought not judge him for that. quasimodo1

[quasimodo1]

New book recommended by the nytimes book review section...LONE SURVIVOR, by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. (Little, Brown, $24.99.) The only survivor of a Navy Seal operation in northern Afghanistan describes the battle, his comrades and his courageous escape.

[Visionary3]

[QUOTE=Sancho;63770]I read Samuel Beckett’s, Waiting for Godot last night.

It was a two act play where nothing happens,…twice.

I suppose you have to be in the right mood. I was. I dug it.

I liked it very much...in the Christian community it is interpreted as what goes on while waiting for God. Sometimes in life not much happens.

[Visionary3]

[QUOTE=Rachy;68794]I just finished Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, about 3 seconds ago! I'm really sad that I've finished it! I get like that when I finish a good book! Yes I am that sad! I thought this book was great!

I've seen the film versions but yet to read the actual book. I'm glad to hear the book itself is worth reading as many books they make films of aren't.

[Visionary3]

Couple of quotes from the book:
10/10 KitKats![/QUOTE]

Until I got on this site I didn't realise how many books I have not read but have seen the films, although I read every day. They did a masterful job of filming this story.

[Visionary3]

[QUOTE=arabian night;98007]The recent one i finished is :
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Have you seen the Uncle Tomas dance in The King & I musical where a concubine wanted to leave and marry a young man? That really brought tears to my eyes.

[Visionary3]

[QUOTE=mono;99566]Earlier today, I finished reading Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning.

Thanks for this one; I love Browning's poetry and didn't know about this bookl

[Visionary3]

[QUOTE=Darlin;103677]Oh, last book I read was yesterday, 'The Angry Wife' by Pearl S. Buck.


I always loved Peal Buck's books long time ago, and didn't know about this.Thanks!

[Visionary3]

THE BESTSELLER by Olivia Goldsmith is not a new book,1996, but the story is classic. It goes back and forth between various writers and their publishing lives. One character is a mother trying to get her daughter's book published after she had committed suicide in discouragement of not being able to. Another is a college professor who stole his wife's book and passed it off as his. Another is a junior publisher who juggles the figures to his advantage in the company for his unpopular books. There is a popular romance writer who has grown older and is trying to keep pace. One female author lives in Rome working as a tour guide when she meets a bachelor with a terrible secret and has a sister in publishing.
Several publishing house characters give a lot of insight into the publishing world and how it all works. I don't know how much of this is true but it was a revelation.


HOUSES OF STONE by Barbara Michaels was a fascinating read. A female English professor discovers a battered, faded poetry manuscript written by an early 19th century female. Her book seller friend has another manuscript by the same author and sells it to her for the highest bid offered by other universities. She finds the house where the author had lived and moves into town to do research where she encounters the owner who is a handsome bachelor, her landlady who is a deep-south snoop, and other professors who are determined to get the manuscript away from her. She and another lady friend professor duck and dodge the others and discover a stone house on the property used to jail slaves where they discover the bones of the authoress. The characters were all interesting and the plot moves quicky so I was never bored for one minute.
The touch of how female authors were viewed by men authors in that period was enlightening.


THE PROPHETESS by Barbara Wood, a once popular author, was written in 1996 although I just recently discovered this book. As Millennial fever grips the earth, in the Sinai desert the heroine who is an archaeologist, unearths scrolls whose revelations could shatter every article of faith humankind has known. Powerful people are after her scrolls and we read her attempts to allude them. One wealthy collector uses every method he can to track her...spies, her phone, her friend's phones, and the internet and would stop at nothing to gain his objective. Her new found friend, a priest, helps her until it is known that the Catholic Church had sent him after her too. The internet chases were unbelievably clever. The ending was not too satisfying but action moving right along made the book well worth the read.


WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW by William Arntz, Betsy Chasse, and Mark Vicente is intelligent, enthralling, and mind-bending. A layman's guide to quantum physics with 17 scientists contributing. I found Dr. Emoto's water crystal studies fascinating. His photos of water crystals that had had words of love and peace on them previously were in beautiful patterns. The water with words of hate were distorted and ugly. Each scientist adds their bit including a reach out into the realm of spirituality. If thoughts are more than just random neural firings then consciousness is more than an accident; a higher power exists but is it truly out there? Where is the dividing line between out there and in here? There are mind stretching questions. This book shows not the path but endless possibiities.The universe is so wild and full of possibilities why are our thoughts about our own lives so limited? I highly recommend this book.

[Janine]

[QUOTE=Darlin;103677]Oh, last book I read was yesterday, 'The Angry Wife' by Pearl S. Buck.


I always loved Peal Buck's books long time ago, and didn't know about this.Thanks!

Hi Visionary and Darlin, you two are the first persons on this site that mentioned Pearl S. Buck. Years back I went through a stage of reading her books; Imperial Woman, The Good Earth, The Exile, The Goddess Abides, just to mention a few. I have never heard of The Angry Wife. Was it good? Have either of you read any of the ones I mentioned? I loved them all. I happen to pick up a biography book on Buck recently in my libary freebie bin. I was more than delighted, but I have not read it yet.

[Scharphedin2]

Michael Ondaatje is a Canadian author, who has just published Divisadero, his sixth novel* in a career spanning more than 40 years. Ondaatje's books combine literariness with a strong sense of experience lived, and they display a huge imagination; the language in which he writes is lyrically beautiful, and the structures of his books are to some extent elliptical. There are in other words no other writer, whose works closely resemble Ondaatje's, but readers who are fond of Kundera, Eco, Rushdie, de Bernière, and Border Trilogy Cormac McCarthy will probably enjoy Ondaatje's books.

Divisadero opens in the Pacific North West of the United States, and paints a portrait of a family that consists of a single father, his daughter, the adopted "twin" of the daughter, and a boy (a couple of years older than the girls) orphaned and likewise adopted by the father. In the first third of the novel, Ondaatje proceeds to describe the lives of these disparate members of the family, the immediate past that has landed them together, and the more distant past of their family's origin in America. It is a wonderful piece of Americana, written with true understanding of what it means to live on and of the land, the sense of belonging and the dreams of leaving. There is the yearning for tenderness, and there is the almost subterranean current of sexual longing. Carried away by Ondaatje's enticing depiction of the lives of these individuals, the tragedy that irrevocably changes all of their lives, and sends the individual characters careening across the landscape of the rest of the novel, strikes swift as lightning.

As I recall, there are no very clear indications of the specific time in which the first part of the book takes place. In a sense it could have been any time during the middle of the twentieth century. With the opening of the second part of the novel, taking up some 15-20 years after the end of the first part, it becomes clear that the first part took place in the late sixties/early seventies. We follow the three surrogate siblings, one of whom has entered the legal profession, one has embarked on an academic career than has taken her to France in pursuit of the whereabouts of an elusive French author, and the third has entered into the world of high stakes poker. Ondaatje zooms in on a few select moments or days in the lives of the three characters, but the narrative contracts and expands to paint the canvas of the shapes their lives have taken since the end of the first part of the book, as well as the psychological reality that they inhabit. In the background of the story, recognisable events from the international socio- and political history of the late twentieth century pass in the blink of an eye.

The third part of the novel takes a turn so radical that it will baffle, and possibly infuriate, many readers. Ondaatje is not an author, who serves up books that are ready-made microwave dinners, and thus the final part of this book departs on a storyline that is only connected to the rest of the novel by the most silken of threads. It is a fantastic story in its own right, and it reflects and complements the stories of the three characters depicted in the first two parts of the novel. In the end, the novel folds in upon itself, and Ondaatje's project becomes obliquely apparent.

I first came to Ondaatje's books with In the Skin of the Lion in the early nineties. It is one of his most straightforward novels, and a good point of departure for a reading of his works, as it were. Very shortly afterwards, The English Patient was published. At least in part due to the film that followed, this is the most famous of the author's works, and although I personally admire the film, there is no substitute for reading this wonderful novel. It does carry over one very notable character from the former novel, and so, depending on how deep one would like to go with Ondaatje, it may be advisable to begin one's reading with Skin of the Lion. It would be ten years, before the publication of Ondaatje's next novel -- Anil's Ghost -- which is really no less fascinating than The English Patient. Here, the author takes the reader to Sri Lanka, where he was born, and tells a harrowing tale of love and civil war. Another five years, and we now have Divisadero. All of these books are magnificent, happy reading!


* This number discounts a memoir, but includes his first "novel" - The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, which struggles to fit that description, being at least in equal measure a collection of poems. And, it should be added that Ondaatje has also published three volumes of poetry.

[quasimodo1]

Making History



Published: July 1, 2007
To the Editor:

Walter Kirn’s review of my book “A Young People’s History of the United States” (June 17) attributes to me the belief that “telling the truth is not Job 1 for historians.” The reviewer seems to hold to the l9th-century von Ranke idea that there is one truth to be told. Most historians, and most intelligent people, including bright 12-year-olds, understand that there is no such thing as a single “objective” truth, but that there are different truths according to the viewpoint of the historian. Kirn is intent on giving a sinister ring to what is common sense.

Kirn is irritated because his “truth” is not mine. His truths — built around veneration of the “great men” of the past: the political leaders, the enterprising industrialists — add up to exactly the simplistic history fed to young people over the generations, which my book tries to replace. His kind of history produces a submissive population, always looking for saviors on high. I prefer that readers of history, including the young, learn that we cannot depend on established authority to keep us out of war and to create economic justice, but rather that solving these problems depends on us, the citizenry, and on the great social movements we have created.

My history, therefore, describes the inspiring struggle of those who have fought slavery and racism (Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Fannie Lou Hamer, Bob Moses), of the labor organizers who have led strikes for the rights of working people (Big Bill Haywood, Mother Jones, César Chávez), of the socialists and others who have protested war and militarism (Eugene Debs, Helen Keller, the Rev. Daniel Berrigan, Cindy Sheehan). My hero is not Theodore Roosevelt, who loved war and congratulated a general after a massacre of Filipino villagers at the turn of the century, but Mark Twain, who denounced the massacre and satirized imperialism.

Kirn is annoyed at my refusal to go along with the orthodox romanticization of Lincoln. I suspect he has not read the chapter on Lincoln in Richard Hofstadter’s classic, “The American Political Tradition,” in which Hofstadter brilliantly punctures what he calls the “Lincoln legend.”

Kirn says: “Writing about abolitionism, Zinn leaves the impression that freeing the slaves was not enough.” It seems he does not know of the work of W. E. B. Du Bois and Eric Foner, who document the betrayal of the freed slave after the Civil War.

I want young people to understand that ours is a beautiful country, but it has been taken over by men who have no respect for human rights or constitutional liberties. Our people are basically decent and caring, and our highest ideals are expressed in the Declaration of Independence, which says that all of us have an equal right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The history of our country, I point out in my book, is a striving, against corporate robber barons and war makers, to make those ideals a reality — and all of us, of whatever age, can find immense satisfaction in becoming part of that.

Howard Zinn

Auburndale, Mass.

To the Editor:

Howard Zinn’s reductive “stick-figure pageant of capitalist cupidity,” as Walter Kirn describes the “Young People’s History of the United States” condensed from his “People’s History,” is harmless here in the United States, where fuller, more credible takes on American history are available.

But we have cause for concern when an American studies program at a major university in the Middle East uses Zinn’s “People’s History” as the sole text from which graduate students are urged to learn about our country. This is the case at the University of Jordan in Amman, where my wife was the Fulbright senior lecturer in American literature in the fall of 2005. A Fulbrighter preceding her had suggested Zinn’s book, and our colleagues there took it up with enthusiasm. Retaliation for our superficial caricaturing of Middle Eastern social, cultural and political histories?

Kevin Lewis

Columbia, S.C.

The writer is an associate professor of religious studies at the University of South Carolina and was a Fulbright senior lecturer. quasimodo1 PS the disturbing thing here is not that history is again being written by the victors but by a young writer apparently unaware of the distortions provided to extemists because of his one-channel only take on history.

[Elinor Dashwood]

I Loved, loved LOVED this book. I had to study The Handmaid's Tale at school and so since then Iv always been interested in Utopian novels. This is one of them. The book is about a 31 year old woman who is looking back at her past. You spend the first 3/4 of the book piecing together how this world is different from ours. Its a very sad book and at the end it left me with a feeling of injustice for the main characters. I like the way Ishiguro doesn't impose any moral on the story, he leaves the judgement up to the reader. I had difficulty liking the main character, sometimes she seemed manipulative and the romantic relationship between her and another character seemed a bit flat, i'm not sure if that was intentional on the part of the author or not.

[Scharphedin2]

As a citizen of New York, and given that several of his past novels have concerned themselves with themes involving the Middle East, it was probably inevitable that Don DeLillo would eventually write a novel about the terrorist attack on World Trade Center. Falling Man is that novel.

I have read all of DeLillo's novels, and if I should point to some common qualities that I enjoy about his writing, it would be his ability to take current events and shape these into fiction in a manner that is very personal, and about people that I can recognise as living and breathing next door to me. In this way, I think DeLillo quite gracefully avoids being merely another polemical wrtier. Another aspect of his writing that I really enjoy is what I (in lack of a better term) would call kaleidocopic storytelling, in which he has several different threads of stories going on at the same time that mirror and comment on each other.

Underworld was published in the mid-'90s, and is DeLillo's greatest novel so far. It is an American cathedral of a book that spans the greater part of the 20th century, criss-crossing the lives of at least a dozen people, and managing to touch down on a great amount of small and big moments in American history... Everything from a legendary baseball game, with Edgar Hoover, Jackie Gleason and Frank Sinatra in attendance, and which was won by Bobby Thomson hitting a homerun for the Giants... to the nuclear test bombings in the desert of New Mexico... to the Zodiac killer (?) lurking in the hills above the Los Angeles highways.

The books that DeLillo has written since Underworld -- The Body Artist, Cosmopolis and now Falling Man -- have been underwhelming in comparison. Falling Man is in my opinion the best of these. It is split into three parts, beginning with one of the main characters emerging from the smoking, shaking hell of one of the twin towers, and the days immediately following; the second part takes up some weeks later; and the third part takes place 3 years afterwards. In each segment, DeLillo follows the developments in the lives of the man, his wife and their son, as well as the circle of people upon whom their lives touch. Each segment of the book closes with a brief chapter, detailing the preparations of the terrorists that partook in the terror act of September 11th. Without disclosing too much of the story, I can say that the book's structure folds in upon itself by the end. It is elegantly conceived and written, and it does paint a portrait of how this notorious event has affected the American psyche, and continues to do so.

[vheissu]

Sexing the cherry by Jeanette Winterson

Winterson seems to mix historical facts with more unreal circumstances in her book and her style of writing is verging towards poetic or at least to a game of words;this is probably what made me read the book in the first place.
It plays a lot with imagination, things that happened might have been distorted by the characters to suit their personal feelings and perceptions.
It's a very enjoyable book, but towards the end the timeline seems to shift forward without any real explanation and one of the characters seems to have 'survived' the passing of the years.

[jakedarobot]

I just finished Jack London's: The Call of the Wild and White Fang, about ten minutes ago..... i really enjoyed both of them!!

[Logos]

We now have a special forum for book reviews here :)
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6877
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