Customer Reviews (2)

Remarkable Insights to Human Drives and Emotions Highlighted by the Exotic Settings
Marion Bloem looks at the human condition through the eyes of several generations of a family - almost all women - reminiscing in the first person. Each reminiscence comes as a pithy vignette - mostly as direct speech. This device keeps the pace moving swiftly. To identify the speaker, the author has provided a family tree at the beginning of the book. The reader, by triangulation (as it were) from the relatives referred to, works out who is talking.

The highly colored, sharply-observed scenes move between Java and the Netherlands, and between Dutch and "Indo's" (mixed race Dutch/Indonesians). The publisher's write-up suggests that the accent of the book is on the crisis of identity experienced by Indo's. However, what comes through more powerfully is that, whatever their origins or wherever they live, Indo's have the same day-to-day worries, passions, frustrations, delights and preoccupations as everyone else.

The Cockatoo's Lie, by focusing on context, emotions and family ways is a remarkable Odyssey laying bare the intricate network of strings and pulleys manipulating the family's lives down through the generations, culminating in that of the narrator. We see how her extended family (in particular) mold her beliefs, attitudes, taboos and complexes. Her mother indoctrinates her with an austere "Jiminy Cricket" conscience against which she rebels. Male readers will be amazed by the revelations of female emotional processes and how they result in meta-behavior. One example will suffice: the narrator's mother frequently slaps and chastises her as a child. Years later the mother repents and explains to her now adult daughter that: "every slap I gave you was actually meant for your father." But on the way the family members give homilies that still resonate today: "The man must be older, bigger, richer, so that as a woman you can lean on him, not the other way around, because then everything will go wrong."; and: "...you shouldn't want to be better in everything than your husband, because then you'll lose your respect for him, and he will feel inferior."

In fact, the title of the book refers metaphorically to the Indo narrator's discovery of her own physical attractiveness, the development of her healthily vigorous sexuality and the top-to-toe tingling of physical desire which she dubs "the ribbon".

She has a series of red-blooded adventures, mostly with the tacit (if hardly credible) acceptance of her anthropologist husband who studies the Trobriand Islanders near Papua New Guinea. He uncovered one of their legends concerning a cockatoo and a clitoris. The clitoris: "would risk everything for a single sensation that seemed more important than food" to the point where it starved to death. This notion is the principle leitmotif for the narrator's struggles with her Jiminy Cricket to break out of the limits she has set herself. She oversteps one limit by clandestinely having an extended love affair with her husband's friend. She felt that this was one instance in which she had betrayed her husband - the one man she truly loved. In the end she learns that she: "prefers the reveling in desire to the moment at which that desire is fulfilled."

All these: aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmothers, grandfathers, first loves, cockatoo, ribbon and Jiminy Cricket are just some of the factors in a rich patchwork of influences shaping the narrator's own humanity. It is a profound, intelligent and clever book that, with each reading, reveals increasing depths and subtlety of interwoven detail.

As a qualified translator myself, no commentary is complete without mentioning Wanda Boeke's superb translation from the Dutch. The book reads not only as though it had been written in English, but as though it had been thought in English. I have just one minor quibble: the occasional (not, mercifully, systematic) lapse into the use of "I" where "me" is called for. For me (sic), crippled phrases like: "The grass taller than I ..." and: "... a woman two years older than I..." suck down my attention like Rorschach blots. The morbid fascination of them makes me (sic) lose track of the story. But that's just me (sic):- read the book and enjoy!
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Mysteries of Indonesia
Didnt read Marion Bloem for a long time. This is a great boek, mysterious and dreamy. It's a beautiful story about the female and male influences, and Indonesian influences on the main characters life. ... Read more

Product Description
John Jeremy pays tribute to Sydney Harbour's largest and by far most fascinating island in this new edition of Cockatoo Island: Sydney’s Historic Dockyard. The book focuses on the industrial history of Cockatoo Island and is the most detailed account of the dockyard, its administration and activities yet written. It also provides fascinating detail and spectacular archival photography of Sydney harbour’s industrial heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Best bird series!
Vintage book on parrots and other talking birds, such as starlings, crows, magpies, and more! Part of a wonderful series that All-Pets Press put out on pet birds. I think I have them all! Very hard to find now. Tips on training, care, & breeding. 96 pp. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
"Two Blue Cockatoos" is part of the "Start Reading" series, which uses phonic methods to introduce young readers to the alphabet, vowel sounds, consonant blends and rhymes, and reinforces learning with activity pages and games. ... Read more

Product Description
For ages 3-9A story about how being ugly can be pretty beautiful...It isn't always easy to be a bird without any feathers!Ness is a rather special cockatoo who wears her beauty on the inside.She has a happy outlook on life and a lively imagination few seem to appreciate until a tiny fly helps everyone realize that being who we are is the best example of true beauty.A percent of the proceeds of the sale of this book will be donated to the Humane Society of Broward County. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A special book about a real bird, a featherless cockatoo "mascot" bird named Oscar
"Ness the Underdressed Cockatoo" is a special book about a real bird, a featherless cockatoo "mascot" bird named Oscar who lives at the Humane Society of Broward County, Florida. In the story, Ness is mocked and rejected because her feathers have nearly all fallen out due to a special avian disease. Ness dreams of being a heroine and being appreciated. Her pet store owner, Marci, has special feelings about this unusual cockatoo, despite her bedraggled appearance. Finally, a tiny fly named Dr. Speck inspects Ness inside and out and pronounces Ness a cockatoo like no other, and the very best cockatoo she can be! All the other birds in the pet store are finally so convinced they each give Ness a feather, until she has her own coat of many-colored feathers. "Ness the Underdressed Cockatoo" is a charmingly illustrated morality fable for children grades K-3 that teaches humility, compassion, and discernment of true beauty. A percent of the proceeds of the sale of "Ness the Underdressed Cockatoo" are to be donated to the Humane Society of Broward County, where the original live inspiration for Ness still lives.

Dressed for Success by Janie Grackin, Jewish Storyteller
This wonderful tale about a featherless bird teaches so many powerful values lessons.Aware of her limitations, Ness has an amazingly positive attitude and greets the world with courage and a smile.No matter how she looks on the outside, her inner world is filled with dreams and visions of a life of adventure and stardom.If only others would see her as she does!Poor Ness is misunderstood until a friendly fly declares her to be a beautiful bird all the way through, and with the help of her friends, she becomes as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside.
Alyssa Rudinsky has packed her story full of positive value lessons for children. Ness teaches us about treating people and pets with physical limitations with kindness, keeping a positive self-image, and overcoming obstacles.
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Product Description
Chapters: Galah, Major Mitchell's Cockatoo,. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 18. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Galah (pronounced ), Eolophus roseicapilla, also known as the Rose-breasted Cockatoo, Galah Cockatoo, Roseate Cockatoo or Pink and Grey, is one of the most common and widespread cockatoos, and it can be found in open country in almost all parts of mainland Australia. It is endemic in Australia (and introduced to Tasmania ), where its distinctive pink and grey plumage and its bold and loud behaviour make it a familiar sight in the bush and increasingly in urban areas. It appears to have benefited from the change in the landscape since European colonisation and may be replacing the Major Mitchell's Cockatoo in parts of its range. The term galah is derived from gilaa, a word found in Yuwaalaraay and neighbouring Aboriginal languages. Male E. r. roseicapillus in local wattle (Acacia saligna) tree. Perth, Western Australia.Galahs are about 35 cm (14 in) long and weighs 270-350 g. It has a pale grey to mid-grey back, a pale grey rump, a pink face and chest, and a light pink mobile crest. It has a bone-coloured beak and the bare skin of the eye rings is carunculated. It has grey legs. The genders appear similar, however generally adult birds differ in the colour of the irises; the male has a very dark brown (almost black) irises, and the female has a mid-brown/red irises. The colours of the juveniles are duller than the adults. Juveniles have greyish chests, crowns, and crests, and they have brown irises and whitish bare eye rings, which are not carunculated. Galahs often feed on the grass seeds on metropolitan lawns. Juvenile in Wamboin, NSWGalahs are found in all Australian states, and are absent only from the driest areas and the far north of Cape York Peninsula. It is...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=475651 ... Read more

Product Description
Glossy Black Cockatoos is a vivid, expressionistic novel of international intrigue driven by emotional tension and violent imagery, one with unforgettable, iconic characters.The murder of a German researcherand his wife brings Sam Gatlin back to Southeast Asia, drawing him and his Australian mates into a conflict with a mysterious Laotian power brokerwhose brutal warlord holds the dead couple's children for ransom. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Glossy Black Cockatoos
A thoroughly enjoyable mixture of adventure and culture, set in a 1970s expat community in Australia.I enjoyed reading this book so much, I've gone back to the beginning to read it again!

Read This Book.
Glossy Black Cockatoos is an epicurean, action-packed adventure through Australia years after the Vietnam War. I couldn't put it down. What makes his writing so compelling is the way he expertly mixes together differing experiences of being a human being. From expat Vietnam veterans trying to understand their part in the war, "feral" Aussie hippies getting high in the desert, a hard-hitting, heavy drinking Aussie cop, to an epicurean local couple whose relationship seems tenuous at best--Dan gets to the heart of the human condition in style.

Bottom line, this book is consumed, not read.

Wonderfully Written
I truly enjoyed reading this book. It was full of wonderfully developed characters to which I was able foster deep connection. I found my self laughing out loud as much as I found myself considering the deeper complexities of the tale. All in all it is a wonderful trip into the eclectic world of Sam Gatlin and Australia just after the Vietnam war.

Guenther drew me into the world of international intrigue, Australian culture, and the confused mind of a Vietnam veteran trying to come to terms with himself. I highly recommend this book.

Something for Everyone-- Must Read
Dan Guenther's Glossy Black Cockatoos: I didn't want to put it down and I didn't want it to end.Why?Guenther's craftsmanship, story-telling ability, and deep understanding of the human condition played out on many stages-- in war, in a confusing post-war world, in love and friendship, in spirituality, and in geo-politics.The experience? Begin with fascinating characters tangled in a compelling web of relationships, exotic intrigue, and adventure. Add a revelatory thread of post-Viet Nam War history (1970s) in Southeast Asia.Top it off with illuminating glimpses into our paradoxical capacities for acts of compassion and bravery as well as brutal inhumanity.Want to know more? Get the book.Read the book. You'll be glad you did.

Another great read by Dan Geunther
I have read all of Dan's books and enjoyed them immensely. While this book still has Sam Gatlin as a main character, he deviates from the previous Vietnam theme.Getting away from this, has given Dan the opportunity to show his great skill as a writer.It is very obvious that Dan combined research with his intimate knowledge of Australia whether it be the outback or the hippie communes. His character the Swan lady is someone I would really like to meet. In retrospect maybe I already met her 40 years ago. I recommend this book to anyone how is a Vietnam Vet or has an interest in Australia during the 70's.Heck I recommend it to anyone.
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Product Description
"I begin to be ashamed of myself--I really do," said a white cockatoo, as he sat on his perch one day. Then he gave himself a good shake, and after walking up and down once or twice, he continued, "I think it vexes the boy, and I can see he means to be kind. And, oh dear, dear! I see now I brought the troubles on myself." ... Read more