Product Description
Rarely seen and often created for his own delight, Pop artist Andy Warhol's images of men are among his most personal and sensual work. Andy Warhol Men showcases Warhol's illustrations, paintings, drawings, silkscreens, Polaroid studies and fine art photographs for the first time in this handsome and intimate volume. Mostly nudes, this gallery of delights includes the beautiful boys and drag queens who adorned Warhol's legendary Factory studio, as well as less racy illustrations of celebrated figures such as Christopher Isherwood, Truman Capote and James Dean. Warhol's perceptively funny observations are sprinkled throughout, while a preface places the work in the context of his career, and a foreword by Alan Cumming offers a witty reflection on art and desire. Andy Warhol Men is an elegant and playful celebration of male beauty. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Greatness is in the Simplicity
Andy Warhol remains a true Icon of the art world. His famous '15 minutes of fame' was a terrific statement, but in Warhol's case his words and his art linger on in museum retrospectives, in art history studies, and in books on photography, fine print making, and art whether drawn, painted, of screened.

This little book is a treasure.From the opening apropos statement by Alan Cumming, the book is devoted to over 250 works of art by Warhol. His line drawings for the most part are undecorated even with cross-hatching: the single continuous line defines the faces, the bodies, the genitalia, the feet, the lips of his models.These are finely reproduced on several different tones of paper, each a full-page bleed.Then along with little quips from his feisty, shy, and sage mouth are his photographs of men including some self-portraits, some of transsexual friends, some of just beautiful male bodies, some of famous men from history.These photographs are at times followed or paired with the subsequent now famous silkscreen interpretations.Some collages and other experiments with imagery complete the set.

By this time most people including the harshest critics have the consensual opinion that Andy Warhol was a significant figure in American art history.This fine book, very beautifully designed by Azi Rad, is a substantial volume of tribute to the simplicity of Warhol's genius.It belongs in the library of every art collector and everyone who appreciates the male form - especially as much as Warhol obviously did!Highly Recommended.
Grady Harp, January 06

A Really Exquisite Book!
What a great little book of delights! Here is a really beautiful collection of art by Andy Warhol, many of the works apparently published for the first time. There are color photographs here of men's body parts-- chests, feet, butts, etc.-- a series of color portraits of drag queens labelled "Ladies and Gentlemen", photographs of a few celebrities including Mick Jagger and the artist himself eating a banana. But most of the book is taken up by beautiful line drawings of men-- figures, faces, body parts, even the feet of Christopher Isherwood. Alan Cumming in right on the money in his foreward: "just a simple collection of lines on paper that magically produce a sense memory of something so visceral it can actually arouse." And Mr. Warhol had this thing about body hair! This is a very erotic collection beautifully produced that you will go back to again and again. ... Read more

Product Description
IN CLAMSHELL CASE ON 2 CASSETTES, 1995 EDITION BY THE AUDIO PARTNERS.ABOUT 3 HOURS LONG. ... Read more

Product Description
Penguin English Verse is an original collectin of teh six volumes which contain the essence of English poetry from the sixteenth to the early twentieth century. Each volume incorporates the most representative and popular verse of its period and is accompanied by a special booklet containing the entire text. All the recordings are newly produced and employ the voices of a distinguished cast of readers. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Graham Greene, Kingsley Amis, Ian Fleming, Peter James, Alan Caillou, Charles Cumming, Maureen Duffy, William Garner, Clive Egleton, Geoffrey Archer, Adam Diment, William Haggard. Excerpt:(Frederick) Adam Diment (born 1943) , a spy novelist, published four novels between 1967 and 1971. All four are about the adventures of Philip McAlpine whom critic Anthony Boucher described as an agent who smokes hashish, leads a highly active sex life, kills vividly, uses (or even coins) the latest London slang and still seems a perfectly real (and even oddly likeable) young man rather than a reflected Bond image. Diment disappeared from public view after his last novel, adding to his cult figure status among fans of 1960's spy novels. Novels Websites (URLs online) A hyperlinked version of this chapter is at Alan Caillou was the nom de plume of Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe M.B.E., M.C. (9 November 1914 1 October 2006), an author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter. Biography Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in England. Prior to World War II he served with the Palestine Police from 1936-1939 where he learned the Arabic language. . He was awarded the Civil Medal of the Order of the British Empire in June 1938. He married Aliza Sverdova in 1939, then studied acting from 1939-1941. In January 1940, Lyle-Smyth was commissioned in the Royal Army Service Corps . Due to his linguistic skills, he transferred to the Intelligence Corps and served in the Western Desert where he used the surname "Caillou" (the French word for 'Stone') as an alias. He was captured in North Africa, imprisoned and threatened with execution in Italy, then escaped to join the British forces at Salerno . He was then posted to serve with the partisans in Yugoslavia . He wrote about his experiences in the book T... ... Read more

Product Description
With Pandora, Anne Rice began a magnificent new series of vampire novels. Now, in the second of her New Tales of the Vampires, she tells the mesmerizing story of Vittorio, a vampire in the Italian Age of Gold.

Educated in the Florence of Cosimo de' Medici, trained in knighthood at his father's mountaintop castle, Vittorio inhabits a world of courtly splendor and country pleasures--a world suddenly threatened when his entire family is confronted by an unholy power.

In the midst of this upheaval, Vittorio is seduced by the vampire Ursula, the most beautiful of his supernatural enemies. As he sets out in pursuit of vengeance, entering the nightmarish Court of the Ruby Grail, increasingly more enchanted (and confused) by his love for the mysterious Ursula, he finds himself facing demonic adversaries, war and political intrigue.

Against a backdrop of the wonders--both sacred and profane--and the beauty and ferocity of Renaissance Italy, Anne Rice creates a passionate and tragic legend of doomed young love and lost innocence.Amazon.com Review
Tired of the same old vampires? Check out Anne Rice's new raceof undead bloodsuckers, independent of the Lestat series. Heralterna-vamp books began with Pandora, but thesecond of her New Tales of the Vampires, Vittorio, istruly a new beginning--a more controlled story and probably the bestof her last half-dozen books.

Rice has called Vittorio her vampire version of Romeo andJuliet. The hunky Vittorio is sweet 16 and "incalculably rich" in15th-century Italy, the epoch of the Medicis and Vittorio's favoritepainter, madly passionate Filippo Lippi. Florence is toVittorio what New Orleans is to Interview with theVampire.

One night, Vittorio's family is butchered by vampires. The gorgeousUrsula spares Vittorio to make him her reluctant undyingsweetheart. Ursula's ravishings of Vittorio recall the erotica Ricewrote under her own name and the pen names Anne Rampling andA.N. Roquelaure.

Vittorio flees to the creepy town of Santa Maddalana, which has made apact to sacrifice its young to Lord Florian's vampire horde. Vittoriois bent on revenge as he invades the eerie Court of the Ruby Grail(i.e. blood), as angry with the child-sacrificing humans as he is withFlorian's fang gangsters. Torn between lust, murderous rage, andvampire thirst, Vittorio is one interestingly troubled soul.

Rice urges readers to enter Vittorio's world by reading the sourcesshe embroiders, FraFilippo Lippi and Public Life in RenaissanceFlorence, and to get a feel for the scary communion Vittoriosees in the Court of the Ruby Grail by listening to All Souls'Vespers. --Tim Appelo ... Read more

Customer Reviews (260)

great book!
One in the many of this series! Once you get to this one, you can't wait to find out what is happening. Very good book!

Best Anne Rice novel in years ...
Best Anne Rice novel in years ...

As good if not better than "Lestat, the Vampire" ... with the added benefit this novel doesn't go off (and on and on) on improbable crazy tangents that bore the reader to death.

Great read.Hard to put down.

Eh...
Vittorio The Vampire is one of Anne Rice's two 'New Tales of the vampires.'

Don't let the title fool you. It's just a Vampire Chronicle in disguise. It takes place in the same unvierse as her Vampire Chronicles, mentions the characters of The Vampire Chronicles and the other 'New Tales of the vampires' has to be read between certain two Vampire Chronicles in order to know what's going on with Lestat and Armand.

The only difference between The Vampire Chronicles and the New Tales of the vampires is the book shape. That's it. Anne Rice was under contract in the mid-nineties to write two books a year for about five years, one Vampire Chronicle and one other. These so-called 'New tales of the Vampires' are how she side stepped the contract. If you notice once the contract ran out she stopped writing the New Tales of the Vampires all together and stopped talking about them as if they were a separate series.

The full The Vampire Chronicles are

Interview with the vampire (Made into a film)

The Vampire Lestat (Adapted into two different plays called Lestat)

The queen of the damned (Not to be confused with the awful film of the same name)

Tale of the body thief

Memnoch The Devil

Pandora (New Tales of the vampires. It has to be read at this point in the books because it tells you that Armand is still alive, important to know before The Vampire Armand and Lestat's comditiion and that David Talbot is now collecting the stories.)

The Vampire Armand

Vittorio the vampire (New tales of the vampires)

(At this point it's best to have read The lives if the Mayfair witches which are The witching hour, Lasher and Taltos)

Merrick (Mayfair witches cross over)

Blood an gold

Blackwood Farm (Mayfair witches cross over)

Blood Canticle (Mayfair witches cross over)


----------------------------

Now on with the review. Vittorio is a teenage boy vampire whom while mortal was instructed by angels that came out of a painting (yes, angels that came out of a painting) to destroy some evil vampires that are keeping humans as drugged cattle. This is also ye 'ol 'You killed my father, prepare to die!' scenario.
Well, Vittorio does just that but there's one he spared. A teenage girl vampire named Ursula. Ursula is in love with Vittorio.
We get a very pointlessly detailed flashback of how when she was first turned into a vampire the other vampires would shove their cold, dead reproductive parts (that don't actually work, because Anne Rice's vampires can't have sex and don't crave sex) into her. That was... really pointless, Anne. You already established they were cruel and petty. This unromantic semi-sex scene was not necessary.

So she tricks our dim little hero by telling him 'If I drink your blood and then you drink the evil out of me, I will be free of this curse!' and Vittorio, whom apparently has never read any vampire story ever, and his angels are off... doing something else... is like 'Uhh... Okay!'

Needless to say he becomes a vampire. He forgives Ursula for tricking him into it and they live happily ever after. Yay! Oh, and the angels have decided to punish him for becoming a vampire by allowing him to see them but they will ignore him. Uh... Okay...

Vittorio was too easily tricked. He came off as an idiot to me. And his seeing angels kept making me think of the boy from sixth sense saying 'I see dead people.' The whole novel felt contrived and riddled with cliches besides very stupid (as in, I'm not sure how they know how to dress themselves) characters.

I read this novel back when it first came out. It's not horrible but by far I would never consider it a very good vampire story.

A treat to read and reread
Having read many of Anne Rice's works (Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, The Queen of the Damned, Blood and Gold, The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty), I can safely say that this is one of her most well-written and beautiful books.I think it took me the whole of about five days to read "Vittorio" from cover to cover, and like Rice's previous works, it didn't fail to mesmerize me.There is something different about this book, however, compared to the others I've read.

Like Rice's other characters, Vittorio is fully realized, coming to life in the reader's mind as he tells his story, but because of his uniqueness he will linger longer, in my mind at least, than even the charismatic Lestat.He is likeable in a way that Lestat could never be, because he is capable of gentleness and mercy, because he never loses his respect and love of humanity.He is not the jaded cynic that Lestat is, but a fragile, humble individual, with a mind hungry for knowledge and a fierce devotion to his family and God.

Always present in Rice's novels is her effortless inclusion of historical facts and period detail.Her writing never gets bogged down by its historical authenticity, though; it never descends into quasi-encyclopedic detail, like so many historical novels do.Rice's characters don't merely exist in their time period to tell of its rich history; they live in it and describe its qualities only to further color the picture of their story in the reader's imagination.In this aspect, Rice excels, and "Vittorio" is no exception.

Despite the fact that "Vittorio" follows Rice's formula of likeable vampire in historical setting, it strays from that formula in its treatment of the titular character. The events of the book revolve largely around supernatural/spiritual themes, yet the story that Vittorio tells is as believable as it is enthralling.Unlike the other books in the Vampire Chronicles series, in which the storyteller (be it Lestat, Louis, or Marius) is in his vampiric state for the bulk of the novel, Vittorio's story encompasses mainly his life as a human.Here is where this novel is unique in the Tales of the Vampires.

Rice's characters are almost always sympathetic to the reader on some level due to the fact that the vampire novels are written in first person, but this quality-- that Vittorio is human throughout most of the book -- lends this particular novel a beauty and heartrending realism that is not present, in my opinion, in the aforementioned others.Vittorio's character is multifaceted and nuanced, like the other vampires', but his human perspective gives him an innocent and courageous appeal that Lestat and Marius just don't have.

Vittorio's story is truly heartbreaking, breathtaking, and utterly believable, at least from a psychological perspective.If you can't reconcile the idea that demons and angels exist, you will certainly be able to identify with Vittorio's feelings of vengeance, wrath, loyalty, love, honor, and bravery.This one of those books that you won't want to put down, and when it's over, you'll wish you had read it more slowly.

Enjoyable
While this book isn't the best of the Chronicles, it's a nice, light read. There's not quite as much angst here - you could say it's a 'lite' Vampire Chronicle novel. Some readers might be dissatisfied by it, but I honestly enjoyed it. I do wish that there would have been more insight into the vampire world, much like Queen of the Damned or Blood and Gold. Still, it's a decent read, with a rather nice vampire. Overall three and a half stars. ... Read more

Product Description
This book presents eight delightful stories to transport you to a magical world. Here are some of Hans Andersen's much-loved familiar tales and one or two that are less well-known. Each one captures the essence of the natural world and of Andersen's homeland, transforming it into a place of surprise and enchantment. The tales included are: 'The Emperor's New Clothes', 'The Goblin at the Grocers', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Princess and the Pea', 'The Snow Queen', 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier', 'Thumbelina', and 'The Ugly Duckling'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

PRODUCT INFO MISLEADING
In the description it says the book includes the "little mermaid" it does not it also says that there is this great into by this famous Andersen analyst. there is not as it actually refers to a different hardcover than the one for sale here.

Great Translation!
It's difficult to convey cultural humor and wit from one language to another, but Nunnally's is the best translation I've read for Hans Christian Andersen's fairytales.

Superlative -- /the/ edition to own
This my childhood Andersen's. Even at an early age I recognized the superlative quality of Arthur Szyk's illustrations. They're weird, grotesque, even frightening, visually mirroring the unrelenting morality of Andersen's universe, in which the evil are harshly punished for their wickedness ("The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf", "The Red Shoes").

Unlike the Grimms' Marchen, which seem largely of pagan origin, many of Andersen's stories are cautionary tales with a decidedly Christian slant ("The Garden of Paradise"). Andersen was homosexual, and we are likely seeing his own sense of guilt being worked out in these stories.

Andersen also had a sense of humor. "Great Claus and Little Claus" (which might have been adapted from a folk story; I don't know) is blackly humorous to the point of being downright sick -- and is laugh-out-loud funny. When my mother read to me as a child, it was her and my favorite.

In addition to B&W drawings, most of the stories have a full-color plate. The one for "The Nightingale" is magnificent. You wish you could get a poster-size copy.

Unhesitatingly recommended.

Fairy tales for grown-ups
Tiina Nunnally's translation of a selection of Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales leaves all the adult insinuations intact and doesn't sweeten the endings with sugar-coating. Above all, she captures the poetic sensibility of HCA.

These are probably not stories to be read out to children just before they sleep. The stories ached with the sadness of lost innocence and unrequited--both heterosexual and homosexual--love.

The omnipresent narrator tells his stories from the vantage point of a hawk in the sky and mole-rat burrowing beneath the surface of the earth. Like all good stories, they tell us something about the human condition, and like the best of them, they do so without telling us exactly what it is.

A N.....A D U L T ' S......A N D E R S O N ' S.....F A I R Y.....T A L E.....B O O K
It has beeb said that Hans Christian Anderson's tales...though full
of thought and enchantment, can be scary in the extreme."The Snow
Queen", "The Red Shoes"....so many of these stories have strong
stories and stronger morals -- but are often too scary for children
to read.

Of course, not every story is like this.The enchanting "The Ugly
Duckling", and to a slightly lesser extent, "Thumbelina", (at least
ths has a happy ending!), are two of the tamer tales...and perfect
for children.The majority of Anderson's tales, however, can be
scary for children -- and the fascinating, though too-often scary
illustrations in this book, by justly famed illustrator ARTHUR
SZYK, show why!

Mr. Szyk's hyper-realistic drawings, with large eyes, and emphasis
on bulging stomachs, pursed lips, and scared or evil expressions,
add much to the general atmosphere of these tales.They are
true masterpieces of the illustrator's art -- but, for children,
(and even for sensitive adults), may be just a bit to scary for
comfort.They do, however, fit in with Mr. Anderson's tales very
well.One wonders what would have happened, had these two gentle-
men -- whose lives were separated by almost a hundred years, but
who seemed to have the same sensibilities of great empathy for the
under-privileged, a hatred of evil and unfairness, and great
compassion and hope for humankind, in spite of it all -- had been
able to meet and talk.

Well, in this volume, the reader has the next best thing.The
stories of Hans Christian Anderson, with Illustrations by Arthur
Szyk!Perfect together -- but be warned: these are VERY intense
"fairy-tales", combined with perhaps even stronger illustrations.

A connoiseru's Anderson's Fairy Tales, for sure -- but recommended
(strongly) only for adults, (and children), who are not prone to nightmares, due
to sensitive emotions.Read, and look at, with delight -- but also
with care! ... Read more

Product Description
Drawing on Shakespeare's language wherever possible, this brother and sister team has turned his plays into short narratives that young readers can understand more easily than the works themselves. Whether it's the stormy action of Macbeth, the high drama of Hamlet, or the comedy of A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Lambs bring simplicity and charm to these tales, read by a carefully chosen of actors. The unabridged tales included are Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. 2 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Shakespear 101 for kids!
If you want your younger kids to read Shakespeare, then this is the kind of book you want to get. Some of the nuances of the writer are lost in this translation, but you get the basic idea of what the story is about.

Ideal for family reading hour
The Lambs' classic book is an ideal read-aloud text and a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for young readers and listeners.We've found it suitable for our older children especially -- ages 7 and up.Each "tale" takes around fifteen minutes to read, and although some of the vocabulary is rather elevated, vocal inflection and emphasis can aid comprehension.The Lambs have done a commendable job of capturing the drama of each of Shakespeare's plays in a 10-12 page narrative format.Highly recommended.

A great First Step
I have used this with now seven children for home schooling.No, it's not Shakespeare's Shakespeare, it's Charles and Mary Lamb's rendition.

It is a great way to introduce the Shakespeare to a younger child as a way to get a grasp of the story.Then we read the real Shakespeare version and you are able to enjoy the story and the way Shakespeare writes without trying to figure out the characters, plot etc.

And I might add, it is a good way to become familiar with the tales if you are an adult too.

So, my advice is to read this first and then most definitely read the real author himself.

tales from shakespeare
no table of contents.
horrendous to navigate.
frankly shameful that they would sell it this way.

Tales From Shakespeare: 20 of the plays retold in prose for children by the Lamb siblings
The Bard meets the Lambs. Charles and Mary Lamb wrote "Tales from Shakespeare" in 1807. The book retold twenty of the plays in prose being geared at children. Children who read the stories today would need to be very bright and advanced in their reading comprehension. Many of the sexual scenes and several of the subplots in these complex plays have been removed by Mary and Charles.
The Lambs were siblings who were plagued with mental problems throughout their sad lives. Mary stabbed her mother to death during an insane episode. The courts allowed her to live at home with her brother Charles who was a lowly clerk at the East India Office. Charles is famous for his essays though Mary wrote the majority of the play summaries in this classic book Mary wrote on 14 of the comedies and romances while Charles provided chapters on the tragedies of Hamlet, Othello, King Lear.
Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Timon of Athens.
The book is short but essential in giving the reading a quick review of the plays. It is easy to get lost in the complex plots and the Elizabethan language and poetry in the plays. This book makes it easy to understand the basic plots and characters in the tales. The book is an introduction to Shakespeare; it no way is it designed to replace the plays; the purpose is to whet the desire to read and see Shakespeare acted on the stage.
Even veteran Shakespearians such as your reviewer found delight in this small book. I will turn to it often to refresh my memory of who is who and what is going on in the Shakespearean universe. The Lambs' book is essential reading.
... Read more

Product Description

The Portable Walt Whitman	Specimen Days & Collect	Walt Whitman: Poetry and Prose

Whitman Sampler

... Read more

Customer Reviews (97)

Like the edge of a high cliff
Terrifying and beautiful.

Picked up this book knowing nothing other than having read The Hours and enjoyed it. I'm glad I didn't read the synopses or the reviews first, because they would have ruined the suspense. I enjoyed unfolding the characters, figuring out what book "the book" was, who Walt was, and deciphering the structure of how the stories and characters linked together. I don't know why reviewers think telling you what happens is the point of the book. I don't know why the publisher wrote the ham-handed jacket or why any author would approve it, if they had a choice. I have to assume the author had no choice about it.

What I like about the writing here is that it's spare. No wasted words, no run-on sentences. It's crystal-clear in time, place, and character. I immediately identified with each of the characters, felt sympathy for them, worried for their futures, felt scared and yet intrigued enough to read on. I'll admit, I had to close the book more than once and take a breath, but I didn't want to put it down.

In the first and second novellas, I felt like the plot was driven by the characters alone. I could see the natural evolution, but it's more about the journey than the destination. Still, I didn't feel let down by the endings of each story, as I often do when stories end. In the third novella, I wasn't sure where we were going, but I wanted to find out. To me, that is one of the most important qualities in a book. And while this ending was perhaps the least surprising of all, it made sense.

Overall, I was impressed by how polished this book is on every level, from the characters' pitch-perfect speech to the detailed scenery and the structure of the three novellas put together. But don't be mistaken: some readers will find much of the material too dark or disturbing. I have friends who would enjoy the writing, but who would not be able to handle the plot. I can't recommend this book to them. But I wish I could give them the beauty, if only they could understand why it's all more the beautiful because of the fear.

Definitely Worth the Read
My book club read this and we all liked it - some loved it.Half liked the first novella best and the rest the third.It was interesting that so many threads tied the stories together and how much each of us got and missed.I did not particularly care for the first novella but the way it intertwined with the 2nd and 3rd stories really gave it more depth for me after the fact.I would never have read this book without having had to do so for this book club - if you don't read the books, you are out.It made for a very interesting discussion.What is a machine's place in our life? Where are we heading as a society with the leaps and bounds made by technology?What is the meaning of the title?What is the meaning of the white bowl?

Artistically constructed and showcases Cunningham's flair for language and developed characters
This novel tells three stories interrelated with Walt Whitman's influence being woven in each. In "In the Machine," 13-year-old Lucas spouts Whitman's verse, faces grief and finds love only to be tormented by his dead brother's voice in the machines in the Ironworks where he is employed during the Industrial Revolution of the 1920s in New York.

The next story, "The Children's Crusade," is in 21st century New York City with African American police detective Cat investigating a band of Whitman quoting children terrorizing the city. The final story is "Like Beauty," dealing with the futuristic android with a Whitman poetry chip implanted in its circuits and its journey with Luke, a young boy, to find its maker. The novel is artistically constructed and showcases Cunningham's flair for language and developed characters.

I am embarrassed for Michael Cunningham
I have been a huge fan of Michael Cunningham since the glorious, luminous "A Home at the End of the World" was first published.I even loved "Flesh and Blood," which was met with less than universal acclaim.And, needless to say, "The Hours" is one of the great literary accomplishments of the late 20th century.

That makes it all the more painful to encounter "Specimen Days."

If you've come to this review, you are by now undoubtedly familiar with the book's structure and its similarities to "The Hours."Unfortunately, I must agree with almost all of the other reviewers who give it only one or two stars.

The first of the three novellas which comprise "Specimen Days" - the one set in the 19th century - is by far the best-written, but even there, I found it weak compared to Cunningham's earlier work.While it is evocative of the era, the narrative is vague and it just doesn't hold together.

The second novella - set in the early years of the 21st century after the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York City and Washington, D.C. - has some good moments and better-drawn, believable characters, but then it just stops, as if Cunningham had dug himself into a hole so deep he couldn't find a way out.The story starts out to seem fairly engrossing, but becomes ridiculously far-fetched as it moves from a "page-turner" to "When is this going to end?"

The third part - set in the 22nd century - is so utterly amateurish that I found it unreadable after about 20 pages.High school students write better stuff.Cunningham is now in his mid-50s, which may account for his being so out of touch with this genre, his first - and hopefully last - attempt at writing science fiction, with all of its invented creatures and jargon.Every cringe-filled paragraph which I managed to ingest before quitting the book made me embarrassed for Cunningham.Was there no one to tell him just how absolutely awful it is?

I find it ironic that Cunningham has virtually disowned his first novel, "Golden States," and usually refuses to acknowledge its existance (it is not even listed on his Web site).He has confessed that it was (and I am paraphrasing here) the novel which he had to write before he was 30 just to prove that he could do it.While nowhere as good as his subsequent three novels, "Golden States" (which I own and have read) is not a particularly bad book."Specimen Days," however, is a disaster.This should be the book which he disowns!

A meditation on the direction and meaning of America's destiny.
Specimen days is three tales connected by a group of characters: a young boy, a man and a woman; and Walt Whitman--the poet and his poetry.They all occur in New York City.

In the first story, "in the Machine"--takes place in the height of the industrial revolution, as human beings confront the alienating realities of the new machine age.

The story opens with the Simon's death, who suffered a terrible accident at work and was killed by the machine he worked with.His younger brother Lucas, or Luke, drops out from school to take the vacant position so that he can support his family.He loved Walt Whitman and had borrowed one of his books from the Library.One day Lucas meets the poet, who tells him to walk north.He ends in Central park and sees the stars for the first time.

Simon was going to marry Catherine Fitzhugh, who was a seamstress at a factory and is carrying Simon's baby.

Luke learns and master's the work that Simon used to do, but he is infatuated with Catherine and keeps trying to stay in touch with her.Luke learns to listen to the machines and has a premonition that Catherine is in danger.He buys her a bowl as a present to try to keep her from going to work. When that does not work, he incurs in an accident with the machine that killed his brother and Catherine stays with him in the hospital, thus saving her from a fire that would have killed her had she been the factory where she worked.

The second story: "The Children's Crusade" is set in the early twenty first century.It tracks the pursuit of a terrorist band that is detonating bombs, seemingly at random around New York City.

Cat Martin, who had lost a son by the name of Luke,is a 911 operator and takes a call that should have been investigated. A young child quotes Wait Whitman verses as he tells her he is going to kill someone.Three days later Dick Hart, a prominent real estate magnate in New York is killed by a white child with a pipe bomb.The child runs to the victim, embraces him and detonates the bomb.

A second call comes to her.Again a child quotes Walt Whitman poetry and speaks similarly to the first one--he belongs to the family, they have no names and quote Whitman: "Nobody really dies.We go to the grass.We go to the trees."

Cat goes home--she lives near the factory of women that burnt last century (1st story) and in front of her door, someone writes: "To die is different from what anyone supposes, and luckier."Again from Whitman.

She goes to her boyfriend's house--Simon Dryden--and next day a 22y/o black man by the name of Henry Cobbs is killed by a white child with a pipe bomb.

Next day, Cat takes the day off and she walks on Broadway where she sees a bowl at Gaya's Emporium and she buys it (1st story).

Next call is from a woman who tells Cat that "the end of days are coming."They have cells of children in many towns.She calls it The children's crusade.This woman tells cat to find a third boy.When Cat goes there with Pete, her cop buddy, they find a house that was wallpapered with Walt Whitman's poetry everywhere.She realizes is where the boys grew up and where they were indoctrinated and taught to kill.

Finally Cat meets the third boy.She talks him into getting rid of the bomb, she feeds, clothes and decides that rather than turning him in, she will raise him as the lost child (Luke) she no longer has.So she names this kid Luke and they escape New York.Unfortunately another similar attack happen in Chicago and as Cat is boarding a train at Central Station, she realizes that her new Luke is a killer and has no hope.

The third story: "Like Beauty" evokes a New York 150 years into the future, when the city is overwhelmed by by refugees from the planet Nourtha--the first inhabited planet to be contacted by Earth's people.

Simon is a "simulos," a robotic humanoid, that was made before his kind was fully functional and they have become illegal.He meets a Nadian (from Nourtha), by the name of Catareen Callatura, who is a nanny and they decide to escape together after Simon's best friend, Marcus is destroyed by a pod in Central Park, New York.Catareen saves Simon from certain death, so she become a fugitive also.

They rob a car and leave the city.The US is in sad shape after a Children's crusade destroyed most of the USA with large bombs (Book 2).Simon wants to go to Denver, where his maker, Emory Lowell is purported to reside to see if he can make Simon a better model.In the way they encounter a group of Christians and are capture, but a boy, named Luke wants out of the Christian sect and helps them escape.Luke is deformed because his mother took the drug Exedrol while pregnant.

All three, helping each other with their abilities make it to Denver where they find Mr Lowell who has a commune of Nardiand and earthlings and is leaving Earth to inhabit a new planet--Paumanock.They are asked to join in the trip.But Mr. Lowell was married to a Nardian, Othea,who recognizes that Catareen is dying.

Finally, Simon gets to talk to his maker.Lowell tells Simon that the reason he's constantly quoting Walt Whitman is that that was the only way to stabilize his impulses of violence.

As the ship is ready to go, Simon decides to stay with Catareen, si she does not die alone.

The book is a genre-bending, haunting, and transformative ode to life in New York City, and a meditation on the direction and meaning of America's destiny. ... Read more

Product Description
Unabridged, 3 CDs, 3 hours

Read by TBA

The enchanting E.B. White Read Aloud honoree, now on audio! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Zorgamazoo
Weston, R.P.(2008).Zorgamazoo.New York:Razorbill.



9781595141996



Adventurous and imaginative, Katrina Katrell sees a creature in the subway system.This flight of fancy proves to be the final take-off for Katrina's guardian who promptly arranges for her charge to be lobotomized.Overhearing said plan, Katrina escapes and is reunited with the creature she saw in the subway, a Zorgle named Morty, who has been chosen to find the missing Zorgles of Zorgamazoo.Together they embark on a quest.Oh, and the entire book is told in rhyming couplets.



From the opening couplets, it is obvious this fantastic book in verse is meant to be fun to read.It has a Dr. Seuss-Alice in Wonderland-The Tale of Despereaux vibe, with elaborate and inventive rhymes and direct addresses to the readers.A few of the rhymes do feel forced, but if you attempt to rhyme for 280 pages, there are bound to be a few moments of stumbling.



Since it's often around fourth or fifth grade that students' love for poetry tends to sputter and then die tragically never to be resurrected, this book could help keep the fire of poetic love a burnin'.(Metaphor gone too far and too gross?)



While there (sadly) is no audio version of this book, a teacher could share a bit of Weston's self-recording of him doing a short read aloud of part of the book before taking over him or herself.Even as a read aloud, students should still have access to look at the narrative, since portions of the text take on the form of a concrete poem.





Activities to do with the book:



While this book (as with most poetry) is a good read aloud, children will want to see the illustrations and the way some of the poetry is laid out on the pages, so it will probably be best if the students also have copies to look over as the teacher reads.



Students could create their own illustrations to accompany the text or their own poems in response.A teacher could also trigger conversations on the nature of being a hero, being an outsider, being imaginative, having to live in the shadow of a parent, having to deal with parental pressure, etc.



Plus, since the couplets do make use of some ear and eye rhymes and similes, a teacher could mention some of the rules of poetry, but I personally wouldn't be too forceful about it, what with wanting to maintain a fiery passion for poetry instead of kill said passion.



Also, since there are some large vocabulary words, the poetic form may help kids to sound out said words for themselves if a teacher pauses to focus on those words or if a student is reading the book on their own.A teacher could encourage students to research many of the mythical creatures mentioned throughout the text.



When starting and finishing this book, it would be fun to allow students to bring in blankets and pillows to help make the read aloud comfortable.A teacher could also prepare some hot chocolate to prepare the atmosphere.





Favorite Quotes:



"Here is a story that's stranger than strange.

Before we begin you may want to arrange:

a blanket,

a cushion,

a comfortable seat,

and maybe some cocoa and something to eat" (p. 3).



"Morty!" he bellowed, "you dithering dupe!

You stink!Like a heap of my goopiest poop!" (p. 28).



"He couldn't just sit there, he couldn't just wait.

He'd been poked...by the ficklest finger of fate!" (p. 56).

Best if read aloud
If you are looking for a read-aloud book for the 10-12 range, this would be a good choice.However, as a read-it-silently-to-myself book, the rhyming structure and quirky names (often seemingly invented to make the rhymes work) grew tiresome.Kudos to the author for a fantastic vocabulary.Also, the illustrations and the many typestyles helped keep me interested visually even as my mind wandered on the verses.

I can recommend this book if you are looking for something to read to or with your pre-teen child. I can also see reading it to exercise and stretch your vocabulary, or as a read-aloud class project in school.I hope Robert Paul Weston will make another foray into authorship....maybe with a prose selection next time.

Greater than Great!
This book is good!
This book is great!
It kept my kids up
Extremely late.

We read it together
My kids and I
The words were so clever!
I wanted to cry!

A book that's a poem?
In this day and age?
It's brilliant! Exciting!
And Stranger than Strange!

I can't say enough
About this little book
It's funny, adventurous
And deserves a good look.

Don't wait any longer.
You know what do do.
Pick up a copy
At a bookstore near you!

Fun little book entirely in rhyme
Quickly-paced, sharply-written and just insanely well-rhymed.I kept speaking the words aloud so I could appear cleverer than I really am.A classic adventure story told in a bizarre, Tim Burton/Roald Dahl way, if they had been stuck in a blender with Dr Seuss.Very good read for adults and kids! ... Read more

Product Description
Will Behr lives on his own and does not want children, but he does see the point of single mothers, especially if they look like Julie Christie. Then he meets Marcus, whose parents have split up and who is being persecuted by bullies. Marcus discovers that Will has a lot to teach him about life.Amazon.com Review
Will Lightman is a Peter Pan for the 1990s. At 36, the terminally hip North Londoner is unmarried, hyper-concerned with his coolness quotient, and blithely living off his father's novelty-song royalties. Will sees himself as entirely lacking in hidden depths--and he's proud of it! The only trouble is, his friends are succumbing to responsibilities and children, and he's increasingly left out in the cold. How can someone brilliantly equipped for meaningless relationships ensure that he'll continue to meetbeautiful Julie Christie-like women and ensure that they'll throw him over before things get too profound? A brief encounter with a single mother sets Will off on his new career, that of "serial nice guy." As far as he's concerned--and remember, concernisn't his strong suit--he's the perfect catch for the young mother on the go. After an interlude of sexual bliss, she'll realize that her child isn't ready for a man in their life and Will can ride off into the Highgate sunset, where more damsels apparently await. The only catch is that the best way to meet these women is at single-parent get-togethers. In one of Nick Hornby's many hilarious (and embarrassing) scenes, Will falls into some serious misrepresentation at SPAT ("Single Parents--Alone Together"), passing himself off as a bereft single dad: "There was, he thought, an emotional truth here somewhere, and he could see now that his role-playing had a previously unsuspected artistic element to it. He was acting, yes, but in the noblest, most profound sense of the word."

What interferes with Will's career arc, of course, is reality--in the shape of a 12-year-old boy who is in many ways his polar opposite. For Marcus, cool isn't even a possibility, let alone an issue. For starters, he's a victim at his new school. Things at home are pretty awful, too, since his musical therapist mother seems increasingly in need of therapy herself. All Marcus can do is cobble together information with a mixture of incomprehension, innocence, self-blame, and unfettered clear sight. As fans of Fever Pitch and High Fidelity already know, Hornby's insight into laddishness magically combines the serious and the hilarious. About a Boy continues his singular examination of masculine wish-fulfillment and fear. This time, though, the author lets women and children onto the playing field, forcing his feckless hero to leap over an entirely new--and entirely welcome--set of emotional hurdles. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (329)

Heaven Is Other People
Marcus, the 12-year-old protagonist of "About A Boy", arrives at a realization late in the book that sums up Nick Hornby's message of enlightened humanism, a theme running through his books: Connecting with new people is one of the only real good things life offers.

"You could create little patterns of people that wouldn't have been possible if his mum and dad hadn't split up and the three of them had stayed in Cambridge," Hornby writes. "It didn't work for everyone. It didn't work for mad people and people who didn't know anybody, or for people who were sick, or drank too much. But it was going to work for him..."

Marcus's journey begins when he discovers Will Freeman, a thirty-something living off his father's songwriting legacy (one song, a Christmas number he hates) who gives himself points for such things as using the right prophylactic and lives his life of comfortable unemployment in thirty-minute increments. Will's foray into picking up single mothers by pretending to be a single dad brings him into Marcus's world. Marcus sniffs out Will's fakery but promises silence in exchange for some company and ideas on life.

Hornby was still a humor writer when he published this in 1998. "About A Boy" uses humor extremely well if rather darkly in laying out the quiet desperation of both Will and Marcus's lives. Will "was one of life's visitors; he didn't want to be visited". Marcus wins his company with amusingly dogged persistence, ringing the doorbell of Will's flat in time with the music Will is listening to. Yet he's no operator; in fact Marcus is painfully obtuse and needs all the help he can get.

Hornby constructs the book in a clever way, with alternating chapters written from Marcus's and Will's perspectives. He keeps you on your toes by breaking off with sudden plot twists and unexpected dramatic arcs. All this makes for a fun read, but also buttresses Hornby's point about people needing people in order to survive: You never know when someone will come in handy, or how badly.

The book was made into a very solid but quite different 2002 movie with Hugh Grant, which preserves Hornby's voice but injects a lighter tone. Readers coming to this book from the movie may be caught off-guard by the differences (Where's Roberta? Where's Will's "island living" soliloquy?) One early scene in the book and movie has Will turning down an offer to be an infant girl's godfather; in the film he tells the parents casually what could well happen when the girl turns 18. In the book, Will isn't so rudely out there. The jokes in "About A Boy" the novel are less obvious, more observational.

The book's ending is far more challenging than the movie's. You can almost imagine Hornby laying down his comedy-writer's pen in the last fifth of the book, perhaps more than needed; he delivers a mildly upbeat ending that nevertheless speaks to the pain of everyday living as something never overcome, only delayed.

I'm in awe of Hornby's writing and his way of constructing a plot, and his cold view of life commands respect. "About A Boy" brings all this out, and his caustic wit was never on finer display. It's definitely one that sticks with you.

My favorite Hornby novel - I return to it again and again
Hornby's a master psychologist disguised as a writer. In this book, he does the remarkable feat of getting inside both Marcus and Will's heads so smoothly you would think a different writer (the characters themselves) wrote their chapters. Will Freeman (perfect name) has managed to avoid pain and sorrow by not engaging in the world, but Marcus has had no choice in the matter. His divorced parents and suicidal mother, not to mention the bullies at school, force him to come up with ways to survive. So his survival need and Will's deep down need for connection - for life - come head to head and they bring healing to each other.

Certain aspects of the book really stand out to me - like when the teacher makes a victim of Marcus in order to gain credibility with the class, and how Ellie, lonely and desperate herself, makes a connection with Marcus over his tenuous at best awareness of Kurt Cobain.

And since it's Hornby, what could be depressing is dotted with laugh-out-loud humor! This book is worth every penny - read it, read it read it. The movie was fine, but the book is a million times better.

Good read, but easily forgettable
Synopsis: Will Lightman is 36-years old, but lacks goals and ambitions, and is a self-proclaimed 'playboy. He finds that the perfect girl for him would be... who else, but a single mother? After dating one before, he has developed an idea that single moms fear commitment, and would not rush into marriage any time soon. With this 'knowledge,' he makes up an idea of being a single parent, and joins an organization called SPAT: Single Parents Alone Together.
There, he meets one of the sons of a group member; a boy named Marcus-- a 12-year-old new kid and an outsider at school. For some strange reason (or possibly a twist of fate), these two form an innocent bond as friends. Eventually, through each other, the other learns to grow up and the other to act his age.

Review: I have read other works of Nick Hornby, such as High Fidelity, etc. As expected from any Nick Hornby novel, the usual dose of good writing is there -- with a touch of wit, wisdom, and sarcasm. These three things combined might not work for others, but for Hornby, clearly, they do.
I have to admit though, I was just a little disappointed with the book. I have seen the movie adaptation long before, and though I am not the type to compare moviestobooks, for this one, I think I have to make an exception. This is one of those rare instances that the movie was portrayed a lot better. I'm sorry for the lack of explanation, but sometimes, you just feel the way you do, just because. That is exactly the case with this.
Don't get me wrong, as I thought there were many funny moments in the book. The story is generally entertaining, and the characters are likable. I thought the development -- plot and character -- were believable. Overall, About A Boy was a quick and 'good' read. If you're going to read this, expect to be entertained, but don't expect too much. It's one of those 'take it or leave it' kind of book. It's a good read, yes, but the truth is, it's nothing spectacular.

About A Boy
I really enjoyed About A Boy; a fantastic character study of the lives of two very different people. Will, a mid-thirties single man with only himself to think or care about with his compartmentalised but ultimately empty life. Marcus, as twelve year old boy coping with a depressive, suicidal mother while trying to navigate his way through school.

Bringing these characters together, along with all their baggage and letting them interact made for an excellent story that is both very funny and hauntingly accurate in terms of bringing the players to life.

Ignore the barking lunatics
EWGog (Croton NY)
Don`t be misled by all the wankers incapable of finding their way out the front door of Champion Vinyl."There`s a wider world out there you squitty sh...y wallies, and a nice bit of it is treated with grace and humor in About a Boy.A good solid read well worth both the time and money. ... Read more

Product Description
In one of the wittiest novels of them all, Nancy Mitford casts a finely gauged net to capture perfectly the foibles and fancies of the English upper class. Set in the privileged world of the county house party and the London season, this is a comedy of English manners between the wars by one of the most individual, beguiling and creative users of the language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A modern classic
On August 10th Vintage will reissue several classic novels by Nancy Mitford, including Love in a Cold Climate.Mitford was perhaps the brightest of the "Bright Young Things" immortalized in the fiction of Evelyn Waugh.

Originally published in 1949, Love in a Cold Climate is a comedy of manners that revolves around the naughty Polly Montdore, whose scandalous marriage left her disinherited, and her Canadian cousin Cedric Hampton, the heir apparent.

The action of both this and its prequel, The Pursuit of Love, run concurrently, taking place between the wars, with everyone's favorite cousin, Fanny Wincham, serving as impartial narrator.

Aside from an engaging storyline, tart wit and charming prose style, Love in a Cold Climate is of particular relevance to gay readers for the no nonsense presentation of the flamboyantly aesthetic Cedric, who is thoroughly and unrepentantly gay. He is a rather heroic character (not at all tragic like poor Sebastian Flyte from Brideshead Revisited and so many other gays of pre-Stonewall literature), possessed of great personal magnetism and self-esteem; and though his open homosexuality alternately shocks and delights society, he ultimately proves a great catalyst for happiness and reconciliation in the lives of those closest to him.

Kindle Bonus
The Kindle edition by Penguin Classics (ASIN: B002RI9YOQ) also contains the novels "The Pursuit of Love" and "The Blessing"

Lady Montdore finally finds the daughter she never had.
This is a fun, interesting novel that is not for anyone who does not love irony.It is perhaps best appreciated by people who may like Waugh (I think they were friends).Possibly if anyone likes Jan Austen, this novel will please you as well.The similarities to Austen are only in the stucture of certain scenes, and the happy, silliness of the plot wonderfully subverts Jane Austen.Its a really sad and comic look at love and women.It is perhaps mostly about the changing times for women of a particular class.The only reason I do not give it five stars is that I feel it ends too abruptly.But the last scene is magnificent.Look for the paralels between it and the last scenes of sense and sensibility.Its great!
This book is not for the girly, sentimental novel reading sort unless you have a good sense of humor.

Cold Is Right -- And Creepy Too!
Such a disappointment! I had been hearing about the glamorous, scandalous, sexy Mitford sisters for years -- Jessica the fiery and sexy Communist, Unity the glamorous and sexy she-Nazi, Diana the sleek and sexy fascist, Debo the demure and sexy duchess, and (last but not least) Nancy the sly and sexy writer of satirical novels. So when I got the chance at last to read LOVE IN A COLD CLIMATE I was expecting something like the sisters themselves were supposed to be -- sly and sexy, elegant and aristocratic.

Wrong, wrong, wrong! Who'd a thunk it? The low down here is that Nancy Mitford hates sex -- terrified of it. Finds normal men frightening and repulsive, yet has quite a soft spot for elderly gay men who wear lipstick and makeup and lounge around in women's dressing gowns. Creepy, creepy, creepy. You can see now why no one in the family thought it odd when sister Unity fell in love with Adolph Hitler!

Oh, and the satire -- where is it? Almost nothing in this book really addresses class issues in a meaningful way. There are no direct confrontations between the aristocrats and the wealthy industrial class -- much less the working poor. There's a bit of snide gossip, but again it's served cold. No sexy scandals, just bizarre and faintly repulsive stories about people who are far too creeped out by the human body to ever feel anything for anybody but themselves.

Somewhere in Nancy Mitford's life, there must have been a lot of pain. Pain in big buckets, Eugene O'Neill style family in agony type pain. But sadly, she never turned her tortured family past into a deep feeling masterpiece like LONG DAYS JOURNEY INTO NIGHT. Instead she just played it safe, writing cold and shallow novels like this one.

So sad!

Fanny-tastic!
I found this novel a teeny weeny bit disappointing after its superlative predecessor, 'the Pursuit of Love'.I think if I compare the two, I can see why - 'Pursuit' packs about ten novels worth of incident into its slim frame, as terse, fast, heartless and comic as 'Candide' (Mitford wrote a biography of Voltaire), full of gaps and tacit implications.'Climate' goes back to those gaps and fills them in, following as it does relatively the same time span.This makes for a slower, more thoughtful book, which feels, on occasion, a little padded out.Similarly, both books take their cue from their heroine - 'Pursuit' is as lively, adventurous, funny and adorable as Linda; Polly in 'Climate', though beautiful, is as dull as people find her, and so, when she is in it, is her book.

I say this relatively of course; on any other terms, 'Climate' is a comic joy, full of two sublime new characters, Lady Montdore, the imperious snob, and Cedric, the stereotypical queen from untypical Nova Scotia.Add to these old favourites like Boy, Davey, and, especially, the immortal, phlegmatic Uncle Matthew; some choice set-pieces and an odd flash of the old callousness, and you have a real pleasure, especially in the second half.'Climate''s breezy surface belies a real anger at the limited roles offered women. ... Read more

Product Description
In a dingy shack in the less-than-desirable Indian neighborhood he calls home, twelve-year-old Anand is entrusted with a conch shell that possesses mystical powers. His task is to return the shell to its rightful home many hundreds of miles away. Accompanying him are Nisha, a headstrong but resourceful child of the streets, and a mysterious man of indeterminate age and surprising resources named Abadhyatta. His quest will take him farther from home than he's ever been and will teach him more than he ever imagined -- and it will force him to make a poignant decision that will change him forever. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Amazing Read!
I just finished reading The Conch Bearer. It is an amazing book! You get to go on a journey with Anand (the main character.)This is one of the best books I have ever read. Anand is loving life, he gets to go to school which he loves and reads a lot of books. His life goes all topsy-turvy when his father leaves Anand, his mentally ill sister and mother at home, to go to Dubai for a job. Things are okay for the first couple of months, his father is sending money regularly to the family, until one day the money stops coming and so do the letters. Anand has no idea what happened to him and he is worried. All these thoughts run through Anand's head. Is he alive? Is he okay? After the money stops coming Anand's mother has to pull he and his sister Merra out of school. Merra being younger didn't care but Anand did, they also had to move out of the beautiful apartment and in to a one room shack. And on top of all that Anand had to start to go to work. One day an old man came and followed Anand home. He is a Healer and he healed Merra and asked Anand to go on a very dangerous mission. I think the author did a terrific job writing this book and I hope that she had as much fun writing this book as I did reading it.

Superb - for all ages
The book takes you to the Silver Valley in the Himalayas - full of fantasy, action and adventure. People of all ages will enjoy.

Average writing, great concepts
I absolutely LOVED the premise of the book.In plot, Chitra's bookis clever but the writing was not as tight as I would like.It had too many adverbs and poorly constructed sentences that distracted the reader from this wonderful story. There was more "showing" and less "telling" and a lot of narrative that could have been replaced by action or dialogue. The storyline became a little too complicated and the ending, although a clever surprise was not entirely believable.It felt contrived, done,to shock rather than please.Wasn't it Somerset Maughm who said that the main aim of a novel is to please. It left me feeling a little dissatisfied.Nevertheless, for a writer of her caliber to flow into children's writing is admirable.I look forward to reading the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming.

The Conch Bearer: A Review
The Conch Bearer is a fine book, but not great. It does a good job of following the traditional hero cycle, but not much more.

As not a particular lover of fantasy, I was not that impressed with the quality of writing. The characters were, admittedly, well-thought-out, but with not much feeling and progression.

Basically, I didn't really like it, but I wanted to see what would happen in the end, so I just kept reading. I was assigned this book as part of our hero unit. If it hadn't been an assignment, I wouldn't have read it.

However, I did find it in me to read the sequel (The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming) voluntarily, NOT as an assignment. I found The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming much more pleasing and original, though it didn't follow the hero cycle. This, I think, actually made it a more likeable book, since the plot was more creative and less predictable.

I wouldn't recommend The Conch Bearer. However, I WOULD recommend The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming, and it's probably better to read Conch Bearer first.

My final recommendation is: if you really want to read either The Conch Bearer or The Mirror of Fire and Dreaming, just check them out of a public library, or buy them cheap from a used bookstore.

The Conch Bearer : student review
The setting of the story is in Kolkata, India. It is about a boy who works in a tea stall striving to help his mother and sister who is ill.
One day an old man walks in the store and the store owner yells and insults him to leave, But Arnand shows remorse and gives the man some tea and food. Seeing the compassion in Arnads heart the old man follows him home, and invites him to go on a journey with him to return the magical conch.
With this man he goes on a journey across the Himalayas to bring the "conch to safety." During his journey Arnad gets tested on his courage, honesty and loyalty. In the end when he reaches the Silver Valley he is asked which of these virtues he believes is most important. If he chooses the right one he can become a member of the brotherhood, but the wrong choice and he goes back home.
The purpose of this story is to teach people about courage and making choices for yourself. I think this was a well written story and I really enjoyed it.
... Read more

Product Description
Enjoy eight timeless tales from a magical storyteller. This enchanting collection, retold by writer and critic Naomi Lewis, contains eight of Hans Christian Andersen's magnificent stories. It includes Thumbelina, a little girl no more than a thumb-joint high, "The Emperor's New Clothes", the tale of a man who cares only for his appearance and The Little Mermaid, who longs to one day marry a human prince. This title presents these unabidged stories on 3 CDs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fairy Tales for All Ages
This is an extremely readable selection of 26, out of about 156, of Hans Andersen tales.As the brief but very fine and helpful introduction by Naomi Lewis points out, these tales are perhaps more for adults than children, as Andersen himself wanted them to be.Most of them have a darker side.I also believe that the eminent literary critic, Harold Bloom, includes Andersen in his select list of short story writers qualified to be part of the Western canon.I did prefer some of the collection's early and middle tales, such as "Little Claus and Big Claus," "The Travelling-Companion," and "The Little Mermaid" to a handful of the later ones like "She was Good for Nothing," or "The Family and the Gardener."It seems that Andersen's true imaginary gifts shine best where his writing is least in step with the real world.

12 short stories
The very short 1981 edition currently before me features black and white illustrations by Philip Gough, and was translated by Naomi Lewis.

There's been a trend lately for fantasy authors to take traditional fairy tales and retell them, either as novels (as in Mercedes Lackey's case, or Peggy Kerr's _The Wild Swans_) or short stories (Tanith Lee did this even before Terri Windling came along). Hans Christian Andersen's little gems *aren't* traditional folk tales - he did the work - but quite often serve to fuel such fires anyway.

The translator, Naomi Lewis, has included a brief introduction discussing Andersen's life and career, and a few pages of notes at the end of the book discussing the original publication and origins of each story herein.

"The Princess and the Pea", "Thumbelina", "The Emperor's New Clothes"

"The Little Mermaid" - If you're only familiar with the Disney version, I warn you that they discarded much of what makes this story truly great. When evaluating a translation of this story, a quick test is to check the last scene between the mermaid and her prince to see how well the translator captures the actions and feelings of the characters.

The youngest of the seven mer-princesses has always been more fascinated by her grandmother's tales of the world above than any of her sisters, but she has the longest to wait for her first trip to the surface on her fifteenth birthday. Since mer-folk turn into seafoam at the end of their 300 years of life and have no immortal souls, she is especially curious about her grandmother's tales of how humans, when they die, can rise into a higher world just as the merfolk rise to the ocean surface, but one the merfolk can never reach, save through a human's love. (Oscar Wilde once turned this upside-down in "The Fisherman and the Soul", a very good story in which a fisherman fell in love with a mermaid and magically cut himself free of his soul to join her in the sea.)

As each of the sisters in turn makes her first journey, we see the world through their eyes, and since each has a different temperament and their birthdays fall at different times of the year, each sees and seeks out different sights. But when the youngest princess' turn finally comes (her name is never given), she has experiences that even the 3rd sister (the most adventurous of the lot) never had: a prince's birthday celebration at sea is struck by a great storm, foundering his ship before her eyes.

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" - A toy story.

"The Nightingale" - Try Lackey's _The Eagle and the Nightingales_.

"The Ugly Duckling"

"The Snow Queen" - Check out Joan D. Vinge's novel of the same name.

"The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" - They're porcelain figures who have fallen in love, but when her grandfather arranges a marriage for her with a mahogany carving instead, they decide to run away together.

"The Happy Family" - One of Andersen's lesser-known stories, of a little family of snails who know that they're the most important people in the world. :)

"The Goblin at the Grocer's" - The poet rescued an old book of poetry from the grocer who was using it as scrap paper, and the household goblin took offense at what was said. But when he entered the poet's room to play him a spiteful trick, he got more than he bargained for.

"Dance, Dolly, Dance" - Very short story about a poem written for little Amalie and her dolls. ... Read more

Product Description
The Bradfield police are desperately hunting a serial-killer. Sexually crazed, coldly methodical, he puts his victims to barbaric torture, but leaves no clues to his identity. Four men have already died. When will he strike again?Amazon.com Review
This sadistic, twisted yet intriguingly ingenious thrillergarnered Val McDermid Britain's top crime-fiction award, the GoldDagger, which only proves it's not as genteel a nation as we've beenled to believe. The Mermaids Singing follows a killer who thrives on finding ever more inventive ways to seduce andtorture sexually confused young men and records their death strugglesdigitally to market them as interactive home movies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (39)

The Mermaid Singing
The paperback copy I received from Amazon has printing so tiny I have to practically use a magnifying glass to read it

Exactly what the seller said
Great seller, great service.

Thank you fro being honest.

JLK

Great start for a series
This introduction to Carol Jordan and Tony Hill is an ode to excellent characterization.There are no stock players straight from central casting here.McDermid takes the time to crawl around in people's heads and make the story interesting from that angle.This is something few authors do.

The mystery itself was top notch. It moved in unexpected ways and finished off with a bang.Tension between Tony and Carol gives the book an extra spark, especially with Tony's personal demons.

I'll be back for more of this series.

The Mermaids Singing
Delivery was so fast and the book in perfect condition.A good dealer to work with.

What's up with Tony Hill?
This first book in the series is a giant fish hook. I started out watching the series and after the first show I had to get this book cause I had to find out what was up with Dr. Tony Hill. It's just as interesting to crawl around in his head as it is to try to figure out the killer. Val McDermid has a real talent. I'll be collecting the rest of these books and am sure I'll find something new when I re-read them in the future. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Marxism without Marx
There has been a long debate about the death of the theatre. And that debate still continues, but plays are nevertheless being produced, actors are playing Hamlet over and over again, and directors are staging everything, from timeless classics to newest avant-garde.Even so, death of the theatre seem iminent. New methods of expression appeared which drove public fromt the teatre seats. Nowadays, in those seats you can only find aged critics, younger men and women still posessed by the power of art" and some older couples which have no place to go. Can there be future to such setting?
Whilst future reamins obscured in unsettling clouds, past looks glorious and full of appeal. Not only in works like ones of O'neil, Brecht, Pirandello or Shakespeare but also in the ones that have more modern" sound, whatever that should mean. Dario Fo is one of those men who brings with himself entire glamour of theatre together with precise sharpness of satire and political subversion.
Upon reading this play, you cannot but think of Groucho Marx and his extravagant style, high intelligence and unparalleled big-mouthedness. All of those characteristics were incorporated into the Fo's character called Maniac. But such comparison might not be entirely fair, having in mind what was said before. Still, Death of an anarchist" functions as classic farce, with what it seems as a total anarchy in script and staging, anarchy that is apealing in such a way that you simple cannot put this book away.
Magic of the theatre shows itself in the best way on these pages. You are being drawn into the world wihtout rules, which scarringly resembles our own and which we can relate to. That kind of identification puts us on the edge. And Fo is aware of that and uses that fact in such a brilliant way, that you have to bow to him.
It is quite unnecessary and to some extent impossible to retell the story of Death of an anarchist". It would be exactly the same as if you were going to retell the Marx brothers film and expect that it would have the sam impact as seeing and hearing Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo act themselves crazy.
When you're feeling sad or you would just give up on everything and go with the flow, forgeting that posibility of rebellions ever existed, you should reach for this book, and it will charge up your dead batteries, making you feel the joy of existence and laughter all over again.

A Play Not Performed ENOUGH
I truly enjoyed this play and again am wondering why it is not put on more often.Granted, it has a specific political objective, due to its timely plot and circumstancial event.Yet, as a performer, I find the quality of writing to be extremely wonderful.Interestingly, I also discovered that Fo's viewpoint on comedic and political theatre to be very similar to my own:

(It) grabs at the heart and guts, but attempts to get there by a violent moment of laughter.Because laughter does not remain at the bottom of the mind, leaving sediment which cannot be wiped off.Because laughter helps avoid one of the worst dangers, which is catharsis. (5)

Fo wanted the reverse of catharsis, the emotional release, and it is very apparent in Accidental Death of an Anarchist.He seeks to provoke, debate, to arouse feelings and to challenge ideas while inviting his audience to consider new points of view.I respect this form of theatre, for it is the hardest to write, collaborate, and present clearly to an already cynical audience in this day and age.By using an absurdist/satirical/farcial approach towards the issues of power, its abuse, and political stations, he creates sense out of nonsensical characters and situations.The maniac, a harliquien like character, leads the members of a police station somewhere in a city, in this case we assume New York or London, through a dizzying investigation around the questionable death of an anarchist from years before. Mysteriously, the anarchist had "thrown" himself from a four story window during the course of police investigation.We, the audience suspect foul play for the cause, and in effect we see the maniac give nothing but insane play to the accused.He is quick witted and incredibly dynamic with language and vast information.The maniac flaunts with their pride and guilt, causing mass confusion.The audience cannot help but love his crazy ways. In true satiric fasion, just and darkly comedic rewards are served to all characters by the end.The audience is left wondering how these events effect them.The ever present window in the scene is the only realistic element that the audience must contend with.It reminds them of the reality of the crime, how it really took place, and yet they are forced to laugh at it and find disgust in that humor.It is this form of satire that provokes thoughts and action towards change, which is what Fo wanted.It is this subtle stealthiness of dark humor that creates the desired effect of political theatre:change, perhaps for the better, or in this case, for the playwrights cause.

A bitingly funny satire
"Accidental Death of an Anarchist," by Dario Fo, is adapted by Gavin Richards from a translation by Gillian Hanna.The Methuen Modern Plays edition contains an introduction by Stuart Hood; Fo himself contributes an author's note and a postscript.The opening pages note that the original Italian edition had a copyright date of 1970.The author's note describes how the play was inspired by the death of an anarchist being held in police custody.

This outrageous comedy opens with a character known as the "Maniac" being brought to a police station.It's a very "metatheatrical" piece; Fo warps theatrical conventions and makes jokes in a way that reminds me a bit of Luigi Pirandello's "Six Characters in Search of an Author."There are some really funny scenes, but a very serious vein still runs throughout the piece.

Ultimately, this is a thought-provoking piece about truth.What is the true story, and how do you discover it?Fo's satiric wit explores police brutality as well as the relationships among the police, the media, and the political establishment.I recommend this piece by the Nobel Prize winning Fo to all with an interest in 20th century drama and/or political activism.

One of the best!
In the age we're living in today, this is the perfect satire of police departments. We always here in the news about some cop in some city getting caught framing someone innocent (or sometimes worse). Fo does a wonderful job of humorizing that situation. Some might call the play over-the-top, but they're just missing the humor of it all. I've read a lot of plays, and this is definitely one of the best modern plays out there. Everything about it screams "wit." The characters are great, and memorable too. If you have the chance to buy it, don't miss it!

Way Too Much Zen
I saw a small production of this play a few years ago in downtown Minneapolis and was most interested in what it had to say about police interrogation techniques.This is not a topic which I would expect to be popular now, as most emphasis has been shifted to deadly confrontations, and the only major death in this play is of a suspect who was hanging out of a police department window before he dropped to his death.In the history of people being pick up for interrogation, this might be as famous someplace in Italy as the Biko case in South Africa, where police in Port Elizabeth picked Biko up and slammed him against the wall because he was not cooperating fully in their investigation of his attitude toward law and order.

I thought that the theme of the play was that the police get overly zealous in trying to pin a crime on a particular person once the police have made up their collective minds who they think should have committed the crime, as the defense allegations in the famous O.J. murder case seemed well founded when the methods of the L.A.P.D. were subject to the scrutiny of attorneys who are aware of how these things are usually done.In the case of the actual event upon which the Accidental Death of the Anarchist was based, the police techniques were subject to an official investigation, and the play was written as on ongoing farce which kept Italy informed as more facts came to light.The play may be way beyond the Zen of any audience, but if people think that something about the nature of the police is revealed in it, I don't think that those people should be considered as paranoid as they ought to be.Anyone who loses sleep over this kind of thing hasn't adjusted well to modern society, so they can probably find a shrink to give them pills that will put them to sleep, but that is a different topic, but not much different, really. ... Read more

Product Description
When young Jim Hawkins finds a treasure map in Captain Flint's chest, he must outwit the dead Captain's collaborators if he is to keep it for himself. Only his two companions, Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey, share Jim's secret and the three decide to set off on a seafaring adventure in this classic tale of exploits on the high seas. 2 cassettes.Amazon.com Review
Climb aboard for the swashbuckling adventure of alifetime. Treasure Islandhas enthralled (and caused slightseasickness) for decades. The names Long John Silver and Jim Hawkinsare destined to remain pieces of folklore for as long as children wantto read Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous book. With it's dastardlyplot and motley crew of rogues and villains, it seems unlikely thatchildren will ever say no to this timeless classic. --NaomiGesinger ... Read more

Customer Reviews (395)

A Treat at any Age
If we ask ourselves why this tale is still so popular, the answer is clear: it has all the ingredients of a page-turner - adventure, mystery, exotic setting, suspense, colorful characters... who could resist such a winning combination?
Whether we read the book as children or as adults, we want something that lifts us out of our humdrum lives, something that engages our imagination and our sense of play. Why do children like to play pirate games, watch pirate movies, dress up as pirates on Hallowe'en? Why are treasure hunts of any kind so popular, even with adults?

To a child, Jim Hawkins is the real hero of the story - the boy protagonist whose often spontaneous, sometimes irrational decisions and actions trump the judgment of the adults and usually save the day. His only worthy antagonist is Long John Silver: persuasive, articulate, opportunistic. He is the prototypical politician who changes sides as often as he can benefit from it, knows how to use flattery to his advantage, and in the end escapes practically unscathed.

The other characters are not very nuanced; they are motivated primarily by greed.The doctor is the most circumspect of the lot. The squire talks too much and gets everyone into trouble. Hapless creatures like Gunn acquire great riches, only to lose them all in the end.

An adult reading the story will not experience the visceral fear and loathing that may grip the young reader. We know that we are not likely to meet pirates (unless we cruise off the coast of Somalia), and that we probably won't find a treasure anytime soon. But to a child everything is possible: the monsters under his bed are as real as Jim Hawkins hiding in the apple barrel and overhearing the mutineers' plan. The many unexpected turns and twists of the plot heighten the suspense. The installment technique of the original publication favors breaking off at the peak of excitement and switching gears. Since this is a first-person narrative throughout, the effect is immediate and personal.

Feminists will point out that there are no women of consequence in the story; Jim's mother is only briefly portrayed as playing an active role. This is a coming-of-age story for boys - but that doesn't mean that girls can't relish it, too. ("Moby Dick" doesn't have any women in it and is still considered a great American classic).

Some readers may be turned off by the many nautical terms and the salty lingo of the mutineers. But you don't have to understand every word to know what's going on. Rather than use a bowdlerized version, I would encourage a child to read the original - or, if he is too young, to have it read to him.

This pirate tale deserves 10 stars - great entertainment
In my book club we recently had a discussion about reading books again that we read in our youth, like Treasure Island, 1984, Animal Farm, Great Expectations, The Catcher in the Rye, and Lord of the Flies. Since I never read Treasure Island as an adolescent, I decided to give it a try. It is absolutely delightful!It is a tale worth reading. Robert Louis Stevenson's prose is appropriate for youths or adults and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. The story is rich in detail and intrigue. Stevenson is able to develop character with a few details, as does Charles Dickens. Quickly we empathize and identify with the feisty, clever, honest boy Jim Hawkins. The pirates are great. They are such a lousy bag of scum and Stevenson has the ability to make them evil and also individuals, a real skill. We also learn the tale through the eyes of an adolescent boy. This is a wonderful technique used by Salinger in Catcher in the Rye and used by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.This technique is powerful in that it allows the character as well as the reader to encounter characters and situations with naive eyes and thus must use native intelligence to separate lie from truth, safety from danger. While the boy main character is trying to figure out who to trust, the reader is also. Jim Hawkins is a likable boy and Stevenson has a sense of the physicality and movement and energy of boys. He has Jim engaging in physical activities in which an adolescent would undertake in an emergency that an adult might not. This feature helps explain the popularity over many years of this book for adolescent males. Jim, the son of a terminally ill tavern owner and his wife, is exposed to the pirates when Billy Bones comes to hide out in their remote tavern and inn. Immediately Stevenson lets us know that some adults are not to be trusted and are of low, dangerous character. That is another great aspect of the book since it doesn't sugar coat adulthood but allows Jim to see adults as a mixture of virtue, foolishness, greed, and homicidal intention.The Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey are examples of realistically developed adults, sometimes foolish and sometimes heroic. Another fine aspect of the book is that it is about recognizing, understanding, and counter-acting treachery. The character of Long John Silver is wonderful. He would be classified as a psychopath by today's psychological standards but when written, he was very evil and very smart, a deadly combination. Without giving away any of the plot, Jim must outsmart Long John Silver just to survive and thus the tension developed by character and an economical storyline makes the book a real treat. The book deserves to be considered a classic and deserves more than 5 stars since it is an enjoyable classic, the best combination.

Classic story stands the test of time
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is a classic that truly stands the test of time. Young Jim Hawkins works at his mother's inn until a strange pirate, Billy Bones, takes up residence and hires him to keep watch for the dangerous man with one leg. Violence rocks the community when a blind pirate named Pew delivers the dreaded black spot to Billy, causing him to fall over dead of a heart attack, and the pirates attack the inn hoping to find his treasure. But Jim has already claimed the most important part of Billy's treasure, a mysterious map with directions to Skull Island. Jim boards a shop with a doctor, the squire, and the charismatic Long John Silver who quickly charms all three of them until Jim stumbles upon John's part in a plot to mutiny with several of the other sailors, kill those not with them (including Jim), and claim the treasure for themselves. I'd only seen the movie adaptations of this story, so I was surprised to see at the portrayal of John, who was far more slippery, honorable, and smart that I expected. The story is a sure winner with children who love adventure stories, even in the violence can be a little graphic, but my seven-year-old daughter was unphased by it and couldn't wait each night to hear another couple of chapters. The story is every boy's dream: secret treasure, heroic actions, villains who are overcome, and a safe return home with an amazing story to tell.

Treasure Island
Book was ordered in a super saver shipping.Delivery was a day before estimated delivery date.Book was as described and in very good condition.Thank you!

One of the most fully realized characters you will ever read
I'm 34 and somehow managed not to read Treasure Island all these years. Even at the grand prize of $0 on the Kindle I had to think about it for a second. I need not have done that. I am not a pirate nut, but believe me when I say this book is a must read. The vernacular is spot-on, even a century later. The pace is cut-throat fast and the characters believable, none more so than the rightly famous Long John Silver, or Barbecue, and that is the reason for the book's greatness. Here we have one of the most complex, fully developed characters you can find. One that will still ring true, even today. You WILL be swayed by him, surprised by him and ultimately, without giving anything away, impressed by him. Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and bottle of rum! Drink and the devil have done for the rest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! ... Read more

Product Description
Read by Alan Cumming
7 CDs, 8 hours
From the author of The English Patient and winner of the Booker Prize, the Canada Australia Prize, and the Canada Governor General's Award, comes a new novel of electric artistry and impact confirming Michael Ondaatje's reputation as one of the world's foremost writers.

The time is our own time.The place Sri Lanka, the island nation off the southern tip of India, a country formerly known as Ceylon, steeped in centuries of cultural achievement and tradition smf forced into the late 20th century by the ravages of civil war and the consequences of a government divided against itself.

Into this maelstrom steps a young woman, Anil Tissera, born in Sri Lanka, educated in America, a forensic anthropologist sent by an international human rights group to work with local officials to discover the source of the organized campaigns of murder engulfing the island.

Bodies are discovered.Skeletons.And particularly one, nicknamed "Sailor."What follows, in a novel rich with character, emotion, and incident, is a story about love, about family, about identity and the unknown enemy, about the quest to unlock the hidden past and all propelled by a riveting mystery.

Unfolding against the deeply evocative background of Sri Lanka's landscape and ancient civilization, Anil's Ghost is a compelling literary spellbinder and worthy successor to The English Patient, a novel admired and treasured by countless readers around the world.Amazon.com Review
In his Booker Prize-winning third novel, The English Patient,Michael Ondaatje explored the nature of love and betrayal in wartime. Hisfourth, Anil's Ghost, is also set during a war, but unlike in World WarII, the enemy is difficult to identify in the bloody sectarian upheavalthat ripped Sri Lanka apart in the 1980s and '90s. The protagonist, AnilTissera, a native Sri Lankan, left her homeland at 18 and returns toit 15 years later only as part of an international human rights fact-findingmission. In the intervening years she has become a forensicanthropologist--a career that has landed her in the killing fields ofCentral America, digging up the victims of Guatemala's dirty war. Now she'scome to Sri Lanka on a similar quest. But as she soon learns, there arefundamental differences between her previous assignment and this one:

The bodies turn up weekly now. The height of the terror was 'eighty-eightand 'eighty-nine, but of course it was going on long before that. Everyside was killing and hiding the evidence. Every side. This is anunofficial war, no one wants to alienate the foreign powers. So it's secretgangs and squads. Not like Central America. The government was not the onlyone doing the killing.

Like its predecessor, the novel explores that territory where the personaland the political intersect in the fulcrum of war. Its style, though, ismore straightforward, less densely poetical. While many of Ondaatje'sliterary trademarks are present--frequent shifts in time, almosthallucinatory imagery, the gradual interweaving of characters' pasts withthe present--the prose here is more accessible. This is not to say thatthe author has forgotten his poetic roots; subtle, evocative images abound.Consider, for example, this description of Anil at the end of the day,standing in a pool of water, "her toes among the white petals, her armsfolded as she undressed the day, removing layers of events and incidents sothey would no longer be within her." In Anil's Ghost MichaelOndaatje has crafted both a brutal examination of internecine warfare andan enduring meditation on identity, loyalty, and the unbreakable hold thepast exerts over the present. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Customer Reviews (182)

Important views about Sri Lanka
I read this book while I was in Sri Lanka. I think the stories and perspective really helped me to speak to the people while I was there. There was so much more I wanted to ask but was not sure what was appropriate. This book helped me to understand some of the conflict during the War.

I wrote about this book recently:
Article first published as Sri Lanka: To Go or Not To Go? on Technorati.
After the 30 year civil war ended, we decided to go to Sri Lanka last summer. Our friends enjoyed a month of great travel in September 2009 and encouraged us to go.

Wondering about the impact of so many years of war, I was worried about this trip. When we arrived, I learned that there had been 450 years of Dutch, Portugese and British rule before the civil war. I decided to ask as many questions as I could.

During our six weeks in Sri Lanka, I was constantly amazed by the friendliness of the people. Everyone wanted to talk to us and tell us how happy they are that the war is over, that there is peace, and that they can now travel in their own country.

The young students we met at Anuradhapurna were from the East and no one had been able to travel to this incredible ancient site for decades. A large group of adults came by bus from Colombo to Nilaveli Beach and all the men wanted to shake our American hands, offer us drinks and ask, "Sri Lanka good?"

We told them, "Yes Sri Lanka is good. The people are so friendly." Perhaps the friendliest I have ever met in the 100+ countries I have seen! During our trip, I read several books of both fiction and non-fiction about Sri Lanka. Reading about string hoppers (noodles made of rice) while eating them for breakfast added to the entertainment.

Reading about the government secret killings and clashes between Tamils and Singhalese in Michael Ondaatje's Anil's Ghost was spellbinding. What really happened I wondered? To read about the drama and struggle of women's daily lives from the point of view of Latha and Biso, two main characters in Ru Freedman's A Disobedient Girl, and then to see it was eye opening.

I turned to Jewish World Watch to discover more about the conflict in Sri Lanka. In their June World Crisis Update, Susan Brooks wrote: "Since 1983, Sri Lanka has suffered from continuous conflict between the government and a separatist rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (often known as the Tamil Tigers).

The conflict is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people with over one million displaced...Both sides may have committed war crimes...Sri Lankan refugees are still living in transit camps while the land is being de-mined...The government continues to hold 11,000 alleged LTTE in 'rehabilitation centers with no legal representation, no access by human rights groups or relatives."

Our journey did not include the North and Jafna, foreigners were told you needed permission by the government to venture to the Far North. Many locals told us that they can and will go to Jafna but we were not allowed. I am not sure what the conditions are but the JWW report makes me wonder and so does the book Not Quite Paradise by Adele Barker.

Both sources indicate that there are ongoing issues. Staying at the YMBA (Young Man's Buddhist Association) in Kataragama and enjoying the pilgrimage festival, it appears that all is well. However, traveling the two or so "blocks" from our hostel to the beach in Nilaveli past barbed wire and Singhalese Buddhist soldiers makes me wonder. The security checks on the bus near Arugam Bay seemed more for alcohol than bombs but it is hard to know as an outsider.

I hope that tourism will continue to flourish along with peace, sealed roads and more freedom to travel. This small island nation is beautiful with treasures of ancient cities, national parks filled with elephants and leopards and wonderful welcoming people. I highly recommend making the effort to visit this wonderful country. Auyobawan and Stuti (Good bye and thank you).

good
This is a good book. It had an interesting story line and I did not find it hard to follow like some other readers have. I enjoyed it, but I don't think it was one of Ondaatje's best.

Read only if very desperate for reading material
The only thing I knew about Sri Lanka before picking up this book was that it lays on the Indian Ocean.The book was educative in that i learned more about the armed conflict they suffered in the 80s, its landscape, history, archeology, but as a piece of literature it was very, very rough to handle.There is an array of characters that don't serve much purpose, because they don't help define others.Anil is supposed to be the protagonist, yet her first husband, her parents, her caretaker Lalitha, her friend Leaf or her lover Cullin add nothing to the story and distract from the core.The narration is not terribly linear, and I found that there were many gaps in the story.I hate it when an author spells everything out for you, but Ondaatje's economy of plot and description were too much of a workout for my brain

A Depressing Tale Exquisitely Told
The author of The English Patient describes Sri Lanka back in the days when civil war shook the entire nation over a period of 26 years and brothers were killing brothers.It was a terrifying journey into the minds of the scientists who survived, but just barely, and continued practicing their disciplines in spite of the threats from the government to shut them down for revealing the nasty secrets of mass graves and genocide. It is a story of sacrifice and denial, of courage and withdrawal. How can we from the western world begin to understand the terror and uncertainty involved in simply doing one's job on a daily basis? Ondaatje does an excellent job of defining it.

Too Dry like a college Text book
I agree with most of the reviewers that gave not more than 2 stars.
This is one of the slow moving Fiction novel without a strong plot that can keep the readers on their toe for continuous reading.
I liked the last part of the narrative and the formation of the character Gamini.


... Read more

Product Description
                                                     “The request line for the sequel can start forming now.”*

The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker Powers. 

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan’s peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory. Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead. 

“…Westerfeld’s brilliantly constructed imaginary world will capture readers from the first page. Full of nonstop action, this steampunk adventure is sure to become a classic.”

—School Library Journal, starred review of Leviathan 

*BCCB ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Awesome book, but I think it should have had a different title!
Behemoth starts about two days later still on the Leviathan heading for Istanbul. But, on the way there they encounter two German ships that have a Tesla cannon and are ready for the Leviathan! The Leviathan gets an unexpected jolt and everything seems to go down hill from there for Deryn and Alek. The war continues on with more countries entering and Alek finds himself among the enemy on the Leviathan with the British on the other side of the war and Alek must find a way to escape but nothing goes to plan!

Great book, but I don't think it should have been called Behemoth. Since the Behemoth only makes a small appearance in the book. I think it should have been called Bovril! But, maybe the Behemoth will be more prominent in the next book.

This book does answer some questions from the previous book, but not thoroughly. The question of what is in the egg is semi-answered in my opinion. You find out what is in it but not exactly what it is capable of. Also, there is Deryn situation, and whether or not to tell Alek she is a she. That is an ongoing problem for Deryn and it gets a little more complicated for her as well. I love the things Deryn says, she calls herself a "daft lassie mooning at a village dance" when she relates to her problem. She is quite funny.

There are some new characters that pop up in the book. They are not on the Leviathan for that long so they have some on ground friends as the book progresses. But, still all the old favorites are still there.

And of course, the book ends with you wanting more.

Barking Magnificent!
It's been a while since I read Leviathan, so it took me a bit to remember everything I needed to know about the Darwinists, the Clankers, Alek and of course Deryn Sharp.Soon I was sucked right back into the author's alternate universe full of amazing machines and fabricated beasties.Leviathan was my introduction to the Steampunk genre and I have been a devoted fan ever since.Behemoth more than lived up to my expectations!The author does a wonderful job of pacing the novel so the reader barely has time to catch their breath amongst all the action.While this novel is a little light on the character development, it is hardly noticeable.I felt like I was falling back in with old friends who were just a bit too busy to have a long conversation since they really had an entire war to stop, thank you very much.

Most of the action takes place on the ground this time instead of on the Leviathan, but that in no way decreases the fun.Deryn and Alek are in Istanbul, a place at the center of the war between the Clankers and the Darwinists and it's up to our heroes to pretty much outwit everyone in order to stop the war.There's high intrigue, daring feats and even just a bit of unlikely romance.Westerfeld's Istanbul is so richly imagined that I was able to fully visualize all of it's exotic peoples and machines.The illustrations by Keith Thompson are wonderful and really add to the reading experience.

This is an exciting read that effectively carries on the story which began in Leviathan.The good news is that there's plenty of room left at the end of this one for another installment.The bad news is we have to wait so long to read it.This is a great series with loads of appeal for any kid grade 7 and up, especially fans of action/adventure and sci-fi.Adults will find much to enjoy here too, so don't pass this one by!Recommended.

Steampunk At Its Finest

Badly wounded by Clanker airplanes and downed on a lifeless glacier high in the Swiss Alps, the great British hydrogen breather Leviathan has limped back into the air only through the aid of four unlikely allies. Prince Aleksandar Hohenberg, son of the assassinated Austro-Hungarian Archduke, is in hiding and on the run. Along with three loyal men, he had arrived in Switzerland almost at the same moment the Leviathan was crashing. Alek and his men donated the engines necessary to get the Leviathan back in the air, scavenged from their ruined clanker Stormwalker, in exchange for passage to Constantinople. Although most of the Leviathan's officers and crew mistrust the clanker Austrians, they are unaware of Alek's true identity.

Alek has formed an immediate and unlikely friendship with the exuberant Dylan Sharp, a Leviathan Midshipman with a flair for flying and a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Dylan, a good-natured Scot with a colorful way of speaking, is the perfect foil for the formal, solemn Alek. Dylan is also one of only two Brits aboard the Leviathan (the other being the Darwinist scientist Dr. Nora Barlow) who know the secret of Alek's identity. But Dylan has a secret of his own. He is actually a she. Deryn Sharp has been masquerading as a boy since first applying for the males-only British Air Service and she is constantly aware of the danger of discovery.

As the Leviathan makes her way toward the Constantinople, Alek and Deryn must face some hard truths. Britain and Austria-Hungary have just declared war against one another. Alek is technically an enemy of the Leviathan and if his identity is revealed, he'll be imprisoned. Worse yet, `Dylan' could be hanged for a traitor because `he' knew the truth and didn't pass the information along to `his' superiors. Of course, Deryn is pretty sure they wouldn't really hang a girl, but they would throw her out of the Air Service, which to her would be almost as bad. Once Leviathan reaches Constantinople however, Alek and Deryn will discover that there is more danger and intrigue afoot than they could possibly have imagined.

I adored Leviathan, in fact it was one of my two favorite books of 2009. So it was with some trepidation that I began Behemoth. Sequels, and in particular those that are the second book in a trilogy, rarely live up to expectations. I am happy to report that Behemoth blows by those expectations with rarely a glance in the rearview mirror. Scott Westerfeld's alternative 1914 is so incredibly complete (and so beautifully illustrated by Keith Thompson) that it feels as real as the world around you. The characters - great and small - are interesting and multi-dimensional and the action is both natural and exciting. Steampunk does not get any better than this - very few novels do.

Joining the chorus
All I can do is echo the praises of others -- this is a terrific followup to a great first book and I eagerly look forward to the third.In fact, I just came back here to see if a pre-order for Book Three is available yet!(Not yet, darn it!)

Better Than the First
Usually middle books in a trilogy are just getting one place to another, but Westerfeld has made Behemoth an adventure in itself.The stakes continue to grow as Alek must start to command his own fate and Deryn/Dylan slinks ever closer to having her secret found out.Set squarely in Constantinople/Istanbul for most of the action, the reader is treated to an amalgamation of Clanker and Darwinist agendas that are as much at odds as they are balanced.The even writing makes this one easy book to gobble up while also being visually treated to the artistic stylings of Keith Thompson.

On top of the action, the characters feelings about their situations pervades more than in the first volume of the trilogy, but in an informative manner.Deryn, at odds with her desire to tell Alek that she's a girl, is growingly forced to confront the fact she's not like the rest of the crew on the Leviathan.And Alek, finally starting to find himself in a position to act in the war, must assume some level of leadership even if the people he's trying to influence aren't exactly cooperating as he'd like.And the eggs from the first book?Well, you'll find out soon enough, but that one's a nice little surprise that's still going to play out in the next book by the look of things.

A really solid volume that, in this reviewers opinion, is the rare example of a middle book in a trilogy being better than the first.Westerfeld is really hitting his stride and I, for one, cannot wait for the final volume.Very highly recommended for fans of steampunk, alternate history, and good reading. ... Read more