<![CDATA[Bleeding Kansas]]>

false <![CDATA[Bleeding Kansas]]> 50658 9 Set in the Kaw River Valley where Paretsky grew up, Bleeding Kansas is the story of the Schapens and the Grelliers, two farm families whose histories have been entwined since the 1850s, when their ancestors settled the valley as antislavery emigrants. Today, the Schapen family, terrified by the lawlessness of the 1970s-when Lawrence was the most violent college town in the nation-has turned to that old-time religion for security. The Schapens keep a close eye on all their neighbors, most especially the Grelliers. They maintain careful track of everyone's misdeeds, printing the most egregious on their family website. When Gina Haring, a Wiccan, moves into an empty farmhouse and starts practicing pagan rites, the family members are so outraged that they begin an active harassment campaign against the Wiccans. The Schapens worry, too, about who stands better with the Lord: their family or the Grelliers. When a Schapen cow gives birth to what may be a "Perfect Red Heifer"-needed if the temple is ever rebuilt in Jerusalem-the Schapens feel convinced that God is indeed smiling on them. Despite parental cautions, the Grelliers' teenagers are enraged by the Schapens. All their short lives, they and the young Schapens have fought. One particularly angry confrontation causes Chip Grellier to be expelled from school and consequentlyto join the army. Chip's death in Iraq is the catalyzing event for momentous changes in the lives of not only both the Schapens and the Grelliers but of all the families in the valley. The powerful, climactic scene at Gina Haring's Samhain bonfire will forever haunt the reader. 49472 1 1 2007 Bleeding Kansas total:338|5:39|4:94|3:127|2:56|1:22| 338 1086 502 141 4 2 false false Thu May 01 04:42:05 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 04:44:24 -0700 2008 3 1 false false Mon Nov 17 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 14:07:21 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 17 05:00:20 -0800 2008
I guess this is Paretsky's ode to her home. The cover promises a "gripping novel," a "strong and stark protrayal of the heart...more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Jan 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 07:07:30 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 07:17:43 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 16:18:53 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 16:27:14 -0800 2009
A long-time fan of Paretsky's VI Warshawski detective series, I was intrigued by this book's premise: connecting the pre-civil war strife in Kansas to mod...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 14 10:18:53 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 10:19:51 -0800 2009 Sara Paretsky. Bleeding Kansas. New York: G.P. Putman’s Sons, 2008.

Perfect summer reading. Decent writing. This, I think, is her first non-mystery. Gosh, what is the name of her woman detective - half-Polish, half-Italian...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 15:31:15 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 04 15:32:08 -0700 2009
Paretsky set this stand-alone novel in her own birthplace, Kansas. Throughout th...more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:53:49 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:53:49 -0800 2009 Fans of V. I. Warshawski, the gritty Chicago private eye, may be surprised to find her absent from Sara Paretsky's latest work. Paretsky grew up in the Kaw River Valley, and her affection for its countryside, people, and history shines throughout this novel. The regional and historical roots of Pare...

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This is a departure for Paretsky, taking place not in Chicago but in rural Ka...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat May 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 11:47:44 -0700 2009 Mon May 11 11:06:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jul 23 09:01:13 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 23 09:01:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 09:53:42 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 19:14:19 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 12 04:21:34 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 04:27:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 19:54:03 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 20:04:24 -0700 2009
This book takes a bit to get going but once it does, I for one was hooked. ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 07:33:40 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 17 08:25:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Feb 16 19:47:11 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 23 11:46:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Aug 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 08:44:45 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 17:11:53 -0700 2008 "The hardest thing about adolescence is that everything seems too big. There's no way to get context or perspective, ..... Pain and joy without limits. No one can live like that forever, so experience finally comes to our rescue. We co...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 21:53:53 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 01 21:58:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=50658