Chrissie has
3018 books
(179 selected)
—
compare books
|
stats
| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
date
|
date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.29
| 18,512
| Jun 15, 1992
| 2003
|
I listened to the audiobook format of this book, that means more than 54 hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Little content could have been remov...more
I listened to the audiobook format of this book, that means more than 54 hours, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Little content could have been removed. The narration by Nelson Runger was wonderful. I have complained about his slurping before, but the producers have removed the slurps. His steady clear pace perfectly matches the informative text. His intonation for Truman, was perfect, both the strength of his speeches in the presidency and his reflections, to-the-point remarks and sarcastic jokes of the elderly man. Our voice does change with age, and Runger has mastered this. (Some voices were, however, in my opinion, too low and ponderous.) At the end, and this is a book that covers all aspects of Truman’s life, from birth to death, i.e. 1884-1972, there were tears in my eyes. This is a book about a man dedicated to fighting for his beliefs, but he was a politician at heart. Keep in mind that I tend to instinctively distrust politicians. It is rather remarkable that I so loved this book. I will try to never again shy away from a book about politicians……well, at least such books written by John McCullough. Why did I love this book? You learn about American life and values as they were when America was still a land of pioneers to what it had become by the middle of the 20th Century. What the political parties stood for has changed dramatically with time. On completion of this book you have a thorough understanding of the American party system. You travel from an agrarian Midwest value mindset through WW1, the Depression, the New Deal, WW2, the emergence of atomic weapons, the birth of the UN and NATO, the Berlin blockade and successful airlift, the Cold War and McCarthyism, the focus on civil rights, the Korean War all the way up to Kennedy’s presidency. You follow this time-period through the life of a man living through its events, and a man who as president shaped many of these events. McCullough gives you a thorough understanding of all these events and a thorough understanding of the man Truman. It is an honest book that never shies away from the mistakes made. I wasn’t thrilled with Truman’s friendship and dependence upon Pendergast. I felt that Truman’s relationship with his wife was at first not adequately clarified. By the end I understood Truman, all of him. I believe I comprehend both his familial relationships and the value he put on friendships, which explain his relationship with Pendergast . You see both the good and the bad. I very much admire the strength and forthrightness of Truman who was at heart a marvelous politician. Yes, definitely a politician who fought for his party and made mistakes, but dam he tried his best. Always. He never shirked his responsibilities. He never ran away from a problem, but faced them head on. He was not infallible. I still don’t understand why they never had more children…… I was born in 1951. I understand now what my parents lived through and why they were who they were. I understand now what lead up to the world I was born into. I totally loved this book. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Apr 10, 2013
| Apr 20, 2013
|
Apr 05, 2013
| Audiobook
| |||||||||||||||||
| 1402530870
| 9781402530876
| 3.85
| 267,652
| 1939
| 2001
|
Anybody wanting to understand what life was like during the Depression should read this book. My maternal grandmother survived it. They lived in Kansa...more
Anybody wanting to understand what life was like during the Depression should read this book. My maternal grandmother survived it. They lived in Kansas. They ate grass. Those years changed my grandmother forever. I think I finally understand why she was who she. Steinbeck's novel is based on solid and extensive research, even if it is a book of fiction. I am in a pickle. I cannot tell you whether by the end I found it to be depressing. That would be a spoiler. I will say instead that how ever it ends, it is moving and engaging every bit of the way. Talk about resilient, generous, warm and wonderful people! The book is filled with humor. I personally do not understand how this book could in any way be a criticism of Okies! The contrary is true. It is if anything the Californians that are to be criticized, and the government for not adequately helping the migrants. On this issue the following two links are interesting. I want to thank my GR friend Kim for leading me to both. Banning of “Grapes of Wrath” in California: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st... Dislike of “Grapes of Wrath” in Oklahoma: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/en... I think this book by Steinbeck is fabulous, but the audiobook narrated by John Chancer is still better. When you listen to this you think you are at the movies. Each character has a special voice. This is an impressive performance which could in no way be improved upon. I strongly recommend that you listen to this book rather than read it. You don't listen to books? OK, then read it, but do it soon. I am not kidding, this is a MUST read!!! **************************** I just listened to chapter 15, another one of those chapters that some call boring! (Please see my previous entry "through chapter 13". I adored it. It is about a little "joint", a café on Route 66, the road that the Joad family is traveling from Oklahoma to California where there will be work and well-paid jobs and oranges to pick off the trees. Being one of those so-called "boring" chapters it wasn't about the Joads, but about Al and his wife and the truckers. As explained below some readers say these chapters are boring. Some also say this book is depressing, and I don't agree with that either. I define "not depressing" books as those that show how people who have nothing are still generous and kind. You should read this book just for this chapter. Not only do I like Al and his wife, but within this chapter is found the following line, a sign on their Route 66 café wall: "Ladies may smoke, but be careful where you put your butts." So are you crying or laughing? Is this depressing? Note, you have only read one line of this marvelous chapter. Well, what IS depressing is that I am sure some bad stuff will be happening. I am scared to death what may happen to these people. They aren't just anybody any more. I care for them, all of them! *********************** Through chapter 13: I am head over heels in love with this! Although the plight of Okies is movingly portrayed, life's small beauties and charms are ever present too. Everybody says this book is depressing. I do not find that so. For example, there is an « “ex-preacher” that says such wise things. This is about a family that is forced to move to California. The drought and the Depression have ruined them and all others. The land is emptied. The banks force the tenants off their land. But NEVERTHELESS, there is strength in these people. There is humor in the small things. Dogs in heat and a grandfather that is all bluster and cannot button up his fly, pajamas or underwear. These small things are in fact very amusing. Steinbeck builds the feeling of the time by interspersing the chapters about the family with chapters about what is happening around them. These chapters create a mood that makes you better see the total picture. For example, one of these diversionary chapters depicts a used car dealer. "Oh, if he only had more jalopies to sell...." then he would make some profit. Of course his mark-up is outrageously high. Yep, that truck he purchased for $10 and sold it for $50 AND the buyer additionally agreed to $10 payment for another 4 months. "Even if the family doesn't pay the monthly installments he has certainly hit the jackpot with that sucker," he raucously explains to us. "Everybody has to make a living somehow!" Right? By whatever means possible. It is eat or be eaten. That is the gist of this chapter. My words, not Steinbeck’s, except for that first quote. The chapter is filled with the owner's sales cries to his assistant and customers. Another is about a land-turtle crossing a road, his slow plodding passage forward. One is about the cornfields and how they are drying up. You see them shrivel. You see the blazing hot, red sun. Steinbeck can certainly string his words with the touch of an artist, a magician, a conjurer. Some might find these chapters unnecessary or distracting....or even boring. Me, I like them; they create a mood of that time and place. This is really how the Depression was for those living it. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Mar 03, 2013
| Mar 06, 2013
|
Feb 27, 2013
| Audio CD
| |||||||||||||||
| 0312147414
| 9780312147419
| 3.78
| 245
| 1995
| Oct 15, 1996
|
ETA: It bothers me that I don't explain more about the theme of the story, but I don't know how to explain without giving the whole thing away. In add...more
ETA: It bothers me that I don't explain more about the theme of the story, but I don't know how to explain without giving the whole thing away. In addition I am pretty darn sure that others may not interpret this story as I do. What I think is so tragic and beautiful at the same time is that the father, the photographer, being who he is and (view spoiler)[loving his wife beyond all else, simply HAD to take the photos he took of his wife. Those photos destroyed his wife and his relationship with her. (hide spoiler)] If you read this, please tell me if you react as I do? I love both HOW McCann writes and WHAT he has to say. ****************** With his shirt open to the third button, he turned around from the fireplace. His chest was a xylophone of bones sticking out against his skin. His face and arms still held some tan, but the veil of his throat was lost to whiteness and the remaining chest hairs curled, acolytes of gray. His neck was a sack of sag and his trousers were huge on him. Not to healthy for him to be out in the cold. Although it would be lovely if I could see him cast in the way he used to. Even when I detested him, there were times when I was astounded just to watch him cast, back when the river was alive. Those flicks of the wrist like so many fireflies on the bank. The hooks glinting on the lapel of his overcoat. The huge sadness of him disappearing as the rod ripped away. Him counting under his breath, “One, two , three, here we go.” Lassoing it to the wind. Brisk upward motion of the tip of the glass rod, sometimes drawing off the flies by false casting. Finally watching them curl out over the water, and plunk, reeling the surface into soft circles. Stomping his feet on the bank. Spitting out over the water. All sorts of hidden violence in the motion. He coughed again….. These lines are found within the first ½ hour of my listening to the audiobook reading by Paul Nugent. My breath was taken away. I couldn’t help but compare these lines with Steinbeck’s in his book “Travels with Charley”, also depicting a fisherman standing in Wellingtons in a river cluttered with garbage. McCann’s reference to garbage is to be found in the words “back when the river was alive” and a gate that slowed the stream’s tempo and reeds that grew along the embankment. Nugent’s timing, intonation and inflections make the Irish brogue come alive. For me this is pure poetry. And this is just one snippet. You should read McCann’s lines depicting coyotes. Steinbeck describes them too, but not like this! I should not compare, but how can I not?! Now I am going to keep my mouth shut and see if this caliber of writing can be sustained throughout the entire novel. The answer is yes. Astonishingly beautiful writing from start to finish. I would recommend that you listen to this because the narration was wonderful too. McCann never writes books about happy, simple situations, but he shows beauty and hope. This book ends with a huge salmon leaping high over the brook and the line: "Let this joy last itself into the night." The lines are exquisite. His message too, but this is no fairy tale. This book is about a son trying to understand his parents, their relationship and how he fits in. His mother is Mexican, father Irish and a photographer. He fought in the Spanish Civil War. The son travels to all these places and through his father’s photos and his own memories he seeks to understand the past. Sex is both cruel and glorious, that is my only hint. I understood why each, the mother, the father and the son, felt and behaved as they did. Love and sorrow. Good memories and regrets. When you look at your own parents and your relationship to them don't you too see love and sorrow all jumbled together? Readers’ circumstances will be different but we can all recognize the emotions. This is my favorite book by Colum McCann! I only have one more book left to read by him: Fishing the Sloe-Black River. I will read this next. I have only one complaint: I want more, longer books and more of them. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Mar 21, 2013
| Mar 22, 2013
|
Feb 19, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 1556906862
| 9781556906862
| 4.08
| 4,249
| 1981
| Sep 01, 1992
|
W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L S*T*O*R*Y !!!!!! First I read A Morbid Taste for Bones, and yeah I liked it. Then I listened to the dramatization version on BBC Radi...more W*O*N*D*E*R*F*U*L S*T*O*R*Y !!!!!! First I read A Morbid Taste for Bones, and yeah I liked it. Then I listened to the dramatization version on BBC Radio of The Virgin in the Ice. Njah, I really wasn't turned on. BUT, dear Gundula, told me to try another, so I did! I tried St. Peter's Fair. Now that was really, really good! I read a book by another author and just had to return to Ellis Peters. And then I read this: The Leper of Saint Giles. Superb, wonderful, fantastic. All the things I liked about "St. Peter's Fair" I also liked about this book too. So to get a full picture please read my review of that here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... What I want to add here is that the author's words used to describe the English medieval world are beautiful and perfect. I didn't stress this adequately in my review of the previous book. Taste these lines about the countryside filled with - "richly wooded countryside" and "lush meadows" and "heads of trees" nodding before her or here "He had eyes like pebbles under a sun-lit brook, as hard and dear and as fluid and elusive in their glance..." (from chapters four and five) "Plentiful timber of all kinds too for the wheelwright's stock. Elm essential for the stock. Oak to provide the cleft heartwood for the spokes with the grain unbroken and springy, subtle ash to make the curved fallows of the rim wood." (Chapter 8) And when the action gets into full swing, there is ..."the blade flashing in the torchlight!" (Chapter 10) I like how every element of the story is neatly tied up. I like how the events build to a crescendo, and then when you think you have reached the climax there is even more to the story! The murders pile up! I like how the women have strength, and when they get mad they really speak their mind. Agnes proclaims: "But you have not reckoned with me!" No characters added to the story are superfluous; each one has a specific role to play. But what I loved best was the story, the mystery itself. I loved how it was solved. I loved every bit of it, how it all held together, and how I kept guessing to the very end. With the final words, I understood every single event! All the parts held together perfectly. This is a piece of perfect storytelling, from start to finish. And oh yes, you also learn about how leprosy was viewed back then in the medieval ages. This one gets five stars from me. The narration by Johanna Ward was spot-on! Just perfect! No distracting background noise this time! I am off to read another by this great author! Immediately. The next will be: The Sanctuary Sparrow!(less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Jan 19, 2013
| Jan 20, 2013
|
Jan 16, 2013
| Audio
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0743572432
| 9780743572439
| 4.20
| 68,868
| May 01, 2001
| Jan 29, 2008
|
I haven’t read a book this good in years! I cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this book. This is a book about a man, John Adams, but it is also...more I haven’t read a book this good in years! I cannot imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy this book. This is a book about a man, John Adams, but it is also much, much more. It is a book about American Independence, the American Revolution and all the Founding Fathers, the seven most important being George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, George Madison and Benjamin Franklin. The book follows all the events from the Declaration of Independence and the Revolution, through the presidencies of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Madison, James Monroe and finally John Adams’ son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president! This is a book about people, each very different in character, but the author brings each one of them to life. I adore learning about people. I loved the book for this reason alone. You understand how the individuals think, what they feared, what they loved, what made each one special. You understand their differences. It is the little details that will make you LOVE this book. John Adams, this guy wrote volumes in the margins of his books. Jefferson loved his books too, but rarely did he write in them. The relationship between these two men is extraordinary. John Adams relationship with his wife Abigail is extraordinary too! I love how it taught me history, and it was never ever boring. I don’t read books about politics, but this book is definitely about politics, and I adored it! I normally avoid books on politics because I find them confusing. Why? Because for me politics doesn’t follow the rules of logic. A party claims they stand for a given set of principles, but then the politicians do not follow these principles. The result is that I get confused. A central theme is, and particularly John Adams presidency and the following election where he sought his second term but lost it to Jefferson, was a battle of politics, and yet I understood exactly what was happening. This book is clear, informative and presents a balanced view of all the prime players. John Adams by David McCullough is stupendous. I cannot help but compare it with Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, which I recently read and loved, but Isaacson’s book doesn’t come near to McCullough’s. John Adams wrote letters to all his contemporaries, to newspapers, public officials, friends and his dear wife Abigail. He kept diaries. John Adams was opinionated. Jefferson and Franklin were close-mouthed! After his presidency, when he was much older, Adams wrote copious letters to his dear friend and previous arch-enemy, Jefferson. Adams is the person to follow if you are interested in learning about American Independence, American life in the colonies during the 1700s and about France and England and Holland too, about the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. It is all here and it is all interesting. Every page has quotes. Don’t assume that this makes the book dry and difficult to read. The opposite is true! You learn about the peculiarities of all the important Founding Fathers. Jefferson bought and bought and bought. He couldn’t stop buying. It is the way the author depicts these small idiosyncrasies that will make you laugh out loud! Jefferson lists all that he buys, but the funniest is that the columns and columns of purchased items are never added up. Never. Both Adams and Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, fifty years after the Declaration of Independence!!!!! Guess which one was wealthy then! I REALLY love this book and I want you to understand that this is the book to choose if you have any curiosity about any of the Founding Fathers, about American Independence or about life in Europe during the 1700s and early 1800s. Have I convinced you to choose this book? Here is another reason why! The descriptions of the people, places and events are vivid! When the British ships are set to attack at Staten Island you see them in the sun and you feel the imminent threat. At Washington's inauguration he travels in a canary yellow carriage pulled by white horses. I am skipping all over the place, I know, but the descriptive quality of the lines is perfect throughout the entire book. I personally adored the depiction of French, English and Dutch mores. I adored how family problems are described so you laugh. Charles, one of Adams’ sons, had some difficulties in Harvard and almost got thrown out. Yes, they were running around naked. But wait, you will cry too when you learn of his final fate. “Moral” and so very devoted to his wife as Adams is, you should hear his conversation with the French women! “Instincts” will show us what to do, he replies to a tricky question about men and women’s sexual behavior! :0) This reply is just so perfect; it is so “Adamsee”! And Hamilton, oh what he does! I could wring his neck! All the details are amusing, engaging, thorough, and accurate. When I compare Isaacson’s versus McCullough’s portrait of Benjamin Franklin, I feel that McCullough’s is superior. His is unbiased and clear-sighted. An author may not “fall in love” with the character being portrayed; impartiality is essential. So here is my advice: read John Adams first! The two are similar, but this one is superior. Read Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin: An American Life afterwards if you then still want a little bit more about Franklin’s scientific inventions. Nelson Runger is the narrator of both of the audiobooks. Yes, he slurps and seems to need to swallow his saliva repeatedly, but there is less of that in McCullough’s book. His French pronunciation could definitely be improved, but otherwise the narration is fine. Don’t shy away from either audiobook for these reasons. The narration’s speed and clarity is fine, and that is what is most important. I really did enjoy Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, but I absolutely loved John Adams! And I think I sort of have a crush on John Adams, even with his faults! What a man! What a time! What writing! (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Feb 04, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
Dec 24, 2012
| Audio CD
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1602832439
| 9781602832435
| 3.88
| 1,367
| Jan 01, 2003
| Jul 30, 2008
|
This is fiction, but based on the true life events of the famed Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993). Through fiction the author attempts...more
This is fiction, but based on the true life events of the famed Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993). Through fiction the author attempts to show readers not only the external facts of Nureyev’s life but also how he perceived his own life. We are not so much told his inner thoughts, motivations and feelings, but we watch what he does and follow the crazed, hyped celebrity life and the frenzied gay-scene that lead to his death by AIDS. He defected Russia in 1961. We see how this impacted his own life and the lives of those left behind. In this book we are shown, not told. What is shown to us is NOT pleasant. I am sure you know of his promiscuous behavior. There is sex and drugs aplenty. This is not a comforting read, no fairy tale. If that is what you want, then look elsewhere. We see Rudi’ s life through the eyes of both those closest to him and those who only brushed shoulders with him, through famed entities such as Jacqueline Onassis, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Erik Buhn, Margot Fonteyn and through fictional characters too. There is no author’s note stating explicitly what is fiction and what is fact, but I am convinced that Colum McCann has mirrored Nureyev’s world accurately. I did shore up the facts by reading Wikipedia. I learned much through the fictional characters. They gave depth to the story; some of them I grew to love (Odil and Tom and Anna, to name but three.) Having read this book, I feel I have lived next to Nureyev through his childhood, all the way to his death, ending with a final auction of his possessions. Each episode had a message, none were superfluous. I found neither the sex nor his final illness too explicit; I felt the electricity in the air, the dizzying pace, his fight for perfection in his dance and the sensuality of ballet. Don’t expect the life of a true artist to be anything but violent. The audiobook has five different narrators, named below. In one chapter the reader hops form one character to another, without warning, but I was never confused. The audiobook’s narrators did not correspond to one specific character. You could not assume that if you heard one voice you knew which character was speaking sine there were many more characters than the five audiobook narrators. The only narrator I was not happy with was Jessica Almasy. Her voice was too sweet, too childish! All the others were great, and Suzanne Toren was f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c!!! Is she my favorite narrator? There is a brutal chapter filled with sex and drugs, read by one of the male narrators. That too, with its staccato pulse, perfectly created the world of Nureyev at that time. I believe that listening to the audiobook further enhances the reading experience. The tempo, the dialects, the intonations create an atmosphere that carries the reader beyond the written words. I feel I know now what moved, motivated and pushed Rudolph Nureyev. I feel I understand him. I pity him and I admire him. Both. When I look at his life I look at it with disgust and admiration. I think the author has done a tremendous job. The way Colum McCann has mixed fact with fiction is really amazing. Five stars. ******************** I have just begun my third book by Colum McCann. It won’t be my last. I cannot get enough of his writing. It is fantastic. Why? Well, because he mixes the tragedy of life with humor and beauty. I have just experienced WW2 in Ufa, Russia. The horror of war is painted on a tableau. Next to this are also people laughing, the wonders of a warm bath, the glint of an eye and the sounds of a balalaika and singing. I can't take the horrors of the earlier tableau if I am not given the happiness too. I love seeing both so beautifully depicted one next to the other. Life IS beautiful if we just pay attention and look and listen and smell. What writing! Is this my favorite author? I am listening to an audiobook with superb narration by several narrators, men and women who expertly pronounce the Russian dialect. Their names are: Jonathan Davis, Nick Pauling, Jessica Almasy, Marc Vietor and Suzanne Toren. All of them are new to me except Suzanne Toren who did a great job narrating Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader. I am so glad I have a long-listen ahead of me, more than 12hours. :0) (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Dec 17, 2012
| Dec 19, 2012
|
Oct 18, 2012
| MP3 Book
| |||||||||||||||
| 142809590X
| 9781428095908
| 4.13
| 15
| 2007
| unknown
|
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26884 has the Gutenberg link, if I can figure out how to do it.... Here is the webpage, which might be simpler: http://...more http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26884 has the Gutenberg link, if I can figure out how to do it.... Here is the webpage, which might be simpler: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26884/... Thanks, Steelwhisper! This short collection of vignettes, written by an American nurse, is based on her service at field hospitals in Belgium during WW1. It speaks volumes about the reality of that war and about the absurdity of all wars. This book should be read by all who want to know what that war really was like. Ellen Newbold La Motte was deeply moved by her experiences. What you read is deeply cynical. This cynicism is absolutely appropriate. Her message rings loud and clear. (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Oct 12, 2012
| Oct 12, 2012
|
Oct 11, 2012
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0061671789
| 9780061671784
| 3.92
| 1,250
| Jan 01, 2009
| Jan 27, 2009
|
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, from the first paragraph to the last. It never sagged. This is a story about a couple, Ella and J...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, from the first paragraph to the last. It never sagged. This is a story about a couple, Ella and John Robina. They have been married over fifty years. They are both in their eighties. Both are sick: John with Alzheimer’s and Ella with cancer. So they must decide what to do with their lives. Yes, Ella was sure! They needed a vacation. What could be better than to take Route 66 again, that route that they so often traveled when they were young and the family was four, before the kids left home? While they travel they haul out their projector and slides and look again at their lives. They have cocktails, grill their food, snooze, take little naps and drive all the way to Disneyland in California. She has her little blue pills. Does that sound sad and depressing? Yes, I supposed it might, but think, they are both in their eighties and they have had good lives. It is not hard to believe that the book could prove to be thoughtful and down-to-earth and wise. But the author goes one step further and makes it very, very funny. I laughed on every page. I did. You laugh and you smile and you shed a melancholic tear occasionally. Mostly you laugh and maybe think a teeny bit about how you want to live your own life. The message is not all that astounding. What is astounding is the humor embedded in the story. Yes, I really did laugh out loud and exclaim as the events unfolded. You see the book is more about living and enjoying life than about its end. Ella and John and the characters they meet on their travels are very ordinary people. The conversations are so classically ordinary that you cannot help but smile. There is quite a bit of irony in the humor. I listened to the audiobook. The narration, by Judith West, was superb. Ella’s voice was of a spunky old woman, and John had a crusty, solid baritone. When the narrator spoke for them it felt like I was overhearing a true conversation between two old geezers. When I think now of Ella, I know how she sounds and that is Ella. The same is true of John. Voice says a lot about a person. The narration gets five stars. So why only four stars for the book? Well because the situation is in fact not extraordinary. It felt so real, such a perfect description of two old geezers. Does that means it is worth five stars? To perfectly capture this old couple, their lives and their dialogs, their sorrows and happiness and fear? It is all there. It is just a personal thing, I think; I would more readily give a book filled with real facts, that is also engagingly written, five stars. My head tells me this is all wrong. Maybe it is the author that builds a story from nothing, that creates with his words an imaginary world, that seems genuinely real that is the most talented? I did enjoy every minute listening to this audiobook. Heck I will give it five. Why not? It is not amazing, but I really did love it. I didn’t just like it a lot. It was better than that. ****************** I am currently listening to the audiobook: The Leisure Seeker. It is fabulous. Why? Because every line is perfect. Every dam line. I do not think I am going to write a review, I am just sucking it all up. I cannot copy that sentence and that sentence and that. Take my word for it. Read the book description and just trust me on this. Read this book. I listened to the audiobook. You can also go to Audible, write in the title and listen to the sample. This book will have you smiling. It is true, I have just begun, so I cannot be sure about the ending. OK, maybe I will say something on completion. This is still on sale at Audible for USD4.16. Narration by Judith West. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Sep 02, 2012
| Sep 05, 2012
|
Aug 24, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1433270714
| 9781433270710
| 4.09
| 5,698
| 1997
| Apr 01, 2009
|
I highly recommend this book. All have heard of the icon Che Guevara (May 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967). This book shows you who he really was. His char...more
I highly recommend this book. All have heard of the icon Che Guevara (May 14, 1928 – October 9, 1967). This book shows you who he really was. His character, his weaknesses and strengths, his life-philosophy and goals, all of this is covered in this book. It is meticulously researched and full of exclusive information, for example previously unavailable information gathered from his second wife. It follows his life chronologically through to his death. After his death, in the epilogue, the lives of his siblings, parents, children and wives are chronicled too. This book is comprehensive. His characteristics are exemplified through his deeds. You are not merely told that he is “a man of principle”, but you are shown how his deeds make him that. I admire Che Guevara and yet he went too far. At least in my opinion. He certainly wanted to help others. He certainly demanded high standards of others, but he demanded the same of himself. This book is also about the ideals of socialism. It is about communism and how the Russian and Chinese diverge. It is about the guerrilla warfare. The book is about how these political ideologies spread in Latin America. You learn of how these ideologies played out in all of Latin America, not just in the country of his birth, Argentina, not just in Cuba, but in Nicaragua and Guatemala and Peru and Bolivia and Mexico. The history of all of Latin America from the 30s through the 60s is delineated. Why? Because he had a hand in much of it. You learn of the fight for socialism in the Congo too. I am usually not interested in politics. But Che had such devotion to his principles that his enthusiasm spreads and you understand why he does what he does, even if it all goes too far in the end. The author made me understand how Che reasoned. And Che knew his own faults. You see in this book how people change and how they don’t change. How wonderful ideals can get all messed up. I feel I know who Che Guevara is after reading this book. I learned a lot about Latin American history. Through his life I became very interested in this history. There are a lot of names and historical facts that will disappear from my head, but something will fasten. I listened to an audiobook. The narration, by Armando Durán, was superb. He could read the facts with an appropriate tone. Equally well he made the reader understand Che’s emotions. Beware, this is a very long audiobook - 36 hours and 48 minutes! I found all of it compelling. To really know who Che is you must hear the details. These facts are not boring. The pronunciation of the Spanish names I found difficult to “spell out”. I couldn’t even see them because I had no book in front of me and they are pronounced fluently. Nevertheless I did remember most of who all these people were. Don’t ask me to write out their names because I cannot, but I did recognize who was who as I listened. You must know that Che was really called Ernesto. Che means “you, there”! He used to say that all the time to others. That is why others started calling him that. He was trained as a doctor. When he was young he was not at all interested in politics. He had terrible asthma. Can you imagine fighting as a guerrilla with asthma in humid climates? These are just a smattering of some interesting tidbits. No, I don’t believe in communism. No, I don’t believe in guerrilla warfare. I still admire Che Guevara. He is a fascinating person. If he didn’t know something, he set himself to learn it. I will put an end to this…..I cannot go on and on telling you about him. I highly recommend this book, but give yourself the time to read it properly. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Aug 19, 2012
| Aug 30, 2012
|
Aug 12, 2012
| MP3 Book
| |||||||||||||||
| 0062077562
| 9780062077561
| 3.76
| 2,412
| Aug 29, 2011
| Feb 07, 2012
|
This is the kind of historical fiction I so very much love. You learn history and at the same time feel the emotions of the people who live through th...more
This is the kind of historical fiction I so very much love. You learn history and at the same time feel the emotions of the people who live through the historical events. I would suggest reading Sebastian Barry’s A Long Long Way and then continuing with this book by Anna Funder. Barry’s book takes you to the trenches of Belgium during WW1. WW1 is the basis for what happens in Germany leading up to Hitler and WW2.The people who are the prime protagonists in Funder’s book lived through WW1 and were shaped by it. They were pacifists and became socialist activists who sought to prevent Hitler’s rise to power. You cannot understand one event without understanding what came before. You have to feel in your gut what those who lived through WW1 felt. Funder’s book of historical fiction is based on true events and real people. The author has gone beneath the events and depicted the emotional underpinnings of these people’s lives. It is the emotions that Funda has imagined, drawing from her in-depth study of the known facts. I cannot recommend these two books more highly. When I read a wonderful book of historical fiction I need to know exactly what is true and what imagined. Half-way through I was going crazy because search in Wikipedia did not provide all the answers. My GR friend Jennifer helped me find the link about Dora. She pointed out an interview with the author, where she speaks of what she intended to achieve with this novel. Please take the time to read this interview. This interview is worth reading: http://www.readings.com.au/news/q-a-w... Funder’s book revolves around the lives of five people: Playwright Ernst Toller: Information about Ernst Toller is accessible at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_To... Information about the German Revolution of 1918-1919 may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_R... Activist Dora Fabian(1901-1935): http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1... Ruth Becker: This figure is based on the real person, Ruth Blatt (née Koplowitz) (1906-2001). She was a friend of the author. In the book Ruth is fictitiously said to be Dora’s cousin. http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/I... Hans Wesemann (1895-1971) was a real person too. See the second section of this link: https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/... As was Berthold Jacob (1898-1944): http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthold... The three central characters are Toller, Ruth and Dora. Dora, she was loved by both Toller and Ruth. What they share is not only their love for Dora but also common political beliefs. There are two narrators, Toller speaking from NY in 1939, and Ruth from Sydney in 2011. It is these two people who tell you about Dora and what their fellow activists did. You will find out what they did, why, and how and who was betrayed….. and by whom. The events are very exciting. As mentioned, the time periods are different, and there are flash backs. You do have to pay attention, if only because you are so drawn in that you want to pay close attention. You want to understand what actually happened and you want to understand how these people felt, what motivated them and why they chose to make the decisions they made. You care because the events are gripping and the author has excellently imagined their internal, emotional struggles. I listened to the audiobook narrated by two people Judy Bennett for Ruth and Saul Reichlin for Toller. This makes it easier to understand who is speaking. Ruth is an elderly, frail woman in her nineties, and she sounds it. Toller’s narration is equally superb. When the two narrators impersonate another person, this is equally convincing. I have zero quibbles with the narration. However, there was no author’s note at the end of the book. I am not sure if this is lacking only from the audio version or if it also is lacking from the paper book. This is why the links above are essential, at least from my point of view. In addition, I was not patient enough to wait to the end to even find out if there was an author’s note! To be clear: the events are extremely interesting and exciting. The relationships between the figures feel so real. There is love, real love portrayed in this book. The love relationships are messy….. There is betrayal and disappointment and fear. I believe the author has succeeded with what she intended to do, as described in the interview above! She succeeds because she is a talented writer. I have also read, enjoyed and learned from her book Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall. That is one reason why I picked this book up! And how does she succeed in making these characters into real people that live and breathe? Of course, it is through her prose, through her choice of words. The characters are believable and fascinating. This is due to the author’s ability to intrigue us with what they do and say and think. Ruth, as a child, is living with Dora’s family as she recuperates from scarlet fever. Dora has a box camera. In this home, which is not home, Ruth is tantalized by this camera: It fascinated me: a box with an eye. I held it to my chest and looked down into the small glass. Everything was contained there, in round miniature . Her (Dora’s) steel-framed bed and white counterpane. A tottering pile of books on the floor next to it. I sensed the instant layer of protection between me and the world. I could be looking down but seeing straight ahead. Most of all I liked the way it gave me a reason to be looking. And what she snaps on that camera is interesting too: I got cook’s floury hands on the ceramic mixing bowl. And once, Dora’s face so close I caught the flickering mahogany lights of her iris. A pigeon on my window-ledge turned into a gray blur of speed on the print. These words so well illustrate how Ruth felt living there in her relatives’ house, her sense of being an outsider no matter how kind they were to her. I am drawn to books where the writer intrigues me with such images. I prefer such subtleties over blatant ordinary descriptions. What the protagonists are concerned with interests me. Listen to these thoughts of Ruth: In those days we believed of freedoms of every kind. So many boys had died in the war that we knew that life was short and cheap. There was no point not loving when the occasion arose. Those hippies of the 60s and 70s seemed so tame and vane to me. So derivative! They marched for peace but had never really known war. They confused the freedom simply to have sex with the freedom for one’s sex not to matter. I am doubly interested when I hear this. I have been reading about WW1. There is so much in this book that relates to that experience. What followed the war? How did the war change people’s behavior afterwards? Also, I am a child of the hippie era. Her thoughts are so true here too. We didn’t fight in any war! We knew nothing of it. It is true too that we fought primarily for the right to have sex, when and where we pleased. The freedom for sex not to matter, that came later. There are glorious lines like this: We lied on sand so clean it squeaked. Or …too busy exhausting myself by not sleeping. Or I don’t know how much freedom the heart can bear. A book with such lines will always draw me in, regardless of the central theme. Here that theme is the political climate between the two wars, real people who shaped history and their fight to make Hitler’s intentions known outside Germany. What more can you ask for? Superb characterizations. Well, you get that too. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Sep 11, 2012
| Sep 19, 2012
|
Jul 07, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
|
| 0030297354
| 9780030297359
| 5.00
| 6
| Jun 1978
| Jun 28, 1978
|
I loved this when I read it as a child.
| Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| not set
| not set
|
Jun 26, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| B00375PP4Q
| 4.05
| 6,481
| 2004
| Feb 16, 2010
|
This is a book that can and should be read by everyone, at least all with the slightest interest in world history. I feel this so adamantly since what...more
This is a book that can and should be read by everyone, at least all with the slightest interest in world history. I feel this so adamantly since what it tells us does away with serious misconceptions about the Mongol Empire. It explains in a clear and comprehensible manner how the world we live in today has been improved by Mongol practices. It is stated that the book is revisionary, but I believe wholeheartedly in what we are told. It is clear and thoroughly documented. What we are told just plain makes sense! The author is a cultural anthropologist and historian. The book begins with a discussion about the life of Genghis Khan (1162-1227), follows his successors, offering detailed information both about Kublai Khan and powerful women of the clan, discussing the formation of the Mongol nation in 1206, the squabbling that arose between the successive leaders and concludes with a convincing analysis of how the Mongol Empire has influenced today’s world. We all think of the Mongols as barbarians that wrought havoc on the world. Few of us are aware of how they opened the world to commerce. They opened new trade routes, not only of physical goods but for the transmission of ideas and cultures. I am daunted because I cannot adequately express how this book has so changed how I view world history. I used to praise the new ideas espoused during the Enlightenment, but did you know that Voltaire drew a picture of the savage, blood-thirsty Mongols that served their own purposes and created a one-sided view that hid the truth. Chaucer praised Genghis Kahn and Marco Polo did the same for Kublai Kahn; When Christopher Columbus sailed west it was to look for Cathay, to reconnect with the fantastic trade routes established by the Mongols. I could go on and on showing how what we have been told about these so-called barbarians just doesn’t quite add up! What is explained here in this book makes sense and it changes how we understand today’s modern world. Did you know that Genghis Kahn made the capital of his Chinese Empire present day Beijing in 1266 and that that the Forbidden City was a huge park filled with wild animals where the Mongol leaders lived in ghers/yurts? Here in this enclosed area the Mongol leaders lived according to their own Mongol traditions. They ate their traditional foods, ate with knives, which the Chinese found abhorrent, drank fermented mare’s milk and practiced their own sports and games, so foreign to the Chinese culture around them. Did you know that “hooray” is based on a Mongol expression of exuberance? Did you know that Columbus called the red-skinned natives he encountered when he landed on the islands off the American mainland Indians because he thought he had met up with the Mongols living south of the Chinese Mongols, the Mongols of India? That is why Native Americans originally were called Indians. There is so much in this book that makes sense, it is like putting together all the pieces of a puzzle and everything fits! Kublai Kahn supported universal education with classes held in the colloquial language. Paper money was invented by the Chinese, but he saw its practicality and radically expanded its usage. Under his rule China attained its Golden Age of Drama. Medical knowledge, textile production, printing techniques, basically all areas of knowledge that were practical and useful were supported and transported to new areas around the world. Under the Mongol rule there was religious freedom. In the 1200s, think of that! I listened to the audiobook narrated by Jonathan Davis. His pronunciation of Mongol terms is clear. The pacing is perfect. This is essential in a book of non-fiction. Along with the download one is given pdf files of maps and diagrams. One difficulty that I had, when I searched on the net for further information, was that often more than one name was used for the same person. It is also difficult to recognize Mongol names. This is easier if you can both see and hear them. It is time that we begin to acknowledge the good things Genghis Kahn and Kublai Kahn have given us. Read this book and you will stop using the word “Mongolian” as a word of slander. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 04, 2013
| May 08, 2013
|
Jun 03, 2012
| Audiobook
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0739366246
| 9780739366240
| 3.95
| 9,894
| Jan 01, 2008
| May 06, 2008
|
Every sentence is worth listening to. Every word. Why read another book about the horror of World War II? Because it teaches us why life is worth livi...more Every sentence is worth listening to. Every word. Why read another book about the horror of World War II? Because it teaches us why life is worth living. I would change nothing about this book. Nothing! I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Mark Bramhall. The narration is slow, but it should be slow so you can think about every word, and ponder what those words mean, consider what we think ourselves. Would this happen, this way? Would I react similarly? Could he behave any differently? You can see from the book description that this is about a small group of disparate refugees - a German gentile blond haired girl and her mother and brother of ten, an English prisoner of war and a Jew disguised as a German officer – crossing Germany from east to west in the final day of the war. Running from the Russians, the Germans and what fate has in store for them. Each character represents a different cultural / political stamp. Each carries their own baggage. Every action they take is molded by their history and where they come from. And yet each one is a person and that binds them / unites them. And that is why we readers can relate to this book, because we are all people like them. If I say to you - remember The Invisible BridgeBridge. That is a book about the war that everyone loves. Well this is better, by far. There isn’t one unnecessary word in this book. Please read this book. I have no question in my mind whether it deserves five stars. Yes, it does, without a doubt. Beautiful prose, lots to think about, humor, realistic plot line, perfect beginning and ending. Never does it drag, not for one second. Please read this book. Or listen to it. Read it or listen to itsoon. Choose it for your very next book! Please. Barbara, you pushed me to read this book. I owe you big time. Thank you! (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Jun 15, 2012
| Jun 23, 2012
|
May 28, 2012
| Audio
| |||||||||||||||
| 1469200171
| 9781469200170
| 3.63
| 73
| Apr 17, 2012
| Apr 17, 2012
|
5 stars Wow, I loved this ! I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nick Podehl. His narration did not add anything to the book, but neither did it det...more 5 stars Wow, I loved this ! I listened to the audiobook narrated by Nick Podehl. His narration did not add anything to the book, but neither did it detract. What gave the book five stars is the book’s content. This is a story about real people and real events. You will learn about Czar Nicholas I and others of the Russian court. The events occur in the 1830s-1850s. You learn about the conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Turks, the Austrians and Western European countries, but most importantly you learn about the conflict between the Russians of Christian Orthodox faith and the Muslims of Chechnya and Dagestan. You will learn not only the historical details, but even more intriguing is what you learn about the personalities of Nicholas and his family and about the Imam Shamil, the Lion of Dagestan, and his son Jamal Eddin. The main characters are Nicholas, Shamil and Jamal Eddin. You do have to pay attention to the names. You know that Russian names can be confusing and the Caucasian ones are also unfamiliar to a western ear. I think I read that the paper book has family trees. Seriously, I had no difficulty keeping track of who is who because there are not a lot of extraneous characters. The important ones you recognize. Remember I listened to this and that is harder. What the narrator did do was speak clearly and slowly so you could understand the names, although his impersonations of some of the children and women were kind of funny sometimes. These few complaints do not detract enough to warrant choosing the paper over the audio version. Look at the title. It is perfect. This is a story about choosing between doing what is honorable or following your heart. You will learn fascinating details about the personalities of the main characters. You will earn about the ancient conflict that existed between the peoples of the Caucasus and the Russians; this is particularly fascinating given that the conflict continues today. Love is clearly a central theme, but it is not melodramatically played out. If you want that, choose another book. The author beautifully describes both the landscape of the Caucasus and the court life in St. Petersburg. The description of the balls and clothing and customs, they are all to be found within these pages. You learn about Caucasian beliefs and customs too. The contrast between these two worlds is played out in the events of the story and the lives of the principle characters. This is a story where the events will pull you in. This is a book of historical fiction, but it follows the known historical facts. It is true. The research is impeccable. Real history is more fascinating than fiction. I dare you to read this and not be drawn into the story. I dare you to close the cover and be left unmoved. Even the epilogue will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens to the individuals after the story has ended. Even the epilogue delivers a punch. All I can say is WOW. I want to read more by this author. She most often writes about real people. I have previously read [book:Fanny Stevenson: A Romance of Destiny|933707 by this author. I gave it four stars ; I do not think it is quite as good as this one. My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Oct 10, 2012
| Oct 16, 2012
|
May 16, 2012
| MP3 CD
| |||||||||||||||
| 1440762341
| 9781440762345
| unknown
| 3.88
| 41,600
| Jun 23, 2009
| 2009
|
I just finished Let the Great World Spin. WOW, I loved this book. You read it for the words, the thoughts that arise in you as you listen. You do not...more
I just finished Let the Great World Spin. WOW, I loved this book. You read it for the words, the thoughts that arise in you as you listen. You do not read this book for the plot. Maybe even parts are implausible, but that does not lessen the impact of the words. You cannot understand every line as you listen. Impossible. This is a book about life and how it whirls around you and how everything and everyone is interconnected. How can I describe this book..... it is poetry that does not rhyme. If I extract a few lines to show you, you will miss their import. They are part of the context, each line related to the next. Just as people are... Absolutely excellent narration. Some stories are fun. Some are sad. You get a perfect balance. You will not understand more if you read the paper book. To understand you have to stop and think and each one of us will come up with a different explanation. There is no right explanation. Do not be scared to read this book because you hear that is composed of different stories. It is, but they do all relate to each other. By the end you have learned about the lives of several disparate characters, maybe not every detail, but who they really are, what motivates and moves them. You see life and death and growth and disintegration and the world spins on with us little specks on the surface. But regardless of our smallness, we are each one of us important to each other. I loved this book. There are many other reviews out there. If you want to know the factual details of who does what and the role of each character, read another review. Me, I do not advise reading this book for its plot. I will just say this: Philippe Petit and his tightrope act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, that is today now long gone, really did happen in NYC in 1974. The rest is wonderful, imaginative fiction. ****************** Narrators: Richard Poe, Gerard Doyle, Carol Monda, Johanna Parker, Ramon de Ocampo, Chris Sorensen, Patricia R. Floyd, Jim Frangione, Alma Cuervo, Lizan Mitchell, and Cherise Boothe. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Oct 17, 2012
| Oct 24, 2012
|
May 05, 2012
| Audio CD
| ||||||||||||||
| 0062124617
| 9780062124616
| unknown
| 4.00
| 1,342
| Jan 01, 2012
| Apr 24, 2012
|
On completion: Never was I bored when I listened to this book. Never was I confused by the facts. The balance between historical detail and personal fa...more On completion: Never was I bored when I listened to this book. Never was I confused by the facts. The balance between historical detail and personal family events was perfect. I enjoyed that the history of Czechoslovakia during the war was thoroughly covered as well as what happened to her family. I adored learning about Madeleine as a child....she was no angel and what she tells us is often very funny. She got a D minus in geography! OK, that was when she was still very young, so we can forgive this. She throws in humor so often. She poses philosophical questions and analyzes historical events. She doesn't always have all the answers to every question, but then we consider, along with her, the possible alternatives. I am truly impressed with the historical detail she has taught me and my delight with the learning process. This book shows how learning can be fun. Historical figures, such as Edward Benes(President) and Jan Mazaryk(Foreign Minister) and his father,Thomas Mazaryk(President), and Albright's family, particularly herself and her father, feel like people I know. I know more than just what they did. I have an idea of what makes them who they are. For me this book was wonderful. It is interesting, instructive, funny and moving. A great book. It is not often that so much detail can be absorbed when you listen to a book. It is amazing. I must give it five stars. ETA: couple more funny things...... When Madeleine was little she was told to give water to their chickens. She grabbed a milk bottle and filled it with water and gave that to them. Her mother asked hos she expected the chickens to drink from that. She replied that chickens have long necks. And do you know that the V1s used in the Blitz were called "bubble and squeak" or how Albright came to wear a large emerald ring with surrounding inset diamonds to Tito's funeral? The book will tell you. Thoughts while reading/listening: This is really, really good. It is much more history about WW2 than memoir. Albright does an excellent job of explaining history. All is very clear and interesting and amusing too since she throws in funny jokes. It is true that the main focuses are European and Czech and British and American. This is understandable. Here is one example of a joke: Mussolini and Hitler were on the phone. Mussolini was not able to take over Greece and in general was unable to move forward. So he says to Hitler, "This telephone connection is bad. Where are you? In Britain?" You see Hitler hadn't managed to knock out London in the Blitz. So of course, Hitler was NOT in Britain..... I am not saying this as well as Albright does. She reads her own book and probably because she knows how to speak she does a fine job. I really cannot say I have any complaints. To like this book you have to like non-fiction and history of course. And be interested in reading about World War II. I have listened to almost half. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 23, 2012
| Jun 2012
|
Apr 26, 2012
| Audio
| ||||||||||||||
| 110152636X
| 9781101526361
| 4.01
| 31,591
| Jul 26, 2011
| Jul 26, 2011
|
In summary, I loved listening to this audiobook. Why? First of all, this book is a must for anyone who loves NYC. Secondly, almost every line refers t...more
In summary, I loved listening to this audiobook. Why? First of all, this book is a must for anyone who loves NYC. Secondly, almost every line refers to places and books and artists. There is a wonderful message. The author is a master of metaphor. Most every sentence implies more than the bare words. One example: Katey pronounces her surname Kon-TENT. Don't you see the difference between that and KON-tent? Think about it. The plot throws you a looper. The characters become real people .In the beginning I wondered if the different characters' actions were believable. Yes, they most certainly were. People are complicated. As with real people it takes a while to understand these characters. By the end of the novel each one is very special, each in their own way. And finally there is subtle, sophisticated humor. Absolutely excellent narration by Rebecca Lowman. The title of this book refers to George Washington's penmanship assignment entitled "Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation". Are you curious for more? Look here: (http://www.foundationsmag.com/civilit...) These 110 rules are listed at the end of the book, but I did not read them.... The title is very apt, for this book is all about to what purpose these rules should be followed. This book is all about the choices each of us makes in determining our fate, because we do make choices. Our fate is not predestined. ****************** Oh, what I wouldn't do to go shopping at Bendel's. I can dream it still exists and is still the same? **************** Through Chapter 9: Why have I not grabbed this book sooner?! It is not just good, it is really good. This book is for those people who demand books that are well written. Exciting plots are not enough. You know there are those books that are fun because the plot keeps you hanging on. Then there are those books which are fabulous because every line has you thinking, not about the plot, but about what is described, the place, the people, or how a character is responding, or how would I react in that situation. I am not saying the plot doesn't move forward, I am merely saying what happens isn't that necessary because the writing in itself keeps you thinking. I love the writing. So what is it I love? I wrote below that the author superbly describes NYC. By that I do not mean what you see, but what you feel when you are there in that place. There is a static electricity in the air that is NYC. There is the honking of the cabs, there are the dark summer nights, there is the hot, sticky air in the summer. These things that I mention here are NOT described in this book, but this author has found all the other characteristics of this city that are so hard to capture. I thought this was a nostalgia trip for me...... but it is more than that. Amor Towles describes places and events that I have never experienced, and I feel I am there too! An example, the Belmont race-tracks. Katey is there at 5 A.M. on a weekday. There you find the down and out, those who bet with their last dime, the wealthy, those who own horses and have a stake in the outcomes, the trainers... Each sit in their own places. Each is described with similes so that you see in which group each one belongs. How they hold their bodies, how they move, where they sit, how they are clothed, what they are eating and drinking - all of this you see. You feel the excitement. This is NOT done through boring descriptions. It is done through wonderful similes and metaphors so you understand and know immediately how a person almost feels because you recognize the visions conjured by the metaphors. This book is filled with the words"like" and "as if". It is filled with gorgeous metaphors that you snap up immediately. That is the author's trick..... But this is no easy trick. How has the author known how to capture those hunched shoulders? Where else is that shoulder held with that hunch so that readers will recognize it immediately? Then Towles puts it there for us in his metaphor. Back to the race tracks. They are referred to as "Race-Arounds". What a wonderful expression. There are hunched backs, then straightened backs released as if on a spring when the horses surprise. Hands grip cups where "the absence of steam said the cup was filled with liquor". You smell the paddocks. And here, as elsewhere, what you see is compared to the lines of famous literature. It was like "circles of Dante's Inferno". Over and over again there are reference to artists and authors and photographers and books you have read. You remember these books or that painting and you know exactly what is expressed. This is a book for the literate, the well-educated. It is certainly for the well-read. It not only captures the jazz clubs of the 30s, but also art trends, the secretarial girls, literature and even butterfly collections! Eve is compared to the portraits of John Singer Sargent. Doesn't that draw a picture for you? Another thought.... How has this author so well captured the essence of his female characters? Is there some women here on the sidelines? So, I am terribly enjoying this book for how it us written. The events are rather insignificant for me; sometimes I do wonder would people make such decisions? Would it happen like that? But I have only read nine chapters. Maybe I will change my mind about that too. I am beginning to figure out who these people are: Tinker and Katey and Eve. We are talking 1938, NYC. Tinker is from the well-to-do. Eve and Katey are scratching the dirt, but Eve is never one to be under another's thumb, as she clearly states at the very beginning. One is from Brooklyn with Russian immigrant parents.That is Katey. The other is from the Midwest. What is intriguing is that I am sure there is more to understand about these three disparate figures. Who is the social climber? Katey is the erudite blue-collar worker, a stenographer at a law firm, but under the exterior who is she? How are they similar? How do they differ....... and this is a friendship of three! That never works. Who really loves who? I like the narration by Rebecca Lowman. Her voice is a perfect balance to the struggles of the the three. There are struggles. ************************ Well, I definitely love the way NYC is described. I lived there. It has a special feel to it. You go into that city and you feel it in the air. You feel that when you read this book. It makes me terribly nostalgic. There are so many details that perfectly capture the atmosphere of the place - the cabs, the sounds, Greenwich Village, the restaurants, the food. Each aspect is perfectly depicted with a simile that strikes home perfectly. Gosh, I am amazed. I was so worried when I started this book....(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Oct 02, 2012
| Oct 04, 2012
|
Apr 18, 2012
| MP3 Book
| |||||||||||||||
| 9781446454725
| unknown
| 4.00
| 23,162
| 1993
| Feb 22, 2011
|
Buddy Read with Silver Raindrop. :0) We will leave comments with each other below our reviews, for those who are interested. I have listened to only twe...more Buddy Read with Silver Raindrop. :0) We will leave comments with each other below our reviews, for those who are interested. I have listened to only twenty minutes. I love the prose style, the narration of the audiobook by Peter Firth is excellent and the events already have me terribly curious. Steven is creeping around a house in his socks searching for who has screamed! The depiction of Amiens, where the house is located, is perfect. I have been there, so I know. Unfortunately the narrator pronounced the city name incorrectly, but his baritone singing of a song in the text has me forgiving this error. And there is a discussion which illustrates how the French and the English view each other...... Funny! I guess you could say I like this from page one. I could not stop listening to this book. It is wonderful. I just finished. I haven't been able to do anything except listen to this book. Excellent narration by Peter Firth. I loved it. I loved all the emotion - horror of war and passionate love. And great lines and so much to think about...... Can I collect my thoughts?! This book has everything. It is exciting and horribly moving and oh so wonderful. It is like life: full of the worst and most wonderful. There are lines you must ponder. Why does one fight in a war? Who do we fight for? Do you fight for your land, your family, your friends....or for those comrades who have fought and died next to you? You are in the trenches and in tunnels, in the middle of bombardments. You are in a tunnel and you may be suffocated and buried alive. This book is about fear. This book is about the warfare of WW1. But there is humor and passionate love too. Their is death and there is birth. There is hope and despair. The story takes place during WW1 in the trenches in France. It also has events set later, in the 70s. Most authors cannot switch between different time periods. In this book the two are wonderfully intertwined. This book rips you apart, scares you to death, rolls you in passionate, sensual love, one minute has you giggling and then later pondering the essence of life and death and fear. The book is an emotional roller coaster. And you will learn what it was really like to fight in the first world war. You can swallow the horror because it is balanced by humor and love and passion and even hope and happiness. I loved this book. So far this is the best book I have read about WW1. (See my WW1 shelf if you are curious for other titles: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/... Ooops, I think I am gushing! (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Aug 09, 2012
| Aug 12, 2012
|
Apr 14, 2012
| Audiobook
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0143035096
| 9780143035091
| 4.08
| 1,583
| 2005
| Sep 08, 2005
|
On completion: I thoroughly loved this book. I finished listening to it and was desperate for more. I re-listened to the last chapters. Then I thought,...more On completion: I thoroughly loved this book. I finished listening to it and was desperate for more. I re-listened to the last chapters. Then I thought, I simply cannot leave this book! I searched to see what other books Sebastian Barry has written. This is the first of a trilogy followed by first Annie Dunne and then On Canaan's Side. I read what these books were about. The central theme of these books diverge; they are not about WW1. And this is the topic that I want more of. So I checked out The Absolutist and even listened to the narration at Audible. Again I felt let down. John Cormack's narration of "A Long, Long Way" had been superb, The snippet of "The Absolutist" just could not compare. Was it the narrator that I had fallen in love with? I listened to other books narrated by Cormack........but they were not what I wanted to listen to either. And here I sit, feeling desolate and sad, because I want more of the same. I want Cormack's narration and Barry's prose. I don't want to leave the camaraderie of the troops in the trenches of Belgium, near Ypres. Isn't it utterly strange that I do not want to leave the battlefields of WW1?! That is the truth of the matter, strange as it may seem. None of the other books I have read about WW12 have moved me as this has. I believe I understand what that warfare was like. It was horrible. When the war ended, it didn't really end. All who lived through it would never be the same. To understand the war itself you must look further than the blood and bombs and gas and grime and lice and all the physical horror of it. There is still more. There was also what the soldiers shared with each other. This is something very hard to comprehend to those of us who have not fought in wars. This book shows you how the soldiers intimately depended, needed and relied on each other. I am so shaken by the ending that I don't know what to say. I have no complaints. There is nothing I would change about this book. How do I sum up my feelings? This book has beautiful lines, and they are lines filled with meaning, imparting a poignant message. This is a book about WW1 and a book about Ireland's place in that war. Excellent writing by Barry. Excellent narration by Cormack! ****************************** Read with Barbara and Dawn. Here follow links to their reviews so you can follow our discussions: Dawn: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... Barbara: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... My thoughts, as I read, are added below. Through chapter 6, part one: This is excellent. The writing is superb! For me how an author chooses and lines up his words is very important. The Irish dialect and dialogs are spot-on. And I love how horrid stuff is mixed with beauty and camaraderie and humor. All of it seems genuine. The narration, audiobook by John Cormack, has such "oh-so-perfect" Irish!!!! This narrator has to be added to my favorites list, at least for Irish literature. Through part one: I have yet to read a text that so brilliantly describes mustard gas. The first time the yellow fog crept along the ground the soldiers had no idea what it was. Their fear and their instinctive horror engulfs the reader. Then imagine their fear when they know its consequences and it's used again and again and again. This is frightening to read. To the end of part one: Imagine fighting a war for country and family, only to discover that at home your efforts are not appreciated! Originally the Irish went off to war in the belief that Home Rule would follow at the conclusion of the war. But then there broke off a splinter group that opposed any fighting done for the King, the oppressor, he who stood in the way of Home Rule. They wanted guarantees of Home Rule before they would do any fighting for the English king! In Dublin, Irishmen were fighting and killing Irishmen. It became a civil battle between the Irishmen themselves. Those, such as Willie Dunn, fighting and dying in Flanders, were despised. Try and imagine how this would feel! As if the war itself wasn't enough! Barry adds this to the horrors of the trench warfare in Belgium. Yes, we are fighting, but for what? ETA: To understand this history I had to listen to one part over and over again. This is the only portion of the book where the dialect caused me some confusion. I am not sure if the language was cryptic, if I was being obtuse or if quite simply I was was obstinately demanding a thorough explanation of the historical events all summed up in one short dialog. I have this need to thoroughly understand the historical facts. I am satisfied. The historical context is made a bit confusing because Willie is terribly confused and cannot comprehend why the Irish are fighting the Irish when he goes to Dublin on furlough. In chapter eight: Two things I would like to praise. Again, Barry highl Irish conflict in the war. The Irish rarely were given high positions in the army. They were judged on another scale. He showed the English disdain for the Irish men when Willie is sent to headquarters with a message from his captain after a gas attack. The dialog really ripped me apart and made me want to punch some of those English, particularly Major "Stoker". (I am guessing at the spelling!) Again I must explain how much I like the writing style, particularly the brogue of the men in the trenches and the total lack of melodrama. There is a level tone, a distance to how the events are related. This lack of melodrama makes the horror of the war seem even worse because you realize these are the true events with not a smidgen of exaggeration. There is a tinge of irony, disgust of human folly. Yes, Willie admitted, when the officers said that the little Irishman stunk,indeed he had soiled his trousers. Due to fright.... This could be admitted. Anyone who had been in the trenches during the gas attack must acknowledge the blatant truth. Through chapter fourteen and part two: Chapter fourteen is moving, grim and a very difficult portion to read. This is trench warfare with all its gore and horror. Tell me, Barbara and Dawn, how you react to this chapter? Willie wished, as he marches forward under the exploding bombs of both enemy and friendly fire, that he were provided with blinkers as a horse on the road. The sights and smells and cacophony were so overpowering. Here follows a short quote: How easily men were dismembered. How quickly their parts were un-stitched. What this war needed were men made of steel..... The hopelessness of it all struck him with force: No one man had done anything but piss his trousers in terror. I admire the privates and their captain who must lead these men forward. Barry even throws in the absurdity of all the papers these captains must fill in. He has captured so many aspects of warfare. The filth, the food, the camaraderie, the desolation, fear and even bureaucracy! These are my thoughts as I read this chapter. (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Sep 05, 2012
| Sep 11, 2012
|
Nov 25, 2011
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0861716264
| 9780861716265
| 4.33
| 322
| May 10, 2010
| Sep 14, 2010
|
I have been told you don't have to know how to meditate or even be attracted to Buddhist beliefs, to be helped by this book. Anyone with a chronic ill...more
I have been told you don't have to know how to meditate or even be attracted to Buddhist beliefs, to be helped by this book. Anyone with a chronic illnes or who cares for another with a chronic illness should consider this book. This is a book for those people who have an illness that is not going to go away. I am very reluctant to read self-help books. I just get out a piece of paper and pen and think while I jot down my thoughts. A dear friend suggested this to me. She said read a bit and see what you think. That is what I did. It drew me in, and I wanted to continue. So this is what I am reading. **************************************** This book is the first that has shown me the value of Buddhist beliefs. I had always seen Buddhism as excessively negative. Unfortunately the prime focus of Buddhism is that life is filled with suffering. Buddhism also says that suffering can come to an end. Perhaps just momentarily, but there are numerous ways to end suffering if we just know how. And this book shows how. The book, in a very simple manner, explains Buddhist thoughts, but more importantly, it shows you how to achieve peace. How to stop yourself from worrying all the time. How to lessen stress. These are phenomena that everyone encounters daily. The book is aimed at those who are chronically ill, because such people simply worry so much they feel they are about to drown, but absolutely anyone will benefit from this book. I have instinctively disliked the thought that desire was bad. Buddhism stresses that it is our desire that makes us suffer. In reality it is when we desire what we cannot achieve that desire becomes negative. Let me just say that this book explains this so much better than I can. No other book I have ever read about Buddhism has made it all so simple and clear. And it is not negative at all. And you smile when you read the book. Buddhists make list and number everything: Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path to Freedom/Liberation and the Three Marks of Existence. The Buddhists can count..... It does make you smile! What is best about thi book, forget all the other stuff you intellectually learn, is that it shows you how to enjoy life more. Listen to what I am saying! Is that a negative message? Indeed it is not! There is nothing negative at all about the Buddhist teachings. The book is filled with ideas of how you can get more out of life when you are worried and stressed and upset. You do not need to be chronically ill to get a lot from this book. If you are chronically ill, it is a life-ring that helps keep you afloat. It is however up to you to take the routines described in the book and use them. The book is so simple. Through practices/routines it shows you what you can do. I will give you one example, that is found in this book. Close your eyes and think of something in your past that makes you unhappy, perhaps an event where you wish you had behaved differently. Pick something that troubles you in your past. Then open your eyes and look ilmmediately at your cat, or your garden, or your dog or whatever you do love. Something that makes you spontaneously happy! Don't you just feel the worry drop off you? You "dropped it", that worry. If you practice this in other situations you will learn and teach your body how to "drop it" on command. This book is filled with little things that you can do. Some worked for me. Others didn't. Some I simply didn't know what they were talking about, but I am just at the beginning. This is a little book to practice with. OK, maybe borrow it from the library the first time you read it, but if you do not have it at home you will forget what to do. This book is written in such a way that you will understand what you must practice. YOU do them as much as YOU need them. You choose those routines that work for you. This book refers to many other Zen and Buddhist books. The author gives examples that another particular book/author suggests. In this way you know which books maybe you want to try next. For me there is so much in this little book that I need nothing more, not yet at least. The magic of this book is that theses teeny exercises worked immediatley. She has a knack for explaining them. She is herself chronically ill. She has had to use these routines. She know what works and doesn't work. I think that is why she explains the routines so well. And the routines have fun little names so they are easy to remember. I have had diabetes for 50 years. That is a long time. In the last year I have had increasing problems with my vision. This has really messed up my emotions. This book was a life-ring thrown to me. It is not going to improve my diabetes or my vision, but it will help lighten the emotional burden. Many of the ideas presented were in fact not new, but the book somehow has made these philosophical beliefs that I have always held a means by which I can fight worry and stress and fear. P.S. The book is not perfect. I would sometimes think: "Hey, that is wrong! Here is a counter example!" But it helps so much so that it is worth five stars. When will I ever agree with everything I read?! (less) | Notes are private!
| 1
| Jul 28, 2011
| Jul 30, 2011
|
Jul 18, 2011
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||||
| 3.76
| 4,305
| Jan 01, 2011
| 2011
|
Years ago I read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. I loved it. I have been very foolish in not picking up this book sooner. You...more
Years ago I read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller. I loved it. I have been very foolish in not picking up this book sooner. You do not need to read both, but I would highly recommend it. This is “awful book number two”, as the author’s Mom would call it. The two books are about the author’s family, their time in “Central Africa”, that is to say Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. The reason why I really love these books, and I love both of them, is that the writer talks about hardships you cannot imagine, and she does it with humor. In addition you learn about life in the African countries named. You learn through the experiences of this family. If you have read the first book, you simply must read this, the second “awful book”, because it clearly shows why the mother is who she is - in all the wonderful and hopeless and horrible details. I listened to the audiobook. I want you to taste the humor and style of writing. Please go to the link here and click on the sample button below the audiobook at the Audible site: http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_3?... I want you to test and see if you enjoy her particular style. That is why I have included the link. So…. I loved the author’s writing style. I loved the humor. What else did I love? Why was it that I could not stop listening? Beside that I though the history of colonial overthrow was expertly woven into the story, and that isn’t so strange since the family lived through these events, it was the understanding of who her mother was that I loved most. Maybe this sounds a little strange, but I like reading books to understand people. I like reading books to understand life, and life throws whoppers at all of us. Doesn’t it? Life is throwing whoppers at this family from day one to the very, very end. And finally, I feel that the author has a wonderful way of relating to her annoying, ever so self-assured mother. I came to understand that mother and I came to admire the author’s ability to accept her mother for who she is. You have to read the books, both books in fact, to understand. I not only learned historical facts, but I also learned on a personal level how one should/could relate to a strong, some times terribly annoying Mom. Here is a link to my review of the earlier book: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... ETA: I forgot to tell you: if you love animal stories, then this is another reason to read the book. It is filled with stories about the family’s pets. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Mar 27, 2012
| Mar 30, 2012
|
Jun 22, 2011
| Audio CD
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0140182853
| 9780140182859
| 3.87
| 1,480
| 1914
| Nov 01, 1991
|
NO SPOILERS!!! Magnificent writing!: I loved listening to those kind words and watching the red and gold fire flickering in the stove and milky white cl...more NO SPOILERS!!! Magnificent writing!: I loved listening to those kind words and watching the red and gold fire flickering in the stove and milky white clouds of steam rising over the vats, leaving a dove coloured crust; like hoar frost, on the sloping rafters of the roof , where jagged chinks let through blue patches of sky. The wind died down, the sun came out, and the whole yard seemed sprinkled with ground glass. The screeching of sleighs came from the street, light blue smoke curled up from chimneys, and soft shadows as if they too had a story to tell. The tall, bony Grigory, hatless, with his long beard, and large ears, looked like a kind-hearted magician as he stood there mixing the bubbling dye and continued the lesson: Never be afraid to look a person straight in the face. Even the dog that attacks you will run away then…… (23%) Russian authors are the best – in my view. Their description of people, both in appearance and character, of places and events are unsurpassed. This is an autobiography, the first book of three, by and about Maxim Gorky. Tolstoy has also written an autobiography entitled My Childhood; their lives were very different. Gorky's portrays the lowest classes of the Russian people. It is not surprising that he became an enthused supporter of Marxism. Please read the book description if you are unaware of the basics of Gorky's life. Here, in this book, you see the events of the author's first eight years, through his own eyes. Stories after stories – that is what you get. Gorky had a very frightening, terrible childhood. The suffering he describes is physical. Beatings, brawls, fights: and yet at the same time there are fairy tales and legends he has learned from his grandmother; he is close to his grandmother and her life philosophy inspires hope even during the darkest of times. When Gorky's father dies he goes to live with his mother's family, but even his mother cannot bear to live there. He is thus raised primarily by his grandmother……and grandfather. Although the grandfather is brutal, you see that he is also kind, well sometimes. The times are different; children are beaten, how else can they be taught?! Both grandparents are religious, but each in their own way. Both ways are vividly painted through Alexei's perception. The book shows how this child saw his world; it was utterly frightening and incomprehensible. You absorb his experiences through story after story after story: I waited until the innkeeper's wife had gone down to the cellar, and then shut the hatch and locked it over her, danced a dance of revenge over it, flung the key onto the roof and rushed as fast as my legs could take me to the kitchen, where Grandmother happened to be doing the washing. It took her some time to find out why I was so delighted, and when she did, she gave me a smack in the right place, dragged me outside and sent me up on the roof after the keys. Amazed at the reception, I silently retrieved the key and then ran off to one corner of the yard, from where I could see Grandmother freeing the captive innkeeper's wife. Then both of them, laughing all over their faces, came towards me across the yard. "You'll get it from me!" said the innkeeper's wife threatening me with her plump fist, but still smiling benevolently with that eyeless face of hers. Grandmother took hold of me by the scruff of the neck and hauled me off to the kitchen, where she asked me: "What did you do that for?" "She threw a carrot at you…." "So you did it for me? Well! What a nerve. I've a good mind to put you under the stove to keep the mince company. Perhaps that will knock some sense into you.( (42%) There are stories about everything, but they are all true stories: funerals where live frogs end up buried on top of the coffin, blazing fires, cockroach battles, people crushed under crosses…… Life was hard. One can understand why Gorky, or Alexei Maximovich Peshkov as he was really called, came to sympathize for the downtrodden tramps, factory workers and the poorest of the poor of Russian society. He lived from 1863 - 1936. His book "Mother" was the first comprehensive portrait of the Russian socialist movement. He was a friend of Stalin and was given a "Hero's Funeral" in the Red Square. But you should read this book for the marvellous storytelling, not for a summary of historical events. For that, look elsewhere. I believe the following quote wonderfully expresses Gorky's view on both life and people: In recalling my childhood I like to picture myself as a beehive to which very simple obscure people brought the honey of their knowledge and thoughts on life, generously enriching my character with their own experience. Often this honey was dirty and bitter, but every scrap of knowledge was honey all the same. (55%) This book deserves more than five stars!!! (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Jun 09, 2011
| Jun 11, 2011
|
May 22, 2011
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0064440419
| 9780064440417
| 4.16
| 1,460
| Jan 01, 1977
| Sep 07, 1983
|
None
| Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| not set
| not set
|
May 18, 2011
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 9781617923975
| 4.11
| 28
| Apr 14, 2011
| Feb 21, 2012
|
This is good! It is very, very funny. This book consists of three short stories, about the author's three dogs - Lola Pekingese, Pudgy -Pug and Jazzy...more
This is good! It is very, very funny. This book consists of three short stories, about the author's three dogs - Lola Pekingese, Pudgy -Pug and Jazzy Japanese-Chin. Each dog has a story to tell, each in their own words. I rarely pick up dog books, although you know how important dogs are to me. They rarely live up to my expectations so I rarely try them. I, as a rule, don't like short stories, but hey, these three had me laughing on every page. I received this book from my friend Tara Chevrestt, the author, and I was really uneasy b/c I felt caught between a rock and a hard place. I wanted to be kind to a friend, whose friendship I value. At the same time, I am a lousy lier. What I really think usually shows through when I open my mouth...... What would I do if I didn't like it? I was worried. But I loved this book. I needn't have worried. I will try and explain what I found so marvellous. First, the humor. Each dog gets a chapter. Each gets to introduce herself, in her own fashion. Here is how Lola sees herself: My name is Lola. I am a Pekingese, the kind of dog that, if her hair is allowed to grow, is told she looks like a mop head, whatever that is. Let me meake one thing clear, however, I am not like most Pekingese. Besides the fact that I get my hair trimmed once every other month, I'm also black, not the usual brown, and I have a very threatening overbite. Nobody messes with me. My human mommy named me after a song, the "Copacabana" song. I guess Lola was a dancer whose pheromones got out of hand, and while in heat, she hooked up with Rico. I only know this because my mommy told me and sings all the time about music and passion always being in fashion at some place called the Copacabana. I couldn't care less about music, but I do know about passion. I have a passion for Milk Bone biscuits and pig ears, but I digress........ (page 3) Don't you remember that song? Barry Manilow sang it; , his rendition was great. I sashayed around the house singing that too. What could it be? 30 some years ago?! Now this is how the book starts, and I am always sceptical. Will the author be able to keep up the high standard throughout the whole book. Well this author does. It is funny all the way through. What about this from page 12: See the two-legged species think they own us, the canine species. Let me make one thing perfectly clear here: you, of the two-legged species, pick up my crap in a bag and carry it around. Seriously, just who is the boss here? And the following on page 13 is both a bit philosophical and funny too: I snorted and then just because it felt good, I shook myself, permitting my little blond hairs to scatter the floor around me. Shaking is a wonderful thing. If the two-legged species could simply shake off their problems, stress, and other human's unkind words, the world would be a better place. That is Pudgy talking. That's enough. No, it isn't, you haven't heard Jazzy. Here is her introduction: Oh dear, where should I start? I don't like this. I don't like talking to people at all. This is not my bowl of water. My name is Jazzy and I am a cat. I mean a dog. I am a dog. They call me a Japanese Chin, but I assure you I was born in America and I had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor. Oh gosh, I am getting upset now. See what you did? I must lick my feet for a few minutes. Excuse me. (page 20) Besides being funny, this book portrays three very different dogs. Any pet owner knows that each of their dogs or cats or whatever, each one has a personality that defines them. Each one is so different - just like kids! I think tthe characters of the tree dogs are wonderfully described. After reading these three short stories you know the temperments of these three dogs. That is why I filed this book on my biography-memoir shelf. Dogs belong there too. I met three very different dogs. Each is charming in their own special way. And I got three different stories. Each of the three dogs, Lola, Pudge and Jazzy, told me a story very important to their own lives. Three different dogs. Three different stories. Lots of fun for the reader. The page references refer to the PDF file from which I read. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 05, 2011
| May 05, 2011
|
May 05, 2011
| ebook
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0641924569
| 9780641924569
| 3.66
| 2,158
| Jan 01, 2004
| May 28, 2004
|
This is the only author that I have given every single one of the books they have written five stars. What is amazing then? -Her writing. Every line r...more This is the only author that I have given every single one of the books they have written five stars. What is amazing then? -Her writing. Every line reads like poetry. -The content. There is so much to think about in Fuller's books. Only on the surface did this book concern the Rhodesian War. It is much more about making sense of our lives, about terror and promises and love. How low can a human being go? And how do we then pick ourselves up and go on? We all have our own demons, how do we get beyond them? And there is no one pat solution for all of us. The book description states it is about K, well it is just as much an introspective look at the author too. And you. And me. -The emotional impact. If you can read this book calmly without getting upset, then you are a stone. I guarantee you will both cry and laugh. I guarantee you will be moved. -The audio narration - by Lisette Lecat. She can sing like the birds and insects in the bushes. She weeps and she laughs and guffaws. The mens' voices are as distinctive and nuanced as the women's. Each person seems to have a different voice,and each voice speaks with sincerity and inner feeling. This is not a book about Mozambique or the Rhodesian War. It is about all wars and more. The author let down K and K let down the author and don't people always do that? We think we are going after a goal together only to find that we each expect different things from the other. And what is the result? Hurt! Of course. But along the way we maybe laugh too and maybe tomorrow we are a little wiser. Yes, the book is philosophical, but it doesn't preach. It is also about mundane topics.......like how men can never ask for directions when they are lost, about having to pee when you are traveling and there is nowhere to pee, about training your pet, only here it is a lion rather than a dog. Now I have to go read another book by this author. Anything, I will read anything by this author. The Legend of Colton H. Bryant is the only one left for me. It doesn't really attract me, but I am pretty darn sure I will think it is terrific. I can think of no other author where every darn book has a huge emotional impact on me. Each book has had a different topic, each is unique, no repetition whatsoever. How many authors can do that? The author is amazing too!(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Jun 11, 2012
| Jun 15, 2012
|
May 03, 2011
| Audio
| |||||||||||||||
| B004IYJET2
| 3.42
| 1,260
| Jan 01, 2009
| unknown
|
NO SPOILERS!!! I finished this book last night, before I went to bed, but it is still night or early, early morning. 3:30 AM to be precise! I cannot sl...more NO SPOILERS!!! I finished this book last night, before I went to bed, but it is still night or early, early morning. 3:30 AM to be precise! I cannot sleep. I keep thinking abut this book and how I shhould explain why I adore it. It swallowed me, sucked on me, swished me around, pounded me and then spit me out. Or have you ever been tumbled and beaten by a crashing wave? When you escape, thrown up on shore, dizzy, without footing, tousled, pummelled; that is another way of describing how you feel after reading this book. Chrissie, this is not helping..... be specific! Explain! How?! Where do I begin? I will begin by saying you feel physically beaten and brutalized by this book. Well, I did. The land, the people, the pounding heat, the fruit that fall down on on your head, the insects that attack, the earth that rumbles and moves so you are shaken. You physically feel this book. With the author's words you feel life on the island of Trinidad. I cannot explain it better than that. And you feel the youth and sexual attraction of Sabine when she arrives, when she is atop that green bicycle pedalling all over the island, scared of NOTHING! She is too busy to be scared, There is not an ouce of fear even in situations where perhaps she should have been frightened. She is so alive and beautidul and sexy atop that bicycle. Everyone noticed her. Cars almost collided. And you see her when she is in her seventies, old and beaten by the sun and all the other forces of this island. This book is sensual. When a couple cannot talk, cannot communicate, they use sex to pound each other; it is the only means left to reach out to the other. Mentally this book puts you in a turmoil too. This book is historical fiction. You get the history of Trinidad from the 1950s through to 2007. The history isn't on the edge of the stroy but it IS the story. The whole story. It is the central theme. You cannot close the covers of this book and not understand what happened there in Trinidad during this time period. Such is impossible. A central theme of all this is colonialism. Europeans sucking the sap out of this West Indian island. It is about the love/hate feelings between the black Africans, the French Creole aristocracy and the Europeans. I have lived in different countries. I know what is is like to be plunked down in a culture that you do not understand. How do you feel when you arive and when you have been there for years? Sabine and her husband George arrived with completely different intentions. Sabine didn't really want to come. This made me feel cold toward her. But which of the two let the island's culture suck them in more? That is an interesting question? I also understand the turmoil Sabine felt because she didn't agree with her husband about the basics; how long would they stay or what was the purpose of their stay on the island?! I actually came to fully understand Sabine. I joined her side, but hej you do not understand where she really stood until you read this book. Read this book. It is marvellous. I feel like removing stars from all the books I have recently read so that when I give this five stars you will see how this book sparkles and is illuminated by the five stars. I do not think this book will fit everybody. It fit me perfectly. Are you interested in how it feels to be a foreigner in a new country? Are you interested in history? Do you want an emotional ride? Do you enjoy the excerpts given below? Those are the suestions you should ask yourself when you decide whether you want to read this book! If you answer yes, then read this book. ******************************************************** 49% percent through the book: I absolutely love the book. the more I read,the more it pulls me in. I absolutely adore how it describes Trinidad and those living there. The plot line goes backwards. You start in 2006, but then when you know these people and care for them, when you NEED to know more, that is when the author dips into the past. It is the writing style that draws you in. You all know that I am not interested in cuisine or cooking. Me, I cook as quickly as I can. But this suthor entices me with the Trinidadian cuisine: It was Venus who got me cooking. She introduced George and me to creole cuisine, which she called blue food: sweet potatoe, eddoes, cassava, yams. 'Good old-fashioned stodge,'George called it. Venus brewed up drinks, too - a red cordial a bit like cranberry juice: sorrel. Another from the bark of a tree: mauby, a green liquorice-type medicine we choked back. In months, our diets had changed for ever. Venus devised our menus. Instead of reading the cookbook, I hung around the kitchen. 'What are you doing?' I asked, peering over her shoulder. She was stripping down the stalks of some large leaves. 'It's dasheen bush.' 'What's that?' 'For callaloo.' 'Can't you just chop them up and put them in the soup?' 'No.' 'Why not?' 'You hadda take out dis vein furs.' 'Why?' 'It trouble de throat. Make it itch. Her eyes shone. I stared. Venus nodded and smiled, suppressing her amusement. (at 49%) Just as how the plot goes backwards in time so you want to know when it is finally presented to you, the same is true here. Callaloo has been mentioned many times. I have been asking myself: What IS that? Now I know. I also finally found out what steupsed means. Wikipedia didn't help me. Always the author makes us want to know before we are told! Finally, I know why Sabine speaks French and why the people in this former British colony revert to French. I am only told when I find myself going crazy with curiosity. I SAID I wouldn't give any more excerpts, but yes, I just broke down. I simply had too. NOW NO MORE EXCERPTS, no matter how wonderful the lines are. I think this book will get five stars. I cannot believe I have half left. What is going to happen next?! ***************************************************** 32% through the book: I love how everything is described - the people, the places, the feel of Trinidad. I knew nothing about Trinidad, but know I feel I am there. One more excerpt and that will just have to do. Here we are at the World Cup football match between the Soca Warriors of Trinidad and the opposing Peruvians: Everyone wore red. Flags hung from shoulders, faces were painted with the Trinidad and Tobago colours. Conch horns bellowed. Vendors greeted ticket holders well in advance of the entrance, hawking writstbands, T-shirts, whistles, car stickers. George and Clock dodged them, drifting up the main corridor towards the stadium entrance, stopping to buy cherry-flavoured snow cones. Four in the afternoon and the sun poured down. They climbed the stairs to the balconies, arriving at the top, gazing out onto the scratchy yellos-grass pitch.... George and Clock made their way down an aisle and across a row of seats. George opened his giant golf umbrella and they sat under it eating their melting snow cones and warm peanuts, watching a fat man dressed in a red satin suit and red cowboy hat goose-stepping around the pitch. (at 32%) The writing is vividly colored. You hear a cacophony of voices, shrill cries, whistles and the reader is right there in that stadium under the glaring sun. I love it. ************************************************* 21% through the book: So the bicycle it is found again, There it is: clean and sparkling and repaired. All had their own memories tied to this bike. Memories of Sabine on this bike. Memories of a person who had been! The faces looked on expectantly when the bike was put before Sabine again: La Pompey (the handyman) laughed. 'Yeah, man. Try it, nuh.' Jennifer (the maid) cackled, blushing through her black skin. 'Mrs Harwood, give it a try, nuh. I cyan believe you ride it once.' Everyone turned to look at Sabine. Sabine backed away, holding onto her dog. 'Are you crazy? Jennifer give it to Chantal.' 'How she go ride it up dat hill?' Jennifer retorted. Sabine looked at George: he was blushing, heat in his face. Was he hurt? 'Well, give it away to your friend who runs the charity shop at the church. Take it away. I can't believe we still have it lying around. Give it away, for God's sake.' Sabine looked at their expectant faces, all of a sudden crowdedin. Memories flooded up. Eric Williams in his flashy American car, sailing past. The look he gave her, through the windo, questions in his eyes. She felt faint, woozy, the wind in her hair. La Pompey stopped his clowning, perplexed. 'She doh want it?' Sebastian frowned. 'No.' 'She'll ride it,' Jennifer assured 'She just take a turn.' 'Maybe she'll try it tomorrow,' La Pompey reasoned. 'When nobody arong She must feel shy to ride it now. Mr. Hartwood, you mus encourage her. Why you look so sad?' So why do I bother to give you this excerpt? I have given it to show two things. How the people speak and, more importantly, for you to see and feel the emotions of the family. The servants, they too are a part of the family. These people, all of them, care for each other, but they do not understand each other. A huge theme of this book is our relationships with those closest to us. These relationship are never stagnant; they are complicated, messy knots. What does the word "steupsed" mean? Some of the colloquialisms I do not understand. Maybe Wikipedia will clue me in? ************************************************* I had to give you this excerpt found 13% through the book: We treat politicians like parents. It's the same relationship. We never forgive them if they fuck up. Well that is true. I think we cannot forgive our parents because we want to see them as Gods. They should be perfect. Even when we ourselves become parents and know we are full of mistakes, we still want our parents to be pretty darn perfect. It would be nice if our politicians could be trusted, admired, a bit above ordinary human beings. I just never thought of it that way. *************************************** I have just begun this; I have only read 10% of the egalley I received from NetGalley. An egalley is an ARC book in e-format. Please read the book description, it seems foolish to just repeat what is already written! Sabine and George had many years ago left England and moved to Trinidad. They had planned a three year stay, but then they stayed and now many, many years have passed and Trinidad is there home. The book is about Trinidad, the culture and the history of the island (1950s - 2000), but also about Sabine's and Georges's relationship. What relationship stays fiexed? None, of course. How was it before as newlyweds? How is it now? Different, that is all one can assume.... But what has made it change, and is change good or bad or a lovely mixture? We will see! I am intrigued. George has just found hidden letters written by his wife. Not just a few, but boxes of letters During 26 years Sabine was writing to Eric Williams, the Prime Minister of Trinidad after British rule ended. Why were Sabine's letters hidden away here in their house? Were they answered? Had there been an affair? George read till dawn. Sitting on the office floor, his back against the wall. He read every letter, mouthing the words. Three hundred and fifty-eight letters in all. "Dear Mr. Williams." Nothing was straightforward as a love affair: passion, guilt, betrayal all the usual to and fro. No. This was far worse. He stopped several times to ponder, lost in reveries of their life together. He only knew the half of it, only half her despair. The letters were originals. Unsent. Communiqués to the self in some respects. He found no replies and wondered if they were in another stash, other boxes hidden elsewhere in the house. From what she had written he began to understand. Me? I do not understand. I am intrigued. I want to know more, and I want to know more about Trinidad. I have already glimpsed a bit. I have met the native Trinidadians. I had a bit of a hard time understanding their collooquialisms, but now I am getting the hang of it. The rampant vice, corrupt politicians and police force, the oppressive heat: all of this has hit me. Was it like this when they arrived? When they arrived Sabine was young and beautiful and she was "that white woman on the green bicycle" that attracted everyone's attention. What has happened during the last 50 years. I want to know. *************************************** BEFORE READING: "Equal love and attention go into the marriage and the country at the heart of this Orange Prize short-listed novel... It's a book packed with meaty themes, from racism to corruption to passion and loyalty." -Seven, The Sunday Telegraph Looks very interesting to me! (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 08, 2011
| May 12, 2011
|
Apr 29, 2011
| Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1446547140
| 9781446547144
| 4.10
| 327
| 1950
| Mar 17, 2011
|
NO SPOILERS!!!!! I am making a bet with myself. Here it is. Let's see if I am proven correct! I think I will end up giving this book four or five stars...more NO SPOILERS!!!!! I am making a bet with myself. Here it is. Let's see if I am proven correct! I think I will end up giving this book four or five stars! So far I have only read 13%, but I am totally captivated. The author, Irfan Orga, begins by describing his early childhood, growing up in Istanbul. He was born in 1908. It is, as usual, how an author expresses himself that makes or breaks a book. I adore the writing style. Please, do yourself a favour and check out the excerpt available at Amazon. Click on the look-inside button. Why should I rewrite it here, when it is available there?! As a child he lives in a white house with green shutters, beside the Marmara Sea. The author has you, the reader, listening to the gentle sounds of the sea, as he does, as he lies in his bed. The morning rituals are not what I would have expected in a Muslim household. The festivities, related to a boy's circumcision, are delightfully described. The fear, the excitement and the celebration are marvellously depicted. There is a lot to be learned from this book. Look at the date. Look at the place. The journey is sure to be captivating! On completion: Yes, I will give this book five stars. Near the end, 98% of the way through, one finds the line: Now there was no one who remembered my childhood. Had this book not been written……… yes, all of this would have been lost! I am very glad I was given then opportunity to read this book. The topic is interesting and the writing is wonderful. I will try and explain why I thought the topic was so interesting. You have the possibility of tasting the writing style by clicking on the link above. This book depicts the life of one family living through WWI, and that family is Muslim and one belonging to the German-Ottoman side! This is not historical fiction; it is real life, grittingly and enchantingly described. All of it – the ups and the downs. Real people and real events. There is even real magic related by several witnesses, if you dare to believe them. There are so many memoirs and biographies concerning life during WW2, but here you get an amazing book on WW1. I felt I learned much about an ordinary Muslim family, not one that bows down to Mecca numerous times every day, but one that I personally could be part of. These people were little different from you or I. I liked how the book was able to show me a new perspective concerning those of the Muslim faith. You get WW1, the Muslim perspective and the experiences of a Turkish family. The family is Turkish – not Armenian, not Greek. They lived when Kemal Atatürk ruled. Again, I was given another perspective. I have previously read many books about the Armenians; here we are presented with a family living on the other side. Atatürk was loved and honoured by many. I must state clearly this is not a book centered on the historical aspects of the time period 1914-1945. No, it is instead about a family and how their lives were so dramatically changed by the historical events. The emphasis is on the family, not the historical events. The emphasis is more on the time-period of the first rather than the seconds world war because the central focus is on the author's childhood, his parents' and his grandmother's lives.You get a wonderful view of life on the Bosporus, life in Istanbul, life in Izmir – all these places that play a role in historical events. Mostly you learn about a family and the separate individuals of that family. Each individual responded differently to the same events! You learn about people, how we all react differently. You learn about the author, his mother, his brother and sister, his grandmother, his father and grandfather and others too. Who was strong? And what actually is strength? And is survival the ultimate goal? And what happens to us as we age? I will finish with one quote from the book, because I love the author's descriptive talent: I wish I had the words to paint the strange enchantment of Izmir: the little crooked streets with the air of secrecy and squalor; the haphazard shops in the side ways; the open carriages and the noisy trams and the hooting of the boats, overriding all other sounds; the casinos fronting the harbor, with the never ending strains of music issuing from them; the hot sunlight and the blue sky and the golden sands, the tree-lined roads and the wisteria and bougainvillaea that hangs everywhere like a scented purple curtain. (88%) Recall these lines when you read of the atrocities that happen in Izmir. I love this book. A life of plenty becomes one of nothing and then still life goes on. How do each of us respond to life's roller-coaster ride? Five stars. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Apr 21, 2011
| Apr 24, 2011
|
Apr 06, 2011
| ebook
| |||||||||||||||
| 159051467X
| 9781590514672
| 4.06
| 1,217
| May 10, 2011
| May 10, 2011
|
NO SPOILERS!!!!! The author of this egalley, Christie Watson, which I have received from NetGalley, is born and raised in Nigeria. In reading this nove...more NO SPOILERS!!!!! The author of this egalley, Christie Watson, which I have received from NetGalley, is born and raised in Nigeria. In reading this novel I am thrown into a world that feels completely foreign to me. The story follows the experiences of Blessing, a twelve-year-old. She moves, with her mother and fourteen-year old brother Ezikiel, from Lagos to a "bush compound" near Warri in the Niger Delta. They are to live with her grandparents after her parents' marriage dissolves. Her new life is as foreign to her as it is to me. From what she and her brother thought was security, a tightly knit family and her friends at The International School for Future Leaders, sparkling clean with marble floors, running water and electricity, life has changed from day to night. In her grandparents' compound there is no electricity, there is no running water and the sanitary conditions are deplorable both in the compound and in their new school, The High Ghost Secondary School. The toilets as holes in the ground surrounded by an iridescent, shimmering, blue rug of…. of what? Flies! Life is very difficult and dangerous for Ezikiel too. He has asthma and life-threatening allergies. With money at best short, if not totally non-existent, medicines and necessary foods are also non-existent. There is another threat constantly menacing, the foreign oil companies - oil spills, ecological damages, the contrasts between the haves and the have-nots and the flagrant misuse of power. There is also an ever present conflict between the Christian and Islam faiths and between the Yoruba and Ijaw natives, between other tribes too. Reading about these conflicts is eye-opening and not light reading. The language is graphic, as fits the subject matter and the native customs. However the serious themes are humorously lightened by the narrative. The book offers a perfect descriptions of how a teenager might think and talk! This is how Ezikiel responded on hearing they must move: Warri is not safe. And those villages outside are even worse! Swamp villages! I googled Warri at the Internet café. Oil bunkering, hostage taking, illness, guns and poverty. What about my asthma? They burn poisonous chemicals straight into the air! It's not a safe place to live. (3% of book) And in their grandparents' compound there is a dog that can smile and dance: Snap was always attached to Boneboy's feet, weaving through them and looking up at him. I had never seen a dog that smiled before. But Snap did whenever Boneboy looked back down at him, or threw a bone into the air, or shouted, "Well done, boy!" It made me smile too……..Snap the dog was spinning around on his back, his tail and legs in the air, while Boneboy danced around him. "He is truly an amazing dog," said Boneboy. "He could be a champion." (18%) You must read the story to know about the kindness shown to Boneboy. The book is also concerns growing into adulthood, finding a place in the adult world.You see relationships grow and change: The words poured out of my mouth like water. We had been living at Alhaji's for only four months, but it was long enough to know that Grandma could be asked anything. My words to Mama were less water and more sand. I rehearsed them in my head so many times that sometimes I was certain I had spoken to Mama……. (34%) The relationships are not black and white, but nuanced. What makes the book a tough read are the contrasts. Some events are so graphically described that they are terribly difficult to read, but then the author throws in humour and kindness, and you can go on. Let me repeat, the setting is a learning experience! Life as it really is for many in Nigeria. What choices do you make when the conditions are such as they are? How do you find your own place in such a world, and how can you make it a good life? Perhaps this book could be labelled a one directed toward young adults, but it certainly covers many serious issues that are clearly of interest to adult readers. The unrest, the fighting and killing between different armed militia groups, corrupt police forces, the groups backed by the oil companies and finally the freedom fighters, some consisting of boy soldiers, are not child's play. Neither does the book shy from the topic of female genital mutilation. These topics are movingly depicted and play a role in the book's plot line. The reading is so tough and you care so much about the family that you find yourself overjoyed when events go favourably for the family members. At times I found my heart pounding and then a huge smile erupted on my face. Oh, one more things, characters that originally had me cringing are now laugh out loud funny. You will laugh with Celestine and her tight, lycra clothing. I promise you, you will! And don't the following lines make you smile? I noticed he had no hair on his chest. Even Ezikiel had three chest hairs. (50 %) Time and time again I run across marvellous lines. I think, I must quote them, but then I think it is good if you, the reader, can experience them here in the book. Or is that just an excuse so I can skip adding them to my review and instead continue reading?! Well, here is one example of a thought that I feel is spot-on: He is a proud man, and pride for men is like love for women. Very strong. (at 71%) How authors express themselves is so very important. I like this author's style because the lines grab me and scare me one minute and have me laughing the next: I had grown use to being able to tell just by looking at the softness of a woman's stomach, how many children she had borne. Some of the men were up to five births – full term. (79%) Come on, you must be laughing! No more quotes. No more lengthy excerpts. You can judge from those I have now given you if this is a book that will attract you. Me? I like the lines. I like the seriousness of the varied themes central to the book. I appreciate the wisdom reflected in the narrative, I enjoy learning about the Nigerian life style as it is depicted in the novel, and finally, I have come to care for the family members. In summary, this is a marvellous book. It has all the ingredients that I appreciate. It did not feel like a novel, a story separate from real life. I learned about Nigerian customs and storytelling, about political controversies tearing the country apart and about African female genital circumcision. The afterword provides additional links and book sources concerning these topics. My one minor complaint is that a few dates would have helped to anchor the political events, although the reader can make quite accurate guesses by relating to other events occurring in the book. The denouement kept me riveted through to the very last page. There is humour. There are devastating events that shake you to the core. There are so very many lines that had me thinking - yes, I agree! That is how I look at life too. One of the Nigerian fables presented is about a grasshopper and a frog. It said so much. Or was it a toad?! I am sure it will speak to you as it spoke to me. I said I would not give any more quotes……. but there is a line about giving birth, having children and why it is so painful. You are dividing your soul, of course that is painful. Although Christie Watson has the ability to pick just the right words to express the thoughts profoundly, the writing remains accessible and clear. One minute deep, the next jubilant and fun and happy. I must give this egalley five stars! Thank you, Netgalley, for making it available to me. The book will be published this year, and I highly recommend it. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Apr 11, 2011
| Apr 14, 2011
|
Mar 30, 2011
| ebook
| |||||||||||||||
| 0590133373
| 9780590133371
| 4.20
| 71,886
| 1939
| 1989
|
None
| Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| not set
| not set
|
Mar 07, 2011
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0743281330
| 9780743281331
| 3.78
| 326
| Sep 06, 2005
| Sep 06, 2005
|
NO SPOILERS – but I do relate some historical events! Through page 70: I am reading another memoir; this time it is about the author and her Afghan fam...more NO SPOILERS – but I do relate some historical events! Through page 70: I am reading another memoir; this time it is about the author and her Afghan family. Fascinating! It starts by describing her father's life. To understand why he simply cannot leave Afghanistan when all logical thinking says they must, it is necessary to understand his past. Most books start with the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979. The reader is given a completely different perspective on Afghan life if you start years earlier. This is a wealthy, well educated, privileged Afghan family. The mother is a teacher of Dari; the father is a doctor. Sunnis are more numerous than Shias and thus have a stronger role in the government. The author's family is Shia. The father's political allegiance is to social democracy. The current year is 1978, one year before the Soviet occupation. Here follows a quote about the two servants employed in the household. Both Aushur and Hussein-dod are in their late twenties and single. Hussein-dod cannot read or write. His parents didn't send him to school, he says, because there was no school in the village where he grew up. Aushur has beautiful handwriting. "Like pearls on paper" is how my parents describe it. He studied up to grade eight, he says, but after failing to pass the entry-tp-high-school exam, he couldn't continue. All students are required to pass a national exam before they can graduate to grade nine. Those who fail become dropouts without the chance of return. "It is totally stupid," my father says in fury. "It is part of President Daoud Khan's new plan for a country that needs more schools, not more entry exams."(page 65) By reading this book you come to understand the lives of at least one real Afghan family. You are taught about religious and political conflicts, about yearly celebrations, about the physical beauty of Afghanistan and much, much more. This is how I like to learn history: By the time tea is served, everyone is congratulating each other, cheering the end of Daoud Khan's reign. In 1973, Daoud Khan staged a coup against his cousin Zahir Shah. He ended decades of monarchy and became the first Afghan president. At the time, Daoud Khan was supported by the leftist parties. But after consolidating his power, Daoud declared the republic a one-party state – with no prospect of elections or introduction of a party law. His Marxist allies felt betrayed; they concluded that Daoud had been seduced by Arab and Iranian gold and was distancing himself from the Soviet Union. In April 1977, during a state visit to Moscow, Brezhnev warned Daoud Khan about the increasing number of "Western spies" in Afghanistan. Daoud bluntly replied that Afghanistan would remain free, and that Russia would never be allowed to dictate how the country would be governed. (page 70) The date is April 27, 1978, just one month after the family's visit to MazarE-Sherif for the celebration of the Afghan New Year at the Shrine of Ali, the first acknowledged caliph of the Shias.. Here the family had looked across the border separating Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. So the new Democratic Republic of Afghanistan has been established. It has stronger communist alliances. What I do know of Afghanistan's history is that the Soviet Union will not trust the competence of the new communist leadership anyhow! I do wish my atlas had more detailed information on Afghanistan. Maps in ebooks seem to be terrible, so it doesn't matter that I have found no map in this book. Through page 103: December 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. During 1978 three presidents were eliminated, none of which were elected by the Afghan people. Then the Soviet invasion finally came….. But how did the Afghans react? Did you know what they did in Kabul: It is past midnight and everyone is asleep. There is a call in the distance – but it is hard to distinguish the words. Like the dim bluish light that seeps from the corner of the curtain, the sound, too, filters through my window. It is moving, growing closer, and I can now make sense of the words. "Allahu Akbar!" God is great. I walk to the balcony. My father is already there, taking in the experience. "Allahu Akbar!" Now we can hear it clearly. We climb to the roof, where we discover that the entire neighbourhood is awake and that several families, standing on their roofs, are already chanting, "Allahu Akbar." We join in. "Allahu Akbar" – all around us is the echo of one clear voice. …… We use the cover of darkness to pour our hearts out with these two words, and with it our vexation. What is most potent? Is it the collectivity of the call, enabling the echo of one's own voice to reach so far? Or is it the sense of relief it provides, the feeling that we are doing something to show our discontent?......... Three nights of Allahu Akbar is our meek response to the nights of planes moving over the Kabul sky, the aircraft that brought the Soviet army here at the end of December. This is our welcome, Afghan style, to the Soviet invasion.(page 103) This is why it is good to continue reading and reading over and aver again about a given historical event. You always pick up another detail that brings the event to life. I imagine that protests will soon be more violent. Back to the book. Through page 173: What can I say? This is the best book I have read about Afghan history during the 1900s, better than The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safeand A Thousand Splendid Suns. You learn history in an intimate fashion. You learn about the differences between and similarities shared by the Sunnis and Shias. You learn about Afghan life during the decade of Soviet occupation. You learn about why the author was drawn to the underground mujahidin resistance groups. I have learned much, much more than that outlined in the books above. And the history id delivered on a person, intimate level: Despite the difficulties of handling visitors, hiding a fugitive, caring for a sick man and trying to find a detainee, the rest of us have to show up at school and work. If we were to miss a few days, our absence would be reported to the authorities. We have to pretend that everything is normal. Just as the war is normal. The pretence of normality is so pervasive that turmoil, physical and mental agony and family rows pass as something quite routine , just as cheating, lying, betrayal, bribery and deception have become normal.(page 173) ********************************************************* In conclusion: The events as they unroll keep you glued to the book. Learning is effortless, and there are so many small details that no fiction novel imparts. How food is prepared in rural villages and in the homes of wealthy Kabulis is described. More than just a clinical description you are confronted with the efforts taken to remain polite and accepting of different routines and manners. The dilemma for us, of course, is how can we eat? All the dishes in our homes were cleaned several times before they were brought to the table. The utensils were sterilized in a pot of boiling water. Fruit and vegetables were soaked in a potassium mix and rinsed with fresh clean water. Mother Fatema was famous among our relatives for cleanliness and care. She never entered the kitchen without washing her hands, as is the routine in most city homes. But my father always demanded that extra attention be paid to hygiene, nutrition and health. And now, just a day away, here we are – so-called modern, urbanized people – driven out of our clean, tidy houses into a world of which we know nothing. With our city attitudes, we think we are above even the kindest and most generous of people simply because we use knives and forks, eat on separate plates and sit around a dining-room table. In reality, we are lost between the two worlds……. Our behaviour is embarrassing, but there is nothing else we can do; we are terrified of falling sick. (page 219-220) I like learning about the potassium mix, but I also like that the author values the kindness and generosity shown to them. I like her humility! And these are my observations: 1. Occupation of another country will never work, even if the occupier tries to bring freedom. 2; Understanding the mujahidin is no simple matter. This book shows you different perspectives. It shows you the authors own difficulty in grappling with the question of where her affiliation lies. 3. Do not turn away from this book, thinking that it is too politically oriented. 4. Afghanistan's recent history has produced very strong women. If you are interested in feminism, read this book. You should know of Malalai and Naseema and many,many others - and of course the author herself! Really, I actually am pushing you to read this book. This goes against all my principles! P.S. The author, Netofer Pazira, is also a journalist and was involved with the filming of the movie Kandahar (director Hassan Tanti). The details of this filming are discussed in the latter part of the book. P.P.S. There are many photos interspersed throughout the book. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Jun 04, 2011
| Jun 06, 2011
|
Feb 08, 2011
| Paperback
|
Loading...
