false 5 5 4 true 6403725 read 1 true 2883568 currently-reading 0 true 2883567 to-read <![CDATA[new comment from Oakiedog]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/140487-emperor-of-portugallia Oakiedog made a comment on The Emperor of Portugallia:

In classic Selma Legerlof style, the Emperor Of Protugallia is told as a dark fairytale in a rural Swedish community of a man who undergrows a radical personal change after his beloved daughter desserts him. The book is based on San Francisco's Emperor Norton, who would walk the city of San Francisco in royal garb spouting royal hoo-ha even though his royalty status was a fiction. Jan, the main character in question, is a great pho emperor and his shortlived reign is filled with great interactions with the local elite. While his metamorphosis is seen as insane by some, is also seen as a clairvoyant by others; Jan ends up being a truly dynamic, memorable literary character. The messages about about a person's character, about human sympathy, forgiveness and tragedy are staged warmly; this was a great read. ]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog added 'The Emperor of Portugallia']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47254276 to: The Emperor of Portugallia (Paperback) by Selma Lagerlöf
]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog is on page 36 of The Emperor of Portu... ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47254276 Oakiedog is on page 36 of 332 of The Emperor of Portugallia ]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog added 'Tell My Horse : Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47254045 Tell My Horse : Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (Paperback) by Zora Neale Hurston
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog added 'The Deep Sleep']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/38627575 to: The Deep Sleep (Bison Book) by Wright Morris
This subtle, beautiful book revolving around the death of the patriarch of a family. The small cast of characters interrelate while their past is disclosed. Wright's language is beautiful...the main character of the book for me... The book became a late night breath of air for me, and I really did not want it to end. The final 75 pages added new characters and little more advanced action, but not to the detriment of the overall feeling.
Neighbors came by to honor the dead and bring support to the family. One very deep conversation ended with the wife of the deceased finally saying that she was going to miss her husband. With everything that had gone on previously, she had not said that..and it was a very touching moment.
Great book that looked into the human heart deeply through the slow movements each character takes...through the transitory thoughts that occur...during the slow passing of a brief, life-changing time.

]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog added 'Thousand Cranes']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/40823492 to: Thousand Cranes (Paperback) by Yasunari Kawabata
A beautiful, poetic novella acted around the constant, "immortal" tradition of the Japanese Tea Ceremony and the very mortal inconsistent lives that revolve around it. Centered on a man whose dead father's mistresses continue to affect his life, the book subtly (but powerfully) investigates inter-generational feelings and the effects on social expectations on the individual. ]]> <![CDATA[Oakiedog added 'A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37439485 to: A Sense of the World: How a Blind Man Became History's Greatest Traveler (P.S.) by Jason Roberts
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