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  <id>976700</id>
  <name><![CDATA[Alex Roberts]]></name>
  <user-name><![CDATA[A-Rob]]></user-name>
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    <about><![CDATA[]]></about>
    <gender>M</gender>
    <location>Brooklyn, NY</location>
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    <last-active>12/2009</last-active>
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          <updates type="array">
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6324914.Homer_and_Langley_A_Novel">Homer and Langley: A Novel (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12584.E_L_Doctorow">E.L. Doctorow</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78176839</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255578620s/6324914.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:14:29 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Filled with more than a few poignant moments and poetic excerpts, Doctorow's current novel uses as a starting point the infamous New York saga of the Collyer Brothers- hoarder recluses extraordinaire, who perished in their Harlem brownstone in the late 1940's amid their collected debris. The author ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Filled%20with%20more%20than%20a%20few%20poignant%20moments%20and%20poetic%20excerpts,%20Doctorow's%20current%20novel%20uses%20as%20a%20starting%20point%20the%20infamous%20New%20York%20saga%20of%20the%20Collyer%20Brothers-%20hoarder%20recluses%20extraordinaire,%20who%20perished%20in%20their%20Harlem%20brownstone%20in%20the%20late%201940's%20amid%20their%20collected%20debris.%20The%20author%20takes%20the%20elements%20of%20their%20situation%20as%20a%20blueprint%20of%20sorts,%20altering%20a%20host%20of%20factors,%20some%20significant,%20others%20less%20so.%20Most%20importantly%20perhaps%20is%20his%20decision%20to%20cast%20the%20brothers%20in,%20if%20not%20exactly%20a%20favorable%20light,%20a%20certainly%20more%20sympathetic%20tone%20than%20their%20actual%20anti-social%20behavior%20and%20undeniably%20OCD%20qualities%20might%20have%20warranted.%20By%20extending%20their%20lives%20into%20subsequent%20decades,%20Doctorow%20is%20able%20to%20drop%20in%20reflections%20on%20the%20shifting%20cultural%20mores%20of%20the%20sixties,%20as%20well%20as%20a%20brief%20hint%20at%20the%20dire%20circumstances%20in%20the%20city%20as%20the%20seventies%20rolled%20around.%20Because%20he%20has%20opted%20to%20expand%20the%20period%20of%20the%20tale,%20one%20would%20almost%20have%20wished%20for%20even%20greater%20consideration%20of%20the%20distinct%20eras,%20and%20also%20a%20more%20gradual%20process%20of%20withdrawal%20by%20the%20brothers.%20Doctorow%20has%20taken%20the%20short%20but%20sweet%20route%20here,%20when%20there%20is%20certainly%20the%20structure%20in%20place%20for%20mounting%20a%20deeper%20exploration%20of%20the%20main%20characters'%20isolationist%20perspectives%20and%20individualism,%20especially%20vis-a-vis%20the%2060's%20tone%20of%20communality%20and%20distrust%20of%20authority.%20Also%20ripe%20for%20probing%20is%20the%20very%20notion%20of%20man%20as%20a%20social%20creature.%20There%20is%20much%20to%20recommend%20this%20effort,%20but%20at%20barely%20over%20200%20pages,%20it%20feels%20like%20merely%20a%20peek%20inside%20the%20Collyers%20front%20door.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/148216.The_Epicure_s_Lament">The Epicure's Lament (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/85746.Kate_Christensen">Kate Christensen</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77235701</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172193951s/148216.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:41:55 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Kate Christensen's The Epicure's Lament is a thoroughly entertaining read. Though there isn't much in the way of narrative thrust or, frankly, any terrific resonance, the narrator's erudite biliousness is a scintillating treat. <br/>Ensconced in an ancestral upstate manse and fortified with family-...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Kate%20Christensen's%20The%20Epicure's%20Lament%20is%20a%20thoroughly%20entertaining%20read.%20Though%20there%20isn't%20much%20in%20the%20way%20of%20narrative%20thrust%20or,%20frankly,%20any%20terrific%20resonance,%20the%20narrator's%20erudite%20biliousness%20is%20a%20scintillating%20treat.%20%0D%0AEnsconced%20in%20an%20ancestral%20upstate%20manse%20and%20fortified%20with%20family-derived%20funds,%20he%20is%20committed%20to%20a%20solitary%20existence%20and%20intent%20on%20an%20early%20demise.%20Hugo%20continues%20to%20smoke%20profusely%20even%20though%20it%20exacerbates-%20to%20the%20point%20of%20fatality-%20a%20diagnosed%20medical%20condition.%20To%20counter%20the%20chronic%20pain,%20he%20adheres%20to%20a%20strict%20regimen%20of%20alcohol%20and%20Oxycontin,%20as%20well%20as%20the%20occasional%20diversionary%20sex.%0D%0AComplications%20to%20his%20agenda%20arise%20however%20when%20a%20flurry%20of%20events%20deposits%20his%20just%20separated%20brother,%20a%20distant%20wife%20and%20possible%20daughter,%20and%20%22Fag%20Uncle%20Tommy%22%20at%20his%20door.%20Then%20there%20is%20his%20sister-in-law,%20the%20brother's%20mistress-to-be%20and%20her%20possibly%20pedophile%20husband,%20and%20Schlomo%2FPete%20Stravinsky-%20the%20hit%20man.%20The%20isolationist%20policy%20becomes%20a%20bit%20untenable.%0D%0AFortunately,%20Christensen%20resists%20the%20temptation%20to%20soften%20the%20character's%20resolve,%20and%20have%20him-%20definitively%20at%20least-%20swayed%20by%20these%20increasing%20interactions.%20There's%20a%20slight%20trace%20of%20a%20certain%20newfound%20spirit%20of%20family%20connectivity,%20but%20nothing%20unpleasantly%20warm%20and%20fuzzy.%20She%20doesn't%20jettison%20Hugo's%20nastiness%20or%20disdain%20for%20sentimentality.%0D%0AThe%20conclusion,%20though%20not%20wholly%20satisfying-%20whether%20one%20hopes%20for%20either%20emphatic%20Light%20or%20Dark-%20is%20perhaps%20in%20actuality%20how%20life%20ultimately%20is,%20unresolved.%20%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2615008.Netherland">Netherland (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/389474.Joseph_O_Neill">Joseph O'Neill</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76469154</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255793924s/2615008.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:15:18 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[I waited out the hoopla on this one, and approached it now with just a vague recollection of the initial acclaim. I mention this as my cousin indicated he felt it failed to live up to the expectations generated by the reviews. Despite there being not much in the way of a narrative thrust, and the ma...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/I%20waited%20out%20the%20hoopla%20on%20this%20one,%20and%20approached%20it%20now%20with%20just%20a%20vague%20recollection%20of%20the%20initial%20acclaim.%20I%20mention%20this%20as%20my%20cousin%20indicated%20he%20felt%20it%20failed%20to%20live%20up%20to%20the%20expectations%20generated%20by%20the%20reviews.%20Despite%20there%20being%20not%20much%20in%20the%20way%20of%20a%20narrative%20thrust,%20and%20the%20main%20protagonist%2Fnarrator-%20Hans%20van%20den%20Broek-%20is%20emotionally%20removed%20from%20his%20own%20experience,%20I%20thoroughly%20appreciated%20the%20author's%20vaguely%20melancholic%20considerations%20of%20faith,%20family,%20and%20dislocation,%20as%20well%20as%20his%20often%20poetic%20way%20of%20expressing%20these%20reflections.%20The%20character's%20inertia%20is%20not%20especially%20appealing,%20but%20his%20thoughts%20are%20sharp%20throughout.%20His%20remembrances%20of%20growing%20up%20in%20The%20Hague%20bleed%20into%20experiences%20with%20Brooklyn's%20immigrant%20communities,%20and%20circle%20back%20to%20his%20situation%20with%20the%20British%20wife%20whom%20he%20struggles%20to%20find%20common%20ground%20with-%20ideologically%20and%20geographically.%0D%0AThe%20book's%20most%20spirited%20spots%20occur%20during%20Hans'%20interactions%20with%20Chuck%20Ramkissoon,%20a%20Trinidadian%20entrepreneur%20who%20seems%20to%20have%20a%20finger%20in%20every%20other%20pot,%20and%20is%20dedicated%20to%20bringing%20a%20premium%20cricket%20playing%20facility%20to%20Floyd%20Bennett%20Field.%20Despite%20Chuck's%20sometime%20shadowy%20behavior,%20his%20unflagging%20enthusiasm%20and%20rabid%20faith%20in%20America's%20promise%20of%20opportunity%20strikes%20a%20chord%20with%20Hans,%20who's%20ability%20to%20be%20engaged%20seems%20dormant.%20The%20portrait%20of%20New%20York%20in%20a%20post-9%2F11%20haze%20is%20deftly%20drawn%20and%20mournfully%20familiar,%20a%20subtly%20haunted%20quality%20coloring%20the%20city.%20">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4961778.Brief_Wondrous_Life_of_Oscar_Wao">Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55215.Junot_D_az">Junot Díaz</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76494533</link>
    <image_url>http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518rVo3Yz0L._SL75_.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:11:45 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6512154-zeitoun">Zeitoun (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3371.Dave_Eggers">Dave Eggers</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69549280</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255571504s/6512154.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:12:45 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Not as gut-wrenching as &quot;What is the What&quot;, but similarly compelling, poignant and disturbing. Centered around Katrina-related misfortune and injustices, this tale- like &quot;What&quot;- springs from actual incidents and experiences.<br/>Initially, the hardships of the storm are formidab...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Not%20as%20gut-wrenching%20as%20%22What%20is%20the%20What%22,%20but%20similarly%20compelling,%20poignant%20and%20disturbing.%20Centered%20around%20Katrina-related%20misfortune%20and%20injustices,%20this%20tale-%20like%20%22What%22-%20springs%20from%20actual%20incidents%20and%20experiences.%0D%0AInitially,%20the%20hardships%20of%20the%20storm%20are%20formidable%20and%20grim,%20but%20as%20the%20days%20progress,%20chaos,%20paranoia%20and%20firearms%20spread%20throughout%20New%20Orleans,%20making%20a%20horrible%20situation%20worse.%20It%20is%20during%20this%20time%20that%20the%20book's%20protagonist,%20Abdulrahman%20Zeitoun,%20is%20seized%20in%20a%20possible%2Fprobable%20instance%20of%20post-9%2F11%20racial%20profiling%20and%20incarcerated%20for%20suspected%20terrorist%20activities.%20His%20wife%20Kathy%20has%20taken%20their%20children%20and%20travelled%20to%20Arizona%20to%20stay%20with%20friends,%20and%20when%20unable%20to%20get%20in%20contact%20with%20her%20husband%20for%20days,%20begins%20to%20fear%20the%20worst.%0D%0AEggers%20does%20an%20excellent%20job%20of%20creating%20structure%20and%20suspense.%20His%20spare%20fashion%20of%20relating%20the%20events%20and%20sentiments%20adds%20greater%20potency%20and%20heightens%20the%20feelings%20of%20uncertainty,%20rage%20and%20disbelief.%20Yet%20in%20spite%20of%20the%20harsh%20subject%20matter,%20despair%20is%20never%20the%20predominant%20sensation;%20again,%20as%20was%20somehow%20accomplished%20with%20%22What%22,%20there%20is%20an%20almost%20calm%20and%20firm%20sense%20of%20Hope%20that%20pervades%20the%20work%20and%20remains%20with%20the%20reader.%20Well%20done!">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="comment">
    <action_text><![CDATA[new comment from Alex]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64736587</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1203535494s/315425.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:28:57 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[I felt that way during the middle of this one, sensing some redundancy from the first. Have a hot dog and unwind.]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 2 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6065178.In_the_Kitchen_A_Novel">In the Kitchen: A Novel (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11271.Monica_Ali">Monica Ali</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64198070</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255711405s/6065178.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:29:46 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[There's hardly a spot where In the Kitchen is not what might be considered well written; however, despite that and a promising plot, the characters and narrative never seem to coalesce. There are moments of interesting insights, as well as top notch descriptive work, and the pace picks up in the fin...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/There's%20hardly%20a%20spot%20where%20In%20the%20Kitchen%20is%20not%20what%20might%20be%20considered%20well%20written;%20however,%20despite%20that%20and%20a%20promising%20plot,%20the%20characters%20and%20narrative%20never%20seem%20to%20coalesce.%20There%20are%20moments%20of%20interesting%20insights,%20as%20well%20as%20top%20notch%20descriptive%20work,%20and%20the%20pace%20picks%20up%20in%20the%20final%20quarter,%20but%20a%20basic%20problem%20is%20the%20essentially%20murky%20nature%20of%20the%20lead%20character,%20Chef%20Gabe%20Lightfoot.%20Not%20charming%20rogue,%20grating%20blowhard%20or%20impassioned%20artisan,%20he's%20a%20confused%20composition%20of%20bad%20judgment,%20poor%20impulses%20and%20misguided%20righteousness,%20and%20his%20muddled%20makeup%20seems%20to%20carry%20over%20into%20the%20portrayal%20of%20him.%20The%20representations%20of%20the%20kitchen%20crew%20also%20just%20don't%20quite%20click.%20Clearly%20Ali%20is%20trying%20to%20lay%20out%20a%20multi-culti%20tableau%20and%20examine%20the%20interactions,%20but%20here%20too,%20figures%20simply%20don't%20spring%20to%20life.%20This%20should%20have%20been%20tighter%20and%20tauter%20at%20the%20very%20least.%20An%20overly%20sappy%20finale%20is%20also%20disappointing.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 2 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/290742.The_Great_Man_A_Novel">The Great Man: A Novel (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/85746.Kate_Christensen">Kate Christensen</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/63255028</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173455432s/290742.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Sat, 18 Jul 2009 13:06:37 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[While this is a largely enjoyable read, there are some miscues here and there that hinder it from being a notch or two better. Occasionally the author will offer up an incident or character but doesn't quite capture the intended vibe. Though it's apparent what the type of figure or scene is that she...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/While%20this%20is%20a%20largely%20enjoyable%20read,%20there%20are%20some%20miscues%20here%20and%20there%20that%20hinder%20it%20from%20being%20a%20notch%20or%20two%20better.%20Occasionally%20the%20author%20will%20offer%20up%20an%20incident%20or%20character%20but%20doesn't%20quite%20capture%20the%20intended%20vibe.%20Though%20it's%20apparent%20what%20the%20type%20of%20figure%20or%20scene%20is%20that%20she's%20trying%20to%20portray,%20it's%20frustrating%20and%20a%20bit%20distracting%20to%20not%20have%20it%20nailed-%20eg.%20the%20proverbial%20jarring%20NYC%20cab%20ride,%20a%20soiree%20awash%20in%20art%20world%20pretension,%20the%20closeted%20would-be%20academic.%20The%20elderly%20female%20leads%20are%20nicely%20drawn,%20particularly%20the%20%22great%20man's%22%20sister%20and%20longtime%20mistress,%20and%20their%20interactions%20are%20intriguing.%20I%20am%20hoping%20that%20these%20evolving%20relationships,%20with%20their%20envy,%20acceptance%20and%20exploration,%20remain%20the%20focus%20of%20the%20piece%20as%20it%20concludes.%20More%20than%20a%20few%20curious%2Fupsetting%20racial%20remarks.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6392553-nazi-literature-in-the-americas">Nazi Literature in the Americas (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/72039.Roberto_Bola_o">Roberto Bolaño</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62933233</link>
    <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:59:07 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Peppered with bursts of creativity- slyly scathing, humorous, both outlandish and utterly believable- these random faux portraits of largely tainted literary figures offer up the usual Bolano panache.<br/>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/961440.Aloft">Aloft (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21050.Chang_Rae_Lee">Chang-Rae Lee</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/60665143</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179837860s/961440.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">976700</id>
  <name>Alex Roberts</name>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239114687p2/976700.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/976700-alex-roberts</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:36:05 -0700</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Aloft is turning out to be a pretty damn good read. So on the mark with so many observations about family, aging, suburban lifestyle and relationships. My only qualm is that sometimes the narrator is just a bit too knowing and insightful for someone who supposedly spent the bulk of their existence o...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Aloft%20is%20turning%20out%20to%20be%20a%20pretty%20damn%20good%20read.%20So%20on%20the%20mark%20with%20so%20many%20observations%20about%20family,%20aging,%20suburban%20lifestyle%20and%20relationships.%20My%20only%20qualm%20is%20that%20sometimes%20the%20narrator%20is%20just%20a%20bit%20too%20knowing%20and%20insightful%20for%20someone%20who%20supposedly%20spent%20the%20bulk%20of%20their%20existence%20oblivious%20to%20the%20many%20sentiments%20he%20seems%20so%20in%20touch%20with%20now%20as%20he%20nears%20sixty.%20Certainly,%20we%20should%20all%20hope%20that%20some%20measure%20of%20clarity%20and%20understanding%20awaits%20us%20further%20down%20the%20path,%20but%20often%20it%20feels%20more%20like%20the%20author's%20literary%20panache%20poking%20through%20rather%20than%20these%20revelations%20forming%20in%20the%20voice%20and%20tone%20of%20the%20protagonist.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
  </updates>
      
</user>

</GoodreadsResponse>