Amsterdam: A Novel

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When good-time, fortysomething Molly Lane dies of an unspecified degenerative illness, her many friends and numerous lovers are led to think about their own mortality. Vernon Halliday, editor of the upmarket newspaper the Judge, persuades his old friend Clive Linley, a self-indulgent composer of some reputation, to enter into a euthanasia pact with him. Should either of them be stricken with such an illness, the other will bring about his death. From this point onward we are in little doubt as to Amsterdam's outcome--it's only a matter of who will kill whom. In the meantime, compromising photographs of Molly's most distinguished lover, foreign secretary Julian Garmony, have found their way into the hands of the press, and as rumors circulate he teeters on the edge of disgrace. However, this is McEwan, so it is no surprise to find that the rather unsavory Garmony comes out on top. Ian McEwan is master of the writer's craft, and while this is the sort of novel that wins prizes, his characters remain curiously soulless amidst the twists and turns of plot. --Lisa Jardine

Book Description

On a chilly February day, two old friends meet in the throng outside a London crematorium to pay their last respects to Molly Lane. Both Clive Linley and Vernon Halliday had been Molly's lovers in the days before they reached their current eminence: Clive is Britain's most successful modern composer, and Vernon is editor of the newspaper The Judge. Gorgeous, feisty Molly had other lovers, too, notably Julian Garmony, Foreign Secretary, a notorious right-winger tipped to be the next prime minister.

In the days that follow Molly's funeral, Clive and Vernon will make a pact with consequences that neither could have foreseen. Each will make a disastrous moral decision, their friendship will be tested to its limits, and Julian Garmony will be fighting for his political life. A sharp contemporary morality tale, cleverly disguised as a comic novel, Amsterdam is "as sheerly enjoyable a book as one is likely to pick up this year" (The Washington Post Book World).

Customer Reviews:

clever but slow.......2007-10-06

This is a clever and entertaining little book (170 pages) but in parts I found it awfully slow: As with Saturday, McEwan spends a lot of pages describing music and that aspect bored me and slowed things down a little too much.
The book concerns the aftermath of Molly's death. Vernon and Clive are ex-lover's of Molly, while Julian had her last, or rather, owned her last before her death. The three men meet at Molly's cremation and the reader is shown Vernon and Clives jealous hate/contempt/prejudice for Julian (the Foreign Secretary). Vernon is a newspaper editor whose paper is going down the pan. Clive is a composer of music who is struggling for inspiration. I do wish McEwan wouldn't pick such highbrow people for characters- it makes them feel awfully remote to me. Anyway, most of the book is about their individual pressures, moral, financial (Vernon) and artistic/egotistic (Clive). It all comes together in the end though without spoiling it for you I found the end too contrived and hard to swallow. But the book entertained me somewhat and I would just recommend it. I would have prefferred Restraint of Beasts to have won the Booker that year.

Blandsterdam.......2007-09-17

Having just gone on a two week Ian McEwan jag, reading "Saturday," "On Chesil Beach" and "Amsterdam" in rapid succession, I would warn any McEwan first-timers to read something else first. I thought "Saturday" was a terrific fast-paced novel of ideas. I thought "On Chesil Beach" was engaging and charming, if a little heavy handed. I just thought "Amsterdam" was boring. It's not humorous enough to be funny, not smart enough to be thought-provoking and not suspenseful enough to be gripping.
It's a banal character study of two professionally-successful narcissists that ends with a strange but not quite believable twist.
Amsterdam is a short, quick trip but doesn't really take you anywhere.

Not Really Worth The Effort.......2007-09-04

Sure, it won the Booker prize, or the writer did -- whatever: the best thing I can say about this is a) I liked the ending and b) I wish it hadn't taken quite so long to get to it. Would have made a great novella.

Too many unanswered questions........2007-09-02

This book was very odd. The story begins with the death of Molly. Molly who was the friend of several men, and the lover of several others even though she was married. Two of her previous lovers, Clive and Vernon, attend the funeral and pay their respects. Then they go off and continue to live their lives, but they have both been changed as a result of the loss of their mutual friend. I am still trying to figure out what the plot was. Is jealousy the main theme or friendship gone array? Is it the continuation of life after the death of someone very close? Life that follows a dismal path. I don't have the answer to these questions. I found the writing to be a bit too wordy. I also found the ideas to be choppy and scattered. This is the first McEwan book I have read and I have to say, I am not impressed.

Flowing Prose...Not as Much Story.......2007-08-24

This was my first Ian McEwan read. I picked it up as it was our next book group book.

At the funeral of Molly Lane, the reader is introduced to three of her ex-lovers: Clive Linley, a musical composer; Vernon Halliday, editor of a tabloid newspaper; and Julian Garmony, and important political figure in London. Clive and Vernon catch up as they are old friends and make a pact that they will never let the other suffer as Molly had suffered prior to passing. Through out the book they both make decisions that impact their lives. This book deals with themes of: ambition, betrayal, trust, and selfishness.

If you are someone who can appreciate prose and a writing style without needing the story to be incredibly captivating and page turning then you might enjoy this read. The story itself is not overly compelling but McEwan's description and writing style flow so beautifully that you'll appreciate the book perhaps more than you thought.

City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan

Average customer rating:

City of Dream, Beverly Swerling
4 1/2 Stars -- Very Hard To Put Down!
Another one in the minority here
Outstanding read!
loved it !!!!

City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan
Beverly Swerling
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684871726
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Book Description

Rich with unforgettable characters and history, intricately plotted and utterly absorbing, City of Dreams is a stirring saga of early Manhattan and the beginnings of medical science told by a master storyteller.

In 1661, Lucas Turner and his sister, Sally, stagger off a small wooden ship after eleven weeks at sea to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam.

Lucas, a barber surgeon, and Sally, an apothecary, are both gifted healers and bound to each other by blood and necessity. Yet as their new lives unfold, lust, betrayal, and murder will make them deadly enemies. In their struggle to survive in the New World, both make choices that will burden their descendants -- dedicated physicians and surgeons, pirates and whoremasters -- with a legacy of secrets and retribution. That heritage sets cousin against cousin, physician against surgeon, and ultimately, patriot against Tory.

In a city where slaves are burned alive on Wall Street, where James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams walk The Broad Way arguing America's destiny, and where one of the greatest hospitals in the world is born in former shipwrights' workshops by the East River, the fortunes of the two families are inextricably entwined. Their pride and ambition, their loves and hates, and their willingness to live by their own rules will shape the future of medicine, and the becoming of the dream that is New York.

Customer Reviews:

City of Dream, Beverly Swerling.......2007-08-23

Fantastic Historic read. The story takes unexpected turns through several generations. Characters jump off the page and stayed with me for a long time. Ms. Swerling has a great gift to put you into that space and time.

4 1/2 Stars -- Very Hard To Put Down!.......2007-04-18

Beverly Swerling's City Of Dreams is a sweeping epic of (primarily) two families starting from Manhattan's beginnings as a Dutch colony in the 1660's through the American Revolution, when New York became a new nation's city of dreams. Swerling provides the right blend of interesting historical facts about Nieuw Amsterdam/New York and the early days of medicine, mystery, excitement, sex, a well-developed plot, and a array of fictional and real characters to make City Of Dreams a book that is difficult to put down. Her strong writing ability made me feel that I stepped back over 300 years in time and was right there with the characters experiencing life during a fascinating time in our history. I highly recommend The City Of Dreams if you are a fan of historical fiction. I'm looking forward to reading Swerling's two other books, Shadowbrook and City Of Glory.

Another one in the minority here.......2007-02-10

I am sorry, as much as I love historical fiction, and as much as I LOVED Shadowbrook, I could not get into this book. While I appreciate the amount of research the author did into medical history of this time and treatment of slaves, the gore factor is WAY OVER THE TOP. Page after page after page, compounded with unappealing characters who even if one started to care, disappeared into another generation.

I gave up after 200 pages. I give the author kudos for the well done research and keeping with known facts, but as stated before, the gore factor is way over what I can stomach for 600 pages. If you are not sure if this is for you, I suggest you check it our from your local libary. Then, if you absolutely love it, buy it. JMHO.

Outstanding read!.......2006-11-01

I could not put this wonderful work of historical fiction down! Two thumbs up! The author did a fantastic job of weaving this tale and these wonderful characters together. One of the things I like about the book is that I don't always like the attributes of the character, nor do I like what they do or how they act or feel...but I care about what happens to them and can't stop wanting to know more. What a wonderful read....I am on a quest to find more by this talented author.

loved it !!!!.......2006-10-20

wow this author is so good! i could not put this book down. the perfect book. has love, lust, anger, betrayal and it makes you feel as if you were in the actual story!

Average customer rating:

AMONG THE BEST...
"Orphans. Illegal immigrants. What a perfect combination of the unwanted and the desperate."
An up-and-coming author
Transcendent
a fresh voice

The Night Ferry
Michael Robotham
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0385517904
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Book Description

A young policewoman breaks all the rules to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of the best friend she betrayed in this stunning follow-up thriller from the author of Suspect and Lost.

Ali Barba, a Sikh detective with the Metropolitan Police, is recovering from injuries sustained in the line of duty when she receives a letter from her estranged friend, Cate, imploring her to come to their high school reunion. Alarmed by the urgent tone of the note, and eager to make amends for her unforgivable past behavior, Ali goes to the reunion. Cate is pregnant, but before Ali has the chance to congratulate her, Cate hurriedly whispers, “They want to take my baby. You have to stop them.” It is the only hint of Cate’s troubles Ali manages to get. As they are leaving the reunion, Cate and her husband are run down by a car and killed. The mystery darkens when it is discovered that Cate had faked her pregnancy by tying a pillow underneath her dress.

All Ali has to go on is a file in Cate’s desk that contains two ultrasound pictures, letters from a fertility clinic, and various papers that seem to confirm the unborn baby’s existence. As she puts together the pieces, her search takes her to Amsterdam and into the company of some very unsavory people on both sides of the Channel who'll do anything to thwart her investigation.

A gripping thriller and a searing tale of the search for redemption, The Night Ferry is Michael Robotham’s finest novel yet.

Customer Reviews:

AMONG THE BEST..........2007-10-04

M.R. A REFRESHING NEW TALENT WHO KNOWS HOW TO GRIP YOUR ATTENTION. THE LEVEL OF EXCITEMENT IS WAY UP ON YOUR AVERAGE THRILLER - THE NIGHTFERRY PROVES A MAN OF EXTRAORDINARY IMAGINATION AND DEPT.

"Orphans. Illegal immigrants. What a perfect combination of the unwanted and the desperate.".......2007-09-10

Two returning characters are featured in Robotham's latest thriller, Sikh homicide detective Alisha Barba and Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz. Out of commission since a serious back injury from her last case with Ruiz and many operations later, Barba is drawn into the pursuit of an ingenious and brutal criminal enterprise brought to the surface when Ali's high school friend requests her help. Although they have been estranged for years, Cate plans to meet Ali at their high school reunion. Unfortunately, the very pregnant Cate has little time to explain her dilemma before she and her husband are hit by an oncoming taxi outside the reunion venue. Left to ponder Cate's desperate last words- "they want to take my baby"- Barba is compelled to uncover the cause of Cate's urgency.

Seeking the advice of the now-retired DI Ruiz, Ali and her former boss begin a multi-layered investigation that spans London and Amsterdam, with ties to Afghanistan, the indifferent exploitation of innocents and a massive conspiracy. Peopled with the simply corrupt to the casually violent, Barba and Ruiz come in contact with the helpless victims caught in a monstrous scheme to defraud, abuse and profit from the hardship of the helpless. Following Cate's paper trail, Ali and Ruiz travel to Amsterdam, led finally to a crowded tenement and two helpless women. Given her last experience with violent criminals, Barba is no stranger to the expedience of brutality, her ruined back a constant reminder; but the Netherlands presents a new set of horrors, a group of sociopaths intent on bringing their evil plot to fruition, profit the great motivator.

Exploring Ali and Cate's broken friendship, Ali's flirtation with an unsuitable man and the evolving relationship between Barba and Ruiz, Robotham tackles his subject with confidence and compassion in a stunning depiction of how the world works for the predators and their prey. Confronting the lost years of a friendship gone wrong and her fear of commitment, Barba is the vehicle for a powerful message, the brutality that routinely visits the disenfranchised: "In Afghanistan we sleep with the thorns and not the flowers." Falling into the horrors bred of greed and exploitation, Ali and the DI are assaulted, beaten and bloody, but refuse to forego their commitment to Cate's legacy, regardless of personal consequences. With a shocking plot and finely nuanced prose, Ruiz remains Barba's rock, Alisha proving herself a valuable asset, a fearless detective and a loyal friend. Luan Gaines/2007.

An up-and-coming author.......2007-09-05

First Sentence: It was Graham Greene who said a story has no beginning or end.

DS Alisha Barba is going to her school reunion to see her former best friend Cate Beaumount, from whom she has been estranged for eight years. Cate appears to be eight months pregnant but when a car runs her down, Ali finds Cate is wearing padding to appear pregnant yet tells Ali that someone is trying to take her baby away. Among Cate's possessions, Ali finds a sonogram of twins. In trying to find out what is going on, Ali is plunged into a world of prostitution, human-smuggling, and forced pregnancies.

There are so many layers to this book. Ali is a woman police officer dealing with all the prejudices that women face working in a testosterone environment. Ali is a Sikh so she has that prejudice to deal with, as well as a very traditional mother always trying to arrange a marriage for her. Robotham has done a masterful job of creating this character and giving her a voice. She has a past, a sense of humor and a drive to uncover the truth and find justice that make her a strong, interesting and, occasionally, a reckless character. There were times I wanted to yell at her for being stupid and was amazed at her ability to take a severe beating and keep going. It is a painful book to read, at times. We may complain about immigration problems in our country--we have nothing about which to complain--and the issue of orphaned children and the treatment of women in other parts of the world is something about which most of us are exceedingly naïve. However, those elements never overwhelmed the story. The suspense grew as the story progressed and I found myself staying up way to late because I wasn't going to bed without finishing it. I haven't read Robotham's previous books but I'm sure going to look for them as well as new books up and coming.

Transcendent.......2007-08-25

Editors always say that they want a book that transcends genre. Here is exhibit A. The book is even more successful than its predecessor, Lost, and that is saying a great deal. The characters are both interesting and absorbing, the themes both contemporary and eternal, the plot stunning in its twists, turns and inevitabilities. Its effects accumulate gradually until the book's final third--which reaches a pile-driving crescendo of suspense, tragic realism, and satisfying resolution, all punctuated with very-carefully measured ladles of exquisite, appropriate violence.

I would say that the book is a perfect model for the aspiring crime novelist--tried and true but refreshingly new, faithful to genre in every way, but stretching it at every point, and demonstrating the transcendent powers of the form in the hands of a skilled practitioner. The only problem with using it as a model is that it is so intimidating in its reach, its knowledge, and in its ultimate success.

By every measure, Robotham is one of the most important new voices in crime fiction. Don't miss him.

a fresh voice.......2007-07-31

The narrative voice of Alisha Barba, Olympic-class runner and collector of elephants, is original, both in tone and content. I know virtually nothing about Sikh culture, so I can't judge accuracy, but Ali's casual monologue on the life and loves of a "Sikh girl" is very engaging. Her sentences are choppy and terse, as though she speaks while on one of her runs. At first it's hard to follow a line of thought, but the reader quickly gets used to it.

Robotham stays consistent to DC Barba's voice as the story develops. Big picture, well things occasionally do seem random, jagged, lacking smooth transitions. But life is like that, isn't it? Stuff keeps happening. The events arise logically from the immediate action, even if Alisha's actions are often ill-considered and unwise. She's a bit preachy, but that fits in with her character, and at least she's funny about it.

The supporting characters - boyfriend, old boss, Dutch policeman, father of dead best friend, deaf girl, bad boys and evil men - are vivid and individual, each with ticks that allow us to remember them sans a ton of narrative each time they pop up. We come to care about these people, even the bad ones. Robotham has my favorite formula: vivid settings, new stuff to learn, and engaging characters, all in a plot that rarely drags.

Unlike many thriller writers, Robotham isn't afraid of women. Both Ali and Samira are strong and brave and accomplished, but neither topples into that favorite mold of thriller-mills, the multi-tasking, ultra-hot Super-Chick, the action-Barbie who is merely the flip-side of vacuous. These women make mistakes, misunderstand circumstances, misread people. And yet they are still strong enough to rise above their own errors and carry the action with them.

I'm going to go back to read the author's earlier books, even though Alisha isn't a main character. I just hope that we see more of Ms Barba in the future.

Average customer rating:

Insert Coffee Pun Here
Fictional Insights into 17th Century Amsterdam
Wonderful historical fiction
Crackling good "noire" novel that transcends typical categories.
Caffeinated historical fiction

The Coffee Trader: A Novel
David Liss
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375508546
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Book Description

The Edgar Award–winning novel A Conspiracy of Paper was one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2000. In his richly suspenseful second novel, author David Liss once again travels back in time to a crucial moment in cultural and financial history. His destination: Amsterdam, 1659—a mysterious world of trade populated by schemers and rogues, where deception rules the day.

On the world’s first commodities exchange, fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Miguel Lienzo, a sharp-witted trader in the city’s close-knit community of Portuguese Jews, knows this only too well. Once among the city’s most envied merchants, Miguel has lost everything in a sudden shift in the sugar markets. Now, impoverished and humiliated, living on the charity of his petty younger brother, Miguel must find a way to restore his wealth and reputation.

Miguel enters into a partnership with a seduc-tive Dutchwoman who offers him one last chance at success—a daring plot to corner the market of an astonishing new commodity called “coffee.” To succeed, Miguel must risk everything he values and test the limits of his commercial guile, facing not only the chaos of the markets and the greed of his competitors, but also a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to see him ruined. Miguel will learn that among Amsterdam’s ruthless businessmen, betrayal lurks everywhere, and even friends hide secret agendas.

With humor, imagination, and mystery, David Liss depicts a world of subterfuge, danger, and repressed longing, where religious and cultural traditions clash with the demands of a new and exciting way of doing business. Readers of historical suspense and lovers of coffee (even decaf) will be up all night with this beguiling novel.

Download Description

On the world's first commodities exchange, fortunes are won and lost in an instant. Miguel Lienzo, a sharp-witted trader in the city's close-knit community of Portuguese Jews, knows this only too well. Once among the city's most envied merchants, Miguel has lost everything in a sudden shift in the sugar markets. Now, impoverished and humiliated, living on the charity of his petty younger brother, Miguel must find a way to restore his wealth and reputation.

Miguel enters into a partnership with a seductive Dutchwoman who offers him one last chance at success -- a daring plot to corner the market of an astonishing new commodity called "coffee." To succeed, Miguel must risk everything he values and test the limits of his commercial guile, facing not only the chaos of the markets and the greed of his competitors, but also a powerful enemy who will stop at nothing to see him ruined. Miguel will learn that among Amsterdam's ruthless businessmen, betrayal lurks everywhere, and even friends hide secret agendas.

With humor, imagination, and mystery, David Liss depicts a world of subterfuge, danger, and repressed longing, where religious and cultural traditions clash with the demands of a new and exciting way of doing business. Readers of historical suspense and lovers of coffee (even decaf) will be up all night with this beguiling novel.

“A novel overflowing with intrigue and duplicity... Once you’ve wandered the back alleys of Amsterdam with David Liss, you’ll never look at your morning cup of coffee the same way again!”
   SHERI HOLMAN, AUTHOR OF THE DRESS LODGER AND THE MAMMOTH CHEESE

“In his second novel, David Liss creates his own genre: the historical noir. The seventeenth-century Amsterdam he depicts is a wonderfully dark city of secrets, roiling with deceitful maneuverings and caffeine-fueled perils. The Coffee Trader is vivid, utterly absorbing, and more than a little relevant to our current age of financial skulduggery.”
   GARY KRIST, AUTHOR OF EXTRAVAGANCE

“It feels as if David Liss has traveled through time to the stock exchange of seventeenth-century Amsterdam and the immigrant society of Dutch Jews who were forced to reinvent their religion after the ravages of the Inquisition. The Coffee Trader is riveting as a historical re-creation, compelling as a tale, and relevant both about the morality of community—in this case, Jewish community—and about the ethical corruptions of an economy where value is a function of perception, competition, and, above all, manipulation.”
   NEIL GORDON, AUTHOR OF SACRIFICE OF ISAAC AND SEA OF GREEN

“Masterfully plotted, brilliantly imagined, The Coffee Trader brims with intelligence, intrigue, and suspense. David Liss has written a riveting novel about commerce and faith, loyalty and greed.”
   TOVA MIRVIS, AUTHOR OF THE LADIES AUXILIARY

Customer Reviews:

Insert Coffee Pun Here.......2007-09-18

I liked this book but didn't love it. Liss deserves a lot of credit for his ability to create a histroical scene and really put the reader into the time period he is writing about. That said, it wasn't a can't put down book like his two Benjamin Weaver novels.

If you are a fan of Liss you should certainly read this book. If you haven't read any of his novels but are interested go pick up A Spectacle of Corruption: A Novel and A Conspiracy of Paper: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) first, and then come back to it.

Fictional Insights into 17th Century Amsterdam.......2007-08-30

I will never understand why it took me so long to discover this book. Stuck in an airport for one of those endless waits that have become a flying staple, I saw this book on a news stand. I am glad I did.

My endless wait became enjoyable. With The Coffee Trader, author David Liss has penned a page-turning portrait of Amsterdam in 1659. Set around the world's first commodity market, this historical novel has everything: mystery, betrayal, sincerity, deception, revenge, redemption, romance and suspense.

The plot is all-too-understood by anyone who trades for a living. Miguel Lienzo has lost everything. Impoverished and humiliated, he plots a path to return his wealth and reputation. Along the way he encounters unforgettable characters and plot twists.

In addition to being a great read, the book draws a vivid picture of 17th Century Amsterdam. Open to immigration, innovative in its commerce, the city offers a perfect setting for Liss' theme of whether people who manipulate money for a living are inevitably tempted to manipulate truth and morality.

If you are like me and have missed this book, do yourself a favor. Buy a copy. Read it. Its financial schemes, complex characters and intrigue-ridden plot provide an unforgettable story.

Wonderful historical fiction .......2007-05-04

Miguel Lienzo is a Portuguese Jew who fled the Inquisition and ended up in Amsterdam, where he is a none-too-successful commodities trader. Then a mysterious Dutch widow puts him on to something that may be the next big thing -- a drink that energizes you beyond anything you've ever imagined. As Miguel and the widow scheme to corner the coffee market before others can get wind of their scheme, we get all kinds of insights into Jewish life and early financial history, which turns out to be really interesting! Great characters and historical details make this book alive and breathing. I can't wait to read another book by Liss.

Crackling good "noire" novel that transcends typical categories........2007-05-02

The Coffee Trader is an entertaining page turner with danger, romance, mystery and lots and lots of lying and deception on the part of virtually everyone in the narrative. The central action might focus on commodity manipulation (something that some people might find boring - but which is actually as good a theater for action as any crime drama) but the meat of the story involves sexual desire, culture clashes, alliance making and criminal scheming and betrayal straight out of noire film. There's a wicked twist at the end too. The fact that the setting is a brilliantly researched and detailed seventeenth century Amsterdam is just icing on the cake. This one was fun. Highly recommended.

Caffeinated historical fiction.......2007-04-25

I picked up this novel purely by chance as I'd been discussing the coffee trade elsewhere.

What an intriguing novel: set in Amsterdam in 1659 and based on commodities exchange, we follow the fortunes of Miguel Lienzo who is one of the traders. Lienzo has lost everything due to a sudden collapse in the sugar market. Can he change his fortunes with success in trading coffee?

At the same time, there is tension within the community of Portugese Jews to which Lienzo belongs and between Lienzo and just about everyone he comes into contact with.

As in all trading, knowledge is power. David Liss brings life to the world of what was, apparently, the world's first commodities exchange. Few of the characters are intrinsically likeable and yet they are perfect for the story.

Highly recommended to those who like suspense in their historical fiction.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Anne Frank (Graphic Biographies (World Almanac) (Graphic Novels))

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Anne Frank (Graphic Biographies (World Almanac) (Graphic Novels))
Elizabeth Hudson-Goff , and Jonatha A. Brown
Manufacturer: Gareth Stevens Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0836861965

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Edu-Manga: Anne Frank (Edu Manga)
Etsuo Suzuki , and Yoko Miyawaki
Manufacturer: Digital Manga Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1569709742

Book Description

For two years, Anne Frank and her family lived in hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex. During this time of fear and oppression, one young girl kept a record of her life. In the midst of the tragedy of war, Anne kept her hopes for peace alive and her indomitable spirit lives on in the words of her Diary.

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Excellent Read
Fascinating
artistic murder

Art of Murder
Jose Carlos Somoza
Manufacturer: Abacus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0349118833

Book Description

Welcome to an art scene where realism has reached a new level, where each painting is literally alive, where the model is the canvas. And for the gorgeous men and women lining up for the privilege—to be painted and posed, bought and rented by collectors—there is one artist to whom they are all drawn: the Dutch master, Bruno van Tysch. A young female model is brutally murdered, and the detectives assigned to the case may have little interest in modern art, but they’re going to have to acquire an appreciation quickly. Van Tysch is about to launch a major exhibition in Amsterdam—the imitation of 13 of Rembrandt’s masterpieces—and rumors are that the killer is about to strike again.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Read.......2007-08-31

I found this to be a thoroughly entertaining, provocative, intelligent book. One of my litmus tests is: would you read it again? And I have, perhaps three or four times. I always find something new in it. I am actually staggered that this book is not more well-known!

Fascinating.......2005-05-14

I doubt there are many authors in the world today with the imagination & creativity of Somoza.

Even though the concepts were slightly weird at the start, they soon became utterly engrossing. The author does an amazing job creating & developing backgrounds and characters.

Highlighting the fact that it's not a traditional "murder mystery" and that the ending is somewhat predictable is simply missing the point.

Every young, aspiring writer should read this. Easily 5 stars.

artistic murder.......2005-03-04

Not a great murder mystery as such, but a very interesting novel that challenges our perceptions of what constitutes art.

Somoza raises really provocative questions as to what we would do for art, is art good because of the way it is marketed and is it better for having a hefty price tag?

The other questions he leaves us with is when is nudity art and when is it pornography? Does this change with how old the model is or how much they want to do it? When does art become abuse and is it excusable because it is art?

I found the concept of the novel intriguing, being a futuristic Europe but with current structures of business and employment exploring the ideal of art. That the book was marketed as a murder/mystery/crime novel was unfortunate as that part of the novel really didn't quite work and got bogged down in the detail of art galleries and art works.

I recommend the book for anyone interested in art or who likes to be extended with new ideas.

Average customer rating:

An Almost Perfect Book
Amazing - great to see it back in print
I cannot praise this one too much.
A stunning Book
An erudite and self-conscious story of 1920's Venice

Gestures: A Novel
H. S. Bhabra
Manufacturer: David R. Godine Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Political | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 156792235X

Book Description

A beautiful and harrowing reflection on memory and accountability, Gestures is a tale of eloquent and tragic force.

The story begins in 1923. A young and inexperienced Foreign Service officer, Jeremy Burnham arrives in the storied and exotic city of Venice to take up his first post. He falls into a friendship with an attractive older woman, Jane Carlyle, who initiates him into Venetian society and introduces him to the enigmatic Eva von Woerden, and the cosmopolitan Jewish art connoisseur Anthony Manet. The destinies of these four characters become enlaced as Venice and Italy fall under the encroaching shadow of fascism. When one of them is brutally murdered, a chain of events is set off that will climax more than twenty years later in the ruins of post-war Amsterdam, when the lessons of courage and moral responsibility implicit in that earlier death are at last made plain. H. S. Bhabra’s stunning novel is a richly wrought narrative of a world caught in the flux of the twentieth century.

Customer Reviews:

An Almost Perfect Book.......2006-06-09

Sometimes novelists overreach. Bhabra almost certainly did, when he undertook to write a book that encompasses all the upheaval, dislocation, pain, betrayal and romance of pre-WWII Venice and post-WWII Amsterdam, as seen through the eyes of an aging aristocratic British career diplomat. Yet what is astonishing is how close this book comes to perfection. It is, after whatever criticism one might have of the plot and the development of the central character, a beautifully written book that displays a formidable knowledge of history and geography. You may not remember the twists and turns of the story, but you will never forget the sense of being completely engrossed in the world that Bhabra creates and of the array of emotions it evokes. It may not be a perfect book, if in fact there is such a thing, but it comes within a hair's breadth of being so. Don't miss it.

Amazing - great to see it back in print.......2005-08-21

I have always liked this book, with its vast international canvas and 'fin de siecle' feel. It was the only one HS Bhabra published under his own name, but fans may like to try the thrillers he wrote as A M KABAL too.

I cannot praise this one too much........2004-10-01

I hesitate writing a review for this book because I fear I lack the words to do it justice. Still, I like to try - if only for the hope that maybe I end up saying something that might convince another reader to pick up this exceptional novel. Certain that he/she will at the end agree that the reading of this novel has been one of the richest reading experiences in his/her life; I know it has been for me.

I first read Gestures over a decade ago and the memory of that experience is still vivid in my mind. What H.S. Bhabra managed to do was draw me in in such an artful way that I wasn't even aware of what was happening. And not until I found myself surrounded by the atmosphere of the characters and places was it that I knew that I was lost in the tale that H.S. Bhabra was telling. A tale told with the virtuosity of an extremely gifted writer.

Like the other reviewer I too stayed up till deep in the night, experiencing a wide range of emotions and feelings that to this day impresses me deeply. Rarely has an author's words managed to evoke half that many emotions and feelings from me as H.S. Bhabra has.

I could, of course, talk about what befalls the characters. Tell about their fate, the places they visit, the relations they have, but I won't. I won't because I'd hate to ruin the surprise. All I will say is that to not read this novel will make you poorer by having missed out on what undoubtedly would have been one of the best reading experiences of your entire life. A big statement, yet I'm certain of its truth.

One last remark. For years I've searched for other books by H.S. Bhabra, to my surprise Amazon did not even have Gestures for sale (this made me anxiously guard my copy of Gestures as I feared losing it and never again being able to read it), and today was the first time when searching for books by Bhabra yielded results. To my surprise I found Gestures. :) It makes me very happy to see this story in print again (it was first published in Great Britain in 1986). Some stories are simply too great to ever be out of print.

A stunning Book.......2003-03-17

...It is a joy to read, and transports the reader to a world that is lost and which few of us living today ever knew existed. But that is only part 1.
It gets better! Taking up the narrative twenty years later in the shambles of post-war Amsterdam, the story, like life, gets deeper. I guessed at less than half of the intrigues and interconnections that are revealed in the denouement.
I was up half the night trying to finish this book, and the other half trying to comprehend what I had read. It is a compelling commetary on the interplay of good and evil, the limits of government, and the tension between truth and diplomacy. I was left turning over in my mind the well-worn words of Edmund Burke "In order for evil to flourish, all that is required is for good men to do nothing". But which of us is good, and which "nothing" should we not do?

An erudite and self-conscious story of 1920's Venice.......2001-01-11

For those who appreciate the old-fashioned British style of novel writing, this Penguin paperback telling of life as a British consul in the 1920's-1930's Venice will be a delight. The man plays as if in his 80's, writing of his youthful work when sent out to Venice. (The author in fact seems to be an Anglo-Indian born in 1955!) He tells of interesting English ex-patriates enjoying the cheap prices of post-WWI Europe, and life in Venice amongst their charms, their parties, their endless hours of leisure. He becomes fond of one Jewish art appraiser and comes to his rescue, he finds himself in confusion over love, and he comments always as if he were now very old and considering all of it again, but in retrospect.

I thoroughly enjoyed this style, and his ability to keep one attached and interested in the motley characters who are tied together by time, place, English language and money, but who then find themselves blown apart by the rise of the Fascisti and the revolutionary forces afloat in Europe.

Average customer rating:

The case of the missing corpse.

An unorthodox mystery, good entertainment

Not your father's mystery novel

other reviewer must be a fan of Dr Seuss

The zen detective squad invades Japan.

The Japanese Corpse: A Novel
Janwillem Van De Wetering
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Blond Baboon (Grijpstra & De Gier Mystery)

The Mind-Murders (Grijpstra De Grier Series)

The Hollow-Eyed Angel (Amsterdam Cops)

Outsider in Amsterdam (Grijpstra & de Gier Mystery)

The Streetbird (Amsterdam Cops)

ASIN: 0395257778

Customer Reviews:

The case of the missing corpse........2003-01-26

The beautiful Joanne Andrews goes to the police looking for her missing boyfriend. The search for him takes Grijpstra and De Gier into the world of art dealers, Yazuka and Zen treasures.

The Japanese Corpse is quite affecting to read. Van De Wetering is more emotionally extreme than usual as he leads De Gier into personal tragedy on his way to solving the mystery.

I have never failed to enjoy a Van de Wetering book-- his ruminitive detectives are just my speed. I have enjoyed some of the other books more than this one (Death of a Hawker, The Blond Baboon), but it is still enjoyable reading.

If you are a fan of smart meditative mysteries, then I cannot recommend Van de Wetering hightly enough.

An unorthodox mystery, good entertainment.......2000-02-04

One of the best Amsterdam Cops mysteries by Janwillem van de Wetering. The author, once a monk in Japanese Zen monastry I visited while in Kyoto, relies heavily on his in-depth knowledge of Japanese culture and customs. Van de Wetering has an eye for detail without neglecting the plot.

In this fifth book of the Grijpstra en de Gier sequence, the commisaris plays a more central role than ever before. The character of commisaris - as the author tells us in one of his interviews - is a blend of his late Kyoto Zen master, his father, and the chief inspector of the Amsterdam police, when van de Wetering served as a cop in this force.

True, the book is a bit on the extreme. Especially the scenes with the Yakuza. But then again, if it were too realistic it wouldn't be a real van de Wetering or good entertainment for that matter. If you like unorthodox books, you will love this one. I most certainly did.

Not your father's mystery novel.......1999-04-07

Yes, van de Wettering is a plodding writer. Yes, his detectives don't do much detecting in this book.

But give him credit for his strengths, including characterization, and for even attempting the bizarre marriage of Zen and the mystery novel.

If you want a Dutch-flavored detective, read Baantjer. In Van de Wettering's books, the cops are far too unearthly to be nailed down to a specific locale; the Netherlands is just as good a place as any to borrow street names from.

All that said, "The Japanese Corpse" is not his best effort. He does seem quite uncomfortable trying to navigate the Japanese scenes, and character motivation is either too blunt (girlfriend and cat die, therefore you punch out punks who are torturing another kitty) or essentially nonexistent.

other reviewer must be a fan of Dr Seuss.......1998-06-13

It shocks and dismays me that the previous reviewer does not have the ability to analyze abstract novels. This is not a Tom Clancy book. Van de Wetering has practiced Zen Buddhism, been a cop in Amsterdam, and traveled the world. His writing is original in style and very abstract. This is not an author whose books I would recommend trying to tear up in an afternoon. But for those out there who have the time and mental capacity to let go and think about a book, Van de Wetering is an excellent choice. Do yourself a favor and don't allow the previous reviewers rant discourage you.

The zen detective squad invades Japan........1998-05-01

Janwillem van de Wetering's fifth Gripstra & De Gier novel is a somewhat convoluted mystery that takes you from the Netherlands to Japan, and back
again.The Amsterdam murder brigade is called on to investigate the disappearance of a mysterious Japanese art dealer.As usual, in this unique mystery series, the detectives are attempting to solve the case, while at the same time they are attempting to expand their understanding of the philosophies of zen Buddhism.In this story, their
investigation takes them to Japan where they encounter the Japanese version of organized crime,
called the yakusa.
The Dutch detectives engage in a philosophical chess match with the yakusa leader that is somewhat confusing to follow, even if you are a fan of this series.
If you are not at all interested in eastern religion and philosophy, then this book is not for you. This series is hardly typical compared to any other detective novels. The emphasis here, as in all of the author's novels in this series, is on Buddhism.
Van de Wetering has an ability to educate his readers while distracting them with subtle humor, and biting sarcasm. If you want to experience a combination of mystery, humor, religion, and philosophy then you will enjoy The Japanese Corpse, as well as the authors other books in this
series.

3 Great Novels: Sister Peters in Amsterdam, Nurse in Holland, Blow Hot, Blow Cold (Harlequin Omnibus, 43)

Average customer rating:

3 Great Novels: Sister Peters in Amsterdam, Nurse in Holland, Blow Hot, Blow Cold (Harlequin Omnibus, 43)
Betty Neels
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OWRM3W

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