Questions For My Father: Finding The Man Behind Your Dad

Book Description

What do you wish you had asked your dad?

What did you feel the first time you cradled me in your arms?

What was your proudest day as a dad?

A little book that asks big questions: some serious, some playful, some risky. "I had ample opportunity to ask Dad these questions when he was alive. But it seemed that a million reasons not to do so could always be found. It was a waste of everything Dad had ever seen, done, and thought about not to hear his answers, and I regret not finding out more about him when I had the chance." This book was borne of that regret and has one underlying objective: to develop a blueprint for discovery so that children of any age can start to build a clearer, deeper picture of the man behind the word Dad.

"So this is for my dad. And for all dads, past, present, and future. And for their sons and daughters. And for the simple pleasure of talking to each other."--Vincent Staniforth

Customer Reviews:

Reminder of what's important.......2003-12-18

The questions in this book allow the reader to muse on their own relationships with their parents and others close to them, and hopefully to realise how important it is to make time to communicate within families. Buy it to read, think and keep it visible on your bookshelf as a reminder of what is important and that there is always time to talk to those close to you, however busy you think you are.

A dark ride.......2002-09-25

At first glance I thought this was just another "quick-fix" book offering [bad] platitudes about the quest to reveal the mythical father-figure.

I started to leaf through it and three days later I'm still excited and troubled by what "Questions" has revealed to me.

The questions are, quite simply, stunning in their originality and form. There's stuff here I wouldn't have thought of asking in a million years.

And then there's the narrative that is sprinkled throughout the text; a dark and troubled trans-America motorcycle trip during which the author has an eerie insight into the importance that his father has played in his life. Too late, of course. Staniforth returns to England just in time to watch his Dad die, and so begins the internal intellectual voyage of discovery about his father.

Read it, use it, buy it for a father or a child. This book can save families.

Questions for My father: finding the man behind your dad.......2002-06-12

A wonderful book to learn more about your father and yourself.
It's also a fantastic conversation maker. Don't miss out on
this jewel of a book.

Asking both hard and easy questions.......2002-01-25

This book asks both hard and easy questions. It gives the reader a chance to get to know the man with the utmost depth. Some of the questions are a little deep, but I encourage the reader to ask them all. Some of the questions may be superficial, but you might get some surprising answers. Good book. Great starting point for getting to know the man behind your dad.

Carthartic Self Discovery.......2002-01-09

Great book for learning about yourself and passing along your feelings, foibles and future wishes to your children. Works well for those that had a great relationship with their own father and want to continue the tradition; works even better for those who weren't close to their own father and want to make the most out of that special relationship with their own children.

Average customer rating:

A must read for promoting acceptance of those with disabilities
Great Book!!!
The best book ever written!
Every Child Should Read
The man who loved clowns (review) : By Kayla Parks

The Man Who Loved Clowns
June Rae Wood
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142404225

Book Description

Delrita likes being invisible. If no one notices her, then no one will notice her uncle Punky either. Punky is a grown man with a child's mind. Delrita loves him dearly and can't stand people making fun of his Down's syndrome. But when tragedy strikes, Delrita's quiet life—and Punky's—are disrupted forever. Can she finally learn to trust others, for her own sake and Punky's? This story captures the joy and sorrow that come when we open our hearts to love.

Winner of the Mark Twain Award

Winner of the William Allen White Award

Customer Reviews:

A must read for promoting acceptance of those with disabilities.......2007-09-24

This is a beautiful, wonderfully written book. Though a work of fiction about a young man named "Punky", author Wood's wrote this book as a tribute to her late brother. I myself am a sibling of a man with Down Syndrome and as such this book is very close to my heart. People with Down Syndrome possess personality traits such as blunt honesty, obsessive/compulsive-like reliance on routine, stubbornness, finding great joy in simple things and in a job well done. Wood's depiction of Punky, who possesses all these traits and more, is dead-on. So much in her characterization of Punky describes my own brother. I am also from Missouri, where the story is set, and can attest to her descriptions of the settings being very accurate. I own this book in paperback and only wish I could still find it in hardback because it will be a permanant part of our family library.

Great Book!!!.......2006-10-12

This book is a "must-read", it is sad at parts but I won't spoil the book for you!!! If you are looking for a great book read this, you should also read the sequel Turtle On A Fence Post, it is also great! The Man Who Loved Clowns is about Delrita, a girl who's uncle "Punky" just turned 35 years old, he has down-syndrome.I won't tell you any more but trust me READ THIS BOOK!!!

The best book ever written! .......2006-05-10

This is the greatest book. Perfect for children of all ages. ITs a heart touching story, and shows how families need to stick together no matter the circumstance. This story is a great example of how no families are perfect. Punky is a wonderful character/person, he touched my life. This book makes you want to smile and cry at the same time. Its an amazing book, don't just take my word for it, go ahead and read it yourself.

Every Child Should Read.......2006-02-28

This is the most sincere book that I have ever read. I actually read it aloud to my 6th grade students. We were all moved and touched so much by the main characters, Punky and Delrita. This book exposed my students to many morals and excellent character traits as they learned the importance of accepting others, even if they are different. My students have missed this book so much since we finished it. I think it will leave an everlasting impact on their lives, and they will always treasure this story that we shared together.

The man who loved clowns (review) : By Kayla Parks.......2005-10-20

Delrita moved to Tangle Nook from a small town. She lived with her mom,dad and uncle Punky. Punky has a disease called Down's syndrome and just turned thirty-five, and it's very unlikely for someone with Down's syndrome to live past forty. Delrita meets Avanelle Shackleford, and her brother Tree. Delrita, and her family pack up and go to Silver Dollar City. While they are there Punky "trades" a clown for clown. That led them to meeting Whittlen Walt. Walt came in handy later when Delrita's parents get in an accident and Walt is there for Delrita, and Punky.
In my opinion this book is an excellent book. It is most definitely highly recommended in my mind.

Average customer rating:

Loved it, very introspective
Magical, fantastic, completely bewitching!
The Hanged Man
Try Other Books First
her most adult novel

The Hanged Man
Francesca Lia Block
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0064408329

Amazon.com

Francesca Lia Block explores love in The Hanged Man, a novel that is not part of the Weetzie Bat series even though it shares the same Los Angeles backdrop. It's the story of 17-year-old Laurel, who lives just below the famous Hollywood sign. Her mind twisted and scarred from painful childhood experiences, Laurel becomes an addict and is driven toward reckless passions and empty mirages of "love." Only when she finds the strength to confront her inner demons is she able to reach out and feel a strong, true love for others, and herself.

Book Description

After the death of her father, Laurel is haunted by a legacy of family secrets, hidden shame, and shattered glass. Immersing herself in the heady rhythms of a city that is like something wild, caged, and pacing, Laurel tries to lose herself. But when she runs away from the past, she discovers a passion so powerful, it brings her roundabout and face-to-face with the demons she wants to avoid.

In a stunning departure from her enormously popular Weetzie Bat books, Francesca Lia Block weaves a darkly exhilarating tale of shattered passions and family secrets.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it, very introspective.......2006-10-12

If you know you LOVE Francesca Lia Block's work, DO NOT go about reading this book first. I did, and got a twisted perception compared to what I think of her now. This book is very raunchy and deep, and you MUST be acquainted with her writing style before reading this book. It is, though, a splendid, dark book. Weetzie Bat should be the first book that anyone reads of Block's, for it is simple and delightful. Block exhibits her versatality in this book and has a knack for describing reality, as lurid as it is.

The book embodies the struggles of Laurel, who lives in Laurel Canyon with her mother. It is a bitingly emotional piece, yet, it also provokes pangs of relaxtion and understanding of what is and what is not. Laurel learns a lot about love, which is basically the thematic message. The descriptions are lush, accurate and inspiring. A good read for long-time fans.

Magical, fantastic, completely bewitching!.......2006-07-22

I really enjoyed this book.Once agian francesca writes a poetic prose on topics that are very sensitive. Franseca tells the story of laurel. A girl who lives underneath the famous hollywood sign with her mother, a once beautiful woman that now cleans incessantly to keep the "disease" away. In the meantime laurel is thrown into situations of family, love, sex, and turmoil all to learn the one thing she should have learned from the beginning. To learn that in order to love, you must first learn to love yourself.

Read this book. Block makees you believe the most endearing lesson of all. The power of love.

The Hanged Man.......2005-10-21

The novel The Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block is a tenderly intoxicating book. The Hanged Man evokes passion and yearnings. The main character named Laurel is an emotion girl that has many issues in her life. She is put in many situations with love, friend's family, and health.
The author writes about issues and concerns that teenagers can relate to today. A major problem Laurel has is she is not sure if she is pregnant. Though she isn't sure whether she is pregnant or not she handles situations in a calm manner. Laurel is into tarot cards and witch like things. She says when she looks into peoples eyes she sees images in their life but do not know what these symbols represent. One day she looks into her fathers eyes and sees blades and dark fog. Later she finds out that her dad is dying from cancer and she thinks she caused his disease to appear.
Laurel is experiencing a health called anorexia. Many girls today suffer form eating disorders and health issues. Laurel refuses to eat because the death of her father and she likes being skinny because it makes he feel better about herself. Her doctor says she doesn't eat because she is too stressed out.
Overall this book is a great for teenagers with any issues with relationships, pregnancy, family, and friends. This novel has you at the edge of your seat and is a page turner. Many people can relate to this book because the issues in this book are very common.

Try Other Books First.......2005-06-04

The Weetzie Bat books and I Was a Teenage Fairy are much better than this. It seems like FL just got lazy and some of the wording is nearly the same as it is in some of her other books. The book is very thin-I have no idea why she decided to cobble together a novela like this. I cannot recommend Dangerous Angels (Weetzie Bat Books) high enough.

her most adult novel.......2005-05-09

i read francesca blocks over and over as a young teenager, and now, at 21, this story is the one that still resonates with me.

the prose is lyrical and haunting, and contains a seamlessness sometimes lacking in her work, which, though always poetic, tends to lapse into moments of clunkiness. i also think this is the most subtle storyline she's ever created. i was impressed with laurel as a character. the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred, and laurel's role as an unreliable narrator is established gradually, which only adds to the story's resonance.

this is the most adult of block's novels, and my favorite of hers. i think this author is not for everyone, but if you've read her work and liked it in the past, or are an older reader unfamilair with her work, "the hanged man," may be a good book for you.

Average customer rating:

5 Out Of 5 Stars for VICTORY
Another Victory
HMS VICTORY
A victory for Cooper
V for Victory

Victory
Susan Cooper
Manufacturer: Margaret K. McElderry
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Two Children,
Two Struggles,
One Battle...

One child is Sam Robbins, a powder monkey aboard HMS Victory, the ship in which Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson will die a hero's death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The other is Molly Jennings, an English girl transplanted from London to the United States in 2006, fighting a battle of her own against loss and loneliness.

This extraordinary time-shifting adventure tells the interwoven stories of Sam and Molly, linked by a mystery. Sam is a farm boy, kidnapped at eleven years old by the "press gang" to serve in the Royal Navy. At first terrified and seasick, Sam is transformed gradually into a sailor. In the rowdy, dangerous world of a hundred-gun warship enduring the Napoleonic Wars, he meets both cruelty and kindness, and survives a fearsome battle whose echoes reach through the years to involve Molly as well. Like Sam, Molly has lost her childhood but will find her future, with help from a very unexpected source.

Separate yet together, Sam Robbins and Molly Jennings struggle through fear and excitement to a final ordeal that terrifyingly tests their courage. And the moving climax of the book shows two lives joined forever by the touch of Nelson, one of the greatest sailors of all time.

Customer Reviews:

5 Out Of 5 Stars for VICTORY.......2007-05-30

In 1805 a young boy Sam and his uncle are pressed into the British navy. Meanwhile A girl named Molly moved to America from England because her father died and her mom fell in love with an American. One day Molly goes into a bookshop and buys a book with a piece of Sam's ship called HMS Victory and signed by is granddaughter. Sam's life is described very well and is very detailed and you always know what is going on. Molly's life is very dramatic and really draws the reader in. Toward the end Sam's story gets gory and if you don't like that kind of stuff you won't like that part. This book was so good I couldn't stop reading it.
This book was the perfect mix of history and modern day mysteriousness.

Jordan.

Another Victory.......2006-12-05

Suffering from severe homesickness for her former civilized life in London, eleven-year-old Molly Jennings is deeply unhappy. She has been transplanted to Connecticut into a new life and family by her mother's marriage. Forced into a sail with her stepfather and stepbrother, Molly is accidently knocked into the sea. Her terror, before she is pulled to safety, is so profound that it seems to set into play strange, psychic connections with a young British sailor from the past, Sam Robbins. Having been kidnapped into service in the Royal Navy, Sam ends up serving loyally on the HMS Victory with Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.

The seemingly unrelated stories of present-day Molly and early nineteenth-century Sam are told in alternating episodes. The connection between the two is masterfully. gradually revealed. The excitng past infringes on Molly's present until it culminates in a frightning denoument aboard HMS
Victory, now a marine museum. The ending, which ties up the complex threads of the story with astute perceptions of history, is totally satisfying. Another victory for its author.

HMS VICTORY.......2006-11-22

Victory by Susan Cooper is a tale of time. When two people are join together from different times. United by one person and a cloth both people come together. Both feel the same way as each other. Sam Robbins is a boy who's family was poor. He joins his uncle but is then press into the navy. Molly Jennings a girl who

A victory for Cooper.......2006-09-26

Sam Robbins is an 11-year-old ship's boy, forced from his home in England when he and his uncle are pressed into service in His Majesty's Navy in 1803. Sara Jennings is an 11-year-old girl, forced from her home in England when her mother remarries and moves the family to Connecticut in 2006.

Years and miles apart, the two youngsters share a bond, woven into the cloth of a tiny fragment from the flag that once flew over HMS Victory, the flagship of Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar. The two children's lives couldn't be more different, yet author Susan Cooper weaves them together with the expert touch of a seasoned writer, best known for her landmark "The Dark is Rising" series. Cooper's research is impeccable; although Sara is an entirely fictional creation and Sam was nothing more than a name on a ship's register, Cooper has turned them into real, three-dimensional characters who feel, and consequently make readers feel, too.

Cooper's work is always readable and entertaining. Seasoning her story heavily with history from the exciting days of Nelson's Navy, there's enough detail about life aboard a naval flagship to make readers feel the wood beneath their feet, hear the wind in the rigging and knock their bread against the table, for fear of weevils. The juxtapositioning of Sam's and Sara's narratives -- Sam's in first-person past, Sara's in third-person present -- is completely natural, flowing easily across centuries as their stories unfold.

Written for young-adult readers, adults will find themselves equally captivated by this delightful novel.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

V for Victory.......2006-07-24

Certain authors publish with an aura of definite mystique. Lloyd Alexander, for one, can still elicit a certain thrill when his books sit on a shelf. Ditto Philip Pullman. But of all these fellows, not a one of them can hold a candle to the majesty and plum good writing of Ms. Susan Cooper. Her "The Dark Is Rising" sequence is still the go to series when it comes to Celtic myth and Arthurian legend. It was with great shock that I discovered a couple years ago that not only had she written comic pieces (as with "The Boggart") and time travel ("King of Shadows") but that she was STILL WRITING. Somehow I'd assumed "The Dark Is Rising" books were written decades ago solely for my own enjoyment and that the author had long since passed on to another world. Hardly. It is fortunate indeed that "Victory" proves how wrong I was. Not quite a time travel book, but not quite realistic fiction either, this latest Cooper saga follows two children, inexplicably tied to one another. And while it's not the author's finest work, there's no denying the fine fabulous writing that has gone into it.

Molly's world has fallen totally and irreparably apart. A logical girl, she understands why she and her family have moved from London, England to Connecticut. She knows that her new stepfather and stepbrother are fine fellows and that her house and room are bigger and more beautiful than anything she's ever had before. She knows this. However, Molly is so homesick for England that she'll hold on to anything that might tie her to it as if it were a lifeline. When a book of the life of Lord Nelson falls into her possession, Molly starts finding herself connected to the life of a boy who lived hundreds of years before her own. Sam Robbins was, during the time of the Napoleonic wars, pressed into serving on Horatio Nelson's ship. Once he is on The Victory, Sam finds himself both horrified and awed by his experience as one of the crew's powder monkeys. Told in alternating chapters, the book charts Molly's journey back to her former home to visit The Victory today, and Sam's journey over the seas on the boat he would soon regard as his own.

Because the book is shifting continually between the present and the past, Cooper sometimes writes herself into an interesting predicament. On the one hand you have Molly, who's misery is palpable. Cleverly, Cooper allows the reader to feel the child's homesickness and sheer unhappiness just as if it were their own. We are utterly sympathetic. At the same time, though, Cooper has coupled this tale alongside Sam's story. There is a moment in the book where Sam has just been forced to wear an iron bar in his mouth for three days as punishment for something he mistakenly did. He cannot eat or drink or sleep and the bar cuts painfully into his skin, drawing blood. The chapter ends after the bolt is removed and suddenly we're back with Molly who's problems, let's face it, shrivel up and dry in the face of Sam's agony. As I read the book I wondered if Cooper was aware that the reader might not sympathize with Molly as keenly once they'd been introduced to Sam's torturous situation. I needn't have feared. I suspect that Cooper knew exactly what she was doing when she paired Sam's tale with that of Molly's because at that moment the reader starts to feel that the Molly dilemma can only be solved if she herself understands how small her problems really are. The climax comes when Molly does realize this in an almost violent but necessary fashion.

A co-worker of mine started reading the book, but stopped when she found it dull. I was fascinated by this reaction, especially since I've been wondering how kids would react to this story. Would they be bored? Thrilled? I think Molly's contemporary tale is definitely necessary. I suppose the first image of the funeral march for Lord Nelson might be a bit slow as beginnings go, but once Molly is thrown head over heels into the ocean as her step-brother and step-father sail, the tale definitely picks up. Of course, it's filled to brimming with ship terms. And there's quite a lot of discussion of how the ship is laid out. Interestingly enough I kept suddenly envisioning the layout of the ships found in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. I suspect that if you wanted to make a reader reluctant to pick up this story, just explain to them that there are ship fights similar to those in the "Pirates" movies. I can't guarantee that that would work, but it's certainly worth a shot.

But you know, it's just all about the writing, isn't it? The little moments that separate the good books from the so-so ones. Cooper has a couple of those up her sleeve. One of the story's more touching details is the fact that Molly adores her new little baby step-brother, Donald. At one point the family is on the Tube in London and Donald is alarmed by the loud noises. Molly plays peek-a-boo with him to cheer him up. "All the surrounding grownups watch, with nostalgia soft in their faces, except one thin man in a tight dark suit, who retreats behind a newspaper with a disdainful sniff". I could never tell you why, but that's one of my favorite moments in the book. Cooper's writing never lightens the story's tough situations, by the way. Sam is pressed into service with the Navy against his will and the ship situation is gritty, gory, and thoroughly unpleasant. Just the same, you get a hint of why Sam felt that it should become his life's work, no matter what.

Boy, I sure hope that a huge swath of kids today are Anglophiles. Between "Endymion Spring" trying to convince them that Oxford is a hip youth hang-out and Ms. Cooper giving us a hearty heaping of Lord Nelson facts, the time has never been better to be enamored of all things English. With it's almost too tasteful cover and whopping great amounts of historical fiction ah-flowing through its gills, "Victory" is probably not going to be the first book the kids pick up when they walk into a library or bookstore. For those with a penchant for both history and realism, however, they may well find much to love here. Enjoyable indeed.

Average customer rating:

Super Reader
Great little find
Outstanding book
EXCELLENT!11
AwSoMe

Mary Jane 2 HC (Spider-Man)
Judith O'Brien
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0785114335

Customer Reviews:

Super Reader.......2007-08-04

A young adult girl's book, basically, with Mary Jane worried about the usual high school girl problems. Can the other hot chick steal her boyfriend, formal dances, etc., etc.

The twist is that she now suspects her boyfriend Peter may be Spider-Man, and the hero himself does show up in tights a couple of times.

There are actually two of these it seems, and this is the second, presumably the first is how they got to be in the same school in the first place.

Great little find.......2006-03-04

I am, as many other reviewers have mentioned, a huge Spider-Man fan (comics and film) and I'm female. I was looking for something different to read and was glad I stumbled across Mary Jane 1 & 2.

I couldn't wait to read this book, after finishing Mary Jane #1, and overall I enjoyed it almost as much as the first one.

I will say, it didn't deal with serious issues as the first one did... there was no divorce, anorexia, or deaths in the family. Things are quite ordinary here, (read a little slow) with most of the story being about Mary Jane's misunderstanding with her best friend, Wendy, jealousy over Peter's small friendship with Gwen, and a prom dinner that turns out to be more expensive than anticipated, and the reprocussions from all of the above.

Spider-Man is mentioned a few times, but MJ encounters him only once, which was kind of disappointing. I also would have really preferred more interaction between Peter and MJ... but when they did have dialog the characterization was great. The end was very touching and inspite of the mild irritation I experienced at the somewhat shallow plot, I was left wanting more.

I've been out of high school, for like a hundred years, but Judith O'Brien's writing transports you right back. I really like her style and hope she does a 3rd book.

BUT, with the ending of #2 being what it was, I think she would have to include more of Mary Jane's developing relationship with Peter AND Spider-Man - which, I'm not sure she can do. If you have read Ultimate Spider-man, (which inspired this novel) it can get rather scary and dramatic for Mary Jane... like taking Peter to the hospital with a gunshot wound and having her life threatened by Harry's dad. I mean seriously, being Spider-Man's girlfriend is not without drama... I really hope this author writes another and takes it up a notch. I'll be reading it.

Outstanding book.......2005-06-29

I own both books, Mary Jane and Mary Jane 2. Both books I feel were written very well, but especially Mary Jane 2. MJ2 had a great storyline, and the characters were even more developed than in the first novel. The relationships that Mary Jane has with her boyfriend, Peter Parker, her friend Wendy, or even her mom are very realistic, and easy to relate too. I must admit, I wanted this book so badly, just to see how the newly romantic relationship was going with Mary Jane and Peter!

It's very cool to be able to read a story that isn't overly dramatic, or has so much going on in it, that you can't keep track of anything. Though, I think this book is more for females than males, I think everyone can enjoy it. Its a good read, especially if you are a fan of Spider-Man. It would be awesome if the author decided to do a Mary Jane 3 novel, I know I would buy it!

EXCELLENT!11.......2005-03-23

PLOT- The new girl at Midtown High, Mary Jane Watson juggles and struggles with her parents' divorce, her love of ballet, and her growing new bond with class nerd Peter Parker - who's about to undergo a startling transformation of his own.

SETTING- New York City- The story takes place in various locations in present day NYC.

CHARACTERS- Mary Jane Watson- Fifteen-year-old Mary-Jane, MJ to her friends, lived a life of privilege for her first nine-years, until her alcoholic father walked out on her and her mother, forcing the mother-daughter twosome to leave Park Avenue and move into a dumpy apartment in Queens. The only thing Mary-Jane really has to concentrate on other than their move and her mother's drunk, abusive new boyfriend, is ballet.
Peter Parker- Peter Parker was orphaned when his parents were killed in a plane crash overseas. He went to live with his uncle and aunt, Ben and May Parker, in Forest Hills, New York. Parker was extremely bright and became a high honors student at Midtown High School. Parker's shyness and scholastic interest often made him a social outcast.
Harry Osborn- Harry Osborn was the college roommate of Peter Parker. He worshipped his domineering father, and tried to live up to what he thought his father's exceptions were.

THEME- The theme of Mary Jane is that with great power comes great responsibility. Peter's Uncle Ben and Peter both say this. When you have power, you have to have the responsibility to use it wisely.

AwSoMe.......2004-07-16

I have not read this book yet. But i do think that it will be good. Only based on the second spiderman movie. I do hope that anyone that reads or has seen the 1st book or movie will be happy with the second one.

Average customer rating:

Book without a place
The strength of the story outweighs the problems
The Man Without a Face
TYL review "the man without a face"
The Man without a Face

The Man Without a Face
Isabelle Holland
Manufacturer: HarperTeen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Peter

ASIN: 0064470288

Book Description

Charles didn't know much about life ... until he met The Man Without a Face

"I'd never had a friend, and he was my friend; I'd never really, except for a shadowy memory, had a father, and he was my father. I'd never known an adult I could communicate with or trust, and I communicated with him all the time, whether I was actually talking to him or not. And I trusted him ......

Fourteen-year-old Charles desperately wants two things: a father and a way out. Little love has come his way until the summer he befriends a mysterious scarred man named Justin McLeod, nicknamed ""The Man Without a Face." Charles enlists McLeod's help as tutor for the St. Matthew's school entrance exams, his ticket away from the unpleasant restrictions of his home life. But more important than anything he could get out of a book, that summer Charles learns from McLeod a stirring life lesson about the many faces of love.

`Not much affection had come Charles's way until the summer he was fourteen, when he met McLeod [a man whose face was deeply scarred] and learned that love has many facets.' —BL. `A highly moral book, powerfully and sensitively written; a book that never loses sight of the human." —H.

1972 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
Best of the Best Books (YA) 1970-1983 (ALA)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1972 (NYT)

Customer Reviews:

Book without a place.......2007-02-20

This is a strong, poignant, well-written coming-of-age story about a boy with a troubled family life. It is also a tragedy of the Shakespearean variety: the story of a man who could have been great but who fell because of a tragic weakness.
The problem is the fall itself: clearly it concerns a sexual event between Charles (the boy) and McLeod (the man). The event could not have been explicitly described in a young adult novel - in fact, I am not happy about it even being hinted at, particularly in our times of greater awareness of sexual predation of the young - so the result is a very vague, fuzzy encounter, which is hardly satisfactory as the climax (no pun intended) of the book. There is a great scene in which Mcleod warns Charles not to make him a hero, because he would not be able to live up to that image; the trouble is, when he does fail, it doesn't seem to worry him terribly, and he doesn't even manage a sincere apology.
The novel thus falls into a gap somewhere between an appropriate bildungsroman and a shocking adult novel. There is some excellent characterisation and a sad but perhaps appropriate ending, but I won't be recommending it to my kids.

The strength of the story outweighs the problems.......2006-05-25

I won't add to the previous reviewers' applause for Man Without A Face except to say that I found the sexualization of the relationship disturbing -- Nabokov joins NAMBLA. The intimations of homosexuality detract from the themes of trust and redemption. Still, an excellent read and well worth the time. Parents should be prepared to discuss the sexual implications with their children.

The Man Without a Face.......2006-03-13

This book has been a favorite of mine every since I read it as a 12-year-old child. Unlike the movie, which I've just viewed, the book contains a right-to-the-heart, piercing, cornacopia of themes with love being the most important.

A story of a young boy who longs for a father long gone and lives with a mother who's hobby is to get married, an older sister who's job seems to be making his life as miserable as possible, and a younger half-sister who's just trying to find her role in their respective hierarchy combine to make a nearly true-to-life situation, real.

All Charles can think of is to pass the entrance exam to a boarding school and get on with his life away from his family. He meets a man, Justin MCleod, who's self-isolation intrigues Charles and the inhabitants of the local population. Speculation arises as to how Justin got the scaring on his face and the stories and rumors abound and hedge on unsavory topics.

Regardless of the speculation, Charles soon befriends Justin and their relationship blooms to more than that of a teacher and student--they have become friends.

This is a sensitive story of friendship and love. It reminded me of a teacher I once had. He was a good man and had a heart of gold. This is a book that will remain a favorite, always.

TYL review "the man without a face" .......2005-12-22

This book just keeps you reading; it is fun, dynamic and realistic with a hint of drama. Charles is easily identifiable with and is a colourful character. Curious about the man without a face? Start reading and be surprised!

The Man without a Face.......2005-05-11

My book that I read was very interesting. I would not recommend it for kids nine and under, because it would not be appropriate. This book tells you about Charles, his mean sister Gloria, their mother, and a lost father. Meg was Charles' other sister, who was quite helpful. Chuck tried to get intoSt.Matthew's, but failed a few times. This time he's was really going to have to pass it, but Chuck was never the academic type. So he was really going to need some help. Now, Charles needs to ask for help. He never liked to be helped. Then, Meg has to hook him up with someone. She knows that the man without a face, even though he really had half a face, was a tutor. A long time ago, the man without a face tutored a boy. They were, o sorry. Why don't you just read and find out.

Nothing's Wrong: A Man's Guide to Managing His Feelings

Average customer rating:

A practical and easy-to-understand assessment
Half Life or Whole Life

Nothing's Wrong: A Man's Guide to Managing His Feelings
David Kundtz
Manufacturer: Red Wheel/Weiser
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Stopping: How to Be Still When You Have to Keep Going
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ASIN: 1573249157

Customer Reviews:

A practical and easy-to-understand assessment.......2004-03-04

Nothing's Wrong: A Man's Guide To Managing His Feelings by family therapist and public speaker David Kundtzis an impressively instructive self-help guide written especially for men to dealing with their feelings in a productive manner. The advice and insights within these pages are neither "mushy" nor intended to in any way discourage the worthy and traditionally masculine goals of protector, provider, and role model, but rather will substantively help men of all faiths and cultures lead happier and healthier lives, and less likely to be struck down by stress-related ills. A practical and easy-to-understand assessment, Nothing's Wrong is very highly recommended reading.

Half Life or Whole Life.......2004-01-24

When asked, "What's wrong?" men usually respond with "Nothing's wrong" effectively negating all further discussion. This response also prevents men from working through their feelings. Generally speaking, men do not know what to do with their feelings. Society accepts only a narrow amount of emotional expression from men -- mostly anger and aggression. Thus, men tend to be uncomfortable with their own feelings and the feelings of others. Because of this, men fail to learn how to identify and express their feelings in a healthy way. Put simply, men are emotional illiterates. This is tragic, for it keeps men from living a whole life. "Not to be aware of one's feelings, not to understand them or know how to use or express them, is worse than being blind, deaf or paralyzed. Not to feel is not to be alive" -- (Dr. David Viscott). Men need emotional as well as intellectual intelligence. "Emotional intelligence is 'awareness of one's own feelings as they occur' -- it is being smart in dealing with your feelings" (p. 39). Thinking and feeling are not at odds, but are complementary. Thinking leads to feeling just as feeling leads to thinking (p. 40). In order to live a whole life, men must notice their feel, identify their feelings, and express their feelings -- regardless of whether they are weak or strong. Feelings are not wrong (they just are) nor are they feminine. Sporting events are not the only place where one is allowed to feel strongly! This is a great introduction to an important topic that men must embrace or risk living only half a life!

Tanya and the Tobo Man: A Story for Children Entering Therapy/Tanya Y El Hombre Tobo : Una Historia Para Ninos Que Empiezan Terapia

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Tanya and the Tobo Man: A Story for Children Entering Therapy/Tanya Y El Hombre Tobo : Una Historia Para Ninos Que Empiezan Terapia
Lesley Koplow
Manufacturer: Magination Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0945354339

The Man of Feeling (Oxford World's Classics)

Average customer rating:

Well-written but fairly choppy
The Man of Feeling

The Man of Feeling (Oxford World's Classics)
Henry Mackenzie
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192840320

Book Description

'a book I prize next to the Bible' Robert Burns Mackenzie's hugely popular novel of 1771 is the foremost work of the sentimental movement, in which sentiment and sensibility were allied with true virtue, and sensitivity is the mark of the man of feeling. The hero, Harley, is followed in a series of episodes demonstrating his benevolence in an uncaring world: he assists the down-trodden, loses his love, and fails to achieve worldly success. The novel asks a series of vital questions: what morality is possible in a complex commercial world? Does trying to maintain it make you a saint or a fool? Is sentiment merely a luxury for the leisured classes? This edition reprints Brian Vickers's authoritative text, with a new introduction that discusses the novel in the context of the Scottish Enlightenment and European sentimentalism.

Customer Reviews:

Well-written but fairly choppy.......2007-08-19

Mr. Harley is indeed a non-traditional hero- instead of trying to make his way in the world, he seems to care little about getting ahead and prefers to devote his time to helping the less fortunate and hearing their (usually) tragic stories. The stories themselves are very compelling (especially that of Miss Atkins and her father), but they seem to have little connection to each other than that they are being told to Mr. Harley. The ending also seems a little abrupt, though it is certainly sad and affecting.
I think that it might have made more sense to present the book as a collection of short stories rather than one disjointed novel. As it is, I still enjoyed it, though I was continually left wondering what happened to characters as most of them are introduced and never appear in the narrative again.

The Man of Feeling.......2003-09-15

Henry Mackenzie's 1771 novel, "The Man of Feeling," is a preeminent locus of a number of mid-to-late eighteenth-century discourses: sentiment, sensibility, sympathy, and moral philosophy. A fragmentary work, "The Man of Feeling" is ostensibly a biography of one Mr. Harley, written in tribute by his friend Charles, and put together by an anonymous editor. Harley is a man of the lesser gentry, propertied, but not wealthy. His greatest concerns revolve around his heightened ability to sympathize with and bring comfort to people in distress. The multi-layered framework of the narrative places its readers at an interesting distance and requires us to judge the various narratives, and the protagonist, for ourselves.

The novel begins somewhat abruptly with an introduction, in which the manuscript of "The Man of Feeling" is discovered on a hunting expedition - a village curate has been using its pages as wadding to stuff ammunition into his gun. Immediately we are assaulted by the notion that this man of the cloth has little regard for the work that we are about to start reading. Already, the hermeneutic that we use to interpret Harley and his sentimental adventures is split - are we as readers expected to sympathize ourselves with Harley, or to regard him in the callous manner of the curate? The editor, who rescues the work from its ignominious fate, seems to think otherwise - and presents us with 19 chapters (which are non-continuous) and a handful of fragments sometimes accompanied by his own interjections.

What results is a hodge-podge of scenarios in which Harley encounters people in really pitiful states. His attempts to assist the insane, the indigent, prostitutes, decrepit soldiers, prisoners, fortune tellers, and his conjectures on the practice of slavery give us more a sense of character studies and views of human interaction than any kind of real plot. Through these scenarios, Mackenzie examines social, political, and economic issues, as well as a range of gender relations within those frameworks.

Also, the more I immerse myself in sentimental fiction, the more I wonder what the role of travel is supposed to be in the genre. Harley is goaded by his aunt, and one of his neighbors, Mr. Walton (who is also father of his primary love interest), to make a voyage to London in search of a property grant to extend his own fortunes. Of course, much like any cautionary eighteenth-century tale in which a naive young country woman ventures into the degraded metropolis of London, Harley's London expedition is a series of misadventures and rude awakenings that further cause us to question the role, the usefulness, the propriety of excessive sensibility. Can a pure Man of Feeling coexist with the modern world, or is he an anachronism whose time has never and will never exist? Is a modicum of self-interest necessary for survival in the social world?

Finally, Mackenzie's novel asks us to consider the place of sympathy and sentiment in a larger geopolitical order. Here is Mackenzie, a Scottish author, writing about an English country gentleman, who speculates on whether India should be an imperial colony, and over the role of slavery in the West Indies. "The Man of Feeling" both celebrates and criticizes a sentimental ontology - are compassion and fellow-feeling, the cornerstones of this brand of moral philosophy, practical as the basis for a life of action in the world? As a national foreign policy? Professors Bending and Bygrave's introduction and critical bibliography to this Oxford World's Classics edition provide a treasure trove of information for further study and a springboard for research. As much information and interest as one can find in a 119 page book, you will find in this edition of "The Man of Feeling." Excellent.

Average customer rating:

Not fully realized

A really good one

The Man of Feeling
Javier Marias
Manufacturer: New Directions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0811216772

Book Description

Marías's riveting novel about an opera singer and an extramarital affair.

Narrated by a young opera star, The Man of Feeling opens as he recalls traveling on a train from Milan to Venice, silently absorbed for hours by the woman asleep opposite his seat. In the measured tones of memory, the novel revolves on the twin poles of anticipation and recollection. Our protagonist's peculiar rarified life—a life of rehearsal and performance and luxury hotels and constant travel—and his resulting almost ghost-like detachment adds a deeper tone to Marías's weave of desire and distance. As the author remarks in a brief afterword, this is a love story "in which love is neither seen nor experienced, but announced and remembered." Can love be recalled truly when it no longer exists? That twist will continue to revolve in the reader's mind, conjuring up in its disembodied way James' The Turn of the Screw. Beautifully translated by Margaret Jull Costa, this fascinating and eerie early novel by Javier Marías bears out his reputation for being "a true genius of literary subterfuge" (Village Voice) and "dazzling" (TLS). "There is nothing," The New York Times commented about The Man of Feeling, "quite like it in fiction today."

Customer Reviews:

Not fully realized.......2005-03-04

If the above reviewer felt this was not the Marias book to start with, I would love to know why.
This, the first novel by Marias that I've read, seemed a work that stalled at impressive effort without making it to graceful coherence. The author's afterword does more to elucidate with a confession of intention than all the book's detailed but ultimately unrevealing waffling.

A really good one.......2003-10-02

This is not the best book to start reading Javier Marias, but if you like him (in novels such as A heart so white or Tomorrow in the battle think on me) you must read this one.

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