Killing Che: A Novel

Killing Che: A Novel
Average customer rating:

Best Novel of the Year!

Killing Che

Warfare and Love in the Bolivian Jungle

Vive Killing Che

Very knowledgable author delivers very impressive debut novel

Killing Che: A Novel
Chuck Pfarrer
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Christine Falls: A Novel

ASIN: 1400063930
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Book Description

Chuck Pfarrer’s acclaimed Warrior Soul has been called one of the finest memoirs of modern Special Operations Forces. Now the decorated Navy SEAL makes his dazzling fiction debut with this gutsy, riveting thriller about the action-packed hunt for history’s most infamous rebel insurgent: Che Guevara.

The year is 1967. Paul Hoyle, a CIA paramilitary officer, has resigned from the agency an incident in Laos that left one man dead and Hoyle’s face scarred by gunshot. But Hoyle is soon drawn back into the agency’s fold, finding himself a “fallen angel,” an independent contractor the U.S. secretly sends to global hot spots.

Bolivia, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is a nation ripe for Communist infiltration and revolution. So the stage is set for a duel between world ideologies, with players from Washington to Moscow to Havana. After a Bolivian army unit is disastrously ambushed, Hoyle is dispatched to South America by a CIA concerned that another Vietnam may be in the works. With Cuban-sponsored guerrillas afoot and a corrupt Bolivian military opposing them, Hoyle finds the jungle a treacherous place where honor and morality are surrendered to the basic business of survival.

Though Che Guevara, the charismatic revolutionary who helped Castro take hold in Cuba, is believed to have been killed in the Congo–or executed by Fidel himself–a rucksack recovered after a deadly gunfight suggests that the Marxist rebel may be heading up this new, highly effective insurgency.

World-weary Hoyle draws ever nearer to the passionate revolutionary, as a struggle between worldviews is fought with automatic weapons in steamy jungles, veiled threats in government offices, and even exchanged secrets in hotel bedrooms–for at the center of this intense cat-and-mouse game are two captivating women who may hold the keys to these men’s destinies. Tania Vünke is Guevara’s crucial undercover operative and occasional lover, a conflicted woman with secrets entrusted to her by Guevara himself. And beautiful Maria Agular is the elegant mistress of the Bolivian minister of information, a tormented soul whom Hoyle dares to trust with both information and his heart.

Terrorism expert Chuck Pfarrer packs this electrifying plot with insider knowledge of intelligence tradecraft. Populated with powerfully drawn characters, Killing Che is a stunning re-creation of a conflict that sealed the fate of one of the twentieth century’s most controversial and complex political figures–a man whose renown continues to grow decades after his violent end.

Customer Reviews:

Best Novel of the Year!.......2007-08-09

In this masterful first novel, Pfarrer has lifted the doomed revolutionary to heroic proportions, a man who will die for his beliefs. Che's integrity is paralleled by the fictitious character of American spy Hoyle, his alter ego, whose musings tie the story together, and whose final conclusion - war is useless hell! - is shared by most readers.

Che (1928-67) understood this too but his iron-will brooked no retreat. Abandoned by all his allies, including Russia and Cuba, Che still hoped to convince the Bolivian pauper peasants of the necessity of fight. Their stupor is indicative of the axiom: it's better to live in a known hell than the unknown future.

The book is a feast of ideas and history. Subplots include wonderful love stories. Torture scenes are handled extremely well. No gratuitous violence.

This novel will take the reader back to the '60s, an exciting time in the history of the world and light years away from today's disgraceful America under the realm of a president/dictator who, like all dictators, maintains his power through fear. If the 35-year-old Che had triumphed in Bolivia would he have been as ruthless as his predecessors?

Can't wait to read Pfarrer's next novel. In the afterward, he lists a dismantled website for the book. Again, this is an exemplary book of historical fiction and I am a forever fan.

Killing Che.......2007-07-03

An excellent and extremely engaging story of a pure communist presented in a real and understanding way that depicts a man who had true values and used his revolutionary skills to, he thought, overthrow governments that were opressive.

Warfare and Love in the Bolivian Jungle.......2007-06-05

Chuck Pfarrer has written a unique novel, weaving together the facts and fiction of Che Guevara's last mission. The guerilla warfare scenes are breath-taking and real; surely only someone with Pfarrer's military experience could write with such authenticity. Che Guevara was a real person, and the reader often holds her breath wanting a better outcome for him than the one history has already given us. Pfarrer gives the reader a sense of Guevara's nobility and helps us to understand that the motives of those engaged in combat are not always clear cut.
As in real life, there is romance in unlikely places. Doomed love is more like it, making the surrepticious affairs even more poignant. But those moments are still lovely.
This is a compelling story, and the reader won't get much sleep until it's finished. I often woke up in the middle of the night, not unhappy because I could read a few more chapters of Killing Che before turning off the light again. Men will read this book for a lesson in war and learn about love. Women will enjoy the romantic chapters and learn why some men engage in combat. Something for everyone!

Vive Killing Che.......2007-05-23

Chuck Pfarrer has produced a beautifully written and exhaustively researched historical novel that follows a barely fictional CIA contract agent, Paul Hoyle, on his mission to engineer the liquidation of Che Guevara during his ill-fated 1967 insurgency in Bolivia. In Paul Hoyle, Pfarrer has written a noir character worthy of Hammett or Chandler, a good soldier with scant ethical compunctions who, as his time in Bolivia unfolds, learns that the United States is backing a horribly corrupt government and that he has been sent to kill perhaps the most decent man in Bolivia.
The education of Paul Hoyle begins when he falls in love with Maria Agular, the mistress of a Bolivian government official. "[Hoyle] knew he had compromised Maria by becoming her lover; in the trade, this was his handle, the means by which he could control her. ...But he did not control her--yet. Rather, what he had done was to allow her in."
Pfarrer paints a canvas similar to the movie "Syriana" in which unspeakable atrocities are committed and millions of people are robbed of fundamental freedoms because no one has the big picture. The world of espionage is powered by the belief that policy makers understand the long term global effects of their policies. This is what allows functionaries like Paul Hoyle to sacrifice their morals, the lives and reputations of others, and even their own lives in the service of their country. Falling in love with a source is a potentially lethal complication. Hoyle's "affection for [Maria] was a liability; intelligence officers are meant to use people, compromise them, coerce them, exploit them, and discard them... . Maria's life and Hoyle's were nothing. They were...mere flyspecks on a vast, intricate machine... ."
Similarly, Pfarrer portrays Che Guevara as a selfless instrument of worldwide communist revolution. Che's problem is that he is the real thing, a true believer. The Soviets are threatened by his Maoist tendencies, Castro by Che's drive to enact a worldwide revolution that might displace him, while the Bolivian Communist Party is threatened because it is as corrupt as the Bolivian government. Because he is so idealistic, Che can't fathom that the Soviets, Cubans, and the Bolivian Communist Party wouldn't be wholeheartedly behind him. In fact, these forces, together with the Americans, were out to kill him.
Writing an historical novel is a most difficult pursuit. The ending is already known. So why read it?
A first answer involves the force of Pfarrer's prose. He sets up each chapter with some of most stunning prose that can be found in contemporary literature. When introducing a chapter in which Hoyle and his main CIA handler, Neil Smith, try to convince the Bolivian authorities that Che Guevara is operating in Bolivia, we are treated to the following:
"Light slanted through the windows in Colonel Arquero's grand office. The clock ticked slowly, and Lieutenant Castaneda stood by the door, as immobile and unthinking as a piece of furniture. Hoyle and Smith watched the colonel hover over the folder placed before him. He examined each of the three photographic prints, holding them close to his shiny pince-nez spectacles, then checking each photograph against a typed transcript of the microdot. This he did with deliberate and self-conscious care, and the clock ticked through diligence to insolence and finally to absurdity. It was a blessing when Arquero's small hands pushed the photos and papers back into the folder and he squinted up from his blotter."
Still another reason to read Killing Che is because of the extensive historical and technical research that has gone into this book. Pfarrer's experiences as a former Navy SEAL (his memoir of that time is entitled, Warrior Soul, Random House, 2004) and as a former military advisor in South America are evident on almost every tension packed page.

Very knowledgable author delivers very impressive debut novel.......2007-04-08

Former Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer's memoir, "Warrior Soul", is one of the most well-written, fascinating, modern military reads out there, and his debut novel is just as enjoyable.

An historical fiction account of the hunting down of revolutionary and guerilla warfare legend Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, "Killing Che" is the type of novel that would make a great movie as well. Pfarrer brings his extensive tradecraft knowledge to bear, and his experience as a longtime SEAL operator helps give the whole book a heightened sense of realism.

Pfarrer's descriptions imerse you right into the heart of the Bolivian jungle-forests, giving you a genuine sense of what it was like for both the guerillas and the agents trying to find them, and his characters - both real and fictional - are very human and rounded out.

It's an intelligent, interesting read that isn't too technical, a well-paced read that has action without being action-packed.
This is the kind of novel you want to read again over time, and I look forward to Pfarrer's next work.

Average customer rating:

One of the stupidest book I've read in a long time!!
Crackin up!
Funny, Funny, Funny
Great blast from the past
Laugh-Out-Loud Funny

Shame on It All: A Novel
Zane
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Book Description

Harmony, Bryce, and Lucinda (a.k.a. Lucky) Whitfield are sisters in every sense of the word. They argue and get on each other's nerves, but when it comes down to the wire they are extremely protective of one another. Shame on It All follows their adventures, friendships, and love lives -- which are jam-packed with unpredictable, downright crazy situations. With a few surprising twists thrown in for good measure, Shame on It All is as wild as they come.

Download Description

Shame on It All is an unforgettable showcase for Zane's talent -- insight, comedy, and wild high jinks. For anyone who has ever observed the behavior of a close friend or family member and suppressed the urge to scream ""Shame on you!"" out loud, Shame on It All is the novel for you. Harmony, Bryce, and Lucinda (a.k.a. Lucky) Whitfield are sisters in every sense of the word. They argue and get on each other's nerves, but when it comes down to the wire they are extremely protective of one another. Shame on It All follows their adventures, their friendships, their love lives, and their outlooks on life in today's society. Jam-packed with unpredictable, unbelievable, and just downright crazy situations with a few surprising twists thrown in for good measure, Shame on It All is as wild as they come.

Customer Reviews:

One of the stupidest book I've read in a long time!!.......2007-09-01

I have never read a Zane book before and after reading this book, I can say I NEVER will again, the book starts off alright and you expect some substance, but it quickly begins to go down hill.
The sponsor ads were pointless, not funny and a waste of paper, then she throws the silliness from the ads into the story which makes the story just annoying and unrealistic.

The Harmony mystery was such a big secret and when they "revealed" what was wrong that was such a disappointment. The dean escapade was over the top and again....not realistic. The mandingo thing was disgusting and extremely stupid. I was very disappointed with this story and discourage anyone who doesn't have money to blow to stay away from this book.

Crackin up!.......2007-08-31

This book had me crackin up! I was really good and shows some true bondage among sisters and friends..

Funny, Funny, Funny.......2007-06-13

This book was one of the funniest that I have read in a really long time. I highly recommend this book for all to read it is sure not to disapoint!!!

Great blast from the past.......2007-06-04

I rate this 3.5 stars!
I know this is an old one, but I still enjoyed it a lot. It made me laugh out loud and shed a few tears. Very well written (of course it's by Zane). Great Read.

Laugh-Out-Loud Funny.......2007-05-10

This hilarious novel will keep you on your toes as you read about the sexual escapades of three sisters.

Average customer rating:

This is as good a time as I've had...
Lacking feeling.
Friends + Irving Flavor
Post-College Life in NYC
Story has been written/drawn before

Box Office Poison
Alex Robinson
Manufacturer: Top Shelf Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1891830198

Book Description

This epic story of Sherman, Dorothy, Ed, Stephen, Jane, and Mr. Flavor is not to be missed. Alex Robinson's completely natural and inspiring knack for dialogue has made his story of dreary jobs, comic books, love, sex, messy apartments, girlfriends (and the lack thereof), undisclosed pasts, and crusty old professionals one of the most delightful and whimsical graphic novels to hit the stands in years.

Customer Reviews:

This is as good a time as I've had..........2007-05-13

reading an original graphic novel. I love every one of the 602pgs of this book.
thank you, Alex Robinson.

Lacking feeling........2007-01-14

There is something wrong with this book. There are many characters that should be interesting, who have interesting situations and back-stories, but they act like paper cut-outs. This book is boring. There is no spark in it, no life or soul or whatever you might call it. Everything in this book just generally falls flat, in my humble opinion.

Friends + Irving Flavor.......2006-04-06

A bunch of recent arts college graduates in NYC: their ups, their downs, tears and laughter. That sums up the weaknesses of this book, which sometimes swings into soap-opera land, but only sometimes.

The great strength of the book is the Irving Flavor character, a grumpy old comic book artist who draw the NightStalker, then got shafted. There's some great nuances to his character, and a wonderful section about his attendance at a comic convention.

I'd liked the experiments with story-telling styles, with disorganized panels, overlapping dialogue, and out-of sync visuals.

Post-College Life in NYC.......2006-03-18

As much as I hate to admit it, Box Office Poison gives a pretty good idea of what an English Major such as myself is trained to do if he or she does not enter into finance, teaching, or paralegalling (before law school), although I do awknowledge how broad a base that is.

What makes this comic so striking is its blend of real-life story-telling and quirky anecdotes, the type you see in a good comedy on television. Sherman, armed with his English degree from Hunter and a desire to become a writer is stuck working in the same job he had as a sophomore in college - salesperson at a bookstore. His was the storyline I enjoyed most as it most closely resembles mine. The cast is wonderfully diverse and the storylines are so well-balanced that you don't learn who the quote-unquote default narrator is till the very end in the epilogue (I really should have guessd earlier, but I'll let you guess when you read it). There's something so human about the way Robinson portrays his characters, both in their speech and in their visual representation. His art style certsainly suits the stark representation of his characters' encounters.

The pacing of the story is also well-done, with Robinson choosing to ask the same question to his characters like the opening credits of a TV show such as 'which fictional character would you most like to meet' (that was one of the questions, but I'm not sure of the wording on it so don't quote me). The varying responses highlight how different each of the characters is.

Overall, there are very few comic creators right now who could challenge Robinson right now. The only ones that come to my mind (creators working within the same genre of real-life comic storytelling) are Derek Kirk Kim and Adrian Tomine, two other wonderfully gifted creators.

If you buy Box Office Poison, I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

Story has been written/drawn before.......2006-01-31

I guess the basis of my dissatisfaction with the novel itself was not so much the drawing, text, and story (but then I suppose, is there anything else?) but the way the back cover blurb sold it as one of the most original depictions of post-college life in New York.

I didn't dislike "Box Office Poison," but its similarities to the Minimum Wage series (collected in "Beg the Question") are pretty striking: skinny comic book artists with butchy girlfriends, the undersexed comic book geek friend, a comic book convention with the usual assortment of weirdos and socially inept.

On the upside, I do think that the character of Irving Flavor--a has-been comic old-timer artist attempting to reclaim his glory days in the corporate superhero publising industry--was beautifully developed and complicated, and only wish that I had read less of Sherman and Dorothy.

If you're looking for gritty, slightly more ugly and idiosyncratic, then go with "Beg the Question." A slightly more sanitized version falls under the title of "Box Office Poison."

One Night With the King: A Special Movie Edition of the Bestselling Novel, Hadassah

Average customer rating:

WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL
Good Story
Awe-Inspiring
book 5 ; movie 2
Haddasah:One Night with the King

One Night With the King: A Special Movie Edition of the Bestselling Novel, Hadassah
Tommy Tenney , and Mark Andrew Olsen
Manufacturer: Bethany House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764200712
Release Date: 2006-02-01

Book Description

The challenge facing today's church is simultaneous and effective ministry to people of four widely divergent generations. More than at any time in history, pastors must plan programs that will appeal to a mosaic of groups and subgroups. This updated edition of Three Generations: Riding the Waves of Change in Your Church adds an entirely new section on Bridgers, the youngest generation and perhaps the most difficult one to reach for Christ. Characteristics, interests, and values of each group-Builders, Boomers, Busters, and Bridgers-are explored in relation to the historical events and social trends that have shaped them. McIntosh thoughtfully analyzes the factors that influence each generation's relationship to the church, and he gives helpful suggestions for types of ministry and worship styles to draw members of that group. Helpful tables offer summaries of information relating to each generation, including formative experiences, religious characteristics, and methods of ministry. Pastors, church leaders, seminary professors, and students will find One Church, Four Generations a valuable resource in mapping out strategies for relevant church programming in the twenty-first century.

Customer Reviews:

WONDERFUL WONDERFUL WONDERFUL.......2007-09-07

What a phenomenal book. I now use it as a bridal shower gift - along with a small vial of beautiful perfume. Read the book - you'll understand why!

Good Story.......2007-07-30

The movie "One night with the king" did this book little credit. The authors were able to paint emotions into the characters like works of art. There is enough tension, good story telling, trama, sorrow and intriguing historical info to put this book permanently on your shelf.

Awe-Inspiring.......2007-06-08

One night with the king is an awesome book, that puts you right there. Tommy Tenney is a great author. I have the movie, but still not as detailed as the book.

book 5 ; movie 2.......2007-05-07

This book was incredible. Detailed and romantic, and action packed, I stayed indoors and up through the night to finish this one. The best retelling of the story of Esther I have ever seen, hands down. As many of the other reviewers, the first thing I did after finishing was to read the book of Esther.
I'D WARN anyone, though, that some early parts of the story are kind of graphic/violent.
The only reason I gave it four stars is that I couldn't wait to see the movie, and when it finally came out, it was a BIG disappointment.
If you like the book, read it twice. Skip the movie...or watch it on TV to go to sleep.

Haddasah:One Night with the King.......2007-05-07

I absolutely loved this book based on the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. I could hardly put it down. The characters were so beautifully fleshed out and the descriptions of places and times were also wonderful.

The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition: A Novel

Average customer rating:

A great work of fiction made even more enjoyable!
I do recommend the illustrated edition
Its a page turner...
Awsome Special Edition of Da Vinci
A Good Mystery Thriller

The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition: A Novel
Dan Brown
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Moleskine Pocket Ruled Notebook

ASIN: 076792603X
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Book Description

One of the bestselling novels of all time, Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code has intrigued and thrilled millions of readers around the world. Now all the artwork, symbols, architecture, and historic locations—over 160 images—are beautifully compiled in this full-color collector’s edition.

A mind-bending code hidden in the works of Leonardo da Vinci.
A desperate race through the cathedrals and castles of Europe.
An astonishing truth concealed for centuries . . . unveiled at last.

While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call. The elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum, a baffling cipher found near the body. As Langdon and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to discover a trail of clues hidden in the works of Da Vinci—clues visible for all to see and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter.

The stakes are raised when Langdon uncovers a startling link: the late curator was involved in the Priory of Sion—an actual secret society whose members included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Da Vinci, among others. Langdon suspects they are on the hunt for a breathtaking historical secret, one that has proven through the centuries to be as enlightening as it is dangerous. In a frantic race through Paris, and beyond, Langdon and Neveu find themselves matching wits with a faceless powerbroker who appears to anticipate their every move. Unless they can decipher the labyrinthine puzzle, the Priory’s secret—and an explosive ancient truth—will be lost forever.

Instantly catapulted to the top of bestseller lists around the world, The Da Vinci Code is simultaneously lightning-paced, intelligent, and intricately layered with remarkable research and detail. From secrets embedded in the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper to the symbols of ancient Egypt, to the architecture of landmarks such as the Louvre, Westminster Abbey, Rosslyn Chapel, and more, this fully illustrated collector’s edition delivers the complete reading experience of Dan Brown’s riveting novel—from the opening pages to the unpredictable and stunning conclusion.

Customer Reviews:

A great work of fiction made even more enjoyable!.......2007-10-01

This book is the perfect solution for people that want to follow along (checking out the paintings and such), without having to read at your computer googling every couple pages. The first time I read the normal edition (that I had borrowed from the library), but when I went to buy my own copy I saw there was an illustrated edition and bought this one instead. There is no comparison - I enjoyed the book even more with all the extras I could want right there in front of me and can't imagine reading it any other way now.

I do recommend the illustrated edition.......2007-09-03

I would definitely recommend if you're going to read this book that you read the illustrated edition, as I found it was a great help in understanding the points of discussion in the book, myself having limited knowledge on the topics of historical architecture or Leonardo Da Vinci.
The book was interesting enough, there where however a few slow parts that I found difficult to get through. Which leads me to question all the attention the book received in the first place? The book is clearly fiction so to all those who seemed to be offended by it I can only say "Don't believe everything you read".

Its a page turner..........2007-08-22

Great paced, but don't throw out your bible and convert to the church of the feminine for goodness sake...

Awsome Special Edition of Da Vinci.......2007-08-15

I was given this book as a Christmas gift and enjoyed it so much, especially the pictures of the locations the story takes place in, that I bought it to give to someone else.

A Good Mystery Thriller.......2007-08-14

If you haven't even remotely touched/read the book.. I highly suggest you get this Special Edition. If you only have the original paperback, you should still get this Special Edition!

The depicted pictures are of signifant reference to the story-telling. And this book is evidently something to read more than once.

If you have to choose between the movie or the book, I would suggest reading the book. I did not find the movie as entertaining as the book captivating.

Average customer rating:

Male Erotica!

Stripped: The Illustrated Male

Manufacturer: Bruno Gmünder
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Stripped down and playing.

This stately collection gathers the highlights of gay comic art, painting and drawing. Whether comic strip or pin-up, with text or completely without words, in colour or in black-and-white - this book presents an exciting cross-section of this young and dynamic branch of gay art. Many big names, as well as yet unknown talent show off their expertise on 352 pages filled to bursting - at "nice price"! This collection sets a new standard for comic art - erotic, sexy and playful.

Customer Reviews:

Male Erotica!.......2007-06-05

This is an outstanding collection of erotica. Illustrations and drawings are really high quality and very erotic. Trust me, folks, these are not "cartoons" - but very stimulating and suggestive drawings of stylized "men" (no, these guys don't really exist....). Most people think that "explicit" equals "erotic". Wrong. Erotic is evoked through the imagination, and these artists have LOTS of imagination!

Average customer rating:

Gift bags are the pinnacle issue!
Hard Working Heroine
Great summer reading
Boring book
fast, funny, the perfect escape

The Gift Bag Chronicles: A Novel
Hilary De Vries
Manufacturer: Villard
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ASIN: 1400063493
Release Date: 2005-06-21

Book Description

On generating the perfect party in Hollywood:
If celebrities don’t walk your red carpet, you don’t exist.
If you don’t make Page Six, you don’t exist.
To get ten celebrities to show up, invite four hundred. And send a car.
Publicity is the only job you can do perfectly and still fail.
And the gift bag totally matters.

As the newly promoted head of event planning for one of L.A.’s top publicity firms, Alex Davidson spends her days making decisions of utmost importance: Grey Goose or Belvedere? MAC or Stila? Queen Latifah or Chloë Sevigny? And though her boyfriend, agency president Charles Evers, lives on the other coast, she could be doing worse. But leave it to her mother to point out the obvious: After one failed, childless marriage, Alex is the “career divorcée” and the antithesis of her sister, the perfect stay-at-home mom. And there’s no spin in the world that can cover up the growing rift between Alex and Charles.

From dealing with outrageously self-important clients and holier-than-thou C-listers to trying to make sense of her growing attraction to a man who is not her boyfriend but her best friend, Alex feels as if she’s about one Red Bull shy of a meltdown. With her professional future hanging in the balance, she has the biggest party of the season to pull off. And the real question is: Will the gift bags measure up?

Download Description

Praise for So 5 Minutes Ago

“A delicious Hollywood girls’ book written with an insider’s wit. I gobbled it up gleefully, like chocolate.”
– Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones’s Diary

“A comic novel with a publicist’s-eye view of Hollywood [whose heroine] has a sharp, amusing eye for the way this world works.”
– Janet Maslin, The New York Times

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

Gift bags are the pinnacle issue! .......2006-08-09

Enjoyable book, almost couldn't put it down! Very enjoyable read. I am looking forward to reading S 5 Minutes Ago!

Hard Working Heroine.......2006-07-11

Hilary De Vries is a very clever and always readable author, but So 5 Minutes Ago, DeVries first novel about Alex Davidson, was a much easier read than The Gift Bag Chronicles. There is a very pervasive sense of exhaustion in this novel, and I'm not sure it's entirely attributable to the heroine's insanely demanding job. In this book, the love found at the end of So 5 Minutes Ago turns to dust and ashes, in order that a new love can be found, but the whole thing feels a little contrived and made-to-order. It would have been interesting to see Alex grow up within a relationship, instead of having the formulaic chick lit "the guy you really ought to be with is right under your nose" revelation. Something about this book just felt like hard work. (Which will in no way affect me rushing out to buy Book #3, if and when it appears!)

Great summer reading.......2006-07-05

This is a fun quick read. Great for summer. Relaxing and entertaining.

Boring book.......2006-07-05

I bought this book thinking it would be a good beach read but I never really could get into it. The characters were boring. Way too much whining. The plot was very slow. I finally had to put it down.

fast, funny, the perfect escape.......2006-04-04

A clever conceit -- the whole "gift bag" culture in Hollywood is something I'd never thought about -- and spit-spot writing make this my pick of the year. De Vries could teach Tom Wolfe something about writing with economy, and she's second to none in the keen-eye department. Fast, funny -- and oddly poignant. I read De Vries' first book -- "So 5 Minutes Ago" -- and she just keeps getting better. A MAJOR new talent, folks.

The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life

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A Tribute to a Collection of Great Writers, Who Are Women
Brilliant!
seven tastes of greatness !
Great analysis
Women Who Write and Emotions in the Individual Life

The Things That Matter: What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life
Edward Mendelson
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.)
How to Read a Novel: A User's Guide
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel
Aspects of the Novel
Special Topics in Calamity Physics

ASIN: 0375424083
Release Date: 2006-08-15

Book Description

An illuminating exploration of how seven of the greatest English novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—Frankenstein, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, Middlemarch, Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Between the Acts—portray the essential experiences of life.

For Edward Mendelson—a professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University—these classic novels tell life stories that are valuable to readers who are thinking about the course of their own lives. Looking beyond theories to the individual intentions of the authors and taking into consideration their lives and times, Mendelson examines the sometimes contradictory ways in which the novels portray such major passages of life as love, marriage, and parenthood. In Frankenstein’s story of a new life, we see a searing representation of emotional neglect. In Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre the transition from childhood to adulthood is portrayed in vastly different ways even though the sisters who wrote the books shared the same isolated life. In Mrs. Dalloway we see an ideal and almost impossible adult love. Mendelson leads us to a fresh and fascinating new understanding of each of the seven novels, reminding us—in the most captivating way—why they matter.

The Things That Matter is a book that will delight all passionate readers.

Customer Reviews:

A Tribute to a Collection of Great Writers, Who Are Women.......2007-04-02

In case you ever thought less of women writers than their male counterparts look no farther than Mendelson's review of seven classics all written by women who wrote what matters in life with vivid, vibrant language.

Starting with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein that is the result of an inspirational motto by Mary Wollstonecraft: "A great proportion of the misery that wanders, in hideous forms, around the world, is allowed to rise from the negligence of parents," to early attachments in Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, to early disattachment by Charlotte Bronte, to the humdrum beats of ordinary life in Middlemarch by George Eliot, to the realization of life's illusions in Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, to rebellious later life to break away from the illusion in To the Lighthouse, also by Virginia Woolf, and finally to the disillusionment met in Between the Acts, yet again by Woolf.

Great books as can only be understood best by this book.

Brilliant!.......2007-02-14

I echo Tom Casey's review below. I read some of these novels thirty years ago, and started re-reading them two years ago. What perfect timing, then, for Edward Mendelson's very interesting approach on these novels. On the surface this book does not appear to be the typical academic work it is, but each chapter on its own could have been a doctoral thesis. To tie these seven novels into passages of life is quite remarkable. In addition, footnotes, though infrequent, shed light on very important issues of the times that are easily overlooked. To enjoy this book one should have a fairly good knowledge of the novels. But you can read the essays in any order that you want; each essay stands alone. Highly, highly recommended.

seven tastes of greatness !.......2007-02-10

I just read "The Things That Matter," having seen it on my library's shelf and picked it up out of curiosity. I loved this book not only for its content but for the timing with which it showed up for me to read. My brilliant-at-math-and-science-stuff child was having a challenge with English Lit class; this book has given me a way to relate to them the value of novels to real life stuff, especially thinking about how "universal ideas" in life play out in personal actual life.

I found Mendelson's critical reviews of "What Seven Classic Novels Have to Say About the Stages of Life" timely and well written. I highlight below several points that struck me.

. I have never, never, NEver realized the intricate complexities of "Frankenstein" til I read Mendelson's analysis. I had heard that the authoress (Mary Shelley) was brilliant and accomplished and connected in her time, but to be honest all I could image in my mind prior to this book was the film treatments of a) Boris Karloff, and b) Mel Brooks. Suffice it to say I have a whole new appreciation of the rich ideas and paradoxes Shelley wove into her story!

. Mendelson does a fine job of weaving seven stories into seven Stages of Life (Birth, Childhood, Growth, Marraige, Love, Parenthood, The Future). Never mind the excellence of each chapter's analyses; the crafting of the whole book, and its demonstration by example of its meta-theme that "things that matter are written about in great literature," excite my professional admiration for a job of craftsmenship and talent well done.

. Further exciting my admiration are several points mentioned in the preface and in the essays as Mendelson distinguishes "universal ideas" that these authoresses (Mary Shelley, Emile Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf) present in their narratives:

1) He chose all woman authors because "it has nothing to do with any fantasy that women have greater moral and emotional intelligence" but rather "a woman writer [in the 19th and 20th centuries] had a greater motivation to defend the values of personal life against the generalizing effect of stereotypes." This is still an issue today for ALL of us, I think, whatever our personal circumstances or lifestyle choices.

2) That opposite life principles may be equally true, that what is publically espoused may be privately doubted. Or said colloquially, "The opposite of a Great Truth may be in itself a Great Truth." Examples include, in "Frankenstein," the espoused principle that a good upbringing of a child will result in a good character of an adult. But: "The opposite may also be true."

To read Mendelson's "take" about these works and their authors has made me feel more acquainted with seven "tastes of greatness!"

Great analysis.......2007-01-06

My daughter, who received this from me, says it is a terrific book with amazing insights into books we've read in the past and couldn't analyze the way this author does so well. She says the one on Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway" is especially revealing.

Women Who Write and Emotions in the Individual Life.......2006-08-24

Every so often a book appears with a fresh approach to familiar classics
which reinvigorates our belief in the importance of literature to the
experience of culture. Edward Mendelson is a Professor of English and
Comparative Literature at Columbia University. As the subtitle declares,
The Things That Matter revisits seven novels with an aim of exploring a
central theme from each that can tell us something about how to
interpret emotional challenges that beset us in the course of our
lifetime. Frankenstein is offered as an examination of birth, Wuthering
Heights of childhood, Jane Eyre for growth, Middlemarch for marriage,
Mrs. Dalloway for love, To the Lighthouse for parenthood, and Between
the Acts for the future. Mendelson's premise is flexible enough to avoid
heavy-handed exegesis; what he has given us is a literary roadmap into
moral and emotional conundrums that the authors of these books have
confronted through story and character.

The selection spans two centuries and the authors are women. Three of
the books were written by Virginia Woolf. Mendelson believes that women
"had a greater motivation to defend the values of personal life against
the generalizing effect of stereotypes..." He makes a good point:
certainly the authors of these books took great pains to examine the
emotional life and its influence on actions and choices.

One gets from his book a keen sense of Mendelson's reverence for the
individual experience, whether as a reader, a writer, an artist, or
merely a soul confronting contradictions; and he seems to be saying that
the best literature offers visions in lieu of answers, and that the
visions given here have something of emotional truth derived from what
women know especially.

Authors exist in a relationship to their characters that creates a
second dynamic to the narrative. "The novels that I write about in this
book all emerged from their authors' arguments with themselves." From
this can be inferred arguments that authors have with their characters,
disapproving of their behavior even as they create situations that allow
it, and with their readers, for whom the story is told. It is precisely
the interpersonal aspects of literature and the visions that emerge from
speculation that excite Professor Mendelson, and he has given new light
to familiar books in this thoughtfully insightful meditation.

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Still A Classic
Curious????
Endlessly Re-readable
The FIRST Classic Lesbian Love Story with a Happy Ending!!
Good Read

Curious Wine: A Novel
Katherine V. Forrest
Manufacturer: Alyson Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Fresh Tracks

ASIN: 1555836615

Book Description

"The ultimate lesbian love novel."-The Lesbian News

"A masterpiece of lesbian love."-The Sacramento Star

The intimacy of a cabin at Lake Tahoe provides the combustible setting that brings Diana Holland and Lane Christianson together in this passionate novel of first discovery. Candid in its eroticism, intensely romantic, and remarkably beautiful, Curious Wine is a love story that will remain in your memory.

Katherine Forrest is the author of 12 books, including the groundbreaking science-fiction novel Daughters of a Coral Dawn and the enduringly popular Kate Delafield Mysteries. She lives in San Francisco.

Customer Reviews:

Still A Classic.......2006-11-03

I loaned my copy of "Curious Wine" out years ago, and since I can't remember to who, I decided to pick up a new copy. I read it again and loved it just as much as I ever did. I have heard complaints that the story is far-fetched, but for some reason, as you read it IS believable. Besides, I don't read novels to steep myself in reality. This is a great page-turner and a light, even beautiful, story. A must-have for any lesbian's book collection.

Curious????.......2006-07-31

I loved this book and have read it many times over the years. It is pretty fast paced, but what the heck at least there was no U-Haul involved.

This novel made my heart swell with joy and love.

I offer this novel as a first lesbian must read. Yes, in today's world it wouldn't fly, but it is fiction and it was written quite awhile ago.

Enjoy!

Endlessly Re-readable.......2006-06-15

Curious Wine was part of the beginning of my lesbian book collection (having come out in the mid-80's). It's still one of my favorite lesbian romances after all these years. I am not one to re-read books much, but I do have a short list of select lesbian novels that I tend to re-read every 1-2 years as sort of my "lezzie break" from reading everything else that I do, the majority of which is written by and about straight people. Curious Wine is right smack at the top of that list. (Along with one of Forrest's other novels, Emergence of Green.)

As another reviewer mentioned, this is lesbian fantasy romance. It's not terribly believable that two women meet, fall in love, and decide to devote their lives to each other in the space of three or four days. Normally that sort of thing irritates me in a book. But in this case, it doesn't matter! The characters are so wonderfully drawn, their connection so profound, and the setting so beautifully detailed, that it all works wonderfully in this singular book.

Curious Wine is historically important in lesbian fiction because of the time period in which the story takes place, and the time period in which it was published. Lesbian fiction was just starting to get a significant foothold back then with the help of publishers like Naiad Press. So even if you're not a romance fan, it's worth reading at least once just for that.

For romance fans, Curious Wine will likely take an honored place on your bookshelf, to be taken down and read time after time. No lesbian home is complete without it.

The FIRST Classic Lesbian Love Story with a Happy Ending!!.......2006-03-29

When I was questioning my sexuality (about being a lesbian) in the late 1980's, I was hungry for a book that would give me a positive outlook on being a lesbian. Unfortunately I didn't find or read any sexy, enlightening, and romantic lesbian novels until I stumbled upon 'Curious Wine' by Katherine Forrest. I read this book in a couple of hours and proceeded to read it at least another 50 times (this is no exaggeration.) I love this book so much, I own 4 copies. Also, in 2006 I travelled to Australia and New Zealand with a copy of this book in my luggage (I am NOT kidding!)

IN a nutshell, this book is about a groups of women (mostly acquaintances or strangers) who meet up in cabin in Lake Tahoe for a vacation. Lane Christianson, a lawyer, and Diana, a personnel manager, immediately strike up a friendship which soon develops into something more. Please be warned, this book is a bit dated (the time frame takes place in the late 1970's) but this is still one of my all time favorite books EVER! And at least to me, this book has it all - gorgeous women, fabulous and multiple lesbian love scenes, romantic intensity, and most especially A HAPPY ENDING.

Up until Curious Wine came out, lesbians (espeically good looking ones) living happily ever after was a rare thing (in fact I never read a book that had a happy ending until this one.) By the way, the book on tape of this book is also fabulous. The lady who reads it has this delicious English accent and I listened to it so much, I broke the tape!

Buy a copy of this book. You won't be disappointed (unless you hate romance.)

Good Read.......2006-03-10

The story was easy to read and just detailed enough to fall into the book. I picked this book from another book I read, which is also my all time favorite, "Turning the Page". Curious Wine was titillating enough to stay up and extra hour to finish.

Israel at Vanity Fair: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of W.M. Thackeray (Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Vol 2)

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Israel at Vanity Fair: Jews and Judaism in the Writings of W.M. Thackeray (Brill's Series in Jewish Studies, Vol 2)
Siegbert Salomon Prawer
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

The book seeks, for the first time in any language, to combine Thackeray's many depictions of, and comments on, Jews and Judaism, from Old Testament times to his own present, into a coherent, chronologically ordered narrative. Texts and early versions that have not found their way into the collected editions are considered alongside well-known passages from Barry Lyndon, Vanity Fair, The Newcomes and Rebecca and Rowena. Since Thackeray illustrated many of his own works, graphic illustrations are as carefully chronicled and considered as narrative ones. The writings and drawings examined are set in a fourfold context: Thackeray's own life, psychological make-up, and developing art and opinions; the social history of Britain and its Jews; British and European literary and graphic conventions, traditions, and stereotypes; and the interplay of prejudice or animus with an essential British fair-mindedness that strives to present as truthful a picture as the author's limited perspectives, or satiric and humorous purposes, will allow. The book constitutes a substantial addition to the existing body of studies devoted to the image of Jews and Judaism in the work of influential non-Jewish writers and artists.

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