Brian Jones Straight From The Heart: The Rolling Stones Murder

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BRIAN JONES...ANOTHER JFK?

Lonesome Dove

WHAT A RIDE!

CONNECT THE DOTS.....

STEWED & KEEFED

Brian Jones Straight From The Heart: The Rolling Stones Murder
Gloria Shepherd
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Brian Jones, Who Killed Christopher Robin?: The Truth Behind The Murder Of A Rolling Stone

The Rolling Stones: In the Beginning

Stoned (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

Faithfull: An Autobiography

The Rolling Stones: 365 Days

ASIN: 0974209368
Release Date: 2007-03-15

Book Description

Brian Jones life was a David vs. Goliath. Young, petite, and naïve, his Goliath was the Rolling Stones money machine. Unlike the Bible, Brian lost his life. This book levels the battlefield by telling what happened to the band’s founder. Written from Brian’s POV, the Stones rise to stardom is chronicled, ending with British authorities lack to properly investigate the bi-sexual bandleader’s death at 27.

Brian recalls being an incest victim, homeless at age 16 and forced into prostitution. Regardless, with extreme talent, sexuality, and imagination he led the band he picked, taught and named to glory. His vision was to bring world music to the Stones catalog; the band declined—content to crank out mundane sounds as long as records sold.

After a fight over musical direction Brian left the band planning to start anew and take the Rolling Stones name with him. Three weeks later he drowned in his swimming pool. Brian’s tale of death threats and witness accounts recount what actually happened.

Customer Reviews:

BRIAN JONES...ANOTHER JFK?.......2007-09-20

I just read a grand review of this book that appears on Vintage Rock www.vintagerock.com.bjones_book.aspx in which the reviewer compares Brian's killing to the conspiracy behind JFK's assassination. What I find most interesting is the complete quiet we hear coming from the British Isles when so many are currently presenting clues and evidence surrounding Brian's death.

Even though Ms. Shepherd's book offers compelling facts relating to his death, she leaves out another suspicious death--that of Graham Bond who would've made a fantastic witness to talk about the threatening phone call Brian received at his "hideaway" only two days before his death. While the author does a dramatic job of re-enacting the events of Bond accepting the phone threat on Brian's behalf, she fails to mention that Bond "accidentally" fell under a train not long thereafter. Before he could personally testify about what he knew. Just as with witnesses who were willing to testify about JFK's assassination, many who were willing to testify about Brian's death also either suddenly disappeared or suddenly died! Coincidence? Think about it.

Lonesome Dove.......2007-09-16

Since I learned this book is supposed to be written from Brian's POV I don't understand why some complain that the author only focuses on Brian's good qualities and doesn't put him down for all the horrible deeds and nasty pranks he was known to have committed against others. I got it right off. Since Brian is talking about himself here, he like any of us wouldn't be sitting down (or standing up LOL) talking badly about himself.

He probably couldn't see all his faults especially since those nasty pranks were mostly committed during his up's and down's mood swings, when he didn't have much control over what he was doing. None of us sees ourselves as others do, and Brian was hurting over losing the friendship and camaraderie of his band mates but he couldn't understand where he had turned them off. Also none of them believed his many ailments that caused him to miss performances and rehearsals. The other Stones thought he was just being a cry baby or lazy but he gave it his best shot. It just wasn't good enough for the healthy ones who couldn't sympathize with his predicament.

In reading this story I got to thinking of Brian Jones as a beautiful Lonesome Dove, bleeding from the inside and not knowing how to get the help and unquestioning love he so badly needed.

WHAT A RIDE!.......2007-09-06

I'm part of a R&B band myself and got to meet Mick and the rest back in the day. So I try making time to read memoirs and such when I get the time. I've not written any reviews before but this story really caught me up. The book took so many twists and turns different than the rest out there that sometimes all stumble on each other with the same info.

I only wish this book would've gone into the story and testimony of Brian's murder earlier. That was the part that fascinated me. Not to say I want to believe it. But it for sure has more proof than anything I've seen before. All the facts come together and I hate to say that even though I don't want to believe what this story says happened, I can't find anything to prove it didn't happen.

I got to talking with others about this who say they heard similar storys for years but never saw it all laid out so totally. We'd like to see this turned into a film. Not like Stoned that is whitewash, but if this book is made into a movie as its written then we'd have something to watch for sure.

I only wonder why the Brits don't want to open the case. There's to much out there to ignore but hey that's on their heads.

CONNECT THE DOTS............2007-09-05

I usually enjoy a good old fashioned murder mystery and decided upon this story for my next unsolved whodunit. I wasn't interested in the history of the Rolling Stones or their music per se but found the idea, that one of their own had been possibly murdered at the behest of some of their own, intriguing to say the least.
Any reader interested in true crime will find the lady author's last 3 chapters plus 3 part epilogue very enlightening; somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie. As I read her results, I began to do research myself into each aspect of the crime that was brought up. Amazingly I found there is much evidence out there if one takes the time to actually look for it in press releases, actual testimony plus word-of-mouth tales swapped as to what actually happened to Mr. Jones at the time of his death and shortly thereafter.
It is mind-boggling that British authorities did not and still have not seriously investigated what was flagrantly a murder for hire. I located old magazine articles (and some fairly new) that corroborate a majority of what Ms. Shepherd attests to in her book. I found interesting also the fact that fans of Brian Jones have so viciously attacked her regarding claims of his not-so-well hidden sexual preference and drug use. All that pales in comparison to the fact he was obviously murdered in a most heinous manner by those laughingly hired to protect him!
I cannot understand why more focus isn't placed on what the meat `n potatoes of this book actually is: proof positive that Brian was purposely done away with and afterwards his prized possessions either callously burned in a bonfire (which again British authorities apparently turned a blind eye into investigating) or hauled off by both his band mates and his killers. That's where the reader needs to focus and not on who kissed whom, male or female, or whether Brian was still heavily imbibing drugs and alcohol at the time of his drowning.
I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy connecting the dots and seeing for themselves that the murder of Brian Jones remains mainly a major unrecognized and overlooked cold case crime. For anyone who likes to see justice served we should ban together and demand a complete, honest investigation into this killing.

STEWED & KEEFED.......2007-08-31

The honeymoon between Sir Mick and Keith apparently is at its end. Fragile nerves and high tensions have reached their peak and Keef is lashing out indiscriminately. His latest target is once again Brian Jones-the 63 year old Stone finds the band's former leader easy prey since the dead are hardly ever known to fight back. He believes he'll have a better chance of winning the battle of words against a ghost rather than take Mick on full force.

Oddly the open wound growing between Mick and Keith comes at a time when the author of Straight from the Heart is ready to announce the release of Brian's audiotapes. Word is she's finally received permission from the "keeper of the flame" for all these many years-who's mainly led a reclusive lifestyle since Brian's murder.

As part of the British rock scene during the late Sixties to early Seventies, I'd heard rumors flying that Brian had a hidden stash of tapes he'd recorded. We all figured they were only of music he'd put together during his stay at Cotchford. Now it appears that not only music was being composed while he lived the life of a solitary man, but that he had recorded his memoirs. Quite a feat for someone whom the Stones insisted was too incapacitated due to drugs and drinking to play guitar.

In my humble opinion I believe the author did a gargantuan job in re-enacting Brian's life in such an authentic and often tongue-in-cheek manner.

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A serious read
An Unexpected Story....
Glad I found this one...
Touched my Soul
An intense read . . .

Stone Heart
Luanne Rice
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 055358782X
Release Date: 2005-03-29

Book Description

From New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice comes a long-awaited opportunity for readers to discover an acclaimed early novel–one of this cherished storyteller’s most powerful and complex portraits of the fragile bonds of family and home.

STONE HEART

Nomadic archaeologist Maria Dark is returning home again to the Connecticut shore–a magical place where she, her sister Sophie, and their brother Peter spent their childhood on the banks of Bell Stream. After fifteen years away, Maria hopes that she can rediscover the joy and optimism of her youth in the arms of her family. But things have changed. Maria’s siblings and her mother have weathered difficult times...and Sophie and her children are not as happy as they seem. Now Maria will embark upon an emotional journey–navigating the memories of a tender past–toward the truth at the heart of her family and the chance for a new beginning.

A remarkably graceful and intuitive novel, Stone Heart reveals the depths of faith and love that can mend life’s most fragile and precious ties. As never before, Luanne Rice inspires us all to look love squarely in the eye and never let it go.

Download Description

Luanne Rice is the author of eighteen novels, most recently Beach Girls, Dance with Me, The Perfect Summer, The Secret Hour, and True Blue. She lives in New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews:

A serious read.......2006-12-20

Luanne Rice's "Stone Heart" is a very serious read, delving into the heavy issues of abuse. For that reason alone I think this book should be a must read. I highly recommend all of Luanne Rice's books, this one included. In fact, I think this is one of her best. I want to say that I greatly admire an author who is willing to tackle issues such as this and show that there is a way out, that there is a light and love at the end of the tunnel.

An Unexpected Story...........2006-07-05

I must admit, after reading several other of Ms. Rice's books, I was a bit unprepared for this one. The plot is much darker,the entire story much more provocative and much less entertaining. It was not the nice, happy ending kind of semi-romance book I was expecting; however, it was intriguing. I did like the book, but for totally different reasons than what I had been expecting when I made the purchase. With a little more filler and elaboration, this book would be more in line with mainstream fiction and should be approached as such rather than as romance. However, the quality of the writing is there throughout. Ms. Rice is a consumate writer of good fiction, no matter the genre.

Glad I found this one..........2005-10-05

Stone Heart is one of Luanne Rice's finest. I could not put it down. It is different from her newer books but just as good, if not better. If you are a Luanne Rice fan I recommend this one.

Touched my Soul.......2005-08-29

I couldn't put this book down! Right from the first chapter, this book intrigued me. I would definitely recommend this book.
This book goes right down to the soul of two sisters and how much family means to each other.

An intense read . . ........2005-06-06

Although STONE HEART may not be everyone's cup of tea, I found it thoroughly engrossing and hard to put down. Knowing nothing about the Pequot Indians, I can't comment on the review stating that Ms. Rice didn't do her research except to say I find that very hard to believe. One of the things I've enjoyed the most about Ms. Rice's books is their authenticity and her knowledge of the Connecticut shore and ability to translate that knowledge vividly. The book tackled a difficult subject and gave it a fresh slant. The characters were engaging and fully realized and the family relationships were complicated and realistic. And, as always, the writing shone. I'm glad this book was reissued as I would hate to have missed it. RECOMMENDED.

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Heart of Stone
Ana Monnar
Manufacturer: Readers Are Leaders U.S.A.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0976803550

Book Description

A marriage between a maiden and Prince William had been arranged by their parents. But, the more William thought about it, the more he knew it could not be. This beautiful young lady spent hours at her vanity. Imagine living with such distress, not for a minute, an hour, much less for a lifetime. With strong conviction Prince William looked her in the eyes and informed her that the wedding would never be.

In the Heart of Ozark Mountain Country: A Popular History of Stone and Taney Counties, Including Branson, Missouri

Average customer rating:

Nice book.

In the Heart of Ozark Mountain Country: A Popular History of Stone and Taney Counties, Including Branson, Missouri
Kathleen Van Buskirk
Manufacturer: White Oak Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Customer Reviews:

Nice book........1999-11-07

If you want to know the history of Branson and the surrounding Ozarks, this book is for you. Lots of colorful stories and interesting photos.

Silk And Stone: An Enchanting Novel of the Heart

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Addicting Novels
Wow
One of the very best
A Wonderful Book!
A book too good to miss!

Silk And Stone: An Enchanting Novel of the Heart
Deborah Smith
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553296892
Release Date: 1994-02-01

Customer Reviews:

Addicting Novels.......2005-08-24

Deborah Smith's books are addicting- you can't put them down! I have read several of her books, and the last two being Blue Willow & Silk and Stone. I loved them all, stayed up late reading these- I can't get enough of her characters. Silk and Stone like many of her novels gives us wonderful descriptions of the mountains, the small southern towns, you feel like you are there. Her characters are fantastic, and I love how she brings them through family histories, and childhood freindships to romance and soulmates. All involving many tragedies and triumphs that keep your heart pounding! Her perfect timing with poems and verses had me tearing up- especially the verse from the bible " her price is far above rubies". To me that sums up the beautiful love in this story. I will keep reading anything she writes! Get the book!!

Wow.......2005-05-10

I have enjoyed every book by Deborah Smith. Her characters are never flat, never dull, always passionate. But I have found that in this book especially. Jake and Samantha are an amazing couple, one I would love to see in every romance. They go up against harsh realities that would strain any normal relationship, but nothing truly separates them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a powerful romance.

One of the very best.......2002-03-23

This is one of the very best books I've ever read. Deborah Smith is my 2nd favorite author (1st is Nora Roberts). Deborah is a master of the human spirit and personality. And her heros are bigger than life. This book is not only a wonderful story, but is full of suspense and surprises. Couldn't put it down. If I could rate it a 10, I would!

A Wonderful Book!.......2000-08-07

It has been a long time since I read a love story that so wrapped me up -- and also one I will recommend to my 16 year old daughter and to my 60 year old mother. Wonderful character development; excellent plot lines; nice historical touches; good dialog and just on and on . . .! Give it a try -- I just can't believe you will be disappointed. This was my first Deborah Smith book -- it won't be my last.

A book too good to miss!.......1998-10-03

This is the second book of Ms. Smith's I've read. I loved the first, Blue Willow, and this one is even better. Ms. Smith not only makes you believe in soul mates and love too strong to die, she is an incredible writer. If you enjoy a good love story, I promise you'll love this one.

$Hearts Divided: 5-B Poppy Lane\The Apple Orchard\Liberty Hall$
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Hearts Divided
Not bad...
three terrific Washington State novellas

Hearts Divided: 5-B Poppy Lane\The Apple Orchard\Liberty Hall
Debbie Macomber , Katherine Stone , and LOIS FAYE DYER
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0778322122

Book Description

Grandmothers know best . . . especially these three grandmothers, all soldiers' brides. Their generation lived through war and peace, good times and bad, love and loss.

5-B Poppy Lane by Debbie Macomber
All her life, Ruth Shelton has loved visiting her grandmother in Cedar Cove, Washington. Now Ruth comes to ask advice about her own romance with a soldier -- and discovers a secret in her grandmother's past.

The Apple Orchard by Katherine Stone
Clara MacKenzie's granddaughter Elizabeth arrives at Clara's Oregon farm needing comfort. That's exactly what Clara offers -- and so does a childhood friend named Nick Lawton. But Nick wants to offer Elizabeth more than comfort. More than friendship . . .

Liberty Hall by Lois Faye Dyer
When Professor Chloe Abbot finds herself caught up in a troublesome mystery, she turns to her grandmother. She needs Winifred's expertise as a wartime code breaker. She doesn't need suggestions about her love life -- all of which involve an ex-marine Jake Morrissey!

Customer Reviews:

Hearts Divided.......2006-02-09

*** In this sweet little story collection, past and present are bridged by a common thread of love and revealed secrets. Granddaughters learn lessons about love from their grandmothers' recollections of the past, of loves they had in the WW II era. The stories are connected by email messages between the three grandmothers, but they do have a common theme. Debbie Macomber's entry that opens the anthology is the strongest of the three, however, each one is a sweet, safe read for book lovers of all ages to enjoy. ***

Amanda Killgore

Not bad..........2006-02-07

Of the three stories, I enjoyed the one by Katherine Stone the best. It was very sweet and the characters were cute. The bit about the grandmother's eyesight seemed sort of random, though... kind of like the author wanted to just throw in some information that people should know about cataracts.
The story by Debbie Macomber sort of seemed... a little dated, I guess. As I read it, I sort of wondered if it had been written years ago and was being republished, with a few updates to accomodate for technological advances (cell phones, email). It was just an impression I got from the characters, I think.
I have no real complains about the Lois Faye Dyer story. It was fine.
All in all, an okay book, but not a keeper.

three terrific Washington State novellas .......2006-02-01

"5-B Poppy Lane" by Debbie Macomber. In Cedar Cove, Washington, anti-war protester Ruth Shelton has been exchanging letters and email with USMC Sergeant Paul Gordon. However, he is coming home from Afghanistan on leave and wants to meet her in person. She has doubts because of his occupation

"Liberty Hall" by Katherine Stone. Former sergeant Jake Morrissey visits his friend Dan at the University of Washington Medical Center's rehabilitation Medicine Department where his brother in arms is getting an artificial leg installed. Jake meets English Professor Chloe Abbott whose group the Seattle's Women's Club has donated much of the medical equipment. They are attracted to one another form the start, but someone with a grudge plans to use her as a throw away pawn to get at Jake.

"The Apple Orchard" by Lois Faye Dyer. In Sarah's Orchard, Washington though he knows he will be punished by his mother's latest boyfriend, Nick rescues the toddler. Elizabeth's grandparents Charles and Clara are grateful. Years later, an adult Nick returns to Sarah's Orchard where to his shock Clara knows him instantly as Elizabeth's hero. He stays there basking in the grandparent-like love of Charles and Clara. When Charles dies he remains there for Clara. When Elizabeth returns home, she and her hero fall in love but he keeps his military experience secret from her so she has doubts.

These three terrific Washington State novellas star heroic military men and realistic women with doubts about a relationship with a soldier/veteran. The key to the tales is that diverse opinions on the Global War Against Terrorism is treated with respect and not wrapped inside phony for or against patriotic fervor while honoring the soldier.

Harriet Klausner

El Corazon De Piedra Verde/ the Green Stone Heart (Contemporanea / Contemporary)

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Uno de mis preferidos
Uno de mis Libros Favoritos

El Corazon De Piedra Verde/ the Green Stone Heart (Contemporanea / Contemporary)
Salvador De Madariaga
Manufacturer: Debolsillo
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Spanish | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Customer Reviews:

Uno de mis preferidos.......2007-05-23

Esta es una novela para disfrutar a cualquier edad. La leí en la adolescencia y ahora nuevamente. Y hoy me parece aún más audaz y extraordinaria que cuando la leí hace años. Su autor conoce y retrata con mano maestra el mundo español durante la época de la conquista del Nuevo Mundo. Más fabuloso aún es su conocimiento del mundo precolombino americano.

Uno de mis Libros Favoritos.......2007-05-17

Un verdadero tesoro para los que amamos la Historia. El corazón de piedra verde, Malinche y El Dios de la LLuvia llora sobre Méxicon son verdaderas joyas literarias sobre la epopeya que significó la conquista de México.
En un lenguaje sencillo sin muchos adornos el autor nos mantiene en vilo narrando los acontecimientos que marcaron de manera indeleble el futuro del nuevo mundo. Choque de culturas y creencias. Muy bueno.
Rolando de la Fuente

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Tides of the Heart
Touching, Funny, A must for any woman!
Wonderful sequel to SINS OF INNOCENCE!
The return to Larchwood is a warm relationship drama

Tides of the Heart
Jean Stone
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553577867

Book Description

Some promises can never be forgotten....

The author of the bestselling Birthday Girls and Places by the Sea, Jean Stone is a gifted storyteller in the tradition of Barbara Delinsky.  In this deeply enthralling novel of friendship and family, a woman must face the secrets of the past before she can confront the future....

I am your baby--the one you gave up.  Isn't it time we met?

The unsigned letter, postmarked Martha's Vineyard, arrives like a thunderbolt out of the blue, instantly sweeping Jessica Bates back thirty years.  It was 1968 when young Jess went to Larchwood Hall, a home for unwed mothers, and gave up her beautiful baby girl for adoption.  Jess's past still haunts her--especially since she learned that her daughter died in a tragic childhood accident.

But now the letter has raised the fragile hope that there was a terrible mix-up, that Jess's daughter is still alive somewhere.  Hoping for answers, Jess makes a determined pilgrimage out to the Vineyard, out to those who know the truth about what really happened to her daughter.  There, surrounded by sand and sea and memories of lost love, she must make a choice that will change the course of her life forever....

Customer Reviews:

Tides of the Heart.......2002-07-22

This is the first Jean Stine book that I have read and I'm ready to order more. Great characters.

Touching, Funny, A must for any woman!.......1999-06-25

A story that kept you wondering. A beautiful story about two young girls who shared the same experience and a dark secret. The bond between them was the kind of bond all friends should have. I hope Ms. Stone continues her story. Ms. Stone's first book "Sins of Innocence" (which I have not read yet) is the beginning of Jess and Ginny. I am searching high and low to find "Sins" and I know it will be just as good as this one. Share this one with a friend.

Wonderful sequel to SINS OF INNOCENCE!.......1999-06-08

What a pleasant surprise to see a sequel to Ms. Stone's excellent book, SINS OF INNOCENCE, a story of 4 unwed girls who gave up their babies for adoption. This book reminds me of why Ms. Stone is my favorite romance author. She knows how to write about women's feelings and the friendships between women with Jessica and Ginny as the lead characters (P.J. passed away in the previous book and Susan is out of the picture). Again, she manages to touch my heart with all the emotion and compassion that she portrays in this book. I love the way she writes dialogue. Her description of Martha's Vineyard sounds quaint and inviting, like someplace I would like to visit soon.

I found myself spending every waking moment reading this book and waiting to see what would happen next, but didn't want the book to end. Great work, Ms. Stone! I am anxiously awaiting your next wonderful novel.

The return to Larchwood is a warm relationship drama.......1998-12-14

In 1968, teenager Jessica Bates stayed at the Larchwood Hall for unwed mothers until she gave birth to a little girl that she gave up for adoption. Over the ensuing years, Jessica began to help her friends find the infants they gave up, but also learned that her own baby died. Jessica married, had three other children, and since divorced.

Three decades after giving up her child, Jessica receives a cryptic message that the little girl lives. She thinks it has to be a hoax, but cannot ignore the message. Jessica is happy to have a friend accompany her on her search for her daughter, which starts with the girl's father, Richard Bryant. Though fearing what she will learn, Jess realizes she must know and prays that she can one day hug her "little girl".

TIDES OF THE HEART, the sequel to SINS OF INNOCENTS, is a warm relationship drama that provides the story of Jessica, a prime mover in the first novel. The angst-laden story line will steal readers' hearts as the characters struggle with deceit and revelations that shake the very core of their essence. Jean Stone is one of the leading writers of deep relationship tales that tug at the souls of the audience.

Harriet Klausner

Average customer rating:

A disturbing but beautiful story of forgiveness

Could have been fantastic.

A heart of stone finally heals - beautifully written - difficult to read!

Don't go for this one if you don't like to read about multiple personality.

A very moving novel!

A Heart of Stone
Renate Dorrestein , and Hester Velmans
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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The Hiding Place: A Novel

The Box Children

Roseflower Creek

After You'd Gone

The Honey Thief

ASIN: 014200023X

Book Description

In the words of bestselling author Susan Vreeland, "Renate Dorrestein knows how to chill her readers with tragedy and then melt their hearts with forgiveness." A Heart of Stone is a spare yet richly told novel that seamlessly alternates between past and present. Sparked by faded photographs in an old family album, the novel's narrator, Ellen, pieces together the frayed memories of an idyllic childhood. She relives her growing up with her adored siblings, her parents' news-clipping service, and decades of Americana-from Coca-Cola to Kissinger and Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon. But amid the happiness lies terror and unimaginable heartbreak and a twelfth birthday that haunts her still. As Ellen tries to make sense of her adulthood, she recalls the loss, the longings, and the love-her constant companions-and struggles to dispel the ghosts of her past.

"A stunning novel about the scorching legacy of loss." (Time)

"Moving, chilling, and powerful." (Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring)

Download Description

A Heart of Stone is a spare yet richly told novel that seamlessly alternates between past and present. Sparked by faded photographs in an old family album, the novel's narrator, Ellen, pieces together the frayed memories of an idyllic childhood. She relives her growing up with her adored siblings, her parents' newsclipping service, and decades of Americana-from Coca-Cola to Kissinger and Neil Armstrong's first step on the moon. But amid the happiness lies terror and unimaginable heartbreak and a twelfth birthday that haunts her still. As Ellen tries to make sense of her adulthood, she recalls the loss, the longings, and the love-her constant companions-and struggles to dispel the ghosts of her past.

Customer Reviews:

A disturbing but beautiful story of forgiveness.......2007-06-13

This story is not for the faint of heart. It is story of the murder of a child from the childs perspective. The girls journey to forgiveness is unforgetable. This page turner will kepp you up nights.

Could have been fantastic........2006-03-03

I enjoyed much about this book. There were many enjoyable characters, particularly Ellen as a younger child. The topic was also intriguing.

However, I think the story would have been stronger had the timeline stayed linear. The story shifted from past to present and back again too often, especially in the end, that I felt torn away from a character just as I was beginning to connect with him or her. This technique pulled me away from the immediacy of the story and, therefore, made me less interested in what would happen.

Going along with my prior comment (and probably the reason why the past-present jumping didn't read well for me), I felt there was little to keep me interested in what happened to adult Ellen after the major events of the story occurred.

The book would have been tighter and more interesting if Dorrestein, the author, had focused the story on only young Ellen and had let her tale end at that climactic and powerful moment when she realizes why she has survived. For the essence of this story to really live, I didn't need the mess of Ellen's adult life. Nothing during the story of her adult life helped to open up any further realizations (and really all this extra stuff Dorrestein throws at the reader has no obvious reason for how it serves the plot well. None of it helped me understand Ellen or her dilemma more. In fact, it only helped me to feel less connected with her.) Ultimately, I was left with a minute understanding of Ellen's adult-life difficulties, a disbelief in the ending (the way Ellen rids herself of her two companions seems a little silly and too easy) and less of an attachment to Ellen than I would have liked. The book would have been better written as a "coming of age" story than as an "adult comes to an understanding of her past" tale.

And here's a nit-picky comment: Dorrestein relied too heavily on clichés--something I find very annoying. However, in Dorrestein's defense, English is not her first language and this book was her translation of the original she wrote in Dutch.

Overall, this book is not on my "favorites" list. However, there are moments in the story that offer a great look at human existence and character, so I'm glad I read it.

A heart of stone finally heals - beautifully written - difficult to read! .......2006-01-15

Renate Dorrestein, a Dutch journalist, feminist and writer of fiction has been one of the Netherlands' must successful authors for some years now. "A Heart of Stone" is her debut novel in English. Ms. Dorrestein is an extraordinary storyteller who almost seamlessly weaves together the past and the present in this tale of a horrible family tragedy and the efforts of one of the survivors to come to grips with it.

Ellen Van Bemmel is a forensic pathologist, estranged from her husband and pregnant. She is really looking forward to the birth of her first baby. By chance she discovers that her childhood home, the house where she spent her first twelve years, is up for sale. She buys it and attempts to fix it up, terribly incensed at the former owners for the state of disrepair in which they left it. She is reminded, with a "keen little shock of bitter joy," of the wonderful childhood she had here - of her engagingly eccentric family, her four siblings, including the new baby, her adoring, if somewhat distracted parents, their Americana clipping service, Bureau Van Bemmel, the employees who became part of their extended family. Anyone moving back to the house where he or she grew up would be bombarded by memories. Ellen's memories are haunted by ghosts of loved ones long gone. After twenty-five years she purposefully decides to come to grips with her past - almost as if she is cleaning-out her psychological and emotional house while she cleans No. 11 Lijsterlaan - to make room for brand new life.

The author recreates Ellen's childhood world, telling the little girl's story parallel to the adult's. Although one knows, almost from the beginning, what is going to happen, a sense of tremendous tension and suspense is built, precisely because the tragic, senseless events occur in a happy home - a home filled with the love and laughter of caring parents - good, kind people - and their bright, mischievous, sensitive children. No one really sees "it" coming, not really, not even the reader.

I must say that this novel, although beautifully written, disturbed me greatly. It explores the chilling subject of postpartum psychosis and brought back, for me, memories of the Andrea Yates' case. I found some parts very difficult to read, especially descriptions of the mother's burgeoning psychosis and how each of the Van Bemmel children react differently to what they intuitively feel is "something gone wrong." As Ellen leafs through an old family scrapbook and remembers, the pain and loss of the past are juxtaposed with memories of the good times, and make for some extremely powerful reading.

On one occasion, while in med school, Ellen suddenly jumped up and left the crowded lecture hall. "Finally I had it, the true name of the mystery that had destroyed our family. Postpartum psychosis. The tragedy need never have happened if my mother's condition had been correctly diagnosed and somebody had simply prescribed the right medication for her." And, "But no matter how out of touch with reality she had been in her disturbed state, I now knew that neither electric shock therapy, nor psychoanalysis, nor mood-altering drugs could have made her come to her senses. All she had needed was a little progesterone. That was the most devastating realization of all."

The Van Bemmel family's graves are marked by a heart shaped stone. Read Renate Dorrestein's extraordinary novel to discover how Ellen's own heart of stone is able to heal, finally. Highly recommended for both literary merit and subject matter, but be warned - this is no light read!
JANA

Don't go for this one if you don't like to read about multiple personality........2005-10-28

If you are reading this, you probably went through the editorial reviews above, so I will just add on what they fail to mention.
Two facts that goes unmentioned are: 1-) mother has post partum depression and 2-) the narrator has a serious case of multiple personality.

The whole idea of the book is the tragedy that happened to the narrator's family at a time when post-partum depression was not established as a clinical disorder. The description of the mother is sound and graphical - reading the descriptions of the mother at her worst moments felt like watching a 3-D movie, with desperation, fear and violence floating off the pages like a tsunami. For that I thought this was very good writing.

The narrator's multiple personality after the tragedy, though, made the reading very truncated and time-consuming. I had to re-read some passsages to make sure I got everyone of the family members straight - this is a serious problem, since not before the end of the book does the author gives a full description of what actually happened.

I thought that "Nearer than the sky", by T. Greenwood, was a better read. It deals with another kind of psychological family tragedy grounded on the mother, and goes much further on narrating the story from the point of view of one of the survivors.

A very moving novel!.......2004-09-19

Written by Renate Dorrestein, one of Holland's best-loved and decorated novelists, this English translation of "A Heart of Stone" is a poignant, shocking, yet unflinching look at the effects of mental illness, it's devastating potential and it's aftermath.

In this novel, Ellen, the central character toggles from the present back into the past 25 years ago to tell the story of how tragedy struck her family. In the present, Ellen struggles to come to grips on the reality of what happened to her family, while just a strongly struggling NOT to remember it. In the past narration, Ellen describes her mother's descent into severe mental illness, and how everyone around the family seems to uncomfortable or unable to do realize what is happening to her children.

I can't say too much about the story without giving away the plot, but I have to tell you that I read it in just a few hours. Once I had been given a "teaser" about the family's past, I had to keep reading. This novel IS disturbing, and does not pull any punches in detailing the helplessness children feel when their parents fail them so hideously.

I can't imagine anyone who reads this novel not being moved enought to post a review about it. It's simply that powerful.

Average customer rating:

The Journey of Lewis and Clark from a different perspective
Indian Tales, Historic & Modern
A prose-poem that peers into the soul of Sacajawea
Sacajawea Deserves Better

Stone Heart: A Novel of Sacajawea
Diane Glancy
Manufacturer: Overlook Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 158567365X
Release Date: 2003-02-24

Book Description

In Stone Heart, Diane Glancy grippingly retells the story of American legend Sacajawea, the young Shoshoni woman who traveled with Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the West. Presented in Sacajawea's voice in the form of a diary, the book makes moving and illuminating fiction out of a famed piece of history that has long been masked by myth. Glancy adds breadth and immediacy to the story by juxtaposing excerpts from Lewis and Clark's diaries with her brilliantly imagined journal of Sacajawea.

Lewis and Clark recorded the external journey; its physical challenges and its wonders. Glancy's Sacajawea experiences the expedition on a different plane, one in which the dream of a small white stone shaped like a beaver is emblematic of the thin membrane between the worlds of the mundane and the magical. Sacajawea hears the clouds talking, feels the thunderous hooves of ghost horses, and savors the wetness where a buffalo calf licks her arm from the other side.

In Stone Heart, the Lewis and Clark Trail springs back to life in a stunning work of imagination that vividly depicts the day-to-day tasks, ordeals, and triumphs of the famed expedition. At once a trail uncovered and a life revealed, Stone Heart draws a lingering portrait of a woman of resilience and courage.

Customer Reviews:

The Journey of Lewis and Clark from a different perspective.......2005-03-15

This is a beautifully written and brilliantly conceived telling of the Journey of Discovery from the imagined point of view of Sacajawea. Ms. Glancy dispensed with the myths surrounding S's role as guide and simply told of the adventures and rigors of the trip from the point of view of a lonely l6-year old mother with a two month old son and a brutal husband. The juxtaposition of Lewis' journal with the views of Sacajawea was fascinating. I loved this book and will remember its magic for quite some time.

Indian Tales, Historic & Modern.......2004-12-01

I read both this and several other novels by the same author,though none of them is easy reading. They are sometimes not the most exciting read but they are well informed about Indian culture and other aspects of history:perhaps the best is her first novel,"Pushing The Bear" about the Cherokee Trail of Tears in 1838. It is both erudite and historical and contains a great deal of grueling detail about the history of this perilous journey filled with treacherous pitfalls and the grim reality of death; also it provides many details about the Cherokee's animistic religion, dance rituals, language and world view. Revd. Bushyhead, a secondary character, is a Christian minister, formerly a Cherokee; the novel also contains conjurers or shamans. "Pushing the Bear" is a metaphorical way the lead character Maritole, a young Cherokee female, has of describing the difficulties of the journey. "Stone Heart" is about Lewis and Clark's journey up the Missouri and Columbia Rivers in 1807, where Sacajawea a Shoshone Indian kidnapped in her youth served as a part-time guide and interpreter. This novel is notable for its numerous excerpts from Lewis's and Clark's actual journals in the margins, as well as for Sacajawea's fictional musings about various aspects of the trip, including many references to her baby Jean Baptiste,who is often sick, to hunted animals, landmarks, horses and to various Indian cultures. Sacajawea was Charbanneau's husband, a rather brutal fellow. A map is also provided which is very helpful.
The two contemporary novels, "Flutie" and "The Mask-Maker", both set in Oklahoma, were also interesting. The first is about an adolescent 1/2 Indian girl from a family of mechanics in Oklahoma with a developmental disability (she can't speak) who eventually overcomes her disability to become a geology teacher. The novel is good at portraying her day-to-day life as well as her mythical or symbolic dreams derived from her Indian heritage which seem to lead to her interest in geology. "The Mask Maker" is about a divorced half -Indian mother of two who becomes a mask- maker and travels to Oklahoma high schools teaching this art. The latter novel also uses the technique of additional text in the margin to clarify or expand on the main text. Her house and trunk of her car are full of her masks. You will be impressed by Diane Glancy's knowledge of Indian history and religion and culture in any or all of these 4 novels. For example, "Flutie" discusses sweat lodges, while "The Mask Maker" has information on the Pawnees and on Pawnee Bill who was a business associate of Buffalo Bill.

A prose-poem that peers into the soul of Sacajawea.......2004-06-08

I read this book a few months ago and couldn't stop thinking about it. Combining excerpts from the journals of Lewis and Clark with a beautifully written prose poem written from Sacajawea's point-of-view, this book, although fiction, gives a realistic voice to the women of this story.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to feel what it must have been like for a women to travel with this group of explorer's on their journey across America.

Sacajawea Deserves Better.......2003-03-10

The mythical status of Sacajawea is seductive indeed, and Diane Glancy attempts to fashion a novel that gives that myth a much needed rest, trying to get into the voice and experience of the "real" Sacajawea, but as always, language is the heart and soul of any recreation of historical voice, and here is where voice fails Glancy. The writing simply is not good enough. The second person narration makes the character a bit too literary, a bit to fashionable, leaving this reader bored by its simplistic syntax and unimaginative detail. Who knows what Sacajawea thought and dreamed! As Irish poet Eavan Boland suggests, one improvises when faced with this mystery. The improvisaiton here is uninspired. The fragments of journals from the expedition, rather than moving the novel along, impede its flow. This novel is considered experimental, I suppose, but the experiment fails. Why? Because the voice and language fail.

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