Average customer rating:
- I really wanted to like this book...
- Just throwing another 1-star into the mix
- Wow this really sucked
- disagreeable
- It's okay...
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Veronica: A Novel
Mary Gaitskill
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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On Beauty
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The Year of Magical Thinking
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Prep: A Novel
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Bad Behavior
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Never Let Me Go
ASIN: 0375421459
Release Date: 2005-10-11 |
Book Description
The extraordinary new novel from the acclaimed author of Bad Behavior and Two Girls, Fat and Thin, Veronica is about flesh and spirit, vanity, mortality, and mortal affection. Set mostly in Paris and Manhattan in the desperately glittering 1980s, it has the timeless depth and moral power of a fairy tale.
As a teenager on the streets of San Francisco, Alison is discovered by a photographer and swept into the world of fashion-modeling in Paris and Rome. When her career crashes and a love affair ends disastrously, she moves to New York City to build a new life. There she meets Veronica—an older wisecracking eccentric with her own ideas about style, a proofreader who comes to work with a personal “office kit” and a plaque that reads “Still Anal After All These Years.” Improbably, the two women become friends. Their friendship will survive not only Alison’s reentry into the seductive nocturnal realm of fashion, but also Veronica’s terrible descent into the then-uncharted realm of AIDS. The memory of their friendship will continue to haunt Alison years later, when she, too, is aging and ill and is questioning the meaning of what she experienced and who she became during that time.
Masterfully layering time and space, thought and sensation, Mary Gaitskill dazzles the reader with psychological insight and a mystical sense of the soul’s hurtling passage through the world. A novel unlike any other, Veronica is a tour de force about the fragility and mystery of human relationships, the failure of love, and love’s abiding power. It shines on every page with depth of feeling and formal beauty.
Customer Reviews:
I really wanted to like this book..........2007-10-08
I have nothing against stories about "the dark side" of life, and I really wanted to be moved, or at least intrigued, by this one. But frankly my dear, I don't give a damn about it. The author can't write two paragraphs in a row that are not overflowing with pretentious, baffling, "poetic" prose. Wading through all of that leaves the reader no time, energy or interest to care about what the author might actually mean.
Every once and a while, Gaitskill hits the nail on the head with a razor-sharp metaphor or insight. But most of the time, she sounds like a stoned tenth-grader. And since you know from the start that everyone is doomed, there's not even any story to make slogging through the writing worth it.
The fact that this book was shortlisted for this and a finalist for that is proof of the literary world's motto: "If it's unintelligible, it must be good." Ms. Gaitskill should get a copy of Myers' "A Reader's Manifesto" and learn.
Just throwing another 1-star into the mix.......2007-09-20
Why on earth does anyone think this is good writing? There are enough painstakingly wrought similes and metaphors here to serve at least five novels. They are sometimes good, but for one slim volume, it's WAY too much. The reader is hard pressed to believe that anyone, no matter how frustratedly poetic, would reassess his/her life in this style. More largely, the characters and "plot" lacked life, the sex and sleaze failed to deliver their intended dose of shocking realism. Sigh, yawn. Didn't bother to finish it.
Wow this really sucked.......2007-07-27
I rarely stop reading a book because it doesn't hold my attention. This book was an exception. Really, really badly written and not at all interesting subject matter.
disagreeable.......2007-07-12
I found all the sex without love sad and distasteful. The protagonist was overcome with loneliness and had no self-respect.
It's okay..........2007-07-11
The story itself is interesting, but because it's all out of order, what happens is never a surprise. Also, while the writing style is somewhat poetic, it sometimes makes the story difficult to follow. The writer uses a lot of odd metaphores that usually didn't help me picture the scene any better.
Book Description
Cherish the innocence of summer days gone by with this collection of the earliest stories from the Betty & Veronica Summer Fun editions of the Archie Giant Series! Whether chasing after hunky lifeguards, modeling the latest swimwear, or putting up with Archie and Reggie's goofy rivalry for their affections, Betty and Veronica are truly the queens of Riverdale Beach! Reprints some of the best Silver Age stories from the first few years of Betty & Veronica Summer Fun.
Customer Reviews:
Nice blast from the past.......2007-07-17
Archie comics have always been one of the more pure fun comics still around. It's nice to view some samples from the 1960's, especially of the vivacious Betty and Veronica. The art is clean and crisp and brought up to specs of newer comics and as usual, always fun to read.
Betty & Veronica gorgeous sexpots that will always rock!.......2007-02-01
Ok, so I truly loved Betty & Veronica the most from everything. Now add the beach and all their amazing bathing suits through the time and this was so great! If you love a Betty & Veronica centered comic then this one is for you. Watch them compete for Archie's love and other guys on the beach. BEAUTIFUL!
wonderful.......2005-03-29
this book is simply excellent. it has a grip of betty & veronica stories and a wopping ammount of amazing drawings by archie comic artist dan decarlo. the book compiles most of the early (and very hard to come by) Betty & Veronica Summer Fun comics from the Archie Giant series, and is VERY worth the buy
get this book now!!
Summer fun.......2004-05-31
The Betty & Veronica series has always been a big seller for Archie Comics, sometimes even more popular than Archie! This is a collection of stories that ran in editions of Betty & Veronica Summer Fun, which was a part of the Archie Giant Series, a series of comics that had different titles. There is a forward from Dawn Wells, who draws comparisons from her character Mary Ann from Gilligans Island to Betty. The first story is from Betty & Veronica Summer Fun #8, from 1960, and the latest they go is Betty & Veronica Summer Fun #28, from 1964. The stories of course mostly involve Betty & Veronica's fight over Archie, but also about their friendship. The stories are funny and very enjoyable. Let's hope there's another book that comes out, with more stories. I certainly remember reading the comics during the summer and enjoying each and every one of them.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent Coming of Age Story
- As Always With Veronica...Perfect
- Loved it!
- A coming of age gem with universal appeal
- Veronica Chambers Does It Again
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Miss Black America: A Novel
Veronica Chambers
Manufacturer: Harlem Moon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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When Did You Stop Loving Me: A Novel
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Mama's Girl
ASIN: 0767914678
Release Date: 2005-06-14 |
Book Description
A dazzling fiction debut from the author of Mama’s Girl, Miss Black America is the warm and tender story of Angela, a young girl growing up in 1970s Brooklyn. Angela goes to school one ordinary day and returns home to find her glamorous and fiercely independent mother gone. Her magician father, Teddo, left to raise Angela alone, insists on keeping Melanie’s disappearance shrouded in mystery. As Angela grows to womanhood and struggles to understand her mother’s motivation for escaping the bonds of her family, she wryly observes, “My father was a magician, but my mother was the real Houdini.”
A universal story that is both finely tuned and elegant, Miss Black America captures the intricacies, pleasures, contradictions, and complexities at the heart of every family. Spare and finely told, this novel will seep beneath your skin and stay with you long after the last page has been turned.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Coming of Age Story.......2005-10-24
I thought this was an excellent book. It focused on the struggles of a young girl growing up with her father. It forces you to take a look at what motivates people to do the things they do and how the fallout of those actions will effect the ones closest to them.
It also took a strong look at the beliefs and values held by parents and how those values or lack there of, will shape the lives of their children.
At the heart of the story is a daughters love for her mother. When that love is taken away, the book explores the grief the daugher must endure and how she learns to cope.
As Always With Veronica...Perfect.......2005-07-24
An endearing story from an amazing writer. Little Miss Black America is an emotional rollercoaster ride that touches its reader from every angle. You laugh, you get angry, you want to cry, but you love its main characters and ultimate message delivered throught the story. For Mama's Girl fans, it reaffirms Veronica outstanding talent as a writer. For those who have never read Veronica, you will fall in love with her writing, and run out to read Mama's Girl.
Loved it!.......2005-07-12
I fell in love with Veronica Chambers with her memoir "Mama's Girl," and she proves equally skilled at fiction with "Miss Black America." Not only is the novel beautifully written throughout, but some of the pop culture references are laugh out loud funny.
A coming of age gem with universal appeal.......2005-07-08
This finely written, exquisitely detailed coming of age story may be called Miss Black America, but its appeal is universal. Veronica Chambers skillfully explores the delicate, fraught, often confusing and competing ties that bind daughters to both their mothers and fathers. The mother's dominant presence -- heightened cleverly by her absence --is beautifully woven throughout the story without diminishing the strong presence and influence of Teddo on the woman Angela becomes. Frequent interwoven references to touchstones of popular cultural throughout Angela's life --from news clips to fashion trends-- help place and pace the story in a colorful way that should conjure up fun personal memories for many readers. Miss Black America is a fast paced, thoroughly enjoyable, and ultimately uplifting take on the resilience of us all, because of, and in spite of, our families. A great read.
Veronica Chambers Does It Again.......2005-07-06
In her memoir, Mama's Girl, Veronica Chambers had me so spellbound that I finished the book in one sitting. She does it again in her first novel, Miss Black America, grabbing your attention in the first paragraph and not letting go until the last.
This moving story is full of glimpses of the 60's and 70's and glimpses into the hearts and minds of the people there. She makes you care about her characters, especially Angela Davis Brown whose sassy, irrepressible voice tells her story. From one scene to the next, the action is fast paced, making it impossible to put down. With such heroes as the magic man Teddo the Amazing Magician, Miss Black America and Mohammed Ali gracing the pages of this book, it is a terrific read that leaves you cheering the resilience of the human spirit.
Average customer rating:
- decent quick read..could have been better
- How did this get published?
- Great work of literature
- A page-turner
- A good read!
|
When Did You Stop Loving Me: A Novel
Veronica Chambers
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Mama's Girl
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Miss Black America: A Novel
ASIN: 0385509006
Release Date: 2004-05-25 |
Amazon.com
For Angela Davis Brown, the heroine of Veronica Chambers's debut novel, When Did You Stop Loving Me, life can be divided into two parts: before and after her mother disappears on an otherwise ordinary day in 1979. Left in the care of her father, a magician who drives a Mercedes yet can't afford much more than an omelet or two a day, Angela must navigate the waters of young womanhood on her own, save the occasional appearance of her father's numerous girlfriends or her abusive Aunt Mona. Along the way, this precocious sixth-grader must grapple with the inevitable yet unanswerable need to understand how a mother could abandon her child to seek fame and fortune in Hollywood, to Angela a place a world away from Brooklyn.
Chambers paints a vivid image of the political and socio-economic climate of New York in the early 1980s. The most entertaining and heartfelt scenes of this novel come when Angela describes her parents riveting admiration for Assata Shakur's escape from prison, or her father's sense of pure joy at meeting Muhammad Ali after performing at a PBS telethon to benefit the United Negro College Fund. Where the author falls short is in capturing the essence of Angela's grief; at no point does the reader feel any true investment in Angela's emotional or mental fate. Insincere lines like "My father was a magician, but Mommy was the real Houdini" do little to align the reader with this young girl's plight. Even at the end, when Chambers offers us a glimpse of Angela's adulthood, we feel no attachment to the character, no sense of triumph in her achievements and accomplishments. In fact, it is easier to identify with Teddo, Angela's proud, stubborn father, simply because he seems more genuine. His anger and grief at his wife's disappearance are palpable ("…He knelt down beside me and rested his head on my lap. His head shook and my hands trembled. I tried to still him. He cried so long that the legs of my pajamas were wet through.") while Angela's pain seems contrived and detached.
When Did You Stop Loving Me is a noble first effort, but Chambers, who has achieved success as a journalist and a critic, would benefit from abandoning clichés in favor of deeper character exploration. --Gisele Toueg
Book Description
A dazzling literary debut about a young girl and her father, a magician whose tricks and illusions both ease and hinder the painful realities of their lives
WHEN DID YOU STOP LOVING ME is the warm and tender story of Angela, a young girl growing up in 1970s Brooklyn. One day Angela goes to school and returns home to find her mother gone. Her magician father, Teddo, left to raise Angela alone, insists on keeping Melanie’s disappearance shrouded in mystery, but later Angela wryly observes, “My father was a magician, but my mother was the real Houdini.”
Veronica Chambers has written a compelling story about a young girl’s struggle to navigate her way through her family’s web of love, loss, and magic. As Angela tries to piece her world back together and figure out why her mother has abandoned her, she’s left to ponder the soul-shattering question: When did you stop loving me?
A universal story that is both finely-tuned and elegant, WHEN DID YOU STOP LOVING ME captures the intricacies, pleasures, contradictions, and complexities at the heart of every family. Spare and finely told, this novel will seep beneath your skin and stay with you long after the last page has been turned.
Customer Reviews:
decent quick read..could have been better.......2006-08-19
Interesting story line, but at times it was a bit verbose.I tried to stay focused, but the author did not draw her audience in with enough depth with these charecters. the ending could have been alot better. Sorry, but I started getting bored near the last few chapters and just wanted it to end so that I could move on to another book.
How did this get published?.......2005-12-03
Rather than summarize the plot (since Amazon does that rather nicely for you), I'll skip right to my not-so-subtle nudge away from this book. Not only is the plot a rather long cliche, the quality of the writing itself is incredibly poor; I'm somewhat amazed that the book actually got published. Not to break copyright, but since she quoted it on her own website, I see no harm in sharing that the book actually contains the phrase "It was 1979 and escape was heavy in the air." Somehow, that sentence just embodies for me the fatal flaw with the book: the complete inability to tell the truth.
Everything must be romantasized, dramatized, oversized; nothing is allowed to have a subtle effect but instead must be the most massive, most crushing, most over-the-top possible event in the life of the main character. For the antithesis, see Richard Ford's Independence Day as a reference on how to be honest in writing. For something equally terrible, see The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kid (should this book ever become as famous, I predict it will recieve roughly similiar reviews: "Honey of a book" from people who think that being told something is good means it actually is, "Hard to swallow, even with a spoonful of honey" from people who realize that having a plot with intentions is, in fact, a good thing).
Great work of literature.......2005-09-09
I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. I liked the references to X-Men and other comics. Although the cartoon series was shown in the early 90s, this book shows that the comic originated in the early 1960s. The book ends and allows the reader to wonder about the future of the character as any good work of literature should. Ms. Chambers did her thing with her 2nd novel and I encourage readers to pick up her 1st, Mama's Girl.
A page-turner.......2005-08-09
Ms. Chambers perfectly captures the voice of her young
heroine and deftly re-creates the sensory experience
that was New York City in 1979. I was there the first
time around, and this book took me right back in a way
that no other books, tv shows, movies have been able to
do.
This is a wonderfully engaging story that is
definitely a page-turner. Bravo, Veronica!
A good read!.......2005-05-18
I really enjoy black novels set in the 60's and 70's era, you don't have to worry about all the explicit language. I thought the story was good- Angela comes home to find her mother that she loved gone. Angela and her father try to make it through life without her. This is just a great story between a girl and her father. I loved it, can't wait to read more books by this author.
Book Description
Welcome to Eversleigh—a small English village being invaded by celebrity, sex, and scandal!
Guy Portias, heir to Eversleigh Manor, has woken up with two problems: he has a wicked hangover, and he seems to have gotten himself engaged. His new fiancée, Richenda Fox, is the gorgeous star of the hottest new TV series in England, but is the enigmatic beauty the right woman for him? To complicate matters, Eversleigh is badly in need of repairs, and the family fortune has run a bit dry. When Guy reluctantly agrees to let his mother run “Country House Weekends” at the manor, they hire Honor McLean, a bewitching single mother, to cater and help them deal with the chaos.
Warm and down to earth, Honor is nothing like Guy’s cool, career-obsessed fiancée. If Honor’s wit and charm have the same effect on others that they seem to have on Guy, she could end up saving Eversleigh on her own—and stealing Guy’s heart in the process.
With a cast of characters you’ll love (and a few you’ll love to hate), An Eligible Bachelor is a charming, sexy, and compulsively readable romp through the English countryside.
Also available as an eBook
Download Description
Veronica Henry is the author of four novels. She lives in North Devon, England, with her husband and three sons.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Customer Reviews:
as good as I'd hoped.......2007-05-06
I found this at a library resale shop and didn't know what to expect. I love Katie Fforde and Marian Keyes. V. Henry had a touch of both I thought. The characters were very likable and well developed. A great weekend read.
Very enjoyable.......2006-03-07
This is second book I've read by Veronica Henry and it did not disappoint. It was an entertaining, easy-to-read-when-you-want-to-relax-book with likeable and not-so-likeable characters you can root for or against to your heart's content. What makes the book so enjoyable is that plot and characters are credible without being boring. The end of course is also very satisfactory with a little bit of "surprise" thrown in.
Average customer rating:
- Somewhat Entertaining....
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Resident Evil: Code Veronica - Book Two (Resident Evil (DC Comics))
Lee Chung Hing
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1563899191 |
Customer Reviews:
Somewhat Entertaining...........2003-06-24
Being a fan of comic book art, video games, and zombies, I figured this graphic novel would be a unique treat... but I have mixed feelings. The art in this book is very nice and interesting, especially in the action sequences. It remains faithful to the game, in that the characters randomly find weapons, ammunition, puzzle keys, and herbs... although this adds to the choppy storytelling. Overall, the story is bland and uninteresting, much of it being told through Claire's non-stop self exposition. If you're a huge fan of the game and comic book art, you will probably enjoy this graphic novel. But, if you are looking to be engaged in a great zombie story you should look elsewhere.
Average customer rating:
- Informative.
- The book for the film
- An Eye-Opener
- Creeps
- Not what it claims to be...
|
The Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code: History, Legends, Locations
Michael Haag ,
Veronica Haag ,
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Michael Von Haag
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Fodor's Guide to The Da Vinci Code: On the Trail of the Bestselling Novel
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The Art and Mythology of The Da Vinci Code
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The Da Vinci Code Travel Journal
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Walking the Da Vinci Code in Paris: Decoding the City and the Book
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Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code: A Historian Reveals What We Really Know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine
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Moleskine Pocket Ruled Notebook
ASIN: 1843535173 |
Book Description
Dan Brown's thriller The Da Vinci Code has created an extraordinary controversy, with its sub-plots of the sacred feminine in religion, the bloodline of Christ, the legend of the Holy Grail, and the role of sects like Opus Dei within the church. This Rough Guide explores and explains the context of the novel, including: - How the early Christian Church `edited' The Bible, and drew on earlier religions. - What art historians make of Leonardo Da Vinci's symbolism in "The Last Supper" and other works. - The true history of the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, and the debate on Mary Magdalene and the bloodline of Christ. - Location guides to Da Vinci Code sites in Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, New York, London and Edinburgh. - Reviews of Da Vinci Code sources and a glossary of everything from the Templars to the Fibonaccci Sequence.
Whatever you think of Dan Brown's novel, this Rough Guide has the key to understanding its wider background.
Customer Reviews:
Informative........2006-09-04
THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE DA VINCI CODE is a little book that explores the history, legends, people, and places that are involved in Dan Brown's book THE DA VINCI CODE. The book is divided into five sections: Basic, Context, Locations, Author, and Glossary & Index. The basic section gives a general synopsis of the novel, detailing some of the major claims the novel makes. Context is an extended look at the actual history involved through the telling of THE DA VINCI CODE. Location examines the various places of setting in the novel. The author section gives a very, very brief biography about Dan Brown, discussed the books he has written, and lists and briefly discusses books that Dan Brown used for research as well as other books and websites of interest. The glossary & index contain a glossary defining key elements that a reader might need more explanation about as well as an index to highlighted items.
I know that when I read THE DA VINCI CODE I noticed several historical inaccuracies and fabrications and I was sure there were others. THE ROUGH GUIDE TO THE DA VINCI CODE helped me better understand the various inaccuracies, fabrications, and suppositions that the novel makes about history, people, and art by comparing them to the real events, people, and items. It is true that the authors don't list the sources for the information they include. However, this is a ROUGH GUIDE and that is how most if not all of the ROUGH GUIDES have been written. The book is compact, easy to read, and chock full of informational tidbits. In short, it does what a ROUGH GUIDE should do.
The book for the film.......2006-05-29
The Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code not only explains Dan Brown's book, but it also explores the making of the film! Really interesting stuff, with a lot of inside information.
An Eye-Opener.......2006-01-22
Reading this book has really been an eye-opener. It has made me understand how interesting the issues are behind The Da Vinci Code. Not in a hubla-bubla sort of way, but in a serious way. You cannot do better than this for getting started on the whole historical and religious route of discovery.
Creeps.......2006-01-10
This Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code is sound, articulate, well written, and altogether a brilliant investigation into the issues surrounding Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Anyone who is curious and wants to be informed, and wants to make use of the extensive further reading and website lists, will welcome this book. But a lot of creeps will not like it because it tells the truth.
Not what it claims to be..........2005-09-24
The publication and subsequent widespread popularity of "The Da Vinci Code" has led to a host of books attempting to delve further into the subject matter and separate fact from fiction. The authors and producers of these books usually fall into two categories: those of the Christian faith that feel threatened and try to discredit everything Dan Brown presents in his novel; and those who wholeheartedly agree with Mr. Brown and seek to reinforce the subject matter of his novel. Additionally, in my personal opinion, both of these camps also seem to be motivated by a a desire to capitalize on the popularity of "The Da Vinci Code" for profitable gain. While these types of exploratory 'history' books (and I use that term very loosely in this case) no doubt succeed in clearing a decent profit margin they fail miserably as researched historical treatises on the subject matter of "The Da Vinci Code".
Both, "The Rough Guide To The Da Vinci Code" and "Da Vinci Code Decoded" purport to be properly researched exploratory works with the former taking the side of discrediting much of Mr. Brown's novel and the latter supporting much of it. However, what the astute reader will notice is that neither makes its case very well and both are guilty of the same gross error, namely not presenting any tangible historical reference to accompany the myriad of 'facts' (I use this term quite loosely as well) presented. By this I mean, whenever they present any information, whether it opposes or supports Mr. Brown, there is no specific reference as to where that information came from. As far as the reader knows, the author could be entirely fabricating the information themselves as there is no footnote and corresponding reference for the reader to check to ensure the author is not just asserting their own opinions as 'facts'. While that type of writing is entirely acceptable in a fictional novel such as "The Da Vinici Code", it is most unacceptable in non-fictional writing where the claim is made that the book presents researched historical facts. If the books are so well researched, where are the footnotes and references that will allow the reader to double check the facts themselves? These books are in essence 'he said / she said" publications where it is the word of the author against the word of Dan Brown, and as such are of no use in the realm of legitimate historical study.
Please do not be fooled by the authoritative style with which these books are written, as they are essentially just someone's opinion and should not be taken as fact. I would recommend the curious reader who desires to learn more about the subject matter of "The Da Vinici Code" to seek out and read academic historical texts for further information, but at the same time I would suggest taking that with a grain of salt as well. Historical facts have a tendency to become distorted and manipulated over the years to serve personal and national agendas. If you don't believe it is in human nature to manipulate historical accounts, consider this real world example: the Japanese government as of this day does not teach Japanese students about the atrocities and war crimes that Japan committed historically in Asia (atrocities and war crimes that are well documented by the rest of the international community). The details have been stricken, literally, from Japanese school history books. This is even more important when we remember that Japan actually lost World War II and yet they are still engaging in this type of activity. Imagine if they had won...furthermore, imagine if the Germans had won: would the attempted genocide of the Jews even be spoken of today much less remembered in a couple hundred years?
These are the types of things one must consider when studying history. So, if you want to learn more about the Da Vinci code, ignore "The Rough Guide To The Da Vinci Code" and "Da Vinci Code Decoded", do your own research, keep an open mind, and decide on your own what seems most likely from a logical standpoint.
Book Description
At twenty-one, the passionate and headstrong Ann Veronica Stanley is determined to rule her own life. When her autocratic father forbids her, via formal letter, from attending a fashionable art-school ball, and even further refuses to allow her advanced study of science, she decides she has no choice but to leave her family home and make a fresh start alone. She escapes the stodgy suburbs to London, enrolling as a student of biology and immersing herself in a world of intellectuals, socialists, and suffragettes. Soon, however, she finds that freedom comes at a price, when she meets the brilliant Capes, a married acad emic, and falls hopelessly in love.
Customer Reviews:
A great novel.......2006-05-08
I'm not much of a novel reader, especially of realistic fiction. But I wanted to read this one, just to see how HG Wells handled such a novel. I was also intrigued with the themes I'd read were involved.
I immediately felt at home in the milieu of the novel. And though male myself, I completely identified with the young female protagonist, a college student in biology who leaves home to strike out on her own. In the process, she finds out about the ups and downs of "real life". The story is told almost exclusively from her point of view. Of course, the setting is now 100 years ago, but there was almost nothing in the novel that truly dated it. All the characters had motivations and acted in ways that seem completely contemporary today. I became completely enthralled with Ann Veronica's life and adventures, even staying up late to finish the book. She became a real person to me.
In terms of this edition of the book, not only are there end notes explaining allusions and other points, but also there is a very useful glossary included which defines unusual words. Of course, there is also a helpful introduction by a contemporaty critic, as well as a preface Wells wrote to an edition of the book published in the 1920s.
I can easily see this novel being adapted for Masterpiece Theatre. With enough publicity, I think it could become a top seller again today. It is definitely a story for the ages.
Product Description
IRISH HISTORICAL NOVEL.
This superbly written historical novel discribes the life of two Catholic families living in Ireland during the Great Famine and their heart rendering unjust exile. It then continues with their hazardous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in a coffin ship. This journey of tragedy and mercy deprives them of their two older children who chose a life in New York City to a life in the rural Ozarks. The long trip takes them down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, followed by a grueling overland trek into Missouri where the group eventually settled. During the 1850s they prospered and were ever thankful for the good life they found with abundant wildlife, rivers of fish and farmland for clearing. This novel relives their years of toil, love, and happiness as hundreds of Irish families sponsored by their priest Father Hogan join them.
The book further details the historical past during the American Civil War and with breathtaking accuracy shows how th Irish were caught up once again in circumstances beyond their control. Throughout this time the Irish Wilderness became a "no man's land" and the Irish endure even greter hardship. Their beloved children were caught up in the opposing armies and became scattered all over America. At the end of the Civil War there were only a few Irish left in the setlement including a small part of the subject families. This area is still to this day named the Irish Wilderness.
One of the pleasures of this spellbinding book is that it takes you accurately back to a way of life long forgotten that has helped make the American people what we are today. After reading this book the readers will appreciate and understand what their Irish ancestors had to endure during the Great Hunger and American Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
An extraordinarily book..........2007-03-15
I've never appraised a book before, but after reading "The Irish Wilderness" by Veronica Roberts, I was in a complete entrancement. Being swept along by a genuine Irish emotional epic. The 470 pages book magnificently illuminates and reconstructs 'The Great Famine, Coffin Ships, and the frightened down trod Irish Catholics in America'. Throughout this story the Irish side of history interweaves with personal drama, as I have never read before. It is a stunning achievement bringing both tenderness and tragedy together. An extraordinarily book, which is written about something worth writing about. "The Irish Wilderness" by Veronica Roberts should become a classic.
Product Description
The official graphic novel adaptation of the TNT Original Movie premiering in December 2006. From Creator Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Stargate) comes a new kind of adventurer: Flynn Carson, guardian of mystical artifacts scattered throughout world history! Carson is on a mission is to prevent the powerful Key of Solomon from falling into the hands of a ruthless warlord. He is joined in his quest by Emily Davenport, a beautiful fellow scientist who may be his only hope to locate the legendary Mines of King Solomon before it is too late. Full length complete adventure, adapted from the screenplay by Marco Schnabel.
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