Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Stephen White brings back his popular character, psychologist Alan Gregory, to take on the sociopathic killer from White's first novel—who, many years later, has walked away from a mental hospital, hungry for revenge.
It has been years since the mayhem was unleashed in Privileged Information. Now Michael McClelland, the brilliant, determined killer introduced in White's first novel, has left the Colorado State Mental Hospital—and he's coming after Alan Gregory's family. The timing couldn't be deadlier; like a cornered animal, Alan is in a deeply vulnerable state, facing severe doubts about his professional life, his marriage, and his own psyche. And McClelland holds the most powerful weapons of all: secrets from Alan's past. Secrets Alan thought he had successfully buried years ago. Secrets not even his wife knows. Time is running out as Alan scrambles to outwit his nemesis while confronting each of his worst nightmares. His becomes a captivating psychological journey into the events that forever change us, and the relentless drumbeat of the past. Faithful readers of the series and newcomers alike will be mesmerized by this searing view into the revered doctor's heart—with a haunting conclusion that will secure Dry Ice's place as the most memorable of White's novels.
Customer Reviews:
The Guru of Psychological Thriller.......2007-09-15
Stephen White did a very good job in Dry Ice. This book is gripping, enthralling, and mesmerizing, all at once. The characters are very real, they speak to you. They have their own complexities......and SECRETS yearning to be revealed. Read this book to feel and touch the mysterious dryness of the ice. Cold Eyes
Alan Gregory is like a lot of us........2007-08-29
Despite being a clinical psychologist, Dr. Gregory at times finds life challenging as he continues to relive the memories of a horrendous childhood trauma. Alan tries to bury them, however it is difficult to do so when a madman, bent on revenge, reenters his life upon escaping from a mental institution. This psychotic genious will do just about anything to ruin both Alan, Sam, his detective friend, and Lauren, Alan's ill wife who is an assistant district attorney. My only problem with the story is Alan's unwillingness to not tell anyone about his past despite the fact he was an innocent child when the incident occurred. This, somewhat unbelievable denial lays the groundwork for what remains a pretty credible and interesting story.
Stephen White hits his target again.......2007-07-04
I am a big fan of White and love his books--every one. And this was not a disappointment. It was great to have Alan Gregory back again. And all those secrets? Wow------who knew?
The humor is fun and witty. The story keeps you guessing and waiting to see what was going to happen next. A true page turner with surprises at almost every turn.
And the ending-----I won't give it away----but could lead to another sequel and continuing story with the characters we love in this one: Alan, Sam, Lauren just to name a few.
Sit back and enjoy this one---it's a fun read.
Everybody's waiting...........2007-06-24
For former villain Michael McClelland to seek revenge on the those from Boulder who sent him to the State Mental Hospital some 15 years before (As told in Stephen White's series intorduction, "Privileged Information"). McClelland is a charming sociopath, capable of almost anything, and seeking revenge.
And while we wait, with White's hero, Alan Gregory, for McClelland's onslaught, McClelland quietly and insidiously finds ways to begin to destroy Alan's way of life, along with those of the deputy DA (Alan's wife Lauren) and the cop (Alan's friend Sam Purdy)who helped bring him to justice. "Dry Ice" proves that everyone we have watched through the first 14 books in the series, has a secret that has not yet risen to the surface. And in wrenching out those secrets over the course of this, the 15th book, White keeps us eagerly turning pages.
Some will be disappointed by the human frailities of White's major characters -- some will be angry that the story wraps with so many loose ends, some will want McClelland's revenge to be more forceful and straight forward...but most, if not all, of White's faithful readers will find "Dry Ice" chock full of expert plotting and subtle nuance as White takes his characters in a slightly different direction for the future.
Significantly different than earlier installments..........2007-06-03
Seems like all my "fun" books came in to the library all at once. I was looking forward to Dry Ice by Stephen White, a continuation of the Alan Gregory series. It's quite a bit different than the others, and I don't think I liked it as much...
In the latest episode, Gregory is a prime suspect in the disappearance of a star witness in a grand jury case being worked by his wife. When one of his newer patients commits suicide in a manner linked with the first case, Gregory finds himself under the scrutiny of people he once considered friends. He suspects that the mastermind behind all these events is a deranged killer that he helped put behind bars. The guy has escaped, and now the killer is leaving calling cards for Gregory. Compounding all the legal stressors is a growing estrangement from his wife. She suspects him of carrying on an affair, and her work for the district attorney's office is jeopardized by Gregory's legal issues. He has no choice but to try and find the killer himself, primarily to clear his name and stop the assault on his personal and emotional life.
The story has a fair amount of intrigue and suspense in it. But the deterioration of his marriage and his "secret" that the killer threatens to reveal is not very well defined throughout the plot. It's such a radical departure from the normal character roles that you have to step back and readjust your expectations. In every series, you're going to have some titles that are better than others. And occasionally you need to do something very different in order to advance the overall plot and character development. This one might have been a bit *too* far for fans of Alan Gregory. But having said that, it's still worth reading if you've kept up with the series over the years...
Amazon.com
Epic in scale and intimate in approach, White Teeth is a formidably ambitious debut. First novelist Zadie Smith takes on race, sex, class, history, and the minefield of gender politics, and such is her wit and inventiveness that these weighty subjects seem effortlessly light. She also has an impressive geographical range, guiding the reader from Jamaica to Turkey to Bangladesh and back again.
Still, the book's home base is a scrubby North London borough, where we encounter Smith's unlikely heroes: prevaricating Archie Jones and intemperate Samad Iqbal, who served together in the so-called Buggered Battalion during World War II. In the ensuing decades, both have gone forth and multiplied: Archie marries beautiful, bucktoothed Clara--who's on the run from her Jehovah's Witness mother--and fathers a daughter. Samad marries stroppy Alsana, who gives birth to twin sons. Here is multiculturalism in its most elemental form: "Children with first and last names on a direct collision course. Names that secrete within them mass exodus, cramped boats and planes, cold arrivals, medical checks."
Big questions demand boldly drawn characters. Zadie Smith's aren't heroic, just real: warm, funny, misguided, and entirely familiar. Reading their conversations is like eavesdropping. Even a simple exchange between Alsana and Clara about their pregnancies has a comical ring of truth: "A woman has to have the private things--a husband needn't be involved in body business, in a lady's... parts." And the men, of course, have their own involvement in bodily functions:
The deal was this: on January 1, 1980, like a New Year dieter who gives up cheese on the condition that he can have chocolate, Samad gave up masturbation so that he might drink. It was a deal, a business proposition, that he had made with God: Samad being the party of the first part, God being the sleeping partner. And since that day Samad had enjoyed relative spiritual peace and many a frothy Guinness with Archibald Jones; he had even developed the habit of taking his last gulp looking up at the sky like a Christian, thinking: I'm basically a good man.
Not all of White Teeth is so amusingly carnal. The mixed blessings of assimilation, for example, are an ongoing torture for Samad as he watches his sons grow up. "They have both lost their way," he grumbles. "Strayed so far from what I had intended for them. No doubt they will both marry white women called Sheila and put me in an early grave." These classic immigrant fears--of dilution and disappearance--are no laughing matter. But in the end, they're exactly what gives White Teeth its lasting power and undeniable bite. --Eithne Farry
Book Description
Zadie Smith’s dazzling debut caught critics grasping for comparisons and deciding on everyone from Charles Dickens to Salman Rushdie to John Irving and Martin Amis. But the truth is that Zadie Smith’s voice is remarkably, fluently, and altogether wonderfully her own.
At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England’s irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn’t quite match her name (Jamaican for “no problem”). Samad’s late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal’s every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith. Set against London’s racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future,
White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.
Download Description
Zadie Smith's dazzling debut caught critics grasping for comparisons and deciding on everyone from Charles Dickens to Salman Rushdie to John Irving and Martin Amis. But the truth is that Zadie Smith's voice is remarkably, fluently, and altogether wonderfully her own.
At the center of this invigorating novel are two unlikely friends, Archie Jones and Samad Iqbal. Hapless veterans of World War II, Archie and Samad and their families become agents of England's irrevocable transformation. A second marriage to Clara Bowden, a beautiful, albeit tooth-challenged, Jamaican half his age, quite literally gives Archie a second lease on life, and produces Irie, a knowing child whose personality doesn't quite match her name (Jamaican for "no problem"). Samad's late-in-life arranged marriage (he had to wait for his bride to be born), produces twin sons whose separate paths confound Iqbal's every effort to direct them, and a renewed, if selective, submission to his Islamic faith.
Set against London's racial and cultural tapestry, venturing across the former empire and into the past as it barrels toward the future, White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.
Customer Reviews:
I'd Rather Have a Root Canal.......2007-09-26
I think I might have liked this book a lot more if I hadn't listened to this audiobook version. 22 hours of stereotyped Indian and Jamaican accents was enough to drive me up the wall. I'll have to wait a while and read the actual book without the distraction of grinding my teeth at the bad accents.
In the meantime, someone in a writer's group suggested this book should get the Nobel Prize--I wouldn't go nearly that far. I know what I'm supposed to say about how it's a wonderful portrait of the immigrant's dilemma of assimilation versus maintaining tradition and the second generation immigrant's confusion about his/her roots. And how it illustrates modernity versus antiquity with the whole FutureMouse debacle. And I should say how relevant the conflict between Muslims like Samad and Millat and Christians/atheists is in the post-9/11 world. Finally, I'm supposed to say how magnificent it is that the author wrote this magnificent book at the tender age of 23.
Having mentioned all that, I still didn't like this book--and not solely because of the problem I mentioned at the beginning. I think what was missing here was that most basic, primal need: to actually LIKE someone in this book. Simply put, I wouldn't want to know any of the characters in this book. Samad, Alsana, and Millat are loud, pushy, and often obnoxious while Maggad is stuffy and dull. Archie and Iree are timid and weak, with Iree being especially whiny to boot. Clara is practically nonexistent after the first couple chapters. As a reader, was there one person I could latch onto and root for? Not a one.
That was the most grievous problem, but not the only one. The constant authorial intrusions into the narrative became quite irritating, interrupting the flow of scenes with snide comments and sidebar discussions. The lengthy histories of just about every minor character and organization also became tedious, also making for too many characters, none of whom I could care less about. Then of course one of those minor characters makes a sudden reappearance at the end, which really didn't make much sense and seemed like a clumsy attempt at unleashing a surprise plot twist. I was also confused at the rather abrupt way in which Iree rapes one of Samad's sons. Again, this is probably another clumsy attempt at a plot twist. It certainly made me lose whatever sympathy I had left for Iree.
For the obligatory plot summary, this is the story of two families. Samad is a Bengali who immigrated to London and eventually was arranged to be married to the much-younger Alsana, who gave birth to twin boys. Samad is torn between his Muslim beliefs and the temptations of the non-Muslim world, especially a music teacher. This transgression leads to guilt that he partially alleviates by sending one of his boys back to Bangladesh, while keeping the other at home. One boy turns out to be a secular atheist and the other a fundamentalist Muslim who joins a group known as KEVIN, sort of a poor man's Nation of Islam, not to be confused with terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, Archie Jones was left by his wife and determined to kill himself until Fate intervenes and he winds up at a New Year's Eve party where he meets the young Jamaican woman named Clara, whom he marries and they have a chubby daughter named Iree, who loves one of Samad's boys but feels ashamed by her weight and half-Jamaican heritage. Eventually a third family is drawn into this with the father of that family genetically engineering a mouse called the FutureMouse that is opposed by Samad and one of his sons and supported by the other. And that leads to a final epic showdown of sorts settled by the aforementioned secondary character appearing out of left field to wreak havoc.
So as should be obvious, I really didn't like this book. Maybe if I read it again I'll feel differently--that's happened before. In the meantime, I'd recommend another stunning book by a 23-year-old woman: "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. Also, if you want a better book on Muslims around the Indian subcontinent I'd recommend "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie.
That is all.
Yes, Zadie Smith IS that good!.......2007-09-24
I loved this book so much, I wanted to beg all my friends to read it so I would have someone to discuss it with!
Zadie Smith is a superb talent.
Simply Superb.......2007-08-26
"White Teeth" came highly recommended by a trusted reader and I've finally gotten around to reading it. The story revolves around three families, three cultures, three religions (Chalfenism among them) and three histories. Is it good things or bad things that come in threes? Set in London yet rooted in Jamaica and Bangladesh, "White Teeth" is a convergence of class, history, and culture. The Jones' are an interracial English/Jamaican couple brought together by their individual need to flee. Archibal fleeing the chaos of a marriage seized by mental illness; Clara escaping the grip of the Jehovah Witness religion that threatens to permeate all aspects of her life. The Iqbals' are an arranged marriage, brought together by cultural and religious history. Samad conflicted by a history he fears will be erased by the present; Alsana, strong and willful, yet unable to absorb aspects of western culture that are foreign to her religious beliefs. The Chalfens are an agnostic English couple brought together by the desire to further a tradition of intellectual and liberal empire. Marcus, a scientist from a long line of intellectuals, is engaged in research that could alter the genetic makeup of humanity in ways that could eliminate the randomness of genetic mishaps and malfunctions (the very randomness that is seen by some as the will of God); Joyce a horticulturalist and essayist with an overbearing need to nurture and cultivate everything and everyone around her.
Although the interactions of the parental units creatively and humorously explore the historical affects of colonization on the colonized and the colonizer, it is the lives of the next generation of Iqbals, Jones and Chalfens that allow the author to explore issues of cultural, religious and class differences between the western and eastern hemisphere. Irie, the biracial daughter of the Jones', is burdened not only with the trials of adolescence within the pop culture of a modernized England but also with the history of colonized Jamaica and the salvation sought by her grandmother through the doctrine of the Jehovah Witness faith. Millat and Magid, the Cain and Able offspring of the Iqbals' are challenged with questions of identify in the face of an Islamic tradition that seems at constant odds with the more liberal communities within which they live. Joshua, the Chalfens' progeny is also trying to navigate the choppy waters of puberty as he realizes that the lineage he's inherited may be at stark contrast to the person he's becoming.
"White Teeth" is a spectacular debut novel. Smith has unleashed a level of creativity typically found in seasoned writers. She has created memorable, lively characters each with a unique voice that highlights the diversity of London while simultaneously calling attention to the commonality of experience inherent in the legacy of oppression. I particularly enjoyed the cleaver way in which Smith uses teeth as a metaphor throughout the novel. For certainly history is deeply rooted in who we are as individuals, a people, a nation. While there are times when we must extract ourselves from our history to forge a path that allows us to live up to our full potential, our history will always be the pulp at the center of who we are and invariably impacts our future. This is great text for group discussion. Highly Recommended!
Great.......2007-08-23
Paid for expedited service & I received that & more. Would definitely recommend for purchases. Fast & efficient service.
90% Brilliant... .......2007-07-24
Zadie Smith is very, very funny and extremely imaginative. This book has many moments of genius. Most seasoned writers do not have a quarter of her talent.
The terrific characters are laced with sorrow, irony and pettiness. She creates worlds within worlds and shattered dreams within dreams. Almost perfect, and then the last 50 pages or so go off track. I suspect the author was just plain exhausted and couldn't fathom how to tie everything together. Why couldn't an editor tell her to go back and fix it? Such joy and then such sorrow.
Book Description
The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm -- and the world comes to Montefiore.
In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia -- decadent children of a wicked pope -- no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care -- so to speak -- of Lucrezia.
She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ...
A lyrical work of stunning creative vision,
Mirror Mirror gives fresh life to the classic story of Snow White -- and has a truth and beauty all its own.
Download Description
"E-Book Extra: "Little Snow-White" by the Brothers Grimm (read the original version of the classic fairy tale)Think you know who's the fairest of them all? Think again. Bestselling re-imaginer of classic fairy tales sets the Snow White story in Renaissance Italy, where the madly vain Lucrezia Borgia plots a dire fate for seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada (a.k.a. Snow White).A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror is set in Renaissance Italy, where Gregory Maguire draws a connection between the poison apple in the original Snow White story and the Borgia family's well-known appetite for poisoning its foes. In Mirror Mirror Snow White is called Bianca de Nevada. She is born on a farm in Tuscany in 1495, and when she is seven, her father is ordered by the duplicitous Cesare Borgia to go on a quest to reclaim the relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, a branch bearing three living apples that are thousands of years old. Bianca is left in the care of her father's farm staff and the beautiful -- and madly vain -- Lucrecia Borgia, Cesare's sister. But Lucrecia becomes jealous of her lecherous brother's interest in the growing child and plots a dire fate for Bianca in the woods below the farm. There Bianca finds herself in the home of seven dwarves -- the creators of the magic mirror -- who await the return of their brother, the eighth dwarf, long gone on a quest of his own. In the evocative style of Maguire's earlier novels, Mirror Mirror is a fresh, compelling take on a beloved classic tale.
Customer Reviews:
Not my favorite Maguire book.......2007-10-08
I have read Wicked, Son of a Witch, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. I loved the other three (my favorite was Lost). I found that Mirror Mirror was very slow through the middle of the book. It picks up a little at the end, but I guess I've been spoiled by Maguire and expected miraculous books all the time. This one doesn't match the other three, but does have some interesting parts to it. However, I don't understand why the dwarves were stone-like creatures. Am I missing the symbolism (symbolism is not my forte)? Overall, I could have skipped this book. If this is your first Maguire book, please try another one. The rest are fantastic!
Disappointing and Dark.......2007-08-05
Having read Wicked, Son of a Witch, and Confessions, I was ecstatic to find the time to sit down with Mirror Mirror. I wish I had done anything else! While Maguire's cleverness is apparent, I found myself speedreading ahead to see when another inane description of something small and pointless would end, and skipping ahead at the frequent pepperings of bodily secretions and functions. While the ideas and approach to the Snow White fairy tale are brilliant, they are delivered with a cold darkness that paints the world in a light that I read to escape. The theme of the sexual situations left me feeling defiled and dirty, as if I had stumbled onto something hideously grotesque. And, as a woman, I was greatly insulted at the description of Bianca's first menses. Of all the research done for this book, Maguire couldn't ask one woman what menstruation is like? It reminds me of the ignorant descriptions of school boys who know nothing of the female mysteries and talk about it as though they are professors- much to the disgust of those surrounding their ignorance. Maguire has lost a great deal of my respect with this one. Inappropriate for children under 16.
Good idea, not delivered well.......2007-07-22
I feel that Maguire, in all of his novels, makes the reader think about different perspectives on classic stories in a way that is refreshing and intelligent. Unfortunately, "Mirror Mirror" was not as great as all of his other novels to me. It was choppy and I was often times lost. Time moved too quickly was was only explained by many-year-long sleeps. I found this irritating and unimaginative. I also feel as if Maguire has the idea in his mind, but cannot tell it effectively.
Overall, good story if you can look past the confusing word choices and broken story-telling.
Great book for Maguire lovers.......2007-07-20
Fun two-night read. Takes you on a quick surreal journey. Great book for Maguire fans.
Not Maguire's Best.......2007-06-15
Maguire has made himself quite successful spinning off fairy tales, but this variation on Snow White seemed lacking. His take on Cinderella in "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" was steeped in history, and "Wicked" was immersed in the fantastical world of Oz, while "Mirror Mirror" couldn't decide if it wanted to be history or fantasy.
"Mirror Mirror" changes perspective often. The lustful and incestual Borgias, the innocent and fair Bianca, her father on his quest for a limb from the Tree of Knowledge, and the mystical "dwarves" all take turns narrating. I often found it choppy and inconsistent. While I enjoyed it, I've enjoyed Maguires other books much more than this one.
Book Description
Jada left home at the age of sixteen, running from her own demons and the horrors of physical abuse inflicted by her mothers boyfriend. She partied hard, and life seemed good when she was with Born, the neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power, and respect. But all his love couldnt save her from a crack addiction. Jada goes from crack addict and prostitute to survivor and back again before she finds the strength to live for herself and come out on top. And her stormy romance with one of the fiercest hustlers on the streets makes White Lines one of the most unforgettable urban loves stories of the year.
Customer Reviews:
WOW!.......2007-10-08
This book was so good, I felt that I was actually in the story!! I cried at funerals, partied at clubs, and I wept as my friends fell on hard times. I can't wait for the movie.
From Bottom to Top, Back to Bottom & Then We Start All Over Again!.......2007-09-22
This by far is the best book I read all year and I've read many books to date. Tracy Brown gets real & grimey about the life of Jada Ford a mistreated & negleted child who grew up thinking she was underloved & forgotten. This page turner explores in-depth consequences of drug use and shows how negative influences can turn your life into a living hell. It shows how an addiction can ruin what could have been a good life. Also the selfishness and unwillingness to accept reality of some people and the refusal to help but instead send others swirling to their own destruction. Born was a selfish SOB who sold crack to his father and refused to get help for his girlfriend, instead throwing her out to get even deeper into the habit. His philosphy, "if I don't get the money somebody else will". This book really makes you think. Why is the government continuing to let the most deadly, controlling substance into our country? It must want to destroy our people because the majority of crack users are in poorer areas that literally have no hope.
Well Written "Fiction".......2007-09-20
I just absolutely loved this story... I thought it was going to be like all the rest I have previously read and it wasn't. This story was so emotional, raw, and real. Certain chapters in this book made me reflect on my own life. Jada and Born's character were so well written.. I'm glad that her family had that chance to come together again as a family befor it was to late.. Every woman should have a ride or die chic as a friend in their life like Sonny !!! Wonderful read Ms. Brown can not wait to read another novel by you..
Excellent Book! A must READ.......2007-09-17
When I first received the book White Lines I thought Wow! this is a very big book but I found myself upset that the pages were so quickly coming to an end. I read it in two days. Excellent Book
Jada and Born's Sequel.......2007-09-16
I enjoyed this book so much... I talked to my co-workers and friends about this book I now have a waiting list to read this juicy story.
I hope that Ms. Brown is currently working on a sequel for the story of the reunited friendship's of Jada, Born and Sonny, Ava... Including the beginning friendship's of the four children D.J, Mercedes and Ethan, Sheldon Marquis.
I look forward to a Sequel.....
Average customer rating:
- The Sanibel Experience
- The "James Bond" of SW Florida
- I threw it into the garbage
- Sanibel Flats
- The birth of a laidback action hero
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Sanibel Flats (A Doc Ford Novel)
Randy Wayne White
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0312926022 |
Book Description
Its cool gulf breezes lured him from a life of danger. Its dark undercurrents threatened to destroy him.After ten years of living life on the edge, it was hard for Doc Ford to get that addiction to danger out of his system. But spending each day watching the sun melt into Dinkins Bay and the moon rise over the mangrove trees, cooking dinner for his beautiful neighbor, and dispensing advice to the locals over a cold beer lulled him into letting his guard down.Then Rafe Hollins appeared.How could he refuse his old friend's request-even if it would put him back on the firing line? Even if it would change forever the life he'd built here on Sanibel Island?
Customer Reviews:
The Sanibel Experience.......2007-08-09
As a lover of Sanibel Island, the author's portrayal of Sanibel whisks me back to paradise. As I read, I begin to experience the aroma of the salty sea air, the gentle lapping of the waves in the distance and the Sanibel breeze flowing through my hair. Randy Wayne White blends mystery, adventure, and espionage all set in the the beauty of Southwest Florida. Brilliantly written as well as a very entertaining mystery.
The "James Bond" of SW Florida.......2007-03-29
Having heard this character mentioned in a song by Troprocker Jim Morris I just had to check out these books. I started with this one, the first, as I felt I may want to read the series. I am not disappointed. Mr White's development of Doc Ford is full, and his narrative of southwest Florida sublime. I could feel the sun and gulf breezes and taste the slat air.
I felt like I was reading of a "larger-than-life" character reminiscent of Ian Fleming's daring and dashing spy, only in SW Florida.
I intend to continue with the series, and hope to enjoy my way though all.
I threw it into the garbage.......2006-09-02
read it up to page 294 (out of 307) then threw it in the garbage.
too many faults for me to list, and that would spoil the ending. I will just say that not one of the excessive number of sub-plots is resolved satisfactorily. most are a dead-end insult to the reader. many characters, central to the so-called plot, do not get even one line of dialogue. the author tries way too hard to be clever in his plot twists.
Sanibel Flats.......2005-09-07
A really solid beginning for White's Doc Ford series.
White is an excellent story teller with detailed background for the Florida West Coast and for Ford's marine biology. Toss in knowledge of Central America and you get a great story with a wealth of information.
The birth of a laidback action hero.......2005-06-13
This was not my first Doc Ford novel; in fact my first and only other Randy Wayne White book, was his latest, Dead of Night. I thought Dead of Night was very good, but Sanibel Flats-the first book in the Doc Ford series-was much better. If you are reading this review then perhaps you have never read anything else by White, and if so, then I would recommend you start at the beginning. Doc Ford and some of the characters that are central to the series are introduced and explained in this book. It just makes for better understanding of everything that takes place in the previous novels if you read at least this one first. I don't know if the rest of the books need to be read in order, but I plan to read them that way, so if you are interested in my impression of the others, as I read them, then just check back every so often by clicking on the "see all my reviews" link.
Having said all that, I have nothing but the highest praise for Sanibel Flats. The plotting and pace were in my opinion perfect. A page-turner for sure. There was good character development even though some if the characters were a bit too over-the-top to be believable. But isn't that why you read books like this? I mean, it's fiction after all and the point of the story is to entertain! Some of the book was predictable, but the conclusion certainly was not. Overall story-telling was superb and the dialogue is about as good as it gets, so too was the apparent research behind the facts in the book. You get the impression that White is at the very least an ichthyologist who also happens be a great story teller!
There are a few (very few) mature sequences in this book, so be advised. This book is a great read and in fact memorable. There are unique aspects of White's writing and the manner in which Doc Ford is portrayed, that will appeal, equally well, to both men and women. I am highly recommending it, and it has my highest, five star rating.
Amazon.com
Oprah Book Club® Selection, May 1999: Astrid Magnussen, the teenage narrator of Janet Fitch's engrossing first novel, White Oleander, has a mother who is as sharp as a new knife. An uncompromising poet, Ingrid despises weakness and self-pity, telling her daughter that they are descendants of Vikings, savages who fought fiercely to survive. And when one of Ingrid's boyfriends abandons her, she illustrates her point, killing the man with the poison of oleander flowers. This leads to a life sentence in prison, leaving Astrid to teach herself the art of survival in a string of Los Angeles foster homes.
As Astrid bumps from trailer park to tract house to Hollywood bungalow, White Oleander uncoils her existential anxieties. "Who was I, really?" she asks. "I was the sole occupant of my mother's totalitarian state, my own personal history rewritten to fit the story she was telling that day. There were so many missing pieces." Fitch adroitly leads Astrid down a path of sorting out her past and identity. In the process, this girl develops a wire-tight inner strength, gains her mother's white-blonde beauty, and achieves some measure of control over their relationship. Even from prison, Ingrid tries to mold her daughter. Foiling her, Astrid learns about tenderness from one foster mother and how to stand up for herself from another. Like the weather in Los Angeles--the winds of the Santa Anas, the scorching heat--Astrid's teenage life is intense. Fitch's novel deftly displays that, and also makes Astrid's life meaningful. --Katherine Anderson
Book Description
Oprah Book Club- Selection, May 1999: Astrid Magnussen, the teenage narrator of Janet Fitch's engrossing first novel, White Oleander, has a mother who is as sharp as a new knife. An uncompromising poet, Ingrid despises weakness and self-pity, telling her daughter that they are descendants of Vikings, savages who fought fiercely to survive. And when one of Ingrid's boyfriends abandons her, she illustrates her point, killing the man with the poison of oleander flowers. This leads to a life sentence in prison, leaving Astrid to teach herself the art of survival in a string of Los Angeles foster homes.As Astrid bumps from trailer park to tract house to Hollywood bungalow, White Oleander uncoils her existential anxieties. "Who was I, really?" she asks. "I was the sole occupant of my mother's totalitarian state, my own personal history rewritten to fit the story she was telling that day. There were so many missing pieces." Fitch adroitly leads Astrid down a path of sorting out her past and identity. In the process, this girl develops a wire-tight inner strength, gains her mother's white-blonde beauty, and achieves some measure of control over their relationship. Even from prison, Ingrid tries to mold her daughter. Foiling her, Astrid learns about tenderness from one foster mother and how to stand up for herself from another. Like the weather in Los Angeles--the winds of the Santa Anas, the scorching heat--Astrid's teenage life is intense. Fitch's novel deftly displays that, and also makes Astrid's life meaningful. --Katherine Anderson
Customer Reviews:
Strange but Interesting.......2007-10-08
I read this because it was one on Oprah's booklist so I wanted to check it out. This book is about a goofy mother and her goofy daughter's relationship with each other. The mother committed murder so the daughter was put into foster care and lives with a variety of goofy people. I won't tell you how it ends because I don't want to spoil it for you. I found it to be pretty unbelievable and exaggerated, but maybe that's just me. Not one I would recommend.
Good book.......2007-10-07
I really liked White Oleander. This was a fast paced interesting book almost all of the way through. The author could have left maybe the last 50 pages or so out. The book was great up until the last few chapters, and then it became repetetive. I would recommend this book though, and did pass it along.
white oleander.......2007-10-05
Enjoyed this dark read very much. I actually bought it for my younger sister who wants "gripping" and "tabu", but with resolution.
Poet as Poison.......2007-09-30
This novel tells the story of Ingrid, a poet who knows how to manipulate those around her, as well as the English language. Ingrid, much like the flower of the story, is beautiful but deadly. Overcome with passion one night, she murders her lover and ends up in prison.
This is when the real heart of the story takes over: her daughter Astrid, abandoned to a series of foster homes because of her mother's imprisonment, must learn the rules of each new household while trying to find her own way in the world. Each time she hopes to find a loving family and the nurturing she needs, but instead encounters circumstances that force her to become a toughened survivor, a person very different from her mother.
This is a beautifully written, heart-breaking novel that I recommend heartily to anyone who loves a good story and appreciates wonderfully poetic writing. Fitch uses all the elements of the Los Angeles setting to bring the despair of her characters to life. As readers, we yearn for Astrid to find happiness, but Fitch has a bleaker cast to her tale, which makes it all the more engrossing. This is the author's true strength; she can write about circumstances such as manipulation, torment, and estranged feelings between a daughter and her mother and make them absolutely riveting.
In "White Oleander," Fitch has written a wonderful first novel. Don't miss her great follow-up, "Paint It Black: A Novel." It's clear from Fitch's writing that she is no one-hit wonder, but instead a wonderfully talented writer, who's sure to be on the literary scene a long time.
A girl's journey.......2007-09-27
I really enjoyed this book and go back to re-read every so often. It offers so much, complex at times and sometimes beautifully lyrical - you just want to go back and re-read passages that are worthy of savour and deep thought. At times, the main character can be a tad victimised (you wonder what else can happen to one person?!) but there wouldn't be a story without the struggle and the emotional demands. A great read!
Book Description
“Pelagia’s family likeness to Father Brown and Miss Marple is marked, and reading about her supplies a similarly decorous pleasure.”
–The Literary Review
In a remote Russian province in the late nineteenth century, Bishop Mitrofanii must deal with a family crisis. After learning that one of his great aunt’s beloved and rare white bulldogs has been poisoned, the Orthodox bishop knows there is only one detective clever enough to investigate the murder: Sister Pelagia.
The bespectacled, freckled Pelagia is lively, curious, extraordinarily clumsy, and persistent. At the estate in question, she finds a whole host of suspects, any one of whom might have benefited if the old lady (who changes her will at whim) had expired of grief at the pooch’s demise. There’s Pyotr, the matron’s grandson, a nihilist with a grudge who has fallen for the maid; Stepan, the penniless caretaker, who has sacrificed his youth to the care of the estate; Miss Wrigley, a mysterious Englishwoman who has recently been named sole heiress to the fortune; Poggio, an opportunistic and freeloading “artistic” photographer; and, most intriguingly, Naina, the old lady’s granddaughter, a girl so beautiful she could drive any man to do almost anything.
As Pelagia bumbles and intuits her way to the heart of a mystery among people with faith only in greed and desire, she must bear in mind the words of Saint Paul: “Beware of dogs–and beware of evil-doers.”
“Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised [Akunin’s] clever plots, vivid characters and wit.”
–Baltimore Sun
“Akunin’s wonderful novels are always intricately webbed and plotted.”
–The Providence Journal
Customer Reviews:
Stick with Fandorin.......2007-06-06
Not one of his best. No character grabs one's interest, and trying to keep track of the many players with their multiple, many-syllabled, sound-alike names takes one right out of the plot. Much better to wait for the next Erast Fandorin novel. Take a pass 'til then.
A sleuth in nun's habit.......2007-05-30
Boris Akunin is a well-regarded Russian author of suspense fiction, heretofore known for his Fandorin series, which concerns a part-James Bond, part-Hercules Poirot creation who nonetheless is strikingly original. SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG marks the beginning of a new direction for Akunin and fittingly introduces Mortalis, a new imprint of literary mystery and suspense fiction for Random House.
We quickly learn from the unnamed, omnipresent narrator that Sister Pelagia is a sleuth in nun's habit, wishing to devote her life to God yet feeling stifled by the requirements of the order and by the role of women in early 20th century Russia. In addition, she is quite adept at solving mysteries, a skill that she hides from all except her supervisory bishop, who keeps her abilities a secret not only to preserve the good sister's customary role but also to keep her in reserve as a secret weapon in the political skirmishes that were the hallmark of the time.
The bishop generally has his hands full, what with an inspector from the Holy Synod coming to meddle in local affairs, the gruesome discovery of two decapitated bodies, and the bishop's aunt being in a terrible state as a result of the baffling death of one of her white bulldogs, a special breed that she and her late husband had nurtured through generations. The perpetrator of the canine murder is quickly determined, even if the motive isn't, and the unforeseen nexus that connects this and other events is slowly but surely sorted out in a climactic courtroom scene in which the good sister has a starring role.
It should be noted that Russian literature tends to be the antithesis of, say, a James Patterson work --- why use one word when pages will do? --- and occasionally, as even Akunin notes with a nod and a wink through his anonymous narrator, things seem to wander off track. All is revealed in good time, however, and along the way Akunin drops nuggets of dry, subtle humor amidst social and political commentary. Those who take their mysteries with great spoonfuls of explosions and karate may find this book wanting (though it does, particularly near the end, have its moments), and there is enough political intrigue and metaphor to provide a satisfactory feast.
Lovingly translated by Andrew Bromfield, SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG is a welcome debut of a new series that hopefully will give Akunin the wider visibility in this country that his work deserves. And let's give some kudos to Random House as well for its brave launch of Mortalis. We'll happily look for more.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Akunin at his best.......2007-03-30
The Sister Pelagia mystery series may not be as effortless a read to take in as Erast Fandorin, but it's well worth the effort. While the White Bulldog may be have a plot that is slightly less dynamic than the one Fandorin fans are used to, it is a refreshing change of pace. The language is beautiful, the characters are engaging and the sleuth and her posse (bishop Mitrofani and Berdichervsky) are at least as charismatic as Fandorin and Masa.
The series (there are only three novels in it) picks up the pace in The Black Monk and positively goes berserk in the Red Rooster, but the provincial charm of the White Bulldog is very enjoyable too.
Most Russian fans of Akunin consider the Pelagia trilogy to be a more workmanlike and even series than Fandorin, which has its peaks and valleys.
A female Fr. Brown.......2007-02-13
In the midst of writing mysteries about detective Erast Fandorin, the author has also begun a new series. This one concerns a nun named Sister Pelagia, who is sent out by her Bishop to help solve mysteries and murders in a backward province of Imperial Russia. The action is fast, the plot never wavers, and the characters are all well-srawn. One interesting quirk to this story is that, when it is required, Sister Pelagia assumes the identity of her "sister", a widow who dresses and acts exactly as would an upper class member of the Russian nobility. I found the premise of this book fascinating, and the characters of both the good sister and her boss the bishop very believeable, therefore I am awaiting anxiously the next book in this marvelous series.
nineteenth century historical thriller .......2007-02-10
In Zavolzhsk, far from the home of the Tsar, Bishop Mitrofannii rules over the vast scarcely populated remote region instead of Governor von Haggenau. The Bishop has earned a reputation for solving unsolved mysteries, which he takes pride in accomplishing though he also knows who actually uncovers the truth. Now his elderly late Aunt Marya Tatischeva sends him a letter asking for his help as someone poisoned Zagulyai and Zadidai with the former dying in agony and the latter barely surviving. He decides to send his secret sleuth literature and gymnastics teacher Sister Pelagia to learn what happened and why to the white bulldogs.
Sister Pelagia travels to the home of Marya to investigate the canine homicide. Sister Pelagia quickly concludes that the target is the elderly woman, who is known for treating her dogs like pampered babies, but what the nun believes is the motive leads to several avaricious souls. However, other dogs are killed and the case takes a twist when two males are recovered from the nearby river with their heads removed. The Bishop directs Sister Pelagia to investigate the murders regardless of where it takes her, as he expects everyone to live morally and piously correct though he has some doubts with her switching identities from clumsy reticent nun to vibrant nimble Polina Lisitsina.
In some ways this is more a nineteenth century historical thriller than a mystery. SISTER PELAGIA AND THE WHITE BULLDOG is a superior whodunit that uses the backdrop to paint a vivid picture of a remote part of Tsarist Russia. Readers will have to adapt to the names of the key characters, but will find it worth the time as the descriptions are terrific and the cast powerful especially the Sister and the Bishop, as irony and humor augment a fabulous story line.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
At the annual May Ball, a jubilant celebration marking the end of examinations at Cambridge, private investigator Laura Principal is hired to provide security. Then, somewhere between the dancing and the fireworks, a student disappears.
Katie Arkwright wore white, a vision of purity. But when Laura starts probing into the missing woman's life, she finds that Katie concealed a dark side. The deeper Laura searches into a tangled past, the more tension mounts in every corner of Cambridge--where someone waits, coiled to strike. And strike again.
Customer Reviews:
YAWN.......2006-02-15
Poorly written, boring - I got to about page 30 and gave up. Too many GOOD books, too little time. Someone PLEASE tell me how this boring piece of tripe got published?
Not Great.......2004-12-13
I'm not much of a mystery, but was taking a class on the mystery novel at school and this was one of the books assigned. Maybe it's me, but it's always seemed to me that the detective should be responsible for the resolution of the case. Not here. Everything turns out nicely without the detective actually having solved the case. Furthermore, Spring's prose didn't do much for me. Her paratactic sentences felt forced, rather than displaying natural speech rhythms.
Not a satisfying read at all.
Boring and unbelievable.......2002-04-22
Many mysteries depend to a certain extent on coincidence, but this one seems to do so because it's too lazy to do anything else. There is little tension, little excitement, little reason to care about any of the people in the book. The main character muses on this and that as she makes her way around Cambridge, but her observations seem shallow and obvious. The one piece of real history that is discussed touches tangentially on the plot but without adding any depth. Motivations for various actions are plopped onto the page, stirred for a bit, and then left half baked.
Save your money.
Very good..........2001-08-15
This is the first book I have read by Michelle Spring. She is an extremely good writer, but she still needs to learn some more skills. This book is about a girl who is missing, and I was expecting a certain kind of writing and cocnclusion, and it did not happen the way I thought it would. The girl who was missing was...and I don't appreciate that kind of ending for a mystery book. I was blown away by the murderer and other non-suspect who did it-incredible! I have to congratulate her on that!!! Any way, not the way I expected it to turn out, but it was a very good book.
One of the best new writers.......2000-07-21
This is another fine novel--well-written, compassionate, and intelligent--from one of the best of the new writers. Spring's characters and situations are complex, and the action typically has a reality (not to be confused with toughness) missing from many mystery novels.
I am dismayed and bewildered by the negative comments from the New England reader who apparently wanted Spring to have written another book, one with predictable feminist role models. One of Spring's strengths is the very lack of predictablity--her characters are as rich in detail and complex motivation as people we know.
I too heard Spring speak at PCA and I was impressed by the candor,intelligence, and passion of her remarks. She is a superb writer who lets us live a scene with her characters, and she thinks deeply about what she does with her books.
Starting with "Every Breath You Take" I have been hooked by Michelle Spring, and I can hardly wait for the next one.
Book Description
Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is a brilliant mystery set in a fictitious medieval monastery. The text is rich with literary, historical, and theoretical references that make it eminently re-readable. The Key makes each reading fuller and more meaningful by helping the interested reader not merely to read but also to understand Eco's masterful work. Inspired by pleas from friends and strangers, the authors, each trained in Classics, undertook to translate and explain the Latin phrases that pepper the story. They have produced an approachable, informative guide to the book and its setting--the middle ages. The Key includes an introduction to the book, the middle ages, Umberto Eco, and philosophical and literary theories; a useful chronology; and reference notes to historical people and events.
The clear explanations of the historical setting and players will be useful to anyone interested in a general introduction to medieval history.
Adele J. Haft is Associate Professor of Classics, Hunter College, City University of New York. Jane G. White is chair of the Department of Languages, Dwight Englewood School. Robert J. White is Professor of Classics and Oriental Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York.
For more information on Umberto Eco's work, please visit Libyrinth's web site at http://www.libyrinth.com/eco http://www.libyrinth.com/eco"
Customer Reviews:
The Key to the Name of the Rose.......2003-06-18
After reading The Name of the Rose with few helps, discovering this book was quite wonderful. It goes into adaquate detail with the historical background, and I found the translations to be good and very helpful. A must for those trying the novel for the first time or for those who felt the lack of endnotes frustrating. A wonderful suppplement.
The Key to "The Name of the Rose".......2002-09-12
The Key to "The Name of the Rose" by Adele J. Haft, Jane G. White, and Robert J. White is a wonderful little book. When was the last time you used your Latin that you had in High School? You say, you never had Latin... well how do you expect to solve the clues that Brother William of Baskerville in "The Name of the Rose" gets.
Well, the answer is in this little tome as it includes translations of all of the Non-English passages making you as "smart" as Brother William. This book furthers your experience when reading "The Name of the Rose" as you now can decode the juicy clues. Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" is about crimes in a medieval abbey and the obsession of it monks with heresies, apocalyptic visions, and forbidden knowledge.
This "Key" is a delightful guide to the phrases and bizarre characters and has mirthful anecdotes that you're sure to enjoy and you'll solve the mystery of the seven deaths as fast as Brother William and enjoy the intrigue in doing so.
excellent resource for artists.......2002-03-20
i am hoping to do an intricate performance art piece based on the novel "the name of the rose;" however, many of the lush details and layers were lost on me, because i am not a historian or a scholar well-versed in semiotics... the task is still daunting, but i feel more confident having this "hint book" to fill me in on the background information. it renders the novel much more accessible to a lay person, and makes the story even MORE fascinating than it already is. i suggest that anyone reading "the name of the rose" should have a copy of this to help them along... also, there is a text that does this same task for dante's "divine comedy" (dante has a large influence on the novel, so reading dante will help the reader to understand the apocolyptic attitudes of the characters). joseph gallagher wrote "a modern reader's guide to dante's 'the divine comedy'" which you may also find helpful.
A must-have for Name of the Rose neophytes.......2001-08-06
I'm enjoying Umberto Eco's NAME OF THE ROSE, but I don't understand so much as a tenth of the Latin. Before I reached page 200, I came to the sinking conclusion that I was missing out on something. I checked KEY TO NAME OF THE ROSE out at my local library, but soon realized that I needed to own my own copy to keep beside my copy of NAME OF THE ROSE. This book is a God-send for those NAME OF THE ROSE fans like me who lack a reading knowledge of Latin. Having other scholars' comments at hand really helps. If you're intrigued by NAME OF THE ROSE, but just don't get it, buy this book!
A very helpful companion volume.......1999-11-10
This is a very good guide to The Name of the Rose. Not perfect, but good. The non-English translations are very helpful, and beat sitting next to a Latin dictionary. The biographical information for historical characters is very good too. My only beef about this is that it doesn't address the historical backdrop of the novel well enough: the Renaissance of the previous century, the conflicts in the Church at the time, and the looming disasters of the 14th century between the time the novel takes place and the time the narrator lays the tale down. Get this volume if you're going to read the book. But don't rely strictly on this.
Average customer rating:
- The Man Who Invented Florida
- Good Florida read
- A human story, not a thriller
- Not just another Doc Ford adventure.
- A big yawn in the sunshine state
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The Man Who Invented Florida (A Doc Ford Novel)
Randy Wayne White
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
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ASIN: 0312953984 |
Book Description
When solitary marine biologist Doc Ford focused his telescope on the woman in the white boat, he didn't know his life was about to be capsized: that his conniving uncle Tucker Gatrell would discover the Fountain of Youth, that The National Enquirer would write about it, and that the law would beat down his door in search of three missing men.But Doc Ford is about to find these things out-- the hard way. Because in the shadowy world of Southwest Florida, where gators yawn, cattle craze, and Indian bones are buried, mysteries great and small have found the man to solve them....
Customer Reviews:
The Man Who Invented Florida.......2007-07-25
One of Randy Wayne Wright's best books! It is very different from his other books and that is part of what makes it so good. A must read!!
Good Florida read.......2007-04-11
Randy Wayne White is a successful writer. His novels take place in Florida and and his major character is Dr. Marion "Doc" Ford a marine biologist with a past (I will not reveil it for the benefit of the readers that have not read any of the novels yet).
If you have not read any of his books yet I would not suggest to start with this one as it is different from the rest of the series. In this one the supporting characters (his uncle and indian friend) dominate the novel and Doc supplements the plot. I would recommend to start with the first of the series Sanibel Flats.
Having said that, this story is very well written and does, in a way, pay tribute to old Florida. There is not much action but that is not, as the book proves, bad. It is enjoyable to read and has some humor.
All in all I would recommend this one but beware that it is different from the series. I would not elaborate as I do not want to ruin it for the future reader.
A human story, not a thriller.......2007-04-09
I stopped reading the Doc Ford novels after a while because, despite being top of the line Florida thrillers, the histrionic violence and action just got to be too much. Now I find myself wishing RWW would write more stories like The Man Who Invented Florida. This is the one that transcends the genre to become excellent mainstream literature.
If you're looking for an action flick in novel form, this is not it. If you're looking for a beautiful, affecting story, you found one.
Not just another Doc Ford adventure........2007-03-10
I've read nearly all of RW White's books now and most are a terrific roaring read, but nothing that you would call 'a great novel'. This one is. The characters are complex and well-drawn, the story profound and moving, and yet it's written with a very light touch. It reminded me of A Confederacy of Dunces, it was that good.
A big yawn in the sunshine state.......2007-01-14
This book starts slow and decelerates from there. Based on the reviews on the back cover I was expecting a captivating read, what a disappointment.
I found the storyline as engrossing as watching the weather channel. I wanted to give it a fair chance, so I read it all the way through. That's 5 hours of my life I'll never get back.
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