American Born Chinese

Amazon.com

Indie graphic novelist Gene Yang's intelligent and emotionally challenging American Born Chinese is made up of three individual plotlines: the determined efforts of the Chinese folk hero Monkey King to shed his humble roots and be revered as a god; the struggles faced by Jin Wang, a lonely Asian American middle school student who would do anything to fit in with his white classmates; and the sitcom plight of Danny, an All-American teen so shamed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee (a purposefully painful ethnic stereotype) that he is forced to change schools. Each story works well on its own, but Yang engineers a clever convergence of these parallel tales into a powerful climax that destroys the hateful stereotype of Chin-Kee, while leaving both Jin Wang and the Monkey King satisfied and happy to be who they are.

Yang skillfully weaves these affecting, often humorous stories together to create a masterful commentary about race, identity, and self-acceptance that has earned him a spot as a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People. The artwork, rendered in a chromatically cool palette, is crisp and clear, with clean white space around center panels that sharply focuses the reader's attention in on Yang's achingly familiar characters. There isn't an adolescent alive who won't be able to relate to Jin's wish to be someone other than who he is, and his gradual realization that there is no better feeling than being comfortable in your own skin.--Jennifer Hubert

Customer Reviews:

Portrait of an Asian-American as a Young Man.......2007-10-10

This is the first graphic novel I've read (well, I've read many a comic book in my day, but I'm delineating here). Not a bad choice for a first time, as Gene Yang's parable of a Chinese boy in America actually begs for second and third readings. A graphic novel with multiple layers, you ask? In fact, yes.

Separated into sections that will join at the end, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE blends the ancient Chinese fable of the Monkey King with the tale of Jin Wang, the book's protagonist, who happens to be the only Chinese boy trying to fit in to his American school.

A third story, the source of over-the-top humor and under-the-belt stereotypes, chronicles the travails of a popular American high school student named Danny who is beleaguered by his Chinese-born cousin, Chin-Kee. What did Danny ever do to deserve this Eastern nightmare? Why does he have to change schools every year due to the humiliation Chin-Kee rains down on him?

The answers are unexpected but pleasing as parable, fable, and morality tale meet nicely at a place called "The End." Winner of the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE is a satisfying read that can also serve as a substantive discussion piece in the classroom (Grades, say, 7 and up).

You don't have to be part of a minority in a dominant culture to enjoy it. We're ALL "outsiders" in one way or another, and Jin Wang's story will thus speak to each and every one of us.

American Born Chinese.......2007-10-09

American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang
Legendary fiction

American Born Chinese is an easy read in comic book form that starts as three different stories and becomes one. The first is a young American boy named Jin Wang, whose parents are Chinese. He is an outcast who does not have many friends. The second story is about his cousin Chin-Kee who lives in China and visits Jin once a year. He is the exaggerated Chinese stereotype: eating cats and peeing in cokes. The third is an old Chinese myth about the monkey king. The monkey king has been embarrassed and tries to be someone he is not.

The legend's moral is: be true to yourself and kind to others. This relates to my life because sometimes at school someone feels they are not liked by a group of people. They will try and become someone they are not to fit in. They will even act mean to others who are not popular. The book points out that to transform like this costs you your soul.

I like the author's writing style because it is different and fun to read. It caught my interest quickly and the pictures gave me a better understanding of the story. I think that in this comic book style of writing the author can better express himself than in any of the more formal writing styles.

I enjoyed this book because it reminds me that I should not be anything but myself. I liked the illustrations because they were very inventive. One of my favorite parts was when the little monkey was wearing the shoes on his ears. I would highly recommend this book to people who like mythology, who like comics, and who love monkeys.

You're not alone.......2007-10-05

A great story for any child (or anyone) feeling alone in a strange and alien world. We've all been in the same situation at some point in our life. We are all different yet not so different.

American Born Chinese - Book Review.......2007-09-21

This book is a book of three tales about a child (Jin Wang), a Monkey King, and a visiting cousin from Japan. During the first part of the of the book you can see that in a new place, times can be difficult. People chose to be stereotypical and treat Jin Way and his friend Wei-Chin Sun like outcasts. The monkey king learns many disciplines over time, making himself become practically invincible. Danny is a normal boy visited by his cousin who starts to ruin Danny's life. As you can see this book is a thrilling graphic novel that will take through the experiences of stereotypes and problems of people and things from another place.

Written by: Austin, Neil, Pascal, Chandler (High Tech Middle Media Arts students)

Wish There Was Something for Above 5 Stars.......2007-08-29

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang was the Printz Award winner for 2007. It's been sitting in my pile for a few months now, even though I was told it would take me no more than an hour to read. All the reviews I read about this graphic novel have been very positive, and I must agree it is a masterpiece.

But, as usual, I have a different viewpoint to bring to this discussion. We all have filters we view the world through, and this is also true of the way we approach media, whether it be books, movies, poetry, etc. My Christian faith is a large filter for me, and it impacts the way I view books.

American Born Chinese is a story told in three separate stories that eventually converge. Remember Holes? Louis Sachar did the same thing. The three plotlines came together in surprising ways that add to the enjoyment of the story. It is part of the mystery of the book.

In plotline one, Jin Wang has started a new life in a new home and a new school. He struggles to fit in with his new classmates who only see his differences. His classmates focus only on the negative stereotypes they have heard about the Chinese people. He is mocked and picked on, and the only friend he can find is a bully who threatens to make Jin eat his boogers if he won't share his food. I found myself cringing a little as I remembered a classmate that was in my elementary school. His name was Nguyen Ly, but later on he changed his name to an American name. Now I understand why he wanted to do that. It is hard to be different. One more important aspect to this story is that Jin loves his transformer robot. One day, he wants to be a transformer himself.

In plot two, the King of the Monkeys is angered when he is turned away at a party for being a monkey. No matter how much skill he acquires, he is belittled for being a monkey. In his anger, he beats the tar out of multiple people using his kung fu skills. Finally, he receives a visit from the great Tze-Yo-Tzuh, a god, who encourages the Monkey King to accept his role in life and to take enjoyment in that role. Be proud you are a monkey, he seems to be saying. The Monkey King won't listen and is "punished" for his refusal.

In plot three, a teenage boy named Danny feels humiliated everytime his cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit him. Chin-Kee goes around at Danny's school seemingly encouraging all the negative stereotypes people have towards Asians. He has buck teeth, can't correctly pronounce his l's and r's, and just makes a fool of himself.

First, the technical elements: The artwork is amazing. Each drawing contains amazing colors and good use of frames to create motion and time. Also, the author uses a creative device that shows us when a person is speaking in a language other than English. The text is written in English but the quotation is surrounded by angular parentheses. This way, the reader knows the speaker is not speaking English, but we can still read the conversation.

One thing no one has pointed out is that many of the speeches made by Tze-Yo-Tzuh are taken directly from the Bible. Most of it is from Psalm 139. This is the passage where it talks about God knowing us completely, when we get up and when we lie down. We cannot escape him. I am linking the whole chapter in this for anyone who wants to read it.

What I got out of this story is that God created us each to be something, and he does not make mistakes. We can fight against it, but we usually just hurt ourselves. I am thinking of a very dear friend of mine. He is a wonderful person, but has been fighting God for years.

*Spoiler alert.*

When the monkey was fighting and striving, he was always angry and never got what he wanted. It was only by accepting his role in the world that he found himself. And notice his role was unselfishly giving of himself to help others. And the reason I put punished in quotes above is that I don't really think the god in this book punished the Monkey King out of anger. I believe he did it for his own good to lead him to the truth. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tried everything before he buried him in a mountain of rock.

Please don't think I am immune to the cultural implications of this book. When we see the cruelty with which the world treats Jin and his friends, it is heartbreaking. I hope people will read this work and re-think these stereotypes. But I also know that stereotypes exist, and you can only change yourself. Jin, the Monkey King, and anyone else who is discriminated against cannot wait for the world to change in order to find the happiness we all deserve. We must each act with integrity and take joy in the roles we have been given in this world, whether they are received with praise or hostility.

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Short, to the point, not a lot of substance
Boring
Very powerful novel
Vendela Vida's clean, spartan prose makes every word count
A Wonderful Talent Not Yet Fulfilled

Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name: A Novel
Vendela Vida
Manufacturer: Ecco
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0060828374
Release Date: 2007-01-02

Book Description

On the day of her father's funeral, twenty-eight-year-old Clarissa Iverton discovers that he wasn't her biological father after all. Her mother disappeared fourteen years earlier, and now Clarissa is alone and adrift. The one person she feels she can trust, her fiancé, Pankaj, has just revealed a terrible and life-changing secret to her. In the cycle of a day, all the truths in Clarissa's world become myths and rumors, and she is catapulted out of the life she knew.

She finds her birth certificate, which leads her from New York to Helsinki, and then north of the Arctic Circle, to mystical Lapland, where she believes she'll meet her real father. There, under the northern lights of a sunless winter, Clarissa comes to know the Sami, the indigenous population, and seeks out a local priest, the one man who may hold the key to her origins. Along her travels she meets an elderly Sami healer named Anna Kristine, who has her own secrets, and a handsome young reindeer herder named Henrik, who accompanies Clarissa to a hotel made of ice. There she is confronted with the truth about her mother's past and finally must make a decision about how—and where—to live the rest of her life.

Joan Didion said of Vendela Vida's last book: "And Now You Can Go is so fast, so mesmerizing to read, and so accomplished that it's hard to think of it as a first novel, which it is. Vendela Vida has promise to spare." With Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, Vida more than lives up to that promise as she gives us a remarkable protagonist who is both fierce and funny, and an unforgettable literary thriller that questions whether we can ever truly know where we've come from—and if it is possible to escape our pasts.

Customer Reviews:

Short, to the point, not a lot of substance.......2007-06-12

the reviews for this were so grand, I had to read it for myself. I agree that there is not a wasted word or phrase in this story. Every word does count. But there isn't much there. Girl's mom leaves. Girl tries to find her mom. Girl discovers things about herself. It's your basic trying to find yourself novel, with one main character, and lots of other minor characters, with no real substance into any of the others. A good short read, it took me only a few hours to get through it, but now I'm ready for something with more meat. this book is kind of like a short resting point before you jump into something bigger.

Boring.......2007-05-21

Did not care for this novel, sorry I bought it. The best thing about it is it's title.

Protagonist Clarissa comes across as not especially bright.

Very powerful novel.......2007-05-02

Many readers have admired Vendela's spare prose. Unlike most other readers, I was at first put off by what seemed to me like the hard, awkward prose of a non-native speaker. Nonetheless, I was quickly drawn into what I ultimately found to be a compelling and even haunting novel. I did not like the main character who I found to be at times gratuitously cruel. I did not like many of the characters. However, Vendela draws you into a world of difficult, hard events in which her characters make hard, surprising choices that achieve for them a kind of redemption and which made me question the easy, accepted choices we make in our lives. I only gave this book a 4 instead of a 5 because ultimately I was not won over by Vendela's prose although the story and even the characters were for me compelling. I could not put the book down once started and I know I will never forget it.

Vendela Vida's clean, spartan prose makes every word count .......2007-03-24

I read an excellent review of Vendela Vida's latest novel in People Magazine and decided straight away to give it try. I was not disappointed. I fairly blitzed through this book - others here mention going cover-to-cover in one sitting. It took me two, but it's the type of work that encourages you to read 'just one more chapter' before putting the book down. And, in fact, you never do put it down. Though only 226 clean (almost spartan, in fact) pages, you won't feel cheated. Vida makes every single word count. You never have to amble through overstuffed, toss-away passages.

In the process, I learned quite a bit about Lapland and its people. Vida did some excellent first-hand info-gathering there. Her legwork really manifests itself in a knowledgeable fashion. The map - courtesy of Paul J. Pugliese - provides clarity and is a touchstone for readers throughout the text. I highly recommend this book.

A Wonderful Talent Not Yet Fulfilled.......2007-03-10

Vendela Vida has a way with words, a veritable gift, and she bestows this sometimes snappily ironic, sometimes woe-is-me sardonic, gift upon Clarissa Iverton, the young narrator of Vida's beautifully written--but oh so consciously written--novel Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. The book is spare, deliberate, cold. Clarissa is supposed to be (I think) impulsive, lost, and not-to-be-blamed-for-being cold. As the story unfolds there are hints that Clarissa might be able to achieve some balance between unwavering froideur and emotional dynamism. And as the story opens, and Clarissa feeds us her back-story, the odd and unexamined behavior of family and friends keeps us just enough off-balance that it's easy to read just for plot. We can accept Clarissa's genetically endowed, inalienable right to constitutional coldness because, on that point, the plot is persuasive--an egoistically sadistic, abandoning mom; an overly attentive boyfriend who has consistently lied to Clarissa about her true origins; a dad who dies without revealing that he's not her biological dad. Betrayed by every person she ought to be able to trust, Clarissa makes a credible victim. Plot-wise, that is. We automatically hand her our sympathy; it shouldn't take very much to keep it.

But accepting the character's status as entitled victim is not the same thing as feeling transported by a tale that examines human suffering, human hatred--there are some terrible people here--and human carelessness. This novel settles for the depiction of Clarissa's cramped consciousness, suggesting that the cramping is the result of other people's lies and failures; it does not aim to carry us beyond the trap. A gut-level curiosity compels Clarissa to find her biological father, but the struggle over whether or not to forgive anyone-- her dead step dad, her misguided boyfriend, even herself--never even arises in the morally closed landscape of Vida's tale. With slightly more editorial care, Vida could have nailed an unreliable narration--she could have made Clarissa an obviously self-serving fabulist--but, as it stands now, the young woman seems sardonic and vain, modestly smug and pleased over her fine prose, but never emotionally dynamic, troubling, or vulnerable enough to demand the reader's ongoing engagement. Geography is what makes her story pop open. If Clarissa hadn't gone someplace as intriguing as Lapland, I never would have followed.

By hermetically sealing Clarissa's story inside her single consciousness, much of the potentially fabulous material provided by that trip to Finnish Lapland remains unrealized, unexamined. A sizeable polyglot population appears within the pages of this very short novel--and there's lots of travel--but because Clarissa never ventures outside her own self-centered head, we're stuck inside it too. The Other lies forever outside our mutual range. I'm fully aware that this may be exactly the plight that Vida is trying to convey through her tale--that a trauma at the source of a person's origins may prove to be so damaging that such a person might never regain sufficient trust to crawl out of her own brain again. She may become unattractive, vain, self-centered, and boring no matter what happens in her life. And, yes, when she does sit down to tell her story, maybe all she can spin is a perfectly modulated, prettified tale with a soupcon of hipster-ish ennui thrown in. Maybe that's credible, but Vendela Vida's obvious talent could accomplish much greater things. A wonderfully written, ultimately disappointing venture.

Average customer rating:

Are you kidding me??????
4.5 stars for The Human Stain
A Life Based on a Lie!
a contemptible pleasure
Identity check

The Human Stain: A Novel
Philip Roth
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375726349
Release Date: 2001-05-08

Amazon.com

Athena College was snoozing complacently in the Berkshires until Coleman Silk--formerly "Silky Silk," undefeated welterweight pro boxer--strode in and shook the place awake. This faculty dean sacked the deadwood, made lots of hot new hires, including Yale-spawned literary-theory wunderkind Delphine Roux, and pissed off so many people for so many decades that now, in 1998, they've all turned on him. Silk's character assassination is partly owing to what the novel's narrator, Nathan Zuckerman, calls "the Devil of the Little Place--the gossip, the jealousy, the acrimony, the boredom, the lies."

But shocking, intensely dramatized events precipitate Silk's crisis. He remarks of two students who never showed up for class, "Do they exist or are they spooks?" They turn out to be black, and lodge a bogus charge of racism exploited by his enemies. Then, at 71, Viagra catapults Silk into "the perpetual state of emergency that is sexual intoxication," and he ignites an affair with an illiterate janitor, Faunia Farley, 34. She's got a sharp sensibility, "the laugh of a barmaid who keeps a baseball bat at her feet in case of trouble," and a melancholy voluptuousness. "I'm back in the tornado," Silk exults. His campus persecutors burn him for it--and his main betrayer is Delphine Roux.

In a short space, it's tough to convey the gale-force quality of Silk's rants, or the odd effect of Zuckerman's narration, alternately retrospective and torrentially in the moment. The flashbacks to Silk's youth in New Jersey are just as important as his turbulent forced retirement, because it turns out that for his entire adult life, Silk has been covering up the fact that he is a black man. (If this seems implausible, consider that the famous New York Times book critic Anatole Broyard did the same thing.) Young Silk rejects both the racism that bars him from Woolworth's counter and the Negro solidarity of Howard University. "Neither the they of Woolworth's nor the we of Howard" is for Coleman Silk. "Instead the raw I with all its agility. Self-discovery--that was the punch to the labonz.... Self-knowledge but concealed. What is as powerful as that?"

Silk's contradictions power a great Philip Roth novel, but he's not the only character who packs a punch. Faunia, brutally abused by her Vietnam vet husband (a sketchy guy who seems to have wandered in from a lesser Russell Banks novel), scarred by the death of her kids, is one of Roth's best female characters ever. The self-serving Delphine Roux is intriguingly (and convincingly) nutty, and any number of minor characters pop in, mouth off, kick ass, and vanish, leaving a vivid sense of human passion and perversity behind. You might call it a stain. --Tim Appelo

Book Description

It is 1998, the year in which America is whipped into a frenzy of prurience by the impeachment of a president, and in a small New England town, an aging classics professor, Coleman Silk, is forced to retire when his colleagues decree that he is a racist. The charge is a lie, but the real truth about Silk would have astonished even his most virulent accuser.

Coleman Silk has a secret, one which has been kept for fifty years from his wife, his four children, his colleagues, and his friends, including the writer Nathan Zuckerman. It is Zuckerman who stumbles upon Silk's secret and sets out to reconstruct the unknown biography of this eminent, upright man, esteemed as an educator for nearly all his life, and to understand how this ingeniously contrived life came unraveled. And to understand also how Silk's astonishing private history is, in the words of The Wall Street Journal, "magnificently" interwoven with "the larger public history of modern America."

Customer Reviews:

Are you kidding me??????.......2007-06-22

How does a light skin black man "an oxymoron" if I ever heard one pass himself off as a Jewish man? First off, ask any black person who has family members of every shade, if any light skinned black person can pass as white. Impossible! Lets give Mr. Roth the benefit of the doubt, lets say that a light skinned black man can pass himself off as white. Why would he then become Jewish? European Jews came to America and dropped their so-called Jewish sounding names to become more Anglo. And here we have this light skinned black man, becoming a Jew, not an Anglo, which is more advantagous to him but a Jew!

Give me a break! Only a white novalist could come up with this dribble! What is Mr. Roth trying to say exactly? It is better for so-called light skinned blacks to be anything other than, say black?? And how exactly does one pass oneself off as a Jew? By changing one's name from Leroy Jones to Lenny White? This story proves what I have always believed about some, and I say it again "some" whites in this county, they have no concept of who or what African Americans, blacks or what ever name they what to call Africans. By the way, here is a list of mixed Africans, Derek Jeter (Yankees), Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, and so on, all have light skin. So, which one of them can pass and become white? Mariah Carey, and she would me more latina, than white.

The only blacks that passed back in the day are the ones that are white in appearance. Not! Light skinned blacks. Mr. Roth would have been better served if he wrote a book about a Jewish man passing as Anglo, a topic which I am sure he would have been well versed.

4.5 stars for The Human Stain.......2007-04-18

In this book Roth sets the story of an African- American college professor who has spent his adult life "passing: as white against the backdrop of the Clinton -Monica Lewinsky scandal. The character of Coleman Silk is shattered by an ironic and unfair accusation of racism at the school that forces him to end his career while preserving his secret. He begins an affair with a female janitor at the school who is divorced from an angry and unbalanced VietNam Vet from whom she had suffered abuse. Her tragic past collides with SIlk's tragic present resulting in the story's slow build toward a disasterous end. An American tragedy that has people victimized by circumstances beyond their control as well as by their own decisions , the Human Stain is a complex story that examines hypocrisy and racial, economic and social biases in American Society.

A Life Based on a Lie!.......2007-03-31

Dean Coleman Silk had kept a secret that he was actually light-skinned African American who passed for Jewish and maintained that identity for the rest of his life. According to Philip Roth's alter-ego Nathan Zuckerman, Silk chose to live this way. While most of us would abhor such a decision, Roth helps us to understand how Silk who probably never fit in the African American world because he was too light but let people assume he was Jewish. I felt so bad for his family who he disowned. His poor mother who was never acknowledged to Iris. Who was Iris anyway? Maybe she would have accepted, she appeared to be more understanding that COleman gives her credit for. You just don't sympathize with Coleman because you don't understand how somebody could live a lie and how it effected his family's life as well as his children, wife, relatives and friends. You wonder if he told the truth, how much richer his life would have been. Maybe Iris and her family would accept their African American relatives.

a contemptible pleasure.......2007-02-20

Not only have I not been so moved by a book for a while, but I hadn't been moved by a book by Philip Roth in an even longer time. I had a brief fascination with Roth back in graduate school, and then all interest for him fell by the wayside.

Then, a student of mine, one with whom I could talk delightfully about DeLillo, Barthelme, even Beckett, told me that she had read _American Pastoral_, and that it had changed her life. When I went to get said book, I found out then (and only then) that this book was also written by Roth. I knew of the movie, and had thankfully not seen it yet, and decided to get to this one first.

Roth does have a tendency to get a little long-winded, with paragraphs that cover pages at a time, but I think that man has earned the privelege at this point. The scope and depth of character that he achieves, all in the name of the search for personality, is overwhelming. Coleman Silk is both sympathetic and repulsive, probably a staple of Roth since _Portnoy's Complaint_, as this classics professor is undone by a simple miscontruing of context--turns out, the missing students that he wonders aloud about the possibility of being 'spooks' are black, and this man who is steadfast in his ego and place in the world goes more than a little haywire and winds up befriending writer Nathan Zuckerman in order to have his tale told--but does Coleman want the REAL story, or just his own version of it?

Zuckerman, of course, delves into the depths of the relationships among people in this academically incestuous town. Coleman is demanding and secretive, but to extreme ends, which also makes him quite sad. Roth even explores with alarming pathos into the mind of Les, an abusive ex-husband who is a Vietnam vet. There is a constant fight here when it comes to happiness and identity--those who think, and those who experience, and Roth adeptly never comes down on one side or another.

There is, of course, something a little gratuitous about Roth's handling of Delphine Roux, a female literary critic and language professor who seems unable to please herself in any way, once she lets herself think about what she is doing, but the entire cast that Roth creates pales her out enough to make her presence not so scathing.

There were times that I struggled with this book, and got angry at its direction, but I would only offer that as testament to its brilliance--to develop intricate feelings and revulsions over a book is something to offer as a highlight.

Identity check.......2006-12-08

On one level, this is the story of an old-school classics professor, formerly the powerful dean of his New England college, who is driven to resign on charges of racism then further alienates members of the community through his subsequent actions. On another, most strikingly, it is a book about identity and the degree to which we may reinvent ourselves, not merely building on our backgrounds but even rewriting them. On yet another, it is a meditation on the American decline from the postwar years through the trauma of Vietnam to the moral relativity of the Clinton era. On all these levels, Roth succeeds magnificently. Perhaps he is over-fond of extended ruminations which almost become sermons, and I also wonder whether the campus politics setting would work for all audiences. But he has a wonderfully sly method of keeping the reader on his toes by interjecting important events and disclosures almost as asides, while revealing layer upon layer of his increasingly interesting characters.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating

Of God and Madness: A Historical Novel
T. Byram Karasu
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0742546896

Book Description

Of God and Madness is the fictional story of Adam, an emotionally troubled young man who is on a captivating spiritual journey. In this intriguing saga, Adam, struggling to make sense of God, comes of age during the tumultuous end of the Ottoman Empire. This is the story of a person who began searching for God and ended up finding himself, redeeming his spiritual journey.

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating.......2007-01-20

The era and the writer's ability to reflect the events of that age are bot fascinating. I enjoyed it a lot and could not drop it until I finished.

Average customer rating:

Ruined my summer
Middlesex an awsome read
Excellent writing on controversial topic
Una Mariavillosa Saga Familiar!
Completely Unique--Breaks New Ground

Middlesex: A Novel
Jeffrey Eugenides
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374199698

Amazon.com

"I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." And so begins Middlesex, the mesmerizing saga of a near-mythic Greek American family and the "roller-coaster ride of a single gene through time." The odd but utterly believable story of Cal Stephanides, and how this 41-year-old hermaphrodite was raised as Calliope, is at the tender heart of this long-awaited second novel from Jeffrey Eugenides, whose elegant and haunting 1993 debut, The Virgin Suicides, remains one of the finest first novels of recent memory.

Eugenides weaves together a kaleidoscopic narrative spanning 80 years of a stained family history, from a fateful incestuous union in a small town in early 1920s Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit; from the early days of Ford Motors to the heated 1967 race riots; from the tony suburbs of Grosse Pointe and a confusing, aching adolescent love story to modern-day Berlin. Eugenides's command of the narrative is astonishing. He balances Cal/Callie's shifting voices convincingly, spinning this strange and often unsettling story with intelligence, insight, and generous amounts of humor:

Emotions, in my experience aren't covered by single words. I don't believe in "sadness," "joy," or "regret." … I'd like to have at my disposal complicated hybrid emotions, Germanic traincar constructions like, say, "the happiness that attends disaster." Or: "the disappointment of sleeping with one's fantasy." ... I'd like to have a word for "the sadness inspired by failing restaurants" as well as for "the excitement of getting a room with a minibar." I've never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I've entered my story, I need them more than ever.

When you get to the end of this splendorous book, when you suddenly realize that after hundreds of pages you have only a few more left to turn over, you'll experience a quick pang of regret knowing that your time with Cal is coming to a close, and you may even resist finishing it--putting it aside for an hour or two, or maybe overnight--just so that this wondrous, magical novel might never end. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Book Description

A dazzling triumph from the bestselling author of The Virgin Suicides--the astonishing tale of a gene that passes down through three generations of a Greek-American family and flowers in the body of a teenage girl.

In the spring of 1974, Calliope Stephanides, a student at a girls' school in Grosse Pointe, finds herself drawn to a chain-smoking, strawberry blond clasmate with a gift for acting. The passion that furtively develops between them--along with Callie's failure to develop--leads Callie to suspect that she is not like other girls. In fact, she is not really a girl at all.

The explanation for this shocking state of affairs takes us out of suburbia- back before the Detroit race riots of 1967, before the rise of the Motor City and Prohibition, to 1922, when the Turks sacked Smyrna and Callie's grandparents fled for their lives. Back to a tiny village in Asia Minor where two lovers, and one rare genetic mutation, set in motion the metamorphosis that will turn Callie into a being both mythical and perfectly real: a hermaphrodite.

Spanning eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence- Jeffrey Eugenides's long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire. It marks the fulfillment of a huge talent, named one of America's best young novelists by both Granta and The New Yorker.

Download Description

Spanning across eight decades--and one unusually awkward adolescence - Jeffrey Eugenides' long-awaited second novel is a grand, utterly original fable of crossed bloodlines, the intricacies of gender, and the deep, untidy promptings of desire.

Customer Reviews:

Ruined my summer.......2007-09-18

I guess a Pulitzer Prize and being on Oprah's Book List does not make for a good book. I spent my entire summer trying to get through this book. Fianlly on Saturday, September 15th at 10:38 am, I finished.
I was not drawned into any of the characters, found that the narrative was all over the place, found that the descriptions were overwhelming and as far as being controversial, I don't even think that the author really touched on the subject but skirted the issue.
I was very disappointed!!!

Middlesex an awsome read.......2007-09-18

Middlesex was certainly a book that I could NOT put down after I began reading. First of all it is a very well writen book. It began stating the birth(s) of Cal and took you through her life. You could feel how she felt. Starting in Greece and ending on Middlesex, was a wonderful journey for the reader. I loved the writing so much of Eugenides, that I ordered his previously written book,(Virgin Suicides) and am waiting for his latest book to be printed. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
E Morikis

Excellent writing on controversial topic.......2007-09-13

This might be the best written book I've ever read. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who has trouble reading about modern sexual issues, however.

Una Mariavillosa Saga Familiar!.......2007-08-02

Este novela esta en el Club de Libros de Opprah. Y se gano el premio Pulitzer de Ficcion de 2003. Narra la saga familiar de un una familia de Asia Menor que llega a los Estados Unidos en busca de un mejor futuro.
La historia es narrada por un hombre que, siendo hermafrodita, vivio su juventud como una mujer hasta que su desarrollo sexual le indico lo contrario. Pero esto, como dijo Opprah en su programa, no debe hacer que nos alejemos del libro.
Es una maravillosa narracion en que vemos tres generaciones de una familia vistos con unos ojos sin prejuicios y limpios. Una saga familiar que nos envuelve y una vez que comienzas a leer no puedes parar.

Completely Unique--Breaks New Ground.......2007-07-20

"Middlesex" by Jefferey Eugenides is as unique as its protagonist, Cal/Calliope Stephanides, a hermaphrodite born a female, yet destined at puberty to express his underlying male nature.

It is easy to see why this book won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2003. At once a sweeping rollicking comic epic family saga, this novel breaks new ground by successfully hybridizing different literary styles and throwing aside conventions of proper storytelling voice and construction. The novel is told primarily in first person. How else could Eugenides tell the tale of this endearing heroine/hero without resorting to awkward use of pronouns? But then comes the real breakthrough. How does the author take us into the minds of the supporting characters when the novel is narrated in first person? Eugenides solves this by making his narrator creatively omniscient. The reader is consciously aware at all times that it is Cal/Callie, the protagonist, that is stepping into the minds of his/her ancestors and immediate family to reveal their hidden feelings as she/he tells their tales in third person. It works! The storytelling comes alive on two levels: we better understand the motivations of the third-person characters, and we learn to treasure our creative, endearing, fully human storytelling protagonist. As a bonus, this construction often leaves the door wide open for outrageous comedy, and Eugenides makes full use of it.

The book mixes literary styles, too. It starts out almost like a fairy tale--a tragicomic Greek epic--with chorus, no less! Much of the next part of the novel is written in a 19th-century style. Finally, the novel transforms into a modern psychological coming-of-age tale. As the literary style transforms over the course of the novel, we progress from the stories of Cal/Callie's Greek ancestors through to the present day. Along the way, we are treated to a courageous Greek-American immigrant family saga as well as the story of Detroit from the Prohibition through to the present day. The story of Detroit is so vividly told that the city almost becomes a third character. In particular, we are brought into the alien worlds of early Ford assembly-line factory work, bootlegging prohibition gin-running and speakeasies, the birth of the Nation of Islam, the 1967 race riots, the rise of franchising wealth, and white flight to rich suburbs including sending children to private schools to avoid racial desegregation. All is so vividly recreated that the reader in transported.

At the heart of the novel is, of course, poor confused sweet child Callie/Cal. The story of her/his gradual awakening to sexual awareness, self-acceptance, and identity is profoundly touching, tastfully rendered, and ultimately very believable.

I loved this book. I did not want it to end; even after almost 600 pages, I wanted more.

Average customer rating:

The 2nd best Graphic Novel I've ever read
Misogyny or reality?
Not My Oldsmobile
Graphic SF Reader
Promising, but it's Much Ado About Nothing

Identity Crisis (DC Comics)
Brad Meltzer
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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Mystery | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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Similar Items:

The OMAC Project (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)
Infinite Crisis (DC Comics)
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Day of Vengeance (Countdown to Infinite Crisis)

ASIN: 1401204589

Book Description

The most talked-about and successful DC Comics miniseries of 2004 is now available in a stunning hardcover volume!New York Times best-selling author Brad Meltzer delivers an all-too-human look into the lives of super-heroes and the terrible price they pay for doing good.

Customer Reviews:

The 2nd best Graphic Novel I've ever read.......2007-10-05

I think the Watchmen will always be the best graphic novel ever, but this one is a close second for me. I have always chosen Marvel comics over DC, but this book alone, has caused me to become fascinated by the Justice League.

This is a drop dead serious story that is not appropriate for kids, but a masterpiece that adults and older teens can enjoy. It will make you think and it might even make you give a family member a longer hug the next time you see them. It's that good. And if you ever wanted to try and get a person who doesn't like comics to try one, I would start with this one, even more so than The Watchmen. Worth every penny.

Misogyny or reality?.......2007-09-23

Feminist bloggers love to expound on how misogynist this story is, but crime happens, criminals victimize women, and if supercriminals existed they'd be victimizing the superheroes' women given half a chance. It's a good story. Don't miss it.

Not My Oldsmobile.......2007-09-20

As someone who grew up and read many DC comics in the '60s I occassionally like to see what's being done lately with the characters I grew up with.
Wow.
I'm still not sure what audience this book is supposed to be marketed to but it's amazing when I think back on the brou-ha-ha greeting EC Comics in the '50s and seeing the stuff now being sold supposedly to kids today.
Not that I have any extreme moral qualms about it but the themes and graphics of this book certainly presuppose an outlook that would have been unimaginable to me when I was 10 years old.
Still the artwork is incredible.
But I have to agree with many others here that many aspects of the storyline are ridiculous. There is always been a desire to take super-heroes out of the "juvenile" and transform them to the "adult" but the plot-twists in this book are at best "adolescent".
At the end I can't help feeling that the "fun" has been taken out of comics.

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

A very nice to look at, story. As well as the plot being integral to a lot of what is going on in the dc universe, the style has become influential, with the different colored captains to identify the various protagonists at the time.

Meltzer's experience with murder mysteries enables him to handle this quite well.

The JLA have to deal with their own internal struggle surrounding a bit of brainwashing, Squadron Supreme style.

Promising, but it's Much Ado About Nothing.......2007-08-12

When someone close to a JLA member is murdered - and as more family and friends are threatened and attacked - it becomes abundantly clear that there is a killer on the loose who knows the identities of all our heroes. Nerves begin to tense and relationships strain in the JLA ranks. A cabal including Hawkman, Green Arrow, Zatanna, Black Canary, and The Atom look to take matters into their own hands, as fear and tragedy mount and a a series of dark secrets long buried begin to surface.

This is the basic plot of Identity Crisis; it's a promising premise, and Brad Meltzer makes the most of it - his meditations on the meaning and importance of secret identities, his ideas about the relationships among heroes and villains, and the nature of teams and teammates are all compelling and interesting. Indeed, his writing exudes a deep familiarity - you get the distinct feeling that these superheroes have a complex, muddy past, a history, and know each other intimately. Meltzer also does a good job of ratcheting up the anxiety and intensity - imagine a comic book where a whirlwind race against time actually feels as tense as a film.

The book's chief failing, and what ultimately brings it down, is its ending. I won't spoil it for those still interested, but suffice it to say it does not, by any means, live up to the compelling writing that preceded it; it feels to me as though he just ran out of ideas. The ending is far too clean, far too easy, far too simplistic; indeed, it actually makes the story seem pointless, an afterthought, robbing it of any impact that it might have truly had. A disappointing turn of events.

Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions

Average customer rating:

Reader beware...
Little White lies....
A sweet, funny little book
Underdeveloped
See what might happen if you lie......

Little White Lies: A Novel of Love and Good Intentions
Gemma Townley
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0345467574
Release Date: 2005-03-29

Book Description

WHAT’S ONE LITTLE WHITE LIE?

Okay, so it isn’t that little. It’s kind of a whopper. It’s just that when Natalie Raglan ups and quits her job at a Bath advertising firm, breaks up with her loser-ish boyfriend, and moves–to London! Things don’t quite turn out the way she planned. Having made the brave move to the Big City, the lifelong country mouse finds that living chic is still a long way off. Even Cressida, the girl who used to rent her tiny flat, still gets more phone calls and mail there than Nat does. Come to think of it, Cressida Langdon’s life looks pretty appealing–especially when an invitation to the posh, exclusive Soho House club arrives, addressed to Cressida.

Before she really knows what she’s done, Nat has opened Cressida’s mail . . . and taken up her life. Soon Nat’s dating a gorgeous investment banker named Simon, giving “reiki healing sessions,” wearing wonderful clothes, and partying with the A-list at Soho House. But the best part really is Simon. He’s everything Nat has ever wanted. The problem is he thinks she’s someone else. And as her life and her lies begin to spiral out of control, Nat can’t help but wonder: Will she be exposed as a liar and a fake–or be saved from ruin by simply claiming good intentions. . . .

Download Description

Okay, so it isn’t that little. It’s kind of a whopper. It’s just that when Natalie Raglan ups and quits her job at a Bath advertising firm, breaks up with her loser–ish boyfriend, and moves–to London! Things don’t quite turn out the way she planned. Having made the brave move to the Big City, the lifelong country mouse finds that living chic is still a long way off. Even Cressida, the girl who used to rent her tiny flat, still gets more phone calls and mail there than Nat does. Come to think of it, Cressida Langdon’s life looks pretty appealing–especially when an invitation to the posh, exclusive Soho House club arrives, addressed to Cressida.

Before she really knows what she’s done, Nat has opened Cressida’s mail… and taken up her life. Soon Nat’s dating a gorgeous investment banker named Simon, giving “reiki healing sessions,” wearing wonderful clothes, and partying with the A–list at Soho House. But the best part really is Simon. He’s everything Nat has ever wanted. The problem is he thinks she’s someone else. And as her life and her lies begin to spiral out of control, Nat can’t help but wonder: Will she be exposed as a liar and a fake–or be saved from ruin by simply claiming good intentions.…

Customer Reviews:

Reader beware..........2007-09-23

"Little White Lies" isn't an entire waste of time, but it is very predictable and repetitive. Take the plot of "Working Girl" and throw in a little "While You Were Sleeping" and that'll give you about 80% of the plot. Small town girl moves to the city with big dreams only to be initially disappointed. So, due to a few twists, she finds herself impersonating a more accomplished character. Enter the Perfect Guy and his appealing family, who love the protagonist for just who she is. But will they still love her when her deception is uncovered? That is the dilemma. There are all the standard cliches, including the scene where the protagonist is ready to reveal her lie, only to be interupted by someone who spills the beans for her. The ending is pure cotton candy. In fact, reading "Little White Lies" reminded me of why I often avoid chick lit. There are some good writers in this genre (and Townley is a competant writer, just not original) but the plots are so obvious that reading to the end often feels like a waste of time. I'll give this one points for the following: I learned a few things I didn't know (such as that Stonehenge and Bristol are near Bath) and there are at least two twists I couldn't predict (although they're both minor to the plot.) So... reader beware.

Little White lies...........2007-09-02

Great book!! I couldn't put it down, i think I've read all of Gemma Townley's books now can't wait for the next one to come out!!

A sweet, funny little book.......2007-03-30

I really enjoyed this book, which actually kind of surprised me. I thought it was going to just be a bit of fluff -- some escapist chick lit that I could enjoy dipping into at the end of a long day while lolling in the bathtub.

But then I found myself interested in the main character, Natalie, and the tangled web she wove as she took on another identity. She was, of course, a terrible liar, and a number of very entertaining things happened with the story's being neatly resolved at the end.

This isn't deep or timeless literature. The character development is somewhat haphazard and the plot will gently test your credulity, but "Little White Lies" is a fun, interesting, entertaining book for the bath, beach, or comfy nook on the sofa.

Underdeveloped.......2007-02-25

The story of this book sounded really promising and funny: Young woman moves to big city, works in retail, gets a bunch of mail addressed to the prior tenant and lies herself into a whole different identity.

Unfortunately the way it was worked out was nothing else but disappointing. Without any warning, or any kind of explanation, the main character moved back to her hometown only to return to the big city and getting back with her ex-boyfriend within a few pages. It would have been nice to get some more insights and just some kind of how did she get there explanation. What ever happened to a gradual story development?

All in a sudden she has her own store and lives happily ever after with the guy who thought she was someone else. How exactly did that happen? I feel I could have written this book better than this author.

I like light and breezy novels, but that doesn't mean that they have to do completely dump and unrealistic.

See what might happen if you lie.............2006-07-19

I really like this book because it was fun to read and I wanted to know what was going to happen to Natalie from her lies. I'm sure everyone has received mail or a phone call from someone who use to live at their current place and who use to have their current phone number.

But we were always the good little girl and never opened the mail or always told the caller that you have the wrong number. With this book we get to see what could happen if you opened someone's mail and looked in on someone else's life.

This book also showed that you can stick to your dreams and achieve them. From other reviews the main character did flip flop with decision making but that was the fun of her character she could never really make up her mind.

Average customer rating:

What if you had Superman's Powers?
Comic Books Don't Get Anymore "Super" Than This
Great alternate-reality Superman miniseries
Secret
One of the Best!

Superman: Secret Identity
Kurt Busiek
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comic Strips | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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Superman: Birthright (Graphic Novel)
Superman: Red Son (Elseworlds)
Superman: Exile
Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 1
Kingdom Come

ASIN: 1401204511

Customer Reviews:

What if you had Superman's Powers?.......2007-08-12

The first time I read this book I had borrowed it from the Library...Ohhh Maaaannnnn....what an amazing story!!! I couldn't put it down and at first I couldn't even comprehend the fullness of the story. It was this book that not only got me to read the "Astro City" series, but when I found out that Kurt Busiek was now writing the Superman Comics for DC...I started buying Superman Comics again after a 35 year lapse. I thought I had outgrown Comic Books until I read Kurt Busiek writing. This story is such a grabber that I had read it 3 times in less than 7 months before I broke down and bought it. And then I read it again and even had my Wife read it, she doesn't even like "Graphic Novels", but she likes this one. I highly recommend it and encourage people to buy it, because it is and will become classic reading in the annals of illustrated books. Way to Go Kurt Busiek!!! Definately one of your Best!!!

Comic Books Don't Get Anymore "Super" Than This.......2007-07-19

Yes, it is an "Elseworlds"-type story set in an alternate universe (a non-superpowered "real world" like our own...). And yes, it doesn't star the "Man of Steel" that we're all familiar with, but another boy named Clark Kent. After reading the re-imagining of Superman's origin in Mark Waid's "Birthright," I was expecting a similar "Superboy"-type story here. Not the case, though--what we have is simply the best Superman tale ever told. This is Superman's equivalent to "The Dark Knight Returns." The artwork is amazing, and the story itself is at turns exciting, sad, and wonderful. One of the top ten comic books ever produced, in my opinion.

Great alternate-reality Superman miniseries.......2007-05-06

This is a thoroughly engrossing, tightly scripted, rather intense Superman story, set in an alternate-ish reality where -- like our own world -- Superman is a fictional character, not a real person. At least that's the case until a young man named Clark Kent (named that as a joke by his lame but well intentioned parents) develops superpowers that exactly mimic those of the fictional man of steel. Is it a fever dream? A fantasy? Has he been brainwashed? Well, no. He really has become Superman, but is his world ready for a real, live superhero? Like many super-books of recent vintage, this story places a metahuman character in the midst of a hostile, invasive political system -- the government simply can't leave Clark alone, so he has to grapple with constant intrusions and attempts to curtail his freedom... In the meantime, he finds love, builds a family and grows old. Kurt Busiek has crafted a powerful tale, backed by rich, realistic artwork -- a real saga that will draw you in from start to finish.

This is a very good read -- highly recommended!

Secret.......2007-03-16

This is very well written and the story flows.
It is a new take on what it means to be Superman.

One of the Best!.......2007-02-26

I'm not a big fan of Superman, but this book is great even for those that don't care for anything in the "super-hero" genre. Busiek writes a story that tries to take a truly realistic take on superheros - what would it be like if someone one day actually woke up with powers?
Clark Kent grows up in a world like our own, where superheroes only exist in comic books, and is constantly ridiculed for the irony that a mild-manner boy from a small town in Kansas is named after a powerful comic book character of the same name. After Clark one day realizes he actually has Superman's powers, the story portrays its bittersweet nature, balancing the bad - having to worry about the government, being afraid to go public or share your secret with those you love, and the effect that such power can have on good people - with the obvious benefits of having super powers as we see different stages of Clark's life.
The art is good, but it is Busiek's excellent ability to help us sympathize with his main character and convincing storytelling that makes the book outstanding. I'd recommend it to anyone!

Average customer rating:

(2.5)
A Breach of Promise
Disappointing
Rawr!
Another disturbing edition

Panic Snap: A Novel
Laura Reese
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Erotica | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312242298

Book Description

Her first novel, Topping from Below, was a cause celebre of erotic fiction. Now, in Panic Snap, Laura Reese once again crosses the boundary between pleasure and pain with a story of extreme sexual obsession and one family's terrible secret.The accused murderess in a sensational trial, Carly Tyler waits outside a California courtroom as a jury decides her fate: Is she the depraved Madame de Sade of the newspaper headlines or the innocent victim of one wealthy family's gothic past? Left for dead by the side of a road fifteen years earlier, she emerged from a coma with no memory and a face completely altered by the plastic surgery need to repair her injuries. Who is she and what happened to her? The trail leads her to a magnificent vineyard and its mysterious owner, James McGuane, a man of wealth and immense sexual charisma who holds the key to her past. But to unlock it, she must risk her life on a terrifying erotic journey that tears apart a dynasty and reveals the truth about an appalling murder.

Customer Reviews:

(2.5).......2006-08-11

I read this one immediately after the author's first novel, Topping from Below. Perhaps I would have liked Panic Snap better if Topping from Below hadn't been so fresh in my mind, because the first thing I noticed was that the plot was pretty much the same. Woman, trying to solve a heinous crime, enters into a Dom/sub relationship with the prime suspect in order to glean clues.

And as before, he doles out the clues slowly, over a period of months, so that he can gradually break down her psychological barriers and make her submit utterly to him. As before, be warned that the sexual scenes are not for the squeamish, though thankfully she mostly left out the bestiality this time.

In addition to the too-similar plot, I also found this novel disappointing on the level of character. I don't know why, but I never felt that I knew Carly, James, and Gina the way I knew Nora, M., and Franny. I believe Topping is by far the better book.

A Breach of Promise.......2005-03-22

This book is one of those clear cases of breach of promise, where the blurbs promise you the world, and you wonder if the learned critics have actually read the book.

The author uses a mixture of suspense, drama and revenge as a vehicle for her clinically described rough stuff, and tries to push as much of it as possible into the story, until the repetition has the reader crying out in pain. Maybe this is the objective, because by the end of the book, I felt like I had been soundly whipped by an amateur.

Following the pattern of B grade porn, the weak storyline tells of a woman who emerges from a coma after having been left for dead, and who, despite suffering from amnesia, tracks down the man who she feels tries to kill her fifteen years earlier. The plot twists can be seen from a distance, so the only reason for reading this would be for the sadomasochism, which to be honest, gets boring very quickly.

No erotic novel should have the reader turning the pages just hoping for the end. As far as erotic fiction goes, this one is a cold shower.

Amanda Richards, March 22, 2005

Disappointing.......2004-08-24

Topping From Below was much more interesting. Panic snap has a slow start and not much to keep the pages turning. Somewhat disappointing.

Rawr!.......2004-02-19

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a pretty creative bend on the whole domination/submission s&m type thing. All in all, the "mystery" got a little tedious...Laura Reese has sort of a Dean Koontz writing style wherein you want to reach in and smack the main character for being such a knob about things that are completely obvious to the reader. The erotic bits of this book were absolutely haunting, however...stuff that sticks with you for a long time, be it good or bad! Unfortunately, I read this book prior to reading Ms. Reese's first book (Topping from Below) and ended up sorely disappointed in that book. If you've read Topping from Below, don't bother with this one at all. They're nearly the same book, with the exception being that "M" or "Michael" in Topping From Below is easily, incredibly hate-able. There's a finer line with the male lead character in Panic Snap. He's less hate-able...but still not terrifically like-able.

For folks who want to make the argument about the portrayal of the s&m lifestyle in Ms. Reese's books, I have this to say: No one said these were MANUALS. They're works of FICTION and last time I checked, FICTION didn't have to follow any rules because it's, well, MADE UP!

At any rate, it's an enjoyable read as an erotic novel. As a mystery novel, well, it really leaves a lot to be desired.

Another disturbing edition.......2004-01-17

I am not straightlaced or prudish (why would I read this book if I were?) but the activities represented in this novel as erotic only made me feel ill. Are there really people that find the use of farm animals in sex play exciting? Okay, maybe I am naive to some degree, but that is just plain icky! Reading this book is like looking at road kill, somewhat compelling but still an unhappy experience.

Average customer rating:

Shopping gone mad...
Who wrote / illustrated this book?
Not a Myth book
pathetic
Irritating...

Myth-taken Identity (Myth Adventures)
Robert Asprin , Jody Lynn Nye , and Phil Foglio
Manufacturer: Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Comic | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1592220290

Book Description

Aahz gets an unwelcome visit from two blue-skinned bruisers and a small magician wanting Skeeve to cough up the dough for an extremely large bill that he skipped out on. Knowing that Skeeve has many faults, but welshing on a debt is not one of them, he enlists the aid of Chumley and Massha to go with him to the last place any self respecting Pervert would ever visit...the mall! Once there, they discover that the mall rats have created a scheme to steal customers' credit cards. Realizing that Skeeve is a victim of identity theft they set our to set matters right and to clear their friend's name...

Customer Reviews:

Shopping gone mad..........2007-04-05

This is a good book, and definately fitting of the Myth series. With that said, it was a little slow and seemed to jump from slow to "skipped over" in a few spots. Not quite as enjoyable as the rest of the series, but still worthy of the read.

Who wrote / illustrated this book?.......2007-02-03

Myth-Taken Identity is the 14th book in the Myth series so there is a kind of familiarity among followers of the series. Even with the long hiatus that took place because of Bob Asprin's IRS troubles, there is a significant body of work that one can read and appreciate the Myth world and what it represents and how it is written. In this case, this book is clearly written by someone other than Bob Asprin.

The Myth series has always relied on a kind of light humor with gentle touches - in the book just prior to this one, Skeeve goes to help the lamb-like denizen of the Wuhs dimension (that's right - wusses!). In this book there is none of that gentle humor and fun puns. Instead we are treated to a 290+ page screed against the american mall culture, wrapped around a storyline that has no mystery to it, enveloped in a pure action sequence. to give some examples of what I mean: the mall manager is named Moa (Mall of America); Many of the escapades revolve around selling "exclusive" merchandise in "exclusive" events; the main trinket that is the object of many characters is the Gold Master Card; and on and on and on.

The story is told from Aahz's perspective which is actually a first. Supposedly this happens while Skeeve is on Wuhs so only Aahz, Massha, and Chumley are involved. Chumley is described as being purple with mismatched eyes in different sizes - VERY different than the descriptions of his green sister Tananda! Since Aahz does not have magical powers, he has to solve the problem by brute force - which he does - but the problem for me is that Aahz was always the more brainy operator who could figure things out and not need to use his strength. So, this is another degradation of the Myth mythology.

The troublemakers in this story are Mall Rats (huh, huh) who try to get powerful magic by stealing people's identities (huh huh, again) and who shoplift and steal stuff for the joy of it. The Myth gang is accompanied by a few new characters who were fun to read about and eventually the gang is captured. An incongruity here is that the gang leader is supposedly a stupid janitor yet he manages to outsmart Aahz and gang repeatedly. Until the end of the book, every trap that the Myth'ers lay is foiled and the mall rats are always outprepared and outthink Aahz and his cronies.

The front cover illustration is another miss. Massha is depicted as a female pervect while Aahz is given an orange beard (!!) Obviously the illustrator had very imperfect knowledge of the characters and the story line!

So, was there anything good about this story? Well, if you set aside the expectations you might have from Asprin's previous work, then this was a pretty fun and mindless action story. The final sequence when Aahz and the gang manage to get their hands on the culprit is well paced. It is completely nonsensical in that everytime the culprit changes his shape he manages to gain the powers of that being while Aahz's changes do nothing, but overall it is a fun conclusion.

So, if you are an Asprin fan, this will irritate you. If you have no idea what Myth, Aahz, Skeeve mean, then enjoy it.

Not a Myth book.......2006-09-30

First let me say that I'm a recent convert to the Myth fan persuasion. I recently ready the first twelve books and by and large enjoyed all of them. Myth-Taken Identity, however, just is not the same. Sure the characters in this book have the same names and some of the same descriptions as the rest the characters in the rest of the series, but it just has a different feel.

At first it grated on me (actually Chumley's speech still does... just adding "what?" to the end of a sentence doesn't make it British). After about 1/3 of the way through I settled down and decided that since this isn't really a Myth book, I'll just take it on its own and see how it is. The result: nothing stellar. It's not terrible, but not particularly good. Say about 2.5, maybe 3 stars. But try as I may, I keep coming back to thinking what this book could have been. Take the same basic plot line and write a book that's really the same feel and humor as the Myth series, and that would be a good book.

Actually, my number one complaint of this book is that things are described in too much detail. One of Robert Asprin's great skills was giving enough of a description to pass on important character information and perhaps a few important physical traits. The rest is left to the reader to fill in. This book drastically deviated from my mental model of several characters. I liked mine better because they were mine. In my opinion it would have been better to stick with the original style.

pathetic.......2006-04-23

Another great writer sells out. Read the original series but forget the rest. Nothing but pap, bad puns, and even worse dialoque. It's obvious that Mr Asprin does very little in regards to providing imput on the new books. I was barely able to finish the book instead of throwing it away in disgust. To sum it up; this and the other myth books with the co-authors are pure garbage. The death of a good series and not a dignify one.

Irritating..........2005-11-07

..is the best way I can describe this installment of the resurrected MYTH series. While I was very fond of the last book (and the first one JLN co-authored), this one just doesn't ring true.

While it is good to see Aahz, Chumley, and Mashha back in action, and while I found the identity theft hook intriguing, almost everything else just fell flat. The whole Mall setting gets dull real fast. (And the depiction of the store owners in the mall as a closely knit community? As someone who has worked in retail, that's just bull-pucky. Mr. Asprin got it right in the adventure when Skeeve went to Perv and had to deal with the indifferent staff at a department store.)

And that's another thing: In Myth-Nomers and Im-Perv-ections, THERE ARE LARGE DEPARTMENT STORES! Almost mall like! Why is Aahz so stunned by the existence of a mall? I dunno. Just more of the lazy writing that has plagued the last few books of the series. In fact, any pretense of the medieval feel of the first few books is long gone. People chat on cell phones at Starbucks and type on their laptops.

The villain in this novel is pathetic and it is not really explained why he has suddenly evolved into this super magical being. The last 2/3rds of the book are just repetitious, as the gang sets up a plan to catch him and he foils it. Repeat. Again. And there really is no reason why it should take this long to catch him. (And Robert? Jody? The last Lord of the Rings movie came out two years ago. Let's move on. Please.)

On the plus side, the characters are starting to seem more like the ones I remember reading a decade ago. However, this is the first Myth book that I haven't actually bought. Since the quality has varied so much over the last few installments, I thought it best to get it out of the library. I think I'm going to keep that up for a while.

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