Dark Star: A Novel

Book Description

Paris, Moscow, Berlin, and Prague, 1937. In the back alleys of nighttime Europe, war is already under way. André Szara, survivor of the Polish pogroms and the Russian civil wars and a foreign correspondent for Pravda, is co-opted by the NKVD, the Soviet secret intelligence service, and becomes a full-time spymaster in Paris. As deputy director of a Paris network, Szara finds his own star rising when he recruits an agent in Berlin who can supply crucial information. Dark Star captures not only the intrigue and danger of clandestine life but the day-to-day reality of what Soviet operatives call special work.

Customer Reviews:

Affected me like few books have..........2007-07-09

I'd give more stars if I could! As I read this masterful book, I wanted to scream at all the bad history teachers and ridiculous espionage writers we've had to suffer through. Glitzy James Bond places like Monte Carlo aren't the stuff of Alan Furst -- his characters are more likely to be found in decrepit hotels, barns, and always, it seems, in darkness. When I try to imagine what a film version of a Furst novel would look like, it's always in black and white. (Too many viewings of The Third Man in my formative years, I've been told.)

The creeping sense of dread in Europe that Furst so ably conveys in this book actually made me put it down for a few days at a time at many points in the story. And, as he always does, I've since learned, he made me terribly anxious over the fate of the characters, who always seem too much like "regular guys" to have any hope of prevailing against the sinister forces of Hitler, Stalin, and centuries-old traditions of hate that recent history in the Balkans and elsewhere show to be lurking nearer than we like to think.

I've learned far more about what it felt like to be in Europe leading up to and during the war my father fought in from Furst than from anything else. This was my first Furst, and I've gone on to devour "The Polish Officer," "Night Soldiers," and "Kingdom of Shadows." Along with "Spy Who Came In From The Cold" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" by LeCarre, who shone his light on the Cold War, "Dark Star" is absolutely on my desert island list.

Now if only someone had told me the proper order to read Furst's books in! Sigh...

Alan Furst is outstanding - again!.......2007-03-12

Alan Furst is one of the best writers of suspense/thrillers that I have ever encountered. I don't know how he does it, but Furst pours more atmosphere, emotion, and drama into each page than any other author. While other authors are adept at telling an interesting story, Furst is able to draw you into the story until you find yourself immersed in it. This is fourth of Furst's novels I have read, and each one has been a gem. If you enjoy espionage/suspense/thrillers or WWII-based fiction, you will be thrilled with Dark Star.

excellent writing.......2006-12-25

"Dark Star" is an account of a Russian journalist/intelligence agent. It takes place in Europe during the years 1937-1940; it could be placed in both the historical fiction and the espionage genres. It is a well written example of both genres, and often the writing is so good, it holds its own against any fine literary work. The difference between an N.K.V.D. agent in those years and a Le Carre agent is that the Russian agent was in much greater danger, not from foreign intelligence services, but from purges and factional in-fighting. "Dark Star" brilliantly gets into the minds of those whose life expectancy is short. Furst is also very good at portraying love affairs, although I found the scene at the end in which Szara looks into his lover's car and sees the "eyes of the predator", too abrupt a change in how we view the woman. In general, the plot took priority over the writing in the last chapters, and it took me a while to warm to the book at the outset.

Incomplete.......2006-08-13

This is probably the third book I have read by Alan Furst. This one was particularly hard to follow . His main character always seems to have a life changing love interest but this time there is more than one and they seem to change for no apparent reason.
It was entertaining but after the third novel it's clear that he follows the same formula every time and he is becoming predictable

A heavy, ponderous work.......2006-07-25

This story was ponderous and tedious. A complicated story line, which caused difficulty in understanding what was going on. If you don't already have a strong historical knowledge for this time period and place, you may have difficulty understanding the names, events, places, etc. I gave up on it after only going about 1/3 through it. Just not worth the effort.

Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Marvelous period thriller
In Spite of It and Myself...
There are better historical mysteries.
Issac Newton the Sleuth
Interesting...but had some shortcomings

Dark Matter: The Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton: A Novel
Philip Kerr
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Historical | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Mystery | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1400049490
Release Date: 2003-10-28

Book Description

In 1696, Christopher Ellis, a young, hot-tempered gentleman, is sent to the Tower of London, but not as a prisoner. A sudden twist of fate has led him there to assist the renowned scientist Sir Isaac Newton, who as Warden of the Royal Mint has accepted an appointment to hunt down counterfeiters who threaten to topple the shaky, war-weakened economy. Armed with Newton’s superior intellect and Ellis’s skill with a sword, the new partners seem primed to solve the case. But when their investigation leads them to a mysterious coded message on a corpse hidden in the Lion Tower, they realize that something more sinister is afoot. In the heat of their pursuit, Newton and Ellis’s suspicions become all too real as the body count rises and the duo uncovers a menacing far-reaching plot that might lead to the collapse of the government—and cost them their very lives. An extraordinary, suspense-filled, and richly satisfying tale, Dark Matter is an engrossing mystery infused with the volatile mix of politics, science, and religion that characterized life in seventeenth-century London.

Customer Reviews:

Marvelous period thriller.......2007-08-06

I borrowed this audio book from the library, assuming it without really even checking the cover was some kind of a biography of Newton. When I realized it was actually a Sherlock Holmes / Watson type detective thriller, I was initially disappointed and planned to return forthwith, since I'm not really into fiction for the time being. But, I had listened to just enough to make me curious about what was going to happen next, and before I new it, I was hooked. I'm glad in retrospect that I gave this book a chance, because it turned out to be thoroughly entertaining, through and through. Written from the point of view of Newton's assistant at the mint, Christopher Ellis, and superbly narrated by John Lee, this book is worth listening to just for the wonderful usage of the English as it was spoken at the time. When it comes to good writing, this is what I'm talking about. The descriptions of the strumpets, jades, whores, wenches etc. is titillating and a bit shocking. The cruelty of the punishments dished out to the victims of the justice system in that day are horrifying, yet appealing to that part of all of us which lurks beneath the intellect. The love affair between Newton's niece and Ellis handled beautifully, and the culmination of their infatuation is graphically and entertainingly described. Along with the gruesome murders, and action sequences, this book actually delivers a bucket full of sex and violence. Still, the nicely developed plot and the elevated use language makes this book an extremely satisfying read - or I should "listen" in my case. Which leads me to John Lee, whose rendition is about as good as it gets. I agree, though, with a reviewer who stated that the sex and violence need not have been so thoroughly described. It seems a contradiction that such a well-researched and written book should delve so often and so descriptively into the baser matters. It's actually kind of shocking. Toward the end, there emerge some parallels to the DaVinci Code, and the Ellis's questions and speculations in that area eloquent and pleasing. This book is certainly infinitely better written than the DaVinci code. Having read the reviews, I think I'll have to look into Kerr's noir trilogy. I'm quite certain based on this novel that they, too, will prove to be eminently worthwhile.

In Spite of It and Myself..........2006-09-19

...I liked it. Is it the definitive biography of Newton? Well, no, but if that's what you're looking for, why would you read a novel? It is, I think, a good stab at making a living character of Newton--which is saying something considering the pains Newton took to hide just about every personal detail of his life.

The murder mystery/forensics aspect seems to me just the stage dressing behind the portrayals of the characters. Newton and his spunk-bucket niece Catherine are the most fully delineated, followed by pretty nearly everyone else, followed by the narrator, Christopher Ellis. Ellis is the most one-dimensional character, perhaps because he's the only one Kerr had to create without the springboard of reality. (There was a real Christopher Ellis, but apparently almost nothing is known about him.)

As to the writing itself, Kerr does pretty well at keeping the flavor of seventeenth-century English without making the text impossible to wade through, and throws in a few clever allusions along the way. My only beef is that he uses whole quotes by and about Newton without paraphrasing. That comes across as jolting and stilted; it would have been better had Kerr springboarded off them as well, working them into his own writing style and keeping them fresh.

I know this sounds like a lukewarm review, but I really did like the book! It's winning and curiously entertaining. Not a heavyweight, but diverting, and besides there's plenty of ponderous stuff about Newton out there. Let your hair down, relax, and enjoy it.

There are better historical mysteries........2005-04-06

In spite of the length of the book, it did read quickly, probably because I did a lot of skimming. Kerr's detail of the period is fascinating and well researched, but the characters of Ellis and Newton seemed a parody of Watson and Holmes and lacked any real depth. Even though you were aware the author was trying to make the dialogue appropriate to the period, it came off stilted and awkward. There were descriptive sex scenes which seemed gratuitous. As one who enjoys historical mysteries, there are many better choices than this.

Issac Newton the Sleuth.......2004-06-22

London at the turn of the century, 17th, that is, is a place of intrigue and mystery. Will the recoinage fail and cause England to be destroyed by France and the Catholics? The mystery is deepened with each new murder, but, is Issas Newton, and his faithful sidekick, up to solving the case? Read on, and learn. This book was a little tedious, but it had its moments.

Interesting...but had some shortcomings.......2004-06-19

The book, Dark Matter: The Privet Life of Sir. Isaac Newton was a very interesting book. I read through the first 250 odd pages with excitement and enjoyment. However, once the book reached page 300, it felt like the author realized he had to finish it and then quickly tied up all the lose ends almost to neatly. My other main problem with the book is something, which I encounter with the vast majority of modern fiction, and that is sex. There seems to be this idea that a book must have at least one scene during which people must engage in the act, now I understand that on occasion this is important to the plot or the character development, however, must we actually be subjected to a detailed analysis of the actions preformed? This book would have been better, and the characters as well developed had we not been 'privileged' to their sexual activities. Still on the whole, it was an enjoyable book, with strong characters, and an interesting plot.

Average customer rating:

true to life
The Speed of Dark
A fascinating insight into autism, and an analysis on what it means to be "me"
Great reading
Five Star

The Speed of Dark
Elizabeth Moon
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0345447557
Release Date: 2003-01-01

Amazon.com

Corporate life in early 21st-century America is even more ruthless than it was at the turn of the millennium. Lou Arrendale, well compensated for his remarkable pattern-recognition skills, enjoys his job and expects never to lose it. But he has a new boss, a man who thinks Lou and the others in his building are a liability. Lou and his coworkers are autistic. And the new boss is going to fire Lou and all his coworkers--unless they agree to undergo an experimental new procedure to "cure" them.

In The Speed of Dark, Elizabeth Moon has created a powerful, complex, and believable portrayal of a man who varies radically from what is defined as "normal." The author insightfully explores the nature of "normality," identity, choice, responsibility, free will, illness and health, and good and evil. The Speed of Dark is a powerful, moving, illuminating novel in the tradition of Flowers for Algernon, Forrest Gump, and Rain Man . --Cynthia Ward

Book Description

In the near future, disease will be a condition of the past. Most genetic defects will be removed at birth; the remaining during infancy. Unfortunately, there will be a generation left behind. For members of that missed generation, small advances will be made. Through various programs, they will be taught to get along in the world despite their differences. They will be made active and contributing members of society. But they will never be normal.

Lou Arrendale is a member of that lost generation, born at the wrong time to reap the awards of medical science. Part of a small group of high-functioning autistic adults, he has a steady job with a pharmaceutical company, a car, friends, and a passion for fencing. Aside from his annual visits to his counselor, he lives a low-key, independent life. He has learned to shake hands and make eye contact. He has taught himself to use “please” and “thank you” and other conventions of conversation because he knows it makes others comfortable. He does his best to be as normal as possible and not to draw attention to himself.

But then his quiet life comes under attack. It starts with an experimental treatment that will reverse the effects of autism in adults. With this treatment Lou would think and act and be just like everyone else. But if he was suddenly free of autism, would he still be himself? Would he still love the same classical music–with its complications and resolutions? Would he still see the same colors and patterns in the world–shades and hues that others cannot see? Most importantly, would he still love Marjory, a woman who may never be able to reciprocate his feelings? Would it be easier for her to return the love of a “normal”?

There are intense pressures coming from the world around him–including an angry supervisor who wants to cut costs by sacrificing the supports necessary to employ autistic workers. Perhaps even more disturbing are the barrage of questions within himself. For Lou must decide if he should submit to a surgery that might completely change the way he views the world . . . and the very essence of who he is.

Thoughtful, provocative, poignant, unforgettable, The Speed of Dark is a gripping exploration into the mind of an autistic person as he struggles with profound questions of humanity and matters of the heart.

Customer Reviews:

true to life.......2007-10-05

Started this book last night and am already halfway through, it is so engaging and well written. One thing that the other reviewers have not mentioned is that the author's son is mostly likely autistic. I surmised that from the dedication and acknowledgements pages. Although the only people who really understand autism are autistics themselves, I'd say that Moon has a special insight based on her personal experience and no doubt wide knowledge of it. Add that to her great writing and you've got a great read.
I work in the mental health field and plan to recommend it to all my coworkers.

The Speed of Dark.......2007-09-28

This was a great book. We read it for our Book Club and it promoted a lot of discussion. The book did have a torn page in it.

A fascinating insight into autism, and an analysis on what it means to be "me".......2007-09-03

Lou Arrandale is autistic, but one that can usually function in "normal" society. When a new (experimental) therapy is developed, in which the brain is tricked into creating new neural pathways to replace/substitute for the damaged ones that lead to autism, Lou is left with a dilemma. Should he take the treatment? Will it fundamentally alter who he is? Will it work well enough that he can function as a "normal" person? Will the treatment cost him his abilities at mathematical pattern analysis (something autistics do better than non-autistics), and therefore his current job?

The strength of Moon's book is that she focuses on the second question: will changing an autistic person from "disabled" to "normal" cause a fundamental change in who he is? The fact that "Speed of Dark" is (mostly) written in the first person is key: we enter the mind of the autistic main character so we learn to care about him like a friend, and would not have him risk irretrievably changing himself for the nebulous promise of becoming more normal in an experimental treatment. We are also introduced to Lou's world of fellow autistics (who work in his pattern-analysis section at the Company) and his fencing group of normals. Again, the first-person writing style is key in illuminating Lou's world and giving us an idea of how the autistic mind works. Having met few autistics in my time, I cannot vouch for the veracity of the portrayal of autism - I do know that they have difficulty picking up social signals and take things strictly literally - but the details Moon brings seem genuine and it's a fascinating look into the autistic mind.

The details of the plot are not as important as the portrait of the main character. A junior vice-president in Lou's Company tries to bully the autistic section into taking the experimental treatment as the first cohort of human volunteers. Meanwhile, Lou's extra-curricular activities include fencing every Wednesday night, and he attends his first tournament. He also loves a "normal" woman in that group, arousing the jealousy of a rival suitor. Unusually, for a science fiction novel, Lou is a regular church-goer, and Moon very effectively uses a homily by Lou's priest as an example of the literal-mindedness of autistics. In the most interesting passages of the book, Lou's car is vandalised twice in one week (coincidence??), and Lou is removed from his comfort zone in having to deal with the police and insurance company.

This book won the Nebula Award (voted on by the members of the Science Fiction Writers Association) for best novel. It is very nearly a 5-star story, one that will inevitably draw comparisons to the old classic "Flowers for Algernon". Unfortunately, it just doesn't pack the emotional punch of "Algernon", and "Speed of Dark" is also marred by a common sci fi problem - Moon has set up a very compelling problem and characters, but then she doesn't quite know how to wrap up the story satisfactorily. It is not as bad in this book as in, say, "Darwin's Radio" (Greg Bear) or "Andromeda Strain" (Michael Crichton), but it is enough to lower the rating to 4 stars, in my opinion. Still, it's a very interesting book (and a good read!) and I recommend it highly.

Great reading.......2007-08-27

Absolutely loved this book from the first page to the last. Read it while vacationing in the Bahamas, it was the perfect remedy for flight delays and long waits.

I had also read and enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Haddon, which is a similar novel in that it is first person from an autistic viewpoint. I much prefer this one, though to be fair no one is demanding a comparison. I came to know and appreciate the characters here, the dialogue was not contrived, it felt natural. I loved the simple observations of the world from Lou's perspective, and the calming effect that structured music can have.

It made me think how so many of my own thoughts and feelings could be considered borderline autistic at times, or rather be similar to what an autistic person thinks or feels. I also felt for the boss as he struggled with his good intentions, but never truly understood where Lou and the others were coming from. I identified with him, how often do I apply my own rules/views to other people's problems?

Moon is a seasoned and expert novelist, the descriptions and dialogue flow naturally. I also enjoyed the brief introduction to fencing, and appreciate learning about it through the plot devices, not in a flooded rush like Tom Clancy explaining how nuclear weapons work. A favorite part were the restaurant servers, referred to literally by their name tags "Hi my name is X". Now every time I see one of those tags, I need to word it out in my head...

One final note, though labeled "science fiction" it really is not what most would consider sci-fi. It takes place in what seems to be the not too distant future, but that is only as a plot device. The same novel could just as easily have been written to take place in 2007 with some minor changes.

Five Star.......2007-06-27

Lou is an autistic living in the near future as a computer analyst. The story revolves around his perspectives and dealings with "normal" people.
He functions well due to a supportive environment and adaptation of the workplace to his needs. His workplace is disrupted by a new CEO that wants him to undertake a experimental drug treatment so that he can be like "other people".

I also agree that the ending was very weak.

Well told story from the Autistic world view, I could relate to his difficulties and his triumphs despite others "expectations".

Average customer rating:

Moving, eloquent memoire about recent history
Death in Derry
Reading in the Dark
Like a Poignant Memoir
(...)

Reading in the Dark: a novel
Seamus Deane
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0394574400
Release Date: 1997-04-07

Amazon.com

The Derry of poet Seamus Deane's first novel, Reading in the Dark is a perilous place. Ghosts haunt the stairwells of apartment buildings, a curse follows two families down through the generations, close friends turn out to be police informers, and the police are as likely to persecute an innocent man as protect him. And hovering over all the violence, poverty, and despair of 1940s Northern Ireland is the specter of the "Troubles." The hero of the novel is an unnamed young man whose life turns upside down when a policeman frames him. Deception becomes his only means of self-defense. But the initial lie on the part of the policeman and the narrator's corresponding trickery are only part of the tangled web Deane weaves here. Early in the novel we learn that Uncle Eddie, an Irish Republican Army gunman, was blown up in the town distillery in 1922. In addition to sorting out his own problems, the narrator seeks the truth about his uncle's death.

Reading in the Dark sounds grim, and in some respects it is, yet leavening is provided by infusions of the Irish folktales and legends that inform the characters' daily life. And then there is the language. Deane is a poet, and his prose shows it: sex is like fire, "glinting with greed and danger"; ice snores and candles are swathed in a "thick drapery of wax." Readers looking for a thoughtful, serious, and beautifully written novel will find one in Reading in the Dark.

Book Description

"A swift and masterful transformation of family griefs and political violence into something at once rhapsodic and heartbreaking. If Issac Babel had been born in Derry, he might have written this sudden, brilliant book."
--Seamus Heaney

Already hugely acclaimed in Great Britain, where it was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize and short-listed for the Booker, Seamus Deane's first novel is a mesmerizing story of childhood set against the violence of Northern Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s.

The boy narrator grows up haunted by a truth he both wants and does not want to discover. The matter: a deadly betrayal, unspoken and unspeakable, born of political enmity. As the boy listens through the silence that surrounds him, the truth spreads like a stain until it engulfs him and his family. And as he listens, and watches, the world of legend--the stone fort of Grianan, home of the warrior Fianna; the Field of the Disappeared, over which no gulls fly--reveals its transfixing reality. Meanwhile the real world of adulthood unfolds its secrets like a collection of folktales: the dead sister walking again; the lost uncle, Eddie, present on every page; the family house "as cunning and articulate as a labyrinth, closely designed, with someone sobbing at the heart of it."

Seamus Deane has created a luminous tale about how childhood fear turns into fantasy and fantasy turns into fact. Breathtakingly sad but vibrant and unforgettable, Reading in the Dark is one of the finest books about growing up--in Ireland or anywhere--that has ever been written.

Customer Reviews:

Moving, eloquent memoire about recent history.......2007-05-20

Seamus Deane is a great writer. His use of language, imagery and his technique for telling the story of his early life in Northern Island in the 40's and 50's is compelling. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in family lore, the power of memory, and the experiences of childhood that shape our lives.

Death in Derry.......2006-09-01

Death? This is surely a novel about its opposite: growing up, albeit in the politically divided environment of Londonderry, Northern Ireland, after WW2. It is about life, lived under the shadow of violence perhaps, but not in the midst of it. Its unnamed hero, presumably based on the author himself, ultimately achieves academic success and independence. Yet even so, the book is haunted by death. It begins with a ghost, continues with the passing of several family members, and ends with the demise of the hero's father. But the novel is also haunted by less ordinary ghosts: men in the nineteen-twenties who died in the Republican cause, or who were executed, or who ordered the deaths of others. The way in which the young hero, a generation later, gradually becomes aware of these events, unravels their mysteries, and realizes their devastating legacy to the members of his own family, forms the central narrative of the book.

I would not say that this element is entirely successful. It is difficult at first to grasp the various relationships in this large extended family. Then, as the details become clear, they hardly seem the momentous revelations that the author intends, perhaps because he has difficulty making them impact the choices and events in the present-day story. For the most part, the book is about shame, secrets, resentment, and depression, as opposed to things that actually happen.

But the book is also a memoir of an Irish boyhood. Although it may not add much to others of the genre, it does have the ring of first-hand experience, especially the scenes in the Catholic classroom. But there is very little that locates this experience in the specific setting of a Catholic enclave within mainly-Protestant Northern Ireland. One thing that does, however, is the portrayal of the relationship of mutual mistrust between the community and the police. Some of the chapters describing actual encounters with the police fail to convince, but a mere page describing how the death of a boy in a vehicle accident gets transformed by sectarian myth into yet another instance of police brutality gets it exactly right. Indeed, some of the most memorable sections do not deal with fact at all, but with stories of the supernatural, half-believed but still powerful.

I bought the book at the suggestion of an Amazon friend who knew I was also from Northern Ireland and an approximate contemporary of the author. But I am not sure that this helps. Having been raised on the other (protestant) side of the sectarian divide, Deane's book seems almost as foreign to me as though, as a white American, I were reading Toni Morrison (as, indeed, I have just been doing). But I do know the country, and still have the language in my ear. Deane's writing is poetic but not always actualized; there is little that specifically recalls the landscape of Derry and Donegal. Although odd phrases come through with their cadence intact, for the most part the dialogue is serviceable but generic. It is also strange to see the author describing things through the eyes of a child, while writing in the manner of a mature and sophisticated poet. I get the impression that Deane has gone too far from his childhood and his birthplace to be able to recapture it with the intensity he once felt. A pity.

Reading in the Dark.......2004-04-01

Brett Mulvaney

Recently, I just finished reading the book Reading in the Dark, a novel by Seamus Deane. What I understand from this book is that the boy narrator is having a tough time growing up in Northern Ireland, haunted by the truth of his family. Some things he wants to believe and the rest he doesn't want to. I did not particularly care for this book because of how hard it is for me to follow. Other than the constant jumping around from different scenes and scenarios, it is a good book as far as the context is concerned.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in Irish history, what people live like around that time. Another thing that might interest people would be how parents discipline their kids when they got in trouble. Also people who like books that jump around so much that it is hard for people like me to follow might enjoy the challenge.

Like a Poignant Memoir.......2002-02-15

This beautiful book reads more like a poignant and heartbreaking memoir than a novel. It's difficult to believe the incidents described are really fiction and not the author's reality...they are described so well and in just the right detail.

Reading in the Dark is a story of ghosts, of legends, and most of all, of secrets...Irish secrets. The narrator, whose name we never learn, struggles to unravel the truth of those secrets and as he does, he learns what it really means to grow up in Northern Ireland, surrounded by the shadows of political turmoil.

Although I really didn't identify with any of the characters in this book, I found them very engrossing and came to care about them deeply. Some of the characters are quite well-fleshed out while others remain only fragments of the author's imagination. Most make only brief appearances in the novel, although one, Liam, shares the spotlight with the unnamed narrator.

Reading in the Dark is a different sort of coming-of-age story. It is beautiful, lyrical, brutal and truly unforgettable. And truly the work of an Irish mind.

(...).......2001-11-28

Reading in The Dark
By: Seamus Deane

This is a young adult fiction novel.

This Book takes place back in the 1940's and finishes in the early 1970's. Takes place at a kid's house where he grows up.

This book is much better than other books that I have read of the similar nature. The author uses complex characters and scenes to describe where and what is taking place. I enjoyed reading this book but I don't think that I will read anything else by this author because his writing style was not impressing to me as it might have been to other people. I have never read a book that went into so much detail about little things. This book was better than many books about its size of 250 pages.

This book was written in a vignette format telling short stories about different people, places, and objects. I find it quite hard to follow along to a book written in this format. My favorite character was Toner; he gave hard insight onto what was occurring and was not afraid to speak his mind and knew what he was talking about and I am that way as well. "Jesus that was good," said Toner as the lights went up "I knew it was him all the time."
This is a good book for someone that is wanting to experience and challenge in literary excellence as a teen or a younger adult. If you don't think that you can handle it I would read down a level but do read this book sometime in your life. I sure am glad I did.

Book Description

A debut novel that retells the history of twentieth-century Germany through the experiences of three ordinary Germans.

Helmut: A boy born with a physical deformity finds work as a photographer’s assistant during the 1930s and captures on film the changing temper of Berlin, the city he loves. But his acute photographic eye never provides him with the power to understand the significance of what he sees through his camera. . . . Lore: In the weeks following Germany’s surrender, a teenage girl whose parents are both in Allied captivity takes her younger siblings on a terrifying, illegal journey through the four zones of occupation in search of her grandmother. . . . Micha: Many years after the war, a young man trying to discover why the Russians imprisoned his grandfather for nine years after the war meets resistance at every turn; the only person who agrees, reluctantly, to help him is compromised by his own past.

The Dark Room evokes the experiences of the individual with astonishing emotional depth and psychological authenticity. With dazzling originality and to profound effect, Rachel Seiffert has re-envisioned and illuminated signal moments of the twentieth century in all their drama and complexity.

Customer Reviews:

maximal effect by a minimal use of words.......2005-03-01

This book excellently deals with the loser's side of European world war 2. Back in 1945 Germany was at its 'Stunde Null' (= zero hour): a terrible war lost, a country devastated, its eastern provinces annexed by Poland and Russia, and nearly all its young males killed. A country left with countless homeless people, countless refugees, and, above all, a towering guilt resulting from all horrendous Nazi-crimes.

Given the way Adolf Hitler behaved in the countries he conquered, it's not surprising that the world wasn't interested in the whereabouts of the Germans after the war. But by now, half a century later, we see curiosity taking over: how did the Germans manage in those terrible times? How do German children and grandchildren deal with the very black moral inheritance from their parents and grandparents? And that's where Rachel Seiffert comes in.

Her sparse, economic use of words reflects the total absence of luxury at 'Stunde Null'. Seiffert surely is a master in getting a maximal effect by using a minimum of words. Her skill comes out impressively in 'Micha', the last story of 'The Dark Room'. Its flashback to White Russia's world war 2-past makes a breathtaking read.

Memories of war - simply told.......2003-11-05

War. How does it affect our lives? How much damage does it do to the human soul? And, can this damage be ever repaired? Rachel Seiffert's debut novel, The Dark Room, deals with these issues about Nazi Germany, curiously, from a German point of view. Curiously, because most of us are so used to reading, seeing and accepting British and American points of view to World War II that we often overlook the other side of the story - the pains of the German people in Nazi Germany, and thereafter. And curiously, because The Dark Room doesn't give the usual soldier's point of view, nor a political one, but describes the lives and trials of ordinary people like you and me.

The Dark Room tells three stories. The first is about Helmut who grew up with a physical deformity, keeping him away from an active life and the war. He champions this by chronicling the advent of the war - and the war itself - through numbers and photographs, only to be left hollow and abandoned when the Allies strike Berlin. The second story is about an adolescent girl, Lore, who has to take on the responsibility of her younger brothers and sister when her parents are arrested by the Allied army. She journeys across Germany with the younger children in search of her grandmother in Hamburg, picking up a friend and losing a brother on the way. A responsibility she accomplishes like an adult, but one that leaves a scar in her life forever. The third story is about a schoolteacher, Micha, in present-day Germany, who is obsessed with his grandfather's Nazi past. Micha is unable to absolve himself from guilt for his grandfather's suspected crimes during the war, and he pursues his search for truth, at the cost of unhappiness in others, till it exorcises him in the end.

The Dark Room is about the effects of war - even after reconstruction. It's about relationships and responsibilities. It's about personal grief, challenges and new beginnings. And, who wouldn't want to read about that!

A national portrait.......2003-03-27

Seiffert's three novellas are bound together not by characters or plot or even theme. Together they paint a picture of a Germany most of us do not know. Unlike Goldhagen's work examining the culpability of ordinary Germans during World War II, Seiffert focuses on the truly innocent: children. Her stories cover the last half of the 20th century, the first one set during the war, the second one in the immediate aftermath of the war, the final story taking place near the end of the century. What the stories share is a focus on those who were truly ignorant of the monstrosities perpetrated by the Nazis. In the first story, Helmut never does learn what his country has been doing. Left behind because of a birth defect while other young men join the military, Helmut becomes an amateur historian of the famous on-time German trains and a gradually more accomplished photographer. While his photographs begin to record life in Berlin at the end of a lost war, in a symbolic sense, Helmut never leaves the dark room in which he develops those photos and never comes to any awareness of what has happened. We can only imagine what his awakening after the war will do to him.

In the second novella, Lore, the eldest daughter of Nazi parents, leads her younger siblings on a harrowing journey across post-War Germany to her grandmother's and eventually to the awful awakening that Helmut never experiences. Both of these first two stories are well told, and, as so many other reviewers have said, it is Seiffert's subtlety and restraint that make them effective. However, both seem familiar. Helmut's tale is reminiscent of Grass's "The Tin Drum" and Lore's story echoes so many other similar tales of dangerous journeys through a war-torn Europe. In actuality, Lore's journey is not particularly dangerous. This is not a tale of a Jewish family desperately seeking to avoid those who would exterminate them; the youngsters are resilient, but have comparatively little trouble finding the assistance they need to reach safe haven. The story takes a long time to develop to a powerful conclusion when Lore finally learns the awful truth about her country.

And then there is the final novella--the story of Micha. And it is in this final tale that Seiffert has written a work worth remembering and rereading. Micha is the grandson of a beloved, now departed Waffen SS soldier, a grandson who finds he must learn more about what his grandfather did during the war. Late in the book, Micha speaks to an old Russian man who confesses to having participated in the genocide. The old man says he does not feel sorry and does not feel he has been punished. He is trying to articulate the ineffable: how can someone who participated in such events ever feel truly human again? More problematic is how can someone, like Micha, who loved a man who might have been a murderer, learn to deal with that awful truth? In Micha's plight, we can see the damage done by the German genocide even two generations later. As others have pointed out, Micha is not easy to like or care about, and his difficult situation doesn't rival that of Jewish descendants of Holocaust victims and survivors. But trapped as he is in the dark room of post-Holocaust Germany, Micha represents an entire people who must somehow learn to deal with the awful legacy bequeathed them not just by monsters like Hitler and Himmler, but by beloved Omas and Opas. This third novella is shattering to read and is connected to the earlier two as a capstone. In all honesty, however, it isn't necessary to read the first two novellas to fully appreciate the art and the power of the third one. Micha's story is a complex and powerful accomplishment of great note.

Amazing!.......2002-11-08

In The Dark Room, Rachel Seiffert writes a moving novel about three Germans who feel the pain of the war at different times. One is about a young boy named Helmut, a photogapher's assistant during the 1930s. He cannot grasp the meaning of the events he sees in his pictures and only understands his photography. In another tale, Lore, a girl whose father and mother are captured by the Germans, is forced to make a quick transition to adulthood. She must take her 4 siblings illegaly to her Oma(grandmother). Along the way they must endure many harships, and meet a friend to help them through. The final tale is about a man named Micha who lives many years after the war. He tries to find out why his Opa(grandfather) was imprisoned for nine years by the Russians. He goes on a journey, making his family and loved ones angry in the process. He is still affected by the war, a time in which he never lived, many years later. My words cannot display the power of this book and if you read it, you will understand. I recommend that you read this superb novel that will show you the side of the war which is seldom seen.

top ten of past year.......2002-08-26

Perhaps this book is mismarketed as a novel. Yet, this book--really three novellas loosely connected by the events of WWII--is one of the best I've read in a long, long time. The characters are compelling (especially Lore in the second section), the plots are trustworthy without being predictable (even though we think we know the story of WWII), and the language is rich throughout (especially in the first two sections). I continue to remember the three stories, each revealing a different truth and legacy for us as readers who look back fifty-plus years to understand WWII. One need not be interested in history, however, to appreciate this amazing literary debut. The paperback edition appears in October, and I'll be purchasing copies for holiday gifts.

Average customer rating:

Another good anthology
Caution for the ebook edition
Better than the first Dark Matters book!
Speculative fiction...
Some very thrilling prose

Dark Matter: Reading the Bones
Sheree R. Thomas
Manufacturer: Aspect
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Short Stories | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Space Opera | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0446693774

Book Description

DESCRIPTION: This sequel to the award-winning Dark Matter an-thology features another extraordinary collection of speculative fiction by black writers. Like its groundbreaking predecessor, DARK MATTER: Reading the Bones introduces black speculative fiction writers to readers who may not have realized the depth and breadth of these works. This anthology includes original short fiction and previously published works from Charles Johnson, the National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage; Tananarive Due; Walter Mosley; W. E. B. Du Bois; Samuel R. Delany; Nalo Hopkinson; Wanda Coleman; and many more. Containing approximately 30 stories, ranging from the early part of the 20th century through the most cutting-edge work of today, this is a powerful collection that will appeal to the culturally diverse audience of science fiction readers.

Download Description

In the tradition of The Norton Anthology of Black Literature, DARK MATTER: READING THE BONES, like its ground-breaking predecessor, will introduce black SF, fantasy, and speculative fiction writers to those who have not yet realized the depth and breadth of their work—or even, in some cases, that it exists. Including original short fiction and nonfiction as well as previously published works and essays, DARK MATTER will contain approximately 30 stories from the early part of the century through the most cutting-edge work of today.
Contributors to this new volume include Charles Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage; Tananarive Due; Walter Mosley, W.E.B. Du Bois; Samuel R. Delany; Nalo Hopkinson; and many more.

Customer Reviews:

Another good anthology.......2005-07-17

Just like the first anthology, this book introduces one to Black authors who you might not have known before and also you might read new stories from authors you do know.

Caution for the ebook edition.......2004-12-20

Here I am, a computer analyst and it took me two days to "get" my copy of this book! The documentation should mention that you must have the latest version of Adobe Reader for your desktop, even if you plan to transfer the book to your Palm. I run Win98 at home, so I can't download the latest version of Adobe desktop there. I can run the latest version of the Palm version, but you can't transfer the book to the Palm without the desktop version. I ended up having to download the book at work; and I don't like putting personal files on my work machine. As yet, I haven't discovered if I will be able to move the downloaded pdf file to my home machine. The documentation makes it sound like I can only use it on 1 machine.

Better than the first Dark Matters book!.......2004-11-30

I am a big fan of the first Dark Matter anthology and was anxious to see how this volume would compare. Much to my surprise I found this second installment more enjoyable than the first.

Anthologies are ususally pretty hit-or-miss but I found myself enjoying many of the stories included here. My favorites being Nalo Hopkinson's "The Glass Bottle Trick," Kiini Ibura Salaam's "Desire," Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's comical "The Magical Negro," Tanarive Due's werewolf tale "Aftermoon," Wanda Coleman's "Buying Primo Time," and Douglas Kearney's hilarious "Anansi Meets Peter Parker at Taco Bell."

There were a few dogs in the bunch, the three stories that appear last in the anthology: "Maggies," "Mindscape," and "Trance" varied from too dull to too convoluted causing the collection to lose steam towards the end.

I skipped the three essays included at the end of this anthology. Perhaps it would have been more fitting to include them at the beginning along with the editor's introduction. Tacking it onto the end seemed pretty anti-climatic after reading all these intriguing stories.

Speculative fiction..........2004-01-17

Sheree R. Thomas' first compilation, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction From the African American Diaspora, received critical acclaim for its quality and historical value. Her second collection is due similar accolades.

DARK MATTER: READING THE BONES is speculative fiction from multiple vantage points. With contributors ranging from W.E.B. DuBois to Charles Johnson to Nalo Hopkinson, this collection brings forth an opportunity for many different stories to be told and many voices to be heard. DARK MATTER: READING THE BONES is a mystical journey that is somewhat sequential in its presentation; the stories of the Middle Passage are placed at the beginning, and the tales of future worlds are placed near the end. The result is a time travel experience sort of like that depicted in the final story, "Trance" by Kalamu ya Salaam, where the reader only has to flip back a few pages to recount history or flip forward to get a glimpse of the future.

There honestly was not one story in the entire compilation that I could say I disliked, but there are some favorites that I feel I must mention by name. Pam Noles' "The Whipping Boy" was heartwrenching. Walter Mosley's "Whispers in the Dark" was thoughtful and amazing. John Cooley's "The Binary" was adventurous and exciting. Charles R. Saunders' "Yahimba's Choice" was heartbreaking and poignant. I could go on and on. This is a book I would suggest every science fiction, fantasy, or horror lover read as soon as they can.

Reviewed by CandaceK
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Some very thrilling prose.......2004-01-13

Ok...so some of the essays lean to the lame side; but the fiction is generally taut and riveting. General readers will find some interesting new world views while African-American readers will find many familiar themes. Among the best:

Pam Noles' "Whipping boy"
Dubois' "Jesus Christ in Texas"
Walter Moseley's "Whispers in the Dark"
Tananarive Due's "Afternoon" and
Samuel R. Delaney's "Corona"

Average customer rating:

Not so good

Unhappy with this one.

Interesting and dark

Light and Dark

extraordinary, mesmerising novel

In a Dark Wood: A Novel
Amanda Craig
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Love in Idleness

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

ASIN: 038572117X
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Book Description

Thirty-nine, recently divorced, jobless, Benedick Hunter is an actor heading in the exact opposite direction of happily ever after: everything from spending time with his own children to the prospect of dating brings him down. So when he comes across a children's book his mother Laura wrote, he decides that her life and work--haunting stories replete with sinister woods and wicked witches and brave girls who battle giants--hold the key to figuring out why his own life is such a mess.

Setting out to find out why Laura killed herself when he was six, Benedick travels from his native England to the U.S. in search of her friends and his own long-lost relatives. As he grows obsessed with Laura's books and their veiled references to reality Benedick enters into a dark wood–a dark wood that is both hilariously real and terrifyingly psychological. It is then that his story becomes an exploration not only of his mother's genius but also of the nature of depression, and of the healing power of storytelling in our lives.

Download Description

Interspersing the magic of fairy tales with a wry yet touching narrative, Amanda Craig examines the thin line between fantasy and reality, creativity and mental illness.

Benedick Hunter is a recently divorced, out-of-work, thirty-nine-year-old actor. Feeling both guilty and sorry for himself, he blunders through weekends with his two spirited children and fends off various women desperate to snare an eligible man, all the time fearing that he is on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

His life takes on a new direction, however, when he discovers a long-forgotten book of fairy tales his mother wrote and illustrated decades earlier. Drawn to its pages, he becomes entranced by the hints of reality embedded in the stories, from thinly veiled portraits of his own father and his parents' acquaintances to alluring glimpses of his mother as a young woman. Convinced that the stories can explain his mother's suicide when he was six and put an end to his agonizing mood swings, Benedick embarks on a journey to untangle the past, a journey that eventually takes him to the heart of his own nature, modern fatherhood, manic depression, and the elusive character of fairy-tales.

With imagination and incisive wit, Amanda Craig has written a novel that was selected as one of the "best of the year's books" by the The Times of London, which wrote, "Although not frightening enough to give you sleepless nights, Craig's wonderful, page-turning storytelling will keep you up way past your time for bed."

Customer Reviews:

Not so good.......2007-08-10

This book is not so very well written, apart from the fairy tales spaced throughout it. The story is forced, and the psychological development too shallowly described.

Unhappy with this one........2007-07-02

Reading a fairy tale within the pages of a novel just doesn't work for me. Also, the main character was not likeable.I didn't care about anyone in this book and although the author seemed to be using the fairy tale written by the main character's mother as a means to pull the reader in, for me, the method failed and the "mystery" was not very intriguing.

Interesting and dark.......2004-10-10

Benedick Hunter makes for a readable anti-hero in this novel which uses the fairy tale as a detective lens to look for the roots of suicide and madness. The subject matter Craig picks is ripe for overstatement so it is wonderful that she manages to get the tone just right. She stays tight and economical with her language and as a result the images that she does use are striking and well-crafted. The ending is a trifle precious and pat. I understood the point, but acknowledging the illness is only the first step to recovery. Aside from this minor quarrel, In a Dark Wood makes for a fine and moving read.

Light and Dark.......2004-02-12

Benedick Hunter is having what at first appears to be a middle-aged crisis. He's an actor who hasn't had any steady work recently. His wife is divorcing him and he bickers constantly with his pompous father. He finds little joy from taking care of his imaginative, but demanding young children. Benedick lives off from the small amount of royalties from his mother's children's books. After rediscovering one of these collection of fairy tales he begins reading the stories for deeper personal meanings. He's compelled to follow a trail of his mother's old friends who are scattered over Britain and America like a trail of breadcrumbs. The mysteries contained in her subversive fables lead him to his mother's childhood home and the truth about his family that has been hidden from him. Gradually he learns that his alienation from society and erratic behaviour has its roots in a mental illness. But he has to descend into the darkest psychological depths in order to learn how to live with this disorder.

In this beautiful and moving novel, Craig manages to write very convincingly about a man's perspective of the world. Benedick's personal aspirations are clouded by despair in a way that prevents him from also appreciating all the loving people he has in his life. Unfortunately, he has also inherited a lot of pain and bitterness from his mother's life, many of the facts of which have been hidden from him. We are also given many funny details about the cultural differences between America and England. What the author also does so extraordinarily well is show a blend of light and dark in this central character's psychology. He does a number of detestable things. Yet we are given insight into them and understand they are acts of desperation brought about through a mental illness he can`t control. Craig pays tribute to the important and complex work of Angela Carter who was dubbed the Fairy Godmother of British fiction. She does this by insisting that fairy tales have a much deeper meaning than what appears on the surface. The raucous emotions and terrible violence they depict just may be a greater reflection of reality than we care to admit. The psychological demons which hound many people are indeed more terrifying than the creatures who lurk in the dark woods of fairy tales. By blending the story of Benedick's travels with a number of creative fairy tales, Craig gives us a lot of insight into this while producing an enthralling story.

extraordinary, mesmerising novel.......2003-07-07

Having suffered from clinical depression and known others with manic depression, I was hooked by the idea of a novel about it - and amazed to find it not only deeply sensitive to the condition but a great piece of fiction too. What nobody so far has mentioned is that it's very FUNNY. Craig has segued the idea of someone going on an Oedipal quest to discover the truth about himself with the confusion many men feel about their place in a world increasingly dominated by women. I laughed so much at Benedick's attempts to cope with his kids, his failing career as an actor, even his self-pity before being plunged into his heart of darkness. There are so many smart observations, but this is a deep book about our need for stories, and about finding sanity and hope in the midst of despair.

Average customer rating:

"We are becoming more forbidden with each passing day."
The best read in a long time
The Roma Holocaust..........brilliantly told
A Terrific Title & Subject But Needs More Meat On The Fires!
(3.5) Caught in the firestorm of World War II

Fires in the Dark: A Novel
Louise Doughty
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0060571225
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Book Description

His breathing was so slight she could scarcely detect it, even when she lowered her face to his. The smell of him, like new bread, or was it her smell? She could not tell. He and I smell identical, she thought, smiling in the darkness. The barn was softly warm, and the warmth and softness wrapped around mother and child as they curled together in the gloom, breathed together, smelled the same. 'Yenko,' Anna whispered in her son's ear.'Your real name is Yenko.'

It is 1927. In the heart of Central Europe, a son is born to Josef, leader of a nomadic group of Coppersmith Gypsies, and his wife, Anna. For the benefit of most people he is named Emil, but his real name, known only to his mother, is Yenko.

Born in a time of peace and prosperity, Yenko grows up during the Great Depression of the 1930s and is then caught up in the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia and in World War II. Soon he and his family are fugitives. . . . Their flight will end in tragedy for some and miraculous escape for others. . . .

From the inter war years through the drama of the Prague uprising of 1945, Fires in the Dark is a breathtaking novel of epic scope. Louise Doughty has created an authentic and compassionate portrayal of Romany life -- and a celebration of a greatly misunderstood culture, told through the story of one family living in an extraordinary time in history.

Customer Reviews:

"We are becoming more forbidden with each passing day.".......2005-03-15

Set primarily during the turbulent era of the Second World War, FIRES IN THE DARK tells the tale of one innocent family targeted for persecution by the Nazi Germans. Yenko's family of Coppersmith Gypsies have spent generations traveling throughout Central Europe while practicing their trade. Although there has always been a distrust between gypsies and "gadjos", or whites, certainly no one was prepared for what lay ahead for them as gypsies throughout Europe were imprisoned in the horrid conditions of work camps. What follows is an emotional narrative of Yenko and his family during this horrific time.

Throughout the years I have read many accounts, both fiction and non-fiction, of the Holocaust but sadly my exposure to the persecution of gypsies and their specific history during this era was greatly lacking before I read this book. I am now indebted to Louise Doughty for successfully bringing the sorrowing story of Yenko and his family to life and therefore casting light on this under acknowledged population that was oppressed by Hitler and his thugs. Eliminate the unplausible ending and FIRES IN THE DARK would warrant its literary praise.

The best read in a long time.......2005-01-29

This book caught my attention on the first page and it hasn't ended yet. It opened my eyes to yet another view of WWII. It has interesting characters and a wonderful story line. I could see the countryside and feel their pain. I would read this book again.

The Roma Holocaust..........brilliantly told.......2004-06-03

Louise Doughty crafts a fascinating novel that tells the tale of the Roma (European gypsies) that were rounded up by the Germans and placed in concentration camps. The story revolves around Emil, the first born son of the leader of a nomadic family and how he learns to cope with the nightmare that Hitler created. The daily life is beyond tortuous and yet people continue to struggle to survive. As the nightmarish existence whittles away family and friends, Emil responds with a will to survive that is barely imaginable in the face of such horror.
Fires In The Dark is a story of tradition, family and hope. It is also a story of man's inhumanity to man and the depths to which humanity can both sink and rise. Most of all it is a story of the desire to survive above all odds.
Within this story the author reveals the lifestyle of the Roma,and although much is told there is so much more.
This is a fascinating look at a much ignored population and is both inspiring and horrifying.

A Terrific Title & Subject But Needs More Meat On The Fires!.......2004-02-16

The author Louise Doughty knows how to find great subjects and writes well as seen in how she captures the characters, brutal beatings, and secret tears surrounding her novel as it unfolds within its title.

Ms. Doughty's horrible tale of what happen to Gypsies while in Concentration Camps during World War II is a novel in its scope and niceties. Few remember that Gypsies were a big part of the 11 Million who died in Nazi and Other Government's Slave Labor Camps. The story breakdowns many myths and stereotypes of Gypsies divulging gypsies as individuals often the subject of judgments out of ignorance, rumors and lingering legends based on untruths.

The author has hit upon a treasure of information seldom told before and hardly ever proclaim by gypsies because they fear outsiders knowing anything about them in detail. They struggle all their lives by surviving through deception, running and overcoming pigeonhole opinions held by others because they are often the victims of so-called helping bureaucrats, justice, and police.

Gypsy's have habitually had to fetch a living on their own because society rejected them into the mainstream unless they conform to the culture of the season. They believe they have a Divine Right to live by numerous means ever since fixing the gambling over Jesus Christ's garments at the crucifixion and returning them to Mary. None of these myths, legends, and history is within this story.

Therefore, information about gypsies their history and culture was lacking so the author never defines the nexus necessary to show why Gypsies have been targets by many governments, political organizations and end up in Slave Labor Camps.

The book desires to focus on Gypsy History, Culture, and Myths, but does not establish how many governments in Europe target Gypsies as a class of undesirables and often blaming them for social ills they did not create much as America did to the Indians, Irish, and Asians as we moved to "Manifest Destiny".

This alone would have many a terrific novel incorporating the abuse, unfair judgments, brutal beatings, and mark of deaths, which was the goal of the author in telling this story. Several novelist have often written their third book first like this one and I can wait for the others too.

If one reads the "Grapes Of Wrath," you would see an Oklahoma Farm Family turn into roaming Gypsies searching for work and survival after they were bull dozed off their farm by banks with legal authority of the government's sheriffs.

Few recognize that for centuries this is how Gypsies continue to exist on their own terms. Often being force to become outcasts of societies built on protecting only those conforming only to society rules and often leaving behind others of different races, tribes, families, and thinking. In the end, such policies often result in branding then to be criminals. Cher brought it out in her song "Gypsies Tramps and Thieves" but only some ever took the time to research anything beyond listening to the song.

"Fires In the Dark" is a story long overdue for people to read and this book is a start of something big. If the author can now write more on Gypsies so we all can learn more and share in the pain of their portrayals by strangers and betrayals by political leaders who knock against them rather than rescue them.

The hardback is not a page turner, can be bland in some places, and one never understands how this first book really requires an introduction of facts before a tacit understanding of its disclosures can bloom into the full enlightenment of her goal of sharing this story with us.

Furthermore, it fails to tell us how they end up, the remnants of those who did survive and the legacies of those who died under the worse of conditions for only being themselves and few standing up for them until this book was written.

I gave it three stars because I was starving for more information and the author did not provide it. `Fires In The Dark' needs meat on the fires and flashlights of history to blossom into what the author wants to share with us.

(3.5) Caught in the firestorm of World War II.......2004-02-06

This is a tale of the authentic European Gypsies of Romany, nomadic farm workers who are caught up in Hitler's reign of terror, as he purges his homeland. In the Moravian countryside in 1927, an infant is born in a dilapidated barn, a child who will survive the infamous scourge of Hitler's obsession. Beginning with these difficult years, the gypsies are forced to participate in a census that tracks their numbers and their movements, ultimately drawing them into a trap: a mass assignment to an all-gypsy labor camp, their fate sealed.

The novel addresses the decimation of the gypsy population of Eastern Europe, chronicling the gradual movement of fascism across the country and predicting the end of the nomadic families through mandatory registration and specific "rules" that govern the gypsies' mobility. The men do odd jobs for any farmers still willing to hire them as itinerant laborers, moving their families from one place to another, barely able to sustain the illusion of freedom. Eventually, the Germans commandeer the wagons and animals and the gypsy families are restricted to proscribed areas, later transported to special labor camps, thrown into the nightmare they hoped to escape.

The primary family in the novel is subjected to the rigors, starvation and humiliation of the camps and many die in a massive typhus epidemic. Only one escapes, the boy born at the beginning of the story, in 1927. He makes his way to Warsaw, brokering black market goods and passing as a gadje, or white man, with his fair complexion. In relating the struggle for survival and the decimation of the boy's family, the explicit details are depressing, as such a light-heated and joyful people are destroyed by ignorance and evil. Many pages are devoted to the suffering of individual family members, their travails echoed throughout the labor camp, memories that the youth will carry through out his life.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books