Surfacing

Book Description

Part detective novel, part psychological thriller, Surfacing is the story of a talented woman artist who goes in search of her missing father on a remote island in northern Quebec. Setting out with her lover and another young couple, she soon finds herself captivated by the isolated setting, where a marriage begins to fall apart, violence and death lurk just beneath the surface, and sex becomes a catalyst for conflict and dangerous choices. Surfacing is a work permeated with an aura of suspense, complex with layered meanings, and written in brilliant, diamond-sharp prose. Here is a rich mine of ideas from an extraordinary writer about contemporary life and nature, families and marriage, and about women fragmented...and becoming whole.

Customer Reviews:

What???.......2007-01-27

If this was a mystery, where was any kind of suspense? This was about coming to terms with an unwanted abortion. Was she ever married? Does anyone care? She started unravelling from page 172 onward; why then? I felt this book was a waste of precious reading time.

Don't read the blurb.......2006-07-14

This book is the example of how you can't get a picture of the book after reading the blurb. It says "part detective novel". Well, I doubt that the writer of the blurb had ever read or seen a detective story. Yes, the main character is looking for her father who has recently disappeared but she is looking for him more in her memories than starting a real investigation. Stranger even is the expression "psychological thriller". There are absolutely no thriller elements in the story, at least I was not convinced that the main character thought meant certain things seriously which could be interpreted by a shallow mind as the devices of the genre. The main character of the novel is the type of person who has a large and magnificent theatrical stage in herself, where reality and fantasy can meet and can be acted out in full. She lives more in her head than in the physical world. After a painful marriage she does not want to tie herself down with another man. She is afraid of getting emotionally involved and getting deeply hurt again. The novel ends with a question: what will her final decision be? Is she going to accept this far from perfect man? Can she hope to feel good in his strangely mangled and verbally desolate but at the same time intensely passionate world?

"This above all, to refuse to be a victim.".......2005-08-31

After reading Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" I was captivated by her unique metaphorical prose and eager to read another of her works. "Surfacing" definitely did not disappoint me, with its dark logic and interesting situations. It is not by any means a pretty novel, but there is much truth to be found in it, which I think makes for a great read.

The protagonist, a nameless artist, embarks on a journey to her Canadian wilderness home in hopes of finding her missing father. Her boyfriend and another couple accompany her. As the group becomes accustomed to life in the wild, truths are uncovered and tensions develop between the characters that eventually lead up to a shocking climax. The protagonist, in an altered state of sanity, makes a desperate attempt to reconnect with her true self and in the process discovers the answers to all her questions regarding her father.

Throughout the novel the Canadian wilderness is portrayed in such a way that instills in the reader a great respect for all its power. Atwood, being a Canadian native herself, describes it beautifully. "Surfacing" is one of her earlier novels and a great prequel for the ones to follow.

I would definitely recommend this novel. The complex labyrinth of symbolism provides great food for thought. It is very emotionally impacting and leaves the reader pondering their own sense of self.

"A divorce is like an amputation, you survive but there's less of you." .......2005-07-31

One of Margaret Atwood's earlier novels, "Surfacing" tells the story of a young artist who sets out to investigate the disappearance of her father. Accompanied by her lover and another young couple, she journeys to an outlying Canadian island in search of answers. As the group adjusts to life in the rustic cabin that was once the narrator's childhood home, plenty of sexual tension begins to erupt. The narrator contemplates the fate of her relationship with Joe, who wants more from her than she is willing and able to give. Anna and David's seemingly perfect marriage begins to unravel as the truth about their relationship becomes shockingly clear.

The strain among these four people coupled with the unanswered questions about the narrator's missing father creates a lingering sense of foreboding. "Surfacing" is symbolic and slightly obscure, and it will leave the reader contemplating elements of feminism, nationalism, and general paranoia. I found it a bit difficult to connect with the characters since they're so distant (we don't even find out the narrator's name), but the story is interesting and there is plenty of absorbing subtext to keep the reader engaged.

I didn't enjoy "Surfacing" as much as some of Atwood's other books, but it's a very compelling story...I definitely recommend it.

LET'S TRY SOMETHING POETIC.......2005-05-29

The female narrator of Surfacing by Margaret Atwood is a woman with emotional scars that she has never faced, a victim of a previous marriage whose goal is to keep herself from love as long as she can. Taking leave of her job as a commercial artist, she travels to a remote Canadian island to search for her father, who has turned up missing from his solitary cabin. Going along with her is her boyfriend Joe, a man who loves her without receiving anything in return except her body. Also along for the adventure is Anna, her best friend, if you can call someone a best friend whom you've only known for 2 months. Anna's oversexed boyfriend, David, joins the party. What the narrator will find will have less to do with her father than the old standby cliched "return to nature" theme that has already been done to death.

By the time I reached the overblown and hopelessly poetic, I mean pathetic, third part of this novel, I could sum up my feelings as "UGH!" While the first two parts are interesting and work doubletime as a mystery and self-exploration of the main character, it really started to fall apart in the last third when it turned into a poetic nature girl ramble right out of Wordsworth or Shelley, and the author came up sorely lacking. I began to wonder if I was reading Altered States.

Something that was amusing was the constant undertheme of American bashing which surprised me because this novel was originally published in 1972. Americans represent everything that the narrator hates about the world, especially rampant consumerism and anti-environmentalism. You would think that Atwood could see beyond such crass stereotypes. Surfacing was quite good until the writer forced its narrative into a prose poem whose language is at complete odds with the characterization that had been established through its first 2/3's.

The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers

Average customer rating:

The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers
Icebreakers Only
Another "Big Book" that doesn't deliver
The big Book of Business Games
Great for the Price

The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers
John W. Newstrom , and Edward E. Scannell
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0070464766

Book Description

Break the ice at your next meeting with The Big Book of Business Games!

In this exciting resource book, two of today's acknowledged games masters serve up a cookbook of activities that you can learn to use, guaranteed to generate a lively discussion, or simply give a group a "breather" from the monotony of a boring staff meeting or presentation. Each of the 75 group games and activities here is adapted from the best-selling Games Trainers Play series and shortened to suit the needs of managers and team leaders to use with their departments, staff, or committees.

Customer Reviews:

The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers.......2006-11-04

The ideas and activities in this book were varied and somewhat adaptable to a variety of audiences and meetings. I am always looking for fresh ideas to use in my presentations and workshops and this book has become a valuable resource and also sparks new ideas in myself.

Icebreakers Only.......2006-07-09

If I had the opportunity to flip through this book in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore, I wouldn't have bought it. I was looking for ways to communicate business and organizational lessons through the use of games and activities. This book is just a list of icebreaker activities without providing any of the "meat" of the lesson the activity should have delivered. Providing references for those of us seeking said content would have helped to fill that gap.

Many of the activities require visual aids. It would have been nice for the publishers to provide graphics to go along with these---perhaps a registration key for a website to download the visual tools? I would be far more likely to use the activities (and, of course, credit the authors) if the tools were easily accessible and not burdomsome to create.

I have every confidence that the book meets its intended purpose and the authors have done a good job. However, I don't feel that Amazon.com is presenting the book for what it is. I also believe the publishers could have done a better job of supporting this publication to make it truly useful to the purchaser.

In general, if you are completely at a loss for how to get people interacting with one another at a meeting or training session, this is a good "creativity sparker" to get you thinking.

Another "Big Book" that doesn't deliver.......2002-11-22

I took a chance and purchased five selections from the "big book" series. I titled a previous review "The Big Book of Disappointment." Too bad. I ought to have saved it for this publication.

Chapter two of "The Big Book of Business Games" is titled, "How to Use This Book." My suggestion? As kindling or compost. In the book you will find 54 activities. The nine dot problem and the human knot are examples of the many common activities found in countless other books.

You'll also find suggestions for "presentation boosters." One "booster" example: Display two flip charts. On one ask what things were valued about how the meeting was run. On the other ask how future meetings might be improved. As part of the description you are reminded to "tear off the flip charts and return to your office. . .celebrate your success and change something needing improvement." In the book, the previous activity actually merits a two page description.

Applying their exercise to their book, I'd say I valued very little if anything. How might future books be improved? Provide NEW activities or suggest creative variations for the countless recycled exercises. Also, be certain the content is relevant to a business audience. A skilled facilitator will find a way to successfully use most any of the activities in this book. However, a skilled facilitator is also likely to have a number of better selections in her bag of tricks to choose from.

Once again if the price entices you to purchase this book, I'd suggest you keep exploring. You will find a number of resource books available on Amazon.com that are significantly better.

The big Book of Business Games.......2001-11-30

Basically from the contents, it can be said to be a very practical book that any manager can use to liven up meetings and more importantly to get the members of the team to come together.
These exercises can be fun and purposeful for the the users and I think I would really like try out some of the great ideas put forth.I run meetings and workshops for my staff and certainly could use the ideas from the book.

Great for the Price.......2000-02-19

I've used a number of the games in this book and found they've helped me achieve my goals with the team. They stimulated converstaion and team building. One game I found particularly useful was the "Tie that Binds" in visually demonstrating how interdependent we are as a team. I found this book a real bargain and a good book for getting started at using games within meetings to build teams, emphasis concepts, and introduce topics.

Drilling and surfacing practice;: Drilling, reaming, tapping, planing, shaping, slotting, milling and broaching,

Average customer rating:

Drilling and surfacing practice;: Drilling, reaming, tapping, planing, shaping, slotting, milling and broaching,
Fred Herbert Colvin
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Book Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Applied | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B00085QB14

Average customer rating:

Asphalt Surfacings
Cliff Nicholls
Manufacturer: Spon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Buildings & Construction | Home Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Industrial & Technical | Chemistry | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0419231102

Book Description

A guide to asphalt materials used for paving road and airfield surfaces, this book discusses each material type, examining its constituent materials, construction processes and properties, and offering an assessment of the material types appropriate to particular sites and applications.

Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest

Average customer rating:

Women's Spirituality

Diving Deep and Surfacing: Women Writers on Spiritual Quest
Carol P. Christ
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Women Writers & Feminist Theory | Books & Reading | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Women Writers | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Comparative Religion | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Women | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Feminist | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0807062073

Book Description

First published in 1980, "Diving Deep and Surfacing" continues to find new readers as women both young and old search for stories that value their struggles, celebrate their strengths, and comprehend their pain. In the moving new afterword to this fifteenth anniversary edition, Christ reveals how she came to understand on a deeper and more personal level what it means to be 'closed in silence,' and why women's stories must be told.

Customer Reviews:

Women's Spirituality.......2000-03-22

The author provides an examination of the various spiritual dimensions present in women's literature through writers such as Adrienne Rich, Ntozake Shange, and Margaret Atwood, etc. She creates a new paradigm in which women may find "spiritual renewal through new self-definition"(anything from a new phase of a woman's life or a new way she chooses to live her life). This book approaches and attempts to answer questions most of us have asked ourselves.

Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Guitar Recorded Versions)

Average customer rating:

Surfacing
This is a great guitar book. Not a piano book!!
Fantastic transcriptions of McLachlan's "Surfacing" shine...
Great translations of Sarah`s music!

Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Guitar Recorded Versions)
Sarah McLachlan
Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Songbooks | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0634004964

Book Description

Note-for-note transcriptions of all 10 songs from her hit album: Adia * Angel * Black and White * Building a Mystery * Do What You Have to Do * Full of Grace * I Love You * Last Dance * Sweet Surrender * Witness. Includes art pages for each song.

Customer Reviews:

Surfacing.......2005-01-02

Includes: Building A Mystery*I Love You*Sweet Surrender*Adia*Do What You Have To Do*Witness*Angel*Black and White*Full of Grace*Last Dance

It's always great to be able to sit down and play these beautiful songs; this is a great transcription of Surfacing. My only complaint is that Angel was taken down a half-step from the original D flat major-of course, that is me being lazy. I can always take it back up.

All in all, though, this deserves a resounding five stars. The arrangements are just gorgeous, and it's always a rush to be sitting there playing a Sarah song. You can't help looking around to see who is watching. If there's someone nearby when I'm playing, I usually end up scaring them away by stopping every few seconds and saying "Isn't this awesome?"

This is a great guitar book. Not a piano book!!.......2003-05-02

This is a guitar tablature book as the description . BR>By the way this is an excellent book. Standard guitar tab book with excellent transcriptions of all 10 songs from the album. Additional feature the great artwork.

Fantastic transcriptions of McLachlan's "Surfacing" shine..........2002-04-22

I own both of Sarah McLachlan's piano songbooks ("Sarah McLachlan Collection" and "Surfacing") and this is my favourite of the two. I've been playing piano for fourteen years and I've been a fan of Sarah for just as long. "Surfacing" features piano transcriptions that sound almost exactly like the CD. "Building a Mystery" captures the shimmering guitar intro and saucy feel, "I Love You" is a haunting piano solo that trails off into silence, "Sweet Surrender" was my least favourite....that haunting guitar intro just didn't cross over to piano as well. "Adia" sounds just like the recording, as does "Angel," and "Last Dance" performs beautifully (a musical saw played the melody on "Surfacing"). "Full of Grace" was featured on the "Moll Flanders" soundtrack a number of years back and is very delicate; "Witness" becomes a powerful song on piano with its striking, rhythmic bass chords that underscore the melody. "Black and White" was another song that I routinely skip over--somehow the piano just doesn't do it justice. This is the best transcription of popular music that I've ever had the pleasure to play--it is at times haunting, assertive, lovesick and playful. If you are a Sarah McLachlan fan you'll also want to check out the "Sarah McLachlan Songbook" that features songs from "Touch" and "Solace" along with "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy."

Great translations of Sarah`s music!.......1999-12-31

I`m not a great pianist but I have been playing for a short while and I love Sarah`s music. I must say this book is excellent. Angel sounds amazing as well as Do What You Have To Do. The melody for Angel is pretty easy so it isnt very difficult. I Love You sounds absolutley AMAZING! Even though the studio song isnt done with the piano it sounds really beautiful solo on the piano. The best song on here is Last Dance,which is my personal favorite. The translations are almost exactly what you hear on her albums but Sarah does a little improv that adds a bit more to the songs thats not in the sheet music. A must for every pianist who is a fan!Great for guitar too.

Surfacing Sadness: A Centennial of Korean-American Literature 1903-2003

Average customer rating:

Surfacing Sadness: A Centennial of Korean-American Literature 1903-2003

Manufacturer: Homa & Sekey Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

United States | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Anthologies | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1931907099

Book Description

This book is published to commemorate the centennial of the first landing of Korean immigrants in America in 1903.

An anthology of poems, essays and short stories by thirty-seven Korean-American writers, Surfacing Sadness is the first serious effort to bring together the Korean-American literary experiences to join mainstream American literature.

The book primarily contains translations of Korean-American literary works, although some poems and short stories were originally published in English. In the book, readers will find the Korean-American literary voice that has many nuances--sorrow, nostalgia, pathos, anger, frustration, and, of course, hope and desire.

Writers whose works are included in this anthology cannot distance themselves from their mother tongue or the culture that has shaped their craft. Despite the fact that language barrier has by and large hampered the majority of Korean-American immigrant authors to write their works in English--therefore, making it difficult for them to enter the mainstream American literary scene--their literary voices deserve to be heard, and their art deserves to be recognized.

Book Description

Focusing on the history of the Ingutsheni Lunatic Asylum (renamed a mental hospital after 1933), situated near Bulawayo in the former Southern Rhodesia, Surfacing Up explores the social, cultural, and political history of the colony that became Zimbabwe after gaining its independence in 1980. The phrase "surfacing up" was drawn from a conversation Jackson had with a psychiatric nurse who used the concept to explain what brought African potential patients into the psychiatric system. Lynette Jackson uses Ingutsheni as a reference point for the struggle to "domesticate" Africa and its citizens after conquest. Drawing on the work of Franz Fanon, Jackson maintains that the asylum in Southern Rhodesia played a significant role in maintaining the colonial social order. She supports Fanon's claim that colonial psychiatric hospitals were repositories for those of "indocile nature" or for those who failed to fit "the social background of the colonial type."

Through reconstruction and reinterpretation of patient narratives, Jackson shows how patients were diagnosed, detained, and deemed recovered. She draws on psychiatric case files to analyze the changing economic, social, and environmental conditions of the colonized, the varying needs of the white settlers, and the shifting boundaries between these two communities. She seeks to extend and enrich our understanding of how a significant institution changed how citizens and subjects experienced the colonial social order.

Average customer rating:
Surfacing: A Poetic Journey of The Self
Karuna Devi
Manufacturer: Innerlight Publications, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Yoga | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0979056608

Product Description

These 108 poems represent a journey of Self discovery which embrace the celebration and transformation of spiritual life. Though most of the poems are Yogic/Eastern in context, the authors upbringing as a Catholic is also evident. The main essence of this work reflects that of The Heart where both East and West draw from the same well. It is sure to inspire and uplift devotees everywhere so that their own inner light may surface.

Average customer rating:

Riveting!

The Art of Surfacing
Mark, Yoshimoto Nemcoff
Manufacturer: Glenneyre Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0976804093
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Book Description

The year is 1986. Ex-KGB agent Figen Dimyarian has come to Boston with British spies on his tail, a hundred million in stolen Russian funds, and enough insider information to turn a fortune on the stock market. He's become enamored with the American lifestyle and with Hannah, a sexy bombshell with a secret of her own. Across town, burnt out 28 year-old lawyer Alex Chase is pushing paper for his firm's largest client, EoGen Pharmaceuticals. Alex has discovered something is very wrong with Marpax, EoGen's next big drug, and the people who stand to profit from it want very much to keep it a secret. But who can he trust? Everyone at the firm seems out to get him, including Hope, a power hungry associate and Alex's former bedmate. When Alex learns that someone is killing off subjects in Marpax's FDA testing, and those people intend to murder Hope as well, he puts his life on the line for her. Alone and against all odds, he turns to the only one who can help, Figen, the same "imaginary friend" now on the run for his very own existence.

Download Description

Customer Reviews:

Riveting!.......2005-07-11

I had trouble putting this down. Mr. Nemcoff takes you thru Boston and all over the world with his tale of crime, spies, sex, greed and murder. He kept a constant correlation to music and lyrics, weaving characters into a corrupt, at times, "Ally McBeal" -type setting. Even though I LIKE "Brown-eyed Girl" by Van Morrison, I plan to read this through a second time and look for the movie.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books