The Blessing Way (Joe Leaphorn Novels)

Book Description

Homicide is always an abomination, but there is something exceptionally disturbing about the victim discovered in a high lonely place -- a corpse with a mouth full of sand, abandoned at a crime scene seemingly devoid of tracks or useful clues. Though it goes against his better judgment, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn cannot help but suspect the hand of a supernatural killer. There is palpable evil in the air, and Leaphorn's pursuit of a Wolf-Witch is leading him where even the bravest men fear ... on a chilling trail that winds perilously between mysticism and murder.

Customer Reviews:

Worthwhile if you like Hillerman.......2007-09-21

This is Hillerman's first novel (at least with NM tribal police). While the character of Joe Leaphorn is not drawn out much, it still is a good read. There is a considerable amount of action taking place thanks to a spunky archeologist trying to save himself and a woman in the Anasazi ruins.

If you compare it with the recent Hillerman novel, The Shape Shifter, there is a dramatic difference. There Joe Leaphorn is on center stage, his wisdom and gentleness coming across, with all of the action happening at the very end.

Brilliant first novel.......2007-03-30

This novel was a brilliant beginning for one of my favorite mystery authors.

WHAT HAPPENED TO BERGEN MCKEE?.......2007-03-30

I have read nearly everything that Tony Hillerman has written and, ironically, I read THE BLESSING WAY, one of Hillerman's first books, last. Doing so has given me some interesting perspectives about Hillerman and his stories.

It's interesting to me, for example, that Joe Leaphorn emerged as such a hero in subsequent Hillerman stories while it is Bergen McKee who is literally the star of THE BLESSING WAY. Truly, Leaphorn, if you think about it, is a supporting cast member in a story that highlights McKee's adventures from start to finish. Had he wanted to, Hillerman could have based an entire series of stories on McKee. His character is absolutely compelling--kind of a nerdy Indiana Jones out to discover the darker side of Navajo mysteries and myths. But even with his more bookish nature, McKee is still resourceful enough to outwit virtually all of the villains that Hillerman puts him up against.

Don't get me wrong. I can certainly see how THE BLESSING WAY spawned Leaphorn and his legend. There is certainly enough of him here to keep things interesting. But I would have loved it had Hillerman chosen to include McKee in a few more of his stories.

THE HORSEMAN

In Indian country everyone knows everyone else.......2007-01-10

In the beginning, Luis Horseman was not destroyed by the Navajo Wolf. He was one hundred miles north of Window Rock where Joe Leaphorn worked. One of Leaphorn's files concerned Horseman. Leaphorn thought he knew where Horseman was. Bergen KcKee, a witchcraft researcher, was in Albuquerque, four hundred miles to the east. McKee's wife had left him six years earlier, after he was granted tenure on the Anthropology faculty of the University of New Mexico. He had lost his enthusiasm for reasearch in his field, Navajo superstitions.

Horseman was wanted by the police for cutting a Mexican in Gallup. Leaphorn and McKee traveled to a trading post where Leaphorn could pursue law enforcement inquiries and McKee his witchcraft inquiries. A boy herding sheep for his uncle's bro.-in-law had actually seen the Navajo Wolf. Joseph Begay was of Navajo-Pueblo blood. He followed the Navajo Way, building his hogan in tradtional fashion. The Navajo Way was the Middle Way, avoiding all excesses. Begay believed an owl was acting strangely. Begay discovered Horseman's body.

An informant, Old Woman Gray Rocks, believed that the Navajo Wolf was a stranger. When McKee returned to the place he and another anthropologist, Canfied, were camping, he found that Canfield was missing, a possible victim of foul play. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn questioned a Navajo elder about whether a witch would be killed by smothering a person in sand. Sand was used in Luis Horseman's death. Leaphorn learned the answer was no. Leaphorn discovered from asking people the witch was a man and that he had been on foot.

Mckee saw the Navajo Wolf with a machine pistol. He entered McKee's tent to reconnoitre. Next the Navajo Wolf called out that he needed to talk with McKee about Dr. Canfield. Joe Leaphorn knew who had killed Horseman, the Big Navajo seen at the trading post, and why Horseman had been killed. He believed that Billy Nez, Horseman's sixteen year-old brother, was going to Horseman's hiding place and he feared for Nez's safety and followed him. Bergen McKee felt that the Big Navajo was a relocation Navajo, someone from a family moved from the reservation in the 1930's to an urban center.

After considerable excitement, Billy Nez ends up saving MckKee's life. Subsequently Leaphorn entered the scene and solved the many strands of the mystery This book contains a considerable amount of cultural information.

Even Grandma loves this mystery!.......2006-11-06

Our family has such a love for Tony Hillerman's novels about Navajo Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee that we pass them around the family so everyone can read them. Once done, we re-read them!

Recently 86-year-old Grandma joined the fun and loves reading them too. The Blessing Way is one of the first in the series, so it's a great starter novel.

Enjoy!

Average customer rating:

A sweet, gentle story....
Visit the Holy Land
Disappointing
Better Jewish fiction out there
This book forced me to finally post a review

Seven Blessings: A Novel
Ruchama King
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved (Rashi's Daughters)

ASIN: 0312309163
Release Date: 2004-10-14

Book Description

The closed, secret world of matchmaking in contemporary Israel provides the titillating pivot for a story of uncommon proportions. In Ruchama King's skillful hands, Seven Blessings maps out the complicated lives of five expatriate women and men whose search for a soul mate, in many ways, mirrors their search for God.At the center of this fascinating novel is Beth, who at age thirty-nine longs to be married but despairs she ever will be. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, he has what she believes to be an insurmountable flaw. Can she overcome her repugnance in order to forge a new life? Binyamin, a talented painter and student, lacks the humility to identify a worthy wife. He strains the matchmakers' patience until his search for perfect love finally becomes ridiculous, even to himself. Tsippi and Judith, the matchmakers, are stumbling themselves, with marriages that need propping up. In this land of miracles, seeking the right match, whether between singles, husband and wife, student and teacher, or man and God, becomes a quest that opens the Bible to us in a new way.Rich characters, an intriguing setting, writing that offers unique nuances, and ultimately a story that keeps you turning the pages all combine to introduce a remarkable newcomer. Seven Blessings redefines the Jewish experience, with a story that will ring with truth for anyone who's ever considered getting married.

Customer Reviews:

A sweet, gentle story...........2007-09-09

This is not a book that is written in a style that screams it's own importance. Perhaps that is why some reviewers are unimpressed.

The story is an honest and balanced tale of a modern, observant Jewish woman and her journey to marriage. It is realistic and balanced. The author does not fall into the trap of pessimism in the name of "art." If you are looking for a scathing portrayal of Orthodox Judaism you will need to look elsewhere. King's characters are realistically written people who happen to be Orthodox Jews. She has no ax to grind. However, she is not overly sentimental either. I found it to be a very balanced realistic account of observant life in Israel. At times the author's style is very poetic and always very accessible.

Visit the Holy Land.......2007-04-11

Visit the Holy Land with Ruchama King and explore the lives of several interesting people whose lives the author delicately reveals. You will recognize them. I did. I know people like this. They are my family members, friends and neighbors.

The author wisely writes for a general readership. No prerequisite knowledge of Judaism or Jewish terminology is required. If you do have that knowledge, this book will be fun for you too as you'll recognize innumerable Hebrew phrases but rendered in English.

A thoroughly enjoyable flight to The Holy Land and a lot less expensive. :)

Alan D. Busch
www.thebookofben.blogspot.com
4/11/07

Disappointing.......2007-03-29

I was very excited to read a book about orthodox Jewish life in Israel. What fascinates me is the way of life and in that I was not disappointed. The characters, however, were wooden, the plot cloying and it seemed to go nowhere. The big question was how the couple would get together (and you knew they would), so it seemed rather sophomoric. I like to revel in the style of the author, and found the style plodding. My hopes for something better on the next page were disappointed too many times so I gave up half-way through.

Better Jewish fiction out there.......2005-12-19

I found this book flat, unsuspensful, and unthought-provoking. Neither the characters nor the plot were not as fully developed as I would have liked. Furthermore, I felt that much of this story could have taken place in any Jewish religious community - nothing revealed the specialness of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).

This book forced me to finally post a review.......2005-09-23

Reading this book was a wonderful experience. Drama, combined with humor, philosophy and insight. The book portrays the lives of young Jews who were not raised as Observant Jews, and have subsequently taken a very serious and commited attitude towards their religion. Specifically, the trials and tribulations of finding a marriage partner, and the joys and dissapointments that are inevitably part of the process. The author weaves a beautiful tale,. I found it entertaining, informative and inspiring.

Average customer rating:

Also published under the title "Mixed Company"
A Joy

Mixed Blessings: A Novel
Marian Cockrell
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 081290740X

Customer Reviews:

Also published under the title "Mixed Company".......1999-09-11

A Fawcett book (Popular Library, Div of CBS) edition of this novel (IBSN: 0-445-04421-7) was published under the name change of "Mixed Company", in 1978. (This book refers to the original title of "Mixed Blessings" as well.)

Set in 1902, this novel describes the efforts of Miss Alfreda Esmond, "Freddy", nineteen years old, to run a boardinghouse and support herself and her younger brother Jason after her mother is killed in a buggy accident. She is also waiting for her reluctant swain Rob to come up to scratch and request her hand in marriage, which she hopes will deliver her from her current troubles.

Meanwhile she struggles with a group of assorted boarders with various eccentricities and personality conflicts; including an elderly drifty professor type, a gluttonous dowager and eventually her adventuous son as well, who was once imprisioned in the wild West for trumped up crimes, a man-hating mother and her meek pale daughter, a hired hand with a reluctance for work, and a strong minded family retainer cook who does her best to give some guidance to Freddy and her brother Jason while keeping the house running.

Freddy does her best to manage the situation and her responsibilities, and to cope with the financial concerns of her ever dwindling pocketbook. But complications such as quarantine for scarlet fever and a trial challenging the mental competency of one of her boarders make life interesting for Freddy, while her best friend Hope also being in love with Freddy's suitor Rob makes for awkward relations there as well. To top things off, two of the boarders elope with one another and that causes complications also.

Dr. Simon Fletcher, the gruff and surly doctor who practices medicine under a cloud of town suspicion of past malpractice (which gossip is finally resolved by the eloping couple playing sleuth on their honeymoon, but until then the mystery lingers through much of the book,) provides medical care to the boarders yet also makes Freddy's life miserable for some time. But all ends well eventually.

The trial turns out in favor of Mr. Clarkson, the elderly boarder who has his sanity questioned by greedy relatives, and he in the end provides Freddy with unexpected help and security, which amply repay her support and concern for the old man. By the last pages, the boarders have all bonded together into an unorthodox but comfortable surrogate family, Freddy's financial and romantic troubles appear to be solved (her situation with Rob finally sorted out but with a surprise twist at the end,) and her life seems to be joyful and comfortable at last.

Mr. Clarkson is a collector of superstitions and combines famous quotations in a rather unique way. The unusual prayers he assembles at mealtimes (Jason in fact collects them, writing them down right at the table,) punctuate the book throughout, often summing up circumstances in an intricately convoluted yet appropriate way. And the novel's last words are a final blessing by Mr. Clarkson (rather reminiscent in fact of Tiny Tim's "God bless us every one!" ending to A Christmas Carol) in a exhortation both charming and eloquent.

A Joy.......1999-06-19

Simply the most enjoyable novel I've ever read. There are novels that are more realistic (Catcher in the Rye), more absorbing (To Kill a Mockingbird), or more whacked-out funny (Cosmic Banditos), but for all-around sweetness and a warm glow when you're finished, this one is the tops. Many libraries still have it...get it!

Average customer rating:

I believe I've met these people
Blessings
I loved this book
Don't Give Up Hope
Sweet, tender and moving

Blessings: A Novel
Anna Quindlen
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0812969812
Release Date: 2003-08-19

Amazon.com

The plot of Anna Quindlen's novel Blessings is constructed on the same model as E.T.: adorable orphaned creature is found by unlikely caregiver who against his or her better judgment falls in love with the little beast, while all the while, the authorities loom in the background, threatening to take the foundling away. In Quindlen's book, however, the foundling in question isn't an alien, but a squalling baby left at Blessings, a vast estate owned by an ancient, crabby matriarch named Lydia Blessing. By a fluke, the baby's parents abandon her by the garage rather than at the front door, and so she is discovered by Skip Cuddy, Lydia Blessing's newly hired handyman, who happens to be an ex-con. The plot proceeds from there in fairly E.T.-like fashion, minus the Reese's Pieces and flying bicycles. Skip, Lydia, and the baby they name Faith form a surprisingly loving and sustaining, albeit temporary, family unit.

Quindlen wrings a remarkable amount of pathos from this somewhat simple setup. One of her strengths as a writer is the quietness she brings to her story; family secrets of paternity and lost love are buried deep in the narrative, hidden in descriptive paragraphs where they subtly zing us with their news. Her ear is good, too: we believe Skip and his bad-boy friends when they're shooting the breeze. Best of all is her flair for observation. The book wouldn't work at all if she couldn't make us feel Skip and Lydia's amazement at the small joys of a baby ("The deep pleat in the fat at her elbow made her arms look muscled"). Here is a book that lives up to its title. --Claire Dederer

Book Description

Blessings, the bestselling novel by the author of Black and Blue, One True Thing, Object Lessons, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life, begins when, late at night, a teenage couple drives up to the estate owned by Lydia Blessing and leaves a box.

In this instant, the world of the estate called Blessings is changed forever. The story of Skip Cuddy, the Blessings caretaker, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him, Blessings explores how the secrets of the past affect decisions and lives in the present; what makes a person, a life, legitimate or illegitimate, and who decides; the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community. This is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, “Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.”

Download Description

This powerful novel by the bestselling author of Black and Blue, One True Thing, Object Lessons, and A Short Guide to a Happy Life begins when a teenage couple drives up, late at night, headlights out, to Blessings, the estate owned by Lydia Blessing. They leave a box and drive away, and in this instant, the world of Blessings is changed forever.

Richly written, deeply moving, beautifully crafted, Blessings tells the story of Skip Cuddy, caretaker of the estate, who finds a baby asleep in that box and decides he wants to keep her, and of matriarch Lydia Blessing, who, for her own reasons, decides to help him.

The secrets of the past, how they affect the decisions and lives of people in the present; what makes a person, a life, legitimate or illegitimate, and who decides; the unique resources people find in themselves and in a community -- these are at the center of this wonderful novel of love, redemption, and personal change by the writer about whom The Washington Post Book World said, "Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family."

Customer Reviews:

I believe I've met these people.......2007-10-02

An engaging story about people who seem real. For me, the adventures of everyday life, such as this novel portrays, are fully challenging and more interesting than the wild plot twists some authors concoct for novelty. The book has a a sweetness as well as a starkness that seem to match my experience of life and Anna Quindlen is such a sharp observer of humans that I love seeing the world through her eyes for the length of a book.

Blessings.......2007-09-19

We enjoyed reading this story. However we found the movie version to be more interesting.

I loved this book.......2007-09-09

It is so nice to find a book that is a good read but is not a cookie cutter romance or crime novel. Anna Quindlen has a knack for creating real characters that you can relate to. I also enjoyed One True Thing and have yet to read Black and Blue.

Don't Give Up Hope.......2007-04-05

This engaging tale of a baby abandoned by the parents is one of redemption and hope. You'll never see the ending coming!

Sweet, tender and moving.......2007-03-09

This is the first Anna Quindlen book I've every read. The only other writing of hers I have to compare this to is her feature articles in Newsweek and I'd have to say that those articles and this book are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Though both being very well written and thought out.

I did enjoy this novel while I was reading it. I liked the story, the characters and the writing. I didn't care for the ending which doesn't mean that it wasn't very well done, it was. It just wasn't satisfying to me, it wasn't the way I wanted it to end.

I thought it was a good book worthy of reading, it wasn't disappointing it just wasn't one of the greatest books I've ever read.

Average customer rating:

Continuing Saga
Very Pleased
Review
Very enjoyable book
look forward to reading

Unexpected Blessings (Emma Harte Saga)
Barbara Taylor Bradford
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Family Saga | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Just Rewards
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A Woman of Substance

ASIN: 0312985746
Release Date: 2005-10-04

Book Description

The new blockbuster from one of the world's greatest storytellers delves into the life of Emma Harte-the original Woman of Substance-and the ambitious, passionate, and volatile women of the next generations.nbsp;Evan Hughes, Emma's American great-granddaughter, is trying to integrate into the powerful Harte family. She is caught between her estranged parents, her new family, and new love. But a dangerous enemy hovers in the background.nbsp;Tessa Longden, Evan's cousin, is battling her husband for custody of their daughter, Adele. When Adele suddenly goes missing, Tessa is forced to seek help from her half-sister Linnet-a woman who has been her rival all their lives. nbsp;Linnet, the most brilliant businesswoman of the four great-granddaughters, is desperately trying to show that she is the natural heir to her mother, Paula. But her glittering future at the helm of the vast Harte empire means many sacrifices, perhaps even the loss of her sister's fragile trust.nbsp;India Standish, the traditionalist in the family, falls in love with a famous British artist from a working-class background. Madly in love, India is determined to marry him, no matter what her family thinks. nbsp;Evan, Tessa, Linnet, and India: four extraordinary women. Three generations of Hartes. One indomitable family whose loyalty binds them together and whose enemies want to tear them apart.

Customer Reviews:

Continuing Saga.......2007-04-05

This family tree continues the story of Emma Hart. In this novel, we learn what happens to four of her descendants.

Very Pleased.......2007-01-19

Book in condition stated, great packaging, shipping times as stated. Will purchase from seller again.

Review.......2007-01-11

Nice storyline, I enjoy keeping up with the family goings on. Pleasant read.

Very enjoyable book.......2007-01-10

This is the continuing saga of the Emma Hart. Although she has long since passed away her empire still lives on through her grandchildren and great grandchildren. I have read all book in the series and have been rivited by each one. Unexpected Blessings is about the lives of 4 of Emma's decendents. They are ambitious, fascinating & powerful women. All a credit to Emma. Barbara Taylor Bradford tells their stories like no one else could.

look forward to reading.......2006-10-08

I only have a few books by her, but I really like her writing. The book is in very good condition.

Belva Plain, Three Complete Novels : Blessings, Whispers, and Homecoming

Average customer rating:

Belva Plain, Three Complete Novels : Blessings, Whispers, and Homecoming
Belva Plain
Manufacturer: Wings
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books

The Golden Cup
Looking Back (Random House Large Print)
Eden Burning
Harvest
Tapestry

ASIN: 0517222477
Release Date: 2003-08-05

Book Description

"Belva Plain is in a class by herself." -The New York Times
New York Times bestselling author Belva Plain has penned twenty internationally acclaimed novels. Her tales of family, heritage, and history will resonate with anyone who knows what it is to love and what it is to be a part of a family, which is why her stories captivate readers by the millions. Following up on the first omnibus edition of her work, here are three more rich, moving novels in one volume: Blessings, Whispers, and Homecoming.
Blessings is the deeply moving story of the beautiful and gutsy Jennie Rakowsky, whose hidden secret of her youth is about to ruin her brilliantly successful career and brand-new engagement.
In Whispers, Lynn and Robert Ferguson seem to have the perfect marriage. But behind closed doors, they hide a terrible secret that threatens to destroy everything.
In Homecoming, family matriarch Annette Byrne makes one last effort to pull the fragmented parts of her clan together after tragedies have rocked their once comfortable world.

Three Complete Novels : Bygones / November of the Heart / Family Blessings

Average customer rating:

Classic and Timeless

Three Complete Novels : Bygones / November of the Heart / Family Blessings
LaVyrle Spencer
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Sweet Memories

ASIN: 0399141812

Customer Reviews:

Classic and Timeless.......2000-06-21

As always Lavyrle Spencer takes your breath away with her modern and days gone by portrayal of romance. This is a winning compilation that highlights the best of Spencer who though not actively publishing at the moment is still the true "Gatekeeper of Romance" for 21st century readers. November of the Heart is perhaps the most striking of these novels because it gives us much historical insight into such subjects as John Phillip Sousa, Gibson Girl styling, and the evolution of yachting in America. Thus this is no ordinary romance novel of boy meets girl-girl meets boy, but rather it is rich in texture and time as the backdrop for romance. Spencer has done her research well and is true to time, place, and architecture as her native Minnesota roots qualify her to weigh in on the geography and landscape of this novel. For those of you who have never tried Spencer, it's not too late to lose yourself in the wealth of novels she has produced (even a made for tv movie....) The true pity is there will be no more. And for those like me sad to see her leave us, collections like this offer a threefold chance to enjoy, savor, and cry again for the bittersweet beauty of romance across the decades.

Average customer rating:

I love this author
Overall pretty good book
Excellent
Blessings!!
THIS BOOK DESERVES 5 STARS

Blessings: A Novel
Sheneska Jackson
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Caught Up in the Rapture: A Novel
Lil Mamas Rules: A Novel
Please Please Please
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Between Lovers

ASIN: 0684853124

Book Description

There is no place quite like the local beauty salon, and Sheneska Jackson deftly uses this intimate setting as a backdrop for four women and their concerns about men, motherhood, and parenting. Patricia, the owner of Blessings, has come to terms with her infertility only to discover that her attempt to adopt a child brings its own pains and disappointments. Zuma, independent and financially secure, is plagued by regrets about an abortion in her past and, with her biological clock ticking, resolves to become a mother through artificial insemination. Faye, a widow and single mother trying her best to provide for her family, struggles to control a wild daughter on the brink of womanhood. For Sandy, motherhood is an unwelcome burden, and she blatantly mistreats her children -- until a crisis leads her to make a mother's ultimate sacrifice.

Customer Reviews:

I love this author.......2007-07-11

I loved this book it was so intresting! You wont want to put this down. Buy today!

Overall pretty good book.......2007-05-09

I wasn't entirely disappointed. Whenever you can relate to the characters or become emotional about what's going on then you are reading a good book. It was a bit slow for me,but the ending moved pretty quick. Of course some parts were a surprise but others you sort of figure out early on.

Excellent.......2007-03-23

One of my all time favorite. This book is a must have in your collection. Need i say more???

Blessings!!.......2007-02-01

This book was sooooo beautiful and honest. I felt like I knew the characters well, as if I was in the salon with them. Books like this is much approved for women across the US. There are woman who cannot have children, that at least try any possible way {or form} to get pregnant. And then we have those, who really does not care for their children: As long as they have someone to love. We as woman, need to get together and prove to all that we can make it together!!

THIS BOOK DESERVES 5 STARS.......2005-08-03

THIS BOOK MADE ME CRY IT IS VERY TOUCHING. THE LADIES IN BLESSINGS WILL REALLY CATCH YOUR ATTENTION AND YOU WILL BECOME CONCERNED FOR THEM. ALL I WANT TO SAY IS THE BOOK IS GREAT! AS A SINGLE MOTHER I NOTICED THAT THIS BOOKS GIVES A GREAT LOOK INTO MOTHERHOOD AND THE DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS OF MOTHER AND CHILD. I DONT LIKE TO GIVE MANY DETAILS IN MY REVIEWS BECAUSE IT WILL SPOIL THE BOOK SO JUST READ IT

Count Your Blessings: A Family Circus Collection

Average customer rating:

Good Family Circus book

Count Your Blessings: A Family Circus Collection
Bil Keane
Manufacturer: Focus on the Family Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1561793663

Customer Reviews:

Good Family Circus book.......2007-01-09

The book itself was in excellent quality, and the material was typical Family Cirucs, which for me means charming and often funny.

Average customer rating:

Emma Woodhouse in taxicabs
Good works are for the old and middle aged, not for youth
A most enjoyable Book
A Staggeringly Amusing Comic Novel

A Glass of Blessings
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Moyer Bell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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Less Than Angels
An Unsuitable Attachment
No Fond Return of Love
A Few Green Leaves
Jane and Prudence

ASIN: 1559213531

Book Description

Well dressed, well looked after, suitably husbanded, good looking and fairly young. Wilmet Forsyth is most, if not all of those things. No matter that Rodney, the handsome army major, working nine thirty to six at the Ministry, is slightly balder and fatter than he once was. Wilmet would like to think she has changed rather less.

Customer Reviews:

Emma Woodhouse in taxicabs.......2007-06-22

Blessed with money, position, and marital stability, Wilmet Forsyth lives in the heart of London with her husband and mother-in-law and tries to spice up her staid life by imagining the possibility of romance coming to her from handsome clergymen or lonely bachelor friends. The intertext for Pym's 1958 novel is clearly Jane Austen's EMMA, with the main character again trying to offset the end of narrative possibilities for herself that marriage brings. Philip Larkin praised A GLASS OF BLESSINGS as the subtlest of Pym's comedies, and although it's depiction of grace operating among the very respectable and genteel is very charming and even ultimately moving it is not one of her funnier books (in part because it is told from Wilmet's point of view and she, unlike Pym's more disadvantaged heroines, is so limited in her outlook). But the novel is pretty joyful nonetheless, and its depiction of a 1950s London gay subculture at the end of the book is fairly fascinating.

Good works are for the old and middle aged, not for youth.......2005-02-22

This is truly a great book. In all of its proportions it is graceful and beguiling. Themes of love are presented with humor.

St. Luke's head is called, Pym-like, Father Thames. At the service, Wilmet Forsyth, wife of Rodney a civil servant, meets her friend Rowena's brother, Piers Longridge. She and her friend Rowena were Wrens during the war. They met each other and their husbands while stationed in Italy.

When Wilmet visits Rowena and her family in the country she goes to the country church. It seems to her that country churches are surrounded by graves and yew trees. Wilmet learns that Father Thames carries a sense of disappointment that he never became an Archdeacon. There is a reception held in honor of the new assistant, Father Ransome.

Wilmet and her mother-in-law Sybil decide to take evening classes from Piers in Portuguese. Wilmet explains to Piers that she was named for a character in a Charlotte Yonge novel. She gives blood and is drafted to help an acquaintance, Mary, find a suitable dress. It is possible that Wilmet is being pursued by both Piers and Rowena's husband, Harry. She find the Christmas Eve service beautiful and exhausting. She attends service alone since Sybil and Rodney are agnostics. Sybil remarks that she doesn't know what is expected when Christians pray for the sick.

When one of the communicants, (Mary), experiences her mother's death, she joins an order, but decides later that she is not suited to religious life. In the end Mary and Father Ransome marry and Sybil marries too, causing Rodney and Wilmet to be turned out of her house. Rodney and Wilmet find an appropriate flat in the vicinity. A bare outline of the plot does not do justice to the book.

A most enjoyable Book.......2001-02-04

Jilly Cooper says that Barbara Pym's books remind her "of what is true.....about English life". In the case of A Glass of blessings, this refers to a very small, but significant part of 1950's English life in the 1950's, and Barbara Pym portrays it beautifully. Her characterisation is excellent, as are her descriptions. She must have been a very observant woman. To say that she is snobbish is unfair. She portrayed her part of the world as she saw it. And note that the very implicit sexual backdrop never has to be referred to explicitly at all.

Whetehr the fifties were "better" than now is open to doubt: but if you want a picture of a small part of 1950's England, then this is an enjoyable way to find it.

A Staggeringly Amusing Comic Novel.......1998-09-14

This is the most entertaining book I have read in a long time. I happened upon the Barbara Pym web page and there was a page of quotations from her novels that were very amusing, kind of off-the-wall. Usually, humor from another era seems very tame or just doesn't hold up. I looked for a copy of one of her books and came across an old paperback copy of this one at the public library. The perceptions of the lead character, Wilmet Forsyth, a 33 year old childless married woman with a lot of free time on her hands, make up the book. I could describe some of the events in the book which involve men she finds attractive and men who find her attractive, church functions, a homosexual relationship, etc. but I won't bother. Sex is never overtly mentioned or contemplated by Wilmet in this book. The portrayal of a gay couple in England in the 1950's fascinated me. Wilmet is so cautious and careful in her observations even though she is opinionated. I was happy she wasn't harsh toward these gay characters even though she is heavily involved in her church. Wilmet is not a really deep thinker, but she's funny and kind. Anyway, it's a fun book you should seek out.

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