Bliss: A Novel

Average customer rating:

Loved it!

A glimpse into a changing world..

Ambitious but not excellent

Hopelessness everywhere

An unforgetable book!

Bliss: A Novel
O.Z. Livaneli
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Turkey | Middle Eastern | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0312360533
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Book Description

Meryem, a fifteen-year-old girl, lives in a rural village on the shores of Lake Van in Eastern Turkey. Her simple life changes dramatically after her uncle, a sheikh in a dervish order, rapes her. She is considered an outcast for shaming her family. When she is locked in a shed and left alone for days, she comes to the painful realization that her family expects her to hang herself with a length of rope left on the dirt floor. But she is defiant.

As tradition still has it, a judgment must be made in the name of honor. She is told she is to be taken to Istanbul, a shining city she envisions being just over the nearest mountain. Many girls from her village have “gone to Istanbul,” and she assumes it must be a wonderful place since not one has returned. In fact, those girls have been the victims of “honor-killings.”

Cemal, Meryem’s cousin, a commando in the army, has been fighting in the mountains against the rebels. On his return home, he is welcomed as a hero though he has been severely traumatized by his war experiences. His father, who had violated Meryem, charges Cemal with the task of executing his cousin’s punishment. As he and Mereym begin their journey, they proceed through the marketplace where the townspeople have gathered, some weeping and others mocking her.

In Istanbul, a Harvard-educated professor named Irfan lives an elite existence. He has published many books, hosts a radio show, and seems to enjoy success and jet-set freedom. He revolts against the routine of his soulless life, deciding to leave his wealthy wife and Istanbul. He charters a boat to sail the Aegean . By coincidence, his path crosses with that of Meryem and Cemal. They embark on a journey together that fills their hearts with hope and sets them free.

Already an international bestseller, this lyrical and moving tale juxtaposes the traditional and modern and draws attention to human rights violations against women in the Middle East.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!.......2007-10-07

The author's skill in covering the fears and hopes of diverse set of people is just amazing. Once you start, you won't be able to put this book down.

A glimpse into a changing world.........2007-04-13

With his genius Livaneli has opened a window to the world that is becoming more and more puzzling for the West. He created three strong characters representing the three layers of Turkish society, the innocent, the ignorant and the intellectual, all lost and confused in their own way, looking to find happiness and self-acceptance.
I highly recommend it.

Ambitious but not excellent.......2007-04-03

I was interested in this book from the cover and inside blurb, but once I began reading, I could see a lot of problems that an editor might have helped with. The author created a good premise, but it was extremely disjointed. It seems that he wanted to put anything in that occured to him, regardless of whether it supported the story or not. Perhaps he was trying to paint a portrait of life in Turkey, how the religion influences society, and how things are changing in some parts of the country - but as a story, it had very odd pacing, strange character behavior and motivation, and lots of loose ends (he would bring in things like homosexuality for no reason, and Irfan had so many book and author references, it was like name-dropping, again, for no reason.) I grew very weary of Irfan and his search, even though I found it interesting at the outset. I thought Meryem the most vibrant character, but some of her behaviors were also not realistic - no one gets over rape as quickly as she did, particularly in a country where she's told she's useless and sinful, and where she knows she'll be killed. I also waited for a showdown with her and Cemal regarding his father, but this didn't unfold the way I expected - and the way it DID unfold was given extremely short shrift. The writer deserves more for his effort than for the actual result.

Hopelessness everywhere.......2007-03-16

I read this book during my visit to Istanbul. I have heard many turks complain bitterly about the kurds who immigrated to the ghetto sections of the city where they have setup shacks like those mentioned in the book. Also, the city buses can't pass through their neighborhoods after 7pm because the occupants of these neighborhoods have been throwing molotov cocktails at the buses or taxis which venture through them. It is true that there is alot of bitterness in turks, and any mention of kurds also being human are met with insults and anger towards the person who mentions such things. I have heard one woman who was sitting next to me in such a bus trip say to me after i asked why the bus wasn't passing through the neighborhoods after 7pm,
"they come to our city, eat our food, take our money and bomb us." There is also a turkish mafia, very strong (drug traffic, gambling etc) and visible in the city is said to be populated by kurds. I don't know how much of this is true. But, until i read this book, not one person told me why kurds have migrated to the western parts of turkey in such numbers. It is because their villages were burned by turkish military, so that the PKK (kurdish liberation army) won't be able to hide among the ordinary kurds.
It is a sad story. Having to leave their villages, and finding prejudice and hatred everywhere they go, (and it is easy to understand ordinary turks fears also), i have no idea what the solution is to this problem.

But, kurds who are from the southeastern region of turkey seem to be the ones who are most stuck with these honor issues which result in terror, violence, and murder towards women, children and at times men. If a young woman elopes with her beloved because her father gives her hand in marriage to a man she doesn't love, the woman and her beloved are both killed, or if the family decides, and there is a girl in the other family, they take that girl for a brother in the family. They have a twisted understanding of honor. But, i think this is also due to feudal system of property owners who own the soil and everything under and above it including humans in these parts of the country. They don't want their autonomy to end. They are the gods, dictators, and the rulers of that part of the country. That's why they force tradition and honor on their subjects. If a brother or father doesn't kill her daughter who ran away, the family is subjected to insults, can't work, can't even buy bread in his village, and is in a way ex-communicated from his tribe until he clears his honor. This is the kind of people who move to Istanbul, a city which is filled with western idealogy, and carry no such notions of religion or honor, and astonished by what these new immigrants bring.

An unforgetable book!.......2006-10-31

I read "Bliss" first in 2002 from the original language it's written, Turkish. I was mesmerized by it, touched my heart, my soul. Ever since, I read it over and over again and I have been waiting for it to be translated into English so I can share this wonderful book with my friends, and everybody I know and do not know. An excellent translation! If you read a book a year, this should be your "only" one. BLISS is a deeper look into human soul. A universal search for happiness. The characters are so vivid, you can see them, feel them, be them. Universal in the sense of soul searching, but also gives an accurate and great overall picture of Turkey today.

Average customer rating:

I Couldn't Put Bliss Down
ok
Pure Bliss
A Wonderful Read
Great Lesbian Fiction!!!!!!!

Bliss
Fiona Zedde
Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0758209193

Customer Reviews:

I Couldn't Put Bliss Down.......2007-09-23

I met Ms. Zedde the day I bought her book at Charis book store in Atlanta. Before reading it, I thought the author's age and the book's marketing audience would make it too "young" a story for me. (I had a conservative civil-rights-era-Jehovah's Witness upbringing). But I was wrong! Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down! Yes, I was turned off by the S&M sex at the outset, but still I brought the book to work with me every night and missorted UPS packages because I was so engrossed. :-) In fact, I was so intrigued, and felt so guilty, for reading about the raw woman-to-woman sex that when a co-worker came near, I jumped in alarm and nearly dropped the book onto the conveyor belt! Hilarious! I write about women, too, but am more subtle with my descriptions. At any rate, Ms. Zedde's writing in BLISS is clear and absorbing, and the characters and setting are well-drawn and absolutely believable. Hunter Willoughby, though not the type of woman I would desire, remains for me, weeks after reading her, one of the most vividly drawn fictional characters I've read in years. Good work, Ms. Zedde!

ok.......2007-07-16

i want to thrilled about this book it was slow and kinda boring i dont recall if i even finished it

Pure Bliss.......2007-04-06

I do enjoy Fiona Zedde's work....Bliss was a nice adventure to the tropics.. Easily visualized and interesting...sexy and engaging characters...

A Wonderful Read.......2007-02-01

In the past reading lesbian novels was a horrible thing to do. I never felt connected with the characters, the story line, or the experience held within the pages. That was until I read Bliss. I loved this book. The women being described I could actually visualize and see within everyday life. The story of love that was captured within the pages was something that I could grasp. I urge that everyone give this book a try. I enjoyed the desciptions of Jamaica and the foods that were eaten within the novel.

Great Lesbian Fiction!!!!!!!.......2007-01-26

If you need to fulfill your craving for love, lust and lesbians Fiona Zedde is the answer. Bliss was great!!!! I am an avid reader of lesbian fiction and this novel was amazing. Romance, realism and hot sexy moments that catapult you through this story of a woman's search for love departing from heterocentricity to one of taboo!!!
A MUST READ!!!

Average customer rating:

Warm Sarcasm and Humor
A witty, wonderful strip for couples everywhere
A wonderful, unfortunately short lived comic

The Road to Bliss: A Bliss Collection
Stephen Hersh
Manufacturer: Andrews Mcmeel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0836267486

Book Description

Finally there's a comic strip that captures the pulse of the Seinfeld/Mad About You (pre-baby) audience. Bliss is a microscopic look at childless coupledom. It is smart and droll, a strip for novice, as well as seasoned lovers. It's a contemporary look at married life that chronicles young newlyweds Steven and Dana, as they live, love, and learn to fold fitted sheets.

Customer Reviews:

Warm Sarcasm and Humor.......2006-03-06

I am rather a connoisseur of comic strips. This one shows awesome humor, such warm and gentle teasing, a truly spectacular series about a couple with a loving relationship full of accepting but pointed humor. I wish I had this kind of marriage! Five stars, yes indeed. The strips published AFTER this book became more bitter, probably because Hirsh was *trying* to be funny, and the couple lost the warm closeness. But this collection is perfect, very homey and welcoming humor. The couple truly loves each other, and their bickering/nattering is so infused with appreciation and self-awareness that it warms the heart. NOT smarmy.

A witty, wonderful strip for couples everywhere.......2005-08-03

A comic strip about couples? It's been done before - but rarely has the couple been so natural, so human, and so witty. Dana and Steven come alive by the end of the book; you feel like you know them, like you invite them over for drinks and gently poke fun of each other with them! It's a real shame this comic never made it big; the author retired it at the millennium in a touching strip - I would dearly love to own a second collection of Bliss, but the first is a rare gem that any newlywed couple, or anyone who likes to watch "Friends", would enjoy owning. Snatch it up if you see a copy for sale - they make great presents at weddings!

A wonderful, unfortunately short lived comic.......2000-04-27

Bliss has already come and gone, but hopefully the sequel to this book will also be forthcoming.

The strip was an absolute riot; Stephen has a sharp incisive wit. Almost every strip is phrased just so precisely, yet so familiar to those going through the wedded ups and downs of middle class.

Book Description

Slow down (maybe even stop), and smell the roses--and the jasmine, sandalwood, peppermint, and citrus blends, too. These remarkable fragrant candles, soaps, and potpourris make it simple for overworked, stressed-out women to experience the relaxing pleasures of aromatherapy every day. Each deliciously aromatic item in this lushly illustrated manual uses pure essential oils that promote a sense of health and well being. Whether the oil permeates the air or gets absorbed through the skin, it works its magic. An introduction explains aromatherapy's benefits, and provides hints for purchasing, blending, and storing the oils. With the help of easy-to-follow directions, create a Lifting Lavender Embedded Marble Candle; muscle soothing Relief Bath with juniper, rosemary, lemon, and eucalyptus; Serenity Now soap with patchouli; and Spicy Potpourri.

Average customer rating:

An Important Israeli Writer
This book needs a warning label !

Bliss: A Novel
Ronit Matalon
Manufacturer: Metropolitan Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0805066020

Book Description

Ronit Matalon's fiction has been praised as 'haunting,' 'inventive,' 'refreshingly daring.' Now in a graceful, illuminating second novel, she tells a provocative story of two loves, two partings, two worlds, two women: Ofra and Sarah. When Ofra is called from Tel Aviv to France to attend the funeral of her beloved cousin Michel, she escapes a life lived vicariously through Sarah, her oldest friend, a photographer and political activist. In Paris, Ofra enters the embrace of her French family and the intimate world of domestic life, while Sarah, in Tel Aviv, drifts even farther from her husband, Udi. Drawn to a Palestinian nationalist, she takes on the fight for a girl from Gaza who has been injured by an Israeli bullet and needs medical treatment that can only be had inside Israel. As Sarah adopts the cause with near- destructive zeal and pledges herself to the suffering of others, her own child goes untended, with dreadful consequences for all. Against a backdrop of national conflict, Bliss confronts the terrible dilemma of choosing between one's desires and one's beliefs, between grand ideological commitment and the more mundane claims of family. With vivid, penetrating prose, Matalon has delivered a large and resonant work that is as artful as it is affecting.

Customer Reviews:

An Important Israeli Writer.......2006-09-02

Ronit Matalon is one of the most important young writers in Israel today. She is passionate and humane, and refuses to be sentimental or cliched. it's a shame that the only other review of this novel ignores the greatness of Matalon's humanity and doesn't bother to consider her novel's literary and political merits. 'Bliss' is not a novel that is emotionally 'easy' in any way -- it not only confronts the contradictions of political and national identity, but also the tensions of love. It does this using crystalline prose and an a-linear style that forces the reader to be actively engaged in the novel. Though her first novel, 'The One Facing Us,' is more theoretically daring, I recommend 'Bliss' to anyone who accepts that politics and love are too complex to be represented as "us" or "them," "black" or "white," "with us" or "against us."

This book needs a warning label !.......2003-09-20

Care about animals? Beware of this book. One plot features the torture, persecution and killing of an old, partially blind cat.

I read several editorial reviews and none mentioned this. From them, I expected a challenging read. I was interested in the women, their emotional lives, and how they coped with their families and their social and political environments.

I generally give a book a fifty page trial. With this book, I decided at that point not to continue with it. The violence toward the cat was introduced and I knew this was not a good book for me. But, I read the last few pages. (Probably hoping I was wrong and that the outcome for the cat, anyway, was good.) Mistake!

Book Description

A hip, edgy debut crime novel about a woman who finally takes charge Nicola is having a really bad day. She's tired of her job and the tiny San Francisco apartment she's about to be evicted from. Her life's only excitement is fueled by fantasy, about the expensive lingerie she wears under her business suits, about a man she sees at lunch every day, a darkly handsome man she calls Chorizo (after the pizzas he orders). She's tired of her life, and nothing brings it home more than running into her ex-husband Scooter on the way to work. But if ever anyone has earned a lesson in 'be careful what you wish for,' it's Nicola. First, she gets kidnapped after kick-boxing class by two teenagers who, it turns out, work for Scooter. He needs money and didn't want to ask. She agrees to help, but before she can resolve this situation, her innocent flirtation with Chorizo turns sinister. Suddenly Nicola's problem is no longer how to survive her boredom but how to survive, period. Martha Conway's debut is a deliciously hip, sexy, and suspenseful crime novel.

Customer Reviews:

a cheesy beach read.......2004-03-14

Luckily for me, I bought this with plans of unwinding on a beach vacation because it was pretty cheesy. I don't think any of the characters were likeable and I don't think the whole plot was particularly plausible. To be honest, I left the book in my hotel rather than pack it back up to bring home. I didn't plan on rereading it...ever.

noir novel for the oh's.......2003-07-24

Martha Conway makes an impressive debut with her first novel, 12 Bliss Street. It's a twenties/thirties-something noir thriller with a terrific heroine and a creepy crime. Very well written, suspenseful, and often funny. Nicola has it all -- looks, charm, brains and a great sense of humor. She outwits both the worst and the most foolish of bad guys.

Ms. Conway also knows how to paint a scene, from teen life outside school walls to the back-biting, bickering world of high tech office politics. This book is a fun read.

funny upbeat chick-lit mystery.......2003-06-16

One day after getting off the San Francisco Muni Train, Nicola thinks she sees her ex-husband who she hasn't laid eyes on for three years. From there her day goes downhill rapidly with a cranky boss and an irate customer. When she goes out to her usual restaurant for lunch, she meets the man she has been non-verbally flirting with for weeks and they finally talk. He asks her out on a date but though she is tempted, she chickens out.

The next bad happening is when two college students kidnap her and by the time Nicola convinces them she has no idea what is going on, they become nervous and call the man who hired them. Just as she suspected, the man turns out to be Scooter who wants to borrow money from her to pay off a loan shark. She agrees to talk to the bookie's nephew who turns out to be a good looking and attractive man who wants to be a food critic. They start dating but the man who Nicola turned downed at the restaurant is looking for her because she's a loose end that needs tying up before he gets out of the snuff film business.

12 BLISS STREET is a funny upbeat chick-lit mystery starring a feisty resolute woman determined not to lose control in any situation. The villain is vile in a funky kind of way but the funniest character is the ex-husband who is always trying to reach for the gold ring only to find it's made foolishly of brass. Martha Conway is writing for the thirty-something crowd who will adore this work.

Harriet Klausner

Excellent crime novel!.......2003-06-11

I was pleasantly surprised how strong Martha Conway's first novel is. 12 Bliss Street is a true rarity -- a gripping, well-plotted crime novel that is taut, funny, and full of interesting, rich characters.

Martha has an incredibly deft hand. She can go from a very delicate, sensitive first date, first kiss scene -- to a savage cruel snuff-film murder. The changes of pace are startling and intense, very filmic material.

Her characters are a pleasure. Nicola, the heroine, is smart, funny, but not your typical hard-beaten crime novel type. She's just a regular web developer with a vivid imagination and a thing for wearing lingerie to work. She gets entangled with criminals, but proves smarter than them!

Book Description

Young Tierney surprisingly meets her old boyfriend from Scotland, Robbie. Now the two must see if their love can overcome the obstacles of life in the wilds of Canada.

Average customer rating:

Blissfully Good
Expert Storytelling
Make Room at the Top!
A haunting story
Wanting more

Bliss: A Novel (Strivers Row)
Gabrielle Pina
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0375761039
Release Date: 2002-09-10

Book Description

“Sometimes a lie is the best thing.”

Francesca Valentine is a successful, beautiful, world-renowned violinist. But when her perfect life is shattered, she must confess to a history of carefully calculated deception.

Claudine Jenkins was a musical prodigy who clung to her one true love—a violin given to her by her aunt Hattie Mae. Claudine grew up protecting herself from the tauntings of her father and her twin brother by eating herself into obesity. Her mother was an alcoholic who was indifferent to her, at best. But all that would soon change.

Feared by most, yet adored for her exotic beauty, Hattie Mae Jones remained a mystery even to those who thought they knew her best. But when her dark past threatened to destroy her perfectly laid plans for the future, she became determined to have her way. Would she have gone as far as committing murder?

What happens when three generations of lies come to the surface? Power, deceit, greed, and lust collide—leaving you with sheer Bliss.

Customer Reviews:

Blissfully Good.......2006-03-08

As a writer it is a pleasure to have someone read your stories and receive some type of emotions from them. This book is a story that was enjoyable, right to the point of the telling and a writer who is now on my favarite author's list. Great story about believeable characters. Word of mouth whether it's about a book, movie or music,is how you know it's a good book etc.
Yo don't sleep on this book or this author she was readable.

Expert Storytelling.......2004-09-21

It's been some time since I read a book this well written. I was hooked into the story from from the very first page. The comlexity of the characters make for a great story of deceit and lies.

The ending left me with several questions, so I re-read the first two chapters for answers. This is when I realized the genius of the way the story was told. I loved it!

Make Room at the Top!.......2003-12-30

If you liked Cane River (Lolita Tademy) and In Search of Satisfaction (J. California Cooper), you'll find that the characters in Bliss might have sprung from the same line in this saga of African-American women doing their best to survive and ensure success for future generations. It's a shorter read, but I appreciate the fact that Gabrielle made every word count - excluding all of the extra plot-dragging stuff that I usually just skim through anyway (excessive description, irrelevant sub-plots, etc). As a writer, I studied this work and was intrigued with how she crafted each chapter to lead into the next almost seamlessly. You won't be disappointed!
Encore, Ms. Pina!

A haunting story.......2003-10-27

Bliss is a beguiling story of love, protection, hatred, sacrifice and some of the selfish agendas of three generations of women. The story is primarily centered on two of the women but the cycle of pain is explained and understood through the first generation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because it is so well written and the characters are so well developed. The author craftily keeps you guessing and anxious to know what's going to happen next. I also enjoyed the fact that the author didn't keep you guessing that you lost interest nor leaving loose ends untied too long. The story line is refreshing as a different dynamic in relationships is explored.

My only criticism is that the ending is abrupt and disturbed the wonderful pacing of the story established early on.

Wanting more.......2003-06-21

I was so engrossed in the this tale of love, lies and revenge that I read it cover to cover in one night.

The author expertly balances drama and tragedy with healthy doses of wit and humor.

The characters are very clearly defined and their actions always serve to move the story forward. This is one of the best first novels I have read.

Although the story is, for the most part, tied up in the end, a few very minor questions remain unanswered.

Customer Reviews:

Witty prof satirizes academia and religious cults.......2004-01-28

This little gem of a novel, by Rutgers University American Studies professor Michael Rockland, chronicles the spiritual journey of fictional English professor Sidney Kantor, as witnessed by four people in his life: his mother, his best friend, his ex-wife, and his daughter. (Think "The Razor's Edge" meets "The Sound and the Fury," filtered through "Citizen Kane" with a solid dose of humour added). The reactions to Kantor's behavior, as he transforms from academic enfant terrible to aesthetic spiritual guru, range from "He's great!" to "He's a creep!" to "Oy! This is my son?"

Rockland writes with a breezy wit; his insider's view of higher education informs the novel with authenticity. Humour abounds, but never at the expense of substance. At 176 pages, "A Bliss Case" flies by, but Rockland packs it with so much plot, character development, and wryly observed detail, that you'll feel you've absorbed something much longer.

East meets West.......2001-11-30

I am a stident of Political Science at Rutgers University and had Michael Rockland as a professor. A Bliss Case is written to the highest literary standards with consistent wit. With an underlying theme of East meets West, Rockland expresses the innocence of the East as it encounters very foreign situations in the West. This is a must read for anyone interested in good contemporary fiction. If not, read it for the consistent, realist humor.

A deft, funny exploration of a cult using varied narrators.......1999-11-06

The mark of this novel has barely faded in the 5 years since I've read it, reading it spawned an interest in cults and their leaders. A Bliss Case offers so much psychological insight into the experience of cult leaders, members, and their families, and it remains a gripping read throughout. It is primarily a meditation on the personality of a college professor, Sidney, who loins a cult. The narrator switches from his mother (a fun voice) to his friend to his daughter. The man's psyche is perplexing yet fascinating, and although the novel captures him from all angles, reders are still left with the ambivalence that surround our most complex heroes and villains. Sidney is left, like evil and love themselves, an enigma. This book is a great experience for those who love psychological probes, mysteries, family dramas, or the artistry of finely crafted fiction. Email me if you'd like to discuss it, I could talk about this book for pages.

Average customer rating:

Hip Hop Journey
Bliss woke me up
Literary Bliss
Boring
Confusing, boring, soulless heroine

Bliss: A Novel
Danyel Smith
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0609810413
Release Date: 2006-03-28

Book Description

At a glossy gathering on Paradise Island, record exec Eva Glenn—soulful, sexy, powerful, and perhaps pregnant—is hosting a comeback showcase for singing sensation Sunny Addison, a barefoot diva with a poet’s heart and the voice of a lion. At the event’s high-strung peak, however, Eva begins to sink beneath the waves of anxiety washing over her—anxiety over a confusing sexual triangle, a career at a crossroads, and choices to be made about her possible pregnancy—and decides, in a blink, to flee. She leaves Paradise for the petite, pastoral island of Cat, accompanied by her sometime-lover D’Artagnan Addison, an earnestly crazy mystic looking for answers of his own. What begins as an idyllic break quickly turns into an intense sojourn that brings Eva to terms with the crises closing in on her.

Bliss is a novel about the real rhythm and blues of life, about pain and loss and why we hold tight, in the end, to the sex and music and love that offer us a fleeting glimpse of bliss, even when the price is steep.

Customer Reviews:

Hip Hop Journey.......2006-01-19

If you are looking for your average, run of the mill type novel you need to move on because this is not the book for you. A well crafted tale that requires the reader to see beyond the surface, Smith takes her readers on an intoxicating hip-hop journey that is not for the faint at heart. If you are looking for a novel that will challenge your intelligence and bring out the music lover in you then you need Bliss.

Bliss woke me up.......2005-12-31

Danyel Smith's first novel, "More Like Wrestling," is one of the best novels I've read in ages. I wanted to adore "Bliss" but couldn't -- it wasn't my cuppa tea. And, I realized, tea just wasn't in the offing. A terrific novel that just didn't go to me.

Literary Bliss.......2005-11-17

Danyel Smith's BLISS is a novel of self-discovery and love. Eva is a sexy, independent, strong-willed executive in the music business that is dominated by men who have labeled her Evil Eva. During the late 1990s, with hip-hop and the music trade as the background, Eva has worked hard to garner her position in the music world where the battle for respect is a never-ending fight. While at an industry function on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, she must confront a turning point in her career, her love for two men and the possibility of being pregnant. With the help of one of her lovers, she flees Paradise Island in search of some answers and truths.

Eva's escape is really a time for her to think about the decisions she has made in her personal and professional life. She also must examine the truths she has tried so hard to hide from when thinking about her mother, her personal relationships and who she really is. While on Cat Island in the Bahamas, Eva finds herself in the midst of all the denials and lies and makes a critical decision that will alter not only her life, but also the lives of others. With acknowledgment of her past and acceptance of her future, she begins to embrace her truths that she has denied for so long. This means being honest about her mother, a possible change in her career and just maybe becoming a mother.

Danyel Smith has written a novel with prose that is deliberate, sensual and witty. She gives the reader a strong heroine who is complicated and flawed. When anxiety over her life becomes frantic, Eva escapes in search of her truth and herself. Danyel Smith paints a gorgeous picture with words and phrases to take readers on Eva's journey of self-discovery. One would be remiss to not mention this novel is laden with information on the music industry, through which the author gives an up-close and personal view of the behind-the-scenes workings of the business. Additionally, Ms. Smith gives us a musical history of hip-hop, R & B and pop music. I found myself reminiscing about the songs mentioned throughout the story, not to mention trying to sing them. The characters are well-developed and realistic. The writing style is uniquely Ms. Smith's. She eloquently puts words to paper in a manner that gives you time to digest and feel what she is trying to convey. Her pacing tends to be deliberately slow, but in a thoughtful way. The beauty of the words, the path of the main character's discovery and the music are what readers will take from Ms. Smith's newest offering. BLISS, with everything it is offering, will resonate long after the final page is read.

Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

Boring.......2005-10-24

I definitely agree with the previous reviews of this book. I could not get beyond chapter one. This book was blissfully boring!

Confusing, boring, soulless heroine.......2005-09-20

I agree with a previous reviewer whose gotten to page 50, but reluctantly so. I am reading until I get the next book I've ordered. Thus far, I've found the book hard to keep reading because none of the characters are people that I have any interest in. The repeated references to the "death of hip hop," are a bit much. I liked her other book, More Like Wrestling, which is why I picked up this book. But thus far, Bliss is not holding my attention. Eva, the main character, is insipid. Nothing more to write because I probably won't finish reading this book.

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