Fieldwork: A Novel

Average customer rating:

What a great book!

Perfect for Book Clubs

A Passionate Historical Novel of Anthropoligists and Christians in Thailand

Great writing, but zenith of story was disappointing

Both nuanced and gripping!

Fieldwork: A Novel
Mischa Berlinski
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374299161
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

A daring, spellbinding tale of anthropologists, missionaries, demon possession, sexual taboos, murder, and an obsessed young reporter named Mischa Berlinski

When his girlfriend takes a job as a schoolteacher in northern Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, working as little as possible for one of Thailand’s English-language newspapers. One evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story. A charismatic American anthropologist, Martiya van der Leun, has been found dead—a suicide—in the Thai prison where she was serving a fifty-year sentence for murder.

Motivated first by simple curiosity, then by deeper and more mysterious feelings, Mischa searches relentlessly to discover the details of Martiya’s crime. His search leads him to the origins of modern anthropology—and into the family history of Martiya’s victim, a brilliant young missionary whose grandparents left Oklahoma to preach the Word in the 1920s and never went back. Finally, Mischa’s obssession takes him into the world of the Thai hill tribes, whose way of life becomes a battleground for two competing, and utterly American, ways of looking at the world.

Vivid, passionate, funny, deeply researched, and page-turningly plotted, Fieldwork is a novel about fascination and taboo—scientific, religious, and sexual. It announces an assured and captivating new voice in American fiction.

Customer Reviews:

What a great book!.......2007-09-24

I picked this book up randomly and couldn't be happier that I did! At first it was a little hard to get into, but soon the story just hooks you! The style of writing was so natural, it felt like you were in the author's head, thinking right along with him. The twists and turns, the suspense - I loved it! I'd definitely recommend this book!

Perfect for Book Clubs .......2007-08-05

In the course of fieldwork, we learn about The Curiosity, the way anthropologists get hooked on a culture. There's a puzzle they want to solve. So they become reluctant to leave, although they know it's time to stop.

As a reader, I got hooked on The Curosity about Martiya van der Leun, the book's subject though not the heroine. Within 15 pages we learn she is serving a 50-year prison term for murder. What would lead a scholarly anthropologist to murder? And how could she survive the horrors of a Thai prison where (in some regions) inmates enter the visiting room on their knees?

Mischa (it's not clear why the author named his hero after himself), sensing a story, detours from his casual series of journalism gigs to solve the mystery. Along the way, he interviews Martiya's three tribes: her friends and former colleagues from the UC Berkeley anthropology department, her odd association with the Walker family of hard-core missionaries and of course the tribe where she lived for many years, attempting to do fieldwork.

This book can be appreciated on so many levels. As a work of literary fiction, the author's prose keeps pages turning even while he takes us back to the beginnings of the missionary Walker family. In just a sentence he captures the ways of large close-knit families, such as their unspoken but decision to accept or reject outsiders.

Parts of this section do seem rather long, but we also discover the grueling struggles of the early missionaries. Imagine a cadre of opium-soaked servants awkwardly carrying a pregnant woman across treacherous paths...floods destroying the family...and more. I wonder if we are meant to find parallels and contrast between the Walkers and Martiya, such as destruction of everything they owned by water versus fire.

On another level, this book captures the essence of fieldwork for female anthropologists. I loved Martiya's struggle with her curly hair (mine frizzes too).

Relief organizations, military and Peace Corps organizations put their members through rigorous training before deploying them to exotic locations. Anthropologists receive little preparation in dealing with the psychological aspects of moving to a new culture, let alone the withdrawal pangs of returning home. It's amazing they cope as well as they do.

Mischa's fieldwork turns out to be more promising than Martiya's. Then again he enjoys leisure, journalism skills, and a girl friend who provides both economic and social support. Ultimately he uncovers the story behind her death. But as a journalist, he gives us the facts. The "why" is something that could be debated at book clubs, with different perspectives provided by psychologists, sociologists and just about everyone.

Was Martiya truly possessed, as one character suggests? Has she gone native like the "Eskimo Kathy" of graduate school legend? Was she betrayed by her own desires and demons at a difficult time in her life? Or (as I would argue) was she feeling so stressed and alone that she began to unravel, like the wayward astronaut who stalked her lover's rival? That's the Curiosity that remains after a careful reading.

Early in the story, Mischa's friend Josh actually meets Martiya in the relatively benign modern Chiang Mai prison. Martiya just received an inheritance and, Josh points out, money would help her. Martiya declines. She has no place to go and she's just beginning to understand "the way things work around here."

Some readers will guess what Martiya means. Later we realize how Martiya has in fact coped with her new environment in a tragicomic irony that summarizes the trajectory of her once-promising life.

A Passionate Historical Novel of Anthropoligists and Christians in Thailand.......2007-07-30

A lot of hard work and research went into this excellent work of historical fiction. It is fiction, as the author reminds us at the end of the book and yet, the characters are so excellently described and brilliant that you could swear that this is a biography. The main character is a dedicated, unselfish, female anthropologist doing work with a tribe of Chinese/Thais in Northern Thailand. We find out early on that she may be involved in a murder and the author painstakingly researches her life and work through interviews with her friends, boyfriends, teachers, the Thai people she is working with and finally, with a family of Christian missionaries who have been involved in missionary work in China since the 30's. The observations about differences in cultures and what it takes for an anthropologist to leave behind pre-conceived notions of God, sprirituality, morality and what makes the world tick, and then enter into a world so different and yet spiritual and religious in its own way, is the real eye opener of the book. The dedicated anthropologists who do this fieldwork have an experience vastly different and scary compared to say a chemist or physicist doing experiments in a lab somewhere here in the US.

We also get a good dose of what the Christian missionaries are trying to do and how their work can sometimes seem somewhat arrogant and un-needed. And yet, to some of the converts, leaving their old belief system and joining a much simpler belief system like "The Good News" of Christianity, can be liberating. But once our main character has virtually become a member of this Thai tribe and falls for one of the male members, she is devastated as some of them convert to Christianity.

The story is very well told and I walked away with a better understanding that this is a huge and complicated world with many interesting belief systems. I think Mischa Berlinski is here to stay. (Mischa, maybe you should come up with a more marketable name.)

Five Stars and, like Stephen King, I highly recommend that you read it.

Great writing, but zenith of story was disappointing.......2007-07-11

Loved the prose; also loved the earlier aspects of the book, including the Walkers background. But I was definitely disappointed when the mystery was revealed--was expecting and hoping for more.

Also, the book started to stall toward the end.

Both nuanced and gripping!.......2007-06-18

This is the best piece of contemporary fiction I have read in quite some time. It is an absolute thrill to discover a smart and complex novel that is also compulsively readable. I'm baffled by the ambivalence of the PW review -- Fieldwork is HIGHLY suspenseful; a complete page-turner (at one point, I was so absorbed that I missed my subway stop and didn't notice for ten minutes). It's easy to see, then, why Stephen King chose it as a discussion point in his (mostly rightful) critique of the painful divide between popular and literary fiction; Fieldwork indeed problematizes these genres by writing a thriller that could also easily be taught in universities (in Anthropology and English courses alike).

Please do yourself a favor and pick up this entertaining read immediately.

Average customer rating:

Eleven Days In August
Wonderful writing, sad and fatalistic story
Fine characterization
Major but Flawed
The book for the first time Faulkner reader to start with.

Light in August (The Corrected Text)
William Faulkner
Manufacturer: Vintage International/Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679732268
Release Date: 1991-01-30

Book Description

Joe Christmas does not know whether he is black or white. Faulkner makes of Joe's tragedy a powerful indictment of racism; at the same time Joe's life is a study of the divided self and becomes a symbol of 20th century man.

Customer Reviews:

Eleven Days In August.......2007-08-12

This book has been touted as being Faulkner's most accessible. Although a bit easier to follow having less stream of consciousness it still requires some patience and appreciation for nuance. Further, if you take the story at face value you will be missing out on 90% of what it has to offer. The themes run deep and the characters symbolic. I'd recommend reading exerpts from One Matchless Time by Jay Parini who provides some good insights into Faulkner's life and his writings. I'd also read the review written by A.Mason (below). This was one of the more violent and sexual books that I have read of Faulkner. Although I was surprised, I was in awe of his tact and style in portraying these events in a subtly gruesome way that takes the reader off gaurd. The climactic scene of Joe Christmas's undoing was Faulkner at his best. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves good writing and is fascinated with the tragedy of the post-Civil War southerner.

Wonderful writing, sad and fatalistic story.......2007-02-08

This book was my introduction to Faulkner, based on a suggestion by my well-read aunt.

It is certainly possible to recognize the skill of a writer without necessarily finding the story he tells endearing. That was the case here. Faulkner's prose is often like poetry and his use of the language is unquestionably masterful. He shows his talent not so much in the words he uses - the vocabulary is actually quite plain - but rather in the way he combines those words. Simple adjectives are used to create compelling scenes and even more compelling characters.

Faulkner strikes me as the consummate observer. He doesn't moralize, he doesn't become overwrought, he doesn't offer judgement. He simply observes the way things are, not the way we want them to be, and there is a sense that we are being propelled towards not tragegy but simply reality in his writing.

Light in August is ostensibly about Joe Christmas, a headstrong and mysterious drifter in the 1920s deep South, but surprisingly we aren't introduced to him until several chapters into the book. The book chronicles the intersecting people and events that surround Joe Christmas in Faulkner's fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi. However, the author introduces us to so many other non-incidental characters that it is often hard to separate the leading from the supporting cast.

If I had to describe the characters in this book in a single word it would be "trapped." There is an overwhelming sense of stuck-ness we get in observing their lives. One does not necessarily get the impression that they saw themselves as stuck and hopeless - indeed many seemed to exist in frustrating ignorance of reality. But for the outside observer to whom Faulkner tells this story using his rich narrative, it is obvious that to a person, every character in this book is indeed on a treadmill. Slavery may be over, but the people that populate these pages are in very real servitude to themselves and their pasts.

The book is a glimpse at the deep South immediately prior to the depression era. We're presented with a culture that still hasn't quite come to grips with life on the other side of the Civil War and racialism is so deeply ingrained that although slavery is no longer law, the caste system it birthed lives on in the arrogant attitudes of the whites and the subservient squalor of the blacks.

The loyalties and alliances and relationships in this book are complex, as are the characters, and more than once I found myself wanting to slap these characters into sense. Without exception, each was their own worst enemy and managed to almost single-handedly sail their lives into the rocks. Although many were admittedly pointed rock-ward via their upbringing, they had ample opportunities to change course but continued sailing directly for the cliffs.

Although I have not yet read other books by Faulkner, I'm told this is the most approachable of all his writing, reading the most like a traditional novel. There is plenty of tension in the story, as the saga of Christmas and the other characters unfolds dramatically. Consequently, most people will find themselves turning the pages in anticipation of what happens next. Faulkner takes the reader on numerous side journeys, showing how the characters came to be what they are, and those characters often share certain aspects of their history in common, not just their present circumstances.

As the book draws to a close, the treadmill keeps turning with characters trudging futilely into the sunset, still stuck in the same ruts in which the beginning of the story found them. I'll say little more. To do otherwise is to risk spoiling the plot.

I can perhaps describe the overall experience here as bittersweet. The writing sweet, but the tale itself thoroughly bitter.

Fine characterization.......2007-02-07

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. It explores the questions of race thoroughly without hitting the reader over the head with it. The characters seem real, neither demonic nor angelic. The impact of race is ultimately devastating to Joe Christmas and many of the people around him.

Major but Flawed.......2007-01-20

Faulkner's was a self-indulgent, irresponsible, uneven gift. But at his best, as sometimes in these pages, he is a poet and rhapsodist without equal, and we continue to read him. As a rational thinker he was a nullity; he had no practical insights, no social program, no agendum, no framework that could serve as a starting point toward a solution of the problems he so tellingly describes. This became abundantly clear around the time of his winning the Nobel prize for literature, when he disappointed and exasperated followers who were looking to him for guidance as to a beacon. At least Faulkner had the self-knowledge to know that he did not know, did not in fact even want to know. For knowledge was inimical to his art, not-wanting-to-know a precondition for it. That, and bourbon. The bourbon released his inhibitions and silenced his inner editor (its voice had never been loud), unleashing a torrent of words, much of it bilge but some diamonds too. The result in Light in August is an exasperating novel that contains some thirty scattered pages of the highest poetic value and one potentially great character in the person of Joe Christmas. I say this as a man of 54 who has read the book five times in the course of his life, having been introduced to it in high school. Of course I didn't understand much of it then, but its inimitable style and voluptuous confusion have beckoned me back to it.

One is attracted above all by the descriptions of the simple processes of life in all their earthy particulars, the negro cabins, the town lights, the smells, everything rank and dark and elemental. Except for Joe Christmas and possibly Gail Hightower, the characters are all stereotypes, especially the women. Intellectually, there is little of substance in the novel, its appeal is entirely emotional. There is a clean, bracing no-nonsense description of hypermasculine elements and experiences to which Joe seems to gravitate naturally. For instance, of McEachern's harness strap ("clean, like the shoes, and it smelled like the man smelled: an odor of clean hard virile living leather") and Joe's rapt expression when being beaten by it; of Joe's preference for the clean, hard air of men. Given his latent homosexuality, one feels Joe would have done much better as a votary of the strap. But there was a problem. Biologically he was wired for pussy, and no mistake. Even as a child in the orphanage with the dietician he showed this susceptibility: "On that first day when he discovered the toothpaste in her room he had gone directly there, who had never heard of toothpaste either, as if he already knew that she would possess something of that nature and he would find it." He was still too young to understand what Charley was enjoying, but when he came of age he learned that it too, like the toothpaste, was not always sweet ("periodic filth between two moons suspended"). Unfortunately, Joe had no use for the rest of the package and never learned to like and appreciate women as people. This was the root of his troubles with women and by cutting him off from a source of life helped to seal his doom.

Several reviewers have stated that Joe had some negro blood. This is an error and is refuted by the evidence given in the book, although it suits Faulkner (if not Joe) to make Joe out as a possible negro and even to foist him off as one. I think Faulkner's device here, of using the negro as the ultimate symbol of the outcast, is a dreadful mistake, so serious as even to call into question his integrity as an artist and his understanding of his greatest character. Why? Partly because it is too easy, too cheap a shot. It's also overkill, since Joe's alienation has already been powerfully delineated by other, artistic means. But the main, the fatal objection, is that raising the N question does great damage by introducing confusion precisely where the novel demands clarity and restraint -- it entangles Joe's problem of identity with something completely separate and other. This other is a serious communal problem in its own right and certainly should not be abused as a symbol in the way that Faulkner abuses it (neither should the word Christmas). Faulkner is monkeying around with things bigger than himself, things he does not understand, in an attempt to endow his work with a greater significance than he was capable of developing on his own horsepower as a creative writer; this is what I mean when I say he is irresponsible. Joe's problem is in fact his alone. Damaged in childhood and partly cut off from the sources of life, he has to renew and rebuild himself to a degree not necessary to his complacent countrymen, who by virtue of their utter mediocrity are granted automatic membership in small, stultifying, inbred towns like the one in which the action unfolds. Faulkner's punishment is swift and certain -- it is precisely here in the book that he begins to stumble, to overreach for a grand synthesis that isn't there. The performance is increasingly over-the-top until eventually artistic control is lost. He doesn't seem to grasp the limitations of his creations, and the book becomes a stew. Faulkner was nothing if not confused, and here alas the confusion damages the work. Where was that inner editor?

After the murder, a building momentum sweeps the reader on to the end. However, there is no true catharsis and no real tragedy, only an overreaching for a grand synthesis that fails. The reader is struck by the feeling that something has gone wrong, and on going back finds he has been the victim of a swindle. The book closes with that sucker Byron Bunch in tow with his damaged goods in the form of Lena Grove and her bastard infant. Faulkner seems to be saying that in spite of some mistakes, life has returned to its immemorial path. But if this is salvation, one must be glad for Joe that he is safely dead and out of harm's way. Not everyone is cowed by the eternal feminine, and Joe himself would have no trouble giving the Lena Groves of the world what they deserve -- the back of his hand.

So after forty years and five attempts at this book, what of value can I take away? Perhaps some thirty pages of beautiful poetry, and the memory of Joe Christmas. He sought to rebuild and renew himself through the transformative power of hard physical labor and I would like to leave him there, continuing now and forever on the roads he freely chose for himself, that run "through yellow wheat fields waving beneath the fierce yellow days of labor and hard sleep in haystacks beneath the cold mad moon of September, and the brittle stars."

The book for the first time Faulkner reader to start with........2007-01-15

Light in August by William Faulkner is the book for the first time Faulkner reader to start with. The book is very readable. Unlike some Faulkner stories, the story line is easy to follow. His verbosity is not as apparent in this work as in some of his others where lengthy sentences and tangent monologues within the story derail the reader. The plot is more typical than any of his other works. The average reader will appreciate the book and get a hunger to dip into other works by this southern master writer.

Read and reviewed by Jimmie A. Kepler

A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood

Average customer rating:

Highly informative
Useful book for lower division instruction
Good choice for lay people or undergraduates
Concise, Readable, Essential
Superb, Stylish summary of Jewish History

A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood
Raymond P. Scheindlin
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195139410

Amazon.com

"Jewish history is often told not as a narrative of real people with human problems and interests but as an idealized national myth," writes Raymond Scheinlin, in the introduction to his excellent A Short History of the Jewish People. Scheinlin is an observant Jew, but his book is not a history of the Jewish religion. It is a history of Jewish tribes around the world and the ways "they have interacted with the nations and cultures among whom they have lived, adapting to their environment while retaining a variety of continuities." The book's brevity precludes exhaustiveness, but its focus on particular Jewish communities and its disciplined analysis of their political successes and foibles give readers a firm grasp on the movements in Jewish history that have shaped the Middle East, Europe, and America. Amply illustrated with maps and photographs, the fluid prose of Scheinlin's History make this book a useful starting point for anyone seeking a secular history of Judaism that is neither skeptical nor hostile to religion. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

Where did the Jews come from? How did they retain their strong sense of community through centuries of dispersion? How have the Jews of the present, with their proud ethnic identity and thriving national home, emerged out of the downtrodden Jews of the past? Such questions arise naturally in the minds of anyone contemplating the long history of Jewish people. In one concise, authoritative volume, A Short History of the Jewish People provides insights and answers. This sweeping and highly informative work presents the major geographical, cultural, and political forces that have determined the course of Jewish history, introducing the many individuals, both religious and secular, who have shaped the character, mindset, and prospects of the Jewish people. Organized chronologically, the narrative follows the Jewish experience from legendary times to the peace agreements currently being negotiated in the Middle East. And, to give this overview an international and timely perspective, Raymond P. Scheindlin focuses his study on the pivotal events and dominant communities within each historical period. Written by a respected Hebrew scholar, cultural historian, noted author, and rabbi, A Short History of the Jewish People carefully describes the story of a people as varied as the many cultures in which they have lived. Including detailed maps and stirring photos, as well as timelines and sidebars, this pioneering work is a valuable resource for anyone broadly curious about the Jewish people.

Customer Reviews:

Highly informative.......2007-08-24

This book is packed with information that is offered in a very readable manner. The author did an exceptionally fine job. I did not expect to learn so much or be so fascinated.

Useful book for lower division instruction.......2006-12-23

Scheindlin has managed to write nearly the perfect book for a lower division course on Jewish history. He successfully spans the entire scope of Jewish history from legendary times to the modern State of Israel in a mere 263 pages of very readable prose. His writing is neither dry nor laden with jargon. He writes like Leon Uris or Herman Wouk.

Two issues of debate in the book should be supplemented with additional readings. The first is that the portrayal of the Jewish-Christian schism is only presented in the context of medieval Antisemitism, and a more balanced and informative view of the formative period of Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity is found in From Text To Tradition by Lawrence Schiffman. The second is the lachrymos portrayal of Jewish life in the Middle Ages. That should be balanced with Salo Baron's groundbreaking article "Ghetto and Emancipation," reprinted in The Menorah Treasury, ed. Leo W. Schwarz (Philadelphia, 1964).

With those two caveats, I would recommend this book for any introductory Jewish history or Jewish studies survey class.

Good choice for lay people or undergraduates.......2005-12-09

I teach a survey of Jewish history course at the freshman/sophomore level, and this is a great text for a course of this sort. It is easily understandable, concise and has all the important information. The index is helpful. I would also recommend it for the non-student looking for a quick introduction to the basics of Jewish history. Scheindlin is particularly good with material from Jews in the Middle East. For my course I supplement it with primary texts.

Concise, Readable, Essential.......2005-01-13

In taking a "Survey of Jewish History" course this fall, which is a broad subject, a broad and sweeping primary textbook was needed. In the short space of 263 pages, Scheindlin covers equitably the history of world Jewry, balancing coverage of religious and sociopolitical elements.
Although accurately described as a secular book, Scheindlin is a practicing Jew and the book is certainly not irreligious. In most cases (esp. premodern situations,) Scheindlin approaches an event or a conflict as a neutral observer, a historian documenting causes and effects. Importantly, he explains the way Jewish societies around the world conceived of and reacted to their circumstances, without actually adopting their views in his writing. This allows both Jew and non-Jew to feel comfortable with the book.
Anyone who faults the book for its lack of detail misunderstands the point of the text and the feasability of what they are asking for. What Scheindlin does with stunning success is give an interesting, accurate depiction, albeit with broad brushstrokes, of the forces that have shaped Jewry throughout the ages.
(I especially recommend the chapter on the Holocaust as riveting and awe-inspiring. Scheindlin, in his understated tone, evokes the horror of "Shoah" (destruction) in a way that impresses even veteran readers with its vividness.)

Superb, Stylish summary of Jewish History.......2005-01-06

Although one can quibble over specific statements and interpretations (e.g. he writes that Yiddish is a dialect of modern German, when actually it derives from Middle German and is as much a dialect as English is, which also evolved from Middle German) or his inclusion or exclusion of certain figures, facts, etc.-- overall Scheindlin has created a superb work. It is concise, well written, and nicely complemented with clear historical timelines, maps, and small topical essays.

The book is well organized with sensitivity to the difficulty of understanding the tremendous amount of material being covered. The chapters break down as follows:
1) Israelite Origins and Kingdom [Biblical] (c1220 BCE - 587 BCE)
2) Judea and the Origins of the Diaspora [2nd Temple Period] (587 BCE - 70 CE)
3) Roman Palestine and Sassanid Babylonia [Classical Rabbinic Period] (70 CE - 632 CE)
4) Jews in the Islamic World: From the Rise of Islam to the End of the Middle Ages (632 CE - 1500 CE)
5) Jews of Medieval Christian Europe (9th century to 1500)
6) Jews in the Ottoman Empire and Middle East (1453 - 1948)
7) Jews of Western Europe (1500 - 1900)
8) Jews of Eastern Europe and the United States (1770 - 1940)
9) The Holocaust (appx. 1925 - 1946)
10) Zionism and the Origins of the State of Israel (appx. 1862 - 1948)
11) The Jewish People after 1948

This is an excellent historical primer and contains a good bibliography for further study.

Average customer rating:

Gotta give it 5 stars
It was aiiiight!
A Glamorous Bore
Wonderful
a page turner

The Glamorous Life: A Novel
Nikki Turner
Manufacturer: One World/Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0345476832
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Book Description

The lure of Richmond, VA’s streets is too strong for Bambi, a good girl from the right side of the tracks, who fell in love with, Reggie, a young hustler. Her thug love not only corrupted her but blinded her with the bling and cash that come with living the glamorous life of a gangsta’s girl–until Reggie hit her with a low blow, crumbling her heart. From that day forward, Bambi vowed that whoever crossed her or anyone she loved would pay–usually in large bills.

With the street knowledge she gleaned from her ex as well as her own business savvy, Bambi builds a multimillion-dollar party planning empire. Along the way she runs across all kinds of dudes who try to run massive amounts of game, and ultimately she becomes a first-rate swindler and top-notch gamestress in her own right. Then she crosses paths with Lynx, a young drug dealer who sees more in Bambi than the gold digger she is rumored to be. He methodically penetrates her shield layer by layer until he captures her heart. But is she just setting herself up to be played once again?

The #1 bestselling author of A Hustler’s Wife and A Project Chick, Nikki Turner gives up the game that could never be sold, only told.

Customer Reviews:

Gotta give it 5 stars.......2007-07-25

Because i couldnt give it 4 and a half. I really enoyed this book, not more than riding dirty on I-95, but this was still a very good read. I just wish it could have been more action filled, but other than that, the ending was quite nice. This book should have been named what goes around, comes around or maybe Bad Karma, because this book was surely full of it

I highly recommend this book

It was aiiiight!.......2007-07-13

Well i liked how the book draged me into it in da begging but the end couldve been better

A Glamorous Bore.......2007-06-28

The glamorous life is a novel based on the all-too-familiar "hood-book-hold-you-down" type of novel. It is about a girl whose name is Bambi. Although her name is irrelevant, it's almost as simple as the storyline in the book. Most of the novel was pretty unbelievable. And if you're anything like me, the last thing that I want to torture myself with is characters for which you hold no regards and storyline which is barely even reasonable. Although the book offers some very far and few between page turning moments, there is nothing in this novel for which I'd truly reccomend. Unless you are a devout follower of the 'Hood Book' genre, this is something you can afford to pass.

Wonderful.......2007-06-26

This book was all that and then some, I love the NIKKI TURNER books anything she puts her name on I want to read.Go get this book you won't regret it and make sure to read RIDING DIRTY ON I95 as well.It has some points where they refer to the characters so you will enjoy that.

a page turner.......2007-03-10

i have read all of nikki turners books and they all keep you on the edge of your seat and will have you laughing out loud sometimes. i finished this book in one day.

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child

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La pura verdad-the whole truth
Great Book
Want to know what it's like?
If You're Looking For NO Action...
The Circuit

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child
Francisco Jimenez
Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0826317979

Book Description

After dark in a Mexican border town, a father holds open a hole in a wire fence as his wife and two small boys crawl through.

So begins life in the United States for many people every day. And so begins this collection of twelve autobiographical stories by Santa Clara University professor Francisco Jim�nez, who at the age of four illegally crossed the border with his family in 1947.

"The Circuit," the story of young Panchito and his trumpet, is one of the most widely anthologized stories in Chicano literature. At long last, Jim�nez offers more about the wise, sensitive little boy who has grown into a role model for subsequent generations of immigrants.

These independent but intertwined stories follow the family through their circuit, from picking cotton and strawberries to topping carrots--and back agai--over a number of years. As it moves from one labor camp to the next, the little family of four grows into ten. Impermanence and poverty define their lives. But with faith, hope, and back-breaking work, the family endures.

"A jewel of a book"--Rolando Hinojosa-Smith

"These stories are so realistic they choke the heart."--Rudolfo Anaya

A collection of twelve short stories presented from the perspective of a young boy, in which the author narrates his childhood experiences growing up in a family of Mexican migrant farmworkers.

Customer Reviews:

La pura verdad-the whole truth.......2006-06-01

This is a great family book.I am American Caucasian and my husband is a Mexican imigrant.We read this story out loud to one another,and while it is writen (very well) in simple English so that any reader could probably read it,we enjoyed it imensly.
I can tell you that so much of this story corrolated with our friends and family and was very touching,but brought on a lot of chuckles as well.A great family read.

Great Book.......2006-03-20

This book was very interesting. I loved the way this book shows how Mexicans suffer, struggle and work hard to get what they need to survive. This book has a good way of showing the different types of experiences the family goes through. It gets to a point where you get so into the book that you get frightened of what could happen to the family next. You don't know if the family is going to get caught by the border patrol or if you're going to be able to find a job for the next season. You just don't know if your going to be able to survive the only thing you have in your hands is hope and faith.
There was nothing that I could hate about this book the only thing that I hated was to read about how bad this family suffered. It hurts to see how your own people gets discriminated but, it's ok because this family like many other Mexicans have still succeeded after all the things they have to go trough, like being discriminated. Other than that there is nothing to dislike about this book.
I would definitely recommend this book for everybody especially for people who like this family is an illegal immigrant in this country. I would like for the anti-immigrant people to read this book so they can see that no matter what they do to try to stop the immigrants from succeeding the immigrants will never stop trying no matter what they do to try to stop them. This book is a great book I am sure that this story has repeated itself many times by other Mexican families. I am also sure that it will keep repeating itself for many years, but there is always a limit and the day will come when the Mexicans will be treated the same as everybody else in this country. There are many illegal immigrants that have been more successful in life than the people that are legal in this country, and it kills the anti-immigrants to know this is true.

Want to know what it's like?.......2006-03-16

This book is a great place to start if you are interested in learning about the life of someone less priviledged than yourself. Perhaps it will help you appreciate the simple pleasures in life and everything that you've got. When you reach the end of the book, you'll be glad Jimenez wrote a sequel (Breaking Through).
Written in a language that is accessible to everyone from grade school to adulthood, Jimenez doesn't exaggerate details or go into a lot of long desriptions. It's simply his memories of his childhood in a migrant family. As all memories go, the book does not flow smoothly from chapter to chapter, but rather gives you snapshots of his life, so take it for what it is and don't worry about the chronology.
As a teacher, this book really helped me appreciate the lives and struggles of many of my students (who lead lives similar to Jimenez in his childhood).

If You're Looking For NO Action..........2006-03-08

It starts out with this Mexican family illegally coming across the border into the United States. When they get to the U.S., they go to a labor camp in California. This first labor camp is probably the best one that they go to. The whole book is about this family moving around to different labor camps during different crop seasons. Every now and then, Francisco and his brother Roberto go to school. Along the way there are more people added to the family. The book doesn't really come to a good ending. It is also kind of hard to understand because it jumps three years into the future at times and then you don't know what's going on.
This was a very good book at some times but most of the time the author put in way too many unnecessary details that make the book kind of boring. This book is exactly like it's sequel, Breaking Through. I would rate this book pretty low if like a lot of action.

The Circuit.......2005-10-14

The Circuit, one of my favorite books, is written by Francisco Jimenez. The Circuit is about a family that lived in El Rancho Blanco, Guadalajara. Francisco and his family moved to the United States crossing the border illegally. When they get to the United States in California they look for work and they work in the fields picking cotton. Francisco's family is always hiding from the border patrol which they call it "la migra." As they go on they move to different places. The reason I read this story is because it held my interest , because I wondered how it would be crossing the border illegally. Also, because some of the story reminds me about when I got here from Mexico. I really recommend this book. It's exciting and it taught me to eat all my food and not throw it away because Francisco's family did't have anything to eat sometimes. I would give this book a ten, and I really loved it a lot and I think you should try it.

Average customer rating:

Baseball in april,and other stories
Baseball in april and other stories
Great storytelling
good
Hannah's review

Baseball in April and Other Stories
Gary Soto
Manufacturer: Harcourt Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0152025677

Book Description

In this unique collection of short stories, the small events of daily life reveal big themes--love and friendship, youth and growing up, success and failure. Calling on his own experiences of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto brings to life the joys and pains of young people everywhere. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us.

Customer Reviews:

Baseball in april,and other stories.......2007-01-09

Wow! Thats a lot of stories!Baseball in april has 11 differant stories. This book is about everyday things. It featuressports, love, school, and age. This book by Gary Soto is great in detail and strong emotion. Are you looking for a good book? Try this one!

Baseball in april and other stories.......2006-03-14

The book Baseball in april and other stories is a book based on different stories in it. I think that it's a fun book to read for us teens because if you find the first story boring or you not interested in the story, you can go to the next story. I think books like that have different stories that relate to each other(I guess. There were only about three (3) stories that I didnt like or it was just boring to me.

My favorite story was a story called "broken chain". I liked it because it relates to me in different ways. I think this book was written by different young kids that experienced something new and wanted to write about it. but I also think that a young kid wrote about different days and letting the readers know how well or bad was his day.

The part when he explains that he has a date with aq girl and he goes and tells his brother about it. That part reminded me of my brother and my cousin because they always have a habit that if they meet agirl, they tell each other about it how she looks etc.

In the story "broken Chain" the main character of the book states " please! I'll do anything for you" iI love that quote because when I want something from my brother I always use that line sometimes it works, but there be times that he doesn't fault for it (lol)

Many of the stories that are in this book relate to me every time i read i think of a time that the line had related to me. So read the book to see if it also realated to you, I hope you like it!

Great storytelling.......2005-09-17

I discovered Gary Soto's poetry in a public library in Nebraska. Then I read his short stories, my favorite being "Baseball in April." Like his poetry, these stories are beautiful in that they reveal a child's inner thought life; they also show the challenges that teenagers go through.

Soto takes us back to his childhood in California. The stories occur in sunny Fresno, which is in the Central Valley. The characters, dilemmas, and emotions that he evokes are so real that I often read them over saying, "Yes, I remember feeling like that."

I mostly read adult literature but have been reading a lot in young adult literature, because I often forget what it was like to be a young boy. Soto has a gift for recalling these events and making them come alive again. I've read this collection three times and have read all of Soto's poetry. I hightly recommend "Baseball in April," as well as the poetry collection "Black Hair."

Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie

good.......2005-05-17

The reason that I think this book is very good is because,of various reasons. One reason i think this book is very good is cause in the book the kids sound like they are having fun and its very realistic

Hannah's review.......2005-01-08

This book has a ton of stories with mostly latino characters. The characters are all different but all seem nice. Gary Soto uses discriptive writing like "Alfonso sat on the porch trying to push his crooked teeth to where he thought they belonged. He hated the way they looked." I think Latinos would like this book because they use alot of Latino words. This book is interesting because it has suspence and you dont know whats going to happen next so you want to keep reading on. I will look for more of Gary Soto's books because I like the way he writes.

America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories

Average customer rating:

America Street is one of the best anthologies I've read.

America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories

Manufacturer: Persea Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0892551917

Customer Reviews:

America Street is one of the best anthologies I've read........1997-05-09

America Street is one of the best multicultural anthologies I've ever read. It shows how the variety in our society can enrich the lives of young people, and it also shows that even with the cultural differences, there are some things that rermain the same for youth everywhere. I would recommend this book for anyone, but especially adolescents and secondary teachers

Average customer rating:

Interesting read
A Great Read
A Delightful Magical Romp and Still Poignant
Interesting premise, touching characters
Bad Story, Poorly written, but an interesting approach/concept

Q & A: A Novel
Vikas Swarup
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743267478

Book Description

Vikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question.

Ram takes us on an amazing review of his own history -- from the day he was found as a baby in the clothes donation box of a Delhi church to his employment by a faded Bollywood star to his adventure with a security-crazed Australian army colonel to his career as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal.

Swarup's Q & A is a beguiling blend of high comedy, drama, and romance that reveals how we know what we know -- not just about trivia, but about life itself. Cutting across humanity in all its squalor and glory, Vikas Swarup presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle between good and evil -- and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting read .......2007-09-07

In his debut novel, Vikas Swarup, an Indian diplomat, tells about life in modern India from the viewpoint of an orphan who changes several places of residence and jobs during his teen years.

The story is not told in a conventional way, however. The presentation is very original - in the beginning we find out that Ram Muhammad Thomas was arrested after having won the biggest television Q & A show in India (and the world), winning 1 billion rupees (24 million US dollars, by today's rate). He was arrested because being just a poor 18-year old orphan working as a waiter who won a difficult quiz show, the show organizers suspected he was cheating.

However, and this is how the plot unfolds, Ram wasn't cheating. Rather, by a sheer coincidence, all the questions touched on topics he knew about from discrete incidents in the past few years of his life. As he sits in the police department with a lawyer, he tells her about each episode, after which they see the recording of the relevant question of the show.

If the original way of presentation was the only good thing about the book, it would only be average. However, the book also provides an exciting and fascinating glimpse into the life in modern India. Well written and full of both common day-life and historical facts about the densely populated peninsula, it is both pleasant to read and provides lots of interesting information. Recommended.

A Great Read.......2007-05-08

Q & A is a very entertaining book on many levels. The view of Indian culture, the inclusion of crimes against humanity we see around the world, and the organizational structure of the novel itself create a fascinating story. You cannot help rooting for the underdog, even with his flaws.

A Delightful Magical Romp and Still Poignant.......2007-01-30

There are a billion people in India, and one wins a billion rupees on "Who Will Win a Billion?", truly a one-in-a-billion shot. The one who wins is asked the only questions he could probably answer in the world, by a coincidence equivalent to his odds. From this timely and gripping premise, Vikas Swarup has crafted a wonderful novel, taking Ram Mohammed Thomas through his entire life in the way he explains how he, a poor 18-year old waiter, was able to answer each of the questions that led to his billion, and also to a stint in a Mumbai jail.

The book unfolds in the order of the questions Ram was asked on the quiz show, with his explanation of how he learned each answer forming the story. The most poignant part covers his period of time in Agra, where he works as a tourist guide at the Taj Mahal, befriends a boy who speaks nonsense, falls in love with a girl forced into prostitution and suddenly realizes that he must get on this quiz show to effect his life's destiny. I cried as that chapter ended.

Swarup is not a polished writer (he's a lawyer turned novelist) and he didn't experience many of the places or events of this book (he is well-educated and lives in England). But the book was clearly written with passion and compassion and a great deal of understanding and love for India and for his characters. His use of coincidence sometimes comes off as heavy-handed, until you realize that the entire story is about that one in a billion chance. Somewhere in heaven, Douglas Adams, inventor of the infinite improbability drive, is smiling reading this book.

Interesting premise, touching characters.......2006-08-28

All in all a worthy effort. The premise is very creative, and on that merit alone it's worth a go at this book. Yes, there are extraordinary coincidences throughout the plot, but that goes with the territory.

The characters are touching, though I did find in many circumstances that they seemed more than a little cliched. I am curious as to Mr. Swarup's research process for this book. Did he merely pass through the shantytowns of India, or did he work hard to understand the people therein? A good interview question for any journalist or fan to ask of him should the chance arise.

The prose is rather basic, but after all it is a first-person account of the main character. While the character does claim to have a working knowledge of the English language, he will never be confused for a highly educated native speaker. Therefore, I can excuse the quality of language, as anything overly florid would have come across as disingenuous.

As for the literary merit of the text: this is nothing more than an imaginative story, well told. Looking for hidden meaning in prose that will never achieve greatness is a wasted effort. You can enjoy this book without dissecting its literary value. The world needs blockbuster entertainment as much as it needs high-falutin' artistry. This book is the former.

This is a good end-of-summer, transit-through-airport read. A fine first effort for Mr. Swarup. Imaginative and touching, if not overly literary.

Bad Story, Poorly written, but an interesting approach/concept.......2006-06-29

The books was written poorly, unrealisitic and shows India in an almost unrealistic manner.

The story is about an orphaned boy who becomes a participant in a game show and eventually goes on to win a billion rupees (by answering 12 questions) as the prize money. The fact that Ram Mohammed Thomas, is an orphaned, uneducated young man and was able to answer all the questions, leads to the producer questioning whether Ram actually is knowledgeable enough to win the money. Thus an inquiry is instigated as to the legitimacy of Ram's win.

The story unfolds as Ram goes through each question, and through his life and experiences illustrates how he was able to answer all 12 questions in an attempt to exonerate himself of the charges.

I always believe that there are two main elements to a book, one is the actual story of the book and the second is whether the story was told in an interesting, well written manner.

This book lacks both components. Not only is the book poorly written, but the story is almost unreal and too coincidental. Everything just seems to work out (even though the protagonist experiences severe hardships throughout his life).

I cannot completely understand as to why this book received so many great reviews. Not only is it poorly written and lacks a great story, it also portrays an image of india that is not "truly India."

There are many great works of fiction out there and this is far from one. My recommendation: stay away and find something else (which should not be too difficult)

Average customer rating:

Really makes you think about home!
Not my cup of tea...
Good Read - Highly Recommended
Too Much Profanity
Always something going on...

This Fire Down in My Soul
J. D. Mason
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312326467
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Customer Reviews:

Really makes you think about home!.......2007-09-27

JD Mason has done it again. This book was a great read. I have read others by her and she never fails.

Not my cup of tea..........2007-09-20

I liked the book as far as the writing goes, but the plot was limited. In a nutshell it was ONLY about cheating! I was expecting more of Waiting to Exhale meets the church. I just wished the book had given me more subjects to read about instead of cheating...that's not the only drama-filled topic. Reality has enough of that as is!

Good Read - Highly Recommended.......2007-09-17

I enjoyed this book. It goes to show that no one is perfect and even Christians make mistakes. You have to put your faith in God and lean on him when things get tough!!!! Keep up the good work. I

Too Much Profanity.......2007-09-06

As a rule of thumb, I read good Christian fiction and very clean romance stories. I purchased this book thinking that it was on the clean side. Sad to say it is filthy and I cannot read it...What a disappointment, in order to express oneself why do we have to use 4 letter words. I gave this book to one of my co--workers. Please be aware this book contains a lot of profanity. Can I get a refund?

Always something going on..........2007-08-14

I really enjoyed this book. I liked that there were so many different characters with different but similar stories going on. There was one couple's story that I felt was unnecessary but it didn't drag on too much where I was bored with it. I recommend this book and I hope there will be a sequel.

Lilah: A Forbidden Love, a People's Destiny (Book 3 of the Canaan Trilogy)

Average customer rating:

He does it again!
Those Canaan Days (Part 3)
Not worthy
Great!
Mr. Halter should have stopped with Sarah...

Lilah: A Forbidden Love, a People's Destiny (Book 3 of the Canaan Trilogy)
Marek Halter
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400052815
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Book Description

Set in the magnificent culture of the Middle East more than four thousand years ago, Lilah is a rich and emotionally resonant story of faith, love, and courage.

Living in exile, Lilah is in love with Antinoes, a Persian warrior. They have known each other since they were children, and Antinoes dearly wants to make Lilah his wife. Yet Lilah does not feel she can marry without the blessing of her brother, Ezra. She and Ezra are close, and Lilah knows her brother well—he does not want his sister to have a husband outside their faith. Ezra is a scholar of the laws of Moses, and Lilah believes it is her brother’s destiny to lead the Jewish people back to the Promised Land. While Antinoes pressures her to accept his proposal, Lilah realizes that before she can consider her own happiness, it is her duty to help her brother accomplish the seemingly impossible task that is before him.

Putting herself in grave danger, and with the help of Antinoes, Lilah wins Ezra an audience with Artaxerxes II, the King of Kings, who grants permission to lead the exiles on their journey back to the Promised Land. After a hazardous trip across the desert, Lilah, Ezra, and the thousands who join them arrive in Jerusalem. But the hardship of rebuilding the Temple takes its toll, and the religious enthusiasm of some turns to extremism. Ezra, listening to the zealots, orders all non-Jewish wives and their children banished from Jerusalem. Lilah, whose love for Antinoes has never wavered, is horrified by this command. She knows she must now choose between her brother and her conscience, which tells her that the time has come to defy him.

Lilah is a timeless story of one woman’s stand against intolerance; it will linger in the reader’s mind long after the last page has been turned.

Customer Reviews:

He does it again!.......2007-09-04

Another can't-put-it-down book. A page-turner. A very decerning eye for detail. Written from much mediation of Scripture.

The only negative point is some missing detail from the French to English translation. Not as fluenty translated as the first 2 books of the trilogy. But saying that it is well-translated and VERY WELL WRITTEN.

EXCELLENT STORY LINE!

Those Canaan Days (Part 3).......2007-08-24

This is my least favorite book in the trilogy, probably because I was not as familiar with the story of Ezra and Lilah as I was with Abraham and Moses. But this book is enjoyable because of the diversity of the characters that evoke emotion. Lilah is strong, proud, and full of love, like Sarah and Zipporah. However, we have a wider range of characters. Some are easy to root for, like Ezra's mentor, his servant, and Lilah's lover. And others are easy to despise, like the Queen, and even Ezra himself, who is not a very sympathetic character. Yes, the Jews are lead to the Promise Land and the Temple is rebuilt, but Ezra does not care at what cost these tasks are done.

MY REVIEW OF THE TRILOGY AS A WHOLE (SPOILER ALERT!!!)

I may seem like I'm slightly bashing these books just because I'm pointing out some flaws, but I did give these books 4 or 5 stars.

Halter should not switch from first person to third. Yes, he distinctly separates them via prologues and epilogues and parts, but once he's really established style in one or the other, he changes ineloquently.

These women of god were not as chaste as we were lead to believe. Mind you, I'm no conservative, but generally, when people are reading biblical stories, they're not reading it for moderately steamy romance. Sarah committed adultery with Pharaoh, Zipporah slept with Moses before they were married and acknowledged that she lived in sin, and Lilah slept with her lover before they were married and did so with considerable passion.

All of these women had a bit too much in common, and having concluded the third book, the trilogy seemed a bit redundant. All three women were raised in privilege and wanted men outside of their class. They all embarked in holy journeys and received both blessings and sorrow. It was a bit formulaic.

Overall, I enjoyed the series. It was a quick read with familiar characters and a good sense of setting and atmosphere. I felt the heat of the deserts and texture of the fabrics. But while I knew what was in the character's hearts, I never FELT it.

As I said in my review of Sarah, I don't typically compare books to other books, but this series didn't hold a candle to The Red Tent.

Not worthy.......2007-07-27

Of the three books in this trilogy this one is the stinker. Not well written and just mostly boring. Not very believable as well.
Chaotic character development, poor story line etc. Not worth the money as a new book....buy it used if at all.

Great!.......2007-01-17

What great reading. I've read all 3 books of the Canaan Trilogy and have enjoyed being able to put them in the prospective of "real" lives and real stories. They are "fiction", but the characters are very real and help us to realize that they did exist and they did have lives very similar to ours. Thank you Marek Halter to making the stories come to life.

Mr. Halter should have stopped with Sarah..........2007-01-17

This book certainly did not live up to Sarah, and it was even worse--if that is possible--than Zipporah. I have never not finished a book, and that is the only reason why I finished this one, because I was fairly disgusted with it the whole way through. I have begun to wonder if Mr. Halter has something against the history of his people, what with the racial issues he introduced in Zipporah and the severe mess of judgmental [...] that this book was made up of. I'm not one who always expects or wants a happy ending, but the ending in this book was completely anticlimactic, and the only likeable character, in my opinion, was Antinoes--the rest of the characters were weak and annoying. The other issue I have with this novel is that both Sarah and Zipporah are mentioned in the Bible, while Lilah is not (at least not in the King James version that I own)...why did the author choose two well-known Biblical woman for the first two installments of his trilogy, and then turn around and use a little mentioned and possibly even non-existent woman for the final novel?

If you really feel the need to finish out this trilogy, borrow this book from a friend or a library, but don't bother buying it, because in my opinion, it would not be a worthy addition to your shelves.

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