Amazon.com
At the start of Aharon Appelfeld's 12th novel, The Conversion, Karl Hüber has just converted to Christianity. Now in his 30s and never happily identified as a Jew, Karl isn't exactly a true believer in the Christian Trinity either. He has converted only in order to strengthen his chances for promotion within the civil service. The place is Austria, the time pre-World War II. Most of Karl's high-school friends converted long ago; and all through her final illness his mother urged him, "If your career requires you to convert, do it. I won't be angry with you. A person has to advance. Without advancement, there is no purpose or meaning to life." In due course he gets his desired position. But when a proposal to demolish the Jewish shops in the city center comes before the city government, Karl finds himself cast as Defender of the Jews. In fighting for fair compensation for the shopkeepers, he finds himself valuing his people and heritage as he never did before.
Profoundly intertwined with these dramas is the story of his blossoming love for Gloria, an older, Christian-born woman who has lived with his family since he was a boy and she a teenager. Her unofficial but deeply felt conversion to Judaism is to tragically mirror Karl's own hollow abandonment of his faith. In Karl and Gloria's world, as everywhere in Appelfeld's dark fables, the move away from tradition, community, and belief is the first step on a path that will inexorably lead to violence and death. --Daniel Hintzsche
Book Description
Our story opens in an Austrian city, two generations before the Holocaust, where almost all of the Jews have converted to Christianity. Today the church bells are pealing for Karl, an ambitious young civil servant whose conversion will clear his path to a coveted high government post. Karl's future looks bright, but with his promotion comes a political crisis that turns his conversion into a baptism by fire, unexpectedly reuniting Karl with his past and forcing him to take a stand he could never have imagined.
Customer Reviews:
Conversion Does Not Always Mean Change.......2001-03-26
I have been reading several works by Mr. Aharon Appelfeld. Many of his books relate the stories of Holocaust survivors before, during and after the Genocide. "The Conversion", takes place two generations prior to the Holocaust and addresses the topic the title suggests.
Theologians must debate the concept of conversion on dozens of levels, some as basic as is conversion possible as an absolute. The practice is widespread in the setting of this Austrian City, and the reasons for it are as varied as the people who make the decision. And among the converted there remains a great deal of emotion as to what their own conversion means, why theirs was justifiable and others not. What constitutes a frivolous conversion? Some would say any conversion is so classified, others that convert so as to receive a promotion feel their actions are valid. Some feel safe in their decision if a Parent gave their approval.
Mr. Appelfeld tells a complex tale that is very serious, however he exposes the hypocrisy or perhaps the lunacy that religious conversion creates. A person is denied a high government post because he or she is a Jew. This same person spends a few hours with a Priest, the bells ring, and suddenly this same person is not only considered for the job, but is rewarded with it. Who is more deluded, the person who converts, or the person who accepts them because of their conversion?
As he always does Mr. Appelfeld explores enough layers to show readers how complex a subject he is presenting, and how much more is left to be discussed. Why would a Jew become a Christian and almost immediately become the first in line to defend the people, the group, the traditions he just turned his back upon? One convert makes the transition from allowing a Priest to accept and convert him to Christianity only to see the same person see the Priest as a predator as a short time passes.
All of the writing of Mr. Appelfeld's that I have read is powerful. The end of this work is especially strong as he creates an ending that foretells the future. I don't believe many Authors could have written the ending with credibility much less with the emotion the reader has thrown over them.
I recommend this man's books to anyone. The topics may seem to be those you may have read before; however in every instance of his work even the familiar causes emotions to surface that would just be read without pause in another work. The man is truly a remarkable writer.
Redemption and Understanding.......2000-11-27
The Conversion is exquisitely crafted. When the message hits of the overwhelming sense of loss, and the very gradual understanding by the main characters of the hopelessness and unworthiness of "belonging", you can hardly tolerate the pain. Ithits you so hard tha t you don't want it to end like you know it will. Each of his books shows the great trauma and alienation of events unexplainable . All powerful.
Sylvia Seltzer Hougland
Isn't There Enough Jews Hating Themselves!.......2000-06-25
Pity poor Aharon Appelfeld for contributing to popular Jewish writers writing on the subject of Jew-loathing! Pity poor Schocken Book, which has been going down and down as a publisher of Jewish subjects, which can't seem to publish a happy book on the current Jewish status in the world and has to resort to continuing the old Jew and his terrible living conditions and self-loathsome. As a Lubavitcher Jew, I tell you "The Conversion" has no saving grace for Judaism, but gives added proof --if that's the word--to anti-Semites today that Jews remain miserable. Not true, and "The Conversion" misses any happy feeling abot Judaism. Gloria, on the contrary, is neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a reflection of Karl--indeed all the book's characters are reflections of Karl. Pity. Throughout history such books have ben written. I pray that Mr. Appelfeld, who is an a-one Zionist born to Judaism and who lives as a non-Jew, writes "happy." There's enough sadness in the world. Maybe, and I pray, that Schocken Books will get wise--there's a whole market of Jewish readers out there who want books focusing on the merits of Judaism. May I suggest to Schocken Book and Aharon Appelfeld that they get some Jewish pride in their blood--before they go the way of all misguided flesh. Yes, I am disappointed and sad that "The Conversion" has been published. I'll read no more of Appelfeld's books. What a waste of good writing.
Poignant and Sad.......1999-02-02
The author skillfully holds the reader's attention as he weaves his tale. Set in the culture of Old World Austria, where Hitler had also spent his formative years absorbing its virulent anti-Semitism, the story is poignant and sad.
Average customer rating:
- Fun to read
- More Cussler like than the recent Dirk Pitt novels
- Excelent, as always
- Great Environmental Subjects and Actions
- One of his weakest books
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Blue Gold : A Novel from the NUMA Files
Clive Cussler
Manufacturer: Pocket
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ASIN: 067178546X |
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Reading a Clive Cussler novel is like watching several movies at once. He's a master of the jump cut, moving the action from one continent to another with an entirely different cast of characters, good guys and bad, in each place. He always manages to pull the various characters, plots, and counterplots together, though, and the heroes always triumph in the end after saving the world from eco-terrorists, megalomaniacs with their ambitions primed for world domination, and a few regular old criminals thrown in for good measure. In this new adventure from the National Underwater & Marine Agency (NUMA) files, Kurt Austin and his partner Joe Zavala nearly die during a powerboat race when a pod of dead, bloated gray whales bobs to the surface and obstructs the race course. Attempting to discover what killed the whales, Kurt and Joe track their migratory route to a mysterious underwater laboratory on the Baja Peninsula. Once again they narrowly miss death when the lab explodes, destroying their minisubmarine and almost poaching them alive. What seemed like a simple scientific investigation turns into something very different: a confrontation with a 7-foot Valkyrie who's bent on taking over the earth's depleted freshwater reserves. In order to thwart her plans, Austin and Zavala venture deep into the jungle of the Venezuelan rain forest to find a supposedly mythical tribal goddess (one with a Ph.D. in science, of course) whose secret formula to desalinate seawater can put the kibosh on the Valkyrie's plans. Helped by a husband-wife NUMA team who've already made the goddess's acquaintance, plus the always fascinating techno-toys so beloved of superheroes, Kurt and Joe save the day. But before they do, there's plenty of heart-stopping action, random acts of murder and mutilation, and even a little romance. Great pacing, plenty of gadgets, a strong narrative, and bigger-than-life heroes and villains. If you've run out of summer action flicks already, make your own popcorn and curl up with Blue Gold instead. --Jane Adams
Book Description
A Kurt Austin Adventure
In Serpent, his New York Times bestseller, Clive Cussler introduced Kurt Austin, a hero for the new millennium, and "created a new bunch of NUMA supersleuths who infused his work with a...jolt of energy" (The Denver Post). Now Austin and his crew slake their thirst for action as they attempt to drown an eco-extortionist's plan to control the world's freshwater supply.
BLUE GOLD
A Novel from the NUMA Files
From deep within the Venezuelan rain forest emanates the legend of a white goddess and a mysterious tribe with startling technical accomplishments. Few believe the tribe exists -- and even fewer suspect its deity may hold knowledge that can change the course of history.
For National Underwater & Marine Agency crew leader Kurt Austin, an investigation into the sudden deaths of rare whales leads him to the Mexican coast, where someone tries to put him and his mini-sub permanently out of commission. Meanwhile, in South America's lush hills, a specially assigned NUMA crew turns up the white-goddess legend -- and a murderous cadre of bio-pirates intent on stealing medicinal secrets worth millions. Soon Austin and his crew realize they're working the opposite ends of the same grand scheme. A billionaire California tycoon is poised to rise to power by monopolizing the earth's vastly depleted freshwater reserves and ultimately dominate the world.
Austin has a hunch Venezuela's mythical tribal goddess has some real roots in science, and may be the key to locating a secret formula that could turn vast amounts of seawater into fresh. But with each step into the bush, he and his NUMA team feel like fish out of water -- and must fight a deadly, twisting trail of enemies through a dense jungle of treachery, blackmail, and murder.
Download Description
In last season's trade paperback original Serpent, Clive Cussler introduced a new series, the NUMA Files, and a hero for the next millennium, Kurt Austin. Serpent was an immediate success -- it spent six weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and hit lists across the country as well. Now, in Cussler's latest NUMA Files adventure, Kurt Austin returns to slake his fans' thirst for action, and drown the plans of nefarious extortionists.
Earth is a paradox -- a fertile world three-quarters covered with water, yet in danger of running dry. Overuse and pollution have drained most of its fresh water, and scientist Francesca Carval's brilliant formula for desalination (a process to convert salt water into fresh) has vanished with her plane over South America. But when Kurt Austin and his NUMA team come across a pod of dead whales, their investigation takes them from the open oceans to the Venezuelan jungle -- where a hunt for Carval places them in the direct line of fire of a cadre bent on controlling the world's supply of fresh water.
With more than 100 million copies of his books sold worldwide, perennial bestselling author Clive Cussler is a publishing phenomenon. A world-class collector of classic automobiles, he has discovered more than sixty lost ships of historic significance with his own NUMA (National Underwater Marine Agency) crew of volunteers. He divides his time between Arizona and Colorado.
Customer Reviews:
Fun to read.......2007-08-02
This is not by any means a brain stormer - it are fun to read action packed stories with just enough dialog to keep things going. I compare Clive's books to a movie that doesn't tax the brain or require 3 1/2 hours of your life. It is not "epic" or historically(but you can def tell he likes his planes and guns, accurate details) important, its just fun. That is enough in this case.
More Cussler like than the recent Dirk Pitt novels.......2006-12-01
In all actuality I would probably give this book 3.5 stars as it is a fast paced and enjoyable read and employs all the trademarks of Clive Cussler's most successful works and few of the detraction's of his recent novels.
This is the second novel from the NUMA files featuring Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. Their adventure begins when they are almost killed while racing speedboats they literally almost run into a pod of dead grey whales that have died from oxygen deprivation. Along the way Kurt and Joe manage to encounter a sociopathic blond Valkyrie, a mythical white goddess and escape numerous perils and traps set by the evil opposition.
What sets this novel apart (and above) the recent Dirk Pitt novels is that this novel has a more gritty, realistic approach. Even though the adventures are fantastic Kurt and Joe deal with them in a fashion that seems far more realistic and sensible than the characters in the recent Dirk Pitt novels. That and it is refreshing to see Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos design a plot that is as much about marine biology as it is the quest for world domination by the bad guys. In the early Dirk Pitt novels this was one of the strengths of Clive Cussler's work (that is the science and history behind the novel) and it seems that he has gotten away from those concepts and stretched the limits of plausibility to their furthest limit. It was refreshing to read a novel where the science and history once again seemed to blend effortlessly into the plot line instead of being forced. Blue Gold succeeds as a wonderful escapism novel because the authors stuck to doing what they do best
Excelent, as always.......2006-11-06
This book was an awsome read. The author has come to the top of his profession and is staying there!
Great Environmental Subjects and Actions.......2006-10-16
This is the second of Mr. Cussler's series on NUMA, with main protagonists: Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala. Similar to Clive Cussler's voyages and adventures novels with Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino, here Austin was tandemed again with Zavala.
Being one of Cussler's fan, I found that Blue Gold is a much better novel compared to his disastrous first effort on NUMA, titled "Serpent." Blue Gold emphasized a lot on environmental issues and the usual Cussler's thrills. I found during these last few years, Cussler's novels have became more "unrealistic". Blue Gold surpassed my expectations of a three star read, being finally rated by me as a four-star thriller, action and adventure read. It is a story about a megalomaniac (in this case, a seven-foot female) trying to conquer the world.
It is a real treat to have the Alaskan adventure, in-flight struggle of Dr. Cabral, the Venezuelan encounter, the Chulos, not to mention the Tahoe incident. Great adventures by Great Cussler!
One of his weakest books.......2006-04-03
Whatever it is but something is "wrong" with this book. It might be that I already read too many of Cussler's books before (15?) and therefore the stories and the course of events seem to repeat themselves. The reason could also be that the main characters are not Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino but Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala - even if they are nothing than younger and bigger than life versions of Dirk and Giordino. It might also be the slight change in writing style since Cussler teams up with Paul Kemprecos.
I cannot really put my finger on the reason why I was not thrilled by the book at all. The story is ok but quite simple and the heroes solve the riddles too easily and way too quickly.
For the non-native English speakers the book will be easy to read but it won't keep you glued to it all night long to finish it. It is not really boring but also nothing special.
Maybe you like the book better if this is your first Clive Cussler novel. But on the other hand there are a lot better books that can be recommended if you want to read one of his books!
Book Description
A ground-breaking study of Flannery O'Connor and her place in American culture, A Wreck on the Road to Damascus weaves together high art and popular culture in a way that makes literary criticism exciting. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Brian Abel Ragen shows not just the depth of O'Connor's religious vision, but also the ferocity of her attack on the literary tradition that at once denied original sin—her favorite doctrine—and shoved women to the margins of American culture. His work will change the way readers think about Flannery O'Connor, automobiles, original sin, and American culture.
Customer Reviews:
No wrecks here!.......2007-08-31
Ragen's study, along with works such as Jon Lance Bacon's *Flannery O'Connor and Cold War Culture*, locates the Georgia author within broad patterns of American cultural history. Ragen grants O'Connor's interpretation of her work as an incarnational art. Through a series of clever close reads of *Wise Blood* and short stories such as "The Life You Save May Be Your Own," Ragen shows how O'Connor inscribes her religious meanings on one of postwar America's defining technologies: the car. Ragen looks to O'Connor's personal library, letters, and reading habits to locate her in a mid-century tradition of Catholic pop culture criticism typified by Marshall McLuhan, whose book *The Mechanical Bride* O'Connor much admired. Writing from the perspective of American Studies, Ragen argues that O'Connor focuses on cars to critique the myth of the American Adam, a pervasive American myth typified by those self-made men that populate not only American literature but also the advertisements and products of American consumer culture as well.
With its combination of original research and detailed critical surveys (and very readable prose), Ragen's book will interest not only O'Connor scholars but also students seeking a good review of the field of American Studies in general. You do not need to be an academic to enjoy Ragen's book either; if you are an O'Connor fan, reading Ragen's study will broaden your mind and give you a new appreciation of O'Connor's fiction. This one-of-a-kind study is highly Recommended for all of O'Connor's admirers.
Doug Davis
Gordon College
Useful, readable, and intriguing........2007-04-10
In 1999 I completed a dissertation on Flannery O'Connor and I found this to be one of about 10 books that were particularly helpful. (I believe that I have read over 50 books on O'Connor). Brian Ragen writes clearly and thoughtfully and sympathetically with O'Connor as an author and O'Connor as a "cradle" Catholic. This is a book for any college graduate as it is blessedly free of the jargon that has swamped the field of literature of late. It is a critical study, and thus demands that the reader follow arguments and have a good knowledge of O'Connor, but for any reader in that category, the book is extremely rewarding. I consider this a sort of "entry-level" critical study, and one that can be read by a non-specialist.
Once you've read O'Connor, this is a good places to enter into the world of O'Connor criticism.
I don't know...........2007-02-05
I ordered this book from Amazon two months ago and have yet to receive it.
Book Description
More panoramic in scope and more realistic in its details than Crane's Red Badge of Courage, this is one of the first and best novels ever written about the American Civil War.
Drawing on his own combat experience with the Union forces, John W. De Forest crafted a war novel like nothing before it in the annals of American literature. His first-hand knowledge of "the wilderness of death" made its way on to the pages of his riveting novel with devastating effect. Whether depicting the tedium before combat, the unspoken horror of battle, or the grisly butchery of the field hospital, De Forest broke new ground, anticipating the realistic war writings of Ernest Hemingway, Norman Mailer, and Tim O'Brien.
A commercial failure in its own day, De Forest's story was praised by Henry James and William Dean Howells, who, comparing it favorably to War and Peace, acclaimed the book "one of the best American novels ever written."
Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Gary Scharnhorst
Customer Reviews:
from the editor of the book.......2005-09-18
I appreciate the favorable comments made by all of the reviewers. For the record, however, in response to Peter George: my note on Stonewall Jackson accurately observes that the Confederate forces under his command repulsed the Union army at the first Bull Run and forced their retreat to Washington. I elsewhere add (chapter V, note 14) that J. E. Johnston commanded all Confederate forces in the battle. Peter Bridges also seems to object that my notes are too detailed, even "demeaning" to "educated Penguin readers," yet that my note re. Bailie Jarvie is not detailed enough. I can only reply that my notes are intended to aid precisely those undergraduates who require them, not the pedants who are perfectly entitled to ignore them.
A minor masterpiece.......2005-03-06
This is perhaps the best novel with the worst title ever written. Set during the Civil War, the novel depicts the war in all its sordidness: the blunders, the incompetence, the poor leadership. Miss Ravenel is a Southerner who falls in love with a Union captain and gradually sheds her rebel coat for the Northern cause. De Forest's realism is admirable, his writing ability even more so. It's hard to think of a better novel about the Civil War than this one, the first to treat the war realistically. This is truly a minor American masterpiece and should be much better known.
A great civil war novel........2005-01-09
Written shortly after the end of the Civil War this novel covers all of the bases -- politics, battles, social issues, and personal relationships -- affected by the war. It does this with a depth not usually seen in Civil War novels and particularly those written in the 20th century. De Forest does not insult the reader's intelligence and his characters are not just stereotypes but have real flesh and blood. (Well, except maybe for the heroine!) If you enjoy this book try A Fool's Errand for a good novel about Reconstruction also written shortly after the end of the Civil War.
A Union veteran's novel.......2003-10-27
Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty may have a cumbersome title, but it is an enjoyable read. It tells the story of Lillie Ravenel who with her father are exiled from Louisiana at the beginning of the Civil War. Lillie is an ardent Confederate, but her father's loyalist sympathies force them to take refuge in New England. In the fictional city of New Boston, they meet two men who both fall in love with Lillie. These men fight for Lillie at the same time as fighting for the Union. It is through these relationships and through her experiences on returning to occupied Louisiana that Lillie's gradual conversion occurs.
John De Forest's novel is part romance and part war story. These strands of the story are interweaved well and are fascinating for the insight they give into life in the 1860s. The romance is at times quite conventional with Lillie constantly blushing and occasionally swooning, but the story also contains unusual elements for a 19th century novel. The story includes a woman seeking an affair with a married man, a man keeping an apartment for his mistress and a Union officer conquering not only a Southern town, but also two of the women in it.
The battle scenes are well told and are clearly based on De Forest's experiences during the war. He is not afraid to show the consequences of battle, describing soldiers horribly mutilated with rotting wounds. The actual battle scenes are quite few in number and are mainly skirmishes. The only large-scale engagement in which the characters are involved is Port Hudson. This is a pity for with De Forest's writing skill, it would have been interesting if he had been involved in and given an account of one of the really great battles. Nevertheless he provides a detailed account of army life during the Civil War showing the bureaucracy and boredom, the frustration and pettiness, the bravery and the cowardice. His account is extremely one-sided and he has scarcely a good word to say about the Confederacy, but this adds to the fascination of the novel, for it gives the reader first-hand insight into the attitude of a Union veteran towards his beaten enemy and why it was that he fought against the South.
The Penguin edition of the novel has a good introduction with some helpful information about De Forest and the reception of his novel. It also has many useful notes especially those which translate phrases written in French and Latin. However it must be said that a lot of these notes are superfluous for most readers, e.g. explaining what the Mason Dixon Line is, or what the dodo was, and some of the notes are mistaken such as the statement that Stonewall Jackson commanded the Confederate forces at first Manassas.
Underappreciated Classic That's Great Fun.......2003-02-18
When I read "Miss Ravenel" several years ago, I did not fully appreciate it--now that I'm very much into The War, I have a new outlook. Yes, it's dated, and to modern readers, the dialogue at times is corny and silly (as is DeForest's hesitancy to be more explicit about certain sexual matters). To me,though, that's part of the charm, along with its Victorian sentimentality. It's too bad it was not appreciated when it was published in 1867. Anyone interested in The War needs to read this--and keep in mind the fact that I'm a blue-blooded Southern boy.
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Crisis and Conversion in Apuleius' Metamorphoses
Nancy Shumate
Manufacturer: University of Michigan Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 047210599X |
Book Description
Apuleius' wonderful Latin novel Metamorphoses, written in the second century C.E., was for a long time neglected. In recent years some have attempted to understand the Metamorphoses by applying contemporary critical theory to the work, without notable success. In Crisis and Conversion in Apuleius' "Metamorphoses" Nancy Shumate takes a new and profitable approach: she uses an epistemologically oriented model of religious conversion to study the experiences of the novel's central character, Lucius, who is turned into an ass and back again.
Shumate draws on a wide range of literary and nonliterary representations of conversion in order to establish a useful theoretical framework. The Metamorphoses is exposed as a text anticipating later narratives in its concern with world-building, with the narrator's subjective reality, and with the invocation and critique of religious experience.
Crisis and Conversion in Apuleius' "Metamorphoses" will be of interest to classicists and scholars of Silver Latin and of the increasingly popular ancient novel, as well as to students of psychology and the sociology of religious experience.
Nancy Shumate is Associate Professor of Classical Languages and Literatures, Smith College.
Book Description
An edgy and hilarious novel about one young man’s attempt to alert his friends to the cataclysm sure to arrive on New Year’s Eve, 1999
It’s 1998. Or, as Randall Knight sees it, Y2K minus two. Randall, a twenty-five-year-old children’s singer and puppeteer, has discovered the clock is ticking toward a worldwide technological cataclysm. But he may still be able to save his loved ones—if he can convince them to prepare for the looming catastrophe. That’s why he’s quit his job, moved into his car, and set out to sound the alarm. The End as I Know It follows Randall on his coast-to-coast Cassandra tour. His itinerary includes the elementary schools that have booked him as a guest performer and the friends and relatives he must awaken to the crisis. When nobody will heed his warning, Randall spirals into despair and self-destruction as he races from one futile visit to the next. At the end of his rope, he lands with a family of newly minted survivalists in rural Texas. There, he meets a woman who might help him transcend his millennial fears and build a new life out of the shards of his old one.
Like Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air, The End as I Know It is a high-concept look at American culture that is by turns hilarious and poignant, and it manages to recall a memorable period in very recent history while at the same time shedding light on our current social moment.
Customer Reviews:
Laughing Towards the End of the World.......2007-03-21
Alfred Hitchcock once described the difference between shock and suspense as having a bomb suddenly go off without the viewer knowing its existence first (shock) to revealing the bomb to the viewer pre-explosion (suspense). Inherent in Mr. Shay's hilarious novel is the bomb (the Year 2000's impending digital doom) that we all know never detonated. So how can readers be engaged when the know the ultimate result is a fizzle that barely caused a burp in our daily lives?
The secret to ths book's success is in Mr. Shay's timeless characters and situations. Replace the year 2000 with Avian Flu, Global Warming, the threat of the Cold War, the Atom Bomb, or any End of the World scenario that has plagued us for generations - the threat is irrelevant. All that matters is Randall, our narrator, and his Gen-X, Gen-Y, Gen-whatever struggle to make something of his life. He battles clueless relatives and annoyed friends in his pursuit to "save" them from catastrophe. Yet he skewers other conspiracists who, to him, take their beliefs too far. In other words, to bastardize Groucho Marx, he doesn't want to belong to the only club that will actually have him as a member.
So we root for Randall as he watches the ticking clock and wrestles with his fears. That he also plays absurd children's songs at elementary schools with the help of some double-entendre named puppets adds to our pathos, and the novel's ample humour.
Mr. Shay gives us a narrator we can't trust, probably wouldn't befriend, and at times want to strangle for chucking away what's good in his life. But then, we all have Y2Ks to worry about, while others stare in wonder at our insistent ignorance to ignore the simple truths they all can see.
Hitchcock would have been proud at the trick here - that the supposed purpose for the book, the time bomb, is not nearly as important as the mirror the author holds up for us to observe. Warts and all, we have a blast doing it.
A Great Read!!!.......2007-03-15
A very talented writer and a really good book. Shay has captured with great empathy and specificity a snapshot into these post-millenium modern times. This book is funny and filled with lovingly drawn characters--including the narrator/puppetier.
Imaginative and funny.......2007-02-15
Kevin Shay is an excellent writer. Which is all the more important given the subject matter; we all know, of course, that the world didn't end in Y2K. Add to that the protagonist being a puppeteer.
Shay is witty and creative and even manages to create some tension along the way.
This book is an easy read and very easy to enjoy.
Entertaining and true to life.......2007-01-01
I enjoyed reading this book. Through the eyes of protagonist, Randall, Kevin Shay amuses with tales of contemporary life that resonate. An often slow reader, I finished ... The End ... in a couple of days.
Product Description
Prior to their Deliverance, alcohol abuse, drug addiction, prostitution, gang affiliation, and promiscuity best describe some of the young adults chronicled in
Delivered From Evil: A Powerful Novel About 12 Inner City Disciples. While the title attests to their Deliverance from the malevolence that once endangered their existence, their gripping stories of spiritual bondage to Salvation through Grace will astound, amaze, and mystify readers of this spine-tingling, page-turning new novel.
"...A must read..." - RAWSISTAZ.com
This book is now available at select public libraries. If your local library does not already carry this title, you can request that your local librarian order a copy from Trafford Publishing at no cost to you. Reference ISBN: 1-4120-8048-7 when calling your library.
Customer Reviews:
With God All Things Are Possible.......2006-06-15
DELIVERED FROM EVIL: A Powerful Novel About 12 Inner City Disciples by First Born is a story that takes readers into the lives of twelve youth. They are living their lives on the wild side indulging in things that are threatening their day to day existence. It is not until they realize that their reckless ways of living is not working that they succumb to a higher power, turning their lives over to God and changing their ways. The journey to salvation for them takes place in Tallahassee, Florida. It is there that they are dealing with their individual issues of drug addition, alcohol abuse, prostitution, gang activity, and promiscuity. The summer of 2005 was a turning point in all of their lives, a change for the better.
First Born has done a wonderful job with capturing the issues and struggles that youth oftentimes find themselves in. He takes the reader on an emotional ride as he goes through each one's personal journey towards salvation. The lessons that are presented within the story give the reader lots of food for thought. It shows us that while we may make some wrong decisions in our lives, there is nothing too hard for God to handle. This book is a must read, there is a positive message to be heard throughout this book.
Reviewed by Peaches
for The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Product Description
"the story of a clever and witty young novelist of thebtwnties who, as a result of the death of his sister, for which he feels responsible, is converted to Roman Catholicism, and ultimately becomes a Jesuit fater."
Average customer rating:
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Chicago Conversion
Geo.W. Proctor
Manufacturer: New English Library Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0450058549 |
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