Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

Book Description

In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Download Description

Lisa See is the author of Flower Net (an Edgar Award nominee), The Interior, and Dragon Bones, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir On Gold Mountain. The Organization of Chinese American Women named her the 2001 National Woman of the Year. She lives in Los Angeles.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: What an amazing book!.......2007-10-10

My favorite book in my 2 year book club. I love the way she writes and describes a world and lives of strong women who have no choice, no love, no life but yet have each other, dreams, and and hope.

It makes me want to burn my bra!.......2007-10-09

I thought this book was very well written and the story was very interesting. However, it doesn't change the fact that it infuriated me to no end. I am so thankful I am an American woman, even a Western woman, where women are valued and important to society. It makes me sick to think how little value women have and that they see themselves that way, no better than a slave. And then whent these young girls move into their new home, their mother-in-laws treat them so abominably, even though they had gone through the same things. Women become subservient in every possible way, mentally, emotionally, and of course, physically because of that accursed foot-binding tradition. YUCK! This type of culture is just so alien to me. Wow! What a great story, though. It really got me thinking.

A Beautiful Story!.......2007-10-08

This book was effectively able to intertwine a story about lifelong friendship between two women and many historical details from Chinese culture such as food binding and the role of women in society. I loved how the author was able to look back on her life and point out her flaws, and the strengths of her friend. I highly recommend this book!

Page turner!.......2007-10-06

This book will make you both sad and happy and both love and hate the characters at the same time. Very interesting to learn about chinese traditions of arranged marriage and wrapped feet. I couldn't put it down.

Book Club selection - Wonderful and rich.......2007-10-06

I was put off by this book being another narrative. It seems like that's all I've read in the last few weeks. But it was a wonderful story, so intricate and filled with rich details. I saw some critisim about the lack of details abut the rest of their lives, like how they gave birth. but that kind of detail is not needed here. The lives of these women are so very interesting to me. I really liked this book. it had a valuable lesson at the end as well. Ok and the footbinding was awful but integral to the story.

Average customer rating:

Not my favorite Maguire book
Disappointing and Dark
Good idea, not delivered well
Great book for Maguire lovers
Not Maguire's Best

Mirror Mirror: A Novel
Gregory Maguire
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0060988657
Release Date: 2004-09-28

Book Description

The year is 1502, and seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany and Umbria at Montefiore, the farm of her beloved father, Don Vicente. But one day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm -- and the world comes to Montefiore.

In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia -- decadent children of a wicked pope -- no one can claim innocence for very long. When Borgia sends Don Vicente on a years-long quest, he leaves Bianca under the care -- so to speak -- of Lucrezia.

She plots a dire fate for the young girl in the woods below the farm, but in the dark forest salvation can be found as well ...

A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror gives fresh life to the classic story of Snow White -- and has a truth and beauty all its own.

Download Description

"E-Book Extra: "Little Snow-White" by the Brothers Grimm (read the original version of the classic fairy tale)Think you know who's the fairest of them all? Think again. Bestselling re-imaginer of classic fairy tales sets the Snow White story in Renaissance Italy, where the madly vain Lucrezia Borgia plots a dire fate for seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada (a.k.a. Snow White).A lyrical work of stunning creative vision, Mirror Mirror is set in Renaissance Italy, where Gregory Maguire draws a connection between the poison apple in the original Snow White story and the Borgia family's well-known appetite for poisoning its foes. In Mirror Mirror Snow White is called Bianca de Nevada. She is born on a farm in Tuscany in 1495, and when she is seven, her father is ordered by the duplicitous Cesare Borgia to go on a quest to reclaim the relic of the original Tree of Knowledge, a branch bearing three living apples that are thousands of years old. Bianca is left in the care of her father's farm staff and the beautiful -- and madly vain -- Lucrecia Borgia, Cesare's sister. But Lucrecia becomes jealous of her lecherous brother's interest in the growing child and plots a dire fate for Bianca in the woods below the farm. There Bianca finds herself in the home of seven dwarves -- the creators of the magic mirror -- who await the return of their brother, the eighth dwarf, long gone on a quest of his own. In the evocative style of Maguire's earlier novels, Mirror Mirror is a fresh, compelling take on a beloved classic tale.

Customer Reviews:

Not my favorite Maguire book.......2007-10-08

I have read Wicked, Son of a Witch, Lost, and Mirror Mirror. I loved the other three (my favorite was Lost). I found that Mirror Mirror was very slow through the middle of the book. It picks up a little at the end, but I guess I've been spoiled by Maguire and expected miraculous books all the time. This one doesn't match the other three, but does have some interesting parts to it. However, I don't understand why the dwarves were stone-like creatures. Am I missing the symbolism (symbolism is not my forte)? Overall, I could have skipped this book. If this is your first Maguire book, please try another one. The rest are fantastic!

Disappointing and Dark.......2007-08-05

Having read Wicked, Son of a Witch, and Confessions, I was ecstatic to find the time to sit down with Mirror Mirror. I wish I had done anything else! While Maguire's cleverness is apparent, I found myself speedreading ahead to see when another inane description of something small and pointless would end, and skipping ahead at the frequent pepperings of bodily secretions and functions. While the ideas and approach to the Snow White fairy tale are brilliant, they are delivered with a cold darkness that paints the world in a light that I read to escape. The theme of the sexual situations left me feeling defiled and dirty, as if I had stumbled onto something hideously grotesque. And, as a woman, I was greatly insulted at the description of Bianca's first menses. Of all the research done for this book, Maguire couldn't ask one woman what menstruation is like? It reminds me of the ignorant descriptions of school boys who know nothing of the female mysteries and talk about it as though they are professors- much to the disgust of those surrounding their ignorance. Maguire has lost a great deal of my respect with this one. Inappropriate for children under 16.

Good idea, not delivered well.......2007-07-22

I feel that Maguire, in all of his novels, makes the reader think about different perspectives on classic stories in a way that is refreshing and intelligent. Unfortunately, "Mirror Mirror" was not as great as all of his other novels to me. It was choppy and I was often times lost. Time moved too quickly was was only explained by many-year-long sleeps. I found this irritating and unimaginative. I also feel as if Maguire has the idea in his mind, but cannot tell it effectively.

Overall, good story if you can look past the confusing word choices and broken story-telling.

Great book for Maguire lovers.......2007-07-20

Fun two-night read. Takes you on a quick surreal journey. Great book for Maguire fans.

Not Maguire's Best.......2007-06-15

Maguire has made himself quite successful spinning off fairy tales, but this variation on Snow White seemed lacking. His take on Cinderella in "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister" was steeped in history, and "Wicked" was immersed in the fantastical world of Oz, while "Mirror Mirror" couldn't decide if it wanted to be history or fantasy.

"Mirror Mirror" changes perspective often. The lustful and incestual Borgias, the innocent and fair Bianca, her father on his quest for a limb from the Tree of Knowledge, and the mystical "dwarves" all take turns narrating. I often found it choppy and inconsistent. While I enjoyed it, I've enjoyed Maguires other books much more than this one.

Millennium Snow, Volume 1 (Millennium Snow)

Average customer rating:

Excellent Manga book
First Chapter was great.
Nice...for a rainy day

Millennium Snow, Volume 1 (Millennium Snow)
Bisco Hatori
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

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

Science Fiction | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1421512025

Book Description

17-year-old Chiyuki Matsuoka was born with heart problems, and her doctors say she won't live to see the next snow. Touya is an 18-year-old vampire who hates blood and refuses to make the traditional partnership with a human, whose life-giving blood would keep them both alive for a thousand years. Can Chiyuki teach Touya to feel a passion for life, even as her own is ending?

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Manga book.......2007-09-13

I love this manga book it gave detail and the story run nice and smooth and it capture one attendtion I do not see anything wrong unless peopl don't like vampire un like me I am a big otaku and if you love romance check this out and my list of book that I am selling.

First Chapter was great........2007-08-31

And then this were-wolf character showed up and then it was all like....blah. seriously. i stopped caring. it has one more volume out and it's like 8.99 and i still haven't bought it. the bonus story was lame as well. horrible artwork. blah!

Nice...for a rainy day.......2007-04-25

This Shojo-Beat manga is all about a 17 year old girl, Chiyuki, and an 18 year old vampire, Toya (There's always a Toya in these sorts of things, ya know). Chiyuki was born with a heart condition that has threatened to take her life since the day she was born. Toya is a vampire who refuses to drink human blood.

One day Chiyuki sees a "boy" fly off the rooftop of a building and goes to find him. She then meets up with Toya and his batty friend, Yami. Yami tells Chiyuki about Toya needing to find someone to become his companion of 1,000 years. Chiyuki, who is growing closer and closer to the end, asks Toya to drink her blood in order that she may live to see the first snow of every year for a thousand years, hence the title Millenium Snow. Toya and Chyuki become friends, but their friendship becomes threatened when a third party comes into the mix. Will Chiyuki still want Toya? Is it love or just a desperate want to live? or Will Chiyuki fall for the guy of every girl in her school's dream?

The artwork is not great, but Bisco Hatori does mention in her comments that this was some of her earlier work. Her little side notes are fun to read as well, so don't forget to read them should you pick this manga up. Its only two volumes, and not the best story in the world, but its a nice little read.

Average customer rating:

Very good (somewhat) historical novel
Awesome book!
Suspenseful and descriptive novel
Exposing the Human Condition
well-written, poetic

Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel
David Guterson
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Popular Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Book Clubs | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 067976402X
Release Date: 1995-09-26

Amazon.com

This is the kind of book where you can smell and hear and see the fictional world the writer has created, so palpably does the atmosphere come through. Set on an island in the straits north of Puget Sound, in Washington, where everyone is either a fisherman or a berry farmer, the story is nominally about a murder trial. But since it's set in the 1950s, lingering memories of World War II, internment camps and racism helps fuel suspicion of a Japanese-American fisherman, a lifelong resident of the islands. It's a great story, but the primary pleasure of the book is Guterson's renderings of the people and the place.

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

Ishmael Chambers, the one-man staff of the newspaper on San Piedro Island in Puget Sound, is covering the 1954 trial of a high school classmate accused of killing another classmate over a land dispute. Actor Peter Marinker--a stage veteran who has appeared in such movies as The Russia House and The Emerald Forest--takes us deep inside the world created by David Guterson in his award-winning 1994 novel. We learn the sensory details of life in a small fishing community; the emotional lives of people scarred inside and out by World War II; and the deep and unresolved prejudices toward the island's Japanese Americans, who were interned during the war--a tragedy that led to financial advantage for some islanders. Marinker deliberately but nimbly moves from the characters' distinctive voices to the poignant interior perspectives of the soulful, wounded Chambers as he tells a combination love story, murder mystery, and painful history lesson. (Running time: 15 hours, 10 cassettes) --Lou Schuler

Book Description

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award

American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award

San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies. But in 1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder. In the course of the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between a white boy and the Japanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife; memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its neighbors watched. Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense-- one that leaves us shaken and changed.

"Haunting.... A whodunit complete with courtroom maneuvering and surprising turns of evidence and at the same time a mystery, something altogether richer and deeper."--Los Angeles Times

"Compelling...heartstopping. Finely wrought, flawlessly written."--The New York Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

Very good (somewhat) historical novel.......2007-08-05

This is not a fast paced read but it is so rich with detail of the characters and the places of its time you can almost feel you're there. The descriptions of the island of San Piedro sent me looking for it on a map of the Puget Sound area only to find there is no such place. I wish Mr. Guterson had included a glossary for the fishing jargon and the colloquialisms of northwest Washington of that time; that would have made it even more interesting for me.

Also a good cultural study of the interactions of Caucasian and non-Caucasian Americans and how much war influences and divides us such as we are experiencing now.

Awesome book!.......2007-07-30

I bought this book for my daughter to read for an honors English class. I read it first and had forgotten that I had watched the movie years ago. I absolutely was saturated by the story. I would recommend it for anyone!

Suspenseful and descriptive novel.......2007-07-14

During the time of Japanese Internment and WWII Japanese settlers strive to live in dignity, finding comfort relying on their old Japanese traditions and customs which ultimately left one white man who courted a Japanese woman broken hearted and another white man who tried to sell and enter into a contract a piece of land to Japanese in a mysterious demise whose trial is the focus of the novel. In the end though truth, heroism and rule of law prevailed over racism and jealousy.

Exposing the Human Condition.......2007-06-25

At its bare bones level, the literary genre here is a murder mystery in which the reader learns of events essentially through witness testimony as it is given in a courtroom trial. And this aspect of the story is quite good and well-crafted, in and by itself. But at a deeper level, the backdrop of time and place reveals the deeply ingrained prejudices and suspicions that Americans felt and directed against Japanese-Americans who were living in the American northwest in the WWII years following Pearl Harbor. Very effectively and in a non-judgmental way, the author spotlights this chapter in America's history when completely innocent Japanese-Americans were forced from their homes, uprooted from occupations and earning capabilities, experienced painful alienation in relationships within their communities and ultimately were interned in camps until war's end. Woven throughout, the human condition of bigotry is nakedly exposed but thankfully so are honor, grace and integrity.

well-written, poetic.......2007-06-05

Sensitive and well-written story that grips the reader. The descriptive passages and the character development are splendid. This novel works on so many levels: love story, mystery, courtroom drama, history. The book has a poetic feel that charms the reader.

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons

Average customer rating:

Brilliant, as usual
Depressing...
fantastic
The Perfect Way To Enjoy Calvin And Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes is Entertainment at its Best

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
Bill Watterson
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Drawing | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0836218833

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant, as usual.......2007-05-29

The Calvin and Hobbes collection is filled with all the usual inventions and wild imagination as Calvin hurtles through the forest on his cart or sled, torments neighbor Suzie or drives his parents up the wall. The title comes from the hilarious serialised strips where Calvin's snowmen come alive and chase after him. It's absolutely a must-have, must-read!

And I DO believe that Hobbes comes alive when no one else is around.

Depressing..........2006-12-13

An only, lonely child. Bullied at school. Clearly a genius level intellect, he's unchallenged and stifled since nobody, not his parents, and not even his teacher, recognizes this. A father who's always too busy to spend any time with his son. A father who's often seen, get this, reading --*reading* -- rather than paying his only son some attention! A mother, who literally, in strip after strip, throws him out the door. Throws, as in "child flying through the air". A child, and a small child at that, allowed repeatedly to wander alone through the woods! A child denied even a pet. His only friend -- a stuffed tiger.
Makes the "Peanuts" look like "The Family Circus".

fantastic.......2006-11-10

I love readding Calvin and Hobbes. Best cartoon from the newspaper and great books. What a great imagination the writer is.

The Perfect Way To Enjoy Calvin And Hobbes.......2006-10-19

I suppose this could apply to any Calvin and Hobbes collection (not just Attack of the Deranged..., but let me share my favorite way to read Calvin and Hobbes.

If possible, I like to pick a rainy Saturday or Sunday. I'm usually already bored and wandering around the cold house. I catch sight of a Calvin and Hobbes book and read a few pages, but my fingers are cold and I can't concentrate.

So I make a steaming cup of my favorite tea and a piece of toast with lots of butter, wrap up in a blanket on the couch, and sit and read straight through.

It's so comforting to listen to the rain and read Calvin and Hobbes. There's just something about it.

Er, see other reviews for information about this actual book.

Calvin and Hobbes is Entertainment at its Best.......2006-09-18

Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes wreck havoc as usual in this awesome collection of Watterson's timeless comic. Whether Calvin's wild imagination is dreaming of prehistoric dinosaurs or planning a mischevious attack on his arch-rival (fellow classmate Suzie Derkins), you're sure to enjoy the unexplainable antics of this troublesome six year old boy.

This particular collection starts with a series of cartoons depicting Calvin with chicken pox. Wouldn't you know it, as soon as he finds out he's contagious, he invites Suzie over to play. That crazy kid.

Individual comics follow, but then another series emerges - one where Calvin's bike attacks him upon every attempt at riding it, and his parents remain clueless about how his face could EVER get caught in the bike's chain.

In another series, we see Calvin's "Get Rid Of Slimy girlS" club planning a failed water balloon assault on Suzie, resulting in the disappearance of Hobbes. Hobbes does some smooching with the enemy and is labeled as a traitor.

We also see Calvin struggling in math, losing a 25 cent bet to Suzie after failing a quiz. He spends all his test time daydreaming he's interplanetary hero Spaceman Spiff, and is only able to do one lousy problem.

When the Christmas season approaches, poor Calvin has to avoid throwing snowballs at Suzie so he won't lose any of his Christmas loot.

The amusing title series of this collection is definitely one of my favorites. Calvin builds monster snowmen that (in his mind anyway) come to life and threaten his existence, so he freezes the whole front yard with the garden hose to protect himself, much to the dismay of his father.

Last but not least, Calvin builds a human duplicating machine out of a cardboard box, and he makes a special copy of himself that represents everything good in him. His plan is to make his flawless duplicate do all of his homework and chores, while he himself gets all the credit. Everything goes fine for a while, until his duplicate develops a crush on Suzie, making him look bad. Hilarity ensues.

Inbetween each of the series are individual comic strips with recurring themes. Open-minded Calvin bugs his parents with questions like, "Why do I have to play outside?" "Why can't we watch TV during dinner?" "If we were cannibals, what parts of people would we eat?" Calvin also grosses out Suzie at every opportunity whenever it's time for lunch at school.

We see Calvin engaging in some of his less frequent behaviors as well, such as digging for dinosaur bones in the front yard and demanding his parents and teachers address him as "Calvin the Bold."

Great, great collection. I loved it years ago and still love it today. Best comic ever in my opinion.

Average customer rating:

SNOW
Snow
Snow by Kenji Jasper: An PeoplewholoveGoodBooks Review
"This moving story will touch a chord in readers, as this intense read demonstrates how one's innocence can be taken."
Just One More Time and I'll Be Coming Home to My Baby

Snow
Kenji Jasper
Manufacturer: Vibe
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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

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

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1601830017

Book Description

From acclaimed author Kenji Jasper comes an edgy, gripping new novel that asks if family life turns a hustler soft--or just hardens his heart...

He Killed For Hate.

Life on the darker streets of D.C. can turn a clean kid grimy. Snow was one of those good kids--until a gang killed his next door neighbor and he decided to settle the score. But doing what he thought was right only plunged him deeper in a deadly game. Now he's a killer for hire, a grown man who's willing--and able--to do anything necessary to survive. But even a cold-blooded hit man has a heart...

Now He May Die For Love.

When Snow falls in love and becomes a father, he's more willing than ever to do what it takes to support his woman and his baby girl. But what that means for a hit man and what it means for a family man are two very different things. When the clash between his home life and his street life threatens to explode, Snow decides to make one last score to put his family on easy street, and get out of the game. But as much as he wants to break out, there's someone just as dangerous, and just as determined to keep Snow right where he is...

Customer Reviews:

SNOW.......2007-07-16

"SNOW" is a well written book and makes for a good read. I takes place in one of the toughest and grimmiest states in the world 'DC'. After reading this book I purchased another book written by Kenji Jasper "Dark."

Snow.......2007-04-09

129 pages of violence. Well, maybe not 129 pages, but this is certainly a more violent offering than any of Jasper's other books that I've read. Jasper says that Snow came to him after DARK, but it reads like it's the other way around. Some of the things mentioned in SNOW seemed to have been the prequel to DARK and SEEKING SALAMANCA. In any event, I didn't find this story particularly great nor was the main character intriguing or interesting. This was just your average shoot-em-up, eye-for-an-eye, life in the streets story. Like most of the relationship fiction these days, you read one, you've read them all. This is a step down from his other books.

Snow by Kenji Jasper: An PeoplewholoveGoodBooks Review.......2007-03-22

Andre aka Snow starts off as a good kid with a promising future but after witnessing the murder of his next door neighbor, and life on the grimy streets of DC soon turn this kid into a cold-blooded killer. Despite his mother's best efforts to keep him on the right path, Snow can't ignore the call of the streets and soon becomes an expert at crime and killing. To Snow, he is doing what he needs for survival but to others he's a psychopath and killer. It isn't until Snow falls in love and becomes a father, that he begins to question his life and the choices that he has made. He decides it's time for a change but it may be too late as he is too deep in the game and someone is determined to keep him in.

Snow by Kenji Jasper is a fast-paced thriller that holds the reader's attention to the very last page. A violent yet heartbreaking story that ends almost as soon as it begins. Reviewed by Shay C of PeoplewholoveGoodBooks.

"This moving story will touch a chord in readers, as this intense read demonstrates how one's innocence can be taken.".......2007-03-11

"Snow is a deep story that depicts the dangers of growing up in the cold hard streets, where some young people make the decision to survive yet lose their heart and soul in the process."

"At a young age Snow witnesses the death of a friend who was like a mentor to him. When he discloses what he has witnessed his life is changed as a hit is put out on him. He relocates with his mom and tries to start over, but he falls into more trouble and becomes involved in a dangerous profession."

"Snow marries Adele and has a daughter and is determined to provide for his family by any means necessary. Unfortunately, his profession and past just might make it difficult for him to continue being the loving husband and father that he wants to be."

"This moving story will touch a chord in readers, as this intense read demonstrates how one's innocence can be taken."

Just One More Time and I'll Be Coming Home to My Baby.......2007-03-08

Kenji Jasper, author of the best sellers, Dakota Grand (DG) and Seeking Salamanca Mitchell (SSM), returns to the genre he does best in Snow. This is the book his editor said would not sell in 2001, prior to the onslaught of the urban/street lit phenomenon.

Andre, known as "Snow", is in a good place. He has a woman, Adele, he loves beyond reason and a baby girl, Kayi, he adores. Adele, an accountant, loves him and believes in him despite his unorthodox "employment." These two ladies are his Achilles heel and being a husband and father is everything to him. Snow will do anything, whatever it takes to keep them safe and in his life. Snow was a good kid growing up in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. He was known as a helpmate to older neighbors but then came the night just before his eighth birthday, when he witnessed his neighbor's murder; a man who had extended kindness to him. Young and clueless, Snow succeeded in getting revenge on the killer by pointing the finger at him. The entire situation hardened him and gradually, as his mother was away from the home, working and caring for her own ill mother, he slowly drifted into the streets.

Snow works alone after Ray, his friend who brought him into the game, left the life of crime when he became a father. Despite the risks, Snow feels he has to rob, steal, hijack and kill; as there is no other way for a young black man to make it in the world. His business is done at night--- darkness is his companion, while the world slumbers and God help the person that gets in his way. He is a cold-blooded killer but when an innocent young mother is among the casualties during the robbery of a high-stakes card game, he steps back and takes a look at the life he is leading. He realizes he cannot do this much longer but his dreams of being a businessman cannot materialize until he has the capital to go legit. The situation comes to a climax when Snow realizes he is the victim of a set-up that almost costs his life. Despite his promises to Adele that she will not become a widow and he is getting out, he has a desperate need to go back and exact revenge. Will he make it out alive to pick up his family and leave the streets of D.C. forever? What awaits him on the other side, in the light?

Unlike the protagonists in DG and SSM, who were good kids caught up in bad situations, Snow is a callous killer, some would say a psychopath. It is hard to reconcile the cold-hearted creature with the man who playfully throws his daughter in the air and lovingly submits to his wife's wishes, but Jasper paints the contrast well; a man, tormented by his chosen profession and the man he hopes to become. This offering is a grittier, edgier read, replete with chase scenes right out of an action movie and vivid characters that will make you cringe. Nevertheless, Jasper retains his descriptive and beautiful prose in this thin volume; a novella, well-written with sit-on-the-edge suspense that sets him apart from so many others of this genre. I look forward to Japer's next urban story; I just hope he does not take too long.

Dera Williams
APOOO BookClub

Average customer rating:

Boring and maudlin
the beauty and destructive power of all-consuming love
First Novel of Mishima's Masterpiece
Landscapes -- Interior and Exterior
Beautiful Modern Allegory for the Aristocrats of the Soul

Spring Snow
Yukio Mishima
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0679722416
Release Date: 1990-04-14

Book Description

The first novel of Mishima's landmark tetralogy, The Sea of fertility

Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power.

Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura. Coming of age, he is caught up in the tensions between old and new -- fiercely loving and hating the exquisite, spirited Ayakura Satoko. He suffers in psychic paralysis until the shock of her engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion, and leads to a love affair that is as doomed as it was inevitable.

Customer Reviews:

Boring and maudlin.......2007-10-08

Maybe it was a bad transalation. Maybe I could not relate as a westerner to an old Japanese story, but I really did not enjoy this book. It was maudlin and unbelievable. Story was boring. Character development was terrible and it was poorly written/transalated. I recommend Murakami's Norwegian Wood for those who want to read books by Japanese authors.

the beauty and destructive power of all-consuming love.......2007-07-23

Mishima's Spring Snow is a coming-of-age tale for nouveau riche Kiyoaki, whose naive childhood crush on the more mature Satoko grows into something much more powerful, beautiful and, ultimately, destructive. Kiyoaki's failings are human and familiar; acting on rash impulses, immaturity, a failure to realise what he wants till he has lost it. Mishima's characterisation is finely drawn and accurate. The scheming Tadeshina turns out to have her own secret heartbreak, enervated Ayakura lacks guile but not luck, the ancient loyalties of the Abessess make her a formidable eminence grice. The characters are at once individually drawn and representative of a unique and fascinating era of flux and change in Japan, as ancient modes of behaviour gave way to modernising forces. Mishima's novel is both of its time and timeless. A true masterpiece.

First Novel of Mishima's Masterpiece.......2007-07-01

Just finished reading an excellent book, just a few minutes ago, and I feel compelled to write a review, while ideas are still fresh in my mind.

This is the first book I've finished reading for my Summer Reading. The book is called Snow Spring (Haru no Yuki) by Mishima Yukio and its the first book in his masterpiece, The Sea of Fertility or Hojou no Umi. The Sea of Fertility is a series of four novels by one of Japan's greatest authors. The book I have is the Vintage International edition, translated by Michael Gallagher.

This novel really moved me. In the last 100 pages, I couldn't do anything but finish it. Just like a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, where the reader hangs onto every word until the truth and mystery is finally revealed in the last word, so does this novel grip the reader.

On the surface is a conventional tale of the Japanese idea of unrequited love, a theme that is done over and over again in Japanese fiction. What sets this piece apart from others, is Mishima narrative drive and richly detailed characters and the psychological insight into every major and minor character involved.

Kiyoaki begins his ill fated relationship with the beautiful Satoko, whom he has known all his life. At first he disregards her and then he is on fire to obtain her love after she is engaged to a Prince. Wealthy families are invovled in making the Wedding ceremony a success and any type of scandal leaking out to the press must be avoided at all costs. But Kioyaki single minded determination to pursure Satoko, despite such obstacles, causes the reader to want him to succeed.

On the one hand, Kiyoaki lets his desires and emotions rage out of control and on the other all those emotions put him into action. He used to sit around in his room all day, lonely and depressed, until he just decided to pusure love. Its his drive to obtain love and his selfish quest for Satoko's heavenly beauty that pushes him along page after page. These type of overly romantic novels can quickly turn unwittingly comical in lesser writer. But Mishima combines the richness of Japanese traditional and culture with romantic ideas of love and realistic views, based in concrete reality, that prevent the work from becoming a low form of soap opera.

The novel is both realistic novel and emotional charged romantic that causes the entire work to be a cleverly crafted paradox. For example, Honda is Kiyoaki's best friend in high school. Honda has a revelation that he must prevent Kiyoaki from pursuing Satoko becomes of his friend's harmful obession. The fact that Honda can't bring himself to hurt his friend by giving him a cold rational arguement, shows love between friends that isn't distorted by irrational love. Kiyoaki's love for Satoko is more based on his own selfish fantasy. It is this fantastic love that wins out between Satoko and over Honda, who had good intentions but failed to act on them. Irrational love wins out over the gloom of reality.

Without giving away any more of the story, let me just end with how this book took over my imagination and wouldn't let it go for 2 whole days. All day Saturday and all Sunday afternoon, I cared more about the characters in this story then my own family. I couldn't do anything else except finish reading it.

It starts out slow but builds to a breakneck speed in the end. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an excellent novel this Summer. Forget about it being Japanese and look past all that exoticism and you will see the novel for all its beauty.

Today I will start on the second novel in the series, called Runaway Horses.

I can't wait.

Landscapes -- Interior and Exterior.......2007-03-06

In "Spring Snow," Yukio Mishima has chosen the perfect title for his novel. The narrative is as gentle and as beautiful as wet snow on spring blossoms, and indeed there is a poignant scene where two lovers have a tryst in a rickshaw under such conditions. It was my first foray into the world of Mishima -- indeed, of Japanese literature -- and will not be my last.

The story of a young and handsome aristocrat, Kiyoaki Matsugae, and the beautiful and mysterious Ayakura Satoko, comes from the same time-honored tradition of as more familiar star-crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. Set just after the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, the novel offers intriguing insights into a Japanese culture that is at once in flux and clinging to traditions.

If you love a writer whose strength is description of nature, Mishima is not to be missed. His words are as fit as any Nature Channel special on the wonders of Japan and he is equally adept at describing the contours of his young lovers' bodies. In addition to the sensual and sensuous wonders, the inner psychology of passion-plagued minds is a point of expertise for this writer. He deftly avoids sentimentalism while walking the thin line between hatred and love, between passion and pain.

Symbolism, description, psychology, and a gentle narrative pace. What's not to love? Readers looking for a fast-paced plot might not be overwhelmed, but those who love it when they stumble upon a "writer's writer" will be glad they tried Yukio Mishima. It is the first book of the tetralogy, "The Sea of Fertility."

Beautiful Modern Allegory for the Aristocrats of the Soul.......2006-11-21

Suprisingly, after reading the reviews for Yukio Mishima's literary masterpiece "Spring Snow," I was unable to find anyone who interpreted this tragic Romeo and Juliet like love story the same way that I did. Perhaps, because of my own right wing and nationalistic belief systems that were similar to Mishimas I was able to catch the subtle hints of greater depths beneath the somewhat simple and cliched story of two lovers whose desire to be with one another was thwarted by unfortunate circumstances. I understood "Spring Snow" to be an elegantly written allegory full of symbolism and metaphors and describing the decline and gradual dissolution of the traditional world of the past; a society that existed as a thriving, living hierarchy wherein the Emperor represented the peak. I understood the main protagonist Kiyoaki, a son of an ancient traditional samurai family, to represent a weakened and diluted traditional Japanese society that has become listless and frail due to the inroads that "progressive" Western society and influence had made on it, but which still retained some residue of its health. Satoko, Kiyoaki's love whom he is obsessed with, is the soul of that traditional society. Honda, Kiyoaki's best friend, represents the modern world with its emphasis on all of its afflictions such as rationality, reason, "progressiveness," intellectualization, and industrialism. The ending is a tragic scenario describing symbolically and microcosmically what has happened on a macroscopic scale. The life and spirit of the traditional world has separated (Satoko willingly renounces this world and becomes a nun at a Buddhist convent, swearing an oath never to see Kiyoaki again in this life), Kioyaki, representing the traditional world, lacking the very spirit that gives it life, dies, leaving only his dreams to Honda (the best friend who is compassionate, caring, and sympathizing, but incapable of understanding Kiyoaki) the new sterile modern world which replaces the old. However, once our declining civilization finally self destructs, a world will be reborn in which Kiyoaki and Satoko will be reunited, and a mechanistic sort of life will be again reinvested with a passionate spirit. Also described is the corruption in the nobility who no longer follow principles and modes of behavior that arise not through the acknowledging of rules and ideas that are imposed on them from the outside, but a way of life that permeates from within, overflowing and filled with an organic livelihood, and who are instead preoccupied with pettiness and a pathological preoccupation of appearances.
"Spring Snow" is the first book I have had the fortune of reading by this luminary literary figure from Japan and it will not be the last.

Average customer rating:

Surprised by how good it was
Snow is Cool
Good Batman story with fabulous art

Batman: Snow
Dan Curtis Johnson , and J.H. Williams
Manufacturer: DC Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

Superheroes | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Batman | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

DC Comics | Publishers | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Batman | Media | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1401212654

Customer Reviews:

Surprised by how good it was.......2007-09-29

I kind of looked at this one and thought 'this artwork is kind of childish and goofy; this is probably just a one trick pony based on unusual artwork'. Not so, this had a really good story, and the art really grew on me towards the end. With some of the batman graphic novels it gets so dark and noir-y that you can't even tell what's happening, its just swirls of red and black. Not this one...if you can't tell what's going on here, get a new hobby. So yea, kind of refreshing. Also, I liked the idea of Batman assembling a team and playing off their emotional needs. It was like reservoir dogs, if Batman was the boss.

Snow is Cool.......2007-07-05

Snow examines Batman's early years and demonstrates why he operates solo or at best, with Robin.

Batman assembles a team of civilians to aid his intelligence gathering efforts because James Gordon and Harvey Dent are sworn law men whose loyalites sometimes conflict with the Dark Knight's extra-legal duties.

The origin of Dr. Freeze is explored and like Alan Moore's story of the beginning of the Joker in The Killing Joke, the villain is sympathetic and tragic.

Seth Fisher's artwork is really good, packed with obsessive detail and rich colors. It reminds me of Geoff Darrow's work in Hard Boiled but with a little softer edge.

As for the story, the other main villain, crime boss Peter Scotta, is not developed at all. Scotta's lack of characterization renders him a cardboard cutout who moves the story along but adds no flavor or fear. His character is the only major storytelling shortcoming.
It's a fun read and adds nuance and depth to the Batman mythology.

Good Batman story with fabulous art.......2007-05-23

The main appeal of this book is the fabulous art by the late Seth Fisher. I think I've read all the superhero stories he drew, and along with "Willworld", this is one of the best. Fisher had an insanely-detailed style, influenced by European cartoonists like Moebius and Bilal, but much more precise (and whimsical, as when smoke blows out of Commissioner Gordon's ears). With the pastel colors of Chris Chuckry, the result is a Batman story unlike any you've ever seen before.

The story is very well-done as well, one of the seemingly endless series of "Year One-and-a-Half" stories that DC has commissioned to fill-in the backstory of Batman after the DC universe was re-shuffled in the mid-80s. This one gives us a good look at what it might have been like to be a brand-new crime fighter in a tough city like Gotham.

It's an enjoyable story, and the fact that it's not officially part of DC's continuity gives the writers a lot more freedom than they would probably have enjoyed if they were writing an "official" Batman story. But the real selling point here is the art. If you like unique, unconventional comic book art, you definitely need to check this one out.

Average customer rating:

Epic Samurai Adventure

Blood on Snow (The Path, Book 2)
Ron Marz , and Bart Sears
Manufacturer: Cross Generation Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

Fantasy | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1931484600

Customer Reviews:

Epic Samurai Adventure.......2003-06-22

Ron Martz and Bart Sears have constructed a cinematic tale about
a monk who becomes a reluctant warrior. Sears gritty art style fits the story's timeframe and locale. There are grand battle scenes and interseting characterizations in this tale mixed with samurai action and fantasy . A great way to jump on this ongoing title from the Crossgen Universe.

Average customer rating:

It just keeps getting better!

Millenium Snow Vol. 2 (Millenium Snow)

Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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

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

Fantasy | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Manga | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Love & Romance | Literature & Fiction | Teens | Subjects | Books

Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Teens | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1421512033

Book Description

Now that her bond with Toya has healed her heart, Chiyuki wants to live her life to the fullest. What she doesn't know is that Toya has refused to make the full partnership with her. He doesn't want to doom her to a thousand years of life. Chiyuki swore to Toya that she would never leave him alone, but is that a promise she'll be able to keep?

Customer Reviews:

It just keeps getting better!.......2007-06-29

Chiyuki and Toya's story just keeps getting deeper and more fun. Chiyuki, a girl with a severe heart condition and a knack for attracting unusual guys goes skiing in Switzerland. Because of Toya's hatred for the cold and their tag-a-long werewolf's lousy sense of direction, the three of them predictably get lost. Between a blizzard, ghostly encounters of the haunted mansion kind and Toya's weakness resulting from lack of blood intake, the trio has quite the adventure before them as they try to find their way back to the airport.

I can't praise Bisco Hatori's manga enough! Between Millenium Snow and Ouran High School Host Club, Volume 1 I'm a devoted fan! She took a hiatus from this title to creat Host Club, but I hope and pray she returns to it soon! (Not so soon that she gives up OHSHC, but you know what I mean.) I just can't wait to see what other high jinx she has instore for these loveable characters!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books