Book Description
Acclaimed as a modern dramatic masterpiece, "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is the fabulously inventive tale of "Hamlet" as told from the worm's-eye view of the bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Shakespeare's play. In Tom Stoppard's best-known work, this Shakespearean Laurel and Hardy finally get a chance to take the lead role, but do so in a world where echoes of "Waiting for Godot" resound, where reality and illusion intermix, and where fate leads our two heroes to a tragic but inevitable end.
Customer Reviews:
hamlet retold.......2007-03-21
another great stoppard effort but it only makes sense if you are familear with Hamlet otherwise don't bother.
Cheeky and fun with Hamlet's serious overtones.......2007-01-28
If you understand Shakespeare's Hamlet (more than just a little) and you can grasp at the concepts of existentialism and absurdity, then you will love this play!
Sheer brilliance.......2006-08-12
I've seen a few reviews here that say "read it, but don't go see it." Most of the time, I would probably agree, because most people who do the play don't get it; they think it's a straightforward comedy, and it is almost anything but.
R&G is all about pace; except for a couple of spots, if the pace isn't almost franticly precise, the end loses its entire effect. The beginning of the second act
"Hmmm?"
"Yes?"
"What?"
"I thought you..."
"No."
"Ahh."
takes a lot of work to get right; someone missing a beat is almost as bad as someone walking through the invisible fourth wall.
Guildenstern has the first real line in the play: "There's an art to the building up of suspense." If you aren't on the edge of your seat when the penultimate scene begins, then the director and the actors have missed the boat.
Unfortunately, nothing Mr Stoppard has done since is quite as good. His plays are good, especially if you like the Pinteresque types, but just not quite as good.
Stoppard & Shakespeare.......2006-01-18
All my life I was taught to revere Shakespeare as poet and genius and to treat his work with reverence and pious respect. Then, I read Stoppard's work and I have never looked back! RGAD broke down so many bariers that had been fortified for ages in my mind. Stoppard was able to show me like no one else that Shakespeare was an entertainer. He was one of the greatest of his age, but he was just a man like any other. He would have sacraficed iambic pentameter for a laugh or a piognant pregnant pause if it meant his work had more impact in a moment.
Work of Brilliance.......2005-12-24
It was about a year ago that my school did a production of R&G are Dead and the book was unbelievable! It was simply amazing how Stoppard was able to weave in the various plots from Hamlet into this story of two young guys just doing what they're told! However, I do recommend that you read Hamlet before trying to take on this book, otherwise much confusion is in store. It was hilarious! I highly recommend it to any drama enthusiast of any age!
**Notes for production. In my school's production, we had females playing the roles of Guildenstern and the Player. And to this day, I couldn't picture it being done any other way! Also, our production was done in a theater-in-the-round sort of setup. Where the audience was on stage along with the actors. It was a very neat concept!
I would give 10 stars to this book, but only 5 are available, so I gave it 5!
Average customer rating:
- I enjoyed reading this first book of the series
- Dead Irish (Dimas Hardy)
- Great characters, needed a better story.
- Disappointing
- see john grow
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Dead Irish
John Lescroart
Manufacturer: Signet
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Similar Items:
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The Vig
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Hard Evidence
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The 13th Juror (Dismas Hardy)
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A Certain Justice
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The Mercy Rule
ASIN: 0451214277 |
Book Description
In his new life as a bartender at the Little Shamrock, Dismas Hardy is just hoping for a little peace. He's left both the police force and his law career behind. Unfortunately it's not as easy to leave behind the memory of a shattering personal loss-but for the time being, he can always take the edge off with a stiff drink and round of darts. But when the news of Eddie Cochran's death reaches him, Hardy is propelled back into all the things he was trying to escape. Now he must untangle a web of old secrets and raw passions, for the sake of Eddie's pregnant widow Frannie-and for the others whose lives may still be at risk.
Customer Reviews:
I enjoyed reading this first book of the series.......2007-06-13
Over that last few years I have read several of the Dismas Hardy books. What really stuck out for me as one of my biggest gripes was that the characters really felt set in stone. I never felt like they were growing from one book to the next. I also felt alot like Lescroart was writing the same story over and over again with slight variations. So in my mind I was viewing Lescroart as a talanted mystery/thriller writer who was trying too hard to write for an imaginary audience whom he felt wanted an exact sort of book from him and that he had become too attached to his characters to alow for them to undergo changes.
Thats why I think I felt that Dead Irish was such a refreshing Lescroart book for one who has basically worked backwards along the series arc. In Dead Irish the characters are just being formed, given substance. Its interesting to see the long standing friendships that would later come to be take shape.
The story itself is also pretty interesting, though nothing earth shattering. What I like about it is that all in all it is a fairly simple plot, no mass killings or huge rampages. Instead this book is about the small things. Dismas' friend is killed or has commited suicide and he takes it upon himself to uncover exactly what occured.
This is one of the best Lescroart books. I would say you should read this if you have not yet done so and have previously read others in the series. However, if you are looking for something earth shattering in this genre I would suggest that you turn instead to Cormac McCarthy's 'No Country for Old Men'.
Dead Irish (Dimas Hardy).......2007-05-11
In the latest Dimas Hardy mystery, Dis finds himself helping out another friend find the bad guy. There are alot of twists and turns in this one, so everytime I thought I knew who did it, I got fooled again. It did keep me listening longer than I wanted to. It was fast paced and interesting, highly recommend if your a Dismas Hardy fan.
Great characters, needed a better story........2005-12-30
It's always good to read the first book of a series as it lays the groundwork for the characters and their relationships. This book did a very good job of creating the defining the principal characters by making them interesting enough that I want to read more about them. The setting was well done. However, the story had too many red herrings and I found myself disappointed by the ending.
Disappointing.......2005-02-19
A good book always has a hook. It may be as simple as "Gregor Mendel awoke to find himself changed into a giant insect..." or the like. But, John Lescroart's "Dead Irish," has a boxing glove at the end of a spring, like those old Warner Brothers cartoons. The hero, Diz (for Dismas, a name attributed to the good thief on the cross) Hardy is a bartender, an ex-cop, ex-attorney and divorcé who gets bribed into investigating the death of a young man, his boss's brother-in-law, an apparent suicide for a partnership in the business. The story goes down from there. We get exposure to cop-infighting, petty jealousies and one of the most unfeasible plots since Phantom of the Opera. The setting is San Francisco, which is described as being "hot," [well, I remember it getting up to almost 90 one summer in the city] and uncomfortable. The action in the story is convoluted, and we are exposed to shifting points of view, confused and confusing characters and one non sequitur after another. The writing drags and even at the climax, there is little pick up in the pace of the story. The ending, burdened with an unlikely motive and MO, essential in a mystery, unravels into a frazzled mess of unresolution. All in all, a very disappointing read.
see john grow.......2004-04-20
Several reviewers have compared this novel unfavourably to later examples of the Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitsky series. But the book is the first of the series, and although it's weaker than later examples, it's a good read, with very sympa characters. And as always, the essence of San Francisco is bottled in some very evocative descriptions. So, fair plot, good characters, excellent setting. Well worth a look, and the later books in the series just get better. Press on.....
Book Description
The sacred wisdom of the priests of ancient Egypt and the experiences of the soul after death: one of the most important books in Egyptian history. Includes full hieroglyphic text along with a transliteration of sounds, word-for-word translation, and a separate smooth translation.
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Also known as the Papyrus of Ani.
Customer Reviews:
NOT SATISFIED!.......2006-11-15
It was very disappointing to know that this book has only one chapter with lots of blank spaces for notes. It's cheating to sell a chapter book at the rate of $10.85. This is irritating! Please watch out for this book buyers.
Awesome Book!.......2004-02-10
Awesome book!! Lots of info regarding gods that are involved in the burrial/afterlife procedures. Really cool, definetly worth a read if you are interested in Egyptian history.
Ian Myles Slater on A Grand Antique.......2003-09-17
I hate to say a hard word about a volume so many (including myself) have found so intriguing. The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" - a collection of spells, prayers, hymns, and instructions for success in the afterlife - is a famous, and widely misunderstood document, well worth a first-hand examination. However, potential purchasers should be aware that this is a reproduction of a Victorian edition and translation, and that Budge, the editor and translator, was industrious, sincere, talented, and from time to time brilliant, but already a bit out of date in his approach to ancient Egyptian, even when the book appeared in 1895. This Dover reprint is a monument to obsolete scholarship.
The volume was intended as a companion to, or substitute for, an extremely beautiful facsimile edition of a papyrus copy, which Budge had obtained in Egypt, published in color by the British Museum. The passage of decades has only compounded the problems. Budge's transliteration is obsolete, and his polished translations run roughshod over Egyptian grammar (the interlinear versions being erroneous only over the meanings of specific words). His history of scholarship covers the early decades of Egyptology in more detail than most will find necessary, but of course misses that latter nineteenth century (as well as everything since).
Still, before the appearance of a recent, computer-assisted, facsimile edition, based on the British Museum facsimile, with modern translations (The University of Texas Press, as "The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead"), this was as close as most people would get to one of the major manuscripts of the New Kingdom's "guide to the next world". My first copy is filled with several decades of corrections and annotations, and I bought a second just to enjoy the beautiful hieroglyphic font in which the text is presented. I am not telling anyone not to buy it; just don't take it as the last word on anything.
Better then you would expect.......2003-03-28
This book is loaded with knowledge. It has information on the different versions, and types of the book. This version, is quite unique, as even though it is translated, the orignial language, and hiro-glypics was left intact.I would highly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in egyptian ages, but I would not expect just anyone to understand the true nature and power of the book. The book is extremly deep, and a few people might have troubles understanding it, But if you have an open heart and mind, then the nature and power of this book, is limitless. Enjoy it guys! :)
After 100+ years -- still the most complete.......2001-09-05
There a few modern Egyptologists (and a few outright hacks) that are quick to point out Budge's many errors in translation without looking at the publication date on the book. Budge more than makes up for this, however, by including his transliterations along with the original hieroglyphic text -- so that any wannabe Egyptologist can try his hand at doing better. It is the complete Papyrus of Ani, which is the most complete text yet found. It would have rated 5 stars save for two things: Budge's organization of the book, which is difficult to understand at first without considerable effort, and the fact that it does not include ALL of the chapters. The latter could have been solved by supplementing the book with parts of the Pyramid or Coffin Texts, which Budge discusses extensively in his introduction. Nonetheless, this is the first book the serious scholar should pick up on the subject, especially if he is a student of ancient Egyptian language.
Book Description
This Irish bad-boy thriller -- set in the hardest streets of New York City -- brims with violence, greed, and sexual betrayal.
"I didn't want to go to America, I didn't want to work for Darkey White. I had my reasons. But I went."
So admits Michael Forsythe, an illegal immigrant escaping the Troubles in Belfast. But young Michael is strong and fearless and clever -- just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month. Michael and his lads tumble through the streets, shaking down victims, drinking hard, and fighting for turf, block by bloody block.
Dodgy and observant, not to mention handy with a pistol, Michael is soon anointed by Darkey as his rising star. Meanwhile Michael has very inadvisably seduced Darkey's girl, Bridget -- saucy, fickle, and irresistible. Michael worries that he's being followed, that his affair with Bridget will be revealed. He's right to be anxious; when Darkey discovers the affair, he plans a very hard fall for young Michael, a gambit devilish in its guile, murderous in its intent.
But Darkey fails to account for Michael's toughness and ingenuity or the possibility that he might wreak terrible vengeance upon those who would betray him.
A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent -- complete with an Irish lilt.
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"This Irish bad-boy thriller -- set in the hardest streets of New York City -- brims with violence, greed, and sexual betrayal. ""I didn't want to go to America, I didn't want to work for Darkey White. I had my reasons. But I went."" So admits Michael Forsythe, an illegal immigrant escaping the Troubles in Belfast. But young Michael is strong and fearless and clever -- just the fellow to be tapped by Darkey, a crime boss, to join a gang of Irish thugs struggling against the rising Dominican powers in Harlem and the Bronx. The time is pre-Giuliani New York, when crack rules the city, squatters live furtively in ruined buildings, and hundreds are murdered each month. Michael and his lads tumble through the streets, shaking down victims, drinking hard, and fighting for turf, block by bloody block. Dodgy and observant, not to mention handy with a pistol, Michael is soon anointed by Darkey as his rising star. Meanwhile Michael has very inadvisably seduced Darkey's girl, Bridget -- saucy, fickle, and irresistible. Michael worries that he's being followed, that his affair with Bridget will be revealed. He's right to be anxious; when Darkey discovers the affair, he plans a very hard fall for young Michael, a gambit devilish in its guile, murderous in its intent. But Darkey fails to account for Michael's toughness and ingenuity or the possibility that he might wreak terrible vengeance upon those who would betray him. A natural storyteller with a gift for dialogue, McKinty introduces to readers a stunning new noir voice, dark and stylish, mythic and violent -- complete with an Irish lilt. "
Customer Reviews:
intriguing Irish Author.......2007-05-07
Lots of insight to the emigres of Northern Ireland. Too much graphic gore, but action keeps the pages turning. If his character could show a bit of remorse for his formulaic killings, the product would be better.
unputdownable.......2007-05-03
I bought this book primarily because it was a recom either here on Amazon or from someone who had read Declan Hughes' novels. I can't remember any longer. But boy, I am ecstatic that I ordered this book.
McKinty has a gift for both dialogue and plot movement. In this, the first of the Michael Forsythe series (I believe there are two other books in the series, both of them even now waiting for me in an Amazon box at home, if package tracking is to be believed), the reader follows Forsythe on his journey from Ireland to New York to Mexico and then back to New York.
He leaves Ireland because he has no options available to him; he can not afford to stay there and has prospects in New York. Upon arriving in New York, he becomes a very low-level gangster whose life hardly sounds much of an improvement over what he had in Ireland. McKinty does a sterling job of showing us what Forsythe's circumstances are (think mega cockroach heaven and continued poverty) at the same time that he develops Forsythe's character through the descriptions the first-person narrator provides.
This novel is done in Forsythe's voice, and that's a plus. Not only do we get to "hear" him speak to others, thereby getting a sense of how he communicates; we also get all the action filtered through his humor, intelligence (in many things, but not all--the boy simply can not pick a good woman to save his life), and philosophical bent.
I found several parts of this book particularly fascinating. The one that sticks out most in my mind at the moment is the part of the book that takes place in Mexico, after Forsythe has been jailed in a truly horrific Mexican prison. (Don't hurt me! I'm not revealing anything that's not on the book jacket!) I absolutely loved getting into Forsythe's mind here; he created movies with which to occupy his intellect so that he would not die both mentally and physically. He literally reconstructs wars and childhood events, creating "films" that allow him to survive the days when he is chained to the ground for 23 out of 24 hours.
Forsythe is an appealing character even when he is at his ugliest, and he can be ugly indeed. He's no hero, not really. He's capable of doing terrible things because they seem right to him at the time or even because he doesn't see an easy way out of them. But he's also got a conscience (even if it does seem a bit convenient) and a sense of honor that help balance the other side of him. And he's utterly hilarious. You'll find yourself snorting laughter at odd times.
You'll love the view you get of a New York that isn't quite so obvious any longer. This is the New York that existed before different areas got "cleaned up" and the crime rate began to go down. It's a New York you'd be hard-pressed to want to live in. And Forsythe's circle of "friends" is one you'd never want for your own. Hell, you might not want Forsythe anywhere near you or anyone you loved. The man has serious issues.
All in all, this is a wonderful first novel in the series. I can't wait to read the other two.
Belfast confetti, Big Apple machete.......2007-01-10
I've owned this book since December of 2004, which makes it quite pathetic that I'm just now writing this review for the book. But with Adrian McKinty's new novel seeing its release in just two more months, I figured that this may help with the build-up of that new Michael Forsythe vehicle.
Speaking of Michael Forsythe; typical young Irishman coping with the political and religious hardships in Northern Ireland, out of work and shipped off to New York for a dire means to an end; his own survival. He didn't want to work for Darkey White, but when opportunity knocks...
Darkey White's caste-level system crew of Irish mobsters run the rackets in Harlem and the Bronx, reluctantly sharing the streets in a nefarious relationship with rival Dominicans. Michael is young but he's poised, the only real leader among the low level paddy mobsters, a rag tag crew found in Scotchy, Fergal, and Michael's new mates. Living in a tenement and attempting a mum's the word relationship with the boss' number one girl, Bridget, Michael gets in over his head, and not even his monumental skills with a Belfast six-pack will keep him from what awaits.
A passive-agressive reprimand of the deportation sort.
Michael must overcome the Mexican heat, shanks, hallucinations and depreivation and torture, only to see that the light at the end of the tunnel is a return to life that led him blindly, in the city that took him in and spit him back out. Once on the warpath, heads roll and loyalties are revealed that Michael and his six-shooter must learn to cope with, setting personal feelings aside and digging into what he's endured, and who has forced him to do so.
Knick-nack, Paddy whack, crime fiction will never be the same. McKinty's writing is clever and nothing short of inspirational to writers of the genre. Michael's voice is naive but then again seasoned, shaped in Irish slang and Belfast lilt. Told tough and noirish, Dead I Well May Be serves up gritty revenge stone cold, leaving you full and famished for more of his stylish work. Buy into McKinty's whole catelog. I did.
An outstanding Listen.......2006-12-15
Combine a great writer and an equally great reader and you have the ultimate in storytelling pleasure. Gerard Doyle's talent makes you believe the protagonist himself is seated in the chair next to you and is telling you his story. I cannot praise Mr. McKinty's prowess enough either. Every bit of his tale melds so seamlessly you never notice the wheels and pulleys and other writerly mechinations. My only problem -- where to find another such book?
excellent crime thriller .......2006-12-11
In Belfast, Michael Forsythe is unemployed, has no prospects (or ambition), and is no longer a state recipient of a stipend. In 1992 with little to keep him in Ireland, he decides to go to New York where he anticipates opportunities will abound for a young healthy teenage Irishman, but first he must pay back his airfare debt which includes expediting an illegal entry. Thus Michael quickly obtains employment in construction in Harlem as an enforcer for Irish mobster Darkey White who is at war with encroaching Latino gangs.
Michael soon proves adept at killing the enemy especially construction competitors and the Dominican gangs. However, loyal to Darkey when it comes to eradication, Michael cannot resist the lure of his boss' girlfriend Bridget in spite of his brain telling him he is dead if he gets caught. He is not stunned when a drug deal in Mexico proves a setup that leaves him forgotten in a Mexican jail. He vows to join Darkey's enemies when he returns to the mean streets of Manhattan.
Having read and enjoyed THE DEAD YARD several months ago, this reviewer wanted to obtain the first Forsythe tale, DEAD I MAY WELL BE. It is worth the effort as the fast-paced thriller focuses on the dichotomous antihero's thirst for vengeance. Forsythe in this novel in some ways will remind the audience of Alex star, of Burgess' A Clockwork Orange though Michael's violence is not random; in THE DEAD YARD he seems more like Bourne. Crime thriller fans will appreciate this fine tale and its sequel, but recommend reading this one first as fans will have a better understanding of what makes Forsythe tick during THE DEAD YARD escapades.
Harriet Klausner
Book Description
Through this vivid study, Jean-Claude Schmitt examines medieval religious culture and the significance of the widespread belief in ghosts, revealing the ways in which the dead and the living related to each other during the middle ages. Schmitt also discusses Augustine's influence on medieval authors; the link between dreams and autobiographical narratives; and monastic visions and folklore. Including numerous color reproductions of ghosts and ghostly trappings, this book presents a unique and intriguing look at medieval culture.
"Valuable and highly readable. . . . [Ghosts in the Middle Ages] will be of interest to many students of medieval thought and culture, but especially to those seeking a general overview of this particularly conspicuous aspect of the medieval remembrance of the dead."—Hans Peter Broedel, Medieval Review
"A fascinating study of the growing prevalence of ghost imagery in ecclesiastical and popular writing from the fifth to the fifteenth century."—Choice
Book Description
In 1981 ten men starved themselves to death inside the walls of Long Kesh prison in Belfast. While a stunned world watched and distraught family members kept bedside vigils, one "soldier" after another slowly went to his death in an attempt to make Margaret Thatcher's government recognize them as political prisoners rather than common criminals.
Drawing extensively on secret IRA documents and letters from the prisoners smuggled out at the time, David Beresford tells the gripping story of these strikers and their devotion to the cause. An intensely human story, Ten Men Dead offers a searing portrait of strife-torn Ireland, of the IRA, and the passions -- on both sides -- that Republicanism arouses.
Customer Reviews:
Soldiers for Freedom.......2007-07-11
This is an amazing book - a riveting, heartbreaking story of the 10 hunger strikers who died a slow and painful death for what they believed. How many of us would even condiser doing this, let alone actually endure the agony (which could last more than two months) as our bodies shut down? For folks that don't understand the depth of dedication of these men, this is an excellent documentation of their deepest thoughts. I was so angry I wanted to scream, and so sad I couldn't keep from crying. These ten are definitely included in the roll of honor for Ireland's greatest men. May the rest in peace.
Sound, Sensitive Treatment of a Delicate Subject.......2006-12-11
"Ten Men Dead" is the story of the 10 1981 Irish Republican Army hunger strikers. All starved themselves to death protesting both the British occupation of Northern Ireland and their own treatment in Long Kesh Gaol. TMD is as much about the families and loved ones involved as it is about the 10. TMD is well researched and documented, despite the cries of at least one previous reviewer, claiming it to be "fiction". TMD is not "fiction"! In fact, author Beresford was granted extraordinary access and cooperation by the IRA high command. The powers that were allowed Beresford to research scores of "comms", secret messages smuggled in and out of Long Kesh in "body orifices" of prisoners. The comms circulated behind the prison walls in the same shadowy and earthy fashion. The author has performed a first rate job of painting the background and context of a very grim situation. TMD is fast moving and rapid reading. It maintains suspense and interest throughout, though many readers will already be aware of the outcome. A nice postscript closes the circle for some of the families and supporters. Books like TMD allow Irish Americans to stay connected with the home country without being consumed by "the Troubles". We owe it to ourselves to periodically do so. Like many,if not most, previous books and movies concerning Ireland, TMD assumes a prior knowledge of that country's strifes and difficulties. Eager readers without such insight should pick up the drift quickly enough. On a closing note, this reviewer was truly saddened by some of the reviews which follow below. The harsh and mean-spirited tone of some is a perfect example of the difficult atmosphere good people on both sides of the "the Troubles" must face every day.
Seriously biased.......2004-08-16
Beresford tries to explain away his lack of sources by referring to this book as a work of journalism, not history. If this is the type of journalism Mr. Beresford practices, it's about high time he be employed by the Fox News channel or by Michael Moore. Very biased, writing almost entirely from the prisoners' point of view. I don't believe there is anything wrong with writing from their point of view, however, I disagree with trying to present it as "journalism." Nevertheless, this is a fascinating peek into the mind of the IRA and why they do things the way they do.
History or historical fiction?.......2003-05-18
I read this book as a text for a class I took about resistance movements. (I have my own views on the Irish question, but this is not the appropriate place to express them.) This book was certainly interesting, ..., the author dropped the ball in some places, leaving some holes in the narrative. Because of these gaps, this book was not the easiest to read. In addition, it was difficult for me to keep various groups and individuals straight throughout the book. A glossary and a list of characters would have been useful.
The thing that I disliked most about this book is that while it purports to be a history of the Irish hunger strike, the author is not a historian, but a journalist. (This is not to say that journalists can't write history, only that they write history differently than historians.) As Beresford himself notes, "Apart from the comms [IRA communications] as published, no attempt has been made to provide sources for infomation in the book. It is an exercise in journalism, rather than scholarship." (Page 1). Therefore, can this book be considered history? Given the lack of references (no bibliography or footnotes) and the obviously large amount of fictionalization, I would approach this book as historical fiction rather than history. It would be interesting to see what would happen to the story in the hands of a historian.
This is an interesting narrative and it is worth reading. However, if you want to read real history, I would suggest looking elsewhere.
The 1981 Hunger Strike.......2003-05-16
Ten Men Dead is an inside look on how the British govenment's criminalizational policy failed and how it will continue to fail. In 1976 the British Government ended what was known as "Special Category Status" simply an official Prisoner of War status for paramilitary detainees arrested prior to that time and implemented a policy of "Criminalization". This meant new political detainees would no longer be granted the POW status but be treated as common criminals. They would be incarcerated in the infamous "H-Blocks" at LongKesh known as the Maze. An escalating series of protests began: Refusal to wear prison uniforms. TheBlanket Men. The No-wash Protest and finally the Hunger Strike.
Average customer rating:
- Luminous and Illuminating
- some books just make you smart
- The pen is mightier than the sword...
- Brimful of brilliant!
- Negotiating with the writer
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Negotiating with the Dead: A Writer on Writing
Margaret Atwood
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0521662605 |
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After having been through the "wash-and-spin cycle" a few times, Margaret Atwood realized that her "own experience in the suds may be relevant to others." Thus was born Negotiating with the Dead, six essays about what it means to be a writer, particularly a female writer. Each essay explores one aspect of writerly contemplation: art vs. commerce; the ideal reader; the separation between the part of a person that writes and the part that lives; and, as the title suggests, the constant presence of those who came before (both writers and other ancestors). Atwood relates her own experiences as a female poet (to be taken seriously, it would have helped to commit suicide) and as a bestselling novelist (whether your books are good or bad, sell well or don't, people will look down at you for it). These are intriguing meditations, with references to works by Virgil, Isak Dinesen, Robertson Davies, and countless others (Atwood's own dead, no doubt). --Jane Steinberg
Book Description
What is the role of the Writer? Prophet? High Priest of Art? Court Jester? Or witness to the real world? Looking back on her own childhood and writing career, Margaret Atwood examines the metaphors which writers of fiction and poetry have used to explain--or excuse!--their activities, looking at what costumes they have assumed, what roles they have chosen to play. In her final chapter she takes up the challenge of the title: if a writer is to be seen as "gifted", who is doing the giving and what are the terms of the gift? Atwood's wide reference to other writers, living and dead, is balanced by anecdotes from her own experiences, both in Canada and elsewhere. The lightness of her touch is offset by a seriousness about the purpose and the pleasures of writing, and by a deep familiarity with the myths and traditions of western literature. Margaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Quebec, Ontario, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College. Throughout her thirty years of writing, Atwood has received numerous awards and honorary degrees. Hew newest novel, The Blind Assassin, won the 2000 Booker Prize for Fiction. She is the author of more than twenty-five volumes of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include Alias Grace (1996), The Robber Bride (1994), Cat's Eye (1988), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), Surfacing (1972) and The Edible Woman (1970). Acclaimed for her talent for portraying both personal lives and worldly problems of universal concern, Atwood's work has been published in more than thirty-five languages, including Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic, and Estonian.
Customer Reviews:
Luminous and Illuminating.......2006-11-29
Perhaps the greatest book ever written on the creative process. A treat for writers and non writers alike. Illuminating and inspiring for everyone, you do not need to be an Atwood afficionado to appreciate this. Lovers of words will find themselves, as always, entranced by Ms Atwood's prose. A yummy confection that will stimulate your mind and gobsmack you with its content and style. This is a book which will have you reading and rereading time and time again, scouring for that quotation or thought. A delightful tour inside the mind of a creative genius!
some books just make you smart.......2006-10-30
so, some books just make you smart. just like some people can't help but be smart. one such person, who demonstrates her intelligence through authorship, is margaret atwood. margaret atwood, who's literary acquaintance i made first nearly 15 years ago, when my mentor, an artist in la, esther raucher, was reading cat's eye in a book group she was in. margaret atwood is one brilliant woman, with profound insight, and professional respect for her craft. this book is a testimony to that respect--and offers even those every day writers, with miles of published accomplishments (like atwood herself) the whys and wherefores that remind you what you do, why it's important, and why it's impossible, if you're really a writer, to do anything else.
Negotiating with the Dead, who's title lept out at me in my present mood, began it's life as a series of lectures put on by Cambridge University--so i guess it helps that she's smart. the book has all the stuff of university writing. it has quotes and notes, introductions and acknowledgments, a bibliography that makes a stunning reading list, and 180 pages of writer insight. While remaining easy to read, the reader is made smarter through the references atwood uses, the juxtaposition of writers she quotes, the notes she adds and the ideas, wholly her own, that inform the organization of her insight. this book makes you smarter. you can feel it as your eyes scan the page.
Having read only atwood's poetry before, i was astounded by her sentences, paragraphs and pages. while guiding me carefully, i felt included in her insights. she was talking to her peers. she was inclusive and revealing. she invited us into her inner dichotomies of thought and longing. throughout this book, she helps us try on the ideas of orientation, duplicity, dedication, temptation, communion and descent. she asks us and answers herself with research, study and still no answer. she invites us further into the mystery of writer and written word, humanity and tale telling. she takes us on a guided tour of a labyrinth, who's only way out is to write one.
contemplating who we do it for, i was moved to tears by atwood's story of her secret society--the revelation that it was brownies and brown owl, the leader, the mentor, the teacher in cat's eye (a book i have not read--but my esther has and was all those years ago), was the first reader atwood wrote for. i was moved--maybe because of hormones or grief, but tears came to my eyes and a cry caught in my chest for the beauty of her story--and her love for her beloved brown owl--her first reader. and it is in this contemplation and discussion, i lingered longest. "for myself" has been my answer forever--but my longings and adventures have been vain attempts to find a community of peers. this section of atwood's book brought me back to the randomness of brown owl and other such figures, who feature for a moment in real life--a moment significant and memorable enough, to keep you doing it--whatever it is you do--long after those beings have returned to invisibility and memory.
and then, the title verse is revealed in her final section, and there is a good many thought bodies to devour while contemplating food for the dead. it is because the dead are hungry that we write, atwood insists, and then elucidates her position with romantic references. i am stuck here, in this idea of how to communicate to the grave, through the grave and from the grave, as this is the only way i will ever come to understand my father now that he's passed on. and so it is in writing--the dead offer what could not be understood in life, and writing offers the food--the food of the dead--the food for the dead--the food for the living from the dead who are still with us--and because there are words, there are writers who string them together to form sustenance for the eventual end of the human who writes. the word, alone, remains in the world, silently waiting on the silent page, to break the silence open--with life--recorded for the living, from the dead, for the future, from the past, a voice, wholly out of time, that speaks in silences of life.
The pen is mightier than the sword..........2005-08-06
This is my first book reading experience by Maraget Atwood. It is a personable memoir that opened my eyes to the value, importance and creativity of writing. If anyone writes--in any way---they'll learn from this book. I was especially astonished to read how most writers have a sort of "double identity". It makes perfect sense in that a writer has to take on many forms, personalities and feelings in order to emote a character. She also points out that 'an art of any kind is a discipline'. I loved this book...and I feel like I'm a WIZARD (as in the Wizard of Oz). You'll understand what I mean if you read this book. I have to leave some element of suprise. Trust me, you will be surprised. A great book--for writers of any type. ;)
Brimful of brilliant!.......2005-07-18
I just finished reading this book and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I feel that anyone who truly ponders the intricacies involved in the process of writing, anyone who has grappled with the process itself, will find this book relevant, beneficial, and even entertaining.
Margaret Atwood mingles wit with wisdom. Erudition with transparency.
It is unpretentious from start to finish, which I think is an Atwood hallmark.
As explained in the prologue, the six chapters are really six re-worked lectures, delivered in the year 2000 at Cambridge University. They are intended for "specialists in literature, general readers, and - especially - writers at an earlier stage or dewier stage than my own."
They are not sequentially built upon each other, but rather, they circle like gulls over a set of common themes having to do with the writer, the writer's medium, and the writer's art.
The three main questions covered are as follows: "Who are you writing for? Why do you do it? Where does it come from?"
Who, why, and where... and nowhere how.
This is not a book about how to write.
It is a book about what it is like to write.
What it MEANS, to be a writer.
The most interesting section, in my opinion, was the third, entitled "The Great God Pen" because it focused on the second question "Why does the writer write?"... my favorite of the three. Here, Atwood talked about the topic of "art for art" and it was fascinating. Does the writer write to make money? For hope of fame? To project a moral statement? Create something beautiful? Exonerate oneself? Impress the masses?
Her prodigious and eclectic wealth of reference points and allusions show that she did not begin her thoughts on this topic just last week. In this chapter (and the entire book) we are the recipients of a very-much-still-alive LIFETIME of experiential and theoretical research, of such a caliber it can be considered among the finest scholarship in the field.
And again, witty as all get out.
Here is an example of what I mean by that: "I can still hear the sneer in the tone of the Parisian intellectual who asked me, `Is it true you write the bestsellers?'
`Not on purpose,' I replied somewhat coyly." (p.68).
Much of the book reads as memoir yes! (as other reviewers have commented). But how can this be a negative thing? If it is the writer's life we are concerned with learning about, is it not wonderful that one of the best in the world will share with us relevant glimpses and pieces of her own?
Negotiating with the writer.......2005-04-02
A very entertaining, ultimately serious work about the various relationships between a writer, a work of literature and the reader - and the ethical and motivational issues that underly those relationships. All this is worn very lightly however, and one can easily overlook the intriguing ideas beneath the witty accessible prose. Recommended for the reader who wants to know what the self-examining writer thinks about when they choose to interrogate their profession in an ideological way.
Average customer rating:
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Bearing the Dead
Esther H. Schor
Manufacturer: Princeton Univ Pr
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 069103396X |
Book Description
Esther Schor tells us about the persistence of the dead, about why they still matter long after we emerge from grief and accept our loss. Mourning as a cultural phenomenon has become opaque to us in the twentieth century, Schor argues. This book is an effort to recover the culture of mourning that thrived in English society from the Enlightenment through the Romantic Age, and to recapture its meaning. Mourning appears here as the social diffusion of grief through sympathy, as a force that constitutes communities and helps us to conceptualize history.
In the textual and social practices of the British Enlightenment and its early nineteenth-century heirs, Schor uncovers the ways in which mourning mediated between received ideas of virtue, both classical and Christian, and a burgeoning, property-based commercial society. The circulation of sympathies maps the means by which both valued things and values themselves are distributed within a culture. Delving into philosophy, politics, economics, and social history as well as literary texts, Schor traces a shift in the British discourse of mourning in the wake of the French Revolution: What begins as a way to effect a moral consensus in society turns into a means of conceiving and bringing forth history.
Book Description
`"Oh, my God! to think of that kind-hearted, lovely young woman, who brings happiness with her wherever she goes, bringing terror to me! Terror when her pitying eyes look at me; terror when her kind voice speaks to me; terror when her tender hand touches mind!" ' Porthgenna Tower on the remote western Cornish coast. Moments before her death, Mrs Treverton dictates a secret to her maid, never to be passed to her husband as she had instructed. Fifteen years later, when Mrs Treverton's daughter, Rosamond, returns to Porthgenna with her blind husband, Leonard, she is intrigued by the strange and seemingly disturbed Mrs Jazeph's warning not to enter the Myrtle Room in the ruined north wing. Strong-minded and ingenious, Rosamond's determined detective work uncovers shocking and unsettling truths beyond all expectation. A mystery of unrelenting suspense and psychologically penetrating characters, The Dead Secret explores the relationship between a fallen woman, her illegitimate daughter, and buried secrets in a superb blend of romance and Gothic drama. Wilkie Collins's fifth novel, The Dead Secret anticipates the themes of his next novel, The Woman in White in its treatment of mental illness, disguise and deception, and the dispossession of lost identity. Yet a series of comic figures offsets the tension, from the dyspeptic Mr Phippen to the perpetually smiling governess, Miss Sturch. Displaying the talent and energy which made Collins the most popular novelist of the 1860s, The Dead Secret represents a crucial phase in Collins's rise as a mystery writer, and was his first full-length novel written specifically for serialization.
Customer Reviews:
The Unraveling of a Family Secret.......2007-07-29
The story begins with Mrs. Treverton on her deathbed who charges her maid, Sarah Leeson, with revealing a castastrophic secret that they share to Mr. Treverton. But after Mrs. Trevorton dies, Sarah can not face revealing this devastating secret to her master and decides to hide the letter containing the secret in an uninhabited part of the house. After she flees, the story picks up 15 years later observing Mrs. Treverton's newly wed daughter, Rosamund, and her husband, Leonard. The Secret hidden by Sarah holds bad tidings for them, and the rest of the novel revolves around how this secret is finally revealed. The big difference between this and Collins' better novels is the lack of characterization in this one. Although Sarah attracts the interest and sympathy of the reader and Uncle Joseph provides a nice dose of innocence and heartfelt kindness, the rest of the characters fail to strike an emotional chord. The servants are also not nearly as interesting as they are in Collins' masterpiece, The Moonstone. Knowing that the secret letter would negatively affect the happy couple instills the reader with a feeling of dread and anticipation, but once the secret was revealed, the story was fairly predictable. If you've read some of Collins' other novels and enjoyed them, you'll probably like this one too. Just don't expect anything jaw-dropping compared to his better known novels like The Moonstone or The Woman in White.
An appetizer for further greatness to come!.......2006-03-19
Mrs Treverton, who is not expected to live through the night, summons her lady's maid, Sarah Leeson, to her side. Their hushed conversation reveals that, many years ago, Sarah and Mrs Treverton conspired together to cover up a devastating family secret. With her death fast approaching, Mrs Treverton demands the expiation of that guilt and attempts to force Sarah to reveal the details of the secret to her husband by giving him the hand-written confession which they prepare and sign together that night. While the timid, brow-beaten Sarah is unable to muster the mental courage to destroy the note, she somehow pulls her thoughts together and finds the strength to hide the note in a long abandoned room in Porthgenna mansion in order to keep the secret hidden from her master. When she sees the stricken Captain Treverton weeping, mourning his wife's death by hugging their infant daughter, Rosamond, and asking the baby for her comfort in dealing with his grief, Sarah realizes that the hypocrisy necessary to stay at Porthgenna mansion while the note was hidden there is beyond her and she flees into the night!
The story resumes some fifteen years later as an adult Rosamond, newly married to her loving squire, Leonard Frankland, inherits Porthgenna mansion and they make plans to implement a program of renovations which will restore the estate to its former glory. A series of coincidences result in Sarah encountering Rosamond and coming to the horrifying realization that the secret is in imminent danger of being brought to light! At that point, the messy stuff hits the fan and the balance of this wonderful classic novel is spent unearthing the sordid details of the secret and its emotional and practical impact on each of the characters that Collins has so lovingly and skillfully constructed.
"The Dead Secret", the last of the so-called apprentice novels that Collins wrote before he vaulted to fame as an acknowledged master of English literature with the publication of "The Woman in White" and "The Moonstone" is a superb example of the stereotypical Victorian sensation novel - Sarah Leeson, the timid, socially naïve, weak-willed and fundamentally flawed female victim of a selfish conspiracy that revolves around the hidden details of Rosamond's birth and inheritance; as an actress, an occupation in Victorian England of suspect virtue and credibility, Mrs Treverton is subject to vicious contempt from the misanthropic Andrew Treverton, her brother-in-law, who shares rooms with the equally spiteful Shrowl; a well to do woman with a dark secret that may or may not involve a criminal act; an inheritance in question; tragedy, irony, drama, outrageous comic relief and even a ghost! What more delicious menu could the most discriminating reader of Victorian fiction hope for?
Paul Weiss
not bad, but nothing great.......2002-03-28
The story begins with a deathbed scene in which the dying Mrs. Treverton , racked with guilt for some mysterious secret she has been hiding, forces her maid, Sarah, to transcribe her confession and instructs her servant to give it to her husband so he will finally know the truth. Because Sarah is implicated in the secret (although we are not initially told how), she circumvents this final request, too frightened to give her master the letter, but also too frightened to destroy it, and consequently ends up locking it away in a room in a forgotten wing of the mansion. Fifteen years magically elapse, and Sarah assumes that the secret will never be discovered... until, of course, she finds out that Rosamond Treverton (the dying woman's daughter) has recently married and plans to renovate the mansion, including the forgotten wing in which the mysterious letter is hidden. While The Dead Secret is an amusing and fast read, there are some holes in the story (missing details such as the fact that we are never told why Sarah's ominous husband was so awful or what happened to him, and more troubling aspects, such as the characters' reactions to the unraveling of the secret, which, to me, were not nearly as complex or as convincing as they perhaps could have been). I'd recommend this book to someone with a penchant for Wilkie Collins - others would probably be better satisfied reading one of his greater and well-known works, such as The Woman in White.
An early Collins work with a taste of greatness to come.......2002-03-06
Wilkie Collins wrote "The Dead Secret" early in his career as a novelist, and his inexperience shows here--but the Collins aficionado will welcome the opportunity to see how his gifts first manifest themselves in this relatively simple story. He gathers together all the usual suspects: a wealthy family, an old house, a charming child, and the member of the house staff who harbors the secret in question. While Collins falls short in his effort to sketch an unrequited yearning (I can't go into more detail if you haven't read the book), he does a beautiful job of portraying the subtle class differences and behaviors in this particular house.
early Collins work shows promise.........2000-09-13
Wilkie Collins has written some brilliant crime/mystery novels during his career, most notably The Woman in White / No Name / The Moonstone. His earlier works are almost unknown nowadays. But such obscurity is unwarrented, at least in the case of The Dead Secret.
The Dead Secret tells a simple story of a mystery surrounding an untold secret of a dying wealthy woman. This woman's secret is shared only with her servant. Despite the woman's dying wish, the servant does not divulge the secret ... with unpleasent results. Eventually the secret is revealed and all is understood.
The novel works well mostly because it is fast paced, and it has all the richness of a Collins novel (ie, it is well-written). No, it isn't as clever or suspenseful as Collins's later works. But Wilkie Collins fans should place The Dead Secret on their 'must read' list.
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