Book Description
Dirty, drunk, unloved, and unloving, Hector Loursat has been a bitter recluse for eighteen long years—ever since his wife abandoned him and their newborn child to run off with another man. Once a successful lawyer, Loursat now guzzles burgundy and buries himself in books, taking little notice of his teenage daughter or the odd things going on in his vast and ever-more-dilapidated mansion. But one night the sound of a gunshot penetrates the padded walls of Loursat’s study, and he is forced to investigate. What he stumbles on is a murder.
Soon Loursat discovers that his daughter and her friends have been leading a dangerous secret life. He finds himself strangely drawn to this group of young people, and when one of them is accused of the murder, he astonishes the world by taking up the young man’s defense.
In The Strangers in the House, Georges Simenon, master chronicler of the dark side of the human heart, gives us a detective story that is also a tale of an improbable redemption.
Customer Reviews:
I have been a stranger in a strange land.......2006-12-22
Exodus ii. 22.
Georges Simenon was nothing if not prolific in both his literary and public life. Born in Belgium in 1903, Simenon turned out hundreds of novels. Simenon's obsession with writing caused him to break off an affair (he was prolific in this area of his life as well) with the celebrated Josephine Baker in Paris when he could only write twelve novels in the twelve month period in which they were involved. Although perhaps best known for his Inspector Maigret detective novels, Simenon also wrote over a hundred novels that he referred to as `romans durs' (literally "hard novels"). "Strangers in the House" is one of Simenon's hard novels and to call it noir is not an understatement.
Hector Loursat, an accomplished attorney, has been a stranger in his own house ever since his wife abandoned him and their newborn child eighteen years ago. Since that time Loursat's universe has shrunk to his bedroom, his library and his dining room. He barely speaks to his now 18 year old daughter or their cook. They are for all intents and purposes, strangers. He is a hermit, alone with his books and a profligate amount of burgundy and brandy. It is only the murderous presence of other strangers in his house that may stir him out of his emotional coma. That dark-setting forms the backdrop for "Strangers in the House".
Loursat is roused from his alcohol-induced sleep by what he thinks may be a gunshot. His suspicions are confirmed when he stumbles through portions of the house he hasn't seen in years and discovers a body. He soon discovers that his daughter has fallen in with something of a gang of youths who like to live on the edge. The rest of the novel finds Loursat grappling with the implications of the murder. We see Loursat struggling out of his hermetic cocoon. The reader is left to wonder, as the story progresses, whether Loursat can break out of his cocoon long enough to connect with his daughter and protect her interests through a criminal investigation and trial.
The result is wholly satisfying. I was totally drawn to the character of Loursat. Simenon does not make him particularly attractive. His word pictures of Loursat's appearance and manner are not designed to elicit great sympathy. Nevertheless, the pain Loursat has suffered (although unstated) is palpable and as the story progressed I could not help but hope that Loursat would find the strength to `set things right' both with the criminal investigation and trial and with his life. The result is surprising but it also felt just about right.
New York Review of Books should be congratulated for bringing Simenon's classic `romans durs' back into print. The paperback quality is excellent and each novel in the series is introduced by a writer of note. In this instance the marvelous P.D. James writes a brief but powerful introduction. I recommend all of Simenon's books and Strangers in the House is no exception. L. Fleisig
Book Description
Dorothy Gallagher’s critically acclaimed memoir, How I Came Into My Inheritance, told of her childhood in 1940s New York as the daughter of left-wing Russian Jewish immigrants. Time magazine called it “a piercingly funny book . . . unsentimental, breezy, blunt.” In Strangers in the House, this brilliant stylist takes us into her adult life and tells us honest, funny, and highly distinctive stories about love, friendship, and responsibilities–stories about ordinary life told in an extraordinarily compelling voice. As she puts it, with typical wryness, “Oh my goodness, the themes you stumble over as you make your way from day to day. Trust, Betrayal, Class, Hypocrisy, Love, Hate, Greed, Sickness, Health. It only needs War and Peace.”
Here, among other people and problems, we encounter a man who carries around brass knuckles, hoping to catch the lover Gallagher prefers to him–and whose behavior unexpectedly mirrors Gallagher’s own; the bizarre events that surround the disappearance of a woman with ties to both the Communist Party and Gallagher’s family; and the treachery of a trusted employee who is “bad with money” in more ways than one. The fragility of friendships, the fickleness of love, the marital crisis brought on by chronic illness–Gallagher dramatizes these universal themes with unique feeling, insight, and humor. This is a writer who will turn readers who come to her book as strangers into friends.
Customer Reviews:
They're Not Strangers.......2006-07-25
Gallagher's wonderful book--even better than her "Inheritance"
book--is full of characters who will be familiar to people who
travel in New York's left-wing circles. The book is both laugh-out-loud funny and terribly moving.
Perfectly Seamless Book.......2006-07-13
This is a lucid, sexy and brave account of the author's marriages and love affairs. It tells these stories in a humorous and ironic voice, giving acid pen-portraits by the way of several celebrated New York artists and intellectuals. The title story tells of the author's last and lasting marriage -- a "marriage into sickness" -- to a writer with multiple sclerosis. This chapter should be required reading for all who have to deal not only with the presence at home of a cruelly progressive affliction, but also with the necessity of dealing with sometimes venal, sometimes violent household help. In the final chapter, the author deploys her gifts as a historian (she is the author of All the Right Enemies: the Life and Murder of Carlo Tresca). Here she narrates the story of a second cousin in Moscow. The chapter is called "Dumb Luck"; it poignantly justifies its epigraph from Wislawa Szymborska: "What.../ If I'd been born/ in the wrong tribe,/ with all roads closed before me?"
Book Description
This revealing story of a father-son relationship, the first memoir of its kind by a Palestinian living in the Occupied Territories, is set against the backdrop of Middle East hostilities and more than thirty years under military occupation. Marked by a sense of loss and impermanence and embroiled in political conflict, it is the family drama of a difficult relationship between an idealistic son and his politically active father-Aziz Shehadeh, who, in 1967, was the first Palestinian to advocate a peaceful, two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian dispute-a situation further complicated by the arbitrary humiliations of living under the occupier's law. Above all, it is a moving description of the daily lives of those who have chosen to remain on their land.
Customer Reviews:
Eye-opening.......2006-07-28
As an American, I have grown up to believe that Israel is a close friend to us. I would imagine that an ally of the United States would be a country that follows human rights guidelines. However, I was mistaken. "Strangers in the House" is a brilliantly written piece which provides personal experiences in an occupied Palestine. With all of the conflict in the Middle East currently, it is a must-read, to understand the viewpoint from all angles. Raja Shehadeh thinks way past his time, as his father had. He has written this book for the world to know what daily life is like under occupation and that it is a constant struggle. Mr. Shehadeh is admirable in his open-mindedness. If you would like to see the viewpoint from the other side, this book is perfect. It will help you open your mind and see the truth.
It is a privilege and an honour to read this.......2005-09-06
I was at first taken aback by the way Palestinian lawyer and writer Raja Shehadeh chose to begin this book, his memoir. Knowing that he is a very important figure in Palestine, I expected (even half-dreaded) a right-on plunge in the middle of Israeli/Middle-Eastern politics. I was wrong.
Although he begins by mentioning the 1948 war as a fact that explains his having been born in Ramallah and not Jaffa, where his family was very important, that's just about it.....in the beginning. We are treated then to a delicately rendered description of the writer's childhood: to a vision of the almost sad figure of a fragile child whose life seems always measured against the looming and powerful figure of his father (a very important Palestinian lawyer), and the impossible to reach lights and colours of neverland-Jaffa, the way of life that the family had lost forever.
It is the relationship with the father, however, what soon becomes the focus of this memoir. And here we must admire one of the most important aspects of the book: an honest-to-God account of how this boy, then young man, then adult, managed his growing, changing relationship with a strong and powerful father. I was swept from my feet at having such a first hand description of a never-easy son/father relationship. I must confess I was astounded that this incredibly sincere testimony was rendered by an Arab man since, as the same author acknowledges, his is a culture where the son/father bond tends to be quite distant, formal and formidable.
We, readers, see how having such an important father proves to be a load, but also a challenge for the author. And as he begins to be more sure about what his place in the world is, and what his mission is, the world of politics (which had never quite disappeared from the background) returns with force, but in such a way that provokes a fatal crisis in this already difficult son/father relationship. And just as the situation appears to be unbearable, just as the breach seems impossible to mend......Raja's father is murdered.
Here the book takes an abrupt turn. Raja decides to help as much as he can to find the murderer, whom he believes to be someone involved in a land dispute his father was working on. He is good. The pace and tempo of the narrative change so that we begin to feel the urge to know who this murderer is, for we are much pretty sure of why the murder took place......and I won't spoil the ending for you. I'll just say that it is important. Very important. For Raja and for all of us.
Just as this seemingly humble book is terribly important: as the personal memoir of a man who has always been politically moderate, a fighter for human rights, one of the few Palestinians who has ever dared to criticise the politics of the Palestinian leaders and of the Arab leaders; one of the few who was always convinced that Arabs had to negotiate with Israeli, that Israel was there to stay; as a honest, moving homage to a father who was a powerful force in the author's life (and who taught him to see politics and the Middle-East the way he saw it);..... as a way to know more about that rarely-found-in-the-news-and-media specimen: the Arab, Palestinian moderate, and the way he fares.
A Courageous Man.......2003-07-29
Shehadeh's book is perhaps the only one to lay out the multi-faceted nature of the Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict. Or, as Shehadeh, puts it so eloquently a conflict between Palestinians, Israelis, the "inside" and the "outside".
For me, the most touching moment of the book came when the young Shehadeh heard the PLO radio denounce his father for daring to work for a two-state solution. "A.S.," it declared, "you are a traitor, a despicable collaborator. You want to surrender and sell your birthright. We know how to deal with the likes of you. A. S. you shall pay for your treason. We shall eliminate you. Silence you forever. Traitor. Collaborator. Quisling."
The PLO quite simply could not afford to lose the funding it received from the surrounding Arab states to create a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians and also to ensure that Israel would no longer "be the subject of fiery speeches in which the people's rage could be articulated and released-they would be distracted from dealing with all that was wrong at home."
The PLO simply could not afford peace because it wasn't being paid to bring about either peace or an independent Palestinian State; it was being paid to keep the Palestinians miserable and angry. To ensure that the Palestinian plight remained a distraction for the Arabs earning for democracy.
Shehadeh's father dared to stand up to the PLO and its backers. He was murdered.
And now, his son is carrying on his father's work.
It is our job to make sure that Raja's life lasts longer than his father's.
Required Reading.......2003-05-03
This book should be considered required reading for anyone seeking to understand the current Palestinian - Israeli conflict. Shehadeh provides a very personal view of the reality of growing up in the occupied West Bank. Best of all, he pulls no punches - against Israel or his fellow Palestinians.
Author misunderstands real reason behind Palestinian rage.......2002-06-18
There is no doubt that Raja Shehaded is a well meaning and peaceful man. The Mid East would be a land of milk and honey if most of its inhabitants shared his noble aims. However, Shehaded mistakenly blames the present Israeli conflict for the central reason behind the rage of the Palestinian Arabs. The author's father was likely assassinated by militant Arabs because he advocated cooperation and coexistence with Israel. And yet, the author ironically still fails to concede that a large number of Palestinians will not be satisfied until the Jewish state is driven into the sea. Shehaded complains about the restrictions placed upon the movement of Palestinian citizens while virtually ignoring Israel's legitimate concerns to curtail violence. His charges of harassment and humiliation ring somewhat hollow when the whole situation is taken into context. Why doesn't Shehaded react more strongly against the murderous militants who force Israel to enact such draconian measures? He also seems to downplay their virulent anti-Semitism.
Raja Shehaded argues that peace mostly depends upon Israeli willingness to compromise. The Palestinians who have opted for death and destruction are portrayed as more than willing to lay down their arms once a just settlement is reached. Many categorically reject such a sanguine prediction. Bernard Lewis, for instance, in his most recent book, What Went Wrong?, is convinced that the whole Arab world is wallowing in rage and bitterness due to its falling behind the West. The Palestinians are merely a microcosm of wider Arab anger over the failure of the Muslim world to achieve anything significant in the last 400-500 years. Eric Hoffer's seminal work, The True Believer, points to the yearning of some people to seek a nihilistic cause to assuage their existential need for meaning. Eventually returning to a life of everyday normal concerns is a near impossibility. Admittedly, though, Shehaded has a valid point when objecting to the added Israeli settlements in the so-called occupied (the term disputed would be more accurate) territories. The author is right on target for blaming Israel for exacerbating an already volatile situation. Shehaded may jump to some erroneous conclusions, but he still is a voice for reasonableness and compromise. Unfortunately, the evidence indicates that few Palestinians care to listen to this decent and life affirming man. One can only hope that Raja Shehaded's influence dramatically increases in the immediate future.
Customer Reviews:
Fantastically Entertaining.......2007-05-17
It is unbelievable to me there is one bad review here. It has been years since I could NOT put down a book until I was finished, reading well into the early morning. The story seemed at first to drag but once it took off I was engrossed. I was leery of a non-Dalziel/Pascoe mystery but am so glad R.H. decided on a vacation of his regular series. The ending was unreal, the plot wrapped in an eloquent bow. I strongly recommend this book as well as anything else by this author.
Not a Ghost of a Chance.......2007-04-03
Hard to believe that the creator of Dalziel and Pascoe could come up with this piece of dreck. At best this is a book for extremely credulous mid-adolescent readers, not adults. But even then....Neither of the central characters are especially attractive. One is an obnoxious young math whizz and logician who seems always to have just the right kind of knowledge to push the implausible story along. The other is a former seminarian who communes with the spirits of long dead relatives and whatever other ghosts who happen to be in the neighbourhood. Add in an English village full of stock "colourful" characters, and a running time of well over 500 none too action-packed pages, and you end up with what this book is: a recipe for disaster.
Clever story, terrific writing.......2007-03-23
One of my favorite gems is the saying "never complain, never explain". It was offered up by Frek, who is just one of several characters that are really great characters. Try to go a day without complaining. Then try to spend the next day without saying anything bad about someone who is not present. These practices can improve your life.
Another was something like "the kind of a place where not only did they stare at strangers, they probably pointed at the sky whenever a plane flew overhead."
Gotta love Reg.......2006-09-26
Well, what can I add, except that Hill's colloquialisms, one liners and Australian/British mix of home grown vernacular make the book a joy to read aside from the entertaining plot. There's a gem on every page. A great romp of a plot with interesting places, historical background and wonderful characters.
Pretty good.......2006-09-22
Overall, I liked this book. It had a lot going for it in terms of plot, characters, and unexpected developments. There is a spooky isolated village in the hillside feel to the town, and a nice interplay between ancient, past, and present events. I did think the book would have gone from good to great if the writing had been better. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, and I did like the book. There were just certain things that could have been touched up by an editor - the overuse of exlamation points and random jokes that were out of place in the narrative, for one thing. Also, some of the situations seemed almost forced - Sam snapping at Mig every second to create 'friction' between them, except that some of her angry remarks make no sense in the context of what is happening. Overall I recommend as light reading.
Average customer rating:
- No stranger to great suspense
- Great suspenseful reading
- A maudlin thriller but a fine family drama!
- A Little Disappointing
- taut family drama
|
Stranger in the House
Patricia MacDonald
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Psychological & Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Psychological & Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Suspense
| Thrillers
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
The Unforgiven
-
The Girl Next Door: A Novel
-
No Way Home
-
Secret Admirer
-
Married to a Stranger: A Novel
ASIN: 074342364X |
Book Description
National bestselling author Patricia MacDonald spins a tale of nerve-shattering suspense that leads readers down the dark, winding roads of a picture-perfect suburban town.
WHAT DID HE SEE?
WHAT DOES HE KNOW?
Eleven years ago, Anna Lange's life was shattered when her young son, Paul, disappeared -- though she never gave up hope that he might be alive. Now, her son has been returned. The joyful family reunion is short-lived, however, as the nervous, withdrawn Paul begins to behave strangely. Anna's husband and daughter grow fearful living in the same house with him. But Anna believes that Paul is still recovering from the extreme psychological trauma he experienced the night he disappeared -- though he claims he has no memory of that time.
Does he or doesn't he? Someone remembers -- and will stop at nothing to keep the truth a secret. Now Anna will have to contend with a nightmare from the past that will either tear her family apart, or destroy them together....
Download Description
"National bestselling author Patricia MacDonald spins a tale of nerve-shattering suspense that leads readers down the dark, winding roads of a picture-perfect suburban town. WHAT DID HE SEE? WHAT DOES HE KNOW? Eleven years ago, Anna Lange's life was shattered when her young son, Paul, disappeared -- though she never gave up hope that he might be alive. Now, her son has been returned. The joyful family reunion is short-lived, however, as the nervous, withdrawn Paul begins to behave strangely. Anna's husband and daughter grow fearful living in the same house with him. But Anna believes that Paul is still recovering from the extreme psychological trauma he experienced the night he disappeared -- though he claims he has no memory of that time. Does he or doesn't he? Someone remembers -- and will stop at nothing to keep the truth a secret. Now Anna will have to contend with a nightmare from the past that will either tear her family apart, or destroy them together.... "
Customer Reviews:
No stranger to great suspense.......2006-06-17
Anna Lange's son was kidnapped when he was 11 years old. But now he has been found and is back home - a quiet, sullen teenager. The homecoming is hardly what she anticipated. What happened to him? What is causing the nightmares? Anna's family is falling apart and unknown to any of them, Paul is in more danger now than he ever was.
If you like suspense, you will like this author.
Great suspenseful reading.......2005-08-07
This book was very suspenseful to me. I really enjoyed it and was very surprised to know who the culprit really was. I didn't really care for Anna's husband's impersonal attitude toward their son, and her daughter's whining. But, overall I loved the book, and didn't want to put it down until I had finished reading it. Patricia MacDonald is a very good writer.
A maudlin thriller but a fine family drama!.......2005-07-26
Tom Lange is at work. Anna's at home with the kids. Paul, a two year old toddler plays happily in the yard while Anna nips inside to take a quick look at Tracy, who's crying and sick in bed with a cold. Only a few moments later, she comes back out to a parent's worst nightmare - Paul is nowhere to be found. Eleven years later, Tom and Tracy have long since given up hope but Anna has remained so completely obsessed with the possibility that Paul is alive and will return to them someday that their family relationships are on the verge of collapse. A family friend, Detective Buddy Ferraro now shocks them with the news that a death bed confession from one of the kidnappers has resulted in Paul being found and returned to his family.
Stranger in the House is actually two stories happening simultaneously. Suffice it to say that the "thriller" half of the tale is monumentally maudlin. MacDonald lets us know who the real villain of the tale is almost from the outset of the story and the only tidbit held in reserve for the climax is the reason.
The other story is the evolution of the Lange family after Paul returns. Tom feels tremendous guilt and remorse that he was obviously wrong to have given up hope and yet he cannot get rid of the anger he feels at Anna for having ignored the family for so long. Tracy is a completely normal, sullen, self-centered teenager who is upset at having an instant sibling with whom she is now expected to become friends and share. Anna is delighted at Paul's return and fails to recognize that she continues to be obsessed with her son to the exclusion of her husband and daughter. Paul is tormented with nightmares stemming from his experiences with his kidnappers and initially encounters serious psychological difficulties re-adjusting to his new family - even his name and his birthday are different from what he has grown up with! The drama of these problems and how the family avoids near-certain break-up is extremely well done and is far and away the more interesting of the two parts of the novel.
A weak two stars only for the "thriller", four stars for the "family drama" - OK, we'll call it a three star rating!
A Little Disappointing.......2004-08-16
I have enjoyed reading books written by Patricia MacDonald. I like her writing style and thoroughly enjoy the intertwined stories within the suspenseful plots of her books. And, even though this book was a quick read, I did not feel that this was one of her best, and felt the ending was lacking.
taut family drama.......2003-11-07
In Connecticut, pregnant Anna Lange plays outside with her son Paul when her ailing daughter Tracy cries out from inside the house. Anna leaves Paul outside as she enters her house. When she goes back outside Paul is gone.
Eleven years later, Anna is the only one that still believes Paul lives. Her husband Tom and Tracy gave up hope years ago. The disappearance destroyed family relationships.
Police Detective Buddy Ferrano informs Anna that Paul has been found in West Virginia. Albert and Dorothy Rambo raised him, but the woman just died, but not before confiding in her minister about Paul. Anna is elated while Tom is stunned and Tracy is angry. Rambo is not happy either as he is on the lam living out of garbage cans. The quartet face similar questions as to how will each family member react to the change in relational dynamics, what happened eleven years ago, and where does the allegedly dangerous Rambo fit in all this?
Fans of taut suspense stories will appreciate STRANGER IN THE HOUSE. The tale is at its best when each member of the Langes including Paul struggle with his return in different ways; thus each member of the quartet has a unique personality. When the tale turns into a life threatening thriller with a twist, the exciting novel loses a bit of its momentum and the climax relies too heavily on coincidence. Still Patricia MacDonald delivers a strong novel that readers will welcome.
Harriet Klausner
Customer Reviews:
Excellent narrative.......2003-04-04
I bought this book along with a book about Jane Addams and Hull
House. Hilda writes an honest, extremely interesting, straight forward tale of her own life, and the part Jane Addams played in it. At times I felt as if I was there at Hull House with her, so clear was her portrait. I walked the streets of turn of the century Chicago with her, and shared her joys and sorrows. The only thing I wish the author had included was more about members of her family and their day to day life. But otherwise, a highly interesting portrait of a remarkable woman.
Absolutely resplendent.......2002-09-28
When Hilda Satt Polacheck first approached publishers with her memoirs, a shief of loosely bound, handwritten papers in the 1950s, she received in answer a resounding "NO." She went back home, plowing her way though her life story again, making revisions, checking dates, & in general shoring up her work. Yet, when she again approached publishers with the work, she was again refused. Curious, she found the courage to ask one of these publishers why. "There is no interest in the life of an obscure woman," she was told. Hilda believed him, & went to her grave in the late 1960s without trying to find another publisher. And though her memoirs were indeed eventually compiled by her granddaughter & published post mortem, the loss of Hilda's own deft hand on the final product is inestimable. These are the words of Hilda Satt Polacheck, yes, but one wonders would this already gorgeous work would have been had Polacheck herself been able to see it through to the end.
An immensely gifted storyteller, Polacheck's strong, intelligent voice makes I CAME A STRANGER a riotous romp through the Progressive Era, studded throughout with celebrity cameos from all the major figures of the age. From Jane Adams, Polacheck's own personal mentor, to Emma Goldman, Dr. Alice Hamilton & too many others to mention, there are hardly any figures of import in the socialist movement of that time whom do not appear at least once in this amazing memoir. A story which is at once mundane & extraordinary, she mingles her matter-of-fact descriptions of immigrant life in a less than magnificent Chicago with unbelievable, yet true tales which illustrate the greatness, and great energy of the times in which she lived. Her life spanned a great many significant historical events, & Polacheck weighs in on ALL of them, offering her opinions with great candor & wit flavored by her own life experiences.
Hilda Satt Polacheck emigrated from Poland, fleeing the terrible Pogroms which forced her family to drop their affluent lifestyle & become faceless, nameless Jewish immigrants in 1890s Chicago, she becomes fully a product of the Jane Adams aesthetic, & through close association with the woman herself, and Hull House, comes to exemplify all the good that came of Adams' dream. It is also the only such accounting of the inner workings of a settlement house from an immigrant herself, & as such offers an inestimable glimpse behind the scenes, through the untutored eyes of one who experienced it from the inside.
one of the best non-fiction I have read in a while.......1998-04-12
This is an excellent account of a young Jewish woman's life as she immigrates from Poland and grows up in Chicago. Jane Addams and Hull House play an integral part in making her who she was when she passed away. Inspiring and interesting, it is a quick read and a good book for a project on immigration or settlement homes in Chicago.
Amazon.com
In Dinner With a Perfect Stranger, David Gregory relates the story of two men sharing a meal. The point of interest is knowing that one man believes he is Jesus. What will the other man think by the time the evening is through? The conversation begins, as one could imagine, scratching the dry hard surface of skepticism and doubt, but gently and persistently goes deeper and deeper, spiraling in from that starting point until they are eventually talking about the true stuff of life; the career drifting off-track, the marriage experiencing its own kind of strain, the life being lived where the philosophical questions of youth have given way to simply coping with modern day-to-day living.
Gregory's book is a refreshing reminder of what evangelical Christianity is at its very best -- a faith enlivened by the personal relationship between the Creator and the created. In the end, evangelical Christians are focused on who Jesus Christ is, and more specifically, who He is to them. Doctrinal stances, theological conundrums, questions about literal or non-literal Biblical interpretation, these are all beside the point for the certain type of Christian whose central focus is the life and person of Jesus.
In the Narnia series, C.S. Lewis touched on some of the core questions of religion, from the Christian viewpoint (is there a hell? What is heaven like, really? How can other religions be wrong, and just one be right?) Taking his cue from Lewis, Gregory does the same, realizing that questions like these come alive when they're in the context of a story, and we can be the third party, watching with interest while they are put on the table and considered. In the end, Gregory's book succeeds because of his willingness to approach interesting, hard questions like these. He is always, undoubtedly, aiming for the heart, but he realizes that to win the heart one must never forget that the mind has to come along for the ride. --Ed Dobeas
Book Description
You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth
The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.
The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who appears to be more than comfortable discussing everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.
…………..
"You’re bored, Nick. You were made for more than this. You’re worried about God stealing your fun, but you’ve got it backwards.… There’s no adventure like being joined to the Creator of the universe." He leaned back off the table. "And your first mission would be to let him guide you out of the mess you’re in at work."
………….
As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt–and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.
Customer Reviews:
A Perfect Book.......2007-09-17
I received this book as a gift and enjoyed it so much that I bought it to give to my daughter-in-law. What would it be like to have dinner with Jesus? This book answers that question in a way that includes humor and an inside look at witnessing as Jesus might do it if he invited an unbeliever struggling with life's problems to dinner. A thought-provoking book beautifully written.
A wonderful book.........2007-09-07
An excellent book. Perfect for the whole family to listen to. It is funny at times and then brings the right amount of drama at the right time. It makes you think things through and to a higher level.
kateinkalifornia.......2007-08-29
A quick read, I actually read it twice. I will keep it and lend it out, but I want it back. It's one for my permanent collection.
Reads like a religious brochure.......2007-08-24
My mom gave me this book to read as, one would guess, a last minute ditch effort to get me back into religion. Flipping through the book and seeing that it was only around 100 pages, and was printed in nice big "kid's book" letters, I figured, hey, what's a couple hours? I'm certainly willing to hear other viewpoints, and weigh them accordingly.
My first complaint is that if this is how religious people think that non-religious people think, feel, and act, then they are sorely mistaken. It's as if everyone that isn't Christian is empty, sad, and just sort of generally depressed. I guess using logic and consistency in your life makes you depressed? I guess not accepting whim-based rules about how to live life because "this book said so" and instead working rigorously to come up with a consistent set of morals and values makes you feel empty?
Anyways, the author attempts to make logical proofs, and in doing so, shows that he has no clue what a logical proof is. His undeniable, irrefutable proof that god exists is that an earlier part of the bible predicts a later part of the bible. Seriously. Nevermind that the later part of the bible was written a couple centuries after the fact, and by monks who were fully aware of the prophecies in Daniel, etc.
He also makes the claim that either Buddhism, or Hinduism, (i forget which, and i don't have the book in front of me) can't be true because it says that the universe is eternal. "How does that stack up against what your scientists have recently discovered?" alluding to the idea that we now *think* that the universe had a starting point. Regardless of the fact that we don't KNOW that it had a starting point, using science to dethrone one religion after another but not applying it to your own is a methodology only useful to those completely wrapped up in their own beliefs. One wishes the guy having dinner with Jesus would have responded with "well... that's funny... what does our science say about the idea of consciousness without matter? Or simultaneously being all-knowing and all-powerful? Or energy without any means to measure it? I guess that means your dad doesn't exist... which in turn means you don't exist, because you're one with your dad or whatever... so I guess I'm talking to myself... which would explain why the waiter has been looking at me strangely all night."
There was also a fantastic bit at the end about how if Jesus was in this guy's heart, he (Jesus) could love the guy's wife when he (the guy) couldn't anymore. Or something to that effect. I'd talk more about that, but I don't want to misquote it and have someone negate the whole review based on it, so I'll let it go.
I could go on for pages about the rediculous assumptions this book makes about how life should be lived, and the causes of evil in the world, etc. But I won't. Suffice it to say that this book is patently ridiculous, and actually rather offensive to truly free-thinking, open and honest people.
Then again, the author believes in a god that said "Thou Shall Not Kill" and then went on to murder millions and millions of people, as well as an entire planet's worth of animals that are completely amoral. So I guess anything goes, and he's as capable as anyone else to cherry-pick the parts that he does and doesn't support out of the bible.
Profoundly entertaining........2007-08-04
This little book is captivating. It answered many questions that often come up about who God is. It was so interesting I couldn't put it down. I found it profoundly entertaining and historically accurate.
Book Description
Book two in a four-book series for boys filled with adventure, mystery, and intrigue as three friends, Dan, Peter, and Shelby, seek to discover the hidden mystery of Eckert House.
Average customer rating:
- Eye opening
- Focuses on his basic convictions
- Making DuBois Real
|
A Stranger In My Own House: The Story Of W. E. B. Du Bois (Portraits of Black Americans)
Bonnie Hinman
Manufacturer: Morgan Reynolds Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
Teens
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Health, Mind & Body
| History & Historical Fiction
| Horror
| Literature & Fiction
| Manga
| Mysteries
| Reference
| Religion & Spirituality
| School & Sports
| Science & Technology
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Series
| Social Issues
General
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
People of Color
| Biographies
| People & Places
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1931798451 |
Customer Reviews:
Eye opening.......2005-10-25
This a biography of one of the original founder of the Civil Rights movement. W.E.B. Du Bois(William Edward Burghardt). He was born in Massachusetts in 1868. He grew up with his mother and brother. His father had left when he was quite young. It was soon found out how smart and intelligent he was that he eventually skipped a grade. He did not see the extreme prejudice of being black till he enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. He eventually became professor, writer, speaker and social activist. He is the author of the well known book "the souls of black folk" which is still very valid today. He was one of the first African American involved with the founding of the NAACP(national association advancement of colored people). This book goes into detailed of his upbringing, his college years and his fight for equality of his fellow black americans and black everywhere. this books shows many pictures of the various era that the book covers
Focuses on his basic convictions .......2005-06-14
A Stranger In My Own House: The Story Of W.E.B. Di Bpod by Bonnie Hinman joins other biographies for this age group with a difference: it focuses on his basic convictions that political and economic equality equaled a voluntary segregation as a means to achieving these goals. Chapters follow his press for the liberation of blacks around the world, and reveal the foundations for many of his controversial beliefs. Also an important guide.
Making DuBois Real.......2005-06-01
W.E.B. DuBois - pioneering sociologist, historian, professor, writer, editor, speaker, social activist, founding member of the NAACP and world traveler - has become an icon, and as such, rather unapproachable. Bonnie Hinman brings his work, passions and even his doubts to life, making him real.
She also navigates deftly through the complex social history of the era, which during DuBois lifetime ranged from Reconstruction to the early 1960's. This is particularly commendable, as too often the Civil Rights Movement is simplistically portrayed as all black people joining hands and marching forth as one unified voice. Without wandering off into confusing tangents, the book manages to capture the fact that "what was becoming the civil rights movement was born in fits and starts and changed along the way."
Well illustrated with period paintings, photos and documents, the book includes a time line, source notes, bibliography, and selected web resources. Highly recommended for young adults and actually, even for adults who would like to get to know this great and complex man.
Book Description
What if a fascinating stranger knew you better than you know yourself?
When her husband comes home with a farfetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through.
On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband’s recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn’t seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment.
As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she’s never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul?
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-09-17
This book is the sequel to "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger." Whereas the first book involves Jesus speaking with a man, this one is Jesus' witnessing to the man's wife. Like him, she's not a Christian. Jesus slowly leads her where he wants her to go, always dealing with her in love. Jesus meets the woman on an airplane, where he also entertains the child ahead of him by making faces. Yes, I think Jesus would do that! Another wonderful book that shows witnessing done God's way. It's a book you'll want to keep.
Excellent follow-up.......2007-09-10
I thought this book was an excellent follow-up/sequel to Dinner with a Perfect Stranger. As in the original...it is easy to read, thought-provoking, not bogged down or time consuming. Really, if you've read the first one...THIS is a MUST read as well!
A good book.......2007-07-14
I enjoyed this book but not as much as Dinner With a Perfect Stranger. I wished God would have revealed Himself sooner.
They're both books I will suggest to others.
God at work in every way.......2007-05-24
My wife and I read this after reading _Dinner with a Perfect stranger_ and they both compliment each other. These books give some terrific insight into life's 'workings' and provide another viewpoint about love, life, religion that can be intimately identified with for each of us, although in a different manner for each.
It was a thouroughy enjoyable read.
Day With a Perfect Stranger.......2007-05-13
I found this book to be so very awesome in it's presentation, purpose and perspective. I got lost in the book and when I was finished it I felt a sense of loss; I would not have this literary "friend" to read each night before retiring.
David Gregory presented some very thought provoking ideas.
I passed it on to a friend who also gives this book a rave review.
Books:
- To Die Well: Your Right to Comfort, Calm, and Choice in the Last Days of Life
- Tony Hillerman: The Leaphorn & Chee Novels: Skinwalkers, A Thief of Time, Coyote Waits
- Transgressions
- Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church
- When Religion Becomes Evil: Five Warning Signs
- Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 2nd Ed.
- Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison?
- Winter of the Ice Wizard (Magic Tree House 32)
- Witness to a Century: Encounters with the Noted, the Notorious, and the Three SOBs
- Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Making the Voyageur World: Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade
- FEMININE MISTAKE, THE: ARE WE GIVING UP TOO MUCH
- Architecture in the Age of Divided Representation: The Question of Creativity in the Shadow of Produ
- Building Type Basics for Research Laboratories
- Cracking the SAT Biology E/M Subject Test, 2007-2008 Edition
- History: Fiction or Science
- Death of a Stranger
- Minimalist Rooms
- Basic Surveying, Fourth Edition
- The Bee's Kiss: A Detective Joe Sandlands Mystery
Red Lights (New York Review Books Classics)
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (New York Review Books Classics)
The Engagement (New York Review Books Classics)
Dirty Snow (New York Review Books Classics)
Three Bedrooms in Manhattan (New York Review Books Classics)
