The Complete Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (30 October, 1998)
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Editorial Review

Narnia is the land of enchantment, glory, nobility--home to themagnificent Aslan, cruel Jadis (the White Queen), heroic Reepicheep, and kind Mr. Tumnus. All the magic of C.S. Lewis's Narnia, bewitching readers for almost 50 years, is captured for the first time in this splendid deluxe edition, including The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle, with fabulous illustrations hand-colored by the original Narnia artist Pauline Baynes and an insightful introduction by Narnia authority Brian Sibley.

Lewis's work has cast a spell over countless readers over the years, so that once we pick up The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, we don't want to stop until we've read the whole series. The Complete Chronicles makes it even easier to keep reading! The seven beloved stories have been arranged in the chronological order in which Lewis intended them to be read. Begin at the beginning, as Digory and Polly are tricked into a strange other world, which becomes, even as they watch, the great Narnia. Return again and again with four other children--Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy--who are to play such a vital role in Narnia's history. Finally, enter the whimsical land one last time to witness the end of Time, and the beginning of something new: "world within world, Narnia within Narnia." This gorgeous volume is absolutely a must-have for current and future Narnia lovers. (All ages) --Emilie Coulter ... Read more

Reviews (603)

C.S. Lewis - The Chronological Order of Narnia
Perhaps you can better guess what order C.S. Lewis would have preferred by considering what it would be like if Genesis were to be grafted into the Bible as a later chapter.

When I was a child, I read 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe", and then blazed on through all the others.As an adult, I bought the set for my son, and re-read them, myself, this time in "chronological order".I have to say that I liked it better that way.

Foundational and Fantastic
In the Narnia stories, you will find fantastic tales that compete with Tolken's (I guess that's why Weta is working on the movie), but you will also find foundational plots used in many contemporary stories in smaller ways.Read the original and be amazed.

For example, just in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, youfind tales of the energy and innocence of youth, the cynicism of creativity, the courage to stand against prejudice, and the beauty and power of self-sacrifice.I am a Christian author (author of 777 Things You Can Do In Heaven), and I still read the tales of Narnia for inspiration and encouragement.It's also fun to read them with my daughter, since they can be enjoyed by adults and youth alike.

Rate the books on their merit, not the order
This is a fantastic collection of books.With regards "toneilicus107" below, rate the item on its content, not what order they are releasing them.Anyone can figure out the proper order, your review only lessens the overall rating of an exceptional series. ... Read more

Isbn: 0060281375
Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure    2. Children    3. Children's 9-12 - Literature - Classics / Contemporary    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Classics    6. Fantasy    7. Fantasy fiction    8. Good and evil    9. Juvenile fiction    10. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    11. Juvenile Fiction / Classics    12. Reading Group Guide   

To Kill a Mockingbird : The 40th Anniversary Edition of the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel
by Harper Lee
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 December, 1999)
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"When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow.... When enough years had gone by to enable us to look back on them, we sometimes discussed the events leading to his accident. I maintain that the Ewells started it all, but Jem, who was four years my senior, said it started long before that. He said it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up.

Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well--in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations, and deserves to be reread often. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Reviews (1395)

Not a bad read...
This epic novel is one of the best that I've read.This story has to do with the contraversial issues of racism.Taking place in the days where african-americans really didn't get respect,it is precise in every detail,and gives the reader a front row seat at the events that happen.Harper Lee is a critically acclaimed novelist,and this book gave her a place in the world of literature forever.


-Great Book! Recommended!!!!!!!!

A Must-Have Classic! Read it at least once!
To Kill A Mockingbird is a powerful masterpiece at it's best. This classic tale was brought to life by Harper Lee in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961, and later became an Academy Award-Winning film. There are over 15 million copies in print with translations in forty languages. The story takes place in Alabama during the Depression, in the early 1900's. It is about a young girl, her brother Jem, and their lawyer father Atticus, who must teach his children the value of every human being, regardless of race. It is a life lesson that is taught not only to the characters in this book, but the reader as well. Harper Lee does a marvelous job allowing the reader to actually live the hatred, love, suspense and determination of this family to stand up for what they believe in. It is a test for them because in the days that To Kill A Mockingbird takes place, race issues were just coming to life, and the true lesson was yet to be learned.

The storyline is about a young girl, Scout, who is at the age of curiosity. She wants to learn about everything, and looks to her older brother Jem to help her learn the ways of life. It is about a father that is forced to raise his children alone, after losing his wife. Through many hardships, this family learns about respect, love, personal growth, and most importantly they learn life lessons. "You never really know a man till you walk a mile in his shoes", says Atticus, who is defending an innocent black man, who is being charged for the rape of a white girl. In the end the real truth comes out, to no avail. The story is also about friendship, found in Dill, a boy that brings excitement to these two young characters. The three quickly become friends and they explore, play, learn, and love one another.

The story is based on Scout Finch, Jem, Dill, Atticus Finch, and many others who bring this book to life. The Radleys, who live next door to the Finches, are a strange and curious family to say the least. Through determination, they all quickly learn the Radleys aren't as strange as they would appear. There is Aunt Alexandra, who is very much against everything that Atticus believes in, she moves in with her brother and tempers flare. The neighbor, Miss Stephanie Crawford nurtures the children and aides them in ways only a woman can, since they lack a mother figure. Culprina, the black housemaid who has been helping Atticus raise his children, also guides this family into a world of understanding. Through all the characters, you find a perfect puzzle, that without just one piece, it would crumble.

The meaning of this book really touches on all the problems that are still very real in this world today. It is a true life lesson for the reader, young and old alike. I don't believe anyone can read this classic and not walk away with something truly special....Love For All.

Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez

To kill a Mockingbird or to kill man's freedom -great book!
The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is much more educational than any government school.The title comes from a comment in the book about how it is not a sin to kill bluejays, as they are vicious vandals and pests, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, as a mockingbird only sings for us.All of you who have been physically attacked by bluejays (as I have) raise your hands. All the hands show that the title's subject is clearly true.

The "Mockingbird" analogy in the book is to the defendant falsely accused of rape.

Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman.

Readers can make comparisons with real life trials such as "An American rape: A true account of the Giles-Johnson case" by A. Robert Smith and read the book or view the documentary about "The Scottsboro Boys" -six sets of trials for nine defendents... all young black men wrongly accused of raping two white women while "riding the rails" through the deep south during the Depression.

The book explores the themes of racism, violence and doing what is right.There is even a setting in a government school in which the class discusses Hitler and the analogy is made to his persecution of people based on race or religion.

At the time set in the book, the government in the USA had taken over most schools and the government mandated segregation by law, institutionalized racism, and taught racism as official policy and did so even after the defeat of Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers' Party and well beyond, even into the 1970's.

Every day students would attend segregated government schools and chant the pledge of allegiance using the original straight-armed salute.The USA's pledge of allegiance was the origin of Hitler's salute, as discovered by the historian Rex Curry (the book "The pledge of Allegiance and the Bellamys).The salute was not from ancient Rome.

In 1892, Francis Bellamy began the pledge of allegiance with a military salute for the phrase "I pledge allegiance" and then the rest of the pledge was chanted with the arm outstretched toward the flag. The military salute became the Nazi salute. The hand was supposed to be turned upward for the main gesture, however it changed in time to the Nazi-style because of casual extension of the initial military salute straight toward the flag. Even when the palm was turned upward, people would see the relationship to the later Nazi-Sozi salute, and the USA's salute changed to the hand-over-the-heart.

When Jesse Owens competed in the 1936 Olympics in Germany, his neighbors attended segregated government schools where they saluted the flag with the Nazi salute.

As under Nazism, children in the USA (including Jehovah's Witnesses and blacks and the Jewish and others) attended government schools where segregation was imposed by law, where racism was taught as official policy, and where they were required by law to perform the Nazi salute and robotically chant a pledge to a flag. If they refused, then they were persecuted and expelled from government schools and had to use the many better alternatives. There were also acts of physical violence.

Jehovah's Witnesses were among the first people to publicly fight the government and its pledge ritual in the USA, during the same time that they fought it in Nazi Germany. They eventually achieved total victory over Nazi socialism. They achieved only partial victory over similar socialism in the USA. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they could not be forced to perform the pledge. Laws still make teachers lead children in robotic chants of the socialist's pledge daily, on cue from the government. Jehovah's Witnesses and other children in government schools must watch the ritual performed by others.

Francis Bellamy put flags in every school to promote a government takeover of education for widespread nationalization and socialism, and Bellamy was a self-proclaimed national socialist who advocated "military socialism" for three decades before Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Edward and Francis Bellamy were cousins and were national socialists who idolized the military and wanted to nationalize the entire US economy, including all schools. It was a philosophy that led to the socialist Wholecaust (of which the Holocaust was a part) where millions were murdered (62 million by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 35 million by the Peoples' Republic of China, 21 million by the National Socialist German Workers' Party) in the worst slaughter in history. That is why the Bellamys are known as America's Nazis. All Holocaust Museums could expand four-fold with Wholecaust Museums.

Many people forget that "Nazi" means "National Socialist German Workers' Party," and one reason people forget is because the word "Nazi" is overused by the writers who never say the actual name of the horrid party. A good mnemonic device is that the sick socialist swastika represented two overlapping "S" letters for "socialism" under the National Socialist German Workers' Party, as exposed in the book "Swastika Secrets."

The Bellamys wanted the government to takeover everything and impose the military's "efficiency," as he said. It is the origin of the modern military-socialist complex.They wanted government schools to ape the military. Government schools were intended to create an "industrial army" (another Bellamy phrase, and the word "army" was not metaphorical) and to help nationalize everything else.

Because of the Bellamy way of thinking, government-schools spread and they mandated the Nazi-style salute by law, flags in every classroom, and daily robotic chanting of the pledge of allegiance in military formation like Pavlov's lapdogs of the state.

After the government's segregation ended, socialism's legacy caused more police-state racism of forced busing that destroyed communities and neighborhoods and deepened hostilities.

Francis Bellamy wanted a flag over every school because he wanted to nationalize and militarize everything, including all schools, and eliminate all of the better alternatives.

At the height of Nazi power, the USA's government deliberately stepped onto the same path with national numbering imposed in 1935 with the social security system. The federal government was growing massively and attempting to nationalize the economy in many ways. The US Supreme Court struck down much of the new legislation as unconstitutional until the craven FDR pressured the Court into the "switch in time that socialized nine."

After the USA entered WWII, the pledge gesture was altered and explicit school segregation by government ended. The Government's schools still exist, the federal flag brands government schools, and government's teachers must chant the pledge daily. Students are kept ignorant of the pledge's original salute and history. That is why the pledge still exists.

The USA also continued its Nazi numbering (social security from 1935) and its robotic pledge, with no stopping.

Overall, the book was very revealing and educational and worth the time to review. ... Read more

Isbn: 0060194995
Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Lee, Harper - Prose & Criticism    4. Legal    5. Literature - Classics / Criticism    6. Literature: Classics    7. Fiction / Classics   

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (07 September, 1988)
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Reviews (70)

A review of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is one of my favorite books I have ever read because of the Hermans. They lie, curse, burn stuff, and all the bad things one can do. One time they set fire to a building accidentally and when the firemen came the Herman's stole their donuts. They hear about a Christmas play with refreshments, so they join. So all seven crazy kids join and the play becomes a complete catastrophe. They don't even know the story of how Jesus was born so they had to tell them all of it. The Hermans all have the important parts in the play. The Hermans are so crazy they brought their one eyed cat to school which ripped and attacked everyone. This is a great book about how 7 crazy kids learn the true meaning of Christmas.

Playtime At The Pageant

So, you like books with children that do crimes?You do?Listen up.If you don't you can still read this paper and this book.The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a hysterical book that includes some good kids, some bad kids, and a Christmas Pageant.It was written by Barbara Robinson and illustrated by Judith Gwyn Brown. Since this book was published by Harper Collins © in 1972, Robinson and Brown have also created Best Halloween Ever and Best School Year Ever.This eighty paged book has reviewing agencies; ALA Booklist, Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, New York Times Book Review, NCTE Adventuring With Books, Publisher's Weekly, Wilson's Children's Catalog, and Wilson's Junior High Catalog.
In the Best Christmas Pageant Ever you will find Herdman children that are big troublemakers that move into town.Every year the Herdman children's town presents a Christmas Pageant in the town's church.Mother, the mother of one the child in the pageant is in charge of the whole thing.Meanwhile, the Herdman children are interested in the pageant.Imogene, one of the Herdman children, wants the part of Mary.Imogene gets her wish of having the part of Mary.All the Herdman children look up in the public library, nearby their house, what the Christmas Pageant is all about.Mother gives all of the Herdman children a part in the Pageant.The day of the Pageant Mother is stressing out about if the Pageant is going to go the way it's planned.Will Mother see what she wants to see?Read this book to find out!
I truly enjoyed reading this book when the Herdman's did something wrong.It just made the story a little more interesting.For one thing, the Herdman's are very bad children. They commit crimes, steal, smoke and lie.When people in a story have some sort of talent or is just a really bad kid it makes the story more interesting to read.Also, I thought it was very thoughtful of the Herdman children when they were interested in the Christmas Pageant.I mean, it's not every day you see really bad kids interested in a
Christian play done in a church.Finally, I couldn't help thinking why somebody would do this but; in gym class Imogene always found out everyone's weight and always mad fun of that same person because of it.I thought that was just plain old rude!
I was so impressed on how much humor this book had!Again the Herdman children were in on most of the humor.For one thing, when Mother said that she was glad the Herdmen children were at church and everyone knew that she was lying.Also, when Imogene started smoking a cigar in the bathroom, someone saw smoke coming out of the crack on the bottom of the bathroom door, that someone called the fire department!I probably would have done the same thing, but overall that's just funny!Lastly, when Imogene got a baby for the Christmas Pageant, she started talking to tell everyone what the baby's name was.Mother came rushing down the aisle telling her that you're not supposed to talk in a pageant.Mother and Imogene kept arguing on why Imogene shouldn't tell the cast what the baby's name was.Imogene would have named the baby Bill!I thought that was funny because Imogene wanted everything to go her way, and not the way it was supposed to go.
When reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever I experienced some dozing off into sleep, laughing, and some really interested eyes.So, what I really mean is that I experienced some sleeping; the thought the book was boring at some parts.Laughing, I got really bad pains in my side from laughing so much; I thought the book was very funny.Interested eyes was, that at some parts of the book I was so interested I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next.I would recommend this book for ages nine and up.Just because the Herdman children do some really bad things. So, I would be recommending for this book to adults and young adults.But, otherwise I would say that this book is an o.k. book.

C's Book Review
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Barbara Robinson

This book was great. I am glad I got it for Christmas. From blowing up buildings to plants growing out of ears, this book is funny. The Herdmans are like mini twisters and live in an abandoned parking lot garage. They have a deadly one eyed bobcat. I strongly recommend this to kids who like other hectic kids. I thought it was perfect. This book would probaly be realistic fiction.


... Read more

Isbn: 0064402754
Sales Rank: 75067
Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children: Grades 4-6    3. Christmas    4. Classics    5. Fiction    6. Holidays & Festivals - Christmas    7. Humorous Stories    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction / Classics   

White Noise (Contemporary American Fiction)
by Don DeLillo
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 April, 1991)
list price: $14.00 -- our price: $11.20
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Editorial Review

Better than any book I can think of, White Noise captures the particular strangeness of life in a time where humankind has finally learned enough to kill itself. Naturally, it's a terribly funny book, and the prose is as beautiful as a sunset through a particulate-filled sky. Nice-guy narrator Jack Gladney teaches Hitler Studies at a small college. His wife may be taking a drug that removes fear, and one day a nearby chemical plant accidentally releases a cloud of gas that may be poisonous. Writing before Bhopal and Prozac entered the popular lexicon, DeLillo produced a work so closely tuned into its time that it tells the future. ... Read more

Reviews (219)

A Masterpiece of Contemporary American Fiction
DeLillo is a rare sort of writer: he seemlessly blends engaging fiction, biting satire, and shrewd cultural observation in one easily readable book. In Babette, Heinrich, Murray, and especially Jack (JAK) Gladney, DeLillo has created vibrant and dynamic characters that function as realistic human beings in the framework of the plot as well as larger representations of society in a broader, cultural reading of the text. Don't come expecting an edge-of-your-seat thriller, though--DeLillo takes his time and frequently steps away from the suspense, waiting until the last moment to spring a major plot device on his audience. This has turned off a lot of readers, who cite DeLillo as boring and pretentious. This he is not; he simply isn't Grisham or Patterson. If you want an intelligent, satiric look at society told by one of America's true living masters, then this book is very highly recommended.

Move on- read DeLillo
First you must know- not think, but know- that someday you are going to die.
Once you can admit that to yourself, let DeLillo shatter you.
This book is often reviewed as a rant against commercialism and our modern consumer culture. And that's true. But at it's core this is a book about death. More specifically, our overpowering fear and obsession with death.
I could bore you with a plot summary, but I won't. Nothing I could say about this book can come close to what DeLillo has to say. He's a master wordsmith. Some will peg him as verbose and heavy handed. Those terms would be derogatory if every word WERE NOT pure gold. The man is spitting pearls as us and people want to fault him for wordiness. With the dearth of great literature that we are currently suffering through, how could anyone fault DeLillo for having TOO MUCH to say?
Those who have been reading Palahniuk for the last 6 years (that's right- you saw the movie first), it's time to move on. Chuck is brilliant and I love him, but DeLillo is the old lion that taught the cubs how to hunt. There'd be no Palahniuks or Bret Easton Ellis's if DeLillo hadn't done it first.
Is this his best book? No- you'll get to "Libra" eventually. But this is where you start.
Happy hunting kiddies.

absolutely unreadable - no, unless your teacher insists
I'd tried to read White Noise a number of times, thrown it across the room each time.But this time, with a couple of transatlantic plane flights in my arsenal, I couldn't fail to finish, right?

Wrong.White Noise is terrible.It's full of dialogue that no one would ever say, precious, precious, gimicky, and gimicky.Every word is too clever by half, including "and" and "the."I take it the grating serial monologs making fun of consumerism (oooh - how unprecedented!) are meant to emphasize the disconnectedness of modern life.But instead they show only the consequences of writing an arid echo chamber of a piece drained entirely of humanity or anything remotely resembling any claim at accuracy.It is, however, tremendously effective at annoying its readers.

Fear not DeLillo haters.This will be off the syllabi before too long.And how we will celebrate!

... Read more

Isbn: 0140077022
Subjects:  1. College teachers    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - General    4. Industrial accidents    5. Literary    6. Middle West    7. Stepfamilies    8. Modern fiction   

Good Night, Mr. Tom
by Michelle Magorian
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (13 November, 1986)
list price: $6.99 -- our price: $6.99
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Reviews (96)

Wonderful book
This book is incredibly written - you can see WWII England in your mind and picture how well each character looks.Even though the two books have nothing in common, Good Night Mr. Tom is almost a precursor to the Harry Potter series.

Heart tugging from the first page
I first read this book when I was 16, and that was years and years ago. Since then I have often returned to it's pages so I can see life through the eyes of an abused unhealthy boy and an bitter old man. One of the things I love most about this book is that it points out how powerful of an impact people can have in other people lives, for good or bad. In this case, Mr. Tom learned to love again, and Will finally found someone who would love and care for him, a parent that he deserved. I very highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, but be prepared to cry. Even though I've read it dozens of times, I still can't get through it without crying. A must have for your personal library, I promise that you will cherish it for years to come.

Marvelous!
This book is one of those undiscovered gems that you occasionally bump into during your lifetime and leave with a sense of profound emotional feeling. My religion teacher back in sixth grade recommended this to me and love her for it.
The characters are beautifully characterized. The supporting characters served their parts in the book well. Tom is a bit of a stock character, the gruff man with a heart of gold, but his love for Will was so real that I didn't mind his slight stereotypical personality. Will stands out as the hero of the book. His growth from a frightened, abused child to a strong, happy, young man was an excellent example of good character growth. All the characters reacted as real people would, felt like real people would, and ultimately, were real people (Except for maybe Will's mother. I'm glad to say I've never met anyone like her and hope I never will.).
There are several poignant moments in the book. Two involve Will's reaction to Zach's and Trudy's death and his time with the other woman's baby that leads to him realizing Trudy's death wasn't his fault.
The book was in one word wonderful, and I'm proud to give this book five stars. ... Read more

Isbn: 006440174X
Sales Rank: 26379
Subjects:  1. Child abuse    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Country life    5. England    6. Family - Orphans & Foster Homes    7. Fiction    8. Social Situations - Friendship    9. Social Situations - Physical & Emotional Abuse    10. World War, 1939-1945    11. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Physical & Emotional Abuse   

Alias Grace : A Novel
by Margaret Atwood
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (13 October, 1997)
list price: $15.00 -- our price: $10.50
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Editorial Review

In 1843, a 16-year-old Canadian housemaid named Grace Marks was tried for the murder of heremployer and his mistress.The sensationalistic trial made headlines throughout the world, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict.Yet opinion remained fiercely divided about Marks--was she a spurned woman who had taken out her rage on two innocent victims, or was she an unwilling victim herself, caught up in a crime she was too young to understand?Such doubts persuaded the judges to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, and Marks spent the next 30 years in an assortment of jails and asylums, where she was often exhibited as a star attraction.In Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood reconstructs Marks's story in fictional form. Her portraits of 19th-century prison and asylum life are chilling in their detail.The author also introduces Dr. Simon Jordan, who listens to the prisoner's tale with a mixture of sympathy and disbelief.In his effort to uncover the truth, Jordan uses the tools of the then rudimentary science of psychology.But the last word belongs to the book's narrator--Grace herself. ... Read more

Reviews (145)

Not The Blind Assassin.....
I have to admit ALIAS GRACE didn't do it for me. It took a while to connect with the characters and the story itself progressed slowly which didn't help matters. Atwood is a beautiful writer so there is some gorgeous prose on display and the book is certainly not without it's merits. The problem is it's consistency. Grace Marks has ten stories, as do any of us, and one of the book's problems is it's determination to tell each one and that of the poor plumber who lives down the street besides. Atwood uses a variety of literary techniques to do this some with more success than others. The decision to write Grace's chapters in the first person takes getting used to and seemed rather affected for my taste. Atwood's writing stands on it's own and somehow this choice in particular feels like a gimmick. In addition she frequently "jumps" the narrative voice from one character to another giving the novel a disjointed feel and distancing the reader from the emotional life of the individual lives she is trying to recreate.
In the end, it's Margaret Atwood. I read it, I recommend it and found several passages particularly lovely and poignant. But, be prepared this is a difficult read for unexpected reasons and is definately not for the inexperienced Atwood reader. I would hate for anyone to miss out on her genius because they read this one first.

Had to Read it Twice!
I only picked this book up because I had to read it for my AP English class in 12th grade.But once I picked it up, I just couldn't put it down!I actually enjoyed writing a book report about it - there's so much to say about this book!I loved how Atwood didn't say if Grace was quilty or not...and I also liked how Atwood had Grace end up happily (although, always the pessimist).The reader comes to really care about Grace and I want to believe that Grace really isn't a murderer...but you never know...she could have just "forgotten" that part of the day.I loved this book, I had to pick it up a year later and read it again.

So Intimate It Seems To Be Written On The Skin
Since taking up English Literature at college, I have become interested in actually reading books. Yeah, I know it sounds dumb - you got to read books if you take up the subject, but I never used to read at all, I was just good at the subject. I've since started to read books more and more, and my favourite has been Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale." I was enthralled with that novel and my exam took place on it in June - results mid-August. Around April I decided to buy another novel by Atwood, and I chose "Alias Grace." I had absolutely no idea what the novel was about, but I didn't care - I just wanted to read more of her work. I started reading the book in April and have only just finished it...

I must admit that the novel didn't really reel me in to begin with which is why it took me so long to read it, but after a while I really began to love the book! By the time I finished the book last week I didn't want it to end, and I straight away went out and bought another Atwood novel - "The Blind Assassin," which I am currently reading. After reading two Atwood novels so far to date, I can safely say she is a remarkable author and has a true talent for storytelling.

Alias Grace is a work of fiction, although it is based on reality. Its central figure, Grace Marks, was one of the most notorious Canadian women of the 1840's, having been convicted of murder at the age of 16.

Grace Marks allegedly murdered - along with a fellow-servant James McDermott - the man and woman she worked for: Mr. Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery. The headlines were sensational: The Kinnear-Montgomery murders took place on July 23rd 1843, and were extensively reported not only in Canadian newspapers but in those of the United States and Britain. Grace Marks was uncommonly pretty and also extremely young; Montgomery had previously given birth to an illegitimate child and was Thomas Kinnear's mistress; at her autopsy she was found to be pregnant. Grace and her fellow-servant James McDermott had run away to the United States together and were assumed by the press to be lovers. The combination of sex, violence and the deplorable insubordination of the lower classes was most attractive to the journalists of the day.

The trial was held in early November. Only the Kinnear murder was tried: since both of the accused were condemned to death, a trial for the Montgomery murder was considered unnecessary. McDermott was hanged in front of a huge crowd on November 21st: but opinion about Grace was divided from the start, and due to the efforts of her lawyer, her sentence was commuted to life, and she entered the Provincial Penitentiary in Kingston on November 19th, 1843.

And the rest is history, as they say: this is where the novel begins. The first 100 pages or so involve one of the novel's most memorable characters, Dr. Simon Jordan, and his attempts to decipher the mind of Grace Marks. His plans are to investigate her character and get her to open up to him and reveal the truth about the murders. Whether she did indeed commit the murders are still undecided and the true character of Grace Marks remained an enigma for years. After their introduction, Grace takes things all the way back to her childhood. In immense detail and shockingly stark precision, Atwood portrays a clear and sharp, gleaming image of Grace's personality and her life before she became an international sensation.

The language Atwood uses for her characters in this play is remarkable. Everything remains as views on society were seen at the time, portraying a stunning sense of authenticity - like a real documentation of the accounts. Views on sexuality, violence and the way women are supposed to behave in society are incredibly real:

"McDermott said much too close a friend, in his opinion: and I said what did he mean by that? And he said that Jeremiah had looked at me in a way he didn't like, and that no wife of his would be allowed to hobnob with any Jew peddlers, and gossip with them at the back door, and flirt in that way; and if she did, he would black her eyes, and knock her head about her shoulders for her."

Throughout the novel Atwood offers different perspectives from many different character, which can make it challenging to understand and keep up with, but ultimately finishing the novel is extremely rewarding. Atwood obviously sees Grace as innocent and not guilty of the crimes imposed upon her, but due to the enigma surrounding the real truth, we will never know - yet I would like to believe Atwood is correct.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

I'm not quite sure which novel I enjoyed the most out of Alias Grace and The Handmaid's Tale, but I'm definitely sure that I enjoyed reading them because Atwood tackles unique and enthralling stories. She isn't a 9-5 author and if you prefer this type, you probably will be disappointed with her works. However, if you'd like to lift off, I urge you to give her a go - you will surely not regret it. ... Read more

Isbn: 0385490445
Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Historical    3. Historical - General    4. Marks, Grace    5. Marks, Grace,    6. Suspense    7. b. 1826    8. Fiction / General    9. Reading Group Guide   

A Separate Peace
by JOHN KNOWLES
Average Customer Review:
Mass Market Paperback (01 December, 1984)
list price: $5.99
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Reviews (702)

Eh ...
I just finished this book for school.I was a big fan of Knowle's writing (metaphors, similes, character development)but the progression of the story was very slow.Also the plot isn't good enough to fill 170 pages.But I would recommend this book to people, especially those who want to write, merely for the character development.

too separated from me
I didn't get to finish the book... I didn't want to finish it because it's kind of boring... Well, it really is... I wouldn't read it if we were not required to do so...

O.K.
This book is not apropriate for the current times and was very dry. The book had characters that do not fit in our period. This book would have been better if it was placed in our time because we would understand the plot better. ... Read more

Isbn: 0553280414
Sales Rank: 71711
Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Literature: Classics    5. Fiction / General   

Bridge of San Luis Rey
by Thornton Wilder
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (01 June, 1991)
list price: $29.95 -- our price: $19.77
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Reviews (72)

wkrc wcpo cpo
what are you doing with abducted children?

your response:"second nature""seconds nation"

but you are quiet unable to respond to: are you tracking my animals

given surveillance on my home and presence in my house with
room audio signal..the formaldehyde tupperware...the
human cornea decomposed

the faeces off the shoe.. the wood with the nails up placed


only one thing is remarkable about your presence...the
perfect timing of your always perfect orientation

.0000hhhhhhhh [-------------

the chalice of your perfect presence is always remarkable

you only need to be caught in vertigo one by one..then

escorted to a psychiatric prison for longevity studies

time is on your side also

only remember that when it is time to walk the bridge
only then will you walk alone into the first and last
sunset of your eternity

I liked it!
I liked this book a lot. It was sometimes a little bit drone and sometimes it used old-fashioned language. But I've got to expect that since it was first written in 1927. I still enjoyed it, though.

One of the Most Moving Books I Ever Read
This Pulitzer Prize winner is one of the most poetic, profound books I can remember reading. Thank heavens I didn't read it when I was young. ... Read more

Isbn: 0899668534
Sales Rank: 298303
Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Accidents    3. Bridges    4. Fiction    5. Fiction - General    6. General    7. History    8. Peru    9. Reference   

Girl, Interrupted
by SUSANNA KAYSEN
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (19 April, 1994)
list price: $12.00 -- our price: $9.60
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Editorial Review

When reality got "too dense" for 18-year-old Susanna Kaysen, she was hospitalized. It was 1967, and reality was too dense for many people.But few who are labeled mad and locked up for refusing to stick to an agreed-upon reality possess Kaysen's lucidity in sorting out a maelstrom of contrary perceptions. Her observations about hospital life are deftly rendered; often darkly funny. Her clarity about the complex province of brain and mind, of neuro-chemical activity and something more, make this book of brief essays an exquisite challenge to conventional thinking about what is normal and what is deviant. ... Read more

Reviews (379)

world spinning book
Set in a psychiatric hospital in 1967, it is told by 18-year-old Susanna, who is living under a blanket of depression and spending her days in McLean Hospital near Boston. We see the hospital and its occupants through her eyes, while trying to understand her mental illness (Borderline Disorder).
For a difficult subject, this book has a somewhat playful tone. It's as if the halls of McLean hospital are typical corridors of an apartment complex. ("It was a perpetual picnic, our hospital.") and a "seclusion room" ("Freedom was the price of privacy"). Through other characters' stories, Kaysen pieces together the reasons for her own suicide attempt. With each flashback, she reveals more details about her own attempted "premeditated murder." She discusses her fears and delusions, wondering if others see them, too. This makes us question ourselves and feel a bit closer to the comfort of being called crazy. Kaysen escorts us on a journey to a "parallel universe," creating a direct and clear route in case we travel there ourselves one day. I am hoping that I experience no one going down the same path Kaysen does in the book but I am sure I will. To overall put a score on the book was I would rate it a 9 out of a 10. One thing that was a disappointment was how the film-version of the novel strayed from the truth. I wish the film had been an accurate portrayal of this real life novel.

Packs a Strong Punch
"Girl Interrupted" is a petite memoir. However it packs a heck of a punch. Dealing very truthfully about a college girl who suffers a mental breakdown it provides human drama and startling insight into the commonality of mental illness. Of books of its kind, it ranks as powerfully as "My Fractured Life", "A Child Called It", and "Running With Scissors." I highly recommend it.

Insightful but sometimes confusing
In Girl Interrupted , I learned a lot about the real story , not the Hollywood Glamour Movie story .
Allthough this book is insightful , at times I found myself flipping back and forth between chapters to follow the story . For example in one chapter Daisy dies , but several chapters later she is in the story again having a conversation with another person . After awhile , it all falls into place .
The book contains real parts of Kaysen's mental records which are really interesting to read .
A caution to those who are offended easily , this may not be the book for you as there is STRONG language as well as sexual content that may not be suitible for younger children or if you cannot handle that sort of detail . ... Read more

Isbn: 0679746048
Subjects:  1. 1948-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Kaysen, Susanna,    7. Literary    8. Massachusetts    9. Mental health    10. Mentally ill    11. Psychiatric hospital patients    12. Specific Groups - Special Needs    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Kaysen, Susanna    16. Reading Group Guide   

Libra (Contemporary American Fiction)
by Don DeLillo
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 April, 1991)
list price: $15.00 -- our price: $10.20
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Reviews (63)

Oswald- Man of Wax
Don't fault me for quoting Shakespeare. I teach high school kids, I deserve it.
The term applied to Paris by Lady Montague is, for me, the best description I can think of for DeLillo's portrayal of Oswald. He is the perfect communist- one ready to be molded in support of his cause.
I cannot say enough about this book other than be prepared for a second reading. It's too well crafted a masterpiece for one reading. The puzzle is too intricate.
By far DeLillo at his conspiratorial paranoid best.
I was in awe of DeLillo's construction. Oswald's life story juxtaposed with the plot being crafted. Each Oswald chapter is meant to parallel the conspirators looking for their patsy. In that vein, let me say that David Ferrie is one of the greatest characters ever put on paper- and yes, I know he was a real person.
Once again, it's too amazing for me to do it justice. Don't come looking for history. Come in search of great literature. Come in search of a great crime thriller. Come for the political intrigue. Come for a jaw dropping, skull shattering tour de force. DeLillo at his unquestionable best.

Good Book
Libra deals with the Kennedy assassination from Lee Harvey Oswald's perspective. Oswald is presented as one of a number of trigger men, but as only a small player in a much larger conspiracy involving former CIA operatives. At first it appears that the conspiracy's goals are to use a failed attempt on the president's life as a ruse for re-invading Cuba, however somewhere along the line that plan is forgotten and the president becomes the real target of the operation.

Oswald is presented as a confused and misguided individual, with big ambitions but little direction and with no clear goals. The story takes the reader through Oswald's service in the military, a defection to Russia, a failed marriage and a number of other misadventures. Libra presents Oswald as a not entirely willing participant in the plot to assassinate Kennedy. This fictional Oswald is a pathetic, but disturbingly sympathetic character.

The book is a good one. One of its themes which I greatly appreciated is the banality of evil - while conspiring to assassinate the president, the plotters also deal with their day to day problems, such as taking care of their families, worrying about their careers etc. From this perspective the book is fascinating and unique. However, I never found myself fully gripped by the plot nor did I feel any suspense. Libra is a good book, it may even be great from a literary perspective, however I read novels for entertainment and not for literary genius. From this perspective I feel that the book came a bit short.

DeLillo's Best Work
The manner in which the author links up the life of Lee Harvey Oswald (the Libra of the title) with the multiple and convoluted conspiracies to stage an assassination attempt is completely engrossing. Oswald's imagined life on its own is fascinating, and if the depiction of the workings of the CIA is anything like the reality, we should all have a long deep look at how our world works.

Unusually for DeLillo, the minor characters, mainly invented, are all brilliantly portrayed and the reader cares about how each and every one of them ends up. DeLillo's notorious way (or lack of it) with dialogue actually works in this novel (whereas for me it fails utterly in a novel like Underworld).

The assassination scene finally arrives after 400 pages of intrigue and is well worth the wait. It's so well written that the events seem to flash in slow motion across your eyes as you read.

The only bum note for me was the depiction of Jack Ruby, who is written as a kind of afterthought. The author is obviously constrained by the factual basis, but Ruby's own story could have been more thoughtfully interweaved. ... Read more

Isbn: 0140156046
Sales Rank: 100566
Subjects:  1. (John Fitzgerald),    2. 1917-1963    3. Assassination    4. Assassins    5. Fiction    6. Fiction - General    7. General    8. Kennedy, John F    9. Oswald, Lee Harvey    10. Presidents    11. Modern fiction