K Books

Granted, a happy ending is far from what I expected when I started in on this book, nor do I normally expect happy endings from modern novels. I was somewhat apprehensive about reading another book about someone finding himself, but I'm quite glad I did. Tremain's novel unfolds quietly, without great pomp, and pulls you in through carefully-crafted characters that feel like real human beings. I found that the more I read, the more I wanted to keep reading, and it's been quite a while since an author's managed to accomplish that for me. While Mary/Marty's story is interesting, I find the "support cast" more intrigueing, potentially because Mary/Marty somehow ends up a bit hollow, a bit shallow; his only desire, as human as it may be, is to settle down with a girl.

Other characters in the novel go through ups and downs, as well, but most seem to have either arrived at a place of contentment (or, at least, contentment with their discontentment) or are portrayed as being in a transitional place. Mary/Marty probably wouldn't bother me so much if he wasn't trans. The fact that he has no real ambition and has only the most basic of desires--to find a mate--strikes a sour note into this otherwise beautifully-written novel. Just as many queer characters tend to end up with less-than-happy endings, so Mary/Marty ends up alone and content with loneliness. Perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid here, but that strikes me a bit too much like a conservative message wrapped up in what looks to be a progressive novel.

Nonetheless, the book is well worth the read, especially for the glimpse into changing views on and roles of masculinity within English culture after WWII and as industry started to take over smallholdings in rural England. I'd give it 3-1/2 stars if I could, but since that's not an option, I'll go with 4 for the smoothness of the prose, the complexity of the characters, and sociological value.

I loved this novel. I haven't read it recently so some of the details are fuzzy but I do remember being amazed by the story and the author's writing style.

"Sacred Country" is about a young girl, Mary Ward, who, at the age of six, realizes that she should be boy. The book is a chronicle of her life from that point on. I found the detailed descriptions of the odd things that captured Mary's curiosity as a child (and as an adult, in a different way) intriguing. I won't lie, this is a very sad story at times, and is hard to read in some parts because of Mary's loneliness. The loneliness is never stated and packs a harder punch because of it. All in all, this book explained to me in stunning writing, the process of finding all of the right worlds in oneself. And, dealing with them when they don't fit or express into a manageable form to the outside world. It is a coming of age story to the self and to life. I like to read to learn - about happiness, sadness, life - this book delivered in a big way for me.

If you think Rose Tremain's "Sacred Country" is anything like Virginia Woolf's "Orlando", you're wrong because Mary Ward didn't take centuries and successive reincarnations to morph into Martin. She had one mortal life to live and became Martin in that time. In short, Mary was a transexual, a boy trapped in a girl's body, who suffered great torment as a daughter to the brutish farmer, Sonny and his hapless spaced-out wife, Estelle who spends her life shuttling between the funny farm and home. Mary's struggle to come to terms with herself would have been intolerable in provincial Suffolk if not for the support of grandad Cord, schoolmistress Ms McRae and batmaker Edward Harker, all shining examples of humanity in a community constricted by a numbing lack of imagination. There's the goodhearted but dim witted and conventional minded Irene and the ever pragmatic Grace who hasn't the imagination to understand why her son, Walter needs to seek salvation in faraway Nashville as a country & western singer. Just as Mary finds her own support group, Walter relies on his uncle, Peter to inspire him. Even Timmy, Mary's brother, finally escapes to find fulfillment in a vocation that would break his father's heart. "Sacred Country" is a novel about the isolation and loneliness of non-conformists. The ghost-like figure of Livia (Estelle's mother, Cord's wife) symbolises the spirit of adventure and heroism. She hovers silently above the community like a big bird urging everyone to their own destinies. Mary took nearly three decades (from the day King George died in 1952) to become Martin. In that time, the world has changed, but have we ? "Sacred Country" is behind it all an ode to human courage. Tremain is a tremendous writer. She has written a novel that will endure. Highly recommended.

I completely agree with the five or six other reviews of this book for two reasons, one that it's an absolutely wonderful story and two that it's a shame that more people haven't reviewed it. It's one of those rare books that will capture you until you read the last page. The characters, as well as their relationships are so well crafted that you don't want them to end. It so touching and human that I can't imagine anyone would not fully enjoy it.

Normally books about people trying to "find themselves" do not appeal to me. I'm a reader of historical fiction - thus I discovered Rose Tremain through Music & Silence (Excellent) and Restoration (wonderful read). I purchased this book simply because of the author. When I got it and read the covers, I thought "I've been gipped, this isn't what I wanted" - However, after just a few pages, I was pulled in. Mary/Martin's struggle with gender reflects every individual's struggle to become who they think they are meant to be. Gender identity is only a tool here; it is not the focus of the book. The English farm, the repressed family, the country music scene in Nashville are a perfect backdrop for the inner struggles of characters such as Mary and Walter. The author paints such a realistic picture: Struggles are hard and probably never ending. The book also demonstrates the importance of the "one person" in someone's life who can make such a difference -- in small and often unknowing ways. I can't say I loved this book, but I can say that I am so glad I read it. The world is filled with Marys and Walters, and there is a bit of them in each of us as well. The perspective this book brings is right on target. Rose Tremain is truly a great writer.

This is the first Louis L'Amour book I have read so I can not compare it to any of his other books. This story makes me want to read more L'Amour books. I like a book that can tell a good story in less that 200 pages, I don't want read books by the pound. It reminds me of the old term "pocket book" because they can fit in your back pocket and can be read and enjoyed in a short amount of time. The main characters are likeable and the villians are people that need killing, what more do you want in a Western.

Loved this book, told in the first person this is Matt Brennan who rides into town and into trouble - there are two ranchers who are fighting a smaller third holding who is between them, they want his land and water rights. Within minutes of getting to town both men tell him to join their crew - he refuses both and goes out to see Ball, on the third place - but not before he has fallen in love with the woman of his dreams.

If he is going to set up house he is going to need some assets behind him, he likes Ball, the old man caught between the two ambitious ranchers, and he makes a deal to be a fighting partner for the spread. Between the two of them they think they can make it work.

This is about much more than settling the problems of three men out for power - Brennan has to make peace with them all, but at the same time he has to sort out the huge man, Park, who is the current suitor for Moira (the woman Matt has fallen in love with) but there is also something sinister in Parks past - and in his current dealings. There is also something going on with a crooked lawyer called Booker who seems to be instigating trouble in the background.

Brennan resolves all so that peace can reign in the valley - and its really well done. This is a resolution that I didn't expect but like all of L'amour's books, there are some complex relationships based on loyalty and respect rather than black and white.

Louis L'Amour wrote many, many westerns and in my opinion this is one of the best of them. The story line is very cohesive and involving. The characters are rich and well developed. As always L'Amour weaves a rich and very detailed landscape, with a lot of attention to details. The plot was intriguing and kept you guessing right up until the end. Just a very, very well written story!

When I tell people that I love Louis L'Amour I get some pretty weird looks in return. To my friends I am known to read quite a bit of heavy history and biography and it seems odd to them that, given my normal reading diet, I could find anything good to say about such "light" reading as L'Amour. Still I find L'Amour's talesmithing abilities to be without peer.

L'Amour wrote with a distinctive style and filled his stories with action and intrigue. No, his works are not the extremely violent works that typify modern westerns like UNFORGIVEN or OPEN RANGE. But then L'Amour wrote in a time when such graphic action would not have been readily accepted.

With all this in mind, I loved SILVER CANYON, a tale of vengeance, lies and, as with virtually all of L'Amour's stories, of the good guy winning in the end. The tiny western hamlet of Hattan's Point is a sleepy town until the day that Matt Brennan seems to bring with him a heated, all out war that involves practically everyone in town. Matt makes friends and enemies with equal ease. He also finds the love of his life and is in hot pursuit despite her being the daughter of one of the main combatants in the feud.

Who will win out? Read SILVER CANYON.

THE HORSEMAN

When it comes to reading Louis L'Amour the modern western fan is faced with having to take things in context. Remember that L'Amour's works were primarily written in the fifties and sixties and, as a result, have a certain "dignity" about them that no longer applies with the westerns of today, especially those on the big screen.

Take SILVER CANYON for example. There is plenty of action here to be sure but it is painted much more subtly on L'Amour's canvass than, let's say, on those of Larry McMurtry or on Clint Eastwood's or Kevin Costner's movie screens. Frankly L'Amour or his readers would not have tolerated the graphic, raw, often harsh violence of today's western s offerings. It's still there he just expresses it in ways that are less bombastic. For example, instead of saying, "the bullet smashed into my elbow sending blood and bone flying everywhere..." L'Amour offers, "I felt a tug at at my sleeve..." even though it is apparent to the reader that the first version is still what happened.

L'Amour wrote with a clear sense of nostalgia and romance about the west. He was much for the kindred spirit of John Wayne and John Ford than of McMurtry, Eastwood or Costner.

I thoroughly enjoyed SILVER CANYON, a tale of revenge, deceit and, as is the case with all L'Amour tales, of ultimate white-hatted triumph and justice. Matt Brennan rides into the sleepy town of Hattan's Point and awakens the flames of a smoldering range war. He discovers friends, fiends and meets the girl of his dreams. Like all other L'Amour pieces reading SILVER CANYON in the correct mindset is absolutely essential. If you do you'll find another L'Amour western masterpiece.

Douglas McAllister

My one year old loves this book.

Its about a skeleton who has the hiccups and can't get rid of them. The illutrations are great and it's a lot of fun. A great Halloween book that can be read at any time of year!

Everything went smoothly. The price was fair. The shipping was in a timely manner and the item was exactly as described. Thank you!

I read this aloud to a couple classes of K-1 students and they loved saying "hic hic hic" and watching what happens to Skeleton.

I thought this book was very charming and very funny. I'm going to read it to my class today and I'm sure they'll laugh their heads off. It's funny, cute and charming. What more can you ask for for a Halloween book?

Skeleton Hiccups is truly an original, and the artwork is the shining star. The images are creative, and hilarious! S.D. Schindler's work, the same illustrator of the famed Big Pumpkin, is fresh and creative. For instance, Skeleton's bed has a headstone headboard with R.I.P. craved into the back. In another scene where Skeleton is shining his bones, the can of polish says, "Ghost-White Bone Polish." I love the absurdity.

In no way are the pictures scary, or upsetting. Margery Cuyler's writing is simplistic, and appropriate for the very young such as a 2-years old. Older children 6 and above might be amused, but bored. Skeleton Hiccups isn't a Halloween book per se, but it helped to get us in the mood for the season. My 5-year old adores this book and has slept with it for the last 10-days! A REAL winner in my corner!

This rendition of Sleeping Beauty is delicious to the eye. I purchased the book specifically for the art work. KY Craft is fast becoming one of my favorite artists and the children's books she has illustrated are pieces of art that I return to look at again and again.

The story line is well loved.... and it is a pleasure reading a delightfully familiar & wonderfully illustrated fairytale as a 'maturing' grown up! CJ

This book is beautiful. I'm so happy that my daughter is the one that told me about it. The artwork is worth the price in everyway. Of course, Sleeping Beauty is a story that no one ever gets tired of. By all means add this one to your library.

This is a simply gorgeous book. Kinuko Y. Craft is such a magnificent illustrator. All of her images are detailed, delicate, and deep.

Beautifully written and illustrated, it makes a perfect bedtime story. You will also get distracted by the artwork: it could tell the story without the words.

I have long been a fan of ms. Crafts illustrations. They are breathtakingly beautiful from a distance, and full of interesting and fantastic details upon closer examination. This book is no exception, and takes the classic story of the enchanted Princess Aurora, setting the tale in a romantic fantasy kingdom, with the artwork combining rennaisance, high baroque and modern artistic styles.

There are no words to describe how talented Craft is at capturing beauty, you must see it for yourself.

this story teaches kids that they have the power to create their own beauty and bring it to their lives. the girl in this book walk around her house and sees some not very nice things, including some not so nice graffiti on a door, and the reader gets a sense of her unease. then she goes to school and her teacher teaches the class the word beautiful, which is described as something, when you have it, that makes your heart happy. so she goes around the neighbourhood asking people what is beautiful to them, and various responses are given. finally the little girl goes back to the graffiti and erases it, making a bit of beauty come into her own world. after that it ends on a sweet note with her mother. i think this a good book to read to a child to teach them that they have the power to make a positive change in the world, and that for every cloudy day there is an optimistic sun hiding unseen that is capable of showing itself to those who look for it.

The story, Something Beautiful, is a wonderful springboard for discussion about how to make sense of a complex world. Big issues are tackled in this book. Gorgeous illustrations and engaging text frame examples of crime, poverty, homelessness, urban living, social structures within families and friendships, and clearly, recognizing the power in oneself to choose a positive perspective of one's life. The engaging illustrations focus on characters' expressions and different micro-settings within the larger picture of an urban neighborhood. All the characters share what they feel is beautiful in their lives to an inquisitive, little girl. My favorite part is when the little girl asks her mother about what is beautiful. Her mother responds, "You, of course!" The author follows the story with a personal experience with her own mother. This is a MUST read aloud for all children. The book will enable you to have a rich, memorable discussion about what is beautiful in a world filled with bad news. You will not be disappointed with this beautiful story!

I love the illustrations in Something Beautiful because it shows how the girl feels. My favorite part is when she goes looking for something beautiful. Then she finds out that she is beautiful. The illustrations are bright and colorful.

I think Something Beautiful was excellent because of Chris Soenpiet's illustrations. I think they were wonderful, marvelous, and interesting. My favorite part was when the little girl found out she was something beautiful. I give this book 5 stars because of the way Chris drew the pictures. I recommend this book to kids of all ages. He made me feel like I was right in the little girl's neighborhood.

Sharon Dennis Wyeth's 1998 book "Something Beautiful" was inspired by her own memories of growing up in a place which was, perhaps, not as beautiful as she would have liked. We follow an unnamed little girl through her neighborhood as she looks for something beautiful as a teacher has instructed her to do. What we see is litter, broken windows, scary graffiti, homeless people, and more. But the little girl manages to find out from everyone she asks what they find beautiful around them. She is variously given the examples of a fish sandwich, a jump rope, some apples at a fruit market, and even a smooth, heavy stone a neighbor carries for good luck. The best and most beautiful example, though, comes from the little girl's mother--and her reply ends the book on a lovely note.

Chris Soentpiet's watercolor illustrations are nothing short of remarkable. They are nearly photographic in their detail and lifelike aspect, and they give a visual rhythm to the text. He is to be commended for his ability to combine both an unflinching look at a downtrodden neighborhood and examples of how we all can find beauty everyday, if we look hard enough.

I Love this writer. There is nothing dated about these absorbing tales from one of the English language's greatest adventure writers, regardless of Hollywood's love of his fictative works; and regardless of the time and venue in which men were men and heroes were conquerers of the elements.: M. Gann's achievement has been to see himself, daringly or humbly pick his way up the ladder of seamanship, and evoke,with humour and narrative storytelling, among the fleet of all us fellow lovers of the sea and ships, delightful fascination for the vessels of a now-passing era.

I read as many sea and sailing stories as I can get my hands on. This is one of the best. Read the other rave reviews here of this book--they pretty much say it all.

I would just emphasize that this is one of the few contemporary sailing books that has a lot about sailing square rigged boats.

Also an interesting twist is that Gann's Albatros is the boat that Sheldon lost in White Squall.

Ernest Gann has written a memoir of what happens when you hear the Sirens singing and follow them. I loved this book as the sea-going counterpart to his marvelous memoir of flight, Fate Is the Hunter; there's the same wrily witty, compassionate observations on the vicissitudes of the sea and those who sail upon it, particularly himself, the same amused humility in the face of the perversities and miracles of chance, whether they be a failing engine at the height of a tempest, intransigent bureaucrats of the Panama Canal, a balsa raft costing less than sixteen dollars which can leave a scientifically designed catamaran in its wake, or a wild voice singing in the Greek Islands. Whether recounting desperation in a great storm off the Oregon coast, or the nostalgic reminiscenses of his earlier sailing boats and shipmates, or the languid monotony of a long tropical ocean passage, or the nature and the workings of what he terms the 'Dock Committee' (which has membership worldwide), even the time he was masterfully conned by a crafty old sailor on the wharves of New York, Gann maintains a close and humorously affectionate eye on the sometimes clear, sometimes problematical, but always interesting relationships between the mundane acts of everyday and the greater universe which lurks behind every common act and thought.

Above all, there is in Sirens, as in all his books whether fic or nonfic, a love of the sea, of boats, of living fully in and of the world and of us frail, fallible and funny humans in it. In Fate Is the Hunter, it is the world of the air and those who fly; in Song of the Sirens, the sea. A wonderful read.

I've read several book by Ernie Gann and being a pilot I was in awe of Mr. Gann's story telling ability in "Fate is the Hunter" and thought this is surely the best autobiography ever written. Now having read "Song of Sirens" I have to re-evaluate this opinion. It makes you want to run out and buy a boat!

Ernest K. Gann is, quite simply, a great writer. In Song of the Sirens he writes about his adventures aboard the many ships he has owned. His writing skill takes the reader, even a landlubber like me, along with him to experience what it is like to ride out a storm 50 miles off the coast of Oregon in a fishing trawler or to sail across the Atlantic Ocean with an old, rusty, leaky training boat with a suspect engine. The book is slanted more for the boating afficionado. While he does explain some of the technical terms, a lot of them are obviously for someone who knows sailboats. There are no pictures, either. Pictures of the ships (not boats because, as he explains in the book, a boat is carried by a ship)would have been helpful. All in all, though, this book will greatly appeal to Ernest K. Gann fans, those who enjoy adventure stories, and those who enjoy sailing stories.

My mom and I have truly enjoyed the Dr. Cheney Duvall, MD series. Gilbert & Lynn Morris are excellent writers. I started reading the series first. Then my mom started and she also couldn't put them down. The father/daughter team takes mystery and Christian fiction and puts the two together perfectly. We have already read the first book in The Inheritance series. I have already read the second book the The Inheritance series (I read it in 2 1/2 days, I couldn't put it down). I am now ready for book three to come in the summer of 2005. I would greatly recommend this series to anyone who likes Christian fiction and mystery!

I'll admit I was skeptical at first. While I read Christian fiction all the time and enjoy it, I'd never read a Christian historical fiction book that I really liked. My cousin highly recommended these books, so I thought I would give the first one a try. Of course I became hooked almost right away.

I liked the premise before I even started to read the book. A female doctor in the 1860's? Great premise! The book met and exceded any expectations I had for such a premise. As Dr. Cheney Duvall and her nurse, Shiloh Irons, travel from New York to Seattle with Asa Mercer and his hundred belles, they face danger and disease, along with more common shipboard problems. I was so disappointed when I finished this book, simply because I didn't have the next book in the series (Shadow of the Mountains) along, so I had to wait to start it.

Lynn and Gilbert Morris make a fantastic writing team. The plot is swift and intriguing. The characters are well fleshed-out and believeably, delightfully human. The dialogue is fun to read. All in all, this is a wonderfully well done book. Needless to say, not only do I love this book, but I love the others in the series that I have read so far. I definitely recommend this, even if you don't think Christian historical fiction is your thing.

This if one of my favorit books! I love the way the authers use details and facts. The story captures you, you'r filled with cheneys emotions and you can feel what she is feeling. This book is truley an insperation. I love this hole series, each book is even better than the last.

The Stars for a Light by Lynn and Gilbert Morris is the first book of the Cheney Duval, M.D. series which consists of 8 books and a subsequent series called the Inheritance. So far, that contains only 1 book.

Overall, this is a nice, entertaining book. The series is fun, too, although sometimes the adventures seem rather unrealistic. However, there are adventures, and they are exciting. This book/series has that, plus mystery and romance. I'm not a big fan of christian literature, but I did like these books. I reccomend it for people who like christian fiction or historical fiction.

The Stars for a Light tells the story of Cheney Duvall, a lady physician who struggles to become accepted in an all-male medical world. Other physcians look down on her, and patients don't trust a woman to doctor them. As a last resort, Cheney gets a job escorting/doctoring a group of women traveling by ship to California in order to add more women to the western population. Cheney brings along a nurse, who was reccomended by a friend. Mr. Shiloh Irons. He's an orphan, with his name coming from the crate marked Shiloh Ironworks in which he was found.

This unlikely pair (a female doctor and male nurse) travel to California with plenty of adventures to keep them busy, including Shiloh's hobby/second job of fighting, fires on board the ship, disease, and other excitements.

It is a good book. The characters are likeable and realistic, with their own particular traits. The dialogue is fun and the characters seem to work well with one another. It's well written and original, showing character development aplenty during the series. If you start on this, read it all. By the fourth book, you'll be hooked. I was.

I read this book years ago and am currently reading the followup series, Cheney and Shiloh: The Inheritance. Personally, I enjoyed this series (and still do) about the same time I was fascinated with Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman. Apparently I enjoy women doctors in the 19th century...??? Anyhow, this is a wonderful series, not only exceptionally stating the strength of a woman, but Godly views and relationships as well. Read this SERIES and you won't be sorry, I promise!

I love this book . It is awsome . In the begining it is just a little bit slow but stick with it it is very very worth it !!!!
I would recomed this book for ages 11 and up . It is the best book ever . If you are considering buying it , Please do .

Nothing really bad happened to the kids in this book. Widow Chase was almost too nice to them, and she let them live in her house. And the girl's little brother hardly got into any trouble, and was hardly ever a problem. Better for younger readers.

On the surface, Stopping to Home seems simple. Two children who have lost their family find a new one. But they do so within the confines of an 1806 Maine seacoast community, and ten months in which they, and the reader, experience life in early 19th century Maine. The heroine, Abbie, is strong and resourceful, and her brother Seth is a delight. Highly recommended.

I'm a lot older than 12, but I loved this book, and shared it with several friends who grew up in Maine, as well as with my grandchildren. The story is moving and credible and has more complexity than meets the eye ... but the beauty is in the background details about early nineteenth century Maine. Layering pine boughs around houses in fall to protect against snows ... high church pews that keep out drafts ... cooking fiddleheads and dandelions in the spring .... I loved this book, and so did my three grandchildren. Although they were amazed at what children of 4 and 11 were expected to do in those days! It inspired some interesting talks about the past. Definitely recommend this book.

Abbie & Seth Chambers are memorable characters who I really enjoyed reading about. They live in a world far from today's, but cope with problems (like figuring out their own futures,) that kids today also struggle with. I've recommended Stopping to Home to lots of my friends!

This is the best book ever written, in the area of Chinese ancient Daoist alchemic practices. And I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to advance further in internal alchemy. I have been reading and re-reading this book for over 20 years, and everytime I open it, there are still bits and pieces of information, that is still helpfull in my cultivation. For the price, I would say this book is a gift, "really,"

I just want to say that I don't agree that this book isn't for beginners. I started practicing the meditation techniques taught in this book when I was seventeen and the only experience I had prior to that was a little bit of mantra meditation. I had great success! I got as far as feeling vibrations along the 8 channels and having wind pass through my ears. Very highly recommended.

Many years before almost any Taoist Yoga, Chi Gung books were available. Long before Mantak Chia great works that break it down in physical simple terms and Dr. Yang's Hallmark extremely detailed must read The Root of Chinese Qigong; this was the only book out there.
It allowed me to get started years ahead of what I would have been able to do otherwise.
This book is a must read because it was the first out there and gives some detail that is availble no where else.
The descriptions used here help much with being able to imagine, then really feel and subsequently control and manipulate "vital breath" (a form a chi energy) to eventually open psychic centers and transform jing to higher forms of chi (shen), and thus nourishing and evolving those centers.

Highly recomended for sincere practitioners with a meditative understanding.

Read the Preface first, and pay particular attention to the first chapter. While not said in these words, what is unusual about this practice teaching is that it starts off with emphasizing a degree of stability in non-dual awareness (ch1) and emphasies its importance for any hope of success. This is what is lacking in so many watered down teachings, with people spinning around in the practices for years with little solid benefit from a higher viewpoint.

The english translation is not the most fluent, and terms such as 'the need to not be mindful of the process is absolutley necessary for success', is spot on in its original intent, but lost a bit in translation. In this instance what is refered to is an anchoring beyond the thinking mind and its ambitions, limited conceptualizations, which crowds the space so that the underlying light is not noticed and cultivated. It does not refer to an abandonment of awareness, rather a deepening of it.
There are a number of simular areas in the book, including things like a disaste for sexual relationships, etc; but if you get past the immeadiate words and undertand the essence of what is being said in the containement and how the underlying flows are qualified (or more so are not qualified into a dualistic energy), then this is the original true meaning.

While the feminine side is an inherent aspect of the internal landscape for anyone proceeding with this practice, nevertheless this book gives it no outward attention and its male mode of presentation might be a little difficult for female practitioners to sort through and integrate the teaching in a way meaningful for them.

The above comments are not meant to discourage anyone who loves meditative practice away from this book. It is truly one of the best and most rare books in a caliber far above most of what is offered.

Earlier I read another book by Charles Luk which was on Master Hsu Yun's discourses and Dharma words and the Diamond Sutra, called "Chan and Zen Teachings, 1st Series". Reading the words of Master Hsu Yun was enlightening and motivating, so I was curious to read another book of Luk's- Taoist Yoga. I was not disappointed.

This book gives all the basic information you might be curious about when it comes to Taoist alchemy and immortality. It gives instructions on Taoist methods aimed at improving health, rejuvenating the body, and even the ultimate aim of creating an "indestructible diamond-body". The ancient wisdom presented in this book is really impressive. If practiced, the methods taught in it can be very beneficial to any yoga practitioner.

This novel, written by Merce Rodoreda during her exile from Spain and well after the Spanish Civil War, describes the life of a woman who grows from young adulthood through middle age during political upheaval. She could have described war, or poverty, or death, or fear, and appealed solely to sentiment but she does not. This novel is rich and complex, appealing to both sense and sensation. Her protagonist, Quimet, is usually sympathetic but sometimes not, as most human beings are.

While the Spanish Civil War is the setting for this novel, Rodoreda writes outside the lines and makes a book which describes this specific place and anyplace. To give context to other reviewers' displeasure with the translated title of La Placa del Diamante, Franco forbid Catalans, the residents of Barcelona and Merce Rodoreda among them, to speak their own language. Language is primary to Catalans and Rodoreda was a Catalan writer despite Franco.

Rodoreda writes tangible descritions of poverty and unhappiness, sliding back and forth from the concrete outside world and the narrator's sometimes dreamy interior world. The shifts in description themselves describe how Quimet's consciousness is altered by poverty, by hunger, by death and by redemption.

This is an excellent and thoughtful novel, and a pleasure to read.

This is an amazingly powerful book. It is narrated by a young girl in Spain just before, during, and after the Spanish Civil War. The style is something like stream-of-consciousness. The narrator is niave and almost somewhat passive in her life. She describes herself as lacking the guidance of a mother, as her mother died, and in many ways lacking the love of her father, who, after her mother's death, remains mostly silent. For this reason, she is left to find her own way.

The book begins with Natalia's courtship by Quimet, her eventual husband. The entire episode is wonderfully wrought - Natalia is very naive and pretty much accepts whatever Quimet does (and he's not always the nicest guy).

Natalia lives through the war, and the book does an amazing job of conveying what we today would term "post-traumatic stress disorder." After starving and living in fear, Natalia is never really the same. But of course, like many, she doesn't understand what she feels and, in fact, makes no attempt to understand. And that is the power of book - it shows us what she feels, it is not explicit, it arouses the emotion and leaves you powerfully affected.

What a terrific story. Set during the turbulent years of the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship, of the 1930's and 40's, the novel traces the mediocre and often turbulent life of Natalia, nicknamed "Colometa", through difficult years of famine and depression, as a young mother and unskilled laborer in Catalonia.
We're not talking about an overtly political novel here: this is a story of the human condition, the suffering that any one of us endures at some point in our individual lives. The author scarcely mencions political struggle, nor does she take sides; the dominant theme here is the perpetual plight of a passive yet resiliant female who fights for survival in a brutal and depressed urban environment.
The first person narration creates a wonderful tone. The narrator is soulful, spontaneous, and often gutwrenching. Her language is extremely natural and authentic. The prose reads as if it were a transcription of someone's internal thought process: unpredictable yet familiar. The reader forms an intense emotional bond with the narrative voice that leads to an abundance of tear-jerking moments.
This is the kind of novel that you become attatched to, whether you are a casual reader or a literature scholar. I picked it up an couldn't put it down.
Lastly this novel represents a keen example of true minority struggle under the harsh conditions of a dictatorship. Its original language of publication, Catalan, was prohibited in 1939 by the Spanish government, and therefore, its mere existance is an act of rebellion.
Don't confuse this female story of survival with the sappy victimist writers of the Gloria Anzaldua type - "Colometa" is a real survivor, whose struggle inspires compassion and reflection.

Incredibly tender and sweet story. Beautifully written. I grew up in Gr?cia and reading the book brings me back there more directly than a charter flight (I've been living abroad for 11 years). It brings me back to Gr?cia to give "la Colometa" a big hug.

P.S.: it's shocking Amazon give the title in Spanish rather than the original title in Catalan- it makes as much sense as giving the title in Chinese.

In my opinion, this is one of the most tender and at the same time hard book written in the 20th century in Catalonia. It mixes love, passion, deep feelings among one of the most difficults times that we Catalans have lived and we still live: the represion in all senses of the Spanish Kingdom.

I would like to suggest to Amanzon, a shop that sells culture, to respect the Catalan culture and not to translate the Catalan book titles into Spanish. The title of this book is "La Plaça del Diamant" (Catalan) and not "La Plaza del Diamante" (Spanish) I am absolutly sure that Merce Rodoreda, a woman who lived the repression on the Spanish for writing, thinking and expressing herself as a Catalan, would appreciate a lot that you keep her titles as they are in bweten brackets: in Catalan.