Novels Books

Very good entry into the Captain Aubrey/Steven Maturin series wherein Aubrey loses his position in the navy, but gains personal fortune and fame.

Thirteenth in the series: The Thirteen-Gun Salute

The last few books in this series had gotten very complicated and very dark. This book hits a much-needed "reset" button. Captain Jack Aubrey, who in the last book was stripped of his rank and convicted of a crime he did not commit, blazes his way to exciting, glorious redemption. Doctor Stephen Maturin, while still flirting with disaster with his laudanum addiction, reconciles some of his personal problems and resolves a confusing, multi-book story arc with a bang.

The Letter of Marque is a fun and exciting read, though the story was not especially emotionally involving, so did not stick with me as much as thought it would. Great history and wit as we've come to expect from this author. On to the next book!

Reviewer: Liz Clare, co-author of the historical novel "To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark"

First, I must say that I do not like to race through these novels. Instead, I like to read them slowly and savor every page. That was hard to do this time because this was a real page turner, an excellent follow-up to the previous installment.

Once I had finished The Reverse of the Medal, I instantly began pouring over this one, and indeed it was uplifting. Any fan of these books will be very pleased with this episode.

However, what I like best about these novels is the friendship between the characters. It says alot about honor, devotion, and true friendship, which I believe is the finest element of this series. That quality is particularly apparent in this novel.

I don't have time for a long analysis, but these books are fantastic. I am on my second read-through of the series, and this time I am buying them as I read them. I have never been interested in the sea or ships or the military, (I used to wonder why anyone would have a painting of a ship in their house, waste of wall space), but now I have a whole new respect and admiration. Patrick O'Brien brings the English navy to life in a way that evokes feelings of pride, sympathy, horror, elation and pure heart-pounding anticipation. The contrast of the main characters, Aubrey and Maturin, is amusing sometimes, often heart-warming. The galaxy of supporting characters is rich with personalities and details. The only character I really don't like is Diana, but she does lend another facet to Stephen's persona. All in all, I highly recommend this series, they are the best historical novels I have ever read.

After being deprived of his rank as post captain in "The reverse of the medal" Aubrey starts a new career as a "letter of marque" (private man-of-war) is started in this book. It's the characteristic seal of the series, it's a story of efforts and success, it enforces you to have read "The reverse", and to continue with "The thirteen -gun salute". If it will be your first book in the series it won't be the last. Save you don`t like this kinda book, then better don`t step through its board, and keep away of such a seizing.

Read this book while its still available! Its language is so simple yet it touches you with a ferocity thats unthinkable!
I could relate to every charecter and that was the most freaky part!

The charecters in this book are rich and full of life. The plot is very engaging and what more can one say about a book thats so beautiful it makes you weep with joy!

Bravo Leavitt and the rest of you read it!

While not as good as his short stories, and awkward and somewhat amateurish in a few places, this is a good, strong first novel. Ideally I would give this one a 3.5, but since that's not an option, I'll err on the side of generosity. This novel explores coming out, family dynamics, and the selfish yuppie attitudes of the 80s.

This book was given to me by a co-worker who believed the subject matter and story would interest me. She was right. There are so many different issues dealt with in this book ranging from the struggle for sexual identity to the struggle of sharing it with you family.....to the ups and downs of living a life that is full of oppression and worry. There are many characters here with many different backgrounds. There is Phillip, the young gay man struggling to win acceptance from his mother. Elliott who fears commitment and leaves Phillip. Owen, Phillip's father who has to come to terms with his own sexual identity after years of marriage and living his life without being true to himself. Then there is Jerene who is basically disowned because of her homosexuality which is so common in this day and age and extremely sad. NO parent should ever do this to their child!!!!! UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is key! Jerene's new girlfriend Laura.....it is just a well written story on all levels.......my only complaint was the ending. There was no real closure. Other than that, I loved it!

Author David Leavit writes a brillant novel that I had a hard time putting down. While Phillip is confronting his changing relationship with his lover, Elliot, his father Owen is finally, confronting his homosexuality. Highly recommended. Each character is richly developed and textured, they feel like real people that you know. While the film is good, it uses London as a backdrop rather than the book's all-to-real-modern-urban life set in New York and in the transistion looses something.

I read this book for a class, and enjoyed it much more than I ever expected, especially in retrospect. I think it takes a little time to really get into, especially because Leavitt jumps back and forth between the three main characters and storylines, but once you get into the rhythm of the story, you are drawn in. Leavitt does a great character study of Owen, Rose, and Philip, and by the end of the novel, I felt like I knew them. Leavitt has an accessible wrting style, but the book itself is very literary and complex. For a first novel, especially, I think it's exceptional.

I loved the whole doctors without borders thing, the hot German aid worker, the sultry African United Nations spy, oh, my God, was Joseph hot or what? It was a constant tug of war for who I wanted Saffron, the main character, to end up with. And the whole LA thing was so funny, it made me see how we all take life too seriously sometimes. Highly entertaining and informative. It made me feel grateful for the life I have. Thanks

This is the only book I've chosen over sleep since the birth of my first child a year ago. It pulled me in from the first hysterical breastfeeding scene on page one all the way to the race to the death finish. The part about Africa was an unexpected thrill, giving this book something altogether new. I actually hid in the bathroom to finish it, I loved it so much. Can't wait for the next one.

Most "Mommy-lit" books these days are about women having to chose between work and motherhood, this one is not. This novel is about finding yourself through motherhood, which I thought was a great message. Saffron, the main character, never succumbs to being bullied about being a single-mom, a career-woman, about not fitting in. She rises above it. It's not only a fun read, it's got a very cool message for all of us women who feel different inside. Thanks!

I stumbled upon this book at the library, thought the story seemed interesting from the jacket summary. I am so glad I found this book! If this is considered chick lit, it definitely is a more sophisticated kind of chick lit. It deals with more serious issues such as war, poverty, Africa, etc. But you can still enjoy it as a chick lit novel ... meaning the politics of the issues I mentioned above do not swallow the story. It seems like the author may have used some of her own life experiences (London School of Economics references, etc.) which I always enjoy when an author does that ... makes the novel seem more real. This book is highly recommended by me. Read & enjoy!

After reading this book's more than favorable review in the Denver Post dated 6/19/05, I had to run out to buy it that very day! Upon delving in to the first chapter, I knew I would not be disappointed. Lennon has a unique ability to hook the reader by her funny and accurate insights into human nature. The story's heroine, Saffron, was someone I could relate to and identify with immediately. Although Saffron's story is adventurous and sometimes exotic, anyone who has ever been, or known, a new mother will have compassion for Saffron's real-life dilemma. Saffron's struggle with letting go of her independent, goal-driven past self and opening up to the boundless, albeit non-glamorous, love that she has for her new baby is a life experience that almost every new mother can relate to. Lennon will make you chuckle in recognition as Saffron goes through her transformation and experiences her new reality of changing dirty diapers and getting her baby to properly latch during nursing. Additionally, the contrast between Saffron's life as a war correspondent in the tumultuous political environment of Sierra Leone, with her new life as a single mother amongst the beauty-conscious and superficial mommies in Los Angeles is not only hilarious, but poignant. I was amazed at how Ms. Lennon was able to tell two stories simultaneously while keeping the reader equally involved in each and cognizant of the connection between the two. I especially loved the ending, and was rooting for Saffron all the way as she evolved into someone she didn't know was there, bringing along her flaws of course! This book is definitely a page-turner and will keep you wanting more from this talented new author. I can't wait to see what Lennon has up her sleeve next!

When I first started this series, I was a little dissapointed. Not only was the dialogue boring and a little tedius to get through, but the characters weren't that likable from the start. BUT, as the book progressed, their were a few more things to keep it interesting. The end of the books was ok, a little abrubt. But, I can't say anything about it without giving away some of the story, so I will let the readers decide.

If 1)You are a fan of Dragonlance, 2) You are a fan of Mages in Dragonlance, then you should get this book. It takes place nearly 300 years after the Cataclysm, and really gives insight into the magical side of Krynn.

This is a great book, depicting the attempts of a young man, one Guerrand DiThon, who wishes to become a mage, despite the orders of his older brother, Cormac, and Cormac's influential wife.

But when a mysterious man wearing red robes named Belieze rolls into town and gives Guerrand a magical piece of glass that allows him to see to far places, he and his familiar, a seagull named Zagarus, both set out to the Tower of High Sorcery in Wayrenth to study the arts of magic and, perhaps, even take the Test and become a legend.

Studying under Justarius, Guerrand soon learns of a scheme that would undo the whole of Krynn. Belieze plans to enter the magical Citadel where all the knowledge of magic is stored!

Will Lyim, Guerrand's friend and Belieze's apprentice, fall victim to the evil mage's intentions? Or will Guerrand find himself in an inevitable struggle with the Master of the Red Robes? This awry tale will take you on a trip to Nuitari and back, so hold onto your hats and let Mary Kirchoff, the author of Wanderlust and Kendermore, sweep you away to a land known as Krynn.

I am in the process of reading this novel (half way done) and I came upon some ironic information. For any fan that read and enjoyed THE OATH AND THE MEASURE, I would strongly urgue you to buy NIGHT OF THE EYE. The two books both mention a 5 year period on which magic is at its peak. And while the plot of these books are different, it makes you kinda wonder about the timing of these novels. Both THE OATH AND THE MEASURE and NIGHT OF THE EYE are excellent novels to read at anytime.

I liked this book a lot, since I'm a mage fan and this book is completly about mages. The author developed the charactors well, like Rand's terrible, (but rather funny) family. The climax was very good, it had me on the edge of my seat. Read the other two books too!

JUST BECAUSE I'M A KID DOESN'T MEAN THIS BOOK STINKS!!!!!!!!! :-) Have a nice day.

I think of myself as a fairly avid fan of Dragonlance. And there are a couple of elements about the series that i like; like the fact that the some, 90+ books that have been written about the world of Krynn are, well, just that, about Krynn. What I mean is that the saga, once you're into it and familiar with the history, geography, etc, you can read a new story and things make sense. Another element that I like about the Dragonlance saga is the fantastic element (ie, dragons, chivalry of knights, and MAGIC). I like that fact that this book reassures me in both of those elements. The setting starts the book around the time slightly before the War of the Lance and the Companions, in a not-so-well known part of Krynn. And since the entire book is about magic and the study of it, it gives a very good look behind the every-day workings of magic, and insight into how and exactly what magic skills mean. Magic has always been such an elusive force in the Dragonlance world, where all they talk about is uttering of words and vague things like, "concentration" and "feeling of magic inside". This book really helps to change that.

This book was an excellent read for magic-lovers like myself, and had most of the elements that make a good Dragonlance book, like a good plot, a love interest, and and a well-developed, main character. If you like magic/Dragonlance/a good read, get this book. It may not be one of the VERY BEST DL books I've read, but it's still well worth the time, especially if you're a DL fan.

In fact, my only problem with this book was one aspect of the ending (if you haven't read the book, you may want to look away now...); Guerrand's sister is not addressed in the ending... She was perhaps my favorite character(i think it was because she seemed like such a helpless caged bird that tried so hard, and i'm really taken in for those "romantic"-type characters) in the book, and everything wraps up nicely except her... what happens to her? Why didn't she find out where Guerrand lived and ran away from home to Palanthas? Why didn't she just run away to begin with?? I know that the second book continues the story, so I'm hoping for the best....

I read this book because it was a book club choice. I don't know what I was expecting however the first line of the book totally turned me off. I thought, "Why are we picking such bad books to read?" (the last few book club selections have not been very well received) However I kept on reading and was so glad I did. Throughout the book I kept thinking I really don't like this book, but I couldn't put it down. I found myself bringing it with me while I was doing errands in hopes I would get a few moments to read a little more. The writing is compelling, if not a tad transparent. I was able to guess what was happening as I was reading along. Except for the ending. The ending is a twist I never expected and was chillingly well done.

This is a book I would have never read if I had not been in my book club but I am so glad I did. It is a well written mystery/love story/western type book that is vibrant and dark at the same time.

In our book club we rate our books from 1 - 5 (5 being the best). The book received an average 4.8 - the highest of any book we have read in a very long time. I would highly recommend reading it and it makes a most excellent book club read. Our discussion about the book was one of the best we have had, with many different opinions and observations being shared.

I am stunned by all of the wonderful reviews for this book. I thought it was by far, the worst book I have read since high school. It could not have moved any slower. The thing I did like about it was the ending and things turn around to get you. Just so much of it was completely out of left field. Boring! Boring! Boring!

This is an unbelievably wonderful novel to sink your teeth into. A page turner of high literary merit, accessible and intelligent. Fabulous craft and language, a most diabolical villain who drives even saints to wish him ill.

Yes he is intelligent, arrogant, rough, caustic, poisonous, and evil, all to hide one tiny chink in his armor that nonetheless, one person manages to find.

Read this book! My one regret is that Thomas Savage doesn't know how popular he is today.

The afterword by Annie Proulx reveals even more about Savage's motivation for the novel, and provides an extra ounce of satisfaction to to novel's end.

Read this novel as slowly as you possibly can, for every paragraph is painted with no fewer than two rich coats of molasses-thick paint, and sometimes silver paint in one layer reflects off of another.

Hunted by a dog, chasing prey as a dog, or dog pursuing dog?

Savage leaves nothing to chance, for this novel will speak to all three.


Skip the after-word, initially.

A completely unexpected and disturbingly powerful character study of a small group of characters in the West, circa 1940s. The prose here is incredible, and the plot unfolds slowly and myteriously. Palpable tension-- the author knew precisely what he woas doing-- with an ending I truly didn't see coming. One of the most remarkable books I've ever read.

My Aunt, who is now 86, read this book in England, when she was much younger. She mentioned it to me, as I use the Web, and I purchased it for her. She has told me that she very much enjoyed reading it again. She also said she had watched a BBC TV series on the same book, but I can't find it for her. Can you?
Yours sincerely,
Peter E Bradley

My friend Mary Sue sent me Precious Bane when I was very ill, hoping it would get me reading again. She was right.

The time of the tale is not clear. It was written in 1926 but has a Hardy-like tone which would place it in the mid-to-late 19th century. The location is Shropshire, England. You can reference a Shropshire word list on the Internet, but after a while I preferred to let the dialect flow over me and learn some of the meanngs the way we first learn a language.

The premise is that it is customary in Shropshire to hire a sin-eater, usually someone poor, when someone dies, who will take over the sins of the dead person. The Sarn family is too poor even to do this when the father dies, so the son, Gideon, offers to be the sin-eater in return for taking ownership of the family farm. He works the farm with his sister Prue.

The second plot is a love story. Prue is a woman with a hare lip, a beautiful body and character above reproach, who is struck by lightning with love when she first sees Kester, an itinerant weaver.

Other scenes of interest take place during market which introduce various characters, reveal through gossip the attitudes about them and explain customs.

I read that Precious Bane is tobacco, but it seemed rather to refer to foxglove, which takes an important turn in the plot.

The writing is excellent. The characters are true. Some readers compared this book to Cold Comfort Farm. I have read Cold Comfort Farm, and although I enjoyed it didn't find it to be similar, as the heroine is a flapper in the 20's.

The only thing that might have perfected the book would be to liken Gideon's sins specifically(he had many) to the sins of his father, which she didn't do. The lack of detail didn't seem to detract much, as the point was explained at the beginning.



Thank you, Mary Sue.

This is one of those rare stories that seeps into your soul and leaves a lasting impression. The language itself, while a bit difficult at first becomes a song you want to sing and long to hear it spoken. The story, sometimes achingly sad and violent is ultimately triumphantly romantic - with a sequence of events that leaves the reader breathless and yearning for more. Shortly after reading Precious Bane, I was lucky enough to discover a small theatre group in Chicago performing the stage version. My husband and I were in a packed theatre of about 30 people, where I sat front and center with the actors not more than two feet in front of me. Knowing the story line as I did, I made a spectacle of myself sobbing through the second half of the play. I'm sure the actors were gratified that they had such a strong effect on their audience. Suffice it to say, no one who picks up this book will be disappointed, nor will they ever forget it.

The story is this: A young woman, Prudence Sarn, is born with a harelip, which makes her subject to superstition and ridicule from the small-minded country folk who surround her in early 20th-centry Shropshire, England. Because of her deformity, Prue is told again and again that she will never marry; her brother, Gideon, more or less conscripts Prue into serving him on the family farm, telling her that if she follows his plan that she will at least have money and respectability someday. Prue follows along with this plan, envisioning the day that she will have enough money to make herself "beautiful as a fairy" - a dream that takes on concentrated exigency in Prue's mind when she falls in love with the handsome weaver Kester Woodseaves. Prue thinks that no man could ever love her as she is, "cursed and hare-shotten," and when one tragedy after another strikes the Sarns, she wonders if true happiness will ever touch her life.

It's rare that a book moves me to tears, but in the course of reading this novel I grew so attached to Prue that I felt as if she were speaking to me as a sister. The delicate, simple distinctions of this story ring true in every word; it was as though the secrets, disappointments, and beauties of the English country were visible in the spaces between words on the page. At first the language, written in vernacular of the time, was hard to read, but once I grew accustomed to it I was transported to a remote and seemingly miraculous place where Prue discovered and treasured profound beauty in unlikely places. The same can be said of discovering Prue herself, whose compassion, wit, love, and faithfulness shine in everything she does. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone - it is undoubtedly a story about love, but not in the conventional rom-com or Harlequin-paperback way that's so prevalent nowadays. This is a story about strength of spirit, about unconditional goodness in the face of cruelty, mockery, and calamity. If that's not a real "love story," I don't know what is.

This is an amazing book which should be read by all those who enjoy British literature. It is a touching, romantic story. The writing is sensual in that there are sounds, smells, sights, tastes and textures to be experienced in its textual descriptions. The natural setting almost becomes a "character" in and of itself because you could not take the story out of the beautiful, natural, country setting Webb creates.
Look at other reviews to understand the plot. However, it truly doesn't make sense to try to recount it. Be patient when waiting for the "hook", when you won't be able to put the book down, it will come. Also, allow yourself a bit of time to learn to read and hear in your mind the syntax and sound of the words. Mary Webb takes you to a different place and time and you come to understand what it would be like for a young woman with intelligence, family devotion, character and longings who happened to be born with an external defect.
May this book become one of your favorites as it has become one of mine. (If anyone knows how I might obtain a video/DVD of the Masterpiece Theatre version with Janet McTeer and Clive Owen, please let me know.)

Maybe to that limited set of writers who thinak they are the Homers of today.

But a great american novel would be read by many people with differing levels of appreciation and determined to refelct the CURRENT and essence of America (oh what about south america) not just the mythical past.

THe words may flow as a poem, and cover or expound cleary or lyrically the points of life in this country but that alone does not make it a great story. Or a timeless one.

In preface to my review, I have to say that my favorite writers are Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henry Miller, Hermann Hesse, Heinrich Boll, Arthur Rimbaud, etc.
Many of the reviews here have bandied about the name of Thomas Wolfe (whose "Look Homeward, Angel" was brilliant); and the comparison is richly deserved; but the most insightful comparison came from the person who said it reminded him of an American version of Tolstoy's "War and Peace".
I've actually read "War and Peace". Lockridge's "Raintree County" rises to that level--and, in my estimation--surpasses it. I love the Russians--Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev. And I love Walt Whitman and Ross Lockridge for the same reason. They all have what the Spanish call "duende," what the American blacks clamor to express by the word "soul". These aren't weak, spineless, effete Victorians afraid of beauty, passion, shame and awkward emotions.
They cast light into the dark corners of the human soul and throw open man's collective experience for all to see--something rarely achieved in typically dryer Anglo-Saxon literature.
Ross Lockridge's "Raintree County" astounded me. It left me wondering how this great American genius has been ignored, neglected. The only thing I can think of is that Lockridge makes the fatal mistake of being honest, of writing too accurately about the time-period, of not lying and indulging in historical revisionism. As a result, spineless readers wince when the "N" word is used, or terms like "pickannies," "darkies" or various other period vulgarities are employed by despised side-characters.
For this reason geniuses like Booth Tarkington are banned and suppressed.
It's sad. They want to revise the past and make it "acceptable" for modern audiences. But if you sanitize, you gut, you neuter, you destroy the hard edges which give the time-period texture, verisimilitude. (I mean, if slaves were well-treated why did we fight the Civil War?) But modern hacks would have writers keep all profanities out of it, re-write it so that nothing crude or insensitive made its way in.
If you want lies, watch a Hollywood movie, read a trash novel; if you want genius, poetry, brilliant insights and literary talent, give "Raintree County" a try. Maybe, with enough of us protesting, the prude schoolmarms with tenure at universities will be nudged from their slumber and realize that they have neglected one of the titanic achievements of modern American literature.

Raintree County is the anatomy of a fall from Paradise-with all the Edenic metaphors placed in a fictional county in Indiana-and the process by which it is regained. The structure and scope of the book are extraordinary, a system of telling and suspension that turns one day into a hundred years, all hinged upon the American Civil War (and the allegorical death of the principal character). Like another great contemporary American novel, All The King's Men, Raintree County was built upon the wreckage of a failed epic prose poem. Also, like Robert Penn Warren's glittering classic, Ross Lockridge's best-selling masterpiece deals with a gifted primary character caught up in the vortex of human history (though Penn Warren was more interested in the problem of power than he was in the cataloging of the life of Huey Long).

Raintree County should be a standard of 20th Century American literature. It is perhaps the greatest novel ever written. I'm mystified as to why it doesn't make Random House's Top 100 Novels List. I think in all honesty that Raintree County is too straightforward, too compassionate, too wise, too loving, too optimistic, too gently humorous, and too accessible to please the moldy and myopic listmakers. Really "great" books, as everyone knows, are dry game puzzles, smug literary fogs, brutal crayon travelogues, or ancient misanthropic sphinxes that museum directors and tenured professors of the academies alike can dust off occasionally without fear of ever having to update their pamphlets.

The texture style and meter of this work is astoundingly lyrical yet clear. To wit: "The world is still full of divinity and strangeness, Mr. Shawnessy said. The scientist stops, where all men do, at the doors of birth and death. He knows no more than you and I why a seed remembers the oak of twenty million years ago, why dust acquires the form of a woman, why we behold the earth in space and time. He hasn't yet solved the secret of a single name upon the earth. We may pluck the nymph from the river, but we won't pluck the river from ourselves: this coiled divinity is still all murmurous and strange. There are sacred places everywhere. The world is still man's druid grove, where he wanders hunting for the Tree of Life."

As long as I have a mind, I won't forget this profound and wonderful book or the characters who inhabit it: Perfessor Stiles with his pince-nez and Malacca cane, the cigar-chewing bighearted phony senator from Indiana, Garwood Jones, sweet Nell Gaither, the dark lost and deranged Susannah Drake. Carefully researched (it took seven years to write), it is also an excellent freshener on historical events of the nineteenth century, especially the Civil War. Contained within, for all you philosophiles, is the added bonus of cogent and detailed arguments for free will over predetermination, the triumph of spirit over matter, a solution to the riddle of the Many and the One, an explanation of the Word, and many more.

Born four years before J.D. Salinger, who still breathes at this writing, Ross Lockridge Jr. ended his life by carbon monoxide poisoning March 6th, 1948, two months after the publication of his one and only novel. He was thirty-three. He left behind a wife and four children. His second son, Larry, five years old at the time of his father's death, has written a book (Shade of the Raintree) attempting to explain what he calls "the greatest single mystery in American letters." He largely blames success in combination with a "biological (possibly genetic) predisposition to depression" along with "suicide-personality disorder (narcissistic)." It's easy to see why a John Kennedy O'Toole battering his manuscript (Confederacy of Dunces) against the unbreachable ramparts of Harcourt Brace and Get Lost, might do himself in (and then of course win a Pulitzer). But to receive a Harvard scholarship, publish an immediately successfully and lavishly acclaimed book which wins several major prizes including an MGM contract, and then to take your life as a proclaimed lover of life and a protector of four children, is a riddle beyond the ken of my meager imagination.

You may have once wandered through an art gallery and
while walking between images both beautiful and banal
happened upon a painting unlike few you have ever seen before.
It was found placed in a more remote part of the exhibit
and poorly lit thus causing you to give it a brief glimpse.
At first glance, the quaint simplicity caused you to smile yet upon
a second look you noticed the unmistakable quality, the rich
shadings, the subtleties, the emotion upon the faces of the characters,
and within a short time you realized that the artist had captured the
very essence of humanity. Shades of life both light and dark and all
the hues in between, this is what Ross Lockridge has placed upon his canvass for
posterity. This is Raintree County.

Raintree County; a mythical place, a gentle and beautiful tale of an
age and culture that has long since been harrowed under and paved over.
A verdant and pastoral county whose heart is found at the crossroads of
two dirt roads, whose inhabitants are poised at the intersection between a young
and thriving republic and greatest wrong every allowed to fester within
its expanding frontiers. The sunny days of community existence intertwined
with the political complexities surrounding the greatest rift ever to divide a
nation. A portrait of the land and its people in the midst of life and the
trials and tribulations of life's inescapable vicissitudes.

Within the covers of this book are found the joys of love upon the banks of
a river, the excitement and pride of a community during the celebration of
Independence day, the pungent smells and prolific yet depraved lifestyle during
the last days of antebellum New Orleans, and the songs of the slaves in their
agony, joy, and uncertainty. An epic, a day in the life of a ordinary man and
how he came full circle-if that is indeed possible. A reminder of the nation and
her people who were deeply shattered by the violence of a Civil War.

Within the prose are whispers of Plato, Poe, and Shakespeare. Characters
of well developed intellect and humor coexist amid the turgid and the
unlearned. At its core is love, insanity, birth, death, family, war,
and a river that courses through the county to both nourish the smiles and
drain the bitterness. Indeed perhaps the "Great American Classic," and a
sadly overlooked book. Lockridge is of the same ilk as Wolfe, Faulkner,
and Emerson. It has been said that each of us contains a book. To have this
as your only book is a majestic feat. Raintree County can be analyzed at many
philosophical levels and I am sure subsequent readings will reveal a multitude
of lessons. To me, my first time just staying at the surface brought me
the great joy that a masterfully written novel must impart.

I have positioned this book as "The" Great American novel - in reccomending it to a dozen friends. Only one has disagreed. Nuff said.

I find that the manga of this series is a lot more entertaining and a lot more interesting than the infamous anime. The first volume is actually cool because Utena hasn't come to the academy yet; she and a friend of hers figure out clues she's been sent over the years to find that her 'prince' is at the academy. You find out that she has an aunt she's been living with up to then and that she's not a complete orphan. Then of course she goes to the academy and is thrust into this very strange and seperate world of duelings and winning the Rose Bride as a prize as a step towards "revolutionizing the world." The drawing can be a little wierd, people's faces for exampe are very long and even the women can look a little "mannish." Utena and Anthy as prince and rose bride have a very cute relationship together and along with Chu-chu Anthy's best friend and pet monkey it's all very adorable. As I said though, I like this manga mostly because I can actually make some sense out of it and the mysterious plot lines, unlike the anime which had me banging my head on the wall.

Going on fromwhere the 2nd book leaves us off on:
IS TOUGA UTENA'S PRINCE?!!!
I'll give you guys just one little spoiler...he's not.
n this volume it basically talks about the Rose Bride and Utena's determination to go through any kind of challenge to see her prince. Deception and Manipulation. The question in this book is who's telling the truth. Most importantly, is Utena so desperate to find her prince that she'll belive just about anybody? We also find out more about Anthy and her brother. Including more in depth detail about World's End. Why the Dios has the power to revolutionize the world. And the most impotant part... Iwillnotspoilthestory Iwillnotspoilthestory..... OK I won't give you a spoiler but it deals about Anthy and her heart "belonging to no one."
AND WHO COULD FORGET THE COMIC RELIEF OF CHU CHU IN THE END?! ( Chu ) All in all this manga is just awsome.The artwork has gotten better and I rccommend it to all shojo or just any manga fan. GO AND BUY IT NOW!

This is a series like no other. Deeply symbolic, nearly every person, object, and incident means something else on a higher level in addition to the face value. The characters are not just human--they *represent* humanity, both good and bad. They highlight our weaknesses and emphasize our strengths. In this world, power means everything and concepts such as friendship, devotion, and love mean almost nothing. In the pursuit of power and prestige, families and friends are sacrificed for desires. And the life and happiness of one girl are bound to the power to change the world.

This is a controversial series dealing with life, death, change, love, betrayal, belief, truth, and more material concepts such as sex, attraction, and adventure. It messes with your reality, rights it, then scrambles it up again.

For those prudes and parents out there, be forewarned--this does contain incest (love between brother and sister), rape (can you call it that?--Anthy doesn't fight when it happens to her), and lesbianism. That's not to say that it is a bad series--just be warned that their are some controversial themes recurring in the story.

Read this manga or watch the TV show or watch the movie--you will never look at anime or manga the same way again!

I have seen the series in its entirety, and the movie, and I have seen the Japanese manga. Finally READING the manga is a treat.

Having seen the series and movie (I'm praying that they translate the movie manga!), I was prepared for the extremely controversial themes that make this a milestone in the history of anime and manga. There is incest, which is where a brother and sister are a little bit closer than need be; rape (I call it that since Anthy just accepts it as a part of her duties as the Rose Bride ;she's not unwilling, and she's not willing--she's just there)and lesbianism (those of you who have seen the movie know what I am talking about). Death is abstract here; I can't tell you anything more without spoiling some major details of the story. Reality is twisted, as evidenced by the Castle of Eternity, which floats upside down in the air above the dueling arena. Love and friendship come up very rarely, and usually only when dealing with Utena. Power is the ultimate prize--indeed, a girl's life has been sacrificed for the pursuit of power.

The characters play upon each other's emotions, hopes, dreams, insecurities, and fears. Utena fights to protect Anthy, but wavers when Touga implies that he may mean more to her than she thinks. Miki's insecurities and fear drive him to challenge Utena, while Juri's jealousy and hatred are what cause her to raise her sword. Saionji is obsessed, and in his slight insanity, loses reason.

You need to read this series, if only to see what everyone is talking about.

The 3rd volume of the RGU series has turned out to be the best thusfar... For those of you who were disappointed by the 2nd volume, be prepared for the trip of your life with this one. It. Is. Fantastic. You'll read it more than once, I can guarantee it.

The plot flushes away its fluffy-sweet, gaggingly-predictable overtones to reveal an underlying storyline that gets more dark, horrific, and complex with each passing page (while still keeping an innocent PG rating! Now that's talent!) You learn more about all of the character relationships (and I'm happy to say that Juri is less of a joykill in this one) including the practically unmentioned one between Anthy and her older brother, Akio (who you can't help but love.) Our favorite little Dios boy in the sky also makes a guest appearance, which always calls for extra brownie points, though most readers will get mixed signals about Touga and what his motives really are (I'm trying to avoid spoilers. Can you tell?) The whole story becomes an enigma!

Prepare to be drowned in symbolism and rich imagery--and watch out for that killer cliffhanger at the end. It'll leave you BEGGING for the release of the 4th volume! The artist, Ms. Saito's drawing technique has also changed vastly AND apparently...the images have improved so much that you'll feel HONORED to own a piece of her work! You'll definitely start to appreciate how truly talented and professional she is. Even if you've already seen the series and know the ending (which is going to be interestingly warped by the 5th volume anyway) you'll still get a kick out of this book and the memorable circumstance between Wakaba and Utena as it was meant to be. And, of course, there's a funny little bit about Chuchu at the end and character profiles (of Miki, Juri, and the members of Be-papas) scattered throughout the book.

It's a great buy. No regrets at all. Just mix the right amount of fantasy, romance, slapstick comedy, mystery, and plain old talent, and you'll get the miracle that is RGU 3: To Sprout. :D It's so cool. Really, it is.

I've been a fan of Sailor Moon since 7th grade and I've been trying to complete the manga collection for the past 5 years. The book I receieved was in superb condition and was sold at a wonderful price. Thanks to you I am one book away from having a complete collection!

Excellent! 10 out 10! The true story of Sailor Moon! If you're into Manga and Anime, I would recommend this manga 100%. Sailor moon is full or Romance, Adventure, Drama and More. If you like sailor moon you might also like Revolutionary girl Utena another Manga written by Naoko Takeuchi.

The last series of Sailor moon is the best. It tells more about the background of each character. And for once all the Sailor Scouts are gone. You finally get to see how Sailor Moon fights by herself! The book has beatiful artwork. Only it has terrible binding. The Sailor Moon Manga books always kinda fall apart. So be very careful with them! Get this book! You'll enjoy it and read it again and again.

This is probley the closest you could get to the 5th season if you don't get it. Now I know you can get it on e-bay, but I don't want to get it used{eventually}.
First chapter:
It is revealed that Chibi Chibi is a sailor scout.
The starlights talk about what happened in the past.
Sailor Galaxia attacks Bunny and Chibi Chibi.
Second chapter:
Bunny and Chibi Chibi survive the attack.
Eternal Sailor Moon, Sailor Chibi Chibi,Princess Kakyu, and the Sailor Starlights go to the Outer Senshi's planet in hopes of finding the outer senshi.
Third chapter:
The group travels to a river where the scouts memories are taken away.
Sailor Galaxia takes the salor starlights sailor crystals!!!
Rini's picture diary:
Hotaru and Rini goes to her friends store.
An evil ghost takes control of Hotaru.

First off, glamcabbit, Manga or books are not DUBBED, they are TRANSLATED!
Ok. Now that that is straight, this manga was really good. Ther artwork is great. The story is good, but it could be better. It just isn't as good as it used to be. Even Naoko herself said that she was sorry she was so kept up with the anime that she didn't really try to make the StarS series interesting (I think)
Anyone who can't have the Sailor Moon StarS anime should get this manga. It's not SO different from the anime, accept the Villians are SOOO much smarter.
This manga starts out with Sailor Moon fighting Kitty and the Sailor Starlights finally finding Princess Kakyu. Later on in the manga, Sailor Moon is left without Mars, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn, Neptune, or Uranus to help her. She then finds out the shocking truth. She is the target of Sailor Galaxia, the scout of destruction. Set upon rescuing her fellow Sailor Scout's Sailor Crystals, Eternal Sailor Moon goes to find Sailor Galaxia with Sailor Chibi Chibi (NOT SAILOR CHIBI CHIBI MOON! THAT'S ONLY IN THE ANIME!), Princess Kakyuu, and the Starlights. But Galaxia won't let Sailor Moon win that easily! Will Sailor Moon be able to get through all the obstacles in her path?
Unfortunately, this description might not be that good, considering I lost my StarS 2 manga in the Seattle Airport ! :'-(
Oh well. Hope I helped you!

PS Would actually be 4 1/2 stars, but I couldn't figure out how to do that! Anyone know?

This second installment was better than the first! There is always drama brewing at Bentley Manor. I felt for all the women. Especially Princess and Takiah. Did it have to end like that for Takiah?? that blew me away. and I never expected Woo Woo's secret. This was a page turner. Great book club discussion book. We're still talking about it!

Dawnny
Mahogany Book Club

meesha and de'nesha did the damn thing in the sequel to desperate hoodwives. part 2 finds us back in bentley manor where drama is no stranger. woowoo has finally made it of bently manor after getting married she's finally ready to leave the ghetto girl image behind but a dirty little secret keeps drawing her back in. miz cleo crack addicted grandaurgter tahkia shows up at her doorstep baby in hand on the run from her husband/pimp/dealer but what happends when the person you trust the most turns out to be the devil in disgise. princess is a young girl neglected by her mother the only good thing in her life is her best friend lucky when tragedy strikes leaving princes alone how much can one girl take before she reaches her breking point. keisha, smokey and shakespear are introduced in book 1 as the crack head, his wife, and his brothers keeper but what happeneds when love is loss and new love is found in the most unexpected place.

This book was amazing. I read this book within a few hours I just couldn't put it down..If you haven't read this book you need to get it asap...

Meesha and Denesha take us back to Bentley Manor with their second installment in the Hoodwives series. There's Princess, the neglected and tormented daughter of a woman, who is undeservingly called "Queen". Alone in this world, the only time she is at peace is when she's singing and writing in the confinement of her small, tattered bedroom, or in the company of her best friend, Lucky. Then there's Takiah, the drug-addicted/prostitute who returns to Bentley Manor with her baby after she escapes the wrath of her husband/pimp. She is then introduced to Pastor Myers, whom her grandmother feels can help deliver her from her self-destructive ways. Keyshia, a mother of 4, has been with her husband Smokey for 8 years. She and her kids are forced to live with the basic necessities because Smokey pawns anything that isn't nailed down. Good thing Smokey's brother, Shakespeare, is around to provide them with both moral and financial support. Woo Woo, no longer lives in Bentley Manor, but she can't stay away because she craves the hood, especially the hood boys. Although she is married to a dentist and has moved to the suburbs, she feels out of place. Miss Cleo and Miss Osceola return, still holding court in the hood, with their reliable Louisville Sluggers by their sides.

Shameless Hoodwives doesn't disappoint. It is filled with so many jaw-dropping twists and mind-boggling surprises. I really enjoyed reading about these ladies as they attempt to battle their way out of the projects. Also, keep your Kleenex near, because their pains and struggles will tug at your heart-strings. Although Desperate Hoodwives is my favorite of the two, Shameless is still a 5-star read. Kudos, Ms. Mink and Ms. Diamond, I look forward to reading The Hood Life in January!!

5 stars

Meesha Mink and De'Nesha Diamond have done it again. Shameless Hoodwives, the sequel to Desperate Hoodwives, gives readers more drama straight from the Bentley Manor housing project. As always, Miz Cleo and Miz Osceola are on the scene giving bird's-eye-views of the low-down dirt going on in the housing project. Then we have Keisha, the former drug-addicted mother of four, who is helping her husband overcome his own addiction demons. Alongside her is Shakespeare, her brother-in-law, who shows in more ways than one that he is his brother's keeper.

Next on deck is Princess, the 17 year-old neglected daughter of Queen. Through all of Precious' pain, she has one blessing that may very well get her up out of Bentley Manor; her voice. But how good is success when she has no one to share it with?

WooWoo, the sister of Lexi from Desperate Hoodwives, actually made it out of Bentley. Now married to a square and living as a suburban housewife, will she be able to stay away from the Manor when her heart is still deep in the projects with Hassan?

Last, and certainly not least, is Takiah who shows up on her grandmother's, Miz Cleo, doorstep with her infant daughter. On the run from her husband/pimp/pusher, Kameron, she faces her problems head on in the unlikeliest of places. Four women destined to make it out of Bentley Manor, but is there no place like home?

Mink and Diamond spiced it up a notch with this sequel. I was more shocked, with a purpose, and emotionally invested than I remember being in the first installment. It is a quick, entertaining, though dark, read that certainly did not succumb to the sophomore slump. The characters jumped from the page and I could not help but care for them; especially Princess. The third installment, The Hood Life, is due out in January 2009 and you better believe I will be in line for the madness. I recommend Shameless Hoodwives to readers who enjoy drama-filled reads with heart tugging plots. Bentley Manor fans will definitely enjoy this.

Reviewed by Darnetta Frazier
APOOO BookClub