Non-fiction Books

The first and one of the best in the series. The Cave of Time provides a keen sense of being in different worlds. The different passages from which to choose from succeed in keeping the reader in suspense. It's a shame that books like this that strike the imagination in young and old readers alike hardly get written anymore.

In 1979, Edward Packard, who is easily the best author of the entire gargantuan Choose-Your-Own-Adventure series, wrote and published this book, and with that one stroke he not only gave us all a classic adventure story but founded an entire new genre of fiction as well! The whole idea of the "interactive novel" did not even exist before the first Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, as far as I know. The instant the series became popular, almost thousands of imitators started up, most of which died while the series that was started by "The Cave of Time" just kept going and going, like the Energizer Bunny. Today, it is considered just part of a whole category of books. "The Cave of Time" itself is an imaginative story that takes its reader all through time, from the end of the entire universe to the days of Camelot and everything in between. The mechanism for the time travel is NOT the typical machine, but rather a system of tunnels that can transport you in different directions through time depending on which way the tunnel is heading. An original and intriguing idea. Since the early '90s, the CYOA series has sadly gone downhill, with practically all the books being about martial arts and sports--as if they suddenly think that little GIRLS never read their books! and the number of endings has shrunk and shrunk, until now it is often less than TEN per book! As a female who has been reading, collecting, and loving this series since she was 8, this is a major disappointment for me, and I'm sure it would be to anyone else out there who may remember the "good old days" of this series. But THIS book, with its subject matter that would appeal to ANYONE, both boys AND girls, and its whopping 40 endings, is the classic that started it all. This is the standard that interactive fiction for kids has been trying--and failing--to reach ever since. ...Notorious

I remember this gamebook series from childhood, though I was never particularly good at them. "The Cave of Time" starts out with the reader finding a cave and deciding whether or not to enter it. From there, the reader travels back in time to the Ice Age, colonial America, the Dark Ages--even traveling ahead in time. There is no one ending or quest to this book, so you're not in a mad dash to win. In fact, there is no "winning" in here, just 40 possible endings to certain situations--some good, some fatal. Younger readers who like gamebooks will probably like this book/series, though there's not a lot of action.

Its not really about anything you get to be the character in the book and you half to make the decions.It takes place in a cave in a castle a ranch and it was a long time ago alot of years ago .my favorite part of the book was when these two guards draged me out of the chamber and put two spears at my back and just about killed me.I dont no what kind of people would like this book but i do recomend it because its a short, easy, and fun book to read .

I've read this book many times and think it's one of the best Choose Your Own Adventure Books ever written.

Mr. Wissy Jones, from United Lymphomiloid, arrives in the New England town of Pequod on a corporate mission; he is to purchase children of exceptional intelligence. His matter-of-fact offer to buy Barry, a fat kid with a high IQ instigates a congressional inquiry.

Meanwhile, Jones skillfully garners support from every quarter in Pequod, from the pioneer-stock, six foot female principal of the elementary school and Barry's closest ally, to his own mother, a slatternly lower class housekeeper who's obviously the source of Barry's brains. Everyone has an opinion about Barry, usually not too good, ranging from jealousy, misunderstanding to just plain contempt (he's fat.) Meanwhile Barry and his street-wise blue collar friend seek to prevent his sale by a hilarious act of sexual misconduct.

What happens to the children purchased by U. Lymphomiloid is openly discussed by Wissy Jones during the trial. Yet despite the shocking revelation, Jones has manipulated the town to his side and even co-opts some surprising allies.

This isn't just an examination of an education system that strives to produce a bland mediocrity and mistrusts talent, it is the story of the intolerance of society for individuals and members of minority religions, race, anyone different than the mass average. There is a lot behind this readable book and it is fresher than every.

Discrimination is declining in modern western societies. After struggles, there are now laws against discrimination of sex, race and religion. In some places there already are laws against the discrimination of homosexuals, and before long there will be laws against the discrimination of age groups (especially elderly). You can be sure of that.

The Child Buyer is sketching the discrimination of people with extreem high IQ (HIQ's), something that isn't even an issue in real life (yet). Mediocracy rules the world.

The Child Buyer is a heart wrenching, but at times also hilarious, description of the trial in which must be decided if a HIQ young boy should be sold or not to a company, because that would be good for national security, even though the boy refuses to be merchandise. The book shows how the people of a small village abandon the boy in his lonely struggle, partly because they see him as uncomfortably different, partly because they think it's for his own good to be separated from the rest, and partly because it turns out to be in their own best financial interest if the cooperate...

Hersey has structured his book around the trial. It contains only the dialogue, that is recorded in the courtroom. This may seem odd in the beginning, and perhaps slowing things down a little when all the characters are introduced, but the author succeeds very well in showing the diffence in characters. And in exhibiting the gross stupidity of some of them, as well as the way people choose for there own wellfare, above anything else.

This book was way ahead of it's time, when it was published in 1960, and - unfortunatly - it still is.

I can highly recommend it.

Hersey was justly acclaimed for his fine journalist's eye that was so evident in his Hiroshima and A Bell for Adano. But his scathing social commentary of White Lotus and this book probably have not received the attention they deserve, perhaps because of the fantastic, science-fictional feel of their portrayed worlds.

Told strictly as the minutes of a state congressional hearing, this book details the events that follow when Mr. Wissy Jones, from United Lymphomiloid, arrives in the town of Peqoud and presents an offer to outright purchase an exceptional child, Barry Rudd, who is blessed with an extreme intelligence and a maturity beyond his years, for some unspecified project that will 'aid the national defense'.

As we proceed through the hearings, we are treated to some fine characterization of the witnesses, from the sharply opinionated and articulate principal of the school Barry attends to Barry's mumbling, street-wise but not too intelligent blue-collar friend. But the hearings also expose the first of Hersey's sharply satirical looks at our society as we see the conduct of the various senators running the hearing, obviously meant to remind the reader of the McCarthy hearings, with their forcible cutting off of any testimony that does not fit the pre-defined expectation of what the outcome of the hearing should be, denigration of witnesses' lifestyles, and panel members who clearly do not have the intelligence to even understand what testimony is given.

More horrifying, though, is the picture of the educational system presented, from the ivory-tower intellectual theories that have no relation to the classroom, to the constant attempts to make all students fit one pre-determined mold, to the administrative power struggles, to the bizarre web of psychological testing, to the clueless PTA, to the rigid and hypocritical moral code that schools use to bludgeon non-conforming students. Where in this morass is the place for the truly gifted child, or for that matter one who is intellectually challenged? Hersey's points strike like daggers, for even though this book was written more than forty years ago, our schools still have every problem that is shown here.

And what of the moral outrage that should adhere to the concept of selling a child? Once more, Hersey's pen is savage, showing how easily Barry's parents sell out for a few material goods, how the senators are converted by the mere statement that it's for the 'national defense', how the general township is so easily convinced to get rid of this 'different' kid, and, most poignantly, how even Barry, with full knowledge of what the program entails, reacts to the concept.

A very moralistic tale, told sharply and with defining moments of humanity, bringing a near surrealistic concept into the all-too-possible realm of reality.

Hersey hits hard (in a humorous way) in this mock-legislative hearing at educational failure to deal with gifted children and also at psychobable theories... not to mention legislative inquiries. A little dated, but still rings true. Very funny.

This is a biting satire of the educational system. A man (Wissey Jones) is being investigated for wanting to buy a child. He owns a company that, through drugs and surgery, turns kids into emotionless thinking machines. Local school officials are lampooned as they investigate Jones and his scheme. When the book was written (1960), American educators were in a frenzy over Sputnik and the thought that the Russians had gained the upper hand in the Space (read "Brain") Race, and more effort was needed to go into educating children. Hersey was questioning at what expense, and to what extreme, all this would go. (Ten years later, of course, and education was going in the opposite direction to a lessening of standards and rigor.) At times the book comes across as overly didactic, being told in the form of "Hearings." But overall it's an interesting story, well told.

Coming from South Africa I have been lucky enough to read all of this very gifted authors work in her native tongue but re reading circles in english just hit home once again how gripping her story telling is in any language. You feel the pain, the love, the hate all in one that the character has for the forest he was raised in. And the characters stay with you long after the book has been put down. If you liked this book trying reading Fielas child the only other book in english and if you understand afrikaans a must read is Toorbos (i think it was translated but not sure) the last book the author wrote about the Knysna forest before she died.

It is very rare to happen upon such a beautifully written story. It has such a bittersweet ending. It appears to be very historically accurate. I have already ordered Fiela's Child. It appears that that is the only other book from this gifted author available in English. You won't be disappointed and neither will the many friends that you pass the book on to.

A well wriiten account of life in the Indigenous Knysna forest of South Africa that made you not want to put the book down.

This is a wonderful and compelling story, beautifully written. Sympathetic characters, accurate historical information and context. Very moving. Difficult to put the book down.

I brought back two copies of this book from South Africa, and have urged it upon many friends. Everyone says it is one of the most beautiful pieces they have read in years. The reader becomes enmeshed in more "circles" than than you will ever know. You will understand more about elephants and people who love forest and animals than you ever thought possible.

I had read several of Alistair Maclean's novels, and had an 8 year break when I got a hold of this. This novel is a prime exhibit of why I enjoy him so much. A mystery, revealing tid-bits here and there, leaving you guessing who the good guys are and who are the bad guys.

If you want to be on the edge of your seat for a while, this book will do it.

To recommand for all readers to buy, read, and re-read for n number of times. fantastic book

There are lots of surprising twists in this story including a final surprise in the last sentence. MacLean did a very good job when he wrote this book.

I'm not a fan of the circus and I hate clowns. Being a MacLean fan, but with my current mentality, I figured he had finally run out of ideas (at this point in his life). But the cover of the 1975 Fawcett Crest edition (see "customer images" for the paperback edition) was intriguing: a man falling off a high-wire, the bicycle tumbling after him. Is someone killing off circus people? I had to read.

It turns out that the circus plays as a backdrop for a secret CIA mission. Believe it or not, but the agenda in this tale is about an incredible circus performer recruited by the CIA to break into a prison (that the circus "moves" next to) to steal -- as the back of the book explains -- "a formula capable of annihilating the earth itself." Sure enough, MacLean was like the Crichton of the 70s and managed to weave an entertaining yarn around the idea of anti-matter (certainly not new in 1975).

MacLean refrains from delving too deeply into describing anti-matter or how this formula will end up being used. His somewhat amusing approach to it takes place as a discussion between semi-ignorant CIA agents and Bruno, the acquired circus performer, all of whom are frightened by the power of anti-particles.

As the title may suggest, the book is a slight deviant from other MacLean adventure tales, but I rank it up there among his best works. The book is full of extremely original death scenes that, despite being accustomed to MacLean's formulas, took me completely by surprise. There are more twists in the last chapter than there are in some of his better books, and MacLean pulls it off realistically, and without creating a convoluted mess.

Keep an eye out for Carter. While no first name is ever given, he is the doppelganger cameo of Chief Officer John Carter of MacLean's "The Golden Rendezvous." (MacLean has done this with other characters throughout his novels.)

Another great MacLean classic. In this book the hero is an American athlete, an immigrant from eastern Europe. He is recruited by the CIA and is to undertake and unimaginable mission. He, of course, succeeds, but not without the extreme difficulties that macLean's heroes always face. The story twists are awesome and the ending is both expected and surprising. A great read.

The author, Pat Murphy has been one of my favorites for years. Lately I got to tracking down all that she has written and came upon this wonderful gem.
Other reviewers have reiterated the story for you - don't believe any of it until you have read it for yourself. The tease I will give you - I could not put it down.
I think it is the best book I have read in awhile (maybe 2 or 3 years) and I am an avid reader; at least a book a week sometimes a book a day. And I have read some good ones.
This book filled me with unaccountable glee and random bouts of laughing and crying. It was philosophically intellectual, artistically rendered in joy and hope, intertwined with magic and possibility. But mostly it is a story of the absolute reality of art and the responsibilities of artists; to change the world, make it over in the image that delights them the best, and nothing is ever the same afterwards. That is what this book did to me, and I am grateful.
But I am not selling my copy; it goes into the save forever to read over and over group.

I first stumbled upon this book some seven-odd years ago, when I was just moving into the beginnings of a proverbial intellectual 'awakening.' I spent perhaps four months tracking it down, as it was out of print and not carried at my library; read it at least a half-dozen times while it was in my posession, and only begrudgingly gave it up when the time was due (though it was rather tempting to keep and fess up the library fine).

In hindsight, this book is idealistic in nature: It is a peaceful, love-beaded dystopian novel with more than its share of hope. It tells the story of a community of citizens who have migrated to San Francisco, in an event to both continue with their crafts (There are painters, sculpters, just plain tinkerers). They also attempt to organise themselves against the "General," a militaristic dictator-esque figure moving across America.

This settlement comes in the wake of an outbreak of plague, as a result of an altruistic attempt to bring peace to the world, and to the United States.

Although a children's book, this novel still stands out in my mind as being one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Rarely do a book's details stay with one for the better part of ten years, in the clarity that this one has. Well-worth tracking down, or buying used.

This is a wonderful and refreshing subversion of the post apocalyptical tradition, for which David Brin's The Postman stands as a paradigm for. Though at times The Postman is spiritual, it does portray the issues of national reunification after a catastrophe as a given and the achievement of that reunification (or resistance to it) as inevitably violent.

Though Kim Stanley Robinson's Wild Shore critiques this patriotic urge deliciously, only Murphy has managed to outright attack it. There are no natural or artificial forces making survival a struggle in Murphy's post-civilised Utopia. Instead, the San Francisco of this unspecified future is alive and well - albeit very underpopulated - and is in fact flourishing after a plague has indiscriminately wiping out all but an anarchic cross-section of artists. Cries for `Progress' and `Order' are the exception, and the majority feel "disorder works just fine."

Through her characters, Murphy could be imagined to be having an argument with other speculative fiction writers: "It seems we have very basic disagreement ... You seem to think that joining together into a larger and more powerful nation is automatically good ... Personally, I've always thought that nations were tremendously overrated."

The City, Not Long After asks what we would become outside of civilisation, and what San Francisco would be without the U.S. It provides a lovely answer.

So there's this plague, see, that wipes out about 99.9 percent of the population. San Francisco is a big artist commune - one group paints the Golden Gate Bridge blue. An army decides to take over. The ensuing war is one of the oddest battles ever fought - soldiers, cut down by tranquilizers, have the word DEAD painted on their cheeks, and are warned via a letter that if they don't consider themselves hors-de-combat, they may very well die for real next time. Other soldiers are dived-bombed with water balloons full of jasmine perfume and LSD. Probably the lowest body count of any book featuring battle scenes. I read this book on a whim and fell madly in love with it. I have to reread it again soon.

I've read this book a number of times since I first discovered it a few years ago. The story & characters stay at the edge of my memory and as the details get blurry, I take it out & read it again. Pat Murphy's description of San Franscisco as the artists transform it, is so vivid that I can see their art and understand its impact. It's an entrancing book -- I wish it had a sequel.

Stuart Dybek is truly a gifted writer. But moving beyond my humble opinion, this unique collection of short stories shines. Dybek's prose is haunting, his language at times startling and spare, at others languid and nearly musical. His characters are alive and absolutely believable in their mistakes and victories. Each story stands as a reflection on everyday beauty; Dybek that takes time to notice the details other authors overlook or dismiss as mundane. In 'The Coast of Chicago' Stuart Dybek has managed to do something quite rare in the all-too self-conscious realm of short story writing-- create stories that are rich yet still real without trying too hard to be so. Allow yourself to get sucked up into the twisting paths of his Chicago-- it's a journey you won't regret.

Lovely stories that take place in the intersection of dream and waking life, stories you'll want to read again and again from one of the most original and lyrical writers working today.

You would have to search long and hard to find stories anywhere with this originality and beauty. They will stop you in your tracks. Dybek has staked out a territory purely his own, the lost and dispossessed of Polish Chicago. Chicago has proudly produced Dreiser, Norris, Algren, Levin, Bellow and Farrell--and now Dybek. His work is enduring, funny, incisive and unforgettable.

I have read all of Stuart Dybek's books and have even had the privilege of having lunch with him and discussing his works. Being of Polish descent, I have lived in the neighborhoods that he describes. All of his books accurately depict real Southside Chicago people and their histories, their hardships, their heartaches, their woes and their lifestyles. I read his stories and I am transported back 20 years to my childhood neighborhood. I am always overcome with a feeling of nostaglia after I finish one of his books.

It is only fitting that this collection of 14 short stories was chosen for the One Book - One Chicago program hosted by The Chicago Public Library this spring. What a better way to promote communal reading in Chicago than to sponsor a book about life in their own city. While reading each short story it is apparent that Stuart Dybek has an intimate knowledge of Chicago. He successfully uses his memories and fondness for the city from his childhood of growing up in the Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods during the mid-20th century. Each short story details with the passage of time and what it means to live in Chicago. A sense of place is an important factor running throughout each story and successfully unites each story into this collection. The story that resonates the most for me is "Chopin in Winter" about one boy who is immensely affected by an upstairs neighbor who plays the piano each night. The portrayal of the grandfather Dzia-Dzia and his relationship with the principle character are noteworthy and memorable. THE COAST OF CHICAGO is a wonderful collection of short stories that will remain in a special spot on my bookshelves for enjoyment for years to come. I love living in Chicago; and these stories resonated strongly with me. Highly recommended.

Leave it to Bernhard to come up with the ultimate writer's irony: failing to write the first sentence of his masterpiece, even after the most meticulous planning (as you'll see when you read the book), and naturally failing to write the book he intended, the writer ends up with a 150-page masterpiece about...failing to write the first sentence of his masterpiece.

I've read all of Bernhard's novels, and I always recommend this one to people unfamiliar with him. I've read it twice; it's short enough to be read in an afternoon, and the effect after reading it is, "I have to read this again!"

I like his other novels for other reasons, and will even concede that Concrete is probably his most masterful work that must have required immense concentration, but Concrete and Woodcutters are about his best for plain old grousing. His comments about his sister are particularly stinging, to say the least.

Reading Concrete, you feel that there is a kind of stillness of air that's hard to describe.

It's too bad that this book has apparently gone out of print again. Definitely check this one out if you see it somewhere.

Thomas Bernhard's "Concrete" is a concentrated, excessive and disturbing stream-of-consciousness monologue by Rudolf, a reclusive, wealthy Viennese music critic who lives alone in a large country house. Rudolf suffers from sarcoidosis, a disease not described in the narrative, which is characterized by inflammation of the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, and other tissues. Physically miserable and obsessively fearful of death, he also is a man paralyzed by his misanthropic, conflicted, exhaustingly relentless thoughts. Trapped in his own mind, Rudolf is a literary creation directly descended from Dostoyevsky, Kafka and Beckett.

Rudolf has been working for ten years on a biography of Mendelssohn, yet has failed to write even the first line of his work. "I had been planning it for ten years and had repeatedly failed to bring it to fruition, but now had resolved to begin writing it on the twenty-seventh of January at precisely four o'clock in the morning, after the departure of my sister." It is an intention to begin writing that recurs again and again throughout Rudolf's narrative, an intention to begin writing at a specific time in a specific location after the completion of specific preparatory tasks. And in each instance, Rudolf fails to begin, a sign of procrastination bred by obsession or of extreme writer's block or of extreme mental imbalance.

When Rudolf's sister leaves the house, he still cannot begin to write. Despite her departure, her aura remains: "Although she had gone, I still felt the presence of my sister in every part of the house. It would be impossible to imagine a person more hostile to anything intellectual than my sister. The very thought of her robs me of my capacity for any intellectual activity, and she has always stifled at birth any intellectual projects I have had . . . There's no defense against a person like my sister, who is at once so strong and so anti-intellectual; she comes and annihilates whatever has taken shape in one's mind as a result of exerting, indeed of over-exerting one's memory for months on end, whatever it is, even the most trifling sketch on the most trifling subject."

This theme, Rudolf's hatred for his older, worldly sister, runs throughout his narrative, the sister becoming one among many reasons (or excuses) for Rudolf's intellectual paralysis, his inability to write, even his inability to function in day-to-day life.

But it is not merely his sister that Rudolf despises. He also despises Vienna, the city where he once lived (and where his sister continues to live). "Vienna has become a proletarian city through and through, for which no decent person can have anything but scorn and contempt."

A complete recluse, his mental world bordering on solipsistic isolation, Rudolf no longer has any interest in social life of any kind. "To think that I once not only loved parties," he reflects, "but actually gave them and was capable of enjoying them!" Now he sees no reason or need for the company of others, for the people Rudolf spent years trying to "put right" but who only regarded him as a "fool" for his efforts. As Rudolf thinks, in a long, discursive interior response to his sister's claim that his desolate, morgue-like house, "is crying out for society":

"There comes a time when we actually think about these people, and then suddenly we hate them, and so we get rid of them, or they get rid of us; because we see them so clearly all at once, we have to withdraw from their company or they from ours. For years I believed that I couldn't be alone, that I needed all these people, but in fact I don't: I've got on perfectly well without them."

Rudolf is isolated in his own mind, a man who cannot accept the imperfections of others and of the world, but also cannot accept his own imperfections. And it is perhaps this, more than anything else, which explains his inability to get along in the world, his inability even to write the first sentence of his Mendelssohn biography. "Once, twenty-five years ago, I managed to complete something on Webern in Vienna, but as soon as I completed it I burned it, because it hadn't turned out properly." As Rudolf says, near the end of his short, but exhausting, narrative:

"I've actually been observing myself for years, if not for decades; my life now consists of self-observation and self-contemplation, which naturally leads to self-condemnation, self-rejection and self-mockery. For years I have lived in this state of self-condemnation, self-abnegation and self-mockery, in which ultimately I always have to take refuge in order to save myself."

"Concrete" leaves the reader exhausted from Rudolf's excessive and relentless narrative, giving truth to the remarkable power of Bernhard's literary imagination and narrative voice. It is a stunning literary achievement, perhaps the best work of one of Austria's greatest twentieth century authors.

"But naturally we do need someone, otherwise we inevitably become what I have become: tiresome, unbearable, sick - impossible, in the profoundest sense of the word. I always believed that I could get on with my intellectual work if only I were completely alone, with no one else around. This proved to be mistaken, but it is equally mistaken to say that we actually need someone. We need someone for our work, and we also need no one. Sometimes we need someone, sometimes no one, and sometimes we need someone and no one. In the last few days I have once more become aware of this totally absurd fact: we never know at any time whether we need someone or no one, or whether we need someone and at the same time no one, and because we never know what we really need we are unhappy, and hence unable to start on our intellectual work when we wish and when it seems right.
...
On the one hand we overrate other people, on the other we underrate them; and we constantly overrate and underrate ourselves; when we ought to overrate ourselves we underrate ourselves, and in the same way we underrate ourselves when we ought to overrate ourselves. And above all we always overrate whatever we plan to do, for, if the truth were known, every intellectual work, like every other work, is grossly overrated, and there is no intellectual work in this generally overrated world which could not be dispensed with, just as there is no person, and hence no intellect, which cannot be dispensed with in this world: everything could be dispensed with if only we had the strength and the courage."

"..., and even Schopenhauer was ruled in the end not by his head, but by his dog. This fact is more depressing than any other. Fundamentally it was not Schopenhauer's head that determined his thought, but Schopenhauer's dog. It was not the head that hated Schopenhauer's world, but Schopenhauer's dog. I don't have to be demented to assert that Schopenhauer had a dog on his shoulders and not a head."

"...my life now consists only of self-observation and self-contemplation, which naturally leads to self-condemnation, self-rejection and self-mockery. For years I have lived in this state of self-condemnation, self-abnegation and self-mockery, in which ultimately I always have to take refuge in order to save myself."

"It actually makes us ill if we always demand the highest standards, the most extraordinary, when all we find are the lowest, the most superficial, the most ordinary. It doesn't get us anywhere, except in the grave. We see decline where we expect improvement, we see hopelessness where we still have hope; that's out mistake, our misfortune. We always demand everything, when in the nature of things we should demand little, and that depresses us. We want to achieve everything, and we achieve nothing. And naturally we make the highest, the very highest demands of ourselves, completely leaving out of account human nature, which is after all not made to meet the highest demands. The world spirit, as it were, overestimates the human spirit."

etc., etc. ...

Thomas Bernhard's "Concrete" is a concentrated, excessive and disturbing stream-of-consciousness monologue by Rudolf, a reclusive, wealthy Viennese music critic who lives alone in a large country house. Rudolf suffers from sarcoidosis, a disease not described in the narrative, which is characterized by inflammation of the lymph nodes, lungs, liver, eyes, skin, and other tissues. Physically miserable and obsessively fearful of death, he also is a man paralyzed by his misanthropic, conflicted, exhaustingly relentless thoughts. Trapped in his own mind, Rudolf is a literary creation directly descended from Dostoyevsky, Kafka and Beckett.

Rudolf has been working for ten years on a biography of Mendelssohn, yet has failed to write even the first line of his work. "I had been planning it for ten years and had repeatedly failed to bring it to fruition, but now had resolved to begin writing it on the twenty-seventh of January at precisely four o'clock in the morning, after the departure of my sister." It is an intention to begin writing that recurs again and again throughout Rudolf's narrative, an intention to begin writing at a specific time in a specific location after the completion of specific preparatory tasks. And in each instance, Rudolf fails to begin, a sign of procrastination bred by obsession or of extreme writer's block or of extreme mental imbalance.

When Rudolf's sister leaves the house, he still cannot begin to write. Despite her departure, her aura remains: "Although she had gone, I still felt the presence of my sister in every part of the house. It would be impossible to imagine a person more hostile to anything intellectual than my sister. The very thought of her robs me of my capacity for any intellectual activity, and she has always stifled at birth any intellectual projects I have had . . . There's no defense against a person like my sister, who is at once so strong and so anti-intellectual; she comes and annihilates whatever has taken shape in one's mind as a result of exerting, indeed of over-exerting one's memory for months on end, whatever it is, even the most trifling sketch on the most trifling subject."

This theme, Rudolf's hatred for his older, worldly sister, runs throughout his narrative, the sister becoming one among many reasons (or excuses) for Rudolf's intellectual paralysis, his inability to write, even his inability to function in day-to-day life.

But it is not merely his sister that Rudolf despises. He also despises Vienna, the city where he once lived (and where his sister continues to live). "Vienna has become a proletarian city through and through, for which no decent person can have anything but scorn and contempt."

A complete recluse, his mental world bordering on solipsistic isolation, Rudolf no longer has any interest in social life of any kind. "To think that I once not only loved parties," he reflects, "but actually gave them and was capable of enjoying them!" Now he sees no reason or need for the company of others, for the people Rudolf spent years trying to "put right" but who only regarded him as a "fool" for his efforts. As Rudolf thinks, in a long, discursive interior response to his sister's claim that his desolate, morgue-like house, "is crying out for society":

"There comes a time when we actually think about these people, and then suddenly we hate them, and so we get rid of them, or they get rid of us; because we see them so clearly all at once, we have to withdraw from their company or they from ours. For years I believed that I couldn't be alone, that I needed all these people, but in fact I don't: I've got on perfectly well without them."

Rudolf is isolated in his own mind, a man who cannot accept the imperfections of others and of the world, but also cannot accept his own imperfections. And it is perhaps this, more than anything else, which explains his inability to get along in the world, his inability even to write the first sentence of his Mendelssohn biography. "Once, twenty-five years ago, I managed to complete something on Webern in Vienna, but as soon as I completed it I burned it, because it hadn't turned out properly." As Rudolf says, near the end of his short, but exhausting, narrative:

"I've actually been observing myself for years, if not for decades; my life now consists of self-observation and self-contemplation, which naturally leads to self-condemnation, self-rejection and self-mockery. For years I have lived in this state of self-condemnation, self-abnegation and self-mockery, in which ultimately I always have to take refuge in order to save myself."

"Concrete" leaves the reader exhausted from Rudolf's excessive and relentless narrative, giving truth to the remarkable power of Bernhard's literary imagination and narrative voice. It is a stunning literary achievement, perhaps the best work of one of Austria's greatest twentieth century authors.

A terminally ill writer has spent the last ten years trying to write the FIRST SENTENCE of his masterpiece, and, failing that, spends this book-length monologue venting his outrage at everything and everyone--including himself--he holds responsible for his plight. This is one of the best examples of the stream of consciousness technique I've ever come across; despite the absence of chapters or paragraph breaks, the prose is extremely readable. It's a bitterly funny book (the rant about how domesticated dogs are destroying the world is the most hilarious thing I've read in some time), but it's the genuinely unsettling finale that puts this book into the top tier of modern novels. An absolutely first-rate book; don't let Bernhard's reputation as a difficult "experimental" writer scare you away from it.

All I can say is WOW! As a gay man who is a former crystal meth user (I've been clean for 5 years now), this book is MY story, even though it's written by someone else. Terry educates and gives the reader a look into a subculture of the gay community few people are willing to even acknowledge exists.

At times I found the book very funny, the use of humor as a tool sheds some light into some very dark places, yet Terry's not afraid to talk about the harsh side of it all too. While some people may be shocked, this stuff happens, I know, and it's real stories like this that will help people realize the seriousness of this drug. I like that this book is non-judgemental and that the author is willing to accept his own responsibility regarding his own choices.

This is not an in-depth analysis of recovery with lots of statistics, it's almost like a theraputic day to day diary of the situations that occured in his life. He says himself that he wrote this book in the first 6 months of his recovery in order to have hope that he was going to get through it. It can take years to figure out why one does drugs, it's almost always about some deep pschological problem within the user and the author admits this. This book is educational and about letting go. He certainly achieved that, in my opinion.

He handles the sexual element with finesse and I would certainly not call this erotica. The sexual component needs to be discussed when studying crystal meth in the gay community, it is NOT the same type of addiction as meth use in the heterosexual community. I was impressed with the way Terry handled it. All I can say is that this is a ver well done story.

Dancing with TINA is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in personal memoirs, drug addiction, co-dependency, gay culture . . . in short, just about anyone with a healthy curiosity about what makes people "tick." Like "Smashed," a memoir about a young woman's alcohol abuse through her teens and young adulthood, it provides us insight into some of the root causes of drug use/abuse. You can be a normal, seemingly "healthy" individual able to hold down a job, have friends, balance your checkbook, etc., and still have internal, personal struggles that can throw you off-balance for a while. As someone who considered herself to be fairly sophisticated in the ways of the world, I was surprised to learn some things about a subset of gay culture that I didn't know before. I also recognize how dangerous meth can be, even for the casual user. Terry Oldes also does a wonderful job of balancing the darkness with humor, and his honesty about his experience and how he felt going through it is refreshing. I for one am glad he was able to pull himself out of the rabbit hole and wish him well.

Dancing With Tina gave me a glimpse into a world that I was completely unfamiliar in. The book gives an honest and thoughtful view of what happens in the drug and sex world, in this case a subset of gay culture. It isn't judgmental or condemning, but rather offers the reader information for that person to draw out their own opinions. The author is quite open about what lead him down this path and the events that occurred on his trip to self discovery. This book is definitely something all young people, straight or gay, should read. It shows the realistic side of using drugs without coming across as preachy. Quite often people think they can use drugs once or on an occasional basis and it won't impact their lives. However, the author shows that it does have an impact whether it is unprotected sex, missing work, or damaging relationships. I was also not familiar with many of the terms used in the book, but had heard them used occasionally when out at bars with friends. The book does an excellent job of educating people about what is most likely going on around them all the time. I found the book to be both educational and entertaining. This book is a definite must read.

All I can say is WOW--gutsy, gritty, exciting--This book became like a body part as soon as I opened the cover! When I finished the book, I felt like I had actually experienced and learned something. It was compelling, at times amusing, emotionally charged and packed with a type of raw sincerity that I have found unmatched in other memoirs. Terry did a marvelous job in capturing one of the most defining periods in his life. Struggling with an addiction such as meth and then being brave enough to share it with everyone is huge. I commend Terry for taking the time to reflect on some agonizing memories: He is extremely respectful and reverent to cast his friends and cohorts in a good light - treating everyone in the book with respect and dignity. He carefully fashions his writing to interject humor appropriately to allow the reader to explore and understand very sensitive themes. I believe the work covers many addictions and is as informative as entertaining, providing both support and guidance. I can't say enough about this book. Buy it!
On a personal note, I also think Terry is a well-rounded, down-to-earth, talented, intelligent and intriguing individual.

Mr. Oldes is honest -- this is HIS story. It is not an indictment of the gay community, of the crystal meth community, nor the gay PnP community. It is simply what he experienced. Read it with that in mind. And with that in mind, it is funny, touching, heart-wrenching, and at times down right frightening. It's not a perfect story, just one man's experiences. No one man's experiences comprise a perfect story. I never had any interest in the PnP world (I am a sexually active gay man), but I feel as if my position has been validated by Oldes' book. I have no desire to try it. You may feel differently. Read the book. P.S. If you like show tunes, quotes from old movies, references to the Old West, you will enjoy it even more!

I love the spy girls! I have read the other five books and I thimk they're great also, but #5 was emotionally in depth. (Especially for Jo) I would recomend this series to anyone. I can't wait for book #7!!

this book was amazing!!i love all of the Spy Girl books and if i were you i would read all of them!!they are thrilling yet funny and very interesting with cool twists at the end!! i didn't know a book could be this enjoyable!! Elizabeth Cage has to make more!! i can't put her books down i stay up all night reading them!! i love the characters and i think they are much cooler then charlies angles and i can auctually relate to them because they are teenagers and they aren't supposed to be bimbos like in Charlies Angles. this bool makes me want to be a spy when i grow up!!!! SO READ IT NOW!!!!!

When i first saw the book i thought it would be stupid and childish, but it wasn't once i started to read it i couldn't put it down.This book is the only one of the series i have read but i'm looking forward to going and reading all the books in order i'm going to get spy girls the first series and reading it, but hope by the time i get done reading the last book that there is going to be anther book out, and Elizabeth Cage if you are reading this i just want you to let you know that your book is the one out of a few that kept my attention for a long time you are really a good writter and don't let anyone tell you different.

This series is the best one i have ever read i read all the spy girl books and they all make you want to run to the store and buy the whole series so buy them all and read them in order this one was my favorite

The book was really good! When i first saw the book it looked childish and basically a bunch of fluf. Boy, was I wrong! The book is fantastic and I couldn't put it down! Now, Cage is back again with this great novel that is just as well written as all the others. I especially like Jo who is pretty and flirty but still seems never to meet the right guy. I can not wait untill number 6!

favorite scene with angela-
talking with shelly in the powder room.

josh-
at adam's barbecue.

together-
the fight they have together when he proposes and she tells him she's going to italy alone.

The characters come to life from page one.

At the end you want to know what happened to them in the future and how they made it work.

Excellent book for a lazy Sunday afternoon and great escapism.

I ordered this book based upon the recommendation of the other Amazon readers, and I wasn't disappointed.

The book cover blurb seemed silly, but the author took what could have been a painfully dumb storyline and crafted it into a very likable book. The dialogue was sexy, humorous, and touching. The main characters were nicely developed and had depth to them, interacting well with the secondary characters. The erotic nature of their relationship was well done and graphic. Their growing love for each other was nicely presented, and importantly, made sense in the context of the story. Their ultimate comprehension of each other's motives and behavior was very believable based upon the way the story developed, rather than just being abruptly presented in order to tie up loose ends.

I will definitely put this author on my to-buy list.

As a relatively new reader of romance novels, I typically stick with what I know- I usually buy books by Linda Howard, since I know for the most part that I won't be disappointed (especially since the few times I've deviated from her books, I've been disappointed so far). But Cathy Yardley is an exception. "The Driven Snowe," begins with a fairly far-fetched plot. Mousy librarian Angela Snowe is tired of being a virgin, so she meets up with playboy Josh Montgomery (whose reputation she learned about in high school). Surprise, surprise, Angela turns out to be a little sex kitten beneath the mousy appearance, and Josh is smitten.
But "The Driven Snowe" goes on to develop the characters much further. The obstacles keeping them from being together are realistic, and their lives are realistically complicated. Of course, this being a romance novel, they wind up together in the end, but the development of the book is not formulaic. I found myself rooting for them, even though I knew they would be together in the end.
If you enjoy your romance highly steamy, this is well worth the read!

Every Harlequin line has the challenge of living up to the primary focus of the line (suspense in Intrigue, humor in Duets, etc.) while still managing a well-developed romance and believable, well-rounded characters. The challenge of Blaze is to balance erotic sensuality with likeable characters and a plausible romance. "The Driven Snowe" by Cathy Yardley is one of the best Blaze offerings I've read.

The romance between Angela and Josh is incredibly well-developed and credible, and it evolves at a reasonable, adult pace. While I enjoy "everything's all happy in Love Land even though the characters have only known one another a week" romances, I really appreciated that Yardley gave Angela and Josh's relationship the time to mature.

Even more, I appreciated that the barriers to their happiness were credible ones, based not on misunderstanding or jumping to conclusions or any of the myriad of reasons that we see in romance novels, but on real emotions and defense mechanisms.

The only weakness I see in "Snowe" is that the love scenes, while erotic, don't really do anything to separate "Snowe" out from the crowd. Unlike another reviewer, I didn't see Josh's fear of commitment and need to control the situation as requiring an explanation. To me, they were simply normal human reactions to falling in love.

I read and enjoyed Yardley's last offering, the Duets book "The Cinderella Solution," but "Snowe" is definitely a step up in Yardley's evolution as a writer. I am, quite frankly, staggered that this is her second published novel.

I truly recommend this to anyone looking for a well-developed romance. Enjoy!