Adaptations Books

The Oz books were a huge part of my childhood. I never really got into other series that other kids my age liked: Hardy Boys, Box Car Children, Encyclopedia Brown. For some reason, I always preferred the more fantastic stories, which probably heavily influenced my later choices in fantasy and science fiction.

My wife never read the Oz books, and so I talked her into reading them with me. We have no children, but we both still enjoy children's books, and have a collection that we look forward to one day sharing with our children. "The Wizard of Oz" tops that list, for both of us now, with a few caveats.

It is obvious on reading the books that they are from a different world and a different time. I'm not talking about some fictional land somewhere over the rainbow; I'm talking about a time when children were not supposed to be protected from any nastiness or unpleasantness. Anyone who has read the original versions of Grimm's Fairy Tales knows what I'm talking about: beheadings, wars, violence, betrayal, abuse, etc. Some of these are found without apology in the land of Oz, which may shock people whose only other introduction to the world was through Judy Garland. The Tin Woodman is constantly chopping the head off of something, (to protect Dorothy, of course), not to mention the Scarecrow breaking the necks several dozen nefarious crows. Many other differences from the musical are discovered when reading the books: The Cowardly Lion isn't really cowardly, the Tin Woodman has always had a heart, and the Scarecrow is without a doubt the cleverest one in the bunch. I've never understood why the movie ignored these facts, or why the MGM's wizard didn't do as the great Oz in the books, and just give the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Lion exactly what they asked for: brains, a heart, and courage. This is to say nothing of the annoying fact the "Good Witch" in the movie knew the whole entire time Dorothy could have gone home whenever she wanted.

People who feel children should be protected and shielded at all cost to the "uglier" side of make-believe would do well to stay away from Oz. But individuals who feel a little fantasy, a little humour, and a small pinch of moral make for a fun story enjoyable by kids of all ages should enjoy Oz.

I read this book recently after reading Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I was very familiar with the movie The Wizard of Oz (Two-Disc Special Edition) but had never got around to reading the book, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it.
Read it by yourself or with your child, you will be surprised how different it is from the movie we all know.

This book was a great adventure!! You meet a lot of imaginary creatures and go through the woods through a town made of china and its good for children or adults!!!!!! So if you want your child to read more often give him/her the wizard of oz it will be imposible for your child to stop reading it!!!!!!!!! So if you want to read read read than read the wizard of oz!!!!!!!!!!!ITS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE WIZARD OF OZ

The Wizard of Oz is about a girl, Dorothy, who's house was carried up in a cyclone with her and her dog Toto still in it. It turns out she landed in the Land of Oz. She meets some munchkins and a nice witch who tells her to go down the yellow brick road to meet the Great Oz who can get her back to Kansas where she lives. On her journey, she meets bad creatures, and friends who also need to get to Oz. They have some difficulties along the way. Will Dorothy ever get back to Kansas to meet her Aunt Em again?
This book has a clear message that you should keep trying, even if it's hard. Dorothy and her friends keep trying to get to Oz and anywhere else they need to be, even though the challenge is difficult.
This is a great fairy tale. I loved this book! So if you're looking for an exciting fairy tale, read The Wizard Of Oz!

The reason I read this book was because of all the high praise I hear about it. Don't get me wrong the book was wonderfully written for a 5 year old. There were some parts I enjoyed but most parts left me bored and wondering when it will end.Most of you have seen the movie, some of you have seen it many many times. What i'm getting at here is that book was actully worse than the movie. The book has a bunch of different and wierd parts that the movie didn't have.After awhile dorothy get annoying when see keeps complaining that see wants to go home and she seems not to care about anyone exept for her dog toto.
To any child or,parent looking for a book for a child, this book is for you. But to the teenagers and adults that don't enjoy children's books, this book isn't for you. It may seem that i've been harsh on the book but there is some good parts too. Its also a classic so it wouldn't hurt to read this book.

Enemy of God, #2 in The Arthur Books, was my favorite of the three. Reading these books was a great experience because knowing that I had the opportunity to continue the story and it not ending was so much fun...until I finished #3.

This book is an excellent read and follow-up to the first one. A lot happens within these two covers and by the time you turn that last page you'll wish you had already purchased the third book to the series. Cornwell delivers excellent reading with great historical accuracies in terms of people and places, horrific battle scenes drawn out with extraordinary detail. If you like Cornwell, this will make you love him.

I was intrigued about this alternate version of the Tales of Arthur. This well-crafted book (the third of 3 books in this series) fleshes out many of the legendary characters in very believable ways. I liked the book.

Again, as in The Winter King, book 1 in this trilogy of Arthur, Cornwell presents part 2 of the history of Arthur from a very different point of view and with a very different spin on the tale. This is not the magical tale of a sword in a stone or of a round table and a grail quest. What this is, is a tale told by Lord Derfel Cadarn, Derfel 'the mighty'. He is, as he tells this tale, an old monk in the service of the king and queen of the Britons. But he was a warlord and lifelong friend and warrior of Arthur's. Indeed, he spent most of his life with Arthur.

The tale, despite the fact that it is a tale of Arthur, is more a tale of Derfel and his interactions, opinions and views of Arthur; not to mention a tale of all that Derfel did, his family and his life. It is a tale of broken love, war, treachery and death. It is a tale of the Britons in the 5th century. But it is more about Derfel than it is about Arthur. This does not detract from the story. This is a wonderful tale about a warlord of Briton and Derfel (pronounced 'Dervel', a Welsh name given when Derfel was an orphan raised by Merlin). We hear Arthur's tale of war and of love, of Guinevere and Lancelot, Galahad and all the other names we know from the great mythological tale of Arthur; just not in the way we all know the tale.

But this tale is of real men in a real world with real problems and little, if any, magic. The tale continues Arthur's tale of rise to rule the Britons and his quest to unite the Britons under one king and defend his country from the invading Saxons. It is a tale of broken oaths, untrustworthy alliances and selfish ambitions.

I highly recommend this book to those that seek a story of dark age England. If you seek the mythical sword in the stone type tale, you will, most likely, be disappointed by this, but you may enjoy the refreshing new spin on the tale, without the excesses of magic.

If I have one complaint about this tale, it is that the book does not contain a map, as Book 1 did. I continually had to refer back to the map in book 1 as I read this story. This does contain the very helpful list of names and places at the front of the book, as did book 1. But, a map would have been helpful as the story encompasses travels and wars throughout the British isle.

This is a wonderful tale of medieval England and should be greatly enjoyed by any lover of history or historical fiction.
Enjoy!!!

After a hard fought victory at Lugg Vale, Arthur and Derfel hope for peace but alas it is not to be. In this second book in Cornwell's Warlord series the Arthurian legend continues. Derfel finds the love of his life and becomes a "Lord of War" while Arthur suffers his worst betrayal, and of course there is plenty of fighting. "Enemy of God" is a completely new chapter in the Arthurian legend in which Cornwell transforms Merlin into a real and loveable character and introduces the reader to much of the magic and mystery of the Druid. The story takes the reader into the reign of King Mordred and the dark times that follow. In this installment Derfel is at his happiest while Arthur is brought to the depths of despair. This is my favorite of the three books because the story brings out such deep emotions and leaves such a lasting impression.

Stumbled upon this book. Spent a delightful day watching history unfold in a new way. Instant favorite.

This was an outstanding book. It brings a new and unique outlook to a sort of old but fabulous legend.

This is one of my favorite books and I often come back to reread it. I love it and I'm sure that most readers will also love it.

The Forever King is about the conflict over the Grail between the opposing forces of Arthur and Saladin. While that is all very well in the past, in the present setting of the book, Arthur has been reincarnated as a young boy and Saladin is a loony bin type of resident.

Merlin is a constant, and the character of the ingenue, Nimue is here represented as being on the side of Arthur and the Grail.

My younger sister actually forced this book on me. We both love to read and usually read the same things. I took one look at the cover and thought, "I don't read sci-fi books!" So it sat on my shelf for about a year when she called me up and said "it's a trilogy" and that I absolutely had to read this book!! So I read it and I couldn't put it down and i am so glad I finally picked it up! It wasn't a typical sci-fi novel at all. Sure it has some sci-fi in it, but not to the point of "ok I don't believe that!"

The imagery alone made this a fantastic novel. Oh how I wished that I could be there to see the castle and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. I don't remember ever learning about King Arthur in school, but I do remember watching The Sword in The Stone when I was a child. So to me this book was not only a learning tool (because I was on the internet for at least 3 hours trying to find everything I could on King Arthur) but a really great novel!!

I was unaware that it was part of a trilogy, so I was disappointed when it ended without wrapping up loose threads, but I really look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I wil never get sick of reading these things! These are classic stories that have finally been revealed for their cruelty to others... or not. I have to wonder just how serious Mr. Garner is as he writes these. The familiar stories are changed to how things would be if everyone was concerned with doing things with a healthy dash of PC. The result is hilarious, biting, and revealing into our overly PC culture. But if you don't want to do the analysis, read them for their humor.

The era of political correct humor has passed but...

These are still entertaining. If you want to develop a "politically correct" speaking style for humor or career advancement, you will not find a better primer. To learn how to speak without pointing your finger, you will still have to watch politicians. For that, I recommend old campaign debates by Senior and Junior Bush campaign footage.

A very quick read, I had a good laugh. Some of the word combinations are a little difficult even with a college degree. I would say that it deserves a rating of PG13 since there were some words that I would not want young children to read. The humor is dry and more British, some Americans would take offense at several references. I had a serious giggle.

Take some of the most beloved fairy tales and modify them (robotically) such that they can be deemed politically correct and what do you (author James Finn Garner) get: ridiculous, unfunny stories that can best be described as "annoying." Adjective modifications are simple and predictable: replace "poor eyesight" with "optically challenged," "short" with "vertically challenged," "stinky" with "odor-enhanced," "poor" with "economically disadvantaged," "cruel" with "kindness-impaired," and "hot" with "thermally enhanced." Plot changes are unoriginal and boring: the big bad wolf falls dead "from a massive heart attack from eating too many fatty foods;" the pigs "liberate their homeland," the witch and the prince team up to exploit Rapunzel's singing talent, the males at Cinderella's ball get into a fight, and an impotent prince, upon seeing (and thus becoming cured) the seemingly dead Snow White, requests of the "Seven Towering Giants" that he be allowed to "...take the cure..." (read - satisfy an attraction to corpses) with her (p 54). Thankfully, readers will not have to waste much time slogging through its seventy-nine short pages. Equally bad: Once Upon a More Enlightened Time. Many times better: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka, and Kate and the Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne.

I had the pleasure of reading this one when it was first published in 1994 (now keep in mind, that was not that long ago...this is important). At the time I found the book to be hilarious. The author has taken a collection of some of our favorite bedtime stories, fairy tales, if you will, and rewritten them to make them "politically correct." Some of the stories the author has modified are Little Red Riding Hood, Chicken Little, Rumpelstiltskin, The Billy Goat Gruffs, Cinderella, The Frog Prince and Jack and the Beanstalk. There are more, but this gives you some idea of the content.

I recently reread this work. My, what a difference. While I still enjoyed the stories, I found them to be not quite as funny as I did during my first reading. I also read quite a number of the reviews that are posted here addressing this work, many of which are quite good, several drew different conclusions, and some were written by the clueless. I thought and thought on this matter, wondering why I did not snicker the same as before, then I realized....I, and apparently many others, have become completely or partially desensitized! It is not the author's fault, it is our fault and the fault (if fault it indeed is) of our society! What was simply funny in 1994, the satire used at that time, simply does not work as well today as it did then because so much of what was satirized at that time, has now become reality. We are use to the words "logically challenged" rather than simply "stupid." We actually have become the thing that the author was satirizing! This, for me, makes this book extremely interesting!

The author has done a very nice job of lampooning our politically correct society. As pointed out by several reviewers, yes, the author is indeed trite at times. The thing is, that when this work was first published, what is considered trite now, was not at that time. If you doubt this, then listen closely to the evening news for a few nights running. Now I do agree with a number of reviewers in that these stories should not be read all in one setting. Spread them out. Reading them back to back can be a bit of a chore and they do loose their effect.

Be-that-as-it-may, the book is well written, fun to read, and I think, even more to day than it was when it was first written, a reflection on us as a society. Poking fun at ourselves is healthy, poking fun at the way we act as a society is healthy. On the other hand, taking this work, and most others of this genre too seriously is not really all that good. Recommend this one highly. It is well written, well done and well worth the read.

Don Blankenship

The 9/11 Report is a straightforward, full-color graphic novel adaptation of the final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Featuring a foreword Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton, the Chair and Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission, The 9/11 Report distills the report's findings concerning how the attacks happened, America's subsequent response, and the glaring weaknesses in America's security. Perhaps the most troubling part of The 9/11 is its postscript, which lists letter grades of America's actions to make itself more secure up through 2006 - most of the grades are C's, D's, and F's. "Progress in many important areas has been slow or nonexistent. While the terrorists have been learning and adapting, we have been moving at a bureaucratic crawl." A plain-terms, respectful presentation accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the 9/11 Report is recommended reading for all American citizens - and therefore a "must-have" for public library collections everywhere.

When I saw this volume on the bookshelf, I shook my head. I picked it up and examined it a couple of times before finally deciding to take it home. I did not believe that a graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report would be anything more than an inadequate summary at best, or a sad joke at worst. I was wrong. The graphic version of the 9/11 Commission report is fascinating, communicating in words and pictures the most important concepts and vents of that fateful day.

The book lays out many aspects of 9/11, from a side-by-side chronology of the attacks of the four jetliners used that day by terrorists, to the history and operation of Al Qaeda, to the way our government did and did not respond to the crisis, to the experience of first responders and victims of the attacks. Laying out its findings in neutral tones, the report details the confusion and dysfunction that allowed 19 terrorists to enter the country, train to fly, obtain access to airliners and wreak destruction and death on America. Americans are portrayed in our multi-racial realities. Terrorists are portrayed fairly frequently as menacing, with sneers and scowls that some might consider unneeded and even approaching racist. Others might find this portrayal appropriate and even subdued, given the mayhem they eventually produced. But this is a minor criticism and id not unduly ruffle my sensitive feathers.

This book is fascinating and instructive, and not at all heavy on gore. A person assassinated by a hand grenade, for example, ifs shown without blood. Politicians of oath sides are depicted accurately and without attempts at personal caricature. Definitively a good choice for the age 10 and up, and would be a helpful primer to those who plan to read the full report. The forward by Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, he the Commission's Chair and Vice Chain, lends credibility to the volume. A winner and a real public service.

9/11 Report
By Sid Jacobson
This book is about the plane crashes on September 11th 2001. It's a comic book with lots of information. It has all the planes and terrorists that crashed into New York, Washington D.C. and Virginia. It's like the book, "9/11 Commission Report," only in a comic book. It also talks about what the government knew and how Bin Laden and Al Qaeda planned the attack since 1993.
We enjoyed this book because it had clear, nice pictures and was organized well. We also enjoyed it because it was descriptive and explained a lot and it was pretty easy to follow. It was also nice because it was facts, not opinions.
We wish it could have been different by having less boring information that didn't matter. We also wish it was different by having it more understandable for younger readers.
We would recommend this book to the ages: 15 and Up. We recommend it to both males and females because it's important to know the crisis that happened and how we could avoid a terrorist attack next time!
We would recommend this book because it has lots of useful information and tells facts that many people don't know about the terrorists and the attacks.

Written by: Jacqui, Alena, Pascal, and Adam

This has to go down as something our children will be reading in school. What happened on that day can not be forgotten nor will it be with books like this.

While I disagree with some of the conclusions in the report, I found most of it very informative. The comic format works well for at least 90% of the pages, the rest just resort to showing logos and text boxes.

I really appreciate the effort to publish this as a graphic novel, which makes it more accessible to a broader audience (including myself) who are not likely to read the lengthy report.

Now, can someone please publish a graphic version of the Bipartisan Iraq Study Group?

I had misgivings about this book, but overall, by the end I really really enjoyed it. At times I skipped whole chapters and didn't miss much, but the parts I read in depth were well told for the most. As has been said, the dialogue is...scary at times and the beginning drags but I liked it.

The book has a striking resemblance to "The Wicked Day" by Mart Stewart, which is one of my favorite arthurian retellings. From the whole Morgause murder to Arthur choosing a new puppy and naming it Cabal after his old dog, this book is basically a rewrite of Stewart's, which in turn took a lot of pointers from "Once and Future King". But, some new things are added, which keep it new, but I was disappointed in Mekenzie's lack of imagination especially on those point, even though she does say int he introduction that she was influenced by Stewart (to say the least).

My chief complaint is that Guinevere's actions do not match the other characters' supposed admiration of her. She's praised for being strong and beautiful, but every other page she's crying for some ridiculous reason and Arthur is telling her "you're so great, everyone loves you," or "I could never live without you, you make me a better man.." and of course, it always ends with him getting laid. Pretty predictable after a few chapters of the same crap.

BUT that aside, Mordred is pretty well played out, the intrigues with Morgause and Morgan are very interesting, and the Elaine subplot is well tied in. It's a nice read if you like Arthuriana, but if you're just looking for a well-rounded, nicely-developed book, then this probably isn't it.

Nancy McKenzie has created a masterpiece. Her lengthy research into a romantic historic era has definitely paid off.

So why only 3 stars? Partly because there isn't a "half" star available or it would have been 3 1/2.

Mainly I was annoyed by the many, many, many references to our heroine's compulsive trembling and tears. What is she? A valiant girl grown to womanhood or a chihuahua? This book could easily have been 50 pages shorted without all the retelling of Gwen's weaknesses and childlike attributes.

All that said, this is a masterful read. I LOVE the author's interpretation of the characters and their relationships! She showed even Arthur as a wonderful human being, demi-god, proud leader, and tender father. He has warts, but the legend shines through.

It is also nice to see Guinevere as someone other than a slutty wench. Compassionate, passionate, tender, intelligent, naive and occasionally care-free.(though that last one tends to land her in terrible straits...)

Great cast of characters, particularly the Orkney boys. I can easily visualize the rowdy, dirty, rough bunch of scamps....and then there is Mordred...

Some folks here say they will definitely read the Grail Prince, the continuation of Galahad's story. But the author protrayed Lancelot's son as such a single-minded freaked-out JERK that I cannot get excited enough to buy the book.

All in all, a good read. Too long for its overall content, but well done!

ok this is my mom's amazon account but watever i had to get this book for summer reading and my friend who doesnt read like at all absolutely loved it so i knew i had to read it being a great lover of books! this book is the most amazing book ever! the characters are portayed sooooo well and it really feels like you're in those times and places!!!! i really couldnt put it down even once and i dont have any complaints about it and i've also read the grail prince which is the sequel to this book and if u liked this book and want to know what happens after it and even though it's mostly about galahad it's an AWESOME book too and you do find out what happens after the queen of camelot and SO much more

I confess to having had some misgivings about reading yet another version of the Arthurian legend. After reading the very wonderful Mists of Avalon years ago, I wondered why I should bother reading another woman's view of the same tale. This one answered that question, as it is an excellent retelling in its own right. Told in the first person by Guinevere herself, although the details of the plot are standard, the writing is beautiful, the episodes move quickly, the depictions of the characters are quite human and believable and, best of all, the love triangle is beautifully and compassionately depicted. There is nothing sordid or salacious in the love affair between the Queen and Lancelot, and King Arthur is clearly drawn as the lynch pin and central focus of all the action. The writing is restrained, yet lovely, and McKenzie avoids lapsing into flowery rapturous descriptions of passionate clinches and like cliches. Plus, there is enough "action and suspense" apart from the primary interaction between the main characters to keep the reader entertained. Never hysterical; always credible; very enjoyable.

I am a "hard grader" but this one deserves an A - - the full 5 stars.

I almost stopped reading this book into the second chapter or so. The writing starts out somewhat juvenile and without much emotional depth, and I was rolling my eyes more than once for the earlier parts of the book. The child Guinevere is hated by her brother's wife because she's... blond? Guinevere's singing eases wounded soldiers and speeds their healing? Yeah, right. Along with the preoccupation with horses and too many people falling over themselves praising the heroine, Queen of Camelot at first read like an Arthurian retelling for teenaged girls.

Nevertheless, I didn't want to judge a book I hadn't actually read and managed to finish it. I'm glad I did. One of the remarkable things about this book is that the writing matures visibly as its heroine does. The earliest Guinevere, the too-perfect-for-words kind of girl character I love to hate, grows into a flesh-and-blood woman who is sometimes irrational, sometimes makes mistakes, and is above all believable as a beloved companion and lady to Arthur and his knights.

The ending is where Queen of Camelot truly shines. Towards the end, the writing finally finds its pace and takes on the kind of lyricism that I associate with the best of modern Arthurian literature. The central conflict and mystery of the book, of how father and son became pitted against each other, plays out as both inevitable and wholly believable tragedy through a series of mishaps, misfortunes, and human failure.

The closing chapter was particularly masterful, with Guinevere coming across naturally as a nurturing and uplifting figure without the kind of heavy-handed praise that annoyed me so much at the earlier parts of the book. The emotions in the writing were heartfelt and profound. I closed the book satisfied with the reading experience mainly for the ending.

Still, the greatness at the end of the book doesn't cover its flaws. There's the "everybody who counts loves Gwen" kind of myopia, where you can rank about 99% of the characters on the coolness scale by how much they love Guinevere. Just about the only exceptions I can think of are Merlin and Niniane. There doesn't seem to be much room for disliked yet respected adversaries or complexly motivated villains in Guinevere's world. I don't know if that's indicative of the author or the character, but either way it wasn't to my taste.

Speaking of villains with complex motivations, the female villains were a big letdown. Some of the most interesting female figures of Arthurian literature are here no more and no less than evil witches without the least redeeming feature or the barest scrap of motivation. And, you guessed it, they really, really hate Guinevere. The reader has no clues to guess why, except maybe these women are just hateful towards the world in general or they're jealous of Gwen's perfection or something. Don't expect the kind of nuanced treatment of classic villainess along the lines of The Mists of Avalon or The Idylls of the Queen. (Both highly, highly recommended.)

Furthermore, the deftly skilled writing at the end of the book left me surprised that the author didn't revisit the work for major rewrites, or at least some edits. The prologue seems to be meant to follow from the ending, yet there are clear mismatches in facts and tone that left me scratching my head. It's only natural for a book to change during its writing, but it seems careless not to go back and at least edit for consistency.

It's a shame, too. Had the whole book been (re)written with the kind of emotional depth and poetic, stately language near its end, Queen of Camelot would have been up there with the classics of modern Arthurian novels. As it is, I give it two stars for the beginning, three for the most part, four or even five for the ending, and three overall.

I think it was Kierkegaard who advised to be aware of entangling alliances. The web of sin in this book is masterfully woven as letters to frame-up an epistolary novel in which each character's letters speak volumes about the characters themselves. The novel was written in the same period as Rousseau in the Napoleonic era, when the novel as a genre was relatively young. Valmont is the penultimate anti-hero and knave who finds decadent pleasure in conquering, as if it were a military campaign, and then abandoning beautiful, prominent women in high society. His cohort the Marquise de Merteuil must be considered one of the great fiends of this new genre, who earns her just rewards. It's fascinating to witness the noose tightening in the exchange of letters among the characters. The dialogue about the nature of love is beautifully articulated in many places, where it is sincere. "And love: does one have it when one wills? Yet one needs it ever." Or "Teach me to live where you are not." So often in this novel love is a high-stakes game played for the perverse joy engendered by the spectacle of the demise of one of the lovers. This is a one of a kind epistolary novel worthy of the acclaim it has received over the centuries for its engaging story line as a morality tale told in the decadent high society of France in the time of Napoleon.

Dangerous Liaisons (1782) is an epistolary novel, the print candy of the voyeur with the slightest degree of imagination. Laclos has penned letters that weave an intricate toile of lives, loves and hates set in French estates, countrysides and city scapes. Letters between the two leads, a lechorous libertine male (gentelman is unwarrented in his case) and a Grand Dame of French society (on the surface, manipulative witch is far more accurate) for the crux of the story. They spend their time manipulating those around them, creating love affairs, while having strings of assignations with the (guilty and trouble) puppets. During the course of manipulations an increasing antipathy forms between the two main characters. The manipulated are portrayed in the conspirator's letters as insipid, stupid near sock puppets - yet in their own letters they are a moral balance to leading couple. If you are looking for a guide to manipulation, an etiquette book for the erotic libertine lifestyle, or a well crafted `hate' `love' story, then Laclos' Dangerous Liasions (1782), is an excellent choice.

Bawdy story telling without being overly sexual, those factors are what makes this novel a great read! A game between two members of the nobility of the opposite sex leads to none other than "Dangerous Liasons." This book was written in "letter format", that is correspondences between individuals, which can get confusing at times, but the reader, paying close attention, will be able to follow the plot. A fine example of what sexual excess without borders can lead to.

I used the Lowell Blair translation.

A lesson in morality----the moralists against the hedonists. Dangerous liaisons, or acquaintances, is a novel against an immoral, powerful and envied class----the aristocrats; it sent a shock-wave through France. The book is in the form of letters, which average two pages each. One man, with his Aunt as an accomplice, sets out to conquer and seduce woman, and split a young couple through deceit and manipulation; it ends in tragedy.

De Laclos wrote for the French army in the late eighteenth century; this was his only novel. He does a remarkable job conveying to the reader the demeanor and uniqueness of each character, from a fifteen to a ninety year old (although the fifteen year old girl does come of as a bit too mature for her age); he is able to leave much to the imagination. I think the use of English names would have made it easier to follow.

In the introduction by Blair, it is debated whether these people actually existed, and discretion is recommended when reading this novel. If ones mind is prepared, I don't see where discretion is of concern. If anything it should strengthen us in recognizing our own wrongdoing and show that that kind of life does not bring happiness----only emptiness.

Wish you well
Scott

I purchased the Oxford Classic edition of Les Liasons, translated by Douglas Parmee, and much to my chagrin, found the text to be riddled with poor writing and literary anachronisms.

Parmee may be accurately transliterating the French original; I of course cannot read it. But the book he has produced borders on the unreadable. Cecile, an aristocratic French girl of 15, speaks like a besotted 60-year old English gentleman. "Fortunately Mummy's feeling much better today and Madame de Marteuil is coming with the Chevalier Danceny and somebody else but she never comes until late and when you're all alone for such a long time, it gets jolly boring." (pg. 32) Yes, you read that right, "jolly boring." In Parmee's translation, Cecile uses "jolly" quite often, but somehow I cannot imagine a beautiful if naive French girl ever saying "jolly" anything.

Also gone is the tense sophistication of the Vicomte and the Marquise's dialogs in the movie--in its stead it seems that Parmee has elected to give them the voices of two American High School students, void of all intelligence, charm and wit, leaving them with just enough arrogant cunning to move the plot. Throughout all the letters, there are a great deal of run-on sentences which require a great deal of effort to understand, a characteristic of bad writing.

I've read a few pages of the Lièvre translation and can plainly see that it is much improved. I recommend you purchase that version and leave this one well alone, as I plan to do.

Our Mutual Friend is a full-blooded Victorian novel, packed with multiplying plots, faithful characters, and endearing sentimentality. The sheer # of intertwining plots explains the length here; there is no authorial meandering, simply great depth and width, so to speak.

The plot is telegraphed; complicated, but not complex; certainly not the "point" of reading Our Mutual Friend (or any enduring Victorian-era literature!). More importantly, Dickens, writing his last published novel, has full control at all levels. Parodies of wealth and society abound, as do masterfully emotive portraits of poverty and the foul, all-consuming Thames. Light and darkness struggle, death pervades, identities thrive in flux, ...

Also! Large portions of OMF are bust-a-gut hysterical. The Boffins are lovingly ridiculous in their newfound wealth; Silas Wegg, the adopted parasite of a "literary man" hilariously sports a wooden leg and 'wooden' cunning; there is a character called "Sloppy"; and, of course, "high society" is a wonderful parody of wealth, showmanship, and wile.

A bonus: Most discerning readers will appreciate the craftsmanship of Dickens at once, being subtle but not allusive or withheld. This gives the reader an unusually full experience in just one read. Highly recommended.

Great book club pick! Many plots to follow and tons of discussion. For people who typically read Oprah books, this is not an easy read. If you enjoy classics and can get through the period type of writing, this is a great book. I would read reviews first so you can get the general feel. Also good to note: Gets much easier after the first 250 pages. Hang in there and it is soooo worth it.
This should be a book taught in high school. Lots of issues of that time to discuss and learn from.

This is by far my favorite novel by Dickens. I couldn't put it down. Dickens draws you in to his world like nobody else is able to do. I am still trying to find that feeling of satisfaction that Our Mutual friend gave me after I completed it. Amazing novel.

The last completed novel by Dickens is also one of the darkest and, in my opinion, one of the best. The plot, as usual, is too dense and complex to be treatd here in detail. The story centers around one John Harmon, back from abroad to claim the inheritance from his deceased, horrible, and miser of a father. For reasons that are never explained (one of the several loose ends of the book), Old Harmon had set the condition that, in order for his son to receive the inheritance, he must marry a young, poor girl called Bella Wilfer, whom young Harmon had never met. One night, a guy whose trade was to recover things -and bodies- from the fetid Thames, along with his daughter, finds a corpse, which is later identified as that of John Harmon. Mysterious characters appear to have an interest in the affair, but the fact is that, missing the first-choice heir, the fortune must go to the Boffins, long time employees of Old Harmon. By the way, Old Harmon's source of fortune is a very strange one: he was a Dustman, apparently someone who trades in garbage and other discarded objects. The Boffins are an old, childless, good, charming, and ignorant couple. Feeling sorry for the death of beloved Johnny, and owing to a sense of reparation, they practically adopt Bella Wilfer. They also hire as their secretary an old tenant of the Wilfers, the mysterious John Rokesmith, who falls in love with the arrogant and pretentious Bella.

What follows is a mad, symphonic, convoluted tale of ambition, corruption, passion, crime, and revenge, as well as of confused identities. All in a tone of farce and black -but very funny- humor. Dickens paints his very own London, dark, wet, fetid, inhuman. The characters travel up and down the Thames, through St. James, the Temple, the City, etc., crossing time and again the dangerous river. They come and go all the time. The two young ladies, Bella and Lizzie Hexam, the daughter of the man who first recovered the body, are subject to mad passions, especially the latter. There are dozens of subplots, all worth reading. Dickens mocks just about every kind of people in London: business, politics, social habits. Most characters are mean and ridiculous. The vividness of the situations is witness to the enormous creative powers of this great writer.

Thre are too many characters to sketch them all here, but some memorable ones are: Miss Jenny Wren ("I know your tricks and your manners"), the dolls' dressmaker, smart, cynical, penetrating, beautiful and handicapped, as well as her pathetic drunkard of a father. Silas Wegg, "a man of letters and with a wooden leg", a sinister rascal who tries to dispossess the Boffins through blackmail, and his associate, Mr. Venus, embalmer and taxidermist, always sitting in his dark parlour, surrounded by phaetuses in bottles. Bradley Headstone, who literally gets crazy about Lizzie. Rogue Riderhood, the common criminal of the Thames. The most outrageous one is an usurer, a petulant and despicable pseudo-dandy called Fascination Fledgeby.

It's true: in contrast with most great writers of the XIX Century, Dickens does not create human beings. He creates cartoons. In fact, at least for me, some passages of the novel are more easily imagined as cartoons than as people. But, as Anthony Burgess put it, "Language and morality add dimensions to his cartoons and turn them into literature". This is an enormously funny book, well worth your dedication through its many pages. Some people criticize him for leaving subplots open and for not tying it all up close circle. Who cares, his power with words is extraordinary and his landscape of characters unforgettable.

Difficult to get your head round and finish unless you really love Dickens - which I do. This is not one of his best and so by Dickens' standards a failure. It was the last novel he finished and it lacks the optimism and wit of many of his other works. If you have to read this for study purposes, good luck to you. If for leisure, I personally would read another Dickens, say David Copperfield, Hard Times, Great Expectations, Pickwick Papers, Bleak House or Little Dorrit.

I enjoyed reading this book. This is a clean book. There is no bad language which is unusual especially for a young adult book; so I appreciated that. I would love to hear the rest of the story; meaning what happens next in the life of the mucker maid, honored lady, Dashati. Any thoughts, Ms. Hale??

This book was definitely a great read, I just couldn't put it down until it was over, the story may be old but it's written in such a fantastic language and all the characters are so vivid, Dashti in particular. I couldn't quite symphathisize with lady Saren being so week, but by the end of the book she sort of finds herself. It was my first book by Shannon Hale but now I'm lookingfor further reads from her.

Dashti, a lady's maid, is locked in a tower with Lady Saren, her charge. Lady Saren is being forced into the tower as punishment for refusing to marry Lord Khasar, the man to whom her father has betrothed her. Instead, she favors the much kinder Khan Tegus. The story is told from Dashti's point of view, and things get really interesting when both suitors show up at the tower. This is the starting point for many other adventures.

I've been a fan of Shannon Hale for years, and this book did not disappoint. I really liked that Dashti had a valid cultural reason for being submissive, as opposed to just being a weak-willed martyr, which one sees so often in other novels. Also, her growth as a person over the course of the story was written gradually and patiently and ends up being very effectively relayed. It's details like this, obviously crafted with care by Hale, that make this book so wonderful. The characters are believable, the plot is exciting, and the romance is sweet, but never cloying. Fans of Shannon Hale will surely love this book. If you haven't read anything by Hale yet, this would be a fine place to start, along with The Goose Girl.

Simply magnificent! After reading about so many characters who are aritocrats and princesses, or just bratty teenage girls, this book was so refreshing. Shannon Hale's remarkable skill to craft a world out of words is clearly displayed in this novel, set in a world based off of the Medieval Mongolian plains, and a story loosely based off of the Brothers Grim's, "Maid Maleen". The protagonist, Dashti, is less a character and more of a flesh and blood person. Loyal, humble, practical. and strong, this common nomad girl who has suffered the loss of her family has risen to the position of ladies' maid. This elevated status is soon followed by a terrible sentance: being locked with Lady Saren into a tower for seven years. Their journey is a remarkable tale, told with rich wording in a first person diary: Dashti's "Book of a Thousand Days". The characters are relatable, the story captivating, and the richness and realness may well make you question which world is the real one, yours or Dashti's?

I often pre-read stories to determine if they are appropriate for my kids to read. I have an 8-year-old voracious reader (girl) and an 11-year-old reluctant reader (boy). After reading it, I've determined to hang on for a couple of years. My daughter will enjoy it, but there are elements that she is not mature enough to handle. And while the plot has enough action for me, I do not think it will suit my son.

I was immersed almost immediately in this unique story. I'm decidedly older than the target audience, judging by the fact that I found it in the "young adult" section at the library; but I picked it up based on reviews here and I'm glad I did. Yes - the ending was quite tidy...though the words "happily ever after" never appeared, that was how the story ended. But since when is that a BAD thing?

Now, onto Hale's Princess Academy...

Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Detective Sergeant Mary Mary return in their second adventure by author Jasper Fforde, which builds off the events of "The Big Over Easy" while at the same time avoiding repeating the chief themes of that novel. Fforde has conjured up an elaborate fantastical world in this series of novels, and it is a delight to return to it (he has spoken of a third and final "Nursery Crime" story at some point in the future, which I highly anticipate).

Solving the murder of Humpty Dumpty made Jack Spratt famous, but, as the new book opens, he has fallen somewhat, thanks to a couple of botched operations, most notably his failure in the Red Riding Hood case, which left both Red and her grandmother catatonic. He is told to attend a psychiatric evaluation, which he fervently would rather avoid, even as a young reporter with golden hair turns up dead at a Battle of the Somme theme park ("Somme World", which is designed to mortify anyone who goes there), hours after she was discovered naked in bed at the Bruin household. Who killed Goldilocks, and why? Included here are, among other amusing details, the reasons why the story of the smallest bowl being 'just right' doesn't hold water, and what that indicates.

Fforde is not content to hit the same notes that made "The Big Over Easy" so entertaining, which some may see as a negative, depending on what you think about what he chooses to replace it with. The first novel made a great deal of the fictional unverse's obsession with 'true crime' stories, and the effect this had on police procedure, but this angle is more or less absent from "The Fourth Bear". There is no sense that the characters are spending their time trying to be more dramatic; Briggs, Jack's police captain, has seemingly gone from a self-aware parody of the trope where police captains are always suspending their officers to merely another example of that trope played straight (albeit with every referring to "Plot Device Number _" in reference to various strategies and situations they find themselves in). Playing the story a bit more straight adds a bit more straight-up drama to the story, though Fforde has not toned down his trademark irreverence one bit.

This approach also allows for some real exploration of the characters in a non-satirical context, and both Jack and Mary get a lot of good development here. Jack's concerns one of the intriguing new angles Fforde introduces here: a more thorough explanation of the existence of 'fictional' characters in the 'real' world, and how they differ from normal humans. Jack is a 'PDR' (Person of Dubious Reality), but seems to be fairly well-adjusted, while he is able to call out his psychiatrist on being a threadbare plot device who has no backstory or memories otuside what the author has supplied her with (which is emotionally devastating).

Fforde casts his net quite wide in terms of source material, reeling in not just Southey's characters but far more obscure ones such as Mr and Mrs. Punch (British puppets who I suspect non-Brits such as myself will find rather mystifying); and the entire mystery revolves around various figures from Edward Lear's "The Quangle Wangle's Hat", which I had never heard of before, but numerous important plot details are drawn from it (one might consider reading that poem before reading this).

All in all, another winner from Fforde.

The Fourth Bear, the second in Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime Series is even better than the first book, The Big Over Easy! I could not stop reading because I wanted to know who-dun-it. You definitely will not be able to guess the ending or how the story will come together in the last few pages. I love how Fforde sets up all his punny jokes so cleverly. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

JP (Jasper Fforde) is the kid you went to school with who was constantly making bad puns and dumb 'play-on-words'. In other words he was a 'literary illusionista'. His books can be a 'trifle' pedantic, but also very informative and witty. How many people over the years have read the story of 'Goldilocks and the THREE Bears' and realized that the porridge had to have been re-poured by a FOURTH Bear. Brilliant piece of deduction Watson.

Because his literary style is so unusual, and JP himself doesn't like to put in a lot of superfluous information (!). Some of the book is stretched out by adding on, to bring it up to snuff. The illusion to the 'Goliath' company (which is a major part of the 'Thursday Next' series) is nothing if not self-serving, but hoorah for that.

Sadly, if you go to the JP website, you will find out that the next book, which is advertised at the end of this book, will be the last in the planned trilogy, but that JP has NO idea when that will be.

...just as it says...This book is the perfect balance of insanity and intelligent humor. Even if you've never read a Fforde book before, it is easy to jump right in! Very few books have ever made me literally laugh out loud, but this one did...and not just a few times, but again and again and again! Try it-you'll love it!

Jasper Fforde is an ingenious crafter of puns, a weaver of stories completely fantastical yet grounded in some sort of reality that leave readers hungry for more. His second foray into the Nursery Crime Division is just as laugh-out-loud funny as the first book in the series, with a few literary twists befitting Thursday Next finding their way into the mix. "The Fourth Bear" is a quick-paced hilarious trip through the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Detective Chief Inspector Jack Spratt always manages to find himself in a pickle: he is lauded as the person responsible for capturing the Gingerbreadman, the most notorious serial killer in history, but infamous for messing up other cases, most recently that of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother being swallowed by the wolf. When the Gingerbreadman escapes, Jack knows he is the only one who can capture the creature, but his boss takes him off the case, thinking he is too insane to perform his duties. He is sidetracked to a case about a missing journalist, Henrietta "Goldilocks" Hatchett, and his unorthodox investigation soon turns up a whole lot of questions but not many answers or connections. But Jack is certain that the whole "too hot, too cold, just right" theory indicates four bears, not three, and must find the evidence to prove his theory, and save his own life and the town of Reading.

"The Fourth Bear" is a showcase of Jasper Fforde's immense talent: each chapter is filled with puns and witty worldplay that any lover of literature will appreciate, especially the appearance of Dorian Gray. The plot is as convoluted as all of Fforde's works, yet he always manages to pull out a resolution that works to explain absolutely everything. Definitely "just right", "The Fourth Bear" will leave readers hungry and ready for the next case.