Short Stories Books

An excellent picture book by a fantastic writer and illustrator. All of her picture books are consistently great. Use of pattern and language which make children want to hear the story over and over. Pictures are excellent with lots to look at

My almost-3-year old son has loved this book for the past year. We've read it so many times that he, my husband, and I can recite whole sections of it. The rhymes are infectious, and the language is great -- not dumbed-down for kids.

My daughter got this book when she was 3 years old and she still remembers all the words. This well-loved book won't make it to another child. I never knew that there were more Slinky Malinki books until I found this one online. I will definitely buy those ones also.

My favorite cat name to recite from "Harry Maclary, Scattercat" has always been "Slinky Malinki..." Turns out I am not alone, and Lynley Dodd graduated the ebony meowser from footnote to full-on protagonist, with a series of his own.... This is the first volume of the S. Malinki saga, in which a kleptomaniac kitty-cat goes prowling through the neighborhood, kiping old gloves, sneakers and bits of string. When his pile of trashy treasures topples over at home, Slinky's secret is discovered, and he has to quit his klepto ways. Once again, Lynley Dodd's artwork is a delight, and the bouncy rhymes propel us along as well. A fun book, even if the protagonist is a sneak thief...

I'm 18 and a freshman in college and I was read this book all the time when I was a kid. I still love it. After a discussion about children's books, I remembered how much I'd loved this particular book and came to Amazon to buy a copy.

The SLJ review made me sad. I read all the time as a young child. I was a strong reader before even starting kindergarten and spent at least six days of the week at the library. I can't remember the huge majority of books I've read, but this one stands out to me. I adored this book as a child and it made enough of an impression on me to come looking for it 14 years later.

This book shares with the reader the incredible ability of one woman to take all of the bumps that life has to offer and to never give up. The importance of a name and the need to hear it spoken is powerful.

This book was excellent it told the story of slavery from an female point of view "Roots" was from a male point of view. It taught me so much I would definetly use this book for students in African American studies classes. GOOD JOB! If you are interested in African Americans past and what we went though as a whole get this book it teaches very well! It is a BIG book I loved it so much I read it in 3 days!

I read this book for my book club. I wouldn't have chosen it myself. I read the book with the same obligation that you take medicine - you know you should to make you feel better. I felt like this was a "should" book.

I like historical fiction, but I really don't enjoy reading about the torture and killing and slavery of other human beings. I think that Hill did an incredible job with his historical facts, but I found the main character implausible.

Aminata's story reveals the heart-wrenching journey of a slave in a voice filled with the wisdom learned from overcoming evil. Hill's painstaking research recreates the slavers' ships, an indigo plantation in South Carolina, and the harshness of Nova Scotia. He also reveals the complexities of the slave trade by creating Lindo, who bought slaves in spite of conscience and tried to improve their lives, in contrast to the abolitionists, some of whom wanted to build an economic empire in Africa by using freed slaves. In spite of the pain that resonates through Aminata's voice, the story ends on a happier note. But this book is a powerful reminder of the cruelty humans perpetuate against each other and the awful price paid for its continuance.

This book is amazing. It is incredibly well written and the storyline is envoking. Once you start, you'll find you can't put it down. The author does an amazing job at describing events and situations. And when you read about those events you really feel the emotions with each scenario. Wonderful book!!

Affairs of the Heart are perceived differently from various walks of life, from a variety of people, based on their experiences with love and the pains and pleasures of what love and life have to offer. With that being said, please meet William McCall, a sensitive managing law clerk who has the world on a string, in love with the perfect woman, until one day his world is rocked by the ultimate deal-breaker, Infidelity.

Rarely do we get into the heart and mind of a black man and his quest for true love, which proves to be nourishment for a man's soul. He is never portrayed as a delicate creature, with intensity, sincere anxieties and sufferings of the normal human condition.

William Cooper does a wonderful job in portraying a love story that is refreshing, heartfelt and embraces all that encompasses love, and affairs of the heart.

One of the best I've read so far this year.

There's Always a Reason is highly recommended.

Congratulations to this author for daring to show the vulnerability we all possess as people in our quest for true love and happiness.

Yes, there is a reason why I recommend this great book for those who love a good story with well-rounded characters and engaging story. Cooper's latest book continues to display his gifted talents at crafting a story from the male perspective and showing that men feel the pains and heartaches of relationships. There's Always a Reason offers the reader a captivating story that will keep you turning the pages. It offers romance, setbacks, steamy dialogue, wisdom, humor, betrayal, and heartache.

Kudos to William for putting his heart and soul in this book and he takes romance and the readers to a whole new level. I highly recommend There's Always a Reason to everyone who enjoys a well-written, heartfelt story.

After reading the first sentence of this novel i could not put it down,,,page after page of raw emotions, drama, compassionate, and Love!! I will be sharing this book with my family and friends....everyone should experience true Love whether on paper or in Reality! Can't wait for the next one!

~Gracefulone "Avid Reader" (Stone Mountain Ga)

I am another person who actually read the books in the reverse order (waiting for January now). I read this book at a time in my life when I finally able to get past the hurts of my past and open my heart to love again; this is EXACTLY the book I needed to read.

Another reviewer stated that life isn't fair and indeed that is true but if you are looking for a REAL, HONEST, MATURE, love story, this is the book for you.

I can't wait to read Six Days In January!

Mr. Cooper had done it. I read this book a few months ago. I can think about it now and still cry. It captured my heart. Brothers and sisters if you have no clue what love is about, read this book. William hit the nail on the head. Ladies, this is what we deserve. Men, this is what we want. I recommend this book 100 times over. GET THIS BOOK!! READ THIS BOOK!!

Please say this review is helpful to you. They told me that if I post another unhelpful review they're going to kill my ferret.

It was obvious to anyone who has known Peyser that something like this was bound to happen. I refer, of course, to Peyser's bout of aphasia during his freshman year at the College. Clearly this mysterious illness has returned in book-length, perhaps even a global, form. We may never really know what Peyser is up to in this book. Oh, for some Young and Champollion to decode this, the Rosetta Stone of post-modernism!

I don't usually tolerate so-called theory, but this was fun!

Don't let the title fool you--this is a down-to-earth, engaging work that deserves to be read by a much larger audience than the academic field it's probably relegated to.

This is a powerful, bleak book. None of the writers Peyser deals with is particularly optimistic. The possible exception is Howells but there is a dark undertow even to his work which Peyser makes sure we see. So a book about utopia is also a strangely, depressing read. 40 years or so after Brooke Farm, who would have thought things would have gotten so sad? Of course it was the turn the century and the best of the Western thinkers were thinking sad and pessimistic thoughts. And now here we are at the turn of another century and we have this powerful, bleak book. Have we come all that far after this century of bloodthirsty carnage? Is Utopia even further away than it was 100 years ago? Read Peyser's powerful, bleak book and see if you can answer some of these sad questions yourself. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

You know, this is not the sort of book I would normally read. But there it was, suddenly, on the coffee table one night. How it got there I have no idea. Just curious, I began to leaf through the pages, and the words began to resonate with me. Unable to sleep, I read it through in one sitting by candlelight. The next morning, I began to look at things around me differently. First, I removed several unessential appliances from the house in an effort to simplify my existence. Then it became time to de-clutter and I threw out several items I realized I had no more use for. Then, and this all seemed so logical in light of the things I'd read, I divorced the wife and sent her on her why. Sure, she cried a bit, but I knew I was doing the right thing. And I've never regretted it. This is, indeed, one of the best books I've read all year.

This book was a great hit throughout my second grade art classes. They have been looking for characteristics of Picasso and Matisse in every art work we see. Then I read it to one of my first grade classes an hour before Christmas break began. They had so much fun creating self-portraits using the techniques of either one of these artists that several didn't want to leave the art room. I'd post some of their artwork if I could. It's been a wonderful experience.

What a fantastic book to introduce some masters to your child. Wonderful, bright pictures and an adorable story!

Such a humorous and educational way to learn about the two masters of 20th century modernism. My son has this book and I've given it to other kids and everyone loves it, and they amazingly retain and remember the facts about the real artists as well. Excellent way to expose your child to the arts in a way that's fun and memorable.

Whether your kid knows who Picasso is or not, this is a fun play on Famous Artists and their feuding ways. My Kindergartener loves this book.

This book is my daughter's favorite. We have read it every day for the past 9 or so months and she has most of the punch lines memorized, (e.g., "mootisse was not like the other bulls" "it was a modern art mess" "the silence was broken" "i'm tired of this crowded cow town"). After reading it the first time, she said she wanted to draw with paint. And she did. Now we do watercolors all the time and she knows that Picasso and Matisse were great artists. This book provided a fun and funny way for her to learn about two art masters and their styles while also teaching a lesson about conflict resolution.

We have taken this book on flights across the country and overseas. The illustrations and the story engage my daughter to no end. The description of this book is for 4-8 year olds but unlike Roberto: The Insect Architect by Nina Laden (also a funny, well-illustrated book), I find Pigasso/Mootisse to be appropriate for a younger {pre}reader as well. I'm back to buy more copies as gifts for all the kids that I know.

It took me several days to grind through "The Last of Mr. Norris." After taking a break to read another novel, I came back to Isherwood's "Goodbye to Berlin." And it, too, took me several days to finish. My interest waned mainly because these two stories, which make up the book "The Berlin Stories," read very much like a diary -- no real suspenseful build-up, no climax. The various characters in "The Berlin Stories" are much the same -- secretive, manipulative, shallow and, in many respects, nothing more than low life. I expected more insight into the character's views of Hitler, or why Jews threatened so many people -- something to give me a better feel as to why the German people felt the way they did and what their hopes were for their country. "The Berlin Stories" does complement other books which have been written about this period.

Needless to say the story is great. It's unfortunate that the publisher, New Directions/James Laughlin, couldn't be bothered to reset the type to fit the size of the page. Also, A SECTION OF THE TEXT IS MISSING. Page 95 ends mid-sentence and page 96 picks up mid-sentence at another point in the story. Try to find another edition than ISBN 978-0-8112-0070-7

Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" is perhaps most famous for having inspired the stage and screen masterpiece Cabaret, but those who are looking for an exact match between the two will be disappointed. The divine Sally Bowles does make an appearance (her charisma and verve are the book's high point), but only briefly, and her story only contains only seeds of what would become Cabaret's plotline. The primary similarities between the musical and its source material lie in the characterization of the aforementioned wannabe diva (who is every bit as vibrant on the page as she is in performance), as well as in the central themes and setting.

Berlin, 1930 - 1933: a city caught helplessly in an inexorable rush toward history as warring political factions fight for control and the Nazi party begins its rise to power. Violence and danger lurk in every street, and yet life goes on for the citizens of Berlin - who struggle to keep a degree of normalcy in their lives and food on their tables. They desperately cling to their traditional way of life as Germany's bloodthirsty future in WWII becomes more and more a nightmarish present. They are utterly unprepared for what lies ahead for them and their beloved nation. Could they have stopped Hitler? Almost certainly, if only they had taken the threat seriously. And therein lies the tragedy at the heart of Isherwood's masterpiece: that while it may be human nature to bury your head in the sand and hope for the best when trouble comes knocking, doing so will make you a passive co-conspirator and only allow the worst-case-scenario become a fully realized reality.

"The Berlin Stories" consists of two novellas that have been published together. "The Last of Mr. Norris" delves into the failure of Germany's communist party and, through the character of Mr. Norris, shows us the war profiteer at its worst. Norris doesn't care who ends up in power or what they do to Germany so long as he can use them to turn a profit and maintain his lavish lifestyle. The one complaint I have about it is that William Bradshaw's immediate friendship with the shifty Mr. Norris requires a suspension of disbelief on the reader's part. Why would he so readily trust Norris when his every instinct reveals him to be a charlatan and a swindler? Perhaps we are meant to see in William's willingness to trust Norris the larger concept that Germans eventually embraced Hitler despite their better instincts, but if that was Isherwood's intention it is a little too vague. "Goodbye to Berlin" is a series of vignettes with a writer named Isherwood (!) as its central character. The vignettes begin when it was still possible to hope for the best, and end in a cloud of violence as Isherwood is forced to leave Berlin, his once-and-still beloved city, in 1933.

"The Berlin Stories" is, ultimately, an elegy for the lost Germany that Isherwood had once fallen in love with, and the reader will be hard pressed not to mourn with him as the once vibrant city of Berlin descends into chaos and bloodshed. What is truly terrifying is that it actually happened, and it is incumbent upon us to make sure that it never happens again.
Grade: A

While nowhere near as fleshed out as "Cabaret"--the film that was constructed from this and "I am a Camera," THE BERLIN STORIES are still great entertainment and a valuable look into pre-war Berlin and Germany.

Isherwood brings to life the squalid conditions and the "many families in one place" atmosphere that adds to the gloom and doom, and also the human interactions that makeup these stories.

If you're planning to delve into the land of Christopher Isherwood, I highly suggest this writing of his, along with his wonderful, though extremely extensive autobiographies. Great fodder about Stravinsky, Los Angeles, Arthur Kallman, and a host of others around the "LA roundtable" that is also a time capsule of an era we will never see again.

Forget all about Mr. Norris. He might have changed trains, but he never takes off. Goodbye to Berlin on the other hand is wonderful. Modernism at its best. Isherwood watches, as a bystander, how the roaring twenties Berlin slowly decays and how the Nazis are creeping out of their holes and take over public spaces.

This was one of my favoret books... a must read!!!! In the first book, you begin to think captain Bligh is evil but in the second book he seems verry reasanable guy...

Having chanced to see the Mutiny on the Bounty movie starring
Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson recently, I immediately resolved
to obtain and read the book.

I can only add my praise to the preceding reviews. The
quality of the writing, the details of the sailing life
of the time, the descriptions of the characters, were all
excellent.

If you know of young readers enamoured of Harry Potter
and the like, get them a copy of the Bounty Trilogy
and encourage them to read it while they await the final
Potter tale. They won't be disappointed with the
adventure nor the struggle between good and evil men.

To all those actively seeking hardy adventure from the comfort of a chair:
Look no farther, your search has come to an end. This is it. This is 100% total immersion into a world of adventure. So this thing comes in three equally consuming parts. I mean who writes an entire book about sixteen guys stuck on a small wooden paddle boat out in the middle of the pacific, and makes it a treat to read? Hardy adventure seeker I have your fix, and it's not a quick fix, it's a time consuming gem that will have you in its grips until the last page is eaten up. I have to admit that I can't think of an adventure novel(trilogy) that I've enjoyed this much. Quality entertainment. Quality.

Do your self a big favor and read this book. Make sure you read all three parts- The Bounty, Men against the sea, and Pitcairn's Island. It is an absolute shame that most people have only read the first book because the other two are just as good if not BETTER! My personal favorite is part three ,the last book, where the mutineers find an island and try to start new lives there.
Then, be sure and check out the movie - Mutiny on the Bounty starring Marlon Brando. That one is the most accurate version, and I have seen all three.
And then dream of being one of those lucky sailors landing at the paradise know as Tahiti.

Buy this book and read within a week, and you WILL want to explore to the south pacific.

This is an amazing epic of 18th mutiny of the H.M.S. Bounty. Although the tale has been fictionalized as an historical novel, it portrays the conflicting cultures of that time as the forces of racism, imperialism, autonomy and autocracy clash on the high seas. The trilogy is comprised of three novels: The first is Mutiny on the Bounty which chronicles the abuse of Captain Bligh, the mutiny led by Fletcher Christian narrated by midshipmen Roger Byam. Men Against the Sea, narrated by ships surgeon Thomas Ledward, picks up the tale at the mutiny and chronicles the amazing feat of Captain Bligh in returning 19 souls to England after being set adrift in a twenty-three foot longboat with only seven or eight inches of freeboard. The trilogy concludes with the tragic, yet redeeming tale of Pitcairn's Island where the mutineers made their home.

On the surface, Captain Bligh is the villain and Fletcher Christian is the hero. This has been ingrained into our culture to such an extent that any hard-driving taskmaster will not doubt inherit the name Captain Bligh by those under his charge. Yet, Nordoff and Hall resist the temptation to draw these lines so clearly. Yes, Captain Bligh was his own worst enemy. He was so sold out to an autocratic model of leadership that he was incapable of recognizing the autonomy of his men- the needs of his men were subordinate to the success of his mission. Now, men will often subordinate their needs to the need of the mission, or even give their lives for it, if the mission is a noble one; but supplying breadfruit to feed slaves did not fit that bill. Yet, once set adrift, Bligh now becomes the hero navigating his overloaded longboat 3600 miles to safety- a deed that must rank as one of the most remarkable feats of seamanship and leadership in history.

This is also a story of imperialism and racism- the two are inexorably intertwined. British imperialism, carrying the white mans burden to the South Seas, lead to the inevitable conflict between the two races. The sailors, obviously enjoyed the company of the Tahitian woman, even fell in love with them; yet, the idea that the white race was superior was a festering boil just under the surface that exploded when the mutineers made their home on Pitcairn Island. It is interesting to note who was the more civilized race when the conflict arose on Pitcairns Island, the European men acted like savages, whereas we see a measured dignity among the Tahitian men.

What I find interesting about the other reviews written on this book, is the omission to mention what specially brought peace to the Island- it was the rediscovery of the Bible and man's submission to the will of God. Without transcendent values, each man was out for himself and the result was anarchy and death; but when the survivors submitted their will to God's will, peace and harmony was restored. This is an amazing epic and well worth the read.

I cannot imagine trying to read Proust's Everest of a novel until I've had enough life experience to be able to identify with his insights. How on earth was a man who died young and was confined to a bed for so many years able to learn so much about life and common human experience, emotion and perception? I don't know how, but I thank God that he was.

For modern readers, Proust is definitely an acquired taste that rewards patience. I never thought reading the works of one author would make those of others seem so much easier to read. But such is the case with Proust. Nevertheless, one shouldn't regard his writing as therapy or medicine; it may read like self help at times, with its frequent use of the first-person plural, but it is a story first of all. His writing is just more detailed and insightful than that of all but a handful of modern novelists.

Within a Budding Grove is a primer on patience and perception, one that will probably make you a better reader, perhaps a better writer, and certainly a more interesting human being. Struggle on patiently. You will get used to the labyrinthine sentences, paragraphs that run on for pages, and gargantuan chapters (if they can be called that) that don't really begin or end anywhere tidy. Eventually, you will likely come to enjoy it.

My only criticism: at times one does get annoyed by the slow pacing. For instance, I knew that this is the volume that introduces the reader to Albertine. But it did take about 600 pages for the narrator to meet her! That said, there are plenty of tasty morsels along the way. Read it, not so much for the simple story or the minutely detailed descriptions, but for the numerous insights and the astounding wisdom.

How can anyone summarize even a single volume of Proust's massive six volume novel? Within a Budding Grove (sometimes translated as In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower) is the second installment of In Search of Last Time. We find the narrator perhaps marginally older on vacation with his grandmother living in a luxurious hotel in Balbec off the coast. This volume, paired with the first (Swann's Way), is really the introduction to the work entire if you can believe it. In it, the narrator perhaps matures slightly; he cultivates his keen awareness of art, meets new people, and ultimately falls out of love with Gilberte and falls in love with Albertine. His relationship with his grandmother is certainly expanded, and the reader comes to learn that the narrator is not merely motivated by a trivial pursuit of pleasure and bourgeois charm. He is in fact, a truly full human being, complete with fear, love, desire, and ambition. He meets one of my favorite characters in the whole book, the impressionist painter Elstir, a character clearly based Monet, Manet, Pissaro, and others. He introduces the narrator to Albertine through his paintings, and teaches him about the joys of life and art. There are some passages in this section of the book (the latter half) which I just can't resist from quoting,

"I could never have believed that I should now be dreaming of a sea which was no more than a whitish vapour that had lost both consistency and colour. But of such a sea Elstir, like the people who sat musing on board those vessels drowsy with the heat, had felt so intensely the enchantment that he had succeeded in transcribing, in fixing for all time upon his canvas, the imperceptible ebb of the tide, the throb of one happy moment; and at the sight of this magic portrait, one could think of nothing else than to range the wide world, seeking to recapture the vanished day in its instantaneous, slumbering beauty" (pg. 657).

also (how French is this?),

"For a convalescent who rests all day long in the flower-garden or an orchard, a scent of flowers or fruit does not more completely pervade the thousand trifles that compose his idle hours than did for me that colour, that fragrance in search of which my eyes kept straying towards the girls, and the sweetness of which finally became incorporated in me. So it is that grapes sweeten in the sun. And by their slow continuity these simple little games had gradually wrought in me also, as in those who do nothing else all day but lie outstretched by the sea, breathing the salt air and sunning themselves, a relaxation, a blissful smile, a vague dazzlement that had spread from brain to eyes" (pg. 669).

I certainly cannot add any insights into the greatness and profundity of this work which has not already been said by Edmund Wilson or Vladimir Nabokov. Within a Budding Grove is a deeply felt, beautiful and fleeting segment of one of the finest novels of the last century, I urge you to read it.

Montcrief's translation, is the quintisential Proust. The, beautiful, florid prose is reminiscent of a time and a place that no longer exists, and captures the French aristocracy in the advent of WWI -- full of old-world trappings, yet abounding with subtle reminders of the globalization that was to follow. Proust's style and vision are directed admirably towards his artistic goal of appreciating art through sublimation, and express his idea that a true understanding of art comes first through appreciation, and then expression through a medium. This volume is full of Proust's own philosiphies on art, life and the people who abound in both. His observations, pointed and amusing, keep this volume relevant. Considering the wave of expatriate and existentialist writers who propogated Paris after the Great War, this book is truly the last in a line of works that view life in a grand, sweeping and elegant manner. Within a Budding Grove brought Proust fame and acclaim in his own time, and in ours can be seen as a masterpiece reflecting a time past, yet glimsping assiduously into the future. For those "in search of lost time" this is truly a great read.

This is a great copy of Vol. 2 of A la recherche du temps perdu [In Search of Lost Time] or [Delving into Things Past]. Each volume in the septrology may be read individually as an independent novel. This is, of course, the very best translation available in English; probably the very best that will ever be available in English: certainly the next best thing to reading the original French.

Note: Proust is not quick reading, and one who tries to read too quickly will just as quickly lose the tread of the narrative. This text has its own time scale, and the reader must adjust his/herself to the text--not the other way around. In this stream of consciousness narrative, the narrator (/author) digresses as he speaks (/thinks): he digresses, digresses, digresses; and then, he returns, returns, returns to the point where he began. One has to follow his line of thought: this is the art and beauty of the text.

Proust's achievement is one of the greatest edifices of Western art, perhaps comparable only to Wagner's Ring cycle.

It's my experience, reading this novel, to be perpetually grateful for the miracle of Proust, grateful, too, that he waited until his maturity to write; as someone who's spent time in writing workshops, I can only imagine the dissipation of his energies into anemic prototypes had he been persuaded to publish prematurely. Lovingly written, every word endowed with love of life and maturity's distillation of life experience, it is a novel (which reads like a memoir) of a life devoted to the connoisseur's pursuit of pleasure-how can that not alienate? Proust is consciously writing for an elite of mental or temperamental sympathy. To say that reading Proust has helped me through hard times is true-yet how can I-someone who has, to paraphrase a T-shirt I saw recently, a blackbelt in keepin' it real-not resent a courtesan with three ladies to aid in her toilette-however tenderly rendered?

The mature Proust's vision of love-in this novel at least-is adolescent and self-absorbed, and there is no sense of a selfless or mature love, such as that of a parent for a child, which contains a dying to self as opposed to an expansion of self. (One thinks here of the authorial contempt for the too-giving parent, Vinteuil.) I pity Marcel: to lose oneself-the burden-to lose time-sometimes-is very refreshing indeed. Mired in the adolescent and egotistical point-of-view, without benefit of even the illusory counterpoint of an adult lover's (Swann's) point-of-view, the narrative does sometimes suffer from too much Marcel. Coddled, effete, he finely calibrates the shades of disillusionment that possession as opposed to reflection offers-the "psychological impossibility of happiness"-after having his wildest fantasies (Berma! Bergotte! Balbec!) fulfilled time and again. And he universalizes his singular temperamental trait, that inability to live in the moment.

Proust is only too conscious of his weaknesses, and as a result, we get his poetics: "I am aware that this is to blaspheme against the sacrosanct school of what these gentlemen term `Art for Art's sake,' but at this period of history there are tasks more urgent than the manipulation of words in a harmonious manner," Norpois says, and one is laughing out loud with pleasure at the dissonance between Marcel's lofty musings on Berma and the cold spiced beef jiggling in its cubes of aspic, the delicious conflict of temperaments.

He gives me back to myself-it's a long time since I've felt the sole inhabitor of my consciousness and had the leisure to puzzle out my sensations. Usually my mind is full to the brim like this: "Mommy-mommy-mommy-here comes little bear! What does little bear say?! Mommy-mommy-mommy-mommy-moooooommy! Here's little bear! Little bear is talking!" So that I don't have mental space or leisure to process even the simplest sensation, how the sun feels on my shoulders, for instance. Visiting Proust's cool room of mirrors and ocean waves returns that feeling to me, and that is precious. There is something precious in his extremity-his lack of apology for a sensitive and aesthetically-driven nature that is anathema to middle-class American values. And that rhythm like ocean waves! It gets in your head, lowers your blood pressure, no doubt alters brain wave patterns, the chemicals in neuropathways.

There is something so extreme (admirable!) in Proust's sensibility-the extremity of his pursuit of pleasurable sensation intellectually reorganized and savored-that one feels-paradoxically-something dehumanizing in his gaze. His musings on the protoplasmic nature of young girls frankly chills me! Yet I see it as part of the "green fuse," the life force pagan and repugnant at times. So, what happens in Vol.3? I can't wait, yet at the same time I hope for something I may not get.

We had a rather intimidating librarian at my high school, but she was also very insightful when suggesting books. I was Junior when she handed this book to me, stuck her face right in mine, and said, "This book is out of print, so if I don't get it back, YOU'RE IN BIG TROUBLE!" As she escorted me to the checkout table, she gave me a full dissertation on how wonderful the story was, and how much I'd love it. Staring at the plain blue cover with white writing on the spine, I wondered what could be so great. Curious, I took it home.

Trying to avoid my sister later that night, I stretched out across the foot of my bed, and decided to give it a chance... It had my full attention well within the first chapter, and I finished the entire 300-something page book within three days - three SCHOOL days, I might add. I absolutely devoured this book.

I returned it to Ms. Padilla gushing about it, and she had my full trust in any other suggestions she had. I have a few other favorites that were first placed in my hands by that woman, but this one stood out in my memory for a long time as honestly and truly one of the very best books I had ever read - and this is coming from a 'Gone With the Wind' fanatic, too!


***


Fast forward six years, my sister calls me from a rare bookstore to ask the name of the book I'd read in high school and loved... She knew I was looking for a copy, and thoughtfully decided to stop and search for me. Lo and behold, they had a first edition. They obviously didn't know what it was worth, because it was only $8.95. A gem for that low price; what a shame.

I read it again, and was just as enraptured as I was the first time! I now tell everyone that it is my absolute favorite book in the entire world, and the few people who have read it on my suggestion have all but kissed me for it.


***


I really encourage you to pick this one up... Meet Garnet, Oliver, Florinda, John, and - my favorite - Texas. They will have a place in your heart forever, just like they do mine. This is one you pass down to your children.

This book was recommended to me in my favorites quite a while ago, and I finally decided to give it a try. It was so good. I never wanted to put it down, and when I was finished I wanted it to keep going. I have read "These is my words" and loved that. This is another to add to it.

Good book, but I liked Calico Palace much better. Jubilee Trail is just a little to predictable.

Living out West I've always been into the history of the Oregon trail but I never knew very much about the history off the California trial (except apparently there was assign showing the turn to Oregon and on fork was a nugget of gold and on the other was the word Oregon because the settlers in Oregon wanted more people to come there and settle who knew how to read and the illiterate people went to California) so reading "Jubilee Trail was kind of a history lesson for me. And an interesting, well written one at that.

This is the story of Garnet, a very well brought up New York socialite in the 1840's who ends up marrying a man who is a trader on the Jubilee trail, the trail to California, which Garnet has never even heard of. She marries Oliver because she wants adventure so bad, and ends up going on the trail with him. Along the way she meets Florinda, who is a sort of actress/courtesan with a very mysterious past but a heart of gold. The book tells the story of the journey to California and Garnet's meeting with Oliver's evil older brother Charles, who has Oliver so squarely under his thumb he makes Garnet feel like an exile in the beautiful flower cover Californian country. But she also meets Oliver's mysterious, emotionless best friend John, and his best friend the seven foot tall Russian called the Handsome Brute. When disaster strikes for Garnet, leaving her 3,000 miles from family in a wild country she will have to rely on her own strength and endurance, because even though she has great friends, pioneers can not depend on each other for sole support.

This is really a good historical book. Its quite accurate from what I can tell and very well plotted in the smallest details that all fall to place at the very end. Though it was written 50 years ago it's very readable and in fact, this gives the unique perspective of letting you see what people in the 1950'ss thought of people in the 1840's-so it's like a double historical. It also has wonderful insights into human nature and the nature of pioneers especially, which are beautifully expressed. I recommend this book highly and look forward to reading others by this author.

Five stars.

I can't believe I had never heard of this book before, and I am grateful to my Amazon friend who did review it or I would never have found it. I was quite surprised, as Amazon is usually so good at recommending similar items once it picks up on your reading habits.

This is the story of just out of finishing school Garnet, who meets and falls in love with Oliver Hale while he's visiting New York from California. Garnet has an adventurous spirit that Oliver indulges and they're off to California via the Jubilee Trail. Along the way they meet up with Florinda, the "bad" woman with a heart of gold and Garnet and Florinda become great friends, and support each other during the good and bad times as they cross the country and come to California before it is governed by the US.

The author does a very nice job of setting the scenery and the conditions along the trail -- you almost feel the dust in your mouth and on your skin and hair. I loved the way she used John's love of nature so that you can visualize everything from the snow topped mountains, to the red rocks of the southwest, to the wide open ranges, and the flora and fauna of California.

All in all a jolly good yarn, I had a hard time putting this down until the very end at the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. Highly recommended for any lover of historical fiction, and as this was written 50+ years ago, the love scenes (if you can call them that) are very chaste and well suited for a younger reader.

Mary Lawson is a wonderfully evocative writer. You ache for her characters. You enter into the desolation and into the pull of the hard life in a very small northern Ontario community. I only want to add one thing to what else has been written in these reviews.

Sibling rivalry? yes. A wonderful re-telling of the story of two brothers, one charming, smart, handsome, irresponsible and careless of other people's feelings; the other slow, stolid, uncommunicative and responsible. However doesn't Lawson also show us that the parents are at least in part to blame? Would Arthur been more secure, more able to communicate with other people if his mother had been loving and encouraging of him? Would Jake have been less irresponsible if he had been able to win his father's approval for who he was rather than what his father thought he should be - a farm boy? Lawson seems to suggest that, despite Jake's careless ways, he really did long for his father to accept him for who he was. He wasn't Arthur. Arthur wasn't Jake. Neither parent can really embrace the differences in their sons.

This book is so beautifully written and I just finished it so the words are still fresh in my mind. I think this author has a wonderful talent to create images and can write bringing it all together. This book defiinitely makes my top- rated books for this year. It is not a long book but it took me a while to read (a couple of weeks) because I found myself rereading beautiful passages and really absorbing some of the most well-said dialog. Five Stars!!

This will be one of my favorite reads for 2007. Mary Lawson is quite a talented writer, and again has kept my attention until the very last page. Lawson accomplished excellence in developing the personalities in this story. This book was a page turner, hard to put down, and I definitely was not disappointed after reading Crow Lake.

Crow Lake was a wonderful first novel and I was happy to see that Mary Lawson is not a one-hit wonder. The Other Side of the Bridge is an engaging story with beautifully drawn characters. It grabs you right from the beginning and holds you until the end. It's hard to find a book that you don't want to finish but this is one.

We are far away in Northern Canada, in the small town of Struan. The life is rough, tough and simple. Or so it seems. We are in the years before, during and after World War 2, and we follow the lives of brothers Arthur and Jake, and Ian, son of the town's respected doctor. Arthur is the older brother to Jake, and their relationship has been bad almost since before Jake was born. Arthur is the one who works hard and who does his chores without complaining and without asking why he has to them. Arthur thinks a lot, doesn't talk much and hates going to school. Jake is the younger brother who is not all pleasant and nice. He doesn't like to work, not too hard anyway, he is quick and smart and he grows up to be a regular ladies man.

When World War 2 begins, neither of the brothers enlist, for different reasons, but they stay at home, while their friends go overseas to fight. Arthur devotes his time to farming and thinking and feeling guilty, while Jake seems to celebrate life by sleeping with as many girls as he can, drink and have fun.

The brothers never really find each other, and specially Arthur is consumed by guilt and thoughts, until they are both grown up, and the high school kid Ian enters their world. Or enters Arthur's world. Ian is at a point in his life where he needs to find out what he wants to do with the rest of it, and while thinking about this, he goes to work for Arthur on the farm he inherited from his parents. Jake is long gone, and life goes on in a quiet way. Until Jake suddenly surfaces again, and Ian senses that there is something more behind his visit than just feelings for the good ole family.

The story moves between the childhood of Arthur and Jake over, their youth during World War 2 and the 'present day', which in this story is the 1950'es and 60'es. The story moves slowly, and much of the things happening, is happening in the minds of Arthur and Ian. The story moved a little too slow for this reader, but is wonderfully written, with good character-development and wonderful descriptions of nature, wind, weather etc.