Short Stories Books

As I write this, I have not finished reading this book. However, I am impressed with Mr. Kushner's abilities. The novel works on many levels. It works as a stand-alone story with excellent nattarive structure and character development. To a more sophisticated reader, the novel's resonances with Kabblistic text and thought are hard to escape. However, I'm under the strong impression a reader can develop a deep appreciation of Mr. Kushner's work without being a scholar in Jewish thought.

What Rabbi Lawrence Kushner writes, I read and learn.

I was intrigued to see that this inspiring author had turned his hand to writing a novel. I found it an accessible and appealing way to learn more about kabbalah and would certainly recommend it to anyone starting out on this particular spiritual path. The interweaving of concealed and revealed truths and the constant referral to light-- real and symbolic-- made this a most worthwhile and enjoyable reading experience.

A wonderful connection between the teachings of Kabbalah and a modern love story. The book makes the complex easier to understand. Our book group has decided to make this book our topic of discussion at our next meeting.

This novel permanently shifted my perspective, challenged me to dig a little deeper and confirmed those fleeting thoughts we all get when we allow ourselves to contemplate our existence.

A real gem! This little book is amazing. Rabbi Lawrence Kushner is to Jewish mysticism what Alan Watts was to Zen Buddhism. The writing is deceptively simple, the book is easy to read, but things are not as they first seem. What I initially found a little confusing was simply my brain not getting this message! The story follows two threads simultaneously. One thread is the tension between the main character, who is inexperienced with love, and his newfound astronomer girlfriend, and the second is his discovery of an ancient text hidden in the binding of an old copy of the Zohar, a medieval book on Jewish mysticism. How these two threads interweave in the mind of the reader is quite compelling: calling into question the nature of reality and our trust in perception; drawing attention to the function of religion and spirituality in our daily lives; and revealing the interconnectedness of all things.

I highly recommend this book!

The story traces the life of Nick Romano from alter boy to cop killer,painting pictures of the disowned people and places in pre war Chicago.
To put it simply, this is a fantastic book. It is so readable;the pace never drops and Motley never loses the readers attention.Anyone from teenager onwards will enjoy reading this all time great novel and it will push them on to searching out and discovering other Chicago greats;Richard Wrights 'Native Son' or Nelson Algrens 'Neon Wilderness' for example.
A great story not only well told, but written how it should be.The original 'unputdownable' read!

This novel is Willard Motley's masterpiece. His subsequent books never approached the impact of "Knock on Any Door." The author set his novel on Chicago's West Side Skid Row. The book contains numerous Chicago street addresses and local references. Motley actually lived on Skid Row while writing the book.

Motley was an African American writer, but it might be difficult to discern this from his writing. As an author, he focuses so much upon his Italian-American characters that he seems to fade completely into the background. Motley once worked for "The Chicago Defender." He has been credited with creating the Bud Biliken character which gave rise to annual Back to School parade which is held in Chicago.

"Knock on Any Door" was adapted for a film with Humphrey Bogart and John Derek, but it had to be carefully revised for the screen. Much of the sexual content had to be removed or muted. Nevertheless, for readers and movie goers in the Forties, the material must have been considered somewhat shocking. The novel addressed several taboo subjects such
as adultery, capital punishment, communism, crime, gambling, homosexuality, illegitimacy and prostitution.

The success of "Knock on Any Door" inspired a sequel, "Let No Man Write My Epitaph." The second novel follows the character of Nick Romano's illegitimate son who may be following in his late father's footsteps.

Much of the Skid Row area along West Madison Street has been cleared due to urban renewal, but this sociological novel is still worthwhile and timely. I am somewhat surprised that Motley is not especially well remembered in his native Chicago. "Knock on Any Door" is a forgotten masterpiece. I had to find a worn copy in a public library to read a few years ago. It is good news, indeed, that the novel has been reissued in a new edition.

Of course there are writers that use their brains, and writers that write with their hearts...Willard Motley spills his guts all over the pages in every one of his four novels.

I first read KNOCK ON ANY DOOR when I was a freshman in high school, and got sent home with a letter to my parents for bringing "unacceptable reading material to school"!!! I have read that book at least three more times, and each time it is a belly punch. The Bogart movie did not do justice to this fine work.

I did not know Motley was African-American, until after I finished his thrid novel.

Willard Motley was not just a great novelist, he was what the heart and soul of this Nation should be.

I'm sorry to offer a counter opinion amongst all the enthusiasm, but if you are interested in this subject you really should read "Never Come Morning," by Nelson Algren. KOAD is an OK novel, neither great nor terrible. And I don't want to disuade you from buying it. However, it pales in comparison to NCM, a FAR superior novel written by a FAR superior writer. Put KOAD in your basket and then RUN, don't walk, to the Nelson Algren section and buy Never Come Morning. Now you have a one good and one GREAT novel in your basket.

I read this book 41 years ago , i was not very well educated my school only taught religion and self preservation, i left at 15 . One day i found this book on a bus and took it home it was on the shelf for a month or two then one night i started reading my first novel i could not put it down i found a new pleasure in life instead of going out every night hanging round with the gang and breaking the law for kicks i changed and i put it down to this book knock on any door, i found the author understood my feelings and it was so easy to understand thank you Willard Mottley

I just stumbled across this book in the Birmingham Museum of Art and what a delightful surprise! What a showcase of Alabama women's writing talents. From silly to serious, this book covers it all, from crib to cradle. It left me asking when's the next one coming out and where can I get it!

What an excellent display of the talents of Alabama writers! Alabama is often the brunt of "good ole boy" jokes, skipping over the intelligence and versatility of the abundance of talent found in Alabama. Anyone can relate to this book---from grandmothers and grandfathers and "hard times" which are displayed profusely. Hats off to the contributors to this book and for the editor for taking the time to introduce these poems to America!

Ordinary and Sacred as Blood makes me feel at home among writers--Alabama women writers who have shared their inmost thoughts from every cranny of the state. The variety of their experiences and the ways they have chosen to express them are appealing--poetry, memoir, essay, story. I'm still reading, and I've enjoyed every one--from our wonderful just-retired poet laureate Helen Blackshear to Helen Norris to Susan Murphy and Nabella Shunnarah, from Anne George to Natasha Tretheway to others whose voices are new to me. I look forward to the next chapter from this group.

Alabama authors have stepped forth to share short stories, poems and quips that will lift the heart of the reader. Ordinary & Sacred as Blood, authored by Alabama women, will trigger your every emotion. It truly promises and delivers something for everyone. You'll treasure this book forever. Delightful, thoughtful way to remember those on your gift list.

wonderful, folksy reading with home folks. Alabama Christmas by Charlotte Miller very sweet.Mamie was a Slave by Helen Blackshear gives insight into other days.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Having purchased The Three Musketeers and The Man in The Iron Mask I realised that there were three intermediate novels pulling the story together.Twenty Years After, The Vicomte De Bragelonne and Louise de La Valliere bring the complete story of the musketeers into focus. To gain the most from these stories they need to be read as virtually one book in five large chapters.

After writing The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years after, Dumas wrote a third installment to the trilogy. It is probably the most controvercial book in the trilogy, as can be revealed by reading many of the reviews. For starters, it's LONG: over 200 chapters. As a result, the English-speaking world has split it into three books: The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Louise de la Valiere and The Man in the Iron Mask (the most famous volume). The length is certainly a problem, in fact is it THE major flaw in the conclusion of the trilogy. Dumas is never terse or concise, but in this three-part book, he produces an monolith. This was largely due to him overcomitting himself and having to write this much for financial reasons. However, while this is a major setback, the three books still have elements of great, almost sublime Dumas left in them, which can be extracted if approached in the right way.

The final installment of the trilogy represents the dear old Athos, d'Artagnan, Porthos and Aramis maturing and growing old. The trilogy thus moves from more active and straightforward swashbuckling to a more complex and sombre picture. Like the previous book Twenty Years After, it is not completely clear as to who's in the right and who isn't, only this time it is more so. Like the previous book, age has placed the former Musketeers in a somewhat divided situation, this time involving many a clandestine dealing of state and international level. Finally, in this three-part saga, we are introduced to a huge number of characters while our Four at times take a back seat for several hundred pages. This has been criticised as well, but has a point.

In terms of this specific volume (The Vicomte de Bragelonne), it is the most historical one, as initially d'Artagnan and Athos are brought out of retirement, united in their royalist causes. After completing an adventure reminiscent of their former, more "action-packed" years, the intrigue of the newly-ascended Louis XIV begins. It is here that we can see Dumas as painting a brilliantly detailed picture of what he sees as France moving towards a more centralised, efficient yet pedestrian autocracy from Richeleu to Mazarin to Louis XIV. For the first time, d'Artagnan finds himself serving (and appreciated by) the king, however, the novel asks the question of whether this is at all a good thing. In the power-struggles of the court, we see the irony that the "detractors" of progress are often more honourable than its supporters.

If you only expect more action involving the Four, then don't bother reading this at all. However, if you persevere, you will get to see sublime glimpses of what a long way the Musketeers of old have come (for better or worse), what they think about the entire society they live in and what Dumas thinks. As well as some of the old-fashioned-style adventure. I think that the fact that this is obscured by an overly-drawn-out style, while annoying, does not detract from this being an honourable conclusion to the trilogy.

While the main characters of the Musketeers saga are present here, The Vicomte de Bragelonne does not make nearly so good use of them as in the previous two books. While true that the characters have aged along with Alexander Dumas, they retain their flair for adventure and their basically upright personalities. What fails, unfortunately, is the writing itself. Bragelonne is the first of three novels that make up the trilogy ending in The Man in the Iron Mask. But while the last installment is well known worldwide, the first two (this one and Louise de la Valliere, the latter of which I've not yet read) remain obscure. At least in this case, there's a reason for that.

First, the plot is scattered. Even by Dumas's normal standard there is little coherence. The first third of the book, roughly speaking, is fully up to the normal Musketeer standard, involving two of our heroes in military intrigue during the restoration of King Charles II to the English throne. Bravo all around for that. But after that, the story devolves into somewhat stale palace politicking in the new reign of Louis XIV. We start to see some hints of the broader schemes involving the full cast, but not enough to grab our attention.

Finally, to put it bluntly, there's just something stale about the style this time around. Dumas has yet to find his proper voice for this installment, and hence he loses the reader. I'm assuming he finds it again by the end of the trilogy, but it's just not present here.

If you are reading this review, you have probably already read the Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After. You are wondering if it is worth it to continue with the series. If you decide to go on, you have three more 600+ page novels ahead of you. That is a lot of time and energy.

If you are foremost into the swashbuckling aspect of the Musketeer stories, I would not go forward. The Musketeers are now in their late 50's. They are still vital characters but they are no longer young men looking for any excuse to duel with the Cardinal's Guard. From this point on, there is a lot less sword play and campaigning. The focus of the story moves to the intrigues of Louis XIV court.

I am continuing with the series because I like the characters. I want to find out what happens to the four friends. In this novel, D'Artagnan and Athos are the principal characters. Aramis and Porthos do not show up for the first few hundred pages. Dumas has kept me entertained for the first two thousand pages of this saga and I am counting on him to keep me entertained for the next 1500 pages.

This book is part one of a three part series, the next two being the Louise de la Valliere, and the final being the more well known Man in the Iron Mask. I understand this was originally one HUGE book, but is now more commonly broken up into these three books.

This book starts about ten years from where Twenty Years After (Oxford World's Classics) ended. Although the book is titled the Vicomte de Bragelonne (who is the son of Athos), we don't see much of him except for the first and last parts of the book. The rest is filled with the adventures of D'Artagnan and Athos while they separately scheme (unbeknownst to the other) to aid Charles II of England to claim his throne. LOL, D'Artagnan's scheme in regards to General Monk. Aramis and Porthos are up to something mysterious and make only the briefest of appearances. The rest of the novel is filled with the mysteries and intrigues of the French court, and ends with the marriage of Henrietta (Charles II's sister) to Louis XIV's younger brother, Phillip.

If you loved the musketeers, history and intrique it is well worth your time to spend on these books.

Entertaining book for the whole family. Lessons in life and in the martial arts are finely inserted into the story.

What a joy to find a book that lays out a life philosophy in a story that is both engaging and emminently readable! Whether you are an adult or a youngster, this book helps you understand what it means to live up to a high ethical standard, and how to find "the way" of a martial artist to establish that standard.

Turns out that to live "the way" is not at all what is depicted in movies --- being able to jump high, kick and punch is not the final goal! The real goal is self knowledge, inner peace, gentleness, honor, respect ---- acquired through the physical training of martial arts.

Read this book, you will enjoy the story that helps you find "the way". Give it to your friends and family, make sure the youngsters read it!!

I am very fortunate to be a pupil of this great man for many years and have been also fortunate to of read his other two books and his recent Bachelors Thesis. I have trained in many styles by many greats including Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. This book was very pleasant and surprised me because I thought I've heard all of Grand Masters stories. This book made it simple to understand and helpful for young and old. I now use it to help my teaching and as Grand Master says I also use his words to live life has we should.

This story covers a lot of ground. Everything from naive optimisim to serious life and death struggles.

While the lead charater is being put through many trials and challenges to survive the author manages to explain, very simply, of how everyone has it within themselves to find the strength and will to overcome any obstacle. through the physical and mental teachings of martial arts and applying these teachings and princples to ones daily life, ensures that you will have balance and the ability to persevere, even through lifes toughest challenges.

I have been a student of Grand Master Dong's for more than twelve years. The Grand Master never ceases to amaze me in the mount of energy and care that he puts into everything. I knew that he was working on a book and I waited patiently, not asking anyone about it so that it would be a total surprise to me. I was hoping for a "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" style book that explores the mystical side of the martial art. What he has delivered is something even better, because simple ideas and concepts result in big changes and advances.

I knew that it would be written on several levels; each appealing to a different age group or experience level. I saw it as a localized conflict (both between individuals and within the individuals) that you could place in any setting or with any age group. It is about people, and their emotions, prejudices, habits, and fears, all of which are hard to overcome. It is about discipline, goal setting and growing one's self to be bigger that what you are, showing others the respect that you would have them show you. With the correct guidance, each of us has what it takes to overcome insurmountable obstacles that we find going through life. The ideas and concepts in this book are elemental to a good life and better world.

Thank you Grand Master Dong

In this mosaic of stories, Lillian comes of age and matures beyond her years, almost against her will. With an alcoholic father and a fragile, flighty mother, Lillian, with her siblings, struggles with her troubled family, and yet they all fiercely love each other, flaws and all. While this isn't a conscious feeling, it does crackle beneath the surface and colors the actions of everyone. Lillian navigates a lonely path encompassing sexuality and a yearning to be free. With a crisp voice and a vivid portrait of Acorn Lake, Minnesota, "A Brief History of the Flood" waxes almost nostalgic as it nudges the reader through these various tales that deliver a surprising portrait of a family unbalanced.

The perfect choice for a book club looking for an undiscovered gem, this is a delightful read that is lean enough to consume in one sitting, or savor over a few days. It's a coming of age story told through the eyes of young Lillian Anderson, a girl growing up in the sixties in a small town in Minnesota. Chapters are short bursts of her life: her Mother's dramatic mood swings, her Father's alcoholism, first sexual experience, first job, first crush.All told with an honest intimacy that at times feels less like a novel, and more like someone's diary entries. Her heroine at times reminded me of Astrid in "White Oleander", and if that was a book you liked you'd probably enjoy this one as well. A well written, comfortable first novel.

This book literally found me (and I must say that I am really glad it did.) I am still unsure how this slim little gift of a novel made it into my hands, but according to the Amazon.com reciept, it is a gift from the author so I figured: What the hell, I'll read this and see what I think. So, I cracked open the cover and was wonderfully entertained right up until the end.

Lillian Anderson is a strong-minded, fiery, wise-beyond-her years-girl who tells the story of her family, her perpetually run-down house and her life in rural Acorn Lake, Minnesota. Lillian begins narrating the story at the age of eight and it continues virtually seamlessly, with Lily's steady hand on the pulse of her family until the age of nineteen. Lily's mother, Marion is a neurotic, manic depressive personality who always has some wierd project in the works. Jack, Lily's Dad, is an alcoholic but no one ever talks in such negative terms. Marion seems to be able to put a positive spin on everything that's wrong, even her husband's years of substance abuse. Oldest child, Randy, (age twelve when the book begins is the dyed-in-the-wool peacekeeper of the family. Mitzy, the middle daughter, seems to see her mother for what she really is and is very bitter about it. Mitzy has no trouble saying what's on her mind and even at ten years of age is tired of ignoring the pink elephant in the living room. I am amazed that Lilian seems to be the only sane one in the family and has learned, (certainly not through example) to take care of herself. She has learned to become a mother figure for the youngest, Davey who is too young to understand the extent of the chaos in the family.

I love coming of age stories and this one was a very good one. It reminded me very much of ELLEN FOSTER by Kaye Gibbons and AMY & ISABELLE by Elizabeth Strout. The writing and the imagery and the lanuage of A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FLOOD were very high caliber. I will be watching for more from this author.

I wasn't bothered at all by the fact that this book was originally chopped up into several short stories. The stories came together so well and the novel made such an impact that I can't imagine it in any other form. Bravo to a wondeful new writer.

I concur with the opinions expressed by the other reviewers. I casually picked this book up at the library as part of a stack of summer reading. It's such a joy to start a book with no expectations whatsoever and be so tremendously satisfied. I am a bit puzzled, however, at the author's choice of the short story format. Why write a series of short stories and then package them together chronologically this way, so that the result is an "almost" novel? Because each story is meant to stand alone, there is some repetitiousness in certain descriptions of people and places--yet we are obviously intended to read them as a whole. I'd be interested to know whether the stories were written and/or published individually, and, if so, in what order they appeared. Are you out they Ms. Harfenist? Please enlighten us!

  A Brief History of the Flood is that rare book that can't be put down, and one you'll want to read again and again.  Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, each chapter fits together with a satisfying click to reveal an insightful picture of an unforgettable family of unique characters. Read the excerpt and I guarantee you'll be captivated by Harfenist's voice, wit, and the wisdom that comes with understanding how we all grow up survivors of imperfect families. If you liked Mary Karr's memoir, The Liars Club, you will love this book. It may be billed as fiction, but it has the unmistakable ring of truth. Ironically, A Brief History of the Flood turns out to be a life preserver--reminding each of us how our unique childhood journeys help determine our destination in the world, and how understanding the past can buoy us in the present.

THE MAN IS STILL THERE! Not having a broad background of Cuban history, I found this book to be a great insight into the revolution and Castro's takeover and the true impact on its people and how they survive and our role as Americans. The author writes from a personal perspective, having been born in Cuba in the 60's. She develops interesting and memorable characters, with two cousins as the main focus. I did not want to put this book down. This makes a great bookclub read and I cannot wait to read her next book!

I really enjoyed this novel. I really got involved with the characters.
You laugh, you cry- nothing is missing. Delightful. It would make
a great movie.

A heartbreaking story of communist Cuba

Beautifully written novel filled with metaphors. Nora, the narrator, forever reflects on her life in the medium of dreams. Alicia's life is always filled with metaphors, specifically in her letters to Nora. Follow the sad story of Alicia, who is left behind in Cuba. Marrying a handsome communist, birthing his handicapped baby, and then resorting to prostitution in hopes of escaping poverty. Alicia is afraid of losing her baby to the state. She is ever hopeful that her handsome husband will be released from prison. She befriends a guard with food, cigarettes, and sex just to preserve her husband. (Why is his release taking so long?) Alicia relies on the companionship of a prostitute friend.

Meanwhile, cousin Nora is living a "normal" American life. Yes, Nora and sister, Marta, struggle to adjust, but they have an easy life, esp compared to Alicia's. Alicia conveys her pain in beautiful letters filled with emotions, metaphors, and hope. Perhaps the saddest loss is that of Alicia's precious beach, a beach where she communicated with GOD.

What happens when Nora leaves behind her middle class life, husband included, to help Alicia? Will Nora adjust to the poverty in Havana? What exactly is wrong with Alicia and her child? And how will Nora reconcile her allegiance to native country and family with her "American marriage"? What type of love comes first? That to an Anglo spouse, or to an impoverished prostitute cousin? Samartin doesn't coat the finale in flan, you'll won't be able to stop reading once you read of Nora's adventures in the Atlantic Ocean. Only at the very end can we breathe a sigh of relief... for... Nora? Alicia? Alicia's child? Read and find out!

(Warning- Description of a Santeria ritual, spirit communication, etc. DO NOT try any of this! It is EVIL. I'm disappointed that Samartin would have to include the ritual.)

I read this book immediately after finishing Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and can honestly say that I enjoyed it just as much. The tragedy that is Cuba is heartbreaking. I have a new understanding of the people who risk their lives and leave their beloved country to come to America. Samartin wrote a beautiful, lyrical, magical novel. Kudos to her!

Cecilia Samartin's "Broken Paradise: A Novel" is one of the most impressive literary debuts in contemporary mainstream fiction that I've had the pleasure of reading. Its vivid, emotionally visceral tale of two cousins tragically separated during the 1959 Cuban Revolution's bloody, violent aftermath may be one of the most riveting explorations of humanity dealing with adversity since the original publication of Frank McCourt's best-selling memoir "Angela's Ashes". But I think most readers will identify more closely with Isabel Allende's splendid fiction, than Frank's superb literary memoir, and indeed, Cecilia Samartin is a fresh, newly minted Latin American writer worthy of comparison to Allende. Moreover, like Allende, Samartin has drawn extensively, from her own family history in telling such a beguiling, poignant tale. On a more personal note I am indebted to one of Samartin's editors, Amy Tannenbaum, for bringing her splendid literary debut to my attention.

Samartin offers a lyrical, quite descriptive, portrayal of middle class life in Havana, Cuba in the years prior to the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Her elegant prose and storytelling craft is at its best chronicling the extended family to which Nora Garcia and her cousin Alicia belong. She is almost as successful in describing Nora's sudden, unexpected departure to - and her new life in - the United States, as well as the unspeakable calamities which beset her relatives immediately after Fidel Castro's public declaration of his keen interest in and enthusiastic embrace of Communism. Regrettably Samartin's impressive literary talents are greatly diminished in the final chapters of her engrossing novel, offering a structurally weak set of circumstances which will reunite Nora with her cousin Alicia, clearly demonstrating that Alicia's life has been far from idyllic in the new "worker's paradise" that is Fidel Castro's Cuba. However, her rather conventional means of resolving loose plot ends ultimately doesn't dissuade me from regarding Samartin's novel as an impressive literary debut from an important new voice in Latin American literature. Surely Samartin's magnificient, elegant prose and fine storytelling is destined to win her a devout band of fans, who will be as eager to read her next novel as I most certainly am. I have no doubt that hers will be regarded as one of the most important literary debuts of this year.

"The place was close to perfect." This is how Jonathan Luckett's awesomely gripping thriller, Dissolve, opens. According to manuals on creative writing, the first line of a story is important. It hooks a reader in. It creates the tone of the novel. It sets the stage for the narrative which is about to ensue. Nevertheless, Luckett uses this sentence to lull his readers into a false sense of security and comfort. It is the proverbial calm before the storm that is Dissolve which will have you not wanting to put the book down until the end. And even then one is left craving... for more like David Sands, the protagonist of Dissolve, who pines for Nona, the object of his affection who disappears after she and David spends a steamy night of unbridled passion. Following his encounter with Nona, David discovers that his mysterious lover maybe a woman who allegedly was murdered by her husband in the house next door to his apartment. From this point on, Luckett masterfully takes his readers on a roller coaster ride, wondering is Nona a ghost--a sensual succubus preying on David--or alive.

Take it upon Luckett to not only create an erotic, macabre tale filled with suspenseful twists and turns but create a work that challenges readers to rethink their views on women and female sexuality. Though set in contemporary times, the character Nona is an Afro-donning throwback to the seventies--a decade known for women's liberation and, doubly, the sexual revolution. In the story, we find that Nona is the wife of a possessive, controlling and (eventually) abusive husband named Malik. Malik's treatment of Nona and the strain it places on their marriage lead Nona to question why women are conditioned and socialized to be subservient to the men in their lives. Most importantly, she ponders the double standard our puritanical culture has upheld in regards to women who enjoy expressing themselves sexually. "Why is it, she [Nona] thought, as she absent-mindedly fingered her pubes, that men can go running the streets, sticking their dicks into anything that moves without a care or a worry, and yet, when women do it, it was a different story?" Here, Luckett proves that he wants to do more than entertain his audience; he wants to foster cerebral dialogue about the mores of our society. That is, are we moving forward or are we moving back? The author does this most excellently via the character Brehan, an artist who becomes smitten by Nona during the course of the narrative. Brehan is an enigma: he is a free-spirited thinker who questions what he is told and taught, instead of accepting information blindly. Brehan's opinions about love and relationships are, especially, revolutionary and radical even for this century we're in. He tells Nona: "'I believe in a wide spectrum of alternatives when it comes to loving someone--most people see two extremes: dating and marriage, with little to nothing in between. I, on the other hand, see an infinite spectrum of possibilities, and it is these possibilities that excite me to my core--it's what drives me to paint--to create. You feel me?'" That is a question, of many, Luckett's characters pose that may remain unanswered even after one reads the final page of the story.

Jonathan Luckett simply cannot be stopped. His works, themselves, are showstoppers. Just think Jennifer Hudson's singing "And I am Telling You, I'm Not Going," and how that makes you feel inside and maybe you might come close to how reading a Jonathan Luckett novel feels. And Dissolve is Luckett at his bone-chilling best.

I began reading this book, and, as I often do, attempted to read two books simultaneously. Well, the other book lost out when I began to read and turn pages in my read of Jonathan Luckett's Dissolve. This book is so mysterious that just when I thought I knew what would occur or just when I thought I had the characters figured out, I then was not certain. Mysterious, yes in deed! Well written, yes in deed! Great read, yes in deed! Great fiction, yes in deed! Pay close attention. But, do not at any time believe you have it all figured out and do not take a lengthy break....you will miss something. I was so pulled into the characters of Nona and David Sands, that I had to flip back pages to re-read and attempt to determine what really happened. My advice to the reader as you read this mysterious, erotic thriller of a book is to pay very close attention. Thank you Jonathan!
"Brandy" of the Diverse Divas Book Club

Wow...I am still pondering the conclusion of this thriller. Dissolve is a page turner with its sensual and very visual twists and turns. I could really feel David's painful search for love and Nona's desire to be fulfilled in life. I can't wait to read a follow-up to this!

Next up The Mating Game :)

- THJ

I could not put this book down! My heart was pumping the entire time!! And for a variety of reasons. Read it and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Just when I thought I guessed right about a situation in the book, I was graciously set straight. I never would have correctly guessed how this story would end. Check it out. You will not regret it. I have read all of Jonathan Luckett's books, and look forward to the next one. Jonathan Is a wonderful storyteller.

Come take a trip through time in this book Dissolve by Jonathan Luckett. Close your eyes and imagine a smoky lounge, mellow jazz playing in the background and a cool breeze floating by drawing your attention to the most beautiful creature you ever saw. Meet David Sands, a painter, who just moved into a nice lofty brownstone. As he gazes out the window he sees a vision of loveliness. It is a cool summer night and he sits watching shadows playing tricks with his eyes; a goddess so to speak entices him to sit every night at the same window hoping to get another look. But after a visit from the mystery woman she vanishes and he is on the hunt looking for love in all the wrong places.

Nona is a married woman who is very much in love with her husband, but realizes that maybe she married the wrong man. Malik is a jealous, controlling, over-bearing husband, who wishes to keep his wife locked away at home. Nona wants to be a free spirit, in charge of her life, and to model. With captivating good looks and a beautiful body, she is desired by all and her husband is not too happy about that.

David watches Nona from across the courtyard, when she suddenly disappears only to appear at his front door. Surprised and happy to have her so close they engage in unbridled sex and David is swept off his feet. He has to have Nona in his life or he will die.

Dissolve is a love story, mystery novel, and erotica all rolled up into one hell of a book. I could not put it down. The descriptions and details were so vivid I felt like I was a character in the book. This was a well-told story, and I recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story with a twist of an ending.

Reviewed by: Cheryl H
APOOO BookClub

This is a very interesting fiction story about three kids who go to an
island and explore it, then they find a three-headed dragon. I like it a
lot! It is very intriguing.

This is from my son:

I give this book five stars because the kids use their imagination. I enjoyed the adventure on the island and the mysterious key that unlocks the secret room. I would like to visit the kind-hearted golden dragon's island because of the magical dragon's stories. All the childeren seemed to have learned lessons from the stories. My favorite scene was the silver-eyed story. Find out why...

The three Davis children Have to go to lonely island. Where thay find a cave and they find a great big dragon! They visit the dragon alot. Each time they meet a new dragon. It is a three headed dragon and each time they go to the cave they meet a new head and each head tells them a story.

The three Davis children Have to go to lonely island. Where thay find a cave and they find a great big dragon! They visit the dragon alot. Each time they meet a new dragon. It is a three headed dragon and each time they go to the cave they meet a new head and each head tells them a story. I give this 5 stars because I love dragons and the writer did a good job of writing this story. I love this book and I hope you will to.

This book is about three kids that go to thier aunts house with thier mother. There, they find a dragon that has been in a cave. You will have to see what happens when the kids and the dragon go face to face.
I loved this book.I hope you will like it to.