New Zealand Books

You will really enjoy this book. An inside look, very humorous and entertaining as well as informative.

The author's unrelenting use of tacky sexual simile might be difficult to deal with if the overall content of the book wasn't quite so interesting...his 'hands dirty' insight to this small piece of the wine making business is compelling, though, and I found myself ignoring his hormonal excess. This is one that I'll read again.

Eric Arnold took a subject that could have been as dry and pompous as a California Chardonnay and actually made me want to read about it. Of course, I didn't retain all the information because I took his advice and read some of the chapters while drinking wine. I learned more than I really wanted to know about some aspects of the author's personal life, but that's part of what makes the book accessible for those who would rather drink wine than obsess about it.

Anyone who thinks that wine books are pompous or boring has a pleasant surprise in store. This book is delightfully funny. Yes, there is a funny side to wine when Eric Arnold is in control. But it's not just funny; it's also informative. I am a huge fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and have even visited there. Nonetheless I learned a lot about the Kiwis and their approach to wine from the book. That is making my enjoyment of their wine even stronger. From screwcaps to terroir the book covers it all with a crisp freshness that is as enjoyable as one of those New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.

you know when you're with a group of people, and one person is just trying way too hard to be entertaining and you just feel embarassed for him? this is how eric arnold comes off in this book.

look, i'm all for a fun wine read. the last thing we need is another dry 'how to' wine guide or buttoned up encyclopedia. and i'm certianly no prude when it comes to off color humor or language. but within the first 30 pages of this book, arnold uses more bad sexual one liners than i can count on all my fingers and toes, and has used the F word at least twice as much. all well and good, if it worked. but the jokes are lame, they don't land, and you just feel like the author is a teenager trying to show the older kids how cool he is.

i wanted to like this book. i loved the accidental connoisseur by lawrence osborne, and thought this sounded like it too could provide an interesting, informative, yet informal and light hearted look at a wine experience. unfortunately any hope for this is destroyed by the author's juvenile, labored writing. skip this one.

This is a table book for my daughter. She loves to find an answer to any question. It is very clear to understean the description, photos and pictures are colorful and help to understand the word. I would recommend it to any one.

We needed a dictionary for our child to use in grade school, something easier to read than the college-level books we had on hand, but more sophisticated than the typical baby-book, beginner dictionaries out there. This book met our expectations, and exceeded them. (Note, I'm reviewing the 2007 edition. Some of the reviews here go back years!)

Another reviewer has aptly noted the book's appropriateness for Grades 2 through 4, which sounds about right, for a starting point at least. I wouldn't think it useful (as a reference book) before that age, due to the reading level of the book's explanations. Most kids before that age just won't be able to read it.

I'm sure many kids will like the pictures at earlier ages. Even a good reader may ask for help now and then. But if the parent is doing *all* the reading, the book loses some of its value as a reference source that the child can learn to use independently.

Independent research is one of the skills that many schools are trying to teach to this age range in literacy classes, which is why they assign kids to look up words on their own -- and why this book is so valuable to have at home. With 35,000 entries, it takes on many words that deal with complex ideas -- but it does a pretty good of translating those complexities into terms that kids can comprehend.

When necessary, it does this by using pictures, and to great effect. For example, the word "contrast" is not only explained in text, but is also illustrated by showing a Great Dane next to a Chihuahua, with an explanatory caption. The numerous illustrations in this book are used for many purposes, and they are very well-done.

For clarity, the editors do not include the complex etymologies that an adult volume might offer for every single word. However, in some cases when a word has a particularly interesting or instructive derivation, there might be a small text box on the page to discuss the word's history.

Thus the book does what a dictionary should do: go beyond mere definitions and offer an insight into the ways words and language evolve. However, in such cases where there is an explanatory box like that, it is separated from the word's main dictionary entry. Thus, the reader is not forced to read the history just to get the definition. One is free to go as deeply as one wants, which I think is a brilliant design.

An inquisitive child will probably find this book to be a treasure trove, worth poring over for its own sake -- not just as a tool for homework. Other kids, who may not be interested in all the illustrations and expanded explanations, will still find it to be, at its core, a really good dictionary. So I think it easy to recommend for any parents, or any kids, in grade school.

I feel certain that older kids would still find this book to be interesting and helpful, well beyond grade 4. At some point, school demands may require more sophisticated definitions, and other things that this volume does not include. At that point the child may require another type of book, but I'd think they'd still be referring to this one on occasion, into middle school at least.

It's worth buying at its list price, and it's an absolutely great deal at the discounted price I got mine at. Highly recommended!

This dictonary is very useful for the teachers-in-service training in the
graduage school of education, and trainees to be teachers of English. If CD is included it will be much more useful for teachers of Englsih as a foreign language. The illustrations and reference are also of great use.
I usually give a copy to each student I teach as a gift.

Easy to find the distinct 26 letters for the purpose of looking up a word.

I have several dictionaries in my classroom but this is the by far the best illustrated dictionary I own. I teach middle school ESOL students and other children's dictionaries don't cover enough words to help them with the work they need to do. This dictionary is more likely to contain words and illustrations they need to know. Highly recommended!

Loved this book! I had read it many moons ago and then lent it to someone and not got it back. Glad I found it again. I guess it is true what they say about the politics of lending good books. only an idiot lends out a good book - and that it takes an even bigger idiot to return a good book.

I find books about aliens and people in small towns pretty interesting. This story was not that good though. The main character is supposed to be a sweet, innocent, small town girl who you just never fall in love with. Her character isn't developed in a realistic way. As a matter of fact most of the town folks aren't real. This wouldn't be such a problem had the novel not been rounded enough to even keep you interested. The only reason I finished the book was to find out if there were really aliens or not. The alien story line was the only part of the novel that kept me interested. A disappointing read.

Feisty, unapologetic 16 year old Delia from a small New Zealand town claims she was taken up briefly in a space ship after she is found wandering in a daze by the town's newly arrived librarian. The plot unfolds as the effects Delia's ensuing pregnancy and subsequent events have on unlayering facets of the different townspeople's characters. It's a whodunit device that masterfully engages the reader. At the end, though we do get to see some resolution in Delia's character, the last chapter smacks of dragging everyone back on stage one last time to make sure all the loose ends get tied up somehow, if not neatly. I disliked the ending pace in comparison to the rest of the tantalizing, almost meandering course of character and event development. Still, probably the most entertaining and plausible story of alien intervention written. Definitely worth reading!

First, let me say I am fourteen and had NO trouble reading and understanding this book. Okay, now, what made me get this book from the library was the cover. A nice bright green with a picture of a cow on the front. It stood out from all the other boring covered ones. From the cover alone you can tell this is going to be a good WITTY book. Witty is definitely the best word to describe it. I loved the plot: a 16 year old girl claims to see spacemen and claims to be having their baby. Theres some twists and turns, surprizes and things you can foretell, but one thing I must, not complain, but comment about, is the ending. I think the ending where everything comes into perspective was crammed into a certain amount of pages. Everything came together so quickly. It would have been better if everything had unravelled not slowly - but not as fast.

All in all this was a great book. A good way to spend a leisurely weekend. Definitely some good laughs and things to tell your friends about. x0x

The ending was a bit... hasty. That's where the last half star went. It all made sense and the loose ends were tied up, but it seems like McCarten only had a certain number of pages to work in and was starting to run out at the end so he hurried up and finished it off. But other than that, it was a great book. The writing was witty, something that I truly admire in a book. It's hard to be witty all the time, but it comes through in the whole book. The first paragraph sucked me in and I was committed to the last, and I laughed the whole way through. Well, that's not entirely true. I was sucked in before the first paragraph--the cover of this book alone was enough for me to buy it. It's a lime green book with a cow on the cover. And it's about a girl who saw aliens! Cool! And it was.

I really enjoyed the way McCarten captured the gossip mill of the small town atmosphere. It really complimented and fueled the story--it was really the aspect that made the whole thing work. It was a good book. I definitely recommend this book--especially to those who like sharp, witty writing.

I've enjoyed this author's other books in this series, but this left a lot of things unfinished or sewn up with very little mention of how.

Cody's feelings against having a baby were talked about once and than they ended up with a baby.

Olivia goes from wanting no one to hooking up with Merris on the second date.

I don't even know what Dr. Howick and Riley were even doing in this story. There was barely any subplot on them especially the Dr.

Disappointed in this one....need more drama between the characters.

I have enjoyed this series of books written by Jennifer Fulton. She can make a nice gay loive story a page turner'

This book in the series has multiple plots going on relative to several relationships: Cody & Annabel, Glenn & Riley, Olivia & Merris, and finally Chris and Melanie.

This covers the full cycle of live from giving birth to dying and how each member of the cast plays their parts.

Can't wait for the next one.

In this outing, the third in Moon Island series, a new set of visitors descend on Moon Island. They include Olivia, a country & western songwriter; Trudy, whose father wants to turn Moon Island into a resort for funeral goers; Chris, a lawyer; Glenn, an anthropologist who wants to study the sacred rites of the local women; Melanie, Annabel's dying cousin; and Merris, a tech executive.

This book is not as intense as others in the series. Yes, there is drama, but it does not come from the relationships between the women. There is an undercurrent of preachiness in this book because one of the themes of this outing is religion.

There is a religious rite that involves the local goddess worshippers, who never invite outsiders to witness the ritual, the island's visitors who for reasons unexplained are invited to the ritual, and a dolphin. There is an element of disbelief to this entire section of the book, interesting and creative, but nevertheless unbelievable.

Finally, the author left a few loose ends some of which were tidied up in an epilogue. The entire drama of Melanie's death and the subsequent adoption of Briar was skimmed over particularly the drama of Annabel ignoring Cody's feelings on the subject.

Even with the detractions listed above, this remains an interesting series, but I wish the author would return to what she does best - relationships between the women of Moon Island.

I have so enjoyed this series, I look forward to the next, and the next....
Interesting plot, interesting characters, all realistic to me, and I've read a lot of fiction. It stands out because of the setting, the 'love' that emerges, and of course the hotter moments, which are also fairly true to form, and not overly glamorized as in so many lesbian books. I enjoy the series, this one was very excellent. Take a chance!

THE SEQUEL TO THE POTATO FACTORY. REALISTIC LIFE STRUGGLES AGAINST PREJUDICE AND THE WILL AND TENACITY TO OVERCOME. COURTENAY IS ALWAYS INSPIRING.

Bryce Courtenay has been on my list of favorite authors since I read "The Power of One." He does not disappoint in "Tommo and Hawk."

The story of twin boys in Australia, this book enthralls with rich characters and a setting that draws the reader into the early days of European settlement of Australia and New Zealand. The story is filled with historical information, but it is the character development of the twins, their mother, and Maggie Pye that impels the reader through "just one more chapter."

Though not as optomistic in tone or outcome as "The Power of One," "Tommo and Hawk" is even more fascinating. The twins, opposites in every respect except their love for each other, survive misadventures and struggle through until an inevitable, but sorrow-filled ending.

Captivating reading -- five stars!

Tommo & Hawk continues the story started in the Potato Factory. It further adds to the contention that Bryce Courtenay is the best storyteller since Hemmingway. His depiction of 19th century Tasmania is a triumph. Not only can you feel and almost smell what the characters are experiencing, but his tale is gripping. Whereas The Power of One and Tandia were more on the high brow end of the moral spectrum, the Potato Factory and this novel dig a little deeper into the underbelly of the British Empire. The result is a grittier, more visceral read, that is difficult to put down.

I have only read The Potato Factory and this book by BC, and really enjoyed them both. I have to say I found this book to be a bit better than The Potato Factory, mainly because of the humor that is injected. I love how God gets involved in conversations with either Tommo or Hawk - they made me laugh!

I also really appreciated the detail which was put into different stories, for example the whale hunting story and the opium situation. I found the detail of the times and the issues of the times to be fascinating, and while I realize it is a 'story', I also believe that a lot of the subjects discussed are actual portrayals of situations that happened during that era (mid 1800's).

I highly recommend this book, but only after you have read The Potato Factory, because Ikey is referred to a lot (as are other situations), and to truly appreciate this book, it will help to have read the prequel.

Cheers.

Courtenay has written a book steeped in the richness of early Australian History. Still I found this book rather disappointing. I am not much into violence and I found that whilst historically correct (assumption) many of the scenes were too long and graphic for my liking. It is very readable on it's own - I have yet to read the prequel to this book. The book dipicts in detail the quality of characters and hardships of early Australia in a pleasing and vivid way.

Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel is a novel set in Samoa, a novel that won the Commonwealth Writers Prize. At one level it is a simple story of one girl's journey through childhood and adolescence. Alofa tells us about her school life, her church, her favourite television programmes, and her family. She tells us of local practices, customs and mores. She describes what she eats and how it is cooked. She details her relationships with her friends, parents and teachers. And in this way she builds for us a picture and sensation of growing up in Samoa.

Alofa is quite a late developer. Long after her friends have succumbed to the moon sickness, she has not begun to menstruate. It troubles her. She worries that she is not like other people, that she might be destined for a life that is different from theirs.

But she discovers what all adolescents discover, and delights in telling the minute detail of every encounter. There are older men, younger men, and girls, mothers and boys. She has her share of experiences and learns that sometimes people are not what they seem.

Through Where We Once Belonged the reader thus experiences Samoan life, how it once was, and how it is changing. It is not a rich life, for sure, but the poverty, both material and personal, never grinds down either the community or the individual. Like everywhere else in human existence, some can cope with apparent ease, whilst others find the process of life more taxing.

The true beauty of Sia Figiel's novel, however, is that it provides a foil to external, Western interpretations of Samoan life. Mention of this contrast with 'official' views of the culture come late in the book, because the perspective is consistently that of the young girl narrator. In some ways this is unfortunate, since the book has real direction once this is understood. Until then, a casual reader may not develop this informative and rewarding overview.

An uncommitted reader might also find the book a difficult read. There is extensive use of Samoan words, whole sentences in places. Though there is a glossary, it is far from complete. There is a temptation not to refer to it and thus to gloss over some of the detail, and it is in this detail that the book's real richness lies. Eventually, it is a rewarding read, in its particularistic, individual way.

The story as vignettes was effective and it helped the reader understand the nuances of a culture so different from that of the U.S. and especially as world changes effects the culture, from the viewpoint of a girl becoming a woman, but showing the experiences of men too. I would have liked the glossary to be a bit more extensive, but you could guess reasonably the meaning of words not defined by the context.

This book really let me into the life of the character. It is undeniably realistic. As a student, I am planning on studying in Samoa for a semsester and this book did a great job with portraying yet another perspective on the Samoan way of life. And the perspective of a teenage girl going through adolescent confusion is always fascinating!

Excellent book-a must read and an outstanding book for university class romms. Ms. Figiel, while touching artfully on the specifics of Samoan life, has illuminated the Human Condition with warmth and clarity.

An outstanding treatment of women, class, sexuality and ethinicity. The book is a delight to read--an amazing lyric voice for such a young writer--and a book to be shared.

All I knew about Samoa before reading Sia Figiel's novel, Where We Once Belonged was:
1) Margaret Mead made her career writing about Samoan women, and
2) Samoan men are highly recruited as linemen for college football teams.
Rectifying that ignorance of my fellow Asian/Pacific Islanders was my initial impetus for picking up the novel, but it was Figiel's stunning storytelling and humor which carried me through to the end. The rewards of Where We Once Belonged is not only a sophisticated product of the storyteller's art, but also the honest and touching portrayal of a time and culture few of us know.

From the opening sentence, "When I saw the insides of a woman's vagina for the first time I was not alone," Where We Once Belonged plunges the reader honestly and unapologetically into an adolescent girl's world of guilt, desire, cultural confusion, and budding sexuality. Carried forward in a series of linked reflections and scenes, the novel is "told" to the reader through a variety of sophisticated narrative techniques including the informal "talk story," the traditional Samoan storytelling form of su'ifefiloi and more elegiac poetic reflections on the landscape of Samoa. The playfulness of the narrative underscores Figiel's somewhat darker concerns about the difficulties faced by young women growing up in Samoa. The strong pull of the church and its mores is juxtaposed alongside the images of women offered by up Hollywood, specifically, Charlie's Angels, after whom our narrator, Alofa also known as Jill, and her friends, Lili/Kelly and Moa/Sabrina, pattern themselves after. Gender roles are discussed, explored, witnessed and even rebelled against with often violent consequences. Wives are disposed at the whim of their husband, unmarried young women are banished for their "impure" pregnancies, and even Alofa is the victim of beatings and abuse that are given as "lessons" by her partriarchal community.

And yet in the midst of these brutal events, Figiel manages to combine humor into her narrative, as in the story of Elisa, who "remained pure, until her first check-up at the hospital when a metal instrument injured her hymen...All these years and she was saving it for a piece of metal." The richness of Samoa comes alive through Figiel's liberal use of Samoan creole and her amazing ability to describe a scene not only through sight but smell as well. She describes the central marketplace through its activity and through the smells of the different tobaccos smoked by the different types of people, The pervasive juxtaposition of native Samoan and western culture plays out in the food section where fish wrapped in taro leaves competes with imported animals like lamb and turkey.

Where We Once Belonged satisfies on many different levels: It can be read as an adolescent girl's "coming of age" story, an intimate portrait of Samoa, or even a sociological examination of the lingering effects of colonization and pervasive cultural hegemony of Hollywood. But Figiel, the product of a rich storytelling culture, weaves each of these threads into a richly patterned tale, leading us to an unforgettable ending and leaving an indelible experience of Samoa in our memories.

Wake up where the sun first greets the world each day... Where there's room to roam... Clean air to breathe... Where there are no capital gains taxes... a booming economy... and some of the best real estate and investment opportunities you'll find anywhere.

The world is getting smaller -- and New Zealand's profit potential is getting bigger.

The prospects for steady appreciation of land and investment values in New Zealand are excellent. However, it's very possible prices could rise much more sharply in a very short period of time. Here's a major reason why...

Aerospace technology is making the trip to New Zealand quicker and cheaper. Boeing 767s cost 50% less to operate than 727s. The new 777s are more efficient still. By the end of this decade, jet technology could cut travel time from California to New Zealand by as much as half -- from 11 hours to 5-1/2 hours!

Should that happen, property prices could double virtually overnight... and, over the longer run, multiply perhaps 10, 20 times or more, just as in Hawaii and California.

In the meantime, you can enjoy a bit of heaven on Earth with peaceful surroundings, friendly people, and great business and investment opportunities.

Exports are booming. With a cheaper currency, exports have grown at a 30% annual rate! However, that's not the whole story! Stronger commodity prices have helped. Remember New Zealand exports commodities like lumber, meat, dairy, wool, etc.

Business and consumer confidence is on the mend! Last year, consumer sentiment was at an all time low, which had more to do with the dissatisfaction the general population had with the newly elected Labor Government's policies than any dissatisfaction with the economic environment, but things are looking brighter on the political front these days.

Employment also chimes in as a contributing factor. The current unemployment rate stands at a 12-year low of 5.6% and the good news is that the trend upward in job postings is being driven by sectors outside agriculture and manufacturing.

So now may be the best time to read Adam Starchild's book and follow his advice, rather than waiting around to watch the economic meltdown in North America. NZ is a great place to set up your own Internet business!

New Zealand has always been a natural wonder. Sired by volcanoes in the middle of an emerald sea, the land is a mixture of pastures, jagged mountains, white beaches, and tropical forests. Economically, the country is no less a marvel. It's an excellent example of how free markets create prosperity.

In 1984, New Zealand voters booted a left-leaning government and brought in a free-market-oriented government. Immediately, finance minister Sir Roger Douglas began to implement some of the most important reforms in any country of the 20th century.

Sir Douglas floated the currency, revoked all farm subsidies, abolished all import tariffs, privatized 60% of state-owned companies, fired 55% of the government workforce, placed the central bank chairman on a performance contract, revoked capital gains and inheritance taxes, and refused to print money to save reckless banks and inefficient companies from bankruptcy.

The results have been astounding. New Zealand now has one of the lowest inflation rates in the world (1.3%), seven consecutive years of budget surpluses, 6.4% unemployment (down from 12%), and a resilient, entrepreneurial economy that soared 5.8% last year.

It's the kind of country, in other words, where you can build a second home to enjoy the good life -- and end up making a fortune almost by accident as the value of the property you buy rises amidst a booming economy.

NZ is relatively decent. Before anyone posts any "oh, isn't NZ awful" stories I would ask them to tell me what country doesn't have similar, if not worse, stories. If you want to compare NZ to your imaginary ideal that is fine but please stop confusing your fantasy with reality. Good lord whatever problems NZ has, and it has its share, it doesn't have armed federal agents attacking church groups and burning them to death, it doesn't have Janet Reno, it doesn't have all the problems we have in South Africa.

With this book in addition to Chapelle's and Stewart's books, I am beginning to grasp round bottom traditional wood construction.

Its a great book if your want to build wooden boats in the most traditional way or with an archaic manner. Most wooden boat builders today can cut time by using modern equipment and techniques which is not described in this book. Its a good reference book and it includes a topic on the author's experience using modern epoxies and it contains Herreshoff rules/guidelines which every classic boatbuilder enthusiast might find informative. It will also describe you the events that you will go through if you're building a cruising boat. This book is not for the beginner for the terminology used will confuse them. In my opinion, if you would want to build a classic wooden boat I suggest you go through a weekend workshop (for the curious) or an apprenticeship (for a career) then buy this book to supplement what you've learned. Like the author said, "There is no such thing as a comprehensive book on any type of boat building." Your best chance to build your own dream boat is to get out there, learn from others, and supplement what you've learned with this book!

What to say about this book...it shows you wooden boat construction at its very, very best. Starting with raw lumber and simple hand tools, Larry Pardey takes us, step by laborious step, on the odyssey of building a truly world class cruising yacht, his 30' Taleisin. Not only is every step of the hull construction detailed, but we also get "real world" time and cost estimates so there are no illusions as to how much time and money each step will take. There are superb "pro and con" treatments of aspects that have a variety of solutions. If there are multiple ways to tackle a job, he makes two columns and discusses the pros and cons of each in detail. Usually you just get the author's opinions without any extra information.

This book is famous also because of it's very important final appendix on epoxies in salt water craft, and how epoxy often is weakened to the point of failure by salt water, repeated stress, and heat - 3 things that a sailboat gets plenty of. I am told by many epoxy fans that this chapter "is now out of date", but I don't remember any amazing new epoxies coming out that make Pardey's findings defunct. George Buehler says it best - epoxy works best when it's backed up by a bolt. "Praise epoxy but pass the nails".

Also note the title "The Hull". That's all you get. When it comes to decks, houses, rigging, etc., you're on your own. Hopefully Pardey will bring out volume 2 on the rest of the boat.

He's a masterful carpenter and his work is glorious and gleaming, fully among the best of yacht-quality work ever done. This is something you need to seriously soak in. This is THE BEST, and not necessarily realistic for the average home boat builder. This book represents a set of skills that you probably don't have, and may find difficulty developing in your lifetime, unless you are really dedicated. Also, there is the time factor. It's one thing to look at a photo of fastening planking on the frame and say "I understand that...I can do that!" and it's quite another to realize how many HUNDREDS of hours are involved in just a few of the aspects of the hull construction. Pardey could work on his yacht full time - he didn't need to do other work to pay the bills. He was also in the prime of his health. Most Americans only have this kind of time if they're retired, and that often means not as strong as we once were. If we're young and strong it means we have to work for a living. So, this particular boat might be best aimed at the youngish man who doesn't have to work very much for his living. Either that or you'll spend about a decade of weekends on this boat.

If you want to get on the water a little quicker than that, consider George Buehler's "Backyard Boat Building", for salty and sea worthy crusising yachts that the average man or woman can build themselves in a year or two, and actually take to the Caribbean, or further. I'm not saying don't aspire to Pardey's level, but remember that you live in the real world. It's better to build a simple boat than to not build a fancy one. It's better to go sailing than it is to spend your free weekends for 2 years screwing down teak decking. But, that consideration aside, there is no better guide to traditional yacht construction than this.

Larry Pardey book is the definitive guide on Carvel Plank construction, he takes you through the building process of their 30' Talesin.

Besides is Epoxy-phobia, there are great tips and considerations when building a boat. If you plan on building even a strip plank, Larry's book will give you tips to avoid the mistakes that have often destroyed a home builders dreams or wasted a lot of wood.

The short coming of this book is that the deck is only modestly covered and it stops at the hull. Mr. Pardey has yet to put out the other part that covers the interior and rigging. So you will find some questions unanswered.

I have read at least 5 (maybe more) books on home boat building. Where this book does a superior job is in its prolific use of photographs to demonstrate the steps discussed in the text. Pardey's is a good book but a bit on the "HARD CORE" side. For instance how many "one-off" builders are going to go to the trouble of forging our own magnesium alloy floor brackets? If you are serious about building your own boat I'd still recommend reading this book but it should not be the first you read. In my opinion, Pardey's book is not intended for the rank armature. In fact you have to be fairly familiar with, carpentry, boats, and boat building terminology in order to follow the book at all. I still encountered JARGON that was unfamiliar to me. If I were the editor of this book I'd recommend a comprehensive GLOSSARY OF TERMS be added at the end of the book. That one addition would greatly increase the utility of this book.

John Webster will probably never be as popular as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, or even Cliff Marlowe. Nevertheless, his writing is quite impressive. His plays came out about the time Shakespeare was putting out his final plays. As the play begins, we meet Bosola. While he is a murderer, he offers several intersting passages, and he is not quite a 2d villain. Bosola expresses his dislike for Duke Ferdinand and his brother the Cardinal. This opinion is shared by the Duchess's eventual husband Antonio. This allows Webster to prepare the villains of this story. The wicked Ferdinand expresses his wish for his sister (the Duchess) not to marry. Eventually, we will learn that he wants control over her estates. (How unheard of! Especially today!) He asks Bosola to spy on the Duchess. Bosola is a bit hesitant, but he proceeds. Well, the Duchess against her wicked brother's request marries Antonio secretly. Some time passes, and Bosola suspects that the Duchess is pregnant. While Antonio suspects the foul play of Bosola, he is basically a loving, but not so able man. Ferdinand of course finds out that his request has been disregarded. Interestingly, the cardinal comes off a little better when his cautious side contrasts with Ferdinand's rages. Onto Act 3. The Duchess and Antonio now have children. While Ferdinand knows the Duchess has married, he does NOT know Antonio is the husband. The poor Duchess makes the mistake of appealing to Bosola for help, and of course all is found out. Antonio is banished to Ancona. The parting between Antonio and the Duchess is quite sad. But all is not lost. Antonio flees to Milan and they may still be together. Sadly, hope disappears as the Duchess is arrested. Ferdinand orders Bosola to murder her, and while Bosola does hesitate, he performs the cruel murder of the Duchess. It is interesting that Bosola's evil deeds are often accompanied by hesitation and regret, as well as some interesting passages on the harsh truths of the human condition. But Webster does not stop here. Ferdinand's cruelty gives way to insanity and he taunts Bosola for carrying out his orders. Onto the final act. Poor Antonio (not knowing his wife is dead) has heard of Ferdinand's insanity. He thinks perhaps he can reconcile with the Cardinal. Soon we see that the cardinal is not quite an accomplished psychopath. With Ferdinand gone, he sinks further and further into panic trying to cover the bloody mess. In a well done scene, fragments of Antonio's echo foreshadow his downfall. Bosola accidentally kills Antonio and is filled with regret. The final scene begins with the cardinal giving a passage on fear of damnation. In a brutal massacre, Bosola, Ferdinand, and the Cardinal all die. The play ends with a restoration to order by the son of Antonio and the Duchess, but like Shakespeare's "King Lear," it doesn't take away the sadness of the play. Overall, it's a good play that combines an interesting variety of villains, romance, tragedy, suspense, horror, and dark comedy.

John Webster's play "The Duchess of Malfi" is a violent play that presents a dark, disturbing portrait of the human condition. According to the introductory note in the Dover edition, the play was first presented in 1613 or 1614.

The title character is a widow with two brothers: Ferdinand and the Cardinal. In the play's opening act, the brothers try to persuade their sister not to seek a new husband. Her resistance to their wishes sets in motion a chain of secrecy, plotting, and violence.

The relationship between Ferdinand and the Duchess is probably one of the most unsettling brother-sister relationships in literature. The play is full of both onstage killings and great lines. The title character is one of stage history's intriguing female characters; she is a woman whose desires lead her to defy familial pressure. Another fascinating and complex character is Bosola, who early in the play is enlisted to act as a spy. Overall, a compelling and well-written tragedy.

This is a review of the New Mermaids edition of The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster. Elisabeth M. Brennan edits this edition (ISBN: 0393900665.) I mention this incase it is cross-posted under some other editor's edition.

I bought this after reading snippets of it in other books. I do not recall having to learn this in school. Only now do I intend to read "The White Devil" in anticipation of it being encountered in other works.

Well what do you know? This animal is based on a true story of the Duchess of Amalfi. Evidentially there were several books written on this and he picked one for the outline of the play.

This edition is almost as good as taking a class in its self. The introduction gives you a back ground and the basic story that the play was based on. You get some information on John Webster and some of his other plays. There is even a further Reading List. There are even notes on the text and how to read the notes for the different versions of the play its self. By the time you get to the play you are well prepared to read it.

The play its self has stanzas, line numbers and notes to help you through the difficulty of understanding what the words mean in context. It is almost like reading a bible. You soon pickup speed and then actually get intrigued in the writing and story.

Now I desperately want some local theater to present "The duchess of Malfi"

I do not feel Webster's "Duchess of Malfi" quite matches his "The White Devil." Nevertheless, it is still an excellent play. Only Webster could combine this much violence and beauty so well! Webster starts the play well when Antonio and Delio make comments on questionable characters. (Bosola and the Cardinal) Bosola is drawn well as the hired hand reluctant to join the demonic Ferdinand. 2.5 is captivating when Ferdinand explodes with fury upon discovering that the Duchess has married. The cardinal shows an interesting foil to Ferdinand when he tries to encourage caution. The fury exchanged between Ferdinand and the Duchess in 3.2 is memorable. Bosola offers a striking passage on politicians in 3.2. The tragic ceremony in 3.4 is sorrowful and yet beautiful. The parting of Antonio and the Duchess in 3.5 is very lamentable. 4.1 allows us to see that Ferdinand is not only evil, but demented as well. This paves the way for his final insanity. Bosola's hesitation to carry out the murder is well constructed. Ferdinand's final torture of the Duchess reminds us that he is not simply cruel, but psychotic as well. The Duchess is memorable when she faces her death with dignity. Webster DOES NOT stop here! Ferdinand actually taunts the hired killer and this paves the way for the final act. 5.3 is a scene that not even Marlowe or Shakespeare ever used. Fragments of Antonio's own echo foreshadow his death. Bosola's accidental murder of Antonio and his remorse pave the way for the final massacre! Even here, Webster keeps his efforts up. The cardinal's passage on fear of damnation keeps us in chills. Bosola's death and passage of remorse is a fitting end for this excellent work. My only complaint about this play is that the Cardinal could have been more complex.

Of the "popular" editions of this play that by John Russell Brown (Revels Student Editions) and Elizabeth Brennan (New Mermaids) are both useful, though it must be said that no edition as yet does adequate justice to Webster's compexity - notably his presentation of Ferdinand. The play is both a tour de force and profoundly searching. It is perhaps the first major feminist play in England, with the Duchess presented as an outstandingly noble even if fallible character, the victim of her two evil "partriarchal" brothers. Of these, her twin brother Ferdinand is among the most intelligently conceived characters to appear on the Jacobean stage. Unknowingly (i.e. in his "unconscious") he is incestuously in love with his sister. Unable to cope with this "taboo" feeling, he tries to "repress" it unsuccessfully, and finally his ... "libido" comes to express itself in a violent wish to destroy her if he cannot ... own her, and he ends up believing himself to be a wolf, attempting to dig up her grave after he has had her killed. Obviously, then, this is a very Freudian work - anticipating Freud's insights brilliantly by some four centuries, and without lapsing into Freud's extravagantly improbable claims about such matters as the Oedipus complex. It is the working of the unconcious, as a reservoir of what we do not understand and cannot control, which is quite central in this play, and Ferdinand's ... confusion is potently contrasted with his sister's openminded, acknowledged and generous ... health. An outstanding play, recommended as among the best of its time (comparable in quality and interest to e.g. *Othello* or *The Changeling*). - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University, South Australia

Mansfield's innovative diction captivates readers and draws one into her own world. A world in which individuals are not bound by the common restraints of society.

If Virginia Woolf once described Katherine Mansfield as "of the cat kind, alien, composed, always solitary & observant," I would go even further and say that she is quite simply the best short story writer of the 20th Century, ...bar Kipling maybe... If she had lived longer she would surely have eclipsed him as a stylist and attention to detail decscribed in ways that defy explanation.

I was only guided to Mansfield, by my friend and fellow Cambridge-educated mountaineer who swore by her prose...

This compilation of stories varies from those she wrote in her pre-consumptive days in New Zealand to those analysing the corrosive influence of ideas that should have long been dead... colonialism, subtle racism, and the dominiance of the male sex. All written in such a way that ellicits pathos with no cry for help... the pathos lies in the condition, not the individual situation. It is this capability to allude to the universal indirectly from the particular that stands out.

Some of the stories range from ones with a classical shocking turn of ending... and others that just sort of trail off into the ether and we are left with some sort of satisfying feeling and a supposed deeper understanding of something ineffable...

I think about the wonderful later stories of Kipling such as "The Gardener" and I am struck by the emotional female empathy, the shock left unsaid (and sometimes unknown), and unrequited longing for a lost world and for a new one.

It is this ability to describe things that Mansfield really excels in, and the volume really makes one yearn that she had lived to produce more...

Mansfield was in competition with Virigina Wolf during her short life - the one female writer who could compete with the proverbial literary giantess of the pre-war era (as Wolf herself admitted - she respected the former's talent). I think Mansfield ranks as true literary bloom of the first quarter of the 20th century as a generality, hobnobbing with Irish talent like Joyce and fitting into that stage that also held T. E. Lawrence and John Buchan - the male writers always dominating. Mansfield represents the rank outsider, not male, not "English" but breaking through into recognition while she lived.

Her writing is distinctly impressionist in flavour. Sentences broken and stories only half complete. But she writes beautifully, often echoing her impending death from TB. An outsider with her sexuality in how she experimented including a brief pretence of motherhood and her spirituality. She attended Gurdjieff's centre and was obviously fond of the pragmatism of certain Eastern traditions compared to the prevailing cult.

But she only reveals so much in her writing. So much remaining unsaid. Happy stories like "Bliss" and funny stories like "The school mistress". So many details from life at the time like ships, parties, schools, courtship, and the lives of ordinary people from the well bred elites to the downtrodden poor. Mansfield frequently displays a sympathy for the underdog and cries out about the transience of things and the lack of stability in pleasure - vaguely Buddhist even ... But her stories are yet so English with glimpses of her native New Zealand from which she was divorced. She write well about the dazzle of things like summer or flowers, children, sounds and people - everything highlighted. She is so good with colloquial speech and represents it well ... conversations that bring out sentiments of characters and in the reader.

You can't get enough of this genre. The only genre she knew. Little cartoons of short stories, almost always making a point, sometimes sharp but not overtly moralistic. Everything is so precise, a melody from the heart. This like any other collection of her work is worth attention, to read or as a gift.

The introduction is good and Mansfield will probably for ever remain not too well known but a gem to those who find her.

I came across K.M. as she liked to be refered, 60 years after her death. Very late,but better late then never. And especially for K.M. In a german Pension indrigued me first,a review told me, she could have made a lot of money, to publish it again, during the WWI.she declined. She had lost her Brother at the somme, but could not bring herself to more war mongering.
Then I read The Garden Party, and new nearly instandly what kind of person she might have been.
She disliked being priviliged, down the Street, kids her age where starving. The Garden Party gave her an opportunity to disclose Society as what it was. The gap between the Have and Have not.And this in the early 20th century in New Zealand.
And the Garden Party is on of the few stories at the backdrop of New Zealand scenery.
Her Stories make still a highly interesting read, very modern issues with an unbelievable talent for drama, as well as a very dry Sense of humor, like in 'A german Pension'
One or two stories of her are always my companion.

If you've never read her short stories (she never wrote anything else), please do, and then read her journal. There is really something incredible that's underneath the surface of her short stories. If you just looked at the surface you might think they were cutesy or affected (little girls figure largely), but you would be completely missing the point. It's hard to explain what's so moving about them. When she describes some lazy afternoon, she just gets it so right that all the vast range of human experience seems to be contained in this afternoon (whereas in any Great American Novel-esque tomes you read only a fraction of that experience is ever expressed). But at the same time, it was just this cute little vignette that had very satisfying descriptions of flowers and little girls playing. The journal will help you understand her sadness as it's expressed in her work. You know when you are very, very upset, and you see something so beautiful or even funny, you're likely to become on the verge of tears? That's how Mansfield sounds in her stories - the stories are that beautiful thing that she sees.

She is most often compared to Chekhov, and it's not difficult to see why. I truly believe that Mansfield innovated and practically invented the English (language) short story.