West Virginia Books

Very interesting book,I would have given it a five but I was disappointed there was not more information about the logging camps themselves. My father was a logger there for twenty five years. Very little info about what he would have done, only about the locomotives, tracks and the mill.

This book is a gotta have if you are into logging railroad history! Loaded with pictures and personal accounts from locamotive engineers. Easy reading and a full tackage map to follow the sequence of logging areas with. A must for the railroad buff.

I picked this book up on a whim from my local library, intrigued by the promise the library synopsis gave of a scary read and authored by a native West Virginian (whom I am always happy to support). Many people in these reviews want to condemn her for her "less than rosy" depiction of West Virginian society. I too live in WV, have for many years, and while I have certainly never heard of anything described in this fictional book transpiring in real life, I can't deny that the author paints a picture which seems plausible. To the other critics of this book who scorn it, I merely think they are upset because it does, indeed, perpetuate the negative stereotype of the incestuous, backward mountain man. Such readers might be advised to understand that this is a work of /fiction/. and should be regarded only as such.

The basic plot is that a man from the mountains keeps a cabin full of "wives" to produce children for him to sell. He makes a decent profit from this and has an apartment in the city, where he lives in relative comfort. Our heroine, Tuesday, is unfortunate enough to meet this man, who later takes a liking to her and decides to kidnap her and take her to the cabin, where he intends to make her one of his wives.

I have both good and bad things to say of this book. First, the bad, because that's how I roll. Essentially, the plot makes it way to the predictable conclusion through a series of really dumb blunders on the part of our heroine. Although these happenings are reflected upon later by her as she considers her poor judgment, they are all too frequent to be ignored and wind up being downright irritating. There are only so many times a reader can put up with the old "the search missed them by a few seconds" routine.

Also, the dialouge within the book was a bit stiff sometimes and unreal seeming, not to mention there are frequent occurances of the "one person monologue" as a character contemplates things right out loud to themselves. Had these things been conveyed by the characters in thought process, it would have been a lot less disconcerting.

One other note was the progression of the story seemed very unnatural to me. In parts it seemed to move forward very quickly, and the author jumps to a new perspective in every chapter, leaving only just enough time to re-immerse yourself in one story before being chucked right into another.

Other than that, however, I have to say I did enjoy reading this book. The plot had a lot of potential and I believe the author pulled it off, if just barely. One thing I do really want to commend her on was the character development. The different characters really shine through in their distinctness, which for me really made the novel.

So in short, through the clunky progression of the story, sometimes unrealistic dialouge and memorable characters, it made for an entertaining if short read. With another free afternoon, I might even consider picking up the next one.

I was born, raised and educated in West Virginia and know its hills and its people from Wheeling to Welch. Not a shred of anything written in this book rings true. The sad thing is that readers from out-of-state may accept the dialect and the content as an accurate depiction of a state already excessively stereotyped and always negatively. Of course, there are accents and idioms in WV, but the speech of Aunt Aggie, in itself, was so totally, ridiculously fabricated that I appropriately garbaged Cabin very quickly, never to know the outcome of the incestuous relationships and baby-selling mill that Jacob had going. I agree wholeheartedly with the customer who decribed the book as the "most horrific piece of trash I've ever read."

I met C.J. at our local mall. I ended up buying the first autographed novel of the Cabin; I could not put it down and wished I had bought the entire series. I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the rest of the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the books (sent her an e-mail and told her so), something very different then books I've read in the past. She is writing (2) more books in this series and I for one can't wait to get them.
Thanks C.J. and keep writing because I will keep reading

What garbage. My friend that gave it to me told me it was stupid and the half was not told. Pure trash from beginning to end.

I've never felt strongly enough about a book to write an online review about it this book however deserves a comment. I'm an English major and for my senior thesis I'm actually writing about this novel. I'm a proud West Virginian and I'd like to say that this book is complete trash. As another reviewer stated there are numerous beautifully written novels about West Virginia that are based on facts that reflect the people that live here. I was shocked and appalled after i read it to see that the writer was actually from West Virginia. She should be truly ashamed not only for producing this piece of trash but for so horribly slandering her homestate. Breece D.J. Pancake, Pickney Benedict, Jayne Anne Phillips those are true West Virginia writers. Lee Smith or "The Dollmaker" if you like the Appalachian feel.

The story is quite unique in the way that it combines illness with business. Really quite scary stuff if it ever comes to any sort fruition. Thankfully for us all we can get by just fine by reading this fun book, all the plot twists make this definately worth the time and investment.

"Maybe he can order some sort of toxicology on the tissue. 'I'm still certain the mine is at the bottom of all this.'" These words were spoken by the brilliant doctor, Dr. Matt Rutledge in Dr. Palmer's book. The other reviewers have captured the essence of this book admirably...it is an exciting read. But...a line like that? I searched the page to see if it was spoken tongue-in-cheek. Without a wink, this groaner had me wondering about the editor!

Thread through a medical thriller is an intriguing romance and the side story of Rambo hillbillies with heart. It's this latter aspect that adds depth to an already interesting story about the dangers of vaccinations, and the politics that push them through to the public without proper testing. The slow unravelling of the protagonists (a man and a woman, both doctors) demonstrates the considerable writing chops Palmer has developed. The twists aren't quit as shocking as they could have been, I think (not enough red herrings or plants along the way), but still, this is a great read. Well done, Dr. Palmer!

As a mother who does not vaccinate her kids, I liked this book. It was a work of fiction, but for so many familes, it was very real.

This better-than-most medical thriller by the creative Michael Palmer is elevated to the heights of a "can't-afford-to-miss" WOW of a book by the very enjoyable writing style of Palmer.

Interesting plot, likeable characters, believeable dialogue if you know anyone from the mountains of West Virginia - all these elements make for a great story.

Add in the gut-wrenching situations the characters find themselves involved in and the realistic narrative created by Palmer and it becomes a GREAT story. The wiggle-producing ending is the stuff all thrillers should be made of. "Fatal" provides it all in the nail-biting, adrenoline-rush genre. You simply cannot wait until the end arrives, then it is too soon for you because the pleasure is over.

If you listen to this book on audio, which is read wonderfully, One word of warning; if you are the LEAST BIT claustrophobic, DO NOT attempt to listen to tape #8 while in rush-hour traffic. It could prove extremely hazardous to your insurance rates. Palmer's detailed, realistic description of Matt's wild ride could cause the listener to embark on one of his own.

Highly recommend this awesome book!

I am brand new at collecting Fiesta Ware. I really enjoyed this book. Great pics. It has been a wealth of info for someone new like me.

This is the third book in this series I have purchased by these authors. I like the book a lot.

I just received the 10th edition copy of Collector's Encyclopedia of Fiesta, and other related items. The new layout and design are exactly what this edition needed to set it out above the previous ones. It seems the forward is a bit lengthy. Each page is framed in the turquoise color. The new pictures are numerous!! And for those who collect New Fiesta (produced since 1986, the pages for this are expanded to include up thru Scarlet and quite a few of the pieces produced thus far in color pictures. I rate this book at 4 stars for one reason. I feel the prices are inflated and out of line. Yes, there will always be some "rare" items at high prices. There are a fair share of pictures that are the same as previous books as well.

One of worst of the newer "collector" books out there. There isn't even a color chart with the names, you need to deduce them by flipping through all the pages and guessing at collections of variuos colors and doing a process of elimination. Fakes are mentioned, and the author says "you'll know them when you see them". Thanks alot! All the marks aren't even listed. What about newer peices versus old?

Some Encyclopedia, more like ramblings of a collector. The medium green issue is already covered by others, the book mentions it everywhere but gives very little evidence of it (maybe the author has medium green envy?).

Not worth the bargain price spent on it. Certainly not a reference book.

p.s. I give other collector books 5 stars, so I'm not just a grump.

The title of this book "Fiesta" can be a little misleading to the novice or seasoned collector. Beyond actual Fiesta and Fiestaware by Homer Laughlin the author's detail company history by delving into Harhequin, Riviera, Mexican lines, Kitchen Kraft, even promotional items and advertising.

For Fiesta identification pieces the pictures and Plate descriptions are very good. Pictures, specifically are very clear and concise while the page quality is excellent. In particular, this book will provide a very wide range of history and the wide variety of products offered by Homer Laughlin Co. over many years. Although the title suggests a book on Fiesta, this portion is limited.

If your looking for price comparisons or rule of thumb the book is weak in this department, it does not effectively handle all colors preferring to provide information strictly on the "hot" collector pieces such as 'medium green.' Of course, prices quoted in books are strictly "guides" as the internet, antique malls and live auctions mix up values on a weekly basis. Current research and personal perspective will be the true guides for market value at any given time.

Fiesta is covered in the first 73 pages of this book (pre/post 1986) and then moves on other topics or products produced. This book would be a fine starter for the novice but additional resources will need to be added for a complete library on Fiesta and Fiestaware.

Well I will concede that this staple of civil procedure classes in law school is a good read, but let's do the math. When you see what Stern's firm took and you see what the victims got, we know that the law firms were the winner's here and the people who lost their lives and homes with all their possessions did not fair very well at all. For that reason, it's probably a good introduction to class action litigation.

Suggested reading for pre-law school students, this book contains the representing attorney's actual story about a lawsuit involving the coal industry. The terminology, processes and struggles included in the story, as well as the lawyer's thought-processes and actions introduce the reader to the real world of legal advocacy, which is not parallel to the Law & Order dramas on television. If you're contemplating entering the legal profession, this book narrates one situation with enough detail to give you a feel for the work you may be doing.

This book was on my law school reading list. I was supposed to read it before school started but never got around to it. Now that I've graduated, I decided to read it. I enjoyed the beginning. I was stirred by the description of what happened when the dam broke. I perceived empathy in the author's tone. Immediately, I was pulling for the victims, regardless of whether they were significantly impacted by the flood or only had minimal contact with the disaster. But, as the book went on, the tone changed. I felt like it was more a story about Stern. The author seemed to become more boastful. It also seemed like he spent a long time thoughtfully writing the beginning of the book, then rushed to finish it at the end. The end was not as compelling as the beginning. The end was slightly unsatisfying. Overall, this is an interesting book that tells the story of what happened in Buffalo Creek and a self-appraisal of how Stern thinks his lawyering was during the case. The downside is that the end turned into a story about Stern's "win" in negotiating a settlement instead of a win for the victims. The book would also be well-served by print of a second edition with an epilogue. You'll end up asking yourself how much the survivors really did win, and whether there truly was a lasting impact on coal companies.

I was assigned to read this for my Civil Procedure class in law school. Although I dreaded reading it, once I started, I could not put it down. As a law student (or if you are a lawyer for that matter), this was a great insight into how a lawsuit is constructed on such a grand scale. Even if you have no interest in law, Stern manages to tell such a compelling story, I would recomend this book to anyone. It provides great insight into the operations of a corrupt coal company, a state and region at the industry's mercy, and people who felt helpless when their lives were destroyed by the mining company's negligence and the state's oversight. A definite must read.

I too had to read this book for my Civil Procedure class. Let me start off with the positive. With the coal disaster that just happened in Utah, I thought it was quite interesting that the response was the exact same by the coal mining owners. Both Piston / Buffalo Mine Co. (from the book) and the Utah mine owner prematurely said the disasters were an "act of God," without yet knowing all of the facts. And I do think Stern did a good job at getting the reader very upset with the coal companies. However, that was where the positives ended for me.

First off, there were so many spelling / grammar errors, that I lost count. Did Stern have someone proof read the book? The errors are so obvious, I can't believe someone didn't catch it. Now, as for the substance of the book, Stern provides WAY too much detail. He could have cut the book literally in half. I know Civil Procedure teachers like this book since it is so comprehensive and talks about diversity and all that, but I just felt like there was way too much unnecessary detail in the book. Although, I read through all the boring / unnecessary parts, because I thought it would be a good ending. Wrong! By the title of the book I expected that the plaintiffs would be set for life. Which was hardly the case. I don't want to give away the final number, but let's just say that at the very beginning Piston offered $10,000 each for the wrongful deaths. And after all the time and energy, the plaintiffs only got $13,000 each. And they actually got a lower amount because in their net recovery had to be adjusted for the expenses and legal fees of the case paid to the lawyers. In fact, Stern doesn't even list a net amount, adjusted for legal fees and expenses, that the plaintiffs took in because I think it would be too embarrassing. Ok granted, that Stern was able to get the original 200 something plaintiffs up to 625 because he filed for the each person, even the children, and not just the families. Thus, the families did take in more than they would have gotten originally, since it around $13,000 each compared to $10,000 as a family as a whole. But I would hardly say that they beat Piston. Stern had originally asked for $64 million; which in settlement talks immediately went down to almost half that at $32.5 million. Then he was trying to negotiate between their high number and Piston's low number of $3 million. And if you think he even got the middle number between 32.5 and 3--well, you would be wrong. I actually think Piston won! They had insurance to up to $17 million. And well, the settlement number was way below that. This made me so mad because I do think Stern had made a case for wanton and reckless and not just negligence. I know this was in the 70's and everything must be adjusted for inflation, but I still don't think this was a great number. Basically what happened is that the plaintiffs just got the same initial settlement that Piston offered, but it was for each person affected by the disaster including the children. This is hardly a win in my book. And what about the people that maybe just lost a spouse and they had no children between them? They would have been better off just settling immediately. They could have gotten the money right away. Stern at the beginning of the book laughed off Piston's $10,000 wrongful death settlement amount. But isn't this just what the plaintiffs got for their lost ones except years later?

What is very interesting is that Stern and his lawyers got off with a cool $3 million. And he boasts "sometimes you do well by doing good." He is way too self-righteous. Just because the lawyers may have done well doesn't mean the plaintiffs did well. And just because he calls it a "win" doesn't mean that it is such. After everything that these people went through, I feel they got screwed twice over, first by Piston/ Buffalo Mining Coal Co. and then by a self-righteous lawyer who made bank off of them. And Piston / Buffalo made off fairly well. Will someone who liked this book please explain to me how the plaintiffs "won?" Because I just don't get it.

I found the the story excruciatingly boring, virtually pointless. After Jean marries Don, the next sixty years of their lives are dealt with in ten pages. Ms. Glock may be a gifted writer, but she is a poor storyteller.

I live across the river from Chester, WV; however, I did not grow up in this pottery area. This book helped me to understand what life was like in an area that was once part of the pottery center of the world. I do not feel that the author denigrates the citizens. The story is a memoir. It is her view of her grandmother's life circumstances. Poverty and joblessness are still part of this area's history; to deny this is also to deny the kind-heartedness and character of its people.

Well, I don't know what the negative reviewers were reading, but they clearly took some offense to components I did not see in this beautiful book. Having grown up in the mountains of North Carolina, I am always on the lookout for books about life in Appalachia, and "Beauty Before Comfort" has to be one of the best in recent years. The honesty, reality, humor--they recall Dorothy Allison's "Bastard Out of Carolina" and the poetry of Kathryn Stripling Byer. Glock deserves a place at the table of strong, stunning Southern women writers.

Allison,

You're a great little writer. That you evoked this much emotion from people reading your book says that you have the gift of telling a story passionately. You have stirred up some powerful emotions that goes to the heart of your ability to write. When people who can't spell or put a sentence together are moved to write a review of your book, you're doing something right. Either they love you or they hate you, but they are reading you.

I went to school with your mother, until I was one of the ones who got out of Hancock County when I moved to California. Your mother must be very proud. I sure would be.

Your book brings back many precious memories, even memories of some of the hardships grabbed something in my heart. You have written a very accurate description of the people and the area, and you have been able to tell it like it was while also conveying a loving image of your grandmother and the times.

This is your first book. Incredible!!! I gave you four stars because I'm saving that fifth one for your next book.

Sharin (Fletcher) Bowers

I came from an industrial town in Tennessee, and Allison Glock's wonderful story of her grandmother, who lived in that kind of environment, really resonated with me. Aneita Jean Blair's life is not the kind that usually gets the full biographical treatment, especially from a granddaughter.

The second outstanding part about this book is the writing. Lines such as "Just walking through the house required lurching effort," written about the death of a family member, make the story more real.

Having read some of the reviews here on Amazon, I cannot understand the hostility that some people convey about this book. My favorite line from an angry reader was this one: "I think if you right (sic) a book you should actually know what you are talking about."

That line--complete with spelling that shouts ignorance--says it all. Allison Glock does know what she is talking about, and tells it very, very well.

This book is amazing, Philips's words ring like poetry and the variety of her vocabulary and structure when she writes from the different characters' point of view is stunning. Once you get to know the people in the book, you don't even have to read the title of the chapter to know who is talking. She writes from the perspective of Lenny and Alma, two sisters at camp, Buddy, a small boy who follows them around, and Parson who lives in a shack near the camp. Throughout the story they are beautifully linked together. I would highly recommend this book!

It's never easy to see -- or imagine -- the innocence of children snatched away by the events in their lives, particularly when it involves adults who are so controlled by the evil they have become that they cannot see the difference between preying on children or other adults. The young people who populate Jayne Anne Phillips' novel SHELTER are living in an era when most Americans felt the perceived stability and perfection of their lives threatened for the first time -- the early 1960s. Kennedy was in the White House, and the nuclear arms race was in full swing. The Soviets had attempted to install missiles in Cuba, and the reactionary American conservatives were instilling fear into every citizen they could touch -- Communists were supposedly hiding everywhere. Children were touched by the concerns and fears of their parents -- innocence was bound to be tainted and fade soon enough, without any help from predators.

Phillips' writing is extremely effective in fleshing out her characters -- not an easy task with a cast which is, overall, so young. The adults that take part are equally well-drawn -- human, succumbing to temptations and weaknesses, one of them (no spoilers) incredibly evil. Yet even this evil character is, to some extent, understandable, given the relevant background articulated by the author. It's no excuse for the deeds committed, but it allows the reader to understand the source of the evil involved. There are surprises, too -- and this is a welcome aspect of the author's gift -- in several of the characters. We find they are capable of things we cannot imagine as we come to know them -- and that at least one is not as bad as we are tempted to believe.

The plot of the book was developed nicely, at a pace that made me tempted to read it in one sitting -- I'm glad that I took the time to give it more thorough attention. A very rewarding and entertaining read.

This author clearly has a gift for crafting sentences, and perhaps this book fills the bill completely for some readers. For me, it didn't do the trick. I kept wishing for a character reference chart, as the characters as written were too vague to figure it out as I read. At times, I had hopes...after all, some books take a while to warm up to. But I never warmed to this story. Parts of it put me in mind of "Little Altars Everywhere," but it never got that coherent and I never came to care as much about the people populating it.

For devotees of Phillips' writing style, this is a must-have item. This work, more than any others truly exemplifies her rather unique way with words. No other living author could render such a poetic description of urinals; it is, alas, simply too beautiful to describe. This wonderful book is less about plot and characterization than about the pure joy of indulging oneself in Phillips' marvelously arcane prose. Happily, for the devoted fan, there are quite a few copies on the market, although why anyone would even think of discarding such a marvelous work of art is a complete mystery to me. This is a truly unique author at her very best. Excelsior!

This searing, sometimes gothic coming-of-age story is written in luminous prose. No surprise here, for Jayne Anne Phillips has done it before in "Machine Dreams," a novel nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Lenny and her younger sister, Alma, are spending the summer at Camp Shelter, a West Virginia Girl Guides retreat. However, rather than spending their days swimming, hiking, and singing around campfires, they undergo an astonishing rite of passage.

Their idyll is interrupted by Carmody, a drunken ex-convict who abuses his young son, Buddy, and another ex-convict, Parson, a sick soul given to delusional religious visions. Through the collision of these antithetical characters, the author explores the existence of good and evil, family relationships, and generational differences.

Jayne Anne Phillips often wields a poet's pen, endowing her prose with a richness of observation and crystalline clarity of words. "Shelter" is a unique literary coup.

- Gail Cooke

I picked up this book after reading about William Hoffman in _The Washington Post Magazine_. The description of his career and his numerous achievements and awards made me hopeful that I would enjoy a work by an articulate, thoughtful writer. Unfortunately, this was not the case. While I can understand why Mr. Hoffman is considered a regional writer, I found his characterization of the region void of color and his characters wooden and unbelievable -- and I live here! Worse, I knew what the "answer" to the mystery was well before his characters did, a sign that a writer is either not pacing his work well (the case here; this moved slower than molasses on a January morning) or is not so much interested in his readers as he may be in his own words. This book felt like a long series of happenings: this happened and then this happened next and then this happened after that. Boring. A writer once wrote that writers need to be able to murder their "darling" words; Mr. Hoffman should have taken the axe to many of his. I was unable to finish reading the novel and switched to an audio book -- a format from which, if the narrator is talented enough, even the most mediocre books benefit -- and still found it a slow, painful, and plodding business. I would suspect that Mr. Hoffman's reputation rests on works better than this, but I think it will be awhile befor I give him another shot.

I picked up Tidewater Blood because of the article about mid-list writers in the Washington Post. I, too, am a writer, although not nearly as published. I know all too well the difficulty of Mr. Hoffman's struggle. It's a shame because he's a good writer and Tidewater Blood is a good book.

It's refreshing to read a contemporary novel that builds the plot by use of clean descriptions and strong dialogue while at the same time moving the story forward. Writing well is one thing, and having a story to tell is another. It's nice when you find that rare book that does both (unlike some bestsellers I could mention).

The only problem I had with the story was the frequency of Mr. LeBlanc being rescued by good samaritans. I don't know if I'd be so quick to help out a homeless fugitive, but Mr. LeBlanc repeatedly received food, clothes and shelter from strangers.

I hope Mr. Hoffman continues to publish more novels. I hope he continues to rage against the machine. I know I will.

Everything about this book was interesting. I especially liked what Charles LeBlanc did to survive while he was being hunted. And, survival seemed to be a key element in this story. The circumstances surrounding the murders were quite unique here also, definitely worth the wait to the end. I highly recommend Tidewater Blood.

Pulse pounding suspense and lyrical affirmations of setting are not at all antithetic in William Hoffman's extraordinary 11th novel, Tidewater Blood. An explosive opening crackles into a mesmerizing tale of treachery and revenge, as a hunted man seeks to save himself by probing his haunted past. Set in the bountifully vernal Virginia countryside and the craggy cliffs of West Virginia's coal mining area, here is Southern exposure with a sharp Southern twist.

The patrician LeBlanc clan, proudly descended from gentrified Huguenot stock, gathers annually to celebrate themselves. On this, their 250th anniversary, they have again dressed in antebellum costume to share an opulent feast on the plantation mansion's portico - a meal never tasted as the porch suddenly explodes killing the eldest son and his family.

Immediately suspect is Charley LeBlanc, the family's miscreant son. A dishonorably discharged Vietnam veteran and former resident of Leavenworth, Charley has seceded from civilization, foraging for food near the makeshift he inhabits on a Chesapeake Bay inlet.

Brought in by the police who try to coerce a confession from him, Charley is reluctantly represented by a young court appointed attorney. When it becomes clear that he may pay for crimes he did not commit, one of the scruffiest, most emotionally scarred, yet deeply affecting heroes in contemporary fiction takes off to find the real killer.

During the ensuing odyssey, with the law nipping hungrily at his heels, Charley relies on his war taught skills: "I'd learned to nest keeping part of myself alert - an outer fringe of consciousness that sensed movement and alien sounds in darkness." His quest takes him to the mountainous West Virginia coal mining area, to a nearly abandoned town where his father oversaw a mining operation during World War II.

While Mr. Hoffman's narrative skills are abundant his character definition is superb. We meet an aged, independent backwoods woman, the memorable Aunt Jessie Arbuckle, who has a reason to help Charley. "Had seven children, all gone and spread to the four winds, " she tells him. "The last I heard from was Jacob, the youngest. Lives in Seattle and sent me a Christmas present, a GE toaster, and I got no electric. You chew?"

There is Blackie, the "he done me wrong" disfigured honky-tonk proprietress, another of life's secessionists. "I tell you one thing," she vows, "I don't use the word love no more." Add a grizzled mountain hermit who lives by stealing copper rigging, and a host of others, cinematic cameos all.

As Charley solves conundrum after conundrum to reveal the real killer, he also unearths some long buried secrets about the aristocratic LeBlancs and about himself.

Praiseworthy in every respect, this harrowing adventure captures readers with the opening page and holds them spellbound until the closing sentence. To call this tale a first-rate thriller isn't enough; to deem the author's prose splendid does not do it justice. Tidewater Blood is an exemplary achievement, one that may bring Mr. Hoffman the popular recognition he so patently deserves.

- Gail Cooke

This book served as my introduction to the talented Mr. Hoffman, and a fine introduction it was. The south is everywhere in this book, from the spare, elegant physical descriptions of places and things, to the clipped, almost abbreviated speech of the characters.

How Charles LeBlanc-a character as close to a hermit as one can get-is accused of murdering a large chunk of his estranged family and manages, through native intelligence and dogged determination, to vindicate himself makes for wonderful reading. I literally couldn't put this novel down, and carried it everywhere with me until it was done. William Hoffman is a fine writer; there isn't one extraneous word in this book. And aside from learning some interesting facts about Virginia, I also found out about a large number of wild-growing things, both animal and vegetable, that one might eat in order to survive.

This is a very worthwhile novel, offering insights into alienation, anger and the need of some for wide-open spaces. I look forward with enormous anticipation to reading his other books.

This is one of my favorite novels. I love how it examines the quiet, domestic, emotional interior lives of characters and subject matter that are usually sensationalized. The sentences sparkle, not a word out of place. Stunningly poetic and visual. I loved the characters. It would make an excellent movie.

This is not the literary page-turner that the inside jacket suggests. This was juat an ok book. I'm still not sure if it was worth reading. The book starts off very slow and didn't pick up until the second half. Then there's just too much going on with everything being crammed into part two. There isn't enough dialogue between the characters. Just a bunch of insight into their thoughts. The ending wasn't too great either. A really great book that has a simalar plot is The Crimson Petal and The White by Michael Faber. I suggest that you read that before The Madam if at all.

Everything I've loved in Baggott's other novels, Girl Talk and The Miss America Family--is here, but with a sense of place and time that draws you in from page one. There's the wild, off-kilter characters, desperation brimming just under deliberately tough exteriors, the family flung apart by circumstance and reconstituted into something altogether new, unexpected and yet exactly as it should be. The language is lush and evocative--as another reviewer said, you can tell a poet is at work here (Baggott's This Country of Mothers is an award-winning book of poetry and a must-read), but it's completely to serve the story, which culminates in a tense and powerful scene of a family saving itself. Baggott has taken on new territory here and made it her own.

I had never read anything by Julianna Baggott prior to my unfortunate encounter with The Madam. I certainly won't bother with anything else she's written. I find it appalling that a writer who, according to information on the book jacket, has written both prose and poetry for various reputable publications, not only has a generally poor grasp of English grammar, but is unaware that "noisome" means "putrid" or "malodorous," and not "noisy," which is what, based on the context in which the word appears, Baggott clearly assumed it meant. And did anyone bother to PROOFREAD this book for such malapropisms--as well as its numerous grammatical inaccuracies? If the usage in this novel is a reflection of what is happening generally to the English language, then we are in serious trouble. Prose like this is, as far as I am concerned, unreadable by a truly literate public.

This story of a Madam in 1930's West Virginia has a meandering plot and poorly developed characters, except for maybe Alma. The story behind Alma is not that well developed, and the setting and story are not particularly evocative. I was rather disappointed.

I read this mainly to gain a little more insight into Virginia Woolf-the-person because of an essay I was writing on "To the Lighthouse." It didn't really provide me with the biographical detail or psychological penetration I was craving - but then, I doubt that was Nicolson's intent. Instead he offers a curiously airy yet affectionate series of character sketches, a handful of priceless anecdotes and some incidental musings, all of which amounts to an entertaining reflection on Woolf's life and personality but actually makes her more mysterious and unknowable in certain ways. It's memoir vs biography, I guess; Nicolson tends to regard Woolf from the point of view of a bemused bystander, fond of her but not overly engaged with her - but at the same time, he feels no need to make much sense of her suicide, for instance. He just dips in and out of what interests him, not striving for deeper meaning or cogency when it does not suit him, and this makes it a dissatisfying book for someone not already well acquainted with Woolf's biography.

That said, this is an enjoyable read. Nicolson is supremely English, in quite a charming way - his prose is coolly elegant with an occasional flash of wit or moment of restrained warmth, and he never declares anything outright, just insinuates or suggests (not unlike Woolf herself). His attitude to his subject is both touchingly and infuriatingly respectful. I think he was so terrified of being scurrilous, of exploiting his position as Vita Sackville-West's son, that this book comes off as over-polite, over-careful; he whets our interest but refuses to supply the goods. It's a pity, because he really does have an unique perspective.
Still, I reccommend it. It's a quick read, and a nice way to spend an afternoon.

This is really a great book, written with such love from a man who truly knew Ms Woolf.

If you want to know about Ms Woolf I highly recommend this book.

In this "Penguin Life" Nigel Nicolson provides a balanced, affectionate and eloquent introduction to the life of Virginia Woolf. Nicolson provides us with the major events, the major players, the family background, and Bloomsbury. He also introduces the reader to some of the controversies (e.g., the extent and effect of her sexual abuse by her half-brothers.) The picture that emerges is one of a brilliant and complex woman -- difficult, loving, deeply insightful, wrong-headed, sympathetic, prickly, loyal, jealous, witty, snobbish, and liberal.

Nicholson is an editor of Woolf's letters and the son of Vita Sackville-West, with whom Virginia Woolf had an affair. Nicolson's having known and liked Virginia Woolf adds a personal touch without compromising objectivity.

Nigel Nicolson is uniquely qualified to write a brief biography of Virginia Woolf. First, he is one of the most important caretakers of her written work, having edited her letters for publication. Second, as a small boy, he actually knew Virginia Woolf. Third, his mother was Vita Sackville-West, one of the major figures in Virginia's life, the object of her affections, one of her closest friends, and the basis for the main character in ORLANDO. This could well be, in fact, one of the last books written about Virginia Woolf by someone who actually knew her.

Perhaps as a result of his unusual connection with her, this biography has an aura of the real Virginia Woolf that many do not. As Nicolson puts it early on, while for many she was "Woolf," for him he was always "Virginia." He knew her before she was the icon she was later to become. Auden said of Yeats that upon his death "he became his admirers," and Woolf has certainly undergone a similar transformation, and frequently books deal one her deal not with who she was, but who they need her to be. Nicolson's portrait is a remarkably rich and concrete one, a splendid portrait of an amazingly gifted and complex individual. He captures her gift for friendship and kindness along with her need to sometimes hurt others with her words. He deals with her openness to love between men or women along with her near dread of actual sexual involvement with either (indeed, most biographies point up the fact that while she had several romantic attachments, her sex life was nonetheless almost nonexistent). He contrasts her feminism with her restricted view of how far women's rights should extend (she was never able to break out of her class bound views on the lower classes) with her apathy to politics in general. He makes vivid her huge capacity for enjoying life while invoking the struggles she underwent to stay sane enough to do so. He also provides a sympathetic portrait of her marriage to Leonard Woolf, who was simultaneously her biggest supporter, her caretaker and nurse, and greatest devotee. If Leonard sometimes emerges as a bit codependent, one can forgive him because he seemed capable of giving a great deal while still producing a prodigious amount of work himself. They seemed, improbably, to have a remarkably good marriage, given her mental problems.

Nicolson also provides good insight into Virginia's struggles with mental health, even making her suicide seem less an act of despair than an insistence on ending life when it still was more or less sane (she killed herself largely because she thought she was about to go insane again, was about to succumb to the hallucinations that had plagued her on more than one occasion in the past, with one difference: she was convinced that if she became insane again, she would not reemerge from it again as she had in the past). Her's was a suicide not of despair but of a fear of losing her humanity.

I have to state that I find the comments by one the previous reviewers (Rebekah) absolutely incomprehensible. The complaint is made that Nicolson criticized Woolf's feminism and was guilty of a "macho attitude." These are absolutely stunning complaints, since one of the very mild criticisms that Nicolson makes through the work is that instead of being a liberal, Virginia was actually fairly tied to her class, that she did hold to views of women's suffrage, but only for women of the upper middle class. One will search in vain in his pages for views of the kind that she allots to him. It is true that he wants to correct views that do not take an accurate view of her feminism, views that do not see how deeply she was rooted in a particular class. The only rational reading of the book and Nicolson's position is that he seems disappointed that she did not take her feminist beliefs far enough and that she was not as a whole especially interested in politics. Besides, it is exceedingly odd to accuse the offspring of a lesbian mother and a gay father as being "old-fashioned." Again, Nicolson absolutely nowhere either by word or by intimation criticizes Woolf's feminism. Indeed, if one actually reads the book, it is clear that Nicolson has a far more contemporary view of women and politics than did Virginia Woolf. One does gain a sense that Nicolson had lived a long and rich life (he died this past fall at the age of 87), but I think most readers will look in vain for the old-fashioned ideas (and certainly the machismo) wrongly ascribed to him.

This is not the best biography on Virginia Woolf. For one thing it is far, far too brief to do even a cursory job. For instance, her friendship with Roger Fry is almost gestured at, her relationship with her sister Vanessa is given little space, and in all descriptions are kept to a minimum to keep to the publisher's guidelines for the series. Nonetheless, I'm quite impressed with what he achieves in such a short amount of space. Although not one of the more complete biographies, it is nonetheless one of the best at giving an almost tangible picture of Virginia.

One thing to know before buying or reading this book is that it is written by a man who was born in the early 1900's and still holds many of the old-fashioned beliefs of that time. It is irritating to listen to Nicolson berate Virginia's feminist beliefs, argue that her statements about women's disadvantages were not true and basically undermine what many readers admire her for - her progressive and liberal point of view. It is not what I bought this biography for. I wanted to know more about Virginia, not Nicolson's macho attitude. For the most part the biography is very good, it would just be a lot better if he kept his opinions to himself.