Rhode Island Books

Silent People is the second book in a trilogy by Walter Macken. It is the story of, Dualta, a young educated man from Connacht, and life at the time of the famine in Ireland. It is the story of how a young man is drawn into the political unrest of his times because of the degradation of the tyrannical landlords and the injustices that were inescapable. This book , and this trilogy of books, helps one understand the history and events that fueled the fight for freedom in Ireland.

Walter Macken brings the early 1800s in Ireland alive. The poverty, deprivation, hopelessness...and eternal spirit of the Irish are very real. He is vivid in his descriptions and I felt the horror of the second crop failure as if I were standing in the field discovering it. If you are of Irish descent and had forbears who came to America at this time, this is a must read for you. Their courage left me awed.

Walter Macken is Ireland's favorite historical novelist. Any Irish person questioned has read at least one of his works, years ago.

According to the cover, The Silent People is the second part of Macken's brilliant trilogy of the dark years in Irish history. Fortunately, there's nothing to stop a newcomer from joining the saga at this novel's page 1, and walk away with a feeling of completion at the close of 346.

In a shell too nutty, Macken's The Silent People follows a young Irish countryman from rural Connemara in 1826 throughout his contacts with all the major events, persons and themes of the Irish history's next twenty years. As is proper, conflict sets the pages turning. Dualta is pronounced Jewel-ta, but there's nothing feminine about the way our hero stands up for himself and unhorses the landlord's wicked, horse-whip lashing son into the deepest pile of manure on the street.

Macken is accessible. There's no subtlety encountered during the first sixty pages. Bad guys wear high-topped hunting hats, pulled low to shade all but the evil glint in their highborn eye. Action-packed good guys wear flat white caps- or, devil take 'em- are too impoverished by their oppressors to afford headgear at all. Young adult readers will have no difficulty being engaged or- this is a compliment- moved.

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle distilled exactly such injustice to become a classic. That's an exception. To its further credit, Macken's novel raises questions and not just an outcry. One of Dualta's missions, six months after joining the rebels, is complicated when the economic enemy they are burning out bravely makes a fair defense of his actions, before being whacked into unconsciousness. Huh! Dualta then commits to the most dangerous undercover work, as a Trojan Horse within the manor house of the evil landlord himself. Preconceptions are challenged when the landlord proves to be a hard man, but fair. Dualta takes a shine to him. Shinier yet is the landlord's beautiful, spirited daughter.

The Silent People is a worthy read. Sure, it covers the country in an unlikely portrait from rural West to squalid Dublin. Major historical figures like Daniel O'Connell are encountered on mountainsides, swiftly delivering monologues encompassing their philosophies and current dilemmas to the main-character absolute strangers. Whose names O'Connell remembers twenty years later, off the top of his head. It's a historical novel. Leon Uris is guilty of the same, and it can be argued that even Booker-prize winning Peter Carey presents the same Irish love of land and brutal tragedies with no less horror and ambiguity. This is history made human, all sides of the argument visited at least briefly and with an entertaining romantic subplot.

Fave Bit: the secret to successful education is the teacher's right to smack students. First published 1962! There's history.

After the requisite religious, cultural, economic, political, literary and agricultural issues are addressed, it's time for the climactic Famine. Hunger, disease, injustice, crime, emigration, and death are capably revealed. There's no way to airbrush the devastation of this event. Left thus without stupid jokes, I have nothing to say and must bow to Macken's treasured novel. Read it for yourself, question it, discuss it. You'll have the starting point for an understanding of subjects deeper.

Walter Macken, a native of Galway, was born in 1915 and died in his home city at the age of 51. A writer, an actor and a playwright, he is perhaps best known for his novel "Flight of the Doves" - which was adapted for the cinema - and his "Irish Trilogy". "The Silent People" is the second book of this trilogy, and is set in the early to mid Nineteenth Century. Although the book itself is a work of fiction, many of the 'background' events are true - for example, the Great Famine (1845 - 1849) and the actions of Daniel O'Connell.

The book follows the life of Dualta Duane and opens in 1826. Dualta, orphaned when his own family died in the 1817 famine, is seventeen and lives with his Uncle Marcus. They live in small village, in the Corrib Country of County Galway. However, after Dualta topples the landlord's son from his horse in anger, the pair are forced to separate and flee. The consequences of staying would, most likely, have seen Dualta beaten to within an inch of his life and transported to Australia. Managing to escape those hunting him, Dualta is briefly sheltered by a man called Mairtin and later travels onwards with Mairtin's son, Paidi. Together, they move southwards and seek work as diggers. Dualta, promising Paidi he'll keep in touch, is hired by a man called Cuan McCarthy. His work, however, doesn't involve digging and the next time he sees Paidi the circumstances are less than happy.

As the story progresses, several further characters are introduced. The most significant, to Dualta at least, is Una - the daughter of an English landlord called Wilcocks. While her father had been a Protestant, her mother had been an Irish Catholic who converted to marry him. It would have been a very unusual marriage in those times - however, Una's mother died when she was thirteen. Daniel O'Connell, a hugely important figure in Irish history and responsible for bringing Catholic Emancipation, also appears in this book.

There's an implication that Dualta may be a descendent of Dominick MacMahon. Dominick was the central character of "Seek the Fair Land", the first book of this Trilogy. (The third is called "The Scorching Wind", and is set in the early 1900s). Although a trilogy, it isn't necessary to read the books in order - though if you enjoy one of them, you'll probably enjoy all three. "The Silent People" isn't always a cheerful book - it's set during a very difficult period of Ireland's history. However, it's a book I would highly recommend - I've always found anything Walter Macken has written very easy to read.

I am very impressed with the detail of this book. 2nd - 4th graders are introduced to the Puritans' struggle for religious freedom and their tendency to fall back to old patterns of persecution. Roger Williams and his family are portrayed as the real people they were, making it easy for the ready the empathize. However, the books ends with the comment that the separation of church and state has been secured by our constitution, which is untrue. The separation of church and state is an idea that came through a court decision years after the constitution was ratified.

This is an adventurous book, and it is a true story. I learned that the man who founded Providence is named Roger Williams. It was nice for the kids that it was told from his daughter's point of view. I gave the book three stars because the people in the pictures were stiff and not real looking. I would recommend this book for someone who likes history.

I read this book to my two boys, ages 5 and 9. They enjoyed learning about such a great man. Of course, we unlike many Americans, knew something about Roger Williams before we read this book. We are descendents of his, through his son, Daniel. I was very proud to read about such a great man, who did the courageous things that he did at the time that he did them and to be able to call him Grandfather, was a treasured moment. Thank you to the Author for writing the book. What most people do not know is that Freedom of Religion and Separation of Church and State were ideas that he was the first to fight for in America. So whether you are Baptist, Catholic, Muslim or Buddhist, you should Know that the men who wrote the American Constitution, got some of their ideas from a man who lived 150 years before their time; and that he fought for you to be able to worship as you choose.

I was elated to find this book, have purchased 10 copies to date for children, cousins, etc. As a 13th generation direct descendent of Roger Williams daughter Mary (later married John Sayles) who tells the simple yet historically correct and fascinating story of her father's banishment from Mass. and how they ended up "founding Rhode Island." This is simple to read for children and interesting for adults alike. I would like to recommend this for all school age children interested in learning more about our American heritage.

This is a wonderful read for War Between the States buffs and the novice. I,like most, remember the letter from the documentary and was delighted to find the book about Sullivan Ballou. The background information on him and his wife certainly adds to the poignancy of the famous letter and makes you understand where all those tender feelings stem from.

This is an excellent primer on the antebellum and war time eras; lots of information on custom, mores and traditions. Also, it is exhaustively researched and minute in detail on every facet of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who enjoys history.

Let me start by saying I'm not new to the civil war...so maybe this book would be better for newbies. It is definitely "exhaustively" researched. The author is obviously very good at genealogy. Unfortunately, that's what this book is...genealogy. There is sooo much information about Sullivan Ballou's relatives and neighbors that it just drags on. I don't need to know about these distant relatives and where they worked. That said, if you don't already know much about the civil war or living in that era, it is worth the buy. Even if you are like me and own hundreds of civil war books, this one could be worth the purchase for the Manassas section...once you finally reach those chapters.

Publisher's Weekly must have gotten hold of some bad dates while writing their review of "For Love and Liberty."
An informed reader knows Robin Young could not have written more than 95 words to tell all that is presently known of Sullivan Ballou and less than that of his very dearest Sara.
Anyone interested in Sullivan and Sara Ballou already knows the best part: the love letter. It alone is a strong story. Nothing can match its passion and eloquence. Those few words, however, demand a panoramic portrait of Sullivan, his family and others, and of the period, be filled in with a historian's brush.
Robin starts with that proud portrait, and completes it for those who know nothing of the civil war, the society that lived it, and the spirit and blood that produced the letter and preserved our Nation.
Too many words for PW? Maybe they should read, as I have, Sullivan Ballou's letter again and again and again . . . . And throw out the dates.

Historian Young's debut tells the story of Sullivan Ballou, whose moving letter to his wife on the eve of the First Battle of Bull Run was an emotional highlight of Ken Burns's PBS documentary about the war. At age 34, Ballou seemed destined for a distinguished political career. A talented lawyer in sympathy with the anti slavery Republican Party, he had already served one term as a state legislator and made an unsuccessful run for statewide office as attorney general. Shortly after the outbreak of war, Ballou volunteered for a three year term of duty defending the Union. With 20 years experience in the state militia, he received a commission as major, third in command of the Second Rhode Island Volunteers. Young follows the course of the regiment's recruitment, training and movement to Washington in the late spring and early summer of 1861, drawing heavily on documents of the time. As the crisis grew, it was soon clear to everyone that the federal army would soon invade Virginia, and the Confederates would resist. On July 21, the armies met along Bull Run, a broad creek near Manassas. Early in the action, Ballou was rallying his troops from horseback when a cannonball struck him. Evacuated to a makeshift hospital in a nearby church, he underwent amputation of a leg as the battle raged. When the beaten Union army withdrew, Ballou, (along with other Union wounded) was taken prisoner. He died a few days later. The vast amount of material about Ballou's times, his career, his death and the fate of his widow slowly accumulates to create a broad canvas of mid-19th century America as well as a searching portrait of a tragic victim of war.
An emotionally focused tale enriched by a remarkable level of detail. [citation of starred Kirkus Review 12/15/2005]

The only thing I found disappointing about this marvelous and enjoyable mystery story was that the author has not yet written any other novels, only books about computer software. Perhaps the skills associated with computer programming and the creative use of software are just the right sort of Holmesian skills required for great mystery writing. The author brings offbeat, witty humor and a real insight into university student life at a challenging school to lighten up and carry the flow of an exceptionally well written story. I eagerly await his next novel.

"The Law of Falling Bodies" is a clever, well-written detective story, although the main character isn't really a detective -- he's a graduate student in physics who finds himself caught in a web of murder. His knowledge of physics comes in handy on more than one occasion. I suspect the novel is semi-autobiographical, because the author (Edmund X. DeJesus) has a Ph.D. in physics from a university in New England, similar to the one in the story.

But don't get the idea that this book is a ponderous academic tome. The writing is breezy, amusing, and suspenseful. I read it soon after finishing a massive collection of every Sherlock Holmes story ever written, and "The Law of Falling Bodies" doesn't suffer by comparison.

I especially liked the novel's ability to evoke the life of a shabby grad student in the 1970s. In between solving a murder mystery, our reluctant hero has to worry about money, food, girls, classes, money, food, girls, and starting his VW Beetle on cold New England mornings. This creates many opportunities for humorous one-liners and he doesn't miss a beat: "..."

Maintaining plausibility is always a challenge in a detective story. "The Law of Falling Bodies" plays fair, but it's possible to nitpick. Could a person running for his life really glance at a strange object and instantly memorize a six-digit number written on it? (Well, maybe a grad student in physics could.) Wouldn't the police move quickly to protect someone who was the target of multiple attempts on his life? (Maybe not, if that person was more useful in the open.)

But those are just picky details. If you're in the mood for an intelligent, well-written page-turner with a sense of humor, I highly recommend "The Law of Falling Bodies." I'm looking forward to reading the next novel by Mr. DeJesus.

[end]

Edmund X. DeJesus's first novel is pretty darn funny, and should keep most people guessing until it's practically over. The inner life of Mark Napoli (a physics grad studenbt with no significant other (outside of his wishful fantasies)) is really dead-on. A few of the jokes will probably go by you if you weren't a physics/math major and aren't familiar with southern New England, but not enough to really matter.
OK, so it's not Moby Dick, but then hey, what is? Recommended if you're looking for something just plain fun to read.

Edmund X. DeJesus is a native of Cranston, Rhode Island. He holds a B.S. in Mathematics, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics. He has taught at Middle Tennessee State University and Boston University, has worked as a programmer, a researcher, and an editor of BYTE magazine. He is currently a freelance writer, and The Law Of Falling Bodies is his premiere mystery.

Mark Napoli is a physics graduate student at a fictitious university somewhere in New England in the 1970's. The law of the land is that professors rule on high, with graduate students acting as their minions, whom they may or may not enlighten with enough of an education to eventually gain their Ph.D.'s. Of course the system is rife for corruption, and a particularly nasty professor, by the name of Speen (whom we can't help but think of as Professor Spleen) is found murdered, his body apparently tossed from either the roof or a window of the physics building.

Mark is instantly interviewed by the police, and uses his genius to help them solve the crime (beginning with a physics demonstration to Mark's newest crush, Lt. Rachel Trask, of why Spleen had to have been launched out a window):

"'The roof overhangs the building by seven and a half feet,' I began. 'Speen's body, the center of it, was only three and a half feet from the building. The head was even closer, but that may not matter. It is impossible for the body to have fallen inward, toward the building, from the edge of the roof. So any witness who says that's what happened is lying. Speen couldn't have been out on that roof at all.'"

DeJesus launches an intensely funny, poignant, and entertaining first mystery. Mark Napoli is one of the sweetest heroes this reviewer has come across. He is engaging in his eccentric genius, fantasy love life state, and the reader is cheering for him every step of the way. DeJesus' description of academic life with its misfit characters is accurate and hilarious. The Law Of Falling Bodies begs for a sequel from an immensely talented first-time author. This book is a great read, with lots of thrills and spills; a surprise denouement; and a bittersweet conclusion....

Lincoln Chaffee has now officially left the Republican Party. The reality, of course, is that in his heart of hearts he left it a long time ago. He openly warned that this might be a possibility. George W. Bush goes out of his way to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. He sometimes even trusts those who obviously don't deserve it. Steve Laffey found out that his well-earned conservative credentials were not deemed sufficient to encourage the abandonment of the very left-wing incumbent. The GOP establishment treated him disgracefully. What happened to Laffey in the Rhode Island U.S. senatorial race ultimately angered conservatives throughout the United States. It is safe to assume that this contributed greatly to keeping many home on Election Day. One finds it impossible to disagree with Laffey's opinion that the Democrats didn't really win in 2006. No, "The Republicans lost."

Steve Laffey particularly takes to task the country club Republican Elizabeth Dole. "Clearly, Liddy Dole's management of the NRSC was not that different from how the Republican-controlled Congress ran the country," asserts the author. No truer words were ever spoken. These so-called centrists feel uncomfortable around conservatives. And this is the irony of the situation. Laffey realizes that the majority of Americans prefer supporting candidates in the mold of Ronald Reagan. Everyone preparing for the 2008 elections should read Primary Mistake. The nation is in crisis. We are in an existential fight to the death against the Islamic totalitarians. The self-hating Americans who dominate the Democratic Party are not up to task. I also highly recommend that you read Norman Podhoretz's most recent work, World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism.

Steve Laffey was the Mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island when he decided to run for the Senate in 2006. The problem was that the GOP already had an incumbent Senator in Lincoln Chaffee and their ironclad policy of supporting incumbents would not allow them to support Mr. Laffey. This book is Mr. Laffey's account of his experiences in becoming Mayor without the support of the local Republican Party and his campaign for the nomination against Senator Chaffee and the entire weight of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

So, why would Laffey run against an Republican incumbent? The Chaffee family is one of the original settlers of Rhode Island are treated in Rhode Island similarly to the way the Kennedys are treated in Massachussetts. However, the Chaffees tend to vote with the Democrats much more often than they have voted with the Republicans since the era of Ronald Reagan. Lincoln Chaffee took over the Seanate seat from his father John and carried on the family tradition of caucusing with the GOP when selecting leadership, but otherwise voting against most everything the GOP has stood for since Reagan.

Laffey's positions, and he provides them side-by-side with Chaffee's, are fiscally traditional Reagan Republican conservative positions and somewhat socially conservative as well. His positions in this book are somewhat at odds with what you can find out about him on the Web, but do you believe what the author says he stands for or what others say about him? Whatever the case, the point is Laffey is clearly much more traditionally conservative and Republican than Chaffee. If you want proof of this, note that once Chaffe was defeated in his bid for re-election he left the GOP and became an "independent". Here is Chaffee's quote from Feb 14, 2008 endorsing Barack Obama for President, "I believe Senator Obama is the best candidate to restore American credibility, to restore our confidence to be moral and just, and to bring people together to solve the complex issues such as the economy, the environment and global stability.'' How many other Republicans have you heard endorsing either Hillary or Obama?

What you will find stunning in this book is the kind of smear tactics the GOP used to defeat Laffey and benefit Chaffee. They used the exact words to go after Laffey as they do Democrats. They sound absurd to the ears and read very strangely, but there they are. Because he had worked in the private sector, they claimed that he couldn't stand up to the special interests such as oil companies. It sounds like Democrats! They dug up articles Laffey had written for his college newspaper to try and make him sound like a crank. And so much more.

However, the people of Rhode Island finally had to face a choice: a Chaffee as a Democrat wearing a GOP hat, or a real brand-name Democrat. And they chose the real Democrat with 53% of the vote since there was no advantage to putting a mole into the GOP that was becoming a minority party once again.

Could Laffey have won if nominated? Laffey would say yes, I think that the tide was against the GOP pretty strongly and Rhode Island is a heavily Democrat state. However, at least the voters would have had a choice with a difference.

Laffey has written an entertaining and often informative book. However, he comes across as brash and somewhat simplistic. Politics is not a religious faith. There is no central dogma in a political party and there cannot be. The purpose of a political party is to gather together enough people to get elected. They do that by putting together coalitions of varying degrees of agreement. Everyone has to compromise something because people have different views, beliefs, principles, and core convictions. Some just want the power, others want jobs, and others find politics a fun hobby. Laffey's shock that the GOP establishment could make a calculated choice to keep a "moderate" (read very liberal) Senator in office and on the team to try and keep control of the Senate over some hotshot Mayor who is probably too conservative to get elected seems naïve or disingenuous. Laffey closes the book with a chapter on what he believes the GOP needs to do to regain its core values and power. He would dump No Child Left Behind, the Medicare Part D prescriptions for seniors, earmarks, and comprehensive immigration reform. He would be for school choice, support a Health Care Freedom Plan, Securing the Border, and a return to Reaganism.

I think readers who want to learn about how party politics works, what candidates have to go through, and an insight into the 2006 GOP failures will find this book a very interesting read. I enjoyed it.

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

This is a must read for anyone interested in politics. This Laffey Guy has really hit it on the head. As they say in baseball, he knocked the cover off of the ball. As a Republican this is a really hard read in that the book provides "tough love". Reading this book is like taking a long look in the mirror. I have read a lot of political books, this one has a style all of its own, it is human and real. A must read.

Being a resident of Steve Laffey's hometown of Cranston RI, I was able to observe the Laffey-Chafee primary in 2006 first hand. I was contacted at least a dozen times during the summer of 2006 by the Lincoln Chafee organization conducting the infamous "push polls" Mayor Laffey discusses in his book. And while I had never met Mayor Laffey and did not agree with him on a few of the issues I had made up my mind that despite the fact that he was somewhat of a long shot he was the right guy to be the next United States Senator from Rhode Island. You see Steve Laffey stood for something and his Republican primary opponent Lincoln Chafee did not. "Primary Mistake" is Steve Laffey's personal memoir of the 2006 Republican Senatorial primary here in little Rhode Island. You will be amazed at how the Republican establishment simply dismissed the Mayor and threw virtually all of the available resources to an incumbant U.S. Senator who many were predicting would leave the Republican party after the election win or lose.
In "Primary Mistake" Steve Laffey details the three-pronged strategy that was employed by the Chafee campaign and the National Republican Senatorial Committee to defeat an upstart Mayor who dared run for a seat in the Senate that Mr. Chafee felt was his legacy. Early in the campaign the NRSC launched a series of personal attacks on Steve Laffey. This was virtually unheard of in Republican circles and violated one of Ronald Reagan's cardinal rules "Republicans should never launch personal attacks on other Republicans." Next, the Chafee campaign imported a cadre of out-of-state volunteers in a desperate effort to bolster it's sagging fortunes in the summer of 2006. As I indicated earlier I was contacted by the Chafee campaign almost every week during that summer and it was clear to me that the Chafee folks were extremely worried. The final piece of the Chafee strategy was to take advantage of a quirk in Rhode Island election law that allowed independents to vote in the Republican primary. It had become quite apparent that true blue Republican voters were heavily tilting towards Laffey. After all, he was right on this issues that mattered to most Republican voters. He opposed partial birth abortion and was against granting amnesty to illegal aliens. Laffey also thought that school vouchers were a good idea and was determined to do something about the expensive and wasteful pork-barrel projects that Congress had been doling out for years. Yes, if Lincoln Chafee was going to win this battle he would have to identify and encourage moderate and liberal independents to vote in the Republican primary. It was his only chance.
Well, as we now know with the help of all those independent voters Lincoln Chafee would go on to win the Republican primary in a fairly close race. But Mr. Chafee's victory would be short-lived. In November Rhode Island voters elected liberal Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse as their next United States Senator. The National Republican establishment had invested considerable resources in Rhode Island in an effort to hang on to a seat held my a man who was a RINO (Republican In Name Only). They had to divert resources that might have made a real difference in races being fought by real Republican candidates in states like Virginia, Montana and Pennsylvania. Election night 2006 would prove to be disastrous for the Republican party. And as for Lincoln Chafee?? Just last week it was revealed that he has left the Republican party. Surprise, surprise!!
Since Steve Laffey is not a writer by trade this is hardly the best written book you will ever read. As another reviewer has indicated Mr. Laffey tends to ramble from time to time. But Steve Laffey is writing from the heart and cares deeply about his issues. "Primary Mistake" should serve as an excellent case study for those planning on working for Republican congressional candidates in the next election cycle. The G.O.P. made lots of mistakes in 2006 that Laffey hopes his book will help them to avoid in the future. This book is also an important piece of Rhode Island history that should be a fixture in the libraries of our state for decades to come. If you are a political junkie like me then you just might want to give this one a try.

I don't want to say anything particular about the book, only that it was virtually perfect. Fay Weldon understands human emotions and faults. She expresses all of the thoughts and feelings people carry around all bottled up inside, and she does so with great conviction and humor. Just read the book.

One of her best; I couldn't put it down. An intricate, clever, funny, touching book that is Fay Weldon in top form. The characters feel very real, and their situations are truly compelling. I really enjoyed this book.

As I started reading this book, I felt the author was a very negative person. At the end I still had this feeling, but it was a compelling story none the less. Her writing style made me think, and I had to go back and read several passages again to get the full meaning of her words. The story was a depressing one for the characters, but their life's stories intertwining with each other were fascinating. I'm so glad she didn't let all her characters have the typical happy ending leaving you to feel that their lives would still be full of ups and downs.

It would be all too easy to assume from the title of Weldon's latest novel that it is a depressing read. However, I doubt that Weldon could ever seriously be mournful, especially not when you have both nurses and desire inextricably linked, as you have here. There's just a brief mention of Blues hero Stephane Grapelli, but that's just about how far the relevance goes. However, if you do know who Grapelli is, then you may well be of Felicity's generation in this novel. The title's also an oblique reference to Rhode Island Reds, a particularly fancied breed of chicken at the moment. Apparently, these poultry are extremely easy to rear. It's just Felicity's luck however, that she marries an American GI who hasn't a clue about how to run his own farm. She's even more unfortunate in that she believed his tales of a plantation mansion. Fifty years later, the funeral of her son-in-law from this marriage leads to a quite unexpected flirtation with romance.

Admittedly, parts of Felicity's life story are quite grim. Sophia, her only living relative, works in London as a film editor, whilst Felicity herself abides in Connecticut. Felicity has had a minor stroke, and is coming to terms with the reality of her advancing years. Sophia loves her grandmother - it's just that she feels far more comfortable when the Atlantic Ocean is in between them. Her busy life as a film editor means that she cannot just drop everything and be by her grandmother's bedside in Connecticut. Weldon is very perceptive in relating how much guilt can taint love, and how uncomfortable the young can be beside the old.

Sophia, and Charlie the chauffeur, tend to view the world from the perspective of the movies. When Sophia visits an aged relative Weldon notes that this old lady tends to use references from the fairy books of her youth in her conversation. Maybe what Weldon is saying here is that the motion picture is now the dominant form of fiction. Unfortunately, it really grinds my teeth to come across yet another character in an English novel this year that works in the Soho media world. If future readers ever come back to these novels, like Toby Litt's 'Corpsing', and Amy Jenkins' dire 'Honeymoon', they might think that everyone in England was working in film. The only writer who has a credible excuse for writing about Soho is Christopher Fowler who actually works there. The impression I get is that most young English novelists would really much rather prefer writing for the movies, and I can't help but think that this is very sad.

Sophia mentions many films in her narrative, whilst neglecting to mention the most obvious one: 'Harvey'. Okay, so The Golden Bowl is an old peoples' home, but it does stand comparison with the mental institution in Jimmy Stewart's movie. Okay, so you don't get to see the invisible rabbit in 'Rhode Island Blues' either - it's the interaction between the characters and the structure that seems quite similar. You don't see the whole of this story from Sophia's viewpoint, since Weldon chooses to flit between the main characters at times. It's quite a jolt to suddenly see the world from Nurse Dawn's perspective, who seems to be such a minor character otherwise. But then 'Harvey' also strayed from Jimmy Stewart's suspect vision, into other smaller narratives, such as the nurse's romance with the doctor. Although, this being Weldon, the Doctor/Nurse relationship here is far more risqué.

Feliticty's mental health comes into question when she starts seeing a gambling toy boy, and when the staff at The Golden Bowl discover what we've known all along - namely that her Utrillo painting is not a print. With insurance being such a premium in the litigatory States, moves are made to ensure the safe removal of the Utrillo from the Golden Bowl's walls (James Stewart's mental state in 'Harvey' was also brought into question due to a suspect portrait). Unfortunately, Felicity has also let slip to Sophia that she may have more family in England. Sophia, all alone apart from a temporary fling with a film director of Kubrick's stature, can't help but investigate her roots. She finds a couple of quite dull cousins who eventually let her enter their lives. Felicity impulsively decides to remarry at the tender age of 83. Sophia's cousins just as impulsively decide to check out their newly found grandmother, and petulantly join Sophia on her trip to the States. The question on everyone's minds seems to be this: is such an old woman capable of looking after a valuable Utrillo?

Ironically, Utrillo spent much of his own life in and out of institutions, with painting his only therapy. From this point of view, it's very fitting that his work should end up on the walls of an institution like The Golden Bowl. Sophia recognises the name of the old peoples' home as deriving from a passage in Ecclesiastes. No doubt it is also a reference to the novel of the same name - that also featured a suspected gold digger. What this novel seems to be about broadly, is the clash between the new and the old: the disparities between British and American culture, the contrast between the generations, and old and new forms of fiction. Several novels this year have discussed a problem which currently troubles Western culture: what to do with an ever aging population, from Will Self's vulgar 'How the Dead Live', to Barbara Kingsolver's life-affirming 'Prodigal Summer'. Weldon comes somewhere in between the two extremes. There is something quite merciless about some of her observations, mostly concerning the immigrant Charlie and his ever-increasing family. But most chilling and timely of all is Sophia's disquieting journey on Concorde. However, Weldon provides us with a mixed dish here; not all of her prognosis is quite as gloomy as this. The blues are there, but playing quietly in the background with the reds.

If it weren't for the fact that three people were slaughtered in the most brutal manner imaginable and that a young woman went through nearly a decade of horrific abuse, this story would be laughable. Christopher Hightower was one of the dumbest criminals imaginable: he told the most foolish lies, never worked to support his family, treated people around him like dirt, even as they gave him financial support...One can only wonder what in Hightower's background created the monster he became, but it's really hard to have as much sympathy for Susan Hightower as I should. Part of her excuse for enduring Hightower's abuse stems from--get this--her parents saying "Just do your best," which she translates into not being good enough for them! Another reason she gives is that she was "too fat" in the seventh grade. With a loving family who was clearly willing to support her, why did these silly reasons bother her? Who knows? But Christopher Hightower is where he belongs, in prison for life. A shame RI had no death penalty.

I purchased this book because i personally knew the father and daughter of the family that was killed.I had visited them on a few occasions with my mother to discuss the Bible.I was only 11 at the time..but i remeber them vividly.I grew up in the next town over,and knew exactly all the settings in this book.Its a well told story...and the fact that it is also true makes it even more bone-chilling. I highly suggest it.

The reason I read this book was to find out if the wife and family of Mr. Hightower realized before the murders that he had problems and was capable of murder. It was an interesting and well written book explaining point by point the relationship, from start to finish of Susan and Chris Hightower. I think it was a necessary book to write and to read, as it shows the complete selfish and cruel nature of Chris Hightower and for a brief moment you can see through his eyes and, as crazy as he is, you begin to understand why he thought he could get away with murder. One of the reasons I think people should read the book is because it examines the non-physical side of abuse that is just as harmful and probably more long lasting than the physical. Had Susan been aware of the manipulation that was controlling her, she might have ended the relationship years earlier and saved herself all the heartache. Christopher Hightower would very probably have murdered or attempted murdering someone who got in his way with or without Susan. The horror of what he did to the Brendel family is unbelievable and painful to read but the book brings it out factually without glorifing the brutality of Hightower's actions. I am glad I read it and I hope it will help others not to casually become intimately involved with strangers without meeting their family and finding out who they are or as much as you can about them.

The reason I read this book was to find out if the wife and family of Mr. Hightower realized before the murders that he had problems and was capable of murder. It was an interesting and well written book explaining point by point the relationship, from start to finish of Susan and Chris Hightower. I think it was a necessary book to write and to read, as it shows the complete selfish and cruel nature of Chris Hightower and for a brief moment you can see through his eyes and, as crazy as he is, you begin to understand why he thought he could get away with murder. One of the reasons I think people should read the book is because it examines the non-physical side of abuse that is just as harmful and probably more long lasting than the physical. Had Susan been aware of the manipulation that was controlling her, she might have ended the relationship years earlier and saved herself all the heartache. Christopher Hightower would very probably have murdered or attempted murdering someone who got in his way with or without Susan. The horror of what he did to the Brendel family is unbelievable and painful to read but the book brings it out factually without glorifing the brutality of Hightower's actions. I am glad I read it and I hope it will help others not to casually become intimately involved with strangers without meeting their family and finding out who they are or as much as you can about them.

If you have any interest in northern Rhode Island this is the book you want!!! Amazing detail and great old photos accompany detailed text on the history of this region. This is a great coffee table book and a wonderful gift for someone from the area !!!!!

This book has many wonderful old pictures of the Blackstone area, particularly Cumberland, RI. It presents the history of the people and their heritage in a well researched fashion. Nice addition for the collector of New England nostalgia.

If you have any interest in northern Rhode Island this is the book you want!!! Amazing detail and great old photos accompany detailed text on the history of this region. This is a great coffee table book and a wonderful gift for someone from the area !!!

Great introduction to diabetes and proper nutrition in the forward. I have thoroughly enjoyed most of the recipes in this book. One of my favorites is the Black Bean Burritos and then turn it into the Southwest Omelet for breakfast. The desserts are a little weak but that is often the case with diabetic recipes. Could use more photos. Wonder why most cookbooks lack that presentation factor? Regardless, highly recommend this cookbook if you want to eat healthy.

Every diabetic should keep Eating Well's Diabetic Cookbook in their kitchen, right next to the Splenda. It has all the recipes anyone---diabetic or not---could want to live well and healthfully. The recipes are low in sugar and low in fat but no one would suspect them of being "special" in the dietary sense, more like special in the culinary realm. It's so nice to have a good guide to cooking delicious, healthful meals that can be enjoyed by the whole family, not just people who are watching blood sugar levels (or weight, or blood pressure, or cholesterol.) This is not just a guide for diabetics; it's a cookbook for anyone who enjoys eating and staying healthy.

This book has a lot of helpful recipes an diabetic information, it could have had more pictures of the dishes that the recipes represent

A superb book, very informative and with wonderfdul and some greatly enlarged photographs.
There is a fair amount of information about faience production technology though the very best work on Egyptian faience and
frit is "Vitreous Materials at Amarna - The production of Glass and faience in 18th Dynasty Egypt" by Andrew J Shortland, this is available from Oxbow books if not avaalable on amazon. Also worth trying to get hold of is "Faiences", the catalogue (in French only) for the recent wonderful exhibition at the Louvre. Unfortunately, this is not available online from the Louvre bookshop. (...)

I waited for some time to get my hands on this work. If you're interested in AE faience artistry - the pictures alone are worth it. A fine addition to the Egyptophile's library.

A well illustrated book , numerous examples of what is known in pottery as " Egyptian Paste ". Ornaments , tiles ,cups, figurines and the ever present ,beads. More than enough colour photographs to satisfy the thirst . The 3 different processes of manufacturing Egyptian Paste objects are explained technically. Plus ,the many variations in the paste through the centuries. My only reason for not giving another star , not enough goblets .