Oceania Books

give a review on something I havn't read, whoever made an idea like that, I give a review after I've read the book.

I love this movie, so I decided to read the book. As with any book on which a brilliant and well-executed film is based, it's a challenge for the reader to fall in love with the original story. The film was very faithful, and so it wasn't difficult to love this novel as well. But there are some deficiencies. First of all, the characters seem more real and dimensional in the film than the book. This is especially true of the heroine, who seems a mystical and distant child in the book, but comes off more real through Keisha Castle-Hughes' portrayal. Second, the film is much more realistic, only slightly testing the boundaries of reality and disbelief. The book is much more fantastic, though it contains more insight into the tribe's culture. And yet, the book is utterly powerful, honestly moving, and incredibly beautiful. It's a brilliant modern folk tale of a Maori tribe threatened by the modern world to hold onto its traditions. The chief (Koro) rejects his great-granddaughter Kahu who has broken the male line of succession. Koro tries desperately to maintain his tribe, reinforce the old traditions, and keep their connection with their totem animal, the whale on which their ancestor traveled to their lands. Meanwhile, Kahu desperately seeks her great-grandfather's love, not to mention acceptance. It slowly becomes obvious that Kahu--despite her gender and great-grandfather's rejection--is deeply connected to the whales and the sea (which is actually a taboo for a female to engage in), and is the salvation of her tribe. Obviously, fate and destiny care not for gender and traditions, as this girl is apparently destined for great things. It's an incredible story of family, destiny, strength, girl power, expectations, traditions, and culture. Grade: A

Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider (Harcourt, 1987)

This relatively obscure little book exploded after being adapted into an award-winning film. The book still hasn't gotten as popular as the movie, though, and that's something of a crime against nature. I have not yet seen the movie-- I wanted to read the book first (and will likely see the movie next week)-- but I know how the whole book-to-movie thing usually goes. And it's usually a crime against nature when the book doesn't get popular even after the movie's a big hit, so I'm playing the odds on that one.

As for the book itself, it's quite a good little tale, full of a young adult kind of magic realism that's likely to make the reader, if he hasn't already, consider the link between magic realism, the literary cliché du jour, and folktales. Ihimaera gives us the Whale Rider creation myth while telling us the story of a Maori chieftain who refuses to see that his granddaughter Kuha is developing into the new chieftain before his eyes because of his traditional beliefs that a male must take the position. (Despite, we find out, the fact that women have held the position in the past. Hard-headed old sod, eh?) We spend much of our time just learning about the characters, with Ihimaera throwing in some interesting perspectives at times; for example, narrator Rawiri, Kuha's uncle, leaves New Zealand for two years to run a coffee plantation in Papua New Guinea (and this allows for some rather odd humor, as well as a blistering excoriation of modern racism in the region), and we find out about Kuha's development only through letters and phone calls for a while. Yet it is rare that Ihimaera takes his focus off Kuha for more than a paragraph or two at a time.

A lovely tale, well worth your time, whether you've seen the movie or not. *** ½

Like most people, I bought the book after watching the film... in fact it took me ages to find the book because here in Spain it was called "the legend of the whales". Anyway, I thought the film was very moving and since when I'm obsessed with a movie I buy also the book, I did.

The first thing that surprised me was that the girl is not called Pai, but Kahu, and second, that it was told from the uncle's perspective rather than the girl. I though it wouldn't be good because on the film the uncle is a rather minor character... and in fact, it isn't.

I found the story dull and had to make myself keep reading. The only good thing I can say is that at least it explained a lot of the myth of Paikea, which in the movie wasn't explained that much. Other than that, there wasn't anything to keep me hokked to the book.

Niki Caro is a great scriptwriter because she made a fantastic film from this rather forgettable book.

This is an excellent coming of age story for a young girl, or boy! Readers will find delightful lore and learn something of New Zealand. The movie wasn't a disappointment, though I'm glad I read the book first.
Chrissy K. McVay
author of 'Souls of the North Wind'

James Michener's "Tales of the South Pacific" is one
of those unforgettable books that take you into the heart of
a time and place and make you really feel it.

Written during the early dark days of the Pacific War against
the Empire of Japan (1942), it follows the adventures of
a U.S. Navy liaison man as he island-hops around American bases
besieged by the twin perils of jungle rot and marauding
enemy planes. Interesting characters abound, playing out their
roles in the great drama of war and history.

It's a winner.

I loved the movie and wanted to read the book. It answered my questions.

My first Michener novel.

I was listening to an NPR show talking about the unexpected hit that the current (2008) Broadway revival of South Pacific has been. In the show they started talking about this book, the inspiration for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. I was just finishing a book and this sparked my interest. I also heard it won a Pulitzer Prize, so I went out and picked it up.

I had never read anything by the fabled James Michener before, but this (his first book) seems a far cry from the bricks of historical fiction that would later make his name. Instead, Tales of the South Pacific is an interconnected series of short stories detailing the lives of the Naval men and women serving in the South Pacific. It covers the inactive period between the battle of Coral Sea (1942) though the landing on Kuralei (1944).

Though the main characters are in the Navy, the stories that make up the book are almost entirely land based and are about the day to day life on the islands rather than details of battle. James Michener has a real storyteller's knack for pacing and characterization. His dialog however felt very stiff and awkward. His characters actions and reactions seemed believable enough, but reading his characters speech reminded me of watching a movie from the early forties.

A couple of times he or his narrators would wax philosophic and it would come off pretty clumsy. On the other hand he was very good when he would show rather than tell about the long days of boredom or the difficulty of understanding a different culture. The best parts of the book were the bits dealing with soldiers from little Midwest towns that were in awe of the beauty of a place they'd never even heard of before the war, or showing the soldiers trying to deal with the natives they shared the islands with.

I was very put off by the racist attitude presented in the book, not by the characters but by the narrator. I understand that this is the forties and these attitudes were prevalent and would have accepted it, but the two most famous stories in this book (Our Heroine and Fo' Dolla') are about accepting other cultures. Elsewhere in the book however black soldiers or natives were portrayed in very stereo-typed or derogatory ways. I guess it seemed like Mr. Michener wasn't following his own advice.

Also, I realize that this was written just after the war, but I kept wishing that he would have been a little more descriptive of the various planes that were such an important of the stories. He would mention PBYs or F6Fs and not tell you what those were.

You are probably thinking that most of the negatives I've mentioned are unfair or due to the time the book was written. I'd suggest you check out The Caine Mutiny which was written around the same time and has none of these problems.

In the end, the book was interesting and I did enjoy it, but for me it wasn't a classic.

The book is a good read, I quite like the format of a collection of 18 loosely related stories, each independent in its own right, but some characters reappear. This format allows one to read more leisurely and skip some if one wishes.

The writing is pretty good, with lively conversations, vivid description of the Pacific islands, and sometime humorous delivery. Literarilly I can only find two blemishes: 1. the excessive use of exclamation marks; 2. the use of military acronyms without explanations. But overall the writing is crisp, it is hard to believe it was written more than 60 years ago, it really feels very contemporary (except for the following aspect, see below). It is also hard to believe this was the author's first novel, it is quite sophisticated.

But what marred the book is the prevalent prejudice throughout the book. The other races (other than white), especially the native Pacific Island, are stupid, lazy, devious and indolent under Mr. Michener's pen. Even considering the time and circumstances, these things are not easy for one to gloss over. For this reason I cannot give it more than 3 stars.

I admit I had very little idea what this book was about when I bought it, but it seemed like something I should read while on vacation in the South Pacific last fall. It wasn't quite the island paradise novel that I thought it would be - it really is a book about WWII, in which the islands of the South Pacific are characters, but despite not being what I thought I enjoyed it thoroughly and didn't put the book down until I was done. My reading experience was definitely enhanced by the view of the ocean that I had from my overwater hut in Bora Bora where I was when I read the book, but even if you aren't on vacation in some exotic locale, South Pacific is a classically entertaining novel well worth the read.

Just came back from a recent trip to New Zealand with the Lonely Planet in tow. My husband and I were very disappointed with the most recent version of the Lonely Planet. We found lots of errors - the LP recommended restaurants that no longer existed, recommended holiday parks that I wouldn't stick my big toe in, and were consistently wrong on pricing from the cable car in Wellington to ferry rides across the Cook Strait. I think you would be just as well off buying the old version. It seems to be the same. It seems the LP writers didn't do their homework this time around.

I just went on a month-long trip from Auckland to Christchurch, and this book was very helpful. Apparently a new version is going to come out soon. Definitely get the new one as some of the information was starting to get old.

You don't absolutely have to get a travel guide before going to NZ (especially if you're on a tour like Kiwi Experience), but if you are going to get a travel guide, I couldn't imagine a better one than the Lonely Planet.

I've found this guide to be decent. It has tidbits of information, but I find myself wanting to know more about places outside the cities that just aren't covered. I know a new one is coming out in a few months, so I would wait to get that one or get a different brand guidebook if you can't wait. The prices in the the 2006 book are WAY off. I use my BBH hostel guide almost exclusively for finding accommodation. I also found a lot of the restaurants and nightlife listed in the book to be inaccurate or no longer operating. Still using it, but definitely supplementing with internet, BBH accommodation guide, and visits to iSites.

Lots of good information. Will be bringing it on our trip. Print is very small. Needed my extra strong readers.

For years I have relied on Lonely Planet guidebooks as one of my primary travel sources for information. After returning from a self-guided 2 week car trip through New Zealand's north and south islands, my wife and I were both in agreement that this guide was not up to par and disappointing compared to other LP guidebooks. Restaurant information in Christchurch and other towns was already outdated. Hotel information was not comprehensive and I found better information for planning our lodging on the internet before we left home. Things to see and do in towns besides nightlife and museums was sparse, and excursions to interesting places off highways was sketchy. We finally put the book away and stopped referring to it since we were better able to explore on our own. New Zealand has one of the world's best tourist information systems throughout the country which helps travelers find or plan lodging, activities, transportation, virtually anything that would be helpful to the tourist. Offices are located throughout the country under the "i" signs for information, even in the smallest towns. Maps are freely available everywhere, as are also helpful free booklets and brochures for each region you may visit. For general information, this guidebook will answer many of your basic questions, but I would suggest looking at several other books for planning your journey and guiding you along your way in New Zealand.

Not a read I will repeat. Mr. Condon has too much angst and spends faaaaar too much time telling readers that he and his traveling partner David have girlfriends and therefore aren't gay. He's a little too concerned in getting that message across and not all that interesting when telling the tales of his trip.

This book is like no other. It's real. It doesn't try to be incredibly intellectual or to preach a life lesson but it is still intelligent and wonderfully humorous. It reads fast and will pick up anyone out of a bad mood. Sean Condon is my hero. I love it.

This book is quick, quippy, and masterfully done. I swear fealty to Mr Condon as I LOVE this and his Drive Thru America. Absolutely brilliant!

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. I kept waiting for him to tell us some interesting stuff about the places that they drove through, until I realized that this is more a diary of Sean's trip (and I do mean "trip," this guy is so neurotic and tripped out) than an actual description of the people and places they visited. I've read lots of books about travels to exotic and interesting places, but none has captured the innermost thoughts of the writer like this one. Thanks, Sean. I can't wait to read your book about America.

Sean fills his debut novel with enough wit, information, inaneness and Condonia to keep you smiling throughout this lengthy travelogue. I loved this book the first time I read it and my opinion hasn't changed yet.

A lot of us readers will never get to visit many or most of the places Sean and David do so we have to rely on what Sean writes as a sort of (occasionally very) offbeat guide to Australia and Australians.

Driving through the snow in Northern New Mexico I read then re-read a line in this book (Fossey Sisters in case you want to read that bit). I could not utter it to my girlfriend for laughing so much.

I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in travel.

This creative book examines the moral obligation that people have when others are going against your own morals. The story is blended with facts about World War 1, World War 2, and the work camps that were places throughout Germany. These facts add to the story, which create an authentic and accurate description of what people during the war experienced, yet it is easy for the reader to distinguish between fact and fiction. Throughout the book, the children discuss Hitler and his regime when talking to each other and adults. This information is later used when the Anna is creating the story about Heidi. The story expressed how many Germans blamed non-Germans, particularly the Jews, for Germany's economic failure after World War 1, and how Hitler used this hatred to create his empire. The story also shows the reverse side, those who disagreed with Hitler and his regime because they had no hatred for other, had family members taken away, and the fear that came along when one talks negatively about the Nazi regime. The dialogue between characters conveyed the period by discussing situations that were going on at that time and incorporating German words and dictum. Hitler's speeches were also mentioned in the book, which showed the strength and leadership he once had. The book does provide insight about today's problems, especially when Mark was listening to the radio and was shocked to hear that genocide against races still occur now. Mark does not understand why people are creating death and destruction since they know about Hitler and his mistakes. This book is intended for grades four through six, but can certainly be used through grade eight. This book can be read at home, or in class through independent, shared, or whole class instruction. This would be a great book to use when discussing the Holocaust. This book would also make a great read aloud for students since the class can have many discussions about the contents of the book, which may also include multiple inference questions. Teachers can incorporate a variety of instruction ideas including journals, K-W-L charts, cause and effect charts, and literature circles. One possible problem would be student's confusion about the existence of Heidi. Some students may confuse themselves by believing that Heidi was a real person. This can be avoided by reinforcing the plot of the story and reminding the students how Anna and the other characters are creating Heidi for their story game.

The format of this book is rather interesting. The main characters are Mark - a modern Australian teenager - and Heidi, Hitler's daughter. Mark knows of Heidi as the character in a story his friend Anna is making up.

Anna begins this story as a way to pass time while the kids are waiting for the bus. Heidi is Hitler's un-acknowledged daughter. She's imperfect - not blonde and beautiful - so she's not a candidate for the arian race. But she loves her daddy, and he loves her in his way.

Mark listens to this story and as he does, a change occurs in him. He starts to consider Point Of View. The questions come - what if My Dad were evil? Would I see that? If I did, would I challenge him?

Beyond the captivating story that Anna tells, the transformation in Mark is a reason to read this book. It is a very quick read, but a good one, for boys or girls.

Highly recommended.
(*)>

My daughter, age 10, enjoys historical fiction, and when she brings a new book home I snag it. To me a good story is one that is engaging and hard to put down, and makes me think in new ways. This was one of the best. I totally disagree with the first editorial review that said the characters weren't developed well and the storylines chopped off. Little Tracy and Ben were developed just enough to move the story along, and the tranformation of Mark was fascinating. The storyline was very satisfying, and the point anyway was Mark's intriguing questions about who we are and how we make the choices we do and who we are separate from our parents. Especially for the target age, middle-school, I thought it was an excellent opening to discussion about going along with the crowd and standing up for what is right.

With that said, I wonder if middle schoolers aren't quite ready for the concepts. The many kid reviews missed the point (Can you see the teacher getting on Amazon to grade the assignment?) and when I asked my daughter how she liked it, she said, "Eh - I've read better." I can't wait to talk to her when she's done, but she's not as into as as other historical fiction books she's read.

The reason why I gave this book 4 stars was because it is the kind of book that I like, its mysterious and gives a lot of details. As difference to the other books this one is very easy to read and has few words I didnt understood. Also something that I liked of this book was that it was a fiction book, and it was a very interesting book too.

I like this book because it is interesting and it talks about Hitler. He killed about 11 millions of people. I like this book because it have fact about a story about hitler and his daughter, and it talks about a family that were going to bus and Anna the big sister told storys about hitler's daughter.

received above book; correct cover, but inside is another book by name of 'the glass key' by dashiell hammett. tried to contact you by various means, to no avail.original packaging long gone. how do i go about getting the book i ordered???

Yes and no. Yes, because these two old British stuffies set off on this journey just the way most "inexperienced" travelers would -- by the seat of their pants. No, because I think I would like a better idea of cuisine before I went.

This charming narrative of two British amatuer travelers inspires humor and awe. Of course they get into all sorts of problems and handle them with dry wit. But they also give stunning and lyrical descriptions of the people and the places they visited.

This was a living travel adventure without a tour-guide in sight.

Best of all, our intrepid souls showed respect and genuine affection for the native peoples they met. I didn't see any bigotry in this book -- except that which they found in themselves and discarded with ease.

Readers should be warned that many of the descriptions of the cultures they visited are very vivid and weak stomachs may not enjoy the unflintching pictures the story evokes.

If a book has Redmond O'Hanlon's name on it, buy it. While reading this book, when I wasn't laughing out loud (and I never laugh out loud) I was enthralled with the subject matter. I hate to compare writers, but think Paul Theroux (but not mean), David Quammen and throw in a little Tim Cahill for good measure and you come close to Redmond O'Hanlon. I've read a quite a few travelogues and Redmond O'Hanlon represents the very best of the genre.

This twenty-five year old tale of two Brits being transported by their faithful guides into the deepest jungle of Borneo is amusing and interesting.

Redmond O'Hanlon and the smoking (as in smoking) James Fenton (improbably) the Queen's Poet Laureate embark on a journey to discover the highest mountain of Borneo and hopefully the white Rhino, possibly an island dweller and certainly unseen in decades.

O'Hanlon takes a whimsical approach to this travelogue. The stars are his faithful tribal guides and the locals he meets as he journeys up river and away from modern life. Particularly enjoyable are the village stops where he and his crew are (usually) met with feasts, libations, dance and the occasional memory from the local chieftain's female relatives. The clash of cultures provides many funny moments without slipping into condescation.

Although there is a lot of discussion of birds and waxing about the various properties of rushes, finches, yellow-bellied-sap-suckers and the like, the book is informative and interesting with the occasional chuckle thrown in. Altogether an enjoyable arm chair trip.

Long before Bill Bryson set out to take his walk in the woods, London Times' literary reviewer, Redmond O'Hanlon, and his friend, poet James Fenton, trekked deep into the heart of Borneo in search of a rare, albino rhinoceros, accompanied by three Iban natives, Dana, Leon, and Inghai. Romping through jungles, traveling by river, and doing the seven-step disco in late-night villages, the two aging academics tried their best to avoid 1,700 different species of parasitic worms, snakes, wild-boar ticks, leeches, amoebic and bacillary dysentery, yellow and blackwater and dengue fevers, malaria, cholera, typhoid, rabies, hepatitis, tuberculosis and crocodiles. O'Hanlon writes with a naturalist's eye for detail, noting the various birds, insects, trees and critters he encountered along the way. Equal parts travelogue and memoir, and with a generous measure of Monty Python-like humor, INTO THE HEART OF BORNEO relives O'Hanlon's 1983 quest into "the heart of twilight, the home of 'old mankind'" (p. 129). For me, life couldn't be much better, sitting in a Boulder coffeehouse, reading about O'Hanlon's adventures in Borneo.

G. Merritt

What if you learned that all of the fantastic tales your mother told you were true - including those with dark magic and danger? What if you knew that using magic could kill you, and not using magic would drive you to the brink of insanity? Which would you choose?

In Justine Larbalestier's first novel for teens, Magic or Madness, a teenage girl learns the truth about magic: not only does it exist, but it runs through the veins of all of the women in her family. They choose to either use their magic and die young, or repress it and go mad. Her mother, who raised her alone, went the latter route and can no longer take care of her only daughter.

Without her mother, Reason is lost in more than one way. Her grandmother, who is depicted as a villain in all of her mother's stories, takes Reason in when she has no other place to go. Reason then meets her gran's neighbor, a boy her own age, and Jay-Tee, a girl who lives in New York - which magically appears outside of her grandmother's door. As Reason travels back and forth between the two continents, her innate magic begins to unfold like the wings of a butterfly. It is just as fragile as those wings, and just as likely to carry her away.

Make sure that you read Justine Larbalestier's inventive trilogy in order. Magic or Madness is only the first chapter of Reason's story. She then takes Magic Lessons, and, finally, delivers Magic's Child.

Really a fun, fun book. Reason our main character is a bright but odd fifteen year old with a family history thats even odder. Her Mom has spent 18 years running from Reason's grandmother and has dragged Reason all across Australia and filled her head with all sorts of misinformation about magic and Reasons GrandMother.

There are one or two odd things that almost fail in the book, but really one of the most fun books for teens out there.

Reason Cansino has been brought up to believe that magic is not real, and that her grandmother, a believer of magic and practitioner of dark rituals, is evil. So in order to evade her, Reason and her mother Sarafina have lived on the run all over Australia. All that changes when Sarafina goes mad when Reason is fifteen years old and Reason is sent to live with the wicked witch herself.

But Reason didn't spend a lifetime with her mother without learning anything--she's got a plan of escape. But that plan involves walking out of the back door of her grandmother's house--out of a door she doesn't know will take her to a completely different world far different from Sydney, Australia--New York City.

Magic or Madness is a completely unique take on magic and urban fantasy from a very talented author. Reason's background and her abhorrence of magic are thoroughly explained, and her loyalty and spunk are to be admired. Throughout the course of the novel, the exact workings of magic aren't explained, which may cause some impatience for readers, and the plot does drag slightly towards the middle of the book, but picks up again after the introduction of a new character, and after Reason and her new friend Jay-Tee realize the danger of another. Larbalestier exposes readers to a tantalizing and dangerous version of magic that comes with hard truths and some deadly consequences, but is engaging and appealing nevertheless. The book leaves off with an open ending and some slightly under developed characters that will inspire excitement for the next book in the trilogy, Magic Lessons.

This had all the elements that had me excited: magic as a disease, a gateway to two modern cities, and cool non-white characters. An aboriginal heroine! Please let it be good!

Then I read the book. It's not difficult to get into, as the writing's smooth enough (rather too simple) but there's not much of it, as if you've added only one spoon of the chocolate mix when you need to add five to have something delicious. Events, scenes, plot, were all stretched out, probably to fit three books instead of one. And that's where it got boring, and rather weak. Not a dense, beautiful world that's brimming over with fantasy.

Rather than magic, or the premise (which is exciting at first, then you wonder WHY does it take the character 250 pages to find out what the reader picked up at page 20), the book seemed more interested in fooling around with the minor differences between American and Australian English.

I think this author has a great imagination with a lot of fantastic ideas, but she was a little lukewarm on the whole magic front. She never explained any of anything, by the end of the book I still had no idea what was going on, so that is to say that throughout the whole book I never knew what was happening.

As you can see, this book drove me crazy. I couldn't believe how the author refused to let any single plot line be, instead she had to jump from one thing to the other like she couldn't decide. I would much have prefered Reason stay in Sydney, Australia the whole time just so some of the questions all the readers had could have been answered. This book is possibly the most frustrating book I have ever read.

I think the author wanted to wait until the second book of the trilogy to explain everything so she explained absolutely nothing to us in this book. I say skip this, and wait for the second book, that's what I wish I'd done. As I said, great potential, but no followthrough on, really, any front.

Much, but not all, of the information in this book is difficult to apply to my wife and her siblings being, what I would consider, "modern" Filipinos. However, it does provide a great deal of insight into where many of the current social mores came from. Just because they may not apply in every case doesn't mean a visitor should be unaware of them altogether. I've not had a problem with being "too polite" yet and you're not going to be dealing with "modern" Filipinos the entire time unless you never leave Makati. Even then, some of the older Filipinos place great value on some of the old things. What it did for me, more than anything, was give me more appreciation of the Filipino culture; where it came from, what it lost, and what has been kept. Just keep in mind this book is only a primer, not a bible. The key to being a visitor in any country is always, be polite, be flexible and stay positive.
As for comments some may consider "anti-American" it may be culture shock to those who think the U.S. has always been fair to the Filipino. Even 100 years after the U.S. occupied the Philippines there exists a state of denial among many. Read Renato Constantino, THE MISEDUCATION OF THE FILIPINO.

Truthfully, I wouldn't even give it a 1 star! This stuff ain't true about us new breed of Filipinos. This book is a bit outdated. Don't even read it!
Just for example about the opening of present issue. It may be true to some but not all of us. And so does any other country. This is not a very helpful book.

I am a Filipino-Canadian, and I'm grateful for this book because it gave me valuable insights into Filipino culture (and myself):

- hiya = shame. Much of what Filipinos do and don't do is motivated by the avoidance of hiya.

- amor proprio = face. Filipinos try very hard to avoid making other people lose face in the slightest.

- utang na loob = debt to another after receiving a gift. Receiving a gift is bittersweet for Filipinos because the giver has some control over you now.

The book contains a lot of useful information and the authors are obviously knowledgeable about Filipino history and culture but I found the presentation to be somewhat monotonous and uninteresting. The pictures also seem dated.

The book is very useful mainly for it's practical tips. My Filipina partner agreed with most of the issues I looked up for advice. If you get asked to be a godparent for a filipino child read this book before you say yes or no! The writing is down to earth and we found it quite funny though friends in the Philippines said some of the ideas were a bit old fashioned.

I envy you if you haven't read any of this series by M.C.Beaton. Each book is self contained but if you can start with the first in this series the heroine's romantic life comes into better context. References to the males in her life are in proper sequence.....Agatha, is a strong, smart, sometimes truculent heroine who battles middle age and still has an eye for an interesting man, while solving murders. Don't miss this - Agatha is just great.
(The Perfect Paragon is the first ' I think)

How would you feel if your spouse asked for a divorce so he or she could become a monk or a nun? That's where Agatha Raisin was left at the end of Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell. As you can imagine, the experience didn't leave Agatha feeling too cheerful. She decides she needs to get away from it all and her travel agent persuades her to visit remote Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernandez Archipelago off Chile (where Alexander Selkirk was marooned and became the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe). Agatha makes friends, despite her lack of Spanish and can almost forget James Lacey (her ex-husband) for awhile. But she's troubled by a honeymooning couple where the husband seems to be waiting for something . . . only to discover that he drowned his new bride but a few days later.

Back in Carsely, Agatha realizes she desperate needs beauty treatments and even signs up for a Pilates class. Feeling bereft, Agatha decides to take up her PR career again and calls Roy Silver, her former assistant.

But fate intervenes when huge rains cause a terrible flood in Evesham, and Agatha recognizes a fellow customer from the beautician's (an engaged young woman named Kylie) dead, floating across the face of the flood in her wedding dress and holding a bouquet of flowers. Shaken up by the experience, Agatha decides to investigate after the police notice that the body has been frozen for some time in addition to showing signs of a heroin overdose. Could the healthy looking young Kylie have been an addict? Agatha doubts it. Agatha is disappointed to realize she'll have no one to help her now that James is gone and Sir Charles Fraith (an ex-lover and sometime sleuthing partner) has gotten married to a young Frenchwoman who is expecting twins.

Remembering the couple on Robinson Crusoe Island, Agatha immediately suspects Kylie's fiancé (who had seemed a bit domineering in his demand she get a bikini wax job) but is impressed by the depth of his grief.

Her new neighbor John Armitage, a successful mystery novelist, becomes a distraction for Agatha . . . even after she tries to avoid meeting him in a series of humorous misunderstandings.

Unable to feel confident in moving forward without an ally, Agatha recruits Roy Silver to be her investigating partner and dons a wig and glasses while pretending to be a television researcher looking into doing a program about the social lives of the young in Evesham.

The investigation turns dark as Agatha finds that her life is in danger and that Kylie wasn't such a perfect young lady after all. Through the course of the checking out, Agatha has more than her usual problem avoiding police ire while the danger rises.

While some will point to this as primarily a cozy mystery, that element is more background than foreground in this story. Instead, Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came is a portrait of a bright, determined woman (with more than a few rough edges) who finds that she doesn't quite fit into today's world of male-female relationships while she indulges in romantic fantasies that aren't going to come true. Where will Agatha find peace and satisfaction? Where will any of us?

M. C. Beaton portrays men in primarily negative lights throughout the Agatha Raisin series (Bill Wong, Agatha's police detective friend is the rare exception). By building up John Armitage as a new character in the series, there's simply a new color to the rainbow of disapproval. As a result, I didn't find the parts of the story that develop that character or Agatha's relationship with him to be very rewarding.

The mystery is also pretty simple to solve. After you finish the book, you'll be astounded that the police didn't solve the mystery on their own before Agatha did. The police investigation seems to have been particularly superficial and lightly analyzed.

Unless you cannot bear to miss a single word about Agatha Raisin, you could skip this book and not miss much.

Look, I like formula mystery. Its nice that you know what the playing field is in a Nero Wolf.

But Agatha Rasin take it to absurd levels. This is the almost *the same book* as "The Haunted House". New neighbor; she is grumpy and aloof from him; the get closer; a series of misunderstandings retards their relationship. The books replay the same relationship with the police and with Agatha's other neighbors.

The plot is paper thin, so you cant read this series for that. The Agatha character is amusing and new, but for god's sake the author cant simply retread the same actions and dialogue in every book.

Not worth reading, unless you are on a plane trip.

This series has been going downhill for ages, but this latest is truly the worst..what a preposterous book! Read at your own peril!

This is more of a review about all of the Agatha Raisin books in general. Although the forumla of the stories is essentially the same, I keep gobbling up the next book in line of this series because I adore Agatha! Despite her insecurities, she is a strong woman who won't take any guff from anybody. I'm glad Agatha - at 52 - keeps attracting handsome men into her boudoir, still has good legs and glossy hair, and is one smart PR person. I can identify with some of her insecurities, and wish she would finally find happiness in the right man for her (but if she did, would she still continue to be as funny and prickly as she has been in all her past books?). This book was one of the more enjoyable ones because she doesn't obssess as much about James anymore (he's a cold one anyway and not worthy of the woman) and concentrates more on the case at hand - like a terrior dog with a chew toy not wanting to let go. And the plot and ending was definitely one of M.C. Beaton's more creative ones. I hope Agatha continues solving mysteries and attracting men for a very long time to come!

Eyewithess Travel Guides give the most complete overview of any travel book or other travel product - good organization; great pictures, maps and other graphics; interesting & concise text and descriptions about history, national foods and beverages, etc.; good suggestions for lodging and eating. They are excellet resource and reference books, but they are concise enough to give a relatively complete overview but short enough to quickly convey information, especially if you do not have a lot of free time.

I believe that carefully reading about a desination is important for planning any trip. The Eyewithess Travel Guides are the best way to obtain that overview and prioritize where you want to go. Australia is a large country and this book covers alot of territory. The Australia guide is enormous help to us with our planning.

I live in Australia and wanted a nice guide, and have always been drawn to the DK travel books with their lush photos, beautifully illustrated maps, building cut aways etc. In addition, this book was the 2006 version, latest update and later than many of its competitors.

As another reviewer has noted, all these photos and illustrations come at a price, which is lack of detail. In addition, I am not sure how rigorous the update process is. For example, the 2006 version does not cover the most significant new building in Brisbane, the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), which cries out for inclusion in such a guide. This building was completed in 2006 and under construction for some years before.

Probably best as a supplementary guide or photo history of your travel.

I love the DK eyewitness travel series because of the fine detail in describing geographic regions of the world while also including useful information about accommodation based on your budget, how to get around etc. The books have valuable information about each country ranging from culture and history to government and natural beauty.

The Australia book was very useful on my holiday over to Queensland and New South Wales. I had never been to Australia and so it was nice to have a guide that provided not only visual appeal with its pictures of the landscape and coloured maps but also had info detailing places to stay and see. I highly recommend this book and any other DK books offered for your next trip because unlike other travel books they not only offer an insight to the history and culture of the region but also offer info on the sights you may want to see. The thing I love the most is unlike other travel guides DK isnt just in black and white (thin pages) which are sometimes difficult to read and not as appealing to the eyes. DK books make you want to engage and get you excited to travel.

Only downside to the series is that they can be a bit more expensive than other books though amazon has good prices compared to other stores. Also they havent got books for many other countries/regions of the world, so Ive had to use other brands, I recommend Fodors Exploring series, theyre also colourful and affordable.

The DK Eyewitness Travel book for Australia is a decent travel guide, which includes a lot of pictures to help the traveler see what the attraction is while doing their planning. This 2006 revised edition runs over 600 pages, and includes an introductory section as well as 8 sections on the various areas of Australia, including one for Sydney by itself. It also has a section for Travelers' needs, which include accommodations, restaurants, and shopping information, and a section titled "Survival Guide" which contains a lot of useful information for travelers.

While the pictures are quite striking, they do seem to come at a price of more information about each of the attractions as well as the general areas. For my trip, I found the section on Tasmania to be rather sparse. The section on Melbourne was significantly better, but even there it would have been nice to have more information. I also question the practice of grouping all the hotels and restaurants together in a single section for the entire country. It seems as if the traveler would be better served if information of that sort was included in each of the sections rather than all together. They do organize the items by region within those sections, but in a hurry one might not notice if they stray outside of their area.

This is a useful reference, but I think it works best as a supplemental reference along with other material. If one needs a single reference, you should look elsewhere.

Two fine new travel guides use the popular 'Eyewitness' approach DK fostered in its children's books to provide adult travelers with clear, eye-catching and fun guides. AUSTRALIA packs in the color photos, maps and illustrations and not only covers the usual places to go and stay, but adds tips on local foods, cutaways and floor plans of all major sights, town listings of sights and beaches, timelines of festivals and special events, and more.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch