Literature Books

Great book for ages 4-9 if your kid loves dinosaurs. Be careful with the pages though, this is a paperback and the pages will rip easily if a 2yr old gets a hold of this book.

I bought this for my 4 yr old daughter last year for Christmas 2006. She was almost 4. She loved it and still goes back to it, to look at. It is a great book with wonderful illustrations and very good information. I highly recommend it for ages 2 up to about 9 or so.

Our grandson loved this video. Its a nice change from all the other stuff they watch on TV.

I like any kind of books or dvd's about dinosaurs. I find it to be very interesting about how they lived and finally died off.

An adequate generalized book for kids. Beautifullly illustrated. The categorization is interesting although completely unscientific...obviously that is intentional...it's a worthy addition to a child's library.

Excellent book. I have the Draw 50 Cats as well. I do watercolor and this book provides quick reference for drawings under paint. Very helpful to artists and those who know how to draw. Also will be helpful to children and novices to drawing.

At first I just borrowed this book but I found that it was so helpful that we needed to own it! It's got good views of horses in a variety of poses. Our children were able to use the step by step method with barely any help at all. Ages 5 and 7, they have been drawing since about 2 years old or so, and may be slightly more advanced in drawing skills than average. They also like horses a lot, but have sort of run dry on ideas for new ways to draw them. Now, instead of asking Daddy to draw horses running or rearing or jumping, they have a whole variety of examples to learn from in one book. Very nice.

Great illustrations in this book. It will make it fun for you to learn to draw horses.

This book brings many creative ways for any age to draw a variety of horses. I ordered it for my daughter's birthday, because she was going for a horseback ride and it would help keep the memories fresh for her. She enjoys drawing on a more professional level; thanks to this book.

My daughter loves horses and constantly tries to draw them. This shows her the steps in order to draw a great looking horse!

Robust account of one of the seminal figures of early America, one attempting the creation of an indigenous culture cast in a more universal mode than that of the provincial Christianity of his roots. The courage to give up his secure life as a minister for the uncertainties of exploration and creative renewal marks Emerson's trail through a pioneer's psychological American wilderntess, to touch on and integrate everything from the post-Kantians, to the Buddhists/Hindus to the Persians and Sufis. That Emerson evolved into a near firebrand abolitionist is an aspect of his life unsufficiently told, and this part of his later career runs clear in this book. All in all, a first rate pioneer story of another kind.

This is the only biography of Emerson that truly matters. Richardson locks in on the essentials - the development of a seeking mind is search of the ground of being and the nature of reality. Emerson is our Founding Thinker and to do him justice, a biographer has to grapple with the how and why a mind grows, changes, struggles and reaches new heights. Even if you haven't read much Emerson, this biography sheds light on what Emerson meant when he said, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

In the past, my experience in reading Emerson has been similar to reading the Tao Te Ching; interesting, non-mainstream in its point of view, puzzling to understand what exactly it means. So I would pick up the Tao and read it at different times of the day and different frames of mind, hoping that it would resonate with me, but it never did. Maybe it was the cultural difference, or the language, or not being able to easily identify with Lao Tzu. Such had been my experience with Emerson. I wanted to understand him better because what little I did understand made me want to learn more, but I just couldn't get there.

This biographer, Richardson, really did his homework and any who want to understand Emerson better should appreciate this work. Emerson kept exhaustive journals and collections of his thoughts for many years. He read widely and deeply, kept detailed notes, and thoroughly indexed the notes. What perfect material to access for writing a biography! Apparently Richardson went back and studied much of the source material that Emerson references in his journals and brings into this biography an understanding of who Emerson was reading and what it meant to Emerson, so we receive the pleasure of following along on a journey in the development of a powerful mind. Then Richardson is able to write about this development so that it is easily readable to us moderns. It's quite a remarkable achievement.

"Mind on Fire" shows me that Richardson is certain that studying Emerson and his message is worthwhile. So much consideration has gone into this biography that when I laid it down after almost non-stop reading for several days over the holidays, I felt like I really understood Emerson for the first time, and now have much better insight. I plan to let this book simmer in my mind a few more months, then pick it up and read it again.

If Richardson could also write something as lucid and detailed to help me understand the Tao Te Ching, I wouldn't have 10,000 questions about the 10,000 things. ;-)

Mr. Richardson's 'Thoreau A Life of the Mind' was not only the best biography I've read on Thoreau, but one of the most exhilerating and enlightening reading experiences of my life. So I decided to read his 'Emerson The Mind on Fire.' And it was every bit as intimate and intelligent.

There are times you feel that you're intruding upon Waldo and Henry on one of their walks. It was an endless stroll of two intellectuals and humanists on the path of being very human. Each of the one hundred chapters (both books) are kept short, which helps move the reader from topic to topic without ever feeling put upon (too much detail can drag what is otherwise very interesting.) Though, for me personally, I would love to savor every moment these two great men shared. I don't think I could ever get bored.

Emerson has many close friends with whom one gets to know intimately. His personal address book was a whose whose of literary and intellectual greats.

The relationship between Emerson and his second wife, Lidian, is of great interest. She was also intellectual and as much a partner in life as she was a wife. Her presence is everywhere in Emerson's life.

Emerson's essays are pure poetry. And the behind the scene snippets into how they became a part of his legacy was both insightful and relevant to the day to day interactions and causes he committed himself. His transformation from the unremarkable child into the neverending 'student' of self-education and commitment to social conscience throughout his entire adult life is one to be admired.

Mr. Richardson is one of the best biographers of nineteenth century literaries. He is truly one with his topic.

Robert Richardson's biography of Emerson is superb. Though, as Richardson reminds us, Emerson did not like superlative language when precise and adequate language would do, it is the case that at times the superlative, the precise and the adequate converge (as, in fact, they often did in Emerson's writings). Richardson's biography is indeed superb in its unfolding of Emerson's life -- the loves, the friendships, the losses, the intellectual and spiritual hunger, the religious quest, the writers in America, in Europe, in Persia and elsewhere to whom Emerson owed and acknowledged debts, the grasping at and for a world, the determination of a single, brilliant human being to find his way and to see his life, and all individual lives, as imbued with the divine and thus worth living.

The book is also superbly written. Each short chapter offers enough substantive insight to urge the reader into the next. It is a long book, but not long-winded. Richardson provides the reader with some morsel of insight in a few pages of narrative, and then offers a rest to digest what has been said. His placement of quotations from Emerson's journals, essays and other works is brilliant, offering the reader a useful sketch of Emerson's metaphysics and ethics. In my own case, this has allowed time to reach for other literature more fully descriptive of the events or scenes offered in a particular chapter, or to reread chunks of Emerson's writings while moving through the biography. The book is a useful tool not merely for a study of Emerson's life but for a study of Transcendentalism and of the interplay of ideas across the Atlantic that shaped American thought in so many ways. One sees more clearly where and how such writers as Nietzsche and Thoreau obtained the seeds of their own truths from Emerson's works and thoughts.

Richardson has set the standard for the writing of future biographies. Again, simply superb.

It's a wonderful story that explores what makes a man "good" or "bad." However, it is not an easy read and requires some patience. The narrative shifts in and out of 1st and 3rd person for no apparent reason, and the writing frequently becomes prose/poetry that leaves the story behind. Some people really enjoy this style of writing but I find that it distracts from the story (which should be the focus of a novel, right?). Thankfully, after the first few chapters the story does become the main focus and most of my complaints become moot. Despite the issues I find with it, I'd still recommend this as a great and worthy novel.

Beautiful, profound book. Buechner is one of those rare authors that seem to "get" spirituality and his prose is better than anybody.

In Godric, Buechner brings to life a twelfth century hermit, a topic I had previously considered dry and uninteresting. Through beautiful, often poetic language and a first person account of the man's life, Beuchner effectively humanizes the ascetic holy man and manages to interpret quite an interesting tale. The novel is separated into very short chapters of stylized first person narrative, many of which I read multiple times for the sheer music of the author's words. Godric is a quick, fairly easy read, but certainly a thought provoking novel that you may choose to read an extra time or two.

Godric is a historical novel based on the life of a real person. What makes this book unusual as historical fiction is its written as if Godric himself wrote it 1000 years ago, as if we are reading a historical document, including period grammer and sentence structure (although not scholarly or difficult for the modern reader to read and understand). This made Buechner's job difficult considering nothing of this type of literary work exists from the period, thus it is fundamentally anachronistic. Further, while we know broad brushstrokes of Godrics life, Buechner filled in many details from the period we simply dont know about.

If you can see past the obvious anachronisms (which I had trouble) there are some valuable descriptions, such as a blood libel, that are imaginative and help to better understand the Middle Ages and how people thought and why.

Everyone points out that this little novel is graceful and poetic, and they couldn't be more correct. Throughout the novel, I marveled at the simple beauty of the words and the way they are put together, and it wasn't until later that I realized why. This novel is so meticulously put together that each sentence is written in iambs. I think that fact kind of holds within how wonderful this novel it is. It is a carefully constructed and beautiful portrait of a life persevering, persisting toward sainthood.

Everything about this novel is perfect. Of course, each sentence is perfect, and at times, I would go back a read and reread certain chapters which strike me so profoundly. The relationships held herein, such as Godric's loving relationship with Burcwen, with Mouse, and with Reginald, are subtle complex and really touching. And of course, Godric's own characterization is the biggest strength of the novel, as he moves from the worst of sinners to a godly, compassionate, and humble man.

I can't say enough for this perfect novel. I am sure that I will return again and again to its pages for the humor and warmth and beauty held therein.

We received this book as a gift at my baby shower. I thought it was cute, but didn't realize it's true value until I had a 6 month old on my hands and I was looking for things to do with him. Not only was this my son's favorite book for many months, it was mine because I was teaching him his colors as well as having a good time with him.

I recommend the entire Happy Baby series to every mom I know. I can't say enough good things about it. I like that it's a soft slightly squishy board book, and sturdy. I love the colorful and bright pictures through out the book. I also like that it is more than the colors of the rainbow, it also includes black, white, grey and brown, which not all color books do. I also love the fact that for each color there are 4 objects of that color, so not only is my son learning colors, he's learning names of different objects as well! And last but certainly NOT least, my SON LOVES IT! He's nearly 2 now and these books are still some of his favorites.

So, if you're a mom of an infant/toddler or buying these as a gift for one, these are a SURE BET. They are also reasonably priced in my opinion. Other books in this series we own and enjoy are the Words book and ABC's. We'll definitely be buying more too as time goes on. Way to go Roger Priddy!!

I bought this book for my son who is not quite two and is learning his colors. This is a great book - larger than most but not "big", high quality with hard pages, and a semi-soft "cushy" cover. The items pictured on each page are good discussion items with your toddler as well. My only negative is that on some pages like "black" the objects shown are not all black which can be confusing - like a white sheep with a black face or a black wheel with a red hubcap. Overall, though - a great book to learn colors.

I read the reviews for this book and just had to have it for my twins. I was so pleased when it came. It is really well made, a good solid board book with a nice cover. The colors and pictures that represent them are just beautiful!! My kids took to it immediately and wanted to read it over and over again, and I enjoy reading it with them. This is going to be my shower gift or new baby gift for any friends or family from now on! You will not be sorry with this book!! (I also bought the "My Big Animal Book" by Priddy books, too, and it is just as stunning!!!) I am a devoted fan of these books now!

great for identifying objects & colors. bright and cheery so babies and toddlers love to look at the pages.

This line of books is of very good quality. The pictures are excellent and not too many details for little ones. The board books are very sturdy. I also ordered the Baby Animals book and another Animals book. You won't be disappointed!!

WOW! This book was out of this world. This is the first book that I have read by Eyone Williams and it was on point. Cartel Publications does it again. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long for the sequel.

tHIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN I WROTE TO THE AUTHOR AND HE IS SO NICE HIS ADDRESS IS IN FRONT DROP HIM A LINE AND LET HIM KNOW HOW YOU LIKED THE BOOK HE WILL BE STOKED

THIS BOOK WAS SO RAW, DAT U COULDN'T HELP BUT ENJOY IT!!!! ACTION PACKED, NO BS!!! I KNOW, I KNOW IF YOU'VE READ SOME OF MY PRIOR REVIEWS, I STATED THAT I HATED BOOKS WHERE DA FEMALE CHARACTERS WERE OUT AND OUT SHOOT "EM" UP GANGSTA(BORING, CORNY),BUT DIS BOOK WAS DA TRUTH!!! KUDOS TO YOU MS WILLIAMS YOU DID DA DANG THANG WITH THIS BOOK !!!! I'M DEFINITELY CHECKING FOR YOUR FUTURE BOOKS AS WELL AS THE ONE BEFORE THIS ONE!!!!MS WILLIAMS PLEASE DON'T KEEP US WAINTING, BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU'RE GOING TO FOLLOW DIS JAWN UP!!!!!PLEASE DON'T KEEP US WAITING 2 LONG!!!!!

Who said ladies could not bring it just as hard as men? Whoever it was has yet to pick up Hell Razor Honeys by Eyone Williams; a character-driven read which spotlighted females in the street game that were definitely harder than a lot of male characters I had the pleasure of reading about. Upon being challenged to use her body for material gain, Vida stepped out of Samara's shadow in the crew called The Come Back Honeys and did her thing as the leader of The Hell Razor Honeys. Consisting initially of Vida, Tia, and Ice, The Hell Razor Honeys were known for slicing and dicing ladies and gents alike. When Tec, a childhood and homey-lover-friend of Vida's, provided lessons on gunplay, the girls supplemented their razor game with heavy artillery use. Armed and even more dangerous, The Hell Razor Honeys take the D.C. streets by storm and eventually crossed borders into New York and California. As the wrong bodies started to drop, Vida was forced to examine her life and determine if everything The Hell Razor Honeys stood for was worth all the bloodshed.

I thoroughly enjoyed the rough-neck females of The Hell Razor Honeys because they really were hardcore and that is usually not prevalent in a lot of street literature. But my conflict was that although there was a lot of hell-raising, the plot was almost non-existent until close to the end of the book. The editing could have been a lot smoother and there was so much happening, I found it hard to rest with the read. It was one catastrophic event after another. There were also a lot of racy sex scenes, but I had a hard time enjoying them knowing these characters were very underage. And I am not sure if moving the kind of weight they were moving and having the type of guns they had was realistic enough for me. Again, this had to do with their ages. Street-lit readers who enjoy complete mayhem will love The Hell Razor Honeys. More seasoned street-lit readers may be put off by the late introduction of the plot. I am confident that if you read The Hell Razor Honeys, the second installment, Hell Razor Honeys II: Til Death Do Us Part, will be extremely better since there will be an understanding of the plot before picking it up.

Reviewed by Darnetta Frazier
APOOO BookClub

In HELL RAZOR HONEYS, Eyone Williams has crafted a tale that not only delves into street life but inside workings of a female crew. It is a chilling tale with some graphic descriptions that will keep the reader turning the pages to see what happens next. Williams has written the novel in a way that makes it is easy for the reader to engage with the characters and imagine the story as it moves along. It read like a movie. Adrenaline junkies looking for a fix will be richly rewarded by this action-fest.

I bought this book for an art teacher friend who uses it constantly in her high school classes.

I bought a copy for my seven-year-old step-daughters and packed it for a long car trip over Labor Day weekend. The girls giggled wildly while pouring over the artwork and the questions they posed, and then spent a good long time working on their own "What if..." questions and accompanying illustrations.

A fine picture book all around!

Working with kids is great...yet if you don't keep them occupied at all times my job description would be zoo keeper, not Elementary Art Teacher! At first, Sarah Perry's book "If..." served as a functional time filler. I knew the kids would get a kick out of the wonderful images! I introduce the book and the kids are still a bit restless and and not totally convinced that the art teacher is reading a book. Isn't that the librarians job, they think as they roll their eyes. I open to the first page and read,"If cats can fly..." their heads turn and their rolling eyes become transfixed on Perry's beautiful illustrations. I turn the page and by now the audience is silently screaming for more!!! By this time the students' teacher has come to pick the kids up from the art room, but instead of lining up the class, she has pulled up a seat to listen in on the fun! Nine times out of ten, when I am finished sharing the book, the students ask me to read it again. The kids walk out of the classroom with a smile on their face and their imaginations zooming!!! Parents stop me in the hallways to speak about the delight their child experienced when I was reading the book! I give the credit to Sarah Perry! Thank you Sarah...this functional time filler has become an imagination can opener!!!

This book is so beautifully illustrated and the ideas it presents are really fun. We got it as a baby shower gift and it immediately became a favorite of my husband and mine. Now my 2-year old loves to pour over the illustrations and giggles at the silly ideas. It's a book that I know she will keep into her adulthood.

My grandson who is almost four loves this book. He packed it to bring back to Me Me's when he spent the night.

The book, "If" is a great one for teachers to teach the trait of Ideas. Wonderful illustrations!

This is the first novel I ever read from this author and I loved it. It is perfect in character depth, conflict, resolution, stamina and any number of other areas. This novel is the rule by which all others are measured.Ms. Radclyffe has done a wonderful job of spoiling readers against authors of lesser talent.

I loved it. This is my first Radclyffe and I can see why she's so popular. To me the queen of lesbian western love stories is Vada Foster & B. L. Miller's "Josie & Rebecca: The Western Chronicles" and I started out comparing this one to that. There are a number of similarities in the two. But, as the story continued I started to view it from another angle.
Besides being a delightful and sexy love story it is, as the title hints a very "innocent" love story. Both girls have no inkling of their sexuality until they meet and fall in love with each other and even then they're pretty slow at realizing their true feelings.
This factor gives the story an innocent ring to it and also a purity that is unusual for a book that has such sexy scenes. I would vote it as the book I would most like my gay-friendly hetro friends to read. It's a great book for lesbians and hetros alike. I look forward to reading the sequel and some of Radclyffe's other books.

Kate Beecher is a young woman who has literally been dragged from her pampered Boston existence by her father and mother out West. She is 19 and into photography/journalism. Her father and mother had been enticed by a friend of theirs who made the journey and promise a decent life for all of them. Kate is reticent to make the trip and even more reticent when she finds it is a rough settlement and not all like the life she left in Boston, until she meets Jessie Forbes. Jessie is the owner of a huge ranch outside town since her father died. Jessie is very butch and causes a lot of eyebrows to go up when she comes to town, but they seem to accept her for what she is. Jessie is a cattle rancher, and takes a lot of pride in maintaining the ranch that her father built. She takes a shine to Kate and soon a mild flirtation begins to happen. Meanwhile, Kate's parents notice that Kate has no interest in the young man they have picked out for her. They see her spending all her free time with Jessie, whom they see as an improper woman, wearing men's clothes and doing men's work. Kate is falling hard for Jessie and Jessie falls hard for Kate. The romance is hot and the story is good. Radclyffe does a great job, departing from her usual genre.

Kate Beecher leaves Boston with her family and treks across the county to land in Montana.

Kate is inspired by the beauty of the land. She's a little confused by the gun toting, Stetson and pant wearing Jess Forbes.

Jesse is a rancher and breaks horses as a past time. She notices Kate. Even saves her from an accidental stampede.

When a life threatening illness spreads thru the territory, they combine their efforts to help all they can. Their feelings getting more interesting as time goes on.

I love a good western romance. Kudos!

This book blew me away. Where else can you get the wild west, suspense and lesbian romance? Three of my favorites. I just recently discovered Radclyffe. Have I been missing out!!! She is fantastic and her books are all great. My shelf is quickly filling up with her name. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Promising Hearts, Innocent Hearts sequel.

I read this book in 2 days. Radclyffe keeps you thirsting for more. I fall in love with all of her characters.

Jessie and Kate will capture your heart. In a time where women don't wear pants, vote or have a say in anything. Two women fall in love. Jessie, a ranch owner who carries a gun and tames wild horses meets Kate a determined and feisty woman who has just arrived from Boston with her parents. They want Kate to get married(to a man). Not that anything else would enter their minds. What follows shows why Radclyffe is so amazing and special.

Like all her other books I've read, these characters grab onto the readers heart take them on an adventure, stop and start it a few times(no defibulator needed in this story, see Fated Love) and leave the reader feeling warm and satisfied.

What I love to do is get my crystal light, cuddle with my cat, Kali put on some smooth jazz and RR(Read Radclyffe).
ENJOY!!!

Anyone who has read my Listmania "Escape Mass Market Fiction" knows that I touted this novel (tertrology actually) as having ".... the most exquisite language since Shakespeare". But it is truly beyond that. After 30 years and over 3,000 books read I can affirm that there simply has been no greater work of fiction produced in any century by man or woman. One of the reviewers for the Lowe-Porter translation was dead-on saying you keep wanting to go back and reread the last 20 pages you managed to finish just to savor the experience. Original editions are a little rare and expensive, but, like any treasure, it's rewards are transcendental, and once read, you can consider yourself part of the most esoteric world of the true literati. NOTE-- Beginners who are easily scared off and prefer to sample before committing might want to skip the Preludes and go straight to the main chapters.

I'm at a loss about how to begin a review of the titanic marvel "Joseph and His Brothers" because of its being so many things, adding fright to the one who tries to properly bring forth what future readers are in store for upon opeing its first page and delving into "Descent into Hell."

I have never before and doubt ever will again read a 1,500 page 'tale,' let alone one that includes a continuous barrage of gripping stories alongside psychological insight of God-like proportions. What's icing on the cake as to this book's sheer power and unforgettableness is its comic charm. I did not know I was going to be reading what is pretty much a comedy when being pulled into this marvelous Old Testament narrative.

If you have read the biblical account of Jacob and Esau on down to Joseph in Egypt and are worried that its contents couldn't stay intriguing for this many pages, there is good news, because it, for the most part, very much is.

In the preface, translator John E. Woods accurately proposes he thinks that "Mann ... wanted to make sure he had readers worthy of him" while explaining that some portions of this interweaving jewel are prone to be more difficult to read than what is, thankfully, the majority. And it is this truth, in which I agree with this stirling translator, that I breifly dwell upon.

In several used bookstores I've been to, the only part of this story that I ever saw available, and in a volume all its own, was H.T. Porter's translation of "Joseph in Egypt." Given its apparent availability over the other three parts, I suspected it would be the best - which Mann himself thought to be true. But, solely from the perspective of, as Virginia Woolf would aptly call me, a 'common reader,' I bring forth that those trickier 'riddles' that Woods forwarns, or maybe just mentions, occur most often in this third volume. The feel of being sidetracked a little too much continues on into the beginning segments of "Joseph the Provider."

Do these, I will dare to say, overly descriptive, meandering pages that include some repitition detract all that much from the sheer pleasure that dominates most of what is nothing short of this literary feast and party? Hardly not. For outside of this minor qualm over the author perhaps going a little too far about content that probably didn't require as much attention, there is no book I have read up until now that has offered more to a reader than this. I guess "sublime" is not a bad word to use when measuring the result of Mann's cataclysmic efforts that encompassed a time span of 16 years, no less, including a 5-year absence between the third and fourth stories.

He touches on such juicy, delicious insights about mankind, helping to devour the notion that life is different now compared to then. And while it is entirely varied in custom, how could our experiences be all that different due to the fact that we all have one monstrous thing in common, our humanity.

Mann had me wondering if he wasn't something more than human, though, his elegance, wisdom, humor and charm are in such top form. And while it could have been one of the great many gods of Baal that Mann includes throughout who could have helped guide his pen, I'm more prone to believe it was the God of the wanderer who possessed his wrist on occasion.

One of the greatest books ever written.

Also the kind of service / support rendered by Amazon, when the first copy did not reach me, was truly touching and amazing. Within a fortnight of not having received the original book sent to me, I had the book finally in my hands ! Great customer service.

For all the great technological magic of our age we suffer the misfortune of living in a time where the depth of hyperbole rends the edge from language leaving us bereft when the time comes to describe something truly remarkable. Thus to say that John Woods' translation of Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers offers readers a gift of almost indescribable value may leave one wondering if I am making a literally true statement or simply wallowing in the common puff of our day. In this case the latter is the case for Mr. Woods' translation of Mann's great opus offers the reader an experience both challenging and sublime.

Readers unfamiliar with Mann's work may feel a sense of vertigo beginning this even more than his other works. Much of the style of narration, unique with its perspective shifting through time, seems almost purposely designed to leave one doubting their footing. Increasing the sense of dread is the books sheer heft, with over 1500 pages of small type and weighing in at almost two and half pounds. Yet those brave souls who resist the temptation to lay down this load in favor of a more easily digested work will come to in the end appreciate the feast to come. Mann's work rests on its own unique rhythm, and once the reader grows acclimated they will surely appreciate both the work and the great skill of Mr. Wood as translator. This series of four novels expounding on the biblical tale of Jacob, his son of Joseph of the famous robe, as well as his brothers, often comes when people engage in the entertaining and fruitless parlor game of determining the greatest literary work of the 20th century. While no single work can claim such a title, the complexity of the work and the Herculean task of translation should be evident that this is only the second instance of its translation into English in the more than 60 years since it first appeared.

Beyond simply outlining the work's subject matter, in many ways it seems written with the express intent of defying further description. With a complex web of interrelated stories, occasionally taking subjects that the bible reflects on for only a sentence and expanded on them for a hundred pages and at the same time seeking to place this seminal tale in its religious, historic, and cultural context, the work often leaves the reader gasping at the audacity of Man's enterprise. Yet almost every one of his efforts comes as a remarkable success, leaving one much to ponder. Indeed, any expectation that one can rush through this work will surely leave you with only a headache and little to show for the effort. Instead, one must take their time and slowly chew on Joseph and His Brother's digesting each piece in turn. Like many great works this one takes effort and diligence, but the reward comes as more than just bragging rights for having read it. Far more, it will offer an often eye opening new perspective and beckon from the book shelf to be taken down again so that you may reread this section or that.

One last point: to end where I began, Mann's attention to detail and word choice often gives pause, making each of us consider the harm done when we rain down words on a subject when a mere drop would do.

The new translation of Joseph and His Brothers is beautiful, as is the novel. Yes, it's long--about 1500 pages--but it's worth all the time it takes to read. Perhaps this isn't the place to start, if you haven't read Mann before, but if you already admire his work, you're going to love this book.

Ce livre est un chef-d'oeuvre que l'on déguste du début à la fin et que l'on apprécie de plus en plus à chaque relecture. J'adore Boris Vian et l'aurait marié sans même y penser après avoir lu ce qui coule de sa plume. Les mondes qu'il crée sont fascinants, et celui-ci est le plus beau de tous.

Ce livre est un chef-d'oeuvre que l'on déguste du début à la fin et que l'on apprécie de plus en plus à chaque relecture. J'adore Boris Vian et l'aurait marié sans même y penser après avoir lu ce qui coule de sa plume. Les mondes qu'il crée sont fascinants, et celui-ci est le plus beau de tous.

L'Ecume des Jours (or, John Sturrock's translation, Foam of the days) tells us a story of Colin and Chloé and their love.
Of love that - however pure, serene and (perhaps) unbelievable it may appear to our everyday eye - is very much innocent. Like the one that, at least some of us, have always wished to experience.
The whole story has, unfortunatelly, a tragical end. But then, it wouldn't be one of the nicest books I have ever read. Only to express myself better through similarity, it is Jamiroquai's "Falling" that makes me think of Collin's falling in love with Chloé - except that Collin's love is 'returned' - they both love each other dearly and very much.
The whole story is divided in two parts - two worlds where love stays the same (even grows!) only the encompassing world undergo (terrible) changes. It's the careless world of Colin's and Chloe's love before they get married, full of warmness that only two suns may produce, and of the world after their wedding. The moment they say final yes at their wedding, Chloe gets ill and the whole preceding atmosphere suddenly changes from "happy" to "gloomy." As I said, the love stays, even gets greater, but the whole story then leads to an inevitable tragical end...
In Vian's own words it's a history that is "...entirely true as I made it up from the beginning to the very end." ["...entierement vraie, puisque je l'ai imaginée d'un bout a l'autre"] I would not quite say it is wholly made up although it's only my opinion. Yes, the story is a bit unreal, perhaps exaggerated, but I think it needs to be in order to let us feel and (hopefully) realize, that as 'panta rei' (as Time flows by) we should pauper our friendships and, when being loved and loving ourselves, then we should love sincerely and happily.

This brilliant work of fiction, akin to a fairy-tale, combines science-fiction, surrealism, absurdism, lyricism...
One of the highlights of post-war French litterature, it has become somewhat of a cult favourite for teenagers, as it relates the lives of yound adults who refuse to accept the responsabilities of adulthood, preferring to live according to principles eerily similar to those held by hippies, refusing to temper idealism with the demands of reality.

It is a pity that Boris Vian has no name recognition in the anglo-saxon world. Much to blame is probably the uniqueness of his language and unconventional writing approach. This refreshing tale encompasses youth, love and the fleeting aspect of all that is precious in life.