Rhode Island Books

Brick Lane begins well. The characters are wittily drawn -- the protagonist's husband, Chanu, wouldn't be out of place in Dickens (and I'm afraid he'd take that as a compliment, poor fool). The structure is promising - the protagonist in London and her sister back home in Bangladesh tell their stories in counterpoint. We see how poverty and culture constrain their choices. Their lives unfold in a series of carefully explored scenes, from which we can infer the years between. *SPOILER ALERT* But then, alas, the second half of the book drifts off into all the cliches of chick lit. The female protagonist has an affair - of course - with a handsome young stranger - and uncovers an ill-concealed family skeleton - I'm sure you can guess, it's always either suicide or sexual abuse isn't it? - and finds empowerment, and sisterhood, and sexual self-determinism, blah blah blah. The really interesting issues raised in the first half of the book - acculturation, labor economics, the development of love in an arranged marriage - are just dropped without resolution.

Although I was obviously attracted to the 'blurb' on the back of the book enough to buy it, 'Brick Lane' then sat on my book case for about a year waiting to be read purely because the reviews put me off. However, I'm glad I got around to it because I enjoyed it.

The first few days of Nazneen's life were touch and go and left her with a story that her children would request again and again. The story of 'How You Were Left To Your Fate'. Brick Lane is the story of how Nazneen grows as a person and is able to take her fate into her own hands.

Nazneen and her sister Hasina were both born in a Bangladeshi village but where Nazneen comes to London after an arranged marriage to Chanu, Hasina at sixteen, elopes to the city of Khulna to marry for love. The story is really about Nazneen but we discover what is happening to Hasina through the letter's she sends from Bangladesh which whilst showing us the parallels in their lives it also creates an excellent way in which the author can move time on a few years.

All the characters were brilliantly described, and really brought the book to life. Even the minor characters weren't skimped on. "...Son Number One wore a round necked peach jumper and a collar of chest hair. The distance between his nostrils and his upper lip were unusually small. As a result he appeared constantly offended. He looked like he was making up insults. And failing."

Surely I wasn't the only reader to try and recreate that face?!! ;-)


Although fictional, real events such as the riots in Oldham and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon are touched on and it was interesting to see how they effected the Muslim people in Nazneens neighbourhood.

If you are interested in people, how they live and what effects and shapes them...then you'll enjoy this novel.

*****SPOILER*****SPOILER*****SPOILER
Although it was interesting to see Nasneen grow and become more confident I was disappointed that her and Chanu went their separate ways in the end. It was mentioned that there were two kinds of love; "the kind that starts off big and slowly wears away...And the kind that you didn't notice at first, but which adds a little bit to itself everyday" I realise that Chanu had his dream but I felt that he did love Nazneen and that she had grown to love him. So although it was a turning point for her when she took her fate into her own hands and decided to stay in England, it left me feeling a little sad.

This noble is complete garbage. There are so many immigrants Indian novel emphasize Indian immigrant's economic contribution and upheld Indian culture as a whole. On the other hand Bangladeshi immigrant novels, drama, short films must depict Bangladesh in bad way and do an insult to our culture. I often wonder why. I mean immigrant writers from both origins are looking for their 10 minute of fame. That is totally fine. But why you have to pull out some bad smell from closet to do that? You think Indians don't have an ugly story to tell about themselves? But are they saying it to the world? Why would they? I understand that you can just ride along with the tide and make few bucks on the side. You say something bad about Bangladesh, you would get an award. You say badly about India, no one would buy your book. So the incentive is there.


Apart from my political view, this novel is not a representation of Bangladeshi culture: not of Bangladesh, and definitely not of Bangladeshi immigrant in UK. I understand that a writer is free to pick her character from extreme example or even beyond imagination. That's fine. But when you write a novel about a specific community (or you know that it will be portray as so), you must write something in the side to upheld the real picture and to do a fare judgment to that community. It is very fare to say that she knowingly ignore that part.

Here is a reader's comment "Monica Ali appears to be telling a story about what she knows best in her novel, Brick Lane. Monica Ali was born in Bangladesh and grew up in London. Most of us do not have background knowledge of Bangladesh, and this book gives us insight into that land and culture."

Imagine that!!

I did find this book intriuging enough to read it all in one go,which is quite an achivement considering it's size.
Unfortunately it did leave a somewhat of a bitter after taste.To use an analogy from the book itself,it was a bit like going to a Bangladeshi restaraunt pretending to be an Indian one(replete with Hindu statues that the propieters secretly disdain)
Ultimately i just couldnt escape the impression that it was more than just a bit phoney and designed specifically to cater to the imaginations of tourist, in this case, of the literary variety.
The book started off well for me assuming the voice of the doomed ,but dignified asian woman in suffering that was familiar from the pen of some great writers such as Amy tan,Jung Chan (wild Swans)Xinran (good women of china) et al.
I didnt consider this immediately as derivative as a part of me really wanted to like this book and the Setting was a new and exiting one in literature,the Mysterious Brick lane In Londons East End.Besides i thought, this was a voice that would serve the Bangladeshi womens experince quite well.

After finishing the book though ,and doing some research folllowing up my suspicions about the author ,it strikes me now as being very formulaic and calculating.

Although i frequented the heart of Brick Lane quite often in the early 90's,you dont need to have been to that area or lived there to pick up its lack of Authenticity .Any asian person with a traditional upbringing will tell you that no asian person ,let alone a village bumpkin like the books Heroine Nazneen, would think of her self and her life in a way that is described in this book.The charecter did not speak for herself,it was a voice imposed upon her by an outsider,a middle class,comofartable Oxford educated outsider,who has never lived anywhere remotely resembling Brick Lane.
It felt really infuriating having this village woman explained away through the sophisticated literary contrivances of an oppurtunist.You wanted to hear how Nazreen really felt. This book does not give women a voice as it purports,it takes it away. At the end i was fuming!!

The overall effect of this book is absurdity,it is writing in a voice that the person who is supposed to be being written about would not recognise themselves!

Tower Hamlets and Brick lane has many many stories to tell.A true tale of the underbelly of this area would in reality be much more tragic and heartbreaking (but ultimately much more human) than this.I hope somebody delivers a novel of the quality this part of London really deserves.

This was Ms Ali's debut novel, and was shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize. While Brick Lane is about a particular set of experiences for a specific set of characters, it is also more broadly about the dislocation experienced by all migrants.

Brick Lane tells the story of Hazneen, who came to England from Bangladesh at the age of 18 for an arranged marriage to Chanu. When she arrives, she has very limited English, but falls into the role of a dutiful wife to a man who is also culturally dislocated and whose rigid adherence to remembered custom and practice renders him sadly ineffectual.

This novel explores cultural difference, family ties and associated impacts on individuals.

Highly recommended - not because it provides all of the answers or instant understanding but because it identifies so many of the questions.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

very captivating. Not one of those books that doesn't get exciting until the end either. A must for any New Englander, Fisherman, or boating enthusiast.

I was very pleased when I read Eric Maroney's excellent Amazon review, which he wrote in June 2007, but I want to add a bit. He is right; the author, John Casey, is marvelous at describing boats, their construction, fishing, and a life at sea. And, yes, Casey is not as good at describing human relationships, particularly those the book's lead male has with the women around him.

But that's not the half of it. When I read the beginning of this book, I loved the image Casey painted of a man who makes his living working on boats and who is desperately trying to finish the construction of his own, impressive boat. Casey's language frequently compares people and their behaviors to boats and the seafront wilderness. I enjoyed Casey's numerous nautical similes and metaphors, even if I did feel, at times, as if I was back in a high school English class.

And then, midway through, the book becomes bogged down in the increasingly troubling relationships the lead male has with the women around him. I don't want spoil anything in the novel, but, if you read some more Amazon reviews, you'll find out pretty quickly.

But here's the thing: not only does Casey's imagery and writing seem to suffer when he writes about relationships, but the man who is involved in them doesn't seem like the same man Casey described earlier, forever working on and concerned with the creation and operation of boats. When the book switches modes, it seemed to become inconsistent.

And, beyond that, I simply didn't enjoy reading about the character's relationships with women. In part, the lead male's inner-dialogue seemed too foreign to me. I couldn't get involved in the story; I couldn't relate at all.

Don't get me wrong. I love reading about people who are very different from me. But there has to be something about them that draws me in, or keeps me interested, or to which I can relate in some way or other. I couldn't relate enough to Casey's seemingly-inconsistent character.

Some of this is my personal preference, but I suspect many readers will agree, as several other reviewers do, that John Casey is better with the sea life than he is with the personal life.

I first read this book as a 23 old Ensign in the US Navy. I have reread it every year since then, through job changes, three kids, and the inevitable complexities and disappointments of growing older. Every year, this book has more to tell me about my life, and, especially, great writing. Some of the reviewers here seem to be looking for books about uncomplicated "good guys" fighting uncomplicated "bad guys." There are plenty of books on the bestseller list for them. This book is for someone who wants to think deeply and read well.

Spartina is the way fiction was always meant to be written - dense, full of plots and sub-plots, and full of characters whose flaws and general dispositions make them both likeable and detestable at the same time. Dick Pierce, a grouchy and mean fisherman who has been trying to funnel all of his money towards a boat he has been building in his backyard, Spartina. Casey provides a thoroughly detailed and engaging account of what life is like in the fishing communities of Rhode Island.

As an aside, this book is the perfect reason why the people who write the summaries or teasers on the back of a book or on the dust jacket should be shot. The person who provided the blurb in this instance makes a storm, which does come at one of the most important junctures of the novel, the central event. What makes Casey's work so wonderful is not the storm scene, where Pierce tries to ensure his boat is not destroyed in the harbor before his insurance policy kicks in, but all of the other little things that go on in the text. Casey is adept at providing the most minimal details necessary to understand the scope of a relationship between two people. I loved the scenes between Dick and his wife and children, as they provided a perfect snapshot of what it's like to be a father who wants to raise his children as best as he can, while at the same time, being as selfish as a person can be in terms of the way he lives his life.

The book reminds me of Hemmingway, not just because of the subject matter, but because of the simplicity of the prose. I can honestly say that this is the first National Book Award Winner that I think has warranted the prize and I hope that the next ones I read as solid as this one.

Spartina has many virtues, but a firm moral compass is not one of them. Never has adultery as the centerpiece of a novel been made to look so effortlessly without consequences than in this work (and the union even brings about a child). There is none of the horrid aftershocks which adultery brings to a marriage; none of the reckoning. Dick Pierce's wife seems to accept that this had to occur, and makes no overall stink about it. Casey's greatest feat in this novel is his vast knowledge of boats, ships, navigation, fishing, and the life at sea. When Casey writes about this subject, you can feel him moving with his creative abilities unfettered. When he gets bogged down in human affairs, he is on less sure ground. But still, the novel has moving and memorable passages, and Casey knows enough of the human animal to paint him or her in many hues. There is a subtly to Dick Pierce which the reader does not expect, and this saves the novel from its moral flaw.

Like most people, my first exposure to "Witches" was the movie. I agree with other reviewers that the book is nothing like the film - it's much darker and more ambiguous. I picked it up at a flea market for light bathtub reading but ended up not being able to put it down.

I liked that the world with witchcraft in it just was. To me, there's not much point in exposition unless something is confusing.

It's true that the characters are not, strictly-speaking, likable. They're cliquey and small-minded, and ruthless. They're also vulnerable, warm, and completely understandable. As a woman in my mid-thirties, I thought it was rather clever to use magic as a metaphor for the mixed blessing of age and experience. Their power is real and at times incredibly strong, even fatal. But it doesn't make them happier or ultimately more successful.

I didn't find it contradictory that the characters were in touch with nature/life but also rather cavalier about bringing death or hopping into bed with other people's husbands or even caring for their own children - they are witches after all, not girl scouts. In the same way, I appreciated that the "devil" turned out to be too good to be true - hardly substantial at all except as a catalyst for the witches' activities. All this, I thought, dove-tailed nicely with the "me generation" self-absorption that permeated the book.

Overall, it was a completely fun, absorbing, root for the flawed anti-heroines read. If you're gen-x, you may recognize these characters from the less savory parts of your childhood, but with any luck you'll just find that part of the entertainment.

This book starts off with the literary wit and musicality of Nabakovian prose, and I delighted in the formation of the characters from the get-go - in particular, the Von Horne character that Jack Nicholson would play in the movie adaptation. While the writing is brilliant, it can't make up for some rather lost momentum from which, plot-wise, the book never seems to recover. Instead, in my reading, Updike continues his same-caliber of lyricism, but it seems to be running-on-fumes showiness once he loses touch with the "electricity" of the witches' connection to Van Horne.

This book's worth reading, however, for Updike's gorgeous literal dexterity; but - more strikingly - his insights into domesticity, women aging, sexuality, sexism, male despair, and his all-around knowledge of the intricacies of relationships and human nature. In these respects, this book is, in parts, stellar. As well - it's laugh-out-loud funny, with its mock-cynical, sardonic tone. Outstanding satire.

In the interests of full disclosure, I'll make note of my own biases up front. I have always loved Updike's "Rabbit" tetralogy, although at times I found some of it implausible. I have always considered Updike a master of English prose, with a tendency to overwrite at times. The only other book I had previously read by him, other than the four "Rabbit" books, is "The Coup," which I enjoyed. I didn't see the film version of the book under review. I have never been a fan of magical realism, of which genre this book is an example. And I had no interest in reading the book when it first came out. So, why did I read this book, twenty-three years after its publication? Primarily because Harold Bloom, a critic for whom I have the utmost admiration, listed it among the books in the "Western Canon." Now, having finished the book, I am somewhat befuddled as to why Bloom did so. I think the Rabbit tetralogy deserved inclusion in the "Canon," but not this book.

This book belongs squarely in the magical realism camp. The fact that the three principal characters are witches and thus have magical powers is never explained; it is simply taken for granted, not only by the author but by the townspeople of Eastwick as well. The book is otherwise a very realistic portrayal of a New England town in the late 60s-early 70s, complete with its prejudices and political divisions. The minor characters are especially well drawn. Updike's mastery of English prose is, at times, at its height here. So, unfortunately, are one of his worst faults as a writer, which became apparent as far back as "Rabbit, Run": the tendency, whenever there is a lull in the action, or when the author seems uncertain as to where to go with the plot, to "pad" the novel with verbal descriptions of just about anything--of foliage, of living rooms or other interiors, of marinas or beach walkways--anything to keep the reader engaged until there is some action. The effect, on this reader at least, is soporific; I found myself struggling to stay awake. This flaw is nearly fatal in the first fifty or so pages of the book; I found myself waiting and waiting and waiting, just for something to happen.

After I finished the book, I found myself scratching my head wondering what the magical realism aspect (i.e., the witchery) added to the story--a question I ask myself with almost all works of magical realism--and my answer was, practically nothing. The basic story, about three women approaching middle age, all divorced or unhappily married and sexually adventurous, who suddenly take an interest in a mysterious and rather crude rich man who takes over an old mansion in the town, could easily have been told "straight." The witchcraft was little more than a distraction. Tennis balls that turn into birds in midair, feathers suddenly appearing in the mouths of women the witches don't like, thunderstorms suddenly appearing to drive people off a beach--all were annoyances that we could well have done without. The only time the witchcraft seemed essential to the plot was a crucial episode in which the witches use their powers to kill off a basically innocent young rival for the rich man's affection. Even this wasn't really necessary; if they wanted to kill her, they could have used poison.

So why am I giving this book three stars? For one thing, because I admire daring and risk-taking in an author, and this was a risky undertaking, for which Updike deserves respect. Moreover, once one gets into the book, it's not a bad read. And when Updike is good, as he often is here, he is very very good. Nevertheless, if you have never read Updike before, don't start here; read the Rabbit tetralogy.

I loved the movie so much that I decided to read the book thinking that the books are normally better than the movie, so I thought the book would be awesome, unfortunately I was sadly disappointed. The book is very different from the movie and I felt that the supernatural aspect was somewhat lacking. The way the characters are portrayed in the book are not only physcially different than that of the movie, but also emotionally different. The 3 withces are mean and spiteful and the book seems to drag on about their boring lives. The book also mentions nothing of Darryl Van Horne being the devil and his character is somewhat lacking to say the least. I think I was totally spoiled by the movie because Cher, Pheiffer, Sarandon, and Nicholson brings alot more life to the characters than the book did.

I quite like the film and thought the book would be similar. The book is in fact much better than the film. I love Updike's modernisation of historical stereotypes of witches and witchcraft - maleficium, familiars, witches' marks, the devil. I love its historical period that is so obvious, yes not cringeworthy as some other books set in recent history can be. While the film is set in the 1980's (check out those perms) the book seems to be set in the late 60's - early 70's with references to Vietnam and Pop Art.

Updike's powers of description and similie are really gorgeous, I can visualise so well with this book I feel like I'm there. I wonder if it is particularly appealing and interesting to me because he describes nature so well? The sudden little magical occurances in the story are also unexpected and then pleasantly surreal. In addition, the witches' powers are not the usual stuff that you now expect from TV or film like Charmed or The Craft. I was interested to see how Updike handled female characters, him being a man and all, and they actually seem quite convincing to me. I don't think think the story is misogynist.

In this age of do-good modern witchcraft it is initially confrontational to read a book about witches where ethics is not a high priority in magic, yet it is also refreshing in a way. "The Witches of Eastwick" reminds me of the spell books by Valerie Worth in its general amorality and, I think, also of her particular, unusual aesthetic. I found that I couldn't wait to get back to it whenever I had to put the book down for other pressing duties. Also, while some fiction drives me mad with its implausibility, in this case it doesn't, and that is possibly because Updike's writing is so attractive that I don't need the story to be completely believable. Maybe potential to succumb to belief is peculiar to the mind of the beholder?

This is a great read. Goodman does an excellent job of bringing the Empire and the Order to such life. I have not been this excited for a book in a long time. The details and the story are woven together in a terrific manner. Beware, once you pick this book up it will be hard to put it down.

Anthony Goodman is, I would guess, either a Jewish doctor or married to a Jewish doctor. I really don't know this, but he obviously meant his readers of the historical novel The Shadow of God to look the most favorably and sympathetically upon the Jewish characters in his book in contrast to the Christian and Muslim characters in the book. The Jewish doctor in the story is above the fray, confidante of both Christian and Muslim, though unjustly persecuted by both, and clearly meant to be the most virtous person in the eyes of modern readers. His outlook on life is ridiculously 21st century in its philosophy: he bears a striking resemblance to Alan Alda's Hawkeye in M*A*S*H, a true humanist conscientious objector compelled to heal bodies bloodied by a 'senseless' war over arcane ideologies. The anachronism was pretty jarring even to a lowly math teacher like me.

The Christian characters, on the other hand, are painted as frustrated Don Quixotes, just waiting to be liberated from their "oppresive" religion with all its antiquated rules and hang-ups about sexual morality. Especially ridiculous is Goodman's placing a "girlfriend" in the arms of Phillipe, the Grand Knight, who historically we know was bound by a vow of celibacy. I grant him that vowed celibates have been known to be unfaithful to their vows, but the dialogue he puts in the mouth of a man who has sacrificed life and limb for this order of Knights is just barely above "if loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right."

Don't get me wrong, I learned a great deal about medieval warfare, Muslim history and even Mediterranean geography reading this book. The level of historical, ballistic and especially medical detail obviously took painstaking research and was extremely fascinating to me. But I thought the purpose of a historical novel was to put a more human face, even to the point of somehow divining a personality for historical characters, whether famous or obscure, whether they actually existed or not. Goodman seems to have chosen Hollywood celebrities for the faces of his characters, but unfortunately he chose to insert the vapid, shallow personalities and nihilistic worldviews of Hollywood celebrities into his characters as well.

Anthony Goodman's "The Shadow of God: A Novel of War and Faith," is a "new classic" of historical fiction that alternately charms and shocks the reader.

Essentially the tale of the Muslim siege of the Knights of St. John at Rhodes in 1520, the subtitle of the novel could be "A Novel of War, Love, and Faith." It is undeniably a novel about war -- Goodman writes in a straightforward, riveting style that calls to mind the best work of Bernard Cornwell (the Sharpe series, the Grail Quest series, etc.) without going over-the-top. And the siege of Rhodes gave Goodman many opportunities for excess. One of the longest sieges in history, disease, famine, and misery plagued both sides. Further, the Knights' fortress in Rhodes was the best-defended site in the world, and the few hundred knights in the fortress easily had a kill ratio of over twenty to one as the Islamic forces marched endlessly into certain death. Goodman captures the horrors of a war fought with cannon, broadsword, scimitar, musket, crossbow, and even subterranean mining and counter-mining with great effect.

Thankfully, Goodman also spends a great deal of time with the players on both sides, and we see the humans on both sides, including the Ottoman Sultan Sulieman, leader of the Islamic forces, and Phillipe, leader of the Knights. Sulieman, a young sultan, is the "Shadow of God," whose words have the power of life and death over his subjects. Sulieman is willing to throw thousands of lives away to rid Rhodes of the Knights, and he is not above executing those he sees fit, but Sulieman always comes across as a vivid character, not a cardboard cutout villain that he could have been in a lesser book.

The same applies to Phillipe, who commands the Knights with an apparent fanaticism. But Goodman allows us to see the human side of Phillipe's rigidity -- not only is Phillipe well-acquainted with the treachery of past Sultans and the slaughter of Christian forces following their surrender, Phillipe is also tortured by his oath of obedience. As he agonizes over his decisions, Phillipe also lives with his heart in his throat for the safety of his beloved Helene who has risked everything to journey to France to be with him.

This love story elevates the novel, as does the other major love story, between the Knight Jean, the Rhodian beauty Melina, and their twin infant girls. Goodman, who is so well-versed in writing of battles, also knows how to tell a romance. That these romances occur on such a horrific stage, well, only makes them more moving.

A well-balanced novel that neither demonizes nor excuses the leaders and creates several characters for the ages, "The Shadow of God" is a highly recommended addition to the library of all fans of historical fiction. And the author implies that he's got a sequel on his mind -- the conflict between East and West on the Island of Malta, where the Knights once again face their Islamic foes. We can only hope that Goodman has another novel in store!

This was a very, very good book on many levels. When I began it my knowledge on the Knights of St. John Hospitaller, the Ottoman empire, and the siege of Rhodes was pretty sketchy at best, so I was interested in reading simply to learn more. The book delivers that in spades. The author really knows his material and I learned a great deal about the period and the players. The book, in addition to providing graphic and accurate battle scenes, also provided a culturally immersive experience that taught me a great deal about the societies in conflict and the way people thought in that period, both in Europe and in the Ottoman empire. This pivotal siege was so much more than a simple clash of arms; it was also a clash of social values, culture, religion, economies, philosophies, knowledge, legal systems, and of individual egos.

I learned a great deal about the actual siege of Rhodes, but I also learned how the opposing societies worked, how they thought, and the reasons why the two armies were structured so differently and fought so differently. This is an incredibly detailed, deep, and thought-provoking treatment, but it was also a splendidly entertaining read as well. I love history, and I love a good read, so it is always special when you can get such wonderfully pulse-pounding, attention rivetting entertainment and learn something new at the same time.

Colin Lindsey

The Shadow of God deals with a fascinating a little-known conflict between the Knights Hospitaler of St. John and the Ottoman Turks. By all rights, the siege of Rhodes should be a gripping and action-filled historical account. And so it is. Better still, the author alternates with a fairly balanced eye between the two sides, never falling into the historical cliche of "the evil empire" against the "hopelessly outnumbered knights"; nor the reverse dimension of "violent Christian zealots" to be deposed by the "philosophic and benevolent Eastern civilzation". For eluding this trap, Goodman has my applause.

The difficulty I found with the book was that the writting style itself, particularly in the dialogue. The characters often communicated information to the reader redundantly, useless unless whole months elapsed between the time the reader could find time to complete a chapter; and much of what was said doesn't ring true to conversation, however formalized. The best parts to read were action accounts, particularly descriptions of medical scenarios (Goodman's medical background serves him in good stead here), but his characterization falls flat, robbing the whole tale of any personal involvement.

Based on earlier reviews, I hoped the book would pick up the pace towards the end. Alas, I felt that the end of the siege, with emotions high and hopes in tatters, real humanity would finally shine through his characters. Instead, Goodman narrates a "legend" concerning one of the knight's lovers, while another illicit love affair concerning the Grand Master ends with a whimper. Much more was possible within the confines of the historical outcome. Ultimately, I appreciated The Shadow of God for its attention to historical detail, but could not enjoy the book itself because of the immature writing style. I only recommend this book to someone especially interested in the era and the event concerned.

I bought this book a few weeks ago on a rainy dreary fall day in Provincetown, and sat and read it cover to cover! A great premise with delightful characters! I recommend you order it now!

Also recommended: LEAVES OF RED AND GOLD by Scott Chapman, for an exciting gay legal thriller!

Yes, the characters are ridiculously stereotypical and one dimensional, but the plot line is silly and fun and I couldn't set it down. No need for thought provocation here--it's a great mindless read.

After reading the other reviews of this fabulous book, I just had to add my two cents. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COPPERTONE! This book is as delicious as its cover. Enjoy every minute of Storandt's glistening narrative. Afterwards you'll feel fully satisfied and eager for more.

After reading both of the current spotlight reviews, I decided both were partially right. One complained that the book is chock full of one dimensional characters, and mentions that book publishers should stop putting muscle boys on book jackets. Well, first I've done a fair amount of research on what's selling in gay fiction, and it seems to be books with nearly naked men on the cover and plots that contain 18 year old boys. The Summer They Came has both. Anthony is arguably the main character of this book, and the transformation of the town into a gay beach resort affects him the most personally. For Anthony, the conflicts created by the "gay invasion" result, more or less, in his own trial by fire.

The book does have a lot of characters. Similar to soap opera-ish works like Larry Kramer's Faggots or Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City, William Storandt's work follows a lot of different story lines. Storandt has some charming characters, a lot of them are the town locals, but he would have done well to spend more time defining characters and making them more recognizable. I'd recommend making a character list so you don't have to keep flipping back to figure out who's who. Storandt has two characters named Jim. He also uses similar names like Wesley and Wendell.

As far as use of stereotypes, it's hard to disagree that Storandt falls into the trap of using them, but then I also feel that he's portrayed the culture of a gay beach resort pretty accurately. I suspect the old families of Fire Island were probably pretty shocked with the rather r-rated turn their community took when gay men started arriving in flocks. Storandt builds slowly but steadily to a final stand-off. He's demonstrated that some of the gay men have been troublemakers (specifically, Bart Connors, the media gadfly) and that some of the locals are rallying to support the newcomers. I feel it's a fair portrayal that neither side is completely in the right.

I feel the biggest flaw with the book is that there's no strong resolution. There are some unanswered questions. Storandt brings up the concept of anonymous sex in a variety of ways without ever telling us if the community is just going to "wink" at the practice while counting their cash or whether they're going to mount a backlash to the affront. There seem to be some growning tensions between the developers. There was a near fiasco at the climactic "circuit" party that might have ended the popularity of this new little resort. Perhaps we should all look forward to "The Summer They Came Back."

I read this over several days while commuting to work, so that may have done it a disservice since there are MANY one dimensional characters here. After a the first couple of days, it was hard to keep them straight. That being said, however, my commute reading was not inspiring me to keep reading it AFTER I got home either. This story just kind of sits there. The characters are either stereotypes or paper-thin; you really don't care about most of them. Also, the aggressiveness of taking over this town almost had me routing for the residents.
Not much to keep you interested here. And, one more thing, will book publishers please stop putting a naked torso on EVERY gay novel. It's kind of lame and embarressing at the same time!

This book is a bit better than the first. I think some parts are a little predicatable while others were a bit cliche. But in whole, it was better.

I still wonder why it never takes too long to get anywhere and still have the feeling like the author may have taken some of her elf cues from vamp movies. But this book does dig into Gigi's background a bit more and we see how she really is. We also learn her motivation, which is important, because it makes the story more realistic.

Still, i think I will purchase the third. It may not be the best book, but if you have time on your hands or are in a dry run you may enjoy this book. I recommend that you start with the first book though.

I read this immediately after Shadows in the Darkness (Changeling). GiGi remains the sexy likable heroine-protagonist, but Cunningham mucks up novel with the omniscient perspective. If this had been only first person, it might be four stars and comparable to Kim Harrison's "The Hollows" series. It's too much, and Cunningham takes the mystery and suspense out. I don't like reading about how killers do their deeds; I'd rather read about how Gwen figures them out and brings justice. I didn't like figuring out what was going on before the hero did, because I had access to 'inside' character perspectives.

The actual plot is decent, despite becoming a wild goose chase at times. Pacing inside the novel is fast, but Cunningham's attempts at sinister tell too much of the villain's plans. Usually from their perspectives.

Why two stars? It's the terrible epilogue. Cunningham drops bunches of hints at a larger universe (even calling the third Quality, the Starlight Quality), but nothing comes of them. At the end, we are treated with a scene of the antagonists discussing their evil future plans. It's not a nice end, and there is no third novel. What a letdown.

Overall, I don't recommend reading this novel until (if ever) a book three in the series is published. You'll hate the end; I know I did.

In this new Changeling book, it basically picks up right after the first one. Gwen has changed the name of her PI business to have the word "changeling" in it. This time Gwen is trying to find a missing woman and her child who happens to be the wife of one of her friends' ex husband. As she is trying to solve this case she also still ponders on the case of her dead partner. But she soon realizes that she is heir to the property that Edmonson owned. This relates to her case because a powerful drug that effects humans is being grown on the property, which ultimately ties back to her recent case, where the missing woman has many secrets, some that are closely related to Gwen's. Overall a good book, and still a little confusing with all the characters that are involved, but it is still pretty easy to follow.

Shadows in the Starlight picks up where the first book in the Changeling Detective series ended. Whilst investigating the aftermath of her previous case, Gwen is also looking into the case of a missing wife and child. Once more she finds that her own past is inextricably linked to the case and as she delves deeper she puts not only her own life, but also those of her friends in danger.

Unlike Shadows in the Darkness the elves are much more in evidence here. Anyone who didn't appreciate how manipulative and cruel they can be from the first book will do so by the end of this one. We get a better insight into their machinations and through Gwen we begin to learn how their society works - and it's not pretty. They have an Aryan attitude to humans and imperfections, and it appears anyone who doesn't reach their standards is terminated. Slightly worrying for Gwen who has only manifested two of her three powers.

The reader is slightly ahead of Gwen in knowing what's happening, as once more the beginning and ending of the story are told from another character's point of view. Quite a clever device as it gives us an idea of how out of her depth Gwen is, whilst at the same time we can accept that she's working in the dark with limited information.

There was just one point where I really thought she was stupid. Which is when Ian Forest asks to demonstrate on her how sacred oaths are binding to elves. Even though she patently doesn't believe him I think she should have exercised more caution. Also after this she does become a little trigger happy with the use of this sacred oath. I'd kind of got the feeling that it was used by the other elves only for really important things. But I guess this serves to illustrate how different Gwen's priorities are to the other elves and how her agenda is almost diametrically opposed to theirs. The things that she takes seriously such as a missing human child seem trivial to them.

The story ends with Gwen slightly further along the way to finding out who she is but we are still left with the main arc unresolved. If you haven't read the first book you may struggle a little to get into the story though the main plot points are covered. Recommended for fans of urban fantasy who like a strong PI twist - such as Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series or Kat Richardson's Greywalker.

Also available
Shadows in the Darkness (Book 1)

I loved the first book, "Shadows in the Darkness" four years ago.

What happened? The book started off with a bang. A young female ME was murdered in a heinous and cruel manner. Then we wait til page 150 to have someone find the body? That was the sole point of the ME. Cunningham let the lady 'talk' and get us to like her, then she killed her. Then we have to wait several days after the heart-rending beginning for the ME to be found. While this is definitely 'real' in the case of crime-solving, the problem is, Cunningham set up a thriller and she certainly did not deliver.

While this is a sequel, I think a little less time mentioning the previous cases would be a good idea. The book second doesn't have to rehash the first in a series to carry on continuity. The jacket tells you pretty much what you need to know.

Further--without spoiling the end, situations do not get better for our heroine. I love serial fiction that addresses a problem in the main book and solves that problem but leaves some teaser threads for us to look forward to later. Cunningham's end just read 'hopeless' to me, reminding me very much of why I don't read the old-line fantasy that doesn't stand alone. The epilogue made me want to throw the stinking book against the wall. If you want to read some of the best stand-alone serial fiction in urban fantasy, try Carrie Vaughn's "Kitty" books, C. E. Murphy's "Walker Papers", and Vicki Petterssen's "Signs of the Zodiac."

Finally, it's often interesting to have multiple points of view in a novel, but if I'd written this story I would not have the antagonist as one of the novels' point of view characters, but in the case of a mystery we need a bit more opacity because quite often the antagonist has given the answer long before our good guy (or in this case, girl) can figure it out.

I really regret buying this book, because I genuinely enjoyed the first and was looking forward to the sequel. I won't be buying the third.

I really enjoyed the book. It brought 17th century New England to life for me. I thank the authur for writing this and including history on other Cornells. I just bought a book about Sarah Cornell.

At the end of the book, the author wonders why there was not more in history written about this important event. However, she fails to convince me that this was an important event. If she had intended this book to be about trends in history, it might have lived up to its purpose. However, as a story of the death of Rebecca Cornnell, it fails to accomplish little. I learned nothing new from reading this book, and in fact found it irritating at times when the author guessed at what might have happened, with very little basis to back up her guesses. She also did little to convince me of the relevance of the connection with possible future generations that she tacked on at the end.

I didn't particularly like the book, and if the person who died hadn't been an ancestor, I don't think I would have finished reading the book. I don't think the author proved anything.

But for family genealogists who have Rebecca Cornell in their lineage, the book is a must. The book provides good background and color of the time period, including many family facts that can be used in expanding your knowledge of the Cornell and related families. I was able to add lots of additional information to my Family Maker. So as a family genealogist, it provided a wealth of little known information and was worth the price---but as an analysis of a killing---I felt it was pure conjecture.

This book dares to be called an historical work. It should be deemed a fantasy. Rarely does the author clearly articulate reasons for her sweeping and farcical assumptions. When she describes Lizzie Borden as proof positive that the Cornells were genetically disposed to get angry enough to kill, she clearly crosses the line. Ms. Crane thanks her husband for his help by stating that he was her partner in crime. It's truly a crime that this book was ever published.

Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell is a fascinating true murder mystery by a Fordham University professor of history, chock full of early American criminal legends that from a less qualified source one might chalk up as fiction. In a single volume, she touches on two of New England's most infamous murder cases, and a third, the title case, which was strangely forgotten.

At center stage in this gem of a book by Elaine Forman Crane is "one of New England's darker moments,"the death of the elderly Sarah Cornell in colonial Rhode Island in 1673. Weeks later, Thomas Cornell, her middle-aged son, was accused of her murder. But was she murdered at all? Sarah Cornell was an English settler and once was a follower and next-door neighbor of Anne Hutchinson when Hutchinson and family were massacred by Natives. How small was the colonial world. Mrs. Cornell escaped the slaughter - only to be cut down by her son years later. Or such was the verdict.

Was old Sarah stabbed in her room, her body set on fire? Or did she die accidentally? One hopes it was indeed a case of murder since Thomas was hanged for it. The author lays out the evidence point by point and wrestles with the vagueness in the records, searching for answers, the final one elusive, but the exercise an enjoyable one. She did manage to unearth many fascinating depositions and transcripts from the case still in existence today, 340 years later, and they reveal the most intimate abuses and private aggressions in the Cornell family (which, much later, through more illustrious offspring, would found Cornell University). Thomas Cornell treated his mother very poorly, and the people who knew him very well, his friends and neighbors who judged him, determined that he killed her. How much weight should the guilty verdict be afforded? Who's to say?

The legal process used to bring Thomas Cornell to the gallows was fascinating unto itself. The colonial court allowed a witness to testify that the dead woman's ghost visited him in a dream and made some vague allusion to her questioned death. Hearsay -- from a ghost. There is also a description of the "ordeal by touch," a quasi-legal procedure by which the accused was compelled to be in the presence of the deceased, and in a case of murder, bleeding from the corpse would give it away. And yet, despite these curious features of the law, Cornell was permitted an attorney and was not compelled to confess or testify against himself.

Until this book came out, the story "languished in the shadows of historical obscurity," the author says. Amazingly, there was never a broadside, ballad, pamphlet, sermon, or other written record of the case beyond the legal papers. "The literary stillness," Crane says, "is all the more surprising since New Englanders enjoyed a good execution sermon or thrilling murder story."

This book is what Id call popular criminology, a la the recent Science of Sherlock Holmes, though the academics would call it "microhistory". Either way you slice it, it deserves to belong to any respectable collection of historic true crime, and it also commands a spot on the shelf of the complete Lizzie Borden library.

How's that? Lizzie Borden? It seems Thomas Cornell was the great, great, great, great, great grandfather of murderess Lizzie Andrew Borden, who was acquitted of patricide in 1893, 220 years after her ancestor was hanged for matricide. Lizzie Borden directly descended from Thomas Cornell's posthumous daughter "Innocent."

And there's more. Many well read true crime buffs will also recognize the infamous case of a young pregnant girl from Fall River, Mass. named Sarah Cornell who was found hanged from a haystack - the victim of Reverend Ephraim Avery (though he was acquitted in her death, and it was probably suicide). The author briefly explores that branch of the family tree as well.

But what I found most interesting about Killed Strangely was the author's brief foray into an uncommon crime. "Matricide was and is extremely rare," the author remarks. "No other fully documented cases have been uncovered in colonial America, and even today the infrequency of the crime hinders sustained research into the motivations for such violence." Some 20th-century studies of matricidal adolescents are mined for fascinating potential implications for the Cornell murder case. Needless to say, I found much to like about this book.

Unfortunately, not all academics, and not all general readers, like criminology, even when it's called "microhistory." The review of the book in Publishers Weekly was downright mean, calling the passages about Lizzie Borden, Sarah Cornell, matricide, etc. "bizarre aside." It goes on: "Without clear answers to whodunit or why, [the author's] proven scholarly track record could have been put to better use."

Well! A book is no good without clear answers to whodunit? Whatever you do, dont repeat that to the Ripperologists. I frankly like some of my mysteries to be mysterious. It's the mystery that abides: Jack the Ripper, Lizzie Borden, the Lindbergh baby... this long-ago matricide in colonial New England, brought to light for the first time in these pages. We may never know, and we rather like them that way, thank you.

You might enjoy the book. The first chapter was so full of similes that it almost made me sick - as if this was the writing element being practiced at the moment. And yet I continued on - tortured - just to discover who did it.

This tale opens from the third person perspective of Stanley Parker, a diehard, leathery old man who's feeling, yet not succumbing to deterioration in every skeletal line, angle, and joint, as he inches painfully toward his motorbike. The pivotal character for the story, this spicy, elderly man grows rapidly in the reader's mind. He alternates between the fading sunlight of Genia's view of him, and the spotlights on shadows he has forced into the opinions of others, as various characters expose facets of this archetypal paragon of, is it elemental evil or situational good ...

Cross generational perspectives are drawn with amazing realism here, especially as exposed in the relationships between Jason, a teenage male, and Parker; and in the same complex kid's exchanges with Genia (his aunt), parents, friends, towns people. In fact this plot has a fairly large collection of characters with multiple-unique-relationships; each connection has fluid depth, with bonus intrigue in unanticipated, fluky foibles.

Nancy Pickard seems to have the knack which Virginia Rich had and instilled into Genia, of exposing the flickering nuances between the bright spots and dark alleys in any persona. I continued wondering, throughout the novel, "Is this a good or bad guy? If he's a bad guy, he's not too far off the edge of redemption."

In this uncanny awareness of the fluctuating shift of good and evil, Pickard fertilizes another of the captivating qualities of Genia, a generous wisdom, which Pickard has weeded and pruned around Virginia Rich's rooted and sprouted character seeds. It's intriguing indeed to observe close up the fleshing out by a younger female author a character and setting initiated by an older female author who has passed on, through her own death, a fictional character strong enough to be worthy of continuance.

A theme of this type of character continuance seems to be rooting and flourishing beyond Eugenia Potter, considering the current situations of Archy McNally, and Nero Wolfe, at least. Isn't it interesting that each of these diehard, fictional characters has been inspired, allowed, even encouraged, to jazz up their plots by wallowing in the sensual ambiance of culinary persuasions?

Is food in a novel akin to food for the soul; does this nurturing on paper feed a fictional persona well enough to survive, develop, and sell long past his creator's passage?

Does this budding concept (now flowering and fruiting) somehow expose the secret ingredient for cooking up the creme of the gourmet in fiction, handing readers a silver platter of solved mysteries of life and death? Fresh fruit and creme, with a few edible flower blossoms tanging the "soup"; that would be one of my favorite desserts.

Returning to the reality of reading, I'll report that in Nancy Pickard's SECRET INGREDIENT MURDERS' the fast paced build up to denouement was intensely satisfying and insightful (especially for an old lady romping realistically to the rescue, then being caught dead-handed, then delayed into an unwelcome exchange with the culprit). The conclusion and wind down were inspiring as well.

Read it and reek of delicate-snow-fall drifting on peach blossoms.

Read it and reap the essence of springtime cracking the chrysalis of winter.

Writing with a contented, Chess-Cat-grin, gardening a ten-ton Wish List at Amazon.com, possibly knowing something you don't, but soon will,

Linda G. Shelnutt

I thought this was a good book. It starts out with a missing man who is then found dead. Who killed him.? There were many who hated him.

The book totally keeps you guessing and the ending is great.

It did not deserve only one star. It was a good book.

I wouldn't go so far as to compare Eugenia Potter with Jessica Fletcher. Potter is too laid back for that. But I do think that for a rather leasurely Cozy, this book is a fine read. Enjoy it for what it is and move on to the next title on your reading list. If you don't feel like spending money on this novel check it out at the local public library. You will still like reading it.

Ignore the rating of other critics. It is a wonderful read. Eugenia Potter is sympathetic and you just want to read the book in one sitting.

This book is great in what it does: teach you the Pascal programming language.

The authors explain everything clearly and in a friendly language - it's actually FUN to read each chapter. The order in which all the concepts are introduced is just plain perfect.

I think this is the BEST Pascal-learning book ever written.

I have used this course to teach hundreds of students. Most have found it very helpful. As a professor, I found it to be a great tool. The book is intended for people who are going to become computer science majors, but has a sense of humor (unlike many "major-oriented" books). I would guess that reviews with fewer than three stars come from disgruntled students. (Not one of mine, of course :-)).

I learnt my Pascal programming skills by dutifully working through the chapters in my spare time. I haven't seen a better book for beginners - it is thorough but humorous. Many examples use numbers and mathematics, and a reader must be prepared to think about the material being presented. It does not give masses of code for you to copy and try out, but tries to develop an understanding of the Pascal language.

If you are a Pascal programmer, the most powerlful and easy to understand book you need is Oh! Pascal!. I have read a friend's Oh! Pascal!(Second Edition), and I was surprised of the easy-to-understand way Cooper wrote it. But now, with the Third Edition, I have learned everything I wanted about Pascal. Trust me, you will love Oh! Pascal! (third edition).

I used this book to teach myself the basics of Pascal before taking it as a college class. It had been recommended by programmer friends I'd known going back several years. I was delighted to find it was also used as the text for the programming class I took. Probably one of the best things the professor did was choose this text. It's not an easy book, it requires you to work *and* think about what you're learning, but it has served me well. I am not a professional programmer, tho I have worked among them, and the basic programming skills I learned from Oh! Pascal helped me speak their 'language' and understand what sort of work they were doing, and enabled me to 'translate' computerese to my other coworkers, that the programmers often didn't have the time (or inclination) to do. Again, worth the effort the book expects of it's user, not simply to learn to program pascal, but to learn to think, and understand the discipline of programming: two thumbs up.

Everyone knows that "Josh" obviously works for one of the following competitors to College Prowler:

1. Princeton Review
2. US News
3. The Fiske Guide

These corporate giants can't handle students taking over the college guidebook industry.

At first, I hesitated, because I'm a bargain shopper. This book is priced a couple of dollars more than the Princeton Review and Fiske Guide. Could it be that much better?

Well, let me tell you this, if I was comparing it to the Princeton Review or Fiske Guide, I would have paid hundreds of dollars for this book.

Simply put, my daughter was not excited about the college selection process. When I brought home the Fiske and PR guides ... I found them in a closet with our old phone books.

I then heard about College Prowler from the NY Times, and immediately bought the guide to New England, as well as some of their single-school guides ... I'm in love with the single-school ones, but this guide to New England was the perfect book for my daughter to begin the college selection process.

When she flipped open to the middle of the book, and read a student testimonial about how attractive guys are on campus at Northeastern, but to watch out for players ... she was hooked.

The book sits at our dining table, and she blurts out random student reviews from different schools ... we get quite a laugh. Not only is the book tremendously funny, but it dissects the campus culture at each school. You get a feel what students are actually like, and where you'll fit in best. The new way to choose a college, is to choose one that's right for you, eventually, these College Prowler guides will be the industry standard, if they aren't already.

Sadatay.

I would like to recommend College Prowler's New England Colleges book to all sr. high school students. I'm from the Pacific Northwest, but was accepted into 4 elite schools, 3 of which are on the East Coast (Brown, Wesleyan, and BC). Fortunately for me, I ran across this guide in a local bookstore, and just a quick glance though its pages gave me the impression that this was no ordinary college resource, pamphlet, or biased review that I've been encountering in my extremely difficult task of evaluating which school is right for me. The most impressive aspect of this book is that it lets the students-from each individual college-tell their stories about what they really think about their school. There are a ton of student quotes on each school on just about every factor that a student like myself would be interested in: safety of campus, campus facilities, campus parties and organizations, local bars and restaurants, and more.

When I met with my academic advisor to discuss the college guide books I had been reading, she warned me that College Prowler is considered a reputable source of information by neither her nor any of her colleagues in academe.

Sure enough, when I came to Amazon just now to sell my two used College Prowler books, I noticed that shortly after each book had been published, a single person had submitted a five-star review for both books. In one review, he stated he's "from the East Coast," and in the other review he stated he's "from the Pacific Northwest."

It looks like my academic advisor was correct about College Prowler.

Let me start by saying that other reviewers seem to be in the process of choosing a college, so they do not realize how inaccurate these guides are. I am a junior in college, and when I saw my little brother reading this guide I decided to see what it said about my school. Not a single one of the categories was even close to the truth. And I'm not just complaining that my school got too many poor remarks, it got graded high in areas it shouldn't have and vice versa. Being from the New England area, I have friends that go to many of the colleges listed, and most of them say that their school is wrongly represented as well. There are a lot of other (cheaper) guides out there that are way better and that list more schools.