Fictional Books

I have made it a habit this year to get through many of the classics on audio book during my daily commute. I picked Pilgrim's Progress since it was one of the most influential English books ever published, and I wanted to see what it was all about.

The audio book was published by Blackstone Audio and the reader was Robert Whitfield. The reader did an excellent job and was very easy to listen to. He did some characterization with his voice that made it easy to know which character was speaking. I was a little worried about the older style English, but it gave me no problem. It probably helps that I am familiar with the King James Version of the Bible. Overall, listening to this book worked out very well.

This is the first book length allegory that I have been through and I thought it was an excellent way to teach. There is no doubt which principal each character is supposed to represent by their name, and their actions represented that well also. I can understand why so many families had this book in their libraries. As far as Christian doctrine goes, there are a few things that some would disagree with, but most of the principals taught are still generally accepted today. The path to God's presence is filled with opposition, but there is help available and the reward is worth it.

I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to understand an important part of our heritage, and to see what an effective tool allegory is.

I love this book. It was written from a jail cell in the 1600s. This version is the original so the text is difficult to read at first but I would not want a watered down modernized version (which can be purchased). I find if I read in chunks it starts to flow nicely. The characters have names like, "Evangelist", "Piety", "Talkative", "Faith", etc. So you know just where someone is coming from. I have marked up this book with pencil just like I do my scriptures! It is like reading one long parable in story form! Cool book. I'm glad to have found it.

We've read this book to our son and he has really enjoyed it. He doesn't yet fully understand everything and we had to stop and explain a lot to him, but it is something that we plan on reading over and over again as our kids continue to grow.
I read a review that stated that a main flaw in this book was the lack of one on one relationship with Christ. I can understand what they are saying, but I think what you have to keep in mind is that while we are here on earth and in our day and age we do not physically see Christ. He was once here walking and living on this earth, but He is now in heaven. He uses other means now to maintain a personal relationship with us. For example, we can know Christ through His word and through prayer. Just as in the book, He often also sends other Christians along in our life to help us and encourage us. This book is a good example of a walk of faith. We can't see and physically touch Christ right now, but when we are in heaven we WILL see Him just as Bunyan talks about in the book. Christian persevered in his walk without physically seeing Christ and he was rewarded in the end for his faith. For now, how much greater our reward is for those who have not seen Him and yet believed!

Enthralling. This book will help every Christian deal with the battles of being a Christian in this life and all the struggles that go with it. It teaches you never to give up even when you feel like you can't go on. Life's struggles are not a new occurrence, but as timeless as human existence itself. It teaches you not to be too concentrated on your struggles, but to look at the great prize which is Heaven and not be distracted or enticed by the struggles of life nor the easy way out. Excellent. It is a must read for every Christian.

The first time that I encountered Christian and his pilgrimage was as a preface and a family favorite in the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Unfortunately, it was not until twenty-something years later that I actually got around to reading the book itself. If I were you, I would not wait that long.

The first part of the current combined book appeared in 1678. Bunyan, a nonconformist Protestant minister who was imprisoned for preaching without a license, wrote at least the first part of the book in jail. The second part was first published in 1684. It is likely the most popular allegory ever written, and is still one of the best selling books of all time.

What makes it so popular? The obvious key to its popularity is its simple, crisp style. Even accounting for the language changes between the seventeenth century and now, it is not a struggle to read Progress and it flows well for the modern reader. Although the book is allegory, the characters are full of little realistic details that make them feel quite human. Incidentally, I was reading this book as I was walking some of the old pilgrimage trails of Europe and it was interesting to me how vivid and applicable his version of the pilgrimage experience is. The Slow of Despair rang remarkably true, as did characters such as Talkative and Mr. Worldly Wisdom.

The Oxford University Press edition is bound with a scholarly introduction which is, for a change, worth reading. It also came with explanatory notes and a glossary which were helpful for the modern reader who is not familiar with the everyday language of the period.

I've read over 100's of romances and so over the years I've become very picky about the romances I read. From a "picky" reader's perspective, therefore, I would have to say that, overall, Ms. Mathis has created a winner with "The Sea King." She brings a great new voice to the genre, she has well-developed characters, and her storyline is (for the most part) pretty engaging. My main complaint would be her dialogue: it often runs very trite. For example, in one of the first scenes of the book, when the Sea King (Kol) has just brutally conquered the heroine's home, this is how the scene plays:

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The warlord tilted his head, and peered at her all the more intently. "Gift, my lady?"

"Aye." Her eyes slid down the length of him, and back up again. She could not prevent the curl of her lips. "My very own nightmare, come to life." >>

That's it? A NIGHTMARE? C'mon, gimme a break. Isabel is not just "some girl" speaking - her dialogue is written by an author who can sit at her desk and come up with all the best zingers. This just struck me as a silly thing to say at such a momentus moment.
Anyway, Ms. Mathis would've earned 5 stars from me had it not been for her dialogue - however, when this author gets down her "snappy repartee," I have no doubt that she will be a force to be reckoned with.

I didn't have particularly high hopes for The Sea King, because somehow Viking stories usually end up hokey, cheesy and not too well written. I am SO glad I ended up buying this book because it's original, well plotted, with fabulous characterization and is just a beautiful story. Ms Mathis successfully pulled off something that many 'best-selling' authors today can't seem to do, which is write a story with two original characters that smash stereotypes, yet keep the language and behavior true to the period. Bravo!

I LOVED that the author gave Kol vulnerability instead of just making him your typical, run of the mill Alpha male. We were able to understand that Kol had essentially fallen in love with Isabel at first sight and spent the entire book trying to solve the mystery and find out who had raped her and fathered her child. I also sympathized with Isabel, who was torn betweenn believing the most obvious suspect to be guilty (Kol) and going with her gut feeling.. and then she had to try to balance her loyalty to her adopted brother with her trust and belief in Kol.

This is a truly exceptional book, and I'm hoping to reread my copy a few months down the line. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Jolie Mathis has another book in the works, too!

I loved this book! The hero is sexy but tortured. The heroine is tortured but feisty. Nobody is innocent -- everybody is guilty of betraying somebody, and everybody gets betrayed at some point. There are so many plot twists, it is hard to see how the good guys will prevail. But they do! A perfect romance book -- put it in your "must read" pile. I would like to see more books from this author.

I could not put this book down. I loved the medieval romance and knowing that "going Viking" could actually be loving and oh so romantic and not just crazy blood thristy savages. This was a great saxon/viking story.

From the description I thought this book had so much potential. I was wrong, I did not enjoy this book at all. I skipped pages at a time and didn't miss a beat. The heroine drove me nuts, by letting her sister talk to her any kind of way but, had a lot of lip for the hero. This was not one of my favorite books but don't let my review stop you. What I found lacking you may enjoy.

This book was a nice combination of serious and fun. My favorite line was "'Plan your lunch snacks accordingly,' she concluded, giving the cinnamon roll ladies a sharp look."

Imagine my surprise, too, when Maddie and her friends joined the Iron Mountain Mine Tour. My grandmother was born in Iron Mountain in 1891. It's a small world and this book captures many of life's common joys and challenges.

The Dream Catcher Tour is a novel following a group of forty-seven women on an economical, no-frills tour bus excursion around the Great Lakes. As they take in the sights and sounds, they also trade favorite memories with one another. A leisurely delight brimming with female camaraderie, The Dream Catcher Tour glides gently along as it presents moments of interrelated insight, and makes for gentle, fun-loving leisure reading, bit by bit or cover to cover. Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (11/07)

Buckle your seatbelts; you are in for an adventure you won't soon forget! Welcome aboard the Northern Experience Tours! You will be traveling with 46 other women on a trip around the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. You are certain to meet some of the most interesting people you have ever met and perhaps you will make some new friends along the way. Emily is our tour guide and she wants to spend some time with each individual tour group member and be certain that they have a good time.

Of course, when you have this many different people from so many different walks of life, you are sure of having many life stories. As the group travels from one location to another, another person is spending time with Emily and sharing their life stories. From one city to another, you are able to enjoy the sites and unique characteristics of each locale. Some of the tourists' attractions are as follows: Mackinac Island, the Soo Locks bordering Canada, Munising, Houghton and Crystal Falls.

Paula Buermele has done an excellent job in providing a great storyline and travel book all in one. Through the pages of the book, you will feel like you are right there on the bus and getting to know these people that you are traveling with. Through descriptive paragraphs you will feel like you are seeing these places with your own eyes. I certainly hope that Paula Buermele writes more books. I loved "The Dream Catcher Tour" and would definitely like to read more of her work.

Paula Buermele's The Dream Catcher Tours provides her readers with a peek into the lives of forty-seven women who together embark on a bus tour of the Great Lakes with Northern Experience Tours.

What ensues is a potent collection of stories reflecting Buermele's affirmation that she is an attentive student in the classroom of life. Buermele moves effortlessly from one voice to another as her characters relate a variety of tidbits about their lives, some painful while others humorous. However, as one of the women remarks, "during the early days of the trip her companions had all seemed much the same, but with each passing day she had come to see the uniqueness of each woman."

These accounts also reaffirm an old adage, that no matter where people find themselves, they can't help reminiscing and revealing some of their family and psychological baggage that echo the past and at times consume the present. The stories range freely, some sounding familiar while others stirring up sad emotions, as is the case with Leslie who is traveling with her late husband's Aunt Helen. Leslie recounts how she lost her college sweetheart and young husband Steve who had suffered a brain aneurysm shortly after they were married. We also learn that she had lost her parents at a very young age and it was her adopted Aunt Helen who took her under her wing and has been her mentor

Then there is the familiar tale of Marianne, a wife and mother, who subjugated her own choices for those of her family and as she states, perhaps this trip will bring out the hidden Marianne. And Donna, the future mother-in-law, who is not exactly overjoyed with her son's choice of a wife. Barb, a divorcee, who after thirty-two years of marriage believed that the trip would mean a step into the world of self-determination and an escape from a controlling ex-husband who had left her for a trophy wife. Ruthie, who had visited her father in the hospital on her eighth birthday, recounts how she was pleasantly surprised when the Catholic nuns wheeled him in into the waiting room to wish her a happy birthday and thus shattering her stereotype of the "mean" nuns.

Buermele can clearly write and her storytelling is extremely perceptive, demanding quick concentration into the lives of her characters. However, at times in truth I did feel cheated, as some of the stories were underdeveloped and I would have liked to be better acquainted with the raconteurs. In the end though, these stories leave us with something to ponder; the uncertainty of life, the meaning of home and family, and what makes us all tick, for in all of us there is a story to be told.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

I really enjoyed reading The Dream Catcher Tour. While it is a work of fiction, I appreciate the fact that the characters are based on real stories and accounts. The author does a fantastic job of telling this story in a way that makes the reader identify with the women and their personal journeys. The conversations are so real and honest.

I went on many trips to the U.P. when I was young and while some of the sites are familiar to me, there are many I haven't seen. This book has inspired me to one day go back and visit the places mentioned. I would love to visit Pictured Rocks and photograph as Leslie does in the 'Peace' chapter.

This is the first and only Victoria Holt book I have read yet. I love mysteries and read them often. Of all mysteries I have read this is one of the best. I liked it so much sometimes I would stay up into the early hours of the morning because I could not put it down. It is a wonderful book, give it a try.I have plans to read many more of her books. She is one of the top authors on my list of favorite authors.

This book is good at keeping you in suspense. Dallas Lawson is a painter who goes to a country estate wich belongs to a mysterious and aloof man(the comte)durring the 1800's. Where she is thrown into mystery and adventure. She went there to find a job of restoring paintings only the job of restoring wrong doing has found her. I highly recommend this book. Its the kind of book to read on a dark rainy day or anytime for that matter.

I just finished this book (my 12th Victoria Holt novel!!) and like always, she can spin a tale of gothic romance like no one else. I wish, God how I wish, this talented woman was still alive and writing, because no one did it better. Her sense of detail, setting, people, is just so lush and vibrant. This novel is set in France and revived my interest in French culture! This is also a fast moving book, full of energy. You will love it! If you have never read Miss Holt, read this, Mistress of Mellyn, and On the Night of the Seventh Moon and just see how quickly you become a huge fan!

This book is good at keeping you in suspense. Dallas Lawson is a painter who goes to a country estate wich belongs to a mysterious and aloof man(the comte)durring the 1800's. Where she is thrown into mystery and adventure. She went there to find a job of restoring paintings only the job of restoring wrong doing has found her. I highly recommend this book. Its the kind of book to read on a dark rainy day or anytime for that matter.

King of the Castle is a classic Victoria Holt suspense novel: a young heroine visits a strange locale, gets caught up in a series of mysterious events, and becomes romantically involved with someone who may be a murderer. In this case, the protagonist is Dallas Lawson, who, at the age of 28 and unmarried, is left bereft after the death of her father. In desperation, she accepts (under false pretenses) a commission which had been offered to her father three years before: the restoration of paintings at a French chateau. But of course, once she arrives, she finds much more than she bargained for: the unsolved mystery of the lost family emeralds, which disappeared during the Revolution; a wayward teenage girl who may actually intend her harm; rumors that the Comte of the chateau murdered his wife; and of course, the enigmatic comte himself. As always, Holt's storyline is both interesting and engaging, although those who have read many of her books may find the progression of the plot to be somewhat predictable. However, the ending definitely comes as a surprise in this enjoyable historical thriller.

I put off reading this book because for some reason I did not think I was going to enjoy it. Boy was I wrong!! Great book, well written, excellent characters. I enjoyed it immensely.

I loved the very real characters in this book. From page two I was so hooked I knew I had one wonderful book in my hands. And it was! I'll be reading all the Alafair Tucker mysteries by Donis Casey. Life is too short to miss out on such an enjoyable experience.

I usually don't care that much for mystery books but the time period & the title drew me to this book. I wasn't disappointed. I loved the family & all the children. A little romance mixed in makes this book really good. Don't miss the next one by this author with the same family & another good mystery.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the genuine seeming characters and accurate historical (1911) setting of this mystery novel. The book's unique title and Oklahoma setting (where I once lived) attracted me to the book. Farm wife and mother Alafair is a very appealing heroine and though I never quite got all of her nine living children totally straight most of the other minor characters are also well developed. The book has an authentic flavor of rural Oklahoma from the "down home" cooking to the speech patterns. The mystery is solid (though my eyes may have glazed over a bit when it concerned guns) and though I guessed the real murderer well before the book's end I didn't predict the full circumstances surrounding it. I am glad to see Ms. Casey has all ready published the second in the series of Alafair's detective adventures (HORNSWOGGLED) and according to her web site a third will be published this fall.

This is a great story. The characters become real immediately. Interesting. Smiles. Real life. Surprising, but reasonable, ending. I first checked this book out from the library, scooping up a bunch of new mystery books. I got a kick out of the title. Liked this one so much, I bought it. Looking forward to this author's subsequent books as well. My mother at first refused to read this book (she didn't like the title). Later, after I'd purchased it, she started to read it, became engrossed in it and hardly put it down until finished.

This review related to the hardcopy version of the same book. I have never read any of Joyce Carol Oates' books before, but I do know about her and the fact that she is often compared to John Updike in terms of her being a prolific writer. She publishes almost a book per year in addition to her full time teaching job at the Ivy League University. This is comprehensive collection of her stories written in the period of the last 40 years. The early ones seem to be about people who change in many ways after experiencing dramatic events in their lives. Those could be tick attacking woman's scalp, drive by shooting, or witnessing armed robbery. Her later stories seems to be about middle-aged women strong enough to stand up to their husbands and lovers and even have a lover or two while married, or in some sort of relationship. These women are empowered, strong and almost giddy about their choices. My favorite stories are "Secret" and "Homestead". I wish I could find these stories compelling, but I do not. Most of them seem to follow some formula that are not allowing story to stick around for the long time...

A small collection of short stories, some even shorter, vignettes, I suppose one could say, always in the vein of a slice of a person's life; however, Oates manages to find those things that really get to the heart of us. The volume has a theme, of secrecy, of trysts, rendezvous; the things one keeps closest to oneself, and does not like to let the too-harsh daylight shine upon them.

The Assignation is filled with often startling and honest glimpses into the interesting moments of everyday life. Realistic to the point of being grotesque, this collection of stories is typical Oates--beautiful yet piercing. From a woman's yearly physical ("Pinch") to an ironic tour through a fallout shelter ("Shelter") Oates, as always, challenges her readers to think!

Joyce Carol Oates has really outdone herself with this collection. These stories are wonderful and -- Oates at the top of her game. Each story is so well crafted and haunting, she gives you little slices of American life, each one revealing a different aspect of that life. She usually focuses on some seemliness, something dark, something sinister, but manages to keep the stories enjoyable to read. The Assignation is a collection of explicit, racy stories that awaken your senses almost as much as your intellect. My favorite story is "In Traction." You can almost feel the main character's despair. The aforementioned story enthralled me like few short stories have done. I highly recommend this collection. Oates fans will not be disappointed and for those who are not familiar with her work, it is the perfect introduction.

This book is my all-time favorite Oates book. I've read it years ago and find myself re-reading it from time to time. In this collection of short stories, Oates finds a way to drive home the utter despair of the human condition. "A Touch of the Flu" twisted my insides and gave me that sick feeling I get when I think about death. My favorite story is "In Traction"-- the hopelessness of the character A. is completely beyond help. Oates is absolutely the master of horror when it comes to daily life and she magically transfers those utterly private and personal feelings onto paper and exposes them grotesquely for the world to see. EXCELLENT!

From the first chapter to the last one (for now I hope), this a teriffic collection of short stories which form one narrative, but stand alone very well. Written with great economy, and humorous sections which pop out of nowhere, you just want to keep reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

What an enjoyable book. You will laugh much and you will cry. It is a fictional story about a "Personal Preacher" named Lloyd Boyd. You will have to read it to understand what "Personal Preacher" means. If you are looking for good book that tells a story and brings a message of comfort and love then I strongly suggest you buy this book and let it bring you some good news for a change.

I loved this book. The title promised me a fun read full of humor and wit. The book contained so much more. Each chapter had delightful comic insight into the Loyd Boyd's, and very often, my life. Then, just as I thought I knew what would happen next, the author surprises me with an appropriate and poignant moment that touches my heart and soul. I read every night as I go to bed but this book I couldn't put down and continued immediately the next day when I woke up. So much fun and so inspiring. I recommend "I Flunked Sunday School" to anyone who loves to read and especially those who grew up in or currently attend a church. Pastors would probably get more out of it than I did. No reader will come away disappointed.

"Best comedy I've read in a long time. From the title of the book to the concept of Lloyd Boyd, I was hooked. Ken Bailey's humor opens the door for heart-warming stories. I laughed and I cried. What more could you ask of a book?" --Wayne Holmes, compiler of Whispering in God's Ear and The Embrace of a Father

For whatever reason, I did not expect to enjoy this book very much. I actually have the audio CD version. It was given to me as a gift a few years ago, and I had no interest in listening to it. However, I had a sixteen-hour trip in the car, so I decided to try this thing. Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

One of the best parts of the audio CD is the reader, who was absolutely fantastic in characterizing many different people in this story. "I Flunked Sunday School" basically consists of various little snippets of stories that continually overlap throughout the entire book. Bailey does a good job of allowing each storyline to stand on its own, while integrating them together smoothly.

My favorite quality of this book was the fact that it successfully managed to capture the twin goals of humor and inspiration. While there were many laugh-out-loud moments throughout, there were also a number of really beautiful moments. I'll be perfectly honest and admit that I shed a few tears driving on I-94 through Wisconsin as I enjoyed this story.

There are moments when the jokes go flat or the dialogue seems forced. But for the most part, I had a great time with Lloyd Boyd, personal preacher. I highly recommend this great work of fiction for churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike.

If you don't mind staying up all night reading this is an awesome book. I couldn't put it down. So, as a bonus, I had the rare (for me) opportunity to watch the sunrise, as I slowly closed this book.

Loved this novel - spent all afternoon reading it and couldn't put it down. Shows in wonderfully true-to-life form the way the faith is spread by lay people, by the apostolate of friendship and confidence. Many lessons for Christians of today.

This is a must read, especially for young people! I was suprised how exciting it was. Judging by the title, I thought it had been written for high school girls, but I found myself (an adult male) enjoying it immensely. I was even more surprised by how many details about life in ancient Rome it mentioned, as well as some interesting insights into human nature, and a good picture of the life of the early Christians. Great book!

How can anyone, living comfortably in the 21st Century, possibly relate to the early Christian martyrs, those champions of the faith who were fed to the lions or beheaded for their beliefs? Fr. Michael E. Giesler has built a bridge across time in his book, Junia. With a clear understanding of ancient Roman history and a deft hand for spinning a good yarn, Junia is the touching story of an adolescent girl who converts wholeheartedly and then gives up her life rather than renounce Christ. This book is a page-turner from the word go, and the character of Junia is warm and likeable. Her cheerfulness and devotion shines not only across the centuries, but across the generations. I read it, my 11-year-old daughter read it, her friend read it, their religion teacher read it...and it's about to make the rounds again!
A reader from Connecticut

Deceptively simple in its telling, this powerful story should be required reading in all Christian middle school curricula. Boys will enjoy its detailed and historically accurate recounting of life in the Roman Empire, while girls will empathize with the adolescent struggles of Junia and her friends. All (adults included) will find their faith strengthened by reading this tale of the ordinary apostleship and heroic martyrdom of everyday Christians almost 2000 years ago.

This romantic but very accurate novel made Marie Antoinette come alive for me. I am looking forward to reading more novels about this queen of France. It is Victoria Holt at her best. Why aren't there new novels like this anymore?

If you are interested in history and fiction combined, I cannot recommend a better book than Victoria Holt's The Queen's Confession. In fact, I better understood Sophia Coppola's new film with Kirsten Dunst after reading this dramatic account, and enjoy the movie much more because of it.

This is so much more than a novel about an ill-fated queen and her milquetoast king being too young to rule and paying for mistakes they made for what seemed an eternity; it is a sad story about how someone naive and unsuspecting can fall into the ill council of those who mean to do them harm, and how loyalty is a trait that is very hard to find once you have fallen to the lowest depths. It also shows how people who were once enemies change their tune once they are in the same boat with their target (Take for instance the aunts.). In this we're all the same, and class distinction means nothing in the end.

You will laugh, get angry, and you will cry, but in the end you will see how genuinely human, imperfect, and frequently self-deprecating Marie Antoinette may very well have been due to the fact that lots of stories that were spread about her were the same lies the media dispells about celebrities today. Well, at least now they don't get their heads chopped off! Beautifully written, rich in detail, and entertainingly embellished, this long Holt novel is worthy of every single moment you spend with it.

Keeping in mind that this is a work of fiction, it is still an excellent story about Marie Antoinette and the events that led up to the French Revolution. While the ill-fated queen is the protagonist of the tale, the author does not attempt to excuse but merely to explain the foolish and often callous behavior that placed her in history as one of the most hated women of all time. During earlier chapters we get a tantalizing glimpse into the decadent courts of Louis XIV and XV. Then we watch as Louis XVI ascends the throne, far too young and with no idea how to be a king, but determined to please everyone, including his pretty young wife. The ultimate collapse of the monarchy is mourned by the queen even as she admits her own part in it and recalls steps taken or not taken that might have averted it.

The author does not pretend that everything in the story is true; conversations that might have taken place, suspected rendezvous, and dramatic license regarding people about whom little is really known have been added for flavor. But the historical framework of the story is unfailingly accurate, with an excellent bibliography. I would not recommend this to be the first or only book you read about Marie Antoinette, but after studying some completely factual works, sit back and enjoy being drawn into the story with some vivid speculation as to how some things might have happened.

I am already a huge Victoria Holt fan, and this book made me THE BIGGEST Victoria Holt fan!! It is just wonderful, full of romance and suspense and dispells lots of the myths and lies about the doomed Queen, making a fascinating portrait of a young girl forced into an exalted position. Victoria Holt's legendary attention to detail makes this a book that will educate you as well as thoroughly entertain you. Get the Kleenex out for the last chapter! Sad, yes, but this book is completely satisfying, not to be missed.

Victoria Holt was one of my favorite authors when I was younger. A master storyteller, she would consistently weave a story that would have the reader turning the pages. This work of historical fiction is one of her best. Riveting from beginning to end, this fictional autobiographical account of the life of Marie Antoinette is superb. Written in the first person, with little dialogue, it is the rumination of a life that was to end tragically. Pampered, spoiled, and fun loving, the beautiful Maria Antonia of Austria metamorphosed into Marie Antoinette of France upon her marriage to the Dauphin, who would eventually become King of France, the ineffectual, but benign, Louis XVI.

This is her story, grounded in historical fact and set within the framework of history. This work of fiction about the life of Marie Antoinette, as seen through her own eyes, is fascinating, as it captures the flavor of those uncertain times and the events that led to the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy in France. It is a reflection on how Marie Antoinette's own behavior influenced the fate of France. Indulging in the excesses of the day, she initially gave little thought as to how her actions might affect the people of France or the monarchy. By the time she realized that her actions and excesses had wide spread political ramifications, it was too late, and the fate of her and her husband was sealed. No amount of personal regret could change it.

This book will be enjoyed by those who enjoy good, well written historical fiction. It is little wonder that this book spent two months on the New York Times Best Seller List. It is simply historical fiction at its best.

Antoon's novel is an incredibly well wrought study of imprisonment, empathy and the experience and power of writing; its construction is very clever indeed, and one puts it down (reluctantly) feeling shaken and bewildered, impelled to act and desirous of leading a life more immediate and brave.

I'jaam is completely different than anything I've ever read. I rarely give books, even good books such a large number of snaps. Several times throughout the book I was horrified, others I was drawn into love, and throughout the entire book a common theme of fear and terror is dreadfully looming. If I'jaam doesn't smack you in the face to say wake up! it is already too late for you, blood has left your veins cold. I had to try my hardest and not underline the entire text! It was that good.

I'jaam is a novel, but Sinan Antoon insightfully writes this masterpiece as a manuscript that was found in the an inventory of the general security headquarters located in Central Baghdad. The writings are of the life of a young man and an educated prisoner all in one. His thoughts are so segmented that you see the disjointedness he must feel, which is in every way spawned through fear, heartless acts, and a lack of freedom. He goes back and forth between what happened, what is happening and what is in every bit too horrible to ever imagine happening to any human being.The novel is set in a time where The Leader (Saddam) is in power, a time when life is full of fear and complete inconsistency. Even though suffering and fear are the themes throughout, there is also love, family, education and life to show that all dreams are not lost, even if they are extremely hidden, and held close to oneself. The will to live life is the hardest to snuff, when there is even an ounce of hope and Antoon shows hope in this novel again and again, in a real way that is never false and always just right. Feel the outcry of humanity and read this novel, I'jaam by Sinan Antoon. I am changed, and my outlook is forever different because of this one all too short novel.
Below are some quotes that were just craziness to leave off, wet your tongue on this and get your hands on the book!

" We have been taught to call these frequent events "revolutions," when they are actually scars on our history. A bunch of sadists get sunstroke and declare themselves saviors. Then they begin to torture people and ride them like mules, especially after they discover that this is easier, and perhaps more pleasurable, than fulfilling their promises. Later, another group will come along to dispose the first, brining with them longer whips and chains of a more economic metal. A sadistic circle forever strangling us" (p. 11).

"Hey! What are you doing here? It's forbidden!"
"Forbidden" was the most often-used word in the country, especially among those who enjoyed a bit of power, or imagined that they did" (p. 56).

"The family, as an institution, is stronger than all the armies of the world" (p. 57).

" A simple idea came to me at that moment: isn't freedom the most beautiful feeling in the whole world? Simple, trivial, everyday freedom. I didn't even allow the "No Walking" sign stabbing the grass to spoil my mood" (p.93).

I'jaam's lucid flashbacks and hallucinatory passages written during narrator Furat's Iraqi imprisonment reminds me of similar political or existential novels The Stranger and The Plague. There is even something about I'jaam to recall the less mature Stephen King novella, The Long Walk, and the more artificially constructed, e-less novel from Georges Perec, A Void. But while those books had much looser ties - if any - to a kind of truth, it is not difficult to find the reality that motives the surreality of I'jaam: the Orwellian-like regime of Saddam Hussein. As a novel, I'jaam is beautifully done: believable in its premise; effective as a written artifice; reluctant to use heavy-handedness and anger when its portrayal of soft tragedies, and a lost romance, bring Furat's imprisonment a readier display of human endurance, justification, and regret. This novel, like the era it captures, needs to be elevated into broader view.

I'jaam: an Iraqi Rhapsody, by Sinan Antoon, is one of the two current works of fiction set in totalitarian Islam that I recommend without qualification. The other is In the Country of Men, by Hisham Matar. Kafka and Solzhenitsyn gave us the classics of living in European Police States. Antoon and Matar give us an artistic hint of such life in two secular Arab states: Khadafi's Libya and Hussein's Iraq.

I'jaam is the most brilliantly artistic, ranking easliy with the best of Kafka and Solzhenitsyn. Set in Hussein's Bagdad in perhaps 1982,it is filled with ambiguity -- an imaginary prison memoir. Written ostensibly from a mixture of memory and nightmare, we are jerked from the prison isolation cell to the dreams of events and loves before imprisonment. In one paragraph we are with his grandmother, or his co-ed university friend, and suddenly we are back in the terror of the isolation cell. Imprisoned for who knows what? He doesn't know. His condition is not unlike the condition of hundred or thousands of Iraqi's currently incarcerated as a result of the Iraq War, and so it has real current relevance.

The central conceit of the novel is the ambiguity inherent in the written Arabic language. Certain of the letters require dots (I'jaam) or the word cannot be understood -- it may have any one of several meanings. This fictional prison document was written without the dots, which were inserted by a government functionary. Antoon has built from those beginnings a masterpiece of the imagination.

Lionel Youst