Bloom Books

A prankster would love this book.

So would any Jane Austen fan.

Why?

Well, for starters, Frances Burney created a story about a young woman coming to society and discovering what it really means. Innocent, sweet Evelina suddenly discovers a strange and at times dangerous world as she begins to grow up. But at the same time, we are presented with side characters that are incredibly amusing and give this story the light air and dramatic punch needed to create a truly stupendous book.

Evelina as a character is interesting, though not particularly strong. She is quite intelligent and sweet, but on the whole, she doesn't learn very much nor does she step up for herself. Upon reflection, seeing as to when this was written, is that particularly surprising? I was still mostly impressed by the time period (and also at times amused by time-relevant remarks...).

Mostly "Evelina" is a wonderful book. It's a great read (though at times, unsurprisingly dry [as seemed to be the habit of English writers in those days]), an interesting, intriguing story (with quite a few twists, though some predictable with others still thoroughly surprising!), but mostly is an amusing, fun story of a girl.

A favorite classic. Highly recommended!

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet and sentimental classic. All in all an enjoyable read, but the writing style never dares equal the skill of Jane Austen.
It has an interesting plot which, once you get wrapped up in it, is hard to disentangle yourself. Yet, I feel the plot could have been better developed by a more skilled novelist. Due to the fact that the book is written in passive letters (most of them Evalina's), the characters are often flat, and real active emotion is lacking. Several excellent opportunities for dramatic events are glazed over in a "re-telling".
However what the book lacks can be overlooked, and take the tale at its face value: a gentle love story.

Fanny Burney lived from 1752 - 1840. Evelina was the first book she wrote when she was twenty-five. The first publication had to be published under the name of a man before the publishers would look at it, but it didn't take long for Fanny to claim ownership. The book was wildly successful, even though it didn't' make much money for Fanny. She wrote three more books after this one, but none of these really remains readable today. Evelina stands alone in this regard. The book is another one that is written as a series of letters. Evelina is not your usual heroine. She is bashful and somewhat deficient in charm. But she is beautiful and young, and because of this there is a lot of optimism in the novel that things will turn out alright for her. That is why the book is so enjoyable. The reader sees all the difficulties in her path in her quest for a brilliant marriage, but somehow we know she'll make it and things will be OK. This is quite a readable book, and I enjoyed it.

"Evelina, or The History of a Young Lady's Entrance Into the World" is an entertaining story of a girl's 'coming-out' into society as well as a fascinating record of the genteel and not so genteel diversions of the middle and upper classes in Georgian England. Frances Burney published it anonymously in 1778, setting a precedent for Jane Austen both by this anonymity and by making writing a respectable pastime for women, thus allowing women to turn the novel into a medium of their own. The extent to which writing was considered improper for respectable women during this time is revealed in the author's own life: when Fanny was 15, her stepmother made her burn her writings, which consisted of odes, plays, songs, farces, and poems as well as a story about the character Evelina's mother. And while writing "Evelina," Fanny had to keep her work private, writing at night and even disguising her handwriting so that it would not be recognized at the printer's, who would certainly have been a man familiar with her father, a renowned music historian.

How very fortunate we are that this did not keep her from writing, and how very fortunate too that "Evelina" was so well received by everyone from common readers to Dr. Johnson! Burney continued to write fiction, setting a precedent for Jane Austen and the female novelists of the 19th century, and continuing to entertain her readers.

Although I came to "Evelina" with some lamentably negative preconceptions, expecting it to be inferior to Austen and, worst of all, tedious for every purpose but the literary historian's, I have found the book fascinating, fun, and refreshing. The story centers around the eponymous heroine, a beautiful 17-year-old girl who has grown up in the country under the guidance of her parson guardian, Mr. Villars. Her family background is less than spotless. Evelina's mother, pressured by her own vulgar and ill-bred mother into a distasteful marriage, eloped with a highborn rake who subsequently deserted her and burned the proofs of their marriage. Evelina's mother died in misery, leaving an infant daughter unclaimed by her own father.

Evelina grows up provincially, and when an unprecedented series of events brings her into London with some friends, away from the company of her guardian Mr. Villars, she is launched into an unfamiliar world of dances, balls, operas, and outings. Evelina, though uncertain and uncomfortable in this new and flashy world, is not merely na?ve, but a young woman of understanding and feeling, so that it's a pleasure to read what she thinks of the places and people she sees. As a modern reader, I loved to encounter references to the places where people would enjoy themselves in Georgian London, like Vauxhall Gardens and museums of mechanical curios.

Evelina has the misfortune to become acquainted with many vulgar and persistent personalities, some of the most repulsive of whom are her very own relatives, like her grandmother Madame Duval. This is the very same embarrassing and insensitive figure who tried to bully her own daughter (Evelina's mother) into an unwanted marriage years before, who suddenly wants to become reconciled with Evelina and foist from the girl's father an acknowledgement of her position-as well as a hefty estate. On top of Madame Duval, there are Evelina's lowly cousins, the Branghtons, who live in the commercial area of London (gasp!), and even a repulsive and shameless suitor that plagues the poor young woman to no end. Oh yes, there's also the xenophobic and graceless Captain Mirvan, father of Evelina's friend, who enjoys nothing more than tormenting Madame Duval (often brutally); and the satirical and witty Mrs. Selwyn, one of the best characters in the book, who always has something pertinent to say to the fops and fools around Evelina -- and even to Evelina herself

But it's not that poor Evelina has only the troubles and setbacks of relatives and rude acquaintances. Since this is a comedy of manners, one of its ends is, like in Austen's books, marriage. The relationship between Evelina and her love interest is very interesting and sweet, and one can see the way that Evelina grows and develops as a character. I won't spoil the story anymore; I will only add that there are some other interesting subplots along the way, one of which deals with a mysterious and depressed Scotsman, so the story in no way merely hinges on marriage.

I would recommend "Evelina" to anyone, but most especially to those who consider themselves fans of Jane Austen, or who are at least patient with unfamiliar styles of writing. It is an epistolary novel, a kind that was very popular in the 18th century, meaning it is written in a series of letters between the characters. This takes a little bit of acclimatizing to enjoy thoroughly, but I found that after I was about 20 pages in, it came naturally, and became, for all practical purposes, a first person narrative from the engaging point-of-view of a pleasant young heroine to whom I could relate, with her candor and good breeding. Whenever I was unfamiliar with some of the details of late 18th-century life, my Signet edition of the book provided some helpful footnotes. And I must say that Burney's writing style really grows on me. Like the best 18th century writing, it has an elegance and beautifully organized lucidity that is such a pleasure to read after the postmodern crap modern authors churn out. Furthermore, Burney uses paragraphs like a modern, so you don't have to plod through long dreary passages or unbearable run-on sentences.

Like another reviewer, I too was introduced to "Evelina" through a college course. Naturally I recommend this book to those who enjoy the novels of Jane Austen, though I'd imagine her fans would already be familiar with Burney since she was Austen's predecessor and inspiration. But specifically, as a male reader, I'd like to point out what men could gain from reading a novel about "a Young Lady's Entrance into the World."

First, the novel is written as a collection of letters--mostly Evelina's, though we do get to read many of the replies--which allows us to experience the story through the mind of a young woman in a personal, intimate way. Male readers, both in Burney's time and ours, are given a vivid picture of how women experienced the social world of eighteenth-century England. I must admit that at several points in the novel I was embarassed to witness things I have said and done to "court" a woman today done pretty much the same way toward Evelina--and realized how ridiculous it looks from the other end. The experience has been educational, to say the least.

Secondly, the plot is well-developed and keeps your interest throughout. The two big mysteries of the novel are whether Evelina will be officially acknowledged by her biological father and be reunited with him (he refused to raise her, and her mother died during childbirth), and which of her suitors she will end up with. A note on the two principal suitors: one could be seen as Burney's picture of a man who knows how to treat women right, and the other is quite the opposite. I certainly learned much from both examples.

Thirdly, Burney was one intellectually sharp lady and no man should think this novel is a sappy romance. Far from it. Her exposure of the hypocrisy and contradictions of society are cleverly woven throughout the novel, though of course with careful subtlety since as a female author she was in a vulnerable position (she wrote in secret and didn't even tell her father, with whom she was very close, that she had the book published until well after the fact).

Lastly, the book is just one damn good read. Burney has a wonderful mastery of language and characterization, and everything sparkles with life and vigor.

I'm hesitant to give anything a full score; but this novel not only hooked for me for days but made me want to move onto Burney's other novels, such as "Cecilia," "Camilla," and "The Wanderer." In short, Frances Burney is one of the great British writers and deserves a place on every bookshelf as one of the founding mothers of the English novel. Her first book "Evelina" is the perfect place to begin enjoying her work.

I read this book because I had to, and in the end I enjoyed it very much. (...the wonder of school.) Seriously, though, Hemingway's writing is truly outstanding and I for one don't believe that he is too objectionable, as some apparantly feel in his treatment of women, to be widely appreciated. Other than that non-issue, the book is really outstanding in its plot, but even one who doesn't read much will greatly enjoy and appreciate the extraordinary "economy" of Hemingway's prose.

I read this book because I had to, and in the end I enjoyed it very much. (...the wonder of school.) Seriously, though, Hemingway's writing is truly outstanding and I for one don't believe that he is too objectionable, as some apparantly feel in his treatment of women, to be widely appreciated. Other than that non-issue, the book is really outstanding in its plot, but even one who doesn't read much will greatly enjoy and appreciate the extraordinary "economy" of Hemingway's prose.

i had enjoyed reading many works of Ernest Hemingway, and i think that "A Farewell to Arms" is a great peice of literature, and one that should be enjoyed by everybody. The way the words flow off the pages make this book great fun and simple to read. Hemingway's descriptions are so in depth that they give one the ability to see what is being done in the book, it also gives a great sense of involvement. I think that anybody who decides to pick up "A Farewell to Arms" will be very pleased with that desicion and become more intrested in the amazing works of Ernests Hemingway, This book will change your prespective on the way you think of life.

I'm a junior in high school in an AP English class. (sophmore level college class) It was pointless and I couldn't get past the first 20 pages. What a snooze! Even the cliff notes were dull. I've been online for hour to get some help for my test tomorrow.

I found this novel to be neither splendid nor awful. The only other book by Hemingway I'd read before this was The Old Man and the Sea, and, though there's much to appreciate in A Farewell to Arms, I'm not itching to open a third one.(That's with a complete works on my shelf). The best part about this gracefully written book is the cold feeling of desperation it creates. Lack of specifics about the conflict itself juxtaposed with incredibly detailed descriptions of physical space and random closeup moments almost suffocate the reader with the immediate, sudden, and senseless tragedy one faces in wartime. The matter-of-fact tone can at times be chilling. However, the consistently stilted dialogue is surely hard to swallow, and fights the believability of the characters. Overall the book feels padded with unneeded descriptions that don't promise plot, making it a very slow read. While the ending is fairly good, it's an uphill chore to get there. I can't recommend it unless you buy into hype and/or have an extra strong affinity for war novels.

I found Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" unnecessary at times. His dry humor offended me, too. In the beginning of the book, I would come across a curse word or questionable joke and didn't think much about it because that's the way most highschool students talk, so I'm used to it. After a while, though, I found the dry humor annoying and offensive. Don't get me wrong, the novel has a great anti-war theme and was very well written, I just didn't care for some unnecessary text. When I finally got through the book, I wondered what other people thought about his writing and humor, and I guess I'm the only one that found it offensive. Nonetheless, I am sticking with my choice on the nature of this book, unless I am persuaded otherwise. On a lighter note, Vonnegut portrayed a lot of feelings that people share over the idea of war. Billy Pilgrim's out-of-body experiences threw me a bit, but after a while, I caught on. I enjoyed reading the parts of the book that didn't involve anything PG-13.

Kurt Vonnegut's book Slaughterhouse Five is a unique and interesting anti-war book.There has never been a book written quite like this one. The story doesn't unfold like most other stories. It takes place in a series of different times and places. The places are Dresden, Iliam New York, and an alien planet to mention a few. The main theme of the book is very clear even if the time and places that it takes place in isn't. That theme is war is pointless and so is life sometimes. The constant changing of time and place give the reader a very exciting and adventurous ride through the life of Billy Pilgrim. The story is told in a new way giving it a fresh life. If you ever find the time to read a Kurt Vonnegut book this should be the one. It is truly original and creative with a dark sense of humor that appeals to almost anyone.

Kurt Vonnegut masters the art of sattire and irony. He bringsthe reality of war to the reader while mixing in other elements oflife. Funny and disturbing at the same time, Vonnegut has created anovel based on the gross reality of life and death. Definetly worththe read.

Slaughterhouse 5, or Slaughterhouse five, or The Children's Crusade, also called A Duty-Dance with Death, is described by the author Kurt Vonnegut's alter-ego, Billy Pilgrim as a `fourth-generation German-American now living in easy circumstances on Cape Cod [and smoking too much], who, as an American Infantry Scout Hors De Combat, As a prisoner of war, witnessed the fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany, "The Florence of the Elbe," a long time ago, and survived to tell the tell. This is a novel somewhat in the telegraphic schizophrenic manner of tales of the planet Tralfamadore, where the flying saucers come from. Peace.' So it goes.

The book is an anti-war book, but tells us that it is about as useful being an anti-war book, as being an anti-typhoon book, meaning that some things will never change. Vonnegut tells us this by giving us the story of Billy Pilgrim, whose most important role in life was to witness the secret American British bombing of Dresden, where 135,000 died, and who spent most of his time as an American Prisoner of War, a survivor who can tell the youth of today what war is all about, by using his shellshock trauma induced time travel capabilities, given to him by the Tralfamadore aliens, to revisit the war, so that he can write a book about it, goes to see old war buddies, becoming unstuck in time, his life as a series of scenes in a non-linear fashion which ends up making linear sense, even though it did not at the time. So it goes.

Slaughterhouse 5 is a very interesting and somewhat touching series of events that finally all come home to roost in the final pages, the loss of man is the gain of man, whether we like it or not, is not the point, Darwin told us that this is what we are designed to do, Billy Pilgrim becomes an optometrist in the process, marries a woman who suddenly has a series problem, while Bill ends up in a zoo on an alien planet to produce children with Montana Wildhack, a famous movie actress, while trying to write his Dresdon story, filled with death, a plane accident where he was the only survivor following his POW term, fact from fiction, he thinks the rescue party are nazis, it sets off the time travel again. So it goes.

Vonnegut is not all down and war depressing however. His humour captured brilliantly by such antics as considering the money tree that grew hundred dollar bills, gems and bank bonds, feeding off the people who met the quicksand by its base, or a young Jesus who once built a cross with his father so the Romans could use it to do something to a protestor that they didn't like. When the wit is there it scores in aces. You have never read the likes of such clowning around before, although compared to Joseph Heller's Catch 22, this one is more personal, less satirical, more direct and exposes that horrible World War II bombing of Dresden. In 1941 Charles Portal, A British Air Staff officer, put forward the idea that entire cities and towns should be bombed. Air Marshall Arthur Harris agreed in February 1942. It was napalmed in 1945. Vonnegut made it very public in this 1969 novel. It was revealed by the historian David Irving in 1963 in his publication, "The Destruction of Dresdon". So it goes.

Billy spends the final days of his life out across New York looking to tell a radio show his story, ends up finding a world war II sci-fi book author's book as window dressing, attempts to buy the book as a memory keepsake because he met the author and knew the war buddy who introduced him to the books, and is nearly arrested, and or committed, old age coupled with the dying man's last bastion of whatever his mind can make of it all, gives us much to ponder in death, by remembering our lives, Pilgrim travels in his memory and says that death is living ones memories over and over again... so best be good... and enjoy life. So it goes.

This book is deep, as expected. Some of the reviewers claim it to be a bad book, but they don't explain why they believe this book to be bad, they only mention that it was confusing. Like anyother good quality book, theater, music, or painting, this one is complicated. If it was obvious and simple, than it would not be brilliant, but common. It is ok for people not to enjoy this book, as long as they have understood it entirely and are able to explain their criticism. For those who hate it for the simple fact that it is confusing, I recommend these people to re-read it and be focused. This is no Judy Blume book. This is more like a book by Kafka, where you have to sit back and take the story to another level and not just look at it superficially.
What I most found amazing about Vonnegart is that he is able to write an anti-war book like no other man has. For instance, if you get JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN which I particularly enjoyed, the book has a a morbid, enraged, and sad tone and mood. Vonnegart does the contrary. Instead of describing a sad, violent, and unfair event with the obvious emotions that he felt, he chooses to describe the bombing of Dresden with sarcasm and humour. Interestingly enough, his humour has a much bigger effect on the reader. When he talks about being unstuck in time, he is basically saying that the events that occurred during the war still lives in his mind. The Tralfolmadorians are really one of the best things Vonnegart has added to his book. The symbolism is great. I will not say my interpretation of them because that might interfere and ruin it for others. That is all I have to say, this is an amazing book and everyone should read it. If you have not understood it, read it again. It is worthwhile.
What is there to say about a massacre but "Pooteeweet?"...Vonnegart is simply brilliant.

I threw this book in the trash, I was so very disappointed. Characters are flat, story lines are absurd........why would I be interested in a stepmother sleeping with her stepson after the funeral of her husband? All of you who seem to love this author, switch to Elizabeth Berg.....superior author and stories with depth.

Striking stories. Amy Bloom is a long-standing favorite author of mine. I can still remember the first time I read "Love is Not a Pie," and how long it has stuck with me.

really a 9 out of 10... I love books about people-I love people that can really write (as opposed to myself). One of the stories should have been placed in the trash, as it was trash, otherwise, you'd be hard pressed to find a better short story book. New authors try harder!

I have never read Amy Bloom's books before, but I have always been drawn to them on the shelf. Thirteen stories, some woven together, some not connected at all. But, all of them kept me reading. Many of the stories ended with a quiet sadness.

My favorites were:

Love is not a Pie--a woman thinks back to when her mom was alive, and when she figured out that she had a lover and a husband--who shared her.
Sleepwalking--This one was like a car crash, I wanted to look away, but I had to keep reading. About a stepmothers worry that she ruined her stepsons life, in a single moment.

The Sight of You--A woman thinks of, and contemplates whether she should stay with her lover or her husband.

Faultlines--A man "befriends" another woman, while her husband and his wife look the other way.

When the Year Grows Old--A teenaged girl comes home one day and finds her mother's look and personality completely different from when she last saw her.

I liked some of the other ones as well, but these stood out to me the most. I will definitely read more of Amy Bloom in the future.

I found this collection by accident and didn't know what to expect. Short stories can be so good, or so bad. These stories are very good, consistently good. These are stories of people searching for something missing in their lives, well told stories with heart, soul and humor. Amy Bloom has quite a unique voice. The stories center on romantic love and family woes, but Bloom adds a spark of originality to otherwise common subject matters. My favorite stories are "Sleepwalking," "Henry and Marie," "The Sight of You," and "Semper Fidelis." If you're as enthusiastic about memorable, literary short stories as I am, then I recommend Come to Me most highly. Enjoy this collection.

This book is wild! It is moooooooving. My daughter needed this book for her class. I had her read a chapter of the book, then read the cliff notes for the chapter. Hopefully this helped the book to sink in her head! Everything came in good condition.

I have read Animal Farm for a school text and I really was dissapointed by how poor the novel really was. Even though the story was partially based on the Russian revolution I believe the story was very basic and almost childish if you knew nothing about the historic points behind it.But even knowing the historics behind the novel it was boring to the last.To many parts of the story are just recollections of what happened during the revolution and it just reads like it was copied out of a text book and the caracters are added to get the kiddies reding it. The novel was very pradictable and reads like a primary school text. The characters take to many traits from humans and not enough traits from their own species. And another point I would like to add is, who is this story meant for, adults or children, because for me it is to childish for adults(with the use of animals and primary school wording) and to old for the children (the violenceand the actual theme of the story) Thankyou for reading.

I read this as a school asignment and I did not enjoy it. I did not really understand the meaning of the book. I guess it aplied to the world a while ago but I can't aply it to life today. It was rather confusing for me.

The author equates Old Major with Marx, Napoleon with Stalin, and Snowball with Trotsky. That's interesting, but isn't there more to say about Animal Farm?

Although this book helped me comprhend the symbolism of Animal Farm, i often found that it gave away future parts of the book. For example, i would read the comentary of chapter three, and it would give away a critical event that comes on much later in the book. In addition, i did not think that it interpereted all the symbolism that Orwell used. My advise if you are going to read Animal Farm, is to try a different source of notes.

The writing is unfocused, the author's definitions are problematically loose (she often refers to suicide terror, non-suicide terror, insurgency, and guerrilla warfare interchangeably - they are not the same), her logic is often flawed, many of her assertions are unsupported by data, and she mercilessly desecrates the English language with her poor punctuation and grammar and innumerable sentence fragments. The editor responsible for this at Columbia University Press should resign in shame.

This is one of the major studies of suicide terrorism. Anyone interested in the subject should read this book, as well as other major sources (such as Robert Pape's work and Ami Pedahzur's edited volume). She begins by providing a brief history of suicide terrorism--which has roots going back quite a distance historically (the Zealots of Judea to the Kamikaze during World War II).

She emphasizes that, contrary to what some people say about terrorism being irrational, this is a political tactic that can make sense under certain circumstances. Early on, she notes that (page 1):

Terrorist groups appear to use suicide bombings under two
conditions: when other terrorist or military tactics fail,
and when they are in competition with other terrorist
groups for popular or financial support.

In addition, she contends that suicide bombings can only be effective when a population is supportive of this tactic. Also, she observes that history shows that harsh punitive counterterrorist tactics actually exacerbate the situation. Ham-fisted antiterrorist actions leads to more people who are "dying to kill." A kind of contagion effect has been manifest over time. Bloom says that (page 126) "As suicide terror has proven relatively successful in the Middle East or places like Sri Lanka, there has been an upsurge in the number of regions, countries, and non-state actors that utilize it as a tactic in their nationalist struggles against (real or perceived) foreign occupations."

She concludes by noting that the United States has a potential "lose-lose" in Iraq. On the one hand, if the United States stays in Iraq over time, it will be perceived as an occupying power and be subject to greater suicide terrorist tactics against it. On the other hand, if the United States pulls out prematurely, that would embolden terrorist strikes, as the U. S. appears to be a "paper tiger." This becomes another side effect of the United States' invasion of Iraq. If she is correct, another legacy of the war may be implications for future terrorist actions against the United States.

I had to read this book for a class and really enjoyed it. Unlike so many other books on the subject or in political science generally, this was an easy read with tons of additional information at the back for additional research. The main points were that suicide bombing happens under specific conditions and, if you can "shift the preferences of the people" they say they represent, you can make terrorism less "alluring" than more peaceful methods. I thought it made good sense. Bloom shows how targeted assassination may open up a Pandora's box and differentiates between long term and short term strategies. The chapter on women was my favorite by far. So before all these women started participating in attacks she has predicted this in the book by showing how several of the muslim fundamentalist leaders had started to allow women to be bombers and that Al Qaeda would eventually follow suit. She also explained how more than one group can use bombings to influence an audience, something no one else discusses to show how groups compete using violence as a "litmus test"... The book is sooo interesting, written well, presented clearly and if you want to understand how complicated suicide bombing and terrorism is, this is definitely the book for you. No simple answers, but simply put. It was my favorite book last semester.

This was the best book on the subject I have read in a very long time. The books presents interviews with failed bombers and the group leaders that send them. Amazing... the book gives you a glimpse inside the groups and also the mentality of the people who are drawn into this cult of martyrdom. I had no idea that there were more bombings in Sri Lanka than anywhere else but certainly, the recent growth of Islamic bombers seems to show that secular groups are not the most dangerous post 9/11. My instinct is to agree. The terrorists in Sri Lanka are not ramming planes into buildings here in this country and many people do not even consider them terrorists.
Methodologically the book appears to be a most dissimilar case comparison in which the author shows the linkages among groups and individual motivations. Instead of presenting the groups that suicide bomb as either religious or secular, the author presents a spectum along which most groups fall.
Super interesting especially the author's discussion of women bombers and how they are motivated.
I enjoyed this book immensely. I am sure you will too.

Read the book after seeing the author on TV talking about women suicide bombers. Some of the people who have read the book completely misunderstood what she was saying (I read the reviews and wondered whether we had read the same book?). She is not blaming victims but analyzing what kinds of counter terrorism tactics work best. She also has an interesting counter point to this book by Robert A. Pape that suicide bombing is a response to foreign occupation. Oh by the way, who is occupying Bangladesh which has been in the news this week with attacks? So I found Dying to Kill more nuanced and based on real world information including interviews with real life terrorists to be heads and tails above some of the so called experts. She is also on point about Iraq, even rightly predicting that there is no way to impose democracy from above and identified that most of the bombers are foreigners like Saudis. This book will definitely not disappoint.

It's a fun read, and brings an element of wry humor and chatty "chick-lit" voice to Asian American literature. The main character, Ginger, is a 20-something, Manhattan, fashion-mag employee, this book adds more complexity to the Sex/Shopaholic/Bridget genre in touching on greater issues of race and sexual orientation. Yes, the materially driven real estate agent Korean mom treads a bit close to a trite Dragon Lady stereotype, and Ginger herself tends to follow the opposite Asian stereotype of indecisive, naive, self-loathing Asian American ... Lee does create sympathy for many of the characters in the novel. The ticking-clock situation is kind of Edith Wharton-esque (Marry NOW, to the best prospect you can find) ... not the most politically correct, but fiction, even hyphenated ethnic fiction, should not be just about advancing political causes.

Ms. Hwang does a wonderful job of capturing the vibrancy of life, family, and career in glamorous New York City, from the perspective of an Asian American twenty-something woman. I finished this in two days - what a fun read!

For a first novel, this was a great book. To me it reads like a Bridget Jones type of book, except that the main character is not as fluffy and has a lot more going on between the ears. It was much easier for me to relate to this character as a real woman. I loved the ending, which to me was much more realistic than the "got the man and then lived happily ever after" ending that is us used in most women's fiction these days. The mother/daughter relationship rang very true to me, and it was interesting to learn how the character started to understand that it would never be a black and white relationship.

This is one of those books that took me forever to get through. This novel has some redeeming qualities, it is funny at times, but ultimately it is a let down. Ginger Lee, Caroline Hwang's protaganist in her novel "In Full Bloom" is a late 20-something fashion assistant at A la Mode magazine, a job handed to her by her best friend in college, Sam. While Sam is a cut-throat professional, Ginger herself shows a serious lack of drive and ambition. With those qualities alone, I would expect myself to relate to Ginger (haha). Overall, however, I did not find Ginger to be a very likeable character.

While throughout the length of the novel she gripes about how racist (perhaps, ignorant moreso) white people are towards Asians in America, she herself stereotypes and bashes people of her own culture. She won't date Korean men because they are all chauvanists, and for some reason she's always pictured her husband as a white guy. Granted, Ginger is an American-born Korean woman, not feeling entirely at home with Koreans or "white" America. But instead of embracing her mixed upbringing, she just complains. The reader is hoping that at some point Ginger will embrace (or at least come to terms with) her own culture (Korean American) and become proud of her heritage. However, we never witness Ginger grow as a character, she is pretty much in the same boat at the book's finish as she was in the beginning. Nothing is resolved in the end and the book feels incomplete. This, for me, was "In Full Bloom"'s downfall.

Hwang's writing is not terrible, but the transitions from present tense to flashback sequence are not very solid and I found myself sometimes confused by a scene that had actually taken place in the past and I was reading it as if it was the present. This happened on more than one occasion where I had to re-read a page in order to follow what was happening or get a grasp on whether the event was taking place in the present or the past. This really wasn't such a big deal, just a minor gripe on my part.

In conclusion, if you are reading this book for a quick chick-lit fix, then you might want to give it a shot, however, if you are looking for something with a bit more substance I suggest looking elsewhere.

There was so much potential in this story, but unfortunately, the author did not have the ability to realize that potential. That in and of itself was so very sad. It's hard, at least for this Asian American reader, to sympathize with a self loathing Twinkie who, while supposedly so "American", cosmopolitan, and hip is so wretchedly naïve, even dumb. It's actually insulting for the author to try to have us believe a woman in her late twenties living in NYC is this clueless when it comes to people using her like her former roommate does in this story. Also, choice moments to actually make some biting commentary about non Asian people's thoughts about Asian Americans never come to pass or erroneous ideas about Asian Americans, especially Asian American women are never fully challenged such as when a white photographer talks about how he likes Asian women because they are so "mysterious". You cannot help but roll your eyes at the predictable "torn between two cultures" and "not interested in Korean men" themes that run through this story. To be fair, some of the stories of racism do ring painfully true and some of the aspects of Korean American culture are familiar. However, the character's career in the fashion magazine industry is supposed to give the story a certain amount of glamour and excitement, yet the inherently shallow nature of the environment does nothing to give the character much depth nor does the author ever successfully develops any true depth in the main character or any of the characters in the entire story. Even the breakthroughs or nuggets of wisdom the character realizes toward the end of the story never seem genuine or profound. Rather, the realizations seem hurried and forced as the author realizes that the story is supposed to end soon. This story does nothing to break new ground, challenge readers, or offer much in the way of commentary-which is the biggest shame of all because it could have done all of that. Asian Americans should support work by other Asian Americans. But we should support good work. Not derivative pap.

This book is supposed to be the Heritage Press 1956 semi-luxe binding in slipcase with Greek and English side by side, translated by Storr.

All or most of the reviews are apparently for other editions.

Warning to all those who are reading this for a school assignment: you may think that an "enriched classic" is simply the text with commentary also included. Not so, with this book. They shouldn't call it an "enriched classic". They should call it "dumbed down for lazy readers."

Oedipus was a weird book to reab, because the plot was all twisted. The characters in the book are nasty. Oedipus kills his father and has two kids with his mother.....

The central statement of Greek tragedy is that Man can not control his Destiny; that there is an ineluctable Fate, preordained and inescapable. No matter how much the poor humans fight against it, it must be fulfilled. And there is no character as tragic as Oedipus in all literature. In this play, we see Oedipus as a successful man who has become King of Thebes, happily married to an older woman named Iocasta. As the play unfolds, we can feel the proximity of something terrible indeed. When the blind sage Tiresias starts to unfold the true story of Oedipus, we can creepily feel the sheer horror that grips him, as he learns that he has killed his father and married his mother, unknowingly. I have no notice of any other plot that can be described as more tragic than this one. Besides, it is one of the main sources of our culture, as with all true Classics. Oedipus summarizes some of our worst fears and traumas: the need to "kill the paternal figure", the "dependency on our mother", the "impossibility of control external forces that shape our fate". It is horrific and fascinating, and there is simply no way to be indifferent to it.

Oedipus the King is one of the classic works of Western literature. It was originally written as a play in around 429 BC by Sophocles (~496-406 BC), a Greek philosopher and playwright. It took the Greek world by storm, and has been handed down to future generations who have also been greatly influenced by it. Most notably in modern times, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) took this work as pointing toward a deep-rooted psychosis, the Oedipus Complex.

Oedipus the King (also known as Oedipus Rex or Oedipus Tyrannus) is the story of Oedipus, the king of Thebes, which is suffering under a horrific plague. Finding out that the god Apollo has laid the plague on the city until it should punish the murderer of its previous king, Oedipus pronounces a curse on the murderer and sets out to discover who the murderer was. Sadly for Oedipus, there is fate upon fate wrapped up in this mystery, and doom upon doom.

This book, is not merely a translation of Oedipus the King, instead it is an "acting version," created by the Stratford Shakespearian Festival Company of Canada for High School level students. The book begins with an introduction to Sophocles and Greek theatre, and after the play are copious notes, critical excerpts and questions for discussion. The play itself was written so that a young reader, with no background understanding of Greek theatre or culture will understand it.

Overall, I found this to be a great book. I enjoyed the information about the play a lot, and believe that it will be very helpful to any reader. But, foremost, I enjoyed the play itself. The story is powerful, and quite enthralling. I have never seen this play acted out, but do think that this translation would make it excellent. I loved this book, and highly recommend it!

I never fully enjoyed poetry until I started reading this book to my kids. Now we are all hooked and our lives are the better for it. Blooms choices are all great. The short stories are great too.

I have no doubts about Harold Bloom's talents as a professor of literature, but I suspect he doesn't know much about children under college age. There is little here to engage children, even "extremely intelligent" ones who recognize the high quality of writing. Could any child find interest in Nathaniel Hawthorne's musings about the motives of a man who left his wife for 20 years, only to return again after she presumed him dead? How about Oscar Wilde's dreary fairy tale told from the perspective of a firecracker? (It ends predictably with a fizzle.) Any interest in Tolstoy's discussion about how much land a man needs? A few stories are simply too scary or ethically dubious to offer to children. Zoa's story about the difficulties in starting an agency in Paris that rents out ugly girls to go walking in town with pretty girls, (in order to make the pretty girl get more attention by the contrast), seems to endorse callousness and exploitation. Many hours of discussion MIGHT make it a worthwhile story. To be sure, there are Rudyard Kipling tales, Aesop stories, Lewis Carroll poems, and an offering of writers from many cultures. My children find this book tiresome.

Every story in this book is worth reading. Age doesn't matter- if you really love books, you'll really love this collection. The core of wonder, imagination, adventure, romance, it's all here in this collection.

just a wonderful book to supplement the curious child's education.

So dark! So dark! So dark!

I spent either too much or not enough time thinking about the anthology's four seasons schema, which I saw-rather obviously-as corresponding to the life cycle, with at each step (hopefully) an expansion of consciousness unto death (and pure light, to my way of thinking). Winter is four times as long as spring. If I am correct, then I passionately argue against the content of the fourth chapter, which is more a contraction than an expansion of consciousness. Murder, madness, self-immolation, suicide, haunting, witchcraft, sorcery, possession-not one ray of light penetrates the density, and the fourth section hung heavily on me awhile. (Is there a more freaking terrifying story in existence than "The Horla"? If I wasn't a sleep-deprived mommy, I'd probably be up nights thinking about it, and it doesn't bear thinking.) Unless-and this could be the point-the fourth cycle of life is all about apprehending and absorbing one's shadow side-thus all the imagery of mirrors, faces, absorption. Oh, but wait, I'm forgetting: Bloom is a kind of Gnostic-the demiurge, Sophia, aborted world-so his vision would be unrelentingly dark.

Or maybe the book is just a response to Harry Potter, a conversation about the merits of pre-20th century fantastic literature.

On a different note: What does one give the gifted kid to read? I don't see anyone else attempting to answer that one. I remember reading Little House, Roald Dahl, finding my dad's unabridged Sherlock Holmes and reading that obsessively; a kindly teacher gave me "Jane Eyre," which I devoured-and loved-but at night the mad Mrs. Rochester was too much for the over-active imagination of a sensitive pre-teen; I'd lie in bed awhile shaking with dread, then get in bed with a younger sibling just for human warmth. Well, this anthology would have terrified more than nurtured me, or terrified and nurtured. At any rate, I'd have lost sleep.

I'd quibble with Bloom about excluding modernists; they have their numinous moments (Steinbeck's snake lady), and I also missed Chekhov and Dickinson, though I see his point. There are mildly patronizing bits in his introductory essay, but this means a great deal to me: "...there are so many shadows, so many difficulties, in all human love that something deep within us may go on feeling lonely. As intelligence and awareness increase in us, we can believe that what is best and oldest in us cannot be known by others."

How do you rate a book when you greatly admire the intellect but reject the vision strongly? 4 stars. A Halloween anthology.

The book is great and this abriged version is a money waste. I will suggest people to find free recording on the internet which includes the whole book.

I just read Jane Eyre for a 9th grade classic book project. Even though I chose the book, as it was recommended, I found it was a bit slow in some parts, Charlotte Bronte gets so into her descriptions that it bores the reader from time to time. It was a good book all the same.The writing technique amazing. I loved the romance and the happy ending. I recomend it to tennagers and young adults,but a word to the wise keep a French dictionary handy!

Over the last month I've been reading Jane Eyre. The book is by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre was a good book because it had very interesting chapters. My favorite part was when Jane found out she was rich. I liked this part because it filled her with joy. My least favorite part was when Jane left the person she loved, so she wouldn't get hurt. I didn't like this part because it made me feel bad for Jane. I liked the ending because it was very happy! I would recommend this book to you because it has a lot of suprising scenes. I'm not going to tell you anymore because you will have more fun reading it yourself.

Jane Eyre is a romantic novel. It portrays life for the women in the early 1800's. Jane wasn't like the other woman, she wanted to take care of her self. She didn't want the men to take care of her. She even compared herself to a man, and said she was smarter. Jane once said, "I can't stay here to become nothing to you." This quote showed that Jane wanted more out of life, than to be just a house wife. When you read this novel you will see that Jane is trying to find herself and on her journey in doing so, she also finds love. If you are into this kind of stuff, then you will like this book.

If you have never read this great work of art, then I can only say that once you do, you will never come across another which compares. I still have not, though I have tried to find anything as deeply moving, meaningful, beautiful a story, and one so wonderfully well- written as Jane Eyre. My favorite movie version is the A & E version filmed a few years ago (1997, I believe) with Cirian Hinds, the Shakespearean actor, as Mr. Rochester. His portrayal captured most closely my impression of the character,from reading the novel, and I adored the whole script, and the beautiful use of language in that film. Also, the setting was wonderful. If you can find it, get that version. The story is so meanigful, don't leave this world without ever having read Jane Eyre.