Bloom Books

In The Member of the Wedding, Carson McCullers captures the lyricism, melancholy, and wonder that animate the young southern protagonist's mind, and comments sagely on the hardships of maturation. That pivotal time of life when one transits from childhood into adulthood is brought to life in all its despair and disillusionment.

Unfortunately, Frankie is not a terribly likeable character, and the author does little to steer empathy toward her in the action that unfolds in the story.

Like a slow, sultry, summer day in the south, that action is minimal at best. At times the novel seems almost like a still life portrait of a heat wave parked in a valley. Pre-adolescent fantasies about becoming fulfilled by participating in a sibling's wedding ceremony hardly make for edge-of-your-seat reading.

Nevertheless, the author enriches the southern gothic tradition with multidimensional characters who evoke the period with depth and detail. Berenice, who is more likeable than Frankie, inspires and amuses with her diction and her life experience. Had McCullers assigned more plot development instead of making the story almost wholly character-driven, these characterizations could rank with the best in southern fiction.

Carson McCullers twists and wrings every prickled feeling out of her young protagonist into a disturbingly entertaining one-day read. The Member of the Wedding is a slow, detailed painting of only two days in the life of twelve year old Frankie Addams: the miserable, sour August day in Georgia when she hears that her brother is getting married, and the eventful hours she spends roaming her town on the day before the wedding.

McCullers does a compelling job of coaxing the reader into the frustrated, tortured world of Frankie's mind. We mourn with her on the subject of her unfortunate height and hideous crew haircut, which cast her from the petty adolescent society. We alternately resent and pity her pathetic six-year-old cousin John Henry West, and strain with her to win even a fleeting moment of respect from her distant watchmaking father. It is her relationship with Berenice, the family's cook and babysitter, that is the most vivid and human. If not for Berenice's sensible and tart remarks, I would have lost patience with Frankie and the book quickly.

The few complaints I have could not be remedied without taking the unique edge off of the book's message. At times it is difficult to follow Frankie in her delusional dreams of becoming part of her brother's new family. In reality, the book has very little to do with the wedding; it is glossed over in a page or two, the concentration being more on the great expectations and the subsequent downfall. I do wish that there had been more background with the relationship between Frankie and Jarvis (her brother), which would have made her fantasies of running off with him more understandable. As it was, they were very nearly strangers and I was frustrated with Frankie for being so stupid that she thought there was even a possibility of being a part of their post-wedding lives. The title is a bit misleading as well; member of the wedding connotes actually being in the wedding party, and Frankie was merely an observer. There are also incongruities in relation to Frankie's age throughout the book, which may actually serve more to highlight both the child and the teenager in her. For instance, the tantrum she throws when she is not included on the honeymoon seems ridiculously childish, yet she remains composed as she drinks beer in a seedy bar with a drunken soldier. It's too bad the book deals in such delicious subtlety and psychological darkness, or it would be wonderful for readers who are closer to adolescence themselves. As it is, the book is more suited to readers older than sixteen, at least.

All in all, this piece conveyed beautifully many of the painful themes of humanity and the life of a young, freakish girl desperately trying to find her place in the world. A tasty read that you won't be able to put down if you enjoy gnawing on rich, real human themes.

As I age and read more--wondering always why, in this contemporary America, did it take me so long to enjoy reading; worrying always why, in this even-newer America, is this next generation reading, and enjoying it, lesser still--I understand better a just past world. I understand it better because of the reality reading reveals--the truths of both non-fiction and fiction.
J.D. Salinger's daughter once remarked her father couldn't keep straight the people in the world from the people in books with the people only in his head. Lucky man. . .(Lucky me. . .I do know Holden Caulfield; I know Holden Caulfield better than I know. . .
. . .and now, I also know Frankie (F. Jasmine) Addams and her closest adult companion, Berenice Sadie Brown. Thanks, Carson McCullers, for peopling up my world.

It seems that nobody can write about desolation like Carson McCullers. The sense of not being part of something is common to her stories. "The Member of the Wedding" is her third novel, published in 1946, six years after her début with "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter". Shorter in scoop than that other book, nevertheless as deep, this little novel is an unforgettable tale of a misplace childhood.

Frankie is in her early teens. Her older brother, who lives abroad, is getting married, and this is the biggest excitement of her life. The girl sees in the event the chance of abandoning her boring life, populated mostly by the servant, Berenice, and her cousin John Henry. Her father is virtually an absent figure, and this is the family link missing in her life.

The girl seems to have spent all the time trying to connect with something or someone. "This was the summer when for a long time (Frankie) had not been a member" is stated at some point. The way of overcoming this problem is growing up, becoming an adult, therefore, a member. On the other hand, she expects to become very close friends with her brother and sister-in-law when the three of them would travel all around the world all the time. Frankie seems to fail to recognize that a couple doesn't want a third member.

Since she is not happy with herself, the girl chances her own name to F. Jasmie and later to Frances. However much the surface is different, her interior is in the same state of discontentment. Throughout her journey, the girl will come across half a dozen characters who will affect her somehow. A soldier tries to seduce her. It is a victory to the protagonist, since only women - and not teenagers - get involved in such an affair. In "The Member of the Wedding", McCullers deals frankly the sexual awakening of her character, and the loss of Frankie's innocence.

Colors are extremely important in McCullers' prose. The very first line states that it was a green Summer. We are frequently remembered that Frankie has gray eyes, and Berenice, one blue and another one brown. Other senses are also touched when the girl, the maid and the cousin listen to a tuner working on a piano.

Early in "The Member of the Wedding" Frankie says that `it looks to me like everything has just walked off and left me'. This sense of not being part of anything accompanies the character the whole time. In the end, this is a feeling that we all have in our lives. And writing about this specific girl in the 1940s, McCullers is talking about the world and time in history.

This is my very favorite book and, in my opinion, far superior to "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

I was not an adolescent when I read it--I was 23--but I was astonished by how often McCullers was able to perfectly describe what I had believed to be indescribable experiences. In some ways I think that my attachment to the book grew from my ability to relate to Frankie's anxiety. The pace of the book, which all takes place during one stereotypically oppressive southern summer, becomes more frantic as Frankie's anxiety mounts. Her efforts to belong, to be a member of something, push her to force attachments with others even while she knows they are superficial. I'm certain that, on this point alone, readers who remember the desperation to belong during their adolescence will relate to the novel. McCullers also conveys Frankie's longing for something to happen, to take her beyond the repetetive tedium of her young life and infuse it with adventure. When Frankie takes this task into her own hands, the results are harsh and startling.

What truly makes McCullers and this slim novel so amazing is her prose, which is both so sparse and crisp and yet so eloquent and expressive. Every word seems so deliberate that I couldn't believe there could be a more perfect way to depict the scene. At the novel's start, I will always remember the sentence, "At last the summer was like a green sick dream, or like a silent crazy jungle under glass."

I wish I could convey how much this book gripped me. It made me feel that my experiences were shared in a much deeper way than I ever could have imagined or hoped. "The Member of the Wedding" is funny, distressing, and deeply sad: as perfect a novel as I've ever read.

Many novelists start by imagining a character in a tricky situation and then let their sense of the character determine what happens next. That approach is exciting for readers because it draws them into the book rather quickly and compellingly. Other novelists prefer to have a structure that elicits the full development of a character or theme. The most accomplished novelists actually set out to prove a point about what it means to be human, and the plausible story is simply their way of expressing that philosophy. Those with a touch of greatness combine all of these traits, something that I think Amy Bloom has mostly accomplished with Love Invents Us.

Few readers will fail to be intrigued by the book's opening line and circumstance: "I wasn't surprised to find myself in the back of Mr. Klein's store, wearing only my underpants and panties, surrounded by sable." You want to know what that's all about, don't you? You'll have an even stronger view after you know that the narrator is Elizabeth Taube, a chubby prepubescent girl, who regularly takes rides from Mr. Klein, the local furrier, on Mondays that lead to his back room. She knows that Mr. Klein is in love with her, if that's what you want to call it.

Elizabeth will experience other forms of love as time passes: a quasi-platonic, quasi-sexual love from a teacher who is torn between the desire to be father and lover, nurturing love from an older woman who needs help, full-fledged adolescent passion with a sports hero, extending unconditional love to a former love in adulthood, seeking illicit passion by feeling head over heels in love, providing the nurturing love of a mother, and seeking the companionable love of middle age.

Ms. Bloom's point is that we are little more than self-centered creatures who seek to gratify simple needs and desires in an amoral way until we are touched by the love of someone else. It's a variation of the traditional idea that many women follow to their peril that they are nothing without love or someone to love.

To demonstrate this thesis, Ms. Bloom has to make Elizabeth someone who doesn't experience parental or familiar love . . . and who doesn't have any special features to attract other kinds of love until she becomes an object of potential sexual interest. And that's where the book develops its flaws: Ms. Bloom just doesn't bother to develop characters that aren't central to her philosophy of love creating us. Although at one level this is an understandable approach, it works as a flaw for readers until such time as the book is far enough along to see what Ms. Bloom's point is. So it comes across as bad writing, even among many fine pearls of prose.

I suspect that at some point Ms. Bloom could go back and rewrite this book to flesh it out more thoroughly . . . and create a masterpiece. I hope she does. In the meantime, Love Invents Us will charm and intrigue those who enjoy a little philosophy of life along with their peeks into the vulnerable parts of a character's psyche.

If you are offended by voyeurs who prefer children, child molestation, cruel treatment of young people, illicit sex, and amoral behavior in general, you'll be offended by this book. It's hardly going to get the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for portraying the upright life. But if you are open to seeing that we can reach mature and appropriate behavior, despite having walked on the wild side, this book will feel rewarding.

Nice literary concept, Ms. Bloom!

Love Invents Us is about a girl who was emotionally abandoned by her parents but who does not emotionally abandon others. Like many who are unloved by their parents, Elizabeth Taube reaches out to others; sometimes sexually, sometimes in a caregiver role, and sometimes in a maternal way. The book makes it clear that although Elizabeth didn't have a conventional childhood with loving parents, she took note and appreciated the little things her parents did do, to show what limited love they had. She didn't damn them for it, and in fact ended up taking care of her dying mother, and re-inventing their relationship through that caretaking role. So despite the emotional abandonment by her parents, she still learned to love. That says a lot for her resiliency and strength.

And, she had two major adults in her life who sincerely did love her--an elderly ill woman, and her English teacher. Each of these people might have been extremely self-focused and perhaps selfish in their love of her, but they bothered to know her. To notice details about her that her parents didn't notice. And, they spoke to her honestly--they saw through her. The elderly woman knew Elizabeth was stealing from her, and let her know it; the English teacher spoke bluntly to her, as well. They did not shy away from the truth. And as I see it, that is part of what love is.

And the same with the love of her life, Huddie--he spoke to her with blunt honesty. There was mention of many hours they spent together, talking, when they were young--about politics, about life in general--and you can see by their dialogue that their intimacy grew not only through their wonderful sexual relationship, but because of the dialogues they had, and because they knew eachothers' faults and still accepted eachother. Even up to the end, they talked to eachother like one's closest friends talk to eachother. It is almost enviable to have had a relationship that close, and not everyone achieves it.

In the end, while she is once again abandoned, she is also the abandoner. She realizes that she can stand alone, and that she might even prefer being alone--because she has another vital reason to live; she is a mother. The mother of an extremely unique child, who she swears to protect forever. And her need to protect this child is even stronger than her need to hold onto Luddie. So once again, this shows the enormous strength and ability to love, within her. Yes, she doesn't have a lot of material wealth and she has never achieved to her potential--but given her early childhood experiences, she has done extremely well for herself. I felt proud of her at the end.

The title also refers to Elizabeth's mother, who has hidden her past from others by "re-inventing" herself through each man she marries, and making the best of it. And, it refers to the role of mothers in general, who invent themselves through their children, and by virtue of being mothers.

The book has left me feeling empty because I want more of it. I loved the characters and saw nothing repugnant in any of them, unless you consider flaws repugnant.

This is one of the most well-written novels I have ever read. It is intelligently written and poetically written. I am sending this novel to my closest friend. I am grateful to the used book store where I found it.

The title of this book should be "Sex Invents Us", since Amy Bloom has fallen into the trap of many modern authors, focusing almost solely on the sexual experiences of her characters in telling their life stories. Are all the defining moments in Elizbeth's troubled childhood sexual?

What about the social ostracism she experienced, and the effects of cold, distant parents? Only the sexual abuse is spelled out in excruciating detail. Why did an adult man fall for Elizabeth? What was Max thinking? In Lolita, the reader was privy to Humbert's deluded rationalization of sexula desire for a child. In this book, the reader is never given a glimpse of how Max justified his actions to himself. I repeatedly found myself asking the question - why?

The reader also knows that Huddie and Elizabeth had great sex together from the start. Is that what makes them life-long soulmates? How did these characters relate as people outside the sexual arena. Once again, I was left wondering why the connection between these characters is so strong.

OK. So I had some problems with the storyline and how it unfolded. I still consider Bloom's writing to be powerful and very breathtaking. Definitely worth trying her other books.

I will read more of Amy Bloom to see how she shapes up.

While reading "Love Invents Us" and about Elizabeth, I was reminded of several recent movie characters who find themselves in similar situations: Enid in "Ghost Story" and "J" in "My First Mister." Besides all three characters being about the same age, all three also have affairs of a sort with older men, all are rebels, all dress in a style best described as Goth and all three are devastatingly intelligent and colossally misunderstood ("My Mother usually acted as though I had been raised by a responsible, affectionate governess: guilt and love were as foreign to her as butter and sugar."). More importantly all have a deep capacity for love, untapped as it mostly is.
Elizabeth Taube, though she complains of not being, is well loved: by Max, a high school teacher who falls compulsively and helplessly for her: "So beautiful, Max thought. Am I supposed to be ashamed for being such a dirty old man, another Humbert, disgusting in my obsession?" By Mrs. Hill a nearly blind elderly woman whom she helps out several times a week and who "sees" Max's attraction to Elizabeth: "You put one hand on that child who thinks you love her fine mind...and I'll see you turning in Hell, listen to you pray for death." and by Huddie a young African American who once his father finds out about the affair, sends Huddie away: "(Huddie was)...a hundred times handsomer than the other handsome boys, kinder than the other sports stars. Even girls he slept with only once had nothing bad to say about him."
All of the characters in "Love Invents Us" have to deal with missed chances and miss-connections. Max's wife Greta says: "I did think it would be a happy life. That is what people think. That's why they marry and have children. In anticipation of further joy, of multiplying happiness." To which Max replies: "People like me marry and have children because we are apparently not dead, because we are grateful. Because we wish to become like the others. To experience normal despair and disappointment."
Amy Bloom's writing is voluptuous, fat and juicy as befits a novel about the many faces of Love and what we as humans are willing to do to bite off some of it for ourselves. If Love Invents Us, it also feeds us, nourishes us and substantiates our existence.

I have admired Amy Bloom's short stories, and her first full length novel, "Love Invents Us" is adapted from one called "Take My Hand", which was published in the New Yorker in '97. I still have my dog-earred copy -- I thought this was one of the finest modern short stories I ever read...brilliant characterization and dialogue. Basically, it's the section of the novel where the teenage Elizabeth cares for the elderly Mrs. Hill, at the same time beginning an inappropriate flirtation with her middle aged junior high teacher, Max Stone.

The story ends ambivalently, with Mr. Stone initially driven off by Mrs. Hill's common sense...but with Elizabeth (who was already digitally raped at the age of 10 by a family friend) continuing to pursue and egg the older man on.

I was expecting the novel to continue the story, in equally amazing and unpredictable ways. But Ms. Bloom is clearly more comfortable (as are many fine modern writers) with the short story format. An entire novel simply gets away from her. This is most obvious in the way she continually changes point-of-view -- from first person to second to third. It is confusing and very distracting, and does nothing to tell the story.

And what IS the story? The short story version ("Take My Hand") seems to be about a somewhat damaged girl (molested, cold parents, given to shoplifting) who is drawn to danger and inappropriate sexual partners. But in the novel, Elizabeth ends up living a cold and lonely existence, into middle age, after a teenage mixed-race romance ends badly. This doesn't seem convincing -- most of us have loads of "teen drama" and yet go on to lead normally fulfilling lives.

I am more troubled by the way the author brushes over the issue of sexual molestation of young girls. Firstly, the novel is set in the very early 70s, something that was so difficult for me to pick up that I had to reread some sections twice. (You could read a long time thinking it was set in the 80s or 90s.) Elizabeth is molested at least three times -- at about age 9 by a demented Russian furrier, at 10 by a family friend, and then in the most troubling section, over a period of 12 years (from around 14 - 26) by her junior high teacher, Max Stone. Mr. Stone is a bewildering character -- at times we are expected to sympathize with his "mid-life crisis", but he's dealing with it by manipulating and sexualizing a little girl. And what's with Elizabeth returning to care for him as he dies (at around 61!) a traumatic death, as if she was a loving daugher? All I felt in these sections was "ewww". You'd think by 26, Elizabeth would have reached the realization that she had been molested and used, in a very ugly way, and by a deeply disturbed man....who most likely had molested other junior high students under his care over the years.

Maybe I am sensitized to this, because I had a dear friend in high school who was molested by a "favorite teacher", who she also thought was befriending a lonely girl, when in fact, he was just a pervert who liked young girls and couldn't relate to his own wife.

Even if this part of the book worked better, "Love Invents Us" is disjointed and meadering...squandering Ms. Bloom's talent and ending up a disappointing and tiresome mess. If a student gave me a manuscript like this, I'd tell them it needed around 2-3 hardnosed rewrites before it was even worth submitting.

From a lesser talent, I'd shrug this off -- from someone of Amy Bloom's ability, this is just sad. For my part, I'll stick with the superb short story, "Take My Hand", and pretend this novel was never written.

I read this book cover to cover anticipating my trip so far it has given me a good geographical and planning ideas I can not say how it would turn out once Iam there.It appears though the authors are mostly europeans and canadians intent on giving their point of view rather than an american point of view.

Lonely Planet is a known quantity but I am impressed with the information on so many of the 1107 islands of The Philippines. Truly a good guide.

I have read lots of criticism of the Lonely Planet Philippines guidebook but I feel much of it should be disregarded by the first-time visitor to the Philippines. When one is planning a trip to the Philippines, especially if the traveler has not been there before, what one needs is qualitative advice, help in figuring out where it's worth going and where not to bother with. In this, Lonely Planet is excellent, perhaps the best of all the guidebooks. It will give you good advice about which places are worth visiting and which are not of much interest. If you've never been to the Philippines, you need frank advice about these things. As you spend time in the Philippines (I live there full-time) you may make your own judgments, but I have found Lonely Planet's advice to be quite good.

There is no question that Jens Peters' Philippines Travel Guide offers far, far more detail than does Lonely Planet; many more detailed maps, more complete listings of accommodations, transportation details and so forth. No other guidebook comes close.

I live in Iloilo City. I believe Lonely Planet's well-written Iloilo City narrative conveys the spirit, paints a true picture of the place in a way that allows the trip planner to decide if he or she should even include a visit to Iloilo City. For the trip planner this is more important content than extensive details about bus terminals, ferry links and so forth. Once you're here you may wish for the detailed information that Jens Peters' book gives.

That's why, in my opinion, there really is no single best Philippine guidebook. For the person on their first trip, Lonely Planet offers plenty of information and advice in a compact format. It is in need of an update.

I'm an American and have read complaints of my fellow citizens that the Lonely Planet guide is "anti-American". I suspect it may seem so only to those who are not familiar with some of the sadder episodes in the history of American involvement in the Philippines; the brutal crushing of Philippine independence, imposition of decades of unfair trade rules, our unwavering support for the Marcos regime so we could keep our Philippine bases and so forth. It would be better if the Lonely Planet's jabs should inspire some reading and soul searching rather than flag-waving. Stanley Karnow's "In our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines" would be a good start.

I have owned several editions of the Lonely Planet Guide for the Philippines since 1997. The earlier editions I owned were written by Jens Peters. I believe that those earlier editions were even superior to the 2006 edition written by the current authors. I used those past guides for traveling in Boracay and Baguio--I found them to be excellent even if they were written years after I visited the place.

I had the chance to browse Jens Peters Philippines Travel Guide written in 2005 and I found it much better. However, I could only find a browser's copy of the book which was pretty beaten up.

I purchased this LP Guide because I wanted to visit Puerto Galera. However, its Puerto Galera section is terribly inaccurate because the phone numbers for the resorts have changed a lot. Out of 4 numbers I called, only 1 was correct. Now how's that for a travel guide supposed to be published only 1 year ago?

This current guide does not compare with the depth that the Jens Peters guide explores the country. It has lost some of the distinguishing features that LP guides have. Typical LP guides have segmentation of Places to Stay from the low end to the high end. It's missing in this guide. I find it very much of a let down because this book costs a lot in the Philippines (PhP1,299=US$28.26)

Many errors and omissions in ferry and flight schedules. We also noted the map in one of the major tourist destinations (Coron) did not even show the pier location correctly. All in all, a useful guide. But you may want to check out the guide written by the first LP Philippines author, Jens Peters, Philippines Travel Guide, which we have heard may be better. It's also available on Amazon.

I read this book cover to cover anticipating my trip so far it has given me a good geographical and planning ideas I can not say how it would turn out once Iam there.It appears though the authors are mostly europeans and canadians intent on giving their point of view rather than an american point of view.

Lonely Planet is a known quantity but I am impressed with the information on so many of the 1107 islands of The Philippines. Truly a good guide.

I have read lots of criticism of the Lonely Planet Philippines guidebook but I feel much of it should be disregarded by the first-time visitor to the Philippines. When one is planning a trip to the Philippines, especially if the traveler has not been there before, what one needs is qualitative advice, help in figuring out where it's worth going and where not to bother with. In this, Lonely Planet is excellent, perhaps the best of all the guidebooks. It will give you good advice about which places are worth visiting and which are not of much interest. If you've never been to the Philippines, you need frank advice about these things. As you spend time in the Philippines (I live there full-time) you may make your own judgments, but I have found Lonely Planet's advice to be quite good.

There is no question that Jens Peters' Philippines Travel Guide offers far, far more detail than does Lonely Planet; many more detailed maps, more complete listings of accommodations, transportation details and so forth. No other guidebook comes close.

I live in Iloilo City. I believe Lonely Planet's well-written Iloilo City narrative conveys the spirit, paints a true picture of the place in a way that allows the trip planner to decide if he or she should even include a visit to Iloilo City. For the trip planner this is more important content than extensive details about bus terminals, ferry links and so forth. Once you're here you may wish for the detailed information that Jens Peters' book gives.

That's why, in my opinion, there really is no single best Philippine guidebook. For the person on their first trip, Lonely Planet offers plenty of information and advice in a compact format. It is in need of an update.

I'm an American and have read complaints of my fellow citizens that the Lonely Planet guide is "anti-American". I suspect it may seem so only to those who are not familiar with some of the sadder episodes in the history of American involvement in the Philippines; the brutal crushing of Philippine independence, imposition of decades of unfair trade rules, our unwavering support for the Marcos regime so we could keep our Philippine bases and so forth. It would be better if the Lonely Planet's jabs should inspire some reading and soul searching rather than flag-waving. Stanley Karnow's "In our Image: America's Empire in the Philippines" would be a good start.

I have owned several editions of the Lonely Planet Guide for the Philippines since 1997. The earlier editions I owned were written by Jens Peters. I believe that those earlier editions were even superior to the 2006 edition written by the current authors. I used those past guides for traveling in Boracay and Baguio--I found them to be excellent even if they were written years after I visited the place.

I had the chance to browse Jens Peters Philippines Travel Guide written in 2005 and I found it much better. However, I could only find a browser's copy of the book which was pretty beaten up.

I purchased this LP Guide because I wanted to visit Puerto Galera. However, its Puerto Galera section is terribly inaccurate because the phone numbers for the resorts have changed a lot. Out of 4 numbers I called, only 1 was correct. Now how's that for a travel guide supposed to be published only 1 year ago?

This current guide does not compare with the depth that the Jens Peters guide explores the country. It has lost some of the distinguishing features that LP guides have. Typical LP guides have segmentation of Places to Stay from the low end to the high end. It's missing in this guide. I find it very much of a let down because this book costs a lot in the Philippines (PhP1,299=US$28.26)

Many errors and omissions in ferry and flight schedules. We also noted the map in one of the major tourist destinations (Coron) did not even show the pier location correctly. All in all, a useful guide. But you may want to check out the guide written by the first LP Philippines author, Jens Peters, Philippines Travel Guide, which we have heard may be better. It's also available on Amazon.

The book is only like 120 small pages -- read it! Having cliff notes to something like this is stupid -- a) because it is so short to begin with and b) from a practical point of view, anything that you are going to be asked to write based on this book is going to be rather emotional, or at least intense, as the subject is, and getting the facts and dates without FEELING it is not going to help you write a decent essay anyway. You would be lucky to get a D on an essay on this book written on the basis of these notes!

OK, 72 pages of cliff notes for a 144 page book? That is absurd! Night is a classic work, filled with vivid metaphor and intensely emotional characters. You could get a third of the way through it in the time it would take to BUY the cliff notes.

Glad I didn't have to read the book. I hate having to think. I mean, on the topic of "night", imagine looking at the stars and having to imagine all those shapes for yourself? But then you can just get a book of the constellations and all the dots are connected. That's good. But who cares anyway? I'd rather stay inside. And the same with books. But then you have to pass your courses. So this was worth the money.
And I could read it on my computer. It'll be even more convenient when I can get it on my Blackberry. I mean, big fat monitors are as passe as email. But I don't want to be a whiner.

Forget this Cliff Notes crap! Just read Night. It's a great book and it won't even take you long to read. I wish I could give this Cliff Note book zero stars.

Just read the book. Its a wonderful book and you can read it over a weekend. You don't need cliff notes.

This book boldly points out, in the simplest ways, the following facts that republicans consistently ignore:

It is a well-established fact that the rich are becoming richer and the poor are growing poorer. To say that "every one is getting wealthier" is beyond delusional. When Bill Gates' income goes up by the millions while Joe Average gets a couple hundred, something is drastically wrong.

Every expert group on terrorism agrees the US and the world are at greater risk of terrorist attack thanks to George Bush's policies. Not only is his system of ignoring civil liberties and starting unprovoked attacks unethical, it's also counterproductive, dangerous, and downright irresponsible. I am tired of the republican party touting itself as the only ones who can "save" us from terrorists; this is just a fear-tactic used to garner votes. In fact, all republicans are doing is wasting enormous sums of money all the while making the entire world hate us--thus increasing our risk of a terrorist attack.

Government could easily help stop the rising cost of health care if it stopped giving tax breaks to the richest Americans and instead used that money to supplement health care expenses. Yes, the top bracket of wealthy Americans pays the largest percentage of taxes--but they have far, far more excessive, unnecessary income to give (and both can and should be giving more), as opposed to the average American who is struggling just to make it from one month to the next.

While many republicans rail against programs like welfare and universal health care, I think a few days on the street would change their tune....Let them live as one of the Americans who relies on welfare to keep him out of absolute poverty and I have a feeling their thoughts on the program would change. The first time they could not get a much-needed medical procedure for lack of money I'm sure they would change their opinions on health care as well. The fact that we are the only modernized nation in the world without universal health care is embarrassing, and revolting.

Thank God the nation is finally catching on to the callous, irrational, war-mongering, money-grubbers that the republicans currently in power truly are. I hope their party has the same success in the next election that it saw in 2006. ;)

Although I'm far to the right of ol' President-funny-faces, this book drew more than a thin smile from me, page after page. Still, I had a more serious purpose in purchasing this book, and it does serve that purpose. This is a nice, to-the-point listing of the left's grievances with both H. sapiens and economic realities--through George Bush. My daughter will benefit from such forewarning when she is school-aged. Whether your purpose is as sinister and calculating as mine, or whether you're among the delusional of the left, I recommend this book. (If you're among the delusional of the right, though, perhaps something from the Creation Museum might be a bit more satisfying.)

The vicious hatefest that is NO, George, NO! is typical ultra-left wing hateful propaganda, to be sure. But to teach such hate to children is only asking for trouble down the road. Remember, children become rebellious during their teenage years. This book will plant seeds that are best left unplanted.

But the most disgusting thing about this book is that it attempts to quash critical thinking skills on the way to forced indoctrination. Any parent who would teach their children to hate so venomously at an early age should be frog-marched to prison, because that's where their chldren will probably end up after being indoctrinated so. Kim Jung-Il is more open-minded than the author of this inexcusable drivel.

The pathetic losers who are about to serve hard time for slashing the tires of Republican vans the night before the 2004 Presidential Election are the vision you should have in mind prior to subjecting your children to such blindly hateful propaganda. You will be doing your children, this nation, and liberal causes no favors by encouraging your children to hate with the ferocity we have seen since Democrats lost the last three consecutive elections. Remember, thinking you are correct doesn't make it so.

This is just sad. If you're going to write a political book, at least do it in a mature way for an audience who cares. A mediocore children's book filled with sugar-coated lies is an absolutly pathetic way to make your opinions known.

The fact that people can read this book and think it's a children's book is sort of scary. This is satire folks. The book is using something called "irony" in an attempt to be "funny." I'm sure you've heard of satire. Now learn to recognize it. This book is a lampooning of the book "Help ! Mom! There are Liberals Under the Bed"...by the way, that book is designed to be a children's book. This one is intended to be funny.
If you're still struggling with satire and irony I'll give you another example. "Things sure are going great in America. Under the leadership of that genius George Bush, things couldn't be any better. We're winning the war in Iraq. If it weren't for those darn T.V. cameras that show all those bombs killing all those people everyone would know we're winning. Why doesn't the media show bombs NOT exploding? Where are those stories? We no longer have anything to fear because President Bush has got everything under control. God Bless the smartest, bestest President ever, George W. Bush."

man, i have been reading this book for hightschool for almost 3 weekd now and we are only on chapter 12! that now dumb and complicated this book is to read. i feel that hawthorne went way beyond the standards for writing a good book. he plays with symbolism way too much and it tends to confuse the reads b/c they are unsure on what points to pick up on for being important. so i would have to say that iff you have to read this for school, just get the cliff notes and not waste the time in reading it!

I don't understand why anyone would bash this book. Maybe you just didn't get it. I found it to be a little drawn out but Hawthorne's use of smbolism was so incredibly obvious. The whole book was based on smbolism. It was worth the read.

First of all, these reviews are supposed to refer to the Barron's Book Notes, rather than the actual book which it summarizes. I myself have not read the Book Notes, and therefore cannot comment on them. However, as I see that most (if not all) of the reviews here are directed towards the original book itself, which I have read, I *can* comment on that.

I would like to take the opportunity to respond to these reviews, which are on the whole incredibly unfair and show a blatant lack of interest. With such negative attitudes, how do you expect to enjoy this book? You have closed your minds from the beginning, or so it seems, and not waited to see if the book is worth reading. I, too, read this book not by choice, but by obligation; it was required this year (sophomore) at my high school. After my horrible experience with _Jane Eyre_ last year, which was pure agony, I was not particularly enthusiastic; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that _The Scarlet Letter_ is well-written, interesting, and rich in symbolism -- some obvious, some not. This book does tend to include long descriptions and go into detail, but this only helps increase understanding of the author's point, as well as make the story more realistic and easily imagined. There are several memorable events in this book -- Hester's brief removal of her letter, the scaffold scene, etc. Although at times difficult, if you persevere, I think you will be richly rewarded.

However, I do acknowledge that there are some people who are not fond of this style of writing, and I respect all opinions. Regardless, that is not an excuse to deem the writer a horrible one, or try to discourage all others from giving this book a chance.

I am a junior in college. I had to read this book once before for a lit. class my junior year in high school. I admit it was a bit difficult to read the first time, but I understood and enjoyed it this time. I recommend looking into what was going on during the Romantic Period and gaining an understanding of what Romantic writers focused on. It will help you understand the story line. And if you get a chance, check out some other works by Hawthorne, like The Birthmark or Young Goodman Brown. That will help you understand Hawthorne's style of writing.

ok first of all, you have to totally over analyze this story to get it, and second, whoever said this wanst transcendentalist, i dont know what they are smoking! what do you think the forest chapters were about and why did she live on the fringes of society? and the whole sybolism gig, if anyone had bothered to put the slightest bit of effort into reading this, it is SO obvious its not even funny! ( The A ,Pearl the forest, the scaffold scenes, right down to the use of light and the river in the forest! i apologize to anyone who doesnt get it. There is so much to think about its overwhelming, yes i know, but dont use it as an excuse.

Claire has had a fascinating life. Her first love affair was with Richard Burton, followed by others with Laurence Olivier and Yul Brenner. She was a successful screen actress (as in Limelight with Charlie Chaplin), but she was better known for her stage acting. So she has a great story to tell. But something about this book was a little "off" for me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. She was English, and I am a great Anglophile and so I normally love the tone and nuances of anything British. But she came across as perhaps a little bit affected. And then she describes her three husbands--she never really loved Rod Steiger (but married him because she was pregnant), her second husband Elkins (whom she mentions only briefly and usually just by last name), and then she excoriates her longest mate and last husband, Philip Roth, detailing the demise of their partnership. She claims to have "moved on" with her life since him, but there is an unmistakable taste of bitterness to her recall. She further described a rather symbiotic relationship with her daughter, Anna Steiger, who became an opera singer. Claire is to be commended for her tremendous honesty in this book, and I have no doubt that she was a brilliant actress. Her surprise ending makes for good reading, although I had "not quite boarded her bus," as they say.

I just was reading the most recent of Philip Roth's books, which I adore. I have read everything he's written more than once. Then I decided to open "Leaving a Doll's House" again.

I was taken with how honest is Bloom, and how what others take to be personal vitriol really isn't. It was more fun reading Bloom after Roth. She's not a genius and she gives him plenty of credit for being one, but she is smart and has a great warmth... and is not just dishing about Philip but is telling how it was for her. Is there a woman alive, over 30, who would not totally relate to her hurt? Well done, Ms. Bloom.

Claire Bloom put her heart into this book, writing the truth about her life with the same sensitivity and refinement she brought to so many of her stage and film roles. Of course, critics hated it -- especially female critics. And you know why? Because there's nothing ugly ducklings hate worse than the idea that even swans suffer. For nasty old yentas like Daphne Merkin, it's bad enough that Claire Bloom is the most perfect, lovely English rose who ever lived. They hate her for that no matter what she happens to be like as a human being. But the fact that she can feel, and think, and love, and write -- intolerable!

This book reveals all the horror of Philip Roth's failures as a writer and a human being. The fact that his self-loathing is so often disguised as megalomania and artistic temperament is no excuse for the unbelievable suffering he caused to those around him. Reading this book makes it much easier to understand the fundamental ugliness of his later works. Plainly, Roth needs to believe that the whole world hates him as much as he hates himself. Reading the story, one senses that if anything Claire Bloom has been too kind, making excuses for a man who obviously has no pride and no shame, no sense of resonsibility and not a shred of common decency. Not even Trick E. Dixon or Big John Baal or Gil Gamesh himself could have behaved this atrociously!

At the same time, Claire Bloom herself emerges from these pages as a very fragile soul who never really recovered from a painful childhood. It's impossible not to wish she had been a little stronger -- or that the men in her life had been more worthy of her. Gore Vidal, Yul Brynner, Richard Burton, all legendary figures in one way or another, yet none of them had the special decency or the courage to recognize the heavenly, radiant, ethereal beauty that was Claire Bloom.

There will never be another like her.

I think the British honor of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire has missed wonderful Claire Bloom. In this book, she reveals all to her audience including her difficult and turbulent relationship with equally brilliant and disturbed Philip Roth. Their union should have been a happy one but it wasn't after so many years together. Sadly, their relationship ended in divorce. I remember watching this glorious actress on As The World Turns as Lily's mother-in-law, Orlena. As Claire gets older, she gets better on stage, film or television. I would love to see her become a Dame because she is in every sense of the world. While she writes about her life, she writes about her relationships especially with Philip Roth and understands him better than literary critic could because she was so close to him. As somebody who has read many of his works, Roth is both a literary genius and equally troubled as a person. He wrote that he didn't need to be surrounded by people but Claire needs constant human contact. Somehow, these two brilliant artists didn't make it. It's not a happy divorce but then what is. I think Claire for the first time needed to be independent and free from a relationship with a man like Philip Roth. Prior to Roth, she was married to Rod Steiger and Hillard Elkins. I think Claire like Nora in Henrik Ibsen's Doll's House needs to leave for her own sanity and become independent and free of others. I hope Claire has happiness in her life. Still, I believe she deserves to be a British Dame.

I started this book, and when I start a book I usually feel obliged to finish it. But quite early along I understood that this is a book I should be ashamed of reading. Here I will admit to my own not so wonderful curiosity. I wanted to know about the relationship between Bloom and Philip Roth.
What I got was not the story of some great love affair which tragically ended in a parting of ways. Instead I got a petty, vicious, mean- spirited attack on Roth who is also made to seem petty, vicious and mean- spirited. As is often the case with Divorce both sides come out looking awful.
I also in truth did not like the image of herself which Bloom presented throughout the work. I am sorry to say but she seemed quite petty and selfish throughout. This was a great disappointment in part because I had always found her to be so remarkably beautiful. Well as the old saying goes , the beauty outside does not necessarily correspond with what is within.
In any case I definitely would not recommend this book.

Three new additions to Harold Bloom's 'Modern CriticalInterpretations' series will reach high school into college levels, compiling critical articles from a variety of sources and offering the in-depth analysis students will need to assist on detailed reports of an author's single work. Joseph Heller's Catch 22 (0-7910-5927-8) provides articles which examine how the sane can survive under insane wartime circumstances; Elie Wiesel's Night (5924-3) gathers critical writings on his story of life in a Nazi concentration camp, and the focus on Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings (5665-1) considers the contents and impact of the three-volume epic fantasy. All include essays by notable critics who offer different interpretations and focus perfect for classroom discussion or essay pursuit.

Harold Bloom appears to have done little work and put very little thought into this collection of "Modern Critical Interpretations" of Tolkien. His so-called introduction is barely a page long and says nothing of the history of Tolkien criticism. He does not even explain why the included articles were chosen (and there are no introductions to individual articles either). In truth, his introduction is so short, supercilious, and devoid of substance that I do not believe it to even be a sincere scholarly effort-- it more has the character of something that was dashed off in 10-15 minutes.

Nor is a significantly greater effort evident in the selection of articles. The ten articles republished here are all 20-30 years old (written between 1968-1982) and do not reflect current (or even recent) trends in Tolkien criticism. That's not to say that they're bad or completely irrelevant, mind you. However, they are starting to show their age (especially the older ones, like Roger Sale's article and Paul Kocher's contributions, as well as the Jungian approach to ciriticism evidenced by the excerpt from Tim O'Neill's _The Individuated Hobbit_, and Anne C. Petty's application of Joseph Campbell's _Hero with the Thousand Faces_ and Vladimir Propp's _Morphology of the Folktale_ to Tolkien's fiction. Again, it's not that these are bad per se, but the kinds of approaches and methodologies they represent are pretty much passe-- both in literary criticism in general and in Tolkien studies in specific. They make some worthwhile observations, but they just seem old, tired, and a bit too well-worn. The one exception to this is an excerpt taken from Tom Shippey's excellent _The Road to Middle Earth_, one of the most recent works to be reflected here (published in 1982). In short, the essays included here have OK substance, but it's not entirely clear why Bloom chose such old ones-- or whether these were even the best old ones to choose.

All in all, there is enough substance in these old articles to interest a Tolkien fan or scholar in spite of their age-- however, don't expect a lot (or in fact, any) insight from Bloom himself on Tolkien's fiction or on the history of Tolkien criticism, because it just ain't there.

Don't waste your money on this one.

I happily (because I didn't waste my money) borrowed this from a local academic library. I'm glad I read it, because I learned a lot about what I don't like.

Bloom doesn't like Lord of the Rings, so why he even bothers to assemble these old, dated, and tired essays is beyond me, unless it is to make money off the LOTR craze. His one-page introduction is an insult; he doesn't ever explain why he included any of the essays in this collection nor does he contribute any insight regarding Tolkien's work (I suspect he didn't have any).

I was amused, then annoyed by what he included: outdated Jungian comparisons to the Hobbit, a poorly-written history of the publication of Lord of the Rings. The one notable exception is Tom Shippey's chapter from Road to Middle Earth, but you're better off reading Shippey's book, or any of his books, than wasting your time with this one.

Harold Bloom's name is on the cover, but his contribution to this volume is minimal at best. This book does not actually include any articles *by* Bloom, and his exceedingly brief introduction (barely 1 page long!) says nothing of substance. It does not even explain why the selected articles were chosen for republication or try to provide any sort of context for them-- something that introductions to collections of scholarly articles (especially when they are older articles) really are supposed to do.

The ten articles republished here are all 20-30 years old (written between 1968-1982) and do not reflect current (or even recent) trends in Tolkien criticism. That's not to say that they're bad or completely irrelevant, mind you. However, they are starting to show their age (especially the older ones, like Roger Sale's article, the contributions by Paul Kocher, as well as the Jungian approach to ciriticism evidenced by the excerpt from Tim O'Neill's _The Individuated Hobbit_, or by Anne C. Petty's application of Joseph Campbell's _Hero with the Thousand Faces_ and Vladimir Propp's _Morphology of the Folktale_ to Tolkien's fiction.) Again, it's not that these are bad per se, but the kinds of approaches and methodologies they are pretty much passe-- both in literary criticism in general and in Tolkien studies in specific. They make some worthwhile observations, but they just seem old, tired, and a bit too well-worn. The one exception to this is an excerpt taken from Tom Shippey's excellent _The Road to Middle Earth_, one of the most recent works to be reflected here. In short, the essays included here have decent substance, but it's not entirely clear why Bloom chose such old ones-- or whether these were even the best old ones to choose.

All in all, there is enough substance in these old articles to interest a Tolkien fan or scholar in spite of their age-- however, don't expect a lot (or in fact, any) insight from Bloom himself on Tolkien's fiction or on the history of Tolkien criticism, because it just ain't there.

Professional critics have been the enemy of "Lord of the Rings" ever since that epic fantasy came out, decades ago. And while the old guard has passed away, many of their essays still live on. "J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings: Modern Critical Interpretations" dredges up many of their strained, sneering writings on J.R.R. Tolkien.

There are a few decent essays in here, where the writers seem to have genuine affection or appreciation for Tolkien and his works. Jane Chance Nitzche turns out a decent essay studying such aspects like Tolkien's "Christian king," and the capable Humphrey Carpenter turns out a mini-bio of Tolkien, which seems to show where his characters and invented world came from..

Unfortunately, the bad outnumber the good: We have Jared Lobdell scrabbling rather pitifully for books that bear a passing resemblance to "Lord of the Rings," as does Randel Helms as he tries frantically to find a non-original source for Tolkien's orcs. Helms also claims that "Lord of the Rings" is "a political fantasy expressed in covert sexual symbols, but gives no solid explanation beyond prim hints at "caverns" and "darkness."

The sexual preoccupation continues in the first and worst of the essays, Hugh Keenan's laughable "Appeal To Lord of the Rings." He sneers that the "Lord of the Rings" is only fit for children or the childlike, clings to increasingly absurd sexual symbols. Just wait for the part where he claims that Frodo's attachment to the Ring is not an all-consuming addiction, but a sexual symbolism. He even gets basic facts wrong -- a line of the ent Treebeard's is attributed to "Fangorn," the name of a forest.

Nor do things improve with Burton Raffel's obnoxious work. Though he claims "it would be foolish to claim that Tolkien does not write well," he then proceeds to tear apart virtually every aspect of Tolkien's writing -- insisting rather snobbily that Tolkien doesn't use enough description, and whining about his formal poetry. Evidently Raffel doesn't read enough pre-20th-century literature.

Perhaps the worst sign is the foreword, in which the editor talks about his own dislike of "Lord of the Rings" -- in only about one page, the narrow-minded Harold Bloom manages to insult Tolkien and every person who has enjoyed his work. If Mr. Bloom cannot handle "stiff," archaic style, then he should avoid most of the literature up to the last few hundred years. To paraphrase what he has said, it might be too much for his sixty-nine-year-old self to handle -- especially since he is such a "skilled and mature" reader, while "Lord of the Rings" fans, by implication, are not.

It's always a bad idea to have people write critically about something they despise; it's certain to bring out all sorts of insignificant pet peeves that nobody except the writer cares about. Certainly it doesn't help that many of these writers communicate with all the vivacity of a dead fish.

While there are a small number of good essays -- only a few, actually -- the heavy load of self-important sneering is only for people who already hated "Lord of the Rings." Not worth the time it takes to read, or the paper it's printed on.

I too have not received this item, even though it was ordered nearly two months ago, and have been very disappointed by Amazon's shipping times recently. Not sure the reason for the delay, and not sure why others have received it and I haven't. It's not much fun to get a 2007 calendar when one of the months is already done.

I will rate it 1 star because I ordered this in time for Christmas and it never came. Then I cancelled and re-ordered, don't know what I was thinking - maybe hoping it was a fluke. Still nothing. Was asked for the 2nd time now to "approve" it's late delivery. I agree - it is just a calendar - send it! I have never had this poor service for anything I have ordered. Amazon should do something about this.

I've had this and a DVD ordered since January 2nd. It was supposed to ship today, but they sent the DVD. I don't understand what is taking so long. It's a CALANDER!

Still waiting for delivery of this item. So, as of now, my rating is-it sucks because it doesn't exist.

Until now, I have had 100% satisfaction with Amazon. I have now had three disappointments in one month. what happened, Amazon?

Nice to see the other reviews of this product, that seems to mostly exist in myth. Ordered it for my daughter for Christmas, and when they told me it wouldn't even possibly be shipped until March (in February I was notified), I cancelled and found my daughter a calendar that featured old Broadway show posters. It came within a week. Whoever makes this product deserves to go out of business.