Brown Books

I was up into the wee hours last night finishing this book. To call it an excellent collection of love stories is an understatement. These stories are literary gems, polished to a high shine. The editor did a great job of collecting stories that are very different from each other, and each story explores lesbian love from a very different viewpoint. My favorite was the opening story, "Two Houses, One Home." It had me laughing out loud, but it was also very, very sexy and touching. Five stars! Can't wait for next year's collection.

A wonderful collection of stories, that show love in all its diverse incarnations. Mainly non-erotic, the stories show lesbians loving, fighting, breaking up, getting together, and making love. Don't think these are syrupy pulp fiction romances, the stories in this collection are strongly written, and run the gamut of humor, pathos, bitter, sad. And woven as a theme throughout the book is love.

I can't wait for next year's collection.

I bought this book because it looked classier than a lot of other lesbian romance books I've come across. I was a little doubtful that it would be anything more than fluff, but I was delightfully surprised from the very first page. I loved the opening story, Renee Hawkins's "Two Houses, One Home," about an older couple squabbling over whose house they'll live in; it's laugh-out-loud funny AND saucy! Other great pieces include Shelly Rafferty's sexy and smart "Reckoning in Labrador," Orly Brownstein's "Mrs. Houdini's Wife," Sarah Pemberton Strong's beautifully written "Suzanne's," and two amazing lesbian ghost stories (!!!!) by Mary Sharratt and Zsa Zsa Gershick. What a treat it was to find a book of lesbian love stories filled with smart, moving, well-written pieces. Not the standard dreck! Pick up your copy today! Highly recommended!!!

This isn't just another cheesy lesbian romance anthology; it's a moving, funny, romantic collection of lesbian love stories by some of our best lesbian writers (Leslea Newman, Ruthann Robson, Carol Guess, Elana Dykewoman, Terry Wolverton, Anne Seale, and others). The stories are extremely compelling and well written--so much so that I read the entire book in two evenings. It's clear that Angela Brown really knows her stuff and has a great eye for talent. I can't wait for the 2004 volume to come out!

The demise of The Oxford American magazine is a tragedy! Thank goodness a person can still sample its pages in this wonderful compilation of fiction, essays and reviews. Tony Earley's essay, Letter from Sister: What We Learned at the P.O., which concerns Eudora Welty's great short story, is probably the best thing in the book. It doesn't stop there however; there is a sample of John T. Edge's great writing on southern food, Hal Crowther's review of Erskine Caldwell, Donna Tartt's thoughts on Willie Morris and so much more. This book, like the old Oxford American itself, is pure bliss.

UPDATE: Spring 2005. "The Oxford American" is back!! I suggest that everyone with an interest in the American South spend some quality time with an issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only element lacking in this collection are re-issues of the prized "Southern Music" CDs which appeared with the annual "Music Issue" of the Oxford American. Otherwise, for those who have not archived each issue of the magazine, this is an excellent selection.

Sadly, the Oxford American's precarious financial situation perpetually places it in the southern `lost cause' cliché. Would that some subscribers of other moribund New York-based `literary' magazines, which perpetually lurch around the elite graveyard of memory for its existence, abandon the shell and support the living, and the future. Intelligent readers will both want to own this volume, and subscribe to the Oxford American.

The idea of "the best of the Oxford American" brings out a lot of expectations. This magazine has been the home for a lot of special writing. This book provides some of those moments. I especially enjoyed the narrative of the small town photographer burdened by the unwelcome insights of his coworkers and the blank misunderstandings of his Disney World roadtripping friends. I think that the criticism by Tony Earley would have made just as good an introduction to this book as did Rick Bragg's more metaphorical observation that this writing is "heavy on the salt."
I would recommend this book for anyone that wants to read about the South as it actually is -- unique, history-addled, and genuinely "salty".

This collection of works--fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reportage--by the biggest names writing in or about the South is a real treasure. For those already familiar with "the New Yorker of the South" it will remind those what have made the magazine so special for so many years, and for those who have not discovered the magazine, BOA will be a great introduction to the best in Southern belles lettres. The book, like the magazine itself, is a little trad and not good on commenting on the lives of blacks, gays/lesbians, and immigrants to the South, but there is much for everyone to enjoy here.

This book really makes your imagination soar. I read it when I was in grade school and saved it all these years. I am now sharing this wonderful story with my children, neices and friends. They all love this story. This is really a story that should be told to children and adults of all ages. I really wish someone would republish this in it's exact form without any changes. I don't recommend paying the high fees people are trying to get for it but maybe you can find it at a library or used book store for less. Good luck.

This book is absolutely lovely and completely divine. I used to read it at my grandma's house and then the pages fell out of the book. Without consulting me Grandma threw the book away! I was heartbroken and even worse--I couldn't remember the title or the author, only that there was a train that stopped when the tracks came together on the horizon and there were camels, tea cosies and a floating oasis. Luck was with me the other day at the friends of the San Francisco Library book sale and I was reunited with the story. Fearing I had made it into something greater than it had really been (you know they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, etc) I read it quickly. To my delight it is still one of the best, most charming and imaginitave stories I have ever read. It's written in a loose and conspiratorial manner with line drawings on nearly every page (and a map! in the center). I too wish they would reprint this book and its sequel, because I want to give the book to all of my friends.

Dear reader, beware the last review if you haven't read the book--he tells you the end!

This book was given to me as a small child. I loved it then and I still love it now. I make it a point to reread it every year or so. Now my children get to hear it read and they love it too. I just found out that there is a second book called The Silver Nutmeg. I would love for these books to be rereleased in the original splendor. They capture the imagination and help it to soar.

I read this book as a very small child and was fortunate for me that my mother saved this book from her own childhood. This is a wonderful story to read, as well as look at the curious yet charming drawings of the author's renditions of pawpaws, pawpaw trees, Anna Lavina(the heroine), her mother, father, a mirage, even Anna's cat, Strawberry(which by account of another character is the exact color of raspberry fluff), and more. The story begins with Anna Lavina, a young girl who lives alone with her mother in a distant house, set behind a grove of pawpawtrees. Anna sets off on an adventure to travel to her aunt's house, and the story takes off. Anna's father is missing through part of the story, as he is "off chasing rainbows". Anna sees and hears her world with such a charming nature as to be irresistable. Anna avoids blue spots on the carpet, as they are "unlucky", observes the sky as the color of "forget-me-nots", travels in a train with a woman with as many packages as she is large, meets her aunt on a floating mirage, and manages to find her father as well as the end of all the rainbows. Derived with so much imagination and sweetness, this book will be a delight to share with your children.

What an excellent book for chemists and non chemists alike. Written in a well-done 'British' fashion, the book contains language that flows well and keeps the reader interested.

As for the content, the book is an indispensable document of facts, biographies, and stories behind the development of all types of explosives as we know of them today. This is accomplished by tracking the events caused and experienced by the inventors and scientists of the time.

There are a few mistakes here and there, some dealing with basic physics, but more along the lines of a first draft error that appears accidental.

Overall? I loved this book, both as a chemist and an 'energetic person'.

The book is a thematic history of explosives. The largest coverage is for gun powder detailing the history of its use in guns, bombs, rockets and mining. Then the further advances of explosives are covered up to and including nuclear explosives.

The author presents a technical work easily understood by this non-chemist. He also gives the very human background of the various inventors and users of the explosives.

What was most interesting to me is the fact that many of our most famous chemical producing companies started with the production of explosives.

Also interesting was the history of the development of safe explosives both for war and for mining purposes.

The book is well illustrated and easily accessable for the layperson and for the professional.

THE BIG BANG a History of Explosives was written by George I Brown, and not by Adam Hart-Davis. Adam Hart-Davis is an exceptionally fine presenter, with the BBC. He has a programme called LOCAL HEROES, and is an ex professor of a university, in the UK(I'm sorry I can't remember which one). Adam Hart-Davis writes a foreword of one page long. Mr. George Brown wrote the other 256 pages, and a wonderful piece of work he wrote. If you want to kill people, then your looking @ the wrong book, move along. Other than that the Title says it all really.

A bigger difference than between this book and "History of Greek fire and gunpowder" can hardly be imagined. "The big bang" is written like a history book and therefore much easier to read that professor Partington's book. It describes the history of all explosives, from black powder to the H-bomb. It is surprisingly complete. The book treats, among others, black powder, smokeless powder, cordite, ballistite, nitroglycerin, dynamite, gun cotton, TNT, ANFO, picric acid, safety fuse, detonators, the A- bomb and the H-bomb. It is clearly an historical account, not a recipe book. The writer not only describes the technical- and chemical aspects of explosives but also tells the story of the persons, production methods and companies that have played a role. Also he gives information on the application of explosives in military use, mining, demolition and quarrying and on all the problems that have occurred in the course of time. Even the "gunpowder machine" (predecessor to the steam engine) is mentioned. Obviously the writer is from Britain, which shows in his discussion of the patent controversy between Alfred Nobel and the British government concerning the production of Cordite. Generally, however, he takes a very objective position. The writer has also placed the development of explosives in the broader context of social development and a number of interesting facts are mentioned. It seems that the publication of the Balfour declaration (which led to the founding of the state of Israel) was very much due to the fact that it was a Jewish chemic (Chaim Weizmann, the later president of Israel) who found a solution to the shortage of acetone in England during the First World War, thus helping the war effort. Acetone is essential for the production of Cordite, the main propellant for the British guns. Also controversial characters like Fritz Haber and Robert Oppenheimer feature in this book besides large industries like Dupont de Nemours and Kynoch. The development of explosives is not only important to the war industry and mining but also plays a vital role in the realization of important, prestigious public works like canals, tunnels and railroads. The explosives industry stands at the basis of much of the modern chemical industry. All in all "The big bang" is an excellent book to learn the history of this very specialized and sometimes controversial subject.

This is great! I never tought I'd read a novel with so many references to computer games, and to think that I even have played ALL of them is insane! (Yes even the most obscure game, I've played it!) The story is also a great read if you don't know about games (I asked my wife what she thought) even tough you might miss out...

Gaming rules, and C. Brookmyre, if you're ever on Rubi-Ka, come see me as Agna, Biola or Thesau ;)

I raced through the 500 pages of this book. It was really funny, witty, and quite a good look into current pop-culture in the UK. Brookmyre the author is able to make you laugh out loud. If you are looking for something that will tell you about life in the UK in an interesting and funny manner this is your book. Read it -- it's just good!

CB has produced another fantastic read. Maybe the references are a little parochial, but so what - use your imagination. IMO dry humour works anywhere - if you've travelled beyond your state/country who can't relate to PJ O'Rourke's rantings. CB manages this with a little more subtlety which makes his reading well worth it. His books capture the reader from start to end - which is quite annoying, I've read the fecker dry and wait for his next.

'Big Boy' is fantastic - the losing virginity chapter is laugh out loud funny. Of course I relate to the Glasgow setting (being a glaswegian and ex-QM member), but the characters translate country/cultural divides. Read it for feck sake and kick yourself out of the 'King of The Hill' mentality.

DB

Christopher Brookmyre has taken a topic that has become present in the forefront of everyone's consciousness, presented a story in which he has managed to inject numerous humorous anecdotes and still been able to end up with a relevant reminder of how easily our lives may be touched by terrorism.

The title A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY is reference to the way terrorists operate with the suggestion being that their acts of terror are nothing more than cowardly attacks by bullies who haven't got the guts to meet their enemies face to face.

The book starts out with a series of terrorist attacks that take place in various parts of the world and can all be attributed to a single man who is only known as the Black Spirit. Each of the attacks was simple yet untraceable and devastatingly effective resulting in the loss of many lives. The disturbing fact for the British Police Force is that the intelligence gathered by MI5 indicates that the Black Spirit's next attack is likely to occur somewhere on British soil.

Raymond Ash is a bored English teacher suffering the sleep deprivation that comes with living with a 3 month old baby with colic. One day while sitting in Aberdeen airport imagining what it might be like to just chuck it all in and jump on a plane out of there, he is startled to see his room-mate from his college days walking through the terminal. The reason for his surprise is that the guy had died in a plane crash 3 years ago. From this innocuous sighting, Raymond is about to have a very bad couple of days and a whole new appreciation of how fortunate he was to have led such a boring life.

The main storyline is set in Scotland with much of the dialogue spoken in Scottish slang for an authentic (although at times hard to understand) feel. We are slowly led towards the terrorist's target and the "against all odds" attempts by an unlikely bunch of "heroes" to avert a full on disaster. Along the way, Christopher Brookmyre has a habit of punctuating his story with a constant stream of asides, anecdotes, character introductions and histories. These interjections are both amusing and entertaining but they tended to break the flow of the story and occasionally made it a little hard to follow at times.

This minor inconvenience is offset by the enormous wealth of background information we get about each of the central characters. Whether it's an explanation on how a low-level marketing guy with a failed attempt at a rock career could become a deadly international terrorist or an interlude to reminisce about Raymond Ash's school days, Brookmyre has a flair for executing with an entertaining delivery. One thing's for sure, thanks to the plentiful supply of anecdotes throughout, we know all of the central characters inside and out. We care about them, we can identify with them and we can understand how they're feeling during the more stressful scenes. And believe me, towards the end of the book there are plenty of stressful moments.

When the finale takes place, it's inside a large complex and was rather reminiscent of some of the Matthew Reilly books that rely on action at all costs and a suspension of disbelief to ensure that a wild ride is had by all. It's a complete change to the way the first three quarters of the book was written, but it certainly entertained. One problem I had was in the convoluted description of the layout of the complex and where all the characters were in relation to one another. This part was crying out for an illustrated layout to be included a la Reilly or Clive Cussler.

For anyone who enjoys a humorous mystery that makes light of the more serious global concerns we face today, Christopher Brookmyre's A BIG BOY DID IT AND RAN AWAY is extremely satisfying. I have heard him compared to Carl Hiaasen both for his humour and his more serious underlying themes and I would have to agree with the comparison. A small warning about the extreme profane language used that may offend some readers.

I read this book to my kids over 20 yrs ago,
always loved the story & illustration, so I
had to get it for my grandgaughter since we
misplaced the one I had 20+ yrs ago. I still
love it & so does my granddaughter.

This is one of my all time favorite books. I loved it when I was a little girl. I read it even today, when I need a little lift. It's such a cute story. My copy of the book isn't exactly like this one, it's an older version, and falling apart from repeated use. This is one of the greatest children's stories of all times, and your kids are sure to love it.

This is one of the dearest children's books I have ever read to my children! It has such a poetic quality and such a sweet story. I have read it so many times to my children that our copy is falling apart. The one that I have is illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, and the pictures are darling.

This was one of my favorite books growing up -- although back then it was published as a BIG Golden Book, not a "Little" one... I've ordered one for my son to enjoy, because all these many years later, my mother still won't let me have possession of the copy I grew up with. The illustrations on the original were by Leonard Weisgard, and were stunning -- I only hope that the new version does the original justice

Has anyone else in the world read this book? I have read a lotof books, but this has to be one of my favourites. Poor Marigold (orBilge) is so ordinary it's painful. You can really relate to her. This book combines, ordinary (and somewhat monotonous) life, intrigue and romance (Terrapin & Jack- Lucky thing!) Love it! Read it NOW!

This is a a beautifully written, quiet and introspective novel. It is the first-person narrative of a homely and eccentric girl who, having grown up in a cloistered house on the grounds of the boys' school of which her father was headmaster, is preparing to leave for college. I often found myself either laughing or choking back tears as this bright and awkward introvert was forced by circumstance into awareness of the relationships around her. Though at times there seemed to be an awful lot of coincidence, I thought in the end that, given the insular quality of her social world, it all made psychological sense. As only happens in a good literary novel, the characters remained with me for days afterward - I thought about their quirks, qualities and failures as though they were people I knew.

This book was originally marketed as young adult fiction. For a bright adolescent, I think it would be a fantastic affirmation of individuality and an encouragement to take their interests seriously. As a widely-read 41 year-old man, however, I can vouch that it is richly rewarding for adults.

Note: I hate having to rate books with asterisks. I gave it 4 stars because it's not Moby Dick or Notes From The Underground, but it's an excellent novel, nonetheless.

This book is surely the ultimate tragic comedy. At the same time as teetering on the brink of despair, I was laughing raucously out loud (which, as an indication of Bilgewater's sheer funniness, I never do, so beware of reading this book in public places!). Bilgewater's character is a work of genius: ungainly, bookish and forlorn; insightful, intelligent and original. My favourite, favourite part is the crazy vision of Bilge climbing out of the Roses' window. If you are looking for something a bit weird, offbeat, or, in fact, just a brilliant book, I would strongly recommend this one. :o)

Yes, this is one of the best & brainiest children's/young adult's books out there. The main characters are misfits stranded amongst "normality" in a boarding school... anyone who has been less than incredibly perfect and popular can relate to the heroine. Gardam has created very unusual, intelligent and deep characters... and she writes with compassion and skill. What begins as a story full of painful non-interaction and isolation moves toward riveting romance and self-discovery and bravery, unveiling the plot with an almost gothic mood. Complex, atmospheric, smart and strong; this is for mature young-readers and for adults who remember their own coming-of-age pangs. One of my most memorable surprise discoveries.

Blue Moon Rising

Blue Moon Rising is a "must read" for women's studies classes and for anyone interested in how women rise above sexism, poverty, racial prejudice, and poor educational backgrounds to build satisfying lives for themselves and for their children. This compilation of seventeen narratives is subtitled "Kentucky Women in Transition." Jennie Brown, who teaches writing at the Western Kentucky University's Community College gathered theses stories by traveling around Kentucky and listening to women who had "overcome tragedy, misfortune, or seemingly insurmountable odds.... to make a positive transition in their lives." Most of the women have struggled to rise above difficult or impossible backgrounds and have managed to either begin or finish a college education. Any professional interested in helping women leave the welfare rolls or interested in preventing women from ending up on welfare roll will find insights into the factors that made it possible for these women to turn their lives around. Often this difference came in the form of a mentor, a loving grandmother or neighbor, or a caring teacher or fellow worker. If we need any reminders of the sexism, the abuse, or the disdain that many working-class women face, Blue Moon Rising provides exactly that. If we have any questions about the ability of women to rise above impossible circumstances, Blue Moon Rising will answer those questions. If we have doubts that many ordinary women live extraordinary lives, Blue Moon Rising will erase those doubts forever.

--- Angela Tehaan Leone, writer and teacher

After reading Blue Moon Rising: Kentucky Women in Transition, I understood two things that I thought I knew already. All my schooling and life experience have not taught me what this collection of women's stories has-in a way that goes beyond words on a page or statistics in a column. First, that sexual trauma is pervasive and soul-killing, yet healing is possible and a victim is not doomed to perpetuate her abuse on others. Second, that the greatest courage and heroism may not be found on the battlefields of war or the sites of natural catastrophes, but in the homes of everyday people, in the struggles of girls and boys, adolescents, and young mothers.
Jennie Brown used her sabbatical from Bowling Green Community College to travel around Kentucky listening to women's life stories and collecting them in this beautiful, eloquent book. Inspired by her students' writing yet troubled by the absence of published stories about "ordinary women who have achieved-and overcome-obstacles and plain `hard times,'" Brown was determined to "bear witness to their courage, their determination, and the faith that sustained them."
Aside from the introduction, Brown refrains from changing the women's words. This editorial strategy puts the power of telling in their hands, respecting their telling and lending it credence. In language that varies from person to person, so that the collection speaks in many voices, the women trace their journeys, often taking us to low points too grim to contemplate for long, then naming the turning points that allowed them to emerge and to seek emotional and physical health-for themselves and their children or parents. Although sexual trauma is the common experience of many of these women, other forms of discrimination and suffering took their toll, from physical wounding to racism to hunger, despair, and illness.
Brown's second most significant editorial decision was to weave poems by Trish Lindsey Jaggers and one by Patti Lynn Henry between each woman's account. These poems, beautiful in themselves, provide a moving commentary on the inner life of seekers after truth. They were not written expressly for the collection, so it's uncanny at times how the poems reach out to the different narrators. In "Cracks," for instance, Jaggers seems to speak to the others about what they, too, have found: "Water / finds the smallest / crack through which / to seep / in the most dense / of dams." Another poem, "The Trip," speaks to the urge to share and in that sharing to move beyond numbness: "I / want you to know / what it has taken / for me to get / this far-- / much lost / to time, / lonely days / spent sitting / in a hard chair / trying to recall / why / I am / so numb."
One of the contributors describes the path that led her from a relentlessly violent home to her closing resolution: "For my future, I want to help any kid that I can. That's my goal, to make a difference in kids' lives, to change them when they're at the point I was." Ordered by an older brother to take turns beating each other with a plastic bat, her siblings turned on each other. After being beaten and bruised herself she was forced to turn on her younger brother: "I just remember the pain in his face. I thought, I know what you're going through, but I can't stop it. I can't help it. This is what we have to do." How does one undo such messages of hate? For this young woman, a loving couple at Potter Children's Home made the difference: "They had one child of their own, and adopted three others. So when we saw they loved children who didn't belong to them, we could believe they loved us, too."
Her story is followed by "My Turn" a poem that tells us: "Wipe my tears from your eyes; sympathy is not what I want. / . . . / It's my turn / to judge / what size shoes fit my feet, / or whether I'm tough enough to run / barefoot through snow." The message of this difficult, rewarding book affirms that the most painful life experiences need not destroy the self or deny the person a place in the world.

Jane Olmsted, Director of Women's Studies Program
Western Kentucky University

Reading Blue Moon Rising: Kentucky Women in Transition reminded me of a phrase found in a 1998 document, "The President's Commission on Women in American History," which read: heroism should be understood "as extraordinary responses to extraordinary circumstances by ordinary people." Editor Jennie L. Brown (Bowling Green Community College) has collected stories from 17 Kentucky women who, by that definition, are heroes. She lets them tell their stories without editorial interference and thus bears "witness to their courage, their determination, and the faith that sustained them." These women's lives, their stories, detail a tangle of woes and troubles (there is never just one problem!), ranging from sexual trauma to racism to hunger to illness to despair, and tell the reader far more than any sociological study or statistical analysis.

Jennie Brown made two significant editorial decisions. First, she neither edited nor changed in any way the wording of these stories which came to her either in written form or on audio tape. That clearly empowered those telling the stories. Second, Brown chose to insert poems by Trish Lindsey Jaggers (and one by Patti Lynn Henry) between the individual accounts.

While the poems were not written specifically for this volume, they beautifully connect with the prose. Jaggers, a brilliant young poet, wrote "In My Attic," printed on page 132:

In my attic/there is a book/of poems/I have been meaning to write/if only I could find the nerve./There is a page/from a chapter/I have been meaning to/finish/if only I could find the strength./There is a story/I have been meaning to/tell/if only I could find the will./There is a person/I have been meaning to be/behind my attic door/if only I could find the/key.

Jaggers' beautiful words remind us that there are innumerable stories yet to be heard and that we should be thankful that the 17 women in this volume found the courage leave the attic and "find the key." This eloquent book is an affirmation of life, an affirmation of the power to overcome pain and oppression, an affirmation of lifetelling, an affirmation of hope. It is, in other words, redemptive.

charles j. bussey
history professor
western ky. university
bowling green, ky 42101

Having the privilege of editing Jennie's book is one of the best experiences of my life. Working with her was a pleasure and I am thankful that our paths crossed in this way.

The stories in Blue Moon Rising are incredible. These are amazing women who have overcome so much. But they are women just like you and me. It takes courage to share your story. It is my hope that all of these women will continue in the direction of their dreams and find serenity in God. I also hope that abused women who read this book will find strength to make the changes in their lives to take care of themselves and their children and that women who have been through similar trials will realize that they are not alone. --Dayna Spear (Williams), editor

The Book of Lilith is an extraordinary fictional account of the life of Lilith, here portrayed as the first woman of Creation rather than the succubus or demoness of certain myths. The story begins with the somewhat exasperated account of a college professor, perplexed at why he has been chosen as a key contact for the Iraqi woman who has salvaged a collection of scrolls she believes are valuable. The woman has been beaten, raped, and enslaved, but she still manages to trick her captor into allowing her use of the Internet--not so she can seek asylum, but so she can share her find with someone who will appreciate it. She scans in photographs of the ancient scrolls to ensure a record of their discovery in the event of their untimely destruction.

Upon translation, the professor and his colleague realize the magnitude of this incredulous find. The scrolls are the account of the creation of man, told from the point of view of Lilith, the mother of all. Lilith's tale places a feminist spin on the story of Creation, purporting the weaknesses of Adam and his naturally tendency toward sin. As seems to be a pattern in this tale, Lilith is beaten and raped by Adam, and quickly flees Eden, refusing to accept his aggression. Thus, Lilith is also the first single mother. On her own, she accepts her duty from God (portrayed as Inanna to Lilith, though God takes on a masculine form when "it" appears to Adam), which is to provide the empty vessels of humanity with souls. Lilith's task is not an easy one, as Adam will be a constant inhibitor of her higher purpose due to his obsession with sin. Eventually, Lilith will come to represent two feminine archetypes: her own independent self and Eve, self-chosen submissive to Adam.

If any of the story seems outrageous or disturbing, it isn't at all because the author's own brand of sarcasm makes every aspect of the tale completely plausible. Brown's suggestion that shopping is actually a form of worship or that Adam's key hangup with Lilith was her refusal to be on bottom during intercourse is just a taste of the tongue-in-cheek humor that follows the reader on this journey. When the story begins, Brown eases the reader into the plot with wit, but as Lilith's story evolves, the sarcasm actually begins to fade. By the end of the book, the depth of the theology involved is such that the reader will find themselves immersed in contemplation of the meanings suggested, leaving the humor behind. Through Brown's fiction, he brings to light some of the true inconsistencies and irrelevance of the tenets of major religions.

I found myself emotionally involved in Lilith's tale, at times laughing out loud, at times brimming with joy or seething with anger. At some points, I was lost in the story so much that it seemed real to me, and when I brought myself back to reality, I longed for it to have been a true account. It's a wonderful work of fiction that encourages the reader to examine humanity's existence and the sacred feminine from many perspectives.

WARNING! Fellow readers, if you pick up this book on Lilith, the least explained woman in the bible, you end up either screaming or even cussing - if you can only accept the literal interpretation of the Bible espoused by the "born again" fundamentalists - or else you will be captured by a new vision of creation and the roles of women and men. You will be intrigued by the author's vision and very readable literary style as he "translates" the archeological discovery of a young Iraqi girl in a crater created by the war still ongoing. In the process you will meet a "new" interpretation of some age old questions about the roles of men and women. Who was created first? Adam, or was it Eve, or was it really the mysterious and erotic Lilith. Other questions raised are: Why does God allow us to make choices and perhaps screw up? Why do bad things happen to us? Can things get better? Why did Cain slay his brother Abel and many more. There are answers given.

Professor Brown makes both the modern archeological, geopolitical story and his vision of the history of our world from the "original creation" through Genesis and on ...back up to today's geopolitical problems very interesting and plausible. He raises some very real ethical questions and shows his readers some possible answers. If he teaches his classes with equal facility, his students are lucky. Read and enjoy!

The Book of Lilith is a work of serious fiction. You should find
it entertaining, and it should make you think. The general category for
the work is magical realism, or perhaps satiric fantasy in the spirit of
Barth's Chimera. It is a story set in a pseudo-academic framing
story involving the supposed discovery of lost scrolls in war-torn Iraq
by a somewhat mysterious maiden.

These scrolls, when translated, turn out to be the oldest written
documents ever discovered, the first person story of Lilith
herself. Although the frame is of course just part of the story
(and yet told realistically enough that it fooled at least one early
reader into asking the author "so where are the real scrolls") the story
itself is carefully researched and spans four cultures from the
early Bronze or late Stone age. Lilith takes the reader with her
as the crazy course of her life ensouled carries her from its beginnings
in a magical Eden located in ancient Sumeria to Sidon in early
Phoenicia, to Mohenjo Daro and the Harrapan civilization, and finally to
a wicked and corrupt India in the years immediately preceding the
violent cleansing portrayed in the Mahabharata. It is lovingly
derived from many scholarly and historical works and epics, including
The Book of Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the
Upanishads, the Alphabet of Ben-Sirra, the Dead Sea
Scrolls and more.

Note well that the Lilith portrayed is not the "goddess"
worshipped by various cults, nor is she the she-demon portrayed
by various patriarchal writings. She is a real person -- the first,
untamed wife of Adam, with a surprising relationship with the more
submissive Eve. In fact, she is the first real person gifted
with a soul by God, and it is her appointed task to bring the gift of
Soul to all things in Creation (beginning with Adam) by means of her
love, just as it is Adam's task to bring about the rule of Law and hence
begin the process of evolving a just and ethical society. Lilith enjoys
both preternatural knowledge and a personal relationship -- one
that involves sharing sushi and shopping trips to early bazaars - with
Goddess in the metaphor of Inanna (given that any human
representation of God is at heart an anthropomorphic projection of a
genderless state of Perfect Knowledge and Perfect Being).

Many themes (some of them somewhat disturbing or even shocking, be
warned) are woven into the story. Lilith is in turn an eager young
bride in love, a young mother coping with what turns out to be a
possessive, insecure, and slovenly husband, a beaten and raped wife who
prefers to work as a harlot to feed herself and her children rather than
ever again be "owned" by any man, a miracle worker beloved by God and
granted the power to heal the sick or punish the wicked, a penetrating
judge who can plumb the depths of the darkest heart and consign its
possessor to freedom or a horrible death, and (throughout) a seductive
lover with the uninhibited knowledge of sexual pleasure she is ever
willing to share -- as long as she gets to be on top, or at least
to take turns.

At the end of all this -- eventually -- she turns out to be neither more
nor less than an extraordinary human being who suffers from her pride
and mistakes, who struggles with her appointed task (sometimes
succeeding and sometimes failing) and who learns from the pain and
reward of a life well spent that knowledge and wisdom are not the same
thing.

There are surprises and adventures, wickedness and great good, laughter
and tears, and -- perhaps -- a nugget or two of wisdom, so give it a
try. I think you'll enjoy it!

What an amazing book! It's really hard to categorize, and at first I didn't think I was going to like it, but all of a sudden I "got" it. It is alternately really funny -- some of the footnotes are hysterical -- and serious. I'd be laughing out loud and four or five pages later I'd be angry or sad.

Two groups of people are going to really like this book: the first and most important is anyone who just plain wants a fun read. I could see this one becoming a best-seller really easily simply because it is so entertaining. However, the general crowd of feminists, humanists, goddess worshippers and so on will really like it because it paints an inescapable picture of how the entire Judeo-Christian-Muslim culture derived from the book of Genesis hammers on women from the get-go. Lilith in this book isn't a vampire or succubus or slayer of children -- she's just a very modern woman who gets stuck with a relatively weak and insecure man. Although it is a lot more complicated than "just" that -- I don't want to spoil the surprises in the plot but suffice it to say that Lilith and Eve are not who you think they are if all you are familiar with is the standard myth.

The ending of the book is really powerful. It reminded me a little bit of Siddhartha, but at the same time it was quite different. A really interesting tie-in to Hinduism and Buddhism, but really that wasn't the point. The book is a strange sort of love story, and somehow all of the threads of love get pulled together in a very satisfying way.

The prose could probably be improved -- I think it is the author's first published book -- but it isn't obtrusive and sometimes it is really good or even poetical. The story itself is pure magic -- even the framing story is appealing once you get over the shock and realize that you're reading black humor satire directed against both the war in Iraq and the mistreatment of women in that entire culture. Highly recommended.