Fitzgerald Books

This book about Ernest Hemingway is about his life in Paris during the memorable lost generation of writers. I have one hangup about him not writing enough about a close friend, journalist, and fellow writer, Janet "Genet" Flanner from the New Yorker. All he wrote was one sentence. He writes lovingly about Gertrude Stein and leaves out the name of her partner/companion Alice B. Toklas. He had a complicated relationship regarding Stein. He also writes about the lesbians, Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier, a little about Natalie Clifford Barney also known as the Amazon, and other writers like Ezra Pound. The book is easy to read and is reminiscent about Paris during another time and generation before World War II when America was in the grips of the great depression and writers became expatriates to Paris and Europe much like Hemingway. World War II shattered the lost generation's control of Parisian expatriates like Hemingway, Flanner, Beach, Stein and Toklas. He describes Paris as a moveable feast but you could be poor and happy in Paris while struggling to be a writer. I think it's when Hemingway was the happiest along with the others. The phrase of "all good things come to an end" suits the lost generation of writers like Hemingway. They never found the happiness again.

If you've ever lived in Paris, visited Paris, or even just dreamt of Paris, then you need to read this book.

The title `A Moveable Feast' in its brevity tells a lot and is a good example of Hemingway's tight writing style. Hemingway exacted severe discipline upon himself regarding his work, and he set a personal goal, for himself, to write one story about each thing that he knew about. An important lesson he learned about writing was to not think about anything that he was writing from the time he stopped writing one day until he started again the next. That way the subconscious mind could be working on it and at the same time he'd be listening to other people, and noticing everything. He spent many hours at the Louvre studying the works of Cézanne, Monet and Manet as a way to feed his imagination. He had no close friends in Paris during those years although he had on and off relationships with Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, James Joyce and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
One of the most traumatic times of his life, regarding his work, happened when his wife Hadley lost a suitcase containing all of his manuscripts, with the exception of two short stories, `My Old Man' and `Up in Michigan.' The suitcase was never found and one can only imagine the empty feeling he must have felt at the time.
In `A Moveable Feast' Hemingway draws a vivid word picture of Paris that only he could have drawn. Get a copy of the book and let Hemingway guide you through the Paris he knew in the 1920's.

Tom Barnes Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter.
Find more at my website about books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews, my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
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From reading the back of the book I was expecting more details about Paris and his romance with his wife. I later found out (or I understand) that this book was published after his death from a collection of his papers and wasn't intended for a novel. Although its interesting to read about his daily acitivities, I would say that his other works (specifically, A Farewell to Arms) are better representations of Hemingway's talent.

Ah, Paris!!! "A Moveable Feast" is a memoire of Hemingway's poor but happy life as a young journalist turned novelist in 1920's Paris. Written in Hemingway's unique style, this book offers a variety of snapshots of the young author's life, Paris life in general and the people who comprised the Paris literary scene of the period.

I have only dreamed of Paris. Other than F. Scott Fitzgerald, I have only a passing knowledge of the people mentioned in this work. I am, however, a Hemingway fan, and I enjoy his efficient and straightforward style. The stories he tells and the scenes he describes make one want to be in Paris, and they make one want to learn more about the characters mentioned. In fact, while I applaud Hemingway's brevity, I actually wished for a little more depth--only Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein were discussed in any detail at all.

I enjoyed this book, but if you are going to read Hemingway, this is not the place to start. "The Sun Also Rises" contains much of the same feeling for 1920's Paris, plus it features a great description of the running of the bulls in Pamplona. His best works though are "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Those are the starting points.

The Twenty One Balloons

In the book, The Twenty One Balloons by William Pene du Bois a professor crashes on the island of Krakatoa in a hot-air-balloon then to discover hidden treasures on the island. I think this book was very exiting and interesting and I would read it again if I could.

A professor named William Waterman Sherman sets off on a journey around the world in a hot-air-balloon from San Francisco. He then crash-lands on the island of Krakatoa then discovering a huge diamond mine and villagers hidden on the island.

I very much enjoyed the book because I love adventure books and there is always something new to find on the island. And the only thing that was a little boring was the beginning but once he landed on the island it got much more exiting. I would recommend this book to anybody looking for an exciting and adventurous book

This was a really great book and I highly recommend it to anybody who wants to read it.

This book is sort of a "Jules Vern-lite" sort of thing. And while it's more of a travelogue than a story but it's still very captivating and quite a page-turner. I recommend it to readers 10 and over, or to be read to children as young as 7 or 8 (so certain concepts could be explained). Adults looking for an enchanting and pleasant diversion will enjoy it too.

I first read this book when I was in grade school. I am now almost 40 years old, and this is still my favourite book. It's a fantastical tale of adventure, diamonds, food, etiquette, and hot air balloons! It will not dissapoint...I didn't love to read until I read 21 Balloons. The author does a magnificant job of illustrating as well.

It was 59 years ago when I first encountered the book 21 Balloons. Our teacher would read a portion of this book to us when we had completed our class work. As a class, we could hardly wait to hear the next installment of the adventures on Krakatoa and to learn about the excitement and adventure of balloon travel.

I found this book extremely interesting that many years ago and now am delighted to introduce it to my grandchildren who are also interested in volcanoes and volcanic activity.

For a book to to have that much impact over the years, it must be worthwhile reading for children. I was just delighted that 21 Balloons was still in print.

Dr. Robert F. Marble

The 21 Balloons,
By William Pene Du Bois

A man wants to stay up in the air a year in a balloon, but he crash lands on the island Krakatoa where he meets nice and civilized people. This is a very good book that is very unpredictable
William Waterman Sherman wants to stay up in the air a year in a balloon. The wind blows him in to a flock of seagulls and sadly for him one of the seagulls pops his balloon and he comes crash landing down on to the Island Krakatoa. Professor Sherman meets odd civilized people. The main person that helps him is called Mr. F. Mr. F, shows him around the island, where there is a diamond mine. Professor Sherman is astonished by what he sees, diamonds everywhere, in the size of even a human. However, through out the Island there were a few shakings, kind of like an earthquake, but no damage done. The island also has incredible technology considering they have been on the island for over 5 years. Professor Sherman enjoys many good dinners. One day, there was a huge rumbling in the island. The volcano had started to erupt! They narrowly escape.
This book is very good. It has many examples of foreshadowing, like when he landed on the island you could tell that something bad was going to happen. The 21 Balloons is also very unpredictable. Something that you think will happen will most likely not, such as the diamond mine in the middle of the island. One of the bad things in this book is that it takes a few chapters until the exciting parts come.
I would say that this is one of the best books that I have ever read. Hope you enjoy! =D

The Odyssey will always be a classic of literature, and with good reason. With the intense battles, Odysseus's clever tricks, and Penelope and Telemachus's heart-wrenching plight, it's no wonder this poem has survived the centuries. This version goes above and beyond what should be required of a translation: the prose is beautiful and arranged, as it should be, in lines and stanzas. Hermes rhymes and Homer's memory tricks work to enrich the text rather than detract. The cover, featuring a watercolor over a contour of Athena, is a nice addition, and looks nice on your shelf. In conclusion, I would reccommend this whole-heartedly and tell you that anyone who hasn't read the Robert Fitzgerald translation of the Odyssey hasn't read the Odyssey at all.

I here consider not the story of the Odyssey itself, accounts of which abound, but rather Robert Fitzgerald's 1961 translation. Unlike recent more literal translations of the Odyssey such as Richmond Lattimore's (1962) and Albert Cook's (1967), which seek to reflect the original Greek with strict fidelity, Fitzgerald's does not confine itself to mirroring the Homeric line in syntax or parts of speech. Instead, he renders the verse of the Odyssey--which in the Greek averages roughly sixteen syllables per line--into English lines of ten or eleven syllables. His shorter line of course results in lenthening each of the original's twenty-four books. In the Greek, Book I, for example, consists of 444 lines; in Fitzgerald's version, 500 lines. He translates the first two lines of Greek into five lines of English; here the single Greek word polytropon, "much-turned" or "of many ways," becomes the rather full phrase "skilled in all ways of contending." This syntactically loose approach, while inconveniencing those readers curious enough to compare his version against a Greek text, allows Fitzgerald to amplify the original where he sees fit (though by no means to the extent of early translators like George Chapman and Alexander Pope) and to display here and there a poetical flourish not contained in the original.

Fitzgerald's liberality with the line extends to his choices with character epithets. At times they drop out of his version altogether - and these omissions occasionally conceal the subtlety of the original poem's design - but more often than not he deals with a commonly repeated epithet by varying his phrases, which helps to show the manifold nature of the Greek adjectives but may also lead Greek-less readers to think the original more manifold than is actually the case. He renders Telemakhos' epithet pepnymenos in a variety as diverse as it is colloquial : "kept his head," "cool enough," "clear-headed," "with no confusion," "thoughtfully," "seeing all clear." (Lattimore, by contrast, dutifully translates the epithet as "thoughtful.") Penelope's epithet, periphron, which means "circumspect" or "all-considering," becomes, depending on the context, "quiet," "wise," "careful," "watchful," "prudent," and even "most worn in love and thought." And finally, to take only one of Odysseus' numerous epithets, Fitzgerald renders polymetis as "the great tactician," "that sly and guileful man," "his ranging mind," "who had it all timed in his head," "the master of many crafts," "the great master of invention," "the master improviser," "ready for this," "the master of subtle ways and straight." (Lattimore more literally translates it as "resourceful.") While some readers may find such translational choices promiscuous, others will appreciate Fitzgerald's ability to showcase the many facets of Odysseus' character. Perhaps the best instance of this freedom comes at the start of Book 22 when, armed with his old bow, Odysseus finally discloses himself to the suitors: here Fitzgerald translates polymetis as "the wiliest fighter of the islands."

Readers seeking Homer's "pure serene," that is, an acquaintance with the unique concepts and syntax of Homeric Greek, may be frustrated by the loose relation of Fitzgerald's translation to the original. But those for whom the literalness of Lattimore is overly wooden may find themselves arrested by the vividness of Fitzgerald's verse and the vivacity which he gives Homer's characters. Fitzgerald's liberal approach frees him to reflect in his lines the sorts of stunning interpretations that more literal approaches entrust to the sensitivity of readers. Most telling along these lines is his choice in the opening of Book 21, when Penelope decides to try the suitors by bringing out at last the bow of Odysseus. The Greek is, roughly, "then the grey-eyed goddess Athena put it in the mind of / the daughter of Ikarios, all-considering Penelope. . . ." These lines Fitzgerald transmutes into "upon Penelope, most worn in love and thought, / Athena cast a glance like a grey sea / lifting her." As readers, the question is how high the translator must lift us in order for us to deepen our appreciation of the Odyssey; perhaps for some of us, Fitzgerald's alchemy will indeed provide the vessel which rides the utmost crest of the wave, bringing us within glimpse of that rare land which Keats wondered at above all other realms of gold.

I just read The Odyssey again for a literature class. Man, it was better than I remembered. I had read this back in high school in 1996 or 97, and at the time I didn't care for it all that much. However, I don't think it was the same translation. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but this was a very enjoyable read. It has everything you could want in a heroic tale: monsters, gods, beautiful women, magic, and of course a trip into the underworld. Just make sure to look up characters while you read it. It really makes the text more enjoyable if you know who the various gods and demi-gods are.

By Jove--this is something else.

Firstly, if you are interested in this book, get background information on Greek mythology, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Familiarize yourself with Homer's style, the different spellings of names, etc. It's especially good to read this in school, which is where I read it first, because the teacher has knowledge of the epic and can help you in reading it.

The Odyssey is really, something else. It and its partner The Iliad have their own style of story-telling, characterization, and description.
Homer, the storyteller, possesses a powerful and confident voice. As my English teacher said, "Homer is the MAN of epics", and that could not be a lie. The text is hard to read at first, because it contains advanced language, some archaic words, and the reader needs to familiarize themselves with the cultural background of ancient Greece. However, the text becomes enjoyable and rhythmic as the story progresses, making the reader wanting to read NOTHING ELSE but Homer.

The storyline itself is AMAZING, but even more than that. It's chaotic, contains plot twists...it's possibly one of the IDEAL stories of all time.
Odysseus' journey to return home to Ithaka is filled with life themes such as despondency, peril, greed, and bravery. It's emotionally moving and thought-provoking as one reads of the lives Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope lead after the Trojan War, and awaiting the reunion of their family. Odysseus' own 'odyssey' is filled with dangerous monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights at sea.

Figuratively, The Odyssey parallels real life, because each life is an 'odyssey'. We all face our monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights, but also the rage of battle against suitors and the joy of finally returning home.

"Odysseus rolled his head
to one side softly, ducking the blow, and smiled
a crooked smile with teeth clenched."

It's been a few years since I read Walden, but I recall Thoreau stating that Homer's epics should be read in no language but Greek. He may have been less inclined to this view if he'd had access to Robert Fitzgerald's translation, first published in 1961. It is said, by those who know these things far better than I, that heroic dactylic hexameter cannot be justly translated, and it is easy to imagine that there have been some artistically poor translations that have rendered Homer's works as generic prose. But Fitzgerald's acclaimed editions are quite artful indeed.

Odysseus' heroic trait is his `cunning intelligence'; he is admired by all mortal men that have heard his name, rulers and even the gods regard him highly; he is, for several years, the sexual prisoner of the immortal nymph, Calypso, before his epic, obstacle-riddled return to Ithaca and Penelope. [Odysseus' son] Telémakhos' heroic trait is his cool-headed, pragmatic discernment and patience. Penelope is the model of the faithful spouse, and a drove of [her] unscrupulous suitors are the leading antagonists.

There are many technical, source-critical, textual, and historical considerations concomitant to The Odyssey, and I am not qualified to speak to any of these. But the story is amazing, and in many ways `modern', certainly as to how its vignettes are structured. Twenty-six hundred years later, the heroic characters of literature, popular fiction and film/video continue to borrow the qualities and traits of Odysseus and Telémakhos.

My son is 7 and an advanced reader, but he doesn't pick up a book for fun--until we checked this one out of the library. Now he is interested in all Beverly Cleary books. This classic from my childhood (the first Cleary book I ever read too) still holds up. The interactions between Ralph and Keith are realistic and sweet, Ralph's adventures on the motorcycle are thrilling, and the world inside the hotel is vivid. While my son still prefers my reading this to him, he has wanted to read a chapter here and there. This is a wonderful, charming introduction to Cleary and a good start as a first chapter book.

I can't remember the last time I read this. I figured it was simple enough to read to my class of 1st graders and sure enough we were soon all in love with the story (though I believe that this is more of a boy book).

It is more than a story about a mouse who uses a human boy for his toy motorcycle. It has a great message of courage, responsibility, and friendship. Ralph is a fascinating character and you come to feel everything he feels. His thoughts are suprisingly deep and thus his courage is wonderful.

This is not one of those little stories that puts a tiny little critter in a situation a normal human would find terrifying. Here we deal with the horrors of owls, vacuums, waste baskets, and the forbidden ground floor of the hotel where Ralph lives. Even so, they become scary and one cannot imagine how Ralph will survive.

An utter classic. Everyone should read it.

This book really let's you use your imagination and enter the world of a hotel mouse. I somehow missed reading this book as a child. I loved it so much, I went out and bought the 2 sequels. I can't wait to have my 11 year-old son read it.

After purchasing The Mouse and the Motorcycle for a long road trip with my 7-year-old granddaughter, I can't say enough about the story or about the reader, B.D. Wong. While there is at least one other audio version available, Wong is absolutely superb in his rendering of the characters and noises. We rode absolutely enchanted by Cleary's story and Wong's interpretation of it. Although the long road trip is over, my granddaughter still requests that I play The Mouse and the Motorcycle when she rides with me. This will be a favorite of your children and grandchildren. In fact, when I'm invited to book showers for babies, this is one of the gifts I present. It will become an all-time favorite, I guarantee it!

"Ralph!" cried his frightened mother, "you haven't been associating with PEOPLE!" That may seem a rather unfriendly thing to say, but Ralph is a mouse. And people are...well..the enemy. Aren't they?

But Ralph has discovered a boy named Keith who can understand his language (and vice versa). Ralph has also discovered Keith has the most fabulous, fantastic, mouse-sized motorcycle, and Ralph is crazy about it. To Keith it is a small, motorless, favorite toy. To Ralph it is the real thing!

And so the secret friendship blossoms: Keith loves Ralph and Ralph loves Keith's motorcycle, which Ralph is allowed to borrow to become involved in all kinds of dangerous (for a mouse) and fun adventures and misadventures. You'll chuckle all the way through.

[Modern fantasy suitable for the intermediate grades.]

A Non-Workbook, Non-Textbook Approach to Teaching Language Arts: Grades 4 Through 8 and Up

An old boys netw. left over from the Bay of Pigs fiasco (our own home grown freedom fighters invaded Cuba in April 1961) fantasizes on how to rekindle support for the Castro project: arrange for some non compis mentis to take a shot @the President & let the trail lead back to El Jefe. However, patsy Oswald doesn't know he's supposed to miss, & besides, he's already missed old racist Gen. Walker. Just once, he'd like to nail someone & be a hero.

Delillo's Lee Harvey Oswald is desperate for some kind of recognition; after all, even his own brother wouldn't know him. Oswald's defected to the Soviet Union & returned to the States again. Despite all the high-falutin' chatter about bourgeois oppression & Marx, all old Lee wanted was a crowd to meet him @the airport.

Even just leafing thru the single-volume compendium of the Warren Commission can prepare you for the familiar names of conspiracy here: Guy Banister, David Ferrie. Delillo also gets some extra mileage outta the grassy knoll.

In a way, Oswald & Ruby were similar characters: desperados waiting for the attention train. Come to think of it, they weren't so different from those guys cut loose by the CIA.

Delillo is the foremost poet writing in America today.

The fact he writes it in prose means nothing.

His dialogue is so brilliant it makes you think you are eavesdropping--on minds.

His descriptions of places and emotional states are breathtaking.

His relentlessness in seeing the dark side is like Dostoyevsky.

BUT!

But he wants to make BIG HISTORICAL STATEMENTS, and I am not sure fiction can quite do that. Even Dickens and Hugo have a hard time of it.

Fiction, even poetic fiction, like "Libra," deals with individuals; history deals with groups.

Groups are dull to read about; individuals interesting. Delillo tries to fuse the two (Americana, Endgame, Ratner's Star, The Names, Underworld, even White Noise--better, because less serious), by making his individuals reflect history.

But it still never quite works.

I applaud his attempt.

His writing is always worthwhile, even if his points don't always succeed.

Another problem with this particular book--wonderful as it is--is that it focuses on the death of JFK as the Defining Moment for the American Loss of Innocence.

But what really broke the back of American Innocence was Vietnam--because American Innocence was and is a self-deception for imperialism, and Vietnam is where the provinces fought back, and won. (We're seeing this all over again in Iraq.)

Still, a great book. Some of the scenes are as profound and memorable as dreams.

I've read Libra at least 30 times in the past 12 years and I'm still looking forward to reading it again.

So what is it that keeps me coming back to this book? Its the way Delillo created a virtual reality of history, character and place. As I read, I feel as if I'm inside the minds of each different character, even characters that have bit parts.

There he is, standing in the front car of the subway, peering into the tunnel as the train hurtles "on the edge of no control" through the darkness. "A tenth of a second was all it took to see a thing complete."
Sewer rats, workmen with lanterns, people standing on the local platforms. The wheels of the train howling in the curves.

Here's an example of vivid: "There was so much iron in the sound of those curves he could almost taste it, like a toy you put in your mouth when you are little."

The structure of Libra can be a bit overwhelming on the first read: a large cast of characters and multiple threads to the story. It helps to be familiar with the history of the JFK assassination too.

"Libra", to say this book is about the assassination of JFK is to miss the point of the book. By using basically the same exact cast of characters as James Ellroy does in his The Cold Six Thousand, DeLillo comes to a likewise and evenly frightening conclusion. Unlike many novels relating to JFK assassination DeLillo's attempt details events from two unlike perspectives. The first which explores Lee Harvey Oswald's life is well accounted by the authors fulgurous creativity. The other more schematic plot construes the infamous conspiracy to assassinate the President. By the end the quality of the author's delivery and characterization, we are left with empathizing Lee Harvey Oswald, Who is known to the mass public as one of the most notorious men of the twentieth century.
Libra is a fictional novel about the history of the assassination of President John Kennedy and an insightful narrative about the man who is said to have pulled the trigger: Lee Harvey Oswald. This dead obligating novel was found to be confusing by some people, but I really enjoyed reading it. What fascinated me for the most was how DeLillo takes this historical event, tear it up, and remodels it, playing with all different types of stereotypes that were made, and fighting the challenging hypothesis. He follows Oswald life from a young boy, to manhood, and to an assassin (is he?). Don DeLillo delivers many sides of Oswald giving readers a chance to come to their own conclusion. The meaning of the title itself if given a second look, deliver multi-levels of meaning to what DeLillo is actually conveying.
The assassination scene finally hails after 400 pages of reading and is worth the waiting. Very well written, I found the events to flash in slow motion. It's gripping and intense, the examining descriptions of his time spent in USSR, his wife and his mother. Libra contains Delillo's most accomplished characterizations, especially of women - Oswald's mother and his Russian wife. The dismaying and scary Mrs. Oswald is a proof of her son's insanity. Mrs. Oswald was demented, and so was lee.
His cold and brilliant novel begins with thirteen-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald sharing oppressively close quarters with his mother. Lee was the third of three children in the family the youngest of all, the oldest boy Robert Oswald, was Marguerite's son from her previous marriage. As a single mother, Marguerite was often unable to provide for her three sons. They spent several years in and out of orphanages. Lee's childhood was marked by constant turmoil, as they had to move from one place to another. It was rare for him to attend more than one semester at any given school. His grades were poor and as he grew older, his attendance became less even. He was characterized as a lonely child. And his mother generally refused to comply with recommendations about counseling and other treatments for her son.
"If she had faced it, if she had seen to it that Lee received the help he needed," Robert Oswald would state, "I don't think the world would ever have heard of Lee Harvey Oswald."

Before reading Libra, I was curious about the title. Why Libra?

It becomes apparent (for those of us that didn't know) that Oswald is a Libra, and like the tipping scales of his astrological sign, Oswald is presented as a mass of contradictions; a confused, idealistic young man who can easily tip (or be tipped) one way or another. Delillo manages to make Oswald (somewhat) sympathetic, reminding us how young he was in 1963 and presenting him as someone prone to manipulation.

Libra is a fascinating novel that seamlessly blends fact and fiction. In Libra, the JFK assignation is not a carefully constructed, brilliantly executed conspiracy. Like the tipping scales of the title, the assassination is presented as a merging of conspiracy and chance. There are shadowy secrets and plans within plans that tip the scales one way, while spontaneity and chance tip the scales the other way. The outcome on November 22 was unpredictable; part strategy, part circumstance. In the end there is no overarching plan. Conspiracies are runaway trains that take on a life of their own, hijacked by others and affected by chance.

Libra is a brilliant novel, extraordinarily well written. The novel is not, as some might expect, Delillo's attempt to settle, once and for all, what happened on November 22, 1963. History is our collective consciousness. Our reality is what we believe is real. The truth is something else.

Nina is among the many shadow children in her school. She has done nothing wrong in her life, except for being illegal. One day, she woke up in a prison cell, handcuffed to the ground. She finds out that her beloved, Jason, has now betrayed her. Later on she meets a new character who she has called "The Hating Man". He tells her that she has to help him with something or she will soon be killed. Her task is to go into another cell with three other shadow children. She has to find out info about them and see if the truly are shadow children. Later on, she starts talking to them and they become kind of close. But, they won't tell her anything because they think they are being watched by hidden cameras. Which they weren't. "The Hating Man" was secretly feeding her humungous thanks giving meals, bribing her to try harder. She does'nt have that kind of cold heart, how evil. If he were to find out they were shadow children, he would kill them in an instant. One day while she was talking to him, a gaurd burst through the door. He was holding his neck, the gaurd had been poisoned. "The Hating Man" wasnt paying attention to her. Oddly enough, the keys were sitting right there on the table. She used this opportunity to escape, she grabbed the keys and ran. She opened up the cell and got the three kids. They all escaped together. No one even came looking for them. She told them about the school that she thought was safe, so they could temporarly live there. The younger kids actually knew how to get there. Once they got there, they finally settled in. She discovered a planted garden behind the school. They stole fruits and vegtables during the night. One night, Nina went to pick some more and some one pounced on her. It was Lee. She was dragged off to Mr. Hendricks house not too far away. After talking to him, she saw something. It was "The Hating Man". He was actually Jen Talbot's dad under disguise. The whole jail thing and escape was planned for the safety of them. She had been set up just to see if she could be trusted. Later on she found out everything and was glad she was safe. Well, for now. She later actually agreed to help them. Had Nina just agreed to help fight the population police? Yes, she had. The settings were in the jail building, outside of the Hendricks School, and inside Mr. Hendrick's home. This book was fantastic, and I would definitly recomend this book to anybody that I know!

Nina,Percy,Matthias,Alia try to escape from the Population Police Jail.Percy,Matthias,Alia play a trick on Nina with the Hating man(aka Mr.Talbot)and the guaed who acted like he was posioned.They wanted to see if Nina was really going to betray them.She got the keys and went back for them and they went with her to the woods.The next day they went back to Hendricks School for Boys then they ended the book.

Among the Betrayed is a suspenseful and unpredictable book by Marfet Peterson Haddix. Nina Idi is an illegal third child at the population police station. she is asked to betray 3 other illegals. but she remembers how she was betrayed and didn't like it.
One day an officer was poisoned and dropped his keys. then an officet took her to ger cell were the other illegals were. but he didn't have a key and Nina had the guard's keys. so the officer left her alone. so Nina got the other illegals and are trying to escape. Will they get out and what will happen next?

Nina is among the many shadow children in her school. She has done nothing wrong in her life, except for being illegal. One day, she woke up in a prison cell, handcuffed to the ground. She finds out that her beloved, Jason, has now betrayed her. Later on she meets a new character who she has called "The Hating Man". He tells her that she has to help him with something or she will soon be killed. Her task is to go into another cell with three other shadow children. She has to find out info about them and see if the truly are shadow children. Later on, she starts talking to them and they become kind of close. But, they won't tell her anything because they think they are being watched by hidden cameras. Which they weren't. "The Hating Man" was secretly feeding her humungous thanks giving meals, bribing her to try harder. She does'nt have that kind of cold heart, how evil. If he were to find out they were shadow children, he would kill them in an instant. One day while she was talking to him, a gaurd burst through the door. He was holding his neck, the gaurd had been poisoned. "The Hating Man" wasnt paying attention to her. Oddly enough, the keys were sitting right there on the table. She used this opportunity to escape, she grabbed the keys and ran. She opened up the cell and got the three kids. They all escaped together. No one even came looking for them. She told them about the school that she thought was safe, so they could temporarly live there. The younger kids actually knew how to get there. Once they got there, they finally settled in. She discovered a planted garden behind the school. They stole fruits and vegtables during the night. One night, Nina went to pick some more and some one pounced on her. It was Lee. She was dragged off to Mr. Hendricks house not too far away. After talking to him, she saw something. It was "The Hating Man". He was actually Jen Talbot's dad under disguise. The whole jail thing and escape was planned for the safety of them. She had been set up just to see if she could be trusted. Later on she found out everything and was glad she was safe. Well, for now. She later actually agreed to help them. Had Nina just agreed to help fight the population police? Yes, she had. The settings were in the jail building, outside of the Hendricks School, and inside Mr. Hendrick's home. This book was fantastic, and I would definitly recomend this book to anybody that I know!

So we're three books into Haddix's Shadow Children series. The first book ended with Luke leaving the world he's grown accustomed to. The second book ended with Luke finally accepting the new world he's been thrust into. With the passing of each book we've been left to wonder, 'What's next for Luke?' We are not given those answers quite yet in book three, Among the Betrayed, and that might annoy some series fans (it surely did my 5th grade class at first) who've grown fond of Luke. But give Nina Idi some time. I promise she'll grow on you.

Haddix decided to take a step away from Luke Garner and show us how the Population Law is affecting another third child, Nina Idi. Nina has been captured by the Population Police and been given an ultimatum: either help them by deceiving a group of third children she's just met, or be executed. After befriending the three third children she's supposed to betray, she realizes that the choice is not as easy as she'd like it to be.

My biggest gripe with the first two books is how slowly they begin. A lot of time is spent describing the world through Luke's very sheltered eyes. To make Luke's transformation seem realistic, this has to be done but it can cause many yawns while reading. Obviously, I was scared when I was introduced to Nina, imagining another one-third of a book being wasted while we were getting to know another sheltered third child. But that's not the case. Not the case at all.

Haddix has learned from her mistakes. She makes the transition from Luke to Nina rather swiftly. The story starts out with high tension and doesn't let up until readers are brought to the light. It took my 5th graders a while (they missed Luke) but eventually Nina won them over. It works because Haddix doesn't tell us about Nina all at once. She lets the secrets of her past come out slowly, over the course of the book. Haddix loves action and it's a good thing, because it's Nina's human-like reactions to the drama that unfolds that causes us to care for her. She's in pretty deep, and you want her to make it out alive.

I'm not going to praise Haddix for making any literary masterpieces that will stand the test of time, but I'm hooked and so are my 5th graders and that has to be a good sign. So far the books are getting better and better, but here's hoping we get back to Luke and find out what he's been up to.

I remember reading this as a teenager, and bought it for my 10-year-old. It's very well written and really speaks to the pre-teen audience.

Gave the book to my 12 year old granddaughter. She loves cats. Really enjoyed the book!

THIS BOOK IS A VERY LIFE RELATING STORY. IT IS ABOUT A GIRL WHO THINKS SHE'S A BLIMP WITH WIRED FRAMED GLASSES, SHE HAS TWO FRIENDS, AND LIKE ANY OTHER GIRL, HAS A CRUSH ON A GUY AT SCHOOL. I ENJOYED THIS BOOK A LITTLE, BUT I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TITLE. THIS BOOK MIGHT HAVE A WEIRD TITLE, BUT IT HAS GOOD DESCRIBTIONS THAT PAINT PICTURES IN YOUR HEAD. I WOULD RECAMEND THIS BOOK TO SOME ONE WHO LIKES HUMOR AND REALITY RELATING STORIES.

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit is a really awesome book. It is realistic, funny, sad. I had a really hard time putting this book down. (even for a spelling test.) If you haven't read it, i suggest you do immeadiatly.
I read this book shortly after Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, which was wtitten around the same time, and found them to be similar in a messed-up sort of way. But I can totally relate to Marcy Lewis's feelings in the book. I also love the way it's written. Almost like a kid actually wrote it. The kids in the book were so similar to the kids at my own shcool. The entire book has this awesome sour-sweet taste to it. It was way cool.

I decided to read this book along with my third grader (it was on her list of reading material rated for third grade reading). She and i both liked the book ok. I felt that the material was too advanced for a third grader to grasp. There were so many life lessons in this book. It will be better understood perhaps by middle school students or perhaps high school students. I had no appreciation for the lead character (Marcy) always putting herself down. She was way too introspective of her shortcomings. And because her Mother was weak in character, she could not help Marcy see the beauty in herself. It seemed morbid at times the way that this storyline keyed in on Marcy's insecurities. I understand the time that this book was penned (1978). Things were different for some women. I remember women being strong and working towards their independence. In 2006, this book would be counterproductive for young and older women.

Second book in the Cirque du Freak series.

Darren agreed to become a half-vampire and to work as an assistant to Mr. Crepsley, a vampire, in order to save his friend's life. Basically, a nice guy, Darren is revolted by the idea of feeding on human blood. He gradually learns to accept his life as a vampire, but draws the line at drinking human blood.

Darren and Mr. Crepsley return to Cirque du Freak after a brief time on their own and Darren is finally able to make some friends. When one of those friends is in danger, just how far will Darren go to keep him alive?

Fast-paced and gory.

When I read the first Cirque du Freak I thought it was remarkably fresh, but this sequel unexpectedly broaches such themes as environmental problems and the humane treatment of animals. It also faces the young half-vampire protagonist with a serious ethical dilemma. I was surprised to see the author deal with such complex concepts in a children's book.

Thanks to the Cirque du Freak book series my soon to be husband is actually turning off the television and reading every once in a while :)

Darren Shan is a very suspenseful writer and keeps his readers on the edge of their seats for the entire wild ride :)

I have all of Darren's books including two currently out of print books that are published under his full name Darren O'Shaughnessy:

Ayuamarca: Procession of the Dead (City Book 1)
Hell's Horizon (City Book 2)

Darren is just a regular school boy until his best friend gets tickets to a freak show and he steals a very poisonous spider from a vampire. The spider bites his friend and then the only way he can save him is if HE has to turn into a vampire. What will Darren do next?

I enjoyed this book. It was fast paced (my favorite type of pacing) and the plotline was good, and definitely not predictable. My only gripe is that the characters seemed under-developed, and didn't quite suit my taste. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I read it in one sitting. Well written.

Do you like to read funny books that make you laugh through every single chapter? Well then you should definitely read Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Women by Dav Pilkey. In this book George Beard and Harold Hutchins tries to get their teacher Ms. Ribble to change their grades back to normal because they tricked her into almost marrying the principal. So Harold Hutchins comes up with the idea of trying to hypnotize Ms. Ribble.

But little did both Harold and George know that the hypotonic ring they had purchased a while back worked differently on women. Every time they tell women something, the hypnotized female does the opposite. While hypnotizing their teacher Harold told her, you will change our grades back, not turn into wedgie women, not try to destroy Captain Underpants, and not try to take over the world. So now seeing how George Beard and Harold Hutchins made the mistake of their lives. Both George and Harold are now are now going to soon regret it.

If you want to find out what's going to happen to George and Harold then you should go out and READ THIS BOOK!

It's just an average day at school with George Beard and Harold Hutchins, but a teacher giving super powered wedgies isn't normal for the other kids. She's mean, evil, vile, and wants to take over the world; she's Wedgie Woman! But, who will stop her?

In the fifth epic novel of Captain Underpants by: Dav Pilkey, George and Harold try to hypnotize their mean teacher... and it works. They tell Ms. Ribbles to be nice, kind and not to turn into the evil Wedgie Woman who wants to take over the world. Later, on in the news, they hear that if a woman is hypnotized they will do the opposite of what they are told to do. Now George and Harold are very worried when they find out that the news is true and that Wedgie Woman is here to take over the world!

It's wedgie time since Wedgie Woman's hair gets soaked with super powered juices and now even her hideous hair can give wedgies. Everyone (except for Wedgie Woman) is mad because they all get a wedgie, but don't worry Captain Underpants is here! Maybe he'll save our underwear, or he might get an atomic wedgie, but to find out the climax of Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman by: Dav Pilkey you must read the action-packed book that is full of laughs and violence

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. This book is like all the others funny. Read this book!

Oh my gosh this book is hillarious.george and harold are so funny they do all these pranks and they change the lunch sign every day.they trick 2 of their teachers to marry each other and...well you have to figure out the rest

Davante Armant Ela
Date 1/29/07 FD-BR
Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman

Do you like to read funny books that make you laugh threw every single chapter? Well then you should definitely read Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Women by Dav Pilkey. In this book George Beard and Harold Hutchins tries to get their teacher Ms. Ribble to change their grades back to normal because they tricked her into almost marrying the principal. So Harold Hutchins comes up with the idea of trying to hypnotize Ms. Ribble.
But little did both Harold and George know that the hypotonic ring they had purchased a while back worked differently on women. Every time they tell women something, the hypnotized female does the opposite. While hypnotizing their teacher Harold told her, you will change our grades back, not turn into wedgie women, not try to destroy Captain Underpants, and not try to take over the world. So now seeing how George Beard and Harold Hutchins made the mistake of their lives. Both George and Harold are now are now going to soon regret it.
If you want to find out what's going to happen to George and Harold then you should go out and READ THIS BOOK!

Eugene O'Neill's classic play, "Long Day's Journey into Night," is an autobiographical work that makes you feel immense pity for his family life. It's a great read, and wonderful to analyze! Just don't think that this will be a playful romp through the theater. O'Neill tackles a lot of heavy issues in this play and it can be difficult to read.

Starting in the 1600s, America was known as the place to make it big, where one could make a decent and happy living if one just worked hard. Whether contrasted to the chaos of Revolutionary France, the abject urban poverty of Dickens' England, the abject rural poverty of Ireland, the militarization of German society or the civil strife of Russia; America was heaven on Earth, a place where one could live the life they wanted. This image gradually wore away by the early 1900's, and this disillusionment was captured in work after work of American literature. The Great Gatsby unveiled the decay of the super-rich, The Grapes of Wrath showed the pitfalls of the rural farmer, Sinclair's "The Jungle" revealed the horrors of industrialized society, and To Kill a Mockingbird forced us to confront the horror of Jim Crowe laws. But no work so fully and so subtly attacked the everyday failings and desperation of middle class America until this short classic by Eugene O'Neill. This story has no true protagonist or antagonist. Instead, it examines one middle-class family, the Tyrones, over the course of one day. The Tyrones live in their own house, and are financially independent. The parents are middle-aged. The husband is past his prime earning years, and his wife, Mary, is addicted to snuff. One son is an alcoholic womanizer, and the other is frail and probably a nervous wreck. Nobody is in danger of starvation or eviction, but the family as a whole has problems, with depression probably being universal. Everyone has personal failings that weigh on their souls, and each day is a struggle to get through without damaging relationships with each other. Hence the title of the book, a long day's journey into night. Night probably means death here, as noone in the family is going to die soon. The journey is the time they have to spend with each other and put up with each other. This fate, this tragedy probably afflicts more people around the world than any other, and that is to have to live with your failings and those of your loved ones. This book was published at the end of O'Neill's career, and is supposed to represent his family. Regardless of its intention, this is a great book, and of the few American classics that anyone around the world can understand.

I have written reviews of some of Eugene O'Neill's other plays elsewhere in this space. I have noted there that Iceman Cometh is my favorite for a variety of reasons, some of them political. Journey, however, may be O'Neill best play and not only because it is somewhat autobiographical. The trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional family that is ultimately clueless about solutions to what ails each of the four characters (father, mother and two very unlike sons)is very much the stuff of modern drama. The intervention of the gods would seem out of place here.

In O'Neill hands the tensions, misunderstandings and illusions presented are recognizable to today's audiences, even those who may themselves be troubled about finding solutions to some very disturbing problems. Althought this is a difficult play to read (and more difficult to watch performed)virtually everyone I know who has read and/or watch it has survived to the end. And was glad of it. That will tell as much as anything else that I could add that we are dealing with a master work of American literature. Enough said.

I recently re-read "Long Day's Journey into Night" on a vacation flight and was surprised to find how well it stood up in my second reading.

The first time I read the play was when I was in my late teens and I could easily relate to melancholia of Edmund.

With age and time, I am less melancholic and perhaps less Edmund-like but "Long Day's Journey into Night" is a wonderful play. The most personal (autobiographical) of O'Neill's work: it also is his most universal work.

On every page, the American Dream/nightmare comes through with a brilliance perhaps not equaled elsewhere.

If a professional or quality amateur production of this work is not readily available to you, I highly recommend you pick up a copy. Enjoy!

Simply said, the most beautiful American play of all time.