Nicholson Books

This book offers a detailed documentary style chronicle of the lives of mughal kings. The author has done a good job of data gathering and reporting. The book is interesting in parts solely because of the interesting (and shocking)lifestyle of the Mughals. However, the writing style is somewhat dull and too wordy. There is very little analysis and commentary - except the five pages of the very last chapter .

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and truely, this book confirmed to me what I have always conjectured about the nature of Indian society during Mughal period. "Emperors of the Peacock Throne" by Abraham Eraly, is published by Penguin Books, and hence, perhaps can also be baught in India through Penguin distributors. This book is about Mughals in India, great reading... just like "Freedom at Midnight" -by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, that would make you look at events in India's past with different perspective.

I found "Emperors of the Peacock Throne" very enlightening, and very thought provoking, and learned many new things about the nature of Indian society in Mughal times. Indian history text books, just like text books in any country including USA, UK, China or Japan, are highly sanitized versions. History of any nation can be very fascinating to read, but text books in most countries just skip over unpleasent facts in a line or two, or try to rationalize not so pleasing facts (e.g., plundering, killing and total decimation of native Indian cultures by Europeans in North America). Similarly, school text books in India, being too secular, just cannot criticize the Muslim rulers since that would most likely provoke largely illeterate muslim masses led by fundamentalist Mullahs (the same for equally trashy non-muslim amirs, landlords and kings that exploited, plundered and looted poor masses). So, this book provided a refreshingly fresh perspective, and if nothing else, you can read it as a story book. Here are some sample paragraphs from chapter titled "Death of the Future", page 218 describing the times of Aurengjeb, the last great Mughal emperor..

"Outwardly, the Mughal empire still glittered mesmerizingly, but within the golden, jeweled chrysalis, the flesh was rotting, the spirit dead. The land was desolate, the empire crumbling, its economy shattered, its government inefficient and irredeemably corrupt, its mammoth army flaccid and impotent, its culture effete, its people broken and spiritless only the Marathas displayed any vitality. But there was no future with the Marathas either. They could have seized the imperial scepter: it was theirs to take. They had the power. But they had no vision. The Marathas too were captains of the medieval, Hobbesian hell into which India was collapsing in the eighteenth century. India seemed to be a land where the future had died."

"This was not how India's destiny had seemed a century earlier, at the end of Akbar's reign. Indeed, in many respects the Mughal age was progressive. << deleted text>> "


Now fast forward to page 221 and contrast the situation of India described above to an earlier time of Mauryas and Chandragupta's.

"The decline of India's position relative to the rest of the civilized world specially Europe, is reflected in the contrasting perceptions of travelers in ancient and medieval India. Some 2000 years before Mughal times, Megasthenes, the Greek envoy in the Mauryan court, said of India character: "Truth and virtue they hold alike in esteem." Seven hundred years after Megasthenes, Fa Hsien, a Chinese travelers, had about the same thing to say of Indians, as did Hsuan Tsang in the seventh century, who wrote, " They do not practice deceit, and they keep their sworn obligations ... They will not take anything wrongfully, and they yield more than fairness requires."

Buy it or borrow it from your library. It will surely fascinate you.

This is a book with two fatal flaws. It describes battles and campaigns from the end of Stalingrad to the taking of Berlin. It does this with only 16 very poor maps. This is fatal flaw No. 1. The maps have no topicologic features ( mountains, rivers,swamps, etc are missing) and frequently have few of the major targets delineated. Even worse, in a number of cases, there are no maps at all describing major actions.
Fatal flaw No. 2 mirrors Fatal Flaw No.1. The text introduces armies, divisions, corps almost in passing. It has no lists of critical units and commanders. This, plus the lack of maps makes following a particular endeavor extremely difficult.
The book does have interesting information on Allied conferences; on the Russian treatment of Poland and other Eastern European nations. Its analyses of Stalin is excellent, painting a picture of him as cynical, machiavellian, but amazingly competent; expecially compared to both Churchill and Roosevelt.
Would I but this book again? No. Would I borrow it?
Maybe. Large tracts of it, expescially compared to masterworks like Shelby Foote's histories of the Civil War are incredibly dull and untractable. Too bad,because clearly Erickson had a world of information.
One last thing: there is little analyses, no portrait of the Russian or German soldiers who bore the brunt of the European war.

John Erickson's 2-part history of the Soviet-German war in 1941-1945 is the definitive English-language publication on the topic, and this is the second volume. Because the Second World War was basically won and lost on the Eastern Front, and because conquest of the Soviet Union and the rest of Eastern Europe was Hitler's primary motivation for going to war in the first place, this book is a must-read for anyone truly interested in military history or the history of the 20th Century in general.



There is a lack of maps in the book, so I would suggest to the reader that they invest in a WWII atlas of some sort if they really want to follow what is happening. And the book is mostly told form the Soviet perspective, but that is not such a bad thing as there are far more English-language books about the Third Reich anyway. But there is nothing else written in English that comes close to Erickson's history in terms of overall balance and exhaustive, well-documented research.

This is a very interesting look at Jack's life from childhood on - including his friendships and how these friendships affected his life. I enjoyed this thoroughly, so much, that I am reading it a second time!

I would recommend Patrick McGiligan's biography because it has the research and detail one would expect of a biography. This book, (I assume written by an Englishman since it was published in England and uses words like "chum",etc) is a composite of what has already been published on Jack Nicholson. Its even balanced and focuses on seminal events in Nicholoson's life and his movies..What is very annoying about this book is the excessive description of the cultural context that surrounded Jack's 60's days...Way too much setting, frankly because there is not any new content here...If you don't know much about Jack, this is not a bad introductory piece....Oh, yes the other thing about this book is way too much (previously published) information on Warren Beatty, Roman Polanski, Marlon Brando, and Robert Evans...the writer goes into great details on the problems in their lives...not central to subject of this biography...

The hero of the story, Sam, is absolutely wonderful - romantic, funny, loyal. Jessica, on the other hand, is so withdrawn and has so many hang-ups that its hard to sympathize with her at times. She is a really nice person inspite of a hard childhood, and she also has her reasons to run from Sam, but at the same time the villainess Raye has a lot more fire than her. Of course, the drawback to spicy Raye is that she's pure evil, but at least she could never be called a coward. "You Again" is still a charmer, especially once Jess becomes a black cat, but Nicholson's "Scent of a Woman" is far better - I ADORE that book! The heroine in that one is just as fantastic as the hero.

A lady gets into an accident and goes into a coma. Her soul migrates into her little cat's body. As a cat, she finds out her ex-husband [who she thinks is a jerk (but secretly still loves)] still loves her. It's a bit hard for her to move around and convince everyone she's still alive when she's only got "paws" in place of fingers and "meows" in place of a human voice. It's pretty cute and funny. Meanwhile, her ex-husband doesn't understand why this strange black cat(which is her inside of a cat body) is following him around!

Once you get deep into reading the author's (Michael Drosin) material, you suddenly begin to realize what's what & who's who. Caution-some of this material will keep you up late at night pondering you're next move. Don't worry-everyone's fate has already been pre-determined through Biblical calculations. Mathematicians and scientist from around the world apparently agree, "The Bible Code" is accurate-wow! What do you think?

Ideas abound in the Bible Code. The evidence is convincing and, regardless of whether it is ultimately disproved, offers a unique way to look at the Bible.

i would have like to know that it wasn't in english. i haven't been able to read it.

This book was interesting for the first 30 pages. The gist of the book is extremly repetitive. I found it hard to complete the book because there was no incentive to push on. Drosnin's research is interesting, but it seems he enjoys it on a different level than the readers.

Wouldn't be nice if there was some definitive proof that the Bible has some secret hidden knowledge within it? Man, that would be profound. Wouldn't it be equally awesome if in the book they say they tried using other books with the same code system they used for the Bible and no other book had any secret info? That would be far out man.

Sadly none of the above is true. When you read it you get blown away by how profound it all is. Sadly, they have found another book that the code works for and it can pick up strange messages of a prophetic nature. Also, unless you look for a certain phrase nothing comes up. I think the whole thing is wishful thinking folks. If you want secret messages from the Torah, check out Kabalah.

This is a complex book to read. As stated by others, it isn't a fast read. You'll have to think as you go through it. As a matter of fact I read the first two chapters twice before going on just to be clear about the direction.
Many of the negative reviews regarding this book are from people who only read the first half. Yes, the setup is long, but one has to keep going! For those who aren't sure of the point, you must include the 18, thought provoking, Reader's Points that Ms. Stott includes in the back of the book. This book has so many twists, turns and confusions along the way that I found it fascinating!
I would love to see this written and produced as a screen play - could be very interesting!

This book breaks new ground in the development of novels. It has elements of historical research, a thriller, a love story, a whodunit, a science fiction, and a ghost story, but it is not typical of any established genre. Its wide-ranging content, drawn from many different fields of intellectual endeavour make it something of an intellectual tour de force.

The story begins with the suspicious death of an author, Elizabeth, who leaves an unfinished book of research into the life of Isaac Newton. The main character, Lydia, takes up residence in Elizabeth's house and sets about completing the book for her. The rest of the book is narrated by Lydia, recounting disturbing discoveries, mysterious events and suspicious deaths, which appear to have sinister implications involving similar suspicious deaths in the 17th Century, and modern animal-rights terrorists.

Some of the narrative consists of Lydia's stream of consciousness, and is mostly written as if addressed to Elizabeth's son, Cameron. It becomes clear that she thinks about him constantly, wistfully, regretfully, as though addressing a deceased person. The story contains ambiguities, as does real life, and these make the story plausible at various levels of realism.

Subtle little doubts are sown here and there about Lydia's sanity, and yet the reader identifies with her in a powerful way. She is intelligent, courageous, resourceful, and honest about her own failings. She is the sort of person a sympathetic reader would fall in love with.

Despite the rich intellectual content, the book is written in a beautifully clear style of simple prose. Sir Edwin Gowers would have loved it. I certainly did.

Initially drawn to this book due to its hint of supernatural happenings, I would have enjoyed it even without that aspect.

Only gripes are the unpleasant subject matter about animal experimentation, a major plot point, and the shift at the end towards the age old plot device of the corporate conspiracy.

Tho there were some passages I thought were worthwhile in the 100 pages I read, this book was simply too boring to endure. If you want something to put you to sleep, this is the book for you. Non-fiction is much more entertaining than this.

When Lydia Brook learns of the sudden, mysterious drowning of an old mentor, Cambridge scholar Elizabeth Vogelsang, she finds herself pulled into a dark and complicated web spanning a timeframe as wide and as far back the 16th century, and involving the life and career of none other than Sir Isaac Newton.

Elizabeth's son Cameron, with whom Lydia once had a doomed relationship, asks her to temporarily move into Elizabeth's cottage in Cambridge, study her papers and complete a book Elizabeth had been writing about something significant she had apparently discovered about Newton. Lydia doesn't really want to be near Cameron and had left the area several years before specifically to end their relationship, but she has finished her most recent novel and is at loose ends at the moment, and more importantly, she feels she owes it to Elizabeth, who had been an important figure in her life. What Lydia soon realizes is that there may be quite a bit more to Elizabeth's death than anyone imagined, and that it was no accidental drowning that took the scholar's life. In reading through the stash of papers and research Elizabeth left behind, Lydia stumbles onto a dangerous truth: that there are centuries-old secrets and deceptions involving Newton's career and his time at Cambridge that several interested parties wish to remain undiscovered, and yet other parties - not all still living - just as eagerly wish to see full light.

Rebecca Stott is a renowned British historian taking her first stab at fiction, and while the mystery itself is compelling and Stott's language and prose is breathtaking, the whole thing ends up a bit muddled. At the end of the story there is no real conclusion, and I was more confused than when I started. The author's detailed knowledge of 17th century history, and in particular of Newton, alchemy, and the excitement which filled that dawning scientific era, was engaging enough to keep me going, as well as her talent for clever foreshadowing, but as far as I could tell the question at the heart of the mystery is never really answered.

Another big problem for me in reading this is a personal one only and not necessarily a slight on Stott's writing, but it did severely hamper my enjoyment of it. I did NOT like Lydia, the main character. The reason is perhaps a silly one - because she's having an affair with Cameron, who is married (not a spoiler; it's right at the beginning). It's both a moral thing and a respect issue. I have a hard time holding even a marginally good opinion of any woman who would sleep with another woman's husband, and stoop to being some guy's sloppy seconds when she could obviously do better. It made Lydia seem both nastily selfish and annoyingly pathetic, and while I want a few flaws in my protagonists for realism's sake, I want those flaws to be things with which I can empathize.

Stott's use of language is so lovely, however, that even though this debut is a little disappointing, I'd definitely give her another go and would like to see more from her. Definitely great potential and talent here.

Probably the least controversial thing one can say about Nicholson Baker's "Checkpoint" is that it's controversial. Released at a time when the highly polarized American public was awaiting the charged 2004 election, the book's main character spews invective against the incumbent president, George W. Bush. Some four years later the public remains equally divided as yet another tense presidential election approaches. Some things never change. 2004 also saw the release of Micheal Moore's "Fahrenheit 911," a film which seemed to unify the left by showcasing President Bush and his administration at their absolute worst. Its phenomenal success prompted a catharsis of anti-Bush material. Doubtless Baker, or at least his publisher, saw an opportunity with "Checkpoint." In August, 2004 it appeared to near universal disdain (at least in the mainstream American press). Though the book isn't necessarily political, its timing, subject matter and tone probably made it difficult for many to read it otherwise. Its incendiary topic: the assassination of President Bush.

The cover of "Checkpoint" says "a novel," but it reads like a play. It could easily be performed as one (for the controversy hungry, at least). Every page contains nothing but dialogue and the occasional bracketed stage direction or sound (such as "[Click... click, click]"). Perhaps the cover should instead read "Checkpoint a dialogue." The text involves a tape recorded discussion between two main characters, Jay and Ben ("Room Service" has a few lines later on). Ben has rushed to the "Adele Hotel and Suites" in Washington, D.C. at Jay's behest. Jay soon says "I'm going to assassinate the president." Ben's initial reaction seems a bit far-fetched, but as the book continues the reader discovers that Ben has a history with Jay. Jay isn't well. He hasn't been well for a while, it seems. Plus, he's a little loopy. His assassin's weapons include a large boulder, remote controlled flying saws, and "special bullets" programmed by marinating them with a picture of the intended victim. Jay also reads blogs. From these he's collected information on what he sees as the crimes of the Bush administration. The Iraq war plays heavily here, in particular an episode at a checkpoint in which a mother witnesses her daughters killing by US forces. Jay works himself to a frenzy. Ben tries to dissuade him and threats begin (when Ben threatens to contact the authorities, Jay promises to carry out his act immediately; the story's crucible seems a little contrived, but it suffices). Ben tries to calm Jay with some of the usual palliatives: killing just leads to more killing, all presidents have been bad (he lists them since Truman; only Carter gets a "meant well"). He then has Jay pound on a picture of Bush with a hammer ("[Flump!]"). Whether this provides adequate therapy remains somewhat ambiguous. The book ends with a "[Click.]"

Following publication, a plethora of interpretations spewed from the press and public. Some excused it merely as a diatribe against President Bush a la "Fahrenheit 911." Others saw it as a critique of liberalism, likely building on the seeming "nothing-we-can-do" passivity of Ben in the face of Jay's violent outburst and Jay's iconoclastic views on abortion. A much smaller number questioned the legality of the book. Still others saw its "therapeutic" value in providing a warning to not destroy oneself by raging against the machine. The literary minded tended to dismiss the politics altogether and focus instead on the character's personalities and interactions. Baker himself insisted that the book is "not political," though he also said it was inspired by the events of the recent Iraq war. The book does read like an emotional outburst. It feels rushed and uneven in many places. But it also contains hilarious, disturbing, and moving passages; a few of which seem like harbingers of Baker's 2008 non-fiction follow-up "Human Smoke." Ultimately, the question remains: will this book continue to inspire readers situated outside the political volcano it appeared in? It seems to have disappeared, swallowed up by the 2004 election results, though criticism of the Bush administration continues unabated. Nonetheless, the book contains enough intriguing elements that in a few year's time people may read it with a new perspective. In some ways the book was too close to the historical events that surrounded it. Time may provide enough distance to judge the book by other merits. Or perhaps it will remain a product of its fervent and frenzied time, when the United States saw a degree of polarization unseen since the Civil War.

This is a very politically motivated book where two guys get together and one has a plan to assinate the President. What transpires are the goals of both guys--one to stop his friend from his sick plan, the other to carry out his sick plan. A pretty good fast read.

This book is billed as a novel, but it's really a short story told entirely in dialogue form -- there's a guy who's threatening to assassinate George W. Bush, and his old high-school buddy is trying to talk him out of it. The would-be assassin, Jay, seems to be delusional: I don't think we're supposed to believe that his intended plans (or weapons) could possibly work. At the same time, he's very well-informed about recent events, especially the Iraq war. I suppose that combination makes him potentially an interesting character, and the book might work as a character study -- but if that's the intention, it's too short; we don't have enough to go on to really understand this guy, and we certainly don't get anything like a thorough political assessment of the Bush Administration (or even just the Bush Administration's crimes). So I'm not sure what the book really means to provide. I like Nicholson Baker's writing, but I don't know..... maybe too little is expected of novelists these days. This isn't a bad read, but it seems dashed-off and insubstantial -- certainly not the novel that will be looked back on as defining this era.

I read this in 2 hours. It's a boring, short book (in script form). There's no real fowarding of the plot, and the character are annoying. Even if you hate Bush, you wont like this book.

I think that people who try to take the political content of this book seriously are missing the point. The point of the book, like any good novel, is not in scoring political points but exploring the lives of the people involved in the novel. Because the political point of view of the two protagonists is contemporary, it's hard not to react to the political statements being made. Not surprisingly, then, many reviewers have considered the book as a political tract and have commented on how valid the political analysis is (maybe it helps to be Canadian).

But that's not the point: The point is seeing two people living in the United States in 2002/2003. While the protagonists do, occasionaly, make points that real political commentators make, they also make absolutely loony points. Like a David Mamet or Harold Pinter play, the pleasure in this book is the dialog (the book is all dialog), the characters, and their relationship.

When reading this book it might be worthwhile to take the long view: Assume that the protagonists are living in the time of Louis XIV and are considering assissinating the king. In that frame of mind, you wouldn't care about the politics and would only interested in the people. On that basis, I enjoyed the book. What is impressive to me is how much the author reveals about the characters and their values through the incidentals of the character's conversation. We see two people who really have given up on any hope of influencing their country's direction (or even the direction of their own lives) and who can not tell the difference between fact and supposition. They have come to the point where the only difference they believe that they can make in the public sphere is through some spasmodic dramatic action.

Buenos Aires! The Latin Paris! Or so its residents like to think. To the annoyance of their South American neighbors, Argentines seem to believe that their country is a large chunk of land that split off from Europe and just happened to float down south of the equator.

The history of Argentine does not wholly undermine such a mindset. At the turn of the 20th Century, it was the 6th wealthiest country on the planet, with a potential as rich as the soil of the Pampas. Now, it is an economic basket case. What happened? And what is life in Buenos Aires like, living in the shadow of failed potential? Miranda France, an Englishwomen who spent several years in Buenos Aires in the mid-1990s, lets us know in BAD TIMES IN BUENOS AIRES, a fun and entertaining book. Though, to be honest, the title is a bit misleading. Despite the daily inconveniences and foibles of the city, there were good times to be had, as well.

Much of the book is composed of France's personal anecdotes of her own life in the Buenos Aires. She tells of the endless frustrations with poor telephone service and long lines for everything. She also provides us with a glimpse into the soul of the Argentine people. After the failed economic policies of Peronism, followed by the military dictatorships and the `Dirty War,' the city and its citizens seem enveloped in an all encompassing melancholy. The zeitgeist reminds me a great deal of that described in Orhan Pamuk's excellent book ISTANBUL, in which the residents of that metropolis live continually in the shadow of a once great, but now gone, empire.

Perhaps as a result, Buenos Aires now has about three times the psychoanalysts as New York City, the profession probably being more common than that of a shoe shine boy. Even the tango, the only dance specifically condemned by a Pope, reflects the sadness of the two dancers and the environment in which the dance came to fruition.

France captures the mood of the city and its people excellently and relays it to us entertainingly. That she is English probably makes her experiences that much more interesting, as the Argentines seem at once intrigued by the British, especially its royals, while at the same time acutely pained by the sting of having lost the Falkland War to those same Brits. If the residents of Buenos Aires are ambiguous about Europeans to begin with, France no doubt felt the ambiguity even more.

BAD TIMES IN BUENOS AIRES is not a difficult book. Its quirky title should be a clue that the book seeks to entertain as well as inform, and, for the most part, it succeeds. If you are intrigued with the more distant corners of our globe, those places where things do not necessarily always go so smoothly, then you should definitely check it out.

The title of this book is a bit deceiving. It is a chronicle of the experiences (both good and bad) of an Englishwoman journalist in Buenos Aires in the mid 1990's. Not really knowing what to expect from this book, I figured that reading anything I could get my hands before moving to BsAs myself. It turned out that I was pleasantly surprised and found myself laughing out loud at points, always a sure fire sign of a good read. Using the experiences of her everyday life in BA as a framework to build off of, France interweaves hilarious anecdotes of daily life in BA, provides glimpses into the BA residents (they are known as Porteños) psyche, and gives an account of the all too often bloody history of Argentina. Although the France complains about the various short comings of BA, the chronic lack of coins, the crossed wires of the telephone system, the endless queues for anything and everything (all of which are still very much true), you can definitely tell that she has developed a soft spot in her heart for unique quirks that make BA what it is.
Argentina at the turn of the 20th century was the sixth richest country in the world behind the USA and the leading European powers. With so much promise for a grand future and such failure to achieve anything close to the possibilities it is no wonder the events of the subsequent hundred years are filled with political and economic instability. The rise and fall of Juan and Evita Peron, the various military dictatorships and the infamous `Dirty War' of the 1970's that accounted for the disappearance of tens of thousands of Argentines all invoke strong emotions that still reside just under the surface of Argentine life, often times coming directly to the forefront. France explores this common history and the effect it has had on the Argentine people. One possible result is the number of psychoanalysts in BsAs; per capita there is more than three times as many in BsAs than there are in New York City. Apparently it is a Porteño pastime to be psycho analyzed, indeed many find it hard to accept life without it, often working two or three jobs in order to pay for analysis.
For me this book gave me an idea of what to expect when I arrived here in the Paris of the South as it is often called. Although it speaks of a BsAs about 10 years past, it excited my imagination and curiosity in this giant Latin American city, the home of the Tango. The Tango is a sad genre speaking of lost loves, suicides, murder, and betrayal; a fitting theme for the constantly melancholy Porteños, something that really catches the essence of the people. France describes the dance, if done correctly, as passionate and loveless as a one-night stand.
Although I have found through my own experience some of France's tales have been embellished a bit for dramatic affect, the book provided me with a decent idea of what to expect once I arrived. Since France wrote Argentina suffered a terrible economic crisis in 2001 that sent the country reeling for years and it has had noticeable effects on all levels of society. Today Argentina is moving forward again and prosperity is returning, but it must be realized that much more than a decade has passed between 1997 and 2007.

Like many English travel writers, Ms. France blends very well in the society she describes, and captures masterfully all kinds of moods, nuances and details. Her choice of subject for the ten chapters is a happy one, perhaps with the exception of the chapter on the pampas, a bit out of pace with the rest. Unfortunately, despite all her (I am sure, genuinely) best effort, English travelers abroad can never leave home a sort of superiority complex so that foreign ways of doing things inevitably end up looking just a bit silly! This book reminds me of Tim Parks' books on Italy: both France and Parks clearly love their subject countries, but can not help looking down upon it... albeit perhaps unconsciously! A great collection of pictures well worth reading!

Three-and-a-half stars rating, really.

I think that it is unreasonable to expect a travel book to be anything except the author's perpective on the places visited. French clearly brings her own (British) agenda to Argentina, but she also just as clearly makes an effort to move beyond that to present a balanced look at the city she was living in. I found it a good read (almost too quick) and a well-formulated one. It was worth the time that I took to read it.

Good points:

France owns her own prejudices. She is very careful to note when she was being cranky and British about something so that the reader is clear that it is her persective and not the voice of authority.

I also like that she did not try to take a sweeping 20,000 foot view of the culture, but limited her commentary to those aspects to which she had access.

Less Good Points:

She treated some subjects (the Faulkland Islands, for example) more quickly than they seemed to deserve and at times that left me with the frustrating feeling that there was more to say about a subject but she had already moved on to the next point. I do not think that it needed to be much longer, but a little more filling in areas that got short shrift would have been good.

At times her writing was a little too precious and tried a little too hard to make all her moments meaningful. One of the things that makes a writer like Chatwin so great is that he does not try to connect the dots for the reader and is very sparse in the way that he handles detail.

The final very best point is that I enjoyed reading it and it inspired a desire to know more about the subject-- which is, I suppose, the ultimate point. Recommended if you like travel books.

I just could not finish this book. It is so mean. Why should a writer bother to stay in a country just to critize everything, exagerate and write all her negative points of view.

I was born in Buenos Aires, I live in Canada, I have live in Norway and I travelled a lot around the world (London included, city that I loved). I am not a fanatic nationalist and I think this book is so unfair.

Some British hate Argentina and some Argentinians hate Great Britain, because of the Malvinas (Falklands) war, because of the Soccer World Cup, because of Maradona or Beckman... who knows... and who cares.

I gave this book to a canadian friend who was curious about my comments about it, and he agrees that this book is awful to read.

I am sorry for the writer, she lost lots of time in a beautiful city and she did not enjoy it at all. It is a waste of time...

If you're someone who subscribes to the idea that the journey itself is the destination, then you'll likely feel an affinity for The Everlasting Story of Nory, a good-natured but sadly empty tale of a young American girl and her family, who reside in modern-day England. Nory is a bright soul, witty, curious, lively, even wise, and yet in this nearly plot-less novel by Nicholson Baker, a writer who places more value on the worth of each ordinary moment than anyone I've ever read, the brave attempt to set an audience down into the life of one young girl fails for exactly that same absence of any concrete plot. Like some other novels I could name, Nory could almost---and note I do say "almost"---have its chapters shuffled into a random order, re-assembled, and then read without it making much difference to the content of the story. The experience of entering this book is like being set aimlessly adrift on some great river, and then being informed that there is no destination ahead, just look at whatever happens to be there on the banks as you pass by. Nory is endearing and her titular story sometimes is as well, but at book's end I was bored and no longer enchanted and couldn't decide if I'd been cheated (even ripped off) or whether I should pity Baker for missing his chance to create what might've been one of the best inside treks into childhood ever written. In the end doing The Everlasting Story of Nory was like being presented with a bit of bubble gum to be chewed on and discarded, with the exercise of chomping on it being the entirety of the reward offered.

In a post script, lest anyone label me a Baker-hater, let me point anyone with a regard for history toward his excellent new release, Human Smoke, a work in which Baker's intellect and scholarship shine.

The everlasting story of Nory starts well. I was hooked to the first pages who offer something unique and different - a good look into the mind of a nine year old girl. It seems that all parents spend time in one stage or another discussing the issue of how their children think... here is a serious effort to answer this question. Although Nory seems at times like a too mature person (with too-good-to be true parents) who spends a lot of time dwelling about "heavy" issues (she is very concerned with the way Achilles mother held him while dipping his body into the river and not - as Nory thinks would have been better, by cradling him in her arms and stepping into the water with him), but also about subjects I am more familiar with from my kids such as problems with other children, nightmares and trying to be "a good girl". All in all Nicholson Baker does give us pretty good directions. However, once the thrill is over, and the appreciation to Nicholson Baker's genius (no sarcasam here) wears out, you are left with a somewhat tedious feeling. This happened to me around middle book where I realized this book is taking me forever to finish and I had to struggle through the rest of the book wishing that something would finally happen or that the book would end already. The story could have been interesting had it centered around Nory's social life at school and the many problems it presents - especially Nory's relations with Pamela, a very unpopular girl which Nory seems to like. These parts and the real life conflict they present are indeed interesting but the story is filled with the many stories Nory invents - which are, to say the truth, not so interesting for an adult. It is like the feeling you have after spending too much time with your kids... you do love them, but sometimes you crave for an adult conversation.

The book is about Nory, a nine year old who is a bad speller and tries to get along with her parents, friends and brother while standing up for herself and others. That's really it. I disagree with other reviewers, in that I think Nicholson Baker did an amazing job of making it seem like most, if not all of the story was coming from Nory herself. It doesn't sound like a middle aged man pretending but more like a middle age man who does a great job of creating a book for adults that seems like it could be for kids. Where the book is flawed, and I think this is where others who reviewed this book will agree, is that you just don't really care about Nory or her friends. There's no real interest, and as such it takes forever to read this 200 page book. Nothing is really resolved at the end because there is no progression. It's Nory telling stories, most of which, although clever, are generally uninteresting and not that fun to read. Nicholson Baker tries to put his amazing writing style into a 9 year old and although it works in his prose, it doesn't work in its ability to create a good story. Sure, it's still Nicholson Baker, who I think is the greatest user of the English language, and you should still read this book if you have nothing else to read and are a fan of his work, but it's not important if you don't. You don't miss too much.

A fan of Nicholson Baker, I was thoroughly disappointed by a book that I had looked forward to reading. Nine-year-old Nory relates to the reader her observations of her life to date. Although the dusk-jacket blurbs would lead the reader to believe that Nory's observations about her parents, her teachers and fellow children will leave the reader laughing out loud, I found that Nory's voice sounded very much like that belonging to a late-middle-age man working hard to imagine life as a nine-year-old girl. For Baker fans, skip this one.

Baker manages to perfectly encapsulate the mind of a nine year old in all its semi-logical, semi-nonsensical glory. Nory feels like a living, breathing child, as do her classmates and younger brother. A beautiful book.

Having read several of Catherine Coulter's books before I was looking forward to another great story. Boy, was I wrong! This story was so hard to wade through that I literally had to force myself to read it! I couldn't have cared less about the characters, the writing was stilted (to put it mildly), and references to new characters with no background information were regularly added. Ms. Coulter has written a number of books that were excellent; Mad Jack, The Wild Baron, etc. but this is not one of them. Don't waste your time or your money with The Hellion Bride.

I loved Sherbrooke Bride. I felt Ryder deserved an equally fascinating heroine and storyline. Instead the characters are flat, one dimensional drones. Sophie, the heroine is useless. The plot was thin and Coulter, obviously struggling for ideas, just fluffed most of the chapters with nonsense. I get the feeling she was in a rush to complete the trilogy and her heart and usual talent did not surface with this piece of writing. YUK. I'm generously giving her two stars because overall I enjoy this author. I couldn't wait for Hellion to end and had to struggle to finish it. Usually her pace is great and her novels are page turners. Disappointing.

I have enjoyed reading the Bride series. My only major complaint is that romance novels do not have to be filled with sex to make them good. There is too much in this book and I believe it would have been just as good without it. The characters are so well written that it takes away from the story line. FYI: Lynn Kurland is an author that can write an excellent romance novel without writing the sexual incounters.

This is the second disturbing book I have read by Coulter. Her novels seem to be riddled with abuse; both mental and physical.

If you're looking for a fairytale romance or any romance at all skip this book. This book was about an Englishman who goes to the Carribean to investigate ghosts/spirits haunting his brother's property. That storyline flatlines and instead Coulter focuses on this odd, completely disturbed, man-hating young lady that is forced to wed the Englishman for her own protection. That sounds heroic, but trust me it's not.

There is absolutely nothing in this novel that makes you want to keep reading further.

I wanted to like Ryder. I kind of liked him in The Sherbrooke Bride. As I've mentioned in my reviews of the other 2, I bought these all together and for some insane reason felt a compulsion to finish them. I will forever regret that choice. I have a surprisingly good memory and surprisingly good reading comprehension, so unfortunately I remember waaaay too much of Ms. Coulter's books now.

I don't know how much I'd classify the sex here as "rape" (coercion definitely, but there is a difference). There was obvious rape in The Heiress Bride, but the only actual rape I thought occurred in this book was actually perpetrated against Ryder by the prostitute and Sophia and her uncle.

I have more a problem with the fact that Ryder was more upset that Douglas saw Sophia naked than by the fact that his wife had just run scared from the room because of her husband's "love making". Douglas, who claims to have felt the same type of compassion for Sophia as he does for his own wife (which was pretty darn low, so maybe that explains it), just hands her back to Ryder despite the fact that she was in a panic and bloody.

Ryder was not considerate of Sophie on any level. A person who has suffered from physical abuse, manipulation, coercion, etc. is going to be a bit frightened and traumatized. What's the best way to keep her in line? Threaten to beat her, of course! He does that numerous times. He is not compassionate to her in any of their interactions (as people or sexually).

Seems to me that the whole book was about Ryder trying to control her and Sophia trying to fight off her fears of that control after having been abused for so long. I cannot think of one redeeming quality in their "relationship", let alone any indication of why they would "love" each other.

I can honestly and truly say that having read the first 3 books of the "Bride" series, I will never, ever, ever read a Catherine Coulter book again, and I will seriously recommend that none of my friends or even mere acquaintances do, either. We must put a stop to the belief that abusive and manipulative "heroes" are acceptable, and that rape scenes are somehow erotic. THIS is the type of "romance" novel that is a danger for young girls to read. It will give the impression that these interactions are somehow "normal" in any way shape or form.