Pitt Books

After her controversial debut The Wind Done Gone, a parody of Gone With The Wind, Alice Randall is back on the literary front with PUSHKIN AND THE QUEEN OF SPADES, a work of art presenting deeper observations on race, classism, interracial relationships, motherhood, family, and love. Embedded in these themes are strands of humor, literary references, and a mother's love and frustration in protecting her son from the realities and cruelties of the world.

Windsor Armstrong is a professor of Russian literature and has named her son Pushkin X after Alexander Pushkin, the Afro-Russian poet and Malcolm X. She raised Pushkin with the hopes that he would one day follow in her footsteps, as an intellectual, not boxed in the same stereotypical class of many other black men. Unfortunately, Pushkin has his own ideas and goals in life. He excels in football, turns down a scholarship to Harvard, and eventually advances to the NFL, to the horror of Windsor. When he announces his marriage to a white Russian lap dancer, Windsor finds herself lost in a myriad of emotions.

"Pissed" would be the forefront emotion as she takes his announcement personally, wondering why he didn't choose a black woman, why he chose the life he lives, and how she can continue to love him, considering all of the issues she finds with him. Tossing back and forth from the past to the present, she relives her life, her troubles, pain, and happiness, as she creates a wedding gift for Pushkin -- a narrative of her life. Through the revelation of her disappointments, we're able to further understand her anger and the love she has for Pushkin. In addition, we're given a multifaceted view of her character and her past.

PUSHKIN AND THE QUEEN OF SPADES is an exploratory journey for Windsor as she searches for identity and reconciliation. It is at times moving, hilarious at others, but, nonetheless, adeptly addresses many concerns faced by parents. It is definitely a book to be read slowly, up close and afar, to catch exactly what's going on throughout the pages. It is an exciting look into contemporary fiction with a literary edge.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I have to admit that I gave up on this book at the half-way point. I just could not read any more, although I was mildly curious to find out who Pushkin X's father was. It wasn't worth the pain, though, so I gave up.

In the first place, the book is written somewhat in the manner of Toni Morrison's "Beloved", with one big difference-Morrison is a great writer and Randall is not (based on this book, at any rate). The result is that this book goes on and on in circles. It's deadly dull.

Second, I developed a hearty dislike for the protagonist. Instead of coming off as sympathetic, having had a tough childhood and adolescence, the protagonist comes off as self serving and selfish. Her disappointment in her son, with whose conduct and life I could find little fault, irritated me to the point that I simply could not stand another moment of the protagonist's harangues against him and his girlfriend (who struck me as an intelligent and thoughtful women and no weirder than the mother!).

Third, the idea of connecting the author Pushkin's life and works to contemporary black life is very intriguing (and was the reason I launched into the book in the first place), but the author does nothing with it. She skims over the clichés of Pushkin's life, but never digs into any original connections between him and black identity.

Fourth, what does this book really say about black identity? Granted, I am not black, so there may be some subtle message I am missing, but I learned nothing about black life in the US. The protagonist's life, in any case, is atypical, since she is a professor - hardly mainstream either in black or in white culture. Her childhood struck me as far from typical also.

I really found nothing in the first half of the book to suggest that I ought to invest the effort into reading the second half; so I didn't.

Alice Randall's Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, is, simply put, a great novel. Beginning with the hilarious double entendre of its title the book is rife with meaning and food for thought. The issues addressed in the book, our internal and external lives at the intersection of race and culture and the long term impact that our relations with our parents have on our own children are often discussed in solemn, ponderous and often overly contentious tones. Randall will have none of that. Rather, she embarks on a graceful, biting and often hilarious tour de force that should leave the reader laughing out load while at the same time soaking in the powerful ideas set out neatly inside the pearls of laughter. Mary Poppins once said a little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down. In this instance a while lot of sugar and down right great writing helps open our minds to the sometimes provocative issues she sets out.

The story line itself is simple. Windsor Armstrong is an African American woman, graduate of Harvard, a professor at Vanderbilt University and the holder of a PhD in Russian literature. Her son Pushkin X is named after the great Russian poet and playwright, Alexander Pushkin (author of a famous book The Queen of Spades) whose own African ancestry formed the emotional basis of his work and life including his tragic death in a duel. Pushkin X has dashed Windsor's hopes that he would follow in his mother's academic career. He turned down Harvard and played football, at the University of Michigan. Even worse, Pushkin's football skills have resulted in his becoming a star in the NFL. The book's plot is revealed in the opening paragraph, perhaps one of the funniest opening paragraphs I have read in recent memory. Brief excerpts follow:

"Look what they done to my boy! . . . Fifty million people have watched him on a single Monday night. He has given a Russian girl a diamond ring. He means to get married. My son is a football player engaged to a Russian-born lap dancer, a girl named Tanya who danced at a club call Mons Venus. There is a God and he's punishing me. This much bad luck cannot happen by accident."

It soon becomes apparent that Pushkin X has withdrawn his mother's invitation to his wedding after she expresses opposition to the marriage and, more importantly, after she once again refuses to reveal the identity of Pushkin X's father, long a source of contention between mother and son. The rest of the book is devoted to Windsor's internal dialogue in the days leading up to the wedding. She touches on her early childhood in Detroit up to 1968 and the impact of her relationship with her father, whom she adored, and her mother, whom she did not adore, who took her away from Detroit and her father to D.C. They arrive in D.C. soon after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. Despite her unhappiness in D.C. the city (and her mother) provides her with the opportunities that take her on her life's journey to Harvard, to Russia and a career as a scholar. Her internal dialogue continues. Like a river, her dialogue takes many twists and turns. Randall's words emerge as a beautiful stream of consciousness that leads us to many new and unexpected destinations. She is never boring and often profound. She is also funny and downright sassy at times as she embarks on riffs that touch on such diverse topics as her sex life, Malcolm X, `the souls of black folks', and writers such as Colson Whitehead and others. She touches on the meaning of being a mother and how the love of a mother (or father) for a child can bring more pain than we sometimes think we can endure. Simply put, in a context that Windsor Armstrong might enjoy - Curtis Mayfield may have had Windsor Armstrong in mind when he wrote the words "the woman's got soul".

The identity of Pushkin X's father and the nature of his conception gradually emerge as the book reaches it climax. That climax includes Windsor's wedding gift to Pushkin X - which gift is worth the price of the book standing alone.

In many respects the structure of Randall's dialogues are reminiscent of James Joyce's Ulysses. This is not to compare Randall to Joyce necessarily but I think it is no small compliment to the power of Randall's writing to even be thought of with Joyce in the same paragraph. As Christopher Hitchens once said about a writer once compared to Tolstoy, to be even compared to Tolstoy (or Joyce in this instance) is no small achievement even if one hasn't quite reach that stature (yet). I enjoyed the book tremendously and encourage anyone with an interest in good books to pick this up and read it. It is a book to be enjoyed and savored.

Randall's latest novel, "Pushkin and the Queen of Spades" covers a lot of territory. On one level, it's the story of a mother's love for her son and her attempt to protect him from a truth that she feels may crush him. Windsor and Pushkin X - mother and son - are the focal characters in the novel. When Windsor learns of her son's plans to marry a Russian lap dancer, she is forced to reckon with aspects of her past that she has tried desperately to forget. Not only must she find a way to accept her future white daughter-in-law, but she must also find a way to tell her son who his father is. Within this story line, the author demonstrates the current and historical complexities of black/white racial relationships.

On another level, the story examines class and culture conflicts within the African American community. Windsor comes from a family with "all of the vices except those that are unforgivable and none of the virtues except those that are absolutely necessary". It is within this context that Randall explores the difficulties that Windsor has with integrating all facets of her life after a legitimate shift in class and cultural status. ". . . Negroes who survive to thrive exhibit highly original adaptations to life", Windsor tells Pushkin X; and she adapts by compartmentalizing her life in an effort to keep the criminal and abusive aspects of her family background from bleeding into the highly intellectual and academic life she now has as a Russian studies professor at Vanderbilt University. Is it possible to jettison what was then for what is now? Is it necessary? I found this aspect of the novel comparable in many ways to my life experience and the author captures the character's psychological conflicts with apt clarity and clinical insight.

Then there's the literary relationship between the text of Randall's novel and the work of Alexander Pushkin. Although I wasn't familiar with Pushkin's work I had heard of him at some point during my academic career. What I don't recall hearing is that he is of African descent. This bit of knowledge did for me on a small scale what it did for Windsor enormously - it sparked an interest to know more about the African-Russian. It's because of Randall's work that I've recently read Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades", that I've read a little biographical information about the author and his work, and that I will read "The Negro of Peter the Great." There is nothing more beautiful, more powerful, than a novel that entertains, uplifts, and educates; "Pushkin and the Queen of Spades" does all three.

And then there's the rhythm of the story, the beat. Poetic passages and skillfully crafted phrases reflect the author's command of language and knowledge of literary history. "Pushkin and the Queen of Spades" is a monumental accomplishment. Randall packs the story with African-American history and tradition as well as literary creativity and complexity. You'll have to put your thinking hat on for this one but its well worth the effort.

In Pushkin and the Queen of Spades, Alice Randall mixes a spicy gumbo of Russian literature, Motown, and hip-hop that glides across the palate of the mind to rave culinary reviews. It's funky, hip, and sexy, yet sophisticated, cosmopolitan, and righteously poetic. When a Harvard-educated professor's football superstar son decides to marry a Russian lap dancer, her life becomes a retrospective of "where did I go wrong as a single black mother?" Windsor Armstrong thought she had raised her son, Pushkin X, to be a perfect reflection of herself: educated, erudite, and worldly, and sees his taste for the common as a direct rejection of everything she has ingrained in him, including her place in his life. Rather than retreat and wait for him to come to his senses, she writes a hip-hop elegy of epic proportions as a wedding gift in hopes of culling his forgiveness while desperately trying to respect his choices.

I absolutely loved the first short story, "Misdirections" and purchased the book based on that story. I think it is exquisitely crafted. You can hear the author reading it on the Morning Stories podcast from WGBH.

Unfortunately the other stories that I read (I admit I didn't finish the book) don't live up to that 1st one. The main characters tend to be depressed and alienated, living self-destructive lifestyles or having relationship issues.

The stories might work well individually, but since I tried to read them one after another I found the similarity in tone repetetive and (not surprisingly) depressing. I plan to try to finish the book some day. That first story is so good that there must be some more hidden gems in there.

A good friend who never leads me astray when it comes to good books recommended this book to me, and I'm so glad he did. I love the very short stories in this book. I loved reading them in between the less short stories. They feel very unlabored and they work. I love how the stories tell the funny little things that happen inside peoples' heads while they're connecting or disconnecting with someone or someplace, or the idea of someone or someplace. How physically intimate people can be and yet make no real connection at all. Being deprived of what you are used to, and trying to get used to the way things have or have not become. Many, though not all of the stories deal with life's disappointments, and at the same time they are infused with a reassuring sense of humor that makes them a pleasure to read. I savored every page.

This first collection is sharply drawn, quietly knowing, and at times, laugh-out-loud funny. David Ebenbach writes from a kind and clear-eyed place. These stories, like many, address love and loss, connection and disconnection, but Ebenbach finds a way to steal into our hearts. Each moment is worth savoring.

Like the previous reviewer, I'm more likely to be reading mystery or fantasy than prize-winning 'serious' fiction. But I read through this in one sitting, every story getting me more engaged than the last. The author takes on perspectives that are different from my life, but in every story I see something of myself--a sentence, a feeling that resonates with me. This was a truly engaging read.

Although the book is billed as a collection of literary fiction, and I have no doubt it fits that bill, this self-proclaimed lover of trashy mystery novels found it absolutely wonderful. The stories are quick reads but the language is so rich and evocative you feel like you must have read more pages than you did to feel as involved as you do. Fantastic. A perfect gift for all the loved ones in your life. (Not to mention all of the almost-loved ones you have just missed in your life.)

This is probably one of the most engrossing novels I have ever read. I could barely put it down. As with all of Anne Perry's novels there is a LOT of discussing, speculating, Ect. but there is some interesting information on how differently the claases lived. And of course there is much excitment when Pitt is investigating in the Devil's Acre. Pitt and his wife, Charolette (I spelled it wrong, didn't I?) seem to be a bit competitive in this one. Charolette (don't mock me 'cause I can't spell) acts like she wants to solve the case for Pitt or before him. All in all, I reccomend this book to any reader, diehard Perry and/or CSI fan.

Pitt and Charlotte are at it again. The subjects Ms. Perry chooses always seem to startle me, only because I feel in the Victorian time, it would be such a scandal, which ofcourse is what makes it delicious for us. The women of the Victorian times are trying to break out from some of their perceived roles as women.
Having read these in order, it's fun to see characters reintroduced.
With all the shows on TV, like CSI,it's fun to see what things they did to identify bodies, how long they could keep a dead body, etc.
Very enjoyable read.

Death in Devil's Acre was filled with completely disgusting mutilations and odd killings;skills no ordinary killer would ever obtain.Ordinary he wasn't either.Anne Perry brilliantly achieved the skills of a great writer and put much creativity and hard work into this book.You'll never be able to put it down! The detective work was incredible and the murders were beyond belief!

In this seventh novel in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt high Victorian mystery series, we leave the exclusive circles of high London society for the brothels and slums, where first a seemingly respectable doctor and then Max, the blackmailing footman from CALLANDER SQUARE, are not only murdered but mutilated -- and then a third murder brings into play Charlotte's connections with London's drawing room society. Perry does a good job in this one, especially in delineating the characters of those whose existence middle class London would rather know about.

This is the 7th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. It starts off in the year 1887 with an interesting premise, and it moves steadily toward an exciting finish. The character of Thomas is more likable than last time, and his wife Charlotte, who doesn't have much to do in the first part of the book, becomes very active later, as does her sister Emily. And there are characters brought back from previous books. Along the way, because of Charlotte's unusual social circumstances and Thomas's profession, we learn some fascinating insights into the class system of that time and place.

The author is consistent in her ability to create a sense of place and character. In DEATH IN THE DEVIL'S ACRE the atmosphere is dark and moody, with a very unpleasant topic. But the book is well done and adds to the series.

I guess it's a small world, as I was also at the Blacker house on 6 October. (It was a Pasadena Heritage event. They play an important role in preserving the work of Greene and Greene and other outstanding architects in the Pasadena area.) While I agree that this is an excellent book on the Blacker House for those interested in Greene and Greene or in Craftsman architecture in general, I would recommend that anyone looking for an introduction to the work of Greene and Greene start either with one of Makinson's books on their work or with Edward R. Bosley's recent book. When you get hooked you can come back for this book.

I had the extreme pleasure of being part of the production of this masterpiece by Mr. Makinson. I can tell you from an insiders point of view that, much research, time and love went into this creation.
Mr. Makinson is a perfectionist extrordiaire. Trust me when I tell you, each and every texture,color,and tone is just as it is in the actual home. Not like many books or photos. I promise you this: This book will make you feel as if you are there walking through the history of this remarkable landmark.
During production I read this book countless times. Even now several years later, I will pick it up and find myself immersed in the splendor of a marvelous works.
Jeremy Michael Davis

it's hard to miss with a subject like greene & greene architecture, and the blacker house and its story are especially interesting. this book gives info and photos on the construction, furniture, and restoration, as well as the usual great photos, interior and exterior, of the house itself.
two gripes - 1. the size - it's one of those odd-size books [about a foot square] that doesn't "fit" with your other books on the shelf. 2. there's lots of filler - more history of mr. blacker and his family, stiltingly told, than i cared to know, and 14 pages of brad pitt photos that are interesting in their way, [artsy, silvery b&w's] but i'd have preferred more info on the house. [though it is nice to know that an actor has a keen interest in this kind of architecture.]
for greene & greene completists, buy! for others, pick from the other greene & greene books.

I must admit to being rather enamored with the work of Greene and Greene. I've visited a number of their homes in Pasadena, but have not yet had the opportunity to view the Blacker House (from the inside anyway). Over the last ten years, I have read about every book written on the brothers, and when I read the pre-release description of this book I was very excited. In particular, I was interested in learning in detail how this wonderful quality work was reproduced and restored by today's craftsmen. While this book does a great job covering the history and detail of the house, this is not new territory if you're familiar with the previous body of work. I really had my hopes up that the hammer and nails detail of this monumental restoration would be covered in such a fashion as to provide working information applicable to new design. The work of Greene and Greene carried residential detail design in wood and metal to it's zenith. With the structure exposed, this was really a magnificent chance to highlight the subtlties that set their work apart. This does not happen here. My comments may be a little unfair but this book ends up being another "architectural" reference. I was looking for something that broke new ground. This being said, I still love the book, and am glad to have it in my library.

A great deal has been written about the work of architects Charles and Henry Greene, but never before has such a detailed monograph been published about one of the homes that they designed. Randell Makinson's narrative provides a thorough historical background of the Blacker Family from their Ontario origin to their final home and its construction by the Greene brothers in the Oak Knoll subdivision of Pasadena. The story continues with the 1947 subdivision of the 5.1 acre estate into seven separate parcels and the eventual removal and sale of the original furniture, light fixtures and art-glass windows (all designed by the Greenes). The book concludes with a detailed description of the restoration process that began when the current owners purchased the home in 1993, and was basically completed in 1998.

Historical narratives, while full of useful and interesting information, are typically a little monotonous. That is not the case with this book. Mr. Makinson's obvious passion for the work of Greene and Greene, and for this house in particular, is evident. His description of the removal of 53 light fixtures from the house in 1985 left a lump in my throat. I could not put the book down until I read the happy ending about the house's restoration.

I had the privilege of visiting the Blacker House on October 6th, and viewing firsthand the results of the restoration effort. While nothing can quite compare to walking through this masterpiece and touching the magnificent woodwork, I can assure you that the marvelous photography of Thomas Heinz and Brad Pitt comes very close. The collection of photographs in this book is absolutely wonderful. The interplay of light and shadows, the warmth and depth that the colors bring to the images, and the visual compositions themselves cause me to rank these among the best architectural photographs ever published.

This is a must-have book for anyone interested in Arts and Crafts architecture. The contribution of Charles and Henry Greene to the American architectural vernacular can never be overstated, and this house is certainly one of their most important contributions to the art. Thank you Randell, Thomas and Brad for supplying a valuable addition to my library. I hope this is the first in a series of books about the "ultimate bungalows."

Not a bad book, I just wasn't gripped by it. Sophie, upset that she can't have her summer in France leaps at the opportunity to spend it in New York--but she expects the super posh New York city. What she gets is a messy 'artist' with two lunatic children that she has to watch. She sort of learns a lesson by the end, but it took her a long time....and I wasn't that interested in the other characters.

The book Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America is a good read. The name might not look appealing, but don't judge a book by its cover:-) I found the first couple chapters dull, but as I got into it, it got really intersting.
When Sophie meets the Salamancas, adventure erupts! She sleeps on, not a matress, but a matress made from DIRTY clothes. And to her surprise, they live in Brooklyn, not Manhattan, and Sophie also discovers that she'll be babysitting Tampa and Gallup. Worse of all, the house is FILLED with clutter! Sophie is just about to explode! But then she meets Barbee and Bachman. Can they save her summer? Read Sophie Pitt-Turnbull Discovers America to find out!
I hope you found my review helpful!

Sophie S.

Dyan Sheldon's charming coming to America tale is one that kids of all ages will enjoy. As a Brooklyn resident (though not the part Sophie visits), I was extra amused by her grandiose visions of New York and dismay at her surroundings. Sheldon makes Sophie naïve but likeable because her heart's in the right place, and her proper British reserve keeps her from being the brat that an American teenager would likely be if faced with the same situation. As much as I love some of the glitzier YA novels set in New York, this one is way more realistic and charming. Witnessing Sophie discovering Brooklyn, and truly widening her eyes and her world, was a total delight and I hope to read more about her. The Salamancas' wackiness and colorful cast of characters make this a hilarious read that should win over teens and adults on both sides of the pond. And if you've ever visited New York as a tourist (or if you live here), you'll delight in all the hype Sophie hears about it, as well as her reality.

Meet Sophie Pitt-Turnbull. She's a proper British teen who has a strong sense of identity. "I've always been happy with who I am. Not in a stuck-up, I'm-the-best-thing-that's happened-since-the-invention-of-the-lightbulb sort of way. More in a God's-done-a-lot-worse-than-Sophie-Pitt-Turnbull sort of way. I reckoned that I'd improve with age (like wine or cheese), but I never expected to change."

Not in her wildest dreams would Sophie Pitt-Turnbull know what she was getting herself into when she begged and pleaded with her parents to let her go on summer vacation --- or holiday, as the British say. Her family had canceled their usual summer trip to France and Sophie couldn't stand the thought of spending all summer watching Jocelyn Scolfield, a friend who Sophie was on the outs with, and Daniel, Sophie's ex-boyfriend who was now dating Jocelyn. Sophie prayed to get out of England.

And then, a miracle! Sophie's mother had an old friend, Jacqueline Salamanca, from art school. Sophie's mother rang Jacqueline every year to wish her a happy birthday. This year, Jacqueline was complaining how her daughter, Cherry, desperately wanted to go to Europe. It was the perfect idea! They could swap daughters for the summer, so that each girl could get a chance to go overseas.

Sophie was thrilled. She'd seen lots of movies about America --- especially New York City where the Salamancas lived. She couldn't wait to go shopping on Fifth Avenue and hit the art galleries in SoHo.

But then she arrives and things are very different from how she had imagined. The Salamancas were not proper, like Sophie's family. In fact, they were the exact opposite. Mrs. Salamanca insists on being called Jake rather than Mrs. Salamanca or Auntie. Her two kids, Gallup and Tampa, even call her Jake. Gallup is obsessed with animals --- their house is filled with strange creatures including a pet pig named Bart. Sophie has to share a room with Tampa who talks in her sleep. Sophie's luggage gets lost and she has no choice but to wear the weird clunky black clothes that Cherry (whose real name is Cherokee) has left behind. And the most shocking of all is that the Salamancas do not live in New York City. They reside in Brooklyn in a falling down, cluttered house that is not remotely close to the SoHo loft that Sophie had envisioned.

Sophie expects that her summer will be even worse than being in England. Will she be able to put up with the wacky lifestyle of these Brooklynites? Can she put aside her culture shock and actually have a good time?

Dyan Sheldon is the author of many books for young readers including CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, MY PERFECT LIFE, and PLANET JANET. She does a good job of creating strong female characters and hurdling them through various entertaining obstacles.

SOPHIE PITT-TURNBULL DISCOVERS AMERICA is a fun read for Brooklynites, Londoners, and everyone else too! It's infused with humor and quirky characters that make for an enjoyable read. A helpful British slang glossary is found at the back of the book to help translate some of Sophie's phrases. Even though the British speak the same language as Americans, there are many things that are different. Can our girl Sophie Pitt-Turnbull who "never expected to change" adjust to American life? Read and find out!

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson

I am an adult who loves reading teen books.

This one is good. The story of a young british girl who goes to New York for the summer. She gets the surprise of her life when she gets there.

While this book is not a hard hitting one (no drugs, sex, etc.) it is written with lots of humour and explores what happens when we have pre-conceived ideas of a person just by looking at their surroundings.

Sophie ends up learning some valuable lessons which, thanks to the authors, wonderful writing never makes us feel as though we have to preached to.

This book is a nice entry into the teen books. Buy it.

I think Shannon's work is funny and original and the premise drew me in from the start. I'd love to read more.

This really drew me in, left me longing to know what happens next. Carol is an inspired character, complex & disarming--don't know whether to love her or pity her, but in any event cannot look away. Imagining young Shelly Winters starring in the film adaptation, or in today's world, maybe Lisa Kudrow or Joan Cusack... I'd read anything this author wrote.

I laughed out loud at some of the passages in this excerpt, and I think the premise is hilarious. The protagonist is just so over the top she's kind of hard to take for very long. I didn't know whether to laugh at her or feel sorry for her, and I wanted to care about her. I couldn't really care because she's just so nuts. I think maybe writing it mostly from the point of view of Jane Austen would work better. I am curious about where the book is going next.

"Brad Pitt Won't Leave Me Alone" is alternately a funny and a sad excerpt. The main character, Carol Olenka, is a fascinating if unlikable creation. She has no idea of what people think about her and constantly creates a fantasy world, even going so far as to advertise herself as a therapist after reading one article about transference. She says whatever is on her mind without stopping to think about how her words affect other people.

The excerpt works best when it focuses solely on Carol and her interaction with people and her thoughts. It falters when it switches viewpoint to other characters like Carol's sister Becky and her neighbor Christian - I think it should have stayed with just Carol's viewpoint. While Carol is in general a repulsive character, some of her actions were a bit too repulsive. Also, while many of the conversations in the excerpt are nicely written, the conversation between Christian and Carol in the laundry room should have been shown instead of the author simply stating the conversation began to have sexual overtones.

"Brad Pitt Won't Leave Me Alone" had some good moments but could have been developed more.

I bought this book out of curiosity after seeing Mike Pitts as part of a TLC documentary on Stonehenge. I'm glad I did. It's very readable, and very interesting, and very accessable to a non-archaeologist such as myself. Highly recommended.

Mike Pitts', _Hengeworld_ is the most exciting jewel of journalistic-style archeology I've run across since the most recent Dead-Sea Scroll ferment, or "missing link" bones-find article written up in Scientific American. Pitt's volume fills some of my own arcane need for reliable historical review of digs at paleolithic sites in Great Britain, and their current status. The tantalyzing bits we know about the age of the Celtic people and early Britons never ceases to stretch my imagination to creative edges, but finding trusty sources is tricky and often discouraging. Pitt's efforts to clean up the murk around previous digs, and his willingness to frankly set out the limits of our knowledge about the Henges, their makers and customs is refreshing. I found his hypothesized conclusions coherent with the evidence presented, and anthropologically sound.

One warning is in order here for those who might say to themselves, "Ah-ha! Readable archaelogy. Good, I'll pick that one right up!" This book, if given the close reading it deserves, has the potential to broaden one's rear-view horizon. Hengeworld is above all a candid book. It can lead some of us to re-consider, in concert with disquieting facts and acknowledgment of good data, our whole enterprise of gathering knowledge about our ancestors. In spite of this caveat, the book's final chapter exceeded my expectations.
The chap who wrote the review above obviously knows too much for his own good. It's rare that good archaeology is offered in an appealing way to the non-specialist, without attempting to inflame the masses with mere sensationalism, and maintaining a healthy skeptical edge. Pitt's book is well-worth the time and effort.

You're the honoured guest at Mike Pitts' party. He's set up a receiving line. You meet a guest, are given some personal background, there's a bit of chat, perhaps a short show and tell, then on to the next. They're a varied lot - an RAF veteran, a testy lady, students of all kinds, scholars and civil servants. Off to one side huddle a scruffy group of fishermen. They seem unimportant, but they're vital to this book. Everyone here, including you, Pitts hopes, has a common interest - the henges of Britain. Each of them has contributed something to a better understanding of the ditch circles, posthole remnants, standing and fallen stones, and corpses that make up the hengeworld. They all want to know how the henges were built and by what sort of people. Mostly, they want to know why these monuments came to be. Perhaps you can help answer the questions.

Originally subtitled "Why Was Stonehenge Built?", this question remains glaringly unanswered by this book. Yet in pursuing the inquiry, Pitts has provided more information about the sites, their construction and environment than any other single source. Pitts' title reflects his attempt, largely successful, to bring to life the circumstances and people involved in the multiple constructions scattered about the British landscape. He stresses that all the henges underwent successive building or remodeling over the centuries. Ditches and banks established an enclosure, later modified by circles of posts. Sometimes, as at Stonehenge, dedicated residents finished the project with stone monuments. Over the centuries, those people died, or were killed, their bodies interred within the enclosures or nearby.

Pitts explains how information is gleaned on ages of the sites, condition of the artefacts unearthed, morphology of the disinterred corpses. In his quest to show us the lives of the builders and occupiers, he has a face built from skeletal remnants. Don't skip over that image, it may be one of your ancestors. He provides a wealth of other images - many fine maps, tables of artefact ages, photographs of workmen [some at your party] unearthing or restoring the sites.

The "Why?" remains elusive, for many reasons. We have no written records, of course, and the carvings on stones are enigmatic. So is the positioning. If Stonehenge's Heel Stone doesn't mark the midsummer sunrise, why is it placed where it is? Why is there a preponderance of cattle remains at Stonehenge, but pig remains at Woodhenge, only a few kilometres [and years] away? Why are there massive wood constructions, many with human remains adjoining the posts, as well as stone monuments? Why is Stonehenge's construction method such a departure from the remaining henge sites? And why, if they did, should Stonehenge's builders have trekked all the way to southern Wales for building materials? [That's similar to my walking to Toronto, buying the Province's legislature building, tearing it apart and returning the stones to Ottawa by way of Lake Ontario and the Rideau River - 900 kilometres round trip. Try that thought experiment in your own locality.]

Pitts proposes Neolithic peoples had the dedication to mount such an expedition. Their motivation, in his view, is ancestor worship. Such doctrines have built the Pyramids, Gothic cathedrals and Greek temples, he reminds us. Faith, dedication and some special talents are all that's needed. Return to our party. The group of fishermen at Pitts' gathering likely went off to the pub. After a few pints, they were queried about the tides, weather and currents around the southern coasts of Wales. Some numbers scribbled on a beer mat is given to us as testimony that, yes, 'we could transport your stones 260 miles [Welsh fishermen think Metric is a Czech poet].' Thus Aubrey Burl's insistence Stonehenge came from local stone is disposed of. Perhaps. However, implausible, Pitts has done a well-researched and vividly presented job of viewing the hengeworld. Read it with pleasure. Study it for information gems of the Neolithic world. You won't be disappointed in either case. And you might be motivated to solve some of the issues he lists as needing investigation. [stephen a. haines, Ottawa, Canada]

This book claims to be the only up-to-date account of "henges", the enigmatic circular monuments that sprang up across Britain around 5000 years ago. Actually there is serious competition from the works of Aubery Burl, but if you like your archaeology journalistic and gossipy rather than authoritative and erudite, Mike Pitts is the man for you. If you are already a fan of British archaeology, don't expect too much from the "new discoveries" hype; most has been known for a decade or more (but new dates for Stonehenge change the picture a bit).

Among the many stories in this book is the poignant tale of the man responsible for by far the largest dig at Stonehenge. "At Hawley's annual lectures... speakers from the floor at first politely praised him for his determination to stick to the facts. Before long, however, he was being harangued for doing just that... bored with descriptions of holes in the ground, [they] wanted answers to the big questions. Who built Stonehenge, and why?". Gradually Hawley's funds dried up, he became dispirited, the dig petered out and (to the fury of later archaeologists) he never published a final report.

The time of the henges is the time that the (lost) history of Britain starts rolling. Their appearance implies a new cultural element (religion?) shared across the island. At first they are small and seem to serve village-sized communities, but a few centuries later enormous "super-henges" like Avebury are built, implying much larger political units on the scale of Celtic tribes. Also around this time the warrior Beaker culture spreads to Britain and Ireland, bringing a clearly hierarchical social structure. Soon after, bronze is invented in Britain, bringing not just better tools, but serious commerce in the form of long-distance, large-scale trade in copper and tin. By no coincidence the spectacular megalithic ring of Stonehenge is constructed around now, demonstrating the improved communications by incorporating 300 tons of stone from 200 miles away in Wales. Within a few centuries, most henges have been destroyed or abandoned and only a re-developed Stonehenge remains in use. These events carry tantalising hints of wars, invasions, alliances, the rise and fall of dynasties and religions. What adds to the fun is that we don't know the precise order of events... Carbon 14 can pin dates down only to a range of five centuries or so. Which is why archaeologists prefer to stick to facts about holes in the ground.

Seventy-five years after Hawley, there are a lot more facts, including some collected by Pitts himself in small digs at Stonehenge and Avebury. Pitts has no intention of losing his audience the way Hawley did, but he can't bring himself even to ask questions about that lost history. His solution is to spice up his account by turning it into a scientific mystery story (actually several mysteries interwoven to heighten suspense). The book is as much or more about the archaeologists as about their discoveries. But the mysteries solved answer only little questions. The result is entertaining, but unfilling; in the end we don't learn enough about either the people who built the henges or the people who dug them up. Although they are a cast of grade "A" eccentrics, none of the archaeologists stay on stage for long enough to become a true character.

As for the henges, the focus is on Stonehenge, Avebury, and their surroundings. We get the usual collection of maps, including the various stages of Stonehenge. Pitts points out that maps give completely the wrong impression of the monuments, which were designed to be looked at, not from the air, but from the ground, set in the surrounding landscape. Unfortunately the publishers' budget has not stretched to hiring an artist to show us this. The only reconstructions included show Woodhenge and related "post-circle" monuments as large huts; strange, because Pitts is certain these reconstructions are wrong. I suppose open-air circles of wooden posts are just less interesting to look at.

What is really disappointing about this book is what is not in it. Far from giving an overview of "Life in Britain 2000 BC" as promised by the publishers' blurb, the only aspect of Neolithic /Bronze Age life that seems to interest Pitts are the rituals and symbolism of the big henges, the most unknowable aspects of all. He risks a detailed interpretation, but it is transparently only one of a thousand possibilities. In contrast, quite a bit is now known about the Neolithic: its landscape, its climate, what people ate, what they wore, how long they lived, how they died, whether they grew crops or herded animals, what tools they used, and so on. On these topics, recent archaeology really is changing our view of the past, but such things are mentioned here in passing if at all.

Red Under the Skin is compelling on many levels. First, there is the cover's red lettering against enlarged, multi-toned bodies of pears with stems that tempt one to pick them. The eye is drawn in, mind imagines biting into the skin, mouth remembers the taste of pear, tongue savors the memory of juice; all serve to escort my desire for words into the book.

In this collection, the oral is the key to knowledge. The three "oral" themes-food, sex and language-are linked by "the persistence of desire" ("Rampion"). The reader is told, "information comes two ways, says Jung:/through our senses or our intuition."("Eating Crabs with Bob and Jim"). Clearly, these poems focus on the senses. What fascinates this reader is how our relationship to speech is described in terms usually reserved for food or sex: "No matter that some words glide over the tongue,/entice us with sweet stories,/we're still stuck/with their roots in our throats" ("Creation Story"). The narrator of "On a City Street" addresses the reader directly, asking, "Do the words enter you like blackberries/or someone else's breath?"

What is not said is of central significance, and being silenced is a consistent theme, whether due to internal or external forces. There is the great challenge we all face in reflecting human experience through language-struggling for, being without words-or even not needing them: "She says it's too, too, too.../and can't find the words/for what it is."("Tongues"); "Sometimes they blurt their way to the tongue./Mostly they swirl, banging against the gold/in our teeth and the bone of our skulls" ("Things");"...the feeling you'll never find/words for, but you know/how to answer anyway" ("Body Language"). This collection repeatedly speaks to consequence, in terms of what is said or not said, to us and by us: "What our families didn't say...," "to not say, not us." ("What Difference Does It Make?"); "What were they told?/What the papers don't tell..." ("Red Under the Skin"); "How to speak without naming,/without letting the name blind us/without letting the name speak by itself." ("Red Under the Skin"); "...in between we'll seldom speak. And if/I wish for our lives to be different,/I will inhale that wish like oxygen" ("Mountains"); "calling up each word and waiting/to hear a voice on the other side,/hello, hello./The words hung up as soon as they heard her" ("Water Music"); "choosing what to tell, and censoring/the rest, the obsessions..." ("On a City Street").

Oral tradition as profound, formative, lasting experience is illustrated by the title poem when "the fiercest fighters" are described as those who return "to a land they knew only in the stories/of their parents." ("Red Under the Skin"). On a lighter note, consequences of the oral experience are detailed in "Dental Work," where the themes of food and desire are considered by a narrator who is silenced by her dentist's fingers and tools in her mouth!

The relationship between being a woman and words, writing, speaking, naming and power is part of this collection's subtext, beginning with "Reading the Late Henry James," which ends in "reaching...for a pen of your own." The subject of being a woman writer-who learns from her body's senses and sensuality-not following in the steps of a tradition dominated by men, is addressed in "Edith Wharton After the Death of Henry James" and indirectly referred to in "L'Oustau de Baumaniere" (as some of histories first women writers were nuns, such as Hildegard Von Bingen, and convents served as women's communities where one could learn to read and write).

Unlike chocolates that "dissolve/to nothing on the tongue, like names/called out in anger, and in love" ("Chocolates"), these words, these poems, do not fade with the closing of book or mouth. They reflect the fuller dimensionality of being human, of being a woman. They teach, they delight. Sensuality is respected and celebrated. Classism, racism and sexism are examined in the most personal terms throughout these poems, intimately related to each other and reminding us that we, in our common humanity, are ALL related by blood.

The title poem alone makes this book worth having. And it's only the beginning. Saje has an uncommonly sensual touch with language.

i didnt read saje's book but i did read her poem, Red Under the Skin. She brings up the idea of purity. Being of different religions and backgrounds and essentially gets to the point of how it really shouldnt matter. Well I think it does matter. Nationalistic feelings lie in the hearts of many, even if they dont happen to live in the country at the time. those croats that fought for their country were not as brutal as she made them out to be. and the soldiers that came from around the world to fight for croatia obviously knew what they were fighting for. It wasnt just from what they heard from stories, because if it was they wouldnt of went to fight at all.And she brings up the issue of how we will never be the same color and believe in the same things, which is true so thats why we should stay with our own and not try to "mix and match" which will only cause further problems.

Natasha Saje accomplishes something remarkable in this collection: she manages to elevate the personal to the universal, the sensual to the political. I know of no other collection of poems that is as successful in this way. She is truly an important voice.

The poetry in this collection is dark, very dark. There are depictions of child abuse, murder, sexual promiscuity, drug abuse and domestic violence. For example, the first part of the poem that begins on page 6 is

The year of the mask of blood, my father hammering on the glass door to get in was the year they found her body in the hills, in a shallow grave, naked, white as mushroom, partially decomposed, raped, murdered, the girl from my class.

That was the year my mother took us and hid us so that he could not get at us when she told him to leave; so there were no more tyings by the wrist to the chair, no more denial of food or the forcing of foods, the head held back, down the throat at the restaurant, the shame of vomited buttermilk down the sweater with its shame of new breasts.

The poem with the title "The Language of the Brag" depicts childbirth, yet it does not describe a happy event. There are no happy events described in this book, what you see here is some of the most brutal sides of life. If you are comfortable with reading about such things, then you can enjoy this poetry. However, if you prefer some sweetness and light, even if it has to be sugar-coated, then you will not like these poems.

This is a brilliant, sad and utterly endearing first collection of poetry by one of North America's most amazing and blistering narrative poets. Michael Ondaatje says, "Sharon Olds's poems are pure fire in the hands--risky, on the verge of falling, and in the end leaping up. I love the roughness and humor and brag and tenderness and completion in her work as she carries the reader through rooms of passion and loss." --look also at Gary Short's "Flying Over Sonny Liston"--wonderful boyhood poems set against a flat Nevada landscape--

"Satan Says" is the first collection of Olds' poetry which I have read (although I've come across her poems once or twice in anthologies). I found the poems in "Satan Says" to be not only startling and brutally honest, but beautifully crafted as well. Her work reminded me greatly of Marie Howe, another female poet writing on (among other things) the body's oft-ignored sensuality even in the face of an abusive world (or family). Her poems seem to fuse the simple craftsmanship and observational talents of haiku with the frankness of Anne Sexton, giving us a treatise as much related to the body, childbirth, sexuality, dying, and aggression as to metaphysics. Genuine and powerful, highly recommended!

This collection handles even the most disturbing personal matters in ways which are both accessible and enlightening to the reader. As human and inspired as her later books.

I cannot honestly rate the content of this book since I did not read it. Before YOU buy another Dandelion book, please heed the following warning.

I am the author of 'The Clear and Simple Way', also published by Carol Adler / Dandelion Books. CAROL ADLER is in VIOLATION of Copyright Law and her legal contract to pay royalties. I HAVE NEVER RECEIVED MY ROYALTIES. I urge everyone DO NOT buy my book. As of April 30, 2005 Carol Adler has still refused to stop selling my book and she continues to pocket all the money. I am not the only author this has happened to. If you are one of her many victims, you are not alone. Write to: Gary Vey (who did not receive royalties) and become part of the growing legal action against her: tamcuatoi@yahoo.com (Gary Vey/Editor of Viewzone.com) For more info, go to:
http://www.viewzone.com/dandelion.books.html
Meanwhile, DO NOT BUY DANDELION BOOKS!
Thank you for your support. Judith A. Parsons

Each interview is only a few pages long, but each is jampacked with information. Most of Meria's guests have written books, which are available on Amazon - so you can move on and go in-depth when an interview piques your curiousity. Can't wait for the next Meria book(s).

This book is excellent! An interesting journey through the author's life, and her awakening to the reality of our political process. A true patriot stands up for the values that this country was founded on, and does not subscribe to media manipulation and corporate greed. If you are ready to wake up! and stand up!! this is your book. Also you can listen to meria online at [website] and actually purchase this book for half the price..(uh sorry amazon)