Richard Books

I saw both flims the original with Shirley Temple/Lon McAllister also the newer version both were great
So the the book was a must have also to learn what had happen to rest of the story(the horse/the people)

This is a wonderful book about an unbelievable champion - the kind we need today in America. A champion that reaches into the hearts of the people, unifies us and inspires us to prevail. The men who believed in Seabiscuit were not perfect, nor was Seabiscuit but they all managed to be imperfect winners. The writing itself might be a bit flourished but it is certainly well-researched and the story is entertaining told. Hillebrand has captured the ironies, truths, the agony and ecstasy of horse-racing and life itself as well. This one will make you cheer.

I'm usually concerned about purchasing items on line, especially books. I can honestly say that this experience was worth it. I would recommend this seller to anyone interested in purchasing good quality books at extremely reasonable prices.

Buy with confidence, I did!

I can't recall the number of non-fiction books that I've read. Little matter, this is the most incredible true story that I've read!!
Laura Hillenbrand has captured a time in American History. She is a true storyteller who has done impeccable research. It must have been the time she spent in Gambier, Ohio at Kenyon College that inspired her to such great in depth writing.
For those of you who have not read this book or have not seen the excellent movie, you're in for an incredible treat. Trust Me!!
If I were writing fiction, this true story would not have been told. Charles Howard, Red Pollard and Tom Smith are indeed the Holy Trinity. Remember these names, after reading this book, you will never forget them.
One little horse, so much history!!! Incredible!!!!

I have recently read Seabiscuit and watched the film and found both to be very compelling. We dont think much anymore about the dark days of the Depression but Laura Hillenbrand puts us right back in the middle of it. The important lesson was to look to the future as Charles Howard implored, the sun will come up tomorrow.

Three incredible characters intersect with this horse of unknown promise. Howard is the wealthy owner, despondent over the death of his son and unsure how to live the life of leisure; Red Pollard is a jockey not able to break into the big-time, due to his attitude, blindness, and injuries; Tom Smith is a taciturn man who belongs in the 19th century of his youth, not the modern world. Together they develop and promote Seabiscuit, a horse of incredible bloodlines, yet given up on by better trainers due to his work habits, attitude, injuries, and size.

Eventually the Biscuit wins all the stakes in the state of California and gets a shot at a match race with the great Eastern horse and Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. Both horses are descendants of the great Man'o'war, but the eastern elites dont want to give the western upstart his chance. After a few cancellations due to injuries and prickly owners, the match race goes off in Baltimore and the smaller horse brings it home.

The book is more enlighting with respect to the fuller stories of the characters, especially the relationship between the jockeys and Pollard's romance and marriage to a Boston nurse. The movie brings the times to life. Howard and Pollard were the raconteurs who made Seabiscuit the hero of the little guys during those lean years. Dont forget, tough times dont last but tough guys do.

Ms. Hillenbrand is an equally interesting story. She suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and is only able to work at a fraction of the typical writer. Here she focused her energy on this story and these times. Seabiscuit has been the story many times in film and books but Ms. Hillenbrand brings it to life for us.

I truly do appreciate this book. I truly do. Nancy Farmer has a gift for creativity and I'm in love with the way she makes a blend of culture, sci-fi, and morality. This is a complex and thought-provoking novel, written quite well.

That said, I still did not like it.

It's dark, severe, grating, and hard-to-swallow. Which works well for many a book, but I'm afraid that it only made the end of this book all the more cheesy. And this is one top of the bizarre family connections.

There's an icy feeling that connects almost all the characters, and I don't think Ms. Farmer properly escaped it in time to leave one satisfied.

Thank-you, Ms. Farmer, for putting such incredible concepts into a YA book with your talented writing, but please do not expect everyone to enjoy this.

Though I'm sure the right crowd will love it. I do not complain against its awards

at the end of my freshman year of highschool we had to clean out our lockers. this book had been on our required reading list so many kids had bought it. i must have picked up 6 copies that were about to be trashed...my plan was to sell them on ebay **sigh**.

anyways...im not going to be boring and tell you what happens, because there are 31 boring pages of reviews that do that. and im not going to try and imitate book reviewers like all these other people did. so, read the classic phrases, like, "page turner", "couldnt put it down" someplace else.

im pretty sure that nancy farmers pyschologist diagnosed her with ADD after this book was written. wow...she cant stay on subject. the book starts out pretty good, but has no qualms about meandering into mediocraty. the timing is just awful. she tried to accomplish too much, and poorly developed the story.

in school they told us about something called a climax. maybe someone should have told mrs. farmer what that means. the last hundred pages are just cheating. she dumps direction the book is going in and sets us off on a bizarre, pointless trip to an orphanage where she starts ratting off communism. i know, i know, it doesnt make much sense. from here the book is filled with mediocre stereotypes that has absolutely no place in the story that i had been reading. while she was writing this trite part her publisher called her and said that she only had 380 pages to work with. oops...so she hits the fastforward button, speeding to the close, and arriving at the finish line with a puzzling ending.

the concept was good, but she changed styles and purpose so many times that in the end we're left with a pretty unsatisfying experience. i think that pretty much everyone who read it will agree with me that she should have made the part where he went to give the old guy his heart the climax. after that i felt like i was just reading to finish it. the story was over....the whole thing with his girlfriend and her mother was just very unliterary. there were like, four weird mother in law jokes at the end that didnt help anything.

her scramblings to tie up all loose ends throughout the book was admirable...her shortcomings too blatantly obvious to even warrant time being discussed. and then, 2 pages from the finish she decided that matt scoring 6-6 (fortune, girl, acceptance into civilazation, friends, mother, freeing eejets) would be a little silly. so she killed off the scottish father figure. his comical death was stretching just a little bit...she tried to explain it, but it must have been hard sense she didnt seem to understand it either.

the pressing moral and eithical sociological question of whether or not clones were equal to humans was solved, typically rushed and anticlaimatic, buried somewhere in midparagraph that was intended to make everything okay at the end.

okay, well i think ive rambled enough, if you want more ramblings, read the house of the scorpion...

I made Scorpion part of my advanced summer reading program because of its description and the awards it has won. The story is about the life of a boy who is a clone of a drug-lord. I think the book won the awards for the issues it raises such as morality, cloning, and prejudice rather then the quality of story or writing. I found the characters uninteresting especially the dialog. The writing did not transport me to this foreign location and time period. Overall I found the book a chore to complete. I recommend some of my other summer choices: The Book Thief, Octavian Nothing, To Kill a Mockingbird and Skellig. I really felt House of the Scorpion was a waste of my time.

This was a nice one, a fast, easy, interesting read that I got to after reading a few heavy, slow-moving books. When it's taken me a week to read each of the last two books, I really need a one-day read as a pick-me-up, and that's what this was. The House of the Scorpion is a very interesting little dystopia: the drug lords of Mexico, led by one Matteo Alacran, managed to swing a deal with the US and Mexico whereby they were given the area around the border between the two countries as their own sovereign territory; in exchange, they agreed to stop completely the flow of illegal immigrants, and also promised not to sell their drugs in either nation, but go to Europe, Asia, and Africa with their product. So now, 100 years later, Matteo Alacran is still alive, owing to the fact that he keeps growing new clones of himself in order to harvest their organs. He's not unique in this, the other drug lords do the same, but what is unique is that Alacran allows his clones to retain their minds, to learn and experience life until he needs to cut them open and take their still-beating heart, so to speak. The novel is the story of the last of these clones, who goes by Matt.

The author does a nice job of portraying life as the complete outsider. She also created excellent characters for El Patron, who is the original Alacran, and Tam Lin, the IRA terrorist-cum-bodyguard who befriends little Matt. It's a nice little idea that Alacran gets his security personnel from other countries, since, as he tells Matt, that means it's harder for them to plot against him; his most recent hiring was a group of English soccer hooligans. There's also a nice idea of how the country turns the captured illegal immigrants into mindless slaves to work the fields, and I love the depiction of the Alacran family and its infighting and scandal and hatred of themselves and pretty much everyone else.

The problem, if there was any, was in the last part of the book; it's a nice little chapter in the story and it has a good resolution, but the only problem with it is that it has no connection to the rest of the book: the last section is about Communist oppression and government corruption, and the first parts of the book are not. It disappoints because the themes in the first section are so strong, so immediate -- drug cartels, illegal immigrants, cloning; it is about what makes one a human being, what makes people into a family, and also gets deep into the purpose of a nation and a government. These were all explored, all fascinating, all done with an adept touch as the book never got too profound or preachy -- and then they were all abandoned as the setting shifts. I suppose we could see the last section as offering an alternative to the nation of Opium, and trying to show that every nation has its problems, but that is rather a different idea, and not one that connects well with the other main points.

Despite my henpecking, however, the ending of the book was fine, and the first three-quarters of the book were excellent. This is a great recommendation -- especially for boys who aren't big readers, as it was recommended to me by one such. It's science fiction and action, but both are thoughtful, and neither is overwhelming.

This book is simply amazing--fluidly well told, with none of the typical "coming of age" tawdry sexualization, no offensive language, just an interesting take on contemporary issues. The realistic characters and well-paced story make this book worthy of all the awards it garnered. Buy your kid this book--then read it yourself!

To get the most enjoyment from this beautiful book, buy the original Katherine Woods translation.

This is a wonderful story and a great book I was able to share with my students. The only drawback with the book is that the pages are not in color, but the extremely low price allowed me to purchase the books for my students out of my own pocket.

Katherine Woods' translation is the only English-language version of The Little Prince which captures the beauty, simplicity, clarity, and profundity of the Antoine de St. Exupery's classic, penned in French.

(The newer translation is appallingly horrid and bland, mistaken, and frankly perplexing.)

This is really not a children's book, although older children will appreciate it.

Don't measure the value by the thickness of the book. De St. Exupery, himself a WWI pilot, writes with a great economy yet produces here the most beautiful poetry with a delightful playfulness and childlike innocence -- a fresh vision which thus sees clearly and does not obscure the profound.

Mr. Fred Rogers used to quote from de St. Exupery, whose image and illustrations once graced the 20-franc note (in the days before the euro).

There simply is no other work like this one. It is an exceptionally rare treasure, a masterpiece.

Be sure to read Katherine Woods' translation. Read it privately, when you have time to savor each word. And keep a box of tissues nearby.

The Little Prince has often been heralded as a youthful book, required reading in elementary and high schools alike. In delivering it this way I think The Little Prince is missed by the only audience that is likely to truly appreciate it, that is adults. It is not an uncommon misconception that this is a children's book. Indeed, I keep the pictures stored on my computer, and am often asked where they came from. I reply that they are from one of my favourite books, and without fail the response is along the lines of, 'I don't mean to be rude but is that a children's book?'. 'No', I explain, 'it is not'.

The Little Prince is most needed, I think, by adults. It is easy to be caught up in, as De Saint-Exupery describes it, 'matters of consequence' and forget that it is not these matters which bring meaning to life. By pointing out the futility of professions practised endlessly and in isolation of other people, it becomes clear that the Little Prince, with his rose, is the only character with a life of consequence.

This book is beautifully written and translated by Katherine Woods. It speaks volumes through its simple tale, strange though it seems that matters such as these only become clear when they are somewhat removed from reality. Matters such as love, innocence, imagination and priorities. The Little Prince is a gentle and stirring reminder to never forget to see the boa constrictor from the hat.

I was an adult when i read this book, and i really appreciated the lessons in life that Saint-Exupery shares through the Little Prince.

A great book, full of beautiful illustrations, easy to read, while fun and sad at the same time.

I personally read it as if Exupery is sharing with us the conversations he has with his own inner child, in the image of the Little Prince. That is why the Little Prince would ask many questions, but rarely answer the ones he was asked. Like all our inner children he's been hidden inside and kept silent for a long long time, and now that he was given his chance, he will speak. And we better listen, for he is an integral part of our psyche, who will take us through the most unbelievable adventures.

This book is exciting to read and technically detailed. It gives a history not only of those involved in the production of the actual bomb, but of the physics and discovery of the atom and its components. No text book from walker or lectures from feynman can compare in how engaging this book makes the science and history. Since I have nothing but approbation for this book, my only complaint is slightly manufactured so as to make this more of a review. I wish that the book went into more details towards the end including maps and diagrams of the enrichment facilities. He may include that with other book and certainly this was long already, but that lack of details towards the end made the reading and experience slighly rushed.

Great book if you are interested in the subject of science and nuclear physics. The book does a good job of explaining a lot of technical jargon in layman terms and tells a compelling story of the scientists involved. I read this book back in school and fell in love with the side stories and the footnotes in the making of the bomb. The later parts of the book are a bit of a drag and it is easy to get bored. A couple of friends who i recommended this book to did not like it as they felt it was too heavy and they were not really interested in science as much :).

A dazzling epic. A complete chronicle blending history, physics, chemistry and engineering in a manner accessible to anybody.

Myself not being a scientist there were parts of this book that were hard to understand theoretically speaking, but the historical story the book brings forth is hard not to understand. Between the people making blind discoveries to educated guesses to scientific brilliance it's all here. Leading up to the climatic climax. This book is long and could be hard to read at times but the important historical facts leave nothing to wonder. A fantastic account of the making of the atomic bomb from around the world to then center on two cities in Japan was a page turner through and through. A giant collection a names, dates and ego's that ethics aside did stop a war cold in it's tracts. A weapon with hopefully will never see the light of day again.

this is a fascinating read for people that enjoy science, technology, and the quirky, industrious, oftentimes brilliant people that can change history with their creations. the writing is superb. it is crafted in such a way that you feel like you've been with these people in los alamos and know what they went through. you understand the tension between the military and the irreverent scientists and you can't help but wonder at the clairvoyance of some of the important decisions that could have gone either way. a truly fun read if you like reading about extremely smart people. "american prometheus" about the life of j. robert oppenheimer would be a good sequel or prequel. it, too, is very well written and enjoyable if you like science biographies about brilliant, interesting people that have had a big impact on the world.

Dealing with complex issues, a distant time, and unfamiliar (to me) names, this author knocked it out of the park. This book is absorbing from its first page to its last. While managing to tell the not-uncomplicated story of the Wars of the Roses, the author creates compelling, even sympathetic, characters. Her research is obviously well-done, as her descriptions of everyday life in that long-ago time were vivid and fascinating.
I loved this book.

I bought this book for my Kindle and am besotted with it.

I read it then read it for the second time without pausing and am now more than half way through a third reading. It is intoxicating and addictive. The language is glorious, the ambience exact and the characters full bloodied and three dimensional. Ms Penman seems to have used Kendall as her primary source and what excellent use she has made of his biography of Richard! I am left wordless with admiration at the skill with which she weaves the complex strands of the dynastic civil wars into a coherent tapestry of such great beauty.

I would recommend this book to any reader hunting for a richly detailed and thoroughly engrossing tale. It is quite truly one of those "couldn't put it down" books which come along only too rarely in today's world. My only complaint is that more of Ms Penman's works are not available for the Kindle. I would like to have her complete collection available to carry around with me to read whenever I chose.

15 years ago a friend loaned me this book and I fell in love with this talented author's writing. After this book I read everything available by Sharon Kay Penman and then began to read anything to do with British medieval history.

Penman painstakingly researched her subjects and brought them to life as no one else could. I fell in love with Richard who as a 5 year old boy lost in the woods proved his absolute loyality to his older brother. This is the brother who would become Edward IV. He was willing to say he was in the wrong rather then get his shining brother, "Ned" into trouble with their mother.

He faced the horrors of war, the loss of his father and brother in a brutal massacre and he became a great, loyal, honorable man. I despise the stories that claim he was a hunchback with a withered arm. As if any man who could fight with a broad sword and lead men into battle would be anything less then a strong fighter in his own right.

The years that Richard suffered to prepare both mind and body to be worthy of a great knight are proof that he had to be in superb condition. But the lies that Henry VII put out were believed by Shakespeare and used to malign him further in history.

It's such a wonderful tale of love, battles, defeat, glory, men who fall lose everything & fight their way back, wonderful women and the greed of the Queen's family that helped bring down the dynasty.

I can't believe it has not been made into a movie. What is wrong with Hollywood? We see so many movies with men and armor fighting with broadswords. Everyone loves these stories. Will someone wake up?

I have 2 favorite books and this is one of them.

I loved these characters, and thanks to Sharon Kay Penman, wanted more for these people than life had given them. When fiction, history and life can so perfectly mesh, a true and rare treat is waiting for you to pick it up and read it.

I read this book about 25 years ago and am pleased that I am enjoying it very much again! She writes very well. In the meantime, I have becomes convinced by reading new studies of the subject, that she has the wrong guy killing the "Princes in the Tower", but she's such a good writer and builds her story and "case" very well, so I am going to enjoy it anyway!

From Jerusalem to Rome to Ephesus, travel with Hadassah, a young slave girl, as she clings to her faith in the face of the decadence of Rome in "A Voice on the Wind". As usual, Francine Rivers crafts a beautiful work of fiction full of poignant and thoughtful moments that touch the heart. There is also plenty of action as the author brilliantly draws the reader into the breathtaking locations of her tale. She brings Biblical characters to life beside her fictional creations in this wonderful novel. I highly recommend this novel and am proud to have it in my collection.

This book also contains a very helpful glossary of terms and an invaluable discussion guide for use with any reading group.

This book was recommended to me by multiple people and I found out why once I read it. It is my new favorite book, and Francine Rivers is definitely a new favorite author. Francine Rivers knows how to create an exciting story plot and bring you into it with vivid descriptions and believable characters.

Well written ... check.
Historical ... check.
Spiritual ... check.
Adventure ... check.
Romance ... check.
Characters you love ... check.
Characters you don't ... check.
Pondering when you set it down ... check.
Today's reality revealed ... check.
Lessons for life ... check.
Growth in your heart ... check.
Inexplicable deep meaning ... check.
Wish you read it earlier ... check.
A hunger for more ... check.

Bon Appetit!

Beautiful. This has to be the best Christian book that I have ever read. The characters are so real as are -most- of the situations. Francine Rivers has a very gifted style of writing-I couldn't put this book down once I started it and rushed to the bookstore to get the sequel after I finished.

I think this book shows that Christians should be strong in their faith. Strong enough to give everything up and die for it. Hadassah is a wonderful example of true, strong Christianity and a fantastic heroine.

I bought this book for my 2-year-old son and he loves it. He is into trucks and cars and wouldn't put this down. He now knows about all kinds of trucks. There isn't much of a story. He just likes looking at and saying all of the different trucks (such as a flatbed trailer).

My son loves Richard Scarry books and construction equipment so this book is a good match. He pores over the pictures looking for Goldbug and pointing out funny things like Hilda Hippo driving a loader.

We discovered Richard Scurry and this wonderful book by accident. A friend of ours went to a library sale and picked up this book for our daughter, because she knew that our daughter is very much interested in cars. We got it shortly before Anna turned 18 months, and we took this book with us on cross-country trip to Florida, since we hoped to keep her occupied. Well, this didn't quite work out, since Anna was already overwhelmed with novelty of everything around her, but she fell in love with this book on our return. For months Cars and Trucks and Things That Go was her must-read-before-bed book. Her vocabulary literally exploded with its help. And she blows me away with her ability to find Goldbug in each page pretty much instantaneously. First there is gleeful, "Hello Goldbug!" and then her chubby finger points to where he is hiding. It's a wonderful-wonderful book, and I am sure we will enjoy it for years to come.

Both our sons loved this book . I bought this for our grandson, who, I am sure, will have as much fun looking for Goldbug as his dad did some 30 years ago.

I purchased this for a grandson's 2nd birthday and he just loves it. He has it virtually memorized by now but it is still his first choice at bedtime.

Oswald Chambers gives the awesome truths of the Bible and God's character in this easy, daily study.

If I had to make a choice of only one book that I could have in addition to my Bible "My Utmost for His Highest" would be it. Next to the Bible, this book has had the greatest impact on my understanging of what is means to walk with Jesus.

I have an old copy of this book and love it, but it was bulky to travel with. I love the paper back version of the book and the new updated language. A wonderful companion for my spiritual journey.

I have been studying this book for 6 years and sharing it with others. Oswald Chambers was an exceptional writer, bible scholar, and teacher. This book has given me great insight and direction to walk as a Christian daily.

I highly recommend this book for everyone! The lessons really hit home and are applicable to all lives at all stages.

The Soul of Wisdom

This book carves a sharp and prolific path through courage and combat, harm and heroism, tactics, strategy and diplomacy.
The spiritual transfer of courage and morality from Americans to Iraqis is at once hopeful and inspiring.
Explanations about the cross-cultural bonding and diplomatic elements of counterinsurgency are crisp and comprehensive.
Luminous vision from a book of such brevity is awesome, exciting and astonishing.
It shines a wide and very bright light.
"Brevity is the soul of wit," but it is also the soul of wisdom.

Mr. Yons book is a tremendous edition to the myriad of literature about the war in Iraq. I tend to believe the facts he uses in the book becuase I was in Sadr City and Diyala province and he describes the areas, the attitude and the overall gist of these areas quite well. What Mr. Yon brings to the table is an accurate description of what it takes to fight a counter insurgency and why we were failing at it. He describes why we seem to have gotten a second chance at winning over the majority population in Iraq and what we are doing with that chance. The bottom line is he stays away from the "why" and "if" we should be in Iraq and stays with whats going on there right now. The fact is that we are in Iraq, will be there for a long time, and the way we get along with the locals and our moral compass dictates how many times we will be attacked and subsequently, how many soldiers we have to send home in a casket. A very good point Mike makes here is that Iraqis just want to go outside every day and not worry about catching a bomb or a bullet in the face. All the other issues (oil, infidels, religion, etc.) are all underscored by a basic need to be alive. Iraqis are human beings and they are motivated by strong, passionate, and yes, caring leaders.

We went Iraq and most soldiers in 2003-2004 (I was one of them) believed that the way to win over the Iraqi people was with an iron fist and audacity, because that is what they knew. We just became the next baddest gang they had to deal with. We have learned to change that. Iraq has responded to us. It doesnt matter why because it doesnt look like we are getting out of there any time soon. Mr. Yon brings this fact out beautifully.

I dont like this book because of a specific value or wing affiliation, but rather because he brings hope for both sides based on facts that I can confirm as true. In a time when the Iraq situation is not much more than a political issue or tool for milllions (we know IT IS much more), this book made me a little less frustrated, even if it may be short lived.

This book gives you a fair assessment of the ground situation. In addition, it made me feel extremely proud of the selfless way our honorable warriors are conducting themselves.

We gave this book to our daughter on her graduation from Army basic training. My husband and I both had careers in the Navy, and, while in active duty service, I was always aware of the huge reality gap between what gets reported in the news, and what really happens in the arena. If you REALLY want to know what is going on in Iraq, READ THIS BOOK!

I can only state that there is NO truth in this book. You have RUINED my country, and everyday the situation deteriorates further...
Tell me, if your 'excursion is victorious', why does the puppet government still keep their entire families OUTSIDE Iraq?
Tell me, if you were successful, why does my uncle who is attempting a very minor surgical procedure have to be wheeled out of the operation room FIVE times in one day due to lack of electricity...He didn't make it eventually.
I have one thing to say. Yes, you HAVE accomplished your mission. You have DESTROYED IRAQ PERMANENTLY!

Great book --compelling and one of Dostoyevsky's best. The conversation between Christ and the Grand Inquisitor is a passage for all human kind.

With this book, Dostoevsky makes a brilliant social critique spanning over religion, family, social caste, and existential thought. His characters are passionate and real. His observations are apt and moving.

I found the beauty of this work to be that I appreciate its darkness and let it depress me only because it is timeless and relevant still.

When first in Russian business, I was told to read "Brothers Karamazov" to understand the Russian. As always, there are three sides to the Russian coin and this masterpiece reflects this fact about this land of 1000 years. The chapter "The Grand Inquisitor" is to me one of the greatest tracts in the world's literature and reflects on organized religion as well as a Russia about to implode. Absolutely essential.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author of "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia."Walking on Ice: An American Businessman in Russia

In my opinion Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" is a seismic event in world literature because it puts God at the center of the discussion during a highly secular time, it is a tremendous piece of existential-psychology, and the characters are so unforgetable. Plus, it is a great murder mystery with several surprises and unforgetable scences. This is a must read!

At the beginning of my freshman year at college, a girl told me to read this book, it would 'change my life'. She wouldn't elaborate further. Now that I've read it, maybe I shouldn't either.

Read it.

Odd, its one of the most painful books I have ever read, it left me a wreck when I finished it.

But its...comforting. Not in the story, in my own life. That won't make any sense till you read the book. (And every synopsis/interpretation on the web misses the whole meaning completely.)

Take it as the last testament of a man who bounced from Christian to Socialist and back, "tormented by everlasting sin and injustice--both of one's own, and the world's" (quote from character in BK). "Thirsting for belief" and simultaneously very much "I will be a child of this age--a man of unbelief--till the lid of my coffin closes", and asking 'the parable of the prodigal son' to be read to him as he died.

The story is like life in general...beautiful and then ghastly, painful, loads of hatred and love twisted and not so twisted.

It hasn't got any pat answers, beautiful explanations for tormenting questions, or happy endings. But its...comforting. Read it.

________________________________

Actually, I couldn't stop crying for awhile after I finished The Brothers Karamazov. It was weird, it hurt so much, and yet it felt so true, like real life is like that. And then I felt this love welling up inside that didn't leave for awhile. Its like TBK hurt so much and at the same time gave this love inside and felt so true that the book was devastating and painful and comforting all at once.

This book will probably give you these common symptoms of many readers of the books. Namely:

1. took 3 weeks to recover from one of the books and become a functioning member of society again. Couldn't talk about the books with other people during that time, because it felt so intensely personal.
2. wanted to change your life after recovering from TBK.
3. shortly after recovering from TBK, found oneself choking up about the meanings of things too heavy for words.



******spoilers ahead****************
It says so much about life, and it is so true. Especially what it says about shame, hatred, strained virtue (Katya), torment, injustice, hope, and love. At the end of the book, I was bawling so hard because it felt so real. This sounds weird, but the book is so comforting precisely because parts of it are so painful and raw like life. I felt like it was saying: yes, there is so much wrongness, there is so much pain and defeat and death, and we have the choice to rage against earthly injustice like Ivan, or like Mitya and Alyosha, put all our hope in that inexplicable love that rushes into our heart at the darkest moment....to put our hope in it, and to love and forgive. Oh dear, I'm slaughtering it, this post doesn't do it justice at all.