Canada Books

I have to take exception to Jon Shell's editorial comment about the author. It is totally irrelevant and disrespectful of the thoughtful and compelling treatment Mr. McArthur gives to Canada's airline industry.

However, that said, I actually had the opportunity to meet Mr. McArthur at a book signing. He has a very strong grip, an icy stare and a boyish shock of blond hair reminiscent of Robert Redford circa 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. I suspect Mr. McArthur will go far in the entertainment industry.

I bought this book the first day out and read through it in about 3 days. I found it quite exceptional for its historical perspective, but not particularly insightful. The author spends the entire book trying very hard not to put any editorial spin on anything which doesn't really make it very readable, but becomes a great reference material down the line.

My initial thought when I finished reading it was that this book may become the Canadian equivalent of "Hard Landing", the book by Thomas Petzinger which has become the de-facto mass market textbook on the impact of US airline deregulation.

This book is definitely a must-have for industry professionals and hardcore airline affectionados, but a casual reader is probably better served to wait for the paperback or deep discount.

I don't know much about this book, but that Keith McArthur is one sexy dude. Did you see that jacket photo? Whoa...

Everyone claims to be an expert on airlines. Frankly-some of these so called "airline history" books are dead wrong. The Canadian saga has been going on for about as long as the Star Wars series, except here thousands of people's livelihoods and the economic wealth of a nation are at stake. Air Monopoly is balanced, well told and VERY interesting.

Raised by fairly bohemian, artsy parents, Kay meets Polish émigré Alexander Oleski at a young and tender age. The entire courtship takes place by mail. [A process no less dangerous in real life, than in novels...]
Their marriage isn't really horrible, but neither is it able to build anything that will sit well upon its shaky foundation. It ends.
Kay moves on with her two young boys, and her dreams of becoming an established writer. She's appeared in The New Yorker, and written a novel.
Kay lands a job, and begins a relationship with one of the handsome architects there.
Pretty much the perfect guy. Galbraith. Will this relationship now prove to be all that Kay wants and needs?
I won't say a word more about it, except to say that the Boulanger quote plays into all that happens between Kay and Galbraith.

In art [and what is more artful than good love?] should problems regarding age and history, in a word, generational-distance, hinder the true recipient of art, namely, the individual? Further, if one person genuinely appreciates the art [the love] and the other person genuinely appreciates the art [the love] does it follow that the two of them together will appreciate it [the love, the art] twice as much as they would if they consider it [the love, the art] separately?
Also, if it is true, [in art, and in things artful] that "all times have been modern," shouldn't the most important consideration always involve what is being experienced right now, in the present tense, rather than in what will or may be experienced in the future, by the recipient[s]..... of art? Of love?
These are the kind of questions that our protagonist asks herself in this story, even if she is not aware that she is asking them, in this way.
It's dang good, and as a whole, this book reminds me of the idea that love and power displace each other. That is to say that love has very little to do with control. Much more to do with the loss of it.
To me it is a story of emotional perseverance and resilience.
Kay's.
Adjustment to disappointment, as well. It speaks to the idea that no life is lived perfectly, and that while our own may seem as though it is lived in sort of a matte finish way, there are flecks of technicolor in it, all over the place.
Also, that good sex is among the greatest privileges of a well-lived life.
Also, that good sex may mean different things to different people, often very different things even between the very two people that are enjoying "it" with each other.
Also, that to be in love is to be caught in a web or cycle of freedom and dependence. Not that these words are necessarily antonyms of each other, but, rather, the coupling of them points toward the fact that there is no such thing as real "love" that doesn't involve possible rejection. No such thing as real love that does not include a measure of vulnerability to the partner's whims and and caprices. In love there exists the constant interplay and exchange of dependence and independence. Love itself threatens the balance of these things.

This is a mature novel, fully gestated. It's not one of these love-story-type novels, written by authors that seem compelled to birth preemie after preemie every six months or so. In fact, if I am understanding the Acknowledgments page correctly at all, this book was twelve years in the making. It's fully cooked. Good stuff.
Good because it provides no easy escape from the complexities of love.
Good because there aren't any.

I adored this book. Elisabeth has a way of capturing the details of life in this unique but exact way, ah! I love the way this woman thinks. It is so honest it's enthralling. I was so caught in this story, I thought about it during breaks from reading and am still thinking about it now that I've finished. Like it's my own tragic (but not so much) life. Exciting, very exciting in this sort of interior way.

Kay Oleski, the protagonist of Elisabeth Harvor's All Times Have Been Modern, flames across our radar and we had better be prepared to tackle relationships, writing, urban life, and affairs of the heart.

We follow Kay's journey from a luminescent young teen to the years when she becomes a woman who bears children, entertains dissidents, houses militants and is the imperfect housemate of a self-made political opportunist.

Kay struggles with the age-old dilemma of womanhood. How to re-invent and yet stay attached to the present. Her love of good literature overpowers her desire "to be a good revolutionary."

Relationships end and time moves quickly on.

Harvor is brilliant at fleshing out character and motive. Her dialogue is fresh and thought-provoking as seen through Kay's inner and outer voice. I would unabashedly compare her talent for creating full-blooded characters to Woolf or Plath. She has the same swift grace of language and deeply moving inner monologue of reproach.

Harvor is an amazing story-teller. I was reading into the wee hours to find out how Kay's complex, confusing, emotionally full life would turn out.

Highly recommended.

Kay Oleski, the protagonist of Elisabeth Harvor's All Times Have Been Modern, flames across our radar and we had better be prepared to tackle relationships, writing, urban life, and affairs of the heart.

We follow Kay's journey from a luminescent young teen to the years when she becomes a woman who bears children, entertains dissidents, houses militants and is the imperfect housemate of a self-made political opportunist.

Kay struggles with the age-old dilemma of womanhood. How to re-invent and yet stay attached to the present. Her love of good literature overpowers her desire "to be a good revolutionary."

Relationships end and time moves quickly on.

Harvor is brilliant at fleshing out character and motive. Her dialogue is fresh and thought-provoking as seen through Kay's inner and outer voice. I would unabashedly compare her talent for creating full-blooded characters to Woolf or Plath. She has the same swift grace of language and the same deeply moving inner monologue of reproach.

Harvor is an amazing story-teller. I was reading into the wee hours to find out how Kay's complex, confusing, emotionally full life would turn out.

Highly recommended.

Anybody who enjoyed Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections" will love this book. Macdonald is a master storyteller, and paints a vivid picture of life in the '80s with wit and pathos. This writer's turn of phrase is second to none. She is a stunningly original new voice in Canadian fiction.

It's nice to see a novel that actually has something to say and is not boring about saying it. I used to live in Toronto and can identify with the mood and the results. I highly recommend the book.

Ann Rand must be turning over in her grave. But are we sure that we are not getting egoism mixed up with true altruism?

This book is VERY impressive. I heard Ms. Macdonald on the radio and thought she sounded bright, witty, and observant. I went out and bought her book immediately. It turns out I was right. This book manages to capture the essence of the enigma of charity. How much must we suffer for our charitable deeds to be valuable? What's more, the book explores other important social and philisophical themes while still maintaining an immensely compelling narrative involving credible and complex characters. And, Ms. Macdonald's style is unique. Her use of language is deft and entertaining. Her sense of humour is just devine. Read it. Read it soon.

This book is great. I saw the cover and bought it on a whim. I was surpised at how quickly I got caught up in the story and the characters. The author's style is unique. Her writing is sophisticated in its use of language yet witty and insightfull. I can't wait for her next one.

This book was aswesom. I just loved it. I would read it more then once. This book to me would be for mostly just the girls. You really get into Pam's life when reading this book. This book was sad and parts funny. But altogether a good book. Reading about the character and what all happened in her life like this, it touched my heart! I loved reading about her father and his new girlfriend and her nana. How her best friend went weird and turned back and wanted to be her friend again. A popular girl at school has a boyfriend who whice Pam falls in love with. It's a vvery exciting book. A thriller and a book to read over and over again!!!!! ASWESOME BOOK!!!!!!

Dear Katherine Holubitsky,

I want to say that I have enjoyed reading your story, "Alone at Ninety Foot". I liked it because it was very sad. It reminded me of my friend's grandmother. I realized how it feels to lose someone special. My friend's and Pamela's actions were the same. It made me want to read the story even more. It is very depressing knowing that you can't replace a loved one. Therefore my opinion on the story is that it is very touching. You can go through a lot of pain and grief losing a loved one.

I like to commend youfor such a good job on organizing the story. The character development was great. It made the story easier for me to understand. I like how you organized the character's roles.

In conclusion, I want to say thank you for doing a great job and letting me to enjoy a wonderful novel.

Truly yours,
Manly Lau(Francis Libermann Catholic High School)

Have you ever felt lonely? Have young ever lost someone you love? Katherine Holubitsky takes you through the exciting life of Pamela Collins. For being Katherine Holubitsky first book it is really good. The book has lots of wonderful characters like Pamela who is the principal character, her father, the boring girl friend of her father, and the other people at school.
Pamela is about 14 years old. She likes to sped most of her time at a mountain called Ninety Foot, she likes these place because she uses it as a hiding place when she escapes from school and it also reminds her of her mother. For Pamela this mountain is special but for the other people in town no because lots of people have gone missing and lots of murders have take place in there. Pamela is affected because of her mothers death how jumped of a bridged because of the depression of her lost child. After the sad death of her mother Pamela finds out that her father is dating a women but for Pamela these is not a problem because he doesn't last much with her. After one more women Pamela's father ends up with a women, which results to be a banker and a nerd.
Pamela at school is a lonely girl who doesn't likes to socialize just with her friends. Pamela has problems with the most popular girl at school because she is very stuck up. Pamela hates to hear stories about people dieing or committing suicide because it reminds her of her mothers death. Pamela is having problems because she is experiencing the development of her body. During the book Pamela struggles during her teen-age life.
I like this book because it made me read and read until a finish it. I also liked it because it has good descriptions. I hope you read this book.

The main character is very real, a junior high girl coping with the suicide of her mother. She has a normal circle of peers, who can be supportive or just plain mean. Dad is starting to date which creates another set of challenges. Excellent story - think our Girls' Book Club will love it.

Describing this book is similar to describing being a parent to someone who isn't. There are many words that can be used, but none of them are sufficient. The Amazon description above tells all you want to know of the story before reading it (maybe too much).

Poignant is the closest I can come to explaining the tone of the book, but all is not as sad as that term might suggest. The twin sisters are unbelievably well portrayed by Carey. Alva's the want-to-be worldly one and Irva is scared of and by the world. Their interactions with each other and with their (ficitonal) town make up the story.

I had to look more than once at the picture of the author on the jacket. I could have sworn most of the book was written by someone much older. That isn't an "-ism" of any kind; there are some things in this world that can usually be described only by someone of a certain age and experience. I was amazed that he was born in 1970. I was also surprised many times that he is a "he" and not a "she" in his presentation of the sisters.

There are some blanks left for the reader to fill in. Sometimes this doesn't work well in a book, but in this case it adds to the pleasure. Like his Observatory Mansions, it's all about the people. Please read this book. It is a one of a kind.

Alva and Irva Dapps, eccentric twin sisters, never had an easy life. Their father died the day they were born, when his scandalous malfeasance at the post office was abruptly discovered. Their mother was oddly reclusive. The girls themselves, strangely symbiotic, struggled with their sense of identity, and even more so, with their sense of place. And their city, Entralla, somewhere in--perhaps--Europe, is somehow symbolic of all places, all home-towns, and all sense of belonging. Somehow the twins become involved in making plasticine models of the buildings of Entralla, all the buildings, creating a gigantic model of the entire city. And somehow this comes to have cosmic importance, later, as certain tragic events take place.

The book is written alternately as a guidebook for tourists coming to Entralla, and as the memoir of Alva Dapps, the more outgoing of the two sisters. It comes complete with a detailed map, recommendations of where to stay and where to dine, which trolley bus to take to which destination; and the sad inner struggles of two odd and lonely girls who never belong anywhere.

Author Edward Carey is imaginative and insightful,but he doesn't always make things easy for his readers. Sometimes the account becomes almost too fanciful, too strained, even for the surreal medium in which he is working. The writing drags at times, especially in the travel guide sections. It was not easy for me to finish this book. However, it was certainly worth doing. Take the book for what it is, an extended meditation on the sense of place, an inquiry into what it means to belong--and you will find the book strangely moving and thought provoking. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Edward Carey again manages to write a wonderfully gripping novel. I am not going to go through the whole plot outline of the book as it is all here for you anyway, but the story of Alva and Irva Dapps is more than just a story about twins. It is a story of lonliness and longing, desire and duty, and really it really shows that one seemingly insignificant event CAN have a great impact on society. This novel really takes the readers through an excercise of emotions. Carey makes the reader join in with Alva's tense desire to broaden her horizons, yet we also feel deeply for the pain felt by Irva. After reading this book we are almost able to taste the Entralla buns, and smell the plasticine on our fingers. Reading the story of Alva and Irva and their atmospheric home of Entralla is an opportunity that should not be missed.

This is a story of place. And it is one I found particularly touching. You will feel the same if you've ever walked aimlessly through a city's streets as you wondered what it would be like to live there, or - if you lived there - wondered what it would be to leave. Edward Carey has found the perfect metaphors for the alternate yearnings, to stay or go, in his characters Irva and Alva. But reducing them to symbols would be unfair. The warmth of Carey's writing prevents that. The real brilliance of his story, though, lies in how he manages to illuminate every emotional aspect of how we regard the places we are and may go, and he does so in such an unforced and natural way that we've hardly realized the depth of his contemplation by the book's end. His touch is light, but the feeling is strong.

The context of a guidebook for the unreal city of Entralla, complete with a street map and a recommended tour, frames the diary of Alva, the identical twin of Irva. As the twins grow up, they grow increasingly apart. Alva longs to travel and Irva turns inward. Alva's threat to leave her sister and their city plays out as the essential betrayal of anyone wanting to abandon their home. But Alva finds a reason to stay a while as she attempts to turn her sister from the retreat into herself, the smallest place there is. They take on the task of miniaturizing the city in plasticine; Alva documents the outside in photographs and measurements while Irva remains inside and sculpts. The tiny buildings "may not have been mathematically accurate, but they were, let there be no doubt about this, emotionally precise." It is emotional accuracy that matters.

"Miniature things move people." In Carey's world and in real life, it is because the perspective granted by things reduced focuses the emotions we associate with those things. Occasionally we are even made aware of the hundreds of other lives happening immediately around us. When Alva's and Irva's sculpture is reluctantly displayed to a scarred populace, both the smallness and the significance of the peoples' lives are somehow simultaneously grasped. These oppositions of place are difficult to hold in the same hand.

When the writer of this guidebook is revealed, the significance of small lives is once again emphasized and along with it the unavoidable bitterness of travelling alone in a vast world. This final revelation is devastating and beautiful in a novel full of contradictions. I don't ever expect to read any other book that so perfectly evokes my own feelings towards the places I have been.

Carey's first book, Observatory Mansions, already had me waiting on the edge of my seat for the next one. Alva & Irva did not let me down. His characters are once again lacking in sanity, and as the book progresses, so does this trait. I would say Alva and Irva is a little more solemn than Carey's first novel, but certainly a good read. The last portion had me talking out loud and murmuring, "Oh god. Oh my God. Oh no!" You don't believe the lengths the characters go to to secure themselves against their fears and angers until you are on to the next shock. I am certainly eager for Carey's third.

I'm really happy with the service because even though it was an international shipped, it arrived only one week later and in great conditions.

An excellent textbook from the American Psychiatric Association edited by Alan F. Schatzberg and Charles B Nemeroff, who have worked together on numerous titles such as the Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology and Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care. Dr. Nemeroff is Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Neuropsychopharmacology, from the American College of Neuropschopharmacology published by .

For graduate students, medical students, residents or professors - anyone interested in psychopharmacology should have this book! The reference section alone is worth it's weight in gold. There is simply no comparable text that is as comprehensive and readable. The reviews of both the basic science as well as the clinical literature is a remarkable feature, and is extremely well integrated.

This is a must have book for any psychiatrist. It's a great source of information, covering almost all psychotropics.

W skiazce mozna znalezc wiele cennych mysli, spostrzezen i stwierdzen dotyczacych zarowno niedawnej przeszlosci, jak i terazniejszosci. Autorka utrwalila w polskiej literaturze dorobek i osiagniecia niezwyklych emigrantow. Calosc konczy opowiadanie mzeza autorki o jego zmarlej ciotce Ingrid Bergman, slynnej aktorce filmowej.

Ksiazka uczy - nietuzinkowego spojrzenia na Ameryke i inne kraje, spojrzenia takze na Polske z jej dobrej strony. Autorka potrafi ocenic ludzkie dokonania. Wiele watkow historycznych podanych w niezwykle przystepny sposob, czyli ksiazka naprawde uczy. Autorka robi to w sposob lekki, przystepny. Wielkim oddechem byla dla mnie opowiesc o Ingrid Bergman.

Polecam kazdemu, kto interesuje sie swiatem, ludzkimi doswiadczeniami, historia i jej zagmatwianiami. Podoba mi sie, ze Autorka rozmowcow pokazuje jako zawsze waznych i traktuje ich zawsze z szacunkiem. Nigdy nie wysuwa siebie na pierwsze miejsce, prowadzi rozmowe w taki sposob, nie by pokazac siebie czy swoje sady, ale swoich bohaterow. Jakze czesto w innych wywiadach rozmawiajacy chce pokazac swoja wiedze czy przekoanc do wlasnego sadu, jakze czesto po prostu sie madrzy. Nie zauwazylem tego zjawiska w tej ksiazce. Autorka kieruje uwage czytajacego na swojego rozmowce, nie siebie.

Bardzo ciekawa jest rozmowa ze slynnym w Polsce dr Burzynskim. Dopiero teraz zrozumialem istote jego walki z amerykanskimi korporacjami. Jestem po jego stronie w 100 procentach!

Ksiazka jest niezwykle zrodlowa i przy tym interesujaca. Dowiedzialam sie ciekawych informacji o roznicach w architekturze amerykanskiej i europejskiej, o drodze, ktora przebywali polscy emigranci docierajacy roznymi drogami do Stanow Zjednoczonych. Moi rodzice wyemigrowali w latach 80-tych,na moja sugestie, przeczytali te ksiazke. Powiedzieli ,ze pozowlila on im jakby uporzadkowac wiedze na temat innych, ich poprzednikow. Dowiedzieli sie wiele o trudach, na ktore napotykali wszyscy. Zaimponowaly im nazwiska rozmowcow, pani Zofii Korbonskiej, Andrzeja Pomiana. Moje spostrzezenia: Jakie bogate maja Polacy zyciorysy! Najpiekniejsza jednak niespodzianka dla mnie byl rozdzial o wielkiej aktorce Ingrid Bergman napisany na podstawie m.in, nieznanych jej listow. Jest to aktorka znana moim rodzicom, ale ja ja polubilam po "Casablance" i innych filmach takze. Rozdzial pokazuje w piekny sposob jej zycie, jest wrazliwosc i jakby smutne czesto zdarzenia, ktore ja napotykaly. Stala mi sie blizsza. Ksiazka nauczyla mnie doceniania historii.

It is a collection of conversation with people who are interesting. It teaches the appreciation for history, good fortune, knowledge and also good luck. Many parts show the history of the latest years, including World War II. The chapter based on Ingrid Bergman's letters to her cousin brought me a feeling of great admiration for a beautiful person and talented actress,

"Ants of North America: A Guide to the Genera" by Brian Fisher and Stefan Cover is quite simply the best identification guide (down to the genus level) available for these fascinating insects.

Combining straightforward identification keys that contain excellent line drawings of pertinent ant features with April Nobile's detailed automontage pictures, this publication functions both as a "working book" and a page-by-page display of the true beauty and diversity of these ants.

The alphabetical method of ordering the genera descriptions is also to be saluted. As the subfamily level gets re-shuffled over the years, the alphabet stays the same, and so provides a user-friendly way to thumb through the genera.

All of the genus listings contain both a head-on and lateral picture of the ant, along with diagnostic remarks and brief distribution and ecological information.

This book belongs on the bookshelf and lab workbench of every myrmecologist, and certainly any ecologist that works within the conservation field performing biodiversity surveys. It has been said that you cannot begin to understand the species you are trying to preserve if you cannot identify them, and so this book will allow any ecologist with basic entomology skills the ability to identify, as E.O. Wilson describes ants, the "little things that run the world."

This book provides a wonderful doorway into the art of ant identification. The keys are well tested and current. The photographs of a representative ant from each genus are stunning. The lists of North American genera and species are very useful as is the list of literature for identifying species. I wish I had had this book 30 years ago when I first started learning to identify ants! This is a must have book for everyone who studies North American ants. It should also be in the libraries of all field stations and any institution of higher learning that teaches classes in the natural sciences.

I am a myrmecologist, and this is definitely the most helpful (and portable) ant key I have come across.

It is full of excellent illustrations and intuitive couplets, but aving said that, this book deals only with genera found in the USA, not whole North America.

The first part of the book is the dichotomous key, whereas the second part describes each genus in detail (ecology, morphological characteristics, the most recent literature dealing with that genus, etc.)

The authors have even managed to squeeze in a couple of (ant) jokes and funny anecdotes into this part of the text.
The last part of the book contains the list of all known species in North America.

The authors have made one mistake that I am aware of, and that is on page 111, where they state that genus Monomorium has 11 antennal segmnents while they actually have 12.

Ants are one of the groups of organisms that I found fascinating from an early age. I finally settled on spiders, but ants were always in the back of my mind on the numerous field trips on which I went to pursue my eight-legged quarry. However, guides to ants were few and far between and when I was given a copy of Creighton's "The Ants of North America" I was almost as confused as I was before. While the illustrations were good, the descriptions and keys were a bit difficult and of course even by the time I was given the book, it was quite dated.

We have long needed a book such as Brian Fisher and Stefan Cover have produced in "Ants of North America: A Guide to the Genera". Among other things the photos of actual specimens are a great help in determining the genera (and in some cases sub-genera) that anyone might encounter in a backyard or in the wild. The keys are both very good and well illustrated. A good hand lens will be sufficient with many, but the size of some requires a good binocular dissecting microscope (one reason that ants are less popular than butterflies, dragonflies or even moths). Still both professional entomologists and serious amateurs will find this book very useful as a first step in the identification of the ant fauna.

Because I am a professional biologist and an entomologist I found that, although I do not know the authors, I do know at least six of the people listed in the acknowledgements - such is the small size of the entomological community.

I recommend this book highly and only wish that something like it was available when I was becoming interested in the tiny life around us.

Aram's story is based on the life of an Armenian orphan brought to Canada in 1923. Aram's journey out of Turkey (with his grandmother) during the Armenian Genocide, to an orphanage in Greece, and on to a farm in rural Ontario is one of new discoveries and experiences--unforgettable are his nighttime swim around the skeleton of a sunken ship, arriving at the Port of Quebec, and eating his first banana.

Historical information is smoothly woven into the story, as golden threads enrich silk fabric. Backmatter includes maps tracing Aram's journey, a glossary, bibliography of novels about the Armenian Genocide, including two gems by Marsha Skrypuch, Internet sites and films, an index, biographical information on the author and illustrator, and a historicl note. Color illustrations enrich the pages of this historically accurate, thoroughly researched, and well-designed book. A memorable chapter book in the New Beginnings series, ARAM'S CHOICE is a must-read.

This story, lovingly told, examines the bleak history of Armenian orphans transported far from home to the shores of Canada following a genocide in their homeland. Skrypuch brings the fear and wonder of the boys' experiences to life with her clear text and vivid imagery. Reading the story is a visceral experience not to be missed.

ARAM'S CHOICE takes readers on a journey into the unknown with a group of young Armenian orphans who must leave their homeland or face extermination. Such a heavy theme, written differently, could have weighed the book down but, told through the eyes of a child, blends hardship with courage, fear with wonder and discouragement with hope. Both text and illustrations are beautifully and authentically crafted, bringing alive the experience of Canada's Georgetown Boys.

Highly recommended.

I'll admit, historical fiction is not usually my first choice of genre, but this small treasure of a story was enough to change my tastes! I wasn't even aware of the Armenian genocide--another painful chapter in mankind's history. This account picks up with the rescue of some young boys who are sent to an orphanage in Corfu and then to Canada to start new lives. Aram is such a likable character, such a boyish boy in the midst of all these historical events! I once asked my mother, a history major, how she thinks children should study history. She replied that they should study the lives of intriguing people in the context of history. Aram reminded me that one young life, of such value in and of itself, could paint a vivid picture of a forgotten time in history--one that deserves to be acknowledged and remembered.

The translated stories that are compiled in this book show the strength and determination and spirit of women who faced major life obstacles. These stories would have been lost forever if not for the author's search to have then translated and then compiled in this wonderful book.
Thank you Rhea Tregebov!
The book is a short one, the reading is easy, the stories are very poignant.

I grew up in the sentimental Jewish tradition where Yiddish stories expressed the community's hopes and romanticized its characters. Every rabbi was wise, every Jew pious and long-suffering, and every fool was holy. So this ground-breaking collection of 14 stories by 9 women authors was a revelation for me. Gritty and fresh, the writers share the rawness of their immigrant experience and the dislocation they encountered as their old world collapsed. With a clear and unflinching eye, these stories focus on life inside the Jewish community, rather than the normative storyline of Jews united against the common challenge of an anti-semitic world. Instead, we discover previously untellable tales of abandoned orphans, blind prejudice, family conflicts, and complex love triangles inside an old folks' home.

The collection was lovingly translated by the Winnipeg Yiddish Women's Reading Circle under the direction of editor Rhea Tregebov, who also provides a brief biographical sketch of each author.

An eye-opener for lovers of Jewish writing - this collection will re-draw the map of Yiddish literature.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the authentic lives of our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. If you want to see beyond the stereotype of the Jewish mother, this is the book to read. It's a no-schmaltz-allowed zone, and the stories are rivetting. Great gift for the holidays, Mother's Day, birthdays. The translations are beautifully done, and the bios included tantalizing glimpses into these women's lives.

I was very moved by this book. Beyond the evident literary quality, there was a sense of really entering into the lives of these women, whose stories have been obscured for so many decades by neglect and bias. I think this anthology will resonate for readers from many backgrounds and of many ages. Read it, buy it for your friends, mothers, grandmothers.