P Books

All Aunt Hagar's Children is a collection of short stories by Washington D.C. native Edward P. Jones, it is his third book and the first since winning the Pulitzer Prize for The Known World (2003). The stories are about black Americans in Washington D.C. during the 20th century. Each story revolves around family, society and self, detailing experiences emblematic of southern blacks who migrated to northern cities from rural roots: some found salvation and others a living hell. In all the stories there are transformative turning points in peoples lives. As Jones shows, they are often not conscious of what happened - life-altering events can happen in the course of the banal every-day, setting in motion life patterns that can be hard to break when it's forgotten or not noticed how it started. In some cases the patterns are passed down unconsciously generation to generation - like the devil, cycles of violence, poverty, addiction, sickness and ignorance stalk many of the characters for seemingly mysterious reasons, bordering on the mystic in some stories.

The stories are beautifully original, Jones employs authentic southern expressions creating a time capsule reverberating with fading folkways. Like the characters he writes about, Jones grew up poor in Washington. He had a strong mother - whom he dedicates the book too - and it contains many of her colloquial sayings. This is not a book to be read quickly, like the pace of southern culture, each sentence demands respect for plot structure, character development and the unique southern way of putting words together. I read this hoping to learn more about the black culture of Washington (and Baltimore up the road) and was not disappointed, but what an extra treat to have a world-class writer with a deep sense of humanity, empathy (and sometimes sly humor) show the way.

This author has done it again with brilliant illustrations of a city and families that touch the core of our compassion. No wonder he won the Pulitzer-he is amazing, and this is an amazing piece of work with suspenseful endings quite similar to Toni Morrison.

In his highly-acclaimed volume of 14 stories, "All Aunt Hagar's Children", Edward P. Jones draws portraits of African Americans who have migrated from the South to Washington D.C. The stories are set from around the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day. The stories describe many types of people from young children to old men and women and from the poor and illiterate to the highly educated. They speak of loneliness and change, of the frustration, sexual and otherwise, that results from moving to a new urban place, of criminality and drugs, and of education. The stories are short but deeply textured, as in tapestries(the title of the final story). Characters, histories and sub-themes are realized in brief spaces.

The writing style in these stories is a major factor in their success. All but two of the stories are told in the third person by an all-knowing narrator. (The exceptions are "Spanish in the Morning" told in the voice of a precocious young girl and the title story "All Aunt Hagar's Children told in the voice of a young Korean War veteran who hopes to move to Alaska in search of fortune and women.) The writing is full of Biblical allusions. Hagar, of course, was the concubine of the patriarch Abraham who was sent into the desert after she mocked the childlesness of Sarah who then became jealous of her. God spared Hagar and her childen. The figure of Hagar is used her for the outsider and the outcast -- symbolizing the lives of the African American characters of the stories. The language of the stories in its richness, difficulty, and frequent elliptical character, particularly in its repetition and in its use of names, also owes a great deal to the Old Testament. There is also much in the stories that reminds me of the African American preacher of Jame's Weldon Johnson's poem "God's Trombones". The rich, narrative voice of the stories is complemented by the contrasting voice of many of the characters with its slang, dialect, and frequent use of obscenity.

The stories develop character and place. Jones shows the reader a Washington D.C separate from the world of national politics familiar to most Americans. I have lived in Washington D.C. for many years. Jones's depictions of neighborhoods, streets, landmarks, stores, and people had a deep sense of familiarity. They also helped me see the familiar aspects of my city in a new way. The characters are true and believable in their many responses to living in Washington.

The stories I especially enjoyed included the first story "In the Blink of God's Eye" and the final story "Tapestries". Both these stories are set both in the rural South and in Washington, D.C., the former at the turn of the 20th Century and the latter in the 1930s. They both show the difficulties young married couples encounter with the change of place.

The story "Old Boys Old Girls" describes the life of a young man who spends years in Lorton prison and his attempt to make a life for himself when he is released. Jones contrasts the life of his down-and-out protagonist with the lives of his wealthy and successful family. "A Poor Guatamalean Dreams of a Downtown in Peru" tells of a young poor girl who achieves great academic success but whose life has otherwise been filled with catastrophe and loss. "All Aunt Hagar's Children" is a complex story filled with themes of womanizing, murder, family, and wanderlust. It is a compelling portrait of African American life in the Washington D.C. of the early 1950s and it touches briefly as well upon African American -- Jewish relations.

My two favorite stories were "Root Worker" and "Bad Neighbors" both of which explore themes of the search for love and finding it in unexpected places. The main character in "Root Worker" is a young successful woman doctor who gives up a planned vacation to travel South to consult a root doctor for what ails her mother. In the process, she learns a great deal about herself. "Bad Neighbors" tells the story of a large, poor family that rents a home in a middle-class black neighborhood where they are shunned and feared by their more successful neighbors. There are many turns as the story progresses, as the main character, a young woman who has become a nurse, gains a deeper understanding of people, status, and love.

Jones' stories depict African American life in a loving, involved manner but without polemicizing or blatant social criticism. They are rooted in African American life but, in their treatment of love, sexuality, change, and character speak universally as well. The stories are dense and thoughtful and will reward careful reading. I am pleased that many of my fellow Amazon reviewers have enjoyed this outstanding book and written insightfully about it.

Robin Friedman

In his second book of short stories, Edward P. Jones does a wonderful job of chronicling the African-American experience in All Aunt Hagar' Children. Just as Lost in the City did, Jones brings to life a city that is hardly ever written about, Washington, D.C., and uses fourteen tales to describe circumstances that include life inside of homes full of love, and those without and those that are wealthy and those that are struggling.

Jones' depictions are as real as it gets, thoroughly describing life for Blacks fleeing an angry South to a new beginning in their first experience of living an "urban" American life from the early 1900's all the way to the mid-twentieth century and the loneliness it may sometimes bring. For example, "In the Blink of God's Eye" is about a newlywed couple that moves from Virginia to Washington, D.C. From the way Jones writes, the reader would assume that the couple traveled all the way to Washington State, because that is just how much home was missed for the young bride and how far away it seemed to her. In the title story, "All Aunt Hagar's Children", a hopeless young man aspires to go to Alaska to hunt for gold but in the meantime, spends his days helping a neighbor solve the mystery of how her son was murdered while also dodging an ex-girlfriend that he perceives to be angry.

Overall, this reader really enjoyed Jones' ability to tell a story but at times, wanted it to be longer and did not feel that the short story version could give these stories justice. At other times, the story was just long enough to get to know the characters and get a meaning out of the story that could resonate. Avid readers of Edward P. Jones will definitely want to add this collection to their libraries and will pick their favorites within All Aunt Hagar's Children.

Reviewed by Lena Willis
APOOO BookClub

In All Aunt Hagar's Children, Edward Jones once again showers us with prose that is both concise and metaphoric. He is truly one of the great writers of our new century. His stories capture the intricacies of living in our complex and strife-torn world with true humanity and humility. For me, his strongest metaphor comes from the last story - the metaphor of a tapestry. It takes many years to create and is full of innumerable details, yet it produces a work that last for many years and enlightens many other lives. What a wonderful image and a challenge for us to live into. In All Aunt Hagar's Children, Jones has surely presented us with a tapestry that will live for years and enlighten lives.

IT IS AN INTERESTING BOOK, AN IT IS VERY CHEAP.
I COULD READ ALL THE BIOGRAPHY ABOUT MY FAVORITE GROUP AND I THINK THAT I FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM.
THE BEST PHOTOGRAPH IS WHERE THEY ARE TOGETHER IN A CONCERT.
THEY ARE VERY GOOD-LOOKING

i love the pic's in this book, when i read this book it told me some thing i didn't know, but some parts iretate me cause i know they are wrong,but i think i was well written it made me laugh many times,i love most the pic's on nick, as i have all the books on bsb i find this one of the best i have!!!!!!!!! it's a must!!!!!!!!!!

Horrible book, because it deals with a horrible "band" which is fooling millions of people around the globe...

I LIKE THIS BOOK CAUSE THE PICTURES INSIDE IT LOOK SO GOOD ESPECIALLY AJ MCLEAN AND HOWIE D AND THOSE ARE MY FAVORITES IN THE GROUP AND I ALSO LIKE BRIANL.BECAUSE HE IS SO FINE AND THE BOYS GOT IT GOING ON ALL THE TIME.

It was great! I love the Backstreet Boys (especially Brian) and I loved this book. It had great info on each of the guys, good stuff about how they got together, and really hot pictures. If you love the Backstreet Boys, get this book!

Well written and unique. Character and plot driven. Characters are so well described.

I absolutely loved this book. It would be a five star review, except for the fact that I've already read the two follow-ups. They betray the fact that RAW burned through all his best ideas on the first book. What appear in EWS as great set-ups for subsequent books turned out to be one-shots, left to die on the vine in the rest of the series. The Widow's Son is also a good book, but RAW spent too much time on farcical footnotes and not enough on character and plot development. So some of the genius of The Earth Will Shake is ruined by lack of cultivation.

Still, I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, conspiracies and using the arts to help liberate mankind.

Anything by Robert Anton Wilson is worth reading. His Illuminati stuff is doubly so. The original Illuminatus Trilogy is one of the greatest scifi, horror, thriller, political, historical, adventure and pornographic novels ever written. All of the Historical Illuminatus books are equally well done, equally fun to read, and equally true historically.

I read this book back in the late 80's when it was printed by a mass-market publisher (Signet, I think) containing two abridged volumes; The Earth Will Shake and The Widow's Son. I loved it then and was never able to find Nature's God. Now I have all 3 books. After re-reading this edition, I've enjoyed it twice as much!! There is still yet an unpublished forth book, "The World Turned Upside Down" and we're all awaiting this gem to be published. Earth Will Shake is a coming of Age novel set in the enlightenment era where a murder happens in church during an Easter mass. From that point on it's a roller coster ride of wicked but serious fun. You are enlightened by the sheer weight of the subject matter that continues to this day. In these works you meet diverse characters who are historically real. I.e., the young Mozart, Count Cagliostro and Casanova, just to name a few. Dan Brown though entertaining, is comparatively an amateur hack when writing about the Illumniati (see for yourself and read this. You won't be disappointed). When the Da Vinci Code got ALL the attention, there was no mention of this work and I find that a sad reality though parr for the course in these "shaky" times. Remember, "reality is what you can get away with"...

Robert Anton Wilson has proven to be capable of extraordinary talent with this series. Mixing fiction with non-fiction he weaves one of the most satisfying Masonic related tales to be discovered and published. The Earth Will Shake, The Widows Son and Natures God are a type of writing that I had previously not encountered through Wilson. This series can actually be very inspiring, and it's written in such a dramatic way I am convinced it would make an excellent movie. Yet, at the end of the series, the reader sees reference to the fourth book "The World Turned Upside Down", and alas, it is non-existant. Whatever reason Bob has for abandoning us devout readers of this series (I have read all three books three times and stolen much wit from them) I urge you, dear Bob, please don't leave us hanging, finish the fourth book! More! More! Your Friend, Joey

This collection of the monthlies opens with reminiscence of a terrible time: the day when the last of the Fables left their magical land. The evacuees made it out one step ahead of the invading armies - and only because the last of their army fought to the death delaying the marauder by that step. Amid the heroism, a tender story goes horribly wrong ...

... then, magically (as most things are among the Fables), seems to go right again. This bit of back-story fills in some of the history of these fairy tale (and often furry tail) beings come to life, but also sets the stage for a new drama in the here-and-now of their exile in our mundane world. Mighty battles rage, unknown to the unmagical mortals around them, while smaller personal trials work themselves out. Oh, and a major windfall turns into a political squabble, kind of like among people of any other kind.

As with good any good series, readers who've followed along are rewarded with extra insight into the actions of and between familiar personalities - yes, real personalities in a comic! I really do suggest that as the best way to work through this long-lived series. But, if you come across any volume at random, don't turn it down. The writers have the knack of welcoming newcomers with stories that make sense, even if you haven't seen the sub-plots building up over the issues that came before. I have to warn you, though, the Fables story line is more addictive than that first peanut. Few readers can or even want to stop at one.

-- wiredweird

The whole idea of characters from legends and fairy tales living among us anonymously may not be completely original but these comics take the notion to a whole new level and they are great fun, part of which stems from trying to figure out who some of them are. Most are pretty easy but a few take a little thought. Flycatcher, for instance, turns out to be the Frog Prince. The characters have escaped from a conqueror known as The Adversary and now live in Fabletown, ruled by (who else) Old King Cole. His trusted assistant is Snow White (ex of Prince Charming), now involved with the sheriff, Bigby Wolf (the Big Bad Wolf). Violence, betrayal, graphic sex and a lot of seriously twisted humor abound and this series probably should get an "R" rating. Fun though.

In this volume the Fables are faced with thier worst fear, an invasion by the Advesary from the Homeland. In the story Snow White coordinates the defenses of Fabletown, reenforcements from the Farm are bought in and we see Beast really let loose in this volume. It truly is a great read and I can't stop praising the series I reccomand it to anybody who likes comics but, isn't crazy about superheroes.

I've discovered Bill Willingham's FABLES only recently and I've become an instant fan. And what's not to adore? Great premise. Great characters. Great writing. Super drawing.

While I've loved all the first four books in the FABLES series (I have already ordered 5-7 from Amazon), the third entry, fell just below the best volumes simply because the numbers contained too many arcs. This volume, however, ties all the individual issues together, even the beginning, which focuses on the final battle of the fables against the Adversary. The central story, or the A plot, concerns the near simultaneous arrival of Red Riding Hood and some mysterious fables who have utter disdain for all creatures that they like to refer to as "meat." They turn out to be the title characters of the story. The great battle for Fabletown that culminates the volume is both brilliantly written and drawn.

In future I think I will recommend the FABLES series above all others to people who are completely new to the world of adult comics. They are immediately accessible in a way that other masterpieces like the Sandman books are not (I'm not saying that Gaiman is inaccessible, but that they are better appreciated if they are not the first graphic novels one reads). And the blend of drama, comedy, fantasy, and action would appeal to anyone not blinded by an anti-intellectual disdain of "popular" art (the irony being that self-styled intellectuals who disdain graphic art do so by being amazingly close-minded).

A great entry to a great series. Can't wait for my next stack of books to arrive!

Again Willingham produces a phenomenal comic book, this time going into the Fables history with the Adversary. And the battle.

This book is all you really need to go to Alaska. If you are a fan of Frommers products you will not be dissapointed. It's a thorough and accurate overview of all the basics needed when planning an Alaskan getaway.

I received the 2008 edition for Christmas...
true to Frommer's form. Great "Best of Alaska"
and "Planning your Trip" chapters...good inter-
net links and current contact phone numbers.
Nice section of "Alaska in Depth."

What more can one say about Frommer? You can't, or shouldn't, take any trip without taking along Frommer's reviews/commentary, and what to see and do books. Our trip to Alaska was just fantastic, and the information provided in it on everything from travel by cruise ship, history and what land tours to take was outstanding. I purchased the book (and others like it) from Amazon, and they all arrived in a timely manner, and the "price was right".

This book has been very informative in helping us to select which cruise line, tours and offshore excursions we plan to take advantage of while in Alaska. I highly recommend reading this BEFORE BOOKING and taking it along as a guide on your trip. It gives insider tips you may not have thought about when planning a trip. JPB

Doing a road trip via Motor Home...great explanations of camp sites, fishing, etc. Very helpful for a first time visitor for sure!

I was hesitant to read this book despite the recommendation of a friend and despite the accolades written here. How foolish. Reading this book was like sinking into a great mattress. I was near hypnotized by the beauty of the text which simply flowed. At times I was so overcome that I had to put the book down, the sadness of it all is wrenching. But never is the book depressing or is it hateful while describing the hate that people so easily engender. This is an extraordinary work.

This book was a gift to me from someone who knows my love of the Irish and of writers from that country. I began it hesitantly, not sure of the country I was entering, until I got perhaps ten pages into the book. The protagonist was describing how his mother sliced bread:

"..She did it in a trice. In the sewing of a wren's mitten."

I never looked back. His writing is brilliant, evocative, heartbreaking.

The Irish have always been known as great storytellers, but now they're all turning into great writers as well, and it seems they're coming out of the woodwork. Sebastian Barry's The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty places the protagonist in the small village of Sligo where he is an innocent among angry partisans. When he chooses to alleviate his problems of employment by taking a job with the Royal Irish Constabulary, the British-led police force, he irrevocably alters his life - as you might imagine! With beautiful language and ethereal descriptive passages, Barry allows readers to follow Eneas' travels and travails - all of us hoping for a happy ending.

So good that after I had read a library copy, I purchased my own so I could read it all over. This novel takes on indirectly (as in his more recent "A Long, Long Way From Home") Barry's own family's experience as Irish divided between serving the British and aiding those who rebelled against the King. The other reviewers here cover much of the plot, but I might add that a touch of magic realism near the explosive climax makes for a nice touch, and the tension between truth-telling and perceived loyalty moves the story of the modern-day Aeneas along his wanderings efficiently and poignantly.

Barry, also a poet and best known--at least before this novel--as a playwright, brings to his fictional characters a narrative style somewhat at odds with what one might expect. He's not Joyce, that is, striving for a correlative voice to match his character's interior musings. Rather, he takes the rich legacy of Joyce and makes it impel his own telling of the interior life of those that Barry finds empathy with, and whose inner as well as outer itineraries this author feels, you sense, he must tell. This impelling of a writer to find release through his creations makes for a very effective novel, indeed.

...and sure, Mark Twain would likely love the hero of this wonderful book. Eneas is truly an innocent - he never shies from hard work, he loves his family dearly, and (his gift and his damnation) he has no neither mind nor care at all, at all for the politicks. He's not really a simpleton, merely a simple man. Born in 1900, he comes of age with the Irish struggle for independence so vividly painted by events such as the Easter uprising of 1916. When his mates - especially his best boyhood friend, Jonno Lynch - are enlisting in the fight to throw off the British oppression, Eneas, finding it difficult to locate gainful employment, enlists first in the British Merchant Navy (which in itself might have been forgiven by those who deemed themselves his judges later), then in the Royal Irish Constabulary. The RIC being mainly a police force, Eneas couldn't see the harm in lending a hand in that quarter - but as the fight for independence grew more fierce and factional, the RIC was tied too closely in the eyes of some to the hated Tans, who were responsible for some right bloody work. Eneas, finding himself on a blacklist kept by those calling themselves patriots, is given a choice - get close to and kill the much-hated and feared Reprisal Man of the Tans, or suffer the consequences of a death sentence. Our hero cannot bring himself to kill a man, so he refuses - and when he sees that those who have threatened him with extinction mean just what they say, sees no other choice than to flee his beloved Sligo and his native Ireland altogether.

Thus his adventures and travels begin. He signs on with a merchant vessel and winds up in Galveston, Texas. He enlists with the British Army for World War II in order to save France (a country for whom he bears a great love, of unknown origins) from Hitler. After being shell-shocked on the beach at Dunkirk and lodging with a French farmer for a growing and harvesting season, he makes his way back to England, pays a quick visit to Ireland, then winds up in Nigeria, digging a canal for a British company. He finds the best friend of his life in the person of Harcourt, a Nigerian national he first meets on a boat heading to Ireland, then again in Nigeria. Harcourt's friendship becomes one of the true treasures of Eneas' life - and a lifelong friendship it is.

Barry's language and prose capture his characters, the setting and their story perfectly. The reader can't help but feel a great empathy for Eneas, and for others in the book as well. Through the story of one man - and a very believable story it is indeed - Barry lays bare the pain through which Ireland has passed in its journey to find itself. There's a lot of sadness to be found here - but there's a lot of joy as well, so.

Read this book - and read Barry's novel ANNIE DUNNE as well (even better, I think, but that's me...).

Where can I get the rest of her books????

See her website!!!

I enjoyed almost everything about this novel. I was fascinated by, and, for the most part, believed in psychological development of the characters...a plus for any mystery. Set in a semi-tony British Boy's school, always a treat, this fun psychological thriller kept me guessing until the end. As my only previous experience with this writer was the somewhat tiresome movie Chocolat, I was very pleasantly surprised. I look forward to reading her next effort!

For this reader Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris is a blockbuster of a novel with more twists and turns than an amusement park thrill ride. Set at a British boys' school, this riveting tale plays out like a game of chess with each move and counter-move by the participants advancing the story toward its unexpected climax.

The narrative itself covers a fifteen year period in the history of St. Oswald's School for Boys and moves back and forth in time between past AND present. Through the eyes of its two narrators, one a Professor of Classics and the other the offspring of the schools groundskeeper, we are given an "up close and personal" look at subjects as diverse as the youthful despair of "not belonging", to the inner workings of an obsessive mind, to the ambitious in-fighting and competitiveness of the teaching profession.

I will go no further with my critique since too much information would ultimately ruin the surprises neatly concealed in this tale of malice and revenge run amok. Suffice to say that Joanne Harris has given us a protagonist equal to Patricia Highsmith's sociopathic Tom Ripley character.[ASIN:0099282879 The Talented Mr.Ripley]

I was a little hesitant at first about reading this book. However, it did not take me long at all to realize that I had chosen a winner. The plot is amazing! If only every book was written this well. Yes, you think you have it all figured out and WHAM! It's NOT to be missed!

St. Oswald's Grammar School for Boys is one of the most prestigious privates schools in England. Having a pristine image is vital, and whatever potential scandal comes up is immediately covered up. Roy Straitley, a sixty-something Classics professor, is going for his Centurion, but will he be able to achieve it when his fellow staff members are taking over his office and classroom? There are also several new teachers this year, one of which is an aspiring author. There will be changes this year, but Straitley had never envisage just how different things would be. Small things occur at first. Pens go missing, pranks are made, porters get into trouble. But then things escalate, and one scandal follows another. Pedophilia, extramarital affairs, a missing child and Internet porn are among those scandals. And, worse still, there is murder. Who could be causing this? Someone who has been invisible to everyone at the school. Someone who has managed to trespass St. Oswald's as a child, becomes obsessed with one of the students, and has come back for revenge after everything was covered up to protect the school's image. St. Oswald's goes out of its way to avoid scandals, and this person will be changing that...

Gentlemen and Players is one of the cleverest written novels out there. Its dark, sinister and disturbing language drew me from the very start. The mysterious narrator -- the one seeking revenge -- made my skin crawl, and the big twist in the last fifty or so pages truly shocked me. The fact that it hadn't even occurred to me is a good indication of how well written this book is. Many things made sense when the person's identity is revealed. But I don't want to spoil it for the reader, and so I won't give further details. One thing is certain though: Joanne Harris is an excellent author. I haven't read Chocolat or her other novels, but Gentlemen and Players is a literary thriller that I will remember for quite a while. I cannot recommend this gem enough. If you've read this book and are looking for something as riveting as this, then I recommend The Keep by Jennifer Egan.

THE GOLDEN KEY by George MacDonald is nothing short of fascinating. It is all at the same time a fairy tale and a unique mystery. The first time I read it, (and now I honestly cannot figure out why) I didn't care for it. But I kept hearing more and more wonderful things about it. So, I read it again, and it enveloped me. Recently, I read it for a third time. And loved it still more.

To describe the plot of this story would do it no justice. Reading this little story is much more like wrapping up in a warm, thick blanket on a cold and rainy night. It is filled with wonder, suspense, beauty, and innocence.

I can't wait to read it again.

I love fairy tales, and this story is a most excellent example of the genre. It follows two children on their journeys through Fairyland and their interactions with various fantastic people and creatures. I loved the pure innocence of the story and found it very captivating. The narration was also very excellent and energetic, making this story a very good listen.

While The Golden Key may not be my all-time favorite book, it certainly has a strong connection to the book that I treasure most of all (well, second to the Bible). You see, George MacDonald, author of The Golden Key, was in fact the mentor of Lewis Carroll, who wrote my favorite non-Biblical book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. That's a very powerful and indeed shocking connection if you ask me. But you can kind of see it if you look closely. I mean, the kids in the Golden Key grow both old and young. Alice in Wonderland grows big and small. Kinda similar there.

Yet, I did not know about the relationship between the two books until AFTER I had finished The Golden Key and decided to do some research on its origin. I simply read The Golden Key like I would any other book, and developed some commentary on the work as a whole that I would now like to communicate:

First, the book is very short. I finished it in two days. And because its so short, events move incredibly fast to make room for heavy amounts of whimsical feeling and fantastical description.

But again I have to go back to the Alice thing. I noticed how SO many sentences in the story turned the reader upside down and made him say, "huh?" It was as if the Fairy World did everything it could to stay all out of whack. Whether it was to make speech that could be heard without ears, or to make the oldest people in the world look like little kids, the topsy-turvy nature of everything couldn't help but instill an amazing sense of awe. Truly, The Golden Key opens eyes to such incredible abstract possibilities of the imagination, and perhaps even life itself.

The out of whack sense of awe, while wonderful in this book, developed into full maturity in the Alice books. While The Golden Key merely mentions things that make no sense, the Alice books actually attempt to explain the senselessness of senseless things.

I hope I will always have a special place in my heart for MacDonald's prototype of Alice in Wonderland. Oh, if we only knew how much the imagination behind The Golden Key has really changed the world. I think we would all be very surprised.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my 20-year-old daughter. It was one of her favorite books as a child and she frequently checked it out of our local library until it disappeared from the shelf there, never to be seen again. She was very excited when she saw that she had her own copy and she took the book back to college with her after Christmas break. Although I haven't actually read the book myself, I can tell you that my daughter thinks it is great!

This book is like a drink of the freshest, clearest water on the brightest, bluest spring day you can imagine. It was lovely every step of the way, somehow beautifully sad and wonderful at the same time. With the aid of the creatures of fairyland, mistreated Tangle and adventuresome Mossy go on an enchanting journey which takes them straight through to a wisdom and sense of wonderment that is somehow greater than that found in adulthood (or childhood). George MacDonald truly had an eye for the worlds of fairy, and an unsurpassed talent for expressing beauty in all things. The stories are not always meant to be understood, but deep in that inner place in one's heart, they make sense.

The young Hal and his instructor in the art of living the good life , Falstaff cavort through the first half of Henry IV as if life were going to be one long , irresponsible entertainment. The dramatic transformation of all of this , and Hal's casting off of Falstaff, and moving to kingly responsibility will come in the Henry IV Part II.
What is present here throughout is the tremendous richness of Shakespeare's imagination in his creation of character, and inventiveness in language , in his ability to create so many different moods and feelings.
'Falstaff' is one of Shakespeare's most beloved characters, and one of the great figures in the Comedy of world literature.
Enjoy.

This is the play where the Percy rebellion begins and centers around the Achilles-like Hotspur. Eventually, Hotspur (Henry Percy) and Prince Hal (Henry Monmouth - later Henry V) battle in single combat.

We also get to see the contrast between these young men in temperament and character. King Henry wishes his son were more like Hotspur. Prince Hal realizes his own weaknesses and seems to try to assure himself (and us) that when the time comes he will change and all his youthful foolishness will be forgotten. Wouldn't that be a luxury we wish we could all have afforded when we were young?

Of course, Prince Hal's guide through the world of the cutpurse and highwayman is the Lord of Misrule, the incomparable Falstaff. His wit and gut are featured in full. When Prince Hal and Poins double-cross Falstaff & company, the follow on scenes are funny, but full of consequence even into the next play.

But, you certainly don't need me to tell you anything about Shakespeare. Like millions of other folks, I am in love with the writing. However, as all of us who read Shakespeare know, it isn't a simple issue. Most of us need help in understanding the text. There are many plays on words, many words no longer current in English and, besides, Shakespeare's vocabulary is richer than almost everyone else's who ever lived. There is also the issue of historical context, and the variations of text since the plays were never published in their author's lifetime.

For those of us who need that help and want to dig a bit deeper, the Arden editions of Shakespeare are just wonderful.

-Before the text of the play we get very readable and helpful essays discussing the sources and themes and other important issues about the play.

-In the text of the play we get as authoritative a text as exists with helpful notes about textual variations in other sources. We also get many many footnotes explaining unusual words or word plays or thematic points that would likely not be known by us reading in the 21st century.

-After the text we get excerpts from likely source materials used by Shakespeare and more background material to help us enrich our understanding and enjoyment of the play.

However, these extras are only available in the individual editions. If you buy the "Complete Plays" you get text and notes, but not the before and after material which add so much! Plus, the individual editions are easier to read from and handier to carry around.

I am actually reviewing both Parts One and Two with this since they should be read together.The reason why I enjoyed these plays so much is because we see Falstaff in both of them. He is my favourite Shakespearean character - big, bawdy, rough, a liar and a cheat, but again we know what he is right from the beginning, and Shakespeare keeps him so true to character. These plays are a bit different from some of the other histories. There are more comedic parts in them for one thing. The plays are certainly used as a medium for introducing young Hal (who will become King Henry V). We see him as a young man, and watch him grow and see the influences that his society and the people in it have on his development. He doesn't appear to be growing up well according to his father because he is so irresponsible. King Henry IV was not England's strongest ruler. He was haunted by his guilt over the death of his predecessor, King Richard II. In Part Two, comedy still plays a big role, and we still see Falstaff's influence on young Hal until the shocking moment of Falstaff's death. The best part about Part Two though is the deathbed scene between old King Henry IV and his son Prince Henry. The play leads us to "King Henry V". Prince Hal does finally grow up and he becomes a very strong leader. Actually King Henry Iv, Parts one and two should be read before King Henry V. It is the correct sequence and we see Prince Hal grow and mature.

Henry IV remains one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, even though the tragedies and comedies get far more attention and seeming appreciation than do the histories. As an English major, I examined Henry's (Hal's) character, and I focused on his development from a somewhat foolhardy young man into a self-assured, even manipulative prince. It is hard to say which of these Hal truly is, or if he is a little bit of both.

At the beginning of the play, Hal spends his free time cavorting around with his friend Falstaff (who provides all of the laughs in the play and is cited as one of the best comic characters in all literature). In the first act we already see hints in Hal's sololiquy that he may not be as carefree as we are led to believe, and that he might betray friends like Falstaff to be the prince that he is expected to be. Read on in "Henry V" to see just how much of a polished politician Hal becomes--his battle cries and his "once more unto the breech, dear friends" is masterful in its persuasiveness and ability to induce his countrymen to fight.

Hotspur serves as a nice counterpoint to Hal in "Henry IV." Hotspur is the hothead and Hal makes his decisions calmly and rationally. This almost inhuman rationality comes into play again in "Henry V" and makes you long for the seemingly carefree Hal.

All in all, "Henry IV" is a great read and quite an interesting character study--I highly recommend it!

In Part One of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," the titular king tries to defend his throne from a rebel army led by the hotheaded Hotspur, who has a long list of grievances about the king's treatment of his family, the Percys. Hotspur has allied himself with several principal figures including his uncle the Earl of Worcester, his brother-in-law Mortimer the Earl of March, Lord Douglas the Scot, and Owen Glendower, a Welsh chieftain with a vivid mystical imagination -- he is so egotistical that he insists an earthquake that occurred the day of his birth was a divine proclamation of his importance -- and a desire to usurp all of Wales from the king.

While he is preparing for war against the rebels, Henry IV laments that his own son Henry (Hal), the Prince of Wales, is a shameful libertine living the high life in London and consorting with a gang of scurrilous miscreants. Indeed, Prince Hal's idea of fun is robbing people, and his best friend and accomplice in this activity is Sir John Falstaff, who turns out to be not Hal's peer but a middle-aged man. In a character transformation of an abruptness that can only be described as magical, Hal becomes a serious young man determined loyally to defend his father's kingship from Hotspur's assault after he receives an earnest lecture from his father about the dangers of acting irresponsibly as a public figure.

Not enough can be said about Falstaff, who is undoubtedly one of the most richly realized characters in literature. He is fat, lazy, cowardly, yet boastful, but not in the same way Owen Glendower is -- Owen really believes what he says; Falstaff is just trying to make himself look better than he actually is, but fools nobody because he prevaricates and embellishes without bothering to remember his previous lies for the sake of consistency. You probably know somebody like this in real life -- especially if you're ten years old. Falstaff's piquancy, in fact, so outweighs the stature of the other characters that his absence is sorely felt in the scenes in which he does not appear.

Most of all, Part One of "Henry IV" is a play of contrasts personified by Prince Hal and Hotspur, who incidentally is also named Henry. In their confrontation on the battlefield, it seems unlikely that Hal, who wasted many of his best days living as a rake, could conquer a seasoned warrior like Hotspur in a swordfight. But there wouldn't be much of a tale to tell if not to show Hal triumphing after his resolution to change his weak habits, and the play ends with the conviction that, despite his past mistakes, he would make a noble king himself.

Karlson is one of Astrid Lindgren's most famous creations. It spans at least 3 books - Karlson on the Roof, Karlson Flies Again and Karlson is Sneaking Around Again (this one being the first).

Karlson is a short, fat man with a properller in his back and a button on his belly. He flies around and lives on the roof of a Stockholm suburb. In the series, he befriends what was a lonely boy, the youngest of three children. Karlson is a memorable character who takes pranks to the extreme, as well as slapstick humour, gluttony (especially for sweets) and is generally a happy-go-lucky wiseass who describes himself as "a beautiful and pleasingly plump man in his prime". Children are not below appreciating ironic humour and this series explores it well as we laught at his pranks while realising the character traits that they are mocking (as they are exaggerated to a childlike extreme - he constantly demands attention, food and is a general drama queen).

In this book, Karlson meets the boy and they develop a friendship as well as enocountering some robbers. A great read for kids from a young age!

This book was the reason I started reading at 5! After getting too impatient waiting for my father to read one chapter at a time every evening, I was determined to read it myself. And so I did, along with its two sequels. This is a beautiful, majestic collection that will definitely entice children into reading it. It teaches the true value of friendship, which is something that should be understood at an early age. As compared to the present day's Harry Potter, this book is full of fantastic reality, but without darkness and cruelty. It should definitely be published in English for mass distribution!

This book is just too good to remain out-of-print.

Great book for kids - read it as a kid, couldn't find it in English - so I am reading it in Ukrainian with the kids. Please find some one to re-print it in English.

All three Karlsson books by Astrid Lindgren are children classics, "cult" books. I can't belive you can only find them in English from used book sellers for $72, $249 and other ridiculous prices.

I wonder if those children books publishers ever look at out-of-print books prices. Don't those prices give you some clue on what is in demand?

I mean, really, guys - you have lots of immigrants from other countries, especially from China, Japan, Russia, Poland, other European countries, who love and miss that book and wish to buy them now for their own kids. Just estimate, how big is this market, please.

I am sure people who were born here would appreciate them too if they were more accessible.

You just can't go wrong with publishing the world's most brilliant, famous children classics. Please reprint three Karlson books. And, maybe, you can get a new, better translation too, because the existing one is rather dull, as people who read it told me.

Karlsson books/character in my opinion are/is main books/character you recognize Astrid Lidgren by. All others like Pippi longstocking, Ronie, Emil, etc. come after it. While you can find those other books easily in stores and on Amazon, the best one sadly became some kind of rarity.

These books are in the same league with Winni the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz. They are must have books.

I really wanted to buy them for my nieces as a gift, but I guess I should do with Moomin-troll series instead - another beautiful children world classics underestimated in USA. I'd better buy them soon, or they might became a rarity with astronomical prices.