A Sight for Sore Eyes: A Novel (Random House Large Print (Paper))

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Nobody does North London squalor better than Ruth Rendell. Describing in vivid detail the cultural sewer in which a monster named Teddy Brex grows up, she uses hideous furniture, slovenly housekeeping habits, even his mother's diet while pregnant to root us in the setting's hopeless ugliness. In contrast, Rendell introduces people and places of stunning beauty: Francine, a mentally fragile girl who became mute after witnessing her mother's murder; and Orcadia Cottage, scene of a famous painting that is at the center of much of the story's anguish. "It was far and away the most beautiful place he had ever seen," Rendell writes when Teddy--a gifted woodcrafter--first views the cottage. "The proportions of this hall, this room... the windows, the walls, the carpets, the flowers, the furniture, the paintings, all of it dazzled him."

Teddy is another of Rendell's frightening moral cripples, a seemingly ordinary person capable of the vilest crimes. When he becomes obsessed with Francine after meeting her at art school, we know to expect murder--we just aren't sure when, or who will be the victim. Equally vile is Julia, Francine's stepmother, a psychologist of such immense and malevolent ineptness that we would swear she couldn't possibly exist if real life hadn't taught us otherwise. Other important characters are Harriet, a faded beauty who connects the past to the present; Teddy's uncle Keith, who first recognizes the boy's madness; and a bright red, lovingly restored Edsel, which becomes a hearse.

Like all of her books, Rendell's latest is really about the secret acts of insanity that occur behind closed doors. Among her best books available in paperback are From Doon with Death, A Guilty Thing Surprised, The Keys to the Street, and, from the excellent Inspector Wexford series, Kissing the Gunner's Daughter, Road Rage, and Simisola. --Dick Adler

Book Description

A Sight for Sore Eyes tells three stories, and for the longest time, the reader has no inkling of how they will come together. The first is a story of a little girl who has been scolded and sent to her room when her mother is brutally murdered; as Francine grows up, she is haunted by the experience, and it is years before she even speaks. Secondly, we become privy to the life of a young man, Teddy, born of unthinking young parents, who grows up almost completely ignored. Free of societal mores, he becomes a sociopath, who eventually discovers that killing can be an effective way to get what he wants. Thirdly, we meet Harriet, who from an early age has learned to use her beauty to make her way in the world. Bored by marriage to a wealthy, much older man, she scans the local newspapers for handymen to perform odd jobs around the house, including services in the bedroom.

When these three plots strands finally converge, the result is harrowing and unforgettable. A Sight for Sore Eyes is not just the work of a writer at the peak of her craft. It is an extraordinary story by a writer who, after 45 books, countless awards, and decades of international acclaim, is still getting better with every book.

Customer Reviews:

Chilling psychological suspense examines beauty.......2007-07-22

This tale of psychological suspense is not exactly beach reading. Better to curl up with this one in a small, dim room with a reassuring family member close by. Of Rendell's 40-something books, this just might be her creepiest.

Her two main characters, young people, just setting out in life, lead lonely lives. As a small child Francine witnessed her mother's murder. For nine months after she was mute and the threat of recurrence looms at the edges of her life. Growing up she submits to her stepmother's smothering, pathological protectiveness rather than risk confrontation.

Teddy comes from a family devoid of such human characteristics as warmth, self-respect, curiosity and taste. While the family seems exceptionally loathsome and grotesque, Rendell's eye for individual peculiarity keeps them human - just. Natural or nurtured, Teddy is a cold-centered sociopath with one consuming passion - beauty.

Francine's beauty transfixes him and he will go to any lengths to possess it.

Rendell's affinity for damaged souls brings even the secondary characters to vivid, grim life. Harriet's self-centered beauty has earned her a boring marriage and elegant home; now she soothes resentment by orchestrating fleeting seductions of virile handymen. Francine's stepmother embraces martyrdom as a means of power. Her father eases his own life with willful blindness. The squalor of Teddy's upbringing shares a stifling barrenness with Francine's caged life.

Teddy's fledging and early successful forays into the world create a tense ratcheting of suspense. His burgeoning freedom threatens a widening circle of unsuspecting people. Rendell's subtle, cold eye finds menace in every scene; the unwitting victims bring cataclysm upon themselves. Accident, timing, whim - all are weapons.

Totally riveting.

Five stars for a great story I couldn't put down, as usual..........2007-04-01

As usual, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine is/are to-die-for storyteller(s). How does she (they) do it? They hit the mark every time. Amazing! This book has a very Joyce Carol Oates-like theme: a horrible event catapults us into the lives (and motives) of the main characters...it shows us how a violent, traumatic experience can shape an entire life, in this case that of Francine, a sensitive young beauty who must carry the burden of having been, as a little girl, present at her mother's murder. Teddy is the gorgeous psychopath, Julia the suffocating stepmother Francine attracts, almost a self-fulfilling prophecy. The story is at once gruesome and fascinating, and impossible to put down. Thank you to the alter-egos of this super-fun writer.

Too much backstory.......2007-01-22

This was my first Ruth Rendell novel. I picked it up after seeing her name appear with very high praise on a list of top psychological thriller reads.

Based on this novel, I'd call her more of a literary fiction mystery writer. The action doesn't really pick up until the half-way point in the book, but then steadily increases to the strong ending.

I rated the book so low because I thought too much of the book (likely half) was superfluous narration to fill in the main characters's history. I think I could have understood the position of both main characters without so much detail.

If it hadn't been for the list of thrillers to read, I might not have finished the book. It began without a "hook", prompting me to read on, but I kept thinking that there must be more if she is such a prominent author.

Some day I might try another Rendell/Vine novel, but I'd make sure it came with plenty of hot reviews and a quicker pace.

The most DISTURBING novel I've read in a long, long time--that ending!.......2007-01-09

I'm never disappointed by a Ruth Rendall novel.

This was more of a character study so it's not really plot driven, but hang in there. Like a tightly wound clock, everything "clicks" together in the end.

And WHAT AN END!

This had to be one of the most disturbing novels I've ever read--extremely creepy ending and you'll never see it coming!

I heard they made it into a pretty bad movie, so stick to this book!

Enjoyable but other Rendell Novels were better.......2006-09-20

This was a very nice read. I started it on an airplane and read it all the way through. It has the usual elements of Rendell/ Vine mystery, but seems more like a Vine novel except it is told by a narrator in multiple points of view. Teddy Brex is a real nasty human being and its a pleasure to see the outcome of this novel. I did not however figure out if there was any connection between the back story of Francine and the present day action. I suspect there is, and that this background is not just a psychological element. Then again, perhaps it is.

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A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
RENDELL
Manufacturer: ARROW
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S3EW80

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A Sight for Sore Eyes
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Seal Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000DEMV8C

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A Sight for Sore Eyes
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Recorded Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 078872505X

Product Description

Unabridged Cassette 15.5 Hours /11 Cassettes Having published 45 books, Ruth Rendell is an internationally popular mystery writer. She has won four Gold Dagger and three Edgar awards. She has been presented with the Commander of the British Empire honor, and named Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. In A Sight For Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendells exceptional literary talent shines from each word. Teddy Brex is a handsome young man. Raised by parents who never loved him, he has grown to put his trust in objects. Things rarely disappoint him the way people do. Francine Hill is a lovely sight. And, like Teddy, she carries deep psychological scars. What brings these two young people together, however, isnt beauty. It is death. As Ruth Rendell probes the dark forces childhood has created in Teddys and Francines lives, an emotionally gripping story unfolds. Narrator Jenny Sterlin voices all the subtle layers of suspense that are the hallmark of Rendells incomparable work.

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Sight For Sore Eyes (Rugrats (8x8))
Luke David
Manufacturer: Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Humorous | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0689822626

Book Description

In this brand-new story, Tommy and the babies are baffled by Spike's sudden inability to see clearly, so they make it their mission to help him!

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Sight for Sore Eyes (Rugrats Series)

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Juv)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books | Action & Adventure | Children's Literature Guides | Classics by Age | Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths | General | Humorous | Literary Criticism & Collections | Poetry | Popular Culture | Read-Aloud | Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror | Short Story Collections
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ASIN: 0671028669

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A Sight for Sore Eyes [Unabridged Audio CDs]
Ruth Rendell
Manufacturer: Books on CD
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000VWPANO

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A SIGHT FOR SORE EYES.
Ruth. Rendell
Manufacturer: P/B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8QWLO

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A Sight For Sore Eyes.
Ruth RENDELL
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 009180101X

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Thank You Angelica & Sight for Sore Eyes : 2 Books in 1 (Nickelodeon Book Club/Rugrats)

Manufacturer: Grolier Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Rugrats | TV | Popular Characters | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0717289141

Customer Reviews:

amazing.......2006-11-10

This novel provides very profound insight to coptic Egyptian life in a flavor very different from any thing you have known before. If you want a " real " taste of Egypt with mythical refelections from Christian,Greco-roman and Ancient Egyptian mythology.

Book Description

MAKING A SUCCESSFUL

TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD

More than ever, young adults are struggling with career and life decisions that can sometimes seem overwhelming. Some return home to live with their parents, or find themselves in unsatisfying jobs, or lack a sense of direction in their lives. They suffer from what Dr. Mel Levine calls "work-life unreadiness," which prevents them from making the transition to full adulthood and which can cause considerable anguish. In Ready or Not, Here Life Comes, Dr. Levine examines why many young people seem to stall before beginning their adult lives and shows how they can get back on track.

There is much that young adults can do to improve their work-life readiness. Colleges can help too. In addition, parents and schools can better prepare children for a successful launch into adulthood, says Dr. Levine, by giving young people the skills they will need to thrive in the adult world. He suggests ways for schools to focus less on college prep (which generally amounts to "college admissions prep") and, instead, teach "life prep." At the same time, Dr. Levine recommends that parents balance their inclination to support their children with decisions that will offer them greater independence.

Insightful, wise, and compassionate, Ready or Not, Here Life Comes is a book that can help adolescents and young adults -- with an assist from parents and educators -- get a head start on a productive and successful adult life.

Download Description

"Every parent wants to know, ""What will he be like when he's in his twenties?"" After decades of observing children grow into young adults, Dr. Mel Levine, nationally known pediatrician and author, addresses the question of why some youngsters make a successful transition into adulthood while others do not. In recent years, says Dr. Levine, we have experienced an epidemic of career unreadiness as too many young people begin what he calls ""the startup years"" unprepared for the challenge of initiating a productive life. Parents and schools often raise children in a highly structured world of overscheduled activities, meeting kids' demands for immediate gratification but leaving them unable to cope on their own. Instead of making a smooth transition into adulthood, many youngsters find themselves trapped in their teenage years, traveling down the wrong career road, unable to function in the world of work. These young people have failed, says Dr. Levine, to properly assess their strengths and weaknesses and have never learned the basics of choosing and advancing through the stages of a career. Dr. Levine urges that schools focus less on college prep (which, he points out, generally means ""college admissions prep"") and instead teach ""life prep,"" equipping adolescents with what they will need to succeed as adults. He identifies these skills as falling within four growth processes, ""the four I's"": inner direction, or self-awareness; interpretation, or understanding the outside world; instrumentation, or the acquisition of mental tools; and interaction, or the ability to relate to other people effectively. It is these abilities that ensure a successful transition into the startup years of early adulthood. Parents, schools, and adolescents themselves can all work together to improve work-life readiness, and Dr. Levine shows how. He even offers advice for young adults who find themselves unable to navigate the world of careers. Insightful, wise, and compassionate, Ready or Not, Here Life Comes is a powerful commentary on our times and a book that can help adolescents and startup adults -- with an assist from parents and educators -- to spring from the starting gate of adulthood. "

Customer Reviews:

Greaty resource.......2007-07-30

I found this book as I have many of his books to be a great foundation to helping understand these kids. This one is even more practical as it tgives good insight and steps to help young people enter the world productively; Special Ed or Reg Ed it is great! I good resource foor kids and adults in preparing for transition!

Bravo!! Dr. Levine- Keep writing!!!.......2006-10-13

This book is a excellent resource tool for educators of all ages, no matter what professional role in the school.

We must continue to learn ways to encourage, enhance, challenge and enable
today's youth to discover their personal goals is life. What can be targeted, through their talents, yet giving them a reason for not giving up. We all have a purpose to fulfill in life. Just need to be challenged, guided to find out what it is!

This information can also be used with parents/ guardians who need insight for their child to find a healthy balance, while tackling the teenage years, peer pressures and other obstacles faced. Any guidance counselor, should consider this book, mine could have benefitted- no clue where to direct my future goals in life.

Like that old saying goes... " Don't judge a book by it's cover.", any books written by Dr.Levine are worth considering.

Ready or not, here life comes.......2006-08-15

Another good book to read by Mel Levine. His books are very informative and you do learn alot from him.

Enough already!.......2005-07-29

Mel Levine's basic proposition is that our culture is dysfunctional in its ability to transition young adults, whom he calls "startup adults", from high school and college to productive working lives and careers. Levine passes blame all around - youth culture's fascination with being "cool" and instant gratification, the public school system and higher ed. system's failure to prepare students for reality, etc. Levine presents a simple four-part framework for understanding and dealing with the problems he identifies.

I honestly can't disagree with Levine's observations and conclusions, although I find his approach to be somewhat predictable and trivial. Yes, there is a problem, and yes, we can be teaching our young people better about life's stages and transitions. Perhaps we can even do some good if we follow Levine's prescription for setting things right.

However, I think Levine is best understood as a product of his generation, specifically the Dr. Spock, baby-boom, "Me" generation. Although Levine has identified some legitimate problems, he rings hollow because he comes off like the next in a long line of navel-gazing baby-boomers. As such, he seems to have a blind spot for the failings of his own generation and its guiding "Me" philosophy, and so ends up treating symptoms rather than the true disease.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into all this, since I am inherently suspicious of all things related to his generation. As I said, taken on its own, Levine makes some good observations and offers some advice that may be helpful. However, I can honestly say that I can't read one more book like this w/o thinking, "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

A Gem for Students, Educators, and Parents!.......2005-04-22

Dr. Mel Levine makes some good points in describing why so many of today's young adults have trouble with the transition from the world of school to the world of work. For starters, Levine states that many of the skills needed for school may be different from the ones they will need during a career. For example, think of all the multiple-choice tests you may have taken in high school or at a university. I agree with Levine that these tests really don't prepare a student for anything important in the adult world.

Levine also says that kids need to be more interested in the working lives of people. I think this is a great point. So many kids grow up idolizing sports stars or entertainers. Instead, they should try to make more connections with the adult world. Kids and students should focus on their feasible futures because the odds of making it in sports or entertainment are minute. It also talks about reading biographies of people you admire (to get an idea about how they navigated life). However, with technology and other reasons jobs are changing so fast that, as Levine notes, role models even within a family are an endangered species.

A lot of the advice is very practical. For example, it helps to know what abilities you have, what you enjoy doing, where you see yourself in x amount of years, etc. If you know this, you will not make the mistake of just taking whatever job comes along. This could easily turn into being stuck in a job you hate after awhile. It is important to keep in mind that a willingness to start way down and climb way up is, of course, the American Dream.

Bottom Line: It is a great/essential/interesting read for educators, parents, and students.

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Ready or not, here comes trouble!
Roy H Hicks
Manufacturer: Harrison House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0892741481

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Here I come--ready or not,
Jean Merrill
Manufacturer: A. Whitman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Ready Or Not Here Life Comes
Mel Levine
Manufacturer: SIMON & SCHUSTER @ TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000SNFHFW

Ready or Not Here We Come!: The Real Experts' Guide to the First Year With Twins

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I love this book!
Encouraging AND entertaining

Ready or Not Here We Come!: The Real Experts' Guide to the First Year With Twins
Elizabeth Lyons
Manufacturer: Finn-Phyllis Press, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Motherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0974699020

Product Description

2nd Edition, updated and expanded!

You've expanded (to the point where you've traded high-fashion maternity wear for your husband's XXL T-shirts), answered way too many questions about your babies' conception, and felt your belly bounce like jelly as your dynamic duo engaged in a boxing match. And the adventure has only begun!

In her first humor-packed guide to raising twins, Elizabeth Lyons and her "multiples" sorority offer the wisdom of their combined experience in the form of practical shortcuts, real-world strategies, and sage advice.

Topics include:
- Preparing the Lair: Mandatory Gear for Babies and Mom
- Twinproofing Your Marriage
- Breastfeeding Strategies (and Why It s Okay if You Don t)
- Unsolicited Advice: Stories from the Trenches
- Getting Twins on a Schedule Preferably the Same One

Lyons balances the day-to-day challenges of raising twins from double feedings to sleep deprivation to getting out while pretending everything's under control with a sanity-saving dose of camaraderie. By the end, you ll be smiling and shouting, "Thank heaven, I m not alone!"

"Elizabeth Lyons' humorous yet realistic perspective provides new parents of twins with a great starting point from which to embark on that all-important first year." Dr. Bob Covert, Leading Chicagoland neonatologist

"Elizabeth Lyons captures the universal discourse of sisterhood while guiding new mothers of twins through the first year." Kathy Voit, RNC, Labor and Delivery nurse

Customer Reviews:

I love this book!.......2007-08-14

This book has been a refreshing break from all of the boring factual pregnancy books I've been reading. Elizabeth Lyons has a way with her words that convey honesty, bluntness, sincerity, and her love for her children all at the same time. I have not put this book down since I received it as a gift 2 days ago and will probably finish it today. I love the author's sarcasm and her "don't sweat the small stuff" approach to raising her children. The author also recommended several helpful websites to visit and items to purchase. I know this book has helped me and will continue to help me throughout the first year of my boys lives. Thank you Elizabeth!

Encouraging AND entertaining.......2007-08-08

When I found out I was pregnant with twins, a twin-mom friend told me that this was the only twins book I'd ever need. I found it immensely helpful before and after I had my boys. It takes you through strategies that never come up with one child: how to feed two screaming babies simultaneously, how to get them on the same schedule, how to handle all those bottles, etc. Best of all is the book's tone: funny and encouraging (similar to Vicky Iovine's "The Girlfriends' Guide" books). The book never tells you what you MUST do, but it offers real-life examples from real moms of twins, so you can try out what works for you. We mothers of twins need all the help we can get, and I really felt like this book was there for me during some very tough times.

Average customer rating:

now now veggies

Not what I expected

What a Title!

The Little Cyanide Cookbook; Delicious Recipes Rich in Vitamin B17
June De Spain
Manufacturer: Amer Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

World Without Cancer: The Story of Vitamin B17

Alive & Well: One Doctor's Experience With Nutrition in the Treatment of Cancer Patients

Cancer Therapy: The Independent Consumer's Guide to Non-Toxic Treatment & Prevention

The Cancer Industry, New Updated Edition

Killing Cancer: The Jason Winter's Story

ASIN: 0912986379

Book Description

A professional nutritionist offers over 300 tasty recipes rich in the cyanide containing substance that many scientists believe is nature's control for cancer. Cyanide, in minute quantities and in proper food forms, instead of being poisonous, actually is essential to health. 192-page book.

Customer Reviews:

now now veggies.......2007-08-09

the thing with not eating meat is that you really do miss some vital nutrients. it doesn't mean you have to walk around with a slab of bloody beef at all times, but fish (salmon?) and poultry are needed, if even in small quantities.

funny thing is, vegetarians take b-12 to make up for the lack of such through a non-meat diet. thing is, i was reading that these forms of b-12 don't absorb the natural way, if anything, it's actually worse than eating meat, as it blocks the b-12 from getting through.

effects of lack of b-12 can be neurological problems (i seriously read that) as well as depression....

Not what I expected.......2007-06-19

Although it often seems a bit unfair to rate a book lower based on my expectations, that's where I'm going with this. I think my expectations might be similar to yours.

I expected this book to have healthy, mostly vegetarian recipes, so I was surprised that so many, many of them were for meat dishes. I couldn't use the book, so I passed it on to someone else immediately.

Many of the recipes also use a very small amount of ground apricot kernels sprinkled onto an otherwise ordinary dish, which doesn't seem like enough to qualify the dish as rich in B17.

I'd suggest learning which foods have B17, and doing a computer search for recipes for them.

What a Title!.......2000-06-20

When my friends see this book on my bookshelf they often look puzzled. Perhaps they think twice about letting me cook for them! After all with a title like "Little Cyanide Cookbook," the book is bound to raise some eyebrows.

In reality this is a collection of recipes rich in cyanide containing foods, specifically amygdalin, which the author believes should be called `Vitamin B17.' This chemical is also known as `laetrile' which is the biggest name (some would say biggest shame) in alternative cancer therapies. Some scientists hold the theory that eating enough of these cyanide-containing sugars (which incidentally are anti-oxidants) will prevent cancer. Indeed many societies that are free from cancer (such as the Hunzas) consume quite a bit of these sugars. I have investigated the whole laetrile controversy for many years, which is why I own the book.

I can't say that I completely swallow all of the theory, but if you do, or are just investigating cyanide-containing chemicals as a cancer preventative, this book should be of use. The only drawback is that many of our favorite foods do not contain these "cyanogenic glycosides," so the recipes may be hard to put together. Also, many of the recipes call for ground-up apricot seeds, which are semi-legal and bitter tasting. For those wondering, there is no real danger of cyanide poisoning from the recipes that De Spain promotes. Some of the foods that contain cyanide which we eat everyday in large amounts are: lentils, millet, blackberries, raspberries, buckwheat, lima beans, and peas.

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