Book Description
This volume collects contemporary accounts of the first successful colony in what would become the first thirteen United States. Most of the accounts were written by the colonists themselves; others reflect the perceptions and expectations of investors and observers back in England, while two reveal the keen and hostile interest taken in the colony by England's chief rival, Spain. These narratives take the reader from the London stage to Powhatan's lodge, from the halls of royal power to the derelict hovels of the Starving Time. They speak of unimaginable suffering, cruelty, hope, and perseverance. They show the modern reader what an adventure the founding of English America was-the desperate battles and fraught negotiations with Powhatan and his warriors, the political intrigues in Europe and Virginia, the shipwreck that inspired William Shakespeare's The Tempest, the captures and escapes, the discoveries that thrilled the colonists, the discoveries that broke their hearts.
Customer Reviews:
early Jamestown from all perspectives.......2004-10-29
The 20 collected writings relating to the English colony of Jamestown in Virginia, the first English settlement in America, are arranged chronologically from 1605 to 1614. This covers the time just before the arrival of the first colonists on three ships to the marriage of John Rolfe and Pocahontas. The variety of historical documents collected by the editor, a graduate of Wake Forest U., brings out the many sides of the venture of Jamestown. The struggle of the first colonists and mysteries surrounding the fate of some of them are the usual focus of the Jamestown colony. But besides these familiar subjects, Southern includes in this anthology Spanish documents evidencing concern over the colony; English papers voicing the interests and worries of investors; and references by Shakespeare to Jamestown.
Amazon.com
Chris Rice, a columnist for the Christian Sojourner magazine, takes on a memoirist's voice as he builds a dramatic story of racial harmony. Grace Matters begins in the early 1980s as Rice takes on a daunting role--that of a white man working within a predominately black church to help heal racial tension in Jackson, Mississippi. As a new member of the Voice of Calvary Church, Rice attends one of his first meetings. Here is where he meets the man who will eventually become his co-author of the award-winning book More Than Equals:
Then Spencer Perkins rose from his seat at the back of the church ... Spencer's eyes narrowed. His voice was gruff, defiant and confident. "What I want to know," he said, "is, what are all you white people doin' here?" That's all he said.... All lessons about how to win friends and influence people went right out the window. With one quick sentence, Spencer Perkins iced over the sunny land of my racial idealism.
As this memoir unfolds, we are privy to a magnificent friendship between two men of different races and extremely different backgrounds who discover that they each have tough spiritual lessons to teach one another. Eventually the story pans outward from the fiery friendship, as the duo helps to build an inspirational and interracial church community that brings "a culture of grace" to an impoverished inner-city neighborhood. Few would have thought that this kind of racially inclusive Christianity could have been accomplished in the Deep South. Rice not only shows that it's been done, he offers a testament to how it can be done again and again. --Gail Hudson
Book Description
"Here is a real story of real people and real faith. The story of friendship between Chris Rice and my son Spencer and their work of racial reconciliation and healing represents the heart of the Christian witness. My prayer is that the 'seeds' of this story of struggle and hope they planted will spread and bloom and grow in the lives of many people." —John Perkins, chairman, Christian Community Development Association and author, Let Justice Roll Down
"Grace is the most potent counter force at work in our violent species, and our only hope. Chris Rice gives a very personal account, at once inspiring and disturbing, of its transforming power." — Philip Yancey, author, What's So Amazing About Grace?
"Chris Rice has a keen eye for detail and a gift for setting a scene. This remarkable, inspiring story he tells reads like a good novel. It is a story of powerful Christian faith, intense personal commitment, and maddening human frailty. But more than anything else, and though it ends in tragedy, this is a story of hope: My encounter with Grace Matters has left me daring to hope that, even at this late date, we Christians might yet live out the true meaning of our radical creed in regard to relations between blacks and whites in the United States." —Glenn C. Loury, director, Institute on Race and Social Division, Boston University
"In a rare and deeply significant way, Chris Rice honestly probes the difficult but essential journey toward genuine racial reconciliation. It is confessional, candid, and even painful as the author bares his soul and his struggles.... This is a book with a fundamental and hopeful message-that grace can become a way of life." —Jim Wallis, editor, Sojourners and convener, Call to Renewal
"Grace Matters is an extraordinary love story that is improbable as it was difficult. That a black man and a white man might be joined in a common love of God in Mississippi defies the imagination. But Chris Rice has helped us see that friendship—indeed a difficult friendship—is possible just to the extent a community existed in which truth mattered. Hopefully this book will be read and read widely, not simply to inform us about 'race relations' but because the story told here is one of hope and perseverance that hopefully will make more friendships possible." —Stanley Hauerwas, author of A Community of Character and named by Time magazine as America's Best Theologian
Customer Reviews:
Grace Matters.......2003-02-20
This is an important book about human relationships and how conditioning must be transcended to allow a new order of humanity to emerge. Chris's honesty is remarkable and refreshing. The forces against human beings coming together are big - the black/white racial issue just further highlights what most of us try to pretend isn't there. Their willingness to trust in God and something bigger than themselves because they know how important it is for the sake of humanity, is very moving and should not be missed. This is an unusual book because although the foundational faith is Christianity, the issues are human and can be appreciated by anyone interested in solving the complex issues of what it means to be a human being.
Grace Matters.......2003-02-20
This is an important book about human relationships and how conditioning must be transcended to allow a new order of humanity to emerge. Chris's honesty is remarkable and refreshing. The forces against human beings coming together are big - the black/white racial issue just further highlights what most of us try to pretend isn't there. Their willingness to trust in God and something bigger than themselves because they know how important it is for the sake of humanity, is very moving and should not be missed. This is an unusual book because although the foundational faith is Christianity, the issues are human and can be appreciated by anyone interested in solving the complex issues of what it means to be a human being.
The path to lasting change.......2002-11-23
Chris Rice is brutally vulnerable and honest about his attempts to achieve the goal of racial reconciliation in partnership with Spencer Perkins. And, while the goal is important, the means of achieving it takes center stage in this poignant and absorbing chronicle of life in an intentional biracial community. Chris and Spencer discover that, when it comes right down to it, the only way they can overcome their own personal hangups and self-centeredness, and achieve true reconciliation between them, is by fully accepting God's grace. As they accept God's grace, they become transformed people who are whole, healed, and capable of truly seeking the best for others. The book clearly documents the work of God in the deep, private recesses of peoples' lives. It should be read by anyone who wants to achieve lasting change in their own life and the world around them.
So Honest a book!!.......2002-11-15
What a tremendously honest book. There are no shortcuts to true racial reconciliation and justice. Attempts at shortcuts usually lead to a perpetuation of racial injustice or merely a reversal of who is oppressed. Reading "Grace Matters" clearly indicates this truism. Most of the books on race relations are dogmatic about the ultimate solutions there are to racial harmonty. This book is a more honest reflection of the struggles we will have to undergo so that racial reconciliation is possible. Rice does not make himself the "hero" of this book. He freely reveals the ugly side of himself. But just as important he does not deify Spencoer Perkins - his best friend in the book who is black - or blacks in general. This is a real book about real people.
If you want to just rely on those who pretend that they know all of the answers to racism, from color-blind whites to afrocentric blacks, then this book is not for you. The answers in this book are not offered through an unrealistic idealism but through the blood, sweat and tears that happen when people of different races really start working at racial healing. So if you want to gain a little sense of the type of struggle that we are going to have to undergo to eliminate racism then go get this book as soon as you can.
At last! the truth about interracial friendship.......2002-10-30
This memoir by Chris Rice is important, not because of the people involved, though they are in the forefront of evangelical ministry with the poor. It is important because for the first time someone is being brutally honest about what real relationships across the black-white chasm will cost and why they are worth the effort. This is no sugary, "Can't we just all get along" picture of the ideal "brotherhood of man." This is a chronicle of misunderstanding, miscommunication, determination, reconciliation and forgiveness. But finally, the story of Antioch Community and the friendship of Spencer Perkins and Christ Rice is about grace--God's grace working through flawed and struggling Christians who are radical enough to take the Sermon on the Mount as a call to lifestyle and mission.
Everybody who is interested in miinistry with the poor, racial reconciliation, Christian community and social justice should read this book.
Book Description
"This diverse collection, like Asian America itself, adds up to something far more vibrant than the sum of its voices."
-Eric Liu, author of The Accidental Asian
"There's fury, dignity, and self-awareness in these essays. I found the voices to be energetic and the ideas exciting."
-Diana Son, playwright (Stop Kiss) and co-producer (Law & Order: Criminal Intent)
This refreshing and timely collection of coming-of-age essays, edited and written by young Asian Americans, powerfully captures the joys and struggles of their evolving identities as one of the fastest-growing groups in the nation and poignantly depicts the many oft-conflicting ties they feel to both American and Asian cultures. The essays also highlight the vast cultural diversity within the category of Asian American, yet ultimately reveal how these young people are truly American in their ideals and dreams.
Asian American X is more than a book on identity; it is required reading both for young Asian Americans who seek to understand themselves and their social group, and for all who are interested in keeping abreast of the changing American social terrain.
Customer Reviews:
misrepresentation .......2006-03-03
The quality and thought put into each essay was excellent, though it could've been more diverse class and wealth wise.
While there is an obvious effort by the editors to include South/Southeast/East Asians and Pacific Islanders in order to represent diversely, there seems to have been a lackluster effort to include young APIA voices who are of college-age, but not in college. This would've broaden perspectives, assuming that most of them come from less educated and poorer backgrounds, exposing ideas, thoughts, and desires less uniform.
This a collection of APIA voices in college - hopefully, the editors will make better efforts to broaden the collection if they decide to create a second book.
and I thought I was alone..........2005-12-14
I found this book immensly moving. It's not really because the quality of the writing is all that good. There aren't any deep or poignant metaphors, just real life. I think that's more important than anything. What I liked most about this collection of voices is that I found I related to exactly what people said. I wanted to read more about their lives just to learn more about mine. I recommend it to anyone, Asian or not.
Great read.......2005-02-16
This book provides insightful commentary on what life is like for young Asian Americans growing up in the United States. The collaborative treatment of the subject, driven by a group of talented writers, showcases a large spectrum of inspired voices. An enjoyable read.
A great collection of essays.......2005-01-02
Asian American X sets out to give its reader a broad understanding of today's Asian Americans, but I think it goes further. The collection of essays is really about what it means to be young and grappling with life's most important questions.
Thanks for the reviews.......2004-12-16
I am one of the contributors of AAX and it's really great to read the reviews. Thanks alot for reading and the kind words. Pass on the word! ;-) Oh, and don't stop dreaming.
Customer Reviews:
Power, Politics, and Polite Society.......2000-04-10
In "The Last of The Southern Girls", William Morris sets himself up for the ambitious task of combining the contradictions and complications of life in our Nation's capital with the wiles and trials of Southern feminity. As a Southern girl who moved to Washington, D.C. directly follwing graduation, I believe Morris accurately depicts the lovely and despicable traits of two cultures where social obligations and expectations supercede reality. Morris does an especially effective job of describing the tightrope walked by those involved in the delicate role of "public servant," where every move for "the people" must also contribute to one's own personal fame and power.
A fast read about two worlds where words mean nothing and everything at the same time - a must for anyone interested in politics.
Average customer rating:
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Popular Voices in Latin American Catholicism (Studies in Church and State)
Daniel H. Levine
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0691024596 |
Book Description
Throughout Latin America, observers and activists have found in religion a promise of deep and long-lasting democratization. But for religion to change culture and politics, religion itself must change. Such change is not only a matter of doctrine, ritual, or institutional arrangements but also arises out of the needs, values, and ideas of average believers. Combining rich interviews and community studies in Venezuela and Colombia with analysis of broad ideological and institutional transformations, Daniel Levine examines how religious and cultural change begins and what gives it substance and lasting impact. The author focuses on the creation of self-confident popular groups among hitherto isolated and dispirited individuals. Once silent voices come to light as peasants and urban barrio dwellers reflect on their upbringing and community, on poverty and opportunity, on faith, prayer, and the Bible, and on institutions like state, school, and church. Levine also interviews priests, sisters, and pastoral agents and explains how their efforts shape the links between popular groups and the larger society. The result is a clear understanding of how relations among social and cultural levels are maintained and transformed, how programs are implemented, why they succeed or fail, and how change appears both to elites and to ordinary people.
Customer Reviews:
A classic not to be missed.......2002-04-03
I remember reading this book years ago. I checked it out of the library and was so touched by it that I sought out a hardback copy so I could own it. This was my first Lee Smith book and I have followed her career for the last twenty or so years. She is a marvelous writer and this book is particularly special. She was the first writer of the South I'd read except for Harper Lee who was assigned to me in high school. She captured the heart and mind of a young girl in the South with such clarity and grace. I have enjoyed every one of her books since but this one will always remain one of my favorites. I recommend it highly.
Disturbing, thought provoking, coming of age novel.......2001-03-26
Smith's novel tells the story of a girl growing up in the south. What starts out as a simple nine-year old's telling of how she spent her summer becomes a thought provoking piece as it not only shows the issues someone her age would face, but also causes the reader to question how a nine year old might deal with the difficult issue of rape and how one might respond to someone devoid of any morals.
In Smith's novel, the main character "grows up" during the summer, bouting with a family falling apart, and discovering for the first time what evil is, through the character of Eugene. What Smith creates is a disturbing coming of age novel that stands the test of time as we see the main character forced to grow up, learning things faster than she ought because of the little support she receives from her detorraiting family.
Smith causes the reader to question how we underestimate what children see and in doing that, they may suffer. The main character describes her family in a fictitious light using a fairy tale facade to represent "the queen" and "the princess" of her household and is forced to use nature as a substitute family. What reads initially as a simple story of a child ends a strong thought provoking piece.
awesome.......2000-08-21
The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed was Lee Smith's first novel, written I believe, while she was a student at Hollins College. Like most first novels, it deals with coming of age childhood. Unlike most novels, it is written in the voice of a child, with the observations, understanding, and comprehensions of a child. Thus, the reader - like the child - witness these confusing events and must try to put them all together to make sense.
I have read all of Lee Smith's novels and short stories. This book - along with Fair and Tender Ladies - is my favorite.
Very good novel and excellent for teaching Freshman English.......1998-02-18
Ms. Smith's novel is written in first person; the narrator, Susan, is a young girl who is unknowingly witnessing the disintegration of her family and is just beginning to experience adolescence. As a Freshman English teacher, I have great luck with the novel because the students understand and sympathize with Susan. The biggest problem with the novel is that Ms. Smith's narrator jumps out of voice, but it happens seldomly and actually makes for interesting class discussion about the differences between writers, readers, and characters. Its principal asset is that Dogbushes deals intelligently and sympathetically with a young girl's emotional and physical growth. It is a short novel and I find that the students actually read it because they like it. I teach the novel because I liked it when I read it many years ago, and I enjoy sharing it with my classes.
Book Description
Considered one of the original texts foretelling the black feminist movement, this collection of essays, first published in 1892, offers an unparalleled view into the thought of black women writers in nineteenth-century America. A leading black spokeswoman of her time, Anna Julia Cooper came of age during a conservative wave in the black community, a time when men completely dominated African-American intellectual and political ideas. In these essays, Cooper criticizes black men for securing higher education for themselves through the ministry, while erecting roadblocks to deny women access to those same opportunities, and denounces the elitism and provinciality of the white women's movement. Passionately committed to women's independence, Cooper espoused higher education as the essential key to ending women's physical, emotional, and economic dependence on men.
Customer Reviews:
The Role of Women in the Development of Society.......2000-06-16
Women are the important development of any society. Their position in society makes them important in development. She says "the position in society determines the vital elements of its regeneration and progress". she also say it is a woman "who must first form the man by directing the earliest impulse of his character. It is true that it is people with particular personality and character who achieve development and progress and that it is t he woman who generally socializes the individuals into appropriate behavior. So women are important as molders of people who in turn develop societies.
Book Description
This is the first collection of Cooper's major writings, including many never before published.
Book Description
"Hysterically funny, beautifully written. . . . Warming and endearing, brilliant."-Anne Tyler, New Republic After four years of college in New England, Louise Brown is back in New Orleans, steeped in society's "wastrel-youth contingent" yet somewhat detached, observing it all. From one lush, sweltering event to another, Violent Love, Breakdowns, Moods, laconic speech, and drunkenness reign, inscribing the South's hallmarks of defeat and refuge in a group of people as intense and adrift as one could encounter. At the center (in Louise's eyes) is Claude Collier, rumpled, accident prone, supremely sweet-and desperate. For Claude, Louise is his steadying focus; for Louise, Claude is the only man who can break her heart "into a million pieces on the floor." By turns elegiac and eccentric, Lives of the Saints is the debut novel that marked Nancy Lemann as a rising literary star. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK "A lovely nutty book about a lovely nutty girl. . . . Hilarious, haunting, poignant."-Walker Percy "Spikily comic. . . . This is how Blanche DuBois talked before the lampshade was torn away and life became lit with a naked bulb." -James Wolcott, New York Review of Books Nancy Lemann is also the author of Sportsman's Paradise, a novel, and The Ritz of the Bayou, an account of the trials of Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards. She lives in San Diego.
Customer Reviews:
Livin' "Lives".......2006-02-07
New Orleans comes to life in "Lives of the Saints," Nancy Lemann's debut novel. And the Crescent City has never seemed more appealing, with its kooky inhabitants, sleepy grandeur and disjointed, dreamlike romance. And no, for your information, there is not an actual plot.
It opens with party-girl Louise arriving at a wedding in New Orleans, and surveying the oddballs who populate it -- Grecophiles, pushy lawyers, and sexy Young Wastrels. One of the best of these is the Collier family, a dysfunctional family of oddballs who manage to keep it together. The best of these is Claude, a young ne'er-do-well who always teeters on the edge of a Breakdown. (Louise is fond of capitalization)
But months later, tragedy strikes: Claude's six-year-old brother Saint suffers a fatal fall from a tree. Since Claude was about to adopt Saint, the loss hits him hard, and he has only Louise to comfort him. Even worse, the Collier family is starting to fall apart. Will Claude manage to pull himself together, or will he suffer a terrible Breakdown?
Don't read "Lives of the Saints" expecting a nice neat novel with a beginning, a middle and an end. This is a slice-of-life novel, focusing more on feelings and experiences than in a real story. And because of Lemann's charmingly weird characters and her lush, aimless prose, it works out wonderfully.
Especially since Lemann knows how to arrange it so that it seems as if we're sampling the characters' lives. Each chapter is divided into little mini-chapters, often being one of Louise's observations. And those brief bits of dialogue and description are full of the steamy, lush, lazy feel of New Orleans. Through Lemann's eyes, it seems almost unreal.
Louise makes an excellent narrator, but she's a rather weak main character; the most compelling part of her is her love for Claude. Claude himself is stunningly realistic: He's charming, aimless, ashamed of being aimless, loving and completely kindly. Everybody knows (and loves) at least one Wastrel Youth like Claude.
And the story is peppered with all kinds of oddballs, from a little boy with an unconventional family (he regularly tells Louise about his daddy and "five wives") to Mr. Collier, who drowns his sorrows in his scholarly pursuits. The surprising thing is, no matter how obnoxious some of these people are, Lemann makes you like them just for being a part of the book.
A look at the oddballs of New Orleans, "Lives of the Saints" is bittersweet, charming and very fun book. Much like New Orleans itself.
Life in New Orleans.......2000-10-10
This book is beautifully written. It clearly favors slice of life scenes over linear plot. She does a wonderful job of portraying the lives of the eccentric upper class in an eccentric city (New Orleans).
Highly recommend, but not as a romantic tale of lost love........1999-10-25
This is an odd little book. While I was not "blown away" or captivated by the characters, I have been thinking about LIVES OF THE SAINTS a great deal since I finished it. Perhaps I am too practical (or too northern), but I kept wishing that Claude would get professional help. The secondary characters were fascinating and the book is well-written. I felt that Louise was a good narrator but a weak character. Byron and Mary Grace, however, were personal favorites. I highly recommend this book, but don't expect a romantic tale of lost love because I don't think that that's what this gin-soaked book was really about. Rather, I see Claude as a metaphor for the lost dreams/opportunities of the "South" wrapped in the mannerisms and odd brilliance of a gentleman. A good, thought-provoking read.
It charmed me.......1999-07-23
I loved this book (though did have to take a leap of faith and not just get irritated by her beginning words with CAPITAL letters to give them intensity...). It reminded me of the joy I felt as an adolescent reading all the Glass stories by Salinger.
Fabulous read about New Orleans characters.......1999-07-03
Great writing made the pages of this book fly by! A slim novel with a fast, almost talkative pace, the book was as much about New Orleans and its eccentricities as it was about the two main characters. The Fiery Pantheon (her latest book) is a great read too. Long live (and long write) Nancy Lemann.
Book Description
Yellow light filled the attic. The light locked with the dust--tons of dust up here--and the atmosphere of the place stuffed his head like a fever. It seemed that he perceived this light with every nerve of his body.
The attic was mostly empty but toward the south wall was a queer arrangment of chains; the ends dangled about seven feet from the floor and had broad iron bands attached. The bands were hinged on one side so they could open and shut. The chains looked red in the yellow light.
He held one of the bands and stroked his finger along the inside and it came away reddish. Rust, he thought; but it didn't flake; it wasn't gritty like rust. It was old, caked blood. . .
Slowly, Peter is mesmerized and begins a journey into madness where a bloodstained god waits to claim the mind and soul of the last of the Lelands.
"I am honestly convinced that Fred Chappell is one of the finest writers of this time, one of the rare and precious few who are truly 'major.'" -- George Garrett, author of Death of the Fox and The Succession.
Download Description
Yellow light filled the attic. The light locked with the dust-tons of dust up here-and the atmosphere of the place stuffed his head like a fever. It seemed that he perceived this light with every nerve of his body. The attic was mostly empty but toward the south wall was a queer arrangement of chains; the ends dangled about seven feet from the floor and had broad iron bands attached. The bands were hinged on one side so they could open and shut. The chains looked red in the yellow light. He held one of the bands and stroked his finger along the inside and it came away reddish. Rust, he thought; but it didn't flake; it wasn't gritty like rust. It was old, caked blood. . . Slowly, Peter is mesmerized and begins a journey into madness where a bloodstained god waits to claim the mind and soul of the last of the Lelands. "I am honestly convinced that Fred Chappell is one of the finest writers of this time, one of the rare and precious few who are truly 'major.'" - George Garrett, author of DEATH OF THE FOX and THE SUCCESSION. Fred Chappell is the Poet Lareate of North Carolina. Boson Books also offers THE GAUDY PLACE and MOMENTS OF LIGHT by Fred Chappell. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com.
Customer Reviews:
One of the best horror novels ever written.......2005-06-07
Hybrid literature is a tough sell, especially when one of the component genres has a following as finicky as the fans of H.P. Lovecraft. While some readers are content to read the same scenarios over and over, others might want something more.
If you are a fan of the Cthulhu mythos, I urge you to give this book a shot, despite the negative reviews on this page. If you are unfamiliar with H.P. Lovecraft, be glad to take this book on its own rewarding terms.
Both deeply disturbing and compelling, DAGON is full of images and hints of sensation that linger in the subconscious long after reading. Chappell phrases the most mundane details in the most interesting ways so that you are forced to pay attention and consider what he is describing. These details collect like drops of water, until the atmosphere is so thick with dread and oppression that it is almost unbearable, so that even after you finish the book the feeling of unease remains inescapable.
It's a subtle, short read that quietly builds to it's inevitable climax and bizarre coda. The story is on its surface simple, but the way in which it is told is a major achievement.
Not worth your time or money.......2005-06-06
Dagon is a short novel written by Fred Chappell, with a copyright in 1987. I have the LSU Press edition from 2002. It is a standard 5.5" x 8.5" trade paperback with 177 pages, seemingly substantial, but the font is larger than usual with trade paperbacks so it actually reads fairly quickly. Production values are high; there is a cover illustration by Dave Ross showing a half man with a scaly lower body from behind, held captive in chains in some sort of ancient temple.
Evocative but no wow factor; there is no interior art (too bad, it might have relieved the tedium). List price is $15.95. This book was manufactured according to some standard on book longevity (again too bad, it will take that much longer to crumble away).
Spoilers may follow, but who cares?
I tend to buy and read almost anything mythos associated so of course I lapped it up. JUst after the title page there is a page devoted to Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. Very auspicious! Unfortunately that was also the highlight.
I really did not like this book even a little bit and I have been trying to figure out why. Sometimes mythos books fall apart because the prose is poor, like Other Nations, or the prose, plot and characterizations all stink, like Island Life, or because the book has really nothing to do with the mythos and instead has to do with schlocky gross out horror, like A Darkness Inbred. This novel clearly was living and breathing in the world of the mythos, had a clearly thought out plot and had prose that was highly polished. So what was the problem?
First of all, I couldn't stand any of the characters, particularly the protagonist, I was more concerned about Thomas Covenant than Peter Leland, and I wanted Thomas Covenant to meet an unseemly early end. Second, it was dull, tedious, boring, a chore to read. There was precious little forward momentum here. Finally, although highly crafted, the prose was almost entirely devoted to Peter's tortuous and disinteresting introspection. Also there was no awesomeness of a mythos entity or any sense of terror at all. He was mostly pathetic and worth only the reader's disdain.
In a typical (mercifully 10-15 page only) mythos story in the sort, a protagonist goes to an ancient mansion/estate/farm and falls under the influence of some evil dabbler in mythos books, or their own dabbling in mythos books, who then loses control over their free will and gets used for or comes to unseemly ends. The reader mainly sees it as either their journal entries or from a birds eye third person viewpoint. This novel rather originally places you in the mind of the victim protagonist who doesn't have any understanding of what is going on, who knows nothing of the mythos and who only catches glimpses but does not understand them of what the evil sorcer type is doing. The
mythos happenings are never made explicitly clear. This *could* have been so cool. So Peter gradually loses his will and his life to the vaguely fihsoid appearing Mina, with his wife an innocent bystander victim along the way. Nice premise, a slow disappointing slog to drag yourself through.
Not recommended to anyone at all anywhere anytime. Go reread Balak or something good instead.
Major disappointment.......2005-05-15
I found this book on a list of "Cthulhu Mythos" related items and thought it would be good. Big mistake. The first couple of chapters were good, with the proper atmosphere and creepiness. Then came the next hundred or so pages, which suddenly turned the story into a mishmash of sex, sadism, and filthy language, and even a bizarre message of "oneness with the universe". A few vague references to Cthulhu does not make a "Mythos" story.
Mixed bag.......2002-09-23
The first half of this book is great, becoming more and more atmospheric, moody, and tense as the main character (a more realistic version of the typical Lovecraft protagonist) investigates the mystery of his home. However, after that, the book radically shifts gears and becomes a journey into madness which, while it has some good and creepy bits, becomes primarily an exercise in psychological abuse and "gross-out" horror. Ultimately, I was unsatisfied with a book which has been so highly recommended by some.
An H.P. Lovecraft story written by Faulkner.......1998-11-13
This is a book that takes the familiar Lovecraftian, or maybe Derlethian, scenario--a young man inherits a house, is taken over by the spirit of the place and is destroyed by obsession--and explores it with deep psychological realism. The effect is uncanny: It's almost as if the cardboard characters of the Lovecraft stories (which, don't get me wrong, I love) have come to life. In order to sustain the realistic tone, the supernatural elements all happen offstage--but if you've ever wondered what it would really be like to be enslaved by a priestess of the Elder Gods, this book is for you. This edition is out of print, but the novel is reprinted in full in The Fred Chappell Reader, which is in print. I have to wonder what fans of Chappell, who is mostly a writer of Southern Literature, make of a novel whose first words are "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."
Books:
- The Lakota Sweat Lodge Cards: Spiritual Teachings of the Sioux
- The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain
- The Nag Hammadi Library
- The New Oxford History of Music: Volume I: Ancient and Oriental Music (New Oxford History of Music, Vol.1)
- The Oxford Encyclopedia Of Ancient Egypt, 3 Volume Set
- The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-first Century
- The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd
- The Pursuit of Happyness
- The Rose That Grew From Concrete
- The Slave Community: Plantation Life in the Antebellum South
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Foreign Currency Trading: From the Fundamentals to the Fine Points
- Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001
- Why Globalization Works
- 25 Ways to Win with People: How to Make Others Feel Like a Million Bucks
- Applied Ethics for Program Evaluation
- American Mourning: The Intimate Story of Two Families Joined by War, Torn by Beliefs
- Byron Kilbourn and the Development of Milwaukee
- Financial Professional's Guide to Qualified Retirement Plans: Planning, Implementation, Operation an
- Worlds Apart: Globalization And The Environment
- American Purgatorio: A Novel
First Seventeen Years: Virginia, 1607-1624 (Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical B)
Jamestown, the Buried Truth
Land As God Made It: Jamestown And the Birth of America
New Beginnings: Jamestown and the Virginia Colony 1607-1699 (Crossroads America)
The Jamestown Colony (Cornerstones of Freedom)
