Handling Sin

Book Description

On the Ides of March, our hero, Raleigh Whittier Hayes (forgetful husband, baffled father, prosperous insurance agent and leading citizen of Thermopylae, North Carolina), learns that his father has discharged himself from the hospital, taken all his money out of the bank and, with a young black female mental patient, vanished in a yellow Cadillac convertible. Left behind is a mysterious list of seven outrageous tasks that Raleigh must perform in order to rescue his father and his inheritance.

And so Raleigh and fat Mingo Sheffield (his irrepressibly loyal friend) set off on an uproarious contemporary treasure hunt through a landscape of unforgettable characters, falling into adventures worthy of Tom Jones and Huck Finn. A moving parable of human love and redemption, Handling Sin is Michael Malone's comic masterpiece.

Customer Reviews:

Move over John Irving .......2007-09-25

After being sorely disappointed with Irving's last epic self-indulgent bore, I came upon this book as an Amazon recommendation and now I cannot stop recommending this book to everyone I know. It is laugh out loud funny while at its heart a truely touching tale about family and self discovery. Malone amazingly creates a wonderful tale which takes its main character on a sojourn which exposes his family secrets while at the same time awakens him to his own doubts and strenghts. I hesitated to compare Malone to Irving as Malone's other novels are quite different, however this book defintely compares to Irving at his best (Garp,Widow for a Year)where humor carries the reader through the main characters trying times and road to self discovery and realization. The definitive difference being its southern roots and down home style. I have read two more of Malone's books since "Handling Sin" and have come to enjoy him immensely,

Far better than Confederacy of Dunces..........2007-09-07

I've just finished reading "A Confederacy of Dunces" for the first time. I have resisted it for many years because of its comparisons to the wonderful "Handling Sin," which I reread approximately once a year, or when going on a trip where I need something dependable to read. Well, sorry, but although "ACoD" was entertaining, it was not in the league of "Handling Sin." Almost all the main characters of "HS" engaged me on some level; I too want to know what Gates and Weeper are up to these days. This is a true buddy story, although women (and romance) are present; each new twist of the story provides something fresh and interesting. I loved the duel-and-chase scene!

Unfortunately, after I first read this book in the early 1990s, I went on a Michael Malone binge and found that nothing else he'd written up to that point had been anywhere in this league, either.

Somewhat funny, but too distracting.......2007-09-03

I think Malone is a talented writer. This book is a picaresque in the tradition of Don Quixote. But, this book fails where Don Quixote succeeded.

First, the numerous digressions from the main plot were extremely distracting. I would be reading one of these asides for two or three pages, and then suddenly get jarred back into the main plot. Some of these digressions were funny and quirky, but they often did not seem to have a point relating to the story. It seems that they were just stuck in to up the quirkiness of the book. Quirkiness just for its own sake is hollow, and a poor substitution for genuine humor.

Second, the characters were all too outlandish. Granted, in this style of book, the characters will be extreme. But, Malone didn't rein in his characters in the least. So, they end up being incomplete and unbelievable.

Perhaps Malone's fans will enjoy this. I did not.

extremely annoying.......2007-03-25

I found this book to be very annoying... The storyline goes on and on and I never got to a point where I cared about any of the characters.

Handling Sin.......2007-03-19

Mr. Malone has to be one of the most captivating authors of fiction for his era. He is definitely the master of the 'comma'. It is inspiring to recognize the power and creativity of the human mind.
Len Merson, San Diego, CA

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HANDLING SIN
Michael Malone
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OU7UEU

Handling Sin: Confession in the Middle Ages (York Studies in Medieval Theology)

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Handling Sin: Confession in the Middle Ages (York Studies in Medieval Theology)

Manufacturer: York Medieval Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0952973413

Book Description

Penance, confession and their texts (penitential and confessors' manuals) are important topics for an understanding of the middle ages, in relation to a wide range of issues, from medieval social thought to Chaucer's background. These essays treat a variety of different aspects of the topic: subjects include the frequency and character of early medieval penance; the summae and manuals for confessors, and the ways in which these texts (written by males for males) constructed women as sexual in nature; William of Auvergne's remarkable writing on penance; and the relevance of confessors' manuals for demographic history. JOHN BALDWIN's major study `From the Ordeal to Confession', delivered as a Quodlibet lecture, traces the appearance in French romances of the themes of a penitent's contrition, the priest's job in listening, and the application of the spiritual conseil and penitence.PETER BILLER is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Yor; A.J. MINNIS is Professor of Medieval Literature at the University of York.Contributors: PETER BILLER, ROB MEENS, ALEXANDER MURRAY, JACQUELINE MURRAY, LESLEY SMITH, MICHAEL HAREN, JOHN BALDWIN

La Empresa Sin Miedo / Business Without Fear: Gerentes Manejando El Conflicto En La Toma De Decisiones / Managers Handling the Conflict in Decision Making (Empresa / Business)

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La Empresa Sin Miedo / Business Without Fear: Gerentes Manejando El Conflicto En La Toma De Decisiones / Managers Handling the Conflict in Decision Making (Empresa / Business)
Juan Magliano
Manufacturer: Kier Editorial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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HANDLING SIN: CONFESSION IN THE MIDDLE AGES.(Review): An article from: Theological Studies

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HANDLING SIN: CONFESSION IN THE MIDDLE AGES.(Review): An article from: Theological Studies
James Dallen
Manufacturer: Theological Studies, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Theological Studies, published by Theological Studies, Inc. on June 1, 2000. The length of the article is 633 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: HANDLING SIN: CONFESSION IN THE MIDDLE AGES.(Review)
Author: James Dallen
Publication: Theological Studies (Refereed)
Date: June 1, 2000
Publisher: Theological Studies, Inc.
Volume: 61 Issue: 2 Page: 364

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Handling Sin
Michael Malone
Manufacturer: Little, Brown & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O83M4E

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Handling Sin
Michael Malone
Manufacturer: Little Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MVRP9G

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Pulp Classics

The Worst of Pulp Fiction

Terrific collection for the avid or new noir fan

Packed Full of Pulp

Variety is the spice of life
The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction (The Mammoth Book Series)

Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Pulp Masters

A Century of Noir: Thirty-two Classic Crime Stories

The Mammoth Book of Private Eye Stories

The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books)

Hardboiled: An Anthology of American Crime Stories

ASIN: 0786703008

Customer Reviews:

Pulp Classics.......2007-09-10

Mammoth is definitely the word. This is one thick chunk of pulp fiction, my friends. Breaks the mail box, hurts the hands, makes you feel the pain, like pulp action should.

As a Pulp Era collector and researcher, I had to have it. However, as a reader, there are some definite speed bumps in this collection.

Well, you can't have it all. Nevertheless, worth a read.

The Worst of Pulp Fiction.......2005-03-02

I'm a bit of a connoisseur of pulp fiction, and often order paperback originals of Spillane, Craig Rice, Bill Ballinger, etc. from Amazon Z-shops.

This book was a huge disappointment to me.

Pulp writers did it for the money - and in some cases also produced great works of art, like James M. Cain's "Mildred Pierce." Unfortunately, most of the stories in this collection read like something knocked out on deadline to a precise word count - and once the writer hit that word count, he dropped it in the mail and headed for the corner bar.

Lawrence Block's "A Candle for the Bag Lady" is the worst offender - the writer sets up a fascinating premise in which a seemingly homeless woman, newly murdered, turns out to have distributed her substantial wealth in a complex will naming random strangers. Where did the money come from? Why was she living in such reduced circumstances? And why in the world did she choose these beneficiaries - the owner of a local newspaper stand, a neighbor she rarely spoke to, the detective himself - when her real friends and acquaintances got nothing at all? And how is all this linked to her murder?

We'll never know, because when Block hits his word count, he has a new character show up in the detective's corner bar and say, "I hear you are looking for the murderer. Well, I did it. I just felt like killing someone. Would you mind coming with me to the police station?" End of story. (Sorry to spoil it for those who haven't read it, but it's hard to imagine that anyone could spoil it more than Block himself.)

The Cain and Spillane contributions here are bores - truly not their best work. The one top-class story, Donald E. Westlake's "Ordo" , is also available in another collection, "Pulp Masters." I would recommend that book instead of this one.

Terrific collection for the avid or new noir fan.......2003-01-08

The Mammoth Books do a fine job in their respective categories, however, this collection surpasses them all. It is perfectly conceived with representative stories from the masters of the noir/hardboiled style as well as underappreciated authors who created a few gems. Black Pudding by David Goodis is remarkable and probably my favorite in the collection, but it really is hard to pick a favorite since there are so many stories. The best part is that each story stands on its own and they don't start running into each other. Long after you put the book down, you will remember each story.

Packed Full of Pulp.......2002-01-23

"The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction" certainly lives up to its name. Containing 32 stories and nearly 600 pages of text, it is packed full of hard-boiled crimes taless, many of them superior in quality. The best include, but are not limited to, "A Candle for the Bag Lady," a fine early Matthew Scudder tale by Lawrence Block; "So Dark for April," an excellent moody P.I. story by Howard Browne; "Stacked Deck," a masterful caper tale by Bill Pronzini; "We're All Dead," a heist-gone-wrong story by Bruno Fischer; plus a couple of good tales by the MacDonalds, Ross and John D.

On the downside, there are no author introductions for the individual stories to provide them context. Nor are all of the stories first rate. A couple of them veer into the supernatural, which doesn't seem to fit the theme. They range in time period from the early 1930s to the mid-1990s but are not chronologically sequenced. Nevertheless, as a reader you can certainly pick and choose, making this collection worthwhile for any fan of hard-boiled short crime fiction.

Variety is the spice of life.......2000-05-14

This book is filled with great little stories, each of which are pure art in their own way. Forget deep analysis, forget reading into heavy plot lines and meaning-drenched narrative, this book is good-old fashioned, great story-telling. And what makes it even greater is juxaposing current "political correctness" with the raw narrative of the old days. Sure, some of the stories don't cut it, but those that do will make you wish it was 1944 all over again.

The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books)

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ugh!
Actually, I'd go 3 1/2 stars on this one

The Mammoth Book of Pulp Action (Mammoth Books)

Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0786709200

Book Description

Packed solid with seven decades of pulp action and peopled by shady operators, voluptuous molls, ruthless big shots, crooked cops, and gruff private eyes, this new collection of hard-boiled tales includes classics by such masters of the craft as Dashiell Hammett, Robert Leslie Bellem, Cornell Woolrich, and Erle Stanley Gardner, as well as some of the best modern crime fiction to be published by postwar giants like John D. MacDonald, Ross McDonald, Ed McBain, Charles Willeford, David Goodis, and James Ellroy.

Customer Reviews:

ugh!.......2007-08-18

Dead in the middle of a decent collection of stories is an excessively long, vulgar,racist....even if protagonist is a black and by today's PC "standards", blacks cannot be racist/bigoted...violent and misanthropic story. Ruins the rest of the book.

Actually, I'd go 3 1/2 stars on this one.......2004-07-29

There are some good stories in this collection but I would recommend reading "The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction" first. Once you have read those stories, come back to this collection. It's not as good as the other collection, but it'll help "fill the corners" in your appetite for pulp.

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The Mammoth Book of Pulp Fiction

Manufacturer: Robinson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000E4OSTG

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Tolkien liked it!

A wonderful viking adventure!

Rousing derring-do and romance in Icelandic Saga style

A magnificent melding of saga and old style "romance".

Eric Brighteyes: The Works of H. Rider Haggard
H. Rider Haggard
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Long Ships

Sworn Brother (Viking Trilogy)

King's Man (Viking Trilogy)

Odinn's Child (Viking Trilogy)

The King of Vinland's Saga

ASIN: 1587150263

Book Description

"Make place, my father," said Gudruda, "for Eric bleeds." And she loosed the kerchief from her neck and bound it about his wounded brow, and, taking the rich cloak from her body, threw it on his shoulders, and no man said her nay.

Download Description

Make place, my father, said Gudruda, "for Eric bleeds." And she loosed the kerchief from her neck and bound it about his wounded brow, and, taking the rich cloak from her body, threw it on his shoulders, and no man said her nay.

Customer Reviews:

Tolkien liked it!.......2006-11-16

See the anecdote, recorded in Douglas Anderson's TALES BEFORE TOLKIEN, that states that Tolkien praised this.

A wonderful viking adventure!.......2000-08-05

Rousing derring-do and romance in Icelandic Saga style.......1999-11-30

A must for all Haggard fans, "Eric Brighteyes" is strongly recommended to anyone who enjoys a great tale of heroic endeavour. Perhaps the fastest-paced of all Haggard's many novels, it races from one highspot to another with manly verve and vivid scene-setting. The stalwart Eric and his "thrall" Skallagrim fight back to back against a horde of foes, while two beautiful women vie for Eric's love. The eerie battle at sea is an exciting read in itself, to say nothing of all the rest. Eric is one of the most virile of Haggard's heroes and, like so many of them, is susceptible to earthly temptations and ambitions---unlike Haggard's too often impossibly spiritual females. The reader familiar with Haggard's favourite "archetypes" will recognize in Eric, Skallagrim, Gudruda the Fair, and the wicked Swanhilde the traits of a cast of characters immortalized under other names, in other times and places, in other titles of his famous canon. "Eric Brighteyes" is also distinguished by an interesting author's preface that furnishes some insight into Haggard's imaginative overlay of "high romance" and occult themes on what, in a writer of less lively invention, might have been just a simple adventure story. Both heroes and villains come on strong with splendid confrontational dialogue before coming to blows. A feast for escapists of all ages! Long may it remain in print.

A magnificent melding of saga and old style "romance"........1997-06-05

The author of numerous romance-adventures in the 19th century tradition, Haggard turned his hand, at least once, to the older saga tradition of the northern peoples. The result may well have been his best work. Skillfully crafted, this tale proceeds at breakneck pace to unfold the saga-like adventures of the stout Icelandic yeoman, Eric Thorgrimurs' son (surnamed "Brighteyes" for his most notable trait), as he struggles to win the hand of his beloved, Gudruda the Fair, despite the vigorous opposition of her half-sister, Swanhild the Fatherless (who seeks Eric for her own). Caught between these two beautiful women and faced with the need to overcome the opposition of Gudruda's father, Asmund the Priest (not the Christian sort) and his son, the greedy Bjorn (who would prefer to marry his sister off to a wealthy chieftain in lieu of a liaison with the farmer's son Eric), our hero must prove himself worthy of his destined bride while dodging the snares of those who would unman him. Conspiring with her mysterious mother, Groa the witchwife, Swanhild arranges to have Ospakar Blacktooth, a northern chieftain from Swinefells, pay Asmund's household a visit in order to see and woo Gudruda for himself. This Ospakar and Eric become immediate foes for Ospakar is as ugly and vile as Eric is handsome and honorable. In an intial conflict between them, Eric outwrestles Ospakar, winning his magic sword from him, despite the evil workings of Groa to bring about Eric's defeat. In this manner, Eric at last wins over the reluctant Asmund, who now promises him his daughter. But in the process Eric incurs the jealousy of Bjorn who resents his successes as much as he does the possibility that this bright but impoverished hero will win his sister's hand. The lost sword proves a sore point for Ospakar as well who tries to regain it via a dastardly ambush, but Eric and his new found companion, Skallagrim Lambstail, a former berserker and thief who has himself been the victim of Ospakar's ill-doings, overcome the larger force arrayed against them, wounding Ospakar and killing some others to boot. As a result, Eric must go into exile as an outlaw for three years, after which he is to be free to return and marry Gudruda. But Swanhild, in a pique at how things have turned out, contrives to kill Gudruda. Discovered in this perfidy, she is married off against her will to a visiting Orkney Earl, Atli the Good, who is well on in years and sent off with him to the Orkneys. Eric again reveals his warlike talents in another ambush by Ospakar's minions, this time at sea, but is finally taken captive with Skallagrim due to the dastardliness of Eric's own first mate. Yet Eric is able to free himself when warned of the impending treachery of his captors by the sorcerous intervention of Swanhild who has continued to monitor his progress from her unhappy abode in Atli's hall. Eric goes on to a distinguished career in the service of the English King Edmund but refuses all of that king's urgings to remain with him at the royal court once his three year outlawry is up. Turning his back on the royal largesse (including a lovely royal bride), Eric takes ship to Iceland on a road which must take them past the Orkney Islands. Now Swanhild the witchwife of Atli, perceiving Eric's return raises a storm to overthrow his ship, beaching him on the very island where Atli has his hall. Atli is delighted at the arrival of such a heroic guest but Swanhild contrives to have Eric to herself while Atli and his men are away and she soon tempts and seduces this paragon among vikings, using a love draught of her own concoction. In the end, Eric is distraught to realize that he has betrayed his beloved Gudruda and flees from Swanhild's embrace -- but too late, for she has betrayed him to Atli in revenge for his desertion of her. And she has taken a clipping of Eric's fine golden hair to send to her half-sister, together with a token that only Eric could have had. Gudruda, on receiving this and on hearing the lying tale Swanhild has concocted to go with it, angrily vows to break her engagement to Eric and agrees to wed Ospakar instead. Eric thereafter arrives in Iceland, a scorned man (for having betrayed and finally killed Atli his host in the aftermath of his indiscretion with Swanhild) only to learn of Gudruda's plans to wed Ospakar. He makes his way to Asmund's hall (though that viking worthy has also now passed on to his reward) on the eve of the much heralded wedding and, in a fierce confrontation, reveals the truth of their betrayal to Gudruda. The result is more bloodshed including the death of the miscreant groom Ospakar and of Bjorn Asmundsson. But Swanhild is also present and with Ospakar's son Gizur she contrives to deny Eric and Gudruda their final happiness, even now. Gudruda dreams a dream of Odin the All-Father and in it he grants her one night of pleasure with her beloved before taking this hero for his own. Thereafter and with the momentary cessation of the killing, Eric and Gudruda wed. But in the morning they are attacked while still asleep, for Swanhild secretly guides Gizur into their bedchamber and directs his hand to the killing of Eric. But it is to Gudruda's fair head she guides the sword which Gizur holds and not to Eric's so that when Eric wakes he finds his beloved dead in his arms. Beside himself with grief, Eric buries his new bride and now Gizur leads his followers and the men whom Swanhild has brought with her from the Orkneys against Eric and Skallagrim. To make their final stand, these two flee together to the nearby heights. And there they turn to face their foes in a bloody scene worthy of the gotterdammerung itself. Here Eric and Skallagrim cut down their enemies in one last orgy of killing and vengeful recriminations and, in his own last dying moments, Eric seizes Gizur and plunges with him over the cliff to their common doom. In the end only Swanhild is left to supervise the funeral arrangements on board the viking ship she has selected for this purpose and to sing the death song, as she and the bodies of Eric and his faithful servant Skallagrim burn on a pyre of those men they have slain between them. Haggard wrote his tale with the romanticist's flair, making an artist's use of Shakespeare's English to evoke the antique flavor of these events, and giving full rein to his love for the occult -- though such rein is rarely encountered in the real sagas themselves. Nor are the sagas usually so tightly drawn as this, while they are frequently a great deal more realistic in their portrayal of people and the motives which drive them. If there is criticism to be levied here it's that the tale, itself, is much too pat and the characters, though sharply drawn, are not real folk in any normal sense of that word -- they are players only who never breathe the breath of real life, or even briefly fool us that they do, albeit they are larger than life actors with parts to play in a whopping good tale. By Stuart W. Mirsky (mirsky@ix.netcom.com).

Book Description

Sound advice for parents whose kids have trouble concentrating
According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated five to ten percent of children suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This book provides answers for parents of children who may have either condition, as well as for adult sufferers. Written in a friendly, easy-to-understand style, it helps people recognize and understand ADD and ADHD symptoms and offers an authoritative, balanced overview of both drug and non-drug therapies.
Jeff Strong (Lamy, NM), an adult living with ADD, is President of the REI Institute, a music-medicine research center focusing on people with neuro-developmental disabilities, including those with ADD/ADHD. Michael O. Flanagan, MD (Lamy, NM), is the director of several ADD clinics in New Mexico.

Customer Reviews:

ADD & ADHD for Dummies.......2007-04-12

Excellent resource, easy to read and understand. I highly recommend this book as a grandparent of a child with ADD and as a health professional!

Surprisingly thorough and good read.......2006-10-11

I was reluctant to pick up a book with "for Dummies" in the title because I do not believe that I am a dummy! However, a lot of the books on ADHD that I found either focused too much on ADHD in childhood or had too many long anecdotes/ case studies. This book was an excellent introduction to ADHD. It took the disorder seriously and laid out every aspect on diagnosis, treatment, familial issues, etc. in a simple manner. The information provided was eye-opening, and the book was full of details that showed the depth of this disorder. This book never gave the impression that ADHD is just a collection of undesirable behaviors or laziness or what have you. It's a terrific reference book.

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