Book Description
In Beulah, Iowa, widow women all over town garden in the clothes of deceased husbands. From a distance, they often look like small–framed men. They keep their husbands' clothes because it's wasteful to throw away hats and shirts that still have wear in them. They wear the clothes in memory of the men they have survived, even after the scent of them has been laundered away.
From its remarkable opening lines to its satisfying, redemptive close, Dwelling Places is a novel of plain beauty and profound emotion.
When Mack Barnes arrives home from a stay in the psych ward, he is just beginning to name his troubles, and the entire family must recognize their collective wounds. After six generations of farming, Mack's family has had to call it quits – just barely saving the family home, but at the cost of Mack's brother Alex and father Taylor Sr. Mack's mother Rita perseveres by trying to take care of everyone, everyone that is, except herself. Jodie, Mack's wife, has survived so much and coped for so long that she cannot recognize her own desperation. Her only remnant of religious faith consisting of old hymns she sings just to keep herself from total distraction, Jodie seeks solace in an ill–advised affair with a local teacher. Kenzie, Mack and Jodie's fourteen year old daughter, has turned to an idealized Jesus for comfort, while Taylor, at seventeen, deals wtih his troubles by becoming a Goth, convincing his little sister that he's given over to Satan.
Customer Reviews:
well-written.......2007-07-24
Wright is an excellent writer, no argument there. However, the story was just too slow for me. And I read long books, so it's not because I need page-turning fiction. I felt it was weighted-down with too much hum-drum detail and it exhausted me at points. It was like, come on, get on with the story. I love details in a story, but there has to be some balance with actual "drama" to keep the pages turning. I got really bored at times and dreaded picking it up, which rarely happens with me. The last quarter of the book did pick up and move to a decent conclusion, but I just didn't feel it was "great"--but it was a worthwile, good read.
I gave it three stars for the extremely slow and tedious parts of the book--it could actually have been about 50-75 pages shorter. I do appreciate the writing and attention to details, but it just didn't come together for me enough to feel "Wow!" For example, Kent Haruf's Plainsong was much shorter, but also packed and tight with excellent writing and no "easy answers." I felt Dwelling Places was solid but unremarkable.
Brilliant in Understanding and Scope.......2006-10-17
Vinita Hampton Wright's book packs a great wallop. I chose this book because it is set in my home state of Iowa. It was only after I was well into the book that I realized that although the town of Beulah is fictional, she did base it on Mahaska County. My dad graduated from Eddyville High; my aunt lived in Fremont; and my grandparents moved south to Monroe County in Albia. I have spent a good deal of time in this area. So I felt connected by virtue of the setting to this story. Clearly, Wright uses it as a universal setting for rural areas where people work hard and have a hard time making ends meet. I think she gets it right.
This story seems so true to life because the characters are very much like real people. I really appreciated the father Mack who has suffered major setbacks in losing his farm, his father and brother. The depression that this sends him into is well articulated. Wright allows us to get in Mack's head. We see that although he's deeply unhappy and unfulfilled on one level, he also greatly loves his family. His connection to his son young Taylor is beautiful. Young Taylor may wear the Goth make-up & garb, but inside he's a kid trying to come to terms with a difficult circumstance in his own unique way. While mother Jodie tends to want to rail at Young Taylor, Mack takes time to listen to his son, whether he's bailing him out of jail or sitting in a graveyard over his father and brother's graves.
The women are also written very well. The mother Rita who cares for everybody and makes it her business to help people without fanfare is so true-to-life. Her wisecrack that she understands how women who get older sometimes become lesbians just so they won't have to look after men anymore was hilarious. Wife Jodie feels all the pressures of the family on her children. She is deeply unhappy, but too busy to consider it. Whenever things get too emotional, she cleans. She is out of touch with her own feelings and can barely manage it when Terry starts giving her attention which leads to an affair. Her daughter Kenzie gets wrapped up in an evangelical Jesus movement and becomes too fundamental even for her own friends. This leads 14-year-old Kenzie to her 30-something friend Mitchell as they hatch their plans to head to Kansas to a cult-like Christian retreat, without her parents' knowledge or approval. Wright masterfully manages the subplots of the affair and the runaway into the crises this family must face. The church service for the families to mourn their former farm lives is moving.
My favorite part (pp. 275-281) is between Mack and Young Taylor while Mack removes the Goth makeup as Young Taylor explains why he wears it. The father's understanding and acceptance of his son even as he holds firm to the family's standards is beautiful, particularly for any dad of a troubled teen. In the end, what comes to me from this book is that families are made of generations of people, all imperfect, with differing strengths & weaknesses. There are no perfect grandparents, no perfect parents, and no perfect children. But with love, we can appreciate and nurture the best in each other. By caring for each other, we bring out the best in ourselves. This is an intensely personal novel, brilliant in its understanding & scope. Bravo!
Slow Paced Novel Takes Hold.......2006-10-10
If you enjoy books firmly rooted in a particular place, you might enjoy this book. It's a book about a dysfunctional family, one struggling to deal with the loss of a way of life, farming, in a small Midwestern town.
Wright looks at the disparate responses to this loss through the alternating eyes of Mack, the father who has just returned from a brief stay in the psychiatric ward for depression; Jodie, his wife, who has stoically held things together while he was gone, and now, on his return loses both faith and fidelity; fourteen-year old Kenzie, who has turned to Jesus but, alas, come under the sway of an older man who, unbeknown to her, has his own mental and emotional problems; Rita, the grandmother, who hangs onto faith but won't have anything to do with the church; and Young Taylor, the sixteen year old son who dresses in Goth attire and keeps his distance.
Really, all of these characters are struggling with faith in God, with believing in a good God even when life is difficult. Mack is depressed and almost takes his own life. Jodie has an affair that nearly ends the family. Kenzie goes off the religious deep end. Rita retain faith in God but has none in people. And Young Taylor, the one who the story doesn't directly focus on? Well, he's the one who makes the clearest affirmation of faith. He's having a conversation with Mack, telling him about how he had almost drowned when he was sixteen after falling out of a boat:
"I started taking in water, and I tried to find the surface but couldn't. I couldn't see my own air bubbles. I thought, This is a stupid way to go.
Young Taylor pauses. So does Mack. . . .
An then I had this feeling that I was going someplace else and that everything would be okay. I knew that in just another minute I'd see people on the other side. But all of a sudden somebody grabbed me real hard and pulled me straight up out of the water. I thought it had to be one of the guys, but it felt like somebody a lot stronger. I could hear Bobby and Dale screaming my name -- they were at least ten yards away. I tried to see who pulled me up, but nobody was there. . . .
Why did you tell me this, son?
I thought you needed to know. Death is just another country. . . . It's another country. And God's taking care of things there, the same as here. God's in charge of getting people from one place to another. You don't need to worry about it, or be afraid of it."
So the quiet one, the Goth-kid, turns out to be the one with a firm faith; Kenzie, disillusioned, is just beginning to find out what true faith is; Mack is learning to trust God again, moment by moment; and Jodie's not able to trust, not yet, but she's staying with her family. Grace breaks through into this problematic family, a voice here, and angel there, and faith returns, slowly but in a real way, like gold. While the faith they possess may seem a bit thin to Christians, particularly when juxtaposed against the rich words to the hymns reprinted as a preface to each chapter, these are people recovering, learning to believe, not just in some kind of cultural Christianity but in a real God, one who is sovereign and good and yet one who allows us to be refined in the crucible of trial.
I warmed to these characters very slowly, so much so that I almost turned back. But I'm glad I stayed with it. Now, during the day, I catch myself thinking of them, wondering how there are now -- and then remembering that they're not real. Or are they?
Another lovely, big-hearted story.......2006-07-11
I've enjoyed all of Ms. Wright's books including her non-fiction books on creativity and writing. Dwelling Places is truly something special. She has deftly and lovingly written about mental illness in a way that should open the eyes of anyone who reads this book. It is a sticky subject, something many people still feel awkward and uneasy about. But with her unflinching eye and obvious caring for people, she reveals the characters in Dwelling Places in such a way that it would be difficult for a person not to acknowledge and sympathize with the pain experienced by mentally ill people and the people who love them. I congratulate and applaud her for tackling a tough subject in such a graceful manner.
dearness, humor, wisdom and depth.......2006-07-05
I loved dwelling in this book. The story unfolds from several points of view and each is distinct and unique and of interest. The context of the book, the failure of family farms, is rendered as well as the story of a family towed under by losing their farm. This book relates some tragic stuff, but reading it didn't make me sad--because there's humor, and tenderness and warmth in the telling of the story. I actually found myself yearning to be part of a farm family, to have that kind of closeness to each other and the land. The depiction of the teen characters was especially good I thought. And best of all were these wise sentences, places where the writer went deeper and I learned something.
Many of the characters have lost their faith, and this loss is placed against the words of some incredibly beautiful hymns used at the begining of chapters. I wanted the characters to regain their faith and some of them did, but what they regain is different and seems less and thinner than the faith expressed in the hymns, and the faith the characters had before their losses, and this is hard to read as an evangelical Christian.
Also, the end of the story was quite abrupt. I don't believe I have ever read a good book that ended so abruptly before. It was as if someone had cut off the real ending and misprinted the book.
Average customer rating:
- A must read! I couldn't put it down!
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Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne
Edwin Haviland Miller
Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0877453322 |
Customer Reviews:
A must read! I couldn't put it down!.......1999-08-06
Thoroughly researched, engagingly written biography. This book is a must for all who love Hawthorne's stories and novels! At 527 pages it may seem a little daunting, but I couldn't put it down! Thank you Edwin Haviland Miller.
Average customer rating:
- Fun Dialog Makes the Story
- Outstanding Nero Wolfe Novel
- And Smile, And Smile...
- Wolfe faces too many liars
- A Fun Mystery Series
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And Be a Villain: A Nero Wolfe Mystery (Nero Wolfe Mysteries)
Rex Stout
Manufacturer: The Audio Partners, Mystery Masters
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD
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Similar Items:
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The Second Confession (The Rex Stout Library: a Nero Wolfe Mystery)
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In the Best Families (Crime Line)
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Champagne for One
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A Right to Die
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Over My Dead Body
ASIN: 1572704985 |
Book Description
Radio talk show host Madeline Fraser's fear of dead air becomes literal when a guest keels over after drinking a glass of her sponsor's beverage. Enter Nero Wolfe and his assistant, Archie. Nero lends his considerable sleuthing skills to the case but soon discovers that everyone connected to the case is lying about it. What's more, the portly private eye soon learns that the secret worth lying about only hides another worth killing for. Michael Prichard's dramatic reading brings this vintage 1948 whodunit to life.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Dialog Makes the Story.......2007-07-05
Nero Wolfe needs a case and fortunately a murder occurs right on the radio for Wolfe to solve. One of the guests on the Madeline Fraser radio program has been poisoned. At first it looks like the murderer may have killed the wrong person but Wolfe isn't so sure. So he offers the host, the station, and the sponsors (the victim was killed with poison placed in a sample of the soda of one of the sponsors) for the opportunity to hire him to solve the case and they all jump at the chance.
In a big case like this, Inspector Cramer is involved and he is very unhappy. His investigation is going nowhere and when Wolfe starts looking into the case he quickly discovers that everyone is lying, even those it would seem have no reason to lie. I'll admit that I was left spinning with no clue as to who the culprit could be. But I also admit that figuring out who did it wasn't what kept me reading.
As always, it is the dialog that makes the story. Whether it is between Archie and Wolfe, Archie and the suspects, or Archie and the police, it is always fun.
The victim (Cyril Orchard) has been killed by cyanide in a bottle of a soda called Hi-Spot. Wolfe and Archie are working out the mechanics of the killing with samples of Hi-Spot.
Archie starts:
**************
"If Orchard had never never drunk Hi-Spot before he wouldn't know whether it tasted right or not, and even if he didn't like it, they were on the air and just for politeness he would have gulped some down. Anyway he drank enough to kill him, so what does it matter what we think?"
"He may have drunk it before. Anyway, the murderer would have had to assume that he might have. Would the difference in taste be too great a hazard?"
"I see." I sipped. "Not so bad." I sipped again. "The only way to really tell is to drink this and then drink some cyanide. Have you got some?"
"Don't bubble, Archie."
**************
Even Fritz gets into the act in this one:
**************
Wolfe put his glass down after two little tastes [of Hi-Spot]. "Good heavens. What the devil is in it, Fritz?"
Fritz shook his head. "Ipecac?" He guessed. "Horehound?"
**************
The truth is that Stout knew how to make his characters unique and interesting and the actual mystery is almost irrelevant.
Outstanding Nero Wolfe Novel.......2007-06-25
And Be a Villain starts off with Archie doing something truly odious... namely writing the check for Nero Wolfe's annual tax return. The emotional pain this gives them and the damage it does to the bank account spurs Wolfe to do something unprecedented. He becomes an "ambulance chaser." Specifically, he sends Archie to offer his services to a radio personality who recently had a guest murdered by poison while on the air with her. As usual, the suspects are less than candid during the interviews and the case turns out to be far more complex than it seemed on the surface.
Rex Stout was in top form when he wrote this book. The story moves along very well, it is one of the funnier Wolfe novels, and the characters are interesting. And Be a Villain also marks the first appearance by a Mr. Arnold Zeck, who is basically Wolfe's Moriarty. Zeck makes only a cameo appearance in this novel but he has far more significant appearances in The Second Confession (The Rex Stout Library: a Nero Wolfe Mystery) and In the Best Families (Crime Line). I would certainly recommend this book to either Wolfe fans or newcomers. In fact, I loaned it to my wife (she had never read a Nero Wolfe novel) and she immediately wanted to read another.
And Smile, And Smile..........2006-05-12
The title of this book is taken from Shaekespeare. That someone could smile, and smile, and be a villain.
Shakespeare's wonderment was at human duplicity - that people can smile and project a wonderful image, and yet be duplicitous and, as in this story, even a murderer.
The plot is wonderfully wrought: a murder takes place during a live radio broadcast, and the station, at the height of its popularity, wants to make sure that it gets solved quickly and finally. Who else beside Nero and Archie can deliver the goods?
While it is not the best Nero Wolfe of them all, this is a strong story with some fascinating characters. As with others, it would have been wonderful to see Maury Chaykin take this role on for this story, but A&E couldn't see it.
So - who's the villain?
Wolfe faces too many liars.......2006-04-19
Rex Stout's AND BE A VILLAIN receives Michael Prichard's uninterrupted narration, as he's done for most all of the Nero Wolfe tales, which will delight listeners who enjoy uniformity of quality and sound in their interrelated narrations. A radio talk show guest dies at the mike and Wolfe agrees to take on a case which seems to hold too many liars. Twists and turns keep him guessing as to the perp in this engrossing tale of discovery.
A Fun Mystery Series.......2005-11-29
You can read a summary of the plot for this book in the other reviews -- I want to focus on the general outlines of the series for those, like me, who look for good story series with enduring characters:
I have to assume that since you are reading this you like good mystery books. You therefore must have read and exhausted Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Alan Poe and the like. If not, you may want to go there as well, as there is no replacing the classics. If you want, however, a more "American" and lighter (but not less intelligent) version of your mystery series, Rex Stout opens a new window for you full of short and fun mysteries with colorful characters. Reading Stout is like watching the wonderful black and white early Hitchcock mystery movies. Solid theatrical plots and performances were a must to succeed, as photography could not supplant a bad plot as often happens today. If you are considering Stout, my advice is to buy three or four Nero Wolff books as they are all good quality but short enough to read in a couple of days (or one long plane trip). They are fun, intelligent and entertaining books and are a quick read. Nero Wolff is as annoying as he is intelligent, and his aide is as charming as he is fun. Stout has constructed a regular series of characters that you'll be glad to meet over and over again.
For current fans of Rex Stout and his Nero Wolff series, there is little I can say but that this is another witty mistery solved by the unfailing Wolff. Buy it. Read it. Place it next to your other Stout books in your bookshelf. It makes for fast paced good reading as all other Nero Wolff stories do.
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multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.
Product Description
six mmpb books. Fer-De-Lance The Silent Speaker And Be a Villain The Second Confession Curtains for Three In the Best Families
Book Description
Vannemar Morgans dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all timea 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgans Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda.
Download Description
Vannemar Morgan's dream is to link Earth to the stars with the greatest engineering feat of all time;a 24,000-mile-high space elevator. But first he must solve a million technical, political, and economic problems while allaying the wrath of God. For the only possible site on the planet for Morgan's Orbital Tower is the monastery atop the Sacred Mountain of Sri Kanda. And for two thousand years, the monks have protected Sri Kanda from all mortal quests for glory. Kings and princes who have sought to conquer the Sacred Mountain have all died.Now Vannemar Morgan may be next.
Customer Reviews:
An elevator to the stars........2006-11-29
Especially for one grounded in "Hard" science, himself contributing as much or more to "Real" science than his books have to fiction. He's credited mostly with the "Communications Satellite" for NASA, btw. Yet, for storytelling he goes more the "Wells" route, than the "Verne" route. While he's against Psuedoscience or hoping for a "Hyperspace breakthrough" he knows that over time current science will simply give way to now unconcievable breakthroughs and what may be impossible now may not be in an aeon. "Magic is Science unexplained" he said. "Fountains of Paradise" is more grounded in the nearer future, the building of a "Space Elevator", and that story being tied to a quest for ultimate power and greatness in the distant past. It is also a kind of tribute to Sri Lanka, the country he loved most of all the places he'd visited in his lifetime and the one he retired in.
Not bad, worth a read...........2006-01-22
I read this book after reading mostly positive reviews and enjoying many of Clark's other works. Overall, I liked it but would of rather had a little mroe interaction with the space elevator/tower. The subplots were OK and held together but the main concept I felt received too little "airtime" so to speak.
Definitely worth a read and as one other reviewer stated, it's an easy book to get into with solid writing style and story flow.
One of Clarke's best.......2005-10-29
If you like Clarke's style (shallow characters who are either ignorable or clones of himself, but very solid and interesting scientific concepts) then this book is a must read. Aside from advancing the idea of the space elevator (which he credits to a Russian scientist) he goes into the little design details and problems such a monumental project would face. This may sound boring, but at least something happened, unlike in Rama, and both are truly interesting if you're into his style. This is Clarke at his best. Take him or leave him.
Surprisingly Good.......2005-10-01
I was expecting this novel to be a dry, Ben Bova style novel, but was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The story is about building an orbital space elevator and what one man does to see it through. There are three major sections to the book, and each oscilates between the main story and an interesting subplot. Overall, it was a quick, fun read that had more depth than I expected.
Usual Clarke themes, still great.......2005-05-30
Arthur C. Clarke novels often have some of the following elements: mankind progresses and invents new things, the inevitable clash with religion, the start of a new history of mankind and a meeting with alien life, most always more intelligent than us.
And still, every novel is a joy to read as is "The Fountains of Paradise". An ambitious man wants to build an elevator from here to the geostationary orbit. The book follows the initial difficulties (economical, political and religious) to get the project started and then the building itself.
There is a meeting with alien life, a little like in Rama and it teaches mankind a lot, though the link with the general story is hard to get sometimes.
As always, this Clarke book is a great story about what mankind is able to do in a few centuries.
Book Description
In the 22nd century visionary scientist Vannevar Morgan conceives the most grandiose engineering project of all time, and one which will revolutionize the future of humankind of space: a Space Elevator, 36,000 kilometres high, anchored to an equatorial island in the Indian Ocean.
Customer Reviews:
Clarke is an excellent writer.......2006-11-29
Especially for one grounded in "Hard" science, himself contributing as much or more to "Real" science than his books have to fiction. He's credited mostly with the "Communications Satellite" for NASA, btw. Yet, for storytelling he goes more the "Wells" route, than the "Verne" route. While he's against Psuedoscience or hoping for a "Hyperspace breakthrough" he knows that over time current science will simply give way to now unconcievable breakthroughs and what may be impossible now may not be in an aeon. "Magic is Science unexplained" he said. "Fountains of Paradise" is more grounded in the nearer future, the building of a "Space Elevator", and that story being tied to a quest for ultimate power and greatness in the distant past. It is also a kind of tribute to Sri Lanka, the country he loved most of all the places he'd visited in his lifetime and the one he retired in.
Average customer rating:
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THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GP8AL0 |
Average customer rating:
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THE FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE
Manufacturer: Bantam Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GQ3XZ2 |
Average customer rating:
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The Fountains of Paradise
Arthur C. Clarke
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Science Fiction & Fantasy
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ASIN: 0330259849 |
Book Description
Based on more than 20 years of counseling experience, this book provides information on the problems, techniques, and practicalities of chemical dependence treatment while integrating case conceptualization throughout. Using an integrative model of change, this practical, "nuts and bolts" guide assists helping professionals in working on treatment and relapse issues with individual or groups of chemically dependent clients.
Customer Reviews:
Therapy in Adults who are CD.......2006-02-23
I purchased this book to add to my knowledege about CD treatment with CD GLBT individuals. It was very helpful, but not much evidenced based practice regarding different populations
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- Eva Hesse: Catalogue Raisonne
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- Fools Crow (Contemporary American Fiction)
- From the Corner of His Eye
- Fur Person
- Ghostwritten
- Girl Walking Backwards
- Glengarry Glen Ross
- Gunpowder Green
- Holy the Firm
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