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Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 1997: A dark secret lies at the heart of Mary McGarry Morris's extraordinary novel, Songs in Ordinary Time. Rooted in the delicate web of emotions, lies, and truths that bind people together, the story takes place in the primarily Catholic town of Atkinson, Vermont, during the summer of 1960. Here Marie Fermoyle struggles to raise her three children. She already has two strikes against her: she married above her station and now is divorced from her alcoholic husband, Sam. That he is the town drunk and a laughingstock only further marks the Fermoyles.
Enter Omar Duvall, a confidence man. He comes to the door asking for bread and sees an opportunity. Soon he has insinuated himself into the Fermoyle family, promising Marie companionship, love, a willing pair of shoulders to share her burden. Twelve-year-old Benjy knows something terrible about Duvall, but, desperate for anything that will make his mother happy, he hides the truth. This silence gives Duvall time to bring Marie to the brink of financial disaster and lead her sons into mortal danger.
Songs in Ordinary Time includes a chorus of other Atkinson inhabitants: town cop Sonny Stoner and his dying wife; insurance salesman Bob Haddad, so enthralled with his beautiful wife that he's willing to steal for her; and Father Gannon, the young priest with whom Marie's daughter Alice becomes involved; and the Klubock family next door, who epitomize all that is normal to young Benjy. With these lives threaded through her bittersweet tale of the Fermoyles, Morris strikes all the notes of loneliness, hope, and familial love.
Customer Reviews:
Life struggles make for good reads.......2007-09-17
Life isn't alway easy and there are probably lots more people struggling through it than there are those who are sailing smoothly from day to day. Mary McGarry Morris's books are about struggling through life. Some of her stories are about struggles more difficult than one could imagine, but Songs in Ordinary Time had such a ring of truth for the time and place that I could not put it down. Her prose is easy to read; smooth and well written. The story has a good plot, is believable and, holds your attention. I've always found Morris's books a good read. Songs in Ordinary Time was my first read of Morris's books and I keep looking for more.
Flawed Family Life.......2007-08-31
"Songs in Ordinary Time" is a book that I got that was one of those titles that sounds familiar, and yet I had no idea what the story was about. I am happy to report that this wonderful novel is not merely good storytelling, but an exploration of the deeper subjects, namely, the lies we tell: to each other, within our family, and saddest of all, to ourselves.
This moving story chronicles the lives of the Fermoyle family, down on their luck, and trying to gain some happiness in the world. The story's setting is a Catholic community in Vermont in the 1960s. All of the characters in the town, from popcorn seller to priest, have flawed lives to lead, and anyone reading the book will be astonished at the brutally frank light that is cast on one and all. I have never encountered a book like this, in which no character is exempt from the frailty of human mistakes, which are chronicled at every turn.
The main action centers around a drifter/con man (Omar Duvall) who comes into Marie Fermoyle's life. Marie so desperately wants to find happiness (and someone to help ease some of the many burdens placed on this single mother's shoulders) that she begins to open the door for him to take advantage of not only her family, but the community as a whole. Although the family knows Duvall is not all that he purports, they want their mother to enjoy life, even if only for a brief moment. The youngest son is the most heavily burdened for he knows a dark secret, yet is torn by the love for his mother and desire to make her happy.
The themes that run throughout this book--loneliness, financial struggle, and the lies that we tell to ease our burdens--are at the core of daily life for many, and Morris has done a beautifully heartbreaking job of using them to tell one family's story. This is an astonishing book that will keep you turning the pages to see if everything can be set aright again.
Wonderfully rich.......2007-06-21
Many other reviewers mention the slow start of the book, and that the language and the many changes of who's thoughts are being broadcasted seem confusing, but that's a type of writing style I admire. I honestly didn't even notice the slow start because I love Morris's usage of descriptive language. Using descriptive language, especially in this case, lets you get closer to the characters, and all of their experiences were made more heartfelt.
Years later........2007-04-22
I read this book years ago, when it was first put on the list for Oprah. I didn't feel like it was fantastic at the time, however the story stays in my mind today. It was more than I gave it credit for. A good read.
the unfinished novel.......2006-06-17
No this book did not leave off unfinished, well it may have, I'll never know since I cannot bring myself to pick it up again and I'm only about halfway through it. One reviewer said if you could stick it out through the first 150 pages you'd be glad, but I felt that reaching that point did not signify any speeding up of the story after it's sloooow start. The only reason I stuck it out as long as I did was due to a lack of anything else to read at the time, but since I have replenished my reading materials, I feel no need to continue further. This book is miserable and stays that way. I can't imagine even wanting to see a happy ending for it, as the characters being so miserable themselves make them very unlikeable for me. I like escaping into the lives of ordinary people, but not to become miserable, I need no book to do that. If you're looking for something along those lines try Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, but avoid this book if, well, just avoid it really.
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Psalms for the Journey: The Lord's Song in Ordinary Time
Larry R. Kalajainen
Manufacturer: Upper Room Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0835807800 |
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Psalm Songs for Ordinary Times (Psalm Songs)
Manufacturer: Cassell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Christian
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ASIN: 0304703443 |
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Songs In Ordinary Time
Morris
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OIZB6Q |
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SONGS IN ORDINARY TIME
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H1IJKU |
Product Description
Unabridged on 20 Cassettes, 30 hours long. 2 Volume set.
Book Description
Ralph Dangerfield, an Edwardian playwright who belonged to the smartest young set of his day, kept a scandalous diary recording the intimate details of his own life and those of his friends. After his death, it was believed that his mother had burnt the incriminating evidence, but fifty years later, a famous collector of literary curiosities claims to have the diary in his possession and threatens to blackmail fashionable London with belated secrets about people now in respectable old age. Sir John Appleby reveals how he uncovered this unscrupulous crime and talks about his key role in seventeen more intriguing cases.
Customer Reviews:
Sir John Appleby in shorts.......2004-03-12
I think Michael Innes had fun writing these eighteen short detective stories, which are mined with really execrable puns. In fact, I'm guessing he may have come with the puns first and then fitted the stories to them.
Normally in his novels, character development is one of this author's great strengths. In these stories, he sometimes uses less effective short-cuts to show us his antagonists and protagonists. Adverbs are used with greater frequency---people pace nervously, glance cautiously, and nod soberly. There is a fair amount of caricature. Americans are always filthy rich and/or eccentric and they talk funny. Innes also lapses into veddy British upper-class snobbery, to let readers know that there is something not quite right about a criminal suspect.
However, even short-hand Innes is fun to read. His snobbery is delicious. His Americans are amusing. Assistant Commissioner of New Scotland Yard, Sir John Appleby is his usual ironic, witty, dangerously intelligent self. Art and literature are richly mined, as they are in this author's longer novels. A Pieter Breughel landscape is at the heart of one story. A speech from Hamlet forms an important clue in another.
I wouldn't start with this short story collection if you are new to Michael Innes, but "Appleby Talks Again" (1956) is a rich confectionary for his long-term fans--eighteen delicious morsels of mystery:
A Matter of Goblins
Was he Morton?
Dangerfield's Diary
Grey's Ghost
False Colours
The Ribbon
The Exile
Enigma Jones
The Heritage Portrait
Murder on the 7.16
A Very Odd Case
The Four Seasons
Here is the News
The Reprisal
Bear's box
Tom, Dick and Harry
The Lombard books
The Mouse-Trap
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- Stoker's best known post-Dracula novel
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The Jewel Of Seven Stars
Bram Stoker
Manufacturer: 1st World Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Stoker, Bram
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ASIN: 1595400079 |
Customer Reviews:
Stoker's best known post-Dracula novel.......2005-09-25
Originally published in 1903, some six years after Dracula, Bram Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars is a singular work of dark fantasy. It reads as if it were one of the author's earliest writings, espousing a much more awkward style than that which permeates Stoker's most famous novel. The characters are stereotypical of the time, the dialogue is sometimes forced and so Victorian in its manner that it fails to draw the reader fully into the story, and it leaves too many unanswered questions in its wake. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this, Stoker's most familiar novel after Dracula, is its storyline built around the resurrection of an ancient Egyptian mummy. Few people today realize that Stoker not only truly defined the vampire genre, he helped give rise to the mummy genre as well. By far the most fascinating aspect of this tale is its ending, though, which I will discuss below.
The first several chapters of the novel call to my mind the host of whodunit films released in the 1940s and 1950s. Malcolm Ross, a barrister, is called to the home of Margaret Trelawney, a young lady he just recently met and took a fancy to, in the middle of the night. When he arrives at the home, he finds policemen, a doctor, Margaret, and the household staff in a great tizzy over an attack made upon Margaret's father. The man was found on the floor of his room, his left arm slashed in a number of places. The investigation begins, and a constant watch is held over the injured man, who has fallen into a cataleptic state. The next night, under the eyes of Ross, Margaret, and a nurse, a second baffling attack takes place by an unknown assailant. It soon becomes apparent that the person behind the attacks is attempting to gain access to the safe located in the room. Suspicions abound as both the police and the doctor are baffled by the situation. At this point, we begin to learn the history of the Egyptian relics housed in the Trelawney house and hear the story of the ancient Egyptian queen Tera and her apparent plans for reincarnating herself with the help of a beautiful jewel of seven stars, the very item housed in Trelawney's safe. The novel ends with a Great Experiment in which Tera's plans for a rebirth are carried out, the results of which fail to satisfy this reader.
Published in 1903, this novel is steeped in Victorian idealism, particularly in its treatment of Margaret and the courtship between her and Malcolm. Modern readers may find this aspect of the novel either romantic or silly. In addition, the respectful and entirely proper conversations between characters, especially in times of suspicion or fear, may seem strikingly quaint to today's readers. The second half of the novel, which tells the story of the ancient mummy and lays the groundwork for the climax of the Great Experiment, is much more interesting than the preceding pages, yet there are elements to the evolving story that fail to make perfect sense.
The Jewel of Seven Stars is unique in that it features two different endings, neither of which fully satisfies. The accepted version, which you will find in modern publications, is not the original ending but is instead a rewrite first found in the 1919 edition of the novel. It is anticlimactic at best and seems oddly different from the novel as a whole. There is actually some speculation that the final couple of pages of this ending were not even written by Stoker, who was dead and buried seven years prior to this amended edition's release. The original 1903 ending is a much better if rather shocking conclusion to a story that openly hints of ancient horrors; it is a pity that the original ending has been superseded by a questionable and quite dissatisfying rewrite. In any case, though, The Jewel of Seven Stars is an interesting if flawed novel that shows few signs of the literary magic with which Stoker's masterpiece, Dracula, is infused.
Book Description
Malcolm Ross went to face the trial that waited in the Trelawny home. And because he did, the jewel of horror was unleashed ? and that unleashed the horror consumes us all. A novel of unyielding terror from the author of Dracula.
Customer Reviews:
Stoker's second best work.......2007-10-01
After Dracula, Jewel of Seven Stars is Bram Stoker's best work. The reasons for this are obvious: It is dark and gripping while portraying a claustrophobic menace that envelops the characters at the end. Of course no one will ever accuse Stoker of being the finest stylist English has ever produced, but the writing is competent--moreso even than in Dracula. Unlike its more famous companion novel, Jewel offers us only one character's narration though, leaving us to see the other characters through his eyes alone (and groan at his ineffable stupidity in places). The action begins basically in midperiod then fills in the background before giving us the grim ending. Surprisingly this is a highly successful means of storytelling and helps maintain the reader's interest. The end itself is a curiosity in that it has an original, nihilistic ending and a later, happy ending. It can be--and has been--argued the two endings are just inversions of each other, but clearly the original ending is the stronger and more consistent. Although authorship on the second ending is unknown, I highly suspect Stoker did not write it. It lacks the feel of the rest of the book and does not seem to have the same flair as Stoker's canonical writing. Despite some reservations though, this is a hugely gripping and thrilling, if not necessarily enjoyable, book that builds inexorably to one of the most chilling climaxes of any book I've ever read. A must for fans of welld one gothic horror.
Good, not as good as Dracula.......2007-08-24
Definitely not as exciting as Dracula, but this one is still a must have for Bram Stoker fans.
I enjoyed it immensely, the ending however was a little unexpected. All in all it is a a great book from the master of horror.
Persian Translation.......2006-09-11
I first read this book 15 years ago.I found it worth reading and managed to translate it to Persian language free of charge & publish it here in Iran so that others can also enjoy it!The outstanding feature of the book is its decent language, not practiced much in the books we see in the market these days.
A Greatly Underrated Book.......2005-12-23
This book is great. I couldn't put it down. Personally I think that it is as good as "Dracula". It amazes me that it remains so obscure. One of the other reviewers complained of a weak ending. I assume that this poor person was unlucky enough to have read the 1912 edition. Stoker's publishers though that the original 1903 ending was too gruesome and made him rewrite it as a condition of re-publishing the book. I don't think anyone could describe the original ending as weak. If you like a good horror novel I highly recommend this book.
You Can't Tell a Book by Its Cover!.......2004-05-05
It goes without saying: Bram Stoker was a one-book man. His "Dracula" is a classic, and based on two other novels I have read, nothing measures up to it.
Years ago, I found a copy of "Lair of the White Worm," which I thought was a complete disappointment. (Even before I began reading the novel, I knew "worm" meant "dragon"--from the Anglo-Saxon "wyrm.") As I remember, the novel focuses on a group of people living in a castle; they spend their time drinking tea and talking about a white worm--I mean dragon, who, for some reason (probably there's a curse), visits the castle from time to time and does quite a bit of damage. Obviously, "Lair" made quite an impression. And, I might add, there's a perfectly hideous movie with the same title. I don't think there's much resemblance to the novel, but, again, what happens in the movie has escaped my memory.
When I saw "The Jewel of Seven Stars," I thought, "Here's another Bram Stoker novel that might be worth a look." What concerns me is I'm afraid the unsuspecting will buy the book based on a cover that reads, "Beware the Mummy's Curse!" and depicts a woman, I guess the Egyptian queen, who looks as much like an Egyptian as my dog Kimball. And, she appears to be looking at something glowing in her hand. Hmmmmm. I bet it's "the jewel of seven stars." (The artwork--and I use the term loosely--is very cheesy, and this should have been a clue.)
Worse, I saw another paperback that was $1 cheaper than this one. It depicts a scantily clad woman who could pass for a porn queen. To be blunt, how many people, I wonder, will buy these books based on very misleading covers? Let the buyer beware! (I didn't have the nerve to take the second book into my home, though I wanted to buy it. A buck saved is a buck saved, though I knew Kimball would be offended.)
My guess is that the unsuspecting, who knows very little about Bram Stoker, will be disappointed. I found the novel difficult to get through; in fact, I often fell asleep in the middle of a paragraph. To me, the work is, more than anything else, a curiosity, a museum piece. I thoroughly enjoy Victorian lit, but "Jewel" got a little too tedious at times. I'm still not sure about the ending. The next time I'm in the bookstore, I plan to pick up the really cheap edition--if it's still there--and read the last pages, just to see if the endings are the same. Other reviewers have remarked there is a different ending. I would like to see both.
Yes, I probably would read another Stoker novel, but I bet I would be disappointed. If Kimball and I didn't know better, we would never think Stoker had written "Jewel." So, gentle reader, don't beware the mummy's curse. Beware this ridiculous hoakum.
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THE JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS
Bram Stoker
Manufacturer: Arrow Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Mystery & Thrillers
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ASIN: 0099098709 |
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The Jewel of Seven Stars
Manufacturer: Scholastic Book Services
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GSI9F4 |
Product Description
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Book Description
This book integrates the ancient healing science of Ayurveda with the modern development of Aromatherapy. The authors have long term experience in clinical practice and have created a phenomenal resource for anyone who wants to use Ayurveda or Aromatherapy for self-health or as a practitioner. The body-type paradigm of Ayurveda is interwoven nicely with the aromatherapeutic actions of essential oils.
Customer Reviews:
walking the talk.......2000-01-10
This book is essentially a complete users manual on how to apply essential oils in a manner consistent with Ayurvedic healing. From start to finish this book radiates sincerity and hands on knowledge. We immediately believe that the authors are not simply talking the talk but are walking the talk.
The book opens with an introduction to Ayurveda, including the 5 elements, 3 doshas and 6 tastes. The 15 subdoshas are described along with a description of typical symptoms of imbalances and essential oils that balance those doshas. The authors provide a novel analysis of the effects of essential oils using two of the three taste polarities:1) hot-cold and 2)wet-dry. This allows them to classify the essential oils in terms of their effects on the doshas.
The chapters describing the history and manufacture of essential oils are informative and full of interesting anedotes.
Other useful features include: how to apply essential oils with compress, in the bath, inhalation etc.: methods on how to choose essentials oils; a complete list of herbs and their healing attributes; a list of Ayurvedic healing centers; a list of suppliers of essential oils; and references to explore further the concepts and methods presented.
Anyone interested in a practical introduction to Ayurveda, Aromatherapy or both is likely to benefit from a study of this book. (1/10/2000).
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