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A difficult novel for any parent to read, William Trevor's The Story of Lucy Gault recounts the tale of a young girl whose Protestant family is driven from its rural Irish home in 1921. Eight-year-old Lucy is in love with Lahardane: the old house itself, the woods, the nearby beach, the shells and fir cones and sticks that she collected like treasure. The day before her family is scheduled to flee Ireland, leaving the house and furnishings in the care of trusted servants, Lucy runs away. Her parents, finding a scrap of her clothing on the beach, assume the worst. Days later, they leave Lahardane, choosing not to settle in England, as they had planned, but to roam Europe in their grief, leaving no forwarding address. But Lucy has not killed herself; she's only broken her leg in the woods. Eventually she makes it back to the house to find her parents gone. She spends her childhood waiting to be forgiven for her wicked act, postponing all happiness until she can be reunited with her mother and father. Revealing more of the plot will spoil this lovely novel for its many readers. It is enough to note that Trevor's characteristic depth and emotional complexity are fully realized here in the watchful reticence of his young heroine and the strange but beautiful way she finds to express her own forgiveness. --Regina Marler
Book Description
The stunning new novel from highly acclaimed author William Trevor is a brilliant, subtle, and moving story of love, guilt, and forgiveness. The Gault family leads a life of privilege in early 1920s Ireland, but the threat of violence leads the parents of nine-year-old Lucy to decide to leave for England, her mother's home. Lucy cannot bear the thought of leaving Lahardane, their country house with its beautiful land and nearby beach, and a dog she has befriended. On the day before they are to leave, Lucy runs away, hoping to convince her parents to stay. Instead, she sets off a series of tragic misunderstandings that affect all of Lahardane's inhabitants for the rest of their lives.
Customer Reviews:
The power of forgiveness.......2007-02-04
This is a beautiful and haunting story. I repeatedly had to suspend my disbelief in the series of events that led to Lucy's separation from her parents, but the characters behaved believably as they reacted to the situation. This story is ultimately about the power and importance of forgiveness. While forgiving and being forgiven bring much healing, the consequences of prior actions are not erased.
This book grabbed me and wouldn't let me go til I found out how it ended.......2006-08-06
What a beautiful and tragic story. It is a short book, but the pages packed. I found myself wanting to race to find out what happened and how the story would reveal itself, but at the same time wanting to savor slowly the images created by the writing. Characters all richly fleshed out, shaped by sorrow. I shall have to go back and read this again, for the pieces I know I rushed past. This could have been a totally maudlin tale, but is instead skillfully told. Lucy, her parents, Ralph, Bridget and her husband Henry (who had the one line in the book that made me laugh out loud--"As often it was, his face was empty of expression even when he spoke. 'More happens in a ham,' Bridget's father had once said about Henry's face." I read that and hooted, for it's exactly as I had pictured him.)
This book was Shortlisted for the Booker Prize. I need to go see what beat it out that year.
"for does it matter,really,why people visit one another or walk behind a coffin,only that they do.".......2006-05-20
Like many other reviewers,this is the first novel by William Trevor that I've read. There is not much point in my summing up
the story,as it has been done many times already by others.
The author writes very differently from some of my favorite Irish writers,such as
McCourt,Doyle,Behan,O'Carroll and Llywelyn;just to name a few.
The first requirement to "make it "in Irish writing is to have great skills in the use of language. There is no doubt that Trevor has it in spades.
Much Irish writing is filled with lilt,humor,struggle for survival,beliefs,love of family and friends,music and pub life,oppression by the British,and above all else a love of country and desire for Ireland to be "A Nation Once Again".
All of these elements are missing in this novel.
This is a story which covers the years from 1916 to the present time ;but essentially ignores everything that takes place during this nation forming period. The reason for this is that the people in this story do not take part in the things that went on. They were living the life of the privileged Anglo Irish in its dying days.
As a way of life disappears,it has a tremendous effect on the last remnents of that society. In other words, it is not a time filled with hope,happiness;or anything except the past way of life and wrapping oneself up in whatever security they have and are experiencing its disappearence.
When this book is viewed in this light,it gives a wonderful insight into a way of life of the past in Ireland,where the elite were totally removed from the aspirations of most of the people.
This comes out beautifully in the line; "Oblivion often was an inmate's last,his sole,possession."
Overall,a well written story,but devoid of any hope for the future,any real happiness;but an excellent portrayal of the passing of a family and its life of privilege.
It's interesting to ponder;that had this family moved away as intended;would they have succeeded,or would their background of privilege have continued to be a millstone to their ability to adapt?
Only connect . . ........2005-12-23
Like Ian McEwan's ENDURING LOVE, this story begins with a single event whose implications reverberate for the rest of the novel. But Trevor's scale is both vaster and more intimate; and the life of his heroine, at once uneventful and devastating, is linked to that of her native land. Trevor's subject here is the reverse of E. M. Forster's: the failure to connect. But even as he builds a moving tragedy out of connections missed at first by accident and later through guilt or trauma, he is also forging new and unexpected links between people which amply demonstrate his miraculous power to console.
There are very few authors whom one trusts to lead one into dark places, with the assurance that there will be some beauty to be found there in the end. Trevor is emphatically one of them.
A parable stretching every child's worst nightmare across an entire life.......2005-08-06
In his latest novel, Trevor manages to pack a story spanning most of the twentieth century into a little over 200 pages. Part parable, part bildungsroman, part romance, "The Story of Lucy Gault" describes a family who, while preparing to flee their Protestant estate during the Irish troubles, endures a far more devastating loss. But the tragedy that ultimately drives them away for good is largely a result of a series of horrifying misinterpretations.
The book opens when a band of local dissident youths attempts an act that shatters the tranquility and security of the Gaults, who convince themselves they must flee Ireland, if only temporarily. Only nine years old, their daughter Lucy runs away, hoping to prevent her parents from leaving. Together, both acts destroy their lives of the perpetrators, of Lucy's parents, and of the family's servants and friends. Attempting to atone for the unintended consequences of her childish act, Lucy puts her entire life on hold: "She waited, she would have said, and in doing so kept faith." The nature of the affair and the events that lead to it are so cleverly and admirably set up that I will resist the temptation to reveal any further details; I was surprised by the ease with which Trevor both lays and springs his plot's traps in the opening section.
Many readers, however, have questioned the plausibility that the Gaults, refugees from both the political situation and their domestic tragedy, would so completely and permanently abandon their home, but Trevor is not writing a novel of historical realism. Instead, he presents both an allegory, unveiling this family's calamity as a mirror of Irish-British tensions, and a fairy tale gone bad, showing how even well-intentioned acts can wreak havoc on our lives. "The Story of Lucy Gault" takes every child's worst nightmare and makes a life out of it.
"Lucy Gault" reminded me at times of some of Henry James's better stories and, more surprisingly, of Shirley Hazzard's "The Great Fire." Both novels deal with loss, with escape, with war, with thwarted love, with improbable quests, with redemption; Trevor's style, too, is oddly similar to Hazzard's, although his prose is far more accessible. He manages to compact limitless detail into few words; these sad lives are exposed in a series of cryptically spun vignettes that leave much to the reader's imagination. Yet Lucy herself is a believable and fully realized character; even when you shake your head in dismay and disapproval at her decisions, you can (almost) understand why she makes them.
In spite of its hushed, understated tone, this tight little book has the feel of a thriller; once I began it, I was compelled to read it straight through, eager to see what happens next. I then read it again, sketching in the details I missed. In Lucy Gault, Trevor has created one of his most memorable and haunting characters.
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The Story of Lucy Gault [UNABRIDGED] (Audiobook)
William Trevor
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ASIN: 140258962X |
Product Description
Author of more than a dozen novels, including Felicias Journey (RB# 94515), Irish author William Trevor is hailed as one of the most extraordinary writers of today. He has a special talent for examining the innermost regions of his characters hearts. The Story of Lucy Gault traces the repercussions of a childs attempt to remain in her beloved home. Threatened with a move from Ireland to England, 9-year-old Lucy runs away, setting off a series of misunderstandings that will eventually touch each inhabitant of her village.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Irish Literary Supplement, published by Irish Studies Program on September 22, 2003. The length of the article is 1429 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: Trevor's latest gift: the Story of Lucy Gault.(The Story of Lucy Gault)(Book Review)
Author: Sandra Manoogian Pearce
Publication:
Irish Literary Supplement (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2003
Publisher: Irish Studies Program
Volume: 22
Issue: 2
Page: 25(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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THE STORY OF LUCY GAULT
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GA1T9K |
Product Description
8 Hours 32 Minutes, on 7 CDs. Author of more than a dozen novels, including Felicias Journey (RB# 94515), Irish author William Trevor is hailed as one of the most extraordinary writers of today. He has a special talent for examining the innermost regions of his characters hearts. The Story of Lucy Gault traces the repercussions of a childs attempt to remain in her beloved home. Threatened with a move from Ireland to England, 9-year-old Lucy runs away, setting off a series of misunderstandings that will eventually touch each inhabitant of her village.
Book Description
Colt is very aware the sexy part owner of his rodeo ranch is way out of his league. But the more he tells himself Elise Hamilton is `hands off', the more he wants to put his hands on.
Elise knows her broad-shouldered and lean-hipped cowboy partner has all the makings of Mr. Right. First, she has to convince Colt she's serious about helping him run the ranch without her libido getting in the way.
Then again, maybe she can rope her cowboy and have him, too.
Customer Reviews:
Satisfying.......2007-05-01
Colt finds out his uncle did not leave him his half of the family ranch but left it to his widow who in turn left it to her niece, Elise. Colt offers to buy out Elise but to his surprise she shows up on the ranch wanting to be an equal partner. Colt is surprised to his attraction to Elise, she is too much like the mother who abandoned him and his brothers for his own comfort. She is a fun loving, woman born to an elite lifestyle. Colt is afraid to get involved or put his heart out because he figures she will get bored and leave just like his mother. When another rancher and his own brother hits on Elise, Colt can't stand it and decides to mark her as his. Elise is wildly attracted to Colt, he is every woman's dream in a lover, built like a stallion and sexy to boot. Soon Elise and Colt are in a hot affair, but Colt is withholding his heart out of fear of losing it to Elise. Elise and Colt discover the risk is worth everything.
I loved this story, Colt is just super hot...however, I think Elise played a little too easy to get in the beginning. I would have liked to see her make Colt work a little more instead of just making herself available for whenever he felt like it. That's my only complaint. I'd love to see the brothers Cade and Mace's stories.
Excellent Read.......2006-04-25
I am a sucker for any kind of western, modern or historical. This book had me hooked from beginning to end. Colt has a ranch and wants to own it completely. When his uncle passes away he thinks that he will inherit the other half, to make him sole owner. Well imagine his surprise when his uncle's wife inherits that half instead. Well the uncle's wife passes it on to her young gorgeous neice, Elise. Colt plans to buy Elise out, but that is not what she wants. Elise wants to break away from her controlling rich family and have a fresh start. She wants to be co owner of the ranch and be actively involved. When Colt finds out about this he is livid. He tries to push her away and not be helpful at the ranch in hopes of her packing up and going back home. But that doesn't work. She makes it clear that she is here to stay. Soon after she arrives they realize that they are attracted to each other and sparks start to fly. Colt has a hard time commiting. His mother walked out on him and his brothers, never coming back to be part of their lives. He thinks Elise will do the same thing and so he puts up a invisible wall between them. He will not give his heart completely.
I liked Elise. She was a strong character who knew what she wanted. She was going to have it all or nothing, and that included Colt. If he could not give himself completely then she would walk away. I admired her for that. She was also fun and had a great sense of humor. Her and Colt had not only great sex and chemistry, but they also had a strong friendship. Colt was strong, tall, sexy and completely protective over Elise. I loved the way he talked to her, the way he cared for her. He seemed to be strong and dominating, but also gentle and kind at the same time. This book did not dissapoint. I loved everything about it.
Entertaining Read.......2005-12-31
The four stars go towards the wonderful hero and heroine of the story. Without their interesting interactions, there literally would have been no story. More descriptive details about ranch life and work in general, not to mention the high society life that Elise came from too, would have made this a one hundred precent solid five star read. I've read some books where I felt the interactions between the hero and heroine alone made the book a five star, but while good, "Colt's Choice" could have stood for a little more help in the details department.
Elise Hamilton hails from the posh high society life of Virginia. Raised to carry on the family traditions of charity events, parties and the family business, Elise has never really felt she fit into that lifestyle. Her true passion is the outdoors. When an opportunity calls her to Texas to take over her inheritance, part ownership in a ranch, she jumps at the chance to finally have something she can call her own. Dropping her job and everything else back home, she literally races to Texas and straight into the steadfast and distrustful scrutiny of the other owner - Colt Tanner. Colt was raised at the Lonestar ranch, and in turn began raising his brothers at the young age of twenty when their father passed. Some say their dad died of a broken heart, longing for their mother, but the past has remained in the past, or so Colt thinks. He doesn't want to welcome the smiling seemingly sincere Elise, believing she may be just like his flighty high society mother. Determined to prove she has a place at the ranch, Elise stubbornly digs in her heels and challenges the arrogant cowboy to deal with it.
I loved Colt's and Elise's interactions right off the bat. I loved to that they began a relationship so early in the book. It was obvious from the start that she was a genuinely caring person, and Colt was definitely not unaffected by her either. Could it have possibly been something like love at first sight? Maybe so. They felt something for eachother and they went for it. No harm in that, especially when colt makes it clear that he will be the only man for her, and she makes the same claim on him. Colt was a great hero, trying his best to keep her at an emotional distance, but helpless to deny his feelings for her. Elise had incredible patience for a man that had been wounded by maternal betrayal.
As mentioned before, the only area I felt this story was lacking in was the details department. No, I'm not talking about their intimate relationship. While that was less spicy than I'm used to reading from an Ellora's Cave book, it was still a lot of hot fun to read. No, I'm talking about the lack of details about the ranch, Elise's society life back in Virginia. There's even a hint of a conflict between the Tanner men and a neighoring rancher, but it never really gets explored properly, not to mention resolved. Other than that, Colt made for a great hero, thoroughly sensitive and vulnerable at times and Elise was his perfect counterpart, having the patience of a saint with him. So, Read it for a few great character interactions, but don't expect to see any rich descriptions of ranch life, which I was personally hoping for.
DIFFICULT TO REVIEW.......2005-12-08
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE BOOKS THAT MAKES ME AMBIVILENT. THERE'S PLENTY OF GRAPHIC SEX...IF THAT'S WHAT THE READER WANTS. THERE'S NOT MUCH STORY..SIMPLY WHETHER A CITY GAL CAN MAKE IT ON A RANCH...AND SHE'S MAKING IT WITH THE BOSS WITHING 20 PAGES!! COLT IS AN ALPHA MALE ALRIGHT. HIS BEHAVIOUR, EVEN SEXUALLY, IS DOMINANT AND CLOSE TO BEING ABUSIVE. OUR HEROINE IS LIBERATED AND IS ONE STEP AWAY FROM BEING A NYMPH......I LOVED THE RANCH ATMOSPHERE...THERE APPROACH TO ANIMALS AND PEOPLE WAS WONDERFUL. IT MAKES EVEN A NON RIDER WANT TO BUY A HORSE AND TAKE OFF....IT SOUNDS VERY FREE AND ENNERVATING. THAT DIALOGUE IS ALSO WITTY AND FUN AT TIMES AS ARE THE INTERACTIONS WITH HIS BROTHERS. WHETHER YOU LIKE THIS OR NOT COMES DOWN TO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN A BOOK.
Another feather in the cap.......2005-12-05
for Patrice Michelle. The second Bad in Boots book, COLT'S CHOICE stands on its own so those who have not read the first book in the series need not worry about not being able to follow.
Colt Tanner is a sexy, rough-around-the-edges cowboy whose dream has been to fully own the Lonestar ranch. Colt knew from bitter experience that the ranch is no place for sophisticated socialites like Elise Hamilton, his new co-owner. Despite the strong attraction he feels for her, he intends to run her off the ranch. But he had underestimated Elise's determination and independence, and the temptation presented by her beauty and intelligence. As the desire between the two escalates to scorching, bone-melting intensity, Colt finds himself slowly losing his heart. COLT'S CHOICE is an intensely erotic and enthralling tale of two seemingly opposite people finding love and trust together.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Football Digest, published by Century Publishing on April 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2246 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: Star power: we had some easy choices--like New York's Curtis Martin--in picking the very best of the best.(All-pro team: Curtis Martin)
Publication:
Football Digest (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2005
Publisher: Century Publishing
Volume: 34
Issue: 7
Page: 38(7)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Winnipeg Free Press, published by Thomson Gale on May 3, 2007. The length of the article is 615 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: Unbeaten colt Curlin draws inside position; Top choice was sired by Canadian-bred Smart Strike.(Sports)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication:
Winnipeg Free Press (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 3, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: c6
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- boring & banal
- Couldn't put it down
- Interesting ideas dealt with unconvincingly, plus flat characters
- A Meeting of Minds
- Liberal Political/Scientific Junker
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Mindscan
Robert J. Sawyer
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Sawyer, Robert J.
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Spin
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ASIN: 0765311070
Release Date: 2005-03-10 |
Book Description
Robert J. Sawyer's Hominids, the first volume of his bestselling Neanderthal Parallax trilogy, won the 2003 Hugo Award, and its sequel, Human, was a 2004 Hugo nominee. Now he's back with a pulse-pounding, mind-expanding standalone novel, rich with his signature philosophical and ethical speculations, all grounded in cutting-edge science. Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she's no longer constrained by a worn-out body either. But suddenly Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance. Even worse, the original version of Jake, consigned to die on the far side of the moon, has taken hostages there, demanding the return of his rights of personhood. In the courtroom and on the lunar surface, the future of uploaded humanity hangs in the balance. Mindscan is vintage Sawyer -- a feast for the mind and the heart. "Mindscan is both a love story and a parable about the possibility of fixed beliefs in a world of constantly shifting morality and ethics. Sawyer keeps his very readable tale moving by rooting it all in characters who have just enough humanity to have conflicted and occasionally contradictory reactions to the new realities." -- Quill Quire This is Sawyer at his best: compelling characters, an intriguing and involving plot, and deep philosophic themes backed by credible scientific reasoning. Mindscan will resonate in your thoughts for a long time after you have closed the book. -- The Record A fascinating look into our collective tomorrow, Mindscan takes us on a witty and wise fast-forward to the year 2045Much like the socially aware science fiction of Vancouvers Spider Robinson, Sawyer works hard to bring a Canadian flavour to the sci-fi universe. -- Monday Magazine
Customer Reviews:
boring & banal.......2007-06-10
i bailed on this turkey after 80 pages. the writing is dull & unimaginative. a book about copying & downloading the human personality promises interesting specualations about the nature of consciousness, but there is nothing here but mechanism. the purpose of this novel seems to be to put the author's political opinions & philosophical materialism into the mouths of his characters. if you read sf novels in order to confirm your dialectical materialism then this may be for you; i prefer creativity.
Couldn't put it down.......2007-04-24
Wow. I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. This is an excellent SciFi novel. Smooth as silk plotting and prose. Great fleshed out charactors, in a tale with lots of heart. Can't believe I've never read anything by this author, but I'm glad he's written quite a bit for me to catch up on. :)
Highly Recommended!
Interesting ideas dealt with unconvincingly, plus flat characters.......2007-01-29
Mindscan is another of Robert J. Sawyer's award winners -- rather inexplicably, to my mind, it won the John W. Campbell Award for Best Novel. The central idea here is upload to robotic bodies. Are such new bodies "human", in a moral or legal sense? And what about the (in this book, still living) "original"? Who gets the property?
Jake Sullivan is a very rich man -- heir to a beer fortune. He is also ever guilty -- afraid he provoked his father's fatal stroke -- and every afraid -- because he shares the genetic malformation that actually led to his father's stroke. Thus he has spent his life afraid of commitment to other people. Then a new process becomes available: one can upload one's mind into a robotic body -- more of an android, really, capable of most things normal bodies can do, though not all (for example, sex: yes, but eating, pretty much no). It's very expensive. Most people who choose the option are quite old, but Jake jumps at it only in his 40s. The kicker is, the company doing the process requires that the "new" person, the android, inherit the identity of the "original", while the "original" is sent to the Moon, to live out what will presumably be a short life -- in conditions of luxury but isolation.
The new Jake quickly finds love, with Karen Bessarion, a fabulously successful novelist (think J. K. Rowling). But Karen soon has a problem -- her original body dies, and her son sues -- he argues that his mother is dead, and he has a right to inherit her estate. But of course the "new" Karen Bessarion feels she is the "real" Karen.
Jake himself represents the opposite side of the debate. His "original" decides he isn't happy stuck on the Moon, especially when a cure for his condition is found. He wants to reclaim is original life. But that would cause problems for the new Jake.
This is, let's be clear, a fascinating setup. And it could address some pretty interesting ideas. But Sawyer bungles the whole thing. Partly, he doesn't consider some fairly elementary dodges to avoid some of these legal problems -- the company offering the uploads could arrange to be paid essentially the entire fortune of the original, but hold it in some sort of trust to be dedicated to the support of the original for the rest of its life, and also to the support of the upload. I think such an arrangement would for the most part sidestep the problem of heirs. But more than that, the basic idea at the core is monstrous: the "original", Sawyer seems to think (or at least this book seems to think -- Sawyer may not necessarily hold these ideas) is really just so much worthless remnant garbage, kept alive in comfort for convenience's sake, but not really a person. My goodness, how horrifying! Of course these are still people! The book argues eloquently enough for the "humanity" of the uploads -- I'm fine with that -- but then totally dismisses any argument that the original is also still human.
Add to these issues some more general plot and character issues. I was never really convinced by Karen Bessarion's love affair with the new Jake (the old Jake was plausibly messed up, could the new Jake really be a better man so soon?). And the plot resolutions -- a hoary courtroom drama plus a thoroughly unconvincing violent standoff with a convenient conclusion -- just didn't work for me. Another frustrating outing from Sawyer.
A Meeting of Minds.......2006-12-23
Mindscan (2005) is a stand-alone SF novel. Yet it represents an ongoing theme in the author's works (see The Terminal Experiment (1995) and Factoring Humanity (1998)).
In this novel, Jacob Sullivan was born into a very rich family. But he also has a genetic disorder, arteriovenous malformation, which had struck down his father, making him a vegetable. AVM has since dominated his lifestyle. He avoids all activities that would raise his blood pressure. And he also avoids becoming close to any women, for he sees how his father's condition affects his mother.
It was AVM that led him to the sales talk on Mindscan, a method of downloading the human mind into an artificial brain within a mechanical body. The pitch is presented by a man who has undergone the process. Immortex, the owner of the patents on the process, has set up a virtual paradise at High Eden, located in the Heaviside Crater on the Farside of the Moon, for the shed skins -- the biological copies -- to live out the rest of their lives; meanwhile, the mechanical copies eternally continue their Earthside existence.
Jake meets a woman named Karen Bessarian at the presentation, an author who intends to keep her copyrights active forever (or a reasonable semblance thereto). The mechanical Jake is attracted to the mechanical Karen and, after his human friends snub him, they begin hanging out together. Eventually, they become a couple.
In High Eden, the biological Jake learns that Pandit Chandragupta has devised a cure for AVM. Jake tries to convince the High Eden administrator to let him go to Earth for the cure, but Brian Hades refuses; Jake's contract with Immortex does not allow the biological copy to resume contact with his former acquaintances. Yet Hades does bring Chandragupta to High Eden for the operation.
On Earth, Jake tries to get along with Tyler Horowitz, Karen's son, but the relationship doesn't gel. Tyler even has problem with Karen herself. After the death of the biological Karen, Tyler sues to probate Karen's will. Karen and Jake consult Malcolm Draper, a civil rights attorney and another Mindscan, about the case and Malcolm suggests that his son and partner, Deshawn, take the case.
At High Eden, the biological Jake has neurotransmitter fluctuations in his brain after the surgery. Chandragupta recommends analgesics for the pain until the condition stabilizes. But Jake begins to distrust his medications and stops taking them. He even suspects the food that the High Eden staff is preparing for him. He becomes heavily paranoid.
In this story, the Karen Bessarian case is setting new precedents in the United States and the biological copy of Jake is doing much the same -- although illegally -- on the Moon. Moreover, the mechanical Jake is having mental conversations with other copies of his brain; apparently the quantum entanglement that allows the brains to be copied also continues to connect all copies of the artificial brains. Of course, the mechanical Jake is certain that his other copies are being used for some nefarious scheme.
This novel raises some interesting questions about the nature of consciousness. As the author states in the epilogue, consciousness was neglected for almost a century except by the novelists, who continued to use stream of consciousness as a literary style. Then recently cognitive studies became paramount within psychology and now almost every branch of philosophy, science and religion is speculating on the subject.
Highly recommended for Sawyer fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic technology, human foibles, and a touch of romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Liberal Political/Scientific Junker.......2006-12-06
MINDSCAN(2005) starts off slow, and then hits a brick wall when the ultra-liberal politics and science takes over.
There is supposed to be a story about copying of human awareness to a machine, but the shallow characters and plot are lost in the backdrop of the left-of-AirAmerica Canadian politics, as masses of Americans are "fleeing" to Canada, where they can get legal hookers, drugs, suicide doctors, etc., all because of a "post-Buchanan administration" America.
Americans are also fleeing to Canada to escape GLOBAL WARMING, because in 2048 Toronto's climate is supposed to be balmy in the Winter (this is utter baloney, and not going to happen, folks).
When it comes to ultra-left SciFi Politics and Science, Mindscan is like the worst of Ben Bova and Allen Steele combined. Virtually nobody listens to AirAmerica, and virtually nobody should read Robert J. Sawyer... only died-in-the-wool America-Bashers and Global-Warming extremists will really be at home.
Amazon.com
Israel: A Spiritual Travel Guide: A Companion for Modern Jewish Pilgrims by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman is slender enough to slip in your backpack and big enough to change your life. On his first visit to Israel, the American Rabbi Hoffman was disappointed that his reactions to the holy sites seemed to stop with "Wow." His subsequent trips have been more fulfilling, because he's developed a system of preparation and approach involving reading, prayer, and journaling that is summarized in Israel: A Spiritual Travel Guide. Look to Lonely Planet to help you find cheap eats and soft beds; and keep this guide handy for maps, time lines, and blessings (in both Hebrew and English) appropriate to most destinations that draw pilgrims--ranging from the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem to the mystical center Safed. Rabbi Hoffman's writing describes pilgrimages with an appealing blend of gravity and levity; his guide can help shape your memories of pilgrimage into your own distinctive "contribution to the memory of this people that has never suffered from amnesia." --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
Fodor and Frommer tell you how to get there. This guide tells how to make it a spiritual experience.The plane tickets to Israel are bought, the itinerary is planned, and the suitcases are finally packed....Journeys take preparation; but being ready is one thing-being spiritually prepared is another.Now, in time for the 50th anniversary of the State of Israel, here's a Jewish spiritual travel guide to Israel. It combines, in quick reference format, ancient blessings, medieval prayers, biblical references, and modern poetry, to help today's pilgrim tap into the deep spiritual meaning of the ancient-and modern-sites of the Holy Land.For each of 25 major tourist destinations (from the Western Wall to Masada to a kibbutz in the Galilee), arranged by geographic regions, it gives guidance in sharply-focused three-step sections:* Anticipation: To read in advance. Facts to help orient you in the site's historical context.* Approach: To read on the way there. Readings from varied sources to orient you in the site's spiritual context.* Acknowledgment: To read at the site. A prayer or blessing to integrate the experience into your spiritual consciousness, as well as a journaling space for writing your thoughts and reactions.The only travel book that helps readers to prepare spiritually for the occasion, Israel-A Spiritual Travel Guide is more than a guidebook: It is a spiritual map.
Customer Reviews:
A Guide for a Sacred Journey.......2006-07-19
As a first time traveler to Israel, I found this book to be an extremely helpful guide for both mind and soul. It is well organized and it provides a great framework to prepare you spirtually for the trip as well as each remarkable location when you are there. I felt connected to the places I visited, to the people who have come before me, and to God. I was able to reflect on how the experiences affected me each day. This book helped me to organize my thoughts and memories that I will cherish forever. I am grateful to the author for his hard work in creating this well written book.
Use Fodors for the hotel & body, and this for the spirit.......2000-02-08
It is the must companion for any traveler to Israel. The blurb says it best, "the other travel books tell you how to get there, Hoffman tells you why to go and what to do when you're there." Hoffman, a Professor of Liturgy at HUC-JIR, is best known for his book, "What Is A Jew?" His travel guide is in four sections. The first contains eighteen (chai) meditations to be read before embarking on one's trip to Israel. The second section is on preparations for "the eve before the trip." Section three focuses on "How to prepare while on the way." And Section four is filled with 25 specific pilgrimage destinations for the traveler. For each site, such as The Kotel or a Kibbutz, Professor Hoffman provides THE FOUR A's -- four sections on "Anticipation," "Approach," "Acknowledgment," and "Afterthought." In Anticipation, one reads an overview of the sight; Approach contains biblical, rabbinic and other writings about the site; Acknowledgment is filled with prayers or readings for you to recite at your destination; and Afterthought provides a blank space in which you may record your feelings, emotions, or just plain journal entries that you can keep forever. This is an excellent companion for a trip to Israel.
Beyond camera-toting tourism.......2000-01-29
Hoffman, a prolific author of scholarly and popular works on Jewish liturgy, now offers the first guide that speaks to the many travelers to Israel who visit for spiritual growth, not suntanning. Full of inspired suggestions for spiritual preparation, meditations, and prayers.
One important caveat: Hoffman, surprisingly, includes a self-composed Jewish prayer to be said on the Temple Mount. Visitors should be aware that, in order to avoid tensions with the Mount's Muslim administrators, it is ILLEGAL for non-Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount, and any non-Muslim caught doing so faces immediate expulsion and prosecution.
Apart from this oversight, Hoffman's guide is essential for anyone making a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel.
Adds an ever deeper spritual dimension to travel to Israel.......1998-07-09
Hoffman has given all travelers to Israel a great gift with this innovative new volume. Forget dry recitations of dates and so forth (though the essentials are here.) This guide explain WHY you are there and opens the door of understanding to what you might feel inside.
Rather than describe the way things are, Hoffman gives you the tools to discover what these places really are and what they can mean to you as an individual.
Highly, highly recommended. And if you ever have a chance to hear Hoffman lecture, do that also.
Dan Lavin
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