Moravagine (New York Review Books Classics)

Average customer rating:

masculine violence in the face of absurdity

Voyage Surprise

Sickness unto death

unfathomable brilliance !!!

...this is about beauty of experience through contrast.

Moravagine (New York Review Books Classics)
Blaise Cendrars
Manufacturer: NYRB Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1590170636
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Book Description

At once truly appalling and appallingly funny, Blaise Cendrars's Moravagine bears comparison with Naked Lunch—except that it's a lot more entertaining to read. Heir to an immense aristocratic fortune, mental and physical mutant Moravagine is a monster, a man in pursuit of a theorem that will justify his every desire. Released from a hospital for the criminally insane by his starstruck psychiatrist (the narrator of the book), who foresees a companionship in crime that will also be an unprecedented scientific collaboration, Moravagine travels from Moscow to San Antonio to deepest Amazonia, engaged in schemes and scams as, among other things, terrorist, speculator, gold prospector, and pilot. He also enjoys a busy sideline in rape and murder. At last, the two friends return to Europe—just in time for World War I, when "the whole world was doing a Moravagine."

This new edition of Cendrars's underground classic is the first in English to include the author's afterword, "How I Wrote Moravagine."

Customer Reviews:

masculine violence in the face of absurdity.......2006-06-28

i'm sure i'll lose my membership card as a nihilist, but i found this book to be a waste of my time. the characters are tiresome in their quest for life, the title character always committing acts of violence for no reason, usually against women, while the character documenting Moravagine is obviously utterly in love with him.

like others i'm sure i was drawn to Cendrars because of Henry Miller's recommendation, but i am disappointed. i have recently found a number of books of this negative trend that seem to offer nothing, but think themselves documenting life as a plate of maggots. most of the book centers around the characters' involvements as pre-soviet Russian revolutionaries. then follows their escapades with natives in South America, etc. the treatment of women in this book is utterly grotesque.

the characters complain about the horrors of man but are the worst example of man. Moravagine imagines himself a god when he is nothing but an over-ripe anus. much better literature is had elsewhere.

Voyage Surprise.......2001-08-27

"The Prose of the Trans-Siberian" poem remains my favorite piece of Cendrars writing but this novel is a close second. I passed my copy around and everyone that had a go at it praised the thrills it delivers. Cendrars is a character who seems to have known everyone and been everywhere during those wild experimental years at the beginning of the last century. He documented his many careers(he had a go at just about every art form) in four volumes of biography. Three of which I think are available. He also lost a hand in WW1 and wrote a very beautiful poem about it, such is the magnanimity of this soul who was such a restless originator of new forms it seems he could have single handedly brought about modernism all on his own. Of course his many friends (of which Picasso was one) did what they could too. As a poet his reputation is solid, as a novelist he is still gaining ground as his books begin to reappear after a long abscence. Moravagine is a book full of anarchic energy and though one of the main characters is a bit primitive that was after all one of the aspects of modernism. The wild beast of a main character is Cendrars monster or more specifically modern societies monster. There is also a monkey who is curiously human. The writing is manic at times but there are few lulls on this cross continental journey where the primitive and the civilized seem to walk hand in hand . If this was made into a picture it would be a road picture replete with half man half beast lead, civilized man narrator, and well clad monkey companion. Cendrars family album.

Sickness unto death.......2000-09-20

As one commentator has said, this disturbing book, with its two anarchist lead characters, is Cendrars' view of the artistic process, viewed from the destructive perspective; to recall Michael Bakunin (1814-76), "The passion for destruction is also a constructive passion," a famous utterance which is like a watermark behind everything which occurs in _Moravagine_.

There is no fun or point in giving away the picaresque plot of this extraordinary work. I have no idea how this reads in the original french, but the english translation by Alan Brown (Penguin) is clear and compelling. Apart from the disease imagery, present from the first to the last, there are many luxuriant images and, on the whole, an intensity which retains power even when people today have read or seen so much about terrorists and murderers. As the narrator and Moravagine make their way across continents, the pace flags, notably in the Blue Indians section, but Cendrars' vision, and the slow, inexorable unwinding of the narrator's previous self-confidence and enormous conceits become more interesting than Moravagine's own nature. Anticipating postmodernist writers, Cendrars includes a snapshot (a fake one, to be sure) of himself as a minor character whose path crosses the two killers.

A convert to Cendrars, having just finished _Moravagine_, would best follow it with the Dan Yack books (_Dan Yack_; _Confessions of Dan Yack_), and then the uneven but exhilirating tetralogy comprising _The Astonished Man_, _Planus_, _Lice_ and _Sky_. If one can forget Nina Rootes' interference with Cendrars' own presentation of his material, then these hard to obtain books (most out of print) are well worth reading. An excellent critic on Cendrars (and more respectful translator) is Monique Chefdor.

Blaise Cendrars is a neglected Modernist who does not make a big enough blip on english radar, partly because he was not affiliated with any political group or -isms. He rarely receives extensive mention in anthologies or reviews of french letters written in english. His daughter, Miriam, has published a biography which is at present only in french. University libraries are the most reliable places to find a good selection of his works.

unfathomable brilliance !!!.......2000-09-08

This was the first book I read from Cendrars with little thought that he would have the humbling effect on me that he did. To say this book is great, is an understatement! After you've read it ,you too, will understand why! The amount of reaserch that had to be applied to this book is an amazing feat in itself, let alone the whole storyline which is genius, complex,and poetic,... like all the great authors! Moravogine...A psychological thrilling novel that confronts bare human emotion with an honesty unmatched by few.. brings us closer into the mind of an author, whose awsome talent for expression, sent tremors down the spine of the literary world, showing us life's true nature...macabre and yet beautiful!

...this is about beauty of experience through contrast........1998-08-23

One of the best books I have read. But it doesn't surprise me that I never hear about it. The end of the millenium and the vocabulary that people would use to describe it is taboo.... mmm... I would say this is about beauty of experience through contrast. Read it. Go through and beyond.

Average customer rating:

Moravagine
Blaise Cendrars
Manufacturer: BLAST BOOKS *
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VURTFI

Average customer rating:

Moravagine

Manufacturer: Blast Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Moravagine (Penguin Modern Classics)
Blaise Cendrars
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Moravagine, of, De vervloeking (BBPoezie)

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Moravagine, of, De vervloeking (BBPoezie)
Freddy de Vree
Manufacturer: Bezige Bij
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Dutch | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 9023445740

Average customer rating:

Caution: graphic scenes of torture

disappointing

Not one of her best...

Slow

A fine hardboiled mystery written by a woman
Fade To Red (Berkley Sensation)
Linda Castillo
Manufacturer: Berkley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

philosophy hope in a jar daily moisturizer

ASIN: 0425196577
Release Date: 2004-05-04

Book Description

When Lindsey Metcalf's younger sister Traci disappears, Lindsey enlists the help of Michael Striker, a cop who plays by his own rules. But nothing about this case is as it appears--and soon Lindsey and Michael are drawn into a seductive and inescapable trap.

Customer Reviews:

Caution: graphic scenes of torture.......2006-01-12

My first Linda Castillo novel, Dead Reckoning, was fun, suspenseful and sexy. When the book jacket description of Fade to Red referred to 'a seductive trap,' I took it at face value. I wish I hadn't.

Castillo is a fine writer and has a flair for creating sexual tension. I plan to read more, on the assumption that the torture theme of 'Fade' isn't likely to be topped by an even more repugnant plot device. The bad guys here are producers of "snuff" films which feature on-camera torture culminating in the victim's death. So much for the 'seductive trap.'

Mercifully, the author reminds us that snuff films depicting actual murders are an urban legend. Law enforcement agencies have investigated many such films, and have yet turn up a real murder. Low-tech special effects, poor lighting and a lot of fake blood create an illusion that's effective enough to satisfy the sickos who like these films, without risking a murder rap for producers out to make an easy buck. The villains of 'Fade to Red' are the exception to the rule. For reasons that are never fully explained, they've decided that it would be more trouble to fake their movies than to kidnap and murder a succession of young women. Presumably, they also have a fool-proof way to dispose of the bodies; that part of the scheme is never addressed.

I enjoyed the budding relationship between Lindsey, who is searching for her vanished sister, and her rough-on-the-outside ex-cop, who reluctantly agrees to help, even though he has only two remaining weeks of freedom before he goes on trial for attacking and nearly killing the suspect in his partner's murder.

I do wish the author hadn't felt compelled to describe that murder, too. It was even more gruesome than the knife-torture deaths of all those would-be starlets. It certainly wasn't necessary. I already felt sympathy for the hero, Striker, whose outrage over his partner's murder caused the single, tragic outburst of violence that ended his career and resulted in a felony assualt charge.

Sometimes it's enough to describe a crime as brutal, without providing the play-by-play. If I wanted to read another Hannibal Lechter sequel, I wouldn't be shopping in the Romantic Suspense section.

In a word: Yuck.

disappointing.......2004-12-03

While it's true that I like to be surprised by the ending of a mystery novel, this ending was so out of left field as to be unbelievable.

Not one of her best..........2004-05-31

Well I'll start by giving a summary about the book then delve into why I only gave it three stars.

Lindsey Metcaff travels to Seattle to locate her missing younger sister Traci. Traci left a message on her answer machine and had not been heard from since. Upon arriving in Seattle she discovered Traci's house ransacked and a message on her answer maching from a guy named Striker. Lindsey discovers Striker is a an ex-cop and Private Investigator awaiting trial on charges of Felony Assault. She and Striker team up to find out what might have happened to Traci. They soon discover that Traci was involved in a world of sex and perversion. While investigating Traci's disappearence, Lindsey and Striker become romanitically involved. I won't say anymore since that will ruin the ending and will instead go into why I thought the story only deserved three stars.

The story was good and had potential but I could never warm up to the female lead, Lindsey. Time and time again she refused to believe the evidence in front of her. No matter what was told to her or shown her about her sister Traci she refused to believe anything bad about her sister. Even when she was shown a movie showing her sister engaging in group sex, and rather happily I might add, she believed that her sister had been drugged and forced to do those awful things. After awhile it just got to be annoying. Now don't get me wrong. I'm a police detective and know that families always refuse to believe the bad in their children or siblings but this was alittle much. It just made it very hard to believe she was the intelligent woman that the author was trying to depict. For some reason this story didn't really flow like the rest of her books but give it a try and see what you think.

Slow.......2004-05-31

I will agree with the first review, this story is a little more romanticly involved than I like. I didnt feel like the author actually got to know her characters until well into the middle of the book. The leading male, once he finally emerged beyond the shell the author held him captive in was quite endearing, but unfortunately I spent most of the read not knowing too much about him, as far as his emotions. One thing I can give the author, the first love scene between the lead characters was hot...well worth drudging through the first half of the book! Notice how the address of the sister goes to 353 to 3553? I really think the book was padded, it felt like we were being told things that the author had clearly stated in previous chapters.
All in all, I would not read again.

A fine hardboiled mystery written by a woman.......2004-05-27

At the risk of sounding sexist, I have found many mysteries written by women to be involving, but more romantically melodramatic than hardboiled (by the same token, some male authors tend to be hardboiled without any balancing emotionalism). This book, the first I've read by this author, hits a near-perfect balance between hard-edged and sensitive situations. I enjoyed it very much, enough so that I shall seek out the author's other mysteries.

Book Description

This hardcover volume features many key introductions, including Proteus (the evil son of Professor X), Gambit (who enjoyed a large fan-following in the hit X-Men cartoon) and Phoenix (the dark split personality of Jean Grey). The X-Men are cut to the emotional core as they battle their way through an obstacle course of deadly trials. First, Professor Xavier -- the mentor of the X-Men -- is forced to confront his past sins when his own son explodes into a destructive force. The question is, will he sacrifice his team to save his son? Then, the X-Men face another internal conflict when Jean Grey turns to the dark side. To save themselves, and the world, will the X-Men strike down their own teammate?

Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2: Return to Weapon X

Average customer rating:

Amazing Collection
Brutal
Disappointment
OMG!!! Can it get any better!!
I like Millar, so I like this.

Ultimate X-Men Vol. 2: Return to Weapon X
Mark Millar
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

X-Men | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0785108688

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Collection.......2007-06-20

This second volume in the series has excellent artwork, a great storyline, and lots of action. This is what X-Men is all about. If you like to read and like X-Men, you should have this product.

Brutal.......2007-04-14

I must say I'm surprised at the harsh criticism that is directed at the Ultimate X-Men series and this volume in particular. I was a skeptic when the whole "Ultimate" non-continuity line was announced a few years ago, but at this point Ultimate X-Men is the only X-title I bother with aside from Joss Whedon's excellent Astonishing X-Men series.

Return to Weapon X is even more fun than Ultimate X-Men Vol. 1: The Tomorrow People. Right off the bat, Xavier and company are kidnapped by SHIELD agents whose goal is to exploit mutants for military purposes. Among their past victims - Wolverine. The way these kids are treated - not just the X-Men, but the other Weapon X captives as well - makes for some incredibly compelling reading, as does the introduction of the Ultimate version of Nick Fury, one of the best characters in the Ultimate Universe. This storyline is high on action as well as character development, and is quite simply one of the best X-Men stories I've read in a long time.

Mark Millar's plot is solid and the dialogue is smart and edgy and so much more interesting than what has been recycled in Uncanny X-Men over the past two decades. Millar has successfully reinvented the X-Men with both a modern look and feel, and a true appreciation for the original X-Men stories that made these characters shine in the first place.

The artwork for this series is as solid as you'd expect from the Kuberts. I've never really been a fan of either Kubert brother's style, but they have come a long way and their art absolutely enhances the overall storytelling.

I highly recommend Ultimate X-Men, not only to new X-fans who might be bewildered by the continuity of the older series, but to old school X-Men fans like me. If you keep an open mind, you should find this book quite enjoyable.

Disappointment.......2006-12-24

This collects some issues of X men as a grahpic novel and I was really disappinted it did not involve political intrigue, just a laid back look at the X men.

OMG!!! Can it get any better!!.......2006-11-04

Going from the first one right into this one was a shocker! I think they gave more info on wolverine then has brought to light before the series Wolverine Origins was released! This gives great detail about him, and he is one of my favorite in the Marvel realm!

I like Millar, so I like this........2006-04-27

So sue me, I'm a dyed in the wool Wolverine fan. And after reading "Wolverine: Enemy of the State," that has been further validated for me. What I find is that Wolvie could be "diluted" for a younger audience and not lose any of what makes him great.

I read the back cover insert with a letter from Joe Quesada mentioning that Ultimate X-Men was going to cater to younger readers and to an audience who can't quite follow the current continuity of the regular X-titles. I think that description fits for this comic title. I enjoyed this TPB, mainly because it collected issues that I never felt the need to buy individually every month. Since I collect about eight titles a month, you can see why I feel that way.

Wolverine's back among the X-Men and being hounded by the Weapon X program again, but this time the X-Men are taken captive. This is the first appearance in the series of Nightcrawler, who speaks more German and is a very likable character. We're also introduced to a recurring villain, Wraith, who's lovably evil and a real jerk, allowing his troops to riddle Wolverine with bullets while he's being held captive, just to watch his healing factor make him better so they can start over. I love the speech that Colossus makes where he explains why Wolverine will save the day, only to have Sabretooth walk into the complex a moment later, dragging Logan by his feet, unconscious after they hit him with napalm!

This story features a decent rescue and a great battle between Logan and Sabretooth. No Weapon X/Weapons Plus story would be complete without that. The dialogue is well written in this, as well as the interpersonal relationships. The artwork is inconsistent; the facial expressions are great, but the figures are very cartoony. I also find it a funny indication of the era that we live in that Storm and Jean have body piercings.

One thing I will say about these TPBs of this title is that I would not be able to read them out of sequence. Millar and the new guy, Vaughan, don't seem to believe in providing you with references to stuff that's happened in past issues to keep you caught up.

If you are an X-Men purist, and you don't like stories that vary from things you've already read in Uncanny or untitled X-Men, then leave this on the shelf. However, if you like your X-Men adventures to feel more like the animated series (Evolution) or the first two movies, this may be more your cup of tea.

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Ultimate X Men Vol. 2
Adam Hubert , and Mark Millar
Manufacturer: Conosur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

X-Men | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 9871215002

ULTIMATE X-MEN, VOL 51 (COMIC BOOK): CRY WOLF, PART 2

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ULTIMATE X-MEN, VOL 51 (COMIC BOOK): CRY WOLF, PART 2
BRIAN VAUGHN
Manufacturer: MARVEL COMICS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

X-Men | Characters | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MTTL18

Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2

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Ultimate X-Men: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2
Mark Millar , Chuck Austen , Adam Kubert , Chris Bachalo , Esad Ribic , and Kaare Andrews
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0785128565

Book Description

As the X-Men embark on their inaugural world tour, they must confront some unsettling truths about their mentor, Professor Charles Xavier. Before founding his school for young mutants, Xavier abandoned his only son, David, a mutant with uncontrollable reality-warping abilities. Now, David has returned, looking to exact revenge on the father who left him - and he's willing to eradicate anyone who stands in his way. Will the X-Men be forced to kill Xavier's son to end his threat against the world? Following the tragedies of their world tour, the X-Men seek the calming protection of Xavier's school - but their suspicions of his methods only increase. Xavier's mental blocks on student Jean Grey's psychic abilities continue to crumble, and she grows increasingly unstable - plagued by visions of a world engulfed in the flames of a fiery phoenix. When the X-Men finally meet Xavier's mysterious financial backers, Jean's hallucinations become reality as the otherworldly Phoenix takes possession of the teenage telepath. Also included in this volume is a bonus tale of Gambit, a Cajun street hustler who must use his mutant gifts to protect a homeless boy in great danger. Collects Ultimate X-Men #13-20.

Customer Reviews:

A good book with a open-minded view of the spiritual gifts.......2000-03-25

The book is very easy to read, the subject is clear. The arguments are really good and it had been well researched. In addition, it has many sciptures quotations. The only problem, that I see in the whole book was about the questionaire, that are a suggetion in order to help you discover what gifts do you have. That is my personal opinion. However, people could not agree with me. It was worth the time reading and meditating on the subject.

Your Spiritual Gifts Inventory: From Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts

Average customer rating:

Just stick with the main book...

Your Spiritual Gifts Inventory: From Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts
Charles V. Bryant
Manufacturer: Upper Room Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 083580819X

Customer Reviews:

Just stick with the main book..........2006-08-15

This is only the last part of the first book. Only purchase this if you need to do the inventory more than once.

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Rediscovering Our Spiritual Gifts
Charles V. Bryant
Manufacturer: Upper Room Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MM2ER8

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