Average customer rating:
- RESEARCH ON THE MAIN THEMES
- Beatifully written
- A challenge to the reader, but ultimately worth the effort.
|
The Cattle Killing
John Edgar Wideman
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Literary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Historical
| Genre Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Wideman, John Edgar
| ( W )
| Authors, A-Z
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Wideman, John Edgar
| African American
| United States
| World Literature
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Two Cities: A Love Story
-
Beloved
-
Fever (Contemporary American Fiction)
-
Sent for You Yesterday
-
Philadelphia Fire: A Novel
ASIN: 0395877504 |
Amazon.com
Set in Philadelphia in 1793, when the city was afflicted by an epidemic of yellow fever, Wideman's novel is narrated by a young black preacher whose mind seems unhinged by the terrible events he is witnessing. His apocalyptic visions reflect the confusion and delirium around him. The rich white citizens of the city are mostly shutting themselves in and sending their black servants out into the fever-ridden streets. One prominent historical figure, Dr. Benjamin Rush (Dr. Thrush in the novel), is portrayed in a very ambivalent relationship with a black servant girl. Wideman, who has dealt in a more documentary style with the epidemic in a previous collection of short stories, Fever, here combines vision, hallucination, dream, and African legend in a complex metaphorical novel.
Book Description
In plague-ridden eighteenth-century Philadelphia, a young itinerant black preacher searches for a mysterious, endangered African woman. His struggle to find her and save them both plummets them both into the nightmare of a society violently splitting itself into white and black. Spiraling outward from the core image of a cattle killing--the Xhosa people's ritual destruction of their herd in a vain attempt to resist European domination--the novel expands its narrator's search for meaning and love into the America, Europe and South Africa of yesterday and today.
Customer Reviews:
RESEARCH ON THE MAIN THEMES.......2004-05-06
Iam looking for help to study the main themes (death, African influence,..) of The Cattle Killing. please help me.
Beatifully written.......2003-01-30
I feel conflicted when describing this book. The words are beautifully pieced together yet the story moved like a loose dingy caught in choppy waters, which made it difficult for me as the reader, to feel any attachment to the characters. This book has to be cradled to enjoy, meaning it requires attention like a needy relationship. I would have enjoyed the book as much if I had opened a page and read a random paragraph. Wideman has the ability to translate words into emotion. I was so moved by some of his random thoughts, which to me, were as moving and powerful as Bataille or Nietzsche. For example, "Light struck dumb since the moment it witnessed sin." Overall, I do recommend it, maybe as a bed stand companion for brief inspiration.
A challenge to the reader, but ultimately worth the effort........1997-02-17
Mr. Wideman's book is a challenge to the reader, with its shifts not only in time but also
in voice. This book takes the reader from 18th century England and America to the present
day in a mesmerizing yet ambiguous tale. Ultimately, Mr. Wideman attempts to understand
how stories can influence the understanding of ourselves. Although much of Mr. Wideman's
writings have a clear Afro-American centrism, nonetheless Mr. Wideman is still able to
shed light on the murkey underpinnings of present day mainstream American culture. For
readers who wish a thought provoking book by one of America's most celebrated novelists,
and who don't mind the challenge of a, at times, difficult-to-follow narrative style, then
"The Cattle Killing" is a definite winner.
Average customer rating:
|
The Cattle Killing
Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: 0736640746 |
Product Description
(From back cover) The book's title refers to the Xhosa people's ritual destruction of their cattle, a vain and finally self-destructive attempt to resist European domination.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 1998. The length of the article is 521 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: The Cattle Killing.(Brief Article)
Author: Jacqueline Brice-Finch
Publication:
World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1998
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: v72
Issue: n1
Page: p137(1)
Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Hot to Not.......2007-04-05
This was a pretty good read. The first half to 3/4 of the book was awesome--I couldn't put it down. The storyline was great, the love scenes were very HOT. However, I was VERY disappointed in how it ended. It's like the author just decided to end the book. I was literally looking to see if the last few pages had been torn out of my book because it was such an abrupt ending, which really bothered me. The story got very boring toward the end. Once the characters declared their love for each other, it was very dull and really had no further excitement. There was many opportunities for excitment, but like I said, it's like the author just decided she was done with this book. Overall, it's a good read til you get to the middle, then it peters out and doesn't get any better.
Definitely A Keeper!.......2005-11-03
Savage Heat is a novel by Nan Ryan that I have read over and over again. The storyline is fabulous, and it stays interesting from the first page to the last. You won't want to put it down! If you enjoy a steamy, yet sensual love story, this book is definitely for you!
A pleasant surprise.......2002-09-10
I had never read a romance with a Native American as the hero, so a friend recommended this one. What a treat! The hero and heroine are both intriguing characters - the author gives enough background info. on each of them that I thoroughly understood why they acted the way they did with one another, and could appreciate the frustration and confusion of falling in love with someone that others had taught you to hate. The sexual tension builds slowly but strongly, making the steamy love scenes all the more appreciated! Ryan made me truly care about these two proud but loving people, and I will be recommending it to friends.
A beautiful story with explosive sex........1997-12-13
One of the first Nan Ryan books I've read and have collected most all of them since. This was a beautiful love story full of passion and explosive sex. I wish I was there. The book is as savage as the title and the Indian. I loved it..
Customer Reviews:
Plot was nothing but a series of "big misunderstandings" and miscommunications.......2007-09-15
From the back cover:
Ever since the sweltering summer day when Zoe Hawkins pinned on her father's tin star, she'd sworn to uphold the law in rough-and-ready Gracemont, Oklahoma. But how could the lovely sheriff maintain order when she couldn't even subdue her own wayward feelings for the mighty Kiowa cheif, White Shadow? Every time he showed up at the jail to bail out his wild young braves, Zoe forgot the oh-so-correct colonel she was supposed to marry, and longed to surrender to forbidden desire.
As Gracemont's long-anticipated Fourth of July celebration approached, Zoe's emotions blazed out of control. Her some-time fiance was missing, the townspeople were up in arms over the antics of the young Kiowas, and White Shadow had started a seduction that threatened to explode into savage heat.
And my review:
Cassie Edwards has stated on one of her book jackets that her goal is to write a book about every Native American tribe. As a result, she is churning out book after book of mediocre quality. (Some of this might partly be the fault of an editor putting on the pressure.) I would much rather find an author who wrote a dozen amazing books than one who spewed out a hundred substandard ones. One publishing company has bragged that they have printed over 50 of her books. I happen to think that very few people can write that many books that are truly good reads.
I hardly know where to start with this book. Maybe the fact that the romance felt non-existent? There was no chemistry between the hero and heroine. The author says they're in love very early on in the book, but the reader never feels it. We also never get to see the "falling in love" part of the story, either. The characters never bother to communicate with each other, just constantly jump to conclusions and get offended all the time.
Or the characters just don't bother to say what they mean. Like when the hero asks the heroine to marry him, and she refuses without telling him why (valid reasons, like that her father hates Indians and would probably try to kill him). So of course the hero believes that the heroine won't marry him because she doesn't love him, then she's hurt that he doesn't trust her, so every time they meet they fight and don't bother to say the few words that would actually clear things up. It was very annoying.
Also, I found it a little difficult to believe that the heroine could have so easily taken over her father's position as the sheriff. There wasn't even a word of protest from the town. Come on, this story isn't set in modern times, it's in the 1800s! Certain occupations were not acceptable choices for women back then. I know lots of historical fiction is all about women stepping into non-traditional roles, but the author should at least shown the tremendous social backlash that the heroine would have endured. Maybe this happened later in the book, but I never got that far. However, I did skim ahead and still saw no sign of it.
Since the author never bothers to build real relationship issues into her books, I am never engaged enough to bother finishing them. I often feel like I'm read a young adult novel that has had some sex scenes thrown in so that it can be marketed to grownups. SAVAGE HEAT is not recommended by this reader.
Savage Mistake.......2004-07-15
I read this book when I was new to romance reading and it's a wonder I kept reading the genre after this. The research is
halfbacked, the plot ridiculous, the heroine a twit, the
hero a jerk....don't waste your time.
I enjoyed the book!.......2002-07-08
I found it a very light & hot romance story. So what if it didn't go into a lot of the indian background! I found it a delightfull read and enjoyed every moment of it.
Horrible.......2002-05-17
Read this book if you can't find anything else to read. I have read a lot of Indian based books and I feel this is one of the worst that I have read. There was no background to the book. I did not laugh, cry, or have any emotion through out the whole book.
Savage Heat.......2000-03-17
I have read alot of books this one has to be one of the worst books I have read. It used words I know that were never used in the old west. white showdow finds he has a half brother that was taken away from his mother at birth and this brother is a bigot of the worst kind, he has lived with the whites for 30 years. His Indian mother kidnaps him and in a matter of a week or two he does a total about face he now loves the indians, excepts that he is half indian, he never tries to escape and he just excepts it all. Please give me a break. I was so glad to be done with this book. It is the fist of her books I have read and I don't know that I will try anymore anyone who can give this book a good review hasn't read any really good books.
Product Description
Multiple books shipped as one item for your convenience. Save on Shipping/Handling charges.
Average customer rating:
|
SAVAGE HEAT
RyN
Manufacturer: Dell Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JF9DHC |
Average customer rating:
|
Savage Heat
Nan Ryan
Manufacturer: A Dell Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000P1PX38 |
Average customer rating:
|
Savage Heat
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FVW282 |
Average customer rating:
- Still read it.
- Different than I expected.
- A worthwhile new direction for an SF star
- HUGE Disappointment
- I wish I could put in words why I loved this book.
|
Very Bad Deaths
Spider Robinson
Manufacturer: Baen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Hard-Boiled
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| Subjects
| Books
Robinson, Spider
| ( R )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Adventure
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Space Opera
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Hard-Boiled
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
( R )
| Authors, A-Z
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Adventure
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
All 4-for-3 Deals
| 4-for-3 Books Store
| Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Variable Star
-
The Crazy Years: Reflections of a Science Fiction Original
-
Callahan's Con (Callahan's Crosstime Saloon Series)
-
Off the Wall at Callahan's
-
User Friendly
ASIN: 141652083X |
Book Description
Aging baby-boomer Russell Walker wants only to retreat from the world and the shattering death of his beloved wife, into the woods of British Columbia. But the real world won't let him become a hermit. Instead, he finds himself thrust into the mystery of a series of mass murders by a monstrous sadist and serial killer who makes Hannibal Lector look like a boy scout. And he is caught in a frightening predicament: He is the only possible intermediary between a telepath called Smelly, so sensitive he can't stand to be near most people, and a skeptical police officer who needs to hear and believe what Smelly knows about the fiend. This involuntary trio may be the only ones who can catch the inhuman butcher before he kills again-if he doesn't catch them first.
Customer Reviews:
Still read it........2007-05-21
Anything by Spider Robinson is worth reading. The three stars are in reference to all the other stuff he has written, not compared to other books in general.
Having said that, I was a bit disappointed with this work. It seems more like the first shot in a proposed series than a work finished in Robinson's usual style. The premise is great, and it has Spider's usual touch in pointing out how bad telepathy would be for anyone accursed with it. The villian is classic Spider, too. Someone so evil, just so sociopathic, that it makes you want to retch takes a master touch to accomplish.
But I never felt like the book was really going anywhere. I felt like he got caught by a deadline halfway through his usual writing and had to finish before he was ready. The characters are beautifully crafted (as usual), and so real you want to meet them, but the plot seemed to sputter.
Anything by Spider Robinson is worth reading. His worst stuff is better than many authors' best. But I still felt like this wasn't his best effort.
Different than I expected........2007-01-12
This was quite a bit more down to earth than I expected. I had never read Spider Robinson before and with all the Heinlein comparisons, I expected very sci-fi material. This one isn't, really. It is more Dean Koontz or Stephen King (not horror as much as fantastic) with some Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware novels) thrown in for good measure.
In other words, it is a mystery novel with a character that has a supernatural power. Overall, it was a pleasant read and worth checking out. I'm curious to see what his more sci-fi oriented books are like.
A worthwhile new direction for an SF star.......2006-11-10
Very Bad Deaths is a new direction for SF writer and erstwhile columnist Robinson. It is set in the real world -- if you make the small concession that the real world might contain at least one highly sensitive telepath -- and goes into depth with the questions about sadism that he flirted with in Lady Slings the Booze.
Like the suspenseful and weird Lifehouse, this book is a chamber piece, with only four onstage characters, all believable and at least two lovable. Depending on how much the reader has thought about sadism, pain and fear, and what her or his own personal horrors are, this book could be interesting to terrifying. Myself, I had to phone a friend at 4 a.m. for comfort. But now I am reading the book a second time.
If you love Robinson and this doesn't sound like him, don't panic. And do give it a try.
HUGE Disappointment.......2006-10-16
I have been an avid Robinson fan for more years than I care to admit, but, sadly enough, he has come to the point of just filling pages up with words in order to be able to sell a book.
He starts out with a truly great premise and then wanders all over the known universe to tell it. A huge portion of this book is devoted to: describing the scenic wonders of British Columbia (nothing to do with the story); slamming the United States (nothing to do with the story); slamming the Canadian police (very little to do with the story); and extolling the virtues of marijuana use (absolutely nothing whatsoeverr to do with the story line.)
I learned that the world's best coffee maker is made in Switzerland. Why that was relevant to the story, I haven't a clue. One sentence mentions the killer started when he was eight years old. This, I wanted to know more about. Nope. Just that one line.
Sorry, Spidey, you've lost it. I won't be spending any more time wondering when your next book will be out and won't be spending any more money when it does. You now join the graveyard of authors who were once great, but now just hook words together. Very sad.
I wish I could put in words why I loved this book........2006-10-10
I consider this book one of Spider's best. Yes, Spider's heroes are often Spider-like. Heinlein's heroes were all some aspect of him too. And yes, Just like Heinlein's did, Spider's libertarian outlook permeates his fiction. But I don't know that I consider these faults, especially in the face of the book's virtues.
The story is ultimately a story of weak, nearly powerless people risking not just their own painful deaths but the pain of knowing they might well fail in sparing someone else's painful death in order to stop a very evil thing from happening. Is the villian or hero believable? Maybe, maybe not. (You should meet some of my friends!) But the SPIRITS of the heroes are true to the core of humanity Spider values so much in his species, and the villian is very much the antithesis of that same spirit. And that makes Very Bad Deaths a Very Good Book.
Product Description
This Audiofy audiobook chip packs Spider Robinson's full 7.5 hour reading of "Very Bad Deaths" on a tiny memory card. A single Audiofy audiobook chip, hardly larger than a stamp, holds a complete digital audiobook, and saves the last listening position automatically, unlike CDs. With an SD memory card slot or low-cost adapter - like those for digital cameras - this Audiofy audiobook chip can be played on Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh desktop computers or laptops (Microsoft Windows XP/2000/Me/98, or Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above) or transferred to Apple iPod media players. Audiobook chips also move seamlessly to most Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld PDAs with SD expansion slots, as well as Treo and Windows Mobile "smartphones" (Palm OS 5.2 or Windows Mobile 2002 and above)... The heartbroken recluse. . .The hardboiled cop. . .The walking wounded telepath. . .And the serial killer. Russell Walker retreats from the shock of his wife's death by becoming a hermit in the woods of British Columbia. There he finds himself thrust into a precarious role as intermediary- between a telepath called Smelly so sensitive he can't stand to be near most people-and Constable Nika, a skeptical police officer who needs Smelly's insight to track down a monstrous serial killer.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Library Bookwatch, published by Midwest Book Review on February 1, 2005. The length of the article is 385 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: Baen Books.(Very Bad Deaths)(Warp Speed)(Tinker)(The Far Side Of The Stars)(Conrad Stargard: The Radiant Warrior)(Book Review)
Publication:
Library Bookwatch (Newsletter)
Date: February 1, 2005
Publisher: Midwest Book Review
Page: NA
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thompson Gale
Book Description
A richly illustrated testament to the reemergence of the Goddess in the art and in the lives of contemporary women and men.
In this beautifully illustrated and far-reaching history. Elinor Gadon vividly weaves words and images to demonstrate the powerful connections between ancient and contemporary art, between the Goddess of the Ice Age and the Goddess of today.
This panoramic view of Goddess imagery extends from the prehistoric Goddess representations of Catal Huyuk, Malta, Avebury, and Crete, tot he more patriarchal images of the Sumerians, Greeks, and Christians, to the wide range of contemporary artists inspired by the Goddess, including Frida Kahlo, Mayumi Oda, and Judy Chicago.
Customer Reviews:
Super Info........2007-01-13
I am enjoying this book. It gives a lot of info on the Goddess that you wont find in any Wicca books.
Eye opener.......2006-09-09
The author does a great job in showing how the Goddess has always been worshipped through the ages even in the religons of Christianty and Judaism. She makes you rethink about your bielf system and opens your eyes to a bigger world. She gives women back their Divine spark and ownership of their spirituality!
Revolutionary and deeply spiritual.......2003-01-22
Packed with beautiful images revering and honoring the bodies and spirits of women as deities... a powerful, timely and necessary resource for women seeking to reclaim their own divinity in a world built around the assumption of women as the "root of all evil" and other assorted nonsense!
Fantastic for women/men wanting to reconnect spirit with bod.......1998-11-07
Beautiful history of goddess worship as it existed throughout prehistoric times, focused mostly on european. After describing artifacts and architecture in context, Gadon then shows how artistic and spriritual worship continues today in the same fashion. Chapter on the great earth goddess figures (mounds and excavations) is moving and materiel was entirely new to me. Profoundly touches on the issue of woman's body as goddess -- to simply take it for given, for over 400 pages, was enough to move me to another level of acceptance.
Books:
- The Complete Typographer
- The Cyclist: A Novel
- The Dragon Can't Dance (Karen and Michael Braziller Books)
- The Floating Opera and The End of the Road
- The Hearing Trumpet
- The Magic Life - A Novel Philosophy
- The Rock Orchard: A Novel
- The Rough Guide to Spain (Rough Guide Travel Guides)
- The Serpent in the Garden: A Novel
- The Testament of Yves Gundron
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- What Jesus Meant
- Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture
- Jackals In Iron
- Inside Hitler's Germany: A Documentary History of Life in the Third Reich
- Jewish as a Second Language
- Modeling Structured Finance Cash Flows with Microsoft Excel: A Step-by-Step Guide.Book & CD-ROM
- Prototype and Scriptaculous in Action
- Pere Goriot
- International Cooperation in Tax Matters: Report of the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Coo
- The Professional's Guide to Retirement Financial Management2000
