Book Description
Sardonic, subtle, and sweetly scathing,
Little Boys Come from the Stars is satire at its best. Set in an unnamed country in equatorial Africa, it tells the story of Michel, a precocious teen dubbed Matapari (“trouble”) because of his extraordinary birth. Though his father is a reclusive scholar, his mother a pious though confused Catholic, and his uncle a shameless opportunist determined to gain power in the shifting politics of their post-colonial nation, Matapari remains an unsullied child who wears Reeboks, drinks Coke, reads Japanese comics, and watches Rambo. But when his family becomes the nucleus of the revolution for democracy, Matapari proves to be the ideal narrator for this story of violent upheaval and bloody corruption–a voice whose ironic innocence makes bearable and even humorous the awful realities of the world it describes.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Satire of African Politics.......2004-11-02
Written from the comical first-person perspective of a 14-year-old boy in an unnamed Francophone African country (presumably Congo), this is one of the freshest and funniest novels to come out of Africa in recent years. Narrator Matapari is born several days after his twin brothers in mysterious and comical circumstances in 1980, exactly twenty years after his county's independence from France. Raised by his schoolteacher father and devoutly religious mother, he proves to be a precocious and intelligent child, keenly interested in the world around him. Although the family lives in a small village away from the capital, Matapari manages to bear witness to many of his country's crucial events. Through his eyes, the reader is told of his coming of age, but more importantly, the satirical political development of postcolonial Congo.
Matapari's entree to these events is his mother's brother, the shamelessly amoral Uncle Boula Boula, who manages to smooth-talk, fake, and bribe his way into a high echelon position in the pseudo-Marxist government (complete with a cult of personality Comrade President). Boula Boula's position leads to the village being selected as the site for the country's 30th independence celebration. Dongala unsparingly mocks the massive effort and expense laid out to build a huge stadium, an airport, luxury hotel and restaurant, solely for the three day party (predictably, a year later, all of these are crumbling and abandoned). Among the wonderful satirical episodes is one in which the children are assembled in the stadium so that the Great Leader demonstrates his power compared to that of God, and another in which a plan is announced to launch a gold-plated bust of the leader into orbit.
Another excellent episode occurs later, after his uncle has risen to the highest echelon of power. An agricultural fair is set up in order to promote the supplementing of the national diet with canned food (past due products imported from China by the Lebanese). Matapari and his father set up a stand using insects as food, but the top prize is given to Uncle's mistress (the former clerk of the village store). Later, the uncle is accused of treason and his hilarious and yet scary show trial is broadcast on television. This eventually so ires Matapari's father that he inadvertently sparks a popular uprising leading to democracy. Of course, this just provide further material for Dongala's satire of African politics, as the wacky antics continue into the new democratic era. Mixed in with the skewering of African politics are plenty of well-rendered vignettes of growing up, such as his love for Coca-Cola, his crush on the Lebanese merchant's daughter (who is sent away), power struggles with his two brothers, wisdom dispensed by his grandfather, and his intellectual development. An excellent book for those seeking African fiction that entertains as it provides a window into unfamiliar territory.
Average customer rating:
- hmm... not what youll expect
- I Liked it
- A Circus Freak and a Carnival Geek
- Early Nora
- Highly disappointing to a Nora Roberts fan
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Dream Makers: Untamed\Less Of A Stranger
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 General | Romance | Subjects | Books
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Paperback | Roberts, Nora | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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Similar Items:
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Dance of the Gods (The Circle Trilogy, Book 2)
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Morrigan's Cross (The Circle Trilogy, Book 1)
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Valley of Silence (The Circle Trilogy, Book 3)
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Dangerous: Risky Business\Storm Warning\The Welcoming
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Spellbound
ASIN: 0373285248 |
Book Description
Untamed
Jo Wilder had the heart of a lion and the temper of a wildcat. And when Keane Prescott crossed her path, she bared her claws. Jo was certain her charming new boss imperiled everything she cared for, but she couldn't deny the attraction between them. Though Keane's kisses left her breathless, it was his tenderness that threatened to tame her heart.
Less of a Stranger
Confident and colossally arrogant, David Katcherton swept into Megan Miller's life and awakened feelings that had long been lying dormant. But she wasn't about to fall for this irresistible stranger who was after her grandfather's business. As Katch challenged her to fulfill her dreams, he also aroused passions she'd never known before….
Customer Reviews:
hmm... not what youll expect.......2007-07-12
if youre a nora roberts fan this isnt one of the ones youll flock to. she plays it low key in this one. theres not the normal "romance" in this that you would find in the others. so if youre looking for a steamy read this really isnt going to tap that area. not bad though
I Liked it.......2007-04-02
I really did like this book. This wasn't the first collection of stories by Nora Roberts I've read, so don't think I'm an amateur at this by any means. This was a two-in-one collection, with one story being better than the last.
UNTAMED // this was a cute story about a lion trainer that had been devoted to the circus all of her life. Sadly, the owner of the circus dies, & to Jo's dismay, leaves it to his arrogant & uncaring son, Keane! *gasp* As the story goes on, Jo's hatred for Keane grows less & less...
LESS OF A STRANGER // I liked this more than the first, actually. It was a pretty entertaining read. This time the story circles around Megan & the man who tries to win her (& her grandfather's amusement park) over. His name is Katch, & he's a very charming man. At first, all Megan sees is cockiness & money, but as the story goes on, she finds herself SCULPTING him?! Wondering what I mean? Read the book. =]
So, I don't know. I liked it, & it served its purpose as a romance. It left me with a happy feeling, which it was supposed to do. I'm not easily won over, but this book did it.
If this happened to be the first Nora Robert's collection you read, I'd also recommend IRISH HEARTS (Irish Thorougbred & its sequel Irish Rose), IRISH DREAMS (Irish Rebel-the sequel to IT & IR & Sullivan's Woman), & IRISH BORN (three stories about the Concannon sisters; Born in Fire, Born in Ice, & Born in Shame).
A Circus Freak and a Carnival Geek.......2006-12-27
This is a collection of two of NR's older Silhouettes.
The first is the story of Jolivette (isn't that a prison near Chicago?), a lion trainer (don't you dare call her a tamer) in a traveling circus. She speaks dozens of languages, can fly through the air with the greatest of ease, has spunk, and is, of course, cute as a button. Keane, the new owner of the circus doesn't stand a chance. Too bad she hates him from the beginning. Or does she? (wiggle eyebrows here)
The second is the story of Meg, the sculptor who works in her grandfather's carnival in South Carolina. Katch wants to buy the carnival, and he wants to bed Meg. Insert much hot tension, but no resolution. For an 80's Silhouette, each of these stories are very innocent, in a charming way.
Both heroes are strong, dependable men who quickly realize just what they need (the heroines). Both heroines are emotionally reluctant orphans, self-reliant and strong, yet strangely vulnerable. The stories are firmly entrenched in early 80's Harlequin (parent of silhouette) rules - the man must be strong and overbearing; the woman must be fiery, strong, and independent, yet yield to the stronger boffo male in the end. Yet NR does put a bit of her own twists in (the men are slightly vulnerable and the women don't yield all, as they would in most harlequins of this time.)Both stories are decent, light NR, with shades and echoes of some of her greater, later works.
(*)>
Early Nora.......2006-12-22
I agree with the previous reviewer, however, the two stories are from Nora's early works. I did enjoy Untamed more than Less of a Stranger mostly because of the circus background. Both stories concentrated on girls who were extremely naive and had no self confidence and both stories portrayed rich, arrogant men. Of course it was purely romance and romantic, silly games and in the end, everything works out. Untamed centers around Jo Wilder and Keane Prescott and the circus and Less of a Stranger does the same with Meg Miller and "Katch" and an amusement park - Joyland. Readers have to keep in mind that this is not the "Nora" romance and suspense of today's novels. It is very light, kind of corny romance, but can be enjoyable if you don't want to think too much. These stories are just okay.
Highly disappointing to a Nora Roberts fan .......2006-10-27
If you consider yourself a fan of Ms. Roberts, prepare to be disappointed. Considering both of these stories are reprints, I expected that they wouldn't be quite on level with her more recent works, but still. The storyline was great and I loved what was described to me when picking up the book, but what bothered me the most and forced me to write this review was the characters themselves. The male main characters in both pieces are overbearing, extremely pushy with the female characters from the beginning (doing things that from most women would earn hatred and a hard slap), and, to me, unbelievable in their role. The women in each story fall into that horrible trap of being easily angered, "fiery tempered", supposedly strong yet naive women, who of course spout emphatic statements of refusals and dislike of the male characters, but in reality fall helplessly to the dominant males and spend most of the stories wondering what the male is thinking, when they will see them again, so on and so forth. Basically both stories read like bad teen dramas. If you like Nora Roberts as she writes today, please stay away from this awful combination and consider yourself lucky. If you would like some great reads by the author, by all means pick up her new cirlce trilogy starting with morrigan's cross...or any of her other trilogy's for that matter. She really is fabulous and if I hadn't been awed and inspired by so many of her other books, Dream Makers would probably not have been so bad, but Ms. Roberts is so much more than this. Every author is entitled to a mistake here and there and this apparently is one of hers.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointing, but readable.......2007-08-22
I picked this up as a recent reprint (2005ish) of one of Nora Roberts' first novels... and it showed. I was pretty disappointed with it, but then I realized it was first published in 1984, and I felt a bit more forgiving. Roberts' characters didn't have their usual presence or electricity, and it simply just wasn't anything special. Sad to say, it was a typical (albeit good) Harlequin. It was cute and cuddly and that was about it.
A decent book, but disappointing from Roberts.
Less of a Book.......2007-04-08
Less of a Stranger is about Megan Miller, a sculpter who helps run an amusement park with her grandfather, and David 'Katch' Katcherton, the man who wants to buy it.
While most of the heroes in romance novels are demanding, arrogant and somewhat controlling, that either doesn't last or they have some other redeeming qualities or something similar. Katch does not. He's arrogant, a jerk, a dictator, and not charming like it was said in the book. Does not make for a good 'hero' and you definitely cannot call him a hero. Keeping quiet about the things he has done, didn't ring true to his character and it doesn't even seem like he would do those things.
While I liked Megan well enough, I felt she was naive and let him get away with way too much. The way she let him talk to her, the way she let him and his sister bulldoze her into a showing, they could have at least asked first, isn't that common courtesy?
Even though this is an early Nora Roberts, you can see it's well-written and that is the only reason it's getting a two instead of one. Although I liked it less than msirishred, I agree whole-heartedly.
A Man Of Mystery........2006-06-05
Reminiscent of Rosemary Rogers' duo Steve Morgan and Virginia in 'Sweet Savage Love' back in 1974, this little paperback written a decade later brings back memories of that ill-matched couple. It was a success in hardback and has just now been re-released in paperback. After a while, David seemed less of a stranger to Megan, though he was a man of mystery keeping secrets from her. He'd insinuated himself into her life like young Brett did mine a few years back.
After six years of corresponding, the stranger became a non-entity as he wasn't real after all, only a vision composed of different personalities all dependent on the time of day. What a big let-down to fool an inexperienced woman in that way. The distinct separate personalities started coming out, and she felt as if there was definitely something wrong. It just didn't sound like him, then using all caps meant it couldn't possibly be the man she thought she knew.
Nora Roberts used to be one of my favorite writers until she started putting out pulp like this. With over two hundred million copies of her books in print and more than 87 N.Y.Times bestsellers (22 being #1 sellers), she is best in mainstream novels. Yet, these little romances sometimes have a place and a time. Let's ride the ferris wheel which goes round and round.
not the best of Nora Roberts.......2006-02-22
***This was a very quick read. I have to say that I didn't like Katch at the beginning and I only warmed up to him a little as the story progressed --his personality grated on me. The story-line was fairy-tale like but I didn't think that there was enough of it. I felt let down a few times as I believed that I was left hanging with gaping holes in the story. Granted this is an earlier work of Roberts and she has gotten better with time and experience. This would be a great beach book or plane read. It was good escapism reading but nothing really more than fluff. I was at a good place to read it as I just finished a heavier read and so this was a good choice for me at the time.
:0l.......2006-02-10
u have a cry baby on here BUT ANYWAY
....it was an ok book,its her ealier work so not all that hot but readable....
Average customer rating:
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From This Day, Gabriel's Angel, Less of a Stranger
Nora Roberts
Manufacturer: Silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General | Roberts, Nora | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
Paperback | Roberts, Nora | ( R ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000V1WOAM |
Product Description
From This Day: When B.J. Clark, the young and pretty manager of the Lakeside Inn, met the new owner, Taylor Reynolds, she was fully prepared to dislike him. For she feared, with good reason, that he planned to transform her sleepy old hotel into a resort for jet-setters. That sparks should fly between them was inevitable. But that these should be fanned by a mutual passion was not in her plans. Against all reason B.J. found herself torn between her professional antagonism and her growing attraction to the man she had sworn to despise.Gabriel's Angel: Laura Malone was an alluring angel whose fragile beauty belied the haunted look in her eyes and her fierce determination to keep her unborn child. She'd vowed never, never, to cling to another again, but with her mental and physical strength depleted, she'd needed a miracle. Then Gabriel arrived.Less of a Stranger: Cocky, confident and colossally arrogant, David Katcherton swept into Megan Miller's life and awakened feelings that had been lying dormant. Megan wanted no part of Katch, especially when she discovered he was after her beloved grandfather's business. But Katch was a man who never took no for an answer. And he's set his determined sights on Megan. Megan wasn't about to let herself fall for this irritatingly irresistible stranger who'd insinuated himself in her life. But there was more to Katch than she imagined and, as he challenged her to fulfill her dreams, he also aroused passions she'd never known before.
Product Description
This set has three stand-alone Nora Roberts titles that are not part of any series or trilogy.
Product Description
A Little Fate contains three tales: The Witching Hour, Winter Rose, and A World Apart
Product Description
Reprint editions of 3 classic Nora Roberts romances from Silhouette Books. Temptation, Less of a Stranger, & Sullivan's Woman.
Book Description
Terminal baptism, erotic performance art, and voodoo economics with actual voodoo are just a few of the subjects that James Morrow tackles with humor and sharp criticism in this book of science fiction stories. Other outlandish tales include John Wayne battling cancer using a highly alternative therapy, a gene for integrity being harvested from the brain of an unwilling donor, and the landing of Christopher Columbus in modern-day Manhattan. Included are the Locus and Nebula Award-nominated novelette Auspicious Eggs and several previously unpublished pieces.
Customer Reviews:
Great Satire........2006-01-02
I loved Morrow's Only Begotten Daughter, so I picked up this collection. Now, it's clear to me that Morrow is a gifted writer at any length. If you love satire with a bite, you'll love this book.
a book for book lovers.......2005-09-01
Everything about the Cat's Pajamas by James Morrow is first rate, from the teriffic stories to the exceptional cover art to the maroon and gold binding. I particularly enjoyed Morrow's sendup of shlocky horror movies shown late at night on weekend television, "Come Back, Dr. Sarcophagus" (an original to this collection). Fun fun fun.
Grand Satire.......2005-01-12
Jim Morrow is one of the few writers consistently writing effective satire in science fiction and fantasy. Fans of his novels will be delighted by this collection of his short work. If anything Morrow's grand conceits play better at shorter length: Alien races battling over philosophical differences; Columbus landing in a newer world than the one he discovered; sports fans who control the fate of nations. Morrow's work is not for the humorless or the unimaginative. He is science fiction's Swift; as a writer he is Gulliver among Lilliputians.
Has some problems.......2004-11-25
I have to agree with the reviewer who noticed this book's political slant. However, I'd like to mention something else about it. I got the impression that Morrow doesn't often venture far from the New York/Pennsylvania area, not only from the narrow viewpoints he expresses, but also because of some glaring geographical errors.
In "Isabella of Castille", Columbus sails his caravels from Manhattan to Hispaniola in a mere 6 days.
Even worse, in "Auspicious Eggs", a rant against the Catholic church, our protagonist priest lives on Boston Isle, created when global warming melted the polar ice caps. Yet he attended seminary on the Isle of Denver. Hmm. Boston Isle must be a pretty damp place. (This story also contains what appears to be some unintentional, given its tone, satire; when our heroes escape Boston looking for freedom from oppression, they cannot find any in the segmented communities of America; instead they set sail for that hotbed of freedom, Europe.)
Excusing these kinds of errors as "part of the satire" gives the author a pass to publish sloppy work.
James Morrow resumes!.......2004-08-19
After an agonizing abscence from the bookshelves James Morrow returns in force with a second collection of short stories. With both previously unprinted, hard to find and uncollected stories Jim has put together a fantastic collection of stories that can find any audience.
From his short plays to his fantastic imaginative narratives to his well disguised social commentaries and unyeilding satire this collection is a very worthy addition that will contribute to the cult legend of James Morrow.
the collection is a welcome sight to any Morrow hardcore fan that has been anxiously awaiting a new full length novel from him, and something in which the book jacket teases us and tempts our palette with the bombshell news that he has TWO novels waiting in the wings!
Until then, there's The Cat's Pajama's and other stories to abide our time.
Average customer rating:
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The Cat's Pajamas: and Other Stories
James Morrow
Manufacturer: Tachyon Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Anthologies
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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General
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Short Stories
| Science Fiction
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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ASIN: 1892391406 |
Book Description
Erotic performance art, terminal baptism, and voodoo economics with actual voodoo highlight this provocative collection of satiric short stories. These sharp, humorous tales detail the disastrous results of engineering an integrity gene, a bewildered Christopher Columbus landing in modern-day Manhattan, and sports fans revealed as the true heroes of our times. Original pieces include the play, "Come Back, Dr. Sarcophagus," and the short story, "Fucking Justice." Also featured is an original introduction by Terry Bisson, author of Numbers Don't Lie.
Customer Reviews:
Not Just for Completists.......2007-05-15
James Morrow is a gifted, funny writer, and this is immediately apparent in this collection's first short story, "The War of the Worldviews." But that lead-off story is SO good, this collection suffers from the same syndrome as a pop CD that's front-loaded with its best single: There's nowhere to go but down.
Don't get me wrong, most of the pieces in THE CAT'S PAJAMAS are eminently readable. But they are perhaps not Morrow's finest work. To continue the analogy, there is a feeling that some of this work are B-sides. I can't remember the last time I read a short story collection with three plays, for examples. Rather, they come across as a bit rough, a trifle obvious, particularly in "Auspicious Eggs" and "****ing Justice." (Hey, I see they spelled that title out in the editorial summary above!)
So, while this book is recommended and not just for completists, it is not the place to for readers new to this extraordinary writer to begin.
Also recommended: The Last Witchfinder: A Novel (P.S.)
Customer Reviews:
Miracle Worker.......2005-09-04
St. Anthony of Padua lived a truly remarkable life. The parallels between his life and the life of St. Francis of Assisi are uncanny. Both rejected the comforts of a noble upbringing for a life of solitude and service to God. St. Francis of Assisi was clearly a major influence on the life of St. Anthony.
Many recognize St. Anthony as the saint to pray to when things are lost as well as praying to him for safe travels. However, few people are familiar with the miracles performed by St. Anthony. So profound was his work, that the pope put his cannonization into progress within a year of St. Anthony's passing from this world. Whether converting pagans and muslims or raising the dead, nothing was impossible for this man who was clearly in the Lord's favor.
The printing of S.A.G. on letters invokes the saint's protection on letters and packages. This a small though popular way our lives are influenced by St. Anthony.
For those seeking to learn of the divine life of St. Anthony and his miracles, I would highly recommend this book. While the text is brief, the book is packed with information. The faithful should have difficulty stepping away from this read. It should be difficult not to find inspiration in reading this book. I would hope St. Anthony would guide my life in order that my work might be pleasing to the Lord. I would hope the same for other readers as well.
Average customer rating:
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The wonder worker: St. Anthony of Padua
Matthew
Manufacturer: Society of St. Paul
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Saints
| Catholicism
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B0007HWJYG |
Books:
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- Notes from the Underground, The Double and Other Stories (B&N Classics)
- Novels I of Samuel Beckett: Volume I of The Grove Centenary Editions (Works of Samuel Beckett the Grove Centenary Editions)
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