Amazon.com
Though most men had returned to their hometowns after World War II, few came back to the tiny village of Magrit, Minnesota. Irini, a nineteen year-old woman, works in the Scientific Kitchen at Margaret Mill, a cereal factory, with most of Magrit's other eligible bachelorettes. Hoping to promote his business and attract some suitors for his staff, the owner of the mill forms a women's baseball team called the Sweetwheat Sweethearts. Irini, who wields a fearsome throwing arm, strong from kneading bread dough, is the team's star center fielder and her successes, failures, and revelations on and off the ball field are endearingly recalled by her now grown daughter.
Book Description
As a rebellious daughter of the sixties recalls the year her mother played baseball in 1947, two luminous stories begin to unfold in America's heartland, one lived and one imagined. . . .
Customer Reviews:
A 1947 larger than life .......2004-08-20
Fowler's delightful second novel is the story of the magical, postwar summer of 1947 when the hometown soldiers never returned to the small town of Magrit and the young women formed a baseball team to find husbands - and prove the efficacy of breakfast cereal. Or is it?
The story is narrated by the now-middle-aged daughter of Irini Doyle, the Sweetwheat Sweetheart's home-run hitter and strong right arm. The narrator tells us right off that she prefers drama to fact and that her mother filtered truth through a generous spirit: " 'I'm just fine. You go and have a nice dinner,' were the last words she ever said to me."
So it's the daughter's story of her mother's youth, written from the vantage point of experience, disillusion, affection and love. "When my mother told it to me, it was a very short story. I have been forced to compensate not only for her gentle outlook, but also for her spare narration."
Magrit is a mill town, dominated since 1898 by Henry Collins, who drowned Upper Magrit (with the connivance of Lower Magrit, forever unforgiven) to build Margaret Mill, home of Sweetwheats breakfast cereal. An earnest, zany Kellogg-type, adhering steadfastly to scientific modernism, but just a beat behind, Henry is devastated when someone invents fishsticks before he thinks of it. "Fish so transformed that even children would eat it."
The idea for the baseball team comes after a Collins dinner party when Henry and his artistic, political wife Ada are waiting with Irini (present as server) for her drunken father to pick her up. The baseball idea is a diversion. Ada is diverting Henry from his enthusiasm for obtaining an ape on which to conduct nutrition studies; Henry is diverting Ada from her enthusiasm for unionizing the mill girls; both are diverting Irini from brooding about her father's undependability.
Not that Irini's father is mean or pathetic. A lonely widower since Irini's birth, he's the voice of caustic reason (very un-1947ish) and Irini is the apple of his eye.
While Irini's father taught her baseball, her spectacular arm was developed in the mill's Scientific Kitchen, kneading bread. Most of the Magrit girls work in the Kitchen where foods are tested to the strict standard of fictional Maggie Collins, the housewife-heroine whose advice goes out to women world-wide in the company magazine "Women At Home."
Fowler peppers her narrative with Maggie's tips. "To prevent snow from sticking, cut an onion in half and run it over the windshield of your car." Women write to her poignantly of war losses and family triumphs. Maggie responds with cheer and practical advice for women heading back into kitchens everywhere.
But something is happening to Maggie. Sabotage in the form of phallic fruit salads, and rebellious encouragement of women who love women, who gain weight with abandon, who lift their eyes beyond the kitchen.
Meanwhile, the Sweethearts are playing baseball, coached by Walter Collins, the patriarch's grandson and Irini's unappreciated beau. They're playing 11-year-olds and drunken louts - and losing. Of course, women should lose at baseball if they want husbands but none of them are pleased.
Their bus passes an old farm truck and the driver yells something. "It was 1947, so it never entered their heads it might be something rude." Along with Maggie's tips this is another Fowler refrain. "It was 1947 so if you caught a fish you could eat it." "It was 1947 so who knew alcoholism was genetic?"
Fowler's characters - her narrator's characters - are small town girls but larger than life. There's Tracey, doggedly average but supremely self-confident; Sissy, sweetly dimwitted but with surprising strength of character; Fanny, the leader and the vamp.
Fowler ("Sarah Canary") has fun with comic stereotypes, creating a starry-eyed nostalgia, gently undercut with loneliness and the turning worm. The narrator's voice is perfect - ironic but affectionate, looking back on a mother's story she can only imagine:
"You would do well therefore to keep always in mind that this is a story told by two liars. It is possible, our fictional impulses being so opposite, that we may arrive together at something clear-eyed and straightforward....If this happens it will be by accident. It is not my intention. I will go so far as to say I would consider it a disappointment."
"The Sweetheart Season" is a grand slam of a novel.
Worth the effort?.......2002-11-17
This book was chosen by a member of my book club for its November selection, and we were given the book in ample time. For some reason I found myself delaying getting around to it----the title wasn't particularly appealing, and the cover (on the Ballantine paperback) certainly is not attractive. I made a number of attempts to get into it and found myself falling asleep again and again, each time having to go back and start from scratch. I even made a list of the characters which I reviewed each time I began, but that didn't help much either.
For the most part I found the characters not well-fleshed out, not believable, and not very interesting. Overall, it seems to me written in an unnecessarily confusing way, requiring a lot of work on the reader's part to clarify what the author is really saying. The "conversation with the author" (included in my copy) is more interesting than the book itself.
After finishing the book I went to Amazon.com to check editorial reviews and found that Kirkus expressed my reactions pretty well with the following comment: "sluggish though skillful." Too much so to bother with unless you have a compelling responsibility to bother with it.
Ironic, knowing, thoroughly enjoyable.......2000-08-26
The Sweetheart Season concerns a small town in northern Minnesota, Magrit, home to a grain mill and an associated cereal business. It is set in 1947. The viewpoint character is Irini Doyle, though the story is told in the "voice" of her daughter, retelling Irini's story from a present day perspective. Irini lives with her alcoholic father (her mother is dead), who is a research chemist at the cereal company. Irini works in the Research Kitchen of the cereal company. The other characters are her co-workers (all women) in the Kitchen, as well as the company founder, his wife, and his grandson, and a few other local women.
The main action of the novel revolves somewhat loosely around a promotional scheme of the founder: the girls at the company form a baseball team, which barnstorms through Minnesota and Wisconsin, purportedly demonstrating the nutritive benefits of the company's cereal by their success. Several other narrative threads are woven into the story: the writing of a continuing promotional kitchen/life advice column by the fictional Maggie Collins, a sort of Betty Crocker-type spokesperson for the cereal company; the antagonism between the former residents of Upper Magrit (submerged to make the mill) and Lower Magrit (where everyone now lives); the involvement of the mill owner's wife with Gandhi and the Indian independence movement; the efforts of the local women to find love and husbands in a town left nearly male-free by the war; and a mysterious (young, male) visitor to Magrit. All of these threads are well-integrated with the novel's theme, as I read it: essentially: the nascent "Women's Liberation" movement, though that over-simplifies: but the focus on the "Kitchen", yet in the context of women who are all working, and playing a nominally male sport, combined with the ironic voice of the present day narrator, and the ironic-in-this-context quotes from Maggie Collins' women's magazine advice column, quite nicely merge to make simple, true, statements about the position of women in 1947, and in our time.
The female characters are very well drawn, and almost invariably engaging. A couple of the male characters come off as ciphers, but the portraits of Irini's father, and of old Henry Collins, the mill owner, are very good. Fowler's prose is clean and elegant. Her narrative voice is a delight: ironic, affectionate, knowing, often very funny. One brief quote, from one of Maggie Collins' advice columns, meant to be read in the context of the decision to form a baseball team: "Polls have recently confirmed what has long been suspected; most men do not want brainy women. Stewardesses have turned out to be that occupation blessed most often with marriage. The key elements appear to be uniforms and travel."
I wouldn't rank The Sweetheart Season quite as highly as Fowler's first novel, Sarah Canary. At times the usually wonderfully controlled ironic voice turns a little shrill. At times she drives home a point unnecessarily: it is sufficient to show us the evidence, or to leave an ironic statement alone for the reader to interpret. Also, I was completely unable to believe the resolution of one of the plot threads. However, the book as a whole is thoroughly enjoyable, and says a lot of worthwhile things about the place of women in our society, especially about how (and, I suppose, why) it changed in the years during and after World War II.
Too Clever By Half.......2000-07-16
There's no doubt that Ms. Fowler is a talented writer. Her problem, I think, is that she is so captivated by her own abilities that she scarecely lets the reader appreciate them for himself. I, for one, found the constant interventions of the narrator and her leaning on the reader to be both repetitive and annoying. The story itself is told in about twice the time it should take and with the exception of Irini, her father, and Ruby Redd, none of the characters are fully realized for me. This is particularly and sadly true of Ada who is mostly caricature, but meant -- I think -- to be sympathetic. Keeping the members of the Sweethearts straight was a major task. On the plus side, this is a fine rendering of America just after WWII and is pretty funny in many parts; the humor of the letters and the recipes tucked in between the story is especially fun. A talent at work surely, but too much intent on displaying itself to make the world of the fiction fully realized. One time to pay attention to the narrator: when she tells you to skip the last four pages, do so.
Sweetwheats, Sweethearts, Sweet Book.......2000-05-05
I stumbled upon this book quite by accident, but I am glad I did. This was a genuinely sweet coming of age story set just after WWII. The plot centers around a cereal factory in a small Mid-Western town and the girls who work in the company's test kitchens. It reminds us of a simpler time when life moved a good bit slower. The characters are all very well developed and the descriptions are fantastic. This book is a nice way to pass a lazy afternoon.
Average customer rating:
- Magic
- Bookwyrm Chrysalis Review
- A Good Book.......but lacking something
- Greatly Dissapointed
- Solid historical fiction for teens
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A Countess Below Stairs
Eva Ibbotson
Manufacturer: Puffin
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ASIN: 0142408654
Release Date: 2007-05-10 |
Book Description
After the russian revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young russian countess, has no choice but to flee to england. penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the household of the esteemed westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties—not to mention her instant attraction to rupert, the handsome earl of westerholme. to make matters worse, rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there's the small matter of rupert's beautiful and nasty fiancée. . . .
Customer Reviews:
Magic.......2007-08-29
Born into an aristocratic family in tsarist Russia, Anna Grazinsky was lavished with affection and material wealth. As her father freely admitted, he spoiled her--yet she remained unspoiled. Anna's life of privilege ended with the war and the Bolshevik Revolution that took her beloved father's life and forced Anna to flee with her mother and younger brother to the relative safety of England. Betrayed by the family nurse who absconded with the family jewels the Grazinskys were going to use to support themselves, they were forced instead to share the small living quarters of Anna's devoted English governess.
Determined to do her bit to help with the family's expenses, Anna takes a temporary job as a maid at the country estate of the Earl of Westerholme. The senior staff at Mersham is reluctant to take on the obviously unsuitable foreigner, but they are desperate for the help. The war has left them short-staffed and the new earl himself is soon to return to take up residence after years at the front and a long hospital convalescence. With an overly large and ridiculously outdated housekeeping manual for her reference, Anna is fervent in her new duties, although she is nearly overcome by the sheer physical strain, lack of hygiene, and loneliness. But the tight-knit group quickly takes to the radiant Anna, and she to them.
When the house is readied and the young earl himself arrives, he too is intrigued by the mysterious maid. His initial interest does not distract him from his immediate purpose, however. While he recovered from his war wounds, he was nursed back to health by an angel of mercy. The angel was not only exquisitely beautiful, she was also wealthy enough to save the Westerholme estates from the crippling death taxes that threatened them with financial ruin. The earl would marry his angel and fortunes would be restored.
But all would not remain well for Rupert, the earl. Muriel, the angel, had a dark side. Unlike Anna who was spoiled yet remained unspoiled, Muriel was spoiled and turned rotten to the core--evil, ungrateful, manipulative behind a lovely façade. Gradually, her actions and beliefs alienated almost everyone around her even as her physical beauty continued to entrance them. Rupert's friends, family, and even servants began to despair for him, knowing that he was too much of a gentleman to back out an increasingly odious arrangement. And, to make matters worse, even as he stood at the edge of the abyss with Muriel, Rupert could only snatch glimpses of a forbidden heaven with Anna.
This is a beautiful, magical book. Once I picked it up, I read it in one sitting. I loved the descriptions of postwar England--complete with the fascination with the occult, the rise in the "study" of eugenics, the ugliness of anti-Semitism, decline of the aristocracy, etc. I also enjoyed the look at life downstairs at large country house--how the servants reacted to Anna's mistake about the reference to the "tweeny," for instance--that was a subtlety that was beyond me before reading this book. I was also mesmerized by the beautiful, romantic love story between Rupert and Anna. By today's standards, of course, it was a very chaste love story, but it was so very sweet. And, I should actually say *stories* because the Tom/Susie courtship was a wonderful secondary storyline.
Truly, tho, not to give short shrift to any of these things, or even the Honorable Olive, what I liked most were the brief descriptions of émigré life and how the Russian nobility coped with their new lifestyles. It brought back memories of watching Anastasia or Ninotchka/Silk Stockings. In reality, life probably wasn't a grand adventure, but you had to admire Anna, Sergei, Kira and the others for accepting their new lot and still embracing life for all it was worth.
* * * * * *
I think the difficulty that some readers might have with this book is that it is hard to categorize. What kind of book is it and who is the intended audience? Even after reading it, it still wasn't clear to me. At times it reminded me of a Nesbitt book, but it wasn't really a children's or YA book. On the other hand, there was a fantastical naivete that didn't quite place it in the adult realm. I think the reader just needs to suspend any preconceptions and enjoy the wonderful magic Ms. Ibbotson weaves.
Bookwyrm Chrysalis Review.......2007-08-12
Anna and her family flee war torn Russia during the revolution to seek salvation in England, leaving behind the riches they knew as members of the extended Russian royal family. Many of the former aristocracy of Russia settle down as servants to the British gentry, and Anna decides to take a job as serving girl so that her brother can go to school. She doesn't tell her family her plans, as her brother would refuse to go to school if he knew she had to work as a servant to keep him there. At the new manor house, everyone can tell that Anna is not of servant stock, but with a warm smile and deep courtesy (and armed with a very outdated housekeeper's guide), she manages to win her way into a job and quickly shows that it doesn't matter what her breeding, she can and will work hard.
Once at the manor house, she meets the young earl for whom she works and of course love is in the air. Unfortunately, he has brought a fiancée home from the war with him, a young woman named Muriel who is determined to make the world a perfect place through eugenics, which is the practice of selective breeding (see extras for more details). A love triangle ensues, but it's not hard to tell who will end up with whom, as the heroine always gets the guy in a tale like this.
This book was one of those predictable, fluffy books that is still somehow a charm to read because of the language and characters. The heroine is too good, the rival is too evil and silly, but I found myself enjoying every page anyway. The portrayal of Russian royalty on the run from the Russian Revolution is absolutely believable, and Ibbotson's descriptions make the world come alive. Russian history and culture are things I never really studied, but have always been interested in, so I found the book fascinating on that factor alone.
A cozy book, A Countess Below Stairs is rather predictable and will appeal to readers of Meg Cabot and Sharon Shinn. Setting and descriptions will draw the reader away for a few hours as they are immersed in post WWI England and the manor house's society. Plotwise, this book is nothing extraordinary, a fairytale mixed with reality, and it's not a fantasy book in the most pure sense. It's more along the lines of Ever After or Just Ella - explaining a classic fairytale with how it could have happened in a world without obvious magic.
Anna is an adorable character, and you could never wish her ill will, but she also strikes me as a little too good. A few of the characters love to talk about her glowing aura, and Anna is set up as the kind of person you only meet once or twice in your life, the kind of girl so utterly nice that you can't help but dislike her because you look so horrible in comparison. Other reviewers describe her as feisty, but I simply can't see where they would get that from. She just accepts everything that happens and moves on with her life, whether it's in a palace or servants' quarters. A bit too much like Disney's Cinderella for me to truly care about her.
My biggest problems with this book were its predictable nature (sometimes it was a bit too obvious) and the main villainess, Muriel, the fiancée. Now, I think she could have been a believable character, and the motivation of eugenics and wanting to create a perfect world could have worked, yet there was no reason to empathize with her, and I didn't feel the reader could find a common ground with her or her beliefs. Petty and jealous, the villainess was set up to be the exact opposite of the heroine, but not in a well developed way. It's just another love triangle where there is only one obvious choice and the hero/ine spends waay too much time debating over a choice they will obviously make in the end without regret.
A Good Book.......but lacking something.......2007-08-09
i really did like this book, but i felt that it was lacking something. the subject an plot are intriging, but this book needs more feeling. i felt as though i did not have an understanding of the main characters. it is a gripping plot, but could be so much better!
Greatly Dissapointed.......2007-08-06
I was greatly dissapointed by this book because of the lack of fullness in characters. They seemed like hollow shells of perfection, each having a beautiful face, but with nothing going on inside them. I found that each character didn't seem to have any flaws in there character and I also found that a girl raised to be a countess would not want to or be able to keep up with the constant hard labor of servants to an estate. Many of the characters had a disability of some sort, such as an invalid relative to take care of, or a crippled leg, but these didn't seem to have any effect on how they lived and it didn't seem to effect their minds at all. Although this is listed as a "romance" type novel, there was no chemistry between the main characters Anna Grazinsky and Rupert, and I didn't believe anything that happened in the last 1/5 of the book. Over all, this book is not one that I would recommend for readers.
Solid historical fiction for teens.......2007-07-05
Ibbotson is a talented author whose work is equally appropriate for teens as it is adults. This book was published for teens, seeing as I'm 23 and that I enjoyed the book and it read like something from Charles Dicken's times, adults will enjoy this read just as much.
As for the story itself, I found the Russian revolution during the time of Czar Alexander's ending reign circa 1920 a very promising storyline. Anna Grazinsky flees with her mother, brother and loyal servant to England after the Russian government is overthrown. Now penniless in England, their fortunes stolen by one of their own prominent family servants, Anna goes to find work. Once near royalty, she now serves as a maid for the new Earl of Westerholme, who is home from the war after accumulating wounds. With Anna now a servant in a country house, things go topsy-turvy for the servants and the earl's family alike as they adjust the the enigmatic russian girl who brings new life to a home once shadowed in sadness.
There's slight romance but overall I felt that the story was ultimately about Anna coping with the needs to support her family and rise from the tide that had nearly destroyed her family. The writing style - as I said- is very classic, and certainly adds to the historic period depicted by the author. I give it a solid 4 stars for being a pleasing read with a pleasing outcome but a tad slow towards the middle.
My other recommendations: Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier for those who like fanciful flights from reality, Cameron Dokey
Average customer rating:
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A Countess Below Stairs
Eva Ibbotson
Manufacturer: Ulverscroft Large Print Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Ibbotson, Eva | ( I ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000NX0BZI |
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Un Destino de una Condesa/ A Countess Below Stairs (Best Seller)
Eva Ibbotson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8497930703 |
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A Countess Below Stairs
Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 9992062266 |
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A Countess Below Stairs
Eva Ibbotson
Manufacturer: Random House of Canada, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Ibbotson, Eva | ( I ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000OKS1HU |
Average customer rating:
- nice way of looking at earth 2
- My first Huntress
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Huntress: Dark Knight Daughter (Huntress)
Paul Levitz
Manufacturer: DC Comics
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ASIN: 1401209130 |
Customer Reviews:
nice way of looking at earth 2.......2007-06-26
good stroy line and like the intro letter as well it has a nice ending sequence.
My first Huntress.......2007-02-15
I was so angry with DC when the Crisis killed off Helena Wayne. She was my favorite character, and since I'd grown up wishing I was Batman's daughter... While I enjoy Helena Bertinelli, I am constantly wishing she was the original Huntress. I still miss her.
Bring her back DC. There's room for alternate Earths!
Customer Reviews:
A great introduction to the Huntress.......2006-11-30
Writer Greg Rucka scores a direct hit with the exceptional BATMAN/HUNTRESS: CRY FOR BLOOD. Actually, this is not a Batman story, as he only makes occasional appearances to help further the plot. This tale puts Helena Bertinelli, the Huntress, front and center, recounting her origin as she seeks out the killer of a family member, with assistance provided by the Question, Nightwing, Robin, and a thankfully in-continuity Richard Dragon. An important fact about Helena's family is that they are also "Family" - this plays a big part in her pursuit of the killer as she comes upon harsh revelations about other members as well as herself. Rick Burchett, illustrator of Batman Adventures, provides superb artwork that is strongly influenced by the DC animated style while incorporating a more detailed finish. This is THE book to learn about the post-Crisis Huntress and learning her connections to other characters in the DC Universe. I had no real understanding of this versioin of the character, but CRY FOR BLOOD fixed that and provided an excellent story to boot.
As Good as the Batman Books by Loeb and Sale.......2005-03-26
This book needs more recognition. This is as good as Loeb and Sale's Batman books (The Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Haunted Knight, buy these!). However, this isn't REALLY a Batman book, he's a minor supporting character.
Huntress is front and center here. We get a great crime story and her origin story too. Rucka's writing has a great forward motion to it, you want to keep reading. The artwork is nice too, a classic style, not overly stylized or cartoon-y.
This is great background material for future Huntress appearances in the DC Universe. Check out the latest Birds of Prey TPB "Sensei and Student" - the best BoP book so far, Gail Simone has rescued that title. Also check out the Nightwing/Huntress book - this book got a lot of bad press because the two main characters sleep together. Who cares?!? It's still a great book.
Back to this book...
My one complaint is the presence of The Question, a pretty dull character. Rucka did his best to make something of him.
Still, a fun/gritty/character-driven/action-packed read. BUY IT!!!
Great Crime Story.......2004-05-13
This is not a batman book. Although there is batman in the story. This is not a super-hero book. Although there are many super-heros (robin III, nightwing, oracle, Question?).
This is the crime story. Period. Art is not top-notch but not hurt the story either. And writing of "Greg Rucka" really really shine here. Before this, I haven't read Greg Rucka before. But after this, I am looking out for his other works.
This TPB is rather thin and I wish it was thicker with more stories thrown in. Anyway, the story will keep you on the edge from start to finish. This book can be read as stand alone if you don't know anything about Gotham City, batman or huntress. But if you know, it is added bonus. It is past No-Man's Land in Gotham City timeline and Huntress is trying to leave her one night stand with Night Wing behind.
Well, the story is not profound. But it will sure make you hook just like good crime stories. If you like 100 Bullets kinda crime stories and God Father like movies, this TPB is for you.
Rucka Rocks.......2003-03-15
.
Batman is a classic hero, one of the best.
Huntress is an anti-hero, also one of the best.
And Greg Rucka...well, he's the best. The best writer working in mainstream comics, that is, as well as a damn fine writer of suspense fiction. I've always loved Batman and the Huntress, but Rucka was the reason I picked this up.
It's a tale of realistic gangsters, not supervillains. It has in-depth characters with complex motivations and emotions. It also has one of the best little-known DC heroes, The Question, a man with no face who walks the mean streets looking for answers to...well, to everything, always ready with a bit of kung fu when needed.
I saw one of the other reviews compare this to "The Long Halloween." Frankly, I think TLH is radically overrated, and a hodgepodge of vignettes with mostly no actual connection. It also lacks humanity, by which I mean it doesn't present any characters in a way that makes you really care what happens to them. Interesting, yes. Great, uh-uh.
This book is far better than "The Long Halloween." But hey, it's Greg Rucka. And as good as Jeph Loeb is, he's not on Rucka's level, not yet.
A Classic.......2002-12-09
This is the book that made me a Huntress fan.
It really is a very good book and definitely proves that Greg Rucka is currently one of the best writers in comic books today. I love it so much I pick it up time and time again to read. I disagree and think that his best writing is in mainstream comics as opposed to independents because there are certain topics which have to be handled carefully and requires much more fines, than simply using the bull in the China shop approach. He is one of the best things that ever happened to DC comics.
Helena Bertinelli is the daughter of a former mob boss who witnessed the execution of her entire family before her eyes as a child. Now all grown up she has embarked on a one woman quest to wipe out the mob in Gotham. She gets framed for a murder and has to figure out who did it. In the process she finds out something very shocking about herself as well as why she survived the massacre on her family.
In the usual Rucka fashion he looks into the demons and what drives Helena/Huntress. And forces her to examine herself, and what she is running away from. One of the reasons I love Rucka's treatment of the character is that she is nuanced. Other writers often portray her simply as an angry woman with a chip on her shoulder. But Greg Rucka doesn't. But Rucka shows her to be much more than that. Which is great since people are not that simplistic. The common stereotype of Huntress is that she's "crazy". Nothing could be further from the truth. Helena Bertinelli is a very sane, intelligent and lucid woman-her problem is that she has a little problem with anger. And as the story progresses you see why she is so angry. Not only as a result of her life experience. But as a way of sheltering her heart from being hurt. When you look at it Huntress and Batman are essentially two sides of the same coin. The only difference is that Batman implodes his anger and she explodes it.
Huntress secretly craves the approval of Batman (who inspired her) and longs to be a part of his inner circle. But not at the cost of betraying who she is. She senses that Batman & co. do not approve of her---and she wants to be accepted for who she is. There is also the simple fact that Huntress and Batman do not get along because they have the exact same personality, and get on each others nerves. Watching them interact is often amusing as they fight almost like an old married couple.
Unlike other comic book heroines whom I like (such as the X-men's Storm, Psylocke and Emma Frost or the Wildcats Zealot) Huntress is not the kind of woman I would like to be. She is the kind of woman I am right now. She's flawed but has a very good heart and tries to do what is right in her own way. She also has a strong sense of pride and self-respect which drive her. This all makes her much easier to relate to.
I would also like to mention the dialogue in this book, it is much more every day and realistic. Such as the back and forth banter (flirtation) between Huntress and the Question.
What Rucka does with Huntress in this book is awe-inspiring. This surely is one of the best stories in the Batman books and is destined to be a classic.
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 574 May 1987
Mike W. Barr
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NXIQ00 |
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 579 Oct 1987
Mike W. Barr
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
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| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NXMGGK |
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 580 Nov 1987
Mike W. Barr
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NXMI68 |
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 581 Dec 1987
Mike W. Barr
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
| Media
| Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
Batman
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| Comics & Graphic Novels
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B000NXMJS0 |
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 652 Oct 1992
Chuck Dixon
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
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| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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| Books
Batman
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| Comics & Graphic Novels
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ASIN: B000NZ1B6O |
Average customer rating:
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Batman Detective Comics No. 653 Nov 1992
Chuck Dixon
Manufacturer: DC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic
Batman
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| Science Fiction & Fantasy
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| Books
Batman
| Characters
| Comics & Graphic Novels
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| Books
ASIN: B000NZ6QWS |
Book Description
This book is packed with twenty-first-century lessons and practices, highlighting real-life success stories from the African-American church experience. Here the strengths of the African-American church are celebrated, and its best practices explored through the study of large and small churches alike. Half of the chapters in High Impact African-American Churches feature African-American history from the inception of slavery to present day, revealing the influences that have shaped these churches. Readers from any church, in any culture, will learn specific steps they can take and apply to their own churches, achieving successes similar to those found in the African-American Church.
Customer Reviews:
Jackson/Barna Mix is Great.......2006-10-02
I think this book is a great reference for church leaders of all races. The information is insightful, the examples are inspiring, the stats are revealing. What appeals to me most is how it covers topics that most Christian leaders deal with and yet gets deep enough to give some take-aways.
A little dry, but very insightful.......2005-04-01
This book does a great job of showing the differences between predominately white churches and predominately black churches. A real eye-opener for this Caucasian ministry professional. I learned a lot!
Nothing Could Be More Wrong!.......2005-02-26
This book has one redeeming quality. It informs those who are serious about the historic Christian faith that our struggles against pragmatism and relativism is an ardent struggle. Barna and Jackson have used their platform to commend as "effective" examples of "successful" churches those churches that are theologically erroneous and philosophically faulty. The book is wrought with inconsistencies and contradictions. Yet this is to be expected when you commend as paradigms for gospel ministry those churches where the gospel is not proclaimed. As an African-American, pastor, preacher and student of theology, I am appalled to read that the standard of Biblical preaching and pastoral ministry are men (and unfortunately women) who have no historical, theological reference or foundation. If you read this book (I hope you borrow it from someone and not buy it yourself), I challenge you to find the theology and/or biblical foundations for men like Eddie Long, Creflo Dollar, TD Jakes, Charles Blake, et al. The theology of these men is not to be commended. Therefore, neither are their ministries to be commended. And since this book commends to you these men and others of their kind, this book is not to be commended either.
High Impact African American Churches-Uncovered.......2004-11-12
This is a well written book that had me captivated from the beginning. Growing up in a predominately African American city as an AA female and belonging to an AA church most of my life, this book put into words what I have believed and thought was true.
Harry Jackson and George Barna did an excellent job in researching and depicting the best practices of these AA churches across the USA in various denominations. The statistics are staggering regarding how much we as a group of people engage in spiritual matters such as reading our Bibles, going to church, talking about God,as opposed to our counterparts. On the flip side though it was also sobering to see the statistics that we as a group of people also have a high rate of out-of-wedlock babies, fatherless homes, etc.
This book caused me to reflect on these statistics and it brought many questions and also created a desire to see our lifestyle become congruous with our faith.
Churches of all denominations, racial and ethnic backgrounds can and should draw from the best practices of these high impact AA churches so that we can one day truly become "the church".
Two Thumbs Up!.......2004-09-30
High Impact African American Churches is a must read. The teaming insight of both George Barna, the Gallup of the Christian world and Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr., a leading pastor, author and prophetic voice of ethics and morality in America, is a wonderful combination.
This book is an important book for all those interested in faith (Black, White, Latino, or Asian). Why? Because there are many valuable lessons to be learned from the historic and rich base of faith and power within the African American church in America and all are within his book. The stats alone in this book will turn most of your thinking on its head! High Impact African American churches is a must read for all!
Mike Paul
New York, N.Y.
Books:
- The Task of This Translator
- The Tidewater Tales (Maryland Paperback Bookshelf)
- The Turquoise Ring
- The Ya-Ya Boxed Set
- Therese Desqueyroux (Sheed & Ward Book)
- This Blinding Absence of Light
- Tinisima
- To Die in Spring: A Rebecca Temple Mystery
- Too Beautiful for You: Tales of Improper Behavior
- Tornado Siren
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Wide Open: Inspiration & Techniques for Art Journaling on the Edge
- The Baby Bistro Cookbook: Healthy, Delicious Cuisine for Babies, Toddlers, and You
- MAD - Cover to Cover: 48 Years, 6 Months, & 3 Days of MAD Magazine Covers
- New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy in Eighteenth-Century Manhattan
- Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town!
- Schaum's Outline of College Chemistry
- So Far from the Bamboo Grove
- Recreational Terror: Women and the Pleasures of Horror Film Viewing
- How to Be # One With Your Boss: How to Keep Your Job Longer and Enjoy It More
- YALE DAILY NEWS WORKING KNOWLEDGE
Sister Noon
Sarah Canary
Black Glass: Stories (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
The Jane Austen Book Club
A Thread of Grace
