Average customer rating:
- Best collection of short stories I've read in years. . .
- Funnier than Ecclesiastes
- An imaginative and entertaining collection of stories.
- Extraordinary debut collection
- Some dazzling writing--a promising first collection
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The Task of This Translator
Todd Hasak-Lowy
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
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ASIN: 0156031124 |
Book Description
Stylistically daring, morally perplexing, and outrageously funny, Todd Hasak-Lowy's The Task of This Translator marks the debut of a writer of extraordinary talent. In these seven stories, Hasak-Lowy captures the absurdity that often arises when very personal crises intersect with global issues such as ethnic violence, obesity, and the media.
A journalist sets out to write an investigative piece on a dieting company that uses bodyguards to protect overeaters from themselves but loses his bearings when he becomes a client and is paired up with a bodyguard of his own. In the coffee shop of Israel's Holocaust memorial museum, a stale pastry triggers a brawl between an American tourist and the Israeli cashier. A man misplaces his wallet shortly before a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan. An unwilling and mostly unqualified slacker finds himself cast into the role of translator for the bitter reunion of a family torn apart years earlier by unspecified brutality.
A standout story collection, The Task of This Translator is funny, intricate, and deeply human.
Customer Reviews:
Best collection of short stories I've read in years. . . .......2006-04-15
This is one of the best collections of short stories that I've read in years, if not in my entire life. Todd Hasak-Lowy, in these seven stories, displays remarkable range - both in theme and in style. His writing is fast-paced and vibrant, and one can easily get lost in the tiny and often melancholy worlds that his characters inhabit. He has a remarkable eye for detail - his prose often borders on cinematic (and often mimics the cinematic, as in the fight scene in the title story) - and a great sense of irony not often found in authors of short fiction. Hasak-Lowy is also a very funny author: I laughed out loud so many times reading this collection that I lost count.
This collection contains the following stories:
"On the Grounds of the Complex Commemoration the Nazis' Treatment of the Jews" - An out-of-work Israeli journalist, making ends meet in the coffee shop at Yad Vashem, gets into a disagreement with an American businessman over a stale pastry.
"Will Power, Inc." - A graduate student in cultural anthropology writes an artical for a local weekly newspaper on a new company of "diet-enforcers" that caters to the wealthy and obese. Had I not known that this was Hasak-Lowy's writing, I would have sworn it had been written by David Foster Wallace.
"The End of Larry's Wallet" - Three things happen: 1) A guy named Larry, recently divorced and about to lose custody of his daughter, loses his wallet. 2) India and Pakistan trade nuclear weapons, resulting in the death of millions of people on the Indian subcontinent. 3) Dr. Hasak-Lowy gets into a debate, hosted by TEd Koppel, with the leader of an Indian-American anti-defamation group about his depiction of Indians and Pakistanis in his short story "The End of Larry's Wallet."
"The Interview" - A recent graduate of the Kellogg business school at Northwestern interviews for a position in the marketing department of an office-supply design company. Very funny piece.
"The Task of this Translator" - In my mind, the best piece in the book. A recent college graduate in need of funds agrees to be a personal translator for a man from a country whose language he does not speak.
"Raider Nation" - A graduate student studying Marxist literary theory makes friends with a low-life who works at the same bank as he.
"How Keith's Dad Died" - The story of the last three months of a man's life.
This collection is highly recommended to anyone who would enjoy a great new author.
Funnier than Ecclesiastes.......2006-03-19
Small things often bother us more than they should, and big things sometimes bother us less than they should. I think that's the central theme of Hasak-Lowy's collection. It's most obvious in "The End of Larry's Wallet" where losing a wallet upsets a man so deeply that he lacks concern about his daughter's illness and an atomic war that kills millions.(Ecclesiastes has the same theme, but Hasak-Lowy is funnier).
The central character in the stories is essentially the same person, although he's given different names. He's clever but ineffective, financially unsuccessful but not poverty-stricken, and is unlucky in love but not virginal. The women in his life are out of James Thurber and so practical and savvy as to be slightly threatening. The men in his life are more aggressive or materialistic than he is. The blackness of the humor and the penetration of the insights have to be read to be believed.
One mystery to me is where has this guy been. Only one of the stories has been previously published (in the Iowa Review). I understand that there was a rave review in the New York Times but I missed it. I was lucky enough to pick this up in a bookstore at Kennedy airport, otherwise I might have missed this wonderful writer. I`ll be careful not to again.
An imaginative and entertaining collection of stories. .......2006-03-16
I cannot say that the stories are all brilliant but they are all very creative and entertaining. The author refuses to put down any thought without examining it from many angles and perspectives. One of the stories has an American tourist get into a fight with an Israeli cashier at Yad Va Shem. Does the austerity of the surroundings excuse the staleness of the muffins being sold at the museum? Does the fact that English is an "international language" excuse the fact that an American Jew in Israel will address people in English fully expecting them to understand... The conflict in the situation produces a great read.
Extraordinary debut collection.......2005-08-28
Hasak-Lowy's debut collection is most noteworthy for its linguistic precision; the author's ear for language is extraordinary, particularly in the very first story in the collection, "On the Grounds of the Complex Commemorating the Nazis' Treament of the Jews." The sometimes cumbersome description of the "complex commemorating the Nazis' treatment of the Jews" alludes both to the Israeli protagonist's difficulties in translating Hebrew into English and the difficulty of translating the Holocaust itself into a language that is meaningful. Yet these stories succeed not just on a technical level; they have emotional resonance as well. They movingly explore the failure of language to cross the divide that separates us from other people. They also explore how our personal travails can take precedence over historical events and how large-scale tragedies are at some level incomprehensible. Most noteworthy in this regard is "The End of Larry's Wallet," where the protagonist's loss of his wallet takes precedence over a nuclear event between India and Pakistan and even, in some sense, over his daughter's serious medical condition.
Don't miss "Raider Nation," which is a hilarious yet poignant tale of a highly educated and introspective narrator's attempts to make a connection across racial and class divides (at least partly out of what might be called liberal guilt but also out of a genuine loneliness and isolation).
Some dazzling writing--a promising first collection.......2005-08-16
Read the Eder review in the NYTimes, and bought this book. Although Hasak-Lowy's metafictive ambitions occasionally distract from a few of the stories (the India/Pakistan nuclear war idea achieved its initial shock value but little else), this writer uses language in an astounding way, such as the repetetive use of a euphemism for Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial or the absurd way a naive, lonely, geeky, intellectual student speaks of his willing victimization by a low-life who befriends him. And most of his stories allow authenticity to blossom from the fertile artifice.
Book Description
When Sabina, the blind whoremistress of the Old PriorityGuesthouse, accepts the offer of Master Mainard to live exclusively with him, everyone expects that Mainards wife Bertrild would be glad to be rid of him since his face is horribly birthmarked, and he is not as wealthy as Bertrild thought. But this was far from the truth. Bertrild attacks Sabina and demands that Mainard send her back to the whorehouse. Before Mainard and Sabina can decide what to do, Bertrild is murdered, and Mainard is the chief suspect. Fearful that her love will be hanged for murder, Sabina flees to her old whoremistress Magdalene la Batarde for help. Magdalene is no stranger to murder, and will use her powerful friends to help the women who work for herfriends who include Sir Bellamyhof Itchen, who reunites with Magdalene in unraveling this tangled tale of hatred, fear, and blackmail.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent read, but a disappointing printing error.......2007-08-22
Roberta Gellis is a shining example of my favorite kind of female author - those who don't need to resort to romance to sell a story. Granted, there is a bit of romance in the book, but it's not the main focus of the book, and barely even a secondary story line (yes, it's integral to the plot, but not as a romantic tale in and of itself, more as an incidental occurrence).
I had never before read mystery novels set in medieval times. Quite a fascinating prospect. I've read medieval romances before, but the depth and detail revealed by Gellis's mounds of research were quite impressive.
The characters were genuine and sympathetic, the descriptions vivid and informative, and the mystery was more than adequately chilling and suspenseful. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good cozy -- not quite the same, but a fine read nonetheless. A solid 8/10.
Note: The original hardcover edition (Tor, under the Forge imprint) repeats pages 97 to 128, and pages 129 to 162 are missing.
Superlative historical fiction.......2007-06-12
Roberta Gellis is one of the best historical fiction writers I've had the pleasure of following for 30 years or more. This current series, whose protagonist, Magdalene la Batarde, is a female bordello keeper in Middle Aged England, is fully realized, feisty and unless you're thoroughly seeped in the history of the period, might seem too 'modern' to be true (however, go back to Nicolette de la Hay or the 4 Provencal Queens and you know she's prefectly possible in her time & place). I enjoy mysteries in general when they're well written and informative as well as entertaining (Thank you Dick Francis, PD James, Elizabeth Peters, Charles Knief, et.al.) and realism in the details piques your fancy, read any of Gellis' historical fiction works and then, probably, reread to visit the characters and the time period again.
Passing strange, indeed.......2006-01-13
What a strange book. The mystery itself, who killed Bertrilde the shrew, is straightforward enough, but much ink is devoted in this story to assuring the reader the Mistress Magdalen's whores actually enjoy their work and are grateful for their jobs in this nice clean whorehouse! Magdalen herself is presented as some sort of whore's angel who makes certain of her "ladies" safety, happiness, and well-being. Not to be critical - this is just an entirely new take on the world's oldest profession.
That said, A Personal Devil is a twist on the generic medieval mystery story and is entertaining and difficult to figure. Give it a try!
Very good reading!.......2003-09-03
Set in the year of 1139. Sabina, a gentle blind woman employed at the Old Priory Guesthouse, accepted the offer of Master Mainard to live exclusively with him. Since Mainard's face was horribly birth marked, everyone believed that his wife, Bertrild, would be glad she was rid of him. Instead, Bertrild was furious! She attacked Sabina and demanded Mainard return the doxy to the bordello. As Sabina and Mainard thought about what to do, Bertrild was murdered. Of course, her husband was the prime suspect. Sabina feared Mainard would hang. She went to her old mistress, Magdalene la Bâtarde, for help.
Magdalene cared about the women who worked for her. She would use her powerful friends in high places to seek out the real murderer.
***** Sir Bellamy of Itchen returns to help Magdalene unravel this mystery. Author Roberta Gellis did an outstanding job in creating a realistic murder mystery plot set in a fascinating time of history. The action began on the very first page and was able to hold my interest until the end. Fan of Sherlock Holmes, in my opinion, will especially enjoy this novel. Recommended!
Brings medieval England to life in a most entertaining way........2002-10-20
At first I was put off by the author setting these tales in the the whorehouse know as "the Old Priory Guesthouse" but I was eventually won over by the well drawn characters and high level of historical detail. The plot moves along nicely and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and the dramatic conclusion is a logical consequence of the suspenseful storyline. Twelfth-century England has not been so well portrayed since Ellis' Brother Cadfael series... and it seems not so far away in the humanity described between these pages. Highly Recommended for readers of historical mystery and fiction.
Book Description
One morning Jimmy Neutron and his friends wake up to find all the grown-ups of Retroville gone. And with no one to stop them, the kids go on a fun-filled free-for-all!
But things turn sour when there's no one to soothe their stomachaches or tuck them in at night. And when Jimmy discovers that aliens have kidnapped their parents, the kids set out to get them back -- and fast!
Average customer rating:
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No Time for Mother's Day
Laurie Anderson
Manufacturer: Tandem Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: School & Library Binding
Fiction
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ASIN: 0613370201 |
Customer Reviews:
A Nice Idea.......2001-05-25
This is a good story about a thoughtful and clever girl. All mothers could use the unusual and creative gift Charity thinks of. Perhaps this book will give your own kids some ideas.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Medical Law's Regan Report, published by Medica Press, Inc. on May 1, 2005. The length of the article is 900 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: Birth of baby with CP is no 'automatic pay day' for parents.(cerebral palsy)
Author: A. David Tammelleo
Publication:
Medical Law's Regan Report (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2005
Publisher: Medica Press, Inc.
Volume: 38
Issue: 5
Page: 1(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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The Reality of the Kingdom: Making Sense of God's Reign in a World Like Ours
Paul Rowntree Clifford
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0802808670 |
Book Description
Following an insightful evaluation of the Gospel evidence, Clifford concludes that the kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus is a reality in the light of which we have to come to terms with the modern world-a world where natural catastrophes and humanly created disasters are common occurrences.
Book Description
The author stirs the imagination with insightful commentary on the parables. Although originally told to people in a vastly different world, these stories are timeless and have much to say to all of us here and now.
Average customer rating:
- A Lot of Parallels
- Good survey.
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Go to Your God Like a Soldier: The British Soldier Fighting for Empire, 1837-1902
Ian Knight
Manufacturer: Stackpole Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1853672378 |
Customer Reviews:
A Lot of Parallels.......2004-11-23
Though it has quite a few period photos and engravings I feel some more maps and equipment illustrations would have been better. The illustrations out of period maneuver manuals are nice but with nothing more than a caption very confusing if you are just dipping into the era. Some of the sections, such as uniforms, lack much any illustration though and end up just a mass of details.
The sections on campaigns is nice but where this book really shines is in the details of campaign life and what it took to maintain the Empire. And what it took out of the men doing it. The Appendixes are nice and you may want to read them first. The author has also included a further reading list by topics.
A lot of parallels to the conflicts and situations America has found itself in since WW2 can be found; uncertainty about the enemy, concepts of superiority, frontiers & trade partners, even how the British High Command in Sudan & Afghanistan had to deal with wounded fundamentalists who often attacked troops attempting to succor them.
While a nice, large, hardcover book I would recommend also getting a selection of the appropriate Osprey Men-at-Arms/Warrior/Elite/etc series books to go with it for the details not included.
Good survey........1997-07-23
Queen Victoria's soldiers fought for Queen and
Country all over the world, bringing the Pax
Victoriana to Afganis, Maoris, and Boers alike.
Badly treated and regarded as little more than
tramps by the public they served, they nevertheless
fought and died for their country against savage
opponents in some of the most inhospitable regions
on earth, to their lasting glory.
Their story is well told here, not only the campaign
histories but also the soldiers' life; recruitment,
food, pay, uniforms, weapons, and many other details to fill
in the picture of the Victorian soldier.
Generously illustrated, with maps, tactical
diagrams, campaign chronology, useful appendices,
reading list, and well-designed index, this is a
fine introduction to a most interesting era.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting
within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not
employ numerical ratings.)
Average customer rating:
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The Kingdom of God Is Like This
T.V. Philip
Manufacturer: ISPCK (Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8172145543 |
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- To Die in Spring: A Rebecca Temple Mystery
- Too Beautiful for You: Tales of Improper Behavior
- Tornado Siren
- Towns Without Rivers
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