Book Description
Quiet As It's Kept draws on and extends recent psychoanalytic and psychiatric work of shame and trauma theorists to offer an in-depth analysis of Toni Morrison's representation of painful and shameful race matters in her fiction. Providing a frank and sustained look at the troubling, if not distressing, aspects of Morrison's fiction that other critics have studiously avoided or minimized in their commentaries, this book challenges established views of Morrison, showing her to be an author who forces readers into uncomfortable confrontations with matters of race. In Quiet As It's Kept, J. Brooks Bouson explores these issues in Morrison's works The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon, Tar Baby, Beloved, Jazz, and Paradise.
Average customer rating:
- Quiet As It's Kept by janet West- Sellars is Extraordinary Work!
- As Quiet As It's Kept
- Quiet As It's Kept: A novel about family
- Good Book
- Can't Keep Quiet
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Quiet As It's Kept: A Novel
Janet West-Sellars
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary
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Literary
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Family Saga
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ASIN: 0595339220 |
Book Description
Quiet As It's Kept weaves a tangled web of deception as secrets, lies, and lust bring troubling consequences to the everyday lives of an African-American family.
Author Janet West-Sellars paints a picture of powerful patriarch James Alexander Scott, who desperately takes all of his secrets to the grave. Scott's best friend, Dr. Edward Marshall, is the only person who knows those secrets.
Scott's three adult children are nothing short of relieved when they learn of his death. They are all living out his legacy in varying degrees: to always distrust, to never commit, and to get revenge at all costs. His oldest daughter, Shirley, uses her body to gain power. His only son, Terry, struggles against the past and worries about the child he raised alone. The youngest daughter, Zee, is rejected by Scott, while he is haunted by the painful suspicion that she is not really his daughter. The death of Scott's wife more than forty years ago was inextricably connected to his own mortality.
The Scott family learns about life, love, and the hope of redemption. They ultimately discover that forgiveness heals old wounds, but not before what's done in the dark comes to light in Quiet As It's Kept.
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Quiet As It
Customer Reviews:
Quiet As It's Kept by janet West- Sellars is Extraordinary Work!.......2006-03-05
Janet West Sellars intelligently draws the reader's eye to the cover of her latest novel, Quiet As It's Kept, with a beautiful oil pastel-like montage of a mysterious scene depicting innocence lost, and obvious secrets suppressed. A young child's eyes strikingly pierce at the reader's soul possibly beckoning for help or answers to someone's inner questions too mysterious to reveal and so you buy the book and proceed to read Ms. Sellar's debut novel.
The setting nestles within Newport News, Virginia among the charismatic family of James Alexander Scott who many town people respect as the deacon of the community church.
His own children all grown up, Terry, Zee and Shirley, have mixed feelings about him when he dies, but seem to have always harbored these feelings as revealed since the day their mother (Olivia) apparently died from hemorrhaging complications or did she? Forbidden and underlying truths unfold from the children one-by-one.
Dr. Marshall, one of Mr. Scott's best friends claims that he saw him place a pillow over his wife's face upon finding out that she may have been cheating on him. When James Alexander Scott was alive, he experienced overwhelming guilt when Zee believed this to be truth, but if you've ever heard of the quote, "Beware the messenger," you'll need to stay tuned and stick around to find out what really happened to Olivia, and if Dr. Marshall was actually friend or foe.
Every family member holds depth, history, and layers of intricate estranged emotions brought on by personal insecurities, paranoia and self-doubt over past and present circumstances in Quiet as Its Kept which may be the only masterful tale where a person stands accused on his death bed. The family member's emotions scathe the surface of a building climactic- filled story that unveils the kind of pain and deceit that would make Mr. Scott turn over in his grave.
Janet Sellars masterfully tells the point of view of each person in the story and allows the reader who is carefully following all in this mystery-filled drama to step into their minds and discover each layer of deceit until the riveting ending. Janet has interwoven believable and memorable characters one would want to see on the big screen, and by the likes of it, Quiet As It Kept will be adapted for a movie or possibly a series.
Overall, Quiet As It's Kept holds the ingredients to keep readers glued and awaiting the aftermath of accusations, lies and mis-communication from beginning to end. It is a story that cannot be rushed so follow carefully as Ms. Sellars, a modern day plot weaver, crafts one of the most inviting stories of the season. You will shout with hysteria when you find out the ending and never listen to a begotten messenger again. *****5 Stars/ (Disilgold Soul Magazine)
As Quiet As It's Kept.......2005-12-10
In Quiet as its Kept, Ms Sellars has introduced us to a cacophony of characters, loosely connected by the death of James Alexander Scott. Although he is used as a vehicle of introduction, he is actually the background for a far more intersting cast of characters. At the center are his three children: 2 daughters, Shirley and Zee, and one son, Terry. They, and the entire community have come together to mark the passing of James Scott. We learn about these characters by the inerpersonal relationships they have, not so much with each other, as with other people. It creates a series of concentric relationships, which actually merge to become a coherent story. It is through flashbacks and subsequent storylines that we ostensibly come to know James, by the impact he had on his family and community. James was a titan in thecommunity, whose public and magnanimous nature seems at odds with his private despotism.
The book is divided into "character" chapters, with each character speaking in his or her own voice. While there are about 10 characters who each demand their own storyline, the book avoids confusion by presenting a tightly woven plot. The author is also careful to develop each character fully, as their lives' events take place. The characters do interact with each other with natural intersections, but have enough of their own story lines to emerge distinct from each other
The author has a gift of the written word, and I found myself laughing out loud in quite a few places. Of note, is her likening one character's penchant for passion to a video game (You'll just have to read the book, but you will know it when you see it!), and the way he is described is priceless. I confess to borrowing the phrase myself. I liked the pacing of the novel, which moved swiftly, but completely, and while the author left plenty of story lines completed, she left more than ample room for further development. The author has obviously taken the time to carefully craft each individual, and considered each of their responses in the reality of their situations. The novel takes place in the Hampton Roads area (I lived there for a while), and I must say that the authors familiarity with the Hampton metro area was like the warm hug of a familiar friend. I find myself anxiously awaiting the next installment. Angela Hailey, Black Butterfly Review
Quiet As It's Kept: A novel about family.......2005-09-07
Quiet As It's Kept by Janet West-Sellars is a novel about family, and a wonderful novel at that. She does something successfully that I have seen few writers do, and that is to give each character their say. Now, I say this, because in her novel we are able to read each person's point of view. Rather than being only about one character, although it centers around Zee, and her relationship with her father Scott, you experience each character's thoughts, personality and feelings. It is rare for a writer to be able to do this and do it well, but Ms. West-Sellars broke the bank in that respect!
The story opens with Scott's funeral and a quick flash of each character's thoughts on the service, and the people attending. Then the author skillfully weaves her way backwards showing the reader everything that happened up to that point, while still maintaining a grip on the present.
Zee has a strange relationship with her father who she both loves and hates. Zee's mother Olivia died giving birth to her, and for that her father Scott will never forgive her, or so it seems. Even when Zee is diagnosed with a terminal disease from which she will not survive if she doesn't receive a kidney transplant, Scott doesn't change his attitude nor his treatment of his youngest daughter. There is clearly a mystery here, because his attitude towards his eldest children is completely different and more the sort of relationship you would expect with one's children. As Zee struggles with the death of her father and her feelings, you experience what any of us might experience upon the death of a parent whom we may have loved, but did not understand.
As I read this book, I found that every time I thought I'd figured out the truth of just who Zee was to Scott, and just what her relationship to the other family members and friends was, I was wrong, and Ms. West-Sellars had taken another twist or turn of the plot into another direction. I had a difficult time putting it down to go back to work! I began wondering if the truth would ever be revealed and if there would be any resolution for the characters, but mainly for Zee. I really wanted to see her come out of the experience whole and healthy.
Mystery, romance, intrigue, and secrets revealed, Quiet As It's Kept is definitely a keeper. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, and I look forward with great anticipation to the future novels of Janet West-Sellars!
[...]
Good Book.......2005-09-04
I am a teen (high school) reader so my dad always filters what I can and cannot read. I'm glad he allowed me to read Quiet As Its Kept. I think Ms. Sellars did a good job of bringing the characters to life and making them feel like real people. This book made me wonder if people really could take secrets to their grave. They might get buried but the secrets live on and the people left in the land of the living are the ones who have to deal with them. I thought the book was very good. It was sometimes funny and sometimes serious. It was a good mix and I enjoyed it.
Can't Keep Quiet.......2005-08-30
It's hard to keep quiet about Quiet As It's Kept. This was a surprisingly good read for me. Not that I didn't expect it to be good, but I admit that I thought it would be far more "deep" and "serious" than it was. I questioned whether or not now was a good time for me to read it with me going through the tragic loss of one of my friends. I thought the storyline might be a bit depressing. But there were moments during this story of James Scott and his three (now adult) children that had me laughing out loud. There was some sadness too, but I still found it to be a fun, enjoyable, fast-paced read. This book reminds me of what my grandmother used to say. "No man lives or dies to himself." That meant the things that you did always affected the lives of others. Sometimes not until you die, but sooner or later all of the secrets come out. Great job, Janet West-Sellars. I look forward to you next book.
Book Description
Unenthused by a white wedding gown and bored by the hoopla of the Hollywood-style reception, Ariel Meadow Stallings found herself absolutely exhausted with the nuances of traditional nuptials. So, she chose to take a walk off the beaten aisle and embrace the non-traditional bride within. Through trial and error, Ariel and her fiancée managed to crank out a budget wedding with all-night dancing, guests toasting champagne in mismatched mugs, gorgeous gardens, no monogrammed napkins, no garter, no bridesmaids, and lots of lesbians. Shortly after her 2004 matrimony, Ariel began searching for other brides whose ceremonies defied age-old tradition and reflected who they are. From there, she developed the idea for a guide for the offbeat couple.
Offbeat Bride serves as an inspiration for those who are interested in a vegan buffet, avoiding bouquet tossing, doing away with the elitist guest list and being a control freak without becoming a Bridezilla. Filled with sidebars, tips, tricks and planner encouragement (all taffeta-free) to help you figure out your special day, this book sees couples through the wedding process from ideas on how to announce their engagement to answering the question, “So, how’s married life?” and everything in between.
Customer Reviews:
Good book, still pretty traditional.......2007-08-29
I am enjoying this book as I plan my wedding. It seems to have a lot of sanity compared to the magazines and books out there, and I especially enjoy the depth and thinking I find in it. That said, I think it's a little funny that the chapter on bridal wear in Offbeat Bride does not even mention the possibility of the bride wearing - gasp - pants instead of a dress. Utilikilts get a mention - "Match your skirts!" - but even then does it not enter the picture that some brides are not into dresses.
Great for sane, nonreligious people........2007-08-21
This is the -BEST- wedding book I have come across since getting engaged. Written with a quirky sense of humor that's likely to make even the most stressed out brides giggle, it's helped me focus on getting what WE want from our party - not necessarily what's traditional or what everyone else expects/wants. Yes, you're normal if you haven't dreamed of your wedding day since you were four!
My fiancé and I are planning a simple celebration at a botanical garden. We're trying to make it ecologically friendly, while being very budget-conscious (being just out of college!). There are more than a few books about eco-weddings out there, but most of the ones that I've read don't seem to focus much on low-cost green weddings. Offbeat Bride, while not focusing too much on the green aspect, does cover streamlining/simplifying/"green-ing" your party on a budget.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough! I'm lending it to all of my engaged/soon-to-be-engaged friends. If you get one wedding book (for ideas or for planning), get THIS ONE.
Reassuring and funny.......2007-08-07
I read this entire book the same day I got it. It was such a relief to have someone tell me that it's OK...it's OK not to have the big white lacy ruffled dress and the big white tiered & tasteless cake and the big white crowd of 400 people. Of course I already knew that in my head but her stories and perspective made me feel much calmer about the whole thing. I laughed out loud several times and will be donating the book to the library when it's all over. Meanwhile I'll keep repeating to myself, if it doesn't have meaning to us, we don't have to do it.
Great alternative to typical wedding books!.......2007-07-04
This is a great book to read if you're sick of hearing about linens matching stationary matching flowers matching clothing while planning a wedding. Her writing style is enjoyable and reading through this book is a great compliment to keeping up with the author's blog (http://offbeatbride.com). It's filled with lots of great ideas, most leaning toward the offbeat side of things, and is very inspiring to create your own unique--not cookie cutter--wedding.
One Book to Rule Them All..........2007-07-02
Offbeat Bride was hands down the absolute best book I possibly could have read during my wedding planning adventures. It really helps to encourage brides to stay true to themselves & not feel pressured into having a wedding that everyone else expects/wants for them. That being said, the author is not anti-tradition, just PRO-BRIDE! There were a lot of ideas that she threw in that really made me think about what a "wedding" meant to me & got me to think a little more deeply than, "Ooooh, I'm gonna buy a pretty dress!" lol. I'd recommend this to ALL brides, hands down over any other wedding planning book out there. It's intelligent, witty, poignant, and all kinds of fun to read-- it'll get you EXCITED about your wedding as opposed to weighed down by all the pressures & decisions of it.
Average customer rating:
- Stubborn and Determined Women
- Bryce and Abby-SPOILERS
- colorfully vivid nineteenth century Americana romance
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The Independent Bride
Leigh Greenwood
Manufacturer: Leisure Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
Greenwood, Leigh | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
Western | Romance | Subjects | Books
Greenwood, Leigh | ( G ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Historical | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
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The Reluctant Bride
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Born to Love
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Texas Bride (Leisure Historical Romance)
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The Mavericks
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Arizona Embrace
ASIN: 0843952350 |
Customer Reviews:
Stubborn and Determined Women.......2004-09-12
Abby and Moraih's father had left them with their Aunt Emma. He would send money home for them. But the girls still worked. Moraih worked for her aunt in the dress shop. Abby worked in a bank.
That's were she met Albert. They were engagded to be married. But one day Abby found out that Albert was embezzling money from the bank. She gave him two weeks to return the money or she would turn him in. Someone else also found out and turned him in. Albert was arrested, he implied that Abby was his accomplice. They never found any evidence that she was involved.
In the meantime, Abby's father died. The girls decided to move to the west and take over the trading post at Fort Lookout.
When they arrive, they find that the trading post is nothing like the store their father had in St.Louis. They were also confronted by three thugs. Who thought they were going to have their way with Abby and Moraih. But Colonel Bryce McGregor intervene's. He throws the three in jail. Then tried to send Abby and Moraih back to St.Louis. The two are determined to stay and make things work. They had nothing else.
The Colonel agrees to let them stay in his extra bedroom. That is until the trading post is ready. While staying at Bryce's home, Abby falls in love with Bryce and his dauhter Pamela. But Abby has vowed that she would never let another man into her life. Especially after Albert.
Can Abby get over her past, to become Bryce's wife and Pamela's mother. Or will the embezzlement issue in St.Louis caome back to haunt her.
Bryce and Abby-SPOILERS.......2004-08-26
Favorite scene with Abby-
Shooting the intruder in her store.
Favorite scene with Bryce-
Abby telling Bryce she can't be with him.
Together-
The gunfight while getting the cows to the reservation.
What did you like about Abby-
Her stubborness and her strength. Her love for Pamela. Not willing to give up, despite obstacles.
What didn't you like about Abby-
She was too stubborn to listen to advice on how to protect herself. She wanted to do things her way. She wouldn't let herself love and be loved because of her past.
What did you like about Bryce-
His love for Abby and his daughter, Pamela.
What didn't you like about Bryce-
Only that he wouldn't let his soldiers marry.
If I had to cast Abby, I'd cast Hilary Swank.
colorfully vivid nineteenth century Americana romance.......2004-03-02
Under suspicion for embezzlement Abigail Pierce, accompanied by her sister Moriah, flee St. Louis to run their late father's store at Fort Lookout, Colorado. The commander of the army post, Captain Bryce McGregor tries, but fails to persuade the siblings to go home as they do not belong in the rugged unsafe Rocky Mountains even inside the fort. Bryce does convince the women to stay with him until the store can be renovated and made hospitable. His young daughter Pamela serves as a perfect chaperone so Abby and Moriah accept the kind offer.
Pamela adopts Abby as a mother figure and the former St. Louis resident cannot stop her heart from reaching out to the young child. Inadvertently Pamela plays matchmaker as Abby and Bryce fall in love. However, Abigail willingly sacrifices her happiness because she knows the scandal she fled would destroy the man she cherishes as a rising officer cannot afford a dishonored (even if she is innocent) spouse.
There are few if any authors that can provide such well drawn characters including secondary players with a colorfully vivid nineteenth century Americana panorama inside an exciting historical romance than Leigh greenwood can. His latest tale INDEPENDENT BRIDE matches up two honorable individuals in love and encouraged by her sister and his daughter and even to a degree his men, but those same principles stand in their way of happiness. Mr. Greenwood shows that principles are important even if it costs achievement of a personal goal all that within a fabulous post Civil War romance with a deep message.
Harriet Klausner
Average customer rating:
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The Independent Bride (The Wedding Challenge)
Sophie Weston
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
Literature & Fiction | Large Print | Formats | Books
Romance | Large Print | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0373159935 |
Customer Reviews:
Realistic heroine.......2003-05-14
Heroine: average/pleasingly plump
To the world redheaded Penelope Anne Calhoun, aka "the tiger cub", is the epitome of the moneyed heiress. She is used to getting whatever she wants, has all the right connections, and has a fiery temper to match her hair. She's also known to be passionate when it comes to business, yet said to have ice in her veins where the opposite sex is concerned.
But college Master Stephen Konig thought he knew differently, having glimpsed an open, wary, and vulnerable woman when the two bumped into each other on an airline flight. An opinion he quickly revised upon their second meeting, when he saw the business woman the rest of the world saw.
Bitterly disillusioned by the loss of his imagined "goddess" and annoyed by the termagant who supplanted her, Stephen sets out to make the pedigreed "Pepper" Calhoun very miserable indeed.
And if he can just douse the sparks of sexual energy that ignite whenever he gets near her, he just might succeed!
What worked for me:
Pepper was a bit prickly at times, but both she and Stephen were likable. And the villainesses were so easy to hate. The two of them really should get together for tea, crumpets, and backstabbing sometime.
I loved the setting for "The Independent Bride". Ancient buildings like castles and universities automatically bring out the romantic in me.
Size-wise Pepper was a softly-padded average, but rather unhappy with her appearance through most of the story, poor thing.
What didn't work for me:
Perhaps it was a case of too many shades from my own past, but Pepper's low self-esteem really was discomforting for me.
I don't know if it was a question of having had an English mother or that she was just picking up the local lingo, but sometimes Pepper didn't sound American.
Overall:
A sweet and enjoyable read, especially for folks who like a British flavor to their romances.
Warning: there was one sexy scene, but it was very tastefully done.
If you liked "The Independent Bride" you might also enjoy "The Bridesmaid's Reward", "The Librarian's Passionate Knight", "The Course of True Love", "Born to be Wild", "More to Love", "Runaway Bay", "His Seductive Revenge", "Carried Away", "His E-mail Order Wife", "Dear Cupid", "Spellbound", "It Had to be You", or "This Heart of Mine".
Book Description
Commander Pirx, who drives space vehicles for a living in the galaxy of the future, here faces a new series of intriguing adventures in which robots demonstrate some alarmingly human characteristics. Translated by Louis Iribarne, assisted by Magdalena Majcherczyk and Michael Kandel. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book
Customer Reviews:
Cannot keep it on my bookshelf.......2007-08-14
As a teacher of reluctant readers, I cannot keep copies of this book on my shelves. I used to introduce Stanislaw Lem to the students first, but this intimidated them. After I changed to letting the stories hook them first, I have found all of his books disappearing. They are fascinated by irreverence and humour in quality writing. I cannot complain about the books disappearing; they are reading.
Pirx and the nonlinear.......2003-08-02
Through the eyes and mind of the now more experienced Pirx, Lem draws conclusions of future's hold on human & android relations, philosophical and psycological attachments included.
For a quick, classic Lem read, this is one of the tops. The collection starts with a few shorts, though deep contemplation, and finishes with two superb longer stories. My two favorites are 'The Accident' (short) and 'The Inquest' (long).
Lem is best read in Polish........2002-11-14
This book is great, although I'm not too crazy about the translation. Realistically though, if you're not planning on learning to speak Polish fluently anytime soon, you should get this copy. It's not that bad. Lem is a great, realistic, down-to-earthy (no pun intended) Science Fiction author. Also get Solaris,...and Fiasco.
Down to earth, so to speak.......2000-04-22
Lem, as always, comes through. In some of his other work he takes on philosophy, science, religion, usually with a humorous strain; in this book, and its predecessor, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, he chooses to write straight hard SF. However, the image usually conjured up by 'hard' SF is Asimov, Heinlen, and so on, meaning writing anchored on scientific devices and with generally far less time spent on character development. Pirx is a welcome antidote. He is an engineer and pilot, grounded in a reality made up not of quantum-physical theories but of nuts and bolts. He's a professional and strictly blue-collar. REading this book might give you an idea of what the future REALLY will be like.
Average customer rating:
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More Tales of Pirx the Pilot
Stanislaw Lem
Manufacturer: Secker & Warburg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
ASIN: 043624411X |
Customer Reviews:
Church library review.......2006-08-18
I found this book quite helpful and informative in helping with my takeover as a New church library keeper.
It explores the dewey decimal sysyem as well as giving advise for updating what we currently had in the libary.
On a scale of 1 to 5 I'd rate it a 4.
Very informative and helpful.......2006-02-25
This book is excellent for information on starting a church library. It has information on the Dewey System, labeling, cataloging, and much more.
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