Book Description
August 1991. In a sweltering New York City apartment, a group of Russian émigrés gathers round the deathbed of an artist named Alik, a charismatic character beloved by them all, especially the women who take turns nursing him as he fades from this world. Their reminiscences of the dying man and of their lives in Russia are punctuated by debates and squabbles: Whom did Alik love most? Should he be baptized before he dies, as his alcoholic wife, Nina, desperately wishes, or be reconciled to the faith of his birth by a rabbi who happens to be on hand? And what will be the meaning for them of the Yeltsin putsch, which is happening across the world in their long-lost Moscow but also right before their eyes on CNN?
This marvelous group of individuals inhabits the first novel by Ludmila Ulitskaya to be published in English, a book that was shortlisted for the Russian Booker Prize and has been praised wherever translated editions have appeared. Simultaneously funny and sad, lyrical in its Russian sorrow and devastatingly keen in its observation of character, The Funeral Party introduces to our shores a wonderful writer who captures, wryly and tenderly, our complex thoughts and emotions confronting life and death, love and loss, homeland and exile.
Customer Reviews:
Perhaps it's lost in translation.......2004-09-30
"The Funeral Party" is a delightful novella that offers readers an intimate look into the lives of a select few characters who are as different as night and day. All of these colorful characters are connected to one another for two reasons; they are immigrants from Russia and they have all known and loved a dying man by the name of Alik. In his last days of life in August of 1991, they gather to say their goodbyes, and reflect on their own lives.
The prospect of death is a natural occasion for people to analyze their life - its triumphs and mistakes. And that is exactly what Ulitskaya's characters do. They ponder over their pasts and presents, and we progressively learn what their connection to the dying man was. We discover their passions and their fears, their frustrations and their hopes, their dreams and their realities. All are beautifully written and played out by believable, vivid characters.
Yet "The Funeral Party" reads less as a novel than a series of character vignettes, exploring the inner-workings of each player in this sad, final saga of Alik's life. The connection between them is loose, but perhaps it is lost in the translation. However, overall Ulitskaya offers a wonderful and odd portrait of a wonderfully odd familiy of Russian immigrants.
Death And Mourning Russian Style.......2001-06-25
Ludmila Ulitskaya has written an insightful novel on human behavior, and an amusing tale as well. The title put me in mind of what many would first think of when it came to an Irish Wake. However these émigrés from Russia begin their reminiscing, their grieving, and their personal battles well before the death of the man who is the center of their attention.
Ms. Ulitskaya brings a wide range of characters to her tale, from a young girl who seems almost selectively Autistic, to the dying subject who has lead the life of a Greenwich Village Don Juan, to the woman who adore him and revile their challengers for his affection. If this is not enough the poor invalid is hounded to become a Christian, however he also wishes to see a Rabbi, and thus the Author begins a conflict between religious positions that are represented by men who will never agree and will eventually be usurped in their function. Their final comedy takes place graveside when competing methods for the burial of the dead ring the grave for prominence of voice and position.
The Author spent time on a subject that I wish occupied more of her writing. She explored the need of émigrés to constantly seek affirmation that their Mother Country that they left behind was indeed not worthy of their citizenship. They must constantly reassure each other and themselves, with current events in Moscow is possible, that they indeed did not run away but moved on to a better life.
The book is well written although there appear to be either some awkward translation or outright errors with a word on occasion. This is not truly detrimental to the story, however it does interrupt the cadence of the tale when a jarring word that clearly has no place makes an appearance.
Well worth the allocation of some of your reading time.
Refreshing, entertaining, irreverent fun.......2001-03-22
In a New York City loft on the eve of the second Russian revolution (1991), a group of friends, mostly former Russians, gather to watch over their friend, an artist named Alik, who is dying. If this sounds like a plot of gloom, you're wrong. As the title suggests, it's a celebration, during which the Russian emigre experience late 20th century style, is rehashed with equal doses of humor and pathos, and colorfully told in a way that only a Russian author could do justice to.
The Funeral Party.......2001-01-23
I liken Ludmila Ulitskaya to a Dostoyevsky of today. "The Funeral Party" offers a taste of the elusive Russian mind set.
Book Description
To: Jared
From : Kelly
Re: More shocking news for the Richmond Gazette
As director of the Tiny Blessings adoption agency, I appreciate the unbiased way you've reported all the scandalous information that's come out recently in the Gazette. Now I have another exclusive for you: investigator Ross Van Zandt broke the news to me last night -- I am the missing baby, the child taken from her mother at birth. It was quite a shock, but with God's help, I can come to terms with this. I'm hoping Ross will help me uncover my biological father's identity, but he seems hesitant . . .
Off the record -- the handsome P.I. has caught more than my professional interest.
Download Description
Private investigator Ross Van Zandt has seen only the ugly side of life. But the director of Tiny Blessings adoption agency, Kelly Young, helps him discover God, love and true happiness in this heartwarming and emotional novel.
Customer Reviews:
Ms. Hyde truly has a gift from God !.......2007-10-01
Wow, I just finished reading this book after picking up a copy at a book fair in the mall on yesterday. Coincidentally it was also my birthday, and the book starts off on Pearl's 13th birthday and her speaking on how birthday's are suppossed to be important.
This book has truly taken me on a emotional journey and spoke directly to my heart and spirit. One of the beliefs that I hold dearest to my heart and spirit is that we live in a love deprived society. Ms. Hyde tells the story of what true Agape love looks like in the present tense and for this I am grateful. I was familiar with Pay it Forward, now I will read any thing she puts a pen to paper to write.
Happy Reading !
A forceful tale with a powerful message.......2007-09-22
"Love in the Present Tense" is a novel about unconditional love--that special, all-embracing, all-forgiving love that goes on forever. Unconditional love is ceaseless, never possessing a past tense. If there were a world of unconditional love, you would never hear the words: "I loved you."
Pearl, a street-wise 13-year-old girl with a drug addict for a mother, has never known unconditional love. She is wise beyond her years. She knows, above all else, that forever love is what she needs. She thinks she finds it in a policeman with kind eyes. She lets him drive her home late one night, allows him to have sex with her, and then she accidentally kills him with his own gun. She is immediately on the run, but at the same time she intuitively knows that she has succeeded in her life's goal. She is sure she's conceived a child that same night. She yearns to envelop that new life in a forever-safety-net of unconditional love. If she does this, she is certain the child will love her back in the same way.
Pearl was right. Nine months later, she gives birth to Leonard. She moves to a small city where she hopes no one will find her. Across the street lives Mitch, a 25-year-old entrepreneur running a successful Website development firm out of his home.
Mitch has never given the concept of unconditional love a second thought. He's too busy running his business and having a dangerous long-term affair with Barb, the wife of his major client. This gorgeous woman is old enough to be his mother, but he can't help but fall under her spell. Mitch is not the type of man to analyze life. He just goes with it. He's knows he's fallen in lust with Barb, and imagines that he probably loves her, too. That's enough for him. It doesn't worry him that Barb's husband loves him like a son. He's blind to his own wrongdoings.
When Leonard is five and being taken care of by Mitch, Pearl disappears. Leonard's forever love is gone, but he never wavers in his absolute faith and love for his lost mother. Without his mother around, the small child turns the searing spotlight of his forever love full-bore on Mitch. The man barely understands what's hit him...that his whole world is about to change forever.
Thus the stage is set for the rest of the novel to unfold. What happens to Pearl? Will Pearl ever return? Will Leonard be able to hold on to his unconditional love for his missing mother? Will Mitch be allowed to continue caring for Leonard? Will Mitch realize the errors of his ways? Will Mitch turn his life toward a more meaningful existence?
Catherine Ryan Hyde is a strong writer. She knows the art of storytelling and is completely at home dealing with the nuances of the human connections. She is deft at charting a fast-paced course through the misadventures and tragedies of everyday existence.
Hyde create believable characters. They are flawed, as we all are. In this book, she shows us that even deeply flawed human beings can be redeemed through understanding, forgiveness, and unconditional love. I thoroughly enjoyed this story. But I am a sucker for a book with an important message, especially one like this one, with a message dear to my heart.
Love in the Present Tense.......2007-09-17
Great story, quick read. I especially enjoyed changing narrators. It kept me in line with the story and the feeling that each individual character had at the time.
Side note - love the way cover feels - it has this nice silky feel...I loved holding the book in my hand..maybe that's why I only needed 5 hours to read the thing.
A wonderful read about unconditional love.......2007-08-01
At thirteen years old, Pearl gets pregnant. On the same day she accidentally kills the baby's father, a policeman. Fearing no one will ever believe her, she runs, far, and often. Someday she will have to pay for the death, but until then she has much she wants to teach her son, Leonard.
In his first five years she teaches him about love and how hers for him will never end. When Leonard first meets Mitch, a neighbor, while Pearl is at work, she is suspicious and protective. Over time she lowers her defenses about Mitch and asks him to watch Leonard while she works. On one of these occasions she doesn't return.
Mitch believes Pearl has run off to live her life while he contends with her son. Leonard knows better. His mother hasn't returned because she can't. He senses her presence in different ways and knows it is the `forever love' she taught him. Mitch and Leonard bond while waiting for Pearl's return. Running his own business from home, Mitch is available to Leonard. He takes him to the doctor to have his asthma treated and learns his eye condition could one day lead to blindness and must be closely monitored.
Mitch's biggest shortcoming is his affair with the wife of a client. Leonard may not see well physically, but he can see this relationship isn't good for Mitch. He wants a love for his friend like his mother taught him about and tries to teach Mitch about forever love. As the little boy grows up and Mitch matures, their bonds keep them together as tightly as any family. The man wants to buffer the boy from the pains of the world, and the child wants the same for his grown friend. They grow and mature together, and even though space may separate them as the child becomes an adult, their love for each other remains constant.
Told in alternating points of view, this is a story of love and faith--and how sometimes you have to work at believing in love. A novel by the author of Pay It Forward about how love is payment in itself. Well worth the sweet predictability to get to the heart.
Armchair Interviews says: Lovely story about love--and not familial love.
BEAUTIFUL STORY, WONDERFULLY TOLD.......2007-05-22
This is the story of three intersecting lives - Pearl, Leonard, and Mitch. Pearl's an adolescent girl who, though struggling to raise her young son alone, has the strength and maturity to teach her child the true meaning of love. When she mysteriously disappears, her young son Leonard is left in the care of their neighbor Mitch - and the two forge a bond as strong as any.
Alternating between the first person of Pearl, Leonard, and Mitch, the author weaves together past and present, unraveling her characters' lives in rich emotional detail.
LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE is about real love - between parents and children, between friends, between romantic partners. It's about the ease or difficulty people have experiencing and expressing love.
Catherine Ryan Hyde's writing is a pleasure to read, and her story's a gem. What more can a reader ask for?
Product Description
L. Sprague de Camp was a master of the time travel and alternate history story. In many respects his novel Lest Darkness Fall founded alternate history, while "Aristotle and the Gun" is probably one of the best stories about tinkering with history ever written. In addition we include stories of time travel both backwards and forwards and de Camp's wonderful essay "Language for Time-Travelers". This is a collection of L. Sprague de Camp's SF best stories and essays dealing with time travel. It is the first volume of a projected series of stories and novels by L. Sprague de Camp.
Customer Reviews:
Collection that is among the best!.......2005-11-12
L. Sprague de Camp is one of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction. He was the second person to be named to a Grand Master by SFWA. His writing is very much like that of a Big Three, and he started writing before Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, or Arthur C. Clarke. If you read the work of the Big Three, then de Camp is something right up your alley.
Although de Camp did not invent the idea of the Alternate History story, he was most probably the best writer of that sub-genre of SF. This book contains some of his best stories ever in "The Wheels of If", "Aristotle and the Gun", "A Gun for Dinosaur" and "Lest Darkness Fall". Each are among the classics of SF.
As good as an athology gets.......2005-09-26
De Camp pretty much founded the Alternate History literary genre. These stories were groundbreaking in their time, and their wit and originality has not been surpassed.
De Camp was a learned man and his research is exhaustive. I recommend "Balsamo's Mirror" to anyone who attends Renaissance festivals, and "The Wheels of If" to anyone who worships their Celtic roots.
Book Description
Hidden Treasure is a follow up to Oaklander’s best selling book, Windows To Our Children. It contains material that she has developed over the last 27 years.
The book provides an approach to working with children and adolescents that involves a variety of creative, projective and expressive techniques with Gestalt Therapy, theory, philosophy and practice as the underlying framework. The focus is to provide the child with a means for expressing his or her innermost feelings, to foster self-awareness and self-discovery, to enhance self-esteem, and in general, to promote emotional growth. The approach is applicable to a wide variety of ages as well as settings as individual work, family work, and group settings.
This book will interest child and adolescent psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, interns, school personnel, as well as graduate-level students. Parents of young children may also find it helpful.
Customer Reviews:
A Pleasure to Read and Consider.......2007-04-03
Violet's new book is both theoretical and practical in scope. Reading this book stimulated my own creative thinking about helping children integrate their feelings and experiences. Violet writes about working with precision (commonly achieving tangible results), while treating both the child and therapist as wonderfully rich, whole organisms. I reproduced a chapter for my staff therapists under publisher permission, introducing staff I treasure to an therapist/author I respect. I am a Gestalt-oriented psychologist, and Violet pioneered the translation of that therapy into treatment for children. This is a joyful therapy intended for those who want to enhance their capacity to engage in powerful therapeutic contact with a child. Thanks Violet.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading for the Weary.......2007-06-12
An inspirational balm, this book helps get your mind headed back in the same direction as your heart. I keep mine by my bed. I should probably get one for my purse, too. I love to open to random pages and see how what it says always seems apt. It's a little like having an amazing friend who always answers on the first ring. Buy two or ten and give them to everyone you know! Just a thought.
Bought in 1992 - still on my shelf and used often!.......2006-01-22
I LOVE this book. It sits on a shelf that I pass by often. I will grab it, whip it open and read the brief thought (not more than two pages). It inspires me. It helps me stop when I am running down a road of negative, fearful thinking. It is a perfect gift for valentine's, birthdays, mother day..... anything to offer another person a little soothing attention. Most especially yourself.
Hay is the best!!.......2001-04-11
I believe the best book I've ever read is "Heart Thoughts (A Treasury of Inner Wisedome)". This book, written by Louise L. Hay really has a way of opening up the minds of the readers to new ways of thinking and viewing the world around you. She introduces you to a universe of positive, personal affirmations and sets you on the path to total acceptance and love for everyone and everything. Hay shows readers that there's SO MUCH more to life than one may think. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in metaphysics and personal growth.
Sometimes you just need some good inspiration........1998-07-16
It *is* possible to change your negative perspectives into a positive lifestyle. Simple affirmations, simple solutions, and possible positive energy. Open the book to any page and reflect on a new discovery, or look something up by subject. Once I started the book, I couldn't put it down. A great gift idea for yourself or someone you care about.
Average customer rating:
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El Tesoro Del Zen/ The Treasure of the Zen: Los Textos Fundamentales Del Maestro Dogen / The Fundamental Text of the Master Dogen (El Viaje Interior / Inner Journey)
Taisen Deshimaru
Manufacturer: Ediciones Oniro
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Zen
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ASIN: 8497540093 |
Book Description
Offering practical ways to cultivate love, joy, and peace in daily life, these four talks from Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, "The Mirror of God," "The Sadhana of Joy," "The Sadhana of Peace," and "The Sadhana of Love," cover timeless themes.
Customer Reviews:
Timeless wisdom.......2007-08-21
I found Inner Treasures both inspring and beautiful.
The ancient yogic ideas are presented in a simple but powerful way,
making them applicable to everyday life.
Highly recommended to any yogi or spiritual seeker.
Amazon.com
Ancient wisdom never loses its immediacy, and yet for many contemporary lay readers the old words, poems, scriptures, and mysteries can be difficult to understand. Jonathan Star not only offers lively and heartfelt translations; he also offers a brief primer for each mystic path, so that readers can better understand the spiritual premise and history of each tradition. Chapters include "The Scriptures of India," "The Sages of Taoism," "Wisdom of the Hebrews," and "The Sufi Poets."
Star clearly loves breathing new life into the vibrant language of yore. Readers who have always wanted to understand the ancient mysticism will be entirely gratified by this engaging contribution. "Through their words we can sense the wonder of a magical place within," Star writes in his preface, "a world of pulsating consciousness, supreme peace, unbounded love, infinite beauty; a world where all the universe is united in a grand fellowship of bliss. So come, enter this wonder, and let these divine words show us the truth that is forever our own." --Gail Hudson
Book Description
Here is an unmatched introduction to the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching, Rumi, and the world's most powerful mystic works, with modern-day translations.
This is a time of almost unprecedented interest in mysticism. Sufi, Hindu, and Kabbalistic imagery abound in music videos; Rumi translations appear on bestseller lists; and millions of Americans show interest in finding direct union with the sacred.
Jonathan Star's The Inner Treasure is perhaps the most accessible and enjoyable collection of sacred and mystic writings available. In it, Star reminds us that each text--from the Book of Psalms to the writings of sages of Taoism and of Buddhist masters--is a living work meant to be read and enjoyed every day.
Star's translations restore the conversational language with which these writings are imbued in their original tongues. Each of the brief passages is a journey with a great spiritual sage, and a wonderful first step into the nature of our own hearts.
Customer Reviews:
Inner Treasure.......2001-02-05
This is a wonderful compilation of the poetry by the great mystics of many religious traditions. There is a brief introduction before each chapter, describing the religion and the poets who are featured. The translations are sensitive and evoke the spirit of the work - the love, longing, wit, knowledge, and so on. In addition, from this poetry, you can see where the many traditions intersect. I love this book - it is a real gem.
Average customer rating:
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Bringing Out The Treasure: Inner Biblical Allusion In Zechariah 9-14 (Academic Paperback)
Mark J. Boda , and
Michael H. Floyd
Manufacturer: Sheffield Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 056704310X |
Average customer rating:
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Bringing Out the Treasure: Inner Biblical Allusuion in Zechariah 9-14 (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 370)
Manufacturer: Sheffield Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Old Testament
| Criticism & Interpretation
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Study
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ASIN: 0826466699 |
Book Description
A Step-by-Step Guide to the Practice of Deep Imagery Deep imagery is the practice of calling forth images from inside. At last! Here is a simple guide that will open the doors of your inner world for you. In this landmark guide, the author leads you into your inner world by using the steadfast formula of a simple recipe. There, in your inner world, you can call forth teachers, helpers, and guides who will lead you to your fullest growth and creative expression. Explore inner journeys to a special place, to an inner chapel, and to the garden of your soul. Meet with teachers, animals, and inner companions. Explore health issues, body wisdom, and the vast domain of your heart. In an easy, comfortable style this book will take you by the hand and lead you to your deepest truth.
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Inner Treasures
Manufacturer: Siddha Yoga
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
General
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General
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Yoga
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ASIN: 0911307788 |
Product Description
3 cassette tapes.
Books:
- The Gates of Sleep (Elemental Masters, Book 2)
- The Groves of Academe
- The Hiding Place: A Novel
- The Hinterlands: A Mountain Tale in Three Parts
- The Iceweaver: A Novel
- The Irwin Allen Scrapbook Volume 2: Lost in Space, Land of the Giants
- The Lost Legends of New Jersey
- The Man Who Planted Trees, 20th Anniversary
- The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
- The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
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- Ingmar Bergman's Persona
- Physics: Principles with Applications
- Lifestyles Nature & Architecture: Casas en la Costa Mexicana
- Politics, Tax Cuts, and the Peace Dividend
- Making It!: Wealth-Building Secrets from Two Great Entrepreneurial Minds
- Weiss Ratings' Guide to Banks & Thrifts: Spring 2001
Medea and Her Children
Sonechka: A Novella and Stories
The Time: Night
The Beautiful Mrs. Seidenman: A Novel (Szczypiorski, Andrze)
Gilgamesh: A Novel
