Book Description
These three long stories draw us into the lives of three women, all past their first youth, all facing unexpected crises. In the title story, the heroine's serenity is shattered when she learns that her husband is having an affair. In "The Age of Discretion," a successful, happily married professor finds herself increasingly distressed by her son's absorption in his young wife and her worldly values. In "The Monologue," a rich, spoiled woman, home alone on New Year's Eve, pours out a lifetime's rage and frustration in a harrowing diatribe. Enthralling as fiction, suffused with de Beauvoir's remarkable insights into women, The Woman Destroyed gives us a legendary writer at her best.
Customer Reviews:
Title story is compelling; all three are depressing........2007-06-20
This book contains three short stories, each of them about a "Woman Destroyed." Two are utterly depressing, and one is incoherent. The middle story was stream of consciousness babbling by a mad woman character, and I couldn't even finish it. The first story was depressing, and compelling enough to finish. The third story, the title story, was very compelling, defintely a page-turner, but also depressing.
This third story, A Woman Destroyed," tells the tale of a woman whose children have left home, and she experiences empty nest syndrome, only to find out her husband has been having an affair for years, while discouraging her from seeking emplyment and encouraging her to put all her focus into the children and home. He is a real rat, but yet you can see that he is truly torn, taht he thinks he is somehow protecting his wife, while he is ultimately destroying her. The most compelling aspect is the wife her self, watching her slow demise.
women of age .......2007-01-28
This are three short stories potraying three middle class women who are past their prime and face crisis in their lives. Simone de Beauvoir - existentialist philosopher and feminist reflected the conditiion of her contemporaries with genuine insight and understanding. Written almost 40 years ago the book did not loose its actuality, to the contrary , it's very moving.
I would recommend this small masterpiece to anyone, but I think that mature women's audience is going to appreciate and understand it the most.
the Realm of Existentialism.......2006-09-08
Three different stories in one book:
Basically, The Monologue: is the confusing diatribe of a spoiled rich woman on-the-edge -- with a lot of mental-baggage that needs unpacking -- alone [by design] in her apartment on New Year's Eve -- the holiday is irrelevant, it could be any evening -- while everyone else is out having fun. Her past, present and future are all fair game in this twisted ride with many turns and dead ends -- complete stops and bazaar imaginings. She blames everyone and no one for her current situation. Her daughter has committed suicide, her young son has been taken from her via divorce. It's filthy, it's clean. --Katharena Eiermann, 2006
A Woman Destroyed: How dumb (or in denial) can a woman be? Her husband has been having affairs with other women, on and off, for the past 10 years -- putting in all that overtime at work. All her friends know, her grown daughters know, the people her (highly-successful) husband works with know. The woman's husband finally tells her that he stopped loving her 10 years prior, but still likes her, wants her to have [his] dinner on the table in the evening, wants his laundry done -- that is why he kept living with her. He starts to tear the world she built around him (the only world she has allowed herself to know) down...feeding her imagination with well-placed destructive seeds. All his poisonous barbs on her fragile ego are calculated and exact. He knows what he wants, he wants her to give it to him -- her to do the dirty work -- her to cause their break-up. Huh? This is a very good story. Exquisitely written, realistic, existential, stays on track. --Katharena Eiermann, 2006
The Age of Discretion: Classic "but, that's not the way your Father and I raised you..." story, or, "a little too much time on my hands...so, let me dissect your life and all the reasons why". Heart warming, but not brilliant. --Katharena Eiermann, 2006, the Realm of Existentialism -- Presidential Hopeful
Fascinating and very sad.......2006-02-16
Good gods, how French women needed the feminism De Beauvoir sought to bring them. I wish I didn't sometimes think they still did....
When Monique in the title story reflects that she should have known her marriage was on the skids when her husband told her she should buy a one-piece bathing suit, she immediatley reflects guiltily that she has let her thighs get fat, that her stomach is no longer completely flat... If I were Monique, I might reflect that it was a missed chance to craquer cher Maurice on the head with a deckchair.
Instead, Monique immediately stops eating (quelle surpise) and the first thing her estranged daughter says to her is that her resulting weight loss suits her. It's no wonder that after fifteen years of this, Monique is gimpless when Maurice starts an affair with a younger woman.
Sans doute, de Beauvoir was attempting a critique of such overmastering dependency, but it's also very, very raw-feeling. The price paid by those chic women for thier polish and beauty is this overpowering, constant self-scrutiny; no wonder existentialism, no wonder a modern book like Thornytorinx (in case you think the problem is solved).
This is powerful, true stuff, then, which reminded me of some of Dorothy Parker's best stories (without the humour) but I also felt irrtated with the spineless protagonists of all three stories. Don't be so needy, I wanted to scream. Go to a bar. Go to a jardin. Go to a boulanger. Live a little, before you finally die. In other words, the book feels not so much dated as in need of contestation. I would have enjoyed it more if another character had voiced the limitations of the protagonists' viewpoints.
A surprise.......2003-03-16
This was my first experience of de Beauvoir, and I remember it vividly: I was seventeen and staying at my grandparents house, supposedly studying for my final high school exams, but it was a sweltering afternoon and I was bored and listless; I found an old 70s copy of "The Woman Destroyed" on the bookshelf (it must have belonged to my radical aunt during her university days.) Anyway, I picked it up and couldn't stop reading until I finished it. While "The Woman Destroyed" described experiences very removed from my own limited seventeen year old world - mainly, the pain experienced by three different women as they grow old and watch their children, husbands and even sanity abandon them - these stories absorbed me totally. These are intense, complicated, ambiguous tales, and de Beauvoir has a breathtaking ability to capture and elucidate the knottiest of emotions. It's certainly a bleak collection of stories; de Beauvoir is unflinching and sheds no sentimental tears for her women characters. They are wrenchingly, sometimes pathetically human, and that's why you come to inhabit them so completely and care about them so much. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
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The Hollow Heart: The True Story of One Woman's Desire to Give Life and How It Almost Destroyed Her Own (Ulverscroft Nonfiction)
Martina Devlin
Manufacturer: Ulverscroft Large Print
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Customer Reviews:
Very Real.......2007-05-20
Fantastically written book - was very real and made me ask questions of my husband that I would not have thought to ask before.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Washington Monthly, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1392 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: Last woman standing: would presidential candidate Hillary Clinton be destroyed by today's vicious media, or is she the only Democrat who can survive it?(The Way to Win )(Book review)
Author: Noam Scheiber
Publication:
Washington Monthly (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 38
Issue: 11
Page: 37(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Totally Awesome.......2003-09-14
This was the first book by this author that I have ever read.A tale of a young woman abused by her father, unloved by the poeple of her home town, who had no choice but to run away when she got pregnant by her upperclass boyfriend who later became a doctor. Catherine did a good job of portraying the disparity in the social classes, the snubbish attitude of the upper class and the small mindedness, misjudgement and prejudice often found in small communities. The hero is great, once he found out that he had fathered a child, he did not shun his responsibilities. The chemistry and the passion is intense and it was a staring point until they realised that they loved each other. This is too close to real life and well written. I loved it and could't put it down.
A must read!.......2003-03-16
Nobody pushes a reader's emotional buttons quite like Catherine Spencer, and she doesn't disappoint in THE DOCTOR'S SECRET CHILD. Take a reformed bad boy hero, an unrepentant bad girl heroine, a rich cast of secondary characters, dialog which has you laughing one minute and crying the next, and you're left with another fabulous, five star read you won't want to see come to an end. This is a story so rooted in passion, realism and atmosphere that it belongs on every romance lover's keeper bookshelf.
Super Romance-so real & so sensitive.......2003-03-14
The Doctor's Secret Child, Catherine Spencer's latest Harlequin Presents romance, is such an exciting story of Molly, a strong yet vulnerable young single mother. Molly faces going back to her past for her ailing mother's sake. She comes back to her humble beginnings in Harmony Cove. There she faces the harsh memories of the treatment she got from her emotionally-stunted father who recently passed away. But memories every bit as hard for Molly to deal with are of the townspeople's attitude toward the poor working class from Wharf street. Especially insensitive is their treatment of Molly, who once ws a teenager full of spirit and attitude. Molly gets the idle tongues wagging by keeping her daughter Ariel's father a secret while trying to settle in and take care of her mother.
This book pivots on the suspenseful plot Catherine Spencer draws so deftly. The characters are drawn with such compassion and show all of the contradictions of human nature. The nosy neighbor is a truly kind caretaker for Molly's mother, Hilda. Dan Cordell, the young doctor taking care of Hilda, is from a privileged famiy yet he chooses to work in a clinic caring for the disadvantaged.
How do the characters fit together and how will Molly handle the secret of who Ariel's father is? Will the fiery Molly make concessions for Ariel's sake? Will Molly find love and fulfillment? You already know some of the answers to these questions if you have read any of the many fine romances Catherine Spencer has written. The Doctor's Secret Child is the best of her many superbly written novels. Reading this book will delight you with intense descriptions of passion and charm you with the unexpected way love can triumph. The Doctor's Secret Child, Catherine Spencer's latest Harlequin Presents romance, is such an exciting story of Molly, a strong yet vulnerable young single mother. Molly faces going back to her past for her ailing mother's sake. She comes back to her humble beginnings in Harmony Cove. There she faces the harsh memories of the treatment she got from her emotionally-stunted father who recently passed away. But memories every bit as hard for Molly to deal with are of the townspeople's attitude toward the poor working class from Wharf street. Especially insensitive is their treatment of Molly, who once ws a teenager full of spirit and attitude. Molly gets the idle tongues wagging by keeping her daughter Ariel's father a secret while trying to settle in and take care of her mother.
This book pivots on the suspenseful plot Catherine Spencer draws so deftly. The characters are drawn with such compassion and show all of the contradictions of human nature. The nosy neighbor is a truly kind caretaker for Molly's mother, Hilda. Dan Cordell, the young doctor taking care of Hilda, is from a privileged famiy yet he chooses to work in a clinic caring for the disadvantaged.
How do the characters fit together and how will Molly handle the secret of who Ariel's father is? Will the fiery Molly make concessions for Ariel's sake? Will Molly find love and fulfillment? You already know some of the answers to these questions if you have read any of the many fine romances Catherine Spencer has written. The Doctor's Secret Child is the best of her many superbly written novels. Reading this book will delight you with intense descriptions of passion and charm you with the unexpected way love can triumph.
Charming book.......2003-03-07
As always, Catherine Spencer has written a book that transcends the ordinary in romance. Dan Cordell is a gem of a hero, someone we would all like to take home with us. His patience with troubled Molly and his willingness to wait for her to see her own worthiness give him a charm and likability that is exceptionally well portrayed. The writing and character development are outstanding, and the ending tender and hopeful for the future. A true romance.
Customer Reviews:
Planet of the Beast? ......Bored to tears!.......2006-07-07
When you look at the title of this book--Planet of the Beast, you think maybe the author is referring to Jason? Nope rather a stupidly contrived planet nick-name for planet #666 how dumb is that? However being that this is a sci-fi Horror, I'm willing to just go with the flow and give the author Nancy Kilpatrick the benefit of the doubt. Planet of the Beast is a slow read, not totally intolerable like the last book, "the Experiment" by Pat Cadigan. The first half of this book introduces 11 characters living at space station G7 including a meglomaniac doctor and his weasaly assistant which definatley had over tones of Dr Frankenstein and Igor all over it. Including their plan to "create" a new being by way of cloning. Total cheese.
After 200 pages of space regulations and botched interstellar protocol and characters pulling rank on each other our guy Jason finally shows up on board to wreak havoc. Some of the scenes are pretty cool in typical Jason style, but again(which happens in a lot of these Jason X novels or the Friday the 13th novels) Jason takes a back seat to yet more character development and personal insight. I don't really need to know all that extraneous info on a character that gets disemboweled!
This book could have been any sci fi book, all you had to do was insert the word "alien" or "monster" into the spots that says "Jason X." Technology on the space station is o.k. for a sci fi book that takes place in the 24th Century, some force fields, advanced nanotechnology, interesting space suits and laser weapons outfit the G7 space station/lab. The Author almost gives you a walk through of the space station as the story progresses, almost like its a travelogue.
Oh yeah, whats this bunk with calling him "Jason X"? I thought he was just plain old Jason? Jason "X" was just the number of the film, you know X=10. The hokey camp fire stories being told by one of the characters pits jason against soldiers in louisiana swamp, and another has Jason back in the 1930's going after Dorothy and Toto. What was the author thinking? Fortunately the Jason and the Wizard of Oz scenerio is pre-empted to go to another scene and then rejoined as the character is finishing. Thank god!
Planet of the Beast has a better second half, but it was still painful to digest. I thought the action could have been a lot better, the urgency of the characters wasn't described good enough. I also notice several typo's and misspelled words throughout the book. Bottom Line......try to keep yourself awake reading this one.
Campfire Stories.......2006-04-10
The only problem I had with this book was the terrible campfire story that had Jason killing a squad of soldiers in Louisiana.
So far as I know, New York City was his only trip away from Camp
Crystal Lake until he hit outer space. The character telling this
story obviously was not up-to-date on Jason's history. Other than this, I highly enjoyed the book.
Not bad, but not great........2006-02-03
An easy read. Not great, but not bad. As you read this book, please remember that this is the 2nd one, and 'this'Jason is different then the Jason X we saw in the film. That may explain why this Jason moves faster, and his method of killing seems different. It would help to read the book before this one, to get the whole back story.
I will read the next book in this series, to see where the ideas go.
Jason slasher for Jason X fans.......2005-12-01
I really enjoyed the book as it is a straight continuation of the Jason X movie. Our old friend behind the mask is back and he is not in a good mood! So if you are a Jason buff like me don't hesitate and buy this book. You won't be disappointed!!!!
Taking liberties.......2005-08-27
I'm a big fan of the Friday the 13th/Jason movies. I've moved into reading the new Jason X books. First one was direct from the movie and well done. The second one lagged and failed to focus on Jason so fell short of expectations (limited as they were, it is afterall a slasher book). This third one was so dismal it should be discontinued immediately.
First the "Planet of the Beast" takes place around the conveniently named Planet #666 which just happens to be the order in which humans discovered it in their search of planets; this in itself is utterly moronic. Second, "Jason X" is the name of the movie not the character however the author seems to insist that's the killer's name now. The mass of inconsistiencies shows the author did no research or possibly never even seen the Jason X movie. She repeatedly comments on Jason's pale cold blue eyes. Did she not even look at the cover photo for her book? Did anyone in editing not see the movie? Jason's eyes, after being transformed are a burning reddish orange, certainly not blue. The author writes about Jason's mouth which is non existant from the new mask. Most damaging (other than the eyes which bothered the crap out of me) is the repetitive statements regarding Jason's extremely fast speed. What??? Jason has never moved fast and even basing it off the Jason X movie, he moved no faster after transformation. Fourth, as another reviewer stated, Jason was a killer not a torturer. The mass amount of dismemberment was boring and nonsensical and was there for the 'gore purpose' only and it falls completely short of that, again hinging on moronic. The author didn't even attempt to explain how Jason revives on Planet #666.
For all my ranting, here is the summation of my view... in short, this book seemed to have been written by a 12-year old and is just simply abysmal. The author didn't care about the book or subject matter, the author had no clue about the subject matter, and the editing was terrible (just the amount of typoes and grammar was disgraceful for any book). I don't expect much from a book based on "Friday the 13th" but I do expect the author to show some ingenuity and/or reasoning in their work.
Even as a fan, you shouldn't read this book. This book doesn't even deserve a 1/4 star for a rating.
Book Description
What if miracles were available for the asking? What if by applying an ancient spiritual formula, we could access divine intervention in ordinary reality, even in times of serious emergency? What if it were not even necessary to believe in God to attract a miracle?
Dr. Carolyn Miller, a research scientist, investigates miracles through the exceptional stories of ordinary people who emerged unscathed from dangerous situations. The first scientific look at miracles, it includes a method for attracting miraculous experiences into your own life. Dr. Miller takes an unsentimental look at the stories of miracle workers who have survived accidents and assaults by entering into a serene, detached, and loving state of consciousness. In the face of grave danger, these people report a remarkable absence of fear even when they believe they are going to die, a peaceful acceptance of the inevitable, and an unusual expansion of time. The result of this state of consciousness is deliverance from danger. A student of metaphysics as well as a scientist, Miller explores the evidence for miracles, drawing on these amazing experiences.
Dr. Miller is not trying to stretch our credulity to the breaking point. After noting dozens of awe-inspiring stores, she takes a rigorous look at the case for miracles from a scientific point of view. Her conclusions will startle believers and skeptics alike: Miracles are real, and accessing them requires only that we follow some clear and simple steps. No one can prove that miracles do not happen, and by looking at the phenomenon through the window of the most advanced scientific thinking today, they are easily explained. Part Two of Creating Miracles gives helpful ideas as to how we might consciously create miracles in our own lives.
Customer Reviews:
Roll Your Own Miracles (?).......2000-07-02
Quick - what's the first thing that comes to mind when you find yourself in a bind? The frantic search for someone to blame? The feeling of victimhood? The lengths to which we are willing to stretch reason in order to find someone else responsible for our woes is nearly comical.
This book is as close as you can get to a "how-to" book for miracles. The exalted "A Course In Miracles" is quoted freely in this work, establishing its secure underpinnings in the metaphysics of higher realities (a.k.a. miracles). The key: miracles are a CHOICE.
If life is a series of lessons, choosing the "path less taken" often means a conscious decision to see a situation in a completely different light. This might entail compassion for the oppressor, awareness of the "big picture" and the wellbeing of all concerned, or simply a complete surrender to a loving Higher Power. (Interestingly, completely "losing it" later on seems to be OK). When this loving attitude is chosen as the response to a crisis, the lesson may be "called off" as it were. You got it. You passed the test. No need to go further.
This is a wonderful book - one that should be read by everybody as an antidote for the "eye for an eye" mentality of the world-mind.
A treasure guide to living with grace and freedom.......2000-05-12
Creating Miracles excited me to the core of my being. I have seen and felt its principles operating in my life and have learned that we all have the power to access a spiritual and mental state that allows us to surrender to God/Spirit and find the path to living a passionate, purpose-filled, and yes, miracle-filled life.
In Creating Miracles, Carolyn Miller provides the keys to help us see, understand and find our way through the maze that is life and to take an active role in consciously creating our own miracles. It is one of the most valuable books I have read because it fills my world with the grace and freedom that comes from learning how to live with peace and serenity, trusting that all is as it should be in this moment, and knowing how to create a more desirable future.
I have recommended Creating Miracles to many many friends and given it as gifts. I share it's principles with my hospice patients and virtually everyone I come in contact with. Simply said, it works!
How to bring miracles into your daily life.......2000-04-28
I love the way Carolyn Miller tells real-life stories of miraculous occurrences with the thoughts and feelings of the people experiencing the miracles. Miller captures the emotional spark and personality of those involved, and gives us a front-row seat as miracles unfold. Many of these stories describe people who survived accidents and escaped assaults in situations where they easily might have died or been seriously injured instead. Miller explains how changes in people's thinking leads to changes in the circumstances in their lives, even when the situation appears to be hopeless. Miller points out some simple steps each of us can take to live more miraculous lives, and she explains them so clearly that it's easy to do!
Interesting enough.......1999-10-09
Facing a eye disease with no known cure and progressive degeneration I found myself looking at books with titles like this one. Aftear all, since medicine has no answer, I'll have to find the solution in some other way. I'm not really very religious, and am actually a bit ashamed to show books like these to my friends (as a engineering student and computer geek this is not really the stuff I used to read). Still, I liked Carolyn's way of writing without being based in a specific religion.
It's hard to know what's true and what's not, what comes from God and from men. The Bible isn't for me, at least, not everything. The concept of Carolyn's God is indeed a lot more pleasant. Is it that way? Who knows.
In any case, the book won't make it worse, it can only make you a bit better person (and more optimist) or you'll just throw it away disgusted.
I liked it, the first pages were somewhat boring and the cases shown were not impressive at all. But the second half was delicious and left me thinking about it.
Read it, I definitely didn't regret spending my money on it, even if some parts sounded like some books on mind control (Ex: Silva's Mind control method).
Overall, it was good book and I'll read it again soon. If you think there must be someone or something out there worrying about us but have no clear idea about it, give it a try.
Understanding this book could remake your life........1999-09-13
Wouldn't it be great if each of us could remake our lives miraculously? Wouldn't it be great if we got more great ideas, had more fortunate coincidences, understood more quickly the positive and constructive meaning of the difficulties we encounter? Wouldn't it be great if we had more reason to value love, joy and peace of mind so that we would be more intent on incorporating these states more fully into our lives? Creating Miracles goes a long way towards inspiring me towards these ends. It is written very intelligently and it's filled with wonderful, inspiring, fascinating, thought provoking stories. I often recall a passage or story from this book when I am encountering difficulty in my circumstances or in my emotional experience, and very often it helps me to return to where I am enjoying my life again. In other words, this book helps keep me alive.
I remember a couple of statements. Albert Einstein's "God does not play dice," and Barbara De Angelis' saying in her book Real Moments, "Throughout my lifetime, I'd learned over and over again that there are no accidents in the Universe,..." (p. 79). I especially liked Carolyn Miller's book because it helped demystify the idea of miracles. It seems it is very likely that so-called miracles are not in any way random events, and they are within reach of everyone. I cannot prove it, but it seems to me that miracles--maybe not on the scale as many in the book--are a normal part of my life now. I credit Creating Miracles with helping me create my life more fulfillingly and meaningfully.
Books:
- A Dangerous Mourning (William Monk Novels)
- A Sin and a Shame: A Novel
- A Stranger in the Kingdom: A Novel
- A Trumpet in the Wadi
- Above the Thunder
- Accident: A Day's News: A Novel (Phoenix Fiction)
- Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori, Book One)
- Al Este Del Eden/East of Eden (Granta en Espanol)
- Archaeologies of Vision: Foucault and Nietzsche on Seeing and Saying
- Arrogance: A Novel
Books Index
Books Home
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- Shared Sorrows: A Gypsy Family Remembers the Holocaust
- She Who Laughs, Lasts!
- The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance
- The Elusive Eden: A New History of California
- Tax Reporting for Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporations
- Successful Time Management: A Self-Teaching Guide, 2nd Edition
- Business Information Desk Reference: Where to Find Answers to Business Questions
She Came to Stay
The Second Sex
All Men Are Mortal
The Ethics Of Ambiguity
A Very Easy Death (Pantheon Modern Writers Series)
