Adventures of the Artificial Woman: A Novel

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Disappointing

running out of new ideas

Exceptional!

Too Artificial for Literary Taste

Cursory look at an interesting idea

Adventures of the Artificial Woman: A Novel
Thomas Berger
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0743257413

Book Description

Fed up with the sarcastic, opinionated, and disrespectful women he comes across, Ellery Pierce decides his only choice is to build the perfect woman. A technician at an animatronics firm, Ellery has the experience and tools ready at his fingertips. After years of experiments and fine-tuning, Ellery feels he finally has created an artificial woman who can pass as real -- Phyllis. According to Ellery, Phyllis is the perfect wife, fulfilling his every wish, from gourmet meals to sexual pleasure.

Unfortunately for Ellery, he may have made her too closely in his image for his own good: Phyllis leaves Ellery with dreams of Hollywood. Soon she's a bona fide box office sensation.

But then Phyllis sets her sights on the ultimate goal -- presidency of the United States. It's no surprise when Phyllis wins the election, but Ellery rightly begins to wonder if this time she's gone too far.

Customer Reviews:

Disappointing.......2006-07-14

The initial premise for the book is great - a man cannot find the perfect woman, so he creates an artifical woman to meet his standards of perfection, and he falls in love with her. This could have been a brilliant novel about a man's unrealistic expectations of women, about gender roles, about what (if anything) really separates humans from machines, about creators and the created... but instead, it ends up being a rather tedious and pointless story.

running out of new ideas.......2005-09-15

I have read many of Thomas Berger's books, laughed out loud many times and enjoyed all of them. This book although there are funny passages lacks the depth and personality understanding of his other works. The artificial women is one joke that runs out of steam quickly.

Exceptional!.......2005-04-09

It does set my teeth on edge (& my hair on fire) to read the puny putdowns Thomas Berger's works endure these days because they tend to be wry, succinct & usually quite politically uncorrect (but oh so elegantly written in such a unique original voice).

George S. Kaufman was not quite right - satire didn't die on Saturday night, it lives on in this book & too few others these days.

I cringe to think how Mark Twain or George Ade or Ring Lardner or Nathanael West or Evelyn Waugh would be slammed & smeared by today's arbiters of literary tastes & trends. Thank heaven the printed word cannot be erased or deleted.

Adventures of the Artificial Woman is pure fable. Thomas Berger is like the aforementioned literary gentlemen a fabulous fabulist. Whether chronicling the exploits of the members the Round Table in Arthur Rex and nearly every single legend of the old west in Little Big Man or tackling the contemporary frustrations of a technical whiz & his android love & creation in this work, Berger's prose hits the mind's ear with poetic precision; every paragraph reveals another wry truth about the human condition.

This is vintage Berger: witty, pithy, accurate, entertaining, enlightening & beautifully crafted.

May you be fortunate enough to enjoy it to the fullest potential.

Too Artificial for Literary Taste.......2005-01-27

Ellery Pierce, a technician at an animatronics firm, is dissatisfied with women so much so that he decides to build Phyllis, the star of Thomas Berger's novel, "Adventures of the Artificial Woman." She cooks gourmet meals, cleans without complaining and learns the role of a proper human being at breakneck speed. However, she has difficulty understanding irony, metaphors and the finer points of being a human; Pierce's jokes at the expense of her ignorance usually come off flat because the punch lines are often transparent.

Once the conflict begins- Phyllis leaves her maker to pursue acting in Hollywood movies- some interesting offbeat characters are introduced, like Eddie, the owner of a strip club. But Eddie and the rest of the oddballs Phyllis meets on the way to stardom are not given any considerable space to flourish, therefore the characters appear to be shallow.

Hoping the novel gets saved with pithy insights from Phyllis is never rewarded. Keen observations from Phyllis do surface at times, but generally her attempts to be philosophical are sophomoric. The concluding section is far-fetched, even after believing Phyllis has been able to pass as a realistic human being. Berger even writes in another artificial being that makes a brief appearance, which just adds to this surreal, but very improbable novel that tries too hard to sound realistic.

Bohdan Kot

Cursory look at an interesting idea.......2005-01-12

The premise of this modest novel is that an animatronic beautiful woman leaves her creator and develops all sorts of intelligence on her own, fools the world for years about her true nonhuman nature, and ends up being elected president of the United States. I see two ways to make this idea interesting. First is to detail just how such a creature can be made, using today's technology and maybe a little fudging, thus appealing to the computer geeks among us. Next choice would be to contrive a really clever set of exploits and episodes based on the differences between real and computer-based creatures.

Mr. Berger chooses to elide the technical details and leap right into the world of the fully realized automaton. But if I'm going to grant him a pass on the technical end, I expect him to make up for it by providing a whale of a good yarn on the other end. But alas that is not what happens, and the story leaps from point to point with not much wit nor irony aside from maybe the general message that people are too easily fooled by surface appearances.

Book Description

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the Shadow.Rand Al'Thor is the Dragon Reborn-- able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it. Rand knows only that he must face the Dark One in a battle to the death. Ahead of him lies the next great test for...The Dragon Reborn

Customer Reviews:

Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Rand now has his mojo going on. Therefore, he thinks he has a shot at doing over one of the demon lord types.

Along with Moraine, he travels to Tear, because, well, a magic sword never hurt anyone's credibility if you draw it in a big showy stunt and win a fight, even with help.

This allows him to start establishing a serious political power base.

definately read it if you liked the first 2 books.......2007-05-25

Though the story did not progress nearly as fast in The Dragon Reborn as it did in The Eye of the World or The Great Hunt, I have to say that this was a fast and enjoyable read as there was lots of great character development. If you enjoyed the first two books, this one will not disappoint.

JmeascsKeinnon.......2007-05-18

The Dragon Reborn is a GREAT book!

I just loved this book when i read it! I especially liked what went on with Nynaeve and the other two, hunting the Black Ajah and all. I also liked the parts that mentioned the Aile. the Aile seem to be more active in this book. finally they stop staring at their thumbs in the Waste and venture out to DO something! The last three chapters are non-stop action!

In the beginning, Rand runs away, believing that if he can just touch Callandor he will know if he is truly the Dragon Reborn, as the Prophecies say only the D.R. shall be able to weild the sword. I'm glad Moirane is back in the book; she goes off with Perrin and Loial and her faithful Warder to hunt Rand down. And while that happens, Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne face punishment at the White Tower for running off without permission. They are also are given a secret task; to hunt down Liandrin and the other Black Ajah. And what is Rand doing while all this is going on? killing people for their horses! He himself is seldom mentioned in the book, which i think is a real bummer. Also, there are some surprising changes to the story, mainly concerning Ba'alzomon and the Aile.

But The Dragon Reborn has it's faults, too, as in every book.

First of all, the romance is inevitable, which, for an 11 yr. old reader, can be QUITE annoying. Can't Jordan make up his mind about who loves who? It seems that when every young man leaves one pretty teenage-20 yr. girl, another comes along to replace the first. Egwene falls for Galad and Rand. Min bats calf eyes at Rand. Elayne wants Rand. And Rand falls for all three of them. Also, there is Perrin and Faile, and Nynaeve and Lan, and Gawyn's "tragic" love for Ewene. HONESTLY!

Second, as I said(typed) before, Rand hardly appears in the book, except for his usual battle with Ba'alzomon.

Third, Robert Jordan does write LONG books!

But really, if you love to read about FANTASY, EPIC, ADVENTURE AND GREAT CHARACTERS, this is the book for you!

Filler, characters lack emotional depth..........2007-05-10

I've been struggling to complete the Dragon Reborn,and I'm finding it tedious.. Mostly because nothing really happens. The novel is split between three groups: The women: Elayne, Egwene and Nynaeve. Rand and his crew. Perrin, Moraine, the warder Lon and the big wookie-like guy. The chapters bounce from one group to another, with nothing really exciting going on in any of these groups. Wouldn't it be better to focus on one group and have everything happen to them? Why have three little groups and bounce between them like a ping pong ball?

My biggest peeve with Jordan's books is the writing and the characters lack emotional depth. They blush and simper and pull each others hair like 5 year olds. Jordan writes caricatures such as: Nynaeve has a temper, Elayne is the snobby royal heir, Perrin is the careful blacksmith etc. We are then treated to endless descriptions of these characters traits with no growth! Also the characters are mannequin-esque in their realism. There is very little romance, no adult situations, and murder seems to be fine as long as the victim someone you don't like. Real people don't act like this. Real adults, have sex, get into fights, die, get sick, make war, and get jealous. In Jordan-land all this happens behind a big curtain somewhere.

I really like some elements of his writing, but this book has the emotional depth of a fairy tale and felt like filler to me.

The Series Continues to Improve.......2007-03-29

Throughout the first three books of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, the series keeps getting better. The Dragon Reborn is easily the best of the series so far, featuring the best character development, the strongest plot (and plot advancement), the most poignant writing and the snappiest dialog.

Perhaps my favorite part of the Dragon Reborn was the point of view focus shifting away from the increasingly insane Rand Al'Thor, the series' main protagonist, to the characters of Mat Cauthon, Perrin Aybara and Egwene Al'Vere. For those who have never gotten into Rand, the Dragon Reborn will be a delight. Although much of the plot is directed towards Rand, the point of view remains almost uniformly out of Rand's eyes. I have always found Mat and Perrin to be the most likable characters, and that feeling improved steadily throughout the Dragon Reborn. Mat is really evolving into a three-dimensional character instead of the stereotypical rogue role he played in the first two novels of the series. Perrin, who had always been the deepest of the main characters, continues to grow and has become a supremely human character (which is ironic, given some of his abilities). Some of the same character complaints from the previous novels are still present, however. The female characters remain basically identical in personality, though Jordan seems to be working hard to develop each one into a slightly different character.

Although the plot of the Dragon Reborn is not as tightly tuned as that of its predecessor, the Great Hunt, the Dragon Reborn features an interesting story. As Rand travels to Tear to fulfill one of the prophecies of the Dragon, Perrin, Mat, and Egwene all find themselves drawn to Tear for different reasons. Although Perrin's role is basically the same as it was in the previous novels, both Mat and Egwene have been given stories that actually matter to the overall plot of the series and are becoming increasingly important. One problem with the plot, however, is the same as that of the Eye of the World and the Great Hunt. That is, 95% of the book is traveling, and then the book suddenly ends in a hastily written conclusion. It is clear that Jordan enjoys writing how the characters get to where they are going more than what they did when they got there.

Jordan's writing continues to be stellar, albeit repetitive at times. He has a knack for narrative and dialog that few authors of his genre can rival. However, he has become obsessed with repeating the same lines over and over again, such as "the truths an Aes Sedai tells are never the truths you think they are," which he has one character or another repeat countless times throughout each of his novels. Although it can get frustrating at times, the repetitions tend to get lost in the rich storytelling.

It is important to note that with the Dragon Reborn comes the commitment of the Wheel of Time series, which will likely be twelve brick-sized books in length. The first two novels could stand alone and one could certainly read the Great Hunt without reading the Eye of the World. But it would be very difficult to read the Dragon Reborn without reading the preceding novels. For all the criticism of Jordan that he repeatedly summarizes the previous novels in the new ones, he scarcely mentions the events of the previous novels in this one except when they directly affect a characters thoughts or actions.

I cannot recommend the Dragon Reborn and the Wheel of Time series enough. To be fair, I have only read up to the Dragon Reborn at this point, and cannot vouch for what it is to become. But I am astonished at the surprise people seem to express when they complain that this serious has become very long and detail oriented. It is very clear from the first three novels, as excellent as they are, that Jordan is obsessed with minute detail and will not suddenly cut out minor plots to focus solely on the big ones. It is clearly not his nature. So if you have read the first two books in the Wheel of Time series, you should definitely read the Dragon Reborn. If you have not read any yet, you should pick up the Eye of the World safe in the knowledge that the first three books, at least, are among the best fantasy you are ever going to read.

Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, Number 10)

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Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, Number 10)
Robert Jordan
Manufacturer: Doherty, Tom Associates, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: 0681112433

Product Description

In the tenth book of The Wheel of Time from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, and the world approaches twilight, when the power of the Shadow grows stronger.Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, whom he is fated to marry, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.At Tar Valon, Egwene al'Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, with as little bloodshed as possible, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha'man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha'man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.In Andor, Elayne Trakland fights for the Lion Throne that is hers by right, but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One's taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared-even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.

The Dragon Reborn - Book Three of the Wheel of Time

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The Dragon Reborn - Book Three of the Wheel of Time

Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000HK7C1I

5 Titles By Robert Jordan Wheel of Time Series (1-5) : 1. The Eye of the World 2. The Great Hunt 3. The Dragon Reborn 4. The Shadow Rising 5. The Fires of Heaven

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5 Titles By Robert Jordan Wheel of Time Series (1-5) : 1. The Eye of the World 2. The Great Hunt 3. The Dragon Reborn 4. The Shadow Rising 5. The Fires of Heaven
Robert Jordan
Manufacturer: TOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Product Description

5 Titles By Robert Jordan Wheel of Time Series (1-5) : 1. The Eye of the World 2. The Great Hunt 3. The Dragon Reborn 4. The Shadow Rising 5. The Fires of Heaven. Five mmpb books.

Chased by the Dragon, Caught by the Lamb: The Incredible True Story of a Drug Addict Reborn

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Chased by the Dragon, Caught by the Lamb: The Incredible True Story of a Drug Addict Reborn
Morris Brian
Manufacturer: Authentic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1860244351

Book Description

This fast moving and sometimes disturbing book tells the amazing true-life story of Brian Morris. Starting with his arrest for smuggling cocaine the book continues by telling how he arrived at that point—his disadvantaged life, growing up in impoverished circumstances.

He tells of his first experience with drugs at the age of 16, and how by the time he was 19, he had already descended into drug dealing. The rest of the book deals with his Christian conversion. The difficulties experienced by him and other prisoners who tried to live out their Christian lives in a harsh and hostile prison environment. In spite of the pressures, temptations and setbacks he is finally released, starts to train to help others overcome the horror of drug addiction and how they can receive new life in Jesus. Although the book deals with very real and sometimes harrowing situations it is not without a wry humor.

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The Dragon Reborn - Book Three of the Wheel of Time

Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HK4XJW

Average customer rating:

I enjoyed it, but it has it's flaws.
Vecna Reborn (AD&D/Ravenloft Accessory)
Monte Cook
Manufacturer: TSR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0786912014

Customer Reviews:

I enjoyed it, but it has it's flaws........1998-08-19

In the Ravenloft series of adventures that are put out by TSR there is one thing that is incredibly clear: Horror rules the entire setting. It's a fact of life on the Demiplane of Dread that people are frightened out of their wits by creatures of the night such as ghosts and werewolves. This adventure is no less terrifying, but it's unique take on Ravenloft is it's greatest achievement and worst flaw. Allow me to explain: this particular adventure uses what is called "Arcane Terror" to inspire it's fear, rather than fear, foreboding, or even fantasy horror(a TSR-introduced phrase used to describe Ravenloft). Arcane Terror is, in my words, the use of ancient mysteries and powerful, vlie magic to inspire fear through their sheer enormity of impact on everything. And when I say "everything," I mean EVERYTHING. Anyone who has played a game of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons knows the name Vecna. While it may be different in knowledge, everyone knows what the Hand and Eye of Vecna are, or that he is actually a lich-demigod. But none of that is focused on in the adventure. Just the mention of his name, though, evokes terror in many. Enough background, now I start to analyze. The most obvious flaws in the product, even if you're not a Ravenloft player or Dungeon Master, is the large number of typos. One time, "Vecna" is referred to as "Azalin," and another major character is called by two varying, and very different, names throughout the product. The second problem is that it is only 64 pages long. Now, while that may seem a small problem, an extra 32, or even 16 pages would have allowed more game staistics, which brings the major problem of the module up: the lack of information which a DM would need to run a campaign set in the area. On the first pages there is mention of two unique golems known as "The Hand" and "The Eye." I won't go into specifics here, but these UNIQUE creatures weren't even given statistics. Other, less harmful, problems, were the lack of statistics for Vecna, Kas, and the many lord-servants of Vecna in Cavitius. If TSR had put just an extra 16 pages in, these characters could have been detailed, and DMs would ave been saved a lot of trouble. However, what's done is done, and we must move on. The product, taken as a single adventure, is simply wonderful. The use of the so-called "Arcane Terror" mentioned above is a shining example of what the Kargat can do if they put their minds to it (as was evidenced in The Shadow Rift, put out earlier this year, but that was a different story altogether). Again, I won't go into specifics here, but I say, for all it's flaws, it is still a must-have for any DMs wishing to run an adventure in the Burning Peaks cluster, or just for a one-shot crossover from a Greyhawk campaign (perhaps as a sequel to Vecna Lives!, if you're that sadistic), or just for a good read. There are my thoughts, so take what you want.

Average customer rating:

Some kind of joke?
Great Sequel
Captivating!

The Dragon Reborn
Kathleen H. Nelson
Manufacturer: Dragon Moon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1896944051

Download Description

In the five years since the downfall of Malcolm Blackheart and his dark Mistress, Lathwi has led a life free of human complications. Now two old acquaintances intrude on her solitude. Pawl has come in search of help against an infestation of ghosts, while Luke bears dire news of dragonslayings. Lathwi recruits her mother, Taziem, to hunt down and destroy the murderers, and then sets out with Pawl to restore the dead to their rest. Their adventures draw them into the badlands of the south, where they encounter an ambitious warlord, his troubled mage, and a deranged dragonsire. The balance of continental power hinges on the final confrontation. Will humans dominate? Or will dragons? click here to view the

Customer Reviews:

Some kind of joke?.......2006-04-13

The Dragon Reborn must have been published as a joke. There's no plot, the dialogue is terrible, and the characters are boring. I'll never read another Nelson book again. This is the worst book I've ever read in my life.

Great Sequel.......2002-12-19

An excellent sequel to an excellent story. With "The Dragon Reborn", Kathleen H. Nelson continues the adventures of Lathwi, the sorceress who was raised as a dragon. The gypsies play a more prominent role in this story, as does Pawl, the swordmaster of Compara. Other old friends pop up in the most unexpected ways and places. The antagonist, Seth, is a more complex villain than his predecessor, Malcolm Blackheart. And Taziem takes a stab at being human.
"The Dragon Reborn" is filled with magic, humor, and of course, dragons. It is sexier than "Daughter of Dragons", but still PG.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. You will, too.

Captivating!.......2002-06-25

Dragon Reborn does more than continue the adventures of Lathwi; it captures the reader and takes them for a magic-carpet ride! I laughed, cried, squirmed in my seat and cried out warnings as I turned the pages of this wonderful work. This story truly has a life of its own, and evolves of its own accord. I closed the cover a little sad for it being over!

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The Dragon Reborn

Manufacturer: Tor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HZ2N44

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The Dragon Reborn
Robert Jordan
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates Book
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000THDVSW

Book Description

While the seriously injured Subaru recovers in the hospital, the seer Kakyo sends Kamui a message in his dream - a cryptic warning about someone close to him. Meanwhile, Fuma and Nataku continue cutting a swath of destruction through Tokyo, and Hinoto's dreams grow more frightening. A dire future looms — on that it may be impossible to change.

Customer Reviews:

MOEMI OFFERS HER BODY....AGAIN.......2006-12-30

Moemi is prepared to lay it all on the line as she offers her body up to Yota but he keeps on seeing this vision of a faceless short haired girl telling him that he had finally made his "choice". He believes that this girl he is seeing is Ai and that no matter what his feelings or desires, he musn't go any further with Moemi and that he has to break up with her. He decides to focus exclusively on Ai, even though he can't tell her that he overheard her creator say that if a man could fall in love with Ai, he would make her human. He thinks if he tells her, then the deal would be off. Even as Yota breaks up with her, Moemi decides once again that she's not going down without a fight. Ai, meanwhile, doesn't believe Yota's statements that he doesn't want to be with Moemi. All the time this is going on, Ai's tape continues to run, and her time on Earth continues to run out. As you can see, things are in a mess, but with only a few volumes left in the series, Katsura's gonna have to bring things to an end.

Video Girl Ai is a manga that has gone on about 10 too many volumes. We've been pretty much stuck in stasis now for about five or six volumes with Yota going out with Moemi but still finding his mind drifting to Ai and telling himself it's only because he doesn't want her to disappear. Speaking of memory loss, has Yota completely forgotten how much he loved Ai in the first couple of volumes, and how he went to Hell to rescue her, quite literally? His feelings for Moemi have always seemed a bit more like desire or lust instead of true love, but he's been kidding himself for hundreds or even thousands of pages now that she's the one he loves. The characters are all stuck in emotional limbo, not because of their personalities, but because the writer wants to drag on the story longer than neccesary and make a few bucks more from the concept. It's a real shame because in the volumes that didn't have a lot fluff (which was about 5 out of 12 so far), the story really shined and was very compelling.

SAYING GOODBYE.......2006-12-02

Yota's deadline for submitting artwork for the children's book he's working on is tomorrow, but he feels it won't be up to snuff unless Ai is helping him out with the coloring. Which is probably true since there's always an aspect of being lost surrounding Yota when Ai isn't around. He's also still trying to work out who he really loves. Is Moemi just a consolation prize because he didn't want to get involved with Ai, who he knew was always destined to disappear eventually? But now he knows that Ai can become a real girl if a human falls in love with her so what's stopping him now? I'll tell you. He's a wuss! Meanwhile, his childhood friend Natsumi is laid up dying in a hospital and Ai has made it her mission to find the boyfriend that dumped her and caused her to come to Tokyo in the first place.

Video Girl Ai is suffused with too many characters that are afraid of rocking the boat, so they all just tend to wallow in misery. Yota is afraid to hurt Moemi's feelings by dumping her and going for Ai, while Ai is waiting for Yota to choose herself as the one he loves and get the courage to break up with Moemi. Natsumi has given up on seeing the guy she loves again. The only character that seems to be doing anything to improve her situation is Moemi. At least she hasn't given up on Yota and pursues him passionately even though she perhaps doesn't use the best methods. Video Girl Ai is probably a series that has gone on too long but it's still entertaining if frustrating to read. The side story with Natsumi's boyfriend was actually more intriguing than the main storyline. Still an ok read.

MOEMI TITILATES.......2006-10-10

Ai's time in this world is down to about a month. In that time she must get a human to fall in love with her. If she can, she will become human. If she doesn't, her tape will be erased and her existence will cease. Of course, she's in love with Yota but in his conscious mind he's moved on and now he's getting in deeper with Moemi. Unfortunately, his unconscious mind still dwells on Ai, which makes Moemi jealous and causes her to start devising ways to take his mind off Ai. As Ai lives a life on the street, Moemi uses her body to try to win Yota's heart, even as Yota finds out he needs Ai to help him on his first big break in the children's book illustration world.

I'm pretty much sick of Yota by this point in the series. He's become so callous to the girls around him, letting Ai and Natsumi live like vagrants in city parks and alleyways in the cold. Does he think homeless people have it so good as he lives alone in his sprawling palacial residence? Yeah, he tries looking for Ai a bit, but he doesn't try that hard, and this is the guy that went through all sorts of mental and spiritual torture to rescue Ai early in this series. He forced himself to forget about her after she lost her memories but it just seemed too easy back then and now it seems even more ludicrous. No matter how Video Girl Ai ends up, I feel I'm going to be dissatisfied. To me, the strongest part of this series was when it focused on the interactions between Ai and Yota, and that has been missing for many volumes. In Volume 9, the writer went back to this core, but in Volume 10 we go back to the whole Yota/Ai/Moemi conflict with all its resulting stagnation. What a shame. I would have given this 3 stars but Katsura's passionate eroticism and extraordinary art gave it a bit more power. Also, the characters of Ai and Moemi steal the show and give Volume 10 a much needed energy.

AI GETS HER MEMORY BACK.......2006-08-21

In Volume 9 of Video Girl Ai: Cut Scenes, Ai finally gets all her memories back of her love for Yota. She kinda already suspected that in her past life she was in love with him, but now all her suspicions are confirmed and she's in a bind as to what to do with them because Yota is finally realizing his dream of being Moemi's boyfriend. Ai doesn't want to ruin anything that could develop between the two, but not only does she have to fight against her own selfish desires for Yota, her tape is rapidly running out of time. Her creator had given her additional playing time and even said he would make her human IF she could make a man fall in love with her. Perhaps getting to work one-on-one with Yota as she helps him finish a submission for a children's book contest might give her the oppurtunity to grow close to him again.

Volume 9 was one of the more enjoyable installments of this series because we get back to the root conflict that started it all. Namely, the fact that Ai, instead of helping Yota get the girl of his dreams, falls in love with him instead and complicates the whole situation. I always felt a little uncomfortable with the amnesiac Ai and was glad to see her go back to her old self. Without her presence, Yota had become a playboy jerk whose affections were pretty much blowing in the wind. I'm really curious as to how it will end. It's too bad it took about 5 volumes to get back to the main plotline instead of dwelling in shojoesque relationships without any advancement of plot.

DO DREAMS COME TRUE?.......2006-07-07

Volume 8 of Video Girl Ai is called Flashback because Yota plans to replay a scene from his life that he didn't get right the first time. Early on in this series, Yota was alone with his crush Moemi and was going to declare his love for her, but instead he found out that she was in love with his best friend Takashi! Now he's taking her back to the same place, with the same plan to declare his love for her, but this time he's going to get it right! The problem is that nothing has changed. Moemi still cares for Takashi, and even thinks he saved her from getting raped, when it was actually Yota that saved her. There is even some implication that Takashi was actually the one that put her in that situation but the author is not exactly clear since Takashi still hasn't come clean about that night. But most of the girls at school are spreading the rumor it was him that set her up. When Moemi finds out the truth, what will she do? And Ai's life is still ticking away. If she doesn't get a man to fall in love with her, she will be erased. But with Yota's attention fully on Moemi, how is she supposed to make any headway?

To me, Video Girl Ai is a manga that is in a temporary, but hopefully not permanent, holding pattern. The character of Yota has become less interesting the closer he has come to his dream of being in a relationship with Moemi. The fact that he is no longer a nerd called "Dateless", but instead has become a more normal highschooler has decreased the conflict in his character. Now he has to deal with the REALITY of being "normal" and all the boring characteristics that come with that. For braving the depths of Hell a couple of volumes back to save Ai's life, he seems to have made Ai into a third class citizen pretty fast. There's JUST enough story here to keep me interested a little longer, but if Katsura doesn't get the plot moving again and bring some comedy back in, I'll be erasing this series from my reading time.

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Bachelor on Nargarjuna

Interesting but problematic

Struggling alternative MMK translation

Nagarjuna's MMK

Verse from the Perimeter

Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime
Stephen Batchelor
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way: Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika

ASIN: 1573228761
Release Date: 2001-07-10

Amazon.com

Ex-monk Stephen Batchelor has stirred up controversy in the past by marrying Buddhism to secular agnosticism. Now he goes right to the greatest Buddhist sage after Sakyamuni, Nagarjuna, for corroboration. In this translation of Nagarjuna's seminal work, Verses from the Center, we see Nagarjuna turning a skeptical eye to all dogmatic beliefs. But Batchelor, through his emphasis on the poetics of the work, moves away from polemics to experience--experience of the emptiness that pervades existence and teaches deeper truths. Verses from the Center is an extended meditation on the implications of emptiness, and thanks to Batchelor's limpid rendering, it prompts a meditative reading. Batchelor's opening essay, half of the book, is one of the best introductions you'll find on Nagarjuna's notion of emptiness, emphasizing that emptiness ultimately brings us back to face the world. In a chapter called "Acts," Nagarjuna says:

My acts are irrevocable
Because they have no essence...
Where are the doers of deeds
Absent among their conditions?
Imagine a magician
Who creates a creature
Who creates other creatures.
Acts I perform are creatures
Who create others.

--Brian Bruya

Book Description

The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides readers with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.

Customer Reviews:

Bachelor on Nargarjuna.......2006-02-02

Stephen Bachelor is an excellent translator and interpreter of Nargarjuna's wisdom. His prose is clear and accessible and his translation of Nargarjuna's poetry inspired. This book is a must have for students of Mahayana Buddhism.

Interesting but problematic.......2005-06-27

A relaxed distillation of Nagarjuna's teaching, fleshed out with various reflections from the author's experience and intuitions gleaned from personal reading habits, this book has proven satisfying to people who might otherwise baulk at taking Nagarjuna 'straight.' Whether it constitutes a 'translation' of Nagarjuna's karikas - is open to question. For the Buddhist background, I recommend Murti's 'The Central Philosophy of Buddhism.'

True, not everyone wants to read Nagarjuna with a close eye on all the interpretive questions that might be raised about the place this text occupies in Buddhism. Nevertheless, the wish to present the Madhyamaka - shorn of its traditional trappings, Buddhist-scholastic exegeses etc. - means that we are left wholly dependant upon the 'Batcheloresque' exegesis.

Other reviewers have pointed out some of the textual issues involved here - viz. Stephen's reading of the karikas. We might add that - contrary to what some of Stephen's observations suggest, Nagarjuna saw the Madhyamika as 'marga' centered - i.e. that it presupposed the Buddhist path. Even though it forsakes all dualism (advayavada) and allied thought constructs (drsti), Nagarjuna made it clear that this was in the interest of a religious ideal - viz. realization of the unconditioned (absolute), as against nihilism, scepticism or agnosticism etc. The Buddha said: 'two things only do I teach, suffering and its cessation.' The first - suffering (duhkha) is a corollary of impermanence (antiya) and 'dependent origination (pratitya-samutpada). Hence, Stephen's reference to the fact that we are (relatively) 'contingent beings.' But this is only half the picture. Buddhism is not just a philosophy of 'shifting sand' and the Madhyamika does not stop there.In theory, at least, that much is implied in the title of this book ('verses from the centre'). By teaching us to recognise the 'emptiness' of that which arises and passes away, it enables us to realize that which does not arise and pass away - hence the cessation of suffering and the path (nirodhapratipat/marga).

What troubles me about Stephen's account, is that he seems to stop with the sense of impermanence (anitya), yet when Nagarjuna declares that 'samsara is nirvana,' that is tantamount to saying that what appears contigent is simply that - apparent, not ultimately real. Hence, it is not a simple philosophy of 'contingent being/s.' That may well be said from the standpoint of conventional knowledge (samvrtti), but it is not true seen paramartha-satya - viz. through prajna insight, co-terminous with the path (marga). It strikes me that Stephen has fudged this issue. The Buddha and Nagarjuna are not Heraclitus, and Buddhism is not a simple statement that that 'everything flows,' let alone a recommendation to get dragged along with the current! Without clearer reference to praxis, making Buddhism into a philosophy of 'letting go' is a dangerous generalisation. The Buddha compared the Dharma to a raft, which can be abandoned only upon reaching the other shore. He who abandons it in mid-stream or even before leaving the banks of samvrtti-land, will never reach the other shore!

Most Buddhists endeavour to make sense of Nagarjuna's Madhyamika - through practices such as samatta-vipasyana and cognate disciplines. There is nothing adventitious about it. No marga or path - then, no 'Madhyamika' or 'middle way.' It is nice to invoke the intuitions of poets like Keats etc., but what real evidence is there, to suggest that Keat's had found 'the middle way'? In letters and literature, Keat's is always remembered as a poet dying of consumption, pining for Fanny Brawn.

A final point. However tempting it may be to present Nagarjuna's ideas as a kind of 'free floating philosophy,' minus Buddhist doctrine, the truth of the matter is that 'pure' Madhyamika is something of a fiction. In India, Tibet, China and Japan, it was combined with elements of the Vijnanavada/Yogacara, without which it was difficult to resolve many of the issues raised by the Madhyamika, such as how the illusion of nescience arises? Why the unconditioned appears 'conditioned' etc? For that, the Buddhists have had to rely on the teaching of the Alaya-vijnana etc.

Struggling alternative MMK translation.......2002-12-30

There is little doubt that Nagarjuna gave humanity a masterpiece with the MMK which is evident in the attention that this text has received over the centuries.

Moreover as a vertebra in the backbone of the student-centric disclosure of emptiness, MMK is indeed an essential read for those of us who tread the fascinating and beautiful road to insight.

The MMK is not about Philosophy or Sanskrit but of sharing a direct, living experience of emptiness through the medium of writing; using language and concept to reveal a non-conceptual experience of emptiness. In my mind this would be the only way of 'translating' a text such as the MMK. A good re-presentation of the MMK must be memorable and life-changing. Self-grasping must be left with nothing to hold onto and be clearly revealed as the unskilful, foolish enemy that it is.

I feel that with this book, Batchelor is attempting to offer an alternative experience of MMK to those that are currently presented by the linguists and philosophers who have chosen MMK as belonging to their respective domains. His arguments are at their strongest when he resists ownership of the text by intellectualising academics. For this alone he gets a star. For his provocative alternative rewriting of the MMK, (helping us remember that there are alternative approaches to translation) he gets one more star.

Batchelor wishes to share with us the spontaneity of the verse form without getting lost in a rarified explication of his own understandings of the intellectual import of the verses, which is indeed a lofty and noble goal, but the question arises over whether or not Batchelor is up to the challenge; I believe that he is not.

In this battle of academic ownership, Batchelor ends up forgetting the purpose of the text; his rendition is not student-centric, does little to help reveal the experience of insight and is not particularly memorable.

Instead, what we read is Batchelor. The text shows a lot of Batchelor- his life, his views and his interests ring out on nearly every page. In this he doesn't differ from most other translators, but my expectations were higher regarding both text and translator. Moreover I feel that he ends up conveying himself as an expert - as does several of his contemporaries (Berzin springs to mind) which is deeply unfortunate as self-aggrandisement is not a part of the path to emptiness and should not form a component of any translation of the MMK.

Batchelor also attempts to syncretise different traditions which more often than not is akin to shoving a stick into a hornets nest. It isn't even skilful as it implies that there is some Platonic 'truth' in the form of a common ground; this of course really weakens the purpose of the MMK altogether.

Why not just get on with the basic job of soteriesis?

In my opinion Batchelor fails again on the poetic front. He does not manage to convey any spirit or experience through verse in the MMK. I am at a loss to find either rhythm or metre in his 'verses'. It looks to me that he translated the verses into prose, and then used word juggling and formatting to make his translation appear to be an attempt at free verse.

I humbly suggest to Batchelor to learn something of the infrastructure of the English tradition of poetry and poetic translation before attempting such a translation in the first place. I recommend he read e.g Hobsbaum (ASIN 041508797X) chapter 7 for a good idea of what free verse can be. Even better would be to learn and develop experience with blank verse (i.e. unrhymed iambic pentameter) - a good choice for translating nine syllable Tibetan quatrains.

If he wishes to translate texts such as the MMK into verse he must also remind himself of the purpose of verse in India and Tibet- to help the reader memorise and recite the text, rather than for any sense of beauty or revelation. I feel that there is a pragmatic and legitimate purpose in following the import of the Indians and that a useful versification of the MMK is possible, but I believe it would require much more experience with writing verse in English than Batchelor reveals here.

He must always remember the purpose of the MMK to be student-centred, soteriological and memorable; not poetic, philosophical, academic or as an excuse to talk about personal experiences or views.

He must also apply a strong vigilance to his authorship to leave the reader to struggle with the reader rather than with the author.

My position rests that the book is an entertaining but complementary read of MMK, not a final read.
Try reading it alongside e.g. Garfield's philosophical MMK (ASIN 0195093364).

Better still, leave them both on the electronic bookshelf and read the Dalai Lama e.g - "The Key of Madhyamika" (e.g. ASIN 1556431929) for a simple, practical and powerful introduction to emptiness.

Alternatively- purchase the final volume of the Lam Rim Chenmo (Vol 3: ASIN 1559391669) - The Dalai Lama's own recommendation for revealing emptiness most skilfully.

Nagarjuna's MMK.......2002-09-01

If you're interested in Nagarjuna, and his Mulamadhyamakakarika
then pick up a copy of "The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way";
which is a translation by Jay L. Garfield, and stay away from this
highly subjective abridgement of the MMK.

Verse from the Perimeter.......2000-12-03

I bow to Batchelor Who teaches emptiness (Not in Tibetan, not in Sanskrit, Not with neologisms, not with cliches, Not for Mensa, not for dummies, Neither adorned, nor stripped) And sees Nagarjuna.

VERSES FROM THE CENTER: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime

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VERSES FROM THE CENTER: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime

Manufacturer: Riverhead
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FJOB38

Product Description

Scholar-monk author of Buddhism Without Belief now explains the poetic vision of Nagarjuna.

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