Book Description
When a fisherman pulls the body of a white woman from the sea onto the island of Trinidad, the assumed motivation for the murder is "man-woman business." As the news spreads, the rage that surfaces - born of generations of colonialism, sexual oppression, and class disparity - is the catalyst for the reunion of two childhood friends.
Rosa and Zuela were inseparable for the summer of their 12th year. After they witnessed an unspeakable act through the leaves of a hibiscus bush, however, shame divided them for 20 years. Now, upon hearing about the murdered woman, memories of the horror they witnessed resurface and bring Rosa and Zuela together in a desperate search for liberation.
Customer Reviews:
A deadly serious story of crime and its emotional toll.......2002-08-04
Set in a Trinidad island village in the 1950s, Bruised Hibiscus by Elizabeth Nunez (Distinguished Professor of English and Director of the Black Writers Institute, Medgar Evers College, City University of New York) is the compelling story of two female friends who witnessed a woman's unspeakable murder through a hibiscus bush as children, and memories of the horror haunt their lives, destroy their ability to form healthy relationships, and ultimately bring about their reunion and a search for freedom and balance. A gripping, deadly serious story of crime and its emotional toll, Bruised Hibiscus is strongly recommended reading. Also highly recommended are Elizabeth Nunez's earlier novels: When Rocks Dance and Beyond.
A worthy read.......2002-05-25
Brusied Hibiscus is set just as the shadows of colonialism begin to recede in 1950`s Trinidad. Wealthy white planters still control the bulk of labor prospects. African, South Asian and Chinese immigrants work the land living in stark contrast to the wealth of whites. At this time, and in this place, the stories of two women unfold.
Zuela is twenty-eight, already the mother of ten children and married to Ho Sang, a man old enough to be her grandfather who insists on treating her as one would an incompetent child. The other is named Rosa, also twenty-eight, the youngest daughter of a white plantation owner. The only of three sisters not sent to England for betrothal and the only to marry a Black man, deemed worthy in part because of his occupation. The two women shared a bond like sisterhood as children, but each has forgotten the other in adulthood.
However, when the decomposing body of a white woman is found in a river in the town of Otahiti, the intricate skein of race, gender, class, and culture that propels Trinidad forward begins to come undone. The news spreads far and fast and while some are quick to dismiss it as man-woman business, most know the act is indicative of much more. The dead woman`s body triggers a memory of sexual abuse that Zuela and Rosa witnessed together as girls. Each is forced to recognize that she must make a change in her life or risk losing herself or killing someone else. And so for the second time, Zuela and Rosa`s path cross.
Nunez is a gifted writer. She employs the brevity and repetition of poetry in her work. She writes unpretentiously, deftly inserting sex, murder and cruelty into a story that also speaks truth to friendship, love and a miracle or two. She is able to create a telling story that is not cheapened by the often-exploited aforementioned themes. Her writing is like the sway in the walk of a confident woman. Buy it. Read it. It`s good.
Telling Beautiful/Painful Truths.......2000-11-06
One of the things I liked best about this book is how Elizabeth Nunez unflinchingly tells some pretty "hard truths" about issues that most writers would rather skirt: colonialism, racism, male/female relationships, sexual and emotional abuse, murder and power relations. However, let me not give the impression that this is some kind of boring, heavy-handed manifesto -- I lost sleep over "Bruised Hibiscus" because I couldn't put the book down. It's a painful, traumatic kind of read (especially for anyone who has suffered abuse themselves) that doesn't exactly make you feel like skipping through the tulips once you've finished -- but that's exactly the point. It's also an engaging, thought-provoking, and beautifully written book that really "hooks" you.
Powerful novel.......2000-10-05
Bruised Hibiscus is a powerful novel. The author, Elizabeth Nunez, explores two Trinidadian women, their lives, their marriages, and how a series of events explodes their unsatisfactory, stagnant existence. A disturbing, compelling work, full of lush description and strongly drawn characters. A world of Caribbean obeah and Catholicism, everyday domesticity and marital drama. Throughout the book, there is always an undercurrent of the power of friendship, love, and the inescapable past. An important Caribbean work.
sensuous and powerful.......2000-07-08
Set in Trinidad in 1954, this is the story of two women, Rosa and Zuela, who are linked by an act they witnessed together as children: the sexual violation of a young girl. Adults now, and long separated, their lives come together again through the catalyst of a murdered woman's body found by a fisherman. The murder, and their husbands' reaction to it, shakes loose something in the consciousness of both women. This is "man-woman business." They recognize it in its extreme, and they set about to reclaim their lives, at whatever cost. The book is a dark exploration of sexuality and power and is well worth the read. My one objection is to the style of the book. The prose definitely veers toward the purple end of the spectrum, and the run-on sentences often include repeated parts of previous sentences, that repeat over and over throughout the book. This is done perhaps to lend power to the words, in the manner of an incantation, but the effect is somewhat akin to reading "This is the house that Jack built..." and becomes an obtrusion that ends up detracting from, rather than enhancing this powerful story.
Book Description
In Furies of Calderon, bestselling author Jim Butcher introduced readers to a world where the forces of nature take physical form. But now, it's human nature that threatens to throw the realm into chaos.
Customer Reviews:
Wishing it was longer.......2007-09-28
The only problem I had with this book was that, sadly, there was a point when I only had a few more pages to read. I love this fantasy world and I'm invested in the characters. I'm glad to see that Butcher is able to transition to a very different series -- I almost forgot I was reading the 'Dresden' guy's books! The style and tone are almost worlds apart. In any event, a great book to curl up by the fireplace with on a nice long rainy weekend.
words of fury [no spoilers].......2007-09-06
"The Codex Alera" continues two years later with "Academ's Fury" as Tavi studies at the Academy while covertly training to become a Cursor. A veritable plethora of characters focusing at Alera Imperia litter the story nearly engulf the original cast. Even so, the author effectively manages the swelling political intrigue during a critical crisis and concludes with an awesome battle finale.
Earlier consequences have awakened a new enemy (comparable to the "Alien" theme), smoothly connecting it with the previous novel. Struggling between his academics and a secret life, Tavi attempts to thwart numerous foes both personally and for the First Lord. Of the three other Cursor students he trains alongside, Max appears to have greatest character potential. Kitai proves how clever anybody can be without a fury and First Lord Gaius exhibits great cunning as a true leader should.
Recalling the interpersonal relations between the different lords is considerable, yet not as bad as the more politically oriented series. My major issue though has to do with Tavi becoming the last line of defense, consistently outlasting furymasters or other with superior speed and strength. Granted he is sharp and swift but unless Tavi has an unacknowledged talent his survival has been too idealistic. There are startling revelations regarding Tavi and the author superbly creates other riddles with the lingering teasers for future resolution.
A detailed map of the significant terrains and comprehensive appendix would have been useful.
I recommend this series to any fan of the fantasy genre.
Thank you.
A very mixed bag.......2007-08-22
I found this book a very mixed bag.
I really enjoyed Butcher's 'Dresden Files' series and was very much looking forward to this, his first effort at pure fantasy. However, I found too many sections of this, the second book in the series, to be too unbelievable, found too much stereotyping, and frankly, found large areas too predictable.
Any work of fantasy, no matter how foreign or mystical, should be consistent and allow the reader to suspend disbelief and enjoy the work. However, for Academ's Fury, the basic plot of the book I found too far-fetched for me to be able to comfortably do this. Let's start with the main premise of the book (I will be deliberately vague here and in the rest of my review as to not give away too much of the plot for those who do decide to read this work). The main character, nineteen year-old Tavi, is enrolled as a cadet in the equivalent of say a WestPoint and acts as a page to the 'First Lord' (basically, the Emperor). He has unparalleled (for whatever reason) access to the First Lord and happens to be the one person (of all those the First Lord contacts daily) who stumbles upon the First Lord in his personal chambers (which Tavi has complete access to) after the First Lord has slipped into a life-threatening coma. It turns out, that in spite of his low station, he and two other trusted advisors, are the only ones who can know of this (not even the First Lord's own doctors can know!), and must save the kingdom from peril! What bunk. I tried to imagine, say, the President of the United States, or perhaps even a medieval king for whom a lowly page and two others are his only area of recourse in such an emergency situation, and needless to say, it was impossible to do so. After this, we see Tavi going from one adventure to the other, and at least five times escaping by the barest skin of his teeth from near certain death via either incredible luck or by some great savior just happening to rush in at the last possible second. With this, we find the ability to use 'Furies', spirit-like creatures that are Butcher's fairly unique system of magic for this series, is somehow curtailed whenever another major character should be able to use them to save the day (with numerous thin plot twists rationalizing this) so that Tavi is forced to do borderline-miracle deeds all by himself. Add to this that the First Lord's elite Guard, the Legionnaires, who are supposed to be the finest 'Fury' crafters and swordsmen in the empire, yet consistently prove ineffective and are treated like Keystone Cops when fighting Bad Guys that Tavi and the other main (often civilian) characters are able to overpower simply because they are main characters. There is one love scene between two main characters, Tavi's uncle and a high level spy. When the spy tearfully confesses to a friend that she is barren and hence will never be acceptable to her lover ...I just had to roll my eyes at another overblown turn in the plot. It is all just too unbelievable. The magic and otherworldliness I rather liked. The thin plot is just too much though.
There were some very trite areas in the work. He has one old wise woman who keeps on referring to those around her as 'Child' using very stereotypical dialogue. He also has a courtesan, involved in court intrigue, referring to everyone as 'Darling', behaving like a Zsa Zsa Gabor reject and going through all of the stereotypical movements that one can find imagine. Towards the end of the book, they have a death-bed confession from one of the major characters. Just before he is going to reveal the name of a secret assassin who has been acting against the crown, as he is stumbling on the name, about to spit it out - he expires right there. Give me a break.
The last thing that I found very frustrating was how predictable so many areas were. There was one point in the book where Tavi and a companion stumble upon (once again!) another great kingdom-threatening secret. They start rushing back to tell the good guys. Right then I said to myself it couldn't be this easy and they are about to be jumped before they can deliver their message...and low and behold, two pages later they are. I am not going to read the final book in the series, as I think I have already figured out most of the mysteries surrounding the main characters (and their mysterious, secret pasts) as this book is so predicable.
As to why I gave this three stars instead of one or two...in spite of all I have written, there are long passages where the pace flows well, and after looking past what I have mentioned, could get into it for fairly sustained periods. To let one know how I rate books, five stars is for stellar works - Dune, Lord of the Rings, Vance's Green Pearl series. I give Butcher's 'Dresden Files' a four. A one I reserve for disastrous works, such as Simon R. Green's 'Something from the Nightside'.
I hope this review was helpful.
Sweet.......2007-08-11
Great book by Jim Butcher. I'm not sure what others mean when they say this book it lacking in plot, but they are very wrong. I recommend this, along with all the other books in the series to anyone who likes a good fantasy book. Pick it up. Buy it. Read it. Enjoy it.
Squandered premise.......2007-08-01
This book is nothing to be proud of; it takes a fantastic premise and structure, then meanders through a bunch of sub-plots which feature supposedly very clever protagonists getting dumfounded by foolish evil "gambits".
Much of the novel (as with the first) is spent building up PC "straw men" stereotypes to hate - garnished by a grand villain stolen from the Halo X-Box game.
Perhaps the only novel I have ever ripped up and thrown out, both because of its glacial pacing and a vast number over-engineered plot twists which involve characters getting blind sided inways which imply they've gone brain-dead first.
Cursors have to be the most INEFFECTUAL super-spy confidential agents I've ever read about. I'm sure that wasn't an intended effect - and that lack of intention troubles me.
Butcher can do better - and rather than being a fencing/ martial arts afficionado, he just might be better off learning bit more about those subjects.
What a sad waste of a potentially great plot and set of characters.
Average customer rating:
- Sometimes you just have to stop and think about it...
- Not Jones at her best, but challenging and interesting
- This is not a children's book, really
- Light juvenile reading, fun without a lot of depth
- Confusing - but in a good way
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Greenwillow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
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ASIN: 006029888X |
Book Description
Strange things are happening at Hexwood Farm, not far from London.
On another world entirely, a harassed Sector Controller gets a letter from a maintenance team apparently trapped in Hexwood. A small boy called Hume encounters a robot and a dragon there. Ann Stavely, lying in bed with a virus in her nearby home, watches person after person disappear into the old farmhouse and not come out again.
When she feels better, Ann decides to investigate. She goes into the wood, where she meets a tormented sorcerer called Mordion who seems to have arisen from a sleep lasting centuries. Yet Ann knows she has seen him enter the farmhouse that morning. Nothing seems to happen in the right order. Nothing quite makes sense. And things keep getting stranger and stranger until, long before the end, the strangeness has spread from Earth right out to the center of the galaxy.
Here is another intriguing novel by a master of the unexpected.
Customer Reviews:
Sometimes you just have to stop and think about it..........2007-06-15
I'm with everyone else, this is by no means meant for younger kids. I don't know why I found it in the Young Adult section. Hexwood was probably the fifteenth Diana Wynne Jones book I read and though it's not one of my favorites, I've gotten use to her bizarre, but elegant writing style. I have to tell you, I'm 22 and this book made me stop and think several times. I feel sorry for any young kid that comes across this.
Just when you think you have something figured out, DWJ throws something else at you. If most of her novels have some astounding twist at the end or close to the end, this one has several.
What I understood, I enjoyed. It was a little slow, but it still demanded attention. I'm thinking I should buy this book (the one I read was from the library) and read it again because I want to make sure I have all the pieces right. But hey, good books demand to be read more than once, right?
Alright, so...you want to get a young adult into DWJ, this book probably isn't the one to use because of how confusing it is. You should go with Howl's Moving Castle or The Chronicles of the Chrestomanci.
Not Jones at her best, but challenging and interesting.......2006-06-16
Diana Wynne Jones's Hexwood was marketed as Young Adult book. The packaging implied Fantasy to me, perhaps even horror. What we end up getting is pretty weird, and fairly SFnal. (Sort of like William Sleator's Interstellar Pig is SFnal.) But, it's also dealing with the Matter of Britain -- King Arthur.
Ann is a teenaged (or perhaps barely preteen) girl in a town in England, near a place called Hexwood Farms. She also hears voices in her head -- the voices of four people: the Boy, the King, the Prisoner, and the Slave. While convalescing from an unexplained severe illness she witnesses strange goings on at Hexwood Farms: people entering but never leaving, etc., and once well she tries to sneak a look. Then things get weird ... She raises a strange man from the dead, and somehow the two mix blood and create a boy together. Over an ambiguous amount of time Ann keeps returning to the wood, meeting the boy, called Hume, and the man, called Mordion, at different times in their "lives", separated by years, and randomly arranged chronologically. It quickly becomes clear that Hume and Mordion have a relationship recalling that of Arthur and Merlin in _The Sword in the Stone_. (Especially when Hume pulls a sword from a stone!)
At the same time pretty much we learn that there has been a snafu at a station of the Galactic Empire charged with running the obscure but important primitive planet Earth. It seems a stupid clerk has activated a machine called the Bannus which has power to manipulate reality. It is necessary for one of the five "Reigners" who rule the Galaxy to travel to Earth to fix it. However, each "Reigner" seems to meet with unexpected trouble on Earth, and the other Reigners keep following. In the process we learn that the Reigners are vile despots, that there is a resistance movement of sorts, and that they employ a Servant who is somehow related to a previous (good) Reigner as their enforcer.
That all these events and characters are connected is clear. As the story continues, the relationships become fairly clear, and events move towards a climax involving the Mordion and Hume, Ann and her alter ego, Ann's four "voices", the five Reigners, and lots more characters, some real, some not, many taking on multiple roles under the influence of the Bannus.
It's a reasonably enjoyable book to read but in the end I found it a little frustrating. Perhaps I was simply too dense to get it, but I found the playing with reality and time to some extent simply self-indulgent, and the reality manipulation a bit too arbitrary. I'm glad I read it, but I don't rank it as DWJ at her best.
This is not a children's book, really.......2006-04-20
But then, few of Diana Wynne Jones's enchanting, multi-layered fictions ever were. I read some of her work when I was eleven or twelve, and I couldn't make head or tail of it. And I wasn't exactly a slow child: testing in kindergarten diagnosed my reading level as collegiate. I'm in my twenties now, and she's one of my two current favorite authors along with Roger Zelazny. I don't know why her books are still almost exclusively marketed to the YA crowd. Some combination, I'm guessing, of an adult fantasy market not in the mood for much that's new or different, and child characters/ simplicity of language.
The simplicity of language is a great quality in this context -- I don't think I've seen a book 'for adults' that matches this degree of complexity and manages to hang it all together so well. To truly enjoy this one, you have to come prepared for it. Be ready to connect the dots without any numbers to guide you along. (Well, a few numbers, but they're well-disguised.)
If Hexwood were a video game, I'd have been referring to the walkthrough regularly. Read very carefully, ask yourself at every turn who you think this character or that might be and what the last tantalizing piece of evidence to drop tells you about the story.
I did so -- seeing clearly in the first few pages that I would have to -- and, as usual, the finale blew me away. Heck, draw a map of characters as you go, if you're the visual type. The marvelous resolution is worth the effort.
Light juvenile reading, fun without a lot of depth.......2006-02-04
I can't gush about this book as others have but it was fun, if not a little dizzying. Given past reviews, I had high hopes for "Hexwood" but the book is slow to get going and the ending was terrible; simply falling apart in its attempt to bring too many plotlines together. Also the characters were rather bland. This book was all over the map but it wasn't terrible and I'm sure that much younger readers may enjoy it.
Confusing - but in a good way.......2005-06-16
I almost put Hexwood down at first, it was so confusing, there were so many characters and the plot simply refused to go where it obviously should go. However, as more mysteries began to be revealed I found myself on what was a roller-coaster ride of a book. There were no transparent heroes or villains, I didn't know who was supposed to 'win' or even if there was something to win in the first place. As the plot began to wind into its conclusion I looked at my watch and realised that it was one o'clock at night and I had been gripped to the book for over three hours! When I finished it the next day I turned straight back to the beginning and began to see the reasons for all the things that had confused me at first. Definitely not a book to be missed.
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Mammoth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Wynne-Jones, Diana
| ( W )
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ASIN: B000RHLUBO |
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Wynne-Jones, Diana
| ( W )
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ASIN: B000O8VVC4 |
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Wynne-Jones, Diana
| ( W )
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ASIN: B000H8WO4U |
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Manufacturer: Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0606286748 |
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Manufacturer: Mammoth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
General
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ASIN: B000BFPE96 |
Product Description
This is a Fantasy science fiction novel originally published in the UK. There is Frazetta inspired full color coverart. The book is in good shape, it has no writings, no missing pages, no stains, and very few cover creases.
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Grupo Editorial AJEC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Wynne-Jones, Diana
| ( W )
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ASIN: 8496013219 |
Average customer rating:
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Hexwood
Diana Wynne Jones
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Wynne-Jones, Diana
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ASIN: B000OJEZIK |
Book Description
Kate West explores the myths that surround witchcraft, its festivals, beliefs, practices, and folklore. She explains the responsibilities of becoming a witch, and provides all the magical and herbal spells you need - from charms to help you attract your ideal partner, to healing potions for natural beauty, to affirmations that will help you find empowerment.
Customer Reviews:
Only for beginners.......2006-11-10
I suppose this book would be well-liked by Wiccans - and Wiccan beginners at that - looking to follow the Path, so to speak, but for more independent pagan practicioners or even more experienced Wiccans, this book is virtually useless. Also I was not impressed by the amount of traditional practice in this book. In today's rapidly urbanizing world where many pagans can't get out of the city into an enchanted forest, it's impossible to do many of the things she writes of, like nature walks and picking up certain natural items. I would have liked to see something more practical.
Best Beginners Guide Available (at the moment).......2006-04-15
Kate West writes from the heart. Her style is lovely, gentle, funny and very practical. One can tell that she is a practioner of the Old Religion, that she loves what she does and that she is passionate about teaching others.
There are hundreds of beginners books on Wicca now. Most of them a waste of paper and ink! Save yourself time and money, buy this book and go with it.
Recommended to beginners - and teenagers who are truly interested in learning about Wicca and Witchcraft, from someone who knows what she is talking about.
Great for beginners or maybe those 14-16.......2006-03-26
Great book on the basics it just lacks depth,
I like her other books better as the problem with any overview is you can miss the details
Basic information; practical approach.......2005-06-21
Kate West impresses me because of her practical "real life" approach. This paarticular book had that quality. She dealt with outside influence and secrecy, and emphasized the importance of state of mind over tools. These sorts of information are in short supply in books on witchcraft.
One of her greatest strenghths is also one of her weaknesses as an author: She has a tremendous amount of practical experiance. Her writing is from her own experiance rather than reseach. In a lot of ways this is good. It's certainly refreshing. But a seasoned practitioner, or at least researcher, isn't going to get a lot out of this book.
She gives some useful information on the elements and how to deal with them, and a very basic introduction to Gods and Goddesses. The sample rituals are great. Some of the best beginner rituals I've seen because they are simple, the meanings of the actions are clear, and they can be built on easily as you become more experianced. The rituals are the only thing in this book I might use for reference.
As beginner books go, it's not the best, and is certainly lacking in a few areas, but the intent is positive. If you've already read a few beginner books, I'd pass this one up, but I'd definitely recommend reading SOMETHING by Kate West. Her perspective is certainly helpful, even if every word she writes isn't.
Weak, I mean seriously you guys..........2004-09-21
About a decade ago, I found Wicca and felt I had come to a spiritual path that suited my outlook on the world and my place in it. After a few bad experience with other Wiccans, I left Wicca and organized religion altogether. Now that I'm in my late twenties, I had a moving experience and decided to come back to Wicca. Most of the books I bought as a teenager had been sold or given away. So I decided to go off of reviews on Amazon and get myself a nice beginners' book to reacquaint myself with Wicca. This book came up with pretty good reviews.
But now that I've read it and a few others, I can say it's miserable. The author provides nearly NO outline to what she's about to tell you. She often interjects her own self-esteem support talk, which I find off the subject. Each Sabbat description seems like it's theme is nearly the same as the last, or the one before the last. There's no discussion of Esbats. The book seems to teach eclecticism. I disagree with that approach. Eclecticism is perfectly fine, but you have to come to learning, open to the structure of that which you are curious about. Once taught from a sound tradition, people can choose what they want to take. No one needs instructions on how to be eclectic.
It's also very unstructured in it's depiction of ritual. "You can use this or that if you need to," apparently to help people who are in the clutches of poverty to know that they, too can be witches. And she constantly refers to this beautiful religion as "The Craft." This, along with many other bad habits Wiccans hold onto help to keep us a teenager's distraction instead of members of a serious religion. It's a religion, not a craft and, honestly, witchcraft is just one element of Wicca. It'd be like calling Catholicism, "The Communion," or perhaps "The Union" for short... or maybe "The Fession." I digress...
Thorsons Publishers seems to have left this book spell-checked in UK English for their US distribution, which wasn't as boss as it was an annoyance.
It's not a complete travesty. I seem to remember getting some benefit out of it... just nothing I can remember off the top of my head. It just patronizes too much and doesn't go into enough detail for people of slightly bellow-average intellect or greater.
In essence, this Wiccan's attitude is part and parcel with what I disliked about Wicca growing up as a young adult. I want more beginners' books that present Wicca with structured, sound theology, ritual, myth and magic. To learn about Wicca, one would be better to buy a book by the Farrars. Stewart & Janet wrote the best books with the best pragmatic material I have yet found. This book is just too loose and breezy for those of us who want a serious understanding of Wicca - even as beginners... perhaps especially as beginners.
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- CCEL Classics CD: works by Saint Augustine, John Calvin, John Donne, Julian of Norwich, Brother Lawrence, Martin Luther, Saint Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, John Wesley, and more!
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