Customer Reviews:
An Englishman Writes About English .......2005-10-04
This is the same Anthony Burgess who writes novels. He was a teacher of English before he became a professional writer and thus he brings credentials to this book about language and linguistics.
"Mouthful of Air" is written for British readers and Americans may find some of the discussions of British pronunciation a bit esoteric and mysterious. Being a sloppy-voweled American I didn't really comprehend the subtle differences the author perceives in pronunciation of the words "marry merry Mary," for example. They sound the same to me. Thus, his technical discussions of vowel differences did not resonate in differing vibrations to my inner ear. I would likewise question the author's opinion that the phonetic alphabet should be required learning in school. That would be about as useful as reinstituting Latin as a required course.
Burgess divides his book into two parts. Part one deals with technical aspects of language. For example, he titles one graphic, "Chart of Consonants According to their Organs of Articulation." The consonants are then divided into stop plosives, nasals, laterals, fricatives, glides, and affricates. Whew! I don't think I would want to be in an English class with Burgess as a teacher. Amongst discussion of affricates and fricatives, however, are some interesting chapters on the development of the Indo-European tongues and brief chapters on Malay and Japanese to show how they differ from Indo-European languages.
Part two is about English -- mostly British English, but also American, Australian, and Scottish. He briefly examines dialects, literature, "low life" language, and the influence of the Bible on language. A minority of people will find his technical discussions instructive. The author defines his objective as pedagogic and the reader should expect some hard sledding if he wishes to comprehend every last word in this book. However, I suspect that the majority of us will skip blithely over words like "alveolar" and enjoy the rest of the book -- which is informative and fascinating.
Smallchief
A Mouthful of Wonderful.......2005-06-28
This is the ultimate book for someone like me, an amateur linguist and lover of literature. While Burgess covers some territory with which I am intimately familiar (and makes some minor factual errors), I can't but recommend the book whole-heartedly.
Aimed at British readers (noticable only in the sections on phonology, or the production of linguistic sounds), Burgess gives a crash course on linguistics and language in a tone that is at once entertaining and informative, bookish without being pedantic. He argues persuasively for the teaching of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) in schools and, near the end of the book, even ventures into how the study of the components of langugae can inform the reading of modern poetry and prose.
While it will help for a reader to be familiar with some basics of linguistics (phonology more than syntax, morphology or grammar), it is not required. I couldn't help wishing, as I read the book, that it had been my introduction to the subject. After learning about how speech sounds are produced by the lips, teeth and tougue, and learning about how they are categorized scientifically and recorded in various alphabets, Burgess plunges us into perhaps the greatest linguistic development of the last two centuries, the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European, the language from which sprang Greek, Latin, Russian, Sanskrit, German, English, Spanish, French, Swedish, Persian and so many others. The miracle of being able to find instant cognates in other languages once you know a few simple rules of sound changes is superbly demonstrated by Burgess here.
Burgess also discusses two non-Indo-European languages, each in its own individual chapter: Malay & Japanese. His knowledge of Malay, formed by his longtime residence in Indonesia, is very deep and he was able to give a great deal of interesting information to a Malay layman like me. His Japanese chapter is from the perspective of an outsider with limited knowledge, and I found it less informative but still interesting.
Finally, Burgess turns his cannons on the canon of English literature, and its medium, the English language. His jaunt through the very tortured history of English is extremely well done. This is the sort of non-fiction writing that manages to put you at the calm center of a whirlwind of historical and literary events. I compare it, not lightly, with the essays of Jorge Luis Borges in its lucidity and magisterial effect.
Like Borges, Burgess writes about the metaphysics of translation and the essentiality of reading poetry in its native tongue. Where the two great writer-scholars differ is on the subject of James Joyce, regarding whom Burgess manages to slip in a very convincing apology. Burgess' explication of a passage from FINNEGAN'S WAKE is no doubt a preview from his book length treatment of the same subject in RE JOYCE.
Fan of Burgess' fictions, especially A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, will find much of interest in this book, which gives up his secrets of language manipulation so lightly and with such goodwill. Burgess, told he had a terminal illness, was motivated to be quite prolific as a writer, and there are arguments to be made for which of his books are worth reading first. Not having read them all, I will not speculate that this is among them.
All I can say is that, for readers like myself who have an abiding interest in language and literature, time reading this book is time well-spent.
great intro to the study of language.......2000-01-21
This book, an expansion of Burgess' earlier _Language Made Plain_, is a fabulous way to learn how language works -- how we make sounds, how words change through the years, how languages differ from each other. Burgess' book on language is in many ways a curious sort of literary autobiography, as so much of his writing has been wordplay of one sort or another. As always, his writing is lively and lucid.
A Truly Cunning Linguist.......1997-08-20
Anthony Burgess was, excuse me, I just have to say it, a truly cunning linguist, and wrote many books about the English language, as well as the dialogue for 1 Million B.C. Grunts and snorts, but grunts and snorts researched in chronological retrospect; from his vast knowledge of present-day languages, he traced language backward to its beginning sounds, much like he took modern-day Liverpool slang and projected it into the future for the speech in A Clockwork Orange (his admittedly worst and regrettably best-known book). He read and reviewed dictionaries for the London Times, always finding a lively and humorous way to present his serious content. This same man, as a linguist, produced a lively analysis of language in A Mouthful of Air. For anyone who loves words and language and the way they roll off the tongue, Anthony Burgess is a must
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- I was blown away
- Poetic, understated, harrowing, brilliant
- extraordinarily insightful view of post-suicidal depression in debut novel
- An Amazing Emotional Experience
- Promising new writer
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A Mouthful Of Air
Amy Koppelman
Manufacturer: MacAdam/Cage Publishing
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The Mother-to-Mother Postpartum Depression Support Book
ASIN: 1931561893 |
Book Description
To the outside world Julie Davis has it all—wealth, a doting husband, an apartment on the Upper West Side, and an adorable new baby boy. But underneath the perfect exterior, she is paralyzed by an over-whelming sense of shame and inadequacy.
A Mouthful of Air begins a few weeks after Julie's suicide attempt and on the eve of her son's first birthday. Desperate to lead a "normal" life, Julie tries to be thankful for the good things, but her emotional demons persist. In the midst of her struggle, she discovers that she is pregnant for a second time, and is forced to come off the medication that has given her the buoyancy to survive.
Through sparse, elegant prose, Amy Koppelman's brutally honest portrayal of family and self shows the reader that real problems are indiscriminate of money or birthright. A Mouthful of Air brings to light the complexity and fragility of the human psyche.
Customer Reviews:
I was blown away.......2006-11-08
I had no idea what this novel was going to be about, which is the best way to go in, isn't it? I was absolutely devastated and enthralled by Koppelman's beautiful writing. What a book. It has really stayed with me. A must read.
Poetic, understated, harrowing, brilliant.......2006-07-23
As soon as I discovered A Mouthful of Air online and read an excerpt, I thought, I have to get this book. I was especially drawn by the promise of sparse, elegant prose and its story of a young mother suffering from postpartum depression.
And as soon as I found the book, I could not stop reading it ~ started on Thursday night, put it down only to catch some sleep, woke up and read till I finished. I've read thousands of books and enjoyed many of them ~ but Amy Koppelman's brilliant, quiet, harrowingly transportive writing stands out over everything I've read in recent memory.
From the first page of the story, I'm immediately and vividly inside main character Julie Davis's mind, her emotions, actions, and memories ~ seeing, feeling, and thinking right along with her in a visceral way ~ which is astonishing because Koppelman uses such lean, uncluttered prose. I was totally in Julie Davis's head through the whole book, and can't stop reflecting back on her, her experiences, her despair. The fact that Koppelman accomplished this via the third-person is another testament to the power of her writing. It is poetry, anguish, simplicity, darkness, clarity, all interwoven.
I recommend A Mouthful of Air for library and book club discussion groups and will bring it to my own group when we meet in August. The story prompts discussion on so many levels. I've started making some notes of questions about the characters' inner and outer lives, and their possible futures. These questions intrigue me because I love unique fiction that rings this true to my spirit, and because the answers can apply to real people who are experiencing real suffering.
Note ~ partial spoiler ahead ~
In ending the book as she does, Koppelman shows integrity and courage as a human being and a creative artist. We live in such a sit-com, Hollywood-ending culture, many of us have gotten lulled into a superficial dead-zone emotionally ~ we want our books and movies to just have happy endings, to reassure us everything will be all right. We think "reality shows" are real life. And we also flock to the opposite extreme to ultra-violence in genre fiction, film, music....Anything to avoid facing the truths and mundanities of our own lives, I guess. That said, I do understand that the ending to this book might be too overwhelming for some readers.
I've tried reading other contemporary novels about various forms of mental illness but couldn't finish them ~ their sentimentalized renderings struck me as profoundly inauthentic. I always hold out hope for miracles and change. But I'm grateful for courageous and skilled writers like Amy Koppelman who are willing to write about darker outcomes ~ because in their stories, I find solace, strength, new empathy, and new ideas.
extraordinarily insightful view of post-suicidal depression in debut novel.......2005-12-12
Exquisitely driven by two narratives, one internal and the other chronological, Amy Koppelman's brilliant debut novel explores the devastating consequences of a failed suicide attempt by a bright, terribly insecure and depressed young woman. "A Mouthful of Air" is not for the weak-hearted. It is an unflinching description of survivor guilt, mental illness and personality disintegration. Koppelman's writing is lean, precise and wrenching; she permits us to have just enough understanding of her protagonist's torment to identify with her anguish, but not so much that we can predict what will occur next.
Julie Davis "is simply worn out from worry: who she loves, how she loves, if her love is good enough." This pervasive fear causes her to tremble even at the most common of encounters. A failed suicide attempt makes the innocuous greeting "How are you doing today?" into a question fraught with complicated possibilities. In truth, Julie is without hope. Her goal of literal self-eradication fails, and she is left with the burden of picking up the pieces of her life, trying to reassemble them into some kind of order and learning how to develop the skills to go through each day.
In fact, she is so immobilized by her illness that what appears to be a simple task (shopping, deciding what to wear, using an elevator) overwhelms her. We are painfully aware that she has been released from psychiatric hospitalization prematurely. Her "tiredness, overwhelming sorrow and endless sense of loss" are felt "both gradually and immediately." Despite being married to a loving, loyal man and having given birth to a sweet-natured boy, Julie senses her relationships are doomed. Permanently damaged by a flawed, conflicted and ambiguous relationship with her own father (Koppelman alludes to abuse but never directly states it), Julie's perceptions of relationships "insist that all of the people she loves, including her son, will leave her." This unceasing insecurity riddles her life with despair.
At its best, Koppelman's deft handling of Julie's internal voice captures a frightened woman's litany of unresolved problems. Her declarative sentences often read as questions, and her questions seldom produce responses that becalm her protagonist. Julie Davis never has a calm day, much less a peaceful hour. Despite considerable wealth (her husband's salary provides live-in help), Julie never has enough time to accomplish her quotidian tasks. As a result, her life unspools, and her ability to ascertain coherence fails.
Amy Koppelman reminds us that there may be palliatives for mental illness, but they are not cures. The ghosts of past trauma have resilient half-lives, and they haunt the core personality of those who are suffering. "A Mouthful of Air" is one of those unusual novels where suffering is neither redemptive or deserved but instructive and chastening. Koppelman is an author who has much to teach us.
An Amazing Emotional Experience.......2005-06-05
While I was reading Mouthful of Air...I cried, stopped to contemplate, felt my own emotions become entangled in Julie's thoughts, and kept turning back to the author's picture for a peek into her soul. Even my "hair" hurt when I read the ending!
There are so many "walking wounded" among us. Ms. Koppelman's honesty in relating Julie's story reminds us that everyone is vulnerable. No one is immune to suffering.
The author has a wonderful gift. She expresses herself in a clear and concise manner, and yet completes the picture for her reader. I could "see" Julie. I could "feel" Julie. The endng was brilliant in its clarity of thought.
Ms. Koppelman is a bright young woman who needs to continue to write.
Promising new writer.......2004-07-18
Ms. Koppelman's book left me with a chill down my spine. I think of this book often. I look forward to reading her next work of fiction.
Product Description
W.B. Yeats wrote of one of his poems that he "made it out of a mouthful of air." Truly, all language is made this way. Although we tend to think of it as a scratching of signs on paper, the essence of language is primarily so much air, a mouthful at a time, evanescent and yet essential. Speech is language's primary manifestation; writing and printing are secondary. Arguing from this standpoint, Anthony Burgess presents a fascinating survey of language, how it operates now, how it got to be that way, and how it will develop in the future. Written with grace and brilliance, his book is highly readable and full of riveting information - for instance, on Shakespeare's pronunciation, on English newly generated abroad, on everyday speech, and on the place of English in the world family of languages. As a novelist whose obsession with language has been central to his work (to the extent, in A Clockwork Orange, of inventing a vocabulary for the teen gangs terrorizing a future England), Burgess has always wished to tackle this subject. This is his most profound and considered statement to date on language, and one of the most important books he has written.
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La Silla de Plata (Narnia®)
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Rayo
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ASIN: 0060884304
Release Date: 2005-10-18 |
Book Description
Spanish Edition: Narnia… where the giants cause chaos… where the demons plot an evil spell… where magic sets the rules…
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Cronicas de Narnia VI - La Silla de Plata
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Destino Ediciones
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 9507320784 |
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Narna 6: La Silla De Plata (Cronicas de Narnia)
C. S. Lewis
Manufacturer: Destino Ediciones
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ASIN: 8408059998 |
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Cronicas De Narnia: La Silla De Plata
Manufacturer: Planeta Pub Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Libros en español | Formats | Books | Al Aire Libre y La Naturaleza | Arte, arquitectura y fotografía | Audiolibro en Casete | Biografías y memorias | Ciencia | Ciencia ficción y fantasía | Cocina | Computación e internet | Deportes | Entretenimiento | Gay y Lesbiana | Historia | Hogar y jardinería | Infantil y juvenil | Leyes | Literatura y ficción | Medicina | Misterio | Negocios e inversiones | No-Ficción | Padres y familia | Profesional y Técnico | Referencia | Religión y espiritualidad | Revistas Cómicas y Novelas Gráficas | Romance | Salud, mente y cuerpo | Viajes y turismo
ASIN: 970370431X |
Book Description
Dan Richter was a struggling mime artist in 1966 when he received a call summoning him to discuss the incomplete opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, then being shot by Stanley Kubrick in London. Deeply impressed by the young mime, Kubrick promptly hired Richter to choreograph and star in “The Dawn of Man” sequence as Moonwatcher, the man-ape who opens the epic film about the origin and future of humankind. Moonwatcher’s Memoir is Richter’s day-by-day account of his year-long education in filmmaking under the command of one of cinema’s most innovative captains. Filled with illustrations and memorabilia from the making of 2001, this book will fascinate film aficionados, Kubrick devotees, and science fiction fans alike. Set three million years ago, “The Dawn of Man” tells the story of a tribe of our man-ape ancestors, who take the first step on the long road to modern humanity. Determined to make an anthropologically accurate film, Kubrick insisted on much more than the worn convention of men jumping around in “monkey suits.” Here are the stories behind 2001’s landmark achievements in make-up, costume, choreography, and cutting-edge cinematography that have made this film an enduring achievement. At once the story of Kubrick and his probing vision, the 2001 team and their interactions, and Dan Richter’s personal triumph under intense pressure, Moonwatcher’s Memoir is an inside look at eighteen unique minutes of film, climaxing in the longest flash forward in cinema’s history—three million years, from bone to space station, in a twenty-fourth of a second—as Moonwatcher hurls man’s first weapon into the sky and launches the episode into the stratosphere of film’s greatest moments. 24 pages of black-and-white photographs complete this rare behind-the-scenes narrative chronicling the filming of Stanley Kubrick's ultimate vision.
Download Description
In 1966, Dan Richter was struggling to make a living as a mime artist in London when he received a call summoning him to discuss with director Stanley Kubrick the incomplete opening sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey. From that fateful meeting, Richter went on to choreograph and star as the man-ape, Moonwatcher, in what has become famous as "The Dawn of Man" sequence of the classic film. The book contains 60 illustrations and memorabilia from the making of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a Foreword by Arthur C. Clarke, co-writer of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Customer Reviews:
Engrossing both for the main subject and background on the making of 2001........2006-08-14
Recommended reading for any 2001 fan, movie critic, and especially the members of the nominating committee and members who gave an Oscar to the makeup designer of Planet of the Apes (1967) (POA).
There is an apocryphal tale that the next year, after 2001 came out, that a member of The Acadamy nominating committee was asked "How could you give an award for the "ape" costumes in POA but pass over the hominids in 2001."
The telling answer was along the lines of "Those were actors in costumes? We thought they were real apes!" Even it the story isn't true, it's not totally unbelievable.
Some tidbits in the book detail the "ape" costumes, and the question of who to get to be in the costumes. Kubrick decidely did not want them to look like a human in a costume. They tried actors, but that didn't work out. Finally, they hit upon dancers, espescially skinney ones who would still look wild and hungry with a layer of costume over them.
Moonwatcher talks!.......2002-09-18
There have been several making-of-2001 books (Jerome Agel's "Making of 2001" in 1970; Piers Bizony's "2001: Filming the Future"; Arthur C. Clarke's "The Lost Worlds of 2001"; probably others). But the Dawn of Man prologue hasn't gotten a lot of coverage.
"Moonwatcher's Memoir" rectifies this oversight, and then some. Richter had a great, exhausting time during his year (!) working on apes with Kubrick, and tells all. In doing so, he throws new light on the movie's timeline; it started shooting in Dec. 65, yet the long-planned ape scenes weren't shot until very late in the game: fall of 67 (the movie came out in April 68). How Kubrick kept his poise during such a long project remains, as the film might say, "a total mystery."
To use book review jargon, this book is a must for all Kubrick completists. You know who you are.
Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001, a Space Odyssey.......2002-08-07
I always wondered who was the man in the Monkey Suit and now I know. A fascinating easy to read memoir. An insiders view of the making of one of the most influential movies of all time. A must read for all 2001 fans.
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- Well Written and Fascinating
- The Rabbi and the Hit Man
- Biased and sensationalistic, epitomizes tabloid journalism
- Fascinating
- Great Story, Sloppy Execution...
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The Rabbi and the Hit Man: A True Tale of Murder, Passion, and Shattered Faith
Arthur J. Magida
Manufacturer: Harper Paperbacks
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Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal
ASIN: 0060935618
Release Date: 2004-05-11 |
Book Description
A fascinating true-crime narrative about the first rabbi ever accused of murder and what the case says about the role of clergy in America.
On the evening of November 1, 1994, Rabbi Fred Neulander returned home to find his wife, Carol, facedown on the living room floor, blood everywhere. He called for help, but it was too late. Two trials and eight years later, the founder of the largest reform synagogue in southern New Jersey became the first rabbi ever convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In a gripping examination of the misuses of the pulpit and the self-delusions of power, Arthur J. Magida paints a devastating portrait of a manipulative man who used his position of trust in the temple to attract several mistresses -- and to befriend a lonely recovering alcoholic, whom he convinced to kill his wife "for the good of Israel."
The Rabbi and the Hit Man straddles the juncture of faith and trust, and confronts issues of sex, narcissism, arrogance, and adultery. It is the definitive account of a charismatic clergyman who paid the ultimate price for ignoring his own words of wisdom: "We live at any moment with our total past ... What we do will stay with us forever."
Customer Reviews:
Well Written and Fascinating.......2006-07-26
Overshadowed in the headlines of 1994 by an ex-football player murdering his wife and her friend, Rabbi Fred Neulander unhatched an equally devious plot. This serial philanderer, in order to marry a girlfriend, sought the murder of his wife. In an easy flowing style, Arthur Magida tells this story in "The Rabbi and the Hitman".
Not being familiar with many of the Jewish customs, I appreciated Magida's explanations of landmark dates on the Jewish calendar as the story was told. Neulander had several love interests outside of his marriage that he used to make his congregation develop. A man with "people skills", Neulander was believed to be a great rabbi and builder of a thriving synagogue community. This all changed when his wife was murdered. In a murder-for-hire scheme, Neulander may have never been convicted had the hitman not confessed.
This book is a truly fascinating tale of the Jewish fate of one deceitful rabbi. It was apparent from the beginning that Neulander was not a rabbi for the right motives. For this reason, his murderous crime should not be an implication of all rabbis.
The Rabbi and the Hit Man.......2005-08-21
The book is well written and keeps your interest. It is a book based on fact and a true story.
Biased and sensationalistic, epitomizes tabloid journalism.......2005-04-20
Living in the Philadlphia area I am very familiar with the Neulander case. I was hoping for a more objective and less sensationalistic account of the murder than that presented in the local media. Magida presents exactly that however, an overly simplistic, unsophisticated and extremely prejudiced account of the murder. It's as though Magida, as a jew, cannot accept the fact that another jew could possibly commit such an act. He feels he must repeatedly vilify Nulender to reasure the reader that judaism is sound despite this individuals mis-deeds. To say that his continuous incrimination of Neulander is monotonous is an understatement. In fact it is condescending. I got the message the first hundred times that Neulander is a despicable human being, a fact I happen to agree with. What I expected was more insight into his psyche. To find out what makes him tick and what his real motives were. I am also irritated on how he portrayed the women he was involved with as innocent babes in the woods. Women with seemingly no will of their own who were victims of Neulander's advances. Were they not complicit in the adulterous afairs, all except one having spouses of their own? The book is factually accurate,however his political correctness and overstatement of the obvious nauseated me.
Fascinating.......2004-02-16
I had seen a segment on A&E about this shocking and brutal crime. Reading the book made me realize just how deceptive and evil human beings can be, not only to their closest friends and business associates but to those who matter the most; their families.
This will forever change the way I look at my pastor in the pulpit!
Great Story, Sloppy Execution..........2004-01-25
I lived in the Philadelphia area when this story broke back in '94. The Rabbi always looked guilty--but I moved away before the story really got good. This book filled me in on what I missed and what a story it is. A fascinating story, filled with absorbing and tragic characters. I thought the book, while well researched, was not well written. The structure is a bit sloppy and some the stories that appear as interludes are only tangentially related (like someone who knew someone who vaguely remembered Neulander in the '60s). I might have chosen a more straight forward narrative, but oh well...the story carries the day. And finally, justice.
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