Physics of Sunset

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I was disappointed

Most people won't get it..........

Brilliant!

elegant and insightful

Overwritten and pretentious

Physics of Sunset

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000H2M734

Amazon.com

A novel that concerns adultery between a married Jewish architect and an almost-divorced poet--in Berkeley, no less--had better have a sense of humor about its subject. Fortunately, The Physics of Sunset does. Yes, Jane Vandenburgh populates her tale with characters named Alec and Gina and Carlo and Veronique; yes, they all have glamorous occupations such as poet and painter and experimental musician; and, yes, they dine at Chez Pannisse. But into the mix, the author stirs a bracing dollop of irony and not a little satire. Take, for example, this commentary on Berkeley life:

What one did in order to demonstrate that you were a successful Berkeley couple, Anna noticed, was manage to stay together long enough to get the family's portrait done by Elizabeth Smythe and therefore have irrefutable evidence.

And then there are the chapter titles--spiky little headings, such as "Technically Daylight" or "Suicide Haiku" or "Schmutz," that add a frisson of anticipation of what is to follow. What does follow is the history of two marriages, and the point where they intersect. Architect Alec Baxter and his wife, Gina, have entered a lull in their relationship; Gina, an artist, has become so involved in her latest venture, Video Family, that "her love for this project--she called it 'Bungalow'--was so intense, her love for her own family paled by comparison." Though Alec is proud of his wife and of her dedication, he is also beginning to think "vaguely of other women." Enter poet Anna Shay, a neighbor whose own marriage to her musician husband, Charlie, is on the rocks. Over a period of years, Alec and Anna--both East Coast transplants to Berkeley--are drawn to each other and finally into an affair that threatens to shatter the careful balance each has achieved in life. Though The Physics of Sunset is not a particularly long book, Vandenburgh doesn't rush Anna and Alec--or the reader--into this affair. Instead she carefully lays the groundwork, introducing us to her protagonists' pasts, to their friends and passions and preoccupations, before finally allowing them to indulge in some very kinky sexual adventuring. Indeed, one could describe this book as an erotic novel for intellectuals, for in between the graphic love scenes are meditations on subjects as diverse as physics, architecture, and ethnography. In her second novel, Jane Vandenburgh has taken an old subject and given it a uniquely imagined new twist. --Alix Wilber

Book Description

An affair to remember, Jane Vandenburgh's new novel is a spellbinding and fearless portrait of the complex erotics of modern married life.

Fire, flood, and earthquake-the typical California disaster scenario pales in comparison to the calamity waiting to occur when Anna meets Alex in The Physics of Sunset. Fellow Easterners-in-exile-to-Berkeley, the almost-divorced poet Anna and the very married architect Alex start an affair that soon threatens their formerly well-ordered lives. Science, sex, and the clash between East and West (coasts) form the nucleus of this blisteringly smart satire of contemporary mores and morals.

"The sex alone makes the pages tremble, but there is much more, brilliantly told. She is the Colette and Jean Rhys of our own Côte d'Azur."-James Salter

"Each of the many layers of this new novel exudes a quirky brilliance, lots of soul and acerbic humor, with great tenderness shining underneath it all."-Anne Lamott

"In this elegant book, a season of freedom and joy-an escape into secrecy from the politics of liberation by two people bound for a time to one another-leads to suffering that is profound and clarifying."-Wendell Berry

"The Physics of Sunset is a gorgeous poem to human and physical observation. Reading it is like being given the gift of second sight."-John Burnham Schwartz

Customer Reviews:

I was disappointed.......2006-03-29

Failure To Zigzag is one of my favorite novels. I gave up waiting for Vandenburgh to write another novel, then eventually stumbled upon The Physics of Sunset. This novel, though beautifully written, seemed to me more like an extended metaphor in need of a home than a solid piece of fiction.

Whereas Failure To Zigzag gives us an unforgettable character, The Physics of Sunset gave me characters about whom I could not care at all. Despite Vandenburgh's obvious talent as a fiction writer, an extramarital affair between two bored, disillusioned, well-off people in Berkeley does not, for me, a novel make.

Most people won't get it.................2006-01-28

I had written a semi-negative review for Jane Vandenburgh's earlier novel, "Failure To Zigzag", but after reading "Physics of Sunset", I feel I owe that book another chance. This book is intelligent as well as passionate. The sex scenes are extremely graphic to the point of disturbing in some places...something that makes me wonder if people will look at me differently if I recommend the book to them! I agree with the previous reviewer who said the chapter titles alone are worth the price.

Like another favorite author of mine, Ellen Gilchrist, Vandenburgh presents ideas that are very difficult to understand, like physics and the universe - I think the average reader will not appreciate it, or have patience to look up words they may not be familiar with. (some of the words feel like Vandenburgh is showing off, but who am I to judge someone who has a much more extensive vocabulary than I do?)

These characters, especially Anna and Alec, will not be forgotten soon. Some other characters, like Anna's husband Charlie, could have been fleshed out better, and there is one chapter told from the point of view of Alec's son Peter and I'm not sure why. On the whole, an extremely satisfying read and I sincerely hope Vandenburgh is somewhere writing another novel right now.

Brilliant!.......2003-10-14

The chapter titles alone are worth the price of this book. I had the honor of attending one of Jane Vandenburgh's readings in NYC and she is a woman with an abiding talent as well as a passionate and strong sense of humor. As for the Physics of Sunset, it merits every bit of praise it has received in the media, and then some. I am about to track down everything this author has written so that I can sustain this feeling of having discovered a great new voice.

elegant and insightful.......2000-09-04

I was able to perfectly picture the characters in this book - the scenes crackled with life. I especially was affected by the scene where the wife throw up on her husband's shoes when he confesses his affair. this is a gifted author who has honed her skill to a rapier point. highly recommended....

Overwritten and pretentious.......2000-07-30

I was anxious to read The Physics of Sunset as it was reviewed by one of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott. I was thoroughly disappointed by the book. The characters were impossible to connect with not to mention unbelievable. The plot proved to be common and without resolution.

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The Physics of Sunset
Jane VANDENBURGH
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OPCCAC

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Sunsets, Twilights and Evening Skies
Aden Meinel
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Color and Light in Nature

ASIN: 0521252202

The Physics of Sunset Galley with Color Covers

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The Physics of Sunset Galley with Color Covers
Jane Vandenburgh
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0676586767

Amazon.com

The Runelords is that rare book that will remind you why you started reading fantasy in the first place. Much of the setting--and even some of the story--is conventional fantasy fare, but David Farland, aside from being a masterful storyteller, has built his world around a complex and thought-provoking social system involving the exchange of "endowments." Attributes such as stamina, grace, and wit are a currency: a vassal may help his lord by endowing him with all of his strength, for instance, and in turn the vassal comes under the lord's care as his "dedicate," too weak to even walk. A Runelord might have hundreds of such endowments, giving him superhuman senses and abilities, but he then must care for the hundreds that he has deprived of strength, or beauty, or sight.

Runelords excels because this novel idea is not mere window dressing--Farland uses it to explore fundamental questions of life and morality. The story's hero, the young Runelord Gaborn, struggles to define his role in this "shameful economy" while keeping his commitments to himself, to his people, to the woman he loves, and to the earth itself. We end up asking ourselves the same questions: Should you choose your friends based on insight or virtue? Is it better to be just or good? Competent fantasy lets you escape to adventure in faraway lands, but exceptional fantasy makes sure you have something to think about when you get back. Runelords accomplishes the latter. --Paul Hughes

Book Description

The first book of the saga of The RunelordsThe very Earth is in pain. Its wounds must be healed. There must arise a new king: the Earth King must be reborn. Only then will humanity have a chance to survive.

Customer Reviews:

The Rune Lords.......2007-09-23

In The Runelords, David Farland captures your attention, and imagination, by setting his story into complex social and magical systems. In this world vassals not only serve their Lords, they can grant their Lords attributes, which then make the Lord powerful, who then in turn protects and cares for the vassal. Weaved into this 'endowment' system is a wide ranged system of magic in which mages recieve their powers through service to the various elements of their world; earth, water, wind, fire.

At the time of this story we find a human Lord who seeks to be granted with so many endowments from others, that he will become the 'Sum of all men'. In trying to acomplish this he begins a war, reaching to conquer his neighbors and force them to aid him. Yet now the young Prince Gaborn, recently named the 'Earth King', strives to stop him. Will Gaborn be able to save the northern Kingdoms? And what about these creatures called Reavors, that have been seen in the hills, once again spreading out to destroy.

RD Williams, author of 'The Lost Gate'

Who is my audience?.......2007-03-22

Well, I went into the Farland series with high hopes based on the reviews. And as is the norm, the reviews must have been paid for. The story concept, in and of itself, is a bit original, but the writing....... well, let's just say that it leaves much to be desired. You can tell that the author had not thought the story out all the way and that he has absolutely no concept of time, distance, or speed. In fact, in the 2nd book in the series, a young boy with a severe leg deformity apparantly crossed over 100 miles on his own by foot in less than 2 or 3 days ! Amazing ! The pioneers will have to go back and rethink the wagon at the pace they were setting.

This author reaches for the stars but misses sorely.

Oh, and as to the audience? Hard to say. Parts are written for an adult and others for people much younger. You can tell by the way people "fall in love" without actually really having any dialogue.....but ahhh, the love is so enduring (swoon)......

Worth Your Time.......2007-01-05

If you're looking for a new fantasy series to get into, give this one a try.

After two pages, I hated it. After two more, I was hooked. The next night I found myself dreaming about the story. Inside, the fantasy nerd that lurks in my heart rejoiced madly! It's been years since I've enjoyed Jprdan or Goodkind's work, as those authors became long-winded and their plots went virtually nowhere in the 800 page books they were putting out.

Farland's Runelords series has characters to care about, magic that's creative, and writing that's insightful and exciting. I strongly recommend this to fans of the genre.

And if you like this, give Brandon Sanderson's 'Mistborn' a try as well.

This writer does not have *wit* endowments.......2006-05-20

The main twist to this story is the idea that one person can give his/her magic endowments to another person. For example, a person can give wits to someone and that leaves him a drooling idiot. If a woman gives a beauty, she continues to live as an ugly hag. After they give away their wit/sight/strength/.. they become Dedicates who are cared for by Rune lords until they die. If a Dedicate dies, his endowment dies within his lord.

This idea is just unbelievable.

There is a scene where a woman gives her wit to a king and, as a part of a (very painful) ritual; she needs to **want** to give him her wits. They keep telling her "Look at your lord. He loves you. He is going to save you, to help you. You love your lord...".

That is where they lost me. Why would someone choose to become a witless idiot for the rest of their life, just so her lord can have the 7th or 8th wit and become "very clever"? Not that the king even showed that kind of wit in the book, but as always no character can be more intelligent than the writer himself and I bet this writer does not have any extra endowments.

Apart from this, hero Gaborn and villain Raj are stereotypical. Things just happen too easy to Gaborn and Raj is too omnipotent. There is love story between Gaborn and Iomme, with no charisma and depth.

Overall, this is a below average fantasy book.

very good on many levels.......2006-04-07

The writing is good, the characters interesting and well developed, the idea behind the book is good--all those alone serve to transport the reader throughout the series, of which, this is probably the best book. Ultimately, though, the series was a bit of a disappointment, as, like all really good fantasy books, there was a lot of potential for dialogue between the novel and our world, but those were left all but untouched. For instance, the idea of giving of attributes to our leaders is a clear metaphor for how power structures function in this reality, and it isn't pretty, just as it isn't in David Farland's world. But he barely touched upon the ethical ramifications, and it certainly wasn't a cornerstone for the books as it could have been. Other, simpler problems I had with the books includes the light treatment of Borenson's trauma from having to kill hundreds of innocent initiates. And then there's the whole Dylan Hammer thing. They talked about him a lot, they went on a quest to find him, but they never did. It's like the old rule, if you introduce a gun in the first act of a play, by the third act the gun will be used. Dylan Hammer's the gun that never got used, and thus, he served no purpose.

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The Runelords - The Sum Of All Men
David Farland
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RIVW0C

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Runelords Sum of All Men :Runelords 1
David Farland
Manufacturer: TOR BOOKS ST MARTINS MASS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UYQW5S

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The Runelords: The Sum of All Men
David Farland
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTLYUW

The Sum of All Men: Book 1 of the Runelords

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The Sum of All Men: Book 1 of the Runelords
Dave Wolverton
Manufacturer: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVC1X4

Customer Reviews:

pretty good, but you people are too critical of the cover.......2005-03-29

I think it's great. The adventures on the Zoo planet is the best of the Man-Kzin Wars. If you read nothing else, read that. I wish for more of it. I read the Ing stories and then read all the rest, hoping for more and every other author came short of his level, in my humble opinion. Although "The Man Who Would Be Kzin" was pretty decent. But one would expect no less from Greg Bear, for certain. I almost gave up after getting bogged down in the awful Poul Anderson story, "Iron", and only by dumb luck did I happen to give the series as a whole another shot and skip ahead to 'Cathouse' (and am I ever glad I DID). But I don't agree with the people who disliked the cover. I can't find anything in it that contradicts the descriptions of the Kzinti in the text except that the kzintosh tail is supposed to be hairless (they're RATcats after all), while the Ing story indicated the Kzinrett's tails are bushier. The Tosh's on the cover looks like a lion tale. And of course the Rett's is supposed to be bushy. What I THINK is that it didn't match with the image you people created of them in your minds when you read it, and that's your major complaint. What I REALLY find fault with, however, are the covers of the Man-Kzin wars 4 and 7. Notice anything funny about them? Count the number of fingers on the kzin on the covers. Notice anything now? They're supposed to have 4 on each hand, not 5. Unless they are rare polydactlys or something. More likely it's just a bad artist who's been trained to draw people and can't break the habit. Or who didn't read the book. At least this cover has the ears right. They're always described as 'batwing' or 'umbrella'-like ears. Most of the others have them look pretty much like Bengel Tigers with more like earthborn feline ears, but that walk on hind legs and have hands, which I think is wrong. THESE kzin look nothing like any species native to earth, and at least that's the way I think it should be.

An nice reissue.......2004-05-20

It's unclear why this book has a different ISBN from that of the same name which was issued in 2002. But anyway... Both books are a rebundling of 3 short stories that were from the Man-Kzin series pioneered by Larry Niven. The stories originally came out around 1990-92.

Of these, perhaps my favourite is the Children's novella, by Pournelle and Stirling. From the entire 10 volume Man-Kzin series, this seems the most ingenious and intricate of the plots. Has a nice combination of battle scenes and social jostling and computer hacking. Given that 2 authors wrote this, it is amusing to speculate as to who wrote which passages. The battle scenes could equally well have been done by either; they are both known as military-SF authors. The hacking may have been done by Pournelle; as per his real life experience writing computer columns.

A Agree with the previous Reviewer.......2003-11-02

This is an exciting and imaginative story - the inventiveness and sense of wonder which good SF should have, with touches of irony and humor. Exciting and realistic battles. The Kzinti are not all bad - paving the way, perhaps, for the human-kzin interfaces of Man-Kzin IX and X. The idea of the "Zoo" planet is full of possibilities. But the thing on the cover is not a Kzintosh! The artist should be drafted as a wiper on a Kzin battle-cruiser with a zzrou in his back until he learns better. The female Kzinrett is OK, I guess. Nice legs, anyway.

Great... except for the cover.......2002-12-06

This book contains two novels originally published (in two parts each) in the "Man-Kzin Wars" series, which by now has run into 9 books. I consider these two among the best of the series' offerings, describing psychology and family life of kzinti in great detail. The reason I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is the cover. It is obvious that the artist never read the book - the two aliens are not kzinti, they are oversized humans in tiger masks! Kzinti anatomy and proportions are quite different from those of humans, and sufficiently described in the book.

The Houses of the Kzinti The Children's House; Cathouse

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The Houses of the Kzinti The Children's House; Cathouse
Jerry, and S M Stirling and Dean Ing Pournelle
Manufacturer: Baen Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RFU3BO

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Very interesting philosophical discourse

AtheistWorld.Com Book Review

At last, a fair and balanced treatment of this issue

A MUST-HAVE book on the problem of evil!

A Great Exploration of a Sticky Issue

The Evidential Argument from Evil (Indiana Series in the Philosophy of Religion)

Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Problem of Evil (Oxford Readings in Philosophy)

The Problem of Evil: The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of St. Andrews in 2003

ASIN: 0253210283

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting philosophical discourse.......2005-04-16

This book is a collection of articles from theologians and philosophers alike on "The Evidential Argument From Evil". What makes this book a fantastic read is the approach of the book: every article takes the arguments of the preceding article into consideration. Thus the articles build up an interesting dialog to the problem given. If the topic appeals to you, grab this book to obtain fascinating insights into different views on this problem and their respective flaws.

AtheistWorld.Com Book Review.......2003-07-24

C.S. Lewis called this issue "The Problem of Pain" in his book of that title. The current preferred term is "The Evidential Argument From Evil" because, as explained in the Introduction, it's not a "Problem" except for people who believe in God.

Readers of this book will discover why belief in an all-good, all-powerful God, in the face of human suffering and evil, is not necessarily "cognitively dissonant". It provides a balanced, fair treatment of the issue by both believers and atheists.

The book is quite technical at times. Several of the essays feature complex equations purporting to illustrate various logical propositions. There is also a good deal of philosophical jargon used. Nonetheless, while the book is not as readable as anything by C.S. Lewis (or Ayn Rand for that matter), it provides the best treatment I've seen in print of the arguments for both sides in this perennial issue.

At last, a fair and balanced treatment of this issue.......2002-01-08

The existence of evil - undeserved human and animal pain and suffering - has been a barrier to religious belief for many people. One of those people was this reviewer's mother, raised Catholic but turned atheist after witnessing terrible suffering in her native Scotland during World War II. As she once told me, "when you've seen mothers holding their children, both riddled with machine gun bullets from German planes, it's impossible to believe there's a good God in heaven". Bertrand Russell once made the comment that "no one can believe in a good God if they've sat at the bedside of a dying child."

C.S. Lewis called this issue "The Problem of Pain" in his book of that title. The current preferred term is "The Evidential Argument From Evil" because, as explained in the Introduction, it's not a "Problem" except for people who believe in God.

Readers of this book will discover why belief in an all-good, all-powerful God, in the face of human suffering and evil, is not necessarily "cognitively dissonant". It provides a balanced, fair treatment of the issue by both believers and atheists.

A MUST-HAVE book on the problem of evil!.......2000-05-26

Anyone interested in the debate over the evidential argument from evil simply must have this book. It includes two influential but distinct formulations of the argument--those by William Rowe and Paul Draper--followed by a number of essays written in response to one another. The list of authors who contributed to the anthology is impressive. Besides Rowe and Draper, the book also contains essays by Richard Swinburne, Alvin Plantinga, Richard Gale, Bruce Russell, Peter van Inwagen, and Stephen Wykstra.

Like Cole Mitchell, I was also somewhat disappointed by the demographics of the book (10 of the book's 16 articles were theistic). Despite this flaw, I was still so pleased with the book that I rated it with 5 stars. Any serious student of the problem of evil will want their own copy of this book.

A Great Exploration of a Sticky Issue.......1999-05-01

This book is a great example of what a good philosophical collection can be -- both an introduction to a problem and a valuable addition to the work on the problem. This book contains many essays (by Howard-Snyder, William Rowe, Peter van Inwagen, Alvin Plantinga, Paul Draper, et al.), but I have found each of them invaluable. The only problem I have with it is that I wish there were more nontheists in the mix (with 10 of 16 articles and 3 of 5 people who were allowed two articles being theistic); but that's just my partisanship showing. No matter what antecedent leanings you have, this book will probably shake you up in one way or another. This is a gem.

The God Beyond Belief: In Defence of William Rowe's Evidential Argument from Evil (Studies in Philosophy and Religion)

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The God Beyond Belief: In Defence of William Rowe's Evidential Argument from Evil (Studies in Philosophy and Religion)
Nick Trakakis
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

ASIN: 1402051441

Book Description

Why would a loving God who is all-powerful and all-knowing create a world like ours which is marred by all manner of evil, suffering and injustice? This question has come to be known as ‘the problem of evil’ and has troubled both ordinary folk and specialist philosophers and theologians for centuries, with no answer seemingly in sight.

However, in a series of publications from the late 1970s onwards, Professor William Rowe – one of the leading philosophers of religion today – has put forward a powerful case in support of the view that the horrors littering our planet constitute strong evidence against the existence of God. In this book, the first extended study of Rowe’s defense of atheism on the basis of evil, Nick Trakakis comprehensively assesses the large body of literature that has developed in response to Rowe’s work, paying particular attention to two strategies employed by critics: firstly, the appeal to mystery – the idea that God may well have reasons for permitting evil that lie beyond our comprehension; and secondly, the appeal to theodicies, where this involves offering explanations as to why God allows evil to abound in his creation (free will theodicies, for example, argue that God could not prevent us from acting wrongly without at the same time curtailing or removing our free will). Trakakis unearths significant difficulties in both strategies, and concludes that – absent any evidence in support of theism – the God of theism must be judged to be "beyond belief".

Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 81, No, 4, December 2003.(Philosophical Abstracts)(Critical Essay): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics

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Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 81, No, 4, December 2003.(Philosophical Abstracts)(Critical Essay): An article from: The Review of Metaphysics

Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Review of Metaphysics, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2004. The length of the article is 802 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Australasian Journal of Philosophy Vol. 81, No, 4, December 2003.(Philosophical Abstracts)(Critical Essay)
Publication: The Review of Metaphysics (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2004
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 57 Issue: 3 Page: 666(2)

Article Type: Critical Essay

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