Book Description
"Smiley's stories lucidly explore the complexities of contemporary sexual and dometic life...the emotional and moral complexity that she uncovers in the characters of these resonant novellas confirms Jane Smiley's singular talent. ORDINARY LOVE AND GOOD WILL is an extraordinary achievement."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
ORDINARY LOVE
At a reunion with her grown children, a woman recalls the long-ago affair that ended her relationship with their father--and changed all their lives irrevoccably.
GOOD WILL
Despite the carefully self-sufficient life he has designed for his small family, a man discovers that even the right choices have unexpected consequences--sometimes heart-breaking ones.
Customer Reviews:
A commentary on family values and the beauty of simplicity..........2005-12-03
This book, as you could probably tell, is made up of two stories: Ordinary Love and Good Will, just as the title says. Although they're entirely different stories they have similar themes as well as aspects that contrast and compliment one another. That makes this "package deal" necessary to allow the author to communicate what she envisioned.
Both stories are similar in that the protagonists are content with the simple things in life. This seems to be an attempt to evoke an appreciation of the everyday things we take for granted.
Both stories also share a strong emphasis on family values. Throughout both stories the results that their family values render allows the reader to contrast the lives of the characters with that of their own. This is also a source of how the stories differ.
Ordinary Love has a protagonist that is very laid back and allows her children to become whatever they aspire to be. This often makes her seem uncaring. Ordinary Love shows the family dynamics of such values.
Good Will focuses more on the other extreme of family values. The father imposes his ways of a simple life free of money. Though he has good intent, in a modern world it's understandably met with resistance. This story tells of a family that lives such a lifestyle and the results.
Both stories are a sort of commentary on the two extremes of family values: complacence and imposition. The author's intent seemed to be to provoke readers to choose a set of family values somewhere between those extremes.
Overall both stories were quite good. I had a preference for Good Will but without Ordinary Love much of the message would be lost. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who found what I outlined above intriguing.
Nothing ordinary about this storyteller........2002-01-15
Smiley gives us an intimate view into two very different families and the ways in which their different parenting styles affected their children's lives irrevocably. Smiley is a master of character development. When each story begins, you have a certain view of the protagonist and other characters. As the stories unfold, your feelings about each character change. This is a book to be read more than once.
Thought-provoking and enjoyable.......2001-05-14
An interesting conjoining of two very different stories. I read them in order, starting with "Ordinary Love" and then moving on to "Good Will." At the end, I found myself wondering what links the two stories?
In both, there is a father who directs his family to such an extent that he could be called controlling or even an egomaniac. In "Ordinary Love" the father is not present; he is the "fifth man", invisible, but the scars left by his words and actions have sunk deep. In "Good Will", the father is the protagonist, and through his own eyes we see the results of his actions.
Unlike the other reviewers here, I preferred "Ordinary Love." I enjoyed the character of the mother, who narrates the story. She strives to be objective and offer a balanced viewpoint. She has a depth of self-knowledge. Also, she watches her children with great love, and that lends the story real warmth, which I thought was missing from "Good Will."
I plan to read both stories again. There's a depth of character and thought here that can't be fully taken in with one reading.
Good Will, an extraordinary novel.......2001-03-09
Good Will is by far one of the best novels I've ever read. Ordinary Love was good too. There is nothing ordinary about Jane Smiley's characterizations in Good Will. Those characters could not have been more real if they were real people in the room with me. The psychological, emotional, and moral complexities and motivations they display, the remarkable way in which it was all written and put together..2 years after reading this book, I'm still in awe of it.
Absolutely wonderful; the best.......1999-12-20
I loved these novellas and think they are some of the best works I have read in years. The first time through I was riveted and struck by Good Will but did not like Ordinary Love as much. I reread them and saw the brillinace of Ordinary Love, too. These are so beautifully written and captivating with profound insights into human nature and what it's like to be a parent and how we can hurt each other and our children without meaning to and so much more. This is the best kind of reading there is with lovely use of language and compelling stories that move, surprise, and shake you, making you see life a little differently. I can't say I've read anything better.
Average customer rating:
- Initially disappointing
- Yet another gem from Salvatore.
- A Fine new Character
- At first it seemed formulaic
- Good , but not Rob's best
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The Highwayman: A Novel Of Corona
R. A. Salvatore
Manufacturer: CDS Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Salvatore, R.A. | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1593152140 |
Amazon.com
R.A. Salvatore's prelude to the Demon Wars Sagas The Highwayman is a stimulating ride into the early history of Corona and the vehicle is the creation a new, Drizzt-rivaling hero. Salvatore spins the tragic tale of an Abellican missionary who returns to Honce from the desert land Behr with wonders from the ancient Jhesta Tu monastery. At his side is his wife, a Jhesta Tu mystic. His dreams of uniting the teachings of the Jhesta Tu and "The Church of Blessed Abelle" are broken against the realities of bigotry and the young Abellican Church's struggle for political favor against the Druid-like Samhaists. But from their doomed union will rise a people's hero--the Highwayman.
This novel is, at its heart, an origin tale and Salvatore takes time to spin his hero's legend. Although the stirring set piece at the novel's launch will let readers know where he's going, discovering how he gets there is a thrill and a pleasure, making this one of Salvatore's most mature and deliberate novels. In the backdrop, fans of the Demon War Sagas will watch the emerging Abellican Church as it grows from virtual cult to the calcified institution of the later books. In all, this is a stimulating addition to the Corona universe. --Jeremy Pugh
Book Description
R.A. Salvatore takes his readers back to his signature world of Corona, where he introduces a fascinating new hero destined to become a fantasy legend.
It is God's year 54, many years before the Demon Wars, in the land of Corona. The roads are unsafe to travel, where goblins and bloodthirsty Powries search out human prey. In this savage world, Princes feast while peasants starve, and two religions struggle fiercely for control.
Bran Dynard, a monk of the fledgling religion of Abelle, returns from his mission in a far off land with prizes: a book of mystical knowledge, and a new wife, the beautiful and mysterious Sen Wi.
But the world he left behind has changed, and his dream of spreading the powerful wisdom he learned to his fellow monks is soon crushed. Forced to hide Sen Wi and his precious book, Bran must decide whom he can trust, and where he should now place his faith.
Twenty years later, the situation has grown darker and more desperate. The land is devastated by war, and even the rich and powerful live in fear. Only the masked Highwayman travels freely, his sword casting aside Powries and soldiers with equal ease. The people long for a savior, but is the Highwayman on a mission of mercy...or vengeance?
Customer Reviews:
Initially disappointing.......2006-02-12
I've read many of R.A. Savlatore's books, and enjoyed most of them immensely, so when I saw this book I handed over my money without a thought. It started out promising, but then it morphed into a scene from "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" - the same ambushed coach, the same noble man and lady, her eyes gleaming with excitement... the dashing highwayman tells the lady "Surely a beauty as radiant as your own needs no baubles." (Granted, he takes her necklace as he says this, but THEN he returns to the "Robin Hood" script and he kisses her hand and takes the ring off of it.) Anyone else getting mental images of Kevin Costner here?
I was so disgusted with that bit of plagiarism that I put down the book and started a different one. I may or may not go back to it later.
Granted, I have not finished the book; it may well be a fantastic read, and deserving of a higher rating than 1 star. (I actually tried to send my comments without a rating since I haven't finished the book, but the site wouldn't let me.) But I would think that a man as talented as R.A. Salvatore would not need to stoop to stealing scenes from other bodies of work.
Yet another gem from Salvatore........2005-07-08
I'm a big fan of R.A. Salvatore. First I started out with the Crimson Shadow Series then I became entralled with tales of Drizzt and the rest of the Forgotten Realms crew. Finally I ended up diving right into his realm of Corona.
The main isn't the type who you'd think of as a hero. In fact, due to his physical infirmities early on, you'd think it would be altogether impossible for this man to be the dashing, rogue that the highwayman turns out to be.
I found myself sympathetic to the tale of Prince Prydae. Sure, he showed contempt for the common folk but that's to be expected in a realm based on serfdom. Later on he wasn't such a nice guy but I found myself wishing I could read more of the Prince and his hulking Champion.
I'd definately read another book based on the Highwayman. However, after all the stretching of the Forgotten realms tales from book to book, it was certainly nice to read a book by Mr. Salvatore that I felt had a nice, tidy finality to it.
A Fine new Character.......2005-03-10
I really enjoyed this book. It took me back to the early adventures of Drizzt and his posse. The characters rakish personality is cool, as is the fact that he's a smaller man. Some of the traits that the character gains are somewhat unbelievable, especially since he has no physical experience (being a martial artist I know how hard some of the moves can be) but other than that it was a good, fast read. I definitely recommend it.
At first it seemed formulaic.......2004-12-03
I mean we do start out with a Drizzt type fight, then go straight to a Cadderly/Danica style pair, and later we even meet a tall muscular Wulfgar clone.
Having said that the book is quite unique and the world, an early version of what becomes the demonwar sagas later, is reminiscent of irish fairy tales and bloody battles take place in a brutal early iron age society.
The overall tone of the book is dark, reminiscient of exile where Drizzt is traveling alone in the world above trying to find his way or the time when Wulfgar is caught by the demon lord.
But the characters are deep and memorable and the unlikely hero is unique and surprising. Dwarves in this work are like Fairy folk in irish fairy tales, hateful of humanity and mysteriously magical in their thirst for blood.
There's more far reaching elements too, when you look at the battle of religions, the oppression of peasants, the hatred for other cultures (even when they are actually more advanced).
I would urge to look past the formulaic elements to a unique and exciting work by one of our favorite authors.
Good , but not Rob's best.......2004-09-27
R.A Slavatore has written books worthy of a second read, this one however is not one of those. Good book, good characters, intersting twist with the asian inspired enlightenment,but just not enough to make it a great book worhty of a second read.
Book Description
ONE OF THE GREAT SPIRITUAL TEACHERS OF OUR TIME....Deepak Chopra's books on human spirituality have been phenomenal international bestsellers. Now, the author of Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and the Way of the Wizard, creates an extraordinary fiction series built on his insights into the divine. With gripping storytelling power, The Angel is Near plunges us into a modern, globe-spanning thriller of epic proportions. Instead of guns and bombs, the weapons in this novel are far more powerful: good and evil. And at stake is the very future of humankind......UNLEASHES A SAGA OF COURAGE, TERROR AND REVELATIONIn a burned out village in Kosovo, two soldiers are struck down by a flash of blinding light....In New York state, a doctor runs to help a stricken neighbor, only to be charged with the bloody murder of the man he came to save....In a Nevada laboratory, a cynical scientist analyzes a bizarre life form-and discovers the impossible....All the around the world the fabric of reality is unraveling. Scientists scramble to understand it. Ordinary people confront bizarre, terrifying phenomena. And an American doctor named Michael Aulden stands at ground zero in a war of the body, mind and soul-as humankind must choose between the goodness that has always been ours, or the evil that has found a home on earth....DEEPAK CHOPRA'S THE ANGEL IS NEARAUTHORBIO: DEEPAK CHOPRA is the #1 internationally bestselling author of numerous books, including AGELESS BODY, TIMELESS MIND, CREATING AFFLUENCE, QUANTUM HEALING, RETURN OF THE RISHI, and THE RETURN OF MERLIN.He is the creator of DEEPAK CHOPRA'S LORDS OF LIGHT, the first novel featuring Michael Aulden.His groundbreaking lectures and books blend physics and philosophy, the practical and the spiritual, venerable Eastern wisdom and cutting-edge Western science with dynamic results.
Customer Reviews:
A spiritual sci-fi novel.......2006-03-12
This is not like the Deepak Chopra books I'm used to. I knew it was fiction, so that wasn't a problem. It was quite a confusing book though, and it is most definitely not a book you can pick up and put down and read the next day with any continuity. There is a lot of time hopping and altered reality and, hence, can be very confusing. However, when I picked it up and read it non-stop, it did have some sense of continuity to it and I enjoyed it after all.
Though deeply spiritual, it would be better listed as a science fiction story. If you expect it to be a sort of spiritual science fiction, then you will read and enjoy it far better. In the final analysis, I enjoyed it enough to borrow a copy of another book in this series - the Lords of Light - from the library.
Life Changing--If you can see it that way..........2005-11-28
It amazes me that I am the only person who decided to write a review after 5 years--all previous reviews are from 2000 and no one has reviewed this book since. I must say that this book came to me at the right time in my life. It has made a profound change in how I look at EVERYTHING. Perhaps timing is the key--it may have been published before most people could really grasp what the message really is (before 9-11, ground zero). I discovered this book in my library and almost gave it away, but upon reading it I found I couldn't put it down.
The truth is, not everyone will get this book because it goes to a place that makes you responsible for your own choices. It's "out there" in ways most people don't want to visit. That's the whole message. Like any review, take it with a grain of salt, read it for your self--no one can really tell you what you will get from it. If you like Deepak, OK, read it. If you like the title, OK read it. It doesn't matter one way or the other--you'll realize the effort will be rewarded one way or the other. If you were drawn to the book to begin with, there's a reason for you to read it....
This is a novel, not like his other books.......2000-12-30
And I positively disliked it! It is a poorly written 'action' novel interrupted at 4 or 5 places by one page 'voice of the angel' sections which are the only parts that remotely resemble Deepak's previous writings. I magine that the 'novel' part was written by his co-author. I was repelled by this book, and ended up returning it to Amazon. Normally I am a big fan of his and own most of his previous books.
Is this a new direction for Deepak? Is he trying to reach people who read junk novels? Or the 'angel' people? If so this is NOT good enough. Deepak, please stick to what you do best..
Not even close to his norm.......2000-11-10
This book was very bad. His other books are great skip this one.
Brilliant - Spellbinding - Inspirational - and Valuable.......2000-10-16
Dr. Chopra & Mr. Greenberg's work is wonderful. A delight to read, entertaining, and laden with profound truth. Thank you both, I hope you write many more books together. Bill Douglas ...
Average customer rating:
- Ha ha! This book brings back memories...don't worry, they were good!
- Get this edition, not the "improved" Lawrence Bush one
- Read this book and shep a little naches
- A JOY OF A BOOK
- Mirthful Account of a Joyful Language
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The Joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Yiddish
| Instruction
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ASIN: 0070539758 |
Amazon.com
Leo Rosten left a great legacy of Jewish culture with his classic informal lexicon of Yiddish. Rosten defines (by synonym, anecdote, and joke) the words that have made it into common parlance (like chutzpah, schlep, and schmooze) as well as a choice collection of less integrated but equally rich vocabulary such as schmatte (a rag, i.e. what a schmatte you're wearing), chozzerai (literally "pig food," now denoting crap or junk food), and hundreds more. First published in 1968, Rosten's aptly named compendium still sings with humorous erudition.
Book Description
Do you know when to cry Mazel tov -- and when to avoid it like the plague? Did you know that Oy! is not a word, but a vocabulary with 29 distinct variations, sighed, cried, howled, or moaned, employed to express anything from ecstasy to horror? Here are words heard 'round the English-speaking world: chutzpa, or gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, "...that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and his father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan." Then there's mish-mosh, or mess, hodgepodge, total confusion...and shamus, or private eye.
They're all here and more, in Leo Rosten's glorious classic The Joys of Yiddish, which weds scholarship to humor and redefines dictionary to reflect the heart and soul of a people through their language, illuminating each entry with marvelous stories and epigrams from folklore and the Talmud, from Bible to borscht belt and beyond. With Rosten's help, anyone can pronounce and master the nuances of words that convey everything from compassion to skepticism. Savor the irresistible pleasure of Yiddish in this banquet of a book!
Customer Reviews:
Ha ha! This book brings back memories...don't worry, they were good!.......2007-05-14
I still remember getting in trouble in school, for bringing this book in and teaching the other kids swear words in Yiddish. Alas, I wasn't even Jewish. One of the words, in particular, still lingers in mind, has something to do with anatomy and....no, I won't ruin the book for you, by giving away definitions or dropping words that you shout out your car window as some shmuck cuts you off on the freeway.....oh dear, I think I just broke my promise, in that last sentence. Oh well. Well, some things can still be left to the imagination, right? I mean, have you seen this book? It's thick. I don't want to start kvetching to you about how much my back hurt, after schleping it around in my backpack. I think that's why it gave me such tzurris, and I had to eventually see a chiropractor! Oy vey....but, as she said to me, "Your back? My feet!" But, I digress. At any rate, purchase this book today. Spanish isn't the only passionate language worth speaking, and you will come to learn that after reading the great stories and anecdotes that go along with the numerous Yiddish terms listed in THE JOYS OF YIDDISH, so you get a sense of the context in which they would be most fitting. Don't take it from me...take it from Leo Rosten. I think he could teach Yiddish Studies at some major university and make a lot of people proud at this point. Well done!
Get this edition, not the "improved" Lawrence Bush one.......2007-02-08
There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. I simply wish to recommend buying this edition or any released prior to the 2001 "New Joys of Yiddish" by Lawrence Bush. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please! I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the witty "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a problem to be sure, but no more so than in any other ethnicity). Lighten up, Bush! Finally, he inserts commercials for Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal, which are valid expressions of Judaism but are post-1950s American in origin and NOT a part of the old Yiddish culture Rosten celebrates. Stick with Rosten's original text if you can find it.
Read this book and shep a little naches.......2006-09-27
I knew a few Yiddish words just from having learned them in life. I grew up in Los Angeles, so there were just a few in my vocabulary; had I grown up in New York, I'm sure I would have known more. I always found them interesting. At some point, I became aware there was a book out there called "The Joys of Yiddish." Then, some years ago, along came Mike Meyers on "Saturday Night Live" doing his hilarious character Linda Richman, whose vocabulary was liberally peppered with Yiddish words and, suddenly, Americans were using the word "farklempt" to describe a state of being overwhelmed with fond emotion.
I decided I wanted to know more, so I picked up a copy of "The Joys of Yiddish" and I keep it by my bedside. If I'm not in the middle of a novel, I can pick up Leo Rosten's good-humored, informative book and entertain myself with his definitions and illustrations of Yiddish words.
The book isn't meant to be an all-inclusive study of Yiddish and it isn't for people who speak the language. It's for English speakers who want to know more about Yiddish, especially those words that are readily used in English-language conversation.
I am surprised as to certain words that weren't included. "Farklempt" isn't in there, for example. There are other noticeable omissions. But, in the main, the list of words to be found is quite extensive. In the process of explaining what the words mean, Rosten uses a clever, innovative system of conveying how to pronounce them that I find quite useful. Also, he uses a lot of jokes and humorous stories to illustrate the meaning of the words. In the process, Rosten explains a lot about Judaism, Jewish customs, Jewish history, all of which is germane to learning about Yiddish and interesting as well.
Rosten doesn't mince words. Some of the entries aren't Yiddish words to be spoken in polite company, and he's careful to warn readers about that. Still, you need to know those words because you might hear them and you might not want to repeat them. There are also euphemisms for some and those are nicely explained. Leo Rosten is, in the end, a practical man and not unduly indiscreet in his explanations.
There are a few things here and there that may seem dated. The book was written back in 1968, and society has changed. But we older readers (I'm 54) will know that and the vast majority of what's in this book is spot on.
I have one regret. I should have read this book 20 years ago so I could have written Leo Rosten a letter telling him how much I like it. Sad to say, Leo Rosten died in 1997 not long before his 89th birthday. The title of the book is apt. I find it such a joy to read it, that I experience a bit of regret knowing I can't tell him so.
I have not read the updated version, produced with the efforts of a second author in 2003, but, frankly, I can't imagine reading that without having read the 1968 original first. The original book has told me a lot about the guy who wrote it, and getting a sense of the man by reading his words has been a true mechaieh.
A JOY OF A BOOK.......2002-12-31
THE JOYS OF YIDDISH is a delightful little dictionary of Yiddish words and expressions that have worked their way into the English language, or at least should have. I can't count the times I've heard people with no background in Yiddish use words like "mavin" (expert), or "shnuk" (a real pitiful character), or dozens of others.
Rosten's frequent approach is to take a word or expression, explain its pronunciation, define it as nearly as is possible, and give an anecdote or example of its use. When the word lends itself to humor, Rosten usually opts for a humorous anecdote.
For an example, I've chosen the word "chutzpah." It is pronounced to rhyme with foot spa, with the ch rolled in your throat to give the German gutteral "kh" sound, not like the ch in "choo-choo." The nearest you can come to defining "chutzpah" in English is unmitigated gall or perhaps brazen effrontery. An example of "chutzpah" is the man who, after killing his mother and father, asks the court for mercy because, after all, he IS an orphan.
There are hundreds of such examples in the book. There are also many more serious examples of words that do not lend themselves to humor.
At the end of the book there are appendices which discuss Jewish Traditions, Ceremonies, Religious Writings, Names, and more.
Rosten has evidently done his research to come up with the many hundreds of entries in the book. He has provided a valuable research document and a book that can be opened to almost any page and elicit a chuckle or two.
Mirthful Account of a Joyful Language.......2002-10-04
Yiddish, though born of suffering, is an amusing language, and the late Mr. Rosten explained it in such a way as to be universally enjoyable. There are philological snobs who sniff at and recoil from this book. Those with edelkeit and a sense of absurdity (the one needed and possessed by the founders of this delightful tongue) would do well to purchase this.
Book Description
Enjoy the most comprehensive and hilariously entertaining lexicon of the colorful and deeply expressive language of Yiddish. With the recent renaissance of interest in Yiddish, and in keeping with a language that embodies the variety and vibrancy of life itself, The New Joys of Yiddish brings Leo Rosten’s masterful work up to date. Revised for the first time by Lawrence Bush, in close consultation with Rosten’s daughters, it retains the spirit of the original—with its wonderful jokes, tidbits of cultural history, Talmudic and biblical references—and is enhanced by hundreds of new entries and thoughtful commentary on how Yiddish has evolved over the years, as well as clever illustrations by R. O. Blechman.
Did you know that cockamamy, bluffer, maven, and aha! are all Yiddish words? If you did, you’re a gaon, possessing a lot of seykhl.
Customer Reviews:
Get an older edition, without the irrelevant and/or PC footnotes.......2007-02-08
There's no need to repeat the deservedly fine comments already posted about Rosten's book. I simply wish to recommend buying any edition PRIOR to this 2001 revision by Lawrence Bush. While Bush does preserve Rosten's witty text intact, he spoils things by adding agenda-driven footnotes throughout. Bush castigates Rosten for making Reform jokes (please! I was raised Reform, and I found them funny) and ruins the humourous "shadchan" (matchmaker) entry by going on at length about Jewish domestic abuse (a problem to be sure, but no more so than in any other ethnicity). Lighten up, Bush! Finally, he inserts commercials for Reconstructionism and Jewish Renewal, which are valid expressions of Judaism but are post-1950s American in origin and NOT a part of the old Yiddish culture Rosten celebrates. Stick with Rosten's original text if you can find it.
Revisionism has ruined this book........2006-04-01
First of all you may make the mistake I made and think that just because Leo Rosten's name is emblazoned in huge letters on the cover that this book was authored by him. He is deceased. In his absence the book has been completely gutted, the innuendo removed, the vulgarity lightened. The idea in the beginning was subversive. Bring to light the Yiddish language that had been excluded for so long from the European tradition, and let the gritty coloring of yiddish words speak for themselves. Instead of busying himself with a contrived story of yiddish culture, the first Joys of Yiddish really was just words. And the words were so good that they literally spoke for themselves. Just saying them and mulling them over was enough to expose the truth of where they came from, as well the lies of those who sought to repress them. This new book, The New Joys of Yiddish has swung completely the opposite direction. Now the book is filled with a contrived culture bound representation of Yiddish where Yiddish is all things Jewish. The author's daughters along with their hired script-nurse have recast the book in terms of modern Jewish identity politics, with Yiddish playing a lead role. If you are interested in such things, if for example you need to know that cockamammy is not Yiddish but sounds like a colorful Jewish expression, read on. I for one was saddened by their wholesale destruction of a great book that was keeping the candle burning for one of history's most subversive languages.
Fiddleresque.......2004-02-07
Found this is a New Bedford goodwill store for 10 cents. It has a lot of interesting info in it, but drenched in Fiddleresque sentimentality about Jewish expressiveness. One interesting theme is his ongoing campaign to claim disputed slangwords for Yiddish as opposed to German, Gaelic etc: fin, shamus.
He barely touches one important subject -- the adoption of Yiddish syntax into slangy English, "enough already," "you should only live so long," etc.
America ganef! It's even better........2002-12-08
"America ganef!" my Grandma would exclaim upon encountering a pleasant surprise. (See JOY page 115.) That's my reaction seeing this old friend renewed, broader, more current and more liberal in its Jewish scope, and more lively and attractive because of the illustrations and layout. Yet it is still the warm, friendly, funny book I remember from nearly 30 years ago.
Somehow the New Joys of Yiddish has more meaning for me now that nearly all those family members I remember using Yiddish often - some relying on it almost entirely, others just when they used a forceful, colorful, close-to-the heart expression (which was very often) - are gone. The book evokes memories of those good people to whom we owe so much - if only for having had the wisdom to select this country for us and our children.
The book is like a warm and witty friend whose conversation brightens your home and is rarely pedantic. (At a couple of places, such as his seven page exposition on the messiah, he does go on too long.)
Two types of people will find this book enjoyable: those who read the original edition and those who didn't.
So to the Rosten family and Larry Bush - mazal tov!
The Understated Joys of Yiddish.......2002-04-24
Simplistic and without real scholarship, one wonders why this is the book that people chose for any kind of language enhancment of the joys of that most subtle and lovely of langauges.
Average customer rating:
- Don't kvetch the peaches.
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The Joys of Yinglish
Leo Calvin Rosten
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods (P.S.)
ASIN: 0070539871 |
Customer Reviews:
Don't kvetch the peaches........2000-04-06
This book is fun *and* educational. On one hand, you can use it like an encyclopedia, to find out, say, what Yom Kippur celebrates. On the other hand, you can use it to acquire a set of one-liners, catch phrases, and plain old jokes, mostly groaners. You'll also find out what are true Yiddishisms and what are mangled versions, and what the proper use of some common terms is. Neat book to dip into now and then.
(The only trouble with it is that once you start reading you tend to keep reading past the point where the jokes make you laugh and the serious entries stick with you. It's best absorbed a little at a time, if you can force yourself to do it that way.)
Oh, and don't kvetch the peaches. (p. 310)
Product Description
A relaxed lexicon of Yiddish, Hebrew and Yinglish words often encountered in English, plus dozens that ought to be, with serendipitous excursions into Jewish humor, habits, holidays, history, religion, ceremonies, folklore, and cuisine; the whole generously garnished with stories, anecdotes, epigrams, Talmudic quotations, folk sayings and jokes--from the days of the Bible to those of the beatnik.
Average customer rating:
- haha! This brings back memories...don't worry! They were good!
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The Joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten
Manufacturer: Washington Square Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: 0671830090 |
Customer Reviews:
haha! This brings back memories...don't worry! They were good!.......2007-05-14
I still remember getting in trouble in school, for bringing this book in and teaching the other kids swear words in Yiddish. Alas, I wasn't even Jewish. One of the words, in particular, still lingers in mind, has something to do with anatomy and....no, I won't ruin the book for you, by giving away definitions or dropping words that you shout out your car window as some shmuck cuts you off on the freeway.....oh dear, I think I just broke my promise, in that last sentence. Oh well. Well, some things can still be left to the imagination, right? I mean, have you seen this book? It's thick. I don't want to start kvetching to you about how much my back hurt, after schleping it around in my backpack. I think that's why it gave me such tzurris, and I had to eventually see a chiropractor! Oy vey....but, as she said to me, "Your back? My feet!" But, I digress. At any rate, purchase this book today. Spanish isn't the only passionate language worth speaking, and you will come to learn that after reading the great stories and anecdotes that go along with the numerous Yiddish terms listed in THE JOYS OF YIDDISH, so you get a sense of the context in which they would be most fitting. Don't take it from me...take it from Leo Rosten. I think he could teach Yiddish Studies at some major university and make a lot of people proud at this point. Well done!
Average customer rating:
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The New Joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten
Manufacturer: Arrow Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0099446944 |
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JOYS OF YIDDISH
LEO ROSTEN
Manufacturer: SIMON & SCHUSTER
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000KV2XXQ |
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Joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten
Manufacturer: MCGRAW-HILL
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJO63Y |
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THE JOYS OF YIDDISH
ROSTEN
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000SAFE4O |
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The Joys of Yiddish
Leo Rosten
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000J0R9Z0 |
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