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Breath and Shadows (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
Ella Leffland Manufacturer: Ballantine Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items: ASIN: 0345439236 Release Date: 2000-06-06 |
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In Howard's End, E.M. Forster exhorts his readers to "only connect." In Breath and Shadows, Ella Leffland shows us how difficult that is to do. All of the characters in her elusive and exquisite fourth novel are connected, though none of them knows how truly intimate those bonds are. Spanning three centuries in the history of one family, Leffland presents us with three major characters: Thorkild the Counselor, a Danish dwarf already approaching the end of his life in the early 1800s; his great-granddaughter, Grethe Rosted, a young wife and mother living outside of Copenhagen in the 1880s; and Paula, their modern-day descendant, born in Illinois but living in Switzerland. Rather than organizing this generational tale chronologically, Leffland chooses to move back and forth between life stories, emphasizing for the reader a connectedness that the protagonists can only dimly understand. Grethe, for example, was orphaned at an early age and raised by relatives. She knows nothing about Thorkild and only a little about her grandfather, Thorkild's son, who escaped death as a child only to meet it on the battlefields in Napoleon's army. Wandering in her garden one day she muses:If her grandfather had fallen a hairsbreadth differently, he would have perished on the fence spike, a child of tender age, without issue, a child with a child's seed dead before its journey. But for that millimeter her father would not have been born, she in turn would not have been born. Nothing. An eternal void.Grethe understands that it is "only by the grace of a millimeter" that she is alive; she cannot know that her own grandchild will not even know that much about her. For Paula, just 10 months old when her mother left her father (Grethe's son), grew up never even knowing his name. It is for the reader to make those links that the characters never can: a grieving man's beloved only son becomes, in time, merely an anonymous paper silhouette on his great-granddaughter's wall; a young boy's "magic carpet" is barely rescued from the scrap heap 50 years later by an unknown daughter who will appreciate its beauty without ever understanding its significance. And with each succeeding generation still more will be lost until, at last, the only evidence of one's existence will lie solely in the genes. And yet Leffland's book is anything but depressing; we may all be "but breath and shadow, nothing more," but the fact that we choose to live at all in the face of oblivion is cause for celebration. --Alix Wilber
Book Description
Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present.The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book.
Though the novel takes place in three different centuries, it is rooted in such timeless attributes as social mores, class and money, as well as in historical events such as the battle at Leipzig, where Napoleon was crushed, and the ruins of Berlin in 1945.
These events are woven through the private lives of the characters, among whom are a lonely and young officer, a sculptress trying to find truth in the stone she works with, a man terrified of flying who forces himself to fly constantly, a woman who embodies the ineffable bond between an animal and a human being, and others responding to their world, their natures and their needs. It is a novel about the attempt of human beings to know the past, to know one another and to know themselves. It is about love, loss, sexual passion, human perception and the possibility that the search for goodness may be an act of insanity.Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present.
The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book.
Though the novel takes place in three different centuries, it is rooted in such timeless attributes as social mores, class and money, as well as in historical events such as the battle at Leipzig, where Napoleon was crushed, and the ruins of Berlin in 1945.
These events are woven through the private lives of the characters, among whom are a lonely and young officer, a sculptress trying to find truth in the stone she works with, a man terrified of flying who forces himself to fly constantly, a woman who embodies the ineffable bond between an animal and a human being, and others responding to their world, their natures and their needs. It is a novel about the attempt of human beings to know the past, to know one another and to know themselves. It is about love, loss, sexual passion, human perception and the possibility that the search for goodness may be an act of insanity.
Customer Reviews:
Spans 3 generations and centuries.......2004-03-03
some things you will never know.......2003-03-05
The recent movie "The Hours", based on a Michael Cunningham novel that I have not read, uses much the same technique, but is focussed on a different theme and the geneaological relationships among the characters are not as extensive. Each group of characters in the Leffland novel are members of the same family, one separated from the other by two or three generations. Leffland is quite good at making connections among the generations, some of the physical, such as the flowered rug made by Grete Rosted that has talismanic significance for Paula, although she never finds out that her own grandmother made it. Some of the connections are metaphysical, such as the compulsion to travel extemporaneously shared by Thorkild, his grandson and Philip. She is also quite good about showing us the hazy boundary between the memories of old people and the written historical record. And the varying reliability of both.
Leffland is an excellent plotter. The narratives are each compelling in their own right and while some threads are tied together at the end, the author has the art and good taste to leave some hanging, allowing the reader to imagine, for example the grimness of Thorkild's end. She uses a trick of switching to the present tense at the beginning and ends of each chapter, which makes the action quite immediate and has the effect of repeatedly building a bridge between the generations. One can almost sense the author's growing excitement and engagement as the book progresses. The prose of the initial chapters is a bit halting and the chapters are short. But as the novel progresses, the prose grows more fluid and the chapters stretch out to accomodate the sprawling plot.
If the book has a weakness, it is the failure to bring the theme into more focus. The Rosteds are not world beaters. They are intelligent members of the aristocracy in the nineteenth century and of the upper middle class in the twentieth century, but they are not geniuses or great in any sense. Therefore their struggle to find truth in their lives is constantly doomed to less than complete success. Thorkild wrestles with life's verities in his endless writings, which he eventually burns. Holger and Grethe throw Bohemian parties and Holger paints, but only as a gentleman painter. Paula is a sculptor of no discernible talent and Philip deserted his creative side while still in college and became a businessman.
So no one in this novel ever has a sort of 'aha' moment. Rather they all fail to discover the whole truth and must learn to settle for that. While this is the situation that most of us find ourselves in, I thought that perhaps Leffland could have limned the theme a little more clearly. However, it is quite possible that I simply need to read the book again. It is a great temptation in the last third of the novel to read very quickly as many of the climaxes approach. I may well have missed some of the art in order to know the end of a sad and beautiful story.
Something Missing.......2000-05-24
Weaving Order out of Chaos.......2000-04-17
Overly ambitious, a waste of a good talent.......1999-07-29
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Breath and Shadows
Ella LEFFLAND Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co. ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000UZZEVA |
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Breath and Shadows
Ella Leffland Manufacturer: Harpercollins ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000O2FBL2 |
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Set of 15 Historical Romance Novels by Teresa Medeiros (Lady of Conquest, Shadows and Lace, Nobody's Darling, Yours Until Dawn, Breath of Magic, Touch of Enchantment, Charming the Prince, Bride and the Beast, A Kiss to Remember, One Night of Scandal, After Midnight, Vampire Who Loved Me and More!)
Teresa Medeiros Manufacturer: Bantam ProductGroup: Book Binding: Mass Market Paperback ASIN: B000TFKNMG |
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The Avalon Collection: Web Of Magic, Books 1-3 (Vol. 1)
Rachel Roberts Manufacturer: CDS Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1593151462 |
Customer Reviews:
Awesome book!!!!!.......2006-06-21
Boundless possibilites.......2005-10-17
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The Avalon Collection Web of magic books 1-3 and 4-6
Rachel Roberts ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000WAZ4OK |
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LUCKY THIRTEEN: D-Days in the Pacific with the U.S. Coast Guard in World War II
Ken Wiley Manufacturer: Casemate ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover Similar Items:
ASIN: 193203353X |
Book Description
The images of soldiers and marines coming ashore on hostile shores are embedded in our collective memory of World War II. But what of the sailors who manned the landing craft, going back and forth under fire with nowhere to take cover, their craft the special targets of enemy gunners?Customer Reviews:
LUCKY THIRTEEN: An engaging true life WWII story told from the heart.......2007-06-09
One Of A Kind Tale.......2007-05-26
A personable and engaging tale of World War II from an oft-overlooked point of view........2007-04-10
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Lucky Thirteen (Replica 11)
Marilyn Kaye Manufacturer: Skylark ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0553487124 Release Date: 2000-04-11 |
Book Description
Amy thinks being perfect can be a real drag. Everyone expects her to behave responsibly and to use her extraordinary talents for good. But when she meets one of her clones--an unexpected Amy, Number Thirteen, who goes by the name Aly--she gets a taste of normal teen life and wants more. Aly is a reject from Project Crescent. She runs with a wild crowd whose motto is Good Times Now! She convinces Amy to hang loose and have fun. Drawn by Aly's free spirit, Amy rejects her genetic roots. But Aly's carefree ways come at a high cost. . . .Customer Reviews:
Esprit de Corps or just A Spree.......2003-09-25
Amy is informed by a fortune teller at the carnival that we will meet a stranger and that stranger would be familiar. Amy Seven encounters Aly (Amy Thirteen) and a different life style. Amy Seven must make a few decisions. The decisions may prove to be fatal.
Is using her special abilities in the service of her friends being "taken advantage of"?
Is dummying down to be a friend worth the price?
Is it ethical to give someone else the false hope that they can be like her?
If you were Amy what would you do?
Now enjoy the saga of "Lucky Thirteen" Sometimes it's better to be superstitious!
Aly isnt your ordinary clone!.......2002-08-05
Lucky 13.......2002-01-10
So the story is:At a Carnival Amy finds another girl she thinks is an 'Amy' clone,and tries to find her.But, it turns out Aly is the thirteenth clone the 'Reject'.Amy and Aly soon become best friends,and also get in TONS of trouble...
To find out what happens you have to read the book.It is Definetly worth it!!!
Lucky I got this book....it's good!.......2001-12-08
:).......2001-08-30
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Abby's Lucky Thirteen (Baby-Sitters Club)
Ann M. Martin Manufacturer: Scholastic ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 0590228803 |
Customer Reviews:
Great!.......2005-05-10
Pretty good.......2004-03-13
SHE IS SUSPENDED!.......2000-02-27
better than I thought it would be.......1999-09-12
Jewish Coming of Age for Abby.......1999-06-18
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Lucky Thirteen (Canadians in Battle Series)
Hugh Godefroy Manufacturer: Stoddart ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0773751025 |
Customer Reviews:
From the back cover.......2006-06-23
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Lucky numbers;: Thirteen stunts, sketches and monologues,
Carl Webster Pierce Manufacturer: The Dramatic Pub. Co ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: B00086FLYG |
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Lucky Thirteen
Ramesh K Sharma Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc. ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: 0595397891 |
Book Description
The story revolves around the life of a young man who came from a poor family but has strong will power to make a big success in life. Running away from home, due to circumstances he discovers path of crime. He makes his first money by blackmailing his boss about his extra marital affair. With this money, he starts a bogus finance company. He disappears with money and all blame goes to his partner. His partner commits suicide and the case closes. He then becomes a diamond merchant. He earns a big fortune by getting his business colleagues kidnapped. He gets superstitious as he finds that all his successes were coming on thirteenth day of the month. He starts doing all his major work on thirteenth day. He gets married by falling in love and has two kids.He shifts to Delhi and starts business as a real estate developer. One day he meets a very sexy woman in party. He gets bowled over by her charm. She joins him in his business and slowly starts controlling him and his business. He passionately falls for her and decides to leave his faithful wife and kids for her. One day, he accidentally reads her mail box in computer and comes to know her real picture. He designs a perfect murder for her and commits on his lucky day. But this time his luck runs out and he is arrested as her body is discovered in most unusual circumstances.
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The Lucky Thirteen
Kent Manufacturer: Pantheon Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000JBZJEM |
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Lucky Thirteen: A Collection of Thirteen Smart Recitations for Male Entertainers
Manufacturer: Samuel French ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000C0NZ4Q |
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The lucky thirteen;: Stories from around the world
Margaret Hatwell Kent Manufacturer: Pantheon Books ProductGroup: Book Binding: Unknown Binding ASIN: B0007E1AVW |
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Our Jolly Trip Around the World with Captain Parker or the Lucky thirteen and Their Long Voyage of Discovery in Search of Knowledge
Ella Hines Stratton Manufacturer: D. Z. Howell ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: B000UVCE0I |
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Call of the Minaret
Kenneth Cragg Manufacturer: Oneworld Publications ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback Similar Items:
ASIN: 1851682104 |
Book Description
First published in 1956, The Call of the Minaret remains one of the most acclaimed works in the field of Muslim-Christian relations. The author reveals that the Muslim call to prayer contains a summons for Christians and Muslims alike.Customer Reviews:
Call of the Minaret - by Kenneth Cragg.......2001-12-11
The first half of the book describes Islam and its beliefs. He apparently has the approval of Muslims, who say that his descriptions are accurate. He does not shrink from spelling out the problems and issues within Islam, nor its radical differences from Christianity.
The second half of the book describes how Christians can helpfully relate to Islam. It ought to be required reading for missionaries and all Christians for its powerful perspective on how to reach out to persons of other beliefs.
Cragg wrote the book in 1955, when Islamic peoples were just coming into modernity and finding their own national identities, largely because of WWII and the collapse of the colonial empires. Charges of terrorism were even then being leveled. The book is a superb introduction to the Islamic world leading up to the present confrontation with terrorism from within their ranks.
Cragg does not deal with the issues of terrorism as we see it half a century later, but he does help the reader understand how Islam must inevitably drift in that direction. Allah is a distant deity, whom one never gets to know personally, never as "Father". One gets to know only the law of Allah. That kind of distant, almost deist, deity is guaranteed to inspire deep feelings of resentment and anger in its worshippers. Just as with a human father of like character. It is a religion without grace in the Christian understanding of the word.
Cragg describes the plight and yearnings of the Muslims with great sensitivity, and with clarity on how Christians can maintain their worship of the Triune God and at the same time reach out with social and political as well as religious integrity.
It would be hard to imagine a better introduction to Islam, especially in light of the current spiritual warfare developing (yet once again) between Islam and Christianity. Christians are very ill equipped to deal with spiritual warfare on almost any front. They would do well to learn about Islam from someone who sees their need for Christ, and at the same time loves them deeply.
Blessings,
Earle Fox
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Call from the Minaret
Muhammad Iqbal Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Educational Division ProductGroup: Book Binding: Hardcover ASIN: 0340256826 |
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The Call of the Minaret
Kenneth Cragg Manufacturer: Galaxy ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000KV9G68 |
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The Call Of The Minaret -
Kenneth Cragg - Manufacturer: Oxford University Press - ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000O65BKO |
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THE CALL OF THE MINARET
CRAGG KENNETH Manufacturer: OXFORD U. PRESS ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000PGRS36 |
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The Call Of The Minaret
Kenneth Cragg Manufacturer: Oxford University Press ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000OKL0U0 |
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Call of the Minaret
Kenneth Cragg Manufacturer: OXFORD UNIV PRESS (NY) ProductGroup: Book Binding: Paperback ASIN: B000UYMZI6 |
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An Introduction to Islam: A Catholic Answer to the Call of the Minaret
Patrick Madrid Manufacturer: Surprised By Truth Seminars ProductGroup: Book Binding: Audio Cassette ASIN: 1931973008 |
Book Description
In this riveting discussion, Catholic author and commentator Patrick Madrid teams up with Daniel Ali, a Kurdish former Muslim who converted to Catholicism in 1996, to provide an unprecedented and compelling look at the religion of Islam. You'll learn what Muslims really believe about the nature of God, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, Jihads, and what the Koran says about how Muslims should view non-Muslims. And you'll discover why this devout Muslim converted to faith in Jesus Christ and entered the Catholic Church and why he has since devoted his life to reaching out to Muslims with the saving message of Christ. Now more than ever Islam's call of the minaret must be answered with a vibrant Catholic response. This exciting and deeply informative new tape set will help you learn how to understand and respond to Islam. This is first in a series of new tapes giving a Catholic answer to the challenge of Islam. Powerful and penetrating!Books:
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