Average customer rating:
- 2001 Truro in 1928
- Ignore the negative comments-- buy this book!
- Interesting concept---disappointing delivery
- Like a Painting
- Well-Written, But Overwrought
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Our Arcadia: An American Watercolor
Robin Lippincott
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:
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Mr. Dalloway
ASIN: B0001Q5UD0 |
Book Description
Inspired by their desire to explore the question, "How to Live?" Nora Hartley and Lark Marin buy a house in Truro, on Cape Cod, to create a haven for themselves and their like-minded friends in their quest for a meaningful life. Nora, thirty-three, is a well-educated divorcée with two young children; Lark, twenty-four, is a disaffected gay man. The story spans from 1928 to 1943 as it follows the colorful cast of characters who make their way into the bohemian True House. Inevitably, the friends' haven is not impermeable, and they are unable to keep harsh, sometimes violent, reality at bay. Presented in short, deft, impressionistic chapters, Our Arcadia is an elegant, thoughtful novel about the intersection of life and art and the importance of friendships from the critically acclaimed author of Mr. Dalloway.
"A captivating novel, peopled with appealing characters and an intriguing theme: experimenting with an alternative lifestyle." (Orlando Sentinel)
Customer Reviews:
2001 Truro in 1928.......2005-05-07
I was excited to get this book. My husbands grandparents met at Highland Light in the same time frame of the "setting" of the book. Nothing could be further from the truth of the time of it's setting. P- Town was a bustling Artists community at the time, but Gram does not recall such an infiltration of the homosexual community there as is depicted at the dunes. Even if it were a heterosexual pick up place there it would be disgusting. I know that the 20's were roaring, but I do believe that the roaring happening in P- Town at the time were the fishermen and their way of life. Yes, the artist community was there but this depiction is unrealistic. The beginning of this book made the thought occur to me that the author had read or seen "Enchanted April" and was inspired to do up a 'gay' one. Also, his interest in Cape Cod is fleeting. The Cape is a place which resides in your soul after you fall in love with it, that passion for it is not translated at all in this book. It is just a pretty place that his characters' think is magical.
Ignore the negative comments-- buy this book!.......2003-12-10
This is an incredible piece of literature that does not allow standard structure forms to dictate its narrative. No, this is a beautifully detailed novel in which the reader comes to care for the characters in a series of vignettes and scenes that span a lifetime. We are inside the characters' minds and hearts from the start, feeling what they feel and for that Mr. Lippincott should be applauded. Like his wonderful first novel, MRS. DALLOWAY, this work is an exploration of experimental forms (let's think Virginia Woolf). Mr. Lippincott has chosen to break some elementary writing rules. For those with narrow minds who like to spout writing craft rules like fundamentalists (the people who cannot get past petty criticism), this departure may upset them. But for those of us who can think creatively and outside the box, ARCADIA is a joy and a true refreshing piece of fiction. A wonderful read!
Interesting concept---disappointing delivery.......2003-12-03
While I liked the idea of the book--a group of likeminded individuals who form their own artistic haven--I found the author's writing to be flabby. More often than not, he tells you about the characters, their traits, and their motives rather than showing them to you. The result is that the text has a forced perspective, like propaganda. He uses anachronistic "therapy speak" for emotions ("your behavior is unhealthy and destructive") and has a habit for making all eight main characters to agree en masse (count the times he starts a sentence with the word "everyone," "immediately" or "of course." These things may seem petty but they really got on my nerves. I kept imagining how good the novel could have been with a heavier editorial hand.
Like a Painting.......2002-05-20
This book, as the title implies, is a masterful work of brushstokes only with words. The beauty of this story carried me into a realm of daydreams. How, I too, would love to find my Arcadia. Its simple story, its characters are all woven onto a canvas with pages. I reccommend this book for the simple pleasure of maybe helping someone "learn how to live".
Well-Written, But Overwrought.......2002-03-27
While Mr. Lippincott certainly knows how to handle a pen (or, perhaps, laptop), this reader found OUR ARCADIA to be overwrought and rather too "precious" to be enjoyable and/or believable. Not a single character in the book's numerous short chapters was really likeable and most were downright annoying! Although the book is diminutive, it proved difficult (impossible!) to read more than a bit at a stretch...such was the soporific spell it cast.
Mr. Lippincott is technically talented--there's no question of that--but when it comes to telling a story that truly engages a reader he seems to have much to learn.
Product Description
Regional Cookbook
Average customer rating:
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Our Arcadia
Robin Lippincott
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJQMHM |
Average customer rating:
- The Romance and the Drama Continues!!
- A Peach is Still as Good on Its Second Bite
- Still Pretty Peachy
- not great at ALL
- Diffenately one of my favorite manga!
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Peach Girl: Limited Collector's Edition Volume 1: Boxed Set
Miwa Ueda
Manufacturer: TokyoPop
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Peach Girl: Change of Heart, Book 5
ASIN: 1595320903 |
Book Description
Boxed set containing the 100% Authentic release of Peach Girl volumes 1-4.
Customer Reviews:
The Romance and the Drama Continues!!.......2007-03-22
The second half of the series continues to deliver the drama and the laughs of the first half. The guys are cute and Kiley is so funny, yet has a hidden sensitive side. The end of the series becomes intense as Sae acts even more devious and manipulative than before. The dramatic conclusion to this delightful and sexy series does not disappoint!
A Peach is Still as Good on Its Second Bite.......2003-02-27
The theme turns a bit more dramatic, but still keeps the reader entertained with its simple charming plot of Momo's love triangle. Just as good as the first with beauitful animation.
Still Pretty Peachy.......2003-01-17
Poor Momo still can't seem to catch a break. Every time it looks like things between her and Toji are smoothed out, the diabolical Sae appears to muss things up. But if volume 1 was a pretty close representation of the mixed up love-life of a high school teen, volume 2 is a tawdry melodrama; lots of crying bouts, cat fights, and some really stupid actions by Momo drag down what should be a lighthearted read.
Sae's still up to her relationship-wrecking mischief, but her plans aren't as clever as before and require a lot of leaps of faith on the readers part to believe they could be pulled off so letter perfect. She also seems a lot more malicious; we all know she doesn't want Toji and Momo together but now its starting to border on obsession.
Toji seems to have misplaced his brain somewhere between books, because he's a complete and utter idiot when it comes to Sae's manipulations and, as Momo so eloquently puts it, "On what planet do boys rehearse kissing their girlfriends by practicing on other women?". The boy is a twit and if Momo weren't so hopelessly infatuated she'd see that.
The absolute saving grace of the story is the wily Kiley. Despite being completely lovestruck, he's willing to help Momo win her man because he doesn't want to see her hurt. Equal parts comic relief and voice of reason, he's an all-around sweetheart that keeps the plot's fizz from going totally flat.
While not as frenetic and fun as volume 1, Peach Girl 2 is still a good read, despite the annoying soap opera flourishes
not great at ALL.......2002-12-22
Why in the WORLD do people love thsi so much? The plot IS innovative, but that's where it ends. It is completely unrealistic, and the art is NOT gorgeous but only so-so. Maybe I've been brain-washed by Yuu Watase's artwork, but if you really want a great manga, I suggest Ayashi no Ceres (Ceres: Celestial Legend).
Diffenately one of my favorite manga!.......2002-02-05
I'm a big manga reader and my latest read, Peach Girl, is diffenately my favorite. Miwa Ueda's characters are wonderful! You can't help but root for Momo, loathe Sae, and love Kiley. Kiley is the absolute best! I love him! ^_^. The plot is very good, twists and turns that keep your eyes glued to the page.
Since I've read many manga before, Miwa Ueda's art style turned me off at first. Her style is more realistic than most and can seem weird to a lot of people, it did to me at first. Once I started reading the style grew on me, now I love it! This is diffenately a book that you shouldn't judge by the cover.
Book Description
In one volume, here are the last three novels in the classic SF adventure series, The World of Tiers: Behind the Walls of Terra, The Lavalite World, and More Than Fire. These are the great originals of universe-hopping adventure that later writers, including Roger Zelazny in his Amber Series, used as models. Zelazny himself says, "I admire his sense of humor and facility for selecting the perfect final sentence for everything he writes. He can be stark, dark, smoky, bright, and any color of the emotional spectrum....put quite simply, he arouses awe," The tierworld books are full of non-stop action and typify Farmer's boundless imagination. Who else would have thought of stacking up pocket universes like a ziggurat or the layers of a cake? Join Earthlings Robert Wolff and Paul Janus Finnigan (alias Kickaha) on an unforgettable adventure to big for any single world.
Customer Reviews:
A Super Fantasy Series.......2007-05-05
Farmer's five-book "World of Tiers" series is a classic. What an imagination Farmer has! I loved the village that slowly floats fifty-feet above the ground. It's held up by air bags. The "World of Tiers" series and the "River World" series are wonderful. Don't miss them.
Great Pulp Storytelling.......2006-06-12
Farmer is a big pulp adventure fan and tried his hand at it a number of times. I think that World of Tiers is his best attempt. The story is a great old fashioned adventure tale with a larger than life hero in a fantastic setting. Plot wise it deals with a man who discovers an apparently one way portal to an odd pocket universe. This universe consists of a planet made of several tiers like a wedding cake. Each tier contains its own distinct world. One is an idyllic world inhabited by creatures of greek myth, another is populated by medieval knights. The whole world is ruled by an overlord who resides at the top of the planet and the story revolves around our hero, eventually joined by a sidekick named Kickaha who also hails from Earth, attempting to get to the top of the world so he can get home. Like I said this is a great story, with another inventive concept from Farmer. The premise lets him explore several different pulp settings and there is a nice twist at the end which wraps things up nicely. There is a series of books which follows this one but they get progressively worse. Unless you're a completists, or dying to see some of the conceptual antecedents of Roger Zelazny's Amber series I'd recommend only bothering to pick up the first one.
Worlds Apart.......2006-02-14
The World of Tiers: Vol. One contains books 1, 2 and 3 of the series. What Philip Farmer writes best is strange worlds and strange creatures and action, action, action. All of it is found here in spades. The concept of multiple worlds controlled by highly advanced and immortal but petty and jealous "lords" gives him licence to write Doc Savage type pulp adventures on a grand scale. Not much time is spent on the past but in what happens to the characters in the here and now.
Book one intruduces us to Robert Wolff who stumbles upon a doorway to a new world. The word itself is the star of this book and the entire series is named for it as it is the World of Tiers. Not a round planet but a series of plateaus one on top of the other. Each plateau is basically a continent and instead of being separated by oceans are separated by 30,000 and 60,000 foot mountains which have to be climbed to reach the next continent. The Lord of this world lives atop it in a giant palace. Wolff gets to know this world with the help of the enigmatic Kickaha as he strives to save his new love. And Wolff is greeted by a surprize at the end of the journey.
Book two continues the adventures of Wolff as we see him fight for his life though world after world of his deranged father, again trying to save his love. This time he must team up with a cadre of back stabbing relatives, other Lords who would just a soon kill each other but must try to work together to kill their father. Farmer again gives pulp style action as all the characters are placed in near constant jeopardy through the book.
Book three occurs during the events of book two but back on the World of Tiers. This time Kickaha takes the stage as our main character, a place he keeps for the next 3 books as well. Strange things are afoot and the ever tricky Kickaha must fight and think his way though them. Hunted by the Half-horse who want his scalp and the evil Bellers who want him dead so they may take over all of humanity and all of the worlds of the Lords, he has his work cut out for him. With a little help from an unlikely ally he may win.
If you want rich character development you may want to pass. But if you like adventure and pulp action this is for you. And if you love alien words and creatures look no further. It really doesn't get much more out there than Philip Farmer, that's why people love to read him.
Vintage Silver Age Adventure.......2005-02-16
For some reason, Amazon is combining the reviews of both volumes of the World of Tiers instead of storing them separately under the actually-reviewed volume... So don't be confused by reviews of the second volume appearing under the first, and vice versa.
The first volume contains the first three books of the series, the Maker of Universes, the Gates of Creation, and A Private Cosmos. People looking for realistic romances or accurate portrayals of human emotion might want to look elsewhere; those in the mood for classic world-spanning science fiction with an emphasis on action have found their grail.
The first two books center on Wolff, a man who starts on Earth and is taken through a Gate to another world where strange Lords rule pocket universes of their own creation and wage a cruel and inventive war against each other. In addition to fabulous landscapes and strange beasts, we have many vintage science fiction ideas and death traps galore. The third book introduces the Black Bellers, creations originally intended to store human consciousnesses for transferring to new bodies, which have themselves evolved consciousness and now present a major threat to all life. Farmer's forte is putting characters in horrible situations and letting them work their way out with wits alone.
The imagery in this book is amazing as we travel through multiple universes, each conceived by a Lord as either a palace of pleasure or one giant planet of destruction. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a great, imaginative thrill ride.
The second volume concludes one of the most entertaining and original adventure/science fiction series in history. The emphasis is on action, conflict, and solving puzzles with the mind alone, said puzzles usually involving Gates that take the main characters to different worlds, often landing them squarely in the middle of a mastermind's death trap. How Farmer weaves his characters into and out of these death traps provided immense enjoyment for this reader.
The second volume, containing books 4-6 of the World of Tiers, focuses on Kickaha's battle against the Lord of Earth, Red Orc. Behind the Walls of Terra is one long action/chase scene as Kickaha lands on Earth after an absence of 25 years to chase down a threat to all life everywhere (the Black Bellers) and find his friends who may have been captured by Red Orc. In the second book in this volume, the Lavalite World, Kickaha and others have been transported to a shape-changing world where the planet itself molds and morphs and breaks apart (and rejoins) like the globules in a lavalamp. You will also encounter man-eating trees with insectoid eyes set among their branches and other products of Farmer's fertile imagination. The last book, More than Fire, is the showdown between Kickaha and Red Orc. In my opinion, the books just get better and better.
Don't expect the prose of Shakespeare or the complex and masterful plots of Ludlum; this is pure action/adventure with a healthy dose of trippy sci-fi ideas.
don't ruin the good taste from the first three!!!.......2002-12-28
I read the first three books of the tier world saga, and I really liked it. The characters are interesting, (especially Wolf), and the adventures are gripping and exciting. I gladly bought this volume of the next three, and was really disappointed. The stories are full of high pace action, but the characters aren't convincing and sometimes you just ask yourself "why do I care what will happened to them?". After the adventures on earth that are bareble, the next books just drag on and doesn't seem to get anywhere. I also found a few disturbing mistakes - places where some things don't fit what was written earlier. In the first three books I especially liked Wolf, so I was disappointed that not him nor Kreisais appear in those three, and at the end I was frustrated that there was no ending, and I suspect that the author just forgot that the original reason for Kikaha's and Anana's journey was to find Wolf. To summarize - if you really liked the third book (which is on Kikaha only) and you have a lot of spare time, go for it. Otherwise, don't ruin the good experience from the first three books.
Product Description
"The World of Tiers" is your gateway to the Lords' realms; action and suspense; beauty and danger.
Book Description
In this awe-inspiring book, Dr. Catherine Hamlin recalls her life and career in Ethiopia aiding suffering women. Her unyielding courage and solid faith will astound Christians worldwide as she shares her amazing journey.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2005-06-18
This book tells a remarkable story. It is the autobiography of Dr. Catherine Hamlin and the work she and her husband have done to establish a hospital treating obstetric fistula in Ethiopia. What an amazing story. I had never heard of obstetric fistula till a few days ago. I did not know that so many young women (girls, really) in some parts of the world have child birth complications that cause holes in the vagina through which feces and urine leak constantly, leading to the women becoming abandoned pariahs. And the repair surgery costs only about $300 -- but this was essentially unavailable until the Hamlins came to Ethiopia in 1960. What wonderful work they have done, along with their wonderful, competent Ethiopian staff and colleagues. In addition to that basic theme, Hamlin tells an engrossing story about the overthrow of the emperor, the years of communist regime (many of her friends were murdered), and then the current improved situation. What a story! This book about her faith and her work is well worth reading. I hope many, many people enjoy this book and are inspired to donate to this hospital.
Inspiring and compelling memoir of hope in times of despair.......2005-05-03
Seldom has a missionary painted such a compelling portrait of hope from darkest despair as Dr. Catherine Hamlin in her inspiring memoir, THE HOSPITAL BY THE RIVER. When she and her husband, Reg, embarked on their careers in gynecology in Australia, they never dreamed their work would eventually take them halfway across the globe to the third world country of Ethiopia to establish a teaching hospital.
Ethiopia's insistence on child-brides and the poor obstetric care in that country is responsible for the high incidence of women who suffer from fistula, a childbirth injury that results in constantly running urine and terrible internal injuries. The personal stories of these women as told by Dr. Hamlin will break readers' hearts. Divorced by their husbands and rejected by their families, many of these injured women live out the remainder of their lives ostracized alone in dark rooms --- all for want of an operation costing only a few hundred dollars.
A simple operation can alleviate their suffering, and most women are curable. (Hamlin takes payment in everything from live chickens to jewelry.) But although two million women suffer from fistula, less than 7,000 are treated each year. The challenges to create a hospital that serves these women --- and then maintain and finance operations --- are formidable.
Hamlin's descriptions will move even the most jaded readers to tears --- and sometimes to a queasy stomach. In one gruesome anecdote, she tells of a woman mauled by a hyena while giving birth (the hyena ate her baby while she was helpless to protect it). However, Hamlin wants us to understand the depth of this despair so difficult to relate to --- the horrific conditions these women live in --- in order to arouse our deepest compassion for their suffering.
In one memorable passage, she describes the life of one such outcast, discovered in a village by a medical worker:
"...They reluctantly showed her a side room. Inside it was dark, and the smell was almost unbearable. In the far corner, against the wall was a raised platform. Peering through the gloom they made out a woman lying on her side with her legs drawn up in a flexed position. Her bladder and bowel contents were leaking into a pool underneath. Because she had been in this position for five years the joints had become stiff... and she could no longer walk...."
This woman --- like more than 20,000 others --- was cured by Hamlin and her team.
This is a book of contrasts, from the gatherings thrown by royalty to the extreme poverty that most of the people of Ethiopia experience. Although the reader has to mine a bit too much detailed memoir to get to the good storytelling, it is well worth the effort. Her tone throughout is one of gratitude. Hamlin is quick to offer copious amounts of praise for others, even those who have perhaps wronged her in some way. She is vulnerable about her own shortcomings, especially as a parent.
Almost four decades after her work began, it's understandable why Hamlin has been called "The new Mother Teresa for our age" by the New York Times, and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. This fascinating account of Dr. Hamlin's work will break your heart --- and offer hope that even the worst circumstances can be changed if we care enough to help. Keep the Kleenex handy.
(...)
Don't live another week without reading this story!.......2005-04-17
I have been writing to publishers and book sellers for over a year begging them to publish this book in the U.S. Dr. Catherine Hamlin tells the story and illustrates how one intelligent, caring woman devoted her time on earth to easing the plight of young mothers in Africa. Don't live another week without reading this story! Also, sales of the book go toward keeping Dr. Hamlin's hospital and refuge open for young mothers in Africa who need reconstructive surgery following the birth of their babies.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from International Bulletin of Missionary Research, published by Overseas Ministries Study Center on April 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1061 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: The Hospital by the River--a Story of Hope. .(Book Review)(Brief Article)
Author: Dan Fountain
Publication:
International Bulletin of Missionary Research (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 2003
Publisher: Overseas Ministries Study Center
Volume: 27
Issue: 2
Page: 88(2)
Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
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