Book Description
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
Since tales of his exploits began appearing in The New Yorker more than thirty years ago, Henry Bech, John Updike's playfully irreverent alter-ego, has charmed readers with his aesthetic dithering and his seemingly inexhaustible libido. The Bech stories—collected in one volume for the first time, and featuring a final, series-capping story, "His Oeuvre"—cast an affectionate eye on the famously unproductive Jewish-American writer, offering up a stream of wit, whimsy, and lyric pungency unmatched in American letters.
From his birth in 1923 to his belated paternity and public apotheosis as a spry septuagenarian in 1999, Bech plugs away, globetrotting in the company of foreign dignitaries one day and schlepping in tattered tweeds on the college lecture circuit the next. By turns cynical and naïve, wry and avuncular, and always amorous, he is Updike’s most endearing confection—a Lothario, a curmudgeon, and a winsome literary icon all in one. A perfect forum for Updike's limber prose, The Complete Henry Bech is an arch portrait of the literary life in America from an incomparable American writer.
Customer Reviews:
Updike is better than Bech .......2004-10-20
Updike's Jewish alter ego is an extension of his imagination and identity. He recognizes and absorbs the ' identity ' of his major rivals of the time Bellow and Roth and shows he also can be them and be that. But a projection however clever does not in this case have the power of what is closer to him, with him. And there is greater authenticity and strength in the 'Rabbit Books'.
I have I think also an objection which only a minority of readers will share. Bech is a pasteboard Jew who has no real deep Jewish knowledge or identity. This does not mean characters like him do not exist, or Updike had no right to create him. It does mean that those of us looking for some depth when they meet a Jewish intellectual or cultural figure are quite disappointed.
In any case it is clear that for Updike Bech is just a sideshow, one of the many that constitute parts of the complex identity of this very remarkable American writer.
Updike's best fiction, with one large caveat.......2002-01-02
I've always considered Updike much more valuable for his superlative book reviews than for his, to my mind, more-sizzle-than-steak fiction. (If you dig past the nostalgic plethora of period detail in the Rabbit books, there really isn't a great deal there.) But 20 years after accidentally discovering Henry Bech on the shelves of the public library (just as Updike has said he likes to imagine people encountering his books), his hapless exploits with women and the Muse continue to provide me with unfailing pleasure. It's a fine service to American literature to have them all - including the previously uncollected story "His Oeuvre", one of the best - gathered together between one set of hardcovers.
There is however, I'm sad to say, a big ugly boil on the butt of this otherwise handsome volume: the semi-infamous "Bech Noir", in which Updike, seemingly grown disgusted with the continuing durability of his character, jerks him through a sour ludicrous pantomime - the sheer awfulness of which makes it almost impossible to look at him the same way again. .... It's as if Frank L. Baum, around the fourth or fifth Oz book, had Dorothy move to Los Angeles where she became a crack whore. After that, the valedictory tale in which Bech most implausibly receives the Nobel Prize comes across as simply another gesture of contempt - whether towards the Swedish Academy, for honoring the even-less-qualified Toni Morrison rather than himself, or towards the reader, I can't say. All I can tell you - strange advice, I know - is to skip those two stories if you haven't been contaminated by them already.
"Must" reading for all John Updike fans.......2001-05-22
Henry Bech is John Updike's playfully irreverent alter ego and has charmed readers with aesthetic dithering and a seemingly inexhaustible libido. Now all of Updike's Henry Bech stories have been compiled in one volume, including the final, series-capping story "His Oeuvre". This outstanding Everyman's Library edition of The Complete Henry Bech is "must" reading for all John Updike fans and a very highly recommended addition to school and community library literary collections.
Book Description
Michelle West's epic saga of The Sun Sword is set in the same universe as her Sacred Hunt novels, but is greater and richer in scope.
In Sea of Sorrows, the ancient Powers have awakened and new allegiances are forged. As the rightful ruler of the Dominion seeks to overthrow the man who killed his entire family, the Voyani embark upon the Sea of Sorrows to find the lost Cities of Man-a journey that seems certain to lead to a deadly confrontation with the Lord of Night.
Praise for the saga of The Sun Sword:Intriguing. (Locus)
Compelling...a tremendous momentum that will keep you reading far into the night. (Romantic Times)Complex characters and an even more complex plot [will] keep the reader thoroughly engrossed...another great series, one worth the wait between books. (SF Site)
Customer Reviews:
All the way to the end.........2007-05-25
I just finished the series a couple days ago and still have the bitter, bitter aftertaste of disappointment. Honestly, I loved all of these novels; I fell in love with the characters and their complexity. I think Michelle is too good of a writer to just tack on the ending as an after-thought. Completely ruined what I had come to think of, while reading them, as top ten all time favs. I still love the books, but the conclusion left far too many unanswered questions for me to be satisfied with the reading of them.
West presents another beautiful and entrancing masterpiece.......2004-08-25
I tend to agree with most reviews stating that it's difficult to find a good contemporary fantasy writer. When a wonderful one surfaces, their books are nothing short of cherished gems. I absorbed all 830 pages of this book in less then a week for a mixture of reasons- first off, West's unique, descriptive and elegant writing style has captivated me. Each sentence is a pleasure to my eyes and my imagination.
Second, as her cast continues on its course of development, she falters not one bit in the focus of the novel. There's always something new, exciting, and building. Her level of suspense is something that you have to understand, with how she works at her novels to build and build for a good three to five hundred pages (which aren't, in the least sense, a nag to read... even what many people might consider "slow" sections of this novel are impressive alone by her writing) before the hard action occurs, and usually by that point, as it was in particular with this book, I found myself incapable of putting down the novel until its completion.
Lastly, despite how accustomed I am to her style and the manner in which she portrays her characters and handles them, she still can get me running through a box of tissues at the end, with his novel of know exception. Some people think it's foolish to cry at the end of a fantasy novel, but I believe that the only reason West's novels evoke such emotions out of me is becuase she has the talent to create a cast and a world so indepth and real that you cannot help but feel their triumphs and sorrows as if they were your own. As of this date (August 2004), I have yet to finish the Sun Sword series, but "Sea of Sorrows" is currently my favorite Sun Sword book as of yet. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading because, as always, there are aspects about it that everyone can enjoy.
Good book but would have been better if it was shorter.......2004-02-29
My first impression of this book was that everyone has a story to tell but not everyone has a story I want to hear. Although the title of the book refers to the Voyani, the first third of the book has large sections about a butler, er domicis, and Jewel Terafin's `den'. It bothered me that MW has succumbed to Robert Jordan sequelitis and keeps introducing new characters and new storylines without actually ending the existing stories. As such, I was pretty disappointed. The beginning and middle really dragged on and on.
But the last third of this book is fantastic. There are large flashback sections that explain the history of Arkosa and the story is GOOD. Very creative. Well told. For the last 200 pages, I could not stop reading. :)
Due to the excellent ending, I will read the next book and I have a positive overall impression. However this book would have been much better if it had just told the Voyani tale from beginning to end.
Another good one........2003-05-05
Michelle West mentions in the beginning of my copy of this book that she was at fault for the delay of this book. I would guess, reading it, that it is because she had some trouble writing it. Certainly the scene where Kiriel and Isladar face off is one that I think she had trouble writing. It comes across as labored; it goes on far too long, for one thing and has several too many interruptions. However, there is some good character work being done there--the revelation about Isladar and Ashaf, while it had been dealt with to some extent before, is very emotionally powerful and well-done. Furthermore the friendship between Diora and Margret is well-detailed and convincing. She continues to evince a great deal of interest in the parent-child relationship (Diora-Sendari, Diora-Teresa, functioning as a surrogate mother; Kiriel-Isladar; Kiriel-Ashaf, Isladar-Anya--her behavior was very child-like in nature; Margret-Evallen, etc. etc.), which is one of the things I find original about her series; it is practically de rigeur for a fantasy series to concentrate on romantic (usually heterosexual) relationships, and parent-child relationships are almost never explored. Jordan, for example, obviously gives male-female relationships center stage and what few parent-child relationships there are (i.e. Faile and her parents) are extremely minor and almost non-existence. Elayne is now pregnant with Rand's child, but I seriously doubt that her motherhood will be explored in great detail (and Rand's fatherhood not at all).
Speaking of Robert Jordan, several people have compared the two authors. In my opinion there is no comparison. First of all, her writing style is far better, if at times too ornate. Second of all, her characters are much more well-developed than Jordan's characters, who somehow never come across as anything more than 2-D cutouts despite the copious amount of time he has had to develop them. Her female characters in particular are much, much *much* better written than Jordan's, and portrayed with a great deal more respect; I have the feeling that Jordan thinks he portrays female characters very well, but in my opinion he does not. She treats her characters as characters, not as pieces on a playing board as Jordan often seems to. Third of all, her narrative still feels vibrant and alive. Jordan's is dead; it died somewhere around book six (Lord of Chaos), killed, in my opinion, by world-building that was so restrictive it choked the life out of his storyline. Keep up the good work, Michelle West--I can't wait for Riven Shield.
How she isn't Best Seller, is beyond me.......2003-04-07
Her books are absolutely wonderful. She simply gets better and better. I have reread all 6 books of hers multiple times and find new nuances each time. Be sure to read her Hunters duology also.
Book Description
J M Synge was one of the key dramatists in the flourishing world of Irish literature at the turn of the century. This volume offers all of Synge's plays, which range from racy comedy to stark tragedy, all sharing a memorable lyricism. The introduction sets Synge's work in the context of the Irish literary movement, with special attention to his role as one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre and his work alongside W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory. Includes: Riders to the Sea; The Shadow of the Glen; The Tinker's Wedding; The Well of the Saints; The Play of the Western World; Deirdre of the Sorrows
Customer Reviews:
Sounds Like Shakespeare.......2007-06-25
At one point in Ulysses, Stephen thinks or says something to somebody about how you can always tell Synge because he sounds like Shakespeare. That's a jab probably, but I don't think it's intended to be far off from the truth either.
I agree that reading these plays aloud is wonderful.
In a class I took, we read extended portions of "Playboy of the Western World". Some of us, including a great old professor, were busting, tearing up with laughter. The play is fall-over funny even if you're reading to yourself.
I just have to say though, that the plays are for performing.
A friend of mine and I did a scene as an acting exercise for a class she was taking--it was one of the scenes in which Christy courts Pegeen Mike. The audience--about 15 people--were spellbound. We looked out at dropped jaws.
This friend of mine and I did a competent job of acting. What blew the class away, really, was the ecstatic language and the infatuation one feels for the characters, their solidity, and the dramatic electricity between them... Lines from this bit come back to me, what? 20 years later? It's like music: delightful! The action goes from high tragedy to knockabout.
Well, it's what makes the Irish the Irish.
And the play's been just as good when others did it.
"Riders to the Sea" is like a religious ceremony, similar to the way that the plays of Aeschylus and Sophocles are like religious ceremonies. They use choruses to much the same effect. The action is ritualized and repetitive. Idealized characters utter formula phrases.
Religious ceremonies should be moving even to sensitive atheists. "Riders" sounds out some elemental terrain: it packs a deep sort of wallop.
Playboy of he Western World and other Plays, J. M. Synge.......2007-03-19
These are classic plays by Irish playwrite and poet John Millilngton Synge, with the attention to language and folklore that is typical of Synge. Best enjoyed by reading the plays aloud.
Product Description
"In the early part of the century Dublin's Abbey Theatre was the scene of great revival in Irish Drama. The leading figure in that renaissance was J. M. Synge, whose six play are now published in this penquine volume. They include the masterpiece of comedy, The Playboy of the Western World, which so enraged its first-night audience in 1907 that they wrecked the threatre. Since that time it has become recognized as one of the world's great comedies and has established itself in the repertory of European drama.
Book Description
1913. Part Thirteen of Eighteen Volumes. Gilbert, Canadian-born novelist and politician, his literary reputation lies primarily on his earlier descriptive, dramatic and historic Canadian stories. He moved to England in 1889 and later served in Parliament. Parker explains that in this edition of his work, each volume will have a special introduction setting forth, as far as possible, the relation of each work to the author, to its companion works, and to the scheme of his literary life. Michel and Angele, a tale of love, laugher, and tears (originally published in book form as A Ladder of Swords). The novel had its origin in a true but brief record of some good Huguenots who fled from France and took refuge in England, to be found, as the book declares, at the Walloon Church, in Southampton. This volume also contains two stories: John Enderby and There is Sorrow on the Sea. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.
Book Description
This volume offers all of Synge's published plays: Riders to the Sea; The Shadow of the Glen; The Tinker's Wedding; The Well of the Saints; The Playboy of the Western World; and Deirdre of the Sorrows.
Download Description
It must have been on Synge's second visit to the Aran Islands that he had the experience out of which was wrought what many believe to be his greatest play. The scene of Riders to the Sea is laid in a cottage on Inishmaan, the middle and most interesting island of the Aran group. While Synge was on Inishmaan, the story came to him of a man whose body had been washed up on the far away coast of Donegal, and who, by reason of certain peculiarities of dress, was suspected to be from the island.
Book Description
Godschild Covenant is set against a global tribulation caused by the planet Nibiru (Planet X) in 2012. In the midst of this maelstrom, the dubious characters who've lurked in the shadows of Anthony Jarman's life now come forward to propel the story at a breathtaking pace.
Likeable and gifted with psychic abilities, Anthony enjoys political success until his enemies manage to conscript him into the hopeless role of a "releaser." In the midst of this dark passage, destiny recasts his fate when he meets Tanya. Beautiful and dynamic, but sad, she captures Anthony's interest at first sight.
The attraction is mutual, but Tanya cannot yield as easily. The loss of her family still pulls her soul towards lonely tears, away from her pressing need for a new future. As they struggle with their feelings, the ghost of an old love from Anthony's past returns to bond them together in the service of a desperate cause.
[DOI:
10.1572/yowbooks.gcron]
The Science Behind Godschild Covenant
Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru, is rooted in a realistic catastrophe scenario based on the impending flyby of a planet the Sumerians called Nibiru. The Egyptians called it the "Destroyer," and the Mayans warn us that this "Red Comet" will return in 2012.
In researching this book, author Marshall Masters, a former science feature producer for the Cable News Network first researched current solar system observations and then compared those finding with historical accounts in the ancient texts of the Egyptians and Sumerians.
Nibiru and the Ancients
Founded in the area of modern day Iraq, Sumer is the oldest known civilization, and the Sumerians wrote extensively about Nibiru. According to their accounts, it orbits our sun every 3600 years. Reddish in color, it is approximately 5 times the size of Earth. Further parallels to these accounts are also found in ancient Egyptian and Mayan records as well.
A similar object was also documented in the Egyptian Texts of the Bronzebook. This 3600-year old work was penned by Egyptian academics following the Exodus. They called it the "Destroyer" and say it caused the Biblical disasters of Noah's Flood and the Ten Plagues of Exodus. They also warn that it will return in the near future.
The Mayans offered the same warning. They called this object the "Red Comet" and told us its return will mark the beginning of the next Mayan Calendar on December 21, 2012. Like the Egyptians, they feared the natural disasters caused by this object and kept a constant vigil on the planet Venus for any sign of its return.
Nibiru and 2012
Today, we not only observe Venus, but the entire solar system as well, and what we're seeing is troubling for some. In the last 75 years, the effective energy output of our sun has increased 0.4%, causing the most violent solar activity in recorded history. According to NASA, the next solar cycle will reach its maximum in 2012, and it will be stronger than the last.
Meanwhile, as the global warming debate continues here on Earth, astronomers have observed significant surface warming on Mars and Pluto at levels that could cause an extinction event here on Earth. Additionally, there is a sharp increase in atmospheric perturbations and a host of new X-ray and radio emissions on the other planets in our solar system, as well.
Download Description
A fast-paced action drama set in 2012 against a global backdrop of tribulation that brings humanity into contact with extraterrestrial races during the next flyby of Planet X / Nibiru. The story begins in 2011 with the onset of natural and man-made catastrophes. In the midst of this maelstrom, the pains, secrets, and shady characters of Anthony Jarman's earlier life propel the story at a breathtaking pace as he struggles to redefine his life through a newfound love for a son he has never met. In the process, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to a dynamic leader who mourns the recent loss of her own family.
Based on science fact, this highly visual, fast-paced human drama starts in 2011 and presents the cutting edge of a realistic 2012 Planet X / Nibiru flyby scenario. The two previous flybys happened during Noah's Flood and Exodus, according to The Kolbrin Bible (kolbrin.com), and researchers warn us that the impending 2012 flyby will be equally catastrophic. Also, the folklore of ancient indigenous cultures tells us that we'll make contact with extraterrestrial races during this time.
Customer Reviews:
Mobipocket -- This story surpasses all other novels and work.......2003-12-25
Mobipocket Review
http//www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/BookDetails.asp?BookID=11321
Godschild Covenant, written by Marshall Masters, is a very unique, poetic and uplifting book. In it, Mr. Masters shows great insight into the immense strength of the human spirit, insight which many people alive now have been unable to notice, whether it be because of their busy lifestyle or their aspirations toward a specific goal.
From beginning to end, Godschild Covenant demonstrated moving, poetic tenderness. While restricted by circumstances, the story of the sexual love between Anthony and Tanya was shown to be heart wrenching and full of the emotional beauty of a love between two soul mates.
This unique book is futuristic, yet full of truth. It uplifts the reader from the normal, mundane, everyday existence to a place that all of humanity will eventually reach. Ahead of his time, Marshall Masters is giving humanity a message, a prediction, which will soon come to pass. Meanwhile, Marshall, with his mastery of imagination and narrative skill, leads the reader through entertainment to the truth of a realistic, yet hopeful land, the land of the Godschild Covenant.
This story surpasses all other novels and works of fiction. It is an immensely rewarding journey; it is so inspiring, so enticing that it makes one want to reach the last word of the book, while still feeling sorry for the fact that the book is drawing to an end.--Mobipocket.com
Godschild Covenant - A rip-roaring good read!.......2003-10-23
This is a superb novel!
Marshall Masters has excelled himself with his first foray into fiction. With vivid imagination he has successfully combined the genres of action, thriller, sci-fi, murder and romance into one, fascinating, action-packed, hard-to-put-down book.
The characters are so life like and the environment the book is set in is so real-to-life, that I was completely drawn in, feeling as though I was actually there, experiencing every moment and emotion.
The story focuses on the power of the human spirit and it's will to survive in the face of desperation and destruction upon Earth. I was taken on a journey with Anthony Jarman, a seemingly ordinary but spiritually gifted man who struggles to accept his new responsibility within society as an ELMO (End of Life Management Officer); joined him on his dangerous quest to find his one and only son, kidnapped by extremist politicians; and followed his gentle, heart-wrenching discovery of true love with his soul mate.
This is a powerful and uplifting novel, which will provoke readers to ponder the actual reality of a higher realm of existence; a topic, which is so often taboo in today's society. It has elements of historical fact; describes scenarios that almost mirror current real life events and takes the bold step of sending out a message to readers about our own future and what it may hold.
A must read for all avid bookworms!
Update to Ming's Review.......2003-05-04
I wish to add one more statement to an earlier review of Godschild Covenant.
Marshall's insight from Godschild Convenant that described the 3-Gorges Virus shows exactly what is happening in China - the spreading of SARS. According to the Indian News, China has created this virus from its Bio-weapons lab. This is another of Marshall's phrophetic warning from his book.
Fascinating !.......2003-04-28
Godschild Covenant
Godschild Covenant, written by Marshall Masters, is a very unique, poetic and uplifting book. In it, Mr. Masters shows great insight into the immense strength of the human spirit, insight which many people alive now have been unable to notice, whether it be because of their busy lifestyle or their aspirations toward a specific goal.
From beginning to end, Godschild Covenant demonstrated moving, poetic tenderness. While restricted by circumstances, the story of the sexual love between Anthony and Tanya was shown to be heart wrenching and full of the emotional beauty of a love between two soul mates.
This unique book is futuristic, yet full of truth. It uplifts the reader from the normal, mundane, everyday existence to a place that all of humanity will eventually reach. Ahead of his time, Marshall Masters is giving humanity a message, a prediction, which will soon come to pass. Meanwhile, Marshall, with his mastery of imagination and narrative skill, leads the reader through entertainment to the truth of a realistic, yet hopeful land, the land of the Godschild Covenant.
This story surpasses all other novels and works of fiction.
It is an immensely rewarding journey; it is so inspiring, so enticing that it makes one want to reach the last word of the book, while still feeling sorry for the fact that the book is drawing to an end.
Ming Friedman
April 27, 2003
...
Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru.......2003-04-20
Godschild Covenant, the return of Nibiru, presents the reader with a rip-roaring good read combining the best of several genres. Classification is difficult as it's as much a science fiction novel as well as an adventure novel. Combining the two genres as well as including several aspects of new age spiritualism and being able to hold the whole thing together would seem rather difficult in perspective. Marshall Masters has managed to do it all. From factual technical aspects to fine points in descriptive narration the author manages to do a top job. Recommended for all ages this is a fine debut novel.
Howard Crawford - April 2003 Darringtonoutback.com
Book Description
Colorfully written by two popular and respected sociologists, this volume shows how sociology has evolved, how it became divided from Christian faith, and how Christian sociologists can make sense of this branch of social science.
Books:
- The Complete Metalsmith: An Illustrated Handbook
- The Dark Bride: A Novel
- The Fierce and Beautiful World (New York Review Books Classics)
- The Four Wise Men
- The Garden Planner and Record Book (Record Books)
- The Lesser Blessed: A Novel
- The Marriage at Antibes
- The Most Amazing Thing
- The Never Ending Pigeon Saga
- The Red Heifer: A Novel (New York City History & Culture)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- The Illustrated History of Magic
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- Managing Your Career in a Changing Workplace
- History of Regional Science and the Regional Science Association International: The Beginnings and E
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Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, "Rabbit Remembered"
Rabbit Angstrom : The Four Novels : Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit Is Rich, Rabbit at Rest (Everyman's Library)
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