The Island of Mending Hearts

Book Description

"Suicide is like masturbation; they both like to veil their obscenity with metaphor, using the back doors of language to introduce their unacceptable intent. So I wasn't going to kill myself; I just wanted to end it all."

Straight, 40-something Michael plans to throw himself from a cruise ship, but instead procrastinates his suicide all the way to the gay mecca of Key West. Once onshore, he finds, first, a city with a fascinating history; second, a series of brutal and anonymous sexual encounters; and, finally and surprisingly, a cast of interesting new friends, both male and female-including the beautiful Alex-who eventually help Michael adjust to his new gay self.

This is intelligent, accessible writing about how one man comes to terms with himself; a life-affirming novel which deals with the wider meaning of "community"-social, sexual, racial. Subplots are based on geography, art and architecture, and explore the history and heritage of Key West, as well as expanding on the novel's central metaphor of the palimpsest. For Michael, like the -palimpsest itself, is a man with two stories, and a man who risks having one story erased to make room for the next.

"A rich and complex emotional journey."-Patrick Gale

Tim Ashley lives in London. The Island of Mending Hearts is his first novel.

Customer Reviews:

Moving, tender, beautifully crafted:.......2006-03-08

The Island of Mending Hearts caught and held me from first page to last. Tim Ashley writes with skill and sensitivity, creating a story that draws the reader in.

Some reviews have compared Tim Ashley's work to that of Alan Hollinghurst, and indeed both write lyrically, giving a strong sense of place. However, Ashley's characters are more human, more believable and generally more likeable than those of Hollinghurst.

The book focuses primarily on a voyage of confusion, absolution and discovery of self, experienced through the main character Michael through his quest for identity. We observe this journey against the backdrop of beautiful and evocatively described surroundings, and within the company of the novel's other characters, whose well-drawn personalities add weight and substance to the tale.

The emotional tension, the ravishing surroundings, the sense of family interaction, (which forms a primary strand throughout, both in the form of Michael's blood relatives and his new "family"), and most of all his inner struggle with his realisation of being gay, all come together to make this one of the most intense yet ultimately uplifting books I've read in a long time.

Hugely disappointing.......2005-07-27

This is a mystery novel wannabe. Unfortunately, it's not a mystery plot; it's meant, I guess, to be a love story. But the author really wants to write cheap mysteries and uses this book as practice. He keeps secrets he doesn't need to; he has this huge build up to a stupid and pointless denoument; he has cardboard sub-agatha-christie characters that serve only as set decoration. This could have been a nice love story, but it's a lousy mystery.

Not worth reading.

good book, but.........2005-06-03

i can most accurately compare this book to having good sex with a partner who takes too long.

it starts out great and is for most of the time, then suddenly, you climax and have to wait for him. then it's over and you're thinking, 'ok.. now what?'

overall though, i thought it was great. i mean, the beginning especially.. i was a little disappointed that there was never a sex scene between the more important characters, but i easily got over that because of the reality of the affection.

--great details, descriptions, etc.. but a very large, unrelated, fairly boring and obnoxiously tangential plot was very discouraging.

with this review, i'm only preparing for the worst. though readers will have to suffer a few literary inadequacies, the book as a whole is an amazing journey that i would recommend any and all embark upon.

pretty good.......2005-04-05

If the book had finished as strong as it started, I would have given it five stars. The first half of the book covers two days, the other half months. It almost seemed to me that Ashley felt the need to keep it under a certain amount of pages 'or something.'

A lot of the writing here is above average. The dialog is a little off sometimes but the characters are well developed, almost too so. Some of the family lineage was lost on me, it didn't have to be 'that' in depth.

All in all it's a good read. I'll definatly buy the next offering.

Absolutely Dreadful.......2005-04-01

Having read all of the positive reviews about this book, and having gotten conned into buying it, i am stunned by just how dreadful this novel is.
To start with, the psychology behind the novel is dreadful. The ideas are quite simply wrong. The book opens with a supposedly clever but incredibly dumb phrase :
"suicide is like masturbation, they both hide their obscenity behind euphemism, using the back doors of language to introduce their sordid intent"
Since when was masturbation sordid or obscene? I thought it was a normal part of just about everyone's existence... As with most of the ideas in this novel, they reveal more than anything that the author is clearly uncomfortable with his sexuality.
And that pretty much sets the tone.
The plot is poor and unbelievable, people do things they simply would NOT do, the characters are uninteresting and two dimensional, even the punctuation is dreadful, leaving me to wonder if the book ever saw a copy editor.
But worst of all is the dialogue... Pages and pages of the worst dialogue you will ever read.
These characters don't speak in sentences, they speak in chapters and during the longest phrases you will ever see, we are left wondering if everyone else in the room has died, or fallen asleep... We certainly have...
Example from page 127:
"Good. We can pop over after dinner and take a look. That may be another little surprise for you. Anyway, back to those walls. Your aunt and i reached something of a compromise. She allowed me to supervise their removal and storage. Lord knows what state they're in now, but they should be fine, they're made of Dade County pine like the rest of the house. It's almmost impossible to get hold of these days; it's incredibly sought after because it has a very high resin content, so the termites hate it. I had the lumberman down at the yard bag it all up in pretective sheeting and put the whole thing in the garage. Yours for the taking. And beautiful. Original tongue and groove., pretty carving around the doors. Divine. You simply must reinstall it"
Alex looked stunned.

Tim Ashley cannot write, and I'm afraid that this is just another case of GMP thinking we'll buy anything as long as it's gay,
By the way, the said "Alex" wasn't stunned because this was the longest phrase he ever heard... Nor was it because he fell asleep and fell over and hit his head. Oh no, Alex was just stunned by the good news...
And so it goes on. Page after page of the longest, dullest dialogue you will ever see.
I didn't manage to finish this book. I just couldn't raise the interest to keep turning the pages, I have no idea where these glowing reviews come from, but I have a good idea. And I feel conned.
Don't believe them. This book stinks.
Stanners.

Breaking Spears and Mending Hearts: Peacemakers and Restorative Justice in Bougainville

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Breaking Spears and Mending Hearts: Peacemakers and Restorative Justice in Bougainville
Pat Howley
Manufacturer: Zed Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1842772465

Book Description

The civil war in Bougainville lasted from 1990-2001. This is the story of the aftermath of the civil war. Using oral evidence it tells the story through the eyes of the people--the victims, the freedom fighters, the women who took a leading part in the peace process. The author provides some perspective on the threatened loss of culture and identity caused by the war and on the residue of trauma left by terrible violence and human rights atrocities.

Book Description

United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) heads a wave of anti-sweatshop organizing that has reached over two hundred American college campuses in the past three years. From the Northeast to the Southwest, at public and private, large and small universities, students have one demand: clothing bearing university logos must be produced under healthy, safe and fair working conditions. This short, punchy, yet sharply analytic book, written by USAS activists and an expert journalist, provides a record of a new mass campaign and a tool for the realization of its goals.

Customer Reviews:

Even if you think you know...............2002-06-07

What is the Anti-Sweatshop Movement? How to work for social justice? This compact and highly readible book is filled with a wealth of information and workable strategies. Written by an incisive and expert author/journalist, Liza Featherstone, and voices of USAS activists in the movement from across the U.S, they address these pressing questions.

The book presents a nicely woven analysis and plenty of concrete and heart wrentching examples that amply illustrate what kind of plague global corporate dynamics are imposing on much of the world, and, most importantly, what to do about it. The book describes who is the USAS and what they are all about, how they are fighting back and making significant gains, and how to plug in. The author (and the USAS) does not flinch from grappling with complex issues: how to do local work and link it to powerful global dynamics and actors; how to draw upon past activism and how to move beyond it; how to deal with thorny issues--such as racial dynmanics, ideology, and other potentially divisive issues in any movement--as they play out in the USAS.

In short, this is a must read for anyone interested in the forces and faces changing our world today.

BUY IT NOW!!

Book Description

'Public House & Beverage Management' provides students with a practical guide to the management aspects of the licensed trade industry.

'Public House & Beverage Management' introduces students to:

* Key players
* Variations in service offer
* Types of management arrangement (managed, leased, tenanted, franchise, freehouse)
* Customers and segments
* Labour markets and employees
* Key elements in the business units
* Retailing skills.

The combined experiences of the authors are reflected in the text, as between them they have a vast range of experience as: publican, hotelier, chef and sommelier. Enhanced by this is their teaching and research covering food service, cellar management, marketing and wines and spirit education.

Covers the management aspects of the licensed trade industry
Progresses from a simple definition through to the management of each function to conclude with the strategic view of both companies and the industry
Has a full set of pedagogic features including chapter summaries/objectives, real-life case studies, review and reflect questions and further reading and references

Book Description

The absurd and fanciful verses of Edward Lear-from "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" to "The Jumblies," from "The Scroobious Pip" to countless limericks-have enchanted generations of readers, children and adults alike. This delightful collection, the most comprehensive ever compiled of his work, presents all of Lear's verse and other nonsense writings, including stories, letters, and illustrated alphabets, as well as previously unpublished material. Featuring Lear's own line drawings throughout and an introduction by leading Lear authority Vivien Noakes, this captivating volume reveals a complex man of ample talents, achievements, and influence-and is teeming with timeless nonsense.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent compilation--a trip down memory lane!.......2006-07-29

A great book to reconnect with Lear's verse, and to read some that may be unfamiliar. A good shared-read with children, enhancing their awareness of humor in language and stimulating their own creativity. An all-around good purchase.

Edward Lear, Poet of the Absurd!!.......2003-03-18

Edward Lear IS the poet of the absurd. With his wiity observations and witticisms, he opened many a mind to the unexplored territory of the verbal nicety. Mr. lear was not merely a gifted poet, but also a great humorist. I give him credit for his creative ingenuity as well as his humor. He has made me laugh from the age of three!! :)

I welcome any review fo the man's work, but this one is absolutely definitive. Pick it up for the mastery of the form, for the humor of the verse, and ultimately, for the sheer delight of the words.

Customer Reviews:

The last word in Nonsense - a timeless classic for children.......2004-05-09

The Complete Book of Nonsense by Lear is a broad compilation of Limericks, Poems, Ballads and other forms which celebrates the fantasy world of the child. Lear creates simple visions of exaggeration with a man's beard so large as to have birds nesting in it, or some one who's legs were so long as to leap from Turkey to France in one prance. Included also are a number of love stories or stories of devotion such as the exquisite "The Owl and the Pussycat" who went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat.

It is a book which does not make any attempt to cram a moral into a child's mind or teach facts. It makes it's appeal directly to the child's curiosity and fantasy world, illustrated with a unique and charmingly naive yet sophisticated pen and ink drawing style, it delivers enchantment and will fascinate. He speaks their language.

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A Gem!

King Lear

The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Complete Verse and Other Nonsense

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ASIN: 0486201678

Book Description

All nonsense limericks, zany alphabets, Owl and Pussycat, songs, nonsense botany, and more. Illustrated by Lear.

Customer Reviews:

A Gem!.......2007-09-01

This is an "unabidged and unaltered repliication of the work originally published 1947" which "is printed in an edition limited to 400 copies" by Amereon House, the publishing division of Amereron Ltd.

It includes the text and ilustrations of Lear's five pubished nonsense works and Holbrook Jackson's introduction titled "Edward Lear: Laureate of Nonsense".

A book to share and to treasure...Order your copy while stocks last.

King Lear.......2003-02-21

I was given this book by my father when I was seven years old and was thoroughly enchanted by it, and remain so to this day. The Owl and the Pussy Cat has passed into children's lore - many people know the rhyme through the song (was it Burl Ives?) or through new illustrated versions of it. They know the limericks (or at least the form, if not the rather esoteric content - the old man with the Beard, for instance, and the lady with the excessively long chin who

had it made sharp
and purchased a harp
and played several tunes with her chin).

But do they know of The Dong with the Luminous Nose, or the Pobble Who Has No Toes, or the short history of Violet, Slingsby, Guy, and Lionel? Or the illustrated botanical alphabet with such plants as the ManyPeeplia Upsidedownia (you'd have to see the drawing!) It would be impossible to say how many times I read, re-read, and enjoyed this book as a child and an adult, including the rather touching, affectionate introduction to the man himself.

Amazon.com

"He reads but he cannot speak Spanish, / He cannot abide ginger-beer; / Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish, / How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!" writes the 19th-century English poet Edward Lear in "Self Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense." When The Book of Nonsense was first published in 1845, under Lear's pseudonym, Derry Down Derry, it was a success--some say it turned the once stodgy, didactic world of children's literature on its head.

This rollicking poetic romp begins with "A Book of Nonsense" (1846), a slew of more-odd-than-bawdy limericks about the Young Lady of Wales, the Old Man of Vienna, and many, many more, all accompanied by the spare, whimsical ink drawings done by Lear himself. Part two urges readers to leap into "Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets" (1871), including the classic "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" and "The Jumblies" (who "went to sea in a Sieve"), along with equally rib-tickling but lesser known selections such as "The Nutcrackers and the Sugar-Tongs." In this section, you'll also discover instructions for how to make Crumbobblious Cutlets, a "Nonsense Botany" guide featuring the Bottlephorkia spoonifolia and the Manypeeplia upsidownia, and "Nonsense Alphabets," strange little poems about quills, rattlesnakes, screws, and other words beginning with letters.

Part three merrily inflicts "More Nonsense Pictures, Rhymes, Botany, &c." (1877) on readers with the well-known plant Washtubbia circularis and more wacky limericks such as "There was an old person of Bar, / Who passed all her life in a jar, / Which she painted pea-green, to appear more serene, / That placid old person of Bar." As icing on a very strange cake, the last section offers "Laughable Lyrics, A Fourth Book of Nonsense Poems, Songs, Botany, Music, &c." (1877), notably including "The Pobble Who Has No Toes." Lear's quirky sense of humor infuses every line of his ever skillful verse, which is often alliterative, and always very silly. Lear, the Laureate of Nonsense, frolics frivolously, and no one should ever go to sea in a Sieve without a copy of this book in tow. (All ages) --Karin Snelson

Book Description

One of the world's most loved writers, Edward Lear has delighted whole generations of readers with his verse. Now The Book of Nonsense is available once again from his original publishers.

Download Description

There was an Old Person of Leeds, Whose head was infested with beads; She sat on a stool, And ate gooseberry fool, Which agreed with that person of Leeds.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Nonsense!.......2002-10-09

This is a very well presented hardback containing the best of Edward Lear. Perhaps not as complete as Holbrook Jackson's Complete Edward Lear, it nevertheless contains his best work, including A Book Of Nonsense, Limericks, alphabets and his most well-known poems, The Dong With The Luminous Nose, The Quangle Wangle Quee, and The Jumblies. The author's quaint illustrations are well reproduced throughout.

The reason this book is so important to comedy is that the incluence on people like Spike Milligan, Beyond The Fringe, and of course Monty Python's Flying Circus is clear. Lear was obviously the 19th century precursor to those humourists. Lear brings an educated and intelligent angle to his humour just as his successors did, and his talent as a poet and artist make this collection much more than just a collection of 'nonsense'!

So You Don't Get It.......2002-01-19

I can see why Stacy of California thinks this is a weird "incomprehendable" book. The word is "incomprehensible" Stacy. It takes a person of a proper old-fashioned education to appreciate this fine piece of classic literature. We oldsters don't get weird modern art either, or some of the wacky movies Hollywood gives awards to but no one can imagine why.

Every child needs some nonsense.......2000-10-02

Edward Lear's nonsense is of the best. Read it aloud! Your kids will amaze you by how fast they can begin to recite along with you! If you remember "The Owl and the Pussycat" from your childhood, you owe it to yourself and your children to share it and "The Jumblies" with them.

Weird, Uncomprehendable Book.......2000-04-04

This has to be the dumbest book I've read. It has riddles and rhymes that totally don't make sense. I know I would rather read real poetry and literature, not this. I don't even think that small kids would like this confusing book.

A Classic for all ages!.......1999-05-12

Wow. I'm so glad this book still exists! This was a book I must have checked out from the library over a dozen times as a kid. Lots of fun.

The Complete Nonsense and Other Verse (Penguin Classics)

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The Complete Nonsense and Other Verse (Penguin Classics)

Manufacturer: Penguin Books Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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THE COMPLETE NONSENSE BOOK
Edward Lear
Manufacturer: Dodd Mead
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000TWKG2Q

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Complete Nonsense Book
Edward Lear
Manufacturer: DODD MEAD & COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UL7V6A

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The Complete Nonsense Book
Edward Lear
Manufacturer: Duffield
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FSTK08

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