Line of Beauty

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Gay college student ingratiates himself with Tory MP's family

A Modern Cousin Bette

Is that a cucumber in your pansy salad?

Line of Beauty
Alan Hollinghurst
Manufacturer: PICADOR (MACM)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0330442538

Amazon.com

Interview with Alan Hollinghurst
Alan Hollinghurst's extraordinarily rich novel The Line of Beauty. has garnered a new level of acclaim for the author after winning the 2004 Man Booker Prize. Hollinghurst speaks about his work in our interview.

Book Description

In the summer of 1983, twenty-year-old Nick Guest moves into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children, Toby-whom Nick had idolized at Oxford-and Catherine, highly critical of her family's assumptions and ambitions.

As the boom years of the eighties unfold, Nick, an innocent in the world of politics and money, finds his life altered by the rising fortunes of this glamorous family. His two vividly contrasting love affairs, one with a young black clerk and one with a Lebanese millionaire, dramatize the dangers and rewards of his own private pursuit of beauty, a pursuit as compelling to Nick as the desire for power and riches among his friends. Richly textured, emotionally charged, disarmingly comic, this U.K. bestseller is a major work by one of our finest writers.

Customer Reviews:

Gay college student ingratiates himself with Tory MP's family.......2007-10-03

In 1980s England, a gay college student becomes a semi-permanent guest in the home of a conservative Member of Parliament during the Margaret Thatcher years. Lots of social climbing, and a sex scene or two. Interesting! Full-length review available at Obsidian Bookshelf website (see my Amazon profile for URL).

A Modern Cousin Bette.......2007-07-01

I have to respond to the 1-star review because it's so angry and wrongheaded. As an author, I read very widely, but it's the rare book that makes me wish I had writtten it; that is, lived the experience and had the insight that brought this book to fruition. To have emerged from inside rather than approach it as a reader, if that makes sense.

Recently I've felt that with Ian McEwan's Atonement, Francine Prose's Blue Star, and Alan Hollinghurst's Line of Beauty. Every line of this book is indeed a line of beauty--the sinuous prose matches the compelling story and I had to force myself to read it slowly, rather than gobble it down. I read many passages aloud to my spouse, who also was blown away.

I'm afraid it's been over a year since I read it, so I can't supply more details, but this novel that nods so much at James is actually the kind of book Balzac wrote, blending sex, politics, and money in a knowing commentary on his times, and I can't think of higher praise than that.

Is that a cucumber in your pansy salad?.......2007-05-14

I picked this book at random, off the shelves of a hotel we were staying in. I'd never heard of the author or the book but thought it must be good, or at least well-written, if it won the Booker Prize. In fact, I did nearly gave it five stars for sheer entertainment value because, after I'd read quite a bit of it, me and my partner took it in turns to read aloud random passages, which I assure anyone reading this, you'll find utterly hilarious if you do the same. However, in the spirit of being honest on Amazon, I'm actually giving it no stars because, trust me, all the humour in this book is of the unintentional variety.

This story reads as if it was written by someone with no personality of their own, just a lot of unexpressed mundane thoughts about the world which he's now using the excuse of a novel to finally express, unfortunately. There are endless descriptions of how a character thinks he might react to something that's just been said, but decides not to, and why he decides not to, and how his non-reaction might affect the speaker differently to how he'd be affected if he had actually said what he nearly said but didn't. All of which wouldn't be so bad if the things people think but don't say - or even what they do eventually get round to saying - were actually interesting. But they're not. If you want an example, check out the chapter that starts with a group of men in a restaurant discussing the 'pansy salad'. Which - what imagination! - turns out to be a euphemism for trying out homosexuality; also, one of them refers to a 'butch lettuce', and another says everyone should try it at least once - the pansy salad, that is, wink wink, nudge nudge. Now, this may well be an actual conversation the author had with his pals but if so, then he needs ask himself what anyone sitting next to his table would have thought if they'd overheard it (clue: it won't have been 'What a fascinating and truly funny group of men'). I don't often blush with embarrassment when reading a book but this one is so pathetically mediocre when it thinks it's profound, I actually found myself worrying about what anyone outside the UK would think of us when reading this pile of self-conscious under-powered quasi-intellectual twittering.

I thought the Booker Prize was given to outstanding writing, which to me means great themes expressed through brilliant prose, with memorable characters and inspiring dialogue. But on the strength of this lazy, badly written, small-minded, meandering 'story', it seems it's actually awarded to anything with a slightly obscure title that features characters who are as boring and predictable as most politicians. This kind of award gets me angry, because there are writers out there - often smeared because they work in a recognisable 'genre' - who produce truly thought-provoking work. Whereas this kind of mind-dribble is for awards judges who don't know how to think for themselves, to recommend to readers who also don't know how to think for themselves.

Apparel Merchandising: The Line Starts Here

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Apparel Merchandising: The Line Starts Here
Jeremy A. Rosenau , and David L. Wilson
Manufacturer: Fairchild Books & Visuals
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Fashion | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Industrial Relations | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 1563674483

Average customer rating:

Interesting Reference Guide, but Limited in Scope
THIS BOOK SHOULD BE THE NEW BIBLE FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great Reference
Intersting but disorganized

The Bottom Line Personal Book Of Bests
Bottom Line Staff
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consumer Behavior | Marketing & Sales | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Beauty & Fashion | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Consumer Guides | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books
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The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

ASIN: 0312150695

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Reference Guide, but Limited in Scope.......2004-07-22

The Bottom Line Personal Book of Bests is a reference format type of book that guides readers in ways to improve health, education, self- defense, money management, retirement, and other personal topics. The book is divided into a total of nineteen different sections, with each area explaining common mistakes and how to avoid making them in the future.

Written like a troubleshooting guide and a preventive maintenance tool, this book is sometimes obvious and sometimes surprising. I read with interest some of the areas where I generally don?t know as much as I should, like the section on automotive care. Here, I found some very useful tips that I had never heard about before. Other areas, like the section on career, are also very helpful and they offer advice that could apply to anyone.

The main problem that I have with this book is that the sections themselves are too short to offer the type of thorough advice that they should. With a total of 320 pages in the book and nineteen total sections, the pages per section works out to only about sixteen. This isn?t enough, in many instances, to adequately cover all there is to talk about with some of these subjects.

This book is no substitute for general reference guides like almanacs, dictionaries, or anything else. But it still offers some value and I recommend adding it to your self- help library. It?s not the best book around, but it can come in handy when you need a quick solution to a problem relating to one of the key areas covered in this book.

THIS BOOK SHOULD BE THE NEW BIBLE FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-08-19

This book is fantastic!!!!

It contains a plethora of great information for the average person! This book is something you can always refer back to, if you ever need help on absolutely ANYTHING.

You get helpful advice on any subject from raising kids right to cheating the IRS (seriously). There are tips in this book that can tremendously increase your odds of winning the lottery. After finishing this book, you will learn GREAT ADVICE, like how to make fruitful investments, to boost your memory, to pick a good diet, to know yourself better, to manage time properly, etc.

By reading this book, you will learn a great number of secrets, like the most dangerous day to drive, how to make your car last twice as long, secrets of learning any language, how to do well on any test, how to take better photos outdoors, best solutions to the most common health problems, how to choose a real good docter, how to rid your home of insects without using chemicals, how to return anything you buy, etc. This book has POWERFUL ADVICE!!!! Knowing the knowledge in this book will allow you to live life much more easily than everyone else in the world. Trust me. You will be taking the elevator while everyone else takes the stairs.

With this book,

NOW YOU CAN DO EVERYTHING RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great Reference.......1998-08-10

This is a good book to have around to answer those questions you think everyone knows.. but doesn't. Get the inside scoop on a great variety of topics from experts in their field! Very helpful reference.

Intersting but disorganized.......1997-11-23

Lots of information but needs better organization. Each page of the book has a center major topic colloum with a side bar of short subjects. You constantly get distracted while reading the major subjects. If you an information junky or like to read catalogues then this format may suit you.

The Line of Beauty: British Drawings and Watercolors of the Eighteenth Century

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The Line of Beauty: British Drawings and Watercolors of the Eighteenth Century
Scott Wilcox , Gillian Forrester , Morna O'Neill , and Kim Sloan
Manufacturer: YC British Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Aesthetics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0300095511

Average customer rating:

plotless

The Line of Beauty
Alan Hollinghurst
Manufacturer: Bloomsbury Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0739464469

Customer Reviews:

plotless.......2007-08-27

It is an undramatic visage of what should be a dramatic era of Margaret Thatcher. An example paragraph of the endless descriptions that mar the book (if i'm breaking copyrights laws, let me know):

Nick wasn't sure how it started. Sam Zeman was laughing so much he lay back on the floor, but then choked and had to sit up. One of the girls pointed at him mockingly, but it wasn't mockery, she was laughing uncontrollably herself. Nat was red in the face, pinching the tears out of his eyes and pulling down the corners of his mouth to try to stop it. Nick could only stop giggling by glaring at the floor, and as soon as he looked up he was giggling again convulsively, it was like hiccups, it was hiccups, all mixed up together with the whooping, inexplicable funniness of the brandy bottle, the Renoir lady, the gilded plaster crown above the bed, all of them with their ideas and bow ties and plans and objections.

Earn Extra Money In Your Spare Time Selling Beauty Salon Equipments On-line

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Earn Extra Money In Your Spare Time Selling Beauty Salon Equipments On-line
James Orr and Jassen Bowman
Manufacturer: LearnToBeRich.com, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Product Description

Modern technology, including the Internet, has leveled the playing field for small business owners, and now you can get into the action. People all across the country regularly turn their interests and hobbies into lucrative side businesses, and you can, too. This handy guide will cut to the chase and provide you the detailed formula for starting your own successful online enterprise. You'll learn how to select the right business entity, how to start marketing, keep track of sales and inventory, much more. Secure your financial future by ordering your copy of this powerfull online business guide today, and enjoy the time freedom and lifestyle that can come from business ownership.

Aesthetician-to-the-stars continuing her upward spiral: Kate Somerville sells stake in product line to JH Partners of San Francisco.(BEAUTY)(JH Partners ... article from: Los Angeles Business Journal

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Aesthetician-to-the-stars continuing her upward spiral: Kate Somerville sells stake in product line to JH Partners of San Francisco.(BEAUTY)(JH Partners ... article from: Los Angeles Business Journal
Emily Bryson-York
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000VE5SIE
Release Date: 2007-08-23

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Los Angeles Business Journal, published by Thomson Gale on July 23, 2007. The length of the article is 469 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: Aesthetician-to-the-stars continuing her upward spiral: Kate Somerville sells stake in product line to JH Partners of San Francisco.(BEAUTY)(JH Partners LLC)
Author: Emily Bryson-York
Publication: Los Angeles Business Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 23, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 29 Issue: 30 Page: 8(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Age Protectors: Stop Aging Now With the Latest Breakthroughs That: Halt the Life-Robbing Diseases * Erase the Lines of Time * Sharpen Your Mind and Memory * Rekindle Your Youthful Spirit

Average customer rating:

Wonderful Anti-Aging Book

Age Protectors: Stop Aging Now With the Latest Breakthroughs That: Halt the Life-Robbing Diseases * Erase the Lines of Time * Sharpen Your Mind and Memory * Rekindle Your Youthful Spirit

Manufacturer: Rodale Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Healthy Living | Personal Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Aging | Aging Parents | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Accessories:

ASIN: 0875964559

Amazon.com

This Prevention magazine book lists two dozen writers and researchers, and their efforts show up in the sheer mass of information it provides. Worried about suffering from any age-related debility, from arthritis to vision problems? They've got a few, and sometimes more than a few, suggestions on how to protect yourself. Want to stay thin, young-looking, and stress-free? They have plenty of ideas along those lines, too. In fact, this book deals with so many topics that you could see it not as an anti-aging book but as a general health text for the baby-boom generation. The authors have consulted a lot of scientific sources, and they do a good job of putting journalese into magazine-style prose (using such headlines as "Top 10 Superfoods to Protect Your Brainpower"). In fact, it's sort of like having two years' worth of longevity magazines in one place--and if you manage to read it all the way through, you'll know you've still got all your faculties intact. --Ben Kallen

Book Description

Age Protectors is the first book to offer completely natural, realistic, easy, and practical strategies to look and feel younger-all contained in 12 "Stop-Time Tactics" that can be completed in just minutes a day. Recommended by dozens of leading anti-aging experts, the Stop-Time Tactics offer reliable age-protection advice, from the top 10 heart-protective superfoods to meditations that rejuvenate your outlook on life. Age Protectors is an essential guide for a healthy, disease-free lifestyle.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Anti-Aging Book.......2000-05-09

With this book I learn an ingenious way to lose weight, it tells you how to shop, prepare and when to eat your food, so it won't be stored as body fat, you also find lot's of weight-loss tips. Also information on skin care, cholesterol, high blood pressure, poor memory & lot's more, I recommend this book to anyone who want to improve their health, that's why I am purchasing a second copy for a friend.

Always in Style With Body Line, Proportion, and Color: How You Can Make Them Work for You

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Always in Style With Body Line, Proportion, and Color: How You Can Make Them Work for You
Doris Pooser
Manufacturer: Acropolis Books Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0874918235

Between the lines: A collection of newspaper stories celebrating nature's beauty and the uncommon lives of our friends and neighbors

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Between the lines: A collection of newspaper stories celebrating nature's beauty and the uncommon lives of our friends and neighbors
Anna Marie Lux
Manufacturer: Janesville Gazette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

In Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service, Walter Broadnax brings together much of the most influential research and thought in public administration literature regarding diversity and affirmative action. Equal employment opportunity, gender discrimination, creating a representative bureaucracy, age discrimination, and disabilities are examined in detail by drawing on the best work in the Public Administration Review, and by providing useful perspectives regarding that work over time.

Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service (ASPA Classics)

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Diversity and Affirmative Action in Public Service (ASPA Classics)

Manufacturer: Westview Press, Boulder, CO, U.S.A.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000I8WKB6

Workforce diversity in Texas state government: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission : a report (Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs policy research project)

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Workforce diversity in Texas state government: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission : a report (Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs policy research project)
Kenneth W. Tolo
Manufacturer: Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0899407188

Book Description

Covering a wide variety of careers, from casino manager to entertainer, this book provides everything the reader needs to know to get started in the industry. Each of the 100 positions profiled includes a job description, necessary skills and experience, recommended education and training, salary range, and much more. Positions profiled include: Pit Boss, Blackjack Dealer, Director of Casino Marketing, Hotel Food and Beverage Manager, Employee Relations Manager, Surveillance Officer, and Stage Manager.

Book Description

Awarded Best Humor Columnist of 1996 by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, P. S. Wall has tossed the nation on its funny bone with her nationally syndicated column "Off the Wall." Combining the irreverence of Dave Barry and the sass of Molly Ivins, P. S. Wall is as irresistible as that last piece of candy (but much better for you). From marriage to parenthood, from middle-age spread to what women really want, this hilarious collection takes it all on. Now, a few laughs compliments of P. S. Wall:

MEN: "Men are like food. When your girlfriend is dating a dip, it's up to you to tell her to lick those fingers clean and eat her peas and carrots like the rest of us."

WEIGHT: "A few years ago, I thought 'Fat Gram' was a rap singer. I drank whole milk like a kitten, didn't think twice about slathering mayo on a toasted cheese sandwich, and still had a stomach you could bounce a quarter on. Nowadays, I can't walk past the dairy section without my thighs curdling like cottage cheese."

MOTHERHOOD: "Whenever I start getting that maternal yearning, I borrow my nephew. After about two hours, I'm fully prepared to donate all my female organs to science."

Customer Reviews:

What a hoot!.......2000-06-21

My mom got me this book for Christmas, and her impeccable taste in humor didn't fail here. "My Love Is Free ..." is one of the funniest books of all time. Her "Sweetie" sounds just like most guys I know ... I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe when I read about their "adventures" in installing outdoor lighting. Even my husband, who can be a bit sensitive about this subject, laughed until his eyes watered. You can't go wrong giving this book as a gift ... and make sure to buy an extra copy for yourself!

Hilariously Funny.......2000-02-01

This is without a doubt, the funniest female writer since Erma Bombeck. P.S.Wall makes girl talk fun, without the complaining. A must read!

My Love is free.......for secretary's day instead of flowers.......1999-02-24

I bought the book at lunch and decided to just thumb through it quickly. Oh,no...I hear the sound of laughter and realize it's me. Quickly, I slap my hand over my mouth and slowly turn around to see if someone heard me. A cube-mate rolls his chair around to my cube and just stares. I blush and stare back. He is waiting for an answer. I giggle and say I just remembered something that happened at lunch. Suddenly, I am telling the story as if it were my own (wishing it to be true). Others join the laughter and I tell another. Then an idea hits me.! My Love is free....for secretary's day instead of flowers...the boss gives everyone a P.S. Wall book. My peers will love me and I might get a promotion or better yet a raise for this suggestion.

P. S. Wall expresses thoughts we've had all along........1999-02-04

P. S. Wall's comfortable humor makes me read and want to read again her experiences from the true, down-a-dirt-road, Sunday-go-to-meetin', chicken and dumplins', rural South. How did she grow up in my neighborhood without my knowing it?

Smiles, chuckles, and belly laughs galore!.......1999-01-31

Humor can be a serious business and it isn't always pretty. That's why I love this book! P.S. Wall isn't afraid to point out the imperfections of everyday life from a slightly warped perspective. Her stories always make me smile and she reminds me that I'm not the only one that thinks that life is funny! Besides, she doesn't use any big words and she keeps her chapters short. I like that in a woman ...

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