If you've read Le Grand Meaulnes and liked it, then I can highly recommend Robert Gibsons superb biography of Alain Fournier (alas out of print) called "The Land Without a Name". As haunting and evocative as the novel itself, Gibsons chronicle of Fourniers life gets as close to the heart of his obsession with the Lost Domain as anything I have read. The best literary analysis of the novel (in English at least) is Stephen Gurney's book length study simply titled "Alain Fournier" (also out of print!). Many critics consign Le Grand Meaulnes to the "minor masterpeice" category, however Gurney provides a compelling argument for regarding it as one of the great novels of the 20th century. For another novel on a similair theme, I can also recommend "Picnic at Hanging Rock" by the Australian writer Joan Lindsay. This is a book which bears an uncanny resemblance to Le Grand Meaunles, both in its plot, and in the effect it has on the reader (similairly the brilliant film based on it directed by Peter Weir).

I was interested in reading "Le Grand Meaulnes" after seeing that the English novelist John Fowles cited it as a major influence on his masterpiece "The Magus." I'm not disappointed, to say the least. This is a rare gem of a novel that weaves mystery, adventure, intrigue, romanticism, and realism into a unique package that must have been way ahead of its time and still puts many modern "suspense" novels to shame with its superb prose and sheer elegance.

The novel takes place in a rural French village in the 1890's. The narrator, Francois, is a young teenager who lives and studies at the village school, where his father is the headmaster. One day a boy named Augustin Meaulnes, a couple of years older than Francois, enrolls as a new student and boarder. Meaulnes is somewhat quiet and aloof, but he soon becomes popular with the other boys in the school.

One day Meaulnes expropriates a carriage to go to a nearby town on an errand and mysteriously disappears without explanation. He returns to the school a few days later, but he admits that he doesn't know where he's been. All he knows is that somehow he found himself in a strange, vague place -- a surreal, dreamlike realm that seemed to exist outside of the real world -- where he met a beautiful girl named Yvonne. He pores over maps and searches for clues about this place -- the "mysterious domain" -- so that he can see Yvonne again, while Francois, fascinated by the story of his adventure, is determined to help him.

I would be doing a disservice to the potential reader by revealing any details of the nature of the "mysterious domain" or any more of the plot; so I will only say that every aspect of this novel is nothing short of brilliant, not only in its invention and unpredictability, but in the way it transforms itself by highlighting the contrast between the carefree dream-world of adolescence and the harsh realities of adulthood, and how our childish pastimes and fantasies inevitably give way to our sense of responsibility as we grow and mature. In this manner, the plot actually "matures" with its characters, so that by the end, we see how "grand" a person Meaulnes really is.

This is one of those little remembered novels whose remaining fans firmly believe it to be one of the unacknowledged masterpieces of the 20th Century. Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy and Halldor Laxness's Independent People inspire similarly fanatical devotion in small groups of faithful adherents. In this case though, one of the devoted fans just happens to be the great novelist John Fowles who proselytizes relentlessly for it, including writing the afterword to the edition I read, and crediting it as the inspiration for his first novel, The Magus (itself a Modern Library Top 100 entry). I don't know that I'm willing to join them yet, but all three of these cults may have a point. At any rate, The Wanderer, or, Le Grande Meaulnes, to give it the original French title, is certainly a unique and wonderful book.

The Wanderer of the title is Augustin Meaulnes, a charismatic, restless, youth who transfers to Sainte Agathe school in Sologne and befriends Francois Seurel, whose parents are teachers at the school. Meaulnes quickly earns the nickname Le Grand, or The Great, both because of his height and because he is the kind of natural leader who other boys flock to and emulate. The author portrays the school as an island, cut off from the rest of the world, and Meaulnes as the castaway who is most anxious to get off. He runs away several times and on one occasion has a mystical experience which will shape the course rest of the rest of the boys' lives.

When Francois's grandparents come to visit, another boy is chosen to accompany the cart to town to get them, but Meaulnes sneaks off in the carriage. Irretrievably lost, he stumbles upon a pair of young actors who take him to a dreamlike masquerade ball at a sumptuous estate. There he meets Yvonne de Galais, a beautiful young blonde, with whom he becomes hopelessly infatuated. They spend only a few moments together and do little more than exchange names, but this fairy tale adventure becomes the pivotal experience of his life, one which he, with the help of Francois, will spend the rest of his life trying to recapture, with tragic consequences.

Alain-Fournier was the pen name of Henri-Alban Fournier (there was another, already popular, writer of the day named Henri Fournier.) The novel is apparently very autobiographical : his parents were teachers; the boys supposedly incorporate aspects of his own character; and, most importantly, he had an experience on June 5, 1905, wherein he, age 18, encountered a beautiful young woman named Yvonne in the streets of Paris. This event became a central moment in his life. He imagined a parallel reality, or Domain, which we only come in contact with during such transcendent moments and he became obsessed with recapturing his. This imbues his writing with a profound nostalgia, a melancholic sense that those moments of epiphany that we experience can never be retrieved, that the best parts of life lie behind us, not ahead.

Fournier was killed in battle on September 22, 1914, fighting on the Meuse. Dead before his twenty-eighth birthday, this was his only finished novel, though Fowles suggests that his letters are also worth reading. In a sense, this is a novel that we would have expected from someone who survived WWI (see Rebecca West's Return of the Soldier), harkening back as it does to departed days of youth. His obsession with one event in his life suggests that Fournier might never have done much more than rewrite this story in subsequent years, but it's useless to speculate. What we do know is that he left behind one poignant and haunting novel which, rightly or wrongly, captures the inchoate sense of lost innocence and opportunity missed that we all feel at one time or another. Masterpiece or not, it is certainly unforgettable.

GRADE : A

In her last novel, Gaskell avoided her usual urban milieu to concentrate instead on the wonderful parochial doings of a country village in the mid-Victorian period. Although she left the novel without its very last chapter before she died, this should not dissuade you from reading the novel: you'll know by the end exactly where Gaskell was going to finish the book and what would've happened to all the characters.

WIVES AND DAUGHTERS is frequently compared to Austen, but it is very different; the comedy and social observation is marvelous, but there's a greater sense of despair here more akin to MIDDLEMARCH. Hyacinth is without question the single most complex and engrossing character Gaskell ever created, and despite her menadacity and her manipulativeness you can't help but feel fond of her in spite of her less attractive qualities. Her daughter Cynthia is nearly as fine a character, and the others are also topnotch. A delightful read.

I received this book for Christmas, along with two Jane Austen novels. I read Austen's novels first and I liked them. I have just finished Elizabeth Gaskell's, Wives and Daughters and I loved it! This book portrays the lives of Molly Gibson and her step-sister, Cynthia Kirkpatrick as they grow up in the town of Hollingford. I thouroughly enjoyed this marvelous book and I would recommend it to anyone, especially Jane Austen lovers, for I think they will enjoy Wives and Daughters more then any of Austen's books, as I have done.

It's interesting that another reviewer here recommends this novel on the strength of its Austen appeal. Me, I never cared for Jane Austen. But Gaskell's book is subtle and brilliant and amazing on so many levels that a little, Austen-like parody is only another flavor. Molly Gibson's moving through her life and the lives of those near to her is solid in every way that literature must be; yet it is in the stunningly realistic depictions of relations between the characters - her father, her stepmother, her stepsister, the Hamley brothers - that Mrs. Gaskell reveals her genius. She refuses to settle for easy reactions and expected responses. If at times her people suffer a bit from a Victorian eye's love of form, her brilliance will allow for no false note. As absolute evidence we see the evolution of Hyacinth Gibson's role in the family, the desperate wrongness of it, perfectly muted to the compromises life brings forth in all such situations. This single character, vain and selfish, inconsiderate but not monstrous, is as real a human being as I have ever encountered in literature of the 19th century, or this one. I conclude with saying that, having been introduced to this woman's work, George Eliot has had to share her place in my mind as the preeminent female author of that century.

"Nightmare Academy" is book two in "The Veritas Project" series. Reading like a mix of the old TV show "Millennium" and the "Spy Kids" movies, but with a distinctly Christian worldview, The Veritas Project books follow the adventures of the Springfield family (Dad Nate, mom Sarah, and teen wondertwins, Elijah and Elisha) as they fight the bad guys with the help of the shadowy Veritas leader, Mr. Morgan, and the imprimatur of the President himself.

Summoned to aid a teen found in the middle of a rural road, his mind completely jumbled, the Springfields follow the boy's lead (during a rare lucid moment) to a youth center in Seattle. The center offers young runaways an unusual proposition, one which has potentially lethal consequences. The twins, posing as street kids in order to investigate for Veritas, are soon in the belly of the beast. After agreeing to the offer, they find themselves shuttled off to a mysterious school attempting to rewrite societal conventions, The Knight-Moore Academy.

Unaware of the exact location of the school, and unable to remember how they arrived, Elisha and Elijah are forced to match wits with many other kids and their eerie instructors. The school's staff - a generation and a couple continents removed from their kindred found in "The Manchurian Candidate" - attempt to rewire the students' thinking via clever verbal manipulations (and a few physical ones, as well.) Black becomes white and truth whatever one makes of it. While their parents search cross-country for them, the twins battle the brainwashing by holding true to God and His absolutes, becoming outsiders in the student body. Soon the social engineering wreaks "Lord of the Flies"-like consequences and what masquerades on the surface as a rarified prep school soon promises a learning experience no youth could ever imagine, even in their worst nightmares.

Frank Peretti's foray into youth fiction should please young readers looking for a thriller with solid, evangelical Christian values. A definite page-turner, "Nightmare Academy" has the needed creepiness balanced by biblical morality to give one the shivers without the guilt induced by reading something of questionable taste. The strong message that relativism is senseless and can only bring the downfall of our society, leaving us prey to nefarious forces, is reinforced on nearly every page.

Yet while this comprises the basic theme of the entire book, it comes off being heavy handed (though, sadly, not unlike many other books in this genre.) As Christian writers attempt to counter youth-oriented lit that fails to embrace traditional biblical values with sanitized, message-driven lit of their own, they've yet to really come up with books that drive truth home with more subtlety. C. S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" is the archetype, but rarely has it been done better. Attempting to shoehorn concepts espoused in "The Left Behind " series into other writings also bedevils books like these. Rather than creating a unique vision, they merely look like copies of everything else. Even the best works are missing that magical quality that gives them life unto themselves. The result is, therefore, always mildly disappointing.

So while "Nightmare Academy" is a decent escape, its fire is nearly snuffed by the unfortunate hamhandedness of the presentation of its message. Discerning readers, even the young, will get the point immediately. We just need to have it presented more deftly - less sledgehammer, more skillful storytelling. Peretti is one of the foremost evangelical novelists out there, blessed with the chops to make it work. We should expect better.

I'm beginning to think that Peretti simply can't fail in the world of Christian fiction. He hit it again. The second in the Veritas Project series, Peretti's new cast of characters are back for another adventure...and this one makes it personal for the Springfields.

Elijah and Elisha (It's pronounced like Alicia) go undercover to try to discover the secret behind the place that is muttered from the mouth of a juvenile rebel, found roaming the forest saying only one name: Nightmare Academy. They never dreamed that a homeless shelter in the city could transfer into a private school in the country overnight! Alicia and Elijah must fervently retain to what they know is true, when they find themselves attending...Nightmare Academy.

The book is awesome. It's a little creepy (not as bad as the first one) and scary, but there's not really any objectionable stuff I could mention, in regards to younger audiences reading it. Just a cool Peretti thriller!

I would definitely recommend reading this book to teenagers and adults alike. The plot is excellently written and is very complete from start to finish. The chapters flow well from one to the next even though they move back and forth between the main characters. Although this is the second book in the Veritas Project series, you don't need to have read the first one to understand this book. The characters are nicely written and I felt that it was easy to relate to them. The different characters could entertain you as well as scare you.

The book itself keeps you in suspense the whole time you are reading. It has nice foreshadowing but it never reveals too much so as to give the story away. Once you start reading this book, you aren't going to want to put it down. Nightmare Academy was definitely a five-star book and it keeps you enthralled all the way to the climax of the story and beyond.

The Dosadi Experiment is a brilliant, and complicated book. The concepts Herbert indulges in here will keep you pondering for weeks, months and years after you read it. Essentially an experiment is conducted on a planet enclosed behind a created protective barrier called the 'God Wall' to keep the inhabitants from leaving. A series of hostile conditions are created complete with toxic waste, hunger and war. The inhabitants are all unknowing 'test subjects' in a grand experiment, and develop into the most dangerous people in the universe, frightening their creators with their abilities. As events unfold, the inhabitants of Dosadi actually learn how to pass through the 'God Wall' unleashing themselves on the universe and the culmination of the tale winds up in the most unusual trial you will ever read. All in all quite a facinating exploration into a broad new territory for Herbert, marking him as one of the great pioneers of the genre of Science Fiction. This book is currently out of print and the copy I have is very old, but it is well worth searching used books stores to read this one. It is actually Herbert's sequel to 'Whipping Star'.

Frank Herbert's brilliant novel, THE DOSADI EXPERIMENT, explores the gulf between that which is legal and that which is moral -- and how the former can be manipulated to undermine the latter. As such, it is perhaps the greatest literary rumination on the moral deficiencies of the law ever written. Briefly, the Gowachin race, utilizing legal constructs, has fostered an immoral structure on the planet of Dosadi -- specifically, a savage city whose residents have been exposed to brutally toxic conditions in order to turn them into the strongest, most resilient life forms in the universe. The purpose? So the Gowachin can transplant their souls into Dosadi bodies and live forever. Jorj X. McKie, "Saboteur Extraordinary" -- who previously appeared in Herbert's wonderful WHIPPING STAR -- ferrets out this grotesque scheme. It's a deftly written novel, fully developing the theme of strength through environmental conditioning that Herbert explored in DUNE. Virtually every page is filled with epiphanous concepts that make the reader gasp. This is science fiction and literature at its finest. As far as I'm concerned, it is Herbert's greatest achievement and one of the finest novels ever written.

Yes, Frank Herbert wrote other novels than the "Dune" series. Of these, "The Dosadi Experiment" is by far one of the best.

Dosadi is an artificially populated planet with a dark, dark secret. Jorg X. McKie, who was introduced in a companion novel "Whipping Star" is sent to investigate the goings-on on Dosadi, an assignment that could very well lead to his destruction.

Dosadi is a toxic planet, where survivors live either in an overpopulated fortress of a city and survive on their wits, or struggle to live on the poisonous Rim, where the very soil and plants are enemies. The people of Dosadi are tough indeed, but they are a lot more than just tough survivors. They hold a desperate secret that could upset the balance of the rest of the galaxy.

McKie's struggle to survive and to discover Dosadi's secrets make for a really exciting tale. The characters are vivid, creative (all kinds of sentient species) and very interesting. If you love good science fiction, this is a must-read.

In 1793, the immediate after-effects of the French Revolution are being played out: the Republic is beset by assaults both from outside France and by counter-revolutionary forces within its borders. The Marquis de Lantenac arrives in Brittany to lead the counter-revolutionary insurgency which has been centred on the Vendée. The Convention has already sent de Lantenac's nephew, Gauvain, to the Vendée with a force to put down the rebellion.

This is the main thrust of "Ninety-Three", although Hugo weaves several other sub-plots into the novel. The action takes place principally in Brittany, but there are scenes in Paris with interesting vignettes of Danton, Robespierre and Marat.

The main thing to be said about "Ninety-Three" is that it's no "Les Misérables", no "Notre Dame de Paris". It has its strengths, but the faults in the plot and in Hugo's writing made it for me a less satisfying read than those other works. "Ninety-Three" is melodramatic (frequently overly so), the use of coincidence is often outrageous, there are wildly improbable sections (the accurate identification of each ship in a French squadron at night being one early example), there are long sections devoted to descriptions of architecture, and one long part which is merely a list of the members of the Convention.

All these traits are present in other of Hugo's works I've read, and I suppose could be expected of a "romantic" writer, but I felt that in "Ninety-Three" they were out proportion, making up for the ordinariness of the main plot, and outweighing the fine sections of good descriptive writing, of meaningful reflections on morality, political convictions and war.

Overall, not his best, more of a cross between Walter Scott and "The Scarlet Pimpernel".

G Rodgers

This book show-cases some of the most brilliant writing I've ever read. Hugo is a literary God.

The events of Ninety-Three occur during (and somewhat define) the period of the French Revolution. For this reason, all the characters' actions are tremendously important. The fate of a large part of the world literally hangs on their actions. Toward the end of the book, during the battle at La Tourgue, you can almost see the future itself, balanced on a knife-edge, swaying back and forth with the actions of the main characters.

The characters in Ninety-Three are giants among men. Lantenac, Gauvain, Cimourdain -- all are heroic in their own way. Even minor characters like Radoub the soldier, Tellmarch the beggar, and Halmalo the sailor are honourable and admirable people.

There are scenes in Ninety-Three that are among the best I've read anywhere. (The "loose cannon" on the Claymore and the fire at La Tourgue being good examples.)

The only problem I had in reading Ninety-Three was one of my own making. Hugo makes a lot of historical or mythological references, especially in describing the Convention in Paris, which I didn't fully understand. That was due only to a lack of knowledge on my part -- it is no criticism of Hugo's descriptive genius. I am sure that when I read it next time (as I will), I will take more from the reading.

Ninety-Three is just about perfect. Read it.

I have read four novels of Victor Hugo(and the synopsis of a fifth one)."Ninety Three" is the one in which he has reached perfection.
This specially applies to his plot-structure which is one of the best I've come across.
Hugo's rather naive artrifices and linking devices,which he used for making tight plot structures,but lent an unconvincing coherence in his earlier novels are absent-giving rise to an ingeniously linked sequence of events-where every event,keeping in mind the moral purposes which the novel seeks to achieve and the moral premises and goals of the characters,necessarily leads to the next event,to the climax and the resolution.

The theme,most appropriately pointed out by Ayn Rand is:"Man's loyalty to values."
How every character and every event expresses the theme is the greatest technical virtuosity a writer can achieve.
(However,as I see,Hugo's conscious intention was to dramatize:"The conflict between the logic behind the French Revolution and the philosophy behind the French Revolution.)

The plot-theme is:"The conflict which arises when a ruthless revolutionary(of the French Revolution)-a priest- is sent to keep a watch on a courageous but compassionate revolutionary-the only man he loves in this world- pursuing his granduncle-a proud,haughty,fanatical Royalist-with three innocent children and their helpless mother caught up in the cataclysm of this savage,frantic battle."

The merits of this novel are numerous.First of all,it is one of the best suspense-thrillers among the explicitly philosophical novels of the 19th century.
The neck-breaking speed with which the events suceed one other will keep you biting your nails till the last paragraph.

Secondly,every page-nay,every line in this novel gives a sense of something profoundly important,grand and dramatic.There isn't a sentence,conversation or scene which is trivial,silly or commonplace.Everything is grandiose,with a heightened sense of solemnity and tension.

Thirdly,one cannot overlook Hugo's heroic view of man.Whether it be a literate beggar or an illiterate peasant woman;a wicked rebel who can go to any lengths of inhumanity or a young soldier who has lead an insignificant life-every character has been endowed with such moral courage,focus on one's values and goals,strength of conviction,fearlesness,intransigent integrity and above all,such a capacity to value one's values-that one has to conclude that for Hugo,man was a Titan or a Giant-nothing less than a demi-God.

I would not call "Ninety Three" Hugo's greatest achievement since it's scope is rather small.Further,Hugo's usual obsession to insert long historical and political essays hadn't left him while he was writing "Ninety Three".Luckily,they maybe ignored.Anyway, I would recommend them for their fascinating poetry;compelling,powerful style and tremendous universal significance.

It is strange that although "Ninety Three" is a thoroughly interesting read-moreover glorifying humanitarianism,compassion and non-violence-it is not a well known novel.One of the common criticisms is that,as the critics say,it has "unreal characters" and an "exaggerated sense of heroism".
But let me tell you this reader:If you want to look up with a sense of worship to the image of the Ideal-the Ideal whose essential nature you might not have grasped;if you want to take pride in the fact that you are a man;if you want someone and something to affirm your deep-rooted conviction : "Yes,it is possible",then you ought to read Victor Hugo's "Ninety Three".

I'm married. I've got kids. I have no time to read. A friend of mine recommended this book and I couldn't put it down from its first disturbing page. Kids and family....they had to suffer while I woke up, read, ate, read,ate again, read some more....you get the picture. The main character, Phillip Randall is a bit too familiar to me. The decsions he makes - while deplorable - have an all to easy way of making you think...would I do that?
His use of commercial catch phrases is pretty darn funny. There were a few chapters there where there were more tag lines than half time at the Super Bowl.
When you come right down to it, though, Roughan has to be some kind of wacko to put this book together. He touches enough dark areas of the psyche that you feel the need to go straight to church after you finish. Buy this book. It's a good read and it'll make you think about all those "good people" out there. Are you one of them?

This is, simply put, the best debut fiction I've read since Scott Smith's "A Simple Plan" Donna Tartt's "The Secret History" and Jay McInerney's "Bright Lights Big City." The pages fly as Roughan creates a pitch-perfect rendition of the self-absorbed tragically-hip, irony-spewing, super-successful upwardly mobile of New York City. The first page of the novel is one of the best hooks I've ever read, with a magnificent punchline that basically sets the tone for a book you can't turn away from. The narrator is a guy whose guts you want to hate, but you find too much about yourself in him to do so. And that's the essence of Roughan's spectacular success. His lead character pulls you into his misdeeds, and he makes the reader complicit in the action. Brilliant debut.

Rarely do you find yourself laughing out loud and often -- especially when reading a novel about lawyers, New York City and murder. The Up and Comer, however, (and more specifically author Howard Roughan) provides the perfect opportunity to do just that... and more. The book picks up speed quickly as you follow the life of a successful lawyer navigating his way through the law, politics, marriage and lust. The "it can't happen to me" mentality no longer applies the $%#@*! is hitting the proverbial fan. Phillip Randall is trying to impress his boss and keep his wife happy, but his efforts to "spice" up his life and meet new friends gets him a little off track. After an affair with his friend's wife--which doesn't end after one night of lust on the streets of New York, he is found out by an old classmate who, for lack of anything better to do, has decided to blackmail Phillip "Philly." In an effort to save his career and marriage, Phillip takes matters into his own hands and plans to extinguish those who can expose him. Will he be able to ignore his moral compass? (He already has with his adultry). Will he end up with the woman he really loves? Will she help him? The words rip along as you seek to find the answers. The author effectively mixes in a cast of interesting, sophisticated and humerous characters, which make this read go that much faster. Hip, on-point and sexy. A perfect summer read. I look forward to Howard Roughan's next book.

I read the book Memories of Anne Frank by Alison Leslie Gold as an assignment for school. I usually like to read but this book was very average but I am definitely not saying that this book is not a good one. Its just really is not style of book. The book was focused mainly on Anne Frank's childhood friend Hannah Goslar and Hannah's family. The book was not very factual, it did not give many important dates, and it stayed mostly from one point of view. The story was mostly based around memories that Hannah had of Anne's and her childhood friendship and the families friendship when thing were all fine and before the Nazi people came. The book I would probably recommend this book to a girl over a boy because the main character, Hannah, is a girl and boy and girls interpret thing differently most times. Mainly I did enjoy the book but it was not one of the best books I ever read.

Anne Frank didn't exist in a vacuum. She had friends, some mentioned in her diary. One of these was Hannah Gosler, "Lies" in Anne's writings. Now Hannah Gosler has set down her childhood memories of both Anne and her own terrifying experiences during the Nazi occupation of Holland. Mrs. Pick-Gosler's odyssey is every bit as astonishing as Anne's.

The book begins with the Franks' disappearance and careens headlong into the Goslers' own nightmare. Somehow, Hannah manages to keep hold of her toddler sister Gabi even as the rest of her family dies--in pieces, member by member. There is the heartrending chance reunion with Anne through an Auschwitz fence mentioned in the Afterward of Anne's diary. And finally the end of the war and surreal "liberation"...from a Nazi cattle car, with Auschwitz survivors staggering out into a deserted snowy field, almost senseless with illness and starvation, their guards having fled.

Parents should be both warned and assured: this beautiful book doesn't flinch from brutal fact, but in Ms. Gold's deft hand the language manages to convey information without any morbidity. And the haunting photographs are a precious inclusion. We see little Anne, dark eyes laughing, against the backdrop of her Amsterdam appartment building. Hannah grows up before our eyes in a series of photos taken against this same wall. There is one photo of Hannah holding little Gabi, and it's shocking to know this is the same child she managed to keep alive through the Nazi concentration camps.

But the most heartbreaking photo is on the back of the book. Nine beautiful little girls line up, arms around shoulders, smiling in pretty party dresses. It's Anne's birthday. Looking at all those nobby knees and sweet faces will take your breath away. Many of the girls didn't survive the war. And yet in a few short years Hannah would save a life, and Anne (whom Hannah called the Pole Star) would write one of the most important documents of the the 20th Century.

This book is wonderfull. It tells the story of one of the secondary characters in Anne's diary, Hannali (ie Lies) Gosens.

It's true that it focuses mostly on Hannah, but that's the way it should be. It fills in many of the essential holes in Anne's story and tells us what happened to their other friend Sanna ....

If you like this one, I also recommend Eva's Story. It's the story of Anne's posthumous step-sister (her mom married Otto after the war). It's true that the parents never met, but Eva had been over to the Frank House many times and was even at ther birthday party where they watched Rin Tin Tin (or whatever the movie was) and Anne got her diary. Both books provide valuable instight and are necessary to the understanding of Anne Frank.

Grant Morrison has mastered the team dynamic on nearly every book he's ever written (Doom Patrol, The Invisibles, JLA), and his New X-Men is a fabulous example. Cyclops is now the most interesting X-Man, new characters pop up every few pages, and the costumes are better than they have been in years. The overall feel of the book is a wonderful return to the inventiveness and wit of the Lee/Kirby days, and Frank Quitely's art is drop-dead gorgeous. Ethan Van Sciver pencils a serviceable coda to the main story, and begins his tenure as the "regular fill-in" artist on the book. Van Sciver is growing noticeably with each issue, so things look pretty good. Don't expect this story to self-contain, incidentally. Morrison won't wrap up anything until he's ready to leave the book, and the closest we come to a conclusion is the end of Imperial, the next story arc. These two books make a pretty good companion set.

I have to say that this collection of stories is better than most of the series I have seen of late. Especially the first one with the explosion and destruction of many mutant citizens. The characters seem to be fresher and more realistic. It was like reading the story boards for the next X-Men feature film.
Too bad Morrison and Quitely won't have a long term run on this title. Remember Curt Swan's art on Superman and how long he stayed with the title? X-Men needs these guys on the title for at least five years to revive them to new heights again.

It's like the old magic with Lee and Jack Kirby have returned again! I should add that Clearmont and Byrne revived the title again in the late seventies...and don't forget artist Dave Cockrum......although Morrison and Quitely have a style all their own; they have been reborn with a new vision of substance and ol' Marvel Magic.

Yeah this is the X-Men, there's no need to adjust the set. Yeah, they aren't wearing spandex, this is a good thing, believe me. Grant Morrison does the X-Men a good service and decides to take them in a surprising new direction. Gone are the overly complicated and boring stories of the last few years that leave dangling plot threads that get resolved years afterward.
So what do we get? A smaller, more manageable team, better characterzation (Emma Frost, written by Morrison is probably one of the most fun characters out there in comics), and then there's the actual story. E is for Extinction packs a good punch, especially the ending of the second issue (I'm not gonna give that away but it's a stunner of an ending). An X-Men story hasn't been this bold in ages.
I didn't use to like X-Men much, but now, it feels worth a look finally.
Oh and no matter what anyone says, the new costumes are better than the old. Would you rather wear skin tight spandex or something that can pass off as clothing?

From reading the introduction to this book I learned that the author wrote the manuscript for THE PAINS OF APRIL many years ago. I enjoyed his second novel, THE GOD FILE, but I keep going back to the first one. There is nothing quite as pure as a writer's first book. I am glad it has been published again in paperback. It gets better everytime I read it. God bless Weber.

By chance, I had an opportunity to read a portion of the galleys of "The Pains of April" and anxiously await its publication. Characters are well developed and familial interaction is portrayed so well I was immediately able to place myself in the center of the family. To me the most compelling feature of this percipient young author's writing is his ability to discern and reveal the emotions of a man many years older as the senior man deals with an adulthood nearing its close. For those of us who spend time with the elderly or want to read an excellent book, "The Pains of April" promises much.

Reading Frank Turner Hollon's debut novel The Pains of April put me in mind of that classic Twilight Zone episode, "Kick the Can," in which an elderly man arrives at the conclusion that the restrictions of aging are wholly a function of action and attitude-and even succeeds in mysteriously transforming himself back to a childlike state. Hollon's anonymous narrator is more grounded in reality, but his tale, if more gritty, is no less hopeful, and ultimately even more transforming.

The short novel is an introspective account of a year spent in a nursing home. Being confined to such a place is not a terrible thing to the narrator. It's simply what his life has boiled down to, and there is no right or wrong about it. He isn't sad or lonely-except perhaps when thinking of his long-dead wife, who seems to have attained a kind of perfection by virtue of her irrevocable absence. But Hollon tempers this loneliness with clarity of vision, something the narrator, at this point in his life, treasures even more than love or companionship. Thus, nothing here is conventionally sentimental, and Hollon's prose is wonderfully saved from maudlin regrets or depressive appeals for sympathy.

Chief to his observations is roommate Weber, a man yet instilled with spirit, vigor, and the attitude of a pubescent rascal. Weber's lapses into lunacy-seeing herds of buffalo in the parking lot; telling stories about dogs trapped in trees-are counterbalanced with his desire to continue living a full-blown life, by staging "escapes" into the real world, to go fishing or to get hilarious, unlikely tattoos. Even his eventual 'descent' into the rear dining room (where only the profoundly infirmed take their meals) seems to be an experiment in living all angles of life.

As the narrator grapples with how he feels towards Weber's insurrection towards the regimented life in the home, avenues into his own life are traversed. Photographs become portals into both memories and conjectures; glimpsed scars become poetic guesses into not only the nature of lasting pain but the duty of forgiveness. The short, meditative episodes are both deeply specific, even quirky, yet carry a resonance that will speak to any reader, of any generation.

Though the narrator may be an elderly gentleman in a nursing home, this is no withered, plaintive voice bemoaning his final surroundings; this is no gloomy, baleful journey into twilight. Rather, he is paradoxically liberated by the weight of his life, and ultimately finds a kind of ironic comfort in the fact that he has lived a life providing him, at the end, with more questions than he had as a child at the beginning. And Hollon's insight into the nature of those essential questions-the formation of our lives around the speculations of who we are and what we should be doing with ourselves, and how-is blazing and precise and as hopeful as the first home run of spring training.

My rating on this book is really a three and a half, if given the option to rate a half-star, that is.

I enjoyed tremandously learning about the Teamsters, the politicians and of course the Mafia involvement in the Las Vegas casino operations. The book exceled in the abundance of information.

However, the writing itself was not so great therefore lowering the reading experience. Just as in real life, when people tell you their side of the story, it hardly ever concurs with someone else's account. Since the book was really a collage of vaious narrations, the author had a hard time weaving together different points of views and tones. Sometimes readers are left wondering what really happened.

I would recommend this book for people who are interested in information and stories regarding the Mafia. The topic is very interesting, but for those who prefers a bit more drama and fluency of writing, then this may not be your top choice.

I found 'Casino' to be an exciting true life story of the real Vegas of the 70's & early 80's. Nicholas Pileggi, has written this book with obvious research and passion, painting a tremendous mental picture of the Mafia and thier control over Las Vegas.

Excellent, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in true life mafia stories and Las Vegas life.

This gripping narrative exposes Midwest mob influence in Las Vegas during the 1970-80's. Author Nicholas Pileggi focuses on four major characters. The most prominent was ex-sports handicapper and bookie Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, who became an innovative casino manager. Lefty ran the casino at the Stardust Hotel, the location from where the Chicago and Kansas City syndicates skimmed millions in gambling revenues. We also read about Lefty's friend and mob enforcer Tony Spilotro, front man Allen Glick, and Lefty's glamorous but volatile wife Geri. The author describes casino operations, financing by teamster pensions, and gambling executives who knew enough to look the other way. We also see how unchecked greed and ego can destroy casino operators as surely as it does some of their customers. The book's only weakness was that Pileggi seemed to go easy on a couple of the major characters.

"Casino" became a 1995 movie of the same name. Pileggi also wrote "Wiseguy," basis for another excellent mob film ("Goodfellas") by Martin Scorsese. "Casino" doesn't quite match "Wiseguy," but it's a highly readable and informative book.