If you have read Chamoisaeu's other novels, you should appreciate this. Although it is not as fully developed as his later novels, Solibo Magnifique and Texaco, it is a wonderful first novel. His style and personality as a writer are clear from the start.

The reader gets a treat at the end. Included are several poems that Chamoiseau wrote that evoke the people, places, etc. These poems were written as part of the planning process of the book and even though they were left out the text of the book, they capture the spirit.

Some of the best things we've ever been, the connections that make us who we are, will never be recorded in print. The life we lived and where we fit in survives only in memory. After those who knew us are gone, there will be no one to repeat our stories. Entire populations will vanish, perhaps to make a brief appearance in accounts of war or disaster. Don't let that happen.

The people in Chronicle Of The Seven Sorrows will never grace the pages of textbooks. Their very existence is almost lost to time. A culture rich in heritage, beliefs, and far too much suffering has vanished. Only ghosts and a few authors like Chamoiseau strive to keep the past alive.

It is our loss, you'll realize after reading Chronicle Of The Seven Sorrows. We have cheated ourselves and we have been cheated.

There was a time in Martinique when its people still listened to the voices of ghosts, dorlis, and zombies. The undead as much a part of their lives as the buyers in the marketplace, and often, the only verbal link to their past. Memories of slavery, brutality, and stolen moments of joy, remained only beneath grave soil. And, while not everyone stayed to hear the song of their history, there were some who were unable to tear themselves away.

Pipi Soleil, king of the marketplace djobbers, was one of the enchanted. He was destined to become the master of masters of the wheelbarrow and to be lured away from that exalted position again and again by the spirits' voices. His life story forms the core of this spellbinding and animated account of a lost time and way-of-life.

Chamoiseau's words tumble over themselves, and read like a late-night storytelling session. Each tale attempts to top the ones before it. The conversational style recaptures the oral tradition and, like truly great gossip, captures the reader, too. The voice of Fort-de France, Martinique's vegetable market people spills out in a irresistible tangle.

The residents of Chronicle Of The Seven Sorrows speak in the distinctive Creole tongue. Coverdale's translation retains that flavour and sound, so you may spend some time flipping to the notes in the back of the novel. Some phrases may need translation, but the momentary pause is well worth the detour; there is as much history in the notes as in the story.

The original words are essential; when you spy on Phosphore the grave-digger and Anatole-Anatole (father and son dorlis) listening to the sad murmurs of the burial ground's deceased residents. Missing the wrenching questions of Afoukal the zombie would be a deprivation akin to his own.

Yes. Most of the population of Martinique was undead. But how much more life they embodied! How much more they had in the time before progress and government "assistance" banished them to fading shadows.

The people and cultures don't have to wither away. Fight back. Cherish every word of Chamoiseau's you can latch onto. The voice of the past of Martinique will make you grieve for precious things lost, and hunger for more stories to bring them back just once more.

If I was to initiate anyone into the world of Superintendant Jules Maigret, 1931's 'The Yellow Dog' (a.k.a. 'Face for a Clue') is the book I would recommend. The story is set in the Breton harbour town of Concarneau, and begins with the non-fatal shooting of a prominent citizen one stormy night. His friends, card-playing regulars in the Admiral Hotel cafe, fear they will be next, and sure enough strychnine is soon found in their pernods. Escalating fear in the town is accompanied by a mysterious giant's footsteps and a yellow dog always present at the crime scenes. The Mayor who has sent for Maigret becomes exasperated when the policeman seems casually indifferent to the case, allowing further crimes to occur.

'Yellow Dog' is model Maigret for a number of reasons. It crystallises the Maigret detective method, rejecting Holmesian deduction or modish scientific procedures, the Inspector preferring to silently absorb the atmosphere of a place, the charactetrs and faces of its people. The progress Maigret makes with this infinite patience he keeps to himself, exasperating superiors, colleagues, citizens, even the reader. In these books, crime isn't static, a thing of the past to be frozen and endlessly analysed, as in Agatha Christie et al, but a fluid, ongoing part of the social fabric. The book introduces the young Inspector Leroy, who, throughout the series will become Maigret's most trusted ally. The narrative plays variations on Simenon's favourite themes, most especially the different levels of vice and transgression in French communities, hypocritically categorised by class. His charting the development of public fear into the violence of mob panic is terrifying and prescient.

But 'Yellow Dog' is especially notable for the clarity of what one might term Simenon's tripartite characterisation. First of all, there are the actual human characters, whom Maigret observes, and generously allows the freedom to reveal or hang themselves in their own words, waiting for them to play their petty charades and deceits, before breaking down to the truth. Though Simenon can be sentimental, on the whole, they are not a pretty bunch. Secondly, the meticulous evocation of place, with the vivid description of the harbour; the town divided into the Old, with its ancient, narrow, winding streets, and New, with its markets, gaudy hotels and the ever-recurring clock; the dingy tavern with its oppressive, aquarium-like windows; the persistant presence of dirt and trash, visible emblems of barely concealed social rottenness. And thirdly, the presence of the weather, mostly dark, windswept, beating rain, but breaking into festive plays of light. The story begins with a brilliantly atmospheric, cinematic panorama of the empty town in which the crime is almost incidental; the most forceful set-piece is literally cinematic, as Maigret and Leroy shiver on a roof, spectators looking down through a window-'screen' at a silent lovers' drama they can only partly comprehend.

Even if you dislike police novels, you have to read Maigret's novels (and others Simenon's non Maigret novels) because of the humanism and psychology in these novels. And more over, you have the pleasure to dive in the Simenon's atmosphere : close to impressionism (only few words to restitute an impression ...).
This novel, in particularly, is a good example of Simenon's art.

I am a professional Chef in Boulder, Colorado. My apprenticeship included nine months in Paris and during that time I was entranced by Bistros of all types. This book not only captures the spirit and the essence of the Bistro experience, but also serves as a very useful guide to eating well, looking well, and being seen well while in Paris. I am ordering a second copy today since the first has met the demise of most loaned out books.

Neighborhood bistros of Paris have a charm and ambience all their own. Linda Dannenberg captures their flavor in her picturesque book Paris Bistro Cooking. Photographer, Guy Bouchet, captures their appeal with his delightful photographs, which whisks you into the amicable atmosphere of savory meals and congenial company. Coquille Saint-Jacques, Sole Grenobloise, Cassoulet Toulousain, Gratin Dauphinois, Pots de Creme au Chocolat, Galette de Pommes de Terre au Chevre en Salade, and Tarte Tatin--are just a very few of the mouthwatering recipes included. Ms. Dannenberg also lists sources for bistroware, supply houses, furniture, mail-order emporiums, etc., in a directory at the back of the book. Paris Bistro Cooking is bound to bring pleasure. But, beware! This book inspires hunger!

I read many of Chaiken's books a year or two ago and enjoyed them (although she reused the same basic plot several times). The writing style in this book is elementary. She needs to work on transitions, on slowing down the pace, and on DETAILS. I don't mean what color her dress was, I mean what was she thinking. Most people don't think "I love him. I hope he isn't a bad guy," they take things apart and think about them. The romance was way too hurried. Come on. She has considered him a rogue for several years, gone through the pain of a broken engagement, and the second or third time she sees him she admits to him that she loves him? Give us more details. The writing was similar to "She hit him on the had and felt sad. Then he came in and saw them. He walked over and talked to her." If she had lenghtened the plot, added more flesh to it, she could have had an enthralling trilogy. The way she wrote it was awful! Do NOT buy it. Everything is too fast and choppy.

I loved this book!!! Espionage, intrigue, murder, romance; it had everything I wanted in a book!!! The plot was great and well-developed. I couldn't put the book down!!! The characters were well-developed and easy to understand. I was soo excited at some parts in the book that I kept turning the pages to see what would happen next!!! I can't wait to read Wed.'s child and Thurs.'s Child! Thanks Linda for this great book!

I really loved reading this book! This book is about romance, WWII, sisterly love, Paris France, patroitism and courage. Valli and Marc were well-developed characters and the plot was great. Valli also learns that though she is full of grace the grace of God is able to sustain her during her trials and her relationships with her sister Giselle and with the courageous, adventureous Marc Durell. (I found nothing wrong with the romance.) Linda Chaikin did another amazing job to make her latest series A DAY TO REMEMBER more intriguing. I really enjoyed all of the books in this series so far. Mrs. Chaikin did great on the research of the WWII in 1940 when Hitler was on the verge of invading France and North Africa. I like how she goes into other countries that I haven't dreamed of going there. Like Algeria for one and Morrocco. I really, really love to see what's next for this series!

I haven't heard of Paul Steinberg before I read this book. The book is a gem and recollects the life of a camp inmate trying to survive the war. Steinberg was one of those people who helped
the inmate leadership run the killing camps. He was a chemist in one of the IB Farben complexes. His short but powerful story shows how stronger people were consumed, while a flexible youngster survived the camps by doing what he had to do to stay alive.
This should be required reading for those people who deny that the Holocaust happened. It is also a reminder that the general population should always remember these events. Steinberg found this book hard to write, but it was easy to read and conveyed a powerful perspective.

I just finished reading this great first-hand account of living through the Holocaust in Nazi death camps, by Paul Steinberg. What separates this text is that it seems less caught up with providing the reader with every single detail of daily life and more focused with the author's personal struggle, the friendships gained and forgotten, the death camp's social hieracrchies, and of course, his incredible task of survival. Paul Steinberg admits that he was an atypical Jew, uninvolved with Jewish ways and traditions, and he wonders why he survived and others perished; Jews that were more religious, possessed more wisdom, strength, etc. Truly, Steinberg's ordeal is almost unbelievable. He was able to do what he had to in order to survive. This book is great if you want to gain a good understanding of these historical events, a different time period in life, and the human struggle, all through the eyes of this remarkable man. He is honest and sincere, and holds nothing back.

Anyone who has any interest whatsoever in Autun should read this book. One of the most cherished ideas of recent art history is that the magnificent sculptural program of the Cathedral is the work of an identifiable individual artist, Gislebertus, who presumably carved his name on the tympanum at the entrance to the church. It's hard to visit Autun without buying the book by Grivot and Zarnecki who champion this theory. Politely Linda Seidel challenges their conclusions as a "romantic conjecture...based on anachronistic assumptions about artistic personalities." She then develops a context for thinking about the building and its sculpture through examination of its place in local historical and rhetorical terms. Her discussion of medieval methods of remembering and recasting the past to provide authority to the present is compelling. Most useful is that her approach provides a sophisticated logic to the Roman references in the architectural detail and an intelligence to the sculptural program that have occasionally been dismissed as naive borrowing and unrelated sequences. Her attention to the aesthetics of the monument is short but informed with her recognition of the atypical orientation of the building and the resulting movement of light in the interior particularly sensitive. Her discussion of the emblematic Flight into Egypt capital is admirably comprehensive but tantalizingly brief. She has read widely and deeply and is able to bring a broad range of ideas and evidence to her argument that in themselves make a fascinating part of her presentation. Her writing is careful, clear and wonderfully accessible to readers of all levels of interest. The footnotes are extensive, appropriate, and, thanks to the layout, easily accessed. The black and white illustrations are valuable and placed in thoughtful conjunction with the text, which lies cleanly on the page bordered by elegant white space. This is a small-format, scholarly text. Yet Autun is finally a visual experience. As good as this book is, one is left longing for the funding of a parallel photographic inquiry of contemporary technical standards as well-informed as Prof. Seidel's text. "Left wanting more," however, is eventually a compliment that means, regardless, go buy this book.

Women in France sacrificed much but gained little from the French Revolution. Kelly discusses this in a chronological way that is intended for those interested in a broad study of the role of women during the French Revolution.
Kelly is the co-editor of two anthologies, Feats and Proposals, and has written for number of papers, including the Times Literary Supplement and the Washington Post. Her other most recent work is the book Juniper Hall.
Kelly integrates general information about the French Revolution with more detailed stories of important women of the period. The work centers on the experiences of Olympe de Gouges, Th¨¥roigne de M¨¥ricourt, Madame Roland, Madame de Sta§×l, and others.
Using primary sources, Kelly recounts the experiences of women from the early days of the revolution to their deaths or the beginning of France¡¯s military dictatorship. Though women had no official role in politics, they influenced policy through mob tactics, salons, and by persuading their powerful husbands and lovers.
Kelly tells the colorful and diverse stories of influential women of the French Revolution in order to support her thesis. Many of the women gave their lives for their beliefs and others lost everything they once held dear. Though these women sacrificed much in the name of the republic, there was little lasting change for women. Kelly writes, ¡°[o]nly the laws of inheritance, by which, in 1791, women were legally entitled to an equal share with men, remained unchanged, the only tangible legacy of the Revolution.¡±
This work is more detailed than a general overview of the French Revolution, but it is certainly not a treatise. Though the work is not intended for scholarly reading alone, Kelly uses many French terms that are left unexplained and utilizes a vocabulary that can only be understood by those possessing an extensive education or a large dictionary.
The book is interesting an informative, but somewhat difficult to read. It is too broad and short to serve to impart the scholarly knowledge her vocabulary shows was her intention. The chronological order and the general events of the Revolution help the reader to understand the order of events, which shows that the author wrote for the layperson. This is in direct contrast to the intention shown in her vocabulary.

There can be no more tragic story than a man who leads a double life, swindles his family members out of their life savings, kills his elderly parents, his wife and two children, attempts to kill his mistress, and then, finally, tries to kill himself.

French author Emmanuel Carrere's telling of the twisted life of Jean-Claude Romand could have been this decade's IN COLD BLOOD. Instead, it's more expose than excellence. I read the book in one sitting, not so much because I was compelled but because I wanted to find out why Romand turned out the way he did. There are a few clues: he was overweight (the author uses the word 'flabby' a lot to describe the murderer); he sweated profusely; he wasn't very successful with women, though he married a lovely woman and had an affair with another; he was bright enough to get into medical school, but he missed an exam...rather than facing the consequences and repeating the course, he chose to begin a life of total deception; he lied about his work at the World Health Organization (WHO); he took his parents' and his mother-in-law's life savings and spent it on expensive trips and gifts for his mistress.

The author never explains why Romand turned out the way he did other than to discuss how lonely his real life must have been while he was traveling back and forth to his 'office' at the WHO. He also never really gives any explanation why Romand's friends and family never suspected anything was askew...even though his wife never had a phone number to reach him....even though they never socialized with any of Romand's colleagues.

What kept running through my mind was HOW WAS HE ABLE TO SUSTAIN A COMFORTABLE, MIDDLE-CLASS LIFESTYLE WITHOUT ANY VISIBLE SOURCE OF INCOME?

This story would have been a classic in the hands of Truman Capote or Vincent Bugliosi, but it falls so short under the direction of Carrere. Whatever the reason, a potential classic is mangled into a so-so real-life murder mystery.

What a pity.

I became a fan of Emmanuel Carrere's work when The Mustache was first published in English. I was impressed by the growth in Carrere's skill in The Class Trip. Unfortunately, The Adversary struck me as simply a pleasant summer read. I must admit, however, that true crime is not my favorite genre.

The problem with The Adversary is inherent in its subject - the criminal himself has lived so many lies that he has no idea of who he really is. Carrere in depicting Romand as honestly as possible depicts a "generic lie" person ... a person who "exists" only to the extent that other individuals substantiate ... even if Romand, himself, does not remember. In this context, Carrere is forced to insert himself into the story, explaining both how he came to write the story and some of the difficulties in doing so.

The result is an excellent semi-journalistic account of Romand's life and trial - probably an excellent book for those with an interest in true crime stories. For those whose enjoyment is in Carrere's ability to depict human fear, confusion, horror this book is ultimately unsuccessful. Romand is so far from the norm that insight into his plight sheds little light on the human plight.

This book clearly deserves more than five stars for its unvarnished look at the self-serving avoidance of psychological risk that led innocents to be fleeced and slaughtered. Truth is stranger than fiction. The actual accounts here would be rejected by any fiction editor as being unbelievable. The extraordinary ability of M. Carrere to point out the wrongs in all of their many dimensions makes this journey into madness worth taking for the reader.

This is a story of such horror and depravity that many will be shaken to their roots by it. If such stories upset you or make it difficult to sleep, perhaps you should read this on happy days and in the morning.

On January 9, 1993, Jean-Claude Romand, well-regarded medical researcher with the World Health Organization, killed his wife and three children. Then he had lunch with his parents and killed them. Later, he picked up his mistress and tried to kill her. The next day, he took an overdose of outdated barbituates and set his house on fire. Romand was rescued from the flames while he was unconscious, and made to stand trial. Journalist Emmanuel Carrere was moved to sort out what led to these horrors and what ensued since then.

Actually, Romand was not a doctor. He did not even have a job. He spent his life pretending that things were normal and he was a model citizen, while nothing about him was as it seemed.

He maintained his deception by behaving as though he was like everyone else, and persuading people to have him manage their money in a Swiss bank account. Meanwhile, he spent the money on himself, his family, and his mistress. Even the people who had gone to medical school with him and remained his friends and neighbors never realized what was going on.

The deception started when he could not bring himself to take his final examination for the second year of medical school. When time came for the make-up test, he skipped that too. No one of his classmates noticed that his name was not among those who had passed, and for the next several years he was able to reenroll in medical school as a second year student and pretend to study. The elaborate fiction built from that slim base.

To realize how unusual this was, his later wife was also a medical student at the same time and failed the exam that Romand skipped. As a result, she dropped out of medical school and became a pharmicist. That route would have been available to Romand as well. But he did not take it.

They struck up a correspondence based on Romand's liking of the author's book, and Romand helped him to recreate the events. M. Carrere felt that Romand "was counting on me more than the psychiatrists to explain his own story to him . . . ." "This responsibility frightened me."

In a time when studies have demonstrated that 80 percent of all people lie on their resumes, what is fascinating is how gullible everyone was. His wife didn't think that it was strange that she could not call him at the office. People took it at face value that he could earn them 18 percent interest in a Swiss bank (which normally pays much lower interest rates). As P.T. Barnum used to say, "There's a sucker born every minute."

While most con men are satisfied to take money, Romand wanted everyone's good esteem even more. If he could not keep that esteem, he killed to keep from having to face the emotional scenes that would follow. With a rich fantasy life, he could always find a self-serving excuse for his behavior. So even in killing loved ones, he thought more in terms of this being suicide. Everything in the world was about him, in his view. His "long imposture [was] only a pathetic mixure of blindness, cowardice, and distress."

This psychology has continued to be pathological since he was confined to prison (being eligible for parole in 2015 -- watch out!). He now plays the role of model prisoner who has found religion, rather than the role of model citizen. In performing in this way though, the author says and asks, "He is not putting on an act . . . but isn't the liar within him putting one over on him?"

You will be haunted by the author's final word on the case: "I thought that writing this story could only be either a crime or a prayer." I think he succeeded in turning it into a prayer. You'll have to read the book and decide for yourself.

My suggestion is that you be more suspicious. Check out the resume details in the future. Cross-check on those who are about to marry into your family. See what your children are really doing. Although you probably do not have a Romand lurking, you may have a less sinister version who can still cause lots of harm.

Uncover the reality beneath the iron mask!

I suppose it would be a mistake to describe this slim volume as a fast read. If the book is shorter and in some ways lighter than Kundera's other novels, one imagines that Kundera expects the reader to linger that much longer with it anyway. Like his other novels, this one is heavy with ideas, often at the expense of character or plot, but like his other novels the range of those ideas is dazzling. The writing is irresistible, funny, provoking, and unexpected. A pleasure, like every bit of Kundera I've read. (And I'm coming to this after having read, and enjoyed, several of his books; it's impossible for me to say, but I can understand the argument that first-time Kundera readers are better off starting with, for example, the Unbearable Lightness of Being.) The primary elements include a Kundera-ish narrator off to a chateau getaway with his wife; a meditation on an 18th century novella about a brief affair; a low-profile Paris intellectual and his café cronies; a high-profile intellectual who is perhaps less an intellectual than a publicity hound; and a meeting of entomologists. Among the ideas explored are the need for an invisible audience, the meaning of hedonism, the politician as "dancer," the Sublime Planetary Historic News Event, and, of course, the beauty - the lost beauty, as Kundera sees it -- of slowness. A great read, fast or slow or in between.

....on the hypocrisy of human nature. Milan Kundera has this penchant for brutally analysing the schisms of life & human behaviour - their contradictions and their fallacies - all seemingly existing beneath the public masks. In " Slowness", Milan Kundera has juxtaposed two parallel stories, separated in time and space from each other. Berck and Pontevin are the two characters in one parallel. Berck is the intellectual who is at odds with his public face, with conflicting thoughts and behaviour. Pontevin is his intellectual adversary and is considered a guru by Vincent, an impressionable friend in awe of the seemingly infallible Pontevin. Parallely, Madame de. T and Chevaliar are amourously involved in another time..... The book is funnily disjoint and disarrayed, yet brings out the ironic viscissitudes of the modern world, at times different yet at times ridiculously permanent..... a good read ... I enjoyed it

There are those who read Kundera for the deep philosophical meandering and those who like him for the literary gymnastics. I have to admit to being a lover of both. I can see the hard core philosopher types locked in a heavily wooded library trying to suck up every ounce of profundity from The Joke, Testaments Betrayed and The Art of the Novel, while the rest of use are in a cafe reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Life is Elsewhere and of course, Immortality. Whichever side you see yourself, there will be something for you in Slowness. You will see the typical Kundera style of the ever present Kundera voice - and obtrusive author. For the philosophical in us, we will read about a narrator and his wife, who are taking an unplanned holiday, driving down a country highway in search of a romantic chateau. Impatient, the narrator inquires: "Why has the pleasure of slowness disappeared? Ah, where have they gone, the amblers of yesteryear? Where have they gone, those loafing heroes of folksongs, those vagabonds who roam from one mill to another and bed down under the stars?" This becomes the philosophical foundation for the magical literary gymnastics that is Kundera's playground.

Kundera spins many tales. Tales as laughable as they are profound. We are transported to an AIDS charity feast, famine ravaged Somalia, Henry Kissinger's White House Office. For the archivist in us, Kundera does not let us down. He comes back to the theme style he used in previous novels, this time, it is "staying fixed". As is common with Kundera, he spins his purposeful confusion and takes on a roller coaster ride of literary magic that I don't mind taking. In the end, I walk away with, the rate with which we do things is directly proportional to the rate with which we forget things. By far not his most profound novel, the residue of greatness still lingers - it is too bad that to date, a Nobel Price has eluded him - for the range and greatness of his work, Kundera should be richly rewarded, but then again, they missed Borges as well - so what else is new, eh? In about 156 pages I have once again been transported to the Bohemian countryside that in my lyrical youth I learned love so much. In a new western world obsessed with Ayn Rand - stop to meander, laugh and be entertained, in a world of Slowness.

Miguel Llora

If you want to read one of THE dullest, stuffiest, not to mention stylistically ghastly books in all of art history, please read this one. These writers confuse ambiguity and meanlingless hodgepodge for intelligence.

More regurgitated destructive orthodoxy from the arid soul of an academic hack, it's all here every careerist leftist's cliche there is. The arrogance of the previous reviewer could only come from a button down Yalie politically correct snob.

This is the textbook used in Yale's introductory course to 19th century French art, and is considered to be the industry standard for surveying the period.