This is a wonderful book about an amazing dog named Gracie. In my opinion it is a must read for anyone. It is a book that will make you laugh and cry. Gracie's story will show you how animals can touch our lives and how blessed we are to have them in our midst. You will not be able to put this book down! Another thing, the royalties from this book go to The Gracie Foundation which is a non-profit emergency relief fund for neglected and abused animals. By reading this book, you will not only see how Gracie changed a man's life but you will help to carry on her memory by helping animals in need. Please take my advice and buy a copy right away- I don't think you will be sorry.

As a devout dog lover I couldn't pass on this one but little did I know how much I would be affected by this wonderful story of the Amazing Grace Dane. I laughed often and cried a lot. As I read, it was easy to imagine that Dan was in my living room telling me this story. The book is well written in an easy casual style and Dan's love for Grace is evident on every page. The illustations are adorable, the photos enchanting. And - don't we just love it when the good guys come out on top?

I just finished this wonderful book and plan on buying more copies for Christmas as gifts. This is the story of Gracie, an albino, deaf great dane puppy who inspires Dan, her owner, to start the chain of bakeries: Three Dog Bakery. It was a funny book, although the last pages will definately get to you if you've ever been through an older dogs final days.

I truly laughed out loud through much of the book... Gracie's love life reminded me of my own! Her life, although she was deaf, was full of love and devotion, but she definately had a mischeivous streak which all dog owners will relate to. This was simply a wonderful read that provided much more story than I was even hoping for. Amazing Gracie proves that dogs can inspire and teach us as well as make excellent companions!

I recognized Richard Paul Evans name from Timepiece. Actually I was not very impressed much by that one (possibly because I haven't read the Christmas Box).

But the Locket did change my view of him. Richard is a very, very good writer. I finished it in a couple days with the last 4 straight hours reading it through the end. I really like the way the story goes and how each character is woven into each other. It's a love story, but not the type that made you sick in the stomach. Instead it touches my heart. A few times it brought tears to my eyes. Very touching. I particularly like the Forgiveness chapter. Several excellent thoughts on life surface throughout the book.

My daughter volunters at a Public Library. She has given me some beautiful books. The "Locket" was a l998 Christmas Present. Prior to this she had given me The Christmas Box, The Letter, and Time Piece. It's difficult to say which I liked the best; they are all beautiful. I like the "size" easy to hold when you read lying down! Have given them for Christmas and birthday presents. I have enjoyed his writings so much would love to be able to meet him and his family. Lost my husband just a year ago; I thank the Lord that I have good eye sight there are so many wonderful books; computeers, TV, or movies can never take their place.

Since I have read his other books: The Christmas Box, The Timepiece, The Letter, and The Carousel, I knew what to expect from Richard Paul Evans. He is a truly remarkable mastermind and The Locket won't let you down. It is such a wonderful story filled with romanticism and immense substance. His primary characters are spontaneous and so distinct, it's fun to read how they correspond. You feel remorseful at one moment, then condemn them the next. The theme of this book is allegiance, passion, and sympathy that touches your sensitivity and consciousness to the median. In conclusion, I just have to say that I think this is the type of book that readers can devour as well as learn from. I'm looking forward to next book by Richard Paul Evans.

I read The Pianist in the original Polish, but the book will read well in any language. As Szpilman's son writes in the preface to the book, his father was not a writer, and the memoir is a testament to that fact. There is no overly flowerly language, no planned-out metaphors. The Pianist is simply a factual account of the mirculous events which lead to Wladyslaw Szpilman surviving first the Warsaw ghetto and later hiding out in Warsaw for years until the war ended. I learned quite a bit about life in the ghetto by reading the book, and found it interesting that Szpilman did not write with rage or hatred towards those who made his life a living hell for so many years. The memoir is, in a way, an exercise in fate -- there were so many opportunities when Szpilman could have died, could have been discovered, could have been sent to Treblinka, that it seems that his survival was written in the stars. The Pianist is a short memoir, a quick read, and very much recommended to anyone who is interested in the Holocaust or World War II. Roman Polanski was just in Poland shooting the movie version, and I'm interested to see how that turns out.

I rarely read a book after I have seen the movie it was based on because it seems almost akin to reading the final pages of the book first. Why start reading a book when you already know how it ends? When the movie already gives you a mental picture of what the characters are like? When it would be impossible to read the description of a scene, a conversation, an expression, or a mood without thinking first of the director's and screenwriter's interpretation of those things?

I stand by that view, but I also suggest throwing it out the window when it comes to The Pianist.

I was so moved by the film that when I saw this book in a store, I could not help but pick it up. Once in my hands, I could not help but read the first few lines. Once I read them, I could not help but buy the book. And once I bought it, the next day and a half of my life was dominated by the chilling, horrible, graphic and compelling story.

I won't go into an overview of the plot, since my fellow reviewers have covered that territory very accurately. But I will say that this is a rare case where the value of a book is not compromised by the movie -- the story is so well told and the details (most of which the movie screenwriter was forced to leave out) are so evocative and potent that they flow over and around any preconceived notions.

The film is well done, and by all means it should be seen. But don't let seeing the movie deprive you of the pleasure of this powerful book, which illustrates once again what we have known all along -- that great literature succeeds where other art forms fall short.

"The Pianist" is a brilliant account of the experience of WWII through the eyes of the pianist and composer, Wladyslaw Szpilman. Szpilman, who played piano on Polish radio, was in his 20s when the Nazis invaded Poland, and he tells first of his life in the Warsaw ghetto and then of his experience in hiding. The book ends with the liberation of Warsaw. It was written relatively soon thereafter.

Szpilman's sensibility is precise, observant and occasionally grimly witty while recounting the realities of the ghetto life -the typhus epidemic, the starvation, the brutal, random and casual murders by the occupying troops, and the systematic "resettlements" to concentration camps.

His careful reporting ultimately provides a catalogue of the possible responses to such a catastrophe: joining the underground, war profiteering, going mad, clinging to loved ones even if only to share their death, defiant gestures, collaboration, psychological escape like his father's playing of the violin all day. One is struck by his scrupulous concern for accuracy and his lack of indulgence in either rage or personal grief.

For those who have seen the film: I strongly preferred the book. The film adaptation spends a disproportionate amount of time on his experiences in hiding while most of the book takes place before. The portrait of life in the ghetto was, on the whole, more interesting. In addition, the visualization of the story does not make up for the loss of Szpilman's voice in the narration, which is one of the major assets of the book.

I love alll of the Anne of Green Gables series. They are so vividly written you find yourself wishing that you were born as Anne a hundered years ago on PE Island. I would have happily endured all her hardships for all the wonderful moments in her life, and the fact she married Gilbert Blythe! It's so well written that you actually feel that you know Gilbert and I actually found my self falling in love with him! I've read the series 2 times. The first time I couldn't stop thinking about Anne. I read Anne, I tried to live like Anne and I dreamt Anne. Anyway, although I love all 8 books almost equally Anne of the Island is just a little better. And although it's romantic it's definitely not just a romance. Anne of the island includes wit and humour that makes it an all-round perfect book. If you're an Anne fan you havvvvvve to read this. I could not describe how wonderful it is in 1000 words. Anne of the Island is truly a book you CANNOT put down. After reading this I recommend you read all the rest of the Anne of Green Gables series (there are 5 more book,) although you'll probably be rushing to buy them anyway.

If you like the Anne of Green Gables series this is the best one in the whole thing! Anne of the Island has something for everyone! Anne Shirley leaves the small town of Avonlea to attend Redmond collage.. There the novel introduces you to a character who is extremely funny named Pricella! (Hope I spelled her name right). In this novel Anne falls in love with a fellow school mate, while her long time friend Gilbert Blythe finds a love interest as well! Do they end up together at last? Read the book and find out! This book is definatly for people who liked the movie "Anne of Avonlea". They are without a doubt slightly similar, but the book is definatly better!

I think that this is my favorite Anne book. I have read it over a hundred times to myself and soon I will need to order a new copy. It tells the ongoing story of Anne Shirley and chronicles her adventures in higher education, friendship, love, and of course WRITING! This is not a childrens' book as some might think. It is very easy to read, but it is for people of all ages. Of course, it features the same Gilbert Blythe who we all know and love as Anne's constant admirer and the irredeemably Sloanish Charlie. She also has Priscilla Grant at her side. She also makes a new friend, Phillippa Gordon, who makes Anne's freshman year wonderful and may someday prove to be quite sensible. In the course of the book, Anne will gain friends and admirers as well as continue to matchmake and write (of Course). She will have her share of joy, tears, loss, and love and ultimately set her course for her life beyond the bend in the road. I learned an important life lesson from this book,you never value what you have until you have lost it. I loved the characterization of all the new characters especially Phillipa, I think that we all know someone like her who attracts men without knowing how or wanting to. I can relate to Anne in this book. This book is thoroughly enjoyable and you not regret reading it. If you still want more Anne after reading this book,you should read all of the other Anne books (the next is Anne of Windy Poplars) and the Chronicles of Avonlea(it includes several stories which include Anne in them: The Hurring of Ludovic, The Winning of Lucinda, etc.) I hope that you will love it as much as I did!

Apart from the Bible, this has been the most inspiring work I have ever read. Hannah Hurnard has totally captured the experience of the Christian walk and the way in which Christ is always there to guide us through all our trials and tests so that the flower of Acceptance with Joy and Love can bloom in the heart and we can be in the High Place, the Kingdom of Love, where resides the true and perfect love "that drives out fear." The exciting thing is that this is not talked about in a future or "the next life" sense but that God's love is something that we can experience now and to its fullest!

Give it as gifts and share it with new Christians!

A NOTE FOR CHRISTIAN TEACHERS: The way in which this book is constructed it provides an execellent teaching tool for any Christian study group.

...AND TO THOSE CALLED TO MINISTRY: The conclusion of this book is exactally a description of the way that I understand the call to ministry...I don't want to ruin it but suffice it to say that for you it is a must read (as it is for anyone!)

Anyone who has ever questioned God or wondered why evil exists or why people suffer, must read Hurnard. Having rejected Christianity as a teenager because she felt unloved herself, she was dramatically converted at 19 and was overwhelmed by the intense love of God and His desire for her to love others. Love is the imperative of this allegory, but not a foolish, blind, or too-sweet love; instead, it is a powerful force that heals deformities, overcomes mountains, and compels the human soul to heights never before possible. The Shepherd is not a benign Savior, but a strong and holy Savior who demands sacrifice and gives ultimate joy and peace in return. His unconditional love desires and achieves the best for the beloved. Throughout this allegory, Hurnard dramatically portrays for the reader a life of fulfillment beyond typical spiritual mediocrity - a life that she is insists is attainable. Anyone willing to pursue a deeper relationship with God will find in Hurnard and excellent mentor.

I first read this beautifully written book several years ago, when I was going through a not-so-happy time in my life. It is a beautiful and encouraging story, especially for Christians, but also for anyone who has suffered in life (my sister read this book & loved it, and she is not a religious person at all). The allegory is wonderful... Much Afraid's crippled feet represent an inability to walk successfully alone and reach higher places. Her twisted mouth represents the speaking of shameful, wrong, or cowardly things that don't befit a servant of the Lord... or perhaps an inability to speak her true heart. Her companions are called Sorrow & Suffering... but when they are revealed in true form, you will cry with understanding! All in all, you'll certainly adore this book if you read it, especially if you are troubled or just discovering God. I know I did.

Bernice McFadden is a powerful writer! I picked up this book and was mesmerized by her writing. It is a tragic story but light and hope still came through. How does someone forgive a father who beat his wife and children so brutally that all that is left is hate? How young Kenzie grew up and was eventually forced to face the demons her father left in the wake of his living while he lay dying in a hospital bed made for one powerful book. I was able to understand why she forgave him and how that ability made her a stronger and healthier person. It is a remarkable book that will keep the reader on the edge until the last page is read.

Once again Bernice McFadden is on the scene and takes us to a place which vividly surpasses our wildest imaginations and makes us question whether The Warmest December is fiction or real life. Step Into Kenzie's world, where you discover a childhood lived in fear with an abusive and alcoholic father, Hyman Lowe aka Hy-Lo. Imagine Kenzie's childhood where most days were filled with sadness, pain, anger, harm and too many issues/situations that a child shouldn't have to live with. And then come full circle to One Warm December, where Hy-Lo/the Teflon man lay dying in a County Hospital, very much alone, estranged from family and himself. It starts on one cold winter morning, Kenzie is drawn by some unbeknownst force (maybe it was compassion, maybe it was pity for an old man who could no longer harm her) to take two buses daily to the hospital to be at the bedside of whats left of Hy-Lo. Hard-living had taken its toll on him and he was now a simple shell of the man he used to be: a man who was like Teflon and took to the bottle every day of his life to stifle out any emotions that tried to leak through when he was sober...which wasn't often. He was a man who was so horrible, that at the age of 5, Kenzie would start hating him and everyday of her life she would wish he was dead. A man who was like Teflon because he didnt allow anyone to get close enough to close the hole in his chest or the space near his heart. As Kenzie visits Hy-Lo and sits and waits for death to have its way with her father, she reminisces regarding yesteryears, and the memories of the past are filled with years of pain, hurt, abuse, anger and sorrow brought on by the wrath of Hyman Lowe. The wrath affected all of those who lived in Apt. A5: Della, the timid and scared mother; Malcolm the growing and daring only son; and Kenzie the only girl child. The trials and tribulations that this family experienced were so hauntingly and depressingly realistic that I pondered whether the storyline was fictional or factual. As I read, always lurking in the back of my mind was whether Hy-Lo was abused as a child by an alcoholic parent. I wondered if this was a generational issue and one that would take Malcolm and Kenzie to break the chains that appeared to shackle this family daily24/7, 365 days a year, for more years than I care to remember. The Warmest December is well-written and the subject matter is fierce and intense. The writing is vivid, graphic and yet lyrical; told in a storytelling fashion as only McFadden can do with supreme justice. As I read, oftentimes, I wanted to rush the story and get to the end so that I could quell the pain that I was experiencing. The message/storyline was so powerful that I was unable to read this book in one sitting; incidents would happen which would force me to set the book aside and come back at a later time. I couldnt give up reading this book though and there were times

when I wanted to; but then I would be drawn back because I wanted to know if my questions would be answered. Turning the pages of The Warmest December was sometimes emotionally hard but it was also hard not to turn the pages. I knew the answers lied deep within and I was determined to read until the very end to find out what made Hy-Lo tick and to discover whether Kenzie could end what appeared to be a vicious cycle. In the end, I discovered that "Some stories start out happy, go bad in the middle, and end up happy at the end. Still others start out bad, get worse, and still end up happy in the end. Hy-Los story started out bad, curdled up and soured in the middle, and ended up worse but for Kenzie there was still hope for change. Kenzie finds what she needs to sweep away the pain, open up the windows, and air out the hurt; letting in some joy and patching up that space near her heart; she learns how to apply a fresh coat of pain and move on with her life." I'm happy that I stuck with the Warmest December because I truly found closure in the midst of the Lowe's Family storm. Seeking wonderful literary reads and fiction that resounds with reality? Then check out The Warmest December and Sugar by Bernice McFadden.

The Warmest December by Bernice L. McFadden is a very haunting, depressing tale of life in home with an abusive alcoholic father. This is the haunting, depressing tale of a mother who wants her kids to have a better childhood than she did even if it means she has to suffer physical and mental abuse. This is the haunting, depressing tale that some people live with every day of their life.

In The Warmest December, I met Kenzie (our narrator), Della (her timid mother), Malcolm (her younger brother) and Hyman Lowe better known as HyLo (the father, the alcohlic, the tormentor). The story starts out with Kenzie telling us that she almost forgot she hated her father. She forgot how the sound of her mother's crying ate holes inside of her and ripped a space open near her heart. Those words pulled me into the story the way the unknown forced pulled Kenzie to the death bed of HyLo the father she's hated since she was 5...the father she's wished would just die and let everyone be happy. As Kenzie sits and watches her father or at least the shell of the man she has hated for so long she reminisces about her childhood. She tries to remember happy times but all her memories are filled with hurt, pain, abuse, anger, hatred, and sheer sadness that no one should have to deal with. Kenzie remembers the shouting, the bruises, the banging on the walls, the trips to the liquor store for HyLo, and the smell of gin and vodka that was ever present on HyLo's breathe.

I know none of what I've written so far will make you run to the nearest store and pick up this book but I will be the first to tell you that you should do just that. Why would I tell you to go out and buy this book? I'm telling you that because this book contains two lessons that everyone should learn. The first lesson is that alcoholism exists and it's a disease that not only affects the alcoholic but everyone around them in more ways then they could ever know. There are times when alcoholism is passed from one generation to another unknowing to the original alcoholic. The second lesson is that you are responsible for how the story of your life ends. There is a passage in the book that says "some stories start out happy, go bad in the middle and end up happy at the end. Still others start out bad, get worse, and still end up happy at the end." This was not the case for HyLo his story "started out bad, curdled up and soured in the middle, and ended up worse" Well Kenzie didn't want her life story to be that of HyLo but she wasn't sure how to change the writing that already seem to be on the wall. She eventually found a way to erase that writing and part of it was going to visit HyLo. During those visits and after dealing with her own bouts of alcoholism she realizes that she needs to get rid of the pain and let some joy into her life.

I gladly give this book a rating of 5 because the writing is so vivid and real that I actually felt the blows and heard the screams from HyLo and Della...I too hated HyLo and wished he would just die so that everyone could find some happiness in the life that he had thus far ruined...I too sat next to that bed and felt chills go up my spine by just the sight of the man who turned my life upside down...and I too felt that change that came of Kenzie on that warm December day.

This book is definitely a best. In fact, I'd give it a 15 on any 10 scale. The author, Robert Asprin, is a true genius. I picked ANOTHER FINE MYTH out in the young adults section of the public library, thinking it'd be a good read (at that time, because of it's cover, catchy title, and the stuff on the back cover) and was pleasantly surprised when it surpassed all of my expectations! Now, I've read it (and all the books in the series) for the god knows how many-eth time (though, admittedly, while waiting for the next book in the series to come out...and when is that?) and still enjoy it immensely. The books incorporate fantasy, adventure, humor, and the facts of life into one awesome package. Where can one find Skeeve or Aahz, I'd like to know! [9B-)

Skeeve, a young magicians apprentice, who isn't very adept at magic, only wants to learn enogh magic to become a thief. Then one day his world is turned upside-down when, after summoning a scaly green demon,his master is killed by assassins. Skeeve joins forces with Aahz, the demon, who turns out to be a magician from the world of Perv, who has now lost his powers. The book is hilarious, the characters are interesting, and this book gives tired fantasy conceptions a whole new spin. The first in a series, I reccomend this book, and its sequels, very highly. You will not stop laughing.

Skeeve, a magician's apprentice. Aahz, a green scaly Prevect from the dimension of Perv. Gleep, Skeeve's pet dragon. Tananda, a green haired, shapely assassin. These are just a few of the characters you'll fall in love with just from reading this first book in the Myth series. Follow the adventures of Skeeve as he meets and becomes the apprentice of Aahz and accidently aquires Gleep at the bazaar on Deva. Be enthralled by following the characters from Skeeve's home dimension of Klah to the bazaar on Deva and back to rescue the world from the evil wizard, Isstvan. The story is enchanting, the dialog is hilarious, and the characters are, well, many dimensional. If I were to write a book, I hope it would be as entertaining as this one

I truly think this wonderful, and well written book isn't getting the praise it desreves.I love my black male authors,but Michael has taken reading to a whole 'nother level.I got word of it through one of the guys featured it the novel.I figured it to be just a friend trying to promote a friends work.Was I wrong! Raising fences, to me as a black woman helped me better understand the trials and emotional struggles that the men in my life go through.If you for some stupid reason choose not to read the whole book, you MUST at least read the poems from the story.There's one in particular from a little boy that grabs your heart and toys with your emotions. So many authors try to write about life from a black persons perspective in south central, but they normally lack the depth,and realistic ways that we handle day to day life.After reading this I couldn't go back to the same ol'novels that I see in every bookstore,so I'm waiting for a second.

I have been reading stories of black American males trying to find their way in this sea of inequality that we call our sweet land of liberty. This book was so exquisitely written and so honest. As Datcher says in the text, poetry is truth, he exposes some hard truths and some ugly sides of the city, of education and of love.
I would also recommend another perspective told from the point of view of a white wife who loves and suffers over her black man's burden called Every Secret Thing by Cynthia Marlee Preston. That was a quick read and very insightful.
Good luck to you and your wife, Michael. Remember we live for eternity, not for life. Peace out, bro.

This book was unbelievably refreshing. In fact I was so impressed with the level of honest reflection and emotional depth in Raising Fences that I have discussed it with almost every man I know. Datcher's willingness to let us see inside his soul had provided a context
for Black men and women to discuss the issues that are plagueing our relationships. He gave me hope for Black Love and also set a new standard for communication between the sexes. I may start a book club just to keep talking about how good it is. The icing on the cake is the beauty of the poetry and prose throughout the book. I predict that this is a classic that will keep people coming back again and again. Beyond the love story, we have a basic "coming of age" formula within a battleground of tumultuous experiences that could easily have shaken the foundation of anyone's belief system. Yet, Datcher captures the struggle and creates a jewel for his readers to enjoy. Buy two. Read one and share the other.

This was one of the most enjoyable books that I've read in a long time. I was enthralled from the first page to the last. Rick Bragg chronicles the history of his family, in particular, the grandfather that he never knew, Charlie. Bragg really knows how to tell a story well. He tells stories that on the surface seem as if they are hardships faced by his grandparents during the Depression-Era South. But once you untangle his lovely writing, you discover that the book isn't about the hardships, but about the many (however small they were) triumphs the family shared. I was dreading the last chapter - I would have loved to hear more about Charlie and Ava. Rick Bragg has a gift for storytelling that his grandfather would have been proud of.

As impossible as it may seem, Rick Bragg's soaring, compelling and inspiring "Ava's Man," his account of the life and time of his maternal grandfather, eclipses "All Over but the Shoutin.'" I find it difficult to describe the impact this astounding memoir had on me; I can honestly tell you that I have never wept or laughed (often simultaneously) over the pages of a book as I did while reading "Ava's Man." This work contains more raw material on what life should mean to us and how to live that life than most undergraduate educations. Through handsomely crafted anecdotes, Bragg has constructed a unique homage -- to a person, place and time which have passed from the American scene. As we learn who Charlie Bundrum was, what motivated him and how deeply he influenced those who loved and respected him, we discover a genuine American archtype by which we can measure our own lives. A memoir Americans will treasure for decades to come, its author has now elevated himself to the highest level of our national letters.

The introduction and epilogue alone richly outline the Charlie Bundrum's essential qualities. A powerful roofer and talented distiller, an angry, violent man who desperately loved and protected his family, a fiercely resilient man who disdained societal restrictions, Charlie Bundrum would be painfully out of place in the modern South. "It is only when you compare him with today...that he seems larger than life. The difference between then and now is his complete lack of shame. He was not ashamed of his clothes, his speech, his life. He not only thrived, he gloried in it."

Rick Bragg describes his grandfather as a man "whose wings never quite fit him." Charlie Bundrum took "giant steps in run-down boots" during the Great Depression, a time of genuine, near desperate want in the rural South. As a child, Bundrum grew up "in hateful poverty, fought it all his life and died with nothing but a family that worshiped him and a name that glows like new money." Though he moved his family over twenty times during the Depression, his influence on this loved ones was absolute. He was so beloved, so missed, "that the mere mention of his death would make [his grown daughters] cry forty-two years after he was preached into the sky."

Rick Bragg's storytelling abilities and extraordinary character sketches draw the reader intimately into the Bundrum family circle. Bragg's metaphors, piquant, homey and authentic, lend a sense of poetry and size. For example, Charlie Bundrum's hands, "finger-crushing, freakishly strong" (he could "bend a ten-penny nail in his fingers"), and his forearms, "hard as fence posts," symbolize the man. The author's descriptive prose is so pure, so plain, so true, that in places "Ava's Man" emerges as this generation's "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men."

The physical setting of the memoir is the hill and river region of northern Alabama and Georgia. There Charles spent an impoverished youth under the supervision of his hard-bitten father, Jimmy Jim, a dominant man who once bit off a foe's finger during a free-for-all. From his father, Charles inherited fearlessness. "Too wild for church, too raggedy for the Kiwanis Club," Charles loved the untamed reaches of the Coosa River; "this was his place, even though he did not own enough of it to fill a snuffbox." As an adult, he lived by his own cardinal rule of fatherhood: "don't let nothin' happen" to the children. The grinding poverty of the Depression only sharpened his instincts; yet the privations of the time would result in the premature death of an infant daughter, the only time his family saw him "whipped" by circumstances.

No saint, the Charlie Bundrum we encounter also has a "hot, dark basement" where genuine anger lives. As a fighter, he hit hard, unrelentingly so and he taught his sons to do the same. He was a considerable drinker, downing a pint of his "likker" for every gallon he lovingly distilled. "His product was clean,pure and safe as Kool-Aid" at a time when others' hooch could kill you. He was a brawler with the law as well, giving and taking licks to officers capable of catching him.

It really doesn't matter where you turn in "Ava's Man;" Charlie Bundrum emerges larger than life. Despite his own family's poverty, he adopts Hootie -- a misshapen, lonely older man -- and protects him with a devotion that is part ferocity and part altruism. Charlies' courage is the stuff of myth; in Bragg's capable hands, Charlie's encounters with bull-headed or misguided adversaries embellish his daughter Margaret's assessment of him: "I knew nothing could ever hurt me with Daddy there. I knew he would never let it happen."

Though Charlie Bundrum is the focus of "Ava's Man," Rick Bragg's gifted writing sustains the narrative. The author's recounting of family tragedies, like the terrifying accidental burning of his mother when she was but a small child, is told with astonishing bluntness. Yet, his language is so profound, so direct, so genuine, so elementally true, that the stuff of the Bundrums' lives become transcendent, metaphorical, universal. "Ava's Man" may become one of the most vital books you will have read in your life.

Few can evoke an accurate image of the Deep South. Pulitzer Prize-winner Rick Bragg (All Over But The Shoutin') does more than evoke it, he paints it in bold Mondrian-like brush strokes and chiaroscuro. The time and place come alive before our delighted eyes.

"Ava's Man" is a very personal history, it's the story of Bragg's mother's childhood in the dirt poor Appalachian foothills during the Depression, and it's a tribute to her father, Charlie Bondrun, the grandfather Bragg knows only through stories and reminiscences.

Of this man the author writes, ".....if he ever was good at one thing on this earth, it was being a daddy." Charlie, the father of seven always hungry children, moved his family 29 times during the depression. He worked wherever he could - sometimes for pay, at other times for a side of bacon or a basket of fruit. The doctor who delivered his fourth daughter, Bragg's mother, was paid with a bottle of whiskey.

Charlie was not an educated man. His wife, Ava, read the paper to him every day so he would be informed. But, he was a clever man - could make a boat out of car hoods, and he played the banjo, and he could dance.

Most importantly, despite the hardships, the deprivation, he knew how to make his family know they were loved.

This is Ava's story, Charlie's story, and the story of a time in our history, magnificently told.

Over the years, there have been many attempts to establish a
"Deep Inner Meaning" for "Lucky Jim," but I wouldn't pay them
much attention if I were you. "Lucky Jim" is simply a hilarious
book. For me, it was a revelation -- I had no idea that a book
might leave me with my sides aching, weak from laughter, yet
ready to laugh again, as I recalled the phrase or the incident
which had initially tickled my funny-bone.

One reason the book is so funny is that it gores some very
Sacred Cows. In its time, those sacred bovines very definitely
included provincial academics who were seriously into
Elizabethan madrigals and recorder concerts; Amis had the
genius to see these daffy eccentrics for the incredibly comic
figures they really were. Even more outrageously, the novel's
hero gets the girl of his dreams and escapes the dreary provinces
for a happy career in London, by abandoning the academic life
and going into (are you sitting down?) BUSINESS. Into... TRADE.
It is hard to imagine anything more non-U.

In short, a masterpiece of comic English prose!

Highest possible recommendation!!!

In the interests of full disclosure I must admit that I am something of an Amis fan. I do understand, however, that Amis is a bit of an acquired taste. There are some of his works that just aren't written to appeal to a mass market. This is not one of those.

Far and away Amis' most accessible novel, Lucky Jim deals in comic catastrophe. The hapless Jim Dixon a newly employed assistant lecturer in history at a small British university, attempts to settle in and make a good impression. He encounters one disaster after another. As events unfold, it's clear that Jim is anything but "lucky".

Not the least of his problems is his eccentric boss Professor Welch, but also contributing are a madrigal gathering at Welch's house, Jim's infatuation with Welch's obnoxious son's girlfriend, not to mention the obnoxious son himself, little wars with the other tenants at his boarding house, and the necessity to deliver a showcase lecture on "Merrie England." This latter requirement provides the setting for one of the funniest academic spoof sequences in all of English literature.

The book was first published in 1954 and some of the language--presented as colloquial in the book, is a bit dated. This doesn't really detract from the story--it really just add a level of quaintness. This is the only real criticism on can put forward, however.

This is satire of a high order as rendered by a master. Recognized as one of the 100 best books of the 20th century by whatever group of highbrows it was that put that out in late 1999. This is one that actually deserved to be on it.

Lucky Jim proves great literature need not be dull or depressing. This is a truly great read.

No wonder this book is deemed a "Classic." James Dixon is a 20th Century everyman. Poor beleaguered James Dixon. With his academic career hanging on a thread, not-so-lucky Jim has to kowtow to his witless superior and his witless superior's hugely annoying wife and equally obnoxious son during a weekend get together. From there, everything goes downhill fast for Dixon. But out of Dixon's dilemma comes wonderfully comic moments as he attempts to extracate himself from a bad situation. Amis creates wonderful, quirky but believeable central characters (and secondary) and Dixon's hilarious internal dialogue kept me laughing out loud -- I should think we can all relate to Dixon's thoughts (rude, catty, cynical, nasty, incisive, mocking, witty and insecure by turns) as we routinely censor what we will say aloud. There are so many terrific moments in this book that I immediately re-read it so as to savor them all over again.