Written in the 15th Century and directed towards monks, this is a devotional for Christian living and Monastic life. While noting the time period helps give depth to the historical backdrop of when Thomas was writing this book, it is perhaps more important to know the audience. The intended audience for The Imitation of Christ was monks. This is obvious in the text and it should be kept in mind while reading this work.

This highly influential work has a very simple message: live like Christ. Presented in this book, it is a very strict message. Thomas takes a very strict interpretation of following Christ and the message is very much rooted in the idea of works. It is the actions that one must perform, and not so much the inner state (though he does stress that the inner state is important). This would be a difficult message to take or to give, but again, we must consider the audience: monks living in a monastery. They must live a harsher life and because of their vows, this devotional makes perfect sense.

This can be read as a historical document in Christianity or as a devotional. Either way, one can find great value and and some illumination of the words of Christ through this volume.

Thomas a Kempis was medival monk and priest (1380-1471) who served as chronicler of the monastery at Mt. St. Agnes. During his long life of scholarship, he wrote several biographies of church fathers and a number of devotional works. The "Imitation of Christ" remains his most famous work and the one that has best stood the test of time. Indeed, one of the wonderful things about this work is that it reminds us that the life of the mind is not a creature of the Enlightenment. Even during the so-called Dark Ages there were brilliant scholars with a wide knowledge of both scripture and philosophy. Reflecting its vibrant insight into the human condition, the "Imitation of Christ" remains influential on both sides of the Reformation divide. It reportedly was, for example, one of John Wesley's favorite devotionals.

The "Imitation of Christ" is divided into 4 books, each undertaking a basic theme for development. They are, respectively, the Spiritual Life, the Inner Life, Inward Consolation, and the Blessed Sacrament (i.e., the Eucharist). In turn, each book is sub-divided into numerous chapters, each a page or two long. All of which makes the "Imitation of Christ" a useful book for daily devotionals. One can skip around freely within the book, dipping in as the mood strikes. Yet, I think one is well-served by reading it through at least once. Only then does one see Thomas' thought in its fully-developed form. Do be sure to get a good translation. I am fond of the one by Leo Sherley-Price.

Thomas a Kempis was medival monk and priest (1380-1471) who served as chronicler of the monastery at Mt. St. Agnes. During his long life of scholarship, he wrote several biographies of church fathers and a number of devotional works. The "Imitation of Christ" remains his most famous work and the one that has best stood the test of time. Indeed, one of the wonderful things about this work is that it reminds us that the life of the mind is not a creature of the Enlightenment. Even during the so-called Dark Ages there were brilliant scholars with a wide knowledge of both scripture and philosophy. Reflecting its vibrant insight into the human condition, the "Imitation of Christ" remains influential on both sides of the Reformation divide. It reportedly was, for example, one of John Wesley's favorite devotionals.

The "Imitation of Christ" is divided into 4 books, each undertaking a basic theme for development. They are, respectively, the Spiritual Life, the Inner Life, Inward Consolation, and the Blessed Sacrament (i.e., the Eucharist). In turn, each book is sub-divided into numerous chapters, each a page or two long. All of which makes the "Imitation of Christ" a useful book for daily devotionals. One can skip around freely within the book, dipping in as the mood strikes. Yet, I think one is well-served by reading it through at least once. Only then does one see Thomas' thought in its fully-developed form. Do be sure to get a good translation. I am fond of the one by Leo Sherley-Price.

April Keshavarz
English 190
12/04/02
Book Title: The Timepiece
Author: Richard Paul Evans

In the book The Timepiece, David Parkins was wealthy and a good-looking man. His business flourished with riches. David lived a lonely life and had one true good friend. He lived in a mansion and spent most of his time in his den reading, while the clocks around the house rang every quarter hour. One day the women of his dreams walked in his building and changed his life forever. Her name, MaryAnne. They fell in love with one another and lived a life of experiences. The Timepiece was a heart-warming book with twist and turns that would make your heart raise and fall at the same time. The story shows you the life during the time of the 1900's.
"David could not take his eyes off his bride as she descended the stair, flanked by Catherine and preceded by Catherine's five-year-old niece, who dropped white rose petals before them as they passed beneath the great floral arches of white peonies and apple blossoms. For the first time in his life, David truly felt fortunate. When Mary Anne reached the altar, he leaned close". This passage shows the great detail in the way the character is feeling at that very moment. He gives you the sense that you are witnessing the special event that is taking place. When I read this passage, I felt like I was watching David look at his bride to be with such lust and desire and anxiousness. I was feeling what David was feeling. This passage lets you jump into the story.
"She was wide-hipped and buxom, her hair was streaked with gray and drawn back tightly in a bun with a few prodigal strands falling across her cheek. Her attire matched her manner. She was dressed austerely in a drab muslin dress partially concealed beneath a faded ivory apron, which carried the strains of previous deliveries". This author has so much depth when it comes to detail. He makes you feel like you are standing there looking at the women. You feel like you see the ivory apron with the stains of previous births on it and how she has such wisdom in her appearance. In his description you get an idea what is going on in the story at the time just from the passage.
"David shot through the door and threw it open. A black pillow of smoke billowed into the room. The end of the hallway was completely engulfed in flames and from behind the wall of fire came a horrible sound. Andrea's cry". This passage was very impacting. You feel like you are in the place of David, and his fears are running through you. You get the feel of the fear that is running through his mind and body. The cry of the young girl lets you know where David's fears are coming from and why is determined to get to her. This passage is showing emotions and the reactions that occur from them.
The Timepiece was a book of love hate and life experiences. You learn so much from just one couple. You get to get into their life and see how life's hardships can pull together and give you something new and amazing. The story wasn't repetitive and kept me on the edge of my sit just waiting to see what was going to happen next. I recommend this book to anyone that likes a fast paced book and likes love, hate , and all and all life's experiences.

Timepiece begins the love story of David and Maryanne Parkin. The scene starts in 1908, when Maryanne and David meet. They get married and have a daughter, Andrea. This story is so well written and the character's seem so alive. It will capture your breath and your heart. Start with The Christmas Box and then Timepiece and finish with The Letter. It's hard for me to say good-bye to David and Maryanne. I feel like I was actually in the story with them. I could feel all the emotion in each chapter. Richard Paul Evans out did himself on this series. Get your box of tissues ready and take a ride with the Parkin's, you will not regret it. Your spirit will be lifted and you will think about this story long after your done reading the series. Additional characters, Catherine and Lawrence really make a difference as well. Such devoted friends to David and Maryanne. There is a mystery about Lawrence and one as well about their daughter Andrea. I can't reveal. You must read. Very, very, touching story. Enjoy!!

Of course, it's better if you read all three novels in the trilogy that tells the tale of the Parkin family, but if you're going to choose just one, let it be "Timepiece." "The Christmas Box" introduced us, briefly to MaryAnne Parkin, by then an elderly widow with a mysterious past, but "Timepiece" fills in the gaps and brings you in, through the vehicle of her husband David's diary, to a warm and wonderful story of true love and loss. Here you learn about Andrea, the little girl MaryAnne mourned beneath the famous angel statue. But most importantly, you get to know David and MaryAnne-their faults; their pain; their loyalty to each other, their daughter and their friends; and the strength of their love. Reading of the lives of David and MaryAnne Parkin is almost like hearing your grandparent's love story after they're gone. These characters really touch your spirit. I've just finished "The Letter," and, knowing it's the final installment, I'm really going to miss this family. Richard Paul Evans' talent for capturing emotion and his attention to detail make this book a delight to read. My suggestion to him now, is to go back and write about Lawrence and his Cavalry days...

This is my all time favorite Danielle Steel book... I even loved the movie, but it did not do it enough justice. Of all her books, this is the only one I could read more than once (I don't even like to watch movies more than once), so that says a lot to me. Paxton is a very strong and amazing character, that continuously goes through one tragedy after another. I cried and cried and cried during this book... don't read it in public, read it alone with ten to twelve boxes of kleenex!!! If you are one of those people that like to believe there is only one true love for everyone... Danielle Steel is not your author... she understand that there is a lot of good in different people, and you can fall in love with many of them... and each one will give you a different direction of your life... not necessarily better or worse.

I finally finished my horrible summer reading (boring!), so I thought I'd pick up a novel by my favorite author Danielle Steel for fun. I had seen the tv movie for this book, so I was skeptical about actually reading it, but the movie was so good, I thought I'd give the book a shot. And, let me tell you, it was SO wonderful. Sure, some of it is over-the-top, but, for me, that's what Danielle Steel is about. You can read about other people's struggles to get away from your own for a while. I've read a lot of her books, but this one was the best by far. The story was touching, the characters were great. There was nothing about this book that I didn't like. I ordered the movie, and I cannot wait for it to get here, so I can watch it on the big screen! This is a definite must read for anyone who likes anything Romance related!

This is an amazing story. I fell head over heels completely in love with Tony, Bill, and especially Peter from the word go. This book takes you on such a ride through your emotions. I loved it. I can't stop thinking about Paxton days later. This book is a m ust read for anyone who enjoys a good love story and is also very interested in history. Danielle Steel did an great job of creating such a strong character in Paxton. I know I would've died of heartache in the very beginning. The end was a little weak and I would've loved at least an epilouge explaining about Tony and Paxton. Or more from her articles. Or more from her life in Paris. Or more lead up to her relationship with TOny and Bill. But still this is a wonderful story that will stay very close to my heart.

This book was interesting. At first I didn't get the title because all it talked about in the beginning was Sarah. I thought they should have called the book Mommy. Finally after I read on further I realized why the book was called Daddy. Oliver had to go through his wife going back to school and raising three kids on his own. Ben, the oldest son, had to deal with his girlfriend and their soon to be child. Oliver's father had to deal with the death of his wife and the finding of a new love. You need to feel bad for the fathers because of all the hardships they went through with their wives/girlfriends. It is somewhat of a tear jerker. I give it four stars!

Daddy, by Danielle Steel is a wonderful book or love, hope, and happiness. This book is a change from the domestic cliches you're used to hearing about. Sarah and Oliver Watson were married for twenty five years, but one day out of the blue Sarah decided to go back to college, and take writing classes. Going back to Harvard meant leaving her husband, and three kids to run the house by themselves. Will she ever come back? The kids were distraught, their lives torn apart. Will they ever return to normal? In this enjoyable story, Ms. Steel will make you laugh, cry,and even fall in love. She impresses the reader with complex, and curious plotlines, but pleasantly simple writing style. Daddy, is an excellent choice, if you want a great book to read over the summer.fd

This book was the perfect example of what a man would have deal with when his wife leaves him with the kids instead of him leaving her. I was happy with the fact that DS made him work at it instead of having him say some meaningful things about the mother Sarah leaving and the kids accepting it and everything going smoothly we all know there are bound to be some troubles the perfect example is Ben the oldest son getting his girlfriend pregnant. I was REALLLY happy when the father Oliver got his second chance just like Sarah took hers I found myslef hating the mother for putting her children in that situation what kind of mother does that but on the other hand being a woman I understand her actions she wanted to know when was it going to be her turn? To live life without having to worry about kids and a husband or what to make to for dinner? I loved this book and I think everyone should read it.

The book descriprion on this page is good and I enjoyed this edition of the book with the help of the glossary provided in this edition which contains definitions of sailing terms and and few archaic usages that are in this book. It made it much more enjoyable and understandable.

I liked the grueling portarit of life at sea, reading some first written observations of early California, a fine and admiring description of a very able-bodied seaman that Dana encountered and many other points.

I think to that this challenging adventure for Mr. Dana restulted in restored vision for his failing eyes after he removed himself from life perhaps largely behind a desk. Could the neccessity of challenge and needed to see have contributed?

There are many facets and admirable points in this book. I think you would enjoy it.

Why should you read this book? Yes, it is a classic. Yes, it documents the wonderful, adventurous time of the clipper ship. But that's not why you should read it.

Richard Henry Dana must have been a most extraordinary man. While attending Harvard as a young man, his eyesight became weak and his health declined. He decided that the austere prescription of salt air and plain hard work would be the cure. Not many would give up comfort and privelege, but for two years, Dana served as a common sailor, given no special treatment as the gentleman he was, and lived in the forecastle of the Alert, eating the mess of salt beef and common hardtack, risking his life and serving under a captain crueler than most.

Dana was able to write in such a way as to re-create the life on board a sailing ship, down to the smallest details and that's what makes this book so real and touching. You can feel the cold of Tierra del Fuego, taste the salt beef, and feel the wind and damp. What's more amazing is that Dana's carefully-kept journal was lost along with his other mementos of his voyage when he landed back on shore in Boston, due to some tragic carelessness of someone he entrusted with his chest of belongings. Yet he was able to recreate his voyage in loving detail and in some very excellent writing.

Dana's later life as a lawyer was far from happy, though he made some critical contributions to maritime law. He died a poor and disappointed man, but left us the richer with his book. I just re-read it again for the tenth time, and it is fresher than ever. Read it along side of Moby Dick. It's American literature and American history and culture at its very best.

I'm a Californian who has seen the entire coast described by Dana. He has painted a remarkably true picture of that coast still recognizable. Jackson was president when Dana sailed in 1833. It was also the age of the Mountain Men some of whom were seen in CA while Dana was there. In San Diego Dana met professor Nuttal who taught at Cambridge and was known to Dana. Nuttal crossed the continent the hard way, as a naturalist, then made his way to CA, and eventually returned on the same ship with Dana to Boston. Both Dana and Nuttal, and their respective pursuits, were precursors to Manifest Destiny. Their trips also were descriptive of the times. Two years after his leaving Boston, Dana returned as an accepted 'foc'sle' sailor, a man cured of whatever ailed him when he left home. His exploits are remarkable for their daring. He never shirked his duty as a shipmate. His is a remarkable tale which could only have been told by one of his character. If read in conjunction with the landed history of the time, 'Across the Wide Missouri,' by DeVoto, it becomes a historical masterpiece significant for its truth, sadness, and moments of supreme beauty of expression.

Though I have never read Thomas Hardy before, I shall again very soon. I greatly enjoyed Far From the Madding Crowd. I kept associating Bathsheba, the heroine, with Scarlett O'Hara. They are both women from the past who are struggling for a place where only men typically tread. Unlike Scarlett, Bathsheba's emotions are more restrained. She's so young, but matures through the book. The reader yearns for the day she finally matures to the point that realizes she needs a partner in life, and her perfect partner is Gabriel Oak, her steadfast mate of fate.

I definitely recommend this book for one of those cold rainy weekends curled up on the couch.

I am looking forward to diving into my next Thomas Hardy novel, Jude the Obscure.

I've always condidered myself to be sort of an optimist; so it is really odd that I've always really loved Thomas Hardy's books. I count Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure among my very favorites, and whether or not it is my favorite, I think that The Mayor of Casterbridge is marvelously written. Still though, reading all of that fatalism and cynicism can be a little much. It was really nice to pick up this novel and not read so many grim scenes.

Far From the Madding Crowd is a pretty simple love story driven by the characters. First, there is Bathsheba Everdeen. She's vain, naive, and she makes the stupidest decisions possible. Yet, you still like her. Then there are the three guys who all want her: Troy who's like the bad guy straight out of a Raphael Sabatini novel, Boldwood who's an old lunatic farmer, and Gabriel Oak who is a simple farmer and is basically perfect. The reader sees what should happen in the first chapter, and it takes Bathsheeba the whole book to see it. The characters really make the book. The reader really has strong feelings about them, and Hardy puts them in situations where you just don't know what they're going to do. The atmosphere that Hardy creates is (as is in all of Hardy's novel) amazing and totally original. I don't think any other author (except Wallace Stegner in America) has ever evoked a sense of place as well as Hardy does. Overall, Far from the Madding Crowd is a great novel. I probably don't like it quite as well as some of his others, but I still do think it deserved five stars.

This book was a required read for Academic Decathalon but I was handed the cliff notes and told to study them if I didn't have time to read the book. I dislike cliff notes unless I have already read a book and I need to review so I chose to listen to it on tape. I was thoroughly surprised to find myself laughing at the overly-honest Gabriel Oak proposing marriage to Bathsheba Everdene, I had been informed that this book was something of a rural comedy but I had not expected such preposterous situations and ironies. The novel centers around Bathsheba though I would not label her the heroine because the reader is often frustrated by her behavior and even annoyed by it. She is quite poor but a smart girl and a particularly beautiful one as well. Gabriel meets her and soon decides he must marry this young woman. She declines deciding that she can't love him and soon moves away. Gabriel loses his farm in an unfortunate event and through circumstance comes to be in the same part of Wessex as Bathsheba. She has inherited her uncle's farm and is now running it herself and she is in need of a sheperd and sheperding happens to be Gabriels forte so he is hired. Farmer Boldwood who runs the neighboring farm becomes smitten with Bathsheba too when he recieves a prank valentine saying "marry me" on the seal(this valentine was sent by Bathsheba and her maid/companion). He soon asks for Bathsheba's hand and Bathsheba who feels guilty for causing this man's desire says she will answer him upon his return in two months time. The union with Boldwood is not to be since Bathsheba falls deeply in love with Frank Troy and soon marries him. An ex-girlfriend of Troy's shows up but dies shortly after giving birth, Troy is heartbroken and tells Bathsheba that he loved Fanny more and still does. Troy leaves and soon is assumed dead but is truly only missing. Boldwood moves in one Bathsheba again but in a set of bizarre events Troy returns to take Bathsheba from Boldwood once more. Boldwood is infuriated and turmoil ensues. This is an escapist novel in these times and is well worth reading. Weatherbury and Casterbridge will charm you and allow you to experience the little oddities of Victorian Era rural life in the pleasantest way imaginable.

Okay, so it's got an introduction by Thomas Pynchon and it brings back a lot of memories for people-who-were-young-during-the-Sixties, but what about those of us who were "unlucky" enough to be born after that halcyon decade crashed and burned? Is the book really any good? Yes. Farina was, for my money, one of the best writers of his generation, even though one novel and an out-of-print (but, if you can find it, surprisingly good) collection of short pieces isn't much to go on. Although the book is actually set around the turn of the decade, 59-61 or so, there's an eerie impression that it was written twenty years later. For all the drink, drugs and college high-jinks, Death, War and that other lost horseman of the apocalypse, Responsibility, are never far away. The main character, Gnossos Pappadopolis, is a rucksack-wearin' hipster who attempts to maintain his Cool in an atmosphere of student demos and faculty corruption. Farina makes no attempt to sanctify Gnossos, and nor would we want him to, yet we end up sympathising with him. Pynchon's famous jacket quote says that the book comes like "the Hallelujah Chorus being played by 200 kazzo players with perfect pitch" - make that Barber's Adagio being played by a jug band and you're about right.

Richard Farina was a consummate songerwriter, poet and hopeful novelist, until his first and only novel burst onto the scene. Although a later book was released that was a compilation of some short stories, poems, and articles about him, this was the only book he had to stretch toward the literary heavens with. And it was indeed a smash!

Unfortunately, Farina, who was married to Joan Baez' younger sister Mimi, with whom he had forged a folk duo that played and recorded some of his wonderful poetry put to music, never lived to experience his own wild success, as he fell off the back of a motorcycle on the way home from the publication party for this book, and was killed instantly. But the book lives, indeed it flourishes, and the paperback version has never been out of print in all this time, which is ample testimony to its continuing power, verve, and its timeless message, as well as to its beautifully written story.

This is a wonderful book, one that has grown in reputation and stature over the intervening decades, and as another, much younger reviewer commented, it is one for everyone, not just for us greying babyboomers who were lucky enough to have discovered and experienced Richard in his prime. For all of us who have read his work, or listened to his music, or experienced his poetry, or for those of us who were lucky enough to see Mimi and Richard perform at the Newport Folk Festival, one can still hear the faint echoes of their haunting guitar harmonies and vocals, and we truly know that he is still with us. We know that he has truly left us a present, his evocative "reflections in a crystal dream".

Although set in a time before the changes of the sixties started to roar, one soon recognizes teh signs and spirit of the times in his words and the storyline. Enter Gnossos, soul of the road, keeper of the eternal flame, and a pilgrim on an endless search for the holy grail of cool, and the college town of Athene (read Ithaca, NY, home of Cornell) will never be the same. Nor will you after digesting this wild, extremely readable parable. So, friend, don't hesitate; buy it, read it, but do so slllllloooooowwwwwllllly, savoring every gorgeous moment of it. It's all we have left of him, the only legacy of an incredible talent and a wonderful spokesperson for the otherwise indescribable sixties.

I read this book in one sitting the day that it hit the bookstores. Being a fan of Farina's music, I had anxiously awaited its publication, The first edition, which I have read over a half dozen times (about once a decade after three readings in it's year of pubication,) sits on my bookshelf next to his posthumously published Long Time Coming And A Long Time Gone. They are a part of the cornerstone of my Modern American Fiction collection. Since I still have my first edition, I have never read the Pynchon introduction. Farina must have known something as the book's opening quotation from Benjamin Franklin is " I must soon quit the scene." Farina died on the day of the autographing party for this book. Bottom line, it is a wonderful read. It is a portrait of the time, yet transends that time in many ways. If you do not find wonder in this book, there is something that you just do not get. I still mourn his death and all the music and prose that he did not write. So many talented people leave us too soon.

I recently took this guidebook on a two-week trip around the UK and found it to be just as useful and dead-on as every other LP book I've used (even though it is almost two years old). I looked at some of the others, and this the only budget guide for Britain worth picking up. Forget Fodor's, Frommer's, and Let's Go - this book is all you need for a trip to the British Isles.

I have traveled to England a dozen times and I own current editions of 12 different guidebooks. This is far and away the best. It has the most useful information in the easiest-to-use format. For one thing it has all the travel planning facts you need. In addition, the destinations are described with writing that is evocative, imaginative and accurate. The recommendations are reliable and I was never steered wrong in selecting lodgings and restaurants. Before I found this book, I had to combine four different guidebooks to get all the information that's included in this one. From a veteran traveler, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide.

This summer I took an awesome two week tour of Great Britain with Contiki Tours. The tour was great because of how it mixed a rigid tour with free time. My free time was excellent thanks to the information in this guide. I had used Lonely Planet before when I visited China. They did a great job on that book and they did a great job on this one. The information, history, culture and advice are priceless. This is a great guidebook to have. Lonely Planet might not have zillions of colour pictures, but it has priceless information and commentary.

This was probably one of the best books I have ever read. It is packed with excitement and I couldn't put it down. It shows how the brave main character,John, can handle one big problem after another with extreme perserverence. From hurt dogs and lambs,to flash floods,cyoties, and even bears. And in the end he comes out intact and in one piece. John had to spend three months tending many sheep with the help of dogs and horses, and with the distraction of bears and other wild happenings.His father, who didn't have a strong relationship with John, came to visit near the end of John's time at the haymeadow. Somehow, by his father telling stories of the past and just talking to each other all night,thier relation ship was binded together. This is a wonderful book and I highly recomend it.

The book The Haymeadow was written by Gary Paulsen. John is just a fourteen year old who wants some change in his life. He lives with his father and two permanent hired hands named Cawley and Tink. John's mother died when he was four years old. He barely remembers her. During the years he was told few stories about his mother and his memories are confused with stories. John's father and Tink go to town and were suppose to return in the afternoon. His father only returns. John finds out that Tink had to stay in town with the doctors because they discovered he had cancer. Just like John's grandfathers will be asked to go to the haymeadow. But since Tink can't watch over it John will have to go a little earlier than his grandfathers had. Doubts of not accomplishing the task are all over his mind. Spending a whole month with six thousand sheep, two horses, and four dogs will be lots of work. Going to the haymeadow was a long journey as it is. During the first days at the haymeadow, John already approaches many problems. A snake attacks one of the lambs causing it to have a deep cut. Usually they would shoot a lamb so that it won't suffer but John decided to heal the wound. Also, a bear attacks! These are just some of the many obstacles he approaches in the haymeadow. He continues overcoming the obstacles and before John knew it, it was the end of the month. The figure on the horizon was his father coming to see him. His father brings good news. Tink was not going to die because of the cancer. All of the stories of his mother are told to him by his father. When it's time for his father to head back John doesn't want him to go. He tells him that and his father stays and tells him more stories in the haymeadow.

The reason I liked this book so much was because of the way the author describes the setting. "It was more than a meadow. More than just hay. It was a wide, shallow valley between two rows of peaks. The haymeadow itself was four sections, but the whole valley was close to four miles across and nearly eight miles long and so beautiful, John thought, that it almost took his breath away." I could picture the haymeadow by the way the author describes it. I picture a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains and the grass rolling in the same direction. Everything is so beautiful and peaceful. I really enjoyed learning more about the haymeadow.

What I also liked about it was that included some love. This evened out the book so that it balanced. "One car with New York plates was full of tourists and there was a girl with long brown hair who got out with a camera and John felt a little shy but tipped his hat to her. She smiled back and waved and he felt himself blushing but was glad he'd done it anyway." John continues to think about that girl through the days in the haymeadow. I think he found his crush but he never admitted it to Cawley. Cawley saw everything and teased him about that day. John still hoped to see that girl once again.

My favorite part of the story was when the flood hits his trailer with all of his belongings. John ends up fishing his stuff out of the river. All of his shirts soaked and he lost many supplies. The labels of all the canned food flowed down steam so John ended up with having a mystery meal everyday. This is the part of the book with the most action. I think this was the best part because at one point I questioned if he would survive in the haymeadow after all this.

Gary Paulsen is probably my favorite author and The Haymeadow is certainly no disappointment in any way. Even though it says the book is intended for young adults, The Haymeadow is a great book for anyone to read. John learns to become a responsible adult and to take care of the sheep herd after getting them to the Wyoming ranch. John must survive a summer alone after not receiving that much instruction on how to take care of the sheep. With little food and hardly any help on managing the herd, it won't be the easiest task in the world to take out.

The Haymeadow starts out like most books do, mostly telling background information on what must be done. Once you get to where John is all alone with the herd without any help, The Haymeadow turns into one of the best books of all. John has to survive a major flood, help save an injured dog, all while making sure the sheep are alright. Not to mention a confrontation with a huge bear and a stampede.

If you like good adventure/survival books, The Haymeadow will probably be one of the best books you'll ever read. You'll wonder why it didn't receive tons of awards, I know I do.

The first time I read the Yellow Wallpaper I was struck by the sheer force the words have on the reader. Perkins Gillman plays a mind game with her words, and the reader is made to join her sense of imagination. I first read it for a literature class, and each of the students in the class had a different interpretation of the story. This seemed extremely effective - it had made all of us think, and imagine. It had made is not just analyze the words, but it made us become a part of the story.I myself felt that the woman in the story was quite amazing - there were two men in her life, her husband and her brother both doctors by profession who were most incensitive to her needs. As can be expected of that time period, they were more interested in the norms of society, and were not going to allow the woman to act contrary to the norm. She however, was not about to give up on behalf of the norm. She was going to fight to the very end, and it felt almost as though she had liberated her own mind when she stopped seeing another woman in the wallpaper, but herself became one with it. Those of you who read this should also go ahead and read something on the author. It is a truely amazing story, and leaves plenty of room for the imagination. or. In one of her essays she talks of why she wrote this story.

This short story, based upon the author's own experiences, is a powerful tale of one intelligent woman's struggle with madness, the role of (married) women in society and family in the late 1800s, and how she copes with well-meaning but misguided relatives and their ideas of a woman's nature and abilities. Many consider it an early feminist novel, and I agree, although I would extend the author's message to any group that finds itself severely restricted by society's notions of appropriate behavior, goals, and the nature of the group.
The narrator of the story is, from a modern point of view, a normal, young, married woman who also has a desire to write. However, bound by Victorian mores and restrictions, this desire to write is deemed inappropriate at best and casts questions about her not fulfilling her (only) role as wife (and mother). She was only to focus her attention on "domestic" concerns (house, husband, children) and anything remotely intellectual was considered a threat to her sanity and her physical health. When she refuses to bow to society's (and her husband's) ideas of womanhood, she is confined to a room for COMPLETE rest (meaning NO mental stimulation of any kind, no reading, no writing). What makes matters worse is that her husband (a doctor) is also her jailer, and instead of truly understanding his wife as a human being, opts to follow society's standards instead of doing what is in the best interest of his wife (and her health, both physical and mental). Not surprisingly, she rebels a bit, and continues to write her thoughts in a journal, hiding the journal and pencil from her husband. When her deception is discovered, she is even more strictly confined than before, and denied contact with her children.
It is at this point that she begins her descent into madness--not from the desire to write and express her creativity, but from being denied an outlet for that creativity. She was not mad before she was prescribed complete rest, but rather the complete rest which caused her madness. She begins to imagine things (shapes, objects, animals, people) in the yellow wallpaper which covers the walls of the room to which she is confined. As more restrictions and controls are placed upon her, her imagination grows, until finally she strips the wallpaper to reach the figures, and is found by her husband, surely and completely mad.
I liked this story very much because the author conveyed the kind of dead lives many talented, creative women must have been forced to lead due to society's ideas of women and their abilities while fully backed by the medical profession. She clearly illustrates that in this instance, doctors and husbands do not know best, and that their very best intentions had the precise effect of bringing about the madness that they sought to cure. As I read the story, I wondered why her husband (and the doctor) were so blind as to the causes of her "nervous condition". It obviously was not working, and rather than demonstrating their intelligence by trying something else or, God forbid, asking her what she needed (a couple hours per day to devote to writing, a small thing indeed), continued along the same methods of treatment, only with more restrictions! The social commentary and the commentary on the status of women in society and in their own families is handled in an effective way by the author, not only in her prose but in the development of the characters and the storyline. It is a most persuasive plea of the basic idea of feminism--that women are people too, with talents and abilities outside of their roles as wives and mothers that deserve an opportunity to be developed. In reading this story, I am amazed by how far we as a society have come in changing our views of women, and yet by how much further we have to go. I highly recommend this book.
This book was also made into a show that aired on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre in the late 1980s. I have not been able to find a copy of the program, but remember that it was well-produced and faithful to the story.

This book truly captures the constraints felt by so many women, both in Perkins' time and in our own. She is able to touch on a very sensitive subject with amazing poetic prose. The fact that this book was written in the nineteenth century makes it all the more remarkable!