I actually have a copy of her first edition (which was published only in the UK). It is excellent. As a parent of a child with severe motor and oral dyspraxia/apraxia I know exactly how difficult it can be to find qualified info on this subject. Most of what you can find (which isn't much) deals with identifying it. I already know my son has this. I need to know what to do about it. This is one of the few books that deals with exactly how to "treat" the motor dyspraxia. If you have a child or student with dyspraxia/apraxia, get this book. When I read it I said, "finally, a book that adequately describes my child." By the way, this affliction is generally known as dyspraxia in the UK and as apraxia in the US. Also, there are 2 types - motor and oral, but most people will find that their afflicted child has some of both types. I hope this helps someone!

This book does not dwell greatly on ideals or hypotheses, nor on soothing chat. The reader will find practical, well-organized information on a good variety of ways to assess and train a child's abilities without highly specialized equipment.

I was impressed by the differences that generalized training in motor skills seemed to make in specific tasks such as handwriting, and also by the reports that "normal" children helping with lunchtime training programs enjoyed the experience, and felt closer to the previously isolated "clumsy" children, with their associated tendency to be irritable and easily distracted (not to mention distracting!). The scope of the book really does cover both parents and schools -- this book is grounded in solid observation and experience.

Ms. Portwood stresses that intervention helps at all ages, often bolstering self-esteem and social skills along with growing achievement in motor skills.I am looking forward to using this book with my son.

I believe that Dyspraxia is also known as Developmental Coordination Disorder in the U.S.

The Essential Saffron Companion by John Humphries is the most accurate and comprehensive book ever written about the "Mellow Yellow" plant (Crocus Sativus). It is packed with historical points about the bulb to the characteristics of the plant once bloomed. All good details and very accurate. Also, the recipes are top-notch castillian cooking. Very much authentic of the European Spanish-style cooking. Bravo, JH!

I've always been fascinated with the aroma and taste of saffron. This book is both a lesson on the rich history of saffron and a collection of very balanced recipes that showcase saffron in some very interesting ways. I've been using saffron for years the wrong way. Just one recipe from this book has re-focused my love for this spice. My wife and I purchased a great amount of saffron in La Mancha, Spain last year. This book will guarantee our enjoyment of it. Highly recommended!

Christian Mythmakers is a good overview of some of the thoughts and ideas of various Christian fantasy writers. While the chapter on John Bunyan is basically little more than a summary of Pilgrim's Progress, the rest of the book is interesting and thought provoking. The chapter on Charles Williams is a "must read" for anyone interested in or confused by Williams' work.

This book is a fascinating look at ten Christian mythmakers, that is authors who have used the power of myth to convey Christian truths in a new way. The narrative begins with John Bunyan and his seminal Pilgrim's Progress, continues through George Macdonald, G.K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and finishes up with Madeleine L'Engle, Walter Wangerin, Robert Siegel, and Hannah Hurnard.

Professor Hein begins with a short biography of the author, and then proceeds to explain the author's work, examining its theology and significance. I found this book to be quite fascinating, with the author giving me a look at these masterpieces of Christian literature in a way that I had never thought of before. If you are a fan of any of the authors above, then I highly recommend that you get this book!

I had the privilege of taking courses under Dr Hein in the early 90's at Wheaton. He is a very knowledgeable teacher and has great affection for the people he is writing about in this book. If you have any interest in these authors, this book is a must read. I wasn't aware that he had written this book when I came across it looking for books on George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis. As an Economics major, I somehow ended up taking four Lit. classes from Dr Hein because he is such a good instructor and passionate about his subject matter.

"The Women in Black" are the black-clad female employees of F.G.Goode's--an upscale department store in Sydney, Australia. The employees that this slim novella centres on are: Patty Williams married to the ever-predictable Frank, Fay Baines--a single girl who longs to meet a decent man for a change, Lesley (Lisa)Miles--a schoolgirl hired for the Xmas holidays, and Magda--the sophisicated "continental" who presides over the Model Gowns Department.

The novella is well-written, all the characters were well-developed, and presented in strong contrast to one another. I have read all of Ms St John's books, and this one was probably my least favourite, but I would recommend it nonetheless. Madeleine St John possesses a unique subtlety to her writing. Her books resonate long after the final cover is closed.

I was reading away happily at the original French version (struggling occasionally over some of the older vocabulary) until I realised I really didn't have enough time (essay due in tomorrow evening), so I quickly nipped round to a friend and borrowed this translation.

And it's not good, people, not good.

While parts of it have travelled quite nicely from French over to English, a lot of it is very badly done - some word for word tranlations and FAR too many repetitions of words. For example, I'm sure I came across 'agitation' three times on one page, and I can tell you I ended up more agitated than Mlle de Chartres ever would be after trying to scrape my way through it.

Needless to say, I'll be allowing more time to read these books beforehand so that I don't have to delve into another poorly translated version again.

Get it in French.

This book is written in an unusual format, almost at a remove from the main character. This however, only serves to heighten the passion of the doomed lovers. In some ways it reminds me of mme de tourvil in dangerous liaisons. Unable to help herself falling in love. Knowing she was doing the wrong thing, and hurting the people who love her most, but unable to stop.

I really enjoyed this book,and I'm sure I'll read it again one day. Apparently this is the only decent book this author ever wrote, the rest being pretty unreadable. If you want a historical novel written in an historical period itself then try this.

This is one of my all-time favorite books. The book is quiet, surprising, and lingering. The relationships detailed in intimacy are revealing, and not just the relationship between the lovers. If you have notread this, do so immediately.

Madeleine St. John has a great ear for dialogue, there's no doubt about it. It's a good thing, too, because "The Essence of the Thing" is carried along primarily on the strength of the characters' dialogue. The novel is a kind of case study of the break-up; when Jonathan unexpectedly ends his relationship with live-in lover Nicola, we see the devastating (and ultimately liberating) effect this has on her. Anger, grief, denial, bargaining and acceptance - yes, all these stages of loss are here, explored in great talky detail. While I can appreciate the quality of the writing - believable and natural dialogue that flows is incredibly hard to do! - the novel's heavy reliance on conversation to explore Nicola's psychological state ultimately cripples it. I was frustrated by the slow pace; I found the short chapters and frequent shifts in time choppy; lengthy conversations without immediately knowing who was speaking or when sometimes confused me; and by the middle of the book, I grew impatient with Nicola's insistence on continuing to love and moon over a man who was clearly a jerk. That said, however, there was something engrossing about the book that kept me reading until the end and I plan to check out more of this author's work.

The Essence of the Thing captured the modern relationship between a man and a woman. It explored what happened as the relationship disintegrated, leaving one partner in shocked disbelief and emotional pain. What I loved about the book was that it showed so clearly the idiosyncrasies of the human personality and how the quality you think you love most about a person ends up being the very thing that drives you apart. It leaves you slightly unsettled and thinking. Read it.

I'm sure that whoever reads the book will want to encounter Ms. St John in person. She's great in depicting character's psychology - so much as we think it's our best friend(s) she's writing about. Certainly great book to read - truthful, sincere and catching...

I picked up this book because The Wall Street Journal gave it a good review. I'm not sure why. It's a very short 230 pages, and can be read in a couple of hours; it has a very light tone, almost flippant in the handling of the main character's affair. Serious subject, light tone - they don't often go well together, and they don't here. There are issues that are brought up (religion, for instance) that are not explored to the depth they deserve. The author is British, and those unfamiliar with English culture will surely be confused at certain social references (for example, the subject of the parish jumble is mentioned several times). Also, the author has an annoying way of starting chapters with dialogue that is not attributed to specific characters, forcing the reader to backtrack once a character is identified to find who said what. Perhaps I'm too used to the gravity of the Oprah line of novels, because I didn't like the fact that I didn't take anything away from this.

This novel is an enjoyable, light read that will make you think about some rather contemplative ideas. It is the story of a seemingly happily married couple whose marriage breaks down on each end. He has an affair, and she becomes involved in religion, something he as an athieist cannot embrace. The story is told with a light and humorous tone, yet all along St. John makes us think about the temporariness of our lives, how seemingly permanent things can change based on seemingly meaningless events. The characters are humorous, all sort of exaggerations, at times, of people we all know.

If you are looking for something light, but would like to think a bit, I recommend this book. It is entertaining and easy to read, yet still thought provoking.

Deception is both depicted and practiced in A Pure Clear Light. At first glance, the book seems to be about an affair. But, the frequent mention of time and items being "in transit" shows that it's really a look at how people deal with the temporary nature of life. The various ways of dealing with this condition are portrayed through the three main characters. Flora chooses to deal with it by becoming more involved with religion, thereby creating permanence though spirituality. Simon abandons all pretense of fighting temporariness by immersing himself in a transitory relationship. However, his embrace of the "temporary" is nothing compared to Gillian Selkirk. Her cool detachment from any emotional aspect of the relationship, as embodied by her purely sexual definition of the affair and her involvement with other men while the liaison is occurring, marks her as someone who embodies the term "living for the moment."

These characters are very powerful archetypes for conveying the theme. However, the theme also serves to undermine the characters. Since most of them embrace the lack of permanence to a great degree, it is difficult to develop an emotional connection to them. The problem is compounded with the minor characters, who seem to be little more than footnotes. The effect is to make the book seem stark and more than a little cold.

Despite the emotional sparseness of the characters, the book has many attractions. The dialogue is sharp and the narrative has an effective flow. But above all, A Pure Clear Light deserves a recommendation simply on the basis that it's a skillful exploration of an aspect of the human condition. Ultimately, that's what good fiction is supposed to do, even if it needs to practice a little deception to do it.