Here, in this relatively obscure work, Thackeray is at his ironic and satiric best. Modern critics lightly dismiss the book as a piece of journalistic hack work, but it is much more than that. Redmond Barry, later Barry Lyndon, chronicles in a fairly sophistocated and always lighthearted manner his rise from a poor Irish country boy to the astral heights of polite English society from 1750-1820. Mr. Barry is always Machievellian in his way, and is quick and efficient with his sword. He is Odysseus, Holden Caulfield, Don Juan, and Nabokov's Humbert Humbert merged. In a word, he is very, very entertaining and very, very good. The book's only glaring flaw is it's belabored and uninspired ending. But it is much worth reading to watch Redmond Barry when young

When one is about to take the big plunge and give oneself the trouble of making what is always -in our age of lighter reading, of course - the strenuous effort of reading a XIXth. Century novelist, one - at least me - must make the following question: What was this author's particular attitude, as a man (or woman) of the most bourgeois of all centuries, towards his/her preceding century, the most aristocratic and un-bourgeois XVIIIth. Century? If s/he scorns the XVIIIth. Century, or is indifferent to it, it's quite likely that the author in question is a bourgeois philistine regarding Victorian times as the undisputed acme of human civilization. If s/he is an admirer, than s/he is obviously starting out of a clear sense of alienation from his/her own society, and one should expect at least for this XIXth. Century _avis rara_, genuine sense of humor. Thackeray was one of such Victorians who realized the philisteism of his own society;Eça de Queiroz, his Portuguese disciple (who seems to have learned a lot from reading him) was another. Therefore: Read this book, QED.

Having seen the movie "Barry Lyndon" by Stanley Kubrick years ago, I was taken aback by this book which is so markedly different than the 1975 film. In the book, Lord Bullingdon is actually the hero, where Kubrick presented him merely as a cowardly cad. Redmond Barry (later as Barry Lyndon)deserves all the evils that befall him and his first person narrative is quite humorous especially when blaming everyone for his own shortcomings. Unfortunately, the ending leaves one a bit unsatisfied, quite like the dismal end of Mr. Lyndon himself. This novel is not on the level of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", but fun to read nonetheless.

This book is about the life and coming of age of a young wealthy English boy, who goes to school at Rugby. Throughout the novel, we are witnesses to the growing up of Tom and his friends. Tom is not a model boy, but rough, virile and self-confident, as is his friend East, a smart and audacious guy. The story is funny and entertaining, and is also illustrative about life in the English boarding schools (for affluent people) in the XIX century. It is also a bildungsroman, that is, the story of the education and maturation of a young person. Although the story contains carefully hidden, and sometimes easily identifiable, morals, it is not a long lecture. It is easy to read and understand, and I consider it highly recommendable.

I opened this dusty tome in a sense of duty and with expectations of a dreary read. I am still engaged in reading, but am so pleased with it's contents so far that I am prompted to write these comments.

The description of the horse driven coach journey to Rugby is delightfull, and worthy of Charles Dickens himself.

The introduction of Tom to his guide (mentor)has ensured my continued attention.

How can one review a book before finishing it?

This is one of my favorite books. Hughes,the author, developes a wonderful atmosphere in this story, you feel as if you are in this 19th century English boarding school with Tom. You taste, smell, and hear the experiences in this book. It is educational about what life was like at that time in England for a boy like Tom. But it is the plot that endears this classic to me. Tom is a rough and tumble lad who cares little about character and education. This book is about a young carefree boy who matures into a young man who has a deep faith in Jesus Christ. I recommend this book to anyone.

This novel formed part of my english literature curriculum almost 40 years ago. That was the last time I read the novel. Conrad put much of his own experience into the book. He descibes with great power the life of Peyrol, a brother of the coast, returning home after a life spent at sea. Retirement is planned, but this is not to be through one final call to duty. Brilliantly atmospheric style brings to life the characters and countryside. Well worth revisiting for the first time since my school days.

The high renaissance of Conrad was Nigger of the "Narcissus", Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim and Nostromo period and what a period that was. These later works are Conrad in his manneristic style. That is to say his strengths as well as his flaws show. Works like Victory, Rescue, Arrow of Gold, and Rover are like the works written by an aging Prospero, but still Prospero. Rover is by far the best of these late works though each exert a unique charm to any lover of Conrad. Rover is like a last and momentary return to glory for this master of sea tales. I bought tha Malay editions of these late works and am very glad to have these hard to find books. Rover is a pleasing meditation on the coasts of France of a mariners return to land after a long life at sea. But looming on the horizon are English ships! The old mariner has one last adventure and it will cost you much pleasure as it unfolds to a final sea confrontation. My favorite thing about this book is the meditation on the bonds and ethics of sea comraderie which here takes precedence over those of nationality.

I chanced upon "The Rover" after having finished all of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels. It's a hard act to follow, but after reading "The Rover" one might almost think that O'Brian learned a trick or two from Conrad -- for example, how to describe a captain's state of mind and thought processes during a sea chase.

The course of events in this tale takes some unraveling. Devices employed by Conrad include flashbacks, sudden gaps in the chronologic sequence, and implied dialogue. Consequently, the book reads more like a detective novel than one of O'Brian's straightforward sea adventures. That is to say, it takes a bit of detective work to follow the story.

My only regret is that I read the introduction to this edition first; unfortunately it gives away the ending. That may be the only reason why I didn't rate this book five stars.

I have used this edition of Marvell's poems for many years in teaching. I also once wrote a brief article about a mistake in it, but for the most part consider the edition very satisfactory. The appearance of *Andrew Marvell: Pastoral and Lyric Poems 1681* (University of Western Australian Press, 2000) has led me to re-appraise Donno's work. The UWA edition is really a selection, and its text is less good than Donno's, though it offers far more - and very rewarding - annotation. This should be of help for specialised work. But Donno offers perfectly adequate help to the average student; she presents ALL of the poems, and she does so in a responsibly modernised, clear text. This continues to be the edition which most academic teachers will want to prescribe, and it is of significance to scholars, too. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)

You start out wanting to like this author. She has a witty, humorous way with words, a reverence for the written word and a telling grasp of what distinguishes writers of various eras. Of Elizabethan dramatists, she writes, "Theirs is the word coining genius, as if thought plunged into a sea of words and came up dripping." She writes about Classical Greek damatists as one who understands what separates them from all writers who follow: "To understand him," she says of Aeschylus, "is is necessary to take that dangerous leap through the air without the support of words ... for words, when opposed to such a blast of meaning, must give out, must be blown astray..." For her, the best writing, whether that of a Greek or an Englishman, has a meaning that defies words, a meaning that we percieve in the mind -- without words. Coming down the centuries and pausing to consider Jane Austen, she captures the essential writer in terms that encourage and enlarge: "Think away the surface animation, the likeness to life, and there remains, to provide a deeper pleasure, an exquisite discriminaiton of human values." Along with her interest in the well known (she treats many more than the few mentioned here)she has a teasing regard for near greats and nobodies, whose seldom touched books rest in near oblivion. Of the memoirs of one, Laetitia Pilkington, she writes: "... the dust lies heavy on her tomb ... nobody has read her since early in the last century when a reader ... left off in the middle and marked her place with a faded list of goods and groceries." Nor is it just to have a chuckle that she looks at such relative unknowns, but to give us a look at their pained and frequently bereft lives. Laetitia Pilkington was badly used by men in her life. Woolf has a compassion for such women. You begin by wanting to like this woman who claims it's the common reader who makes or breaks an author. As you read on, you find yourself happily taken in and smiling at her wit, humor and insight.

George deF. Lord's excellent editing of Marvell's poems retains the spelling, capitalization, and italics of the Bodleian MS Folio, as well as the principles of styling and punctuation. The poems are carefully annotated, and organized in a most logical manner.

This book a compendium of papers presented at a college campus in Seattle in which the works and achievement of G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis were celebrated. Interesting reading for Lewis and Chesterton fans.

So I was getting ready to reread Don Quijote (1605)(Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616) in the excellent Burton Raffel translation and as I was looking for information about the book and author, saw repeated references to Fielding's Joseph Andrews. I'd read his Tom Jones a couple of years ago and found it kind of tough sledding, but when I stumbled upon this one at a library book sale for a quarter, it seemed a stroke of destiny.

The parallels with Don Quijote are readily apparent. First of all, the book consists of a series of humorous travel adventures; second, the travellers involved seem too innocent to survive in the harsh world that confronts them. When Joseph Andrews, the naive footman of Lady Booby, deflects the amorous advances of both her Ladyship and Slipslop, the Lady's servant, he is sent packing. Upon his dismissal, Joseph, along with his friend and mentor Parson Adams, an idealistic and good-hearted rural clergyman, who essentially takes the physical role of Sancho Panza but the moral role of Quijote, sets out to find his beloved but chaste enamorata, Fanny Goodwill, who had earlier been dismissed from Lady Booby's service as a result of Slipslop's jealousy. In their travels they are set upon repeatedly by robbers, continually run out of funds and Adams gets in numerous arguments, theological and otherwise. Meanwhile, Fanny, whom they meet up with along the way, is nearly raped any number of times and is eventually discovered to be Joseph's sister, or maybe not.. The whole thing concludes with a farcical night of musical beds, mistaken identities and astonishing revelations.

I've seen this referred to as the first modern novel; I'm not sure why, in light of it's obvious debt to Cervantes. But it does combine those quixotic elements with a seemingly accurate portrayal of 18th Century English manners and the central concern with identity and status do place it squarely in the modern tradition.

At any rate, it is very funny and, for whatever reason, seemed a much easier read than Tom Jones. I recommend it unreservedly.

GRADE: B+

Letter From an Empty Valley is comprised of essays, but the lyrical title hints at the poetry within the prose. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not only for its subject matter, but also especially for the author's writing style. Mr. Yale has a finely tuned sensibility toward differing cultures and is able to convey the subtlest nuances with sharp insight and wit. Emotions roil as you share details of daily habits - lives - ill served by the charge toward technology.

I would compare some of the underlying thoughts to Daniel Bell's modern classics "The End of Ideology" and "The Coming of Post Industrial Society," but find Letter From an Empty Valley more accessible. Bell makes a good argument; Yale makes good reading. And by that, he makes his point very well.

This is a book of passion. The love poems are not just will be read, but they will deeply touch your heart. Go for it. Enjoy reading this wonderful book by a natural lover who touched my heart.