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A must read for those from dysfunctional homes
I loved this book
essential

Making the 20th century speak with Dante's tongue
Trying to capture the REAL in a net of words and imagesThe "Bhagavad Gita" heavily influenced Eliot at this time, and you can see references both to the players (Arjuna and Krishna) and ideas of that text in each of the poems contained in "Four Quartets" (in much the same way as "The Golden Bough" informed "The Waste Lands"). Indeed, the entire book feels decidely Eastern (with every statement being balanced somewhere by it's complimentary didatic-opposite), or at least of the Classical, if any, Western period (the cyclical nature of both the ideas and the structure of the poems feels like a Zoraster or Golden Dawn, see Yeats' "Second Coming" or "Sailing To Byzantium", manuscript).
All of this is just to say, these poems cover a lot of mythical and actual ground. They may not appear as lush and vibrant on first reading as, say, "The Waste Lands"- but this is only due to thier precision and conciseness ("The Waste Lands", although a wonderful piece, being more of a sculpture than a poem, with whole segments being dropped, moved, added, rewritten, tweaked and recalibrated numerous times by two people other than Eliot over a span of decades). These meditations are firmly planted in place (each pieces name coming from a place) and time ("And yet, they call this Good Friday" [paraphrasing]); and, with his life drawing to a close, they are focused, as well, upon death.
Buy these poems and plant them in your breast. You'll be amazed at the tree that grows there.
Eliot's greatest and final poetic acheivementAfter two quotations from Heraclitus, "Burnt Norton" opens the collection. Here Eliot muses on the idea that all possible outcomes of any event are secretly around us, unseen and unperceived. An empty pool is, in some other reality, filled with water and a blooming lotus. Eliot's metaphysical insight here is reminiscent of quantum theory that was then beginning to become the rage in physics circles. These speculations are tricky and difficult to get one's head around, and even more difficult to plainly put into words, but Eliot manages to succeed.
"East Coker", named after the town in England from where Eliot's Puritan ancestor emigrated to America, deals with the cyclical nature of time. Here the poet surveys the tendency for all earthly things to rise and ultimately fall. Christianity with its emphasis on eternal life, asserts Eliot, promises a way to change one's end to one's beginning and escape the fall into oblivion that dooms everything.
"The Dry Salvages", in reference to a place on the New England shore which Eliot visited as a youth, is the weak point of the collection. A rumination with a nautical theme, the poem suffers from meandering phrasing and peculiar wording. Its Marian devotion is inconsistent with the Puritan/Anglican tradition of the rest of FOUR QUARTETS. Most would attack "The Dry Salvages" for its oft-maligned line "I sometimes wonder if this is what Krishna meant", seen by some as overly haugty intellectualism. I think this is unfair, and in fact the section which that line begins is the one bit that redeems the poem. Eliot's Harvard education, where he first became familiar with Eastern thought, was 30 years in the past, but the subject still preoccupied him in this poem.
"Little Gidding" superbly ends FOUR QUARTETS. It was written in the height of the Blitz, a time of fear and doubt in England, but it counters Hitler's madness with a note of hope and spiritual triumph. Eliot calls back to an earlier conflict, England's Civil War, and seeks any lesson it might teach his generation. "The communication of the dead," he writes, "is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living." As the poem ends, he has acheived inner peace in a time of pandemonium, through the realisation that the pain of the present is escapable by reaching to the past - what poets have done before - and the future - what is still left to be written.
FOUR QUARTETS is a complicated and vast work. While not as full of obvious quotations as his earlier, more popular work "The Waste Land", it does work in inspiration and material from Christian thinkers such as St. John of the Cross and Julian of Norwich, and contains many illusions to 17th century England. As a result, the work is incredibly deep and one can find something new with each reading. But FOUR QUARTETS is also an entertaining work for the casual reader. A combination of smooth and engaging sound with the great themes of all time is a remarkable combination. Eliot's greatest work, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it.

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strong crime thrillerShe talks Montana Bob down but he suddenly dies in the hospital. Maggie wonders if somebody killed him after he told her the names of three other people. When she seeks the trio, she learns that the two gangbangers and the pediophile also died in her hospital where she works as a trauma nurse. Maggie starts collecting evidence involving a silent conspiracy between people she knows in the hospital and the police department. She just has to figure out where to deliver her information to before she is killed or framed for murder.
It has been too many years since a crime thriller from Eileen Dreyer was released, but WITH A VENGEANCE is well worth the wait. The heroine is an admirable person with a subtle sense of humor who lives in perpetual crisis mode that would break many people, but she thrives on it. Her decision to root out the perpetrators knowing she will be shunned by her peers or killed is courageous but she still willingly pays the price. This is a first rate action packed medical thriller on a par with Robin Cook.
Harriet Klausner
Wild roller coaster ride of a thrillerThen Maggie discovers that someone is killing the bad guys - cleaning out the gene pool. Drunk drivers, gang-members, and abusive fathers are ending dead from non-life threatening injuries. Nobody seems to notice except Maggie and she needs proof that her suspicions are real. She no one to turn to - because the killer has to be one of her friends. What Maggie doesn't know is that the killer knows that she is investigating the deaths.
Maggie is a great character - she is smart, mouthy, and caring. The ER scenes and SWAT team deployments are grippingly real. The story is exciting and taut.
This is Eileen Dreyer's first book in a while. It's been worth the wait - but I hope the next one comes out sooner.
Thrilling SuspenseWith her latest thrilling suspense novel, author Eileen Dreyer has reached a new high. Fascinating characters, intense emotion, and gritty medical and police detail combine for a powerful page-turner, although sometimes I had to put it down because it was overwhelming. Sometimes I had to take a break just to remind myself that I wasn't sweltering in a St. Louis summer with Maggie. But I always came back, and the ultra-satifying ending made me glad I did. I hope to see Maggie O'Brien in future books--there's a lot yet to be mined from her character.

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Days and Spragues -- The Next Generation
A timeless historical series you'll read and reread!
A Book You Will Read Over & Over

This book tells about the difficulties of being lost at sea!
This is REAL "Survivor"!!!By the way - with the 30th anniversary of the Robertson family's disaster looming - does anyone know what ultimately happened to them?
NOTE 4/30/03 - After writing my original review, I was directed to the Robertson family website to learn the family's fate. Their daughter, who left the voyage in Miami and was not on board when the boat was sunk, is the web-mistress for the site, and was very gracious in e-correspondence when I sought details about her parents' later years. As stated in another review, Dougal Robertson passed away in 1992, aged 68, his wife Lyn following in 1998.
outstandingDougal Robertson's account of the adventure is gripping, at sometimes understated and brutally honest. Robertson was probably not an easy man to get along with but his indomitability, his command presence and force of will, coupled with his wife's emotional strength, got their family through. It is a tremendous story of leadership under the most extreme circumstances.
While looking up information on the Robertsons I was happy to find their own website, ... but was saddened to read that both Dougal and Lyn Robertson have since passed away. One of their twin sons however is preparing to embark on a round-the-world cruise with his own family soon.


A Regency from an expertLord Darracott conceives the idea that the best thing to do with his heir, a Yorkshire weaver's brat, is to marry him off to his grandaughter Anthea so that she might take him in hand. Major Hugo Darracott is best described as a wolf in sheep's clothing with a wicked sense of humour. I personally enjoyed the Yorkshire dialect and the descriptions of Hugo being taken in hand.
Georette Heyer wrote both regencies and detective stories, if you haven't read the Regencies they are worth reading. It is interesting to use Geogette Heyer as a reference point sometimes when comparing the works of more modern writers.
An entertaining tale of misconceptions and mystery.Received by his relations, this "unlettered rustic" decides to see how far he can take their preconceptions.
The romance? Well, how romantic to be ordered by your grandfather to marry your cousin to get both of you off his hands before you can cause any embarrassment.
This one is pure Heyer, funny, witty, great dialogue, and clever twists abound. Her mystery writing skills are prominently displayed as well. A terrific cast of characters rounds out a satisfyingly robust plot.
Wit, Romance, Ghosts & Crime -Another Georgette Heyer WinnerLord Darricott calls his entire family together at his estate, Darricott Place, on the border between Kent and Sussex. His son, two daughters-in law, three grandsons and a granddaughter, are all present when he informs them that they are to prepare for a visit from his new heir within the week. Lord Darricott's son and former heir had been recently killed in a boating accident and Darricott has had the unfortunate duty of recognizing the grandson he has never met, who will inherit the title and all his worldly goods upon his own demise. Hugh Darricott, the new and recent heir, had been raised in the North country, far away from the family seat, and now, in his mid-thirties has left the military with the rank of major. Hugh's father was disowned by the family patriarch after marrying a common weaver, and never seen by the family since. Lord Darricott, who rules his clan with an iron fist, except for granddaughter Anthea, who fears him not at all, has made plans that Hugh is to be schooled in the ways of a gentleman by his cousins. He also plans for Hugh to eventually marry Anthea, to prevent him from making an unsuitable match like his father did. The family, forming all kinds of stereotypical ideas about this base born cousin, is prejudiced against him before he arrives on the scene. And he is the last man Anthea wishes to marry.
Hugh arrives and, finding the group predisposed to dislike him, puts them on and plays the country bumpkin. He discovers each family member's weaknesses and strengths, their characters, and comes to know each of them, perhaps, better than they know each other. Hugh Darricott is much more intelligent and adept than the family gives him credit for and manages to uncover some family secrets, a ghost or two, and a crime in the making. He also finds the way to Anthea's heart, not to mention into his grandfather's and the rest of the group's good graces.
As always Ms. Heyer's humor is delightful, as are her characters. Hugh Darricott makes a wonderful hero as he bumbles along, so sure of his own intelligence and common sense that he is not at all embarrassed to play the clown in order to become better acquainted with his family, without intimidating them. His courtship of Althea is funny, romantic and endearing. His solutions to the many problems that confront his relatives are unusual and creative. This is a wonderful story, beautifully told - one of Georgette Heyer's best. I highly recommend it.
JANA

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ONE OF THE FINESTThe plot keeps us guessing through a wild ride of surprises that do not stop, not even in the final pages. James' characters are always fully and well drawn, but here she really outdoes herself. From the title character, Cordelia Gray, the sole owner (against her will) of a detective agency, to every suspect, to the police superintendent (James' already famous Adam Dalgliesh) to those "minor" characters who help Gray "solve" (if "solve" is the correct word) this heinous crime and who appear in only one chapter. They are all human beings, complicated and not easily categorized, nor judged. Even the "well brought-up gentleman," Mark Callender, whose suicide Gray is hired to investigate, is as complex a character you'll find in any work of modern fiction, although we never really meet him since he is dead weeks before the novel begins.
Gray's empathy with people in trouble, her desire to do right by her client and by the dead man with whom she has no previous history, her knowledge of what is good & moral and what is not all combine to make her a fascinating protagonist. And sadly, very much like the detective Dana Andrews played in the brilliant film noir, "Laura," Gray falls in love with the man whose death she is looking into. I want very much to read the other novels of James in which she appears. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Detective Writing at its Best
Cordelia, I do wish we had moreIn the course of "Unsuitable" and a companion book "The Skull Beneath the Skin," Ms. James produces one of the great characters of detective fiction. Lacking very little professional experience, Cordelia uses instinct, a sharp mind and surprising courage to unravel the truth to murders that on the surface seem so obviously solvable.
It is not until the conclusion of the "Unsuitable" case that Dalgliesh shows up to clear away some of the messy details, but its clearly Cordelia's story that Ms. James is focused upon.
Read this book, and then immediate procure "Skull," the far superior book in the very short two-book series. In my mind, they both are far better written, more exciting than any of the Dalgliesh series (I can't believe I am saying that - that's like saying an orange is better than an apple).
Ms. James never returns to Cordelia, other than a couple of brief mentions in later Dalgliesh stories. Once, she sends Dalgliesh flowers and a short note while he is recovering from an illness, and there is a slight hint of romantic interest - moreso on her part than perhaps on the continual mourning Dalgliesh.
About a year ago, Ms. James was in my hometown promoting her autobiography (a nice read, but not particularly well put together). Numerous questions were posed regarding Cordelia. Her response was that she is constantly amazed how popular a character is Cordelia, and admits that yes, SHE too loved her. But, she said, Dalgliesh pulled her back. I personally asked her during the book autographing stage whether Cordelia any chance of reappearing. Keeping in mind that Ms. James is well into her 80s, it was probably a silly question. But she said she had considered it, but that she made an awful mistake. She said she had "inexplicably sold Cordelia" to the BBC, who had promised her that when dramatizing "Unsuitable" and "Skull," they would keep the character true to the book. They did so until the actress portraying her came up pregnant during filming, so they wrote into it that Cordelia was also pregnant from a liason with a lover that she no longer was seeing. Anyone who has read and loved these books know that that would have been totally out of character for Cordelia. Ms. James said she was so angry that she traveled the book circuit saying Cordelia of the BBC was NOT the Cordelia of her two books. Unfortunately, she said, "I don't know how I can bring her back onto the pages. She's dead to me now."
So read the books, but never no never go near the televised series. Cordelia is very much alive in these pages, and you will be ever so glad.


PowerfulI was blown away when I read this book. Sigmund Brouwer weaves a fictitious story around the real events of the Bible seamlessly. And his account of the Bible story is eye opening. While fictitious, it made me look at the people involved in a different light. I have a new understanding of what Jesus did for all of us because of it.
I also read Sigmund Brouwer's THE CARPENTER'S CLOTH at the same time. There are some overlapping passages between the two books, but both are well worth a read and include material not in the other.
I highly recommend this account of Jesus' last week.
look at Jesus¿ last days from the perspective of an outsiderSimeon travels to Jerusalem on business with an old friend. This enables him to observe the controversy over the teacher Jesus. He finds comfort and even hope in the words and teachings by example of Jesus, but also fears for the life of the kind hearted soul as the Roman and Jewish religious and secular leaders press the masses to support the death of Jesus. When he learns of the resurrection, Simeon has to see for himself for if Jesus can rise from the dead and forgive those who killed him surely he can continue to seek forgiveness and a second chance from his wife and daughter.
This is a deep look at Jesus' last days from the perspective of Simeon, an individual who believes that he deserves to die for what he did to his family. The age comes to life mostly through Simeon's depressed eyes though readers will wonder how Jesus feels especially since the release of the Gibson film. Sigmund Brouwer stays with his main theme of one lonely depressed soul's efforts for redemption from his family may come because of the light Jesus shines on him and others in first century Jerusalem.
Harriet Klausner


A Lifelong Influence
The dream everyone dreams is lost and found here...
Inspiring and elegantly written
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pretty funny
Pat McManus....outdoor humor champion
outragusly funny