Paris

This book was disturbingly dismal and sad. The hopelessness of the main character's addiction and the moral emptiness of those around him left me depressed. His obsession with a man whose love he will never have and the empty sex that fills his needs lead to an ever downward spiral of despair. This, however, is an interesting read. The translation is British English. Some of the slang may be initially problematic, but not impossible. This is definitely a more nihilistic version of "Trainspotting".

I stumbled upon "Smile" by accident, intrigued by its unusual topic of a young Parisian man of Moroccan origins. Despite the fact that the main character is a fully acculturated Frenchman and a graduate student of literature at a university in Paris, he is a victim of traditional French prejudice and xenophobia. The depiction of racism against Arabs in France is alarming and vivid, urging readers to reevaluate racial stereotypes. The young student's racial alienation; however, is only a part of his isolation. The plot that ensues as he struggles to write of his life and to come to terms with his identity, family and future also confronts the predicament of being an artist in an insenstive world. I had some complaints with the translation, but the overall message of the novel was not lost. Smile is a beautiful, powerful and memorable story that I highly recommend.

i read this book for my history class(i am a college student) on european cultural/intellectual history. The author provides you with amazingingly creative and sharp insights on how visual images played a vital role in constructing a new modern metropolitan culture in the late nineteenth century Paris. It is not a book that just rambles about what's "cool" about Paris unlike many other books; it offers a very convincing and methodical explanation and observation on French culture at the trun of the century. If you love Paris, READ THIS BOOK!

I really enjoyed this book about Hilda Louise. It makes you want to read more, to find out what happened to her parents in the Alps. To find out the ending, read the book!

Callaghan met Hemingway when they both worked for the Toronto Star. Hemingway wnet to Paris and Callaghan did too, in 1929. This book tells what Callaghan did, besides write. He doesn't say much about his writing but tells of his times with Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, and others. It is not too momentous, but it throws another light on what Samuel Putnam had to say in his 1947 book Paris Was Our Mistress. 1929 was an idyllic time for Callaghan and the other Americans in Paris, tho I am not sure they knew it.

Excellent book. All about a womans journey back in time to when she lived through the 1968 Revolution in France as an exchange student. Things have changed so much..or are they the same? This book is not about the 1968 political scene nor is it about paris. It is about a woman. It is about her life, and how some people grew beyond the revolution and some didnt. The background is paris, and the setting is the revolution. A must read for all those interested in the counter culture, 1968 Political scene at the Sorbonne University, Paris. A must read for anyone who wants to be taken on a trip.

this is a very nice book. the design is not that great, but otherwise it is great. the art and pictures are very nice. the book was published in 93 so it shows a lot of earlier work by this very important artist. essays by baraka and mcevilley are insightful and should be read by anyone interested in art, black culture, or the politics of art and race. dial is in the 2000 whitney biennial, and this book makes you wonder why he wasn't in it earlier. the titles of the works alone make this worth reading. another book of note very much worth reading is souls grown deep: african american vernacular art of the south, published by tinwood books.

i am thinking that locklin is a genius. he sets up scenes with little color or detail. rather, he sets us and jimmy abbey up with an uncanny wit. the first time he saw paris is a very quick and enjoyable read. regarding waiting for my baby--waiting for it to end. locklin wins.

Jenell Paris and Margot Eyring have prepared a most useful tool for those involved in missional efforts, whether leader or participant. Urban Disciples is a workbook for persons or teams participating in, or planning on engaging in, urban mission experiences. The content is adaptable for various kinds of missions groups, including, as listed by the authors, "church Bible study groups, college ministry groups, small groups, cell groups, urban plunge programs, short-term mission projects, urban ministry courses at seminaries and colleges, and people in the first years of long-term ministry."

The book consists of twenty-four lessons or sessions in five units. The units cover the themes: Beginnings, Learning and Ministering in the City, Growing in Faith, Building Community Together, Endings. There is no substantive content in either the units or the lessons that would help the reader shape a theology of missions, or to discover a biblical basis for missions. Rather, the book provides a more experiential approach to engaging in theological reflection on the experience of urban mission experiences. Each lesson or session moves the reader from scripture to life application with an additional emphasis on a prayer activity. A "Digging Deeper" section gives readers and leaders ideas for additional learning activities. Several of the learning activities are quite creative and imaginative and provide for excellent ways to engage missions participants to learn meaningful lessons through activities, questions, dialogue and interaction with their mission environment. An underlying assumption in the book is that to engage in missions means that one will not so much change the mission field and others, but that one will be changed through the experience. The structure of the learning experiences goes a long way to ensure that that insight is not lost on the participants.

The book includes seven appendices, some potentially more helpful than others. The reviewer found "Appendix B: Important Contacts", for example, to be superfluous (one cannot imagine that someone away from home for an extended period of time would not take along a Daytimer or Palm Pilot with a list of "important contacts"). By contrast the appendices on "Learning from Important People and Places," "Visiting a New Church," and "Personal and Corporate Spiritual Disciplines," are succinct but substantive.

Urban Disciples is, overall, and excellent and much-needed resource for churches and missioner-sending agencies or groups. It provides a model for what is most lacking in the missions engagement experience: a structured and intentional approach to theological reflection on the meaning of the missions engagement experience.

A review of The Voice of Aliette Nouvelle

This book is an interesting variation on the basic detective story. It is quietly paced, more of a psychological puzzle than an action-oriented mystery. I think that is part of the point: This book is gently funny in the way it portrays macho men who dream of action with a capital "A".

As a female character, Inspector Aliette Nouvelle is engaging and believable. She is 35, single. She is doing well at her job. She is still looking for answers in her personal life. Her cat Piaf sits on the end of her bed as she sips a beer and reads alone at night. She uses the Billings Method of natural birth control to keep track of her body's rhythms which link her to the world. As a cop, Aliette has a way of "getting to" men, both colleagues and adversaries. (To say more would wreck the story.)

Inspector Nouvelle's assignment is to find a long-lost Public Enemy # 1. The story is set in an unnamed mid-sized city in present-day France. The author, who is from Canada, puts in enough authentic local color to let us feel the French environment - the Palace of Justice, shops in the dark, labyrinth-like streets of the Old City, the Vosges Mountains in the distance, a busy Rond-Point with a suave gendarme directing the daily flow of traffic.

My only problem was waiting for this story to become the usual kind of cop story. Once I accepted Aliette's way of doing it, I enjoyed it. The conclusion conveys some useful meaning in today's violence-prone world. I would be interested in reading another Inspector Aliette Nouvelle story from this writer.