literature

Oh, yes! Change is indeed the topic debated throughout Neil Gaimans masterpiece volume in the highly thought-stimulating saga of the Dreamlord. It is the book that sees Gaiman making his main character emotionally vulnerable (whereas "Preludes & Nocturnes" portrayed his "physical" weakness), thus more human in action, thought and word. By doing this Gaiman's genious sends this fascinating, somewhat inexplicable dark and mute, "human" incarnation of dreams from the rather easily awoken sense of a "sympathetic" prothagonist in action, to the empathetic core of our hearts. His clumsy approach at establishing a dialogue with the elf-housemaid Nuala on his return to the dreamcastle, stands out as proof of change - actions and reactions within this brief conversation bear witness to the Dreamlords waking will to take other beings welfare into consideration, within the limits of all realms.

The turning points are, due to the non-linear narrative, generally spread out through most of the volumes of the Sandman story, but to me the ultimate change of the storyline occurs as Morpheus initiates a final rendez-vous with his human son, as described in this wonderful, and not least powerful, collection of beautiful stories. In short a powerful set of thoughts on the nature of "the word for things not being the same always".

The presence of the Almighty is felt briefly through actions, beyond the control of even the Endless Seven, and dialogues reflecting an inevitable masterplan that will seal the fate of Morpheus as we have come to know him.

I have a soft spot of the Kindly Ones because that was my introduction to Neil Gaiman (I had read about him in Wizard, the monthly bible of the comic book world, but I was young, and stupid, and my ignorance kept me away from revelation), and for The Wake because Micheal Zulli's pencils are exquisite - but whenever I _need_ exactly what it is the Sandman has to offer I turn to Brief Lives.

It's the distilliation - the essence - of what Sandman is about. Some might argue that Fables and Reflections or even Dream Country would be a better representative, a series of stunning vignettes whose swirling, mythic and dream like quality (I'm thinking of the fabulous Ramadan story) are about horror, fate, the depths of humanity and all that good stuff in the great traditions of fire-side story tellers.

But Brief Lives is something even better.

As Mikal Gilmore noted in his introduction to the graphic novel edition of The Wake, one of the seminal joys of the Sandman is hearing Gaiman's voice grow clearer with each passing issue. The progression from "The Sleep of the Just" to "The Tempest" is an astounding one; watching him grow makes any burgeoning and would-be writer both jealous and elated. The entire idea of the Sandman was revolutionary and different and pregnant with greatness (yes, a dangerous term, but applicable) - but it wasn't until Brief Lives that we _really_ saw what this thing could be capable of. Some argue that point occurred in "The Sound of Her Wings" in the first story arc, or perhaps Seasons of Mists, but _anyone_ who has read Brief Lives understands the truth....

This story is breathtaking. It's a romp. It's a ride. It blows you away, grabs you, throws you down forever into the endless sky with a wild rush of words and images (the matching of Jill Thompson to this story is once more pure genius), it picks up a fatal and final inertia that doesn't slow down until the final page is turned - that is, the final page of the last issue of the series. It's from this point that the story picks up speed and urgency. Everything revolves around the central act of kindness that concludes Brief Lives, and all the tragedy and death and destruction and redemption that occur later on are merely a reflection of that single act.

This is _the_ story. Everything before was technically brilliant, possessed of a fresh and blindingly new verve that the comic books medium hadn't seen in quite some time - but it was somehow _distant_. Brief Lives is full of a passionate proximity, a feeling of the here and now, a sense of both the confusion of every day life and miraculously together with that, the grand rush of scope. This is where Gaiman gets his chops.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's got a winding, willowy wisdom (how's that for alliteration?) that stays with you beyond the waking realms, the kind of gift you return to as the years pass by, something that grows with you as oppossed to on you. Each time I read it I read something new and fresh, and each time I read it I never fail to be moved and inspired.

Brief Lives is what it's all about. Peter Straub couldn't have said it any better when he wrote in his afterword....

"If this isn't literature, nothing is."

I am steadily working my way through the entire series, in rough chronlogical order, and I must say that I am most impressed with 'Brief Lives'.

The artwork is varied, humourous and colourful, yet unintrusive. The oddly charming character of Delirum is truly fascinating and Dream is finally revealed to have somewhat of a soft side. Additionally, it has the coherance the earlier volumes lack.

'Brief Lives' returns to or introduces a staggering amount of characters. One must admire the manner in which Gaiman introduces 'brief lives' of new characters, and later disposes of them, yet tells us just enough to build our affections. This is particularly evident in this member of the series. For example, the character of Isatar is meerly alluded to, and yet her wisdom, dance sequence (and the change in the artwork) is delightful. As is the devoted cynicism of Destruction's dog.

While it may not be the best introduction to Sandman, it is certainly one to look forward to while reading the earlier editions.

Margaret Mahy's book is an unusual take on the juvenile magic-user theme. It takes place in New Zealand, in a single-parent home. Laura Chant lives with her divorced mother, and her toddler brother. Nothing is entirely reliable in Laura's world, certainly not her slightly flaky mother, their extremely flaky car, and especially the surrounding landscape, being transformed from forest and farm into a new subdivision.

Chant, perfectly named, can sense things that others can't. She can sense that her brother's rapid descent into illness is supernatural, and that it is linked to the boy's unfortunate contact with the also perfectly named Carmody Braque. She also can sense that the mysterious prefect at her school, an older boy named Sorensen Carlisle, is a "witch" and that he may hold the only key to healing her brother.

Sorry, as he's called, is one of those magnificent characters, the enigmatic boy who shows all the signs of being a proto-romance hero. But here, he's young, sly, and not above using his advantage over Laura. Mahy writes Laura as a strong character, and watching her handle Sorry is a lot of fun.

This novel is full of brooding atmosphere but with a great contemporary setting. Mahy's protagonist carries her weight, but everyone else is equally nuanced and fascinating. The book calls itself a romance, but I've never read an adult romance filled with such menacing ambiguity.

As a teenager, I first saw The Changeover in the pages of a book club catalogue and I was drawn to it by the promise of a "supernatural romance" (two of my favorite topics in one book!). Once I actually read this book, I fell in love with it and have dragged it out of the old bookcase many times since. Until recently, I hadn't read The Changeover in quite some time. Now, armed with an English degree and an irrepressible need to over-analyze every piece of writing, I am EVEN MORE IMPRESSED! Laura, as a "sensitive", is standing on the threshold between two worlds, caught between the life she has always known as a mere mortal and the promise of a new, powerful existence as a witch. However, as a teenager, Laura is also on the verge of adulthood, waiting to enter a world that is just as foreign and mysterious to her as that of the supernatural. This parallel in the story beautifully expresses how becoming a woman is, in effect, like becoming a witch. The Changeover is not just about one girl who crosses over to a world of magic. It represents the changeover that ALL girls make on their journey to womanhood and, in so doing, attain their full potential and power as a human being (as well as a little "magic"). This is an excellent message for young women, and it is even more impressive for its subtlety.

I first read this book years ago and cannot forget it. The authors portrayal of the supernatural weaving it's way into everyday life is wonderful and seems so realistic. Her characters are amazing too. There is nothing superficial about these people or this book. I will be reading this book over and over, likely for the rest of my life.

This is a wonderful collection of short stories which relates in vivid detail the author's passionate love for his Caribbean homeland and the people with whom he shared his formative years. The book is overflowing with the vignettes of life that transcend time, space, language, culture, religion and politics. Intervwoven in these colorful, humorous and sometimes very sad stories are the parallel journeys of a young man and a very historical island as both try on a cloak of independence. These stories were a welcome party to me as a newcomer to Dominica (Village of Bourne) in addition to introducing me to the cultural and historical heritage of this breathtakingly beautiful island and the magnanimous people who reside here.

Excellent! Excellent literary work, Gabo brings home all that is truly island happenings. A must read for all Caribbean peoples and a gift of love to their entire family. Rain on a Tin Roof evokes all the memories of growing up in the islands, a story of family love,trials and triumphs so vividly portrayed. An unpretentious and riviting portrayal of island politics , culture and traditions that make every page come alive and leave you wanting more.The reader is transported back in time. As you leaf through the pages you laugh and cry and hold your breath as you are overcome with nostalgia brought on by memories of the good old days. For those who have not visited Dominica this book is home, the experiences are real. Simply put this should make the best sellers and the Opra book club list.

This book happens to be one of the books I would recommend for clean enjoyment. It was full of laughs and brought back fond memories. Gabo, you are the best, your work is superb and will be enjoyed by all ages. This is now in my home libray, in my family and friends possession as well, and my children are enjoying reading some cultural memories of their parents. I read "Rain on a tin roof" several nights in wintry England when there was "Snow on a slate roof". This book brought warmth to my heart and soul and brightened dark sprits . I enjoyed every bite of this book. Gabo, you are a fantastic writer and thinker, your imagination and memories is a cut above the rest. PLEASE, PLEASE on behalf of myself and my children, we are pleading we want more of this stuff. You are the best. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

TIME WINDOWS by Kathryn Reiss had an intricate plot, a great deal of suspense, dashes of humor and took a little too much work to figure out. However, Ms.. Reiss definitely wove a story that was worth reading. A kind of original book, the main plot is a girl who moves into a cursed house finds a dollhouse that replays scenes through its windows of people who lived in the house before her. Soon her own "Mither" (weird) is acting like the women in the scenes from the doll house and getting touchier, meaner and more hostile. Miranda solves the mystery behind the evil that is exerted over all the women along with a boy across the street and as she changes the past, she also changes the future. A good read, fascinating for people who like to think. For someone who just wants to read a book and not have to stop, turn back a few pages, and get a headache, this book is a no-no. I rate it a 4 out of 5. Ms. Reiss deserves it.

I Love reading it is a passion of mine! When I read a book even if I like it alot, I have a hard time reading it again. I tend to skip parts and I don't enjoy it that much cause I know what is going to happen. I have read this book two times and I'm in the middle of the third. It has not yet ceased to grab my fears, curiosities, and emotions. I love this book. I get lost in it and have a hard time not losing myself totaly! Like Miranda I fell it calling to me though in her case the mysteries of the enchanted dollhouse had her wrapped up and lost. For those who have not read this book Buy it or check it out. Anyone would like this book. Kathrine Reiss has a amazing talent. I intend to look for more novels written by her. This book may be on the reading level of 9-12 years of age, but I'm 14 and can guarantee would capture the attention of all ages young and old!!!!!

Thirteen-year-old Miranda Browne is moving with her parents from a cramped New York apartment to an old house in a small Massachusetts town. As her family settles in, she finds a beautiful miniature version of her house in the attic. But this is no ordinary dollhouse - it has a secret magic to it that only Miranda can witness. And through the dollhouse's secret, she learns of her own house's secret tragic history. Let me tell you, once I came to the part where Miranda finds out about the dollhouse's magic, I wouldn't put the book down - not even for a dentist appointment. Eh heh heh...

Anyway, this is a wonderfully complex tale of transcending time and changing the past. Indeed, to fully enjoy this story you must pay full attention to it and don't skim, like I habitually do, if you don't want to keep flipping back a few pages to recap what has happened.

Miranda is a believable character, and Ms. Reiss has done a marvelous job of relaying her thoughts and feelings. The reader feels as if he/she IS Miranda, and is impatient to learn the whole story of her house. The other characters, such as her parents and new friend Dan Hooton, are strong as well, and Miranda's interactions with them aren't the typical bland personality-lacking conversations you sometimes read. You can actually relate to these interactions and the characters.

Overall, Time Windows is an excellent book, brilliantly written and captivating. If you are a fan of sci-fi or fantasy, you will definitely enjoy the book. Heck, if you're anybody old enough to appreciate this kind of literature, you'll enjoy it.

Kafka was perhaps the greatest writer ever to live and this volume shows it. Every story, even every sketch of an idea that Kafka wrote down comes filled with brilliant emotions and deep meaning conveyed through simple and serious language. Shakespeare has none of the lyrical abilities of Kafka, and Homer could only dream of equaling Kafka's mastery of plot. Kafka out-psychoanalyzed Freud, and wrote circles around Joyce. His stories seem modern even by today's standards, the things that haven't come true yet in his works I believe will eventually, while I don't believe him to be a prophet he certainly had a great understanding of humankind and knew where it was headed.

"A Country Doctor" is in my opinion the greatest short story ever written, a dark dream sequence with all kinds of slimy worms writhing beneath the surreal surface plot, sticking out through the rotted boards that Kafka puts down to allow us to see what we're standing over. "The Judgement," a purely perfect work of psychology, Kafka dipping deeper and hitting more nerves than in any of his other stories, giving us a picture of what it's like to be a genius controlled by a domineering, and a nonunderstanding father. And of course there are the smaller works from "Meditations," little snippets of images that flash through the mind, a kind of literary whispering in the ear while sitting in the dark. "The Burrow," another favorite, perhaps the most claustrophobic work of fiction ever conceived, the darkness of the tunnel affecting your mind for days.

Read this book, in it the greatest treasure a writer ever gave us shines, a golden nugget, hidden deep within a dark pool that seems unswimable. Take the swim, and I garantee that you will find the nugget. Ignoring Kafka is like denying yourself the best there is.

Kafka has to be the one of the most influential writers of the century, not just for his ability to capture the alienation and unreality of much of modern life but because his vision, which is simultaneously totally bizarre and strangely moving, freed writers to try more and more daring ways of expressing themselves. After all, if one can write a moving story about a man who wakes one morning to discover that he has been turned into a huge cockroach, what can't the writer do?

The impression left by these stories is all the more interesting when one realizes that Kafka wasn't a starving, drug or drink demented artist, but a minor clerk in a German insurance firm. A dull and orderly life. Of course, if you've ever worked for an insurance company Kafka's sense of unreality and alienation might seem natural.

These are unique and wonderful concoctions. Anyone who wonders what 'Kafkaesque' really means should take a peek into his world. These stories are the best place to start. Then on to The Trial for the full, gruely experience. Wonderfully horrible.

i've only read one of these buggers, which in my version is the first, DESCRIPTION OF A STRUGGLE. in it, a man walking down the street with an 'acquaintance' of his is drawn into a surreal dreamworld, where his acquaintance turns into a donkey, the storyteller commands the landscape to change, and a fat man is carried into a river and swept away. no doubt all of this has to do very directly with the unconscious mind, but i don't know tuppence about that. what i do know is it's absolutely brilliantly written, and putting the book down is like waking up from a beautiful nightmare. i strongly suggest that anyone with a few screws loose who isn't afraid to lose a few more pick up this book; it may even inspire you to write your own stuff, as it did for me.

In this fast-moving, funny book which is two in one, the Hatford boys try to get the Malloy girls to move back where they came from. Their friends, the Bensons, moved away and the Malloys moved in to their house. In The Boys Start the War, the boys and girls start pulling pranks on each other, each one more hilarious than the next! In The Girls Get Even, the two families try to outdo each other in Halloween costumes, until a surprising turn of events happen! This book is great!

The name of this book is The Boys Start the War/ The Girls Get Even by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This book is a really good book. The Hatford boys are playing tricks on their new neighbors the Malloy girls. Now the Malloys girls are really mad and have to get back at them. The Malloy girls are Eddie (whose real name is Edith Ann but hates it) 11 years old, Beth who is ten and Caroline who is eight, but is in third grade. The Hatford boy's names and ages are Josh and Jake who are 11 (they are twins.), Wally is nine and Peter who is seven. The Hatford boys and the Malloy girls are playing tons of tricks on each other. To find out what happens read The Boys Start the War/ The Girls Get Even.

This is really cool.It can be for 3-??yrs old.Pluse it takes places in my hometown Buckhannon,WV.The school they go to has beem turn into a building for 5-18 year olds,called Stockert Youth Center.The Mallory girls are really cool!!The Boys are trying to get the girls out of their old best friends house by playing tricks and being mean,and the girls try to show the boys the can't tear them away from Buckman wich really is Buckhannon.Read it!!Its cool!!

An experience of organic change can enter one's presence upon inner recognition (resonance) while reading, since the "Miraculous" is now as it always has been, yet is explained here in concise language representing a living tradition. Not a psychology, a religion, or a science, the in-the-moment practice outlined in text and diagrams, reaches our depths if upon our approach we open our minds, hearts, and the sensation of being in the moment while reading. A book to live by and refer to with renewed attention indefinitely.

An experience of organic change can enter one's presence upon inner recognition (resonance) while reading, since the "Miraculous" is now as it always has been, yet is explained here in concise language representing a living tradition. Not a psychology, a religion, or a science, the in-the-moment practice outlined in text and diagrams, reaches our depths if upon our approach we open our minds, hearts, and the sensation of being in the moment while reading. A book to live by and refer to with renewed attention indefinitely.

This is that once-in-a-lifetime book, the kind you'd like to find in that ancient, out-of-the-way used bookstore that you wish existed. Every chapter in this book, every page, unfolds a new enigma, and Ouspensky writes so well, like a master suspense novelist, that you find yourself drawn to read on no matter how unusual some of the teachings get. Indeed, some of the material in the book seems nonsensical--but if you're patient, the nonsense is immediately followed by a watershed of wisdom, wisdom of a kind I've never read before. Highly rewarding, rich with unique insight, I eagerly recommend this to any seeker of Truth who keeps an open mind.

Reading ISLANDIA is like visiting another country, one I would love to visit and might even consider living in. The world-building of Austin Tappan Wright drew me in and kept me entranced for 1000 pages. This is one of the very few novels that I revisit and reread, one of the few I've gone out looking for in a first edition. The characters are complex and endearing. The style is leisurely. There really is a plot, honest. But the book doesn't depend on the plot. It depends on the exploration of a different society and the interactions of its people with a young and naive American.

I had decided to write an amazon.com note about ISLANDIA before I saw that my name is on the "readers who bought ISLANDIA also bought books by..." list -- but the list made my day.

Vonda N. McIntyre

I could gush for pages and pages about this marvelous book, but the other reviews here can tell you pretty much everything you would want to know. I'm adding my comments as well to strongly urge you to purchase Islandia -- it's worth buying at any price.

For a month this summer I was a witness to life in the simple but beautiful nation of Islandia through the eyes of the protagonist, John Lang. He becomes friends with an Islandian native, Dorn, while at Harvard, and after graduation is appointed consul to Islandia. There he experiences a full life of romance, adventure, politics, intrigue, and the clash of two incompatible cultures. Ultimately he must decide what really matters in life.

The book's evocative descriptions of Islandia are all beautifully done. I found myself time and time again thinking that Islandia actually exists. The message is as striking as the descriptions of the nation, and the novel is worth reading for both. I can only echo others in saying that this has been for me more worthwhile reading than any of the books I was made to read in my high school English classes.

This is one of those rare great novels to keep and treasure. Buy it -- its worth is far greater than the pittance it will cost you. Your room has been prepared for you...

I found this book after reading about it in a essay by Ursula Le Guin. (The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed) You will not hear about it from your local bookstore, or from school, and until recently you would have had an extremely hard time even buying it. I found my copy 1942 HB (Tan) in a used bookstore for three dollars years ago and it never leaves my nightstand. I understand that there will be some who simply don't understand the allure of the uptopian book, and they would probally find it boring. The reviewer who found the author long winded would be amazed that only half the book acutually got published, over 1,000 pages were edited before the first printing.

It is one of the last elegant books, and the flavor of the early 20th century runs through it. It is a book that you can read to your children before bed, and too yourself anytime. It deserves shelf space next to Dickens and Tolkien. I cannot reccomend this book enough. Everyone should have a copy.

I had to read a good part of "The Decameron" last quarter and I have gone back to read more stories from it even though the Fall quarter is over. This is a great book: funny, entertaining, subtly revolutionary, insightful, and superbly well-written. Approach it without fear. It is a Classic, but it will have you laughing, thinking, and learning far better than any current best-seller. Anyone with an interest in journalism and/or history will profit from Boccaccio's Introduction, at the beginning of the First Day. His description of the Plague in Florence is vivid and gripping, and this eventually provides the background for the setting of the one hundred and one tales that seven young women and three young men will narrate in a villa away from the dying city. Also, the Introduction to the Fourth Day presents the reader with an unfinished, but hilarious story about a man who has been kept away from women. This story is what my teacher called the 101st, and I have to agree with her.

Do not think that all "The Decameron" deals with is sex. The mostly illicit sexual encounters depicted are some times funny, sometimes sad, but they share a common trait with the stories from the Tenth Day, for example (these ones are mostly about sacrifice, abnegation, and servitude), or with those of the Second: Boccaccio's concern for his society and the terrible tensions that had reached a breaking point by the 14th century. The Plague, in Boccaccio's universe, acts as a catalyst of emotions, desires, and changes that had to come.

Read, then, about Alibech putting the Devil back in Hell, Lisabetta and her pot of basil, Ser Ceperello and his "saintly" life, Griselda and her incredible loyalty in spite of the suffering at the hands of a God-like husband, Tancredi and his disturbing love for his daughter, Masetto and the new kind of society he helps create with some less-than-religious nuns, and then it will be easier to understand why Boccaccio is so popular after 650 years. And although it may be skipped by most readers, do not miss the Translator's (G. M. McWilliam) introduction on the history of "The Decameron" proper, and that of its many, and mostly unfortunate, translations into English. This book is one of the wisest, most economic ways of obtaining entertainment and culture. Do not miss it.

It seems almost redundant that I bother to rate this with yet another 5-star review (especially since I didn't buy it from Amazon-- Sshhhh, don't tell anyone), but this is one of the books that changed my life.

As a mind struggling to repair the damage caused by the American education system, I set out to follow other curriculums from times when learning was actually valued. Since many of the so-called "classics" American students today are forced to read in school are thinly-disguised socialist propaganda, I chose to look to much earlier times. I picked up The Decameron by chance, having remembered it from an off-hand statement a high school history teacher had made once. The book had everything, exalting adventure, romance, heroism, virtue, and other things I had been taught were subjective and dangerous. I found it the most refined and tastefully deviant book I had ever read and I have never been able to understand why students are not exposed to it as the basis for the study of literature.

Boccaccio's stories (told one per day, by each of the ten characters over ten days) give great insight into the midieval paradigm while poking fun at its obvious problems. The tales cover the whole of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor, which was very unique for their time. The rolls of heroes involve characters of every culture, race, religion, and background in the known world-- something unheard of before this book. Boccaccio's great love and understanding of women also shines through, the expression of which tops the list of reasons as to why he was exiled from Florence! Most of the stories are based on actual people and events, though the author takes a great deal of artistic license in some cases. A great many little-known facts can be learned by reading the historical notes (one reason why I chose the Penguin Classic version). Boccaccio surpasses every other man of letters (before him or since) in ability and creativity and will no doubt do so for centuries to come.

'The Decameron' is a fascinating example of classic literature that remains fresh and entertaining today. Written in the mid-14th century, it concerns the first major outbreak of the black plague in Europe, which first emerged in Italy in approximately 1347. Boccaccio begins, in the prologue, by stating his purpose for writing the book - namely, to entertain literate women with nothing else to do with their time. The story itself concerns ten young Florentines (seven women - Pampinea, Filomena, Neifile, Fiammetta, Elissa, Lauretta, and Emilia; and three men - Panfilo, Dioneo, and Filostrato) who flee the city in hopes of escaping the plague. To occupy themselves during this time, they tell each other stories, with each person telling one story per day to make a total of 100 stories over the course of the entire book. At the beginning of the first day, Boccaccio provides an excellent and detailed description of the plague itself. The book ends with the refugees returning to their homes, and a closing epilogue from the author.

I very much enjoyed 'The Decameron.' It is interesting and easy to read. The characters in the various stories are ordinary people and this makes them seem very real. Many of them actually are based on real people. Some of the stories, too, are inspired by actual events, though not all. This particular edition is an excellent translation. It is very user-friendly while still retaining the 14th century 'feel' of it. I also liked the organization of the book, as it was always very easy to find a 'stopping place.' With some novels, it's hard to set them down, but since The Decameron is a collection of short stories, one can always stop at the end of any particular story and come back later.

Boccaccio claims that his goal in writing 'The Decameron' was to entertain and 'provide succour and diversion' (Prologue 3) to young women who are in love - presumably those whose love lives are not going well at the moment. He says he wishes to 'offer some solace' (Prologue 2) to these women, and also 'some useful advice' (Prologue 3). While this sounds like a noble aim on first glance, I have to wonder about his sincerity. A good many of the stories involve characters who go to rather immoral ends to achieve their aims, and I find it odd that such examples would be given in a book intended to instruct a young lady.

Nevertheless, the book is great fun to read. The stories are lively and colorful, and often quite humorous. It provides an excellent insight into the everyday lives of people during this time period. I will caution, however, that most of the stories involve sexuality in some way, and many revolved around it completely. If you are easily offended by bawdy humor, this may not be the book for you. Nearly all the characters of the various tales are sexually active, most with more than one partner. There are also homosexual and bisexual characters. Sexual infidelity is treated here as not only acceptable, but widely encouraged. Characters who cheat on their spouses regularly come out on top, while those that are cuckolded are laughed at and made to look like fools. The unfaithful partner is rewarded and the faithful one shamed and called a prude.

The one thing I do wish Boccaccio had talked more about is the ten people who were actually telling the stories. There are hints of Filostrato having a romantic interest in fellow-storyteller Filomena, but this is never followed up on, except to hint that Filomena is herself interested in someone else not of the company. I would like to know if anything more ever came of Filostrato's interest. I would also have liked to know more of what happened to the ten storytellers upon returning to Florence at the end of the book. Had the plague passed? What had happened to those they left behind? Did any of the ten themselves catch the plague? All of this is left out and I found the ending to be somewhat abrupt.

Perhaps most unclear to me, however, is how the ten were even able to flee the plague as they did. There is no talk of preparation, and it seems that they just dropped everything and left. The places they stayed were abandoned estates that they simply happened upon. Boccaccio says of the second place they stayed, 'she brought them [. . .] to a most beautiful and ornate palace. [. . .] They explored it from end to end and were filled with admiration for its spacious halls and well-kept, elegant rooms, which were equipped with everything they could possibly need, and they came to the conclusion that only a gentleman of the highest rank could have owned it' (Introduction, Third Day, 189). Why were places such as this abandoned? Had its owner/s died of plague? Or if the owners were not dead but had instead fled from the plague, why did they not take some of their things with them? Why was everything left in these places as if nothing was amiss? It all seems a bit unreal to me.

Overall the book is written very well for what it is - a collection of short stories. It is, however, lacking in character development. Most of the storytellers were very flat emotionally, and it would have been nice to see them fleshed out a little more. But in the context of a short story or group of short stories this lack of depth is more forgivable than it would be in a novel. With the exception of Dioneo, who seems to be the most creative and fun-loving of the ten, and Filostrato, who seems absorbed in moping and self-pity for much of the book (presumably over his unrequited interest in Filomena), I found it hard to distinguish one storyteller from another. But the focal point of the book is the stories themselves, and these are all highly entertaining. Though the frequent sexual references may make the book inappropriate for younger audiences, I would highly recommend it for any mature reader.

This book is one of the best in Christian literature. The main point the author brings across is that we can put all our trust in God and live in perfect peace knowing all is within God's abounding providence. I found it to be a blessing to read and I will probably read it over again and again in the future. It is full of spiritual insights and appeals to the mind as well as the heart. Hannah W. Smith maintains a victorious and glorious Christian life is not only attainable but God's purpose for us. Do yourself a big favour and read this book through. You will thank God afterwards.

Another great book is Brother Lawrence's "The Practice of the Presece of God". Both of them are life changing.

A remarkable first hand book that gives you insight in how to actually surrender yourself to the Lord, and how to fully come to know Him and experience Him in your heart. Through this you will find true peace in your soul. God is using Hannah Whitall Smith to deliver an important message. A must read for any Christian wanting to grow in their love relationship with Christ.

I highly recommend this book. I read it while stationed in Iraq and it encouraged me very much in that situation. It is thoroughly orthodox in its theology and praxis and has nothing to do with modern "psycho-babble" as one other reviewer mistakenly suggested. The book was written over 100 years ago. If it was written today the author most likely would use the term "joyful life" in the title rather than "happy life", but it's clear that her meaning is a happiness that comes from the Lord and is not based on circumstances (which nowadays we would probably call "joy"). Mrs. Smith's secrets to the happy/joyful Christian life are: surrendering all to the Lord, trusting implicitly in the Lord, and immediate obedience to Him. Hard to be more orthodox than that. She gives many anecdotal stories to help the reader understand how much God loves us and how surrender, trust, and obedience result in our abiding more deeply in Christ and consequently having joy in all circumstances.