literature

The specific edition I am reviewing is the Heffner addition which is a 300 page abridgement. I also own an unabridged edition but I have only read Heffner cover to cover. What is amazing about de Toqueville is how uncanny many of his observations are over a century and a half later. He accurately predicted in 1844 that the world's two great powers would be the United States and Russia. He aptly pointed out that Americans are a people who join associations and he is so right 156 years later. Although there are both religious extremists on both ends, ie fundamentalists and atheists, he was dead on that, as a whole, we are a religious society but that our religious views are moderate. De Toqueville shows how American characteristics evolved from democracy as opposed to the highly class structered societies of Europe. From de Tocqueville, it could have been predicted that pop culture, such as rock music etc, would develop in America because the lack of an aristocracy causes a less cultured taste in the arts. In a thousand and one different ways, I found myself marveling at how dead on de Toqueville was. Most controversially, those who argue that we have lost our liberties to a welfare state might well find support in de Toqueville. Here, 100 years before the New Deal, he forsaw that a strong central government would take away our liberties but in a manner much more benign than in a totalitarian government. There are certain liberties that Americans would willingly sacrifice for the common good. Critics of 20th century liberalism in the US might well point to this as an uncanny observation. By reading "Democracy in America," the reader understands what makes Americans tick. De Toquville was an astute observer of who we are as a people and should be read by all educated Americans.

I want to note that there are several editions of this great work and in deciding which to buy, be aware that each has a different translator. I feel Heffner's translation is slightly stilted but, he did such a wonderful job in editing this abridgement that it, nontheless, deserves 5 stars.

So many aspects of the deepest and most shallow in America are laid bare by a Frenchman who came to The States in 1835 to find for himself whether individuality, freedom and liberty could survive the dangers of equality and democracy. "[The nation] depends on [its people to determine] whether the principle of equality is to lead them to servitude or knowledge, to freedom or barbarism..." writes de Tocqueville. Perhaps, contrary to modern thought, only an outsider can so accurately assess a people. But de Tocqueville is eminently balanced, overall in favor (in my opinion) of what he saw, and thus dismissed in France upon his return.

He notes an American addiction to the practical rather than theoretical, a pragmatic concern, not for the lofty and perfect, but the quick and useful, with relentless ambition, feverish activity and unending quests for devices and shortcuts. Resulting from a requirement for survival on the frontier, these observations are the good, bad and ugly of our modern selves; Resourceful technocrats expanding comfort, health, safety or wealth by anyone with ingenuity and persistence; Our exchange of youth for old age in the workplace, improving our standard of living at the expense of our quality of life; America's shallow nature of thought, sealed up in sound-bites.

De Tocqueville finds in the sacred name of majority, a tyranny over the mind of Americans as oppressive and formidable as any other tyranny - arguably more so by virtue of its acceptance. Where monarchs failed to control thought, democracy succeeds. Opinion polls our politicians subscribe to have a power of conformity. "I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America," he writes. "It is as if the natural bond which unites the opinions of man to his tastes, and his actions to his principles is now broken..."

Of literature and art we see why so much pulp crowds the bookshelf and bamboozles fill our galleries; "Style will frequently be fantastic, incorrect, overburdened and loose - almost always vehement and bold. Authors will aim at rapidity of execution more than at perfection of detail... The object of authors will be to astonish rather than to please, to stir the passions more than charm the taste."

A fascinating evolution of perception - of self and state - unfolds as the democratization of education, property ownership and the vote expands. Wiping away the trappings of privilege transforms the serfdom mindset. We see the perception of opinion as both scoffed when originating in individuals other than ourselves, and, conversely, the worship of opinion as a manifestation of majority rule. Americans, once lionizing the intrepid individual, instead took a turn to having most pride in their sameness. Armed with this understanding, today we see each group define itself by its signals - body language, speech cadence and inflection, vocabulary and dress. Today our youth have surfer speech, rap speech, gangster dress, the hooker look. Business embraces managerese, like "due diligence", "proactive", "right sizing", "leveraging assets to meet market demands". Politicians use the word "clearly" so often that what they mean is not clear. Every group has its code words, actions and look. A time consuming process of investigating the revealed character of individuals is exchanged for quicker, simpler signs.

The climax is reached with de Tocqueville's troubling "either or"; "We must understand what is wanted of society and its government. Do you wish to give a certain elevation of the human mind and teach it to regard the things of this world with generous feelings, to inspire men with a scorn of mere temporal advantages, to form and nourish strong convictions and keep alive a spirit of honorable devotedness? Is it your object to refine the habits, embellish the manners and cultivate the arts, to promote the love of poetry, beauty and glory?... If you believe such to be the principle object of society, avoid the government of democracy, for it would not lead you with certainty to the goal.

"But if you hold it expedient to divert the moral and intellectual activity of man to the production of comfort and promotion of general well being; if a clear understanding be more profitable to a man than genius; if your object be not to stimulate the virtues of heroism, but the habits of peace; if you had rather witness vices and crimes and are content to meet with fewer noble deeds, provided offences be diminished in the same proportion; if, instead of living in the midst of a brilliant society you are contented to have prosperity around you... to ensure the greatest enjoyment and to avoid the most misery... then establish democratic institutions."

This is one of the best novels of the 19th century. Most people do not recognize the significance of this book, however its relevance to modern literature cannot be emphasized more. Ironically, this book has apparently
gained quite a following among political scientists, historians, and pediatric endocrinologists, however this is only because of a misinterpretation. Many believe De Tocqueville to have been what he claims to have been, a gentleman, statesman, diplomat, and liaision for France to the United States. De Tocqueville was none of the above, in fact he was a petty criminal from Marseille who was arrested in 1832 for stealing horseshoes from a prominent businessman's steed. While in jail he was mixed up with political prisoners from a recent revolt and sent to Martinique to serve a sentance of 5 years hard labor. Unfortunately, De Tocqueville had a hot temper and allegedly killed an Arawak Indian in a fight, and being that this was the last known Arawak Indian on the island was sentanced to life in prison. It was here that he met a young Victor Hugo, a criminal justice student studying colonial jail system and theory, who De Tocqueville befriended. Hugo taught him to write, which Alexis did to pass the time and to allay his growing madness. Upon his death, guards found thousands of pages of text stuffed under his soiled mattress, some of which we now know to be Democracy In America. It was part of a larger epic about a French diplomat named Arnaud Venilas who wrote political treatises and sold them to British merchants to feed his opium addiction.
I wholeheartedly disagree with the modern interpretation of this work and hope that eventually this mini story will be put back into the Venilas context as De Tocqueville had originally intended.

Saburo Sakai was a national hero in Japan as its greatest surviving air ace of world war two. This book is his story. It is a fascinating and honest look at the air war in the Pacific from the Japanese perspective. Sakai is shown to have been a patriotic and heroic fighter, who, like most soldiers, gave little thought to the politics of the war. Like young men in many lands in many times, when his country called, he answered.

Sakai gives us an honest assessment of both sides as regards the Pacific air war. There is little or no jingoism here. He highlights some of the critical mistakes that the Japanese navy made in the war--one of which was that before the war the Navy only turned out about 100 pilots a year--not remotely enough for the total war Japan was about to wage against the world's greatest industrial power. The standards for entering and graduating from the Naval air training course in Japan were unreasonably high, and simply prevented the country from producing the number of pilots it would come to need. When the Americans eliminated over 300 Japanese pilots in 3 days at the Battle of Midway, Japan never recovered the loss of these trained men. On the other hand, Sakai reminds the American reader that in the Japanese America faced a motivated, intelligent, and very brave foe deriving from a violent military tradition.

The book also includes some very interesting glimpses at the Japanese home front during the war. Life in prewar Japan was hard for the lower classes--sufficiently hard that even the savage discipline (which Sakai describes at length) of the Japanese Navy appeared to be a reasonable alternative to the grinding poverty he otherwise faced.

Overall, a wonderful look at "the other side of the hill" and into the mind of one of World War Two's greatest air combat pilots.

This book is a must for any history buff or anyone interested in seeing WWII through enemy eyes. This work chronicles the career of Saburo Sakai and his many air battles through World War II. His words debunk many myths about Japanese pilots (he admits of even turning back from a suicide mission) and gives one a personal feel to the historical events that unfolded around him. One can also plot the technological climb of aircraft as Sakai describes how his adversaries' aircraft steadily got better and better. This book is also a must read for those who think the development of new aircraft and weapons are a waste of money. They will see through Sakai's words how one superior aircraft (the Zero) was able to command the skies in the war in the Pacific for quite some time until better aircraft finally were developed by the US. In the future the US may not have the luxury of time and should plan ahead.

This is a superior book and one of the best written about World War II.

This book did a wonderful job of portrying the war from the Japanese perspective, and really gave me an insight into the mind of the "enemy". Sakai proves that he is indeed human, but not in a way that many westerners readily understand. It was an eye opener for me for sure.
Have to say that Sakai has to be one of the toughest SOBs in the world, flying back to base with wounds that would have killed most people, and landing safely!!!

This book is powerful and unsettling at the same time. But that's a good thing, that's just what America needs, a sharp wake up call to the realities and horrors of racism. James Baldwin's commentary on race relations in America rings truer now than when first published. What he says may sound militant, but his words of wisdom coupled with his observations speak volumes. He doesn't just voice his ideas and then leave the reader hanging, no, he offers suggestions about problems that have to be resolved and realities that need to be faced before this country can move forward as a truly United States of America. James Baldwin stands out not only as a superb writer but also as a contemporary philosopher. I would recommend this book along with Mr. Baldwin's fictional masterpieces, "Giovanni's Room" and "Another Country" as a means of discovering this mans exceptional talent.

Perhaps the most significant indictment on racism in America written in the twentieth century, The Fire Next time ignites the mind and soul, causing the reader, whether black or white to reexamine the state of human relations in this country. With the intensity of a million flames and the insight of a prophet, Baldwin details the struggles faced by African Americans (American Negroes then) in a culture that has brutalized, vilified, and rendered us powerless. His insight into the white psyche and its dehumanizing effect on African Americans is frightening and yet as real today as it was in 1962 when this essay was published. How unnerving it was to read this book in 1999 and be faced with the realization that some 37 years later we as a nation are no closer to bridging the racial divide in this country.

I particularly applaud Baldwin for his eloquent discussion of what must be done, by both black and white America to release this country from the shackles that prevent us truly becoming the greatest nation on earth (in deed, not just rhetoric). I highly recommend this book as a must read for the country. In 1962, Baldwin's level of candor may have been somewhat off-putting to white America (the government considered him a Communist), for the truth can be an awfully bitter pill to swallow. Still, it's my hope that at that some point, white America will reckon with their own physiological, spiritual and political ills. Until then, African Americans must continue to hold a mirror before the face of injustice of this nation, while struggling to claim a place in a country that seems dead set on keeping us a drift.

As I was reading this book, I had thought some of the same ideas in this book before reading it. The idea of ending racism, but not forgetting it. I know, it's easier said than done. If we (people of the world) or let's just start with the U.S., weren't so thick-headed, I believe we could achieve this. A great read for those who don't want to continue on the same catastrophic path of we've been walking for the past hundreds of years. It can start with the present generation. Remember, whether you believe in a higher power than humans or not, we do have brains and have implemented far more complex notions.

I missed the Madeline books completely when I was a child, so my daughter and I discovered them together. It's an education seeing Madeline through her eyes. In Madeline, my daughter, who is somewhat shy and leery of new experiences, has a heroine who is smart, spunky, and completely in control of every situation.

I like Madeline the character a lot more than I like the books. I've found that very few writers can write wonderful verse, and I don't include Bemelmans in that august company. Some of his rhymes flow nicely together, such as the opening lines of the first book:

In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines lived twelve little girls in two straight lines. Some of his rhymes are jarring:

and soon after Dr. Cohn came, he rushed out to the phone, and he dialed : DANton-ten-six --

'Nurse,' he said, 'it's an appendix!' Everybody had to cry --

not a single eye was dry. . . . Madeline woke up two hours

later, in a room with flowers.

Still, the story isn't bad. A brave little girl is rushed to the hospital, has her appendix out, then shows off her scar. She makes it so exciting that all the other girls want their appendix out, too. Even my daughter wanted to have an appendix scar, until I explained just what that would entail.

As a child, some of my favorite books were the Madeline stories. This is the first in the series, and it sets a wonderful tone. The illustrations are wonderful, and it's fun to see illustrations of actual Parisian landmarks such as the Opera, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and Tulleries. The story is fun, fast and catchy, and I used to wish that I was one of the little girls standing amongst the two straight lines lead by Miss Clavel.

This book is not just for little girls. Boys can enjoy the story as well.

Ever since I was old enough to read I've loved Madeline! I remember going to the library and checking out this book and all the other ones in the series (Madeline and the bad hat, Madeline to the rescue...) I was always disappointed that they were checked out. I am 21 years old now and still have an infactuation with Madeline! She is a great role model for children of all ages and the stories and lessons learned from them stick with you!

I'd recommend this book for new mothers and small children alike!

The Well by Mildred D. Taylor is one of the best examples of juvenile fiction that I have read in the last ten years. (Coming from a teacher, that's a lot of books!) The reader is invited into a world where whites can say and do as they please and blacks are treated to cruelty, deceit and humiliation. Yet the Logan family, the central characters of this book, maintain their strength and dignity through it all. The Logan property sits on the only well that has not run dry in this turn-of-the-century tale of the Deep South. They are generous people and share their sweet water with all their neighbours, even the bigotted Simms clan. David Logan, the narrator, tells us how he and his brother Hammer cope with the abuse and terrors inflicted upon them by the Simms boys and their evil father, Old Man McCallister Simms. This short novel tells us much about the deep seated racism that was so much a part of that time and place. The characters are quickly and clearly brought to life, the setting is vividly drawn and despite the frequent - but historically accurate use of the N word - this book is a great "read aloud."

The Well is a very compelling and resonant book by Mildred D. Taylor, the Newberry Award winner for Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry. You will experience many emotions while reading this book, which are not limited to anger and sadness .The Well is set in the south during the mid 1910's, a time in which deep-rooted racism is practiced and where whites can do and say anything they please with abandon to blacks.
David Logan tells a poignant story of his boyhood in Smallsville, Mississippi when blacks could be hanged for considering themselves as equals to whites. The Logan family, the main characters in the book, are among few black families to own land. During an awful drought, they have the only well of sweet water in the whole town of Smallsville. The author eloquently describes how the Logan's believe that the water is not theirs to hoard but gods gift to share with black and white folks alike. Everyone is grateful to the Logan's except the white Simms family who hate being obliged to blacks. David's family lives by his father's words, 'use your head not your fists' but his insubordinate hotheaded brother Hammer is sick of the constant degrading of Charlie Simses and when Charlie pushes his handicapped brother with bitter rancor to the ground, Hammer reacts and does the unthinkable.
The characters are quickly and clearly brought into life, the setting is vividly drawn despite the frequent but historical use of the N word. The large cast of characters is masterfully individualized with opinions, beliefs, personalities and ways of life. I personally gained tremendous admiration for Mildred D. Taylor as an author for making such a luring plot seem so stupendous in a small book.

I gave this book five stars because it was like you were in the olden days when blacks and whites were against each other. This book is about two boys named David and Hammer. They live in Mississippi. During the summer time there is usual a drought. But the Logan's well doesn't dry up. And they share their water with everybody who's anybody. Well one day Hammer and David were bringing their cows back from the Rosa Lee and they meet Charlie with a wheel off of his wagon. Well he asks Hammer and David to help him get it back on. So David said he would help him even though he has a busted leg. Charlie took a long time to put the wheel back on and David said he couldn't hold it much longer. So he dropped it and Charlie fell back with the wheel. He got up and hit David and he fell down. Then Hammer came over and jumped on Charlie and started to hit him. Then Charlie fell back and hit his head on a rock and it knocked him out. It is not legal to hit a white man. You could get hung.

The setting was in Mississippi during the summer time. It was during the 1800's, in the post slavery era.

This is a light-hearted book by Farley Mowat, a writer with whom we normally associate more serious texts. Yet Mowat is just as fun-loving as the next person and it comes out in this collection of stories about his youth in Ontario and Manitoba. Mutt, the dog of the book's title, is a dog who very reasonably refuses to act like one. So he won't hunt ducks properly or do much else that is reckoned too dog-like, at least while anyone's watching. Mutt was Mowat's constant companion throughout many boyhood forays into the wild country around wherever he happened to be living. On the prairies in the 1920s and 30s, he says, it was easy to get out in the bush, because it started right where the town stopped. You just had to walk out. So began Farley Mowat's lifelong love of the natural world. Indeed, he made a pretty good naturalist by the age of ten and earned himself a minor living for a time, through the dubious activity of collecting birds' eggs. This is an easy book to get along with and one that would probably be enjoyed by children. Indeed, I assume it may well have been intended for Mowat's own children. I thoroughly recommend it.

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
By: Farley Mowat
Reviewed by: Catherine Li

This book describes the life of a boy (Farley) with a dog named Mutt. Mutt was adopted by the author's mother when he was a puppy and was found by a boy who was selling baby ducks. Mutt was a very unique dog because he had excellent hunting skills. He could dive really deep to catch ducks under the water. Whenever the author's Dad fired his gun to hunt birds, Mutt could always retrieve a bird back even if the author's Dad missed his shot. Besides his hunting skills, he had ability to walk on fences, ladders, and trees - just like a cat! The first time he tried to walk on a fence he fell, but he kept trying until he was able to master his balancing skills on a narrow fence. Mutt was a very determined dog.
I really enjoyed reading this book because the writing describes a lot of details. The writing is very descriptive, and I could picture all the events in my mind. I love the huge vocabularies the author uses to make the sentences complex. "A swirl of muddy water marked his passing, and in the center of the swirl thee was a whitish blob that twisted back and forth lethargically." The author writes lengthy and quite difficult sentences. I remember when I tried reading this book a year ago, there was at least five to ten words I did not understand.
The author described the hunting skills and tricks Mutt could do in very expressive writing. Each chapter was extremely long, however I never got bored and kept reading. The events the author chose very amusing and thrilling. For instance, "The last jump took him well into deep water, and he began churning forward like an old-fashioned stern-wheeler." This book is so descriptive that it make the readers feel like they were really living in the Canadian plains.
I found this book very fascinating, especially when Mutt learns how to climb ladders, trees, and fences. My favorite section of this book is when Mutt climbed on top of a tree and there was a group of firefighters surrounding the tree. This section of the book is amusing because everyone thought it was a huge monster in the tree. Two people were holding guns and they called the firefighters to this event. It is a book worth reading. It has humorous stories and touching events. I really enjoyed reading this book.

This is a tale that couldn't happen today. Dogs don't have the lifestyle they did in the 1920's and 1930's in remote Canada, and sadly, boys don't either.

Mutt is a fascinating mutt with a mind of his own; halfway through the book I realised he must be part Siberian Husky with his deafness, his love of roaming and chasing and need to attend to his own desires.

Farley's mother demonstrated an act of faith- as well as the desire to save [money amount]- when she purchased Mutt as a puppy from a starving duck seller. Farley's dad wanted a hunting dog; Farley's mom didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dog during the Dust Bowl years, living in Saskatoon.

Dogs roamed free, boys roamed free. Boys weren't sent off to summer camp to keep busy- there was enough to do with their own imaginations, their friends and their animal companions. Attitudes towards cats were cavalier; some parts are very hard to read if you appreciate cats. Thankfully that attitude has changed over time.

The stories of the father's boating attempts are hilarious. I don't like boats, but am inspired to read "the boat that wouldn't float" by the same author. I live in the western US and have a vague understanding of how difficult it would be to navigate some of these rivers so I appreciated the delusional voyage of The Coot.

Farley paints his parents as people who had their own interests and needs, but also understood the needs of their son and his dog. They understood that living in a city wouldn't work for them, after several years living in the sparse western provinces. Farley's imagination was clearly nurtured and allowed him to become the prolific writer he became. Even the car (Eardlie, a Model A) has a character and idiosycrasies that add to the story.

My dog, too, is geriatric so I read the final chapter sadly. Mutt's demise will give fuel to the arguments of people who believe completely in leash laws.

Yes, this is a fantastic story of a dog, but it is also a wonderful story of life in a more free time, for children. Farley skips over most of the drawbacks of that time and paints a wonderful portrait of childhood.

It has been almost twenty years since I first read this novel. Two things stand out. One, the story emblazoned in my mind the power of the principle of unintended outcomes, especially the evil results of good deeds. And second, it has an opening sentence that I have remembered to this day: "It was the afternoon of my eighty-first birthday, and I was in bed with my catamite when Ali announced that the archbishop had come to see me." Still makes me laugh after all this time.

Burgess's 1980 EARTHLY POWERS, like Styron's SOPHIE'S CHOICE(published around the same time), hearkens back to the grand 19th century novels of Dickens, Balzac, and Galdos. It is a novel the reader enters and inhabits, a world of its own.

Kenneth Toomey, supposedly modeled on Somerset Maugham, is a middling range popular novelist who finds himself in the midst of some of the great literary and social maelstroms of the twentieth century. He knows everyone - Churchill, James Joyce, John Maynard Keynes; you name them, Toomey has sipped tea with them - and gets involved with everything - censorship trials and ancient voodoo, for instance; he even has a brush with the Jim Jones cult through one of his nieces.

Critics carped at the book for its lack of focus, but it has a definite focus: the twentieth century. Toomey's not a great artist, but he is a great observer, and through him Burgess gives us the full sweep of the twentieth century, its follies and its glories (but more folly than glory). In the past, English literature has had an Age of Shakespeare and an Age of Johnson. In the future critics and historians will judge the late twentieth century as the Age of Burgess. EARTHLY POWERS will help solidify that certainty.

Read it.

It seems presumptuous to be definitive in the area of literature. But every now and then there is a book, such as Earthly Powers, that compells one to reach for superlatives. This is a masterful example of the literary novel, one that frequently makes its appearance on the 'top-ten' lists of 'all time greats' as compiled by those who have made it their business to read as much as possible.Burgess lavished effort on this, setting out to create a masterpiece, and he succeeded without ever forgetting the novelist's duty to perform, above all, as a storyteller for his audience.And what a story he tells!This is in essence a trip through the Twentieth Century that encompasses as many aspects as possible of what defined the era. All is seen through the eyes of an intelligent, sensitive, and sometimes bitterly confused man, Kenneth Twomey. As such, the story is his, and spans some eighty odd years.Burgess is careful to weave his tale as engagingly as he can. Despite verdant vocabulary - always contextually perfect - the pages flick past at great speed. We are not subjected to many of the more conventional literary devices utilised to pull readers in. Instead we are involved through the sheer pathos and variety of the world and age that Kenneth, Oddysean-like, must navigate.We are introduced to dozens of countries and a veritable mob of characters, none of whom ever blur or become confused in our mind, because they are drawn with such easy clarity - I have encountered very few personalities in contemporary fiction as well-realised as these.The themes that run through the book are many; love, God, war, identity, suffering, the creative impulse, guilt, peversion, philosophy, nobility and evil. Only a few of these are made obvious - the book, after all, is meant to reflect life. The rest are perched delicately for us to discern between the lines. We do not find ourselves subjected to the author shoving his own particular brand of morality down our throats; a trait rarely avoided even by luminaries within the fiction field. Burgess is far too modest to think that he should discern for our benefit the differences between right and wrong on the grand scale - that is left entirely to us. With this in mind, he is at pains to create a mood of ubiquitous evil hanging over large portions of the novel, an evil which is hard to define specifically, and it is the reader who must try to make sense of it, as themes and plots grow and elaborate over decades and continents. He does this with consummate skill.If I have been vague it is because it is impossibly difficult to get into the fabric of Earthly Powers in such a short space. It takes on far too much to lend itself to summarisation. One can only keep repeating, 'This is a masterpiece; truly a masterpiece.' Why it never received the critical acclaim it so assuredly deserved will forever remain a dreadful inditement of a literary establishment jealous of possibly its most talented virtuoso. So many critics have such petty and venal motivations. By the way, the opening line is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever written. "It was the morning of my eighty first birthday and I was in bed with my . . ." Buy it and read for yourself. This one will stay with you for years. Unless of a most violently parochial and small-minded disposition, I cannot envisage anyone failing to be thrilled and awed by a book so gigantic in theme and substance.

The most striking aspect of this novel is the candor with which Soueif treats sexual themes, a radical and refreshing departure from most novels and memoirs by contemporary Middle Eastern women writers. Asya's sexual awakening occurs on the riddling boundaries between East and West, her early life in Egypt and her adult life in England. The descriptions of her childhood and adolescent days in Egypt are heart rendingly beautiful. At over eight hundred pages, the book is a quite a tome, but utterly absorbing; I read it through in a matter of sittings! The politics she charts were only vaguely known to me, and so the book also functioned as a sort of primer on Egyptian and Palestinian history of this century. Truly groundbreaking!

I found myself caught up in this work from the very begining. Soueif's beautiful writing made it very easy to work my way though nearly 800 pages with ease.

As a woman who is involved with an Egyptian, this book shed light on the complicated personality of an Egyptian man which can be so foreign to a western woman. There were parts of this book which were so painful I could barley stand to read them. The author "takes you there" and you feel the agony and pain which comes from a dissolving marrage. I felt trapped along with Asya as she was dealing with that idiot Gerald. I was always saying to myself 'Get out!!! what are you doing with this guy?'

I love Ahdaf Soueif's writing had have also read "The Map of Love"

As a typical mid-American with no background into modern Egyptian history, I found this book a great insight into a far different world than what I was living during the 1970's. Almost as much as reading the book, I have enjoyed reading the reviews of this book especially from those who can relate so well. While the details were just overwhelming in places for me, they were the essence of the novel for others. There truly is a different way of viewing the world from the East and from the West. This book has helped me understand a bit more.

And although it was an insight into the modern Eastern woman's world, it was also so universal in theme. I could see so much of my husband of 30+ years in Saif. Maybe men are men whether they are from the mid-west or from the Middle East.

I would love to read more of Soueif's works (I did read Map of Love -- and thought it was wonderful) especially in light of what is happening in the Mid East today; the change in culture from the time Asya left Egypt to the time she returned was interesting to me. I want to know how a character like Asya is doing now in Egypt.

Thanks the the author for writing a insightful, interesting, and complex work, and thanks for those who from Asya's world who have written reviews. I appreciated reading your comments in order to verify what I thought I was getting from the book.

Long heralded as a monumental portrait of American society in the early decades of the 20th century, John Dos Passos' U.S.A. trilogy is, if nothing else, an amazing display of intellectual endurance. Few novels that I have come across are more ambitious or broader in scope. In 1240 pages, Dos Passos attempts to characterize a vast, growing nation in one of its most dynamic periods in history. While he gloriously succeeds as a sociological study, it is unfortunately at the expense of producing a mediocre work of literature.

It is important to point out that while the three installments of this trilogy were written several years apart from each other, this is most definitely one book, not three. The first and second books, The 42nd Parallel and 1919, have no proper conclusion, and The Big Money, the trilogy's final installment, is a logical progression in terms of style and chronology, if not plot. So reading any of these books on their own, or reading them all out of sequence, would be a thoroughly unsatisfying experience.

It is clear from early on that Dos Passos has bitten off more than he can chew, at least from a literary perspective. His goal is to capture the essence of an America caught in the throws of industrialization and fervent capitalism, and the inevitable wealth gap and social class struggle that result from this economic expansion. He also tackles the difficult task of explaining this country's painful ambivolence towards the war in Europe and the sense of euphoria in the years following it's conclusion. But these themes are vast and unwieldy, far bigger than any one character in the novel, and as a result, the characters themselves become forgettable and quickly get lost. In a sense, there is only one main character in this novel, and it is America herself.

But America is not a person, it is a country and society, and as such the U.S.A. trilogy at times takes on the feel of a social inquiry more than a work of fiction. The other characters, through whose experiences we study the social landscape and fabric of early 20th century America, lack depth and dimension. They are mere stereotypes chosen by Dos Passos to represent various segments of society. There is the down-and-out vagabond, wandering the country and living hand-to-mouth, bitterly condemning the economic wealth all around him from which he is excluded. You have the quintessential rags-to-riches success story, the boy who started with little more than a dollar in his pocket and a whole lot of ambition, and amassed an economic fortune, but at the expense of his humanity and health. We also find the New York socialites, the Communist activists, the labor union organizers, the proud and rowdy GI soldier. But there are no real people, as such characters would not serve the greater purpose of defining American society in the way that Dos Passos sees it. And as a result, the experiences and interactions among these characters are also stereotypical.

Despite its shortcomings, the U.S.A. trilogy is worth reading, as it constitutes an important contribution to the understanding of our nation and its history. And in many ways, the great ambition of this novel encouraged other writers to strive to create works of fiction that were not just of literary merit, but also of important social significance. However, for a far more satisfying literary experience, Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy accomplishes on a micro-level what Dos Passos attempted to achieve on a broader scale. But unlike the U.S.A. trilogy, Dreiser's work is a true pleasure to read.

Dos Passos' trilogy is important reading for anyone intersted in American History. In particular, Dos Passos chronicles the history of the labor movement in the US and the revolt of working class worldwide.

It is intersting to note that at the time that this book was written, Dos Passos was a frevent socialist/communist. By the time of his death, he had renounced the communist idealogies for a more conservatine viewpoint.

Although, the fictional prose is simplistic and the dialogue somewhat cliched, a powerful story is told. The world is seen through the eyes of several ordinary citizens, all with different backgrounds and from different classes. The characters lives interwave through important world events such as labor unrest, Mexican revolution, World War 1, and the Russian Revolution.

Interwoven throughout the fiction are snippets that attempt to educate the reader. The 'Camera Eye' passages are newspaper headlines and attempt to capture the mood of the day. There are sections of Dos Passos's own thoughts of the day, some of them written as Dos Passos as a child might have seen them. My favorite sections were the short autobiographies of important citizens- among them Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Eugene Debs, Woodrow Wilsoon, and Emma Goldberg.

If you are lookiong for a passionate or suspenseful fictional story, this is not the book for you. But if you are intersted in history, especially American History, this book is excellent in capturing the mood of first third of the 20th century.

John Dos Passos wrote three novels that are encapsulated by the title: "USA."

These novels are beautiful and sublime in their composition. While reading of some sad stories as well as some humorous ones, the readers is taken on a journey through the 1920's in America. We get a sense of what it was like then. His chapters begin and often end in a "NEWSREEL" imitation. In an age where we as readers have so much "bit" information flashed before our eyes, this mode works well at getting the snapshot ideas he is alluding to in the novels.

Dos Passos is a genius of words-- I recommend taking this one to the beach, especially if you are an American city history buff.

This is an utterly charming work. It has been retold myriad times, but nobody else has done it as well as the original teller, J. M. Barrie.

It's difficult to know what to say about a book like this... everybody knows the story. But I guess that unless you've read this book (not just seen a movie or read a retelling), you don't really know the character Peter Pan, and without knowing the character, you don't really know the story. So read it.

By the way, if you enjoy this, you probably would also like "Sentimental Tommy" and its sequel "Tommy and Grizel", both by Barrie. There are differences (for one thing they're not fantasy), but there are also compelling similarities. Anybody who found Peter Pan a deep and slightly bittersweet book would be sure to enjoy them.

-Stephen

The book 'Peter Pan' by J. M. Barrie is a truly beautiful work. It is never too cloyingly sweet or too harsh, and the child's perspective of the world is beautifully crafted. It does, however, bring you along on a journey to the Neverlands, and perhaps for a little while we can be reunited with our dreams.

Although Wendy seems a little prim, she is sweet and motherly. John was offhand and brave, Michael was tiny and believing. My favourite character was, however, Peter. The author really outdid himself on this one. Peter's innocent cockiness and love for dangerous adventures endeared him to me at once. He still has all his first teeth, and his first laugh - what more could we ask of him? His frightful happiness in danger reminds me of my seven-year-old self.

The book retains a magical quality right up to the last page. The midnight scene where Peter coaxes them out of the window has always stood out in my mind; there is a kind of magic in an ever-young boy, small and innocently cocky and always up to some mischief. The ending of the book is very sad, for only those who are gay and young and light-hearted can fly.

Definitely a book worth reading. Adults, trust me on this one: you might think you're too old to read this book, but once you do you'll find that a piece of Neverland still resides in your heart.

In almost a hundred years 'Peter Pan' has become a universal kiddie literature classic. Mostly basing on his personal experiences and people he knew, J.M. Barrie created a work full of subtle undertones that have been subject of deep controversies.

Rather than the story of a boy who refuses to grow up, a new approach on 'Peter Pan' has been developed. One of the most interesting is the one which is based on the analysis of the three primal female characters: Wendy --and Mrs. Darling, as well--, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily. According to experts, they represent aspect in women that Barrie found intolerable. It is largely known that Barrie had serious problems with his mother, which may have led him to use such bipolarity on motherhood in the book. While on the one hand Mrs. Darling is a loving and concerned mother, on the other, Peter's --and the lost boy's as well-- mother abandoned him -- leading him to an eternal search of a mother figure, however unconscious it is.

The sexual aspect of the novel is so subtle that for many people it may be unnoticed. However, it is clear that the book deals with several taboos, being incest the most recurrent. Peter and Wendy have both a mother/son relationship, and also there is the wish of being 'lovers' --recurring to Oedipal myth. This is one of the most interesting aspect for the books --at least when it comes to an adult approach on 'Peter Pan'. According to Jacqueline Rose's 'The Case of Peter Pan, or, The Impossibility of Children's Fiction', "The sexuality which matters is both more and less explicit than this. It is sexuality in the form of its repeated disavowal, a relentless return to the question of origins and sexual difference which is focused time and again on the child". This is what makes the novel so intriguing: it is possible to read 'Peter Pan' is more than one way --and all of them are more and more interesting.

When it comes to kids themselves, this book is part a fairy tale, part an adventure and a familiar ode. These aspects make 'Peter Pan' appealing to both boys and girls. The characters while archetypical --this is unnoticeable to children-- are very vivid and it is not hard for young readers become their 'friends'. At the same time, all the 'sexual' aspect of the book is so subtle that parents can't be afraid of allowing their children to read the novel.

However, the unabridged 'Peter Pan' is not advisable to very young readers due to its fanciful language. When it was written in the early XX Century, that was the current language, but, nowadays some words like 'ofttimes' and 'diffidently' are not very common in a 10 year-old lexical. The narrative is told in first person, and the narrator used a lot of 'I''s which only bring the children closer to the story making it easy to feel part of the adventure --it was very smart of Barrie, because with that he makes friend with the child, and the story flows as if they were exchaging confidences.

All in all, J.M. Barrie's 'Peter Pan' will always be a children's fave and it deserves its place in the Fantasy Literature canon and will amuse young --and not-so-young-- readers forever.