Amazon.com
Anne Michaels, an accomplished poet, has already published two collections of poetry in her native Canada. She turns her hand to fiction in an impressive debut novel, Fugitive Pieces. This is the story of Jakob Beer, a Polish Jew, translator, and poet who, as a child, witnessed his family's slaughter at the hands of the Nazis. Beer himself was found and smuggled out of Poland by Athos Roussos, a Greek archaeologist who carried him back to Greece and kept him there in precarious safety. After the war they emigrated together to Canada. Jakob's story is told through diaries discovered by Ben, a young man whose parents are Holocaust survivors and who is a vessel for their memories just as Jakob is the bearer of his own.
Fugitive Pieces is a book about memory and forgetting. How is it possible to love the living when our hearts are still with the dead? What is the difference between what historical fact tells us and what we remember? More than that, the novel is a meditation on the power of language to free our souls and allow us to find our own destinies.
Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
Winner of the Lannan Literary Fiction Award
Winner of the Guardian Fiction Award
In 1940, Jakob Beer, a seven-year-old boy, bursts from the mud of a war-torn Polish city, where he has buried himself to hide from Nazi soldiers who have killed his family. Though he should have died with his family, he has not only survived but been rescued by a Greek geologist. With this electrifying backdrop, Anne Michaels propels us into her rapturously acclaimed novel of loss, memory, history, and redemption. Michaels lets us witness Jakob's transformation from a half-wild casualty of the Holocaust to an artis who extracts meaning from the abyss. Filled with mysterious symmetries and rendered in heart-stopping prose,
Fugitive Pieces is a triumphant work.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliant and Lyrical.......2007-10-04
I have to agree with the reviewers who say this is a brilliant piece of work but flawed. It is extremely beautiful writing but I will admit to a certain impatience to finish this book and see where it is going because there's no flesh to the plot, nor are there meat to the characters. I read books about Holocaust survivors to remember the victims and their families, so they won't all remain nameless. It is a big part of our history as well as how it shaped our world today. This is a story about three men in different stages in their lives, how the Germans tried to erase their history, their past, and how they tried to survive in spite of it all. It's just a beautifully written story or stories, as you might say.
There's Athos, a Greek man who found Jakob hiding in the woods and brought him back to Greece with him. Jakob had seen his parents brutually murdered and his sister kidnapped. Ben is the son of two Jewish refugees in Toronto who never knew of his parents' great secrets till after their death. Some of the best pages in this novel are found in these pages ~~ 159-170 (the edition that I am talking of is the first edition) ~~ that is when the suffering of Jakob's people came alive and that is some of the most poignant pieces of work I have yet to read. It is very poetical and descriptive as a man remembers horrorifying scenes from his childhood. This is a man who struggled with survivor's guilt all of his life.
Here are some excerpts in case you need to find it: "The photos capture again and again this chilling moment of choice: the laughter of the damned. When the soldier realized that only death has the power to turn "man" into "figuren," his difficulty was solved. And so the rage and sadism increased: his fury at the victim for suddenly turning human; his desire to destroy that humanness so intense his brutuality has no limit."
"There's a precise moment when we reject contradiction. This moment of choice is the lie we will live by. What is dearest to us is often dearer to us than truth."
And lastly, probably my favorite passage in the entire book: "There were the few, like Athos, who chose to do good at great personal risk; those who never confused objects and humans, who knew the difference between naming and the named. Because the rescuers couldn't lose sight, literally, of the human, again and again they give us the same explanation for their heroism: 'What choice did I have?' "
That is why I give this book a five star. I will admit that there are times when I got impatient with the author's flowing writing style and wish that she would just get to the point. But when she makes her points (scattered throughout the book, mind you), she makes them intensely and skillfully.
This is a different book on the Holocaust, but one that should be read by all serious readers.
10-4-07
A work of art!.......2007-09-10
Fugitive Pieces is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It is clear to me that Anne Michaels is a poet. Nothing needs to be added to the words from Publishers Weekly: Searing the mind with stunning images while seducing with radiant prose, this brilliant first novel is a story of damaged lives and the indestructibility of the human spirit. It speaks about loss, about the urgency, pain and ultimate healing power of memory, and about the redemptive power of love. Brilliant!
Listen.......2007-03-01
Every other 5 star review said it for me. I also listened to the abridged version on tape because the language begged to be heard.. When I finished a portion I listened to only that portion then went back to reading the book. And so on..It was as if I were reading the libretto to an opera. It listens like one long epic poem. I have never read a book like this.
Buried. Alive........2006-05-29
The period in my title is both optional and essential. This rich and evocative book (much more an extended prose poem than a novel) is both about the situation of being buried alive by a traumatic past (the Holocaust), and about a spiritual trajectory that begins in death and ends in transcendent life.
As a child, Jacob Beer buries himself in the ground to escape detection in the Holocaust. He is rescued by a Greek archaeologist, who hides him in occupied Greece and then emigrates with him to Canada. Images of burial and unearthing recur throughout the book, whose theme is less the Holocaust itself than the challenge of coming to terms with the past sufficiently to make a life in the present. In the end, Jacob Beer, now a well-known poet, succeeds triumphantly, and joy in life blossoms out of memories of death. Anne Michaels is a poet herself, and at the beginning her style can seem overwrought for its subject. But she has created a book which, like Sebald's AUSTERLITZ and Thomas' THE WHITE HOTEL, approaches its vast subject obliquely through the non-linear accumulation of images, ultimately achieving a radiance which is all her own.
Other readers have commented on the fact that, three-quarters into the book, when Jacob's narrative ends, another character (Ben) is introduced, whose story has only incidental connections with Jacob's own. It is a risky device, but one that I personally find successful, since it does eventually come to reflect upon Jacob, while at the same time suggesting that his story is not the situation of one unique exception, but more the common experience of all those who have been touched by great trauma and must somehow emerge from its shadow to make new lives.
Beautiful, With a Disappointing Ending.......2006-05-12
Book I of "Fugitive Pieces" (the first 3/4 or so of the novel) was one of the best pieces of writing I have read recently. The author's background in poetry is clear in her writing style. Many of the lines were so beautiful that I read them over several times. The style of writing is such that often the images and feelings inspired by the words are more important than what the words actually say. The story itself, about the life of survivor Jakob Beer and his attempts to hold on to his origins, was moving.
However, Book II took a turn for the worse. Jakob has died suddenly (not a spoiler--a pseudo-news report on the first page of the book warns the reader that this will happen), and a narrator named Ben takes over. Ben has been influenced by Jakob's poetry--he himself is a child of survivors and has had a difficult relationship with his parents. For us to be reading Ben's life story seems strange, out of context, and beside the point. It is Jakob we actually care about, and Ben does little to resolve Jakob's story. I'm not sure what the author was trying to accomplish with such a tangential ending. But I would still recommend "Fugitive Pieces" because of the beauty of the writing, and because it does a fine job portraying the sadness and struggles of Jakob's life during and after the Holocaust.
Book Description
Discusses the novel, "Fugitive Pieces".
Book Description
Award-winning author Jillian Hunter pens a delightful romp of passion and tantalizing trickery proving all is fair in matters of love.
It would have been the wedding of the year–had the groom, Sir Nigel Boscastle, bothered to put in an appearance. To the shock of her distinguished guests, the respectable Lady Jane Welsham is left humiliated at the altar. Yet truth be told, although outwardly ruined she is elated to have escaped marriage to a man she does not love.
Enter Grayson Boscastle, the irresistible Marquess of Sedgecroft (and cousin to Nigel). Grayson’s duty is clear: salvage the young lady’s pride and reestablish the family’s good name, while repairing his own tarnished reputation as one of London’s most notorious scoundrels. Their whirlwind affair is the talk of the ton. Yet nothing is as it seems between the bewitching Lady Jane, who knows that her wedding was cleverly sabotaged, and her charming rogue, as they are drawn into an amusing game of seduction and secrets.
Customer Reviews:
Boring Bocastle Beginning.......2007-05-16
Please don't waste your time reading this book. I will propbably read the other two in this series (only because an on-line reviewer said they were much better than the first one & I already bought them). I will not read anymore books by this author unless 'highly' recommended by a friend.
bad.......2007-02-20
The book wasn't very good. The character didn't act within their social status. Also the author spends too much time discussing how masculine the hero is and how the heroine is just drawn to him. I thought I would scream if I had to read one more sentence about the hero's broad shoulders and animal attractiveness. The author tells you how handsome the hero is but doesn't actual develop the relationship between the two characters. Additionally, The hero's action weren't all that honorable. I struggled to finish the book. Wasn't worth the money.
Nothing special here.......2006-07-20
This was the first time I have read a book by Jillian Hunter and I was very excited about it because she received high praise but this was a hard book for me to finish. It is not bad for sure, but there is NO fire in it. Where was the chemistry between the two leads? I was halfway through and wondering what was wrong when it hit me. These characters have no depth. They are like drawings on a canvas-- flat and one dimensional. I have read that this is her first effort. Maybe her other ones are better and I will give them a try. But you can skip this one and save your money or borrow it from a library if you have nothing else to do.
An entertaining romp, but ..........2005-09-21
I enjoyed this, I read it all and thought it was fun. BUT, as an avowed regency fan, I was a little disappointed. Despite the fact that it's about a scoundrel and rake who meets the woman of his dreams at her "never-to-occur" wedding, the characters and dialog seemed more than a little contrived and unlikely. Enough so that it was difficult to get carried away by the story (e.g., a well-bred Regency lady would not visit a well-known courtesan -- in broad daylight -- without social ramifications).
Glad I didn't read this one first. .......2005-08-16
I read both The Love Affair of an English Lord & The Wedding Night of an English Rogue. I'm glad I did because I love them. I wouldn't have tried them if I read this book first. This book drags on & on. The dialog was boring. This book was missing something. It was a BIG disappointment. Only read this book all the way through because I read the other two books. Please try The Love Affair of an English Lord & The Wedding Night of an English Rogue because they have the magic this one does not.
Average customer rating:
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Across The Sea Of Suns
Gregory Benford
Manufacturer: Timescape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Science Fiction & Fantasy
| Subjects
| Books
| Authors, A-Z
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Fantasy
| Gaming
| Large Print
| Media
| Science Fiction
| Writing
ASIN: 0356102254 |
Average customer rating:
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Across the Sea of Suns
Manufacturer: Timescape, S&S
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HZ89J2 |
Average customer rating:
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A Traves del Mar de Soles / Across the Sea of Suns
Gregory Benford
Manufacturer: Ediciones B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary
| General
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Fiction
| Literature & Fiction
| Subjects
| Books
Contemporánea
| General
| Literatura y ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 8440682816 |
Product Description
The complete series (6 books), published by various publishers between 1976 and 1995.
Book Description
The Benedictine tradition and practice of divine reading made accessible for everyone.
Customer Reviews:
Deeply personal sharing; inspiring to personal spiritual growth.......2007-01-29
Macrina Wiederkehr has a very intimate way of sharing her own spiritual journey, and prividing pathways for others to follow to deepen their own spiritual lives. Inspiring.
no title.......2006-02-05
More Catholic than I would prefer, yet still full of much wisdom and words to ponder. Could easily read it again. She so much loves Nature and sees (and seeks) God there, not in a church. This is the book's strength for me.
A magnificent journey.......2005-09-13
I absolutely loved this book! Macrina has a beautiful way of leading you through your own journey in finding the beauty in your surroundings. After reading this book I found so much to be joyful about everyday. It really changed the way I look at the ordinary things in my life. This book taught me to gaze instead of glance. I have bought as well as recommended this book for many friends and everyone has loved it.
Lisa Henneke
Nourishing.......2005-08-27
This book came to me at a time when I most needed it. My life was undergoing major changes and I needed to make adjustments daily. It was a comfort and a guide to me then, and now. Macrina's writing made a profound difference in my life. I am so thankful for her.
A Tree Full of Angels : Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary.......2005-08-19
I wanted to write a review on the shipping of this book. I ordered it for my Mother and it arrived within two days!! We were both thrilled. It came from Grandma's Tree, www.fromgrandmastree.com. It was a used book but was in excellent condition.
Book Description
This book brings to gether 500 authentic recipes for every part of the Indian meal, from spicy appetizers, deliciously rich and creamy curries and vegetarian dishes to all the classic breads, rice and side dishes, sumptuous desserts and popular drinks.
Customer Reviews:
Not Quite What It Could Be.......2007-08-20
I was initially quite pleased with this cookbook. I was new to Indian cooking and this had a multitude of recipes with well done phototgraphs. After trying a number of the recipes, however, I found the dishes a little lacking in depth. I think that part of this comes from the fact that some of the recipes in this book call for pastes rather than the constituent spices. In my opinion, using a paste is like using a jarred sauce - it is a shortcut that may be acceptable as a time-saver, but shouldn't be called for in a proper cookbook. I am still using this as a reference book of sorts, but now look online at other recipes for the same dish in order to ensure that I prepare the dish properly with the individual spices rather than with a paste. I like this book as a starting point, but have to question a bit the authenticity of the recipes.
Easy to use Indian Cook Book.......2007-04-11
Great pictures, my favorite way to pick what I'm going to cook! The recipes are straight forward, easy to follow, and taste great. I have two other books by these author(s), and have not been disappointed yet. One of my best friends is an Indian Chef/Cook and teaches "how-to" classes for Indian cooking. He was also impressed with this book for the simplicity, great selections of recipes, and once again, great photos!
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Mauchline Ware - A Collector's Guide (Collectors Guide)
David Trachtenberg
Manufacturer: Antique Collectors Club Dist A/C
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Scotland
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Pottery & Ceramics
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Antiques & Collectibles
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Projects
| Woodworking
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Manufacturing
| Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems
| Engineering
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1851493921 |
Book Description
#NAME?
Book Description
Take the mystery out of color! Learn how to build a color scheme that works (or fix one that doesn't) and find out why certain colors interact to create powerful--and sometimes surprising--visual effects.
• Make the leap from color theory to using color in quilts with nine step-by-step exercises, plus six projects
• Go beyond "safe" color combinations with simple strategies and tips for creating quilts that sing
• Color-splashed photos of fabrics, blocks, and quilts bring the color concepts to life, while a reader-friendly style makes the learning easy and fun
Customer Reviews:
More then a Primer on Color use in Quilts.......2005-08-31
I purchased this book after watching a quilting show hosting the author and her specific knowledge about the importance of color in quilting. Before I took my first beginning quilting class, I STUDIED the first few chapters on color so that I could make proper fabric selections for the class project. I can tell you that my piecing and quilting were just "okay;" however, the quilt itself is beautiful because I great fabric combinations. I couldn't have made such a nice first quilt had I not carefully learned the importance of all aspects of color (value, intensity, etc...) as taught by this book! Its advanced in lots of ways...but if you stay focused on the crux of what it is teaching...you'll get so much out of it!
Interesting but not especially useful.......2000-02-16
This book contains a lot of facts about hues, shades, tints, complements, split complements, triads, tetrads, luminosity, transparency, contrast, depth and intensity. If you really care about all these things, then this is just the book for you. The author explains this "color vocabulary" very well, using examples and exercises. But do we really need to know all that to make beautiful quilts? No, I don't think so. I used to think I had no color sense but this book made me realize that I choose my fabrics well without thinking about color theory.
An eye opener.......1999-12-11
This is a beautiful book. I have read it over and over again, studying the various blocks and quilts. It has inspired me to try my own color schemes and improved my confidence in choosing the right colors to go together in a quilt. A big thanks to the authors !
A fabric-based book on color.......1998-01-11
If you want to know why some of the color schemes in your quilts work or don't (!) this is a great book to read. Unlike many other general texts on color, this book relates to the color and texture of fabric, making it easier to apply color techniques to your own quilts.
I would have liked more examples of each of the types of color schemes and fabrics on the color wheel, but it has definitely changed the way I view fabrics and color in the world at large. I would definitely recommend it if you want to learn more about color interactions.
Book Description
Drawn from her own experience in teaching and making quilts, Jinny Beyer's "Master Palette" system is great for quilters who want to develop color confidence quickly and easily without studying formal color theory. Quilters will learn how to create a smooth-flowing palette with no jumps from dark to light or one color to the next, and will also learn the secrets to "coloring" a quilt by shading colors and fabrics or scattering them throughout a quilt. Practice exercises help crafters combine colors again and again until they can confidently choose colors for any project. Includes eight quilt patterns and templates that encourage quilters to stretch their palette, handy eight-step guide to creating a multi-color, multiprint quilt, 128 color swatches, two master palettes, and eight-course outline and suggestions for color teachers. Jinny Beyer is one of the best-known and most highly respected fabric designers in the quiltmaking industry. Her signature line of fabrics, produced by RJR Fashion Fabrics, is sold throughout the world. Home: Great Falls, VA
Customer Reviews:
A lovely collection of formulas and stories.......2005-09-06
Beginners seeking a user-friendly quilter's guide will find the vivid colors and unusual designs of M'Liss Rae Hawley's Get Creative! to be inviting. M'Liss provides only 8 projects to serve as a foundation for gathering skills, but each easy project offers important lessons in color and design and offers enough flexibility for beginners to incorporate their own designs and interests. A lovely collection of formulas and stories.
Inspiring.......2005-08-09
The book is great, I like the format and the clear instructions. Beautiful photos. The price was also great. I like saving money for more fabric.
Get Creative.......2005-06-13
This book is excellent. I would recommend starting at the beginning and reading through each project. It is set up as a workbook and one chapter leads into the next. A color wheel is a must and really helps one select the fabric for each project. Not all sales persons in the fabric store have the knowledge that you will obtain from this book. Thanks M'liss. Doreen Meier
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Creating With Color: A Guide for Quilters
Patricia Knoechel
Manufacturer: Quilt in a Day
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Quilts & Quilting
| Crafts & Hobbies
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 9990373272 |
Book Description
- Full of real-world advice and solutions teach readers how to make educated decisions when planning or redoing a kitchen.
- Inspiring case studies are complemented by tips and sidebars that tackle all aspects of kitchen design, planning, and decorating.
- More than 300 photos and floor plans offer readers everything from how to refresh a recent kitchen remodel to whatÂ's new in appliances and surfaces.
Book Description
At last, a software book about design! Exploring Dreamweaver® MX 2004 is the designer's answer to the age-old question: "Great tool, but how do I use it to create great design?" Now even first-time users can excel at creating websites using the latest version of Dreamweaver. Computer graphics expert and SIGGRAPH 2005 Conference Chair James Mohler explains the tools and functions of Dreamweaver MX 2004 needed to make websites incorporating text, graphics, logos, tables, menus, and more. Artwork is expertly woven throughout the information-packed format to drive home key concepts and pave the way to the development of well-designed web pages.
Book Description
The stage career of Will Rogers, one of America's most influential humorists, began to take shape during the years covered by this documentary history, the second volume in The Papers of Will Rogers.
Between 1904 and 1908, Rogers made the transition from Wild West shows to the vaudeville stage. During these early years, he developed and polished his act, blending his homespun humor with his cowboy skills of roping and horseback riding to the delight of his audience. At the same time he began courting Betty Blake, his future wife. Their on-again, off-again relationship matured as Rogers was realizing his goal of making a career in show business.
Along with Rogers's personal correspondence, Arthur Frank Wertheim and Barbara Bair present theater programs, performance reviews, and newspaper clippings, all providing detailed snapshots of vaudeville at the beginning of the twentieth century. Much of this material, gleaned from private collections, interviews, and theater-arts collections in New York City and across the country, has never before been published in any form.
Books:
- German Short Stories 1: Parallel Text Edition (Parallel Text, Penguin)
- Hockey Drills for Scoring (Hockey Drills)
- How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got A Life: A Novel
- Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
- I Don't Wanna Be Right
- In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale
- Irish Cream: A Nuala Anne McGrail Novel (Nuala Anne McGrail Novels)
- Kaddish for an Unborn Child
- King of the Vagabonds: The Baroque Cycle #2 (The Baroque Cycle)
- La casa en Mango Street
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Kodocha: Sana's Stage Vol. 3
- Forever and Ever, Amen
- Culture of Epithelial Cells
- Asymptotic Methods for the Fokker-Planck Equation and the Exit Problem in Applications
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- History: Fiction or Science
- First Friend: A History of Dogs and Humans
- Victorian Architectural Details: Designs for Over 700 Stairs, Mantels, Doors, Windows, Cornices, Por
- Cocktail Shakers, Lava Lamps, and Tupperware: A Celebration of Lifestyle Design from the Last Half o
- Death Takes a Honeymoon
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen (Penguin Classics)
The Last of the Just
The Small Room: A Novel (Norton Library ; N832)
Poems
The Parnas: A Scene from the Holocaust
