Beyond the Cayenne Wall: Collection of Short Stories

Average customer rating:

not for the faint of heart

The highly personal and deeply intimate collection of author Shaila Abdullah's conceptual short-stories

"Stoop to conquer"

Thought provoking

Incredible stories

Beyond the Cayenne Wall: Collection of Short Stories
Shaila M Abdullah
Manufacturer: iUniverse, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0595370098

Book Description

'Abdullah takes us into the hearts and minds, realities and yearnings, and daily existence of women young and aged in and from South Asia. Her stunningly beautiful prose and elegant iridescent descriptions of the land that these women love is juxtaposed with the brutality and coarseness of their everyday existence."
-Dr. Shirley Hord, author of Implementing Change

Beyond the Cayenne Wall captures the cultural chasm-and sometimes the collision between the East and the West-as the characters struggle to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society. Tannu refuses to give up her firstborn to the caretakers of the shrine of Shah Daullah as tradition dictates. Dhool is a defiant, spirited woman who confronts the five mistakes in her life and ventures out among the wolves in human clothing to make ends meet. In a striking account of alienation and the clash of two worlds, Mansi faces some tough choices when she brings her widowed mother back with her to live in the United States.

In these and several other stories, Abdullah weaves together a collection of events that spin around betrayals, confessions, acceptance, and denial, shaken in with exotic spices and flavor, a potpourri for the senses.

Customer Reviews:

not for the faint of heart.......2006-06-07

Rebeccasreads highly recommends BEYOND THE CAYENNE WALL as a beautifully written although very hard to read collection of stories that will keep you totally absorbed.

While its cover image may intimate things exotic, soft & gentle, all the stories are raw & unbridled in how they get to the core of these women's emotions & how their cultures' traditions chafe on their hearts & souls.

The descriptions of the land these women love are luminous & yet we quickly become privy to the terrible culture clashes & the despair & sheer brutality of their everyday lives.

The highly personal and deeply intimate collection of author Shaila Abdullah's conceptual short-stories.......2006-03-09

Beyond The Cayenne Wall is the highly personal and deeply intimate collection of author Shaila Abdullah's conceptual short-stories. Abdullah presents the cultural chasm between the east and the west with her intuitive writings of individuals finding themselves despite their socially set barriers that they inspirationally overcome throughout the eye-opening stories of fate, alienation and solitude. Beyond The Cayenne Wall is a superb read for students of literature, culture and sociology because of its deftly written engagement into the world and life of the alienated foreigner.

"Stoop to conquer".......2006-01-20

Beyond The Cayenne Wall tells 7 short stories of women we think we've seen, but never really heard about. Shaila Abdullah introduces us to Pakistani society on a number of levels. She tells stories about urban women, rural women, pampered women, hardscrabble women, educated women. Ms. Abdullah uses simple but powerful imagery interspersed with Urdu to generate the inclusive quality of "being there". At the root of the stories are the cultural burdens women bear. Although the setting appears exclusively eastern, oddly enough, the struggles, disappointments, joys, and sorrows of these women transcend borders. Pending marriage, difficult conception, in-laws, and tradition are issues we can all relate to, and doing so through the prism of eastern culture only makes us richer for it.

I truly enjoyed this collection of short stories, and devoured them in one setting. Reading about the determination of Tannu, the fierce protectiveness of Dhool, the revelation of Minnah, the stoicism of Shiwali, the persistence and horrible discovery of Minal, the grief of Mansi, and the redemption of Nyassa brought all of this into sharp relief. In today's climate, we often see the eastern world against the backdrop of war and conflict. We never see the more mundane aspects of everyday life that fuel so much of the other. What I appreciated most was the view into everyday life that tends to be overshadowed and outright forgotten in today's political climate.

Although the women are not always successful, they are always triumphant. Even when circumstance conspires against them, and fortune turns its back, each of these women demands and receives small victories. Be it the mockery of a quickly hidden glance, the silence of hidden passion, the damning knowledge of a bully's frailty, each story illustrates that sometimes the best part of victory is-modesty. It has not been since college that I remembered reading about feminism around the world. Sometimes, it is very easy to believe that our kind of feminism is the only kind. Feminism isn't only about working outside the home and sitting in front of the classroom. Sometimes, its as much about what is still going on inside the home, and what kind of classroom. Sometimes it is about bouncing back as opposed to striking first. I think these stories make an excellent addition to any woman's library, and I heartily recommend them.

Reviewed By: Angela Hailey, Black Butterfly Review

Thought provoking.......2005-12-11

Abdullah weaves the lives of women living in Pakistan with contrast to the Western culture. She captures the inner feelings with great depth. "Beyond the Cayenne Wall" is able to portray each woman's struggles and then find her own inner peace within the societal paramenters.

Abdullah writes well as she articulates each character and draws the reader into the realm of the woman's life.

Incredible stories.......2005-11-16

Shaila Abdullah, a Pakistani-American living in Austin, Texas, has captured national attention with her recently published book, "Beyond the Cayenne Wall." The award winning book is a compilation of seven stories about women living in Pakistan.

Although the book is considered fiction, Shaila portrays each woman "like it really is" living in a South Asian country where societal rules prevail. In one of the stories she talks about matriarchal control over the daughter-in-law where the daughter-in-law is expected to do all the work, where the daughter-in-law is not able to eat rice because money is short but she has to cook it for her husband because he is the only one that can embellish in the luxury of eating rice. The daughter-in-law "was not permitted to venture outdoors in pursuit of work because she was the prized cow, an incubator for a prospective offspring..."

In another narrative, Shaila tells us how the bride, who is not able to produce a male offspring within a short time of an arranged marriage, is ostracized and blamed. Life for many women, especially in the rural areas, becomes an existence that many of us in the Western world cannot relate to. Yet, deep inside these women clash with the realities of their existence and the knowing that things are different outside their realities, often yearning for a different way of life but being trapped within their culture.

Shaila writes each story with passion and soul, drawing the reader deep into the feelings of the women. Reading "Beyond the Cayenne Wall" gave me an insight and understanding that regardless of where women live, they have the same feelings that I would have if in the same situation. After reading each story, I found myself contemplating and comparing my life to theirs, being grateful for my freedom.

Book Description

A dark and sublime tale of art and love, science and nature in Renaissance Italy.

Loosely based on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, A Rare and Curious Gift tells the story of Sofonisba, a brilliant painter gradually taking over her father's studio. Determined to avoid the depredations of men, she is fighting her own intensely erotic attraction to Matteo Tassi—sculptor, goldsmith, notorious and irresistible rogue. Then a young female slave, her skin strangely mottled by nature, enters their lives and those of their friends. The fascination of these artists and scientists with the exotic creature in their midst—often cruel, sometimes humane—inevitably alters their relationship with one another and the world around them forever.

Through this fearless story of utterly convincing human passions, Pauline Holdstock paints a rich, beautifully textured portrait of the Italian Renaissance and its material and spiritual visions of human nature. Like Penelope Fitzgerald's The Blue Flower and Tracy Chevalier's Girl with a Pearl Earring, this is wonderfully sophisticated entertainment.

Customer Reviews:

Not very valid as historical fiction.......2006-08-23

I read this book in Florence where the novel is set and really did want to like it, however - sentiment aside - there is little to recommend. Firstly, the whole book sounds like it is written in the passive voice. The effect this has is to make nearly all the action feel distant and removed from the reader - you are never directly engaged. The author's voice is simply too detached to elicit anyone else's emotions.

Secondly, on the level of historical accuracy there is hardly any detail to critique. The city of Florence could just as well be anywhere - it's hardly described. The book purports to be set in Renaissance Italy, but it's clearly not a time or place the author had any great knowledge of, and it shows in the superficial and sometimes erroneous detail.

There is not a novel-length story here. It's a short story with potential being told in 400 pages. But without either careful historical erudition, romantic interest, or a crafted prose style, the end result is a series of remote events teeming with superfluous gore, untitillating sex, stretched plotlines and 2-dimensional characters.

Beautiful but distasteful.......2006-07-26

One of the previous reviewers, Luan Gaines, has written a wonderful description of all that this book contains and I feel that I couldn't possibly add more to that, but I just couldn't like this book. The graphic descriptions of dismemberment, the flaying of the entire skin of a previously buried corpse, and details of other gory moments are just too much for any kind of enjoyment...I read to be entertained and uplifted, not to be sickened. So, despite the undoubted authenticity of the doings of those times, I just don't care to read about them.

Bad recommendation.......2006-03-08

This was recommended to me by Amazon, and the recommendation system is usually spot-on, but this was terribly disappointing. I went in with an open mind, since the story sounded interesting, and I like reading about that time period, but I just couldn't get into it and dreaded picking it up, when I'm typically excited to read as much as possible (usually about a book a week). I found it incredibly boring and as hard as I tried, I couldn't find any connection with the characters or their lives/situations.

I was deeply disappointed by this book..........2006-03-06

I have generally had excellent luck in ordering books based on Amazon's recommendation system. This is the first to really 'miss the mark' for me.

I had enjoyed both Sarah Durant's "In the Company of a Courtesan" and "The Birth of Venus", as well as "The Illuminator" by Brenda Vantrese. While this book was set during the same period as the three previous books, it lacked the captivating qualities they all embodied.

In addition, while I realize that the Renaissance was a troubled time, full of strife and prejudice, "The Rare and Curious Gift" was far too mean spirited. I really couldn't identify with the 'good' characters, and the reading itself was plodding and depressing.

It is my hope that other readers will pick one of the other books I've mentioned, and really enjoy the time period more fully !

"The perfect imperfection".......2005-03-18

Sixteenth century Tuscany is aglow with artistic opportunity, painters, sculptors, artisans all enjoying and unprecedented flourishing of the arts. Even women are encouraged in the art of painting, though there are few with the courage to follow such a muse, one of the most notable Artemisia Gentileschi, who paints at a later date than this novel.

The female artist of note in this era is Sofonisba Fabroni, a young woman trained by her father, although her talents actually surpass those of her teacher. Of independent mind, Sofonisba is absorbed by her work, floating on the wings of natural talent, intuiting the very nature of color, shape, form and emotion. With her father and a few other artists, Sofonisba attends clandestine anatomy classes at the home of Paolo Pallavicino, the resident artist of a local patron. In the dark of night, these artists sketch the wonders of the human anatomy as Paolo dissects cadavers by lantern light. Such things are forbidden, but the urge to discover the connections of body to spirit dominate the times, a furious quest to uncover the causality of life itself.

This is not a good time for women, artists being the exception in a society that favors male domination in all its affairs. Unexpectedly, Sofonisba is the beneficiary of a gift, a piebald young slave girl, Chiara, whose skin is mottled with patterns of black and white, an object of curiosity and fear. In such superstitious times, the slave girl is looked upon with disfavor, the Devil's charge. After a tragic fire on the first day of an annual saint's festival, fingers begin to point at the slave, an omen of bad luck visited upon the town: "The wings of devils shall carry you to Hell. And the woman shall go first."

The confusion of the religious festival sets in motion a subdued violence, as the villagers perceive the need to set things right with God. This is the age of the Inquisition, a time of hangings and torture in the name of God, His majesty over the natural world. Sofonisba and Chiara are thrown into the maelstrom by circumstances beyond their control; at the heart of all is the lecherous Matteo Tassi, unable to govern his concupiscent acts or headstrong emotions. Like the fated Artemisia, Sofonisba will suffer for living freely in a man's world, despite the talent that is both her gift and cross to bear.

The tapestry of characters is as rich as the story: Paolo Pallavicino, the old man who conducts secret dismemberments; Tassi, the master of depravity, who creates inimitable curiosities, but is driven to satisfy the needs of the flesh; Alessandro, hopelessly in love with Sofonisba, but never a candidate for her affections, reduced to walking about in garments made of human skin; Orazio, an artist whose ageing body is courting death, at odds with his own desires for his talented daughter; Sofonisba, the artist who lives for her work, but is taunted by Tassi's invitation to the joys of human connection; and Chiara, the piebald slave, doomed by her color, defined only by her appearance, an easy target for the rampant superstition of the times, where God is frequently at odds with the devil, signs everywhere to terrify the faithful.

With agonizing precision, the author paints the images of her characters as cleanly as Sofonisba paints her own revenge for the injustice of the court, the ignominy of her own suffering. But even more, Holdstock exposes the carnal cruelty of men who believe they can access the union of body and spirit, their ignorance shielded by artistic endeavor that allows the egotistical destruction of simplicity they fail to comprehend. The pursuit of beauty and pageantry allows the acceptance of extreme behavior, all in the name of monstrous curiosity.

This astonishing novel flays the hypocrisy of the artistic community and the religious leaders who create a society that demeans the worth of women and ignores licentiousness and lechery from men held in high esteem, in a quest for knowledge that destroys the beauty of nature in its hubris, a complete disregard for disvalued lives. In the same manner that cadavers are examined for their secrets, the author excises the shriveled hearts of ruthless men in pursuit of art. The novel is fascinating, complicated and shocking, a masterful rendition of 16th century society and the carnage of hardened, superstitious and carnal arrogance, the corruption of the intellect in pursuit of artistic curiosities. Not for the faint of heart, this novel will challenge your perceptions and prick your conscience, "as beautiful and terrible as the world." Luan Gaines/2005.

Book Description

Not everyone was eager to share the planet Earth with the Zentraedi survivors of the First Robotech War. There was little prospect of a lasting peace, as the tensions in the Southlands gave rise to two opposing forces, and each vowed to fight until the other was eradicated. Caught beween the two rivals was the Robotech Defense Force. Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, Max and Miriya Sterling, Breetai, and others who would all have their parts to play in the period that came to be called the Malcontent Uprisings....

Customer Reviews:

Secrets Revealed!.......2002-09-02

WOW, this is an AWESOME book! If you ever wanted to know what
happened after the last Macross Saga series episode (Episode 36: To the Stars), but before the first Sentinels series episode, this book will reveal ALL! Like: Lisa Hayes is now Admiral Hayes, Rick Hunter reluctantly accepts promotion to Vice Admiral, Rolf
Emerson debuts in the Robotech story, Dr. Lang is introduced to Invid carcass firsthand, Rick and Lisa continue to fight, the Southern Grand Cannon (Alaska Base's Grand Cannon sister) was
never completed, Power Hungry Politicians create the new UEG with plans to overthrow the RDF/REF, Miriya learns there was another
Zentraedi Female who gave birth to a Human child, Dr. Lang pushes for a return mission to Macross Island in Plutospace, Scott Bernard's HERO Johnathan Wolf makes his Robotech debut, Lynn-Kyle RETURNS, Rick proposes to Lisa, Rook Bartley's parents become an intricate part of Johnathan Wolf's "Wolf Pack", Professor Zand gets a mind boost and becomes Super Smart just like Dr. Lang, The REF unveils their new creations-the Alpha Veritech-the Hovertank-the Gargantuan Ground Mobile Unit-and sexy new uniforms, Max crashes the Skull One Veritech, the Southern Cross becomes a POWERHOUSE, but the BEST SHOCKER of all was the ending on Chapter 4. It'll blow you away! Read the book and find out lots more great details in the Robotech storyline. I highly recommend this book to all Robotech fans. I hope they also release this book on DVD.

A great book..........2002-08-07

2015: Peace on Earth is not very peaceful. The Southlands are being ruled by the xenophobic Field Marshal, Anatole Leonard, with his Army of the Southern Cross. Against him are the Zentraedi insurgents who remain loyal to the Robotech Masters. The rich and powerful are trying to bring back the UEG, while many of the common masses just want to get enough food to eat. Into this mixture comes Rick Hunter, Lisa Hayes, Max and Miriya Sterling, Breeti and Dr. Lang. The threat of the Robotech Masters and the Invid seems to be always in the background, as the many forces on Earth fight over the resources that are left.

A Great Connection..........2000-01-12

The collective mind of Jack Mckinney has produced the most intricate and thorough Robotech story to date. The plot is compatible, yet surprisingly riveting. Each character is keenly developed, which is rare in many sci-fi novels. And each figure plays integral roles in the development of the story, and the overall saga of Robotech. Mckinney retains his readers attention by providing information of a very vague period in the Robotech timeline, known as the "Malcontent Uprisings". However, even if a reader is solely interested in the events that occur between Macross and the Sentinels, they will also be pleased with the subtle devices Mckinney uses to breathe life into his characters. Each figure from Macross is represnted well, showing the reader what a thorough writer Mckinney truly is. This book is a very fast read, and is recommended to all, fans and skeptics alike. With this book, the final bridge between Robotech episodes, Mckinney offers a very smart, enjoyable, and well thought out connection.

Best book out of all others in the series.......1999-11-13

I have read every single robotech book, seen all the animie shows twice (english and japanese, note i had to learn japanese just to watch the Japanese versions. Hint this is good enough to learn japanese for) and I have all the videos, all the models, and i think i have the largest Robotech colleciton on Earth. Escept for the makers. Well, anyways, about the book. I love it! Just the way it makes you feel from the beggining to the end is enough to give it 5 stars. The way the Zentradi branch off into the Human-Loyal groups and the Self-loyal groups. The way It relates to Racisim, War, Aftermath, and love keep you turning the pages. The way the story turns the minute you think you know what will happen. All of this and more contribute to a 5 star book ,and the best that I've ever read (yes, better than all Harry Potters's in my opinion.) Robotech Rocks!

The finest novel in the Robotech Saga.......1999-01-13

Maybe it was because Jack McKinney could take liberties with this book that he couldn't with others. Possibly it is the perfect setting. Whatever the reason, the 19th installment from the Robotech novels is perhaps the finest. We are finally on an earth that we do recognize, fighting a local war, instead of light years away. the character development is superb. We finally find out where the Wolf-Pack comes from. We finally see Rick and Lisa's relationship develop. We are once again marveled by the Sterlings' marriage. The plot follows the "Lets-Save-The-World" line. A definitely good book

Average customer rating:

Robotech # 19: The Zentraedi Rebellion
Jack McKinney
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVONU8

Zentraedi Rebellion, The - Robotech Lost Generation # 19

Average customer rating:

Zentraedi Rebellion, The - Robotech Lost Generation # 19
Jack McKinney
Manufacturer: Del Rey Books/Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000SSCVIS

Book Description

In this collection of illuminating conversations, renowned historian of world religions Huston Smith invites ten influential American Indian spiritual and political leaders to talk about their five-hundred-year struggle for religious freedom. Their intimate, impassioned dialogues yield profound insights into one of the most striking cases of tragic irony in history: the country that prides itself on religious freedom has resolutely denied those same rights to its own indigenous people. With remarkable erudition and curiosity--and respectfully framing his questions in light of the revelation that his discovery of Native American religion helped him round out his views of the world's religions--Smith skillfully helps reveal the depth of the speakers' knowledge and experience. American Indian leaders Vine Deloria, Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux), Winona LaDuke (Anishshinaabeg), Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), Frank Dayish, Jr. (Navajo), Charlotte Black Elk (Oglala Lakota), Douglas George-Kanentiio (Mohawk-Iroquois), Lenny Foster (Dine/Navajo), Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), Anthony Guy Lopez (Lakota-Sioux), and Oren Lyons (Onondaga) provide an impressive overview of the critical issues facing the Native American community today. Their ideas about spirituality, politics, relations with the U.S. government, their place in American society, and the continuing vitality of their communities give voice to a population that is all too often ignored in contemporary discourse. The culture they describe is not a relic of the past, nor a historical curiosity, but a living tradition that continues to shape Native American lives.

Download Description

In this collection of illuminating conversations, renowned historian of world religions Huston Smith invites ten influential American Indian spiritual and political leaders to talk about their five-hundred-year struggle for religious freedom. Their intimate, impassioned dialogues yield profound insights into one of the most striking cases of tragic irony in history: the country that prides itself on religious freedom has resolutely denied those same rights to its own indigenous people. With remarkable erudition and curiosity--and respectfully framing his questions in light of the revelation that his discovery of Native American religion helped him round out his views of the world's religions--Smith skillfully helps reveal the depth of the speakers' knowledge and experience. American Indian leaders Vine Deloria, Jr. (Lakota), Winona LaDuke (Anishinaabe), Walter Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), Frank Dayish, Jr. (Navajo), Charlotte Black Elk (Lakota), Douglas George-Kanentiio (Mohawk), Lenny Foster (Dine), Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Onondaga), Anthony Guy Lopez (Lakota), and Oren Lyons (Onondaga) provide an impressive overview of the critical issues facing the Native American community today. Their ideas about spirituality, politics, relations with the U.S. government, their place in American society, and the continuing vitality of their communities give voice to a population that is all too often ignored in contemporary discourse. The culture they describe is not a relic of the past, nor a historical curiosity, but a living tradition that continues to shape Native American lives.

Customer Reviews:

Vicarious Learning at its best.......2006-06-11

An excellent look into the minds and souls of the 21st century Native Americans. Bravo once again to Huston Smith!

Average customer rating:

More than a cookbook

The Lazy Days of Summer Cookbook: A Celebration of Summer's Bounty
Jane Watson Hopping
Manufacturer: Villard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Country Mothers Cookbook: A Celebration of Motherhood and Old-Fashioned Cooking

Pioneer Lady's Hearty Winter Cookbook:, The: A Treasury of Old-Fashioned Foods and Fond Memories

Pioneer Lady's Country Kitchen

The Many Blessings Cookbook: A Celebration of Harvest, Home, and Country Cooking

The Pioneer Lady's Country Christmas: A Gift of Old-Fashioned Recipes and Memories of Christmas Past

ASIN: 0679403361
Release Date: 1992-04-07

Customer Reviews:

More than a cookbook.......2005-12-05

This cookbook is packed full of old fashioned recipes like what you might find tucked away in your grandmother's cupboard. Every one that I make is such a treat. I would buy this cookbook for the Old Fashioned Hermits recipe alone. Mrs. Hopping does more than just provide recipes. The stories of traditions and days gone by combined with poems makes this cookbook a joy to read even when you are not cooking.

Average customer rating:

A must for Great Plains collectors

Arrowheads of the Central Great Plains: Identification & Value Guide
Daniel J. Fox , and Jason Peter
Manufacturer: Collector Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Firearms & Weapons | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Arrowheads and Projectile Points (Identification & Values (Collector Books))

Paleo-indian Artifacts: Identification & Value Guide

Indian Artifacts of the Midwest: Identification & Value Guide (Indian Artifacts of the Midwest)

Field Guide to Projectile Points of the Midwest:

Arrowheads & Stone Artifacts: A Practical Guide for the Amateur Archaeologist

ASIN: 1574322702

Book Description

The author describes over 50 of the most common, the most rare, and the most famous stone artifacts. These are some of the best examples known, most of which are from private collectors and have never before been seen in any book. You'll find the facts about several aspects of the North American Indian and prehistoric America. Geographic maps of the area are provided, as well as a current market appraisal section and directions on how to grade artifacts. REVIEW: In this book you will learn how to date artifacts, how they were made, how to detect modern pieces, and why the artifacts look the way they do. Geographic maps of the area are provided, as well as an easy-to-understand timeline of the Stone Age. -Phillip Norris

Customer Reviews:

A must for Great Plains collectors.......2003-02-13

Danial Fox has written a very informative book that I would highly recommend to anyone intrested in Great Plains arrowheads.I found the section on lithic materials very helpful and the pictures of artifacts fantastic. It's packed cover to cover with good information.

Average customer rating:
Table Settings: 100 Inspirational Stylings, Themes and Layouts, With 60 Sensational Step-By-Step Projects
Tessa Evelegh
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Hospitality, Travel & Tourism | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Tablesetting | Special Occasions | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Etiquette | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Tabletops: Easy, Practical, Beautiful Ways to Decorate the Table

Table Settings: Stylish Entertaining Made Simple

The Perfect Setting

Suddenly a Centerpiece: Assemble These Clever Table Designs in No Time at All

The Simple Art of Napkin Folding: 94 Fancy Folds for Every Tabletop Occasion

ASIN: 1859673805

Book Description

Sharing food is a universal expression of friendship and hospitality, and much of the enjoyment of inviting friends and family to join in a meal lies in the pleasure of preparing it as well as making the table look beautiful. Basic elements of linen, china, glass, and silverware can always be used, but each piece can be set off, complemented, or enhanced in a number of different ways. This gorgeous book is brimming with original ideas and beautiful inspirations that readers can use to create stunning individual table settings. Table Settings explores the history of eating and table settings in various cultures, and then proceeds to analyze different elemental components of a well-set table: china, glass, silverware, linen, decorations, candles, and furniture. This section is followed by a design directory that offers ideas for different theme tables, such as a traditional white-and-glass table, an African table, Citrus Shades, China Blues, Gilded Table, Jewel Brights, Beach Style, Sun-Filled Style, and much more. Each segment covers absolutely everything needed to create a complete, fabulous-looking table. The great thing about this book is that readers don't need to own tons of fine china and linen to make their table look gorgeous. Furthermore, they have the option of closely following one of the theme patterned table designs, or simply using parts of these to create their own individual designs. The book is also chock-full of color photos, making it accessible to interior designers of all levels of experience.

Book Description

In London, more money is spent on sex than going the cinema. Tart cards are the means by which prostitutes advertise, and they have become as ubiquitous a symbol of that city as the red telephone booths in which they are found. Since the early 1980s these advertising cards, posted in public phone booths around London, have evolved with printing technology into a sophisticated graphic and sociological form. While illegal, about 13 million cards are distributed each year. More than 350 contemporary and historic tart cards are illustrated in color in this book.

In addition, every page of text, including the wittily-designed chapter openers, contains a riot of colorful detail from the cards. The book also contains an eye-opening, comprehensive glossary of the suggestive and coded language they use. Some people find the cards offensive, other amusing; but for the prostitutes and their customers they are a commercial necessity.

For anyone interested in graphic design the cards form a microcosm of evolving style, taste and technique in design. Tart cards are now a recognized art form and are collected by institutions and individuals worldwide. Love them or loath then, tart cards are an intriguing slice of the social and commercial history of sex.

Customer Reviews:

A Curious Volume Proves It Pays to Advertise.......2003-07-24

Marshall McLuhan wrote that advertising was the cave art of the twentieth century. He wasn't around to see a particularly interesting manifestation of the cave art in London starting in 1984. At that time, because of a loophole in the law, London prostitutes started advertising in phone boxes. The practice became so prominent that now a book reproducing hundreds of the cards, along with a brief documentation of the history and sociology of the practice, has been produced: _Tart Cards: London's Illicit Advertising Art_ (Mark Batty Publisher), by Caroline Archer, is a surprising and good-looking examination of the legal, social, commercial, and advertising issues involved in the cards, as well as an amusing collection of cards offering many different sexual practices. If you can't spend time in a London phone box, this book will take you there.

Advertising in phone boxes, which belonged to the Post Office and thus the government, was illegal until 1984, when British Telecom was privatized. Enterprising prostitutes saw the loophole and moved their cards from news agents to phone boxes; after all, each card sported a telephone number, and it made sense to advertise where potential clients could use it immediately. Sometimes the women place their own cards, but they more often subcontract this work to "carders," often students or unemployed. Placing 600 cards a day might get a carder 200 pounds; thus mere card distribution is a trade of millions of pounds per year. Catherine Archer has her doctorate in typography, and is especially interested in the typefaces of the cards. A historic typeface from the nineteenth century tends to be used for cards offering mock schoolgirl services or flagellation. Massage services often have whimsical and feminine scripts. Domination cards can have "stern words set in Gothic letters."

Archer is not the only person enthusiastic about the cards in their own right. Cards are traded, like Pokemon cards, and sometimes children do the trading. Some collectors are quite serious in appreciation of the cards' artistic merit or social significance. There have even been parodies of cards, used to promote tours of musical acts or to protest aspects of the use of public spaces. Archer has produced a very interesting examination of the phenomenon, but the best parts of the book are the pages and pages of reproductions of cards, all in full color and unexpurgated. "Have you been a naughty boy?" enquires a professorial-looking woman with a cane. "If you're feeling rather randy, always keep this number handy!" exults one, or "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me." There are even variants for Christmas: "Have a Cruel Yule." This is an amusing and handsome book, on an esoteric subject which the author has made interesting and pertinent. Try it on your coffee table.

Amazon.com

Even if you don't agree with the editors that screenwriting is the toughest and riskiest profession in the movie business, this lovely book holds tremendous appeal. Screenwriters offers unique visual and verbal portraits of each of the 47 writers covered. The striking photographs presented here were exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The book also offers brief comments from the screenwriters on the art of writing, particularly for the silver screen.

Paul Schrader, who wrote the screenplays for Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Affliction, claims, "Everybody wants to talk. It's like a compulsion." Nora Ephron, who scripted You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, and When Harry Met Sally..., compares writing for the screen to "delivering a great big beautiful plain pizza, then the director sees it and wants to add mushrooms, and others want to add green peppers and anchovies, until you have a pizza with everything and you think, 'Why didn't I lie down in traffic to prevent anyone's putting green peppers onto the pizza?'" Novelist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, from whose pen flowed the Merchant-Ivory adaptations of Howards End, The Remains of the Day, and A Room with a View, maintains: "Whether I'm writing films or fiction, I feel I'm always the same writer with the same concerns--about making a story move; about establishing interesting characters and developing the relationship between them."

Reading this book, one realizes how little most of us know about screenwriters. Considering the media attention lavished upon actors and actresses, it is refreshing and revealing to hear from the people who craft the words uttered onscreen. Although we may have listened to screenwriters' words without recognizing their authors, this book gives us the chance to pay attention to their voices. --Raphael Shargel

Book Description

Based on their major photo exhibits at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, award-winning authors Lumme and Manninen reveal the hidden talents behind Hollywood's most famous films. Forty-eight leading screenwriters are introduced in brilliant portrait photography and their own revealing words. From Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard), Ernest Lehman (North by Northwest), and Robert Towne (The Firm) to Oliver Stone (Platoon), Nora Ephron (Sleepless in Seattle) and Richard La Gravanese (The Horse Whisperer), 18 Academy Award winners and another 18 nominees are featured among these remarkable color and black & white portraits.

Customer Reviews:

Buy this book.......2000-06-12

I love this book. Initially, when I first bought it, it was for the photography, which is outstanding. But as I would leaf through it, again and again I was struck by the poetic and thoughtful writing. It's become something of an inspiration for me now as I work to remain creative with my own artistic endeavors.

All artists, especially struggling and neophyte screenwriters, owe it to themselves to check out this beautiful work. Another reviewer put it well; it's about time writers got their due.

Customer.......2000-06-03

As a screenwriter myself, I was inspired to explore the worlds of other writers...I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the arts of any kind

customer.......2000-05-22

It's about time writers receive their 15 minutes of fame. This book has given me the inspiration to start writing again after a long break. Lumme and Manninen capture the screenwriters like no one ever has. I can't wait to see what story their next book brings to life.

An inspirational exploration.......1999-11-19

Because writers are behind the scenes -- way behind the scenes -- we can only guess what they are trying to tell us with each new screenplay. That's why I loved seeing their faces and hearing their words -- listening to some of them go on and on about their craft and others sum up their reactions to years of hard work in 10 or 20 well-chosen words. I didn't need this book when I bought it -- or at least I didn't think so. Now I turn back to it time and again for inspiration. I don't feel as if I've been talked down to, rather that I got a glimpse deep into the writers' souls.

An inspiring study of the writerýs craft.......1999-09-17

This is a book for writers. Sure, it's full of pictures, but mostly it's about the pursuit of story. Everybody thinks actors and directors make movies, but it's the writer who creates the characters, dreams up the story, makes us care what happens. These are some of the world's greatest writers and they are incredibly candid here. It's funny to me that every magazine interviews novelists, but who interviews screenwriters other than Variety and, now, these guys? Screenwriters must be the most invisible, hardworking artists on the planet. Lumme and Manninen offer a very unusual glimpse, literally and figuratively, of the idea makers of Hollywood. Manninen achieved the impossible, finding compelling ways to photograph people who must spend 99% of their lives staring at a computer. The common trait in all the portraits is the writer's twinkle in the eye. There's an idea banging around in that head, maybe a couple. I found this a very refreshing take on the creative process. It is puzzling that Screenwriters is apparently the first such book. Personally, I'd like to hear more from the people who are pretty much the acknowledged masters of modern storytelling. Bonus: In addition to a bunch of funny and interesting anecdotes, there are a good many real writing tips divulged. I felt genuinely inspired by this book, and I don't even have an idea for a screenplay. Maybe I'll get one now. Two thumbs way up.

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