An Unsuitable Attachment

Book Description

An Unsuitable Attachment is set in a parish outside of London. There the novel's "unattached" characters work out a confusing web of matchmaking and forming attachments. A new eligible bachelor in the neighborhood, Rupert Stonebird, finds himself choosing between two very different women.

Sophie, the wife of the Vicar of St. Basil, becomes determined to match her sister Penelope with Rupert, a plan that would seem to work well until a graceful and quite suitable Iantha Broome also becomes a member of the community. As Rupert grapples with courting either Penelope or Iantha, Iantha finds herself with two more suitors. This elegant novel will keep readers enthralled as unsuitable and suitable attachments unfold.

Customer Reviews:

"Had she ever loved or been loved?".......2003-04-05

The novel, "An Unsuitable Attachment," by Barbara Pym is set in an unfashionable suburb of London and revolves around a small group of characters who live there. The Vicar of St Basil's, Mark Ainger, the remote and unworldly husband of the lonely Sophie, heads the community. While Mark plans his next sermon, Sophie hopes that an attachment will form between her sister, Penelope, and the new resident bachelor, anthropologist, Rupert Stonebird. There is however, a slight complication to Sophie's matchmaking plans--a very eligible and eminently suitable spinster--Iantha Broome also moves into the parish.

In this quietly contained novel, the story gently unfolds as the characters form both suitable and unsuitable attachments. Rupert Stonebird contemplates relationships with both Penelope--the "poor pre-Raphaelite Beatnik" and the graceful, ladylike Iantha. Iantha, however, rather unexpectedly becomes the object of desire of no less than three men. Rupert is quite an expert on mating rituals of obscure tribes, but when faced with the mating rituals of his own class, he is flummoxed.

Edwin Pettigrew, the local veterinarian is too devoted to his furry patients to form an attachment to anyone, and his sister Daisy is attached only to the cats who come under her care--although she does draw the line at "undoctored ... and Siamese cats." Several people in the St Basil's congregation find Sophie's attachment to her cat, Faustina very unseemly--especially since Sophie is married to the vicar, but it is a holiday in Rome that sorts out which attachments--both suitable and unsuitable--will become permanent.

I adore Barbara Pym novels, and I frequently re-read all of them for the soothing, reassuring qualities they seem to possess. If you like Jane Austen, then no doubt you will also enjoy the novels of Barbara Pym. "An Unsuitable Attachment" is a subtle, gentle novel of manners--elegant, smooth, full of faded gentility and quiet eloquence--displacedhuman

Romance, social class, church and a cat........1997-11-21

Barbara Pym is often called the Jane Austen of our time. Insofar as she observes keenly the social intercourse, inconsistancies and mores of her own time and place, this is true. But do not regard her as a duplicate of anyone. Her dry, elegant observations reach their height in An Unsuitable Attachment, a meandering story which takes place in a London parish in the 1960's. Pym lightly delineates the social changes taking place in England through her assortment of characters. From the upper-middle-class vicar's wife Sophia, devoted to her aptly-named cat Faustina and her handsome if remote husband Mark, to the wistfully mod single Penelope, to the good-hearted if crude working-class Sister Dew, Pym represents the spectrum of generational and class attitudes, and the resultant clashes of understanding between these attitudes. In spare yet well-honed descriptions she evokes a post-war, newly prospering London, a city where exotic (meaning dark-skinned) immigrants live close by old-fashioned people whose relatives who come up by train from the country to open a parish bazaar. I lived in London not many years ofter this story is set, and the mix of characters, descriptions of streets and houses, and tone and pace brilliantly evoke the atmosphere of that wonderfully complex and vital city. The romance is fun, too.

Romance, social class, church and a cat........1997-11-21

Average customer rating:

An Unsuitable Attachment
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Harper & Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF6HXU

Excellent women ; Jane and Prudence ; An unsuitable attachment

Average customer rating:

Excellent women ; Jane and Prudence ; An unsuitable attachment
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Excellent Women, Jane and Prudence, An Unsuitable Attachment
Barbara Pyn
Manufacturer: Harper and Row
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JUT9JE

Barbara Pym: "Excellent Women," "Jane and Prudence," and "An Unsuitable Attachment"

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Barbara Pym: "Excellent Women," "Jane and Prudence," and "An Unsuitable Attachment"
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Quality Paperback Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J0PVPU

Average customer rating:

An Unsuitable Attachment
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF2TAA

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An Unsuitable Attachment

Manufacturer: Granada Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000I1UIB2

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An Unsuitable Attachment
Barbara Pym
Manufacturer: Grafton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000J2L7OC

Book Description

Sean McMullen, one of Australias leading genre writers, took America by storm with his Greatwinter TrilogySouls in the Great Machine, The Miocene Arrow, and Eyes of the Calculora big, sweeping post-apocalyptic science fiction epic that won over critics and readers alike.Now he delivers Voyage of the Shadowmoon, a fantasy epic of daunting skill and scope. It is the story of the passengers and crew of the Shadowmoona small, wooden schooner. They sail the coast, gathering information as they go, passing as simple traders. But when they witness the awful power of Silverdeath, an uncontrollable doomsday weapon of awesome power, they realize they must act before Silverdeath rains destruction across their entire world.

Customer Reviews:

Australian SF Reader.......2007-08-01

A fun quest by a misfit band of adventurers to stop, basically, a super death ray. Done as more a fantasy type setting than Jules Verne, but that is part of the feel. Super secret amazing technology ship that they travel in, all that sort of thing. That, and a smartarsed trapped in a youth's body vampire, as your major character. Enjoyable romp.

Pretty Impressive Fantasy.......2006-04-15

I sure don't know what book it was that some of my fellow reviewers read, but it certainly wasn't "Voyage of the Shadowmoon." McMullen has written a fine fantasy, head and shoulders above the formulaic junk that's on the market today.

This is the story of a reverse quest. Our characters must find and somehow destroy an overwhelmingly dangerous and enticing magical - "etheric" - tool or machine, Silverdeath. In the Prologue, we see Silverdeath unleashed by the Emperor's general. In a flash of fire, the heart of an enemy citadel is destroyed, and the Emperor is made young. But Silverdeath is unstoppable. At the risk of spoilers, at regularly shortening intervals, it destroys again, doubling the radius of destruction. Even worse, Silverdeath cures the illness, even death, of anyone who is made to don it. This gadget makes Tolkein's One Ring of Sauron look like a bauble.

To stop this threat there is the Shadowmoon and its very motley crew, all of whom have their own agendas. And many of those agendas are mutually inconsistent. Particularly compelling is the oddly chivalric vampyre Laron, trapped for 700 years in a pimply 14-year old's body. He must drink blood and etheric energy, but he only destroys those who deserve it. Not the kind of person you'd want on a long ocean voyage on a small ship.

The tale is told in a rollicking, rowdy fashion, and the seemingly unrelated threads are all tied up neatly in the end. The parallels to our own world are obvious; some aspects of Silverdeath are a fantasy-rationalized nuclear weapon. But McMullen gives the reader too much fun to call this an allegory. Parts will make you laugh out loud; other parts are poignant. Sometimes those parts are on the same page.

Yes, the story-telling is a little uneven, but overall I strongly recommend this book. If you enjoy it, read the two sequels (so far), "Glass Dragons" and "Voidfarer."

Pleasingly picaresque, unclicheed fantasy adventures........2005-07-05

Shadowmoon series:
Voyage of the Shadowmoon (US, 2003), #1
Glass Dragons (3-04, US hb), #2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOYAGE is a fun book with neat characters in a pleasingly picaresque, unclicheed fantasy adventure: "A-", maybe even an "A". McMullen has a fertile imagination, and is a dab hand at drawing believable, likeable characters. VOYAGE does meander at times, but it's a fast read for such a fat book. Fantasy, with some SF elements. Recommended.

It's well worth Googling Groups for Joe Bernstein's nice review of VOYAGE (posted to rec.arts.sf.written).

GLASS DRAGONS is the direct sequel, carrying over many of the same characters, who face another Giant Magical Mystery Widget, this time the Dragonwall, advertised as a cure for the giant storms resulting from the runaway Silverdeath in VOYAGE, which cooked a continent. You won't be surprised to hear that powerful, unscrupulous magicians are using the Dragonwall to settle scores....

This appears to be an open-ended series ("Moonworld"), seldom a good sign. It has a slow start, but moves along briskly after that. "B+", a worthy effort, if not quite up to the first.

Happy reading--
Pete Tillman

What the . . . ?.......2004-06-22

I am frankly puzzled by the immensely favourable reviews "Voyage of the Shadowmoon" has been garnering. I'm annoyed, too, because I bought it on the strength of those reviews and found it way below expectations.
There's a boat. The Shadowmoon. Apparently it's really special because it can sink and then be raised again. I don't know who built it or why or how the characters came to be sailing around in it, but it's a really special boat.
There's a crew on the boat. Half of them we don't even know their names until the book is half done, but that doesn't really matter anyway because most of them have no personality. Those that do have obscure backgrounds and motivations and most of the time I had little idea what they were doing and why.
There's a world. It has four continents, many kingdoms, but no map. There are secret societies and religions which, like the nations, fight against each other for reasons that are mostly obscure.
There's magic. Its basis and operation is barely explained, and there is much use of magic energies and artefacts, the utilisation of which I often could not follow.
Starting to get the picture? I felt like there was some sort of prequel or campaign guide I should have read before "Voyage of the Shadowmoon" to understand who these characters were and what was going on. Either I was having a really bad weekend, or Sean McMullen did a really bad job of delineating setting, characters and plot. I cannot recommend this book.

Inside this book, beat the two hearts of a vampyre........2004-05-15

For those of you who have read McMullen's "Great Winter Trilogy" and agree with me that it was one of the best Sci-Fi novel sets to come out in the past decade, then don't be put off by the author's switch of genres and go ahead and read this delightful Fantasy novel. McMullen is one of the few authors around who can make the switch from Sci-Fi to Fantasy and not miss a beat. Those of you who read both genres know how few and far between such authors are and I applaud McMullen's bravery in coming out and showing the world that the "Great Winter" books were no fluke.

In many ways, McMullen has taken the themes of his previous trilogy and simply moved them to an alternate universe. McMullen stresses the dangers of power and the effects that too much power has on both individuals, nations and the environment. This particular novel is about a power hungry king who uncovers a weapon of awesome power, which very predictably, destroys an entire continent in one fell swoop. A mysterious group of adventurers sets out to stop him.

McMullen's strength as a writer lies in his characters. He does not take his characters too seriously, but gives them a life and charm all their own. In fact, McMullen's characters are very unique. You never find those that are pure good or pure evil. They are humans with both human strengths and failings, sometime extraordinarily so. For example, one of the main characters is a vampyre that only preys on criminals and wife beaters and other people he feels need culling from society. Other characters abound through this novel and all of them are interesting.

One really great thing about this book is that it actually ends. It's not a "Trilogy" in the "Lord of the Rings" sense, it actually has a real ending, so you don't have to worry about when the "next" book will appear. (Take a lesson, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, et al.) I found the ending to be enjoyable and satisfying. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to read a great, light-hearted book with a fun story and interesting characters.

Average customer rating:
Voyage of the Shadowmoon
Sean McMullen
Manufacturer: Tor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OTZ03E

Average customer rating:

Fun Read

awsome...............

Tom's review

AWESOME![.]

Great book!

Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of School
Todd Strasser
Manufacturer: Apple
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
School | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Strasser, Todd | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Teens | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0590486470

Customer Reviews:

Fun Read.......2006-10-31

This book is great to read for fun. Some parts were funny while other parts are kind of weird. I decided to read it because I'd read other books of Strasser's and enjoyed them so I wanted to read this to when I saw it at the store. I like how he tried to do things differently to end the pattern and thought it was funny how he would think, "At least I have tomorrow to redo it" or something along those lines. Then later how he starts predicting things to his sister. This book is great but I wish it were longer and a little more interesting because I'm not sure I'd want to read it again anytime soon.

awsome......................2006-04-01

hey my name is juancarlos and i hope to tell you and persuade you to read this book. i belive this book was great its about this boy who started out with this boy who's name is Jake Sherman and his friend alex silver who start the first day of school as the knights of wedgy and the next day jake realizes that he is going through the first day of school he does this for about 6 or 7 times and cant stop one day he got a new friend named olly from ohio who came to his city the day before school started and when he got home his house was tottally burned. then since jake is the only one who realizes he is going through the same day over AND OVER again he tells olly to turn of his oven and the house didnt catch fire the next day after that he finally got to go to the second day of school

Tom's review.......2005-10-19

The book was good not the best but good. It's a fantasy because somebody can't get trapped in a day. It's definitely good, funny and, interesting all at the same time. It would attract a readers that is between the ages of 8 to around 14. Now let me tell you a little about the book.
In the book a kid named Jake is going to be a punk and beat all the little kids on the first day of school because that's what the eighth graders did to him when he was a kid. So God trapped him in the first day of school. During the book he keeps, having to do the first day of school over again because God won't let him out till he does the right thing. That's all I'm going to tell you because I don't want to spoil it for you.

AWESOME![.].......2003-02-23

I recently picked this book up at a second-hand store while looking for kids' books. I'd never read this before but I thought it was based on an article/story in a magazine I remember reading in school in 7th grade about the same situation; being "stuck in the first day of school": waking up every day and having to start over again! I don't remember what magazine that was that that story was in; supposedly it was some educational/religious magazine since I was at a Christian school that year, however when I read this book, I discovered this book wasn't what I thought and probably had no connection with the story in the magazine although both were similar.
When I read the first episode in the book about the first day, I was so mad at the main character's buddy Alex for how he treated people, especially poor Ollie, that I was just going to put down the book and not read it anymore but I'm glad I didn't because it gets better and better with every repeat first day of school! I cracked up laughing about the cafeteria's rotten food in spite of myself. That'd be awful but Alex the smart aleck got what he deserved, biting into a burger with rotten meat.
I can't remember the main character's name, but we see him become a stronger person instead of a follower of the bad seed Alex, as he takes Ollie the new kid under his wing and saves his house from a fire, and befriends the new girl Amber; they have a great friendship going on!! The ending was wonderful. I like this book a lot better than that article I said I read in 7th grade that was similar to this story because it had a happy and satisfying ending, whereas the one in the magazine left you hanging on a cliff practically! Very clever story, beautifully written. Kudos to Mr. Strasser, keep up the good work!

Great book!.......2000-02-03

Are you looking for a funny book that is exciting and will keep you on the edge of your seat? Well Help, I'm Trapped in the First Day of School is just that. It tells the story of a boy named Jake and how he learns the truth about his new best friend, Alex. After Jake gets stuck in the first day of school with Alex six times in a row, he figures out that Alex isn't quite as funny as he first appeared. Jake learns that there is something he must do about his new best friend in order to stop the first day of school from coming again each day. The most hilarious part about this book was when Alex tries to tell the teacher about a nature wedgie and a Melvin wedgie. One of the most exciting parts is when Jake figures how to get out of the first day of school. I would recommend this book to someone who has a good sense of humor about kids who like to joke around in school.

Help I'm Trapped In the First Day of School ....Forever

Average customer rating:

Classic --- Possibly His Best Ever
HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN THE FIRST DAY OF SHOOL ...forever
What will happen
COOL BOOK READ IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
a fairly good book

Help I'm Trapped In the First Day of School ....Forever
Todd Strasser
Manufacturer: Rebound by Sagebrush
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

School | Issues | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Classic --- Possibly His Best Ever.......2006-03-05

"Help! I'm Trapped in the First Day of School" is a memorable story I first read over ten years ago, probably around the time it first came out. This is a classic book with a great plotline and recently my memory brought me back to it.

This book begins with a boy waking up from a dream about a groundhog named Bill. This is a portent of things to come and an excellent reference for those reading who get it --- which may not be all that many.

I find this book fascinating because it's about a kid repeating the first day of school. It's very "Tru Calling" --- another show that I like --- although in that show, the main character has some idea of why she's repeating days and has specific goals. In this book, things are a bit more vague at first, but through each day's repeats, the main character gains knowledge and is able to make new choices. One of the most interesting elements is that it stays totally within the perspective of an eighth grader. He doesn't think about using the repeating situation to score massive financial gain, or even to somehow skip going to school.

Really, I did think that this is one of Todd Strasser's better books, if not actually the best. I thought the ending was spot-on and really makes you think. In fact, I'd say this is a book that seems rather ordinary at first, but actually has a lot of depth. Strongly recommended for anyone who's a fan of Todd Strasser's other work, the original story in this series ("Help! I'm Trapped in My Teacher's Body") or just wants to read a thought-provoking book.

HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN THE FIRST DAY OF SHOOL ...forever.......2005-07-14

Help! i'm trapped in the first day of school is about a boy named jake sherman and he has a friend named alex that just wants to bother 6th and 7th graders because ever since they were in 6th grade the 8th graders bothered them now because there in 8th grade there naming them selfs knights of wedgy

What will happen.......2005-05-12

The book Help I'm Trapped in the first day of school ......forever, by Todd Strasser is a book about a kid like every other kid .His name is Jake. The first day of school he woke up, and he was happy because now he is in 8th grade. Him and his friend were planning on making the 6th graders life miserable. When he went down stairs his sister was eating a bowl of granola, and he took a Pop-Tarts cereals .His mom and dad went to work early that morning, so he had to go to the bus stop by himself or he could get a ride with his sister. When him and his friend name Alex got to school they met a boy name Ollie that they earlier had forced to run to school, because they had made him miss his bus. Later on at school Ollie had ask for directions to his class, and they got him lost. When they got to first block the teacher called out a name of a girl named Amber, but they said they did not see her, because she is new to the school .In second block they called out her name again, 2 minutes later she came running in the door Alex dared Jake to talk to her but he thought that she would never like him. When he went home he did not have any homework so he went to sleep. The next morning the same thing he saw and did yesterday happened again to him. It seemed like it was the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AGAIN. Jake lived the first day of school many times over and over again. Will he be stuck in the first day of school forever? Will he ever talk to Amber? What will become of him?
Read the book and find out maybe he will, maybe he will not ...
By: Kimberley Joseph

COOL BOOK READ IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-09-21

The book is a very funny book and i wlould tell anyone that like theys books to buy it now

a fairly good book.......2000-03-10

I really enjoyed this book. I rated it 4 stars because I did not like the ending that much. If you have the money for this book I would buy it but you could find WAY better books by Todd Strasser than this but it is still very GOOD!

HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Average customer rating:

HELP! I'M TRAPPED IN THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

This color-illustrated cookery book concentrates on desserts, and is written by the author of Leith's Latin American Cookery.

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Spratling Silver: A Field Guide : Recognizing a William Spratling Treasure
Phyllis M. Goddard
Manufacturer: Keenan Tyler Paine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0974090735

Book Description

This definitive volume on the work of William Spratling contains all hallmark information both in text and easy to follow charts as well as specific information for each of Spratling's three design periods including design elements, materials used, construction, and more. Learn to recognize Spratling's work and learn how to distinguish between the authentic as compared to the copy. Three detailed appendices allow the reader to find photos of specific objects by design element (stars, jaguars, applied discs, etc.) material (amethyst, obsidian, tortoise shell, etc.) or item (bracelet, pin, coffee pot, etc.) Extensive reference list, care of Spratling silver, and much additional information. More than 500 photos. Full color.

Book Description

This edition presents for the first time all the non-biblical Qumran texts classified according to their genres, together with English translations. Of these texts, some twenty were not previously published. The Hebrew-Aramaic texts in this edition are mainly based on the FARMS database of Brigham Young University, which, in its turn, reflects the text editions of the ancient scrolls with great precision, including modern diacritical signs. The Reader consists of six individual parts. The purpose of the classification is to enhance the research facilities of the individual texts within their respective genres, especially in courses at Universities and Colleges.

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