Fiction Literature Books

This book was assigned as a college reading assignment for an American Literature course, so I knew right off that I wasn't in for a real literary treat. The criteria for a reading assignment are: a main character must suffer and then die, and language and plot must work to confuse the reader. If you're looking for an entertaining read, do not choose this novel. If, however, you are looking to read something for the sole purpose of telling others that you have read it, and wish to brag at dinner parties and other things of that nature, this is probably the book for you. Personally, I like to believe that I have better things to do than read something that is depressing, boring, and poorly written.

In Momaday's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "House Made of Dawn," a young Native-American Indian named Abel, returns to Walatow Reservation in New Mexico from World War II. Only to discover that he is caught between two worlds. This book is a great example of Native-American fiction, it reveals the hardships of the Native-Americna people. Anyone who loves a good book based on storytelling and myth will find this book a must-read. It draws the reader in, with it's vivid description of the landscapes and ceremonies. At first I was a bit apprehensive in reading this book, because I have been told this is not a good book to read if you're reading Momaday's work for the first time. Yet, I enjoyed reading it, I apprieciated Momaday's effort to draw the reader in with the struggle of Native-American Indians living in industrial America. I recommend this book to anyone who is in search of a good book.

This novel is a fascinating, albeit challenging, read. The basic plot and the main characters do emerge upon a first reading, but the book needs to be read at least twice for one to see its richness. I find it especially interesting to read _House Made of Dawn_ along with _Way to Rainy Mountain_. Reading both books makes each of them clearer and yields a richer understanding of Momaday's artistry. It also would be useful to read a great about Kiowa folklore and history between different readings of both books.

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday is a fictional book that tells the story of a young American Indian man named Abel. He hails from an Indian reservation where he has deep family roots and was brought up around their traditional culture. Though the story is fictional it maintains perfect historical accuracy throughout. This novel goes into the issue of Indians participating in WWII and how that affected their culture and the demographic shift that occurred after the war. The fact is that "More than 90 percent of Indians resided on reservations in 1940 and six decades later more than half lived in cities, with a large concentration in southern California." (American Pageant p.830). During the war there were more than 25,000 American Indian men serving in the armed forces and many were famous for being "code talkers" and used their native languages to fool the Japanese. When they returned home after the war these Indians experienced the repercussions of new policies relating to Indians. Abel is thrust into the city as he is basically forced to assimilate into white culture. This story illuminates the plight of these Indians when the US ultimately forced them west and our of their rich reservation land. We can see how these citizens were disregarded directly from the implanting of HCR 108 in 1953 which removed all special status for Native Americans.
This new bill made them responsible for taxes which they had previously been exempt from and was intended to force them off the lands which our government perceived as economically valuable. This novel has a big effect on the readers understanding of the real issues that went on between our government and American Indians. Abel experiences a downfall and a total confusion about his cultural identity. This is stripped from him as he was involved with the war. His turmoil can be seen in the assimilation of many others which hurt the Indian culture greatly. Abel finally realizes that he must battle the "white man's" influence not by violence but by embracing his Indian heritage and immerse himself in the culture that he was brought up in regardless of what social changes were occurring. This book is a must read, and would definitely be a 4 out of 5 as it accurately reflects the strife of the American Indians during the Post WWII era and how they had to deal with a sort of forced assimilation. The novel is slightly dark as it traces Abel's downfall, but this helps to support the overall theme of identity and cultural ties that are prevalent throughout the book and concludes with him understanding and running free of all burdens.

N.Scott Momaday like myself is a Native Oklahoman, and that makes me proud. His work is a work of Native power; it breathes in and breathes out as if it were a living being. The Pulitzer Prize was definitely well-deserved in the case of this book.
There is an almost magical sense of being to the characters. Like the overwhelming majority of the people in this state, I am a mix of several Native Bloods and White. Momaday's work speaks in a strong, honest voice to all who will listen. The characters are real; I have known them, lived among them, went to school with their children and watched the way of life Momaday seeks to capture fade into another realm.
His words are words of power; they hold truth and strength and they weave a story as expertly as the tribal storytellers of that lost generation. His voice is the voice of Native America. It carries the heartache and sorrow of a people relegated to change brought on by another culture. It relects the nature and the understanding that so many aim for but never reach.
I have read this work multiple times now and never fail to be moved by its strength and definition of character. I will read it again, and I will continue to recommend it to all who want to hear an authentic Native voice. This is a people speaking through Momaday.

The copy I received of the Norton Critical Edition was missing pages 111-142. Instead, pages 79-110 were repeated. I contacted Amazon but they said it was too late to get my money back. My advice is to count all the pages in all books your order from Amazon, and don't buy the Norton Critical Edition of Uncle Tom's cabin. Buy the book from another publisher instead.

I realized recently that I had never read this important novel in my younger years, so I took it up as an adult.

This book should not be judged as a work of literature, but as an intensely political novel, a polemic against slavery. Stowe steps out of the novel from time to time, for example, to express her hatred of slavery and of the slave trade, and to call upon all Christians to act to abolish slavery. As a polemic, it is masterful, and its shortcomings as a novel (too many coincidences, excessive sentimentality, some fairly wooden characters) fade away in the reader's mind.

This is a period piece, a work of its time, and Stowe is not free from attitudes that we would term racist today. She holds many stereotypes of black people -- they are more emotional, more susceptible to religious belief, less cultured -- while at the same time declaring that slavery is the worst evil known to man. Interestingly, Stowe is as tough on Northerners who tolerate slavery or benefit from it as she is on Southerners who keep slaves.

Highly recommended to Americans of all ages and ethnic backgrounds.

The Book, Uncle Tom's Cabin, when first published, took in an amount of 10,000 dollars to the Author, Harriet Beecher Stowe. This was believed to be the largest sum of money to any author from a sale of a single book produced in such a short period of time.
Stowe has the skill in describing her characters. There is no book, in which a Negro's life had been portrayed so life-like such as this way. Uncle Tom and Eliza's fate is the interest in this story, for they are somewhat heroes of slave times.
The opening is a deal of slaves, to a slave proprietor with no feeling whatsoever. Haley is making a bargain with a nice caring slaveholder, Shelby, who is in major debt. Haley is a villain and wants these slaves all for himself. Because there is no federal law which can compel the slave states to resign the "property" which they hold. These states are as free to maintain slavery, as are the states of the North who rid themselves of this scandal.
With Stowe describing these characters feelings, it feels like she is going right along with them on their journeys to freedom and deeper into slavery. There is a feeling there, while reading, which no one can describe. It is a shame that Stowe does not know how she excites her reader's passion towards all these characters, and how Uncle Tom's Cabin is now known as a classic.

This version of Stowe's classic text includes reproductions of orginal historical documents at the back, literary criticism of the text, and some of the original illustrations. The book is well-made, stands up to the stress of reading (paper is thin but not too thin, like some anthologies).

As for the text-- this is the book that some say caused Abraham Lincoln to write the Emancipation Proclamation. An "Uncle Tom" has come to mean a black person who sells out to the white system-- but in so many ways, that is not at all what Uncle Tom does in the book. Stowe wrote the book to change what she saw as an unjust system, an evil system-- and at times, the text is very didactic (teacherly) and very preachy about religion. It's a fine "sentimental" book-- and a fine historical document. It's also a pretty good story. Yes, there are some places where we could just get a tooth ache from the syrup of the overly dramatized scenes (you'll see when you read about Little Eva). But it's a certain style of writing that accomplished Stowe's goal of getting the women who may not have owned slaves but who benefitted from the system (white, northern, wealthy ones) to realize the problems and move to CHANGE them.

Much of what people think about Uncle Tom's Cabin actually comes from the later "Tom shows" that travelled the country-- the minstrel reviews that were not very flattering either to blacks or to Stowe's original texts. Read the book that has everyone all stirred up and make your own judgements. You might not like it-- but don't let someone else make the decision for you.

Uncle Tom is probably the most important single book written in the United States of America. No one is really familiar with American culture, literature, relgion, and history if she or he has not read Uncle Tom.

To understand this book, I would urge people to consult Eric J. Sundquist's book New Essays on Uncle Tom's Cabin (The American Novel) and Jane Tompkin's Sensational Designs. The 19th Century world and reader that Stowe aimed at read and understood things so differently, that you will miss much without knowing how to look at this book the way Stowe wrote to them and the way they read.

This book has a broad purpose: literary to decide what is wrong with the entire world and present an answer. If you follow the sweep of the book you will find Stowe takes on everything from whether the issues of the 1848 revolutions can be resolved on the side of Democracy, to the question of marital relations amogn the free and the white. The issue of slavery is not the book's only focus. It is, in fact, the solution.

Stowe's real thesis here is that American Chattel slavery is the number one evil in the world, that this evil corrupts every institution in society North and South and corrupts far beyond the borders of the United States, and that no compromise with it or avoidance of it is possible.

To Stowe, slavery is an abomination not just because of the cruelty, savagery, exploitation, and degradation involved, but above all, it is an abomination against God, the most unChrist-like behavior possible.

Thus the relgious solution she offers is to become more Christlike in your opposition to slavery and to finally undergrow the Christic experience of dying for your sins and being reborn in Jesus Christ. That's right, in Stowe's time evangelical Christianity, rather than being a fob for right-wing politics, was practiced by some of the militant and serious opponents of slavery.

Stowe creates figures that are Christlike who like Christ die rather than yield to sin and influence the others in their faith. The supreme figure is of course Uncle Tom. Uncle Tom, as a a pejorative, comes not from this novel, but from the Tom shows that blossomed in the late 19th century which were a presentation of a mock version of this story with racist minstrel like charicatures of the African American characters.

In this book, Uncle Tom is a physically majestic, heroic, dignified person, whose faith and dignity are never corrupted, whose death is shown as a parallel to that of Christ in the resurrection of the souls of all around him required to eliminate Slavery. If he is passive, never disobeys his masters, and seems to have not much of a material interest of his own in life, it is because to Stowe this a reflection of his Christic nature.

No doubt at best Stowe sees him as a "noble savage" at Best. There is no doubt if one reads this book and even more clearly STowe's Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin which provided documentation for this book's depiction of slavery, that it is clear that Stowe did not believe African Americans were equal to whites. Her then-current immigrationist views are expressed in the way the one intelligent independently acting Black couple presented here leave the US for Canada once they escape slavery.

Yet, this book accomplished the purpose it had. It galvanized millions of Americans and more millions around the world to dramatically oppose slavery. Uncle Tom was one of the first true international best sellers. In a smaller country, where literacy was lower, and when many people bought books through private libraries where families shared books and the book was often read to family gatherings rather than by one person, Uncle Tom sold two hundred thousand copies in its first year and sold a million copies between its publication and the civil war.

Stowe was honest in her afterward and in other writings to say that her description of slavery in Uncle Tom is much prettier and more nicer than slavery was. She believed an accurate depiction of slavery--Stowe had lived in Cincinatti on the board with slaving Kentucky and traveled through the South--would be so revolting that her target audience of Northern whites would not read this book.

Her book launched a torrent of responses from white southerners as could be expected. However, the popularity of her book encouraged white authors, but especially Black authors to write antislavery books that responded to Stowe. Some of the foundations of Black American literature by authors like Frederick Douglass, William Wells Brown, Harriet Jacobs, and Martin Delany are essentially response to Uncle Tom.

Perhaps the most dramatic is Delany's Blake or the Huts of America whose character is a double to Uncle Tom. However, Delany's hero does not submit to being sold "down the river." He instead runs away and travels throughout the US following the same course as the travels in Uncle Tom showing how slave conditions are so much worse than Stowe showed. Finished with that business, Blake leaves the United States for Cuba where he becomes part of a group of Afro-Cubans unwilling to suffer like Christ and Uncle Tom. Like the current leaders of Cuba, they start to organize an international revolution of Slaves and the oppressed!

This book makes me very, very angry. It's supposed to make us sympathetic to the wonderful, noble central character, Lutie. I find this hard to feel since Lutie wallows in self-pity, hatred of all whites, and blaming racism for everything not wonderful in her life. She is every bit as racist as anyone you could find. Life is NOT fair. Some are born into wealth and comfort, some into poverty and many somewhere in between. This basic fact applies to whites as well. There are many, many whites just as badly off as Lutie was. She seems to think that all whites are well-off and have somehow conspired to keep her down. I realize that this book was written in the 1940's and that there was awful racial injustice then, but even then not everyone responded with blind racial hatred and the scapegoat belief that all that ails them is due to evil whites. Many of the characters make poor choices (their fault) and resort to violence when upset about something. Still we're supposed to be sympathetic. Makes no sense to me.

Petry captures the pulse of the black experience with accuracy and emotion. With each character she demonstrates how trapped life can become no matter how hard a person is trying to lift him or her self out of a situation. The character development was impressive and the ending was a complete surprise but believable. A must read.

I can't believe the amount of time wasted on reading this book. It ended terribly. The whole time I'm thinking she'll get out of the street, but no in an abrupt end the author turns her into a murderer who deserts her child. Yes, it does a good job of explaining the way the world looked from the Black point of view... but I don't think anyone would want to be represented by the main character. I am so disappointed in this book.

"The Street" is spellbinding and so well-written it must be the envy of many writers. I could not put the book down, and I disagree with all those who complained about "too many details" or "boredom."
And yet, the book is relentlessly grim, where everything is so highly staked against the heroine--sometimes deliberately by the author--that she has no chance in a thousand years to improve her lot. Dostoevsky certainly writes about characters as depressed as Petry's Lutie, but his writing is not depressing; on the contrary, it is uplifting and illuminating. "The Street" is downright depressing in a hard, stony way. It is as if the author's fist breaks through the pages to hit the reader's face again and again.
S. Spilka

Ann Petry's almost masterpiece of black Harlem life in the
1940's is the story of Lutie, a young woman who must etch
out a living for herself and her son, while trying to survive.
The characters are deplorable, yet a little stereotypical but
I must say what I loved about the book the most was the details,
however at certain points, this seems to overwhelm the story to
the point where the description of life on the street becomes
a plus and a minus. I think this works because it allows the
story to take shape without faltering the plot. There were a
few details that I didn't care for and judging from Ms. Petry's
other works, she seems to have a problem with "ugly" people;
nonetheless the book and the shocking ending are well worth it!

It's the story of how Sharpe came to be. It also shows how even the author came to see Sharpe and Sean Bean became one and the same. It was a quick enjoyable read.

I bought it as I have done with all Bernard Cornwell related to Sharpe material.
The fact it is a skinny book (like Sharpe's Skirmish and Sharpe's X'mas), and what is in it (meaning the History of Sharpe books and TV series... was already very well known to me) wouldn't come as a surprise did not stopped me, because there is always something knew to learn.
So, in a way I was not disappointed at all, I did not knew some funny anecdotes, and other not so funny related to the books and the TV series.
That alone was worth the price (ouch... happy it goes for charity though) of the little book.
What is really worth your time is the tale of the "peculiar" Bernard Wiggins infancy... as a piece of information it is truly revealing and in a way explains why Richard Sharpe has so much anger inside... I do not blame it a bit... I can't stand zealots or proselytists myself.
I read it on one sitting... and I have to confess I skipped the extracts of the books (I already knew them ... not by heart... but nearly), I do not agree about the TV series... even if Sean Bean is well casted... I love much more the books!... insufficient "numbers" of "extras" were a big disappointment when I bought the VHS tapes (in their time)... and I have not bothered to buy them in DVD...
What I did not knew, and had escaped me when reading the ACW novels is that Patrick Lassan... IS... OF COURSE!!!... Sharpe's son!!!... one probably focus too much on the narrative and do not relate one series to the others!... IT WAS A GOAL BERNARD CORNWELL MADE! (and the ball passed between my legs!!!).
I just hope Patrick Lassan is (why not) the protagonist of a future novel set in the Crimea and he rides in the Chasseurs d'Afrique to the rescue of the remains of the light brigade... (THAT NOVEL WOULD BE A MUST READ MR. CORNWELL!!!).
Well, stopping my wishful thinking... if you buy this book you will learn why "Sweet William" was so named... and after whom... and a lot of juicy anecdotes akin.
IT IS ABOUT TIME HE DELIVERS ANOTHER ONE!... after all he always says:
Sharpe and Harper will march again... (and hopefully US with them...)

ADB

This book started as a free promotion. What is useful could be summarized on the front and back of a single page.

A good summary of the background of Sharpe. The autobio of Cornwell was interesting, but had no relationship to the main theme - looked like padding.

Sharpe is a hero in the Grandest of traditions. It is great to get the back-story to the series and the author' personal observations. A worthwhile read for any fan of Sharpe

This is one of those classic novels that you could read again and again. I hadn't read it since high school twenty years ago and just re-read Christy last week. I like it even better now than I did then (and I loved it then, too). I would have loved to have had Catherine Marshall's version of a sequel (hopefully it would have consisted of a continuation of Neil & Christy's romance), but I guess we get to imagine the "happily ever after" instead. It's a great read!

Sorry, but the glut of coincidences and melodramatic writing was just too much. I'm going back to my nonfiction now.

I just read this book and what can I say except that it was amazing. I actually prefer Neil to David. David was never very consistent in his faith he was good talker but he had no understanding. I recomend this book to anyone who already has faith or is struggling to find theirs. Read this book! You won't be sorry!

I really enjoyed this book. I also enjoyed the fact that many of the events in the book are in the series released on DVD. I would have preferred if certain subjects had not been discussed in this book so that it would be more appropriate for younger ages. Other than that it was a really enjoyable read.

This is one of my very favorite books! I've read it over so many times and never get tired of it. It's just so interesting, captivating and touching.

This book is classic Dr. Seuss...fun, silly, and children don't realize they're learning something. Great book for teaching about maps. I bought this for my 6 year old prior to going on vacation. We had been looking at maps and talking about what states we'd be driving through on our trip. He enjoyed listening to the book and because of the way the information is presented (fun and silly rhymes), he has retained what he learned. He has even referred back to specific bits of information we read from the book (i.e. Never Eat Shredded Wheat to remember North, East, South and West.)

The back of the book contains a glossary of terms mentioned in the book. Highly recommended as an additional tool for teaching about maps.

The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library books are all great tools to get beginning readers to read and explore different topics at the same time.

There's a Map on my Lap is my favorite in this series. It explains in typical Cat in the Hat rhyme and stance all the different uses for maps.
It explains the difference between a globe and a map, what latitudes and longitudes and other features of maps are. You learn to read a map by using the windrose or a grid.
The book goes well beyond town or country maps. It features weather maps, topographical maps and even marine charts.

What truly separates this book from the crowd: it is shockfull of hands-on things to do. It begins with peeling an orange while leaving the skin in one piece to demonstrate what a world map should really look like - brilliant idea! Then it goes on to make a map of your room, town, imaginary countries. Or how to measure the length of a curved road on a map using a straight ruler and string.

At the end of the book you find a glossary that explains the "big" words like topographical map and others again. Also a list of more books about maps and globes for children.
If you like doing hands on things with your preschool through 2nd graders this book is for you! Hours of fun and education all rolled into one big happy Cat in the Hat poem.

This is a fun book for introducing young children to maps. I will use it in my early childhood classroom but I wish I'd had it when my own chldren were young. They would have loved it!

Children enjoyed this book. Used in map unit for PS and elem. settings.

this book is like
WOW
KA-POW
a sock in the gut
a kick in the butt-
on fly jeans that were
often worn by torn men
and broken women
who called themselves

beat

this bible is a meet-
ing ground of sound tribal mind
open heart prose
souls that want to rise with
those that have al-
ready rose

each chapter contains
some laughter
about how things came together
during that magical time
of free
verse
and holy ryhme

ginsberg
kerouac
burroughs
ferlinghetti
and more
dissolving their flesh
exposing their spirit driven core

oh, i love to read and bleed this book dry
i love to cry with sad saints
and be healed by words revealed

in the city we are
"constantly risking absurdity and death"
but we
who
are brave
and
not
a slave to tyrants
can freely take a chance
and take a new breath
and dance
with Holy Men
gone
bye.


Peace & Blessings,
john, 'the Light Coach'

This book features some excellent beat writers and includes informative blurbs on their history and style. Each artist has a little chunk of their writing for you to sample, and the material is everything from stories to letters to classically bad prose.

What impressed me were the essays by each other, on the actual generation hype.

"Young people seemed more intense, clutching, and I couldn't help feeling they took themselves too seriously... 'good, clean fun' appeared to be a thing of the past. Or perhaps the aura of suspicion and defensiveness was merely a reflection of my own fears..." --Carylon Cassady

It's a great book for deciding which authors you want to read more of.

This reader is a good overall introduction to beat literature. While I could have done with a few more examples of writing from the women in the movement, that probably would not have kept the book as "portable" as its title promises.

An absolute wonder, a perfect selection of Beat writings: Poems, fragments of novels, essays, history, mythology, philosophy... The Portable Beat Reader is one of the most essential books in my collection and rarely leaves my side. And it is, thankfully, portable, and much easier than bringing everything with you all the time. Aquire it, open it, and just start reading.

Simply put, this is what I turn to when I need inspiration for reading, for creating, for anything. It combines wonderful bios of everyone from Kerouac to Bob Dylan, and their poems, book excerpts, and lyrics galore. Absolutely enjoyable, absolutely essential. Thank god for Ann Charters.

This book was just made for grandmoters to share with their grandchildren. Mine loved it and we spent a great deal of time discovering new things among the intricate work of the children, their clothes, bugs, etc. It is a delight.

This is a beautiful book showcasing an extraordinary quilt although one need not be a quilt aficionado to love and appreciate it. It is my favorite gift for a young child, or any adult who loves quilts or children's books or fairytales.

I found this book and story so enchanting!

Everytime I look at the fotos of the actual
quilt - I see something new and am thrilled.

My only regret is that there is not more of
the wonderful fotos and story....

What a treat!

Beautiful book! I love this children's book and am also a quilter so I enjoy having this work of art all the more!

This book is worth every penny for the close-ups of the quilt used in the illustrations. This is a very pleasant story of the earths renewal. Not too long and not too short, it should hold a young child's attention very well.

I purchased this for my 7 month old grandbaby - it has become her favorite as she likes looking at the brilliant colors & especially likes the 'crinkling' sound the "book" makes when she grabs it!

My daughter is coming up to 5months old, and has been 'reading' this book for about a month. She has become accustomed to the narrative and squeals at certain words and pictures. I feel that she has enjoyed it more as she has grown.

I also have 'Squishy Turtle' from the series. Fuzzy Bee is her favourite. I believe it's because there is more contrast in the colours than in 'Squishy Turtle' (which is mostly blue and green). The primary yellows and reds are sure to catch a little one's vision.

The 'story' includes a ladybug, snail, beetle bug, firefly, worm, and a butterfly.

The only reason I deducted a star is because the materials used for the creatures (made for baby to touch) could be better. For example, the ladybug has a somewhat shiny black material for her dots. But the shine is so subtle that it can't be noticed by a baby. And seahorse's fin is pathetic.

However, the arms of the octopus are great for baby's fingers. Equally good are beetlebug and firefly. Also, the rhyme and pictures are engaging enough, the crinkly first page is great for the ears, and the cloth aspect is perfect for babies who like to chew. I recommend it.

We had this book as a gift, when our daughter was born...she loved it! It was used constantly!Just fades a little when you wash it. Great buy!

i purchased the cloth reindeer book first for my nephew when he was around 11 months old, and after my sister in law was still having to read it for him in march - i purchased all the other priddy cloth books for his easter basket. several months later these books are still his favorites. they are brightly colored with fun features like crinkly textures and flaps to lift up and explore. i hope new ones come out so i can add those to his collection!

My newborn was immediately attracted to the book. The colors are primary and exciting. I am glad I purchased it but you can't throw it in the wash like the Taggies book. The instructions on the tag are surface wash only.