Fiction Literature Books

Orwell was a pioneer in this form of literature. His insight into a "possible" future held more accuracy than I'm sure even he imagined.

The book is a struggle of man vs. ministry. How far will the few in positions of power go to improve their personal ideals in the guise of overall social improvement?

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark themes. The ending had me in tears.

This book is an Orwell classic, all about how totalitarian governments were tricking the people, destroying freedom, and ruining the world. The main character is Winston Smith, a disgruntled middle class office worker who secretly harbors a hatred of The Party. The world in which Winston lives is divided into three super states: Oceana, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston lives in London, the capital of Oceana, which is ruled by a totalitarian regime known as The Party, and it's leader Big Brother. The Party does not allow any dissent against it and even thinking rebellious thoughts is a crime. They change history to their liking and falsify endless documents to be in their favor. Winston does not know what is true and what is lies. The Party is constantly watching Winston and he must be careful not to give himself away. He eventually starts a love affair with a woman named Julia, who also hates The Party and all that it stands for. They get in touch with an inner party member named O'Brien who claims to be part of a rebel organization known as the Brotherhood. He is actually a party spy and Winston and Julia are eventually arrested. Winston is interrogated and tortured to try and force him to accept the party ideals. Eventually he is subjected to his worst nightmare, having his face eaten by rats. He begs that they do it to Julia instead, breaking his most important promise not to betray her. His soul destroyed, Winston is released. He no longer loves Julia and has learned to love Big Brother and The Party. This book is a very bleak view of what George Orwell saw the world becoming in 1949. Although it is quite disturbing this book makes you think a lot and is very well written. I recommend this if you like other George Orwell books as well as depressing novels.

I read this book because I was growing weary of my own ignorance. One-too-many references to Big Brother amid the post-911 proliferation of video cameras, wire-tapping, and concern about government intrusions into private life pushed me to question my own cultural literacy (thanks to author E.D. Hirsch, Jr. here). My job also sent me to southern Sudan in 2007, during which a colleague noted that I would need to visit a rather remote "Orwellian province". It turns out that province is called Unity State. After reading 1984, I get his drift.

It also occurred to me that the TV phenomenon Big Brother was likely produced by staffers who found themselves in their teens or early adulthood during 1984, while the audience to whom it caters may largely have been born well after that year. Given a generation who knows Big Brother not as the incarnation of thinly veiled government despotism but as the product of CBS Prime Time, there was reason to question more than my own cultural literacy. But what, or whom, we really need to discuss is Winston Smith.

Best I can tell, Winston Smith is me. Modern man; modern society but faced with the reality that government had morphed into political, economic, sociological, technological, and intellectual fiat - its greatest coup perhaps being the subtle control of free thinking. By changing content of archival media, limiting contact with others, or simply eliminating those who dare _remember_, all that matters is current perception, regardless of logical inconsistency. And if this is achieved, then Smith's government (for lack of a better term) is, and always has been, right and just. For if you never learned (or never remember learning) that 2 + 2 = 4, then 2 + 2 = 5 seems quite plausible.

The problem is that Smith dares to remember - dares to become conscious that another manner of thinking exists beyond the required and ubiquitous application of Doublethink, which he describes as follows: "To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself - that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed."

As the book opens, Smith fails to "consciously induce unconsciousness", the mere act of which is considered a crime - Thoughtcrime, to be precise. The sort of awareness with which he is left can culminate in nothing other than action, and action which can culminate in nothing other than death. "He was already dead, he reflected. It seemed to him that it was only now, when he had begun to be able to formulate his thoughts, that he had taken the decisive step. The consequences of every act are included in the act itself. He wrote, 'Thoughtcrime does not entail death: Thoughtcrime IS death.' Now that he had recognized himself as a dead man it became important to stay alive as long as possible."

This book is compelling because of the pains Orwell has taken to conceptualize a world in which government has conquered thought life as the last bastion of liberty. Once memory and perception is controlled, what better way to direct the mindless fervor of the masses than to create focal personifications for polarizing emotions: one to love (Big Brother) and one to hate (Emmanuel Goldstein). As such, manipulated thought can become concentrated action with the purpose of maintaining the entire regime in perpetuity.

It almost seems as if Orwell is trying to answer the question, "How bad could it (government) get?" to which it is tempting to reply, "How realistic is his answer?" Because so many of us, so many Winston Smiths, have seen smatterings of Orwell's answer in recent developments, there is good reason to be guarded and better reason to be proactive in the defense of intellectual freedom. Looking at the China, Burma, North Korea, and even western democracies of our day, it is easy to see hints of Doublethink and more overt evidence of a paralyzing fear of independent thought. But there is little reason to suspect that government can achieve a more frightening end: that of transforming the essence of humankind. Yet this is precisely where Orwell takes the reader. Smith's nemesis O'Brien notes, "The command of the totalitarians was 'Thou shalt.' Our command is 'Thou art.'" While this book is an excellent call to political and intellectual vigilance, the day government controls our essence as humans is the day government merits consideration as deity. Until then, I remain thankful for my ability to think otherwise.

When I was young and read this book for the first time strangely enough I never thought of it as a warning about some other country's type of government. I thought of it as a description of what could happen in my own country if the wrong type of thinking was supported by a majority of the people of my country. I don't know what Mr. Orwell intended it to be but looking at my own country today I still think that my original interpretation was accurate.
I felt the same way about Animal Farm.

Truly, a more bleaker look at the future you could never find.
No one can advocate revolution, if the words to express revolution don't exist.
A fascinating concept on the part of Mr Orwell.
This is the only book I couldn't stop thinking about months after I'd read it,
and now with CCTV cameras just about on every street corner, in every city of the world,
makes this story more relevant now then when first published.
If there's a bit of Winston Smith in us all, then there's probably a bit of the O'Brien character too.
Fascinating and terrifying in equal measure.
Down with Big Brother?.... not likely.
This is most deservedly, a Classic.
(First published 1949.)

I sent an email asking for why this book wasn't processed or shipped. If there was something that I did wrong on my end, please tell me. I would like to have this book.

Nathan

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Jules Verne or sci-fi books. This book will definitely raise your curiosity levels. If you are like me, and are a die hard fan of the unknown, then this book is for you. I recently came across a site that is offering this book in digital format, which gives you the ability to read the book from your cell phone, or any other portable device you may have. Here is the site, JourneyIntoEarth dot com Enjoy!

I was so pleased to add a quality, yet reasonable priced volume to update our classic section in our library.

I picked up this book since I was learning about Pi in a math class and I am really glad that I did. My daughter liked the dragon and I liked that it had math ideas for names of the characters. Some of the other revues questioned the idea of using Pi in such a way, but as a teacher, isn't getting students to learn the material the point? The best way to get students to learn is by making it interesting and enjoyable and I believe this book did just that. I will be getting the rest of the set - for myself just as much as my daughter.

This is a very clever book, wonderfully illustrated; I enjoyed it. My only concern is that it's written for a level that is too young for this math material. Jr. High and High School kids might get a kick; I'll try it on them, but I probably won't buy the whole series.

This is great. My nine yr. old niece loved it, and she was able to understand the concept. Clever and good learning approach. Even her little brother was fascinated by the pictures, so I'm sure he will make use of it when he gets older. The artwork is really good, classic in style but with a lot of individuality. I recommend this for a range of ages because kids will grow into the book, and it is a wonderful way to learn.

This is a great book to teach kids about the number pi. This is a book that makes math fun and gets kids interested in learning math.

I feel the age range given on the website should not be ages 4-8. This is appropriate for 8 and up. That said, my 5 year old enjoys it as just a fairy tale and I would not attempt any "teaching" to him. He listens as I read it to my older daughters and maybe it will seep in so when he's old enough to begin measuring, he will easily grasp the concepts.

This is a wonderful book - good illustrations and a clever story. The author works the math part in without it being cumbersome. A few times through this book and your child will have a good grasp of pi. At the least, it will be a good memory trigger if he/she needs help in class.

4-5 novels per book and 5 books. A must read for naval buffs. A real buy at this price.

The Aubrey/Maturin series are the greastest collection of novels that I have had the honor to read.Obrian has created characters that almost live and breath.I have read all the napolianic war naval writers and I believe Obrian to be the very best! Long live Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin!

A very good value collection. Each volume holds four books in sequence and are physically quite large but seem to be well bound with clear print on thinnish pages.
The text has a small number of typographical errors that I don't remember seeing in the original books but to get the entire collection of O'Brian's Aubrey novels in one set for such a reasonable price I'm prepared to put up with the odd blooper. The ribbon bookmark is a very cute bonus and will certainly stop me from dog-earing the pages.

I bought the series after I read the good reviews from Amazon. Having only 2 Patrick O'Brian's books, I thought this would be a good buy to read all his Aubrey-Maturin novels. The collection despite its economical price has very bad editing. There are numerous typos, misspelled words, misquotations and missing words.
Quite a disappointment. Shoddy work from Norton's editor.

What should have been the definitive edition of these works has evidently been done on a penny-pinching budget (very probably copy-edited by a student earning vacation money). The misprints at some points really do detract horribly from the prose. Especially annoying for an author who took so much trouble to produce perfection.

An additional error, which I didn't see mentioned yet, is that in the unfinished 21st book, where the handwritten prose takes over from typed prose, the first page of handwritten prose (which overlaps with the typed version and is included in the stand-alone version of this book) has been inadvertently omitted and there is a gap of a couple of paragraphs. More evidence of how slapdash this edition is.

So I have to end up saying - this is despite everything a good value edition, but caveat emptor. And a *huge* thumbs down to the publisher for producing a product that shows so very little respect for their author. Even after all these reviews, they have not cared to produce a corrected edition.

The language in this short novel is simple and engaging, and probably the best (if not only) reason to read this book, particularly for students of french such as myself.

Unfortunately the story is very contrived and unconvincing, despite Camus' apparent attempts to ground it in a believable, ordinary world. The problem (as I see it) is that Mersault is easily Camus' least interesting protagonist, and the entire story is told in first person from his perspective. Mersault feels nothing and thinks nothing throughout the narrative, so that the narration gives the reader an intimate view of... nothing. Admittedly, previous and subsequent authors have dealt quite thoroughly with the thoughts and feelings of human characters in somewhat analogous situations to that of Mersault. Perhaps Camus was consciously treading new ground by placing his protagonist in what would be trying and difficult situations if only he cared about anything, but he doesn't, so they aren't.

There is plenty of good Camus out there, particularly his short stories and plays, but this is not it.

Quel roman savoureux. Du passé simple, j'en prendrais volontier. Un incontournable.

I first read the novel in english, but I read it in french once I became fluent in that language. After the first sentence: "Aujourd'hui, Maman est morte," you know that you are in the good hands of Albert Camus. The existential theme is just awsome, and it was all the better en français! Surtout, je sait que je l'aimais.

Je fais mon debut comme instite a un lycee. Pour le cours de francais V, on va commencer la litterature avec L'ETRANGER de Camus. Je crois que c'est l'endroit ideal pour commencer, car le livre se presente simplement au lecture, mais le mene aux themes importants de la philosophie francaise/absurdiste. A mon avis personnel, la scene du meurtre sur la plage est exceptionnellement emouvante et vive. Ceux qui disent que c'est n'importe quoi comme livre completement ratent un chef-d'oeuvre.

What a way to begin a story?! And what can one say about Camus that hasn't already been said? This is a great novel filled with observations, images and actions carefully stitched into words by a master narrator. If you're a novice to French literature, this is a perfect place to begin.

There can be no doubt that this is one of the greatest novels of all time. It envelopes you very quickly and leaves you changed, if only for a while. I would only point out two disappointments.

I found Tolstoy's philosophy boring and rather like a wet blanket, especially in the end.

Nearly all of the characters in the story are detestable, selfish human beings. Few learn anything meaningful from this traumatic struggle. The few that do display consistent, redeeming, qualities are generally shafted. Such is life, I understand, but still it disturbed me.

War and peace is a literary challenge that all avid readers should conquer. The Mt Everest of novels, epic in scale, infinite in its implications.
The sweeping saga of five families and their lives over the course of a decade. A time when Russia was at war with Napoleon. The main characters number to perhaps ten to twelve but the secondary characters number into the hundreds following their escapades and adventures requires the utmost devotion to the literary work; indeed I often found my self rereading pages and sometimes sections in an effort not to miss any of the intricacies.
The novel explores many human conflicts of the frailty of the spirit to the physical brutality of war among nations.
Does absence makes the heart grow stronger, young in love Natasha, knows all to well it does not, as is revealed. Characters like Pierre frustrate with their inability to just live their life and be happy. Misunderstood Nicolai Rostov wants to find his courage through events not understanding it must come from within. Prince Andrei needs no one not even God, with his hardened heart after a tragedy.
The events may be set over two centuries ago but they are still relevant today. This novel is a masterpiece.

Think history doesn't repeat itself? Then read this outstanding translation of Tolstoy's classic, and particularly in the Epilogue sections, imagine the name "Napoleon" replaced with "Bush" or "Cheney". You'll see what I mean -- it's pretty eerie, in fact.

[...]

This ideal of glory and greatness -- stemming from a belief that one's every action is beyond reproach, and every crime a proud achievement invested with a supernatural significance beyond all understanding -- this ideal, which would prove to be the guiding principle of this man and those around him, is deployed on a massive scale...Whatever he does comes off. The plague doesn't touch him. The callous slaughtering of his prisoners is not held against him...Dizzy with the success of his crimes and ready for his new role, he arrives...without any plan in mind just as the disintegration of the Republican government, which might have brought him down...completes its course...

He has no sort of plan, he is scared of his own shadow, but all parties grab at him and solicit his support.

He alone -- with his ideal of glory and greatness...with his maniacal self-adulation, outrageous criminality and bare-faced duplicity -- he alone can justify what has to be done.

He is needed to fill the place that awaits him, and so it is that, almost independently of his own will, and in spite of his dithering, his failure to plan ahead and his proneness to error, he finds himself drawn into a conspiracy aimed at the seizure of power, and the conspiracy comes off.
...
There is no action, no atrocity, no little bit of trickery he could indulge without it being immediately represented on the lips of those about him as a great deed...Everything conspires to deprive him of the last scintilla of reason, and prepare him for his terrible role.
...
But all of a sudden, instead of the chance contingencies and genius that had ensured such a consistent, uninterrupted run of successes leading him toward his destined goal he is faced with a vast number of chance contingencies working in reverse...and instead of genius we see in him unparalleled stupidity and wickedness.

Here, we have "War and Peace" conveyed to the listener in FOUR HOURS on 10 CDs, about 17-18 tracks per CD. Some folks might see this notable abridgement as their greatest critique of this rendering but I'm okay with it.

If you're unfamiliar with the actual story, here is a brief summary:

In 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Austria to expand his European empire. Russia, being an ally of Austria, stood with their brethren against the infamous Emperor. Napoleon prevailed and a treaty was ultimately signed at Tilsit.

In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, again in an effort to expand his empire. The end result of this tragic war was that Napoleon's army of about 600,000 soldiers was reduced to roughly 60,000 men as the defamed Emperor raced from a devastated Moscow (which he had taken), back across the frozen Russian tundra in his carriage (leaving his troops behind to fend for themselves) for Paris. That encapsulizes the military aspect of this work.

But the more intricate story involves both the activities and the peccadillos of, primarily, three Russian families of nobility: The Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Bezukovs, as well as their associates. The continual thorn of "The Antichrist," Napoleon, really just provides the wallpaper for this story of romance, riches, desolation, love, jealousy, hatred, retribution, joy, naiivety, stupidity, and so much more.

Tolstoy has woven an incredibly intricate web that interconnects these noble families, the wars, and the common Russian people to a degree that would seem nearly incomprehensible to achieve -- but Tolstoy perseveres with superb clarity and with great insight to the human psyche. His characters are timeless and the reader of the complete novel who has any social experience whatever will pretty much immediately connect with them all.

"War and Peace" (the book) is a fictional, lengthy novel, based upon historical fact, here, abridged, dramatized, and performed by talented actors as an audiobook. There is a total of two hours of original new background music spread out over the 10 CDs which greatly enhances this particular media version.

The story is told through numerous professional British actors and actresses, utilizing "General Kutuzov" as a narrator to set up many of the scenes, a shrewd device. The dramatizers did a great job of squeezing in the primary stories, pretty much in their entirety, and thus maintaining the overall ambiance of both the saga and its principals in their entirety. Yes, some necessary artistic license was invoked here and there, such as the "verbal assault on Princess Marya by the rebellious serfs" episode. In the book, this transpires at Bogucharovo after she has fled her home in Bald Hills -- on the audiobook, it takes place at Bald Hills, of course, in the interest of saving time.

Character development is surprisingly good and fairly true to the book descriptions although I thought that the dramatizers were a little hard on Boris Drubetskoy. I also believe that they could have done a bit more with the unique character of Platon Karateyev.

I cannot not, in good conscience, recommend the audiobook version to folks who have yet to read the novel -- it's simply too complex of a story and bulging with numerous characters (the book itself sports over 500 in all!) for most folks to grasp from the audiobook version. The fact that so many people here are addressed by the same titles, (e.g., "prince," "princess," etc.), adds additional confusion to newcomers to the story.

There are a few devisive aspects of this version of "War and Peace". As it's all performed by British actors one should not expect to hear Russian accents. And, even though all concerned did a great job, it's additionally almost impossible to convey a battle scene absent a visual aspect, the book version having the distinct multiple advantages of Tolstoy's superbly colorful written descriptions of these critical episodes; so, you end up hearing a lot of "characters talking to themselves" with cannon fire, rifle fire, and the screams of the dying in the background.

I also found that individual actors, clearly accustomed to the benefit of the visual aspects of their art, were often taking too long to say what needed to be said. It's not so much distracting as it is boring in spots.

But overall, for those people who have previously read "War and Peace," and who still have a good grasp of the essential story, this BBC audiobook version is a very nice way to absorb the story for a second round.

I do have one final thought -- I'M NOT TELLING YOU TO MAKE A "BACK-UP COPY", BUT... the CDs are VERY subject to damage by scratching. Making such copies would likely technically violate copyright laws -- and that's all I'm going to say about THAT!

See my "Listmania Lists" for more Russian stuff and great fiction.

A new translation by Anthony Briggs, introduction by Orlando Figes. I chose this translation based on the strength of the Penguin Classics imprint, the readable size of the print, and the back-cover blurps promising a new and accessible translation. Overall, the translation read very well, although I agree with two negative comments I read on internet blogs about the translation:

1). The decision to give some of the soldiers and peasants stock "Cockney" accents with dropped initial "h" sounds. While I think the translator was trying to impart a feeling of lower-class camaraderie in this decision, it just sounds too anachronistic. Did Russian peasants in 1812 really talk like that?

2). One character speaks with a lisp that turns Rs into Ws (think Elmer Fudd). Hunh? This decision, again, draws attention to the translation and away from the character. (the internet blogs indicate that in the original Tolstoy identifies the character as having an unspecified speech defect, and Briggs felt this best fit Tolstoy's intent. Elmer Fudd? That I doubt).

On to the book itself. Even in the paperback edition this is a concrete block of a book, 1400 pages (including a few pages of notes, maps, introduction, and biographical essay) and easily a couple of pounds that don't fit easily under the arm. For the first 900 pages Tolstoy's sprawling account of Russian aristocracy in the years 1805 through 1820 (centering on relations with Napoleon and the War of 1812) provides a moving and surprisingly fast moving novel while Tolstoy explicates his theories of free will, history, war, and faith.

Even though I felt that the action in and around the capture (and abandonment) of Moscow at around page 900, which should have been a furious and fascinating centerpiece of the novel, lagged in relation to the rest of it, I still must rate this as a classic. Part of my problem may have been "reader fatigue" in the face of the daunting challenge of reading all those pages. I tackled this book over a two week Christmas holiday, and even given time pleasantly interrupted only by family and holiday gatherings, this represents 100 pages of reading per day for 14 days. You may also suffer reader fatigue, but stick with it; the effort will be rewarded.

At that climactic point when the French reach Moscow around page 900, I found the novel it a lull and dragged about for 300 pages until the pace picked up again in the denouement and a truly elegiac epilogue where Tolstoy shows the remaining key characters in their extended family relationships. This 50-page section is a rich reward for following the relationships, thoughts, and sometimes "appallingly bad decisions" (translator's words in the biographical essay) of these characters we have grown to know intimately.

I was reminded while reading this account of the extended family gathering depicted in the movie "Dan in Real Life" that I have recently seen, where an extended family gathers for a much-anticipated annual holiday gathering, and we enjoy the love, respect, and enjoyment of well-worn relationships earned through years of trust and knowledge. I had the same feeling in both stories that the people genuinely loved each other not just in spite of their (well-known and sometimes mocked) faults, but because of them. A comparative review of these two accounts would make a worthy topic for a college literature class paper.

Tolstoy, like Hugo in Les Miserables which I read and reviewed recently, had in his sights not just a character novel, or a war novel, or even a historical novel of sweeping scope, but a theoretical examination of character, war, history, and those topics I listed earlier, woven into and around the fictional action, which serves as explanation, example, and explication.

Free will - The central theme of the novel is the interplay between free will and determinism. "An inner voice told her that now or never her fate would be decided" (p. 575), a phrase that could be applied to several characters. Tolstoy spends several pages in the Epilogue explaining his theory of free will in a historical essay talking directly to the reader, but it is aptly summarized in the words that Tolstoy gave to one of his main characters: "Do you ever get that feeling that nothing's ever going to happen to you again, nothing at all, and anything good is in the past? And you don't feed bored exactly, but very , very sad?" Another character states the paradox in even more stark terms: "Everything matters, nothing matters" (p. 592).

History - Several times during the novel Tolstoy addresses the "Great men vs. Great events" debate and decides conclusively on the side of Great events, in the process declaring his stance on the Free Will debate. Near dead center of the book (p. 670-671), Tolstoy says: "Every action [great men] perform, which they take to be self-determined and independent, is in a historical sense quite the opposite; it is interconnected with the whole course of history, and predetermined from eternity." This stance, while consistent with his philosophy, is also influenced by Tolstoy's obvious dislike of Napoleon, and his stated desire to counterbalance a strong and growing Napoleon-worship amongst historians and biographers in the 1860's when Tolstoy was writing.

War - Tolstoy's descriptions of war emphasize the realistic and accidental events in battle, not the glorified events of romantic writers. He minimizes the ability of Great Men to influence the outcome of battles and wars, as we have seen, and has high praise for the Russian general Kutuzov who lead the backward movement of the Russian army across the country toward and through Moscow drawing the French Army to its ultimate death at the point of its highest triumph (the capture of Moscow); many contemporaries and subsequent historians had criticized the general for refusing to attack and best the French Army during their march into and out of Russia. "But if there's going to be a war like this one, let there be war," (p. 861) states Tolstoy through a main character.

Faith--So how can Tolstoy, and his characters, and his readers, deal with the final gloom of determinism? Does nothing really matter? Tolstoy, on page 1241, acknowledges the problem: "Yes. It would be hard to live without faith nowadays . . . ", says a character with a strong religious faith.

"Why is that true?", asks a character who is searching for a reason to live and believe.

And Tolstoy provides the answer, through a character who has come to his spiritual maturity through a hard-fought struggle with his own sins and lack of faith: "Only someone who believes there is a God guiding our lives could stand a loss like hers, and . . . yours."

A text/anthology with a difference. Literature and Society, 2nd Edition, provides an extensive, varied, and innovative introduction to four literary genres: fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fictional prose. It offers a broad spectrum of selections, traditional as well as contemporary, and organizes the selection around socially relevant themes that students can relate to easily. In addition, it provides pedagogical support for understanding literary form and writing about it.

Literature and Society demonstrates how literary techniques serve larger purposes - and how these larger purposes shape literary form.

Among its many unique features, the Second Edition:
* Organizes the literature around five socially relevant themes
- Growing up and Growing older
- Women and Men
- Money and Work
- Peace and War
- Varieties of Protest

* Offers a variety of works by women, African American, ethnic, working class, and other writers traditionally under-represented.

* Includes an introduction to each literary genre, a process-oriented chapter on how to write about literature, and author biographies, discussion questions, and writing exercises for all stories, plays, works of non-fiction, and key poems.

This will remain a trusted resource and reference long after subsequent revisions are released. - 5 Stars.

I respectfully disagree with reviewer Jeffrey Leeper; this is a solid text for a college-level introductory course in literature. The selections assume an intelligent reader, which covers most of my students.

I specifically chose this text because I wanted to approach the course from a societal perspective, and I was impressed by the editors'/authors' arrangement: "Growing Up and Growing Older," "Women and Men," "Money and Work," "Peace and War," and "Varieties of Protest." Sometimes, I switch works into other categories, for example, Sylvia Plath's poetry and play THREE WOMEN from "Growing Up and Growing Older" to "Varieties of Protest." But that's a matter of personal preference.

Mr. Leeper is probably correct that a professor may not want to use this particular text for an introductory literature course emphasizing a standard approach or for a writing about literature course. But, certainly, for a higher-level thematic course, such as Literature and Society, this text would no doubt offer an excellent choice.

I like the variety of works; this text could easily cover one or even two semesters of literature, covering not only fiction and poetry thoroughly, but also drama, including known and lesser known playwrights: William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Susan Glaspell and Alice Childress, among others. I would like to see more in-depth creative nonfiction, but, for now, I supplement the text with an inexpensive trade edition of HIROSHIMA. In later editions, the editors might consider adding some longer current and classic creative nonfiction selections, such as memoirs, journalistic features, and biography.

I have only one quibble: cost. I teach at a medium-sized, four-year college in Pennsylvania; most of our students come from blue collar families who struggle to pay for books and supplies, and I like to assign inexpensive books that won't break their budgets.

In this case, however, quality wins out over price, and I can only hope that my students feel that they're getting their money's worth.

If you are looking for a literature textbook for a survey course, then this book is not for you. It is designed for students, but it is also designed to illustrate literature's place in our society.

The beginning goes into the writing process and writing about literature. There is an example of writing on poetry, but it is only two paragraph's worth. Most students would like to see the whole essay.

The bulk of the book is arranged in topics, which have subtopics of fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. The topics, "Growing up and Growing Older," "Women and Men," "Money and Work," "Peace and War," and "Varieties of Protest," give you a wide variety of selections to illustrate the idea. Unless you plan on structuring your course this way, this isn't the easiest text to navigate a class through.

The end of the book has a section devoted to each of the subtopics: fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Here, strategies and elements of each of these subtopics are illustrated here. The examples used here refer to selections from the text, which allows the student to refer back. This is a good touch.

I would not recommend this book as long as you are teaching a survey course.

I got this for my 6-year old niece, and she really liked it. My sister, her mother, liked the book as well. Both said it was funny and the pictures were pleasing.

i think my teacher read this book to me in grade 3 or 4. its the cinderella story, but 'cinderella' doesn't wait around for prince charming doing nothing. she goes through the cinderella story but finds practical solutions to problems cinderella does nothing about or complains about. i can't remember if cinderella is in the book or not as a foil for cinderedna, but it was an amusing read and a enjoyed it at the time. it thankfully isn't a bra burning approach to feminism, but a 'you can do things on your own' book. its cinderella without the idealism. of course we all love the idealism, that's why such stories as cinderella exist, but for every cinderella there must be a cinderedna... because a person can't be entirely practical or entirely idealistic, but a balance of both must be achieved. unfortunately there aren't as many 'cinderenda' books on the market as there should be for young girls, so i guess this one is good!

This adaptation of the classic children's fairytale Cinderella brings something of a mixture of the classic story elements (princes, castles, and fancy dress balls) with modern, contemporary settings (the city bus, penny loafers, and recycling plants)...Cinder Edna is Cinderella's more self-reliant, self-sufficient neighbor who just doesn't have time (or see the point of) sitting around in the fireplace cinders feeling sorry for oneself. She gets out and about doing for herself and enjoying life...she even knows 16 different ways to make tuna casserole (and that's quite spectacular, don't ya know)! While Cinderella needs her fairy godmother to get her a dress, a ride to the ball and snazzy glass slippers, Edna gets her dress off layaway, puts on her comfortable penny loafers and takes the city buss to the ball. In the end each girls get her man...Cinderella gets her prince charming and Edna falls for charming's somewhat dorky younger brother Rupert. This story, like the classic, portrays a happy ending for all...the somewhat ditzy and bubble-headed Cinderella spends her days in luxury and self-absorption (and is perfectly happy), Cinder Edna winds up in an ecologically friendly soar-heated cottage with her recycling prince...and she also lives happily ever after (in a life that looks to be infinitely more interesting and full of fun than that of Cinderella and her boorish, snobby prince). I enjoyed reading this as did my 7 year old. I got a kick out of the artwork, which goes along so very well with the message of this particular adaptation (that living happily ever after is in the eye of the beholder...and getting there doesn't necessarily involve fairy godmothers and magic...you CAN make your own happily ever after)! I give Cinder Edna 5 stars and two thumbs up...it made me smile deeply and often and even had a few laugh out loud moments that really made my day! I'd recommend it as a read aloud for ages 5-7, though it's a picture book I don't think that he length of the text makes for ideal reading for younger children (3-5). I also think it would be well received by children transitioning to independent reading, as this would provide a "new story" with some familiarity and the amount of text is just about right for emerging independent readers (6-8).

"Now she's gone - the only girl I ever loved."
"Well, didn't you get her name?" asked Rupert impatiently (page 15).

In Cinder Edna, Ellen Jackson compares the classic Cinderella to a more light-hearted, realistic one, Cinder Edna. This Cinderella story with a twist is an enjoyable real world fairytale for children, especially little girls. The readers are able to relate with either Cinderella or Cinder Edna. While relating this enjoyable story, Jackson creates a dual tone of melancholy and optimism which are emphasized through the use of theme, contrasting diction, structure, and foils.

The tone of this children's story is illustrated through the theme of Cinder Edna. The theme portrayed is one of gaining happily ever after. Through the theme a lesson is taught about living happily ever after and the right attitude needed to achieve it. The theme is emphasized through the contrasting tones of the two main characters. Both Cinderella and Cinder Edna are forced to work for their wicked step mothers and step sisters. However, each girl takes on a different view of their situation. Cinderella evokes a tone of melancholy through her self pity and disparity towards her trial and chooses to dwell in pity, sitting among the cinders. On the other hand, Cinder Edna creates a tone of optimism through her self-sufficiency and independence toward her hard situation. She chooses to make the most out of her hard situation and to learn new skills. In the end, it is a cheerful outlook in hard times that leads to happily ever after.

Contrasting diction is also used to illustrate the tones of optimism and melancholy. Jackson uses "cruel" and "endless" to describe Cinderella's outlook on her situation. These words evoke a forlorn tone and create a feeling of pity toward Cinderella. Instead of trying to change her predicament, she sits and wishes for someone to come and change it for her. Contrastingly, Jackson describes Cinder Edna and her similar situation with cheerful diction. She uses "spunky" and "silly" to illustrate Cinder Edna's self-sufficiency and optimistic personality. Jackson also utilizes light-hearted rhymes to create Cinder Edna's happy tone. Cinder Edna figures out things for herself, and prepares ahead of time. Therefore, the varieties of diction help to create the contrasting tones of optimism and somberness.

The structure of Cinder Edna adds to the dual tones. While describing Cinderella's point of view Jackson uses long and loose sentences. She uses many descriptive words to add to Cinderella's distress. However, while discussing Cinder Edna, Jackson uses short sentences that add to Cinder Edna's "spunky" personality. This difference is noted through the description of both girls preparing for the ball. Cinderella is described as depending on her fairy godmother to figure out how she would get to the ball, through the utilization of various forlorn describing words. Therefore, a fairly large paragraph is formed to describe Cinderella's means of transportation instead of just a few lines. However, Cinder Edna's transportation to the ball is described with "Cinder Edna took the bus" (page 9). This short sentence gets to the point and emphasizes Cinder Edna's self-sufficiency and optimistic personality. Therefore, structure helps illustrate the dual tones of optimism and melancholy.

Jackson utilizes foils to create emphasis on the dual tones. Cinderella dwells on her troubles, sits in the cinders, and wishes for something to happen to change her predicament. After her wish comes true, she returns home moping and "sits forlornly among the cinders in the corner;" thus creating a somber tone (page 18). However, Cinder Edna makes the best of her predicament. She sings and whistles while she works and learns new skills. Cinder Edna works on the side to earn money and figures things out thing for her self. She buys her own dress and takes the bus to the ball. After returning, Edna continues on with her work, happy to have had the chance to go to a ball; thus illustrating a cheerful tone. The princes Randolph and Rupert are also foils of one another. After the ones they love disappear, Randolph blames others and pities himself. He did not have the common sense to ask Cinderella's name so he goes on a quest with her glass slipper to find her. However, Rupert prepares a plan of how he will find his true love. Rupert, having the common sense to ask the girl's name and about her, searches through the phone book and visits all of the Edna's in the village. He asks them questions pertaining to things he had learned about Cinder Edna at the ball. Therefore, through the use of foils the dual tone is created.

Throughout the story, Jackson illustrates a dual tone of cheerfulness and somberness. These contrasting tones are seen through the author's use of theme, contrasting diction, structure, and foils. Through this story the reader learns that we have to work for our own happily ever after. We need to have an optimistic attitude while overcoming our obstacles. We learn that with the right attitude anything is possible. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and recommend reading it to children.

This is the story of two neighbors, both overworked sisters to mean, wicked, old step-sisters. Cinderella is the pretty one who sits in the cinders and daydreams after she finishes her chores. Next door Cinder Edna, the spunky one but not so pretty, sings while she works. She doesn't like sitting in cinders--gets her clothes sooty--so she takes on extra chores from the neighbors who pay her, enabling her to put a lovely dress on lay-away, her just-in-case dress.

One day the two princes announce a big ball and invite all the women of the kingdom to attend. The six wicked sisters ready themselves through the help of the abused step-sisters. Cinderella's fairy godmother comes along to poof the pretty lass ready. Cinderella's lack of imagination, lack of spunk, lack of proper attitude cannot see a way to the ball. GM has to turn a pumpkin, you know the rest.

Meanwhile, Cinder Edna gets her dress off lay-away, decides to wear her comfortable loafers to dance in, and takes the bus to the ball. There is no effort except her own good attitude. At the ball she finds the handsome prince too stuffed full of himself. Boring, she decides of him. Then she meets Rupert, the younger prince, head of waste recycling and keeper of orphaned kittens and master joke teller. She is known to tell a joke or two herself. They dance the night away.

All good stories must come to an end. The usual hunt for the right foot for the glass slipper, and a woman who can recite 17 tuna casserole recipes play a major role. There is a double wedding (surely this is not a spoiler!). But the big question is: Which couple lives happily ever after?

This is one of the best books I have ever read. From the first page I was captivated by the lives of the characters. This book challenged my thinking beyond belief and pushed me to wonder what I would have done in many given situations. It shows the amazingness of human resiliency and the disgustingness of those who have lost all humanity along with those in between. In researching the details of the book it very historically accurate which adds to the allure of this book. For anyone who wants to challenge their mind and soul...this is a must read.

Usually when I read historical fiction I find that the history is interesting, but the writing is poor; or the reverse. In this case, I found both the writing and history to be superb. It's the first time in years I've read a story so well told that is based on so much research. I can't wait for the paperback to come out so that I can buy it for friends.

Lawrence Hill did a great job telling one of the many stories about our past and how we got to this country. Some may find the book hard to follow but he is a great talent that told the story of what it was like during the passage, the arrival and then freedom of our people. Although a bit meaty, I would say it's a great read and one for the collection.It has increased my thirst for more about history in general.

Wow! Book arrived in perfect condition and delivered as promised.
I couldn't ask for more.

Thank you.

This book shares with the reader the incredible ability of one woman to take all of the bumps that life has to offer and to never give up. The importance of a name and the need to hear it spoken is powerful.