An extraordinary work that is like no other
921603
An extraordinary work that is like no other. Charles Kraft is personal and hits the target each time. I would purchase this book a hundred times!
523056
An incredibly interesting and engaging work.  Although I was a history major, I never learned anything like this about any historical figure.  The author treats his subject with great respect and admiration.  A wonderful, and recommended, purchase for anyone, not just CEOs.
1513865
Les Miserables is the most exquisite piece of literary work ever written, without a doubt. The writing and plot is unsurpassed. It is realistic, and gives you a blunt portrayal of humans and their pride.  Throughout the entire novel, a man overrun by his pride is determined to destory the life of a good man. The entire plot is entwined with blessings and misfortunes, happiness and misery, laughter and tears. When you read it, you feel as though you are miles away, living with this man through is pains and progressings. Read this novel, please. You will not regret it.
2099541
This is not just another album , this is one of those that stays with you for a long long time,as a classic work of art, you have to listen it many times to understand the message. A extraordinary work of a extrordinary artist.  Robert Z.
1310444
It is impossible to compare this to any other 19th century English novel, or to compare Thackery with Dickens, or anyone else.  That being said, it's almost as if there was a Mendelian cross between the astute (and gentle) social observations of Jane Austen, and the savage and bitter analysis of human nature of Jonathan Swift.
Regarding the novel's pace, the author presents a complex, rounded view of the numerous characters, major and minor, and this couldn't have been done at a best-seller type pace.  Every character is a mixture of good and evil, of weakness and strength.
This is a work to be savored for its' wisdom - and I believe there is a great deal of wisdom in the novel.  Above all, I don't see how it's not possible to not be fascinated by the two female "heroines," nor to want to know what theie eventual fates are.  A GREAT, PROFOUND WORK OF IMAGINATION.
407155
Many people might have a hard time reading Queen of Angels because of its complexity, in both style and plot.  I, too, found myself struggling at parts, occassionally even putting the book down for days at a time, so that  I could fully grasp the images Bear was trying to convey.  However, I think  his unique way of writing this book did more to elaborate a detailed and  incredible world than to alienate the reader.  You will either love this  book (being able to accept how he is handling his story) or despise it (not  wanting to be actively involved in the reading).  For those who have read  Greg Bear before:  this is something different and singular.  Don't expect  anything similar from any other book he, or anyone else, has written.  For  those who have not read Bear yet:  don't think this is an example of his  normal work.  Queen of Angels stands alone as a unique and intricate work  of art, successfully and intelligently exploring the avenues that it  pursues, and is to date, the most amazing science fiction book I have ever  read.  Any difficulty one might have with accepting that it is not as  easily digestable as most other literature must come to the realization  that readers of science fiction can't expect to be breastfed all their  lives.
1710492
Salzman presents a genius in his work Lying Awake. He creates a masterful work in the form of this novel- one that few see the kind of intricate attention for detail and enormous dovetailing to the mundane quality of convent life as few know it.
There is a clarity and purpose in this story that is so real and so enormous that it often takes the readers breath away. There are details that makes one wonder how Salzman got the level of detail that he did, in spite of the fact that contemplatives still covet their way of life and observe the Rule to the letter of the law, especially in not allowing outsiders in.
Sr. John of the Cross is the main character who has been in the convent in southern California for over 20 years, the only adult life she has known and she is beginning to experience a deeply religious ecstasy that few ever experience. This is the result of a brain tumor, which becomes her true cross to bear.
This story is not just about Sr. John however; it also tells about life in a contemplative setting- one in which many who suffer from the throes of materialism, could not exist. It stresses a life a control and endurance and tolerance, all for the sake of learning to know and love God.
This is a compelling read, one that is resonant in details, one that speaks honestly of questioning faith at a high level. There are introspective views in this book not often seen and that is what takes this novel to a level different from most.
However, in the process of taking her cross to God each time, Sr. John is faced with walking the talk, by having to make a devastating decision, one that will change her experience with God. This is her cross.
The level of detail and the grace that is woven into this story is the elegance that moves with the same wonder that women in the old habits did. There is a starkness and a simplicity that tells this story that is so compelling it forces the reader to care about what happens to Sr. John and all the rest of the nuns.
Frequently, in contemplative convents, there are nuns called externs who perform the outside work required for all contacts so that the contemplatives inside can do what they do best- spend their day in quiet and constant prayer. That is usually the only person who is allowed within the walls and even that one has some restraints. Priests are allowed only in certain areas.
The cast of characters are so well developed that there is a certain sadness as the last few pages are read, knowing that the reader is about to leave these caring, loving and extremely extraordinary people.
In a time when the Church is in crisis, this story reinvents the idea of God's grace and His goodness and all that is in living within the context of God's will.
There is also a resurgent interest in contemplative life in America today, which is perhaps the result of our chaotic way of life. This book is one of the best mirrors I have seen in many years of a true example of what life is like for those who have lived it and know it to be true to form.
This is perhaps one of the best books I have read this year!
2099978
Carolyn's work is unique and this music came hot on the heels of a joint project with her partner "Songs of the Forgotten People" - which is an astonishing piece of work.  This album covers the work she had been developing around the subject of women, virgin, mother, crone trinity and the first song is a kind of chant/spin on the many phases of womanhood.  Throughout the album there are treasures of songs about women's lives, desires, spiritual wonder and more.  Using minimum hand-played instrumentation, I think with a bit of electronic piano, atmospheres, dreams and incantations are conjured by Carolyn's voice and compositions.
3070694
This novel is a treasure trove. One can read and reread it because one simply cannot grasp all of the gifts that it offers. The symbolism is poetic and profound, and constantly enables the reader to deeply reflect on the existence of us all and what it truly means to be alive. Yes, we suffer... but what we do with this suffering is what counts... and this novel has very interesting conceptions on that. Eloquently written by a novelist who studied under the late and great James Dickey, it is a work that deserves to see more attention. A work of art, indeed. Please get a copy and enjoy it.
4180342
Without doubt, this is a most lucid, elegant, and scholarly study--a rare conjunction of qualities in any scholarly enterprise --of a complex, cantankerous, and creative university don of the high Middle Ages.  The seasoned author, of course, needs no further encomium.
1529035
The Light Inside the Dark is an astonishing book. It should be read with patience and an open ,ready mind, or perhaps not at all. Like a poem, it is not an attempt to explain, or argue, or discuss, but to evoke. In a rich  mixture of images, metaphors, myths, and stories, it probes every crack and  crevice of the psyche, looking for enough purchase so that it may break  open a gaping hole-- not so that it may swoop in, but that it might  liberate a torrent of emotion and insight trapped within. Perhaps its most  important service is to show by example, rather plead by treatise, that the  solution to our suffering lies not in running away or building all manner  of psychic and material fortresses, but in plunging into the darkness and  learning that we have the strength to survive, and even to flourish. I am  thankful for this gift.
3182284
It feels redundant to add yet more words of praise about this extraordinary book that continues to preoccupy me and reverberate in my mind days after finishing it, or, I should say, after being forced to let go of it because there were no more pages left to read.  Like an amazing meal that takes hours to create and is then consumed far too rapidly until there is nothing left  who has the patience to savor it?  I felt a hunger for more and a deep sense of appreciation for the authors years of perseverance and dedication to this project so that he could deliver us this gem.  Sadly, its core themes  dealing with the lives of mentally-damaged war veterans, of frightened illegal immigrants, of drugging and drinking lower class New Yorkers, of a ever-pulsating metropolis that doesnt sleep  remain as timely and as troubling as when he set out on his literary journey.  What is extraordinary is how the author seamlessly weaves together all these different worlds into one beautiful tapestry.  The writing is lyrical, rhapsodic, keenly attuned to language, never forced or contrived, at times mesmerizing.  And, hope against hope that it would be otherwise, Mr. Lish obeyed Chekhovs admonition that a gun that appears in the first act of a play must go off before the play is over.  What that actual outcome would be constantly hangs over the reader with dread and trepidation, which is exactly how the characters felt themselves.

Rabbi Peter Schweitzer
The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism
New York City
4431227
Aleister Crowley achieves and surpasses what many authors have aspired to and failed, that is, he has written a classic novel in a rich poetic and deeply passionate style without ever once seeming forced or assembled. Crowleys classic was not written or assembled as in a formula creation. Its as if it has always existed. Its as if it was just born out of the authors soul. Some of the passages are so extraordinary that you may find yourself re-reading them over and over. Crowleys description of a first attraction to a woman is astounding. But be warned, this is no beach read. This is a deep, spiritual, philosophical journey into the great mind of a true thinker and visionary.

Crowley seems to live in a lonely and isolated world populated by narrow minded people who live life on a superficial level. Crowley pours his heart and soul out into the pages of this one-of-a-kind journal. You may find yourself feeling his pain and cynicism as you read through this masterpiece. Warning to aspiring writers: as you read Crowley, you may feel like a student of the violin who first listens to Joshua Bell or Itzhak Perlman performing live, that is, the level of genius that Crowley achieves is simply unattainable for most writers. I had to re-read his description of the woman called Lou several times. It is the writing of a true master of the art of prose.

I also think this book should be considered as suggested high-school level reading. It could be read and analyzed as a true classic. The story takes you in one end of drug addiction (where life is a party) and out the other end (where life is a living hell).

With all of that said, the question is, is the book enjoyable? Absolutely! It is enjoyable and more than that, it is unforgettable. It is true literature and a must-have for anyone who enjoys the real thing.
689497
I have been tauting this book to my friends and family. It is not the easiest read, but if you know Crace's work, you already know this.  It is literary genius, and a ronde of  chapters that explores death in a way that I've never seen  before- he takes a scientist's probe and contrasts it against a backdrop of the quiet, disturbing nature of mankind and a beach and its creatures, as well as simultaneously exploring the  subtle nuance of relationships, both familial, marital, and
societal.  It is circuitous in chapters back and forth from death to life, from wide telescope to microscope.  It's utterly poetically chilling in its distance from passion and thus so totally embracing the passion of living life itself.  I felt transformed by this book, never able to "view" death with the same sentimental eye again.  For those seeking mystery, plot and excitement, this is not your novel. This is for lovers of language and idea, of literature and internal landscaping. It is stunning work.
4675056
Cormac McCarthy's magnum opus "Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West" is brilliant and breathtaking in nearly every way imaginable, from the title to the obscure epilogue. I will not lie, Blood Meridian is a formidable challenge to read, and from the opening sentence ("See the child."), McCarthy establishes how exceptionally dense the novel is (even the title has at least 3 meanings), but I have found no other novel to be so utterly beautiful and rewarding as Blood Meridian. McCarthy is probably the greatest living writer, and Blood Meridian is his greatest work. Read it. You are losing time.
3404029
Not just a great graphical novel but also one of the finest works in literature. The artwork is quite powerful in an understated way. The story telling is superb.

Its not a particular easy read. The book is filled with historical references and filled with detail. There is no main plot (in the traditional sense) that drives the narrative.

A bit of patience is required, but but once the setting and the characters become familiar this is an extremely compelling and rewarding novel.
302587
Like many people (I assume), I had never heard of author Ted Chiang before seeing the remarkable film Arrival, based off of his story Story of Your Life. But given my deep love of that film  and the heady, complex concepts it covers  I was intrigued to see what kind of story could have inspired such a complex piece of work. That only deepened as I heard more about Chiang  his astonishing reputation, the comments that the film was much more like the story than you might expect, etc.

Chiang isn't exactly a prolific author; he mainly writes novellas and short stories, and its notable that this collection represents a large percentage of what hes written, period. And yet, almost every one of these stories was released to astonishing acclaim, awards, and praise; what Chiang may lack in quantity, he more than makes up for in quality, given than this collection features some of the most fascinating, astonishing, thoughtful pieces of science fiction writing I have ever read, period.

Much like you might expect from Arrival, Chiang takes on complex, heady ideas, and runs with them in imaginative ways that push them to their utmost. The opening story, Tower of Babylon, is essentially a retelling of the Tower of Babel storyat first. But in Chiangs rendition, the tower has reached Heaven. Entire communities exist at various points on the tower, adjusted to life at that point. Plants grow downward, in an effort to reach down to the sun, which the tower has surpassed. Stars crash into apartments. Bricks fall from the tower and are more heartbreaking to lose than people, simply because of the time to replace. And if all thats not enough, theres whats waiting for them at the top, which is both astonishing and inevitable, adding even more complexity to Chiangs rich world.

Or take Seventy-Two Words, in which Chiang imagines an alternate history in which the idea of the golem  an inanimate object brought to life by a sheet of paper with its name  becomes a field of study and a way of life. The nature of names becomes its own science, as automatons are shaped and reformed throughout generations. And whats more, by understanding how these automatons work, we come to understand how human beings work, on a biological and spiritual level, in ways that we never imagined. Perhaps you're more intrigued by Liking What You See: A Documentary, an oral history of a movement to shut off the parts of our brain that perceive physical beauty, and the social ramifications that follow. And if those aren't enough, theres the incredible Hell is the Absence of God, set in a world where divine appearances happen often, divine powers are applied inscrutably, and one man struggles with whether or not to believe in a God he perceives as cruel and heartless.

Chiang is a truly astonishing author, one whose ideas and worlds are so rich that they could sustain whole series of novels, not just short novellas. Even his shortest work, a faux scientific journal article thats only a couple of pages long, gives hints about an entire alternative history of the world that hes created in just a few pages. And yet, he never loses the chance to invest us in his characters and their worlds, filling his pages with moral questions, minor details, emotional beats, and more. That, of course, is much of what makes Story of Your Life so rich, as anyone whos seen Arrival knows; that story marries rich, complex, thought-provoking ideas with an emotionally resonant, devastating hook that makes the story all the more powerful.

Chiang is that rarest of things: an incredible author who, like George Saunders, seems happiest working in short bursts, and yet one who constantly leaves you wanting more. The stories in this collection are, no exaggeration, some of the finest, richest storytelling Ive read, leaving me thinking about their images, ideas, worlds, and characters long after I shut the book. It saddens me that theres not much else out there of his to discover, but Im excited to go see what I can find, and then join those who wait for his every new release.