This is a richly layered book, full of interesting and thoughtful insights into the Zunis and the anthropologists who have studied them. McFeely combines a sympathetic approach to Zuni culture with intelligent analysis of the Euro-American anthropological tradition. Her language is sometimes difficult, a reflection no doubt of the fact that this book had its origins in a Ph. D. dissertation at New York University (some unfortunate passages are so complex and convoluted that they come close to defying comprehension). But this is more a stylistic problem that one of substance. I was particularly taken with McFeely's descriptions of the Eastern anthropological museums of the early twentieth century in which Zuni artifacts were displayed in row on row of glass cases, and with her observation that a dialogue took place between the frozen objects in the cases and the peering faces reflected in the glass (of course, the peering faces were learning about themselves even as they studied Zuni). It is a good metaphor for the book. Readers who are interested in the complex interplay between Native American cultures and the dominant European culture of the United States, will, I think, find this book rewarding--but only if they are willing to read slowly and carefully.

Escucha Paula... te voy a contar una historia.

I read this book a few years ago, and many passages are still with me over the years. It is extremelly well written, simple yet very profound and manages to take you through a very sad and painful road we will all eventually go through, in a very loving way, the loss of a loved one.

It sometimes made me laugh, most of the time I had to remove tears from my face to keep on reading, but I am very thankful to Isabel Allende for sharing with me the most difficult time of her life, her story, and her suffering. I had never felt so identified with an author, and never had a book given me the chance to enter the author's mind, heart and soul.

What is trully remarkable about this book is that it wasn't inteded for us to read, it was only meant for Paula, so she wouldn't feel lost when she woke up, and yet you can immediatly identify with what goes on, and sense the everlasting, unmeasurable love of Isabel for her daughter.

It covers many subjects... history, family, war, illness, success, failures, but most of all, this is a book that celebrates life and LOVE.

I first read Isabel Allende when my friend's mother recommended "The House of the Spirits." Later, I told my friend's mother how much I had enjoyed the novel. On that occasion she handed me her copy of "Paula," saying, "Hear. Read this." I obliged. "Paula" is the author's autobiography, written for her daughter, as she tries to nurse her daughter through a rare illness that has left her comatose. Allende visits the events in her past as she copes with the present. "Paula" moved me on many different levels. Allende's story of her own past is captivating. Her present day struggle to heal her daughter is heartwrenching. Despite the sadnesses of the book, it is a book that affirms life. I read it whenever I feel have wallowed in self-pity for too long. It reminds me that it is I who am in charge of my destiny. After crying the many tears I cry when I read "Paula," I feel cleansed, rejuvenated, and ready to live life again.

"Paula" is a memoir of the author's life. It began as a letter to her daughter during her battle with the debilitating disease, porphyria. Paula slips into a coma and remains in that state for over a year. In this memoir, Allende reveals the trials of her life in Chile and her travels abroad. She writes of the political unrest in her homeland, her role in assisting political fugitives during that time and her eventual launch into the literary career she enjoys today. The book is filled with love of family, country and an unrelenting passion for life. Allende's connection with the spirits of her ancestors provides a magical and mystical backdrop for a real life experience that could not be replicated by the most imaginative of writers.

This memoir allowed Allende to come to terms with her daughter's death and to appreciate her life more fully. Translated in flawless English, this memoir takes the reader on a spiritual and historical journey of discovery. Paula will remain a central figure (spirit) in the life of her family, and this story ensures that she will maintain a place in the memory of readers as well.

I recently decided to pick up the first book written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and give it a go. I am a huge fan of these two, and for some odd reason, I never picked up The Relic. No I am mad at myself for not picking it up earlier.

Having read Reliquary and all of their other books, I had the basic story line of The Relic down before I opened the cover, so I was not expecting much. Well, I was wrong, this book is filled with incredible action, and details that keeps it moving at such a fast pace.

One mistake leads to another, and things just keep moving. I enjoyed meeting Agent Pengergrast for the first time, and I though the other characters were developed very well.

All in all, this is the first Preston Child book, and it is still the best, Cabinet of Curiosities comes in a close second! This book is highly recommended!

Also, if you have seen the movie, pick up the book, there are so many differences that it is almost a whole new story!

Out of all the thrillers i've read, including some King and Crichton, Relic, without a doubt was the most terrifying. By terrifying I don't me that it was spooky. I mean that you feel like you are actually there, that your life is at stake. The fact that they based it quite accurately in the New York Museum of Natural History adds more to the feeling of reality. I looooove the fact that they provide so much archaeological and scientific background. Whether it is actually true or not, at least they did their homework to know what to say and how to say it. I have to disagree with EVERYTHING that scott truik said in his review. I saw the movie, it is horrible in comparison to the book . . .why did they feel it necessary to move the setting into the Chicago Field Museum? that really bugs me :^) Anyway . . .after i read this book i was looking over my shoulder for weeks. If you enjoy a good thriller, then you cannot deny reading this book.

I read Relic over three months ago, and it is still fresh in mymind. This book is great! Preston and Child show themselves to be apowerful emerging force in the thriller/sci-fi field. The setting for the story (the American Museum of Natural History in New York City) is realistic and frightening at the same time. Several scenes make good use of the museum's dark corridors and lonely exhibitions. The character development throughout the story is superb, and you actually find yourself cheering for some characters, and heckling others. My personal favorite is the ever-so-cool (almost Holmesian) Special Agent Pendergast. The plot is interesting, and yet equally as terrifying. It is not the gore that will scare you, but Mbwun, the creature itself. This thing is something out of a nightmare! The descriptions of this thing are so detailed that, in the darkness, you will find yourself listening to hear the tread of those stealthly feet, smelling the air to detect that pungent, goatish odor, and straining your eyes to see that looming shadow against shadows and those feral red eyes that announce its presence. Perhaps the greatest surprise of the entire book comes in the epilogue when..., well, if you want to find out, you are going to have to read the book yourself. Truly, this book has everything a person could hope for in a novel. So read Relic, and you will never look at a museum the same way again.

Magical women almost always characterize Marquez's works. This book is no exception. Maria, the young heroine of the novel, continuously weaves magic around her. Sometimes she's the perfect image of a girl growing into a young woman--giving in to the world's demands, sometimes even the slightest provocation elicits extreme ferocity from her, sometimes her capacity to silently endure pain baffles.

The other characters--though a little less magical--nonetheless vivify the entire spectrum of human behavior, especially the extremes. The couldn't-care-less attitude of Maria's mother stands in stark contrast to the pathos of Maria's father. The inmates of the church paint a complex picture together, their individual hues adding to the complexity.

Marquez loves to direct his readers' sympathies at his magical women, and here again, this book is no exception. The sheer pain that Maria has to go through might bring tears to the eyes of many a reader. No matter how intriguing she is (or perhaps because she is intriguing), readers will fall in love with Maria. And when you fall in love with a character in a novel, you no longer read it as a book; the story engulfs you. Here lies the amazing skill of the author. Though his world is so removed from the real world (magical realism or "magical unrealism" as the Booklist editor calls it), the reader becomes part of that magical world in no time.

Pick up this book and escape into a world where the dividing line between the real and the unreal is thin, very thin.

This book drew me in immediatley...Marquez is a master storyteller...a girl with rabies taken to be possesed is left caged like an animal amid her own excrement in some monastery....it is a priest who has lived among books that comes to help her and finds himself falling in love...Marquez mixes the grotesque with the beautiful, making this love story unlike any other I've read...the book is an enchanting read like a litlle lost chapter from Macondo....

"Of Love and Other Demons" has been reviewed as "not one of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's best", perhaps because the themes are concluded in a manner that is not as concise as his other novels, and so the conclusion is not as fulfilling as one would like. However, it is still one of my favorite books.

Even though Garcia Marquez's classic, "One Hundred Years of Solitude", may be more epic in scope, this novel is a much quicker read and is less intimidating for the Gabriel Garcia novice. The prose is lyrical and is filled with subtle irony. As in many of Garcia Marquez's other novels, it has elements of magic realism and the ending of the story is told before it even begins (in this case in the prologue); by using that plot structure, Garcia Marquez exhibits his skill as a writer, not by using surprise endings, but though the unexpected path he takes to get to his ending. The portrayals of the characters are done with delicate details; it seems as though Garcia Marquez "loves" his characters and understands their perspectives. Garcia Marquez creates a portrait of a vibrant and wild girl, who is loved by no one in her immediate family. She becomes bitten by a rabid dog and therefore demonic possession is suspected. The way in which her family and her community handles her suspected affliction shows glimpses of other possible "real" demons--the hurtful things that humans to do each other. While the little girl, Maria de Todos los Angeles (Maria of All the Angels), is subjected to tortuous "healings," the novel draws small glimpses of each character's life that revolve around the main themes of love and other "demons" such as hatred, illusion, lust, superstition, racism, greed, etc. Balancing all of these base emotions out is love, which is commonly said to conquer all.

Garcia Marquez wrote in this book, "Ideas do not belong to anyone . . . they fly around up there like angels." (p 54) That Carl Jung-like collective unconscious idea maybe or may not be true, however there are not many authors that have been able to capture ideas and words like Garcia Marquez.

Perhaps because of the avalanche of praise bestowed on this book, I was rather disappointed when I read it. A credit to Ambrose that his book is rarely dull, but his is far from a comprehensive study. Perhaps it would have been more accurately sold as a biography of Meriwether Lewis, whom Ambrose is almost embaresingly enamoured with.

For a first read on Lewis & Clark this is not a bad place to start, but critical information on some very important people is lacking. We never learn about the ultimate fate of York, Clark's slave, who was critical to the survival of the expedition but was brutalized by his master on returning East. Sacagawea is also abandoned after the journey. Even Clark is given scant attention considering his role.

in other areas, critical scholarship is lacking. It is also the opion that Lewis commited suicide and was not murdered but Ambrose gives short shift to those who claim otherwise. Why did a point-blank shot to the head and subsequent wounds fail to kill Lewis for several hours? Ignored is the well known evidence that Grinder family spent some of Lewis' money over the years after his death. Now, it is most likely given his mental state and previous attempt that Lewis did kill himself but Ambrose rumbles past any forensic or psychological investigation in 3 pages, instead wondering if Lewis made a mental role call of his companions or dreamt of the Dakota prarie.

The mental state of Lewis is described merely as "meleancholy" several times and later theories of his substance abuse patterns or homosexuality are not addressed. In other areas, Ambrose is far too eager to give credit to Lewis & Clark for being "the first" to do everything but start a fire. Numerous trappers and explorers dating back to LaSalle had been in many of the areas or even used the same routes. On page 311 Ambrose even credits a brief debate on where to proceed as "The first vote ever held in the Pacific Northwest...the first time in American History a black man had voted, the first time a woman had voted". Needless to say York and Sacagawea were not made formal partners or granted any rights to speak of, and many Native American societies could take issue with that being the "first vote' or even first vote by a woman'

I apologize if this if overly harsh. This is a solid, readable account but not the all-encompassing masterpiece most reviews here regard it as.

This book is inimitable Stephen Ambrose. Like all of his books, he turned this book of history into his story --- a nonfiction adventure story. Stephen E. Ambrose actually evolved into what can be called a nonfiction novelist. Starting with historical facts, he blended-in a judicious amount of hyperbole, added a pinch of sensationalism, and came up with a new metamorphosis called creative history that was very successful at holding a reader's attention. There are now other authors (including yours truly) who do the same, but, Ambrose was the first and the best. "Undaunted Courage" is yet another book in a long line of his books that shows he knew how to inform by perfecting the knack of making history interesting. He shall be missed.

I found this an excellent book that transported me back in time to the days of the Louisiana Purchase. For me, such an experience is the definition of a good history book.

The subject, as anyone who reads the introduction will see, is one that is dear to Ambrose. His intimate knowledge of the subject comes through in what is a thoroughly gripping narrative.

Ambrose clearly admires Meriwether Lewis, but his writing is fair and impartial as he delves into the trials and triumphs of the expedition as a whole, and Lewis personally. The story begins at the beginning, well before the voyage of discovery begins, by establishing the relationship between Lewis and Thomas Jefferson that will ultimately result in Lewis being given command of the expedition.

Clark's role is not ignored, and Ambrose repeatedly points out that Lewis viewed Clark as a co-leader, although the government at the time recognized him only as Lewis's lieutenant. But, as the title suggests, the book focuses on Lewis, the great project's leader, and his sponsor Jefferson.

Lewis's tragic decline and eventual suicide ends the book and serves as a sad counterpoint for his great and yes, courageous, leadership during the expedition.

Altogether the book offers a fascinating read for anyone interested in the story of Lewis and Clark, or students of Thomas Jefferson looking for additional perspective into the events that shaped his presidency.

Perhaps one of the most difficult stories to write is a story about children and/or abuse. Interjecting just the right amount of sentimentality is often times too difficult of a task for even the most talented writers, but Connie May Fowler tackles both topics with a level of sensitivity and finesse that makes this book a "must read." BEFORE WOMEN HAD WINGS tells the story of Avocet "Bird" Jackson, a world-weary child in search of love among the people whose love should be a given but who are sometimes the most stingy with their affections. Bird tells the story of many young women who have either witnessed or experienced abuse in a matter-of-fact, no-holds bar fashion. The complexity of the relationship between she and her parents and she and her sister and brother provides readers with a wide-open look into a tragic life that eventually makes a transcendent jump into a path of redemption. This is a book well worth reading again and again.

I heard about the book when news of the movie came to my attention. I was determined to read the book before seeing the movie and I'm glad that I did. Connie May Fowler is an excellent author who uses wonderful techniques that not only describe but give you a feeling that you are the character. Bird is a wonderful young girl who throughout the book you grow to love and sympathize and Mrs. Zora gives the book a wonderful touch and leaves hope of happiness and survival. I recommend this to everyone interested in a loving and touching story about survival and forgivness. It was wonderful reading.

The book entitled,"Before Women Had Wings," is a very wonderful book. There is a wonderful variety of interesting topics, which happen throughout this book; and throughout Bird's life. Bird is a girl featured throughout this book, which her real name Advocet Jackson. Advocet was raised within a poor family with a sister named Phoebe, her mother and father were both alcoholics. Bird and Phoebe both throughout the book recieved critical physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Not only that, but as Bird was younger, her father ended up comitting suicide.

Advocet throughout the book states a lot of varities, like I said, which happened throughout her life. As I read this book, it made me cry, have joy; and learn how to cooperate with my life, since I'm 15 years old; and also live with an alcoholic.

Advocet, I'd just like to say if you get my message, to never give up;"Have faith!" You do well, "Keep up the good writings!" When I read Advocet's book, it really touched me; and how to change my life; and what to do with it. I bet you, that if you read this book today, you won't every second of your time. Also, I bet if you read the whole book, it will somehow change your life. I hope you enjoy the book,"Before Women Had Wings!"

Practically everyone who knows me has heard me rave on and on about this book. I read it for the first time about 4 years ago, after picking it up while browsing through the bookstore. I read the excerpt at the front recounting the Vietnamese general's final moments and I was hooked. I recently finished it again, and it was even better this time. Everything that happens to Hathcock seems like something out of a movie; something no mortal man could survive. I learned to respect the discipline and will-power of a well-trained Marine, and was left in awe of the effectiveness of the sniper. Charles Henderson does his part, too. He not only tells Hathcock's incredible story, but makes it an immersive, addictive one to read. Through his clear and descriptive writing, the reader is transported back in time to the dark "Charlie"-filled jungles of Vietnam, where he lies beside the sniper known as "Long Tra'ng" and experiences not only the satisfaction of a well-placed shot, but also the emotional struggles that a man must deal with when he takes the life of another one. Undoubtedly a timeless classic

While I myself didn't follow in my dad's footsteps as a Marine (he was Marine Air Group 61 in WWII--HURRAH!) but went in the Air Force instead (Security Forces--HOOAH!), the Corps still holds a special place in my heart, and reading this gripping story of Carlos Hathcock's exploits reminded me of why I will always love the Corps, even if I didn't wind up joining. Reading the book has made Gunny Hatchcock one of my all-time heroes, and it made me wish to hell the USAF had a sniper program! I lent this book to one of my SF buddies in exchange for Charles Sasser's "One Shot, One Kill" (another great read). America lost a true hero a couple of years back when Carlos passed away, and may God rest his soul. Kudos to Charles Henderson for at least keeping this outstanding troop's memory alive! Semper Fi!

Although I lack military experience, I must say that this novel is perhaps one of the greatest military biographies I have read. Perhaps the reason this novel is so enjoyable, is because you have absolutely no idea what story will be told next. Furthermore, if you are like me, you possbily never even heard the name Carlos Hathcock before.

This biography was very enjoyable, because it kept me on the edge of my seat. The personal stories of Hathcock, and eyewitness accounts are amazing. I can't fathom an individual who can shoot a gun accurately at 2,000 yards. But this novel gets you in close and personal with a person who lived by the motto, "one shot, one kill" at a distance of over 1,000 yards.

Henderson, the author, does a great job of describing Hathcock, and his missions by using expert witnesses and documents. Merely page through the bibliography to see the amount of research that Henderson did for this novel, and you will realize that this book must be pretty close to the absolute truth.

Overall, this book is fantastic, due to the missions that are explained in here. Henderson makes you feel right at home with this legend, and creates a lively image on each mission. As a result, this novel is easy to read, because it is a page-turner. Henderson also does an excellent job as to explain the mentality of Hathcock towards the Marines and towards the art of sniping. I never realized that a person who is a sniper must have a unique mentality in order to do this job. And Henderson shows that sniping is not for everyone.

The novel also immortalizes Hathcock as a hero and a leader.....as it should. Hathcock was at the top of his field, and literally designed the manual for this new class in the military. But his ideas have found there way into SWAT teams, and police forces through the world. Hathcock was a hero, who ultimately paid the price for his bravery in the Vietnam war. This novel is a must read for all individuals, not just the military type person!

This is an impressive book in scope and execution. It's told through the tortured memories of John Brown's third son, Owen, who survived the doomed attack on Harper's Ferry.

The book pays little attention to the Harper's Ferry adventure and to the Browns' adventures in Kansas, and concentrates instead of the social and familial context of Brown's actions. There is considerably more attention paid to Owen's relationship with his father and his obsessions about sex and human relationships than to the cowboy style adventures in Kansas.

While it is written in a stately and measured tone, it does not have the feel of something written in the late 18th century, and Banks' narrator seems comfortable using words and constructions which sound quite modern. Perhhaps because of this, the book never drags in spite of its enormous length.

The central question the book seems to me to ask his the eternal one about ends justifying means. The Browns' seemed to know that the actions that they took in Kansas were morally wrong--yet they believed, and Owen believes at the time of the writing, that had John Brown and his gang not perpetrated the Pottawatomie massacre that the entire course of American history would be different. They believed that the moderate free-soil politicians would have sold out, that Kansas would be admitted to the Union as a slave state, and that Lincoln would never have been elected and the NORTH would have seceded. Of course we'll never know, but we have to ask ourselves if their actions were justified given what they believed. Definitely shows you the terrorists point of view.

Very good book on a fascinating subject.

Seldom in American history have the actions of one man had so great an impact on human events as did those of John Brown, the famous Abolitionist. Russel Banks' epic novel, Cloudsplitter, recounts the life and times of the enigmatic man who changed the course of a nation. The author imagines John Brown's last-surviving son, an aged Owen Brown, who narrates the story and fills in many historical gaps that still surround the juggernaut unleashed by his fanatical father. The real Owen Brown remains a vague footnote in history. Although he occasionally surfaces like an apparition in some John Brown biographies, Russel Banks takes advantage of this particular gap in history to create his own expansive narrator, sometimes verbose and full of remorse, a living paradox racked with guilt and grandiosity. At his best, Owen tells his story with love and devotion and much largesse. Other times, when he is most guilt-ridden and self-absorbed, the narrative bogs down and becomes suffused with rancor and hate. John Brown the stoic patriarch is cast as a savage self-righteous prophet of biblical proportions, and Owen plays a convincing role as the would be son of Abraham.John Brown was the scourge of "Bleeding Kansas" (Osawatomie Brown) and the martyr of Harpers Ferry (Butcher Brown) but to Banks' Owen Brown, he was also a failed farmer and often made bankrupt by dreams of get-rich schemes. For Owen, in the end, he was a brutal father who destroyed his own family for the sake of the anti-slavery cause. Absolutely nothing stood between John Brown and his God.John Brown died that the slaves might be free...He sired twenty children, but only half lived to be adults, and three of those were killed in his Kansas and Virginia campaigns. With the blessing of Abraham Lincoln, under the command of Robert E. Lee, John Brown was hung in Charleston in 1859.Ironically, John Brown's execution brought together three of the most extraordinary characters in American history. Besides the old zealot himself, there was the marine colonel in charge of the affair, Robert E. Lee, who would later lead the Confederate armies against the Union, and a federal militiaman named John Wilkes Booth, who six years later as a famous actor would perform the last tragic act of the Civil War. Henry David Thoreau compared John Brown's martyrdom to that of Christ. "Some eighteen hundred years ago Christ was crucified; this morning, perchance, Captain Brown was hung. These are the two ends of a chain that is not without its links."And Ralph Waldo Emerson promised that Brown's martyrdom would "make the gallows glorious like the cross."And his soul goes marching on...As Owen tells it, John Brown was consumed by divine wrath. "The man had read every word of his Bible hundreds of times; nothing human beings did with or to one another or themselves shocked him. Only slavery shocked him." From the Ten Commandments, John Brown cobbled together a single imperative that southerners would come to loath: Thou shalt not enslave another human being. John Brown planned his assault on slavery from the high moral ground of the Adirondack Mountains, at the foot of a peak called "Cloudsplitter". His dream was to stretch the Underground Railroad from Alabama to the Canadian border and to eventually crush the Slavocracy through mass insurrection and economic ruin. The raid on Harpers Ferry, the climax of Banks' story (or anticlimax of Owen's) was meant to trigger that insurrection. But the raid failed terribly and resulted only in the capture of the great emancipator himself. What it did trigger, though, was the Civil War. Cloudsplitter is well researched and masterfully written. It is Russel Banks' best effort since Continental Drift (1993). This imaginative, ambitious novel humanizes the legend of John Brown much the way Bruce Olds did in his remarkable first novel, Raising Holy Hell (1995). But even in death, John Brown's juggernaut could not be stopped, and seldom in American history have the actions of one man had so great an impact on human events.Glory, glory, hallelujah!

Russell Banks is a wonder to the literary world! Here we have a man who has invested so much of his time to give a fictionalized account of the life of martyr John Brown and his mysterious son Owen. Banks spent years learning the history of this historic family, and before creating his fictionalized version, he spent a cold winter in the mountains near the location of the Brown Family for many years.

Banks loves to play around with the ideas of truth vs fact, insanity vs sanity, private life vs public scrutiny, and more than anything else, the relationship between father and son. His recreation of the mythical John Brown seems almost too real for comfort, and the imaginative birth of the historically allusive Owen Brown is likewise worthy of praise.

Cloudsplitter is a book of biblical proportions, existing on multiple levels and asking a reader to do, what in today's standards is virtually unheard of, stick with him through the short of 800 page novel. Not many today have what it takes to embark such a monumental effort as Banks has, and his merits are his rewards. This book belongs on your shelves, next to Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" and snuggled up beside James's "The American" for this truly is American Fiction at its most prolific best. It is one for the ages, and Banks can sleep soundly at night, he has done no injustice to John Brown nor the world for bringing such a wonderfully spun tale to life.

When I picked up this book at the library, no less than 3 women standing around the counter cood "Ooooh, that's a wonderful book!" I couldn't wait to read it. I'm very disappointed with this unbelievable and often silly story.

If you liked Kaye Gibbon's "Ellen Foster" then Lily Owens will capture your heart. When her father, T. Ray, punished her by making her kneel on grits, I immediately knew that she was a survivor and he was a coward. May, June, and August Boatwright, the beekeeping sisters, and their Black Madonna honey were exquisite. May's tortured soul taught me about empathy gone awry. Sue Monk Kidd's strong southern storytelling skills are reminiscent of Reynolds Price and Harper Lee. In this her first novel, the writing isn't perfect but it tugged at my heart the way Barbara Kingsolver's "Pigs in Heaven" did. The characters, the time period and the small town setting made it similar to "To Kill a Mockingbird." This novel should be read by parents and teens together. I hope Kidd plans a sequel. I care so much about the characters that I yearn to know about their future lives.

If you liked Kaye Gibbon's "Ellen Foster" then Lily Owens will capture your heart. When her father, T. Ray, punished her by making her kneel on grits, I immediately knew that she was a survivor and he was a coward. May, June, and August Boatwright, the beekeeping sisters, and their Black Madonna honey were exquisite. May's tortured soul taught me about empathy gone awry. Sue Monk Kidd's strong southern storytelling skills are reminiscent of Reynolds Price and Harper Lee. In this her first novel, the writing isn't perfect but it tugged at my heart the way Barbara Kingsolver's "Pigs in Heaven" did. The characters, the time period and the small town setting made it similar to "To Kill a Mockingbird." This novel should be read by parents and teens together. I hope Kidd plans a sequel. I care so much about the characters that I yearn to know about their future lives.

This book was on our required reading list last year, and I must say that this was the best book that I have ever HAD to read. The few graphic sexual scenes got it banned from our International Baccalaureate program, but they are not the heart of this book. Imagine being a silent spectator of life through three generations of the Trueba family. We start with Esteban, the patriarch, and his trials that he takes through life in order to start the beginning of his family's life. He falls in love with a girl who has an untimely death, but then years later, marries her future seeing younger sister Clara. Then we follow Blanca, Clara and Esteban's daughter, and her life as she falls in love with Pedro Tercero, her father's mortal enemy. Pedro is a natural leader and tries to get the farm workers to revolt, as other communists are doing, against their patrón. Pedro and Blanca then lead the story with their love child Blanca. Here the story ends. All in all, this is a great book, and I'd reccomend it to anyone. Our whole class loved this book, and I'm sure you will too.

This is simply such a beautiful book that I cannot do it justice in any description. The wonderful liquid style of writing make you flow from page to page, unable to stop. The fact that I read this book in only two days might speak for itself, because it certainly isn't an easy read.

The book cronicles the life of three generations, mother, children, granddaughter. It shows in loving detail at the little things that make up a life, however small and insignificant they may seem when viewed out of context. All the little actions, meetings, choices that continue to weave in and out of a lifetime.

The most amazing thing is the beautiful descriptions, moods and athmospheres that make this story linger in the mind long after the book is closed. The real and sureal feeling of the house and family of the little girl growing up in silence, the farm brought from ruin to glory, the country itself.

The illogical way most lives are lived so rarely make their make their way into fictin of this caliber, but here they are, countless lives and deaths, all real and present. And whether the story is comic or tragic, it is alway a delight to read.

You will not regret reading this book.

Isabelle Allende's first novel is still one of her greatest ones. With humanity and compassion she writes about 3 generations of a family in a country that is a barely disguised Chile (Pablo Neruda is The Poet, while her uncle Allende is either The Candidate or The President). There's the Conservative grandfather who assists in the coup when the country might go Communist, the otherworldy grandmother, the mother who has sex with a peasant laborer and the granddaughter who tells the story.

Even the villains have humanity and a place for redemption. Over time, people soften and lose their angry natures. Only the country becomes more chaotic as teh people work out their problems (or one is predicated on the other)

This is a beautiful book and better than my meager words could describe. Not only is it a triumph for Magical Realism but also humanity. Allende's other books are pretty good as well.

Oh yeah. Don't watch the movie if you've read this book. If you've already seen the movie watch a lot of Terminator ripoffs before you read this book so that the imagery of that horrible thing doesn't get in the way of this book.