Amazon.com
Once upon a time, journalism profs duly instructed their greenhorn grads to seek out community papers and the obit pages as logical entrance points into the world of newspaper reporting. Working for cash-strapped local papers allowed novices to practice writing everything from hard news to lifestyle features. Obituaries, meanwhile, were a rung on the ladder of major publications, albeit the lowest. The musty, dusty obit pages also traditionally hosted aging reporters put out to pasture. Not any more, argues Marilyn Johnson in her unabashedly knock-kneed love letter to the obit pages, The Dead Beat. Today, august publications like The New York Times, England's Daily Telegraph, Independent, and The Economist, and Canada's Globe and Mail use exalted members of the fourth estate to turn out smart, hip tributes to widespread, almost cultish, acclaim. Why? Because, as Johnson persuasively demonstrates in her book, truth is almost always stranger than fiction and a well-written, deeply researched obit is not only a vital historical record but a damn fine read over coffee and toast. "God is my assignment editor," cracks Richard Pearson of the Washington Post and if that isn't more interesting than what's going on in your city council chambers, author Johnson and those working the so-called Dead Beat don't know what is.
As Johnson explains in free-wheeling prose, today's obit writers are virtual folk heroes with global Internet followings and their own conventions. With care and an ear for gentle humor, Johnson guides her readers through the surprisingly structured, labyrinthine obit scene, pausing to meet the writers while pondering both the essence of our being and why, in the right hands, the life of an average Joe can be just as riveting as the shenanigans of a high-flying playboy. And infinitely more resonant. Savvy J-school professors and their students are advised to take heed. --Kim Hughes
Book Description
Marilyn Johnson was enthralled by the remarkable lives that were marching out of this world—so she sought out the best obits in the English language and the people who spent their lives writing about the dead. She surveyed the darkest corners of Internet chat rooms, and made a pilgrimage to London to savor the most caustic and literate obits of all. Now she leads us on a compelling journey into the cult and culture behind the obituary page and the unusual lives we don't quite appreciate until they're gone.
Customer Reviews:
Includes Some Spirited Obituaries.......2007-10-01
This review focuses on just one obituary, that of Frank Zielony. First appearing in the OREGONIAN, it included the following: "Frank Zielony might have lived his entire life as a Polish farmer and brick maker like his father, in the plains of what is now the Ukraine. But in 1939, war came. Soviet troops showed up at 7 o'clock on a dark morning in early 1940 and told the entire village...that they had half an hour to prepare to leave the country. They were packed in cattle cars and deported to Siberia--among more than a million non-Jewish Poles forced into slave labor camps. That's how Frank...came to be cutting down trees and making railroad ties in sub-zero weather." (p. 122)
In commenting on the foregoing obituary, Johnson writes: "The story of Zielony's survival and immigration to the Pacific Northwest, and his life helping other Polish Catholics survive, was one of those great obituaries that are made to be reread. Dark and gritty, but suffused with spirit, it was written by someone inspired." (p. 123)
A Shining Star!.......2007-06-28
Brilliantly written, absorbing and full of incredible details, this book is one of the best non-fiction volumes I've ever read!
"I write about dead people!".......2007-03-26
It's difficult to imagine an entire book dedicated to telling the average reader about those folks who write obituaries for a living. This book, however, takes on that daunting task, and fully delivers, with information and humor. Those of us who don't do this kind of writing can't imagine that it is an intense experieance for the writer, especially those who sytrive to give the reader a close insight into the person who has died. We learn about the newspapers that contain the "best" obituaries, and also those writers who are considered at the top of this unusual pyramid. If you want to be informed, and entertained, about a very unusual subject, you can't go wrong with this book.
It's the stories, stupid.......2007-03-13
Marilyn Johnson proves that good stories are the product of good reporting. Her inquiry into the art of the obituary takes her to far-flung corners of the globe,and she gets the goods wherever she goes. Through her, we meet some of the finest obituarists on the planet, and we learn how they capture and tell the stories of lives great and small. This is a jewel of a book, joyfully free of typographical and grammatical errors. It has been written and edited with care, and it holds your attention from the first page to the last.
Short stories of the dead..........2007-02-19
Who could predict that the obituaries would become the most widely read portion of today's newspapers. Just as Mary Roach's "Stiff" explored what happens to your body after you're dead, Marilyn Johnson's "Dead Beat" opens our eyes to the written legacy that the obituarist leaves--essentially the short story of a life. There is an art to this, as revealed in some of the delightful excerpts in her book--the best obits don't just recite vital statistics, but rather spotlight the "specialness" (quirky habits, unusual talents, life-changing moments, etc) of the individual as gleaned from interviews with families and friends. I like the idea that the obit focuses the reader's attention on the life of one person, whether famous or not, and then demands an acknowledgement of the loss of that particular bundle of DNA, never to be duplicated. Full of wit and thoughtful exploration of a rarely discussed subject, this book is a real winner.
Amazon.com
A socially adept newcomer fluidly inserts himself into an unnamed Russian town, conquering first the drinkers, then the dignitaries. All find him amiable, estimable, agreeable. But what exactly is Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov up to?--something that will soon throw the town "into utter perplexity."
After more than a week of entertainment and "passing the time, as they say, very pleasantly," he gets down to business--heading off to call on some landowners. More pleasantries ensue before Chichikov reveals his bizarre plan. He'd like to buy the souls of peasants who have died since the last census. The first landowner looks carefully to see if he's mad, but spots no outward signs. In fact, the scheme is innovative but by no means bonkers. Even though Chichikov will be taxed on the supposed serfs, he will be able to count them as his property and gain the reputation of a gentleman owner. His first victim is happy to give up his souls for free--less tax burden for him. The second, however, knows Chichikov must be up to something, and the third has his servants rough him up. Nonetheless, he prospers.
Dead Souls is a feverish anatomy of Russian society (the book was first published in 1842) and human wiles. Its author tosses off thousands of sublime epigrams--including, "However stupid a fool's words may be, they are sometimes enough to confound an intelligent man," and is equally adept at yearning satire: "Where is he," Gogol interrupts the action, "who, in the native tongue of our Russian soul, could speak to us this all-powerful word: forward? who, knowing all the forces and qualities, and all the depths of our nature, could, by one magic gesture, point the Russian man towards a lofty life?" Flannery O'Connor, another writer of dark genius, declared Gogol "necessary along with the light." Though he was hardly the first to envision property as theft, his blend of comic, fantastic moralism is sui generis.--Kerry Fried
Book Description
Since its publication in 1842,
Dead Souls has been celebrated as a supremely realistic portrait of provincial Russian life and as a splendidly exaggerated tale; as a paean to the Russian spirit and as a remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity, and pomp. As Gogol's wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for "dead souls"--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast of peasants, landowners, and conniving petty officials, few of whom can resist the seductive illogic of Chichikov's proposition. This lively, idiomatic English version by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky makes accessible the full extent of the novel's lyricism, sulphurous humor, and delight in human oddity and error.
Customer Reviews:
A Charming Russian Masterpiece .......2007-08-22
I bought a copy of the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide. In that guide the editors selected 45 works of fiction as masterpieces from 375 well known writers of fiction - all written since since Cervantes. In that guide they describe why those 45 books are "masterpieces." Dead Souls is one of the 45 masterpieces, so I bought and read the book along with many others of those 45.
Dead Souls is not a novel but was called "an epic poem" by Gogol, similar to Tolstoy's characterization of War and Peace as not a novel but an "epic in prose." Hence, Dead Souls was not written as a balanced novel and as many critics have pointed out the actual plot is not terribly important. It was written as the first part of a three part trilogy on Russian life, and it was published as "The Adventures of Chichikov." The charm is found not in the overall plot, but it is found in the detailed descriptions of what happens day to day throughout the story.
From what we know, Pushkin suggested the story to Gogol based on the concept that serfs were considered to be the property of the landowner and there might be value in owning the title to dead serfs or "dead souls." Also, the characterization of being a "dead soul" has a second interpretation: it is to imply a moral and spiritual inferiority. So, the theme extends beyond the commercial transactions of buying up "dead souls" from various farm owners.
As a general reader, I was captured by the humour and charm of the daily life of the protagonist, Chichikov, as he travels by horse drawn carriage going from town to town in rural Russia, staying in small hotels or with farmers or rural gentry. In his travels he mixes with the locals in each town and he tries to ingratiate himself with the local officials as part of the process of building trust to find and buy dead souls; that is, he meets land owners and buys the title to those serfs who have recently died. Gogol treats us to a broad picture of daily life in rural Russia including many small details. It is so detailed that we can almost taste the food, smell the smells, and perhaps some will want to buy a horse?
In this work Gogol sets the literary tone for many Russian writers who follow in the 19th century including Dosoevsky, Tolstoy, and Chekhov. Dostoevsky, was in fact hailed as the new Gogol in the 1840s when he emerged from obscurity and became famous. There are many shorter works by these three authors where one could almost substitute Gogol for the author and one would be hard pressed to make the differentiation, and I reference Dostoevsky's "Poor Folk" as an example of a very "Gogol like" work.
This is a wondeful book that will disappoint few. Since reading this I have read many other Russian works and still think this is one of the better and more charming books of the era. If you like this but want something a bit different, I recommend Chekhov's one and only novel, The Shooting Party.
Russian satire at its best........2007-07-09
Gogol is rightly esteemed as the greatest satirist in classical Russian literature, and is certainly a personal favorite among the 19th century authors. "Dead Souls" is, in my humble opinion, his hands-down masterpiece. It doesn't offer the same sitcom-ish humor of "The Government Inspector," which was cutting-edge stuff in its time. Instead, it is riddled from beginning to end with more subtle, but still delightfully amusing vignettes as the enterprising Chichikov goes about his rather unconventional business of building his "estate" by buying up low-priced (i.e. dead) serfs.
I won't elaborate on the storyline, since that has already been done more than adequately in other reviews. It is enough to say that Gogol's brand of humor is both witty and insightful, and caused quite a stir among the intelligentsia of his day. Many, such as Belinski, viewed it as an attack on the corruption and ineptitude of the "establishment," i.e. the westernizing tsarist regime. There is certainly an element of that. Others saw it differently, including Gogol himself, if his later writings are rightly interpreted. "Dead Souls" is much more of a commentary on the loss of the Russian soul. It is about the corruption of traditions and cultural distinctives that defined what it meant to be Russian.
Decide for yourself which direction Gogol was coming from. It certainly helps to have some familiarity with the history and culture of the time, but Gogol's commentary is near enough to the surface that those things are not essential to appreciate his work. Either way, don't take it too seriously. Just get a good laugh out of it. I did.
Dead Souls: Translation is Everything.......2007-05-15
Perhaps no other novel requires a more exacting translation than Nikolai Gogol's "Dead Souls." This translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky isn't bad, but it gives the book the Pevear/Volokhonsky treatment ... read their translations of The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina and Dead Souls back to back and you'd think they were written by the same novelist (well, if you're from Mars and had never heard of the books beforehand, that is.)
But as Vladimir Nabokov pointed out in his lectures of "Dead Souls", the greatest of all translations was by Bernard Gilbert Guerney. This version of Dead Souls was recently revised by Susanne Fusso for Yale University Press and I recommend it highly.
So why does translation matter? Because as Nabokov points out in Lectures on Russian Literature, "Dead Souls" is more poem than novel. The plot to "Dead Souls" is almost entirely beside the point ... it all pretty much goes in a circle (by the way, The Wire - The Complete Third Season" was modeled on this style.) Where this novel shines is in its haunting and evocative language. Nabokov points out several mind-blowing techniques that Gogol employs ... one is to take an object, create a metaphor about that object to explain it's importance, introduce another object in that metaphor, then compare the second object to a person ... this being a new character, introduced via a highly elegant segue.
The Pevear/Volokhonsky version picks up most of this, but there are some dreadful "Dead Souls" adaptations out there (especially thisDead Souls version that truncates the action and misses the poetry altogether. Especially awful is this Dead Souls audiobook that Amazon.com correctly calls abridged, but both Audible.com and iTunes label unabridged.
"Dead Souls" is a deceptively dense book. I recommend reading it along with Nabokov's lectures to get the full effect. Also, don't be deceived into reading the so-called sequel ... Gogol wished these disjointed new tales to be burned at his death and most critics agree, for good reason.
Devastatingly funny: The satire that launched modern novel in Russia.......2007-05-09
Nikolai Gogol's Dead Soul launches the 'great Russian novel form' with a satire, so apt and so funny, that the novel remains as one of the most popular Russian text ever. Gogol's own personal life may have been a dire disaster, but as a novelist he stands next to only Tolstoy and Dostovesky, as short story writer only Chekov comes close to his fame, and mind you, he preceded them and their writing. He was, alongside Pushkin, one of the major early forces in Russian literary scene. Since all other major novelists from Russia have delved into tragedies and melodramas, going down to philosophical and religious questions, Dead Souls comes as a relief fun read, rather one of the funniest reads.
In Dead Souls, he provides a cast of unforgettable and hilarious characters in episodes that leave you reeling with laughter. The hero or the anti-hero Chichikov or Tchichikov drives from town to town, buying "dead souls" i.e. dead peasants, assuring landowners that this will benefit them as they would pay less tax on their workforce. The tax was based on census numbers, and since many peasants died between two census years, landowners ended up paying taxes on people who didn't exist. Chichikov's brilliant idea was to collect a long list of (dead) peasants he had bought, and use that for getting a estate for himself. The novel tells us a story after story of his meeting his landowners and getting his purchase by a mix of tact, sweet talk, and so on, each purchase is full of absurd and funny details.
Beyond the obvious laughters, the novel provides a very detailed description of Russia in early nineteenth century. The sketches of nature bring alive similes and metaphors that Gogol (who was a failed poet) uses remarkably well. While the observations related to people, customs, bureaucracy and Russia are full of brilliant wit, they in fact recreate a lively and throbbing world to us. The world as it was. The bureaucracy has not changed much since then. Nor have the quacks and hacks and cheats who make fortunes by buying and selling dubious things. Hence Dead Souls has this undying and translatable humor that will keep this book in publication forever.
I would rank Dead Souls alongside Three Men in a Boat, Catch 22, A House for Mr Biswas and The Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy as the novels that made me laugh the most. It has shades of Tolstoy in details it provides about rural life and rich landowners, shades of both Tolstoy and Dostovesky in pointing to certain moral issues (but that is at most an undertone) and maybe he was the one who influenced the style of his more famous successors. If you haven't read Gogol, you definitely need to pick him next.
So So.......2007-03-07
Another author that I was expecting more of after all the fuss over him. Some parts of this book were mildly funny/interesting, but overall it just droned on and on. Had to force myself to finish it.
Average customer rating:
- Fun Read
- The beginning is very slow...
- a gory good time
- Laimo nails this one
- This book cannot be put down
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Dead Souls
Michael Laimo
Manufacturer: Dorchester Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0843957603 |
Customer Reviews:
Fun Read.......2007-09-20
I borrowed this book from the library but had to buy it so my husband, ( a very slow reader) could read it too. He loved Desperation by Steven King, so I knew he would like this one also. It puts me in mind of that story's style. I really enjoyed it.
The beginning is very slow..........2007-07-06
I can't speak to the plot or ending because I never got there. I read about halfway through the book and finally gave up. I like horror novels that start off fast with scares. Rarely do I enjoy a drawn out build-up such as this novel. I'm sure Laimo is a talented writer and haven't had the chance to read his other novels but this just didn't do it for me.
a gory good time.......2007-06-26
this one has it all. Stories involving pentagrams and spells were never my thing until Liamo came along-- I loved it. Well written, funny, gory, and at times oddly sweet, this book will take you through a range of emotions and make you wish it was another hundred pages longer.
Laimo nails this one.......2007-06-08
Dead Souls is outstanding horror. The pace from the middle to the end is blistering, with action, horror and suspense on every page. The ending is very satisfying and the book leaves you wanting to read more from this author. An excellent page turner and highly recommended to all horror fans.
This book cannot be put down.......2007-05-31
The book was a well written guide into one man's madness.
I could not put it down until the last page was turned.
Horror at it's finest.
You must own Dead Souls.
Michael Laimo goes where Clive Barker couldn't dare, and where Stephen King left off.
Average customer rating:
- Worth it for the introduction alone
- Well done.
- fulfills its purpose but not for newcomers
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Start Now!: A Book of Soul and Spiritual Exercises: Meditation Instructions, Meditations, Exercises, Verses for Living a Spiritual Year, Prayers for the Dead & Ot
Rudolf Steiner , and
Christopher Bamford
Manufacturer: Steiner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0880105267 |
Book Description
tart Now! offers an extensive and representative sample of Steiner's spiritual instructions and meditative practices, including meditation instructions; mantric verses; daily, weekly and monthly practices for the development of soul qualities; karmic exercises and meditations for working with the dead, the angelic hierarchies and our guardian angel.
This is a unique volume in any language. No one serious about spiritual practice — whether beginner or advanced practitioner — should be without it!
Customer Reviews:
Worth it for the introduction alone.......2007-01-03
The book itself is very good, but the 45 page introduction by Chris Bamford is truly excellent, and worth the price of the book alone! It is an overview of Steiner's own spiritual path in the context of the western esoteric tradition.
Well done........2006-06-21
I was delighted with this book. I enjoyed both its format and content. Too wide in scope to be a full treatise on any one topic, it provides a solid, well-presented cross-section of many of Steiner's spiritual insights concerning personal growth. Readers who wish to delve deeper into Steiner will find references to many of his works.
fulfills its purpose but not for newcomers.......2005-01-26
With its wide selection of Rudolf Steiner's instructions, verses, soul exercises and meditative material for different levels of inner work, Start Now fulfills its purpose of conveying to the reading public that Steiner, known chiefly for the practical initiatives that arose from his insights, was "first and foremost a spiritual practitioner and teacher." Anthroposophists may appreciate finding so much good material, along with the fine Introduction by Christopher Bamford, between the covers of one relatively inexpensive book. Newcomers to Steiner and Anthroposophy, however, would do better to go directly to Steiner's basic books. Start Now is full of lamentable inconsistencies and ambiguities in its references and citations, with too little context for most selections and too many unexplained terms and concepts.
Book Description
Dead Souls is one of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy. Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these “souls” as collateral to reinvent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the devilish con man Chichikov.
Customer Reviews:
The Best Translation of this work.......2006-12-05
The reason this is the best translation is that Maguire is an authority on Gogol and this work. He provides the most thorough footnotes for a work I have come across and explains all the Russian nuances. We read this for an IB class in which several native Russian speakers were included. They commented on how Maguire was able to maintain the quality and nuances of the language and satire in translation -- a very difficult task. Our local (Kyiv, Ukraine) book group of mostly American adults used the same translation and also loved it. The book makes for interesting discussion. Also read The Inspector General if you get a chance!
A daring con man, and a stratagem that involves buying and mortgaging "dead souls" !.......2006-11-21
"Dead souls" (1842) is a book written by an important Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, that criticizes the Russian society of his time by means of a well-told satire.
The main character of "Dead souls" is Chichikov, a man that wants to be rich, and turns into a con man in order to achieve that objective. His stratagem is simple, yet strange: he will buy "dead souls" from landowners, and then mortage them in order to earn a lot of money. That was possible because in pre 1861 Russia, landowners owned serfs ("souls") that helped to farm the land, and that could be bought, sold or mortgaged whenever the owners felt the need to do so. The "dead souls" were serfs that had already died, but that were still listed as living in property registers.
Will Chichikov be able to buy "dead souls" at a low price and then mortgage them, turning into a rich landowner? Or will his proposal seem so outlandish to others that he won't be able to convince them that he is not joking? You will find answers to those questions in this book, along with beautiful (albeit extremely long) descriptions of the Russian scenery.
All in all, I can say that I liked this book, even though some parts of the manuscript are missing, and you go from the middle of the story to the last chapter in a rush, without knowing exactly what happened. If you know that will happen (I didn't), and still want to read "Dead souls", go ahead. At 3.5 stars, it is worth your time :)
Belen Alcat
Best Translation!.......2006-06-01
Robert Maguire's translation of _Dead Souls_ is the best one out on the market right now. It is even superior to that of the superstar Russian novel translation-duo Pevear & Volkhonsky (their translation, however, is also worth purchasing, as well as all of their other ones). Robert Maguire was a Gogol specialist and had an intimate understanding of this particular work.
A classic of Russian humor .......2005-11-01
This is considered one of the great works of Russian Literature. The ambitious Chichikov schemes to buy up the 'dead souls'( The names of serfs who have died since the last census and are not listed officially as dead) from their previous owners. In doing so he hopes to establish himself as the owner of many ' souls' and by pawning the souls become a wealthy man.
In doing this he travels through Russia meeting a variety of odd and interesting characters. One character,Manilov gives his souls free of charge. Another the greedy Korobotchka makes a bargain of fifteen rubles per soul. Sobakevitch demands a hundred rubles but his rudeness gets him only two- and - one half rubles per soul.
Chichikov pulls it off for a time, is recognized as wealthy, has many ladies running after him, but is last exposed by a character, Nozdrev, who has refused to make a bargain with him.
Gogol's fiercely satirical humor has made this work a Russian reader's delight.
I am not sure however that the humor and the delight translate very well to English.
Amazon.com
When an author as successful as Rankin has been with his tough and idiomatic Scottish thrillers, a problem sets in after several books: how to keep the formula fresh.
Rankin has delivered a powerful series of books featuring his beleaguered Detective Inspector John Rebus, and while never less than gripping, a certain tiredness seemed to be setting in. Thankfully, Dead Souls is a resounding return to form, with a plot as enjoyably labyrinthine as any Rankin enthusiast could wish for, and pithy dialogue that fairly leaps off the page. Stalking the streets of Edinburgh on the trail of a poisoner, Rebus hits upon a freed pedophile and his subsequent outing of the man leaves him with very mixed feelings. But another problem develops for Rebus: a convicted murderer has him in his sights for some lethal games. And the tabloid press lionizing of Rebus won't help him in this situation.
As always, Rankin is perfectly ready to tackle contentious issues--precisely the thing that gives his books their powerful sense of veracity. And Rebus, no longer in danger of having a soap opera-like accumulation of personal problems, seems as fresh and well-observed a character as in those first exhilarating books. Rankin has caught his form again, with even more assurance. --Barry Forshaw, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Weary, wary, hard-drinking Detective John Rebus returns in author Ian Rankin's internationally acclaimed, award-winning series. As complex and unpredictable as the brooding mists that envelop his Edinburgh beat, Rebus is ever resourceful and determined-but this time, vulnerable and challenged as never before, with complications in his personal life, and events that shake him to the depths of his being... A colleague's suicide. Pedophiles. A missing child. A serial killer. You never know your luck, muses Rebus. Driven by instinct and experience, he searches for connections, against official skepticism. But at night, unsoothed by whiskey, Rebus faces his ghosts-and the prospect of his daughter's possibly permanent paralysis. Soldiering through dank, desperate slums and the tony flats of the Scottish chic, Rebus uncovers a chain of crime, deceit, and hidden sins-knowing it's himself he's really trying to save. . .
Customer Reviews:
Rebus and Rankin in top form........2007-04-01
Dead Souls in number 11 in the Rebus series and for me it is one of the best.
The plot has even more than usual going with 4 or 5 stories running concurrently with the main one. What makes this even more special is that all the plots are really interesting and don't feel like a distraction.
One thing for fans of DS Siobhan Clark to note is that she barely appears in this book.
I have only visited Scotland once and didn't stay very long but reading Rankin always makes feel like I am familiar with the streets of Edinburgh and talk with a broad Scottish accent.
I'm off now to re-read the whole series!
Moderate.......2006-06-23
The formula of mixing several ongoing cases with the personal lives of those who detect them removes detective fiction from the starchy abstractions of a Christie or Hammett, but often leaves the reader thrashing through mountains of detail in order to get to the final approach for landing in which the vital clues all come out of the closet in order. It is the pursuit of renewal of the motivation to be police officers and to do what is just in a usually unjust world that drives this book, and as such character drama, it is massively effective. While the mystery hobbles itself by introducing madmen and conspiratorial indolent rich in the last quarter of the book, and while it is somewhat easy to spot the intended progress of the novel, it makes for a good read for those who like "comfy" personality-based mystery writing.
For Inspector Rebus, Problems are Coming in Clumps.......2006-05-28
In this 11th episode of the Rebus chronicles, John's life is becoming ever more complicated. His daughter is recovering from her accident/hit-and-run but is wheelchair bound, and old friend has committed suicide, and he still grieves the loss of another. Now he is up against a pedophile, a released murderer and a missing person case.
He is out to get the pedophile and leaks his name and place to the press; a deed he will regret very soon. This is just one proof that John is getting out of hand and loosing his usually strong sense of honor. He also can't figure out why his old colleague would choose to take his life.
Cary Oakes is an inveterate liar and murderer. He has just been deported from the US, after serving fifteen years for murder. During his penal time, he has taken courses in lock-picking, car theft and mugging; with a masters in hiding in plain sight. All of Edinburgh is up in arms about his arrival and John's old nemisis, newspaper man Jim Stevens, is out to make a bundle telling Oakes story. Oakes has come back to settle a long-time grudge, but doesn't mind making a few recreational killings along the way.
The misper (missing person) is the son of a old friend from his hometown in the Fife. They almost married, but he went into the army and she stayed at home with a mutual schoolmate. She's asked John to look for her son. All of the old feelings and emotions come bubbling back to the surface.
Is she still attracted to John, does he still have feelings for her. John is in a quandry about all this plus his feelings for his job, for Patience, for his daughters health, the death of his good friend (in the last book) and mentor; and his drinking could become a problem again.
Rankin just keeps getting better, and his feeling for the foibles and strength of Rebus' character gets stronger with each book.
Pretty good!.......2006-03-05
I have heard a lot of positive feedback on the Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin but haven't tried one until now. This book was so well-written and complex that it has made me go out and buy everything else of Rankin's that I can find (and there is a fair amount out there).
Rebus is an Inspector in Edinburgh who is aging (50's?) and has numerous issues in his life - be it the girlfriend, the ex-wife, the wheelchair bound dauhgter, his lapses in professional judgement etc. In this book, he comes across a pedophile that may not be as reformed as one would like, a missing son of an old-time flame and a recently released killer from the US returning to Scotland with murderous ambitions.
The book went quickly and I enjoyed it a lot. Although as an earlier reviewer stated, Rankin does keep a large number of sub-plots in progress which can make the reading a little more difficult as you find yourself trying to remember which character belongs in which sub-plot.
Recommended.
Rebus is torturing himself and making his bosses mad..........2003-09-05
Rebus is one of the best cop protagonists out in the market today. He is a very complex person, who is no longer sure of himself or of the job he is supposed to be doing as a detective inspector in Edinburgh. His family is broken up, his daughter injured in an `accident' that was intended for him, his relationship with his new significant other is on the rocks, and his relationship with his bosses is in the toilet. Probably from his rather unorthodox methods. Rebus is not afraid to mingle with the morally-challenged underside of Edinburgh... he makes his own rules up as he goes, and that particular trait of his tends to get him in trouble.
In this book, Rebus has way too many strings to hold onto. A young man has gone missing who just happens to be the son of one of Rebus' old flames. The U.S. is ever-so-nicely sending home a known serial murderer, who continues to wreck as much havoc as possible in Scotland. Rebus also gets involved in another case concerning a pedophile (I hate reading books on that particular topic!), and the embarrassment leads to bad press for the cops.
Rankin is a good writer. Trouble is he puts way too many off-shoot plots in his books. It makes it very difficult to keep track of these guys and the plots. I do like Rankin's ability to characterize. His characters come across as real people, with real problems, and this is one of the traits I look for in books.
Karen Sadler
Book Description
Of the 112 pages of this third book of this series, more than 120 color photographs illustrate the written description of the celebrations in Mexico City, Mixquic, and several towns of the state of Morelos, including Ocotepec, which is located almost inside of the beautiful city of Cuernavarca.
The buying of the objects in the tianguis (market). The preparation of the special dishes to be placed in the ofrenda, the ritual of the building of the altar, together with the vivid testimony of how strong is the influence of this pre-Hispanic tradition in the beliefs and lives of the people.
Customer Reviews:
Beautifully presented color photography enhances the text.......2001-06-07
Mary Andrade's bi-lingual (Spanish/English) Day Of The Dead In Mexico: Through The Eyes Of The Soul presents the celebration of one of Mexico's most beautiful, pre-Hispanic traditions as observed in Mexico City, Mixquic, and Morelos, when families honor their ancestors through ritual, festival, and celebration. Beautifully presented color photography enhances the text throughout, including information on the celebratory preparations, buying of items in the marketplace (tianguis) that will be used in the altars; the offerings (ofrendas) in homage to the souls of the dad; and the cemetery vigil. Also very highly recommended for multicultural studies collections and Hispanic culture reading lists are Mary Andrade's companion volume, Day Of The Dead In Mexico: Oaxaca ... which focuses on how the festival observances in the Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Product Description
Helping men rediscover their masculine heart, Wild at Heart, a guide to understanding Christian manhood and Christian men, offers a refreshing break from the chorus of voices urging men to be more responsible, reliable, dutiful ... and dead. God designed men to be dangerous, says Eldredge. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in every boy's heart: to be a hero, to be a warrior, to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly, most men abandon those dreams and desires---aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a "nice guy." It's no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death. In this provocative book, Eldredge gives women a look inside the true heart of a man and gives men permission to be what God designed them to be---dangerous, passionate, alive, and free.
Book Description
DEAD SOULS - A call from an old friend brings back memories and more than a little guilt for DI John Rebus. An old schoolfriend's son has gone missing, the ghost of Jack Morton is inhabiting Rebus' dreams, a part-time poisoner is terrorising the local zoo and a freed paedophile rouses the vigilantes. SET IN DARKNESS - Two unusual incidents in one day seem unconnected, until a third body - that of a prospective member of the Scottish Parliament - is found at Queensbury House. Inspector Rebus investigates, and uncovers old secrets that suggest Scotland's second attempt at devolution will be just as dirty. THE FALLS - A student has gone missing in Edinburgh - completely out of character. There's almost nothing to go on but Detective Inspector John Rebus gets an unmistakable gut feeling that there's more to this than just another runaway high on unaccustomed freedom. Two leads emerge: a carved wooden doll in a toy coffin, found in the student's home village, and an Internet role-playing game. The ancient and the modern, brought together by uncomfortable circumstance . . .
Customer Reviews:
Twisted minds and the dark secrets of Edinburgh's other side........2005-11-07
He had wanted to update Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" for modern times, Ian Rankin writes about his first Inspector Rebus novel, "Knots and Crosses" in the introduction to this 1999 compilation, which contains the first three installments of the series. Oblivious to the mere existence of such a thing as the mystery genre - or so Rankin says - he was stunned to soon hear his book described first and foremost as a crime novel. But eventually this characterization prompted him to have a closer look at the work of other mystery writers, and he found that the form suited his purposes just fine; that in fact he "could say everything [he] wanted to say about the world, and still give readers a pacy, gripping narrative."
Bearing in mind the original duality of Jekyll and Hyde, however, Rankin's tales are not dominated by a contrast painted in black and white. While the villains Inspector Rebus faces are certainly every bit as evil as Stevenson's Mr. Hyde, Rebus himself is far from a clean-slated "good guy:" Divorced, cynical, hard-drinking and a former member of the SAS, he is a brother in spirit to every noir detective from Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade and Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe to Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch, James Ellroy's squad of crooked cops and Peter Robinson's Alan Banks. Nor is Rebus's Edinburgh the touristy town of Calton Hill, castle and Summer Festival (although the series has meanwhile sparked real-life guided tours to its most famous locations, too) - as befitting a true detective of his ilk, Rankin's antihero moves primarily in the city's dark and dirty underbelly, which is populated by society's losers and where those who have "made it," those with money in their pockets, only show up if they have shady deals to conduct as well.
In a similar fashion to Michael Connelly's first Harry Bosch novel "The Black Echo," where Bosch is forced to revisit the experiences he made as a Vietnam "tunnel rat," in "Knots and Crosses" Rebus must uncover long-buried memories of his SAS past. For hunting a serial killer whom the tabloids quickly dub "The Edinburgh Strangler," and whose headline-gathering murders at first seem totally unrelated, Rebus eventually makes the connection between those crimes and a series of anonymous letters he receives, and realizes that it is he himself who is the killer's true target, and that the murderer's crimes are based on such a cruel scheme - and executed with such inhuman skill and precision - that only one particular man's thoroughly disturbed mind can have come up with them. And at the same time, Rebus is trying to work out his difficult relationship with his brother Michael, whose life is so different from his own - financially successful and ostensibly happily married and squeaky clean throughout, Michael seems to be on the sunny side of life in every respect labeled a failure in Rebus's own life story - but he soon discovers that even Michael has secrets he is trying hard to keep from coming to light.
The title of Rankin's second Rebus novel, "Hide and Seek," is an even more overt play on Robert Louis Stevenson's famous dual character(s) than the mere juxtaposition of cop and killer. This time, Rebus is on the hunt for the killer of a junkie whose half-naked body is found in a run-down, deserted building in the Pilmuir housing estates - the worst part of town, notwithstanding a nearby construction project involving high-priced luxury condominiums - positioned crucifixion-style and near a drawing possibly hinting at Satanic rituals. And Rebus's only witness seems to be the young woman who had been living with the dead man for the last three months and heard him yell "Hide!" before pushing her out of the door, telling her: "They've murdered me;" but who is now more than just a little reluctant to cooperate, taking refuge, instead, behind an almost unbreakable rebel-against-society-facade, complete with peroxide hair, stud earrings and Attitude with a capital "A."
"Tooth and Nail" finally (originally titled "Wolfman," for the alias that police have given the subject of their hunt) takes Rebus to London, where he is to assist metro CID with the case of another serial killer, this one named for the bite marks he leaves on his victims' bodies. Not overly enthusiastic about his mission to the capital (and thus mirroring once more the feelings of Rankin himself, who did not much like living there, either, and "brought Rebus to London so he could suffer, too"), Rebus soon alienates his metro counterpart by his constant unwillingness to follow protocol, although the two men get along reasonably well on a personal level. Eventually, Rebus so seriously jeopardizes his and - by extension - Edinburgh CID's reputation with the Met that he is about to be recalled home, when he finally makes the crucial connection that unmasks the killer, just in time to save the young psychologist who has offered her help with the case and who is his latest love interest. (As befits a good noir detective, Rebus has a new flame in every book, not without incurring fresh scars from each separation, however.)
While this series had a terrific start already in its first three novels, published between 1987 and 1992, Rebus's character - and Rankin's writing - has evolved significantly over time. Thus, it is probably wise to read it in the order of publication. Contrary to the novels he wrote under the pseudonym Jack Harvey, however, and which he views much more critically in hindsight, Ian Rankin overall still seems to be happy with his early Rebus books, commenting: "I can't read them without thinking back to my own early years, my apprenticeship as a crime writer. Read and enjoy." I have nothing to add to that ...
Book Description
Where Colorado's border pushes against New Mexico, autumn is short. Rancher and tribal investigator Charlie Moon has fat cattle and a prowling cougar that demand his attention. He doesn't have the time to investigate the assault that killed hard-drinking limo driver, Billy Smoke, and put his boss, a U.S. Senator, in a wheelchair. But Moon has an obligation to the People, the Southern Utes, to look into the murder of one of their own. The FBI couldn't solve the case. Now Moon can walk the same paths and get to the same place. Or he can listen to his acid-tongued Aunt Daisy, a tribal shaman as well as a thorn in Moon's side. She insists a distraught red-haired girl is looking for Charlie. It may be about Billy Smoke's murder. Or-since this involves Aunt Daisy-the girl may be looking for a justice of her own.
Customer Reviews:
More than I bargained for.......2007-03-07
I hadn't been keeping up with the series for a while, but when I read Dead Soul I decided to return to the Charlie Moon books. Not only is this mystery dotted with gems of humor that made me laugh out loud, the ending is so unexpected that I was pleased by my total surprise. Doss is marvelous in his depiction of Charlie Moon's point of view, one full of earthy experience, mischief, wanting, and testosterone. Plus, the setting and vehicles are also contributing characters. My only nitpick is that I want to see more of Scott Paris.
Doss writes another winner in his Shaman series.......2006-06-14
Another in James D. Doss' Shaman series which began with The Shaman Sings in the mid 1990s. The series started off good and just keeps getting better. Doss marries a wry writing style with well-drawn characters, a clever story line and a fine understated humour. His setting is southern Colorado, a land of ranchers, wide spaces and capable country people both matukach (white) and Ute Native Americans.
The Shaman of the series, wise old Ute Daisy Perika, doesn't feature to the extent that she has in other books in the series but her contribution via dreams and premonitions is subtle and true. Her character is the stuff the series is built on. She is abrasive and annoying, and takes pleasure in being so, yet the writer has made her irascible while likeable and she is the character the reader will remember long after the rest are forgotten.
The story's central character is Charlie Moon, nephew of Daisy Perika and a Ute rancher and sometime policeman for his tribe. Charlie's major trouble in life is a mountain cat terrorising his ranch workers and cattle, until he is asked to find out who injured a U.S. Senator and at the same time killed Billy Smoke, the Senator's driver. The Senator, who runs the neighbouring ranch, has his own agenda and Charlie finds himself also involved in investigating a leak of damaging government information from the Senator's ranch.
Charlie finds himself often on the tricky side of guns and dangerous animals (both human and not). It makes for a rollicking and thoroughly enjoyable read.
No sex but some violence.
little contrived, but good read.......2005-02-28
i really like James D Doss, and Dead Soul is no exception. yes, the premise is a little contrived: from a red-headed girl who needs to talk to Charlie Moon, a Senator who has a problem that only Charlie can solve, investigating the murder of a tribal member, a motorcycle gang out to do Charlie in, and a possible new love. it all sounds ridiculous written here, but it works. it's not Shakespeare, but it's not supposed to be. try it; you'll like it.
For Us Living Here in the Middle World.......2004-10-13
I've been reading Doss's "Shaman" series since it first appeared in paperback, and it just keeps getting better and better. "Dead Soul" is the best of the series. As a stand-alone work, it is excellent.
I love the joking, sly, tongue-in-cheek diaglogs Charlie Moon has with the other characters. I can see myself carrying one a similar one with him, since I have do have dialogs like that often. I love Doss's unexpected (and non-PC) observations of life - the human carnivores eating the animal cracker herbivores; the poisonous look of junk food, followed by how good it tastes; how close we here in the Middle World actually are to the those other worlds, above and below and just other.
But especially, I love how Doss can get inside a person's head, to examine how faith, hope and belief continue to call to us, no matter how grounded we think we are in this, the workaday Middle World -- and that hearts that truly believe are the same, no matter how different the outer trappings of their belief systems may appear.
And all this with wonderful descriptions of the land of the Southern Utes -- both is this world and the other -- and with a murder mystery that, like one of Charlie Moon's dialogs, talks to us on one level, but leads us along to something completely different.
I will remember the feeling of this book long after I have forgotten the details of the mystery.
Are you kidding me?.......2004-07-11
I finally gave up reading this joke around page 200. Doss is an amateur writer who breaks all the conventions of good writing, not for effect but out of incompetence. He is melodramatic and has dialogue that is absolutely unnatural and unconvincing. Doss has accomplished one thing with his writing--he has made it possible to feel pain while reading. Who else can describe two men eating animal crackers as: "...when the animal cookies had been decimated by the pair of voracious carnivores"? Please.
Books:
- The New Eating Right for a Bad Gut : The Complete Nutritional Guide to Ileitis, Colitis, Crohn's Disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- The Price Of Silence
- The Real Holy Grail: An Orthodox Response to Dan Brown's Deceptions in Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code
- The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible (Protestant Edition)
- The Right Attitude to Rain: An Isabel Dalhousie Novel (Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries)
- The Second Time Around: A Novel
- The Shadows of Power: The Council on Foreign Relations and the American Decline
- The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage
- The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss
- The Story of the World: Activity Book One: Ancient Times
Books Index
Books Home
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