Flowers for Algernon: In this beloved novel-the basis for the

Amazon.com

Daniel Keyes wrote little SF but is highly regarded for one classic, Flowers for Algernon. As a 1959 novella it won a Hugo Award; the 1966 novel-length expansion won a Nebula. The Oscar-winning movie adaptation Charly (1968) also spawned a 1980 Broadway musical.

Following his doctor's instructions, engaging simpleton Charlie Gordon tells his own story in semi-literate "progris riports." He dimly wants to better himself, but with an IQ of 68 can't even beat the laboratory mouse Algernon at maze-solving:

I dint feel bad because I watched Algernon and I lernd how to finish the amaze even if it takes me along time.
I dint know mice were so smart.

Algernon is extra-clever thanks to an experimental brain operation so far tried only on animals. Charlie eagerly volunteers as the first human subject. After frustrating delays and agonies of concentration, the effects begin to show and the reports steadily improve: "Punctuation, is? fun!" But getting smarter brings cruel shocks, as Charlie realizes that his merry "friends" at the bakery where he sweeps the floor have all along been laughing at him, never with him. The IQ rise continues, taking him steadily past the human average to genius level and beyond, until he's as intellectually alone as the old, foolish Charlie ever was--and now painfully aware of it. Then, ominously, the smart mouse Algernon begins to deteriorate...

Flowers for Algernon is a timeless tear-jerker with a terrific emotional impact. --David Langford

Book Description

Oscar-winning film Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom-a mentally challenged man receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful, heartbreaking novel!.......2007-10-04

I think this is one of the best books I have ever read! The story takes place mainly in New York City, USA. Charlie Gordon, 32, is mentally retarded, and is taught by Miss Alice Kinnian. The book is written in the form of chronological Progress Reports written by Charlie. (His early reports were filled with spelling mistakes.) He is given the opportunity to be the first to take part in a scientific procedure that can triple his intelligence. After the operation, he is timed in a maze race against a mouse, Algernon, who has had the same operation on his brain. He begins to beat Algernon after a few times.

Charlie's rapid increase in intelligence makes him eager to learn more and more. He recalls memories of his past life. Once Charlie has reached his peak in intelligence, he and Algernon are to be presented at a psychological convention. He realizes during the presentation that one of the doctors believes that Charlie was not yet 'created' before the operation. This infuriates Charlie. He travels back to New York City with Algernon. He notices that Algernon is becoming lethargic. Charlie begins to worry that this regression Algernon is experiencing may soon happen to him. Sure enough, he soon begins to notice some signs of deterioration. He visits his family for the last time. He sees that the masked, retarded Charlie, deep in him, is returning. Then, Algernon dies. Many of the people that were close to him get very sad for him. (During these last few pages, I almost began to cry!) His last request of all of his freinds is: "Please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard."

I believe this novel is a fascinating must-read for everyone. It teaches you that not everyone may have the talents you do, and that you should respect them. There are many other lessons nestled in this page-turner that you should definitely discover.

--Aidan Bevacqua

"Brilliant" And "Masterpiece" Are Not Hyperbole In This Case.......2007-09-24

If you are a true lover of literature, you probably have a handful of novels that will always be cherished for as long as you live. For me, "Flowers For Algernon" is such a book. (I have read both the original 'novella' as well as the expanded novel, and like the novella the best. Also, I eventually saw the movie "Charly", based on this story, and thought it was hugely inferior to the book).

I will never forget my beloved 7th grade ('76-'77) 'high-English' teacher, Mrs. Colette Heideman -- my favorite I ever had, I think. Among the many terrific things she did was to assign this story for us to read. It moved me deeply, and does to this day. The story shows so powerfully how profoundly wrong it is to equate a human being's true worth simply to their IQ, and such like. No, the essence of what makes a person worthy of dignity and decency is something much deeper. (I believe it is derived from their being created in the image of God Himself).

Spoiler Warning.

The hardest I've ever cried while reading a story happened with this one. At the end, as Charlie's intellect is deteriorating, he realizes what is happening. In his journal he writes something like (I'm going from memory), "i dont know why im dum agen. maybe I dint try hard enuff." When I read these words my insides collapsed in a gush of tears. Fortunately I was alone in my room.

I use words like "brilliant" and "masterpiece" sparingly, but "Flowers for Algernon" truly merits such superlatives. BTW, adding to this story's poignancy for me, dear Mrs. Heideman was killed in a car accident three years after I had her as my teacher. I loved her and always remember her when I think of this story.

I love this story!.......2007-07-12

I read this book when I was in high school and it made me cry...twice! I cannot wait to finish it again and to see if it has the same effect.

Easily one of the best books I've read this year........2007-07-05

Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon (Bantam, 1966)

There are some people who simply deserve to be beaten with their own severed limbs for being such monumental genetic screwups. No, I'm not talking about Charlie Gordon, the protagonist of Daniel Keyes' wondrous little novel Flowers for Algernon; I'm talking about his mother Rose, a woman for whom getting stoned (in the Biblical sense) is not good enough.

Perhaps, though, I'm getting ahead of myself. The plot, in case you (like me) are one of the handful of people who never got the book assigned to them in school: Charlie Gordon is a mentally retarded adult who is chosen to undergo what is believed to be a breakthrough treatment. After the surgery, the treatment slowly beings to work, but then the changes pick up speed; soon Charlie is a supra-genius, far outstripping those who put him under the knife in the first place. Therefore, it's Charlie, with the help of Algernon, a mouse who has also had the surgery, who finds the devastating monkeywrench about to be thrown into the works. The book is narrated from Charlie's point of view, as well, which adds that little extra twist to the knife.

You get the feeling, though, that so many of the kid's problems (that come through with him to his adult life) could have been avoided had his mother not been a braindead Neanderthal who's so incapable of seeing what's right in front of her face that it causes her more pragmatic husband to flee the household. There is a method to Keyes' madness, and it is named Rose. It is a testament to both Keyes' ability to draw character (even minor characters; aside from in Charlie's memories, Rose only gets a few pages of screen time) and his ability to manipulate through perspective that make Rose the monster she is. That, of course, is secondary to the overall plot here, but it is synecdochic of the brilliance in this novel; I'm not pointing it out because it's the bright spot in an otherwise dull affair, but because it's one of the many highlights in a scintillating character study. Charlie himself is equally convincing as both a mentally challenged individual and a supra-genius. (And imagine the rage if this book, which uses such terms as "bright-moron" and "retardate", were released today; I'm honestly rather surprised I haven't stumbled across reports of its being challenged in schools, and I figure this has more to do with my not coming across the reports, rather than it simply not happening.) Just as important, if not more so, his perceptions of others, as they change, remain faithful.

While I'm spending a great deal of time rhapsodizing over the characterization, I'm neglecting the plot. Which I shouldn't do, because it's amazing. But--and this is a point I try to make repeatedly when I give bad reviews (maybe it'll come across better in a good one)--the plot is only as strong as its supporting acts. You can have the best plot in the world, but if you don't fit it with realistic characters, it's just not going to work. I'm going to start using Flowers for Algernon as a shining example of how the two, packaged together, make for a much stronger book than either piece standing on its own.

Add to this Keyes' eye for detail. He adds just enough extraneous detail to the book to add another thin veneer of plausibility to it; stuff that you might notice in passing and forget about. Charlie notices these things, and since he's (in the latter half of the book, anyway) dictating into a tape recorder, he notices them, talks about them, and then goes on his way. I mean, think about it. As a side note, given a performance worthy of the material, this would make an awe-inspiring audiobook.

Flowers for Algernon is beautiful, it's heartbreaking, it's funny and sweet and sexy and spiteful and nasty and hateful and just plain great. If you managed to avoid it during your school years, I cannot recommend highly enough going back and reading it as an adult. Put simply, it's genius. **** ½

Great on many levels.......2007-06-03

I really, really like this book, and one of the best things about it is that it's accessible and enjoyable on many levels.

On the most basic, it offers a fascinating premise with memorable characters that behave and change in believeable ways. It's well written -- extremely well written -- in a journal style that eloquently captures the changes the main character undergoes as he gains (and loses) over 100 IQ points. This sort of style is difficult for an author to pull off because not only does the voice have to be believeable, but it has to be evident to the audience what's REALLY going on even when the narrator himself doesn't "get it." Keyes accomplishes this, masterfully, and the result is a riveting read.

That said, I really mainly enjoyed the novel for the themes it struggles with. There's the obvious one, the one about the loneliness that comes from being "abnormal" (in either direction - super smart or super stupid) in our society ... it's a good theme, and very well explored by the novel -- neither tendentious nor overly schmaltzy, and always honest. But it's also a bit of an overused, feel-good theme, and if that were all this novel was about I would like it less than I do.

The book is actually a meditation on knowledge, and an honest, piercing exploration of the dual questions, "Is ignorance bliss?" and, "If so, should we then choose it?" (The book doesn't give easy or clear answers, either, which is one of its great strengths). The obvious instance of this in the character of Charlie himself, as he first chooses to become smarter without ever really understanding what it will mean, then wrestles with the consequences and implications of this choice, and finally he deals with the shattering loss of his intelligence. Some of the most amazing parts of the book are when new knowledge causes great pain: as when, for instance, he realizes that the people he once saw as his friends were making fun of him; or when he returns to his original IQ level but can no longer be as happy as he once was because he now knows what he is missing. The same theme is explored in the scientists themselves: you can't read the book without wondering if their work is moral, if it's really "right" in a deep sense to manipulate IQ this way. And would the answer to that question change if their experiment had worked?

It's just a very good book. The writing is accessible even to young teenagers, but the theme and ideas make it worth anyone's time.

Average customer rating:

Amazing book, wonderful author

Dearly Beloved
Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Manufacturer: Chicago Review Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1556524900

Book Description

A June wedding sets the scene for Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s bestselling novel, Dearly Beloved. The ceremony is a great moment during which the “gathered together” survey not just this couple, this occasion, but their own lives, hopes, and fears. As the family and guests follow the familiar marriage service, they are stirred to new insights—on love, on marriage, and on all the stages of development involved. For the young and eager bridesmaid and best man, marriage still lies ahead; but for the mothers of the bride and groom, and for friends and relatives, the sight of the young couple and the words of the minister evoke more troubling thoughts and deeper questions. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wisely chose the framework of a wedding as a meditation on togetherness to contrast the questions she contemplated on solitude in her bestselling classic Gift from the Sea. The novel's structure also gave her scope for her reflections—some of them autobiographical—and intuitions about the most crucial of human relationships, reflections she calls “a theme and variations.” This classic book, first published in 1962 and long out of print, illuminates the truths behind marriage, not with easy optimism, but with perception, compassion, candor, and courage.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing book, wonderful author.......2004-08-02

My introduction to Anne Morrow Lindbergh was through "Gift from the Sea," a life-changing classic that I treasure and give as gifts to friends every year.

"Dearly Beloved" is a meditation on marriage as well as a novel told by various characters attending a wedding. It takes place in one day, as the bride and groom and their families gather in the bride's home for the ceremony and reception. It is not sugar-coated. Here is a realistic view of the pains and pleasures of this complicated sacrament we call marriage. I couldn't put the book down and read it start to finish in one night. I sensed Lindbergh's own conflicts about her difficult marriage to her famous husband, plus her feminist philosophies glimmer throughout the stories and are remarkably ahead of their time. (This novel was written in the 1960s.) It was moving, sad, wise, inspiring, uplifting, infuriating and more -- like marriage itself -- and should be read by anyone who's newly engaged or even thinking about getting married.

Average customer rating:

Beloved

Manufacturer: RH Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739342274
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Book Description

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding audio transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.

Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country (Cliffs Notes)

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully deep and compelling
WONDERFUL, INSPIRING, PHENOMENAL
Bollox
I thought that the morals and themes were good and true.
Not for most teenagers.

Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country (Cliffs Notes)
Richard O. Peterson , and Eva Fitzwater
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764585010

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature.

CliffsNotes on Cry, the Beloved Country takes you into a compassionately told story set in the troubled and changing South Africa in the 1940s.

Focusing on a people who are caught between two worlds -- the old with its rituals and and respect and the new with its lack of values and order -- this study guide explores a novel of social protest through character analyses and critical essays. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

Profile of the author Alan Paton's life and work
Historical background of the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s
Character web and in-depth analyses of the major roles
Summaries and commentaries for each chapter within the book
Review questions and suggestions for theme topics

Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Download Description

Cry, the Beloved Country is a beautifully told and profoundlycompassionate story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his sonAbsalom, set in the troubled and changing South Africa of the 1940s.

This concise supplement to Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country helpsstudents understand the overall structure of the work, actions andmotivations of the characters and the social and cultural perspective ofthe author.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully deep and compelling.......2004-08-30

I am an English teacher and a book lover to the extreme. I use cliff notes in my class to aid students with ideas and concepts in books that might otherwise be lost on them. I like the fact that the summaries are limited on this particular version, so the students are forced to read and reread to comprehend. The book itself is one of the most beautiful, well-written, symbolic books that I have ever read. I suggest using it in a unit on South Africa, apartheid/segregation, racism, Black History, or perhaps as a tool on train-of-thought writing. The book is for mature readers--average or immature students will find the book "boring" because they are unable to comprehend the depth and meaning of the novel. The Cliff Notes should help somewhat with these students--but some could never appreciate the work even with the supplement.
For those who are not teachers, and are reading for enjoyment, the cliff notes are also good just to reinforce the concepts and make your reading experience easier. However, be sure to actually read the beautiful novel itself--the harsh truths and beautiful symbols of this book are aure to enlighten.

WONDERFUL, INSPIRING, PHENOMENAL.......1999-11-16

I personnally thought this book was great! And, that's suprising cuz I had to do it for an english assignment, and yet, i even loved the book (that's rare!) I reccomend it to all!

Bollox.......1999-11-09

If anyone can show me a worse book I will be amazed. Yes I suppose it had a good message but really he could have done it in a more interesting way. Really George Orwell could do it so why can't he. Anyone feel like chucking rotten eggs at Patons door? Yes I thought so.

I thought that the morals and themes were good and true........1999-10-12

I thought that the book was very good overall. It did have drawbacks though. Some of the things I thought were not very interesting. But I thought that the court scenes and racisim scenes were very well written. I could very well imagine myself in the position of characters. The characters were good also. There is a lot in it about fear. It describes the fear and suffering the feel very well.

Not for most teenagers........1999-09-09

Seeing these other reviews, I felt I had to add my own, since none of them were really nice. The book wasn't the most thrilling for most of the gum snapping rabble that high schools are full of. But for more mature people it was interesting. Don't go by the reviews from people who tell u it sux and they type like that.

God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels

Average customer rating:

Boy Wizard's Worst Defense
This guy hasn't done his homework
A good read
Impressive
I was disappointed...

God, the Devil, and Harry Potter: A Christian Minister's Defense of the Beloved Novels
John Killinger
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Children's Literature Guides | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 031230871X

Book Description

'The Potter stories, far from being 'wicked' or 'Satanic,' ... are in fact narratives of robust faith and morality ...'What Ms. Rowling has furnished us, besides what the Brits call 'a good read,' and a whopping good one, ... is a modern interpretation of the gospel, the wonderful news that 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself' and making sure that the goodness of creation would never be obliterated by the forces of darkness and evil.'Since their first publication, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels have brought joy to children and adults alike. Many conservative Christians in the United States, however, have decried the books as wicked, as preaching witchcraft and the occult, and as glamorizing dishonesty. A minister in New Mexico held a 'holy bonfire' on the Sunday after Christmas 2001, at which he publicly torched the Potter books, declaring them 'an abomination to God and to me.' John Killinger, a Congregationalist minister and an academic in the field of contemporary literature, beautifully demolishes the objections of right-wing Christians to this bestselling children's series. He compellingly argues that, far from corrupting children's morals, the Potter stories actually influence young readers to follow the teachings of Jesus. He cites passage after passage to illustrate how the world of Harry Potter would be inconceivable apart from the strictures of Judeo-Christian theology and the way human existence should be approached by every follower of Jesus. Additionally, he reflects on the possibility that Harry Potter, like Dostoevsky's Prince Myshkin and others, is a witting or unwitting Christ figure who actually battles the forces of darkness for the souls of the faithful.All through this extraordinarily well-written, compelling, and very entertaining little book, the author points out that stories like this are worth more than any sermon toward producing people who truly follow the lessons of Jesus.

Download Description

A beautifully-written examination of the lessons contained in the "juvenile" series that has broken all records and captured adults as well as their children.

Customer Reviews:

Boy Wizard's Worst Defense.......2007-04-19

While the title of this book looks promising,its content leaves much to be desired.At times, Rev. Killinger has a rollicking read, cleverly weaving Scripture and passages from the Harry Potter novels. MOST of the time, however, he is clunky,pedantic, and tries to string together unrelated ideas. Killinger opens the book bragging about how many churches he has led,and ends up being the mirror-image,mainline version of Richard Abanes,author of the "Harry Potter and the Bible" rant.

For example, when Killinger discusses Harry summoning his father's spirit as a Patronus,he drags in the New Age bestseller "Embraced by the Light", the Tibetan Book of the Dead,and Paul's letter to the Hebrews about the "cloud of witnesses." In another section,when trying to refute the Harry Potter series' connection to the occult,he does a laundry list of miracles in the Old and New Testaments,as well as various Christian saints,that goes on for several pages.He engages in constant name-dropping,referencing Henri Nouwen's "The Wounded Healer",Marcus Borg's "Meeting Jesus again for the first time",the Apocryphal Gospels,and equating the spiritual consciousness in the series with the famous tree-sitter Julia Butterfly-Hill,who in turn he equates with "the Buddhists of the 1970s who set themselves aflame for world peace."

Killinger nobly attempts to defend the Christian content of the Harry Potter series.While he tries admirably,he fails spectacularly.

This guy hasn't done his homework.......2006-01-04

(First of all, this is coming from a huge [Christian] fan of the HP books.) While some of his points do make since, most are not sufficiently explained, and are therefore unbelieveable. Killinger makes a lot of glaring mistakes; for example, he doesn't seem to understand the concept of a dementor other than the fact that it can (can being the main word) suck out one's soul. He also gives quite a few incorrect discriptions of exact events in the books. (An example: He said that Hagrid had turned Vernon Dursley to a pig in Sorcerer's Stone, but he actually gave DUDLEY Dursley a pig's TAIL.) The one crucial point that I think he has actually brought across is the role of good vs. evil in the series.
Overall, if you are a person who is looking to see if the series is appropriote for you or your children, buy this book. Otherwise, if you are a fan looking for a good defence of the books, don't waste your time.

A good read.......2005-03-13

So far the book bas been interesting. I would like to point out that there is a mistake on page 103. It says that voldemorts wand is oak when in fact it is yew. The yew tree is symbolic of death itself. Other than that the information about the harry potter series has been correct. If you are unsure about purchasing the book check it out of your local library. Only you can decide if you like it.

Impressive.......2005-01-17

I am fully aware that some people who have not read the books think that Harry Potter is satanic. This is utter nonsense. In the books, there are a series of prophecies that foretell events in the series. If you are unaware, prophecies in the series are basically a divine intervention with events in that are happening in the wizard world in which God speaks through someone. I don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like something that would appear in a satanic book to me. I found Killinger's book insightful and well-written. On a slightly different note, do you think that Jesus would want us all to be treating others so horribly because of a children's book with God in it?

I was disappointed..........2004-11-24

The subtitle of the book is "A Christian Minister's Defense...." So how can a man with a doctorate in theology have such a poor understanding of Scripture?

If you're a conservative, Bible-believing Christian looking for a conservative biblical approach to the Harry Potter/Christianity issue, this book will surely disappoint you. The author takes a very dim view of Scripture.

I found John Granger's book to be much better written and far more informative.

Average customer rating:

Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt
Okay
A Work of Art
She really is impressed with herself
Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America

Morrison's Beloved (Cliffs Notes)
Mary Robinson , and Kris Fulkerson
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 076458667X

Amazon.com

In the troubled years following the Civil War, the spirit of a murdered child haunts the Ohio home of a former slave. This angry, destructive ghost breaks mirrors, leaves its fingerprints in cake icing, and generally makes life difficult for Sethe and her family; nevertheless, the woman finds the haunting oddly comforting for the spirit is that of her own dead baby, never named, thought of only as Beloved.

A dead child, a runaway slave, a terrible secret--these are the central concerns of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning Beloved. Morrison, a Nobel laureate, has written many fine novels, including Song of Solomon, The Bluest Eye, and Paradise--but Beloved is arguably her best. To modern readers, antebellum slavery is a subject so familiar that it is almost impossible to render its horrors in a way that seems neither clichéd nor melodramatic. Rapes, beatings, murders, and mutilations are recounted here, but they belong to characters so precisely drawn that the tragedy remains individual, terrifying to us because it is terrifying to the sufferer. And Morrison is master of the telling detail: in the bit, for example, a punishing piece of headgear used to discipline recalcitrant slaves, she manages to encapsulate all of slavery's many cruelties into one apt symbol--a device that deprives its wearer of speech. "Days after it was taken out, goose fat was rubbed on the corners of the mouth but nothing to soothe the tongue or take the wildness out of the eye." Most importantly, the language here, while often lyrical, is never overheated. Even as she recalls the cruelties visited upon her while a slave, Sethe is evocative without being overemotional: "Add my husband to it, watching, above me in the loft--hiding close by--the one place he thought no one would look for him, looking down on what I couldn't look at at all. And not stopping them--looking and letting it happen.... And if he was that broken then, then he is also and certainly dead now." Even the supernatural is treated as an ordinary fact of life: "Not a house in the country ain't packed to its rafters with some dead Negro's grief. We lucky this ghost is a baby," comments Sethe's mother-in-law.

Beloved is a dense, complex novel that yields up its secrets one by one. As Morrison takes us deeper into Sethe's history and her memories, the horrifying circumstances of her baby's death start to make terrible sense. And as past meets present in the shape of a mysterious young woman about the same age as Sethe's daughter would have been, the narrative builds inexorably to its powerful, painful conclusion. Beloved may well be the defining novel of slavery in America, the one that all others will be measured by. --Alix Wilber

Amazon.com Audiobook Review

As with the ghost at its center, Beloved has taken many forms--from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to Oprah Winfrey's decade-in-the-making movie to this challenging audiobook read by Lynn Whitfield. Whitfield, who won an Emmy Award playing the title role in The Josephine Baker Story, has a tough assignment as she guides us back and forth in time with Sethe, an escaped slave who's still shackled by memories of her murdered child. But, as we shift between Sethe's brutal plantation days and her haunted life immediately after the Civil War, we learn one secret after another until, finally, past and present are masterfully reconciled. (Running time: three hours, two cassettes) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Beloved sheds light on Toni Morrison’s skill in penetrating the unconstrained, unapologetic inner motivations of numerous characters who shouldered the horrific burden of slavery’s hidden sins. Less a suspense novel than a treatise on acceptance and endurance, this novel has struck an appreciative chord with those who value the painful process of creating a guilt-ridden, near-crazed survivor.

With help from this study guide, you’ll not only survive – you’ll thrive in your understanding of Morrison’s memorable work. You’ll also find valuable information about the author and her influences. Other features that help you study include

Character analyses of major players
A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters
Critical essays
A review section that tests your knowledge
A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Classic literature or modern modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Customer Reviews:

Voice for the Voiceless - Noble (and Nobel) attempt.......2007-05-29

Beloved HAD to be written. The African-American tragedy is told here in a way that the slaves could not have articulated themselves - but here their souls cry out. True, Toni Morrison does not quite make this a total work of Art. The devices are too obvious as she fulfills this almost impossible task she has set herself. In this book you LIVE the destruction/denigration of life - in a way I cannot remember experiencing in any other book. The characters, especially Beloved, are symbols - and yet they are very real and quite fascinating too! These are vibrant, exciting people - and Morrison gives them a voice and makes them so real!

Okay.......2007-05-18

I read this book after reading The Known World and March so I had already had a good (better, actually) dose of reading about the inhumane conditions slaves lived under. This was a ho-hum book for me. I thought it was more work that it was worth and I wanted it over with and was glad when I finished it.

I was really struck by Morrison taking you inside the damaged spirit of some of the characters. You learn how they only let themselves love others a little as all things important to them will likely be taken away. You learn the significance of a star or a leaf to someone who has no joy in their life whatsoever. You come to understand why a mother would rather take the life of her child than subject it to a life of continuous degradation and misery.

A Work of Art.......2007-04-04

Get a peek of what is to come next in this novel without knowing you're seeing the future. Morrison's artistic lyrics are outstanding.

She really is impressed with herself.......2007-01-15

The only thing worse than reading _Beloved_ (read my review of the novel) is listening to Morrison read it. She goes so s - l - o - w - l - y, and seems more impressed with her book than the reader. Quite frankly this book doesn't really demand this close of a reading.

Although trite to say, the best compliment a writer can have is having someone else make the text come to life, and this audio book is interesting only as an historical artifact.

Not the best portrayal of pre-Civil War America.......2006-11-30

Beloved is one of the most famous novels by Toni Morrison, America's only female to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Set in the America before the Civil War, the story moves from the slave South to the non-slave North. Free the North is not, as this book depicts, for slaves could be captured and returned down South. The book is conglomeration of multiple themes and storylines. First and foremost is the story of Sethe, a black woman who used to be a slave. Second, the book focuses on her baby who died at birth, who goes by the name Beloved, and the reappearance of the baby as a ghost.

Third, the book examines slavery, racism, and the politics of inclusion and seclusion. In the South, Sethe is excluded from civil society in many ways by her color and the institution of slavery, but being a slave, is an integral part of society in general. In the North, she is not a slave per say, but instead she is excluded from society in general by the ways of white people and their benign racism. The storylines of this book also explore the physical punishments and practices used to enforce slavery at the personal level. Here is where this book stands out from others like it like Uncle Tom's Cabin or Huck Finn. This book could be described as doing for black literature on slavery as what Passion of the Christ did for movies based on the Bible. it is quite graphic with big servings of the natural thrown in. But I would not use this book as a study of slavery and the racism built into it. The text is very confusing and I, the reader, spent much time trying to understand the entity of Beloved, and its use in furthering the story. In fact, I would call this book a tragedy not about slavery and racism, but a tragedy set against the backdrop of slavery and racism. Overall, a difficult book to read and though not boring, is not on my list of great American works.

Understanding Cry, the Beloved Country: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents (The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series)

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Understanding Cry, the Beloved Country: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents (The Greenwood Press "Literature in Context" Series)
Ngwarsungu Chiwengo
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

African | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Cry, the Beloved Country (Oprah's Book Club)

ASIN: 0313335087

Book Description

Alan Paton's Cry, the Beloved Country (1948) is one of the most influential works of South African literature. Appearing at a time when the South African political system was being increasingly questioned, the novel drew worldwide attention to the horrors of apartheid, a political institution promoting segregation and discrimination. However, because historical and social issues figure prominently in the novel, it is sometimes difficult for modern students to understand. But because of the enduring plague of racism, it is all the more important for students to come to terms with the issues Paton raises. This book overviews Paton's novel and relates it to its social and political contexts. The book begins with an analysis of the novel and gives attention to adaptations and films based on it. It then overviews South African history. This is followed by a selection of primary documents related to the origin of apartheid, the history and work conditions of miners, the social and economic conditions in urban and rural areas, the challenges facing South African women, and the state of post-apartheid South Africa. While the book does much to illuminate Paton's novel, it additionally helps students use the novel to explore important social concerns still present in society.

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Such a good book!
a book written with research and insight, following the history of the nation of Israel.
Very different, new spin on things
A Beloved Story!
Long and dull

Israel, My Beloved: A Novel
Kay Arthur
Manufacturer: Harvest House Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1565074033

Customer Reviews:

Such a good book!.......2007-09-14

Everyone ought to read this book. It provides an overview of the history of and prophesy for Israel in a way that kept me from putting it down! Mrs. Arthur has outdone herself.

a book written with research and insight, following the history of the nation of Israel........2006-07-21

whilst reading this book, i have people popping into my mind, who i would love to give this book to.
i am jewish, i studied and accepted yeshua is messiah.
kay arthur has a talent, i feel like jeremiah and daniel have been brought alive to me, i feel the application of scriptures in conversations in this book jump off the page and to the heart.
the unfolding of events in jewish history , i feel i am sharing with the characters as i read.
i cried as i just had not thought deep enough how devastating it was during the times where the romans snatched babies from their mothers.
kay arthur has a gift of communicating biblical and historical events, and she has found a way to write for jewish readers, so they can read about their history and heritage , and also read about Yeshua, factually.
the book is tactfully written, and i feel purposely written not as a witnessing tool, that is not even neccessary .
any one who wants to learn the whole history of israel in a very readable way would love this book, and considering it is a novel, kay arthur has covered so many historical events that it is also a history lesson.you will feel like you are walking the land and walking the life of israel and the plight of the jewish people.
miriam fauth.

Very different, new spin on things.......2005-05-15

Kay Arthur's imagination and writing style created a new spin on the history of the Jewish people and God's covenant with them. She combines fiction with real historical events and trys to portray how the Jewish people would have reacted and their fight for survival. The main character is Sarah who represents Israel as a whole and is allegorically married to God. The book traces Sarah's life from the first exile through both destructions of the Temple all the way through the Holocaust and to the appearance of Messiah ben David. Sarah and her adultery, repentance and chastening is supposed to represent the Nation of Israel as a whole but it does require your imagination as you have to pretend with Kay that Sarah lives through all this, a period of more than 2,000 years. It is hard to combine allegory with real historical events. Kay uses mainly common biblical names for her characters which is confusing because the reader immediately thinks of the Bible personality while the character in the book is someone else. My opinion is she should have gone with the full gamut of Hebrew names in their original language for a more Jewish flavor. Most Christians are completely ignorant of Jewish history and the suffering and only know about the Holocaust so hopefully this book will spark interest in knowing more about history. Kay gives a glimpse into how Christianity persecuted the Jews and why they can't possibly consider Christianity because of the lifestyle of most Christians and what they did in the name of Christ. Christians today again are ignorant of their own bloody condemning heretical anti-jewish church history who decided in the 4th century to change God's laws, His times and seasons. Christians need to know why Jews are so turned off because the only Jesus they have seen portrayed by Christianity is demonstrated in Christians who don't even keep the basics of God's word and who have murdered millions and millions of Jews and thought they were doing God a favor. When the characters in Kay's book are helped by genuine Christians , they are in disbelief because this was so unexpected and hard for them to see and experience a loving Christian who tells them, " a Jew gave his life for me, and I am willing to give my life for a Jew" The book is not meant to be a proselytizing tool to the Jew but to give Christians today insight into the covenant God made with Israel and even though they have been unfaithful, yet He is faithful.( by the way, Y'all have been unfaithful too, not just the Jew but everyone of you and I, myself included) Who God loves, He chastises as a father disciplines his own. The oddest thing about the book however, is the picture on the cover of women that don't look remotely Jewish, actually I think the red-headed woman in the middle resembles Drew Barrymore. : ) If you are not familiar with Jewish history or can't relate to Jewish people this book can really give you an insight into what they have been through and hopefully it will provoke you to do some more research on your own.

A Beloved Story!.......2002-12-19

I saw Kay Arthur on tv doing a series on the covenant and really enjoyed the way she explained things. She mentioned that she wrote a book called Israel, My Beloved, so I was curious.

I'm glad I brought the book.

The story covers a time span from Jeremiah the prophet to the not too distant future. It deals with marriage, faithfulness and infidility, slavery, idolatry, suffering, hope.

At times it was quite hard to read - I never knew the history of Jewish people (outside of the bible and excluding World War II). It was if nothing else, a brilliant look into the history of a nation.

But it was more than that. Kay Arthur has a wonderful way with words, taking quite complex and difficult subject matters (for example the rape of women at the hands of an invading force), and doesn't make it sordid or weak. I really enjoyed reading this book and felt a little sad when I finished the last page.

This is a wonderful book. You won't regret buying it!

Long and dull.......2002-04-22

Honestly, this book doesn't cut it. Several interesting things happen, but they are muted by scene changes and poor dialogue. The one thing that infuriates me the most about the book (which I closed mid-way) is that whenever a good conversation begins one of the characters has to leave. I don't know how time-driven ancient Israeli culture was, but I doubt people were checking their watches and running to the synagogue. I wish Kay had been more character focused and less history driven when she wrote this.

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One complaint regarding editor Norman Page
Not his best, but still better than most...
The well-beloved

The Well-Beloved
Thomas Hardy
Manufacturer: Adamant Media Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

As the last of Hardy's novels to be published, The Well-Beloved has generated great scholarly interest recently. Partly autobiographical, it tells the story of the sculptor Jocelyn Pierston, whose search for the ideal woman in both Portland and London leads him into courtships with a Portland
woman, her daughter and her grand-daughter. This edition is the first to recover Hardy's final revisions to the text.

Download Description

Jocelyn Pierston, a sculptor of growing fame, is determined to find his ideal in womanhood, a quest that has led to many fruitless encounters. For just as it seems he has found his heart's desire, disillusionment sets in and his burning love turns to ashes. Returning to Portland, his birthplace, he meets young, innocent Avice Caro. They are betrothed until a fateful meeting with the self-assured Marcia Bencomb changes the course of his life yet again. Please Note: This book is easy to read in true text, not scanned images that can sometimes be difficult to decipher. The Microsoft eBook has a contents page linked to the chapter headings for easy navigation. The Adobe eBook has bookmarks at chapter headings and is printable up to two full copies per year. Both versions are text searchable.

Customer Reviews:

One complaint regarding editor Norman Page.......2007-02-16

Far be it for me to argue with a professor emeritus at the prestigious U. of Nottingham, and a highly regarded literary scholar, but I have an axe to grind with Norman Page about a notation. Regarding this passage on page 81:

"It was a young hand, rather long and thin, a little damp and coddled* from her slopping."

Page says "the meaning [of coddled] is obscure - possibly `warm' or `heated' is meant."

Anyone who cooks would recognize the word as meaning waterlogged in warm-to-hot water, as in a coddled egg. Ann Avice is, after all, a laundress, so she would naturally have dishpan hands.

I'd send this note to the publisher, but I can't locate the company online.

Otherwise, this is one of Hardy's finest novels, different in many meaningful ways from his previous novels. It's a must-read for a lover of Hardy, possibly more autobiographical even than "A Pair of Blue Eyes."

Not his best, but still better than most..........2006-08-20

The Well-Beloved sounds very modern; it's got that brilliant minimalist prose Hardy does so well, and reminds me of many novels about twenty-something commitment-phobes. Jocelyn Pierston (sp? sorry - I just returned it to the library) has an "ideal" type of woman in mind (and the ideal keeps changing) so that no real female ever fit the bill. Consequently, he remains unmarried - and lonely - and he's forever (patronizingly) fidgeting with the lives of his discarded muses to the point that he actually harms some of them. One of the weaknesses of the novel is that the protagonist is supposed to be a brilliant sculptor. However, he is never shown pursuing his art. This reminds me of Philip Roth's main character in "Everyman," a professional (late-life) painter. Though Hardy was an architect, like Roth he has not captured the character of a visual artist. As both a novelist and a painter I know what it means to be a passionate visual artist. There are "quirks" in such people - ways of literally seeing the world - that these otherwise great writers have missed entirely, giving proof to the contention that a writer should write about what he/she knows. Both books left me with a sense of their emptiness, though I also gave Roth high marks at his Amazon site for "Everyman." Despite the lack in both novels, these writers know how to burn words into paper, mind and soul. Just to be in their presence, even to read a lesser novel, is to hear what it is to write. Too bad their protagonists don't make us see what it is to sculpt or paint.

The well-beloved.......2000-12-06

As much as I love to read, I wasn't very convinced about this book when my dad picked it out. But I can now say it's one of the best books I have ever read. It's sad yet honest, beautifully written. I recommend this book highly.

The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved and The Well-Beloved (Penguin Classics)

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Atonement By Marriage
How I came to accept that anatomy truly is destiny

The Pursuit of the Well-Beloved and The Well-Beloved (Penguin Classics)
Thomas Hardy , and Patricia Ingham
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

British | Short Stories | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0140435190

Customer Reviews:

Atonement By Marriage.......2004-07-31

This novel, which depicts a young man's lifelong search for the feminine Ideal, represents the latter end of Hardy's literary output, as he was turning to the poetic genre. First appearing in serialized form in the London News in 1892, this story was written between Tess and Jude. By the time it assumed final book form in 1897 it had undergone extensive revision. It is the heart-wrenching story of a passive native of the Isle of the Slingers, just south of London (accessible via a railroad causeway.) The three major sections of the novel are chronologically spaced twenty years apart, featuring the protagonist at 20, 40 and at 60. Young Jocelyn Pierston courts Avice of the Isle, but her delicate refusal to meet him one night on the beach inadvertently precipitates his flight with another young woman, whom he was courteously trying to help in a storm. The plot offers frequent instances of coincidence, bad timing, and poor choices causing inevitable misunderstanding. Fate seems to provide the wrong mate at crucial junctures in his life, and that of the three women he courts. It is almost
ridiculous and pathetic that Pierson attempts to marry the daughter (and even the granddaughter) of the woman to whom he first spontaneously proposed. There are distinct undercurrents interwoven in THE WELL BELOVED as well: the bond between the sculptor's Hands, striving to recreate in stone the perfection which his Heart desperately seeks in various female forms. There is also the interplay of Rock: the granite island, his artistic medium and his steadfast determination to seek the Ideal Woman for the rest of his days versus Water: Ocean water which tirelessly seeks to reduce the granite to pebbles, salty straits which provide a psychological barrier between islander and mainlander; Well water so crucial to village life; and lastly the Tears of a woman abandoned, guilty of selfishness or wed to a battering husband. This Native often returns to his
island home, to find surprising changes on the Isle of quarries and masons, yet he is perplexed to discover that some things are timeless. He has achieved artistic recognition as evidenced by being named an Academician, yet he privately is tortured by the Curse (his deepest secret) of his all-consuming quest for the Ideal. The only way Pierston can be freed of 40 years of bondage to heartache is to accept the fact that he has lost all chances of claming an Avice as his bride. Unfortunately this emotional freedom is purchased at the cost of his talent. Will he merely fade into the granite twilight of his native isle, a sadder but wiser old man who recognizes his physical limitations and accepts the ravages of time? A thought-provoking read, lightly based on the author's own situation, concerning the eternal yearnings of the human heart.

How I came to accept that anatomy truly is destiny.......1999-12-07

Hardy has essentially written the same story twice here, with a few significant variations in the second version. This makes for a rather peculiar experience, as the reader will encounter identical passages in both versions. Nevertheless, I am haunted by this work and the insights it supplied. It explores the life of a man tormented by desire for an ideal love. Much to his chagrin, the ideal (referred to as the well-beloved) inhabits the bodies of a series of women, and never for long. He lives his life in anguished pursuit. What is truly upsetting is his total reliance on physical attributes, which becomes a source of humiliation as his life progresses. Hardy helped me understand how men approach women in a way no other writer has had the courage to explain. Once again, I am overwhelmed by his brutal honesty and unrelenting power. He will force you to open your eyes.

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