Amazon.com
It's the little things that kill us, as that master of the miniature Ha Jin well knows. Not oppression in general, but the tea thrown at us by railroad policemen; not failure, but the old flame who fails to visit; not grief, but the peanuts our kindergarten teacher stole from our pockets. In The Bridegroom, such moments run surprisingly deep, as if they traced the grooves history has left on individual hearts. The book's 12 tales capture a China in transition, en route from Maoism to market-friendly socialism, from isolation to increasing contact with the West. "I never thought money could make so much difference," says the narrator of "An Entrepreneur's Story," who's been transformed from black-market lowlife to new-economy hero. He wins respect and gets the girl, but it all feels too easy somehow, and he revenges himself by lighting his kerosene stove with bank notes.
Other characters navigate this sea change with similar bewilderment. The professor mistaken for "The Saboteur" thinks news articles about the end of the cultural revolution mean he can reason with the police (wrong!), while the bridegroom of the title story is hauled off to jail for so-called hooliganism rooted in "Western capitalism and bourgeois lifestyle"--that is, loving other men. "What a wonderful husband he could have been if he were not sick," his father-in-law thinks. In the story that deals most explicitly with the conflict between East and West, an American chain named Cowboy Chicken sets up shop in Muji City. The new order isn't that different from the old one, thinks one of the Chinese workers: "We nicknamed Mr. Shapiro 'Party Secretary,' because just like a Party boss anywhere he didn't do any work. The only difference was that he didn't organize political studies or demand we report to him our inner thoughts." In the end, as often happens, greed begets revolution--but whose greed? When the workers at Cowboy Chicken go on strike, jealous of one of their coworker's paychecks, they're replaced by an African American woman who teaches English at a nearby college and her students, who sing "We Shall Overcome" while they wipe tables.
But as in Jin's National Book Award-winning novel, Waiting, even the broadest political and cultural ironies are painted with an extraordinarily light-handed brush. Despite their apparent simplicity, these stories run deep; it's as if some 19th century master had wandered into our midst, writing prose whose unruffled surface recalls the virtues of the very long view. Like Chekhov, another great miniaturist and the writer he most resembles, Jin understands that humor is compassion, that a well-honed appreciation for the absurd is sometimes the best and most honest way to honor failed lives. While his characters attempt to balance the needs of the self and the demands of the state, we see less what is foreign to us than what is native to the human heart. --Mary Park
Book Description
From the remarkable Ha Jin, winner of the National Book Award for his celebrated novel
Waiting, a collection of comical and deeply moving tales of contemporary China that are as warm and human as they are surprising, disturbing, and delightful.
In the title story, the head of security at a factory is shocked, first when the hansomest worker on the floor proposes marriage to his homely adopted daughter, and again when his new son-in-law is arrested for the "crime" of homosexuality. In "After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town," the workers at an American-style fast food franchise receive a hilarious crash course in marketing, deep frying, and that frustrating capitalist dictum, "the customer is always right."Ha Jin has triumphed again with his unforgettable storytelling in
The Bridegroom.
Download Description
From the National Book Award-winning author of Waiting, a new collection of short fiction that confirms Ha Jin's reputation as a master storyteller. Each of The Bridegroom's twelve stories--three of which have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories--takes us back to Muji City in contemporary China, the setting of Waiting. It is a world both exotic and disarmingly familiar, one in which Chinese men and women meet with small epiphanies and muted triumphs, leavening their lives of quiet desperation through subtle insubordination and sometimes crafty resolve. In the title story, a seemingly model husband joins a secret men's literary club and finds himself arrested for the "bourgeois crime" of homosexuality. "Alive" centers on an official who loses his memory in an earthquake and lives happily for months as a simple worker; when he suddenly remembers who he is, he finds that his return to his old life proves inconvenient for everyone. In "A Tiger-Fighter Is Hard to Find," a television crew's inept attempt to film a fight scene with a live Siberian tiger lands their lead actor in a mental hospital, convinced that he is the mythical tiger-fighter Wu Song. Reversals, transformations, and surprises abound in these assured stories, as Ha Jin seizes on the possibility that things might not be as they seem. Parables for our times--with a hint of the reckless and the absurd that we have come to expect from Ha Jin--The Bridegroom offers tales both mischievous and wise.
Customer Reviews:
A Major Literary Force Early in His Career.......2004-12-22
These stories were written before Ha Jin's larger works. I've read "The Crazed" and thought it was a masterpiece. There's no question these stories are not as even as Ha Jin's longer works, but they certainly are worth reading and give an excellent peek into attitudes and social mores of China today. The collision of the West with China is very interesting and the result is somewhat unexpected. I'm surprised how far the West has made inroads into China. I agree that the Cowboy Chicken story is one of the best here. Ha Jin is a major literary force and as such, all his output is worthy of our attention.
A Resemblance Of Various Emotions.......2004-11-19
When I read this book I never put down the book before finishing a chapter (which usually happened to be chapterS). It's a real dazzling novel that made me crying, smiling, wondering and holding my breath until the end of the story. Trust me, when you read this novel you'll find all of your emotions emerge to the surface.
Though I was kinda dissappointed with the ending, which for me looks like Ha Jin wanted to finish the novel ASAP that he missed to include a strong ending like he did in WAITING, but overall the novel is a great book to read and is still pleasant to read all over again.
Some excellent, all competent.......2004-11-04
If you want to read some clever tales about daily life in China because the place seems too dense to tease out the individual stories, then you will probably like this collection of short stories, written by an author who grew up there, and who now writes in English. Taking as his models such writers from Checkov to the post-modernists, he does a good job of taking the masters and filtering through a cultural and personal imagination that few Westerners are privy to. My favorite is "In the Kindergarten," a truly masterful piece of writing--unpretentious and astoundingly complex if you analyze it thoroughly. The others are a bit gimmicky--epistolary stories, oddball characters and set-ups, for example, a tale of a low budget film company trying to edit a socialist/heroic film by matching shots of a hero fighting a real tiger, which, after it dies, is replaced by a man in a tiger suit. What Ha Jin seems to have done for China is similar in some respects to what post WW II Italian filmmakers did with cineam: open up a world that is hidden to many of us despite the purpoted "global village."
Please do not eat the soup.......2004-09-03
After I read Ocean of Words, I ran out to buy the Bridegroom. In Ocean of Words, it seemed that Ha Jin created likeable characters forced into a restrictive society. In the Bridegroom, Ha Jin created some characters with a bit more of an evil streak. I will never eat soup from a stand again. This is not necessarily a bad thing; rather it just makes some of the reading uncomfortable. Still, better than most.
Writing Short Superb!!.......2004-05-05
Ha Jin's collection of short stories may be set in China, but they easily mirror ancient perks of authority in the common culture. Read one---you are sure to finish the book. Set against the backdrops of capitalism and communism, each story serves up a unique host of characters. The common thread through many of these stories appears to be incarceration, interrogation and showing "a sincere attitude." His stories feature the rude and powerfully poor versus the responsible-poor and the poor. Ha Jin's writing puts the reader right there, through pared-prose the characters are visible. They move through the language without pause, without stumble, free of over-weighted consideration.
Saboteur begins with a young couple lunching, nothing out of the ordinary: the wife complains of a headache, the husband suggests aspirin. Instantly, persecution of a would-be citizen-serving policeman launches the husband into unsolicited chaos. The husband is then charged for not being a "model for the masses." From this point, fate for Mr. Chiu seems to be just what it is: a word.
In Alive, Mr. Guhan is under contest for his job as head foreman. He is married and poor. A violent earthquake and loss of memory sends Guhan into not so much as a new life, than it is another one, in Taifu. This story is strangely curious in the beginning. Don't expect much relief by the end. Ha Jin is not so generous.
A Tiger-Fighter is Hard to Find is insanely hilarious. It is a subtle tale of Huping, the average wanna-be-hero who takes complete and sole advantage of his opponents' impediments: a tranquilized Siberian tiger, subsequently, a fearful co-worker. All to capture a scene for a film. More than sincere filmmaking, however, is Huping's honest determination to be a true tiger-fighter. He even has jumping dreams about it--dreams so intruding, they cause enough limb-jolt to bruise his wife. The ache is, you pound a living anything one too many times, it's bound to strike back. Imagine Huping, enclasped in a tree. Feeling defeated, and perhaps cornered, Huping's demand is to, "shoot him!" His character is grounded in hubris and the primest of sentimentality. This is a story not to be missed.
Broken showcases Tingting a typist, an adulteress, incarcerated. The focus of Tingting's interrogation often treads into the vein of personal sport or later use. Manjin, a participant in Tingting's interrogation and former spy on her sexual rendezvous, finds himself in a similar situation. In the crevices of a theater, he encounters a female who, without words, sends him on a hunt. He too becomes imprisoned and made to explain his craze.
Perhaps the supreme stories are Bridegroom and The Woman from New York.
Beautifully told, Bridegroom gets to the core of ignorance when it comes to homosexuality. Baowen, an exquisitely described homosexual, marries young Beina--it's economically convenient, as well as save-face. Beina's choices are less than sparse. The reality about Baowen's sexual preference comes to the table; he is then subjected to various speculations and cures--including electrical shock, "That's why we give him the bath. Other patients get electric cuffs around their limbs or electric rods on their bodies. Some of them scream like animals every time. We have to tie them up." What follows is a question jammed in the irony of curiosity and pity for Beina's father who asks, "When will he be cured?" Bridegroom is a brilliant portrayal of denial and a splendid social commentary on the pressures of conventional marriage in all cultures.
In The Woman From New York, Jinli spends the past few years in America then returns home to her husband and daughter. An attempt to lure her husband back to America, with American toys, "a brand-new Ford", the privilege of driving, homeland of Harvard University, fails as Chigan holds fast not to follow. "No. Even if you give me a gold mountain, I won't go." Perhaps the height of Jinli's bewilderment is the fact that her daughter refuses to speak to her and denies Jinli as her mother. This story is a beautiful depiction of unfavored consequences when mothers leave their children. On native turf, Jinli becomes the foreigner. Could she be read as a "tragic" figure...? I'm not so sure, sympathy is the last thought for her character. At least for this first read.
The receding approach informs the robust and spiritual depth of these characters so their experiences are like seeds. Ha Jin leaves space to see the importance of them, not congest them with the fancy of language that might have otherwise derail their literary cargo.
Both hands up!!--Bridegroom is very recommended!!
Book Description
Today's groom expects and is expected to take on a large and often times equal role in the planning of the big event. The days of the husband–to–be just showing up with a nice suit on and having no idea of what went into the planning are long gone. This is not to say that the groom's interests need to be the same as the bride's. This book will help the groom to choose what interests them and works well with their talents. If it is not picking out the table cloths to match the flowers, than it could be working on the menu or the invitations or even designing the wedding website. For the groom who wishes to be actively involved and not be limited by traditional wedding elements, the book will suggest ways to create a modern wedding. For example turning the focus to the enjoyment of the guests and thinking of the day as a big party, while still respecting the wishes of the families.
Customer Reviews:
Gave to my future son-in-law.......2007-09-10
I gave this to my future son-in-law so he wouldn't feel so left out, but more importantly, so his mother would realize it's my daughter's wedding not hers. Worked both ways. I haven't read it, but so far, so good.
Helpful, funny, a great read for any guy.......2006-05-21
My bride gave me this even though I didn't think I'd help out too much. But I had a few questions and this really helped. It was funny, which helped, since any book that takes things too seriously wouldn't work for me. I had questions about the budget, since I was paying for somethings and trying to figure out who would pay for the rest, and I also had questions about invitations, who to invite, etc. This worked for me. I will pass it on to friends when they get married.
Pracitcal AND funny, a good mix.......2006-03-06
This book has a lot of good practical advice, like when to get a marriage license. For someone getting married out of state, this was very helpful. I also thought some of the money-saving tips were unique and not your standard fare. There was a part on dealing with problem guests that has been very helpful since we've had to deal with a lot of these types of people and as the groom I usually have to smoothe over a few egos and play peacemaker. To top it off, there's a great section about bachelor parties goes beyond other books and talks about how people really feel about strip clubs, both men and women.
To keep it interesting Gordon puts in a lot of funny stuff, like lists of songs that are inappropriate to play at a wedding and an answer to the question of whether or not throwing rice at a wedding is harmul to birds. (It's not, but his explanation is really amusing and well written.)
I got this as a gift and thought it was really helpful, one source for all of my questions. Four months to go before my wedding and there's still a lot I learned.
Funny, informative, and personal.......2006-02-18
Doug Gordon's witty writing style guides the otherwise clueless groom through the preparatory steps leading up to the wedding. The book is a fun, educating read, and is best accompanied by perusing the author's blog; by the end, you'll feel like you actually lived the experience with him.
Love this book!.......2006-01-30
I'm not a guy, nor am I engaged, and I really enjoyed this book. Gordon is funny and gives great advice. I'd recommend this to anyone.
Average customer rating:
- Emotionally enjoyable BUT loose ends insult intellect
- The last in the captive heart trilogy and worth waiting for.
- :)one of the best of Joan Johnston!
- From the perspective of a critical reader
- A very enjoyable read!!
|
The Bridegroom
Joan Johnston
Manufacturer: Island Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
 Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Johnston, Joan | ( J ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Historical | Romance | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Johnston, Joan | ( J ) | Authors, A-Z | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
General | Historical | Romance | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:
-
The Bodyguard
-
Captive
-
After the Kiss
-
The Inheritance
-
Outlaw's Bride
ASIN: 0440234700
Release Date: 1999-02-09 |
Amazon.com
Award-winning author Joan Johnston concludes her Captive Hearts series with another winner, The Bridegroom. Wrongfully accused and deported to an Australian penal colony, Clay Bannister, Earl of Carlisle, vows revenge on the men responsible for his suffering: Cedric Ambleside, who framed him, and Alastair Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne, who believed the trumped-up evidence and had Carlisle charged. After escaping the convict ship and making his fortune at sea, Carlisle returns to Regency London 11 years later to find his name cleared by Blackthorne, the same man who accused him. However, even the return of his title and his estates in England and Scotland cannot make Carlisle forget the loss of his wife and unborn son during his imprisonment--or the men who put him in prison. Unable to relinquish the darkness of his past, Carlisle woos Blackthorne's beautiful, headstrong daughter Regina, then presses her into marriage with the intent of abandoning her once she produces an heir. But the recalcitrant Reggie has in mind something else entirely. Carlisle finds his revenge difficult to exact when the instrument of that vengeance, his lovely new wife, refuses to cooperate. Reggie is determined that she will have both a loving husband and her father in her life, even if it kills her. And it might. Cedric Ambleside, embittered and hunted, will stop at nothing to keep Carlisle from finding him, even if it means murdering Reggie and once again framing Carlisle for the crime. As the threats to Reggie's well-being mount, Carlisle finds himself unable to contemplate his life without her, but it may be too late. --Alison Trinkle
Book Description
He vowed to wed, bed, and abandon her. But love got in the way...
Joan Johnston sweeps you back to Regency era England and Scotland with a love story that will take your breath away. Here is romance at its best as Johnston brings back unforgettable characters from her bestsellers
Captive,
After the Kiss, and
The Bodyguard in a spellbinding novel of seduction and betrayal.
She was the reigning belle of the ton for the fourth Season in a row, but Lady Regina Wharton, the Duke of Blackthorne's daughter, was determined to avoid the perils of marriage. She had already seen enough to distrust all men. Then Clay Bannister, the dashing Earl of Carlisle, dared to steal a kiss and stir new and exciting desires.
Scarred by tragedy, Carlisle intrigued her with his mysterious past and his dark, dangerous charm. She never suspected she was about to marry her father's most vengeful enemy--or that her greatest defense would be the passions he could not resist....
Customer Reviews:
Emotionally enjoyable BUT loose ends insult intellect.......2006-09-05
The reason I gave this 3 stars instead of either 1 or 5 is because I'm balancing the fact that this book is VERY appealing to those who are emotional, but VERY insulting to those who prefer emotional stimulation that's based on a modicum of logic.
There are too many loose ends which leave the logical reader unsatisfied. For example:
(1) If Reggie was indeed so dedicated to the London orphanage then why, upon her abduction, didn't she immediately lash out at Carlisle that she can't just suddenly neglect that responsibility?? It's ridiculous, because for the most part, she's portrayed as someone sensible... so it just doesn't jive!
(2) Upon Reggie, Carlisle & Pegg's arrival in Scotland, no mention is made about Freddy (the orphan hired by Carlisle in London) - yet Johnston DOES mention that food trays etc. were served. Where DID their meals come from - if the house was abandoned? From thin air? And had Freddy disappeared into thin air?
(3) Any logical reader is left wanting to know more about Becky's daughter Lily, and the twins' pre-teen brother Gareth - especially Gareth. These 2 characters should have been offered more of a role. Especially since Reggie astutely observes that Gareth's peace-keeping diversions were artfully shrewd, rather than childish whims, so why - when push came to shove - did Gareth turn wimpy?
(4) I was disappointed with the portrayal of both Becky and Carlisle - they were MUCH less likable than Reggie and Mick. Kitt was also a very judgmental, non-intuitive, shallow character (not only in Bridegroom, but in Bodyguard as well). I enjoy characters who have depth & understanding, rather than constant cross-purposes due to childish non-communication. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy arguments and machismo - based on mutual humor and respect, rather than constant mistrust!
(5) I was disappointed that the issue of Mick's baby sister Blinn was never resolved in this book. She remained lost - yet Mick goes blissfully about his courtship of Becky with no discussion whatsoever about Blinn - not even in the epilogue!
(6) Also ridiculous, was the way Mick was so furious at his grandfather for spilling the beans to Becky about his true status. Had he even warned his grandfather?
There were many more loose ends, beyond the scope of what I care to tackle. But with all that, I STILL say that this book is enjoyable, since the mingling of Carlisle's tragic past, combined with Reggie's spunky determination to heal him and patch the family together against all odds, sorta makes up for the loose ends.
The last in the captive heart trilogy and worth waiting for........2004-02-22
I waited anxiously to get this book since the other 2 were so good. But this story certainly went a different route than I expected. Nevertheless, it was very enjoyable and it wrapped the series up.
:)one of the best of Joan Johnston!.......2002-07-15
It's a page-turner. Once you started reading the first page you couldn't stop reading it until you reach the very end of the book. I recommend this book to all romance readers!
From the perspective of a critical reader.......2002-02-14
- this book fell into the "I wish I had not bought this" category. It is not particularly badly written, but I found the hero's actions to be less than romantic and the whole scenario somewhat unbelievable. Furthermore, although the story is set in Regency-era London and then in Scotland, there was very little detail provided to make me feel that I was really in the period. Yes, there was a derelict castle, there were the usual retainers. But the story could have been set in Scotland in any year, in any century, apart from the occasional reference to transportation . There were no references to what was happening elsewhere in politics, society or even in Scotland itself. I find this kind of a narrative, torn from history, rather hard to take. Where was the history in this historical romance?
I *am* picky about such things, and this review is for people who care about the use of history as more than wallpaper or a generic label. If you are a Joan Johnston fan (or the author herself), ignore this review. If you don't particularly care that the historical setting be somewhat close to real history, again, this review is not for you.
This book is related to AFTER THE KISS, although I suspect I am missing a book in between. Very briefly put, between AFTER THE KISS and this book THE BRIDEGROOM, the daughters - of a British duke have grown up. One of them, Rebecca, is unhappily married, and comes to love a man whom she cannot marry since he is so low in rank. [Her story and his forms the backdrop to the major story, that of her sister and a man out for revenge].
The hero Clay is a peer who has been disgraced by her father's actions (however well-intentioned). Since he lost his family, his title, his estates, and then his freedom, he bears a grudge against her entire family. Althouh the heroine, Regina (Lady Regina Blackthorne) knows this, she forms a friendship with him, believing his grudge to be a matter of the past. He has her kidnapped, thrown into a brothel from where he pretends to rescue her. He then persuades her to marry him, before springing the series of revelations - he hates her and her family, he wants to be revenged on her father, and so forth. He keeps his promises by preventing Regina from meeting her father, and vice versa. There is some mystery generated by the fact the hero has been wrongly accused, of course, and that the real villain is at large and in an unexpected position to strike again. There is however no reason given for the villain to want to hurt the hero in particular.
Part of my problems with this book was that I could not believe in the whole revenge scenario. I could believe that the hero would want to be revenged for his sufferings, and that he could present himself falsely to a gullible female. But could the heroine have been that gullible - to believe in the good faith of someone with cause for grievance, and to do some other stupid things? While a convicted felon lost his estates, removing a title even from a convicted peer was not easy. There is a complicated process of attainder. Furthermore, Rebecca's marriage could not be annulled so easily, and certainly not on the whim of her husband alone. All this rather detracted from the story. I won't even go into the problems with Mick's real identity.
I had problems with the characterization as well. Clay's desire to seek "compensation" for the loss of his title and estates (for several years) as well as the hardship he suffered is understandable. But he seemed too much like a stock character, the wronged hero out for revenge [think Edmond Dantes of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO]. He shows very little growth in the course of the story, although he recognizes - before the real villain is unmasked - that it is wrong to keep Regina and her father apart. Regina is amazingly quick to forgive Clay for putting her in danger and for tricking her into marriage, not to mention keeping her from her family.
On the other hand, Rebecca and Mick were well-drawn, and I wished the book had been about them, even though Mick's good fortune is almost unbelievable.
The minor characters tended to fade quickly and made little impression on me or even on the hero or heroine (since Regina forgot about the orphans so quickly, for example).
If you like a good tightly constructed plot, with a real sense of living in the Regency period, I really cannot recommend this book. If you want your Regency lite, this book might satisfy, but again it might not, depending on how credible you find the romance between Clay and Regina.
A very enjoyable read!!.......2001-11-11
I will admit that this book started out very slow and did not capture my attention. As a matter of fact I had started reading it a few months ago and quickly got bored after the first few pages and set it aside.
I think there were a few other things that could have been better in this book, I must agree with the other reviewers that said that the pain and turmoil that plaged Clay just really wasn't there or felt deep enough by the reader... although I will admit that she did an excellent job at the end!!! I loved it!! It had me in tears and completely made up for where, in my opinion, it had been lacking else where.
Average customer rating:
- ununderstandable prose
- your relationship to your inner man
|
Ravaged Bridegroom: Masculinity in Women (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts, Vol 41)
Marion Woodman
Manufacturer: Inner City Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Neuropsychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Psychoanalysis | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Sexuality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Psychology of Sexuality | Sexuality | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Jungian | Movements | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Reference | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books
General | Sports | Subjects | Books
Behavioral Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
Behavioral Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
-
Addiction to Perfection: The Still Unravished Bride : A Psychological Study (Studies in Jungian Psychology, 12.)
-
Pregnant Virgin: A Process of Psychological Transformation (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts)
-
Leaving My Father's House
-
Owl Was a Baker's Daughter: Obesity, Anorexia Nervosa, and the Repressed Feminine--A Psychological Study (139p)
-
Coming Home to Myself: Reflections for Nurturing a Woman's Body and Soul
ASIN: 0919123422 |
Customer Reviews:
ununderstandable prose.......2006-07-10
beware! i think this book is can not illuminate anything to anyone not trained in jungian psychology and/or who just loves to be plunged into and having to plough through 200p of very unclear prose
your relationship to your inner man.......2002-09-26
"Continues the author's long-standing concern with the feminine focusing on the ways in which a woman may be undermined by a crippling relationship with her inner man. Powerful images from poetry, myth, dreams, analysis and personal experience. Illustrated. Index. Over 35,000 sold. "Practical and inspiring in turn, one is grateful for Woodman's experience and perception." - Journal of Analytical Psychology." -From the publisher
Customer Reviews:
Some Good Insights, but..........2007-05-26
...like all books of its kind, most of the benefits it may bring you could be had with a little common sense and good communication ahead of each decision deadline.
My wife-to-be and I are almost finished with our wedding planning, and while we did have some rough moments (even though our wedding will be very small and simple compared to 90% of the people out there - less than 80 people, no country clubs or hotels to deal with, no ridiculous $25,000+ tab (save the money for your children's education folks!)), I came to realize that almost every bad day was a result of bad communication.
It boils down to this: men and women express themselves (even the same idea sometimes) in very different ways. Not to mention a bride's motivations during planning are often different than the groom's motivations. If you're just starting out, you could get this book and a dozen others, and get some truly good advice. Or you could save the money and do this:
Sit down with each other, alone, in a non-distracting place and find out what is most important to each of you about this wedding and the days leading up to it. If you are honest, you will learn something about yourself, and not just your spouse. If you say what you think the other person wants to hear or what's diplomatic, you're in for some unpleasant days as the planning gets under way.
Take all day if you need to. Turn your phones off, get away from your computer, and really think it through. What is important to you? What is not? What is valuable in a wedding, what is filler and eye candy? Who are your real friends, who are people that really don't belong at your wedding? All of these are important questions and just the tip of the iceberg. Make no mistake: if you're honest with each other, there may even be some tears or raised voices before your discussion is over, but it will be worth it.
Until you each know what is really important to your future spouse and why, your wedding planning will be a giant headache and will stress you out right up until the wedding bells ring. Think it through, talk it through, THEN plan, based on the compromises you made during your discussion. And if you don't think you should have to compromise, you shouldn't be getting married. ;-)
There are other better books out there; check his website.......2007-05-22
This is more a blog put into paperback form than a book. Still, it's not bad and worth reading, but there's better books out there. It's a fast read and there's a decent amount of humor, but the meat of the book, what you need to know and think about in order to get through the time before the wedding, is pretty standard.
Instead, check out The Engaged Groom by Doug Gordon and Emotionally engaged, by Allison Moir-Smith (technically a book for soon to be brides, but which works well for the groom as well).
If you only buy one book for the groom..........2007-03-26
... or if you're only buying one book for yourself and, let's face it, how many more wedding books can you actually READ, buy this one! I had the opportunity to read this as a review copy and have since purchased it for several of my friends. With humor and grace, Craig Michaels strikes just the right tone of comedy and compassion when facing one of life's biggest decisions. Honest, friendly and funny, it's the literary equivalent of having a once-in-a-lifetime heart-to-heart with your favorite uncle, old college roomate or dear old dad before the big day.
He speaks the truth!.......2007-02-09
This is what it boils down to; I'm getting married. My sister sends me this book as a present; you know something fun to read to keep me breathing during these final five months of bachelorhood. Turns out this book is like having all the answers to a test before you go and take it! How awesome is that! Craig brings all his emotions, truths and mistakes into two hundred and sixty three pages of brilliant advice! Take it from me. I've already scored major points by helping with save the date cards and getting our rings (another for her and mine). "Thirty To Wife" is a book that all men can relate to and is funny, smart and charismatic. Thank you Craig for finding a way to put down into words!
What were you thinking? .......2006-12-15
Yes, that is probably what is going through your head right now. You proposed and she said "Yes", but now you have to go through laborious process of marriage planning. Stressed? Confused? Bored? This book not only entertains but informs. Craig opens up and tells his story in painful depth and detail like few guys can - his sacrifice is our gain. As a guy who is currently engaged, the book has served not only as therapy but as a guide. While being humorous, "Thirty to Wife" also informs by adding interesting and relevant statistics, provides useful registry ideas and websites, and includes a schedule of tasks for the months leading up to the wedding. It is not only easy and fun to read, but a great reference. It has come in handy more than a few times during wedding discussions. Not only have my fiancé and I avoided arguments by using this book, I have ended up looking like a champ.
Read and enjoy!
Book Description
Yekl (1896), the first novel upon which the much acclaimed film Hester Street was based, was probably the first novel in English that had a New York East Side immigrant as its hero. Reviewing it, William Dean Howells hailed Cahan as "a new star of realism."
Average customer rating:
- Mistress of Southern Fiction
- Greatest living southern writer
|
Eudora Welty : Complete Novels: The Robber Bridegroom, Delta Wedding, The Ponder Heart, Losing Battles, The Optimist's Daughter (Library of America)
Eudora Welty
Manufacturer: Library of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century | African American | Asian American | Classics | Collections & Readers | Drama | General | Hispanic | History & Criticism | Humor | Jewish American | Letters & Correspondence | Native American | Poetry | Short Stories | Women Writers
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Ford, Richard | ( F ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Welty, Eudora | ( W ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:
-
Eudora Welty : Stories, Essays & Memoir (Library of America, 102)
-
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
-
Eudora Welty: A Biography
-
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter/Reflections in a Golden Eye/The Ballad of the Sad Cafe/The Member of the Wedding/The Clock Without Hands (Library of America)
-
Eudora Welty Photographs
ASIN: 188301154X |
Amazon.com
This Library of America volume gathers all the long fiction published by the beloved Mississippi writer Eudora Welty. Throughout her long and storied career, Welty has been most famous, perhaps, for her short stories. But it's in her novels that she attempted some of her most ambitious and powerful creations: the idiosyncratic fable that is The Robber Bridegroom, drawing on legends, local history, folktale, and myth; the underrated, wickedly funny short novel The Ponder Heart; and Losing Battles, a familial epic 15 years in the making and begun in bits and pieces while Welty cared for her sick mother. In a strange inversion of the author's usual career trajectory, Welty's only attempt at a roman à clef came late in life, with the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Optimist's Daughter, the quiet, moving, largely autobiographical story of a woman coming to grips with her father's death. The novels alone earn Welty a place as one of the finest writers our century has produced; taken together with the Library of America companion volume, Stories, Essays, & Memoir, it's a body of work that William Maxwell calls "beyond human power of praising." Welty rarely strayed for long from the place of her birth, but her fiction is as capacious as the human heart itself. Like Faulkner, she has taken her own corner of Mississippi and made it encompass the world.
Customer Reviews:
Mistress of Southern Fiction.......2006-12-21
Each new volume from The Library of America, the non-profit publisher that has become the de facto literary hall of fame, is a cause for celebration. Its goal of preserving in an enduring format the best fiction and non-fiction is a significant bulwark against the encroaching tides of cultural relativism that attempts to render any value judgments meaningless, as well as a consumer society that insists that if it ain't new, it ain't good.
In the case of Eudora Welty, we're given two volumes: a collection of five novels ("The Robber Bridegroom," "Delta Wedding," "The Ponder Heart," "Losing Battles" and the Pulitzer-winning "The Optimist's Daughter"), and another of her essays, her memoir "One Writer's Beginnings" and her short stories. From her first published short stories, "Lily Daw and the Three Ladies" in 1937, to her last novel in 1972, Welty captures with her highly readable style and sharp eye and ear the varieties and eccentricities of Southern life.
But while the South claims Welty as one of its own, she may not necessarily return the favor. Teh cause is both geographic and a matter of choice. Although she was born in Jackson, Miss., in 1909 and lived there all her life, her father was from Ohio and her mother from West Virginia, a state created by the Civil War that went for the Union. This isn't Margaret Mitchell we're talking about here.
Then, in her essay "Place in Fiction," she stresses that while it is important for a writer to capture the feeling of an area, it is not the paramount goal in fiction:
"It is through place that we put out roots ... but where those roots reach toward ... is the deep and running vein, eternal and consistent and everywhere purely itself, that feeds and is fed by the human understanding."
But what pedigree does not provide, her environment probably did, for her work contains those elements poularly associated with Southern fiction. "Delta Wedding" celebrates the Southern family through the sprawling Fairchild clan and its passel of sons, daughters, cousins, aunts, great-aunts, nieces and nephews, all involved in each others' lives to a degree rarely seen today.
Many of her stories revolve around characters marginalized by society, struggling to exist and reach out to others: the simple Lily Daw who tries to evade the determination of the town's ladies to either marry her off or send her to the asylum; the generous, slightly retarded Daniel Ponder who would give away everything he has at the drop of a hat; the demented Clytie in "A Curtain of Green," who rushes about looking in people's faces until, seeing her reflection in a barrel of rainwater, dives in and drowns.
Eudora Welty was a sharp, perceptive writer, and her enshrinement by the Library of America is most welcome.
Greatest living southern writer.......2001-06-15
I began my acquaintance with Eudora Welty's works in college with One Writer's Beginnings and fell in love with the lyrics of her writing. I moved on to her short stories where I believe Ms. Welty surely shines brightest, but her novels are almost as wonderful. Very few people have the depth of insight into the mind and motivations of southerners that Eudora Welty has. She is right up there with William Faulkner. She has the gift of seeing and conveying the universal experiences of her decidedly regional cast of characters.
Since this is a collection of all of Ms. Welty's novels it is difficult to give a concise review. Suffice it to say that for reading pleasure you will not spend better money. The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize, but Losing Battles may be even better (the novel centers on all of the family stories told at a huge family reunion--great framing device for so many wonderful tales). The Robber Bridegroom is a southern fairy tale.
Eudora Welty is a giant of literature. This is a great Library of America collection. Buy it!
Customer Reviews:
Great Book and Present.......2007-08-30
Bought this for my Mother In Law to be to give her subtle hints about how a wedding is done.
She read it and loved it! And has since been more understanding about what I want for my wedding.
Just another MOG book.......2007-03-09
After reading online reviews, I purchased MOG: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy the Best Wedding Ever. A complete reading did not provide the type of information I was expecting. The book appears to be a 'cut & paste' version of a MOB's planning guide.
Great help for an MOG.......2005-09-19
After relying heavily on Sharon Naylor's "Mother of the Bride" book for my daugher's wedding last year, I am just as impressed with her new book just in time for my son's wedding next summer. Great, practical tips for an odd situation as an MOG.
A Joy to be the Mother-of-the-Groom.......2005-07-08
Mother of the Groom by Sharon Naylor is a godsend for the woman whose son is about to be married and who wants to do the "right thing." How to chose a dress (even plus size), what to offer to pay for, and many other delightful and helpful facts are spelled out with wit and style. I found myself consulting Mother of the Groom over and over as our son's wedding approached. Sharon's wonderful insights helped make his wedding day extra special.
Bye-bye beige dress!.......2005-06-28
FINALLY! A comprehensive resource for the mother of the groom. I was sure I was destined to have only the old adage "wear a beige dress and keep your mouth shut" as my only advice. But thanks to Ms. Naylor, I have lists and charts and an entire appendix full of internet sites to refer to in my planning. Thank you for coming to the aid of grooms' mothers everywhere!
Book Description
From Colin Cowie, celebrity stylemaker and wedding guru, comes the ultimate style guide for the modern groom. Like its companion volume,
For the Bride,
For the Groom offers expert guidance for husbands-to-be on how to participate in creating an unforgettable wedding and making a graceful transition to life as a newlywed.
Here is everything the bride wishes her groom-to-be already knew, from how to propose to how to win over her parents to what to buy for her first anniversary.
Colin goes on to demonstrate how to let the momentum of your wonderful wedding celebration set the tone for your upcoming life together. Your wedding can and should be a springboard for a lifetime of welcoming family into your home and entertaining friends with charm and verve.
Of course, marriage is more than just a succession of parties, and
For the Groom is more than just a book of wedding etiquette. It is a blueprint for being a gentleman in the truest sense of the word, from the art of being a host to the myriad ways you can keep romance and passion alive in your married life.
With its gorgeous black and white photos, timeless advice, and elegance of tone, Colin Cowie's
For the Groom is as indispensable as it is beautiful, and a natural engagement gift for any man.
In FOR THE BRIDE, Colin walks future brides through the planning, ordering, and arranging necessary for a memorable wedding that everyone will enjoy, covering all the details from engagement to reception. From flowers to dresses, from selecting items for the bridal registry to negotiating the guest list and seating chart, Colin's got it covered.
FOR THE GROOM, written with Colin's trademark charm and practicality, guides husbands-to-be through it all, from how to propose to what to buy for the first anniversary gift. With all the answers the bride wishes the groom already knew: how to assess the quality of a diamond, how to host a rehearsal dinner, how to win over her parents, and much more, FOR THE GROOM is a natural engagement gift for any and every guy soon to be married.
Illustrated with photographs from weddings Colin has planned and written with a warm, engaging tone, FOR THE BRIDE and FOR THE GROOM offer practical advice and romantic, inspired suggestions to create both a memorable wedding day and a graceful, stylish start to married life. -->
Customer Reviews:
Perfect.......2003-01-09
I gave this to my boyfriend (hint, hint) and it has excellent advice. I know he's going to propose and do everything right now that he's read this book. It helps that it's written by a guy, too. I think groomsmen will be more receptive to the advice.
Every bride must buy this for her fiance!.......2000-01-06
This is everything you wished your fiance already knew about weddings! Do yourself and your fiance a favor and get him this book. In Colin's special way, he shares with grooms the things brides may not even know about manners and etiquette and style. If your fiance follows even one of Colin's suggestions - you will be elated!
Book Description
This is not your father's wedding...
From choosing china patterns and invitation designs to color schemes and reception halls, today's grooms are expected to play a much more active role in wedding planning than when their dads walked down the aisle.
The Clueless Groom's Guide offers the 3 million men who get married each year lighthearted commiseration, guidance, and a distinctly male take on the entire process of planning a traditional wedding. Filled with humorous but useful advice and information on wedding issues, this essential guide covers:
- Buying the ring that'll make her say yes
- Dealing with the future in-laws in a way that will preserve the groom's sanity
- Planning the budget without draining anyone's account
- Negotiating a guest list with the bride, her family, and his family
- Navigating the all-important bachelor party
- And much more !
This charmingly illustrated book will not only help guys understand what they're in for--but give them a sorely needed chuckle along the way.
Customer Reviews:
Can I rate this less than 1 star?.......2005-12-02
This has to be the most archaic writing I have ever seen. I am not sure if Mr. van Dijk has ever spoken to or participated in vendor selection. His stereotyping of vendors is offensive and unacceptable!
The sad part is that a groom will pick this book up and think how miserable planning a wedding is and how to skimp on things that he should not.
Peter van Dijk has done more harm to the wedding industry than "The Electric Slide"!
Clueless author is more like it.......2005-12-02
Why isn't there a "zero stars" option?
I'm sorry, but this book contains some of the most gawd awful advice I have ever seen dispensed to anyone planning a wedding.
Is it supposed to be a joke? If it is, Peter van Dijk missed the mark. Don't even file under Humor - file in the trash.
Who's Clueless?.......2005-12-02
If the rest of this book is anything like the section on wedding videography, the author does his readers a great disservice. Evidently, Mr. van Dijk felt he needed a comic-villain to ridicule.
His stereotyping of professional videographers and what we do (yes, I'm one of them) is insulting, based on ignorance, and many years out of date ("ugly Klieg light"? Excuse me? They're almost 100 years old!). Extremely light-sensitive cameras have been around for several years. We don't blind you any more.
Apparently, the author wasn't happy with the person who recorded his wedding. Therefore, he has made it his mission to convince others that they too will be unhappy. Never mind that your children and grandchildren (not to mention even YOU) might cherish your video 25 or 50 years from now, the great van Dijk has spoken!
Are some videographers "miserable little cretins"? I suppose so - just like some photographers, bakers, and authors. But the vast majority of us perform a valuable and creative service for our clients, and take pride in preserving the most important day in a young couple's life.
One star for at least trying to be funny. So you're going to buy this book anyway? "Fine, be that way. But don't come crying to me, Wedding Boy. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so. I told you so."
Gets it right.......2004-06-17
I really got a huge kick out of this book. It has some really useful information. It's funny. But it's also real good spririted. A definite must read for any engaged guy.
Excellent Stuff.......2004-04-23
My mother-in-law gave me this book as a gift shortly after I popped the question. It was full of really great stuff, and it was fun to read. I would wholeheartedly recommend it. "Mom" was also super-cool enough to give me a couple of other excellent gifts -- believe it or not -- that I would also VERY STRONGLY recommend: the book "Men Are From Mars, Women are from Venus" , the DVD "New Sex Now", and "Goddess Worship" on video. All in all these four little gifts made a HUGE impact on some very amazing weeks of my life.
Books:
- The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
- The Cowboy: Wild Ride / Cowboy in Paradise / Saddle Sore / Rodeo Man (Aphrodisia)
- The Devil Who Tamed Her
- The Edge Effect: Achieve Total Health and Longevity with the Balanced Brain Advantage
- The Honorable Imposter/The Captive Bride/The Indentured Heart/The Gentle Rebel/The Saintly Buccaneer (The House of Winslow 1-5)
- The Impact Zone: Mastering Golf's Moment of Truth
- The Laws of Thinking: 20 Secrets to Using the Divine Power of Your Mind to Manifest Prosperity
- The Lost Gospel of Mary: The Mother of Jesus in Three Ancient Texts
- The Man of Her Dreams The Woman of His!
- The One that Got Away: My SAS Mission behind Enemy Lines
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Mythology
- Gypsies: The Hidden Americans
- Ten Landscapes: Michael Balston
- Where the Red Fern Grows
- Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature
- Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- Bon Appetit, Baby! The Breastfeeding Kit
- Will H. Bradley: American Artist in Print, a Collector's Guide
- Unpleasant Ways to Die
- Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas
Ocean of Words: Stories
Waiting: A Novel
God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan
In the Pond
Heritage of Chinese Civilization, The (2nd Edition)
