The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Oprah's Book Club)

Book Description

With the publication of her first novel, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, Carson McCullers, all of twenty-three, became a literary sensation. With its profound sense of moral isolation and its compassionate glimpses into its characters' inner lives, the novel is considered McCullers' finest work, an enduring masterpiece first published by Houghton Mifflin in 1940. At its center is the deaf-mute John Singer, who becomes the confidant for various types of misfits in a Georgia mill town during the 1930s. Each one yearns for escape from small town life. When Singer's mute companion goes insane, Singer moves into the Kelly house, where Mick Kelly, the book's heroine (and loosely based on McCullers), finds solace in her music. Wonderfully attuned to the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition, and with a deft sense for racial tensions in the South, McCullers spins a haunting, unforgettable story that gives voice to the rejected, the forgotten, and the mistreated -- and, through Mick Kelly, gives voice to the quiet, intensely personal search for beauty. Richard Wright praised Carson McCullers for her ability "to rise above the pressures of her environment and embrace white and black humanity in one sweep of apprehension and tenderness." She writes "with a sweep and certainty that are overwhelming," said the NEW YORK TIMES. McCullers became an overnight literary sensation, but her novel has endured, just as timely and powerful today as when it was first published. THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER is Carson McCullers at her most compassionate, endearing best.

Customer Reviews:

The Quiet Man. .......2007-09-27

An outstanding and realistic examination of the human condition. It's an indirect examination ("thoughts that wound from behind" as the great philosopher/storyteller Soren Kierkegaard put it) and that's what makes it so effective.
Everyone is so caught up in their own problems and acting out their desires that nobody notices the quiet suffering of the saintly central character. When he exits his void is felt yet no one can fathom the reasons for his disappearances. Maybe Jean Calvin was/is right about that thorough-corruption doctrine.
Carson McCullers sounds Kierkegaardian in showing the limits of organized religion and social action. The men of purposeful action (street preacher Simms, vagabond Jake Blount, and house-calling Doctor Copeland end up estranged, embittered, and feeling a lack of accomplishment. Meanwhile, the non-formalists (John Singer, Mick Kelly, and Biff Brannon) are better-adjusted and seem to have done more for the world. McCullers doesn't forget the "middle path" either by giving us Portia Copeland, a decent and generous church-goer who talks a little too much.
Our author echoes the sentiments of fellow Southerner William Faulkner on the civil rights issue. Both McCullers and Faulkner despaired at the suffering of blacks under Jim Crow but were wise enough to know the situation could not be legislated away (after all Jim Crow was a creation of government too.) Racism is a human failing to see The Other as a fellow child of G-d. It's an animalistic impulse, as Rabbi Daniel Lapin (a teacher of mine) rightly points out. Trying to speed the undoing of this impulse through legislation and protest marches, while not completely unhelpful, risks bloodshed. Having the faith/attributes of Biff (who runs a restaurant/hospitality center in the spirit of Biblical patriarch Abraham, the father of faith), Mick and Singer makes peaceful change possible in time.
Doctor Copeland and Jake Blount foreshadow the professional protestors of our era. Their enjoyment in physical confrontations tells us a good bit about the psyche of poverty pimps and union thugs.
Singer's life shows the truth of what another of my teachers (the saintly Rabbi Avigdor Miller ZT"L) once said -- "It is the quiet man that is respected." The public activist hero portrayed in Hollywood and TV news misleads many into thinking that they must pour forth a constant stream of verbiage to make an impact and promote "understanding." Rabbi Miller and other sages know better -- Most talking is counterproductive.
McCullers (who was 23 at the time "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" was published) proves herself the Great American Prophetess of the Great American Loneliness. Widespread ambivalence and inarticulateness amid the Information Age and cell-phone-driven communications "revolution" wouldn't have surprised Carson McCullers.
To close, here's a gem -- "He (Biff) had known his loves and they were over. Alice, Madeline, and Gyp. Finished. Leaving him either better or worse. Which? However you looked at it."

Character study, not a story.......2007-09-13

I read tons of "pulp" novels and I've started adding some classics to my wish list--largely to see if the books I abhored in high school would be more enjoyable if they were not assigned reading. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter was no better now.
As a character study it is superb; the main characters are deep, believable, and unique. I understood the characters, or at least why they didn't understand themselves. Each chapter with Mr. Singer made me smile with anticipation while I waited for something magical to happen to make the characters happy.
That was the problem with the book. Each chapter barely moves the story forward, and in the end nothing happens. There is so much potential for characters to talk and understand and change, but it never happens and the potential hangs over the entire book like a cloud. The book simply ends. No character is better off than they were in the beginning, no character's life path is appreciably changed from those of their next door neighbors. In short, with the exception of Mr. Singer, there was no reason to write about these characters in terms of their participation in events that are worth writing about.
The book was not a labor to get through, but I was largely unsatisfied with the resolution. I don't need a happy ending, but atleast give me a sense that the previous 200 pages somewhat affected that ending.

No thrilling page-turner, but a deep, honest look into the heart of man!.......2007-09-09

It's no fast-paced thriller, nor is it a gripping page-turner, it is however, an incredibly deep look into the heart and soul of man. Not until you finish the very last page and reflect on what you have read, can you truly begin to understand the simple truth behind the title, `The heart is a lonely hunter.'

The heart of man is lonely, always seeking, always needing something... elusive. We all share the need to feel connected, to be part of a whole. To know truth, and be at peace. We are so many disjointed voices that few of us are ever really heard.

Set in the deep South, Carson tells of a deaf mute named John Singer and a group of frustrated individuals that gravitate towards his serene and kindly nature--a young girl, desperate to follow her dreams; a drunkard, willing to impart his wisdom on the uninformed; a black doctor, eager to lift his people to equality; and a café owner, stuck in the routines of life.

Each seek Singer's company and tell of their woes with a deep believe that he, and only he, truly understands their ply. In him, each sees a kindred spirit. But what, exactly, does Singer see in them?

The Meaning of Life.......2007-08-29

"Seek and ye shall find," Jesus is quoted as saying in the Bible. All of us, no matter what our religious affiliation--or lack thereof--are seeking out a dream, a little piece of happiness. Sometimes this process is conscious and sometimes a subconscious imperative drives us forward towards that piece of happiness.

The five main characters of "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" are all seeking their dreams in an unnamed mill town in the South in the late 1930s. For teenaged Mick Kelly, the dream is a career in classical music that her impoverished family can't afford to provide. For the relentless black Doctor Copeland, the dream is freedom and equality for his people. For restaurateur Biff Brannon the dream is having children. For vertically-challenged drifter Jake Blount the dream is a Marxist revolution to level the playing field for all people. And last, but most important, the dream for deaf-mute John Singer is to be reunited with his long time partner Anatopolous, who was committed to an institution.

Singer becomes the prime focus for the other four. One by one they inadvertently seek him out and spill their wishes and desires to him, although he often doesn't understand them. To Mick he is a secret friend who understands her. To Copeland he is a wise man who understands the struggles of the black minority. To Blount he is a comrade in arms for the revolution. And to Biff he is a kindred spirit, a fellow observer of humanity.

Yet for as much as he represents to them, they mean relatively little to Singer. His thoughts are consumed by his love--platonic, we assume--for Anatopolous, the one he thinks understands him. But much as Singer is a false idol to the other four, Anatopolous is a false idol for him, a lazy, selfish, slovenly person incapable of appreciating Singer's love. In the end these troubled souls are left to pick up the pieces after the false idols shatter, as they inevitably do. This leads each of them to make a decision and to enter a new phase of life.

What makes this book so wonderful to read is the profound understanding of humanity shown here. All of us at one time or another have felt the pent-up ambition Mick feels at wanting something that remains just out of reach. We've felt the righteous anger to right a terrible injustice like Doctor Copeland. We've felt the isolation of being the outsider like Blount. We've all felt the confusion after a loss like Biff. And those of us fortunate enough--or perhaps unfortunate enough--have felt the heartache of an unrequited love like Singer.

These people all seem real because their hopes and desires are those hopes and desires we all have. Their dreams aren't altogether different than those each of us seek, whether we're aware of it or not. We know their longing and desperation to find someone who understands them, even if that someone is a deaf-mute who can only nod along.

Because of that, the book touches something deep in our consciousness, something primal within all of us--the need to seek out for something greater. The most astounding thing about "The Heart is A Lonely Hunter" is that the author was only twenty-three years old when she published this. At a time when most of us are just getting out into the "real world" and discovering ourselves, McCullers already had it figured out.

This is truly a literary achievement that you should seek out at your local bookseller or library at once, those who haven't already done so based on Oprah's recommendation.

That is all.

doesnt stand up over time.......2007-08-13

Lula Carson Smith was my favorite author for a long time. However i must have outgrown her, because i found a recent re-reading of 'the heart...' to be a little tiresome. i agree with another reviewer who noted it was easy to tell the characters were developed by a 23 y/o.

Average customer rating:

Dark, depressing, but worthwhile
Unremitting Bleakness of Life
Simple
GOOD GAWD - this book leaves you breathless !!!!!
If you like literature, you need to read this.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
Carson McCullers
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618084746

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

Dark, depressing, but worthwhile.......2007-09-07

I thought I would be bored listening to an audio book and not pay attention. I listened to this while driving 1200 miles in one weekend. It was the nicest, incredibly long drive I've ever had. The book is a little dark but I was impressed with the writing, especially since Carson McCullers was only 23 when she wrote it. My book club had selected this book and I don't think I would have listened to it otherwise. Although, I like lighter Southern Genre books. Still, having grown up in the South, I thought it was a pretty realistic portrayal of the times and the people. But just one tragedy after another and from what I have read about McCullers, somewhat autobiographical.

Unremitting Bleakness of Life.......2007-09-03

I coudn't stop thinking while I was reading this, I couldn't stand more than a hundred pages, that it was a brilliant work for a very sensitive,depressed, lonely, highly intelligenttwenty something writer. Who wasn't made like other folks, and for many artists that's a necessary evil. I havent' read anything else by her, and I don't think I will, I have a feeling life doesn't get better in the works of Carson McCuller and that's too bad.
The writing is much better than OK, but,this work is amateurish in structure. There is no impelling story of any kind, just a wearing down, gets to be boring, pastiche of miserable and semi-miserable characters going nowhere except into a future of deepening misery and despair.
Yes there are pleanty of folks like that but nothing redeems them here.
McCullers is a southern grotesque who lacks the vitality of Flannery O'Connor and the enduring humanity and brilliance of William Faulkner.

Simple.......2007-03-25

This is simply one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. It catches the rhythm of life for the lonely 'invisible' people, and its emotion is conveyed so forcefully that the tragedy becomes cathartic. Buy this book.

GOOD GAWD - this book leaves you breathless !!!!!.......2006-01-16

This book came to me in a odd way. It was mentioned in the movie "A love song for Bobby Long". Never thought it was a real book. But googling for the title (just out of curiosity) I found it. Got very curious after having read a couple of reviews and bought it. It cost me a sleepless night. I couldn't put it down and read it in one breath. It has such an impact that it leaves one breathless. What an astounding story it is. It boggles my mind how such a young woman in 1940 (she was 23 at the time the book was published) could come up with such a novel.
My question is also: what has changed in the meantime, as to the social circumstances of the poor? Nothing whatsoever. It's frustrating that I cannot come up with anything original to add in this review, as far too many 5 star reviewers have already done that. It comes down to a repitition of words like:
astounding, remarkable, extraordinary, impressive, beautiful and bittersweet: ALL TRUE.
People who are looking for a plot, are looking for easy reading and have a totally dream-like idea of how life can be.
Wake up people and experience truth. Take up the book again after a couple of years, and see if it will make sense by then.
If you read this book, you will be totally shaken by this story of beauty and darkness.
Carson Mccullers is a genius to have written this story at such a young age.

If you like literature, you need to read this........2006-01-02

I picked "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" up before Oprah Winfrey mentioned the book and put it in her club. Interestingly enough, the book was referenced to me by someone who is quite different from Oprah: The late controversial poet and novelist Charles Bukowski, "The laureate of the low lifes," as Time referred to him disgustedly. For the last five years I have been utterly obsessed with this man and his writings. It was Bukowski who had turned me on to other fantastic writers like John Fante, Celine, Ezra Pound, and Sherwood Anderson. He also name drops Carson McCullers in many of his poems and in some of his published interviews (As a big fan of Henry Miller, I found out that McCullers was also a favorite of this author of "Tropic of Cancer" and the Sexus/Plexus/Nexus trilogy). So I picked up as many of her books as I could find, and I started off by reading "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter."

And what a fantastic book it is.

I could identify with so many of the characters in this book (published in 1940) that I was like, "where has this book been my whole life?" Unbelievable! Yes, it is sad in some few parts but it is never "sappy" sad. For me, the saddest part was when Bubber accidently shoots another small child - and whereas before this incident Bubber was a chipper, talkative boy who liked dressing up in costumes (although he was often made fun of for it) and singing, he breaks down after the accident and becomes totally withdrawn, and stops playing with other kids.

It is remarkable to think that Carson McCullers had the keen political and social insight to write this book at the age of 23. This book was years ahead of its time in its social and political commentaries. Besides the aforementioned gun accident (which subtly painted an ugly picture of a culture obsessed with guns), this book addresses class struggle, racism, bigotry, political apathy, materialism, drug abuse, the inequalities of the criminal justice system, and other important issues.

Most of this book found me smiling and nodding my head up and down. This is so true in reading about Blount and Dr. Copeland. Blount is a white, blue collar worker who is frustrated with the capitalist system in America, but he is laughed at by other poor whites and greeted with apathetic indifference when he suggests that they should band together and strike for better conditions. Copeland is a black doctor who also tries to get black people in this depression-era town to strike, but he is greeted with the same responses as Blount. In fact, the poor whites and the poor blacks in this town would rather remain separate from one another drowning to the bottom of their liquor bottles than to try to make their lives better.

Political apathy? My, how little has changed from 1940 to 2005.

When I first read this book I had to force myself to put it down, and every year I find myself re-reading the entire book or parts of it.

All I can say is that this is a fantastic novel, one of my top five books of all time. I don't know how or why this book could merit less than five stars. Read it.

Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse

Average customer rating:

a heap of rubbish with a diamond at its core
Powerful, powerful, powerful...
Abused Boys : The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse
Two books - buy it for the first half.
Abused Boys : The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse

Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse
Mic Hunter
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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Child Abuse | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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Don't Tell: The Sexual Abuse of Boys

ASIN: 0449906299
Release Date: 1991-06-25

Book Description

A long overdue book by a psychologist who has extensive clinical experience treating male victims of child sexual abuse, it explodes the myth that sexual abuse of male children is rare, or that the consequences are less serious than for girls. Hunter examines the physical and emotional impact of abuse on its victims and the factors affecting revovery. With personal case histories of victims and their families, this is a powerfully written and meticulously researched book that is a landmark in the field of child sexual abuse literature.

Customer Reviews:

a heap of rubbish with a diamond at its core.......2004-11-30

This book is an insult to one's intelligence. The subject matter is incredibly important and the data conveyed by the book is impeccable and relevant. But the mode of delivery is atrocious. It is a book full of cliches. One would think that the sexual abuse of males would drive us to the outer limits of intelligence and imagination. This book utterly fails in that drive. Surely better books exist that deal with this dread topic?

Powerful, powerful, powerful..........2004-08-30

...for any man who has ever been abused, or anyone who loves such a man, this book is a must. It progressively defines abuse, the abused's recognition of it, how as an adult it defines him and his relationships with others, and how he deals with his recovery. The real-life testimonies included in the book put all of the matter-of-fact information into personal perspective.

Two themes which are reinforced throughout are that recovery is a process, not an event, and requires a lot of work; and, that one can ultimately redirect their emotional energy away from hate, anger and doubt to more productive uses, which will aid and reinforce the healing process.

The book is not very long and is an interesting read from the start. I would highly recommend it to all counselors.

Abused Boys : The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse.......2004-01-14

This book is a welcome addition to our sparse literature about the sexual abuse of boys. It is well organized, easy to read, and the author is both knowledgeable and sympathetic. He emphasizes that there is no such thing as a "willing" victim and refuses to indulge in victim-blaming, as so often happens to male survivors

However, I strongly discourage survivors from using this book, at least early in their recovery process. The author acknowledges the need for recovery groups to be screened to avoid the inclusion of inappropriate persons in a group, yet failed to do so for his readers and included a story by a survivor/perpetrator. This story is told in the typical detached way of a survivor, and although a young perpetrator, the crimes he commits are among the most heinous in the book. As a female survivor myself, the story resulted in a period of dissociation - something that has not happened to me in 10 years.

Although many perpetrators were themselves victims at one time, these are two very different patient populations and for the sake of fragile survivors the two should not be mixed. I am surprised at the author's lapse in judgment.

Two books - buy it for the first half........2002-08-02

PERSONAL CRITIQUE: Many reviewers use this space for long-winded self-examination of their lives, rather than to review the quality of the book. This space isn't group therepy. Let's get into the book itself:

I found this title an interesting mix of professional insights and tragic stories with an odd titulating quality.

The first half of the book was an informative entry into what Abuse is. The definitions, as a layperson, was quite an eye-opener. Even subjects such as voyerism can be concidered Abuse when taken to extreems- and I now agree. Yet, one theme is clear. The shame that results from Child Abuse cripples the victum and leads to so many problems. I recommend the first half for those with an eye for helping others and themselves.

The second half, used to illustrate as if with case studies, is questionable. Some of the stories were jouneys of self-discovery, pain and healing. They tear at your heart and Mic's commentaries help share insights that I would miss. Yet I felt I was invading these patient's privacy or, in some cases, the subjects were boasting about their extreem perversity.

One such story was a boy on the farm who was almost proud of how he had forced sex upon other caddies at the golf range, boys on other farms, visitors from the city, animals under his care. He had more than one forced sexual encounter with his father as the preditor. He admitted to having sex five times daily at about 13 and 14 years old. It was as if he derived pleasure from confessing all these infractions in detail and then proclaiming how ashamed he was.

Can someone at that age be an adolecent sexual preditor and not draw attention to themselves publicly? I am sure teachers, police and the golf range managers would have heard something about this in all that time, however he never runs afoul of authority. Later in life, he was incarcerated for a number of child abuse crimes, but I question his ability to stay clear of the law as an adolecent and I question the truthfulness of his confession.

The title has value as a tool for self-examination and process of healing. I think that almost everyone has a story of violation in their childhood, something at school, the swimming pool or playground. For the most part, those episodes have little tramatic impact in our lives as adults. This book is for those who have life-shattering betrayals of trust in their childhoods. However I am concerned about the last half feeding the very behavior that it condemns. Therefore I can only offer a lukewarm recommendation.

Abused Boys : The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse.......2002-03-07

This book is an excelent place to start when either beginning recovery or learning about the effects of sexual abuse of males. It helps one understand the reasons behind certain behaviors. I found myself described in this book many, many times and was relieved to discover how common my behaviors are.

Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child

Average customer rating:

Liberating
Another masterwork from the Galileo of psychoanalysis
Wonderful, But Contradictory
Has Done Better
Please make this book part of all psych studies curriculm

Thou Shalt Not Be Aware: Society's Betrayal of the Child

Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Psychoanalysis | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Dysfunctional Relationships | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0374525439

Amazon.com

Miller parts company with Freud on the origins of children's fantasies in this progressive study of repressed memory. Forget the Oedipus complex. Miller reasons that when children suffer abuse, their feelings of pain and rage have nowhere to go in a society that esteems parental power over them as a natural right. Children have no choice but to internalize the anguish, creating a wellspring of fantasy material. This book offers a fresh take on how the unconscious retains memories of childhood and, without appropriate intervention, generates emotional ills and destructive behavior.

Book Description

Originally published in 1984, Thou Shalt Not Be Aware explodes Freud's notions of "infantile sexuality" and helps to bring to the world's attention the brutal reality of child abuse, changing forever our thoughts of "traditional" methods of child-rearing. Dr. Miller exposes the harsh truths behind children's "fantasies" by examining case histories, works of literature, dreams, and the lives of such people as Franz Kafka, Virginia Woolf, Gustave Flaubert, and Samuel Beckett. Now with a new preface by Lloyd de Mause and a new introduction by the author, Thou Shalt Not Be Aware continues to bring an essential understanding to the confrontation and treatment of the devastating effects of child abuse.

Customer Reviews:

Liberating.......2002-04-26

In Thou Shalt Not Be Aware, Alice Miller turns Freud's oedipal complex on its head by exposing the circumstances that led Freud to side against his patients, and thus, against the truth of the life experiences of children. It is a great work by a highly regarded psychiatrist and thinker, well researched, and readily useful in applying to one's own life. For myself, this book (along with The Drama of the Gifted Child) helped to liberate me from the lies of my family and confront the abusers of my childhood without fear, dread or resentment, for, as I gradually accepted the facts of their lives as well as my own, I could accept the havoc they wreaked on mine, and finally take unashamed responsibility for my own life.

Another masterwork from the Galileo of psychoanalysis.......2002-02-27

Alice Miller makes her perspective so clear and so unavoidable in this book that it is all but impossible not to feel your stomach go up in knots as you try to think about everyone's life that it explains--from best friends to her analysis of author Franz Kafka--but your own.

Without hanging Freud in effigy or throwing the baby of his genius out with the bathwater of his philosophical and ethical judgement errors, Miller established her perspective and cry for new psychological techniques based in compassionate listening to others lives and childhoods (instead of forcing others lives into a preexisting paradigm) magnificently.

The effect of her work begins with her establishment of Freud's drive theory--Oedipal complex, et. al.--as merely an artistic, pseudo-scientific extension of the very Judeo-Christian, Victorian Age system of morality that allowed for secret atrocities to be routinely committed on innocent children in the first place. Its existential inadequacy in charting the anatomy of the soul (which is what the word "psyche" means) comes up in virtually every psychoanalysed person and derivative doctrine and explains much if not most of the profound failures of the entire discipline in Western society this past century (and, definitively, people's lack of faith in it). It's as if Freud, like Shakespeare or Bach, created a new language with many of the materials of the popular one being used; only unlike Shakespeare or Bach then chose, because of the martyrdom that sticking to his real discoveries demanded of him, to basically backpeddle and translate all of the same antequated ideas he should have replaced into it. Camille Paglia of SEXUAL PERSONAE was the first person I ever heard say that people who try to judge Freud on scientific terms miss the point that he wasn't trying to make science; he was making art. Alice Miller proves she was right, only the art he created hurt people as much as it helped, as his theories of the innate sexual drives of children are based on--but has little to no basis in--the hidden, unspoken reality of the lives of children: powerless against the love, power and abuse of sexually conflicted adults.

Alice Miller redefines common sense with her perspective, by replacing your view of history and present day reality. To read her books is to begin to be free, know your inner grief, release it, and be reconnected with your vitality, creativity and joy. In charting Western society's betrayal of the human child, the grief one feels upon its discovery through her is unavoidable. But the secret life and hidden potential one discovers of the human child, through being once again reacquainted with the truth of their (our) infinite posiibilites for growth and transformation--if only left to do so--is astounding. True, if you have ever found yourself brought nearly to tears over stories of child abuse, seeing how prevalent it is and what its actual impact on the world is via reading this will be hard for you to take. But if you ever wondered what really separates the Bill Gateses and Michael Jordans, etc. from the rest of us, because a little voice keeps telling you its something other than exceptional talents, this book, in taking the mystery out of what creates happiness and inner peace, could change your life.

Wonderful, But Contradictory.......2001-01-28

Thou Shalt Not Be Aware is one of the finest theoretical books demonstrating how parents betray their children and how devastating this is for the child. Yet Alice Miller, wonderful writer that she is, cannot fully absorb the significance of her own message. This denial pervades her writing and weakens her book's impact.

She spends over three hundred pages of Thou Shalt Not Be Aware showing how parents damage their children, yet she refuses to hold parents accountable. (Page 58: "[People cannot] grasp that I blame neither children nor parents.") In effect, she, one of the 20th century's greatest trumpeters for the child's rights, herself creates a theory which abandons the full truth of the child. Shying away from the strength of her message, she compromises as best she can, turns vague, and blames society instead. Thus, the subtitle of the book: "Society's Betrayal Of The Child."

It is not society that primarily betrays children. It really is parents. Yet Alice Miller, a parent of two children herself and a woman who never came close to processing her own unresolved grief from her own childhood - stemming from maltreatment by her own parents, not society - cannot accept that. It is too painful.

Thus it comes as no great surprise that years after writing this book, when she herself entered deep therapy to resolve her childhood traumas once and for all, her true past horrors surfaced and she suffered a near-psychotic breakdown. A 1995 interview says it all: "At the end of these three weeks my feelings were in a turmoil, so that I could not find sleep, that for the first time in my life I thought of suicide, and had anxiety verging on the psychotic. I was already fearful of this therapy that robbed my organism of sleep, but I could nowhere escape it."

Yet between the time of undergoing this "therapy" and giving this interview, she touted her therapist, J. Konrad Stettbacher, as a brilliant theorist and discoverer of a "remarkably effective therapy method," thus providing him with thousands of referrals, until, that is, she realized correctly that he had been manipulative and destructive with her and she quickly removed all mention of him from later editions of her books...and publicly repudiated him on the internet.

Yet 95% of Thou Shalt Not Be Aware remains an accurate roadmap and fuel station on the path toward enlightenment. So much of Alice Miller is fully enlightened. However, if you aspire to become more enlightened than she is, this book will be partially toxic to you.

For instance, she masterfully exposes Freud's 1897 abandonment of the truth of his patients' sexual abuse histories, yet out of guilt for betraying him and loyalty to loving him (i.e. the omnipotent parent) anyway, she dedicates this book's first edition to...him.

And she spends countless pages beautifully - though not succinctly, as this book does ramble - deconstructing Freud's ludicrous drive theory to expose its basic flaws. But then, on page 51, she writes this: "When I wrote The Drama of the Gifted Child [her first and most famous book, which is anti-Freudian], I still believed my experiences as an analyst were compatible with Freud's drive theory..." This is shocking, and shows how amazing insight and atrocious denial can co-exist in the same person's conscious mind. This is Alice Miller in a nutshell.

And then there is her intense anti-religiosity, and refusal to believe in God or support any form of therapy that does. Yet in June of 2001, nearly twenty years after writing Thou Shalt Not Be Aware, she wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II in which she took on the tone of an enraptured, star-struck young girl begging yet another omnipotent parent figure to hear her point of view. Had I not known beforehand that it was written by the ferocious and insightful Alice Miller I might not have believed it.

I will quote a few lines of it here (and the full text is on her website): "Open Letter to the Holy Father. I take the liberty to write to You again... ...I can't imagine that any other person in the world would have Your courage, Your credibility, as well as Your personal talent and God's grace to be able to speak up against an old tradition [of child abuse]... If the Church continues to ignore the new scientific information and to stay silent about this issue in spite of the lessons of Jesus, who else can be asked to open the parents' eyes in order to prevent the blind escalation of violence. I am sure that if my letters succeed to reach You personally You will not stay indifferent to the knowledge they are trying to pass on to you. With my most profound respect, Alice Miller."

Yet she even predicts her own future capitulation in Thou Shalt Not Be Aware. On page 209, she notes how often "individual analysts shrink in later life from their own findings and return to earlier ways of thinking they had already left behind." As she herself points out consistently, traumas that are not fully exhumed and resolved always find a way to manifest pathologically.

Although part of Alice Miller speaks from her healed side, she continues to behave like the traumatized child some part of her remains. On one hand she speaks the truth more forcefully and honestly than almost anyone else - and as such has legitimately inspired millions through her written word. Yet at the same time she defends parts of her parents' pathologies at all costs. This is her unconscious psychic defense against having another breakdown. Thus, when reading her, we must be aware of her limits. If you are not, then...thou too shalt also not be aware.

Has Done Better.......2000-08-21

I read her other book, Breaking Down The Wall of Silence, and enjoyed it. However, I really had to skim this book. It reminded me of the readings I had to do in college. It was not fun to read, it got too technical for me!

Please make this book part of all psych studies curriculm.......1999-07-04

God bless her...this book finally pin pointed the frustration I felt with "shrinks" and other "institutions". So credible is Alice Miller AND yet why isn't this woman front page news. After an injurious experience with a devout Freudian I am sure his genious did more harm than good. What courage A. Miller had to stand up and fight. Keep on excavating..there is hope with people like her in this world!

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Hokey
Action packed!
Fantastic!
Wow!!! What a keeper!!!!
What a kick!

In Enemy Hands
Michelle Perry
Manufacturer: Medallion Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Hit Hard
Perfect Weapon

ASIN: 1932815473

Book Description

How hard could it be to kidnap a pampered little rich girl?Especially if youre bounty hunter extraordinaire Dante Giovanni, who normally prowls the underworld in search of the most vicious criminals. Piece of cake, Dante thinks, when reclusive businessman Gary Vandergriff offers him a cool half million to bring home his estranged daughter, Nadia.Enter Nadia.His first meeting with her is stunning; both literally and figuratively. He foils an attempt on her life, and falls immediately under her spell. Its not gonna be hard duty, Dante thinks, keeping her safe from the Mexican drug lord infuriated by her stepfathers expanding meth operation. Hell take her out of harms way, no problem, get her back to her father, and enjoy the ride along the way.Everything is great.Until he delivers her into Enemy Hands.

Customer Reviews:

Hokey.......2007-05-24

I enjoy action/romance, but I thought this book was like watching a B movie. The dialogue was often silly. The characters were lacking...something. "It" just wasn't there for me. This book had a lot of potential, but did not grab me. Would it be too hateful to say I thought it was more like a "first time author's writing attempt?" Gosh, the punctuation goes INSIDE the quotation mark! My review, such as it was.

Action packed!.......2007-05-08

This was on the edge action all the time. I almost think Nadia the heroine could have taken care of herself without to much help from Dante. Her family was aware of there being a threat to her or her mother and kept her pretty much protected but she had a will of her own and wanted her own life which is where she put herself in danger. Over all I thought the book was excellent and an easy read. It held my attention and sometimes if a writer repeats how handsome or beautful blah blah blah the hero or heroine is it just takes away from the story. I like it when a discription is written once and not harped on over and over. If someone is beautiful I don't need it pounded into my head. Got cha once.

Fantastic!.......2007-01-18

I had passed this book up time and again but finally read the reviews and decided to give it a try and I am glad I did. The cover is what misled me to pass on it several times- just seemed a little over the top, but the book is very well done. I encourage you to try it too if you like strong heroes and heroines!

Wow!!! What a keeper!!!!.......2006-11-29

I had never read this author before and was I pleasantly surprised. What a wonderful plot and the romance was very intense and real. I loved this book. The main character reminded me so much of Vin Diesel it was unbelievable. Very good book. I highly recommend this book for those of you who are tired of too much sex and not enough action along the way along with a good plot.

What a kick!.......2006-10-14

Loved this book for same reasons listed below so won't repeat. Just wanted to add that I especially loved the humorous moments. I laughed out loud at the description of Nadia as she was trying the get rid of the hiccups during her kidnapping. And the whole scene between her and Dante and the MREs. Hysterical!

Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse in America's Military

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Essential Reading for all Americans
Good overview with practical limitations

Honor Betrayed: Sexual Abuse in America's Military
Mic Hunter
Manufacturer: Barricade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1569803250

Book Description

In Honor Betrayed, Dr. Mic Hunter probes beyond the headlines to reveal the reality of sexual abuse in the military. The culture of the military's training is to turn recruits into those who follow orders without question. Honor Betrayed describes in detail the gross realities of the hostile, uber-masculine, dehumanizing environment our young men and women confront. Most vulnerable to sexual abuse are minorities-particularly women and homosexuals. Included are first-person accounts from American servicewomen and men who were sexually abused by their comrades, including one woman whose case was heard before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hunter also explores the tacit acceptance of these incidents in the military to the recent prisoner abuse scandal in Iraq.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Reading for all Americans.......2007-05-28

Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an extraordinary book. The topic itself is taboo. Dr. Hunter's examination of it is broad, thorough, and covers a great range of topics, from incentives for enlisting to domestic violence in military families (five times higher than civilian settings), domestic killings, the role and treatment of women in today's military, homophobia, sexual harassment, sexual assault, military leadership, etc.

While mostly focused on the US military it does discuss some issues with Canadian military and presents some research on the military of other countries.

Dr. Hunter takes you inside traditions and practices which may be unfamiliar and shocking. No holds are bared when he examines military slang, most of which cannot be repeated here because of vulgarity. Even having treated veterans for many years, I was not prepared for some of this content.

This book confronts a great many myths with research data. Dr. Hunter notes that even the Pentagon acknowledges that many male veterans acknowledge having been sexually assaulted by their comrades in arms - and also notes that contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of such male victims are heterosexual. A full 28% of female veterans who were surveyed reported that they had been assaulted while serving their country. Dr. Hunter reviews data and dozens of case examples - some well-known cases, and some which did not receive much publicity.

The issues of hazing and indoctrination are extremely shocking. Having treated veterans of a number of wars and also having worked with sexual and other types of abuse for 40 years, I was surprised and shocked by a number of these. Even extensive experience working with victims was not adequate preparation for some of these stories. The examples ranged from those in military academies to those in basic training and service situations.

"When future Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall attended the Virginia Military Academy, senior cadets ordered him to squat over a bayonet until his knees buckled and he fell on the blade, cutting him and scarring him for life. In 1983, at the Air Force Academy, first-year cadets were ordered to run up and down flights of stairs wearing winter clothing until exhausted, to the point where 139 cadets needed medical treatment for dehydration and some had to be hospitalized."

Dr. Hunter explores the impact of sexual assault, sexual harassment, hazing, and other aspects of service using research data, case examples, and some cases which have been litigated. Tailhook and other cases are reviewed and their eventual outcomes examined. He also examines torture, harassment of prisoners, and other forms of brutality - from Me Lai to Abu Ghraib.

"An event has happened upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to remain silent" Forgiveness Memorial, Duluth, Minnesota

"I came home, No scars on my body, Nothing to show, The wounds inside. - Gregory Helle, U.S. Army, SP5 p. 256

Dr. Hunter has peppered his text with a variety of current or recent cases, which is quite helpful. But he has a dizzying array of quotes and examples from military leaders and situations going back centuries. I don't want to present too many in hopes that you will read the book and see them in context, but one sidebar (p. 113) is entitled "Ike & the Dykes" and is a fascinating story about Dwight Eisenhower I have never seen.

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power" Abraham Lincoln p. 61

Dr. Hunter covers a number of issues with military leadership and traditions. He examines parallels between military leadership and some of the behavior of drug addicted persons. There are interesting sections on attitudes towards women and the role of prostitution and official sanctioning of it over many centuries through the present.

"Prostitutes are a necessity. Without them men would attack respectable women in the streets" General Napoleon Bonaparte. 64

The last section of the book contains an array of in-depth personal accounts of a wide range of situations. Some of those who write identify themselves. Some are familiar cases such as that of Gregory Helle (author of A Walk in Hell: The Other Side of War) and Reverend Dorothy H. Mackey (co-founder of Survivors Take Action Against Abuse by Military Personel, Captain & Commander, Federal Women's Supervisor of the Year, US Air Force Commendation Medal, US Air Force Achievement Medal). These ten personal stories which make up Part II of the book provides a rich set of case examples, which like the rest of the book, are very stirring to read.

Despite the grim picture he paints, Dr. Hunter also has suggestions for change and even optimistic thoughts about it, noting that the military successfully dealt with racism against African Americans, and in some places this change preceded such changes in civilian life. This is not just about problems - it is about solutions.

The book contains many fascinating pieces I was not expecting. I was fascinated by the "Pop Quiz" on p. 231 where one is asked to identify which "dangerous group" is being referred to - African Americans, Women, or Gays/Lesbians. Dr. Hunter has peppered the book with intriguing challenges to our knowledge.

This is one of the best books on abuse I have ever read, and it stands alone in terms of the main topic - honor betrayed - sexual abuse in America's military. I read it straight through - I had difficulty putting it down. I plan to read it a second time - there was so much of importance in it that it was hard to take it all in during one reading.

This book should be required reading for citizens and legislators and all those who have anything to do with sending people off to war and welcoming them back home. Anyone who is offering service to veterans has, in my professional opinion, an obligation to read this book. There are many things in it which service personel are not likely to reveal.

In case you are not familiar with Mic Hunter, he is a Licensed Psychologist and Marriage & Family Therapist who practices in St. Paul, MN. He's the author of four other books including Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse, for which he received the Fay Honey Knopp Memorial Award from the National Organization on Male Sexual Victimization. If you haven't seen it, I would also highly recommend a book he co-authored with Jim Struve - The Ethical Use of Touch in Therapy. He is the author of many articles and lectures and trains internationally.

Gary Schoener clinical psychologist
Minneapolis, Minnesota Executive Director, Walk-In Counseling Center

Good overview with practical limitations.......2007-05-19

This is a timely topic. Despite publicized campaigns against sexual assault in the military, the problem is not going away. Women soldiers are especially in danger in Iraq. Commanders routinely warn them not to visit the latrine without another woman for protection; three women who died from dehydration had reportedly stopped drinking fluids in the afternoons out of fear of being raped while walking to the latrine. As a young female soldier who carried a knife for protection from fellow soldiers told an interviewer: "There are only three kinds of female the men let you be in the military: a bitch, a ho or a dyke.... In Vietnam they had prostitutes to keep them from going crazy, but they don't have those in Iraq. So they have women soldiers instead." (The full article is available at Salon's website.)

In this volume, Mic Hunter has synopsized an impressive volume of research literature spanning many decades on the topics of rape, sexual harassment, hazing, homophobia, hypermasculinity, domestic violence, and their interconnections. The book offers a helpful introduction to readers who are ignorant about these topics. Unfortunately, Dr. Hunter's treatment of the current situation in the U.S. military is poorly grounded, offering a simplistic analysis and broad generalities. He often lumps together all time periods and all branches of the military. More seriously, he fails to address recent efforts to curtail military sexual assault. What are these efforts? Are they having any positive impact? Are they mere window dressing? Dr. Hunter is silent on these questions. Nor does he seem aware of some of the practical limitations inherent in efforts to court martial suspected sexual abusers. With just a few exceptions, such as his recommendation of eliminating the "Feres Doctrine" that prohibits soldiers from suing the government, he gives little in the way of practical advice.

As a researcher, I found his loose use of data troubling. For example, he cites an unpublished web source to claim that 45% of untreated sex offenders reoffend - a substantially higher proportion than that found in creditable, published studies. Without adequately referencing such in the text, he cites data that is sometimes many decades old to support his contentions about today's situation. He also uses seemingly discrepant statistics to make different arguments in different sections. For example, on p. 168 he states that "in civilian courts, only 2% of those charged with sexual assault are convicted and imprisoned." Just 20 pages later he asserts that "in the civilian criminal justice system, four out of five of those arrested for sexual assault are prosecuted." While both claims could be technically accurate, his purpose in introducing these statistics seems blatantly polemical. The book contains no index and the referencing system is laborious, so it takes a great deal of effort to figure out where he is getting his information, in order to evaluate the validity of the sources.

As important as this topic is, I fear that some of these weaknesses will make the book ring false to the very audience that most needs it - those who are intimately involved with the military and who are working to reduce sexual abuse within its ranks.

Pirate Club Volume 2: Brainwash Escape Victims (Pirate Club)

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Pirate Club Volume 2: Brainwash Escape Victims (Pirate Club)
Derek Hunter
Manufacturer: SLG Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Product Description

After defeating the rival clubs around Syacamore Valley, stakes are raised as the Pirate Club must battle tougher clubs, gruesome monsters of their nightmares, and perhaps...each other. No one is safe as the Pirate Club makes ready for a battle against the most evil of villains...Santa Claus!

Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Treatment Innovations

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Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse: Treatment Innovations

Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803971931

Book Description

For the practitioner working with adult survivors of sexual abuse, this book is a must. Offering useful treatment innovations, this volume opens with a clear review of dynamically based theories that provide a solid introduction to understanding and treating adult survivors of sexual abuse. What follows are three chapters dealing with various sexual problems of adult survivors, including sexual dysfunction and sexual compulsivity. The final section of this practical book examines clients with special needs: the very difficult survivor with personality disorders, chemically dependent survivors, male survivors, and the partners of survivors. Well balanced and written in a easy-to-follow style, this volumes provides concrete directions for interventions. Practitioners in the fields of clinical psychology, counseling, social work, and mental health--as well as advanced clinical students--will find this volume an indispensable resource. "From cover to cover, this book provides new and innovative strategies in the treatment of age-old abuse-related problems. Reading it was like taking in a breath of fresh air." --Peter T. Dimock, Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker,

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Can you say Rambo?
KILLER book!
Harriet the Spy Did NOT Read this Book
Rhoades & Keller: a dynamic duo
Good Book

Safe and Sound
J.D. Rhoades
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Minotaur
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312354894
Release Date: 2007-07-10

Book Description

Jack Keller works in fugitive apprehension, and never feels more alive than when hes hunting down a skip. But when a young girl goes missing, and Keller finds out that the father is an AWOL member of the armys elite Delta Force, he knows immediately that this case will be anything but fun and games. Keller is a Gulf War vet who knows his way around the Armys red tape, but the psychological scars from his experiences in the gulf have only just started to recede enough for him to lead a normal life. No one is sure how immersing himself in the kidnapping case will affect him, least of all his girlfriend Marie, whos counting on Jacks recovery if they are going to have any future together. But a young girls life hangs in the balance, and a group of ex-Delta commandos seem to be the key to finding out where she is. For Jack Keller, its an easy decision: consequences be damned, hes going after the girl.

Customer Reviews:

Can you say Rambo?.......2007-08-17

Good book, thrilling, lots of adventure, and seemingly more intelligent then the character of John Rambo, but their was too much similarity between the characters, to be truly original. However, if you like the action packed bravado that their characters offer (and I do) then this is another book to add to the list.

KILLER book!.......2007-08-11

I've been looking for a decent series since I stopped reading Spenser, and this is it. Read the first Keller, and was hesitant about the 2nd and now the 3rd, but in every one Rhoades has kept it up, kept Keller interesting, kept the past story as fascinating as the present, and moves everything along at a pace that won't let me put the book down. I've got my husband hooked on them, as well as my grandfather, and everyone I get to read them thanks me.

I am ready for the 4th; bring it on, Rhoades!

Harriet the Spy Did NOT Read this Book.......2007-07-22

Anyone who can do basic math knows that Harriet Klausner can't possibly read all the books she "reviews." But for this one, she gets plot points wrong that are settled in chapter TWO, so there is no spoiler alert reason to give a red herring. She says Keller must rescue a little girl from her father, but the Delta Force dad is dead early in the book, in fact we see him being tortured by the bad guy in chapter ONE, so she couldn't have read much. She completely mischaracterizes his partners, too. And as for the political agenda she tries to impose on the story she doesn't know...

At least she got the star rating right. Dusty Rhoades is better than Lee Child, and could be as good as Stephen Hunter if he keeps this up. This is a can't catch your breath thriller with really good characters, so good in fact, that most of the good guys-- and guys trying to be good guys again-- are more interesting than the bloodthirsty killer.

Rhoades & Keller: a dynamic duo.......2007-07-20

I haven't read any of J.D. Rhoades' other novels so when I started this one I felt like I had walked into an old-time, Saturday afternoon serial thriller at the beginning of episode three. A lot of things are going on and they all seem to have started in episode two, or maybe even one. A lot of different characters make brief appearances on the screen, some of them doing cruel and dastardly things to helpless victims. Other characters are in the midst of some kind of inner or outer turmoil of their own, turmoil that also started sometime in the past.

Into this mix strides Jack Keller, a tough and mysterious man with a tough and mysterious past. He knows about guns, explosives, and war. Most of all, he knows and understands the cruelties that Mankind so casually and callously inflicts upon itself. And from the very first page of this novel, the puzzle that is Jack Keller, and the puzzle that is Life itself, begins to take shape before the viewer's eyes, slowly at first. Before long, however, the tempo begins to pick up. Soon the reader is being propelled forward at breakneck speed.

Rhoades' descriptions of his characters, both major and minor, are sharply drawn and clearly delineated. They also have the feel of being dead-on accurate. His descriptions of settings are also sound and solid. Whether it's a Middle East desert or the Blue Ridge Mountains of the American South, the reader can taste the air, feel the grit, maybe even tap into memories from his own past.

But regardless of the geography, Jack Keller's presence is always close at hand. His strength never falters, despite the stress (and there is lots of that in this story, as well as lots of action). And the confrontations between Keller and his nemesis, in this case a cruel and savage monster by the name of DeGroot, are always tense if not explosive.

And like those old Saturday serials, once the climax is reached, once the crises have all been dealt with, Keller leaves the screen as he came on: a resolute loner, now returning to his own solitude. But you also know that he will soon resume his ready position, like a coiled rattlesnake, waiting for the next chapter, waiting for the next set of crises.

If you like J.D. Rhoades, you'll want to grab this one quick!

Russ Heitz
russheitz.com
MySpace.com/russheitz

Good Book.......2007-07-20

J.D. Rhodes has written an action packed novel based in the North Carolina Blue Ridge mountains. Well written and good character development, this book will keep your attnetion throughout. I recommend.

Average customer rating:

Decent mystery by a great writer
Jance Holds Nothing Back
Didn't know it was Jance's writing!
A great introduction to the author
A Real Change of Pace for Jance

Hour of the Hunter
J.A. Jance
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0688096301

Book Description

The hunter is free to kill again -- and hour by hour, he draws closer . . .

The brilliant psychopath Andrew Carlisle spent only six years in prison for the brutal torture-murder of a young girl of the Tohono O'otham tribe. The testimony of Diana Ladd -- a teacher on the reservation -- put Carlisle behind bars, and now she can't ignore the dark, mystical signs that say a predator has returned to prowl the Arizona desert. Because no matter where Diana and her young son hide . . . he will find them.

Download Description

The hunter is free to kill again - and hour by hour, he draws closer... Salt Lake City Tribune: "Tony Hillerman meets Dean Koontz." Arizona Republic: "Truly frightening." The prequel to Kiss of the Bees.

Customer Reviews:

Decent mystery by a great writer.......2007-03-06

I'm used to J.A. Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady series, so this book was a pleasant surprise. Much rougher and edgier than the Joanna Brady series, Hour of the Hunter was a well-plotted, exciting book. A few minor issues -- the ending seemed to arise out of nowhere, very abrupt after the lead-up. And the final punishment for the criminal wasn't nearly harsh enough. All the same, a nice change from Jance's series.

If you liked this book, particularly the native American references, you'll love Tony Hellerman's series.

Jance Holds Nothing Back.......2005-06-14

HOUR OF THE HUNTER is very suspenseful and has one of the most diabolical villains created for the reading audience. Overall it's very good, but minor flaws detour from making this an excellent read.

Widow Diana Ladd is raising her son, David, on the Tohono O'Othham Indian Reservation near Tucson, Arizona, with the help of Rita Antone. Rita is a Papago Indian basket-weaver/wise woman and has taught David the O'Othham language and customs since he was a toddler. Six years ago, Diana's testimony had put Andrew Carlisle in prison for the murder of Rita's granddaughter, which also resulted in the death of Diana's husband (Carlisle was involved with her husband and his death was staged to appear as a suicide). Now Carlisle is out of jail and looking for revenge. Sounds like a typical mystery, but it's definitely not typical.

Gruesome is the one word I would use to define Carlisle. His signature is to bite the nipples off of his victims. He thrives on torture, and a quick kill does not make him happy. He has plans on exactly how he wants Diana Ladd to suffer and this is described in great detail, sometimes to the point of turning my stomach. The victims he encounters on his hunt for Ladd are tortured and eventually killed but instead of appeasing his appetite for death, they only add to his need to reach Diana Ladd.

The Papago legends are written at the beginning of each chapter, which give an interesting twist to the story. At times it does take away from the tale, and I found myself wanting to skip the legends and get to the story at hand. Every chapter seemed like overkill. The O'Othham language is translated, but is difficult to read and understand. It does not flow smoothly.

Character development was excellent. Jance delved into each personality so I felt as if I personally knew each character. She left little to the imagination in this aspect. But in story development, she left a lot to the imagination, or lack thereof. It seemed as if her outline dictated the droning on of the story. It was predictable for the most part. The ending left me wondering why Jance had done the unthinkable to her heroine. What Ladd endured at the hands of Carlisle was unnecessary.

There were so many surprises during the story and for there to be no twists at the end made it very anti-climatic.

Didn't know it was Jance's writing!.......2003-08-04

I have read most of the books written by Jance and thoroughly enjoyed most.......especially the Beaumont books.
This book was the most disjointed and difficult to follow book I
have ever read. Each time I picked it up had to go back and read
the previous chapter to figure out what I was reading. Seems as if
she did not have her thoughts in order when writing......think she
should go back to Seattle and Beaumont as they are most interesting, exciting and even funny at times.

A great introduction to the author.......2001-05-15

This is the first book of Jance's I picked up. The Arizona setting was enjoyable, as were the Indian characters . I would recommend this novel, and I'm looking forward to some of the other Jance offerings.

A Real Change of Pace for Jance.......2000-11-02

Neither a J. P. Beaumont nor a Joanna Brady story, this is a real page-turner. A widowed mother and her son are the targets of an ex-college professor who is a sadistic serial killer, who has just been released from jail after serving a sentence for the killing of a Native American girl.

The sympathetic portrayal of a native american culture is reminiscent of Tony Hillerman's novels. A thoroly enjoyable story.

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