Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go
Average customer rating:

mesmerising

Lovely

Thought-provoking premise, skillful writing, but author fails to engage deeper meaning, premise is faulted. Moderately recommend

Dystopia Now

A Sad Yet Hopeful World

Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Ishiguro, Kazuo | ( I ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1400078776
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Book Description

From the Booker Prize-winning author of The Remains of the Day comes a devastating new novel of innocence, knowledge, and loss. As children Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were.

Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life. And for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special–and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together. Suspenseful, moving, beautifully atmospheric, Never Let Me Go is another classic by the author of The Remains of the Day

Customer Reviews:

mesmerising.......2007-10-08

Describing Never Let Me Go to a friend, I realised how prosaic it all sounded. These precious children, cocooned in the rarefied atmosphere of English public school ( so we are led to believe) and acutely attuned to any emotional discordance in their isolated groupings. Describing it as such, it all seems so snobby and trite. And yet Ishiguro somehow imbues it with such portent that it seems terribly weighty, as if more than the couplings of a few twenty-somethings is at stake. Which of course it is, we pity these individuals, for what society has done to them, for the situation they have been born into. That is Ishiguro's genius here, that the novel works on so many levels and invites so many interpretations. Is this a dystopian vision of the UK's future? A commentary on the class-blighted present? A critique of amoral scientific rationalism? The protagonists live, breathe and act as though entombed in a gigantic social test tube, which in one sense they are. This is a fascinating, important novel, that will outlive its age. Nothing Ishiguro has produced in the past suggested he was the new HG Wells, but after Never Ler Me Go, the comparisons will not desist.

Lovely.......2007-09-29

This is one of those wonderful books that you just want to press into someone's hands without saying too much about it. It's a book to figure out as you go along. Even the genre remains a mystery for awhile, something I don't think I've encountered before.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking in the good way, and it really stays with you. I feel like I really know the people in it. I can't recommend this highly enough.

If you're a Margaret Atwood fan, by the way, try this. And vice versa.

Thought-provoking premise, skillful writing, but author fails to engage deeper meaning, premise is faulted. Moderately recommend.......2007-09-27

As a child, Kathy H. attended Hailsham, an elite boarding school where children were raised to be both healthy and artistic and taught to believe that both their health and creativity were essential to themselves and to the world they would one day enter. Now an adult, Kathy reflects back on her life. She charts the very slow progression of her growth, her friendships with fellow students Tommy and Ruth, and her knowledge, as she herself gradually began to learn about her role in the outside world--and what this role dictates about her identity. A combination of heavy introspection and soft-scifi, Never Let Me Go has a thought-provoking premise and is brilliantly written, but fails to reach its potential, spending all its time in excruciatingly slow buildup and none of it in impact, theory, or debate. Enjoyable, but somewhat empty, and so moderately recommended.

This book's greatest strength is its writing style, but it is also one of the most irritating aspects. Kathy, the narrator, is intensely thoughtful and analytical, breaking down her personal history into eras, important moments, and developing themes. She walks the reader through the story of her life much in the way she lived it, slowly, very slowly, bringing to light her final realizations. In other words, there is a lot hidden in this book, and it takes the book's entire length--literally until the last fifteen pages--to reveal it all. In between are circuitous examples, where Kathy starts to talk about one event, goes back a bit to explain why the event was relevant, explains the event itself, and then goes on without having drawn a major conclusion--instead, she's just mapped another point on her gradual arc or argument. The resulting pace is excruciating, both artful, brilliantly thought-out and executed, and simply painful as the reader is lead along, disappointed, and lead along again. The book's pace bring the characters to life (although both Ruth and Tommy lack some dimension) and, with it, the life that they lived, through Hailsham and beyond. As such, it is the highlight of the book, worked like an artform, but it is also intensely irritating and makes the book (which actually reads quite quickly) seem longer than it is.

There are a near-infinite number of issues, from the ethical to philosophical, that could be brought to question and debate in this book. The very premise almost begs them--both the science of the base culture and the purpose of Hailsham itself. Unfortunately, however, none of these topics are brought to issue in the text. Instead, the book is consumed by the very slow progression of the story, the creep towards the "twist" revelations of who the children are and what purpose they serve. When finally revealed, these revelations are not all that big--not because they lack the potential to be, but because they pale in comparison to the immense buildup that leads to them. The characters just barely exceed the gradual revelation of the book's premise and are largely just passive carriers of the story, and so the other various issues, the possible debates, never enter into the text. So when other reviewers talk about the questions this book raises, what they're really talking about is the potential for questions--and that is not the same thing. The burden of meaning for this book, everything that the reader could take away and continue to think about, rests entirely on the reader, who must pull out the themes and ask the questions himself, carry on the debates himself. The author shirks his responsibility, and the book suffers for it, failing to live up to its potential.

My final complaint with this book is that the underlying concept seems, blandly, unrealistic. **SPOILERS** follow, so be warned: The fact that in the book's contemporary culture the clones are considered non-human despite looking, acting, and living like humans seems entirely impossible. Consider: Humans never viewed the first cloned animals as different than their original counterparts; indeed, we were amazed and drew attention to the fact that they were identical, that they were clones. So why would cloned humans be any different (especially that these clones pass in human society as normal and indistinguishable)? Outside of the huge wastefulness of cloning entire humans just to harvest their organs, the fact that the cloned humans were not considered humans seems unreal to me, no matter who the gene donors were, no matter what brief attempts Ishiguro (though Ms. Emily) makes to justify it. **END SPOILERS** This is the underlying basis of the book's conflict and plot, and so problems with this concept create problems throughout the book. They weaken the foundations, making it difficult to accept the book and, as a result, even more difficult to take on the work of finding and analyzing themes, which the author fails too do. In the end, Never Let Me Go has a thoughtful premise with heavy potential for thought, theory, and debate, and it is skillfully, even artfully written, but the book fails to live up to its potential: the author does not tackle his own themes, and no matter how interesting the premise, it is an unreasonable one. I wanted to enjoy this book, and I did, but I felt cheated at the end: the final product was surprisingly empty, with the burden of meaning placed entirely and unfairly upon the reader alone.

Dystopia Now.......2007-09-18

In the novel Never Let Me Go, while employing an engaging premise, Kazuo Ishiguro explores the black chasm between "the unfortunates" and "those who would presume to aid the unfortunates". Although this is a dark hole indeed, the author succeeds in shining enough light in there for us to want to learn even more about the shadowy forms we've glimpsed scurrying into its fissures (now that I've killed that metaphor...).

Told from the point of view of Kathy H. (one of these unfortunates) Never Let Me Go, a sort of recent past dystopian chronicle, reveals her abstrusely horrific plight as a "carer" (those who help to guide "donors" to a peaceful end) working within the boundaries of Ishiguro's imagined minority group. Kathy and her "boarding" school friends, Ruth and Tommy, attempt to unlock the truth behind some hidden doors of their early life, learning some hard lessons in the process.

On the surface, Never Let Me Go becomes an almost science fiction, a `what could've been' or `what could still be if we're not careful' kind of a moral caveat. But what saves this book is its underlying implications; it asks questions for the real world like: Are we truly helping when we endeavor to comfort and protect groups (racial, ethnic, political, religious, class, etc..) who are perceived as less fortunate than our own? Should we instead educate these groups so that they may empower themselves in time? OK. I'm being a bit leading here, but still these are important questions to ponder in this global society.

Overall, Ishiguro deftly blends science fiction (bio-ethics) and more general socio-political themes to concoct an enjoyable thought-provoking experience. I happily recommend it.

4 stars

A Sad Yet Hopeful World.......2007-09-09

This book is sad, yet still offers glimmers of hope. The characters are naive. But they're this way because it's all they know, because of their upbringing. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to people who like suspenseful, thoughtful books.

Average customer rating:

Skilled writer, but leaves me cold
Good intentions, mediocore application.
To be or not to be?
Just below par for finishing
Beautiful and thought-provoking

Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400043395
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Amazon.com

All children should believe they are special. But the students of Hailsham, an elite school in the English countryside, are so special that visitors shun them, and only by rumor and the occasional fleeting remark by a teacher do they discover their unconventional origins and strange destiny. Kazuo Ishiguro's sixth novel, Never Let Me Go, is a masterpiece of indirection. Like the students of Hailsham, readers are "told but not told" what is going on and should be allowed to discover the secrets of Hailsham and the truth about these children on their own.

Offsetting the bizarreness of these revelations is the placid, measured voice of the narrator, Kathy H., a 31-year-old Hailsham alumna who, at the close of the 1990s, is consciously ending one phase of her life and beginning another. She is in a reflective mood, and recounts not only her childhood memories, but her quest in adulthood to find out more about Hailsham and the idealistic women who ran it. Although often poignant, Kathy's matter-of-fact narration blunts the sharper emotional effects you might expect in a novel that deals with illness, self-sacrifice, and the severe restriction of personal freedoms. As in Ishiguro's best-known work, The Remains of the Day, only after closing the book do you absorb the magnitude of what his characters endure. --Regina Marler

Book Description

From the acclaimed author of The Remains of the Day and When We Were Orphans, a moving new novel that subtly reimagines our world and time in a haunting story of friendship and love.

As a child, Kathy–now thirty-one years old–lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this idyllic past behind her, but when two of her Hailsham friends come back into her life, she stops resisting the pull of memory.

And so, as her friendship with Ruth is rekindled, and as the feelings that long ago fueled her adolescent crush on Tommy begin to deepen into love, Kathy recalls their years at Hailsham. She describes happy scenes of boys and girls growing up together, unperturbed–even comforted–by their isolation. But she describes other scenes as well: of discord and misunderstanding that hint at a dark secret behind Hailsham’s nurturing facade. With the dawning clarity of hindsight, the three friends are compelled to face the truth about their childhood–and about their lives now.

A tale of deceptive simplicity, Never Let Me Go slowly reveals an extraordinary emotional depth and resonance–and takes its place among Kazuo Ishiguro’s finest work.

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"So exquisitely observed that even the most workaday objects and interactions are infused with a luminous, humming otherworldliness. The dystopian story it tells, meanwhile, gives it a different kind of electric charge. . . . An epic ethical horror story, told in devastatingly poignant
miniature. . . . Ishiguro spins a stinging cautionary tale of science outpacing ethics."
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Perfect pacing and infinite subtlety. . . . That this stunningly brilliant fiction echoes Caryl Churchill’s superb play A Number and Margaret Atwood’s celebrated dystopian novels in no way diminishes its originality and power. A masterpiece of craftsmanship that offers an unparalleled emotional experience. Send a copy to the Swedish Academy."
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Ishiguro’s elegant prose and masterly ways with characterization make for a lovely tale of memory, self-understanding, and love."
—Library Journal (starred review)

"Ishiguro’s provocative subject matter and taut, potent prose have earned him multiple literary decorations, including the French government’s Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and an Order of the British Empire for service to literature…. In this luminous offering, he nimbly navigates the landscape of emotion — the inevitable link between present and past and the fine line between compassion and cruelty, pleasure and pain."
—Booklist

Praise for Kazuo Ishiguro:
"His books are Zen gardens with no flowery metaphors, no wild, untamed weeds threatening — or allowed — to overrun the plot."
—The Globe and Mail

"A writer of Ishiguro’s intelligence, sensitivity and stylistic brilliance obviously offers rewards."
—The Gazette (Montreal)

"Kazuo Ishiguro distinguishes himself as one of our most eloquent poets of loss."
—Joyce Carol Oates, TLS

"Ishiguro is a stylist like no other, a writer who knows that the truth is often unspoken."
—Maclean’s

"One of the finest prose stylists of our time."
—Michael Ondaatje

"Ishiguro shows immense tenderness for his characters, however absurd or deluded they may be."
—The Guardian

"[Ishiguro is] an original and remarkable genius."
—The New York Times Book Review

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Skilled writer, but leaves me cold.......2007-08-30

This one is clearly a well-crafted book- the story is thight and the characters are well described and realistic within their strange and tiny world. In the words of comic artist Dan Clowes, however, the book maintains an icy distance between artist and reader. Not bad of itself,i was in the mood for a waarmer read.

Good intentions, mediocore application........2007-08-23

I'd have to disagree with previous reviews in saying that I did not at all find the book slow-paced, nor boring, although definitely anticlimatic.

What disturbs me the most is the part about the 'students' humanity being defended through their art. I'm not sure if Ishiguro was implying that the students were not human, but it seemed as though through their actions they were only imitating human life. None of them ever really loved, even when they thought they did. And even when it was brought up that their art was a glimpse into their soul, can anyone believe that making art would prove that someone was human? Just because someone has the ability to create art that is seemingly 'moving' or 'good' doesn't mean they understand what they are doing or purposefully creating the art because of what is in their souls. Even Kathy points out that none of them really knew what was good or not, they all just seemed to have a scale that was ingrained into them on how to rate art. On how many tokens it would acheive. It was not a very convincing arguement to say that art was being used to make them more human.

There's a subtle line, I believe, between the way the 'students' interact with one another and the way the rest of the world interacts. In a way, every ounce of them clings to the way they believe Hailsham was, even though they start to distort their memories and forget things. I'm not sure if it was poor characterization or a deliberate attempt by Ishiguro to make the 'students' seem slightly less human. But if you're writing a book about clones interacting with each other in a somewhat normal way, trying to make them seem normal, then why end up making them not so human after all.

And I disagree with the writing. I do not think it is one of the best written books in a hundred years. Ishiguro is obvious in pointing things out to the reader even when he's trying to be subtle. Especially in the way he explains his metaphors in simplier terms in the following sentence, as if implying the reader couldn't figure it out. Or in the ways that he had to go out and blatently say that the gaurdians were afraid of the students without even showing it, even in the last greeting at madame's house. I'd rather be able to think for my own, thank you.

To be or not to be?.......2007-08-19

I agree with Robert Bezimienny's review that the characters are flat and the premise of the story is only sketchily developed. It's a story about people who aren't quite human yet behave like most people you know. So, maybe they are human? It's also a tragic love story about two people who should be together but aren't. What separates them? Unlike the author, I think their own passivity--not another person--is to blame. So, how is that tragic, really?

The first third of the book is pure, page-turning suspense. Life at this English boarding school is definitely odd. What truth lies behind it? Gradually the reader surmises much of the truth and the last third of the book is anticlimatic. I wish the author had continued the suspense with new twists and curiosities. Because the characters are unsatisfying and the emotions distilled like water. One character goes into wild rages but these are described at a great distance. More often, we see this character close up as quite easy-going.

There is a villain of sorts but she is not developed to any real impact. I disliked her and grew impatient that her friend did not see through her but since she never did, what was there to get excited about?

Even though many reviewers seem to love this author's style, and this book in particular, I admit to prefering more red blood in my stories. The movie "The Remains of the Day" should give you an idea if this type of Britainia is your cup of tea.

Just below par for finishing.......2007-08-14

A lot of other people have already articulated what I felt about this book, but I'd still like to stress the lower end of ratings a bit more.

I liked the concept, the slow revealing of what it's all about and occasionally even the actual content, but most of the time I just found it a bit too distant and hard to connect with. On a page-to-page basis, there wasn't much to keep me reading.

Maybe I'm just too picky about books. The author seems nicely original. But he's just missing something. Human-oriented science fiction that's interesting neither science fictionally nor humanly.

Beautiful and thought-provoking.......2007-08-10

This book is so well written the mere prose brings tears to my eyes. The story itself is heartwrenching as well, in the subtle, restrained way of Ishiguro, of course. What's unbelievable is how complacent the children are about their fate: no rebellion, no runaways. But put that aside, because the story is worth it.

Let Me Go to the Father's House: John Paul II's Strength in Weakness

Average customer rating:

moribund at best

Let Me Go to the Father's House: John Paul II's Strength in Weakness
Stanisaw Dziwisz , Czeslaw Drazek , Renato Buzzonetti , and Angelo Comastri
Manufacturer: Pauline Books & Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Religious | Leaders & Notable People | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Miracles of John Paul II
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A Life with Karol: My Forty-Year Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope
THE VATICAN TELEVISION CENTER PRESENTS: JOHN PAUL II THIS IS MY STORY

ASIN: 0819845221

Customer Reviews:

moribund at best.......2007-05-07

reading this book made one seem that the entire life of john paul 2 was his suffering and death. this book was , of course, about his passing, but it was written in such a way that made you feel guilty to be alive. moribund at its best.

Hold Me Close, Let Me Go: A Mother, A Daughter and an Adolescence Survived

Average customer rating:

Thank you, Lara and Morgan, for the hope you've offered me
Where to begin?
you find yourself curious to read about their life story
Sadly, a kindred spirit
Wow, the honesty it took to write this book blows me away

Hold Me Close, Let Me Go: A Mother, A Daughter and an Adolescence Survived
Adair Lara
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0767905083
Release Date: 2002-03-12

Book Description

What does a mother do when her teenaged daughter is spinning out of control and nothing is bringing her back? Here is a searingly honest memoir of motherhood and a testament to the power of love and family.

When Adair Lara’s daughter Morgan turned thirteen, she was transformed, seemingly overnight, from a sweet, loving child into an angry, secretive teenager who would neither listen nor be disciplined. The author, her youngest son, Patrick, her ex-husband, Jim, and her new husband, Bill, all stepped on a five-year roller-coaster ride in which Morgan incarnated the chaos principle in torn jeans and dyed hair. Drinking, drugging, disappearing, suspicious companions, failing and cheating at school, joy riding in a stolen car–there was no variety of adolescent acting out that she didn’t indulge in. For Adair Lara it became an endless sojourn at the end of her rope, a trial immensely complicated by the reappearance in her life of her aging father, a man who had abandoned his wife and seven children decades earlier. Inevitably, Morgan’s misbehavior revives memories of her own headstrong adolescence, while her father’s presence makes agonizingly real for her the consequences of giving up. Paradoxically, he also becomes the source of her best advice.

Hold Me Close, Let Me Go is an emotionally charged, often brutally honest memoir that all parents (and anyone who was ever a teenager) will experience shocks of recognition from while reading. It imparts invaluable lessons about holding loved ones close through the roughest passages and about the power of family to overcome the most grievous obstacles. Adair Lara is a clear-eyed and eloquent witness to the complex costs and rewards of motherhood, and her book will redefine for readers their idea of what being “a good enough mother” really means.

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What does a mother do when her teenaged daughter is spinning out of control and nothing is bringing her back? A searingly honest memoir of motherhood, Hold Me Close, Let Me Go is a testament to the power of love and family.

Customer Reviews:

Thank you, Lara and Morgan, for the hope you've offered me.......2007-07-14

I finished this book with tears in my eyes and hope in my heart.

I am the mother of a child adopted at age 9, who spent four years of her life in Foster Care. I am also a mother that had to release my "Morgan" back into the System after 18 months in my home -- not my adopted daughter, but her biological 1/2 sister -- a teen in which I could see such parallels to Morgan.

I hold such respect for both of these amazing women for navigating, thriving and sharing an incredibly turbulent existence during Morgan's search for herself. You both accomplished such an amazing journey of Love. I honor you, and thank you, for sharing your lives with me.

I cannot recommend this book enough to women -- and men -- who have teenage daughters. Or daughters that will someday be a teenager! This book held me spellbound.

Where to begin?.......2006-01-06

I don't think i have ever read a memoir that was so obscenely personal and made me so uncomfortable. I blushed on behalf of all of Adair Lara's family members, and felt grateful that no one in my family has decided to become a writer (so far, but i better start behaving, just in case).

Where to begin?

Adair Lara is a well-known columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle. Her daughter Morgan was a rebellious teenager growing up in a progressive household. She lived in a house with her mom, step dad Bill, dad Jim, and brother Patrick. Unfortunately, all the adults preferred to keep their heads deep in the sand rather than to address what was going on. In a nutshell, Morgan was out of control. She broke all rules, and began lying through her teeth, smoking, drinking, taking drugs, having sex, and throwing tantrums whenever her mom made timid attempts to control her. Adair is very honest and acknowledges that she did not know how to handle the situation. Her main resort was to ship Morgan out of the house, because of course, Morgan's problems affected Adair's marriage. And that was the key to the entire issue.

I am a big fan of Dr. Laura, especially the Dr. Laura of yesteryear, before she became so shrill. I like that she always puts children first. Her recommendation to single parents is that they do not start dating (much less marrying) till the youngest child is in college. In a society that is all about self-fulfillment, this is a hard pill to swallow for many. Adair Lara, about two thirds into the book, ventures that perhaps she should have remained single. I'd say that for starters, she should have never divorced the father of her children, a loving and decent (yet spineless) man for whom her passion had fizzled. Morgan acted out because this is how children call attention to themselves. A three-year-old knows that. So when Adair married her new husband, Morgan felt displaced, and rightly so. To make matters worse, Morgan was sent to live with three different relatives (who although full of good intentions, had dismal problems in their own lives), an acquaintance of Adair's, and summer camp. That was like throwing salt in the wound.

Many parents take a hands-off approach with teenagers, and Adair was no exception. After all, they are becoming adults and need to learn how to make decisions by themselves, fight their own battles, etc. That is fine, but in this particular case this philosophy was taken to an extreme. Morgan did not need to be fed formula or have her diapers changed, but she was craving parenting. She needed to have her parents on top of her, creating expectations, offering support, paying attention, asking questions. I don't know what Jim's problem was, but Adair could not do that because she was occupied in her marriage, her career, her writing seminars, her classes. Adair was obviously #1 in Adair's list. In that sense, she was no different than her father, whose story is weaved alongside Morgan's antics (he up and left his wife and seven kids and never apologized about it). That is what i found most ironic of all. And by the way, i really would like to know how Adair's mother felt when Adair invited her absentee father to give her away at her wedding.

More thoughts:

Adair, Bill and Jim are all a collection of spineless wimps. Morgan was introduced to drugs by boyfriend Zach. This was a fact well known to all of the adults, but Zach was still allowed to spend the night with Morgan in the house. Sure, the men talked about how much they would like to kill him, but what did they do? They continued eating their breakfast. Adair took pity on poor Zach and straightened his tie on his way to work. Notice that these are the people who are supposed to safeguard Morgan's well being!

Adair wrote: "No one in my family except me has ever seen a shrink they weren't ordered to. I lasted two months. "How did that make you feel?" a couples counselor I was seeing with a boyfriend had said when i told her about all the stuffing coming out of my koala bear when i was seven. I didn't see where she got off asking about a private koala bear." I had to laugh. Adair, who showed no restraint opening extremely private moments of not just her own life, but of her entire family, to the universe, complaining about a counselor trying to do her job! What a hypocrite.

I am a big fan of John Irving. In his short story collection, Trying to Save Piggy Sneed, he prefaces "Almost in Iowa" with these thoughts:
"I loathe the subject of divorce - my own especially. [...] I do not tell stories about my divorce, nor have i ever written about it - nor would I. I feel most strongly that writers who have children, and who have been divorced, should not write about their divorces; to do so is a form of child abuse"
I agree 110% with this, and i wish that Adair had had the same level of compassion for her own children. It was very sad to see how neglect perpetuates itself from generation to generation. Adair was simply the product of yet another broken home, and most likely her dad was too.

In summary, i am glad i did not spend any serious money on this very frustrating book (found it during a library sale).

If you really want to read about teenage girls' behavior, i highly recommend Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher. This is not a work of fiction, but a well documented book based on research and the many years that Dr. Pipher has been in practice.

you find yourself curious to read about their life story.......2004-09-01

Adair,the middle aged proffessional columnist ,obssesed with the fear of failure for her duaghter, writes her own biography of her duaghter's teenage years.
The author unconsiously compares her daughter with her own father-the man who has abondoned his wife and 7 children to get to know himself and now at the age of 70 has made no use of his life.
She finds herself scared of the idea of her daughter having the same future as his father's and thus picks on her teenage kid_as she knows her so-with unpredictable groundings and decisions.
Reading this book could be suggested to all obssesed and overcaring mothers or parents who doubt about their parenting ways.I also offer this book to all teenage girls who would like to know why their mothers sometime sound too illogical and vicious.

Sadly, a kindred spirit.......2004-08-27

Two years ago my grandmother-in-law, sage that she is, gave me this book as my husband and I embarked on the rocky teenage road with our then 13-year old daughter. My similarities with Lara's family are profound: I am married to a wonderful man who has embraced (and adopted) my child from a previous marriage; I have fretted, cajoled, and attempted everything from prayer to tough love to help my desperate daughter find her way; I have talked sensibility into myself, only to lose it in a moment of desperation, panick, and fear. My daughter is now 15 and beginning a new life in an emotional growth boarding school...the last hope of terrified and devastated parents. This book leaves me hope that we, too, can come through this seemingly endless nightmare with relationships intact. I highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with a child with entitlement issues, drug usage, sexual acting out, and defiance issues. My daughter read this book and she, too, has gained hope from it.

Wow, the honesty it took to write this book blows me away.......2003-06-13

They say to write a good memoir, you must write as if everyone is already dead. Man, Adair Lara knows how to follow that advice - and apparently is still on good terms with everyone in this book. Stupidly shelvedin parenting sections, bookstores should better market this as memoir. No one, having read it, would take it for a parenting manual. It's one woman's story of her difficulties, triumphs, and failures, challenges and sacrifices, doubts and agonies of blundering her way through parenting one of god's most difficult and brilliant (always a dangerous combination) teenage girls.
Also, as Lara is primarily a humor writer, it's screamingly funny, and laugh you will, when you're not holding your breath to see what new devilment Morgan (the daughter) will get up to next. I think the most profound lesson a parent would get from this book is that if you love your kids and let them know it, you'll all probably survive those difficult transitional years.

Average customer rating:

Let Go of Me! You're Not My Daddy!
Joae Brooks
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1425725171

Book Description

Let Go Of Me! You're Not My Daddy! Tells the story of a young girl who wanders away from her mother in a mall and finds herself being pulled along by the hand by a man she doesn't know. Instead of going quietly, Molly yells "Let Go Of Me! You're Not My Daddy!" at the top of her lungs. She pulls back as much as she can, kicks him in the leg and even bites his hand. She keeps shouting for him to let go, that he isn't her daddy and because she doesn't give up people notice that there is something wrong and walk toward her to help. The story has a happy ending and Molly learns a lesson that she will not forget. This story and its colorful illustrations will teach a young girl or boy what to do in a similar situation.

Average customer rating:

Powerful, courageous and restrained
Need More History
powerful and troubling, an important book
Interesting
Recommended

Let Me Go
Helga Schneider
Manufacturer: Blackstone Audiobooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Biographies & Memoirs | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books

General | Books on CD | Audiobooks | Formats | Books
ASIN: 0786185783

Book Description

Helga Schneider was four when her mother suddenly abandoned her family in Berlin in 1941. This extraordinary memoir, praised across Europe, tells of a daughter's final encounter with her mother, who had left her family to become an SS guard at Auschwitz.

Customer Reviews:

Powerful, courageous and restrained.......2007-07-18

Let Me Go is one of the most un-put-down-able books I've ever read. Though in general my husband and I have very different reading interests he also found it to be so. We each had it finished within 24 hrs. In it Helga Schneider exposes the raw emotional journey of seeing her aged and estranged mother for the last time. This is an intensely personal book focussed entirely on this exchange and to a limited extent the intruding context of Helga's childhood and Helga's previous visit decades ago. The book leaves questions unanswered, and that is it's strength. Just as some readers may find that there are no satisfactory answers in some respects, there are none for Helga. The book does not interpret it just tells you the story with an honesty that is incredibly courageous. There may be things that the reader wishes had been resolved or discussed in the exchange, but this is not the reader's story, it is Helga's story. I have read a lot of Military history and I found this book a wonderful, powerful and moving counterpoint as it illustrates the lasting legacy for the innocents even so many decades on.
I consider this book to be one of the most precious in my library.
This review is based on the hardcover edition.

Need More History.......2007-04-08

Something was missing for me in the historical recount.

She meets her 90 year old mother in a nursing home and starts asking very leading questions that suggest she should feel pity (whether she should or shouldn't isn't the point) when I was just waiting for her to head in the direction of how her mother came to believe in the nazi lifestyle in the first place. The previous reviewer is right, they pick right up where she leaves her children and joins the SS party and is viewed as a monster but I think it's responsible to attempt to understand humanity's motives and find out what the catalyst was to her drastic life change. There are even hints that she missed her old life terribly but these reasons are not explored, only pondered over by the writer in hindsight. As the famous saying goes, if you neglect to understand these situations, however painful they may be, history may repeat itself.

Overall, it was a very good read but the detail above it why I'm giving it 4 stars.

powerful and troubling, an important book.......2007-04-05

History is often written on the grand stage. The huge battles or landmark laws are recorded. The feelings of the children whose parents are caught up in the "monumental events" are rarely recorded. In "Let Me Go, Helga Schneider has given us just such an account. Her mother was a seemingly unapologetic nazi who abandoned her family to serve Hitler. Helga is now going to visit her dying mother, who is possibly suffering from dementia. Helga just needs to know, and engages in incredibly difficult conversations with her mother. Is her mother still rational? Is she telling the truth? Why would she do the brutal things that she herself describes (including tortures and nonchalantly sending another woman who offended her to be enslaved in a brothel). This is compelling reading, and an underappreciated way of knowing history. The only comment I have, and it is not directed at Schneider, but at society in general. We are always surprised when it is a woman who in engages in such terrifying acts, as it violates the stereotype of female behavior. We would probably not be as surprised if this book were written in terms of going to see her aged father.

Interesting.......2007-01-27

I enjoyed the book but kept wondering why the mother's name or the camp she worked at ever mentioned. Would have made the book more enjoyable.

Recommended.......2006-07-21

I "read" this book as a book on tape. The book on tape was VERY good due to the "acting ability" of the reader whose name escapes me. If you read the book yourself from a hard copy you can imagine a lady's voice with, of course, a German accent. I wouldn't say this is a "must read" book, but very interesting and enjoyable none-the-less---- Not boring, in other words. Email:boland7214@aol.

The Dating Cure: The Prescription For Ms. Picky, Ms. Eternal Bachelorette, Ms. All About Me, Ms. Can't Let Go, And Ms. Matrimony

Average customer rating:

bought as a gift but read it myself!
Worth every penny and sooo easy to read and follow.....
1/2 Dating Advice, 1/2 Self-Help
EXTREMELY HELPFUL
More light on the problem

The Dating Cure: The Prescription For Ms. Picky, Ms. Eternal Bachelorette, Ms. All About Me, Ms. Can't Let Go, And Ms. Matrimony
rhonda Finding , Rhonda Findling , and Eternab Bachelortette
Manufacturer: Polka Dot Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Love & Romance | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Marriage | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Dating | Relationships | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Commitment Cure: What to Do When You Fall for an Ambivalent Man
DON'T CALL THAT MAN!: A SURVIVAL GUIDE TO LETTING GO
If I'm So Wonderful, Why Am I Still Single?: Ten Strategies That Will Change Your Love Life Forever
Dating Rocks!: The 21 Smartest Moves Women Make for Love
Emotional Unavailability : Recognizing It, Understanding It, and Avoiding Its Trap

ASIN: 1593372612

Book Description

Tired of unhealthy relationships? Sick of running on the dating treadmill and seeing the same losers over and over again? The Dating Cure has the remedy!

True, there are a lot of jerks out there-but maybe, just maybe, some of the problem lies with you. Whether you are Ms. Picky, Ms. All About Me, or Ms. Eternal Bachelorette, The Dating Cure is full of helpful and fun information to help you identify and change the negative dating patterns that could be keeping you from finding that elusive healthy long-term relationship.

Customer Reviews:

bought as a gift but read it myself!.......2007-05-13

No higher review than liking a book so much that it becomes part of your own library instead of getting gift wrapped. I bought this for a friend's birthday... and even though I'm not in the market for a date, I learned so much about my interactions with others, that I kept the book myself to finish and share. Sold, practical analysis of your relationship style that can be applied in non-dating situations, from my perspective.

I think it would be useful from new-to-dating up through the senior citizens on the dating scene. (There, now my friend won't be identified - I've just covered the 50 year spectrum of the women in my life who are "looking!").

Worth every penny and sooo easy to read and follow............2006-11-04

This book nails it! It catagorizes the types of men we have all dated and helps us see them for who they are/were. I would highly recommend this book. It is wonderful to see the different types of men who can't give themselves to us. It is NOTHING we did. We did not break them and it is NOT our job to fix them. Wake up ladies and realize the time we waste on those detour men could be better spent accepting and loving our selves and giving into our friendships. If you have done your best and it still isn't working or he is toxic Please cut your ties to him. It rarely if ever gets better and pulling us down with them destroys two spirits. You deserve better and there will be men out there that will cherish you and love you. Without the DRAMA. Life is too short, but way too long when wasted on a hopeless cause like toxic men!

1/2 Dating Advice, 1/2 Self-Help.......2005-09-06

I was skeptical before I read this book based on the different female personality types that are the focus of the book. I thought, "Oh, no WAY will I match any of these types to a 'T', so why bother?" Imagine my surprise when I found that I possessed a few characteristics of *several* personality types, which grabbed my interest. Once I identified my self-defeating behaviors that lead to dating angst, I was given a list of suggestions on how to redirect energy into something positive versus detrimental. For example, the author suggests that instead of obsessing over when the phone will ring next, women should distract themselves by indulging in positive, nurturing activities and behaviors (she gives specifics in the book for each). It is really sobering to see yourself reflected in these chapters, but everything is always offered as a chance to change for YOUR OWN GOOD with hints on how to do it.

Once the personality types are discussed and addressed, the author gives some very clear, specific dating advice. The nitty gritty stuff includes who should pay for the first date, the pros and cons of online dating, (definately not my thing, but to each his/her own) and so on.

Mixed in with the chapters are comments from "real" men who discuss their personal experiences with the various personality types, and offer feedback on how they view wait time to place a first phone call, how they deal with clingy women, the benefits of dating a woman who earns more money, etc.

Overall, I found this book to be very helpful. It does mix in a great deal of self-help for the various issues that women face that create problems when attempting to find happiness in a relationship. Not as helpful but interesting were the "dos and don'ts" of dating which seemed a bit repetitive from earlier chapters. However, the layout of the book was unique and the added element of the male perspective made it a very quick, useful read.

EXTREMELY HELPFUL.......2005-08-04

I REALLY ENJOYED READING THE DATING CURE BY RHONDA FINDLING, DEFINITELY AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED HER OTHER BOOK, DON'T CALL THAT MAN.

THE DATING CURE HAS CHAPTERS CALLED, THE ART OF PLAYING IT COOL, WHY IS A GOOD MAN HARD TO FIND AND CREATING ROMANTIC OPPORTUNITIES AND I COULDN'T WAIT TO READ WHAT WAS INSIDE THOSE CHAPTERS. RHONDA DOESN'T DISAPPOINT HERE EITHER. IN EACH CHAPTER ARE EXAMPLES AND LOTS OF INFORMATION THAT TRULY EDUCATE WOMEN.

ALSO, IN THE BOOK SHE REFERS TO WOMEN AS MS. ALL ABOUT ME, MS DESPERATE AND MS. CAN'T LET GO AND THEN SHE GIVES VERY INSIGHTFUL INFORMATION ON HOW EACH WOMAN CAN TURN A MAN OFF AND DEFEAT HER PURPOSE OF GETTING A MAN. THERE'S ALSO A LOT OF INFORMATION ON HOW TO RECOVER FROM THESE AND OTHER PERSONALITY TRAITS THAT PUSH MEN AWAY. I GAVE FIVE STARS ON HER OTHER BOOK, DON'T CALL THAT MAN AND DEFINITELY GIVE ANOTHER FIVE STARS FOR THE DATING CURE BECAUSE I REALLY LEARNED A LOT.

More light on the problem.......2005-08-01

I'm one of the men in the Roundtable of Men in the book who gave feedback on dating and relationships.

Now for the book:

First, any woman having difficulty meeting and dating needs to ask herself some questions: Is there something about me or my approach that turns men off? Am I sending out rejecting messages at the same time as I am trying to charm?

Rhonda's book provides a helpful tool for getting the answer to these questions. A woman who can recognize herself in any of these seven relationship-destroying types has taken a big first step in getting out of the trap she is in. Of course, as in any typology, none of these seven may fit you perfectly, but you may recognize in one or another of these seven types, something familiar, something that seems like you or the way you operate with men. If you do, that's something to work on. If you see Ms. All About Me, you should try more listening and empathy. If you spot Ms. Matrimony, then it's time to be more discreet about your grand ambition. And so on for each of the seven types. The book gives many specific action suggestions for each type. The key is recognizing yourself in any of these types.

Now, it does take a willingness to look at oneself to use the tool effectively. Not every woman is willing to do that. It's so much easier and more comforting to blame one's loneliness on the lack of eligible men or complain that men are shallow and interested only in instant sex.

Second, The Roundtable of Men is a great bonus, I think. Here is a chance to listen to men talk about what they really want from women--and it's not just sex.

Average customer rating:

You Were Born Rich

Manufacturer: McCrary Publishing Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:

As a Man Thinketh
The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth(or Anything Else) Frome the Inside Out
Life's Missing Instruction Manual : The Guidebook You Should Have Been Given at Birth
You were born rich: Now you can discover and develop those riches
The Think and Grow Rich Action Pack

ASIN: 0920283004

Product Description

A wonderful book that has given thousands of men, women and children an opportunity to discover their welth of limitless potential.

Our Jealous God: Love That Won't Let Me Go (LifeChange Books)

Average customer rating:

A little book that packs a wallop!
You belong to Him!

Our Jealous God: Love That Won't Let Me Go (LifeChange Books)
Bill Gothard
Manufacturer: Multnomah
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Power of Crying Out: When Prayer Becomes Mighty (LifeChange Books)
The Power of Spoken Blessings (LifeChange Books)
In the Secret Place: For God and You Alone (LifeChange Books)
Rebuilder's Guide Life Notebook Character Cirriculum Series Basic Youth Conflicts
A Little Pot of Oil: A Life Overflowing (LifeChange Books)

ASIN: 1590522257
Release Date: 2003-10-13

Book Description

God calls Himself jealous. But we tend to assume that the loving God revealed by Jesus Christ has somehow lost this worrisome trait. The truth is, He watches our thoughts, our smallest deeds, our most casually spoken words. Everything about us is far more real to God than we can imagine. And God's intense jealousy for us is our highest honor, an overflowing of sheer grace - our most powerful motivation for walking closely in His presence each day. When we understand it better, it becomes a pathway to countless blessings.

When Jealousy Is Right

You can be glad God calls Himself jealous. If He didn’t care who—or what—else we loved, something would be terribly wrong. The truth is, God watches our thoughts, our smallest deeds, our most casually spoken words. Everything about us is intensely real to God.

Find out why His jealousy is your highest honor—and the pathway to unimagined blessings.

Customer Reviews:

A little book that packs a wallop!.......2007-07-28

Christians know that God is holy, loving, merciful, all-wise and omnipotent, but how often do we remember that jealousy is also one of His attributes? Most people see jealousy as a negative emotion, but in this book, Bill Gothard demonstrates that God has a holy jealousy for His people (Ex. 20:5 & 34:14). The Christian is part of the Bride of Christ, and just as a husband would be moved to jealousy if he saw his wife delighting in another man, so God is jealous for us when we allow competing affections to prevent us from giving Him our whole heart.

The author discusses these competing affections and how God wants to remove whatever keeps us from loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Gothard has pointed out a long-neglected truth in this little volume.

Highly recommended.

You belong to Him!.......2005-09-26

The author (Bill Gothard) shares early life experiences that he later understands is God's jealousy for him (Bill). God Jehovah is a Jealous God, a Consuming Fire, and all those who claim to be His through His Son Christ Jesus had better take their love relationship with Him more seriously these days! This books discusses three main areas believers have placed before God (love of the world, love of their life,and the pride of life). These and other areas discussed by the author, stir God's JEALOUSY for us. If you don't get convicted, or if your spirit is unmoved, or if you don't rethink the life your living and turn the other way, then consider whether you truly belong to Him? And, remember to read the book more slowly the second time around!

Average customer rating:

never let me go

Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro
Manufacturer: Faber and Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

On Beauty
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman

ASIN: 0571224113

Customer Reviews:

never let me go.......2006-03-26

I wondered what Ishiguro was trying to tell us with his "Never let me go". It seems we live in a world where decisions are made without regard to human compassion and we are all human, right? "Never let me go" seems to explore the basic instincts of attachments between people and these attachments assist us in realising who we are. But why are we here? You quickly begin to realise with characters surnames existing of letters only that the main characters are making up numbers, are they people?
Kathy H is a carer of donors. Donors who complete usually by their third or fourth donation. Kathy H and Tommy D have an attachment but Tommy D is resigned to his fate and Kathy H accepts.
The complexity of the relationships between Ruth, Kathy and Tommy make them every bit human but Kathy's honest about her own feelings seems to enable her to be more compassionate and hence a better carer.
I see Ishiguro's book as a fairytale at an adult level with the usual characters of the wicked witch, the princess and her prince.

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