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< Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex > < Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics) > < Undoing Gender > < The History of Sexuality: An Introduction > < Volatile Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Feminism (Theories of Representation and Difference) > < Discipline&Punish: The Birth of the Prison > Judith P. Butler

price： 1222
Routledge
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customer 's review
(A poststrcuturalist deconstruction of Freud)

(Lacanian response)

(Major work from a major thinker that doesn't quite convince)

(colossal hybris)

(what?)

My initial reaction to reading Bodies that Matter by Judith Butler is that she writes from a very unique perspective and theoretical standpoint: post-structuralism. While she maybe considered one of the foremost theorists on gender and feminism, I find her writings extremely difficult to follow. She presents key concepts readily but in a langue that is indicative of the post-structuralist perspective, convoluted and overly wordy. More often than not I found myself loosing focus and having to reread numerous passages just to maintain basic understanding.
If language, as Butler suggests, is confined by the language used (Butler 91: 1993) then Butler is caged. Her critical deconstruction of Freud, which is the main focus of the text, is enlightening but far too complex within the language used for the critique. The concepts of Freudian psychology are not that difficult to understand when presented in a fashion that lends itself to understanding. Many of his theories are paramount to understanding basic anthropological concepts, not to mention human psychology.

When I first read this book, I was pleased to see that Butler was returning to the problem of "gender performativity" she raised in *Gender Trouble.* I do believe that she was misunderstood as having claimed in *Gender Trouble* that the performativity constitutive of gender implies an infinite "plasticity" or freedom from the constraints of gender. Yet after reading *Bodies,* I felt that she evaded the question with which she opened the book: in what way can the "materiality" of anatomical sex be construed as a "discursive limit" to ideological constructions of gender without being understood as existing outside of discourse? I believe that Butler is ultimately indecisive about the status of the materiality of sex as either a pre- or extra-discursive "hard kernel of the Real" or (just like gender) another aspect of discourse. This is what leads to her very wrong-headed "critique" of the concept of "objet petit a" in the work of Slavoj Zizek and Jacques Lacan, very complex work which she oversimplifies and accuses of "reifying" or "essentializing" sex. Any serious student of Lacan knows that the a-object of fantasy is anything but "essential." It phantasmatically "dresses up" (to use Lacan's words in Seminar 14) a primordial psychic "hole," an *absence* or pure negativity where a "grounding" for discourse ought to be but is *lacking.* It's a shame that a book such as this which begins with a rigorous intellectual question degenerates into a sort of psychoanalytic dilettantism.
The best thing about Judith Butler is that she is always willing to think through the consequences of her earlier writings. This book was a response to the criticism that emerged out of the groundbreaking conclusion to GENDER TROUBLE that argued for an understanding of gender as performative. Critics took Butler to task for arguing that gender is something that is simply an act of performative volition - one can "be" whatever one wants to be - irrespective of the materiality of the body. Here, Butler turns the tables (in a neat deconstructive move) by showing how this criticism presupposes the a priori existence of "bodies" and "matter" separate from discourse. Yet, after a brilliant introduction, the book becomes weighted down by its own psychoanalytic presuppositions and its tediously dense prose style. There is often no reason for Butler's writing to be as incomprehensible as it is, especially given the giant claims she's making about the nature of gender (other than to "perform" her writing's own indebtedness to Lacanian psychoanalysis and Althusserian critique).

Moreover, her work has been rightly faulted (partiucularly by Martha Nussbaum) by holding out an ideal of "subversion" that is something (in the terms of how she frames it) that ultimately DOES have very little to do with the ways sexual inequality is experienced outside of a somewhat narrow bourgeois American academic purview. But, finally, given the indisputable pervasiveness of Butler's ideas within the academy and without it (particularly in the ways in which sexuality is viewed today), the work is clearly a seminal text nonetheless.
This book drove me almost entirely insane. The essay if you can call it that on the film Paris is Burning is simply incendiary to any person with a trace element of logic in their scalp. This essay argues that Venus Extravaganza was murdered for having been a transvestite. In the film itself it says she/he is killed -- but what the NYPD cannot solve Butler solves in the twinkling of a phrase -- she claims he/she is erased for playing with the sexual line. Not for burning a customer, or for simply being in a dangerous business. Whores are wiped out all day and night for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ever hear of the Green River Killer? Still Butler knows the motive. She just invents anything she wants, and calls it truth. She actually infers that anybody has the right to invent their own reality, and everybody else has to honor this reality. Only an extremely stupid person who has never had to work for a living could keep such a dumb idea down without puking. Do you mean if I think I'm a millionaire and walk into a bank, they will give me a million dollars? Do you mean if I have cellulite all over my legs and breasts that I can be a top model, I just have to really believe it? Do you mean that if I think I'm a genius, then others will agree? Feminist academics who've never worked, but who love to dramatize their own victimization, will love this book. Everybody else will simply puke from laughing so hard.
I would have to agree with the reader that said this book was completely incomprehensible!
In Bodies That Matter, Judith Butler further develops her distinctive theory of gender by examining the workings of power at the most ``material'' dimensions of sex and sexuality. Deepening the inquiries she began in Gender Trouble, Butler offers an original reformulation of the materiality of bodies, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the ``matter'' of bodies, sex, and gender. Butler argues that power operates to constrain ``sex'' from the start, delimiting what counts as a viable sex. She offers a clarification of the notion of ``performativity'' introduced in Gender Trouble and explores the meaning of a citational politics. The text includes readings of Plato, Irigaray, Lacan, and Freud on the formation of materiality and bodily boundaries; ``Paris is Burning,'' Nella Larsen's ``Passing,'' and short stories by Willa Cather; along with a reconsideration of ``performativity'' and politics in feminist, queer, and radical democratic theory.
Rerations
< Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex > < Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Classics) > < Undoing Gender > < The History of Sexuality: An Introduction > < Volatile Bodies: Toward a Corporeal Feminism (Theories of Representation and Difference) > freaks

< My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely > < Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us > < GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary > < Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws > < Stone Butch Blues: A Novel > < True Selves: Understanding Transsexualism--For Families, Friends, Coworkers, and Helping Professionals > Kate Bornstein

price： 2995
Routledge
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customer 's review
(Excellent introduction to nonstandard gender)

(Overly simplistic)

(Well-Meaning, and Sometimes Well-Done, But Often Flawed)

(She doth protest too much....)

(Good book but could be better)

Kate Bornstein's writing is a pleasure to read! My Gender Workbook is a great way to start looking at nonstandard genders if you're used to thinking in strictly binary terms. While there's room in her viewpoint for girly girls and manly men, there's definitely a bit of bias towards transsexual and genderqueer folks. The quotes from different sources in the sidebar create a variety of perspectives on gender, in case you don't identify too strongly with Kate Bornstein's personal story (which, let's face it, isn't common to most of us).

If you're already breaking the gender binary- that is, if you're the sort of person who'd be interested in this book- then likely it wouldn't provide much more than some much-needed encouragement. However, if you're new to transgressing gender, then this is probably the book for you.
I used this book in a college class, and from an academic standpoint, I found it simplistic and many of the exercises seemed pointless. Even worse, Bornstein advocates a "gender-free or gender-bent" presentation of oneself, not realizing that because society creates gender rules, becoming gender-free is still buying into those rules through one's rejection of them. I think everyone should work through their gender issues on their own and not feel bad if they do happen to be a very feminine woman or masculine man (this book assumes every reader doesn't fit into any stereotype, or if they do act stereotypically male or female, it's not because they want to.) From the standpoint of someone reading this book casually, it's very affirming of our differences, but don't forget to read other gender-theory books as well.
There is stuff here that is good, and all of it is well-meaning. That said, this book is very much a mixed bag.

It suffers from having little sense of who it's audience is. I'd certainly wager that a large majority of people who are reading this book are feminists, queers, or transpeople - or, like myself, *all* of these - and a lot of it is very basic, even frustratingly so, for these people, and this simplicity often shifts back and forth with more advanced stuff. This means that the beginners who do read this may well get lost, and that the people who get the basics will get bored. A lot of it also feels simply cheesy, and even if I wasn't already familiar with the theories and practices presented, I think I would feel condescended to.

It also seems somewhat more MtF oriented than FtM; I can't really give a specific example, but it seemed to have more of a by-and-for trannygirls vibe. I suppose this is part of the problem with having the whole book on genderqueerness written by one white, MtF, middle-class person. Ze certainly tries to give voice to people of different backgrounds, and often succeeds, but having side comments and self-descriptions is different than having real input. This isn't so much an issue of specific instances; rather it's the assumption that one person's experience - any one persons experience, no matter how gender-transgressive they are - is sufficient to write what tries to be a guide to transgressing gender and identity; I think this book would have been much better as a collaboration.

That said, a lot of it is very good. It certainly will help some people understand some more things about themselves, their own (lack of) gender(s), and gender as a whole. The very least it will do is reassure trans/genderqueer/gender-variant people in it that they are not alone, no matter how much it seems so - a worthy goal.
...wow, I have to read this book for college, what is higher education coming to? So far I'm a fourth of the way through and have no idea what hir theory is. Ze says one thing and then completely contradicts hirself. Hir Gender Identity/Power Pyramid is so biased. Ze spells pyramid wrong, unless "pryamid" is some play on hir words. One of hir points is that to be at the top of the Gender/Power pryamid you must possess a well-formed, above-average-legnth penis. According to studies on Penis legnth world wide, the Irish are the most well endowed, followed by african americans. So according to Kate's pryamid the Irish should be the #1 super power in the world, followed by Africa at #2. Therefore any high ranking man in the USA must be of Irish descent.

Her pyramid has a foundation of strippers, Mr. Potato Head, aliens and cone headed midgets just to name a few. Then at the top is a white man, who has no eyes, holding a son who has no eyes. Basically Kate is evilizing the white heterosexual male who has children. It almost seems that she is creating this them vs. hir mentality in hir pyramid. In hir quizzes ze also gives gender points for being "white" and having blue eyes. Implying hair and eye color has anything to do with gender seems to be a Nazi like theory to me. Ze hirself has blonde hair and blue eyes. Sounds a bit hypocritical. Kate may be confused, that could be why there are contridictions throughout the readings. The evilizing of white, blonde haired blue eyed males seems to stem from self hatred of her former identity. She also seems to be fixated on genetalia and reproducing children, perhaps steming from the loss of her own penis, whatever size it may have been.

I beleive the point of this book so far has been to confuse you so much that you too will be at a loss for what your gender is and buy more of Kate's confusing books to try to figure it all out.
The layout of this book -- as a workbook with exercises you can do as you move through it -- makes this a very interesting way to examine gender issues in your own life. However I found two problems with the book. First, not all of the sections flow smoothly and the stream of consciousness moments can be distracting and patronizing on a few occassions. Secondly, I think the definition used of"gender"is far to broad to really give the book a solid foundation to build on. You'll find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with much of the book -- isn't that the appropriate thing for a book of self-growth?
Kate Bornstein's 1994 book of autobiographical theory,Gender Outlaw, drew a line in the sand about the whole boy/girl thing. "Who needs it?" America's most active transgender activist questioned. Now, inMy Gender Workbook, Bornstein has assembled a collage of simple exercises, quizzes, puzzles, and essay questions that systematically break down our ingrained ideas about how women and men--and whoever is in between--should act. Bornstein's breezy, "hey, let's all discover who we might really be" style works to make this potentially threatening material accessible and even intriguing to almost all readers. Just glance down, check out who--or what--you thought you were, and get ready to answer a few questions.
Gender isn't just about "male" or "female" anymore - if you have any doubts, just turn on your television. RuPaul is as familiar as tomato ketchup with national radio and television shows, and transgendered folk are as common to talk-shows as screaming and yelling. But if the popularization of gender bending is revealing that "male" and "female" aren't enough, where are we supposed to go from here? Cultural theorists have written loads of smart but difficult-to-fathom texts on gender, but none provide a hands-on, accessible guide to having your own unique gender. WithMy Gender Workbook, Kate Bornstein brings theory down to Earth and provides a practical approach to livingwithorwithouta gender.

Bornstein starts from the premise that there are not just two genders performed in today's world, but countless genders lumped under the two-gender framework. Using a unique, deceptively simple and always entertaining workbook format, Bornstein gently but firmly guides you to discover your own unique gender identity. Whether she's using the USFDA's food group triangle to explain gender, or quoting one-liners from real "gender transgressors", Bornstein's first and foremost concern is making information on gender bending truly accessible. With quizzes and exercises that determine how much of a man or woman you are,My Gender Workbookgives you the tools to reach whatever point you desire on the gender continuum.

Bornstein also takes aim at the recent flurry of books that attempt to naturalize gender difference, and puts books likeMen are from Mars, Women are from Venussquarely where they belong: on Uranus. If you don't think you are transgendered when you sit down to read this book, you will be by the time you finish it!
Rerations
< My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely > < Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us > < GenderQueer: Voices From Beyond the Sexual Binary > < Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws > < Stone Butch Blues: A Novel > freaks

< Ten Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives > < 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Find Real Love > < Cruise Control: Understanding Sex Addiction in Gay Men > < The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World > < Gay and Single...Forever?: 10 Things Every Gay Guy Looking for Love (and Not Finding It) Needs to Know > < Boyfriend 101: A Gay Guy's Guide to Dating, Romance, and Finding True Love > Joe Kort

price： 478
Alyson Books
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customer 's review
(Amazing Book ANY Gay Man Can Benefit From)

(Insightful and filled with hope)

(Personal Transformation)

(Extremely useful)

(Psychodynamic approaches dead?)

Despite what others on here have written in reviews on here I found this book to be amazingly helpful. I am 40 years old and the section on coming out may have benefited me more when I was younger but I still was able to learn from each chapter in the book.

It has helped me to better understand myself and my interactions with others. Also, as much as I hate to admit it this book also helped me realize my own internalized homophobia and heterosexism.

This has also helped me in my relationships with friends and others. I now can now understand how things in my past "shadows" creep in to current events. Realizing them and dealing with them in a different way has been very beneficial to me and the man I am dating.

Having made mistakes in the past I am on a path to learning to being "A better man capable of living a better life and making emotionally healthy choices".

I have purchased this book for friends and recommended it and "10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do To Find Real Love" to dozens of people.

I found this a great read. I am starting to put it into practice. Coming out to everyone, making gay friends, and searching for Mr. Right.
This is a must read.

Any married, bi, gay male will unlock a better understanding as to how our past can and will affect our current behavior. Although, Mr. Kort could have added more descriptive examples of the hardships gay men face and how we all can overcame them. I'm speaking as an international spokesman for the gay and straight community specializing in support for "the other man," caught in a triangular moral dilemma, being involved with a married man.

The married gay men that attend my confidential AOL support group could use the hope and encouragement that Mr. Kort offers.

Dennis Schleicher
Author of an explosive and controversial memoir;
Forbidden Love with a Married Man: E-mail Diaries
Any gay guy looking to enrich his life and relationships, and better understand how the past can affect present behavior, will benefit from this book. Written in a down to earth style, Kort manages to be informative without being preachy, and it's clear that he cares deeply about men who care about other men.
I read this book a while ago and it inspired me to read some of Harville Hendrix' books. What struck me as oddly salient, though, about Joe Kort's book is the large number of people who seem to drop out of therapy with him and go on and self-destruct. Wouldn't that make one look at his approach skeptically? Could it be that the careful investigation of one's relationship with one's parents and its effects on later life is a psychological dead-end? That's both Kort's and Hendrix' approach. Kort's own book, if read critically, would suggest that maybe it is not helpful.

This is not to say that I didn't get some interesting insights from Ten Smart Things. It's intriguing to think that your partner's complaints about you represent what you most need to attend to, and that you got into the relationship to address them in the first place. It's a useful thought because it reinforces commitment.

However, psychology has taken a decidedly cognitive turn as of late. Pondering deep drives seems less useful now than attending to thinking. Perhaps more lives could be improved by reading Beck, Tannen, Seligman, Ellis, and Csikszentmihalyi than this volume. Of course, none of those authors looks as cute as Joe Kort. . .

Openly gay therapist Joe Kort provides 10 powerful and positive steps gay men can take to isolate and overcome self-defeating behavior patterns, and move in healthier and more rewarding directions:

Take Charge of Their Own Lives
Affirm Themselves by Coming Out
Resolve Differences With Parents and Relatives
"Graduate" From Delayed Adolescence
Avoid-or Overcome-Sexual Addiction
-Learn from Successful Mentors Who've Been There, Done That
Take Advantage of "Therapy Workouts"
Achieve-and Maintain-Rewarding Relationships
Understand the Stages of Loves
Commit to Their Partner

These solid and reliable "Top 10" life steps that have been most helpful to Joe Kort's clients in his 16 years of working with hundreds of gay men, are presented in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner and are supplemented by case histories from his practice. These are time-tested, practical decisions gay men can make in their search for emotional, sexual and personal fulfillment.

Joe Kort, MA, MSW, ACSW, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Detroit. In addition, he is certified as an Imago therapist and leads two biannual workshop retreats, For Gay Men: The Retreat of a Lifetime, which helps gay men recover from being a stigmatized population, and Getting the Love You Want Couples' Weekend, which helps couples communicate more effectively. He is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Institute for Imago Relationship Therapy and the National Council on Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity. His writings on gay and lesbian issues appear regularly inBetween the Linesnewspaper and theDetroit Free Press.

Rerations
< Ten Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives > < 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Find Real Love > < Cruise Control: Understanding Sex Addiction in Gay Men > < The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World > < Gay and Single...Forever?: 10 Things Every Gay Guy Looking for Love (and Not Finding It) Needs to Know > freaks

< Crossing the Line > < Jumping the Fence > < No Going Home > < Easy > < The Good Thief > < Temperature's Rising: A Midsummer's Night Steam (Midsummer's Nights Steam) > Stephanie Vaughan

price： 139
Torquere Press(2008-06-13)
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customer 's review
(Crossing the Line by Stephanie Vaughan)

Are you tired of me? You have enough of all my amateur reviews on M/M romance? If the answer is yes, well blame it on Stephanie Vaughan and on her Crossing the Line. This is my first M/M romance and if I didn't like it so much more than 2 years ago, today you would be free from my presence on LJ. I still have the original file, it's dated February 27, 2006. In that period I was bored, or maybe full, of classical romance. I was trying some new genre, was pretty taken by the Carpathians of Christine Feehan, but still I hadn't found a genre which really took me. And then a friend of mine dared me to read an M/M romance and Crossing the line was the choice. I believe that all of you know what happened next 1.145 M/M romance books and 650 reviews later (and yes I don't review all the book I read...) I'm still reading M/M romance and this is all fault of Stephanie Vaughan.

Jamie is a mechanic for wealthy people. He has a garage like a private clinic, only the richer can afford his prices and times. And he is also an handsome man, built like a brick, well "endowed" and caring. But till now he has only met greedy twinks or men who want only a friends with benefits relationship (like Ben, the main character of the previous book, Jumping the Fence). But Jamie is read for a steady relationship, even if he is still attract from the fair type of man.

Ryan is just his type. Blond, beach boys look, with almost a noble aurea around him. He is a waiter in Jamie's favourite restaurant and usually Jamie is used to go home with the waiters he fancies. But Ryan is not is usual pretty boy, he is just out from a long term relationship ended with the death of his lover, and he thinks to not be ready for climb again upon the horse. And so he offers resistance to Jamie's approaches and this awakens Jamie's interest. Now he wants Ryan more than before.

I like Jamie, he is a self-made man with a successful life but still he remains inside the poor gay guy who had to watch behind his shoulders. He can be strong in body but he is very fragile in soul. But he has not a frozen heart, au contraire he is till much open and exposed to hearbreaks. He needs a very careful man to comprehend and love him as he deserves.

Ryan is a man aged too fast. He jumped from careless sex to steady relationship with an older man in a blink of an eye, and after his lover's death, he has repressed his pain, maybe cause he thought to not deserve to suffer. And even if he has decided to give up for a bit to men and relationships, when he meets Jamie, he can't deny this wonderful man he stumbles upon. If only he would manage to convince the man to be wonderful...

As you can image the story is not so complex or full of twists... it's a pure and classical romance, very tender and sweet, but also pretty hot when we arrive to the sex scenes. It's a right way to start reading this type of romance, if you are not used to them, and an enjoyable and satisfying reading if you are addicted to them. I re-read it, more I re-bought it, initially to see if the author changed something, but in the end I read the second book without neither open the previous one.
Jamie has it all -- he owns a ritzy car repair shop, his own home on the beach. But he's lonely. His last lover, Ben, has moved on and Jamie's been carrying a torch for him. When a business meeting puts him in Le Grande Louisienne at Ryan's table, he is immediately drawn to the waiter and leaves his name and number, but Ryan doesn't call, so Jamie has to make other plans, finally convincing Ryan to meet with him. Ryan's last partner died, and while it's been a long time, he's still hesitant to start a relationship with anyone else. Jamie almost gives up, but then Ryan agrees to a date, and to tell Jamie about his ex-lover, Mark. After being burned that bad, Ryan is very skittish, and Jamie can't really blame him. With all of that out in the open, their relationship can start to progress. It's not always easy. Between Jamie's ex showing back up, and Ryan's old lover's family, there's always something keeping them on their toes. Can Jamie get what he needs from Ryan? Find out in this sequel to Jumping the Fence!
Rerations
< Crossing the Line > < Jumping the Fence > < No Going Home > < Easy > < The Good Thief > freaks

< House of Clouds (Bold Strokes Victory Editions) > < Winds of Fortune > < The Lonely Hearts Club > < Hard Times > < The Candidate > < Fully Involved > KI Thompson

price： 510
Bold Strokes Books
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customer 's review
(Finally)

(Midwest Book Review - April 2008)

(House of Clouds - don't miss this!)

(A Great Read)

(Really humanizes the civil war as love rages on: 3-1/2 stars)

A lesbian saga. Remember the old days when sexual tension existed because people didn' think they were rabbits? This novel was so rich in it's content, that I felt as though I had been given a gift as reader. I loved the characters and I understood them. Trust me, as an African American Woman, I am not inclined to find romanticism or nostalgia in or for the 1800's, in fact, the only time period I acknowledge as "happy" is 1995 on, and that's being generous. But I felt for Laura. I really did. I understood her characters journey. I was able to read this book without prejudice and that's what made it so wonderful.
Yankee actress Jordan Colfax and her brother have been raised by her widower father in the North. She's a forward-thinking woman, as modern as she could be in the 1860s. She's got the kind of spunk that Louisa May Alcott's Jo March possessed, so it's no surprise when she takes on the role of undercover spy for the Pinkerton agency.

Laura St. Clair, raised in Virginia, comes from an entirely different world than Jordan. She's been raised on a plantation worked by slaves, her father is an advisor to Jefferson Davis, and she has little choice in the strait-laced life her parents have planned for her. Her brother, Ransom, knows Jordan's brother, Tyler, from West Point, where both young men are cadets, and the two women meet through them. Laura is initially appalled by Jordan's liberal attitudes and freewheeling ways. She immediately judges the young actress to be no better than a harlot. Jordan is appalled by Laura's Confederate sympathies and southern belle status. The dawning attraction between the two comes as a surprise to both.

Laura's coming of age and coming into her own begins with the death of her brother in his first battle and continues because of her association with Jordan. But when Jordan is arrested for spying, all hell breaks loose. How can these two women remain friends, much less lovers, with so much culture, history, and societal difference between them?

Though essentially a love story, the novel very effectively takes on the issues of the mid-to-late 19th Century: slavery, race, culture, class, property, states' rights, relationships between men and women, and the taboos surrounding same-sex love. This epic saga moves along with great energy and clocks in at a delicious 377 pages. The author writes with surety and accomplishment, never allowing the historical events to take over the story. An engaging plot and lively characters keep this dynamic story right on track and full of unexpected twists and turns. Highly recommended for all romance readers, lovers of historical fiction, and anyone who enjoys a fascinating story ably told. ~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

First let me say, I truly loved this book. KI Thompson is a great storyteller who weaves a story that is rich in characters, history, and shares a landscape of the south that I could visualize unfolding before me.

Set during the civil war this is the story of Jordan, a northern actress asked to spy for the Union, and Laura, a southern young woman who is raised on a plantation with slaves. Those slaves are part of the family in many ways, by blood and by familiarity, and at the same time are possessions considered less intelligent that whites and therefore, it is rationalized, in need of being slaves in order to be cared for.

Jordan and Laura are introduced via their brothers, each a cadet at West Point just before the war breaks out. The reader gets a sense of the deep feelings of both the south and the north during the run up to the war, and after the war is begun.

What these two woman learn about themselves and each other during the course of the story keeps the reader on edge. Intrigue, betrayal, sorrow and intense edge-of-your-seat suspense make this a read to remember.

This is a title to add to your collection!
I bought this book for mindless reading over the holidays but was beyond surprised to find that it was far from mindless. In fact, I couldn't put it down. House of Clouds kept me not only in suspense but also completely engrossed with the well written historical context in which the story takes place. One reviewer has criticized the constant movement of the characters but this is precisely why the book is so suspenseful. Perhaps the reviewer doesn't like to travel. Anyway...I loved this book and would reccomend it to anyone who loves great writing and great character development. I am already looking to see if there are any other books by this author!
There was a lot to like about this book. It was definitely above average on the stength of the writing and editing. The historical details and authenticity it creates, and the sympathy you feel for both sides of the conflict are strong arguments in favor of reading this book. The author is able to establish characterizations, even of historical characters, that the reader can grasp at once. I have some strong criticisms, but I expect that they won't take away from the enjoyment most people will get from this book.

For one thing, the point of the book, since it was framed as a romance, was the relationship between Jordan and Laura, but the scenes they are actually in together take up maybe half of the book, with the rest being devoted to getting people from place to place, or describing the historical context. I understand the need to establish the setting, and it seems that part of the author's intention was to portray the tragedy the Civil War perpetrated on all sides. These goals were accomplished.

But ultimately a lot of the detail was too general to really have a bite anyway. The Civil War and its issues are just so big that they can't be delved into in details in one novel, so the real drama existed in the characters, and too often I felt that these interactions were diluted to leave space for scenes that could have been shortened in order to sharpen the focus on Jordan and Laura.

For instance, when Kate gives Jordan her initial briefing on being a spy, as a whole the conversation was lacking a lot of the real information and instruction that Jordan would actually need to carry out her assignment, and despite her very real hesitations, Jordan's questions seemed too few to be realistic. Yet the scene itself seemed to take up an inordinate amount of page-space and reading time to accomplish basically nothing, when perhaps a few sentences followed by Jordan's internal stress as she tried to digest it all, referring to the amount of detailed information given to her, would have been sufficient in establishing the premise.

For all that, I liked the plot twists. The interactions and reactions of the characters were believable. Their opposing points of view were well-presented and supported with their various family lives and history. And I enjoyed the confusion on the parts of the main characters as they stuggled to understand their feelings when they really had little context for them in a romantic light in the society they inhabited.

It was a touch frustrating in the end to have all this page space taken up with logistics, and less taken up with their emotions and their establishment of a new life together, so much so that I found myself skimming. We knew that Laura would survive due to the Prologue (sometimes flashbacks are a pet peeve of mine...was this one really necessary in this instance, or did it lessen the tension in the book in the end? perhaps an epilogue would have satisfied the reader more), and we know how things turn out historically. The only real drama that was left was whether/how Laura and Jordan would end up together, and I wished that could have had a bit more focus.
A sweeping saga of an impassioned romance set amidst the upheaval of a nation under siege and a way of life threatened with destruction.

The American Civil War creates enemies of lifelong friends and allies of strangers, but no relationship is more unlikely than that of a passionate Northern Unionist and a loyal Virginia sympathizer. Actress and Northerner Jordan Colfax is hired by Allan Pinkerton to spy on behalf of the Union. When she meets Confederate sympathizer, Laura St. Clair, whose father is military aide to Jefferson Davis, the perfect opportunity presents itself. But when the truth about Jordan's real intentions are discovered, their growing love is put to the ultimate test - the result of which could mean the difference between life and death. Can a Southern belle and a Yankee spy overcome their differences or will divided loyalties keep them apart?

From Tidewater Virginia to Washington, D.C., passion and betrayal converge in Civil War Richmond.
Rerations
< House of Clouds (Bold Strokes Victory Editions) > < Winds of Fortune > < The Lonely Hearts Club > < Hard Times > < The Candidate > freaks

< Code of Conduct > < Blind Fall: A Novel > < Caught Running > < Strings Attached > < When You Don't See Me > < The Broken H > Rich Merritt

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customer 's review
(Entertaining with characters you will care about.)

(Code of Conduct?? Code of Hot)

(Very Well Told Story)

(A Story that needs to be told...but in fewer pages!)

(An Amazing Story)

The title of my review pretty much sums up (at a very high level) the two things that will decide a book's fate for me: did it keep me engaged and did I care about the main characters?

The answer for this book, in both cases, is yes. I agree with other reviewers that the dizzying number of characters in the beginning of the book and (in several cases) the rather thin development of them in the story was the only downside for me. Once you got the names and ranks down, the rest of the story was fantastic and (again like other reviewers) I was emotionally drawn in to their stories and their worlds. Also, for those of us who came of age during the early 90's and the first Clinton administration, the author's capturing that time period was evocative and authentic - it brought back a lot of good memories.

Some of the dialogue was a bit trite and the main antagonist (Jay) never really came together for me, but I still really loved the story.

My MAIN gripe, and this extends to gay fiction in general - is it REALLY necessary to have a headless underwear model on the cover of every book? In this novel's story, there was a beautifully-described photo that would have been a great cover for the book. I understand those types might be appropriate for trashy beach reads, but this book was underserved by the ridiculously overused cover shot. It almost dissuaded me from buying it, and certainly made for raised eyebrows when reading it on a flight from Vegas!
Well what can i say bout "code of conduct"
That as soon as i read the first chapter i was pretty much hooked, now i'm not normally a novel reader but when i seen this book i didnt actually read a review so a bit pointless writing this review but none-the-less i am writing this for guys that do actually read the review first b4 purchasing the novel.
Code of Conduct is a book about Homosexuality in the navy, The US Marines. It's a very warm and welcoming novel to read, let me just say this! if ur a Gay/Bi man and obviously love your hot men, then this book you will love, It's part way between a Novel (which it is)and Porn, there are few pages in most chapters that graphically give an image very clearly of what the guys in the novel are doing ;) hint hint :)

All Up i would definatly say that this novel was worht it, Buy It! You wont be dissapointed
Not having read Rich Merritt's first book I bought this one a few days ago not knowing what to expect. I've since read it twice (must...get...sleep) and have been completely engrossed each time. OK, so you might find a flow chart handy to keep track of all the characters, but the character development of the principals is excellent. It's all here in this book: romance, love, sex, mystery, humor, and tragedy--not to mention considerable insight into what it's like to be gay in the military for those of us who've never had to go that route. I highly recommend the book to anyone looking for absorbing escapist fare in a gay novel. Rich Merritt has proven himself to be a very good storyteller.
Having read Mr. Merritt's first book, "Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star" I was really looking forward to this title, his first piece of fiction. It is an important novel in that it reports on President Clinton's first days in office and his attempts at allowing GLBT members of the military to serve without having to hide who they are, and who better to write on this topic, then Rich Merritt who lived these experiences first hand. I enjoyed the book, however, there were just too many characters being introduced throughout and it made it difficult for me to remember who was who. The book is also 456 pages long and I think the story could have been told in fewer pages. The characters Patrick and Don were my favorite and their relationship set the tone for the story. Not one of the best books of this genre but one that I am sure you will enjoy nonetheless, especially if you have a military background.
Code of Conduct is by far one of the best books I have read in a long time, I was not able to put the book down. Mr. Merritt, created a story that I feel really brings the reader into it. I felt like I was going through everything the characters were experiencing. This is definitely one to add to your library.
"You've gotten away with it for so long, you think you're immune to the danger..."

At thirty-three, Don Hawkins has spent the better part of his life, in every sense, as a U.S. Marine. Enlisting to escape an alcoholic father and stepmother, he became the unofficial leader of a group of gay servicemen and women, all compelled to guard their sexual identity as faithfully as they serve their country. But with newly inaugurated President Clinton's promise to lift the ban on gays in the military, Don is optimistic that a brighter era is dawning--and not just politically.

Ten years now since his lover died in Beirut, Don is finally ready to love again, and falls headlong for Patrick, a handsome young helicopter pilot. As their relationship develops, Don lets his guard down--in potentially dangerous ways. Because forces are at work in the Naval Investigative Service, in Congress, and even in the bars and clubs that Don views as his turf, with a vicious agenda that will have unforeseen consequences...

Drawing on