price：$15.99
Adamant Media Corporation
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A strange utopia) 『Erewhon, as a satire and/or essay, is interesting and has some thought provoking ideas. Erewhon as a novel has a fairly thin but still interesting plot line in an intriguing environment. Unfortunately, meshing the two of these together makes for a difficult book to swallow at times.
I enjoyed the thought provoking elements of the satire that Butler presents. He turns the world upside down in order to have us explore just how "civilized" we truly are. He maintains the same basic structure...that a society should have a government with laws that people can be punished for, education to help them in society, religion to help with their conscience. However, he turns all of these "normal" conventions on their heads to get us to think not about the conventions themselves, but about the way we approach them.
For example, instead of being punished for what we crimes (theft, murder, etc.), the people of Erewhon are punished if they fall physically ill...sometimes being imprisoned or even sentenced to death. And conversely, if a person finds himself in the throes of robbery or some other 'crime', he is instead consoled and properly treated for the recovery of this behavior and looked on with sympathy from friends and family. In this satirical move, Butler asks us to examine our treatment of criminals. The Erewhonians provide rehabilitation for liars, thieves and murderers while simply shutting away those who commit "crimes" of physical illness. While we profess to offer rehabilitation for our criminals, what good does it do to stick them in an 8x8 box for years and then throw them out on the street with a black mark on their "permanent record?" Which system is better for helping with crime? As to illness, the Erewhonian treatment of illness is definitely ludicrous, but to a small degree it has logic in that it quarantines the truly ill and it also cuts down on people feigning illness or complaining over small headaches. In Erewhon, there is truly very little illness and no 'calling in sick', or making an excuse of "I've got a headache."
Butler also satirizes religious devotion (he alludes to religion in terms of the different types of money in the kingdom...the "religious" type having no earthly value yet being esteemed as of great personal worth...and yet citizens of Erewhon barely go through the motions with the 'religious' currency and have a completely different value system for each type of currency).
His lengthiest satirical discourse is with regards to the idea of consciousness. He takes it to the absurd (at least for his day) by suggesting a world in which machines would become self-aware and potentially overthrow mankind as the dominant race (a la Terminator or others). We're not there yet, but I think Butler would have a coronary if he saw how today's technology compared of that ~120 years ago. While the discussion on consciousness has some holes, it's also intriguing, especially when looking at the advancements of the last hundred years. He makes some good arguments and it's interesting to transition those arguments into the natural world and look at the advancements of mankind as a race or of other animals out there. The rise of consciousness or self-awareness is a very interesting topic. I'd be interested to read more of his thoughts since in the book he basically opens the can of worms and sets it on a shelf.
So in terms of the satire, Butler brings forth some interesting ideas.
In terms of the plot, it's a fairly basic adventure novel of the nineteenth century...a man in a distant British colony seeks fame and fortune through exploration and hopefully finding either a place to gain more wealth or to find savages to convert to Christianity or both. The first 50-100 pages contain standard Victorian descriptions of the landscapes and the travels. While poetic and pretty, they did drag on and I wanted to skip beyond them. As our narrator finally gets closer to Erewhon, his travels actually have some drama unfold. Once he finally arrives at the city, he's initially thrown into prison and has some moderate adventure.
The "adventures" he has in the country of Erewhon are very lightweight in terms of adventure. The level of excitement is pretty bland since it is often broken up by dozens of pages of satirical essay exploring strange elements of Erewhonian culture. Again, this is moderately typical of 19th century literature, but I was hoping for a bit more in terms of action within Erewhon itself. The "story" of the book could probably take ~1/3 of the pages (with probably a third of those devoted to description of the countryside and his initial travels) with the remaining 2/3 being devoted to thoughtful discourse on the various absurdities of society.
All in all, this was an interesting and thought provoking book...but I would've preferred the abridged version and/or simply reading the "essays" as essays rather than having them interjected into an adventure novel.
*** 2 1/2 stars』
(Hamfisted and too long, even at ~150 pages) 『Erewhon, like Butler's other (magnificient and far more effective) novel The Way of All Flesh, is rife with social satire. The optimistic and devout explorer trots out all kinds of European imperialist platitudes and, as with most satirical characters, is almost totally one-dimensional. Most other characters- noble savages, squaws, and other racist or bigoted archetypes, are fodder for the author's wit more than flesh and blood. This would be fine if the satire were as proficient as, say, Voltaire's, but it is not.
As others have mentioned, the "justice" system in Erewhon whereby the sick are punished and criminals rehabilitated to health is the main punchline. In a short story this concept would have been brilliant but the length of the book grinds the joke into the ground well before the narrative draws to a close. It's a joke with a punchline that doesn't justify the extravagant buildup.』
(EREWHON by Samuel Butler) 『Originally published in 1872 and now billed as the "second great satire of the nineteenth century," Erewhon is a critique of Victorian society. In it, a British man comes across a never-before discovered society (which he is convinced is the lost tribes of Israel).
Erewhon has no plot to speak of. Here is its pattern: Butler gives us a bizarre scenario that seemingly makes no sense, takes us through it, and finally explains its parallel to Victorian life. Then this repeats. This is the whole book, book-ended by forty pages of setup (most of which is unnecessary) and a convenient and tidy ending. As such, the reader may feel like he is reading a work on nonsense philosophy rather than a work of fiction.
This is not to say that there is nothing worthwhile here. Occasionally, there are flashes of brilliance, and there are some thought-provoking elements. Erewhonians, for example, treat the sick like criminals and treat criminals like they have diseases. In a modern-day version, perhaps, those who have self-inflicted poor health, like some of the obese and diabetic, would be considered criminal.
On the whole, working through the philosophical meanderings of Butler's scenarios is tedious. It certainly does not help that many aspects of Victorian society are now foreign to us. Erewhon hasn't held up. Stick with Swift.
NOT RECOMMENDED』
(Unexpected Early Science Fiction - 3 1/2 Stars) 『I bought this book expecting strait social satire. It turns out that the first five chapters are more of an adventure story through a jungle, and are really quite boring. If I could re-edit the book today I would cut them out. When we finally enter Erewhon, the story and the satire pick up, and the read is much more pleasant. Then, unexpectedly, about two-thirds of the way into the book, it becomes a very interesting science fiction tale of why the Erewhonians abandoned technology for fear that the machines would evolve into intelligent, conscious, thinking machines able to reproduce and replace man at the top of the evelutionary ladder! I was pleasantly surprised by this because science fiction is my favorite genre, and in all my reading I've never heard of this concept being thought of more than 130 years ago!
If you can get through the first five chapters, I recommend this book.
』
(The crime: Tuberculosis; The sentence: Life of hard labor) 『A novel similar in concept to "Gulliver's Travels", this novel leads us to the unexplored country, for Europeans anyway, of Erewhon. Through the eyes of the unnamed English protagonist, Erewhon serves as a satire to the Victorian society in existence when this book was penned. Erewhon delivers harsh criticisms of certain valued institutions, yet it lacks the pertinence and timelessness of a truly great novel.
Granted, "Erewhon" was written in the 1870s, at the height of Victorian society in England. The protagonist wanders into the undiscovered country of Erewhon, which at first glance seems to be a utopia. However, the true nature of Erewhon is revealed, where a set of perverse and absurd laws govern the citizens and keep then in a static state of existence. Illnesses are crimes, whereas "moral" sins (such as embezzlement) are treated sympathetically as a sickness. Although they had been technologically advanced, all "modern" (think steam engines) machinery has been outlawed lest the machines will evolve and eventually rule the world, a la "The Matrix."
Butler leads the reader into an alternate vision of reality in his land of Erewhon. The Church of England and religion in general are ridiculed by the Erewhonians beliefs, or lack of, in their own deities. The idea of imperialism and colonization for the benefits of the natives is rendered absurd, as the protagonist dreams of enslaving the Erewhonians to a "religious" sugar plantation owner for their own good (at least, I hope Butler was not serious). The aristocracy and treatment of the poor are indirectly ridiculed in the Erewhonian emphasis on aesthetics and wealth above all else. Vegetarians are satirized in a prophet's misguided treatise on how animals are similar to people. The anti-machinists and anti-progress activists are dealt a blow in the rambling, non-sensical diatribe on the diabolical humanization of machines. In addition, higher education is criticized as a bastion of singular thought where original ideas are discouraged and pompous professors profess to know everything (some things never change).
Unfortunately, many of the criticisms are too obsolete for the modern reader. A central parody, the "Musical Banks", refers to an outdated process of money-changing in the English church, a reference sure to allude most readers (I needed to research it myself to see what the #@*&! Butler was alluding to). The idea that the Erewhonians are the "lost tribes" of Israel also seems to repute logic, as this country is presumably in New Zealand. The last third of the book, save the conclusion, contains a lengthy treatise on the anti-machine movement, followed by another on animals, and then plants. The anti-machine essay, in particular, is convoluted, contrived, and seems to never end, a sleep inducer if there ever was one.
"Erewhon" certainly would have been provocative and controversial in the era it was written. However, it has lost some potency over time. Yet, if you can gloss over the "Book of Machines" chapters, then "Erewhon" provides a delightful and light-hearted look into the window of the Victorian mindset and one author's attempt to bring awareness of the ills of his society.』 『In this novel, Butler satirically describes a utopian society, using the civilization of 'Erewhon' ('nowhere,' scrambled) to satirize beliefs popular in the England of his day. Butler wrote a sequel to the novel, Erewhon Revisited.』
price：$3.63
Alyson Books
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (A Classic) 『Newman, Leslea. "Heather Has Two Mommies", (illustrated by Diane Souza), 20th Anniversary Edition, Alyson Books, 2009.
A Classic
Amos Lassen
This year Alyson Books has released the 20th anniversary edition of "Heather Has Two Mommies". The story of Heather, a preschool child who has two moms and discovers that some of her friends have some very different kinds of families. Her teacher makes sure that she Heather understands that every family is special and that what makes a family is the people that are in it and that love one another. This is a wonderful way to introduce the idea of family diversity and a wonderful addition to the GLBT curriculum. In the new edition there is a revision in that now the book is better suited for preschool youngsters and a part of the earlier edition has been left out. The book is groundbreaking in its openness. The art is wonderful, the message is potent and all in all it is a wonderful teaching tool.』
(Thank you for restoring this book's Amazon Rank) 『Amazon has removed this book from the list of books with "adult" content and restored its Amazon Ranking. Good for them. We are still waiting for a better explanation and an apology to the authors and publishers who were affected by this "glitch." Please keep checking to make sure that the books you read and the authors you love have their Amazon Rankings restored.』
(Heather has Two Mommies) 『My daughter likes this book, she seems to get it. And its given her permission to talk about having two mommies.』
(Heather has a Major Controversy) 『Leslea Newman's "Heather has Two Mommies" was controversial when it came out-so to speak-nearly two decades ago. It has become a staple in school libraries, most public libraries don't relegate it to a forbidden corner, yet it still provokes challenges... like the Harry Potter series. While the boy wizard has sparked debates about witchcraft, "Heather has two mommies" still inflames with its depiction of lesbian parenting.
"Heather has Two Mommies" is a fascinating relic of its time. Back when it was first published, lesbian parenting wasn't common. High-profile celebrity lesbians like Melissa Etheridge weren't raising children. It was enjoyed by few. Now, lesbians can have children easily through IVF&adoption. "Heather has two mommies",ironically,hearkens back to a more conservative time. The plot is simple: two women decide to have a child. When Heather grows up, she asks about families at day care. She learns that her family is part of a spectrum of families. There's no norm.
"Heather has two mommies" brings up more questions than it answers, especially when one considers presenting the issue of homosexuality to children. In the recent anniversary edition, the artificial insemination beginning of the book has been excised. A little cut- but it means so much. Why self-censorship on Newman's part? The illustrations are also gloomy&a little odd. It doesn't have children's book approachability, like "Daddy's Roommate." It comes across as a glum tome. The two mommies fit the butch/femme stereotype.
"Heather has two mommies" functions better as an artifact of the controversy about lesbian parenting than as a children's book. It hearkens back to a time when society still questioned whether lesbians could be suitable parents. It's proof that times have changed-- but the book is still facing controversy like when it first appeared.』
(A wonderful book) 『First of all, I'd like to mention that most of the bad reviews here are for the original edition and not the 10th anniversary edition. The latter contains no mention of artificial insemination or any other particularly controversial subjects. It is a sweet story in which Heather attends her first day of school and joins her class in talking about their families and drawing their pictures. All kinds of families are represented in this book, and Heather and her mothers are represented as a normal loving family. Also, an informative note from the author explains her reasons for changing the text for the tenth anniversary edition, which addresses the problems some reviewers had with the book as it was originally written.』 『
The first lesbian-themed children's book ever published—now in color—Lesléa Newman’s groundbreaking children’s book has an enduring message about acceptance and tolerance that will appeal to readers of all ages and backgrounds: The most important thing about any family is that all the people in it love each other.
New York–based authorLesléa Newmanis the prize-winning author of more than fifty titles for children and adults.
IllustratorDiana Souzalives in Dallas, Texas.
』 『This handsome 10-anniversary edition of a minor classic presents the story of Heather, a preschooler with two moms who discovers that some of her friends have very different sorts of families. Juan, for example, has a mommy and a daddy and a big brother named Carlos. Miriam has a mommy and a baby sister. And Joshua has a mommy, a daddy, and a stepdaddy. Their teacher Molly encourages the children to draw pictures of their families, and reassures them that "each family is special" and that "the most important thing about a family is that all the people in it love each other." In the afterword, the author (whose other children's books includeMatzo Ball Moon) explains that although she grew up in a Jewish home, in a Jewish neighborhood, there were no families like hers on the television or in picture books. She came to regard her family as somehow "wrong," since there was no Christmas tree in the living room and no Easter egg hunt. Whatever the religious right may wish to think about nontraditional families, there is no denying that any child enrolled in an American school will encounter friends with single parents, gay parents, stepparents, or adoptive parents. This new, revised version ofHeather Has Two Mommiesoffers an enjoyable, upbeat, age-appropriate introduction to the idea of family diversity. The book is essential for children (ages 2 to 6) with gay parents or family members, and a great addition to a Rainbow Curriculum.--Regina Marler』
price：$5.10
Seal Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Just Who Are We?) 『Sycamore, Matt Bernstein. "Nobody Passes; Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity", Seal Press, 2006.
Just Who Are We?
Amos Lassen
Matt Bernstein Sycamore's anthology "Nobody Passes" has a diverse group of contributors. There is an Arab-American, transgender people, a former political prisoner, a sex worker and a host of others. Each gives his/her personal views on the evolving notions of gender identity, race, class and sexuality. Unlike many other anthologies, each essay is interesting and engaging. The quality of writing is high and many of the essays seem to be candid conversations as the authors discuss identity and community. If there is an overall theme here it is personal frustration in dealing with competing identities, We get no easy solutions but the book does allow us to reflect on the nature of just we are. Dealing with "passing" in America is no easy job and "Nobody Passes" brings the contradictions of our complex identity ideas to the fore as we look at the major components of our identities. We are reminded that personal authenticity is integral to the concept of human liberation and allows us to imagine a world in which there is no need to pretend to be what we are not. It dares to ask id we can fight for the rights of those whose lives and experiences do not fit into our existing paradigms and whose professions are not redeeming morally. The contributors toss out the old, tired, familiar concepts of gender and identity and belonging and, in turn, give us a corrective to those narratives that have passed and still pass for social justice. The entire concept of belonging is carefully examined by looking at the intersections of personality, identity, categorization and community. Countercultural norms and societal mores are challenged as the essays explore and criticize the different systems of power used in "passing". The book tries to eliminate the pressure to pass and in doing so it shoes the opportunities for transformation. We need not be confined by gender, race, sex or sexual preference. The book is, by its nature, controversial but it is also challenging. We are all passing to a certain degree and we need to know if there are options if for no other reason then to allow us to be who we really are. 』
(A True Classic, Having Passed the Test of Time) 『Many months have gone by since the publication of this handsome and groundbreaking anthology, and is is time to declare it a true classic, having passed the test of time, the test truly exacting, the test that makes sense. The articles are still as timely and fresh as the day they were written. On the topic of passing, Mattilda (a/k/a Matt Bernstein Sycamore) is often eloquent, while stretching the topic into unexpected places to such a degree that the often elastic word comes to have little or no connection with the activity it once used to denote. In a way, this book is a more progressive and activist sequel to Brooke Kroeger's standard-bearing study PASSING: WHEN PEOPLE CAN"T BE WHO THEY ARE. "Passing"---the search to be what you're not---has gotten a bad press over the years, and Kroeger's book was one of the first to make us challenge our assumptions regarding this taboo topic.
In a similar vein, Mattilda assembles a cross section of profiles of young contemporary Americans, supplementing extensive interviews with expert comment. In the background of NOBODY PASSES we experience, as though a shadow had crossed the sun, the tragic tales of "passing" as that of Brandon Teena, the drifter whose murder became the basis for the film "Boys Don't Cry." Mattilda's book urges to ask the question, Aren't we all "passing" in one way or another? She musters scholarly and theoretical sources to support her speculations on identity and authenticity, and even dares to ask, why are we doing this? What market are we being offered up to satisfy?
Why is eros shaped the way it is? Why do some pass the test (the other test, not the test of time) and others fail, condemned into a limbo of "quirky" and deprived of the rights accorded other citizens with more money. Gender reassignment is just one way in which the staus quo is seized with a desire to smooth every bump away. Other prejudices must be battled daily. Some of the writers aren't as skilled as others, but that's just a fact of life and it doesn't mean they don't have fascinating things to say. "We're jaded, shaded, judged every day by everyone else's eyes, given pass or fail," writes Jen Cross, "a glance over, an examination." Unlearning oneself may be the only way out, that, and organized mass action. Your identity may not be the same as mine, but you will learn to respect mine, and your own, after you read through the challenging and controversial essays in this book.』
(A book every radical feminist and LGBTQI activist should read!) 『As a queer man who because of my politics, my class, and my weight always felt like an outsider among other queer men, this radical anthology on passing and not passing really resonated with me. Like Gloria Anzaldua's groundbreaking feminist classic, "Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza", this book challenges us all to interrogate the gender, racial, and sexual orientation dichotomies that so confine us. By exploring the contradictions, ambiguities, and complexities of our individual and collective selves, this liberatory book encourages readers to move beyond identity politics and discover new frontiers. Whether you are a lesbian-identified gay man like myself, or a heterosexual queer, or a multiracial transgendered individual, or a white person of color, this fascinating book will help you embrace your multiplicities and live outside of the binary system. Activists who have read and enjoyed Mattilda's earlier anthology, "That's Revolting!" will not be disappointed with this book.』
(less like jane, more like shaw) 『buy a copy of this book for yourself and any person you know that isnt simple minded. The other day i went out and bought two copies, one for me, and one for that kind of person, and both of us love it. Though i am not done yet, this book is one of my favorite non-fiction that i have read this year. Matt Bernstein Sycamore does not pretend to be an absolute authority on the topics of passing/not passing, and niether do any of the contributors, but they all hand down a great amount of knowledge to the reader about what it is like to grow up as an Okie, in a homohop group, someone who is into masochism, a disabled lesbian, and so on.
before coming across this book, i had never put much thought into the topics of passing and how they touch my life and others, and like Sycamores other books, this one definatly opened my eyes wider than before.
With Nobody Passes, Sycamore gives us a book with topics that aren't focused in on by the mainstream, and the underground.
Mattilda's past books have changed my life and how i look at things, and this one is already starting too, so i HIGHLY suggest picking this up and giving it a read.』 『
Nobody Passesis a collection of essays that confronts and challenges the very notion of belonging. By examining the perilous intersections of identity, categorization, and community, contributors challenge societal mores and countercultural norms.Nobody Passesexplores and critiques the various systems of power seen (or not seen) in the act of“passing.” In a pass-fail situation, standards for acceptance may vary, but somebody always gets trampled on. This anthology seeks to eliminate the pressure to pass and thereby unearth the delicious and devastating opportunities for transformation that might create. Mattilda, aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore, has a history of editing anthologies based on brazen nonconformity and gender defiance. Mattilda sets out to ask the question,“What lies are people forced to tell in order to gain acceptance as 'real'.” The answers are as varied as the life experiences of the writers who tackle this urgent and essential topic.
price：$2.18
MLR Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (What a GREAT book...............) 『This story is terrific. Nicky and Brandon are excellent characters and the chemistry between them just sizzles. The story here is great; you've got action, adventure, humor and some seriously steamy love scenes. Do not miss this book - and while your at it - pick up the sequel "Inland Empire". You'll be glad you did!!』
(Don't Cheat Yourself Out of this Great Read) 『When I first picked up J. Buchanan's Cheating Chance, I almost feared that I would regret investing the time it'd take to read it. When the central character Nick was introduced in the first chapter, I was certain that he was someone I would never be able to relate to. He is goth, very dark and almost sinister. He has a penchant for morbid things, and his primary mode of transpotation is a hearst. Nick is a 28 year old agent for Nevada's gaming commision. He's a computer geek who audits software chips that casinos use in their slot machines.
As I continued reading the story, I began to genuinely care about this extremely complex and paradoxical character. Yes, he was indeed dark and morbid, yet he also was sweet and sensitive. Nick meets his love interest Brandon at an LA goth convention. Initially the two hook up for what they each think is a one-night-stand. Their expectations are instantly surpassed, however, when they begin to fall for one another.
Brandon is a cop. He works vice, and he's deep in the closet. Brandon has an ex-wife and an 8 year old daughter whom he rarely sees. He is a bit cocky and overly-butch, but his feelings also run very deeply. He falls hard for Nicky.
The story is a tumultous ride, as the couple struggles to find a way to mesh together their very different lifestyles. Nick becomes embroiled in a messy murder investigation when a former coworker is found dead outside a club that Nick is attending. He becomes a suspect, and for awhile even Brandon questions whether or not Nick bears any culpability.
When the real killers eventually realize that Nick is onto them, Brandon is faced with an extremely tough decision. Will he out himself in order to rescue the love of his life? Even if he does, will this be enough to save Nicky?
The most impressive and remarkable characteristic of this story is the degree of technical accuracy it contains. Obviously the author either spent a great deal of time researching casino gaming or has a gifted level of imaginative creativity. I suspect both to be true, actually. The author demonstrates a spectacular ability to beautifully weave words together in such an artful way that the reader is at times astonished by the undeniably magnificent talent.
The cop-speak and computer jargon were at times over my head, yet they were presented in what I'm assuming to be a realistic manner. In any event, they were believable. The author's choice of vocabulary suggests a high degree of intelligence, yet the feel of the book was not snobbish or in any way pretentious. It did not seem as if the author was throwing around big words to make a good impression.
Some of the erotic scenes within the book were, in my opinion, unnecessary. The book was a great story in-and-of-itself, and didn't even need to contain graphic sex to hold my attention. The sex, though, was hot. It also was creative and realistic.
My favorite little sub-plot in the story involved the emergence of Nicky's ex-lover Jake. He performs a horribly hurtful and disgusting act of cruelty towards Nick, and then Nick exacts sweet yet cold revenge. I laughed about it for hours.
Overall, I was mesmerized by the book. Once I really got into the story, I couldn't put it down. It contained elements of mystery and romance and erotica. It was a compelling and captivating read which I highly recommend. Had I followed my initial instinct and skipped reading this book, I certainly would have been the one who was cheated.
I give Cheating Chance five stars.』
(Gritty, Real and Hot) 『Buchanan, James. "Cheating Chance", MLR Press, 2008.
Gritty, Real and Hot
Amos Lassen
Brandon Carr is a vice detective who is deep in the closet even though he has tattoos and swaggers with "bad boy cool". He has built himself his own little world but it begins to crack when he meets gaming agent Nick O'Malley at a Goth convention. Nick lusts for Brandon and he tries hard to break Brandon's cool. Together they begin a sexual affair which begins to move to a more serious level. Together the two men begin a probe of cheating, drugs, murder and money and the investigation influences their relationship and causes it to come to an end. The two men seem to be total opposites; Brandon keeps his desires hidden with him in the closet while Nick is out and perfectly comfortable with whom he is. Nick wants love and Brandon avoids it. Nick knows how he feels about Brandon but fate and karma work against that. Yet when Nick finds himself in a situation he cannot control, Brandon is there to get him out. While Nick is Goth with long black hair and teeth like fangs, Brandon is typically he-male but when they meet they enjoy a night of passion. Both men are difficult. Brandon can be sweet and loving when alone with Nick but cold and detached in public but he realizes that having Nick is better than not having him. As the two men get more involved in the investigation, the differences come to the surface more and more. Nevertheless I found myself loving both men. The book tends to be quite dark and the thriller is more obvious than the romance. The sex is hot and sometimes kinky but there is something to learn here about casinos and what kind of life a vice detective leads. This is first-rate erotica and its two characters are extremely endearing. 』
(Cheating Chance by James Buchanan) 『Nick is an agent for the Eletronic Services for Gaming Control at Las Vegas and he is also a goth guy with long black hair, almost fangs like a vampire and with an heaser for car. If not for his tanned skin of Native American descendant, he would be the perfect vampire. At a goth convention he meets Brandon, a cop from North California. After a night of passion Brandon says they can see again but that he is in the closet at home and he is not ready or willing to correct this position. And Nick is rebounding after a bad breakup with his last lover. Not the best fundaments for starting a lasting relationship but they try.
But Brandon's attitude when they are in public, his continuing flirting with girls, and the murder of one of Nick's former colleague, soon after they spoke on phone, puts Nick on top of suspects.
Both Brandon and Nick are difficult characters. They are not typical, not full good heroes and not at all bad boy. In looks they are maybe more bad boy, but Nick is also a sentimental character. He is jelaous and he is still trying to overcome the inferiority's feeling left him by his former lover. And the reaction he has when said former lover pissed him off is a clearly proof of his sentimental and hot nature.
Brandon instead is like Dr Jeckill and Mr Hyde: he can be soo sweet and loving when he is alone with Nick, and then so cold and detached when he is in public. Maybe not the right choice for one like Nick that in this moment would need a bit of reassurance. But still Brandon manages to outweight the bad moments with the good ones: in the end not having him is a lot worst than having him with some issue they have to overcome.
Cheating Chance is a good thriller, more adventure than romance, and even if the sex is a bit kink and there is a good bondage scene, it's not overly erotic (and it's not a complaint, I want to say that there is a good mix of sex and story...) 』
(Cheating Chance) 『Nick O'Malley is an agent for the Nevada gaming commission. Brandon Carr is a vice detective. They meet at a goth convention. Nicky is goth all the way. Brandon is full of piercing and tattoos. They hit it off and spend the rest of the weekend in Nicky's hotel room but Nicky lives in Las Vegas and Brandon lives in California.
Nicky works as a field agent but also in the lab sometimes. He's doing the work ups on a few slot machines when he gets a call from a friend asking him to send him some of those parts. Not long after Nicky talks to him, he's murdered. Pretty soon Nicky's knee deep in possible Mafia connections, drug money and hired thugs. Nicky's got problems in his personal life too. His ex-boyfriend is sniffing around him again and he's falling hard for Brandon who's not out of the closet and doesn't ever intend to be. Things are going to get worse before they get better for Nicky and Brandon.
Cheating Chance is a little dark sometimes, hot all the time and very exciting. I love Nicky and Brandon. They're sexy and fun and incredibly hot together. Cheating Chance is more than a great story with two all around great guys who have amazingly hot sex. It offers an education in casinos, the mechanics of slot machines and what it might be like to be a vice detective.It's interesting, entertaining and very well written. I want more of Nicky and Brandon!
There is a scene with nonconsensual sex in Cheating Chance.
Nannette reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed』 『Vice Detective, Brandon Carr, despite his tattoos and bad-boy cool, lives in the closet with no intention of ever coming out. Then he meets Nevada Gaming Agent, Nick O'Malley, at a Goth convention and his perfectly constructed world starts to crack. Nick's passions for him, a restored hearse and rope bondage might drown Brandon's will. With the odds stacked against them they try to move from simply sex to something more. Sparks fly as the pair probes a world of cheating, murder, drugs and money laundering. The investigation repeatedly derails their relationship, finally forcing Brandon to choose between staying in the closet and saving Nick's life. #1 in the Taking the Odds Mystery Series!』
price：$7.66
Duke University Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (amazing) 『This is one of the best works of "post-" theory that I've read, and the essay on paranoia is a much-needed light in the haze of contemporary grad school education. My copy is dog-eared and dirty and filled with underlined passages / scrawled notes to myself (mostly reading "YES!" or "come back to this"). Sedgwick's essays are brilliant, quirky, challenging, and deeply moving. I really can't find words sufficient for my experience -- this is certainly one of the most synaesthetic and vertigo-inducing books I've read in a long time. The final essay, in particular, continues to call me back.』 『A pioneer in queer theory and literary studies, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick brings together for the first time in Touching Feeling her most powerful explorations of emotion and expression. In essays that show how her groundbreaking work in queer theory has developed into a deep interest in affect, Sedgwick offers what she calls "tools and techniques for nondualistic thought," in the process touching and transforming such theoretical discourses as psychoanalysis, speech-act theory, Western Buddhism, and the Foucauldian "hermeneutics of suspicion."
In prose sometimes somber, often high-spirited, and always accessible and moving, Touching Feeling interrogates—through virtuoso readings of works by Henry James, J. L. Austin, Judith Butler, the psychologist Silvan Tomkins and others—emotion in many forms. What links the work of teaching to the experience of illness? How can shame become an engine for queer politics, performance, and pleasure? Is sexuality more like an affect or a drive? Is paranoia the only realistic epistemology for modern intellectuals? Ultimately, Sedgwick's unfashionable commitment to the truth of happiness propels a book as open-hearted as it is intellectually daring.』
price：$6.06
Wiley
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Not so informational) 『The book was quite long on examples, and then had a tendancy to refer back to examples by name and expects you to remember the details. I was looking for answers to "Why?" and to "Okay now what do I do?" and found that this book did not help. A chapter later in the book discussed affects on kids, and I found this insightful.』
(The Other Side of the Closet) 『This booked helped my so much. I started reading it within a month of finding out about my gay husband. I never know there would be so many of us in the same situation. This was a subject that I knew nothing about. Reading the book and learning of the phases that we all go though, helped me to understand my feelings. Reading that everyone has periods of these same feelings, made me feel that I was not alone. Anyone who has to face this crisis MUST read this book. You have to see that you will move on with time, this book shows you the steps you will take along the way. 』
(This book saved my sanity) 『My ex and I were married for 15 years. He never came out. Still insists he's not gay and that I am crazy and vindictive. But I knew he was gay at the end of our marriage. For several years I thought I was the only person this happened to. After reading this book, I found that there are so many circumstances in which these marriages happen, and it was like reading my own story in some places. I learned that this wasn't just a fluke, and it wasn't just me - there are patterns here that I recognized.
I also learned that the whole drama of coming out or staying in the closet is not just up to the homosexual when a straight spouse and family are also involved.
I have been coming out of his closet for a long time. This book was the start. The straight spouse network also really helped me, and continues to help me. The resources in this book are invaluable for anyone who is just starting to deal with this, and for those of us who have been dealing with these family situations for a while.』
(Doom for married bisexuals) 『I came out to my husband five years before he read this book. He didn't believe I was bisexual, but the more often I tried to talk to him about the issue, the further he would shut down. Eventually, he read this book and decided that our marriage was doomed, despite that we had been together for close to twelve years at the time. Our marriage would have been possible to salvage if he'd not read this, bought the propaganda that being married to a bisexual was a disaster, and actually attempted to communicate about the issues both of us were having.
If you're bi and your spouse reads this, expect to be served divorce papers.』
(Life saving reading) 『No one ever expects to hear the words I heard my husband of 11 years say when he sat me down last January and told me he was gay. We had been together for nearly 16 years and have two young children. I was devistated. I went through (and am still going through) extreme emotional rollercoaster girations that left me dizzy. I felt every emotion nearly everyday. I didn't know which way was up. I didn't know what to do, who to talk to, who to trust. Trust was the first thing I started challenging in my day to day life. Friends, family, coworkers... any one I met I wondered if they too were lying to me. It was a destructive mind set that I eventually, through the help of counseling, got over. Like the book mentions, there is a moment when the strait spouse feels they've been pushed into the closet. Hiding what they know from everyone, pretending things are normal. Having been there, I can attest that that was a very scary time and this book did help me get through that and helped me rescue myself from the closet. 8 months later, I'm in my own house, feeling the freedom to have my own routine, getting on with my life, and we're divorsed but still friends. Most importantly, we're both happier now that we have been for several years. The kids have come first through this whole ordeal and we have managed to keep them on track that there is no shame in who their father is. We still do things as a family, after all, we got divorced from each other not the kids. we even do things as a big happy family with my ex and his partner. The kids seem to have adjusted pretty well so far, but I know the road is long and we've just started the journey. If anyone is just starting this journey or is having difficulty with a similar situation, I strongly urge you to get this book AND seek counseling. This book helped both of us understand what the other was going through. It will help you. And you will heal over time. Good Luck.』 『Candid, compassionate, authoritative—a rich source of insights, information, and practical guidance… "The first major work on the topic." —Gay Community News "A much needed comprehensive study of what happens to husbands, wives, and children during the coming-out crisis.".;—The Reverend Jane E. Vennard, founder Task Force for Spouses of Gays and Lesbians "The new enlarged edition adds important factors, especially children’s reactions to a parent’s coming out. Well-researched and insightful." —Fritz Klein, M.D., author of The Bisexual Option "Anybody practicing in this area would be well advised to read this book." —Professor Arthur S. Leonard, New York Law School In two million marriages, one spouse is gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Having a spouse or parent disclose his or her same-sex attraction is a shattering experience fraught with pain, confusion, anger, and a profound loss of self-esteem. Amity Pierce Buxton spotlights this exploding phenomenon and reports constructive coping strategies that spouses and children have used to resolve problems of sexual damage, family breakdown, deception, and homophobia. Illustrated throughout by riveting personal narratives, this expanded edition of The Other Side of the Closet traces the family’s journey from initial trauma to eventual transformation. This invaluable source of information for spouses, families, and professionals is based on Dr. Buxton’s eight years of research, including interviewswith 1,000 straight spouses and children, her own personal experience, and her counseling work with spouses of gay, lesbian, and bisexual partners.』
price：$4.80
Kensington
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Band Fags) 『Having grown up a few years earlier then the characters in the book I could relate to a lot of the problems they encountered. It was fun to revisit that time in my life. I did not however grow up in Detroit like the author did. I grew up in St. Paul Minnesota. This is a must read for eveyone who felt they were an outsider growing up.』
(If you were a girl, would you think this book was hot? Totally!!) 『When I first began reading this book, I honestly was not too impressed. Actually, I was frustrated and annoyed by the author's writing style. For the first half of the book every paragraph was riddled with incomplete sentences. He also seemed to ignore literaly every grammatical rule in the book. I read his biography and discovered he has a Master's degree in dramatic writing. Go figure. Well, I think it was the fact that I related so well to the pop culture from the 80's and also possibly because I live in Michigan very close to where the story is set, that I forced myself to continue reading.
Interestingly, the author's writing style seemed to mature along with the central character. The conclusion I've drawn was that his poor grammar was a deliberate attempt to sound authentic and conversational. I'm not sure it worked for me, but setting that aside, I have to admit that I've been deeply moved by this touching story.
Jack Paterno is a seventh-grade literary geek who is also muscially inclined. He's a member of his school's band, and the close friendships he develops during his junior high and high school years all center around his involvement in band. He and his fellow band members are disparagingly referred to as "band fags".
As Jack approaches and eventually dives right into puberty, a realization starts to dawn upon him. He begins questioning his identity, and these questions are quite alarming to him. He recalls in vivid detail the way he always played girl-type games with his female friends and cousins when he was young. He remembers crushes he's had on other boys. He thinks it might be weird that he's obsessed with soap operas and sappy romantic movies. Worst of all though, he fears that the fact he finds other guys attractive might make him "that way". He's afraid he might be a real fag, not just a band fag.
Jack's best friend is a boy named Brad, and the two are the same age. Brad is similar to Jack in that he's also in band, and he's also "that way". The story is definitely a coming-out and coming-of-age-story, but more significantly it is a story about this enduring friendship. It is about fear, betrayal, passion, and forgiveness. It is about enduring love. The relationship that these two central characters develop is powerful and deeply moving.
During part of the book I found myself not liking Jack too much. In fact, I sort of wanted to slam it closed and toss it in the trash. I found him to be ego-centric and shallow. I was extremely offended by some of the elitist remarks he made, for example stating that his parents were simple people because they worked in a supermarket. When he abandoned his friends in an attempt to gain popularity from the "in" crowd, I wanted to smack him.
I'm not sure if the book is at all auto-biographical, but if so, I'm impressed with the author's willingness to expose himself this way. Ultimately, my opinion changed about the protagonist, and I actually cried near the end.
Perhaps the story contained more details than it needed. Maybe the narrator tended to drone on a bit when he could have been advancing the story. Sometimes he seemed to get distracted and began talking about off-topic subjects which caused some confusion. In spite of this, though, I really enjoyed the narration. I sort of felt as if that is exactly the way a real-life Jack Paterno would talk if he were sitting in my living room carrying on a conversation with me. I also loved the way his detailed descriptions allowed me to paint clear mental pictures of the setting and the characters.
I think that although the character Jack Paterno was shallow for much of the story, the book itself was amazingly deep, and I'm certain it's going to stick with me for a long time. It really makes me want to pick up the phone and call all the people I've known throughout my life just to remind them how much I love them.
Thanks Frank Polito for a great read. Thanks for sharing your talent. Thanks for being an out and proud Band Fag! If I were a girl, I'd think you're totally hot!!』
(3 1/2 stars) 『I agree that the book is overly long and doesn't really seem to have a cohesive theme. However, "Jack Paterno" graduated from high school one year after I did, and it brought back a lot of memories of high school, some painful, some tremedously happy. If you went to school in the 80's, there are so many wonderful references to popular culture from the banal to the famous. So I give this book a mixed review: more than "it's ok", perhaps a hair on either side of "i like it".』
(What a Nostalgiapalooza!) 『A touching, nostalgic coming of age story about self-acceptance. Recommended.
This book is set in a neighboring city to where I grew up, set during my teen years, and with characters close to the age I was at the time, so on that level alone, it was a complete blast as the author does not skimp on place and pop culture references. On the other hand, I can't say how it would read for people unfamiliar with the suburbs of Detroit, and constantly having the author explaining pronunciations like Gratiot and local trivia.
Jack's voice was spot-on, using the slang and vocabulary at the time. More amazingly, the author does a beautiful job of seamlessly having Jack grow-up. Mr. Polito respects his characters, never treating their concerns, interests, or faux sense of maturity as something to mock, but simply allowing them to grow and evolve.
This is the story of Jack and his friendship with Brad. Both of the characters are in the band and both are gay, but Jack is in denial -- grasping at any spark of interest in girls, even if it's a pale shadow of what he feels for Joey or Tom.
Brad, his friend, is more self-aware, and aware of Jack's struggle too, but always willing to accept him -- and to forgive him when needed.
I enjoyed the large cast of characters, most of whom remained at least peripherally in the story, and giving a sense of a populated teen community. They grew up with Jack and Grad too, even if we only see it out of the corner of our eyes.
If I have any complaints, it's that Jack -- while always likable -- was frustrating with his hokey-pokey dance of I'm straight/very straight/so straight/maybe I'm not straight/no, I'm straight/okay, yeah, I don't think I'm straight/straight as an arrow/Or not so much... I understand completely that this was a hard decision, and growing up in the eighties know why the closet would seen safe, but it was still hard to read, especially since I'd like to have read more of his explorations.
Still, one of the best books I've read in a while.』
(From One Band Fag to Another) 『I may be a little biased. I was born in suburbs of Detroit in which this book is set, I'm 3-years older than the main character, I really really didn't want to be gay in high school and I was a band fag.
All disclaimers aside, this is a well written coming of age story set in the mid-80's in suburban Michigan. The two main characters, Jack and Brad, are best friends throughout the story as only school age friends can be - Sometimes they are inseparable, sometimes the fight and sometimes they flirt with intimacy. They both come to terms with being gay in an era that was not all that welcoming to gay people. And they do it in very different ways but in the end are still friends.
The book is written in a voice that is youthful, funny and with the correct slang as extra flavor.
I bought it as a recommendation off my kindle after thinking, from the cover and the title, that is was just another silly coming of age novel by yet another gay guy. And it is all that but it's much more. It's well written, it's not preachy and it's really a lot of fun.
Kinda makes me want to look up some of my old friends from high school.』 『"Ever since I first heard that Lionel Richie and Diana Ross song, `Endless Love,' all I've wanted is to find The One. Someone to love. Who will love me back."
September, 1982. John Cougar's "Jack and Diane" is on endless radio rotation, and Dallas and Dynasty rule the ratings. Jack Paterno is a straight-A student living in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park, with his own Atari 5200, a Beta VCR, and everything a seventh-grader could ask for. The only thing he has in common with foul-mouthed Brad Dayton, who lives on the gritty south side near 8 Mile, is that both are in Varsity Band. Or maybe that's not the only thing. Because Jack is discovering that while hanging around with girls in elementary school was perfectly acceptable, having lots of girl friends (as opposed to girlfriends) now is getting him and Brad labeled as Band Fags. And Jack is no fag. Is he?
As Jack and Brad make their way through junior high and then through Hazel Park High School, their friendship grows deeper and more complicated. From stealing furtive glances at Playgirl to discussing which celebrities might be like that, from navigating school cliques to dealing with crushes on girls and guys alike, Jack is trying to figure out who and what he is. He wants to find real, endless love, but he also wants to be popular and "normal." But, as Brad points out, this is real life--not a John Hughes movie. And sooner or later, Jack will have to choose.
Filled with biting wit and pitch-perfect observations, Band Fags is an exhilarating novel about lust and love, about the friendships that define and sometimes confine us, and about coming of age and coming to terms with the end of innocence and the beginning of something terrifying, thrilling, and completely unpredictable.』
price：$74.95
Duke University Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (Anger and Precision) 『Edelman, Lee. "No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive", Duke University Press, 2004.
Anger and Precision
Amos Lassen
Lee Edelman in "No Future" claims that the threat that some feel that is posed by homosexuality is an issue that deals with the idea that because gay men and women do not reproduce, there is an ever-present social threat. If we look at history and see that the present is often concerned with making a better place for the future, it is fairly easy to understand that without reproduction there is not much of a future. Edelman claims that this non-reproduction as actually a social good. To show this to be true, Edelman looks at aspects we have seen in culture as in explaining these, he gets trapped in his own theoretical language. The contribution to theory cannot be discounted but to understand the book one must have a clear mind as the language is not easy to understand. Edelman comes across as angry yet eloquent, direct and clever, rhetorical and precise. Edelman sees children as the center of the issue and argues that homosexuals need to abandon a feeling of accommodation and take their place as a negative force. The book is quite powerful and polemic and while not an easy read, it has a great deal to say. 』
(No Future) 『This surely is the death drive. Deathly because it is nowhere near the jouissance of living `queer.' The problem is that Edelman has defined the queer. To Edelman, the Queer disrupts the Symbolic with an anti-politic, anti-oppositional oppositional movement. Because the Queer only disidentifies, the proper queer project now, after Edelman, would be to repudiate the work he set forth, or at least not pay attention to it, the %.1 percent who (can) read it. An interesting and obnoxious book. If you follow the trends that are pioneered in the very fetish-y Duke University Press, pick this one up, now.』
(does politics need futurity?) 『This is a smart, funny, and challenging book. (It does require fluency in theory-speak, largely of the Lacan dialect. So Edelman is writing largely for academics of a certain ilk. Fair enough, but I wonder what these ideas would look like if they were written with a larger public in mind--it seems to me Edelman's challenge to the child-driven purity politics of the US will never reach those who operate most within its languages and symbols.)
Edelman makes a compelling case for refusing the "futurity" built into the rhetoric not just of conservative politics but also much of liberal or progressive politics. He acknowledges that in calling for this refusal, he is proposing an "impossible politics," a politics that will sidestep the trap by which one or another group (queers or an equivalent population deemed deviant) has to be sold down the river in order to rally everyone else around future improvement and greater inclusion. This is also an "impossible politics" because it won't suppress the death drive that structures every identity or political vision (this is the Lacanian part of the argument).
But once you stipulate that any and every kind of politics (except Edelman's impossible politics) is built on suppressing the death drive, you have painted yourself into a corner--an impossible politics, indeed. Once Edelman has shifted the site of politics to the deep structure of the human psyche in this way, It's hard to see how one could think or act in any purposeful way that might count as political. There is only the act of refusing, but no hope or even historical possibility for imagining social and power arrangements that operate otherwise. In the meantime, political change will happen, for better or worse, and those who refuse have just taken themselves out of the game, and also limited their ability to even diagnose the change that happens.
What is missing is any speculation from Edelman about what his politics of refusal would amount to, how it might play out in the world to affirm rather than suppress or deny the death drive. Other theorists have taken up the challenge of thinking about how we might act or at least think politically once we give up the idea of a self-directing political actor and a self-governing political society. But Edelman seems content to plant himself at the paradox of an "impossible politics" and expose the delusions and ill will that suddenly come into view from that standpoint. The book is brave and often brilliant, but I find I want to refuse the impossibility of this picture of impossible politics.』
(Important, but...) 『Lee Edleman's book poses important questions for all of us about "queerness" and resistance to our presumedly "normal" cultural investments in a redemptive future figured most vividly in the notion of the "child." I admire the work being done here, and in particular the intellectual chutzpah it takes to dismantle this dominant ideological framework while taking on Baudrillard, Butler and other formidable thinkers. It is, however, unfortunate that Edelman seems to have become enchanted as much by his own linguistic cleverness as by the important ideas he sets out to explore.
Thelabor required to make sense of the dense, overwrought and smugly elitist tone of the text detracts from and, I imagine for many readers unfamiliar with the burdensome jargon, simply impedes understanding. This is particularly painful in the chapter on Hitchcock's "The Birds" which seems to be as much a compendium of bad bird puns as it is a serious inquiry into the themes of the book.
That being said, Edelman has made an important, even daring, contribution to queer theory. His readings of texts and films are original and thought-provoking. Furthermore, the ideas Edelman lays out in "No Future" could and should help shape our understanding of the importance of resisting what he calls a "vision of futurity." Sadly, his impenetrable prose limits access to his ideas and keeps the circuit of discourse firmly shut to those most likely to benefit from the ideas he puts forth. 』 『In this searing polemic, Lee Edelman outlines a radically uncompromising new ethics of queer theory. His main target is the all-pervasive figure of the child, which he reads as the linchpin of our universal politics of“reproductive futurism.” Edelman argues that the child, understood as innocence in need of protection, represents the possibility of the future against which the queer is positioned as the embodiment of a relentlessly narcissistic, antisocial, and future-negating drive. He boldly insists that the efficacy of queerness lies in its very willingness to embrace this refusal of the social and political order. InNo Future, Edelman urges queers to abandon the stance of accommodation and accede to their status as figures for the force of a negativity that he links with irony,jouissance, and, ultimately, the death drive itself.
Closely engaging with literary texts, Edelman makes a compelling case for imagining Scrooge without Tiny Tim and Silas Marner without little Eppie. Looking to Alfred Hitchcock’s films, he embraces two of the director’s most notorious creations: the sadistic Leonard ofNorth by Northwest, who steps on the hand that holds the couple precariously above the abyss, and the terrifying title figures ofThe Birds, with their predilection for children. Edelman enlarges the reach of contemporary psychoanalytic theory as he brings it to bear not only on works of literature and film but also on such current political flashpoints as gay marriage and gay parenting. Throwing down the theoretical gauntlet,No Futurereimagines queerness with a passion certain to spark an equally impassioned debate among its readers.』
price：$5.74
Arsenal Pulp Press
Usually ships in 24 hours Core2Duoノートレビュー 's review (The Classic and still a great story) 『I first read this book in 1971 when it was called A Place for Us. I was starving for a portrayal of love between women that was positive and captured the "spiritual" feeling of that experience(as well as its other aspects). This book was it. A friend had it and she didn't want to lend it to me until she read it, so the two of us stayed up from 10 p.m. unti 3 a.m. reading it aloud to each other.
Sure, there's more nuanced work out there now but this is still a wonderfully sweet and well-written story that captures, as far as I'm concerned, the heart of what women loving women is about. I just reread it and am amazed at how it still touches me. It is particularly remarkable that the book was written several years before Stonewall and so well presaged how the Gay Liberation Movement would press for a new understanding of love between women. Thank you, Isabel Miller (Alma Routsong), Daughters of Bilitis, and all who made this possible.
I highly recommend this, particularly for women who feel drawn to women and are in circumstances where you feel unsupported.』
(Delivered on time, great condition) 『Like the title says, the book I ordered was delivered very quickly and even though used, was in great condition. I'm very happy with my purchase.』
(Excellent Read) 『Great book. For me, very thought-provoking, inspiring and hopeful. I ended up reading it in one sitting while over seeing exams. The prose and eloquent wording are fantastic. Definitely worth the buy.』
(Loved - Loved - Loved it !!!) 『 This is a terrific novel that should not be missed. This is a timeless classic so well written you would think the author made a career in writing historic literature.
You actually feel the deep emotion that they have for each other. It's so strong that you sometimes forget the humor that is laced throughout. There are some powerful scenes that reflect the harsh times where women did not have a say in their own affairs.
There is as much depth in one chapter as you will get in entire novels. The writing simply flows and you don't put the book down until you notice the day has gone dark and lunch and dinner time have passed you by. Wonderful characters so rich in details that you wonder about them long after the novel ends.
I couldn't be happier by the authors other books - if you enjoyed Patience and Sarah you will be delighted with Side by Side.
You will not find a better novel to read 』
(You could feel the passion) 『A touching story of two women who fall in love and defy their families and society to be together. Nothing vulgar or obscene. The author did a wonderful job of portraying the genuine love these two women felt for eachother despite very different upbringings. A quick and enjoyable read.』 『Set in the nineteenth century, Isabel Miller’s classic lesbian novel traces the relationship between Patience White, an educated painter, and Sarah Dowling, a farmer, whose romantic bond does not sit well with the puritanical New England farming community in which they live. Ultimately, they are forced to make life-changing decisions that depend on their courage and their commitment to one another. Winner of the American Library Association’s first Gay Book Award.
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