Book Description
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is an enchanting tale that captures the magic of reading and the wonder of romantic awakening. An immediate international bestseller, it tells the story of two hapless city boys exiled to a remote mountain village for re-education during China’s infamous Cultural Revolution. There the two friends meet the daughter of the local tailor and discover a hidden stash of Western classics in Chinese translation. As they flirt with the seamstress and secretly devour these banned works, the two friends find transit from their grim surroundings to worlds they never imagined.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting but boring........2007-10-08
Maybe something was lost in translation??? Maybe I am not a deep enough thinker to have truly enjoyed this novel. One thing it did for me was to pique my interest in reading Balzac, Dumas, Kipling, Dickens, etc.
Just like watching Chinese cinema.......2007-09-05
In a series of little scenes, Dai Sijie presents you with jigsaw puzzle-like pieces that suddenly, in the final chapters, merge into a great picture. Western readers used to a more linear plotline might fumble during the first few chapters, but just let the scenes wash over you and you will find yourself carried to a clever, ironic and satisfying ending. Anyone with an ounce of Chinese history under their belt will appreciate this wry look at China's cultural revolution in action. A quick read - well worth the short investment of time.
Books can mean the World .......2007-08-24
I would call this a coming of age story, but yet the narrator and his friend Luo are already 18 years old when they are sent away from there families as part of the Chinese Re-Education program. This took them away from their families and lives with very little hope of ever seen them again. But that is not what this book was really about for me, it was more a story of hope, of love, of lust, of friendship, of betrayal and how books when you don't have access to them, mean the world to you. They can be your savior and your burden, but you are willing to risk everything for them. How when you have so very little, you can still have a whole world available to you.
Interesting Chinese story.......2007-08-23
An interesting story about two young men banned to a small village during the cultural revolution. It tells their hardships but also contains a romantic story.
Left me feeling empty ..........2007-07-26
I felt this novel was quite a bit over-rated. Although the concept is interesting and different (i.e., the re-education of the city academic boys in Mao Zedung's communist regime), the story was a bit flat. I have a feeling something must have been lost in the translation. Despite being so short, I had to force myself to get back into this novel. I guess I just found it mediocre, a bit boring and really, nothing special. There was nothing awful about it; but nothing great either.
Book Description
Second in the swashbuckling Musketeers mystery series.
Aramis's lover-a Spanish noblewoman and childhood friend of the Queen-has been murdered, and the Musketeer has been accused of the crime. Now it's up to Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan to clear their friend's name.
Customer Reviews:
D'Almeida Does It Again.......2007-09-28
Once again Sarah D'Almeida successfully transports her readers to the Dumas' inspired France with this second volume of her Musketeers Mysteries. For those who are fans of the original Musketeers books by Dumas, D'Almeida doesn't disappoint. For those who are familiar with the Three Musketeers only from the movies, she opens a vast new world to them: a world filled with believable characters, lushly described scenery and great fight scenes.
"Musketeers Seamstress" instantly thrusts the reader into action and intrigue. Is the Cardinal resorting to newer, more despicable means to rid himself of the Musketeers? Or is there something else going on, someone else pulling the strings? These are the questions you'll be asking yourself as you read and the solution to the mystery isn't disappointing.
This is a book well worth getting, reading and then reading again.
Book Description
"From its opening pages, in which she recounts her own premature birth, triggered by terrifying rumors of an incipient pogrom, Bernstein's tale is clearly not a typical memoir of the Holocaust. She was born into a large family in rural Romania...and grew up feisty and willing to fight back physically against anti-Semitism from other schoolchildren. She defied her father's orders to turn down a scholarship that took her to Bucharest, and got herself expelled from that school when she responded to a priest/teacher's vicious diatribe against the Jews by hurling a bottle of ink at him...After a series of incidents that ranged from dramatic escapes to a year in a forced labor detachment, Sara ended up in Ravensbruck, a women's concentration camp, [and] managed to survive...she tells this story with style and power." -Kirkus Reviews
"There are many recent accounts of Holocaust victims, but this work stands alone as a testimony to personal strength and an independent spirit." -Library Journal
"Extraordinary." -Booklist
"An engrossing history lesson as well as an important archive." -Faye Kellerman
"Well-told...deserves a prominent place in the archive of Holocaust survival stories." -Publishers Weekly
"One of the best of the recent wave of Holocaust memoirs" (Kirkus Reviews)
--An ALA choice for the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, and the second-place winner in the General Trade Nonfiction category at the New York Book Show
--Includes an introduction by Edgar M. Bronfman
--Written by a strong woman with a colorful and unusual story to tell, this book is a standout in a popular subgenre of the memoir form
Customer Reviews:
Unforgettable.......2007-09-05
Although I have an interest in Holocaust memoirs and have read dozens to date, I found Bernstein's story both unique and compelling.
Bernstein begins by providing a full picture of her life, starting from childhood. Then known as Seren, the young Bernstein was happy, growing up as one of the youngest children in a large blended family in Hungary. Her father, a mill supervisor, never failed to provide well for his plethora of children, in-laws and grandchildren.
However, even he couldn't stop the forces that wanted to annihilate the Jews. In the early 1930s -- well before many people even had an inkling of the depth of trouble brewing -- Bernstein, her family and friends were forbidden from working or socializing normally. Before long, the huge extended family was unable to keep in contact, though geographically close by; and Bernstein and her father were imprisoned.
Bernstein's troubles, though, were only just beginning. Over the next few years, as she and her sisters struggled to maintain some semblance of normal lives -- young Seren working as a seamstress -- the Iron Guard began to close in upon them.
Bernstein details the long months when she, her youngest sister Esther, and their friends Lily and Ellen struggled to survive at a little-known all-women's work camp. Although Jews were only a small number of the prisoners, they were treated the worst.
Bernstein, who had a friend amputate her big toe after gangrene set in from the cold, and literally became a walking skeleton, was considered one of the luckiest ones -- she survived.
Told in a manner that is simultaneously human yet matter-of-fact, Bernstein's story of survival against all odds is magnificent. It's impossible to read it and not feel incredulous, let alone to ever forget how one woman could possibly survive so much.
unforgettable and moving.......2007-09-03
This is one of the best books I have ever read. I was unable to put it down and finished it in two sittings. It was simultaneously fascinating and appalling if that is comprehendable.
The horrific and degrading treatment of Seren and her fellow prisoners is beyond anything any of us can imagine and their ability to survive against all odds is truly heroic. Man's inhumanity to man is portrayed in all it's shocking detail. I found myself moved to tears several times, but could not stop myself from finishing the book as quickly as I could. It is definitely worth reading. You will never forget it.
Unique Holocaust Story.......2007-05-07
Sara Tuvel's story was unusal for a holocaust story because she was able to manipulate the system and remain free for the majority of the time. She was her own counsel from childhood through adulthood, with the ability to think for herself and the fortitude and discipline to prosper in any type of undertaking. Her story is both heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time. From a woman's point of view, this is a good example of a strong woman, who uses her intelligence, intuition, and fortitude to survive a terrible ordeal.
moving, thought provoking book.......2007-04-10
This is a fantastic book about a fantastic person during one of the worse times in human history. A must read.....
An amazing book, an amazing person.......2006-03-29
This is the most moving book I have read in my life, hands-down. Seren Tuvel's story is heart-breaking, yet courageous. This book is an absolute must-read for everyone.
Average customer rating:
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The Seamstress of Salzburg.
Manufacturer: Harpercollins Juvenile Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0060239344 |
Average customer rating:
- why redo a classic?
- Giselle Potter's drawings are fun
- "Seven With One Blow!"
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The Brave Little Seamstress
Mary Pope Osborne
Manufacturer: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Arthurian
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Osborne, Mary Pope
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Kate and the Beanstalk (Anne Schwartz Books)
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Sleeping Bobby
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The Honest-to-Goodness Truth
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Cinder Edna
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The Year I Didn't Go to School
ASIN: 0689844867 |
Amazon.com
"Seven with one blow!" Well, that's quite a brave little seamstress, isn't it? To characterize Mary Pope Osborne and Giselle Potter's fairy tale as a mere Grimm Brothers' rehash is to miss the point entirely. Although the pair has repurposed Grimm's The Brave Little Tailor to more feminist ends, they've hung onto the story's most grisly details while seamlessly slipping in a plucky heroine to brilliant effect.
As in Grimm, the action begins when our sweet seamster takes down a passel of houseflies with a well-aimed swat. She then commemorates that action in delicate embroidered script on her walking coat. ("Seven with one blow!") Buoyed by confidence and cleverness, the seamstress then almost accidentally makes short work of a giant, then two giants, then a unicorn, and even a wild boar, all just by "following her nose."
"'Amazing!' the king exclaimed. 'Could you possibly do just one more thing for my kingdom?' The little seamstress sighed. She'd begun to fear the king was taking advantage of her helpful nature."
But not to worry; despite her good nature, this seamstress is much too smart to be taken advantage of by such a clumsy king. Potter's thoughtful, funny work in ink and animated gouache complements Osborne to a tee, with segues and interludes nothing short of genius. The big payoff comes when our girl becomes a legend: "Out of a seamstress a great queen was made, as kind and wise as she was strong and brave." (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes
Book Description
"Goodness!" the little seamstress said. "I've killed seven flies with one blow." And to mark the event, she took out her favorite coat and stitched on the back:
SEVEN WITH ONE BLOW!
Proud of her amazing feat, the brave little seamstress sets off to tell the world. It's not her fault if, along the way, a giant sees her coat and thinks she slayed seven giants, now is it?
Based on the classic fairy tale "The Brave Little Tailor," Mary Pope Osborne's spirited retelling -- this time starring a gutsy seamstress -- and Giselle Potter's charming illustrations take you to a magical world where a little heroine meets even the biggest challenges with wit and imagination.
Customer Reviews:
why redo a classic?.......2005-11-28
The introduction to this book states that two women originally told this story to the Grimm brothers; and that the version retold by Andrew Lang was in fact most likely translated by a woman, since his wife, cousins, and other "literary young women" did most of his work for him. Because of this, the author says, she felt this story should have a female protagonist. I wonder about that; if all these women were responsible for carrying this story along through generations, they surely would have changed it to a female protagonist had they thought it necessary. It seems to me more respectful to the women involved to keep the story as they had wished it.
Regardless of your feelings on this misguided point of feminism, I have to say that this story didn't need to be retold. The illustrations are garish and tacky, the text simplistic and the dialogue forced and boorish. It seems as though Osborne was working really hard to make the story fun. Why she felt it needed "improving" I can't say. Get the original.
Giselle Potter's drawings are fun.......2002-10-12
A little seamstress kills seven flies with one blow ý and sets off to tell the world of her accomplishment, which she stitches on the back of her coat. When a giant sees her coat and believes '7 with one blow' means seven giants felled, trouble erupts in this whimsical take-off on the traditional story. Giselle Potter's drawings are fun.
"Seven With One Blow!".......2002-08-13
"One summer day a little seamstress sat by her window, eating bread and jam. When the jam attracted a swarm of flies, she tried to wave them away. But the flies, who didn't speak English, kept coming back. Finally the little seamstress lost her patience. She grabbed a cloth and swung it at the windowsill..." Looking down, the little seamstress was astonished to find that she had killed seven. She considered this feat so remarkable, that she embroidered her success on the back of her favorite coat. "Seven with one blow!" Well, the world needed to hear about this, and so the little seamstress put on her coat and set out on what turns out to be the adventure of a lifetime. Unfortunately, her message is misunderstood by everyone who sees it, and before her journey's finished, and she's living happily-ever-after as a good and wise queen, the little seamstress needs to outwit giants, capture a unicorn and a wild boar, and finally outsmart a not so nice king..... Mary Pope Osborne and Giselle Potter are back, and those who loved their first "female revisionist" fairy tale, Kate And The Beanstalk, will be delighted with this latest offering. Based on the old Brothers Grimm story, The Brave Little Tailor, this dynamic duo again give their spirited retelling a decidedly feminist twist. Ms Osborne's engaging text is filled with wit, and kids will be rooting for their resourceful and sassy heroine as she meets and conquers each challenge. Ms Potter's marvelously clever illustrations are rich in humor and eye-catching detail and capture the story beautifully. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Brave Little Seamstress is an entertaining, fun-filled read you definitely don't want to miss.
Book Description
Keckley was a former slave who became a successful Washington, D.C., dressmaker — and a confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. This intimate bond allowed her to witness the happy times as well as the tragic events that unfolded within the Lincoln White House. A remarkable firsthand narrative of both African-American and Civil War history.
Book Description
Winner of the 2002 Berkshire Prize, presented by the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians
Fabricating Women examines the social institution of the seamstresses’ guild in France from the time of Louis XIV to the Revolution. In contrast with previous scholarship on women and gender in the early modern period, Clare Haru Crowston asserts that the rise of the absolute state, with its centralizing and unifying tendencies, could actually increase women’s economic, social, and legal opportunities and allow them to thrive in corporate organizations such as the guild. Yet Crowston also reveals paradoxical consequences of the guild’s success, such as how its growing membership and visibility ultimately fostered an essentialized femininity that was tied to fashion and appearances.
Situating the seamstresses’ guild as both an economic and political institution, Crowston explores in particular its relationship with the all-male tailors’ guild, which had dominated the clothing fabrication trade in France until women challenged this monopoly during the seventeenth century. Combining archival evidence with visual images, technical literature, philosophical treatises, and fashion journals, she also investigates the techniques the seamstresses used to make and sell clothing, how the garments reflected and shaped modern conceptions of femininity, and guild officials’ interactions with royal and municipal authorities. Finally, by offering a revealing portrait of these women’s private livesâexplaining, for instance, how many seamstresses went beyond traditional female boundaries by choosing to remain single and establish their own householdsâCrowston challenges existing ideas about women’s work and family in early modern Europe.
Although clothing lay at the heart of French economic production, social distinction, and cultural identity, Fabricating Women is the first book to investigate this immense and archetypal female guild in depth. It will be welcomed by students and scholars of French and European history, women’s and labor history, fashion and technology, and early modern political economy.
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SEAMSTRESS
David Mercaldo
Manufacturer: Crown Oak Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Ferry
ASIN: 1600341101 |
Book Description
Book 3 in the Wonderland series Professor Annie Travis is an academic force to be reckoned with. No one sees the true Annie, the shy, inexperienced southern lady taught to hide her every need and desire. No one except the King of Diamonds. Karn draws Annie into his magical world, intent on teaching the teacher the true meaning of passion by dominating her and making her his submissive queen. But even as he teaches Annie how to free herself, Karn's dark past imprisons his heart and soul, keeping him from giving his love to any woman. Will Annie be able to turn the tables on Karn and teach him how to love again?
Customer Reviews:
Wonderland Series.......2007-09-14
Loved this book! I also purchased the 3 other books in the series,King of Hearts, King of Spades and King of Clubs. Would highly recommend them to everybody. I would read anything written by Cheyenne McCray.
The best yet..........2005-09-24
If you have followed the series, I think you will agree this is the best one yet. I don't think reviews should be a synopsis, of what is happening inside the cover of the book.So suffice it to say without giving anything away, great characters, the sex was as hot as Ms. McCray has ever written. Great story,
Hot and Steamy.......2005-09-04
This was great book. Annie who had never been in love and was still a virgin living a simple life. The King of Diamonds who brought Annie there to be his Queen. Not to love her but teach her to please him. They both have trust issues. Then when Annie was in danger he realized that he could love her but is it to late? Were they a perfect match for each other? The love scenes and hot and heavy. It's just makes you want the two of them to fall in love. This you must read.
not as good as the other 2.......2005-08-29
i read the hearts and spade portions of this group of books and found the diamonds segment a little too "cookie cutter". i did not get a "feel" for the characters and after a while, i did not care. i don't think i'll waste my money on the clubs edition.
Book 3: King of Diamonds.......2005-08-09
Back cover:
Professor Annie Travis is an academic force to be reckoned with. No one sees the true Annie, the shy, inexperienced southern lady taught to hide her every need and desire.
No one except the King of Diamonds. Karn draws Annie into his magical world, intent on teaching the teacher the true meaning of passion by dominating her and making her his submissive queen.
But even as he teaches Annie how to free herself, Karn's dark past imprisons his heart and soul, keeping him from giving his love to any woman. Will Annie be able to turn the tables on Karn and teach him how to love again?
Comments:
McCray did a good job picking up from where she left off in Book 2 of the Wonderland series. Annie, who does painting for a hobby, is feeling sad and blue because it's the anniversary of when her cousins disappeared. First Alice and then Alexi. Annie has a talent with painting and uses it as a place to find peace and solace. Anyways, Annie ends up doing an eerie painting that she has no recollection of doing and eventually finds herself being pulled in by no other than the King of Diamonds. Not to ruin the entire story, Annie is portrayed as having a gentle nature but yet having the courage to stand up to Karn when she feels he is asking too much of her. With her love and touch, Karn soon finds himself fighting not to fall under Annie's spell and opening his heart up to her. Though a bondage book, the sex is still steamy as ever. Annie is the perfect mate for Karn, but will he realize it before it is too late?
Books:
- Beach Road
- Because They Wanted To: Stories
- Bread Givers: A Novel
- Charade
- Charmed & Dangerous (Bronwyn the Witch, Book 1)
- Children of the Alley: A Novel
- Clay's Quilt (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
- Clear Mind, Wild Heart
- Darkblade: Bloodstorm (Warhammer)
- Dead Creek (Loon Lake Fishing Mystery)
Books Index
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