Book Description
"And the worst of it is, you understand, that I can't leave him: there are children, and I am bound. Yet I can't live with him . . ."
Immediately the words from Anna Karenina take on a significance for the women who have gathered over good food and good wine for their first book club meeting of the year. These six very different women are not quite friends, not quite strangers but, bonded by their love of literature, they share a deep understanding of one another -- or so they think.
On this night they are stunned when the most envied and privileged member of the group announces that she is divorcing her perfect husband for reasons she cannot, will not share. That such an idyllic marriage could be so vulnerable mystifies them, leaving them to speculate about what happened -- and what, in their own imperfect relationships, would constitute the ultimate betrayal.
Over the course of a year, through cathartic discussions about their favorite novels, they reveal the burdens, bitterness and painful truths they have long been hiding, and in doing so, try to find the courage to open a new chapter in their own lives.
Written with a refreshing insight, Dinner with Anna Karenina takes an absorbing look at the complex lives and friendships of modern women. From their concealed rivalries with each other to their ongoing trials with husbands and lovers, award-winning author Gloria Goldreich's lyrical narrative captures their individual voices and struggles, with poignancy, humor and truth.
Customer Reviews:
overrated.......2007-08-09
i picked this book out of the library because they had 8 copies of it so i figured it was a real hit. i should have taken the hint, considering all 8 copies were still on the shelf! i was disappointed with the book's predictability. while reading it i got bored, and skipped 300 pages only to discover that nothing had changed and i had no trouble following through to the end of the book. there is no reading between the lines, i found. all the characters' personalities, conflicts, and strengths are spelled out as if in a pattern. i enjoy more in depth reading, and this book did not make me think. i have to say, occasionally there were some great adjectives and Goldreich has the gift of description.
fluff.......2007-01-05
I was disappointed. Had read some good reviews, picked it for a book club. It was unanimously disregarded as shallow writing. I admit, I was taken in by the title much like I was with that garbage "Jane Austen Book Club". That book was a disgrace to Austen's name!
Worst Book I've Ever Read.......2007-01-05
I am a voracious reader and this has to be the all-time worst book ever written. If this author used one more adverb I was going to hurl. If you enjoy super mushy descriptions and extremely predictable cliche'd writing this is the book for you. If you are even a "semi" well-read person you will toss this book in the nearest trashcan. The irony of this whole disaster is it's about a woman's bookclub! If any of the women in this novel's bookclub had picked out this book for their reading I'm certain none of them would even have the stomach to finish it. Leo Tolstoy and the other author's novels mentioned in this book must be turning over in their graves...
Surprisingly nice.......2006-10-23
"Dinner with Anna Karenina" starts a little slow and appears somewhat cheesy at the beginning, but it grows into something more. Its characters are not perfect, and Gloria Goldreich manages to present them with their human faults and imperfect choices. While the collection of characters might not be the most believable (a poor graduate student and a rich, elegant manager as part of the same book club?), it is still a gripping read.
Beyond the Cliche.......2006-08-30
There have been many books written over the last decade about women in book clubs. When I first saw that this was yet another, my reaction was "oh, bleah."
But I found myself strongly drawn in to this story of six New York women with six very different lives, linked together by their great love of reading. I could identify with that love and with their powerful emotions about books. But what was really fun about this particular story was that each time the group discussed a book, the reader was privy to the discussion!
I found it absolutely fascinating. They discussed books I had read, books I had not read. They discussed Sylvia Plath in detail, pro and con, ditto for Louisa Mae Alcott. The points of view were so interesting and so diverting that I felt I was part of the group, the seventh woman, sitting silently, partaking of their wonderful meals (lovingly described) and nodding my head in agreement.
Yes, there is a plot: The "perfect, has-it-all" group member, Cynthia, startles the rest of the women almost on page 1 with the announcement that she has separated from her husband. This story acts as a catalyst in introducing the other women, and the thread runs throughout the book. It didn't always work, hence the four stars instead of five, but I cried at the end, not a regular thing for me at all.
If you are a book lover, I think you might really like this gentle book that is, in the end, simply a discussion of much-loved literature.
Customer Reviews:
I Think the best so far in this series!.......2003-10-19
This is probably the best in the Sister Frevisse series so far, even though we know who the murderer is from the beginning. What we discover as we read is a medieval mystery that has a great sense of time and place. We see the whole "castle keep life" as they lived it. We also see the superstition and belief in the supernatural that was so much a part of this day and age. It must have been terrible for anyone that suffered from the "falling sickness" back then since people were so afraid that that person was possessed by demons.
Average customer rating:
- rhoda is FABULOUS - - period.
- The murderous preteen has unfortunately become a banal headline
- An enduring classic of suspense
- Devilish kids are freaky
- Creepy. Disturbing. Unsettling.
|
The Bad Seed
William March
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 United States | Horror | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Classics | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
20th Century | United States | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Psychological & Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0880015403 |
Book Description
What happens to ordinary families into whose midst a child serial killer is born? This is the question at the center of William March's classic thriller. After its initial publication in 1954, the book went on to become a million-copy bestseller, a wildly successful Broadway show, and a Warner Brothers film. The spine-tingling tale of little Rhoda Penmark had a tremendous impact on the thriller genre and generated a whole perdurable crop of creepy kids. Today, The Bad Seed remains a masterpiece of suspense that's as chilling, intelligent, and timely as ever before.
Customer Reviews:
rhoda is FABULOUS - - period........2007-08-21
i got this book at noon the other day and finished it by eight that evening - - a page turner, gripping, gothic, yet campy and with a sense of irony about that campiness that endeared the book to me.
eloquently written, his language is engaging yet elegant, revealing and graphic, yet dark and mysterious, like sinister housewife gossip and whispered rumours.
if you root for the anti-hero (and believe me this book has one HELL of a little anti-hero to offer), this is definitely the book for you. i found myself time and again reading it, eyes wide, mouth open... "oh my god. she's the devil... she's FABULOUS!!" Rhoda is an utterly timeless character, and you can tell the author cares about her a lot; she's a little machine, a robot with no soul, she plays back what you want to hear like a broken record and kills without a second thought, but somehow you admire her, even begin to be taken in by her.
this book captures the feeling of the time it takes place, i see some incredibly caucasian small southern/east-coast town, a nightmare of whitewash, green grass, sunshine and trees and bushes bursting with flowers.
i would like to say how mortified that i am that Eli Roth is helming the (surprise!) REMAKE of this story... hollywood. rotters. yech.
so before the whole franchise becomes tainted with modern horror dreck of the ilk of hostel and saw, READ THIS BOOK and fall in love with it.
The murderous preteen has unfortunately become a banal headline.......2007-01-21
As with many authors and artists William March's work was rejected and he died a broken man. Publishers told him that The Bad Seed lacked verisimilitude. The truth is there have always been sociopathic children among us, but today the headline is all too common. I was inspired to read this classic after reading Dr. Robert D. Hares Without Conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. Even though The Bad Seed is a work of fiction March had some really good insights that Dr. Hare quoted.
The only thing I found slightly corny about the book was that March tried to incorporate a fictional encounter with the real psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud. Also the book is much better than the original movie version. [...]
An enduring classic of suspense.......2007-01-07
To all outward appearances, little Rhoda Penmark is every parent's dream. Quiet, neat, studious, and polite, the eight year old easily charms most adults. But lurking under Rhoda's pleasant facade is a ruthless, calculating sociopath who is willing to kill to get what she wants. Her first victim is an ex-landlady who promised her a pretty bauble in her will. Her second victim is a classmate who wins an award Rhoda covets. The third, a janitor who makes the mistake of threatening to expose her.
This thin volume is so chilling because March portrays Rhoda so realistically. Like most eight year olds, Rhoda can be willful and selfish, but where most children would probably throw a tantrum, Rhoda takes deadly action. The horror is increased by her mother's complicity in her daughter's crimes--Christine Penmark's failure to accept the truth, and her failure to take action against Rhoda once the seeds of doubt have been planted in her mind, frustrate and frighten the reader. Eventually, Christine does react, but is it too late? Can a force of nature like Rhoda be stopped? You'll have to read the utterly absorbing The Bad Seed to discover the surprising and disturbing answer.
Devilish kids are freaky.......2006-05-26
A very disturbing tale, not only regarding the child but the generational "curse" the story depicts. Good for a weekend scare!
Creepy. Disturbing. Unsettling........2006-04-21
The Bad Seed, a 1954 best-selling novel by William March, is a psychological thriller that leaves you with mental goose bumps at the end. Taking place in a small, socially rigid town in the seemingly blah era of post-WWII , the story tells the tale of eight-year-old serial killer Rhoda Penmark and the fatal effects of her evil on family and friends.
As the novel progresses, Rhoda blooms into an experienced and successful murderess while Rhoda's mother, Christine, struggles passionately between her love for her daughter and the horror of what her daughter really is - all while uncovering her own terrifying past.
If you are looking for a quick, suspenseful read, the Bad Seed is for you. While the book does have a slightly dated feel, and sections of Christine Penmark's dialogue screams with cliches, The Bad Seed remains a good choice for reading during a weekend at the beach or on a rainy Saturday. The ending is satisfying, and you'll discover after you finish that somehow during the novel, William March successfully planted a seed in your mind - the seed that it is possible for pure evil to appear in the form of a child.
Book Description
It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night.Her room was musty buy clean and the plumbing worked. Norman Bates, the manager, seemed nice, if a little odd......
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-09-25
Mummy's boy murderer.
If you ever suspect that you might be in a horror movie scenario, don't stop at a dodgy looking creepy motel, with a rather creepy guy giving off some bad vibes. If you are stuck in the sixties, I guess you have some more excuse at not being au fait with what not to do to avoid the slaughterer in this scenario. Anyway, definitely a good book.
A Gem in Psychological Thrillers.......2007-04-06
This book leans more towards being a psychological read, rather than pure blood splattering horror.
Yes, Mary gets murdered and the same theme you have witnessed in the movie unfold here. She steals money, goes on the run, wrestles her inner demons and decides to go back home and face the music. The book shadows her life as she takes this path but takes an entirely different direction when she innocently meets Norman Bates - not knowing that her agonised self analysis and contemplations will be cut short as will her life.
Here you enter the mind of Norman Bates... the mental tortue... the feelings of inadequacies... the manifested fear... the sense of not belonging, but achingly, wanting to. Although Norman himself knows he does not belong to the 'normal' realm of society, he lacks courage and does nothing to change his life. Afterall, the comfort of what you have always known is a lesser evil to the comparative effort it would take to rebel - to have a family, friends, "be a man". And it also eliminates the harsh truth of society shunning you, deeming you unworthy.
The writing is very simple and easy to follow yet the simple thought processes of Norman are gripping. Overall, the atmosphere is one of subtle yet mounting sheer 'creepiness'. You cannot wait to turn a page, learn more of delusional Norman, what makes him do what he does and bring us right into what he has become. Which is, delightfully, one of the most complex psychopaths i have ever read about. A thoroughly thrilling psychological study with a well devised plot to keep the pages turning!
Make no moistake: It's definitely pulp fiction.......2006-02-16
And that makes it squarely average. Bloch was never a great, but always good writer, and Psycho as a book is simply a semi-interestingly told story. Yes, the film was fairly faithful, but the book had its differences. Worth reading if yoiur interest is there. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Psycho is that it was the first work of fiction, written or filmed, based on Eddie Gein's sick handiwork....
a classic.......2005-12-29
Screw those guys who did the two star reviews, I read this book in two days when I picked it up when I was living in Iowa. The differences between the novel and book are slight -- the way that Crane dies in the book is a lot more gruesome than in the movie. Bates in the book is an overweight momma's boy who dressed up in his mother's clothing and spoke in his mother's voice. Very chilling stuff when you think about it, Bloch wrote this novel in 1959 and before this one he was doing short stories for Weird Tales and wrote in the Cthulhu Mythos. What H.P. Lovecraft did for the supernatural genre, Robert Bloch did for the psychological. What you see with Psycho is something that hasn't really been done before in Gothic Horror, and with the film version this is evident. This is one of those books I can agree with Hitchcock on when it came to the screen. I picked this book up in 1998, and it is still one of those that can scare the crap out of the reader after it is long been read. The sequel is just as good as novel.
Pretty good. Just like the movie.......2004-11-16
I really enjoyed the book Psycho! It was highly shockin and the ending was awesome. I would recommend this book to kids 12+ but it was a good read!
Book Description
Women who murder . . . why are they so much more fascinating than their male counterparts? Just take a look at the past 150 years in Cleveland, for example. Measure almost any murder committed by a female during those fifteen decades against any homicide by a mere male and you'll soon discover there is simply no comparison in -cunning, quality, and sheer entertainment value between the shallow, predictable murders of men and the complex, richly nuanced slayings perpetrated by women. For evidence of this tantalizing truth, dip into any of the sixteen strange-but-true tales -collected in this anthology by Cleveland's leading historical crime writer. Here, you'll meet ill-fated Catherine Manz, the "Bad Cinderella" who poisoned her step-sister in revenge for years of mistreatment, then for her getaway donned her victim's most fetching outfit, a red dress with an enormous feathered hat . . . Velma West, the big-city girl who scandalized rural Lake County in the 1920s with her -"unnatural passions"—and ended her -marriage-made-in-hell with a swift hammer's blow to the skull of her dull husband, Eddie . . . Eva Kaber, "Lakewood's Lady Borgia," who, along with her mother and daughter, conspired to dispose of an inconvenient husband with -arsenic and knife-wielding hired killers . . . Martha Wise, Medina's not-so-merry widow, who poisoned a dozen relatives—including her husband, mother, and brother—because she -enjoyed going to funerals . . . And a whole cast of other, equally fascinating women who behaved very, very badly. This is wickedly entertaining reading!
Customer Reviews:
Marriage can be hazardous to your health.......2006-04-22
"Women Behaving Badly: True Tales of Cleveland's Most Ferocious Female Killers" by John Stark Bellamy II is an anthology of 16 true crime accounts involving women who committed murder in the Cleveland area from 1868 to 1965. The book is fascinating, even in the preface, where he lists a few cases he didn't include and explains why.
This is great fun, in a gruesome sort of way. The cases are not dramatized for effect; some of the writing reads like a newspaper account. In fact, he reprints excerpts of newspaper articles and editorials pro and con for many of the crimes. When possible, the author gives us enough background to let us guess at the killer's motivation, and then he summarizes the trial and the fate of the killer. The book is straightforward and easy to read, and each case is short enough that when you finish one, you want to start on the next.
The husband seems to be the victim of preference for most of the "ladies," and poison -- especially arsenic -- seems to be the weapon of choice. But some of the killings are just brutal. Velma West, for example, took a clawhammer to her husband's head and then went to a party where she played piano and "was the heart and soul of the fete." Martha Wise loved funerals so much that she created a few of her own --?providing her relatives as the bodies -- and famously claimed "The devil made me do it!" The Eva Kaber case involved arsenic as well as stabbing and "remains the only homicide in the history of the world in which a grandmother, mother and granddaughter were indicted for the same first-degree murder."
Some of the tales are still mysteries. One woman unknowingly fell in love with her half-brother -- but did he know she was his sister? And who was the Black Widow of Cleveland?
These cases seem to present proof that marriage can be hazardous to your health and to offer a cautionary message to would-be seducers. This author has also written "They Died Crawling," "The Maniac in the Bushes," "The Corpse in the Cellar," "The Killer in the Attic" and "Death Ride at Euclid Beach."
Average customer rating:
- Portrait (with small defects) of a Victorian villain
- Truth remains more interesting than fiction
- A Great Absorbing Narrative
- Fiendishly Good Read
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Dynamite Fiend : The Chilling Tale of a Confederate Spy, Con Artist, and Mass Murderer
Ann Larabee
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Criminals | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | 19th Century | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Criminology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1403967946
Release Date: 2005-05-12 |
Book Description
The Dynamite Fiend brings to light the stunning story behind one of the most devious criminals of the nineteenth century, Alexander "Sandy" Keith. Beginning his dark career as a Confederate secret agent, Keith helped orchestrate some of the most infamous terrorist plots of the Civil War. In peacetime, dogged by creditors and victims of his frauds, Keith kept on the move, leaving more scams, schemes, and cheated women in his wake. As his situation became more desperate, his obsession with explosives and violence became more intense, leading to a horrifying plot that he put together while posing as a prosperous American businessman living in Germany. In 1875, one of Keith's bombs exploded on a dock, killing eighty people and injuring fifty more. The world heralded the deed as the "Crime of the Century" and Keith became the "Dynamite Fiend" and a true mass murderer. In The Dynamite Fiend, author Ann Larabee unfolds this engrossing tale of hidden identity, technological obsession, and an unparalleled lust for power and profit.
Customer Reviews:
Portrait (with small defects) of a Victorian villain.......2005-08-21
Ann Larabee has written a fascinating portrait of a Victorian villain as coldblooded as any killer today. Unfortunately some small defects may distract the reader.
On page 40 she writes that in the 19th century "no CIA or Interpol existed, and bored diplomats were the principal international spymasters." Interpol has nothing to do with spying, and while diplomats have always been responsible for reporting to their governments what is going on abroad, that makes them neither spies nor spymasters.
Page 47: "Ice...was desperately needed as the only truly effective remedy for yellow fever." Ice was not effective, nor did anyone think so.
Page 48: The author translates the Latin motto on the Confederate seal, Deo Vindice, as "God will vindicate." The two nouns, in the ablative case, mean "With God as avenger."
Page 115: The town of Bodenbach (Decin, today) is up, not down, the River Elbe from Dresden.
Page 119: Professor Larabee says that in the 1870s "well over 10,000 ships sank every year, mostly small boats...." Ships and boats are different things.
Pages 127-128: The Washington paper published by the bomber's fellow passenger, Donn Piatt, was The Capital and not the Washington Capitol. Nor was Piatt, as she says, ambassador to France. We had no ambassadors abroad in his time, only ministers heading legations. Piatt was secretary of legation at Paris, the minister's deputy.
Professor Larabee calls her book narrative nonfiction and says she has taken few liberties with the historical record. One could have hoped, however, that she would cite more sources for her narrative. She thanks her editor, who "reigned in some of my narrative excesses." Whatever the reign, the reins should have been tighter, including a spell and grammar check.
Truth remains more interesting than fiction.......2005-07-04
Why would anyone want to read a novel when they can spend time with this true-life thriller? The author has unearthed the real story of a despicable but fascinating character. The book is thoroughly researched and informative, as well as nicely written. This is a page-turner for anyone interested in true crime and/or the American Civil War.
A Great Absorbing Narrative.......2005-07-01
Ann Larabee tells an engrossing story. A well structured, well written narrative. Meticulously researched. An enjoyable read.
Fiendishly Good Read.......2005-06-20
Wow! What a read: I couldn't put it down once I started it! It's obviously well-researched, but it read like a novel. I never knew what historical figure I would meet on the next page, Keith crossed so many paths.
Larabee has done an excellent job bringing to light little-known aspects of wanton terrorism, with its roots in the U.S. Civil War and extending to the Continent.
Customer Reviews:
Brutes, Beasts and Human Fiends.......2006-03-30
A terror-taut collection of the most depraved killers and grisliest crimes of all times. Brutes, Beasts and Human Fiends is as unforgettable as a recurring nightmare.
Read all about the ingenious ghoul who fed victims to crocodiles; his colleague in gore who sent folks for swims in cement blocks; the discontented hsband who stirred up his wife so much she just disappeared in a vat of boiling oil.
--- from book's back cover
Books:
- Exes and Ohs
- Fallen Dragon
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
- Forever Peace (Remembering Tomorrow)
- Ghost In The Shell Volume 1 - 2nd Edition
- Girls From Da Hood 3
- Give a Boy a Gun
- Glitter That Was Once Gold: Long Island Gold Coast Trivia
- God Still Don't Like Ugly
- Good Night, Gorilla
Books Index
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