Book Description
In a remote Siberian village, amid a lawless, unforgiving landscape, lives Anna Petrovna, a beautiful, willfully self-reliant widowed mother. A mystical, separatist Christian sect, a stranded regiment of restless Czech soldiers, and an eerie local shaman live nearby, all struggling against the elements and great social upheaval to maintain a fragile coexistence.
Out of the woods trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia’s northernmost prison camp, with a terrifyingly outlandish story to tell about his journey. Immediately apprehended, he is brought before the Czech regiment’s megalomaniac, Captain Matula. But the stranger’s appearance has caught the attention of others, including Anna Petrovna’s.
This stranger, his bizarre story—if it is to be believed—and the apparent murder of the local shaman quickly become a flashpoint for this village: temperatures rise, alliances shift, and betrayals emerge. Written with a commanding historical authority and remarkable grace, The People’s Act of Love is an epic of desire and sacrifice that leaves the reader utterly mesmerized through to the final heart-pounding pages.
Customer Reviews:
Good stuff.......2007-03-30
While the paperback of The People's Act of Love is covered in quotes comparing it to Doctor Zhivago and Anna Karenina, the reader would be better off without such grand expectations. As a page turner, it's a first class thriller. As a work of literature, it's sly, reserved tone can't cover the outright sensationalism and melodrama that the author serves up. It's a book about lives weaving closer together in the Siberian hinterland and while these lives are fairly convincing while told separately, once the characters begin to intertwine, they seems to lose their individuality and move only as chess pieces. This is probably because Meek seeks to wrap up his book in a grand finale, with terrible characters claiming grand acts of redemption against a background of revolution and blood. Perhaps he gave himself a bit too much to chew on, and the last quarter gets weighed down by exposition as Meek tries to tie up his ends. Still, great fun getting there, but please leave the comparisons to Tolstoy behind.
So, The End Justifies The Means?.......2007-03-10
"He's not a destroyer; he is destruction, leaving these good people who remain to build a better world on the ruins. What looks like an act of evil to a single person is the people's act of love to its future itself." Samarin pretending to speak of another, but really speaking of himself.
James Meek has written a marvelous story-telling in this novel. It portrays the Russian revolution in such detail you would think you are in the world of 1917. So many characters woven into effortless story lines, so that the story grabs our attention. The characters are revealed in a central figure, and we are able at last to understand the drama and the truth. James Meek attended Edinburgh University and as a journalist for the "Guardian" and "Observer" reported from Russia for ten years. He has been able to show us the horrific sights and scenes of Siberia: cruelty, murder and cannibalism. And, yet the sun shining on the snow, the love of a man and a woman; the everyday life of those who live the best they can.
Samarin, one of the main characters shows up in tiny, poor Yazyk, a Siberian community. His story is that of a political prisoner, a run-away from a horrible place in the Arctic. He has escaped with "Mohican" a guard at this prison. Mohican took Samarin with him, it seems, to eat his flesh. Samarin's story is slowly unraveled, but not before we meet the other characters. An extreme Christian sect that castrates its members so they can be called angels. A group of Czechoslovakian legions, trying to leave this God-forbidden place, led by Lieutenant Mutz. Mutz loves the earth and a woman, Anna Petrovna. Anna is the wife of the leader of the Christian sect. She is also a woman who loves men and sex, photography and her son.
All these characters and more who are puzzled about many events. They learn as we do, when the puzzle begins to fit; the meaning of the extremes of the political, the spiritual and the humanity. There are heroes and there is goodness. This is a particularly spectacular book, written by a particularly special writer.
Highly recommended. prisrob 1-24-06
Showdown in Siberia.......2007-02-21
James Meek brings together a number of forces in an isolated Siberian village during the last stages of the Russian Revolution: a young mother who has lost her husband; a sect of religious zealots and their otherworldly leader; a shaman from one of the forest tribes and his albino acolyte; a force of Czech soldiers, unable to return to their newly-established country; and an escaped political prisoner, driven, charismatic, and wrapped in mystery. Meek gradually introduces several even more unusual elements into this mixture [some of which are revealed by other reviewers on this site, which is a pity]. The result is an exciting and relatively short work of fiction that defies easy categorization; history, romance, mystery, horror, politics, and even comedy combine in a quite unusual way.
I have to say, though, that it is not entirely a success. For one thing, it demands more knowledge of early Soviet history than can be expected of every reader: to understand, for example, the timeline of the defeat of the White Russians by the Reds, the history of the Russian prison camps, and the surprising presence of the Czech Legion thousands of miles from home. For another, I personally found that the presence of such diverse elements made the novel difficult to follow, or rather difficult to penetrate to the deeper levels that the author occasionally implies, as he raises questions about fanaticism, religion, and the suitability of means to ends. The cover reviews compare James Meek to Tolstoy, Lermontov, and Pasternak; this is true in that he writes well, and captures the Russian atmosphere memorably. But although Meek juggles them skilfully, themes of this scope really demand to be developed at a length more typical of his great Russian predecessors if the book is to rise above the level of a very good thriller and become a true novel as those authors would have understood the term.
Odd Book.......2007-02-19
It is difficult to identify with such unusual heroes as a cannibal and a self multilator even if the author throws the two of them redemptive acts in the final pages of the book.
The bizarre cast of characters does not live up to the stage it performs on.
I expected much more when the book was compared on the cover to Dr. Zhivago and Anna Karenina.....PLEASE.....
Strangely Mesmerizing but NOT a Love Story.......2007-01-30
Set in Siberia toward the end of the Bolshevik Revolution, this is one of the strangest but most intriguing books I've ever read. The primary subjects are: the rise of communism and some of the underlying reasons and a religious cult that practices castration on those who wish to become "angels" while still here on earth. And did I forget to mention cannibalism? Indeed those were tumultuous and confusing times as the social order defined by czarist Russia and its various institutions collapses.
A glance at the author's credentials shows that he clearly knows his subject. But his approach is to tell the interweaving stories of several different people: the headstrong Anna Petrovna who becomes a war widow and mother at a tender age and moves to a Siberian village to escape her past; her charming but elusive husband; the enigmatic but equally charming Samarin, who escapes a prison camp north of the Arctic circle; and a cast of Czech soldiers that might inhabit any war comedy, e.g. MASH, Hogan's Heroes, etc.
This is definitely NOT a love story, although there are elements of love within. Once the reader adjusts to that fact, it is an engrossing period piece that makes the case for communism (as preferable to what preceded it) by anecdote.
Average customer rating:
- A little something is missing
- Strange but Mesmerizing; NOT a Love Story
- Strange but Mesmerizing; Not a Love Sory
- a lot of promise that fails to deliver.
- One of a kind
|
The People's Act of Love
James Meek
Manufacturer: Canongate U.S.
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Binding: Hardcover
 Historical
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ASIN: 1841957305 |
Amazon.com
James Meek has won several awards for his journalism and his fiction, but The People's Act Of Love is a singular departure from all that came before. It is a big Russian novel, written in English. Meek has upped the ante on such books as Cold Mountain and The March in bringing the reader his version of the unspeakable horror and brutality of war, the colder-than-cold winter, the cruelty and humanity of people in extremis.
It is 1919 in Yazyk, Siberia, far from anywhere. The war is waning, but its ravages remain. There is an uneasy detente between a group of Czech soldiers, marooned on the losing side and longing to go home, and a fanatical Christian sect that practices castration as a means of purifying themselves. One of their number is their leader, Balashov, married to a beautiful and restive photographer, Anna Petrovna, who has come to the village of Yazyk to raise her son, after learning of her husband's castration. Her fury knows no bounds. She gives herself to anyone who is interested as a means of shaming Balashov, and satisfying her own appetites.
Into this motley collection of people comes a stranger, Samarin, who says he has escaped from The White Garden, Russia's northernmost prison camp, a place of unbelievable barbarism. Shortly after his arrival, the village shaman, possessed of a third eye and an albino sidekick, is found murdered. Suspicion falls immediately on Samarin. In successive chapters, Meek has each person or faction tell his or her story. Samarin, a revolutionary, charismatic visionary, every bit as zealous as the castrates, tells of his escape. Matula, the crazy, cocaine-snorting leader of the Czechs, doesn't really want to go home, so he prevents his soldiers from leaving. Mutz, a sensible sort, quite taken with Anna, dreams of home and keeps hope alive among his soldiers. Balashov tells of what led him to castrate himself.
The hopes, wishes, dreams, and illusions of all these people converge in Meek's novel. He shows man as pure, base, megalomaniacal, rational, intelligent, incredibly stupid--every aspect of humanity is examined, especially compassion. Despite the horrid excesses of war--and peace--Meek, in their telling, weaves a completely believable story of what happens to people who are not just at the margins of the world, but at the edge of their ability to understand themselves and the world around them. (The people's act of love, by the way, has nothing to do with love: it is cannibalism.) Don't miss this extraordinary novel; it is hugely deep and satisfying. --Valerie Ryan
Book Description
In the outer reaches of a country recently torn apart by civil war lives a small Christian sect and its enigmatic leader, Balashov. Anna Petrovna, a beautiful, restless photographer, is raising her young son by herself amid this brutal landscape. Stationed nearby is a company of Czech soldiers, desperate to get home but on the losing side of the recent conflict. Each soldier lives in a fragile co-existence and a troubling uncertainty prevails. Into this isolated community trudges Samarin, an escapee from Russia's northernmost prison camp. Immediately apprehended, he is brought before Captain Matula, the Czech company's megalomaniac commander. But the stranger's appearance has caught the attention of others, including that of Anna Petrovna. And when a local shaman is found murdered, suspicion and terror engulf this village. To be published in twenty countries, The People's Act of Love is quite simply magnificent storytelling and it promises to be an auspicious literary event.
Customer Reviews:
A little something is missing.......2007-06-09
My review's title does not refer to the act of self-mutilation by the sect of castrates, who do so in the name of love and God, and in an attempt to eliminate the evil caused by their base instincts. To me, something was lacking in what was almost a very compelling story. After all, the scene is in a remote village in Siberia, at a watershed time after the revolution. We have cannibalism, the religious castrates, a stranded group of Czech soldiers led by a crazy man, an apparent widow, and the mysterious Samarin with his compelling and eloquent story of escape.
This creative story lacked the narrative drive that could have forced me to continue, eager for the themes and characters to come together for resolution. One of the major plot lines is that of the stranded Czechs soldiers who cannot or will not return to their newly formed homeland, and who are eventually threated by an advancing Red Army bent on wiping them out for past atrocities. I couldn't muster enough interest to care much, although the Jewish officer Mutz and a few regulars were nicely drawn in human terms.
Mr. Meek's strongest writing may be in the extensive back stories. We learn about Anna's youth, we hear Balashov's dramatic explanation of his change, and the people of Yazyk are fascinated by Samarin's tale of his dramatic escape from the "White Garden" prison with his fellow traveler, the cannibal. All wonderfully told.
Anna's character left me ambivalent. As a youth, she showed spark and talent, headed toward a future in a world of more sophistication than her hometown. To me, her presence in a dull village in Siberia with her son did not fit, and her search for love through casual sex was unsatisfying. Perhaps I did not comprehend the essence of her story, whereas Balashov's own fall from grace and partial redemption in the end fit more tightly with the themes on the human condition. Love and evil are not so easily controlled by a quick slice of the knife.
Mr. Meek has captured the feel of Russian fiction, and incorporated some examples of Russian cynical humor. One of my favorites: "He was able to talk about Marx to them with more eloquence and conviction than they could muster because he wasn't hampered by any knowledge of the great thinker's writings." Perfect.
Strange but Mesmerizing; NOT a Love Story.......2007-01-31
Set in Siberia toward the end of the Bolshevik Revolution, this is one of the strangest but most intriguing books I've ever read. The primary subjects are: the rise of communism and some of the underlying reasons and a religious cult that practices castration on those who wish to become "angels" while still here on earth. And did I forget to mention cannibalism? Indeed those were tumultuous and confusing times as the social order defined by czarist Russia and its various institutions collapses.
A glance at the author's credentials shows that he clearly knows his subject. But his approach is to tell the interweaving stories of several different people: the headstrong Anna Petrovna who becomes a war widow and mother at a tender age and moves to a Siberian village to escape her past; her charming but elusive husband; the enigmatic but equally charming Samarin, who escapes a prison camp north of the Arctic circle; and a cast of Czech soldiers that might inhabit any war comedy, e.g. MASH, Hogan's Heroes, etc.
This is definitely NOT a love story, although there are elements of love within. Once the reader adjusts to that fact, it is an engrossing period piece that makes the case for communism (as preferable to what preceded it) by anecdote.
Strange but Mesmerizing; Not a Love Sory.......2007-01-31
Set in Siberia toward the end of the Bolshevik Revolution, this is one of the strangest but most intriguing books I've ever read. The primary subjects are: the rise of communism and some of the underlying reasons and a religious cult that practices castration on those who wish to become "angels" while still here on earth. And did I forget to mention cannibalism? Indeed those were tumultuous and confusing times as the social order defined by czarist Russia and its various institutions collapses.
A glance at the author's credentials shows that he clearly knows his subject. But his approach is to tell the interweaving stories of several different people: the headstrong Anna Petrovna who becomes a war widow and mother at a tender age and moves to a Siberian village to escape her past; her charming but elusive husband; the enigmatic but equally charming Samarin, who escapes a prison camp north of the Arctic circle; and a cast of Czech soldiers that might inhabit any war comedy, e.g. MASH, Hogan's Heroes, etc.
This is definitely NOT a love story, although there are elements of love within. Once the reader adjusts to that fact, it is an engrossing period piece that makes the case for communism (as preferable to what preceded it) by anecdote.
a lot of promise that fails to deliver........2006-12-23
a literary thiller that starts with a lot of promise. part joseph conrad, part graham greene, and a pinch of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and that's all very good. the problem is the thiller part. like almost all thrillers this book disinegrates (in the last 54 pages) into a bunch of cornball speeches and tying-up of things that had me rolling my eyes. verdict: sappy crap at end ruins promising book. try again mr. meek, you can do better.
One of a kind.......2006-11-07
Meek's style has a lot in common with Chekov's--simple, brisk and always on its toes. He too has the uncanny talent for creating brutally realistic characters moreso through perfect pitch and timing rather than straight description. He has a similar absurdist humor also. Sometimes reading this, I would cry and bust out laughing at the same time.
Other aspects of Meek's writing are uniquely impressive. His descriptions of setting are incredible. With a few deft words he creates visual images more exact than most writers do filling up an entire page.
As well-researched and traditionally "Russian" as this book is, it still reads like a modern novel. Meek is concerned with action as well as characterization, adding some mystery and plot twists; and language, sex, and violence are straightforward instead of suggested.
Altogether, the best of many worlds. An unusual and wonderful book.
Amazon.com
The Act of Marriage After 40: Making Love for Life by Tim and Beverly LaHaye with Mike Yorkey is a practical, no-nonsense guidebook that will teach married couples to have a more satisfying sex life in middle age and beyond. A follow-up to their successful Act of Marriage, the topics covered in this book are based on the results of a comprehensive survey investigating the sexual issues that are most important to older Christian couples. Although the LaHayes say their research indicates that "the frequency of sex is reduced by advancing age," they make a convincing case for their belief that "the meaning of the act of marriage can be enriching, more satisfying even with the passage of years." Each chapter of the book explores topics such as menopause, erectile dysfunction, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and the temptation of extramarital affairs. The LaHayes also provide a number of strategies for jump-starting stalled sex lives. Some of these strategies are atmospheric (men will learn that "items that stir a woman's senses are a bouquet of flowers, a bowl of fresh fruit, or 100-gram bars of Swiss chocolate (chocolate has been known for its aphrodisiac qualities for centuries)." Other strategies are more technical. (Various sexual positions are described, and although the LaHayes "do not personally recommend or advocate oral sex," they "see no biblical grounds to preclude two married people from enjoying the practice.") The Act of Marriage is a passionate exploration of an important subject, and its advice will help many married couples practice sexual faithfulness to one another as an expression of Christian faith. --Paul Power
Book Description
This book covers such topics as nutrition (how do nutritional supplements affect your sex life?), fitness, sexual desire (does sexual desire actually reverse with age?), male impotence (psychological and physical causes, including a discussion of Viagra), female hormone drugs (the effect on desire), menopause and hysterectomy sex, first-time marriage after 40, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent!.......2002-03-17
I found this book to be very informative about middle age and beyond, marriage, physical problems, exercise, health, E.D., and, especially, sex life. It includes a section on hygiene, sexual positions, and sexual techniques, and everything is written from the Christian point of view. I found it very helpful and interesting. I would like to read the original "The Act of Marriage" to complement it.
You already know what it's going to say........2001-02-07
News Flash: this book is exactly the same is everything else the LaHayes have ever written. Don't let the 'over 40' fool you. The advice is only marginally different from what they tell the under 40 marrieds.
Here, I'll save you the cash : "Keep adhering to scriptural principles throughout your entire life"
Now take the money you saved and give it to the needy.
Average customer rating:
- A Good Lay Study of the Book of Acts
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Falling in Love With Jesus' People: Studies in the Book of Acts
Rubel Shelly
Manufacturer: College Press Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0899008038 |
Customer Reviews:
A Good Lay Study of the Book of Acts.......2000-07-14
This is a good chapter by chapter study in the book of Acts. It can be used for a church or home bible study or for your own personal devotional time. This book is easy to read. It is not a commentary but it does have good information and points for the verses in the book of Acts. I like it because you can use it for a devotional study in Acts and I would recoommend it to anyone that would like to study the book of Acts, whether in a group or individually, with ease and without getting into a heavy commentary.
Customer Reviews:
A fantastic book.......2007-09-13
I stumbled upon this book at the bargain priced hardcover section of a bookstore. It was the best $4.98 I've ever spent. The book is fast paced and the narrative is often hilarious.
Not Your Average Who Dunnit.......2007-04-19
This was a really fun read; great for the beach. Abrahams takes the who dunnit and turns it on its head. The protagonist, Nick Petrov is a real good PI, smart, experienced, logical and plodding, who manages to just about solve the mystery given to him early on in the book. Your thinking wait a minute, is this going to be a book with vignettes of the best of Nick Petrov's cases because there's still 300 pages to go. But no, Petrov suffers some kind of brain cancer/anurism and winds up in the hospital. A big chunk of his memory gets cut out when they patched him up and so he has to go through the entire investigation from the start without the aid of any of those great smarts, experiences or logic that he used to count on. Petrov turns from cocky jerk to humble human and you like him all the better for it. Take this book to the beach this summer and then wait for Abraham's next book.
Unique lead character.......2006-11-09
OBLIVION starts as a rather ordinary mystery, but picks up steam when private eye Nick Petrov suffers a brain hemorrhage resulting from a tumor. Another unique element is that the reader knows more about what's going on than Nick does when he wakes up in the hospital.
The early part of the book deals with a woman hiring Nick to find her daughter. He accumulates clues, painstakingly entering them in code in his notebook. After his operation he no longer remembers the code and must recompile the evidence.
Nick's main claim to fame was his role in the capture of serial killer Gerald Reasoner. Armand Assante even played him in a movie about the case. As he reaccumulates evidence, he begins to find similarities between the new case and the Reasoner murders. Someone is also trying to thwart his efforts, as he loses a key piece of evidence when an intruder breaks into his house.
A subplot involves Nick's love life. His former lover is now the LA chief of police. Their affair ruined his marriage. In his new world, Nick begins to fall for Billie, a black nurse who cares for him while he's in the hospital.
Another rather unique element is the presence of Nick's dead father, a former KGB investigator, as Nick pursues the missing girl. We're never quite sure if this is a consequence of his brain tumor, or if he really thinks he's talking to his father. The father also goads Nick for his ineptitude
One drawback of the book is that Abrahams telegraphs the culprit about midway through the book; we even recognize his/her accomplice when he arrives on the scene.
I've read one other Abrahams novel, END OF STORY, and one element they both have in common is originality. If you're tired of formulaic writing, give Abrahams a try.
A Good Psychological Thriller!.......2006-10-25
Interesting tale of a prior investigator (Nick Petrov) who had gained fame for cracking a serial murder case. He is hired by a woman to track down her daughter. What seems like a typical missing persons case then starts to turn weird and strange people seem to be attacking Nick. When it looks like he made some headway in the case, Nick has a severe medical problem that causes him to have amnesia including not being able to remember anything about the missing girl case.
Nick comes across some of the items he had collected from the missing girl case and realizes they must mean something. Little by little he starts to piece things together and get up to speed to the point he was before amnesia. The more Nick learns, he seems to realize that maybe this was more than a missing girl case and maybe it is related somehow to the serial killer case that he had worked on.
Some parts of the book are slow and others are a little difficult to understand but the reader wants to learn everything they can along with Nick. So many clues need to be pieced together to figure out and tie all the loose ends.
Nick is an extremely interesting character because he was a smug, domineering individual before his illness and after his illness he tries with difficulty to be the same way but is stifled by his new physical shortcomings.
A good read!
Suspense with a twist.......2006-10-09
Peter Abrahams is known for his suspenseful thrillers that capture readers within moments of beginning one of his books. Oblivion is no different. We are introduced to Nick Petrov, a Russian-born private investigator made somewhat famous by a high-profile serial killer years ago, who takes on what seems to be a simple missing person case. However, as his investigation lengthens, it becomes obvious that this particular case runs much deeper than anyone would have imagined. Just as he nears a breakthrough, the story is thrown into disarray as he suddenly develops amnesia and loses his memory of the entire investigation. He then has to piece the case together from scratch, without knowing why he was involved in the case in the first place. The events that follow are well-crafted with several unanticipated twists that would keep any reader turning the page for more.
While the amnesia scenario is somewhat of a cliché, it was done in a way that did not detract from the "reality" factor of the book. It was also an interesting way to add flavor to a missing person's story that could arguably stand on its own as an intriguing read. The story seemed to drag a bit in the middle, but very few novels are able to maintain the fast pace that Abrahams uses in the first hundred or so pages, and slowing things down was hardly a negative thing. Instead, I felt it brought maturity into the narrative. He also used flashback at timely moments to answer questions that tend to linger in your mind, and he has a way of using one or two word descriptions that many people would need several paragraphs to illustrate.
If someone is a fan of the detective thriller sub-genre, this is a "can't miss." Before I even realized it, I was a quarter of the way through the book, which means that if you are too busy to sit down for a while you may find yourself frustrated with having to put the book away. This is what has made Peter Abrahams the successful writer that he is and what keeps his fans coming back for more. Not only that, but it's also what makes reading enjoyable and relaxing. Thumbs up for Oblivion.
Reviewed on behalf of MyShelf.com
Average customer rating:
- The best book in the O'malley seris next to Skye.
- Best next to Skye O'Malley
- Wild Jasmine
- Reality Check
- Entertaining and Exotic
|
Wild Jasmine
Bertrice Small
Manufacturer: Ivy Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Avon ANEW CLINICAL 2-Step Facial Peel
ASIN: 0345401344
Release Date: 1996-03-02 |
Book Description
"SPELLBINDING."
--Romantic Times
From the palaces of pashas in seventeenth-century India to the scandalous court of James Stuart of England, one woman struggles against fate to find true love....
Princess Yasaman had been blessed with rapturous beauty, fierce intelligence, and an innocent sensuality that captivates two formidable men--her scheming half brother, Salim, and her loving husband, Prince Jamal. But her days of bliss and nights of steamy passion are shattered when Jamal is murdered and Yasaman flees to England and the court of James I. Calling herself Jasmine, she is reunited with her beautiful mother, Velvet, and her grandmother, the legendary Skye O'Malley de Marisco.
Before long, Jasmine is caught up in the tangled intrigues of the court of the Stuart king, James I, where she is admired by the most powerful men in England: Rowan Lindley, Marquess of Westleigh, her good-natured second husband; the Earl of Glenkirk, who tempts her with forbidden passion; and hot-blooded Henry Stuart, prince of England. It is here that she truly becomes Wild Jasmine, a woman who lives and loves with fierce abandon and who surrenders to the deepest pleasures of love....
Customer Reviews:
The best book in the O'malley seris next to Skye........2006-06-18
I have read and re-read this book until the cover ripped off. Jasmine is her grandmother Skye reborn. She is just as beautiful and strong willed. She also has hot love scenes that rival Skye and her mother Velvet. This will always be one of my favorite books.
Best next to Skye O'Malley.......2005-09-07
I was really impressed with this book. For some reason, I had the notion that I wouldnt like any books after the series with Skye in them. i figured after Skye had died, there couldnt be anything interesting to say. I liked Jasmine almost better than Skye. I found that I still like reading books in reference to her. Maybe its because she is such a strong woman, who gets through everything, and still remains strong. Its an excellent continuation in the Skye O'Malley Legacy.
Wild Jasmine.......2004-01-03
Wild Jasmine was the first book I read by Ms. Bertrice Small and I was in awe. From the first page I was transported to 17th century India and England. From the little girl to the young woman that married her Prince. I was upset with her half-brother, Salim. I cried when she lost her 1st husband, Prince Jamal. Her life was filled with trials and tribulations to make her a very strong woman that is portrayed in this book.
Reality Check.......2003-12-14
Wild Jasmine is an okay book, nowhere near the caliber of some of Bertrice's other works. It's basically the same story, different woman. OF COURSE, she's beautiful, smart, fabulously wealthy, egocentrically aware of all the previous qualities, and widowed several times in the book. Can we have one woman in the O' Malley family who DOESN'T lose her husband/lover to duel, murder, illness, etc., etc? The only points of the book that stick out in my mind are her relationship with her brother, Salim, and Prince Henry.
In my humble opinion, Yasaman knew that Salim had the hots for her, but since she was so overwhealmingly adored by everyone, she didn't quite get that kind of attraction was unhealthy. In her relationship with Henry, I think she showed a surprising unselfishness in that she knew that there was no way she could end up with him, and so made it her duty to make sure that he knew it, too.
Lastly, this book has a few scenes steamy enough to take the wrinkles out of your jammies, but they don't make up for the fact that this book is basically blah.
Entertaining and Exotic.......2003-09-09
Let me preface my review with the confession that I don't like Jasmine. I don't like her in this book and I don't like her in subsequent books. She is spoiled and the essence of conceit.
That being said, I think it's an incredible feat that this novel remains a good read, even if I hate the central character. The sweep of events from India to England is dazzling, although I also couldn't believe Jasmine could adapt to a new culture with the ease that she does. In 2003 we have a knowledge of psychology that would question Jasmine's ability to cope with the violent deaths of her husbands, but that's an enlightenment that had no place in the 1600's and hence not in the novel. What's important is that the plot is relentless and spirited, which makes for a read that seems like it's ending just as it begins. And that's just fine--read it again!
Product Description
Rice dishes made with a variety of "new" rices: Taxmati, Wehani, Black Japonica, Arborio, Basmati, etc.
Product Description
good reading for the adventurous spirit who likes reading about the days of long ago
Product Description
Paperback sized, gold colored hardback
Average customer rating:
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Wild Jasmine
Bertrice Small
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVOR4A |
Average customer rating:
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Wild Shores of Patagonia, the
Jasmine Rossi
Manufacturer: Lariviere
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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