Book Description
A national bestseller, Dictionary of the Khazars was cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of the year. Written in two versions, male and female (both available in Vintage International), which are identical save for seventeen crucial lines, Dictionary is the imaginary book of knowledge of the Khazars, a people who flourished somewhere beyond Transylvania between the seventh and ninth centuries. Eschewing conventional narrative and plot, this lexicon novel combines the dictionaries of the world's three major religions with entries that leap between past and future, featuring three unruly wise men, a book printed in poison ink, suicide by mirrors, a chimerical princess, a sect of priests who can infiltrate one's dreams, romances between the living and the dead, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
No Substance And Little Style.......2006-11-22
An unreadable gimmick. Has little to do with the Kingdom of Khazar, a nation in Medieval Russia in which the entire population converted to Judaism. The fact that the authors needed to include a stunt such as releasing "male and female" versions of the book (in which the difference lies in one single word being changed in the editions) should say a lot about the substance of this work.
no thanks.......2006-05-02
I am a fan of both Borges and Calvino, yet I cannot find a reason to attach either of their names to this surprisingly bad piece of work. This book is a compilation of one inane story after another, progressively getting less interesting no matter where you begin. It tells three stories of the Khazar polemic (one from the point of view of each of the major religions) along with the history of the actual book. All three versions of the story are essentially the same boring tale replete with overwraught metaphors and uninspiring characters. In the introduction (the most interesting part of the book) the author advises the reader to skip around using the index. I would advise skipping the book altogether.
A must read..........2006-04-19
This book is a rare gem. Milorad Pavic is known for his unqiue formats and incredible imagery, and "DotK" is certainly no exception. The 3 sub-books (each an individual dictionary) provide alternate perspectives about entries that serve to flesh out the story, which centers around what is referred to as the "Khazar Polemic"; a debate set forth by the Khazar Khaghan to determine which of the three major religions to adopt: Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.
This little tome is filled with beautiful, bizarre word pictures that shouldn't be passed up. As someone has already remarked, he very much is the Salvadore Dale of literature. Buy this book and read it at least twice; once to get the story and again to appreciate the phenomenal minutia. All of his characters are so fantastical and colorful that it will take more than a cursory glance to absorb the feast Pavic has set before us. Belly up and dive in, it's great.
This is also a perfect spring board to launch into future Pavic novels.
A world of its own, superb.......2006-02-25
This book has taken me years to read, not because it reads badly, or because it lacks hooks, au contraire, the problem is that there is so much to take in, such richness, that I spend my time re-reading and cross-reading all the time.
The book is basically a dictionary of the imaginary Khazar people (this one happens to be the male version, the female version differs in only one word, but THAT makes all the difference), you read it as you would any other dictionary, you pick and entry and you read, that entry is also filled with cross references to other entries, where pertinent. It is at that point that the fun begins. By navigating in seemingly random fashion, a world begins to emerge, one as mystical and strange as it is real and solid.
Pavic has an unusual command of the absurdity of meaning; his juxtaposition of the normal with the bizarre as if there was nothing to it makes reading him exciting, new. The book will probably appeal to the historian inside us, as well as to the meddler, the gossiper and the prude in us. That juxtaposition creates a desire to know 'what next then?'
We meet princesses with deadly eyelids, slow mirrors and fast mirrors, poisonous books and killer winks...
Read it, but you will never be done with it!
Studies in tedium........2006-02-11
I've had this book for thirteen years.
I have tried to read it three times.
Everytime I felt like chucking the boring thing at somebody.
Unless you have read every single book out there and are a completist, skip this one.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 3364 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: An analysis of the narrative organization of Milorad Pavic's 'The Dictionary of the Khazars' is presented, focusing on the cultural context of the postmodern condition and the mutual influence between literary and scientific discourses. Topics addressed include the parallel between chaos theory and postmodernity, the question of truth in science and literature, and the uncertainty of the subject.
Citation Details
Title: Chaos, Knowledge, and Desire: Narrative Strategies in Dictionary of the Khazars.(Critical Essay)
Author: Tomislav Z. Longinovic
Publication:
The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
Page: 183
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 3375 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Intertextual poetics in the work of Milorad Pavic are discussed, with a focus on Appendix I of the novel 'Dictionary of the Khazars,' entitled "Father Theoctist Nikolsky as Compiler of the Khazar Dictionary." Semantic complexes in the novel are examined, including memory and oblivion, identity and metamorphosis, and particularity and unity.
Citation Details
Title: Culture as Memory: On the Poetics of Milorad Pavic.(Critical Essay)
Author: Dagmar Burkhart
Publication:
The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
Page: 164
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
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Dictionary of the Khazars as a Khazar Jar.(Critical Essay): An article from: The Review of Contemporary Fiction
Rachel Kilbourn Davis
Manufacturer: Review of Contemporary Fiction
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: B0009976AO
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 5042 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Issues discussed concern the themes and style of Milorad Pavic's novel, 'Dictionary of the Khazars.' Topics addressed include the portrayal of perception, reality, form, and value in the novel, as well as how the process of creating meaning results from the relationship between the reader and the text.
Citation Details
Title: Dictionary of the Khazars as a Khazar Jar.(Critical Essay)
Author: Rachel Kilbourn Davis
Publication:
The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
Page: 172
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Review of Contemporary Fiction, published by Review of Contemporary Fiction on June 22, 1998. The length of the article is 3676 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
From the supplier: Milorad Pavic's novel 'The Dictionary of the Khazars' is discussed as a concrete reflection of abstract concepts of knowledge, or an epistemological metaphor. The knowledge of being and the knowledge of becoming are both reflected in Pavic's work. Topics include present scientific foundations, the heterogeneity of discourses, systems philosophy, Carl Gustav Jung and synchronicity, openness and the active reader.
Citation Details
Title: Dictionary of the Khazars as an Epistemological Metaphor.(Critical Essay)
Author: Andreas Leitner
Publication:
The Review of Contemporary Fiction (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1998
Publisher: Review of Contemporary Fiction
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
Page: 155
Article Type: Critical Essay
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
His Winter Bride . . .?
As the holiday season approached, the residents of Jacobsville were whispering about Janie Brewster's hopeless crush on Leo Hart. Up till now, all her efforts to lasso the dynamic cattleman had crumbled quicker than those mouthwatering biscuits that Hart men coveted. However, this time the starry-eyed debutante had come up with the perfect self-improvement campaign to dazzle Leo -- she'd become a courageous cowgirl! Still, her sudden transformation seemed to rouse Leo's formidable temper more than ever. But wait . . . was it hot-blooded hunger -- not dark disdain -- that gleamed in his eyes when they melted into those smoldering kisses beneath the mistletoe? Could the last Hart bachelor be on the verge of taking Janie as his bride?
Customer Reviews:
Another great one.......2005-09-15
As the last of the Hart brothers books it took me in right away. I guess it was the biscuit hook plus the fact that we never learned what Leo did to the faithful housekeeper that made her want to seek her revenge on him. Plus, all the brothers lived on the same ranch and suffered from different reasons for their wariness of women. I truly believe y'all should read all the brothers stories: Corrigan, Simon, Callaghan, Reynald and Leopold. She does write good stuff anyway (The Long, Tall Texan series is definitaly 10-star rating). The Hart Brothers are truly loveable.
Ellie
Couldn't Put It Down.......2004-08-03
This was a great book. I read it all in one day and couldn't put it down. I don't know how many times I have reread this book, I have lost count. I love the conflicts beween Janie and Leo, and how in the end the final Hart brother becomes hooked. Leo seemed like a good guy who didn't want to hurt Janie intentionally but didn't want to get want to have her to get hooked onto him either. I just loved this book, and know that I will read it many more times.
My new favorite!.......2004-05-09
I haven't read all of Palmer's books yet, but I have read many, and this one is now at the top of the list. While it has many of the same ideas typical of her books - young virgin adores older man who has watched her grow up and won't let himself fall for her until she's in danger and then he realizes he can't live without her (whew!) - this one is Palmer at her best with all those details. Janie is a strong woman who wants Leo but won't trail after him like a lovesick pup. Leo fights his attraction to her but doesn't intentionally try to hurt her to drive her away. And they even *wait* until their wedding night, but there are several really hot scenes ahead of time that are also among the most tender I have read from Palmer. Terrific dialogue and intriguing secondary characters help to make this one a keeper!
Enjoyed It..........2003-05-22
A good book. It was worth the read. I read it all in one day.
Love hearted.......2003-03-31
Janie Brewster loved Leo Hart for a long time, just when Leo starts to notice Janie, her best friend Marilee wants him too.
Marilee, told Janie to do all the wrong things.
One tends to see this as being stupid on Janie's part, because she has known Leo for a long time, and she should have known better, but love is not the smartest emotion, and it does make the smartest of us stupid.
But when Marilee tells lies about things Janie is says no one believes Marilee but Leo.
Until a party, and than the feathers fly.
When Leo sees he is wrong he lets his brothers set the wedding of the year for him and Janie.
Customer Reviews:
A little disappointed...........2005-07-18
I read Simon and Cag's story before reading this one and I enjoyed their stories, so I was excited about getting this book. However, I was disappointed in this book because I though it lacked in a lot of ways. In the first story, (Rey's) It was quite different then all the rest of them because Meredith was the one that was chasing Rey and trying to get him to fall in love with her. In fact, he didn't even like her at all and had said so right up til the end of the book. Also, I found that it was a little stupid that she was keeping her job and schooling a secret from him. Why??? She would rather that he think of her as a prostitute than a nurse with a college degree? That doesn't make any sense to me. She has too understand why he thinks she is a hooker after the first night they met. It was an honest mistake on his part, anybody would have taken her for a hooker. Then she continued to let him think that and even lied to him when he questioned her. It made no sense to me. I really liked Rey in this story though. He was tough, and strong willed. Also very sensitive. If it wasn't for him then I would not have liked this story at all. He took care of things without even being asked. I did like this story better than Leo's though.
Leo's story was the one that I disliked most. I thought that Janie and him were so mismatched. The ending dragged on and on and on. Also, too much talk about her being a virgin. That was all Leo talked about. It got old pretty quick. He treated her more like a teenager than a full grown woman. I enjoyed a scene at the cattleman's ball about a fourth of the way through the story, when Leo and Janie had it out, but that was about it. Also, Marlie didn't fit into this story at all. She was telling lies to Leo about Janie, well if she went to that much trouble on keeping those two apart then why would she just up and leave? We never hear another word from her throughout the rest of the book. Also, Janie's dad Fred was a little unbelievable. He acted more than a friend to Janie than her father. All in all I think that Mrs. Palmer could have written these two stories better than she did.
Average customer rating:
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The Third Crusade: Richard the Lionhearted Vs. Saladin (Great Battles Through the Ages)
Samuel Willard Crompton
Manufacturer: Chelsea House Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0791074374 |
Average customer rating:
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King Richard the Lionhearted and the Crusades in World History (In World History)
Katherine M. Doherty , and
Craig A. Doherty
Manufacturer: Enslow Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 0766014592 |
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- Greatest Knight in History!
- Surprise Find
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Behold the Marshal
R.W. Hamilton
Manufacturer: PublishAmerica
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1424174597
Release Date: 2007-05-14 |
Book Description
The year is 1220. An old troubadour named Lewellyn is in a tavern claiming to have spent his life as personal servant to Sir William Marshal. He tells how fate brought them together when Sir William heroically foiled an attempt to kidnap Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1168. The incident leads to a lifelong journey into a world of violent tournaments, war, passionate affairs, jealousy and intrigue. They learn the importance of trust as they serve four Plantagenet kings over a fifty-year period. The two men show us the different rules that governed the lives of the poor and the powerful. Mystery and conflict constantly changes their fortunes. Because the story so closely matches real historical facts, the patrons of the tavern and the reader will wonder if old Lewellyn is who he claims to be or just a clever liar.
Customer Reviews:
Greatest Knight in History!.......2007-09-15
To begin with "Behold the Marshal" is not the style of literature I'm normally drawn to. But the recent buzz surounding the Knights Templar (due to the Davinci Code) and a recent trip to London peaked my interest in the order. The story only briefly deals with Sir William's involvement with the order but as I have found out in that regard it is true to history. Nonetheless, I was intanty drawn in by the characters of Llewelyn and Sir William Marshal and (as the author states in the epilogue) find it incredible that Sir William's role in history is not widely known. The authors dedication to creating a true account of possibly the greatest knight that ever lived serves to make the story even more compelling. I began "Behold the Marshal" on a friday evening and found it to be so engrossing that I finished it over my Sunday morning coffee. I found it to be quite an incredible period in history and recommend "Behold the Marshal" to anyone who is interested in getting out of he Sci-Fi/Fantasy rut. I can't wait to see if this author follows up!!! My only regret is Sean Connery is too old to play Sir William!
Surprise Find.......2007-06-30
A friend suggested this book and I thought historical novel would not be for me. I was wrong I never thought I was reading history. From the moment I opened the book and was introduced to the troubadour Lewellyn,I felt I was there watching everything unfold. Each chapter kept me engrossed in the intrigues and mysteries surrounding the Plantagenet family. The author keeps you guessing and hoping that this knight and his servant will prevail. It must have been a very difficult time to be a person of principle. Men like the Marshal are rare. I don't understand why he is not well known. I hope they make this book a movie. I would love to see who would play the parts described so well by this new writer. I have my own choices in mind. I highly recommend "Behold the Marshal"; even to those who are not really keen on history. It is just a great story.
Average customer rating:
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The captive lad;: A story of Daniel, the lionhearted
Jean Brown Wagoner
Manufacturer: Bobbs-Merrill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: B0006ATWTE |
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The crusader king, Richard the Lionhearted
Richard Suskind
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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ASIN: 0316822507 |
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- Fasting, Feasting
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- Floating in My Mother's Palm
- Foam of the Daze
- Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Good Harbor: A Novel
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