The Angel of Forgetfulness

Book Description

T.C. Boyle meets Isaac Bashevis Singer in a virtuoso act of storytelling

In his rollicking, colorful new novel, the celebrated Jewish American author Steve Stern interweaves three narratives about characters—two men and an angel—who take flight from their ordinary lives and are plunged into extraordinary circumstances. The story leaps through time and space from the Lower East Side of 1910 New York to Prague's famous medieval synagogue, the Altneushul, to a 1960s hippie commune in Arkansas. Stern has created a luminous triumph of the storyteller's art, a potent blend of realism and Jewish mysticism that celebrates the turbulent romance between past and present, art and obsession.

Customer Reviews:

Original Read.......2007-02-20

I did not fall in love with the plot of this book as much as I fell in love with Stern's characters. You will enjoy spending your time with them during the read and will remember them all as if you really got to know them.

starts off strong ..........2006-08-10

...and putters a bit. For the record, I'm usually a tough reviewer of books and only review books that I either really love or abhored. This book and I, ah, our first night was magic. There was laughter, some tears, time and space became distorted, the line between reality and fiction frayed, and then a kiss... by an old decrepit relative whose relation has never quite been pinned down. Which is how this book opens.

Our love affair hit a good stride towards the middle; we were looking to the future and I felt we had really bonded. But I began becoming a bit bored with our relationship, began sneaking in other books behind the Angel's back. We carried on our romance as before but we both knew something had died. After a while, I just was waiting for the end.

When the end came, I felt good about our relationship; it was fun and definitely had its moments. I'd probably take it up again if I hit a cold spell.

Follow, follow.......2006-04-27

Memphis and Arkansas in the 60s. The Lower East Side in the 1900s. Heaven. The depths, heights, sidespins and blind alleys of magical realism. The stage. An attic in Prague. The Catskills. Where up is down. (Somewhere else you want to go maybe? Ingrate!)

I hestitate to call this the culmination of Stern's work only because that would leave him nowhere to go. His individual sentences are more poetic than most author's books. His realism is real, his magic is Magic, and his weaving of the two is seamless.

almost great novel.......2005-12-22

I read the other reviews and felt compelled to take the reviews down a notch. The novel works when it disquiets the reader and challenges your notions of appropriate and productive behavior. It works less well when delving into the world of fantasy. Still, one of the best reads of 2005, but be prepared to stick with it past page 200 when the more personal story tapers off and the fanciful story dominates.

Wonderful novel.......2005-08-16

Wonderful novel that will keep you spellbound. Excellent read and a book you'll want to share with others.

Customer Reviews:

Immensely practical and Extremely Important.......2007-04-25

I just finished this book last night and it was excellent. The personal comments by the authors were both beautiful and insightful. I can only imagine how powerful they are in face-to-face workshops!

This book touches on an area where parents don't get near the support they need....how to help themselves and their families move past a diagnosis and create the joyful life we all want for ourselves and our families. The authors start by describing their own deep need for this material and then go on to offer 200 pages of practical tips and exercises to help any parent create a more joyful life that fits their unique situation.

a book that really helped me.......2007-02-10

I am very glad I read this book. It has helped me become more self-aware, especially when I'm feeling worried or afraid. I love that it's written for and by parents. I kept reading the stories in it and feeling: I am among friends. I especially appreciate the book's technique of "reframing", which is a strategy for working with a range of thoughts and feelings. I realize that I have more control over my life than I thought I did. Most of this sense of change has been internal. But that affects everything else - my kids, our whole family, our school.

A book that fits all .......2007-02-04

This book is helpful for moms with any child, and especially for a mom with a child who has special needs. I love how the author talks about not finding a book that "fit" them. Thankyou for writing a book that fits all. I am doing a book club with another mom because of this awesome book.

Roan (Blake, Jennifer, Louisiana Gentlemen Series.)

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A nice romantic story
A modern day hero you're sure to fall in love with!
Wake Me When The Story Starts
Roan
A nice try- but Not. Quite. Good. Enough.

Roan (Blake, Jennifer, Louisiana Gentlemen Series.)
Jennifer Blake
Manufacturer: Mira
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1551666308

Customer Reviews:

A nice romantic story.......2005-06-13

This a great story about women who kidnapped and sheriff who takes who shoots her because he feels she is armed robber. The mystery of why she was kidnapped unfolds while she has been moved back to his home to recover from the shooting and stay under police investigation. This was a fast book to read and a fun romantic story. I read `Luke' first off to find more in this series.

A modern day hero you're sure to fall in love with!.......2004-12-01

I couldn't put this book down! The love story was truly touching, sweet, and comical. The author did a great job developing a strong relationship between the characters even though the surrounding circumstances were a bit unusual. The women he accidently shot while doing his duty as a sheriff ends up being the same women he falls deeply in love with. The charaters are lovable (esp. Roan), the plot is strong, and her dialoge is well written. This book gives you a good taste of what a real southern gentlemen is really like. This is one book you just have to read!

Wake Me When The Story Starts.......2004-06-23

The book was slow and ponderous. I was intrigued by the plot, because really, I don't think I've read a romance where the hero shoots the heroine. I wanted to see how Blake intended to write herself out of that corner.

Slowly. Very Slowly.

I tried to see the sparkage between Roan and Donna/Tory, but it didn't work for me. There was so little danger after the opening gambit, and Donna/Tory spent so much of the story bored out of her skull, that I was bored as a result. There was also the implausibility that a woman of logic and above average intelligence didn't know how to hire her own attorney and establish herself as both mentally competent and in charge of her personal affairs.

Alas, I couldn't get past such obvious things, and with Blake creating a story that's slow, languorous and syrupy, I kept reaching for the cattle prod--just to move things along.

Roan.......2000-10-27

WOW, this is a wonderful book. It kept me turning pages well into the night. I couldn't wait to see how it ended, yet hated when it did. These two characters will have you coming back for more from this author. (I read this one first then realized that there were two before this one. I AM DEFINETELY GETTING KANE AND LUKE TO READ NEXT.)

A nice try- but Not. Quite. Good. Enough........2000-10-03

While he is chasing down a van carrying three robbery suspects, Roan Benedict fires on a woman who rolls out of the open door back door of the van, wounding her seriously. Half out of guilt and half out of interest for her safety, Roan ends up removing the woman, whom he has dubbed Donna Doe, from the Turn-Coupe hospital and taking her to his southern mansion, Dog Trot, where he places her under house arrest. Meanwhile, his captive, socialite beauty Victoria, is constantly planning escape from the sprawling house. The two quickly find that they share more than just a casual interest- until Victoria is forced to answer for the lies she has spun and the words she has failed to say.

Victoria was a well written character, but nothing spectacular: she has a number of insecurities which mesh nicely with her strengths, but she tends to be obsessive and put too much emphasis on remaining aloof. I also felt that the way she held herself out of the initial stages of their courtship was annoying, to say the least. She seemed slightly- well, calculating, I guess.

Roan was also portrayed with sympathy, but I felt more like I was reading about a hasty sketch of a man than about a flesh and blood person. This seems to be a frequent problem with Blake's characters: they tend to lack thought processeses that run below what is conveyed in the book, and thus lack that elusive third dimension of realism. Still, Blake captured the beauties of Deep South life, as well as a few of it's trials. And if her descriptions of bayous (hardly suitable for romance at any time of year- especially during the summer) and the creatures therein lacks the careful, detailed power of confidence- confidence gained from experience or research, per-se- well, no one is perfect.

On the whole, Roan is a wonderful bit of mind candy, above most Amanda Quick novels, almost on par with Julie Garwood, and lacking the subtle character shadings of Lowell. She does, however, have a distinctive style.

And I love the recipes.

Average customer rating:

Enchanting

Great coming of age story. The power of youth enthusiasm.
The Secret of Roan Inish/Movie Tie-In
Rosalie K. Fry
Manufacturer: Hyperion (Juv)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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The Secret of Roan Inish

ASIN: 0786810637

Customer Reviews:

Enchanting.......2007-02-15

This is the book that the movie, The Secret of Roan Inish, is based upon. The movie tie-in book contains the text of the original book, which was called The Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, and pictures from the movie. The movie follows the plot of the original book fairly well, although the location was changed to Ireland and some of the names were altered to reflect the change in location. This book, like the original, takes place in Scotland, and notations under the pictures call the characters by their original names.

Ten-year-old Fiona has been living in a big city ever since her family left the island of Ron Mor about four years earlier to seek new jobs and new opportunities. However, Fiona's health has been poor, and her doctor has advised her to return to the seaside for the healthier atmosphere. The book begins with her journey to stay with her grandparents who still live close to Ron Mor. Fiona's homecoming is tinged with both sadness and hope, as she reflects on the mysterious disappearance of her baby brother the day that her family left the island. Although her brother apparently floated out to sea in his cradle after being left unattended on the beach, Fiona has the feeling that he is still alive somewhere close to the island. She learns that her cousin Rory also believes the local rumors that the boy is still on Ron Mor in the company of the seals that populate the area around the island. Moreover, Rory and other family members share Fiona's longing to return to their old home and their family's traditional way of life as fishermen. Fiona's determination to find her younger brother and bring him and the rest of their family home to the island is touching and emphasizes the importance of family ties. There is also an element of fantasy because of the story that Fiona's grandfather tells about the family's heritage, which helps explain their special connection to the sea and seals around the island. The story is gentle and upbeat, which makes a nice change from a lot of modern children's books. I recommend it for elementary school children, although beginning readers may struggle a bit with the dialogue, which contains some odd expressions and spellings to reflect the Scottish accents of the speakers. I think that the story is just plain magic.

Great coming of age story. The power of youth enthusiasm........1998-02-06

Fry's style is quite readable, diverse, descriptive and active. Her words make the story - although simple - alive and empowering. Fiona is an inspiration for the youth of today - who often lack direction (due to adult irresponsibility).

Average customer rating:

Gracious Thanks to my Reviewers and Readers
Worth its weight in Gold
A Moving, Unique Story--On So Many Levels
One of the best novels I have read in a very long time

The Roan Maverick
C R Strahan
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

United States | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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Tallgrass

ASIN: 1419651609
Release Date: 2006-11-15

Book Description

The Roan Maverick, the debut novel by C R Strahan, focuses on one woman's ongoing quest for justice after the range wars of the late 19th century devastated her family and her way of life. 107-year-old Josie Watson Stewart tells the story of her life in the cattle business of Wyoming, where she came in 1887. Her narrative of the Beef Bonanza and subsequent range wars, sparked by the deadly winter of 1886 and unconstitutional range laws--that threatened the livelihood of small ranchers and claimed the life of her husband, among others--is the focus of this novel.

Customer Reviews:

Gracious Thanks to my Reviewers and Readers.......2007-09-03

The Roan Maverick was a long time in the making, and I deeply appreciate your enthusiastic welcome. My mentor in this work, the late frontier historian Thomas M. Tisdale, was descended from both sides of the cattle war--his paternal grandfather having been the settler whose murder precipitated the cattlemen's invasion of Johnson County in 1892, and his maternal grandfather having been one of the associated cattlemen. Although a work of fiction, it was Tom's pioneer ancestors who inspired The Roan Maverick, and it is less a story of the cattle war than the journey of a family through an acute political, economic and social crisis. The impact of this violent controversy known as the Johnson County Range War was devastating, not only to the Tisdale family but to many families in Wyoming whose current descendents still feel the pain of the conflict. My gracious thanks as well go to the residents of Johnson County, who warmly welcomed me and my story, and who felt--as I did in writing it--that it was time for the healing to begin.

Worth its weight in Gold.......2007-09-03

Wow! I am not an avid reader or a particular lover of westerns, but this story really reached me. It's so timely! But even beyond its timeliness is the opportunity it affords to be a fly on the wall in your great grandmother's pioneer kitchen, where life went on despite tragedies and set-backs, and where kids got to be kids even while they grew up in tough circumstances. The blurb on the back cover says "Ms Strahan's writing bears comparison with the best of frontier narrative, from Laura Ingalls Wilder to Willa Cather", and that's about the size of it--a lot of book in a small package! I can't wait to see where C R Strahan goes next.

A Moving, Unique Story--On So Many Levels.......2007-06-11

This story breaks through all the stereotypes, debunks myths, and radiates authenticity. It's a western, yet it's literary, and a page-turner to boot. None of its characters was birthed by a cookie cutter, they're actually human in thought, word and deed. And contrary to that ubiquitous western theme of black hats & white hats, particularly where range wars are concerned, as the narrator puts it: "the heroes didn't all line up on one side and the villains the other." The most surprising element of this delightfully surprising debut is that, even though it is written by a woman, it does not limit its audience to women but invites everyone--men and women, old and young alike--into its pages. The skill with which the writer has woven historical fact and humanity into The Roan Maverick shows literary art in its highest form. Ms Strahan is a rarity--a writer who respects the intelligence of her readers, and one who knows that entertainment and education need not be mutually exclusive literary intentions. This is a true gem. It's polished, radiant and timely. The most hauntingly familiar aspect of this story is that it's not just about a range war that happened a hundred-some years ago. It's about now, when media is controlled and corporate greed overrides reason and ethics.

One of the best novels I have read in a very long time.......2007-01-11

The Roan Maverick is a wonderfully written novel about the heart wrenching experience of a woman that lived through one of the west's more notorious events, the Johnson County Range War.

This novel is unique in that it tells the story from a woman's view in a male dominated story, with many nuances that only women's voices have. Ms. Strahan has captured this voice with such skill that as you read the story you come to feel a strength of grace that can only come from the voice of a woman survivor of hardship.

This is by no means a superficial western novel filled with white hats and black hats, but real and tangible with an honesty and straight forward approach that will be familiar to most old time westerner, with a humanity that anyone can appreciate.

Roan Stallion, Tamar, And Other Poems By Robinson Jeffers

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the dark god calls . . .

Roan Stallion, Tamar, And Other Poems By Robinson Jeffers
Robinson Jeffers
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JRBCZ6

Customer Reviews:

the dark god calls . . ........2007-02-15

The work of Robinson Jeffers is undergoing a slow, but assured and due re-evaluation. The impending ecological collapse, the crazed banality of global Americanization, the ruthless insensibility and arrogance of globalization, our mindless and irresponsible over- population, all attest to Jeffers prescience and the longsuffering of the planet which he attempted with varying success to articulate. Yet, aside from William Everson and one other reviewer here on Amazon, I feel quite alone in asserting that Jeffers is the most important 20th century American literary poet. Let it be said: `The Answer' may be the most telling poem ever penned on the defiled soil of this continent - and the work collected in the celebrated Ansel Adams Sierra Club volume `Not Man Apart' is of a level uniformly high enough to compare favorably to any anthology ever collected from a single poetic voice. Jeffers, at his best, is a good as good gets.

But, as with the work of all poets, the best being very fine, the greater body of the work becomes increasingly uneven. The philosopher Plato seemed to identify a salient truth when he noted that the problem with poetry (as with human creation in general) is that the poet is sometimes inspired - overflowing with the good, the beautiful, the true - but then again, and perhaps more often than we would want, less than inspired - and again at times, unabashedly awful. Norman Mailer, analyzing pugilistic technique, observed, "your best move and your worst move are right next to each other". And perhaps it is in his humanity, oft misinterpreted by lesser minds, yet none-the-less human and fallible in his humanness, that Jeffers reputation has somewhat foundered. Jeffers was ambitious. He attempts much, and achieves a bit. But what he achieves is of such value that it refuses to be ignored or discarded without full hearing. And that is the criterion for poetry: we find greatness not in the aspiration, but the revelation.

Which is why I feel impelled to note one of Jeffers' currently lesser read (though in his lifetime, major) publications, `Roan Stallion, Tamar and Other Poems' (New York: Boni & Liveright, 1925). The book is structured around a number of epics penned on California's Central Coast: `Roan Stallion' (the heroine, California - native American - the book begins with her reminding the guy she's sleeping with how he lost her in a poker game . . .), `Tamar' (...the half-moon was like a dancing-girl / No, a drunkard's last half-dollar...), `The Tower Beyond Tragedy', `The Coast-Range Christ', `Fauna', and a collection of shorter poems, including the magisterial `Continent's End'. There is, admittedly, much to wade through: the prosaic, the contrived, the feckless, the inert. Yet within, and as plentiful as the sands from which he cried, are passages of the most immense power, nobility, and truth. I cite but a few:

"A dot of light, dropped up the star-gleam,
poor brother, poor brother you played the
fool too.
But not enough, it is not enough
To taste delight and passion and disgust and loathing
and agony... you have to
be wide alive, `an open mouth', you said, all the
while, to reach this heaven
you'll never grow up to."

"Children for all their innocent minds,
Hide dry and bitter lights in the eye, they dream without
Knowing it
The inhuman years to be accomplished,
The inhuman powers, the servile cunning under pressure,
In a land grown old, heavy and crowded.
There are happy places that fate skips; here is not one of
them;
The tides of the brute womb, the excess
And weight of life spilled out like water, the last migration
Gathering against this holier valley-mouth
That knows its fate beforehand, the flow of the womb,
Banked back
By the older flood of the ocean, to swallow it."

"While this America settles in the mould of its vulgarity,
heavily thickening to empire,
And protest, only a bubble in the molten mass, pops and
sighs out, and the mass hardens,

I sadly smiling remember that the flower fades to make fruit,
The fruit rots to make earth."

"The tides are in our veins, we still mirror the stars, life is
your child, but there is in me
Older and harder than life and more impartial, the eye that
watched before there was an ocean"

"Serenely similing
Face of the godlike man made God, who tore the web of
human passions . . ."

"The Dark God calls. Some old king in a fable, is it?"

Average customer rating:

Strawberry Roan

Manufacturer: Belmont Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000GZLOUE

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Roan Mountain; A Passage Into a Very Good Book

Roan Mountain: A Passage of Time
Jennifer Bauer Laughlin
Manufacturer: Overmountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mountains | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1570721009

Customer Reviews:

Roan Mountain; A Passage Into a Very Good Book.......2000-06-09

I was first turned onto Ms. Wilsons book by a co-worker of hers and mine both with the state parks system here in tennessee. I having lived in the area of Roan Mountain was fascinated with the concept of a book that told the history of the peak and thought that I knew all there was to know about the mountain. Knowing Jennifer somewhat personally I called her and got a copy sent to me, she herself had autographed it and put a little message in it for me. I started reading it almost immediately. I waxed off the first 2 chapters during my lunch hour, and finished the rest of it that same night. I found the book to be not only accurate, but informative as to the beginnings and some of the happenings around both the mountain and the state park that is located there. If anyone were to ask me "what book should I read as general interest in appalachia?" I would steer them in the direction of Roan Mountain; A Passage of Time. It ceartainly tops the list as one of my favorite books.

Average customer rating:

Tiger Roan
Glenn Balch
Manufacturer: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000L9QTLY

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The Blue Roan Child
#1 Book
Amazing
A good book but a little too long
Entrancing tale for teenagers and adults alike

Blue Roan Child
Jamieson Findlay
Manufacturer: Chicken House Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Book Description

An epic adventure of love, trust, magic, and a very special friendship between a brave young girl and a remarkable horse.

Syeira lives in Haysele, a land of horses and horse-sensitives. Fate pairs her with the wild mare Arwin when Arwin’s two colts are taken from her, and Syeira decides to help Arwin rescue the colts. Their mission proves harder than they imagined, for the fearsome Lord Ran has taken the colts far away to Thruckport, his fortified city by the sea.

But despite his power, Lord Ran’s empire is less secure than he thinks. Rebel forces are gathering against him, and a few brave souls are ready to risk their lives to help Syeira and Arwin. Even so, it will take all their courage to save the colts.

Like Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, Jamieson Findlay’s The Blue Roan Child is an enchanting story for readers young and old.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

The Blue Roan Child.......2007-09-04

The Blue Roan Child (By Jamieson Findlay) is beautifully written, and a breath of fresh air for those of us who are tired of reading variations of the same idea in fantasy books. I don't know about you, but I sure seem to be reading a lot of books where the only thing going for them is a good action scene here and there.
The Blue Roan Child is marvelously imaginative, with a cast of unforgettable and pleasantly weird characters, which Findlay brings to life with a unique and beautiful style of writing.
Now, for those of you who aren't exactly enthusiastic about "horse books" Don't let that aspect of the story turn you off. While, yes, this book will definitely attract and be loved by horse fans, there is SO much more to the book than the relationship between horse and human. To name a few of these other aspects: Original fantasy, action, a little good vs. evil, and a coming-of-age story.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy and/or animals!

The Basic Plot:

Syeira is an orphaned girl of about 11 years whose only family are the horses she cares for in the King's stables in the town of Haysele. Vague memories of her mother's love are all that connects her to her mysterious past. She lives a rather uneventful life, where her only joy is in the wild scent of the untamed and equally mysterious Arva horses that nobody but Syeira can really understand or come anywhere near to. Syeira seems destined to live out a life, not quite content or miserable, forever tending to the King's horses, when the evil Lord Ran (unbeknownst to him) interferes. He has decided to come to Haysele in search for more warhorses to fight in his endless battles waged to win himself more land. However, it's not just warhorses he is after this time, but Arva horses! Thus, Syeira and the beautiful and intelligent Arva mare embark on a journey to rescue the mare's stolen foals.
Along their way, Syeira and her companion will meet others, who, be they as lost as Syeira and the mare, or quite wise, will help them in their quest to find the foals, and help Syeira find herself.

#1 Book.......2006-06-16

The book, Blue Roan Child, is very interesting and provides a wide vocabulary span. Magic is also involved and animals, too. Putting facts about animals and mixing that with fantasy and magic, Jamieson Findlay, wrote my #1 book choice.

Amazing.......2006-04-27

I am a 13 year old girl who is crazy for horses. This is a wonderful book especially if you love horses. Some people complain that there's no plot or anything, but that might be because they aren't interested in horses. I actally think it wasn't long enough. Although, I read books with 1000 pages so... anyway it was a great book. I couldn't put it down. I think it was wonderfully written and I hope Jamieson Finlay will write more about maybe Arwin or Arva or something. Or maybe even Sir Gemynd, he was an interesting character. I recommend this book to horse lovers, people who love fantasy books, or just want a fun read. I also though it interesting that my name is DEIRDRE and the forest is the forest of DEIRE. Funny. Wonderful book. You have to read it! I give it 30/10!

A good book but a little too long.......2005-01-30

I enjoyed this book but it was a little too 'horsie' for my liking and long. I also didn't find that the main character struggled enough. She really didn't have much personality. My favourite character was the horse. I found that they met a ton of people who didn't have a thing to do with the plot later on. By the end I had to pull myself through this book.

I recomend this book if you really like horses (unlike me, I begged my mom for horse-back riding lessons when I was eight but when she refused I didn't care for horses again) and if you don't mind dull characters and tedeous plot-lines. Oh yes, and did I mention that just at the point where you thought things were getting interesting, that Siera was really a dream, you found out that it was all a trick. This book had a lot of potential but by the end I was pretty sure that the auther blew it. I only finished it because I hate to leave a book unfinished. But I don't want to be too hard on it. If you have no patience with plotless, and at times tedious books, by all means-read away!

Entrancing tale for teenagers and adults alike.......2002-12-11

This is a beautifully written fantasy adventure that can be enjoyed by good readers as young as ten and by adults. I would definitely not recommend it for children under the age of 8 as the vocabulary and the themes are far too advanced.

The Modern library of the world's best books

Average customer rating:

The Dark God calls...

The Modern library of the world's best books
Robinson Jeffers
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Customer Reviews:

The Dark God calls..........2006-08-03

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