Snow White and Russian Red

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Bring On The Clowns

Travesty of teenage groups

a new favorite

Snow White and Russian Red
Dorota Maslowska
Manufacturer: Grove Press, Black Cat
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0802170013

Book Description

Dorota Maslowska's audacious debut novel establishes her as a new young literary voice of international importance. When Snow White and Russian Red was first published, it became a controversial, acclaimed best seller in both Poland and Germany, a stunning accomplishment since the author was only nineteen. Reminiscent of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, Snow White and Russian Red is a fresh and surprising portrait of marginalized fatalistic post-Communist youth. It is the story of Andrzej "Nails" Robakoski who unravels after his girlfriend, Magda, dumps him. A track suited slacker who spends most of his time doing little more than searching for his next line of speed and dreaming up conspiracy theories about the Polish economy, Nails ricochets from the bewitching Magda to proselytizing Angela to hellcat Natasha to nerdy Ala, the girlfriend of the friend who stole Magda. Through it all, a xenophobic campaign against the proliferating Russian black market escalates, and the citizens have to paint their houses in national colors-or is that just in Nails' fevered mind? By turns poetic, hilarious, disturbing and dirty, Snow White and Russian Red is a powerful portrait of love, hopelessness, and political burnout in today's Eastern Europe.

Customer Reviews:

Bring On The Clowns.......2005-08-27

I read a sampling of Polish literature as an undergrad, a sampling that was kind of a like a shrink-wrapped Christmas gift basket: A centerpiece fruit of Czeslaw Milosz, a cheese cube of Wislawa Szymborska, a hard candy of Zbigniew Herbert. The professor (himself American) made no bones about the notion that he thought of we Americans as Romans at dinner importing exotic delicacies for consumption and political conversation. Being the carless (as in, non-car owning) wage-slave struggling through school that I was, I didn't relate to being the fat beneficiary of an empire, but did understand that English was coming into its own as a major international commercial tongue, and therefore these books were available.

Jump cut to more recent years, a little more money in the pocket, travel behind me, internet blooming and the discovery of the dark wit of Irvine Welsh, and I began to see certain artists (aforementioned Welsh, plus William Gibson, Octavia Butler, to name a few), as celebrating the ability of the beleaguered masses to emerge from all the trash-heaps, acquire weird skills that are somehow worth money now, and be these sort of mutant successes. Thus, it is not in a `canon' of Polish literature that I consumed Snow White and Russian Red, when I came across it, but instead as a finely rendered, single malt Scotch, created by a 21 year old phenomenon, available to everyone in the world market.

I think it's too simplistic to say that Maslowska's anti-hero Nails, the tirade-prone speed freak, is just `caught between worlds.' Instead, the author speaks for a young, cosmopolitan generation that knows that whether you call it `communism' or `capitalism', we are only animals struggling for resources. What we can do to pluck our share has become bizarre, as espoused by the character Magda, who has dumped Nails and can sell her beauty both locally and abroad, or in the direct and thieving Natasha, who will snatch valuable speed out of your house like a drug-hungry Viking.

Jump cut back to Polish Lit: there are, I suppose, even in English, a few echoes of the grand voice in Maslowska's prose. All the characters are prone to tirades (even sort of sound like each other sometimes). Milosz is capable of some long poems, and writes a damn lot of them. The breadth of both their voices (albeit in translation), is like someone shouting into a valley, is notably different from the rat-a-tat sparky words from writers in the U.S. and U.K. It is closer to an older sounding literature-the fact that Milosz, a poet, can have such fame, is a bizarre sort of resurrection of the archaic, and a figure like, say, Robert Creeley, an American poet, doesn't have it in the common consciousness in the U.S. (Milosz may even be more well known in the U.S. than Creeley).

But what strikes me the most here, is that she makes fun of the anti-corporate mindset. Where in the West, in what I'll lump together as "literary, surrealist and sci-fi literature" the sympathy almost always goes with someone who is earnestly struggling against corporations, Nails, Maslowska's anti-hero, is made fun of for being totally lazy and unrealistic about economics. He is a do-nothing clown, a complainer whose thoughts are entertaining, but ultimately lead to his demise.

Whereas Bruce Robertson, the anti-hero of Irvine Welsh's novel Filth, breaks down at the end, seems to see his own faults, Maslowska's Nails gets locked up in the book itself, condemned to a hell of being 2-dimensional, always in the comic book, unable to realize that he is the tragic clown. Welsh's Robertson is a crooked cop who seems to take some genuine joy in the exchange of money and capitalism, even saying the "bloke who invented the Kit-Kat ought to be well-[bleeping] knighted"; and yet it's hinted at, when we learn his origins, that he might not have ever been born if the anti-abortion sentiments of his mother's family and community had allowed her to get rid of a pregnancy that was the result of a rape.

Maslowska's Nails, one the other hand, while quite the consumer of fast food and drugs, espouses a strong color of hypocrisy. He eats "Bird-Milkies" the rough equivalent of the Kit-Kat in Filth, but he reviles the capitalist factories that made them. He is a new species of anti-hero: "The lazy-leftist" party boy, bright enough to be funny, yet somehow paralyzed from taking enough joy in anything to work at it. Not that the book isn't critical of the cheapness of Western capitalism; it makes fun of college-primed, corporate bound nerdy types as well-it's just that gone is the idea that a complaint is enough without a solution.

Which, I think, is also why Maslowska includes herself as a character in the book. We get a look at her personal process, her attempts to get an education, her tenacity. She wrote this book at 21, astonishing, and incidentally, the same age I was being taught Milosz and the others in an American state college. Snow White and Russian Red comes through thus as both a tribute and an indictment-a tribute to the author (and reader's, any reader's) ability to remain steadfast with a project, to incorporate humorous setbacks into life's architecture, and at the same time accuse anyone who thinks human economics, anywhere, East or West, has ever been a free dinner.

Travesty of teenage groups .......2005-06-07

In literal translation- the main hero's name is Strong. He represents a youngsters' group of so called in Poland "sportsuits-wearers"

He takes drugs, tends to be involved in,or to start fights(verbal or physical) for no reason, has a strange view on women, leads a stupid life and has exaggerated problems,which he mostly creates by himself.

I think that writing the whole plot in the book's description has no bigger sense,because it's not the plot that has the important meaning

Strong (Nail)is obviously an idiot,but Maslowska (who was in fact 19 when she the book was edited!) gives him some some freaky features that his inner monologue turns into pitiful,funny and creepy piece of writing.

Really admirable book but I doubt if the translation can be decent,as I read its original Polish version and this book's slang and specific tone seems to be hardly possible to translate.

Anyhow,enjoy.

a new favorite.......2005-03-30

This novel is amazing, rich in thoughts with the perfect amount of incoherence. A book worth sticking through to the end, I definetly have a newfound respect for the authors of my generation. It is so fulfillingly bizarre that let's just say that I won't need to be trying speed anytime soon.

Book Description

In a few terrifying moments, her life was changed forever.

Linnet plunged into the Kentucky wilderness, leaving behind the remnants of her life in London. But a savage Indian attack on the wagon train wiped out her fellow travelers, and left her alone in a harsh land...at the mercy of a fierce Shawnee tribe.

When a handsome young brave claimed her, in perfect English, as his own, Linnet knew she was safe. Until the jealousy of his powerful chief forced them to flee on a hazardous journey, fraught with peril and treachery...a journey that threatened both their lives, and their very special love!

Download Description

"In a few terrifying moments, her life was changed forever. Linnet plunged into the Kentucky wilderness, leaving behind the remnants of her life in London. But a savage Indian attack on the wagon train wiped out her fellow travelers, and left her alone in a harsh land...at the mercy of a fierce Shawnee tribe. When a handsome young brave claimed her, in perfect English, as his own, Linnet knew she was safe. Until the jealousy of his powerful chief forced them to flee on a hazardous journey, fraught with peril and treachery...a journey that threatened both their lives, and their very special love! "

Customer Reviews:

Agonizing tale to get through but very enthralling.......2006-11-25

Linnet and her parents are part of a wagon caravan traveling through Kentucky when a renegade group of Indians attack them. They make their living kidnapping and selling captured children to other Indian tribes. Linnet is mistaken for a young girl and is taken along with the other children. Devon Macalister is visiting a cousin in that group when the children and Linnet are brought in. Devon decides to rescue her by challenging the Indian who captured Linnet in a fight to the death. Devon wins and leaves with Linnet. Oh yes, they also have an agreement: In exchange for rescuing her, Linnet agrees to teach Devon how to read.

Devon takes Linnet to Sweetbriar, a small town filled with great people. Devon has a trapping store there. He also allows Linnet to live in a cabin that he owns. Their relationship grows into an uneasy friendship; uneasy because of their attraction for each other and Devon's capacity for irritating Linnet by trying to order her around.

All this changes when Cord Macalister shows up. Cord is Devon's cousin and quite a looker. He's used to women chasing him. When he sets his sights on Linnet, he's shocked when she denies him. The damage, however, is done. Devon believes, based on past experience, that he's lost Linnet. His behavior towards Linnet becomes even more unbearable despite Linnet's innocence in the matter.

Cord is enraged when Linnet refuses his advances so he kidnaps her, forcing her to leave a note to Devon that she has run off with him. Devon is, at first, furious but comes to his senses. He chases after them but by the time he catches up with Cord, Linnet has already escaped. Linnet and Devon spend the night together but then he leaves her before she wakes up.

The rest of the story is heart wrenching, especially for Linnet. By the time Devon comes to his senses, he has basically killed any love Linnet had for him. It is so emotional that the ending is a bit inadequate and, well, weird. There are a few subplots with loose ends, and Devon and Linnet's "just in time" rescue from certain death is a bit unrealistic.

Sweetbriar sweeps you away from the first page and drags you through a whole gamut of emotions from terror, relief, love, betrayal, anger, and love again. I was almost exhausted by the time I got to the last page. Fair warning though that the characters won't always endear themselves to you. Devon, at times, needs a good slap in the head. He's not very smart. Similarly, Linnet is a bit irritating but she's far and away more perceptive than Devon. Regardless, this is an entertaining read. I enjoyed it.

Unlikeable hero and loose ends ruin this one for me (2 1/2 stars)..........2006-04-15

The year is 1784. Young Englishwoman Linnet Blanche Tyler and her parents have left life in England behind in favor of the American countryside. However, Linnet's life isn't the same after Indians attack the travelers in a remote area in Kentucky, killing Linnet's parents. She is mistaken for a child and is abducted along with the other children, but her fate is unknown after the Indians discover that she is a grown woman. In comes a man that looks Indian, save for his blue eyes and the fact that he speaks perfect English, and saves her life. She is taken to the small town of Sweetbriar in Kentucky, where she meets the nicest people in the world and settles in as though she's lived there her whole life. Feelings ensue between Linnet and her rescuer, whose name is Devon "Mac" Macalister, but the journey to happiness is a long, miserable one, where sibling rivalry, a pigheaded hero, and a squire who wants to become Kentucky's first governor get in the way. There are various twists throughout the novel.

I don't like novels set in backwater towns during Colonial times, but this one is quite good. I like the small town, countryside feel and the inhabits in Sweetbriar. Linnet is a great heroine -- a fighter who doesn't allow people to walk all over her. The way she gets her life in order after the Indian raid is admirable, a little too admirable, for I felt that she hadn't grieved the loss of her parents all that much, if at all. I feel that Deveraux didn't explore that side of the plot enough. Linnet adjusts to her new surroundings a little too well for my taste. And I don't like Devon -- no redeeming qualities whatsoever. When he isn't angry, he's treating the heroine like so much trash. Why Linnet swoons over this guy is beyond me. His actions after he sleeps with Linnet are appalling. I know this is the "redeemed hero" type of storyline, so I held on just in case. However, I almost threw the book against the wall when Devon sees Linnet after three years and is beside himself with happiness because she "remembers him" and he could "have a little fun" with her before turning her over to the squire. Why oh why does he think she's easy, especially after their first time together? He is worse than Rogan Peregrine from The Taming, in my opinion. At least Rogan knows of no other way to behave, but this guy, despite his half-Indian heritage, has grown up in fairly civilized surroundings and knows what treatments are acceptable and which ones are not. And even though his feelings for Linnet are quite transparent from the very beginning, his reasons for being afraid to love her are not very convincing. I just don't buy the tortured hero aspect this time around because his back story is very underdeveloped, which makes Devon seem quite one-dimensional. I give Sweetbriar two and a half stars because it is a roller coaster ride of emotions and I was enthralled in spite of wanting to hit Devon with a frying pan for most of the novel. The unlikeable male protagonist and the loose ends I mentioned earlier are too glaring for me to give this any more than two and a half stars. However, Jude Deveraux is still my favorite romance author (I like her a little more than Judith McNaught) and I look forward to reading her other books whether or not they anger me as much as this one.

Sweet reading.......2004-09-12

This is a sweet book ~~ not my favorite though. Linnett and Devon fought too much for my liking and Devon was just a little too perfect and arrogrant for me. However, it is an enjoyable reading and it definitely whiles away time when you're reading it!

Linnett came over to the States from England after her father lost his business. Her family gets killed by Indians and she is captured. Devon rescues her and chaos follow those two for two years till a confrontation with the Indians led them back together.

It's a very sweet book and a quick read. It's perfect for a summer reading!

9-11-04

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.......2002-07-19

I don't get it, really. Sometimes Jude Deveraux comes up with these amazing male characters that just take your breath away...then she comes up with characters like Devon. What redeeming quality did he have?? Sure, he saves her and he's sweet to her at first, but then she's beautiful and all of a sudden he feels the need to treat her like she's the lowest bit of scum on the bottom of the lake. PLUS he kisses that Corinne chick in front of her, when it's obvious that Linnet was repulsed by Cord when he kissed her. But of course, Jude's men always have to have their stupid revenge on the innocent woman that's in love with them.

Ok, and then he leaves her after he gets what he wants (secks) from her the night in the woods?? UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. The guy made me sick.

But oh well, the important thing is that Linnet ended up marrying him. Afterall, he DID sigh "Ok, I'll marry you..."

Sourbriar.......2002-03-05

Well, this book was a page turner. I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the plot so much! It was interesting, but I do have to agree with another reviewer that there wasn't a whole lot of character developement, and that was very disappointing. Why was Mac so bitter to her? What events in his life led up to that? When did Linnet ever mourn her parents? I really liked Linnet, but her love for Devon seemed totally...naive. One minute she was angry at him, the next minute they are dancing like nothing happened, everything forgotten. He took advantage of her in a major way and she went back to him without a valid explaination or heartfelt, genuinely feeling apology. I didn't like him. At all. He only claims he loves her after he finds out she had his baby and even then it's, "all right, I'll marry you." I don't believe he was angry because she was beautiful when he thought she was ugly when he rescued her. You aren't mean to someone like he was to her for a reason that...stupid. (If you read it, you will know what I mean, but I urge you no to.) Why did he leave her like he did after a night of passion? How could he still think she was after other men, even after all she did to avoid a man that every woman wants, his cousin Cord. His jealousy of Cord was annoying and took was too much control of him. He was way too angry and blind for my taste. He is my least favotire hero of all time. Sorry to give such a low review, but I know Jude can do better, especially with such a good setting and plot.

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The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar
Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
Manufacturer: Dutton Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0525650156

Customer Reviews:

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar.......2001-07-16

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar Written by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock Illustrated by Tend Rand.

This lushly illustrated book tells a story sure to enthrall both girls and boys, alike (not to mention their parents...). It is a tale of a harsh winter on a small isolated island in 1903. Will the humans make it through the winter? What about the wild horses? Can ONE little girl make the difference?

The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar is based on a true story that took place on Tuckernuck Island, just off Nantucket, in the winter of 1895. This children's book is frequently used in a home schooling curriculum and there are websites designed to cater to that on the internet.

Book Description

When Sweetbriar Autumn opens war has erupted east of the mountains, threatening to spread west, into Puget Sound. Outlying settlers and farmers have fled for the safety of town, including Louisa and David's friends, the Brannans. However, drawn by autumn's harvest and burgeoning crops, the Brannans and others feel compelled to return--despite being in direct line of Indian attack.

Days later, farmers flee back downriver into town with the cry of, "Indians!" They report gunfire, smoke, and blood-curdling screams from farther upriver where Elizabeth and Will Brannan live. Louisa's beloved husband must go at once to the rescue. Or will it be to bury the dead?

Book Description

Summer 1854 finds Louisa and David, and baby Emily Inez, on their claim (today's Seattle Center), caught up in the firstfruits of their labor and basking in their hard-won hopes and dreams. New settlers, new industry, added shipping lines, gold beyond the mountains--everything adds up to strong economics times. Yet beneath the heady air of prosperity runs a current of fear--rumors of Indian unrest ominously rumble.

Book Description

Over half a million readers of Brenda Wilbee's Sweetbriar series were delighted when Revell brought back the beloved Louisa Boren Denny with three new historical fiction books to complete the series. Tension mounted in Sweetbriar Summer as Louisa and David embraced their new prosperity but faced escalating - and justifiable - Indian unrest. In Sweetbriar Autumn, war erupted twenty miles away, calling David to leave his new family to help bury White River's dead. Now in Sweetbriar Hope the war moves ever closer to Seattle.

Seattle's men must leave their families to block the terrifying Indian advance with an outpost upriver. Yet the Indians find another way to surround the village and attack. Louisa and her small daughter race through the crossfire of Indian guns and the warship's cannon. Minutes later, sequestered in Seattle's crude blockhouse with thirteen other families, Louisa's only hope is her faith and trust in God. Meanwhile David, now back and hunkering alongside the marines outside the blockhouse, fights to protect his family from what he believes is justified fury of the natives.

Book Description

The Beginnings of an Empire and the Story of a Remarkable Love.Louisa Boren journeys West to carve out a new way of life. Out of her rugged determination and deep faith comes an enduring love and the founding of one of America's greatest cities--Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews:

Great!!.......2005-03-03

This is a great read! Historical fiction is always fun to read because you get to see through the eyes of people from a different time period. I, of course, enjoyed the love story between Louisa and David. You get to travel with them to a new place where there are plenty of trials and bumps in the road that they all have to overcome. Louisa's and David's faith in God really helps encourage them through everything they must face. From Native Americans to family arguments, the life of Louisa Boren is inspiring. Read it and the ones that follow!

A Fun Way to Learn About Seattle's History.......2001-02-08

As a Seattle native who grew up near Seattle's Musesum of History and Industry, I found this to be an enjoyable story of the first white settlers we often call Seattle's "pilgrims." One of my favorite spots in the museum was the diorama of the early settlers on a rainy-looking Alki Point with their roofless log cabin.

As an elementary school librarian, I have recommended this book as a read-aloud to our fourth grade teachers, where the history of Washington State is covered in our curriculum. What we've discovered is that, while factually interesting, the boys get turned off to the love story that weaves in and out. Now we mainly recommend this to upper elementary girls, and those who do read it end up wanting to read more titles in the series.

I've only read the first book in this series, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but my wife is currently devouring, and loving, the next titles in the series.

Readers who know the streets of Seattle will begin to recognize where many of the names came from. Personally, I grew up near Louisa Street. I wonder where that name came from?

For people interested in Washington State, Seattle, or the Oregon Trail, this book is highly recommended. This title was recommended by the Washington State Centennial Committee back in 1989.

Excellent book on Seattle's history with a love story theme!.......1998-12-02

I have read this book a couple of times and have been very impressed with the writers research on the facts and history of Seattle. Living in Seattle for 10 years I learned a little bit about how Seattle got started but I found that this book written as a love story kept my interest. When I am down town and see the street names and see the different buildings I remember the stories I've read from the Sweetbriar series. I love these books. Other cities should follow suit.

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Sweetbriar Spring
Brenda Wilbee
Manufacturer: Guideposts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GNZ05Q

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Sweetbriar ; The sweetbriar bride
Brenda Wilbee
Manufacturer: Harvest House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00071F7GY

Sweetbriar Summit (The Jones Gang) (Silhouette Special Edition, No 896)

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Sweetbriar Summit

Sweetbriar Summit (The Jones Gang) (Silhouette Special Edition, No 896)
Christine Rimmer
Manufacturer: silhouette
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Romance | Subjects | Books

Silhouette Special Edition | Series | Romance | Subjects | Books

Regency | Romance | Subjects | Books
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Avon ANEW CLINICAL 2-Step Facial Peel

ASIN: 0373098960

Customer Reviews:

Sweetbriar Summit.......2000-04-26

This is second of the Jones Gang books. The main characters are Patrick Jones and Regina Black but the story has an assortment of all the Jones family. Patrick and Regina are neighbors in a small town in Northern CA where everyone does know each other's business. Patrick is one of the bad boys and Regina is a spinster. They marry to make a home for Patrick's 2 girls Teresa and Marnie, aged 12 and 9. Regina is a wonderful stepmother and makes life very comfortable in their home but Chloe Swan, Patrick's old girlfriend, enters and makes life miserable for all. Patrick and Regina have to find the courage to tell each other of their love. Ms Rimmer writes so you care so much about the characters you hurry to finish the book. I did enjoy it and stayed up late reading it!

Sweetbriar Spring (#3 Seattle Sweetbriar Series/Brenda Wilbee)

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Sweetbriar Spring (#3 Seattle Sweetbriar Series/Brenda Wilbee)
Brenda Wilbee
Manufacturer: Harvest House Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0890816611

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