The Trolley: A Novel

Book Description

A beautiful novel of memory, youth, and old age, from the Nobel Prize-winner.

Claude Simon, a Nobel Prize-winning author and cultural icon in France, here presents a Proustian novel, exquisitely intermingling the memories of youth and old age. His madeleine is the trolley of the book's title, the transport that took him to and from school every morning of his childhood. As the book progresses, we move from childhood into old age, and our narrator is now on a different form of transport, a mobile hospital bed, beginning a different voyage into old age. When coincidences unite the two trajectories, the story becomes a fugue of memory that has delighted critics and made the book a bestseller in France.

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Last Trolley from Beethovenstraat (Verba Mundi Series)
Grete Weil , and John Barrett
Manufacturer: David R Godine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
German | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1567920314

Product Description

From the author of The Bride Price (a New York Times Notable Book of 1992) comes a dark and haunting story of memory, guilt, and the meaning of responsibility.

Andreas, a once-promising poet, lives with his bride, Susanne, in postwar Germany. Aalthough surrounded by the trappings of comfort and success, Andreas is obsessed by the memory of Susanne's younger brother, Daniel, whom he had sheltered in Amsterdam, but who was eventually deported by the Gestapo. The war over, Andreas rebuilds his life in the "new" Germany, trying to recapture Daniel through marriage to his sister. But he is unable to write or to find peace, unable to forget his torture over Daniel or the harrowing days and nights of the Occupation.

Finally, he returns to Amsterdam to confront his memories of the war it was there that Andreas first recognized the horror inflicted by his own people, as every night he witnessed the round-up of the city's Jews beneath his window. And it was there that he came to the realizations about himself, his past, and his heritage that give this story its profound resonance.

Told in a distinctly urgent voice and with a gaze at once acerbic and compassionate, Last Trolley from Beethovenstraat, like The Bride Price, is a "thoughtful, beautifully written exposition on love and fear" (ALA Booklist) by one of Germany's most respected contemporary novelists.

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Mr. Thurtle's trolley;: A novel
Theodore Pratt
Manufacturer: Duell, Sloan & Pearce
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007E3PJM

The Trolley to Yesterday (Puffin Novels)

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One of the better Johnny Dixon books
A great read from one of my favorite childhood authors!
Very Good
Bellairs' most ambitious novel.
Back through time

The Trolley to Yesterday (Puffin Novels)
John Bellairs
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0141300922

Book Description

Professor Childermass has made an astonishing discovery. Behind a bricked-up wall in his house is a rickety old trolley that can travel through time. Soon Johnny Dixon, his friend Fergie, and the professor are headed for Constan- tinople, 1453! The professor has a desperate plan to alter history, but it may cost him his life. Can Johnny and Fergie stop him before it's too late? Brace yourself for a wild ride. -- Kirkus Reviews The late John Bellairs was the critically acclaimed, best-selling author of many Gothic novels, including the novels starring Lewis Barnavelt and Rose Rita Pottinger.

Customer Reviews:

One of the better Johnny Dixon books.......2007-08-31

If you're a fan of these books than you have to read The Trolley to Yesterday. It is one of the best of the Johnny Dixon books.
I read these books when I was in elementary and middle school. Sometimes I even go back and reread this one to just remember. This is a great series for young readers.
I loved it and I think you will too.

A great read from one of my favorite childhood authors!.......2006-06-27

I am in the process of collecting all of John Bellairs books because I loved them so much when I was younger. I just finished reading this one as I added it to my collection and I was reminded of how great of an author John Bellairs was. I think every child should give his books a chance because I'm sure they will get hooked on reading for life!

Very Good.......2004-06-23

"The Trolley to Yesturday" was very well done but once the plot starts to develop and they trapped in 1453 everything that can go wrong seems to go wrong. They are very smart characters and pass many tests but sometimes seem to lack a little common sence. I could be wrong but either way this book is still very enjoyable. Although it is not really one of those books that you can NEVER put down it still offers very much. Once again Bellairs writes another good book.

Bellairs' most ambitious novel........2004-01-21

Well, Johnny, Fergie, and the Prof are back at it again. Only this time their adventure lies on another continent, in another century.

This is John Bellairs at his absolute peak of creative ability. The cast of characters ranges from an amusing, tongue-in-cheek ancient Egyptian god (in the form of a floating bird statue of course), and an inventor who's harebrained schemes rival that of the professor's, to the more frightening gothic images of medieval ghosts, and talking stone heads. The locations are more exotic than ever before. And the fact that the main characters find themselves in the middle of the Ottoman Turkish siege of Constantinople, lends itself to a great deal of drama almost by default.

True, Bellairs asks the reader to suspend their disbelief a little more than ususal, (I mean, how likely is time travel in an old trolley?) but the rewards are even greater than normal.

The most different, and also the best of the John Bellairs collection.

Back through time.......2003-04-08

Time travel in fantasy is now such a cliche that it's a bit hard to write anything original about it. But John Bellairs managed. "Trolley to Yesterday" has a bunch of intriguing twists and unexpected events, and while it doesn't have as much supernatural content, it still is an enjoyable read.

Professor Childermass is acting even more oddly than usual, which is saying something. When Fergie and Johnny try to investigate his weird behavior (including sand on his carpet and talking to himself), they find the professor having a conversation with Brewster, a magical Egyptian statue. He admits his secret: Behind a bricked-up wall is a time-travelling trolley. And the boys hitch a ride when Childermass travels back in time to save the city of Constantinople from invasion.

The problem? They arrive a little too late, and the city is being overrun by Turkish soldiers. As they struggle to make their way back to the trolley and the safety of the future, they encounter the trolley's creator (who accidently got left behind during one of its previous excursions), a deranged monk, and a group of ghostly Crusaders. But then Johnny is poisoned, and the only cure means going back to Constantinople -- and back into danger.

Usually time travel books are full of cliches, and this one has a few, but you probably won't notice them. Kids who read this book may become interested in the Byzantine Empire -- while Bellairs doesn't present huge amounts of historical detail, he gives enough to be very, very interesting. (There's also a dash of Egyptian stuff too) There's adventure, humor and the odd way of getting around.

Johnny and Fergie remain the surprisingly courageous duo of previous books, the shy boy and his brasher, jokier pal. Professor Childermass is crusty, sometimes a bit irrational, but very lovable. And Brewster (a deity of Upper and Lower Egypt) really steals the show with his dry little comments. .

This book proably has one of the lowest amounts of supernatural stuff of Bellairs' books. Certainly it doesn't have much in the way of horror. But there is a great twist about halfway through, where our heroes are aided by a group of ghostly Crusaders, who are trying to make amends for sacking the city centuries before. I suppose Brewster technically counts as supernatural, and he provides a lot of the humor (such as translating a Turkish soldier's words as "Butter and eggs, and a pound of cheese!").

"Trolley To Yesterday" isn't Bellairs' best novel, but it is an intriguing and informative historical book that adults may enjoy as well, especially if they're Byzantine buffs. Good fun.

Book Description

In the mind of Xanth's precious shapeshifting Prince Dolph, the perfect was to see the world is to search for the missing sorcerer, Humfrey. Setting off with his faithfuls companion, Marrow, an enchanted skeleton, Dolph will penetrate an island of illusion, escape a goblin kingdom, outwit a husband-hungry mermaid, save marrow from bone-starved harpies, and find romance with a slinky snake princess--all on his way to discovering a magic coin with all the answers!

Customer Reviews:

Suitable for the YA set.......2003-04-16

When I first read Heaven Cent, I couldn't put it down. I thought that Dolph's quest for the Good Magician, aided by designated Adult Companion Marrow Bones (a skeleton), was one of the best stories I had ever read. Over the course of his quest, the pre-teen Prince Dolph learned about ends and means, the importance of honor, and the torment of conflicting obligations.

But when I first read this book, I was 13 years old. A novel that fascinated an adolescent mildly amuses a twenty-something. The twenty-something finds Dolph's commitments less onerous than perceived, his romantic entanglements (dare I say) juvenile, and his assertion of adulthood belied by his disregard for another individual's life and happiness. Clearly, I'm not really in the target audience any more.

So when I comment on this book, I have to step a little outside of myself. I have to consider it from the point of view of a pre-teen ... but I still find it wanting on several levels.

First, characterization is two-dimensional at best and the plot is almost totally linear. While I understand that a book targeted at pre-teens will inevitably be less complicated than a novel targeted at the more adult set, I believe that Anthony seriously underestimates his readers' intellectual capacity here.

The characters, especially the "good guys" tend to share the same basic qualities of decency, honor, and goodness ... in roughly the same measures. Even many of the "bad guys" turn out to be good guys (except the goblins), leaving little in the way of a believable, meaty antagonist -- or a multifaceted protagonist, for that matter.

To his credit, Anthony does add a degree of depth to Dolph, successfully guiding his protagonist from pre-teen self-centeredness to teen self-centeredness, but the other characters seem ... hollow and unchallenged. Their fears often turn out to be unfounded and their challnges often turn out to be less than challenging.

The plotting leaves a little to be desired. Anthony has adopted a "means and ends" theme as his great ethical question for this novel. Unfortunately, he consistently answers this question with a resounding "no." Anthony also glosses over those situations that might answer this question with a "yes," hollowing out the characters' ethical dilemma.

Additionally, the plot has a rather contrived, linear feel to it. Dolph and Marrow walk, sail, or fly from challenge to challenge, meeting each challenge in turn, and dismissing it, except for the delicate matter of Dolph's romantic entanglements, which Anthony saves for another novel, even though the answer to Dolph's dilemma is as obvious as scales on Nada Naga's snaky skin.

Setting-wise, expect standard Xanth fare. Fortunately, Anthony penned this novel long before the puns totally took over Xanth; the puns here are confined to either helpful areas of the plot or are ancillary devices, used sparingly.

I cannot recommend this Xanth novel to anybody who is an adult reader. For any fantasy reader above 15, Carol Berg, Orson Scott Card, and Tad Williams are far more appropriate -- and far more talented -- writers.

The Very best book I have read!!!!.......2002-10-17

OUt of all my favorite books, this one takes the #1 spot. I wasnt into reading books till I read this book. It had all I wanted in a good book,mistery, adventure and a little romance. this was my first Xanith novel I have read and is my favorite. I finished int in a week or two. After I read this book I am now reading more of the xanith Novels. I love Piers anthoney books!!!!

The Very best book I have read!!!!.......2002-10-17

Out of all my favorite books, this one takes the #1 spot. I wasnt into reading books till I read this book. It had all I wanted in a good book, mistery, adventure and a little romance. This was my first Xanith novel I have read and is my favorite. I finished it in a week or two. After I read this book I am now reading more of the Xanith Novels. I love Piers anthoney books!!!!

I loved it.......2001-12-28

THis was the best book ever. It had a great plot and it was full of humor and excitement.

It was okay.......2000-08-20

I like Piers Anthony, I like his writing style, I like the Xanth series, I just realy don't like Dolph. I realy just didn't find the book particurly interesting.

The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler (Masters of Modern Physics)

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The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler
Required reading!

The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler (Masters of Modern Physics)
Owen Gingerich
Manufacturer: AIP Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

General | History & Philosophy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0883188635

Book Description

"I can think of few better ways of introducing students to the history of astronomy than by using The Eye of Heaven as a text....This is science at its best....Not only does Gingerich make you think, he also forces you back in time and makes you think as astronomers did then. Students need this inspiration." David Hughes, New Scientist

Astronomer and historian Owen Gingerich provides a fascinating introduction to three giants of early astronomy: Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler. In these collected essays, Gingerich examines the revolution in man's conception of the universe brought about by the shift from the earth-centered cosmos of Ptolemy to the sun-centered model of Copernicus.

Customer Reviews:

The Eye of Heaven: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler.......2007-06-27

I bought this book because I am hoping to write a book myself, giving a thumbnail sketch of history relevant to today's climate science (including Global Warming) from the Ancient Egyptians through Newton and Foucault and into the present. Real meteorology started 7 years after Foucault's work, as a direct result of what was learned from Foucault's pendulum.

I am a climate scientist, not an historian, so I have a steep learning curve to write such a book.I had previously obtained Toomer's magnificent translation of Ptolemy's "Almagest" (it shows Ptolemy to have been the world's first full-on theoretical physicist, and a magnificent teacher). I knew Toomer valued Gingerich highly, so I bought Gingerich's book. It has not disappointed. It has helped me to understand Ptolemy's fairly opaque book much better, and has also given me a much better appreciation of Copernicus the man.
I would have liked it if Gingerich had described Brahe in the same way -- we scientists value observations first, then theory -- and Ivar Peterson's "Newton's Clock" does a better job on Kepler. Nevertheless, I nearly gave this book five stars, not four.

Required reading!.......2001-06-08

This book is essential for anybody who wants to understand what Ptolemy, Copernicus and Kepler really did. It's a bit more technical than "The Great Copernicus Chase", but if you're serious, you'll appreciate it.

And if you're really serious, you'll get a copy of the paper by James Evans in Am. J. Phys 56 (Nov, 1988) 1009-1024. It answered tons of technical questions for me. Just do it, you'll thank me (and Jim Evans!).

Average customer rating:
Heaven Cent

Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Question Quest

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ASIN: B000GH01ZQ

Average customer rating:

This book is worth more than your money.

Fantastic translations that are true to the original

Go Gray

Academic But Not Uplifting

A PhD does not help when your dealing with spiritual mater
The Green Sea of Heaven: Fifty Ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz (Library of Persian: Text and Contexts in Persian Religions and Spirituality) (Library of ... in Persian Religions and Spirituality)
Hafiz
Manufacturer: White Cloud Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Inspirational & Religious | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Ancient, Classical & Medieval | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Eastern European | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz of Shiraz

Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems an Introduction to the Sufi Master

The Hand of Poetry: Five Mystic Poets of Persia : Translations from the Poems of Sanai, Attar, Rumi, Saadi and Hafiz : Lectures on Persian Poetry

A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry: A Guide to the Reading & Understanding of Persian Poetry from the Tenth to the Twentieth Century

Selected Poems from the Divan-E Shams-E Tabrizi: Along With the Original Persian (Classics of Persian Literature, 5)

ASIN: 1883991064

Book Description

The Green Sea of Heaven is a groundbreaking work of translation of one of the greatest poets of world literature. Hafiz (14th century) was the unrivalled master of the Persian ghazal, a lyric form roughly equivalent to the English sonnet in length, intensity, and complexity. These fifty ghazals from his Divan (collected works) display Hafiz's poetic genius, expressing his passion for the Divine Beloved and his scandalous (to the Muslim clergy of his day) exaltation of music and wine as vehicles of transcendence and religious ecstasy. This bilingual edition presents the ghazals of Hafiz in language that captures the intensity and complexity of the poet hailed by Persians as 'the tongue of the Invisible' and 'the interpreter of mysteries.'

Customer Reviews:

This book is worth more than your money........2007-07-30

I strongly recommend this book. The translations are beautiful (and are direct translations, not renderings). The notes on each poem are extensive, and I find them alone interesting to read. My only qualm is that I think the cover's a little ugly, but I suppose you can always tape a nice picture over it.

Fantastic translations that are true to the original.......2007-01-30

Gray's translations are about as true, in both form and content, to the original as one can get. Unlike other dispensers of Hafiz (like Ladinsky), Gray actually speaks Persian, and follows the Persian closely, instead of finding what she wants to fit fads like new-age spiritualism. The English-facing-Persian format makes the book particularly useful for those who have a basic command of Persian, but are not fluent enough with the language to read exclusively the original texts.

Go Gray.......2001-09-09

Elizabeth T. Gray is one of the very few translators who can come close to doing justice to Hafiz. Forget Ladinsky; if you want to get an idea what Hafiz really said, get Gray. To correct a misconception, the convention in Sufi poetry is to invoke Allah as a woman, lover of the male human Sufi. That's why so many Sufi poems are about love for women named Layla or Salma. The Sufi vision of God tends to be female. This is more explicit in Arabic Sufi poetry, because Arabic uses gender unlike Persian. Muhyi al-Din ibn al-`Arabi said in Arabic we can call Allah either huwa 'He' or hiya 'She', the latter because the ultimate Divine Essence (al-Dhat) is Feminine. The genderless Persian pronoun leaves an interesting ambiguity that you can't duplicate in English, but by calling God "She," Elizabeth T. Gray is well within the authenticity of the Sufi poetic tradition. I have heard her speak about how she discovered these poems, and read Hafiz aloud; she told of her deep spiritual connection with these poems and the divine love they inspired in her, and of her visit to Hafiz's tomb in Shiraz. The poet himself must be smiling from Heaven upon seeing her presenting his poems to us moderns with such love and care.

Academic But Not Uplifting.......2000-08-25

Yet another stiff, unimaginative version of the great poet Hafiz. This is a poet of the heart and spirit, not someone who can be pinned down in word-for-word translation. Still, this is an honest academic effort; just not rewarding or uplifting for the spirit.

A PhD does not help when your dealing with spiritual mater.......2000-06-28

One who writes with the intellect only will never do justice to Hafiz. Although the book is done in excellent taste, the words do not move well together (many translations). Referring to God as a female was both confusing and awkward to me. As a general rule most masters refer to God (the Doer) as male, and the soul (man or woman) as female. Thus, if we read about Hafiz making love to his lord, we know that it is a joining or merging of the soul (female), which is not the same as our so called worldly love. Maybe there is a good reason why the relationship is expressed this way.

If you're not familiar with Sufi terminology, you will have a tough time understanding the work, without continually bouncing to the beginning or end of the book and searching out the word's meaning. Even though the book's translation is dry and flat there is still great truths hidden in the work. This type of material is better translated by someone with poetic style or better yet someone with personal experience.

I give this book a low rating, however, if you like to read a book and value the intellectual and historical data, then this might be the book for you. We can even re-rate the book to 4 stars, but I would personally recommend a different author, by the name of Daniel Ladinsky. He makes the verses easier to read and shows Hafiz as the great lover of mankind, that he surely was. The book "I Heard God laughing" is one of the best books I have ever read, and would recommend it to all. However, I don't share D.L.'s interested in present masters.

This book is 170 pages, (34 pages as an intro., 27 pages at the end explaining the work, 54 pages in its original language (NOT readable), and about 54 pages of Hafiz. A big problem with most of our spiritual literature is that it is translated by someone of great intellect (maybe) but they have little or no personal experience when it come to true spirituality. The bible would be a good example of this, the scholars keep coming up with better ways to interpret the stuff but forget the most important part. God can not be known through the intellect, thus they only make it worse.

Average customer rating:
Heaven Cent

Manufacturer: Avon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Average customer rating:
Heaven Cent

Manufacturer: Avon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HJYAUU

Average customer rating:
Heaven Cent
Piers Anthony
Manufacturer: Avon Books (Mm) (Jun)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OCEG7C

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Heaven Cent :Xanth 11
Piers Anthony
Manufacturer: AVON BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QBAT54

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Heaven's Fury
Meta Smith , and 50 Cent
Manufacturer: G-Unit
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1416562087

Book Description

Heaven Diaz was raised by her abuela to be a good Catholic girl. But nothing -- and no one -- will mess with her life, or there will be hell to pay....

With a fantastic career, a luxurious home, and a successful and adoring husband, Heaven has a lot to be thankful for. But a chance meeting with a sexy and manipulative woman changes her life almost overnight, pulling Heaven into a violent drug war -- a battle she didn't want but now can't escape. What no one counted on is Heaven herself -- for when this good girl gets pushed too far, her wrath is deadly.

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