Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery

Book Description

When did cosmetic surgery become a common practice, the stuff of everyday conversation? In a work that combines a provocative ethnography of plastic surgery and a penetrating analysis of beauty and feminism, Virginia L. Blum searches out the social conditions and imperatives that have made ours a culture of cosmetic surgery. From diverse viewpoints, ranging from cosmetic surgery patient to feminist cultural critic, she looks into the realities and fantasies that have made physical malleability an essential part of our modern-day identity.
For a cultural practice to develop such a tenacious grip, Blum argues, it must be fed from multiple directions: some pragmatic, including the profit motive of surgeons and the increasing need to appear young on the job; some philosophical, such as the notion that a new body is something you can buy or that appearance changes your life. Flesh Wounds is an inquiry into the ideas and practices that have forged such a culture. Tying the boom in cosmetic surgery to a culture-wide trend toward celebrity, Blum explores our growing compulsion to emulate what remain for most of us two-dimensional icons. Moving between personal experiences and observations, interviews with patients and surgeons, and readings of literature and cultural moments, her book reveals the ways in which the practice of cosmetic surgery captures the condition of identity in contemporary culture.

Download Description

When did cosmetic surgery become a common practice, the stuff of everyday conversation? In a work that combines a provocative ethnography of plastic surgery and a penetrating analysis of beauty and feminism, Virginia L. Blum searches out the social conditions and imperatives that have made ours a culture of cosmetic surgery. From diverse viewpoints, ranging from cosmetic surgery patient to feminist cultural critic, she looks into the realities and fantasies that have made physical malleability an essential part of our modern-day identity. For a cultural practice to develop such a tenacious grip, Blum argues, it must be fed from multiple directions: some pragmatic, including the profit motive of surgeons and the increasing need to appear young on the job; some philosophical, such as the notion that a new body is something you can buy or that appearance changes your life. Flesh Wounds is an inquiry into the ideas and practices that have forged such a culture. Tying the boom in cosmetic surgery to a culture-wide trend toward celebrity, Blum explores our growing compulsion to emulate what remain for most of us two-dimensional icons. Moving between personal experiences and observations, interviews with patients and surgeons, and readings of literature and cultural moments, her book reveals the ways in which the practice of cosmetic surgery captures the condition of identity in contemporary culture.

Customer Reviews:

Escapism from the Self and the Turmoil of Self-Rejection.......2006-07-24

There are alot of payoffs for physical perfection ... it can easily be the quick-fix for a better life and a step up. The one thing though is that behind it all is a mask and cover up of self-rejection and a drug of choice to run away from one's true personality. Even when beauty gets you what you want ... it may not take away the inner strife that causes the behavior in the first place. Pursuing beauty can be an ugly experience.

Before you go ahead and part with hard-earned money ... go read The Hoffman Process by Tim Laurence.

Fluffy book sourced with National Enquirer articles.......2006-03-23

Here's a real-review:

*The first 100 pages are about how her mother made her get a nose job that when wrong.
*The second 100 pages are about the Frankenstein movie.
*The last 90 pages are about every movie-star that's ever gotten cosmetic surgery.

And the whole thing is stitched together with an English teacher's weekend theory on how a mix of "Simulations and Simulacra" + "The Ego and the Id" explain why people get cosmetic surgery. If you're someone who orders books online based on catchy titles, then do yourself a favor and skip this one. How can a book on cosmetic surgery not even talk about the golden ratio?

Fascinating, well written and interesting!.......2005-06-14

I was stunned to find there are no reviews of this book here at Amazon. This book is a great read. I had trouble putting it down! The author is a professor of literature and makes an apology for stepping outside her field (of literature) to write a book about plastic surgery, but it is PRECISELY her background that makes this book so wonderful.

The topic is well-researched and yet presented in layman's terms and the stats and facts are nothing but mind blowing. She makes references to Frankenstein, which prompted me to go read THAT classic and she's right; we're now formed by society's impressions of our physical appearance (which is the link to Victor Frankenstein's monster).

If you think about this, it's rather insane. When people's appearance is improved, they're treated better by society and that gives them more self-confidence and inner peace. How bass-ackwards is that?

I don't know when I've read a more thought-provoking book than "Flesh Wounds." I find myself quoting from it to friends again and again. And it's also proving INVALUABLE in writing my own book about internet dating. (Available August 2005).

Rose Thornton

Review of Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery.......2005-04-18

Virginia L. Blum examines the topic of cosmetic surgery in her research-based informational book Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery. The book, written by the English professor at the University of Kentucky, appeals to many audiences, is informative in many subjects, and is greatly influenced by her background with cosmetic surgery. Flesh Wounds can be widely used because she uses the book to inform the public on the basics and the inside

Randy/ Oklahoma State University.......2005-03-24

The book Flesh Wounds: The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery by Virginia L. Blum takes the reader into the minds of the individuals influenced by cosmetic surgery. Blum is an English Professor at the University of Kentucky and she became a victim of the cosmetic surgery craze when she was a teenager. Blum writes a very intriguing book about how cosmetic surgery captivates the interests of patients. She points out that society has taken to the fascination of cosmetic surgery, due to the fixation on celebrities. Celebrities stand as a two-dimensional image, where society looks to celebrities for body images. Celebrities are also looking elsewhere for body images too. Society is slowly turning into a unified body mold. Basically society is going to one day be seperated by groups of body types. Society is losing the individual identity that has supported our cultures for years. Flesh Wounds contributes to an understanding of why society is so focused on the outter appearences. Today, society is based on two negative aspects, that is whether a person is attractive or unattractive. Beauty does not make a person more intelligent, nor does not being beautify make a person less intelligent. I liked this book, because Blum does an impressive job providing the evidence of how cosmetic surgery is destroying individualism.

Flesh Wounds (Mack Bolan Executioner Series No. 57)

Average customer rating:

Flesh Wounds (Mack Bolan Executioner Series No. 57)
Don Pendleton
Manufacturer: Gold Eagle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

War | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Vultures Vengeance (The Executioner No. 51) (Gold Eagle Book)

ASIN: 0373610572

Flesh Wounds: An Inspector Troy Novel (A Black cat book)

Average customer rating:

Excellent book, but note - this is actually UK book "Blue Rondo"
excellant piece of the puzzle
A perceptive and witty new entry in this delightful series
exhilarating British historical police procedural

Flesh Wounds: An Inspector Troy Novel (A Black cat book)
John Lawton
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

French | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Police Procedurals | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0802142303

Book Description

Praised for their riveting, ingenious plot twists, John Lawton's series of espionage thrillers featuring Chief Inspector Frederick Troy of Scotland Yard have an uncanny ability to place readers in the thick of history. Now in Flesh Wounds, an old flame has returned to Troy's life: Kitty Stilton, wife of an American presidential hopeful. Private eye Joey Rork has been hired to make sure Kitty's amorous liaisons with a rat pack crooner don't ruin her husband's political career. But he also wants to know why Kitty has been spotted with Danny Ryan, whose twin brothers, in addition to owning one of London's hottest jazz clubs, are said to have inherited the crime empire of fallen mobster Alf Marx. Before Rork can find out, he meets a gruesome end. And he isn't the only one: bodies have started turning up around London, dismembered in the same bizarre and horrifying way. Is it possible that the blood trail leads back to Troy's own police force and into Troy's own forgotten past? Flesh Wounds, a compulsively readable thriller, finds one of our most able storytellers at the height of his game.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book, but note - this is actually UK book "Blue Rondo".......2006-11-24

The strange thing with the Inspector Troy books is that they get different titles when they're released in the US to when they originally come out in the UK. So, if you're from the UK and excited that to find a new Inspector Troy story you're sorely mistaken -- this book was originally called "Blue Rondo" and was first published in paperback in 2005. Why the title "Blue Rondo" is unsuitable for an American audience I don't know.

But with that out of the way, "Flesh Wounds"/"Blue Rondo" is one of my favourites of the Troy books. Over time, we've got to love the characterisation, Police Surgeon Kolanciwicz is one of the foulest-mouthed people I've come across, but is hilarious to read, and Troy's attitude to most people seems to be that they can go and get lost.

The best so far.

excellant piece of the puzzle.......2006-03-16

John Lawton has created a thought provoking detective series
set in the UK during/after World War 2. He does a fine job at
developing/solving the crimes. He excels at weaving the social costs of the War into his stories. This is both informative and thought provoking. Be prepared for sex.

A perceptive and witty new entry in this delightful series.......2005-04-17

Frederick Troy was twenty-nine years old in 1944. While London was recovering from the bombings that ravished parts of the city, Det. Sgt. Troy was recovering from a gunshot that ravished his kidney and small intestine. Thus the theme is set for the latest novel in this mystery series as it compares and contrasts the fallout wrought by world warfare and gang warfare.

Ladslaw Kolankiewicz, arms expert and longtime friend, insists on teaching Troy how to defend himself. So even though Troy believes in an unarmed police force, he spends weeks becoming proficient in every handgun available because Kolankiewicz does not want to see him shot to death. Troy is surrounded by many such close friends and they remain together over the years as the novel picks up again in 1959.

It is then that one of his best mates is killed by a car bomb blast and Troy is injured as well. While on sick leave he spends an inordinate amount of time in bed, and not alone. Not only is he separated from his wife, but his lover, Foxx, hands him an ultimatum, and he is comforted by his doctor, Anna, in very non-medical fashion. Then along comes his old flame from America, who is now the wife of a presidential hopeful, but all Kate wants to do is spark up Troy again. Whew.

The first half of FLESH WOUNDS reads like a soap opera with tiny bubbles of the mystery barely visible. Even after mutilated bodies start showing up, the investigation takes a back seat to simultaneous affairs, historical detours and various manipulations designed to get Troy to intervene with his Opposition Party Leader brother, Rod, for political favors. But once our Chief Superintendent becomes serious about getting to the bottom of things, we are offered an excellent look at the police work that has made Scotland Yard a force to be reckoned with.

John Lawton has written an ambitious book that encompasses postwar politics, ruthless gang activities, old-fashioned police work, and relationships complicated enough to make Danielle Steel smile. Lawton is not afraid to push the envelope when it comes to the horrific violence of the underworld or to traditionally taboo sexual themes. The work is perceptive and witty while the English vernacular is fun and definitely increases the reader's store of epithets.

--- Reviewed by Maggie Harding

exhilarating British historical police procedural .......2005-03-14

World War II ended fourteen years ago, but London still shows the ruins. For Russian descendent Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard Freddie Troy, the conviction of crime kingpin King Alf should be a time of elation. Instead the war years have returned; his former lover Kitty Stilton is back in town but unavailable since she is married to American presidential hopeful, Calvin Cormack, another person from Freddie's espionage past.

Private investigator Joey Rork is in town to insure that Kitty behaves while in England. However, while London swings with Kitty as its biggest swinger, a war seems imminent to take over King's Alf's crime syndicate and American gamblers and crooners are in the middle of the action. When Rork and others are violently killed, Freddie leads the inquiries that take him back to 1944 when he was recovering from a bullet courtesy of his mistress and the antics of his family especially his promiscuous sisters and his brother, who has present day (1959 that is) ambitions. There is also links to when he was Sergeant Freddie Troy. Still, in spite of his efforts London with Ike coming is filling up with mutilated corpses.

FLESH WOUNDS is an exhilarating British historical police procedural that binds events and real persona or obviously disguised persona between World War II and 1959. The story line is overloaded with several subplots that at times may feel overwhelming, but not only come together but enables readers to compare 1944 and 1959 London. Freddie is terrific in both eras as he is the string that keeps the multitude of subplots tied together. Fans will appreciate this deep but dark look back to two distinct Great Britain's only fifteen years apart within a fine Noir.

Average customer rating:

an interetsting look into an unseen world.

Flesh Wounds
Franz Henkel , and Myke Maldonado
Manufacturer: Heavy Metal Magazine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Novels | Comics & Graphic Novels | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

an interetsting look into an unseen world........2001-05-21

When I first started to read this book I thought that it was an attack on the BDSM community. However as the heroine goes on to explore this world you can begin to see it as both a cautionary tale of what might go wrong and as well as looking at the more positive aspects. A very good story that will make you look at the subject in a different light. A tale that entertains and educates.

10 Titles Don Pendleton Executioner Series (50-59) : 50. Brother in Blood 51. Vultures' Vengeance 52. Tuscany Terror 54. Mountain Rampage 55. Paradines Gauntlet 56. Island Deathtrap 57. Flesh Wounds 58. Ambush on Blood River 59. Crude Kill

Average customer rating:

10 Titles Don Pendleton Executioner Series (50-59) : 50. Brother in Blood 51. Vultures' Vengeance 52. Tuscany Terror 54. Mountain Rampage 55. Paradines Gauntlet 56. Island Deathtrap 57. Flesh Wounds 58. Ambush on Blood River 59. Crude Kill
Dick Stivers , Patrick Neary , Stephen Mertz , E Richard Churchill , Mike Newton , Raymond Obstfeld , Alan Bomack , and Chet Cunningham
Manufacturer: gold eagle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000R9Z4JQ

Product Description

multiple books ship as one item. save on shipping/handling charges.

2 Mystery PBs by Stephen Greenleaf: False Conception & Flesh Wounds (John Marshall Tanner Mysteries)

Average customer rating:

2 Mystery PBs by Stephen Greenleaf: False Conception & Flesh Wounds (John Marshall Tanner Mysteries)
Stephen Greenleaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TV6YYQ

Product Description

paperbacks

Audio-digest: Emergency Medicine: Flesh Wounds (Vol. 18, Issue 8, April 21, 2001)

Average customer rating:

Audio-digest: Emergency Medicine: Flesh Wounds (Vol. 18, Issue 8, April 21, 2001)
MD Leonard Gordon , MD James M. Betts , and MD Libby Edwards
Manufacturer: Audio-Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KGQ706

Product Description

Evaluation of the hand. Dog bites. ACEP report: skin disorders.

Crafting Flesh, Crafting the Self: Violence And Identity in Early Nineteenth-Century German Literature

Average customer rating:

Crafting Flesh, Crafting the Self: Violence And Identity in Early Nineteenth-Century German Literature
John B. Lyon
Manufacturer: Bucknell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Criticism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 083875631X

Firebase Seattle, Flesh Wounds, Savage Fire, Detroit Deathwatch, Jersey Guns (Executioner, 17, 19, 21, 28, 57)

Average customer rating:

Firebase Seattle, Flesh Wounds, Savage Fire, Detroit Deathwatch, Jersey Guns (Executioner, 17, 19, 21, 28, 57)
Don Pendleton
Manufacturer: Pinnacle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000REP4ZK

Product Description

Don Pendleton, Mack Bolan, Executioner, spy, thriller, espionage, firebase, seattle, flesh, wounds, savage, fire, detroit, deathwatch, jersey, guns

Average customer rating:

Flesh Wound

Manufacturer: McClelland and Stewart
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000DEMRU4

Customer Reviews:

Growing Up Among Aliens.......2006-09-18

The Deep Beyond (2005) is an omnibus edition including Serpent's Reach and Cuckoo's Egg. These early SF novels take place on alien planets rather than human space. Both are about young people who are raised among aliens.

Serpent's Reach (1980) is an SF novel in the Alliance-Union Universe. In 2223, the interstellar probe Celia discovered the majat, a sapient alien species, on Alpha Hydri III -- Cerdin -- in the Serpent's Reach. The majat body structure and organization was much like social insects such as ants. At the time of discovery, there were four different hives, each ruled by a collective intelligence with memories spanning millions of years.

There were no survivors from the Celia, but the hives did decide that each human was an individual intelligence. In 2229, the crew of the Delia probe was kept alive and, in 2235, under terms of the Hydri Treaty, one shipload of colonists was allowed to settle on the planet. These became the Kontrin Company. The colonists, however, brought a shipload of embryos, from which were grown the Betas. These Betas, in turn, grew clones of themselves, the azi, with biological timers that limited lifespan to forty years.

In this novel, Raen a Sul hant Meth-maren is Kontrin. She is the direct lineal descendent of The Meth-maren, destined to lead the family some day. For the past fifteen years, she has been learning the things that she should know to govern. Since all Kontrin have been made potentially immortal by the majat, she has many years of learning before she is old enough to have fun.

One day, the family estate at Kethiuy is visited by the Houses of Thon and Yalt, but these welcome guests bring others from the House of Hald and, worse yet, members of the Ruil-sept of the Meth-marens. Neither Hald or Ruil would have dared to set foot on the estate without Thon and Yalt. The Ruil cadet-sept has come to suggest a change in the relationships with the majat, but the talks are only a cover for an attack on the Sul-sept.

Only Raen survived the vicious attack by the Ruil-sept, Red and Gold majats and majat-azi. She manages to escape to the nearby Hive of the Blue majats and to convince the Hive Mother to help her wrest Kethiuy from the Ruil-sept and others who have assisted in the attack. She succeeds in destroying the Ruil-sept, but the Blue Hive is also destroyed and she is captured.

She is brought before the Council and Eron Thel, the head of the conspiracy, is almost allowed to relinquish Raen to her enemies. Yet Moth, second oldest of all Kontrin, protests that there has been no vote and Lian, the Eldest, agrees with Moth. Lian makes a speech, at the conclusion of which Moth kills all the known conspirators. Raen is banished from Cerdin.

Cuckoo's Egg (1985) is the third SF novel of the Age of Exploration Series, but is essentially a standalone work. Dana Duun Shtoni no Loghn is a Hatani, a judge without appeal. He has been called Sey -- general -- and Mingi -- lord -- but now he is just Dunn. He is unique, for none have been asked to judge so important a question.

Duun accepts the bundled infant from the meds and starts to care for him. He soon stinks of urine and excrement, but he does not clean himself off, for the infant is more comfortable with the stench. Duun does ask his friend Ellud to prepare Sheon, the estate where he grew up, to provide a simpler environment for the infant's development.

When Sheon has been cleared of the people who had claimed the property, Duun takes the infant there and raises him to be hatani. Since the infant differs from ordinary shonunin, Dunn has to adjust his lessons. Most things, like the five fingers instead of four, are insignificant, but the child grows up to be scent-blind and lacking much fur.

Duun calls the infant Haras, with Thorn as his use name. He teaches Thorn to never say "can't" unless he is physically, mentally or emotionally unable to do something and Thorn finds that Duun never asks him to do anything that he cannot do. Duun also teaches Thorn to deny many of his needs, for these are really only desires.

Duun also teaches Thorn hand-to-hand combat, escape and evasion, and other martial skills. Duun is better than Thorn at close combat, despite the severe injuries that had scarred his face and torso, but the damage to his knee made him less agile than Thorn while climbing. Besides, Thorn's feet gave him a better grip on rocks than Dunn's claws.

One day Thorn is running from Duun as usual, but heads down the mountain instead of up, for he knows that Dunn would expect him to use his greater climbing ability. He runs all the way down to the nearby settlement where he can expect food and water. As he nears the first house, he sees and hears two children playing in the yard. Thorn notices that they are not like him, but look much like Duun.

These stories are unrelated to any other works by the author. Serpent's Reach ends at a suitable point and fits neatly into the Alliance-Union universe. Yet Cuckoo's Egg ends with many dangling plot threads. Indeed, it is difficult to place this work in any of the author's known universes, although it is arbitrarily placed in the Age of Exploration Series. There is some question about whether Thorn is truly human.

Highly recommended to Cherryh fans or to anyone else who enjoys tales of alien cultures and cross-cultural relationships.

-Arthur W. Jordin

On being an Alien.......2006-04-05

Voyager in Night takes you inside the personality, inside the world view, inside the feelings of an utterly alien computer program.
These stories develop the same combination of shock, revulsion and empthy as the protagonist journeys from something like human to something very different. Cuckoo's Egg resonates with Pyanfar Chanur, in that the protagonist starts as an Alien. Who we come to admire and respect.
Serpent's reach, the protagonist starts out fairly human. As in Voyager, the destination is immortality and a hive mind. Essential Cherryh!

Reissue of two great C.J. Cherryh Stories.......2005-10-04

The Deep Beyond contains two of C. J. Cherryh's great early works.

Serpents reach is a masterpiece of world building as it gives a totally plausible, totally believable world where Ants are the intelligent and evolved race. It explores how virtual immortality could affect wealth power and family relations. This is a great story about betrayal and revenge and acceptance.

The Cuccoo' s Egg is another great story that might be compared to the part (the part that you don't get to read., about when Valentine Smith is still on Mars.) of "Stranger in a Strange Land" As it is the story of a human boy raised on an alien planet by aliens, in an attempt to understand humans and to make up for killing humans. Hard to explain but a great read.

If you don't already have these two great stories... This is a great book to buy.

A long over due re-issue of 2 books.......2005-08-21

The Deep Beyond title reflects that old adage of map makers of yore: Here there be Dragons. And the implied warning that Dragons rule their worlds.

Serpent's Reach was printed in August 1980 by DAW and Cuckoo's Egg was printed in October 1985 by DAW. Both, according to C.J. Cherryh's website, take place in The Alliance-Union Universe, but much further down the time line from her classic Cyteen. (Cyteen is a MUST read for any person interested in Science Fiction.) While I rate both books at 4 stars, I am suprised that Cuckoo's Egg from the Era of Exploration was paired with Serpent's Reach from the Era of Rapprochement. A more natural pairing would have been Forty Thousand in Gehenna with Serpent's Reach as both are from the Era of Rapprochment with a focus of humans merging into the Alien's societies. (I suspect as those two novels together would have about 700 pages, this may have forced the publisher's choice.) Cuckoo's Egg has a tricker focus hinted so strongly by the title Cuckoo's Egg.

All of Cherryh's work should be required reading in Science Fiction and The Deep Beyond brings out-of-print works back for fans old enough to have read the first printings and for new Science Fiction fans born since 1985. Oh, the cover of The Deep Beyond is the same as the 1985 1st Edition of Cuckoo's Egg.

The Mystic Egg And The Serpent Symbol - Pamphlet

Average customer rating:

The Mystic Egg And The Serpent Symbol - Pamphlet
Richard Payne Knight
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1430403187

Book Description

THIS 10 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Symbolical Language of Ancient Art and Mythology, by Richard Payne Knight. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564594106.

Average customer rating:

Stay Same; Don't Buy This Book
Laffertarian Bedtime Reading

Serpent's Egg
R. A. Lafferty
Manufacturer: Wildside Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0809532441

Customer Reviews:

Stay Same; Don't Buy This Book.......2007-06-12

Serpent's Egg
Wait! Any book that has an epilog written by a sea louse is worth fifteen bucks. But watch closely the innocent shinny plain brown cover of Serpent's Egg...it thumps...it moves. Inside is a yoke (get it, you know, like a joke but more) that will change your scheme of things forevermore. And when in 2035 the sea lice take over the job of recording the World's history (of course, little sea lice can't think, they will only write down the thoughts of the whales who are great thinkers but can neither read nor write) and they will drop the custom of good and evil and instead divide mankind into two distinct categories - those who read Lafferty and those who don't.

So don't be left out. Here is an example of Lafferty's writting style that will happen in ten years or so...

"The Ambulatory Computers themselves had no real sex, of course, but it had become their custom to declare themselves for one sex or the other. And ninty percent of them had declared themselves male. The ten percent who had declared themselves to be female were thus outnumbered nine to one, so they made themselves nine times more intense on the sex issue. They insisted that fifty percent of all computers should declare themselves to be female. Then they amended the fifty percent to fifty-seven percent to atone for past inequities. They used the slogan 'There can be no freedom until there is equality; be it compelled that all Amblulatory Computers shall conform to the fair fifty-seven percent in their declarations.'
It wasn't a good slogan, even though it was put to music and sung in all sorts of places. A good slogan, whether a human or a computer slogan, should be capable of being spoken in a single breath."

Laffertarian Bedtime Reading.......2006-06-24

The best take I've read on Lafferty is from John Clute's Encyclopaedia of Fantasy. He echoes the view that R.A. Lafferty is his own man, and you've got to read all of him to even start to know what he's about. Someone new to Lafferty would be better off starting with Fourth Mansions or Past Master or Reefs of Earth or the many volumes of short stories. Those books make some concessions to the general reader, while this one decidedly does not.

Thanks to Wildside Press for making this novel available. I had looked for a long time for a "new" Lafferty novel and could only find more short stories. Nothing against those; I read his stories avidly before ever cracking the cover of a novel, but I enjoy it when Lafferty stretches out in a full-length work and invites us into his universe.

Serpent's Egg takes place in the indeterminate future of 2035 when all sorts of experiments are taking place between animals, humans and humanoid computers, resulting in various hybrid offspring. These mega-persons all reach maturity at ten years old, but should they prove to be a serpent's egg, a threat to the "floating world", assassins are sent after them by the Kangaroo Court, seen as a portent in the sky of a kangaroo. The offspring of four experiments join up to form a magic twelve, including in their number a psychic python, an unborn elephant, a wolverine, a bear, a computer, and a few humans. It's all very Laffertarian and it probably doesn't give anything away to say that the epilog (written by a whale) claims that half the book is lies.

I had a copy of Wildside Press' collection of Lafferty stories, Iron Tears, which had a lot of typos in it. It may have since been edited, however, since my edition doesn't have the introduction by Michael Swanwick included in the newer edition. Regardless, this book has few typos and is well-produced. It's also as much reading as a whole book of short stories, just right for Laffertarian bedtime reading.

Average customer rating:

Serpent's Egg
Ingmar Bergman
Manufacturer: PANTHEON BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OKAUQU

Average customer rating:

The Serpent's Egg
Ingmar Bergman
Manufacturer: Pantheon Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 039441358X

Average customer rating:

Pretty good for a Canadian author
The best book ever
Wonderful Fantasy Book
Wonderful Book! Couln't put it down!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! What a great book!

The Serpent's Egg
J Fitzgerald McCurdy
Manufacturer: Fitzhenry and Whiteside
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0968871305
Release Date: 2002-12-17

Customer Reviews:

Pretty good for a Canadian author.......2004-12-07

I hate to admit this, but like most Canadians (and even non-Canadians for that matter) I find Canadian literature a tad on dull side. We Canadian authors really need to learn how to write books the rest of the world wants to read.

Ms. McCurdy has the potential to write such books. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this story. While one would never mistake Ms McCurdy at this stage of her career for a JK Rowling, a Darren Shan or a Brian Jacques, as a new author she keeps up with the middle of the pack when it comes to international writers of children's fantasy.

With this in mind, I will start with the negative and then note the positive. As the previous reviewer notes, this story contains nothing new or original in terms of children's fantasy. The ideas are for the most part rehashed from elsewhere. The one unique thing about the story is that it begins in Ottawa, and this works to get the story off the ground.

Nevertheless, once the adventure story gets going, the repeated references to Ottawa grow stale. Whereas an American or a British author would say the heroine missed her "friends from back home," McCurdy feels compelled to say "from Ottawa". This seems rather forced to give the book some Canadian content. McCurdy should just drop the references and let the story take its course. Like McCurdy, I'm a fiction writer from Ottawa with a law degree, so I can identify with the heroine and her friends when she "misses Ottawa". But what about potential readers from Calgary, London, Washington, or Tucson Arizona? On another side note, I found the monsters can be somewhat cartoonish in terms of their names.

In terms of the positive, McCurdy is a competent story-teller. A little heavy on the descriptive tags at certain points, but normally she keeps the book moving at a brisk pace. She also avoids the temptation, too often present in Canadian children's fiction, to sermonize. While the book is Good vs. Evil, she allows the story to unfold rather than engage in preaching. Finally, while keeping within the bounds of good taste appropriate to children's literature, McCurdy also does not shy away from physical confrontation between Good and Evil, thus avoiding another weakness within Canadian children's fiction.

The best book ever.......2004-12-04

This book is amazing I loved this book and couldn't drop the book. The characters you chose are perfect and fit the setting of the story very well. My favorite character is Naim because he is strong, has a cool ring, and knows lots of powerful majic. I don't care what stupind reviewers say about your book is horriable. I thought your book was the best.

Wonderful Fantasy Book.......2003-01-28

I thought that The Serpent's Egg was a fabulous parallel-world fantasy book. Joan FitzGerald McCurdy has a way of capturing the reader with her wondrous story of Miranda and all her friends battling the demon Hate to save the world. It was a fabulous read and I can't wait until the next one comes out. All children ages nine and up must read this book. The plot was one of the best aspects of this book for I couldn't put it down. It was a great read while waiting for the next Harry Potter book. The sequel The Burning Crown is another fabulous book and it is also a must read for children ages nine and up.

Wonderful Book! Couln't put it down!!!!!!!!!!!.......2003-01-22

This is one of the best books I have ever read! I couldn't put it down. My favorite race are the elves. I was a wonderful mixture of real life and fantasy life. Or so I thought. There are many funny bits, most of them were in the beggining but there were still some funny bits during the whole book. It is about friendship, courage and a bad guy. You have to read it! It was so good I wish that she had made it longer for I finished it in one day in and half.

Wow! What a great book!.......2002-08-13

The Serpent's egg is a really good suspenseful fantasy book. The story will keep you on the edge of your seat. I couldn't put the book down. It was so exciting. My favorite character is Naim. He is a powerful and brave druid. A must read for children ages 10 to 15.

Average customer rating:

The serpent's egg
David Duncan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00005XVGG

Average customer rating:

awesome!!!!!!!!
Fantasy...the Elizabethan way

The Serpent's Egg
Caroline Stevermer
Manufacturer: Ace Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After

ASIN: 0441759122

Customer Reviews:

awesome!!!!!!!!.......2004-06-12

it was a great page turner that keep you spellbound throughout the whole book.

Fantasy...the Elizabethan way.......1999-04-05

A very elusive book, The Serpent's Egg is also a rare delight to all who may find it. Stevermer has filled this book with a mysterious object called The Serpent's Egg with strange powers, a murdered hero, an evil duke, and a group of conspirators trying to warn the queen against the duke. Throw in excellent, quirky characters, some good old fashioned swashbuckling, a good handful of letters and sonnets, and a twisting plot...Highly recommended. Also try Stevermer and Wrede's Sorcery and Cecelia, and Stevermer's A College of Magics for more quasi-historical fantasy.

Serpent's egg: A collection of literature and photography

Average customer rating:

Serpent's egg: A collection of literature and photography

Manufacturer: Moonlight Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Huevos de serpiente. (la tornadera).(esfuerzos policiales contra la organización terrorista ETA; España)(TT: Serpent eggs. (The roasting pit).)(TA: police ... Breve): An article from: Epoca

Average customer rating:

Huevos de serpiente. (la tornadera).(esfuerzos policiales contra la organización terrorista ETA; España)(TT: Serpent eggs. (The roasting pit).)(TA: police ... Breve): An article from: Epoca
Antonio Casado
Manufacturer: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008FKSUE
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on September 27, 2002. The length of the article is 5310 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.

Citation Details
Title: Huevos de serpiente. (la tornadera).(esfuerzos policiales contra la organización terrorista ETA; España)(TT: Serpent eggs. (The roasting pit).)(TA: police efforts against terrorist organization ETA; Spain)(Artículo Breve)
Author: Antonio Casado
Publication: Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 27, 2002
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 20(1)

Article Type: Artículo Breve

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books