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Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries are simply brilliant, and this is the best so far. They take place in the fictitious Quebec village of Three Pines, which is replete with fascinating characters. Clara and Peter Morrow are artists, Ruth Zardo is an award-winning misanthropic poet awaiting the return of her rescued duck, and Gabi and Olivier run a bistro where the town gathers over croissants and cafe au lait to discuss the latest murder. The descriptions of the bill of fare make my mouth water. Gamache is the centerpiece of the author's carefully delineated players. His steadiness, compassion, and courage are inspiring. These people have become real to me, and it was with sadness that I read the last page. Penny's prose is lyrical, poetic and innovative. This book has plot, ideas, psychologically complex characters, and magnificent prose. It is everything a reader could want, and more. I'm holding my breath until the next one is published. No wonder Louise Penny has a fistful of awards.
A five-year old Jewish boy escapes a village massacre by a Nazi death squad and survives the winter cold by taking the uniform of a dead Nazi soldier. Found by Latvian Nazi soldiers he becomes their mascot and eventually lives with a high ranking Nazi family where he stars in a propaganda film. The story begins when, as a man in his seventies, he comes to his scholarly son and finally reveals the secret he has been keeping from his loving wife and family for almost his whole life. He fears being known as either a Jew or a Nazi, but asks his son to investigate his vague memories and uncover the startling truth of his young years. A mystery, and a search for identity and redemption, told through the memories of a little boy, with a surprising twist. An extremely moving memoir of a haunted man.
Have you ever wondered why anyone would want to change their gender? You can find understanding in this beautifully written autobiographical account by Jennifer Finney Boylan who made the transition from James to Jennifer. An acclaimed comic novelist and college professor, Boylan had never been comfortable in his skin. He finally unearths the courage to become the woman he always knew he was. We travel along with her as she tells her loving wife Grace and best friend writer Richard Russo (who writes the Afterword). Her story reveals the differences between being a woman and being a man, as well as the basic human qualities shared by us all. The narrative is handled beautifully by a true writer. I was entranced throughout. I laughed with her, and I wept with her and was tremendously moved by her story. I urge everyone to read it, to grasp the difficulties, joy and humanity of being transgendered.
MONKEEWRENCH is the first book in a fabulous series of mysteries. Monkeewrench refers to a company of computer wizards who at one time may have been on the wrong side of the law. They're a strange bunch of characters; a scary former biker with a heart-of-gold who enjoys luxuries like his amazingly tricked-out trailer, and gourmet food; the beautiful and dangerous Grace who never goes anywhere unarmed and lives in a fortified house; a tall skinny hacker who dresses in cycling attire and uses only his bicycle all year round; a zaftig woman who swans in and out wearing outrageous clothes and knocking men for a loop. All of these hackers have joined together to help law-enforcement capture criminals using the internet. They're rough, tough, and family for one another. Add two wonderful mid-western policemen and you have a breathtaking array of fascinating people on a wild gallop to save the lives of ordinary citizens. After reading my first, I read them all. P.J. Tracy writes addictive books which go far beyond your run-of-the-mill mystery.
This eminently readable book is a true history of four men, at Harvard University, who changed how we see the world on this continent. They began legal experiments at Harvard using LSD, which led to enormous spiritual insights. Those insights have changed how we view the world, and ourselves in it. Timothy Leary ushered in experimentation in drugs, Ram Dass became a spiritual leader, Huston Smith introduced North Americans to the religions of the world, and Andrew Weil is the father of alternative medicine in the United States. Their works changed the thinking of a whole generation, and helped usher in the Summer of Love. This is social history at its best, full of information, personal revelations, social commentary, all within one well-written book. I don't usually read history non-fiction, but this book had me spellbound.
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FUBSY has commented on (9) products.
A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Gamache Novels) by Louise Penny
FUBSY , January 6, 2012
Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache mysteries are simply brilliant, and this is the best so far. They take place in the fictitious Quebec village of Three Pines, which is replete with fascinating characters. Clara and Peter Morrow are artists, Ruth Zardo is an award-winning misanthropic poet awaiting the return of her rescued duck, and Gabi and Olivier run a bistro where the town gathers over croissants and cafe au lait to discuss the latest murder. The descriptions of the bill of fare make my mouth water. Gamache is the centerpiece of the author's carefully delineated players. His steadiness, compassion, and courage are inspiring. These people have become real to me, and it was with sadness that I read the last page. Penny's prose is lyrical, poetic and innovative. This book has plot, ideas, psychologically complex characters, and magnificent prose. It is everything a reader could want, and more. I'm holding my breath until the next one is published. No wonder Louise Penny has a fistful of awards.The Mascot: Unraveling the Mystery of My Jewish Father's Nazi Boyhood by Mark Kurzem
FUBSY , September 8, 2011
A five-year old Jewish boy escapes a village massacre by a Nazi death squad and survives the winter cold by taking the uniform of a dead Nazi soldier. Found by Latvian Nazi soldiers he becomes their mascot and eventually lives with a high ranking Nazi family where he stars in a propaganda film. The story begins when, as a man in his seventies, he comes to his scholarly son and finally reveals the secret he has been keeping from his loving wife and family for almost his whole life. He fears being known as either a Jew or a Nazi, but asks his son to investigate his vague memories and uncover the startling truth of his young years. A mystery, and a search for identity and redemption, told through the memories of a little boy, with a surprising twist. An extremely moving memoir of a haunted man.She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
FUBSY , September 7, 2011
Have you ever wondered why anyone would want to change their gender? You can find understanding in this beautifully written autobiographical account by Jennifer Finney Boylan who made the transition from James to Jennifer. An acclaimed comic novelist and college professor, Boylan had never been comfortable in his skin. He finally unearths the courage to become the woman he always knew he was. We travel along with her as she tells her loving wife Grace and best friend writer Richard Russo (who writes the Afterword). Her story reveals the differences between being a woman and being a man, as well as the basic human qualities shared by us all. The narrative is handled beautifully by a true writer. I was entranced throughout. I laughed with her, and I wept with her and was tremendously moved by her story. I urge everyone to read it, to grasp the difficulties, joy and humanity of being transgendered.Monkeewrench by P J Tracy
FUBSY , September 7, 2011
MONKEEWRENCH is the first book in a fabulous series of mysteries. Monkeewrench refers to a company of computer wizards who at one time may have been on the wrong side of the law. They're a strange bunch of characters; a scary former biker with a heart-of-gold who enjoys luxuries like his amazingly tricked-out trailer, and gourmet food; the beautiful and dangerous Grace who never goes anywhere unarmed and lives in a fortified house; a tall skinny hacker who dresses in cycling attire and uses only his bicycle all year round; a zaftig woman who swans in and out wearing outrageous clothes and knocking men for a loop. All of these hackers have joined together to help law-enforcement capture criminals using the internet. They're rough, tough, and family for one another. Add two wonderful mid-western policemen and you have a breathtaking array of fascinating people on a wild gallop to save the lives of ordinary citizens. After reading my first, I read them all. P.J. Tracy writes addictive books which go far beyond your run-of-the-mill mystery.The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America by Don Lattin
FUBSY , January 1, 2011
This eminently readable book is a true history of four men, at Harvard University, who changed how we see the world on this continent. They began legal experiments at Harvard using LSD, which led to enormous spiritual insights. Those insights have changed how we view the world, and ourselves in it. Timothy Leary ushered in experimentation in drugs, Ram Dass became a spiritual leader, Huston Smith introduced North Americans to the religions of the world, and Andrew Weil is the father of alternative medicine in the United States. Their works changed the thinking of a whole generation, and helped usher in the Summer of Love. This is social history at its best, full of information, personal revelations, social commentary, all within one well-written book. I don't usually read history non-fiction, but this book had me spellbound.1-5 of 9next