I wouldn't have met Piti if it hadn't been for a chichigua. To translate chichigua as a kite does not do justice to these beautiful creations of...
Continue »
This enthralling first novel from Donald Ray Pollock, the author of the story collection Knockemstiff, will grab you by the back of the neck and rivet you to the story as you read of Arvin Eugene Russell's growing up in 1960s Ohio and West Virginia. Surrounded by evil and violence and a father who wrestles with the devil all the time, Arvin can't escape a violent life himself. Other unforgettable characters are a husband-and-wife team of serial killers and a spider-handling preacher and his wheelchair-bound companion. If you like Flannery O'Connor and William Gay, you'll easily fall for Donald Ray Pollock.
Once again Philip Roth has captured the essence of a time, place, and community in his latest novel, Nemesis. The voices of children, their parents, and their much admired coach-teacher are distinct and telling as they reveal a time in American history when fear determined behavior, attitudes, and events. Polio's indiscriminate attack on Newark's playgrounds in 1944 changed the way neighborhoods interacted in profound ways. This is the story of one coach/teacher who tried to fight the fear but failed to find the right target. Plan time to read this book from cover to cover in one sitting.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
I am not usually a fan of the memoir, but this one, recommended by a friend, is a well-crafted, poetic account of a writer's talent emerging from a childhood accident. Mr. Guest, a now-published and award-winning poet, has written a heart-wrenching and honestly brutal account of his quadraplegia and how he faced life's physical challenges through becoming a writer, learning to be his own person, and struggling to find love. If you know someone who is challenged in any way to overcome adversity, whether it be mental or physical, I recommend this miracle of a book. Wait, even if you don't know anyone with a challenge, read this one anyway just in case that person comes along. You will appreciate Mr. Guest's writing talents and want to read more of his work. This book will stay with you. Find time to read it.
Petey and Danny have been friends since early boyhood, and they grow-up and fashion lives for themselves out of the South Boston environment that they inhabit. Petey, a precocious quoter of Jung, knows early-on that he is gay, but Danny, the man-about-town and future Marine, is uncertain of his sexuality. The only certainty is their love for each other, and the human conflict arises when this love is examined and questioned by themselves and others. This tale explores the true meaning of love in many kinds of relationships, but ultimately reveals the value of the unconditional friendship that brings these two young men back together.
Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.
Don't Miss
Customer Comments
Tisa has commented on (4) products.
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Tisa, January 31, 2012
This enthralling first novel from Donald Ray Pollock, the author of the story collection Knockemstiff, will grab you by the back of the neck and rivet you to the story as you read of Arvin Eugene Russell's growing up in 1960s Ohio and West Virginia. Surrounded by evil and violence and a father who wrestles with the devil all the time, Arvin can't escape a violent life himself. Other unforgettable characters are a husband-and-wife team of serial killers and a spider-handling preacher and his wheelchair-bound companion. If you like Flannery O'Connor and William Gay, you'll easily fall for Donald Ray Pollock.Nemesis by Philip Roth
Tisa, January 1, 2011
Once again Philip Roth has captured the essence of a time, place, and community in his latest novel, Nemesis. The voices of children, their parents, and their much admired coach-teacher are distinct and telling as they reveal a time in American history when fear determined behavior, attitudes, and events. Polio's indiscriminate attack on Newark's playgrounds in 1944 changed the way neighborhoods interacted in profound ways. This is the story of one coach/teacher who tried to fight the fear but failed to find the right target. Plan time to read this book from cover to cover in one sitting.(1 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
One More Theory about Happiness: A Memoir by Paul Guest
Tisa, August 11, 2010
I am not usually a fan of the memoir, but this one, recommended by a friend, is a well-crafted, poetic account of a writer's talent emerging from a childhood accident. Mr. Guest, a now-published and award-winning poet, has written a heart-wrenching and honestly brutal account of his quadraplegia and how he faced life's physical challenges through becoming a writer, learning to be his own person, and struggling to find love. If you know someone who is challenged in any way to overcome adversity, whether it be mental or physical, I recommend this miracle of a book. Wait, even if you don't know anyone with a challenge, read this one anyway just in case that person comes along. You will appreciate Mr. Guest's writing talents and want to read more of his work. This book will stay with you. Find time to read it.A Map of the Harbor Islands by J. G. Hayes
Tisa, April 25, 2007
Petey and Danny have been friends since early boyhood, and they grow-up and fashion lives for themselves out of the South Boston environment that they inhabit. Petey, a precocious quoter of Jung, knows early-on that he is gay, but Danny, the man-about-town and future Marine, is uncertain of his sexuality. The only certainty is their love for each other, and the human conflict arises when this love is examined and questioned by themselves and others. This tale explores the true meaning of love in many kinds of relationships, but ultimately reveals the value of the unconditional friendship that brings these two young men back together.