The Escape From Home (Beyond the Western Sea, Book 1)

Book Description

Maura O'Connell, 15, and her brother, Patrick, 12, escape Ireland's brutal poverty with only the belongings in their bundles and tickets for ocean passage. Sir Laurence Kirkle, 11, flees a life of privilege to seek justice. When fate brings them ogether, the three join forces in a daring scheme that may lead to freedom and glory...or dire consequences.

Customer Reviews:

Beyond the Western Sea: Great book by a great Author.......2007-04-16

I have always been a fan of Avi, and I have to tell you that this is probably my favourite book by him.

(Don't worry, no spoilers ahead)

Beyond the Western Sea begins in the poor village of Kilonny, in Ireland, where Maura, Patrick and their mother struggle to survive. Their little brother has passed away recently, their father left for America a few months ago, and they are very poor.

One day, a letter arrives. It was written by their father, and he says that he has settled down in America, and he wants his family to join him. He has put money and tickets inside the envelope, so Maura, Patrick and their mother start their journey toward America. The kids and their mother get separated soon afterwards, so Maura and Patrick have to continue their dreaded journey alone.

They arrive at Liverpool (where their ship to America will sail from), where they meet Ralph Toggs, a young man with no good intentions, Mr. Drabble, a poor actor that soon becomes like a father to them, and Laurence, a troubled kid that fled from home back in London, looking for justice away from his father, Lord Kirkle, and his annoying brother.

Beyond the Western Sea is a must-read, and I highly recommend it to people of all ages.

An Adventure for all times.......2004-11-11

This book is filled with adventures and schemes. From the very beginning till the end you are completely hooked. I strongly recommend this book to anyone older than 11. This book is about two siblings trying to escape to America. They meet up with another boy from London, who has is own story to tell and become involved in a whirl of trouble. This is just book 1 in a very promising series.

A Very Educational and Exciting Book.......2004-03-09

Avi has written several classics, such as the Dimwood Forest Series and Don't You Know There's A War On. This book, Beyond The Western Sea Book One, is a credit to his writing. An exciting book, it also is educational and great for kids who like historical fiction. It is SO hard to find a writer like this these days!! Avi, in my book, will always be mentioned in the same category as Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. To me, this paints a picture that is so real and vivid. A very good book. I'd rate this ten stars if I could. A must-buy. One that the parents will love just as much.

The Escape From Home (Beyond the Western Sea, Book 1) By Avi.......2004-02-21

This is a really great book. At first the book was a little slow, and boring, but it got SO GOOD! Now I want to read the next book. Basically, there is 2 stories of different people going on at once. Maura, Patrick O'Connel, and their mother are living alone while their father is living in America, trying to make money so that they can come live with him for a better life. They face a lot of challenging surprises as the reach their destination- America. With their mother refusing to leave their hometown, they are off on their own to reach their father. At the same time a young boy Sir Laurence Kirkle, son of a wealthy man, runs away to America because he is not happy with his life. With his father hiring people to find him and take him home, his older brother hires a man to make sure his brother stays away from home so he does not return home. Maura, Patrick, and Laurence all meet up and try to get to America, but do they?? You will have to read the next book to find out!!

The Escape From Home (Beyond the Western Sea, Book 1) By Avi.......2004-02-21

RUNAWAY HORSES (His the Sea of Fertility 2)

Average customer rating:

Continues the themes of SPRING SNOW with expanded form and new perspectives
greatest mishima book
Sequel to Spring Snow, But Not As Good
Sea of Silence ...
Standalone

RUNAWAY HORSES (His the Sea of Fertility 2)
Yukio Mishima
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Temple of Dawn
The Decay of the Angel
Spring Snow
The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea

ASIN: 0394466187
Release Date: 1973-05-12

Book Description

The chronicle of a conspiracy and a novel about the roots and nature of Japanese fanaticism in the years that led to war--an era marked by depression, social change and political violence.

Customer Reviews:

Continues the themes of SPRING SNOW with expanded form and new perspectives.......2006-06-29

In RUNAWAY HORSES, the second volume of Yukio Mishima's "Sea of Fertility" tetralogy, we are presented with a remarkable turn of events. Kiyoaki Matsugae, the tragic protagonist of SPRING SNOW, has been born again. Those who wondered why the first novel in the cycle had those long debates on the transmigration of the soul will be pleased to see the consequences of the Siamese princes' beliefs.

The year is 1932. RUNAWAY HORSES unfolds through the thoughts of Shikeguni Honda, once Kiyoaki's best friend, who is now thirty-eight years-old and a judge in Osaka. Honda encounters a young man, Isao, who is almost as old as Kiyoaki was when he died, and Honda comes to believe that this boy is his old friend come again, whose life contains events that Kiyoaki foretellingly dreamed of and wrote in his journal. While Kiyoaki's fatal flaw was excess love, his reincarnation is an obsessive patriot, who seeks to purge Japan of foreign ideals and the vices of a capitalism which denied the Emperor. RUNAWAY HORSES is, essentially, a novel of political extremism. The Japan of this era seems poised on the verge of either Communist revolution or, what actually came to pass, military dictatorship, and the uncertainty of the times makes for a very engaging setting. Some knowledge of Japan history comes in handy, although the novel can still be read as it is. The form of the work is also rather more varied than in the first volume of the cycle. RUNAWAY HORSES contains a fifty-page long imagined political tract praising the leaders of a 19th-century rebellion, which inspires the protagonist, and a courtroom scene recounted in dialogue form.

I found so much of this novel supremely agreeable. Mishima expertly causes the reader to feel the long years that have passed for Honda, and the shock that comes in being jerked back to the death of Kiyoaki. Some of the people and places linked with Kiyoaki are seen again in this novel, and often the characters have little idea of the connection, but the reader knows the haunting truth. Nonetheless, the novel is not entirely perfect. One common objection may be that Mishima gushes too much over the purity of Isao, for the author's own political ideals where much the same. Still, anyone concerned with issues of globalization and the existential crisis of the West and westernized nations will have some sympathy for Mishima and his protagonist, even though much about them is deplorable. And Isao is certainly more nuanced than the protagonist of Mishima's gory nearly-pornographic novella "Patriotism" of three years before. My own dissatisfaction about the matter comes from Mishima giving his protagonist, toward the end, the opportunity to rather unrealistically give a long speech to an audience that in truth probably wouldn't hear it.

Still, these are relatively minor complaints. I underestimated the beauty of SPRING SNOW the first time I read it, and I'm quite happy that I re-read it and moved onto RUNAWAY HORSES. The "Sea of Fertility" cycle is indeed an impressive work of fiction.

greatest mishima book.......2006-06-23

this is definately one of the greatest novels written in japanese. though the main character seems naive and unreal, the novel does have merit in revealing a different side of japan. unlike spring snow or novels by kawabata, this does not conform to the steretype of being "feminine", but portrays the more musculine samurai culture of japan.

admittedly, the main character, isao's political fanaticism is somehow scary, especially when we look at it now. however, rather than portraying him as a hero who is perfect, Mishima's attitude toward him is conflicting, which makes the story more interesting and the characters more controversial.

Sequel to Spring Snow, But Not As Good.......2006-03-29

Mishima is a great author, but like every author not every book is likely to be 5 stars. The present book is one such example.

This is the second of a group of four novels by Mishima called The Sea of Fertility series. Taken as a group they are excellent novels or even what one might call a literary masterpiece. The four books are:

- "Spring Snow,"
- "Runaway Horses,"
- "The Temple of Dawn," and
- "The Decay of the Angel."

"Spring Snow" was set in Tokyo around 1912; it involves two families and two lovers; there is a problem betrothal involving the female protagonist Satoko (Kiyoaki is the male); and there are outside forces at work - the Royal family. The present book is time shifted 19 years later to approximately the early 1930s. The protagonist is changed to Honda - a secondary character in the first book - plus we have a new character, Isao, a young man of about 19 who is swept up with a national fervour after reading "The League of the Divine Wind."

It is a clear and compelling read, and I sat down glued to the book and read 220 pages the first day. Having said that, this story is not as good as "Spring Snow." The characters brought forward 19 years from the first book do not quite fit together. The author has to use mysticism to make the pieces fit together.

The parts that involve Honda are excellent - and if he had more Honda the book would be 5 stars. But as the story unfolds, his role declines. The youthful Isao seem immature, not attractive as a character, and the story is not that good about him. So, it is two parallel stories, one well written with great prose - about Honda, and one a bit immature and political about Isao. Finally, at the end of the book, the last 50 pages, it does not seem the least bit credible. Also, the author inserts and repeats parts of "Divine Wind" into the book on more than one occasion, and it seems a bit political. It reminds a bit of Upton Sinclair's book "The Jungle" where the last chapter is dedicated to advancing socialism. Here it is Japanese nationalism.

Taken as a group of four, The Sea of Fertility group might be a masterpiece series. In a society such as Japan, the book must have been a bit racy when it came out. That is the same comment that describes "Spring Snow" but now it does not quite work here. On its own this is not a great book, but I recommend the read as part of the series.

As a final note, this book has no introduction or extra notes on the author or the book. It is just the basic book, but it seems to be an excellent translation.

Sea of Silence ..........2005-08-15

This is not an intent to (summarize) mishima's sea of fertility... rather it's an approach into analyzing it ... a sort of reading between the lines...

Then ... again, what are we exactly trying to portray?

we would say we are ( intending ) to deliver a semiotic vision of what the sea of fertility represents ... we are not trying to ( read ) it for our reader , rather , we let him read , and help him amidst it , by presenting a cluster of signs , keys , semiotics , call it whatever you want , that would - at the end - clarify the road , and that can be grasped by the reader so he can get a wider vision , and a better comprehension of this gigantic universe , which mishima called ( sea of fertility ) ...

But first, why is this bizarre title (sea of fertility)?

mishima himself is going to answer this question , to give it the first ( leading ) sign , that we should know it doesn't crack secrets for us , but merely provides us with a minimum limit , which we can begin our journey from ..

in a note mishima sent to the famous American criticizer Donald Keene , he clearly admits that the reason he chose this title for his tetralogy is a hint for an area of the same designation on the moon's surface not so far of ( the sea of silence ) ... the reason for this reference is to aim at a ( contradiction ) between this vivid and colorful name , and the wasteland it stands for in real ... we can go further on saying that this title combines the image of universal nihilism with the image of ( sea of fertility ) ...

in summer 1945 mishima wanted to write an immense oeuvre that would sum up Miller's famous trilogy ( the rosy crucifixion ) , and that would stress more and more on that ( dark ) side of art ... to write a novel that would take six years of his life , and that would cover - chronogically - those sixty years from 1912 and on ..

That decision , which was the most important one in mishima's practical life , obliged writing this novel in four volumes , in each an individual story , for each a special protagonist , but these characters would not be totally separated from each other ...

How?

The figure in the first volume is the lad kiwaki, the noble descent of the wealthy family of Matsugai, lives a love story, one of its kind that memory would not forget easily, and his friend Honda stands as an eye witness for this superb experience of his...

From that point on , in every volume that succeeds, we can notice that the hero is merely the first one, but after being (reincarnated), to start a new cycle of life, and to let Honda only figure out the connections that ties these four characters...

Mishima Knew very well that his Tetralogy is a rich threshold for everything he learned as a writer ... he told his friends, that when he finishes it, there is only one thing left for him to do ... (suicide) ... and by taking his own life in November 25th 1970, he fulfilled his final quote: the life of men is short, I want to live forever...

( The sea of fertility ) is not an easy read nor its a happy one , it is a lament melancholic presentation of life ... rendered by an artist ...

Standalone.......2004-04-15

No book sums up the austere, starkly proud side of Mishima's personality like Runaway Horses. Though it was written as part of the tetralogy and engineered stylistically and thematically for that purpose, it embodies its purpose, I think, better than any of the other three.

The style accentuates the theme. It's written in a more economical, less meandering way than Spring Snow, and the characters are more dynamic and quickly (though not sloppily) drawn. It has in common with Spring Snow an absolute mastery of the language, with no unneccesary details or sentences.

The character of Isao embodies the theme of patriotism without seeming to become its tool. He has a distinct personality, and it can be seen how his ideals stem from and compliment his inclinations. It never feels as though Mishima is putting words in his mouth (partly, though, because he is so much an aspect of Mishima). Some of his speeches are worth recording.

Book Description

With her parents on vacation and her stern grandmother's arrival delayed, sixteen-year-old Anne McLaughlin-Scott is on her own for a day in the exciting San Francisco of 1970. Anne feels stifled at home and wants to live with her free-spirited Aunt Ruth in Vancouver, BC. So when she encounters a childhood crush, now a draft dodger heading north himself and investigating a mystery aboard a Vancouver-bound cruise ship . . . well, everything seems to be pushing Anne in the same direction.

Anne finagles a job aboard the Ocean Spirit only to find herself caught up in a typhoid outbreak and torn between her duty to sick passengers, her loyalty to her shipmates and her desire to help the heroic doctor investigating the incident.

In Runaway at Sea, well-known YA author Mary Razzell draws on actual incidents and her own background in nursing to create a gripping medical adventure aboard a cruise ship. And in Anne McLaughlin-Scott, Razzell creates a memorable young heroine whose courage and moral compass serve her well as she navigates the shoals of family conflict, budding sexuality and looming adulthood.

Runaway Horses (the sea of fertility; a cycle of four novels)

Average customer rating:

Continues the themes of SPRING SNOW with expanded form and new perspectives.

Runaway Horses (the sea of fertility; a cycle of four novels)
yukio mishima
Manufacturer: Charles E. Tuttle Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000F9PQD2

Customer Reviews:

Continues the themes of SPRING SNOW with expanded form and new perspectives........2006-07-22

Average customer rating:

A Winning Book for All Children!
Inappropriate Reading for Ages 4 - 8
A winner for boys (and girls too)
Listen to a real mariner . . .
Two Teenagers and Some Very Real Salt Spray

Runaways on the Inside Passage
Joe Upton
Manufacturer: Alaska Northwest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0882405659

Book Description

Young readers will thrill to this breathless story of courage and determination set in the Alaska wilderness. Abandoned by their mother in Seattle, thirteen-year-old twins Annie and David Ross enlist the help of Lars Hansen, an elderly commercial fisherman, to find their father in Alaska. In late November, when most fishing vessels are decommissioned for the winter, the trio sets out from Puget Sound in a forty-foot salmon troller for an eight-hundred-mile journey along the Inside Passage.

Pursued by the authorities as runaways, and with Lars's health failing, the three experience one adventure after another as they inch their way North, through terrifying winter storms and frightening encounters with strangers. In the process, Annie and David also make new, lasting friendships and kindle personal reserves of strength that they didn't know existed.

Customer Reviews:

A Winning Book for All Children!.......2007-02-23

Have you ever wanted to run away to Alaska? Well that's what these kids did! In Runaways on the Inside Passage by Joe Upton 13 year-old twins David and Annie are abandoned by their mother and they decide to sail to Alaska in search of their father with help from Lars, an old family friend. What happens when Lars becomes ill and the Coast Guard goes after them? Will they make it to their father's home alive?

This is a great book for children of all ages! I highly recommend it. The way it is written it is like you are there on the boat deck looking out at the high seas. It is action-packed and makes almost any other book pale in comparison to this one. You learn a lot about sailing and the lengths people will go to in search of a family. If you read this book you will find out about love, kindness, and teamwork through the perspective of two 13 year olds.

This book is completely amazing!

Inappropriate Reading for Ages 4 - 8.......2006-09-09

I bought this book for my [...] grandson but thankfully, I decided to read it before I gave it to him. I have discarded the book. There is an episode where a dirty old drunk with evil thoughts pulls off the towel of the teenage girl who just stepped out of the shower. This is totally inappropriate reading material for young readers. There are also two other similar references. The book should be pulled off book shelves.

A winner for boys (and girls too).......2005-10-18

Every "Books for boys" program I have attended lately emphasizes technology, non-fiction, hands-on how-to-do-it stuff. It's in here. For the boy who is being forced to read fiction by a well-meaning teacher, this is great. I found the loss of tension at the ending to be a little less satisfying than the rest of the book but in general I will recommend this to my library users, young and old, male and female, who are looking for something with things to learn, in addition to story.

Listen to a real mariner . . ........2004-11-29

Anyone who has read Joe Upton's other books knows that he has forgotten more about the sea and its changing moods than the reviewer from the School Library Journal will ever begin to understand. If the language is a bit challenging, so much the better. Kids love this book!

Two Teenagers and Some Very Real Salt Spray.......2004-09-18

The author of this book knows all to well what can go wrong on a trip to Alaska in the dead of winter. He also knows that a pair of plucky teenagers can plausibly make the trip by themselves with a little advice from an old fisherman too sick to leave his bunk and some well-timed good luck.

The thirteen-year-old brother and sister who make this trip have just enough Indiana Jones bravado and resourcefulness to meet the challenges and not so much that they are no longer believable. They experience, as have generations of fishermen, the very real fear of battling winter storms, the delicious peace of a safe haven after harrowing days at sea, and the warm but gruff hospitality of the people who live in the remote communities along the British Columbia and Alaska coast.

"Runaways on the Inside Passage" is a nice mix of real situations and fiction that piles one adventure after another and brings the crew of a Foss tug towing a barge across the Queen Charlottes just in time to make sure this novel reaches a happy ending.

THE SEA OF FERTILITY: A CYCLE OF FOUR NOVELS:SPRING SNOW, RUNAWAY HORSES, THE TEMPLE OF DAWN, THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL (4 VOLUMES)

Average customer rating:

THE SEA OF FERTILITY: A CYCLE OF FOUR NOVELS:SPRING SNOW, RUNAWAY HORSES, THE TEMPLE OF DAWN, THE DECAY OF THE ANGEL (4 VOLUMES)
Yukio Mishima
Manufacturer: Alfred A Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M0ZIK0

On a coral reef: The story of a runaway trip to sea

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On a coral reef: The story of a runaway trip to sea
Arthur Locker
Manufacturer: Cassell & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: B0008CYVEQ

Romain Kalbris: The adventures of a runaway by land and sea

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Romain Kalbris: The adventures of a runaway by land and sea
Hector Malot
Manufacturer: Harper & Bros
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008AWNOI

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