Book Description
Kim Edwards's stunning family drama evokes the spirit of Sue Miller and Alice Sebold, articulating every mother's silent fear: what would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? In 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins, he immediately recognizes that one of them has Down Syndrome and makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and to keep her birth a secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an astonishing tale of redemptive love. BACKCOVER: “Edwards is a born novelist. . . . Rich with psychological detail and the nuances of human connection.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Unfolds from an absolutely gripping premise, drawing you deeply and irrevocably into the entangled lives of two families and the devastating secret that shaped them both. I loved this riveting story.”
—Sue Monk Kidd
“Anyone would be struck by the extraordinary power and sympathy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter.”
—The Washington Post
“Kim Edwards has written a novel so mesmerizing that I devoured it. . . . The Memory Keeper's Daughter has it all.”
—Sena Jeter Naslund
“Kim Edwards has created a tale of regret and redemption, of honest emotion, of characters haunted by their past. This is simply a beautiful book.”
—Jodi Picoult
Customer Reviews:
Starts out like Dickens.......2007-10-18
It was a dark and snowy night. Two twins are born--one hale and healthy--the other--damaged. One is secreted away by the trusty nurse at the doctor's side. Is this the beginning of a Charles Dickens tale full of twists and turns and unsavory characters? Is this the plot of a funny movie starring Arnold S. and Danny DeVito?
Actually neither. After a strong beginning the plot meanders around with the characters turning into stereotypes for one scene and then becoming real people in the next. The author has a great eye for detail and the descriptions of places were beautiful. The one scene I remember was when the wife meets that photographer on the beach. My kind of man. Thought we were going to get into a real passionate detour there but it just fizzled. He was just a nogoodnik like most the men in this book. Is that why it is so popular with women's book clubs?
The secondary characters--Caroline and that chunky truck driver who turns up just at the right moment--okay I have already picked out the actors who will play them in the movie. And the award for best supporting actress goes to...
Dickens novels may be over sentimental and their endings contrived, but with his endings you always feel that justice is done, or there is a smile or a tear. The ending of this novel is just wishy-washy. A pity too, because the author writes well and this book obviously has struck a deep chord with people who have encountered the central problem in real life.
As Close To Perfect As You Are Likely to Find.......2007-10-17
This is the best book I've read in a long time. For a first-time novelist, Edwards really has a firm grasp on effecive writing techniques. Some book club discussion items:
1. Who is the "Memory Keeper?" There are two obvious choices -- Caroline and David. Both are defensible. I have my preference.
2. Who was David really trying to protect in giving Phoebe to Caroline?
3. When did the tragedy at the heart of the story really occur?
My only quibble with the book -- and I hesitate to mention this, the book is so good -- is that I think Edwards dropped Rosemary from the story too early. Rosemary had a potentially vital role to play at the end. While she was clearly correct in her view that it was not her place to tell Norah the truth regarding Phoebe, she could have helped Norah deal with her anger once the secret is revealed by telling Norah what she knew. This could have helped Norah better understand David and his demons.
I especially like that Edwards did not tie everything up in a bow. While I can't reveal exactly what I mean, suffice it to say that Edwards has created very real people, and a very true ending.
And I feel so very sorry for David.
Loved the first 3/4 of this book!.......2007-10-17
(slight spoiler) The first 3/4 of this book is so amazing. If I had stopped reading then I would've given it a 5 star review. But I didn't stop there. I finished it, and I'm so frustrated at the reveal that I want to cry. I waited 370 pages to see how this was going to resolve itself, and it was so blase, not motivated at all...why now? what made Caroline go to Norah when she did instead of any other time? what motivated this?
grrr...
Anyway, I would still read it because her writing it beautiful and so emotionally gripping.
Ending doesn't measure up to the beginning..........2007-10-17
The concept of this book fascinated me, so during a long layover at Chicago's Midway airport I picked up a copy and started reading. The beginning sucked me in and kept my interest the whole way home. Kim Edward's depiction of the towns involved were so vivid, and so close to my heart (I've lived in both Kentucky and Pittsburgh, PA). The opening is so emotionally charged, that the reader really feels everything happening the charachters. Then, a little more than halfway through, the charachters lose their depth and become the "cardboard cutouts" that another reviewer described. After the climax of the novel, I was really left shaking my head. How is it that these characters that were so full of color and detail have lost it all by the time the great revelation is made?
Still a good read, but the end just seems a little rushed.
Some like it, some hate it... I'm one of the likers.......2007-10-16
I finished 'The Memory Keeper's Daughter last night' - I am emotionally drained! Such a good read! Many here have commented they found it repetitive and trite. I found that what some claim to be repetitive-ness was actually necessary, to help you realize how constant this 'loss' and 'gain' of a single life impacted so many other people's lives, whether the characters themselves realize it at the time or not.
Also I enjoyed the fact that the ending wasn't a typical 'all loose ends are tied' sort. A major character dies, new and old relationships are changed. While it's not a "happily ever after" ending, it does end on a note of hope and what the future can hold in store for the characters.
This story isn't simply about what happens when you skip a stone across the glass-like surface of a lake. It's about how each individual skip shatters the surface and alters it, blurrs it again and changes it again as the stone moves away from its original introduction to the water.
The story was so quietly poignant and touching - the changing societal and cultural mores of the times is addressed in an almost shockingly flippant matter-of-fact tone - which I think works to slap the reader even more awake as to how just one decision made in one moment begins a series of impacts in numerous lives, for better AND for worse.
While most readers are probably already aware of several of the societal changes in the novel because the changes came before or during our own coming of age, but it was almost painful to me at times to read about what was considered "acceptable" at that time. I stopped counting how many times I got teary-eyed during the passages involving a parent and their well-intentioned deceits to protect their family. I almost dropped the book when a nurse asked Caroline if she was "sure" that she wanted a doctor to address Phoebe's near-fatal bee-sting!
And David's actions are so wrong and yet so right, due to his own past - I love it when it's not 100% simple to empathize with the main character of a book.
This novel also brought some things I discussed at a recent dinner with my girlfriends into focus as well as making me realize why our parents and the older generations do what they do and why - so much of it goes back to what was acceptable and "proper" back in the "old days" when they were our age or younger - it's very hard to change or go against decades of particular thinking that was reinforced by everyone around you.
It's no wonder that divorce, drug/alcohol/physical abuse, therapy/counseling and birth defects *were* treated as such "scandalous" stigmas - thank God that's mostly past-tense this days!
Book Description
A charming and moving novel about female friendship and the experiences that knit us together-even when we least expect it.
Walker and Daughter is Georgia Walker's little yarn shop, tucked into a quiet storefront on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The Friday Night Knitting Club was started by some of Georgia's regulars, who gather once a week to work on their latest projects and to chat-and occasionally clash-over their stories of love, life, and everything in between.
Georgia has her hands full, juggling the demands of running the store and raising her spunky teen daughter, Dakota, by herself. Thank goodness for Anita, her mentor and dear friend, and the rest of the members of the knitting club-who are just as varied as the skeins of yarn in the shop's bins. There's Peri, a prelaw student turned handbag designer; Darwin, a somewhat aloof feminist grad student; and Lucie, a petite, quiet woman who's harboring some secrets of her own.
However, unexpected changes soon throw these women's lives into disarray, and the shop's comfortable world gets shaken up like a snow globe. James, Georgia's ex, decides that he wants to play a larger role in Dakota's life-and possibly Georgia's as well. Cat, a former friend from high school, returns to New York as a rich Park Avenue wife and uneasily renews her old bond with Georgia. Meanwhile, Anita must confront her growing (and reciprocated) feelings for Marty, the kind neighborhood deli owner. And when the unthinkable happens, they realize what they've created: not just a knitting club, but a sisterhood
Customer Reviews:
Let me pick up my jaw.......2007-10-15
Wow. That this got published was something of a shocker. But a movie? Oh my. Oh my... When I read that, my jaw hit the floor.
I suspected this book had the potential to be somewhat predictable, might even be suffocatingly cozy. But I was willing to risk it hoping it'd have some grit to it, a touch of originality. Alas, no. It's just what I feared.
Love it! Why Am I Not Surprised!!! :o).......2007-09-20
I bought this unabridged audio because I could relate to the topic. I belong to many beading classes... mainly because I love the days I can bond with other women via the beading. It's a wonderful experience, so I had a feeling I would love this book. However, I had no idea that this read would capture my heart and soul the way it did. Each character was so rich in their identity and I loved the way that they were given voice by Carrington McDuffie. The author Kate Jacobs must be so excited to know that her book is soon to be a movie starring Julia Roberts!!! How exciting is that! She will be perfect for the lead role of Georgia Walker, a strong single mother and owner of the knit store "Walker & Daughter" ...... I wonder who will play the other incredible cast of characters. I just loved them all and was so sad when the story ended. Truly this is one of my favorite books this year. I highly recommend it. I'd also like to recommend "The Knitting Circle" ... another truly fabulous book! 5 starz JMHO //(*_*)\\
Big disappointment.......2007-09-14
I was so excited about this book I bought 3 copies - one for myself, one for my friend who's preparing to open a yarn shop and start a knitting club, and the other for our knitting mentor. I read the book as soon as it arrived, and now I'm almost embarrased to give it to my friends. I was really disappointed in the quality of the writing and felt even I could do a much better job. The characters were shallow, the wording was awkward in many places, and lots of things didn't make much sense. For example, it was not believable that Georgia would keep James' letters for all those years and not read them. She would have thrown them away! The chapter about the crazy film student who was looking for Julia Roberts (what a coincedence, since she just happens to star in the upcoming movie) was strange and added nothing to the story. And what was the purpose of the use of the f-word? It didn't fit the characters. I also figured out the ending way too soon. Plus, knitting had very little to do with the book. When in Scotland, around all those sheep, for instance, there wasn't even a mention of the great yarns that were available!!! You'd think a yarn shop owner would spend time checking out the yarn and how it was produced. Tragic missed opportunity to add something authentic to a book about knitting. This novel was too predictable throughout. Save your money and wait for the movie. Hopefully it will be better.
Inviting, Cozy Book .......2007-08-07
I enjoyed this book so much that I'm rather taken aback at how divided the reviews are. I found the book to be like a blanket, warm and cozy and something you want to curl up in. I don't knit, but the references to the wool and the process made it seem very inviting.
The characters were diverse - of varying ages, walks of life and economic circumstances - and written so vividly that I began to cast them as if for a TV show. Overall, the book is about love and friendship and finding ourselves, with the store and knitting being the central theme that brings most of the characters together.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and was sad to see it come to a conclusion, ending my connection with the colorful and enjoyable characters. Like some of the other reviewers, I would have liked a different ending because I'd grown attached to everyone, but I did see it coming and the author did tie it all together well.
My biggest disappointment in the book was discovering it's Kate Jacob's first and now I'll have to wait for the next one.
A one-of-a-kind tale of true camaraderie.......2007-08-07
Featuring tracks every three minutes for easy bookmarking, The Friday Night Knitting Club is the audiobook version of professional editor Kate Jacobs' debut novel, tantalizingly narrated by recording artist Carrington MacDuffie. Once a week, the regulars of Georgia Walker's little yarn shop gather for tips of knitting - and end up learning much more as they swap stories about themselves, their loves, their lives, and virtually everything else. When sudden change shake the women to their cores, they discover they've created not just a knitting club, but a tightly bonded sisterhood. Soon to be turned into a major motion picture starring Julia Roberts, The Friday Night Knitting Club is a one-of-a-kind tale of true camaraderie, highly recommended. 10 CDs, 12 1/2 hours, unabridged.
Book Description
Charlie Asher is a pretty normal guy. A little hapless, somewhat neurotic, sort of a hypochondriac. He's what's known as a Beta Male: the kind of fellow who makes his way through life by being careful and constant -- you know, the one who's always there to pick up the pieces when the girl gets dumped by the bigger/taller/stronger Alpha Male.
But Charlie's been lucky. He owns a building in the heart of San Francisco, and runs a secondhand store with the help of a couple of loyal, if marginally insane, employees. He's married to a bright and pretty woman who actually loves him for his normalcy. And she, Rachel, is about to have their first child.
Yes, Charlie's doing okay for a Beta. That is, until the day his daughter, Sophie, is born. Just as Charlie -- exhausted from the birth -- turns to go home, he sees a strange man in mint-green golf wear at Rachel's hospital bedside, a man who claims that no one should be able to see him. But see him Charlie does, and from here on out, things get really weird. . . .
People start dropping dead around him, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death. It's a dirty job. But hey, somebody's gotta do it.
Christopher Moore, the man whose Lamb served up Jesus' "missing years" (with the funny parts left in), and whose Fluke found the deep humor in whale researchers' lives, now shines his comic light on the undiscovered country we all eventually explore -- death and dying -- and the results are hilarious, heartwarming, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Customer Reviews:
A Dirty Job is Minty Fresh.......2007-10-02
I am a huge fan of Christopher Moore, and in particular, this book. It is in my top ten all time favorites. A Dirty Job is the type of book you will read more than once just to see what you missed. I read this one first and felt the need to possess more of his novels. I actually own two copies because I keep on passing them on to more people.
Charley is a grim reaper who believes he is the ultimate Death. The descrptions and prose are laugh-out-loud funny, to the point where I had tears running down my cheeks. That rarely ever happens. The suppporting cast of characters are such that they should get their own books. It is well written with a type of sarcasm that is impossible to write let alone pull off.
I have and will keep on recommending this book to anyone with an interest in(first and foremost) great writing, quarky characters and a great sense of comic timing.
Nice book, like bear........2007-09-10
I want a sequel. No, that'd probably be bad. I want a continuation of this book. As in, I want to get off my chair, thumb to the end of the book and find 200 or so unread pages just waiting to be devoured. Chris Moore's imagination knows no bounds, from dark seductresses who live in the sewers to tiny walking creatures assembled from different body parts of different animals. This is a great book, my first from Chris and it's whet my appetite for some more. One of the funniest authors, and a rare one too; his writing never gets old.
I actually recommened it to my friends.......2007-09-05
I got to the "kitty" part and laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I had to stop and email my friends to tell them to pick it up. Two of them plan on reading it, or something else by him soon.
On a less light note, it made me feel better about the whole death thing. I'm going through a tough time with a family member facing his mortality (he's 85) and this is just what I needed to give me hope of an after life!
minty fresh.......2007-08-30
What impressed me most of this book is the excellent dialogue, riotous to say the least. The story is original, interesting, and profound while at the same time seeped in absurdity. Solid set of well developed and memorable characters, both male and female, and a rich setting (San Francisco). The story revolves around the true secret about what happens to our souls upon death. They go into an important material possession which is retrieved by a Death Merchant to then be sold at a rummage store to another soulless human who possesses it and continues the upwards journey of the soul to a higher level. I did not realize that how it works. Upon the death of his wife, Charlie Asher (if they ever make a movie of this novel, it would have to be Paul Giamatti) becomes one such merchant-perhaps even more than that- and with the assistance of other death merchants fights beings from the underworld attempting to steal the souls to gain power and take over the world, classic battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The style of the novel is a blend of Tom Robbins, Elmore Leonard, Kurt Vonnegut, and simply a style of its own making. This writer is awesome and I shall right away purchase and read another of his novels.
Hilarious.......2007-08-27
I've read three and this is the best Christopher Moore book so far. It's full of quirky and clever mouthed characters that, at one point, left me laughing in tears on the couch. I recommend it for anyone who's looking for a humorous fiction to pass some time with.
Book Description
It's been five years since the original turtle lady, old Miss Lovie Rutledge, passed away, but her legacy lives on with some special women, especially Toy and her daughter, young Little Lovie.
Toy Sooner kept her graveside vow to her beloved mentor. She left behind an abusive, dysfunctional lifestyle to become a strong single mother and aquarist at the South Carolina Aquarium. But success has taken its toll, leaving Toy fearful of change and risks.
Caretta Rutledge, Florence Prescott and Emmaline Baker have all experienced loss. This summer, with each other's friendship and support, they will try to make their dreams a reality.
The turtle season begins the day Toy rescues a sick sea turtle on the beach. When Toy brings the loggerhead to the aquarium, she begins a turtle hospital with the help of her boss, Ethan. As the summer progresses and the sea turtles take their measured steps toward healing and freedom Toy, Cara, Flo and Emmi must find their own strength to face their fears and move courageously toward their futures.
Mary Alice Monroe delivers another deeply satisfying novel written with an eye to nature and keen insights into the connections between women.
Customer Reviews:
Great Beach Reading.......2007-08-24
Swimming Lessons is a wonderful sequel to The Beach House. It has such wonderful relationships among the characters themselves and with the loggerhead turtles and the coastal environment.
Sweet, Satisfying Sequel.......2007-05-30
This absolutely wonderful sequel to "The Beach House" brings together all the "turtle ladies" whose mission it is to rescue endangered sea turtles who lumber up onto South Carolina's beaches once a year to lay their eggs in a timeless ritual. Civilization being what it is, the nests would be destroyed, purposely or not, if this dedicated band of women (and men) were not there each year to tirelessly make sure that doesn't happen.
Like "The Beach House," this book is based on fact; Monroe herself is a self-proclaimed turtle lady. The plot revolves around the characters we met in the first book: Single mother Toy now has her degree and a job at the aquarium, which is about to get much more prestigious. Her darling little girl Lovie, named after the matriarch who passed away in the last book, is a precocious, wonderful 6-year-old, a self-proclaimed "LITTLE turtle lady." Cara and Brett, who fell in love in the last book and married, are trying hard to have a baby. Irrascible Flo is getting older and too proud to ask for help. And in this book, the menacing father of Toy's child, Darryl, suddently reappears, wanting to connect with the daughter he abandoned before her birth.
All of this makes for a quick and interesting page-turner, but the backbone of the book is the conservation of the giant turtles, and for me, that's the grabber.
"Swmming Lessons" is the perfect summertime book, whether you're at the beach (how more perfect could it get?), around a pool, or just lazing on your front porch. I urge you to grab it and gobble it up!
Wonderful Followup to The Beach House.......2007-05-13
For several years, I've enjoyed the work of Mary Alice Monroe. And when I noted that Swimming Lessons was coming out, I knew I needed to catch up on my reading and start with the Beach House (the book that introduced us to the Swimming Lessons characters). As usual, the author didn't disappoint me and created a lovely book about mother/daughter relationships that I could easily relate to. But more than that, I became equally intrigued with Loggerhead Turtles. So the follow up book - Swimming Lessons, was an added bonus to keep involved with the characters. Again, wonderfully written, you form a deep attachment to the characters and get caught up with the lives of the turtles -- this time from a different perspective. I highly recommend Swimming Lessons, but also recommend you start with The Beach House.
Wonderful story.......2007-05-12
This was a wonderful sequel to the Beach House. Mary Alice Monroe does such a good job of providing an analogy between a mother and her child through her characters and with the sea turtles. It truly warms your heart.
Receives Mary Alice Monroe's own reading.......2007-05-12
Mary Alice Monroe's SWIMMING LESSONS receives Mary Alice Monroe's own reading which spices the lively story of a mentor's influence on the next generation. Three women who have experienced loss find friendship and support together one summer as turtle season begins.
Book Description
Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. For her, the best thing about a family crisis is the excuse to cut and run. When her mother dramatically announces they've found a lump, Emily gladly takes a rain check on life to be by her mother's side, leaving behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life.
But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn't run fast or far enough. One evening, while her mother calls everyone in her Rolodex to brief them on her medical crisis and schedule a farewell martini, Emily opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face. How do you forge a relationship with the father who left when you were five years old? As Emily attempts to find balance on the emotional seesaw of her life, with the help of two hopeful suitors and her Park Avenue Princess sister, she takes a no-risk job as a receptionist at her father's law firm and slowly gets to know the man she once pretended was dead.
From the brainy, breezy writer who "writes like a professional comic" (The Onion) and is "hard to stop reading once you start" (USA Today) comes a laugh-out-loud tale that confirms you can recover from your parents, the bad habit of missed opportunities, and men who romance you with meat. When opportunity knocks, it's time to stop running and start living.
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed.......2007-08-23
After reading Girls Poker Night several years, I was highly anticipating her next novel. However, after reading this book, I am very disappointed. The book has no flow to it, it is not humorous, and the topics are scattered, making it difficult to stay focused. In summary, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a read similar to her other book, Girls Poker Night!!
Great book!.......2007-06-29
This is a great book, full of laugh-out-loud funny scenes. I enjoyed it immensely and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for the perfect summer read.
Witty and Sharp.......2007-06-28
Ask Again Later is a witty, sharp novel, a light read that is not overly fluffy. The novel is narrated by Emily Rhode, a recovering lawyer who keeps her emotions at a distance. She's in therapy, she's taking care of her ailing mother (stage one breast cancer), she's walked out on what could be the love of her life and she's walked away from her career. But she's handling it, somehow, with a marvelous detached humor; she's a wonderful, witty, likeable narrator. I really enjoyed this novel (much moreso than Girls' Poker Night); it's a quick read that is still satisfying. Perfect summer fare. Enjoy.
Growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor.......2007-05-30
Remember when you were a child and you could trust your most difficult questions to the wisdom of the Magic 8-Ball? The protagonist of Jill A. Davis's second novel frequently echoes the refrain of that childhood oracle. Whenever thirty-something Emily Rhode is queried by friends on how she is doing, her familiar refrain is that of the Magic 8-Ball: "Ask again later."
It's easy to see why this is the case. Emily is a harried corporate attorney who has managed to tiptoe through the minefield of her life, careful to avoid any major skirmishes or hard decisions. She's currently skirting along the edges of a romance with a divorced co-worker as she goes about her hectic job. But when she learns that her mother has breast cancer, her whole tentative world is turned upside down.
Emily has grown up in a not-so-unusually dysfunctional family in New York City. Her dad left the family when she and her sister were just children, and he's been like a phantom ever since --- someone she never really knew. Emily's mother, a woman with a penchant for dramatics, responds to her stage 1 cancer diagnosis by calling everyone in her address book to tell them she's going to die.
Over-dramatized or not, the news of her mother's illness shakes Emily to her core. And since her socialite sister is of little help as she struggles to fit her new baby into her overly crowded social schedule, Emily quits her high-pressure law job, flees from her potential love interest and moves back in with her mother to care for her during treatment.
A strange byproduct of her mother's illness is her renewed relationship with her distant father. In an effort to help out during this difficult time, Emily's dad offers her a nice, low-pressure job as the receptionist in his office. Slowly she begins to learn about this mercurial man she calls her father. But as soon as her mother starts to recover, she is hit with an unexpected loss that forces her to face her fears and fully participate in her own life.
Davis, author of GIRLS' POKER NIGHT and a former writer for "The Late Show with David Letterman," tackles real-life issues and infuses these rather somber moments with requisite levity and humor. Emily is a relatable woman, paralyzed at the prospect of taking chances and making choices. She has drifted through life by avoiding taking risks, but when a life-altering event occurs, Emily learns to confront and later embrace the life she has long been avoiding. As she observes, "Eventually the training wheels have to come off and it's always a surprise when you find that you don't need them."
ASK AGAIN LATER is about growing up, reconciling your past and looking towards the future with anticipation and a much-needed sense of humor.
--- Reviewed by Bronwyn Miller
"Ask Again Later Surpasses "Girls' Poker Night".......2007-04-16
Often second novels, particularly second novels after a successful first novel, are disappointing. "Ask Again Later" belies that expectation. Jill Davis's characters are even more alive, more memorable, and the reader cares about them even more. Without seeming a bit contrived, the novel follows an engaging and amusing plot throughout its various, but never meandering paths. The jump cuts are perfectly timed; the dialogue, perfectly pitched. We know these characters. Above all, readers are left awaiting a third novel.
Customer Reviews:
Delightful journey.......2007-09-21
This is a delightful story that Natalie Danford has given us. The journey both across the miles and across the years is enticing, characters most believable. I read a review of this book many months ago and finally rewarded myself with the book. It would make a good movie as well, as we will probably see in the future.
Fabulous in every way!.......2007-07-10
Wonderful story, wonderful characters, plus a lot of interesting info about the Italian city of Urbino, about which I knew very little. If you love Italy -- or just good fiction -- you'll love this.
Very good, I agree with previous reviews.......2007-06-07
Well-written, intriguing book...one caution, if you have a soft spot for cats, as I do, be forewarned.
inheritance.......2007-04-05
This is a generally very well-written and appealing novel. The main character is Olivia, a young American teacher. Upon her father's death, she discovers in his nightstand a 50 year old deed to a house in her father's native Italian village of Urbino. Her father (Luigi) emigrated from Italy to America under mysterious circumstances shortly following World War II. The house had been deeded to Luigi's father During World War II by a local Jewish family to prevent confiscation by the Nazis with the expectation it would be returned to this family following the war. Discovery of the deed leads Olivia to return to Urbino, not only to discover her roots, but also to claim ownership of the house and profit from its sale. There she learns of an apparent betrayal of the Jewish family by her father.
Natalie Danford, the author, effectively alternates chapters between Olivia's quest and her father's past life. My major annoyance with this book is that the author has an unfortunate tendency to lapse into romance novel prose ("she'd noticed last night when they'd been naked that he had just the right amount of (chest) hair"). However, the plot is extremely clever, the characters intriguing and well-developed, and there are interesting cultural and historical angles to the book. Finally, the conclusion of the book, in particular, is ingenious and satistfying.
A Fabulous read by a new author.......2007-02-21
Though easily read in a day or two, I slowed my pace to savor every word. Luigi and Olivia lept off the page and I traveled with them to the United States and then back to Italy. For anyone who has ever wondered what life was like for their immigrant parent, this story provides insight.
Amazon.com
In Dani Shapiro's captivating new novel, a mother struggles to protect her young daughter from the dark secrets of her past. Haunting and insightful, Black & White explores the notions of family and motherhood, inspiration and obligation, and is sure to appeal to fans of Jodi Picoult and Anita Shreve. Find out more about Shapiro's artistic practices and influences below. --Daphne Durham
10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Dani Shapiro
Q: What is your writing process like? Has it changed from book to book?
A: As I was doing my usual flailing around before I began to write Black & White, I found that I had some questions in mind that I hoped to explore, if not answer--and those questions very much came out of my preoccupations as a writer and as a mother of a young child: is it possible to be as fully absorbed as one needs to be to produce good, strong art--and be equally fully absorbed in the raising of small children? What happens when that delicate balancing act teeters? And also, as someone who has written quite a bit of personal non-fiction, I wondered: where is the line--or perhaps it's less of a line and more of a murky gray area--when it comes to writing about the personal stuff when there's this little person who's involved, a person who will grow up and read it some day? These ideas began to really preoccupy me, and finally the novel started to form itself around them. When I begin the first draft of a book, I write longhand. I've become quite attached to these particular spiral-bound notebooks that can only be purchased in my in-laws' hometown, and so whenever they come to visit I ask them to bring me a pile. I think most writers indulge in magical thinking when it comes to the process, and many of us require talismans; mine are these notebooks. I used to only write on the computer, but I've found, in the last number of years, that I feel much freer to have no idea where I'm going when I'm writing by hand. There's something very neat--perhaps too neat--about the blank computer screen, and the ease of cutting and pasting, moving whole blocks of text around. For me, it's infinitely more satisfying to scribble and cross things out and make big sweeping arrows and asterisks as I'm working on drafts. It looks messy and complicated--it looks like what it is. On those early pages I feel like I can see a map, or a diagram, of my process.
Q: What author/s have inspired you?
A: In the big, enduring ways, as a literary backbone: Tolstoy, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Philip Roth, Joan Didion, Saul Bellow, Grace Paley. And while I was writing Black & White, Alice Munro's stories in Runaway and Ian McEwan's novel Saturday were immensely important in my grappling with understanding how to create a close third person narrative without losing the periphery.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I'm trying to start a new novel. Viriginia Woolf wrote this great passage in her diary, after she finished The Waves: "I must hastily provide my mind with something else, or it will again become pecking and wretched." I'm a much nicer person when I'm working on a book. When I begin I have so little to go on--a feeling, a sense, an image or two. It's like coaxing shadows out of the corners.
Book Description
From the author of Family History (“Poised, absorbing . . . a bona fide page turner”—The New York Times Book Review) and the best-selling memoir Slow Motion, a spellbinding novel about art, fame, ambition, and family that explores a provocative question: Is it possible for a mother to be true to herself and true to her children at the same time?
Clara Brodeur has spent her entire adult life pulling herself away from her famous mother, the renowned and controversial photographer Ruth Dunne, whose towering reputation rests on the unsettling nude portraits she took of her young daughter from the ages of three to fourteen. The Clara Series, which graced the walls of museums around the world as well as the pages of New York City tabloids that labeled the work pornographic, cast a long and inescapable shadow over its subject. At eighteen, when Clara might have entered university and begun to shape an identity beyond her sensationalized, unsought role in the New York art world, she fled to the quiet obscurity of small-town Maine, where she married and had a child, a daughter whom she has tried to shield from the central facts of her early life and her damaging role as her mother’s muse.
Fourteen years later, Ruth Dunne is dying, and Clara is summoned to her bedside. Despite her anguish and ambivalence about confronting a family life she has repressed and denied for more than a decade, Clara returns. She finds Ruth surrounded, even in her illness, by worshipful interns, protective assistants, and her conniving art dealer.
Once again, she is Clara Dunne, the object of curiosity, the girl in the photos. Except this time she has her own daughter to think about—a girl who at nine looks strikingly like the girl in Ruth’s photos—and she yearns to protect her, to insulate her from the exposure that will inevitably result when her two worlds, New York and Maine, collide.
As Clara charts a path connecting her childhood with her adult life, Shapiro’s novel weaves together past and present in images as stark and intense as the photographs that tore the Dunnes apart. A brilliant examination of motherhood—a novel that pits artistic inspiration against maternal obligation and asks whether the two can ever be fully reconciled—Black & White explores the limits and duties of family loyalties, and even of love. Gripping, haunting, psychologically complex, this is Shapiro at her captivating best.
Customer Reviews:
Very similar to another book...........2007-09-11
First things first, I have not read this book.
I was at the library today and picked it up. While reading the inside cover, I was overcome with a "haven't-I-read-this-before type feeling." The premise of the book is alarmingly similar to Miranda Beverly-Whitmore's "The Effects of Light"...down to the famous photographer's first name. Too many similarities for my liking.
Characters Hard to Believe.......2007-08-19
The main character is not developed enough to generate any real sympathy for her. The plot is superficial; there is no great depth or substance to it.
Relationships are Never Black and White.......2007-07-15
I loved this book. Other reviewers have sufficiently explained the story line, so I will stick with what more of a thematic review. The overarching principle of the book is that there is no such thing as simple black and white (right/wrong, love/hate) in relationships. Life is nuanced, as are our decisions and motivations. It would be simple to write off Ruth as a horrible selfish mother who didn't love her daughter, but SHapiro avoided the easy, cliche characterizations and offered us a family that had love despite the tensions that tore them apart.
Shapiro wrote vivid, accessible characters -- they are not simply good or bad either. For instance, Peony (Ruth's assistant) drove me crazy but I could also understand that she acted out of loyalty to Ruth. Clara's hurt and anger towards her mother was understandable, but there were still times when I wanted her to just get OVER herself. Every character, with perhaps the exception of Clara's father, had a carefully balanced character. (as a side note, Clara's husband and father are perhaps the most idealized characters. This is very much a book about mothers, daughters and sisters, more so than about the men who love them.)
The one weakness I found in the book was that the dates are not accurate. Clara is in 4th grade in 1982 (two years after John Lennon was killed) but then is in September of 7th grade when the iconic Vogue cover featuring the Lacroix jacket and faded jeans comes out. THat issue was actually Anna Wintour's first issue as EIC and came out in November 1988 -- Clara would have been in 11th grade in 1988.
Emotions Run High in this Family Drama.......2007-07-06
I thought "Black & White" was a very excellent book. The characters were well developed and Shapiro's descriptions of the various scenes, especially the photo shoots, were exceptional. I could easily imagine the characters and the scenes in my mind. There are many reviews on this book so I won't clutter up the page with more detail except to reveal that the story focuses on the relationship between the mother, Ruth Dunne, a noted photographer and her daughter Clara. And then there is the conflict between Clara and her sister, Robin. Clara runs away from home vowing never to return; starts a new life, gets married and becomes a mother, herself. Later in the novel the mother becomes very ill and Alone, Clara makes the difficult trip to New York to see Ruth. There is an attempt for reconciliation and forgiveness and toward the end of the book emotions run high in this family. I found this part very intense. Overall I enjoyed the novel very much and I thought Dani Shapiro created an excellent story.
Great story potential, not fully achieved.......2007-06-25
Great storyline, but I expected more from the writing/writer (maybe that is the problem with being a big fan of one of the writer's previous books,Family History: A Novel, also a novel about mother/daughter relationship). I gave it three stars because of the great characterization of Ruth Dunne and for the story line. Couldn't give more because I couldn't stand the number of question marks in each page: everything Clara thinks/does is preceded by a question the character puts to herself (you could just remove all these questions and still have the same feeling about the doubts/questions in Clara's mind).
Average customer rating:
- Was it that bad?
- I could not put it down
- Chinese Cinderella
- Great book for a pre-teen
- Amazing Efforts
|
Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (Laurel-Leaf Books)
Adeline Yen Mah
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0440228654
Release Date: 2001-03-13 |
Amazon.com
Chinese Cinderella is the perfect title for Adeline Yen Mah's compelling autobiography in which, like the fairy-tale maiden, her childhood was ruled by a cruel stepmother. "Fifth Younger Sister" or "Wu Mei," as Yen Mah was called, is only an infant when her father remarries after her mother's death. As the youngest of her five siblings, Wu Mei suffers the worst at the hands of her stepmother Niang. She is denied carfare, frequently forgotten at school at the end of the day, and whipped for daring to attend a classmate's birthday party against Niang's wishes. Her father even forgets the spelling of her name when filling out her school enrollment record. In her loneliness, Wu Mei turns to books for company: "I was alone with my beloved books. What bliss! To be left in peace with Cordelia, Regan, Gonoril, and Lear himself--characters more real than my family... What happiness! What comfort!" Even though Wu Mei is repeatedly moved up to grades above those of her peers, it is only when she wins an international play-writing contest in high school that her father finally takes notice and grants her wish to attend college in England. Despite her parent's heartbreaking neglect, she eventually becomes a doctor and realizes her dream of being a writer.
Teens, with their passionate convictions and strong sense of fair play, will be immediately enveloped in the gross injustice of Adeline Yen Mah's story. A complete glossary, historical notes on the state of Chinese society and politics during Yen Mah's childhood, and the legend of the original Chinese Cinderella round out this stirring testimony to the strength of human character and the power of education. (Ages 10 to 15) --Jennifer Hubert
Book Description
A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.
A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family.
Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.
Customer Reviews:
Was it that bad?.......2007-07-24
This is a better written book than Falling Leaves, the author's first book. It detailed the childhood of the unwanted daughter with better mix of "good and bad" and less bitterness came through the book.
While I shared the pain of being rejected and unaccepted by her parents, the author should appreciate and be thankful of what she had....loving Grandparents, Aunt Baba and good education which was the foundation of her success.
Think about tens and thousands of unwanted daughters in China who are abandoned by their parents daily.....they don't know who their parents are and have no sightline of their basic needs. The chance of being sent to prestige schools and study oversea is nil...I bet those unwanted daughters will trade the author's place at a heartbeat.
I could not put it down.......2007-07-02
I simply could not put this book down. I was absorbed the entire time. A story of miraculous courage and triumph, it reminds its readers that the love of human relationships is essential in this life, for without it one does not have much. I am excited to order it as a classroom novel for my 7th grade reading class!!! It is truly worth one's time.
Chinese Cinderella.......2007-05-19
Have you ever felt like you were unwanted? Have you have felt hated like nobody likes or wants you? Well if you know this felling you would have close ties to this book. Also for the record Adeline Yen Mah has felt like that since she was born. So I haven't thought that it couldn't get worse because it really can get worse.
The book is a biography of her life while she was in China. The book covers most of her life but it is more of her childhood not her most recent life. It describes the sadness that Adeline has been through. It in the first chapter It says everyone hated her because three days after she was born her mother came down with a high fever and died two weeks after she was born. So she never got to now her real mother. Her father remarries and all his children didn't like her but they were forced to call her niang (which in Chinese means mother) which none of them think of her as their real mother they all didn't like her. Her stepmother always abused her and never liked her she only liked the kids that she had gave life to. So she always abused her younger and older siblings.
I actually could compare this book a little to my own life. I haven't felt as unwanted or as hated as she has. I also haven't been abused like she has. I haven't actually really been abused all that much. But I have felt unwanted before. I haven't been abused like had been I haven't ever been abused that much.
Over all I would give this book a 10 out of 10. It only has 200 pages altogether so it won't take you a very long time. It is a very good read. It would take you maybe a weekend or two to read it. That is why I gave it a 10 out of 10.
I would recommend this book to anyone but it would be more of an adult book. It has way too much sadness for a young child. Also if it for an adult one of them people that are always happy and peppy and think that nothing can ever happen too them. It will be a real eye opener because they will realize it could really happen to them. So then they won't be going around saying "my life can't get any worse".
Great book for a pre-teen.......2007-04-24
I picked up this book the other week for my 12-year-old daughter after browsing thru the bookstores for something outta the norm for her. I bought it solely on the back-cover synopsis -- mine being an only child and doted on for the most part. I kind of expected her to glance at the cover and half-heartedly browse thru it. I was so wrong! She read it in a few days! She's always been into books -- but of her own choosing: Harry Potter and/or Lemony Snickett, fantasies and the like. After she put it down each night, she would tell me a bit about what she just read. Believe me, she's NEVER done that before. She said it truly was a cinderella story, and wondered why no one would help the little girl more. She showed alot of empathy for Adeline as a child. What I think I'm trying to convey is that it is a book written to touch the soul of the young reader -- something the author succeeded so well at.
Amazing Efforts.......2007-03-29
I strongly recommend the book Chinese Cinderella to people who do not mind a book that might make them cry. This book was a page-turner because while reading it, you just have to find out what happens next. Anyone with a strong heart will enjoy this book because it is so amazing what this little girl went through. While reading this book, there were some parts I felt like I was about to break down and cry, but there were others where I wanted to meet Adeline Yen Mah and congratulate her for her amazing efforts.
Amazon.com
Snow White's stepmother looks like a pussycat compared to the monster under which Adeline Yen Mah suffered. The author's memoir of life in mainland China and--after the 1949 revolution--Hong Kong is a gruesome chronicle of nonstop emotional abuse from her wealthy father and his beautiful, cruel second wife. Chinese proverbs scattered throughout the text pithily covey the traditional world view that prompted Adeline's subservience. Had she not escaped to America, where she experienced a fulfilling medical career and a happy marriage, her story would be unbearable; instead, it's grimly fascinating: Falling Leaves is an Asian Mommie Dearest.
Book Description
Born in 1937 in a port city a thousand miles north of Shanghai, Adeline Yen Mah was the youngest child of an affluent Chinese family who enjoyed rare privileges during a time of political and cultural upheaval. But wealth and position could not shield Adeline from a childhood of appalling emotional abuse at the hands of a cruel and manipulative Eurasian stepmother. Determined to survive through her enduring faith in family unity, Adeline struggled for independence as she moved from Hong Kong to England and eventually to the United States to become a physician and writer.
A compelling, painful, and ultimately triumphant story of a girl's journey into adulthood, Adeline's story is a testament to the most basic of human needs: acceptance, love, and understanding. With a powerful voice that speaks of the harsh realities of growing up female in a family and society that kept girls in emotional chains,
Falling Leaves is a work of heartfelt intimacy and a rare authentic portrait of twentieth-century China.
Customer Reviews:
The Plight Of An Unloved Child.......2007-10-11
Although this book was difficult at times to read, the author did keep me fascinated with her story. She has an ease of writing that very much feels as if she is having a conversation with the reader, and the book just flows.
The story is one that is ageless: a man marries a woman and they have several children (in this case 5). When the youngest is born, the woman dies from complications, and the man in his loneliness quickly finds another woman to marry. He concerns himself more with outward appearances than with character, and ends up with wife #2 who is controlling, domineering, and wishes she had been wife #1 instead of wife #2. She really doesn't care for the fact that her husband has 5 children from wife #1, but no matter. Since her husband is weak and does as she wishes, she can treat them as she likes. Which isn't pleasant.
Adeline is the youngest of the 5 siblings and therefore the recipient of not only her stepmother's wrath, but most often her 4 siblings as well. Unlike some children, Adeline never seems to truly stand up for herself, and that might be her personality or it might be cultural. Whatever it is, it defines her.
Some reviewers here think Adeline is "whiny", especially after she reaches adulthood. Perhaps. However, if anyone knows somebody who was treated as though they were unwanted and/or unloved as a child - and my mother was such a one - then they might very well see the same behavior Adeline portrays as an adult.
I thought this book was fascinating and a terrific tale of the healing power of the human spirit. At times I just wished I could have reached through the pages of this book and snatched Adeline away to a safe place where she could be nutured and feel safe.
Read it entirely in one night.......2007-09-05
I found this book while browsing the library and borrowed it. I thought it would be good reading material for my daily subway rides since the book wasn't too long at all.
I had a quiet evening, so I started reading. Page by page I turned and when I finished the book it was 1am in the morning. It was definitely a page turner. The reader is kept on their toes to find out what comes next.
I was truly touch by Adeline's story and there were a couple of tear-jerking scenes. This book reminds me a lot of the 1st Harry Potter book somehow. Both tell the story of a rejected child living with sinister relatives.
Adeline's story is different from many other books in that she was a rejected child from a rich family that could have given her everything. Many memoiors tell of a very poor childhood, so I really liked that this was different. She was pretty much poor in a rich family.
I was full of rage when I found out Lydia was backstabbing her & how her brothers are still jerks as adults. Inheritance issues always bring out the nastiest in people. Ultra-rich families do not usually fare well & are usually the subject of drama serial TV in Hong Kong.
Lydia can just shove it...she is just about as dragonlady as Niang for what she did.
Edgar...gosh I wonder if he made a good doctor at all.
James...he's such a timid turtle & it got annoying to see him still like that as a grown adult.
Susan...she married into an ultra-rich family and didn't even care for the inheritance. I was happy for her as she was able to let go of her family.
Adeline...I wish she would stop being the nice person all the time. It was so unfair to her to be taken advantage of even as an adult (Lydia two-timing her while Adeline was willing to help Lydia's song, putting up with 1st abusive husband, still scared of Niang as an adult).
I really wish she had the courage to cut her family off and carve her own happiness with her own family (husband and 2 sons and future grandchildren). I really hope that Adeline is able to/or has already done so. I hope she is having a much happier life right now :)
A PERFECT STUDY OF SCAPEGOATING! ADELINE, YOU GO, GIRL!!!!.......2007-08-10
i have to respectfully disagree with Jazmanian here. No, not 'any family therapist would tell you being cut off from your family of origin would not do any good to your own family.' Even apes have families, and 'family of origin' is not always a safe place.
This book was ALL about moving on and finding blessings in the hand one is dealt. The author had one family member who truly loved her unconditionally and without deviation. Her discovery that her father truly did love her, in spite of his cowardice and weakness of character, gave her some satisfaction; but to realize that throughout her years of emotional torture, there was always one member of her immediate family who had never hurt her and loved her unconditionally, incontrovertibly - namely,her Aunt Baba - was enough for her to move on in her life, taking comfort in the love and support of her husband and child.
The abuse this woman endured was mind-boggling. The incidents with her pet duckling, the orange juice, and being sent to a boarding school that ALSO served as an orphanage was deplorable. But the most painful part of the book to me was when she and her husband accidently walked into that hotel room to find all her siblings having a celebration party to which she was not made aware. That broke my heart, because it hit so close to home; I experienced a similar incident with my own family.
This book was a great comfort to me because I learned that I'm not the only child this has happened to; my similarly dysfunctional family did the same sort of things to me (add in sexual abuse and daily beatings, and there you have it).
Sometimes one must accept that the family is sick and will never be healthy, and realize that one must remove one's self in order to, as you worded it, "do any good to your own family". Had she kept in contact with her sicklings, er, I mean, siblings, 'her own family' would surely have been exposed to their pathological toxicity. Her moving on was the best gift she had to give her family. Past behavior is a pretty good indication of future behavior; why would she want to expose her husband and children to these people?
As one who finally 'pulled the plug' from her bio toxic family, I applaud her for letting these people go.
Tragic beginning, whiny ending........2007-08-03
I enjoyed the beginning of this book. It presented a slice of history about which I was uninformed, wrapped in the personal true story of a little girl persecuted by her family. By the end of the book, though, I felt the author was more determined to make her case against her stepmother than to write a compelling story. The book did not hold my interest to the end, although I did finish it. I wanted to celebrate the triumph of the author over her painful start in life. Instead, I read an endless list of family misdeeds. Victimization of a helpless child is tragic. Wallowing in it as an adult is annoying.
Captivating memoir.......2007-07-10
This book had me very engrossed and actually crying. It doesn't overtly try to teach a lesson or philosophize, but it still makes you think about how it is that people can be so heartless, because we all know, they can.
Customer Reviews:
Horrific story.......2006-04-26
This was such a horrible story of Palestinian parents who murdered there daughter. They called it all in the name of Honor for she was becoming to American. What it's called is murder. The story was not written very well though. The author was all over the place and did not keep the story in one place.
The show forensic files has an episode on this. It gets to the point with out traveling all over the place as the book did.If your curious about the story wait for it to come on forensic files or look it up on line. There is tons of information on line about this tragic story of the lovely , kind innocent girl who did not deserve to die.
In light of 9/11.......2003-01-24
In the wake of the tradegy of 9/11 this book is eye-opening. It goes into detail about how this family/group operated here right under our noses.
Horrifying!.......2002-07-31
This true-crime story is written in the sensationalistic fashion typical of the genre. It grabs your attention right from the beginning and doesn't let go.
The author describes the irony of Tina Isa's life: to any otherAmerican family she would have been cherished as a charming, friendly, hard-working teen...
The author also describes the network of Palestinian terrorist groups living in the U.S. and the role they might have played... This story is gripping and very informative because the author did a lot of research and provides so much background information about the Palestinian culture, the lives of generations of the Isa family, the Abu Nidal terrorist organization and more.
...
Terrorism's broad inroads.......2001-09-23
This book starkly frames the force of hatred which overtook New York City and the world with the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It relates specifically to Zein Isa's November 1989 murder of his daughter, Palestina. The West Bank immigrant and his Brazilian wife co-conspired in the brutal St. Louis murder of their teenage daughter, whose friendships they believed had endangered their terrorist plans.
In their search for terrorists, the Federal Bureau of Investigation inadvertently taped the actual killing. Zein Isa and his wife were sentenced to death.
The book reveals much about the village life in the West Bank, where most families, according to Maria Zein, belong to radical military groups whose ultimate goal is to destroy Israel. Many West Bank residents are actually "refugees from other countries." According Maria Zein's account, her husband knew "men from Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Saudi." Maria Zein told the author that her husband had traveled from the West Bank village of Beitin, to Jordan, Syria, Libya and Bolivia. He lived undetected for years in the US, and also claimed to have lived in Europe.
The book reveals twisted morals, which condone murder for the sake of family honor. It unmasks intense hatred that evolved into conspiracies to slaughter Jews, blow up the Israeli embassy in Washington and to murder Tina because she posed a threat to these plans.
It also exposes the frighteningly broad inroads that the Abu Nidal terrorists have made into American cities and life. Alyssa A. Lappen
Gurarding the Secrets.......2001-07-25
In November 1989 in St. Louis, the FBI inadvertently tape recorded the entire episode of a teenage girl's being killed by her Palestinian father and Brazilian mother (the Feds were looking for evidence of terrorism, which they also found). In a ghastly eight-minute sequence, Zein Isa stabbed his daughter Palestina thirteen times with a butcher's knife as his wife held the girl down and responded to Palestina's pleas for help with a brutal "Shut up!" The killing ends with Zein screaming "Die! Die quickly! Die quickly! . . . Quiet, little one! Die, my daughter, die!" By this time, she is dead.
Harris, a St. Louis television reporter, has done admirable spade work going through the court transcripts and interviewing everyone connected to the case in an attempt to piece together the interlocking stories of family murder and active support of Abu Nidal's terrorist organization. In addition, she successfully conjures up the small and exceedingly unpleasant world of Zein Isa and his family of rabid anti-Americans living right in the American heartland. The murder culminates their lives of frustration, greed, and vulgarity. Unfortunately, Harris spent more effort digging up information than she did writing the book; so the more-than-casual reader must read and reread its pages to piece together the sequence of events and the scope of the Isa family's involvement with Abu Nidal. Doing so repays the effort, however, for Harris has compiled a treasure trove of materials on two usually elusive subjects.
Middle East Quarterly, September 1995
Books:
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