Book Description
There is a world of difference between reading Japanese that has been especially concocted for students and reading real Japanese-that is, Japanese written for native speakers. The concocted variety might be called schoolmarm Japanese: standard to the point of insipidity, controlled to the
point of domestication, restricted to the point of impoverishment. Read Real Japanese provides the real thing-essays written by lively authors, meant to be enjoyed or pondered over.
Here are essays informed by the writer's personality, transformed by the message, moving with the flow of the whole, and shifting with the rhythm of paragraph and sentence. For students needing help, this has been provided in vocabulary lists and notes on usage. The vocabulary contains the English
equivalents of the Japanese text. The notes deal with subtler matters: with grammar, nuance, idiomatic usage, and the tricky little things that particles do. Whether for pleasure or for serious study, you are sure to find something of interest and value as you read real Japanese.
The featured writers are Yoko Mori, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Machi Tawara, Shoichi Nejime, Momoko Sakura, Seiko Ito, Banana Yoshimoto, and Haruki Murakami.
Customer Reviews:
Making the leap to authentic text.......2006-04-30
The leap to authentic text is a challenging hurdle, but a necessary one to achieve. Text books are usually made of carefully calculated dialogs and passages, designed to teach a grammar point rather than transfer information. However, once you have reached a certain level you want to go beyond that and into the real thing. That is, after all, why you are studying the language.
"Read Real Japanese" can help ease this transition, providing a guided tour through a few short stories of some of Japan's most prominent modern authors. Murakami Haruki ("Wind-Up Bird Chronicle") and Yoshimoto Banana ("Kitchen") are familiar with most students of Japanese, and it is a true pleasure to read their writings in the language in which they were written.
Janet Ashby has provided translations of the text, piece by piece, allowing you to check your personal translation against her professional work, as well as being a quick reference to unknown kanji, vocabulary and grammar. This is an excellent resource, not only for comprehension but also for seeing how some tricky Japanese grammar can be properly ordered into English.
The only drawback of "Read Real Japanese" is that Ashby has unfortunately chosen to give her translations in romaji rather than hiragana. Quality Japanese learning aids always reinforce hiragana rather than romaji, and anyone at the level necessary to tackle authentic text should have no trouble with kana.
Excellent intermediate - advanced text.......2004-09-28
Another fine title from Kodansha's bilingual series (also check out the wonderfully titled 'How to Sound Intelligent in Japanese') - this is indeed better for intermediate readers, and features an intriguing selection of essays by contemporary Japanese writers/ culture vultures.
This is an excellent stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of reading written Japanese quickly and effectively. Even advanced students will probably find many of the concepts and phrases contained within of great benefit. It is also useful for people who are looking for stimulating Japanese writers, to get a taste of some of the best contemporary authors, before exploring in depth.
The explanations and translations are uniformly excellent - this is a must-have for anyone serious about reading Japanese fiction in the original language.
Book Description
The eight short stories in Judge Dee at Work cover a decade during which the judge served in four different provinces of the T’ang Empire. From the suspected treason of a general in the Chinese army to the murder of a lonely poet in his garden pavilion, the cases here are among the most memorable in the Judge Dee series.
Customer Reviews:
Judge Dee Short Stories.......2005-01-21
Dutch diplomat Robert van Gulik wrote the Judge Dee mysteries (in English!) to introduce the West to the Chinese version of the mystery story, which arose centuries before the English detective story. Judge Dee is an actual historical person, a magistrate of the seventh century during the T'ang dynasty, who was renown in China for his ability to solve crimes. In Judge Dee at Work, van Gulik presents us with eight short stories each of a single case (the novels, in the Chinese tradition, involve 3 intertwined cases) that take place throughout the judge's long career (magistrates were usually moved to a new post every three years). A table at the back of the book, places each case and all the novels within the timeline of Judge Dee's life.
I have read about half the novels and this book of short stories, and I have enjoyed them all. Early on, Judge Dee employs three different men to be his lieutenants, and they do much of the legwork for him. However, Dee is also very hands-on, going to the crime scenes and sometimes even going about in disguise. In some of the short stories here, he solves the mystery on his own. van Gulik has created a good detective in Dee; he is very, very smart, fair, compassionate to victims and stern with criminals. The cases are varied and interesting, and difficult to solve. I especially like the setting of ancient China. van Gulik really seems to know the era he is writing about, and he brings it alive through the actions and dialog of the story. There is no exposition here. If we need to know the differences of Taoism to Buddhism, we find out through a conversation of Dee with a monk or other character. That really makes the stories glide along. Sometimes a choice of phrase seems a little odd or modern for the setting, and I assume that arises from the fact that van Gulik was Dutch writing about China in English. In any event, these quirks become rather fun and don't detract at all from the stories. van Gulik also made illustrations in the traditional Chinese style of the time, and they add to the stories. I am very glad I have found the Judge Dee mysteries, and Judge Dee at Work is an excellent way to meet the judge and his world. You will be glad you did.
Wonderful Chinese detective stories - 7th Century style!.......2000-07-19
I first became aware of the Judge Dee stories after reading the short story "He Came with the Rain" in a historical mystery collection. I loved the story so much that I promptly went to Amazon.com to find more Judge Dee novels and stories. This collection of eight short stories is particularly interesting as it covers about 20 years in Judge Dee's career through several of his postings. The stories are extremely interesting, both for the wealth of historical detail as well as the actual mystery content. Judge Dee as a District Magistrate is the leading civilian authority but I found stories such as "The Red Tape Murder" particularly interesting when he clashes with military authorities. This gives Dr. Van Gulik the opportunity to introduce snippets about ancient Chinese history, particularly about the clashes with Korea and the Tartar offenses on China's Western borders. This is a period of Chinese history where very little is known - almost a sort of Chinese Dark Ages - so it is wonderful to learn more about that time, also about the social customs of the era, which I found surprisingly modern, with the exception of the accepted practice of polygamy! If you are interested in historical mystery fiction, I would highly recommend the series. Also try the Sister Fidelma series about a mystery solving nun in Dark Ages Ireland - it is equally atmospheric!
Sketches of the Judicial Life: China,Seventh Century.......2000-06-13
The wonderful thing about these stories is the sense of time and place which comes through in all of them. We find ourselves easily transported to seventh century China, and the world of a highly organised empire, with its representative in the various cities which serve as venues for the stories, the Magistrate, in the person of Judge Dee.
Robert Van Gulick's picture of Chinese life, crafted from his own extensive study of China, both underpins and overlays these elegant detective stories. Those inhabiting these stories are truly the inhabitants of the places: walking through the streets, eating at the restaurants, working in the Tribunal, and interacting with all classes of their highly stratified society.
The characters are well developed, from Judge Dee himself to his various colourful assistants and lieutenants, who do most (but not all) of the Tribunal's leg work. Criminals, victims, witnesses, and others along the way complete the fascinating tableaux.
There are references to the various Judge Dee novels at the beginning of each story providing a context within the magistrate's career. Numerous line drawings by the author gently illuminate the stories.
Book Description
Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they're calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It's true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it's true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she's not a murderer at all -- she's a murderess.
Customer Reviews:
A simple review.......2007-10-08
Fun to read. I thought the book was very good and not so along the lines of great, but very good. Read it and write a review you think the book deserves.
So glad I read this unique story!.......2007-09-14
I bought this novel solely because I enjoyed Handler's later work as Lemony Snicket, but this is now my favorite of his works. The character who narrates The Basic Eight is a teenage girl whose group of friends (the "basic eight") are tested when events at a party lead to tragedy. The characters, particularly the narrator, are charming and memorable. I recommend this book to anyone with a sense of humor, but particularly to high school students, who will find Handler's understanding of the tortures of adolescence uncannily accurate. The way he leans on the fourth wall is really fun; Handler has a charming, self-aware writing style that will get you hooked. If you enjoyed the "Series of Unfortunate Events" novels, this is a don't-miss. Unlike "Series," The Basic Eight is not for youngsters; I'd recommend this for ages twelve and up. The violence is less frequent, but also less cartoonish, than the horrors of "Series."
Seriously. Buy this book for your high-school-age kid. They won't ever forget it. And read it yourself before you give it to them; you'll love it, too.
An unsatisfying book to read.......2007-04-25
(Warning: Some plot points discussed)
I came across a favorable mention of The Basic Eight in an Amazon review of another title, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and decided to order it based on the positive feedback here.
The story is written in a diary format from the perspective of Flannery Culp, a rather nutty high school senior. (The "basic eight" refers to Flannery and her seven friends.) Flannery's senior year is fraught with tension and conflict. Her schoolwork suffers as she cuts classes, experiments with drugs, and incurs the wrath of her lecherous biology teacher, Mr. Carr after catching him in a compromising situation. When Carr ends up in a coma, Flannery becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, she's infatuated with fellow choir member Adam State (who alternates between flirting with and then shunning the young woman). Tensions reach a climax at a drunken Halloween party where Flannery discovers Adam's cruel streak and beats him to death with a croquet mallet. It's after her friends attempt to cover up the crime, that Flannery's true nature is revealed.
I wouldn't describe The Basic Eight as a "charming novel" that gets "funnier and funnier" - as the book jacket blurbs suggest. None of the major players here are particularly likeable and the story becomes truly grim.
Flannery depicts the basic eight as an elite group but I had problems believing that teenagers would hold formal dinner parties, listen to opera, vie for theater tickets (Shakespeare, no less) and dress well beyond their years (Flannery's ex-boyfriend Douglas wears linen suits and carries a pocket watch to school; her girlfriend V____ wears pearls.)
As with most books centered on independent teens, parents are absent, adult authority figures are stock stereotypes. Most unfortunate are the depictions of gay characters, Douglas and drama teacher Ron Piper.
Author Handler tries to sink his teeth into our tabloid culture, taking multiple shots at some rather easy targets: talk show hosts, self-proclaimed experts and those who use personal tragedy to gain their 15 minutes of fame - but there's nothing really new here. Reader be warned: The language in this book is occasionally coarse as are depictions of casual sex and drug/alcohol abuse.
I gave this book 2 stars - for its interesting premise and occasionally clever dialogue. As an alternative, I would highly recommend the aforementioned Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl.
Cute Words, Thin Satire, Ugly Story.......2007-03-17
It is hard being smart in high school as illustrated in this novel: a high-school senior in a clique of smart kids gets into trouble, big trouble, and murder trouble. The clever language and thin satire are hard to perceive, much less appreciate, being smothered in foul language, graphic sex, and the profane, making this novel unsuitable for high-school students (though it is on some YA lists) and undesirable for most other humans. Are there good ideas or wisdom here? How can one tell?
If you are squeamish about what you read or otherwise limit the foul language, sexual content, or ravings against religion in your reading, then you will want to skip this novel.
5 stars....I don't get it..........2006-07-21
Not a bad book but not great. It has funny bits and if you went to high school with these people (I did...Los Angeles WESTSIDE high schools back in the 80's...those of you from Los Angeles know what that means...for everyone else...Bev Hills 90210...Clueless...those kids are real ;)...that being said...it's an OK summer read but you will be able to put it down...and you don't need to read it again...
Book Description
Mark Grayson is just like most everyone else his age, except for the fact that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet. And now he's begun to inherit his father's powers. In this second volume, the "Invicible Family" finally starts to get a handle on this whole superhero thing, while Mark plans for college and the oft-mentioned Guardians of the Globe are finally introduced!
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
Invincible is a half breed alien, his dad being an extremely powerful superhuman. He is dealing with finishing high school, and defending the planet when his dad is busy with the Guardians of the Globe. Said Guardians are a Justice League parody that his dad may just have bumped off.
He also has two chicks chasing him, a friend who knows his secret identity, and bad guys to fight.
A great build up for the series.......2007-02-25
This trade actually tells four individual stories. The first has Mark dealing with Alan the Alein a creature his father had fought many times before and never bothered to talk to. This is a comedic high point for the series so far. The next has Mark and his best friend checking out colleges and fighting a strange robotic zombie creature. Finally, the series introduces the super hero team the Gaurdians of the Globe who are all murdered. The funeral sets up the big twist that will put this series on the fast track and make it more then a funny silver age super hero homage.
If you pick up the first two trades in this series and like it's fun cosmic super hero adventure well, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Excellent Series.......2006-07-31
I really like Kirkman's Incredible and Volume Two is the pick of the bunch. Simple but honest writing still allows him to deliver a shock and maximum emotional impact. I can't give it five stars because it does feel a little light - each trade paperback will not occupy your time for that long. But, you will pick this series up to reread again and again.
Kirkman is great!.......2004-07-04
I first picked this series up for the artwork, but then became captivated by the story. I bought the trades to catch up on what I missed, wow I was missing one of the best stories in comics today. Kirkman does a wonderful job bringing the characters to life with twists and turns around every corner. Ottley's artwork fits it perfectly grade A stuff on both parts. This trade also comes with pages of neat extra sketches and writings.
This is well worth the money, if your not reading Invincible I would HIGHLY recommend picking it up, it's amazing!
Amazon.com
Frances Shore has been warned about Saudi Arabia from the word go. En route to join her uncommunicative engineer husband, she tries to ignore the rumors and rumblings she has already heard--women can't drive, alcohol is illegal, morality regulated. But even she is surprised by the airline steward's surreal lesson. The Saudis are "too bloody secretive to have maps," he tells her. "Besides, the streets are never in the same place for more than a few weeks altogether." Frances's first morning in her new home is not quite what she might have expected. There is no telephone, and Andrew has locked the back door behind him (the previous occupant had the front door bricked up so his wife wouldn't encounter her male neighbors). It is, however, similar to the days to come, which oscillate between boredom and fear--the nights broken only by tedious business dinners and sub rosa distilling. When she is allowed outside, she is assailed by official warnings--highway signs reading "YOU ARE FAST, BUT DANGER IS FASTER," a library handout begging, "PLEASE make EVERY effort to return your books if you have to leave the Kingdom hurriedly and unexpectedly." The outside world is ominous enough, but there's also something odd going on in the apartment building: noise from the supposedly empty flat above. The title of this blackly humorous, frightening novel begins to sound like a reprieve: Frances and Andrew Shore will at least be able to leave the country after 8 months. But Hilary Mantel's final twist destroys any dreams of leaving. As one character had earlier warned: "It isn't the roads in town that are dangerous, it's the roads out."
Book Description
When Frances Shore moves to Saudi Arabia, she settles in a nondescript sublet, sure that common sense and an open mind will serve her well with her Muslim neighbors. But in the dim, airless flat, Frances spends lonely days writing in her diary, hearing the sounds of sobs through the pipes from the floor above, and seeing the flitting shadows of men on the stairwell. It’s all in her imagination, she’s told by her neighbors; the upstairs flat is empty, no one uses the roof. But Frances knows otherwise, and day by day, her sense of foreboding grows even as her sense of herself begins to disintegrate.
Customer Reviews:
Don't use this one as a reference to Saudi .......2007-03-28
If you like extremely ambiguous thrillers with an open ending that seems to indicate (only if you go back to the first page) that the heroine and her husband get offed in the end, this is fine.
However, if you're looking for information on the "real" Saudi Arabia, it's far from fine.
The claim is that Hilary Mantel lived in Saudi Arabia, but she doesn't write as if she did. I lived there for six years, and her version of expat life is nothing like what I experienced. To begin with, Jeddah is the most Westernized city in Saudi, a really happening place with lots and lots of foreigners, who enjoy life hugely and manage to skate around the restrictions without letting them get in the way. NO ONE I knew just sat in their apartment and moped! There were parties, concerts, art shows, plays, classes, picnics, camping in the desert, and fishing and swimming outings.
No legal alcohol? Home brew. Women can't drive? Tons of taxis, plus a modern bus service.
Shopping? Most of the shop assistants are from Ceylon, Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Phillipines, Taiwan, etc., etc. The idea that they "don't see a woman as a person" is ludicrous! Also, even Saudi men, who traditionally avert their eyes from unrelated women out of politeness, have mostly learned that Western women can and do have minds and opinions, and can be conversed with.
I had a good laugh when someone on the airplane says "Cartographers are redundant. They don't have maps." She wrote that in 1988. However, when my husband and I left in 1985, there WERE maps. We used them to drive around the country.
There are people from all over the world living in the Kingdom, in addition to Americans. Getting to know people from so many countries and cultures was an adventure by itself. My best friends while I was there were Lebanese, Mexican, Canadian and British. My husband and I were invited to visit Saudis, who were invariably as friendly and curious to know about us and our lives as we were about them. Language, by the way, is rarely a problem, as English is used as a sort of lingua franca.
In my opinion, Mantel wanted to write a thriller about a woman in a place where she couldn't depend on anything she used to know, and she chose Saudi Arabia, then cherry-picked the negative elements and exaggerated them.
If you want a more authentic view on Saudi, try "At the Drop of a Veil" by Marianne Alireza. She was probably the first American to marry a Saudi, and while she doesn't avoid the difficulties or the negative things, she also gives a wonderful view of the fascinating culture of the country, and the warmth of the Saudi family she married into.
Lost in Jedda . . ........2007-03-20
Mantel's book brings to mind the films "Blow-Up" and "The Conversation," in which evidence of some kind of malfeasance is discovered by an otherwise innocent observer, then takes on a life of its own, while the observer is swept up in a growing tide of paranoia. The narrator in this chilling novel is a woman whose husband has taken a job in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, in the 1980s. Husband and wife are immediately submerged in a culture far different from any they've known, where appearance and reality are seldom clear and fear and rumor dominate their lives.
Trapped in the claustrophobic flat provided by her husband's employer, the narrator comes to suspect that the empty flat above her is not empty at all. Looking for clues to the real nature of its use, she comes to know the wives of two other men who live in the building, who try to dismiss her concerns while reassuring her that the restrictive role of women in this Muslim country is quite reasonable, and repeating to her firmly held beliefs about the West that are wild exaggerations and outright myths. As suspicion points in every direction, the reader begins to doubt the veracity of everyone, including the other western expatriates who make up the central character's social circle.
Finally, the novel is a discourse on the impossibility of discovering the truth, especially when covering it up or ignoring it serves the interests of enough people. Meanwhile, it finds much to say about gender politics, whether under the dictates of Islam or the double standards still to be found in the democratic West. This is a page-turner that is also sharply written. Its characters are vividly created and the dialogue among them is often withering. Not likely to be embraced by Saudi readers, it portrays the Kingdom in ways that are far from flattering. Readers of this book may also be interested in Peter Theroux' memoir, "Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia."
Interesting, although less so when you realize it is only a novel!.......2006-04-09
I picked up this book, the cover photo on the one I read was very similar to the one of Sally Field on "Not Without My Daughter". About a third of the way through the book I suddenly realized it was a novel -however, it is still a good read.
Frances is a British woman of the world, she has travelled well, lived in Africa for over five years and worked as a cartographer (maps). Her husband is a civil engineer and when work is drying up, he is offered a job in Saudi Arabia.
Frances can't work and needs to follow the laws of Islam, down to dressing modestly, and quickly becomes incredibly bored. Meanwhile, in between reading her crime novels she is sure she can hear sobbing coming from the empty apartment upstairs...
I thought the book was interesting, but would have enjoyed it more is the woman of the book didn't immediatly retreat into herself and become so much like the women she wanted to not be like. A complete drip, who occasionally came out of her shell to act modern and feisty with her questions. Just a bit predictable -having said that the ending was a shocker and I read every page to the end. Well written and interesting.
The dark at the top of the stairs.......2004-11-21
Frances Shore is a worldly, well-traveled woman, who would never entertain paranoia. When her husband is posted to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1984, after their last few years in Africa, the couple has no idea of the cultural adjustments that await them, but look forward to a new city and its opportunities. In Saudi Arabia, the Europeans make a useful contribution to the infrastructure of a country with a surplus of oil and wealth. Happy to oblige for spectacular remuneration, the men are not nearly as constricted as the few wives who accompany their husbands.
Living quarters are provided through the construction company Andrew Shore has contracted with, as well as a daily stipend and a set of rules unlike any in their experience.
Before the journey, Frances educates herself about the country where she will reside, understanding the complex cultural and religious differences of this new posting. What she isn't prepared for is the emotional toll of living in a repressed society, the streets patrolled by vigilant religious police. Increasing her uneasiness, watchful, mocking eyes follow her every move. Curiosity is fleeting to those who live in the Kingdom; not all information is available, but foreigners will be told whatever they are allowed to know.
Much is forbidden and it is imperative not to offend the host country. Their apartment complex is surrounded by walls blocking any view of the outside world; women cannot drive, but must be driven by a male. At the mercy of such restrictions, Fran draws inward, conscious of those who live in the building but are never seen, watching and listening. Thus begins an assault on Fran's senses; in her hyper-vigilant state, Fran becomes convinced that something sinister is going on in the empty apartment above theirs. "First unease and then fear become her habitual state of mind."
Mantel has masterfully created a psychological thriller that takes root Frances's first day on Ghazzah Street. Surrounded by oppressive silence and mysterious comings and goings, Frances Shore is more than a victim of her own fears and delusions, a reality that time and tragedy will bear out. It isn't that no one wants to listen to Frances' concerns; rather, they are fearful for their own safety, trying to maintain a delicate balance in a host country intolerant of Western arrogance, contemptuous of Western values. Eventually, even Andrew Shore is forced to admit that not everything is as it seems. The Shores have one last hurdle: no one leaves the Kingdom without permission. Luan Gaines/2004.
No Place For A Woman...Or For A Man Either.......2004-09-25
British citizen Frances Shore accompanies her husband to his new job in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The author, Hilary Mantel, lived there herself for five years, so the reader can place some trust in her description of life there. Frances stay home in their little apartment, and cleans, and watches the giant cockroaches who also live there. A cartographer by profession, she really has no hope of working while living in the Kingdom. The heat is oppressive, and the air is full of blowing dust. All the expatriates make beer and wine in their bathtub because liquor is a big no-no. You never call the police about anything because you might end up in jail yourself. Traffic is horrible, and if you are in an accident you better have enough cash on hand to bribe your way out trouble with the police. When in the store with your husband the clerks will only speak with him, as you, the wife, don't exist. Frances is not timid, and sometimes walks the streets alone, which causes every male driver to shout obscenities at her as he drives by.
So far it's an interesting sort of travelogue story, but something sinister seems to be developing in a supposedly unused apartment directly above the Shore's flat. Then there are her new neighbor friends, a Saudi couple, and a Pakistani family. Are they somehow involved in the strange goings on? A tale that so far has been about women and their adaptation to the rigors of Saudi life now turns into a thriller.
Hilary Mantel writes intelligent novels, and is known for her sometimes black humor. This novel is particularly interesting because of the locale. On finishing it you will probably immediately cross Saudi Arabia off your list of places to visit.
Average customer rating:
- His worst
- Good stuff.
- Clowes, Clowes, Clowes...
- Engrossing
- Boring: An ass-essment
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David Boring (Spanish Edition): David Boring (Bola Ocho/Eight Ball)
Daniel Clowes
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ASIN: 1594971226 |
Amazon.com
It's impossible to write about Daniel Clowes's work without using the word "ennui." But his is a joyous ennui, if such a thing is possible, one that relishes the boredom of everyday life with a Zen enthusiasm. The title David Boring reflects his self-aware humor and captures the essence of an ordinary man living through a larger-than-life story. The main character lives with his best friend, Dot, in a large city, each looking for love and meaning. David in particular is trying to understand his father, whom he knows only through an obscure comic book called "The Yellow Streak." Murder, obsession, sex, and war are all just distractions as he tries to construct a sensible portrait from the odd bits and pieces he finds in his travels. Clowes finds little miracles everywhere he looks--so many, in fact, that they seem hardly to interest him. This detachment perversely makes David Boring deeply compelling and worthy of serious attention from fans and newcomers alike. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
Meet David Boring: a nineteen-year-old security guard with a tortured inner life and an obsessive nature. When he meets the girl of his dreams, things begin to go awry: what seems too good to be true apparently is. And what seems truest in Boring's life is that, given the right set of circumstances (in this case, an orgiastic cascade of vengeance, humiliation and murder) the primal nature of humankind will come inexorably to the fore.For those interested in comic art's potential, Clowes's work offers exciting literary possibilities. Boring is Anything but. --Time Dan Clowes
Customer Reviews:
His worst.......2007-08-14
Just because it's in the title doesn't mean i CAN'T say that this was just boring. It really seemed for the first time that Clowes was TRYING to be hip. The characters were nothing to be liked, there was nothing about the main character that made me care what happened next. The ending wasn't really an ending, so much as the story just stopping.
Read Pussey!, Ghost World, Velvet Glove Cast in Iron (masterpiece), Caricature, or even Lloyd Llewellyn (for quick laughs). This one... buy it if you think the late 90's were cool.
Good stuff........2007-05-27
Daniel Clowes, David Boring (Pantheon, 2000)
Meet David. David is a nineteen-year-old security guard who meets, and becomes obsessed with, his dream girl. When she vanishes, David finds himself lost in an almost surreal tangle of violence, mystery, and revenge that is backgrounded with odd rumors of terrorist attacks, which makes this book all too eerie in retrospect. Clowes is, of course, best known as the author of Ghost World, which was made into a surprisingly successful 2001 film, but David Boring is, I think, a superior work in every way; the characters are simply fantastic, the plot is just absurd enough to be believable, and the art, while somewhat primitive (Clowes is consciously drawing in the style of fifties superhero comics here), is evocative. If you're into graphic novels already, you probably don't need me to tell you you should be reading Daniel Clowes; if you're not, or you're new to the genre, then maybe you do. And I just did. *** ½
Clowes, Clowes, Clowes..........2007-01-10
Well...okay. I love Dan Clowes's work. Love it. Eightball (the early issues especially) was a HUGE favorite for me as a teen. I still read those issues. However, most fans of Clowes will know that as time wore on, he shifted away from drama-laced-humor into humor-laced-drama.
David Boring is the first story from Eightball to really confirm that Clowes really didn't care if he was funny anymore. Which is great for Clowes, but for me it's a bit dissappointing. NOT because it's dramatic, but because from my POV Clowes is a much better comic writer than of drama. When he does drama, the stories (like this one) are a little disjointed; they keep building to potential payoffs, then nothing happens. And the characters are a little hard to read.
BUT, that all being said, it is still eerie, foreboding, and entertaining, in that special Clowes way. Entertaining, intriguing, at times exciting. But, not very funny, and a couple times I had to back up a few pages as I felt I'd missed something. And I'm SMART!
So, if you know what you're in for, then definitely pick this up as it's a high-quality volume on good paper (and if it's too pricy the resellers have it CHEAP!). If you haven't read it, my suggestion is to look it over in a Border's or something, THEN buy it here if you like what you see. Good stuff, just a bit bare and bleak compared to Clowes's earlier stuff.
Caveat Emptor.
Engrossing.......2005-10-25
Somewhat dream-like, but not as bizarrely abstract as "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron." This is the book that made me a fan of Clowes.
Wonderfully precise graphic style that trumps the look of both "Velvet Glove" and "Ghost World."
Boring: An ass-essment.......2005-09-14
"David Boring" contains a surprisingly large number of panels of naked girls with large bottoms, and so is a tad embarrasing to read while commuting to work on the train. There's also a lot of violence, including the hero with a bullet hole in the middle of his head (but he recovers (twice)).
The writing is clever, and moves in directions that I didn't expect after reading "Ghost World". Act two reminded me of Agatha Christie's "Twelve Little Indians".
Book Description
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is arguably the most important written document of the civil rights protest era and a widely read modern literary classic. Personally addressed to eight white Birmingham clergymen who sought to avoid violence by publicly discouraging King's civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, the nationally published "Letter" captured the essence of the struggle for racial equality and provided a blistering critique of the gradualist approach to racial justice. It soon became part of American folklore, and the image of King penning his epistle from a prison cell remains among the most moving of the era. Yet as S. Jonathan Bass explains in the first comprehensive history of King's "Letter," this image and the piece's literary appeal conceal a much more complex tale.
Customer Reviews:
One MLK Jr. Holiday, I See More Need for Peacemakers!.......2005-01-18
All who lived during those momentous years of Southern turmoil of 1960's were greatly impacted by the laws of desegregation of the white churches and schools. As one renews his/her commitment to religious and social justice, it brings into focus our recent tragedies of Ruwanda, Iraq, Thailand, and Indonesia! Upon my own return to Professor Bass's BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, I easily conjure up my perennial pictures of his accounts of eight white Ministers, their churches and families being turned inside/out or upside/down by Southern racial injustice.
In Bass's easy reading, documented, and dramatically illustrated account of eight white ministers' appeal for law, order, common sense, before and after the reception of MLK Jr's, "Letter From Birmingham Jail," I was transported back to 1963; Into mid-1965 when Earl Stallings became both my Pastor and my Good Friend! In spite of persistent segregationist pressure, not once did Earl consider turning black vsitors away from First Baptist Church of Birmingham. "If the people came to worship," Stallings wrote days after the incident "we had no Christian justification for closing our doors...if they came to provoke an incident, we were determined to have no part in this action."
Since 1954 the FBC maintained an open-door policy for any black visitors. From an early distinguished Pastor J T Ford, followed by Guy Sloan and Grady Cothen and Earl Stallings they reaffirmed that policy! Yet on the morning after they welcomed the first black visitors, newspapers all over the country printed large photographs of a cheerful Earl Stallings shaking hands with the black visitors. They included both the NEW YORK TIMES and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution!
From my perspective or from Prof. Jonathan Bass's perpspective, it appears that he gave a deeper account of the introspective thoughts or words of Earl Stallings, than from the other white ministers! Since MLK's Letter referred to outstanding persons' writing: Ralph McGill, Harry Golden, James McBride Dobbs, Ann Braden, Lillian Smith, and Sarah Patten Boyle, it seems that the author added deserving comments beside the eight pictures of those Ministers. Next to Earl Stallings picture he quoted his recent sermon: "We hear the call of truth, of righteousness, of justice, but we are not men enough to heed its challenge!"
From 1965 thru 1975 in his next pastorate, I often needed Earl's commitment to equality and social justice, as when I chose music of Fred Waring's "Easter Story of Black Spirituals" over Church dissent: "It's getting much too close for those Black threats of violence in our streets of Marietta on Good Friday, April 8th of 1968!" That same evening for the Good Friday Worship we had a full house with a few black families present! Retired Chaplain Fred W Hood
A Special Delivery Letter.......2001-06-26
It was just a letter written by a man in jail, on behalf of his race, attempting to address the social injustice of the time-right? Wrong! Martin Luther King's Letter From the Birmingham Jail is much more compelling, and the circumstances surrounding its final composition more complex than the average person knows. Ostensibly written to the eight white clergymen of the embittered and embattled steel city, it was intended for a much wider audience-namely the media and the American public. Blessed Are the Peacemakers provides the reader with individual profiles of the eight and their struggles of conscience as they saw an old social order collapse. What has been taken as the almost spur-of-the-moment reflections of Martin Luther King, in jail for civil disobedience, turns out to be a document much longer in the making and more calculated in its delivery. This disclosure in no way detracts from its rightful place in American folklore or its power in fueling Civil Rights Movement. Rather, it helps us understand the care with which the deep conviction of racial rights was presented. The book is not an apology for the eight clergy, some of whom were more progressive than others, but it does provide much needed insight for the serious student of history into the complex struggles, powerful emotions, and vitrolic attacks perpetrated on even the most moderate voices of the white clergy. What it does not do, of course, is speak of the many white clergy of lesser rank who paid a much higher price for their fight for justice for their black brothers and sisters. Still, to read about these eight leaders, (Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Jewish) and their struggles is instructive. As an Alabama-born, white clergy expatriate from that period, marginally involved in the Civil Rights Movement, I hung on every word. These are reflections that should help black and white readers alike better understand this turbulent period. Statements from the eight white clergy as well as King's Letter are included in the appendix.
Average customer rating:
- Relentless Narcissism
- disappointing
- really interesting
- Don't believe the hype.
- Extremely overrated
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Ghost World: Bola Ocho (Ghost World: Eight Ball, Spanish Edition)
Daniel Clowes
Manufacturer: Public Square Books
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Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth
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Black Hole
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Ghost World
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David Boring
ASIN: 1594971102 |
Amazon.com
Dan Clowes described the story in Ghost World as the examination of "the lives of two recent high school graduates from the advantaged perch of a constant and (mostly) undetectable eavesdropper, with the shaky detachment of a scientist who has grown fond of the prize microbes in his petri dish." From this perch comes a revelation about adolescence that is both subtle and coolly beautiful. Critics have pointed out Clowes's cynicism and vicious social commentary, but if you concentrate on those aspects, you'll miss the exquisite whole that Clowes has captured. Each chapter ends with melancholia that builds towards the amazing, detached, ghostlike ending.
Book Description
BOLA OCHO/EIGHT BALL SERIES: 1990-2, 1997-8, 2002-04 HARVEY WINNER; 2002 EISNER WINNER. One of the best-selling and critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time, telling the story of two supremely ironic, above-it-all teenagers facing the thrilling uncertainty of life after high school. As they attempt to carry their life-long friendship into a new era, the careful dynamics of their inseparable bond are jolted, and what seemed like a future of endless possibilities looks more like an encroaching reality of strip malls, low-paying service jobs and fading memories. Ghost Worldis also a major motion picture --Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff received Academy Award & Golden Globe nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay. a classic in any medium --The Onion
Customer Reviews:
Relentless Narcissism.......2007-06-15
This is the affectedly vulgar tale of two young women who need some discipline. Those who feel they have the credentials to declare other human beings "ugly" will probably see themselves in the main characters and find them hilarious. For those who have grown up, the shtick will wear thin quickly. The art is beautiful and the writing definitely has its moments, but I guess I just can remember actually being a stupid jerk when I was younger and don't look back on those days with much fondness.
disappointing.......2007-05-15
I found "Ghost World" mentioned in an article listing
"top 10 books" for various people. Being no stranger to
graphic art books (aka "comics" :), I thought I'd try it.
I regret that the person recommending it apparently hadn't
read many books. The story failed to capture my interest, and the art didn't redeem it. I'd recommend anything by Will Eisner instead (e.g., A Contract With God).
really interesting.......2007-04-10
Clowes has managed to perfectly portrait the development of a teenage friendship and how it is affected by the transition of the main characters into adulthood. In this boom era of comics I seldom find works that touch upon a subject that most of us can relate to. It also has in my opinion a perfect and realistic ending. I would definitely recommend it.
Don't believe the hype........2007-01-25
I skipped the movie version of Ghost World when it came out because I could tell from the previews that it wasn't my cup of tea; stories of suburban angst make my skin crawl (ie: I hated American Beauty), suburban teenage angst even more so. But, I convinced myself a while back, there's no way I could NOT read the critically acclaimed graphic novel it was based on, right?
Best friends Enid and Rebecca are two unappealingly self-absorbed teenagers who project their own self-loathing onto everyone around them, stumbling through their final year of high school while slowly drifting apart from each other. Daniel Clowes chooses to tell their story almost too-subtly, offering discordant slice of life vignettes that attempt to illustrate their "growth" but mainly serve to remind the reader how annoying and shallow they are. It falls into the same trap many autobiographical efforts do, in every medium, of believing one's life is more interesting than it actually is, and I came close to putting it down, unfinished, several times.
Clowes' artwork is the main highlight here -- clean and, at times, unexpectedly emotive -- but it's neither enough to inject life into his dull, plodding story nor make his lead characters the least bit interesting. Charles Burns' Black Hole covers similar ground in a much more intriguing fashion, with a compelling story that is equal to his impressive artwork.
Ghost World: Don't believe the hype.
Extremely overrated.......2006-10-22
I am usually not so hard when reviewing, but I truly disliked this one. While the artwork is good, the storytelling is not and the literary sophistication, so highly praised among other reviewers, is at best ok. But I am not going to analize it so throughly because it doesn't even deseve it. It's the typical portrayal of the emptiness of adolescence and the reluctance of the two characters to enter an equally empty and depraved adult world.
I just found it without any substance whatsoever.
Average customer rating:
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Eight Dime Novels
Manufacturer: Dover Publications Inc.
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0486229750 |
Books:
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- The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 5)
- The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 1)
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- The Birth of Venus: A Novel
- The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love and Healing
- The Cat in the Hat
- The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller
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