Thursday, March 26, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Death with Interruptions - José Saramago
The sentence structures in this book throw me off balance. Much like reading my own notes does. Probably like reading this blog does for you. There is minimal punctuation. All one thought by a neutral third party. I am far from neutral. Biased to the extreme!
No more death in Portugal! Being invincible is not all that it is cracked up to be? Well one problem is that it is all that it is 'cracked up to be.' Those on their way out remain so. Accidents that should kill don't. Those left to take care of ailing family members soon realize salvation lies just beyond the borders.
The mafia becomes involved and the government encourages the mafia by leaving points on the border unguarded. Those dying know what is happening as their feet cross the border, giving time for the mind to see. All this while mortuaries and embalmers take to preparing pets for burial. The death that covers pets didn't take a break. A bummer for the funeral industry.
Death soon goes back to work, deciding to give her 'victims' seven day notice. Seven days to get their affairs in order. Notices written on lavender stationary magically find their intended recipient. Save for one, a man whose letter keeps coming back "Return to Sender."
A good story. Much like life, it all ends in disappointment.
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (October 6, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0151012741
ISBN-13: 978-0151012749
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
No more death in Portugal! Being invincible is not all that it is cracked up to be? Well one problem is that it is all that it is 'cracked up to be.' Those on their way out remain so. Accidents that should kill don't. Those left to take care of ailing family members soon realize salvation lies just beyond the borders.
The mafia becomes involved and the government encourages the mafia by leaving points on the border unguarded. Those dying know what is happening as their feet cross the border, giving time for the mind to see. All this while mortuaries and embalmers take to preparing pets for burial. The death that covers pets didn't take a break. A bummer for the funeral industry.
Death soon goes back to work, deciding to give her 'victims' seven day notice. Seven days to get their affairs in order. Notices written on lavender stationary magically find their intended recipient. Save for one, a man whose letter keeps coming back "Return to Sender."
A good story. Much like life, it all ends in disappointment.
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1 edition (October 6, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0151012741
ISBN-13: 978-0151012749
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
Loop - Koji Suzuki
"The universe is far more empty than full, unimaginably so.
Nothingness - that's the essence of of our universe.
And yet, within that nothingness?
There are dimensions of possibilities, dazzling theologies."
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Vertical; 1st Paperback Ed edition (October 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193223425X
ISBN-13: 978-1932234251
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
Nothingness - that's the essence of of our universe.
And yet, within that nothingness?
There are dimensions of possibilities, dazzling theologies."
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Vertical; 1st Paperback Ed edition (October 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 193223425X
ISBN-13: 978-1932234251
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
Swamp Man - Donald Goines
I read this book in 2.5 hours.
Donald Goines' one book that is pure fiction and not based on his life experience, SWAMP MAN is a mean story of violence, rape, murder, and slow, stalking revenge. This one successful novel proved Donald's writing ability.
A young woman returns home to the dark, watery woods of Mississippi. Anxious to see her family after being away at college for one year. She does not take safety advice as she should have. For this, she pays a price. A price her whole family owes on.
Caught at the bus stop by four young KKK enthusiasts, her world changes in such a short time. Forced to drink an enormous amount of Spanish Fly, she will never be the same. These four 'men' reckon everything. Ever other sentence muttered by these boys features a reckoning.
The story is less about the Rape(s), and more about the Revenge. Revenge served by her brother. Past life experiences help me to understand this revenge. A revenge I myself could never have followed through on. But one I did consider for many years.
In the end:
Black waters of the swamp gets it's man?
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Holloway House (May 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0870679473
ISBN-13: 978-0870679476
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
Donald Goines' one book that is pure fiction and not based on his life experience, SWAMP MAN is a mean story of violence, rape, murder, and slow, stalking revenge. This one successful novel proved Donald's writing ability.
A young woman returns home to the dark, watery woods of Mississippi. Anxious to see her family after being away at college for one year. She does not take safety advice as she should have. For this, she pays a price. A price her whole family owes on.
Caught at the bus stop by four young KKK enthusiasts, her world changes in such a short time. Forced to drink an enormous amount of Spanish Fly, she will never be the same. These four 'men' reckon everything. Ever other sentence muttered by these boys features a reckoning.
The story is less about the Rape(s), and more about the Revenge. Revenge served by her brother. Past life experiences help me to understand this revenge. A revenge I myself could never have followed through on. But one I did consider for many years.
In the end:
Black waters of the swamp gets it's man?
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Holloway House (May 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0870679473
ISBN-13: 978-0870679476
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
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