3 comments about Only One Woof.

1. This book was a favorite of my childhood and I still read it to this day. I pick it up somtimes at night or just when I want a quick read! All children will love this story.



2. When I first read the chapter in an earlier Herriot book relating the story of the silent young sheepdog, I was inexplicably moved. Later in life, when I had the extreme good fortune to become the owner of a border collie pup, I named her Gyp in honor of Mr. Herriot's wonderful tale. This particular version for children is a delight for readers young and old alike. Highly recommended!



3. This particular Herriot story has been and is one of my favoites out of his several books. There is something quite charming and human here that is difficult to put a finger on. Being a dog lover of course helps, but this is the type of story that will appeal to just about everyone. Only One Woof is the story of a sheep dog who did just that, uttered only one woof in his entire life. This wonderful story has here been made into a children's books with wonderful illustrations by Peter Barrett. The art work alone is worth the price of the book. I have read this one to classes and it is universally love by the kids. I highly recommend this one.

No comments about Cool cars square roll bars.

5 comments about A Place Called Freedom.

1. As always, another one of Ken Follett's books that I loved. This book takes you back to Scotland in the 1700's. Even though the book may have had some predictable parts, it was hard to put this book down. The story begins in the coal mines of Scotland and takes you through a beautifully told story of love, lust, greed and envy. A must read for all of Ken Follett fans.



2. I've never read a lot of Ken Follett's work. His two historical fiction novels, World Without End and Pillars of the Earth picqued my interest and led me to delve a little deeper into his earlier efforts. I must say after reading this novel that I was quite disappointed.
   
   A Place Called Freedom is at best quite mediocre. There is virtually nothing to recommend it above hundreds of other similar books. There were flashes of interest concerning mining conditions and southern plantation practices in the mid-18th century, but by and large it was utterly unremarkable.
   
   Hard working, ambitious, intelligent Scottish miner, spends 400 pages being attracted to a young open minded highly sexed heiress both in Scotland and over seas in pre-revolutionary America. I wonder how it ends?



3. The main protagonists are Mack McAsh, a coal miner and Lizzie Hallim, a high-born young woman, who has to marry a rich man to save her family. Their love story develops over the course of the novel, as the story progresses. Mack is a young coal miner, a very strong, stubborn, hot-blooded and intelligent guy. He is a property of Sir George Jamisson, who owns the coal mines in the village called Heugh in Scotland. Mack works extremely hard in in the cruel and dangerous coalfields. However, he does not want to accept his fate. He never loses his passion for freedom. Mack challenges his owner and flees to London, where he works as a coal heaver and quickly becomes a leader of the heavers. Meanwhile, Lizzie gets married to Sir George's son, Captain Jay Jamisson, and they move to live in London. Then Sir George gives them a tobacco plantation in Virginia as a wedding present. In London, Mack accidentally gets involved in a riot and is sentenced to be transported to Virginia. In America, Lizzie and Mack flee together and fight for their freedom in the western wilderness.
   
   The book is too predictable and the plots are simple. There are too many coincidences and the ending is weak. I believe this book is definitely not Mr Follett's best. However, it's a fast read and quite entertaining. It also briefly but interestingly introduces the turbulent politics on 1760s Scotland, England and America.
   
   I would strongly recommend other books by the same author, including "The pillars of the earth" and "World without end". Those books are great!



4. Short book, good story. I'd place Follett in the running with William Martin, Preston Douglas and Lincoln Child. Being of celtic origin myself I enjoy reading about the beginnings of my heritage and Diana Gabaldon has the best series in that respect. Follett's research is excellent and tracing a scotsman from his origin to the american indians and a new life in America is an interesting and fast paced read. You won't regret reading this book - but move quickly into Pillars of the Earth and World Without End - they are beyond excellent.



5. I felt that this book was well-researched and the characters nicely rounded. I learned a few things about coal mining among other things, and I always love it when I pick up a historical novel and learn new facts!

5 comments about The River Knows.

1. Though this is a romance, shaken with a light dressing of mystery, there are some very serious topics tackled herein.
   
   First off is the absolute inability of a woman in Victorian times to control her destiny. Employment opportunities for women were few and far between, and even honest employment could lead to very dangerous situations for a woman alone.
   
   Also, this book directly addresses how justice was very different for the gentry than for the non-gentry. Even one with money was not as important as one of the right birth. And if a gentleman was suspected of wrongdoing, he could refuse to answer police questioning. Forget about warrants!
   
   We've come a long way, baby.
   
   Beyond all this, though, the book contains a wonderful romp. Louisa Bryce is an intrepid Lois Lane for a dime rag. She uncovers the wrongdoings of the "polite" world for all to see. She has her own secrets, however. Anthony Stalbridge is the bad-boy gentleman who, despite her unpromising plumage, becomes quite taken with Louisa. Together they solve a relatively complex mystery (which, at the end, you see pieces of have been cleverly alluded to all through the book, right from the prologue on down!)
   
   There is evil, there is tension, and of course there is sex, but it is not horribly graphic, is relatively short in duration, and is easily skimmed without missing too much book. There is even a huge amount dedicated to tongue-in-cheek making fun of illicit passion in "ladies' novels".
   
   I really, really enjoyed this book.
   
   (*)>



2. Quick/Krentz is the best of romantic lit--I find most of the other authors unbearable --but this is her shakiest work yet. I read this and promptly forgot it. The characters are 1-dimensional at best and I generally expect more from this author. I think it might be the worst of her works, but still considerably better than most romance novels.



3. The River Knows was an excellent read. I enjoyed it as much as the many other Quick novels I've read. The only criticism I have is that I did not get to know Louisa Bryce or Anthony Stalbridge well enough. There was a great emphasis on the intrigue of the story which worked for me since I love mysteries, but I would have liked more details about who they were. I wonder if she will write other books featuring these characters. I hope so. If she writes another book, I hope she fleshes out the characters more so that we feel as though we really know them.



4. There is no suspense, Amanda quick-ly lets us know who the murderer is. Beyond that, the book is padded and padded and padded with extraneous info. I would rate it "I hate it," but the sex scenes are more true-to-life than most.



5. Only a year or so ago, Louisa Bryce, a very intelligent woman, faked a suicide to run from the supposed murder of a very prominent, but very evil, man. Hired by Emma Ashton as a companion, someone to write her memoires, Louisa and Emma quickly become fast friends, where Louisa confesses all. In order to help, Emma is playing off Louisa as a distant cousin from the country who is now widowed. "Unimportant, unfashionable and excessively dull", Louisa manages to squeeze around the Polite World, uncovering deep secrets of the weathly Society ton. She is, after all, a journalist for the Flying Intelligencer, a notorious rag; pen name: I. M. Phantom. No one knows her background, and she intends to keep it that way.
   
   Convinced that Elwin Hastings is up to no good, let alone a possible murderer, she sets off to investigate and find the truth. During a ball, she slips unoticed up the stairs to search his rooms. Leaving his bedroom, she is caught by Anthony Stalbridge, saving her from almost being caught by one of Hastings's personal hired guards. Seems that Anthony is convinced that Hastings murdered his fiancee, Fiona Risby. He's looking for proof - regardless if Hastings pays for his crimes, he still wants the proof. With a quick-witted discussion, the two become unlikely partners, both after the same goal.
   
   And that's when the fun begins. Evidence is found in the way of business papers and one of Fiona's very expensive necklace (the one she was wearing the night she disappeared from a party); now Anthony and Louisa are sure there is more afoot and continue to dig. Louisa would like nothing more than to expose him to the Society he so desperately wants to belong to. Anthony wants him to confess to murdering Fiona. Will they get what they covet most?
   
   Oh, you most certainly bet they do - almost more than they bargain for. Yes, you find out early on the who and what, but it's how the plot came about and to a close that keeps your attention. The more they dig, the more facts come to light, the more questions answered and more arise, that have you focussing on the story, and the main characters.
   
   Louisa is a strong and intelligent woman, regardless of her naivete. She fights for what she believes is right, even if she's putting herself unknowingly in harm's way. Anthony is the only person in his family with a head for finances; seems his father, mother and sister are the eccentric artists of the family. Strong-willed and relentless, he had spotted Louisa right off and became intrigued by the unknown woman; he could see the intelligence in her eyes, no matter how dull she made herself seem in the form of dress and conversation. And the more time they spend together, the more they fall in love with each other. But Louisa believes that it can be nothing more than an illicit affair, especially knowing that, if anyone discovered her past, she'd be hanged for murder.
   
   Quick-witted conversations, discussions and the hot passion they feel for each other will have you believing they are made for each other - two halves of a whole. I liked how Quick touched base on what it was like for woman in that day in age, where women were really considered the weaker sex, where they were valued for their looks, bloodline and money, not for their mind. I like how, not once but twice, Louisa rises above, first after her father dies, then after her faked suicide. It was nice to see Anthony falling in love with her, first and foremost, for her intelligence and integrity. Perfect match. Great climax to the story, even if you did see it coming. Couldn't have asked for better!

5 comments about Ghost Stalker Two: A Psychic Medium Visits Europe's Most Haunted Castles.

1. Ghosts are human souls which have not moved on but continue to stay in their favorite places as earthbound spirits. On the othre hand, sorcerers and witches are considered to be devil's instruments. Green-faced witches wiht warty noses riding on broomsticks are myth, as is the European werewold, and vampires (the undead). I read a scary book about vampires by George Martin many years ago.
   
   Michelle Whitedove travels to the United Kingdom to the Castle Delhoune in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Lancaster Castle and Chillingham at Northumberland. She also locates a haunted pub (the favorite meetingplaces in that area of the world, and the English hotel where rock stars and Diana frequented. This is attributed to Longfellow (from America): "All houses in which men have lived and died ar haunted houses; through the open doors the harmless phantoms on their errands glide with feet that make no sound upon the floors."
   
   GHOST STALKER was about America's most haunted sites. Both books are good reference material for a Halloween party this year. I plan to haunt the balcony area of the renovated Tennessee Theatre (a place which meant much to me in the Fifties). The Bijou already has its own ghost, that of Civil War Colonel Sanders who expired in that building.



2. I have been studying the world of the paranormal since I was roughly 9 years old growing up in my own "haunted house" I am now 36 years young, and have read allot on the subject and I cont. to collect books on the subjects...
   I find this book a bit more wordy on her were she went, her reactions, and little history. Its meat is not were you would expect it to be, in the stories which are short. I was left wanting more... maybe knowing that she is a gifted person, she didnt go into everything she knew I felt she kinda shorted the readers... it was like this in both works. Now you must understand that i have read this subject for years... so it maybe a good read for the beg. but not an advanced reader.



3. I was drawn to this book based on its title and concept; a psychic medium travels to various haunted locations and reports on her experiences. As I read the book, I was not lured-in by her investigations. She spends a lot of time discussing the history of each location, which is nice in terms of understanding the background, but the style of her investigations are based more on impressions than documented proof, such as capturing EVPs, or visual evidence through the use of video and photography.
   
   There are two styles towards investigating a haunted location. One is scientific in its approach through the use of various devices that measure the surrounding atmosphere. Typical devices are an EMF meter to record electromagnetic fields and a thermocouple to record ambient temperature fluctuations. Disturbances in these areas commonly occur prior to paranormal activity. The use of this equipment can help in documenting activity using audio, photography, or video equipment. The other style of investigation uses a psychic, or "sensitive" individual who listens to impressions perceived either through the surrounding environment or communicated by the psychic's spiritual guide.
   
   Ms. Whitedove's investigations are based solely on psychic impression. The way in which she documents each investigation is fairly consistent; she recounts the history of the location, visits the location, and walks us through her experience. It's a light and predictable read with little content that draws the reader into the experience. At no time did I feel frightened or even fascinated by her impressions. Ms. Whitedove simply tells us what occurs. To some this may be enough. If you're interested in what happens, then this may be the book for you. If you're looking to be drawn into her experiences and frightened at the same time, I wouldn't recommend this book. It's a short book and a quick read with little emotional impact.
   
   Being a paranormal investigator, I do admit to being somewhat biased by her approach. I would have rather seen her select a blended scientific and psychic approach towards each investigation. Based on her impressions, she could lead her team to capture evidence, which she could then share with the reader. To me, that's the most fascinating approach!



4. This was the fourth book by Michelle Whitedove that I have read. It is a complete departure from her first two books. I was amazed by the depth of educational material that she was able to give on GHOSTS and other paranormal phenomena that she experienced during her trip to Europe. As an author and Psychic-Medium, it is great to learn the true facts from someone who can SEE and COMMUNICATE with spirits. She gives explanations to all of the questions that I always wanted answered: Are ghosts real? What are orbs? How do ghosts travel? Why do they stay in these places? Are hauntings a method of communication? etc. Plus I really enjoyed the way the book was written from the actual journal pages of her UK ghost trip. You feel as if you are there driving with her and experiencing these haunted castles. This is a fascinating account of her trip. It is not an "over the top" piece if fiction. But it is very believable and full of valuable insights about ghosts and why these souls refuse to leave their Castle homes. I highly recommend it!



5. I REALY ENJOY MICHELL WHITEDOVE'S BOOKS. THEY ARE INTERESTING AND EASY TO READ. GREAT INSIGHT INTO THE PARNORMAL. I HOPE SHE WRITES MORE BOOKS, I THINK I HAVE READ ALL THAT SHE HAS WRITTEN, LOVED EVERYONE OF THEM!SHE IS A GREAT PSYCHIC MEDIUM.

1 comments about South Boston (Postcard History: Massachusetts).

1. As a life-long Southie resident, I eagerly anticipated this addition to the Postcard History Series. I wasn't disapointed. Besides being wonderfully illustrated and seamlessly written, it provided me with information about my hometown that is both fresh and eye opening. Outsiders, many of who formed their opinion of Southie as a result of the forced busing crisis, need to read this book. It will give them a fuller appreciation for the neighborhood. Southie residents will find alot of interesting and not well-known facts about their great neighborhood. A great book for your coffee table!

1 comments about 2009 Maine Engagement Calendar.

1. I couldn't tell from the online photo, before purchasing it, that the cover/pages/binding were so flimsy. I use my engagement calendars extensively, and the cover at least needs to be a bit more hardy. Photos are nice, and the nice bits of Maine info are a nice touch, though!

3 comments about Surprised by Sin: The Reader in Paradise Lost, Second Edition, With a New Preface by the Author.

1. According to Fish, "Paradise Lost" operates according to a mechanism of rhetorical indirection that works on all rhetorical levels, from depiction of character to deployment of tropes. Milton wants to show us how our fallen state corrupts and distorts our responses to poetry and instruction; the poem is constructed as a series of interlocking traps for the reader, who is lured into reacting in tempting but "wrong" ways to tropes ("with serpent error wandering") and characters (the apparently admirable Satan and his cohorts, the apparently tyrannical and odious God). The chapter on the poetics of prelapsarian Eden ("In Wandering Mazes Lost," I think it's called) is a masterpiece. Fish backs this all up with plenty of solid research into the theological doctrines Milton was known to endorse or was likely to have been familiar with.

   This approach to Milton was regarded as radical when the book first came out, rather oddly, since Milton's tactics of indirection had already been noted by several critics, though not foregrounded as here. What's new is the thoroughness and clarity of the treatment, and Fish's sheer intelligence as a reader. This is criticism at its best: lucid, engaging, responsible, illuminating.




2. I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Bornholdt's review of Surprised by Sin. While Fish's analysis of Paradise Lost has become so over-hyped as to become akin to literary scripture in itself, his writing remains simplistic, his sentence structure convoluted, and his arguments riddled with holes. While it is true that there is plenty of theological research in evidence (in quite a few instances, the footnotes are larger than the main text on the page), there is noticeably little textual evidence sited in Paradise Lost itself; Mr. Fish is so busy engaging with other written texts that he fails to closely read the poem that he's supposed to be discussing.
   
   Mr. Fish's idea that the reader is enticed to be "sinful" by the narrative is interesting: the problem, however, is that his argument is not based on Paradise Lost but on a personal belief system. While one must assume a certain religious system when reading a text like Paradise Lost, one must begin critical analysis with the poem itself and not with scripture. Often Paradise Lost does not adhere to Fish's theories; but rather than discuss such issues through textual evidence, Fish relies on the playground mentality/argument of "you're a sinner because you are."
   
   Take Fish's analysis regarding the allusion to Ovid's Narcissus in Eve's birth, for example. Despite the fact that this moment is vital to the construction of Eve's character, Fish glosses over it in only three pages (out of 350). Why? Because his argument is lacking.
   
   Regarding Eve's birth, Fish says that "one can either conclude . . . that 'we have glimpsed a dainty vanity in "our general mother" which the serpent will put to use' or contrive . . . to disengage her from the pejorative connotations of the myth." Ignoring the fact that there are more than these two ways in which this passage can be read, he himself says that, in order to "disengage" Eve from the negative connotations of the Narcissus allusion, one must "contrive" to do so ("contrive" meaning to devise, invent, or fabricate). One would think that if his theory was solid, he would not need to "contrive" an argument: he would simply have one.
   
   But Fish fails to conduct a close reading of Milton's words in the same way that he fails to consider his own word choice. Blatantly ignoring the numerous parallels between the two characters that work against his theory, Fish suggests that the reader must not compare but contrast the two tales. But not only does he ignore the blatant parallels; he also ignores the blatant differences: he suggests that Eve is childlike and emphasizes that she eventually yields to Adam, but that's it. End of argument. He fails to deeply consider the language, content, or implications of the section. Amongst many other questions, what about the fact that Narcissus is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection while Eve is not? that Eve is interrupted and Narcissus is not? What about the implication of such words as "yield" and "seize"? After reading Ovid's story, any average reader could come up with at least half a dozen comparisons and/or contrasts between the two stories. But not only does he not support a reading against the comparison, but he does not successfully support his own reading for the contrasts either. He merely concludes that this section is a "puzzle" and that, since Eve could not possibly have been made flawed, she's not. Why? Because God wouldn't make Eve flawed. Where's the textual evidence? There is none. But any reader who thinks that Milton created a flawed Eve is a sinner. Why? Cuz you are.
   
   (Any Eddie Izzard fans out there, cf. "You smell cuz you do. You're a twit cuz you are.")
   
   This lack of textual engagement is the fatal flaw in Fish's analyses. While there may be something interesting in the idea that the poem is written in order to entice the reader to the Dark Side, Fish fails to prove it. Repeatedly his argument relies not on Paradise Lost itself but on (what seems to be) his personal belief system. For Fish the evidence is not in the poem but in scripture/doctrine/outside sources and the poem a mere inconvenience. Had I handed in such shoddy textual analysis in college, I never would have graduated.
   
   Therefore I must disagree with Mr. Bornholdt's suggestion that Surprised by Sin is "lucid, engaging, responsible, illuminating." Fish's ideas are left unexplored, his conclusions unsupported and reductive. His writing style is rambling, his tone arrogant, and his parenthetical asides both distracting and often off-topic. There are a number of critics who have made similar (but better) arguments based in close textual readings and responsible scholarship; unfortunately (and inexplicably), Fish's book got all the press.
   
   If you're a Milton scholar, you won't be able to avoid this book. But do yourself a favor and borrow it from the library. That $22 is much better spent photocopying the scholarship of others than slogging through this mess.



3. Critics, including Shelley, have argued over "Paradise Lost" for over 300
   years. Stanley Fish has answered the crucial question once and for all: "What
   was Milton doing?" In a critical masterpiece, Fish has opened for all of us
   the pedagogic purpose of this monumental work. With a pattern of "mistake,
   correction, instruction," Fish has broken the code; showing at once that we
   are still "fallen" and susceptible to the rhetoric of Satan and his minions,
   and in what ways we, as "fallen man" continue to respond to the persuasion
   of the serpent in the Garden. It's hard to see what more can be written about
   "Paradise Lost" after this landmark exigesis. Read it and see how easily we
   can be seduced - and today's political discourse continues the tradition.

5 comments about The 158-Pound Marriage.

1. The above being the 4 things Irving is most known for in his books. Thank God there are no bears in this one. What is present are 2 couples who mutually agree to swap lovers to spice up their lives. Only something happens that hurts this little arrangement: husband and wife from marriage #1 fall in love with the wife and husband from marriage #2. Only, the feelings aren't reciprocated. Jealousy, competitiveness, contempt, and bitterness follow. The couples' children are totally ignored except when one of them is almost killed by a faulty shower door.
   
   In situations like this, the story can never have a happy ending.
   
   Sidenote: The "158 Pound" title refers to the different weight classes in wrestling. 158 lbs is the heaviest.



2. Being brand new to John Irving, I decided to grab the smallest novel he wrote to see what his writing style was like. This novel provides the story of two couples and their wife swapping, intermingled with their past histories.
   
   I found the history and back story somewhat interesting, but not mundane minglings in the midst of war atrocities, art dealings, college wrestling tournaments, and in their suburban family life.
   
   However, the mundane nature of their lives, even though appropriate in terms of sticking with the plot, doesn't tend to a page turner. The terse language and lack of fluidity also makes this book a somewhat chore to read.
   
   While it an interesting look at love and personal relationships, the lack of anything compelling with below average fluidity means that I can't really recommend this book.



3. If one views the works of John Irving as a whole, this novel stands out like a sore thumb. Published in 1974, it is, without a doubt, a product of its time - when sexual freedom and experimentation were rampant and menage a quatres, such as described in the novel, were not that uncommon. Although encompassing many of the Irving themes: Vienna, wrestling, infidelity, and his character's propensity for emotionally destroying one another, it lacks the magic and playfulness of his other works. Irving's "story within a story" style is gone and is replaced by a style that seems more suitable to a writer of literary digests than to a novelist, with the result that the reader does not get to know the characters as well as in his other novels nor even really care what happens to them.
   
   When Irving is unable to create characters that the reader cares for, his whole work suffers. In fact, it is Irving's characterizations that are the center of his art. One is hard pressed to name any of his main characters that does not strike a sympathetic note with the reader; even the foolish charlatan, Bogus Trumper (The Water-Method Man), has his charming side and at least sugggests that he has learned from this mistakes and is ready to make another go of it. Not so in this novel. All four characters are fairly reprehensible. The un-named narrator, a tenured professor of history whose historical novels are not even recognized as "publications" by his department; his wife, Utch, an Austrian refugee from World War II, who confuses a cow for her mother (you'll have to read the book!); the Viennese wrestling coach and professor of German, Severin Winter, and his svelte wife and aspiring writer, Edith, all come across as caricatures rather than as real characters.
   
   The story of the sexual escapades that seemingly consume their fairly boring lives is told in almost clinical terms and lacks any of the passion that, one would hope, would come from such a shared arrangement. As the narrator relates the story of self-absorption, self-delusion, and sexual dalliance, the reader comes to realize why the narrator's historical novels quickly go out of print and are not recognized by his colleages as serious works - he is a mediocre writer, and for a historian, oblivious to the lessons of history. But in spite of all the shortcomings of the main characters, Irving shines a penlight of hope that perhaps not all is totally lost. The two Austrians, having survived World War II and its aftermath, have their feet on much firmer ground than do the two Americans, and one gets the faintest of impressions that maybe, just maybe, the Winters will get back together and learn something from this experience, and that even the most injured of the quartet, Utch, will perhaps pull things together. As for the narrator, the reader knows with certainty that he will continue to live on the periphery, always attempting those things for which he is marked for failure.



4. "The 158-Pound Marriage" is Irving's third novel, but it bears the seal of his trademark conversational prose, his sleek sparsity. The man is a prose pro -- even at this early point in his career -- capable of turning the simplest of descriptions into something fulsomely beautiful, larger than the sum of its parts.
   
   However, just because someone knows how to write, that doesn't mean they know what they're writing about. In this book, Irving tries real hard to make a very little look like a whole lot. This reader wasn't fooled.
   
   The story is about an unnamed college professor (who is also an unsuccessful writer of historical fictions) and his Viennese wife, Utchka. At a faculty get-together, they meet another couple: a Viennese German professor/wrestling coach named Severin, and his spoiled wife, Edith. Without much fanfare, the couples start up a spouse-swapping relationship that, of course, ends badly.
   
   That's it. I'm not kidding.
   
   Irving rounds out his dismal and repetitive plot with various anecdotes, some time-flopping devices, and lots of clever (if not over-wrought) character development. Irving is a maverick at populating his books with legitimate and understandable souls; you can feel their pulses in each slim page. The problem here is that every character is despicable. The narrator is myopic and heartless. Severin is petulant and stubborn. Utch is childish and stupid. And Edith is selfish and melodramatic. The real kicker? None of them change. Not at all.
   
   The story's "twists," if they can be called that, are employed solely to make the reader feel like the tale is in motion, that it both arose from and is headed toward something interesting. That's not the case. These people and their histories (especially Utch's) make for some occasionally intriguing reading, but by the last third of the novel, when the couples are mostly just bickering and whining, you'll find it as intriguing as, well, as watching two couples bicker and whine.
   
   Let's not forget the children. That's right. Both couples have two children which exist in the plot like thumbtacks holding up a map of Swingsville. Not only are the kids barely there, but when they DO show up, their presence is announced sportscaster-style by both Irving and the narrator. My guess is that the next-to-last draft of this novel had no kids at all. Just before publication, I bet Irving decided to try to ratchet the stakes up a notch by tossing in a few tykes, expecting they would give all of the self-indulgent sexuality a tincture of doom. He's trying to slap on some import, make the reader aghast, throw the amoral escapades into the light of carelessness, but such a thing would be unnecessary if the story were well-molded to begin with. As such, the overall effect is cheap and tasteless. (Maybe Irving knew this; the narrator himself frequently mentions how it's too bad he hadn't thought of the children more than he did.)
   
   For a story about love and passion, this book is void of either. Never do the characters seem to have any feelings for anyone other than themselves, and even the occasional "erotic" passage is about as sexy as a shattered shower door or stinking wrestling mat. The book takes place at such a remove (not a surprise, since the narrator, like all the characters, has his sights turned mostly on himself) that there's no connection at all, not between the lovers, nor between the spouses, not even with the reader. There's a lot of nice-sounding prose here, but it tells a dull and dismal half-story, one that's not nearly as profound as it is pathetic.



5. This is the second book I've read by Irving, and I have to admit he's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
   
   The book is about two married couples who meet well after they've each established a family and mode of life. Though neither couple seemingly would have considered such a thing before, they begin to swap partners without secrecy. It becomes a normal occurrence for them, and they even go so far as to vacation together.
   
   One of the characters is a wrestling aficionado (not an uncommon occurrence in Irving's writing) and thus you get the title and all sorts of easily accessible wrestling lingo. In fact, he dedicates a chapter to each character in the beginning of the book, establishing background, and he literally divides them by weight class.
   
   Of course, such things as spouse swapping are bound to fall apart, and the reader experiences the full implosion as both couples must deal with their "break-up" and the new dynamic it introduces both into their own marriages and with each other as "friends."
   
   Though the story was a bit more sexually graphic than I'm accustomed to reading, Irving's style captivates me. He is truly a master at craft, plot, and characterization. And best of all, his stories burrow into your being and you can't help but become enthralled with his character's lives.
   
   I look forward to reading more of Irving's work.
   
   ~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

5 comments about A Presumption of Death: A New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery.

1. Jill Patton Walsh's most recent attempt to add to the "Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane" collection might have been acceptable if one wasn't well acquainted with the original Dorothy Sayers works.
   
   The dialogue is awkward. Ms Walsh hasn't captured the British speech patterns of those times and, instead, also uses phrases that are of a more contemporary nature.



2. As a devotee of Lord Peter Wimsey novels I was somewhat dubious as to how anyone could hope to encapsulate the essence of the character. I need not have feared- for here is Lord Peter brought to life again. Jill Paton Walsh captures the style of Dorothy L Sayers and of the 1930's to perfection. Please, please read it for you are in for a treat.



3. Had this been posted on some fan's blog or webpage, I would have given it a very high rating. However, as a product of a professional writer, it is horrid.
   
   To satisfy your curiosity, check it out of the public library. Don't spend your money on it, though.



4. A PRESUMPTION OF DEATH (Trad Mys-Harriet Vane-England-WWII) - Ex
   Walsh, Jill Payton and Dorothy L. Sayers - Last in series
   New English Library Ltd, 2003, US Paperback - ISBN: 978-0340820674
   
   It's WWII and Lord Peter is away on a mission. Harriet has moved the household to the country for safety.
   
   Emerging from shelter after an air-raid, the body of a land-girl is found in the street. It wasn't bombs that killer her, but a quick lethal physical killing. The local police superintendent asks Harriet (Lady Peter) for help in the investigation.
   
   Although the classic mystery was certainly there, in this book, this was much more. The mystery plot was well done with plenty of twisty bits to it. However, it was the reflection of citizen life during the war that was most interesting to me.
   
   From the chatty letters at the open and close, to rationing and ways of "enhancing" it, to the secrecy and suspicion of the time, I found it fascinating.
   
   I must admit, I do enjoy Sayers/Walsh's literary games the characters play and the clever use made of them in the plot for decoding a message. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.



5. As a long time Sayers fan this is a very good take off I would like to see more of these from Paton Walsh....Please?