Erotica/Romance. 75368 words long. First published in 2011 Views: 24
ReviewA thin, often didactic, largely disappointing collection of stories from an enormously gifted author of short fiction (In Love & Trouble) and novels - whose storytelling powers seem wasted on the generally simple-minded material here. The book's first story, for instance, jumps right off with a dazzlingly convincing narrative voice - that of a black Southern small-town woman - but interest soon sinks as the story's bland premise becomes clear: it's a fictionalized, sentimental little riff on Elvis Presley and the black blues writer-singer whose music helped make him famous (with unsubtle echoes of the familiar exploitation issue). Likewise, a vignette of an elderly black, much-feted writer - which is deliciously told but holds only the most obvious ironies. And most of the more intensely serious stories here appear to sacrifice texture of character and incident to sociological debate-and-discussion: reminiscences of black/white sex during the Civil Rights years; two contrasted black women's lives over the years; a monologue-anecdote about a black woman who kills her white lover/abuser; plus some unabashed propaganda re pornography (with special reference to the portrayal of black women in porn). When concentrating on love and marriage, however, Walker seems to ease off a bit and does some genuine exploring: "The Lover" - about a black woman having an affair with a charming, intellectually petty New York Jew at a writers' colony - is unformed but alive; "Laurel" verges on melodrama - a now-married black woman haunted by her mad, white-country-boy ex-lover - but has undeniable grab; and best of all is "The Abortion," the painful anatomy of a deteriorating marriage. Ragged, often superficial work, then - with more sociological interest (the black/feminist intersection) than literary. (Kirkus Reviews ) About the AuthorBest-selling novelist ALICE WALKER is the author of five other novels, five collections of short stories, six collections of essays, seven volumes of poetry, including the most recent Hard Times Require Furious Dancing, and several children’s books. Her books have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Views: 24
Half-sisters Lily and Fiona haven't had the easiest of relationships – hardly surprising when they discovered each other's existence only a year ago. But when Fiona disappears, and it's all Lily's fault, Lily knows she has no choice but to fly to Paris and track the wayward seventeen-year old down. Accompanied by her best friend Jo, Lily soon uncovers her sister's secret life in the French capital. What does Fiona's employer, the suave M. Beaumont, know about her disappearance? Who is the mysterious Bridget, and why is the Shadow Minister for Justice involved? As communism collapses around them, Lily learns disturbing truths about sibling rivalry, the international sex trade and the dark side of herself Is Lily too late to save her sister and restore her fantasy of what a happy family should look like? Time is running out. Views: 24
For readers of Philippa Gregory, Paula McLain, and Daisy Goodwin comes a sweeping and powerful novel by New York Times bestselling author Allison Pataki. Sisi tells the little-known story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, the Princess Diana of her time, in an enthralling work of historical fiction that is also a gripping page-turner. Married to Emperor Franz Joseph, Elisabeth--fondly known as Sisi--captures the hearts of her people as their "fairy queen," but beneath that dazzling persona lives a far more complex figure. In mid-nineteenth-century Vienna, the halls of the Hofburg Palace buzz not only with imperial waltzes and champagne but also with temptations, rivals, and cutthroat intrigue. Sisi grows restless, feeling stifled by strict protocols and a turbulent marriage. A free-spirited wanderer, she finds solace at her estate outside Budapest. There she rides her beloved horses and enjoys visits from the striking Hungarian statesman Count... Views: 24
Mind control is only the first step… World domination is the next… Bright Gate. HAARP. Remote Viewers. U.S. military operations so top secret that not even the president knew they existed. Now they have produced an elite group of commandos able to leave their bodies – and their souls – to fight anywhere, anytime, using the devastating power of the human mind. Sergeant Major Jimmy Dalton is one of them. An ex-Green Beret, a man with no family, no ties, and nothing to lose, Dalton believes that the most dangerous weapon in any arsenal is the mind. Among the first Psychic Warriors to be battle tested on the virtual plane, Dalton has seen up close the damage and destruction that the new weapons can cause. The memory will haunt him the rest of his days. But for Dalton, for all of us, those days are numbered. A psychic cabal called the Priory is striking without warning, killing without mercy, aiming for world domination. And infiltrating the Psychic Warriors themselves… Views: 24
SUMMARY:To look at one was to see the other. For family, even the girls' own father, it was a constant guessing game. For strangers, the surprise was overwhelming. And for the twins Olivia and Victoria Henderson, two remarkable young women coming of age at the turn of the century, their bond was mysterious, marvelous, and often playful--a secret realm only they inhabited.Olivia and Victoria were the beloved daughters of a man who never fully recovered from his wife's death bearing them in 1893. Shy, serious Olivia, born eleven minutes before her sister, had taken over the role of mother in their lush New York estate, managing not only a household but her rebellious twin's flights of fancy. Free-spirited Victoria wanted to change the world. She embraced the women's suffrage movement and dreamed of sailing to war-torn Europe. Then, in the girls' twenty-first year, as the first world war escalated overseas, a fateful choice changed their lives forever.It began when Victoria's life was about to become a public scandal. It led to a painful decision, and brought handsome lawyer Charles Dawson into the Henderson's life and family. Hand-picked by the twins' father to save his daughter's reputation, Charles was still mourning his wife's death aboard the Titanic, struggling to raise his nine year-old son alone, determined never to lose his heart again. Charles wanted to believe that, for the sake of his son, he could make an unwanted marriage work. But in an act of deception that only Olivia and Victoria could manage, the twins took an irrevocable step, which changed both their lives forever; and took one of the twins to the battlefields of France, the other into a marriage she longed for but could not have.From Manhattan society to the trenches of war-ravaged France, Mirror Image moves elegantly and dramatically through a rich and troubled era. With startling insight, Danielle Steel explores women's choices: between home and adventure, between the love for family and the passion for a cause, between sacrifice and desire. But at the heart of Mirror Image is a fascinating, realistic portrait of identical twins, two vastly different sisters who lead their lives and follow their destinies against a vivid backdrop of a world at war. Views: 24
