• Home
  • Literature & Fiction

Fools die

I read Fools Die for the first time when I was sixteen and it was chosen by me because of my desire to learn more about Mario Puzo's work aside from The Godfather. It changed me. Even after five years of college and university, I have yet to find a novel with characters which touched me the way Puzo's did in this novel. I actually miss them to this day and every year or two, I read it again, to remember those characters and the lessons they taught me. If someone was to ask me what it was that Mario Puzo is trying to say in all his novels, I would answer with this one sentence. Life is beautiful. That is it. Fools Die exemplifies that notion in the most profound way possible. Puzo says it over and over again but most people who I have encountered prefer to think of him as a novelist who is trying to promote organized crime. He is everything but that. He is a novelist attempting to promote life. After reading Fools Die I not only had the fascinating experience of feeling that I myself had lived the events of the book or had at least seen them through another's eyes, but I also felt a very strong connection to Mr.Puzo himself. It was only after reading this novel that I began to form the first thoughts in my mind as to what I would do with my life and why. It opened my eyes to philosophy, a philosophy which, is thought out carefully, could lead to the type of happiness that Puzo shows as possible. Sometimes the true path to success is best illustrated by its failures. Learning from other's mistakes enables an individual to be a step ahead of his own possible misfortunes. Mario Puzo, with this novel, prepared me for many of the dangers as well as the pleasures which this world has to offer. I learned some valuable lessons about love as well as about men and women in general. Puzo has a way of showing you the truth of a circumstance as if you yourself had thought it and in so doing so, removes the guilt which you may feel for thinking it. I knew when I read the opening to this novel that I had found something very special. The reason is that I could have written it. For in truth, the story of Fools Die is my story as is The Godfather and The Sicilian. They are tales of the romantics. Those individuals who see things not always as they are but as they should be. Whether it was Vito Corleone, Salvatore Guliano or Merlyn, the individuals whom Puzo has portrayed as the heroes of his novels follow through with that vision of life. One day this author will no longer be around to answer the worlds questions but he will still be speaking. As long as someone, somewhere is hearing his words. www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/2210/folly/
Views: 17

County Line

The discovery of a dead man in Ruby Jane Whittaker's tub leads Skin Kadash on a frantic search through the haunted past of the woman he loves.
Views: 17

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON (BLUEBONNET, TEXAS Book 2)

At eighteen, Ty Boudreaux married his high school sweetheart and planned to live happily ever after on the family ranch. But after twelve years in a volatile, one-sided marriage, this gentle cowboy is struggling to put his life back together.  At eighteen, Bettina Blanchard’s goal in life had been to shake the dust of Bluebonnet, Texas off her heels, and with her baby sister now safely in college, that dream is within her grasp. But underneath Bad Betti’s tough exterior beats the heart of a woman with hopes and dreams, and she’s loved Ty almost as long as he loved his ex-wife.  When fate drops Ty in her lap, one night of passion leaves them dealing with a pregnancy and a marriage both have reservations about. Can a girl from the wrong side of the tracks and Bluebonnet’s favorite son find common ground outside the bedroom? Despite the interfering in-laws, a jealous baby sister and a holiday no one wants to remember, Betti and Ty discover that even though their happily ever after doesn't come easy, anything worth having is worth working for.  ****  ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 2005 BY LIQUID SILVER BOOKS
Views: 17

Shutterspeed

Living alone with his silent father and the shadow cast by his long-dead mother, Dustin waits, wanting only to slip under the radar and survive what's left of high school and through his work at the photo lab. Then one Sunday, a single photo gets stuck in the processor and it changes everything: the bike in the picture is decent—a Ducati Monster 620, cherry red—and the woman, Terri Pavish, beside it is striking too. What begins then as an innocent curiosity in her photography, her freedom, her speed, becomes something else and the past swings full-circle to haunt him.
Views: 17

The Dovekeepers: A Novel

Amazon.com ReviewAmazon Best Books of the Month, October 2011: Yael was born of a dead mother and father who knows how to become invisible. Revka learned silence when her grandsons lost their voices after witnessing their mother’s brutal murder. Aziza became a boy to protect herself, and hates being forced to turn back into a woman. And Shirah will do anything to protect those she loves from the horrors of the world. The power and violence of these women is evident in every word of The Dovekeepers. Hoffman’s prose is vivid and unforgettable, scorching like the desert heat, and will stay with you long after you finish the last page. A story of sacrifice, endurance, and above all, survival, The Dovekeepers is homage to anyone who’s ever held fast to their beliefs in the face of nearly insurmountable adversity. --Malissa KentReview"Beautiful, harrowing, a major contribution to twenty-first century literature."—Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate in Literature "I am still reeling from The Dovekeepers--from the history Alice Hoffman illuminates, from the language she uses to bring these women to life. This novel is a testament to the human spirit and to love rising from the ashes of war. But most of all, this novel is one that will never be forgotten by a reader." --Jodi Picoult, author of Sing You Home “In her remarkable new novel, Alice Hoffman holds a mirror to our ancient past as she explores the contemporary themes of sexual desire, women's solidarity in the face of strife, and the magic that's quietly present in our day-to-day living. Put The Dovekeepers at the pinnacle of Hoffman's extraordinary body of work. I was blown away.” —Wally Lamb, author of The Hour I First Believed
Views: 17

The Little Teashop of Lost and Found

Alice Rose is a foundling, discovered on the Yorkshire moors above Haworth as a baby. Adopted but then later rejected again by a horrid step-mother, Alice struggles to find a place where she belongs. Only baking – the scent of cinnamon and citrus and the feel of butter and flour between her fingers – brings a comforting sense of home. So it seems natural that when she finally decides to return to Haworth, Alice turns to baking again, taking over a run-down little teashop and working to set up an afternoon tea emporium. Luckily she soon makes friends, including a Grecian god-like neighbour, who help her both set up home and try to solve the mystery of who she is. There are one or two last twists in the dark fairytale of Alice's life to come . . . but can she find her happily ever after?Wonderfully wry, heart-warming and life-affirming, Trisha Ashley's novel is perfect for fans of romantic comedies. And it contains recipes!
Views: 17

The Archimedes Effect nf-10

When terrorists launch an attack on Army bases throughout the U.S., Net Force must partner with Army Intelligence and the National Guard to take down a cunning opponent who just might be one of them.
Views: 17

Teeth of the Tiger jrj-1

The old rules no longer apply — anybody with a spare AK47 or a knowledge of kitchen chemistry can become a player. In a nondescript office building in suburban Maryland, 'The Campus', set up with the knowledge of President John Patrick Ryan identifies and locates terrorist threats — then deals with them, in whatever manner is necessary. It's an organisation always on the lookout for new recruits — men like Jack Ryan Jr, the President's son. Filled with the exceptional realism and cutting-edge authenticity that are his hallmarks, this is Clancy at his best — and there is none better.
Views: 17

Texas Ranger

In James Patterson's white-hot Western thriller, a Texan Ranger fights for his life, his freedom, and the town he loves as he investigates his ex-wife's murder. Across the ranchlands and cities of his home state, Rory Yates's discipline and law-enforcement skills have carried him far: from local highway patrolman to the honorable rank of Texas Ranger. He arrives in his hometown to find a horrifying crime scene and a scathing accusation: he is named a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, Anne, a devoted teacher whose only controversial act was ending her marriage to a Ranger. In search of the killer, Yates plunges into the inferno of the most twisted and violent minds he's ever encountered, vowing to never surrender. That code just might bring him out alive.
Views: 17

Centaur Legacy

Camille and Drake find themselves bound for the pasture of Thessaly, looking for the family heirloom that will keep them safe from the head of the Centaur Council. They are both unaware that Camille's Centaur lineage puts their future at risk. They don't know who to trust or where to hide. Out of all other options, it's time to fight.
Views: 17

Family Secrets

A long ago love story threatens to change the lives of three generations of women in New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer's stunning novel--now available for the first time as an eBook! Though Diane Randall's jewelry business is a great success, her marriage is not, and she finds herself growing lonely as her children near adulthood. Meanwhile, her eighteen-year-old daughter Julia is falling dangerously in love, and Diane's mother, Jean, is relishing her newfound freedom as a single woman in Europe. Distracted by their individual concerns, the three women are ill-prepared for the crisis that suddenly appears on Diane's doorstep in the form of a handsome FBI agent asking about an explosive secret that's layed buried for decades. At the start of World War II, Jean was a young woman in love who made a fateful mistake, one that may now tear apart her family. Diane finds herself drawn into an illicit affair that threatens to erupt into...
Views: 17