In Flowers for Hitler, Leonard Cohen's third collection of poetry, Cohen first experiments with his self-consciously "anti-art" gestures: an attempt, in his own words, to move "from the world of the golden-boy poet into the dung pile of the front-line writer." Haunted by the image of the Nazi concentration camps, the poems within are deliberately ugly, tasteless, and confrontational, setting out to destroy the image of Cohen as a sweet romantic poet. Instead, it celebrates the failed careers and destroyed minds of such "beautiful losers" as Alexander Trocchi, Kerensky, and even Queen Victoria. Cohen, in Flowers for Hitler, is an author auditioning himself for all the parts in an unwritten play, underlining the process of self-recovery and self-discovery that is at the center of these poems. Views: 119
From Publishers WeeklyOnly a few people know who Charlie Monk really is. Is he, as Monk himself believes, a highly trained government hit man? Or is he merely the laboratory fodder of scientists conducting mind control experiments? Ambrose, who has previously dabbled in such reality benders (Coincidence, etc.), handles this one with confidence, twisting the plot gently at first, then with a hard, satisfying crank toward the end. In between government hits, Monk leads a casual life in Los Angeles, partaking in the usual pleasures sought by virile young men. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Dr. Susan Flemyng toils away on the leading edge of her specialty: replacing visual memory in the minds of amnesia victims. She is doing so, however, under duress. A secret government organization has kidnapped her son and won't give him back unless she oversees several experiments. Monk, it turns out, is one of them. Ambrose has several surprises in store, including government planners who want to create a fighting force of warriors with human intelligence and simian brawn. Monk figures out much of what's going on, and he doesn't drag his knuckles in seeking vengeance. Featuring an intriguing cast of characters who never turn out to be quite what they seem, this latest from Ambrose provides several hours of exhilarating diversion and a scary glimpse of scientific possibilities.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. FromStarred Review Ambrose's sixth novel, published in Europe in 2000, gives new meaning to the phrase "living a rich fantasy life." Readers will leave the novel knowing less about what's going on than they did when they began it, and they won't mind a bit. This book, about a man who might be a superspy, or perhaps he's a clinic-bound mental patient, is a dazzling performance, a story that seems to be one thing, then turns into something else, then doubles back on itself, then stampedes off in an entirely unexpected, and bizarre, direction. At its center is Charlie Monk, a government agent whose life seems to be a series of life-and-death episodes--unless, as Charlie discovers, he's only imagining his life. This novel is mind-grabbingly elegant, a symphony of ideas that never, ever does what we expect it to. Propelled by its cast of characters, including Dr. Susan Flemyng (who is either Charlie's friend or his enemy, depending on what scene you're reading) and Latimer West (who may, or may not, be a supervillain), and by Ambrose's immense storytelling skills, the novel starts fast, gets faster, and soon has us holding on for dear life. And when the story comes to its crashing finale, we sit there, blinking, wondering what just happened here. And who the heck is Charlie Monk? David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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TO Belden, pacing the library doggedly, the waiting seemed interminable, the strain unnecessarily prolonged. A half-hour ago quick feet had echoed through the upper halls, windows had opened, doors all but slammed, vague whisperings and drawn breaths had hovered impalpably about the whole place; but now all was utterly quiet. His own regular footfall alone disturbed the unnatural stillness of a large house. Views: 119
Spike Milligan’s interpretation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Although the narrative unfolds along the familiar lines, there are some distinguishing features, for example the monster’s desperate need for a cigarette, profuse swearing, and love of sausages, mash and mushy peas. Views: 118
(E-Z Play Today). 15 of Cohen's best songs presented in our E-Z Play Today notation, including the ever-popular "Hallelujah" plus: Anthem * Bird on the Wire (Bird on a Wire) * Chelsea Hotel #2 * Dance Me to the End of Love * Everybody Knows * Famous Blue Raincoat * First We Take Manhattan * The Future * Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye * I'm Your Man * So Long Marianne * Suzanne * A Thousand Kisses Deep * Waiting for the Miracle. Views: 118
An iridescent verse novel from award-winning author Steven Herrick that shines light on friendship, family and finding your way.People like you and me, Jonah,we drag down the price of everything we touch.Life for Jonah and Manx means fishing for mullet at the lake, watching their school mates party on Friday night and wishing they had the courage to talk to Ella and Rachel.But now their lakeside town is being sold off, life doesn't seem so simple. Manx holds a grudge against the wealthy blow-ins from the city and Jonah just wants his parents to stop arguing.One memorable night at the lake will change everything. Views: 118
This powerful memoir is about the premium we put on beauty and on a woman's face in particular. It took Lucy Grealy twenty years of living with a distorted self-image and more than thirty reconstructive procedures before she could come to terms with her appearance after childhood cancer and surgery that left her jaw disfigured. As a young girl, she absorbed the searing pain of peer rejection and the paralyzing fear of never being loved. Views: 117
I am sixteen when my mother steps out of her skin one frozen January afternoon—pure self, atoms twinkling like microscopic diamond chips around her perhaps the chiming of a clock, or a few bright flute notes in the distance—and disappears. No one sees her leave, but she is gone.Laura Kasischke's first novel. Suspicious River. was hailed by the critics as "extremely powerful" (The Los Angeles Times), "amazing" (The Boston Globe), and "a novel of depth, beauty, and insight" (The Seattle Times). Now Kasischke follows up her auspicious debut with a spellbinding and erotic tale of marriage, secrets, and self-deception.When Katrina Connors' mother walks out on her family one frigid January day, Kat is surprised but not shocked; the whole year she has been "becoming sixteen"—falling in love with the boy next door, shedding her baby fat, discovering sex—her mother has slowly been withdrawing. As Kat and her father pick up the pieces of their daily life, she finds herself curiously unaffected by her mother's absence. But in dreams that become too real to ignore, she's haunted by her mother's cries for help. . . . Views: 117
'TWAS a bloomy morning, all crocuses and tree buds, and Antony sniffed it into his nostrils thankfully, even while he scowled. "Come, come!" said his Uncle Julius, a wealthy old gentleman buttoned firmly into a white vest, "what a face! It is nothing so terrible that I ask of you! One would think it a hanging matter, to beau a pretty young girl about the place!" Views: 116
In the explosive conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Charlotte Holmes series, Holmes and Watson think they're finally in the clear after graduating from Sherringford...but danger awaits in the hallowed halls of Oxford.Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson finally have a chance to start over. With all the freedom their pre-college summer program provides and no one on their tail, the only mystery they need to solve, once and for all, is what they are to each other. But upon their arrival at Oxford, Charlotte is immediately drawn into a new case: a series of accidents befell the theater program at Oxford last year, culminating in a young woman going missing on the night of a major performance.The mystery has gone unsolved; the case is cold. And no one—least of all the girl's peculiar, close-knit group of friends—is talking. When Watson and Holmes join the theater program, the "accidents" start anew, giving them no... Views: 116
