WHAT I'VE BEEN READING

Comments on books from Bob Corbett

Also see my site for more than 100 reviews of books related to the country of Haiti

LIST OF AUTHORS ON WHOM I HAVE MULTIPLE REVIEWS

THE YEAR 2009

• Coelho, Paulo   THE ALCHEMIST   November 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   TITUS ANDRONICUS   November 2009
  
  
• Alexander, Robert   RASPUTIN'S DAUGHER   October 2009
  
  
• Zola, Emile   THERESE RAQUIN   October 2009
  
  
• Woolf, Virginia   A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN   October 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   KING HENRY THE FOURTH, PART TWO   October 2009
  
  
• Ingham, Ana   URGENT BEAUTY   September 2009
  
  
• Tuchman, Barbara   THE GUNS OF AUGUST   September 2009
  
  
• Minkin, Bert   LEGACIES OF THE ST. LOUIS WORLD'S FAIR   September 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   KING HENRY IV, PART I   September 2009
  
  
• Sontag, Sherry and Christopher Drew   BLIND MAN'S BLUFF   August 2009
  
  
• Marquez, Garbriel Garcia   MEMORIES OF MY MELANCHOLY WHORES   August 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KING RICHARD II   August 2009
  
  
• Saramago, Jose   MANUAL OF PAINTING & CALLIGRAPHY: A NOVEL   August 2009
  
  
• Ludlum, Robert   THE MATARESE COUNTDOWN   July 2009
  
  
• Rother, Hubert and Charlotte   LOST CAVES OF ST. LOUIS   July 2009
  
  
• O'Flaherty, Liam   THE INFORMER   July 2009
  
  
• Narayan, R. K.    THE FINANCIAL ADVISOR   July 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   OTHELLO   July 2009
  
  
• Bonham, Frank   THE NITTY GRITTY   June 2009
  
  
• Ellis, Peter Berresford   THE DRUIDS   June 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   MACBETH   June 2009
  
  
• Almino, Joao   the five seasons of love   June 2009
  
  
• Pasternak, Boris   THE POEMS OF DOCTOR ZHIVAGO   June 2009
  
  
• Coelho, Paulo   ELEVEN MINUTES  May 2009
  
  
• Chaviano, Daina   THE ISLAND OF ETERNAL LOVE  May 2009
  
  
• Bontemps, Arna   DRUMS AT DUSK  May 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   THE MERCHANT OF VENICE  May 2009
  
  
• Hellenga, Robert   PHILOSOPHY MADE SIMPLE  May 2009
  
  
• Diamant, Anita   THE RED TENT  April 2009
  
  
• Boyd, William   BRAZZAVILLE BEACH  April 2009
  
  
• Ingham, Ana   BY THE LAKE  April 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   KING JOHN  April 2009
  
  
• Diamant, Anite   THE LAST DAYS OF DOGTOWN: A NOVEL  March 2009
  
  
• Ingham, Ana   FOUR PLAYS  March 2009
  
  
• Koch, Stephen   THE BREAKING POINT: HEMINGWAY, DOS PASSOS, AND THE MURDER OF JOSE ROBLES  March 2009
  
  
• Kazantzakis, Nikos   THE ROCK GARDEN  March 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   THE TEMPEST  March 2009
  
  
• Sheldon, Dyan   MY LIFE AS A WHALE  February 2009
  
  
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia   THE GENERAL IN HIS LABYRINTH  February 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   MEASURE FOR MEASURE  February 2009
  
  
• Updike, John   BRAZIL  February 2009
  
  
• Brown, Dan   ANGELS & DEMONS  January 2009
  
  
• Limon, Graciela   SONG OF THE HUMMINGBIRD  January 2009
  
  
• Dos Passos, John   THREE SOLDIERS  January 2009
  
  
• Shakespeare, William   THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA  January 2009
  
  
• Schumacher, E.F.   SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: ECONOMICS AS IF PEOPLE MATTERED  January 2009
  
  

  THE YEAR 2008

  • Morrison, Blake   THE JUSTIFICATION OF JOHANN GUTENBERG  November 2008
    
    
  • Runcie, James   THE DISCOVERY OF CHOCOLATE  November 2008
    
    
  • Schoolcraft, Henry R.   RUDE PURSUITS AND RUGGED PEAKS: SCHOOLCRAFT'S OZARK JOURNAL 1818-1819  November 2008
    
    
  • LeClezio, Jean-Marie Gustave   THE GIANTS  November 2008
    
    
  • Schulman, Susan   RAT BOHEMIA  October 2008
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson   A MIXTURE OF FRAILTIES  October 2008
    
    
  • Spengler, Oswald   THE DECLINE OF THE WEST  October 2008
    
    
  • Limon, Graciela   THE DAY OF THE MOON  October 2008
    
    
  • Limon, Graciela   IN SEARCH OF BERNABE  October 2008
    
    
  • Phillips, Arthur   THE EGYPTOLOGIST  September 2008
    
    
  • Douglass, Frederick   NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUBLASS: AN AMERICAN SLAVE  September 2008
    
    
  • Drake, Paul   THE SUNLIT WHEEL  September 2008
    
    
  • Hotchner, A.E.   LOUISIANA PURCHASE: A NOVEL  September 2008
    
    
  • Maraire, J. Nozipo   ZENZELE: A LETTER FOR MY DAUGHTER  September 2008
    
    
  • Limon, Graciela   THE MEMORIES OF ANA CALDERON  September 2008
    
    
  • Hansen, Edmund E.   TEMPLE OF KOKOPELLI  August 2008
    
    
  • Llosa, Mario Vargas   WHO KILLED PALOMINO MOLERO?  August 2008
    
    
  • Barth, John   THE LAST VOYAGE OF SOMEBODY THE SAILOR  August 2008
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson   THE CUNNING MAN  August 2008
    
    
  • Garrity, Devin A., editor   THE IRISH GENIUS: 28 SHORT STORIES  August 2008
    
    
  • Dillmann, John   UNHOLY MATRIMONY: A TRUE STORY OF MURDER & OBSESSION  July 2008
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson   WORLD OF WONDERS  July 2008
    
    
  • Llosa, Mario Vargas   THE FEAST OF THE GOAT  July 2008
    
    
  • Uris, Leon and Jill   IRELAND: A TERRIBLE BEAUTY  July 2008
    
    
  • Moody, T.W and F.X. Martin, editors   THE COURSE OF IRISH HISTORY  July 2008
    
    
  • Banks, Russell   CLOUDSPLITTER  June 2008
    
    
  • Ingham, Ana   LADDER IN THE MOON LIGHT  June 2008
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose   BALTASAR AND BLIMUNDA  June 2008
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose   THE DOUBLE  June 2008
    
    

  THE YEAR 2007

  • Dupuy, Alex   THE PROPHET AND POWER  January 2007
    
    
  • Kis, Danilo   A TOMB FOR BORIS DAVIDOVICH  January 2007
    
    
  
  
  

  THE YEAR 2006

  • Kazantzakis, Nikos   REPORT TO GRECO  December 2006
    
    
  • McMahon, D.R.   TAP-TAP  August 2006
    
    
  • Paul the Apostle   THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL  July 2006
    
    
  • Douglas, Geoffrey   THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES  July 2006
    
    
  • Hemingway, Ernest   THE SUN ALSO RISES  June 2006
    
    
  • Settle, Mary Lee   BLOOD TIE  May 2006
    
    
  • Joyce, James   PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN  May 2006
    
    
  • Hosseini, Khaled   THE KITE RUNNER  May 2006
    
    
  • Hughes, Langston,   SOMETHING IN COMMON  April 2006
    
    
  • Haddock, Doris   GRANNY D  April 2006
    
    
  • Singer, Issac Bashevis   THE SPINOZA OF MARKET STREET  April 2006
    
    
  • Santiago, Esmeralda   THE TURKISH LOVER  March 2006
    
    
  • Bernardo, Jose Raul   THE SECRET OF THE BULLS  February 2006
    
    
  • Thomas, Dylan   ADVENTURES IN THE SKIN TRADE  February 2006
    
    
  • Hemingway, Ernest   THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA  January 2006
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose   THE CAVE  January 2006
    
    
  • Budhos, Marina   THE PROFESSOR OF LIGHT  January 2006
    
    

  THE YEAR 2005

  • Lurie, Morris   SEVEN BOOKS FOR GROSSMAN  December 2005
    
    
  • Ferlinghetti, Lawrence   A CONEY ISLAND OF THE MIND  November 2005
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose   THE TALE OF THE UNKNOWN ISLAND  November 2005
    
    
  • Hustvedt, Siri   THE BLINDFOLD  November 2005
    
    
  • Hemingway, Ernest   A FAREWELL TO ARMS  November 2005
    
    
  • Halpern, Sue   MIGRATIONS TO SOLITUDE: THE QUESTION FOR PRIVACY IN A CROWDED WORLD  November 2005
    
    
  • Bissoondath, Neil   THE WORLDS WITHIN HER  November 2005
    
    
  • Boswell, Arthur   THE GEOGRAPHY OF DESIRE: A NOVEL  October 2005
    
    
  • Phillips, Arthur   PRAGUE: A NOVEL  October 2005
    
    
  • Kempadoo, Oonya   BUXTON SPICE  October 2005
    
    
  • Rush, Norman   MATING  October 2005
    
    
  • Hrabal, Bohumil   TOO LOUD A SILENCE  October 2005
    
    
  • Fuentes, Carlos.   THE HYDRA HEAD  October 2005
    
    
  • Novas, Himilce.   MANGOS, BANANAS AND COCONUTS: A CUBAN LOVE STORY  October 2005
    
    
  • Brown, Dan.   THE DA VINCI CODE  September 2005
    
    
  • Hellenga, Robert.   THE SIXTEEN PLEASURES  September 2005
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson.   THE MANTICORE  September 2005
    
    
  • Lamb, F. Bruce.   WIZARD OF THE UPPER AMAZON  September 2005
    
    
  • Stollman, Aryeh Lev.   THE ILLUMINATED SOUL  September 2005
    
    
  • Placide, Jaira.   FRESH GIRL  August 2005
    
    
  • Bontemps, Arna and Langston Hughes.   POPO AND FIFINA  August 2005
    
    
  • Malouf, David.  REMEMBERING BABYLON  August 2005
    
    
  • Hemon, Aleksandar.  THE QUESTION OF BRUNO  July 2005
    
    
  • Turnbull, Wally R.  HIDDEN MEANINGS  July 2005
    
    
  • Brooks, Geraldine.  YEAR OF WONDERS  June 2005
    
    
  • Brown, Gordon.  TOUSSAINT'S CLAUSE: THE FOUNDING FATHERS AND THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION  June 2005
    
    
  • Marwitz, Peter.  BLACK MAPLE  May 2005
    
    
  • Moyano, Daniel.  THE DEVIL'S TRILL  May 2005
    
    
  • Segal, Susan.  ARIA  May 2005
    
    
  • Moore, Brian.  THE STATEMENT  April 2005
    
    
  • Doyle, Roddy.  A STAR CALLED HENRY  April 2005
    
    
  • Winchester, Simon.  THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN  March 2005
    
    
  • Boff, Leonardo.  SAINT FRANCIS: A MODEL FOR HUMAN LIBERATION  January 2005
    
    
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos.  SAINT FRANCIS  January 2005
    
    

  THE YEAR 2004

  • Tuttle, Sarah.  A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ISLAND OF HAYTI  December 2004
    
    
  • Bryant, Dorothy.  A DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO  December 2004
    
    
  • Patchett, Ann.  BEL CANTO  December 2004
    
    
  • Deane, Seamus.  READING IN THE DARK  December 2004
    
    
  • McCormmach, Russell.  NIGHT THOUGHTS OF A CLASSICAL PHYSICIST  December 2004
    
    
  • Eco, Umberto.  THE ISLAND OF THE DAY BEFORE  November 2004
    
    
  • Collins, Warwick.  THE RATIONALIST  November 2004
    
    
  • Brooke, Gabriela.  THE WORDS OF BERNFRIEDA  November 2004
    
    
  • Andahazi, Federico.  THE ANATOMIST  October 2004
    
    
  • Moore, Brian.  LIES OF SILENCE  October 2004
    
    
  • Bell, Madison Smartt.  THE STONE THE BUILDER REFUSED  October 2004
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson.  FIFTH BUSINESS  September 2004
    
    
  • Horsley, Kate.  CONFESSIONS OF A PAGAN NUN  August 2004
    
    
  • Anonymous.  HIRAM BIRDSEED AT THE ST. LOUIS WORLD'S FAIR  July 2004
    
    
  • Singer, Issac Bashevis.  THE MAGICIAN OF LUBLIN  July 2004
    
    
  • Marai, Sandor.  EMBERS  July 2004
    
    
  • Anonymous.  FOREST PARK AND ITS HISTORY  June 2004
    
    
  • Loughlin, Caroline and Catherine Anderson.  FOREST PARK  June 2004
    
    
  • Baldwin, James.  GIOVANNI'S ROOM  June 2004
    
    
  • Lindgren, Torgny.  IN PRAISE OF TRUTH  May 2004
    
    
  • Banville, John.  THE UNTOUCHABLE  May 2004
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose.  ALL THE NAMES  April 2004
    
    
  • Danticat, Edwidge.  THE DEW BREAKER  March 2004
    
    
  • Hochschild, Adam.  KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST  March 2004
    
    
  • Pirenne, Henri.  MOHAMMED AND CHARLEMAGNE  February 2004
    
    
  • Hynes, James.  THE WILD COLONIAL BOY  February 2004
    
    
  • Normal, Howard.  THE MUSEUM GUARD  February 2004
    
    
  • Kraus, Karl.  IN THESE TIMES  February 2004
    
    
  • Szasz, Thomas.  KARL KRAUS AND THE SOUL-DOCTORS  January 2004
    
    
  • Janik, Allan and Stephen Toulmin.  WITTGENSTEIN'S VIENNA  January 2004
    
    
  • Scherzinger, Helen.  LETTERS FROM DOGTOWN  January 2004
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson.  THE LYRE OF ORPHEUS  January 2004
    
    

  THE YEAR 2003

  • Edmounds, David and John Eidinow.  WITTGENSTEIN'S POKER  December 2003
    
    
  • Hegi, Ursula.  FLOATING IN MY MOTHER'S PALM  December 2003
    
    
  • Neville, Katherine.  THE EIGHT  December 2003
    
    
  • Llosa, Mario Vargas.  IN PRAISE OF THE STEPMOTHER  November 2003
    
    
  • Tekin, Latife.  TALES FROM THE GARBAGE HILLS  November 2003
    
    
  • Alexis, Jacques Stephen.  GENERAL SUN, MY BROTHER  November 2003
    
    
  • Boernstein, Henry.  THE MYSTERIES OF ST. LOUIS  November 2003
    
    
  • West, Nathanel.  THE DAY OF THE LOCUST  October 2003
    
    
  • Cliff, Michelle.  ABENG  October 2003
    
    
  • Haasse, Hella.  THE SCARLET CITY  October 2003
    
    
  • McEwan, Ian.  AMSTERDAM  October 2003
    
    
  • Naylor, Gloria.  BAILEY'S CAFE  September 2003
    
    
  • Borges, Jorge Luis.  LABYRINTHS  September 2003
    
    
  • Banville, John.  THE NEWTON LETTER  September 2003
    
    
  • Camus, Albert.  THE FALL  June 2003
    
    
  • Bree, Germaine, editor.  CAMUS: A COLLECTION OF CRITICAL ESSAYS  June 2003
    
    
  • O'Faolain, Nuala.  MY DREAM OF YOU  May 2003
    
    
  • Okely, Judith.  SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR  May 2003
    
    
  • Hariss, Mark.  LYING IN BED  April 2003
    
    
  • Banville, JOhn.  THE BOOK OF EVIDENCE  April 2003
    
    
  • Pym, Barbara.  AN ACADEMIC QUESTION  March 2003
    
    
  • Maitbag, Eugenio.  HAITIAN-DOMINICAN COUNTERPOINT: NATION, STATE AND RACE IN HISPANIOLA  January 2003
    
    

  THE YEAR 2002

  • Mauriac, Francois.  THE LAMB  November 2002
    
    
  • Kadohata, Cynthia.  THE FLOATING WORLD  November 2002
    
    
  • Ayala, Francisco.  USURPERS  November 2002
    
    
  • Wolff, Robert Paul, Barrington Moore, Jr. and Herbert Marcuse.  A CRITIQUE OF PURE TOLERANCE  November 2002
    
    
  • Mayle, Peter.  CHASING CEZANNE  November 2002
    
    
  • Gibbons, Kaye.  CHARMS FOR THE EASY LIFE  November 2002
    
    
  • Tapon, Phillippe.  THE MISTRESS  November 2002
    
    
  • Apollon, Marlene Rigaud.  HAITIAN ART TRIVIA and HAITI TRIVIA  October 2002
    
    
  • Alexis, Jacques Stephen.  IN THE FLICKER OF AN EYELID  October 2002
    
    
  • Fatton, Robert.  HAITI'S PREDATORY REPUBLIC  October 2002
    
    
  • Smith, Jennie M.  WHEN THE HANDS ARE MANY: COMMINTY ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN RURAL HAITI  October 2002
    
    
  • Rahill, Guitele Jeudy.  VIOLATED  October 2002
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson.  WHAT'S BRED IN THE BONE  October 2002
    
    
  • Davies, Robertson.  THE REBEL ANGELS  October 2002
    
    
  • Duras, Marguerite.  L'AMANTE ANGLAISE  September 2002
    
    
  • Devlin, Anne.  THE WAY-PAVER  September 2002
    
    
  • Gray, Francine Du Plessix.  LOVERS AND TYRANTS  September 2002
    
    
  • O'Faolain, Nuala.  ARE YOU SOMEBODY  August 2002
    
    
  • Banks, Russell.  RULE OF THE BONE  August 2002
    
    
  • Quinonez, Ernesto.  BODEGA DREAMS  August 2002
    
    
  • Baricco, Alessandro.  SILK  May 2002
    
    
  • Singer, Issac Bashevis.  THE PENITENT  May 2002
    
    
  • Wilson, Colin.  THE MIND PARASITES  May 2002
    
    
  • Carr, J.L.  A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY  May 2002
    
    
  • Maraini, Dacia.  ISOLINA  April 2002
    
    
  • Donoghue, Emma.  SLAMMERKIN  April 2002
    
    
  • Ludlum, Robert.  THE SIGMA PROTOCOL  April 2002
    
    
  • Ozakin, Aysel.  PRIZEGIVING  April 2002
    
    
  • Arthur, Charles.  HAITI: A GUIDE TO THE PEOPLE, POLITICS AND CULTURE  March 2002
    
    
  • Hoffmann, Leon-Francois.  HAITIAN FICTION REVISITED  March 2002
    
    
  • Orwell, George.  DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON  March 2002
    
    
  • Danticat, Edwidge, Editor.  THE BUTTERFLY'S WAY: VOICES FROM THE HAITIAN DIASPORA IN THE UNITED STATES  March 2002
    
    
  • Merton, Thomas.  THE STRANGER: POVERTY OF AN ANTI-HERO  March 2002
    
    
  • Miller, Frances.  "TANTE": THE DARING DECADES  March 2002
    
    
  • Baines, Elizabeth.  BODY PARTS  March 2002
    
    
  • Castedo, Elena.  PARADISE  February 2002
    
    
  • Ferriss, Lucy.  AGAINST GRAVITY  February 2002
    
    
  • Markson, David.  THIS IS NOT A NOVEL   February 2002
    
    
  • Doctorov, E.L.  THE WATERWORKS  February 2002
    
    
  • Garcia, Cristina.  DREAMING IN CUBAN  February 2002
    
    
  • Hamann, Brigitte.  HITLER'S VIENNA: A DICTATOR'S APPRENTICESHIP  February 2002
    
    
  • Schnitzler, Arthur.  BEATRICE  February 2002
    
    
  • Kierkegaard, Soren.  FEAR AND TREMBLING  February 2002
    
    
  • Silone, Ignazio.  BREAD AND WINE  February 2002
    
    
  • Palamas, Kostos.  ROYAL BLOSSOM or TRISEVYENE  January 2002
    
    
  • Montero, Mayra.  THE RED OF HIS SHADOW  January 2002
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.  EXTINCTION  January 2002
    
    
  • Dash, J. Michael.  CULTURE AND CUSTOMS OF HAITI  January 2002
    
    
  • Gordon, Leah.  THE BOOK OF VODOU: CHARMS AND RITUALS TO EMPOWER YOUR LIFE  January 2002
    
    

  THE YEAR 2001

  • Parker, Thomas Trebitsch.  ANNA ANN ANNIE  December 2001
    
    
  • Silone, Ignazio.  FONTAMARA  December 2001
    
    
  • Marquez, Gabriel Garcia.  NO ONE WRITES TO THE COLONEL  December 2001
    
    
  • Kafka, Franz.  AMERIKA  December 2001
    
    
  • Hesse, Hermann.  STEPPENWOLF  December 2001
    
    
  • Winterson, Jeanette.  THE PASSION  November 2001
    
    
  • Powers, Charles T.  IN THE MEMORY OF THE FOREST  November 2001
    
    
  • Thornton, Lawrence.  IMAGINING ARGENTINA  October 2001
    
    
  • Kundera, Milan.  THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING  October 2001
    
    
  • Llosa, Mario Vargas.  DEATH IN THE ANDES  October 2001
    
    
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos.  ZORBA THE GREEK  October 2001
    
    
  • Marquez, Gabriel Garcia.  CHRONICLE OF A DEATH FORETOLD  October 2001
    
    
  • McEwan, Ian.  THE INNOCENT  October 2001
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose.  BLINDNESS  October 2001
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose.  THE HISTORY OF THE SIEGE OF LISBON  August 2001
    
    
  • Hollingdale, R.J.  NIETZSCHE THE MAN AND HIS PHILOSOPHY  July 2001
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.  ON THE MOUNTAIN  July 2001
    
    
  • Camus, Albert.  A HAPPY DEATH  July 2001
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.  WOODCUTTERS  July 2001
    
    
  • Brock Hermann.THE ANARCHIST  June 2001
    
    
  • Brock, Hermann.THE ROMANTIC  May 2001
    
    
  • Veronese, David. JANA  May 2001
    
    
  • Jelinek, Elfriede. THE PIANO TEACHER  May 2001
    
    
  • Thoene, Bodie.   VIENNA PRELUDE  May 2001
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose.   THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS CHRIST  May 2001. Followed by discussion with LJ Lindhurst and a review from Bob Galloway.
    
    
  • Schorske, Carl.   FIN-DE-SIECLE VIENNA: POLITICS AND CULTURE  May 2001
    
    
  • Roth, Joseph.   THE STRING OF PEARLS  April 2001
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.   CONCRETE  April 2001
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.   WITTGENSTEIN'S NEPHEW  April 2001
    
    
  • Schnitzler, Arthur.   THE ROAD TO THE OPEN  April 2001
    
    
  • Freud, Sigmund.    CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS  April 2001
    
    
  • Salinger, Steven D.    WHITE DARKNESS  March 2001
    
    
  • Fitzgerald, Penelope.    THE BLUE FLOWER  March 2001
    
    
  • Boll, Heinrich.    CHILDREN ARE CITIZENS TOO  March 2001
    
    
  • Duncker, Patricia.  HALLUCINATING FOUCAULT  February 2001
    
    
  • Hofmann, Paul.   THE SPELL OF THE VIENNA WOODS: INSPIRATION AND INFLUENCE FROM BEETHOVEN TO KAFKA  February 2001
    
    
  • Schnitzler, Arthur.   VIENNA 1900: GAMES WITH LOVE AND DEATH  January 2001
    
    
  • Schnitzler, Arthur.   LIEUTENANT GUSTL  January 2001
    
    
  • Bernhard, Thomas.   CORRECTION  January 2001
    
    

  THE YEAR 2000

  • Jelinek, Elfriede.   WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL TIMES  September 2000
    
    
  • Achebe, Chinua.   THINGS FALL APART  September 2000
    
    
  • Johnson, Diane.   PERSIAN NIGHTS  August 2000
    
    
  • Goldstein, Rebecca.    THE MIND-BODY PROBLEM  August 2000
    
    
  • Mahfouz, Nagub.    ADRIFT ON THE NILE  August 2000
    
    
  • Schlink, Bernhard.   THE READER  July 2000
    
    
  • Podhoretz, Norman.   EX-FRIENDS  July 2000
    
    
  • Constantini, Humberto.   THE LONG NIGHT OF FRANCISCO SANCTIS  March 2000
    
    
  • Chedid, Andree.   THE RETURN TO BEIRUT  March 2000
    
    
  • Fitzpatrick, Nina.   THE LOVES OF FAUSTYNA  March 2000. A novel of the collapse of Communist Poland, but perhaps the mystery surrounding the author is more interesting than the wonderful book itself.
    
    
  • Drabble, Margaret.   THE GATES OF IVORY.  March 2000. A curious novel that teases on to think it will be about Cambodia and Pol Pot, but is really a sort of Livingstone/Stanley story of a friend hunting a lost (and actually dead) author friend who disappeared in Cambodia in 1983.
    
    

  JULY AND AUGUST 1999

  • Orem, William. ZOMBI, YOU MY LOVE
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose. THE STONE RAFT
    
    
  • Saramago, Jose. THE YEAR OF THE DEATH OF RICARDO REIS  Followed by discussion with LJ Lindhurst.
    
    
  • Pirenne, Henri. MEDIEVAL CITIES
    
    
  • Galvan, Jose de Jesus. THE CROSS AND THE SWORD   Also known as ENRIQUILLO
    
    
  • Boll, Heinrich. THE SAFETY NET
    
    
  • Sutcliffe, William. ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
    
    
  • Kazantzakis, Nikos. THE GREEK PASSION.
    
    

  JULY 1996

  • Roth, Joseph. RADETZKY'S MARCH   July 1996
    
    

  EARLIER THAN 1996

  • Lankshear, Colin. LITERACY, SCHOOLING AND REVOLUTION   1989.
    
    

BOOKS I HAVE RECORDS (AND RANKINGS) OF READING, BUT DIDN'T WRITE SETS OF COMMENTS

FOR MOST BOOKS BELOW I HAVE A SHORT COMMENTS ON EACH

BOOKS FROM 2000

• 3/6/2000     Berg, Elizabeth     DURABLE GOODS     rating 4     192   pages     novel
  12 year old girl and older sister on Texas military base with mean dad. Slow, touching.
  
  
• 9/8/2000     Mahfouz, Naguib     THE BEGGAR     rating 5     140   pages     novel
  Disappointing in relation to earlier novels of his. Man searching for meaning. Trite.
  
  
• 3/5/2000     Constantini, Humberto     THE LONG NIGHT OF FRANCISCO SANCTIC     rating 8     178   pages     novel
  Mysterious chance to save two dissidents in Argentina costs Sanctis deep thought and….
  
  
• 3/6/2000     Berg, Elizabeth     DURABLE GOODS     rating 4     192   pages     novel
  12 year old girl and older sister on Texas military base with mean dad. Slow, touching.
  
  
• 3/7/2000     Chedid, Andree     THE RETURN TO BEIRUT     rating 8     158   pages     novel
  Beautiful, heavy, well-written story set in early days of Lebenese Civil War of 1985.
  
  
• 3/9/2000     Fitzpatrick, Nina     THE LOVES OF FAUSTYNA     rating 8     216   pages     novel
  Poland in 1980s. Faustya is independent, witty and savvy, ultimately defeated by situation.
  
  
• 3/27/2000     Drabble, Margaret     THE GATES OF IVORY     rating 5     463   pages     novel
  Cambodia 1983-85. Novelist Cox dies seeking Pol Pot. Friend Liz seeks him when missing
  
  
• 7/15/2000     Podhoretz, Norman     EX-FRIENDS     rating 8     233   pages     non-fiction
  Story of Podhoretz shift from left to right and loss of friends. Good review of 60s-70s.
  
  
• 7/28/2000     Schlink, Bernhard     THE READER     rating 9     217   pages     phil novel
  Brillant story of love affair in post-war Germany with questions of love and German guilt.
  
  
• 8/10/2000     Goldstein, Rebecca     THE MIND BODY PROBLEM     rating 8       pages     phil novel
  Wonderful, funny philosophical story of grad student at Princeton married to genius.
  
  
• 8/20/2000     Johnson, Diane     PERSIAN NIGHTS     rating 7     338   pages     hist fiction
  U.S. and European medical personell caught up in last days of Shah's Persia. Funny and sad.
  
  
• 8/26/2000     Achebe, Chinua     THINGS FALL APART     rating 10     209   pages     phil novel
  Powerful book examining an Ibo village in Nigeria in the days of the coming of British control.
  
  
• 9/8/2000     Mahfouz, Naguib     THE BEGGAR     rating 5     140   pages     novel
  Disappointing in relation to earlier novels of his. Man searching for meaning. Trite.
  
  
• 9/8/2000     Mahfouz, Naguib     ADRIFT ON THE NILE     rating 9     167   pages     novel
  Group works normal jobs days; smoke done and escape at nights. Neo-existentialist 1980s.
  
  

  BOOKS FROM 1999

  
  
  
• 1/5/1999     Kundera, Milan     IDENTITY     rating 7     168   pages     novel
  Witty, philosophical, identity theme, pessimistic, meaninglessness, lots of talk of death
  
  
• 1/17/1999     Carpentier, Alejo     EXPLOSION IN A CATHEDRAL     rating 7     351   pages     hist fiction
  Captures factions and spirit of French Revolution, esp. in Caribbean. Great book!
  
  
• 1/18/1999     Roudybush, Alexandra     SUDDENDLY IN PARIS     rating 4     161   pages     Haiti
  Murder mystery. Killed escapes to Haiti and is trapped by detective via Voodoo ceremony
  
  
• 1/20/1999     Weston, Mariam     TO TRACK A COPYCAT     rating 3     205   pages     Haiti
  Badly written mystery story set in Haiti. Jumbled relationships, crazy use of Haiti
  
  
• 1/24/1999     Buck, Peter     THE DEADLY BIRDMAN     rating 5     203   pages     Haiit
  Tale of mercenaries set in Haiti. Macoutes trick mercs into killing US delegation. Light!
  
  
• 1/25/1999     Dern, Peggy     NURSE IN THE TROPICS     rating 4     125   pages     Haiti
  U.S. nurse goes to Haiti, overcomes Voodoo to find love. Set in Haiti. 50s stereotype
  
  
• 2/4/1999     Malcolm, Janet     THE JOURNALIST AND THE MURDERER     rating 7     163   pages     philosophy
  Examination of journalist/subject relationship. Claims difficult and vague moral relations
  
  
• 2/20/1999     Gibbons, Elizabeth     SANCTIONS IN HAITI     rating 8     113   pages     Haiti
  Claims UN sanctions violated basis human right. Haiti is case study for general thesis
  
  
• 4/30/1999     Wucker, Michele     WHY THE COCKS FIGHT     rating 6     281   pages     Haiti
  More on DR than Haiti. Cockfight image gives way to Prospeo/Caliban image
  
  
• 5/16/1999     Orwell, George     DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON     rating 7     213   pages     novel
  Lightly disguised autobiography. 1933 account of penniless men in depression times
  
  
• 6/26/1999     Garland, Alex     THE BEACH     rating 7     371   pages     fiction
  Generation X version of Lord of the Flies. Thailand, drugs and hidden beach commune
  
  
• 7/14/1999     Galvan, Manuel     THE CROSS AND THE SWORD     rating 7     366   pages     Haiti
  1502 to 1517 in Hispaniola. Las Casas, and a cacique. Story of rebellion and Spanish.
  
  
• 8/16/1999     Boll, Heinrich     THE SAFETY NET     rating 7     213   pages     novel
  1950s Germany. President of Germany and family suffer from excessive security.
  
  
• 9/26/1999     Mahfouz, Naguib     MIDAQ ALLEY     rating 8     246   pages     novel
  A slum of Cairo during WW II. Just lives of folks going about their daily lives. Brilliant.
  
  
• 10/6/1999     Lynley, Elinor     SONG OF THE BAYOU     rating 6     413   pages     novel
  Romance novel set in pre-Civil War Louisiana, features ex San Domingue slaves. So-so.
  
  
• 10/9/1999     Dobyns, Stephen     COLD DOG SOUP     rating 6     231   pages     Haiti
  Weird novel about dead dog, with zanny Haitian cab driver and hideous dog stories
  
  

  BOOKS FROM 1998

  
  
  
• 1/11/1998     Zola, Emile     BELLY OF PARIS     rating 9     498   pages     fiction
  Supurb food/revolution story about markets of Paris and gosip, gosip, gosip
  
  
• 3/14/1998     Conde, Maryse     TREE OF LIFE     rating 7     371   pages     fiction
  Caribbean story of Guadelupe. Family saga. Quite good.
  
  
• 3/20/1998     Burns, Sheelagh     THE GINKO TREE     rating 4     222   pages     fiction
  Haiti like setting for part. 1950s woman falls for Haitian guy. So, so at best
  
  
• 3/25/1998     McCourt, Frank     ANGELA'S ASHES     rating 7     363   pages     history
  Irish childhood in Limerick. Dirt poor family with drunk father in war years
  
  
• 4/20/1998     Lustbader, Eric         rating 5     390   pages     fiction
  
  
  
• 4/29/1998     Greeley, Andrew     IRISH WHISKEY     rating 6     315   pages     fiction
  Irish woman with "sight" connects fiance with ex-mafia woman who saves him
  
  
• 5/8/1998     Jennings, Gary     AZTEC AUTUMN     rating 6     380   pages     hist. Fiction
  Uprising of Aztecs against the Spanish in 1500s.
  
  
• 5/14/1998     Armstrong, Campbell     MAMBO     rating 5     545   pages     fiction
  Global plot to depose Castro and take over Cuba. Foiled by British cop
  
  
• 5/24/1998     Nabokov, Vladimir     THE EYE     rating 6     111   pages     fiction
  self obscessed fellow escapes meaning by imagining himself dead. Surprise ending
  
  
• 6/1/1998     Puzo, Mario     THE FORTUNATE PILGRIM     rating 7     310   pages     hist. Fiction
  Italian immigant tale, 20s-40s. Success, but just ordinary folks and ordinary success
  
  
• 6/3/1998     Greeley, Andrew     IRISH GOLD     rating 8     333   pages     hist. Fiction
  Mystery @ Michael Collins death and modern love story. Irish to the core
  
  
• 6/5/1998     Jelinek, Elfriede     WONDERFUL WONDERFUL TIMES     rating 9     253   pages     fiction
  Vienna, 1950s, alienated teens, Camus influence. Forced ending. Powerful!
  
  
• 6/7/1998     Greeley, Andrew     IRISH LACE     rating 7     345   pages     hist Fiction
  Chicago, Civil War plot ties into current art theft plot, all around love story
  
  
• 6/17/2008     Courter, Gay     THE MIDWIFE'S ADVICE     rating 8     716   pages     hist Fiction
  Lower East side, 1913-1922. Sex research and Russian Rev. around love stories
  
  
• 6/21/1998     Jelinek, Elfriede     WOMEN AS LOVERS     rating 4     192   pages     fiction
  Repetitive, bitter novel of women losing themselves in marriage. Short story material
  
  
• 6/28/1998     Irving, John     SETTING FREE THE BEARS     rating 8     340   pages     hist Fiction
  1st novel, Vienna, 1967, flashbacks to war and occupation. Excellent
  
  
• 7/1/1998     Sheldon, Sidney     RAGE OF ANGELS     rating 4     504   pages     fiction
  mafia, courtroom, mindless, quick and fun
  
  
• 7/5/1998     Chopin, Kate     THE AWAKENING     rating 7     116   pages     fiction
  1899 woman choosing individualism over tradition. Well done but slow, as was her life
  
  
• 7/9/1998     Yolum, Irvin D.     WHEN NIETZSCHE WEPT     rating 10     306   pages     phil fiction
  1882 Vienna, Nietzsche's gives phil consul, creates psyco-analysis. Excellent. Freud
  
  
• 7/10/1998     Fast, Howard     MAX     rating 5       pages     fiction
  1890s - 1930 fictional history of development of movies
  
  
• 7/14/1998     Sandford, John     SHADOW PREY     rating 6     358   pages     fiction
  Current Indian attempt at uprising in Minnesota
  
  
• 7/17/1998     Jelinek, Elfriede     LUST     rating 7     207   pages     feminist fict
  Hammers at male dominated sex, especially in Austrian culture
  
  
• 7/22/1998     Leigh-Fermor, Patrick     A TIME OF GIFTS     rating 7     304   pages     travel
  Fun travel of walk from Amsterdam to Hungary (plan to Istanbul) 1933. Written 1977
  
  
• 7/23/1998     Ackroyd, Peter     DAN LENO AND THE LIGHTHOUSE GOLEM     rating 5     282   pages     fiction
  weird story of mass murder and others. 1882 in London. Marx a bit player
  
  
• 7/24/1998     Mathews, Adrian     THE HAT OF VICTOR NOIR     rating 5     286   pages     fiction
  Strange story of Brazilian Voodooist in Paris, grave yard story and love broker
  
  
• 7/25/1998     McEwan, Ian     THE CEMENT GARDEN     rating 6     127   pages     facition
  Children bury mother in basement in Poe-like macrbre tale
  
  
• 7/26/1998     Camus, Albert     EXILE AND THE KINGDOM     rating 5     213   pages     short stories
  Set of short stories of which most are not very interesting!
  
  
• 7/27/1998     Rabon, Israel     THE STREET     rating 6     192   pages     fiction
  Sad, slow tale of fellow in end of WWI in Poland on the street
  
  
• 7/28/1998     Vonnegut, Kurt     PALM SUNDAY     rating 5     302   pages     misc
  Non-fiction autobiographical rant. Some of it interesting, most less so
  
  
• 8/5/1998     Ruark, Robert     UHURU     rating 7     670   pages     hist Fiction
  African freedom movement in Kenya, 1960. Focus on white Kenyans
  
  
• 8/9/1998     Anders, Ivo     THE BRIDGE ON THE DRINA     rating 10     314   pages     hist Fiction
  Novelistic chronicle of Bosnian history with bridge as the central "character"
  
  
• 8/15/1998     Rybakou, Anatoli     CHILDREN OF THE ARBAT     rating 6     647   pages     hist Fiction
  Unfinished (?) novel of 1930s beginnings of Stalinist purge trials and lives of fear
  
  
• 8/21/1998     Marquez, Gabriel Garcia     ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE     rating 10     336   pages     fiction
  100 years in the life of a family and village in South America or Caribbean. Awesome!
  
  
• 8/24/1998     White, Antonia     FROST IN MAY     rating 6     221   pages     fiction
  1920s strict upperclass Catholic girls' school in England. Harsh and consistent nuns
  
  
• 8/26/1998     Sander, Helke     THE THREE WOMEN K     rating 8     142   pages     feminist fict
  More like short sketches than a novel. Funny, provocative. Not great writing!
  
  
• 8/31/1998     Zola, Emile     THERESE RAQUIN     rating 8     256   pages     fiction
  Macabre mystery story of love and murder in Paris, 1860s. Well written -- horrifying
  
  
• 9/7/1998     Szczypiorski, Andrzej     THE BEAUTIFUL MRS. SEIDENMAN     rating 8     200   pages     hist Fiction
  Poland, WWII, all struggle for survival and Poland is the leit moif. Riveting!
  
  
• 9/8/1998     Carroll, Jonathan     VOICE OF OUR SHADOW     rating 6     187   pages     fiction
  Scary, weird tale of the occult. However, lovingly set in Vienna and that's done well
  
  
• 9/20/1998     Chirbes, Rafael     MIMOUN     rating 1     111   pages     fiction
  One of the worst books I've ever finished. Self-indulgent tale of sad folks in Morocco
  
  
• 9/25/1998     Phillips, Caryl     CAMBRIDGE     rating 3     184   pages     fiction
  Couldn't decide if it was fiction or non-fiction. Decent on life in 18th century Caribbean
  
  
• 10/6/1998     Zola, Emile     GERMINAL     rating 10     499   pages     hist Fiction
  1860s mining community in northern France. Excellent study and story
  
  
• 10/17/1998     Nietzsche, Frederich     GENEALOGY OF MORALS     rating 8     160   pages     philosophy
  Zany in parts, profoundly challenging in others. Nietzsche rants a lot! Fascinating hist
  
  
• 10/24/1998     Clare, George     LAST WALTZ IN VIENNA     rating 6     272   pages     history
  Powerful tale of Vienna Jewish family especially in WWII. My last book in Vienna
  
  
• 12/12/1998     Hearne, Vicki     ADAM'S TASK     rating 7     165   pages     philosophy
  Scattery impressionistic book making the case that horses, dogs and cat do language
  
  
• 12/28/1998     Danticat, Edwidge     THE FARMING OF BONES     rating 7     312   pages     Haiti
  Tale of Dominican massacres of 1937. Good story, not as grabing as earlier works
  
  

  BOOKS FROM 1997

  
  
  
• 1/6/1997     McCrory, May     THE WATER'S EDGE     rating 9     182   pages     short stories
  Wonderful stories of Irish girl raised in Liverpool. Great insights
  
  
• 1/15/1997     Dupuy, Alex     HAITI IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER     rating 8     220   pages     Haiti
  Analysis of U.S. policy toward Haiti in light of Huntington thesis
  
  
• 1/25/1997     Camus, Albert     THE STRANGER     rating 8     154   pages     Existentialism
  Camus' first novel of meaningless in the character of Mersault
  
  
• 2/2/1997     Sartre, Jean-Paul     NAUSEA     rating 8     178   pages     Existentialism
  Supurb novel of the process of one man coming to experience meaninglessness
  
  
• 2/4/1997     Brown, K. McCarthy     TRACING THE SPIRIT     rating 6     112   pages     Haiti
  Davenport collection used to illustrate aspects of Voodoo cosmology in art
  
  
•     Lost many with     computer failure        
  
  
  
• 5/21/97     McKay, Claude     HOME TO HARLEM     rating 9     180   pages     literature
  Marvelous novel of Harlem in 1920. Harlem Renaissance classic
  
  
• 5/23/1997     Falcon-Barker, Ted     DEVIL'S GOLD     rating 5     159   pages     adventure
  Seeking lost Spanish gold off the coast of Haiti. Really HATES Haiti!
  
  
• 5/27/1997     Vaughan, Robert     DAWN OF THE CENTURY     rating 7     420   pages     hist. fic
  1904, St. L. to 1912. Interesting characters, familian setting
  
  
• 6/6/1997     McCullough, Colleen     THE FIRST MAN IN ROME     rating 6     931   pages     hist. fic
  100 BC Rome. Much like a lightly fictionalized account of political intrigue in Rome
  
  
• 6/8/1997     Shakespeare,Wm.     JULIUS CAESAR     rating 10     56   pages     play
  100 BC Rome. Wow, it's too easy to forget just how incredible Shakespeare is!
  
  
• 6/12/1997     Franklyn, Irwin     KNIGHTS OF THE COCKPIT     rating 3     310   pages     Haiti
  Terrible book that gets everything wrong about Haiti and glorifies U.S. marines
  
  
• 6/16/1997     Vidal, Gore     HOLLYWOOD     rating 7     419   pages     hist.fic
  Early days of film making + good portrait of Wilson and Harding administrations
  
  
• 6/20/1997     Uris, Leon     REDEMPTION     rating 5     827   pages     hist. fic
  Follow up of Trinity, but scattery and mixed novel. Some bad writing and organization
  
  
• 6/23/1997     Easterman, Daniel     NIGHT OF THE SEVENTH DARKNESS     rating 6     434   pages     Haiti
  From Wade Davis, via Ludlum, Voodoo international plot which bad folks win
  
  
• 6/26/1997     Cardinal, Marie     DEVOTION AND DISORDER     rating 7     186   pages     fiction
  Mother helps daughter overcome drug addiction, ghostwriter tells tale.
  
  
• 7/2/1997     Pratt, Frances     LA BELLE ZOA     rating 6     96   pages     Haiti
  1854 novel of Haitian revolution. Interesting view of times, plus historical errs.
  
  
• 7/12/1997     Bar-Zohar, Michael     THE SPY WHO DIED TWICE     rating 5     212   pages     Haiti
  Espionage thriller in which a Voodoo-related murder in Haiti is part of the so-so plot.
  
  
• 7/17/1997     Follett, Ken     THE THIRD TWIN     rating 7     422   pages     fiction
  Genetic engineering story of 8 clones, rape, fraud and suspense. Fun.
  
  
• 7/22/1997     Marquez, Gabriel G.     THE GENERAL IN HIS LABYRINTH     rating 7     268   pages     hist. fic
  Last days of Simon Bolivar.
  
  
• 7/27/1997     Vidal, Gore     1876: A NOVEL     rating 8     364   pages     hist.fic
  Vidal calls 1876 the low point of U.S. history, and proves it. Good characters.
  
  
• 8/30/1997     Fitzgerald, F. Scott     THE GREAT GATSBY     rating 9     182   pages     fiction
  Classic look at the 1920s
  
  
• 0/0/1997     Lawrence, Starling     MONTENEGRO     rating 8     305   pages     hist. fic
  1908 Balkans. Love story, spy, sensitive, well-written.
  
  
• 0/0/1997     Ludlum, Robert     THE MATARESE COUNTDOWN     rating 6     487   pages     fiction
  Standard Ludlum: world plot, impossible knowledge, good wins over evil
  
  
• 0/0/1997     St. John, Robert     THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD     rating 8     471   pages     hist. fic.
  Story of Hungarian Jew who tried to save Jews of Hungry, caught in complications
  
  
• 0/0/1997     Crow, John W.     MEADOWS HOUSE     rating 6     176   pages     Haiti
  Haiti boy comes to U.S and succeeds, but suffers racism. 1930-50
  
  
• 0/0/1997     Montero, Mayra     IN THE PALM OF DARKNESS     rating 7     183   pages     Haiti
  Dark, symbolic novel where disappearing frogs represent hopeless Haiti.
  
  

  BOOKS FROM 1996

  
  
  
• Jan-96     Evans, Jonathan     MISFIRE     rating 7     512   pages     espinoage
  KGB and CIA team up to stop terrorist sattalite
  
  
• Jan-96     Banks, Russell     CONTINENTAL DRIFT     rating 9     420   pages     Haiti
  An everyman story of blue collar + Haitian connect
  
  
• Jan-96     Hartov, Steven     THE HEAT OF RAMADAN     rating 6     448   pages     espinoage
  Plot to kill Israli primer before peace accord!
  
  
• Jan-96     Robertson, Char     RED CHAMELEON     rating 6     456   pages     espinoage
  Double agent mole on computer SDI plan
  
  
• Jan-96     Hofmann, Paul     THE VIENNESE     rating 7     330   pages     history
  Chatty history of Vienna focus on personalities
  
  
• Feb-96     Barnhardt, Wilton     GOSPEL     rating 10     776   pages     hist fic
  Phenomenal story of hunt for lost 1st cent. gospel
  
  
• Feb-96     Goodman, Cynthia     HANS HOFMANN     rating 4     123   pages     art
  Text, plus lots of plates of Hofmann's work
  
  
• Feb-96     Courter, Gay     MIDWIFE     rating 7     521   pages     hist fic
  Jewish Russian immigrant midwife in NY
  
  
• Feb-96     Segal, Erich     ACTS OF FAITH     rating 7     545   pages     hist fic
  Weak ending mars great Jewish/Catholic story
  
  
• Feb-96     MacInness, Helen     MESSAGE FROM MALAGA     rating 5     351   pages     espinoage
  1971 weak espinoage work
  
  
• Mar-96     Salinger, J.D.     FRANNY AND ZOOEY     rating 8     201   pages     fiction
  2 exciting stories: bro/sis who are "freaks"
  
  
• Mar-96     Hynd, Noel     FLOWERS FROM BERLIN     rating 7     592   pages     espinoage
  WWII tale of attempt on Roosevelt's life
  
  
• Mar-96     Hyde, Anthony     THE RED FOX     rating 5     405   pages     espinoage
  Unravelling of plot is in last 10 pages.
  
  
• Mar-96     McCollough, HB     POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES AND PHIL     rating 7     310   pages     philosophy
  Decent survey of political theory types
  
  
• Mar-96     Vidal, Gore     BURR     rating 9     564   pages     hist fic
  Wonderful hist of Amer Rev from insider kicked out
  
  
• Apr-96     Boll, Heinrich     THE CLOWN     rating 10     223   pages     exis. fic
  Losing Marie bring clown Hans to meaninglessness
  
  
• Apr-96     French, Marilyn     OUR FATHER     rating 6     436   pages     fiction
  4 sis of 4 moms meet & deal with dying abusuve dad
  
  
• Apr-96     Kundera, Milan     LIFE IS ELSEWHERE     rating 7     307   pages     fiction
  Prague poet after WWII faces comm/art poetry/party
  
  
• Apr-96     Achege, Chinua     THINGS FALL APART     rating 9       pages     hist fic
  African warrior's world collapses with Britich
  
  
• Apr-96     Grisham, John     THE RAINMAKER     rating 5     598   pages     fiction
  Suite against insurance comp. Tongue in cheek
  
  
• Apr-96     Hemingway, Ernest     A FAREWELL TO ARMS     rating 8     332   pages     hist fic
  Henry and Catherine Barkley's love in WWI
  
  
• Apr-96     Donnelly, Jack     INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS     rating 6     206   pages     philosophy
  So-so overview of human rights issues and theories
  
  
• May-96     Wilson, Colin     THE GOD OF THE LABYRINTH     rating 7     286   pages     lit myst
  Literary mystery, erotic and occult
  
  
• May-96     Morrell, David     THE FIFTH PROFESSION     rating 5     498   pages     espinoage
  Jap/Amer "protectors" & brain implants!
  
  
• May-96     Thompson, Earl     TATTOO     rating 4     687   pages     fiction
  Harsh look at 40/50s underclass white lost youth
  
  
• May-96     Bellow, Saul     MORE DIE OF HEARTBREAK     rating 7     442   pages     fiction
  Talky story 2 men in heterosexual loves and lacks
  
  
• May-96     Greeley, Andrew     THE CARDINAL SIN     rating 6     519   pages     fiction
  Cath. cardinal story again, but interesting 50s/80s
  
  
• May-96     Clancey, Tom     THE SUM OF ALL FEARS     rating 5     1030   pages     espinoage
  Intricate terrorist nuclear plot
  
  
• May-96     Morrell, David     THE COVENENT OF THE FLAME     rating 4     467   pages     fiction
  Semi-mystical 20th cent Mithias myth. Not serious
  
  
• May-96     Hyde, Christoph     STYX     rating 6     269   pages     fiction
  Anthropo. in Neanderthal ruins. Earthquake + survival
  
  
• May-96     Boyd, Douglas     THE EAGLE AND THE SNAKE     rating 5     547   pages     espinoage
  Vietnam in 50s. Hidden gold, later retrieved
  
  
• May-96     Sanders, Lawr     SULLIVAN'S STING     rating 6     362   pages     mystery
  Solid typical Sanders story of Florida grifters
  
  
• Jun-96     Talbot, Michael     TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH     rating 7     700   pages     hist fic
  1875/86 voyage to found Australian prison colony
  
  
• Jun-96     Smith, Wilbur     THE SEVENTH SCROLL     rating 5     708   pages     fiction
  Indiana Jones in Ethiopia!
  
  
• Jun-96     Aristide, JB     DIGNITY     rating 5     208   pages     haiti
  So-so account of exile. Not very thoughtful
  
  
• Jun-96     Trouillot, M-R     SILENCING THE PAST     rating 10     186   pages     philosophy
  Exciting and challenging philosophy of history
  
  
• Jun-96     Dayan, Joan     HAITI, HISTORY AND THE GODS     rating 7     339   pages     Haiti
  Impressionistic view of Haiti, scattered, useful
  
  
• Jun-96     Summerskill, L     SEDUCED BY A GREEK ISLAND     rating 5     159   pages     travel
  Family builds on Ios in '65. Kept house till '95.
  
  
• Jun-96     Gage, Nicholas     HELLAS: A PORTRAIT OF GREECE     rating 7     242   pages     travel
  Sentimental but useful portrait of Greece. Hist.
  
  
• Jun-96     Mack, Gerstle     TOULOUS-LAUTREC     rating 7     362   pages     art bio
  Sad bio of Lautrec. Emphasis on influences/concerns
  
  
• Jun-96     Tolstoy, Leon     ANNA KARENINA     rating 10     447   pages     fiction
  Tolstoy's strange and tragic heroine
  
  
• Jun-96     Anon     GETTING TO KNOW SANTORINI     rating 5     127   pages     travel
  Overview of Santorini with photos
  
  
• Jun-96     Ellison, Ralph     INVISIBLE MAN     rating 8     581   pages     fiction
  Black experience in US, especially Harlem in 1950s
  
  
• Jun-96     Faulks, Sebast     BIRDSONG     rating 7     407   pages     hist fic
  Excellent WWI tale. Powerful, realistic, detailed
  
  
• Jun-96     Demille, Nelson     SPENCERVILLE     rating 4     560   pages     fiction
  Melodrama ex cia again sociopath cop. Woman at stake.
  
  
• Jul-96     Muller, Herbert     THE USES OF THE PAST     rating 9     362   pages     phil hist
  Phil, hist, epist, short overviews of civilizations
  
  
• Jul-96     Perera, Victor     RITES: A GUATEMALAN BOYHOOD     rating 7     194   pages     fiction
  Jewish boy (my age) growing in Guatemala's bourgeoise
  
  
• Jul-96     Douka, Mara     FOOL'S GOLD     rating 6     317   pages     hist fic
  Young bourgeois woman in Greek radical left 60s-70s.
  
  
• Jul-96     Roth, Joseph     THE RADETZKY MARCH     rating 5     331   pages     hist fic
  Last 3 generation of Hapsburgh petty nobels.
  
  
• Jul-96     Tuchman, Barbara     THE GUNS OF AUGUST     rating 9     440   pages     history
  Incredible account of the first month of WWI
  
  
• Aug-96     Puzo, Mario     THE SICILIAN     rating 7     410   pages     fiction
  Mafia story of young revolutionary in Sicily. 1950 era
  
  
• Aug-96     Janik & Toulmin     WITTGENSTEIN'S VIENNA     rating 8     275   pages     philosophy
  Rereading of TRACTATUS as book on value
  
  
• Aug-96     Davidson, Lionel     THE ROSE OF TIBET     rating 6     313   pages     fiction
  Adventure tale of 1950s Londoner in Tibet
  
  
• Aug-96     Vittorini, Elio     CONVERSATION IN SICILY     rating 5     134   pages     fiction
  Pretentious tale of son visiting mother and knife man
  
  
• Aug-96     Gonzalez, Juan     ROLL DOWN YOUR WINDOWS     rating 7     204   pages     commentary
  Human interest political essays from DAily News reporter
  
  
• Sept-96     Hemingway, Ernest     ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO TREES     rating 7     308   pages     fiction
  Tragic tale of 50 yr.old Colonel and 19 yr old lover, 1948
  
  
• Sept-96     Illich, Ivan     CELEBRATION OF AWARENESS     rating 5     181   pages     philosophy
  Essays that are rather out of date and old hat
  
  
• Sept-96     Fick, Carolyn     THE MAKING OF HAITI     rating 10     355   pages     Haiti
  Excellent history of revolution from the little people
  
  
• Sept-96     Kodindki, Jerzy     THE DEVIL TREE     rating 6     211   pages     fiction
  Super rich hippie struggles to find life and sex
  
  
• Sep-96     Checkov, Anton     THE CHERRY ORCHARD     rating 7     78   pages     play
  end of an era of nobles, as rich lost their cherry orchard
  
  
• Sep-96     Fowles, John     THE COLLECTOR     rating 7     255   pages     fiction
  fascinating story of man who kidnapes young woman
  
  
• Sep-96     Dash, J. Michael     HAITI AND THE UNITED STATES     rating 7     152   pages     Haiti
  National stereotypes in lit. Decent with good sources
  
  
• Sep-96     Maraini, Dacia     ISOLINA     rating 7     152   pages     fiction
  1900 brutal murder of woman is studied to show court bias
  
  
• Oct-96     Puzo, Mario     THE LAST DON     rating 7     482   pages     fiction
  Excellent story of a Mafia family in 1980s
  
  
• Oct-96     Tallant, Robert     VOODOO IN NEW ORLEANS     rating 5     252   pages     Voodoo
  Impressionistic and sensationalistic history of Orleans Voodoo
  
  
• Oct-96     Crichton, Michael     CONGO     rating 7     316   pages     fiction
  Signing gorilla and computer whiz + seek diamonds in Africa
  
  
• Oct-96     Davis, Wade     ONE RIVER: EXPL.& DISC AMAZON     rating 8     495   pages     botany
  Extraordianry story of Schultes, Harvard ethonobotanist
  
  
• Oct-96     Metellus, Jean     THE VORTEX FAMILY     rating 8     232   pages     Haiti
  Historical fiction set in 1950, family mirrors society
  
  
• Oct-96     Riou, Roger     THE ISLAND OF MY LIFE     rating 7     300   pages     Haiti
  Missionary priest from France in anti-superstition campaign
  
  
• 1-Nov-96     Michel, Georges     CHARLEMAGNE PERALTE     rating 6     88   pages     Haiti
  Newspaper articles about life and fighting of Peralte
  
  
• 1-Nov-96     Temple, Frances     TONIGHT, BY SEA     rating 7     154   pages     Haiti
  Teen-age book about boat people coming to US
  
  
• nov 28 96     Perusse, Roland     HAITIAN DEMOCRACY RESTORED     rating 7     164   pages     Haiti
  Excellent chronological summary of 1991-1994 period
  
  
• nov 28 96     Madsen, David     VODOUN     rating 8     349   pages     Haiti
  Political thriller: astral zombie reporter helps coup d'etat
  
  
• 11-30-96     Roumain, Jacques     WHEN THE TOM - TOM BEATS     rating 5     109   pages     Haiti
  Poems and stories of Roumain's communist period. so so
  
  
• 12-12-96     Mazur, Grace Dane     SILK     rating 8     237   pages     fiction
  Exotic short stories, many situated in Paris
  
  
• 12-19-96     Potok, Chaim     THE GATES OF NOVEMBER     rating 8     243   pages     history
  Story of Russian Jews who wanted to leave for Israel
  
  

  BOOKS FROM 1995

  
  
  
• Dec-95     Shacochis, Bob     SWIMMING IN THE VOLCANO     rating 5     518   pages     Caribbean
  Caribbean tale of of expatriates
  
  
• Dec-95     Uris, Leon     MITLA PASS     rating 7     495   pages     hist fic
  Story set in Israel in 1960s war
  
  
• Dec-95     Pearson, WM     CHESSPLAYER     rating 5     407   pages     espinoage
  
  
  
• Dec-95     Edwards, Anne     SONYA:LIFE OF COUNTESS TOLSTOY     rating 8     454   pages     history
  Tragic tale of how Tolstorys destroyed each other
  
  
• Dec-95     Michener, James     POLAND     rating 8     620   pages     hist fict
  Classic Michener study of generations
  
  
• Dec-95     Hunter, Jack     THE TERROR ALLIANCE     rating 6     318   pages     espinoage
  Assissanation attempt against US president
  
  

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