Auggie Wren's Christmas Story Review

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(More customer reviews)Auster succeeded in what he attempted to accomplish: to create an unsentimental Christmas story. The story is surprisingly effective, in that the reader is not entirely certain of what direction the plot is going. This slim book -- little more than an elongated article -- is pure, forced action. One event closely follows another. What I enjoyed about it is the series of moral dilemmas offered up to the reader. Should Auggie have turned in the thief? Was it a wise choice to visit the thief's home? Should he have stayed with the grandmother? And should he have taken the camera that he found in the bathroom? If he had not done any of these actions, then we would not have today the collection of Auggie Wren's a-picture-a-day. Does the end justify the means? I read this book to my two sons and had a very interesting discussion regarding the choices that Auggie made. This book, in combination with Auster's "I Thought My Father Was God," makes for worthwhile discussions around small, fascinating stories. The beautiful illustrations by the artist ISOL merit close study.

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Smoke Bellew Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was given to me as a child. I always thought it was one of the funniest books I'd ever had. I especially loved the chapter: A Corner on Eggs. Somewhere in growing up I lost the book. I wanted to share it with my children, then my grandchildren, but I never could find it again - even in editions perporting to be complete compilations of Jack London's work. To my amazement, here it is suddenly one click away at Amazon. I'm beyond thrilled. The book has everything: Comedy, adventure in Yukon Territory, excitment of the gold rush days, and great characters. Rediscover, or discover a little known London work that is worth the wait.

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This collection chronicles the fiction and non fiction classics by the greatest writers the world has ever known. The inclusion of both popular as well as overlooked pieces is pivotal to providing a broad and representative collection of classic works.

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The Floatplane Notebooks (Ballantine Reader's Circle) Review

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(More customer reviews)"The Floatplane Notebooks" tells the story of the Copelands, a typical Southern family that gathers every year to clean up the family cemetery. Using the narrative structure of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" (a series of single-narrator chapters), the family experiences a devastating event that threatens to unravel the family fabric. In the end, all is well, and powerfully bittersweet.
The story has what is easily one if the funniest scenes I've ever read (regarding a well and a flashlight), and the way the story is resolved at the end is truly touching (the careful reader will see that the two scenes are closely related). Another notable feature is the observations of one of the book's main characters - a wisteria vine. This may seem strange, unless the reader realizes that the vine is essentially the theme of the story, for it represents death (a ubiquitous theme in all great Southern literature). The Copeland family could easily solve the problem of cleaning the family graveyard by just killing the wisteria vine. But, if they do, they then have no real reason to gather every year. This is a family that is united by and finds strength in death.
This is a truly unique and great story, though not appropriate for younger readers. Skilled readers will find much to appreciate. "The Floatplane Notebooks" is Southern Lit at its very best. READ THIS BOOK.

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