So Long a Letter (African Writers) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was introduced to this book by a friend who said that it changed the direction of her life. Indeed, I can see how anyone with an open mind would find a personal connection with Ramatoulaye's story. The comments about women's issues in the other reviews should not dissuade any man or woman from reading this book. Who has not suffered disappointment, betrayal, fear, and intense sadness? And who does not need to know that even through the worst that life throws at you, there is hope? Survival is not necessarily reserved for the fittest. Ramatoulaye stoicly accepts her husband's betrayal, but inside she suffers, and through that suffering and a subtle rendering of life's constant comedy she gains strength and independence. Again, any son, daughter, mother, father, wife, or husband will gain something valuable from So Long a Letter.

Click Here to see more reviews about: So Long a Letter (African Writers)

This novel is in the form of a letter, written by the widowed Ramatoulaye and describing her struggle for survival. It is the winner of the Noma Award.

Click here for more information about So Long a Letter (African Writers)

Read More...

Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Truly an anthology for readers and writers, this book encourages students to think more critically about the world around them. It calls on a variety of timely themes and genres to satisfy numerous interests and tastes in literature. It also provides many helpful rhetorical strategies for arguing about literature. Freshman writing instructors should give Making Literature Matter a look; it will not disappoint.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers

Prepared by editors whose scholarship fuses literary and composition studies, Making Literature Matter combines a comprehensive writing text with a uniquely organized anthology for introductory literature courses that emphasize critical and academic writing. What makes literature matter? Writing about it — argumentatively. The writing text helps students learn to analyze literature and develop responsible and persuasive claims about it — making it matter to them as it hasn't before. Reading it — when it explores issues that matter. The stories, poems, plays and essays in the anthology are uniquely organized into thematic clusters focusing on life issues that speak to students and evoke their engaged response.

Click here for more information about Making Literature Matter: An Anthology for Readers and Writers

Read More...

Literature of the Western World, Volume I: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance (5th Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I got this book because I needed it for class. After reading some pages from it, it's actually not a bad book to hold on to. It's pretty thick, but there are some interesting poems and short stories in there. For those who like to read.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Literature of the Western World, Volume I: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance (5th Edition)

The most comprehensive best-selling anthology of its kind, this two-volume survey enables readers to choose among the most important canonical and less-familiar texts of the Western literary tradition in Europe and the Americas. It offers complete texts whenever possible, uses the best translations of foreign-language material, and, when appropriate, presents more than one text by each author. It provides detailed historical and biographical notes and introductions to six literary periods: The Ancient World; the Middle Ages; the Renaissance; Neoclassicism and Romanticism; Realism and Naturalism; and Modern and Contemporary. Individuals interested in a comprehensive look at Western literature through the ages.

Click here for more information about Literature of the Western World, Volume I: The Ancient World Through the Renaissance (5th Edition)

Read More...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to English Literature Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Let me start out by stating I purchased this book for the purpose of studying for the English Literature CLEP exam.
After reading this book cover to cover, it was not really what I expected. In fact, really the only "helpful" portions of the book were the sample literature readings. There are a few facts tossed here and there, but nothing beyond an extremely basic overview.
The main surprise about this book was how much of the author's personal opinion and point of view dominated the text. Is it really respectful to call people who disagree with homosexuality "homophobias"?
The other issue (though I expected as much) was the supposed intellect on the Bible and its interpretation. How was Adam and Eve having sex a sin? God created sex! The author contradicts himself when he compares a tale from the Canterbury Tales to Christ dying on the cross--with the tale being about a wife having sex "with a man on a tree." It's a disturbing interpretation, and certainly taken far, far out of context.
It's not that I didn't expect the author to express an opinion, but that opinion is very strong, woven throughout the entire book, and written as fact. Every book has some kind of opinion--this book just has one of the strongest I've ever come across.
Over all, I was disappointed with my purchase. The glossary and appendix had better info than the rest of the book!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Complete Idiot's Guide to English Literature

Explore the canon of great writers. In this incredible volume, English professor Jay Stevenson teaches readers everything they want—and need—to know about English literature. From Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Keats, to more modern figures like Nabokov, Salinger, Morrison, and Updike, this handy guide also includes information on periods, time frames, every type of criticism, the differences and similarities of the literature on each side of the Atlantic, and more. —Fascinating, fact-filled writing that explores English literature as it is studied right now —Terrific supplementary reading for AP English Lit students —Helps readers explore and study fiction, plays, poems, and prose

Click here for more information about The Complete Idiot's Guide to English Literature

Read More...

Krik? Krak Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The first thing that came to my mind while reading Edwidge Danticat's collection Krik? Krak! is that it is pure poetry. The first lines in "Children of the Sea", the first short story in the collection, are "They say behind the mountains are more mountains. Now I know it's true. I also know there are timeless waters, endless seas, and lots of people in this world whose names don't matter to anyone but themselves." The lyrical poetic style is consistent throughout all of Danticat's prose, which makes Krik? Krak! an easy and beautiful book to read despite the heavy issues addressed in each story within it. In Haiti a story-teller will say "Krik?" and anyone wishing to hear the story answers, "Krak!" and this is the basis for many of the stories Danticat writes.
And many important themes are dealt with in these deceptively simple stories. Most of them encompass three main issues: Poverty and hard times in Haiti, mother and daughter relationships and the self-awareness brought to each because of them, and the transition of immigrants. In Haiti a story-teller will say "Krik?" and anyone wishing to hear the story answers, "Krak!" and this is the basis for many of the stories Danticat writes. Although each story can be easily summarized, the underlying theme and unexpected conclusions reveal much more about life, especially a life of poverty and despair.
In "Children of the Sea", a young man on a ship from Haiti to the US writes letters to his girlfriend and Haiti and she writes letters to him, although they cannot send them to each other. In "Nineteen Thirty-Seven", a girl visits her mother, who is in prison for being accused of witch-craft. "A Wall of Fire Rising" is in interesting perception of poverty, in which a mother and afather trying to raise their young boy in a happy environment face insurmountable pressures. The central character in "Night Women" is a mother who works as a prostitute in order to support her son while in "Between the Pool and the Gardenias" it is a young sterile woman who greatly desires a child even among the poverty and distress so many young children face in Haiti. A young motherless girl befriends an American journalist during the war in Haiti in "The Missing Peacce" and another young girl is painted naked by a French artist in "Seeing Things Simply". A woman randomly sees her mother walking down the street in New York City in "New York Day Women" and realizes that she has a life unto herself, while in "Caroline's Wedding", the longest and last short story in the book, a daugther gets married to a man her mother disapproves of because he is not Haitian.
Perhaps the most poignant part of "Krik? Krak!" is the epilogue which reveals why Edwidge Danticat, the young author of the book, writes these stories. For her and many other women they represent an oral history passed down from mother to daughter, and from that daughter to her daughter and so on. Each short story in this book is an example of such a rich oral tradition and is a very convincing glimpse into the lives of some Haitians and Haitian-Americans. If you read Krik? Krak! and discover that you like it as much as I did, and are interested in more books dealing with a mother/daughter and/or immigration theme, I also recommend "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan, "Two Novellas: First Love and Look for my Obituary" by Elena Garro, "Our House in the Last World" by Oscar Hijuelos, and "White Oleander" by Janet Fitch. ...

Click Here to see more reviews about: Krik Krak

Click here for more information about Krik Krak

Read More...

The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter Edition) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Great for college students and even teachers looking to add some extra material to their lessons. Alot of great stories and plays, good to buy even if you just enjoy good literature!

Click Here to see more reviews about: The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter Edition)


The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Ninth Edition, is an unparalleled collection of the very best classic and contemporary stories, poems, and plays in an inviting format that accommodates many different teaching styles, reading tastes, and pedagogical needs.
Now offering a new contextual chapter, a completely rewritten section on writing about literature, refreshed pedagogy throughout the book, new student-writing samples, and 54 new literary selections, The Norton Introduction to Literature, Shorter Ninth Edition, is more flexible and attractive than ever before.

Click here for more information about The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter Edition)

Read More...