5 comments about The Last Single Woman in America.

1. Cindy Guidry lives in Neverland. Living and working in Los Angeles is difficult enough; try dating there. Guidry is a smart, funny, sexy woman who is trying to get in touch with her own power as she approaches 40. She's knows it's in there, somewhere. But it's hard to feel powerful when you live in a town where everyone is judged by appearances, and most of those are plastic.
   
   I really enjoyed Cindy's voice. This is a book written by a clever woman who realizes that most of the men she meets are bombarded with too many choices on a daily basis. They can no longer make a decision about anything, especially the most important one of all, the decision of commit to a mate.
   
   Guidry takes her readers on an enjoyable ride through Hollywood as she starts to put the pieces of her life together (accompanied by a Dave Matthews soundtrack) all the while feeling like she's the Last Single Woman in America.



2. She may get stuck with the easy "chick-lit" label, but Cindy Guidry has written a book filled with enormous humor, wit and poignancy -- and a well-earned understanding of relationships between men and women. Her trenchant observations -- on her own life, the men in it, her career, her family -- take no prisoners, including herself. More importantly, I loved her voice: the one of that smart, way-funny girlfriend who always tells the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, and god bless her. Men will be pleasantly surprised by their un-chick-lit treatment here, if they ever read it (mine have, and responded overwhelmingly positively -- "She gets it!"). Definitely a worthy read.



3. If you're a guy and you cringe that this might be another MEN SUCK book written for only women to read and rally together around the flagpole of self inflicted injustice, this is the book for you. Although she has her complaints about men, this is a refreshingly fair-handed, often sympathetic book about both men and women and their attempts to find and understand each other in this isolating cyber-world. While there are bestsellers as well as entire television networks dedicated to the proposition that MEN SUCK, Guidry offers the possibility of individual empowerment and an unflagging belief in Love, all the while making you laugh out loud about waxing and nail polish and cats and other things men don't generally care about. Men really do want to know what women think, and Guidry tells us in a way both entertaining and enlightening.



4. I have never found a book in which the writer (and narrator in this instance) seemingly gave forth so many of my own thoughts. I always considered myself to be a little too jaded, cynical, or critical, and am now glad to see there is a whole generation of us. Cindy Guidry shows there is really nothing too depressing about not knowing what you want to be when you grow up and, guess what?, there are lots of us out there. To heck with Generation X, it's Generation Cindy Guidry all the way!!!
   
   Having been a former lover and devout follower of the series "Sex in the City" and having had to settle for vacuous attempts to fill that time slot or reruns on TBS ever since, I am looking forward to seeing this book and the idea behind it coming to life on HBO.



5. You get it all here..answers to the dating Universe and some.. I laughed, i cried and i was shocked at the honesty..very refreshing indeed!
   .. highly recommended from this Goddess (and not just a chick read guys).

5 comments about Dipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master.

1. I have read many books on meditation and been a meditator for many years. I, in general like books which teach me something about meditation, but in this case, I found this book pure inspiration. Hearing how this woman affected the lives of many of the leaders of Insight Meditation folks and many in India is a blessing and a reminder of why to stay with it.
   
   Bruce GibbsDipa Ma: The Life and Legacy of a Buddhist Master



2. I have to give great thanks to Amy Schmidt for taking on the task of creating this book. If she had not, then many people in the world would never have heard of Dipa Ma and experienced if only indirectly her liberating story. Her gentleness and compassion shine out of every page, and the humble simplicity of her practice make it accessible to anyone who wants to explore it. A truly special book and I recommend it without hesitation.



3. It was really great to read a life story of a great woman Buddhist teacher. Great meditation encouragement!



4. This is an excellent read, very inspirational and well worth the price. I think some of the reviwers slightly missed the point - whilst Dipa Ma probably didnt eat meat, Theravadin Buddhists are not vegetarian because like the Buddha himself, they rely on alms donations for food. There is no prohibition on eating meat or fish in either the vinaya or the sutras, monks and nuns in Thailand and Burma are mostly meat eaters. As for the change in title, its really just a reprint with colour photos and a new publisher - its not done to rip anybody off, the newer version I think is a better tribute to Dipa Ma's spiritual legacy. Anyhow, for anybody wanting to read about a lay meditatior who was highly acomplished and masterd the siddhis (spiritual para normal powers), the janas (absorbtions) and three of the four paths to nirvana, this is the book!
   
   Other highly recommended books to people who enjoy this one are "Life of a Siamese Monk" by Richard Randall and also Maha Bowas facinating biography of Ajan Mun, a Thai forest monk who attained nirvana and passed away in the late 1940's. Maha Bowas book is given away freely and a great read, I think its also on the internet.



5. Dipa Ma's life, practice and high level of attainment is truly inspirational. If you're looking for a book that will teach you the basic tenets of Theravadin Buddhism, this is not it. But, if you're looking for a powerfully inspirational story of a profoundly loving, compassionate master who transformed and inspired many Western practitioners this book is great. It really brought tears to my eyes and I keep rereading it and my wonder never ceases. It has good pictures and can easily be read in an evening. I've bought and sent copies to all the women in my life. Buy it, read it and enjoy!

5 comments about Strange Piece of Paradise.

1. Not only the trip itself, but the journey of self discovery, holds the reader. Despite some needless repetition, the abscence of which, would have made the story move better, this was a great read. I would have named the bad guy, jailhouse justice could do him good.



2. The story of what happened to Jentz is horrible and makes for great drama. The aftermath -- her search for her still-unknown attacker, which is the main subject of the book -- could have made a decent story as well. Unfortunately the drama of it is oversold, and the story is wildly overwritten, both in length and in tone. Jentz's discovery of a prime suspect is unfortunately larded over with melodramatic writing -- those of you who've waded through the book know the title of this review is a reference to the dozens and dozens of "In Search of"-like rhetorical questions -- and a level of self-obsessiveness that, while understandable in a person's diary, should not have made it into the final version. Perhaps the editor wanted to provide an open window into how messed up Jentz became as a result of the attack; perhaps only the actual publication of far too much detail could provide her with the catharsis that she absolutely deserves. Anyone with a heart would wish Jentz peace after what she went through. But her story lost much of its power in the telling.



3. A lot of reviewers stated that this was too redundant, that the author tended to go on and on over the same territory, and that the story could have been completed in a lot fewer words. After reading this story, I have found that I was "hooked" and that this story lingers on long after the final page is turned. It is a haunting story made all the more engrossing by the fact that it is a totally truthful accounting of one woman's attempt to identify her attacker - to identify the person who hacked her and her friend up with a hatchet and left them both for dead. I understand completely her need to do so, as well as I understand completely her friend's need not to do so. This was a catharsis for the author, and a much needed one. I can identify with this. I believe had I been the one this happened to, I would also want to know the who and the why of this terrible crime. My hat is off to this very brave lady, and I feel that this book is well worth the read! You cannot truly be a critic of this manuscript unless you yourself have experienced the same as this author.



4. Imagine being 20 years old, on the first real adventure of your young life, sleeping soundly after a strenuous bike journey...only to be awakened and find yourself under a truck, staring at the well-dressed torso of a cowboy yielding an ax. That is what Terri Jentz, the author of this amazing book, asks us to envision.
   
   She and her friend, renamed Shayna, process the aftermath in two different ways. Shayna has selective amnesia based on her injuries, and is unable -- and unwilling -- to confront what has occurred. Terri, on the other hand, after several years of ennui and fear, decides to courageously confront the episode and to try to make some sense of it in order to fully heal.
   
   This journey is what comprises this book. Interestingly, the individuals she meets again -- ranging from the teenage couple who helped save them to the nurses who were there when they reached the hospital -- were all permanently affected by this senseless act. Together again, they all help heal each other. The would-be murderer himself is larger than life and also so much smaller than life. One of the tragedies is that most of the town knew who did it, and yet, thanks to the bungling of three overlapping law enforcement agencies and overprotective parents, his act would never have been totally revealed were it not for Terri's perseverance.
   
   This is a courageous book from a tenacious individual, and it spans 700 pages. I truly understand why Terri Jentz needed to write this book in its entirety, but I believe she needed a better editor. It lags in the middle pages, as Terri meets up with one after another lead (some true, some false); the momentum of the story begins to drag as a result. There is also very little reflection on her personal life -- the key focus is outward, not inward. We know that Terri is gay and she had an unrequited crush on Shayna. There is certain anger that Shayna is unwilling to be the "perfect listener" and to explore the ramifications of that June 22 night. I also wonder how Terri's sexual orientation played out in a conservative, cowboy town, when young women were blamed for their own independence. But these are minor points: all in all, I greatly admire Terri Jentz's courage and her larger observations on our society's passion for violence. She has important things to say.



5. The random 1977 crime horrified all who heard about it, although the girls survived. I even read about it when I lived in Chicago. Yet after days, months & decades though the Cline Falls community knew who'd done it, authorities never prosecuted anyone. Why? In this extraordinarily eloquent & riveting memoir of the author's life & times before & after that innocent bicycle trip that ended a hair's breadth shy of murder, she records her emotional reality & her 20 year search for the man who devastated her young self. I thought it quite unsentimental & engagingly intense. Sit back & immerse yourself in this writer's record of her quest for the rest of her soul, of her return to Oregon & the leads to who knew & helped her back then, who investigated the crime & why it was closed. With her you'll meet all sorts of people who could connect the dots of the perpetrator's violent life before & after he attacked her &, incidentally, you'll be at her side when he is at last brought to some semblance of justice, although not for his crime against her. A haunting & satisfying read by someone who knows how to write well & has an astonishing tale to tell. Very well done.

5 comments about James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon.

1. Alice's life is tragic. Julie Phillips does an fantastic job of chronicling the life of this brilliant and tortured figure. From a childhood she didn't fit into, to disguising herself to fit into the science fiction world, Alice's life is presented as a woman trying to find herself in a man's world.



2. They totally need to make a movie of "Tiptree"'s life.
   
   I also bought this for a relative, who appreciated it too.



3. This book was difficult to put down. Alice Sheldon is a tragic hero. The writer is so engaged with her subject that she makes Alice Sheldon's world come alive. The places that Alice's life cross history are fascinating. There is a sad disconnect between Alice Sheldon and the world. Her life as James Tiptree, Jr allowed her a freedom that she couldn't have as a bright, agressive woman. She got an advanced degree in psychology, she worked for the OSS, she traveled extensively and she experienced first hand the degradation of the untamed parts of the natural world. I recommend it to anyone interested in smart women and their place in the 20th century.



4. This was not an easy read. It took me over a month to get through it and I had to take it in small doses. That being said there were many chapters that helped me understand where modern day sci-fi originated from and it was always a thrill to read an author's name that I know and love. I would recommend it to any fan of science fiction.



5. This story of the life and times of Alice Sheldon is uniquely odd and well-written. Although I haven't liked science fiction since I was an adolescent, this life of a science fiction writer was engrossing and thought-provoking. Written with insight and affection, and an objective eye, we see the gyrations of Alice as she explores her formidable talents and fights her difficult demons.
   
   The biography has several levels - Alice's search for a self-identity, her struggle to define a relationship with her parents, her search for companionship, her search for commercial success, and her search to express her hope and despair in her writings. I found the fantasy themes dragged, and the gender confusion wore thin at times, but the biographical incidents more than atoned for the length of this tome.
   
   A very good biography for readers seeking a peek at a troubled yet impressive life.

3 comments about Her Heart Can See: The Life and Hymns of Fanny J. Crosby (Library of Religious Biography Series).

1. I purchased this book as a teaching tool for my music classes this year. So far, I'm over half way through the book, it is more of a history of New York and early America than a story of Fanny Crosby. Instead of learning about her, I'm reading about how the Irish and the catholics didn't get along and other political problems of the day. it's ok to put the person in the setting, but the setting is the focus. The writer even questions the character of Crosby by always being skeptical of her positive outlook on life. Although, she always has to come back and say that everything she wrote did point to that fact. I've been very unimpressed.



2. I came to this book knowing very little beyond the sentimental inspirational "Story Behind the Hymns" profiles provided by the religious press. You will go away understanding her world and understand how influential she was in that world. The book places Fanny Crosby in the context of her age, when American Protestantism was at the peak of its influence on society. It explains how she fit into society, she was either related to--or knew--most of the people who held social or political power in the Northeast during the 19th century. This was before Church life had become marginalized from American Life.
   
   One would expect to discover about Crosby's hymns and the growth of Evangelicalism. But one will also learn about the education of the blind, social work, the growth of the Music Publishing industry and the development of copyright law! You will also discover that--yes she was related to Bing Crosby and had a close relative who became a Mormon!
   
   If you read this book, you will receive a great exposure to a wide scope of American life and how one women experienced it with everything but her eyes! A producer at PBS's "The American Experience" could very well use this book as a keystone to developing a wonderful documentary.



3. People in the latter nineteenth century and early twentieth century(and those today who know of her) considered Fanny Crosby to have been one of the greatest persons who ever lived. They very well may have been right. This tiny (4'9") woman, blinded shortly after birth, wrote over 10,000 gospel hymns, many of which survive today, such as, 'Near the Cross', 'Blessed Assurance', 'To God be the Glory' and others(see the Cyber Hymnal for a partial listing). Having lived her life in poverty for the most part, she wrote her timeless hymns for the masses to enjoy. Fanny knew and conversed with the greats of her era: Presidents Lincoln, Van Buren, Polk, and Cleveland; Gen. Winfield Scott, Henry Clay, Dwight L. Moody, Ira Sankey, Eliza Edmunds Hewitt, Horace Greeley, and many others. She had a troubled marriage, where she and her legally-blind spouse were separated for many years. She was truly the servant of all, and was sought out by the high and low for counsel and prayer. Active for many years on New York City's rescue mission circuit, she was a speaker for whom crowds would line up around a city block and wait for hours to hear. An active member of the International Order of The King's Daughters and Sons, she also aided the city of Bridgeport(CT)with their missions on skid row. I would urge anyone to read this wonderful biography of a chosen soul who taught the world many lessons, chiefest among them that, no matter one's disability in life, one can truly excel. Get yourself a copy of this book and enter a more gentle, humble, and pious age where the things of God were held in major importance by persons in all stations of life.

5 comments about Dreamgirl & Supreme Faith, Updated Edition: My Life as a Supreme.

1. These two books are hot, hot, hot!
   
   They just STEAM their way open.
   
   Stand back and use some pot holder on this bad boy.



2. Combining both of these powerful books was the best idea ever! I was truly educated and inspired by Mary Wilson's portrayal of the rise and fall of a dream. I especially enjoyed the appendix that updates the reader of the new directions of her life (her daughter's marriage, the tragic death of her youngest son, etc.). I don't detect bitterness in her at all, but I do appreciate her telling the hard truth of what can happen when you only focus on one aspect of the music industry (singing) while leaving the business aspects of your career in a vulnerable position.
   
   Wilson shows her growth and maturity from starstruck teen to seasoned veteran performer; from trusting child to a woman who woke up to her realities. She is truly a survivor and living legend; she will always be Supremely Beautiful!



3. This book did an excellent job of explaining those times back in the 60's and how the great group the Supreme's came into being. After watching the movie "Dream Girls" I wanted to know who the real life characters were. Beyonce' played Diana Ross/Deena, Jamie Fox palyed Berry Gordy, Jennifer Hudson played Effie/Florence Ballard, and Anika played Mary Wilson. The movie did not do justice for what really happened as far as the relationships that interwined the times. Mary Wilson did an excellent job describing each person without bias and judgement which shows great charater on her part. Diana Ross slept her way to the top, and treated the people who made her what she is today like crap. It is awful how Motown exploited its artists and their talents...but it is something that Berry and Diana will have to live with and ultimately die with. Overall, this was an excellent read.



4. This is really two separate books in one. I enjoyed the first one "Dreamgirl My Life as a Supreme". Mary Wilson wrote what I believe is a very objective chronicle of the rise of the Supremes. Some reviewers regard her book as just an attack on Diana Ross. However, she said many good and positive things about Diana. I certainly believe she told the truth and I certainly see The Supremes in a completely different light. I always enjoyed their songs and I can now appreciate their hard work ethic and talent even more. From this account, I believe that basically Diana Ross sold her soul for fame and fortune. The way she treated Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson was inexcusable and just downright mean. This book is probably a good read just for Supremes fans. The second book "Supreme Faith" was not quite as much a page turner. I really glanced at alot of the content. There was some repetition from the first book, but not alot. It would be interesting to know what Cindy Birdsong is doing now and how the Supremes affected her life.



5. This was OK, but it was in desperate need of an editor! The stories change so rapidly from paragraph to paragraph with no transitions or sequitors that I thought text was missing. One minute the Supremes are nothing, the next they are touring the world, which may have been somewhat true, but the transition from "nobodies" to "world stars" could have been described and documented. The affairs and Mary's children come out of nowhere, merely "listed", and not really described. A sense of progression of time is missing, though it's roughly chronological, but not smoothly so. The endless Diana-bashing (or should I say, Diane-bashing) is seemingly on EVERY page, without much detail into the nuance of their relationship, nor much description of the positive aspects of the friendship that was so long, but ended so awfully. While somewhat interesting, revelations that Mary didn't even sing on some later Supremes hits might indicate her ultimate limited usefulness, and underscores the sense that Diana Ross WAS indeed the real star of the Supremes, despite her bitchy ambition and sleeping-with-the-boss conniving ways. The treatment of Florence Ballard's departure is brief and somewhat undetailed, begging for a book of its own. DREAMGIRLS the musical does a better job of describing Supremes dynamics, and that's fiction (well, sort of). Reading DREAMGIRL makes you realize even more that despite the politically-correct and Ross-lawsuit-fearing demures by the creators to the contrary, DREAMGIRLS IS indeed about the Supremes. I guess I did enjoy the book, but it could have been so much better. Mary needs to just re-write the whole thing in light of DREAMGIRLS and issue an expanded and updated (and this time, PROFESSIONALLY EDITED) and cohesive version.

5 comments about The Lonely Empress: Elizabeth of Austria.

1. I enjoyed the book. It was well written and obviously well researched.
   I like the way it had info from personal writtings from the time, also.
   
   I enjoyed the gallery of pictures included in the text, as well.
   
   I will probably read the book at least one more time.



2. to me she should never married franz joseph i,she was to much of a free spirit.austria court was to old fashion for a soul like hers.she had the mother -in law from hell didn't help.



3. I was dreading that this book would be like all other's in that it would portray Elizabeth as a poor little spoiled, mis-understood rich girl. It didn't and I found that very refreshing.
   My only critism of this book is that there is only one occasion when the author translated the french, german, russian, etc. quotes that were used and I found that mildly annoying as I don't speak or read any of those languages.
   Overall a very good book!



4. I really enjoyed this book, there was only a minor matter which rather annoyed me. I wonder why nobody seems to have taken the trouble of checking the proper spelling of all those European names?
   As a native speaker of both German and Hungarian, I was quite
   distracted by reading Gödollo instead of Gödöllõ, to name just one of many blunders.
   Crenneville sometimes becomes Grenneville, Marie Vetsera turns into a Mary, Maria Theresia is always Maria Theresa, robbed of an i, the Ballhausplatz is shortened into Ballplatz, and while Hapsburg is not exactly wrong, it was apparently never used officially - and you don't often come across it even in Austria.
   Perhaps in future editions someone might provide corrections? I think the book is worth it.



5. Top of Form
   
   
   I was somewhat reluctant to first start reading The Lonely Empress because, from the some of the biographies I've read (but certainly not all!), they tend to start out interesting but then become dull and boring. It usually takes a talented author to write a biography on a boring royal. But even an unskilled author would have no trouble about sounding fascinating if their subject matter was Elisabeth of Austria.
   
   Born a mere daughter of a duke in Bavaria, Elisabeth had a fairytale (ish) romance. The emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, was already engaged to Elisabeth's sister Helen when he fell in love with her. All of a sudden, to everyone's surprise, the Emperor started to rant about the grace and beauty of this younger sister, much to the dismay of his mother, the archduchess Sophie, who thought that Helen would become the perfect empress.
   
   Elisabeth was still a child when she became engaged to the Emperor. Suddenly, she wasn't allowed to run wild, like she had been when she was younger. Elisabeth had been known to skip her lessons and go out riding for hours. She inherited her father's peculiarity and was known to be her happiest when surrounded by less than royal people. Her father, Duke Max, was renowned for his strangeness. He was known to travel the Bavarian countryside to escape his duties and delighted in circuses. The poor Duchess Ludovica, Elisabeth's mother, must have had a terrible time with her daughter and equally childish husband. Because of her strangeness and wild country ways, the Viennese court look down upon Elisabeth.
   
   What makes this book more interesting is how the author has portrayed Elisabeth. She doesn't try to make her into a selfish, spoiled woman yet she doesn't spend the whole book describing her flawless beauty. Elisabeth seems to be a difficult topic to write about. As many people who have met the Empress say about her throughout the book, "She could be quite charming when she wanted to be. Yet she could also become cold and haughty."
   
   Elisabeth has you admiring her at times, like when she tries to help the Hungarian people regain their Constitution, and at other times hating her, the way she treated her husband and children, the woman whose husband spent fortunes building her three homes around Europe and who still wasn't grateful or satisfied. This woman traveled to countries far away so she could escape her duties as an Empress and her husband.
   
   But one feels for Elisabeth at how much misfortune she had dealt with in her life. She seems to be a caged bird, she seems to have those natures that cannot be trapped or caged. She needed wide spaces so she can spread her wings. The author portrayed Elisabeth excellently and made the book an enjoyable read.

5 comments about Chasing Rubi: The Truth About Porfirio Rubirosa the Last Playboy.

1. Wow! This story is an amazing tale about a true life playboy. Influencing political leaders, FBI tagging his tale trying to figure out how he got the MOST POWERFUL AND RICH WOMEN IN THE WORLD to marry him, while sustaining his affairs with famous actresses. Menus carrying dishes named after him referring to a specific body part is pretty impressive. The fact that most people are not aware of this man's story is appalling. I hope Oliver Stone makes this his next project because as I was reading this book that I couldn't put down, I couldn't help visualizing this character on the silver screen. It's a biography of a true life fantasy. A man's man, a woman's dream, FBI files revealed, interviews, photos, and a sad ending!! What more can you ask for...oh, yeah, it's a TRUE STORY!! Bring it to your local book club, I'm sure you'll have commentary for weeks!!



2. It is amazing to read about this guy, Porfirio Rubirosa, it's like reading the book for a James Bond movie. The women, the political interests, the luxurious lifestyle, and his unique charm make this book very appealing and interesting. Not only for entertainment, but even historically, Rubirosa was an important part of many world events.
   Highly recommend it!



3. Chasing Rubi is extremely powerful with such a unique voice, you can't put it down. I am an avid reader, and have not experienced a story so intriguing and refreshing in awhile. It left me wanting more, therefore I hope they publish a second book! I would recommend this book to history buffs, womanizers and anyone with a thirst for thrills!! Well done



4. Once I started reading "Chasing Rubi," I couldn't put it down. The authors have done an extraordinary amount of research and produced a captivating portrait of a man who led a truly unbelievable life. It's a crazy, pedal-to-the-metal journey with glamorous highs, heartbreaking lows, intriguing plot twists and more close calls than you can imagine! Just when you think Rubirosa's story can't get any more amazing, it does. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.



5. I love how this book details one of the most amazing people in our history, yet many may not have heard of him, which only adds to his mystique. His accomplishments and exploits outweigh those of 10 men combined. The authors did a great job of showcasing Rubi. If you want to find out what life could be like if you were to mix James Bond and Hugh Hefner along with the adventures of Richard Branson all in one person -- you have Rubirosa. Entertaining and historical. A great read.

5 comments about Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood.

1. Silent Dancing is an "partial-rememberance" of Judith Ortiz Cofer. This "rememberance" is basicly her whole childhood from elementary school to high school which was spent hurtling from Puerto Rico to America and vise versa. It is a very.... different book. I had never read a "partial rememberance" before so, it was a new experience for me. but I didnt like it very much because I coudnt understand what was going on that well. It would have been so much easier to understand if it was a "full rememberance", but it was still interesting. I would recommend this book to anybody that wants to read about different cultures or a little girl struggling through her childhood years. But I dont think it was for me, because I like reading fictional books more than half-biographies.



2. Silent Dancing
   A Partial Rememberance
   of a Puerto Rican
   Childhood
   
   This book, Silent Dancing, is a memoir of a Puerto Rican, Judith Ortiz Cofer's, life as a young child.
   Judith's grandmother is an important piece in Judith's life. Mama (Judith's name for her Grandmother) could be strict to Judith, but she loved her. Her grandmother was known through out the family by telling storues about a young woman named Maria Sabida. Maria was a poor woman who was called weird for funny, outlandish behavior. From Mama's stories, Maria had a thick and wrinkled old body, but she walked and acted like a little girl. For a living Maria delivered meat pies and other treats to houses. Judith had heard that if you got close to her you could see her swinging a basket with delicious pies, hear her humming a tune that sounded positiley awful, and if you got really close to her, she might smile at you revealing all her yellow teeth in a crooked, sad smile. To Judith, it seemed like a grotesque version of the Little Red Riding Hood.
   Judith's grandfather, Papa, was a spiritist. He once saw visions of one of his sons, Hernan, being beaten and treated awfully. Mama did not believe him but it was unfortunatly true. Once Hernan was saved from being beaten and tortured, Mama let Papa have all the space and time he needed.
   When Judith was young, she was made fun of when speaking Spanish and English. When she spoke Spanish people told her that she had an English accent; when she spoke English she had a Spanish accent.
   Then, one day as Judith came home she was told that a Chilean girl was moving in an apartment above her family's. The Chilean girl's name was Vida. She was tall, thin, and beautiful. Judith admired Vida. Vida looked like a model and wanted to be a movie star someday in Hollywood. Vida did not like her family that much, so she hung out with Judith's family. Vida's past was sad and depressing so she only thought of the future. But then Vida changed Judith. Not on purpose though. It was just that Judith wanted to be everything like Vida. She was always there for Vida when she needed support and assurance. When Judith and Vida walked up the streets to Judith it was a dangerous but exciting game. But then Vida fell in love. Judith was still loyal to her and was used as a cover for Vida so Vida could meet her Neanderhal, muscley man. Vida had shared to Judith all what he had promised her. On day, once Judith had started school again, Vida came to Judith's apartment complaining that her parents had refused to accept her getting married to her Neanderthal, and wonderful man. Judith's father agreed for Vida to stay in their apartment for a while. After a while, Vida announced that they had broken up their engagement and started seeing other men. But that didn't worry Judith's mother. Mother was mad that Vida wore perfume that got all over my clothes, and stank of alcohol when she came back late at night. To mother, smelling unclean terribley rude. But Vida was changing. She no longer spoke of Hollywood, and wore perfume. Judith came home one afternoon to find Vida gone. The last time she ever saw Vida was on a beauty pagent poster. It read, "Vida wins!"
   Judith Ortiz Cofer now is remembered for her inspirational book to young people. She has inspired others to write memoirs like her book.



3. Silent Dancing is about a young girl as she struggles through life, constantly being moved from the U.S. to Puerto Rico, and back again. The book explains everything about her experiences from kindergarten (in Puerto Rico)to being kissed in a high school hall way (in the U.S.). Family relationships, and family love are very important. I thought that this book could have been written better. I would a prefer a developed story line or plot, rather than a collection of randomly organized memories. I would also change the title. Silent Dancing is only mentioned once in the book, and its significance is unclear. What I did like about the book is the constantly shifting focus, because I have a very short attention span. I think that people who are not interested in Puerto Rico would find it difficult to finish this book. On the other hand, Silent Dancing is a good "summer book" for people who are curious about the culture of others.



4. She was the serious one, the one with the talent, the one whom God made a little stern, with big eyes that took in all the world around her, from the tropical heat of Puerto Rico, to the cold tenements of William Carlos Williams' Paterson, where half the year she lived as though paying penance for an entire family's ambition. Is it any wonder this young girl grew up to be a poet, a novelist, and a taker of incredible artistic risks? As her talents grew, she began to think of herself as belonging, oddly, to two nations, a Northern and Southern hemisphere that corresponded to her own fluidity, her ability to change genre in the middle of a sentence.
   
   Ortiz Cofer has long been one of America's cultural heroes. Now she strips back the legends of her youth to help us see the seeds of creativity which, or so some day, we all have been born with, even when obscured by circumstance. After reading this collection, you will be moved to do some "silent dancing" of your own.



5. In a seemling easy narrative of remembrance, Ortiz Cofer brillantly weaves in dense yet accessible political thought on the relationship between the colonizer and the colonized through her literary genius: her keen use of metaphor. Ortiz Cofer's outloud conversational tone is engaging and unintimidating even in the face of the deep issues she raises and the hard questions she subtly yet clearly asks. Through "Silent Dancing," Judith Ortiz Cofer takes the reader along for a very enlightening journey through her self-exploration and self-definition. Ortiz Cofer discusses the ways that race, class, gender, and culture interact in shaping her life experiences without sounding dogmatic or naive. "Silent Dancing" is a work of substance, a work worth revisiting again!

5 comments about Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over.

1. Geraldine Brooks has written a book that I can empathise with. I think of how I might have had that life in Australia had my parents not returned to England in the 1930's. I wanted, and still do, very much to talk to the author and ask her questions as she is such a good writer with a warm personality.



2. I have read several of Brooks' books (both her non-fiction and fiction) and I was excited to rec'e and read Foreign Correspondance. Unfortunately, I was deeply disappointed.

   The book has an outstanding premise---as a child growing up in Australia during the 1960s, Brooks was eager to experience the outside world. An avid letter writer, she found pen-pals in the U.S., Israel and France. As an adult, Brooks set off to meet and re-discover these people. So far so good. But the book peters out---with the exception of the American pen-pal (to whom she was closest), the characters lack enough detail to be interesting.

   Her meeting with her French pen-pal was especially disappointing. This was a girl who chose to remain in her native village (while Brooks became a world-traveler and global correspondant). I hoped for more insights and more discussion of the contrast and why they chose such radically different paths---despite coming from somewhat similar backgrounds (Brooks saw herself as living in a giant provincial village---the village of Australia). But there was little discussion and the meeting simply sounded painful. Her trip to Israel to meet her non-Jewish Israeli pen-pal would also have benefitted from a deeper discussion about one's choices and opportunities (there was some discussion of this but I wanted to know more).

   Had I not read Brooks' other books, I probably would have thought this was a fairly good book. But I know she can write such a better book!




3. I bought this as an "airplane read" but couldn't put it down. Geraldine Brooks has done us a great favor by not only illuminating the process of finding one's long lost penpals, but also by educating many folks about Australia in the process. It's fascinating to see her perceptions of the world, and particularly America, based on the letters that come in her mailbox each month.

   While I read this one on my own, I have since leant this book to several friends and we've engaged in some interesting discussions about our own penpal experiences, so I recommend it for book clubs.




4. Australian born Geraldine Brooks spent many years as a foreign correspondent covering the Middle East. I loved her book, "Nine Parts of Desire" which was about Muslim women, and I have followed her life somewhat as she is often mentioned by her husband, Tony Horwitz, in his books "Confederates in the Attic", "Baghdad Without a Map," and "One for the Road." I find her an excellent reporter and in this memoir, "Foreign Correspondence," she turns the spotlight on herself.

   As a child growing up in a lower middle class neighborhood on a street actually called "Bland Street", she yearned for a larger world. And so she developed pen pals. There was a girl from New Jersey, another one from France, and even one from an upper class neighborhood just a few towns away. And then there were two Israeli boys, one an Arab and one a Jew. As an adult, she found these old letters in her father's basement and, now more than twenty years later, she decided to look up each of these people. What follows is the result of her quest and some wonderful insights into world events from a personal one-on-one perspective. It was fascinating.

   As a teenager in the early seventies she was aware of the new consciousness developing, even reaching her in her protective Catholic school. She had an active imagination and the gift of using words well. It's not surprising that she developed pen pals and that they influenced her life so much. Her gift of words certainly reached me too. I shared her sense of wonder and enthusiasm as she looked forward to each letter. I felt her straining to break the bonds of her loving but restrictive world. I felt her hopes and dreams and frustrations. And then, later, I shared her discoveries as she searched out the people who had meant so much to her early life. She writes with a clear voice, painting a picture with details, taking me on her quest to discover the world and eventually to discover herself. The book is short, a mere 210 pages but she sure does pack a lot into it. It's a wonderful read. Highly recommended.




5. I read this book in one day - it is beautifully, intelligently written with well developed characters and a true story that reads like fiction. It is a rare gem of literature that provides insight into the dreams of a young girl that many people can identify with - male or female. I have read a lot of books lately, but this was one of the finest books I've come across in a while.