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I loved this book. This House of Sky is an elegantly written memoir about Ivan Doig's hardscrabble upbringing in rural Montana that often soars into sheer poetry. It's also a love letter to his father and grandmother, who transformed an uneasy alliance into a relationship of deep affection. If you have fun fine literary craftsmanship, you'll search this a memorable read. It's the kind of book you won't wish to place down yet won't wish to [email protected]#$%!&'s that good.
I read This House of Sky not long after it was heralded as an award winning book by a Montana author. Then I reread it several times. I loved the story--all true. I loved the time period, a Montana of my parents' young adulthood, depicting the hard life just post-Depression, post-WWII. But most of all, I loved the lyrical language of Doig's straightforward presentation of the story of his life.He tells how his father approached his disapproving mother-in-law to support raise six-year-old Ivan after Ivan's mother sucbed to her life-long struggle with asthma. This most odd of couples worked together on ranches with scarce meal or water for the stock, fought the weather in not good plains blizzards, thunderstorms and droughts, drove sheep, ran a restaurant, did anything they could do to hold a roof over their heads. Even if sometimes it was only canvas. The two antagonists worked as a squad because Ivan required them to be a team. They gritted their teeth and tolerated one another for so long, that at latest they learned to cherish each other.When I bought This House of Sky for my Kindle, I was facing tough times, frightened by the family budget, terrified of losing our home. So I read it once again to remind myself I might lose my house, as Ivan's father did several times, but like him, I would never lose my home. Home is family. No matter what, family is all that ever really matters. Just roll up your sleeves and begin over again. Amazing tip in any era, any run of hard times. Any is House of Sky is Doig's masterpiece. Though he has written several other amazing books of fiction, I doubt anything will ever match the drama and raw emotion of his own life. Read it. It will change you. KL
This is the third copy I've purchased after reading it myself. It's a wonderfully written autobiographical tale of a family's life in harsh rural Montana, and a man's remembrances of how the land shaped their existence and how the lives of three generations interacted and struggled together to overcome the obstacles life place in front of them.
I just finished reading this book. I enjoyed it very much. It is the first one I have read by Ivan Doig, but it will not be the last. It is his memoir, through childhood and into young-married manhood. It profiles himself, his maternal grandma and his father over a period of decades. The three of them are beautifully portrayed here. The other hero is wild and hardscrabble Montana in the mid 20th century. Some of the stories of sheep-ranching life are just riveting - sad, joyful, as changeable as the Huge Sky of Montana. Ivan Doig is one of those writers who grew up in the wild west whose parents had minimal formal education, who was born with a knack for prose. If you like Wallace Stegner and/or Jonathan Raban, maybe Tim Eagan should also be in that class, I think you will like Ivan Doig too.
The author writes beautifully about the raw and hardscrabble lives of true people in early 20th century southwest Montana. This is a true American story that should remind us of the greatness of forgotten "little people" who continue to support build this country. Doig's writing is a joy in and of itself to read, and he tells his story in such a method that it touches the human soul without being maudlin. Those of us who live spoiled and privileged lives by comparison to those people, need to stop and ask ourselves if we would be up to doing anything near what they had to do in order to survive.
Powerful, passionate and genuine...Ivan Doig has always been a amazing storyteller and his memoir is no therless at the age of six, Ivan’s upbringing was a checkerboard of existence. His father worked different Montana ranches to preserve the continuity with his son. Most of these ranches were inaccessible in winter, so to secure Ivan’s schooling he would stay with whoever was obliging in the nearest town, or with his maternal grandmother in some ramshackle of a country house if the situation presented itself...seeing his father only on weekends when weather permitted and during the summer months. This father/son relationship was is oftentimes said that landscapes can shape the human fabric and spirit...these Montana prairies, mountains and valleys did just that for Doig, his father, grandmother and everyone else in these dly, Doig passed on in 2015...but his books will live on.A compelling read.
Most of us don't know much about true life in the American West. So, it took a while for this book to grow on me. First, being my hurried self, I wondered if I really wanted to read about the trying, demanding life of sheepherders in Montana. I was looking for excitement and insight into life or at least the land in the West. Then, as I kept reading, I found it. I realized that the life of Charlie Doig, his son, and his mother-in-law, held within it, the greatness, wisdom and love that only a few of us obtain to experience. And, although, I'm still not sure, I think that the greatness of the land around them somehow inspired them to be their best. They lived free of modern-day electronic gadgets, the race to create it to the top, and the ultimate disappointment and detachment that come from the worst cases of that kind of life. Instead, they were given the time to focus only on the next day and the globe around them, including a few, manageable people they could understand and connect with in a meaningful way. There are surely lessons here for all of us and inspiration too.
I am very puzzled by the one negative review on this book. I obviously disagree about 1000%!!The info on setting up your pallet is essential to the book unless you have another of Jerry's book with these instructions. Without this information, you will not fully understand the rest of the is book gives detailed directions for painting most of the elements of a landscape. Clumps of grass, pebbles, rocks and stones, dead trees, leafy trees, dirt paths, running water, water reflections, ocean waves, etc. Each step is illustrated so you ca see exactly how the layers are built up. To paint your landscape, you just combine the appropriate elements!Finally, the process of combining the elements into a finished landscape is taught by complete, begin to finish, step by step instruction on painting "High Country Waterfall". Mountains, trees, grass, running water, and a waterfall are all combined into a attractive painting!With the instruction in this book, you can compose and make your own attractive landscape even if you are a beginner!
I liked the book for all the reasons the first reviewer did not."Unfortunately, MacFarlane doesn't create major points or build an argument around these themes,leaving unanswered the amazing question of mountaineering (and of this book): why?"This is plain nonsense. Again and again the author tells us - or tips strongly - that what draws people to the mountains is the unknown and the extra-ordinary and the sublime. People are drawn to mountains who long to obtain away from the 'why and wherefore' of daily bity. This is a yearning that has never tugged on this reviewer, untain adventure books, are, for the most part, adrenaline hits (after which you throw away the needle).This book is special as far as I am concerned, and its pleasures can be drawn out deeply and pondered on at leisure in repeated s, it is an uneven experience, and, as such, is consistent with the topic matter of the book. There is serendipity and pot-boiling and fascinating discovery, meandering and an occasional breathtaking obtain a rich cross-section of MacFarlane's writing styles, from historical to biographical, but the mixed diet and pace I found a reason for satisfaction from an author obviously hopelessly in love with (as well as fascinated and horrified by) mountains and mountain culture. An author as articulate and entertaining you don't search every day.Having dragged myself up peaks for most of my four decades on this planet, I often found myself smiling at how RM richly articulated the mystique and cultural imperative of mountain-going which I was somehow unconscious of until now.A lovely book for luxuriating in the lore and the lure of mountains.
This is a complicated book. Lane weaves together private experiences in the mountains and deserts, along with his mother’s dying, reflections on his vast knowledge from early Christian history, and the theology of an unknowable God. The writing is dense and I found myself reaching for both a regular dictionary as well as a Dictionary of Church History. His thesis is that “apophatic tradition, despite’s its distrust of all photos of God, makes an exception in using the imagery of threatening locations as a method of challenging the ego and leaving one at a loss of words” (65). Apophatic theology, also known as “negative theology.” focuses on what we don’t and can’t know about God. As Lane points out, this is the God of Sinai represented by a dark cloud over a mountain. Such theology causes one to empty oneself (as the desert and mountain’s force us to do) as we seek God. Apophatic theology is the opposite of kataphatc theology (positive theology). Lane locations kataphatic theology on the mountain of transfiguration, where Jesus with Moses and Elijah, were revealed in their glory. While these two traditions are in tension, Lane focus is on the former as he explores the “fierce landscapes” of the Sinai, South Asia, the Ozarks, and to the desert southwest of the United ne ends his Epilogue with the story of western travelers to California who became lost in what is now known as Death Valley in 1849. Most of the group died of hunger and as they finally found their method out of the basin, they said, “Good-bye Death Valley. He links that to a Spanish term used also to describe the place, la Palma de la Mano de Dios or the “the very palm of God’s hands” (232). While “fierce landscapes” may seem like locations where God is absence, that’s often not the case. From scripture stories about one finding strength in the wilderness, to story of the early desert fathers, to our own walks through desolate places, we may search that instead of being abandoned, that we were all along being held in God’s is is my second book by Lane. Twenty-some years ago I read an early book of his, Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality. I found much to learn in both.
By melding his own experience with that found in scripture and other testimonies to the inner life, Belden Lane has written the best book I have read so far on contemplation within the Western spiritual tradition (although his examples certainly are not limited to only the West). His well researched and attractive prose attempts to respond the crucial questions of where the modern seeker can search the "wilderness" within our fast-paced culture and what can be expected to grow from the heart that learns to be attentive and to draw on its own courage. Bonus: The extensive bibliographic notes that help his theological discussions provide a rich source for further study.
MacFarlane has a lovely style of prose and uses it to shine light on the mystery of mountains and the love affair that climbers share with them. He uses his private experiences in conjunction with historical figures such as George and Ruth Mallory, Tag Twain. Why are we drawn to mountains? Why are we infatuated with risky peaks? Why risk everything to summit? Read his book.
Amazing book. Totally various viewpoint on how to encounter the Creator. The starkness of the desert and majesty of the mountains offer an immense silence. It is in that silence, and seeming indifference, that God can often be found. A very private story is interwoven in the narrative to create it true and accessible. Strongly recommended.
AN INTERESTING READ; BUT MORE FOCUSED ON PATAGONIA'S HISTORY (BACK TO THE 1500'S) THAN I HAD ANTICIPATED. THAT SAID, IT'S QUITE POSSIBLE THAT THERE IS NOT A GREAT DEAL TO SAY ABOUT CURRENT PATAGONIA, WHICH APPEARS A RATHER DULL, SOMEWHAT LIFELESS PLACE, OWING ITS ALLURE PURELY TO ITS GEOGRAPHY. THE BOOK IS PROBABLY TOO LONG, BUT IT IS WELL WRITTEN. BE WARNED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS E-BOOK IS BADLY EDITED, OTHERWISE I WOULD HAVE AWARDED FOUR STARS. EVERY PAGE HAS AT LEAST ONE INSTANCE, SOMETIMES SEVERAL, OF SINGLE WORDS BECOMING TWO WORDS (FOR EXAMPLE, "TENTATIVELY" BECOMES TEN TATIVELY, "PATAGONIA" BECOMES PATAGO NIA, AND SOMETIMES PATAG ONIA); IN THE FIRST HALF OR SO OF THE BOOK "T"S GET LOST, THEREFORE "THE" BECOMES "HE", AND "THUS" BECOMES "HUS", WHICH REALLY DETRACTS FROM THE ENJOYMENT OF THE READING EXPERIENCE.
The books hints and demos are useful IF you only choose it. But, it's just like Yarnells' Landscape secrets only in a smaller size and maybe a page or 2 different, if I had known I would have chosen an another book. Its been donated to our local library, as the cost to send it back was greater than it's cost.
From the opening recollection to the latest sentence, Macfarlane's history of how mountains have been imagined left me aching to read more. The final words took me by surprise; I fully expected to turn the page for at least a few more spellbinding paragraphs. While the author's own experiences with altitude, ice, and snow are interspersed throughout, this is not at all a flimsy excuse to offer up a private memoir or a coming-of-age story. Rather, his own stories effectively illustrate his larger points. The final issue of the plot, Mallory's fatal ascent toward the summit of Everest, lingers throughout as the essential riddle, and yet Macfarlane skillfully avoids letting that tragedy overwhelm the rest of the book. Every historical nuance, every detail of landscape, every observation of human endeavor is crafted through the comprehension of one who is sensitive to his own put in the historical development he chronicles. It is difficult not to recall Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams as far as the depth of understanding and the quality of the writing.
Like all of Jerry yarnell's books, this one too has detailed instructions on painting different elements of landscapes in acrylic. As another reviewer noted, there are no landscapes with instructions "start to finish." Just different elements of landscapes: trees, water, moving water, rainbows, rocks, etc. I suppose that all of these elements could be combined into a complete begin to finish picture. But a WARNING: if you already own "Jerry yarnell's Landscape Painting Secrets" (ISBN 1-58180-951-4) then DO NOT BUY this book. This book (ISBN 1-4403-2158-2) is an exact duplicate of about 80% of the larger book; you do not need this duplicate. Because of this, I deducted a star from what would otherwise have been a 4-star rating.
I am very happy with this book. The step-by-step exercises are simple to follow and the paintings come out great. I have done all but the latest two exercises so far and have seen a pronounced improvement in my paintings. I have already applied the lessons into my own compositions and the results are excellent. If you would like to see my paintings, check out my blog at https:\\
I would recommend this book particularly for people who have been to Patagonia (yes, probably on a group tour or tours, like me!), and who return home wanting to know more about where they've been and what they've seen. The history, exploration, and indigenous people. This book will probably tell you.But it's not a travel book; it won't tell you where to go, and there are few e Kindle ver is also not very well rendered. Quite commonly words are (inexplicably) split into two; thus for example 'publish' might appear as 'pub lish'.
This is a book to be savored in bits and pieces as there is so much to digest. We go back to passages again and again and always come away with fresh insights. He writes beautifully and sensitively. His life experiences are interwoven with his insights. Tremendously well read author who brings a vast knowledge and feeling to his writing.
Over the course of decades I have read 100 s of travel books and cultural histories —many academic—but NEVER IN MY LIFE —have I encountered a more arcane narrative laced with a tedious introductory sentences such as: “FitzRoy was the second son of the second marriage of Lord Charles FitzRoy, son of Augustus Henry, third Duke of Grafton, to Lady Frances Anne Stewart, eldest daughter of the Marquis of Londonderry. He was born in 1805 in Suffolk and schooled at Rottingdean and Harrow.”I have probably read over ten books on Darwin and Fitzroy and never encountered such a laborious and tedious expression of picayune knowledge—factoids enough to produce somnolence—In the early pages of this “Cultural “ history Mr Moss’s snarky attack on Bruce Chatwin should have been a warning but (while I do feel Chatwin’sTreatment of Patagonia is quirky —it is consummately entertaining and as far from the literary dental appointment of Mr Moss’s scholasticism as the Psalms are from Aquinas—Think of Mr Moss’s work as a “Summa Patagonia “Snore!!!SAVE YOUR MONEY —go read the Encyclopedia Británica andMr Moss go take a course in writing!!
This is a unbelievable book for those who are uncomfortable with doing landscapes in Acryllic. Acryllic dries very quickly and can be intimidating when you are talking of paiting things on a grander scale than a portrait or still e author uses the technique of "thumbnails" in which you exercise various landscape aspects on canvas pad, rather than on a larger canvas. I obtain canvas pads and canvases for next to nothing at Michael's when they go on sale or clearance.Once you go through thee excersises you can apply them to a larger compostion with confidence. I really like this book.
This is a book about mountaineering for historians. I happen to be a hiker who is also an historian, so I like this book. If you are looking for adventure writing like Joe Simpson or Ed Veisturs, this is not the book for you. But if you would like to learn how westerners went from fearing mountains to (at least some of us) loving them, then this book does a amazing job tracing that transformation.
This is a rare treasure among the multitude of contemporary books on spirituality. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in a new view on cultivating a sense of the divine in daily life. A mate of mine gave me this book, impressed as she was by the lovely and compelling title, and I have since read it through twice, and now refer to it often when I need an uplift for my soul (...often at night). I believe that this is a book for anyone seriously interested in finding true depth in their spiritual path. I am not the first to say this, but in a globe of "user-friendly" and "feel good" religion and practices, this book reminds us of how difficult life can be, and of the power to be found in a dedicated heart. In the midst of his own private trials, the author found deep wisdom, and solace, in his exploration of those who sought for God in remote places. He shares this with his readers in moving and profound ways, and I am grateful to the author that he has done so.
It is an epic poem of field and stream. A lot of articles- - chapters on nature in the suburban british land. Hugely aware of sky and terrain. Very energetic prose and as charged with poetry as any transcendentalist. Fits no category. Beuatiful language a keeper in english language and among naturistsI liked it a lot.
Peter Adams has achieved international stature as one of the finest bonsai practitioners alive. Classically trained as a studio artist at the Royal Academy of Arts, Mr. Adams essentially pioneered the art of bonsai in the UK in the 1950s. What distinguishes him both as a bonsai artist and author is his vast knowledge of horticulture combined with his grasp of bonsai aesthetics as expressed through Western art doctrines. His ability to communicate those two integral disciplines clearly and powerfully in his writing and drawing contributes to the value of his nsai Landscapes is first and foremost a tutorial book. It is a reference from which bonsai enthusiasts can draw inspiration and salient info concerning the creation and maintenance of miniature landscapes. As is typical of Mr. Adams, the topics are examined and discussed using the universal language of aesthetics rather than a culturally-oriented system of artistic ideals. When required for emphasis or clarity, the author will of course create note of a certain form or composition that evokes an Eastern locale or style. However, he is just as likely to make the photo of a British hedgerow or American rainforest when the material and potential irteen plantings of a wide dozens of materials are reviewed by the author. A history of each planting is presented and consideration is given to the original artist's intent. Then the landscapes' forms are tuned and adjusted by Mr. Adams to make more harmonious designs. Mr. Adams' pen and ink sketches give a clear sense of the desired refinement for the future. Liberally sprinkled throughout the book, horticultural notes on the species used as well as viable design choice alternatives enrich the text. The reader is left with the notion that beauty in bonsai is not an end goal, but rather a transitory state through which the trees will rise and fall over the course of their er chapters discuss subjects such as tools and materials and sources for plant materials. In an especially helpful chapter titled `Styling The Plants', the author outlines primary to intermediate pruning and styling techniques and why they are appropriate. Of particular interest is the chapter 'Making a Rock Planter' in which the artificial rock construction developed by Mr. Adams and Bill Jordan is described. Although some detail is offered, it would have been of more use if the descriptions went a step further and provided more in-depth instructions on textures and coloring of the cement. (Bonsai enthusiasts eager to test such a project can look to Chase Rosade of Rosade Bonsai Studio, Fresh Hope, PA who regularly teaches these techniques in classes and work.)The book concludes with a hands-on step by step 'how to' section about recreating each of the thirteen plantings. Each planting is carefully described and materials needs and their sources are fully and clearly is 128 page volume, a fine addition to any bonsai library, has been illustrated with Bill Jordan's perfect photographs.
Search enchantmentThe lists and glossaries are captivating - as a study in cognitive linguistics, this book a series of biographies of land-wise people, it is a treatment of the philosophy of place-love, I obtain it. I got tired of the troubled souls and the people-hatred by the middle of the book. (Aren’t humans part of nature? Aren’t their constructed habitats natural?) But the glossaries kept me reading to the me notes:On optical illusions: our habitual vision is not the only correct perception (68)A tree is a river of sap (105)On moving and seeing (237)On being north-minded (220)Wonder is an essential survival skill (238)Emerson: language is a town to the building of which every person has brought a stone (342)The smell of rain on stone = petrichor (348)This book rehabilitates the word “parochial.” In a amazing way.
I love language and attractive words, and was very eager to obtain this book. But I was NOT aware the book is about landscapes words ONLY for the UK: I am an American and have never been to the UK. Since I am unfamiliar with a lot of of the types of landscape there (moors? peat bogs? etc) and had absolutely NO IDEA how to pronounce most of the words, it felt very alien to me, and left zero emotional impact. I found several lovely ideas, and want I was familiar with the types of landscapes in this book. Sadly, I gave up after the 4th chapter. Will be donating this to the library.
This is a magical book. It is both a collection of landscape words from the British Isles and a meditation on writing, mountains and landscapes. It is not a fast read but something that satiates after a few pages, requiring digestion, or rereading. The put words are from a vanishing time when we knew our land like we now know how to obtain about town. The words shimmer with beauty even though I suspect I am making a not good job of the Gaelic pronunciations.I thought I was a beautiful amazing writer but reading this is humbling in a satisfied way, taking pleasure in his writing and glad that there are people who can write like this.If you love nature, if you love words, if you think there is more than one method to climb a mountain (p. 63), this is a book that will give you pleasure.
I'm in love with this book. The min I received it, I began highlighting words that resonated with me, that felt like magic. A lot of of these words conjure another globe for me--it's hard to explain. But anytime I'm in need of some inspiration, I begin this book and just flip to a random page. I'm always pleasantly surprised at what I find. I'm so glad the author compiled these words into a single volume where I can hold it within arm's reach. Which is practically every day.
Having been involved in bonsai for about 20 yrs and especially like forests & groves, I feeel that Peter's book is one of the two best on the topic. It is imformative, the photographs are excellent, and he gives you step-by-step info for serveral various projects as shown in the book. This, as well as any other of Peter's books, is a must for a bonsai library.
It's hard to go wrong with Robert Rich, especially when you're dealing with this scene of his musical development (experimental sleep ambient). I regularly play this before & during sleeping (that's how it was intended to be used) and thoroughly have fun the effects. The strange atmosphere makes for some interesting half-awake, half-sleeping mental imagery. I highly recommend this, and the Robert Rich/Lustmord collaboration "Stalker" even moreso.Other amazing albums for sleep (or just plain ambient bliss) are Vidna Obmana - "Landscape In Obscurity", Steve Roach - "The Magnificent Void", Vir Unis - "The Drift Inside", Vir Unis - "Aeonian Glow", Matthias Grassow/Klause Wiese - "Mercurius", and any Oophoi release.
This is a luscious book! It helps you to return to sensual living in relationship to nature. I gave it one demerit for format. The clickable footnotes and references eject one straight to the bibliography, which is not a tidy one. The resulting need for direction and the intellectual find toss one out of the euphoric and into the mildly anxious. Time to buy the actual book.
This is a very interesting approach to nature and to language. Anything that R. Macfarlane writes is going to create me think, and probably point me in the direction of several other books to add to my list. After only 2 or 3 chapters of this book, I already have 2 other books to search and read. I wasn't sure what to expect. Much of this is about other writers and their approach to nature and outdoors. Each chapter has a lengthy glossary, probably 70% of which includes words fresh to me. The book is definitely British-centric, but don't allow that place you off. Rather, allow it begin you on an exploration of how regional writers in the US relate to and reflect their chosen environments.
Unbelievable explanations of the various gardens and the colourful pictures were great. You realize how [email protected]#$%!& are so necessary to the landscape and the wildlife. It's a must see garden. Fresh York is very lucky.
Unbelievable book. Not only is it gorgeously photographed, but a gardener facing difficult conditions will search a wealth of specific ideas for plants that will survive in windy, hot, and frosty situations with minimal top soil. (Perfect for my shale slopes in upstate NY.) It's also a amazing resource for anyone who'd love to improve an urban environment in a method that respects wildlife, the environment, people, and aesthetics. It's full of intriguing takeaways for design and seasonal gardening practices. I thought it would be just a beautiful coffee table book, but it's far more. Highly recommended! I read this out of the library, but I may purchase it someday. Not one you could fully have fun on a black and white Kindle.
As a fan of all the “Anne” books,I appreciated this book. It gives a amazing background to the series. The comparison of L.M. Montgomery life on Prince Edward Island and that of her main hero Anne Shirley is quite well shown. The images showing the locations on the island that inspired and were incorporated in the stories give the reader more insight into the author’s life and background. Recommend this book as a companion to all of Montgomery’s books
In The secret therapy of trees: harness the healing energy of forest bathing and natural landscapes authors, Mencagli and Nieri use verified scientific research to provide a fascinating acc of the relationship between humankind and the essential presence of nature, in our lives. The authors furnish an perfect acc of the biological and neurobiological processes that occur when a human being experiences stress or trauma and further provide an explanation of the ways in which plants naturally ease the biological and psychological effects of that stress. These descriptions are done in easy but animated language that is straightforward and simple to read and e book contains exercises to support the participant select natural environments and experiences that are best suited to the readers private needs and intentions. Stimulating accounts of specific gardens and natural settings that would be appealing and beneficial to visit are also included. There are absorbing accounts and info such as the info that the presence of green locations in urban locations in several websites in the United States have been associated with lower crime rates to the research done in the NASA Skylab to select plants that can support to purify indoor air quality. These a lot of thought-provoking ideas and theories relate to the daily human experience and encourage the turn of the is book is a rewarding, informative read that is supported by referenced research across the a lot of disciples of the biological, psychological, and social sciences. The research is cited from a wide dozens of highly regarded journals, current and established. This cited research presents a credible ysis and foundation for study.
Fast-paced story of the discovery of Vinland by the Vikings in the 13th century. A amazing follow-up to Beowulf, keeps you in the period and offers a amazing measure of Native American mythology as well as the struggles of dealing with a fresh ideology (Christianity) supplanting the heathen gods of one's ancestors. Fairly fast and a amazing winter read.
Oh boy. Here we go, we're doing this. When I started diving into postmodern authors like Thomas Pynchon and William Gaddis years ago, one of the names that kept coming up as a possible next put to go was William Vollmann. At the time he was most popular for "Europe Central" which had won the National Book Award, which I have and will probably obtain to in the next few months, give or ong the method I figured out that he had been in the process of writing a series called "Seven Dreams", seven novels that detailed contacts between Europeans and Native Americans over the course of history. Being that "A Sucker For Ambition" will probably be something they eventually chisel into my tombstone, this kind of thing was right up my alley. Issue was, the entire series hadn't been published yet and what publishing schedule existed seemed based around the George R. R. Martin model of "You'll obtain it when I'm finished." To create matters even more complicated, he also seemed to be writing the books out of order . . . at the time I noticed the series the third book "Argall" was the newest but the sixth book had already come out about seven years before. I'm one of those weirdos that likes to read a series straight through if I can but since the gap between me acquiring and reading a book is on average, uh, let's just say a decade and leave it at that I figured by the time I got around it we'd be done and I'd plow right through.Well, not quite. Since then another (admittedly massive) volume has been published in 2015, bringing the total completed in the series to five, with two to go (four and seven, for those keeping score). So I could wait longer but we're here and with Vollmann still relatively young he could take his sweet time finishing up. With the series skipping through history and featuring no continuing characters except narrator "William the Blind" there seems to be no true issue in just diving right in, so what the ever, those diving in may wish to consult a mate well versed in Icelandic mythology and sagas because even though the main action takes put roughly in the tenth century, Vollmann going to give you a ver of that joke when someone asks you to "Start at the beginning" to relate a story and you start with your conception. In the same vein, Vollmann essentially retells the Heimskringla saga but instead of sorting out the fables from the items that might have historical context he treats it all as if it were literally true. It makes for an interesting approach, not only giving the early sections the feel somewhere between a fantasy novel and Walt Simonson's run on Marvel's "Thor" comic but also giving the reader a true feel for how intertwined myth and legend were in the everyday lives of these people. Its not as off-putting as it might sound and Vollmann does his best to create it user-friendly, even if you may be able to accuse him of giving us maybe a slightly larger piece of Viking cake than he required to do. Its not that any of this is tough to read but eventually the barrage of really related sounding names begin to take its toll as it seems like the Norse have about five names they give their kings and then spend hundreds of years cycling through those same names over and over. There's a glossary to support tell your Haralds and your Olafs apart (three of each! and let's not even obtain into how a lot of names start with "Thor") although if you don't wish to be spoiled on the twists and turns of a thousand year old saga, I guess stay away.Eventually we obtain to the "Saga of the Greenlanders" and things begin to pick up as the story becomes less interested in detailing kings killing each other and more on how the Vikings begin creeping their method into North America by method of that prime true estate Greenland. Once Erik the Red shows up we begin meeting people that you might have heard about in grammar school, doubly so when Leif Eriksson drops into the story (I created a board android game about him for a grade school project, though I remember the teacher being somewhat skeptical of the results) and suddenly the story starts being about personalities and not the broad sweep of Nordic ong the method we're also treated to some creation myths from the Thule people (who later became the Inuit), including an example of gender transformation that partially fueled Vollmann's later interest in cross-dressing, that set us up for the first encounters that transpire in Greenland and North America as two groups of people who didn't expect to run into other groups of people proceed to run into each other and in the time tested manner of humanity through history, wind up attacking each other mostly due to fear and misunderstanding. Even so, for the most part the story is told from the perspective of the Vikings and so a lot of this happens versus the backdrop of the latest portion of the Saga of the Greenlanders . . . Freydis pending on which saga you read she's either the sister or half-sister of Leif and Vollmann basically merges two various sagas, doing his best to wallpaper over any contradictions. But once she enters the tale she essentially commands the story, a powerful willed woman in thrall to a demon with an ulterior motive and who would probably frighten everyone she came into contact with anyway through sheer force of personality. Her presence marks the final transformation of the novel from a fitfully entertaining academic exercise to an actual story and Vollmann does well with it, not neglecting the more unbelievable elements (a trip to Hel, fun for those with a passing knowledge of Norse mythology) while also proving that the rule involving Chekhov's gun still applies even when it’s a bunch of people with axes hanging out in relative roughout the mything and the storying Vollmann inserts sometimes cheeky footnotes (one about a faked magical item being "good enough for government work" created me laugh outloud) and passages detailing a trip in 1987 to Greenland, which could come across as self-indulgent but due to a lightness of touch I wasn't expecting wind up being fairly resonant as he mingles among the present-day residents, visits old ruins and generally gives us a view of how the land and people have changed in the thousand years since everyone first throwing items at each ’s a lot to package into a relatively short book (the glossaries and sources alone are around fifty pages although they aren't essential) but Vollmann surprisingly manages to hold it from being a dry experience and instead turns it into something emotionally resonant. The other books in the series are substantially larger in size so I'm curious to see if he can maintain this balance of history, story and commentary but with the little caveat of the early stages it more or less works here, turning dusty vellum and oral history into a globe we have a hope of understanding and a point on a map from where we can draw a line that takes us to here.
Prince Edward Island is one of the most attractive areas in North America. Catherine Reid's The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables illustrates that to perfection. The book contains unbelievable images accompanied by captions from Montgomery's books and her journals. Reid allows the reader to travel along through the pages. A better promotion for the beauty and wonder of PEI cannot be found. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.
My grandparents lived in Richmond, PRO and we would spend our summers there. Cavendish was only about 30 mins away and we we go there at least twice each summer. I thank the author for her passionate look at Prince Edward Island and returning such unbelievable memories to me through her prose and the photos throughout the book. A must read for any fan of "Anne of Green Gables."
Thank you Net Galley for a review copy of this book. Catherine Reid's "The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables" is a well researched and remarkable book. As an enthusiastic and lifelong Anne of Green Gables fan, I LOVED this book! This book has an outstanding sense of put and delves into Montgomery's inspiration she evoked from the landscape of Prince Edward Island, where Anne of Green Gables is set. I have always wanted to visit PEI and the stunning photography in this book fulfilled part of this wish. I enjoyed reading more about LM Montgomery as well as the similarities between her and Anne. I count this book and as a MUST OWN keepsake for fans Anne of Green Gables. I cannot wait to bonus it and share it with others!
A attractive book with attractive photos. I am a long-time lover of all things LM Montgomery and especially Anne of Green Gables. This book gave lots of insight into the author, LM Montgomery, as well as Anne (with an "e"). I've had the amazing fortune to have visited PEI two times in my past - but both a lot of years ago. Everything about this book was a delight.
This book was very interesting to me since I plan to go there in the near future. I was very interested to see the pictures of the plants and landscapes of the zone where Anne of Greene Gables took place.
I had just read Dying Grass, which I loved; a literary masterpiece. I looked forward to The Ice Shirt but found it almost unreadable. The first half of the book is a complicated recitation of Norse folklore and legends, which I found confusing and difficult to follow. I gave up, something I almost never do.
Vollmann's 1990 saga about Norse-native contact starts slowly. He forces you over seventy pages to adapt to the mindset of marauders, and in the manner of medieval tales, he repeats motifs and phrases until you adjust to the violent, endemic tribal mentality of revenge, pride, rivalry, and honor. While this insistence may appear repetitive, so were these sources, the Icelandic stories themselves. Then he does the same, in briefer span, now in daily tone, with Inuit origin myths. That sets up Leif the Lucky, son of Eirik the Red, who lands in Vinland. Allow the first of a lot of culture clashes commence.Vollmann therefore allows us to shift gradually from our own expectations of pace and brevity to those of a thousand years ago. There, characters may barely appear, may be given but terse backstory, and we must tease out motivations and contexts. Vollmann does this and does not: as his notes doent, he may expand the situation for his needs, or he may go along with the basic text's terse declarations. He, another storyteller, then merges with his inspirations, bringing us back in time. This reminded me of Michel Faber's omniscient narrator at the begin of "The Crimson Petal and the White." Few historical novelists mediate to let contemporary audiences enough of a possibility to ease in, and to adjust our sensibilities away from a one-click, fast-forward milieu to one where the story accrues incrementally. Impatient readers, we start to leave the patter of our own times (although as Vollmann keeps himself in the narrative as a 1987 traveler, current times never recede for long), and we begin to follow the thoughts and conversations of Victorian parlor, or polar-bound or mead-hall, patience opens the novel: Norway feels too small. Iceland seems too settled. Exile or flight appears the only options for thuggish, stubborn, or deluded dreamers, caught up in a common, magically transmitted sensation of all-encompassing snow that shrouds one in illusory but convincing warmth. Vollmann explained to Larry [email protected]#$%!&?y how "the characters in The Ice-Shirt see some method of escaping from whatever they are, either by changing their areas and going to Vinland, or becoming the sun, or whatever. That may or may not be an illusion on their part, but at least it’s their hope not to be fixed."The Inuit share this restlessness, as even the first two beings made in their white globe wonder at fulfillment: "What is loneliness? Does the lonely zone between two rocks vanish when spanned by a spiderweb?" (93) The novel then shifts into the contacts between the Norse who, having settled Iceland and Greenland, seek another shore in Markland, Slab-Land, and Vinland: the Atlantic fringes of what today we know as the Maritime rst, Eirik's daughter--by a mother who may not be a being we'd recognize--Freydis, seeks her own quest. She has been captivated by the shirt of the title, and the dream that compels her to leave Greenland to seek Vinland's promise, for her own greed and her own power. However, on her mission, she must climb a peak in Greenland. "Blue-Shirt Glacier was a ar to tag her way. The sun wheeled round and round the mountains, making each snow-tip orange in turn while the rocks fell and the ice shattered, instantaneously swelling the roar of waterfalls, and the creeks trickled and the tundra meadows moved scarcely a muscle in the world. It was all unspeakably grand and beautiful. The globe was still being made here." (177) Vollmann excels in a set-piece passage that follows, as Freydis proves herself and meets her foe, her lover, and her dark lord, Black Vinland, she draws her rival Gudrun into the fray. "Oh, just as the Bear-Shirt created men see red-leaf forests through a hot rainy haze of blood; just as the Blue-Shirt created the wearer's globe glitter cold and grand and attractive in a thousand twinkling mirrors, so the Gold-Shirt glared and shone like the sun's eye"(242). Freydis goes to hell and back; others trade scraps of coveted red cloth and pails of milk to the Skraelings, as the Norse gain fur and amass riches. But the natives grow restless, and soon clashes among the settlers and versus the natives place an end to the Vinland colony.Vollmann over about 350 pages of narrative, enriched by his sources, glossaries, and commentary, dips in and out of the tale. He mixes lengthy digressions to bring his characters into the conflicts of the original sagas, and he blends his conversations with the natives on Baffin Island and Greenland. These present how the imagery he immerses this book in reverberates a thousand years later. As a fellow traveler to the former Slab-Land, Baffin, tells him in 1987: "If you hear a river moan, you know it has life." (211) In this novel, despite some languor in Vollmann's endemic drive to not leave a detail or a factoid out of his presentation, the stylistic leaps and the thematic sprawl produced attest to his dogged determination to recreate the mood of the Norse who possessed a related desire for success. Their failure, and the predicament of those who, a millennium later, search themselves again colonized by Scandinavia, across the lands near the North Pole, leave their own telling tag on e latest pages of "The Ice-Shirt" narrative tell over the past five centuries of the Skraelings captured and forced to board the English or Danish ships taking them back as souvenirs for the Europeans. A poignant coda, this allows Vollmann to contrast the homeland of those who call themselves the Inuit, "the People" in Greenland today. Of their counterparts to the south, on Vinland, known as the Micmac to the French, it appears that they survive, but again, in a manner beholden to those who supplanted them as they moved west across the ocean. That western impact resumes in the early 1600s with the second installment in "Seven Dreams," (1992) "Fathers and Crows." P.S. As Vollmann told The Paris Review, he started to try out his craft with "Ice," but compared to "Fathers" and then "The Rifles," his debut "Dream" has its rough spots; so next to the other two, I will give this a solid four stars out of fairness.
This book is absolutely beautiful. It just came today, and I can't wait to read it while drinking coffee on quiet weekend mornings. I am buying copies for my mom and my sister! We love anything similar to Anne of Green Gables!
Informative, helpful, insightful, is book offers a wealth of valuable information, it covers everything you wish to know about how nature can support you heal. I was surprised to learn multiple aspects that I've never thought of before. For instance, the zone of the tree, or plant is based upon each individuals own zone preferences. I love how they differentiated between the outdoors person and the person who doesn't like the idea of dealing with bugs, dirt, and other outside uncomfortable critters. The authors use a pyramid scale for each person to select their level of outdoor e authors delve into horticultural therapy, forest bathing, essential oils, and even the air "ionization" process. What surprised me the most pertained to the actual zone of trees, along with the types of plants and how they significantly support your mental, and health well being. They didn't forget the healing properties of water and how you can easily incorporate a fountain, plants, or even a Koi pond within your own living environment. The resources and index located in the back of the book are an essential tool, making this book a must have as a permanent reference for connecting with nature.
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Perfect condition
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An perfect tutorial for planning your hiking trips through the Tatras. I purchased this book to plan our hiking adventures for a two week vacation to Poland and Slovakia. The book is very detailed and contains all required maps, distances, hiking times, etc. I'd have given 5 stars except the latest 15 pages or so were out of order! I assume that was a manufacturing error.
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I read this unbelievable autobiography after reading Doig's extraordinary novel The Latest Bus to Wisdom. .I won't stop reading until I've read everything he wrote... each book appears to be an examination of a puzzle piece of a life lived in one of the latest frontiers. Can't recommend highly enough!
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