5 comments about The World to Come.

1. Horn, almost Rushdie-an in her ability to create a metaphor that is a story in its own right, has mastered her big, fat, lurking metaphor (i.e. The World To Come; a womblike place full of books where the not-yets are taught about life by the already-weres)with a kaleidoscopic command of her story and characters--especially Ben, the quintessential flounderer, and Sara's unborn child, a not-yet,--who are both endearingly and emotionally-charged. THE WORLD TO COME is so much more than the sum of its parts: spine-tingling historical richness à la Umberto Eco; multi-generational enigmas à la Nicole Krauss; and stimulating allusions to obscure myth and lore relevant enough to provoke the reader's curiosity.



2. This book was recommended to me so I had great expectations. The first 80% of it was cativating as long as you could keep up with the different characters, time periods, family relationships etc. Then when it started to get really good, it just stops and the last couple of chapters are about the pre-life of the main character's unborn nephew. Very disappointing.



3. This novel excells in every respect. It is wonderful storytelling. The book uses beautiful language and imagery, has excellent character development, and is easy to read. Dara Horn weaves stories within stories in a maze like fashion that delights the soul. Spread over generations, different countries, and different languages, she posits that The World To come is really what one does on earth in life. She delves into Jewish notions of the afterlife which will relate well to any Abrahamic faith. Her opinion is clear from the text while the reader may choose to differ. Much of the book is about trust and betrayal, truths and lies, the real and the counterfeit. She salts the tale with Yiddish folk tales and interesting plot developments. Those who like to read mysteries will also enjoy this novel. This work is so much better than her first, In the Image, that I was truly pleasantly surprised. My only complaint is that she leaves the ending hanging persumbably so that the reader can elect an ending. I am not fond of trying to guess the end. Further, I wonder if any other careful reader noticed that she uses the image of caterpillars to describe someone's bushy eyebrows. This is the same image Golden used in Memoirs of A Geisha which I read many years ago. Did anyone else notice this? It may have been unconscious or it may have been specifically placed in the book so that the reader could detect a bit of plagerism. After all plagerism is a form of dishonesty similar to forging an art work. If you liked this book, You will like A Day of Small Beginnings.



4. The greatest mystery for me about "The World To Come" is why I didn't love it. There is much to admire about it. Start with the cover art by Rob Ryan, who manages to evoke both Marc Chagall and Maurice Sendak. I could hang a print of that on my wall. And then there is the miraculous writing, that weaves together a love story, historical re-imaginings, and religious musings. The story is original, profound, and very well written. In fact I'm a little in awe that this was written by someone under the age of 30.
   
   Consider the way Dara Horn handles this mundane scene, when a character is trapped in a bathroom stall, overhearing a conversation about herself: "Two sets of high heels clicked along the marble tiles, and then Erica was sitting inside their conversation as they took their places in the stalls on either side of her, their words arching over her bent neck." And then there is the fantastically imagined "world beyond" in which souls prepare for their journey to earth by drinking chapters of the Bible at a cocktail party. Where else can you imagine a writer comfortably using the line, "Ugh, that explains it. I can smell Lamentations on your breath"?
   
   And, yet, I didn't love it. I admired it, enjoyed it, and sadly looked forward to it ending. Dara Horn is extremely talented. I just wasn't completely won over.



5. This is a very ambitious novel in which Horn attempts to use mystical images and thought to connect two separate times and plot lines. Remarkably, she deliberately does not push the plot to its conclusion, but instead devotes her final chapter to elaboration of the mystical thought.
   
   Unfortunately, I thought Horn got too literal and specific in the final chapter and it did not work. The highlight of the novel for me was the love affair between Ben and Erica, two very likable and well developed characters. The love scene in the darkened cellar of the museum was beautiful and erotically charged.

1 comments about Arabian Nights: Four Tales from a Thousand and One Nights (Pegasus Library).

1. Richard Francis Burton was essentially the first to produce an unexpurgated translation of this wonderful book of tales. Though Burton's English is often excessively stilted, Jack Zipes has quite handily adapted (and condensed from the original 10 volumes) this magical grouping of stories, as told by the enchanting Scheherazade, who tells the nightly tales to save her own life. A classic and must have for anyone's library.

1 comments about Marc Chagall: The Fables of LA Fontaine.

1. What a pleasant book. If you are interested to own a book of La Fontaine's Fables with a little extra, don't hesitate and go buy this book! The book itself is beautiful: it comes in a box and the colours are vivid (excellent quality of printing). You will be surprised at every page: the fables are all written in various styles (for example, the lines will be "bouncing" if the fable is about a rabbit, etc.). The paintings are all very colorful and will make you smile for sure. The only thing that is quite sad is that only 43 of the 100 lithographs illustrating the Fables have apparently been found and printed in that book. But despite that comment, it is worth the buy just the same. A beautiful and original gift for anyone who loves animals, litterature and art!

No comments about Chagall: Windows for Jerusalem : Synagogue Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.

No comments about Marc Chagall: The Jerusalem Windows..

No comments about MARC CHAGALL MY LIFE.

No comments about Chagall from A to Z (Artists from A to Z).

2 comments about Marc Chagall.

1. It's hardly a catalogue raisonné, but there's plenty to enjoy here. After about 20 pages of introductory essays, we get another 35 or so that sketch Chagall's life, from his early career until his death in 1985. The next 160 pages, roughly, reprint paintings from many parts of his career. Each page is self-contained, either a good-sized, gorgeous reproduction or a short essay on the painting across the fold.
   
   Printing is impeccable. Colors are saturated and dense, on paper that's coated but glare-free, bright, and opaque. It's all you could look for in an art book.
   
   One might ask more in a book of Chagall's art, though. This focuses on his paintings, omitting his wonderful lithos, including the series for Daphnis And Chloe. And, among the paintings presented, chronological order is sketchy at best. It's not always an improvement when an editor imposes some new order on an artist's work, after the artist's own life has already done so. Well, maybe that's why I found this recent book on the discount table. The artwork has so captivated me that I have not yet paid much attention to the text. The little I've seen looks helpful and interesting, though. I expect that Chagall scholars have better resources, but as a casual viewer interested in this artist's varied body of work, I enjoy this hefty collection of gorgeous reproductions.
   
   -- wiredweird



2. I was looking for a book that would contain a large portion of Chagall's work. This book only has a limited portion of Chagall's work. well written and the quality of the prints is amazing.

1 comments about The Jerusalem Windows.

1. The title of the review pretty much tells the whole story. The quality of image reproduction is quite good. Of the most interest is the sequence of early drawings, prototypes, and preliminary paintings and collages resulting in the final windows. A fine companion to the experience of seeing (and photographing) the windows in Jerusalem.

No comments about Marc Chagall 2009 Wall Calendar.