5 comments about Under the Eye of the Clock.

1. To learn about such an exceptional poet who, without the faith of his family, would never have been revealed to the world, gives the reader a new view of people's limitations. I bought 12 copies of this book (when it was in print)and somehow have given them all away over time.



2. As a college English and literature instructor, I intend to make this book a required reading if it becomes available in print again. It should bless all readers because it becomes a reminder that NO matter what the circumstances, people should still be respected, loved, and appreciated. And, with this in mind, the reader may receive a self-esteem boost when being reminded of inner-personal value. I appreciate this book so much. I have three copies and continually loan them out.



3. Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.



4. Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !



5. I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

   If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

   This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

   Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

   An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

   I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

1 comments about The Murder of Charles the Good (Records of Western Civilization Series).

1. The events of 1127 surrounding the murder of count Charles the Good of Flanders, provided an opportunity for the forceful assertion of independence by Flemish cities. The author, Galbert of Bruges, provides a vivid event-by-event first hand account as history is unfolding. He chronicles the crisis that directly caused the murder of Charles the Good. An event that was caused in part by the Count's attempt to reduce the powerful Erembald clan to their legal place as serfs along with the interference of the Barons, who initially support the Erembald clan but seized the advantageous position as the instrument of revenge for the Count's murder in order to seize his wealth. They besieged the supporters of the Erembald clan, camped out in Bruges, only with the permission of the Burghers of the city and the entire region whom in the power vacuum that ensued, forcefully asserted their independence and economic interests.
   
   The translator's introduction and notations are immensely revealing and insightful. She (James Bruce in this case is a woman's name) explains the rise of the commercial agglomerations of burghers and their vital need for peace in order to prosper in trade. This lead to the Church's peace and eventually the count's circumvention the Church and proclamation of a Count's peace since he also reaped the benefits of the growing trade in the form of tolls and taxes. The rebellion and murder that ensued is a result of the dislike by the traditional powers, the barons and others and powerful peasant families of the Count's use of 'new-men' in his circle of advisors.
   
   She also elaborates extensively on the key medieval concept of the importance of the oath that helped to maintain the social order. The burgher's assertion of semi-independence introduces a new participant in the exchange of oaths. The burghers gain such power that they draft charters and elect their own counts and, defy the king of France who wanted a share of the ex-count's wealth as well.
   
   This rise of Communes is not just a feature of Flemish society but also occurs in northern France as recorded by the equally interesting and revealing account of Guibert of Nogent (published under the Title - Self and Society in Medieval France). But, Guibert's account of the Rise of the Commune of Laon is nowhere as precise and historical as Galbert's. Not much is known about the author except that he was a notary in Bruges. His bias is very minimally apparent since he does sympathize with and call himself a member of the Burghers of Bruges.
   
   The translation is impeccable, the introduction is immense and revealing, and the footnotes are extremely extensive (sometimes over the top). Galbert of Bruges', The Murder of Charles the Good, is a riveting first-hand account that is fun to read and of great historical importance.

No comments about The Magus of Freemasonry: The Mysterious Life of Elias Ashmole--Scientist, Alchemist, and Founder of the Royal Society.

4 comments about The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde.

1. This very readable book is very useful corrective to what's become the "standard" view of Wilde. It's especially good at exposing the weaknesses of Richard Ellman's now-standard biography of Wilde. For example, the claim that Wilde contracted (and later died of) syphillis is pretty much taken apart by Pearce.

   Pearce has also very closely read Wilde's works, so he offers some very valuable readings of Wilde's writing in order to better understand Wilde's inner life--a life, according to Pearce, that was marked by inner loathing and a self-rebuffed desire to embrace the Church.

   Ellman's book remains the standard biography in terms of prose quality (Ellman wrote with uncommon beauty and grace, and Ellman's enthusiasm for Wilde's work and personality is truly infectious). However, Pearce's book really should be must reading for all fans of Wilde's work. It doesn't merely trot out all the old information and anecdotes, but actually offers a fresh view of Wilde.




2. Before reading this biography all I knew about Oscar Wilde was that he was oversexed and the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Joseph Peace does a good job of revealing Wilde's upbringing, studies, and career. In fact I am now reading and pondering other works of Wilde's like, De Profundis.
   
   The author seems harsh to Wilde's lovers and most forgiving of the "Wilde Life." The book paints a picture of Oscar Wilde as a gifted artist who, as his life progressed, became a moral degenirate and a drunkard, in that order. Wilde apparently felt and even expressed remorse, but seemed incapable of acting on it. Yes, "We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." But, that said, Oscar Wilde was predatory in his pursuit of and obsession with younger men. As Pearce points out, Wilde's sin destroyed his family and destroyed him. Wilde died almost friendless and a pauper. Wilde didn't seem so much interested in love as he did in pleasure. What Wilde expressed on paper he was not capable of in himself. The book is an interesting study of the decadent movement of the 19th century in art and literature, and will open the reader up to lesser known writers and artists, who were Wilde's contemporaries. Pearce does make the reader feel sad for Wilde as he was brilliantly talented, but morally a train wreck. Over all, not a bad read and a good introduction to the life of Oscar Wilde.



3. There seem to be two types of Oscar Wilde biographies. One, treats him like a sexual martyr and hardly gets into his huge talents at all. The other talks only about his career and treats the episode with Lord Alfred Douglass like a spot on an otherwise pristine carpet. Jospeh Pearce refuses to take either path. He looks at Oscar Wilde, the man, the artist and the broken soul. Wilde had some ideas about himself and was like Herod, fascinated by religion but was unable to stir himself to change. He a genius and was spoiled, pampered and protected by his class and talent but that left him totally unprepared for a brute of a man like the Marquiss of Queensbury.
   
   Pearce is gentle with Wilde but he doesn't excuse him. Wilde failed his wife and his sons miserably and the nameless, faceless rent boys of London weren't just props, they were shabbily used human beings. Pearce makes this all clear but he also discusses the hope of Wilde's life, his last minute conversion. Give this well written book a try. It is a completely different and fresh look at Oscar Wilde.



4. Pearce begins his book pompously: "I am convinced that [this book] penetrates to the very core of its subject." Yet, rather than provide insight into Wilde as Pearce claims, the book is only the Reader's Digest version of Ellmann's biography. If you are short on time and want an overview of Wilde's life and work, you could do worse. Just don't expect perceptive analysis.

No comments about The British Monarchy For Dummies (For Dummies (History, Biography & Politics)).

2 comments about Hidden Soldier: An Irish Legionnaire's Wars from Bosnia to Iraq.

1. I have had the pleasure of working in Iraq with Paddy, and this book is a brilliant read, I thought I knew him well, but realise there is so much more to this quiet and well respected man. Well done mate, think about the lads a lot too. SW



2. But this is the story how he survived and became a professional military contractor working around the world. But seriously, he's taken far too many chances, in a profession that doesn't leave much room for error.
   
   Some men are drawn into conflict, O'Keefe was born to it. This is story of a true Irish warrior told in his own words. This is a man who backs down from nothing.
   
   First serving with the French Foreign Legion and an expert in explosives, he traveled to such wonderful locations as Cambodia (land of a million land mines), Kosovo, a place where death ruled supreme. Later he served in Iraq and Hattie as a contractor.
   
   I liked this book because it is a very enjoyable, quick read that can be done over a long weekend. It's very well written and he gives no quarter where none is deserved. It is a brutally honest account of the war in Iraq from his perspective. Quite frankly he reminds of men like Bob MacKenzie, only still alive.
   
   But not for a lack of effort on the part of his enemies. No expense was deemed unreasonable in trying to kill him. Wait to you read about the ambush in Iraq. I read about it when it hit the press. But this is the only first hand account there will ever be.
   
   I can't wait for the sequel to be published in about 10 years. If you liked this book and want more information about his line of work, I would suggest reading War Dogs, fighting other people's wars.

3 comments about Salaam Brick Lane: A Year in the New East End.

1. Mr. Hall's work on London's East End is beautifully written and truly makes you feel as if you are a voyeur into a world that few of us have ever experienced. The author shows a genuine sympathy for his neighbors on Brick Lane in the East End and weaves their stories into the broader tapestry of the neighborhood's history as well as that of England as a whole. Without being preachy or condescending, you feel like you know and understand the characters that Mr. Hall met in his time there; the landlord running a sweatshop in his basement, the Indian "auntie" interviewing him on behalf of his future wife's mother, and the list goes on. This is what makes the book such a pleasure and it goes so quickly that in they end you wish Mr. Hall had spent even more time on Brick Lane.



2. When confined to observation and its presentation, good journalists tend to make good writers. Hall is one such journalist/writer. His clear and precise style comes very handy when reading about a complex and intricate world of London East End.
   
   His own discovery of East End is told through the lives of people he meets and gets to talk. It's not a distant and cold narrative, though. On the contrary, he is directly involved in the intricate fabric of immigrant society through his American-born Indian fiancee. Yet he manages to limit the account of his personal story to the amount that relates to people he observes.
   
   Overall "Salaam Brick Lane" is an honest and clear account of a short slice through East End.



3. I enjoyed reading this book except that I am not from England and found the "Englishisms" to be a little overwhelming. But, aside from that I found the historical information very good reading and very profound in some areas.
   Compared to Monica Ali's Brick Lane this is a larger scope of the area but in reading both books I found that one does complement the other because the characters in Brick Lane never get to see much or learn much from the area.

2 comments about Reflections of Prague: Journeys through the 20th century.

1. "Never fall down!"
   
   Roughly translated from the Czech refrain that author Ivan Margolius' resilient mother, Heda Margolius Kovaly, would often exclaim when life in the former Czechoslovakia threw their Margolius clan one too many rotten tomatoes.
   
   Ivan and Heda, of course, are son and wife to the late Rudolf Margolius, a one-time deputy minister in the former Czechoslovakia's Ministry of Trade.
   
   History reveals that on December 3, 1952, Rudolf and ten other falsely-accused -- mostly Jewish -- members of the former Communist government's inner circle were hanged in what has since become known as the "Slansky Affair" or "Slansky Plot." Slansky was a trumped-up list of charges that first Czechoslovak Communist President Klement Gottwald orchestrated against forteen prominent members of his administration.
   
   The Slansky Plot was the culmination of a major part of Gottwald's Stalinist-inspired campaign of terror against the citizens of Czechoslovakia. His aim was to smash them into socialist submission, with Czechoslovakia at the time being the most "Western" of all the newly-established "Bloc" countries.
   
   "Never fall down" became Ivan Margolius' mantra as he returned more than forty years later to the now-democratic Czech Republic to retrace his father's once-shining career's steps. Ivan's search lead him straight into the former Czechoslovak archives. From there it was where the author was successful in clarifying heaps of missing details that had eluded Ivan Margolius for most of his adult life about the life of his famous father.
   
   Until the age of sixteen, Ivan hadn't precisely known the circumstances surrounding his father's passing. Heda, like most of her fellow citizens living under the socialist yoke, dreaded divulging any information about Rudolf Margolius to her lone son, fearful how it might affect his future work and life prospects inside the Communist system.
   
   Featuring prominently in this book are letters. For instance, one is an ambiguously-crafted note Rudolf had penned to his young boy, which reveals shades of the inner-agony that Rudolf and his fourteen co-accused must have felt while awaiting their execution under the libels. It had been kept from author by Heda until well into Ivan's teens.
   
   Since then, Ivan Margolius' life filled with a burning curiosity to truly know of the circumstances surrounding his father's tragic demise. By then, Ivan was already comfortably settled, living in exile in the British capital, London. It built up until he demanded to know just what had really happened to the man he once called 'Tato', Daddy?
   
   Why had Rudolf Margolius been [...] as a "subversive spy" who "had endangered the health of Czechoslovakia's children?"
   
   Were the charges laid against Rudolf Margolius even true?
   
   Heda knew them to be falsehoods, all, yet Ivan just had to know for himself.
   
   What emerged from the author's research was that Rudolf Margolius hardly even knew Rudolf Slansky, one of the Group of Fourteen rounded up in his eponymously-named trial. Rudolf Margolius hardly had a bad bone in his body, with Ivan remembering their times cavorting around the Czech countryside fondly. Rudolf Margolius was a dedicated father, husband, and moreover, as Ivan unearthed, had served the interests of the then-new Czechoslovak "people's republic" with all his heart.
   
   Rudolf Margolius sincerely believed in the bold promises of Lenin-style Marxism. He renounced all claim to his capitalist past from before the War, and after Rudolf's return to Prague from the Dachau concentration camp, he instructed his wife Heda to liquidate all of their parents' former possessions and assets, dedicating the sale's profits to the State; such was the fervour of his dedication to the socialist cause.
   
   Ivan Margolius needed answers to questions he could find only by returning to the sordid past. To the place where his life changed forever, Prague. The book tells that story...
   
   --
   
   
   REFLECTIONS OF PRAGUE is a stunning walk down memory lane. Within a neatly-contained 300pp. of well-structured, sometimes whistful, but mostly evocatively-written narrative, Ivan Margolius finally discovers for himself just who the man once known as his father really was.
   
   Margolius still awaits an official public apology from the present Czech authorities. As inheritors of the government which destroyed the life of his father, it is they who are responsible for issuing a Formal Sorry.
   
   REFLECTIONS, however, is about that and more. It reflects, as its name states, on things such as:
   
   ** What Prague was like during its inter-war years.
   ** What life was like in the capital under Nazi occupation in the Protectorate.
   ** What became of Bohemia and Moravia's 88,000 Jews, more than 47,000 from Prague alone.
   ** Why Communism was such an "attractive" option for Czechs following WWII.
   ** How influential the Soviets were in Czechoslovak affairs, and how they had contributed to the state of terror in early '50s Czechoslovakia.
   
   These broad strokes of Central European history are on full display as Ivan relives his mother and father's pasts.
   
   REFLECTIONS contains anecdotal evidence Ivan had heard from Heda over the years, and makes available his painstaking research into the former Communist state's archives. In his attempt to recreate the atmosphere extant at the time his father death, Margolius succeeds masterfully.
   
   I consider REFLECTIONS to be an essential primer for anyone with more than a passing interest in Czech history.
   
   If you're looking for an easy-to-read book on Prague written by a son of one of its most illustrious families, the Margoliuses, then stop searching. You've found it.
   
   Five stars.



2. This is a tragic memoir of a son whose father was murdered by the Communist regime. The author sets the stage beautifully by giving the history of the Czech nation, the plight of its Jewish population, and the suffering at the hands of the Nazis and Communists. He weaves the story of his family into this history with great skill. As a native Czech who had some similar experiences to those of Ivan Margolius, I particularly appreciated his attention to detail, his accurate and beautiful descriptions of Prague and the Czech countryside, and his use of poetry throughout the book. The reader cannot help but weep for a son who has such deep feelings and who carries with him such deep sorrow for a father whom he knew for only a few very short years. A wonderful book!

No comments about Daniel Day-Lewis: The Biography.

5 comments about Almost There.

1. I love this book. While her first, Are you Somebody, was so full of darkness, this is full of hope. It is a book about redemption. She is not there yet, but almost there. She writes BEAUTIFULLY. A real wordsmith. The way she writes alone makes it worthwhile. I am in my 30s and male, and I found that I could relate to the themes she raises. They really are universal.



2. Yes, ma'am, this `analyze my life and then tell-all' book seems like the sort of fare on which Oprah could chew for several shows. It was ready-made for her book club and would have instantly been embraced by her angst-loving fan base, but somehow it stayed outside that sort of recognition. But that's not a cheap shot, I mean it, this is a book for those who like the sort of reading material common in Oprah's book club. So Oprah readers, go get this!
   
   I don't know if I was supposed to, exactly, but I found this book gloomy, and mostly only liked the rare parts where Irish Times writer Nuala O'Faolain wasn't speaking so personally. Her reports on the state of Northern Ireland, her experiences in America (page 195, " 'America' was always the word for promise." Boy have I ever heard that before...) the compare and contrast moments that dealt with Ireland in relation to other places she's been, these were a lot more likely to hold my interest, I found, than her oft-murky forays into her own allegedly bleak childhood, her controversial romantic life, or her stark realizations at her own failings, failures, and foibles.
   
   Still there's something endearing about a woman whose best mate is her dog, Molly, and whose singlemost passion in life seems to be her readiness to delve into self-deprecation as if it is also her salvation.
   
   I don't regret reading Almost There, but I don't plan on seeking out any of Nuala O'Faolain's other published books, either.



3. I could really relate to her life's reflections in relation to her own personal experiences as well as her perspective on universal family situations. Nuala's frank proclamation revealing her loneliness was quite powerful. The fact that she read this book on CD herself with wit and prose makes me want others to listen to her gift of gab.



4. first off i want to say i shouldn't complain too much as i bought an autographed hard copy of this book for just $1.00 . Thank God for small favors . to begin with i really was enjoying this book in the beginning and too quick to imagine myself buying her first memoir .
   
   what bothered me the most was her having an illicit affair with a man who even she described as not being educated, nor really a " looker " . yet time and again she would drive miles, hours, and pay for their trysts .
   he'd bring hard candy ....lol.
   like, didn't she wonder why she never heard nor saw this gink on holidays such as xmas . not even a card ? I think she knew in her deepest being. she's just the type of woman for some reason needs to be exploited as that's all she feels she truly deserves . it was sickening .
   
   she's lucky to have found someone who cares . but, i didn't give a damn about her during this entire fiasco of a book . she saw the inside of more motels then " the gideon bible " .
   
   my advice to her ...go back to column writing . she ought be ashamed to have her siblings read this as well as everybody else .
   
   i don't believe in bookburning ..but, i'm tempted .



5. This is my first book by this author and thus have nothing else to compare this memoir to. My first impression was her honesty, with herself and with others: her alcoholic mother, her own drinking (a bottle of wine a night), her relationship failures both with men and women, and her regrets in life. Had she been an American publishing this book it would have been a sensation, but alas, because she is Irish and Catholic and an unknown in the US, the book made little waves here.
   
   She mentions her first book "Are You Somebody" a lot in this memoir and this seems to be a sequel. It's the book that shot her to fame, which brought her interviews in the more progressive US Northeast where many Irish live. She ponders her success almost to the point of insanity, rather than enjoying her success for her efforts. It's that typical Catholic guilt feeling.
   
   Her honesty with her seemingly gay relationship had me at first stumped. I almost stopped reading after her first mention of her ex-partner leaving her, but I overcame that after I continued her chapter. Then I realized that subject is just too tabu in the US. So I congratulate her for bringing that subject out in the open.
   
   Her candor of her first book caused some heartache to others in her life, others who may have hurt her in the past. Was she trying to get even with them by publishing the events as they happened according to her? She's honest and covers the other person's point of view, which was a courageous act. Most people who write memoirs mention the people who hurt them, but few take the time to ask themselves why they hurt them, or the reasons for the behavior. Different people, different perspectives, says Nuala. Who's right?
   
   It's definitely not an easy read or one that one laughs out loud reading. It's one more of the "Damn, that hurt!" reaction that, after more thought, allows the reader to gain greater respect for the author, and allows the readers to look deeper into themselves.