No comments about When We Were Young: A Compendium of Childhood.

5 comments about Father's Touch, Second Edition.

1. That last reviewer must not understand the concept of a memoir or is prejudiced. You write the story of your life the way you see it not the way someone else thinks you should. The author is this case tells how the molester manipulates his victims into thinking they are to blame, that it is a "game". That's why it could go on so long. Of course, he thinks it was and is horrific as does the reader. In fact, I'd venture to say, more horrific because you have a glimpse into the mind of a pedophile as the author uses his molester/father's writings. I haven't been abused but I've never read a better book that takes me there - the last taboo - that unfortunately too many children experience. Father's Touch is a must read! Where are you Oprah? James Fry lied but there are true stories that need to be told!



2. Too bad James Fry lied to Oprah. Memoirs are important and she is moving away from promoting them. Father's Touch is both a well-told story and educational at the same time. A must read for those interested in understanding the mind of a pedophile, as the author quotes from his molester/father's writings. This book shows the manipulative skill of molesters as well as the resilience of survivors in challenging the misconceptions of friends and family. I wonder why the victims must always have to answer why they are this way, why they made the choices they did. I am not a victim but I hope one day molesters undergo the amount of therapy that victims no doubt need to survive. Father's Touch is a one-of-a-kind memoir. Read it!



3. WAY too graphic so that the abuse is portrayed sexually from the child's viewpoint in my opinion... didn't get the impact that needs to be shown from the eye of the helpless child who is tormeted.



4. I just finished the complimentary ("Thanks!") copy of your book, and I must say I've never read anything as disturbing and frightening as "Father's Touch." I cannot relate; I'm a son and a father, but your background is one I could not even begin to imagine.
   
   What strength, courage and bloody guts you displayed from a very early age. Having to deal with an abusive father, a manipulative Church, a school full of peers teasing and laughing at you; I think you showed in your book - whether intentionally or not - that you were infinitely stronger than you believed you were.
   
   The book was compelling from beginning to end, a real page-turner. As someone who has not experienced any form of abuse, or been seen as "different" in any way, you must think I read your story with the same fascination as a bystander at a horrible traffic accident trying to see the dead bodies. Perhaps there's some truth to that. But your writing style was crisp, fast-paced and often humourous, and (like all great story-tellers do) I appreciated being transported into different worlds I was - am - completely unfamiliar with.



5. Anyone who has regard for the future can only view the destruction of a child's innocence as one of the most heinous crimes in the human lexicon of brutality. When this occurs in the family home and is perpetrated by a parent with an obvious duty of care, the betrayal and it's consequences are immeasurable.
   Daniel and Jeannette D'Haene emigrated to Canada from Belgium in 1957 where they settled in a rural area and had four children. Ronny the eldest was followed by Donald, the author of this book, then Marina and Erik in turn. On arrival in Canada both Daniel and Jeannette were Roman Catholics, she more devout than he. Daniel felt constrained by a diktat by the church in Belgium the faithful should not read the 'Bible' which would confuse them. This must be peculiar to the clergy at that time and place, since the same was not true then in UK. Daniel was attracted by the Jehovah Witnesses who actively encouraged religious study and became a pillar of the local community group. Eventually he persuaded his wife with a mixture of rhetoric and beatings she should change her faith too.
   Whatever the expectations and demands of the Witnesses, Daniel believed in his own home he was the master, and his wife and children, his property. They were expected to be obedient to every whim and caprice. At the age of four Donald was introduced to 'The Game'. This involved masturbating his father and was merely the beginning of ten years of prolonged abuse, during which more serious assaults occurred. In time the children would pool their knowledge and learn each of them were initiates in 'The Game'. Daniel informed his elder sons he would expect them when they were older to perform incestuously with their sister, after he finished with her. Each child was intimidated into silence and their innocence of moral certitudes exploited. When they learned what was happening to them was wrong, their father foisted the illusion of mutual culpability upon them. It was only when Erik, aged five, told his mother what his father had insisted on doing she became aware of the abuse. Daniel promised to get help, but continued molesting his children.
   In 1973 Jeanette and her children approached the Elders of the Witnesses to gain protection for themselves. Their reaction was to 'excommunicate' Daniel without telling his family he had also confessed to bestiality. When the situation at home deteriorated still further, Ronny and Donald persuaded their mother to leave with all the children. Daniel, meanwhile, joined the Baptists and after a divorce, remarried and once again became a pillar of his community.
   Without exception all four children suffered immense psychological damage. Ronny, temporarily became a 'control freak' like his father and left home before worse effects would be felt. Donald, by chance, reading a newspaper article discovered his father had actually committed a crime for which he could be charged. By then, at least thirty people in authority, knew the family's story and none had advised them of their legal position or alternatively to seek legal advice. Finally getting this from a policeman from Ontario, Donald instigated criminal proceedings against Daniel and obtained therapy for himself, Marina and Erik.
   When Daniel came to trial, it was a complete travesty informed by incompetence, ignorance and plea-bargaining. He was sent down for two years in a reformatory, having sentenced his family to years of miserable flashbacks and psychological trauma. The severity of damage is evidenced in that it took twenty years before Donald could face his memories and write this detailed account of his childhood. To many fellow victims it will appear to be classical in the methods used by Daniel to control his family and the secrecy and shame they endured. It also highlights the confusion of sexual identity which often results exacerbated by the normal raging hormones of adolescence.
   There is very little literature on the subject of father/son sexual abuse which is still for some a taboo subject. This well written and fluent book should be required reading for all engaged in the protection of children and the victims of today. These may care to know Donald more than survived his past and is today a successful art journalist, actor and TV presenter. Lawyers should also view the last chapters of the book as a textbook summary of how not to prosecute a case and judges can gain a refresher course on what poor administrative services can do to 'justice'. In this instance, Donald and his family were the victims of secondary rape by the very system which allegedly should have redressed their wrongs and protected them.
   Although this matter came to trial in the early 1980's in Canada, whilst there is a better understanding of the evils of sexual abuse today, there are still errors of judgement by social workers and laxity in prosecution on both sides of the Atlantic.
   Finally, the author should be commended for his courage in writing this book. To discuss the unspeakable acts committed by a parent and expose the induced guilt and shame created with undoubted finesse is a triumph of talent and the will over adversity.

5 comments about Famous Builder.

1. If I press a book into your hand and beg you to read it, you will know that I am doing so because I love the book and I want to share that love with you. When you examine the beloved book, you will note how many pages I've dog eared. The more dog ears, the deeper my love.
   
   Paul Lisicky's gorgeous, tender book of essays, Famous Builder, has a dog ear about every other page. I loved it that much.
   
   If you start off your book, very first thing, having to spell your name in a classroom--you've got me. Right there. Welcome to every first day of my life.
   
   But then if you carry on with wonderful, evocative, empathetic renderings of your family and childhood neighbors and relatives (Mrs. Fox! I picture her as Anne Bancroft playing Mrs. Robinson) and your own place within this world and your own childhood longings (to become a famous builder of all the wondrous and geeky things), you've got me even further.
   
   Lisicky pages through his life and opens old wounds and examines them, but never once paints himself or his family the victim. His parents are human beings and he is a son who tries hard and sometimes fails and sometimes lets go. He is a son who yearns, just as they want him to yearn.
   
   While this is partly a book of coming of age, mostly this is a book of home, and what Lisicky (and his brothers) knows is that home is moving away from you just as you know it is there--home could be a department store on its way out or waterfront homes built on dredge and fill or a hotel room.
   
   Home is in the moment:
   
   "I turn back toward the room. If it were mine to do such a thing, I'd secure this moment with the heaviest anchor: Arden taking up all the space he needs; Beau resting a thick paw on Mark's forearm; Mark touching my leg as I walk by, just to let me know he's thinking of me."
   
   A beautiful, touching book. Read it.



2. This is one of those books that I wanted as a quick, uplifting, summer read and I have to be honest and say it was really excruciating to read. I don't like to give negative feedback, especially for authors whom I've enjoyed in the past. However, the positive reviews here, which influenced me to purchase it, need to be checked. I FORCED myself to finish this and it took months.
   
   The book is about the author's childhood. It is so completely disjointed in it's characters, times and locations and rarely makes sense at all. There is absolutely no depth to or connections between any of the characters. It's all descriptive writing about locations, etc. and has little point or continuity. It really has nothing to do with being a builder, even thought that's what it seems the protagonist wanted to be in his early childhood. Later in the book, you find out he actually wanted to be something else (I can't even remember and i finished it this week) and mentions nothing about him wanting to be an author (which he ultimately is).
   
   It would have helped if the author cut the descriptive text in half and delved into the relationships between the people in his life (not just describe their out of sequence comments). I was craving to know more about his father and him and his mother and him and his brother, neighbors, aunts, etc. but it just described a few of their comments and actions randomly in his life. The most character development is of a neighbor - "Mrs. Fox" who appears in one of his location changes - and that is purely descriptive as well.
   
   I do not recommend this book to anyone - not even people who fondly remember the development communities of the 50's - today. Sorry Mr. Lisiki but i'm sure i'll give you a good review somewhere else.
   
   The cover is very nice (and the velum insert) but here goes the clichet.... "Don't judge a book by it's cover" - or the Amazon reviews.



3. Sweet. Irreverent. Warm. A little crazed. And still these adjectives don't do justice to the accomplishment of this lovely book.



4. Every now and then I come across a book that occupies all my free time. This is one such book! The author has accomplished to portrait his journey from middle America childhood to adulthood with great observation, introspection, and delirious humor. I loved it!



5. Every now and then I come across a book that takes hold of all my free time, that practically nothing gets accomplished until I reach the last page. This was one such book! The author has accomplished to portrait his journey from middle America youth to adulthood with great observation, introspection, and delirious humor. I loved it!

No comments about In the Blood.

5 comments about Rough As a Cob: More from the Juliette Journals.

1. The title is what initially caught my attention, and I was impressed with the quality of writing exhibited by the author, Ed Williams. The humor and sarcasm displayed in this book hovers steadily on a tightrope between earthiness and family-friendly aw-shucks hilarity.
   
   One of the most amusing and beautifully crafted stories in this collection is entitled `Rasslin' and Riskin' (Our Asses)' because that's precisely what the author and his 60+ college buddies do one fine Tuesday evening. As Mr. Williams writes: "We knew that the Macon pro wrestling crowd (mostly rural country folks-some came from counties miles away just to see it) didn't take kindly to people cheering for the bad guys. We knew if we did this we'd piss a lot of people off." And Williams skillfully narrates and quotes a lot of comical dialogue from his wild, wild adventures that he and his classmates experienced that night in the Coliseum.
   
   The varied lengths of the pieces from vignettes to full out tales such as the one mentioned above, allow the person who reads this book to really get a feel of what life in central Georgia is like. A loving ode to his grandfather, Ed Sr., who in the chapter quote is succinctly described by his son: "His ass was wilder than yours and mine put together," along with the insightful and fun chapters, `Let's Be Honest About Little League' and `Meetin' BTO' demonstrate Mr. Ed Williams III's innate storytelling abilities.



2. I won an autographed copy this book in a unique essay contest. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I started reading it. Funny and hilarious are mere words that simply don't do this book justice. I literally laughed until tears were running from my eyes. Ed Williams can spin a tale like no other. Anyone who picks up this book and fails to find a master story teller spinning tales of a simpler life in a simpler time has no sense of humor. Williams has the ability to reach out and take the reader back to a simpler time of nostalgia and humor.
   
   More importantly than the humor is the obvious love, repsect and sincere admiration that Ed Williams has for his father and family. Wiliams writes a loving tribute to his father told with incredible humor and appreciation for a simpler time in life when outhouses were "in" and corn cobs had a unique and imagintive function.
   
   Rough as a Cob is a must read and a book I will cherish and continue to enjoy over and over again.



3. "Rough as a Cob," by Ed Williams III, is a compilation of ten stories that attempt to be hilarious, but fail to deliver the punch at the end. They are based on growing up in the rural South of Juliette, Georgia and attempt too hard to use this as the root of the humor. (...)
   
   This book provides stories that are somewhat entertaining about the life of Ed Sr., Ed Jr. and Ed III. Somehow, visions of Ed, Edd and Eddy from the Cartoon Network come to mind. Anyway, we are provided the disturbing life of these three while the author presses hard for the laugh that is an occasional chuckle at most.
   
   Let's be honest. Is a plan to gang up on Santa Claus really considered funny? That is the level of humor we are given from the book.(...) A nice try that falls a few inches short of its goal.



4. "Rough as a Cob," by Ed Williams III, is a compilation of ten hilarious stories about growing up in the rural South of Juliette, Georgia.
   The book encompasses the lives of Ed Sr., Ed Jr., and the brotherhood, whose antics are so crazy that it's impossible to keep a straight face.
   I particularly enjoyed the stories, 'Snake in the Cobs,' and 'Ed Sr.,' where Frank and Ed Sr. devise a plan to beat the crap out of Santa Claus. Overall the whole book was hysterically funny, unpredictable, and well thought out.
   I must admit this is the first time a book has ever made me belly roar with laughter. In fact at one point the tears were streaming down my face so badly, that I couldn't even see the words.
   The characters are likable, well developed, and believable. The author portrayed his family and friend's situations so wonderfully, that he really gave his reader a glimpse into the actual scenarios, as if going back in time. Ed Williams has an uncanny way of drawing his reader into the story - meticulously, and with flair - making this book a real page-turner.
   "Rough as a Cob" is a wonderful example of family life and the human condition. It is a truly incredible book, and I highly recommend it.
   I hope that if Ed is ever in Canada to visit BTO, that he'll personally sign my books.
   
   Linda Oness



5. In Rough As A Cob, Ed Williams' second collection of essays, I found myself laughing out loud. I was intrigued from the beginning chapter of "On Being Southern" to Chapter 10 "Meeting BTO."
   
   I especially enjoyed the stories of Ed's family and I loved hearing about what Ed Jr. and Ed Sr. had to say. The down home stories brought me endless smiles, particularly Chapter 3 "Snake in the Cobs." Ed's love for and admiration of his family is apparent through his stories. I have to say I was amazed at how well written this story was written. Also the stories and characters were true to life and the images made me feel like I was right there - in the story, witnessing every experience, first-hand. I have to admit feeling pity for Charlie Pounds when Ed Sr. tells him "Charlie, you are too damn ugly." But in essence it is this type of pure honesty that is missing from today's society. I realized we need people like Ed Sr., who tell it like it is, with no fabrications. I laughed endlessly at Ed Sr. and Frank attempting and succeeding at beating up on Santa for being a greedy bastard. I felt the loss when Ed Sr.'s friend, Wig passed away. That's how real this story is.
   
   If you only read one book this year - read Rough As A Cob, you won't be let down.
   
   Renee Bagley

No comments about A Himalayan Odyssey.

1 comments about Beans and Rice: Growing Up Cuban.

1. Beans and Rice is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read. Martha brings great humor to her experiences growing up in Cuba. Beans and Rice belongs on a best seller list!

2 comments about Displaced Person: A Girl's Life in Russia, Germany, and America.

1. Ella writes what she remembers about her childhood and gives us a chance to understand what life was like for a girl dealing with World War II and the aftermath. The details of everyday life help you understand what it took to survive. She writes with honesty and gratitude for those who helped her. It is an inspiring story. God is good - all the time!



2. I think this was a great book. It answers alot of unasked and unanswered questions. It also talks about the effects of war. We met the author at a time share and she gave a talk about the book. She was very interesting to listen to. My Dad read this book too. He agrees with me that she didn't leave anything out. I did wonder why I couldn't get a straight answer from distant relatives where our relatives were from. When a country or state boundary line has moved other places people write on there family tree death or birth record that when the people were born they live in X which is call Y in 2006. I never thought they were not telling the truth because they were afraid the communists would find them.
   
   If you want to read an interesting book about Russia and Germany about WWII this is the book for you. The section about life in America was vivid about living with her parents but when she was more integrated into American life and not living with her parents the information was slimmer. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to live on a cotton plantation in the South.

4 comments about Greenbelt : A Nostalgic Return to a Texas Childhood.

1. Greenbelt brought back childhood memories of a Texas lake and the antics one can get away with as a young kid. It reminded me of times that I had not considered in ages. Times when I was invincible.

   The stories in this book transcend a regional area, they could have occurred on a Texas Panhandle lake, a California beach or on a Iowa farm.

   Read this book to remind you of your own childhood or to remind you of a childhood you wish you had lived!!




2. Released just in time for for summer reading, I heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure. Jim Man's style is easygoing, and at the same time compelling. I kept reading "just one more chapter" to find out what would happen next to Jim, Dwight, and the other colorful characters. This book truly is a return to a simpler time in the not too distant past. A time when kids explored the outside world on their own, and a Mother's parting words were "Be home in time for supper".



3. I picked up the book on a Friday night. I was skeptical at best, but everybody leaves the bookstore with a book; and besides, the author was at the bookstore doing the dog and pony show trying to sell some of his books. Politely, I bought the book, came home and was mesmerized for the next four hours (I am a slow reader). I liked the size of the book, it wasn't real intimidating and I thought I would give it at least three chapters. That was all it took and I was hooked. A NOSTALGIC RETURN is exactly what I got. Mr. Man's book took me back to my own childhood and the amazement that I (and he)lived through it. Chapter after chapter was adventure, exploit, and just good ole' childhood mischief. I finished the book that night (to my wife's dislike). Several times she woke up and hit me with the pillow because the bed was shaking from my laughter. I honestly couldn't put the book down. Anyway, for what it is worth, I wish I had the book to look forward to. Write on Mr. Man, Bart boxwell



4. Here we have Jim Man's portrait of a summerful of visits to a lake house in north Texas of 1972 (age 12). The outstanding quality of Man's writing is its credibility: on a topic almost hand-crafted as a foundation for tall tales, I'm darned if I don't believe just about everything he says.

   I too grew up in the 1970s in the West, and we did in fact use to shoot at one another with BB guns, dig through any half-ruined building available to us, and gad about on any wheeled vehicle we could scrounge up. While Jim's story is one of a lot of fun--some better and cleaner than others--it is a story of lessons learned about himself and others. Jim's friend Dwight is an especially compelling character, the kind you can't invent; they either are authentic or they are not. (His accent, by the way, is authentic. He sounds precisely like my very rural, very Texan father-in-law.) By the end of the book--which I wish had been longer--I really wanted to know what ever became of the boys in the book.

   As a book for young people, I'd rate it PG-13: the author could have easily pushed it toward R-17, but a visible effort was made to take the edges off the language and content; this effort might not get the credit it deserves, but parents buying books for their children will appreciate it. If you're raising kids today, _Greenbelt_ will encourage you to pose the question: how come we turned out all right in spite of the fact that we behaved like Jim and his cohorts? It will appeal especially to anyone who likes motorcycles, fishing/boating, and modern-day Tom Sawyer hijinks. For anyone who grew up in rural Texas, naturally, the appeal will be even stronger. I came away liking the genuinely warm, adventuresome Man family, and I reckon a lot of readers will too.

5 comments about Clear Springs: A Family Story.

1. I'd never read any of Bobbie Ann Mason's work before reading Clear Springs for a book club. I believe I may be missing out if her other books are like this one. There is a warmth to her story that makes it a real pleasure to read. Mason's language, too, is comfortable and highly readable. Her rhythms, especially, give a real richness to her prose. I highly recommend this.



2. Bobbie Ann Mason has done a wonderful job with "Clear Springs". I did not grow up in Kentucky in the baby boom generation, but I did grow up in rural southern Missouri just after it, and this story is so very like what I was familiar with. Ms. Mason is of my mother's generation and except for the disfunction there are many similarities between this story and stories my mother has told. My family reminded me of the older Masons and not the disfunctional Lees. The isolation of rural life, but the joy in many ways that come from it. The curiosity of the outside world, but the fear of it. She relates that Clear Springs hadn't changed much since the Civil War and she was correct in that. The world that slowly evolved for most Americans changed before this rural generation's eyes. A Great book!



3. When writing a memoir, authors are advised to write the first draft as if everyone is dead - and then to prune the damaging parts in subsequent rewrites. Perhaps Mason pruned a bit too much. This otherwise lovely and affectionate memoir of how it was to grow up in a small, working-class town in Kentucky in the 40s and 50s is a bit long on respect and caution - and a bit short on grit.
   Otherwise, I loved it. I grew up in Kansas in the 50s and can relate to the pace, small-town values, and lack of danger (except from the "evil Communists" and "the bomb") that Mason portrays as such inherent parts of her roots. Her language, esp in the first part of the book focusing on her own childhood memories, is rich and multi-layered and pulls readers into every scene right along with her. In the rest of the book, she uses the techniques of creative nonfiction to weave a background narrative that spans the lives of three generations of women within the community.
   A worthwhile read; it won't change your life, but it might make you think, and it's certainly a pleasant trip to take with this accomplished author.



4. Indispensible to serious readers of Mason's fiction, this memoir is true to family and community life in Western Kentucky (despite what other reviewers might say).



5. I'm an appreciative fan of Bobbie Ann Mason's short stories, about rural people raised with traditional values now somewhat at sea in a world of consumerism, pop culture, and a new morality. Young adults, whose parents would have stuck with a marriage come hell or high water, now divorce and drift through relationships. Their parents tied to the land and other life-long occupations, Mason's post-war generation is less rooted, freed of conventional beliefs, but often at a loss about what to believe in. Most striking as America grows increasingly urban, Mason's people continue to inhabit a rural landscape -- more worldly than their forebears, but not more sophisticated.

   While some readers of Mason's stories and novels may have been puzzled by the point of view in them (ironic? matter of fact? sentimental?), this wonderful memoir should do much to clear up that ambiguity. Here a reader is introduced to the world of day-to-day experience that these narratives have emerged from. And you can begin to see how the matter of fact, ironic, and sentimental blend into a perspective that is distinctly rural American. The strongest individual (who is surely the source of many of Mason's fictional characters) is without doubt her mother, a remarkable woman with a quizzical sense of humor, a colorful manner of speaking, and a long view that comes of witnessing much of the 20th century at first hand.

   A list of highlights in this book would go on for pages; there's just so much to savor and enjoy. There's Mason's own unsophisticated childhood (barefoot summers, crushes on pop stars, rock and roll fandom), the making of the film "In Country," and the continuing transformation of the rural Kentucky environment from horse-and-buggy days to the invasion of agribusiness -- a huge processing plant has sprung up across the road from the family farm.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Mason's fiction. It is rich with thoughtful and well-observed detail reaching back across three generations of family history.