History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Jean-Honore Fragonard: Life and Work : Complete Catalogue of the Oil Paintings

Average customer rating:

Jean-Honore Fragonard: Life and Work : Complete Catalogue of the Oil Paintings
Jean-Pierre Cuzin
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

A Life of Picasso, Volume II: 1907-1917 - The Painter of Modern Life

Average customer rating:

The Best Picasso
Richardson Deserves Praise
A Perfect Biography
I inhaled the book

A Life of Picasso, Volume II: 1907-1917 - The Painter of Modern Life
John Richardson
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0394559185
Release Date: 1996-11-05

Amazon.com

This second volume in Richardson's exhaustive and intense biography of the twentieth century's greatest artist covers the ten years from 1907, where volume one ended its epic story of youthful Bohemian struggle. Picasso was then 26; the decade covered here displays a journey to adulthood through astonishing artistic innovation, a growing renown, and the artist's turbulent sexual relations. Richardson details Picasso's public career, including the impact of Cubism, and his complex personal life, notably the artist's passionate and callous treatment of his wives and mistresses ("deification followed by a degrading process of psychosexual dissection"). Through perceptive analysis of Picasso's paintings, Richardson also offers a deep understanding of the inner demons that shaped his remarkable outer life.

Book Description

In the second volume of his definitive biography of Pablo Picasso, John Richardson draws on the same combination of lively writing, critical astuteness, exhaustive research and personal experience that made a bestseller out of the first volume and vividly re-creates the artist's life and work during the crucial decade of 1907-1917--a period during which Picasso and Georges Braque invented cubism and to that extent engendered modernism. Thanks to his friendship with Picasso and his family, mistresses, friends, dealers and other associates, Richardson has had unique access to untapped sources and unpublished material. By harnessing biography to art history, he has managed to crack the code of cubism more successfully than any of his predecessors. And by bringing fresh light to bear on the artist's too often sensationalized private life, he has succeeded in coming up with a totally new view of this paradoxical man and of his paradoxical work. Never before has Picasso's prodigious technique, his incisive vision and, not least, his sardonic humor been analyzed with such clarity.

Richardson reveals that the young Picasso saw himself in the Baudelairean role of "the painter of modern life"--a role that stipulated the brothel as the noblest subject for a modern artist. Hence his great innovative painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, with which this book opens. As well as portraying Picasso as a revolutionary, the author analyzes the more compassionate side of his genius. The misogynist of posthumous legend turns out to have been surprisingly vulnerable--more often sinned against than sinning. Heartbroken at the death of his mistress Eva, the artist tried desperately to find a wife. Richardson recounts the untold story of how his two great loves of 1915-1917 successively turned him down; and how these disappointments, as well as his horror at the outbreak of World War I and the wounds it inflicted on his closest friends, Braque and Apollinaire, shadowed his painting and drove him off to Rome--back to the ancient world.

For Picasso, art would always have a magic function. As Richardson reveals, the artist saw himself as a shaman who could use his art to cast spells, both good and bad, and play all manner of ingenious and sardonic games. This greatest of modern artists knew better than anyone how to outrage us, also how to fascinate, puzzle and disturb us. Above all, he makes us perceive reality afresh by re-energizing our minds as well as our eyes.

Customer Reviews:

The Best Picasso.......2007-10-02

I've read several books on Picasso and this is easily the best. I think that's because it focuses on a specific finite period of 10 years. I wish the other books had taken this tact.

If you're a fan of Pablo's, or a lover of fine art, this is a must read.

Richardson Deserves Praise.......2001-02-23

This is the best biography I have ever read. It was absolutely brilliant. If you have ever wondered what it was like to live in Paris in the early twentieth century, as an emerging artist (what a cool daydream, right?) this is the book for you. All of those tales of Hemingway and Fitzgerald on the French Riviera, the women, the cafes; Richardson captures it here: the life of an artist realizing his potential as an artist -- it is truly amazing. His explanations accompanying each painting, the way they came to fruition, the stories behind the early masterworks, the market (Les Demoiselles [i.e., the 'most studied painting of the 20th Century' Richardson opines, and arguably the first cubist painting, so upset Picasso and unsettled his friends that he kept it virtually hidden for a decade [this was a young Picasso before his artwork {and ego} commanded millions] and it was touching to read and see this side of young Pablo). Sure, recent trends have tended to treat Picasso with great disdain, and while this IS only a biography, it is the most incisive biography into one of the most celebrated creative minds of the twentieth century that I have ever read. Honestly. The biography itself is an intense revelation -- thoroughly, exhaustively researched and written, and a credit to John Richardson as a human being, a researcher, and a biographical author -- an artist in his own right.

A Perfect Biography.......2000-02-04

I agree largely with the other review. One of the things worth mentioning is that this book is also one of the best descriptions of cultural life in France in the first and second decades of the 20 th century I have ever read. You meet people like Appolinaire, Gide, Max Jacob, Kahnweiler, Vollard, Gris, Matisse and Bracque and begin to understand the particular, immensely productive environment of pre-war France. It was also of huge interest to read about the real friendship between Bracque and Picasso and how this lead to such wonderful, very similar pictures like "Le Portugais" (Bracque) and "Man with Mandolin" (Picasso). I look forward indeed to the next volume and aim to read the first one immediately.

I inhaled the book.......1998-12-06

Please allow me to gush. I usually labor through biographies, but the two Richardson volumes are so well written and thoroughly researched that I was done before I knew it. The illustrations are black and white, but it was little trouble to go to my Picasso catalogs to see the things in color. I was quite disappointed when I was through with each volume. I enjoyed the second even though I'm not thrilled with Cubism. I can hardly wait for the third volume. I'm also interested in Richardson himself showing up in the biography. At the risk of sounding morbid, I pray to God John Richardson is in good health. I'm looking forward to the volumes dealing with Picasso in the 1920's and 1950's.

Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul

Average customer rating:

Must have!

Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul
Patricia Berman , Reinhold Heller , Elizabeth Prelinger , Tina Yarborough , Kynaston McShine , and Edvard Munch
Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0870704559
Release Date: 2006-02-01

Book Description

In an exploration of modern existential experience unparalleled in the history of art, Edvard Munch, the internationally renowned Norwegian painter, printmaker and draftsman, sought to translate personal trauma into universal terms and in the process to comprehend the fundamental components of human existence: birth, love and death. Inspired by personal experience, as well as by the literary and philosophical culture of his time, Munch radically reconceived the given world as the product of his imagination. This book explores Munch's unique artistic achievement in all its richness and diversity, surveying his career in its entire developmental range from 1880 to 1944. The comprehensive volume features a lavish selection of color plates, an introduction by Kynaston McShine, Chief Curator at Large at The Museum of Modern Art, and essays by Patricia Berman, Reinhold Heller, Elizabeth Prelinger, and Tina Yarborough, as well as in-depth documentation of Munch's art and career. It will accompany the most extensive exhibition of Munch's art in America in three decades.

Customer Reviews:

Must have!.......2007-03-11

This was one of the greatest art exhibits I have ever seen (and I have been around the world) and this book is a comprehensive look at the stages and series of the paintings of Munch that were featured. Engaging and engrossing!

The Painters of Modern Life (Arts & Letters)

Average customer rating:

Modern versus Contemporary critical reflections/debates on the Arts

The Painters of Modern Life (Arts & Letters)
Charles Baudelaire
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Criticism | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Essays | Literature & Fiction | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0714833657

Customer Reviews:

Modern versus Contemporary critical reflections/debates on the Arts.......2007-02-21

This book was a historical landmark in the beginnings of modern criticism, and is seen as a pioneering benchmark for artistic reference. Its relevance today is that its poetic language or vernacular manages to engage the reader in a strange relationship with contemporary art criticism, opening up all kinds of possiblities for the artist(s)/curator who wishes to broaden their historical frames of reference. It is then a specialists book that equally throws light onto our times, it is up to the reader of course on how far their imagination can accomodate this. I recommend this book to anyone with an open mind who is curious about how past and present times are constructed, viewed and discussed.

Average customer rating:

inspiring biography
life of this leading modernist painter mostly in relation to friends and other artists of his time

Georges Braque: A Life
Alex Danchev
Manufacturer: Arcade Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Modern | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1559707437

Customer Reviews:

inspiring biography.......2007-07-03

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

This book will infect you

with a love of art & artists.

Art students , pay attention

to this delicious treat !

life of this leading modernist painter mostly in relation to friends and other artists of his time.......2006-01-05

With the back matter of three short appendices, lengthy notes, lengthy bibliography, and index starting on page 280, this makes the text less than 300 pages. Danchev's biography on this early modernist artist relates his influence on contemporary artists and on modern art as well as influences on him mostly through Braque's relationships with others. The treatment is not a probing psychological study, nor an aesthetic critique and evaluation; but rather concentrates on aspects of Braque's everyday life--his friendships, his trips, his habits. Braque's long and fertile relationship with Picasso was central to Braque's creativity. Danchev also spends time on Braque's marriage to Marcelle Vorvanne, giving her a mini-biography of her own. Another important relationship for Braque was with Jean Paulhan, one of the editors of "Nouvelle Revue Francaise," who "became [the artist's] greatest tribune and celebrant." Paulhan wrote about Braque's painting, "[I]t is without doubt that his work is at all times strangely complete and sufficient...[with the ultimate] feeling of a delay enjoyed, and an obligation fulfilled." Such observations from others in Braque's life are not only illuminating and stimulating in themselves, but accrue to cast light on the complexities and enigma of Braque--as with any historically significant artist--and his paintings; several of which are shown in color plates. Danchev has written other biographies and is a professor in the School of Politics at the U. of Nottingham.

Average customer rating:

A new insight on a great artist
Beckmann /Klee

Max Beckmann: Dream of Life
Cornelia Homburg , Reinhard Spieler , and Max Beckmann
Manufacturer: Hatje Cantz Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Modern | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 3775716955
Release Date: 2006-06-01

Book Description

Description: "Art serves understanding, not entertainment," reads one of Max Beckmann's dictums. Beckmann's oeuvre, widely acknowledged to be some of the most significant German art of the twentieth century, contains a wealth of existential and contemporary historical convictions and questions. This representative selection of some 60 figurative paintings done between 1917 and the artist's death in 1950 unfolds the entire panorama of his career, from violent works reflecting the shock of war to pieces from his later years in New York, from the Cubism and Expressionism of his youth to the Symbolism of his later age. The Dream of Life sheds new light on the development of Beckmann's techniques, ideas and central themes: cabaret, music, the world of the theater, dreams and reality, sensual settings and the role of the female muse, as well as his unusual use of romantic visual motifs in landscapes and urban contexts. The authors focus on conceptual aspects of Beckmann's work which have heretofore been neglected.

Customer Reviews:

A new insight on a great artist.......2007-04-21

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition held at the Zentrum Klee in Bern, Switzerland, in 2006. The idea of the exhibition, as pointed out in the beginning of the book, was to confront Beckmann's art to Klee's (the museum's Klee holdings are the largest in the world).This idea is not present here, since the catalogue is entirely centered on Beckmann, leaving Klee out.

It is a good survey of Beckmann's art, divided in several themes (Beckmann and music, Beckmann and the circus, Beckmann and women, Beckmann and nature...)and enables the reader to view some rarely seen aspects of the artist's oeuvre (I, for one, did not know he had painted still lives), as well as some of his celebrated self-portraits. One shortcoming, though: the quality of the illustrations could have been better.

Beckmann /Klee.......2007-01-05

This is a very elegant book.first rate reproductions in color. The text type is easy on the eyes. This is a catalogue for an exhibition of Beckman in the new Klee museum in Berne Suisse.The locals were somewhat aghast at Beckmann coming to the Klee museum. The curators had no trouble seeing similarities in the two artists work. Both were fans of theater. Beckmann wrote some plays himself. He was interested in Shakespeare ,as well as the circus.The comparison/contrast of Klee-Beckmann is the first chapter of the book.Other chapters are about his interest in music. His love of the carnival and circus. The chronology in the back of the book goes into many details of the artist's career. He sought beautiful ,talented wealthy women to advance socially. After he married Quappi he was accepted into advanced social circles in Frankfurt.I have several books on Beckmann and one a book of his landscapes ,a catalogue of the show at the Forum gallery that I saw in Vienna has work that isn't in any other book. Beckmann's "A Dream Of Life" has a few landscapes that are new to me as well.This book is well worth the Amazon price.It isn't so big that you can't read it while in bed.So, many art books might look good on a cocktail table but , when you want to read it you need to go to a library table.Another feature I liked is the addition of Beckmann's reading list...with commentary about the books by Tilman Osterwold.

Unexpected Journeys: The Art and Life of Remedios Varo

Average customer rating:

Dissapointing
Excellent Overview of Remedios Varo's Life.
Fine book on underrated female surrealist.
This book changed my life.
An excellent book to understand surrealism and Remedios Varo

Unexpected Journeys: The Art and Life of Remedios Varo
Janet A. Kaplan
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Women in Art | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0896597970

Customer Reviews:

Dissapointing.......2004-10-06

Having researched the life and work of Remedios Varo for nearly two years, I have found Janet Kaplan's book a must because she had an astonishing budget and support for having a fine printed book with excellent images and a fairly good biography of this artist. However, having read almost everything published on Varo, reading her own writings and kwnowing the world she lived her last ten years, I consider Kaplan book to be too far fetched on the personal interpretation she makes about Remedios Varo's life and work. Trying her best to make her preconceived ideas about Varo's paintings to fit in, this book is will easely fool those who doesn't know about surrealism, Mexico in the fifties and Remedios Varo.

Excellent Overview of Remedios Varo's Life........2002-02-26

I greatly enjoy this book. She was part of the Surrealism and the book gives an excellent overview of Remedios Varo's life, her artworks, and her surrealists friends. The book shows a great compilation of her works and her great contribution to Mexican Art. Eventhough she born in Spain, she called Mexico her home.If you want to learn more about Spanish Surrealists this is a great artist to read about.

Fine book on underrated female surrealist........1998-11-05

This book is quite good, and to my knowledge, the only one available covering Varo's work. As such, it is essential for her devotees, and even to some extent, for fans of surrealism. Both Varo and her fellow artist Leonora Carrington, (whose works are thematically and technically very similar) deserve wider appreciation. It is, however, excessive to award the book five stars. The reader might compare it to Druick's "Redon", which, with its simultaneously wide-ranging and penetrating scholarship and analysis, and luminous reproductions epitomizes a five-star art book. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Kaplan's book.

This book changed my life........1998-08-27

Unexpected Journeys is one of my all-time favorite books. Not only did it give me the opportunity to connect with Remedios Varo, but it expanded my understanding of surrealism, and feminism. The prints are amazing. I couldn't put it down. Thoroughly informative. Kaplan displays rare insight.

An excellent book to understand surrealism and Remedios Varo.......1998-05-01

This wonderful book let the reader know Remedios Varo as a painter and as a woman. It gives a perspective of the world in those years and helps understand the surrealism as a unique movement in the arts. It has plates in color of the most famous paintings of Varo and a complete explanation of them with a very complete bibliography.

Average customer rating:

Four Observations
Cool and Hot
literary genius
Laughter and Poignancy
Muriel Spark married to Cynthia Ozick and Virginia Woolf

Aura (Southern Tier Editions)
Gary Glickman
Manufacturer: Southern Tier Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1560235047

Book Description

"Some people just have their own innate, unique voice within them that has to come out."

Aura is a tale of five friends-ambitious artists all-who live and play together in New York in the mid-seventies. Each knows for certain that they all will achieve the recognition they deserve-that they each have that certain something essential for a fulfilling and meaningful life. As the years pass, some find their success right away while others remain in obscurity. Their relationships are tumultuous-romances erupt and change as readily as their perceptions of success. Two decades later, will each be able to look back and see the real accomplishments?

Jane Purse-filled with cutthroat determination-sells her first novel immediately after college. Unwavering in her drive for celebrity, can she live with the casualties her ambition leaves behind?

Richy Glass-a promiscuous and carefree gay playwright-has the ambition but no plans. His immediate goals are to find a great place to live and have lots of sex. His life is full of fun and adventure, but will they be enough to sustain him in the future?

Leo Lupovitz-wealthy and contemptuous-aspires to be a renowned painter and poet, but is pressured by his family to become a doctor first. Unable to have everything, he is embittered by the artistic pursuits of his friends. Will he recognize his achievements or will regret and envy obscure all but his failures?

Annie Meyerwitz-an intuitive, aspiring actress-is the only one who recognizes how high the odds are against all of them becoming famous. She loves her friends, always has a kind word, and appreciates the goodness in people. Can she reach above them to put herself first?

Jimmy Swope-the sexy gay actor-is the last to join their clan. Full of passion and romance, he longs for a life-bond with Richy who's too full of shameless vigor to let even one sexual opportunity pass him by. Will Jimmy have the relationship he desires or is he destined to a life of longing and loneliness?

Aura rounds out this delightful cast with a lonely, rich widow-landlord, vulnerable despite herself to Richy's wooing and his Jewish background, an ex-Diva acting teacher, and an eccentric, desperate, and dangerous group of Jane Purse's East Village fans. This book offers an eye-opening look at New York City in the seventies and eighties, and gives an insider's view of young, cutthroat performers and writers, Jews of the Upper West Side, WASP enclaves far from the dangerous city, penthouse perversities, and tenement dreaming. This is a compelling story of love, betrayal, violence, and heroic hopefulness, reflecting the turmoil of those times!

Customer Reviews:

Four Observations.......2004-06-06

Without reiterating the plot I have four things to say about this book.

1. For me, this book was not a page-turner but one that I wanted to read slowly and savor each moment, marvel at the unfolding of every character, and reflect on those times when some epiphany in the book crossed over to call forth or merge with similar times in my own life.

2. The non-linear plot is a wonderful literary devise, even though it sometimes makes it difficult to know exactly where you are in the unfolding of the story-which makes it feel even more true to life.

3. The characters are uniquely and relentlessly consistent in their development, which is what makes them so believable and engaging.

4. There is a subtle underlying darkness to the novel, because it is so honest in dealing with the failed hopes and imperfections that exist in each of the characters, reminding the reader that we are also imperfect creatures. The good news is that we do not have to be perfect to appreciate and even enjoy each day that is given to us.

Cool and Hot.......2004-06-04

What I love about this book is that it's not a 'genre' book-- it's about so many different kinds of people that you can hardly hold it all in your head-- whoa, I'm reading about two old Jewish ladies one minute, and somehow it's vitally connected to hot anonymous sex in Central Park, and also to opera singers spending their whole lives on an off-chance dream, and vicious successful writers (the more successful, the more vicious, it seems....), and oh yes, romantic types just as hopelesly optimistic --- what dreams are worth pursuing, I guess is the question. And isn't that what everyone wonders, always?
It's innovative and witty, too, by the way. My heart is full, and I'm inspired to go out and live my life more courageously and with more love. If that's a dopey thing to say, I'm sorry, but that's what the book makes me feel.

literary genius.......2004-06-03

I think Gary Glickman is a literary genius just waiting to be discovered. His writing is beautiful, simple, but deep, and allows us to see the depths of every character beneath their carefully constructed façades. There are many levels to this book, and a great deal of subtle social commentary. I was in New York in the 70's and this book so totally captures that time. It's like a painting, beautifully crafted, sometimes disturbing, but always fascinating... Definitely a great read.

Laughter and Poignancy.......2004-06-03

I forgot to eat and drink and maybe breathe while I was reading this book-- it's the book I've been writing in my head all these years, as my own life has unfolded. It's always so strange to see in somebody else's words your own life described, but that's what it was like to read this novel by a really wonderful writer I just discovered. How did he know THAT about me! Finally someone has described THAT impossible-to-describe moment, when the sun is setting, and your whole life seems to make sense for a moment, and then it's gone and life's a big confusion again....
I'm so moved by this book. It seems so full of love, is the thing, despite the fact that it's so clear-sighted and unafraid to say that even those we love, even ourselves (especially ourselves) are flawed, flawed, flawed-- and yet always, always deserving of love. I'm so sick of the smooth, cynical, heartless styles, that are so superior to everyone and everything. This universe is eloquent, beautiful, and yet always human and humble.
The other thing I love about AURA is that it's--imaginative! It's funny! It makes you smile and laugh, with its inventive plot and struggling characters. I teach, and I'm definitely going to teach this in my contemporary lit class.

Muriel Spark married to Cynthia Ozick and Virginia Woolf.......2004-05-13

I read the other review here and thought I just had to respond. I never heard of Gary Glickman before I read "Aura"-- I was just looking for a vacation book that would grab my attention and keep it. But I loved this novel. I always wondered what it would have been like to live in New York, and risk everything to "make it", and take the risk of hanging out with ruthless, talented people.....now it feels like I know.
But there's more going on in this novel than just what "happens"-- that's why I loved it so much. Every moment-- a thousand private moments people have that you just think, "I could never describe this, all these connections, all this gorgeous life happening all around me"-- that's what this novel describes, over and over again. It's hard to imagine how the writer remembered so much, so vividly, or even how he managed to create so many of those private, mystical moments. Like just looking across a courtyard, and seeing your sister's kitchen window, when you're an old woman. Or falling in love, or succeeding in your dreams and realizing that -- woops!-- love and connection and heart are worth more than any of the gold.
If I have any quibble with the book it's that ambition and privilege do seem to win in the end. If you're lucky in the beginning, you win: the privileged kids become the privileged and powerful adults. ... just like life, I guess. Darn!
Anyway, this book (I'll say it) changed my life. I'm buying it for my friends, all of us just out of school, and big with our own dreams.

Average customer rating:

Art 101

The Miniaturist
Kunal Basu
Manufacturer: Orion Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Literary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Historical | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0297829262

Book Description

Set in the court of the Emperor Akbar in 16th-century India, this is a richly detailed and sensuous tale of art, sex, and political intrigue. Bihzad is the son of the emperor's chief artist and as such, he is groomed to follow in his father's footsteps. A child prodigy, Bihzad is shielded from life as he grows up in the stunning fortress town of Agra. But soon word of his his wild, imaginative drawings free from the normal restrictions of court painting spreads. In his spare time he paints a series of richly erotic scenes, but as his fame increases, he begins to make enemies who are jealous of his success and will use his hidden drawings to destroy him. Kunal Basu’s first novel, The Opium Clerk, was published to critical acclaim. Born in Calcutta, Basu now lives in Oxford, England.

Customer Reviews:

Art 101.......2005-01-30

Kunal Basu's tale is an interesting episodic journey that follows the life of an artist Bihzad from his young days as a boy who loves to draw to his time as an old man. The book is an adventure that takes us through 16th century India to the Mogul Empire. Many of the terms in the book require a bit of getting used to such as the boy's father who is head artist is called the "Khwaja." The "Darogha" is the head of the artists' workshop called the "kitabkhana." Once the unusual nature of the terms become more familiar, we relax into what is a very interesting tale. It makes sense that in an era before the wide use of printing presses and photography that rulers needed legions of artists to produce their images to be presented throughout their empire. I felt like I was learning a bit about the history of art & the status of the artist. Bihzad is a master who falls a bit too much in love with his Emperor and therefore paints the wrong pictures resulting in banishment and a rather endless sojourn in the desert. Many of the characters that flit into the story are sweetly drawn such as the birdwomen and the postal carrier. The scenes in the harem are drawn with an objective eye, almost clinical in detail. Overall, this is a very different tale set in a different culture & time, written by an Indian author. Enjoy!

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books