Book Description
Although the consciousness of death is in most cultures very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem" written in the very last moments of the poet's life. From passionate samurai writins and meditative Zen haiku to the satirical poems of later centuries, Hundreds of jisei have been translated into English here, many for the first time. The result is a moving, powerful collection whose philosophical and aethetic profundity will give readers pause.
Customer Reviews:
Famous last words.......2007-02-25
The jisei, known in English as a Death Poem, was an ancient custom in Japan, where literate people supposedly extemporaneously composed a poem in the few seconds before their deaths, revealing their last thoughts and incites in that profound moment. Sometimes bitter, sometimes funny, sometimes profound and sometimes simply serving as a final will or testimony, they were almost a requirement for people of note. Of course, in reality the poems were usually composed well in advance of death, and only written from memory when the time came, they are still a unique and interesting expression of mortality.
"Japanese Death Poems" presents a massive collection of jisei, from people famous and infamous, from monks to authors to samurai to merchants and all walks of life. Most of the poems are accompanied by a short biography of the author, and sometimes with an interpretation of the poem. Most of them take the haiku format, although some are in the longer waka form. The selections are organized alphabetically by the author's name.
An excellent and rare collection, this book is probably best browsed rather than read straight through. There are so many poems that it gets a bit redundant reading them all in a row, and it is better experienced just opening to a page and random, and enjoying the specific poems. Because of this, "Japanese Death Poems" is a book that can often be revisited. I have found many poems that I have read several times, and find a deeper meaning each time.
It is a huge flaw that the book is not bilingual, and only includes the romanized version of the Japanese script. Due to the nature of the Japanese language, with kanji carrying inherent meaning, it is difficult to interpret the author's true intent without it. One is forced to rely on the English translations, or to hunt down the original poem in order to see what kanji was used. This is especially true of Japanese poetry, as the authors could get very creative with the kanji, creating their own words and combinations in order to add meaning to the limited characters allowed by the haiku format.
I keep this one in arms reach.......2006-09-01
This is a great book for those who like poetry and are becoming interested in Zen Buddhism. The book opens with plenty of background material that is broad enough in scope for an introduction but still deep enough to properly motivate the topic. The zen monks section is seperate from the haiku poets, I seemed to enjoy the haiku poets poems much more. I found this to be a very nice angle to read into the complexities of Japanese culture, Buddhism, and human nature's view of the ultimate reality. I find this to have a great mixture of academic and leasure reading at least for my (a scientist's) taste.
Odd and enchanting.......2006-01-08
An odd little book - kind of a Zen Goth collection - that ultimately makes me want to live better and more thoughtfully. Along with the poems are reflections and explanations and some history of the author. This isn't a book that I would read straight through but something to have nearby for frequent foraging. There are pages of great stuff here that will provoke new thoughts and insights.
we slip the inkstone this last time.......2005-11-07
This is a curious, moving, particular, and well-chosen selection of poems in translation. Many capture arresting imagery and contain a compression of significance not found in the western tradition of longer narrative. While this is a collection of differing authors and voices and perspectives, none fails to be very human and to say something for which we can identify. Situational poetry, and this distinctive selection from those on the point of death, is a difficult field, and this edition brings welcome engagement with both eastern modes of poetic imagination and this elusive art form.
The introduction alone is worth the volume, but afterwards the poetry draws you in. This is a volume to return to.
Could have been better.......2005-01-02
I think that this book had the potential to be better than it is. Many of the poems are amazing. Of particular interest were the poems of the Zen masters. Their death poems show a lifelong dedication to searching for enlightenment and the final fruition of a philosophy where the difference between life and death is meaningless. The summaries of the lives and deaths of many of the poets provide an interesting illustration of the culture of the Japanese poets. However, I was less impressed by the work of the so called "haiku poets" many of these men were not masters of their craft and it is obvious in their death poems. Also the introduction is full of interesting information, but is quite dry considering the unusual subject matter of the book would seem to offer endless possibilities for an interesting commentary.
Book Description
Cheech Marin, well known for his three decades of work as a comedian, actor, director, and musician, has long championed Chicano artists and been a collector of their work. This breakthrough publication will be available in both hardcover and paperback formats. The exhibition features Marin's collection of over 30 artists' work, and their paintings that depict Hispanic culture, religion, and politics with brilliant color and emotion. Incisive essays by leading scholars describe the origins of Chicano art. In the same way that Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo redefined our understanding and appreciation of Mexican art, Chicano artists such as Gronk, Patssi Valdez, and Carlos Almaraz are putting Chicano art on the cutting edge of contemporary art.
Customer Reviews:
Look at these Amazing Pictures!.......2007-08-24
Cheech Marin has collected some of the most amazing, enthralling pictures (paintings, drawings, etc.) by Chicano artists that I've come across! This book is such a rich collection to own because some of us can't afford to buy art, but we can look again & again at the copies he's put together. There are well-known artists, unknown artists, and people I'm thrilled to have found out about because their work is so brilliant. Some places where I've seen "Chicano" art collected before have stuck to one style, very pastely, very soft colors, a certain women's painting style that has its place but isn't representative. This book isn't like that. Marin has collected paintings of incredible scenes, showing car wreck victims, cholos, lovers embracing, a drive-by shooting in progress, a freeway accident, & a police shake down to name a few. The "realist" aspect of these pictures is so entertaining that it will provide owners of the book hours of transfixing study & discussion! Buy it!
Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge.......2007-03-14
Absolutely breathtaking. A great addition to my collection.
Electrifying and inspiring!.......2005-03-11
I am insanely jealous of Cheech Marin's art collection, or at least those pieces that are featured in this book. A true artist is one who can make the ugly beautiful, or at least make you look at it with a different perspective, such as David Botello's "Alone and Together Under the Freeway"
Frank Romero's "Arrest of the Paleteros" is tragic and funny at the same time, with the hapless ice cream sellers lined against a wall in front of robot-like cops.
Adan Hernandez' "Sin Titulo II", while not owned by Marin, is included in this book, and gives a peeping-Tom's eye view of a family's living room-it is stunningly beautiful and menacing at the same time. Other works in this book are excellent, and it is inspiring for any artist in a rut, who needs a fresh look at some unusual talents.
fearless, robust, and innovative art.......2004-06-28
Some of the most innovative and brilliant art in America is being done by those in the Chicano art movement; the range of styles and techniques is vast, but they all share a vibrancy and vigor that is hard to find elsewhere in the art world.
Cheech Marin has accumulated a fabulous collection, and must be commended for bringing this art to fifteen cities the U.S. in the travelling exhibit, and to the world with this marvelous book. Marin also writes the insightful introduction, and there are excellent and informative essays by Max Benavidez, Constance Cortez, and Tere Romero, as well as mini bios of the 26 artists represented in the volume.
Among the highlights for me are the 4 pictures by George Yepes, that include his "La Pistola y el Corazon," which was the cover for the Los Lobos CD of the same title (pg. 144), the 10 pages of the glorious, impressionistic work of Carlos Almaraz, especially "Southwest Song," with its horse and rider and splashy moonlit sky (pg. 53), and Leo Limon, starting with his "Frida and Palomas" through his complex symbolic storytelling in "Los Muertos" (93-99). I recently had the opportunity to view Frank Romero's work at the Icaro Gallery in Long Beach, California, and was thrilled by his rich use of color, and his sense of humor, both aspects which are well illustrated on pages 108 through 117.
The layout of the this book is excellent, and the color reproduction superb; on thick glossy pages, the work comes alive, excites and inspires, and will not be forgotten. This is work that will stand the test of time, and as Marin writes, the viewer is "...transported to a place both timeless and immediate, that provides the ultimate validation for this new movement in art."
what a feast!.......2004-01-18
Rebeccasreads recommends CHICANO VISIONS as a glorious feast for the eyes, containing the inevitable hair-raising violence, pulsing cityscapes & sun bleached field labors, as well as the beauty that is before us. There are ethereal visions of heaven & hell, of blood hot nights as well as rich family life.
There are visions wrought in "primitive" styles, in sleek "photorealism" & in vibrant complex iconography -- giving us insights into the Chicano experience, both female & male.
We can spend hours discussing the merits of each painting: their composition, impact & style, whether they are "good art", however, as Cheech Marin writes in his Introduction "...it is the lone art lover standing in front of a great painting with his jaw dropped, transported to a place both timeless and immediate, that provides the ultimate validation..."
Worth every cent of the price of admission.
Amazon.com
Roger Verge's Cooking with Fruit is filled with luscious color photos and tempting recipes you can almost eat with your eyes. You can also enjoy sensual, poetic entries describing 33 fruits, from apples and apricots to mulberries and litchis. Certainly, it is easy to imagine a waiter at Roger Verge's world-famous restaurant, Le Moulin de Mougins, respectfully setting one of these colorful, creative desserts in front of you.
While reading this book is entrancing, it clearly is a work written in French and translated into English by someone not quite fluent in the language. This has its charms, but requires extra reading time, and some degree of caution in the kitchen. For example, few American cooks know what it means to mix an egg "with sugar and cream until it binds together." Then there are Corinth grapes--a fruit little known outside of France. Still, many other fruits are more familiar, and cooks can peruse 130 recipes. It's not against the rules to make substitutions to save time, such as using your own favorite tart pastry recipe in place of the one in this book, which is made with a whopping five egg yolks and a cup of butter. Then the joys of Verge's inspired Pear Tart with Cocoa can be yours. And if the Banana-Pineapple Fruit Juice, which calls for the puree of four pineapple slices and a banana, is too thick to sip, you can add a splash of rum or apple juice to thin the consistency. For these, and treats like Fresh Peach Mousse, a little tweaking is well worth the effort. --Dana Jacobi
Customer Reviews:
Roger Verge is a culinary artist in Monet's Palate.......2007-05-08
Roger Verge is a culinary artist both in this book and in my film Monet's Palate - A Gastronomic View from the Gardens of Giverny as he prepares sea scallops especially for Claude Monet - Aileen BordmanMonet's Palate - A Gastronomic View from the Gardens of Giverny
Almost as good........2004-09-19
While not as good as Verge's vegetable book, there are few disappointments. My main criticisms is that it isn't as well organized as his vegetable book and the children's recipes at the end are not well written. (Try to make the Pinapple Christmas tree and you'll see what I mean.) Nevertheless, more than worth the money. As with all of his books, many recipes have found their way into dishes that I frequently prepare. A must for culinary francophiles.
Customer Reviews:
Great starting lab manual........2007-07-21
I found the manual to cover the basics of computer repair and maintenance. I would not purchase this manual without the textbook. If you have previous repair experience, you probably do not need the textbook. The manual works great for people who learn by doing rather than cramming.
Book Description
Over the past few decades, many young Japanese women have emerged as Japan’s most enthusiastic âinternationalists,â investing in study or work abroad, or in romance with Western men as opportunities to circumvent what they consider their country’s oppressive corporate and family structures. Drawing on a rich supply of autobiographical narratives, as well as literary and cultural texts, Karen Kelsky situates this phenomenon against a backdrop of profound social change in Japan and within an intricate network of larger global forces.
In exploring the promises, limitations, and contradictions of these âoccidental longings,â Women on the Verge exposes the racial and erotic politics of transnational mobility. Kelsky shows how female cosmopolitanism recontextualizes the well-known Western male romance with the Orient: Japanese women are now the agents, narrating their own desires for the âmodernâ West in ways that seem to defy Japanese nationalism as well as long-standing relations of power not only between men and women but between Japan and the West. While transnational movement is not available to all Japanese women, Kelsky shows that the desire for the foreign permeates many Japanese women’s lives. She also reveals how this feminine allegiance to the Westâand particularly to white menâcan impose its own unanticipated hegemonies of race, sexuality, and capital.
Combining ethnography and literary analysis, and bridging anthropology and cultural studies, Women on the Verge will also appeal to students and scholars of Japan studies, feminism, and global culture.
Customer Reviews:
Hard to rate..........2006-10-29
so I put my rating right in the middle. The previous reviewer hopes that people "who don't know anything about Asia" will abstain from submitting reviews, but ours is a free world so thankfully nobody will listen to him.
Kelsky writes well, which makes for compelling reading here, except in those parts that are loaded with anthropological jargon. Like writers, she has her biases, in her case against white men who have relationships with Japanese women. But her book is hard to put down.
People that don't know anything about Asia should abstain their opinions.......2006-10-14
I was born in Asia, and I've lived in Asia for the majority of my life, and I still go there every year.
Everything said in this book is true. Yes, the truth is offensive and ugly, but deal with it.
Depends on how you categorize it.......2006-01-22
Reviews for this book tend to be All or Nothing. I think it boils down to how you categorize the book. If you view it as a collection of essays with a particular viewpoint and nothing more (as I did), you will probably find it a satisfying read, whether or not you agree with its conclusions. If you approach it as ethnology--a hard, academic tome--then you might find it wanting.
The truth may be opposite.......2005-05-03
Well, to me, it is more like white men are chasing Japanese women. Many yellow fevers come to Japan or other Asian countries. Why doesn't Kelsky focus on this?
This book is so prejudiced, a bad ethnography.......2005-05-03
I think Kelsky sees part of Japan and generalise as a whole... And Japanese women are not likely to honestly tell what we really think in our minds in front of Westeners but just say something white people expect to hear, as Japanese women regard Westeners as outsiders. So, for white men and women, it is really hard to know what we really think. But they tend to take the words as it is. You may not know, but Japanese women very often make fun of white men and women as ugly, fat, bald or etc. I feel very sorry but many Japanese women often say this ... So many of us have no adoration to Westners. If you want to believe what Kelsky maintains, just believe it. Many Westners want to believe themselves to be admired, so it is helpless. But if you do so, you will never know much about Japanese people and culture.
Average customer rating:
- Americans in Cuba
- Vividly Rendered and Aptly Titled Portrayal of a Fascinating Country in Flux
- Pleased
- A MASTERPIECE
- interesting
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Cuba on the Verge: An Island in Transition
Arthur Miller
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0821228021 |
Book Description
This riveting analogy showcases the work of leading Cuban and American writers and photographers and offers unprecedented insight into life in the island nation today. While the world ponders Cuba's future, and the United States weighs the effects of the trade embargo imposed more than 40 years ago, Cubans go about their everyday lives overcoming obstacles with a mixture of about their everyday lifes overcoming obstacles with a mixture of ingenuity, intelligence, perseverance, and above all else, a sense of humor. How does this transitional moment in the island's history find expression in the lives of the Cuban people? What do the social, cultural, and personal landscapes of Cuba look and feel like today? CUBA ON THE VERGE is an honest and balanced portrayal of the complex realities of modern Cuban life.
Critically acclaimed novelise Ruseell Banks recalls his dream as a young man of joining the Revolution--and climbs the Sierra Maestra in an attempt to come to terms with that vision of long ago; Cristina Garcia, author of Dreaming in Cuban, writes about the experience of exile and the adaptations it engenders; New Yorker correspondent Jon Lee Anderson writes about the New Middle Class in Cuba; and Antonio Jose Ponte, one of the most talented of the current generation of Cuban writers, meditates on the unique sense of time on the island.
Essays and portfolios of images are linked to central themes, incuding Afro-Cuban culture, traditional music versus the cutting edge, architecture, sexuality, Santeria, rural life, exile, and the role of women in Cuban society.
Customer Reviews:
Americans in Cuba.......2007-01-11
The book is fantastic! I traveled to Cuba as a student for six weeks in 2003, and I am always looking for photos and literature that capture today's Cuba in the truest light. This is one of those...
(FYI: It is only very recently that almost all travel for US citizens to Cuba has been restricted, and many people still manage to go illegally. Like I said, I went in 2003 as a student with permission from the US government...and now I search constantly for a way to go back, but so far I have not had any luck.)
Vividly Rendered and Aptly Titled Portrayal of a Fascinating Country in Flux.......2006-07-08
As a traveler who has been mesmerized by Cuba through literature and film, I am filled with images of the country's idiosyncratic, seemingly incompatible mix of a totalitarian regime and a life-loving people. Editor Terry McCoy has done a superb job of capturing the precarious balancing act pervasive in contemporary Cuban life with this coffee table tome of photographs and essays. She thoughtfully organizes an intensely complex subject into themes relating to the country's art, music, ethnic makeup and local customs. Contributors range from novelist Russell Banks and playwright Arthur Miller to Cuban poets like Nancy Morejón and Reina María Rodríguez.
Some essays are memory pieces, while others are more objective observations. Yet, all add up to a vividly rendered tapestry complemented by the stunning photographs. Among my favorite sections are Pablo Medina's "A Brief History of Exile", in which he discovers his Cuban identity, and Carrie Mae Weems' combination of poetry & photos, "Ritual and Revolution". This book has a particular resonance given the ongoing effects of the U.S. trade embargo on the Cuban economy. For over forty years, Cuba has had to make do with native ingenuity, a powerful sense of life affirmation and a quiet but palpable sense of desperation. All these elements are captured with acuity in this evocative book, probably the next best thing to being able to visit. I recommend reading Richard Gott's "Cuba: A New History" as a complementary piece to give you a fuller portrayal of this endlessly fascinating country.
Pleased.......2005-11-10
I bought this book for a Cuban friend of my, who is very knowledgeable about his country. He loves Cuba but is realistic about it as well. He was so thrilled with the amazing pictures in this book, he still thanks me. An as a photographer, I agree that the life and passion of Cuba is conveyed beautifully. As for a previous review: Just because people currently live in the US doesn't mean they haven't lived and traveled elsewhere.
A MASTERPIECE.......2004-01-08
If you look at something from enough different angles, you begin to sense what it is truly like. That is the overarching strategy of this wondrous book. Multi-faceted Cuba is seen through the eyes of greatly gifted writers and photographers, each with his or her own unique relationship with and idiosyncratic take on the island. The strategy succeeds brilliantly. Paradoxes and trade-offs are subtly explored, for example, between the blessings of free education and health care versus constraints on the ability to pursue dreams. You get not only to understand but also to feel the sensuous physical beauty of the place and the strains of Cuba's love/hate relationship with the U.S.. After spending time with this book, I feel as if I had actually been there and am left with a longing to go.
interesting.......2003-08-29
Hey, how is it that all the reviewers are from the United States, where it's citizens are not allowed in Cuba? Just curious from someone in Canada who's been there.
Customer Reviews:
A Great Play for those who love language.......2006-12-03
I was the male lead in this play, playing all eight parts not played by the three female protags. This was so much fun, and is clever and detailed. If you are well-read and love deep language, this is a must-read or perform. Some of the references will go over your head, others will make you laugh, such as Madame Nu saying, "Let them eat Barbeque!" (check Madame Nu on Wikipedia, it's funny, I swear). It is strange, certainly, but it plays with time and place in such a fun and varied non sequuiter format, you won't mind after getting used to it. By the end, you'll want more.
On the Verge Rocks!.......1999-10-20
This is a wonderful play. If you have any appreciation for the ability to use language as not only a way to communicate but as music, you'll love this play. It was wonderful to perform - a real gift to women actors everywhere...
Attention Female Actors: DREAM PARTS!.......1999-02-15
What a great piece of work. The style is slightly Mamet at first, flowery prose later. Three fabulous chicks start in 1888 and fly through the 1950's to who knows where. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN TO DO!! This is why we're actors, man...
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable-but with some reservations.......2005-08-02
This is the only book in the Kathy and Brock series that I've read-in many ways an enjoyable and absorbing read.It does have wonderfully written descriptions of Barcelona .
However,I do have a few problems with the book's storyline,and some of its' off the mark ethnic observations.
The scenes toward the end where Kathy goes off to Barcelona on her own to do some breaking and entering were just not believable.It didn't seem credible at all that she would do such a thing. And to be so careless about it that she would sit and WATCH videos in a house she had broken into !!It was just a plot device to move the story along that wasn't based at all on Kathy's character as previously written .And the fact that she was able to stay on the police force after doing such a thing...........!!!! Please-ridiculous !
As to my other problem with the book-Mandarin does have lots of words with L sounds-so a Chinese speaking person( unlike perhaps a native Japanese speaker) would not mispronounce London Bridge as Rondon Bridge.Also,an Indian man is described as exaggerating his " Hindu" accent !!! I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as a "Hindu" language
Since one of the book's themes is ethnic/gender diversity, these 2 missteps struck me as particularly odd.
Brock and Kolla solve the case again.......2005-02-08
I am a huge fan of Barry Maitland's Kathy and Brock Mysteries and this 6th entry in the series does not disappoint. When four months elapse after the discovery of Charles Verge's dead young wife and his disappearance with no real leads the case is put into the hands of Brock. Is Verge a murderer and suicide, or has someone else framed him for the murder? The motives for others are certainly plentiful, as the world famous Verge architectural firm seems to be in both creative and financial free fall. This a very complex mystery, but very clear and easy to follow, with a shocking answer to the many questions raised.
As a former architect, Barry Maitland's mysteries have a strong sense of place that I particularly enjoy. The scenes set in Barcelona are particularly striking and atmospheric. Brock himself is not as enigmatic a figure as in the earier books, as we begin to get more insights into his personal life and feelings. The relationship between Kathy and he seems to be unfolding just as a real relationship does-over time and with increased trust. Kathy herself comes to an end and new beginning in her personal life with the resolution of her relationship with Leon Desai that has been a part of earlier books.
I would highly recommend the Kathy and Brock mysteries-looking forward to the next one!
A Puzzle to Solve.......2005-01-18
Detective Chief Inspector Brock and Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla are back with a vengeance in this page-turning seventh installment of the series.
The young wife of architect, Charles Verge is found murdered and Charles himself is missing. Did he kill his wife and run, or did someone kill them both and hide Charles' body? There are clues galore, but the novel is never confusing. This well-paced story is hard to put down, so leave enough time. There's a unique twist to the story to make an outstanding book even better.
a thoroughly absorbing read.......2004-08-09
When Charles Verge's young wife is found savagely murdered in their luxurious apartment, and when Verge himself seems to have gone missing, the hunt for the killer also becomes tied to the search for the missing architect. Did Verge kill his wife and then runaway? Or is Verge himself also dead, the victim of the same brutal killer who had killed his wife? After months of no progress and many mysterious Charles Verge sightings all over Europe, the case is given to Chief Inspector Brock and his team to solve. The police have always believed that Verge had murdered his wife and done a bunk, and it's a theory that Brock leans heavily towards in spite of new evidence (both forensic and financial) that seems to implicate Verge's business partner, Sandy Clarke. Is Clarke guilty of the double murder of the Verges? As Brock and his team go over all the evidence, Brock cannot escape the feeling that they are all being manipulated. But by whom and why?
I'm a huge fan of the Kathy and Brock mysteries, and have enjoyed all the books in the series. "The Verge Practice" is, I think, the best of the five so far. In this installment, even though D.S. Kathy Kolla does most of the leg work, we really get to see why Brock is considered, by many, to be a brilliant detective. Brock has instincts that allow him to "look" at a case in a certain way in spite of the mounting evidence. (And I really didn't understand where the reviewer from Publishers Weekly got the impression that there was very little communication going on between Brock and Kathy, or that they worked independently of each other. The only time Kathy works without Brock's sanction is at the end of the book, and you'll have to read for yourself she does this). And it was a real treat to "see" how Brock's mind works.
Possessing a clever and intriguing storyline, brilliantly plotted and smoothly and evenly paced, "The Verge Practice" was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and one that I cannot recommend enough.
Book Description
This anthology gathers together recent work by the finest and most controversial contemporary American women dramatists. Collectively, this magnificent seven seeks to break the mold of the well-wrought psychological play and its rigid emphasis on realisticsocio-political drama. Includes: Occupational Hazard (Rosalyn Drexler) * Us (Karen Malpede) * What of the Night? (Maria Irene Forne) * Birth and After Birth (Tina Howe) * and more.
Book Description
Girls today face a bewildering array of choices when it comes to want kind of women they want to be.In Girls on the Verge, 27-year-old Vendela Vida goes to whatever lengths necessary to investigate a wide variety of both traditional and contemporary rituals girls use to fashion their own identities.From sneaking in the back entrance of a debutante ball in Houston, to watching young brides tie the knot in drive-through wedding chapels in Las Vegas, from observing quinceaneras in Miami posing for their 'sweet fifteen' photographs while wearing tiaras (and sometimes even bikinis) to participating in a witches' Halloween gathering in Salem, Vida interviews, imitates, scrutinizes, and socializes with young women who are making a lifetime commitment to a group of other young women, a gang, or a boy-all before they're even 21 years old.Some of these initiations are sanctioned, and even organized, by their parents, others are done in spite of-or perhaps because of-their parents' objections.With humor, insight, and illuminating detail, Vendela Vida penetrates the experience of a young woman coming of age today in a post-feminist, post-nuclear-family, post-'you're a woman when you get your first period or lose your virginity' culture. Girls on the Verge explores girls' struggle to forge an identity and secure a sense of belonging through various rituals-rituals that they create or embrace without even necessarily understanding the comforts they seek or the repercussions of their often all-too-adult choices.AUTHORBIO: Vendela Vida graduated from Middlebury Collge and received her MFA at Columbia.Her work has appeared in Vogue, Jane, and other publications.She lives in Brooklyn. This is her first book.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect Picture of Rushing.......2007-04-30
I was absolutely astounded that someone could paint such a perfect picture of rushing for a sorority. Vida mentioned every crucial, and frequently humorous, detail of the process. Accurate and brilliant.
A Disappointing Book.......2007-02-28
Some notes:
-- Pseudo-sociology or 'soc. lite,' masquerading as a more significant endeavor. Author occasionally provides block quotes from more in-depth works by real academics; those may be the best parts of the book.
-- Superficial analyses. Interesting questions present themselves but author always reaches for her pre-fabricated answers. She seems to have approached this project with a simple thesis, rather than a hypothesis and an open mind. She seems to have written her conclusions before she even started her "research."
-- Author sees/presents most things in "black & white." By which I mean simplistically, not in terms of race. B/c actually she totally ignores factors like race and class, i.e., factors that would complicate and add depth to her analysis.
-- Author has little sympathy, empathy, or compassion for her subjects (except perhaps the sorority girls).
-- Bias is, of course, a part of any qualitative research project. But here the author does not explore or question her own biases, perceptions, etc. She simply runs with them. Frequently judgmental and condescending.
-- Poorly written/in need of an editor: misuses words, inconsistencies abound. Lacking coherent structure at all levels (from the formation of sentences and paragraphs, to the overall lack of coherence between chapters. Fails to explain how pieces fit together. No methodological or theoretical framework).
-- Wicca chapter is particularly appalling for its willingness to make sweeping generalizations. No acknowledgment of how limited the author's bases are for such conclusions.
-- List of complaints could go on . . .
Amusing view.......2006-08-02
I picked this book up because unlike Alexandra Robbins "Pledged," Ms. Vida actually decided to experience a sorority rush as one of the "rites of initiation" she covered. For her other topics, she interviewed young women in the situations and did her best to observe some of the activities (e.g. a debutante ball). I especially enjoyed her epilogue where she attended the Burning Man festival in Nevada. I found it to be an amusing point of view and an enjoyable light read.
Eh..........2004-08-03
Though this book reads like a series of feature articles in Seventeen magazine, no theories are explored or conclusions drawn, and the author makes a few gag-inducing statements in the beginning--In an attempt to distinguish herself from the typically silly girls in the sorority rush piece, she compares the surfboard-swinging boys of L.A. to the intellectual Manhattan boys she'd chatted with the night before who "jousted over interpretations of Joyce. "-- it does have some merit. It is often informative and brings awareness to some rites of passage that are not widely experienced. The pieces about the debutante ball and Burning Man festival were particularly enlightening to this somewhat typical, Midwestern, working class girl.
I can't recommend this book as anything more than a light afternoon-at-the-pool read or as filler for a bathroom magazine rack, but I do still recommend the author. Don't let this lackluster effort scare you away from reading anything else by her. I'm halfway through her novel, "And Now You Can Go" and it is wonderful...
Don't waste your time.......2004-07-23
This is the first book that I've read in a long time that I couldn't wait to finish. I was expecting a well written book describing coming of age stories for women. Instead I got a elementary look at subjects that should have been interesting. This book made no points and came to no conclusions....I wouldn't recommend this to anyone
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