Book Description
Cleopatra’s Wedding Present is the rare book that captivates its reader from the first page. Like the best travel books, Robert Tewdwr Moss’s memoir of his travels through Syria resonates on many levels: as a profoundly telling vivisection of Middle Eastern society, a chilling history of ethnic crimes, a picaresque adventure story, a purely entertaining travelogue, and a poignant romance.
Tewdwr Moss, a brilliant young writer who was murdered in London the day after he finished this book, left this lyrical gem as his legacy. He adeptly captures an essence of the Middle East that is foreign to most of us, but which becomes real with his astute observations of the region’s culture and explosive politics. He conveys what so many westerners find both fascinating and frightening in the Middle East, making no attempt to mask circumstances that are appalling and dangerous while also exotic, beautiful, and sometimes very funny.
Mesopotamia, now present-day Syria, was part of Mark Anthony’s love gift to Cleopatra. Then and now, it is a land of mystery and love.
The Wisconsin edition is only for sale in the United States and it's dependencies.
Customer Reviews:
One of the most beautiful travel books ever written.......2007-07-27
One of the most beautiful travel books and memoirs ever written; one of my favourite books ever.
Frustratingly Good.......2006-03-07
Cleopatra's Wedding Present is an account of the solitary wandering of a Briton through the back roads and alleyways of Syria. What draws this urbane, openly gay man to a country like Syria is a question that draws the reader immediately into the book. Fittingly, Moss begins his book not in Damascus, but in culturally and geographically isolated northern city of Aleppo. He makes his way through a maze of noisy, cluttered streets to the Baron Hotel, an establishment of fading glory, where notables such as Lawrence of Arabia and Theodore Roosevelt once stayed. In the hotel bar, he quickly meets a fellow Briton, Rupert, and becomes entangled with the comings and goings, and affections, of a few young Syrian men. Through Rupert, like himself, an outsider, a loner, and also attracted to Syrian men, Moss realizes that it is only natural for such strangers in a strange land to find in Syria a place to come to terms with one's strangeness.
Moss forays from Aleppo to other locations in Syria in chapters that begin abruptly, with Moss on the road to a new destination. In other locations, his experiences are similar in tone to that of Aleppo: A lonely man, part tourist, part journalist, and partly a man in quest of some ineffable longing, meets a few people in the new locale, and strikes up brief friendships before moving to the next destination. These vignettes of ordinary people, though, mainly young men, such as the ex-commando named Jihad, but also a variety of people, such as Gladys, the Christian florist recently repatriated from New York, are the highlights of the book. In these vignettes, Moss illustrates how everyday life in Syria is shaped by history, culture, and an oppressive political regime. Nonetheless, the characters Moss encounters are truly individual, never simple products of their environment.
Insightful, too, are the author's mediations on the longing that draws us to travel, and its counterpart heartache at leaving a place. "To travel is to always be to some extent in a state of bereavement, always to have somebody die on you a little," he writes. The fact that Moss was murdered on the day he finished the book, shortly after returning from Syria to London, is oft cited as reason to read this book. This would be a poor reason to read the book; however, his thought that "partir, c'est toujours mourir un peu," does take on added poignancy as a result of his death. To illustrate this theme of love and loss, Moss relates Rupert's doomed pursuit of Syrian boys, culminating in a letter to Rupert the Moss intercepts and steams open. He also relates the more successful, yet also more tragic, love affairs of the Victorian Mary Digby, whose final love, a sheik, brought her to Syria, where she would die. However, it is frustrating that Moss himself initiates a narrative that is personal, not only journalistic, and focused on desire, only to direct the reader's gaze away from himself. Moss speaks of the pain of parting, yet himself takes leave of all he meets in a cool and aloof fashion. The letter we wish he would open is his own, but this letter, scarce begun, remains sealed.
I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting an up close and personal look at life in Syria. From a literary aspect, Moss proves a talented writer, who intertwines elegy, elegance, and wit, in a style reminiscent of Evelyn Waugh. However, because of the disjointed narrative, and the frustration with this fascinating persona who begins his own tale several times, only to turn away from it, I found myself wanting to skim the best parts of the book and leave the rest, wondering how Moss might have rewritten it.
A languorous, yet exciting trip to a complicated land.......2004-02-17
This absolutely remarkable story brings to life the sights, sounds and smells - in all their beauty and ugliness - of Syria. The book recounts the journey of one gay man has he spends several months traveling around this complex and exotic country, which was actually part of Mark Anthony's love gift to Cleopatra. Robert Tewdwr Moss was tragically murdered in London just after this manuscript was completed, so he never got to realize the fruits of his labors. This is such a pity because Moss was an extremely talented writer, who had a wonderful capacity to totally reinvent travel writing. This memoir works in many ways - as a profound treatise on the Middle Eastern Society; a chilling history of ethnic crimes - particularly the Armenian genocide - a picaresque adventure story, a compelling travelogue, and a touching and affecting tale of sexual self-discovery.
Moss certainly captures the essence of the Middle East - from its indescribable poverty, and its government corruption to its chaos and the unconditional hospitality and uncomplicated generosity that is offered by many of the local people. The story begins with a description of the "hot winds," "the blinding heat," the "fine brown dust" from the dust storms, the "chaos of the streets and the air "clotted with diesel fumes hanging like a cloak around us." As the story progresses and Robert leaves the city of Aleppo to travel to Damascus, he infuses the narrative with descriptions of this suffocating yet exotic world: the dirty collapsing towns that have had a "great past and no present" full of "the old merchants you see here - sly, and leathery, survivors."
Moss had a gift for describing the intricate details of everyday life, from the clothes to the exotic foods, to the markets and bazaars, and of course, the Arab frankness towards sexual transactions, which "are regarded in a purely practical light." The text recounts Moss's trips to various ancient sites, and there are some gorgeous descriptions of the ancient towns of Palmyra, Bosra, and Lattakia (Have a map of Syria handy so that you can trace his journey). There's also an excellent introduction by Lecretia Stewart that fills in the blanks about Robert's life and work and talks, quite frankly about his horrific murder and about his somewhat closeted sexuality. Cleopatra's Wedding Present is profound and beautiful, and is without a doubt, one of the best travelogues of the Middle East that I have ever read. Robert Tewdwr Moss was a real talent, and as this story shows, his loss was just terrible.
Michael
Customer Reviews:
(Sigh)..........2006-05-31
...Why, oh why do I fall for Amazon reviews? This book sounded so good, according to everyone else who read it, but I found the heroine to be a stick figure, and since almost the whole book is written from her POV, her frozen martyrdom over the hero's potential marriage to another woman affected the whole story for me. Evie was only one step away from being a wimpy Sara Craven-style heroine. The hero, Raschid, also struck me as nothing more than a rich possessive stud who couldn't stand not to get his own way in everything. It had a great potential love story \-- two people from two different worlds who love each other and need to overcome obstacles to marry -- but it just didn't live up to that potential. I could never believe these two people LOVED each other. Sure, they were sexually crazy about each other (they were always hot & bothered the instant they looked at each other even across a crowded room) but "love"? I didn't believe it for a minute. Michelle Reid has written better than this: THE PRICE OF A BRIDE is a similar story but much more skillfully told.
Great.......2003-09-09
Front he back: The whole world was interested in Sheik Raschid Al Kadah and Evie Delahaye. Despite fierce opposition, their passionate, high-profile affair had lasted for two ecstatic years - but soon the relationship would have to end. Raschid was expected to marry an Arabian princess, and Evie's mother was pushng her toward a member of the English aristocracy. Time was running out, but then something drastic happened. Raschid was a man of honor, which meant he must go against his family's wishes and make Evie his bride.
I loved this book. Great passionate story. My one problem, and this is pretty big, is with Raschid. He was very quick to do the right thing, but it bothered me how easily it was done. After all, it was very obvious how much Evie had suffered due to their illicit affair (and how little he had). Why had he not just taken charge and married her years ago? Besides that, though, I really enjoyed this book greatly, and highly recommend it.
Unusual, with mature characters.......2002-08-01
I've read hundreds of romance novels over many years, and this one stands out. Raschid is the heir to an Arabic country, and Evie, a member of the British aristocracy. The book begins after this couple have been together for two years and are struggling to remain together, with pressures from both families to marry within their cultures. This is unusual, as most romance books begin with couples who meet for the first time or have been separated for years. Events happen in both Evie's and Raschid's lives which force them to a decision point. Although Raschid and Evie have intense pressures to deal with, neither of them fly off the handle and take erratic actions, even though their emotions push them in these directions. Michelle Reid did such a good job of describing the conflict that prevented these two from marrying that I could not predict a resolution. The romantic feelings between the couple, the way they knew and understood each other, dealt with each other's foibles, was far above the maturity of most characters in romance novels. At the same time, Michelle was able to create a dominant man who was not domineering, and a woman who loved him deeply, enough to put her own needs aside, if doing otherwise would destroy the basis of their love for each other. This is a keeper and perhaps the best of Michelle Reid's books to date. I also recommend, "The Sheik's Chosen Wife," in which Evie and Raschid are secondary characters. Two more related books are planned for release in September and December 2002.
Read it in one sitting.......2000-08-19
Wow. Michelle Reid writes very good stories. This one is definitely one of her best. Characters with aristocratic and illustrious backgrounds. Raschid's intense love for Evie was obvious quite early on in the book. How they each won their families round to the idea of their union makes a compelling read. The depth of emotion displayed by the proud Prince Raschid was refreshing. I've read this book 4 times and will probably enjoy another re-read sometime.
A grown-up "Romeo and Juliette".......2000-06-23
I loved this book! Michelle Reid is one of my favorite authors, and I thought that this was one of her best works. The story begins two years into the relationship of Shiek Raschid and Evie. Their relationship is INTENSE - both are proud, wealthy, arrogant - each are "blue bloods" in their own cultures. While the world press speculates, their respective families are fiercely opposed to any union between them, and they are both aware that they ultimately must fulfill their obligations to duty. An unexpected development turns both of their worlds upside down, and forces them to reevaluate their relationship under entirely new terms ...
The intensity of the writing, the incredible emotion that you can *feel* in these two characters, the terrible pull between loyalties and the unexpected plot twists not only kept me riveted for a reading in one sitting, but brought me back for at least two re-reads. I loved this book and I highly recommend it.
Book Description
The instant Angelo Gordon see stunning model Tara Peters he's certain she will share his bed. But her innocent beauty isn't the only thing that attracts him - he's out for revenge. . . .
Tara is not an easy conquest. When she pushes Angelo away he realizes the only way he can have her is if he plays a very different game. And Angelo is hapy to up the stakes - he'll take the ultimate revenge - marriage !!
Customer Reviews:
:0).......2006-06-17
You know what for a minute i was debating wether to finish reading this book but i'm glad i did, it was a good book the ending for me with both of them suffering was emotional he was turly a great guy.....
This is another hit!!.......2006-04-12
After the media circus she had been through Tara Peters decided that it will never happen again. She focused on a business career and worked hard to get where she was. Angelo Gordon was looking for revenge against the man that had taken away from him his parents. It so happen that this man was the same that got Tara in a vulnerable place. Angelo decided that he would do anything to get his revenge and protect Tara at the same time, only problem is Tara doesn't see it that way. Lucy has once again weaved a story where the characters have spunk and chemistry. Every time Angelo and Tara are in the same room the heat is enough to trigger the smoke alarm. This is a story about, betrayal, trust and love and how to conquer all the barriers that can come between a couple even if the odds are against them. It's a beautiful story of learning and conquering. Like all her books, this is a keeper.
A gem.......2006-03-06
Wedding Vow Of Revenge is another compelling, sensual tale by Lucy Monroe.
Angelo Gordon is driven to even the score with the man that destroyed his late father's company and drove his mother to take her own life. The perfect plan falls into his lap when his enemy's former lover works at one of Angelo's companies.
Tara Peters has left her life of modeling and disastrous affair behind her when she went to work for Primo Tech. Tara is currently in the management-training program and is floored when the owner Angelo Gordon asks to meet with her. What starts as an all out seduction of Tara gets complicated when Angelo gets to know Tara. Tara didn't want to fall for another powerful businessman but Angelo knocks down all her defenses. Will her love hold when she finds out the truth?
Wedding Vow Of Revenge is a wonderful story of revenge, redemption and the power of love. Lucy Monroe should be on any romance reader's auto buy list.
Sweet!.......2006-02-23
From the back: The instant Angelo Gordon sees model Tara Peters he's certain she will share his bed. But her beauty isn't the only attraction - he wants vengeance! Tara is not an easy conquest. When she pushes Angelo away he realizes he can only win her over by playing a different game. Angelo will raise the stakes and take the ultimate revenge: marriage!
Very sweet love story by Lucy Monroe with very likeable characters and sizzling chemistry.
Trust, Passion and Vengeance all rolled into one........2006-02-16
Yet again, Lucy Monroe takes her readers on a journey not to be forgotten. As I kept reading this book, I felt like I was always holding my breath, will the handsome Angelo make Tara his before she finds out his plans?
Angelo, the handsome, talented and sexy tycoon, well let's just say he's dynamite and yet he holds himself back because of his past. He's afraid to let someone in, yet Tara definitely sneaks in and steals his heart.
Tara's learned never to trust men, especially because of childhood experiences and a recent relationship which left her scared. However, over time she learns to trust Angelo and falls in love. What Tara doesn't realize is that Angelo has a plan of revenge and that he must marry Tara in order to reach his goal. The tables are turned on this couple, when Tara realizes she's expecting and Angelo realizes he's fallen in love.
Have a box of Kleenex ready because this is just another Monroe book you won't be able to put down!
Book Summary:
The instant Angelo Gordon sees model Tara Peters he's certain she will share his bed. But her beauty isn't the only attraction - he wants vengeance!
Tara is not an easy conquest. When she pushes Angelo away he realizes he can only win her over by playing a different game. Angelo will raise the stakes and take the ultimate revenge: marriage
Customer Reviews:
She Should Have Shot Him Instead of Marrying Him.......2004-05-05
Twenty-seven-year-old Danielle and her mother are facing bankruptcy. They are going to lose their posh Melbourne apartment and their boutique business. Danielle goes to the owner of the mall that houses their shop and the apartment they lived in, Rafe Valdez, to plead for an extension.
Rafe, however, has other ideas. It seems that his grandfather and father before him worked in the wine fields of Danielle's aristocratic ancestors and Rafe thinks it ironic that she should come seeking assistance from him. Oh, I forgot to mention, that Rafe is responsible for maneuvering Danielle into the position she's in.
And he will get her out of it, put her right back in society, let her stay in her ritzy home, let her mother keep the boutique and give her a million dollars to boot. All she has to do is marry him, bear him a son and live in him and give herself to him every night for seven years.
Of course she sells herself Rafe, proving once again that women are all harlots at heart. Oh why oh why do romance writers go down this horrid path. A real woman, even an Australian woman, when confronted with Rafe's proposition, would have gone out and found a gun, come back and shot the dirt bag between the eyes and we'd have a mystery-thriller instead of a romance. This is the kind of romance that none of the Harlequin Dreamers find appealing, but obviously there are some misguided woman out there who believe the only real man is a bully. This is sad. Only two stars.
Bianchin is always good, but ..........2002-04-07
... this was not her best effort. I still rated it 4 stars, because even an off-par Bianchin is better than most, but I was diappointed in this outing. "The Wedding Ultimatim" bore a distinct resemblance to "The Marriage Arrangement" (July 2001) in some key plot points, and therefore lacked the spontaneity and originality I usually count on this author to deliver.
Danielle d'Alboa, scion of an old and aristocratic Spanish dynasty that now finds itself nearly bankrupt, makes a last-chance plea to Rafael Valdez, holder of their major debt, for mercy. Rafael, new money from a rough background, offers to solve Danielle's financial problems in exchange for an heir; his child will be a blue-blood. Set against the backdrop of Australian society, the plot is well-paced and sophistocated.
I count on every Bianchin I buy to be a keeper, and often re-read her books over and over. This one did not make that cut, but was entertaining. I certainly recommend it as the best of the Harlequin offerings for April 2002.
Product Description
This book presents a dozen timeless wedding themes from various sources arranged in idiomatic keys for flute or violin with tasteful piano accompaniment. A convenient pull-out part is included for the soloist. Here, under one cover, is an outstanding selection of tunes to please the bride and keep the wedding musician booked for months in advance!
Customer Reviews:
Not violin friendly.......2004-03-29
Since I play violin solo for weddings on occasion, I bought this collection. Unfortunately it proved to be not very useful for the following reasons:
(1) There are several long 8va passages. Give me ledger lines any day! 8va's are like clef changes - hard to process on the fly. For intermediate players this may be okay since it gives them the option of playing the melody in the lower octave.
(2) Key for Mendelssohn's Wedding March was changed from the original C major to A-flat (4 flats). Not only is the key more difficult, it doesn't sound quite as good.
(3) The violin/flute part for Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring only has the chorale melody. The triplet melody that this piece is best known for is in the piano accompaniment, which is okay unless you plan to play this piece solo.
A much better collection is the Violin & Piano Wedding Collection from Latham Music Ltd. (run the name through a search engine).
Customer Reviews:
Great Gift for Your Spouse or for Newlyweds!.......1998-09-24
I purchased this book 7 years ago in St. Louis on a business trip for my husband. Mary has a way of capturing what everyone needs to say to in her artwork. This book is a great momento or keepsake to share with Newlyweds or for Anniversary gifts!
Average customer rating:
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Shotgun Wedding (Harlequin Presents, No 1480)
Charlotte Lamb
Manufacturer: Harlequin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 037311480X |
Book Description
This book fills the need for intermediate to advanced violin duets appropriate for weddings as well as recitals, parties, and receptions. These unaccompanied settings would also be useful as sight-reading material in teaching studios. Selections in this volume include: Air in "D"and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (Bach); Allegro (Fiocco); Amazing Grace (trad.); Bridal Chorus (Wagner); Chaccone (Vitali); Kanon (Pachelbel); Menuetto (Boccherini); Ode to Joy (Beethoven); Rondeau (Mouret); Serenade (Haydn); Trumpet Voluntary (Purcell); Wedding March (Mendelssohn); Water Music (Handel); and "Winter" from The Four Seasons (Vivaldi). Scores include dynamic markings & bowing indications.
Customer Reviews:
Very pretty arrangements.......2005-09-22
I've been using this book at weddings, where my friend and I get hired to play violin duets, and we use most of the songs in this book at some point in the ceremony. Pretty much any song that someone will ask for-- whether for processional, recessional, bride's song, pre-wedding mood music-- is in this book. The arrangements mazimize the sound and harmony despite the presence of only two instrumentalists, and the parts are not too difficult (but they sound great anyway). Highly recommended!
Customer Reviews:
Got better towards the end but should have been much better.......2006-12-28
Rachel Vaile wants to marry a man she hates, but who is extremely good looking and rich. The reason is that her dying mother would love to see Rachel get married into a respected family.
The story was not a very good one. Why couldn't she find another, nice man to marry? Why should she have to marry at all just to please her mother? And why would it please her that she married a man who called her (the mother) a whore? It was really hard to feel sympathy for Rachel, because she seemed so stupid. She knew she hated Vito and that he hated him, yet every time he says something mean - which is often - she gets really hurt by it.
The writing is pretty bad. There's lots of very repetitive inner dialogue and one sentence text passages.
Only towards the end of the book do we find out from Vito's point of view, the reason why he's so rude to her, due to a misunderstanding. It would have been better if we learned this earlier in the book, because then it would have been easier to sympathise with both characters.
The book started out very badly, with bad, choppy writing, but towards the end, when we got to know Vito better, the book got better, but it's still by no means a good book, but the last quarter or so raised it from one to two stars. This was my first Harlequin, so I'm not sure if they're all like this, but I hope they're usually better than this one.
Not worth reading, can skip this one........2005-08-09
The idea of the story was new, but the way the Ms.James wrote the whole story is really-really lack of characters and too much co-incidence. All Harlequin romance always have a "cinderella" side, but this one is just too much "dreamings", made it no sense at all.
The heroine was desperate enough to propose a marriage of convinience to the hero just to make her dying mother's wish came true, to have her daughter married into an honorable family, despite of her being a mistress to a rich man.
Vito, the rich man's son, was full of hatred to both Rachel and her mother because of his father's adultery, which then I thought it was ridiculous to have him forgive the mother so easily later and share a "hidden story" about his own mother's "secret love story". Too much "out-of-track" story??? Just couldn't get it right :-(
No love at all can be described from the man's cruel attitudes and words from the beginning through the end of the story, so it ammazed me how he could say he had fallen in love with her when he had seen her 7-years earlier and taken her virginity.
Couldn't be agree more with the other 2 reviewers, still I might consider a 2-Star rate for the idea of the story.
However, I would recommend THE GREEK'S VIRGIN BRDIE from the same author, the characters are much-much better.
Acrid brutish man/ Unconscionably stupid woman.......2005-07-25
That about sums it up. Now I like an Alpha hero. No really. Strong, straightforward, knows what he wants...and if he's a bit dangerous to know, even better. I bought the book because it didn't seem to be the namby-pamby, politically-correct baby, bride pap we've been fed for years (the reason I turned away from romance). But this goes too far the other way--the man has NO redeeming qualities. NONE.
If he can say things like "You're the bastard daughter of my father's whore." to a 14 yr old, and she STILL wants and loves him, she deserves everything she gets. And all he has to say by way of apology is "I was angry." Despite his horrid verbal and emotional abuse, she loves him because he's beautiful, (he must be--we're told twice on every page), wealthy and is good in bed. How shallow and idiotic is that? I'm sorry, but this book signifies everything BAD about romantic stories from the 80s. Stupid women, brutish men. And it seems to me a little honesty on the part of EITHER character would have saved a lot of pages. In fact, the story would have been over before page three.
As for the writing, it's quite good (except I think "gagging for it" lowers the charcter from hero to scumbag. Given a meatier story, the author might have done well. But story is too thin begin with, and highly padded by pages and pages of excrutiatingly repetitious internal dialogue. Yes, we KNOW he's handsome. Get over it already. It is possible that this author could write a short contemp romance with engaging characters and a good plot. Not this time.
bleah.......2005-07-06
This was so bad, there are no words to describe how bad. Run away from buying this and wasting your money.
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