Product Description
Sir Ian McKellen, everyone's favourite white haired wizard, is Prospero, and heads a strong cast in Shakespeare's last great play. The wronged duke raises a tempest to shipwreck his old opponents on the island, so that he can ensure that justice is done. With Emilia Fox as Miranda, Scott Handy in the pivotal role of the sprite Ariel, and Ben Owukwe as Caliban, this new production balances the magic and the earthiness with music. ... Read more

Product Description
BOMB 65, Fall 1998, featuring: Interviews with Ian McKellen by Scott Mendelsohn, Alexander Nehamas by David Carrier, Sam Taylor-Wood by Bruce Ferguson, Mark Richard by J.D. Dolan, Geoffrey O'Brien by Luc Sante, Thomas Nozkowski by Francine Prose, Clifford Ross by Betsy Sussler, and Yusef Komunyakaa and Paul Muldoon. Fiction and poetry by David Ryan, Terese Svoboda, Sheila Kohler, Tom Sleigh, Elisa Albo, Neal Durando, Robert Lopez, Lynn Freed, and Jim Thompson. Art by Rita McBride, Tom Butter, and Y.Z. Kami. ... Read more

Product Description
As a psychiatrist in a top-security mental hospital in the 1950s, Peter Cleave has made a study of what he calls 'the catastrophic love affair characterized by sexual obsession.' His experience is extensive, and he is never surprised. Until, that is, he comes reluctantly to accept that the wife of one of his colleagues has embarked on such an affair...Amazon.com Review
The New Yorker review praised Patrick McGrath's"ornate, deadpan style . . . distinguished by its unusualseriousness, its lack of camp," and described Asylum as a"layered, implicating book, whose terrors and malignities aren'tquite the ones we expect, and are a matter of mood and viewpoint aswell as of plot." McGrath's fourth novel (his other three arealso highly recommended) features a subtly deceptive narrator whoseconfident, musical voice seduces you--a voice that mirrors, in itsmeter, emotions ranging from lyrically obsessed, to meticulously fond,to cautious and stiff with horror. And the imagery is unforgettable:the grim architecture of the asylum; a ravaged human head with emptyeye sockets; a drowning in a pool on a barren heath. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (100)

Incredibly Haunting Psychological Thriller
This is my first time reading a Patrick McGrath story.It will not be my last.I don't know how I haven't come across his work before, and I feel I have to catch up on all that I've missed out on.

Normally, I finish a book and immediately pronounce to myself whether it was good or bad, and then I'm off to the next selection from my burgeoning bookshelves.It's been awhile, however, since I closed the pages of a story and had to sit and reflect for a few moments afterwards.Without question, this was an excellent book, and I needed more time to think on the very nature behind the story, the characters, and events. Needless to say, I brooded and ruminated on the ending for quite some time.

Asylum, by Patrick McGrath has done all of this.It has all the elements of a story that I like -- a haunting setting in the gloomy and sweeping English countryside, a dark love affair, secrets, and ambiguity.

Stella is the mother of a young boy, Charlie and the wife of Max, an esteemed psychiatrist at a maximum-security institution for the criminally insane just outside of London, England, in the late 1950s. Her day to day life of wife and mother is mundane, and her husband really doesn't have the drive or passion to keep her interested.Only a few patients are granted access to the grounds around the house on the institution, to work on the garden or to redo the old conservatory, with a watchful group of staff nearby. Unbeknownst to all, though, Stella becomes the lover of an incredibly dangerous patient, Edgar.He's quite an artist, but he's also destructively jealous -- his unending stay in the institution was determined because he killed his wife in a brutal and mutilating manner, apparently because she was seeing other men.Stella, however, still finds herself uncontrollably drawn to him and caught up in the passion of this bizarre love.

This is an absolutely fascinating story and it is incredibly written, told through the perspective of another doctor at the institution, the older and wiser Dr. Peter Cleave. I initially thought I wouldn't care for this character, but I ultimately found that not only was it necessary in order to describe a general understanding of the mind -- the breakdown of Stella, the depth of manipulation by Edgar, and the ultimate weaknesses of Stella's husband, but it also explained the neurosis and psychosis of the characters.The insight Dr. Cleave provided was so critical to understand how these fictionalized people became completely devoid of reality only to succumb to the obsession everyone represses -- the ability to become thoroughly self-obsessed, whether or not it destroys innocent lives.

With Peter telling the story, in some scenes almost clinically, it created a much more haunting feel and I felt completely entrenched in the story. Several times it seemed to intensify so sadly and in such a disturbing nature, that I couldn't fathom it to turn more grim than it already was, but the author was able to continue down that path even further.Peter provides a trusting credibility that lends quite a bit to the pleasure that I had in the twists that occurred.I was mortified, angry, heartbroken, and completely engrossed in the story.

Patrick McGrath has created a suspenseful psychological thriller of obsession with oneself.It is haunting and dark, deeply erotic in some scenes, and altogether disturbing.Highly recommended, and I will be on the lookout for more Patrick McGrath books.

Very dark story
I enjoyed this book very much.Stella's character is one I would compare to Flaubert's Madame Bovary.She totally consumes herself and other lives around her with her sinister attraction to Edgar Stark.I think it's a very true-to-life story, though, as we've all known people like her.As tragic as it is, I came away from it feeling entertaiined and enlightened by the psychology of the piece.Edgar Stark is no typical villain or character at all.He has many dimensions and his shifts into violence from a seemingly ordinary man are chilling.No doubt, this book is a fine read for anyone who wants more than just some pop fiction.I think it will stand on its own for several years and I highly recommend it.

`One struggles with shame every day.'
In the summer of 1959, Dr Max Raphael is appointed deputy superintendent of a remote English hospital for the criminally insane.Max is accompanied by his wife Stella and their son Charlie.Stella befriends a patient, Edgar Stark, who is working on the rebuilding of a conservatory.Even the knowledge that Edgar has been confined to the hospital for the brutal murder and disfigurement of his wife does not deter Stella from becoming involved with Edgar.Their obsessive and destructive love destroys a number of lives.

The narrator, Dr Peter Cleave, increasingly becomes involved in the story.He brings a curious mix of hubris and naivety to the events as he recounts them.His belief that he can save Stella can only be sustained by ignoring reality. And ultimately the asylum is no place of safety at all - except, perhaps, for Dr Cleave himself.As a prison, it has clearly failed.

I am ambivalent about this novel.I am pleased that the narrator was neither Stella nor Edgar, thereby providing some distance from their different forms of madness.I am disquieted by the actions of Stella, and of Dr Cleave.I was surprised to realise, at the end of the novel, that the action had taken place in a period of just over 12 months.This is not a light read, and while I found the content unsettling, the writing is superb.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

When the Inmates Take Over the Asylum...


Patrick McGrath's novel, "Asylum," is a hypnotic tale of sexual obsession rendered in poetic prose, skillful timing and riveting characterization.Although parts of the narrative stretch the reader's credulity, the masterful McGrath makes the storyline so compelling that the reader forgives the lapse, deftly drawn in by the thriller's relentless pace and the enigmatic personas of Edgar Stark, a violent psychopath, and his paramour, the vulnerable Stella Raphael. At once deeply Freudian, the novel is also immensely entertaining and clever. It manipulates our sensibilities while arousing in us the horrific reminder of how susceptible people are to the charms of the malevolent among us.Additionally, the novel is a chilling reminder of what it meant to be a woman during Victorian times.

The novel is narrated by Peter Cleave, a cunning, resident psychiatrist every bit as devious as Edgar Stark and just as pathological.Cleave is controlling, a voyeur in the worst sense, and an unscrupulous colleague as well as a homosexual whose determination to possess Edgar Stark makes him truly dangerous.He manages to manipulate Stella to depend on him, recognizing that the lovers' pathologies will ultimately determine their fates.McGrath implies that the madness apparent in Stella as well as her terrible demise result from the pathology inherent in the institutional culture of the hospital and society at large as much as from her own deficiencies: her feminine romanticism, her basic unhappiness, and her self-absorption.She might have endured her marriage to the prosaic Max had it not been for the manipulations of Cleave and her own propensity to take risks, a character flaw she eventually paid for with her life and that of her child.

The novel implies that Victorian times made women prisoners, not only of their marriages and domestic and familial responsibilities, but of their willfulness propelled by self-destructive romantic inclinations fueled by excessive leisure.Perhaps women of Stella's station spent too much time reading Victorian novels which fed their appetites and imagination for the wider world closed to women of that period. Too cultivated for their limited opportunity and without any kind of social independence, they reached for that which was beyond their grasp and thus endured societal rejection.The great novels of the time period depicted the plight of such women as Stella:"Madame Bovary," "Anna Karenina," "Wuthering Heights," "Rebecca."All suggest the dire consequences for women who sought sexual passion in a judgmental, male dominated society.For in the end, McGrath reminds us, it was the men who were in control of women's destinies.The prisons of unhappy marriages with feckless men could not be escaped except through death, as Stella's plight clearly illustrates.

Stark, who brutally murdered his wife by decapitation and removing her eyes, is the arch fiend yet he is also a charismatic, seductive man clearly at the height of his sexual powers when he meets Stella, the wife of the lunatic asylum's assistant superintendent, an ambitious man dominated by his equally ambitious and cold mother, Brenda.Stark is an opportunist, having achieved parole so that he walks unsupervised throughout the hospital grounds and even manages to procure alcohol.He schemes to escape by using Stella to gain access to the Raphael home so that he can steal Max' clothes and use them as a disguise.His pathology is both complicated and classic.Drawn to beauty by his idealistic, artistic leanings, he eventually sees the opposite in the faces of the women he loves.His consequent delusions drive him to label them whores and thus justify his violence toward them.When Stella at last realizes Edgar does not love her, she is plunged into a deep depression because on some level she then has to acknowledge, if only to herself, that her need for him is obsessive.It is also more about the need on her part to take inexcusable risks than to love truly and honestly.And finally, she knows that she, too, is incapable of love just as Edgar is, so that in the end she would like to destroy his hold on her.She watches her son drown; in her alcoholic detachment she sees Edgar in the black surf - a fitting image for the delusional world she has created and which is now in shreds around her. Silent and befuddled, reduced entirely to an automaton under Peter Cleave's monomaniacal control, her lover Stark lives out his life in the institution, a pawn of Cleave to the very end.

Max Raphael, Stella's husband, is a sadist, gaining some pleasure from dominating and finally destroying his beautiful wife.Although to outward appearances, he is willing to sacrifice his ego and happiness to assure that she will remain with him and their son, he is really playing cat and mouse with her, attempting to control her through ultimatums, much like the husband of Anna Karenina, whose sadistic cruelty helped drive her to suicide.Max Raphael is as dull as Charles Bovary, Emma's husband, whose bovine dullness impelled her to adultery.In the case of all three women, they adopt the role of rebel and thereby allow their sexuality full rein.They are thus regarded as promiscuous and self-indulgent.For all of them, the expression of their sexual longings result in social ostracism, depression and death.Such is the fate of a female rebel in a male dominated society.

A sculptor, Edgar Stark initially idealizes Stella but then turns on her when she reveals herself to be human.An artist, wishing to reveal the truth in the faces of his women, he is delusional in his idealizing them in the first place and in his inability to acknowledge their sexuality. When they fail to measure up to his projections, he murders them. Jealous and possessive, he views women as objects, not real human beings.When Stella understands this, she realizes that all the men she knows are controlling and pernicious, and so the only choice she has is to end her life.From Edgar's perspective women are idealized, as are the subjects of great art, until he sees their foibles and then they shrink in his vision to tiny, defenseless sculpture objects - vulnerable and consigned to his own pathetic graveyard of clay heads.

When Stella finally recognizes Edgar's incapacity to love, she tells him, "Oh, you don't love me; you haven't the imagination."She muses that "[Edgar] was just another angry man, the world was full of them."Still, she clings to him, nevertheless realizing that "it was all over."In her anger she acknowledges, "You are a psychopath."By then his mood has shifted. Even as Stella claims to know what he is, she doubts it herself, withdrawing into her denial because she doesn't want her lover to group her with the psychiatrists, Max and Cleave, whom he disdains and who have control over him.She recognizes in the moment that hers and Edgar's "love [has turned] to ash."She admits to herself it is "an awful sensation" to "feel the meaning drain out of everything."She expects him to beat her and in her deep depression she doesn't care.Looking at the bruise he has given her, she reacts: "You fool, she told herself over and over again."

"Asylum" is deeply psychological and compelling.The story is taut, the description poetic, the characters complex and fascinating.While it is not believable that a man of Edgar Stark's pathology would be free to roam the grounds of a mental institution for the criminally insane and in particular, build an addition on the house of the assistant director, still, McGrath manages to divert our attention from the book's foibles because there is enough depth in the narrative to sustain our interest.Binding the disparate characters and their ill fated lives is the Mephistophelean Peter Cleave, who manipulates everyone to his own advantage: He gets Max out of the way so he can assume the directorship of the hospital, he coerces Stella to "cleave" unto him for understanding and solace so he can reduce her effect on Stark and thus have Stark under his tutelage and absolute control.He obsessively pursues Edgar Stark ostensibly because he is drawn to him in the same way Stella is -- by his complex personality and artistic bent that are fascinating to Cleave, whose final act of control occurs when he asks Stella to adorn his home by marrying him.That Cleave has always seen Stella as an object is not lost on her, and so she does what countless women before her have when they see no way out of a society that is bent on control.She wraps herself in the black ballroom dress she wore on the fateful night she met Stark, now a fitting shroud, and poisons herself.By this final act of rebellion, she at last escapes the various prisons of her existence and leaves behind her the wreckage a society that manipulates its most vulnerablemembers so aptly deserves.

Marjorie Meyerle,
Colorado Writer,
Author, "Bread of Shame," a literary novel

Ah, yes!
I seem to have discovered this book late.

I agree with much of what has been written about this book.However, my prespective is as a mental health professional who experienced a number of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and social workers who deluded themselves and others about their motives just as does the narrator.There are those startling little clues all along that he is anything but objective.Yet, his smooth seemingly detached view carries one along until that painful nonetheless expected ending.He, has drawings and the head, consequences of a mad all consuming love but lied to Stella and refused Stark's request.Sad and cruel for all. ... Read more

Product Description
Written by Homer - Translated by Robert Fagles - Audio book performed by Ian McKellen - Unabridged Fiction - 12 CASSETTES - 13 hours, 10 minutesPublisher, Penguin Audiobooks (November 1996)RECEIVED THE COVETED "AUDIOFILE EARPHONES AWARD" (July 1997) FOR EXCEPTIONAL NARRATIVE VOICE AND STYLE, VOCAL CHARACTERIZATIONS, APPROPRIATENESS FOR AUDIO FORMAT AND ENHANCEMENT OF THE TEXT!When Robert Fagle's translation of the Iliad was published in 1990, critics and scholars alike hailed it as a masterpiece. Now one of the great translators of our time presents us with the Odyssey, Homer's best-loved poem, recounting Odysseus' wanderings after the Trojan War.With wit and wile, the 'man of twists and turns' meets the challenges of gods and monsters, only to return after twenty years to a home besieged by his wifes suitors. In the myths and legends retold in this immortal poem, Fagles has captured the energy of Homers original in a bold, contemporary idiom. This is an Odyssey to treasure for its sheer lyrical mastery.Ian McKellen is among the most highly-acclaimed actors in the English-speaking world. His appearances on stage, screen, and television have been numerous. ... Read more

Product Description
Now published for the first time, the Oscar®-winning script for the film starring Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, and Lynn Redgrave—in the Newmarket Shooting Script® series format, with new introductions written especially for this edition.

This critically acclaimed film was chosen by Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, Rolling Stone, USA Today, The Washington Post, and more than 100 other newspapers and magazines as one of the Ten Best Films of 1998. Based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram, the film, written and directed by Bill Condon, garnered major prizes for Condon, Ian McKellen, and Lynn Redgrave.

In the acclaimed Newmarket Shooting Script® series, this volume includes a facsimile of the script, a foreword by Clive Barker about his talks with Condon on how to bring cinematic life to James Whale's story, an introduction by Ian McKellen, and complete cast and crew credits. Also included is a portfolio of photographs by Anne Fishbein chosen especially by Condon for this book. 25 b/w photos. ... Read more

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33 1/3 RPM - 4 records & complete text. Cast: Ian Holm, Charles Gray, Ian McKellen, Janet Suzman, Bernard Bresslaw, John Laurie & John Gielgud as Chorus ... Read more

Product Description
This combo pack features a Blu-ray copy of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in high definition and a standard DVD version of the film.

Frodo and Samwise press on toward Mordor. Gollum insists on being the guide. Can anyone so corrupted by the ring be trusted? Can Frodo, increasingly under the sway of the ring, even trust himself? Meanwhile, Aragorn, drawing closer to his kingly destiny, rallies forces of good for the battles that must come. Director Peter Jackson delivers an amazing second movie that won 2 Academy Awards® and earned 6 total nominations, including Best Picture. The journey continues. So do the astonishing spectacle and splendor.

Specifications

- Video: 1080p High Definition / 2.4:1

- Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio - English 6.1; Dolby Digital Español 5.1 EX

- Subtitles: English SDH & Español ... Read more

Product Description
The official inside story on the making of the award-winning movie trilogy

The Lord of the Rings: The Making of the Movie Trilogy is a lavishly illustrated, behind-the-scenes, definitive account of the creation of an epic film experience. Hailed by critics worldwide, part one of the movie trilogy was a box-office smash, one of the most successful films of the decade. Peter Jackson's "fierce, imaginative movie takes high-flying risks and inspires with its power and scale," wrote Newsweek. "In every way this is moviemaking on a grand scale," wrote the San Francisco Chronicle, while Time proclaimed the "grandeur, moral heft and emotional depth" of the film, which received thirteen Academy Award(R) nominations.
Including more than 300 photographs from all three films, most unique to this book, and exclusive interviews with all the cast and crew, Brian Sibley's fascinating book takes every fan inside the process of adapting J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork for the screen. For the first time in history, three major movies were made at the same time, a triumphant and monumental undertaking that took the world by storm. Here can be found details about the hundreds of dedicated artists, craftspeople and cast and crew members who labored for years -- adding authenticity at every stage -- to bring one of the greatest stories ever told to an eager film audience. Sibley takes us inside the process of filmmaking to show us how the magic is made -- from the director, writers and actors to wardrobe, makeup, miniatures, music and digital special effects, it's all here.

"It was tiring, physically and mentally, but never dull. Three movies, one big story, and so much variety: one day shooting scenes of intimate heart-wrenching drama, the next, vast battle scenes involving hundreds of extras. Every day brought an opportunity to create something new on this enormous canvas that is The Lord of the Rings." -- Peter Jackson ... Read more

Customer Reviews (27)

Lord Of The Rings
This is a great book about the making of the "Lord of the Rings" movies that one will enjoy reading over and over again.

Not great
Too few pictures from the movie, and the ones there are are mostly too small. Text is okay, but much more (and much more interesting) information is available on the expanded edition DVDs.

High Quality But Achingly Incomplete
With a title like 'The Making of the Movie *Trilogy*', this book is not nearly as comprehensive as it should be. While there are great photos and interesting background information, the book mostly covers The Fellowship of the Ring and some of The Two Towers.

I was expecting much more - actors' biographies, the screenwriters' methods and decisions in writing the screenplay, a timeline of the making of the trilogy, etc. Also I hoped that it would be more celebratory of the achievements of this landmark film series. This was impossible since the book was published prior to the release of the Two Towers. So that's my fault for not looking at the publication date.

In a nutshell, the book is a premature summary that fails to pay tribute to the entire trilogy. It makes a mediocre collector's item that I could have done without. One star for information and another for quality photos.

Interesting and beautiful book
That's a very picturesque book and an interesting narrative. It's more about making the movie and the WETA involvment in it than, say, about the actors of the movie, as I was hoping. But it's still very interesting, uncovers some film production facts and includes some interviews. But if you're interested in the actors' interaction with each other and the like, better pick up Sean Austin's book (There and back again, an actor's tale).

Few nice pictures and that's all
I bought this book and I was interested but it really disappointed me! It doesn't give you any information neither details about the making of the movie rather than the author's babbling (honestly)! The only good thing is some nice pictures and they are not many. ... Read more

Product Description
When he was outcast, Torak was the hunted one. The following spring, he becomes the hunter when he swears to avenge the killing of one of his closest friends. To fulfil his oath he must brave the hidden valleys of the Deep Forest, where the clans have reverted to the savagery of an earlier time. Here, Torak finally learns why he is the Sprit Walker and discovers the true cost of revenge. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Habit breaker
I've not really been in to reading for a long time now, but I still push myself to pick up a book as I feel guilty for not being in the habit. I've been reading Michelle Paver's Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series since 2005, and they've had their ups and downs. I didn't even bother reviewing the last entry, and the name escapes me at the moment, but Oath Breaker, while being a fairly brisk and to-the-point book still kinda drags since not a lot really happens in it.

The story is based on already long-established threads from the previous novels and brings nothing new to the series other than closing said threads. Torak once again runs off into the forest on his own, Renn is torn between Torak and tradition once more. Wolf is still confused by human customs. All other tribesman are primitive and gullible.

With no defining scenes and no new characters Oath Breaker feels very run-of-the-mill and by-the-numbers. The closing of the Thiazzi plot is all it really has going for it.

Great series
This has been an excellent series thus far. Following the life of Torak and Renn as they face many challenges has been an adventure. In Oathbreaker, Torak loses his kinsmen and becomes consumed with avenging his death.The book shows us how vengeance can cost a high price. Torak nearly loses more than Bale, but through the progression of time he comes to realize this. Yes, he does make one careless mistake after the other, but realistically this is how a person behaves when they are bent of vengeance. They cannot see past their own hurts and hatred. Torak had to come to this realization.
This was yet another engaging read in the series and I look forward to the concluding novel.

Absolutely Brilliant!!!!!
The Chronicles of Ancient Darkeness books are simply brilliant.Each succeeding book is better than the previous ones.This is the best in the series so far.Michelle Paver has created a world of magic.The characters are lovingly presented.And the entire audio series has been read by Ian McKellen who is one of the most talented actors on the planet.His readings of these books is proof. I can't wait for the next installment.

Love it!
I can't get enough of these books (and I'm all grown up)!If any of us had to put ourselves in Toraks shoes - who is to say how we would respond - I could actually relate to the soul sickness - a place alot of people go who have been hurt in their life, rejected, traumatized - I wish Ms. Paver wouldcontinue further into his life as he ages and matures and can pass his wisdom on to another - I really want a happy ending with Renn.Maybe we all have these gifts of some sort but are so entrenched in our own century we're not listening to the earth around us. :)

Stupid!
I am angry. I am really angry.
I loved Wolf Brother, the first book of this series. I loved Spirit Walker, too. I liked Soul Eater and Outcast.
But I start to hate Oath Breaker.
Why?
Because it is stupid. It is stupid because Michelle Paver lets Torak do one stupid thing after the other just to get the plot to where she wants it to get.
Again and again I want to shout to Torak: You stupid idiot!
In Wolf Brother and Spirit Walker he was a likeable boy. In Soul Eater and Outcast he did some stupid things as every Teenager would.
But in Oath Breaker ALL he does is stupid (save one thing: saving the foal in the lake).
He does not learn. Again and again he makes mistakes and does not learn a thing.
I cannot feel with him as I did in the other books. He is just too plain st... you know.
I can accept that there is a lot of hate within him. That he wants revenge, not only (attention, spoilers!) for Bale but for his parents, too. But I cannot accept an idiot as the protagonist of this book.
It is sad that the fifth novel of this series destroyed my feelings for Torak. It is sad that on page 170 I am almost trashing this book.
I am not sure if I will read on. Just now I am too angry to do so.

You may think my review is much too emotional. But what are books good for if you cannot live your emotions in their stories?
Maybe I should follow Thiazzis wake and burn this book ...
... Read more

Product Description
HarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.'There was one place in the world that stood solid and did not melt into unreality: the place where his mother was. Everybody else could grow shadowy, almost non-existent to him, but she could not.'In his quest to find his emotional and independent self, Paul Morel is torn between the strong, Oedipal bond he has with his mother and the relationships he forges as a young adult, with chaste Miriam and the provocative Clara. As Paul matures and struggles with his own and his mother's feelings towards the other women in his life, Lawrence expertly crafts a timeless and universal story of family, love and the relationships that define us.Amazon.com Review
Sons and Lovers was the first modern portrayal of a phenomenon that later, thanks to Freud, became easily recognizable as the Oedipus complex. Never was a son more indentured to his mother's loveand full of hatred for his father than Paul Morel, D.H. Lawrence's youngprotagonist. Never, that is, except perhaps Lawrence himself. Inhis 1913 novel he grappled with the discordant loves that haunted him allhis life--for his spiritual childhood sweetheart, here called Miriam, andfor his mother, whom he transformed into Mrs. Morel. It is, by Lawrence'sown account, a book aimed at depicting this woman's grasp: "as her sonsgrow up she selects them as lovers--first the eldest, then the second.These sons are urged into life by their reciprocal love of theirmother--urged on and on. But when they come to manhood, they can't love,because their mother is the strongest power in their lives."

Of course, Mrs. Morel takes neither of her two elder sons (the first of whom dies early, which further intensifies her grip on Paul) as a literal lover, but nonetheless her psychological snare is immense. She loathes Paul's Miriam from the start, understanding that the girl's deep love of her son will oust her: "She's not like an ordinary woman, who can leave me my share in him. She wants to absorb him." Meanwhile, Paul plays his part with equal fervor, incapable of committing himself in either direction: "Why did his mother sit at home and suffer?... And why did he hate Miriam, and feel so cruel towards her, at the thought of his mother. If Miriam caused his mother suffering, then he hated her--and he easily hated her."Soon thereafter he even confesses to his mother: "I really don't loveher. I talk to her, but I want to come home to you."

The result of all this is that Paul throws Miriam over for a married suffragette, Clara Dawes, who fulfills the sexual component of his ascent to manhood but leaves him, as ever, without a complete relationship to challenge his love for his mother. As Paul voyages from the working-class mining world to the spheres of commerce and art (he has fair success as a painter), he accepts that his own achievements must be equally his mother's. "There was so much to come out of him. Life for her was rich with promise. She was to see herself fulfilled... All his work was hers."

The cycles of Paul's relationships with these three women are terrifying at times, and Lawrence does nothing to dim their intensity. Nor does he shirk in his vivid, sensuous descriptions of the landscape that offers up its blossoms and beasts and "shimmeriness" to Paul's sensitive spirit. Sons and Lovers lays fully bare the souls of menand earth. Few books tell such whole, complicated truths about the permutations of love as resolutely without resolution. It's nothing short of searing to be brushed by humanity in this manner. --Melanie Rehak ... Read more

Customer Reviews (81)

On the border of modernity
This great and slowly moving novel remains one of the final great works in the English Romantic tradition. D.H. Lawrence's conservative style almost wants to remain in the pre-industrial world. This wonderful novel is both an oedipal portrait of a bourgois mother and her domestic conflicts with her mismatched and drunken husband and her future attempts to conserve her possession over her children. Paul Morel is the central figure, whose life revolves around his struggle with his love of two women and his devotion to his mother. Sons and Lovers is at its core about the dehumanizing effects of the modern world. It is no longer possible to live in peace and harmony with ones environment. Man has now been reduced to his functions. Although this novel does not really get going until the second half, the final passages remain some of the finest of English writing. A great though often dreary classic.

Sad and lovely
It was a pleasure to read this book,written in such a simple, crisp style and yet conveys the gravity of emotions between mother and son flawlessly with beautiful prose, subtle expressions, quiet reflections and profound discoveries.This is a true classic.

Overdramatic, largely biographical novel of the author's early life
Sons and Lovers is D.H. Lawrence's highly autobiographical novel of the early years of a young man's life in mid-nineteenth century England. As such, the book is very intense emotionally, as Lawrence seems to convey his own strong feelings about his family into his characters. One result of this exaggerated level of emotions is a constant state of tension and unreality. A simple scene becomes a moment of high drama and the constant repetition of such scenes eventually dulls the reader to those moments of genuine crisis.

The book begins with the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Morel. Gertrude is an educated, sensitive woman who marries Walter because of his physical appearance and charming personality. She also believes, falsely as it turns out, that he does not drink and is the owner of this own house. Mr. Morel is a miner and the family lives in "The Bottoms," a hardscrabble mining community. It soon becomes clear that he cannot cope with the responsibility of raising a family that grows to four children. In response he turns to drink and abusive language (although no real violence) toward his family, and especially toward his wife. Throughout the book Walter is portrayed, not as an evil man, but as one defeated by life. His family comes to despise him and at the same time love him, depending on his moods and behavior.

William, the first child, is athletic and intelligent. He grows to manhood early in the book and leaves to go to London to seek his fortune, but comes to a tragic end. The second child, Annie, has only a modest role in the novel as benefits a book with this title. Paul, the third child, is the main character and Lawrence's alter ego. Unlike his siblings, Paul is sickly and unathletic, and he and Mrs. Morel develop a strong attachment for each other that carries throughout the book.The final child, Arthur, also plays a minor role in the plot.

The book is divided into two parts; the first largely concerned with the early years of the Morel family and the second with Paul and his love affairs. As a teenager he meets Miriam, a young girl on a nearby farm. Paul develops a fondness for the whole family and he and Miriam become entangled romantically and the understanding is that they will marry some day.But neither Paul nor Miriam can make a sufficient commitment to this idea and even when Miriam finally does so Paul is incapable of a similar response. At this point an older woman, Clara Dawes, comes into Paul's life. She is married to Baxter Dawes, a brutish man from whom she is separated. Paul is attracted to her physically and they begin an adulterous relationship. But again Paul has difficulty sustaining a mature relationship and is constantly torn between his love for (and even dependence on) his mother and his wish for a mature and stable relationship with a woman.

The novel is also infused with a heavy dose of religion. Miriam in particular, is described as highly religious and even derogatively referred to as a nun. The religion view that sex is something dirty is also evident.

It would help, given the nature of the book, to read a biography of Lawrence before tackling this novel. Many of the characters in the novel act in dysfunctional ways and the reader wonders how much of their behavior is a reflection of Lawrence's own life experiences.

It is difficult for me to rate this book much above three stars because of the depressing tone and unrealistic behaviors of the characters. One wants to say to Lawrence, "get some psychological help before writing about your life!"On the other hand it is a fascinating story written by one of the outstanding English writers of the nineteenth century. It is not his best work, but still quite good in many respects.

Touched by genius...
D.H. Lawrence was a guy that came out of the womb knowing how to write. You read his prose and his innate genius quickly becomes self-evident--this is an artist for whom the creative act of literature is akin to a Mozart symphony--airtight, beautiful, logical, NATURAL. Floooooowing.

Compare Lawrence with someone like Wallace Stegner--the latter being a writer with a fair amount of talent and a heckuva lot of dedication...but whose works seem...synthetic. Over-written, almost. As if he would look at a sentence and say, "This needs another adjective here--and a polysyllabic synonym for this word here."

With Lawrence, there is no sense of writerly straaaaaaining for profundity...no sense of sweaty self-consciousness. The sentences seemingly emanate from the ether, with a fundamental soundness and beauty which only a tiny, tiny few lucky people are capable of creating.

Stegner could study the craft of writing for thirty years and still produce an inferior book to the twenty-seven-year-old Lawrence's Sons and Lovers. Lawrence had IT. He was the real deal. The genuine article. He WAS Mozart (Stegner was you-know-who).

Sons and Lovers is a masterpiece. Not without its flaws, surely, but a masterpiece all the same. Some parts drag; some parts are choppy; some parts are frankly uninteresting. Notwithstanding that, it is just a single rung below Lolita and Under the Volcano in terms of quality.

The MLA concluded that Sons and Lovers is the ninth best novel of the 20th century--and it's hard to quibble with that assessment. (Even though it is ranked AHEAD of the supernally brilliant--and better--Under the Volcano.)

If you are a serious connoisseur of literature, this is one you have to get under the belt.

indescribable
Wow...I don't remember the last time that I've read a novel that would bring out in me such immense sensitivity as this one. With incredible detail Lawrence describes his life and ihs biggest loves. Perhaps I should not be writing this review because I only read 200 pages so far, but it is just too breathtaking. ... Read more

Product Description
This BBC Radio 4 dramatization starring Sir Ian McKellen recreates the author's mid-19th-Century London. Drawing upon his own father's imprisonment in Marshalsea Debtors' Prison, Dickens placed the institution firmly in the heart of the novel when telling the story of Amy Dorrit. The youngest child of debtor William Dorrit, Amy is born in the Marshalsea prison. She and her father are befriended by Arthur Clennam, whose mother employs "little Dorrit" as a seamstress. The fortunes of the Dorrits undergo an extreme change when Williams inherits a fortune, and the family move to Italy. Back in England, Arthur Clennam finds himself the victim of a massive fraud and ends up in Marshalsea. There he is found by Little Dorrit, whose fortune has had no effect on her generosity and humility. Arthur realizes that she loves him, but it is not until the Dorrit fortune is lost that the two of them can be united at last. Peopled with Dickens' usual host of memorable characters, this mix of satire and genuine sentiment has made this one of his best-loved works. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (119)

Little Dorrit
This is a very facinating story with many funny and interesting characters.The story is a tangle but it gets straightened out in the end.Well worth the money spent - you have to pay attentiont to catch everything - I loved it!

litte dorrit
I absolutely LOVE this movie. The character development is superb and the plot is intricate and suspenseful. This is the most beautiful looking movie I have seen in a long time. I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves BBC movies.

Wonderful Dicken's Viewing
'Little Dorrit' is another one of those superb BBC productions. Not just for the Dicken's lovers out there, but for anyone who appreciates quality acting and wonderful scenery. I don't think you will be at all disappointed sitting down with your hot cup of tea and your favourite biscuits, while getting caught up in the intrigue and mystery that surrounds the Dorritt family. This particular series has a wonderful cast of actors which you can't help but fall in love with. Claire Foy portrays little Amy Dorritt brillaintly with her shy, yet intuiative nature, offset by her proud and needy father played by Tom Courtenay. The handsome Arthur Clennam played by Matthew Macfadyen is the perfect stranger to throw amongst the mix. This adaptation features the wonderful talents of Mr Andrew Davies and along with the most detailed sets, this dvd is one which you will want to watch over and over again. You will not be disappointed.

A complex and satisfying story
My husband and I bought this movie after seeing previews for it on other BBC videos.We also bought it because we enjoy watching Matthew Macfadyen.We had never heard of this particular Dickens story before, so everything was a surprise.The story is very well done, and all the actors are excellent in their parts.From the very first episode (there are fourteen) the mystery and suspense begins.The characters are all interesting, and you begin to wonder how all of them will connect together--that happens over a slow process through the story.We enjoyed it from start to finish and felt the glowing reviews here were well deserved.Some characters you will love, some you will be properly annoyed by, and some you will love.It took us a long time to view the series, as we could only watch one or two episodes a week.The first and last episodes are both about an hour long, while the others are only about a half-hour each.

For more details, there are many reviews here which will help you make your decision, but we recommend it for any fan of British period drama.

Masterpiece Classic Little Dorrit
Masterpiece Classic's "Little Dorrit" is the most special, endearing and heart-warming piece written by Charles Dickens that you will ever want to experience.It is by far my favorite movie of all times, in which I would have easily paid 10 times the price of this 4 set DVD collection to watch numerous times over.

"Little Dorrit" played by Claire Foy and "Arthur Clennam" played by Matthew Macfadyen are incredible in their performances, in which both present themselves in the most giving spirits that you'd wish every human being possess.

Wikipedia has a well written write-up on the series at [...].But it seems to lack the emotional side that this series will make you feel.

On a scale of 1-100, I would give it 1,000 along with 2 thumbs up and 2 big toes up!!!I hope you love it as much as I do!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Includes "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". 18 cassettes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Great stories, not so good translation of the Odyssey, Bad Kindle edition
This review is divided into two parts, first a review of the translation itself and then a review of the Kindle edition.

Translation:
Homer's stories are great and in this translation extremely easy to read. They were originally written in dactyllic hexameter. This is a very difficult metric to translate into modern poetry and some translations (Chapman's and Pope's) that attempt a strict conversion suffer from being too difficult to follow (the convolutions necessary to make the story fit make them very difficult to follow).

The Butler translation does away with all attempts at poetry and is written in prose. This makes the story very easy to follow. One glaring problem is that while the Iliad follows the original Greek (and hence the Greek names), the Odyssey suddenly changes to the character's Roman names and Zeus becomes Jove, Poseidon becomes Neptune and so on. This makes the story extremely difficult to follow as every character changes name.

Kindle edition:
In terms of the Kindle conversion, this was not well done. While it does not suffer from broken lines as other Kindle editions do, there are two big problems: 1) a lack of a table of content, and 2) this edition has not been indexed. Not being indexed means that you cannot use the search feature to jump to a specific book or chapter.

As a reference, The Iliad starts in location 24 and the Odyssey at location 6202.

Will Try Fagles' Translation
While I am sure many will love this translation, I found myself several pages into it with no clue what Homer was trying to say to me.I will try Fagle's translation instead; it costs more but appears more readable (at least for me).

Inconsistent
This review is for the Kindle edition and not a review of the classic stories themselves (they are fabulous). I had no problem with The Iliad, the format was good and as easy to read as The Iliad can be. However, I was very disappointed when I got to The Odyssey because the translation went from the Greek names in the Iliad to the Roman names in the Odyssey. What a let down to get all the way through the Iliad, look forward to the next book, and to have the names changed on me! Despite what Shakespeare may have thought, names do matter.

Guess its back to my tried and true paper copies.

Must have - Great book
The text is excellent (it's the Iliad after all!) and the illustrations are nice. I live in Ireland and they're included in so it's really a nice Kindle book.

Thumbs up for Homer!

Yes - Typos
Yes there are two typos on the back cover. "Staring" should be starring, and "import" should be important. I won't buy a book from a publisher that can't even have an error free cover. ... Read more