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by David E. Stannard
ISBN: 0195075811
Binding/Media: Hardcover - 416 pages
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. EX LIBRARY copy in an acceptable condition with reading wear. Library markings present.
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Customer Reviews
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Read this Book
Rating  (5)
Date: 2010-07-29
Read this book and pay special attention to the discussion of POLITICAL MYTHOLOGY. Then re-evaluate your early education and the glorification of Columbus.
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Making the (In)Visible, Visible
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-01-18
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Stannard writes that anywhere Europeans or white Americans ventured in the New World, the indigenous people had been subjected to either imported plagues and barbarous atrocities; this onslaught resulted in the extermination of an estimated 95 percent of the local population (Stannard, American Holocaust xii, xiv, 53-58, 77-81, 87-91, 102-109, 134-139, 202-204, and 268). Provocatively, Stannard inquires: What kind of people does such horrific things to fellow human beings? Stannard's equally controversial reply: Christians. From the first Spanish contact with the Arawaks of Hispaniola in the 1490s to the U.S. Cavalry massacre of Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee in the 1890s - a span of over 4 centuries - the native population of North and South America suffered what can only be described as an unending stream of violent acts. During those 4 centuries, the native population of the New World had seen decline of an approximately 100 million people (Stannard, American Holocaust 10-11, 21-24, 28-31, 39-40, 48, 222, and 266-268). Stannard further contends that the same European and/or white American destruction of the indigenous peoples of the Americas was, arguably, the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world (Stannard, American Holocaust 57-148).
Stannard starts American Holocaust with a description of the vast richness and diversity of life in the new World prior to Columbus's arrival in 1492. In contrast to Thomas Bender's vision of 1492, Stannard does not deny that this was the start of a form of globalization. On the contrary, Stannard argues that this was when disease went global (Stannard, American Holocaust x, xv, 10-11, 57-71, 188-207, and 258). Stannard then traces the path of genocide from the Indies, to Mexico, to Central and South America, to Florida, to Virginia, and finally to New England. The grisly tale finally ends in the Great Plains and Southwest to California and the North Pacific Coast (Stannard, American Holocaust 57-148). Examining the archive from the earliest European and Christian attitudes toward sex, race, and war, Stannard discovers the cultural foundation well laid by the closing stages of the Middle Ages for the eventual 4 centuries of massacres that would take place in the New World (Stannard, American Holocaust 149-246). While Horkheimer and Adorno contend that, the Nazi Holocaust formed the culmination of history in an excess of modernity (Schoolman, Morton; Reason and Horror 2); Stannard conversely argues that the epistemological, ideological, and religious grounding that informed the American Holocaust also informed the Jewish Holocaust - in a sense arguing for continuity. Stannard's continuation argument therefore alludes to the past in the present and these notions remain perilously alive today (Stannard, American Holocaust 238-246). Stannard closes by arguing that Americans continue to rationalize large-scale military involvement in Southeast Asia and the Middle East on the same epistemological and ideological premise (Stannard, American Holocaust 247-258).
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An outstanding work!
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-02-02
Some readers are fixated on the use of the term "holocaust" and dismiss the entire book because the use of the term does not conform to their emotionally charged historical WWII definition. The fact is the term "holocaust" has several different meanings and the use of the term in this book is fully consistent with the standard definition of the term.
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Reverse Parody
Rating  (3)
Date: 2008-07-17
2 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
"In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue...and discovered America. Now, some argued Columbus actually discovered the West Indies, or that Norsemen had discovered America centuries earlier, or that you really can't get credit for discovering a land already populated by indigenous people with a developed civilization. Those people are communists. Columbus discovered America." Jon Stewart, America the Book
Jon Stewart lampoons the archetypal heroic view of Columbus' quest for conquest. It is easy to argue that Americans have a more nuanced view of history and see Columbus for the complex figure he was. But if this were really so, Stewart's satirical ruse would not ring true. That it does opens the door for historians to argue an extreme contrarian view, something University of Hawaii Professor David E. Stannard achieves rather eloquently in American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World.
"I am become death, the shatterer of worlds," quotes J. Robert Oppenheimer from Hindu holy book Bhagavad Gita during the initial testing of an atomic bomb at Trinity, New Mexico. He could foresee the death and destruction that would be wrought into this world now that man had split the atom and harnessed nuclear power. Stannard argues a similar ominous foreboding enveloped the New World four and a half centuries earlier as Christopher Columbus and the European settlers would become no less shatterer of worlds, bringing death to, becoming death in, the New World.
Stannard offers a different lens from which to view the glorious European settlers and the simplistic savages to whom these brave white men brought Christianity. What were these `savages' like? They were hardly monolithically `savage.' The peoples of the Americas numbered around "145,000,000 for the hemisphere as a whole and about 18,000,000 for the area north of Mexico." When Rome was conquering Greece, the North American Adena culture had been flourishing for a thousand years. The Mayan empire stretched for 100,000 square miles and lasted 1000 years, with scholarly estimates listing the population at "ten to thirteen million just for the Yucatan portion of the empire, an area covering only one-third of Maya territory."
Stannard contrasts the glories of pre-Columbian American civilizations with his portrait of the degradation of European civilization. He outlines the plagues and diseases running rampant through fifteenth and sixteenth century Europe. It is not enough for Stannard to highlight the desecration of Native American civilization by European peoples, as horrible as it was. All of Europe's sins, none of her contributions, are highlighted, and only the glories of Native American civilization are highlighted, with quick dismissals of less than savory episodes. He seems almost apologetic about the notorious Aztec human sacrifice rituals, saying "Perhaps as many as 20,000 enemy warriors, captured in battle, were sacrificed each year...however, in the siege of Tenochtitlan the invading Spaniards killed twice that many in a single day," as if to say murder only counts when perpetrated by white people.
Cultural destruction and annihilation, a trait sadly common to all victorious conquerors in human history--from Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar to Genghis Khan--is treated as if it somehow flows inherently from the nature of European and Western Culture. European Christian religious beliefs are contrasted and condemned against the native spiritualities of the early American peoples. Stannard connects "the idea of the Great Chain of Being that categorized and ranked all the earth's living creatures" with man above animals--an idea "central as well to medieval Christian thought" --as somehow leading the Europeans to see the Native Americans as less than human, instead of just recognizing that destruction of other cultures is just something victorious nations have done, as awful as it is.
The destruction of native cultures by the European invaders is a topic in need of serious inquiry and, yes, exploration. Yet Stannard turns off the average reader by turning this into a simplistic Garden of Eden tale, starring the native peoples as Adam and Eve and the Europeans as the serpent bringing down Paradise. A better book would have highlighted the flaws of Christopher Columbus and the European settlers while not downplaying their positive qualities and ignoring the natives' negative traits. It seems we have gone from one stereotype--the terrible savage red man--to a complete opposite stereotype--the noble earth loving Indian falling helplessly to the big bad European. To really do the natives justice is to highlight their great cultures in all their complexity; the great periods and agricultural systems as well as the horrific human sacrifice.
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eye opener
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-05-15
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
this book is amazing, it opens ur eyes to a whole new light on history of the americas u never would of known unless u went out of school and researched this topic on your own. shows who the real moraly uncivilized savages wer. everyone native to the "americas" and caribean should read this book and learn the TRUTH about columbus and european invasion.
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by Aoibheann Sweeney
ISBN: 0143113410
Binding/Media: Paperback - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously unread copy pulled from our store shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
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Customer Reviews
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Well Worth Reading!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-06-28
I came on Amazon this morning to see if the author of this book had written anything else yet. The book still reasonates with me over a year after I read it.
When I read some of the negative reviews I had to add my two cents. This book was wonderful, beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I can't understand people writing anything bad about it, perhaps it was too well done and made people uncomfortable with issues they don't want to acknowledge?
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A waste of my time and money
Rating  (1)
Date: 2010-04-27
I was greatly disappointed to have put the time into reading a novel that was completely pointless. There was nothing redeeming in this book. The characters are vague and lifeless, there is no distinct plot, and the reader is left wondering what the purpose was of the story. I would absolutely not recommend this book.
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Growth
Rating  (4)
Date: 2010-03-23
The process of reading this story can be a bit exhausting. The first half of the story follows the day-in day-out struggles of the "plain" main girl character, Miranda, as she grows up at school and with her father on Crab Island, Maine.
She's naturally quiet and stays out of trouble. She takes care of her father, including the cooking, cleaning, and typing duties. Her father works as a classical Greek translator, and a lot of this book is constantly interrupted by her describing an annoyingly wearisome Greek story.
She doesn't fail to run into trouble though. Peer pressure and school pressures cause minor acting out, which gets her nowhere.
After high school, Miranda heads to New York where her father has used old connections to get her a job in a University library doing data entry. Here, she openly recognizes her dad's sexuality and has her first meaningful relationships. First she casually dates a guy but as things get serious, she becomes overwhelmed by his disapproving family (among other things). Then, she develops a new, exciting relationship with a very different, unexpected person. In this relationship, she finds more of herself, her preferences, and her first real love.
Miranda eventually returns home after the summer, and brings her significant other with her. This is where the book ends. It's a good story about finding oneself and identity, but it's very tedious - as I said before. Just okay.
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brought me back to my own first time in NYC
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-05-19
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is just one of those books that really hit the spot for me. You know when you're reflecting on things on some deep level and then you see it all there in some book... it's like that.
It's well written and once I got into the first chapter I couldn't put it down and finished it over a couple of nights. It's about coming of age and finding yourself (some lesbian and gay lifestyle here)... but it's also about the characteristics and issues we unconsciously and involuntarily pick up from our parents... and how amazing and complicated and relieving and wonderful and terrible it all is when that period of disconnecting (from our parents) and reconnecting comes in when we start to examine and explore who we actually are.
And for some reason... NYC is never a boring setting in this process. But neither is that isolated little island she grows up on before heading for the big city (love those extremes). Pretty cool settings here. Reminded me of when I first arrived to NYC myself for grad school and it kinda took me back... including back to the girl I also met there.
Some favorite and not so favorite or maybe just questionable scenes-- that whole situation with the sexy bartender would have been much more interesting if they'd hooked up with each other! lol. What's with the gay men in this book being such helpless slobs? I don't know any gay men like that, hmm... love the Connecticut family... a tad stereotypical but my ex from NYC actually came from a family like that (huge closet case to please the fam I might add). Also love the coffee cart love affair... hilarious. Good choice for the cover, too... I liked imagining the main character had hot legs like that... ;)
I really loved the combination of drama and subtle comedy here... every really good story has a nice mix of that, in my opinion. It stayed with me for days after I read it. Something so utterly real here. I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Excellent
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel
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by Aoibheann Sweeney
ISBN: 0143113410
Binding/Media: Paperback - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously unread copy pulled from our shelves. It may have minimal shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
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Customer Reviews
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Well Worth Reading!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-06-28
I came on Amazon this morning to see if the author of this book had written anything else yet. The book still reasonates with me over a year after I read it.
When I read some of the negative reviews I had to add my two cents. This book was wonderful, beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I can't understand people writing anything bad about it, perhaps it was too well done and made people uncomfortable with issues they don't want to acknowledge?
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A waste of my time and money
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-04-27
I was greatly disappointed to have put the time into reading a novel that was completely pointless. There was nothing redeeming in this book. The characters are vague and lifeless, there is no distinct plot, and the reader is left wondering what the purpose was of the story. I would absolutely not recommend this book.
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Growth
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-03-23
The process of reading this story can be a bit exhausting. The first half of the story follows the day-in day-out struggles of the "plain" main girl character, Miranda, as she grows up at school and with her father on Crab Island, Maine.
She's naturally quiet and stays out of trouble. She takes care of her father, including the cooking, cleaning, and typing duties. Her father works as a classical Greek translator, and a lot of this book is constantly interrupted by her describing an annoyingly wearisome Greek story.
She doesn't fail to run into trouble though. Peer pressure and school pressures cause minor acting out, which gets her nowhere.
After high school, Miranda heads to New York where her father has used old connections to get her a job in a University library doing data entry. Here, she openly recognizes her dad's sexuality and has her first meaningful relationships. First she casually dates a guy but as things get serious, she becomes overwhelmed by his disapproving family (among other things). Then, she develops a new, exciting relationship with a very different, unexpected person. In this relationship, she finds more of herself, her preferences, and her first real love.
Miranda eventually returns home after the summer, and brings her significant other with her. This is where the book ends. It's a good story about finding oneself and identity, but it's very tedious - as I said before. Just okay.
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brought me back to my own first time in NYC
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-05-19
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is just one of those books that really hit the spot for me. You know when you're reflecting on things on some deep level and then you see it all there in some book... it's like that.
It's well written and once I got into the first chapter I couldn't put it down and finished it over a couple of nights. It's about coming of age and finding yourself (some lesbian and gay lifestyle here)... but it's also about the characteristics and issues we unconsciously and involuntarily pick up from our parents... and how amazing and complicated and relieving and wonderful and terrible it all is when that period of disconnecting (from our parents) and reconnecting comes in when we start to examine and explore who we actually are.
And for some reason... NYC is never a boring setting in this process. But neither is that isolated little island she grows up on before heading for the big city (love those extremes). Pretty cool settings here. Reminded me of when I first arrived to NYC myself for grad school and it kinda took me back... including back to the girl I also met there.
Some favorite and not so favorite or maybe just questionable scenes-- that whole situation with the sexy bartender would have been much more interesting if they'd hooked up with each other! lol. What's with the gay men in this book being such helpless slobs? I don't know any gay men like that, hmm... love the Connecticut family... a tad stereotypical but my ex from NYC actually came from a family like that (huge closet case to please the fam I might add). Also love the coffee cart love affair... hilarious. Good choice for the cover, too... I liked imagining the main character had hot legs like that... ;)
I really loved the combination of drama and subtle comedy here... every really good story has a nice mix of that, in my opinion. It stayed with me for days after I read it. Something so utterly real here. I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Excellent
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel
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(Larger Image)
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by Aoibheann Sweeney
ISBN: 0143113410
Binding/Media: Paperback - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously unread copy pulled from our shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
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Customer Reviews
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Well Worth Reading!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-06-28
I came on Amazon this morning to see if the author of this book had written anything else yet. The book still reasonates with me over a year after I read it.
When I read some of the negative reviews I had to add my two cents. This book was wonderful, beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I can't understand people writing anything bad about it, perhaps it was too well done and made people uncomfortable with issues they don't want to acknowledge?
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A waste of my time and money
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-04-27
I was greatly disappointed to have put the time into reading a novel that was completely pointless. There was nothing redeeming in this book. The characters are vague and lifeless, there is no distinct plot, and the reader is left wondering what the purpose was of the story. I would absolutely not recommend this book.
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Growth
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-03-23
The process of reading this story can be a bit exhausting. The first half of the story follows the day-in day-out struggles of the "plain" main girl character, Miranda, as she grows up at school and with her father on Crab Island, Maine.
She's naturally quiet and stays out of trouble. She takes care of her father, including the cooking, cleaning, and typing duties. Her father works as a classical Greek translator, and a lot of this book is constantly interrupted by her describing an annoyingly wearisome Greek story.
She doesn't fail to run into trouble though. Peer pressure and school pressures cause minor acting out, which gets her nowhere.
After high school, Miranda heads to New York where her father has used old connections to get her a job in a University library doing data entry. Here, she openly recognizes her dad's sexuality and has her first meaningful relationships. First she casually dates a guy but as things get serious, she becomes overwhelmed by his disapproving family (among other things). Then, she develops a new, exciting relationship with a very different, unexpected person. In this relationship, she finds more of herself, her preferences, and her first real love.
Miranda eventually returns home after the summer, and brings her significant other with her. This is where the book ends. It's a good story about finding oneself and identity, but it's very tedious - as I said before. Just okay.
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brought me back to my own first time in NYC
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-05-19
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is just one of those books that really hit the spot for me. You know when you're reflecting on things on some deep level and then you see it all there in some book... it's like that.
It's well written and once I got into the first chapter I couldn't put it down and finished it over a couple of nights. It's about coming of age and finding yourself (some lesbian and gay lifestyle here)... but it's also about the characteristics and issues we unconsciously and involuntarily pick up from our parents... and how amazing and complicated and relieving and wonderful and terrible it all is when that period of disconnecting (from our parents) and reconnecting comes in when we start to examine and explore who we actually are.
And for some reason... NYC is never a boring setting in this process. But neither is that isolated little island she grows up on before heading for the big city (love those extremes). Pretty cool settings here. Reminded me of when I first arrived to NYC myself for grad school and it kinda took me back... including back to the girl I also met there.
Some favorite and not so favorite or maybe just questionable scenes-- that whole situation with the sexy bartender would have been much more interesting if they'd hooked up with each other! lol. What's with the gay men in this book being such helpless slobs? I don't know any gay men like that, hmm... love the Connecticut family... a tad stereotypical but my ex from NYC actually came from a family like that (huge closet case to please the fam I might add). Also love the coffee cart love affair... hilarious. Good choice for the cover, too... I liked imagining the main character had hot legs like that... ;)
I really loved the combination of drama and subtle comedy here... every really good story has a nice mix of that, in my opinion. It stayed with me for days after I read it. Something so utterly real here. I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Excellent
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel
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(Larger Image)
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by Aoibheann Sweeney
ISBN: 0143113410
Binding/Media: Paperback - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously unread copy pulled from our shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
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Customer Reviews
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Well Worth Reading!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-06-28
I came on Amazon this morning to see if the author of this book had written anything else yet. The book still reasonates with me over a year after I read it.
When I read some of the negative reviews I had to add my two cents. This book was wonderful, beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I can't understand people writing anything bad about it, perhaps it was too well done and made people uncomfortable with issues they don't want to acknowledge?
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A waste of my time and money
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-04-27
I was greatly disappointed to have put the time into reading a novel that was completely pointless. There was nothing redeeming in this book. The characters are vague and lifeless, there is no distinct plot, and the reader is left wondering what the purpose was of the story. I would absolutely not recommend this book.
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Growth
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-03-23
The process of reading this story can be a bit exhausting. The first half of the story follows the day-in day-out struggles of the "plain" main girl character, Miranda, as she grows up at school and with her father on Crab Island, Maine.
She's naturally quiet and stays out of trouble. She takes care of her father, including the cooking, cleaning, and typing duties. Her father works as a classical Greek translator, and a lot of this book is constantly interrupted by her describing an annoyingly wearisome Greek story.
She doesn't fail to run into trouble though. Peer pressure and school pressures cause minor acting out, which gets her nowhere.
After high school, Miranda heads to New York where her father has used old connections to get her a job in a University library doing data entry. Here, she openly recognizes her dad's sexuality and has her first meaningful relationships. First she casually dates a guy but as things get serious, she becomes overwhelmed by his disapproving family (among other things). Then, she develops a new, exciting relationship with a very different, unexpected person. In this relationship, she finds more of herself, her preferences, and her first real love.
Miranda eventually returns home after the summer, and brings her significant other with her. This is where the book ends. It's a good story about finding oneself and identity, but it's very tedious - as I said before. Just okay.
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brought me back to my own first time in NYC
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-05-19
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is just one of those books that really hit the spot for me. You know when you're reflecting on things on some deep level and then you see it all there in some book... it's like that.
It's well written and once I got into the first chapter I couldn't put it down and finished it over a couple of nights. It's about coming of age and finding yourself (some lesbian and gay lifestyle here)... but it's also about the characteristics and issues we unconsciously and involuntarily pick up from our parents... and how amazing and complicated and relieving and wonderful and terrible it all is when that period of disconnecting (from our parents) and reconnecting comes in when we start to examine and explore who we actually are.
And for some reason... NYC is never a boring setting in this process. But neither is that isolated little island she grows up on before heading for the big city (love those extremes). Pretty cool settings here. Reminded me of when I first arrived to NYC myself for grad school and it kinda took me back... including back to the girl I also met there.
Some favorite and not so favorite or maybe just questionable scenes-- that whole situation with the sexy bartender would have been much more interesting if they'd hooked up with each other! lol. What's with the gay men in this book being such helpless slobs? I don't know any gay men like that, hmm... love the Connecticut family... a tad stereotypical but my ex from NYC actually came from a family like that (huge closet case to please the fam I might add). Also love the coffee cart love affair... hilarious. Good choice for the cover, too... I liked imagining the main character had hot legs like that... ;)
I really loved the combination of drama and subtle comedy here... every really good story has a nice mix of that, in my opinion. It stayed with me for days after I read it. Something so utterly real here. I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Excellent
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel
|
(Larger Image)
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by Aoibheann Sweeney
ISBN: 0143113410
Binding/Media: Paperback - 272 pages
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride. This is a previously unread copy pulled from our shelves. It is rated as like new because it may have light shelf wear.
More Product Infomation
|
Customer Reviews
|
Well Worth Reading!
Rating (5)
Date: 2010-06-28
I came on Amazon this morning to see if the author of this book had written anything else yet. The book still reasonates with me over a year after I read it.
When I read some of the negative reviews I had to add my two cents. This book was wonderful, beautifully written and I highly recommend it. I can't understand people writing anything bad about it, perhaps it was too well done and made people uncomfortable with issues they don't want to acknowledge?
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A waste of my time and money
Rating (1)
Date: 2010-04-27
I was greatly disappointed to have put the time into reading a novel that was completely pointless. There was nothing redeeming in this book. The characters are vague and lifeless, there is no distinct plot, and the reader is left wondering what the purpose was of the story. I would absolutely not recommend this book.
|
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Growth
Rating (4)
Date: 2010-03-23
The process of reading this story can be a bit exhausting. The first half of the story follows the day-in day-out struggles of the "plain" main girl character, Miranda, as she grows up at school and with her father on Crab Island, Maine.
She's naturally quiet and stays out of trouble. She takes care of her father, including the cooking, cleaning, and typing duties. Her father works as a classical Greek translator, and a lot of this book is constantly interrupted by her describing an annoyingly wearisome Greek story.
She doesn't fail to run into trouble though. Peer pressure and school pressures cause minor acting out, which gets her nowhere.
After high school, Miranda heads to New York where her father has used old connections to get her a job in a University library doing data entry. Here, she openly recognizes her dad's sexuality and has her first meaningful relationships. First she casually dates a guy but as things get serious, she becomes overwhelmed by his disapproving family (among other things). Then, she develops a new, exciting relationship with a very different, unexpected person. In this relationship, she finds more of herself, her preferences, and her first real love.
Miranda eventually returns home after the summer, and brings her significant other with her. This is where the book ends. It's a good story about finding oneself and identity, but it's very tedious - as I said before. Just okay.
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brought me back to my own first time in NYC
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-05-19
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is just one of those books that really hit the spot for me. You know when you're reflecting on things on some deep level and then you see it all there in some book... it's like that.
It's well written and once I got into the first chapter I couldn't put it down and finished it over a couple of nights. It's about coming of age and finding yourself (some lesbian and gay lifestyle here)... but it's also about the characteristics and issues we unconsciously and involuntarily pick up from our parents... and how amazing and complicated and relieving and wonderful and terrible it all is when that period of disconnecting (from our parents) and reconnecting comes in when we start to examine and explore who we actually are.
And for some reason... NYC is never a boring setting in this process. But neither is that isolated little island she grows up on before heading for the big city (love those extremes). Pretty cool settings here. Reminded me of when I first arrived to NYC myself for grad school and it kinda took me back... including back to the girl I also met there.
Some favorite and not so favorite or maybe just questionable scenes-- that whole situation with the sexy bartender would have been much more interesting if they'd hooked up with each other! lol. What's with the gay men in this book being such helpless slobs? I don't know any gay men like that, hmm... love the Connecticut family... a tad stereotypical but my ex from NYC actually came from a family like that (huge closet case to please the fam I might add). Also love the coffee cart love affair... hilarious. Good choice for the cover, too... I liked imagining the main character had hot legs like that... ;)
I really loved the combination of drama and subtle comedy here... every really good story has a nice mix of that, in my opinion. It stayed with me for days after I read it. Something so utterly real here. I look forward to the next book by this author.
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Excellent
Rating (5)
Date: 2009-01-24
This book has a lot going for it: complex/mysterious family dynamics, quirky characters, rural and urban locales, and excellent writing. Sweeney writes simply but you can tell she has chops. She just knows how to use them. This is a novel at it's best - while reading it, I felt a hum, like it was adding a dimension to my life. I can't wait until the next Sweeney novel
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by Theodore Strong
ISBN: 1112543783
Binding/Media: Paperback - 642 pages
Condition: New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. No shelf wear, no publisher marks.
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by Fynn
ISBN: 350212244X
Binding/Media: Hardcover
Condition: Used: Like New
Comments: Sold with pride and shipped with confirmation for US addresses. Gently read copy in like new condition. No reading/ shelf wear.
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