Sunstroke Books

less than i expected from reviews on Amazon.. but she sees things in a lovely way and paints small poiintillist type portraits.

I agree with the other reviewers and hope you will too! These stories are so good I just want to share them with someone else who will appreciate them as much as I do.

Rarely is every story in a collection this good. Hadley's prose is keenly intelligent, her characters are flawed, raw, and vulnerable, and her voice is wonderful: wry and honest, sometimes punitive, always compelling. Truly a collection to savor - these stories will stay with you long after you finish reading them.

Tessa Hadley's Sunstroke is a marvelous collection of short stories. I can't tell you how many times I pick up a book of stories and just can't get through it for a variety of reasons. Sunstroke was the opposite. These stories are terrific, well-written, witty and thought-provoking. Perhaps the best thing I can say about them is that while reading them, I would come to the last few pages of a story and know, after reading a few, that Hadley had some sort of twist coming, something subtle but still surprising. These stories don't dissappoint. Highly recommended. Enjoy!

This is the second collection of short stories by Ivan Bunin that I have read. I'm not exactly sure what to make of him as an author. He's good but just how good may take me a few more volumes to discover. I enjoyed the stories in this book, by and large. I had the opportunity to read "The Gentleman from San Francisco" again and I did so mainly because I wasn't all that impressed with it the first time around. I came away this time with a continuing sense that it is an over-rated moral story on a subject that has often been handled better by others.

What struck me most was the erotic nature of so many of his stories. Bunin must have been something of a rake in his life (or else he has taken time to write down a lot of his fantasies). I must admit that he handled these tales of sexual encounters well although he lost me for much of "Zoyka and Valeriya". I especially enjoyed "Muza", "Rusya", "Antigone", "In Paris".

There are several other stories that are artfully done. I liked the wisdom to be found in "Old and Young", the irony of "The Hunchback's Affair" and "First Class" and the sadness of "Cold Fall".

These stories are rather short yet they convey a lot. I will be more than willing to read Bunin again because he is talented. However, I think one of the earlier reviewers was on the mark in suggesting that Bunin's award was politically motivated.

Bunin won the 1933 Nobel Prize for Literature, but we all know that the Literature prize is primarily a political statement (in this case against the Soviet Union that had banned Bunin's work). Bunin's stories are beautiful, lyrical, like poetry written in prose form. In fact, many of his shortest stories are nearly written in blank verse. However, there is a reason why Bunin is "underappreciated." His stories are highly melodramatic and frequently are artificially infused with explicit sentimentality. If Rachmaninoff had written short stories rather than piano concerti, this is how they would have looked. These stories lack the emotional and psychological subtlety of Chekhov and Turgenev, writers to whom Bunin is frequently compared. They are as socially reactionary as they are mushy: The story considered to be Bunin's masterpiece, "The Gentleman from San Francisco" is a patronizing fable about how the (particularly American) bourgeois habit of purchasing nobility is futile. It's like Citizen Kane with a nasty dose of anti-American bourgeoisie bashing. After all, Bunin believed that the nobility were the source of all good in Russia, and the American super-rich were nothing more than pretentious fools. Though the imagery can be lovely, you never get passed the idea that Bunin forced much of what he wrote.

American and English readers don't generally know the the works of Ivan Bunin, although educated Russians know and love his poetry and short stories, and often can quote them by heart. These stories, unobtrusively translated anew by Graham Hettlinger, vary in length from a couple of pages ('Summer Day', which neatly limns the cruelty arising from boredom) to the seventeen pages of Bunin's best known story, 'The Gentleman from San Francisco.' Most of them, some appearing in English for the first time, are really little more than sharply-etched vignettes which adroitly catch humanity in its variety; sometimes you'll catch your breath with the shock of recognition. If you respond to Chekhov's stories, you'll like these.

These selected short stories include Ivan Bunin's better known 'Gentleman from San Francisco' along with over twenty other newly-translated stories - some for the first time in English. Bunin's language is filled with sparkling descriptions and metaphors: vivid images fairly leap from the page as individuals and circumstances spring to life. His vivid descriptions are not to be missed.

Take a teaspoon of Clarke, a pinch of Clancy, and dash of LeClarre and you get David Kagan. He uses a nice blend of science fact and fiction then adds some politics and high tech thrills, and gets one very good story. Although he is not at the level, yet, as the authors already mentioned, he does have some talent. Even though he does strech certain aspects, the doomsday weapon (as if there are not enough already) for example and has a tendency to stereo type the characters, he was still able to convince me that the whole situation was/is possible. The idea of a Solar Energy satillite has been thought of for sure (so claims the book) and it would not suprise me that the Oil Consortium would prevent its use. The use of raising tensions between the US and Russia, as used in the book, was/is not all that suprising either. I look forward to reading more of his books.

The best science/fact novel I've ever read. Heard about it on the Art Bell Radio Show. Art said it was "one of my favorites, a really good book!" He told his guest that night, Steven Seagal, that he should star in the movie. Mr. Seagal said he was impressed and would consider the project as his next vehicle. After reading the novel I can't wait to see the movie. It has everything--Big Government Conspiracy, Science horror, and an End of the World Crisis that only one man can stop. FIVE STARS for DAVID KAGAN!

Raging Anger and Overwhelming Delight! How dare Santo Cilauro reveal this best kept secret of travel agents. For decades my golden oriental destination has only been known to a fortunate few. Now anyone can obtain details of this five star vacation gem, but please don't go - please. I am so glad this book is in limited distribution - hopefully, the world will be slow to respond - I really want one last soujourn before popularity ruins everything. Cilauro's portrait is photographic and captivating. Modern Phiac Tan has undergone a minor evolution and some things have changed since my first visit twenty years ago - it was better then, but it still ranks at the very top of all getaways. :-)

Not good. Just not good at all. The shame of it is that the plot had real promise, but the story unfolded poorly and I ended up not rooting for ANY of the characters, to include the protagonist. Don't bother with this book.

I could not finish this book. I could not understand the appeal of Carl. The description of him did not seem so wonderful that it would inspire years of unrequited passion from a 36 year old woman.
Her quest to find him was ridiculous. She has little information herself but is asking authorities for help without being able to answer any questions. The time in the deserted Mexican village was tedious. When someone is clearly lying to you, why continue the conversation? Yet her time there dragged on and on and on. Maybe that's just me. I could not make it past Aqua Viva. I am not in the habit of not finishing a book. However, there came a point early on when I just did not care any more. I don't know how this book ends. Oh well.

I actually liked the book. He used vocabulary that was above the usual 5th grade level in most novels and newspapers. There were a few words that I actually had to look up! The story line went full circle, you had to read to book to see the changes that happened in the six months of Gloria Mendez's life. There were many twists and turns and who would have thought. GREAT ending. I look forward to more books from this author.

I read this one clear through but wish I hadn't. It gave me heat fatigue! The idea of searching for a lost "love" in the wilds of Mexico sounded interesting but, in spite of good stuff here and there, it was a long dry walk in the desert. The characters didn't make sense or help the plot. The ending was a real letdown and pissed me off.

[SPOILER] What amazed me the most was that this lady spends the first half of the book crying in her beer over her lost love object. Then when she's given his ashes and they turn out to be instant coffee, she shrugs and that's the end of it. Isn't she curious? Sure, she asks el Teniente. He says he don't know nothing 'bout no stinking coffee--and that's it!!

Have always loved Jonathan Kellerman's books and can finish one of his in a couple of days. Faye Kellerman is also a very talented author and I read her series until she married off her protagonist to the "perfect" woman. As usually happens in that case, perfect dullness moved in right along with that perfect spouse. Marital contentment adds nothing of interest to a murder mystery and her character has lost the quirky edginess that made him three dimensional. He seems old and dull and I haven't bought one of her books since the second one following her character's marriage. Have not read all the way to the end of the few I checked out of the library either. However, even if this series is done enough to stick a fork in, Faye Kellerman is still very capable at her craft.

That said, I eagerly awaited Jesse Kellerman's first books. However, both Sunstroke and Trouble were big disappointments. Even though there is a bit more dialog in Trouble, it still drags. Nothing wrong with the plots and both books should have been good reads but the writing plods painfully.

Hopefully Jesse Kellerman will find a way to put some zip into his next effort.