Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lory_enterenchanted's Reviews (582)
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
A scattered sort of story, posited as a novelist searching for the truth about her famous mother's invented life and eventual madness, her own paternity, and the reality of love in a confusing world. Not at all straightforwardly told, it's more in line with how most of us probably process and slowly work through memories and impressions, but written in much more poetic language. I found it absorbing and moving, though I gravitate to more conventional narratives in general and am not sure I'd read another by this author.
I didn't listen to the full audiobook, but given the positive comments from several readers about the author's narration, I listened to a sample. I think Enright did a terrific job as a narrator, and if you're an audiobook fan, I can imagine this would really enhance the experience. The prose is meant to be heard, in a finely modulated Irish voice, so the author doing that for you is a great benefit.
A scattered sort of story, posited as a novelist searching for the truth about her famous mother's invented life and eventual madness, her own paternity, and the reality of love in a confusing world. Not at all straightforwardly told, it's more in line with how most of us probably process and slowly work through memories and impressions, but written in much more poetic language. I found it absorbing and moving, though I gravitate to more conventional narratives in general and am not sure I'd read another by this author.
I didn't listen to the full audiobook, but given the positive comments from several readers about the author's narration, I listened to a sample. I think Enright did a terrific job as a narrator, and if you're an audiobook fan, I can imagine this would really enhance the experience. The prose is meant to be heard, in a finely modulated Irish voice, so the author doing that for you is a great benefit.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
Sometimes all I want from a book is to spend time with some new people, living into their lives and their problems. Not extremely challenging people or dark and twisted problems, just people with enough quirkiness to raise them above the merely mundane, and lift me out of my everyday existence for awhile without making me wrap my head around an utterly different world.
This is such a book, a set of character studies loosely connected with the inhabitants of the house with the pink front door, a charming little place in Hampstead, London in the mid-20th century. Its mistress, Daisy, is prone to "overhelpful-itis," taking care of an assortment of wastrels and hard-luck cases at the expense of her own family. We meet a number of these, along with some of Daisy's relatives, as their lives entwine and unravel in various interesting (but not overly tortuous) ways.
I ended up smiling at Gibbons's light but vivid way of delineating character, and her amusedly compassionate glance at all these flawed, yet relatable humans. For me it compared favorably to another book I read recently, A Man Called Ove, which aspired to be a similar collection of lovably quirky character studies but fell flat for me; the characterizations did not spring to life. Gibbons did it better, I think.
Sometimes all I want from a book is to spend time with some new people, living into their lives and their problems. Not extremely challenging people or dark and twisted problems, just people with enough quirkiness to raise them above the merely mundane, and lift me out of my everyday existence for awhile without making me wrap my head around an utterly different world.
This is such a book, a set of character studies loosely connected with the inhabitants of the house with the pink front door, a charming little place in Hampstead, London in the mid-20th century. Its mistress, Daisy, is prone to "overhelpful-itis," taking care of an assortment of wastrels and hard-luck cases at the expense of her own family. We meet a number of these, along with some of Daisy's relatives, as their lives entwine and unravel in various interesting (but not overly tortuous) ways.
I ended up smiling at Gibbons's light but vivid way of delineating character, and her amusedly compassionate glance at all these flawed, yet relatable humans. For me it compared favorably to another book I read recently, A Man Called Ove, which aspired to be a similar collection of lovably quirky character studies but fell flat for me; the characterizations did not spring to life. Gibbons did it better, I think.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
A moving story of how a young journalist decided to overcome the habits of his life so far and delve into a difficult family history. In the process he found healing and transformation for himself as well as a new relationship with his estranged parents. The style is prosaic, with little in the way of sentimental flourish, but the bare bones of the story itself come out all the more strongly that way. To turn within ourselves and choose to go in a new direction, opening our hearts to the other who has hurt us while admitting where maybe we ourselves have been at fault, is such a simple and yet such a difficult process. This is an example I will long remember.
A moving story of how a young journalist decided to overcome the habits of his life so far and delve into a difficult family history. In the process he found healing and transformation for himself as well as a new relationship with his estranged parents. The style is prosaic, with little in the way of sentimental flourish, but the bare bones of the story itself come out all the more strongly that way. To turn within ourselves and choose to go in a new direction, opening our hearts to the other who has hurt us while admitting where maybe we ourselves have been at fault, is such a simple and yet such a difficult process. This is an example I will long remember.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
Really loved the atmosphere, characters, and voice of this one. The way it switched from Annie's first-person narration to third-person was a little jarring and unexplained, but I shrugged it off as I was enjoying the story overall. I think the plot could have used a boost, however; there is a love story with absolutely no tension, for example. Sweet but quite boring. It seemed the author wanted to bring in excitement through fistfights, but I started to skip the blow-by-blow descriptions as those also are dull for me. Others may differ!
More interesting was when Annie was first learning to fight and she described it as a process of reading. I would have appreciated more on that theme. She did learn to read, as well, but there was not much about that except her gushing about how lovely Burns and Wordsworth were.
Really loved the atmosphere, characters, and voice of this one. The way it switched from Annie's first-person narration to third-person was a little jarring and unexplained, but I shrugged it off as I was enjoying the story overall. I think the plot could have used a boost, however; there is a love story with absolutely no tension, for example. Sweet but quite boring. It seemed the author wanted to bring in excitement through fistfights, but I started to skip the blow-by-blow descriptions as those also are dull for me. Others may differ!
More interesting was when Annie was first learning to fight and she described it as a process of reading. I would have appreciated more on that theme. She did learn to read, as well, but there was not much about that except her gushing about how lovely Burns and Wordsworth were.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
I found this rather unremarkable considering the rave reviews. The characters are not very developed, especially the minor ones, some of whom are quite one-sidedly stereotypical (a "bent" boy, his bigoted father, an overweight neighbor). And Ove keeps wondering why his wife, Sonja, chose to be with him -- I'm not at all sure either. They seem to exist in parallel universes.
The narrative flowed along and was pleasant enough to read, but in the end I was not very satisfied. The repeated suicide attempts were not so pleasant and could be triggering for anybody with suicide trauma. They were played for black comedy, which will be a matter of your taste and tolerance.
I found this rather unremarkable considering the rave reviews. The characters are not very developed, especially the minor ones, some of whom are quite one-sidedly stereotypical (a "bent" boy, his bigoted father, an overweight neighbor). And Ove keeps wondering why his wife, Sonja, chose to be with him -- I'm not at all sure either. They seem to exist in parallel universes.
The narrative flowed along and was pleasant enough to read, but in the end I was not very satisfied. The repeated suicide attempts were not so pleasant and could be triggering for anybody with suicide trauma. They were played for black comedy, which will be a matter of your taste and tolerance.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
I'm glad I finally read this after many years of circling around it. I'm also glad I had also read/watched some other resources on the Nag Hammadi texts and Gnosticism, because Pagels emphasizes the opposition of Orthodox/Gnostic views, and it's actually more nuanced than that. But there is no question that the rediscovery of Gnosticism and the re-emergence of Gnostic texts is a transformational event of our time. I would like to go back to the book and consider again all the ideas it brings up. I think that I am a Gnostic and after centuries of burial and suppression, there is a lot in me that wants to come out and needs rediscovery too!
One thing that stuck with me was a point she made at the end, that Gnosticism did not become a larger movement, and went underground, because such a solitary path oriented on individual discovery could never have survived on the scale that the orthodox church, with its community orientation and outward mechanisms of transmission, did. That seems to me true. However, that outer "carrying" mechanism seems to me to have be in danger of falling into emptiness and oppressiveness, and needs to be re-enlivened by the spirit of true knowledge, personal experience of the divine. This was not possible before, because not enough human beings were ready for it. But the time is now! We have evolved further, and now, we can potentially take up the call of Gnosticism. I hope we will, and that we will not reject and oppose the other side but bring about a marriage of these seemingly opposite impulses. Each side suffered from their separation.
I'm glad I finally read this after many years of circling around it. I'm also glad I had also read/watched some other resources on the Nag Hammadi texts and Gnosticism, because Pagels emphasizes the opposition of Orthodox/Gnostic views, and it's actually more nuanced than that. But there is no question that the rediscovery of Gnosticism and the re-emergence of Gnostic texts is a transformational event of our time. I would like to go back to the book and consider again all the ideas it brings up. I think that I am a Gnostic and after centuries of burial and suppression, there is a lot in me that wants to come out and needs rediscovery too!
One thing that stuck with me was a point she made at the end, that Gnosticism did not become a larger movement, and went underground, because such a solitary path oriented on individual discovery could never have survived on the scale that the orthodox church, with its community orientation and outward mechanisms of transmission, did. That seems to me true. However, that outer "carrying" mechanism seems to me to have be in danger of falling into emptiness and oppressiveness, and needs to be re-enlivened by the spirit of true knowledge, personal experience of the divine. This was not possible before, because not enough human beings were ready for it. But the time is now! We have evolved further, and now, we can potentially take up the call of Gnosticism. I hope we will, and that we will not reject and oppose the other side but bring about a marriage of these seemingly opposite impulses. Each side suffered from their separation.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
This was a brave, honest, and beautifully written memoir about a young woman's spiritual journey toward self-acceptance -- represented by accepting an alternative sexuality not generally approved of in Christian circles. What shone through to me was how important it is to love the world and all the gifts it brings to us, and not to close ourselves off from possibilities of love, through fear of hurt or criticism or rejection.
This was a brave, honest, and beautifully written memoir about a young woman's spiritual journey toward self-acceptance -- represented by accepting an alternative sexuality not generally approved of in Christian circles. What shone through to me was how important it is to love the world and all the gifts it brings to us, and not to close ourselves off from possibilities of love, through fear of hurt or criticism or rejection.
Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
Pro: learning about the unconventional author's life, the story behind one of my favorite books.
Con: the writing style with its extraneous whimsy and weird formal-kitschy tone. The swoony, verbose analysis of Harriet was so at odds with Fitzhugh”s dry humor, it was not at all a good match. Flights of fancy, like long descriptions of what Fitzhugh MIGHT have worn to a dinner party, felt like padding. (This is rampant in biography, I find.) Plus the lack of editing, down to the level of subject- verb agreement, was quite egregious.
Overall worth reading, though, because it's the only truly frank and honest book on the subject, who is really fascinating -- though no reproductions of Fitzhugh”s artwork, why not???
Pro: learning about the unconventional author's life, the story behind one of my favorite books.
Con: the writing style with its extraneous whimsy and weird formal-kitschy tone. The swoony, verbose analysis of Harriet was so at odds with Fitzhugh”s dry humor, it was not at all a good match. Flights of fancy, like long descriptions of what Fitzhugh MIGHT have worn to a dinner party, felt like padding. (This is rampant in biography, I find.) Plus the lack of editing, down to the level of subject- verb agreement, was quite egregious.
Overall worth reading, though, because it's the only truly frank and honest book on the subject, who is really fascinating -- though no reproductions of Fitzhugh”s artwork, why not???
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
Enjoyed this especially since we visited Grindelwald last summer. Gibbons captured the atmosphere well, along with a slew of entertaining characters, few of them very likeable but all convincingly themselves. Sly glimpses at their future fates are inserted, with one major exception that I think is meant to leave us wondering.
Enjoyed this especially since we visited Grindelwald last summer. Gibbons captured the atmosphere well, along with a slew of entertaining characters, few of them very likeable but all convincingly themselves. Sly glimpses at their future fates are inserted, with one major exception that I think is meant to leave us wondering.
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
I read this because I wanted to know what was behind Rudolf Steiner's very negative comments about Woodrow Wilson. I learned so much! His story really is a great tragedy of moral overreaching and hidden weakness. We need to learn from this to have the honesty to admit and overcome our faults, rather than ignoring and covering them up until they become a disaster of epic proportions. Working on it myself -- I can't even imagine trying to take on the challenges of political office.
As others have noted, the book is really mostly about Wilson's presidential years (his earlier life is much more briefly treated) and "The World He Made" gets a brief postscript in the epilogue. The peace conference was covered in great detail, and left me in awe and dismay. What mistakes were made there, that we are still not recovered from. Eye opening. And the cover-up of Wilson's final years in office, what a bizarre episode in American history. I had no idea this had even happened.
I read this because I wanted to know what was behind Rudolf Steiner's very negative comments about Woodrow Wilson. I learned so much! His story really is a great tragedy of moral overreaching and hidden weakness. We need to learn from this to have the honesty to admit and overcome our faults, rather than ignoring and covering them up until they become a disaster of epic proportions. Working on it myself -- I can't even imagine trying to take on the challenges of political office.
As others have noted, the book is really mostly about Wilson's presidential years (his earlier life is much more briefly treated) and "The World He Made" gets a brief postscript in the epilogue. The peace conference was covered in great detail, and left me in awe and dismay. What mistakes were made there, that we are still not recovered from. Eye opening. And the cover-up of Wilson's final years in office, what a bizarre episode in American history. I had no idea this had even happened.