![]() ![]() The man has skills his conversational style makes his various points easy to agree with and he never comes across as hectoring. Fowler is a highly successful author himself and one can see why. Very enjoyable as both a resource and a fun whirl through the mind of an ardent book-lover. It is for book lovers and is written by one who could not be a more enthusiastic, enlightening, and entertaining guide. This is a book about books and their authors. These 99 journeys are punctuated by 12 short essays about faded once-favorites, including the now-vanished novels Walt Disney brought to the screen, the contemporary rivals of Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie who did not stand the test of time, and the women who introduced psychological suspense many decades before it conquered the world. Whether male or female, flash-in-the-pan or prolific, mega-seller or prize-winner, no author, it seems, can ever be fully immune from the fate of being forgotten. We are fondly introduced to each potential rediscovery from lost Victorian voices to the twentieth century writers who could well become the next John Williams, Hans Fallada, or Lionel Davidson. ![]() So begins Christopher Fowler's foray into the back catalogues and backstories of 99 authors who, once hugely popular, have all but disappeared from shelves. Absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. ![]()
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![]() ![]() ![]() He leaned his head against the headrest and looked at me, though his glance was a bit low to be pointed at my face. ![]() “I don’t know.” I took my hand off the door handle, kind of hoping I wouldn’t have to leave. “Are you going to the dance tomorrow night?” he suddenly asked. I wanted to tell him I knew the difference between my house and an off-road trail.īefore anything dumber could leave my mouth, my fingers gripped the cold door handle, and I looked at him, hopefully, one last time. I wanted to say “I love you.” I wanted to pathetically beg him to take me back But he just sat there with his hand on the shifter, looking straight ahead, like the last two hours never even happened. I waited for him to kiss me, or to walk me to my door. “You said you have to go home…?” Luke reminded me. “This isn’t an off-road trail!” I blurted stupidly. ![]() We rode in silence until my house came into view. He put the car in gear and backed out of the parking spot. I wanted to go back to our spot in the middle of nowhere. He rubbed his hands together and put them in front of the heater. He sat in his seat for a while, the heat blowing full blast. He just opened the door for me, I got in, and he shut it. My hand as we walked to his Jeep, but he didn’t. ![]() ![]() ![]() The spread of the animals in "hiding" is pure genius. Period details create a counterpoint with elements like a gorilla in a lifeboat. His illustrations burst with color and energy and utilize perspective and texture to add drama and humor. Van Dusen's rhymed text keeps a rollicking beat. When a messenger announces that the cruel circus owner is returning to claim his menagerie, the citizens assist the animals in disguises and camouflage that confound him, leaving the friends to a peaceful coexistence. Sympathies change when a tiger saves a toddler from a blazing shed. ![]() The 1800s residents are surprised to find zebras eating their gardens and alligators lounging on woodpiles. PreSchool-Grade 1-After their steamship en route to Boston is wrecked in a storm, a troupe of circus animals escapes bad treatment and disaster, finding its way to an island off the coast of Maine. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() With their curiosity piqued, the three men hire a native guide to lead them to this mythical place, which Terry calls “Herland.” Upon arriving, the explorers are greeted by young Ellador, Celis, and Alima. It is also said that no man has ever returned from this place. After introducing the three men, the narrative follows the explorers as they endeavor to find the oft-rumored female utopia, a land that is said to be entirely inhabited by women. Vandyck’s point of view is vastly different still, as he perceives women as objects of study. While Jeff idealizes women as feminine and proper, Terry is more concerned with their physical appearance than their comportment. The three men represent clearly different male perspectives on women. ![]() The three main characters who feature throughout the novel include Terry Nicholson, a misogynist explorer Jeff Margrave, a doctor who idolizes women and puts them on a pedestal, and Vandyck Jennings, a sociologist whose views on women may not be more accurate than his counterparts, but at the very least are firmly rooted in scientific study. Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a satirical utopian novel about a world in which women wield absolute power, demonstrating their own personal and cultural identities without fear of reprieve. ![]() |