Ronald Wright, Henderson's Spear (Henry Holt, 2002)

Liv Wyvern has a problem (well, aside from that of having been beaten up every day after school for having a name like Liv Wyvern). She's in jail in Tahiti on suspicion of murder, having gone down to track down her father, who's been MIA since the Korean War. She's recently been tracked down by her twenty-two-year-old daughter, whom she gave up for adoption shortly after her birth, and is now attempting to write a letter to that daughter explaining the life that is Liv and, in no small part, her extended family. Coincidentally, a few years back, she also found in the basement of her ancestral home a number of notebooks penned by a man with some connection to the family (no one really knows what)--Frank Henderson, who journeyed the Pacific himself with Princes George and Eddy back in the 1880s. There has always been a good bit of scandal attached to Eddy (aside from that supposed Ripper business), and a lot of it centered on a possible side trip Eddy and George made to certain Pacific islands...

It all does sound intriguing, doesn't it? And to some extent it is. Once the book gets off the ground, the two mysteries therein take on lives of their own. However, it's the getting off the ground part that requires a bit of doing. The book's pace never gets above slow, so saying that the pace increases tremendously two hundred or so pages in should tell you all you need to know about the first two hundred pages of this.

The most intriguing piece of the puzzle is left for the very last page (and never answered, probably because Wright doesn't know the answer himself): Wright gives us a one-page afterword telling us that he is, in fact, related to Frank Henderson, and while large stretches of Henderson's journals are works of utter fabrication, some aspects therein are true. This should have been a foreword. Two hundred pages of glacially-paced writing are far better served when one is busy trying to figure out how much of the stuff about Henderson being captured by the Sofas in the 1870s and then running off to the South Pacific with two grandsons of Queen Vic is true. (More, Wright intimates, than the Tahiti expedition. But, as Dick Francis recently reminded us in Wild Horses, sometimes the maker of fiction basing his materials on real life stumbles upon the truth of it quite by accident.) Oh, one other thing that would have been helped by having that as a foreword: realizing that the Sofas are an actual existing African tribe would have stopped me fifty pages of snickering about naming a tribe of African warriors after living room furniture. But I digress.

At a guess, the book's enjoyability hinges upon both one's tolerance for leisurely-paced writing and one's ability to find a character to identify with relatively early on. Thus, this is going to find a limited market in a world where Tom Clancy and Danielle Steel outsell the Bible year after year. Still, for all that, it's not a bad little book. ** ½

A Canadian filmaker writes from a Tahitian jail to her unknown daughter she gave up at birth, of her troubled past & her family's buried history. In the search for her father, a pilot missing since the Korean War, Liv travels to Polynesia his last known whereabouts, & winds up behind bars on a trumped-up murder charge.

It is that long-forgotten child's note, received while in jail, that brings up Liv's childhood memories. HENDERSON'S SPEAR is a love letter from a woman who never thought of herself as a mother, to her now 20 year old daughter.

Ronald Wright tells of the history of the end of the Korean War & the French & American atomic bomb testing on the atolls of that vast ocean. He keenly describes the affects of the fallout, the use of pilots to photograph the explosions, & the islanders' memories of being guinea pigs; uncovering an era we would all rather forget - what hell we brought to paradise!...

This novel is like a treasure chest found on a desert island, in which you will uncover all sorts of histories; Herman Melville's meanderings before he wrote MOBY DICK; South Sea Island cultures - past & present; how Darwin's theory of evolution affected his contemporaries; how Queen Victoria's grandsons were groomed for public life; how one man's memories of a life in the service of his country affects another's two generations later & so much more!

Normally such yarns have a male protagonist & this one is refreshing & unusual as the Reader listens to what a woman has to say about the affairs of the heart & our ancestors. Ronald Wright has woven out of the threads of history, a compelling story of the ghosts people carry with them. HENDERSON'S SPEAR is a tapestry of depth & intrigue, affection & redemption.

In April 1990 from a jail cell on Tahiti, Olivia Wyvern writes a letter to the daughter she placed for adoption years ago. Olivia tries to explain what happened that led to her current "home". Liv's father Jon was a Royal Air Force pilot who survived Hitler, but vanished during a Korean War mission leaving behind a grieving family of three women and Lord Jim the parrot. Though neither the plane nor his body was found his family always sought news on Jon.

In 1988, while Liv lived in Vancouver and her sister in London, Lord Jim dies and a few days later, mother passes away too. The two sisters go through two centuries of family stuff when Liv finds an 1899 journal written by Frank Henderson telling his adventures with Queen Victoria's grandsons Princes Eddy and George. This leads Liv to come to Tahiti to learn about Jon's disappearance. Instead she's arrested on phony murder and spy charges. While lingering in her cell, Liv learns about her own daughter, a product of a seducer who promised her information on Jon and never delivered.

HENDERSON'S SPEAR is a complex historical tale that never loses its path while entertaining the audience. Though the narrator Liv tells the story late in the twentieth century, she relates her present predicament with the 1899 Henderson diary and the Korean War vanishing of her father without either account losing steam. The two subplots tie brilliantly back together as Ronald Wright proves he has the right stuff with a forceful twentieth century triumph that genre fans will appreciate.

Harriet Klausner

The first part of this book, in which Elizabeth and Wynn prepare for the wedding, actually get married, take their honeymoon, and travel to Wynn's station out in the wilderness, is all pretty good and interesting. Once Janette Oke gets Elizabeth settled out there, however, the book lost its appeal for me for two reasons. First, the author obviously relied quite a bit on "Mrs. Mike" to supply her with incidents. Second, whatever she couldn't take from "Mrs. Mike," she made up for with stereotypes and unbelievability. I recommend that you read "Mrs. Mike" instead of this book once you get to the point where Elizabeth and Wynn get settled in the wilderness.

Another one of her grand old books. However I do believe the auto version of this book has about the sweetist voices I've have ever had the pleasure of listing to. Just wish the theme song to Dudly Doright wouldn't have entered my head everytime she mentioned Canadian Mounted Police. Hope you all do better, because it's well worth it.

Following their wedding Wynn and Elizabeth Delaney head north to Wynn's posting with the Royal North West Mounted Police in Beaver Creek. The change is not easy for Elizabeth, a school teacher from Toronto, but your heart will be warmed by her faith in God and her commitment to her husband event through the tough times. You will become entwined in her life as she steps out of her comfort zone to make friends with the Indians and show God's love to the people of the community. Janette Oke has done a suburb job of portraying history in a way that will have you virtually living it!

I bought this book before there were any reviews on it. With the reviews I have seen so far I would have probably purchased it. If you are stuck in the 60's and still read poems aloud to bongo's, then this is the book for you. I found it bizzare, ludicrous, absurd, a waste of money not to mention a total waste of time. It was a complete dissappointment when I opened it.

To the reader from USA, who bought this book before there were any reviews about it: You are disappointed because you bought the book based on it's title, and you are correct, as a guide to giving head, it's not very informative. As a work of art, however, it stands among the best poetry I have ever seen in the beat, jazz. surrealist genre. I wish you the best of luck finding your manual and much success in your endeavors in improving your sex life.

Ms. Wilson takes an often taboo subject and tackles it with professionalism and taste. She is playful is her prose, yet carries a strong, direct message which gets the point across. Skillfully mastered, she gets down to business quickly and achieves full results. She is excellent at her craft. I learned a lot.

This book has easy to understand & have up to date case. The Harley Davidson case is one of the cases that showing us how's struggling US to face Japanese company offensive. This is the good case to picturing the dawn to earth marketing strategy compare to arrogant & not efficient strategy willing by US Company.

the service is very good and efficient

Marketing concepts are explained within global marketing frame in an understandable manner using the jargon everybody can understand. The principles that each company must take into account both at home and abroad are revealed. Especially, I liked "18 Guiding Principles of the Marketing Company". Articles from the scholars at prestigious business schools are related to global marketing concepts in most understandable way. This makes the book richer. Another thing making the book richer is Global Income and Population estimates, that is both put inside the text and at the end of the book as appendix. These estimates give clear grasp to the reader about world demographics and economic structure, and helps reader understand the subject at hand and, in general, world dynamics better. Interesting and information & expertise-loaded cases differentiates the book from other boring textbooks. The future of global marketing section of the book gives the reader an invaluable horizon. I suggest that you read it carefully, you will get too many things from it.

Surprisingly enough, the children of sixties parents have been largely silent. David Layton's fascinating memoir more than fills the gap.The book is full of energy, originality, humor, emotional intelligence.Once started, it's impossible to put down - I read it in one marathon sitting. Here is a new writer whose work I will follow with great interest.

This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. It's relentlessly honest, very funny, touching, beautifully written. David Layton's images are highly original and striking. This memoir is also one of the few written by kids of 60's parents and it takes a hard yet sympathetic look at what it was like to have unconventional parents. It's also impossible to put this book down once you've started it.

what a wonderful inspiring book! i bought it with the hopes of presenting it to my book club as the book we should read, but finished it long before the date of our next meeting! i appreciate layton's portrayal of his childhood - he uses gentle humor to approach serious hurts. a great read!

I will be driving to Alaska this summer with my dog and I wanted guidance on local parks on the way where we could take breaks and go hiking. I purchased the book since it claims to provide information about hiking trails. No such thing; I found nothing of any value to me and returned it. In fact, if you delete the pictures and the lists of motels and restaurants... there would be little left to read.

Not sure why the last reviewer bought a driving guide instead of a hiking guide, but I found this book to be incredibly helpful and entertaining. It contained the right balance of text with history and don't-miss places to visit for each community, along with listings of restaurants and places to stay. She tell you the miles (and kilometers) between major towns and includes lots of great pictures. Highly recommended for preparing for the trip, and a great resource once you're on the road.

The World-Famous Alaska Highway is the ideal guide for anyone traveling up and down the Alaskan Highway. This compendium of historic sites, roadside attractions, dramatic views, wildlife sighting sites, recreational resources (hiking, biking, fishing, rafting, canoeing, cruising, flying, festivals, rodeos, parades, races, museums, theme parks) will ensure the success of any excursion from day trips to full-fledged vacations. The World-Famous Alaska Highway also offers practical money-saving, comfort enhancing advice on preparing your vehicle, roadway considerations and routes, as well as up-to-date contact numbers and websites for cities throughout the region and serviced by the Alaskan Highway. If you are planning just such a journey for business or pleasure, begin with a thorough reading of Tricia Brown's The World-Famous Alaska Highway!

As a canadian, I am happy to see a photography book that covers the country from one corner to the other. It is an easy, even humorous read, with plenty of good location and photography ideas. On the down side, the photographs by the two authors are good but enhanced over the top. they take a nicely saturated film like velvia, and top it up with blue/yellow polarizers and other enhancing filters. The result is the visual equivalent of a parfume bath, with the predictable result: it gives you a strong headache! Bottom line is this: it is a reasonable guide to photographing canada, and if you really want to, you too can do it in sledge-hammer saturation. What are the alternatives? If you want something more natural but without location info, try "The Last Wilderness: Images of The Canadian Wild" edited by Freeman Patterson. For a lot of great canadian location photography, try a series of coffee-table books by Pierre Berton ("Seacoasts", "Great Lakes" etc) photos by Andre Gallant.

The authors present their view of Canada in a colorful and often in a 'colorful' manner. The photography is world-class and the writing is light, easy and often humorous.

This book was a constant companion on my trip to eastern Canada and a most helpful guide to locating well known locations, as well as off the beaten path "secrets."

I was not a photographer when I first read this book, nor was I after the second read-through. By the third read I was wanting to be: If the authors have this much fun pursuing their craft, then I want to be a part of it. Thankfully they included a very methodical techniques chapter for our benefit.

This book does not disappoint.

All to often photographers arrogantly believe their images will support weak writing. Benson and Wilson obviously had set a goal of writing and photographic excellence from the beginning, and did they ever succeed! From cover to cover this guide/reference/instructional, and yes, to some extent coffee table book, establishes a new standard -- a standard that will be extremely difficult for those following to attain.

The authors take us on a visual journey across Canada, from coast to coast to coast. The trip is one of visual stimulation, along with useful information on how to get there and when is the best time of year to visit. Non-photographers will also benefit from the detailed travel instructions.

Benson and Wilson are masters at extracting colour from a scene. Their overt use of filters stimulates the senses with each image pulling the viewer into the scene. Yet they succeed where so many others have failed: they use filters in a complimentary manner, not in a 'look at me I'm filtered because the photographer didn't know how to handle the light' variety. Fortunately for us, the authors put in a very useful chapter on photographic technique.

This book is visually exciting, a fun read and an excellant addition to my library. Even if you are not planning a trip north of the 49th parallel this book is worth the price simply because it is the best of its kind: it communicates. Kudos to the authors.

This book is one of many I could describe the same way. Great recipes, great cooking, great presentation. Not practical. Yes, I can cook this way, but not in real life. If I want a book for only 6 times a year when I want to spend excessive amounts of time on, I can do it. I can do Charlie Trotter. I just don't want to. Better to look at than use on a regular basis.

Having eaten at Rob Feenie's restaurant several times and having cooked from this cookbook, I can say that while you probably don't want to cook from this on a daily basis, a three or four course menu is very doable on a Sunday if you are well organized and a decent home cook. However, quite a number of recipes can be made by themselves on most nights. It's a beautifully put together cookbook with gorgeous pictures and cute anecdotes, Feenie's easygoing personality comes through nicely.

I took away one star for the poorly organized index (why beef shortribs is under M for meat and not B for Beef is beyond me) and the occassional typo within the recipes themselves.

I gave myself this cookbook for Christmas....I couldn't resist. The book is sheer poetry with wonderful full colour photos of dishes. Feenie divides the book up into the following sections: Spring, Summer, Autumnn, Winter, and Basics. Under each he provides you with three different menus to choose from: Vegetarian, Seafood, and Signature. The recipes are broken up as follows: about the recipe, to prepare, to assemble, and wine. He offers many tips throughout and his various musings on food which are a delight to read. You just have to read Feenie's introduction to get a feel for this amazing book. He starts off saying, "Five years ago I opened Lumiere because I had something to say. For me, food is conversation. Why and what I cook are my passions and beliefs, shared with anyone who cares to listen. Growing up, I listened to my mother's food and heard it tell me how much she cared. It was a language I wanted to speak....." and he continues to speak to us throughout this wonderful book. This is now my favorite cookbook of all time and makes me proud to be Canadian!

I didn't like it.

I am unfamiliar with the rest of this Author's work, so I can't tell you whether it is like her novels or not, but when I judge this work by itself I find it wanting.

This is a rather long collection of rather short stories. Most of these have not been published elsewhere. The norm for the SF field is for single author anthologies to be composed mostly if not completely of previously published work. Take this as a warning that you may not be getting what you expected.

The stories seem to follow a very common and uninteresting fairy tale format. Fairy tales can be made interesting-- for instance Italo Calvino's Italian Folk Tales. These were not.

As a point of reference, I favor "literate" SF. Some of my favorite authors are Kim Stanley Robinson, Gene Wolfe, Ursula LeGuin, Bruce Sterling, Thomas Disch, early Larry Niven...

Review

By

Judith Woolcock Colombo

Hot and spicy with the rhythm of the Caribbean, Skin Folk is a collection of 15 short stories by Jamaican born Canadian author Nalo Hopkinson. These tales are bonded together by a common theme, change or shedding of skin. All is illusion; nothing is, as it first seems within the pages of this book.

Beginning with the first story Riding The Red, we see the illusion being stripped away by this bizarre twist on the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. Here the elderly Red Riding Hood cautions her daughter to watch her granddaughter who has now begun "to ride the red." This is the time when wolfie comes around to capture and seduce. The grandmother admits "the red hood was mine, to catch his eye," but wolfie also had his dance "all hot breath and leaping flank, piercing eyes to see and strong hands to hold." Encountering wolfie is a natural consequence of riding the red or puberty. It is part of coming of age.

In Money Tree, Silky must reluctantly embrace the heritage of her Mamadjo or mermaid mother in order to save her greedy brother Morgan when he seeks to wrest pirate treasure away from River Mumma. In Something To Hitch Meat To, Artho is given the gift of seeing people and things as they really are by a strange spider-like little girl, and in Under Glass, a young girl living in a post apocalyptic world dooms another world with her careless play.

This concept of illusion and magical change continues throughout the book in stories such as Tan-Tan and Dry Bone where a soft hearted girl has pity on death disguised as a starving old man and takes him home only to learn if you pick him up you pick up trouble..

Although some stories were too similar, others were truly extraordinary. Skin Folk is a wonderful read, and I highly recommend it. ...

Nalo Hopkinson's splendid gifts as a brilliant, often unique, writer of literary fictional prose that is also intriguing fantasy and science fiction are amply shown in this fine collection of short stories. Most of these have been published previously in relatively unknown anthologies in Canada and the United States; two are unpublished, and a third is a chapter from her novel "Midnight Robber". Hopkinson has a splendid ear for dialogue and a marvellous eye for scenery, with a taut, lean prose which effectively captures the Caribbean patois of her childhood. "Skin Folk" is a fascinating look at her artistic growth as a writer; here are stories about demons and ghosts as seen through the eyes of West Indians, along with occasional glimpses of cyberpunk science fiction. One of the most memorable tales is "Greedy Choke Puppy", an incandescent look at Vampire mythology with a uniquely West Indian twist; other compelling tales include "Slow Cold Chick" and "Fisherman" which are intriguing meditations on magic and sex.

This is not a comprehensive guidebook, but then, I don't want to pack a three pound book in my luggage when I know where I'm going and where I'm staying. The web makes it possible to pick your major destinations and hotels before going. This book suggests "must-see" attractions in limited time and a few off-the-beaten-path sights. If you are backpacking or going by the seat of your pants, I'd suggest the Lonely Planet Guide to BC or the Moon Handbook (edition previous to 2002). For couples or families who've done at least a little planning before leaving, the AAA guide is great.

This is a good guidebook to tote around with you while touring Vancouver & Victoria. It has some good walking tours and listings of the "don't miss" sights. The reason I did not give it 5 stars is because it has very few hotel & dining recommendations, so you'll need another guidebook for the details on those.