I've read several charming books about Egypt recently, by Andre Aciman, Alhadeff, and Penelope Lively. This one is a beautifully written, haunting memoir by a woman whose encounters with an exotic world are delicately portrayed, with great empathy for landscape and its people.

Susan Brind Morrow brings onto paper the difficult task of writing of 'the names of things' Showing the reader through Egypt, bringing us elements of the good, the bad, the inbetween. She tells us of her love affair with this enchanting country, and how many times during her life she's had to return to this place, this haven of hers.If you have any interest in etymology, you'll love this book!

This book reads easily as we focus on 13-year-old John Sager of Missouri, who comes of age with grim immediacy on the Oregon Trail. Tall for his age but disappointingly immature and bratty, John reacts with sulky silf-pity and arrogant defiance when desciplined by his father on the plains. After a fruitless and embarrassing attempt to run away ere boy (as if a mere boy could make it on his own), John is rescued by the legendary Kit Carson and restored to his frantic family.

But wagon train life takes it pitiless toll on John's family of 7 children (a baby girl is born en route). First Father and then Mother succomb to wounds and disease. Suddenly John realizes that it is now up to Him to keep the family together (his mother's dying wish, as she entrusts the baby to his special care). Now the religious scoffer sets the standards (Bible reading on Sundays, entries of family data) as he realizes that he wants to honor his dead parents. He makes the commitment to fulfill his father's dream of farming in Oregon territory.

Before they were orphaned John shirked the chores of a Boy; now his siblings are amazed at the sudden appearance of their new brother who immediately assumes the responsibilities of an Adult. Facing incredible hardships and staggering odds, young John battles against weather, nature, Indians and well-meaning but interfering white adults who try to decide the fate of his siblings. To remain true to his father's dream of homesteading in Oregon, John must lie, cheat and deceive. But he will not permit anyone or anything to break up His family! The parents he disobeyed in life inspire him from the grave, as he attempts to atone for his selfish past.

This book is based on historical fact and only lacks a good map to help readers visualize the children's location, the geographic barriers and their destination. It reads well, since it is about 95% historical fiction with 5% non-fictional asides directed to the reader. This book inspired the movie ON TO OREGON. John trust! s God to lead him safely to the promised land of Oregon with all the children. An interesting and exciting story for a general audience.

"Father wanted us to go on to Oregon, and that's where we're going!" - When the wagon train pulled out of Missouri in 1844, John Sager thought the trip West would be great fun. But now both his father and mother are dead. John is determined to lead his brother and five sisters a thousand miles through the wilderness to Oregon . . . braving hunger, thirst, and unknown dangers - alone! A true story.

Much like Neal Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens, Only Begotten Daughter left me nonplussed. The sense of humor (other than some assorted wordplay) didn't work for me, and what could have been a wry and subtle story about a divine young woman trying to find her purpose in life takes a horribly wrong turn when the devil himself shows up and proves to be working to use her for his own purposes. Morrow uses the set-up to poke some fun at Christianity, and is sometimes entertaining when he does so, but often the story is muddled.

The first third of the book is best, with child-of-god Julie Katz growing up in New Jersey with her Jewish father, lesbian almost-stepmother, and best friend. Thing go downhill in the middle third, when the adult Julie tries to figure out how to help people, and gets caught up in a web spun by Satan to create a new church. Julie makes some decisions which I just didn't buy about her character, and spends the last third of the book trying to make sense of what her earlier actions created: A fairly standard religious dystopia.

Though Morrow has clearly researched his source material deeply, he has trouble getting to the heart of his characters (Julie is, at best, something of a cipher), and his story isn't particularly effective. The strange "moral" of the story seems to be: If people are chastising you for not reaching your full potential, then lower your potential. Morrow doesn't seem to grasp the irony of this lesson, and the book ends up feeling profoundly unfulfilling.

Morrow spins the yarn this time about Julie Katz, the product of a Holy Ovum and Murray Katz's - Jewish lighthouse keeper and bibliophile - divinely ordained semen. Julie Katz's search for identity, heritage, and happiness leads her on a wild ride through Hell and the tri-state area. James Morrow's engaging, concrete style offers up a compelling and seamless blend of irreverence and sentimentality which, though often emotional, is never, ever maudlin. Not for those - religious or otherwise - with no sense of humour. I recommend Morrow's writings - any of them, particularly the Towing Jehovah series - only for the open-minded and for those who can have a good laugh without fear of eternal damnation (but we're all damned anyway, right?) :-) Pay particular attention to what Jesus says about the eucharist. In short, a five-star rating does not do justice to this book. I'd venture to give it more just for the laughs I got from reading the outraged "You shouldn't say those things about Jehovah!" reviews listed below.

I READ THIS BOOK SEVERAL YEARS AGO, AND MANY TIMES SINCE. I JUST RE-READ IT AGAIN AND FOUND IT JUST AS CAPTIVATING AND HUMOROUS AS EVERY TIME BEFORE. I LOVE THE WAY IT MAKES YOU QUESTION RELIGION AND LIFE IN GENERAL. WHEN JULIE MEETS HER BROTHER AND FINDS OUT HOW OUT OF TOUCH HE IS WITH RELIGIOUS VIEWS ALWAYS CRACKS ME UP. I GIVE THIS BOOK MANY STARS MORE THEN THEY ALLOW. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ********** (IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK I STRONGLY RECOMMEND "TOWING JEHOVA"... ENJOY) C.H.

I've enjoyed Kellerman as a new find this year; I've read every one of his books since April, THE BUTCHER'S THEATER being the last. Normally, I can't wait to finish his work, staying up later than my wife would like and taking longer lunch breaks than my boss would like. I usually finish his novels in 2-3 days. This one, however, didn't grab me like the others. Perhaps it was the unfamiliar locale that distracted me, but it took me 2 weeks to finish it, and frankly, it didn't bother me if I didn't get a chance to read it. The characterizations were good, as Kellerman's usually are, but I found the psychopath and his "political" leanings a little trite. I never felt like he was as scary as he was made out to be. This book also suffers from Kellerman's biggest weakness: endings. The "big confrontation" that is telegraphed from about half-way through the book is not entirely satisfactory.

This is a brilliant serial killer novel, not just for it's plot (which is actually somewhat run of the mill) but mainly for it's engrossing setting, Jerusalem. I've not read a fictional book set here before, and i found this new experience thoroughly engrossing and interesing. The descriptions about the culture were informative, and again very interesting, and gave a sharp edge of realism to the novel.

The characters a great, each one is developed well, and their trypes are many and varied. The writing is fresh and pulls you in, although sometimes Kellerman does go off on a tangent a bit when he puts in a rather long paragraph about Israeli history, which while some of it is interesting, some of it is also unnecesary and dull.

I didn't find the political tone too distracting, as some appear to have done. I admit, he does have slightly biased leanings, but you can't exactly blame him. He is Jewish, after all.

This is a big book, but it speeds along quickly. It's compelling, and grows dull very little, which is surprising considering it's length. The plot is adequate, the psychology is great, the insights into foreign culture marvellous, and the finale is excellent.

the immense scope of this book is as large as the view from the top of Mount Scopus.

This was the third or fourth Kellerman I read, so I was well acquainted with Alex Delaware & Co when I picked it up. I hadn't read the blurb - I simply bought the book. Well, you do, don't you? especially when it's Kellerman. Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I spent the first ten minutes wondering what on earth I was doing in Jerusalem... and then I got read the back cover.

Oh.

Sharavi wears his white hat comfortably. He is a very satisfying character, rich in nuance, with a dry wit. He's a character you're continually investigating throughout the book: Kellerman has written him well enough that you're never really sure what makes Sharavi tick.

Jerusalem is also well described. The dust, tension, angst, and U.N. corruption are obviously known to the author. You can feel the antiquity of the walls clashing with the pollution of the internal combustion engine in his descriptive pieces.

This is a book which deserves a second and third reading. It's one of Kellerman's best - which means it's one of the best in my book collection.

By the way... my copy's title is "The Butcher's Theatre". Wasn't it nice of the publisher to provide an English translation?

In the final installment of the Godhead Trilogy, the corpse of God destroys itself in a spectacular display, hurling the Divine Skull into geosynchronous orbit over the East Coast of the United States. The Western world falls into chaos as the populace is seized by a plague of "death awareness." This horrible disease begins when a person is possessed by his "fetch," a demonic alter ego who causes the unlucky patient to gradually waste away.

The young widow Nora Burkhart, desperate to find a cure for her stricken son, travels across America (which now resembles Europe in the Dark Ages) to Mexico, where the Church of Earthly Affirmation is rumored to have a cure for the illness. Once there, she meets Gerard Korty, a renowned sculptor once patronized by the Catholic Church who now creates graven images for the mysterious cult. Does the Church really have a cure? Will humanity survive the plague? Do the fetches have an agenda beyond the murder of their hosts?

Although a very good read, The Eternal Footman is perhaps the least of the trilogy. Maybe it's because this book doesn't have quite the "biblical proportion" that its predecessors had. It's hard to compete with the Death of God and the Trial of God. Still, it raises some interesting questions, and speculates about what a world without God might ultimately look like.

All in all, I highly recommend this entertaining and educational trilogy. James Morrow is truly a master of satirical fantasy, and I for one look forward to his future offerings.

John C. Snider, Editor ...

James Morrow has a formidable reputation among fantasists. This is the man who's willing to take on the Old Testament (Bible Stories For Adults), the idea that lying is better than telling the truth (City of Truth), the atom bomb (This is the Way the World Ends), and even God Himself (Towing Jehovah and Blameless in Abaddon). It's my pleasure to report that James Morrow's deepseated grief and anger with how unpleasant people, and philosophy, can be to other people is still alive and well (unlike, of course, God, in this third book of a trilogy). There are a few familiar faces from Morrow's other work that turn up in this book- both friendly and not so friendly. The book is surprising- and at the risk of spoilering slightly, it's unlikely that you will anticipate the ending-- though it is impossible to imagine the book (and the trilogy) ending any other way. A truly wonderful book, from a truly questioning mind. Mark Twain would be proud.

"The Eternal Footman," the final book in James Morrow's Jehovah Trilogy, serves as an interesting capstone to the series. It's much different from the other books; not so much about psychology or philosophy, it's more a re-telling of the tale outlined in The Book of Revelation, although with an obvious Morrow twist. As such, it might not appeal to the same kinds of readers that the other two books attracted, but "Footman" is in no way a lesser book because of it.

Years after the trial at The Hague, God's body disassembled itself piece by piece, His intestines swimming through the ocean like a gigantic snake and His skull sits in geosynchronous orbit over Times Square. The Vatican rents His skull for advertisers, so people are treated to Microsoft and Coca-Cola ads 24/7. But, it causes other problems as well...

In Nora's struggle and the development of the Temple in Mexico, Morrow reveals the ultimate philosophical lesson in his Jehovah Trilogy: that human value should not be created by external things, even God. It's what Nietzsche referred to as the "metaphysics of the hangman," and is echoed by those who claim that if there is no God, there is no point in living. That is what the plague victims seem to think, and that is what the Antichrist seeks to capitalize on. It is also what God wants humans to grow beyond.

It's the ultimate religious/existential lesson, one that Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and even Heidegger stressed in their works. It is also one of the most complex philosophical concepts to communicate, and Morrow manages to do it in one novel (actually, the setup was there through all the books).

Old characters are brought back, and new ones introduced. Like "Blameless," "Footman" is a walk in the forest to read, pleasant and dense without being oppressive. Morrow again finds the correct mix of story and philosophy by which to tell his tale, and by so doing weaves as juicy and delicious a narrative for which one could ask. "Footman" is much heavier than his other works, and is not simply the tongue-in-cheek satire of the first two volumes. ...

... You see the corpse of God being towed by a supertanker on the cover. The back cover starts with "God is dead" and proceeds to promise a tale full strange and troubled characters who are called on to deal with his rotting corpse. Morrow gets high marks doing an excellent job researching and explaining how an oil tanker operates. He does raise some interesting topics to consider: if God is the source of morality, does that mean we have free reign to do as we please after he dies? How could God die? However, it fails to even mention other interesting questions: if God is dead what becomes of those in heaven? What of Satan?

Despite the high marks for the idea and the setting, the execution leaves something to be desired.

I had three main complaints. The first is the relatively shallow characterization of most everyone in the book. The "romance" between the militant feminist and the tanker captain was probably the most egregious example of this, as the author gives nowhere near enough insight into the characters to make this believable. But it pervades the book. The nun Miriam dances naked with a priest in the belly button of God, yet neither one of them is ever seen really examining their actions. Indeed, that scene is the last we ever see of Miriam in the book. The characters who take part in the grizzly Roman coliseum style execution are never seen examining themselves and their actions.

Secondly, the entire sojourn on Van Horne island felt contrived. Worse than contrived it raises the question of what power could have arranged for it to happen? If God is dead what force could cause an island to form where none had ever been? If God is dead who worked the miracle of his return? If God is dead what is the source of the mysterious fog? Yet the characters barely think to question the situation.

Finally, the final resolution felt poorly constructed. The characters ask the question, "Who has the right to take away belief in God?" Rather than engage in any interesting and vigorous debate on the subject -- "Do people have a 'right' to believe in God in the first place?", "Does the Truth trump concerns of Faith?", "What man has the right to second guess the desires of the Almighty?" -- the characters mumble agreement and the book is suddenly over. The ending feels especially [small] in light of the sequel, where God's death has been made public and, in fact, his corpse turned into a theme park.

The unfortunate thing is how much promise this book has.

Sea captain Anthony Van Horne, who blames himself for an ExxonValdez-style oil spill years ago, is suddenly visited by an angel whobears the most profound - and disturbing - tidings of all time. GodHimself is dead, and His two-mile-long corpse has fallen into theAtlantic Ocean! The Host of Heaven are dying of grief, the angelexplains, and as their last act of worship they've prepared a tomb forJehovah in a huge iceberg in the Arctic. Van Horne can achieve somevindication by towing the late Creator's body to His frozencrypt.

At the helm of the supertanker Carpco Valparaiso (the shipinvolved in the earlier maritime disaster), and flying the flag of theVatican, Van Horne leads a ragtag crew on a secret mission to find Hiscorpse and steer Him to His final resting place. Along the way, theyrescue a militant feminist-atheist who, when she discovers the natureof their mission, secretly decides that she must find a way to preventthis "proof" from becoming known to the world atlarge.

Morrow's Towing Jehovah is an absolutely brilliant and oftenqueasily unsettling satire that explores many of the great issues ofreligion, faith, and skepticism. Using the tanker's crew as amicrocosm of society, Morrow takes jabs at Catholics, Jews, skeptics,feminists - just about everybody. How would the Catholic Church reactto the news that God really is dead? What would atheists do if theydiscovered they'd been wrong all along? Would there be any reason toadhere to morality, knowing that God is no longer watching? And thegreatest mystery of all - why did He die?

I can't recommend thisbook highly enough for fantasy lovers who are tired of the eternalTolkien rehashes. If you're looking for a book that will make youthink about your life, laugh out loud, and groan with embarrassment -sometimes all at once - this is the book for you. Both Believer andSkeptic will enjoy the ideas mulled over in Towing Jehovah - but thethin-skinned should be warned to proceed at their own risk.

JohnC. Snider...

"Towing Jehovah," the first book in James Morrow's trilogy (which includes "Blameless in Abaddon" and "The Eternal Footman") begins with a delightfully ontologically troubling premise: what if God is deceased, and what to do with his two-mile long corpse? Morrow shows us the various parties who take an interest in the Corpus Dei and their varying agendas, satirizing everything from religion to re-enactment societies. What's particularly interesting is the way the existence of God's corpse causes atheists to question their own beliefs. Morrow's book is witty and clever throughout, and he ties together all the strands of his story with ingenuity. His characterizations, particularly of the Sea Captain Anthony Van Horne and the priest Father Ockam, are complex and bring the characters to life. Morrow provides us with a very down-to-earth (and occasionally grotesque) examination of an entirely surreal situation.

Mr. Morrow's book depicts a side of war that is seldom discussed. The people that were influenced by the influx of troops, the degredation of these people, the lost youths of many cultures touched by war.

We travel with this young black man who thought that war was glamorous until he was actually in the middle of it. We watch him mature and enter his mind as it becomes hardened by injustices not only from the enemy but his own side.

It is well written and entertaining. I enjoyed it and for a woman to enjoy a book about war says something good about the author.

This book is a "must read" for several reasons. First, you don't have to be Black to appreciate how author Curtis Morrow depicts with his own life's history the horrors of going to war as a "much too young", naiive, idealistic, and patriotic teenager. Growing up can be tramatic enough. This book goes a long way toward showing the shock of "growing up" (quick and in a hurry!) in a strange and far-away land as part of an organization (the army in this case) where your "manhood" is recognized in terms of how many people you killed on any given day!...and where the count is kept by the number of ears you cut off the bodies! Add to all of that the fact that you are a Black teenager and you've got a story within a story....

In every war/"confict" Blacks have served in they've always had to fight two battles at the same time--one against the "official" enemy on the front lines, and one against the "enemy&quo! t; behind his lines. Only being there can one say which war is the hardest to fight...and win.

"What's A Commie..." also depicts in a loving way how two people of different races transcended the mental barriers their countries laid out for them and found happiness together.

Lastly, if you are Black, you will appreciate this book that much more just because it exist. For all the Blacks that have served in war since this country let them "play" the proportionent number of books (especially by Blacks) written on the subject is totally out of balance. For this, and all the above reasons, I give a salute and word of thanks to Curtis J. Morrow....

War memoirs are not my customary reading fare, but meeting you was such a pleasure that I was compelled to buy the book and read your words. I was not disappointed. Your honesty is refreshing. Your approach to the subject at hand is forthright and down-to-earth. Your description and analysis of the racism and discrimination that you and your brothers faced is clear and direct. I've shared your book with several friends. Two are women like me who generally don't read anything related to war. Your book opened a door for us and gave us another way of looking at America's past, present, and future. Keep on writing and tellin' it like it is {was}. Your willingness to share yourself in this way, as you tell our story, is appreciated. Your story of the "Buffalo Soldiers'" role in the Korean War, reflects a perspective that is generally ignored in the history books. I can't thank you enough for supplementing those books with some much needed history that won't be forgotten, thanks to your contribution.

Keep on keepin' on!

This book proves that anyone can put words down on paper, attempt to sound sophisticated by writing gibberish, and have the American public sucked into reading it. The story starts off with some potential for an intersting plot but fails completely before halfway finished. It is one of only four books I haven't finished in my life and I don't foresee me wasting anymore time on it.

"This is the Way the World Ends" is one of James Morrow's early works, and when comparing it (somewhat unfairly) with more recent novels, like the Towing Jehovah trilogy, it's easy to see his progression as a writer, both in terms of ideas and style. While remaining firmly in the 'snooty intellectual' camp Morrow himself satirizes in his later books, "TITWTWE" is still a good read, and is a unique addition to the field of post-apocalyptic fiction.

Sandwiched between bookends of Nostradamus, the plot revolves around main character George Paxton, an everyman who carves tombstones for a living and worries about his family. When his neighbor invents something called a "scopas suit" that promises to be the device to change the nuclear balance of power, by allowing its wearer to survive and thrive after a nuclear exchange, George finds he cannot afford one - but makes a deal with a strange shopkeeper to get one on the cheap. On his way home, World War III erupts and George is caught almost at Ground Zero as he watches his family die from intense radiation poisoning.

That is just the setup for the meat of the book. George is rescued by a submarine and taken to Antarctica with five other survivors, to be put on trial for ending the human race. The judge, jury, and executioners? A race called "unadmitted humans," who came to be in the time-altering effects of the War. They bleed black blood and only live for a short time, but they nurse George to health so he can stand trial. Those familiar with "Blameless in Abaddon" will recognize the trial as a means for Morrow to tell his story, and the reader is intended to sympathize with those who created the nuclear conflict through lies like "mutual assured destruction," "deterrence," and so forth.

It may be an artifact of the Reagan years, but Morrow's "TITWTWE" remains a solid piece of literature, even if it tapers off (as another review put it, the middle is a part you have to force yourself to get through). Morrow's prose flows easily, and the trial is a clear indictment of both the no-nukes crowd and those who rely on nuclear weapons instead of human intelligence to solve problems. As usual, Morrow neatly destroys the traditional dualism inherent in the nuclear debate, leaving the reader to formulate new conclusions after the two most popular choices have been proven wrong. It may not be his best work, but it's worth checking out, and it belongs on any post-apocalyptic aficionado's shelf.

I've just finished reading This is the Way the World Ends for the third time. I could read it another three times in the next week. It's a very visual book, never lacking in description. From the effects of radiation sickness to the plummage of a Teratornis, Morrow has delivered exactly the right amount of storytelling--not so little that you don't understand it, and not so much that you find yourself peeking ahead to the next chapter for a change of pace. It's worth the cover price just to hear Nostrodamus trying to explain twentieth century colloquialisms. --Darren Jame

Set in a richly described but unnamed Western town, the lead character, Grant, comes home to visit his aunt and uncle who live there. He is in his early thirties, divorcing his wife, and looking for a place he can call home. His aunt and uncle have been receiving mysterious night visits by someone setting out to intimidate them, and the book's intention is to unravel this mystery.

The title, Giovanni's Gift, refers to a cigar box full of mementos that Giovanni, a friend of the uncle, leaves behind when he dies. The reader immediately suspects there was a murder.

The box is an allegory to Pandora's box and as Grant discovers the meaning of each item in the box, the story becomes more complex, especially since Grant falls in love with Giovanni's daughter.

The preservation of the land is another subplot and the author constantly veers off the story with poetic metaphorical language to make this point over and over again. I do have to applaud the author though for his skill with words and for having whatever it took to be recognized in the publishing world. I think he says a few important things about the environment. But I just couldn't stay awake.

One might wonder how it is that so elegantly contrived a novel might yield management secrets of the highest grade. And yet like an oilfield with its dark and bubbly secret lurking just beneath the earth's loamy crust this book fairly percolates with what most readers--myself included!!--tend to seek even in the most literary of beach reads: MANAGEMENT SECRETS. Now, I'm a girl who can't get enough of the info that helps make our world-beating corporations tick. And in this book Brent Morrow really goes all out. I know, I know: the guy has a highly literary reputation, he edits Conjunctivitis, pals around with Roger Daltrey, once wore his glasses on his forehead in New York magazine. And yet he is deeply, intimately in touch with the Manager Within. His characters act out a Platonic drama of sorts in which each character embodies a trait that managers find either infuriating or enchanting. As everyone knows, it's human nature that drives business, and these traits can mean the critical difference between success and failure. Morrow, too, is well aware of these pertinent facts and when he puts them into play with the willful mastery of the finest caliber prose stylist that he is, you know that the flakes are going to fly with all the whiz-bang excitement of a top-notch Hollywood thriller! I highly recommend Giovanni's Box!!

I loved Mr. Morrow's writing style and prose. Some people say it was boring, but I thought it was just enough to pull you into the book. I found it very suspenseful towards the end, and was somewhat surprised by the ending. I enjoyed the book immensely.

For all the talk about architectural principles, green building, etc., his work basically boils down to selling secluded homes to a wealthy few. That said, he has good taste. His houses use stone and wood almost exclusively, and are invariably set in remote wooded locations. Don't expect to learn anything about construction; this is just daydreaming material for most folks.

A four star book about a five star architect. Wish there were more written about Cutler but this is it. Great introductory purchase into the work of the father of the "Northwest style." Until more is published, this is my Cutler reference. Good color pics. Pencil drawings that are truely Cutler craft.

This is a very fine book about a very fine architect (from a publisher who's also doing a very good job). James Cutler's work has much more substance than virtually all of his better-known peers. He's concerned about the natural environment and that concern is translated into definite design strategies. He's also very much concerned with the craft of building and he understands that the art of architecture depends on materials and how they're assembled. This concern and understanding is evident in his loving and thoughtful development of details and in his material choices, which are very purposeful. This is not the type of architect who would treat brick the same as sheet metal when the budget wouldn't permit titanium. I think the reviewer who says that this work is "tectonically wacked" misses the boat. I agree that there are some minor oddities but if James Cutler's architecture isn't "tectonic," I don't know what is. I'd be tempted to say his work is all about tectonics if it wasn't also about space, sustainability, humane design, beauty..... I only wish the book were not so compact, but I appreciate the compact price. An important architect who has convictions, designs accordingly, and lets the world of fashion play its games by itself, a million miles away.