I picked up this book whilst searching for texts for an Asian Studies course I plan to teach this fall. Nolan's treatment is quite sensitive to Asian perspectives, and careful to highlight and correct traditionally held but erroneous beliefs: Gutenberg invented moveable type printing (Koreans did 400 years prior); zero was invented by Arabic mathematicians (they got the idea from Indians). The writing is concise and comprehensive without being exhaustive - I'd almost call it a page-turner. What it lacks in pictures, maps, or graphs it makes up for in tight yet readable text. Of special note are the latter chapters dealing with modern Asia - incredibly understandable and helpful. The only offense I take is the (typical) brief treatment of smaller nations (e.g. Korea, the Philippines), and the space given Japan, China, and India. In fairness, though, Mason DOES go into more detail on the smaller countries than most comparable books, and in 300 pages, to expect more is probably unrealistic. All of you who wish you'd paid more attention during the lectures on Vietnam and China's Cultural Revolution, anyone wanting to know why Southeast Asia is as it is, anyone simply fascinated by the East must read this book.

The first book anyone should read about Asia

James Bradley Author FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS jbradley@JamesBradley.com

This book covers the religious practices of the mountain people of Korea. I was surprised to see not only eastern religious practices noted, but christianity's impact as well. David Mason shows me the what and why's of the mountian people's faith. The color plates compliment the words daring to tell the story on their own.

This book delves into medicinal practices, which are deeply rooted in the beliefs of the mountain folk. I have enjoyed this book tremendously.

_Spirit of the Mountains: Korea's SAN-SHIN and Traditions of Mountain-Worship_, by David A. Mason, is at first striking because of its physical appearance. The luxurious thick glossy stock and abundance of beautiful, full-color photographs enable it to easily pass for an elegant coffee-table book. But don't let its looks fool you. The text is substantial and informative. What's more, it informs on a subject which is certainly obscure for most non-Koreans, and perhaps for many Koreans, as well.

Writing in an easy-going, first-person narrative style, David Mason treats the reader to a comprehensive survey of Korean _San-shin_ (or Mountain spirit) imagery, together with a thorough analysis of its composition, history, development, influences, etc. Mason collected the images first-hand over a period of some fifteen years. While Mason's writing is casual in style, it is at the same time, quite scholarly, given its numerous references, notes, and a substantial bibliography.

San-shin means "Mountain-spirit, Mountain God, or Spirit of the Mountains," Mason explains. It refers to an ancient belief that each mountain is the home of a spirit or mountain-god that can grant protection, healing, and even spiritual gifts. The iconography associated with San-shin is amazingly diverse and rich in symbolism. The essence, though, is nearly always a grandfatherly figure, a tiger, and a gnarly pine tree in the background. The book contains several hundred photographs of various San-shin icons (as well as of other subjects), and Mason offers the reader explanations and analyses of the underlying meanings of the symbols.

Mason explains that mountain worship is both primordial and universal in its oldest form, but at the same time, San-shin has been assimilated and syncretized with other traditions that make it uniquely Korean. For instance, he writes that nearly a century ago, a Christian missionary observed that Korean mountain worship had certain similarities to worship practices he'd found on mountains in the Middle East. Indeed, those instances as well others found in the Himalayas, Greece, among natives of North and South America, and elsewhere, allude to the mythological construct that Joseph Campbell discussed as "the central mountain of the earth." But Mason also shows how San-shin evolved from ancient shamanism and over time blended with Taoism, Neo-Confucianism, Buddhism, and Korean nationalism to form part of the core of the collective Korean psyche. And it's interesting that mountain worship practices have survived and flourished to a far greater extent in Korea than anywhere else on earth.

_Spirit of the Mountains_ is visually dazzling, a worthwhile read, and a fascinating pilgrimage to Korea's sacred sites - one that very few people could ever hope to make in person.

I am retired from the us navy after 24 years active duty, 1933-1954; went through world warII and korea, and was disappointed that not one word of the Navy was in this book. In addition, I am a life member of the VFW. I would not buy the book for that reason, but my daughter gave it to me as a gift. signed: Michael S Molnar QMC USN Retired.

This dedicated service organization began at Schenely Hotel,Pittsburgh..1n 1899..we invite the authors to our Celebration Sept. 18th..one of 4 in Pennsylvania honoring the VFW's achievements

The story examines the taboos of homosexuality and spiritually. Most African-American families do not address this issue they choose to ignore or disown the family member. That is why many men get married and live their life in the dark. As a gay man myself I too have this struggle and can relate to the plight of Jefferson Daniels. I commend Mr. Mason on telling his story and congratulate him on winning his battle! To anyone experiencing the struggle this is a MUST READ...the author expounds on GOD'S love and his power to change your life but first we must wait and "be still". A Plot Twisting Page Turner!

I've just finished this book and could not put it down it was a page turner. This is a new author but he has a feel like E. Lynn Harris however he develpos his own style and goes to a new level of exploring gender issues. The main character Jefferson Daniels is a married man that goes to his fraternity convention and is faced with his deep personal struggle of his same sex, sexual struggle. He meets a man named Adonis who he finds very attractive. All the while Jefferson is dealing with his spirituality and how the world views the desires he has had since childhood. This author explores the relationship with religion and homosexuality, friendship, and heterosexual marraige. The book has twist and turns in it, and is based on true to life stuff. The world better whatch out for this brother. Get your copy today!

I loved this book! It is told through the eyes of Eric, who is going through the *great* changes of puberty. Not only is it about him going through puberty, it is about his sister, also going through changes. It is a great book!

This book was one of the best I've read in a long time. It was written as the journal of a 13 year old boy going through normal things in his life. He writes about changes in his body and voice (puberty), his famliy and friends, and life at school. It was a very realistic and down to earth (although it was written somewhat before my time) book with hidden information (he'd write about the effects of drugs and alcohol by reviewing a school assembly he just had) and humor. I think that this book is one of the best written for today's youth.

This book is full of wonderful self affirming statements. It has passages from scriptures mixed in. A very uplifting piece of work. Lot's of wisdom to live by.

that can really help you change as a person if you want to. I enjoyed the fact that it was a simple easy read. John Mason gets the information across in a clear manner. He doesn't waste a lot of words.

Kafka's The Metamorphosis stands as one of the most important existentialist literary works ever written.

The novella follows Gregor Samsa, a lonely and somewhat pathetic salesman who lives at home supporting his family. Inexplicably, Samsa awakens one morning to find that he has transformed into an insect. In typical existentialist fashion, Samsa's physical transformation is accompanied by a dramatic psychological transformation, as Samsa's mother and father utterly reject their newly transformed son. Even Samsa's previously sympathetic and caring sister changes her ways, eventually seeking to destroy the monstrous insect that her brother has become.

This novella is meant to be thoroughly depressing and succeeds very well, though there remains a tinge of comedic elements throughout the book. There is purposefully very little explanation as to why and how Samsa's transformation took place, and Kafka allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions about the deeper meaning of his work.

This is a fast read and an enjoyable one at that. People vehemently opposed to the existentialist philosophy may find this book frustrating and overly depressing, but it is worth reading nevertheless. Ultimately, I think each of us has a little Gregor Samsa in us, and all readers will be able to identify with Samsa's plight.

Perhaps the first writer, or at least the first effectivewriter, to express the anxieties and alienation of 20th-century societies, Franz Kafka was born July 3, 1883 in Prague into a middle-class Jewish family. His father -- an ambitious, materialistic tyrant --overshadowed much of Kafka's work as well as his existence. Kafka was a charming, intelligent, and humorous individual, but he found his routine office job and the exhausting double life into which it forced him (for his nights were frequently consumed in writing) to be excruciating torture, and his deeper personal relationships were neurotically disturbed.

First published in 1915, this is the story of Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman who lives with and financially supports his parents and younger sister. One morning he wakes up to discover that during the night he has been transformed into a "monstrous vermin" or insect. At first he is preoccupied with practical, everyday concerns: How to get out of bed and walk with his numerous legs? Can he still make it to the office on time?

Soon his abilities, tastes, and interests begin to change. No one can understand his insect-speech. He likes to scurry under the furniture and eat rotten scraps of food. Gregor's family, horrified that Gregor has become an enormous insect, keep him in his bedroom and refuse to interact with him. This is a great short story representing modern man and the modern life... END

Kafka is truly a great 20th century author and this book, along with "The Trial" are excellent and open to a huge number of interpretations. The bleak urban settings are some of the most memorable aspects. This book has a lot of essays and explanatory notes in the back that present theories about the deeper meaning (though you will want to think about it yourself before you read them). Why exactly the metamorphosis occurred is an issue you can think about. Gregor first seems to ignore the metamorphosis but later associates it with shame. In fact, it may represent some repressed side of him. Gregor's situation is made even worse by his family's failure to support him.

This book is remarkable in that, while so much literature relies on extraordinary events or characters, the only real extraordinary event here is Gregor's unlucky transformation into a beetle. (Note, Kafka never actually says it is a dung beetle.) Everything after that is quite believeable and, while depressing, probably represents what would happen in real life and what does happen in so many people's lives that are never written about. The book manages to be both surrealist and brutally realistic at the same time.

Okay, you're probably thinking that I'm just someone complaining about having to read it in my freshman year's honors English class. No, I was not forced to read this. I read it far before it was on the reading list. Just wanted to clear that up. Back to the review. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is an intriguing autobiography of a man obsessed with tampering with the laws of nature by reversing them. This novel shows how man deals with failure and loss. Unfortunatly, Victor Frankenstein dealt with failure and loss the wrong way and... Wait, I don't want to give away the ending. Anyway, Mary Shelley creates a clever plot and adds some gruesome happenings and romance, combining the three to make one of the most famous horror stories. Unfortunatly, for those of you still hooked to video games and fast-paced action, you may have a difficult time reading this for it tends to drag out at some points. But that's how literature is, you'll just have to deal with it. Apart from that, I would definitly recommend this book to just about anyone.

The Frankenstein monster is truly one of the most tragic characters in classic literature. He is obviously quite brilliant, having learned to speak (rather eloquently, I might add), and to read simply by secretly watching others. He's sensitive, kind, and appreciative of nature's beauty-all of the most admirable characteristics of a wonderful soul. And yet, he is vilified by all who come in contact with him because of his physical repulsiveness.

His longing for love, especially from Victor, was so painful that it became difficult for me to read. I kept hoping he'd find someone to show him the littlest bit of kindness. His turn to violence is entirely understandable, and Victor's irresponsibility toward his creation is despicable. Victor, who is outwardly handsome but cowardly and cruel, is the story's true monster.

In addition to writing a captivating story, Shelley raises many social issues that are still relevant today, nearly 200 years later, and the book provides a superb argument against *ever* cloning a human being.

(Note: I have the edition with the marvelous woodcut illustrations by Barry Moser and the Joyce Carol Oates afterword - superb!)

After seeing at least five versions of this tale in film - one of my great childhood monster loves - I was happy to finally read the novel. As so often occurs with classics, I was as surprised as I was fascinated.

For starters, the characters are far more subtle than any of the film versions: Victor F appears as a brooding and obsessed genius, but also as a great lover of life and nature. The monster, who is an articulate and literate creature who read Goethe, is even more interesting, from his hopeful beginning to his bitter reaction at rejection and his thirst for vengence. His eloquence was vivid and his pain horribly realistic.

But the work is also fascinating as a window into the mind of the Romantics, who at once strove to reject the rationalism of the Enlightenment yet reflected it. The creature starts off empty and what it becomes is due entirely to his experience. Knowledge is not always good, etc.

Finally, the themes are timeless and full of conflict: creativity giving birth to unimaginable destruction, tampering with nature as its necessities overwhelm even genius, and the like. THe book is a kaleidescope of philosophical reflection. The pain of the creator and the monster alike are inescapably linked like father and son.

I did find the style of the book a bit difficult. It is full of florid rhetoric and lengthy circumlocutions, as the doctor and then the monster tell their stories in almost identical prose.

Highly recommended.

I read The Piano Tuner and thoughts of many other books...Heart of Darkness, Passage to India and the Odyessy came to mind....to say nothing of the works of R. Kipling. Nevertheless, this book is an amazing first novel filled with beauty, intrigue, mystics and seers, stories within stories, a journey to self-discovery and uncertain realities. All this in 300+ pages!
The poetry of Mason's language sings, bringing to the reader's eye a foreign world of great beauty, not just the lush green jungles of Burma, but of the people who inhabit this mysterious and dangerous country.
Why Carroll needs a piano tuner from England is never made entirely clear and perhaps it doesn't really matter because the story is really about Drake, the mild-mannered introspecive piano tuner who travels from Victorian England to a tiny village deep in the jungles of Burma to tune a French piano.
Drake undergoes profound changes as he first travels to Burma and then lives in the tiny village of Mae Lwin. My first criticism of the book is that I wanted more of the interior life of Drake, a better understanding of how and why he changed. Mason didn't offer enough.
Secondly, the trip to Mae Lwin took at least half the book. At times, despite the beautiful prose, it was an effort to continue the trek with Drake. I'm glad I stuck to it.
The ending was abrupt but I thought perfect for this book.
Last but not least. The pages were jammed with the author's knowledge of Burma. Depending upon the reader, this could be a
plus or minus.

A Great first Novel!
I was lucky to pick up an advanced copy of this first novel at the library. It caught my attention with its subject matter as I had just read'Tournament of Shadows' by Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Brysac about the history of the 'great game' in Central Asia (a great non-fiction book). I found the Piano Tuner's adventure story and it telling against the roll of the British Army in the jungles of Burma an interesting backdrop to this novel set in the late 1800s. The Piano Tuner is going to be a big hit! It is so well written, filled with great visuals and as the Piano Tuner, Edgar Drake, travels from London to Burma just to tune a mysterious piano for a mysterious officer. It's basic structure reads like 'Heart of Darkness'. I really enjoyed this first novel. (I am sure Mr. Daniel Mason will not be able to complete medical school as we will all want to read his next book.) Now I wonder who will make this into a movie.. I see Ralph Fines in the lead.

The debut novel by Daniel Mason, "The Piano Tuner" is a wonderfully ethereal and descriptive book about the travels and journeys of Edgar Drake, hired by the British War Office in 1886 to travel to hostile Burma to repair a rare piano vital to the their interests. I loved the tone, descriptions, settings, language and all around loveliness of this book. At points -- the story does drag a bit, but all in all the characters and plot are strong enough to drive the story. It's a wonderful debut and I really enjoyed it. It was just a beautiful book.

Cheers!

There is no longer any point in being defensive about Pynchon. I personally don't have any doubt that, on the strengths of "Gravity's Rainbow" and to a slightly lesser extent "The Crying of Lot 49", he is the greatest living novelist working in the English language, for what that's worth. These books are no more demanding than the average Jacobean tragedy. Which, really, isn't very much.

The rewards of Pynchon have always outweighed the difficulties, anyway. "Mason & Dixon" is perhaps the foundling child of the rumour, current in the 80s, that Pynchon was writing a novel about the Civil War. He ended up giving us "Vineland", his frothiest work, which isn't to say that it's not haunted by malevolent spectres of Nixon and Reagan. "Mason & Dixon" probably demands some vague acquaintance with 18th century fiction, in order to see what Pynchon is getting at stylistically, but really, guys, they're on the shelf at bargain prices, and if you haven't read 'em by now ... Gawd help you.

I use the word "mellow" because this seems to me to be a sadder and more tolerant Pynchon at work. (It may only seem that way cause he's older, and we expect this kind of thing from a Late Style, but nevertheless...I'll get back to you on it when I've read it again.) He manages to combine a mischievous sense of the contemporary with a feel for the America-before-America that seems somehow right, even if I don't know how. A good example is the episode where the stuffy Mason and the goofy Dixon pay a call on Colonel George Washington, who happens to be smoking a pipe filled with some substance or other; the three of them promptly get the munchies, and call upon the servants for some eats. Or the bit when a blue-bespectacled Benjamin Franklin plays a glass harmonica in a chophouse, thereby presaging the phenomenon of the DJ. Or the scene where the pizza is invented. And so on.

What's surprising and new about the book is Pynchon's (apparent) uncomplicated fondness for his two heroes. Mason, pious, middle-class, respectable and socially ambitious - southern English to a T - is forever being embarrassed by the blunt, wide-eyed, Northern Dixon. It's almost as though he sees future silent comedy duos in this unlikely partnership. The book is endlessly cheeky, but it has a beating heart, and the heart is in the relationship of the eponymous surveyors. The closing pages are amongst the most haunting and straightforwardly moving that he has ever written - and yet, in them, there is still a tragic awareness of how American history is going to turn out...

Yes, it's "picaresque", which is to say that it doesn't exactly have a swift, economical plot and isn't exactly unencumbered by digressions. But these are part of the pleasures of literature, or at least they were until the recent craze for the novel that you read in order to be able to say that you've read it. "Mason & Dixon" does not yield all its splendours in one go. Few good novels do. Hang on - make that _no_ good novels. Nabokov always said that you never really read a novel, you only reread it - meaning that if you get it all in the first reading, it probably wasn't worth writing. Pynchon took classes from Nabokov, and this lesson sunk in.

The man is still the greatest, at least in my mother tongue. (Though I'll wave a small flag with John Berger's name on it, just because I can.) I just finished this book, and I look forward to a time when I've forgotten what it's like, so that I can read it again.

I am an English reader who hasn't read any of Pynchon's previous works, and am an occasional visitor to North Eastern USA. For me this was a rewarding book: rambling, yes, but enjoyable for the ride. As an avid collector of obscure facts, historical and scientific, I found plenty of intellectual treats along the way. As for problems with talking dogs, ducks and golems, perhaps more sceptical readers can take comfort in the assurance that the whole story is an (imperfect) narration. The narrator (Rev. Cherrycoke)sometimes displays signs of the mania attributed to the characters of his narration. My main criticism is that changes of scene and perspectives are often seemless and may confuse the unwary reader. I certainly don't think the book would ever have been published if it were a a first novel, so I'm glad Pynchon is 'establishhed' enough to be able to write such entertaining, complex and imaginative material. After Pynchon's (fictional) gloss I won't be able to think of George and Martha Washington and of Benjamin Franklin in quite the same way!

I first read Pynchon about 30 years ago. Unlike some friends who can remember every character and situation of Gravity's Rainbow or V., it was not specific characters or events which most intrigued me in Pynchon's writing, but the sense of place he invokes. The place is not geographic, but experiential. To read Pynchon seriously (and this requires a certain suspension of disbelief), to follow his logic through(it is there, though sometimes difficult)is to experience a paradigm shift. One cannot read Pynchon and fail to experience the world a bit differently afterward. With Mason & Dixon, not only does Pynchon more clearly develop the significance of his theory of Entropy as it applies to human society (the obliteration of the mythic, the homogenization of culture, the blanding of the imagination), but he demonstrates that he has become wordsmith without equal in (at least)current English literature. The meaning of this work aside, it must be read by everyone who writes or wishes to write for the sheer beuty of its prose.This novel represents a synthesis of historic and scientific knowledge, social analysis, wit, insight and sheer mastery of description unequalled by anything I have seen in Twentieth Century literature. Don't be afraid of this book. Be afraid to be afraid of it.