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Title: The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt ISBN: 0-679-76222-1 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 27 October, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.8 (20 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Rainy day kinda of a book
Comment: I love the way that Byatt pulls you in with the story of mystery and magic, where real life intervenes with fables and fairy tales. I have been a great admirer of her work since I read Possession. This book however, there are stories that are boresom. When I finally reached the story of the title I was somewhat disappointed. It was the plot that had me confused. I wished that she went more with the meaning of the story. What I loved about it was how she mixed reality with fanasty, even though the flashbacks of the character seem to be inapporiate at the time,but I love the humor of the Djinn. It's a good book to read on a rainy day or night.
Rating: 4
Summary: Twisted tales and fresh perspectives
Comment: I've always found A.S. Byatt to be not only entertaining, but also educational. Reading her books is like attending an English lecture by a favorite professor. Suddenly you realize that three hours have gone by and you've been so engrossed that you didn't notice. A.S. Byatt is a wordsmith of the highest order. Her little volume of tales provides a feast for anyone who enjoys the vagaries of the English language. Who wouldn't want to be a "narratologist", like the main character in the title story? I love that word....wish I'd coined it myself! The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, a collection of adult fairy tales, provides a delightful juxtoposition of fantasy and reality, present and past. Things are not what they seem. But of course, if you know anything about fairy folk, you already know this to be true. It's a real treat to find fairy tales that capture the shifting, mercurial nature of "the little people." If you think you're too old for fairy tales, read a few from Byatt's book. Just remember to keep your wits about you lest the author catch you unawares, blissfully expecting a "happily ever after" that never arrives.
Rating: 4
Summary: very very fun, but most of it is recycled from her novels
Comment: So far as I can tell, the Djinn story is the only original thing in this book. The other stories are lifted from her novels in truncated form, kind of pasted in to inflate the size into a book rather than the single story of the title; this is a bit cheap.
Nonetheless, the quality of the Djinn story is simply exceptional, a five-star performance that is perceptive, funny, hopeful, and sad. The protagonist is a middle-aged divorcee, whose entire life is displayed in a single magical instant that transforms her - but not her fate. The images are fabulously well drawn, unforgettable really, and will remain engraved in my memory for the rest of my life. Moreover, the subtlety of the encounter with the supernatural is full of delicious ambiguities and a peek into the fantastic that is one of the best I have ever encountered. I loved it, laughed, and felt wonder all at the same moment.
So I would warmly recommend this book, so long as the reader knows that the rest of it is somewhat disappointing.
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Title: Elementals : Stories of Fire and Ice by A.S. Byatt ISBN: 0375705759 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 11 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Shadow of the Sun by A. S. Byatt ISBN: 0156814161 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 16 April, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Game : A Novel by A.S. Byatt ISBN: 0679742565 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 10 November, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Possession : A Romance by A.S. BYATT ISBN: 0679735909 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 October, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: On Histories and Stories: Selected Essays (The Richard Ellmann Lectures in Modern Literature) by A. S. Byatt ISBN: 0674008332 Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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