- TESTED
"Art never comes from happiness." So says Mancini's mother only a few pages into the novel. Given her own dicey and melodramatic style of parenting, you would think that her son's life would be chock-full of nothing but art. Alas, that's not the case. In the fine tradition of Oedipus, Stephen Dedalus, and Anthony Soprano, Victor hasn't quite reconciled his issues with his mother. Instead, he's trawling sexual-addiction recovery meetings for dates and purposely choking in restaurants for a few moments of attention. Longing for a hug, in other words, he's settling for the Heimlic! h.
Thematically, this is pretty familiar Palahniuk terri! tory. It would be a pity to disclose the surprises of the plot, but suffice it to say that what we have here is a little bit of Tom Robbins's Another Roadside Attraction, a little bit of Don DeLillo's The Day Room, and, well, a little bit of Fight Club. Just as with Fight Club and the other two novels under Palahniuk's belt, we get a smattering of gloriously unflinching sound bites, including this skeptical bit on prayer chains: "A spiritual pyramid scheme. As if you can gang up on God. Bully him around."
Whether this is the novel that will break Palahniuk into the mainstream is hard to say. For a fourth book, in fact, the ratio of iffy, "dude"-intensive dialogue to interesting and insightful passages is a little higher than we might wish. In the end, though, the author's nerve and daring pull the whole thing off--just barely. And what's next for Victor Mancini's creator? Leave the last word to him, declaring as he does in the final pa! ges: "Maybe it's our job to invent something better.... What it's going to be, I don't know." --Bob Michaels
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For Each, There Could Be Only One: They came from the darkest places: secluded monasteries, the Carpathian mountains, galaxies under siege. They were men with the blackest pasts-warriors, vampire monks, leaders of armies-but whose passions burned like dying stars. They had one purpose: to find those women who fulfilled them, completed them, and made them rage with a fire both holy and profane. They sought soul mates whose touch consumed them with desire, yet whose kisses refreshed like the coolest rain. And each man knew that for him there was only one true love-and in finding her, he would find salvation.
For Each, There Could Be Only One: They came from the darkest places: secluded monasteri! es, the Carpathian mountains, galaxies under siege. They were men with the blackest pasts-warriors, vampire monks, leaders of armies-but whose passions burned like dying stars. They had one purpose: to find those women who fulfilled them, completed them, and made them rage with a fire both holy and profane. They sought soul mates whose touch consumed them with desire, yet whose kisses refreshed like the coolest rain. And each man knew that for him there was only one true love-and in finding her, he would find salvation.
Devon Crawford is an officer; Air Force Pararescueman Cam Munro is enlisted. Dev flies medical evacuations; Cam jumps into danger zones to save lives. Dev wants to return home from Afghanistan with her heart untouched; Cam will do anything to win the woman he loves.
Reaching for happiness in a war zone is the last thing Captain Devon Crawford plans, but she can't ignore the feelings she's hidden for so long. Cam's sexy charm and wicked kisses w! eaken her resistance, but she's too afraid of losing him to gi! ve in. < /P>
When Dev's helicopter and crew are shot down and set up as bait by a notorious warlord, Cam risks all to save the team. What he doesn't know is that the trap is set for him*#133;.
83,000 words
Devon Crawford is an officer; Air Force Pararescueman Cam Munro is enlisted. Dev flies medical evacuations; Cam jumps into danger zones to save lives. Dev wants to return home from Afghanistan with her heart untouched; Cam will do anything to win the woman he loves.
Reaching for happiness in a war zone is the last thing Captain Devon Crawford plans, but she can't ignore the feelings she's hidden for so long. Cam's sexy charm and wicked kisses weaken her resistance, but she's too afraid of losing him to give in.
When Dev's helicopter and crew are shot down and set up as bait by a notorious warlord, Cam risks all to save the team. What he doesn't know is that the trap is set for him*#133;.
83,000 words
Olivia, Kelly, Christopher, Jason, and Eva have one thing in common: They're addicts. Addicts who have hit rock bottom and been stuck together in rehab to face their problems, face sobriety, and face themselves. None of them wants to be there. None of them wants to confront the truths about thei! r pasts. And they certainly donât want to share their darkest secrets and most desperate fears with a room of strangers. But they'll all have to deal with themselves and one another if they want to learn how to live. Because when you get that high, there's nowhere to go but down, down, down.Clean presents the revolutionary health program that Uruguayan-born Alejandro Junger, MD, director of integrative medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, has developed over years of practice. Beginning with his own personal experience, Junger leads us through the steps of restoring and rejuvenating our bodies and minds with resources that weâve always had inside us but very often neglected to use. Junger offers a bleak diagnosis of a world that has filled our bodies with toxins. We have come to accept our bothersome health problemsâ"such as allergies, restless nights, anxiety, indigestion, extra weight, acne, head colds, and virusesâ"as givens. We look to over-the-counter! medication to alleviate our daily ailments, a practice that o! nly perp etuates chronic health issues instead of curing their causes. Junger steers us away from self-medicating and claims instead that our health problems can be remedied if we restore our bodies to their full, natural potential. The program is designed for people who live busy lives and find themselves all too often succumbing to toxic fast food diets and poor sleeping and exercise habits. Junger gives the reader ample information and guidance in each chapter of the book, and includes multiple easy-to-prepare and healthy recipes as an appendix. Written in clear, concise, and accessible prose, Clean provides us with the tools to empower ourselves and to take a refreshing, thoughtful look at the way we live today.
