Without sounding overly fictional, there is a fairy tale like quality to this story. ... The film adaptation of "The Decameron," Boccaccio's epic that contains "Pot of Basil" is praiseworthy but lacks much of the subtlety of the book. ... An unavoidable problem when turning a book into a film is that movies lack the vagueness that a book can make use of. ... In this way the book could be considered more effective than the film. ... A facial expression, or a subtle gesture can say a lot about a character or their mood and thoughts, while in a book that specific feeling or quality would...

• Word Count: 741
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

" This is the main idea that author Susan Patton tries to convey throughout her book, Marry Smart. ... Marry Smart is a book that I would recommend to someone who either agreed with Susan Patton, or if you disagree with her but can somehow respect what she is saying because it is her opinion. ... I found myself getting very upset trying to read certain parts of this book, because what she was saying was so awful and unfair to women. ... " How the author talks about marriage sounds more like she thinks it is best to find a good husband to get you ahead in life, and that what you do do...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

This sounds almost exactly like Chopin's life style. ... The main theme of the book undisputedly would be going against society to fulfill self happiness. ... Despite the harsh criticism she received for this book, she felt she was right. ... This book has an impact on everyone that reads it. ... Unfortunately, it was not until the 1950's when this book was brought out and republished. ...

• Word Count: 1384
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Spence assumes the role of social historian in his book The Death of Woman Wang. This book is written as a counter to the "depersonalization" of rural China so commonly seen in other historical portrayals of the land. This book is about the immense turmoil during the transition to the Qing Dynasty, told through one county, through the lives of the Chinese people who were so directly affected by the morals and customs of the time period. ... Spence makes the history of China sound like "hell on earth" at many points in the book. ... The role of men and women of 17th century society are d...

• Word Count: 1409
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout this book, it looks as though Janie makes many mistakes in trying to find who she really is, and achieving the respect that she deserves. ... Towards the end of the book, Janie resents her grandmother for "living" her life for her and planning her future. ... The sounds lulled Janie to soft slumber and then she woke up with Tea Cake combing her hair and scratching the dandruff from her scalp." ... This book is very relevant to the course in that it shows and explains the hardships of a woman, in this case a black woman, in the real world. ... This book points out the very problems ...

• Word Count: 1450
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The inclusion of this play in a "World's Classics" book series tells us about how great this play is. ... From these facts, it is quite clear that the character underwent a change too much and that the close of the play sounds almost like a fairy tale. ...

• Word Count: 618
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

She shows very little emotion until Gatsby gives her a tour of his huge mansion embellished with expensive possessions: "Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily" (99). ... This book describes how difficult and complex relationships are. ...

• Word Count: 793
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

One might think that Emma's pregnancy would be a major event in the book, but Flaubert doesn't describe it in nearly as much detail as he does with, for example, the wedding dress or feast. ... When Emma considers jumping out the attic window she hears the sound of the lathe calling her to death, "and the humming of the lathe never ceased, like an angry voice calling her," (Flaubert, p.148). ... Flaubert makes Madame Bovary an interesting book by paying close attention to seemingly small details and loading them with symbolism. ...

• Word Count: 1252
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The God of Small Things received England's 1997 Booker Prize making Arundhathi Roy the first Indian citizen to ever win the honour. This book has become a rapid Indian Best seller. ... She came back to Ayemenem "with asthma, a rattle in her chest that sounded like a far away man shouting" (P.159). ...

• Word Count: 1330
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Ma cried and she wailed and wailed, the sound of her cries circling the house like a spirit and settling on all the corridors and bed where we lay, weeping in silence." ... The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. ... While both are interesting, it is his mother's story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. ...

• Word Count: 1012
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The book states, "He watched her walk down the hall toward the kitchen, watched the rhythmic motion of her legs, her arms, and thought, yes if I'd married Mrs. ... This color scheme is even used to describe the town whereas the monochromatic descriptions in the book are used solely in Abbie and Bill's presence (both characters who prefer one race over the other and oppose their co-existence.). ... This line refers to the male's reaction when the female protagonist in the story turns off the light to the couple's bedroom after they had an intense argument: "The sounds of som...

• Word Count: 1612
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout this book, it looks as though Janie makes many mistakes in trying to find who she really is, and achieving the respect that she deserves. ... Towards the end of the book, Janie resents her grandmother for "living" her life for her and planning her future. ... The sounds lulled Janie to soft slumber and then she woke up with Tea Cake combing her hair and scratching the dandruff from her scalp." ...

• Word Count: 1372
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Life Before Man: Novel Summary and Research Plot Summary A) As Margaret Atwood's Life Before Man begins, the reader is introduced to the initial characters Elizabeth, her husband Nate and their children Janet and Nancy. The reader is also familiarized with Chris, Elizabeth's former lover who h...

• Word Count: 881
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Hopes of marrying and having kids, and a comfortable home sounds great, but I feel as if I will get my hopes up, these things will not happen, and I will let myself down. The quote which struck me the most relates to the entire book as well as many aspects of my experiences with what involves overcoming obstacle. ...

• Word Count: 1048
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

My Dear Tessa, I know my feelings have not been obvious but ever since your jug flew across the room and made contact with my body, I knew I was caught forever. I love you Tessa Gray with a passion that burns a hole in my heart every time I see you. You were the only one to see past my facade and ...

• Word Count: 913
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In the Tale of Genji, we meet a Japanese prince by the name of Genji who over time, developed several relationships with the women of his village. These relationships were developed through his use of charm, his royal status and his good looks to pry into their hearts. These three characteristics he...

• Word Count: 2745
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

It contained several large streets all very much like one another, and many small streets still more like one another, inhabited by people equally like one another, who all went in and out at the same hours, with the same sound upon the pavements, to do the same work, and to whom everyday was the same as yesterday and to-morrow, and every year the counter part of the last and the next." ... His theory of facts is important because later on in the book he will learn that what he thought was good for his children will be bad for them in the end. ...

• Word Count: 3472
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: High School

Using tone and diction and imagery/symbols, the poems "Mending Wall", "A Hundred Collars", and "Home Burial" (among all the other poems) convey a unified theme of the book. ... The word "offence" sounds as though he's saying "a fence", and this is what is setting them apart--a fence. ...

• Word Count: 2189
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

This scene early in the book Linden Hills lays the groundwork for a journey through the neighborhood with Lester and his friend Willie that reveals the negative impact when a society focuses on things and status and loses touch with it's sense of community and family. ...

• Word Count: 2802
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School