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Marian died by her own hand exactly one year ago. The author approaches Marian's death from the viewpoints of the people that touched her life including her lover, her best friend, and even her enemies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Seems the characters took the title to heart
This book is about how the suicide of a woman named Marian affects those who knew her. All these people have problems. They hate their jobs. They hate their lives. Some hate both. An example of this is a cop more interested in winning a crime pool than really helping people. We don't really get to know the people in these stories including Marian, which would seem to me to be essential. She has bad luck with men, had a couple of abortions and got into drugs. We really don't find out much more about her than that. The only character we really get to know is the dwarf panhandler/pickpocket named Jocko. His story is well fleshed out and so is he. We get a sense of who he is and how he sees the world. I would have liked to read more about him. If not for the story about him reading this book would be a complete waste of time. I found this book's title to be very appropriate since the characters don't have much of a voice. I would give this one and a half stars if I could, but since I can't it has to settle for one.

AS I LAY DYING in Manhattan
I had the pleasure of studying under Madison Smartt Bell at the University of Iowa's Writers Workshop in the late 1980s, and THE YEAR OF SILENCE was the only impression I'd had of him. But what an impression! Set in various parts of Manhattan andmy home town of Brooklyn, I was in awe of this writer's command of his craft and his knowledge of the city. I figured he's spent decades honing his talents. When I arrived at the workshop, I discovered that Bell was NOT from New York City and that he was younger than me. Naturally, I wanted to strangle him.

Anyway, THE YEAR OF SILENCE is a wise and sympathetic novel that prompted as many re-readings as there are narrators. Every voice is honest (even the con artist/breaking-and-entering specialist) and, above all, appealing in their own ways. Structurally, the multiple points of view is very effective, especially when you consider the book is set in the city where a person can touch so many lives (and is set in the city where everyone thinks their point of view is so important). However, the fact is that the death of the protagonist, Marian, did affect so many people who, on the surface, seem so disaffected. Marian, herself, is given a chance to speak before her untimely passing. In its way, the novel is a sort of AS I LAY DYING set in 1980s New York City.

The strength of THE YEAR OF SILENCE, and I'll repeat this, is the profound appeal, the extreme humanity, of its narrators. I almost wish each one had his or her own novel. My favorite is an invalided old woman whose grandson races her through the NYU area in her wheelchair. Although she had only known Marian in passing, the news of her death prompts one of the most elegant but simple reveries on life, death and old age. THE YEAR OF SILENCE captures New Yorkers in a way that has rarely been done before. Of course, it was written by an out-of-towner. ... Read more

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From the bestselling author of Soldier's Joy and Waiting for the End of the World comes a novel about the perils of living an unexamined life that "scratches the underbelly of America's dispossessed" (The Detroit News), as two men living on the fringes of society come to grips with who they are and their chances for survival. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Absorbing and moody--a really good read.
In Save Me, Joe Louis, Madison Smartt Bell has a way with putting his reader right in the middle of things. Whether the protagonist Macrae is sitting in seedy NYC bar or on a creaky porch down South, he gives you suchwonderful, rich detail that you never for a moment doubt what's going onand, truly, can see it all as if you were there, too. It is emotionalwithout being too sentimental (or sappy). It doesn't have a neat and tidyending, yet you close the book feeling satisfied. I highly recommendthis--I was impressed. I plan to read more of his work ASAP.

Stunning...as finely tuned as you'll ever read.
This is the saga of Charlie and Macrae, two fringe dwellers thrown together by chance.As their story unfolds, their forays into petty crime escalate into horrific violence and madness.Bell is one of the best writers around.Pick up "Save Me, Joe Louis" and get hooked ... Read more

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When little girls become the victims of a serial killer's rage, an insomniac's gifts come violently into play in this riveting novel by one of today's greatest writers--author of Barking Man and Other Stories and Waiting for the End of the World. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Hello...is there a story in here somewhere?
I purchased this because I read about a movie being made based on it.Allegedly, it was all about an American hypnotherapist helping Scotland Yard with a serial killer case.Well, that part of the book takes up about ten pages.I know some people enjoy reading just for the words -- sort of like poetry.And there's no doubting that these are good words.However, if you're looking for a story, look elsewhere.

Funny/sad story of an insomniac hypotist.
One of the best novels of recent years. Bell's story of an insomniac hypotist is by turns funny, scary, perplexing, intriquing, and almost any other adjective that inspires interest. All of Bell's fiction ranks among the best being written today, but Dr. Sleep and Waiting for the End of the World are especially rich examples of his earlier work. ... Read more

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A reissue of E. E. Cummings'slong-unavailable, yet pointedand moving story of a journey through Soviet Russia.Unavailable for more than fifty years,EIMI finally returns. While sometimestermed a "novel," it is better described as anovelistic travelogue, the diary of a trip toRussia in the 1930s during the rise of theStalinist government. Despite some contempt forwhat he witnesses, Cummings's narrator has aneffective, occasionally hilarious way of evoking feelings of accord and understanding. As EzraPound wrote, Cummings's Soviet Union is laid"out there pellucidly on the page in all itsSlavic unfinishedness, in all of itsDostoievskian slobberyness....Does any man wishto know about Russia? 'EIMI'!"

Astylistic tour de force, EIMI is amélange of styles and tones, the prosecontaining many abbreviations, grammatical andsyntactical shifts, typographical devices,compounds, and word coinages. This isCummings's invigorating and unique voice at its finest, and EIMI is without question one of his most substantial accomplishments.

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“Fresh . . . solid . . . full of suspense and intrigue.”—Publishers WeeklyAntoine Lavoisier reinvented chemistry,overthrowing the long-established principles ofalchemy and inventing an entirely newterminology, one still in use by chemists.Madison Smartt Bell’s enthralling narrativereads like a race to the finish line, as thevery circumstances that enabled Lavoisier tosecure his reputation as the father of modernchemistry—a considerable fortune and socialconnections with the likes of BenjaminFranklin—also caused his glory to be cut shortby the French Revolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Off with the chemist's head!
I didn't quite like this book for several reasons. First, I am not sure how much of the book is original material that was derived from original sources. For one thing, the Notes section at the end gives me the impression that most, if not all, of the quotations in the book are regurgitations of what was already in Lavoisier's previous biographies. Gathering up all the existing biographies of a person and then writing a "new" biography out of them doesn't sound like a big deal to me.

Second, I found the author's habit of mixing up the chronological orders of events quite confusing and annoying. Example: the very 1st sentence of the book is about the events of 1793, the year before Lavoisier died; as the chapter progresses, the narrative moves backward; rather annoying. Another example: chapter V begins in August 1789, but on the next page we suddenly return to March 1789 and start over again; rather confusing.

Third, Mr. Bell's apparent lack of a background in chemistry seems to have introduced a few errors that an editorial review should have corrected. Example: The footnote on page 94 states that "Carbon dioxide dissolved in limewater {Ca(OH)2(aq)} precipitates carbonate ion {CaCO3}." What precipitates is not carbonate ion, but calcium carbonate proper, CaCO3. Also, I had never seen the use of curly brackets ({}) around chemical formulae before.

Criticism aside, I did learn from this book, but that was mostly because I knew very little about Lavoisier's life before.

Revolutionizing Chemistry In a Time of Revolution
Antoine Lavoisier, a meticulous laboratory chemist, was one of three European chemists credited with the discovry of oxygen; however, he is remembered even more for developing an effective language for chemistry itself. Unfortunately, Lavoisier is also known for his tragic death by guillotine.

Many accounts of the early years of chemistry are at best confusing, some even bewildering, largely because alchemy's secrets (in many cases poorly understood to begin with) were disguised and obfuscated by codes, ciphers, arcane terms, and even literary metaphors. Despite this inherent difficulty, Madison Smartt Bell's examination of the formative years of modern chemistry is surprisingly clear and lucid. Lavoisier in Year One will appeal to a wide audience.

The young Lavoisier learned in university classes that the presence of phlogiston (the 'matter of fire') in a substance was responsible for the combustibility of that substance. Charcoal, wood, and sulfur burned readily because they contained significant phlogiston.

The process of smelting ores was described as the transfer of phlogiston from charcoal to the ore; the ores absorbed the phlogiston, thereby becoming refined metals. In calcinations (now call oxidation) metals were heated and transformed back into ores, thereby releasing their phlogiston.

Obviously, one serious drawback to this widely accepted explanation was that phlogiston had never been observed in the laboratory.

For years Lavoisier directed his efforts toward understanding the essence of fire and the nature of air.He compiled a detailed account of all earlier research on on free air and 'fixed air' (carbon dioxide) by French, English, German, and other European scientists. He carefully repeated earlier experiments, using state of the art scientific instrumentation, some that he devised himself.

There is disagreement on whether the discovery of oxygen should be attributed to France (Lavoisier's eminently breathable air), England (Joseph Priestly's dephlogisticated air), or Sweden (Carl Wilhelm Scheele's fire air). The basic problem is that Lavoisier, Priestly, and Scheele were slow to understand exactly what they had discovered.

Finally, in a paper to the French Academy of Sciences in 1777, Lavoisier stated: "I shall henceforward designate dephlogisticated air or eminently breathable air ...by that of le principe oxygine."With this new term 'oxygen', Lavoisier clearly won the nomenclature battle.

But even more importantly, in his later years Lavoisier brought forth an entirely new language for naming substances. This new lexicon would no longer employ arbitrary names, but use terms which expressed chemical relationships.

For example, from the name alone a student of chemistry can immediately recognize that calcium nitrate is a product that has a higher oxygen content than calcium nitrite. This language for naming substances encapsulated the results of laboratory measurements. Lavoisier indeed changed the face of chemistry.

Bell's historical account of Lavoisier is equally a story of a revolution gone awry, a tale of terror and senseless executions.

The French Revolution envisioned fundamental changes to all aspects of society. Some innovations, such as the metric system survived, while others have been forgotten.

A new calendar divided each month into ten three-day cycles, and each day into ten periods of 100 minutes. Each minute consisted of 100 seconds. The French Revolutionary calendar began year one on September 22, 1792, the day on which the French Republic was formally established. Lavoisier's encounter with the French Revolution's dread Committee of Public Safety was in Year One.

Lavoisier in the Year One is a good addition to the Great Discoveries Series. It is among my favorites.

I also recommend Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel (by Rebecca Goldstein), and Einstein's Cosmos: How Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (by Michio Kaku), and Miss Leavitt's Stars: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe (by George Johnson).

Lavoisier Great scientist
Very good book. Explains the dificult times of the French revolution, that caught Lavoisier in the guillotine. Interesting detail on his experiments, and how he did careful scientific research. Many interesting tid-bits on his personal life. Explains how he was careful in doing his experiments & careful in drawing his conclusions. Good examples even today on good experimental procedures. Explains how he discovered Oxygen, at about the same time as Priestly in England.

Lavoisier: "Father of Modern Chemistry"
In Lavoisier in the Year One, Madison Smartt Bell makes a good effort in giving a glimpse into the life of one of the most well-known scientist of his time, and also a rather influential politician.Bell starts by giving an insight into the influential figures, such as Abb'e Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who first brought Antoine Lavoisier in contact with the scientific world. Bell reveals the benefits that Lavoisier received as a politician, such as having taxes support for his research; a benefit that other aspiring scientists lacked. Bell illustrates that as Lavoisier made strides, he introduced different theories that differed from the statues quo, such as his theory about combustion. Bell essentially makes it noticeable that Lavoisier did not face resistance for such theories, but Bell does introduce an antagonist force known by as Jean-Paul Marat. Bell achieves his goal of giving detailed insight into a scientist's life.
However, the biography at times presents itself unclear as it tends to go off topic and fails to make connections. More importantly it is unclear to see at times how what Lavoisier had accomplished, influenced the future. Since Lavoisier is "Father of Modern Chemistry," he has much to pass on to major figures in the scientific world. Besides some misguiding in the biography, it presents itself well and it is worthy of respectful recognition.

Lavoisier: A Man of Mysteries
Lavoisier in the Year One is a complex biography that discusses both the life of Antoine Lavoisier and also the times that he lived in.Lavoisier was a very intelligent man that lived a multifaceted life.Lavoisier is best known for his work as a scientist, and more specifically a chemist.Known as the "Father of Chemistry," Lavoisier turned chemistry into a mainstream science that was respected by the scientific community as a whole.Before Lavoisier, chemistry was simply a hobby that was essentially a fact-based form of alchemy.This biography discusses how Lavoisier became the man that would change the world of science permanently.

Lavoisier was much more than a chemist.He served various other roles as a scientist, such as a debunker of false scientific claims submitted to the French Royal Society.Lavoisier should also be remembered for the role he played as a member of the French government.He was an inspector for the Tobacco Commission of France, and cracked down both on tobacco smugglers and on those who grew adulterated tobacco.Later, Lavoisier was the head of the Gunpowder Administration, and his efforts to increase the French arsenal proved vital to the American Revolution, as the American revolutionaries received most of their arms from the French.Other major government affairs that Lavoisier was involved in include financing, and the construction of a wall around Paris to prevent goods from being imported into the city without the transporters paying a tax on the goods.Unfortunately, it was his role in these various government affairs that led to his downfall; Lavoisier would be executed by the radical Jacobins during the Reign of Terror in May of 1794.

Chemistry is a subject that is based around elements.In the mid-to-late 18th century, the Aristotelian theory of four elements (fire, earth, air, and water) was beginning to lose popularity after having existed for centuries as the unquestioned truth.Georg Stahl, a German physicist and chemist, came up with the idea of the "phlogiston," which he believed was essentially the driving force behind every effervescent reaction.Lavoisier didn't really believe that the phlogiston existed, even though the idea was gaining popularity at exponential rates.Lavoisier exploited many new inventions, most importantly one which could collect gases that were released during a reaction, to discover and develop the theory of the existence of oxygen.Oxygen was the first element that was discovered, and with its discovery came a chemical revolution.

I believe that Madison Bell was compelled to recount this story because very few people really know about the man that Lavoisier was.Antoine Lavoisier was truly an ingenious man that was involved in just about every part of French society.I believe that Bell simply wanted to share the true story of this complex man.

Anyone interested in reading this book should read it.It is a very well written novel, and Bell shows his mastery of the English language repeatedly throughout the story to bring it to life.This book shows how Lavoisier had ability not only as a scientist, but also as a government reformer, and also how well he was able to keep balance in his life between the two subjects.Bell really did his research with this biography, as he shows how the social developments of the time affected Lavoisier and his work.It truly is a deep book that will show any reader just how intelligent and diligent a man Lavoisier was.
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Contributors to this issue include: Penelope Austin, Aliki Barnstone, Bruce Beasley, Geoffrey Becker, John Bensko, Dinah Berland, Kate Borowske, Michael Collier, Carolyn Cooke, Wyn Cooper, Theodore Deppe, Timothy Donnelly, Walt Foreman, Carol Frost, George Garrett, Frank X. Gaspar, Brian Glaser, Greg Glazner, Loren Graham, Laurie Greer, Allen Grossman, Jeffrey Harrison, William Heyen, Mary-Beth Hughes, Cynthia Huntington, Jonathan David Jackson, Josephine Jacobsen, Bethalee Jones, Cynthia Kadohata, Samara Kanegis, Erika Krouse, Maxine Kumin, David Lehman, Phillis Levin, Kathy Mangan, Cleopatra Mathis, John McManus, Jonathan Musgrove, D. Nurkse, Sue Owen, Patrick Phillips, Stanley Plumly, Lia Purpura, John Robinson, Jane Shore, Christine Stewart, Susan Stewart, Virgil Suarez, Jennifer Tseng, Michael Tyrell, Belle Waring, Michael Waters, Charles Harper Webb, Mark Wunderlich, C. Dale Young, Andrew Zawacki ... Read more

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Word count: 2473. ... Read more

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With a writer’s keen eye, a longtime resident’s familiarity, and his own sly wit, acclaimed novelist Madison Smartt Bell leads us on a walk through his adopted hometown of Baltimore, a city where crab cakes, Edgar Allan Poe, hair extensions, and John Waters movies somehow coexist. From its founding before the Revolutionary War to its place in popular culture—thanks to seminal films like Barry Levinson’s Diner, the television show Homicide, and bestselling books by George Pelecanos and Laura Lippman—Baltimore is America, and in Charm City, Bell brings its story to vivid life.

First revealing how Baltimore received some of its nicknames—including “Charm City”—Bell sets off from his neighborhood of Cedarcroft and finds his way across the city’s crossroads, joined periodically by a host of fellow Baltimoreans. Exploring Baltimore’s prominent role in history (it was here that Washington planned the battle ofYorktown and Francis Scott Key witnessed the “bombs bursting in air”), Bell takes us to such notable spots as the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill, as well as many of the undiscovered corners that give Baltimore its distinctive character.All the while, Charm City sheds deserved light onto a sometimes overlooked, occasionally eccentric, but always charming place. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Not a tour book
This is a story book and not a travel book to help you explore a beautiful city.

entertaining description of an interesting city I visited for 1st time
We visited Baltimore for the first time ever in January 2010.I got this book from library because I thought it was a tourist guide.I was reading the book while I was there. While not a tour guide, it seemed to capture some of the quirkiness of Charm City and covered all of the areas I was in.So it provided great insights into these neighborhoods, most of which the tourist would be interested in seeing.The author started one walk near where they live way north of the center and walked through some iffy areas, so these would probably not be on the tourist route.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 night, 4 day visit to Baltimore and this book enhanced what I observed and learned myself.I'd recommend it even if never go there as it is enjoyable, interesting but definitely a great read if have ever been there.

Book covered such interesting places as the covered markets all over town, what the Shot Tower was built for, and gave a great feel about the grandness of Mt. Vernon neighborhood in its heyday. And now i am an expert on formstone exteriors of houses.

OK Baltimore
I love Baltimore.I've been in the city many times and I would say it's one of Americas most interesting places.I've been a fan of Madison Smart Bell for years.This may be the 12th book written by him that I've read. I expected this to be a winning combination. Strangely it isn't.This is not a bad book.I must admit I expected more.Bell really doesn't have anything interesting to say about Baltimore.Or to put it another way, he's already said it in his novel Ten Indians.If Bell and Baltimore interest you , you'll want to read this book, but if only one of the two catches your interest, I'd pass.

Not bad, but not exciting either
This isn't a bad book, but it isn't terribly enlightening either. Some of the author's choices seemed odd and based solely on his interests and those of his friends - whether they had anything to do with Baltimore or not. He spends a great deal of time writing about Gardel's supper club which was open for only a couple of years, hardly a Baltimore institution by any means. Suffice to say I've lived in this city for 12 years, and found nothing in this book that made me say - hmmm, I never knew that. Still I read it cover to cover and it filled an evenings worth of down time.

Very light reading, and entertaining
As a native Marylander (Frederick) and Johns Hopkins alumnus, I have many pleasant memories of lovely old Baltimore.This book is a light read, but Bell knows the heart of the city well.The reader really gets the feeling of the old neighborhoods and their traditions, mostly due to the author's keen eye and flowing narrative style.He reminds me a bit of Andrei Codrescu.

Bell's interest in architecture becomes obvious almost immediately, and this is entirely appropriate considering the marvelous ensemble of historic buildings in Baltimore.The author's selection of neighborhoods to explore is necessarily selective, for brevity and for safety.Charm City isn't the most hospitable place in the United States, but it reveals a proud history and a truly beautiful cityscape for one willing to dig around a bit.Bell has done just that.

Trust your noodly master, Hon. ... Read more