Epinions Recent Reviews for barakhouda

Bush at a loss

Fri, 29 Nov 2002 13:46:17 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - While I agree that Bob Woodward's book is far from an authoritative minute by minute record of the President's response to 9/11 and his management of the war in Afghanistan, to say that is a hagiography reveals that Blow did a hasty reading of the book...

Amazon.com: Heaven for bookworms

Wed, 23 Jan 2002 00:01:21 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I started shopping at amazon.com when it just sold books and shopping online was a new idea. And I've got to say that I love amazon. I am a big reader -- I read about 3 books a week so I have to have a constant supply of new material. Also, sometimes...

J&R Music and Computer World Online Store: I love these guys!

Tue, 22 Jan 2002 23:42:11 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I have been shopping at J&R Music and Computer since before there was the word Computer in its name -- it used to be JandR MusicWorld, and there used to be no such thing as online shopping or home computers. How many of you young folks can remember...

A Nice Little Addition

Tue, 22 Jan 2002 23:26:40 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I only have a 6Gig hard drive on my Sony Vaio laptop, and with all the great new stuff I got for Christmas (digital camera with fantastic software and a new photo printer and a nice MP3) I was afraid of running out of space. So I looked for an external...

Zuckerman Runs Wild

Sat, 1 Jul 2000 15:06:22 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - The Ghost Writer is the first volume in Philip Roth's trilogy, Zuckerman Unbound. It is about the contradictions between the real and the imagined, between life and literature, and between what is right and the failure to do the right thing. And it is...

Dreams Come Alive in the Barrio

Fri, 30 Jun 2000 13:10:48 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - A rough summary of Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quinonez might leave you with the impression that it is a simple morality tale with right and wrong being starkly defined and justly rewarded or punished. But that would not do justice to this story which goes...

Explosive Contact as Two Lives Meet

Sun, 25 Jun 2000 14:27:02 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - A middle aged garage security guard, Ralph Linderman, is walking his dog in Greenwich Village, and finds a wallet in the street. The identification inside indicates that the item is owned by a John Sutherland, 30 years old who lives in the Village close...

Looking for a superior lens? Look here

Fri, 16 Jun 2000 20:03:30 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I have to admit it. I always wanted to have a Leica, and was envious of anyone who had one. Now I have my own, and I am a very happy lady. There is one reason to spend the extra bucks to buy a Leica minilux. No, not to satisfy your envious nature...

Kowloon Tong:Bunt Mullard Man of Mystery

Fri, 16 Jun 2000 17:48:28 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - Kowloon Tong is Paul Theroux's moody mystery about people caught up in the British hand-over of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. And clearly, Theroux has a very dim view of the communist Chinese motives and methods.

The central...

The Two Faces of January: Suspense, Mystery and Murder

Tue, 13 Jun 2000 13:00:20 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - Highsmith does it again in high form -- that is she shifts the ground beneath the reader's feet as she blurs the line between right and wrong. This novel takes the reader on a psychological roller coaster ride whose pitches and turns are unexpected and...

Cloudsplitter: The Price of Being Right

Thu, 1 Jun 2000 16:24:12 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - If you are interested in things like anti-government militias and cults, or if you are fascinated with American history, or if you want to read about all of these things, then Cloudsplitter is the novel for you. Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks is the...

Empress of the Splendid Season-An Elegaic Love Story

Tue, 16 May 2000 20:53:36 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - "The Empress of the Splendid Season" is Lydia Espana, and the splendid season of the title is the season of love. This book is a love story in so many ways, and it is about coming to terms with yourself, your class and your culture. The time...

Highsmith, Patricia: Ripley Under Water-Evil against Evil

Mon, 15 May 2000 23:49:01 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - In the last of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley books, "Ripley Under Water," it is evil pitted against evil. Tom Ripley is still living the life of a French country squire in a small village about an hour from Paris, and life couldn't be better...

Mojo in the Big Apple

Tue, 9 May 2000 20:53:38 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - Charlotte Carter's amateur sleuth, parttime jazz sax player, Nanette Hayes, has come back to New York and things seem to be going her way. Apparently, Nanette has had a rather disastrous love affair the preceding spring and has returned to her home, New...

Terrific food and chic too

Sun, 7 May 2000 14:34:02 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - Let me start by saying that La Cote Basque has to be one of the finest restaurants in New York. The food is marvelous, the service is almost impeccable, and the ambiance is serene. When I dine out, I always try to order from the specials because I feel...

Really good if you're lucky

Fri, 5 May 2000 12:59:29 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I've been paging through the Red Lobster reviews, and they confirm my experience with the ones I've been to -- when they are well managed you can get a pretty decent meal for the price, but when the management is bad, the whole dining experience can be a...

Victorian England--Gay & Erotic

Mon, 1 May 2000 21:30:34 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I'll admit two things upfront, Tipping the Velvet is an erotic novel and I am not a fan of that genre. That said, I should also say that this novel is important for the issues it explores concerning coming out, and Sarah Waters is an author that I would...

Wonderfully written and fascinating to read

Fri, 28 Apr 2000 22:40:04 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - "Colors of the Mountain" is a book about one man's experience coming of age in the tumult that was China's Cultural Revolution. It is intensely personal and poignant. Da Chen, the author of this memoir was born in 1962 to a family in rural...

Redman, Joshua: I know what I like and that's Joshua Redman

Wed, 26 Apr 2000 17:54:10 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I know what I like and what I like is Joshua Redman, the man and his music. I have held off writing any music epinions because I really don't know anything technical about the subject, but I can't contain myself any longer. So what if I don't really...

My Palm III is dying

Sun, 23 Apr 2000 23:22:01 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I bought my Palm III about two or two and a half years ago, and up until recently I have had nothing but praise for it. I live in New York City so when I move around I'm either using public transportation or walking so I try to keep whatever I am...

Heat Moon, William Least: River Horse-A Journey Across America by Boat

Thu, 20 Apr 2000 13:25:00 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - The most interesting travel books are ones that are about the journey not about the destination, and in some measure River Horse recognizes this dictum. The problem is that William Least Heat-Moon tends to focus not on his observations regarding the...

Highsmith, Patricia: Another interesting Ripley saga

Sat, 15 Apr 2000 16:53:01 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - The Boy Who Followed Ripley poses some very interesting questions regarding the character of Tom Ripley. Is Tom Ripley the cold-blooded psychopath we have seen in earlier novels? Or is he in love with the confused but handsome sixteen year old runaway,...

Highsmith, Patricia: Ripley's Game is Fascinating

Wed, 12 Apr 2000 20:51:51 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - Ripley's Game, the sequel to The Talented Mr. Ripley and Ripley Under Ground, is another fascinating study of the sociopath Tom Ripley. This novel finds Ripley once again living outside of Paris with a beautiful home and an attractive wife. He is now...

Raban, Jonathan: Coasting - The 1980s in review

Sat, 8 Apr 2000 15:39:51 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - In Coasting, written in 1986, Jonathan Raban is not writing about some foreign place, but is studying the contemporary affairs of his country, England. Travel books are often about the places visited, but for Jonathan Raban, the travelogue is not just...

Veselka-sometimes a comfort sometimes not

Thu, 6 Apr 2000 21:51:25 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author barakhouda - I eat at Veselka on a fairly regular basis about once or twice a month, and sometimes it is absolutely wonderful, and sometimes, well, it's not. I think what Veselka does best is breakfast -- the eggs, the bacon, waffles, etc. are consistently...