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I listened to this CD when I was driving to work this week. I never feel so moved, amazed, uplifted, and compelled so intensively for the whole 20 minutes of "Inner Voice" by this very talented and world famous classical composer, Chinary Ung, who is Cambodian and has won many world highest awards for his musical talent. I am so proud of him, the golden crops, the goldne genes, the golden bones, the golden leaves of Cambodian heritage who has risen so much to achieve American Dream and Success. You are the icon of American Dream. I am very grateful that your music has touched so many lives and especially lives of the hopelessness and helplessness, and I will continue to play your music to my patients in my medical practice since great music like this one is the Most Powerful Medication. Sopheap Ly, MD, Author of "No Dream Beyond My Reach"

Reviews

I love all the love comes softly movies. My young kids love to watch them as well. it is nice to have good wholesome movies to enjoy on a regular basis.

Loved this movie of Jeanette Okes had all the characters in it good family movie In fact I have two copies of the DVD chfancier

Whenever you see the words "based on" you know the film isn't going to follow the original story...as proves the case in this series. I don't usually like films that are "based on" - particularly if I have loved the original stories - but I did enjoy this series directed by Michael Landon Jr. If you can accept these aren't the stories of the books written by Christian author Janette Oke, they are an enjoyable set of films of love & faith to watch in their own right. This film is my favourite of the series. In this film: Willie & Missie LaHaye arrive on their new land and set to work to start up a home & a ranch. Willie hires some cowboys to help out & Missie becomes friends with her neighbour from the Indian settlement - a blessing to Missie as Miriam is a midwife & promises to be there for Missie when it's her little one's time to enter the world. Missie starts teaching the children in the settlement to read, & also befriends an orphan boy in Tettsford Junction who boards with an elderly lady while his older brother goes out on "jobs" to earn money so they can start up their own ranch one day. Oh, & there's a mean trio of bandits who hold up folks...it's only a matter of time before it's the LaHaye's turn. Missie's quote from Ecclesiates at the end of the film "To everything there is a season, & a time for every purpose under heaven" sums up the faithfulness of God in her life throughout all the changing seasons of life. Buy the Series: Janette Oke the Love Comes Softly Series: (Set of 6 DVDs) Love Comes Softly; Love's Enduring Promise; Love's Long Journey; Love's Abiding Joy; Loves Unending Legacy; Loves Unfolding Dream

This was a great buy...didnt get the first shipment it was lost in shipment la la land.

The whole "Love Comes Softly series is fantastic. I watch all of them over and over.

Reviews

Not a bad movie! It's not your total average teen movie. I enjoy watching it.

This is one of my Comfort Movies. I went through a phase where I chose not to have cable in the house. Just to have background noise in the house- many times I would put in my DVD of Orange County. This movie is comforting to me & when I'm having a bad day- Orange County has a way of lifting my spirits. The cast is perfection. The story line is sufficiently entertaining. It is smart humor- which personally I find to be the best humor. I think the true test of a great movie is when it enters your everyday speech. There are plenty of lines from this film that I use in every day language. So, on that note, get naked and start the revolution.

funny was it suppose to be cuz i didnt laugh,,, poor jack black maybe had a funny moment ,,, uhhh just didnt like this one dont pay for this one borrow it from a crackhead or dopefiend cuz they prally have it and cant sell it!!!

This dvd was a great value and I recieved it within a few days of ordering. I am very pleased with this purchase.

This story is fresh and funny! The main reason I love watching this film! You also could never have a better cast

Reviews

I saw Part I of this series when it originally aired on PBS many years ago. I bought this to see the remaining episodes. It was a worthwhile purchase! I honestly think my area PBS stations only aired this one time, which wouldn't surprise me, given that it really is about--as its description says clearly--the lesbian relationship between these two women and its impact on ALL of those, but especially their husbands, around them. Everyone in this production is a fine actor. The story is inherently interesting, in part because it involved at least one famous person, Vita Sackville-West. And these women, even without one another's dynamic relationship, were interesting people by themselves. I must admit, to me, this production is driven by character and conflict. If you want typical action-packed, fast-paced American viewing, this is NOT for you. If you abhor lesbianism (for whatever reasons), this is not for you. I did find myself splitting up these episodes, watching each on a different night, over three nights. Much of this story is, at least I think, depressing. I simply couldn't watch more than one episode a night without having it make ME feel down, but I'm very glad I have this production. It was worth investing in.

I'm appalled by all the positive reviews of this rather tired and maudlin film which is said to be based on the altogether wonderful book "Portrait of a Marriage" by Nigel Nicolson. As far as adapatations go, this is one of the least faithful I've ever encountered. Either the writer of the film used various sources other than Nicolson's book, or she made things up (which is not likely). Gone is the rich history of her mother and grandfather, of growing up, of her later years and relationship with Virginia Woolf. Only a brief line or two mentions Vita's first romance with Rosamond. This is not a portrait of a marriage, but rather the portrait of an affair. Vita is portrayed as a spoiled malcontent trapped in a loveless marriage (which is the opposite of the portrait in the book). The cast is not at fault; indeed they are all to be praised (especially McTeer). Likewise, the production elements are all first rate. It is the direction, teleplay and dramatic pacing which are at odds with the source material. The characters are poorly drawn, and their motivations not well articulated. What about Violet has captured and possessed Vita, is it her personality,her sexual magnatism, is she thrilling and vibrant? Not here. We have no "real" clue as to what has brought these two women together in such an all consuming passion. These characters - as depicted - are spoiled rich brats; and it was hard for me to give a damn about them and their "classy" problems. The book is so rich is detail, history and atmosphere which this film doesn't even attempt to capture. It is a one note affair (pardon the pun) and one I can not in good faith recommend. Please, please, please, read the book and skip the film.

"Portrait of a Marriage" is the superb, controversial Masterpiece Theater miniseries from 1990. Nearly two decades old, it was shocking at the time, before the show became the redundant "Masterpiece Classic" and more historically than emotionally authentic. "Portrait" has endured. In the '90s, the Bloomsbury group inspired numerous movies, from this series to Sally Potter's "Orlando" and Emma Thompson in "Carrington." "Portrait of a Marriage" is a biopic of feminist author Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson. They married, and had a deep emotional bond, despite the fact Harold had flings with handsome young men, and Vita carried on with women--such as Virginia Woolf. The series is quite affecting in showing their affectionate, passionate devotion. Janet McTeer and David Haig are an excellent, credible couple. Their marriage is endangered by Vita's longtime friend, Violet Keppel (Cathryn Harrison). Vita is torn between her husband's devotion and Violet's flighty passion. Harold provides constancy,despite the fact he has a handsome unseen lover named Edward in Paris. Vita and Violet are impassioned&obsessed. One can argue that it was the infidelity and the obsession that was the problem, not the homosexuality. "Portrait of a Marriage" is a superb period piece. It depicts a time when homosexuality was more stigmatized, and gender roles were more rigid. It's a powerful, passionate portrait.

I too watched this PBS special, but was out of town for the last installment and never did see the ending. I was heartbroken and have been searching for it ever since! The story captivates me and the acting was superb. I am now reading the book by Vita and Harold's son and cannot wait, truly, cannot wait to see the movie again! I am thrilled to find it at Amazon!

I remember seeing this series when it first came out in England many years ago. I recently bought the DVD's issued here in the US. Seeing it again, so many years later, did not diminish the effect it had on me. I was quite surprised by this and I think that fact alone says something about the quality of this production. It is really an examination of the conflict between stable family life and the wild passions of youth. Many people might contemplate the kind of marriage/relationship that Vita had, but very few would actually go through with it. There are some very violent scenes so this is not for the faint of heart, and some heartbreaking ones when you see the effect the turmoil is having on her children. It superbly acted by all parties especially the husbands- they are very hard parts to play. Janet McTeer is absolutely perfect as Vita. Many people know of Vita Sackville-West because of her later relationship with Virginia Woolf. But it is vital to understand her first major extramarital affair with Violet to understand the context of her later relationships with other women. For gardeners out there thinking that this might show Sissinghurst, a word of caution, most of the action takes place while Vita and Harold were creating their Long Barn garden, not Sissinghurst. But there are some divine shots of Sissinghurst (especially the White garden) at the very end.

Reviews

i was once a loyal colin harrison's reader, but such loyalty was ruined almost completely after this 'finder'. what a let-down! i struggled to the middle and finally realized that i couldn't read along anymore. the 'ray' guy created by harrison this time simply won't hold together. a veteran soldier and fighter, yet became such a lamer and wimpy, witless and timid guy when tried to solve the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. the structure of this book was so poor that had continuously forced me out of focus. there were so many unnecessary uninteresting paragraphs, sentences, descriptions littered among pages that just too many and too much for me to go on. i dropped this book on p.149, and considered a complete waste of my time on those pages.

I had not read any of the author's work until this past week and admit to having purchased it on the run. But was pleasantly surprised at his plot and execution. The fact that the venue for his plot takes place in my home town and the two neighborhoods I have grown up in and currently live in went a long way to spark my interest to see if he got it right. The characters were true to form; the neighborhoods and their environs were spot on. A fast and compelling read, perfect for a long trip. Highly recommend it for any Brooklyn native or not!

A taught story, interesting characters, and a slew of cleverly crafted sentences make this one of the better thrillers I have read. A horrific murder takes place, and the story takes off deftly linking together a pharmaceutical executive, a hero with a tragic past, and a group of Chinese investors who have found a nifty way to profit off the stock market. But even without the plot, Harrison is so good at writing about the small details that you can see, hear, and smell everything that is taking place. And unfortunately, smelling everything won't be so great.

I agree with the other reviewers that the plot on this one is a bit contrived and that it depends too much on one-in-a-zillion coincidences (how likely is it that the father of the hero is going to be a police detective who, thirty years earlier, worked on a case involving the story's villain, then just a 17-year-old kid?). The ending is especially cheesy. Harrison does everything but tie a damsel in distress to a railroad track with the train whistling in the distance. But the basic plot device, while perhaps a stretch, is a lot of fun, and there's verve to the writing. I also liked the New Yorkiness of it. You get the feeling Harrison really knows and loves New York. So just turn off your b.s. detector and enjoy. It's a pretty rippin' read.

I can't believe the reader praise for this book. The plot is both contrived and overlayered, the characters are one-dimensional formula types (your "good guys," your "bad guys," and, of course, your "superman" hero), the editing is terrible, much of the story is implausible, and most disappointing of all, the resolution is entirely dependent on several unbelievable coincidences (the crutch of poor mystery writers). Two examples: 1) Editing: At one point the "hero" is forced to accompany some men on a drive, leaving his truck in his driveway. While gone, his truck is briefly removed then put back in place. When our "hero" is released and returns, "his truck is back in the driveway, he noticed." How did he know it was removed? 2) Coincidence: Our 'hero" is searching the apartment of his girlfriend, who has been missing for several days. Upon leaving the apartment, without clues, he just happens to come in contact with a neighbor. And although the girl was trying to be as secretive as possible, it just turns out that she had revealed to her neighbor certain specific details of her job, including an important obscure location so necessary for the resolution of the plot. And of course it just so happens that the neighbor reveals this vital information to our hero -- so the story can continue. One newspaper reviewer actually favorably compared this novel to "Bonfire of the Vanities." What an insult to Tom Wolfe!

Reviews

The author can write. Big long paragraphs fill the pages. It goes on & on. It does hold interest, but to what end? It just doesn't satisfy. A writer in need of a good editor.

Harrison is quite a good writer. He paints very vivid characters and scenes. This book about a famous columnist who gets caught up in muddle as several storylines all come together on top of him. Parts of the story are a bit of a stretch and though I read the ending twice, I couldn't quite understand how the columnist knows what to do in the steps leading up to the finale. But whatever - the ride is quite fun and worth a few gimmes. The characters are interesting and engaging. The storylines clever and different from the run of the mill. Definitely recommend it. Note: This book is not as violent as the other book I read of his - Afterburn. I'm not particularly squeamish, but that story had some seriously violent scenes. This one has none of that - good family entertainment. Well maybe not quite, but not violent.

Porter Wren lives off the grime and guts of the city: he sells violence, pathos and vicarious thrills through his newspaper column, and he searches for the human side of Manhattan's underworld-the story of a girl shot while holding her wedding dress, the story of a man who jumps out of a building holding a baby... or But when Wren runs into a beautiful woman, Caroline Crowley, at a billionaire's party, he is led off on a trail of sexual obsession and blackmail. Caroline's husband, brilliant young playwright Simon Crowley, was found dead under a demolished building, murdered under mysterious circumstances. But before he died, he hid an incriminating tape of his wife and the billionaire Hobbs, which Hobbs wants back, no matter what the cost. And so in helping Caroline, and being seduced by her, Wren leads us into a twisted tale of unsolved murder and bizarre acts. Harrison does a masterful job blending characters and storyline. He tells us about Porter Wren in Wren's own words-normally a loving husband and devoted father, he falls easily under Caroline's spell-and tells us why, in a way that explains why normal men stray. We also meet the playwright Simon Crowley, post-mortem, with his penchant for filming everything about the city, from the conversations of ordinary people to extraordinary things-include his own murder. Caroline has set a bloodhound loose on the trail of more than one missing film, and despite his obsession with her, Wren will not stop until he unearths every last clue. Harrison has written other thriller like The Finder and Afterburn, and his style is so intense, his works so well-plotted, that he deserves his international bestselling status. He's a new author for me, and all I can say is that I want to get hold of more of his books and dive in for the sheer pleasure of losing myself in the story. Armchair Interviews says: If you are not familiar with this author, then get started reading him. He's worth your attention. Author's Web site under construction: www.ColinHarrison.com

Porter Wren, prominent New York tabloid columnist, is approached by a beautiful woman while attending a society party. The woman, Caroline Crowley, entices Wren with bait he cannot resist--she has a story to tell. Wren's decision to listen to that story has fateful consequences, placing his marriage and his life at risk. Caroline is the widow of Simon Crowley, an up and coming movie director who died under mysterious circumstances. Over the years, Simon, a devoted student of the bizarre, compiled a collection of covertly filmed videos chronicling hundreds of strange and disturbing examples of human behavior. Since Simon's death, Caroline has been threatened by corpulent billionaire Hobbs, an Aussie press lord who believes she possesses a tape which may be damaging to his interests. Caroline, professing to know nothing about the tape, asks Wren to find it. Seduced by the woman and her story, Wren agrees, altering his life forever. Harrison exploits classic noir archetypes--the femme fatale, the evil "Fat Man", and the protagonist in over his head--and successfully updates them. In Manhattan Nocturne, these stock characters are edgier, more three dimensional. The seductive female is more complex than the scheming sirens of yesteryear, the villain feels pain, and the hero, often the victim in these pieces, is savy and resourceful, although not enough to completely salvage the situation. Their interaction propels the narrative; their believabilty gives the book its credibility. As narrator, Wren, a trained observer, misses very little. Painfully self aware, he describes the outer depravity he sees and the inner turmoil he feels. Readers are treated to a variety of stunning imagery, rendered in telling detail. This imagery, especially vivid when Wren describes the city and the events assayed in Simon's videos, sometimes threatens to overwhelm the ongoing storyline. But Harrison maintains control, unraveling the web he creates with great skill. Manhattan Nocturne works on several levels--equal parts memoir, hard boiled crime novel, and reflection on the dark side of New York City, the book is compelling reading. Put it on your list.

The artistic temperment in NYC gone wild and why not?, This novel portrays art with myriad consorting muses taken to the extremes of passion and enabled at every moment for this creation to create and finalize itself whatever the cost. Where but in 1970's Manhatten, partly staged and choreographed in the bowels and skylights of a multi storied modernized early 1900 Bowery warehouse, with elevators, like grilled ornate cages (see Bladerunner or Last Tango) and the artist maddened wild delirious, or is it rather, the artist committed to his obsessively well planned spontaneous yet not quite illogical living creations. Yet all is foiled by love! Very last minute-y of course by a mere human gallant though rottweilers be in hot pursuit. Read it! Particularly if you like anything Colin Harrison wrote, read this one. I think it to be his true masterpiece! Beware! NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART! Manhatten Nocturne has a good great fine and elegant ending. Pure suspense involving an artist whose perversions are shown to be truly part of creation's logic. To quote a noir writer.....First you dream then you die....... If this is based on a true situation, the NYC police have shredded the police records/ reports if indeed they were even notified. A Fine thriller you won't put down easily. I read it 3 times and will again! Do read it if only for the small story told at the end; an exhausted North Dakota father finally gives a young girl her much sought after horse.

Reviews

A lot of people compare this book and others that Colin Harrison has written (I've read only this one) to The Bonfire of the Vanities. Having read both books, I can't see the similarities, except for maybe some black humor. Wolfe's novel is a satire, and Harrison's is something different. What did strike me, however, in reading The Havana Room was the similarity to The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby becomes "Jay" John Rainey . A first-person narrator, Bill Wyeth in Harrison's book, and Nick Carraway in Fitzgerald's, give you the proper distance and provide verisimilitude to the somewhat murky mystery. Long Island's North Shore is West Egg in Gatsby and North Fork in The Havana Room. Daisy Buchanan finds a descendant in Eliza Carmody. Rainey deliberately sacrifices himself as Gatsby does, for people one senses are unworthy. The conclusion of Gatsby could be the conclusion of The Havana Room: "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy -- they smashed up things and creatures and then ... and let other people clean up the mess they had made..." ... Having a good friend suffering from emphysema, I appreciated the suffocation metaphor embodied by the novel's main character.

Jim Thompson is my favourite crime novelist; Michael Ledwidge is number two. Harrison's novel The Havana Room is his first novel I read and it is a revelation. Original, candid and ingenious. He is on his way to become my number three. Next to read: Afterburn and Manhattan Nocturne.

One day Bill Wyeth is an upscale Manhattan lawyer with the requisite beautiful wife, eight-year-old son, oversized apartment and a bright financial future. When Wyeth falls asleep at night he may be a bit bored with the predictability of his world, but contentedly falls into dreams knowing he is safe. Wife Judith is already planning for a vacation home, Timothy hosting a birthday-slumber party for eight friends, a few of them sons of influential men his father wants to impress. On the night of the party, when Bill assumes he is performing a good deed, a tragic accident occurs and a boy lies dead. Suddenly the world drops away as the grieving father takes revenge the only way he can, destroying Wyeth's carefully constructed career. Judith panics, files for divorce and moves with their son from the east coast to the west. Wyeth learns how quickly a fall from grace can alter the direction of his life from an upward trajectory to a slippery slope that seems to have no bottom, left with little cash and a few nice suits in a third floor walkup. Harrison's talent shines in this dense novel, a happy man's descent into the darker corners of the city that wealth and privilege avoid, where crime is rampant and the struggle to survive is ferocious. Wandering the chaotic streets of his new neighborhood, Wyeth discovers a popular steakhouse that has been a staple in the area for generations. He makes himself a regular, ensconced at table 17, even beginning a long flirtation with the attractive manager, Allison Sparks. Allison is a bit dangerous, but this appeals to Bill, who has little left to lose. He doesn't realize he has farther to fall, but of course, Bill is a naïf in this world, still nursing predictable hopes with marginal success, measuring all by what he knows; he is fascinated by a closed, invitation only room at the steakhouse, the Havana Room, deeply curious about what happens there and the fact that only Allison can issue invitations. When Allison asks a legal favor from Bill for her current flame, he reluctantly agrees; it concerns a multi-million dollar transaction that will take place in the Havana Room. Allison's friend, Jay Rainey, appears an intelligent, straight-forward client, but Wyeth advises Rainey under duress and a time constraint that makes him uncomfortable as the attorney of record. And Wyeth has reason for concern- soon enough he is embroiled in an increasingly suspect business deal that has troubling ramifications. Every favor he does for Rainey pulls Bill deeper into a morass from which he is unable to extricate himself, pursued and kidnapped by thugs, pressured for information by the new owner of the property and searching for his suddenly unavailable client, a man with a tragic past and hopeless future. Harrison delves into the murkiest corners of the human heart, the small cruelties families inflict on one another and the greed of the powerful in a complicated tale that ends one violent night in the Havana Room, the mendacity of others exposed: "Like insect colonies and creeping plants, these intrigues need a bit of moisture and darkness to thrive. " Luan Gaines/ 2008.

I read this book after reading Afterburn, which was stellar. Harrison constructs atypical, unpredictable plot movements with a very literate style. Good character development, nice prose, and unexpected twists and plot development. Havana Room is a ridiculous, implausible, poorly executed story. Worst of all, Harrison relies on the very sloppy, lazy literary technique of keeping the reader in the dark about essential elements of the plot until it is revealed all at once by a single character (read: the author) explaining it all in one fell swoop with a big long monologue. I have written better material than this myself and I am in no way a writer in Harrison's league. I don't know if he had to produce this piece of drivel to pay his taxes or fulfill a book contract but I say with confidence that he is a fine writer as evidenced by Afterburn and the outstanding review that I just read of his newest novel, released in April of 2008. So.....read Afterburn and I will check out the new one but this.....is a waste of time.

The characters interwining stories along with the secrets of the Havana Room makes this a compelling read. I throughly enjoyed it.