Messages

**Messages**
MsgId	ForumId	UserId	Subject	PostDate	DeletedDate	Verified	TimesRead	Body
14151	11	109	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/18/1999 11:00:01 PM	07/10/1999 4:00:06 AM	-1	48	Hi, Suzz, welcome to Constant Reader. I live just down the road from you.<br> <br> I read this book a few months back and agree with all you said. IMHO a much better book than that other disappeared child novel making the rounds, <i>Deep End of the Ocean</i>. <br> <br> Another CR (Sherry) recommended <i>The Odd Sea</i>, but it took me a while to get around to reading it. I think I was put off by the awkward, cutesy title. Of course, after reading the book, the idea of the title makes complete sense.<br> <br> Ruth<br> <i>Books are cheaper than wallpaper<br>
14157	11	65	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/19/1999 1:48:40 AM	07/10/1999 4:00:06 AM	-1	47	Suzz -- Welcome to CR and thank you to you and Ruth for reminding me I still don't have this one to read. I read Deep End and liked it for the most part though I thought there was some uneveness to it. I want to read The Odd Sea as it sounds extremely well done and I enjoy exploring a topic through different writing and different viewpoints.<br> <br> Dottie<br> ID is an oxymoron!<br>
14358	11	214	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/23/1999 7:22:02 PM	07/15/1999 4:00:07 AM	-1	27	That's so nice of you, Sherry. Perhaps they did have it, but when I looked I didn't see it anywhere! I would have asked, but I was afraid they would find it and I would have to buy it (on top of all those other books that I bought!!!) :)<br> <br> Katie<br> "Everything in moderation, EXCEPT for reading."<br>
14144	11	296	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/18/1999 8:48:24 PM	07/10/1999 4:00:06 AM	-1	46	I devoured this book in one day. Reiken grabs you from the beginning and insists that you enter the world of a family whose 15 year old son Ethan walked down to the end of their driveway one morning and disappeared. Told thru the eyes of Philip, Ethan's brother, it is the story of the journey the family and community embark upon in the wake of his disappearance. <br> <br> Reiken asks the question how are we present and absent in each other's lives. What is the true nature of presence? Of absence? This is a poignant, funny novel which illuminates humanness and art in its pursuit of the keys to presence and absence. In his approach, Reiken reminds me a bit of Graham Swift ... with wonderful riffs into art, literature, nature and creativity as the family and community members try to find their way thru Ethan's presence and then absence.<br> <br> I highly recommend this book. A great read. A grabber. Characters with whom you live, walk and feel.<br> <br> Suzz <br>
14298	11	296	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/22/1999 12:16:51 PM	07/14/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	40	Thanks to all for the welcomes to CR.<br> <br> And, Katie, yes I do know how you feel about Swift. I put the comment in just to entice you and watch your TBR pile grow.<br> <br> Suzz<br>
14310	11	214	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/22/1999 7:56:04 PM	07/14/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	27	Cruel, Suzz, cruel. :) But seriously, I looked for this book at every book store I visited on the weekend. Not one of them had it!!! If they had placed it on the shelves, it would have been in my eager little hands.<br> <br> Katie<br> "Everything in moderation, EXCEPT for reading."<br>
14330	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/23/1999 7:10:51 AM	07/15/1999 4:00:06 AM	-1	33	Katie, I'll just lend you the book, okay? Email me. And why don't the stores have it? I wonder if it's going to come out in paperback soon.<br> Sherry <br>
14158	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/19/1999 7:35:16 AM	07/11/1999 4:00:09 AM	-1	47	Suzz, Welcome. <i>The Odd Sea</i> was about my favorite book of 1998, and I read a few books that year. Isn't it something? The writing is so clean and smooth, the characters are alive, the subject matter, while sounding at first like tabloid material, is transformed into a look into the depths of what it is to be human and whole and alive. It certainly deserves much praise, and a lot more attention. <br> Sherry <br>
14159	11	214	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/19/1999 8:11:11 AM	07/11/1999 4:00:09 AM	-1	48	I have been meaning to look for this on one of my sporadic trips to the library. But then you had to go and invoke the name of SWIFT! You know how I feel about Swift, Suzz. I'll be looking for The Odd Sea immediately! :)<br> <br> Katie<br> "Everything in moderation, EXCEPT for reading."<br>
14165	11	4	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	06/19/1999 9:39:18 AM	07/11/1999 4:00:10 AM	-1	50	Suzz,<br> Welcome to Constant Reader! I read <U>The Odd Sea</U> when it was very new, on Sherry's recommendation, and agree with everything you both said above. It's a very overlooked novel, but then it wouldn't make a very good movie, either. That has a bearing I'm sure.<br> <br> Tonya<br>
17173	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/14/1999 7:54:47 AM	09/05/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	40	Katie, I'm so glad you liked it. Sometimes when I rave about something, I then worry that the book won't live up to expectations. I didn't have much doubt about this book though. It's one book that I would gladly re-read. I may just nominate it for the year 2000 reading list. <br> <br> Sherry <br>
17176	11	109	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/14/1999 11:35:35 AM	09/05/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	41	I read it on Sherry's reco, too. And liked it a lot. Tons better than <i>Deep End of the Ocean</i>. I especially liked the way it ended.<br> <br> Ruth<br> <i>Books are cheaper than wallpaper<br>
17196	11	65	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/14/1999 5:22:20 PM	09/05/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	37	Katie, Sherry, Ruth -- I would vote this one onto the list as I have seen/heard so many posts here with rave reviews! I think it will be interesting to make a comparison to Deep End though -- no matter if it is a positive or a negative I always find it interesting to relate one book to another -- it often helps clarify why one works and the other doesn't -- may even clarify one's own reactions to each of them.<br> <br> Dottie<br> ID is an oxymoron!<br>
17170	11	214	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/14/1999 6:38:45 AM	09/05/1999 4:00:08 AM	-1	40	I finished this book a week ago, but just hadn't had the time to acknowledge it here. <br> Thanks to Sherry and Suzz with their very HIGH recommendations of this book. <br> Sherry very graciously let me borrow her copy and within hours I had picked it up <br> and started to read it. Wait, maybe devoured is a better term. <br> <br> I have never read The Deep End of the Ocean, so I wasn't able to make any <br> comparisons with The Odd Sea, thereby making Reiken's book a stand alone <br> experience for me. The recommendations were not exaggerated one iota; this book <br> is excellent. The Odd Sea touched me on so many levels, but my main kudo is <br> offered for the author's ability to make me feel what the other characters felt...like a <br> hard fist kneading the tissue in the pit of my stomach. The Odd Sea required me to <br> make a considerable emotional investment in the events taking place in this novel. I <br> could do nothing else but comply.<br> <br> The Odd Sea is an incredibly good first novel. I won't say any more about the story <br> itself, and for some reason am unable to find any "right" things to say about it. <br> However, I will echo the others who have read this wonderfully well written, <br> engrossing novel and HIGHLY recommend The Odd Sea. It will definitely be on <br> my best of 1999 list!<br> <br> PS. Sherry, now we'll have to do coffee so I can get the book back to you! :)<br> <br> Katie<br> "Everything in moderation, EXCEPT for reading."<br>
2305	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 8:24:18 AM	09/09/1998 4:00:06 AM	-1	41	I haven't noticed Reiken scheduled for Milwaukee, but I will take a second look. I don't usually keep track of the Barnes & Noble signings, just the local independent. <br> I haven't read a book in a long time that captured dialogue and character so well, with such simplicity. I was knocked for a loop emotionally as well, not out of any sentimentality (I'm knocked over very easily sometimes) or sensationalism, but with pure humanity and depth of feeling.<br> Sherry <br> <br>
2314	11	41	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 7:42:47 PM	09/09/1998 4:00:07 AM	-1	41	This goes on my TBR list too, Sherry.<br> <br> Ann<br>
2306	11	67	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 8:47:42 AM	09/09/1998 4:00:06 AM	-1	46	Sherry,<br> <br> Well, that does it. "The Odd Sea" goes on my TBR list. <br> <br> Robt<br>
2545	11	55	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	09/04/1998 7:19:22 PM	09/17/1998 4:00:11 AM	-1	23	Sherry,<br> Thanks for your recommendation! I got <i> The Odd Sea</i> yesterday from the library and I was hooked in 5 pages.<br> <br> Adele <br>
2298	11	67	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/25/1998 9:29:55 PM	09/07/1998 4:00:10 AM	-1	34	Sherry,<br> <br> Recently, Frederick Reiken did a reading from "The Odd Sea" and a book signing at my local Barnes & Noble which I missed. Too bad. I had a hunch it was something to attend. <br> <br> Robt<br>
2312	11	31	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 7:23:10 PM	09/09/1998 4:00:07 AM	-1	41	Sherry and Robert: I found the Hackney Literary Award on the Internet. It is part of a competition at Birmingham Southern College in Alabama, of course. Get your novel ready and postmark it by September 30 for consideration. The little blurb failed to say who Hackney was--probably a big financial contributor to the college. Pamela, with a lot of time on her hands in steaming Maryland with killer weather<br>
2339	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/27/1998 7:39:41 AM	09/09/1998 4:00:08 AM	-1	37	Pamela,<br> I guess I didn't use the right search engine. I wonder if Dale (where in the world is he, anyway?) has heard of this award or this author. Ann, I think you will like it. The father in the family, on responding to a request to "tell me a story" told about this beaver family, where the daddy beaver was away on a long trip and the mommy beaver was at home waiting for him. This is the story of the Odd Sea. <br> Sherry<br>
2309	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 2:29:56 PM	09/09/1998 4:00:07 AM	-1	51	I hope you like it Robert. I always feel responsible for a book after I recommend it. Have you ever heard of that award that it won? It's called the Hackney Literary Award for First Fiction. I couldn't find anything about it on the web. There are so many awards out there I can't keep them straight.<br> Sherry <br>
2548	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	09/05/1998 8:09:22 AM	09/18/1998 4:00:06 AM	-1	25	I'm so glad you like it so far Adele. Keep me posted. <br> Sherry <br>
2310	11	67	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/26/1998 4:37:26 PM	09/09/1998 4:00:07 AM	-1	44	Sherry,<br> <br> I am unfamiliar with the Hackney Literary Award. However, it seems like an unfortunate choice of name: too similar to hackneyed, don't you think?<br> <br> Robt<br>
2291	11	22	The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken	08/25/1998 5:58:59 PM	09/07/1998 4:00:10 AM	-1	30	<b>The Odd Sea by Frederick Reiken</b><br> <br> I just finished this compelling book by the 1997 winner of The Hackney Literary Award for first fiction. (Has anyone ever heard of this award?) Frederick Reiken is a very good writer. He has a simple, clear style that makes an emotional impact. The story is about a family who is faced with the disappearance of the oldest son. I know this theme sounds familiar, but rest assured, this is an original book. You are left with a sense of wonder at the many ways the human spirit can rebuild itself after a tremendous blow. <br> I started reading this as a break from <i>The Odyssey</I>, and in one of life's little coincidences, I found out that the title <i>The Odd Sea</i> is a child's mispronunciation of that epic story. <br> Reiken looks to be about 16 in the jacket photo, or maybe I’m just getting old. This is a jewel of a book and I expect you will be hearing more from this young man.<br> <br> Sherry <br>
9687	11	109	The Odd Sea, by Frederick Reiken	03/05/1999 1:27:15 PM	03/27/1999 4:00:04 AM	-1	22	Sherry posted about this one some time ago, and later she urged me to read it. I resisted. I think I was put off by the name. I even think I was put off by the meter of the name-it's unmusicality, as it were. It needs another syllable in there. <br> <br> Then, a month or so ago, I ran across the book by chance on the New Books shelves of the library and it insisted on jumping into my hand. <br> <br> And I'm glad it did. I know this was discussed here before, but I just want to add my voice. This is a marvelous book. The best of all the "disappeared child" stories I've read. There's nothing of the tabloids here. And it's about lots more than a disappeared child.<br> <br> The title comes from a child's misinterpretation of The Odyssey. And the book is indeed an odyssey-the tale of a younger brother's coming of age and coming to terms with the disappearance of his talented, much-loved older brother. <br> <br> The younger boy is funny and observant-of the effect his brother's disappearance has on his family and friends, of the relationship between art and life and of the natural setting of the events. <br> <br> This was a spell-binding book. Literally, one I couldn't put down. <br> <br> Ruth, apologizing for being late with her book report, but the dog ate it, I had to go to my grandmother's funeral, my computer crashed and besides I didn't know it was due <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br>
9691	11	22	The Odd Sea, by Frederick Reiken	03/05/1999 5:08:07 PM	03/27/1999 4:00:04 AM	-1	24	Now don't you feel bad about not paying attention to me, Ruthie?!! I loved this book, too. It was moving, funny, sad, not at all manipulative, beautifully written. One of the best books I've ever read by a first-time author. There is much to discuss. Unfortunately <b>some</b> people waited until my brain has fuzz in it instead of clear memory. But maybe I'll nominate for next year's list. It is a wonderful book for discussion.<br> Sherry <br>
9696	11	109	The Odd Sea, by Frederick Reiken	03/05/1999 6:05:56 PM	03/27/1999 4:00:04 AM	-1	24	This would be a good discussion book, Sherry. Is there anybody here besides us who's read it? It would be a good nomination for next year.<br> <br> Ruth<br>
9709	11	39	The Odd Sea, by Frederick Reiken	03/05/1999 9:21:58 PM	03/27/1999 4:00:04 AM	-1	24	Ruth & Sherry,<br> <br> I read this book last weekend. In a day and way into the night (with time out for a DUKE basketball game!) I was spellbound. This would be a great discussion book, so unlike the other "lost child" stories because the focus was on everyone else. It was beautifully done and seemed so very credible, especially the ending.<br> <br> Thanks, Sherry, for the lead!<br> <br> Anne<br>
9717	11	4	The Odd Sea, by Frederick Reiken	03/05/1999 10:50:10 PM	03/27/1999 4:00:04 AM	-1	27	Well I listened! I read it some time before Washington D.C., I remember because I agreed that Sherry chose the very best possible excerpt for our reading.<br> <br> There is a lot for discussion, but I would need to re-read. In this case it isn't that everything has faded, so much as that right away a lot of details got mixed with a book I read just before or just after. Weird, I know, but surely it happens to the best of us.<br> <br> Tonya<br>