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Ralph Graves (1) (1924–2013)

Auteur de Life, the First Decade, 1936-1945

Pour les autres auteurs qui s'appellent Ralph Graves, voyez la page de désambigüisation.

39+ oeuvres 231 utilisateurs 4 critiques

Œuvres de Ralph Graves

Life, the First Decade, 1936-1945 (1979) 81 exemplaires
Champagne Kisses, Cyanide Dreams (2001) 22 exemplaires
Share of Honor (1989) 20 exemplaires
The Lost Eagles (1955) 18 exemplaires
Martha's Vineyard: An Affectionate Memoir (1995) — Text — 10 exemplaires
August People (1985) 8 exemplaires
Orion: The Story of a Rape (1993) 5 exemplaires
Polly Hill, Leaves From a Life (2003) 4 exemplaires

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There are books about Martha's Vineyard where the illustrations are the volume's entire reason for existing (Allen Whiting: A Painter at Sixty), books where the illustrations are an essential, but subordinate, complement to the text (the On the Vineyard trilogy), and books where the text and illustrations are equally significant (Henry Beetle Hough's collaborations with Alfred Eisenstaedt in Martha's Vineyard and Alison Shaw in Remembrance and Light). This compilation falls, for all practical purposes, in the first category.

The text by Ralph Graves is serviceable, but no more than that. It's distilled -- as Graves notes at the outset -- from existing sources, and bears the mark of those origins. It adds no new insights into the history of the Vineyard, and Graves' attempts to connect the dots between the bits and pieces of that history that he's chosen to highlight often lead him to conclusions at odds with reality. The best parts of the text are a series of two-page spreads in which he reprints, in narrative form, the text of conversations with long-time Vineyarders like long-time Chappaquiddick resident Edo Potter and Menemsha fish-market owner Everett Poole.

Nobody who picks up this book, however, is likely to do it for the text. The real attraction is scores of paintings by Ray Ellis, one of the most commercially successful painters in the history of the Vineyard. Ellis's long association with Edgartown and fondness for landscapes and classic New England buildings is evident throughout the book, as is his trademark style. The book is both a solid introduction to his art and an easily acquired keepsake for those who enjoy it.
… (plus d'informations)
½
 
Signalé
ABVR | Mar 17, 2024 |
Jim Lovell and Apollo XIII
Vol. 68, No. 15
 
Signalé
rafasith | Oct 24, 2020 |
4.5 at least! Such an enthralling novel! One could call this one almost a sequel to any on the Teutoberg or Varian Disaster. Severus Varus, a young man, is some sort of cousin [2nd?] to P. Quinctilius Varus, who with three legions had been ambushed and wiped out in Germania. Severus and the whole Varus clan are dishonored by his
[in]famous relative's name. Severus and his grandfather, a senator, become social pariahs. [His father has died in Pannonia]. Severus vows to Augustus that he will recover the three lost eagles. This would restore the family honor and that of Rome. The main thrust of the story is Severus's quest for the three eagles. Upon the advice of his grandfather's good friend, rather than just rushing off and joining Germanicus's legions in their expedition to Germania where he would be just one man among thousands, he learns the German language and culture from a German slave. [Probably in real life a Roman patrician would not have done this; it would have been considered beneath him, but please allow for this plot device.] He is commissioned as a tribune in the army and goes to Germania to fulfill his boyish promise to the emperor. Impressing Germanicus, his language skills are a big help all through the story.

I was captivated by this novel. Well written in a simpler time [1955] and unjustifiably neglected now, it is not as slick and sophisticated as many of the recent Roman novels. I feel it has stood the test of time. The characterizations were excellent--from the Romans, especially Severus, to the Germans. [I would be surprised if Graves hadn't read his Tacitus on Germania.] Battles, skirmishes and the final one-on-one conflict with his Roman enemy from boyhood were as good as those I've read elsewhere. The last third of the novel takes Severus through a horrendous winter journey alone and unaided to a German tribe where he is very sure the very last eagle of the three is located. He represents himself as a deserter from the Roman army and is sheltered by the Germans, in time becoming a respected member of their society. The conclusion is heart-breaking. I hope some of you will seek out and read this novel. It is unforgettable and worth your time and money.
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
janerawoof | Sep 26, 2014 |
At times amusing account of multiple murders on The Vineyard with accurate descriptions of local scenery. Predictable ending with a feel of a rushed ending. Could have been better.
 
Signalé
bibefile | Jul 14, 2008 |

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Statistiques

Œuvres
39
Aussi par
1
Membres
231
Popularité
#97,643
Évaluation
½ 3.7
Critiques
4
ISBN
18
Langues
2

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