Discount Price: $9.99
Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780451224484
ISBN number: 0451224485
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 624
Printing Date: October 28, 2008
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 46031
Studio: Signet
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The New York Times bestseller from the author of Fire Sale.
In Kansas, three families have coexisted not-so-peacefully for more than one hundred and fifty years: the Grelliers, the Fremantles, and the Schapens. Into their lives comes Gina Haring, a relative of the Fremantles who is house-sitting the derelict family mansion while she puts her own life in order. Her lifestyle and beliefs will put her at odds with her neighbors—and test the mettle of a community being swept up in events beyond its control.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
The entire story is boring, the dialogue is stiff, the characters are unlikeable, and the storyline isn't interesting in the least. I bought this book, read half of it, and put it down. I just don't care what happens to these people, don't like em, couldn't MAKE myself finish it. Very poorly written as well, people doing things one would NEVER do in the same circumstances, absolutely a horrible book
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book at the airport in Dallas enroute to Kansas to visit my parents in Eudora. I make the trip there several times a year. I read the very first couple of lines of her thanks to the Pendleton family and decided to buy the book because I used to know the family. What fun reading a book about my home area. Or, so I thought!
I grew up in Eudora in the 50's and 60's, then lived in Lawrence until the middle 80's. I certainly do not have any memories of Douglas County that are like of the author's. She says in background that Lawrence and KU became the site of some of the bloodiest campus battles in the nation in the 60's and 70's. There was a lot of unrest and some battles like most campuses at the time, but not even close to being the bloodiest. She then says that people were so frightened of women's right and African-American rights that they thought the Communists had taken over. I have never heard anyone in that area say that. She then goes on to say that this is when the big, bad Republican revolution began. If you look back in history for over 70 years, you will see that Kansas has voted for a Democrat for President only twice, Roosevelt in 1936 and Johnson in 1964. It has always been a Republican state. Lawrence, however is a very liberal city.
I spoke to many people about this book while I was in Kansas. She came across to everyone as someone who for some reason had an unhappy childhood and was looking for revenge.
Her characters are not at all like anyone I know in Kansas. Another reviewer said it was frightening to think there is an area like this. He is right. It would be frightening, but it is not Douglas County and Lawrence.
An author has a right to write fiction, but with what she says in her background she makes it sound like this is fact and it is not.
Rated by buyers -
The Schapen and Grellier families have lived subsequent to each other for over 150 years and have been rivals for nearly as long. The Schapens cling to hellfire-and-damnation Christianity and judge their neighbors in the valley based on their misdeeds, publishing the juiciest scandals on their website for the entire world to see. The Grelliers are more open-minded and focus their energy on tending to their farm and raising their children, Chip and Lara. When divorced Gina Haring moves into the area, the fact that she is a lesbian and practicing Wiccan throws the area into outrage and the Schapens on a warpath. The families collide head-on in a battle of ideology. Bleeding Kansas is the story of life in rural Kansas and its reaction to modern, nonconformist ideas. The characters wrestle with life, love, death, rivalries, religion, and growing up in a world where modern ideas don't always mesh with tradition.
Paretsky's novel is set in the Kaw River Valley of Kansas, where she grew up. The depth of her knowledge of the area shines through in this work. Its small details bring the story to life: the corn stocks that grow so tall you can get lost in them, the scent of the earth and crops, and the vibrancy of Lawrence as the cultural center of the Midwest.
I chose to read this book because of the title. My husband and I lived in Lawrence for two years while he attended KU. I knew that bleeding Kansas referred to the state's involvement in the civil war. I was expecting a historical novel, which turned out to only partly be the case. Paretsky doesn't go into sufficient detail to explain the significance of events and places.
The Schapen tricked Lara into attending their Halloween "dance," which turned out to be an exorcism where they tried to force the devil out of her and make her come to Jesus. Bleeding Kansas is full of such complicated characters, radical religious beliefs, and deep plot lines. While not a page turner, Bleeding Kansas is an enjoyable read and a pleasurable look at what life is like growing up on a Kansas farm. It's a coming-of-age story packed with a punch of moral debate.
by Jennifer Melville
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women
Rated by buyers -
I was really looking forward to reading this book as I'm a long time fan of Sara Paretsky. However, this book was a huge disappointment. Characters were either vile and evil or misguided and stupid. Lots of stereotypes. Fundamental Christians can be accused of going to extremes but it is doubtful that a whole church would look on cheering in support of arson and murder. Similarly, Jewish fundamentals were given the same negative stereotypes and were painted as fanatical "loonies". The dialogue was often stilted. Elaine's character was grating and Myra's character was unredeemably evil. As other posters have noted, the very first 100 pages contained so many characters that it was hard to know which character was important. The rest of the story is implausible at best. Don't waste your time.
Rated by buyers -
I found Sara Paretsky's Bleeding Kansas to be a good, yet flawed, novel. The story is interesting, if a little meandering. She does well depicting the isolation and sometimes overwhelming workload of life on a farm. The two teen characters that the story centers around are soul-searching and lost in the chaos that surrounds them, and I found myself rooting for them as they came close to finding each other. Other characters are not as strong, and frequently are merely exaggerations of flat character traits. The only interest they have for the reader are the complications they pose for the main characters. The writing is not strong, this is a genre-fiction writer's very first endeavor at literary fiction. While flaws like flat characters and stilted dialogue pepper this book, the potential is there. The story line and themes explored make for a good read, while the flaws detract from the story they don't ruin it altogether.
Her depiction of Wicca is negative and not accurate, however she is fair. Her depictions of fundamental Christianity and Orthodox Judaism are also negative, and some may argue inaccurate as well. The depiction of fundamental Christians is rather scathing, in fact. Her depiction of Wicca betrays a lack of research on the writers part, in her portrayal of Wiccan rites. The Wiccan character herself is not a positive character, and in the only scene I found downright offensive she does nothing to defend herself or her chosen path when another character off-handedly calls it "Wiccan nonsense". She almost seems to agree with him.
Where her greatest strength is in this book is the depiction of farm life, she knows the details and minutia of running a farm and including that really pulls the reader into the life of her characters. In the end, that's what it's all about. If you can't sit down with a piece of fiction and feel like you are there, the writer has not done her job. Sara Paretsky did her job with this book, but I feel she is capable of more.
Find other books like this one:
