The Spirit of the Place, (Paperback)

from su_library_student

This is the story of a man who returns home too late to attend his mother's funeral. He finds out that her will stipulates he remain in the town for 1 year and 13 days in order to receive his substantial inheritance. The rich descriptions in the book help to bring alive the town and people. The i...

from froxgirl

"The Spirit of the Place" begins with an uplifting and sexy episode involving physician Orville Rose and his tantricly inclined lover Celestina Polo (a Kurt Vonnegut name if there ever was one) in Northern Italy. Too soon Orvy returns to upstate New York upon the death of his dead-but-not-quite-g...

from xmaystarx

The Spirit of the Place tells the story of Dr. Rose who returns to his hometown upon his mother's death. Colombia, NY, the town he returns to, is a character in itself in this book. Shem paints a picture of a dreary, run down town full of families who have been there since its inception. You get ...

from rastaphrog

Dr. Orville Rose has been living in EUrope practicing medicine at a European spa and life is pretty good. He likes his work, and he's fallen in love with a beautiful Italian yoga instructor. That's all about to change. "Two Bad things will happen today" she tells him one day as they set off boati...

from nbmars

The further I got into this book, the more I liked it. I think of the author as a kindler, gentler version of Philip Roth. Shem's protagonist is fighting the psychological effects of a tormenting Jewish mother. He's also he's struggling with his identity and with his relationships with the opposi...