The Raising

The Raising: A Novel [Laura Kasischke] on leondumoulin.nl *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. “Kasischke's writing does what good poetry does—it shows us.
Table of contents

Rembrandt made two etchings on the same subject but with differing compositions, one in approximately and another in see gallery below. The etching shows a different point of view while the etching shows different figures in the cave.

The etching also depicts Christ as more of a healer, rather than the enchanter of this work. Sister Wendy Beckett opines that Jesus is portrayed in this work as a weary magician rather than a triumphant savior. The subject of this painting may draw on an undated Jan Lievens etching of the same name.

Lievens and Rembrandt were friends and probably worked together. The placement of the figures is similar and a study of drawings indicates that the latter was developed from the former. Raising of Lazarus was owned by Rembrandt for most of his life; it was sold in his bankruptcy sale in The painting passed through various owners in Europe until it was bought by Howard F. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Drawings , Etchings , Paintings Self-portraits. It just seems like such an easy way for the author to write without having to actually think of a solid conclusion.

Apr 01, Sharla rated it did not like it. This book was awful. The beginning was interesting enough to catch my attention, but then it just got smuttier and dirtier throughout. I wanted to find out what happened so against my better judgment I kept reading. This book did not end, it did not wrap anything up or resolve any of the problems. I did not like a single character in the book. They were all immoral and awful. I know people are human and make mistakes but I hope people are not usually as stupid as the people in this boo This book was awful.

I know people are human and make mistakes but I hope people are not usually as stupid as the people in this book. My recommendation is to not read this book. Jul 12, Faustine rated it it was ok Shelves: Plot and characters kept me reading and hoping it was leading up to some kind of the-good-shall-prevail-in-the-end ending, but instead it was weird, abrupt and disappointing.

Apr 09, Vegantrav rated it really liked it. This is a fascinating mystery about a girl, Nicole, who is killed or is she? Nicole, however, even after her death, continues to appear to Craig, to his roommate, Perry, and to a a few of their other friends. Is she a ghost, haunting them all? Is she a vampire? Is she a succubus? In the end, we know, with a high degree of certainty, what happened to Nicole despite many ambiguities left unresolved.

We readers are compelled to tear through the pages as the answer to the riddle of the novel is slowly, though not completely, revealed, and we find ourselves caring very deeply about the fates of the main characters, both the "good guys" Craig, Perry, Mira, Shelley, Debbie and the "bad guys" particularly Josie. Overall, this was a great read, and I really loved it until I reached the end, an end that came, from my perspective too soon.

Why would Nicole's family be willing to participate in this elaborate deception to fake her death all in an effort to maintain the good reputation and standing of a sorority? There seems to be no good motivation for deception on such a grand scale and involving something as serious as faking Nicole's death to cover up the death of one her sorority sisters, and the author gives us not even a single clue on this issue.

Does Nicole have a twin? Near the end, it seems that Perry and Craig both encounter Nicole at the same time in two distant locations. Is Craig or is Perry hallucinating? It doesn't seem so from the context, and if they are not hallucinating, how do they both see Nicole in two different places at the same time when we know she is not a ghost? What is Nicole's own motivation, before the accident, for toying with Craig? Is she really just some sort of evil temptress?

How is it that the pretty, intelligent young girl from a small town who seemingly has small town values goes off to college and starts a relationship with Craig only to lead him on while sleeping with his friends? Nicole's behavior is left completely unexplained. There is an exchange between Nicole and Perry where Perry basically asks her if she's mentally ill or just plain evil, and, of course, she doesn't answer this, but it seems that she must be either seriously mentally disturbed or a total psychopath to explain her behavior, or maybe she really does have an "evil twin.

Josie's character is really just unbelievable. She is such a horrible person that if Hitler and Stalin and Leona Helmsley read this novel, even they would react to Josie by saying, "What a bitch! Josie is just an absolutely despicable character, so despicable, in fact, that her behavior betrays the bounds of realism, even for a work of fiction.

There is a huge problem believing the cover-up of Denise's death and the substitution of Nicole's pseudo-death for Denise's. So many people at so many levels would have had to have been involved: To believe that all of them and Nicole's family would have participated in this cover-up is completely incredible.

What happened to Jeff Blackhawk? Why are we told about Mira's fate but not Jeff's? Did Mira and Jeff get married? At the end of the novel, Mira is living in West Texas, where Jeff is from, but Jeff doesn't seem to be in the picture at all.

The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter

Did Mira and Jeff get married and then divorce? What happened to Jeff? What happened to Nicole and her family and to Josie? We're given a snapshot of the fates of most of the other main character a decade and a half after the main events of the novel, but we are told absolutely nothing about what happens to the central character, Nicole, and to her family nor anything about Josie's fate. This was really disappointing and made the novel feel incomplete. Despite all these problems, I still really enjoyed this novel, at least for the first pages.

When I arrived at page the last page , and realized everything was not going to be satisfactorily resolved, I cannot deny being greatly disappointed, but, up to that point, I really loved the novel, and so I cannot give it an overall negative review when I was so highly entertained by it. Nov 26, Cynthia rated it really liked it Shelves: A horrible car accident happens on a college campus and a girl dies.

She quickly calls and leaves as help arrives. By the time he returns to campus a semester lat A horrible car accident happens on a college campus and a girl dies. By the time he returns to campus a semester later everyone believes he was drunk and fled the scene of the accident. I was a bit disappointed with the ending but have to admit it was true to life. This review is based on an ebook galley supplied by the publisher. Apr 10, Nicole rated it liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. I finished reading it at 11pm and my first instinct was to put my shoes on and take it across the street to the library drop box yes I live across the street from the library, envy me , because this book! I had to get it out of my house immediately. Okay, so, last year Nicole Werner was killed when the car her boyfriend Craig was driving went off the road.

And of course she was blond and leggy and beautiful because that makes it much more sad than if she was fat and pimply faced. But anyway so she was killed in this car wreck and Craig as drunk or high, or whatever, but he was never charged with anything so now he's back for his sophomore year. But oh wait, now we are back to last year. Because clearly someone took the chapters of this book, tossed them in the air, and then put them back together in whatever order they landed in.

And can I just stop right here to say what a great big pile of no this book is? But anyway so now people around campus have been seeing Nicole. In pictures, sneaking into their dorm rooms, etc. And Craig's roommate is taking a class about death and Craig is obviously depressed.

And Shelly, the woman who came upon the accident, can't get anyone to listen to her and starts having an affair with a sorority girl, and Such a slow, tedious build up. And then [spoiler] it ends. And minus another half because ugh, spoiled rotten, evil, over-privileged kids. Jan 30, Britney rated it really liked it.

You know when you finish reading a great book and are left wondering if what you read read was real or not? Where did they go to school? That's how I felt as I finished The Raising. It was not a YA book and there were some scenes that are not meant for younger readers, but I would highly recommend it to mature readers. The plot was completely different from anything that I have read and all of the characters seemed unbelievably real. And the You know when you finish reading a great book and are left wondering if what you read read was real or not?

My God, the writing! Talk about poetic and beautiful. Kasischke can definitely write and I hope I can write at least half as well as she does.

The Raising of the Cross

The story was a bit of a psychological thriller mixed with a whodunnit feeling and I loved every bit of it. The pacing of the story was crafted perfectly for the story. Shifts in character POVs and time don't always work but Kasischke did an amazing job making the story flow well. The only thing I didn't love about The Raising was the ending. I ended the book feeling as though there were things left unsaid, questions left unanswered.

Joachim Wtewael | The Raising of Lazarus | L | National Gallery, London

But even that seems to work with the story because the characters were real and even years after the timing of the story, they didn't have their questions fully answered. It was a great read that felt both smart and fun. I would recommend it for mature readers who like stories that are different from the repeated story lines. Read more reviews on www. Sep 14, Stephen Durrant rated it liked it. As a part-time resident of France, I am often mystified by French judgments of American literature.

This year much attention has focused on Laura Kasischke, whom one French critic even proclaimed "America's greatest living writer. This is a campus novel, which has at its center a group of sorority sisters who are engaged in As a part-time resident of France, I am often mystified by French judgments of American literature.

This is a campus novel, which has at its center a group of sorority sisters who are engaged in dark, disturbing rituals. But I did keep on reading, wondering myself exactly what really was that was going on. So why all the excitement in France? Well, I'm not entirely sure.

Perhaps Kasischke's novel paints a picture of a college campus in America that satisfies certain French stereotypes. Or maybe Kasischke's French translator is a literary genius who turns the English into the French of a Gide or a Proust. None of this is meant to demean Kasischke, who is a competent writer to be sure gee, wish I could write so well. But I am scratching my head: Apr 05, Nancyewhite rated it liked it.

Frequently bought together

I don't know how I feel about this book. At least partially this is due to an impression that the author doesn't know how she feels about the book's story and resolution. I found it compelling reading for many chapters where I'd want to rush to pick up where I left off if I had to set it aside. Other times, however, it was annoying and slow-moving. The basic story is that of a sorority girl who was killed in a car accident and may or may not be haunting the campus. It moves back and forth in tim I don't know how I feel about this book.

It moves back and forth in time pre- and post-accident and is told through the eyes of her boyfriend, his roomate, the woman who found them on the side of the road, a teacher etc. Midway through the details of the mystery became clear to me, but I felt that the writer was ambivalent about the plot decisions that she made and never resolved it satisfactorily.

There are moments of satisfying gothic-ness, and the characters are well-developed and interesting with each one's story giving a real sense of them as people. Nonetheless, this one could have been much better with some decisiveness by Kasischke. Jul 07, Patti rated it really liked it. So the book grabbed me right away, as I read the description of Craig and his father driving through town.

I read this entire book in about four days I am on summer break , which should tell you how much I enjoyed it! I had read some non-spoiler reviews before I read it, so I got the impression that the last part of the book was lacking. Indeed, the author never really explains what happened to Nic The author of this book teaches at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, which is where I live. Indeed, the author never really explains what happened to Nicole and why she was seen in Bad Axe a real place I've been to!

Or why Nicole played virginal to Craig but was screwing around. And what about poor Denise?! At first, I was a little miffed and thought that the author just said "screw it" because she couldn't come up with a proper explanation. But I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and hoping she is going with the Hitchcock thing that says what we don't see is scarier than what we see. There are some glaring issues though.

First, how is it that a body was positively identified by just jewelry and clothing? Next, I was in a sorority and we really don't have that much power. Did the author get burned during her own Rush? It was a little unbelievable that a sorority would have that much power I guess I could see a cover up by UM indeed, nearby Eastern Michigan University tried to cover up a murder several years ago I think the author has a hair fetish.

I get that the girls were all beautiful with straight blonde hair and perfect asses. Not all sorority girls look like that I surely don't and didn't when I was in Chi Omega! I also am not sure why the issues with the twins' language skills was in the book Because that message came through pretty strong!

Her writing is amazing! I found all of the characters believable. Some other reviewers complained about how the story was told she jumped around in time quite a bit , but that didn't bother me. It helped me not totally hate Craig, who I surely would have hated if I had no idea that his comeuppance was coming. I also liked the insight into academia.

You would have to shoot me to get me to put up with that shit even though a huge paycheck and four month summer would be nice--and don't give me that bullshit that professors don't make any money The whole idea of death rituals and college ghosts also intrigued me. I got caught up in Mira's enthusiasm for the subject and kind of wish there were classes like that er, without the trip to the morgue, thanks!!

I am going to read the author's other books to see how she handles the endings. Then I will know if I was correct to give her the benefit of the doubt about how this book ended. Mar 18, Jennifer rated it liked it Shelves: Set on a fictional Midwestern campus, the novel weaves a rather complicated tale about a sorority girl named Nicole Werner who was killed in a car accident and whether her ghost has come back to haunt the campus. The book follows several characters.

We also meet Shelley, the fir The Basic Story: We also meet Shelley, the first person on the scene of the accident. Finally, we meet Mira—a professor of anthropology whose specialty is death rituals. Oh, I so wanted to love this book! The premise sounded so promising too—a ghost story set on a college campus! And how intriguing is that cover.

At the beginning, I was encouraged; Kasischke does a great job of setting the scene and getting us into the heads of the different characters. However, things started to fall apart for me. The biggest problem was that Kasischke seemed to have trouble committing to what kind of novel she was writing: This indecision on the part of the author led to a less than satisfying conclusion. In fact, I was still puzzling things out at the end as Kasischke seemed to want to have her cake and eat it too.

Navigation menu

In fact, I would go so far as to call the plot as I understood it ridiculously ludicrous and unbelievable. This saddens me because I think Kasischke is a talented writer and—if she had fully committed herself one way or another—she could have had a wonderful book on her hands. Sep 09, Georgette rated it it was amazing. Holy crap, if you want a tangled web of a read, this is the book you want to read.

I had never read anything by Laura Kasischke, but after this, I am most certainly going to look more into her other works. Nicole Werner is killed in a car accident with her boyfriend, and mourned by the school. The sorority of the fallen girl fights to have her boyfriend- who is accused of "murdering" Nicole-banned from the college for good.

Naruto - The Raising Fighting Spirit

A professor is teaching a class- in death and the act of dying and the a Holy crap, if you want a tangled web of a read, this is the book you want to read. A professor is teaching a class- in death and the act of dying and the aftermath of death- at the same college she attended. A sorority girl works for a college administrator and seduces her into an illicit affair with her, leading to the revelation and firing of that administrator.

A best friend suffers guilt over his illicit affair with the mourned Nicole. An anguished mother searchs for her missing daughter, vanished from the same college that they all go to, but no one seems to remember her missing daughter in light of the death of Nicole. A young girl lives quietly and nurses suspicions about a sorority on the campus.

How do they all tie together? I cannot even begin to describe the various characters and the effortless way Kasischke ties it all into the death of Nicole. I have not read a book of this magnitude in some time. I simply could NOT put it down, the more the characters fleshed out on the canvas, the more you were drawn into the wicked tale.

And wicked it is. It makes you ponder the depth of mind games and human deception in the wake of popularity contests that take place everyday in sororities in campuses across America. You've read and heard stories of bullying, books have been written, but I can fairly say I have never read a fictionalized account of what i believed was a young lady's death in a car crash and it ended up spiraling off into hazing and secret sororities and the like. It really messes your psyche up, this novel. But in a good way, if it's possible that a book centered around these subject matters can do.

This is the book that does all of that. Simply put, fantastic, fantastic, fantastic in messing up your head, but stunning in its conclusion. Jun 25, Ryandake rated it really liked it. Mar 04, A Book Vacation rated it really liked it. This story interweaves the lives of four people on a college campus, all in relation to Nicole, a young girl killed in a horrible car crash. Each chapter focuses on a different character within the novel—sometimes relaying events in the present, and sometimes relaying events from the past.

This brilliant literary technique will keep you enraptured and glued to the pages. As events unfold, new information comes to light and, page by page, the story slowly begins to unravel. I thoroughly enjoyed the characterization, especially because the characters were as real as you and me.

Kasischke does a wonderful job creating and developing them, and the twists and turns within the novel keep the reader wondering who these people really are. No one is what they seem, and this revelation is one of the reasons that the mystery within the novel is so captivating. While this is an adult novel, with mature themes, language, and sexuality, these aspects actually propel the story forward as we learn about the events leading up to, and after, the fatal car accident To read my full review: Aug 11, Chana rated it liked it Shelves: If you don't already have a poor opinion of the Greek Frat and Sorority systems, this might make you take a second look at those systems.

We all know the general problems of drinking, peer pressure and date rape that occur on our college campuses. Add to the general problems the problems of the Greek Houses; hazing, social ostracism for non-conformity, and at least in this book strange and secret rituals. You have all the makings of a cult, yet no one seems to take the problem seriously or eve If you don't already have a poor opinion of the Greek Frat and Sorority systems, this might make you take a second look at those systems. You have all the makings of a cult, yet no one seems to take the problem seriously or even recognize it as a problem.

Young man in first year of college; boisterous, often drunk and obnoxious, vulnerable. Young woman in college, member of sorority, falls in love with the young man, or does she? Young woman dies in car accident in which young man is driving. He is accused of being drunk when it happens; he himself cannot remember the accident.

He goes back to college and is ostracized. He keeps thinking he sees his former girlfriend and even receives cards and phone calls from her. His roommate is deeply involved in the betrayals and deceptions, although the ultimate betrayal is a surprise to him as well. Things don't work out well. Many people didn't like the ending of the book but in a way I found it fitting; the drama ends and before you know it life has moved on and no one even remembers.

Oct 14, Erin rated it it was ok. It bears some resemblance to those, but is a wordier, more adult version. While reading this book, I just couldn't decide what I thought of it. It held my attention until the frankly very sloppy end, but there was something off about it, even though it seemed like the usual type of book I dig.

I think that Laura Kisischke does an amazing job of showing you how people really think, but there were some parts of this novel I didn't get Also, I could have done without the violence towards Shelly's cat Jeremy.. The ending itself felt sloppy and rushed Why would Nicole pretend to be dead just to cover up another girl's death?

And Perry's death also didn't gel. Jun 08, Laura rated it it was amazing. Kasischke creates a richly realized world of a college campus "haunted" by the ghost of a victim of a tragic accident. The storyline is fascinating and beautifully detailed. I particularly liked how the story unfolded through multiple characters' points of view and how these characters intersected each others' lives in surprising ways.

Main menu additional

The story grabbed me from the first page. The novel is paced briskly with many suspenseful turns, but Kasischke takes the time to create full lives and histories for each character so that the story becomes as much a study of courage, weakness, and morality as it is an old-fashioned ghost story. I've always been fascinated by traditional rituals surrounding death and mourning, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that the novel weaves this history into the storyline in unexpected ways.

Mar 05, Alexandra rated it liked it. I'm really surprised at this book. The premise was interesting, and throughout the bulk of the story, I was glued to the pages. This was one of those books you keep reading even when you stand up to go turn a lamp on, and you just hope you don't trip over anything. There is no doubt that Laura Kasischke can tell a story. One thing she doesn't seem to be very good at though, is ending one. What was the point of the story really?

That sororities are full of crazy people? I'm just a little puzzled. So many great mysteries were thrown into the mix and then nothing even ended up being explained with them.