Yes & No [Paperback]

Linda Tatelbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2003

Paris 1969, one year after the French student uprising. In her search for what is behind history, graduate student Naomi Weiss stumbles upon a manuscript dated 1137. Her attempt to decipher the manuscript leads her to a garden where she finds the answer not in books but in vegetables.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Compelling and provocative, a fiction that delights and challenges, a book you simply can't put down. -- Larissa Taylor, professor of history, Colby College

YES & NO is elegantly written, playful and deeply serious, full of youthful passion and mature wisdom: a beautiful book. -- Deborah Weisgall, author of A JOYFUL NOISE

From the Publisher

Recipe for a Young Woman’s Coming of Age:

Open to Paris, 1969, one year after the French student uprising. Drop American graduate student Naomi Weiss into a broth of medieval history and contemporary political turmoil. Flavor with a slice of the twelfth-century love affair between philosopher Pierre Abélard and his pupil Héloïse. Tie a hidden manuscript, dated 1137, into a bundle with a failed librarian who begs Naomi to transcribe his treasure, and an eminent professor who traded Jews to the Nazis for valuable books. Throw the bundle into the broth with a mysterious woman who can’t remember her own story. Sprinkle with two French feminists who dream of starting a farm for women. Turn up the heat and cook for one semester.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: About Time Pr (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965442829
• ISBN-13: 978-0965442824
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,428,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Complex but well done, March 31, 2011

By 

EJ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yes & No (Paperback)

The reader has to concentrate to follow the relationship between Naomi and Heloise and Abelard, but Tatelbaum is clever as she draws the reader into it. Read it if you want something you can sink your mind into.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wow...this book is bad., December 30, 2007

By 

Dawniej (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yes & No (Paperback)

I love the story of Abelard and Heloise and I really wanted to like this book. It is, however, contrived, self indulgent, and very poorly written. It was published by a vanity press, and the "Editorial Reviews" cited on Amazon's page appear to be Ms. Tattlebaum's collegues at Colby College. If you are interested in this type of book, I'd recommend Possession by A.S. Byatt and The 16 Pleasures by Robert Hellenga.