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Rating: 
Summary: A SHIMMERING GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER CULTURE...
Review: ...and a beautiful culture it is, too -- Bali. Diana Darling has taken an ancient Balinese folktale, re-set it in modern times (allowing outside 'advanced' cultures to conflict with the peaceful nature of her exotic setting), and given the reader a treasure. The author is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the Balinese culture and language -- and her work is an immensely compelling fable, with much for the reader to harvest, both as 'mere' entertainment and as a valuable immersion into a rich world that is so different from our own that it could easily be on another planet. The lessons are gentle and not too hard to grasp -- the love with which the Balinese people treat their environment and each other is wonderful to behold. Her characters are well-developed and entirely believable -- and the story itself, while uniquely applied to Bali, is really a universal one: good versus evil and questions about life values -- things which all of us need to consider from time to time, no matter how 'enlightened' we think we are. This is an absolutely beautiful book -- I can recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: A SHIMMERING GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER CULTURE...
Review: ...and a beautiful culture it is, too -- Bali. Diana Darling has taken an ancient Balinese folktale, re-set it in modern times (allowing outside 'advanced' cultures to conflict with the peaceful nature of her exotic setting), and given the reader a treasure. The author is very knowledgeable and sensitive to the Balinese culture and language -- and her work is an immensely compelling fable, with much for the reader to harvest, both as 'mere' entertainment and as a valuable immersion into a rich world that is so different from our own that it could easily be on another planet. The lessons are gentle and not too hard to grasp -- the love with which the Balinese people treat their environment and each other is wonderful to behold. Her characters are well-developed and entirely believable -- and the story itself, while uniquely applied to Bali, is really a universal one: good versus evil and questions about life values -- things which all of us need to consider from time to time, no matter how 'enlightened' we think we are. This is an absolutely beautiful book -- I can recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: The Painted Alphabet, a true Bailnese Fairy tale.
Review: A look inside the fabled culture of Bali, Darling has captured part of the feeling of the "island of the Gods" and it gives the reader a small vision of this magical place. Partly fairy tale, partly culture, should be read by every vistor or would be vistor to this part of the world.
Rating:
Summary: Based on a Balinese epic poem
Review: Diana Darling's Painted Alphabet from Periplus provides an unusual story based on a Balinese epic poem. Romance, philosophy, and women's issues blend within the context of Balinese culture in this gentle tale.
Rating:
Summary: Painted Alphabet - Excellent Story
Review: I actually picked this book up because of the beautiful cover and unique title. I don't usually pick an anonymous author, but I'm glad I did. The story was an easy read, once you get past the hard pronounciations of names and cultural words. This is a necessity to the story so is easily overlooked as I tried to pronounce these foreign terms. There are so many facets to the story that all tie together in the end in an amazingly simple way. It makes one want to visit Bali, but not the Bali of today as much as the one told about. I would recommend this book to any reader of love stories, fantastical reads, suspense or drama.
Rating:
Summary: Painted Alphabet - Excellent Story
Review: I actually picked this book up because of the beautiful cover and unique title. I don't usually pick an anonymous author, but I'm glad I did. The story was an easy read, once you get past the hard pronounciations of names and cultural words. This is a necessity to the story so is easily overlooked as I tried to pronounce these foreign terms. There are so many facets to the story that all tie together in the end in an amazingly simple way. It makes one want to visit Bali, but not the Bali of today as much as the one told about. I would recommend this book to any reader of love stories, fantastical reads, suspense or drama.
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