Martha Macnamara knows that her daughter Elizabeth is in trouble, she just doesn't know what kind. Mysterious phone calls from San Francisco at odd hours of the night are the only contact she has had with Elizabeth for years. Now, Elizabeth has sent her a plane ticket and reserved a room for her at San Francisco's most luxurious hotel. Yet she has not tried to contact Martha since she arrived, leaving her lonely, confused and a little bit worried. Into the story steps Mayland Long, a distinguished-looking and wealthy Chinese man who lives at the hotel and is drawn to Martha's good nature and ability to pinpoint the truth of a matter. Mayland and Martha become close in a short period of time and he promises to help her find Elizabeth, making small inroads in the mystery before Martha herself disappears. Now Mayland is struck by the realization, too late, that he is in love with Martha, and now he fears for her life. Determined to find her, he sets his prodigious philosopher's mind to work on the problem, embarking on a potentially dangerous adventure.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Tea with the Black Dragon
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Jack Blatant
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This book is a little treasure, absolutely delightful - I've never found its equivalent anywhere. A book of magic, that contains one of my favourite fictional characters of all time - the inimitable Mayland Long. (Ever since I read this book, I have coveted his raw silk suit.) The story is relatively straightforward, but the genius of this book is not in the plot, but in its descriptions and conversations.
Elegant, enchanting, mysterious, this book proceeds with the feeling of an adult reading a newly discovered fairy tale. The characters, despite their difficulties and obstacles, live with an attitude and in a manner that I wish I did. Perhaps that's why I love this book so much.
Elegant, enchanting, mysterious, this book proceeds with the feeling of an adult reading a newly discovered fairy tale. The characters, despite their difficulties and obstacles, live with an attitude and in a manner that I wish I did. Perhaps that's why I love this book so much.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
R. A. MacAvoy has done something very rare and special in this book: written with wisdom, compassion and humor about people who are at once very ordinary and quite extraordinary. Martha is a woman in her middle years who moves through the world with freshness, originality, and a youthful spirit; her friend Mayland Long is incredibly ancient and yet has just been born. Together they struggle with a new, technical wizardry, foreign to them both. As in Peter Beagle's _A Fine and Private Place_, the mundane and the spiritual commingle in beautiful and unexpected ways. From the convolutions and paradoxes which are a part of all our lives, MacAvoy weaves a story which is on one level an exploration of what it means to be human, with human emotions and human responsibilities -- and on another level is simply a ripping good yarn. Whatever you look for in a book, you will find here.
By ancie
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I second all the comments, there is not much else to say except how lucky I was to find it. I too believe that this is a classic and its one of the books that I will always keep. I have reread it several times. It is certainly not one of the stock sword and sorcery sagas that give fantasy a poor reputation. Long may she write!
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 43 reviews
4.5 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best
If you're looking for one of those typical 'Save the World' fantasies with wizards and boy kings, this isn't it. Read more
Published on Oct 5 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
I want to teach this book
As a high school teacher searching for literature which will touch my students, I couldn't ask for more than TWABD. Ms. MacAvoy is a brilliant writer. Read more
Published on Aug 27 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I'd written it.
This book is magical. If I had written it I would consider myself a success. Of course, perfection is hard to top -- Twisting the Rope doesn't has the same characters but not the... Read more
Published on Aug 22 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll love it!
I cannot start praising this book enough... It is one of my absolute favourite books! Although I read voraciously and my library has in excess of 10. Read more
Published on Sep 4 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an absolutely engrossing book
Well, after seeing how the average rating of a book can be draggged down by one bad review, I decided I'd better do my part to bring it up again. Read more
Published on Jun 20 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tea with the Black Dragon is lyrical and exquisite
A jewel of a novel. Fantasy set in the present day, with strong characters, a delicately realized descriptive style and a sense of dreamlike resonance. Read more
Published on Dec 4 1997 by Jylene Livengood
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
