Items related to The Fresco
Synopsis
A thirty-six-year-old bookstore manager, Benita Alvarez-Shipton finds herself at the center of a mystery when aliens ask her to deliver an important message to the nation's capital. By the award-winning author of Beauty.
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Review
The Fresco is a strong novel of alien first contact, driven by Tepper's trademark anger at the violence, oppression and stupidity she sees in our modern world. The Pistach are aliens belonging to a Confederation of intelligent peoples. They make first contact with an ordinary woman, Benita Alvarez, who becomes their intermediary with the US government. They explain that humanity must become neighbourly, otherwise we will be left to the mercy of predator species who like to hunt intelligent life for food. Some predators are already attempting to forge an alliance with military and political opposition leaders in the US. The Pistach believe it is their destiny to help other species achieve neighbourliness, as laid out in the sacred images of the revered Fresco on their homeworld, and so they begin to intervene in human affairs to reduce violence and misery. Tepper's imagination has run riot in finding interventionist ways to tackle drugs, violence, the oppression of women and religious intolerance. She has a robust and unfashionable take on the balance between personal freedom and social responsibility, and this is not a glib or easy read. The book is at times a little preachy, but the characters are strong, the Pistach are believable, and many of their interventions are very funny as well as appropriate. Nor are they as all-powerful as they seem at first. This is a thought-provoking, complex and satisfying read. --Elizabeth Sourbut
Book Description
Aliens visit Earth to see if humankind is ethical, moral and neighbourly enough to join an interstellar federation of right-minded beings . . . but other alien races have more basic intentions towards man.
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- PublisherHarperCollins
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0380978792
- ISBN 13 9780380978793
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages406
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The Fresco
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 2000
ISBN 10: 0380978792
ISBN 13: 9780380978793
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. 1st. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 3229908-6
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Published by
HarperCollins Publishers Limited, 2000
ISBN 10: 0380978792
ISBN 13: 9780380978793
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. 1st. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 3229909-6
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.72. Seller Inventory # G0380978792I5N00
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The Fresco
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.72. Seller Inventory # G0380978792I5N10
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Seller: Book Lover's Warehouse, Johnson City, TN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. The covers are clean with light shelf wear. The pages of this book are clean and unmarked. A good solid copy. FAST SHIPPING & FREE TRACKING! Seller Inventory # 213437
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The Fresco
Seller: Orion Tech, Kingwood, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Good. Seller Inventory # 0380978792-3-33812308
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The Fresco
Published by
Harper Voyager, 2000
ISBN 10: 0380978792
ISBN 13: 9780380978793
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Ian Thompson, Milton, ON, Canada
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. New York, very good first edition in very good dj. Seller Inventory # ABE-1589986966456
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00086613640
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Seller: St Vincent de Paul of Lane County, Eugene, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. hardcover A well-cared-for item that has seen limited use but remains in better than average cosmetic condition. The item is complete, and without major damage. It may have limited signs of use. Packed with care, shipped promptly. Seller Inventory # R-01-3982
Quantity: 1 available
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The Fresco
Seller: Book Haven, Wellington, WLG, New Zealand
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Very Good. The bizarre events that have been occurring across the United States--unexplained "oddities" tracked by Air Defense, mysterious disappearances, shocking deaths--seem to have no bearing on Benita Alvarez-Shipton's life. That is, until the soft-spoken thirty-six-year-old bookstore manager is approached by a pair of aliens asking her to transmit their message of peace to the powers that be in Washington. Suddenly an ordinary woman with a poor self-image and low self-esteem has been thrust into the limelight, as she leaves behind an Albuquerque home on the brink of foreclosure and a drunken bully of an abusive husband to undertake a mission of utmost importance to her planet and its peoples. Her obligation does not end once the message is delivered, however, for the Pistach have offered their human hosts a spectacular opportunity for knowledge and enrichment. And Benita is to act as sole liaison between the two sentient races. The more she learns about the extraterrestrials who transformed her gray existence, the more her appreciation grows for their culture, their beliefs, and their art--especially the ancient and mystical Fresco that appears to dominate their collective lives. And the easier it becomes to shed the psychological and societal restraints that inhibited her own growth as an individual. But alongside the promise is a dire, unspoken threat. Because the Pistach are not the only space-faring species making their presence known on Earth. There are others--cold, malevolent, hungry--who have now set their sights on Benita, and their accomplices may be as close as Capitol Hill. And the desperate race to save herself and two worlds could carry Benita Alvarez far from her home planet. and light years away from anything she has ever been. Heavy; DJ. 416 pages. Seller Inventory # 1578147
Quantity: 1 available