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Sam: A Novel
By Allegra Goodman. 2023
READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • &“I&’ve been an Allegra Goodman fan for years, but Sam…
is hands down my new favorite. I loved this powerful and endearing portrait of a girl who must summon deep within herself the grit and wisdom to grow up.&”—Lily King, New York Times bestselling author of Writers & LoversNEW YORK TIMES EDITORS&’ CHOICE • What happens to a girl&’s sense of joy and belonging—to her belief in herself—as she becomes a woman? This unforgettable portrait of coming-of-age offers subtle yet powerful reflections on class, parenthood, addiction, lust, and the irrepressible power of dreams. &“There is a girl, and her name is Sam.&” So begins Allegra Goodman&’s moving and wise new novel.Sam is seven years old and living in Beverly, Massachusetts. She adores her father, though he isn&’t around much. Her mother struggles to make ends meet, and never fails to remind Sam that if she studies hard and acts responsibly, adulthood will be easier—more secure and comfortable. But comfort and security are of little interest to Sam. She doesn&’t fit in at school, where the other girls have the right shade of blue jeans and don&’t question the rules. She doesn&’t care about jeans or rules. All she wants to climb. Hanging from the highest limbs of the tallest trees, scaling the side of a building, Sam feels free. As a teenager, Sam begins to doubt herself. She yearns to be noticed, even as she wants to disappear. When her climbing coach takes an interest in her, his attention is more complicated than she anticipated. She resents her father&’s erratic behavior, but she grieves after he&’s gone. And she resists her mother&’s attempts to plan for her future, even as that future draws closer. The simplicity of this tender, emotionally honest novel is what makes it so powerful. Sam by Allegra Goodman will break your heart, but will also leave you full of hope.
Nem todas as baleias voam
By Afonso Cruz. 2016
«Não abras as gaiolas dos pássaros, senão eles morrem de liberdade.» Será possível vencer uma guerra com a música? Em…
plena Guerra Fria, a CIA engendrou um plano, baptizado Jazz Ambassadors, que tinha como missão cativar a juventude de Leste para a causa americana. Organizando concertos com grandes nomes do jazz nos países do bloco soviético, os americanos acreditavam poder seduzir o inimigo e ganhar a guerra.É neste pano de fundo que conhecemos Erik Gould, pianista de blues, exímio e apaixonado, que vê sons em todo o lado e pinta retratos tocando piano. A música está-lhe tão entranhada no corpo como o amor pela única mulher da sua vida, que desapareceu de um dia para o outro, sem deixar rasto, sem deixar uma carta de despedida. Erik Gould tentará de tudo para a reencontrar, mas não lhe resta mais esperança do que o acaso. Será o filho de ambos, Tristan, cansado de procurar a mãe entre as páginas de um atlas, que fará a diferença graças a uma caixa de sapatos. FORMATO DE BOLSO, NUMA EDIÇÃO CUIDADA COM CAPA DURA Sobre a obra de Afonso Cruz:«Afonso Cruz alcançará um lugar muito destacado nas letras portuguesas.»El País «Muito mais que uma leitura recomendável: estamos perante um dos grandes livros da temporada, cheio de engenho e imaginação. Uma lição de literatura.»Revista Quimera, Espanha «A bela escadaria da Livraria Lello remete para a obra de Afonso Cruz, (...) um escritor capaz de tocar várias cordas na sua guitarra. Jesus Cristo bebia cerveja é um romance transgénero: uma tragédia rural, rude e desesperada, uma história bucólica - a que não falta um pastor rústico e uma jovem que se banha nua no rio -, uma fábula política e ainda uma farsa. Joga em todos estes registos romanescos e desafia todas as convenções.(...) todas as personagens deste romance decididamente surpreendente, vítimas de uma fatalidade mais poderosa do que a sua vontade, irão bebê-la até à última gota, até às borras.»Éric Chevillard, Le Monde «Jesus Cristo bebia cerveja é um romance colorido e extraordinariamente inteligente. Cruz usa uma linguagem multiforme, ousada, irónica, afiada. E densa.»Giovanni Dozzini, Europa «Uma autêntica revelação é a edição italiana do português Afonso Cruz. Um romance singular (...) com um perfeito equilíbrio entre sublime e grotesco.»La Stampa, Itália«Um verdadeiro escritor, tão original quanto profundo, cujos livros maravilham o leitor, forçando-o a desencaminhar-se das certezas correntes e a abrir-se a novas realidades.»Miguel Real, Jornal de Letras «Afonso Cruz pertence a uma rara casta de ficcionistas: os que acreditam genuinamente no poder da efabulação literária. Se isso já era notório nos seus quatro romances anteriores, mais evidente se torna ao concluirmos a leitura deste volumoso Para onde vão os guarda-chuvas. O escritor está agora no auge das suas capacidades narrativas e serve-se delas para criar um Oriente inventado, onde as histórias brotam debaixo das pedras e se entrelaçam com extraordinária coesão.»José Mário Silva, Expresso«Para onde vão os guarda-chuvas é o ponto mais alto da capacidade narrativa e de efabulação de Afonso Cruz. (...) O que poderia não passar de um exercício de demonstração de sabedoria é um livro cheio de humanidade, muitas vezes brutal, e de um apurado sentido estético. Magnético.»Isabel Lucas, Público
A Noite Em Que o Verão Acabou
By João Tordo. 2019
O que esconde Levi Walsh? FORMATO DE BOLSO, NUMA EDIÇÃO CUIDADA COM CAPA DURA 14 de Setembro de 1998. O…
dia em que Chatlam, uma pequena vila americana, acordou em choque com o homicídio de Noah Walsh. O principal suspeito: a sua filha de dezasseis anos.No Verão de 1987, o adolescente Pedro Taborda apaixona-se por Laura Walsh, a filha mais velha de um magnata nova-iorquino. Ela e Levi - uma criança misteriosa - passam férias com os pais no Lagoeiro, uma pacata cidade algarvia. Rica e moderna, a família Walsh tem tudo para dar muito nas vistas no sul de Portugal. Inebriado pelas formas perfeitas e pelos modos ousados de Laura, Pedro encontra na rapariga americana o seu primeiro amor. Mas quando o Verão acaba, a família Walsh regressa aos Estados Unidos e o destino fica por cumprir.Dez anos depois, Pedro, decidido a tornar-se escritor, vai estudar para Nova-Iorque. Fascinado com Gary List, antigo prodígio das letras americanas, chega aos Estados Unidos determinado a perseguir os sonhos da juventude. Ao reencontrar Laura, está longe de suspeitar que esse acaso o mergulhará no crime mais falado dos anos noventa, o homicídio do milionário Noah Walsh.Com um segundo homicídio a atrapalhar a investigação e uma corrida para salvar Levi, de apenas dezasseis anos, acusada de matar o pai, Pedro e Laura enredam-se irremediavelmente na teia de segredos que envolve a família Walsh, desde os anos quarenta do século XX até ao impensável desfecho nas primeiras décadas do novo milénio. Porque em Chatlam - e neste thriller imparável - nada é o que parece.
Coração tão branco
By Javier Marías. 1992
Profusamente premiado e unanimemente aclamado pela crítica espanhola e internacional, é já um clássico da literatura contemporânea. Premio Nacional de…
la Crítica (Espanha) * IMPAC Dublin Award (Irlanda) * Prix l´Oeil et la Lettre (França) FORMATO DE BOLSO, NUMA EDIÇÃO CUIDADA COM CAPA DURA Durante um almoço de família, Teresa, acabada de regressar de lua-de-mel, vai à casa de banho, olha-se ao espelho, desabotoa a blusa e mata-se com um tiro no coração.Muitos anos depois, este segredo continua a fascinar Juan, cujo pai foi casado com Teresa antes de casar com a sua mãe. Jovem e recém-casado, e ainda pouco adaptado à mudança de estado civil, Juan procura descobrir o motivo por trás do suicídio de Teresa. Só uma pessoa sabe porque Teresa o fez, e guardou para si esse segredo obscuro durante muitos anos. À medida que procura saber mais, Juan sentirá um mal-estar crescente, uma sensação de «desastre iminente» em relação ao seu próprio casamento. A chave desse mal-estar, porém, pode estar no passado, uma vez que o pai haveria de se casar três vezes antes de ele poder nascer. Um romance hipnótico sobre o segredo, o dito e o não-dito, o casamento, a suspeita e a tentação. Uma história de corações brancos, que se vão tingindo e acabam por ser o que nunca quiseram ser. Os elogios da crítica: «O melhor e mais ambicioso romance de Marías.» — El País «Javier Marías escreve com elegância, astúcia e autêntico suspense. Apesardisso, é a profunda incerteza ontológica no centro da sua obra que a torna tão inquietante e verdadeira ao mesmo tempo.» — The Times Literary Supplement «Uma obra marcante de um verdadeiro artista.» — Le Monde «Tal como Javier Marías já nos habituou, as aventuras mais divertidas e apaixonantes acontecem em paralelo com as observações mais certeiras e intelectuais.» — Le Nouvel Observateur «Tão singular quanto brilhante... Um romance divertido e inteligente.» — The Washington Post «Assombrosamente hábil na construção dos romances, Marías tem um verdadeiro talentopara a construção da trama e para os inúmeros enredos das vidas interiores das suas personagens.» — Der Spiegel
Como um Marinheiro Eu Partirei: Uma Viagem com Jacques Brel
By Nuno Costa Santos. 2023
Uma narrativa profundamente humana que revisita a carreira e a vida do famoso cantor belga Jacques Brel e a sua…
passagem crepuscular pelos Açores. «UM HOMEM FUMA UM CIGARRO À PROA DE UM IATE,CONCENTRADO NO SOM DO MAR.» Este homem é Jacques Brel, compositor e intérprete de canções de um lirismo e elaboração extraordinários, explosivas, contagiantes, que arrebatam audiências. De espírito rebelde e inconformado, no auge da sua popularidade, Brel toma a decisão intempestiva de abandonar para sempre os palcos. Romance, biografia, reportagem, reflexão sobre os nossos medos mais secretos, em Como um Marinheiro Eu Partirei, Nuno Costa Santos compõe com a força da Literatura uma indagação sobre a identidade pessoal.
Internato
By Serhij Zhadan. 2017
Prémio Hannah Arendt 2022 Prémio EBRD 2022 Uma obra literária que captura o espírito do tempo, escrita por um autor…
de culto para uma inteira geração. Uma viagem de sobrevivência numa cidade do leste da Ucrânia transformada em palco de guerra.Um jovem professor procura trazer para casa o seu sobrinho de treze anos que se encontra num internato. Terá para isso de cruzar a cidade. Uma aventura perigosa de ida e volta, que durará um dia inteiro. A cidade está transformada num cenário de guerra e a escola um dos seus epicentros. Com uma arte narrativa, descrita pela crítica como «Jazz verbal», que transforma palavras em poderosas imagens, Zhadan descreve com rigor e inesperada poesia como a guerra transforma uma paisagem outrora familiar numa realidade apocalíptica, onde a destruição e o medo imperam. Os elogios da crítica: «Porventura mais do que qualquer outro escritor da era pós-soviética, Serhij Zhadan aborda a experiência da convulsão nacional e pessoal.» — The Times Literary Supplement «Internato é uma pequena obra-prima.» — Literatur Spiegel«O bardo da Ucrânia de leste, onde tudo se está a desintegrar.» — The New York Times «Zhadan tece as suas palavras — subtis, dolorosas, acutilantes — com um sentido delicado da melodia.» — Die Zeit «Neste romance, o talento literário de Serhij Zhadan brilha como uma estrela sobre a paisagem urbana pintada pelo silêncio e pelo rumor da guerra.» — Literary Hub«Um romance que permitirá ao leitor sentir o cheiro da guerra.» — SRF «Com o sentido lírico de um poeta, Zhadan revela sem pejo um país devastado e um povo determinado a sobreviver.» — Publishers Weekly
Princípio de Karenina
By Afonso Cruz. 2018
Uma carta de amor de um pai a uma filha que nunca conheceu. Uma história de amor impossibilitada pelo medo.…
Uma demanda do que somos e desejamos ser. Plano Nacional de LeituraLiteratura - Dos 12 aos 14 anos - Dos 15 aos 18 anos - Maiores de 18 anos «Não existe felicidade na igualdade e na monotonia. As famílias felizes terão de ser imperfeitas, é impossível ser feliz sem dor.» Um pai que se dirige à filha e lhe conta a sua história, que é a história de ambos, revelando distâncias e aproximando-se por causa disso, numa entrega sincera e emocional. Uma viagem até aos confins do mundo, até ao Vietname e Camboja, até ao território que antigamente se designava como Cochinchina, para encontrar e perceber aquilo que está mais perto de nós, aquilo que nos habita. Um pai que ergue muros de silêncio, uma mãe que revela as costuras do Mundo, uma criada velhíssima, um amigo que quer ser campeão de luta, uma amante que carrega sabores e perfumes proibidos. São estas algumas das inesquecíveis personagens que rodeiam este homem que se dirige à filha, que testemunham - ou dificultam - essa procura do amor mais incondicional. Uma busca que nos leva a todos a chegar tão longe, para lá de longe, para nos depararmos connosco, com as nossas relações mais próximas, com os nossos erros, com as nossas paixões, com as nossas dores e, ao somar tudo isto, entre sofrimento e júbilo, encontrar talvez felicidade. Os elogios da crítica: «Afonso Cruz alcançará um lugar muito destacado nas letras portuguesas.» — El País «Muito mais do que uma leitura recomendável; estamos perante um dos grandes livros da temporada, cheio de engenho e imaginação. Jesus Cristo bebia cerveja é uma lição de literatura.» — Revista Quimera «A bela escadaria da Livraria Lello remete para a obra de Afonso Cruz.(...)Um escritor capaz de tocar várias cordas na sua guitarra. Jesus Cristo bebia cerveja é um romance transgénero; uma tragédia rural, rude e desesperada, uma história bucólica - a que não falta um pastor rústico e uma jovem que se banha nua no rio -, uma fábulapolítica e ainda uma farsa. Joga em todos estes registos romanescos e desafia todas as convenções.» — Éric Chevillard, Le Monde «Um verdadeiro escritor, tão original quanto profundo, cujos livros maravilham o leitor, forçando-o a desencaminhar-se das certezas correntes e a abrir-se a novas realidades.» — Miguel Real, Jornal de Letras «Afonso Cruz pertence a uma rara casta de ficcionistas: os que acreditam genuinamente no poder da efabulação literária. Em Para onde vão os guarda-chuvas o escritor está no auge das suas capacidades narrativas e serve-se delas para criar um Oriente inventado, onde as histórias brotam debaixo das pedras e se entrelaçam com extraordinária coesão.» — José Mário Silva, Expresso«Para onde vão os guarda-chuvas é o ponto mais alto da capacidade narrativa e de efabulação de Afonso Cruz. (...)O que poderia não passar de um exercício de demonstração de sabedoria é um livro cheio de humanidade, muitas vezes brutal, e de um apurado sentido estético. Magnético.» — Isabel Lucas, Público«Jalan Jalan concede-lhe um novo lugar na literatura portuguesa deste terceiro milénio. (#) Afonso Cruz passa a ter um mundo próprio com 26 luas a rodar o planeta das suas escritas, tantas como as letras do nosso alfabeto.» — João Céu e Silva, Diário de Notícias
Available in one volume, all three books of the darkly witty Cornish Trilogy: The Rebel Angels, What&’s Bred in the…
Bone, and The Lyre of Orpheus. The fate of the Cornish family unfolds in this trio of novels by acclaimed Canadian writer Robertson Davies . . . The Rebel Angels. Set in motion by the death of eccentric art patron and collector Francis Cornish, a goodhearted priest and scholar, a professor with a passion for the darker side of medieval psychology, a defrocked monk, and a rich young businessman who inherits some troublesome paintings are all helplessly beguiled by the same coed.What&’s Bred in the Bone. This worthy follow-up goes back to Cornish&’s humble beginnings in a spellbinding tale of artistic triumph and heroic deceit. It is a tale told in stylish, elegant prose, endowed with lavish portions of Davies&’ wit and wisdom.The Lyre of Orpheus. The Cornish Foundation is thriving under the directorship of Arthur Cornish when Arthur and his beguiling wife decide to undertake a project worthy of Francis Cornish. Hulda Schnakenburg is commissioned to complete E.T.A. Hoffmann&’s unfinished opera Arthur of Britain, or The Magnanimous Cuckold; and the scholarly priest Simon Darcourt finds himself charged with writing the libretto. &“Invention has always been Robertson Davies&’s strength. He tells terrific stories that twist around and double back on themselves in surprising ways and, characteristically, combines them with intriguing, arcane information.&”—The New York Times &“Davies&’ fiction is animated by his scorn for the ironclad systems that claim to explain the whole of life. Messy, magical, high-spirited life bubbles up between the cracks.&”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Japanese Baseball: And Other Stories
By W. P. Kinsella. 2000
Short stories filled with empathy, laughter, and a love of the game, from the award-winning author of Shoeless Joe. …
W.P. Kinsella weaves his characters into the thrill of the game, be it in Japan, Central America, Canada, or the United States, with a variety of comic, tragic, and mystical results. This collection captures the dazzling wit, compelling insight, and obsession with baseball that have made Kinsella more popular than a ballpark frank. &“There is a new depth and gentleness to Kinsella&’s storytelling here, a more subtle nuance than his readers may be accustomed to. In &‘The Kowloon Club,&’ the baseball club is persuaded to hire a Feng Shui master to determine the site for their new park…&‘The First and Last Annual Six Towns Old-Timers&’ Game&’ is vintage Kinsella…The final extra-base hit is a deeply felt, introspective look at the half-lived life of an umpire and the reasons he continues to be a part of the game, even when his marriage is going foul.&”—Quill & Quire
Second in the Cornish Trilogy following The Rebel Angels. &“An altogether remarkable creation, [Davies&’] most accomplished novel to date.&”—The New…
York Times Shortlisted for the Booker Prize Francis Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small-town embalmer, an expert art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis&’ life were not always what they seemed. Rounding out the story started by the death of eccentric art patron and collector Francis Cornish in The Rebel Angels, this worthy follow-up, What&’s Bred in the Bone, takes you back to Cornish&’s humble beginnings in a spellbinding tale of artistic triumph and heroic deceit. It is a tale told in stylish, elegant prose, endowed with lavish portions of Davies&’ wit and wisdom. &“Davies&’ novel is absorbing, and the understated humor radiates with good sense about the way of the world.&”—Los Angeles Times &“Davies&’ fiction is animated by his scorn for the ironclad systems that claim to explain the whole of life. Messy, magical, high-spirited life bubbles up between the cracks.&”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Life: A User's Manual (Verba Mundi International Literature Series)
By Georges Perec. 1978
The renowned French author&’s modern masterpiece: &“one of the great novels of the century . . . on the level of Joyce, Proust,…
Mann, Kafka, and Nabokov&” (Boston Globe). Structured around a single moment in time—8:00 p.m. on June 23, 1975—Georges Perec&’s &“elaborate jigsaw puzzle of a novel&” begins in an apartment block in Paris where, chapter by chapter, room by room, a rich cast of characters is revealed in a series of tales that are bizarre, unlikely, moving, funny—and sometimes quite ordinary (Rolling Stone). From the confessions of a racing cyclist to the plans of an avenging murderer, from a young ethnographer obsessed with a Sumatran tribe to an eccentric English millionaire who has devised the ultimate pastime, Life: A User&’s Manual is a symphony of human irony, portraying the mixed marriages of fortunes, passions and despairs, betrayals and bereavements, of hundreds of lives in Paris and around the world. The apartment block&’s one hundred rooms are arranged in a magic square, and the book as a whole is peppered with a staggering range of literary puzzles and allusions, acrostics, and problems of chess and logic. All are there for the reader to solve.&“Those who have a taste for the unusual, for books that create worlds unto themselves, will be dazzled by this crazy-quilt monument to the imagination.&” —The New York Times Book Review
The Brave Cowboy: An Old Tale in a New Time
By Edward Abbey. 2011
A cowboy takes on the forces of twentieth century tyranny in a tale by &“the Thoreau of the American West&”…
that became the classic film Lonely Are the Brave (Larry McMurtry, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lonesome Dove). A rugged individualist and sometime ranch hand, Jack Burns has no love for the modern world. He is a man out of time, riding his horse through a Southwestern landscape corrupted by concrete, shopping centers, and superhighways. A stubborn loner, he lives by a personal moral code that often sets him at odds with contemporary society. And he wouldn&’t have it any other way. When Jack&’s brazen attempt to free a jailed friend fails, the &“anarchist cowboy&” becomes an outlaw overnight. Suddenly he and his chestnut mare are racing toward the New Mexican high country with the state police, the military, and the FBI in hot pursuit. His private war against authority has reached a dangerous new level. But if the powerful forces aligning against him think that Jack is going to go quietly, they&’ve got another think coming. The Houston Chronicle called Edward Abbey &“a fresh breath from the farther reaches and canyons of the diminishing frontier.&” The bestselling author of The Monkey Wrench Gang delivers a stirring tribute to individualism and the vanishing American hero. Brought to the big screen in 1962 as Lonely Are the Brave—a major motion picture starring Kirk Douglas and Walter Matthau—The Brave Cowboy is a moving and thought-provoking fable of the modern American West.
The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks
By Robertson Davies. 1985
&“Davies introduces us to his alter ego . . . A humorous and insightful picture of postwar Canadian life as…
seen through the eyes of a delightful eccentric.&”—Library Journal As editor and later publisher of the Peterborough Examiner, Robertson Davies published witty, curmudgeonly, mischievous, and fiercely individualistic columns under the name of his alter ego, Samuel Marchbanks. In 1985, Davies edited and selected from his alter ego&’s observations to bring together previous titles in the Marchbanks bibliography: The Diary (1947), The Table Talk (1949), and Samuel Marchbanks&’ Almanack (1967). Marchbanks opines on politics, on his furnace, on theatre, on the taxman, on trains, on Christmas, on book-banners, on manners, indeed on everything under the sun. Not only this, but Davies&’s copious and quite delectable Notes are &“calculated to remove all Difficulties caused by the passage of Time and to offer the Wisdom, not to speak of Whimsicality, of this astonishing man to the Modern Public, in the most convenient form.&” &“This writing of four decades ago is consistently incisive, insulting, funny, relevant and altogether interesting.&”—The New York Times &“Now this crank of the first order is on full display for the first time in America . . . To explain to his younger American readers such arcana as &‘telegrams&’ and &‘coal-burning furnaces,&’ Davies has added graceful and comic notes that rival the entertaining opinions of Marchbanks himself.&”—South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Hayduke Lives!: A Novel
By Edward Abbey. 2011
&“Abbey&’s latter-day Luddites, introduced in his novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, are back—and not a moment too soon&” (The New…
York Times). George Washington Hayduke, ex-Green Beret, was last seen clinging to a rock face in the wilds of Utah as an armed posse hunted him down for his eco-radical crimes. Now he&’s back, with a fiery need for vengeance . . . This sequel to Edward Abbey&’s cult classic brings back the old gang of environmental warriors, as they battle a fundamentalist preacher intent on turning the Grand Canyon into a uranium mine—in &“a fine novel, combative and comic, anarchistic and ultimately redemptive&” (Albuquerque Journal). &“I laughed out loud reading this book.&” —Los Angeles Times Book Review
The Rebel Angels (Cornish Trilogy #1)
By Robertson Davies. 1981
The first book in the acclaimed Cornish Trilogy. &“[A] darkly funny scuttle through academe&’s more covert passageway . . .…
saucy stuff indeed.&”—Kirkus Reviews Davies weaves together the destinies of this remarkable cast of characters, creating a wise and witty portrait of love, murder, and scholarship at a modern university in this first book of The Cornish Trilogy. A goodhearted priest and scholar, a professor with a passion for the darker side of medieval psychology, a defrocked monk, and a rich young businessman who inherits some troublesome paintings are all helplessly beguiled by the same coed. The story is set in motion by the death of eccentric art patron and collector Francis Cornish. Hollier, McVarish, and Darcourt are the executors of Cornish&’s complicated will, which includes material that Hollier wants for his studies. The deceased&’s nephew, Arthur Cornish, stands to inherit the fortune. Rebel Angels &“is an enlarging and engaging marvel . . . one does not read this book to be surprised but rather to ponder the ideas its characters encounter in their lives and their readings. It ends like all good comedies end; it proceeds in a manner both picaresque and poignant&” (AllReaders.com). &“A compelling performance.&”—Library Journal
All Fall Down: A Novel
By James Leo Herlihy. 1990
A teenage boy&’s image of his older brother is shattered by tragedy in this &“remarkable first novel&” by the author…
of Midnight Cowboy (New York Herald Tribune Book Review). Some families get a reputation for being strange, and so it is with the Williamses of Seminary Street. The father, once an outspoken socialist, now keeps to his rocks glass. The mother has a reputation for scaring children. But the older son, named Berry-berry, is the most whispered-about of them all. A traveling vagabond, he&’s known for his cleft chin, loose morals, and streaks of violence. Then there&’s sixteen-year-old Clinton, who spends his time filling notebooks with every conversation he can overhear, word for word. When Clinton escapes the confines of home to find his big brother, he hopes to make a connection more real than anything he&’s put down on paper. But finding Berry-berry in coastal Florida will set off a tragic series of events that will stay with Clinton, and his family, forever. &“There is something very wonderful about this book; it has a luminous thing that is the best thing in writing or any kind of art.&” —Tennessee Williams &“Herlihy writes with an edge of iron.&” —Nelson Algren, National Book Award–winning author of The Man with the Golden Arm
Orlando: A Biography
By Virginia Woolf. 2006
An annotated edition of &“Woolf&’s most intense work,&” a fantastical biography that spans from the court of Elizabeth I to…
the year 1928 (Jorge Luis Borges). Begun as a &“joke,&” Orlando is Virginia Woolf&’s fantastical biography of a poet who first appears as a sixteen-year-old boy at the court of Elizabeth I, and is left at the novel&’s end a married woman in the year 1928. From Orlando&’s early days as a page in the Elizabethan court, through first love, heartbreak, and gender transformation, we follow Woolf&’s protagonist across centuries, through adventures in Constantinople and friendship with the poet Alexander Pope. All along, Orlando pursues literary success with her long poem, The Oak Tree. Part love letter to Vita Sackville-West, part exploration of the art of biography, Orlando is one of Woolf&’s most enduringly popular and entertaining works. It has inspired a number of adaptions, including a film version starring Tilda Swinton. This edition, annotated and with an introduction by Maria DiBattista, author of Imagining Virginia Woolf, will deepen readers&’ understanding of Woolf&’s brilliant creation.
The Heart You Carry Home: A Novel
By Jennifer Miller. 2015
A novel about men returning from war, and the women who love them, by &“a young writer full of energy…
and promise&” (Jennifer Egan, author of Manhattan Beach). Becca Keller is no stranger to the way war can change a man. Her Vietnam veteran father, King, suffered after his service, and as a result played only a limited role in his daughter&’s life. Now Becca is marrying Ben, who is also just back from battle—and her mother, convinced that Becca is making the same mistakes she did, boycotts the wedding. Ben does indeed seem different after his second tour, and only days after she marries him, he turns dangerous. Desperate, Becca turns to her father for help. But he is heading west with his motorcycle buddies—out to a place they call Kleos, a mysterious desert compound ruled over by a guru-like commanding officer. It serves as a refuge for some soldiers, but it might be the death of others. There, Becca will be faced with the possibility that she may not know the real damage in her loved ones&’ hearts. In finally seeing her father&’s demons, she might just be able to start a journey back to peace with her husband.
The Train to Warsaw: A Novel
By Gwen Edelman. 2014
Two Holocaust survivors, now married, return to the site of the Warsaw Ghetto they fled forty years ago in this…
&“riveting, dream-like&” novel (The New York Times Book Review). In 1942, Jascha and Lilka separately fled from the Warsaw Ghetto. Reunited years later, they now live in London where Jascha has become a celebrated writer, feted for his dark tales about his wartime adventures. Forty years after the war, Jascha receives a letter inviting him to give a reading in Warsaw. He tells Lilka that nothing remains of the city they knew and that wild horses couldn&’t drag him back. Lilka, however, is nostalgic for the city of her childhood and manages to change Jascha&’s mind. Together, traveling by train through a frozen December landscape, they return to the city of their youth. When they unwittingly find themselves back in what was once the ghetto, they will discover that they still have secrets between them as well as an inescapable past. &“With quiet but devastating force, Edelman plays the experience of being closed in—to trauma, to the past, to a ghetto—against the experience of being forever cast out.&” —The New York Times Book Review &“A compelling tale told by two lovers, whose stunning, sometimes shocking dialogue ultimately becomes an exploration of the enduring wounds of the Holocaust, the mystery of memory, and the irresolvable traumas of lived experience.&” —Haaretz (Israel) &“A powerful and moving novel that is both disturbing and exhilarating.&” —Washington Independent Review of Books &“A well-crafted study of exile and return.&” —Publishers Weekly
Fly Away Home: A Novel
By Marge Piercy. 1984
A New York Times Notable Book: A woman learns the truth about her husband&’s deceptions in this &“superb&” novel by…
the bestselling author of Gone to Soldiers (Boston Herald). After a cross-country tour promoting her latest cookbook, Daria Walker is ready to return to her beautiful home in an affluent Boston suburb and her beloved husband, Ross, a prominent attorney whose rough-hewn good looks have never stopped charming her. But when she arrives, he blindsides her by announcing he wants a divorce. Surprised and devastated, Daria suspects he may be having an affair, but the reality is far worse and will tear apart the illusion of her perfectly happy family. When a boy dies tragically and a scandal erupts involving a mercenary slumlord, Daria is outraged along with the rest of the city. But when she learns that Ross may have a connection to the case, she sets out on a journey to discover the truth—a quest that will cast a shadow over the comfortable life she once enjoyed. From the New York Times–bestselling author of Woman on the Edge of Time, Fly Away Home is the story of a woman forced to question her values, her relationships, and herself—&“a tale of love, betrayal, and revenge set against a backdrop of sterile suburbs, confrontational politics [and] the evils of gentrification&” (The New York Times).