Annie Dunne and her cousin Sarah live and work on a small farm in a remote and beautiful part of Wicklow in late 1950s Ireland. All about them the old green roads are being tarred, cars are being purchased, a way of life is about to disappear. Like two old rooks, they hold to their hill in Kelsha, cherishing everything. When Annie's nephew and his wife are set to go to London to find work, their two small children, a little boy and his older sister, are brought down to spend the summer with their grand-aunt.
It is a strange chance of happiness for Annie. Against that happiness moves the figure of Billy Kerr, with his ambiguous attentions to Sarah, threatening to drive Annie from her last niche of safety in the world. The world of childish innocence also proves sometimes darkened and puzzling to her, and she struggles to find clear ground, clear light - to preserve her sense of love and place against these subtle forces of disquiet. A summer of adventure, pain, delight and ultimately epiphany unfolds for both the children and their elderly caretakers in this poignant and exquisitely told story of innocence, loss and reconciliation. Views: 655
*From the #1 *New York Times* bestselling author of *Me Before You, *the basis for the major motion picture, comes the touching, unforgettable story of three generations of Irish women faced with the fundamental truths of love, duty, and the unbreakable bond that unites mothers and daughters. *
Estranged from her mother since she ran away from her rural Irish home as a young woman, Kate swore a future oath that she’d always be a friend to her daughter, Sabine. But history has a way of repeating itself, and Kate now faces an ever-widening chasm between herself and her daughter. With Sabine about to make her own journey to Ireland to see the grandmother Kate abandoned, Kate is left wondering how they ever made it here, and what she can do to close the gap between them.
For Joy, seeing her granddaughter is a dream come true. After the painful separation from Kate, she’s looking forward to having time with Sabine. Yet almost as soon as the young woman arrives, the lack of common ground between them deflates her enthusiasm. And when Sabine’s impetuous, inquisitive nature forces Joy to face long-buried secrets from her past, she realizes that perhaps it’s time to finally heal old wounds. Views: 652
It's not every day that a writer, almost unheard of in his lifetime, emerges twenty years after his death as a voice of his generation. But then again, there aren't many writers with such irrepressible genius as John Fante.
The John Fante Reader is the important next step in the reintroduction of this influential author to modern audiences. Combining excerpts from his novels and stories, as well as his never-before-published letters, this collection is the perfect primer on the work of a writer -- underappreciated in his time -- who is finally taking his place in the pantheon of twentieth-century American writers. Views: 652
Collision course
The fifth-grade Week in the Woods is a beloved tradition of Hardy Elementary, where Mark Chelmsley (the Fourth) is pretty much killing time before his parents send him off to an exclusive prep school. But then Mark realizes the Week might be a chance to prove to Mr. Maxwell that he's not just another of the slacker rich kids the teacher can't stand.
But it may be too late for Mark to change Mr. Maxwell's opinion of him. On the first day of the Week, the tension between teacher and student explodes, and in a reckless moment, Mark puts not only himself, but also Mr. Maxwell, in grave danger. Can two such strong adversaries work together to save their lives? Views: 651
Sun-hee and her older brother Tae-yul are proud of their Korean heritage. Yet they live their lives under Japanese occupation. All students must read and write in Japanese and no one can fly the Korean flag. Hardest of all is when the Japanese Emperor forces all Koreans to take Japanese names. Sun-hee and Tae-yul become Keoko and Nobuo. Korea is torn apart by their Japanese invaders during World War II. Everyone must help with war preparations, but it doesn’t mean they are willing to defend Japan. Tae-yul is about to risk his life to help his family, while Sun-hee stays home guarding life-and-death secrets. Views: 649
With "fascinating forensics and insider insights" (People), Leonard Goldberg reunites pathologist Joanna Blalock and detective Jake Sinclair in a cutting-edge novel about the mysteries of the mind-and the dangers of unraveling them. Dr. Karen Crendall's suicide didn't make sense. She was on the verge of a medical breakthrough-using brain tissue DNA to recapture aural and visual memories. Joanna Blalock and detective Jake Sinclair are convinced it was murder. But to prove their case they have to use the victim's revolutionary research-and enter the recesses of Dr. Crandall's mind-to unveil a killer hidden in memory's darkest realm.
Views: 647
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Ward Radcliffe Views: 647
When A.P.J. Abdul Kalam wrote India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium with Y.S. Rajan in 1998, little did they expect the magnitude of the response they would get. The idea that India could actually be a developed nation in a short time rather than remain condemned to a subsistence diet of marginal improvements and promises struck a chord among readers. The book continues to be a best-seller. Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India goes the logical next step and examines why, given all our skills, resources and talents, we, so obviously capable of being the best, settle so often for the worst. What is it that we as a nation are missing? For at the heart of Ignited Minds is an irresistible premise: the people of a nation have the power, by dint of hard work, to realize their dream of a truly good life. Kalam offers no formulaic prescription in Ignited Minds. Instead, he takes up different issues and themes that struck him on his pilgrimage around the country as he met thousands of school children, teachers, scientists and saints and seers in the course of two years: the necessity for a patriotism that transcends religion and politics; for role models who point out the path to take; and for confidence in ourselves and in our strengths. Who was he to write on so large a theme, he wondered as he started writing this book. But at the end, Kalam's humility notwithstanding, this may well prove to be the book that motivates us to get back on the winning track and unleash the energy within a nation that hasn't allowed itself full rein. Views: 645
Alice knows she should be happy. After all she has a handsome husband, a beautiful house and membership to all the most exclusive clubs in London. So what if the rumours about her husband's skirt-chasing are becoming harder to ignore? When Joe's indiscretions force a transfer to New York, Alice hopes it might be a fresh start. And when they find a beautiful old house in Connecticut Alice is overjoyed. For a while she and Joe seem as happy as newlyweds. But then the late nights and unexplained absences start again. What should Alice do? Stay and fight for him? Or leave with her head held high? Views: 643
When Grandfather’s friend bought Skeleton Point, she invited the Alden children to help her fix it up. But this empty mansion is even spookier than it looks. The man who used to live there studied bones—and the house it filled with skeletons! Then the mansions valuable statues begin to disappear. Could the Skeleton Point ghost be causing mischief? Views: 642
From the internationally acclaimed, bestselling novelist -- his first ever non-fiction book: a poignant, illuminating journey through a century of modern Ireland as told through the eyes of his parents.
Ita Doyle: “In all my life I have lived in two houses, had two jobs, and one husband. I’m a very interesting person.”
Rory and Ita tells -- largely in their own words -- the story of Roddy Doyle’s parents’ lives from their first memories to the present. Born in 1923 and 1925 respectively, they met at a New Year’s Eve dance in 1947 and married in 1951. Marvellous talkers, with excellent memories, they draw upon their own family experiences (Ita’s mother died when she was three -- “the only memory I have is of her hands, doing things”; Rory was the oldest of nine children, five of them girls); and recall every detail of their Dublin childhoods -- the people (aunts, cousins, shopkeepers, friends, teachers), the politics (both came from Republican families), Ita’s idyllic times in the Wexford countryside, and Rory’s apprenticeship as a printer.
When Roddy’s parents put down a deposit of two hundred pounds for a house in rural Kilbarrack, on the edge of Dublin, Rory was working as a compositor at the Irish Independent. By the time the first of their four children was born, he had become a teacher at the School of Printing in Dublin. Then, their home began to change (“Kilbarrack wasn’t a rural place any more”) along with the rest of the country, as the intensely Catholic society of their youth was transformed into the vibrant, complex Ireland of today.
Rory and Ita’s captivating accounts of the last century, combined with Roddy Doyle’s legendary skill in illuminating ordinary experience, make a story of tremendous warmth and humanity.
This magnificent book is not only a biography of, but also a love letter to Roddy’s parents, Rory and Ita.
From the Trade Paperback edition. Views: 639
Kirsten has learned that she is to work closely with Cal McCormick, her estranged husband! Only a few years before, tragedy had ripped apart their new marriage....Now Kirsten is stunned to discover that she still has strong feelings for Cal. And Cal seems set on making her fall in love with him all over again. But Kirsten needs more than his provocatively sensual seduction before she can give herself fully to the only man she has ever loved. Views: 639
When Kit Ramsey arrives in Inismon, Ireland, to lay claim to his inheritance, he realizes the townspeople of this tiny, impoverished village are convinced that he is the miracle they've been praying for. But Kit—the natural son of George Ramsey, the fifteenth marquess of Templeton—isn't interested in being anybody's hero. All he wants is the chance to become his own man. But inheritances come with responsibility, and Kit quickly learns that his new title of earl of Kilgannon comes with plenty of strings attached—including the guardianship of Mariah Shaughnessy, the beautiful baker of Inismorn . . . the beautiful baker whom he must teach how to be a proper lady.
Fresh out of a convent, Mariah knows that, with Lord Ramsey's deep pockets, he is Inismorn's last hope for survival. She accepts Kit lessons in social graces—not because she wants to become the perfect gentleman's wife—but because she dreams of becoming the love of Kit Ramsey's life. Views: 638
There's a pig man at your window, and he's hungry. This is the world of Imago. Something has gone very wrong with this world. Changed freaks, victims of the Human Mutational Virus, roam California's streets. DisLex, the entertainment utility, monitors everyone's lives; yet few know that DisLex not only controls life, it has created it: perfect virtual constructs who can never die - the Imagos.Amy Sterling Casil is a 2002 Nebula Award nominee and recipient of other awards and recognition for her short science fiction and fantasy which has appeared in publications ranging from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction to Zoetrope. Views: 636
