"My family has a grand tradition. After a woman gives birth, she goes mad. I thought that I would be the one to escape."So begins Adrienne Martini's candid, compelling, and darkly humorous history of her family's and her own experiences with depression and postpartum syndrome.Illuminating depression from the inside, Martini delves unflinchingly into her own breakdown and institutionalization and traces the multigenerational course of this devastating problem. Moving back and forth between characters and situations, she vividly portrays the isolation -- geographical and metaphorical -- of the Appalachia of her forebears and the Western Pennsylvania region where she grew up. She also weaves in the stories of other women, both contemporary and historic, who have dealt with postpartum depression in all its guises, from fleeting "baby blues" to full-blown psychosis.Serious as her subject is, Martini's narrative is unfailingly engaging and filled with witty, wry observa... Views: 51
In the rowdy red-light district of Storyville, four players of the new music they call "jass" have turned up dead. When Creole detective Valentin St. Cyr begins to investigate, he discovers that every one of the victims once played in the same band, and the only one left alive has gone into hiding. As he digs deeper, Valentin becomes convinced that a shadowy woman is the key to the mystery. His efforts to find her touch nerves, and soon Tom Anderson, known as the "King of Storyville," police lieutenant J. Picot, and even the mayor of New Orleans want him off the case. It's all the proof Valentin needs that there is something even larger and darker at the heart of this sordid business. Seductively told, expertly plotted, and terrifically concluded, Jass is the perfect encore to Fulmer's first novel in the Valentin St. Cyr series. ** Views: 51
Miles Wednesday, orphaned, unwashed and living in a barrel, has never been to a circus before—but then the Circus Oscuro is no ordinary circus. There's a strange beast called The Null and an array of sinister-looking clowns, and when an unusual little girl with wings falls from a tower during the performance, Miles's life is changed forever. As Miles and Little embark on an extraordinary journey to rescue two friends who have been captured at the Palace of Laughter, they discover nothing less than the power of friendship and the gift of family. Views: 51
Scott O'Connor's novels have been hailed as "astonishing" (Library Journal), and "so insistently stirring, you want to lean in close to catch every word" (The New York Times Book Review). Now, from the author of Untouchable and Half World comes A Perfect Universe, a piercingly emotional cycle of stories in the tradition of Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad and Annie Proulx's Close Range.Welcome to the often-overlooked corners of sun-bleached Los Angeles, where a teenaged bicycle thief searches for a kidnapped boy, a young musician emerges as the lone survivor of a building collapse, and an aging actor faces the erasure of his past. There, far from the Hollywood spotlight, we also meet two sisters locked in a destructive cycle of memory and illness, coffee-shop regulars whose lives are torn apart by a stunning moment of violence, and the desperate, fraudulent writer whose fictions connect these unforgettable characters... Views: 51
True stories of transitioning from medical school classrooms to the realities of the hospital: "Moving, eloquent, and often unforgettable" (Atul Gawande, MD). After years of practice, doctors can sometimes seem aloof, uncaring, and hurried. What goes on in their minds? Were they always like that, or has their work changed them? And how do some physicians manage to retain their warmth and humanity over the course of a long career? This "thoughtful and illuminating" book takes us into the day-to-day lives of third-year medical students at an Ivy League school—just starting out in their profession and dealing with patients face-to-face for the first time (Publishers Weekly). In their own words, more than forty of them reveal what it's really like to enter this field, having their principles of scientific rigor and idealism tested as they cope with real people and real crises in real time. This doctor's-eye view of the... Views: 51
In 1935, when Erma Morton, a beautiful young woman with a teaching degree, is charged with the murder of her father in a remote Virginia mountain community, the case becomes a cause célèbrefor the national press. Eager for a case to replace the Lindbergh trial in the public's imagination, the journalists descend on the mountain county intent on infusing their stories with quaint local color: horse-drawn buggies, rundown shacks, children in threadbare clothes. They need tales of rural poverty to give their Depression-era readers people whom they can feel superior to. The untruth of these cultural stereotypes did not deter the big-city reporters, but a local journalist, Carl Jennings, fresh out of college and covering his first major story, reports what he sees: an ordinary town and a defendant who is probably guilty. This journey to a distant time and place summons up ghosts from the reporters' pasts: Henry Jernigan's... Views: 51
Equal parts bildungsroman and purported literary artifact, The Age of Cities is -really about the age of innocence. A manuscript is discovered inside a hollowed-out home economics textbook: it is the story of a young man from a small town who comes to the big city at the height of the Cold War. His accidental discovery of a gay -subculture—culminating in a feverish, dreamlike initiation—pushes him irrevocably toward crisis. The Age of Cities is about discovery, loss, and the contemporary “closet” where stories lie hidden from view.ReviewThe hilariously wicked dialogue is outdone by the lush, vivid, and delicately crafted settings described throughout the book.—Xtra! West (Xtra!West )The Age of Cities is a rare look at a time when to be closeted meant a landscape as bare as the one outside Winston's [the protagonist's] window.—The Edge Boston(The Edge Boston )Exquisitely crafted and rich with detail, the dexterous prose of Grubisic's novel makes for a most beguiling and confident debut. Suffused with sentences both meticulous and insightful, and flavored with sly humor, one lingers over them, savoring their pleasure like that of a delectable meal.—D. Travers Scott, author of One of These Things is Not Like the Other (D. Travers Scott D. Travers Scott )An intriguing find for the ongoing dialogue on, and revision of, the Canadian canon. A.X. Palios has unearthed that rarest of finds: a novel that makes us rethink an era.—Tamas Dobozy, author of Last Notes and Other Stories and When X Equals Marylou (Tamas Dobozy Tamas Dobozy )Is it possible to be in the closet and not know it? This is a book that speaks of a time when that was entirely possible.... Grubisic's meticulous depiction of the era [the late 1950s] pays off.... written with ease and elegance. —Broken Pencil Magazine(Broken Pencil Magazine )You may think of a North American Gide, though not so chilly... The Age of Cities rewards the reader with the power of an unapologetic work of art. —Lambda Book Report (Lambda Book Report )The Age of Cities mingles past and present with powerful effect. The history of gay men and lesbians does indeed contain real artifacts that should be brought to light. But because the hidden lives of people now gone can only be imagined, we also need storytellers who make us experience the moving, sad truth of decent people making do without many of the rights we now almost take for granted. The signal achievement of Brett Josef Grubisic in this book is the beautifully realized story of Winston and his trips to the big city." —Gay & Lesbian Review (Gay & Lesbian Review )Brett Josef Grubisic manages literally to deconstruct the [coming-out novel] genre while deftly poking fun at academics who do such things for a living. Grubisic's narrative device is a delight. —Literary Review of Canada (Literary Review of Canada ) About the AuthorBrett Josef Grubisic is the author of the novel The Age of Cities (Arsenal, 2006) and the editor of Contra/Diction: New Queer Male Fiction (Arsenal, 1998)and co-editor (with Carellin Brooks) of Carnal Nation: Brave New Sex Fictions (Arsenal, 2000). He teaches English at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Views: 51
It was a dark and sexy night...and she was in Trouble. Really! Budding journalist Lottie Santori is dying to escape her overprotective family and experience a little sexual adventure. And her upcoming, out-of-town (thank God!) job, researching scary old Seaton House, offers some very definite possibilities.... Lottie has always had a thing for the tall, dark and mysterious type, and her reluctant host, sexy Simon Lebeaux, looks as if he can give her the thrill of a lifetime. But when she finds herself at the center of several surprising "accidents," Lottie can only wonder if she'll last that long.... Views: 51
In the sixteenth century, Granuaile, the Pirate Queen, warrior and leader, was the terror of the North Atlantic and the most feared woman in Ireland. Heading a large army and a fleet of ships, she lived by trading and raiding and demanding tribute from all who sailed through her territory. Told partly through letters written to her son Tibbot, it charts the gradual decline of the Gaelic chieftains and traditions of Ireland as Elizabeth Tudor, the 'Virgin Queen' of England, extended her power throughout Ireland by bribery and slaughter. It is a story of immense bravery and daring, as Granuaile takes on the great Norman lords, smuggles weapons and mercenaries for the Ulster Gaelic O'Donnell and O'Neill clans and finally goes to confront Elizabeth Tudor herself. Some of the great figures of Irish history feature, including Red Hugh O'Donnell, Hugh O'Neill, Hugh Dubh O'Donnell, and Richard Bingham.** Views: 51
Our hero is a Tamworth pig with attitude. He was imported from Australia to improve the "bloodline" of the farmer's herd and he is in no doubt about his own importance. But his days of usefulness are numbered and he's about to be packed off on that final journey...or is it? This is a hilarious story based on the escape of the Tamworth Two, from an exciting new writing talent. Views: 50
“Among the new voices in twenty-first-century crime fiction, Charlie Huston . . . is where it's at.” - The Washington Post “Huston writes dialogue so combustible it could fuel a bus and characters crazy enough to take it on the road.” - The New York Times Book Review Reluctant hitman Henry Thompson has fallen on hard times. His grip on life is disintegrating, his pistol hand shaking, his body pinned to his living room couch by painkillers - and his boss, Russian mobster David Dolokhov, isn't happy about any of it. So Henry is surprised when he's handed a new assignment: keep tabs on a minor league baseball star named Miguel Arenas. Henry has no pity for the slugger and the wicked gambling problem that got him in trouble, but he can't help liking the guy. After all, Henry used to be just like him: a natural-born ball player with a bright future. But hell, that was long ago. Before Henry did some guy a favor and ended up running for his life. Before his girlfriend and buddies got gunned down by someone on his tail. Before he agreed to buy his parents' safety with a life of violence. And when Miguel gets drafted by the Mets and is sent to the Brooklyn Cyclones, Henry must head back to New York, back to the place where all his problems began - and where Henry might find a real reason to keep living, a reason that may just cost him his life. “Huston reminds me of all my favorite writers - Pete Dexter, Robert Stone, Crumley. If there is such a thing as compassionate noir, Charlie has found it. He's a true marvel.” - Ken Bruen, author of The Guards
“Charlie Huston is the real deal.” - Peter Straub 2006 Views: 50
