On a late summer day along the shores of Nova Scotia, a young woman makes a mistake that will claim her life, while at the other end of the beach her brother, Damian, is unaware that she is drowning. Beginning with this shattering event, Anne Simpson’s mesmerizing novel unfolds in unexpected ways. A year after the accident, Damian and his mother, Ingrid, travel to Niagara Falls to scatter Lisa’s ashes and to visit Ingrid’s estranged brother, once a famous daredevil of the Falls, now blind, and his mentally disabled son. But old wounds and new misunderstandings soon collide. Damian, burdened by guilt, finds solace in an intense relationship with a girl he first glimpses in a tattoo parlour. A runaway with dreams of New York City, Jasmine has her own reasons for wanting to escape the past. Meanwhile, Ingrid, having reluctantly returned to her childhood home, finds herself at odds with her brother and besieged by memories. As the summer progresses, each of them becomes caught in the pull of the past — until an act of recklessness shocks them into a new course for the future. In startling, luminous language, Anne Simpson captures both the natural beauty and tawdry eccentricity of Niagara Falls, while evoking the elemental bonds that tie us to the ones we love. By turns uncompromising and heartbreakingly tender, Falling is a riveting story of ordinary people poised on the knife-edge of grief and hope. With this, her second novel, Anne Simpson proves herself to be one of our most striking and original writers.From the Hardcover edition.ReviewPraise for Falling“This is a tender and wise novel; a remarkable story of love lost, and then found.” — David Bergen“In concise, beautiful language, Anne Simpson’s Falling captures a family in free-fall after tragedy strikes. Against the quiet loveliness of a Nova Scotian landscape, and the endless, brutal roar of Niagara Falls, Simpson’s characters struggle to regain their balance, caught between the poles of acceptance and rage, hope and despair. We fall with them and surface, shaken, transformed. Tough, heartbreaking, astute, this novel confronts our deepest fears, and teaches us how to survive.” — Beth Powning“The novel moves forward much like the rushing river that ends up as the tumbling waterfall, unstoppable, a force of nature, like life itself. . . . The novel deserves the highest praise: Simpson has brought together character, plot, language and metaphor with both subtlety and intensity. The result is a potent mix, one that might well result in a Giller award to stand beside her Griffin Prize.” — National Post“Simpson's skill is such that the sum total here is far greater than the parts. We don't quite realize the force of what's built up until near the end, when we suddenly find ourselves fully invested in this compelling web of characters.” — Toronto Star“Profound and sharply observed. . . . Simpson has the poet’s art of paying close attention to details, which take on added fierceness and luminosity [in this novel]. . . . We see, with increasing admiration and wonder, the forces [her characters] are able draw on, as they tumble through the waterfall, in order to survive.” — Globe and Mail“It’s rare to come across a current writer whose characters not only make you think, but are described in such sensual language that t... About the AuthorANNE SIMPSON is the author of four books of poetry, Is (2011); Quick (2007), winner of the Pat Lowther Memorial Award; Loop (2003), winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize; and Light Falls Through You (2000), winner of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Prize and the Atlantic Poetry Prize. She has also written two novels, Falling (2008), longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and winner of the Dartmouth Award for Fiction, and Canterbury Beach (2001). Her book of essays, The Marram Grass: Poetry and Otherness (2009), delves into issues of poetry, art, and empathy. While her home is in Nova Scotia, she has been a writer-in-residence at many universities and libraries across Canada. Views: 71
As "The Eighth Day" opens, a series of bizarre and seemingly unrelated homegrown terrorist attacks are plaguing the nation -- a chemical engineer sets in motion a horrendous explosion killing hundreds of commuters and himself. Hollywood's hottest sex symbol assassinates a sitting Senator. A grandmother stages a sophisticated attack on a train causing massive damage. An airplane full of Silicon Valley's brightest is blown up while refueling. A series of random, deadly events or the unlikely start of an insidious new terror wave? Add to that the suspected tampering with a Presidential election, the use of the Navy's nuclear tipped rockets against California, the collapse of the stock market from within, and the ultimate "merging" of Hollywood and politics and you've got an incendiary mix that explodes across the pages. From the moment Science Advisor to the President William "Wild Bill" Hiccock sticks his foot in his mouth and is tasked with identifying and stopping the threat, he becomes the target of the "established" law enforcement agencies. While watching his back and watching out for the bad guys, he assembles a ragtag group of "out-of-the-box" thinkers-a famous novelist, a retired Navy Admiral, a wise-guy computer hacker sprung from federal prison, and his ex-wife, a leading behavioral psychologist-who must identify and destroy their elusive adversary who always seems to be a step ahead. Views: 71
Still the benchmark of Russian literature 175 years after its first publication—now in a marvelous new translationPushkin's incomparable poem has at its center a young Russian dandy much like Pushkin in his attitudes and habits. Eugene Onegin, bored with the triviality of everyday life, takes a trip to the countryside, where he encounters the young and passionate Tatyana. She falls in love with him but is cruelly rejected. Years later, Eugene Onegin sees the error of his ways, but fate is not on his side. A tragic story about love, innocence, and friendship, this beautifully written tale is a treasure for any fan of Russian literature. Views: 71
Forty-six. That’s how many hybrids survived the Hunter attack in the woods after I revived them with an injection of my blood. That’s how many followed me home to Frederick Falls. And that’s how many were now mentally linked to me through a blood bond. Two days. Three valium. Fourteen hours of sleep. That’s what it took to realize I wasn’t losing my mind as a result of the noise in my own head. Views: 71
Full of the magic of everyday life in the shadow of death--chickens must be cooked for dinner parties, and grandson's questions about God must be answered!--The Staircase Letters is a moving and profound story of friendship and facing the end of life.When Elma Gerwin found out in 2001 at the age of 61 that she had cancer, she reached out to two coasts and to two old friends. One was Arthur Motyer, novelist and teacher, and Elma's university professor from forty years before, and the other was acclaimed novelist Carol Shields, who was facing her own battle with cancer.Years later, Arthur is the only survivor. Still contemplating how Elma's and Carol's correspondence affected him, he has gracefully brought the letters together and interspersed them with literary references and poetry. As both women's illnesses progress, they compare notes on the ups and downs of living with cancer--the joy when Elma is told one area is cancer-free, followed quickly by the... Views: 71
Told with a light touch and great verve, this is the genuinely funny story of sixty days in the tumultuous life of ex-actor cum housewife and mother of two, Lucy Springer as she comes to terms with the sudden departure of her husband, Max, in the middle of major renovations. Lucy Springer thinks she's got it tough. She's living through renovation hell, her two kids seem more challenging than ever, and her once successful acting career has been reduced to the odd commercial. Then Max, her husband, absconds to Bali with an unknown companion and things go from bad to disastrous. But Lucy doesn't give up easily. Juggling increasingly chaotic building dramas, bewildered children, her crazy best friend-slash-agent Gloria, her ever helpful' mother and chasing after Max, Lucy Springer is determined to get her life onto an even keel and more. This delightful new novel is an often hilarious account of triumphing over adversity, following your dreams and listening to your heart. Views: 71
Another hilarious mystery featuring penniless aristocrat Lady Georgie, a feisty new heroine to delight a legion of Anglophile readers (Jacqueline Winspear). The Queen of England has concocted a plan in which Georgie is to entertain a Bavarian princess and conveniently place her in the playboy Princes path, in the hopes that he might finally marry. But queens never take money into account. Georgie has very little, which is why she moonlights as a maid-in-disguise. She must draw up plans: clean house to make it look like a palace; have Granddad and her neighbor pretend to be the domestic staff; un-teach Princess Hanni the English shes culled from American gangster movies; cure said Princess of her embarrassing shoplifting habit; and keep an eye on her at parties. Then theres the worrying matter of the body in the bookshop and Hannis unwitting involvement with the Communist Party. Its enough to drive a girl crazy... Views: 70
Chris Leeton is tormented but also sustained by his growing need to cross over into the landscape of his aboriginal ancestors. After the night of the flood, his Wiradjuri mother resolves to take her four children away from their riverbank home and her unhappy life with Chris's white father. In the struggle to keep the family together in Sydney's grim commission housing, schoolboy Chris is tender witness to poverty and despair. In time he comes to understand that they are exiles in their own land. He senses that it is his generation which must cross the bridge back to that landscape which defines his people's existence. Views: 70
Stern and unyielding, Major Damon Collingham was prepared to pay a king's ransom for someone who could stay the course as governess to his two motherless children. In her straitened circumstances, Miss Juliana Wrenn needed this post and could not allow herself to be intimidated by him--or his colorful reputation. A devil on the battlefield and in the bedroom. Juliana knew what was said about her employer. She would not fall under his spell. But then, those harsh features could sometimes soften to something so much more attractive.... Views: 70
Product DescriptionOperating out of a nearly empty space in Los Angeles, the newly created CTU faces its first major crisis. A large amount of plastique explosive has vanished and could be anywhere—with criminals, crazies, outlaw bikers . . . or in the bloodstained hands of Islamic radicals. As powerful representatives of the world's major religions gather for a conference on faith, peace, and coexistence, agents of the newborn elite counterterrorism unit must chase elusive shadows through the underbelly of L.A. A nightmare of assassination and terror is looming, tied to the darkest secrets of the church—an explosive threat that must be exposed and defused within twenty-four hours, or violent repercussions will be felt around the world. And only one man possesses the necessary passion, ruthless skill, and willingness to operate outside his jurisdiction and beyond the limits of the law: a dangerous rogue CIA operative . . . named Jack Bauer. About the AuthorJohn Whitman is the author of numerous books and projects, including the "Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear" series, Zorro and the Witch's Curse, and, most recently, the trading cards for "24 Day 3." He is a 4th-degree black belt and defensive tactics instructor in Krav Maga, the official hand-to-hand combat system of the Israeli military, has trained in protective services and defensive tactics in both the United States and in Israel, and has served as an instructor of U.S. law enforcement agencies and military anti-terrorist units. Views: 70
