Following in the footsteps of The Birth House, her powerful debut novel, The Virgin Cure secures Ami McKay's place as one of our most beguiling storytellers. (Not that it has to . . . that is pretty much taken care of!)"I am Moth, a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a slum-house mystic and the man who broke her heart." So begins The Virgin Cure, a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in the year 1871. As a young child, Moth's father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from his wife and daughter forever, and Moth has never stopped imagining that one day they may be reunited -- despite knowing in her heart what he chose over them. Her hard mother is barely making a living with her fortune-telling, sometimes for well-heeled clients, yet Moth is all too aware of how she really pays the rent.Life would be so much better, Moth knows, if fortune had gone the other way -- if only she'd had the luxury of a good family... Views: 50
EDITORIAL REVIEW:
**Two kids with the same name lived in the same decaying city. One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.** In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun* *ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore. Wes just couldn’t shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen?That letter led to a correspondence and relationship that have lasted for several years. Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own: Both had grown up in similar neighborhoods and had had difficult childhoods, both were fatherless; they’d hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and both had run into trouble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across similar moments of decision, yet their choices would lead them to astonishingly different destinies.Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, *The Other Wes Moore* tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world. Views: 50
AWFUL END When both of Eddie Dickens's parents catch a disease that makes them turn yellow, go a bit crinkly round the edges and smell of hot water bottles, it's agreed he should go and stay with relatives at their house Awful End. Unfortunately for Eddie, those relatives are Mad Uncle Jack and Even-Madder Aunt Maud, and it doesn't look as if the three of them are ever going to reach their destination ... DREADFUL ACTS Eddie Dickens narrowly avoids an explosion, a hot-air balloon and arrest, only to find himself falling head-over heels for a girl with a face like a camel's, and into the hands of a murderous gang of escaped convicts who have 'one little job for him to do'. TERRIBLE TIMES Eddie had been given the task of travelling to America to look after his family's interests there. But his life is never that simple; especially with a potential stowaway in his trunk, and Lady Constance Bustle at his side. She's a professional 'travelling companion', whose previous employers seem to... Views: 50
Somnium is a pagan fantasy which ranges from medieval romance through Elizabethan tragedy to the Gothic novel and the sublime madness of the Decadents. It spirals out from the classical myth of Endymion and the Greek lunar goddess Selene in an odyssey through love and loss and lunacy. "A masterpiece" – Alan Moore. "A unique work by a unique genius. Moore has an understanding of the occult peculiar to a very few and it always gives me the shivers; the shivers which say 'authenticity'. " – Michael Moorcock. "A visionary decrypting of one of fringe-London's most potent downriver sites. Steve Moore's voyage through plural strands of time echoes the high craft of his namesake, Alan, and the honourable tradition of Michael Moorcock's Gloriana." – Iain Sinclair. Views: 50
Angry and hilarious, this collection of satirical essays about Barack Obama confronts the racial tensions that have dogged the president during his campaign and first year in office. Some of the pieces include "Ma and Pa Clinton Flog Uppity Black Man," "Crazy Rev. Wright," and "Obama Scolds Black Fathers, Gets Bounce in Polls." Previously unpublished material also addresses the controversies around Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Tiger Woods. Views: 50
From #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy comes an emotional and romantic story of love and family.Rachel fell in love at nineteen with a man who came into her life on a whirlwind of sunlight and romance. She married Gary Tanner, had his son, and thought she would live happily ever after. But fate had other plans. Gary died in a tragic accident ... at least she thought it was an accident. Now, there are questions that need to be answered, and only one man she can turn to, Gary's best friend, Dylan.Rachel was everything Dylan Prescott wanted in a woman. But Gary met her first, so she became untouchable. For years he stayed away from her. Now Rachel is a widow, her marriage is over, and she turns to him for help. The passion he feels for her is no longer out of his reach. The life he always wanted is beckoning to him, but when the secrets come out, will their love find a way to survive? Reviews:"Freethy has once again penned an exceptional piece of... Views: 50
