Bitter, joyful, worn down, filled with wonder, acutely self-aware, and often deeply in need of perspective—such are the women at the center of Mary Jane Myers' compelling debut short story collection. Lonely and stuck in lives that have begun to feel stale, these ordinary women—administrative assistants, typists, accountants—awake unto themselves after brushes with the surreal. While light and playful in tone, the stories reflect the hollowness and toxicity that can come from ascribing too strictly to the popularly held values of our contemporary society and the confusion caused by wobbly religious beliefs in a secular world. Louise, an unassuming tourist, is accosted in a museum in Florence by the voice of Galileo's finger bone promising to grant her greatest wish in return for a simple favor. Diane narrowly escapes a toxic relationship and sinks into a depression when she becomes convinced the gods are speaking to her through a stone from the lava... Views: 21
1976 — a more liberal time for gay men and women than the mid-eighties. That doesn’t mean an easy ride, however, for the central characters of The Colour Of His Hair, Mark, aged eighteen, and Donald, aged seventeen, who fall in love and begin a relationship. When their so-called friends at school find out what is going on, the persecution begins. Donald nearly breaks down under the strain, despite help from an unexpected quarter — his English teacher, who is also gay. But the relationship survives into early adulthood, and ten years on it undergoes some surprising twists and turns in less liberal, AIDS-conscious 1986. The Colour Of His Hair is a return by David Rees to a novel about gay teenagers with whom, according to most critics, he deals more sympathetically and with more insight and understanding than any living novelist. Views: 21
The definitive book on the ultimate mob boss—featuring new FBI revelations, rare family photos, and never-before-published material . . . The press nicknamed him "The Prime Minister of the Underworld." The U.S. Treasury's Bureau of Narcotics described him as "one of the most powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S." But to friends and associates, he was simply "Uncle Frank." Who was Frank Costello really? That's the question Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano sets out to answer—in this definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime . . . Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up, from small-time bootlegging and gambling to a nationwide racketeering empire. The book's stunning revelations include: * Costello's secret interviews... Views: 21
