The Queen and I is the brilliantly funny novel by Sue Townsend, author of the Adrian Mole series.
THE MONARCHY HAS BEEN DISMANTLED
When a Republican party wins the General Election, their first act in power is to strip the royal family of their assets and titles and send them to live on a housing estate in the Midlands.
Exchanging Buckingham Palace for a two-bedroomed semi in Hell Close (as the locals dub it), caviar for boiled eggs, servants for a social worker named Trish, the Queen and her family learn what it means to be poor among the great unwashed. But is their breeding sufficient to allow them to rise above their changed circumstance or deep down are they really just like everyone else? Views: 1 138
It is the turn of the century and, far from perishing during the struggle with Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, Professor James Moriarty is alive and well and about to realize his plans to establish crime syndicates in the major cities of the United States. But suddenly he is called back to London, where his vast criminal society has been overrun by a rival concern led by the shadowy Sir Jordan Jack Idell - or Idle Jack - a supposed gentleman hoodlum acting on behalf of criminal elements in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany.
As Moriarty fights back - against both the unruly crime families and the forces of law and order - readers are thrown in among the lurkers, punishers, dippers, cracksmen, and other specialized criminals of the period, as well as the professor's elite guard.
Moriarty lives again and revolts against those who attempt to oust him from his rightful place as king of all criminal endeavors. Views: 1 138
A sweeping, compelling story which brings to life the Iranian Revolution, from an author who experienced it first-hand.
In the house of the mosque, the family of Aqa Jaan has lived for eight centuries. Now it is occupied by three cousins: Aqa Jaan, a merchant and head of the city's bazaar; Alsaberi, the imam of the mosque; and Aqa Shoja, the mosque's muezzin. The house itself teems with life, as each of their families grows up with their own triumphs and tragedies.
Sadiq is waiting for a suitor to knock at the door to ask for her hand, while her two grandmothers sweep the floors each morning dreaming of travelling to Mecca. Meanwhile, Shahbal longs only to get hold of a television to watch the first moon landing. All these daily dramas are played out under the watchful eyes of the storks that nest on the minarets above.
But this family will experience upheaval unknown to previous generations. For in Iran, political unrest is brewing. The shah is losing his hold on power; the ayatollah incites rebellion from his exile in France; and one day the ayatollah returns. The consequences will be felt in every corner of Aqa Jaan's family. Views: 1 138
The crowning novel of James Jones's trilogy brings to life the men who fought and died in the war and the wounded who survived, living to carry the madness home. Views: 1 137
In 'Twilight', a fashionable lady is banished from Versailles by the King, and tries to make the best of life on her country estate. Versailles, for all its hollowness, was the only thing that gave her existence meaning; and although she entertains lovers and friends from Paris in her new home, she soon comes to find her new life intolerable - and moves inexorably towards suicide. In 'Moonbeam Alley', a traveller delayed in a French port explores the sailors' quarter. Enticed by a voice singing an aria, he enters a bar near the harbour, where he learns the story of those who run it and frequent it: a tale of violence, unrequited passion and untrue marriage. Views: 1 137
Newsweek's Favorite Books of 2014
Praise for Sam Savage:
Winner of the O. Henry Prize for "Cigarettes"
Sam Savage manages to be both artful and literal-minded in this faux autobiographical tale of childhood and a mother afflicted and finally driven mad by her wish for artistic success. Savage writes knowingly about the uncertainties of childhood memory, but creates a convincing world of sibling combat and adult pretension. A wonderful, absorbing novel. C. Michael Curtis, Fiction Editor, The Atlantic Monthly
If the worldall its hysteric noisewas muted for just one minute, Sam Savage is what you might be fortunate enough to hear. His elegant laconism, his leaps across the self-evident, his soft aplomb, and the rarified air he bestows upon the mundane make him the only American writer worthy of the label the true eccentric."*Valeria Luiselli
It Will End With Us is Sam Savage s latest deep dive into the mind and voice of a character, and his most personal work yet. Brick by textual brick, his narrator, Eve, builds a memorial to the mother who raised her, emotionally abandoned her, and shaped her in her own image. Eve s memories summon a childhood in rural South Carolina, a decaying house on impoverished soil, and an insular society succumbing to the influences of a wider world. It Will End With Us is a portrait of a place full of hummingbirds and wild irises, but also of frustration and grief. It is the story of a family tragedy, provoked by a mother s stifled ambitions, and seized by the wide-open gaze of a child. Rarely has a novel so brief taken on so much, so powerfully.
Sam Savage is the best-selling author of * Firmin: Adventures of a Metropolitan
Lowlife, The Cry of the Sloth, Glass, * and The Way of the Dog*, all from Coffee
House Press. A finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers
Award, Savage holds a PhD in philosophy from Yale University and resides in
Madison, Wisconsin.
" Views: 1 137
The magnificent Aztec empire has fallen beneath the brutal heal of the Spaniards. But one proud Aztec, Tenamaxtli, refuses to bow to his despised conquerors. He dreams of restoring the lost glory of the Aztec empire, and recruits an army of rebels to mount an insurrection against the seemingly invincible power of mighty Spain.
Tenamaxtli's courageous quest takes us through high adventure, passionate women, unlikely allies, bright hope, bitter tragedy, and the essence of 16th century Mexico. This incredible rebellion has been little remembered, perhaps because it shed no glory on the men who would write the history book, but on its outcome depended the future of all North America. Aztec Autumn recreates this forgotten chapter of history in all its splendor and unforgettable passion. Views: 1 137
Revenge isn’t what the Eves are about. Justice is.
But when Sienna Stevens leaves Miami for her Errand in Seattle as Ally Andrews, revenge is the only thing on her mind. A woman scorned is one thing, but Ally is something else altogether. She will not rest until the man who upended her world is brought to his personal and financial knees. She won’t settle for just upending his world in return. She’s going for full-blown annihilation.
Ally’s barely in Seattle a day before complications arise. She begins making slips. She’s one error away from being pulled from the biggest Errand of her career when she comes face to face with Henry Callahan. Former lover. Current Target.
Things just went from complicated to catastrophic. Views: 1 137
The Story Sisters charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart’s desire, and a demon who will not let go.
What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? These are the questions this luminous novel asks.
At once a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing, The Story Sisters sifts through the miraculous and the mundane as the girls become women and their choices haunt them, change them and, finally, redeem them. It confirms Alice Hoffman’s reputation as "a writer whose keen ear for the measure struck by the beat of the human heart is unparalleled" (The Chicago Tribune). Views: 1 137
Between Parentheses collects most of the newspaper columns and articles Bolano wrote during the last five years of his life, as well as the texts of some of his speeches and talks and a few scattered prologues. “Taken together,” as the editor Ignacio Echevarría remarks in his introduction, they provide “a personal cartography of the writer: the closest thing, among all his writings, to a kind of fragmented ‘autobiography.’” Bolano’s career as a nonfiction writer began in 1998, the year he became famous overnight for The Savage Detectives; he was suddenly in demand for articles and speeches, and he took to this new vocation like a duck to water. Cantankerous, irreverent, and insufferably opinionated, Bolano also could be tender (about his family and favorite places) as well as a fierce advocate for his heroes (Borges, Cortázar, Parra) and his favorite contemporaries, whose books he read assiduously and promoted generously. A demanding critic, he declares that in his “ideal literary kitchen there lives a warrior”: he argues for courage, and especially for bravery in the face of failure. Between Parentheses fully lives up to his own demands: “I ask for creativity from literary criticism, creativity at all levels.” Views: 1 137
From Marc Levy, the most-read French author alive today, comes a modern-day love story between a famous actress hiding in Paris and a bestselling writer lying to himself. They knew their friendship was going to be complicated, but love—and the City of Lights—just might find a way.
On the big screen, Mia plays a woman in love. But in real life, she’s an actress in need of a break from her real-life philandering husband—the megastar who plays her romantic interest in the movies. So she heads across the English Channel to hide in Paris behind a new haircut, fake eyeglasses, and a waitressing job at her best friend’s restaurant.
Paul is an American author hoping to recapture the fame of his first novel. When his best friend surreptitiously sets him up with Mia through a dating website, Paul and Mia’s relationship status is “complicated.”
Even though everything about Paris seems to be nudging them together, the two lonely ex-pats resist, concocting increasingly far-fetched strategies to stay “just friends.” A feat easier said than done, as fate has other plans in store. Is true love waiting for them in a postscript? Views: 1 136
Early one morning Arvid finds himself standing outside the bookshop where he used to work, drunk, dirty, with two fractured ribs, and no idea how he came to be there. He does not even recognise his face in the mirror. It is as if he has dropped out of the flow of life.
Slowly, uncontrollably, the memories return to him, and Arvid struggles under the weight of the tragedy which has blighted his life - the death of his parents and younger siblings in an accident six years previously.
At times almost unbearably moving, In the Wake is nonetheless suffused with unexpected blessings: humour, wisdom, human compassion, and a sense of the perpetual beauty of the natural world.
By the winner of both the IMPAC Award and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. Views: 1 136
Young Jane Young's heroine is Aviva Grossman, an ambitious Congressional intern in Florida who makes the life-changing mistake of having an affair with her boss‑‑who is beloved, admired, successful, and very married‑‑and blogging about it. When the affair comes to light, the Congressman doesn’t take the fall, but Aviva does, and her life is over before it hardly begins. She becomes a late‑night talk show punchline; she is slut‑shamed, labeled as fat and ugly, and considered a blight on politics in general.
How does one go on after this? In Aviva’s case, she sees no way out but to change her name and move to a remote town in Maine. She tries to start over as a wedding planner, to be smarter about her life, and to raise her daughter to be strong and confident. But when, at the urging of others, she decides to run for public office herself, that long‑ago mistake trails her via the Internet like a scarlet A. For in our age, Google guarantees that the past is never, ever, truly past, that everything you’ve done will live on for everyone to know about for all eternity. And it’s only a matter of time until Aviva/Jane’s daughter, Ruby, finds out who her mother was, and is, and must decide whether she can still respect her. Views: 1 136
*This is an alternate cover edition for [ASIN B0090SXRXK](https://www./book/show/16038532).*
Gossip Girl meets Hollywood in this steamy new series by That Boy author, Jillian Dodd.
Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She's popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table.
She's just not sure she wants it anymore.
Because, really, things aren't all that perfect.
Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam.
Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to.
It's exhausting always trying to look and act perfect.
And, deep down, she isn't sure if she has any true friends.
To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker.
A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together.
And she's crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicide.
So she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony.
But little does she know, there's someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn't happen. Views: 1 135
The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry gathers one hundred poems written between 1957 and 1996. Chosen by the author, these pieces have been selected from each of nine previously published collections. The rich work in this volume reflects the development of Berry’s poetic sensibility over four decades. Focusing on themes that have occupied his work for years--land and nature, family and community, tradition as the groundwork for life and culture-- The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry celebrates the broad range of this vital and transforming poet. Views: 1 135
