"There's no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it." The men and women in these eight short fictions grasp this truth on an elemental level, and their stories, as told by James Baldwin, detail the ingenious and often desperate ways in which they try to keep their head above water. It may be the heroin that a down-and-out jazz pianist uses to face the terror of pouring his life into an inanimate instrument. It may be the brittle piety of a father who can never forgive his son for his illegitimacy. Or it may be the screen of bigotry that a redneck deputy has raised to blunt the awful childhood memory of the day his parents took him to watch a black man being murdered by a gleeful mob. By turns haunting, heartbreaking, and horrifying--and informed throughout by Baldwin's uncanny knowledge of the wounds racism has left in both its victims and its perpetrators--Going to Meet the Man is a major work by one of our most important writers. A collection of eight short stories that explore with devastating frankness the roots of love, hate, and racial conflict. By turns haunting, heartbreaking, and horrifying, this is a major work by one of America's quintessential writers. Views: 42
Like the blues -- sweet, sad and full of truth -- this masterly work of fiction rocks us with powerful emotions. In it are anger and pain, but above all, love -- affirmative love of a woman for her man, the sustaining love of a black family. Fonny, a talented young artist, finds himself unjustly arrested and locked in New York's infamous tombs. But his girlfriend, Tish, is determined to free him, and to have his baby, in this starkly realisitic tale... a powerful endictment of American concepts of justice and punishment in our time. Views: 42
THIS TITLE IS AN OUT-OF-COPYRIGHT BOOK. THE QUALITY OF THE CONVERTED EBOOK WILL VARY. Views: 42
A cutthroat Manhattan custody battle leads to kidnapping and murder Rita Galloway is leaving a puppet show when a stranger sprints up to her and snatches her son, Bobby, from her arms. She screams for help, and Bobby is able to wriggle out of the man's grip, but the would-be kidnapper escapes without a trace. It would be just another ordinary Manhattan street crime if it weren't for Rita's estranged husband, heir to one of the wealthiest corporations in New York City. Rita's convinced he paid to have his son kidnapped and will stop at nothing until he has the boy. When NYPD lieutenant Marian Larch is assigned to keep an eye on Bobby, she's not surprised when the conflict turns bloody. And when people connected with the case begin dying, she finds herself dragged into the spotlight—and worries she may be the next victim.Full Frontal Murder is the 7th book in the Marian Larch Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order. Views: 42
All through the year, this shaggy, raggy, rumbly, bumbly bear faces down whatever comes his way: bee stings and scolding squirrels, cold rushing rivers and prickly bushes. And he does it all with a spring in his step and a smile on his face. There's just one thing he can't abide. Luckily, he knows exactly what to do about it.Season by season, Alice Schertle and Matt Phelan lead us through a year in the life of a charming, resourceful, and quite hairy bear. Views: 42
"I am not in a contest. I never wanted fame or money. I wanted to get the word down the way I wanted it, that's all. And I had to get the words down or be overcome by something worse than death." So writes the late Charles Bukowski in his entry for 6/23/92 (12:34 AM). The Captain Is Out To Lunch And The Sailors Have Taken Over The Ship, a delightful, posthumous gathering of excerpts from Bukowski notebooks, is loaded with such direct ruminations about writing, death, money, humanity, and how the author located meaning and value in his daily life and work. Richly illustrated with gritty drawings by Robert Crumb, Bukowski's legions of readers will want to add this prose volume to their collections. Autograph seekers, race track habitués and the dull thud of the nags ("I go to the track almost reluctantly. I am too idiotic to figure out any other place to go...I guess getting my ass out of here forces me to look at Humanity and when you look at Humanity you've GOT to react." p.66), Hollywood types, classical music and classy authors, poets and poseurs, all subjects frequently addressed by Bukowski over the course of his long, productive career, shape the book's contents. One observes Bukowski at home, going to the mall with wife Linda, driving the LA freeways, at his computer mulling over what does and doesn't add up. Charles Bukowski scrapped and fought for his rewards and, as "The Captain Is Out To Lunch" makes indelibly clear, it was honest writing and its publication, not money or fame, that empowered him. Ultimately he achieved acclaim and a fair measure of financial success, after establishing a beneficial relationship with John Martin of Black Sparrow Press, a committed independent publisher who enabled him to reach a world-wide audience of readers. They valued his work during his lifetime and continue to anticipate the thinning stream of books still coming out several years after his death. Views: 42
A North Country Life is the story of author Sydney Lea's powerful connection to his family, friends, and the northern outdoors. Loosely organized by the changing of seasons, different sections feature essays on such topics as childhood family fishing trips in the wilds of Maine, trophy fly-fishing the northern reaches of the Connecticut River, the opening day of turkey hunting season in Vermont, and getting lost in the deep woods while deer hunting. The essays are introspective and dramatic illustrations of the blending of the human and natural worlds; emotion is attached to both spheres and adds texture to the sketches. Readers of varied interests will be drawn to the sincerity of the author's voice.A notable writer and poet, Lea's lyrical writing preserves a picture of people and places from the past with vivid scenes recalling former times and contrasting them with modern life. Thoughtful portraits of New England elders and the author's friends bring to life the... Views: 42
