![]() For reasons Will couldn’t quite explain, seeing its tail brush the wall made his blood run cold. His mother was very vocal about her preference for the ‘over’ orientation” (it was the manufacturer’s intent, she argued the pattern was printed on that side). Sharp-eyed Will notices when the little touches that define Josephine start to go awry: “A small but undeniable thing. ![]() Through all of this, including a suspicious incident that brings child-protective services calling, Josephine struggles to maintain her illusion of composure. who is regressing into his own world, a workaholic and alcoholic father and an insidiously manipulative mother. Dad Douglas retreats to alcohol and pretty much disappears from the story. Mother, mother : a novel, Koren Zailckas. Younger daughter Violet experiments with Eastern philosophy, drugs and fasting, earning her a trip to the psycho ward. Oldest daughter Rose runs off with a boyfriend. In Josephine’s family, her 12-year-old, possibly autistic son Will (diagnosed by Josephine, who fervently believes in her own medicinal and psychiatric skills) garners the most attention because of his disability. From Koren Zailckas, author of the iconic memoir Smashed: an electrifying debut novel about a family being torn apart by the woman who claims to love them most. ![]() ![]() But there is definitely horror as we follow the twisted tale of Josephine Hurst, whose life seems at first the ideal of perfection and control, like a balloon filled till it’s too full, just waiting to burst. ![]() There’s no parental ax-wielding here, no mommy-dearest incidents with wire hangers or other obvious abuse. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() Okay, that’s the story, but that’s not really the story, you know. She eventually left China for the US in the 80s. After a few years, Anchee was miraculously plucked from obscurity to partake in the Chinese propaganda film industry in Shanghai, where she encountered a whole other host of problems. In her late teens, she was later forcibly sent from the city to work at a communal farm-as were millions of other urban youth to work brutal days from 5am to 9pm. As a child, Anchee was part of the Red Guards, a youth military group dedicated to enforcing Maoism and the Cultural Revolution. It was a movement to “purge” remaining capitalist and traditionalist elements in what was now a communist country. Red Azalea follows Anchee (note: I decided to refer to her by her first name since it feels weird to call the character in the book by a last name!) growing up in the last days of Mao’s China, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. Shame on me for not reading this earlier. ![]() ![]() I can’t believe I might not have found this book if I hadn’t made an effort to research books by queer people of colour. I was totally and utterly blown-away by the gorgeous, unique writing and the page-turning, I-can’t-believe-this-is-true plot. ![]() One such writer is Anchee Min, whose memoir Red Azalea I read a few weeks ago. I’ve read a ton of great stuff, and one of the best things this challenge has made me do is discover some authors that I never would have encountered otherwise. This year I’ve been doing a reading project of only authors of colour, pretty much all LGBTQ. ![]() ![]() Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1946. Also, the following five books shown in the pictures have been sold: The Lady in the Lake. Very good to near fine copies in fine $25 facsimile dustwrappers (except for the Big Sleep, the dustwrapper of which has gone). ![]() All books First Editions, First Printings except for The Big Sleep, which is a First Edition, Second Printing (1939) and ex-library copy (with 20 stamps dating from February 24th 1939 to March 21st 1941 on the rear endpaper) and Killer in the Rain, which is a First Edition, Third Printing (1964). ![]() ![]() What Readers Are Saying ‘Glittering, gorgeous, compelling, and stunning.’ ‘A richly satisfying historical novel. Violante’s place in history will test her heart and leave her the guardian of dangerous secrets she must carry to the grave. /rebates/2f97819050053902fNeedle-Blood-Bower-Sarah-19050053932fplp&. ![]() ![]() ![]() But those who enter the House of Borgia are never quite the same when they leave if they leave at all. 'The Needle In The Blood' by Sarah BowerBayeux Tapestry & Passion Tweet Hearken all art historians, needlewomen and readers of historical fiction: this is an expansive, comprehensive, beautifully conceived novel that will make you want to hold it close to your heart long after you read the last lines. Violante discovers a Lucrezia unknown to those who see only a scheming harlot, and all the whispers about her brother, Cesare Borgia, never revealed the soul of the man who dances close with Violante. But the same secretive politics that pushed Lucrezia’s father to the Vatican have landed Violante deep in a lavish landscape of passion and ambition. An unlikely love story born of passion and intensity, crafted by critically acclaimed historical novelist Sarah Bower,The Needle in the Bloodis a 'story of love, war, and the tangled truth of England's birth.She isn’t supposed to be a lady in waiting to the beautiful Lucrezia Borgia. A Notorious Duke An Infamous Duchess An Innocent Girl Violante isn’t supposed to be here, in one of the grandest courts of Renaissance Italy. ![]() ![]() ![]() On the train ride back to Ayemenem, Ammu cannot speak except to say "He's dead. ![]() The rest of the family refuses to acknowledge the twins and Ammu. Rahel believes that Sophie is awake during her funeral and buried alive. We switch to the funeral of Sophie Mol, when the twins are seven years old. The novel opens with Rahel's return to Ayemenem after hearing that her twin brother, Estha, has come home. In Roy's world, there is no definitive story, only many different stories that fuse to form a kaleidoscopic impression of events. ![]() Its epigraph is a quotation from contemporary writer John Berger: "Never again will a single story be told as though it's the only one." She uses this idea to establish her nonlinear, multi-perspective way of storytelling, which gives value to points of view as "Big" as a human being's and as "Small" as a cabbage-green butterfly's. The God of Small Things tells the story of one family in the town of Ayemenem in Kerala, India. ![]() ![]() ![]() So I’m left looking back at wonderful snippets - seriously, Barcelona, ohmygod - but not really caring about the plot overall. Stephanie Perkins kept showing me why I love her in specific moments - like Barcelona, ohmygod - but as a whole this story was badly paced and badly plotted. This didn't.ġ) Certain Scenes vs The Entire Plot: My biggest sentiment with this book was that I LOVED a lot of scenes, but didn’t really like the plot overall. But those moments came mixed together with depth. Anna and Lola also had cheesy and wonderful moments. Stephanie Perkins knows how to write some truly adorable moments. I flew through the entire thing in one day. My order is officially Anna, Lola, and then Isla.īefore I get into the meat of this all, please know that I didn't hate it. Let me start with the question everyone wants to know: is this your new favourite Stephanie Perkins? Unfortunately, not even close. MY HEART IS BROKEN, BUT MY HEART IS TRUE. ![]() ![]() ![]() An attempt to answer the question: who am I?Ĭlifford, a professor of history at Swansea University, has chosen to focus on young child survivors who left mainland Europe after the war for two reasons: their experience has hitherto been neglected by Holocaust studies and the double dislocation of war and emigration made for a “particularly compelling, collective, transnational story”. ![]() With pre-war memories that were indistinct or even non-existent, and without a living adult able or willing to fill in the key details of the childhoods, they “faced a decades-long struggle to assemble the tale of their origins – a simple but essential act of autobiography, fundamental to identity”. ![]() Why? Because most of them found it impossible to make sense of their lives when they didn’t know where they came from. This was easier said than done.Īs these young survivors – born between 19 – grew up, writes Rebecca Clifford, they began to ask parents, guardians and care workers about their early lives. ![]() They were encouraged to put the past behind them and “focus on the future”. In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, many child survivors of the Holocaust were told they were the “lucky ones”: lucky to be alive, lucky to be young enough and resilient enough “to be able to shed the weight of unbearable memories”, and lucky to be the “objects of reconstruction efforts, rather than the subjects”. ![]() ![]() ![]() Termination is, she feels, her only option but this is now classed as conspiracy to commit murder, and Mattie already knows what happened when her best friend tried to self-abort. Her star pupil Mattie dreams of securing a place at a prestigious maths college but discovers she is pregnant. Ro, a single high-school teacher, desperately wants her IVF treatment to work before the ban comes into force. ![]() ![]() The consequences of these rules is seen through four women in a small Oregon town. Restrictions on other reproductive rights are about to be introduced through the ‘Personhood Ammendment” In a bid “ to restore dignity, strength, and prosperity to American families”, IVF will be outlawed as will adoption by single parents. Travel across the border to seek treatment in Canada is also prohibited. Leni Zumas imagines an America where abortion is illegal, punishable by imprisonment. Red Clocks is an alarmingly prescient novel, made doubly unnerving by the clamp down on abortion across large swathes of the US following the Supreme Court ruling. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Whereas mindfulness is about being present in the moment, niksen is more about carving out time to just be, letting your mind wander wherever it wants to go. In my book Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing, I define it as "doing nothing without a purpose" – so not scrolling on Facebook or engaging in meditation. As a linguist myself, I loved the idea that you could express the whole concept of doing nothing in one short and easy-to-pronounce word. At the time, many people were complaining about exhaustion and depression caused by overwork and were looking for solutions – which is why concepts such as Japanese ikigai or Danish hyggealso entered the English lexicon. ![]() It first caught the attention of the world in 2019 as a way to manage stress or recover from burnout. Niksen is a Dutch wellness trend that means "doing nothing". Sometimes, they're reading or chatting with their friends, but just as often, they're engaging in niksen. In summer, I often see locals in Scheveningen or Kijkduin (the city's most famous beaches) sunbathing, strolling in nature or riding their bikes, then sitting down on one of the many benches available. The Hague, where I live, has 11km of gorgeous coastline with rolling dunes and sandy beaches. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title. But a murder, a surprising prime suspect, a stubborn detective, and the town's reaction throw the two women together, and they form an unlikely alliance to solve a mystery and catch a killer.Set in the well-known Amish community of Shipshewana, Falling to Pieces will attract both devoted fans of the rapidly-growing Amish fiction genre, as well as those who are captivated by the Amish way of life. ![]() ![]() As different as night and day, Deborah and Callie are uneasy partners who simply want to make the best of a temporary situation. She blends the familiar components consumers love in Amish books―faith, community, simplicity, family―with an innovative who-done-it plot that keeps readers guessing right up to the last stitch in the quilt.When two women―one Amish, one English―each with different motives, join forces to organize a successful on-line quilt auction, neither expects nor wants a friendship. The older Amish woman, was fast and smart. The plot was surprisingly still Amish but with a dash of suspense and humor added.Two Amish women-one younger than the other, have teamed up together to solve a murder mystery. In this first book of a three-book series, author Vannetta Chapman brings a fresh twist to the popular Amish fiction genre. Falling to Pieces by Vannetta Chapman is a great Christian mystery read. ![]() |