Author: May Sarton
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393316223
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
Finished before her death, these entries reflect back on Sarton's life and on her years as a teacher, poet, author, lover, and friend.
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
At Eighty-two
Author: May Sarton
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393316223
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
Finished before her death, these entries reflect back on Sarton's life and on her years as a teacher, poet, author, lover, and friend.
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393316223
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
Finished before her death, these entries reflect back on Sarton's life and on her years as a teacher, poet, author, lover, and friend.
Lords of Shifters, Books 1 - 3: Loramendi's Story, Spider Wars, Dark Horse
Author: Angela Carlie
Publisher: Gray Days Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 440
Book Description
There are realms on this world where unusual creatures dwell. They remain hidden from humans to save their kind, but over the years, they too have suffered from the destruction humans have endured. Struggles over power and greed have ignited a fire between them, causing hunger and pain for some, and luxury for others. Three small town teens, best friends, are thrust into the creatures’ war. Not only will their friendship be tested, but their ability to survive and save their own species and the ones they love will be challenged. This bundle contains the first three books in the Lords of Shifters series: Loramendi’s Story, Spider Wars, and Dark Horse.
Publisher: Gray Days Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 440
Book Description
There are realms on this world where unusual creatures dwell. They remain hidden from humans to save their kind, but over the years, they too have suffered from the destruction humans have endured. Struggles over power and greed have ignited a fire between them, causing hunger and pain for some, and luxury for others. Three small town teens, best friends, are thrust into the creatures’ war. Not only will their friendship be tested, but their ability to survive and save their own species and the ones they love will be challenged. This bundle contains the first three books in the Lords of Shifters series: Loramendi’s Story, Spider Wars, and Dark Horse.
The Fab 5
Author: Franklyn Thomas
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595357288
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
Not that I would ever tell him to his face-especially after the time and effort I spent getting on him in high school-but I was very proud of James. I followed his career since he was drafted; he worked hard at his game. He never had that kind of can't-miss talent, and was a little trigger-happy with the ball, but the fact that he made it and the rest of us didn't is simply amazing; he wasn't the likeliest candidate. Likely or not, he made it out of Flatbush, and I know quite a few people who couldn't say the same. Rob Bishop and his four best friends wanted to get out of the 'hood and make better lives for themselves. Basketball was the answer. But when the team's best player has his college hoop dreams derailed by circumstance, he takes matters into his own hands and jumps to the NBA, almost severing all ties with "the boys". Tragedy reunites them ten years later. Although their childhood friendships have evolved with age and time apart, the fab five learn that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595357288
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 186
Book Description
Not that I would ever tell him to his face-especially after the time and effort I spent getting on him in high school-but I was very proud of James. I followed his career since he was drafted; he worked hard at his game. He never had that kind of can't-miss talent, and was a little trigger-happy with the ball, but the fact that he made it and the rest of us didn't is simply amazing; he wasn't the likeliest candidate. Likely or not, he made it out of Flatbush, and I know quite a few people who couldn't say the same. Rob Bishop and his four best friends wanted to get out of the 'hood and make better lives for themselves. Basketball was the answer. But when the team's best player has his college hoop dreams derailed by circumstance, he takes matters into his own hands and jumps to the NBA, almost severing all ties with "the boys". Tragedy reunites them ten years later. Although their childhood friendships have evolved with age and time apart, the fab five learn that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Before We Were Strangers
Author: Renée Carlino
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501105787
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501105787
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M
Fire Power By Kirkman & Samnee #3
Author: Robert Kirkman
Publisher: Image Comics
ISBN:
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 28
Book Description
Things just keep getting worse for Owen, as it becomes clear that he cannot protect his family from his past. Whether he likes it or not, he's going to have to face who he is, what he's done and who he's meant to be...before it's too late!
Publisher: Image Comics
ISBN:
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 28
Book Description
Things just keep getting worse for Owen, as it becomes clear that he cannot protect his family from his past. Whether he likes it or not, he's going to have to face who he is, what he's done and who he's meant to be...before it's too late!
A Wonderful Guy
Author: Eddie Shapiro
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019092991X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Fascinating, never-before-published interviews with Broadway's leading men offer behind-the-scenes looks at the careers of some of the most beloved perfomers today. In A Wonderful Guy, a follow up to Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, theatre journalist Eddie Shapiro sits down for intimate, career-encompassing conversations with nineteen of Broadway's most prolific and fascinating leading men. Full of detailed stories and reflections, his conversations with such luminaries as Joel Grey, Ben Vereen, Norm Lewis, Gavin Creel, Cheyenne Jackson, Jonathan Groff and a host of others dig deep into each actor's career; together, these chapters tell the story of what it means to be a leading man on Broadway over the past fifty years. Alan Cumming described Nothing Like a Dame, as "an encyclopedia of modern musical theatre via a series of tender meetings between a diehard fan and his idols. Because of Eddie Shapiro's utter guilelessness, these women open up and reveal more than they ever have before, and we get to be the third guest at each encounter." A Wonderful Guy brings more fly-on-the-wall opportunities for fans to savour, students to study, and even the unindoctrinated to understand the life of the performing artist.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019092991X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Fascinating, never-before-published interviews with Broadway's leading men offer behind-the-scenes looks at the careers of some of the most beloved perfomers today. In A Wonderful Guy, a follow up to Nothing Like a Dame: Conversations with the Great Women of Musical Theater, theatre journalist Eddie Shapiro sits down for intimate, career-encompassing conversations with nineteen of Broadway's most prolific and fascinating leading men. Full of detailed stories and reflections, his conversations with such luminaries as Joel Grey, Ben Vereen, Norm Lewis, Gavin Creel, Cheyenne Jackson, Jonathan Groff and a host of others dig deep into each actor's career; together, these chapters tell the story of what it means to be a leading man on Broadway over the past fifty years. Alan Cumming described Nothing Like a Dame, as "an encyclopedia of modern musical theatre via a series of tender meetings between a diehard fan and his idols. Because of Eddie Shapiro's utter guilelessness, these women open up and reveal more than they ever have before, and we get to be the third guest at each encounter." A Wonderful Guy brings more fly-on-the-wall opportunities for fans to savour, students to study, and even the unindoctrinated to understand the life of the performing artist.
Goodbye, Mr. Wonderful
Author: Chris McCully
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1846420407
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
Alcohol thought Chris McCully was Mr. Wonderful. When Chris was drinking, he sometimes thought so too - Mr. Generous, Mr. Witty and Charming, Mr. Champagne. But there are other labels - 'chronic alcoholic' (all over the medical notes); 'high risk offender' (in the court record). Goodbye, Mr. Wonderful gives a detailed account of the early stages of recovery from alcoholism. From his admittance into hospital to his life as a writer in the Netherlands, McCully offers a detailed and often analytical reflection on what it feels like to be a recovering alcoholic. There is no cure for alcoholism, but there is daily management, and there is hope. This is a book for anyone who wishes to understand, or wishes that someone else could understand, the process of healing from addiction.
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1846420407
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 239
Book Description
Alcohol thought Chris McCully was Mr. Wonderful. When Chris was drinking, he sometimes thought so too - Mr. Generous, Mr. Witty and Charming, Mr. Champagne. But there are other labels - 'chronic alcoholic' (all over the medical notes); 'high risk offender' (in the court record). Goodbye, Mr. Wonderful gives a detailed account of the early stages of recovery from alcoholism. From his admittance into hospital to his life as a writer in the Netherlands, McCully offers a detailed and often analytical reflection on what it feels like to be a recovering alcoholic. There is no cure for alcoholism, but there is daily management, and there is hope. This is a book for anyone who wishes to understand, or wishes that someone else could understand, the process of healing from addiction.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Author: Joanna Bolouri
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1784299138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 325
Book Description
'HILARIOUS' ISABELLE BROOM Emily has it all: a good job, awesome friends, a great boyfriend, and a wonderful flat exactly 411 miles away from her nightmarish family. But when her boyfriend Robert dumps her mere days before Christmas, Emily's devastated. Knowing there's no way she can face her family alone, Emily enlists the help of her party-boy neighbour Evan. All he needs to do is pretend to be Robert. The only trouble is Evan's not exactly boyfriend material. He likes flirting, loud music, and louder sex. Can Emily handle Evan and her family, or is she heading straight for disaster? WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR 'Laugh-out-loud funny' 5* reader review 'The best book I have read in ages' 5* reader review 'Hilarious and heart-warming' 5* reader review 'Full of wonderful humour and laugh-out-loud moments' 5* reader review *And if you enjoyed The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, you'll love All I Want for Christmas, a sparkling festive romantic comedy - out now*
Publisher: Quercus
ISBN: 1784299138
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 325
Book Description
'HILARIOUS' ISABELLE BROOM Emily has it all: a good job, awesome friends, a great boyfriend, and a wonderful flat exactly 411 miles away from her nightmarish family. But when her boyfriend Robert dumps her mere days before Christmas, Emily's devastated. Knowing there's no way she can face her family alone, Emily enlists the help of her party-boy neighbour Evan. All he needs to do is pretend to be Robert. The only trouble is Evan's not exactly boyfriend material. He likes flirting, loud music, and louder sex. Can Emily handle Evan and her family, or is she heading straight for disaster? WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR 'Laugh-out-loud funny' 5* reader review 'The best book I have read in ages' 5* reader review 'Hilarious and heart-warming' 5* reader review 'Full of wonderful humour and laugh-out-loud moments' 5* reader review *And if you enjoyed The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, you'll love All I Want for Christmas, a sparkling festive romantic comedy - out now*