"You have come for the blood; do not deny it. You are here for the battles and death, because you think there is glory in such tales." ~ from Giles Christian's Odin's Wolves
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| A Country Road, A Tree: A Novel by Jo BakerIn 1939, struggling writer Samuel Beckett leaves his family's home in Ireland for Paris. Once he arrives Beckkett befriends James Joyce, begins a relationship with future wife Suzanne Dechevaux-Dumesnil, and -- after the Nazis occupy the city -- becomes involved with the French Resistance. In spare, evocative language, this biographical novel by the author of Longbourn examines how Beckett's life shaped his unique style and body of work. |
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| The Noise of Time: A Novel by Julian BarnesWhen Stalin denounces his work in 1936, Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich fully expects to be sent to a Siberian gulag or else put to death. But what actually happens is, in some ways, worse than exile or execution. Shostakovich is permitted to pursue his musical ambitions, provided that he demonstrates public support for a regime he despises. This moody, character-driven novel movingly depicts one artist's struggle to remain true to his creative vision while appeasing Soviet leaders who expect him to toe the Party line. |
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| The After Party: A Novel by Anton DiSclafaniIn the posh suburb of River Oaks, the socialites of 1950s Houston, Texas drown their sorrows with oil money and the many luxuries it affords. Against an atmospheric backdrop of debutante balls, cocktail parties, and garden-club luncheons, The After Party explores the complicated bond between rebellious glamour girl Joan Fortier and Cece Buchnan, her "best friend since infancy, her modern-day lady-in-waiting." Inseparable since childhood, the women are slowly pulled apart by Joan's increasingly alarming behavior. If you enjoy in-depth characterization and a richly detailed mid-20th-century social milieu, don't miss this latest novel by the author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls. |
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| Homegoing: A Novel by Yaa GyasiHomegoing opens in 18th-century West Africa and introduces two half-sisters whose fates could not be more different. There's Effia, who becomes the mistress of a British slave-trader, and Esi, who survives the Middle Passage only to live out her days in bondage on an American plantation. In the centuries that follow, Effia's family experiences the destructive legacies of British imperialism and warfare between the Fante and Asante people, while Esi's descendants live through the Civil War, the Great Migration, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. Fans of African-American family sagas such as Alex Haley's Roots or Lalita Tademy's Cane River will want to read this powerful debut by Ghanaian author Yaa Gyasi. |
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| The Gilded Years: A Novel by Karin TanabeA senior at Vassar in 1897, Anita Hemmings is close to achieving her childhood dream of graduating from the prestigious women's college. However, Anita has a secret: she's passing for white in order to attend a school that would otherwise never admit her. So far she has successfully concealed both her race and her working-class roots. That changes when she gets a new roommate, Louise "Lottie" Taylor, the privileged daughter of one of New York's wealthiest and most socially prominent families. Despite their different backgrounds, the girls become friends. But Anita, seduced by Lottie's sparkling social circle, risks exposure and the loss of everything she's worked for. |
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| The Last Kingdom: A Novel by Bernard CornwellWhen Danish raiders kill his family, ten-year-old Uhtred becomes the captive, and later the adopted son, of Viking warlord Ragnar, who has conquered three out of the four existing Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (including Uhtred's home of Northumbria). Yet despite his admiration and affection for Ragnar, Uhtred longs to reclaim his rightful lands and title as the Earl of Bebbanburg. His conflicting loyalties come to the fore when he encounters Alfred of Wessex, the future King Alfred the Great. Set in ninth-century England, The Last Kingdom is the 1st book in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Stories series, which continues with The Pale Horseman. |
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| People of the Songtrail: A Novel of North America's Forgotten Past by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal GearThis latest novel by the Gears, the popular husband-and-wife team of archaeologist-authors, focuses on the Norse colonization of the Americas. In the year 1000 CE, Vikings arrive in what is now Northeastern Canada and establish a settlement, setting the stage for violent clashes with the "skrælings," the newcomers' term for the indigenous people of the region. Although People of the Songtrail is the 10th book in the First North Americans series, this novel easily stands on its own with its strong sense of place, well-researched historical details, and vivid rendering of cross-cultural conflict. |
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