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Medea: A Novel
Par Eilish Quin. 2024
Discover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in…
this propulsive and evocative debut in the tradition of Circe, Elektra, and Stone Blind.Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, the Argonauts leader Jason, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories. But what if that isn&’t the full story? The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery, but soon finds it may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud. As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband, but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she had never conceived of, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall. In this propulsive, beautifully written debut, readers will finally hear Medea&’s side of the story through a fresh and feminist lens.The Lost Mother: A Novel
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 2005
Abandoned by his wife, a man tries to protect his family during the Great Depression, in this &“powerful&” novel by…
the bestselling author of Songs in Ordinary Time (Publishers Weekly). During the Great Depression, rural Vermont suffers along with the rest of the country, and Henry Talcott, with only occasional work as a butcher, is reduced to moving into a tent on the edge of Black Pond with his two children. Their beautiful but unreliable mother has left them, and Henry is devastated by her desertion. He hasn&’t told Thomas or Margaret why she left—or if she will return. Told from twelve-year-old Thomas&’s perspective, The Lost Mother follows this shattered family as a wealthy neighbor begins to woo the children as companions for her strange, housebound son, and Henry weighs an unexpected proposition, the consequences of which may cost him everything. &“A perfectly lovely story about perfectly awful things&” by the New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award–nominated author of A Dangerous Woman and Light from a Distant Star, The Lost Mother is &“the quietest, subtlest novel that has ever kept [its readers] up into the small hours of the night, unable to look away&” (The Washington Post).Selected Novels Volume One: Songs in Ordinary Time and Vanished
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 1995
Two powerful novels from &“a superb storyteller&”: An Oprah&’s Book Club selection and New York Times bestseller plus a National…
Book Award–nominated debut (The Washington Post). The highly acclaimed novelist Mary McGarry Morris has been hailed as &“a credible heir to Carson McCullers . . . a wise, unsentimental portraitist of the lonely, the damned, the desperate and the incomplete&” (The New York Times Book Review). Morris&’s gift for emotionally powerful, often bleak but always compassionate stories set in the small towns of New England is on display in the two novels collected here: the Oprah&’s Book Club Selection and New York Times bestseller, Songs in Ordinary Time, and the National Book Award and PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, her debut novel, Vanished. Songs in Ordinary Time: In the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont, Marie Fermoyle is raising three children on the edge of poverty, with no help from her alcoholic ex-husband. Desperately lonely, Marie is easy prey for a con man like Omar Duvall. Her seventeen-year-old daughter, Alice, is involved with a local priest; her sixteen-year-old son, Norm, is a hothead; and twelve-year-old Benjy is hiding a secret about Duvall that could shatter all her hopes. &“Teeming with incident and characters, often foolish, even nasty, but always alive.&” —The New Yorker &“Deep and thick as a long, hot summer . . . The narrative of a town reminiscent of the collective ache of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter.&” —The Boston Globe Vanished: Aubrey Wallace is a simple laborer, the kind of man no one notices. Dotty Johnson is the kind of woman no man can ignore. The day after they both disappear from their small Vermont town, a toddler is taken from her home. For the next five years, Aubrey, Dotty, and the kidnapped child are trapped in a nomadic existence, terrified of discovery. But when Dotty decides she&’s had enough, she hooks up with an ex-convict and the wheels of the little girl&’s return to her parents are wrenched fatally into motion. &“An impressive debut . . . unusual and rich.&” —San Francisco Chronicle &“[Hums] with both the authenticity of real life and the mythic power of fable.&” —The New York TimesVanished: A Novel
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 1988
National Book Award Finalist: A man, woman, and child are bound by a desperate need—and a terrible secret—in this suspenseful,…
&“astonishing&” novel (Vogue). Aubrey Wallace is the kind of man no one notices. Dotty Johnson is the kind of woman no one can ignore. One afternoon, they both disappear from the small Vermont town where they live. The next day, two hundred miles away, a toddler is kidnapped from her Massachusetts home. For the next five years, Aubrey, Dotty, and the kidnapped child—united by a mix of strange love, desperate need, and the crime that brought them together—are trapped in a nomadic existence governed by their constant fear of discovery. Canny, the little girl, becomes Aubrey&’s entire existence. But Dotty wants out. She is tired of being saddled with this fearful man, and when she meets a brutal ex-convict, the wheels of Canny&’s return to her natural parents are wrenched fatally into motion. A dark, riveting tale about the impulses and weaknesses that underlie an evil act, Vanished was nominated for both the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and marked the debut of the New York Times–bestselling author of Songs in Ordinary Time and A Dangerous Woman.A Dangerous Woman: A Novel
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 1991
The &“compelling, suspenseful&” novel of a vulnerable misfit in a small town by the New York Times–bestselling author of Light…
from a Distant Star (Publishers Weekly). Named one of the five best novels of the year by Time magazine, A Dangerous Woman is the story of the damaged and emotionally unstable Martha Horgan, an outcast in her small Vermont town. She stares; she has violent crushes on people; and, perhaps most unsettling of all, she cannot stop telling the truth. After a traumatic experience during her teenage years, the thirty-two-year-old now craves love and companionship, but her relentless honesty makes her painfully vulnerable to those around her: Frances, her wealthy aunt and begrudging guardian; Birdy Dusser, who befriends her and then cruelly rejects her; and Colin Mackey, the seductive man who preys on her desires. Confused and bitter, distrusting even those with her best interests at heart, Martha is slowly propelled into a desperate attempt to gain control over her own life. The National Book Award–nominated author of Songs in Ordinary Time tells a tale of unnerving suspense and terrifying psychological insight that is &“at once thrilling and deeply affecting&” (The New York Times).Selected Novels Volume Two: The Lost Mother and A Dangerous Woman
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 2005
Two unforgettable novels from the author of the New York Times bestseller and Oprah&’s Book Club selection, Songs in Ordinary…
Time, &“a writer to reckon with&” (The Washington Post). The highly acclaimed novelist Mary McGarry Morris has been hailed as &“a credible heir to Carson McCullers . . . a wise, unsentimental portraitist of the lonely, the damned, the desperate and the incomplete&” (The New York Times Book Review) as well as &“a cross between Elizabeth Gaskell and David Lynch&” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune). In the two powerful novels collected here, Morris offers compassionate accounts of damaged and desperate people struggling to survive. The Lost Mother: Told from the perspective of twelve-year-old Thomas, The Lost Mother follows a shattered family in rural Vermont during the Great Depression. Deserted by their mother, Thomas and his eight-year-old sister, Margaret, are reduced to living in a tent with their father, Henry. When a wealthy neighbor begins to woo the children as companions for her strange, housebound son, Henry weighs an unexpected proposition, the consequences of which may cost him everything. &“A perfectly lovely book about perfectly awful things.&” —The Washington Post &“The author paints a brutal landscape and authentic characters with delicacy and precision.&” —Publishers Weekly A Dangerous Woman:Named one of the five best novels of the year by Time magazine Emotionally unstable Martha Hogan is an outcast in her small Vermont town. She stares; she has violent crushes on people; and perhaps most unsettling, she cannot stop telling the truth. After a traumatic experience in her teens, the thirty-two-year-old now craves love and companionship. But her relentless honesty makes her painfully vulnerable to those around her, including her wealthy aunt and begrudging guardian, and a seductive man who preys on her desires. Bitter and distrusting, Martha is slowly propelled into a desperate attempt to gain control over her life. &“Thrilling and deeply affecting.&” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times &“A powerful, disconcerting, and heartbreaking story of a woman who is most dangerous to herself.&” —Library JournalSongs in Ordinary Time: A Novel
Par Mary McGarry Morris. 1995
This New York Times bestseller of a troubled family in 1960s Vermont is &“teeming with incident and characters, often foolish,…
even nasty, but always alive&” (The New Yorker). It is the summer of 1960 in Atkinson, Vermont. With no help from her alcoholic ex-husband, Marie Fermoyle is raising three children on the edge of poverty. Her seventeen-year-old daughter, Alice, is becoming emotionally involved with a local priest in a staunchly Catholic town that disapproves of Marie&’s divorce. Alice&’s brother Norm is a hotheaded sixteen-year-old, and twelve-year-old Benjy is isolated and full of anxieties, looking with yearning at the Klubocks next door, who seem to live an orderly, peaceful life much unlike his own family&’s. Now, Marie has met a new man: Omar Duvall, who talks about opportunities and riches but so far seems only to sponge off the Fermoyles. A lonely, desperate single mother like Marie is easy prey for con men, but she resists the temptation to doubt him. Young Benjy, though, may eventually reveal a disturbing secret that could shatter all her hopes. A portrait of a family as well as a town and its secrets, Songs in Ordinary Time is &“a gritty, beautifully crafted novel rich in wisdom and suspense&” (The Miami Herald). An Oprah&’s Book Club selection from an author nominated for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, it is &“extraordinary . . . a deeply satisfying story&” (USA Today).Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe: A Novel
Par Evan James. 2019
Named one of 2019&’s most anticipated reads by Entertainment Weekly, &“a hilarious and witty joy of a novel about a…
family&’s insanely dramatic summer at their new island home&” (Cosmopolitan) in the Pacific Northwest. The inimitable—some might say incorrigible—Frank Widdicombe is suffering from a deep depression. Or so his wife, Carol, believes. But Carol is convinced that their new island home—Willowbrook Manor on the Puget Sound—is just the thing to cheer him up. And so begins a whirlwind summer as their house becomes the epicenter of multiple social dramas involving the family, their friends, and a host of new acquaintances. The Widdicombes&’ son, Christopher, is mourning a heartbreak after a year abroad in Italy. Their personal assistant, Michelle, begins a romance with preppy screenwriter Bradford, who also happens to be Frank&’s tennis partner. Meanwhile, a local named Marvelous Matthews is hired to create a garden at the manor—and is elated to find Gracie Sloane, bewitching self-help author, in residence as well. When this alternately bumbling and clever cast of characters comes together, they turn &“as frothy and bitter as a pot of freshly brewed dark-roast coffee, the kind that&’s always available on the Widdicombe&’s sideboard. And the dialogue, oh how it singes and sears&” (The Washington Post). A &“gleefully over-the-top satiric debut&” (Kirkus Reviews), Cheer Up, Mr. Widdicombe is perfect for fans of Maria Semple&’s Where&’d You Go, Bernadette?, Andrew Sean Greer&’s Less, and Jess Walter&’s Beautiful Ruins.What Could Be Saved: A Novel
Par Liese O'Halloran Schwarz. 2021
When a mysterious man claims to be her long-missing brother, a woman must confront her family&’s closely guarded secrets in…
this &“delicious hybrid of mystery, drama, and elegance&” (Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author).Washington, DC, 2019: Laura Preston is a reclusive artist at odds with her older sister Beatrice as their elegant, formidable mother slowly slides into dementia. When a stranger contacts Laura claiming to be her brother who disappeared forty years earlier when the family lived in Bangkok, Laura ignores Bea&’s warnings of a scam and flies to Thailand to see if it can be true. But meeting him in person leads to more questions than answers. Bangkok, 1972: Genevieve and Robert Preston live in a beautiful house behind a high wall, raising their three children with the help of a cadre of servants. In these exotic surroundings, Genevieve strives to create a semblance of the life they would have had at home in the US—ballet and riding classes for the children, impeccable dinner parties, a meticulously kept home. But in truth, Robert works for American intelligence, Genevieve finds herself drawn into a passionate affair with her husband&’s boss, and their serene household is vulnerable to unseen dangers in a rapidly changing world and a country they don&’t really understand. Alternating between past and present as all of the secrets are revealed, What Could Be Saved is an unforgettable novel about a family broken by loss and betrayal, and &“a richly imagined page-turner that delivers twists alongside thought-provoking commentary&” (Kirkus Reviews).Resurrection in May: A Novel
Par Lisa Samson. 2010
After surviving the unthinkable, one young woman finds healing in nature, friendship, and a surprising kind of love.Lovely and winsome…
May Seymour graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A spontaneous mission trip to Africa brought great surprise—love—and a strong sense of purpose. But in loving others there, she encountered a severe tragedy that left her deeply wounded.She comes to heal at the farm of Claudius Borne—a sweet, kind old man who understands plants and animals far better than people. And his farm becomes May&’s home.There on the farm, May renews a friendship with an old college flame named Eli whose path has taken unexpected turns too. As May tries to convince Eli to grab hold of life once again, he begins to pull May from her sheltered existence. Like old Claudius&’s farm in Spring, May begins to blossom back into life. But no resurrection ever comes without sacrifice—and this sacrifice will forever transform May.Thoughtful, inspirational readStand-alone novelFrom the author of Embrace Me, Quaker Summer, and The Passion of Mary-MargaretA wildly over-the-top social satire reimagining the mad misadventures of the iconic royal cousins King Ludwig and Empress Sisi, from…
the incomparable Jac Jemc.History knows them as King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Empress Elizabeth of Austria, icons of the late nineteenth century who died young and left behind magnificent portraits and palaces. But to each other they were Ludwig and Sisi, cousins who shared a passion for beauty and a stubborn refusal to submit to the roles imposed upon them.Ludwig, simultaneously spoiled and punished for his softness and “unmanly” interests, falls hard for the operas of Richard Wagner and neglects his state duties in the pursuit of art. Sisi, married at the age of sixteen to her beloved Franzl, bristles at the restrictions of her elevated position, the value placed on her beauty, and the simultaneous expectation that she ravage her body again and again in childbirth. Both absurdly vain, both traumatized by the demands of their roles, Sisi and Ludwig struggle against the ideals they are expected to embody, and resist through extravagance, petulance, performance, and frivolity.A tragicomic tour de force, Empty Theatre immerses readers in Ludwig and Sisi’s rarefied, ridiculous, restrictive world—where the aesthetics of excess belie the isolation of its inhabitants. With wit, pathos, and imagination, Jac Jemc takes us on an unforgettable journey through two extraordinary parallel lives and the complex, tenuous friendship that links them.Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel
Par The Authors Guild, Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston. 2024
Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is a surprising…
and irresistibly propulsive novel with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbors has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice—from Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston to Tommy Orange and Celeste Ng.One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants—some of whom have barely spoken to each other—become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editor Margaret Atwood, Authors Guild president Douglas Preston, and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn&’t get away from the city when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming collection, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger. Includes writing from:Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston, Celeste Ng, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, John Grisham, Diana Gabaldon, Ishmael Reed, Meg Wolitzer, Luis Alberto Urrea, James Shapiro, Sylvia Day, Mary Pope Osborne, Monique Truong, Hampton Sides, R. L. Stine, R. O. Kwon, David Byrne, Louise Erdrich, Neil Gaiman, Rachel Kushner, Candace Bushnell, Nora Roberts, Scott Turow, Tommy Orange, and more!Queens of London: A Novel
Par Heather Webb. 2024
"Looting, lying, and the letter of the law: Queens of London delivers a rollicking ride through the criminal underbelly of post-WWI…
London. Gritty at times and tender at others, Queens of London unmasks the most lawless—and likeable—gang of women you've never heard of." --Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost ApothecaryMaybe women can have it all, as long as they're willing to steal it.1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA "Diamond Annie," is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she's determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She's ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her "family"—it's how she's always kept the cops in line. Too bad she's now the target for one of Britain's first female policewomen.Officer Lilian Wyles isn't merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she's one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she'll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the "women's work" she's been assigned. When she hears about the large-scale heist in the works to fund Alice's new dynasty, she realizes she has the chance she's been looking for—and the added bonus of putting Diamond Annie out of business permanently.A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood, Queens of London is a look at Britain's first female crime syndicate, the ever-shifting meaning of justice, and the way women claim their power by any means necessary, from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webb.Greta & Valdin: A Novel
Par Rebecca K Reilly. 2021
For fans of Schitt&’s Creek and Sally Rooney&’s Normal People, an irresistible and bighearted international bestseller that follows a brother…
and sister as they navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and the dramas big and small of their entangled, unconventional family, all while flailing their way to love. It&’s been a year since his ex-boyfriend dumped him and moved from Auckland to Buenos Aires, and Valdin is doing fine. He has a good flat with his sister Greta, a good career where his colleagues only occasionally remind him that he is the sole Maaori person in the office, and a good friend who he only sleeps with when he&’s sad. But when work sends him to Argentina and he&’s thrown back in his former lover&’s orbit, Valdin is forced to confront the feelings he&’s been trying to ignore—and the future he wants. Greta is not letting her painfully unrequited crush (or her possibly pointless master&’s thesis, or her pathetic academic salary...) get her down. She would love to focus on the charming fellow grad student she meets at a party and her friendships with a circle of similarly floundering twenty-somethings, but her chaotic family life won&’t stop intruding: her mother is keeping secrets, her nephew is having a gay crisis, and her brother has suddenly flown to South America without a word. Sharp, hilarious, and with an undeniable emotional momentum that builds to an exuberant conclusion, Greta & Valdin careens us through the siblings&’ misadventures and the messy dramas of their sprawling, eccentric Maaori-Russian-Catalonian family. An acclaimed bestseller in New Zealand, Greta & Valdin is fresh, joyful, and alive with the possibility of love in its many mystifying forms.How I Won a Nobel Prize: A Novel
Par Julius Taranto. 2023
Named One of the Best Books of the Year by VOGUE and VOX A "very funny, very good" (B. J. Novak) debut…
novel about a graduate student who follows her disgraced mentor to a university that gives safe harbor to scholars of ill repute, igniting a crisis of work and a test of her conscience (and marriage) Helen is one of the brightest minds of her generation: a young physicist on a path to solve high-temperature superconductivity (which could save the planet). When she discovers that her brilliant adviser is involved in a sex scandal, Helen is torn: should she give up on her work with him? Or should she accompany him to a controversial university, founded by a provocateur billionaire, that hosts academics other schools have thrown out? Helen decides she must go—her work is too important. She brings along her partner, Hew, who is much less sanguine about living on an island where the disgraced and deplorable get to operate with impunity. On campus, Helen finds herself drawn to an iconoclastic older novelist, while Hew stews in an increasingly radical protest movement. Their rift deepens until both confront choices that will reshape their lives—and maybe the world. Irreverent, generous, anchored in character, and provocative without being polemical, How I Won a Nobel Prize illuminates the compromises we&’ll make for progress, what it means to be a good person, and how to win a Nobel Prize. Turns out all of it would be simple—if you could run the numbers.Fervour
Par Toby Lloyd. 2024
'Intriguing, propulsive and profoundly disturbing, this is a fearless look into the dark heart of family politics from a naturally…
gifted storyteller'JONATHAN COE'A suspenseful debut novel that propels the reader deep into the heart of an idiosyncratic family'OBSERVER'Remarkable . . . a work of real poignancy'DAILY MAIL'Extraordinary. . . A tremendous debut from a strikingly talented new writer'KIRKUS (starred review)'Gripping and powerful . . . Fans of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Stephen King alike will thrill to this superb modern folk tale'PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)'In this debut that explores identity, faith, and folklore . . . the dynamics are acutely observed, the characters vividly realised, and the escalating drama has the hypnotic, chilling effect of a horror film'BOOKSELLER (Editor's Choice)THE ROSENTHALS ARE NOT LIKE OTHER FAMILIESHannah and Eric are devout Jews living in North London with their three children and Eric's father Yosef, a Holocaust survivor. Both intellectually gifted and deeply unconventional, the Rosenthals believe in the literal truth of the Old Testament and in the presence of God (and evil) in daily life.As Hannah prepares to publish a sensationalist account of Yosef's years in war-torn Europe - unearthing a terrible secret from his time in the camps- Elsie, her perfect daughter, starts to come undone. And then, in the wake of Yosef's death, she disappears. When she returns, just as mysteriously as she left, she is altered in disturbing ways.Witnessing the complete transformation of her daughter, Hannah begins to suspect that Elsie has delved too deep into the labyrinths of Jewish mysticism and got lost among shadows. But for Elsie's brother Tovyah, a brilliant but reclusive student at Oxford, the truth is much simpler: his sister is the product of a dysfunctional family, obsessed with empty rituals and unbridled ambition.But who is right? And how can they stop the darkness from engulfing Elsie forever?When God was a Rabbit: From the bestselling author of STILL LIFE
Par Sarah Winman. 2011
The SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER from the author of STILL LIFE'Thronging with incident and wonder' Guardian'Beautifully true . . . superb'…
The Times'Captivating' Observer'Beguiling . . . You can't get the voice out of your head' Daily MailThis is a book about a brother and sister.It's a book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumph and tragedy and everything in between.More than anything, it's a book about love in all its forms.This Must Be the Place: The bestselling novel from the prize-winning author of HAMNET
Par Maggie O'Farrell. 2016
A top-ten bestseller 2016, THIS MUST BE THE PLACE by Maggie O'Farrell crosses time zones and continents to reveal an…
extraordinary portrait of a marriage. 'A complex, riveting novel of love and hope that grips at the heart' The Sunday TimesA reclusive ex-film star living in the wilds of Ireland, Claudette Wells is a woman whose first instinct, when a stranger approaches her home, is to reach for her shotgun. Why is she so fiercely protective of her family, and what made her walk out of her cinematic career when she had the whole world at her feet?Her husband Daniel, reeling from a discovery about a woman he last saw twenty years ago, is about to make an exit of his own. It is a journey that will send him off-course, far away from the life he and Claudette have made together. Will their love for one another be enough to bring Daniel back home?American Dirt: The heartstopping story that will live with you for ever
Par Jeanine Cummins. 2020
'Heartstopping... doesn't let up... you will urge them on, fists clenched' The TimesAn extraordinary story of the lengths a mother…
will go to to save her son, AMERICAN DIRT has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. It's time to read what you've been missing.Lydia Perez owns a bookshop in Acapulco, Mexico, and is married to a fearless journalist. Luca, their eight-year-old son, completes the picture. But it only takes a bullet to rip them apart.In a city in the grip of a drug cartel, friends become enemies overnight, and Lydia has no choice but to flee with Luca at her side. North for the border... whatever it takes to stay alive. The journey is dangerous - not only for them, but for those they encounter along the way. Who can be trusted? And what sacrifices is Lydia prepared to make?*An Instant New York Times #1 Bestseller 2020**An Instant Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller 2020**Over 2 million copies sold globally**A Richard and Judy Bookclub Pick**An Oprah's Book Club Pick**A BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime*They Divided the Sky: A Novel by Christa Wolf (Literary Translation)
Par Christa Wolf. 2012
First published in 1963, in East Germany, They Divided the Sky tells the story of a young couple, living in…
the new, socialist, East Germany, whose relationship is tested to the extreme not only because of the political positions they gradually develop but, very concretely, by the Berlin Wall, which went up on August 13, 1961. The story is set in 1960 and 1961, a moment of high political cold war tension between the East Bloc and the West, a time when many thousands of people were leaving the young German Democratic Republic (the GDR) every day in order to seek better lives in West Germany, or escape the political ideology of the new country that promoted the "farmer and peasant" state over a state run by intellectuals or capitalists. The construction of the Wall put an end to this hemorrhaging of human capital, but separated families, friends, and lovers, for thirty years. The conflicts of the time permeate the relations between characters in the book at every level, and strongly affect the relationships that Rita, the protagonist, has not only with colleagues at work and at the teacher's college she attends, but also with her partner Manfred (an intellectual and academic) and his family. They also lead to an accident/attempted suicide that send her to hospital in a coma, and that provide the backdrop for the flashbacks that make up the narrative. Wolf's first full-length novel, published when she was thirty-five years old, was both a great literary success and a political scandal. Accused of having a 'decadent' attitude with regard to the new socialist Germany and deliberately misrepresenting the workers who are the foundation of this new state, Wolf survived a wave of political and other attacks after its publication. She went on to create a screenplay from the novel and participate in making the film version. More importantly, she went on to become the best-known East German writer of her generation, a writer who established an international reputation and never stopped working toward improving the socialist reality of the GDR.