Mannequin and Wife

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Author :
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807174130
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Mannequin and Wife by : Jen Fawkes

Download or read book Mannequin and Wife written by Jen Fawkes and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2020-09-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Mannequin and Wife, the debut story collection from Jen Fawkes, sharp and imaginative tales trip seamlessly across borderlands, navigating comedy and tragedy, psychological and magical realism, the mundane and the marvelous. Readers of these adventurous fictions will encounter a flock of stenographers, the strongest woman alive, a taxidermist with anger issues, an Elephant Girl, a fairy on her lunch break, and a married couple who live with a department store mannequin. Elsewhere, an American actor impersonates a code-breaking Britisher during World War II. A mother awaiting her son’s return discovers his personal ad soliciting the services of a cannibal (and fears the worst). A criminal mastermind’s protégé plots the destruction of Mount Rushmore from within an extinct volcano. A man buys a drive-in theater and transforms it into a carnival sideshow. And an attorney puzzles over how to leave someone his deceased client’s heart. Fawkes’s award-winning stories examine the vagaries of human relationships—mother and child, husband and wife, mentor and protégé—to tease out the startling complications that arise from our entanglements with those we loathe and those we love.

The Mannequin Makers

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Author :
Publisher : Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited
ISBN 13 : 1775533859
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (755 download)

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Book Synopsis The Mannequin Makers by : Craig Cliff

Download or read book The Mannequin Makers written by Craig Cliff and published by Penguin Random House New Zealand Limited. This book was released on 2013-08-02 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book, this strikingly original novel is at turns a gothic tale of a father’s obsession, a castaway story worthy of a Boy’s Own adventure and a thorny remembrance of past tragedies. “The skin was smooth and bright as porcelain, but looked as if it would give to the touch. What manner of wood had he used? What tools to exact such detail? What paints, tints or stains to flush her with life?” So wonders the window dresser Colton Kemp when he sees the first mannequin of his new rival, a man the inhabitants of Marumaru simply call The Carpenter. Rocked by the sudden death of his wife and inspired by a travelling vaudeville company, Kemp decides to raise his children to be living mannequins. What follows is a tale of art and deception, strength and folly, love and transgression, which ranges from small-town New Zealand to the graving docks of the River Clyde, from an inhospitable rock in the Southern Ocean to Sydney’s northern beaches. Along the way we meet a Prussian strongman, a family of ship’s carvers with a mysterious affliction, a septuagenarian surf lifesaver and a talking figurehead named Vengeance.

Tales the Devil Told Me

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Publisher : Press 53
ISBN 13 : 9781950413362
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (133 download)

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Book Synopsis Tales the Devil Told Me by : Jen Fawkes

Download or read book Tales the Devil Told Me written by Jen Fawkes and published by Press 53. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if Captain Hook gave up marauding and took a gig at the Post Office? How did Hamlet's uncle Claudius become such a rat? What might happen if a plastic surgeon fell for Medusa? If Moby Dick could write a letter, what would he say to Ahab? The answers to these and many other questions can be found in Tales the Devil Told Me by Jen Fawkes-winner of the 2020 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction. These twelve stories examine the possible lives of such classic literary villains as Professor Moriarty, Shere Khan, Rumpelstiltskin, Polyphemus, Mrs. Danvers and others, while illuminating the consumptive nature of love, the crushing weight of isolation, the false promise of beauty, and the power of storytelling itself.

The Aviator's Wife

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Publisher : Bantam
ISBN 13 : 0345528670
Total Pages : 417 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (455 download)

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Book Synopsis The Aviator's Wife by : Melanie Benjamin

Download or read book The Aviator's Wife written by Melanie Benjamin and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2013 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story inspired by the marriage between Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh traces the romance between a handsome young aviator and a shy ambassador's daughter whose relationship is marked by wild international acclaim, history-making flights and the world-shocking abduction of their child. 30,000 first printing.

Mannequin Girl

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Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 0393069281
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Mannequin Girl by : Ellen Litman

Download or read book Mannequin Girl written by Ellen Litman and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2014-03-17 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up in Soviet Russia, Kat Knopman worships her parents, Jewish intellectuals who teach literature at a Moscow school, run a drama club, and dabble in political radicalism. When Kat is diagnosed with rapidly-progressing scoliosis, the trajectory of her life changes and she finds herself at a different institution-- a school-sanatorium for children with spinal ailments. Confined to a brace, surrounded by unsympathetic peers, Kat embarks on a quest to prove that she can be as exceptional as her parents despite her physical limitations, her Jewishness, and her suspicion that her beloved parents are in fact flawed.

The Ninth Wife

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Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0062079336
Total Pages : 452 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (62 download)

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Book Synopsis The Ninth Wife by : Amy Stolls

Download or read book The Ninth Wife written by Amy Stolls and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2011-05-10 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this funny and engaging novel, Amy Stolls shows us that real–life romance is rarely as clear–cut as it seems. The Ninth Wife is a vibrant, nuanced novel about marriage, identity and the moment when we realize that the shimmer of fantasy pales next to the tumultuous reality of ordinary, everyday happiness.” — Carolyn Parkhurst, author of The Dogs of Babel A smart, funny, eye-opening tale of love, marriage, and the power of stories to unlock the true meaning of home and family. What sane woman would consider becoming any man's ninth wife? Bess Gray is a thirty-five-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, DC. Just as she's about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love. But Rory is a man with a secret, which he confesses to Bess when he asks for her hand: He's been married eight times before. Shocked, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer. With her long-married, bickering grandparents, her neighbor (himself a mystery), a shar-pei named Stella, and a mannequin named Peace, Bess sets out on a cross-country journey—unbeknownst to Rory—to seek out and question the wives who came before. What she discovers about herself and her own past is far more than she bargained for.

Abbott Awaits

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Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807140201
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis Abbott Awaits by : Chris Bachelder

Download or read book Abbott Awaits written by Chris Bachelder and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2011-03 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A quiet tour de force, Chris Bachelder's Abbott Awaits transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, startlingly depicting the intense and often heartbreaking challenges that a vulnerable, imaginative young father faces as he lives his everyday American existence.The vexation of Abbott's pensive self-doubt comes to a head one day as he cleans vomited raspberries out of his daughter's car seat and muses: "The following propositions are both true: (A) Abbott would not, given the opportunity, change one significant element of his life, but (B) Abbott cannot stand his life." Composed of small moments of domestic wonder and terror Bachelder's novel is a charming story of misadventure, anxiety, and the every-day battles.

Night of the Mannequins

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Publisher : Tordotcom
ISBN 13 : 125075206X
Total Pages : 89 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (57 download)

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Book Synopsis Night of the Mannequins by : Stephen Graham Jones

Download or read book Night of the Mannequins written by Stephen Graham Jones and published by Tordotcom. This book was released on 2020-09-01 with total page 89 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning author Stephen Graham Jones returns with Night of the Mannequins, a contemporary horror story where a teen prank goes very wrong and all hell breaks loose: is there a supernatural cause, a psychopath on the loose, or both? We thought we'd play a fun prank on her, and now most of us are dead. One last laugh for the summer as it winds down. One last prank just to scare a friend. Bringing a mannequin into a theater is just some harmless fun, right? Until it wakes up. Until it starts killing. Luckily, Sawyer has a plan. He’ll be a hero. He'll save everyone to the best of his ability. He'll do whatever he needs to so he can save the day. That's the thing about heroes—sometimes you have to become a monster first. "Suffused with questions about the nature of change and friendship, “Night of the Mannequins” is a fairy tale of impermanence showcasing Graham Jones’s signature style of smart, irreverent horror." —The New York Times At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

If the Heart Is Lean

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Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807134603
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (346 download)

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Book Synopsis If the Heart Is Lean by : Margaret Luongo

Download or read book If the Heart Is Lean written by Margaret Luongo and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2008-09 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sixteen stories in Margaret Luongo's If the Heart Is Lean etch sharp portraits of people in odd and sometimes surreal situations who thus have the opportunity to view their lives from a unique perspective. In "Chestnut Season," a young woman stalled in traffic sees her future self parked beside her; in "Boyfriends," the recently deceased protagonist endures eulogies by her ex-beaus and husbands; in "Mrs. Fargo," a young man faces a reckoning with his first-grade teacher, a suicide, for whom he's harbored a crush and whom he hopes to impress with his worldly successes. The short-short "Buoyant" introduces Elise, nine months pregnant, as she drifts down the Santa Fe River, trying to jettison her suddenly circumscribed existence. Desperate to impress upon his students the seriousness of life, the professor in "Pedagogy'" boils his head, discovering in the end a lesson learned too late. Other stories touch upon issues of identity, following characters who find themselves in the wrong places, or who find themselves too late. At the advice of their marriage counselor, the couple in "What Nina Wants" take on the personas of Charles Mingus and Nina Simone, speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway in a rented MG, with a loaded gun and an electric bass. In a small town in 1970s New Jersey, the protagonist of "Embankment" can't decide if she's on a date or has been abducted. "Do That Everywhere" finds the teen-aged Cami on the verge of becoming her mother -- promiscuous and bitter. In "Glen Echo," a badass womanizer wonders who he is now that he's married an Italian-American Bridezilla. Through compact, tightly woven prose, vivid imagery, and a variety of arresting narrative techniques, If the Heart Is Lean zeroes in on the humorous and painful lives of people who are mysteries to themselves.

The View from Pompey's Head

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Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807123348
Total Pages : 420 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (233 download)

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Book Synopsis The View from Pompey's Head by : Hamilton Basso

Download or read book The View from Pompey's Head written by Hamilton Basso and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1998-11-01 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sweet, sleepy -- beautiful -- old Pompey's Head, South Carolina. Anson Page thought he'd ground it out of his life for good. Now a Manhattan lawyer representing a large publishing house, he's returning to his hometown after fifteen years to investigate the mystery surrounding one of his client's authors, a major American novelist who lives on nearby Tamburlaine Island. Both painfully familiar and irrevocably altered, the landmarks and people in Pompey's Head resurrect for Page the sweep of his past life. As he sets about resolving business matters, he collides headlong with the enduring power of lineage to determine belonging and dominance, exclusion and shame, and the realization that leaving does not mean escaping.A deft interlacing of recollection and suspense, The View from Pompey's Head is Hamilton Basso's most popularly acclaimed novel. When first published, it spent forty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into seven languages.

I Am One of You Forever

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Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 0807151483
Total Pages : 178 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis I Am One of You Forever by : Fred Chappell

Download or read book I Am One of You Forever written by Fred Chappell and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1987-07-01 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wonderfully funny and also deeply touching, I Am One of You Forever is the story of a young boy's coming of age. Set in the hills and hollows of western North Carolina in the years around World War II, it tells of ten-year-old Jess and his family -- father, mother, grandmother, foster brother, and an odd assortment of other relatives -- who usher Jess into the adult world, with all its attendant joys and sorrows, knowledge and mystery. Jess's father is feisty, restless, and fun-loving. His mother is straitlaced and serious but accepts with grace and good humor the antics of the men of the family, a trait she learned from her own mother. Johnson Gibbs is the orphaned teenager who comes to live with them on their mountain farm. Life on the laurel-covered mountain is isolated and at times difficult, but for Jess it is made rich and remarkable through his relationship with his father and, especially, Johnson Gibbs. Visiting the farm from time to time is a gallery of eccentric relatives who are surely among the most memorable creations in recent fiction. Uncle Luden is a womanizer who left the mountains years ago for a job in California that "paid actual cash money." Uncle Gurton has a spooky way of appearing and disappearing without ever seeming to enter or exit, but it is his flowing beard, which he has apparently never trimmed and which he keeps tucked inside his overalls, that is of most fascination to Jess. Uncle Zeno is a storyteller. With the words "That puts me in mind of..." everyone around knows that he is about to launch into another of his endless tales. Uncle Runkin, who always brings his handmade coffin to sleep in whenever he visits, spends his time carving intricate designs into the coffin and trying to find just the right epitaph for his tombstone. Aunt Samantha Barefoot stops by for a brief spell, too. A country singer and cousin to Jess's grandmother, she is a woman of uncensored speech (Jess learns a lot from her) and honest emotions. Chappell tells the story of all of these characters in a series of chapters that range from fantasy and near farce to pathos. As notable for its lyrical descriptions of the rural settings as for its finely honed vernacular dialogue, I Am One of You Forever shows us a world full of wit and wisdom and the sadness at the heart of things. As one would expect from a poet like Fred Chappell, every line offers its own pleasures and satisfactions.

Life Once Removed

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781715242398
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (423 download)

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Book Synopsis Life Once Removed by : Suzanne Heintz

Download or read book Life Once Removed written by Suzanne Heintz and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete 20 year satirical series, by the hilarious, yet serious, Photographer who documented the imagined "perfect life" for women with a store bought family of mannequins. Travel the world, and come home again with Suzanne's poignant commentary on social expectations for today's successful woman.

The Right Thing

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Publisher : Kensington Books
ISBN 13 : 0758295138
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (582 download)

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Book Synopsis The Right Thing by : Amy Conner

Download or read book The Right Thing written by Amy Conner and published by Kensington Books. This book was released on 2014-05-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On a scorching August day in 1963, seven-year-old Annie Banks meets the girl who will become her best friend. Skinny, outspoken Starr Dukes and her wandering preacher father may not be accepted by polite society in Jackson, Mississippi, but Annie and Starr are too busy sharing secrets and playing elaborate games of Queen for a Day to care. Then, as suddenly as she appeared in Annie's life, Starr disappears. Annie grows up to follow the path ordained for pretty, well-to-do Jackson women--marrying an ambitious lawyer, filling her days with shopping and charity work. She barely recognizes Starr when they meet twenty-seven years after that first fateful summer, but the bond formed so long ago quickly reemerges. Starr, pregnant by a powerful married man who wants her to get out of town, has nowhere to turn. And Annie, determined not to fail her friend this time, agrees to drive Starr to New Orleans to get money she's owed. During the eventful road trip that follows, Annie will confront the gap between friendship and responsibility; between her safe, ordered existence and the dreams she's grown accustomed to denying. Moving, witty, and beautifully told, The Right Thing is a story of love and courage, the powerful impact of friendship, and the small acts that can anchor a life--or, with a little luck, steer it in the right direction at last. "Mix Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells, Kathryn Stockett, then add just a dash of Flannery O'Connor, and you'll wind up with the wholly original voice that is Amy Conner's. In this deceptively breezy novel of Southern women and the disaster and triumph of long-term friendships (not to mention racetracks and horses), Ms. Conner has staked a claim to her own Southern turf." --Bret Lott, New York Times bestselling author of Jewel "This riveting debut novel shows how true friendship can span a social gulf and endure even across a chasm of time. The Right Thing is a page-turner that gripped me from the beginning." --Anna Jean Mayhew, author of The Dry Grass of August "Before you read this book, make some coffee, grab the chocolate, sit down in front of the fire, and don't plan on getting up for a long, lovely time." --Cathy Lamb, author of If You Could See What I See "Amy Connor has combined all of the right elements to make The Right Thing a fantastic read. She's written a touching story about a woman's search for herself and the endurance of a childhood friendship, outlined it in humor, and delivered it with beautiful prose. A wonderful debut!" -- Mary Simses, author of The Irresistible Blueberry Bake Shop & Café "Told with natural Southern lyricism, and full of surprises both quirky and heartfelt, The Right Thing is a compassionate reminder about how every choice at every fork in the road has the power to change the rest of our lives-- sometimes far better than we ever could have imagined." -- Kaya McLaren, author of How I Came to Sparkle Again

The Twelve Monotasks

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Publisher : Little, Brown Spark
ISBN 13 : 0316705535
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (167 download)

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Book Synopsis The Twelve Monotasks by : Thatcher Wine

Download or read book The Twelve Monotasks written by Thatcher Wine and published by Little, Brown Spark. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reclaim your attention, productivity, and happiness with this “captivating, informative and beautifully written” book by learning how to keep your focus on one familiar task at a time (Nate Berkus). Modern life is full of to-do lists, all-consuming technology and the constant pressure to be doing and striving for more. What if you could train your brain to focus on one thing at a time? What if the secret to better productivity involved doing less, not more? Drawing on research in psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness, The Twelve Monotasks provides a clear and accessible plan for life in the twenty-first century. Practice resisting distractions and building focus by doing the things you already do—like reading, sleeping, eating, and listening—with renewed attention. For example, the next time you go for a walk, don’t try to run an errand or squeeze in a phone call, but instead, notice the cool breeze on your face and the plants and birds that may cross your path. Immerse yourself in the activity and let time melt away, even if you’re only actually out for 20 minutes. Notice how much clearer your head feels when you return home. This is the magic of monotasking. With monotasking you will: Become more productive Produce higher quality work Reduce stress And increase happiness. Thatcher Wine’s The Twelve Monotasks will help you do one thing at a time, and do it well, so you can enjoy all of your life!

Shocked

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Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0345803426
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (458 download)

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Book Synopsis Shocked by : Patricia Volk

Download or read book Shocked written by Patricia Volk and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2014-04-22 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An NPR Best Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year How does a girl fashion herself into a woman? In this richly illustrated memoir, writer Patricia Volk juxtaposes her two childhood idols to find her answer. Her mother, Audrey, was an upper-middle-class New Yorker and a great beauty—meticulously groomed, proudly conventional. Elsa Schiaparelli was an avant-garde fashion designer whose creations broke every rule and elevated clothing into art. While growing up in Audrey's strict household, Patricia read Schiap's freewheeling autobiography and was transformed by it. Shocked weaves Audrey's traditional notions of domesticity with Schiap's often outrageous ideas, giving us a revelatory meditation on beauty and on being a daughter, sister, and mother—and demonstrating, meanwhile, how a single book can change a life.

Embassy Wife

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Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN 13 : 0374711364
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (747 download)

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Book Synopsis Embassy Wife by : Katie Crouch

Download or read book Embassy Wife written by Katie Crouch and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2021-07-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A smart, sparkling novel that is one part social satire, one part travelogue . . . Comical and cool.” —Oprah Daily In Katie Crouch's thrilling novel Embassy Wife, two women abroad search for the truth about their husbands—and their country. Meet Persephone Wilder, a displaced genius posing as the wife of an American diplomat in Namibia. Persephone takes her job as a representative of her country seriously, coming up with an intricate set of rules to survive the problems she encounters: how to dress in hundred-degree weather without showing too much skin, how not to look drunk at embassy functions, and how to eat roasted oryx with grace. She also suspects her husband is not actually the ambassador’s legal counsel but a secret agent in the CIA. The consummate embassy wife, she takes the newest trailing spouse, Amanda Evans, under her wing. Amanda arrives in Namibia mere weeks after giving up her Silicon Valley job so her husband, Mark, can have his family close by as he works on his Fulbright project. But once they’re settled in the sub-Saharan desert, Amanda sees clearly that Mark, who lived in Namibia two decades earlier, has other reasons for returning. Back in the safety of home, the marriage had seemed solid; in the glaring heat of the Kalahari, it feels tenuous. And the situation grows even more fraught when their daughter becomes involved in an international conflict and their own government won’t stand up for her. How far will Amanda go to keep her family intact? How much corruption can Persephone ignore? And what, exactly, does it mean to be an American abroad when you’re not sure you understand your country anymore? Propulsive and provocative, Embassy Wife asks what it means to be a human in this world, even as it helps us laugh in the face of our own absurd, seemingly impossible states of affairs.

The Lost Get-Back Boogie

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Author :
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807130322
Total Pages : 270 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis The Lost Get-Back Boogie by : James Lee Burke

Download or read book The Lost Get-Back Boogie written by James Lee Burke and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2004-09-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before The Lost Get-Back Boogie appeared to wide acclaim in 1986, James Lee Burke had been out of print in cloth for thirteen years and his fifth novel had received a record 111 rejection letters. "LSU Press put me back in the game and turned my career around," Burke says. The novels and stories Burke had written during those years of rejection eventually became the stuff of the Dave Robicheaux series, which has earned him two Edgar Awards.Reviews of The Lost Get-Back Boogie now seem prescient. "This is the book that Burke was born to write—and you're grateful he did," wrote syndicated reviewer Nancy Pate. "It's the sort of novel that could win Burke a wider readership," said the Wichita Eagle-Beacon. And from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "The Lost Get-Back Boogie was my introduction to Burke, and it is a cherished one. Burke demonstrates a rare ability to write an extraordinarily propulsive tale that borders on genre fiction without ever being less than literature." The novel's title is also the name of the song that Iry Paret—a honky-tonk musician, Korean vet, and ex-con—wants to write to hold his memories of a "more uncomplicated time," before the war, before prison. The book opens the day thirty-year-old Iry leaves Louisiana's Angola state penitentiary, after serving two years for manslaughter, and follows him to Montana, where he hopes to stay cool and out of trouble by working hard on a ranch owned by the father of his prison pal, Buddy Riordan. Iry finds the fresh start he seeks, joins a weekend band, and even falls in love. But the Riordan family's problems deal Iry a new sort of trouble with some ultimately tragic consequences. The Lost Get-Back Boogie is a novel about loyalty and friendship, betrayal and loss. It is about essentially good people and their attempts to define the value of their lives and to find their place in a changing, complicated world. And it is the work of James Lee Burke at the top of his form.