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I Make Envy on Your Disco: A Novel (Zero Street Fiction)
by Eric SchnallWinner of the Barbara DiBernard Prize in Fiction It&’s the new millennium and the anxiety of midlife is creeping up on Sam Singer, a thirty-seven-year-old art advisor. Fed up with his partner and his life in New York, Sam flies to Berlin to attend a gallery opening. There he finds a once-divided city facing an identity crisis of its own. In Berlin the past is everywhere: the graffiti-stained streets, the candlelit cafés and techno clubs, the astonishing mash-up of architecture, monuments, and memorials. A trip that begins in isolation evolves into one of deep connection and possibility. In an intensely concentrated series of days, Sam finds himself awash in the city, stretched in limbo between his own past and future—in nightclubs with Jeremy, a lonely wannabe DJ; navigating a flirtation with Kaspar, an East Berlin artist he meets at a café; and engaged in a budding relationship with Magda, the enigmatic and icy manager of Sam&’s hotel, whom Sam finds himself drawn to and determined to thaw. I Make Envy on Your Disco is at once a tribute to Berlin, a novel of longing and connection, and a coming-of-middle-age story about confronting the person you were and becoming the person you want to be.
I See Color: Identifying, Understanding And Reducing Hidden Racism: A White Perspective
by Robert Pellegrino"I See Color" is a book that deals directly with the issue of race relations between Blacks and whites. It chronicles the white author's journey to educating himself on the issue of race through personal relationships, experiences and studies. It provides a blueprint needed for America to reach its final goal of equality between the races. It details common issues with white liberal thinking and provides both analysis and solutions to reduce the hidden, and often unconscious, racism therein. As America continues to struggle with the issue of race, "I See Color" builds a bridge for white people to cross to help end this struggle. The book engages white readers on a personal, not scholarly or theoretical, level. It is a must read for white people who are sincere in their desire to improve race relations in this country.
I See London, I See France
by Sarah Mlynowski"This endlessly fun and hugely entertaining romp through Europe had me laughing out loud and reaching for my passport.” —Jennifer E. Smith, author of WindfallA POPSUGAR Best Young Adult Novel of 2017!Nineteen-year-old Sydney has the perfect summer mapped out. She’s spending the next four and a half weeks travelling through Europe with her childhood best friend Leela. Their plans include Eiffel Tower selfies, eating cocco gelato, and making out with très hot strangers.Her plans do not include Leela’s cheating ex-boyfriend showing up on the flight to London, falling for the cheating ex-boyfriend’s très hot friend, monitoring her mother’s spiraling mental health via texts, or feeling like the rope in a friendship tug of war. In this hilarious and unforgettable adventure, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Mlynowski tells the story of a girl learning to navigate secret romances, thorny relationships, and the London Tube. As Sydney zigzags through Amsterdam, Switzerland, Italy, and France, she must learn when to hold on, when to keep moving, and when to jump into the Riviera...wearing only her polka dot underpants.
I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust
by Julian Borger'A powerful, eloquent and deeply affecting book. I loved it' EDMUND DE WAAL'Tender, evocative and deeply moving' JONATHAN FREEDLAND'Profound, elegiac and fascinating... I zipped through it' PHILIPPE SANDS'Compelling' DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK'I SEEK A KIND PERSON WHO WILL EDUCATE MY INTELLIGENT BOY, AGED 11.' In 1938, Jewish families are scrambling to flee Vienna. Desperate, they take out adverts offering their children into the safe keeping of readers of a British newspaper, the Manchester Guardian. The right words in the right order could mean the difference between life and death.Eighty-three years later, Guardian journalist Julian Borger comes across the advert that saved his father, Robert, from the Nazis. Robert had kept this a secret, like almost everything else about his traumatic Viennese childhood, until he took his own life. Drawn to the shadows of his family's past and starting with nothing but a page of newspaper adverts, Borger traces the remarkable stories of his father, the other advertised children and their families, each thrown into the maelstrom of a world at war.From a Viennese radio shop to the Shanghai ghetto, internment camps and family homes across Britain, the deep forests and concentration camps of Nazi Germany, smugglers saving Jewish lives in Holland, an improbable French Resistance cell, and a redemptive story of survival in New York, Borger unearths the astonishing journeys of the children at the hands of fate, their stories of trauma and the kindness of strangers.I Seek a Kind Person is a gripping family memoir of grief, courage and hope, connecting us with multiple generations, distant continents and the hidden histories of our almost unimaginable past.
I Shouldn't Feel This Way: Name What’s Hard, Tame Your Guilt, and Transform Self-Sabotage into Brave Action
by Alison Cook, PhDYou can find emotional freedom. Learn to see through the haze of conflicted feelings and move forward in your life with confidence. Licensed therapist and bestselling author Dr. Alison Cook guides you through a groundbreaking 3-step process to find the freedom you crave.When you're tangled up inside, it's hard to find clarity. Yet so many of us guilt-trip or gaslight ourselves instead of working our way through complicated feelings….I should be a good friend, even though I feel hurt by past betrayals.I should be content, even though I feel lonely or unfulfilled.I should just have faith, even though I feel discouraged by unanswered prayers. This jumbled-up knot is a cry for gentle care and patient attention, but most of us haven't been given the tools required to unravel it.I Shouldn't Feel This Way is your guide out of the chaos and into the calm and clarity you need to face life's challenges. Drawing from over twenty years of research and clinical practice, Dr. Alison Cook guides you through a groundbreaking 3-step process that has helped tens of thousands of people find emotional freedom and surprisingly simple breakthroughs. Dr. Alison shows you how to:identify guilt and know what to do with it,trade feeling stuck in your head for clarity,move from comfortable numbing to courageous conversations, andmake decisions that break cycles of defeat. Change starts when you finally stop beating yourself up for the way that you feel. I Shouldn't Feel This Way is your pathway to emotional freedom. It is time to finally work through your complicated feelings so you can start living with the clarity and confidence you crave.
I Think My Teacher Is an Alien
by Anne BeechHave you ever taken a good look at your teacher? Do they sometimes act strangely or do weird things? Where have them come from and where do they go after school? Have the lights ever flickered or the computers buzzed as they walk past? Take a closer look at your teacher as they might – they just might – be an Alien! There is also an easy to complete checklist to find out for yourself if your teacher could be from outer space.
I Try Not to Think of Afghanistan: Lithuanian Veterans of the Soviet War (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies)
by Anna ReichI Try Not to Think of Afghanistan includes photographs and commentaries from Lithuanian veterans of the Soviet War in Afghanistan (1979–89), addressing the lasting realities of war and its effects on those conscripted to fight. Unflinching first-person accounts give details of training, combat, and the often difficult return to society for military conscripts within the Soviet system. Anna Reich gives insight into the experiences of not only the Lithuanian veterans from the Soviet War in Afghanistan but also veterans from all countries who face similar struggles and challenges.For three months, Reich interacted with twenty-two veterans in their homes and meeting halls and throughout their daily routines to produce portraits that provide intimate and unvarnished portrayals of their lives and the lasting effects of forced military service in the Soviet army. Often ostracized socially because of their involvement with the Soviet army, the veterans frequently feel invisible: there are no social programs to assist them in their attempts to address post-traumatic stress disorder and assimilate into society, their cause is largely unknown, and the government responsible for their conscriptions no longer exists.I Try Not to Think of Afghanistan is the culmination of eight years of investigation into the psychological toll of war and trauma. In providing a rarely seen perspective of life after combat, the book intersects with contemporary discourse, specifically the way the US experience in Afghanistan closely mirrors that of the Soviets and the Russian Federation's forced conscription of young men to fight in Ukraine.
I Use the Potty: Big Kid Power (Big Kid Power)
by Maria van LieshoutBabies wear diapers. Do big kids? No! Big kids use the potty!Every child's life is filled with milestones. Some happen easily; others need a little extra support. Artist and mom Maria van Lieshout has been there. Drawing upon her own experiences, she has created an engaging series of books that are just right for children on the brink of major changes and the caregivers who encourage them. Plus, this is the fixed-format version, which looks almost identical to the print edition!
I Used to Live Here Once: The Haunted Life of Jean Rhys
by Miranda Seymour“Enthralling.… Seymour powerfully evokes the world from which Rhys never really escaped, one of prejudice, abuse, and abuse’s shamefaced offspring, complicity.” —James Wood, The New Yorker An intimate, profoundly moving biography of Jean Rhys, acclaimed author of Wide Sargasso Sea. Jean Rhys is one of the most compelling writers of the twentieth century. Memories of her Caribbean girlhood haunt the four short and piercingly brilliant novels that Rhys wrote during her extraordinary years as an exile in 1920s Paris and later in England, a body of fiction—above all, the extraordinary Wide Sargasso Sea—that has a passionate following today. And yet her own colorful life, including her early years on the Caribbean island of Dominica, remains too little explored, until now. In I Used to Live Here Once, Miranda Seymour sheds new light on the artist whose proud and fiercely solitary life profoundly informed her writing. Rhys experienced tragedy and extreme poverty, alcohol and drug dependency, romantic and sexual turmoil, all of which contributed to the “Rhys woman” of her oeuvre. Today, readers still intuitively relate to her unforgettable characters, vulnerable, watchful, and often alarmingly disaster-prone outsiders; women with a different way of moving through the world. And yet, while her works often contain autobiographical material, Rhys herself was never a victim. The figure who emerges for Seymour is cultured, self-mocking, unpredictable—and shockingly contemporary. Based on new research in the Caribbean, a wealth of never-before-seen papers, journals, letters, and photographs, and interviews with those who knew Rhys, I Used to Live Here Once is a luminous and penetrating portrait of a fascinatingly elusive artist.
I Want Candy: A Novel (Bigler, NC #2)
by Susan DonovanI Want CandySusan Donovan Candace Carmichael was just getting used to the lavish life when everything went sour. Now the down-on-her-luck real estate agent is back in Bigler, North Carolina, jobless and illegally rooming with her her mother in a swank retirement community. All this makes her wonder why she ever considered her BFF Cheri's invitation to move back home. Life in this small mountain town may not be as glamorous as the one she had in Tampa, but she knows a girl can't be too choosy in this market. Besides, everyone's happy to welcome Candy back—especially one handsome widower named Turner…Turner has grown up to be one fine-looking piece of man candy—and looks even tastier in his sheriff's uniform. Maybe that's why she couldn't resist kissing him when he pulled her over for a traffic violation. Even if a relationship was part of Candy's business plan, Turner would be off limits—he still wears his wedding ring, four years after his wife died. If falling in love too fast is a crime, Candy is soon guilty as charged and ready to be fingerprinted. But is she ready to lock away her dreams and hand Turner the keys to her heart?
I Want to be Happy
by Rachel A. MazurI Want to Be Happy is a reflective guide on parenting, offering a values-based approach to decision-making. It emphasizes the importance of nurturing happiness and joy, not just in children, but in the hearts of people everywhere. This book serves as an inspiring backdrop, encouraging readers to create and foster a joyful and fulfilling environment for their families.
I Want to Matter: Your Life Is Too Short and Too Precious to Waste
by Kathie Lee GiffordWe all want to matter, right? We want to love people well and be loved in return. We want to have made a difference before our life is over. We want to have lived a full life without any regrets. In I Want to Matter, New York Times bestselling author and former Today show host Kathie Lee Gifford shares stories about her life and encourages you to remember your self-worth and never give up on your dreams.In this beautiful two-color 60-day DayReader® each day features a:focal topic,story from Kathie Lee Gifford's life,and reflection questions to help you apply the message to your own life.I Want to Matter is inspired by a song written by Kathie Lee and includes content from her New York Times bestselling book, It's Never Too Late. She wants to help you feel seen and heard. This daily reader is great for:birthdays, Mother's Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, or as a just because gift to anyone needing encouragement.morning and night reading routines.anyone searching for an inspirational message.This DayReader® is a way for you to relive the moments that shaped you into who you are today and will allow you to revive your ability to wonder because you truly do matter.
I Want to Move On: Break Free from Bitterness and Discover Freedom in Forgiveness
by Lauren Vander LindenYou know you should move on—so why can’t you?Regardless of how long ago you were hurt, feelings of betrayal, bitterness, and confusion still repeat in your mind. You find unwanted thoughts creeping in:I would never do to them what they did to me.How can they be a Christian and act this way?God, why did you allow this?My bitterness isn’t as bad as what they did to me.But I didn’t do anything wrong.If I don’t fight for myself, no one will.Each chapter addresses a different unwanted thought and combats them with biblical truths to give you the practical tools to beat bitterness once and for all.By exposing bitterness and trusting God to bring justice in his way, you can finally get your life back! What are you waiting for? Open the book!
I Was...: A Recycling Book for Children of All Ages
by Mary SchmeisserPrepare to embark on an inspiring journey for readers of all ages – an urgent call to action to protect our planet through the power of recycling. I Was… unveils the extraordinary stories of everyday heroes who have made a profound impact on Earth&’s future.
I Was Anastasia: A Novel
by Ariel LawhonNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling author of The Frozen River comes an enthralling feat of historical suspense that unravels the extraordinary twists and turns in Anna Anderson's fifty-year battle to be recognized as Anastasia Romanov. Is she the Russian Grand Duchess or the thief of another woman's legacy?"Tantalizing, surprising, compelling, and utterly fascinating."—Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours Countless others have rendered their verdict. Now it is your turn.Russia, July 17, 1918: Under direct orders from Vladimir Lenin, Bolshevik secret police force Anastasia Romanov, along with the entire imperial family, into a damp basement in Siberia, where they face a merciless firing squad. None survive. At least that is what the executioners have always claimed.Germany, February 17, 1920: A young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Anastasia Romanov is pulled shivering and senseless from a canal. Refusing to explain her presence in the freezing water or even acknowledge her rescuers, she is taken to the hospital where an examination reveals that her body is riddled with countless horrific scars. When she finally does speak, this frightened, mysterious young woman claims to be the Russian grand duchess. As rumors begin to circulate through European society that the youngest Romanov daughter has survived the massacre at Ekaterinburg, old enemies and new threats are awakened. The question of who Anna Anderson is and what actually happened to Anastasia Romanov spans fifty years and touches three continents. This thrilling saga is every bit as moving and momentous as it is harrowing and twisted.Don't miss Ariel Lawhon's new book, The Frozen River!
I Was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoir of Erich Kempka
by Erich Kempka&“An insider view of Hitler&’s closest circles, providing an invaluable account of the final months of the war&” (History of War). Erich Kempka served as Adolf Hitler&’s personal driver from 1934 through to the Führer&’s dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Führer&’s headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin. He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler&’s personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Führer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoir, however, covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Führerbunker. Crucially, Kempka witnessed Hitler&’s marriage to Eva Braun and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler&’s final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet artillery fire, Kempka, Linge, and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them. The account concludes with Kempka&’s hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin more than 800 kilometers through Allied-occupied Germany, his arrest, and interrogation before being sent to serve as a witness at Nuremburg.
I Will Be Good: A Memoir of a Dublin Childhood and a Life Less Ordinary
by Peig McManus'One of the best Dublin memoirs I've ever read' Donal FallonPeig McManus was born into the last of Dublin's tenements before moving to one of Ireland's first social housing estates in Cabra. Her father believed that children should earn their keep and learn to face reality as soon as possible. While that reality was poverty, class prejudice and strict Catholicism, at the heart of Peig's earliest memories are music, hoolies and the bonds of family and community.I Will Be Good is the story of a girl who rebelled against societal expectations and dreamed of further education. It tells of a young woman whose hopes of marriage to a Scottish sailor ended in the heartbreak of a daughter given up for adoption; of a mother who needed something more than her 'place at home'; and of a pioneering citizen who became one of Ireland's foremost campaigners for educational reform.Now, in her eighties, Peig shares her story of grit and courage: an inspiring journey through the trials and triumphs of a remarkable Irish woman who refused to do what she was told.
I Will Be Good: A Memoir of a Dublin Childhood and a Life Less Ordinary
by Peig McManus'One of the best Dublin memoirs I've ever read' Donal FallonPeig McManus was born into the last of Dublin's tenements before moving to one of Ireland's first social housing estates in Cabra. Her father believed that children should earn their keep and learn to face reality as soon as possible. While that reality was poverty, class prejudice and strict Catholicism, at the heart of Peig's earliest memories are music, hoolies and the bonds of family and community.I Will Be Good is the story of a girl who rebelled against societal expectations and dreamed of further education. It tells of a young woman whose hopes of marriage to a Scottish sailor ended in the heartbreak of a daughter given up for adoption; of a mother who needed something more than her 'place at home'; and of a pioneering citizen who became one of Ireland's foremost campaigners for educational reform.Now, in her eighties, Peig shares her story of grit and courage: an inspiring journey through the trials and triumphs of a remarkable Irish woman who refused to do what she was told.
I Will Get Up Off Of
by Simina BanuOverthinking simple actions leads to overwhelming poems about what one can lean on if promised help doesn’t helpI Will Get Up Off Of is a book about trying to leave a chair. How does anyone ever leave a chair? There are so many muscles involved – so many tarot cards, coats, meds, McNuggets, and memes. In this book, poems are attempts and failures at movement as the speaker navigates her anxiety and depression in whatever way she can, looking for hope from social workers on Zoom, wellness influencers, and psychics alike. Eventually, the poems explode in frustration, splintering into various art forms as attempts at expression become more and more desperate. What is there to lean on when avenues promising help don’t help? Bell may want to #talk but does it want to listen? I Will Get Up Off Of explores the role art plays in survival and the hope that underlies every creative impulse."The voice of these poems moves like a magical fish trapped in a small square bowl, dazzlingly alive inside an almost annihilating constriction. These poems play a serious game in a tight space, caught in the looping limbo between intention — “I will…”, “I will…”, “I will…”— and action. Simina Banu’s skill and humour animate every line and gesture within this inventive drama that begins “(I will get up off of) this monobloc but I’ve been sentenced….” Sentenced to form and to language, Banu gives us a mind thinking its way toward freedom." – Damian Rogers, author of Dear Leader
I Will Ruin You: A Novel
by Linwood BarclayIn the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay, a teacher’s act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants.How would you react in a life-or-death situation?It’s a question everyone asks themselves, but few have to face in real life. English teacher Richard Boyle certainly never thought he would find himself talking down a former student intent on harming others, but when Mark LeDrew shows up at Richard’s school with a bomb strapped to his chest, Richard immediately jumps into action. Thanks to some quick thinking, he averts a major tragedy and is hailed as a hero, but not all the attention focused on him is positive.Richard’s brief moment in the spotlight puts him in the sights of a deranged blackmailer with a score to settle. The situation rapidly spirals out of control, drawing Richard into a fraught web of salacious accusations and deadly secrets. As he tries to uncover the truth he discovers that there’s something deeply wrong in the town—something that ties together Mark, the blackmailer, and a gang of ruthless drug dealers, and Richard has landed smack in the middle of it. He’s desperate to find a way out, but everyone in his life seems to be hiding something, and trusting the wrong person could cost him everything he loves.What price will he pay for one good deed?
I Wish You More
by Amy Krouse RosenthalThe #1 New York Times bestselling children's bookAmy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld have combined their extraordinary talents to create an inspirational book that's full of endless good wishes. Wishes for curiosity and wonder, for friendship and strength, laughter and peace. Whether celebrating life's joyous milestones, sharing words of encouragement, or observing the wonder of everyday moments, this sweet book is for wishers of all ages! I Wish You More is the perfect graduation gift as well as a must-have, uplifting read sure to bring positivity to all who read it.
I Won't Give Up My Rubber Band
by Shinsuke YoshitakeAn everyday object (the endlessly versatile rubber band) becomes an invitation to imagine new possibilities in the latest laugh-out-loud picture book from acclaimed author-illustrator Shinsuke Yoshitake!What can you do with a rubber band? You can do everyday things, like keep it close when you sleep or bring it along at bath time. And you can do exciting, unexpected things, like use it to bungee jump out of a plane or to grab a snack. With a special object of your very own, the possibilities are as limitless as your imagination!Acclaimed Japanese author-illustrator Shinsuke Yoshitake (The Boring Book, There Must Be More Than That!, I Can Be Anything, The I Wonder Bookstore) delivers another laugh-out-loud experience in his latest picture book. With signature humor, wit, and boundless creativity, this charming story celebrates the potential of everyday objects to become catalysts for curiosity and play, at once honoring a child's attachment to favorite objects and opening the door to a world of exciting new objects and experiences.SHINSUKE YOSHITAKE IS A STAR: Fans of the critically acclaimed picture books The Boring Book and There Must Be More Than That! will immediately recognize Japanese author-illustrator Shinsuke Yoshitake's signature art style, humor, and imaginative sensibility!ENCOURAGES CREATIVE THINKING: Imaginative play is on full display in this smart and silly picture book about finding joy in an everyday object that others might overlook. Even the smallest of items offers a portal to possibility and play—all you need is a little humor and lots of imagination!EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR STORY TIME: The tone and antics in this picture book are just right for the three-to-five age set, and the quirky, thought-provoking scenarios are fodder for laugh-out-loud moments. Parents and kids alike will enjoy reading this fun and funny tale out loud together!IDEAL FOR RELUCTANT READERS: With a comic-esque style, unique narrative approach, fast pace, and charming voice, this humorous offering packs lots of reluctant-reader appeal.Perfect for:• Fans of Shinsuke Yoshitake• Fans of Japanese picture books• Parents, grandparents, and caregivers• Teachers and librarians• Gift-givers looking for a unique and funny present• Lovers of thoughtful, humorous, and imaginative children's books
I You We Them, Vol. 1: Walking into the World of the Desk Killer (I You We Them)
by Dan GrettonA Washington Post notable nonfiction book of 2020"I You We Them is a uniquely gripping journey around the landscapes of mass murder." --Philippe Sands, author of East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes against HumanityA Spectator (UK) Best Book of 2019A landmark historical investigation into crimes against humanity and the nature of evilVast and revelatory, Dan Gretton’s I You We Them is an unprecedented study of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity: the “desk killers” who ordered and directed some of the worst atrocities of the modern era. From Albert Speer’s complicity in Nazi barbarism to Royal Dutch Shell’s role in the murders of the Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and the rest of the Ogoni Nine, Gretton probes the depths of the figure “who, by giving orders, uses paper or a phone or a computer to kill, instead of a gun.”Over the past twenty years, Gretton has interviewed survivors and perpetrators, and pored over archives and thousands of pages of testimony. His insight into the psychology of the desk killer is contextualized by the journey he took to penetrate it. Woven into the narrative are his contemplative interludes—perspectives gleaned during walks in the woods, reminiscences about a lost love, and considerations of timeless moral conundrums. The result is a genre-bending work steeped as much in personal reflection as it is in literature and historical and psychological illumination.A synthesis of history, reportage, and memoir, I You We Them is the first volume of a groundbreaking journal of discovery that bears witness to and reckons with the largest and most pressing questions before humanity.
Ian Fleming's Secret War
by Craig CabellWhile his extravagant and glamorous lifestyle is well known, little has been published concerning Ian Fleming's contribution during the Second World War. In the very early days of the War, Fleming was earmarked by the Director of Naval Intelligence as his 'right hand man'. From the outset he was in the center of events, meeting with key political and military figures as well as those of exceptional intelligence, experience and courage. All this was to give him invaluable background when he came to write the Bond novels. The author has uncovered through official documentation, private papers and contacts the depth of Fleming's work in Naval Intelligence. Fascinating insights of those he worked with and details of covert trips to Europe and North Africa emerge. Fleming was closely associated with 30 Assault Unit, a crack team of Commandos who took the fight to the enemy. The book reveals both the history of 30 AU and Fleming's role.
Ian McEwan: Subversive Readings, Informed Misreadings (21st Century Perspectives on British Literature and Society)
by Irena KsiężopolskaThis book offers a discussion of seven “canonical” novels by Ian McEwan (The Cement Garden, The Comfort of Strangers, The Child in Time, The Innocent, Black Dogs, Atonement, On Chesil Beach), introducing radical new readings, which are offered not as ultimate and conclusive “solutions” of the textual puzzles, but as possibilities to engage with the text creatively, to enrich the critical consensus and restore interpretative freedom to the readers. This project formulates a strategy of “inclusive reading” – an approach to the text that does not seek to reduce it to a single interpretation, and yet is comprehensively informed through the analysis of the primary text, critical discussion, authorial comments and the context of the composition. Each reading demonstrates the metafictional structure of the texts, indicating that McEwan’s works may be treated as invitations to roam within their worlds, examining the multiple frames of their structure and the meanings generated thereby. All the chapters attend to submerged, repressed, or deliberately masked voices. The Cement Garden is seen as a multi-layered dream, with a shifting hierarchy of dreamers; The Comfort of Strangers is viewed as an inverted metafiction, with insubstantial characters corrupting more complex heroes; The Child in Time is read as Stephen’s book written for his dead daughter; The Innocent as a memory narrative of Leonard who refuses to notice Maria’s role as a spy. In Black Dogs the over-exposure of unreliability is studied as a screen for personal trauma; in the analysis of Atonement Briony’s claim to authorship is questioned and Cecilia is suggested as an alternative narrative agent. Finally, examining On Chesil Beach, both characters’ voices are reconstructed in search of the superior narrative power, which in the end is seen to be elusive, as the text seeks to undermine the hierarchy of voices.