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The Seventh Cross (Virago Modern Classics #779)
by Anna Seghers'At once a suspenseful manhunt story and a knowing portrait of the perils of ordinary life in Hitler's Germany, The Seventh Cross is not only an important novel, but an important historical document. This new, unabridged translation is a genuine publishing event' - Joseph Kanon, author of 'The Good German' and 'Leaving Berlin''A masterpiece. Written in the midst of terror, but with such clarity, such acuity; Seghers is a writer of rare insight' RACHEL SEIFFERT author of A Boy in WinterSeven prisoners escape from Westhofen concentration camp. Seven crosses are erected in the grounds and the commandant vows to capture the fugitives within a week. Six men are caught quickly, but George Heisler slips through his pursuers' fingers. It becomes a matter of pride to track him down, at whatever cost.Who can George trust? Who will betray him? The years of fear have changed those he knew best: his brother is now an SS officer; his lover turns him away. Hunted, injured and desperate, time is running out for George, and whoever is caught aiding in his escape will pay with their life.The Seventh Cross is one of the most powerful and influential novels of the twentieth century, a tense thriller that helped to alert the world to the grim realities of Nazi Germany.'It was [Seghers] who taught my generation and anyone who had an ear to listen after that not-to-be-forgotten war to distinguish right from wrong. The Seventh Cross shaped me; it sharpened my vision' GUNTER GRASS'A fascinating insight into life in pre-war Nazi Germany just as the horrors of the Nazi regime were beginning to unfold. This is an important novel, as much for its picture of German society as for its insight into the psyche of ordinary people confronting their personal fears and mixed loyalties' SIMON MAWER, author of The Glass RoomIn The Seventh Cross, Seghers's aim was to write, 'A tale that makes it possible to get to know the many layers of fascist Germany through the fortunes of a single man.' She had four copies of the manuscript: one was destroyed in an air raid; a friend lost the second copy while fleeing the Nazis; another was found by the Gestapo; only the fourth copy survived, which, fortunately, she sent to her publisher in America just before she escaped Nazi-occupied France. Published in 1942, The Seventh Cross was an immediate bestseller and was the basis for an MGM film starring Spencer Tracy in 1944. It has been translated into more than 40 languages.Margot Bettauer Dembo's expert new translation makes the complete text of this great political novel available in English for the first time.
Dr Clock's Last Case: And Other Stories
by Ruth FainlightA collection of short stories from the author of "Twenty One Poems" and "Three Poems".A. S. Byatt's comment that Ruth Fainlight's poems 'combine Alice Munro's virtues with something more archaic and also, in exact clear words, give us a truly new vision of usual and mysterious events' can be applied with equal force to this collection of stories. Acutely precise and elegant, they move from vivid evocations of an American childhood and close studies of amoral expatriate life to erotic humour and black fantasy. The breakdown of a middle-aged man when the ghost of his mother, who perished in the Holocaust, returns to haunt him; the unexplained midnight arrival of three likely terrorists at the comfortable English village house of a university professor; a woman's half-reluctant marriage to her daughter's fiance: all these stories demonstrate Ruth Fainlight's uncompromising subtlety of style, and the range of her sympathies and imagination.
Dr Clock's Last Case: And Other Stories
by Ruth FainlightA collection of short stories from the author of "Twenty One Poems" and "Three Poems".A. S. Byatt's comment that Ruth Fainlight's poems 'combine Alice Munro's virtues with something more archaic and also, in exact clear words, give us a truly new vision of usual and mysterious events' can be applied with equal force to this collection of stories. Acutely precise and elegant, they move from vivid evocations of an American childhood and close studies of amoral expatriate life to erotic humour and black fantasy. The breakdown of a middle-aged man when the ghost of his mother, who perished in the Holocaust, returns to haunt him; the unexplained midnight arrival of three likely terrorists at the comfortable English village house of a university professor; a woman's half-reluctant marriage to her daughter's fiance: all these stories demonstrate Ruth Fainlight's uncompromising subtlety of style, and the range of her sympathies and imagination.
What are We Doing Here?
by Marilynne RobinsonNew essays by the Women's Prize and Pulitzer Prize winning author of Gilead, Home and Lila. In this collection, Marilynne Robinson impels us to action and offers us hope.'Grace and intelligence ...[her work] defines universal truths about what it means to be human' BARACK OBAMAMarilynne Robinson has plumbed the human spirit in her renowned novels, including Lila, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; Home, winner of the Orange Prize; and Gilead, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In this new essay collection she trains her incisive mind on our modern political climate and the mysteries of faith. Whether she is investigating how the work of great thinkers about America like Emerson and Tocqueville inform our political consciousness or discussing the way that beauty informs and disciplines daily life, Robinson's peerless prose and boundless humanity are on full display.
A Stranger City
by Linda GrantWINNER OF THE WINGATE LITERARY PRIZE 2020 `A superb piece of writing about London life. Past Wingate winners include Zadie Smith, Amos Oz and David Grossman' '[A] shimmering new novel . . . Grant's book is as much a love letter to London as a lament, an ode to pink skin after sunny days and lost gloves waving from railings' The Economist'A compelling portrait of contemporary London, it's a novel fit for shifting, uncertain times' Suzi Feay, Financial Times'A Stranger City feels like a very important novel for right now: no politically ponderous diatribe but a witty, sunlounger-accessible and deeply humanising story about people - about us - and the societal shipwreck we're stuck in' Evening StandardWhen a dead body is found in the Thames, caught in the chains of HMS Belfast, it begins a search for a missing woman and confirms a sense that in London a person can become invisible once outside their community - and that assumes they even have a community. A policeman, a documentary film-maker and an Irish nurse named Chrissie all respond to the death of the unknown woman in their own ways. London is a place of random meetings, shifting relationships - and some, like Chrissie intersect with many. The film-maker and the policeman meanwhile have safe homes with wives - or do they? An immigrant family speaks their own language only privately; they have managed to integrate - or have they? The wonderful Linda Grant weaves a tale around ideas of home; how London can be a place of exile or expulsion, how home can be a physical place or an idea. How all our lives intersect and how coincidence or the randomness of birth place can decide how we live and with whom.
Nobody's Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs and Trolls
by Carrie Goldberg'A rallying cry for privacy justice' New York Times'We need more warriors like Carrie' Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movementIn an era of doxing, revenge porn and online stalking, the law is failing us. Tech companies are untouchable and often women are persecuted. Carrie Goldberg built her law firm on battling these unprecedented cases - from stalkers haunting their exes through social media and dating apps, to schools suspending girls who report sexual assault, to trolls making fake bomb threats in their victims' names. Here, she tells her clients' stories alongside her own remarkable journey to become the lawyer she once needed.Gripping and inspiring, Nobody's Victim shows how we must rewire the legal system for the age of the internet and gives us the weapons to fight back.*Perfect for fans of She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker and The Good Fight*
Crimson
by Niviaq Korneliussen'Effortlessly cool, funny yet sad, breezy but thoughtful - this is an edgy and unputdownable work of modern literature' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti 'Crimson is written with immense courage - there's no faking the feeling of honesty on each page. It is a brave novel reminiscent of Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting' Laline Paull, author of The BeesThe island has run out of oxygen. The island is swollen. The island is rotten. The island has taken my beloved from me. The island is a Greenlander. It's the fault of the Greenlander. In Nuuk, Greenland . . .Fia breaks up with her long-term boyfriend and falls for Sara.Sara is in love with Ivik who holds a deep secret and is about to break promises. Ivik struggles with gender dysphoria as their friends become addicted to social media, listen to American pop music and get blind drunk in downtown bars and uptown house parties. Then there is Inuk, who also has something to hide - it will take him beyond his limits to madness, and question what it means to be a Greenlander, while Arnaq, the party queen, pulls the strings of manipulation, bringing a web of relationships to a shocking crescendo. Crimson weaves through restlessness, depression, love and queer experiences to tell the story of Greenlanders through a unique and challenging form. The original text was written and published in the Greenlandic language.
Before the Light Fades: A Memoir of Grief and Resistance - 'Deeply affecting and unexpectedly inspiring’ Sarah Waters
by Natasha Walter'Deeply affecting and unexpectedly inspiring... the perfect read for daunting times' SARAH WATERS'Beautiful... illuminating and healing' JULIA SAMUEL'Eloquent, piercing, gloriously humane' PHILIPPE SANDSOne day in December, Natasha Walter's mother Ruth took her own life.At first, the grief and guilt that Natasha felt were overwhelming. As the author of feminist books and the founder of the charity Women for Refugee Women, Natasha had always been active in movements for social justice. But in the aftermath of her mother's suicide, her personal grief intertwines with a sense of political despair.Gradually, she starts to search back through Ruth's history, trying to understand how her life led to this death. She explores Ruth's own involvement as a young woman in the nuclear disarmament movement of the 1960s. Even though Ruth had been brought up to be a conventional young woman, she chose to take huge risks and break the law in order to stand up for what she believed was right. This was where Ruth met and fell in love with Natasha's father, the anarchist writer Nicolas Walter.Natasha also explores the history of Ruth's parents, particularly the story of her grandfather Georg. He was involved in anti-Nazi resistance in the 1930s in Germany, was imprisoned for three years and then went on the run across Europe. Eventually he got to safety, and never spoke again about his experiences.In thinking back through the years, Natasha comes to a deeper and more hopeful understanding of the legacy that her parents and grandparents leave her. No longer overwhelmed by grief, she comes to value the courage of past generations. She steps back into activism, and values the beauty of everyday life once again.Without false hope, this book explores why it is always important to stand up for what you believe is right, even when success is far from assured. This is a memoir that is honest about loss, but also searches for what is valuable in the legacy of one family that lived through some of the great crises of the twentieth century. It will resonate with those grappling with the loss of hope in these challenging political times, as well as those who are living in the shadow of bereavement.
Eve: the new graphic novel from the award-winning author of Becoming Unbecoming
by UnaA powerful novel of mothers and daughters, and how we imagine our future, from acclaimed author of BECOMING UNBECOMING'This is a disturbing and necessary book for our times, because it leaves us with a question. In EVE, Una describes a society in crisis, a dystopia which grows ever more familiar as we turn the pages. The characters are people we know, their conversations are words we've heard, their fears and anxieties are our own. Una has held up a chilling mirror for us, and leaves us with a choice - what kind of world will we make for ourselves? It could go either way....' JACKY FLEMINGIn the near future, in a world that seems just like our own, Eve grows up in a loving family that is increasingly threatened by a society which seems to be sleepwalking into totalitarianism. After a catastrophe that changes everything, Eve must set off on her own, over the wild Yorkshire moors, to try to find a new way to live. Eve is a book of mothers, daughters, human relationships, trust and community, human weakness, conflict, hopeful futures and painful pasts. It is speculative fiction that feels incredible timely: Una explores the rise of authoritarianism on both the political right and left and imagines where it might all lead.
Fruit of Knowledge
by Liv Strömquist'How I loved reading Fruit of Knowledge ... Clever, angry, funny and righteous, also informative to an eye-popping degree' Rachel Cooke, OBSERVER GRAPHIC NOVEL OF THE MONTHFrom Adam and Eve to pussy hats, people have punished, praised, pathologised and politicised vulvas, vaginas, clitorises, and menstruation. In the international bestseller Fruit of Knowledge, celebrated Swedish cartoonist Liv Strömquist traces how different cultures and traditions have shaped women's health and beyond. Her biting, informed commentary and ponytailed avatar guides the reader from the darkest chapters of history (a clitoridectomy performed on a five-year-old American child as late as 1948) to the lightest (vulvas used as architectural details as a symbol of protection). Like Alison Bechdel and Jacky Fleming, she uses the comics medium to reveal uncomfortable truths about how far we haven't come.'Just the thing for all the feminists in your life' Observer Books of the Year'This book made me laugh in public (and also cry a little). It is the book I gave to my younger sister the next time I saw her because of its anger and brilliance and because it is an overwhelming source of knowledge about things we should all already know' Daisy Johnson, author of the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Everything Under 'There are moments of genuine hilarity, as when Strömquist pictures the dinner party chatter of men living under a matriarchy, and others of fierce anger in this wild, witty and vital book' Observer Books of the Year
The Brink of Being: Talking About Miscarriage
by Julia Bueno'Illuminating and consoling' JULIA SAMUEL, author of GRIEF WORKS'Intuitive and compassionate' SATHNAM SANGHERA Though approximately one in four pregnancies ends in miscarriage, it remains a rarely talked about, under-researched, and largely misunderstood area of women's health. This profoundly necessary book - the first comprehensive portrait of the psychological, emotional, medical, and cultural aspects of miscarriage - aims to help break that silence.In this groundbreaking book, psychotherapist Julia Bueno draws on historical and psychological research alongside her personal story and those of people she's helped. Straightforward and supportive, she shines a light on the different ways that miscarriages can happen and how we might allow for our grief, offer comfort and break the silence.'It's the sort of book that women have long been searching for, and it feels like real progress. I'm so thankful she wrote it' MEAGHAN O'CONNELL, author of And Now We Have Everything'Profound insight, rare courage' ZOE WILLIAMS'Opening the door to more candid conversations' OBSERVER
In the Full Light of the Sun
by Clare ClarkIn the Full Light of the Sun follows the fortunes of three Berliners caught up in a devastating scandal of 1930s' Germany. It tells the story of Emmeline, a wayward, young art student; Julius, an anxious, middle-aged art expert; and a mysterious art dealer named Rachmann who are at the heart of Weimar Berlin at its hedonistic, politically turbulent apogee and are whipped up into excitement over the surprising discovery of thirty-two previously unknown paintings by Vincent van Gogh.Based on a true story, unfolding through the subsequent rise of Hitler and the Nazis, this gripping tale is about beauty and justice, and the truth that may be found when our most treasured beliefs are revealed as illusions. Brilliant on authenticity, vanity and self-delusion, it is a novel for our times.
I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities and Other Stuff
by Abbi JacobsonA NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERFrom the co-creator and co-star of the hit series Broad City, a hilarious and poignant collection about love, loss, work, comedy and figuring out who you really are when you thought you already knew.When Abbi Jacobson announced to friends and acquaintances that she planned to drive across the country alone, she was met with lots of questions and opinions: Why wasn't she going with friends? Wouldn't it be incredibly lonely? The North route is better! Was it safe for a woman? The Southern route is the way to go! You should bring mace! And a common one . . . why? But Abbi had always found comfort in solitude, and needed space to step back and hit the reset button. As she spent time in each city and town on her way to Los Angeles, she mulled over the big questions - What do I really want? What is the worst possible scenario in which I could run into my ex? How has the decision to wear my shirts tucked in been pivotal in my adulthood? In this collection of anecdotes, observations and reflections - all told in the sharp, wildly funny and relatable voice that has endeared Abbi to critics and fans alike - readers will feel like they're in the passenger seat on a fun and, ultimately, inspiring journey. With some original illustrations by the author.
Caldicott Place
by Noel StreatfeildFrom Noel Streatfeild, the beloved author of Ballet Shoes, comes a moving story of unexpected friendships and new beginnings.When their father is injured in an accident, life changes for the Johnstone family. Unable to afford their home, they have to move to a small London flat. Carol can no longer go to ballet school and Tim is heartbroken as he must leave his beloved dog, Jelly, behind. Then, it seems, their wishes are granted: in an extraordinary twist of fate, Tim inherits a dilapidated country house, Caldicott Place, where the family - including Jelly - can live together. But the house is badly in need of repair and they have no money, so a solution is found - the family start to look after wealthy children in the school holidays. Although they dread the prospect of sharing their newly found home with rich spoiled children, perhaps friendships can be found in the unlikeliest places.
Caldicott Place (Virago Modern Classics #758)
by Noel StreatfeildFrom Noel Streatfeild, the beloved author of Ballet Shoes, comes a moving story of unexpected friendships and new beginnings.When their father is injured in an accident, life changes for the Johnstone family. Unable to afford their home, they have to move to a small London flat. Carol can no longer go to ballet school and Tim is heartbroken as he must leave his beloved dog, Jelly, behind. Then, it seems, their wishes are granted: in an extraordinary twist of fate, Tim inherits a dilapidated country house, Caldicott Place, where the family - including Jelly - can live together. But the house is badly in need of repair and they have no money, so a solution is found - the family start to look after wealthy children in the school holidays. Although they dread the prospect of sharing their newly found home with rich spoiled children, perhaps friendships can be found in the unlikeliest places.
Apple Bough
by Noel StreatfeildA wonderful story of music and family and finding home, from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.The Forums are a musical family, and one child, Sebastian, shines out as a prodigy. He is a brilliant violinist and when his talent is recognised, he is wanted the world over. Myra, Wolfgang (named after Mozart) and Ettie thought it was wonderful at first, but after four years of touring the world with their brilliant brother they've changed their minds. Now, what they long for, is a home of their own, not a hotel in Vienna or Venice or Moscow. But to their mother and father, a life of travel is exciting - all any child could want. How can the children make the grown-ups see sense?Myra makes a plan - 'Operation Home' - and is determined to make it succeed.
Apple Bough (Virago Modern Classics #757)
by Noel StreatfeildA wonderful story of music and family and finding home, from the beloved author of Ballet Shoes.The Forums are a musical family, and one child, Sebastian, shines out as a prodigy. He is a brilliant violinist and when his talent is recognised, he is wanted the world over. Myra, Wolfgang (named after Mozart) and Ettie thought it was wonderful at first, but after four years of touring the world with their brilliant brother they've changed their minds. Now, what they long for, is a home of their own, not a hotel in Vienna or Venice or Moscow. But to their mother and father, a life of travel is exciting - all any child could want. How can the children make the grown-ups see sense?Myra makes a plan - 'Operation Home' - and is determined to make it succeed.
Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories (Virago Modern Classics #759)
by Noel Streatfeild'The wonderful Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories collects, for the first time, nine festive stories originally written for annuals and magazines in the 1940s and 1950s . . . As ever, Streatfeild's children always feel utterly real and relatable. A beautifully produced treat' Anna Carey, Irish Times In this captivating collection of stories by the author of Ballet Shoes, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures, and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this collection will bring joy to readers of all ages.Originally written in 1940s-60s for annuals, magazines and the radio, these stories have never been collected before.With enchanting line drawings by by Peter Bailey.Stories include:The AuditionThe Bells Keep Twelfth NightThe Moss RoseThimbleThe PrincessThe ChainChristmas at CollersThe Pantomime GooseSkating to the Stars
Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories
by Noel Streatfeild'The wonderful Noel Streatfeild's Christmas Stories collects, for the first time, nine festive stories originally written for annuals and magazines in the 1940s and 1950s . . . As ever, Streatfeild's children always feel utterly real and relatable. A beautifully produced treat' Anna Carey, Irish TimesIn this captivating collection of stories by the author of Ballet Shoes, there are auditions on stage and antics on ice, trips to the pantomime, holiday adventures, and laughter shared with family and friends. Charming, heartwarming and funny, this collection will bring joy to readers of all ages.Originally written in 1940s-60s for annuals, magazines and the radio, these stories have never been collected before.With enchanting line drawings by by Peter Bailey.Stories include:The AuditionThe Bells Keep Twelfth NightThe Moss RoseThimbleThe PrincessThe ChainChristmas at CollersThe Pantomime GooseSkating to the Stars
Noel Streatfeild's Holiday Stories: By the author of 'Ballet Shoes' (Virago Modern Classics #780)
by Noel Streatfeild'Classic Noel Streatfeild at her warm-hearted best. I absolutely loved it' Hilary McKay, author of THE SKYLARKS' WAR'Such rewarding reading' Daily TelegraphIn this captivating new collection, there are stories for every reader to enjoy: unforgettable holidays and unlikely friendships, crime-solving adventures and dancers in the spotlight for the very first time. Originally written for annuals and magazines, these newly discovered stories are collected here for the first time and will be treasured by Noel Streatfeild fans of all ages.Featuring beautiful illustrations by PETER BAILEYStories include: The Plain One Devon MettleChicken for SupperFlag's CircusThe SecretCoralieOrdinary Me Cows Eat FlowersAndrew's TroutThe Old FoolLet's Go CoachingHowardThe Quiet HolidayRobertaGreen Silk
Noel Streatfeilds Holiday Stories: By the author of 'Ballet Shoes'
by Noel StreatfeildA NEW COLLECTION OF HOLIDAY STORIES BY THE BELOVED AUTHOR OF BALLET SHOES. PERFECT READING FOR LONG SUMMER DAYS.In this captivating new collection, there are stories for every reader to enjoy: unforgettable holidays and unlikely friendships, crime-solving adventures and dancers in the spotlight for the very first time. Originally written for annuals and magazines from the 1930s-70s, these newly discovered stories will be treasured by Noel Streatfeild fans of all ages.Featuring beautiful illustrations by PETER BAILEYStories include: The Plain One Devon MettleChicken for SupperFlag's CircusThe SecretCoralieOrdinary Me Cows Eat FlowersAndrew's TroutThe Old FoolLet's Go CoachingHowardThe Quiet HolidayRobertaGreen Silk
Red River Girl: A Journey into the Dark Heart of Canada - The International Bestseller
by Joanna JollyTHE GRIPPING TRUE STORY OF A MURDER WHICH HAUNTED CANADA AND BECAME A RALLYING CRY FOR JUSTICE'If you were hooked on the Serial podcast, then you need to order this now' RedLonglisted for the Crime Writers' Association ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-FictionTina FontaineA fifteen-year-old runaway living on the streets of Winnipeg. When her body was found weighted down in the Red River, she became yet another example of the endemic violence against Indigenous women. But her death sparked a nationwide protest. Sergeant John O'DonovanThe police detective who forced the media to look at Tina differently. Vowing to deliver justice, he plotted an extraordinary undercover sting that stretched the moral boundaries of the law and obsessed him for years.Joanna JollyAn award-winning journalist whose investigation into Tina's death took her to the prison cell of the murder suspect, theFirst Nation reserve where Tina was raised and into the heart of a liberal nation confronting racism and injustice.'Written with the urgency of a thriller, this book uses the tragic death of one girl to expose scandalous levels of violence against Canada's Indigenous female population. A shocking story' Joan Smith, author of Misogynies'Jolly's gripping, moving and timely book is a true crime classic. Vital, urgent and humane' Melanie McGrath, author of The Long Exile
On Smaller Dogs and Larger Life Questions
by Kate FigesComing up to her sixtieth birthday, Kate Figes found herself turning to the larger questions of family, love and life's meaning. It is like this author to examine different stages in writing, and her books - from new motherhood and adolescence to coupledom and infidelity - testify to this way of understanding herself and others: so naturally she turned to writing to explore the challenges of becoming sixty. And then - a horrible, and sudden diagnosis of breast cancer which had metastasised.Instead of a gentle journey into middle age, Kate Figes began to write for her life. Now, clawing back confidence and control was not just the ordinary business of these years: it was the only way to try and survive great pain and emotional turmoil. As her writing became an honest reflection on ageing, failing, regrets and the importance of childhood memory, friends, family and love she found a new determination to live to the full and about finding ways to face up to a shortened life expectancy with dignity.Original, passionate, funny and moving, On Smaller Dogs and Larger Life Questions will resonate with anyone dealing with the many griefs and freedoms of midlife. It is about living with a life-threatening disease but it is even more: an intelligent and passionate look at the way we can approach disappointment and trouble, friendship and love - every day.
On Smaller Dogs and Larger Life Questions
by Kate FigesComing up to her sixtieth birthday, Kate Figes found herself turning to the larger questions of family, love and life's meaning. It is like this author to examine different stages in writing, and her books - from new motherhood and adolescence to coupledom and infidelity - testify to this way of understanding herself and others: so naturally she turned to writing to explore the challenges of becoming sixty. And then - a horrible, and sudden diagnosis of breast cancer which had metastasised.Instead of a gentle journey into middle age, Kate Figes began to write for her life. Now, clawing back confidence and control was not just the ordinary business of these years: it was the only way to try and survive great pain and emotional turmoil. As her writing became an honest reflection on ageing, failing, regrets and the importance of childhood memory, friends, family and love she found a new determination to live to the full and about finding ways to face up to a shortened life expectancy with dignity.Original, passionate, funny and moving, On Smaller Dogs and Larger Life Questions will resonate with anyone dealing with the many griefs and freedoms of midlife. It is about living with a life-threatening disease but it is even more: an intelligent and passionate look at the way we can approach disappointment and trouble, friendship and love - every day.
Two Trees Make a Forest: On Memory, Migration and Taiwan
by Jessica J. LeeI have learned many words for 'island': isle, atoll, eyot, islet, or skerry. They exist in archipelagos or alone, and always, by definition, I have understood them by their relation to water. But the Chinese word for island knows nothing of water. For a civilisation grown inland from the sea, the vastness of mountains was a better analogue: (dao, 'island') built from the relationship between earth and sky.Between tectonic plates and conflicting cultures, Taiwan is an island of extremes: high mountains, exposed flatlands, thick forests. After unearthing a hidden memoir of her grandfather's life, written on the cusp of his total memory loss, Jessica J Lee hunts his story, in parallel with exploring Taiwan, hoping to understand the quakes that brought her family from China, to Taiwan and Canada, and the ways in which our human stories are interlaced with geographical forces. Part-nature writing, part-biography, Two Trees Make a Forest traces the natural and human stories that shaped an island and a family.