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Cocktail hour under the tree of forgetfulness
by Alexandra Fuller.
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361 p. : ill ; 23 cm.
In this sequel to Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, the author returns to Africa and the story of her unforgettable family. In this book she braids a multilayered narrative around the perfectly lit, Happy Valley era Africa of her mother's childhood; the boiled cabbage grimness of her father's English childhood; and the darker, civil war torn Africa of her own childhood. At its heart, this is the story of Fuller's mother, Nicola. Born on the Scottish Isle of Skye and raised in Kenya, Nicola holds dear the kinds of values most likely to get you hurt or killed in Africa: loyalty to blood, passion for land, and a holy belief in the restorative power of all animals. The author interviewed her mother at length and has captured her inimitable voice with remarkable precision. We see Nicola and Tim Fuller in their lavender colored honeymoon period, when east Africa lies before them with all the promise of its liquid equatorial light, even as the British empire in which they both believe wanes. But in short order, an accumulation of mishaps and tragedies bump up against history until the couple finds themselves in a world they hardly recognize. We follow the Fullers as they hopscotch the continent, running from war and unspeakable heartbreak, from Kenya to Rhodesia to Zambia, even returning to England briefly. But just when it seems that Nicola has been broken entirely by Africa, it is the African earth itself that revives her. A story of survival and madness, love and war, loyalty and forgiveness, this book is an intimate exploration of the author's family. In the end we find Nicola and Tim at a coffee table under their Tree of Forgetfulness on the banana and fish farm where they plan to spend their final days. In local custom, the Tree of Forgetfulness is where villagers meet to resolve disputes and it is here that the Fullers at last find an African kind of peace. -- From publisher.
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The dovekeepers : a novel
Alice Hoffman.
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735 p. (large print) ; 23 cm.
In 70 CE, 900 Jews held out against armies of Romans on a mountain in Masada. According to an ancient historian, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic event, Hoffman weaves a tale of four bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path.
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Drama : an actor's education
John Lithgow.
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xvi, 428 p. (large print) : ill. ; 23 cm.
"A memoir as finely crafted as one of Lithgow's performances."--Steve Martin Emmy Award-winner John Lithgow presents a charming, witty, and revealing memoir about his family, his work, and his life in "Drama"--an intimate story of insights and inspirational reflections from one of America's most beloved actors. Lithgow pays tribute to his father, his greatest influence, and relives his collaborations with renowned performers and directors including Mike Nichols, Bob Fosse, Liv Ullmann, Meryl Streep, and Brian De Palma. A compelling reflection on the trials, triumphs, and changes across his long career, Lithgow's "Drama "illuminates the inner life of a celebrated talent, and points the way forward for anyone aspiring to greatness in their own life.
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Dreams of joy : a novel
Lisa See.
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656 p. (large print) ; 24 cm.
A continuation of "Shanghai Girls" finds a devastated Joy fleeing to China to search for her real father while her mother, Pearl, desperately pursues her, a dual quest marked by their encounters with the nation's intolerant Communist culture.
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The dressmaker of Khair Khana : five sisters, one remarkable family, and the woman who risked everything to keep them safe
by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
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327 p. (large print) ; 23 cm.
The incredible true account of Kamila Sidiqi who, when her father and brother were forced to flee Kabul, became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own and held her family together.
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Dying fall
Sally Spencer.
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349 p. (large print) ; 23 cm.
A DCI Charlie Woodend Mystery - A charred body is discovered in an abandoned cotton mill, and the crime scene presents DCI Woodend and his team with many questions, but very few answers. As Woodend attempts to solve a murder with no clues, he must also battle against a police authority blocking him at every turn. And worse is to follow, because Elizabeth Driver, Inspector Bob Rutters lover, has almost finished the book which could destroy everything he has ever worked for.
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Escape
Barbara Delinsky.
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436 p. (large print) ; 24 cm.
Emily Aulenbach is thirty, a lawyer married to a lawyer, working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, but she spends her days in a cubicle talking with victims of tainted bottled water--and she's on the bottler's side.
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Explosive eighteen
Janet Evanovich.
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352 p. (large print) ; 24 cm.
Janet Evanovich presents a new novel featuring bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.
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Eyes wide open
Andrew Gross.
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498 p. (large print) ; 24 cm.
A horrible family tragedy that may not be what it seems . . . A past encounter with an infamous killer turns deadly today . . . An ordinary man must risk his own family to find the truth. Jay Erlich's nephew has been found at the bottom of a cliff at Morrow Bay. It's all just a tragic suicide, until secrets from the past begin to rear up again. Did a notorious killer, jailed for many decades, have his hand in this? When Jay heads out west to help his grieving brother, he is pulled back into his past-and begins to suspect that his nephew's suicide may not have been a suicide at all. With eyes wide open, Jay puts his own life at risk to uncover the truth, a quest that goes beyond the edge of madness and a family haunted by a secret past . . . and into the depths of evil.
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The forgotten waltz
by Anne Enright.
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341 p. (large print) ; 23 cm.
A haunting story of desire: a recollection of the bewildering speed of attraction, the irreparable slip into longing. 288 pp. 50,000 print. Buyer's Choice
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The girl in the garden
Kamala Nair.
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viii, 477 p. (large print) : geneal. table ; 23 cm.
When Rakhee Singh is ten years old, her mother takes her from their Minnesota home to visit relatives in India. There she discovers a family secret that will haunt her. Only as a woman on the verge of marriage does Rakhee find the strength to confront the events of that summer and face the price of secrets.
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The greater journey : Americans in Paris, 1830-1900
by David McCullough.
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861 p., [48] p. of plates (large print) : ill., maps, ports. ; 25 cm.
David McCullough chronicles the lives of American artists and scientists who studied in Paris between 1830 and 1900, and who, ultimately, changed America because of their experiences.
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