Are
we doomed to meet the same fate as our ancestors? That’s the threat looming
over failed baseball player and self-destructive alcoholic Stephan Detals, whose
father and grandfather died by suicide on their 39th birthdays.
With
Stephan’s 39th birthday coming in a few days, he returns to his
hometown to learn the truth about his father and grandfather’s deaths in hope
of avoiding their fatal destinies. Sojka creates a twisty mystery with
fascinating characters and Texas gothic. He also keeps up the tension as the
fateful date approaches.
I felt Sojka did a wonderful job evoking the Texas
landscape and the experience of a professional baseball player, which made me
feel more engaged to the story and characters. This book kept me turning pages
to its climax.
Stephen Detals played professional baseball before flaming out in whiskey-fueled catastrophe.
His father and grandfather killed themselves on their 39th birthdays. Stephen is 38. He battles alcoholism, abandonment, suicidal tendencies, and lethal family history to survive his impending birthday.
This novel chronicles the final eight days before Stephen Detals' 39th birthday. His relapse into addiction forces Stephen back to the Neches River and the Piney Woods of Southeast Texas. Detals returns home to face purported murderess and family matriarch, Rose Petal Detals, and unravel the secrets of the family and hometown he abandoned twenty years earlier.…
I
rediscovered the novel I first read in my high school AP English class and got
me binge-reading Vonnegut through college.
Musician Elle Cordova describes it
this way, “A soldier’s life playlist is stuck on shuffle.” And like a shuffled
playlist, it brings many seemingly discordant elements together. Fantastic
science fiction with brutal descriptions of war. Brilliant humor with
heartbreaking drama. And all the pieces make sense when brought together.
Vonnegut showed me what is possible with narrative and combining comedy and
tragedy. He is an inspiration for my own novels.
A special fiftieth anniversary edition of Kurt Vonnegut’s masterpiece, “a desperate, painfully honest attempt to confront the monstrous crimes of the twentieth century” (Time), featuring a new introduction by Kevin Powers, author of the National Book Award finalist The Yellow Birds
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had…
Sasha passed away this year, and this book is
a beautiful final tribute to her.
Its subject is poignantly fitting: an
examination of debilitating illness and end-of-life decisions. This topic was
important to her. She covered it beautifully with two engaging characters,
Angela and Tucker, who have a full and passionate life until a botched surgery
puts them in a horrifying situation.
She combines humor and drama, and she
draws her personal experiences to create an engaging, unforgettable story. Final
Lullaby is a powerful final legacy to Sasha Lauren.
"Final Lullaby is a courageous, poetic exploration of a controversial and emotionally-charged topic. At turns uncomfortable and celebratory, artistic and thought provoking, this is an important novel." –Brian Kaufman, author of Sins in Blue
"Many of us are one bad death away from becoming a right-to-die activist."
Angela Alexander, a New England bookshop owner and support talk-line volunteer, is dedicated to listening to people without her own filter getting in the way. Though her life is full and satisfying, she faces the ultimate dilemma after her husband Tucker - an exuberant bird photographer and blues musician - is harmed by…
A homeless son and troubled father must
reconnect in Southern California in The Remainders. Dylan Glass, an 18-year-old high
school dropout, was kicked out of his mother and stepdad’s home and must sleep in
his SUV. He struggles to make a new life, but he finds himself challenged by
old temptations and a new woman, the alluring and enigmatic Pearl. His father,
Dr. Oliver Glass, struggles with demons of his own. A private practice and a
beautiful girlfriend with children of her own can’t make up for a past of
tragedy and abuse. Oliver seeks to reconnect with his son. Dylan seeks love and
acceptance. Can they overcome their painful pasts? Or will they surrender to
their self-destructive urges?
My granddaughter thought the animal characters were cute, and she also liked the message about friendship.
There was plenty of humor, and the bond between Wilbur and Charlotte was touching. This was one of my favorite books when I was her age. I was happy to see she got the same enjoyment from it that I did.
Puffin Classics: the definitive collection of timeless stories, for every child.
On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a thing of beauty . Even Lurvy, who wasn't particularly interested in beauty, noticed the web when he came with the pig's breakfast. And then he took another look and he saw something that made him set his pail down. There, in the centre of the web, neatly woven in block letters, was a message. It said: SOME PIG!
This is the story of a little girl named Fern, who loves a little pig named Wilbur - and of Wilbur's dear friend,…
