The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles PDF

Author: Madeline Miller

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2012-04-12

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 1408826135

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

WINNER OF THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Lucky Breaks

Lucky Breaks PDF

Author: Yevgenia Belorusets

Publisher: New Directions Publishing

Published: 2022-03-01

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 0811229858

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Powerful, off-beat stories about women living in the shadow of the now-frozen, now-thawing war in Ukraine Out of the impoverished coal regions of Ukraine known as the Donbass, where Russian secret military intervention coexists with banditry and insurgency, the women of Yevgenia Belorusets’s captivating collection of stories emerge from the ruins of a war, still being waged on and off, ever since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity. Through a series of unexpected encounters, we are pulled into the ordinary lives of these anonymous women: a florist, a cosmetologist, card players, readers of horoscopes, the unemployed, and a witch who catches newborns with a mitt. One refugee tries unsuccessfully to leave her broken umbrella behind as if it were a sick relative; a private caregiver in a disputed zone saves her elderly charge from the angel of death; a woman sits down on International Women’s Day and can no longer stand up; a soldier decides to marry war. Belorusets threads these tales of ebullient survival with a mix of humor, verisimilitude, the undramatic, and a profound Gogolian irony. She also weaves in twenty-three photographs that, in lyrical and historical counterpoint, form their own remarkable visual narrative.

The Kingdom of Back

The Kingdom of Back PDF

Author: Marie Lu

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-03-03

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1524739014

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu comes a historical YA fantasy about a musical prodigy and the dangerous lengths she'll go to make history remember her--perfect for fans of Susanna Clarke and The Hazel Wood. Two siblings. Two brilliant talents. But only one Mozart. Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish--to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she'll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age--her tyrannical father has made that much clear. And as Nannerl's hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true--but his help may cost her everything. In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.

The Book of Essie

The Book of Essie PDF

Author: Meghan MacLean Weir

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2019-05-07

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 0525436073

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

ALEX AWARD WINNER FINALIST FOR THE 2018 NEW ENGLAND BOOK AWARD "Both timelessly beautiful and unbelievably timely." —Chris Bohjalian, New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant Esther Ann Hicks—Essie—is the youngest child on Six for Hicks, a reality television phenomenon. She's grown up in the spotlight, idolized and despised for her family's fire-and-brimstone brand of faith. So when Essie’s mother, Celia, discovers that Essie is pregnant, she immediately arranges an emergency meeting with the show’s producers. Do they sneak Essie out of the country for an abortion? Pass the child off as Celia’s? Or do they try to arrange a marriage—and a ratings-blockbuster wedding? Meanwhile, Essie is quietly pairing herself up with Roarke Richards, a senior at her school with a secret of his own. As the newly formed couple attempt to sell their love story to the media through exclusive interviews with the infamously conservative reporter Liberty Bell, Essie finds she has questions of her own: What was the real reason for her older sister leaving home? Who can she trust with the truth about her family? And how much is she willing to sacrifice to win her own freedom?

Running the Rift

Running the Rift PDF

Author: Naomi Benaron

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Published: 2012-10-16

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1616201878

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Running the Rift follows the progress of Jean Patrick Nkuba from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life. A naturally gifted athlete, he sprints over the thousand hills of Rwanda and dreams of becoming his country’s first Olympic medal winner in track. But Jean Patrick is a Tutsi in a world that has become increasingly restrictive and violent for his people. As tensions mount between the Hutu and Tutsi, he holds fast to his dream that running might deliver him, and his people, from the brutality around them. Winner of the Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, Naomi Benaron has written a stunning and gorgeous novel that—through the eyes of one unforgettable boy— explores a country’s unraveling, its tentative new beginning, and the love that binds its people together.

The Book of the Month

The Book of the Month PDF

Author: Al Silverman

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 1504028244

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This collection of essays and reviews from the Book-of-the-Month Club offers a unique literary history of American readership in the twentieth century. From The Sun Also Rises to The Accidental Tourist, the judges, editors, and reviewers of the Book-of-the-Month Club help readers all across America find their next favorite book. In this comprehensive anthology compiled from the Club’s monthly News, astute reviewers praise and critique a diverse array of authors including Dashiell Hammett, Barbara Tuchman, Sinclair Lewis, Saul Bellow, Margaret Mitchell, James Baldwin, Willa Cather, and Evelyn Waugh. Harper Lee affectionately profiles Truman Capote, poet laureate Robert Penn Warren praises his friend Bill Styron, and Gore Vidal interviews himself. John le Carré shares why it was particularly hard to write A Perfect Spy, and E. L. Doctorow reveals the intentions of his masterpiece, Ragtime. A celebration of the life-affirming power of the written word and a treasure trove of reviews, essays, and author portraits related to classic books we all know and love and less famous titles well-deserving of rediscovery, The Book of the Month is a must-read for bibliophiles everywhere.