Almost English

Author: Charlotte Mendelson
Publisher: Mantle
ISBN: 1743512821
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Book Description
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2013 Home is a foreign country: they do things differently there. In a tiny flat in West London, sixteen-year-old Marina lives with her emotionally delicate mother, Laura, and three ancient Hungarian relatives. Imprisoned by her family's crushing expectations and their fierce unEnglish pride, by their strange traditions and stranger foods, she knows she must escape. But the place she runs to makes her feel even more of an outsider. At Combe Abbey, a traditional English public school for which her family have sacrificed everything, she realises she has made a terrible mistake. She is the awkward half-foreign girl who doesn't know how to fit in, flirt or even be. And as a semi-Hungarian Londoner, who is she? In the meantime, her mother Laura, an alien in this strange universe, has her own painful secrets to deal with, especially the return of the last man she'd expect back in her life. She isn't noticing that, at Combe Abbey, things are starting to go terribly wrong.

Almost Autumn

Author: Marianne Kaurin
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 0545889669
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
An international award-winning novel of World War II, the Holocaust, and first love, set in the snowy streets of Oslo. It's October 1942, in Oslo, Norway. Fifteen-year-old Ilse Stern is waiting to meet boy-next-door Hermann Rod for their first date. She was beginning to think he'd never ask her; she's had a crush on him for as long as she can remember. But Hermann won't be able to make it tonight. What Ilse doesn't know is that Hermann is secretly working in the Resistance, helping Norwegian Jews flee the country to escape the Nazis. The work is exhausting and unpredictable, full of late nights and code words and lies to Hermann's parents, to his boss... to Ilse. And as life under German occupation becomes even more difficult, particularly for Jewish families like the Sterns, the choices made become more important by the hour: To speak up or to look away? To stay or to flee? To act now or wait one more day?In this internationally acclaimed debut, Marianne Kaurin recreates the atmosphere of secrecy and uncertainty in World War II Norway in a moving story of sorrow, chance, and first love.

The Almost Moon

Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 1743032900
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Book Description
Helen Knightly has spent a lifetime trying to win the love of a mother who had none to spare. And as this electrifying novel opens, she steps over a boundary she never dreamt she would even approach. But while her act is almost unconscious, it also seems like the fulfilment of a lifetime's buried desire. Over the next twenty-four hours, her life rushes in at her as she confronts the choices that have brought her to this crossroads. 'Exhilarating, unforgettable ... This is a remarkable novel in which every word is vital, each nuance felt ... Candid, gut-wrenching, at times horribly funny and often beautifully touching ... The genius which guides The Almost Moon is its absolute, horrible, multiple truths; its staggering clarity' Eileen Battersby, Irish Times 'As moving as it is unquestionably gripping' Observer 'As gripping as it is strange and wild ... My God, it grips ... I lay awake half the night, feverishly hoping both that it would never end, and that it would all be over soon' Rachel Cooke, Evening Standard

The Almost Nearly Perfect People

Author: Michael Booth
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 1250061970
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 400

Book Description
The Christian Science Monitor's #1 Best Book of the Year A witty, informative, and popular travelogue about the Scandinavian countries and how they may not be as happy or as perfect as we assume, “The Almost Nearly Perfect People offers up the ideal mixture of intriguing and revealing facts” (Laura Miller, Salon). Journalist Michael Booth has lived among the Scandinavians for more than ten years, and he has grown increasingly frustrated with the rose-tinted view of this part of the world offered up by the Western media. In this timely book he leaves his adopted home of Denmark and embarks on a journey through all five of the Nordic countries to discover who these curious tribes are, the secrets of their success, and, most intriguing of all, what they think of one another. Why are the Danes so happy, despite having the highest taxes? Do the Finns really have the best education system? Are the Icelanders as feral as they sometimes appear? How are the Norwegians spending their fantastic oil wealth? And why do all of them hate the Swedes? In The Almost Nearly Perfect People Michael Booth explains who the Scandinavians are, how they differ and why, and what their quirks and foibles are, and he explores why these societies have become so successful and models for the world. Along the way a more nuanced, often darker picture emerges of a region plagued by taboos, characterized by suffocating parochialism, and populated by extremists of various shades. They may very well be almost nearly perfect, but it isn’t easy being Scandinavian.

Almost Heaven

Author: Judith McNaught
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 150114569X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 592

Book Description
This sweeping historical romance will take you from London’s drawing rooms to the Scottish Highlands as a young countess embarks on a twisting relationship with a handsome rogue—from the New York Times bestselling Sequels series. Elizabeth Cameron, the Countess of Havenhurst, possesses a rare gentleness and fierce courage to match her exquisite beauty. But her reputation is shattered when she is discovered in the arms of Ian Thornton, a notorious gambler and social outcast. A dangerously handsome man of secret wealth and mysterious lineage, Ian’s interest in Elizabeth may not be all that it seems. His voyage to her heart is fraught with intrigue, scandal, and passion, forcing Elizabeth to wonder: is Ian truly just a ruthless fortune hunter? Or could the love in his heart perhaps be true? “Well-developed main characters with a compelling mutual attraction give strength and charm to this romance” (Publishers Weekly) you won’t be able to put down.

The Exhibitionist

Author: Charlotte Mendelson
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250286948
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
THE TIMES (UK) NOVEL OF THE YEAR Named A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Sunday Times (UK) Charlotte Mendelson's The Exhibitionist is a "furiously funny" novel (Sunday Express, UK) about a marriage between two artists, Lucia and Ray, which begins to unravel over the course of one weekend. Meet the Hanrahan family, gathering for a momentous weekend as famous artist and notorious egoist Ray Hanrahan prepares for a new exhibition of his art–the first in many decades–and one he is sure will burnish his reputation for good. His three children will be there: eldest daughter Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; son Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and daughter Jess, the youngest, who has her own momentous decision to make. And what of Lucia, Ray’s steadfast and selfless wife? She is an artist, too, but has always had to put her roles as wife and mother first. What will happen if she decides to change? For Lucia is hiding secrets of her own, and as the weekend unfolds and the exhibition approaches, she must finally make a choice about which desires to follow. The Exhibitionist is the latest, extraordinary novel from Charlotte Mendelson, a dazzling exploration of art, sacrifice, toxic family politics, queer desire, and personal freedom.

When We Were Bad

Author: Charlotte Mendelson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780618883431
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Book Description
Critics in Britain are already raving about Charlotte Mendelson’s excoriatingly funny yet deeply humane novel about a glamorous London family that happens to be falling apart. The Rubins are the perfect family. They’re wonderfully happy and very glamorous. The mother, Claudia, is the ultimate Jewish matriarch: a powerful rabbi known for her charm, brains, and determination. Now this dynastic Jewish family is getting ready to marry off the perfect eldest son. History, community, and even gastronomy unite the guests lucky enough to attend this joyous occasion. But when the groom -- one minute before exchanging vows -- bolts with the wrong woman, the myths that have defined this family take on darker overtones. Mendelson’s astonishing eye for detail, as well as her just-right balance of plot and character, makes the unfolding of this story an uncommon treat. In a marvelously compressed style that also bursts with life, she reveals how all four adult Rubin children, and their parents, struggle with huge secrets, sexual frustration and sexual experimentation, and many betrayals. Charlotte Mendelson opens a window on a realm rarely explored in British society: the complicated world of English Jewry. But to watch this seemingly blessed family drastically, disastrously fall apart before regaining balance is to understand that their struggles -- like all of ours -- are universal ones.

The Spirit Level

Author: Richard Wilkinson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1608193411
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
It is common knowledge that, in rich societies, the poor have worse health and suffer more from almost every social problem. This book explains why inequality is the most serious problem societies face today.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (National Book Award Winner)

Author: Sherman Alexie
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316219304
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
A New York Times bestseller—over one million copies sold! A National Book Award winner A Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live. With a forward by Markus Zusak, interviews with Sherman Alexie and Ellen Forney, and black-and-white interior art throughout, this edition is perfect for fans and collectors alike.

The Almost Year

Author: Florence Engel Randall
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American children
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
A black girl's stay during the school year with a white suburban family sparks off many tensions within the household.