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The Unicorn Woman [electronic resource] : by Jones, Gayl.aut; cloudLibrary;
"One of our greatest living authors."—Lauren LeBlanc, The Boston Globe Marking a dramatic new direction for Jones, a riveting tale set in the Post WWII South, narrated by a Black soldier who returns to Jim Crow and searches for a mythical ideal Set in the early 1950s, this latest novel from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Gayl Jones follows the witty but perplexing army veteran Buddy Ray Guy as he embodies the fate of Black soldiers who return, not in glory, but into their Jim Crow communities. A cook and tractor repairman, Buddy was known as Budweiser to his army pals because he’s a wise guy. But underneath that surface, he is a true self-educated intellectual and a classic seeker: looking for religion, looking for meaning, looking for love. As he moves around the south, from his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, primarily, to his second home of Memphis, Tennessee, he recalls his love affairs in post-war France and encounters with a variety of colorful characters and mythical prototypes: circus barkers, topiary trimmers, landladies who provide shelter and plenty of advice for their all-Black clientele, proto feminists, and bigots. The lead among these characters is, of course, The Unicorn Woman, who exists, but mostly lives in Bud’s private mythology. Jones offers a rich, intriguing exploration of Black (and Indigenous) people in a time and place of frustration, disappointment, and spiritual hope.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Magical Realism; Historical;
© 2024., Beacon Press,
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Devil Is Fine A Novel [electronic resource] : by Vercher, John.aut; Graham, Dion.nrt; cloudLibrary;
This program is read by award-winning narrator Dion Graham. "Devil Is Fine is self-deprecatingly tender, often bracingly hilarious, and at its heart is a runaway train through the haunted house of us. And I loved it. Don't miss it." —Dion Graham From acclaimed novelist John Vercher, a profoundly moving novel of what it means to be a father, a son, a writer, and a biracial American fighting to reconcile the past Reeling from the sudden death of his teenage son, our narrator receives a letter from an attorney: he has just inherited a plot of land from his estranged grandfather. He travels to a beach town several hours south of his home with the intention of immediately selling the land. But upon inspection, what lies beneath the dirt is much more than he can process in the throes of grief. As a biracial Black man struggling with the many facets of his identity, he’s now the owner of a former plantation passed down by the men on his white mother’s side of the family. Vercher deftly blurs the lines between real and imagined, past and present, tragedy and humor, and fathers and sons in this story of discovery—and a fight for reclamation—of a painful past. With the wit of Paul Beatty’s The Sellout and the nuance of Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, Devil Is Fine is a darkly funny and brilliantly crafted dissection of the legacies we leave behind and those we inherit. A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.
Subjects: Audiobooks.; African American; Magical Realism; Family Life;
© 2024., Macmillan Audio,
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Celestina's House [electronic resource] : by Gonzalez, Clarissa Trinidad.aut; cloudLibrary;
CBC BOOKS CANADIAN FICTION BOOKS TO READ IN FALL 2024 “With a lush, tropical setting, an entrancing protagonist, and swirling ghosts that guide and subvert, Gonzalez has crafted a darkly romantic, immersive world.” — JENNILEE AUSTRIA-BONIFACIO, author of Reuniting with Strangers The House of the Spirits meets Mexican Gothic in a tale of love and betrayal, belonging and exile, and the supernatural forces that pervade life in the Philippines. The secrets of the house are the secrets of the heart. It begins with an act of betrayal that destroys the tenuous bonds of Celestina Errantes’s family. For years afterwards, Celestina longs for an escape from her unhappy home. Then an unexpected gift from her wealthy Lolo offers that chance: a long-forsaken property in Manila’s bohemian district, close to where ladies of the evening ply their trade. It is no place for a proper young woman, but this house, even with its ghosts, makes Celestina feel at home. Celestina tears into life, losing herself in the pleasures of the night, but soon finds that the emptiness within her is not easily filled. When finally a true chance at happiness promises to save her, a sinister voice from the past returns, threatening to destroy it all. A RARE MACHINES BOOKGeneral adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Magical Realism; Gothic; Occult & Supernatural;
© 2024., Dundurn Press,
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The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen [electronic resource] : by Azar, Shokoofeh.aut; CloudLibrary;
From International Booker Prize and National Book Award finalist Shokoofeh Azar, comes a stylistically audacious and emotionally powerful novel about one large, complicated family and a love affair lasting decades. Spanning fifty years in the history of modern Iran, this lush, layered story embraces politics and family, revolution and reconstruction, loss and love as it recounts the colorful destinies of twelve children who get lost one long-ago night inside a mysterious palace. Azar’s first novel, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree (Europa Editions, 2020), was shortlisted for the Stella Prize for Fiction and the International Booker Prize; it was longlisted for the PEN America Award and the National Book Award for Translated Literature. In Azar’s new novel, each lost child’s story unfolds against the backdrop of immense cultural and political transformation; lovers must survive war, revolution, and rigid social strictures to keep their love alive; family bonds are tested, especially those indissoluble connections between the living and the dead. The Gowkaran Tree in the Middle of Our Kitchen is also the moving story of one family’s efforts to preserve the richness of Iranian culture in the face of Islamic hegemony following the 1979 revolution.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Magical Realism; Sagas; Family Life;
© 2025., Europa Editions,
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Darling Beasts A Novel [electronic resource] : by Gable, Michelle.aut; CloudLibrary;
A family drama with a speculative twist about three siblings and one beastly surprise, from the New York Times bestselling author “Weird, witty, and totally delightful, with echoes of Schitt’s Creek but with more teeth! I loved it.” —Annie Hartnett, author of Unlikely Animals and The Road to Tender Hearts  Gabby, Talia, and Ozzie Gunn, heirs to a media empire, are in trouble. After several bad investments and one major scandal, their father is now trying to restore their family’s good name with a senatorial run. Even worse? He’s demanding they move to California to join the campaign or risk being cut off. It’s easy to say you don’t care about money when you have enough, but with mounting debts, unconventional hobbies, and in the case of Gabby, Portum Bestiae Syndrome—a very expensive condition in which strange symptoms arise and then an exotic animal appears—the siblings don’t have much of a choice. In California, they’ll just have to keep their distance and survive until it’s all over. But almost immediately, the Gunns find themselves right in the thick of things, dodging headlines and the creatures that seem to pop up in the most inconvenient places. Not only that—the change in scenery even has them bonding, on hot-air balloon rides and sunny beaches. But when a family secret rears its head, reopening old wounds, this new existence is thrown into chaos, and the stage is set for a long-overdue reckoning…General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Magical Realism; Contemporary Women; Family Life;
© 2025., Graydon House Books,
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The Silver Bone A Novel [electronic resource] : by Kurkov, Andrey.aut; cloudLibrary;
"A fascinating series launch ... that stands apart" –Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A winning offbeat crime novel that begs for a sequel" –Library Journal From Ukraine’s most celebrated novelist, a perplexing mystery that introduces rookie detective Samson Kolechko in Kyiv as he is tackling his first case, set against real life details of the tumultuous early twentieth century. Kyiv, 1919. World War I has ended in Western Europe, but to the East, six factions continue to vie for control of Ukraine. Amidst the political turmoil, young Samson Kolechko is forced to place his engineering career on hold. But in the city of Kyiv everything remains up for grabs and new opportunity lurks just around the corner . . . When two Red Army soldiers commandeer his home, Samson’s life is completely upended. But as Samson juggles his personal life –including a budding romance with the ingenious Nadezhda, a statistician helping run the city’s census– with the soldiers’ intrusion, he winds up overhearing their secret plans. Deciding to report them, Samson instead finds himself unwittingly recruited as an investigator for the city’s new police force. His first case involves two murders, a long bone made of pure silver, and a suit of decidedly unusual proportions tailored from fine English cloth. The odds stacked against him, Samson turns to Nadezhda, who proves to be more than his match. Inflected with Kurkov’s signature humor and off kilter universe, The Silver Bone takes its inspiration from the archives of Kyiv's secret police, crafting a propulsive narrative bursting to life with rich historical detail. Translated from the Russian by Boris Dralyuk
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Magical Realism; Historical;
© 2024., HarperCollins,
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A Short Walk Through a Wide World A Novel [electronic resource] : by Westerbeke, Douglas.aut; cloudLibrary;
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving. Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death. When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been. From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s... Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Magical Realism; Coming of Age; Action & Adventure;
© 2024., Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster,
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Kittentits A Novel [electronic resource] : by Wilson, Holly.aut; cloudLibrary;
“Molly is one of the greatest young female characters I’ve had the luck of reading since I picked up Joy Williams’s The Quick and the Dead back in 2000 . . . I TRULY LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!” —Gillian Flynn, Gillian Flynn Books “Holly Wilson’s Kittentits is sacred and profane, filled with big emotions, all amplified by grief. Molly is a wholly unique and charismatic narrator, navigating (and creating) chaos as she seeks out a way to hold onto both the living and dead. This is a wildly funny and utterly convincing coming-of-age novel like nothing I’ve read before.” —Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here A feral, heart-busting, absurdist debut about Molly, a rambunctious and bawdy ten-year-old searching for friendship and ghosts. It’s 1992, and ten-year-old Molly is tired of living in the fire-rotted, nun-haunted House of Friends: a Semi-Cooperative Living Community of Peace Faith(s) in Action with her formerly blind dad and their grieving housemate Evelyn. But when twenty-three-year-old Jeanie, a dirt bike–riding ex-con with a shady past, moves in, she quickly becomes the object of Molly’s adoration. She might treat Molly terribly, but they both have dead moms and potty mouths, so naturally Molly is the moth to Jeanie’s scuzzy flame. When Jeanie fakes her own death in a hot-air balloon accident, Molly runs away to Chicago with just a stolen credit card and a sweet pair of LA Gear Heatwaves to meet her pen pal Demarcus and hunt down Jeanie. What follows is a race to New Year’s Eve, as Molly and Demarcus plan a séance to reunite with their lost moms in front of a live audience at the World’s Fair. A surrealist and bold take on the American coming-of-age novel, Holly Wilson’s debut is about the interstices of loss, grief, and friendship.General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Magical Realism; Coming of Age; Ghost; Family Life;
© 2024., Zando,
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Before We Forget Kindness A Novel [electronic resource] : by Kawaguchi, Toshikazu.aut; cloudLibrary;
In the fifth book in the sensational, cozy Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests: The father who could not allow his daughter to get married A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents A wife holding a child with no name . . . They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before we forget kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future. Catch up on the rest of the captivating Before the Coffee Gets Cold series:  Before the Coffee Gets Cold Tales from the Cafe Before Your Memory Fades Before We Say GoodbyeGeneral adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Literary; Magical Realism; Time Travel; Contemporary;
© 2024., Hanover Square Press,
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A Most Puzzling Murder A quirky, humorous locked room murder mystery with riddles and puzzles for the reader to solve [electronic resource] : by Marais, Bianca.aut; CloudLibrary;
How do you solve a murder that hasn't happened yet? Destiny Whip is a former child prodigy, world-renowned enigmatologist and very, very alone. A life filled with loss has made her a recluse, an existence she’s content to endure until a letter arrives inviting her to interview for the position of Scruffmore family historian. Not only does an internet search for the name yield almost nothing, it’s a role she never applied to in the first place! She decodes the invitation's hidden message with ease, and its promise to reveal her family secrets proves too powerful a draw for the orphaned Destiny, who soon finds herself on Eerie Island. It’s a place whose inhabitants are almost as inhospitable as the tempestuous weather. The Scruffmores themselves turn out to be not much better, a snarled mess of secrets and motives connected by their mistrust for one another. Their newly arrived guest proves to be just as much an enigma to them as they are to her. While Destiny slowly works to unravel the mysteries hidden throughout the ominous castle, she struggles to interpret disturbing nightly visions of what is to come. In the midst of cryptic ciphers, hidden passages, and the family’s magical line of succession, Destiny is certain of two things: one of the Scruffmores is going to die and she’s running out of time to stop it. Interspersed with riddles and puzzles that both Destiny and the reader must solve, A Most Puzzling Murder is a one-of-a-kind mystery that will leave you guessing and gasping until the very last page!  General adult.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Magical Realism; Amateur Sleuth; Contemporary Women;
© 2025., MIRA Books,
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