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In memoriam / by Winn, Alice(Alice Mary Felicity),1992-author.;
"It's 1914, and World War I is ceaselessly churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. The violence of the front feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, all of whom are safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. They receive weekly dispatches from The Preshutian, their school newspaper, informing them of older classmates killed or wounded in action. Their heroic deaths only make the war more exciting. Gaunt, half-German, is busy fighting his own private battle- an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the gorgeous, rich, charming Ellwood-not having a clue that Ellwood is pining for him in return. Meanwhile, Gaunt's German mother and twin sister ask him to enlist as an officer in the British army to protect the family from the anti-German attacks they're already facing. Gaunt signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. The front is horrific, of course, and though Gaunt tries to dissuade Ellwood from joining him on the battlefield, Ellwood soon rushes to join him, fueled by his education in Greek heroics and romantic wartime poetry. Before long, most of their classmates have followed suit. Once in the trenches, the boys become intimately acquainted with the harsh realities of war. Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one other, but their friends are all dying, often in front of them, and no one knows when they'll be next"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Friendship; Gay men; Interpersonal relations; World War, 1914-1918;
Available copies: 0 / Total copies: 1
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How to pronounce knife : stories / by Thammavongsa, Souvankham,1978-author.;
A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he'll never afford. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In her stunning debut book of fiction, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do--brightly, ferociously, unforgettably. A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A boxer finds an unexpected chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. An older woman finds her assumptions about the limits of love unravelling when she begins a relationship with her much younger neighbour. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the Commonwealth Short Story Prize-shortlisted title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends language. Unsentimental yet tender, and fiercely alive, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation.
Subjects: Short stories.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Watching you : a novel / by Jewell, Lisa,author.;
"Melville Heights is one of the nicest neighborhoods in Bristol, England. It's the sort of place where doctors and lawyers and old-money academics live. It's not the sort of place where people get stabbed in the back thirty times with a kitchen knife in their own homes. Someone must have seen something. Newlywed Joey Mullen, for example, recently returned from four years working in Ibiza. She and her husband Alfie are eager to find a place of their own in her hometown. But Joey finds herself distracted by the man next door, Tom Fitzwilliam. He's the principal of the local high school, twice her age, and devastatingly attractive. What starts as an innocent infatuation soon escalates into fixation, and before long, Joey can't keep her eyes off of Tom. Or the principal's son, Freddie, who dreams of working as a spy, and has been developing his surveillance skills by keeping meticulous logs of the coming and goings in the area. And, as he approaches his fifteenth birthday, his attention--and his lens--are turning more and more towards the local women. Or perhaps single mother Frances Tripp, who has long been convinced she is being stalked. Her teenage daughter Jenna is worried these delusions are signs of her mother's deteriorating mental health, particularly now that her paranoia has found a specific target: Tom Fitzwilliam. Frances is determined to keep an eye on him until she can prove that he is behind her persecution. Twenty years earlier, a schoolgirl writes in her diary, charting her doomed obsession with a handsome young English teacher named Mr. Fitzwilliam. Nobody knows why this horrific murder was committed, but someone in Melville Heights knows who did it. As the community's fearful eyes turn on each other, the question remains: Who else is watching?"--
Subjects: Thrillers (Fiction); Murder;
Available copies: 2 / Total copies: 5
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The Safekeep [electronic resource] : by van der Wouden, Yael.aut; cloudLibrary;
* SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 BOOKER PRIZE * Longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize • A Best Book of 2024: The Washington Post, Time, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, The Sunday Times (London) “Remarkable…Compelling…Fine and taut…Indelible.” —The New York Times • “Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy.” —Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with the Pearl Earring • “A brilliant debut, as multi-faceted as a gem.” —Kirkus Reviews A “razor-sharp, perfectly plotted” (The Sunday Times, London) tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961—a powerful exploration of the legacy of WWII and the darker parts of our collective past. A house is a precious thing... It is 1961 and the rural Dutch province of Overijssel is quiet. Bomb craters have been filled, buildings reconstructed, and the war is truly over. Living alone in her late mother’s country home, Isabel knows her life is as it should be—led by routine and discipline. But all is upended when her brother Louis brings his graceless new girlfriend Eva, leaving her at Isabel’s doorstep as a guest, to stay for the season. Eva is Isabel’s antithesis: she sleeps late, walks loudly through the house, and touches things she shouldn’t. In response, Isabel develops a fury-fueled obsession, and when things start disappearing around the house—a spoon, a knife, a bowl—Isabel’s suspicions begin to spiral. In the sweltering peak of summer, Isabel’s paranoia gives way to infatuation, leading to a discovery that unravels all Isabel has ever known. The war might not be well and truly over after all, and neither Eva—nor the house in which they live—are what they seem. Mysterious, sophisticated, sensual, and infused with intrigue, atmosphere, and sex, The Safekeep is “a brave and thrilling debut about facing up to the truth of history, and to one’s own desires” (The Guardian).
Subjects: Electronic books.; Jewish; Literary; Historical;
© 2024., Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster,
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What an owl knows : the new science of the world's most enigmatic birds / by Ackerman, Jennifer,1959-author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."From the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds and The Bird Way, a brilliant scientific exploration of owls, the most elusive group of birds, and an investigation into why these remarkable and yet mysterious animals exert such a hold on human imagination For centuries, owls have captivated and intrigued us. Our fascination with these mysterious birds was first documented over 30,000 years ago, in the Chauvet cave paintings in southern France, and our enduring awareness and curiosity of their forward gaze and nearly silent flight has cemented the owl as a symbol of wisdom and knowledge, foresight and intuition. But what, really, does an owl know? Though our infatuation goes back centuries, scientists have only recently begun to study these birds in great detail. While more than 270 species exist today, and reside on every continent except Antarctica, owls are far more difficult to find and study than other birds--because while not only cryptic and perfectly camouflaged, owls are most active in the dark of night. Joining scientists on this maddening and elusive treasure hunt, Jennifer Ackerman brings alive the rich biological history of these animals and reveals the remarkable scientific discoveries into their brains and behavior. She explores how, with the modern technology and tools, researchers now know that owls talk all night long--without opening their bills. That that their hoots follow a series of complex rules, allowing them to express needs and desires. That owls duet. They migrate. They use tools. They hoard their prey. Some live in underground burrows, some dine on scorpions. Ackerman brings this research alive with her own personal field observations about owls, and dives deep too into why this bird endlessly inspires and beguiles us. WHAT AN OWL KNOWS is an awe-inspiring and spellbinding journey across the globe and through human history, and a dazzling account of the astonishing health, hunting skills, communication, and sensory prowess that distinguishes the owl from nearly all other birds. An extraordinary glimpse into the mind of these brilliant animals, WHAT AN OWLS KNOWS pulls back the curtain on the the hidden and still undiscovered realities of our shared world"--
Subjects: Owls; Owls.;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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