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In the country of others / by Slimani, Leïla,1981-author.; Taylor, Sam,1970-translator.; translation of:Slimani, Leïla,1981-Pays des autres.English.;
"In her first new novel since The Perfect Nanny launched her onto the world stage and won her acclaim for her "devastatingly perceptive character studies" (The New York Times Book Review), Leila Slimani draws on her own family's inspiring story for the first volume in a planned trilogy about race, resilience, and women's empowerment. Mathilde, a spirited young Frenchwoman, falls in love with Amine, a handsome Moroccan soldier in the French army during World War II. After the war, the couple settles in Morocco. While Amine tries to cultivate his family farm's rocky terrain, Mathilde feels her vitality sapped by the isolation, the harsh climate, the lack of money, and the mistrust she inspires as a foreigner. Left increasingly alone to raise her two children in a world whose rules she does not understand, and with her daughter taunted at school by rich French girls for her secondhand clothes and unruly hair, Mathilde goes from being reduced to a farmer's wife to defying the country's chauvinism and repressive social codes by offering medical services to the rural population. As tensions mount between the Moroccans and the French colonists, Amine finds himself caught in the crossfire: in solidarity with his Moroccan workers yet also a landowner, despised by the French yet married to a Frenchwoman, and proud of his wife's resolve but ashamed by her refusal to be subjugated. All of them live in the country of others--especially the women, forced to live in the land of men--and with this novel, Leila Slimani issues the first salvo in their emancipation"--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Slimani, Leïla, 1981-; Women immigrants;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Ella A Novel [electronic resource] : by Richards, Diane.aut; cloudLibrary;
In the vein of The Paris Wife and The Personal Librarian comes this debut novel, a magnificent work of “biographical fiction” that reimagines the turbulent and triumphant early years of Ella Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest singer of the twentieth century. When fifteen-year-old Ella Fitzgerald’s mother dies at the height of the Depression in 1932, the teenager goes to work for the mob to support herself and her family. When the law finally catches up, the “ungovernable” adolescent is incarcerated in the New York Training School for Girls in upstate New York—a wicked prison infamous for its harsh treatment of inmates, especially Black ones. Determined to be free, Ella escapes and makes her way back to Harlem, where she is forced to dance for pennies on the street. Looking for a break into show business, Ella draws straws to appear at the Apollo Theater’s Amateur Night on November 21, 1934. Rather than perform a dance routine directly after “The World Famous Edwards Sisters” number, the homeless Ella, wearing men’s galoshes a size too big, risks everything when she decides to sing Judy instead. Four years later, at barely twenty-one, Ella Fitzgerald has become the bestselling female vocalist in America. Diane Richards’ Ella Fitzgerald is inspiring and intriguing—an emotionally rich, psychologically complex character, a flawed mother and wife who struggles with deep emotional scars and trauma and battles racism, sexism, and colorism as she learns to find her voice on the stage. Ella takes us from the brothels, speakeasys, and streets of Depression-era New York City to the grand hotel suites where Ella, now older and wiser, looks back on her life and finally confronts the demons from childhood that torment her. Compelling and rich in historical detail, Ella is a remarkable debut novel about an extraordinary woman.
Subjects: Electronic books.; Contemporary Women; Biographical; Historical; Contemporary Women;
© 2024., HarperCollins,
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Young Mungo : a novel / by Stuart, Douglas,1976-author.;
"Douglas Stuart's first novel Shuggie Bain is one of the most successful literary debuts of the century so far. It was awarded the 2020 Booker Prize, and is now published or forthcoming in forty territories, having already sold more than a million copies worldwide. Now Stuart returns with Young Mungo, his extraordinary second novel. Five years in the writing, it is both a page-turner and literary tour de force, a vivid portrayal of working-class life and a deeply moving and highly suspenseful story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars-Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic-they should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all. Their environment is a hyper-masculine and sectarian one, for gangs of young men and the violence they might dole out dominate the Glaswegian estate where they live. And yet against all odds Mungo and James become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds. As they fall in love, they dream of finding somewhere they belong, while Mungo works hard to hide his true self from all those around him, especially from his big brother Hamish, a local gang leader with a brutal reputation to uphold. But the threat of discovery is constant and the punishment unspeakable. And when several months later Mungo's mother sends him on a fishing trip to a loch in Western Scotland, together with two strange men whose drunken banter belies murky pasts, he will need to summon all his inner strength and courage to try to get back to a place of safety, a place where he and James might still have a future. Imbuing the everyday world of its characters with rich lyricism and giving full voice to people rarely acknowledged in the literary world, Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the bounds of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much"--
Subjects: Bildungsromans.; Novels.; Best friends; Catholic gays; First loves; Gay teenagers; Male friendship; Protestant gays; Working class families;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Undersong / by Winter, Kathleen,author.;
When young James Dixon, a local jack-of-all-trades recently returned from the Battle of Waterloo, meets writer Dorothy Wordsworth, he quickly realizes he's never met another woman anything like her. In her early thirties at the time of the meeting, Dorothy has already lived a wildly unconventional life. As her famous brother William Wordsworth's confidante and creative collaborator--considered by some in their circle to be the secret to his success as a poet--she has carved a seemingly idyllic existence for herself, alongside William and his wife, in England's Lake District. One day, Dixon is approached by William to do some handiwork around the Wordsworth estate. At William's urging, he takes on more and more chores--and quickly understands that his real, unspoken responsibility is to keep an eye on Dorothy, who is growing frail and melancholic. The unlikely pair of misfits form a sympathetic bond despite the sometimes troubling chasm in social class between them, and soon Dixon is the quiet witness to everyday life in Dorothy's family and glittering social circle, which includes literary legends Samuel Coleridge, Thomas de Quincy, William Blake, and Charles and Mary Lamb. Through the fictional James Dixon--a gentle but troubled soul, more attuned to the wonders of the garden he faithfully tends than to vexing worldly matters--we step inside the Wordsworth family, witnessing their dramatic emotional and artistic struggles, hidden traumas, private betrayals and triumphs. At the same time, Winter slowly weaves a darker, complex "undersong" through the novel, one as earthy and elemental as flower and tree, gradually revealing the pattern of Dorothy's rich, hidden life--that of a woman determined, against all odds, to exist on her own terms despite societal norms. But the unsettling effects of Dorothy's tragically repressed brilliance take their toll, and when at last her true voice finally sings out, it is so searing and bright that Dixon, compelled equally by love and grief and fear, must make an impossible choice.
Subjects: Biographical fiction.; Historical fiction.; Wordsworth, Dorothy, 1771-1855; Wordsworth, William, 1770-1850; Families; Man-woman relationships; Poets; Social classes; Veterans;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 2
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Revival [sound recording] / by King, Stephen,1947-; Morse, David.;
Read by David Morse."In a small New England town over half a century ago, a boy is playing with his new toy soldiers in the dirt in front of his house when a shadow falls over him. He looks up to see a striking man, the new minister, Jamie learns later, who with his beautiful wife, will transform the church and the town. The men and boys are a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls, with the Reverend Jacobs--including Jamie's sisters and mother. Then tragedy strikes, and this charismatic preacher curses God, and is banished from the shocked town. Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from age 13, he plays in bands across the country, running from his own family tragedies, losing one job after another when his addictions get the better of him. Decades later, sober and living a decent life, he and Reverend Charles Jacobs meet again in a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and the many terrifying meanings of Revival are revealed. King imbues this spectacularly rich and dark novel with everything he knows about music, addiction, and religious fanaticism, and every nightmare we ever had about death. This is a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe"--Provided by publisher.
Subjects: Horror tales.; Suspense fiction.; Audiobooks.; Clergy; Death; Drug addicts; Good and evil; Life change events; Religious fanaticism; Rock musicians;
© p2014., Simon & Schuster Audio,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Anticipation : a novel / by Winawer, Melodie,author.;
After the death of her beloved husband and becoming a single parent to her nine-year-old son Alexander, overworked scientist Helen desperately needs an escape. So when Alexander proposes a trip to Greece--somewhere he's always dreamed of visiting--Helen quickly agrees. After spending several days exploring the tourist-filled streets, they stumble upon the ancient city of Mystras and are instantly drawn to it. Its only resident is Elias, a mysterious tour guide living on the city's edges ... both physically and temporally. In 1237, Elias's mother promised his eternal service to the Profitis Ilias in Mystras in exchange for surviving a terrible illness. But during his 800 years of labor, he's had one common enemy: the noble Lusignan family. The Lusignan line is cursed by a deadly disease that worsens with each generation, and a prophecy hints that Elias's blood is their only hope for a cure. He has managed to survive throughout the centuries, but the line has dwindled down to the last Lusignan and he is desperate to avert his family's destiny. When Elias runs into Helen, he meets his match for the first time--but he unwittingly puts both her and her young son in danger as a result. With time running out and an enemy after them, Elias and Helen are forced to choose between the city they love, and each other. Blending the historical romance of Diana Gabaldon, the rich detail of Philippa Gregory's novels, and Dan Brown's fast-paced suspense, Anticipation is a thrilling and satisfying read like no other.
Subjects: Magic realist fiction.; Blessing and cursing; Man-woman relationships; Mothers and sons; Single mothers; Widows;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Inuit relocations : colonial policies and practices, Inuit resilience and resistance / by Tester, Frank J.,author.; Zawadski, Krista Ulujuk,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The traditional life of Inuit of Canada's North, affected early on by contact with whalers and the development of the fur trade. Changes to the lives of Inuit following the Second World War, including the relocation of Inuit, resulting in separation from family and culture and deaths from starvation, contagious diseases and appalling living conditions as Inuit were forced to adapt from living off the land to permanent settlements. The relocation of Inuit children to settlement-based federal day schools. How Inuit fought back against these injustices to maintain their culture and language and contribute to the richness and diversity of Canadian culture."--
Subjects: Inuit; Inuit; Inuit;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Windsor conspiracy : a novel of the Crown, a conspiracy, and the Duchess of Windsor / by Blalock, Georgie,1974-author.;
American Amelia Montague defied her family five years ago to marry the man she loved, but that decision cost her everything. Disowned by her family, and left a penniless widow after her husband's death, Amelia becomes her cousin Wallis Simpson's private secretary in France. With no other prospects available, Amelia has no choice but to succeed, and under their Aunt Bessie's direction, hopes to have a positive influence on Wallis and the Duke of Windsor. During the next two years, Amelia realizes that not everything with the Windsors is glittering happiness. Beneath the façade of the besotted couple simmers Wallis's rage at her stunted ambition, and the couple soon reveal themselves to be self-centered Nazi supporters who pursue their own interests at any cost. When the Germans invade France, and the Windsors leave Amelia to escape the Gestapo on her own, Amelia finds herself in position to work for the most unlikely of employers: MI5 and the FBI. Convinced to work undercover, Amelia joins the Windsors in Nassau and soon realizes that Wallis's treachery extends far deeper than the US and British government even knows ... Richly imaginative, Georgie Blalock's novel stuns as it explores two women, opposites in every way, and the choices they make to survive both war and each other.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Spy fiction.; Novels.; Windsor, Wallis Warfield, Duchess of, 1896-1986; Nazis; Undercover operations; World War, 1939-1945;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Drop the ball : achieving more by doing less / by Dufu, Tiffany,author.; Steinem, Gloria,writer of foreword.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."A bold and inspiring memoir and manifesto from a renowned voice in the women's leadership movement who shows women how to cultivate the single skill they really need in order to thrive: the ability to let go. Once the poster girl for doing it all, after she had her first child, Tiffany Dufu struggled to accomplish everything she thought she needed to in order to succeed. Like so many driven and talented women who have been brought up to believe that to have it all, they must do it all, Dufu began to feel that achieving her career and personal goals was an impossibility. Eventually, she discovered the solution: letting go. In Drop the Ball, Dufu recounts how she learned to reevaluate expectations, shrink her to-do list, and meaningfully engage the assistance of others--freeing the space she needed to flourish at work and to develop deeper, more meaningful relationships at home. Even though women are half the workforce, they still represent only eighteen per cent of the highest level leaders. The reasons are obvious: just as women reach middle management they are also starting families. Mounting responsibilities at work and home leave them with no bandwidth to do what will most lead to their success. Offering new perspective on why the women's leadership movement has stalled, and packed with actionable advice, Tiffany Dufu's Drop the Ball urges women to embrace imperfection, to expect less of themselves and more from others--only then can they focus on what they truly care about, devote the necessary energy to achieving their real goals, and create the type of rich, rewarding life we all desire"--
Subjects: Dufu, Tiffany; Women professional employees; African American women; Mothers; Leadership in women; Women in the professions; Work-life balance; Sex role; Self-actualization (Psychology);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The Swans of Harlem : five Black ballerinas, fifty years of sisterhood, and the reclamation of a groundbreaking history / by Valby, Karen,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index."The forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas, the first principals in the Dance Theatre of Harlem, who traveled the world as highly celebrated stars in their field and whose legacy was erased from history until now. At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarça was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company--the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She was the first Black ballerina on the cover of Dance magazine, an Essence cover star, cast in The Wiz and on Broadway with Bob Fosse. She performed in some of ballet's most iconic works with her closest friends--founding members of the company, the Swans of Harlem, Gayle McKinney, Sheila Rohan, Marcia Sells, and Karlya Shelton--for the Queen of England and Mick Jagger, with Josephine Baker, at the White House, and beyond. Some forty years later, when Lydia's granddaughter wanted to show her own ballet class evidence of her grandmother's success, she found almost none, but for some yellowing photographs and programs in the family basement. Lydia had struggled for years to reckon with the erasure of her success, as all the Swans had. Still united as sisters in the present, they decided it was time to share their story themselves. Captivating, rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamor and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of five extraordinarily accomplished women, a celebration of their historic careers, and a window into the robust history of Black ballet, hidden for too long"--
Subjects: Biographies.; Abarca, Lydia.; McKinney, Gayle.; Rohan, Sheila.; Sells, Marcia Lynn.; Shelton, Karlya.; Dance Theatre of Harlem; African American ballerinas; Ballet;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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