Book picks similar to
Fish, Soap and Bonds by Larry Fondation
f
friends-books
literary-fiction
raw-dog-screaming-press
Los Brujos De Ilamatepeque
Ramón Amaya Amador
The grew in a small town in occidental Honduras called Imalatepeque. After serving in Morazan's army, they go back to their birthtown, where neighboors believe they are wizards and will bring curse to their lives.
Tessa: From Fear to Faith
Melissa Wiltrout - 2013
Yet her ill-fated attempts at running away only deepen the abuse. Guilt and shame press in, pushing away her real friends and reinforcing her own criminal tendencies. Tessa yearns for freedom - and something else. Then a neighbor introduces her to God and salvation through Christ. But will faith be enough? Can she overcome the forces that bind her before it's too late?
The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman
John Tesarsch - 2015
Afterwards, hisdaughter Eleanor discovers a will, in which he has left his entireestate to a woman she has never heard of before. Hiding it fromher siblings, she sets out to solve this mystery, and to unearth theconfronting truth about her reclusive father’s past.But Henry isn’t the only Hoffman with secrets. In the months thatfollow, his children learn things about each other they could neverpreviously have imagined.The Last Will and Testament of Henry Hoffman is a gripping andmany-layered story of love and loss, conflict and survival. Itexplores subjects that affect us all: guilt and redemption, theinescapability of the past, and how trauma resonates acrossgenerations.
The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures
Jennifer Hofmann - 2020
Alarmed by the disappearance of Lara, a young waitress at his regular café with whom he is obsessed, he chases a series of clues throughout Berlin. The details of Lara's vanishing trigger flashbacks to his entanglement with Johannes Held, a physicist who, twenty-five years earlier, infiltrated an American research institute dedicated to weaponizing the paranormalNow, on the day the Berlin Wall falls and Zeiger's mind begins to crumble, his past transgressions have come back to haunt him. Who is the real Lara, what happened to her, and what is her connection to these events? As the surveiller becomes the surveilled, all will be revealed, with shocking consequences. Set in the final, turbulent days of the Cold War, The Standardization of Demoralization Procedures blends the high-wire espionage of John le Carré with the brilliant absurdist humor of Milan Kundera to evoke the dehumanizing forces that turned neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend. Jennifer Hofmann's debut is an affecting, layered investigation of conscience and country.
In a Dark Time
Larry Watson - 1980
In this, his debut novel, Watson explores the themes that established him as a master protrayer of small-town America. Another female student has been found strangled—the body count is up to three, and everyone suspects there will be more. But for Peter, a reticent teacher at Minnesota's Wanekia High School, his own morbid fascination with the murders haunts him more than the morning headlines. Keeping a detailed journal of his community's action—and his own—Peter discovers a disturbing ambivalence toward violence in the midst of uncommonly savage acts. A taut suspense novel that is at once compelling and thought-provoking, In a Dark Time ingeniously explores our culture's complex relationship with violence—and paints a vivid portrait of America too often color-blind to the bloody hues that tinge its landscape.
The Conditions of Love
Dale M. Kushner - 2013
Kushner's novel The Conditions of Love traces the journey of a girl from childhood to adulthood as she reckons with her parents' abandonment, her need to break from society's limitations, and her overwhelming desire for spiritual and erotic love. In 1953, ten-year-old Eunice lives in the backwaters of Wisconsin with her outrageously narcissistic mother, a manicureeste and movie star worshipper. Abandoned by her father as an infant, Eunice worries that she will become a misfit like her mother. When her mother's lover, the devoted Sam, moves in, Eunice imagines her life will finally become normal. But her hope dissolves when Sam gets kicked out, and she is again alone with her mother. A freak storm sends Eunice away from all things familiar. Rescued by the shaman-like Rose, Eunice's odyssey continues with a stay in a hermit's shack and ends with a passionate love affair with an older man. Through her capacity to redefine herself, reject bitterness and keep her heart open, she survives and flourishes. In this, she is both ordinary and heroic. At once fable and realistic story, The Conditions of Love is a book about emotional and physical survival. Through sheer force of will, Eunice saves herself from a doomed life. This engaging examination of a mother and daughter's relationship will appeal to the same audience that embraced Mona Simpson's acclaimed classic Anywhere But Here and Elizabeth Strout's bestselling Amy and Isabelle.
The Invisibles
Rachel Dacus - 2019
Two sisters. One Ghost. An impossible sacrifice.Feuding half-sisters inherit a cottage on the Italian coast, along with its resident spirit and a secret manuscript. Their rivalry explodes through a struggle for control of their haunted house, but Italy infuses its magic into them until a shocking night changes everything for the sisters and their friends.A tale of sisterhood and the supernatural, perfect for fans of Mary Ellen Taylor and Barbara O'Neal."Two sisters, very different, both love and frustrate each other. When their father dies, they are co-inheritors of his house in Italy and must agree on what to do with it. They descend on the house and, slowly and gently, come to terms with their differences and reinforce the love they’ve always had for each other ... Romance blooms in all directions as each sister finds what she most needs, in a most surprising way." – Diane Byington, author of WHO SHE IS
Lucy Gayheart
Willa Cather - 1935
She is beautiful and impressionable and ardent, and these qualities attract the attention of Clement Sebastian, an aging but charismatic singer who exercises all the tragic, sinister fascination of a man who has renounced life only to turn back to seize it one last time. Out of their doomed love affair—and Lucy's fatal estrangement from her origins—Willa Cather creates a novel that is as achingly lovely as a Schubert sonata.
The Silver Ladies of London
Lesley Eames - 2018
This is a heart-warming story of friendship, loyalty, courage and love. Perfect for the fans of Elaine Everest and Daisy Styles.
Dismissed without references when their employer's valuable necklace goes missing, friends Ruth, Lydia, Jenny and Grace try to rebuild their lives far from home in London. A surprise financial inheritance and gift of a beautiful silver Rolls Royce leads them to set up in business as female chauffeurs and the Silver Ladies of London is born. But driving is a man's world and the girls face a future fraught with constant challenges. Soon their business; romances and even their friendship come under threat. Can the Silver Ladies overcome their struggles and find love, success and happiness? Featuring four heroines, a scandal, a secret and a silver Rolls Royce.
The Kormak Saga
William King - 2013
In reality Kormak is a Guardian, one of an ancient order sworn to protect humanity from the servants of the gathering darkness.Kormak is a sword and sorcery hero in the tradition of Conan, Solomon Kane and Druss the Legend, a driven man with a mission to hunt down the ancient demons who slaughtered his family. His fast-paced, action-packed adventures take him from one end of his richly detailed fantasy world to the other. THE KORMAK OMNIBUS The Kormak Omnibus compiles all of Kormak’s adventures so far into one massive volume packed with high adventure. It contains the first three novels, the short story Guardian of the Dawn and many extras such as a map of the Kingdoms of the Sun and the author’s notes for all of the stories. If you’ve never entered Kormak’s world of danger and excitement, here is the perfect opportunity to do so at a special bargain price. GUARDIAN OF THE DAWNIn this chilling tale, Kormak seeks refuge for the night in an isolated peasant home only to find himself thrown into a terrifying confrontation with an ancient evil. STEALER OF FLESHThe Ghul are the Stealers of Flesh, an ancient race of demons who possess the bodies of humans to work great evil. Now one of them has been freed from its ancient prison using Kormak's own dwarf-forged sword and the Guardian must pursue it to a haunted city on the edge of the world to end its reign of terror.DEFILER OF TOMBSAn open tomb, a dead child and an unleashed ancient horror send Kormak on a path of vengeance through the haunted northlands of Taurea. He seeks Morghael, a necromancer with a plan for resurrecting the dark empire of Kharon and the power to bring the dead swarming back to life. WEAVER OF SHADOWWar brews along the border of the Elvenwood. The prophet of an ancient evil has corrupted the nation of Mayasha, reducing the once proud elves to feral slaves of the Shadow. Allied with the monstrous Spider Folk she is poised to sweep away the human settlements in the ancient forests and spread her Blight across the lands. Only one man stands between her and absolute victory; Kormak. ABOUT THE AUTHOR William King lives in Prague, Czech Republic with his lovely wife Radka and his two sons Dan and William Karel. He has been a professional author and games developer for almost a quarter of a century. He is the creator of the bestselling Gotrek and Felix series for Black Library and the author of the Space Wolf books which between them have sold over three quarters of a million copies in English and been translated into 8 languages.His novel Blood of Aenarion made the shortlist for the 2012 David Gemmell Legend Award, the premier award in the field of heroic fantasy. His short fiction had appeared in Year’s Best SF and Best of Interzone. He has twice won the Origins Awards For Game Design. His hobbies include role-playing games and MMOs as well as travel.
Patience
Toby Litt - 2019
He is hugely intelligent. He’s an incredible observer. He is able to memorise and categorise in astonishing detail. He has a beautiful and unusual imagination. More than that, Elliott is an ideal friend. He is overflowing with compassion and warmth and fun. To know him is to adore him.But few people do know Elliott, properly. Because Elliott is also stuck. He lives in a wheelchair in an orphanage. It’s 1979. Elliott is forced to spend his days in an empty corridor, either gazing out of the window at the birds in a tree or staring into a white wall – wherever the Catholic Sisters who run the ward have decided to park him.So when Jim, blind and mute but also headstrong, arrives on the ward and begins to defy the Sisters’ restrictive rules, Elliott finally sees a chance for escape. Individually, the unloved, unvalued orphans will stay just where they are; together, they could achieve a magnificent freedom – if only for a few hours.But how can Elliott, unable to move or speak clearly, communicate all this to Jim? How can he even get Jim to know he exists?Patience is a remarkable story of love and friendship, courage and adventure – and finding joy in the most unlikely of settings. Elliott and Jim are going to have some fun.
The Drinker
Hans Fallada - 1950
Discovered after his death, it tells the tale—often fierce, often poignant, often extremely funny—of a small businessman losing control as he fights valiantly to blot out an increasingly oppressive society.In a brilliant translation by Charlotte and A.L. Lloyd, it is presented here with an afterword by John Willett that details the life and career of the once internationally acclaimed Hans Fallada, and his fate under the Nazis—which brings out the horror of the events behind the book.
Season of Fury and Wonder
Sharon Butala - 2018
In Butala’s world, the season of fury and wonder is the season of old age. The stories in this book are the stories of women who have had experiences; women who have seen much of life and have felt joy of success and the sting of shortcomings; women who hold opinions and come to conclusions about the lives they’ve lived.But Sharon Butala gives us more — not only is each story an observation on aging, each story in Season of Fury and Wonder pays tribute to a classic work of literature that has had an impact on Butala’s writing. Among those writers are Raymond Carver, Willa Cather, Flannery O’Connor, John Cheever, James Joyce, Shirley Jackson, Anton Chekhov, Alan Sillitoe, Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Allan Poe. The result of Butala’s effort is a series of deeply felt tributes to those writers, to their creativity and their power to inspire.
The Green Shore
Natalie Bakopoulos - 2012
Through lyrical prose of wisdom and sophistication, we follow the adventures of one family, whose stories of love and resistance play out against the backdrop of this turbulent period. Eleni, a widowed doctor, struggles with her lost sense of passion, both personal and political, in the face of this latest challenge to democracy. Her brother, Mihalis, an eccentric poet of some renown, finds himself keeping a low profile as he attempts to reconcile with his estranged wife. Eleni’s daughter Sophie, a student of French literature, gets swept up in the resistance alongside her privileged, left-leaning boyfriend, while her youngest child, pensive Anna, watches events unfold with increasing anxiety. As the years pass and the dictatorship’s oppressive rule continues unchallenged, their lives unfold in surprising ways, each seeking and finding love and fulfillment as they struggle to make their own peace with when to stay silent and when to act. Set in Athens and Paris, The Green Shore is an ambitiously told and transporting literary tour de force that delves into a momentous episode in the history of a distant country. The stories of these unforgettable characters sear our hearts and make us understand not only this place, but also what it means to be human, in a new way.