The odyssey begins on a freezing Vermont hillside in 1944 and propels Blood across the American West for forty years. Denied love and unable to settle, he lives a hundred different lives: mining gold, growing beans, hunting fossils, trapping, prospecting for uranium and ranching. His only contact with his past is through a series of postcards he sends home – not realising that in his absence disaster has befallen his family, and their deep-rooted connection with the land has been severed with devastating consequences…‘Postcards’ was Annie Proulx’s first novel, which received huge acclaim and marked the launch of an outstanding literary career. Her works include short story collections ‘Bad Dirt’, ‘Close Range’ (featuring ‘Brokeback Mountain’) and novels such as ‘The Shipping News’ and ‘Accordion Crimes’.

    Its illustrative and popular material promote a deeper appreciation of different themes and approaches. Complete works that have become classics in the field, combined with ones from the modern era, make this collection rich in historical and theoretical context. Selections of non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and drama, include works by Paula Gunn Allen, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Carter Revard, Leslie Marmon Silko, Sherman Alexie, Kimberly Blaeser, Peter Blue Cloud, Louise Erdrich, Scott N. Momaday, Simon Ortiz, and many more. An effective introduction to Native American Literature for readers interested in this area of writing.Contents:Nonfiction. Postmodernism, Native American literature, and the real : the Silko-Erdrich Controversy by Susan Pérez CastilloThe American Indian fiction writers : cosmopolitanism, nationalism, the third world, and First Nation sovereignty by Elizabeth Cook-LynnIndian humor by Vine Deloria, Jr.The Ghost Dance War by Charles Eastman OhiyesaThe sacred hoop : a contemporary perspective by Paula Gunn AllenThe man made of word by N. Scott MomadayDecolonializing criticism : reading dialectics and dialogics in Native American literatures by David L. MooreTowards a national Indian literature : cultural authenticity in nationalism by Simon J. OrtizHistory, myth, and identity among Osages and other peoples by Carter RevardThe woman who loved a snake : orality in Mabel McKay's stories by Greg SarrisLanguage and literature from a Pueblo perspective by Leslie Marmon SilkoAn old-time Indian attack conducted in two parts : Part one, imitation "Indian" poemsbyPart two, Gary Snyder's Turtle IslandIntroduction : only the beginning by Brian Swann. Fiction. The approximate size of my favorite tumor ; This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona by Sherman AlexieSwimming upstream by Beth BrantA good chance ; The power of horses by Elizabeth Cook-LynnThe red convertible by Louise ErdrichUnfinished business by Eric GansworthAunt Parnetta's electric blisters by Diane GlancyDeer woman by Paula Gunn AllenSleeping in rain by Gordon HenryAunt Moon's young man by Linda HoganAs it was in the beginning by Pauline E. JohnsonBorders ; A seat in the garden by Thomas KingThe hawk is hungry by D'Arcy McNickleVeteran's dance by Jim NorthrupThe killing of a state cop by Simon J. OrtizBlessed sunshine by Louis OwensReport to the nation : repossessing Europe by Carter RevardHow I got to be queen by Greg SarrisThe man to send rain clouds ; Tony's story ; Yellow woman by Leslie Marmon SilkoThe disposal of Mary Joe's children by Mary TallMountainAll the colors of sunset by Luci TapahonsoThe warriors by Anna Lee WaltersThe soft-hearted Sioux by Zitkala-Sa. Poetry. The business of fancydancing ; Capital punishment ; Defending Walt Whitman ; The exaggeration of despair ; How to write the great American Indian novel ; Crazy Horse speaks by Sherman AlexieDear world ; Kopis'taya, a gathering of spirits ; Soundings by Paula Gunn AllenLiving history ; Rewriting your life ; Rituals : yours, and mine ; Where was I that day by Kimberly BlaeserBear : a totem dance as seen by Raven ; The old man's lazy ; Rattle ; To-ta Ti-om ; Turtle ; Yellowjacket ; Drum ; Reflections on milkweed by Peter Blue CloudAbove the line ; Blessing the waters ; Copal, red blood : Chiapas, 1998 by Joseph BruchacToday was a bad day like TB by ChrystosSalmon egg puller, $2.15 an hour by Nora DauenhaurCaptivity ; Indian boarding school : the runaways ; Jacklight ; Old man Potchikoo ; Dear John Wayne ; Turtle Mountain Reservation by Louise ErdrichShe had some horses ; Transformations ; I give you back ; Call it fear ; Eagle poem ; The woman hanging from the thirteenth floor window ; Grace ; The woman who fell from the sky by Joy HarjoBlessing ; Song for my name ; Bamboo ; Celebration : birth of a colt ; Drought ; The new apartment, Minneapolis ; The truth is ; Elk song ; Geraniums ; Heritage ; It must be ; Map ; Morning : the world in the lake by Linda HoganAkwesasne ; Legacy ; Sweetgrass ; The tell me I am lost ; Wild strawberry ; Wolf "aunt" by Maurice KennyWho am I by Joyce carlEtta MandrakeAngle of geese ; The bear ; At risk ; December 29, 1980 : Wounded Knee Creek ; The colors of night ; The eagle-feather fan by N. Scott MomadayBend in the river ; The creation, according to coyote ; Dry root in a wash ; My father's song ; A story of how a wall stands ; The boy and coyote by Simon J. OrtizAnd don't be deaf to the singing beyond ; Driving in Oklahoma ; In Kansas ; An eagle nation ; What the eagle fan says ; Wazhazhe grandmother by Carter RevardI expected my skin and my blood to ripen ; If I am too brown or too white for you ; Three thousand dollar death song by Wendy RoseIndian song : survival ; Untitled ; Untitled, from Ceremony ; Storytelling ; Story from Bear County ; Toe'osh : a Laguna coyote story ; When sun came to Riverwoman by Leslie Marmon SilkoGood grease ; The last wolf ; There is no word for goodbye ; Matmiya by Mary TallMountainBlue horses rush in ; In praise of Texas ; Light a candle ; Raisin eyes by Luci TapahonsoChristmas comes to Moccasin Flat ; Surviving ; Thanksgiving at Snake Butte ; Snow country weavers ; Riding the earthboy 40 by James WelchDream of rebirth ; For Heather, entering Kindergarten ; In the longhouse, Oneida Museum ; Black eagle child quarterly by Roberta Hill WhitemanThe first dimensions of skunk ; Winter of the salamander ; The language of weather ; Morning talking mother ; The significance of a water animal ; Nothing could take away the bear-king's image by Ray Young BearDrama. Harold of Orange : a screenplay by Gerald Vizenor

    But he’s harboring a secret from his daughter, a love affair he’s keeping all to himself. In “A Choice of Accommodations,” a husband’s attempt to turn an old friend’s wedding into a romantic getaway weekend with his wife takes a dark, revealing turn as the party lasts deep into the night. In “Only Goodness,” a sister eager to give her younger brother the perfect childhood she never had is overwhelmed by guilt, anguish, and anger when his alcoholism threatens her family. And in “Hema and Kaushik,” a trio of linked stories—a luminous, intensely compelling elegy of life, death, love, and fate—we follow the lives of a girl and boy who, one winter, share a house in Massachusetts. They travel from innocence to experience on separate, sometimes painful paths, until destiny brings them together again years later in Rome. Unaccustomed Earth is rich with Jhumpa Lahiri’s signature gifts: exquisite prose, emotional wisdom, and subtle renderings of the most intricate workings of the heart and mind. It is a masterful, dazzling work of a writer at the peak of her powers.

    That was eight months ago.Richard now has ALS, and his entire right arm is paralyzed. His fingers are impotent, still, devoid of possibility. The loss of his hand feels like a death, a loss of true love, a divorce—his divorce.He knows his left arm will go next.Three years ago, Karina removed their framed wedding picture from the living room wall and hung a mirror there instead. But she still hasn’t moved on. Karina is paralyzed by excuses and fear, stuck in an unfulfilling life as a piano teacher, afraid to pursue the path she abandoned as a young woman, blaming Richard and their failed marriage for all of it.When Richard becomes increasingly paralyzed and is no longer able to live on his own, Karina becomes his reluctant caretaker. As Richard’s muscles, voice, and breath fade, both he and Karina try to reconcile their past before it’s too late.

    Bloom's astonishing and astute new work of interconnected stories illuminates the mysteries of passion, family, and friendship.Propelled by Bloom's dazzling prose, unmistakable voice, and generous wit, Where the God of Love Hangs Out takes us to the margins and the centers of real people's lives, exploring the changes that love and loss create. A young woman is haunted by her roommate's murder; a man and his daughter-in-law confess their sins in the unlikeliest of places. In one quartet of interlocking stories, two middle-aged friends, married to others, find themselves surprisingly drawn to each other, risking all while never underestimating the cost. In another linked set of stories, we follow mother and son for thirty years as their small and uncertain family becomes an irresistible tribe. Insightful, sensuous, and heartbreaking, these stories of passion and disappointment, life and death, capture deep human truths. As The New Yorker has said, "Amy Bloom gets more meaning into individual sentences than most authors manage in whole books."William and Clare. Your borders, your rivers, your tiny villages --I love to see you coming, I hate to see you go --The old impossible --Compassion and mercy --Between here and here --Permafrost --Lionel and Julia. Sleepwalking --Night vision --Light into dark --Fort Useless and Fort Ridiculous --By-and-by --Where the god of love hangs out

    Sadie’s lover calls her as he drives to meet his wife at marriage counseling. Gwen pines for her roommate, a man who will hold her hand but then tells her that her palm is sweaty. And Sasha agrees to have a drink with her married lover’s wife and then immediately regrets it. These are the women of Single, Carefree, Mellow, and in these eleven sublime stories they are grappling with unwelcome houseguests, disastrous birthday parties, needy but loyal friends, and all manner of love, secrets, and betrayal. In “Cranberry Relish” Josie’s ex—a man she met on Facebook—has a new girlfriend he found on Twitter. In “Blue Heron Bridge” Nina is more worried that the Presbyterian minister living in her garage will hear her kids swearing than about his finding out that she’s sleeping with her running partner. And in “The Rhett Butlers” a teenager loses her virginity to her history teacher and then outgrows him. In snappy, glittering prose that is both utterly hilarious and achingly poignant, Katherine Heiny chronicles the ways in which we are unfaithful to each other, both willfully and unwittingly. Maya, who appears in the title story and again in various states of love, forms the spine of this linked collection, and shows us through her moments of pleasure, loss, deceit, and kindness just how fickle the human heart can be.

     Alice Marlowe accepts her life the way it is. She is single, in her late forties, lives with a cat named Sampson, and has imaginary conversations with her dead twin brother. As a sign-language interpreter for the deaf, she is used to standing between people, facilitating their conversations with each other. But then a late-night phone call brings a beautiful, scared six-year-old girl into her life. And seeing herself through a child's eyes for the first time, she discovers that love is a universal language.

    A Hollywood icon, Ringwald defined the teenage experience in the eighties in such classic films as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles. Ringwald brings that same compelling candour she displayed in her film roles to the unforgettable characters she has created in this series of intertwined and linked stories about the particular challenges, joys and disappointments of adult relationships. Her characters grapple with infertility and infidelity, fame and familial discord, in a magnificent debut that will resonate broadly with readers - from fans of Melissa Banks to Meg Wolitzer to Lorrie Moore.

    Married in 1928, they lived “alone together” on the road, traveling throughout the South. Eventually they had one child, born late, in 1944.For Ford, the questions of what his parents dreamed of, how they loved each other and loved him become a striking portrait of American life in the mid-century. Between Them is his vivid image of where his life began and where his parents’ lives found their greatest satisfaction.Bringing his celebrated candor, wit, and intelligence to this most intimate and mysterious of landscapes—our parents’ lives—the award-winning storyteller and creator of the iconic Frank Bascombe delivers an unforgettable exploration of memory, intimacy, and love.

    Boyack Fun and practical, author Merrilee Boycak will have readers laughing out loud as well as feeling grateful for her parenting advice. She s a mom who s spent the last 22 years in the real-life work of parenting. "I have four sons, 13, 15, 17, and 22. You know what that means," she writes. "I m an absolute expert in raising children 23 and older." Merrilee offers the "LDS parenting owner s manual they forgot to give you" for training kids - from toddlers to teens - to be independent. It includes ideas for how to teach kids about money, investing, debt, and the importance of earning their own money; how to teach children to serve; how to help children with emotional and spiritual development; and much more.

    Schroder relates the story of Eric's urgent escape years later to Lake Champlain, Vermont, with his six-year-old daughter, Meadow, in an attempt to outrun the authorities amid a heated custody battle with his wife, who will soon discover that her husband is not who he says he is. From a correctional facility, Eric surveys the course of his life to understand - and maybe even explain - his behavior: the painful separation from his mother in childhood; a harrowing escape to America with his taciturn father; a romance that withered under a shadow of lies; and his proudest moments and greatest regrets as a flawed but loving father. Alternately lovesick and ecstatic, Amity Gaige's deftly imagined novel offers a profound meditation on history and fatherhood, and the many identities we take on in our lives - those we are born with and those we construct for ourselves.

    After serving time for a dubious conviction, Blake Bookchester is paroled. As Blake attempts to adjust, he reconnects with Danielle Workhouse, a single mother whose son, Ivan, explores the woods with his precocious friend, August. While Danielle goes to work for Buck and Amy Roebuck in their mansion, Ivan and August befriend Lester Mortal, a recluse who lives in a melon field; a wild boy; and a bat, Milton. These characters — each flawed, deeply human, and ultimately universal — approach the future with a combination of hope and trepidation. Jewelweed offers a vision in which the ordinary becomes mythical, the seemingly mundane transformed into revelatory beauty.

    Bringing together all of Viorst's best-loved poetry, this collection includes many of the poet's previously out-of-print favorites.

    This collection contains lyrical tales, bloody tales and hilariously funny and ripely bawdy stories from countries all around the world - from the Arctic to Asia - and no dippy princesses or soppy fairies. Instead, we have pretty maids and old crones; crafty women and bad girls; enchantresses and midwives; rascal aunts and odd sisters.

    You can walk for hours. The streets slip by. There is so much to look at, so much to take in. I walk a lot. Especially when I am not writing . . . Lily Brett's love affair with New York began as an outsider in her late teens when she was posted on assignment there as a young Australian rock journalist. In her early forties she returned, together with her soul mate and three children, to start a new life, and for the best part of three decades she has called New York home. This witty, candid and moving collection of short pieces celebrates the city that's now part of her heartbeat. A compulsive walker, Brett takes us to her favourite places and introduces us to the characters of the city that has nurtured, perplexed and inspired her. She brings to life the delights of Chinatown, the majesty of Grand Central Station, the lure of spandex and sequins in the Garment District, and the peculiarity of canine couture. And she muses on the miracle of love in the Lodz ghetto, the possibility of loneliness amidst skyscrapers, and the joy and redemption in a child's curiosity. Full of wisdom, humour and grace, Only in New York is a human portrait of a city much loved - and of a woman in step with herself. 'Pithy, entertaining and personal . . . the natural, light quality of Brett's writing is a pleasure akin to a conversation with a friend . . . Brett leavens her observations with dry humour.'� Weekend Australian 'New York is a city of character and characters and anyone thinking of visiting should use this as a guide to its flavour - and also as an insight into where to eat.'� Herald Sun 'Charm[ing] . . . Her snippets are short and sharp as they portray the essence of New York.'� West Australian 'A charming and unique narrative on the city. [Brett] achieves a perfect combination of wit and naivety, creating a memoir that acknowledges the existence of good and bad experiences, awkward quirks and love affairs with buildings . . . Brett's words have the ability to transport you to the city from the comfort of your own back yard: you may even find it unnecessary to fly to New York after reading [it].�Readings�