Book picks similar to
Face Beside the Fire by Laurens van der Post


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The Soldier's Song


Alan Monaghan - 2010
    As Ireland stands on the brink of political crisis, Europe plunges headlong into war. Among the thousands of Irishmen who volunteer to fight for the British Army is Stephen Ryan, a gifted young maths scholar whose working class background has marked him out as a misfit among his wealthy fellow students. Sent to fight in Turkey, he looks forward to the great adventure, unaware of the growing unrest back home in Ireland. His romantic notions of war are soon shattered and he is forced to wonder where his loyalties lie, on his return to a Dublin poised for rebellion in 1916 and a brother fighting for the rebels. Everything has changed utterly, and in a world gone mad his only hope is his growing friendship with the brilliant and enigmatic Lillian Bryce. "The Soldier's Song "is a poignant and deeply moving novel, a tribute to the durability of the human soul.

Four to Score by Janet Evanovich Summary & Study Guide


BookRags - 2011
    53 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Four to Score. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Four to Score by Janet Evanovich.

High Country


Christopher Nicole - 1988
     With the responsibility of caring for his mother and his sister weighing heavily, Adrian is back home and desperate to return to the lands he yearns for.In an unprecedented move he attempts to return to Arica with his family. When his plans are interrupted by a wealthy businessman’s beautiful daughter, Adrian finds himself at the mercy of the law and this is when Schlieben begins to show his true colours. A haunting account of caution and humanity begins to unravel...The voyage that follows sends all those involved on a perilous journey of courage, revenge and above all, the unbreakable ties of true love. As Adrian struggles to prevent the brutality, racism and threat of occupation that is deemed necessary to maintain authority, a poignant battle against colonisation ensues. The High Country is an epic tale of peace and war found far from home.Praise for the Christopher Nicole:‘A thoroughly entertaining yarn’ Irish Times ‘fast-paced, entertaining, appealing!’ Library Journal Christopher Nicole was born and brought up in British Guyana and the West Indies. His output of books has been prolific and many of his novels are historical with a Caribbean background. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.

Becoming Moon


Craig A. Hart - 2015
    Following his dream of becoming a writer, he turns away from everything he knows, and enters adulthood embittered, angry, and resentful.As he struggles to make a name for himself, he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. Although it requires a betrayal of his principles as an artist, he resigns himself to what appears to be fate. The writer’s compromise brings money and recognition, but these are fleeting and he soon finds himself caught in a web of depression and financial hardship. Desperate and sinking quickly, the writer begins taking trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where he hopes to reconnect with his muse. During one of these excursions, he meets Nigel Moon, a grizzled fellow author nearing the end of his career. Moon gives the writer a second golden opportunity and the chance to prove himself in the face of personal doubts—but only if the writer is able to set his past aside.Equal parts witty and dark and wry and tragic, the text uses simplicity as its focus. Raw and honest, Becoming Moon is an unforgettable book about exorcising past demons and finding personal redemption.

Storm Tide


Marge Piercy - 1998
    There he meets the eminent professor, Gordon Stone, and his beautiful wife, Judith Silver, with whom he soon falls into a passionate affair. Into this explosive mix, a young woman appears--a single mother at the end of her emotional rope. Crystal desperately needs David. Yet caught between two women, David bears witness to a heartbreaking turn of events that seems as inevitable as the push and pull of ocean waves. . . .

Footprints Of Lion


Beverley Harper - 2004
    At stake: possession of a land rich in gold, diamonds and cheap human resources.Atrocities of the Anglo-Boer war take a terrible toll on soldiers and civilians alike. Lorna fears for her husband and sons - extrovert Cameron; brooding and secretive Torben; roguish Duncan; and Frazer, the youngest, softly spoken and artistic. She worries for her daughters - medically minded Ellie, who is never far from the front line, and headstrong Meggie, baby of the family. None are left untouched.From battlefields stained with blood and concentration camps rife with disease, to a pride of veldt lions thriving in the madness of war, Footprints of Lion is an action-packed sequel to Shadows in the Grass. Love, hate, revenge, triumph and much more stalk the pages of this unforgettable novel from Beverley Harper.

A Change of Climate


Hilary Mantel - 1994
    Set in both the windswept countryside of Norfolk and the violent townships of South Africa, this is a story of what happens when trust is broken, secrets become buried and lives torn apart.

James, Fabulous Feline: Further Adventures of the Connoisseur Cat


Harriet Hahn - 1993
    But his deductive abilities will be put to the test when he’s called on to detect philatelic forgeries at Thwaites, one of the city’s great auction houses. The recently knighted cat also finds time to coach a croquet team, oversee rehearsals of a sequel to Cats, and help deliver a baby. Not to be outdone by cheesy actors or blundering attorneys, he makes his film debut and testifies in a criminal trial at the Old Bailey. But he has a special place in his heart for St. James’s Palace, the address he longs to call home. This delightful sequel to James the Connoisseur will prove irresistible catnip for feline lovers.

Sometimes You See It Coming


Kevin Baker - 1993
    An all-around superstar, he plays the game with a single-minded ferocity that makes his New York Mets team all but invincible. Yet Barr himself is a mystery with no past, no friends, no women, and no interests outside hitting a baseball as hard and as far as he can. Not even Ellie Jay, the jaded sportswriter who can out-think, out-drink, and out-write any man in the press box. She wants to think she admires Barr's skill on a ballfield, but suspects she might be in love with a man who isn't really there.Barr leads the Mets to one championship after another. Then chaos arrives in the person of new manager Charli Stanzi, well-known psychopath. Under Stanzi's tutelage, the team simply falls apart. Then Barr himself inexplicably starts to unravel. For the first time in his life, his formidable skills fail him, and only Ellie Jay and another can help - if he will let them. Hanging in the balance are his sanity, the World Series, and true love.

Crossing Brooklyn Ferry


Jennie Fields - 1997
    Despite Zoe's initial hesitation, they begin to fall in love. Rose is thrilled, recognizing in Keevan the warm, fun-loving father hers could never be. But when Zoe's husband wakes from his depression to see his wife slipping away, Zoe is torn between her love for two men.

The Good Son


Craig Nova - 1983
    After being shot down over the desert and imprisoned by the enemy, the world of privilege to which he belongs seems shallow. But in the shadow of his older brother’s death, the full weight of his father’s expectations falls on Chip. Pop Mackinnon—whose money is new but just as good as anyone else’s—has designs on the upper echelons of society. The polo ponies and expensive education he bought for his son weren’t gifts; they were an investment in the family’s future. Now it’s time for Chip to pay him back by marrying a girl who can finally bring the Mackinnons into society’s inner circle.A shrewd and cunning man, Pop is used to getting his way—until the arrival of Jean Cooper, that is. This Midwestern beauty awakens Chip’s passions, and the two embark on an affair that threatens to destroy Pop’s social-climbing plans. A battle of wills between father and son ensues, one that tests the boundaries of their relationship and strays into the place where love turns irrevocably to hate.Originally published in 1982 to wide acclaim, The Good Son remains Craig Nova’s undisputed masterpiece. This classic of contemporary American literature artfully explores the complicated web of emotions that exists between fathers and sons—ambition, jealousy, loyalty, love—in a tale that compels with its simple, searing honesty.Also Available as an eBook.

The Fall Line


Mark T. Sullivan - 1994
    On the run from both the cartel and the FBI, Jack finds temporary refuge in the quiet of Utah’s mountains. With a new identity and surgically-altered face, he may have narrowly escaped his old life. But can he run from his own destructive nature? Bored in the anonymous safety of his new reality, Jack quickly finds himself drawn to Inez Didier, a mysterious French director documenting the high-stakes lives of the world’s most daring skiers. As Inez pulls Jack further into her work, he struggles to keep his thrill-addicted temperament in check. But when the darkest secrets of his thorny past begin to surface, Jack’s life may once again wind up in freefall… “Not many investigative reporters have the sensitivity and poetry that are exhibited in this exciting story of dare-devil skiing.”—The New York Times Book Review

Long Way Back


Brendan Halpin - 2007
    It’s firmly rooted in familial embarrassment (the Kellys’ house is “decorated like the inside of somebody’s hut in Guatemala”), reinforced by an abiding love of Dee Dee Ramone and other (lesser) gods of the rock pantheon, and cemented by the secret of a remarkable religious epiphany Francis experiences at the age of twelve.Clare and Francis become happy adults with rewarding careers and loving spouses. But when tragedy strikes, Francis finds his faith shattered and his life horribly transformed, and Clare doesn’t know how to help the brother she loves but has never fully understood.Nearly flattened by sadness, Francis turns to the angry, propulsive music that sustained him through adolescence and finds that you’re never too old to be punk rock. With the help of a bass guitar and the support of Clare and some unlikely new friends, Francis gradually finds his way back from the depths of despair to a life that feels worth living.Told in Clare’s wry, compassionate voice, Long Way Back is an original, moving novel about grief, guitars, and grace. It shows that the Velvet Underground didn’t lie: Your life really can be saved by rock and roll.From the Hardcover edition.

The Champ


Daniel Martin Eckhart - 2012
    At the tender age of one hundred and fifteen he's the oldest man alive in the United States of America. His body is failing him gloriously, his legs will barely carry him, his quivering lips and dentures turn his words into meaningless babble... and yet he has the clearest brain and the brightest eyes you'll ever come across. His steps may be tiny, but his story is epic. His words may be few, but his mind goes beyond your wildest imagination. Join Wilber on a most unlikely journey and be prepared - you just may discover yourself along the way. Critical acclaim: "Eckhart has created a wonderfully warm and eccentric main character in 115 year old Wilber Patorkin." - "A story of friendship, mortality, and good vs. evil, it was so good I couldn't put it down." - "A crossover between Amélie Poulain and Benjamin Button" - "The style is a compelling mix between Stephen King & JD Salinger."

The Adrian Mole Collection: The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole/True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole/Adrian Mole: The Wilderness


Sue Townsend - 2000
    I pushed my sausages away untouched. Charting nearly ten years in the life of Adrian Mole, from his increasingly troubled adolescence and schooling to his first job as newt counter for the DoE, from his parents' marital troubles to his own difficult relationship with Pandora, from the failure of his early poems to the even grander failure of his epic novels, these three novels in one volume provide a hilarious portrait of one young man's coming of age. 'He will be remembered some day as one of England's great diarists. No matter what your troubles may be Adrian Mole is sure to make you feel better' Evening Standard