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Historical Fiction March 2020
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| A Perfect Explanation by Eleanor AnstrutherThe premise: The aristocratic Campbell family needs an heir, and after her brother is killed in World War I, independent-minded Enid caves to parental pressure and marries a man she doesn't love.
The problem: Besides losing her sense of self, each of Enid's pregnancies worsens her mental health and drives her deeper into her religion, and desperation soon drives her to leave her family for a Christian Scientist retreat -- a decision that will have dramatic consequences for the next several decades. |
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| Run Me to Earth by Paul YoonWhat it's about: As the war in Vietnam spills over the border into Laos, three orphaned teenagers bond with each other and with the French-educated doctor they help scavenge for supplies. After the doctor finds a way for them to escape the country, a freak accident will radically alter the fate of this makeshift family forever.
Read it for: the spare, elegant writing and the haunting settings, such as the beautiful yet decrepit colonial mansion-turned-hospital that brings the characters together.
Did you know? During the Vietnam War, the U.S. dropped more bombs on Laos than were used in World War II against Japan and Germany combined. |
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| The Fallen Architect by Charles BelfoureLondon, 1900: Architect Douglas Layton has worked his way up the social ladder from his working-class background, with a successful career and an aristocratic wife to show for it. But when a balcony collapse at a theater he designed kills a dozen people, he loses his career, his family, and his freedom.
Five years later: Released from prison, Douglas takes on a new identity and paints theater sets for booze money, desperate to see his son again. Through his new connections in the theater world, he begins to suspect that the tragedy that derailed his career wasn't just an accident -- and that someone might still be out to get him. |
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| Button Man by Andrew GrossStarring: the three Rabishevsky brothers: Morris, who left school at age 12 to become the breadwinner after their parents' deaths; Sol, who works with Morris in the garment business; and the youngest, Harry, who wouldn't mind at all if the mafia figures he admires finally convinced his brothers to tie their family business with the family business.
Read it for: the richly detailed and authentic portrayal of life for three Jewish orphans in 1930s New York; the emotional turmoil of the fraying relationships between the brothers; cameos by important figures of the day, such as Dutch Schultz and Thomas Dewey. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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