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Historical Fiction December 2020
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We were the lucky ones
by Georgia Hunter
A novel based on the true story of a Jewish-Polish family recounts how the Kurcs are scattered throughout the world by the horrors of World War II and fight respective hardships to survive, reach safety and find each other. Includes a family tree.
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| The Glass House by Beatrice ColinWhat it is: an engaging and intricately plotted story of family dysfunction, fading aristocratic glory, and frustrated female ambition set in rural Scotland just before World War I.
Starring: Antonia McCullough, an aspiring artist who lives a quiet life with her husband on her family's decaying estate Balmarra House; Cicely Pick, the wife of Antonia's estranged brother George, who arrives from Darjeeling with a secret plan to lay claim to Balmarra. |
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Fall of giants
by Ken Follett
Follows the fates of five interrelated families--American, German, Russian, English and Welsh--as they move through the world-shaking dramas of World War I, the Russian Revolution and the struggle for women's suffrage. By the best-selling author of The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End.
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| Death and the Maiden by Ariana Franklin and Samantha NormanWhat it is: the long-awaited final entry in the series of novels that began with Mistress of the Art of Death.
Starring: Italian-born physician Adelia Aguilar, first brought to England by king Henry II to investigate suspicious deaths using her medical training.
About the authors: This posthumously published novel was completed by journalist and film critic Samantha Norman, the daughter of original author Ariana Franklin. |
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What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank : stories
by Nathan Englander
From the title story that presents a portrait of two marriages in which the Holocaust is played out as a devastating parlor game, to a dark story of vigilante justice undetaken by a troop of geriatric campers, a moving collection showcases some of the authors best work. 100,000 first printing.
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| Actress by Anne EnrightWhat it is: a character-driven account of the larger-than-life personality and career of Irish acting legend Katherine O'Dell, as told by her novelist daughter Norah.
Read it for: the engaging portrait of well-meaning but complex Katherine, who struggles to navigate fame and single motherhood in an era without models for either.
About the author: Irish writer Anne Enright's previous novels include The Green Road and Man Booker Prize-winning The Gathering. |
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| Marlene by C. W. GortnerWhat it's about: the compelling professional and personal lives of legendary German-American actress Marlene Dietrich.
Why you might like it: Gortner revels in the details of formative eras in Dietrich's life, from the seductive and seedy cabaret scene of Weimar Berlin to the star-studded USO tour she participated in during World War II.
Try this next: The Only Woman in the Room by Heather Terrell, which tells the story of Austrian actress and scientist Hedy Lamarr and her unique contributions to the war effort. |
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| Isadora by Amelia GrayWhat it is: a moody and character-driven depiction of iconoclastic dancer and choreographer Isadora Duncan, set primarily in 1913 just after the drowning deaths of her two young children.
Read it for: the lyrical writing style, which perfectly fits the drama and sensuality of the woman herself.
Reviewers say: Isadora is "a mythic, fiercely insightful, mordantly funny, and profoundly revelatory portrait of an intrepid and indelible artist" (Booklist). |
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Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee
Shortly after Japan annexes Korea in 1910, a fisherman and his wife -- having already lost three sons -- welcome a daughter, Sunja. At 16, Sunja becomes pregnant and, spurned by her married lover, reluctantly accepts a marriage proposal from the minister lodging at her family's boarding house. The newlyweds travel to Japan to begin their life together, setting the stage for a sweeping multi-generational family saga that spans decades and touches on pivotal events of the 20th century. Fans of family sagas may enjoy Alan Brennert's Honolulu, about a Korean-American family in Hawaii. Readers who feel an affinity for Sunja will find a similarly unconventional and resourceful protagonist in Eugenia Kim's The Calligrapher's Daughter.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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