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Fiction A to Z October 2018
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The Storyteller's Secret
by Sejal Badani
What its about: Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake. Desperate to assuage her deep anguish, she decides to go to India to uncover answers to her family’s past. Intoxicated by the sights, smells, and sounds she experiences, Jaya becomes an eager student of the culture. But it is Ravi—her grandmother’s former servant and trusted confidant—who reveals the resilience, struggles, secret love, and tragic fall of Jaya’s pioneering grandmother during the British occupation. Through her courageous grandmother’s arrestingly romantic and heart-wrenching story, Jaya discovers the legacy bequeathed to her and a strength that, until now, she never knew was possible.
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| The Golden State by Lydia KieslingStarring: anxious mother Daphne, who struggles to raise her young daughter alone when her husband is barred from returning to the U.S.
What happens: Seeking solace, Daphne leaves San Francisco for the rural mobile home she inherited from her grandparents. But what she finds in Paiute County is just more loneliness and strife.
Why you might like it: From the new-mother blues to immigration issues, this insightful debut provides a sensitive -- and occasionally humorous -- glimpse of modern community. |
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Hippie
by Paulo Coelho
What its about: A Brazilian man and a Dutch woman embark on an extraordinary journey of self-discovery as they travel by bus from Amsterdam to Kathmandu against a backdrop of the protests and sexual-liberation experiments of the Civil Rights era.
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| The Dinner List by Rebecca SerleWhat it's about: In this wish-fulfillment tale, Sabrina Nielsen arrives at her 30th birthday party to see that the guests are her answers to the ice-breaking question, "Who in all of history would you like to share a meal with?"
The guests: sentimental best friend Jessica; the father who abandoned Sabrina as a child (and who has since died); her on-again, off-again lover, Tobias; a college philosophy professor...and Audrey Hepburn, who adds some class and magic to the proceedings. |
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| I Liked My Life by Abby FabiaschiStarring: recently deceased wife and mother Maddy, who begins meddling from beyond the grave when she sees how her suicide shattered her family's lives.
Why you might like it: Sprinkled with humor, this sympathetic take on coping with death offers the perspectives of several complex characters and a moving view on marriage and parenthood.
Want a taste? "I found the perfect wife for my husband." |
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| The Whole Town's Talking by Fannie FlaggWhat it's about: Founded in 1889, Elmwood Springs, Missouri has flourished over the last 150 years. As has the town cemetery -- everyone buried there quickly "wakes up" to catch up with long-departed friends and family members!
Don't miss: quirky characters, warm humor, and a close-knit community.
Why you might like it: This epic family saga combines historical detail with an intriguing premise and a teasing murder mystery. |
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| Secondhand Souls by Christopher MooreThe set-up: In A Dirty Job, secondhand-shop owner Charlie Asher learned he worked for Death, collecting souls in San Francisco. In Secondhand Souls, those souls are being stolen, and Charlie himself is trapped without a body.
Is it for you? As with anything by Christopher Moore, an appreciation of the absurd, for jokes both clever and rude, and of outsize characters are all necessary to enjoy this irreverent take on life after death. |
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| The Lovely Bones by Alice SeboldThe premise: For nearly ten years after her violent murder, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches over her family and friends from a kind of interim heaven, observing as they try to come to terms with her death.
Did you know? First published in 2002, this delicate debut novel, which received high praise for its treatment of a difficult subject was a long-running bestseller (and an Oscar-nominated film).
What to read next: The Good Sister by Jamie Kain. Though written for teens, it's another emotionally powerful tale of an untimely death. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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