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Historical Fiction June 2020
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| The Immortals of Tehran by Ali AraghiWhat it is: a sweeping saga that follows a cursed Iranian family and its patriarch, a mute poet whose writing takes on mythological significance during the country's 1979 revolution.
Why you might like it: in the vein of classics like The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, The Immortals of Tehran uses magical realism to enrich the story of one family's journey through important historical moments. And there are cats. Lots and lots of cats. |
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The Indigo Ghosts
by Alys Clare
What it's about: In 1604, when his old naval captain asks him to investigate his crew’s mass hallucinations of mysterious blue-skinned ghosts, former ship’s surgeon-turned-country physician Gabriel Taverner uncovers a terrifying tale of treachery, dark magic, unimaginable cruelty and murder.
Reviewers say: "A gripping and unique page-turner that juxtaposes brutal realism with an astonishing, other worldly, magical adventure... A real standout" (Booklist)
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| A Thousand Moons by Sebastian BarryWhat it's about: a makeshift family's story of growth and survival in Reconstruction-era Tennessee, a dangerous place to be for anyone who lives outside the lines.
Starring: Winona Cole, a 16-year-old Lakota girl first introduced in the novel Days Without End; Civil War veterans John Cole and Thomas McNulty, Winona's adoptive fathers; Tennyson and Rosalee, siblings and former slaves who later join the Cole family.
Read it for: the complex characters, lyrical language, and meditations on what it takes to build a family. |
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| Liberation by Imogen KealeyWhat it’s about: the life and work of Nancy Wake, a real-life operative for the French Resistance and Special Operations Executive that the Nazis called "the white mouse" for her ability to escape tight situations.
About the author: Imogen Kealey is the collective pseudonym of novelist Imogen Robertson and screenwriter Darby Kealey.
Media buzz: A film adaptation of the novel is in development and set to star Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway. |
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The Black Swan of Paris
by Karen Robards
What it's about: A celebrated singer in World War II occupied France joins the Resistance to save her estranged family from being killed in a German prison. By the award-winning author of The Fifth Doctrine. 75,000 first printing.
Reviewers say: Historical fiction fans will be enthralled with this richly hewn novel and the romance and danger lurking around its every corner." (Publishers Weekly)
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| Exile Music by Jennifer SteilWhat it's about: the flight of a Jewish family of musicians after the Nazi invasion of Austria destroys their culturally vibrant Viennese community, and their efforts to rebuild their lives in Bolivia.
Why you should read it: While most people are aware of the postwar escapes of Nazis to South American countries like Chile and Argentina, the stories of prewar Jewish refugees are less discussed.
About the author: Jennifer Steil is a journalist and memoirist whose previous novel The Ambassador's Wife was published in 2013. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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