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Fiction A to ZFebruary 2015
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"Otto, I've gone. I've never seen the water, so I've gone there. Don't worry, I've left you the truck. I can walk. I will try to remember to come back. Yours (always), Etta." ~ from Emma Hooper's Etta and Otto and Russell and James
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New and Recently Released!
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| Uncle Janice: A Novel by Matt BurgessJanice Itwaru has been an "uncle" -- or an undercover narcotics officer -- in Queens for the last 17 months, and she's just shy of a promotion when her supervisor ups her quota. Under incredible pressure to perform, she makes a decision that affects her relationship with her partner. Meanwhile, she's been asked to inform on her sergeant, and her mother's health is deteriorating daily. Veering from harrowing to darkly humorous, this character-driven story is not a conventional crime novel; rather, it evokes the complex, multicultural nature of modern-day Queens and offers a nuanced headliner in the half-black, half-Indian female police officer. |
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| Sweetland: A Novel by Michael CrummeyOff the coast of Newfoundland lies the island of Sweetland, settled long ago by a family of the same name. There aren't many citizens on the tiny island, and there's soon to be none, as the Canadian government is offering a resettlement package -- but only if everyone leaves. Sixty-nine-year-old Moses Sweetland, however, is refusing to move; he can't imagine living anywhere other than the rugged island that bears his family's name. Stubborn, sarcastic, and curmudgeonly, Moses resists even the physical threats that come his way; Library Journal recommends his story to fans of Jon Hassler and Kent Haruf. |
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| Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma HooperAt 83 years old, Etta Vogel has never seen the ocean. So, despite the fact that her Saskatchewan farm stands closer to the western coast, she heads east -- for more than 3,000 kilometers (about 1,800 miles), alone and on foot. Her husband Otto waits for her return, distracting himself by learning how to bake; his best friend Russell, a lifelong bachelor, takes off in search of her. The three have known each other since childhood; the history of their relationships is told alongside Otto's experiences during World War II and Etta's current cross-country journey. Elements of magical realism meld seamlessly with crisp prose in this debut novel, which "reveals the extraordinary lengths to which people will go in the name of love" (Publishers Weekly). |
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| The First Bad Man by Miranda JulyRidden with anxiety and neuroses, Cheryl Glickman is both reclusive and tightly wound, burdened with a permanent lump in her throat, the inability to cry, and the belief that the soul of a baby she met as a child visits her in the babies of strangers. Her lonely, ordered life is thrown into utter chaos when she agrees to let her bosses' rude, aggressive teenage daughter live with her for a while. Clee's arrival prompts weird fantasies, strange therapies, and obsessive fixations on Cheryl's part, not all necessarily for the worse. "Strange and beautiful" (Publishers Weekly), this first novel is as unconventional as director and performance artist Miranda July's other work (such as the film Me and You and Everyone We Know). |
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| The Good Luck of Right Now: A Novel by Matthew QuickIn this whimsical, offbeat novel, 38-year-old Bartholomew Neil has just lost his mother to old age and dementia. He can barely deal with his grief, and after the discovery of a form letter from Richard Gere, whom his mother greatly admired, he begins a one-sided correspondence with the actor. Chance meetings through grief counseling lead to an unforgettable road trip to Canada with some oddball misfits, changing Bartholomew's life forever. Best known for his debut novel, The Silver Linings Playbook, Matthew Quick is publishing his third book for adults, Love May Fail, in June. |
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| Some Luck by Jane SmileyIn this series opener, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley returns to the Iowa farmlands last seen in the novel One Thousand Acres. Beginning in 1920, the story follows Walter and Rosanna Langdon and their six children as they weather the Great Depression, World War II, and the post-war economic boom. As the passing decades bring joy and sorrow, opportunity and disappointment, good luck and bad, each member of this close-knit clan must make his or her way in a rapidly changing 20th-century America. The much-anticipated 2nd book in the trilogy, Early Warning, will be published in April. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Prince George's County Memorial Library System 6532 Adelphi Rd. Hyattsville, Maryland 20782 301-699-3500http://www.pgcmls.info/ |
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