WORD Christchurch Writers and Readers Festival 2014
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New and Recently Released!
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| Life drawing: a novel by Robin BlackGus, a painter, and her husband Owen, a writer, have been living contentedly in semi-seclusion in rural Pennsylvania for several years now. The arrival of a new neighbour, however, changes their dynamics as Gus realizes she's lonely and frustrated with Owen -- and begins to confide in her new friend. Their marriage, not as stable as Gus had thought, is further threatened when the neighbour's daughter visits and becomes infatuated with Owen. Tension rises throughout this "irresistibly readable" (Publishers Weekly) debut novel, which offers multi-dimensional characters and a discerning depiction of long-standing relationships. |
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Outlaws
by Javier Cercas
Encountering two charismatic rebels during a summer day at the arcade, 16-year-old Ignacio Cañas crosses the border into their dangerous world and becomes their partner in a series of escalating crimes before transforming into a successful defense lawyer decades later.
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The good Italian
by Stephen Burke
Love story set in the Italian colony of Eritrea during World War II where a harbourmaster falls for his housekeeper, a forbidden relationship under the new laws. Comparisons have been made to the novels of Louis de Bernieres.
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| The pearl that broke its shell by Nadia HashimiThis moving debut tells the stories of two young Afghan women struggling with traditional gender roles and the expectations of their families. Rahima, in 2007 Kabul, adopts the custom of bacha posh, which allows her to dress and be treated as a boy, attending school and chaperoning her sisters until she is of marriageable age; at 13, a vicious older man decides he wants her as his wife. One hundred years before, Rahima's ancestor Shekiba had seized upon the tradition to escape near-enslavement; her initiative may offer hope to Rahima. Readers who enjoyed Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns and its depiction of resilient Afghan women will likely also appreciate The Pearl That Broke Its Shell. |
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| The hundred-year house: a novel by Rebecca MakkaiThis clever, intriguing novel has not only an unusual setting (a possibly haunted estate that used to be an artists' colony) but also offbeat characters crammed into close quarters (the coach house) and a fascinating structure (each chapter steps back in time over the span of a century). A creepy oil painting of an ancestor who may have killed herself, a secretive matriarch, her slowly unravelling daughter, and the revealing of long-kept secrets are only the beginning -- complex, layered narratives demand a close read, but darkly witty prose and a gothic sensibility make for "delightful twists that surprise and satisfy" (Publishers Weekly). |
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Everything I never told you
by Celeste Ng
A first novel by a Pushcart Prize-winning writer explores the fallout of a favorite daughter's shattering death on a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio.
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| The girls from Corona del Mar: a novel by Rufi ThorpeLorrie Ann and Mia were best friends in high school, despite their differences: Mia, who lived with her alcoholic mother and had an abortion at 15, idealised Lorrie Ann, a "good girl" who came from a close-knit, religious family. But things change, and not long after high school Lorrie Ann experiences the first in a string of tragic losses, while Mia escapes to the Ivy League. Years later, after several attempts to reconnect, Lorrie Ann shows up, barefoot and addicted to heroin, at Mia's Istanbul home, and Mia must reassess what she knows about Lorrie Ann -- and herself. Engrossing and at times difficult to read, this debut novel is darker than the cover suggests; fans of the weighty, relationship-driven novels of Jane Hamilton may enjoy it. |
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The care and management of lies : a novel of the Great War
by Jacqueline Winspear
In this poignant novel of love and friendship tested by separation and war, Kezia struggles to keep her ordered life from unravelling after her husband enlists to fight for his country, while Thea, her best friend, sister-in-law and suffragette, is drawn reluctantly to the battlefield.
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| Where the god of love hangs out by Amy BloomLove's the theme of this collection of short stories, all but four of which are interlinked tales focusing on the relationships of two very different couples: middle-aged academics William and Claire, longtime best friends who are married to other people, and interracial couple Julia and Lionel (who happens to be Julia's former stepson). Two of the stories in Where the God of Love Hangs Out have been featured in previous collections, but reading them all together gives a full sense of these characters' lives, revealed in stories that Booklist calls "emotionally precise, mordantly funny, and beautifully distilled." |
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| This is where we live: a novel by Janelle BrownHip, artsy Claudia and Jeremy Munger are new owners of a charming L.A. bungalow, but their bohemian American dream may not survive all the recent setbacks thrown their way -- Claudia's first film has failed, Jeremy's successful ex-girlfriend has reappeared just as his band breaks up, and the debt load they're carrying may end in foreclosure. The differing ways they ultimately view the house (an albatross, a dream) and the compromises they're willing or unwilling to make (forgoing their free-spirited lifestyle in favor of "real" jobs) may ultimately save or destroy their home -- and their marriage. |
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| Where we belong: a novel by Emily GiffinMarian Caldwell is in her thirties -- a successful Manhattan television producer -- when the daughter she gave up for adoption 18 years previously shows up on her doorstep. Her carefully constructed life thrown into turmoil, Marian and her emotionally untethered daughter are swept up in a storm of personal discovery as they embark on a quest to discover what they truly value and where they really belong. With great pacing and believable characters, this search for identity astutely captures the complicated issue of never feeling like you fit in. |
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| Where the river ends by Charles MartinDespite very different backgrounds, Doss Michaels and his wife Abbie Coleman have had ten years of a fairytale marriage, though Abbie's snooty father and stepmother still prefer to avoid Doss. But four years after Abbie is diagnosed with cancer, she's given mere days to live, and tensions arise over how she will spend those final days -- with her parents, or with Doss, repeating their honeymoon canoeing trip in the wilds of Georgia. Abundant details of their river-trip cover both the difficulties they face and the nature they float by; this tale of husbandly devotion is reminiscent of books by Nicholas Sparks. |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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