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  The Half Wives - A Novel

  Stacia Pelletier

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  “Part historical fiction, part heartbreaking romance, part bildungsroman, this book takes readers on a journey rich with detail and darkness” (Seattle Book Review).   Henry Plageman is a master secret-keeper. A former Lutheran minister, he lost his faith after losing his infant son, Jack, many years ago; his wife, Marilyn, remains consumed by grief. But Henry has another life—another woman and another child—unknown to Marilyn. His lover, Lucy, yearns for a man she can be with openly while their eight-year-old daughter, Blue, tries to make sense of her parents’ fractured lives  The Half Wives follows these interconnected characters through one momentous day, May 22, 1897, the sixteenth anniversary of Jack’s birth. Marilyn distracts herself with charity work. Henry needs to talk his way out of the police station, where he has spent the night for disorderly conduct. Lucy must rescue the intrepid Blue, who has fallen in a saltwater well. Before long, the four will be drawn to the same destination—the city cemetery on the outskirts of San Francisco—where the collision of lives and secrets leaves no one unaltered.  A Finalist for the Townsend Prize   “The developing San Francisco of the 1890s becomes a rich background for these three as they play out their messy, somber, intertwined fates.” —The New York Times Book Review   “A poignant, sometimes heart-rending, beautifully crafted, always gripping tale of loss and love, and the human need to try to set things right.” —Kevin Baker, author of The Big Crowd   “Pelletier’s writing is moving and enthralling . . . [She] keeps readers hooked right up to the book’s satisfying conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly

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  The Mercury Fountain - A Novel

  Eliza Factor

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  In an idealistic utopian community in the early twentieth-century West, a father and daughter engage in a battle of wills: “Transcendent.” —Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The House of Broken Angels   Set in a remote stretch of desert near the border of West Texas and Mexico at the turn of the twentieth century, this story follows the pursuits of Owen Scraperton as he struggles to establish Pristina, a utopian community based on mercury mining that aims to resolve the great questions of labor and race.   As age, love, and experience cause Owen to modify his original vision, his fiercely idealistic daughter Victoria remains true to Pristina’s founding principles—setting them up for a major conflict that captures the imagination of the entire town. The Mercury Fountain combines realistic modern writing with elements from American and Greco-Roman mythology, taking its cue from Mercury, the most slippery and mischievous of gods, who rules over science, commerce, eloquence, and thievery.   “Eliza Factor’s first novel, The Mercury Fountain, explores what happens when a life driven by ideology confronts implacable truths of science and human nature. It also shows how leaders can inflict damage by neglecting the real needs of real people. Though the action takes place between 1900 and 1923, the resonances feel alarmingly contemporary . . . Factor counters convention with a sharp sense of character, evocative subplots and the dangerous allure of mercury itself.” —The New York Times Book Review   “Factor develops her characters in entertaining ways while building a novel of social realism.” —Kirkus Reviews

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  My Daughter My Mother

  Annie Murray

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  In 1984 two young mothers meet at a toddler group in Birmingham. As their friendship grows, they share with each other the difficulties and secrets in their lives: 
  Joanne, a sweet, shy girl, is increasingly afraid of her husband. The lively, promising man she married has become hostile and violent and she is too ashamed to tell anyone. When her mother, Margaret is suddenly rushed into hospital, the bewildered family find that there are things about their mother of which they had no idea. Margaret was evacuated from Birmingham as a child and has spent years avoiding the pain of her childhood - but finds that you can't run from the past forever. 
  Sooky, kind and good-natured, has already been through one disastrous marriage and is back at home living with her parents. But being 'disgraced' is not easy. Her mother, Meena, refuses to speak to Sooky. At first her silence seems like a punishment, but Sooky gradually realizes it contains emotions which are far more complicated and that her mother may need her help. Meena has spent twenty years trying to fit in with life in Birmingham, and to deal with the conflicts within her between east and west, old ways and new. 
  My Daughter, My Mother by Annie Murray, and read by Penelope Freeman, is the story of two young women discovering the heartbreak of their mothers' lives, and of how mothers create daughters - and learn from them.

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  Song of the Sun God

  Shankari Chandran

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  Nala and Rajan, a young couple, begin their married life in 1946, on the eve of Ceylon's independence from Britain.  Arranged in marriage, they learn to love each other and protect their growing family, against the backdrop of increasing ethnic tension.As the country descends into a bloody civil war, Nala and Rajan must decide which path is best for their family; and live with the consequences of their mistakes.Over time, Nala and Rajan teach their family why some parts of their history and heritage are worth holding onto; and why some parts and people have to be left behind.Song of the Sun God spans three continents and three generations of a family that remains dedicated to its homeland, whilst learning to embrace its new home.Funny at times, warm and tender at others, we see Nala and Rajan's family navigate war, migration, old loyalties and new beginnings, relying on the philosophy of their religion, their ancestors and each other.Song of the Sun God is about the wisdom, mistakes and sacrifices of our past that enable us to live more freely in the future. It is about finding home and forgiving family.'Shabana Azeez is a soft-voiced narrator for this family epic set amid the transformation of Ceylon from a British colony into the nation of Sri Lanka. She delivers in rich detail the love story and dilemmas facing Nala and Rajan, two young people who become parents at a turbulent time in their emerging nation. Azeez inspires affection and sympathy from listeners, who may be unfamiliar with this history. For fans of international literature, this is a wonderful listening experience. Azeez takes listeners from the lives of parents Nala and Rajan to the lives of their children and even their grandchildren as the consequences of not-so-simple decisions echo down the generations. Azeez has listeners hanging on every word.' AudioFile

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  Of War And Weddings

  Jerry Yellin

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  Of War and Weddings is a moving and compelling true story of bitter wartime enemies who find peace through their children's marriage. A mysterious force that weaves its way into the lives of the Yellin and Yamakawa families ends up healing the wounds of war and nurturing a legacy of freedom and understanding for the children of America and Japan. We experience Jerry Yellin's destiny from childhood to retirement. We feel his joys, his loves, and his pains. We experience the process of healing as it occurs and are moved to discover that the legacy of two fathers is an inheritance intended for us all.

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  The Patriots

  Vivian Stuart

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  The fifteenth book in the dramatic and intriguing story about the colonisation of Australia: a country made of blood, passion, and dreams.
   
  After being accused of high treason, Michael Wexford seeks revenge upon those who took everything from him.
   
  It is 19th century Australia: Irishman Michael Wexford is unravelling his existence in the penal colonies after defying the justice system. Considered a criminal beyond reform or redemption, Michael plots his revenge. Meanwhile, siblings Kitty and Patrick Cadogan venture out to the Norfolk Island in search of their brother, praying that he is not the miscreant everyone makes him out to be.

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