Far Creek Road - A Novel

Lesley Krueger

Casa editrice: ECW Press

Sinossi

“With the charming and very funny Tink, Krueger has created an unforgettable character whose innocent curiosity busts through the societal conventions of early 1960s Canada. This is a masterful depiction of an atmosphere tense with fear and fuelled by grownup transgressions, where adult morality is contaminated by politics that tear communities apart.” — Sheila Murray, author of Finding Edward

It’s 1961, and Mary Alice (Tink) Parker lives with her parents in a Vancouver suburb where many fathers are traumatized veterans of the Second World War and almost all the mothers are housewives. They believe they’ve earned secure and prosperous lives after the sacrifices they made during the war. But under the conformist veneer seethe conflicts and secrets that make the serenity of Grouse Valley precarious.

This is the story of the unravelling of a neighbourhood. It’s told by Tink, an eccentric child who is funny, observant, and impossibly nosy, who has an unnerving tendency to blurt whatever’s on her mind. Bucolic at first, the story darkens as McCarthy-era paranoia infects the adults and spills over into the lives of the children. The parents of Tink’s best friend Norman are schoolteachers with leftist beliefs. When the Cuban Missile Crisis threatens, Norman’s parents face a witch hunt while the boy becomes a target of bullies. Tink does her best to defend Norman. But as she looks for help, she stumbles on a web of secrets that triggers events beyond anyone’s control. Gripping and perceptive, the novel portrays a divided era with eerie similarities to our own.

Disponibile da: 24/10/2023.

Lunghezza di stampa: 304 pagine.

1 Commenti

Book of the Week 11/10/2023

Krueger’s latest novel takes readers on a rollercoaster ride through McCarthy-era paranoia, the Cuban Missile Crisis and suburban hypocrisy in 1960s Canada. Through the eyes of the 9-year-old Tink, Krueger skillfully exposes the conflicts and secrets simmering beneath the seemingly serene surface of a Vancouver suburb.

The Horton’s are new in town and their leftist views are a thorn in many people’s eyes. Tink’s friendship with their son, Norman, unwittingly makes her a witness to a personally motivated defamation campaign against the Hortons, taking its toll on the children. Tink’s innocent yet keen perspective adds a special charm to the novel. Her character is cheeky, curious, observant and reflective, offering readers a refreshing lens to observe unfolding events.

Another highlight lies in the stark contrast between Tink’s open-minded innocence and the adults’ secrecy. As Tink navigates the complexities of loyalty, friendship and the consequences of choice, her childhood innocence abruptly comes to an end. The result is a powerful and thought-provoking read that weaves together historical tensions and personal struggles in a compelling narrative.

Discover more book recommendations on https://www.24symbols.com/24stories/en/the-best-books-of-the-moment/

Autore

Lesley Krueger

Questa è la pagina di Lesley Krueger su 24symbols. Qui puoi scoprire e leggere i suoi libri.

Altri libri di questo autore

Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

Nirmala

Munshi Premchand

A young bride. An aging husband. A life shaped by sacrifice. 
Set in early 20th-century India, Nirmala tells the poignant story of a teenage girl forced into a marriage with a much older widower after her family’s financial collapse. As Nirmala adjusts to her new reality, her dignity and resilience are tested by jealousy, suspicion, and the deep emotional divides within her household. 
Premchand’s powerful novel confronts the injustices of the dowry system, gender roles, and class expectations, through characters drawn with empathy and complexity. 
A moving exploration of tradition, morality, and silent suffering, Nirmala remains one of the most enduring works of Hindi literature.

Mostra libro

In Colonial Days

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Travel back in time to the days of the American colonies with Nathaniel Hawthorne's "In Colonial Days." This collection of stories paints a vivid picture of life in early America, complete with historical details, richly drawn characters, and Hawthorne's signature blend of wit and insight. From tales of Puritan punishment to humorous anecdotes about colonial life, these stories offer a fascinating glimpse into a bygone era. Immerse yourself in Hawthorne's timeless prose and discover the world of the American colonies like never before.

Mostra libro

Amazons - Revolution

Christopher Allen

Set in ancient Greece 4,000 years ago, "Amazons - Revolution" tells the story of a society where Amazon women rule as warrior queens while men are enslaved as servants and breeding stock. The protagonist, Damon, is a 25-year-old male servant who has known nothing but oppression his entire life, forced to clean, serve, and submit to the whims of his Amazon mistresses.
The story begins when Queen Penthesilea publicly humiliates Damon, but this encounter awakens something within him—a realization that the Amazons, despite their claims of superiority, are mortal and dependent on their male slaves for everything from weapons to food. This revelation sparks the first flames of rebellion in his mind.
Damon carefully begins organizing a resistance movement among the male servants, using the palace's hidden passages and service networks to spread his message. The catalyst comes during the brutal Festival of Artemis, where Damon witnesses Amazon cruelty firsthand and sees a gladiator's defiant final act prove that Amazons can bleed and die like anyone else.
When Queen Penthesilea departs with half her forces for a military campaign, Damon seizes the opportunity to launch a coordinated uprising. The rebels successfully capture Themiscyra, but their victory is short-lived as Penthesilea returns with her army, leading to a climactic battle.
The turning point comes through Hippolyta, the queen's sister, who begins to question the Amazon system of oppression after witnessing the rebels' honor and dignity. In a final confrontation, Hippolyta sacrifices herself to convince her sister that true strength lies in cooperation, not domination.
Moved by her sister's dying words and the devastation around her, Queen Penthesilea chooses to end the cycle of violence. She extends her hand to Damon in a gesture of equality, beginning a new era where Amazons and men work together as equals rather than oppressors and oppressed.

Mostra libro

Blood of the Warlord

Griff Hosker

The warlord, his son and even his grandchildren are all dead. Sacrificed by kings who used them. Now King Henry asks the great-grandsons of the Warlord to help his son, The Lord Edward, learn how to rule. Sent with too few men and too many enemies, Sir Henry Samuel, Sir Alfred and the newly knighted Sir Thomas must learn how to use their skills, not in the familiar borderlands but in Gascony where insurrection and treason have reared their heads.

Mostra libro

The Last Carolina Girl

Meagan Church

Some folks will do anything to break the wild spirit of a Carolina girl 
 
For fourteen-year-old Leah Payne, life in her beloved coastal Carolina town is as simple as it is free. Devoted to her lumberjack father and running through the wilds where the forest meets the shore, Leah’s country life is as natural to her as the loblolly pines that rise to greet the Southern sky. 
 
When an accident takes her father’s life, Leah is wrenched from her small community and cast into a family of strangers with a terrible secret. Separated from her only home, Leah is kept apart from the family and forced to act as a helpmate for the well-to-do household. When a moment of violence and  
prejudice thrusts Leah into the center of the state’s shameful darkness, she must fight for her own future against a world that doesn’t always value the wild spirit of a Carolina girl. 
 
Set in 1935 against the very real backdrop of a recently formed state eugenics board, The Last Carolina Girl is a powerful and heart-wrenching story of fierce strength, forgotten history, autonomy, and the places and people we ultimately call home.

Mostra libro

The Map Colorist - A Novel

Rebecca D'Harlingue

In 1660, Amsterdam is the trading and map-printing capital of the world. Anneke van Brug is one of the colorists paid to enhance black-and-white maps for a growing number of collectors. Her artistic talent brings her to the attention of the Blaeu printing house, and she begins to color for a rich merchant, Willem de Groot. But Anneke is not content to simply embellish the work of others; she longs to create maps of her own. Cartography, however, is the domain of men—so it is in secret that she borrows the notes her father made on a trip to Africa in 1642 and sets about designing a new map. 
Anneke hopes to convince the charismatic de Groot to use his influence to persuade Blaeu to include her map in the Atlas Maior, which will be the largest and most expensive publication of the century. But family secrets, infidelity, and murder endanger her dream. Will her map withstand these threats, or will it be forever lost?

Mostra libro