Join us on a literary world trip!
Add this book to bookshelf
Grey
Write a new comment Default profile 50px
Grey
Subscribe to read the full book or read the first pages for free!
I want to read the book!
All characters reduced
The Half-life of Snails - cover

The Half-life of Snails

Philippa Holloway

Publisher: Parthian Books

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Summary

'a novel that shimmers with compassion... the author has crafted a tale that will linger longer than the half-life of many other books you will read this year.' – Alex Lockwood, author of The Chernobyl Privileges
'A careful, tender and arresting story that explores how we're formed by the places we think we own – I was moved by this suspenseful and delicate novel.' – Jenn Ashworth, author of Ghosted
Two sisters, two nuclear power stations, one child caught in the middle...
When Helen, a self-taught prepper and single mother, leaves her young son Jack with her sister for a few days so she can visit Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone, they both know the situation will be tense. Helen opposes plans for a new power station on the coast of Anglesey that will take over the family's farmland, and Jennifer works for the nuclear industry and welcomes the plans for the good of the economy.
But blood is thicker than heavy water, and both want to reconnect somehow, with Jack perhaps the key to a new understanding of one another.
Yet while Helen is forced to face up to childhood traumas, and her worst fears regarding nuclear disaster, during a trip that sees her caught up in political violence and trapped in Chernobyl's Exclusion Zone during the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, Jennifer too must discover that even the smallest decision can have catastrophic and long-lasting effects, both within the nuclear industry, and within the home.
And Jack isn't like other five-year olds... as they will both discover with devastating consequences.
Available since: 05/04/2022.
Print length: 380 pages.

Other books that might interest you

  • C S Lewis in America - Readings and Reception 1935–1947 - cover

    C S Lewis in America - Readings...

    Mark A. Noll

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    "An invaluable assessment of Lewis's reception in the United States, offering important insights into both Lewis's significance and the distinctives of the American religious mind." – Alister McGrath, Oxford University
Perhaps no other literary figure has transformed the American religious landscape in recent history as much as C. S. Lewis. Even before the international publication and incredible success of his fictional works such as The Chronicles of Narnia or apologetic works like Mere Christianity, Lewis was already being read "across the pond" in America. But who exactly was reading his work? And how was he received?
With fresh research and shrewd analysis, this volume by noted historian Mark A. Noll considers the surprising reception of Lewis among Roman Catholic, mainline Protestant, and evangelical readers to see how early readings of the Oxford don shaped his later influence.
Based on the annual lecture series hosted at Wheaton College's Marion E. Wade Center, volumes in the Hansen Series reflect on the imaginative work and lasting influence of seven British authors: Owen Barfield, G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams.
    Show book
  • Every Weapon I Had - A Vietnam Vet's Long Road to the Medal of Honor - cover

    Every Weapon I Had - A Vietnam...

    Paris Davis

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    The story of a Green Beret commander's heroism during the Vietnam War, and the long fight to recognize his bravery.When Col. Paris Davis was selected to lead one of the Green Beret A-teams organizing resistance to Communist incursions into South Vietnam, his commanding officer warned him that some of his soldiers would resent his authority. This was no surprise; there were only a handful of Black officers in the Special Forces. Davis quickly won the respect of his soldiers, and would soon fight beside him as bullets snapped past and mortars exploded overhead.On June 18th, Davis led a group of inexperienced locals and Special Forces soldiers in an attack on a Viet Cong base in Bong Son. They were met by a superior enemy force, and Davis led the charge in a grueling firefight. He was seriously wounded, but he disobeyed a direct order to retreat until he dragged three injured Green Berets off the battlefield to safety.Every Weapon I Had is an inspiring tale of valor and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of major escalations in both the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. It is also a story of deferred honor and delayed recognition; Davis earned the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions, but his nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor was repeatedly “lost.” No official reason has ever been given for this oversight, but those who fought to correct it believe that it was motivated by racial prejudice. Davis was finally awarded the Medal in 2023, 58 years after the battle.A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
    Show book
  • In the Penal Colony - cover

    In the Penal Colony

    Franz Kafka

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    "In the Penal Colony" is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence. The story is set in an unnamed penal colony and describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the commandment that the condemned prisoner has transgressed on his skin as he slowly dies over the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin and original justification.
    Show book
  • Permanent War for Permanent Peace with Robert Anton Wilson - cover

    Permanent War for Permanent...

    Robert Anton Wilson

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Recorded more than 3 decades ago, this BetterLIsten Classic course features Robert Anton Wilson in top form, discussing politics, science, and more. His incredible wit and humor shines light on subjects that are both personal and timeless. His commentary on politics, the human condition and yes, even conspiracy theories are prescient and entirely relevant tot eh precarous state of the society in 2022. In this lecture Robert Anton Wilson speaks of how wars are fought in self defense rather than for profit. It is "A game without end." Once you have defined the world where you are surrounded by enemies who are collecting weapons to attack war becomes permanent out of fear. He believed he that every war results from the struggle for markets and spheres of influence, and every war is sold to the public by professional liars and totally sincere religious maniacs, as a Holy Crusade to save God and Goodness from Satan and Evil. 
    Show book
  • Maxims and Reflections - cover

    Maxims and Reflections

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    In Maxims and Reflections, Goethe distills a lifetime of wisdom into concise, thought-provoking aphorisms spanning art, nature, literature, philosophy, and the human condition. Drawn from his personal notebooks and conversations, these reflections reveal his deep insights into creativity, morality, and the interplay between reason and emotion. Rooted in Enlightenment ideals yet touched by Romantic sensibility, Goethe’s observations remain strikingly relevant, offering readers timeless guidance on living with purpose and understanding the world with clarity and wonder. A treasure trove of intellectual elegance and poetic depth.
    Show book
  • Digital Grooming - Discourses of Manipulation and Cyber-Crime - cover

    Digital Grooming - Discourses of...

    Nuria Lorenzo-Dus

    • 0
    • 0
    • 0 
    Illicit digital activity is a substantial and growing problem. Extremists' use of social media over the past decade or so has raised increasing concern among governments and media corporations alike. In Digital Grooming Nuria Lorenzo-Dus analyzes manipulation practices in digital spaces that are situated at, or beyond, the boundaries of law. Lorenzo-Dus identifies and examines in detail the online discourse of adults luring children for sexual abuse and exploitation (digital sexual grooming); extreme ideology groups aligning others to their views (digital ideological grooming); and drug dealers soliciting business in crypto markets (digital commercial grooming). With sophisticated style and stance analyses of large and varied datasets, the book reveals that digital sexual, ideological, and commercial grooming practices have much in common. Three stances—expertise, openness, and avidity—scaffold this manipulative work, which constructs groomers and their targets as sharing a homogenous identity. 
 
 
 
By shedding new light on grooming practices, this book provides a key resource for discourse analysis, forensic linguistics, communication, and media studies, as well as for practitioners aiming to counter online grooming through policy changes, detection software, and prevention-focused training to promote digital civility and safety.
    Show book