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Ru

Ru

by Kim Thuy

Paperback, 160 pages, Bloomsbury USA, $14, published November 27 2012 | purchase
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  • Kim Thuy

A refugee of the Vietnam War seeks a new life in Quebec, but encounters new challenges when her younger son is diagnosed with autism. Translated by Sheila Fischman.

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The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You

The Battlefield Where the Moon Says I Love You

by Frank Stanford

Paperback, 542 pages, Small Pr Distribution, $25, published June 1 2000 | purchase
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  • Frank Stanford
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Wolf Hall

Wolf Hall

by Hilary Mantel

Paperback, 604 pages, St Martins Pr, $16, published August 31 2010 | purchase
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  • Wolf Hall
  • Hilary Mantel

Assuming the power recently lost by the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell counsels a mercurial Henry VIII on the latter's efforts to marry Anne Boleyn against the wishes of Rome, a successful endeavor that comes with a dangerous price.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner

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Bring Up the Bodies

Bring Up The Bodies

by Hilary Mantel

Paperback, 432 pages, Picador, $16, published May 7 2013 | purchase
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  • Bring Up The Bodies
  • Hilary Mantel

The spark has gone out of Henry VIII's second marriage. When his roving eye leaves Anne Boleyn and begins to settle on Jane Seymour, another woman at court, the monarch turns to his chief adviser, Thomas Cromwell, for help. Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies is the second book in a planned trilogy about Cromwell.NPR Bestseller

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Flight Behavior

Flight Behavior

by Barbara Kingsolver

Paperback, 436 pages, HarperCollins, $28.99, published November 6 2012 | purchase
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  • Flight Behavior
  • Barbara Kingsolver

Tired of living on a failing farm and suffering oppressive poverty, bored housewife Dellarobia Turnbow, on the way to meet a potential lover, is detoured by a miraculous event on the Appalachian mountainside. It ignites a media and religious firestorm that changes her life forever.NPR Bestseller

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Gone Girl

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

Hardcover, 416 pages, Crown Publishing, $25, published June 5 2012 | purchase
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  • Gone Girl
  • Gillian Flynn

After a woman disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, her diary reveals hidden turmoil in her marriage. Her husband, desperate to clear himself of suspicion, realizes that something more disturbing than murder may have occurred.NPR Bestseller

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The Round House

by Louise Erdrich

Hardcover, 321 pages, Harper, $27.99, published October 2 2012 | purchase
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  • The Round House
  • Louise Erdrich

When his mother, a tribal enrollment specialist on a reservation in North Dakota, slips into an abyss of depression after being brutally attacked, 13-year-old Joe Coutts sets out with his three friends to find the person who destroyed his family.NPR Bestseller

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Sweet Tooth

Sweet Tooth

by Ian McEwan

Hardcover, 352 pages, Random House Inc, $26.95, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Sweet Tooth
  • Ian McEwan

Recruited into MI5 against a backdrop of the Cold War in 1972, Cambridge student Serena Frome, a compulsive reader, is assigned to infiltrate the literary circle of a promising young writer whose politics align with those of the government.NPR Bestseller

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The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy

by J.K. Rowling

Hardcover, 503 pages, Little, Brown & Company, $35, published September 27 2012 | purchase
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  • The Casual Vacancy
  • J.K. Rowling

The early death of a small-town councilman reveals deep-rooted conflicts in the seemingly idyllic community of Pagford, which rapidly deteriorates in the face of cultural disputes, generation clashes and a volatile election.NPR Bestseller

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Dear Life

Dear Life

Stories

by Alice Munro

Hardcover, 319 pages, Knopf, $26.95, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Dear Life
  • Stories
  • Alice Munro

A new collection of stories by the author of The View from Castle Rock illuminates moments that shape a life — from a dream or a sexual act to simple twists of fate — and is set in the countryside and towns of Lake Huron.NPR Bestseller

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The Yellow Birds

The Yellow Birds

by Kevin Powers

Paperback, 230 pages, Little Brown & Co, $14.99, published April 30 2013 | purchase
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  • The Yellow Birds
  • Kevin Powers

In Al Tafar, Iraq, 21-year-old Pvt. John Bartle and 18-year-old Pvt. Daniel Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. The two men do all they can to protect each other from the forces that are pressing in: the insurgents, physical fatigue and the mental stress that comes from constant danger. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes actions he could never have imagined.NPR Bestseller

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This Is How You Lose Her

This Is How You Lose Her

by Junot Diaz

Hardcover, 213 pages, Riverhead Hardcover, $26.95, published September 11 2012 | purchase
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  • This Is How You Lose Her
  • Junot Diaz

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents a lyrical collection of stories that explore the heartbreak and radiance of love as it is shaped by passion, betrayal and the echoes of intimacy.NPR Bestseller

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The Art Forger

The Art Forger

by B.A. Shapiro

Hardcover, 360 pages, Algonquin Books, $23.95, published October 23 2012 | purchase
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  • The Art Forger
  • B.A. Shapiro

An artist whose reputation has been tarnished stumbles on a piece of art that disappeared 25 years ago and agrees to forge it for a gallery owner — until she realizes that the art she is forging may itself be a forgery.NPR Bestseller

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Telegraph Avenue

Telegraph Avenue

by Michael Chabon

Hardcover, 480 pages, Harper, $27.99, published September 11 2012 | purchase
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  • Telegraph Avenue
  • Michael Chabon

Two longtime friends and bandmates are co-regents of Brokeland Records, a kingdom of used vinyl. Their wives are the Berkeley Birth Partners, two semi-legendary midwives. When an ex–NFL quarterback announces plans to build his latest megastore nearby, Nat and Archy fear it means certain doom for their little enterprise. Meanwhile, their wives also find themselves caught up in a battle for their professional existence.NPR Bestseller

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Back To Blood

Back To Blood

by Tom Wolfe

Hardcover, 704 pages, Little, Brown and Company, $30, published October 23 2012 | purchase
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  • Back To Blood
  • Tom Wolfe

A colorful cast of residents and visitors to Miami go about their daily activities, both legal and illegal. NPR Bestseller

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Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

by David Mitchell

Paperback, 514 pages, Random House, $15, published October 2 2012 | purchase
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  • Cloud Atlas
  • David Mitchell

David Mitchell, author of Number9Dream, recounts the connected stories of people from the past and the distant future, from a 19th century notary and an investigative journalist in the 1970s to a young man who searches for meaning in a post-apocalyptic world.NPR Bestseller

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Life of Pi

Life Of Pi

by Yann Martel

Paperback, 319 pages, Mariner Books, $15.95, published October 2 2012 | purchase
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  • Life Of Pi
  • Yann Martel

After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan, a 450-pound Bengal tiger and Pi, a 16-year-old Indian boy. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent years.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Paperback, 213 pages, MTV Books, $14, published August 14 2012 | purchase
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  • The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
  • Stephen Chbosky

In a thought-provoking, coming-of-age novel, teenager Charlie struggles to cope with the complex world of high school. He deals with the confusions of sex and love, the temptations of drugs and the pain of losing a close friend and favorite aunt.NPR Bestseller

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fifty shades of grey

Fifty Shades Of Grey

by E.L. James

Paperback, 528 pages, Vintage, $15.95, published April 3 2012 | purchase
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  • Fifty Shades Of Grey
  • E.L. James

Growing out of a piece of fan fiction that recast Twilight's Bella and Edward in sexier scenarios, Fifty Shades of Grey tells the steamy affair of a student journalist and an intriguing young entrepreneur.NPR Bestseller

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The Sense of an Ending

The Sense Of An Ending

by Julian Barnes

Paperback, 163 pages, Random House Inc, $14.95, published May 29 2012 | purchase
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  • The Sense Of An Ending
  • Julian Barnes

Tony Webster is a retired divorced man in his mid-60s who, after receiving notice of an unexpected bequest, is pulled back into a "powerful recollection of strong emotions" from his past. This leads to a reassessment of the accuracy of his memories, a rueful realization of how much he'd gotten wrong, and a harsh re-evaluation of his passive approach to life.NPR Bestseller, Literary Award Winner

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The Night Circus

The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

Paperback, 516 pages, Anchor, $15, published July 3 2012 | purchase
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  • The Night Circus
  • Erin Morgenstern

Waging a fierce competition for which they have trained since childhood, circus magicians Celia and Marco unexpectedly fall in love and share a fantastical romance that manifests in fateful ways.NPR Bestseller

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State of Wonder

State Of Wonder

by Ann Patchett

Paperback, 353 pages, HarperCollins, $15.99, published May 8 2012 | purchase
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  • State Of Wonder
  • Ann Patchett

A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh must step out of her comfort zone when she is sent into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years — a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past.NPR Bestseller

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The Marriage Plot

The Marriage Plot

by Jeffrey Eugenides

Paperback, 406 pages, Picador, $16, published September 4 2012 | purchase
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  • The Marriage Plot
  • Jeffrey Eugenides

Madeleine Hanna breaks out of her straight-and-narrow mold when she falls in love with charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead, while an old friend resurfaces, obsessed with the idea that Madeleine is his destiny.NPR Bestseller

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The Language of Flowers

The Language Of Flowers

A Novel

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Paperback, 334 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published April 3 2012 | purchase
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  • The Language Of Flowers
  • A Novel
  • Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Victoria, the orphaned heroine of Vanessa Diffenbaugh's debut novel, is privy to a secret language of flowers that dates to Victorian England.NPR Bestseller

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Rules of Civility

Rules Of Civility

by Amor Towles

Paperback, 335 pages, Penguin Group USA, $16, published June 26 2012 | purchase
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  • Rules Of Civility
  • Amor Towles

A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multimillionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well and a single-minded widow. NPR Bestseller

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The Snow Child

The Snow Child

by Eowyn Ivey

Paperback, 391 pages, Reagan Arthur/Back Bay Books, $14.99, published November 6 2012 | purchase
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  • The Snow Child
  • Eowyn Ivey

A childless couple working on a farm in the brutal landscape of 1920 Alaska discover a little girl living in the wilderness with a red fox and begin to love the strange, almost supernatural child as their own.NPR Bestseller

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The Towers of Trebizond

The Towers of Trebizond

by Rose Macaulay

Paperback, 277 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, $15, published October 30 2012 | purchase
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  • The Towers of Trebizond
  • Rose Macaulay

This new edition of Rose Macaulay's 1956 novel follows Aunt Dot, Father Hugh-Chantry-Pigg and Laurie as they travel through Turkey in order to spread the blessings of the Anglican Church.

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Heft

Heft

by Liz Moore

Paperback, 352 pages, W W Norton & Co Inc, $15.95, published September 4 2012 | purchase
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  • Heft
  • Liz Moore

An obese former academic shut-in and a poor kid dreaming of a successful baseball career are linked together by a former student who transforms their lives.

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Among Others

Among Others

by Jo Walton

Paperback, 302 pages, Tor Books, $14.99, published January 3 2012 | purchase
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  • Among Others
  • Jo Walton

Startling, unusual and irresistibly readable, Among Others is at once the compelling story of a young woman struggling to escape a troubled childhood, a brilliant diary of first encounters with the great novels of modern fantasy and science fiction and a spellbinding tale of escape from ancient enchantment.

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The Double Game

The Double Game

by Dan Fesperman

Hardcover, 355 pages, Knopf, $26.95, published August 21 2012 | purchase
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  • The Double Game
  • Dan Fesperman

Decades after his favorite author confesses that he considered spying for the enemy during the Cold War, former journalist Bill Cage follows a trail of literary bread crumbs through Vienna, Prague and Budapest to discover links between the author, a beautiful woman and the CIA.

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Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity

by Elizabeth Wein

Hardcover, 343 pages, Hyperion Book CH, $16.99, published May 15 2012 | purchase
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  • Code Name Verity
  • Elizabeth Wein

In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage and great courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping secret all that she can.

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The Paris Wife

The Paris Wife

by Paula McLain

Paperback, 331 pages, Random House Inc, $15, published November 27 2012 | purchase
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  • The Paris Wife
  • Paula McLain

The Paris Wife follows the life of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, as she navigates 1920s Paris.NPR Bestseller

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The Artist of Disappearance

The Artist of Disappearance

by Anita Desai

Paperback, 156 pages, Mariner Books, $13.95, published November 20 2012 | purchase
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  • The Artist of Disappearance
  • Anita Desai

Set in modern India, these three novellas move beyond the cities to places still haunted by the past, and to characters who are, each in their own way, masters of self-effacement. An unnamed government official is called upon to inspect a faded mansion of forgotten treasures where he discovers a surprise "relic." A translator blurs the line between writer and translator, and in so doing risks unraveling her desires and achievements. In the title novella, a hermit hidden away in the woods with a secret is discovered by a film crew, which compels him to withdraw even further until he magically disappears.

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Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

by Ben Fountain

Paperback, 307 pages, Ecco, $14.99, published November 27 2012 | purchase
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  • Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
  • Ben Fountain

Spc. William Billy Lynn, one of the eight surviving men of the Bravo Squad, finds his life forever changed when he's asked to be part of the Dallas Cowboys' halftime show.

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The Art of Fielding

The Art of Fielding

by Chad Harbach

Paperback, 544 pages, Back Bay Books, $14.99, published May 1 2012 | purchase
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  • The Art of Fielding
  • Chad Harbach

A baseball star at a small college near Lake Michigan launches a routine throw that goes disastrously off course and inadvertently changes the lives of five people, including the college president, a gay teammate and the president's daughter.NPR Bestseller

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Cross Roads

Cross Roads

by Wm. Paul Young

Hardcover, 290 pages, FaithWords, $24.99, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Cross Roads
  • Wm. Paul Young

Anthony Spencer is egotistical, proud of being a self-made business success at the peak of his game, even though the cost of winning was painfully high. A cerebral hemorrhage leaves Tony comatose in a hospital ICU. He 'awakens' to find himself in a surreal world, a 'living' landscape that mirrors dimensions of his earthly life, from the beautiful to the corrupt.

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Bartholomew Biddle

Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind

by Gary Ross

Hardcover, 96pp, Candlewick, $17.99, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • Bartholomew Biddle and the Very Big Wind
  • Gary Ross

This first book from film director Gary Ross stars young Bartholomew Biddle, whose otherwise ordinary life takes a turn for adventure when he catches a ride on the titular very big wind. Illustrated by Matthew Myers.

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Home

Home

by Toni Morrison

Hardcover, 144 pages, Knopf, $24, published May 8 2012 | purchase
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  • Home
  • Toni Morrison

Embittered Korean War veteran Frank Money struggles against trauma and racism to rescue his medically abused sister and work through identity-shattering memories.NPR Bestseller

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Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

Hardcover, 304 pages, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $25, published October 2 2012 | purchase
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  • Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
  • Robin Sloan

After a layoff during the Great Recession sidelines his tech career, Clay Jannon takes a job at the titular bookstore in San Francisco; he soon realizes that the establishment is a facade for a strange secret.NPR Bestseller

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Sabbath's Theater

Sabbath's Theater

by Philip Roth

Paperback, 451 pages, Random House Inc, $16, published August 1 1996 | purchase
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  • Sabbath's Theater
  • Philip Roth

The death of his mistress sends Mickey Sabbath, an audacious libertine and onetime producer, on a psychic journey into his past

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The Testament of Mary

The Testament Of Mary

by Colm Toibin

Hardcover, 81 pages, Scribner, $19.99, published November 13 2012 | purchase
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  • The Testament Of Mary
  • Colm Toibin

A provocative imagining of the later years of the mother of Jesus finds her living a solitary existence in Ephesus years after her son's crucifixion and struggling with guilt, anger and feelings that her son is not the son of God and that His sacrifice was not for a worthy cause.

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