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Three Strong Women
Marie NDiaye's novel follows the stories of three women who discover the power of saying no. Norah, a lawyer born in France, must travel to Senegal to save a victim of her tyrannical father; Fanta, a Dakar teacher, finds her happiness thwarted by a depressed boyfriend; and Khady, a penniless widow, is desperate to escape homelessness. Between Africa and Europe, these women discover their strength. Translated by John Fletcher.
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Stoner
William Stoner, born at the end of the 19th century into a dirt-poor Missouri farming family, falls in love with English literature and embraces a scholar's life. As the years pass, Stoner encounters a succession of disappointments, including a marriage that estranges him from his parents, a stymied career and a love that ends under threat of scandal, causing him to rediscover the stoic silence of his forebears.
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The Woman Upstairs
Relegated to the status of schoolteacher and friendly neighbor after abandoning her dreams of becoming an artist, Nora advocates on behalf of a charismatic Lebanese student and is drawn into the child's family until his artist mother's careless ambition leads to a shattering betrayal. NPR Bestseller
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And the Mountains Echoed
The author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns presents a story inspired by human love, how people take care of one another and how choices resonate through subsequent generations.
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You Are One of Them
A first novel by a Pushcart Prize-winning writer traces the friendship between all-American girl Jenny and Sarah, the shy daughter of troubled parents, during the height of the Cold War, a bond that is nearly shattered by Jenny's unexpected fame and plane crash death that Sarah learns a decade later might have been a hoax.
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Americanah
Separated by respective ambitions after falling in love in occupied Nigeria, beautiful Ifemelu experiences triumph and defeat in America while exploring new concepts of race, while Obinze endures an undocumented status in London. When the pair is reunited in their homeland 15 years later, they face the toughest decisions of their lives.
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Pacific
In Los Angeles to reunite with the mother who abandoned him seven years ago, 14-year-old Micah Darling finds himself way out of his league. Meanwhile, back home in the Midwest, his half-sister Lyris and their father Tiny find their lives unsettled by the arrival of an ethereal young woman.
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All That Is
Returning to America after World War II, former naval officer Philip Bowman finds a position as a book editor and loses himself in a world of intimate connections and surprising triumphs, until he is betrayed by the woman he loves.NPR Bestseller
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The Orphan Master's Son
A Novel
Pak Jun Do, the son of an influential father who runs an orphan work camp, rises to prominence using instinctive talents and eventually becomes a professional kidnapper and romantic rival to Kim Jong Il.NPR Bestseller
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The Orchardist
When two skittish pregnant girls appear on his homestead, solitary orchardist Talmadge — who carefully tends the grove of fruit trees he has cultivated for nearly half a century — vows to save and protect them. The Orchardist evokes a powerful sense of place in the American West, mixing tenderness and violence as Talmadge tries to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past and faces the dramatic consequences of his actions.NPR Bestseller
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The Burgess Boys
Catalyzed by a nephew's thoughtless prank, two brothers confront painful issues surrounding the freak accident that killed their father when they were boys, a loss linked to a heartbreaking deception that shaped their lives. NPR Bestseller
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The Interestings
Forging a powerful bond in the mid-1970s that lasts throughout subsequent decades, six individuals pursue respective challenges into their midlife years, including an aspiring actress who harbors jealousy toward friends who achieve successful creative careers. NPR Bestseller
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Tenth Of December
A collection of stories includes "Home," a wryly whimsical account of a soldier's return from war; "Victory Lap," a tale about an inventive abduction attempt; and the title story, in which a suicidal cancer patient saves the life of a young misfit.NPR Bestseller
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The Dinner
Meeting at an Amsterdam restaurant for dinner, two couples move from small talk to the wrenching shared challenge of their teenage sons' act of violence that has triggered a police investigation and revealed the extent to which each family will go to protect those it loves.NPR Bestseller
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The Polish Boxer
The narrator, a Guatemalan literature professor, encounters a number of interesting characters, including a Serbian classical pianist, a young Israeli woman, and a Mayan poet, before persuing his most enigmatic subject--himself.
