“’Twas the night before shinny and all through the woods, / not a maple leaf fluttered, so all was still good.” While several pale-skinned human youngsters are “nestled and snug in their beds,” the animal hockey players gather on the ice, readying themselves for a game of shinny. A blue jay serves as referee, while […]
Doug Fir is eager to change color, hibernate, or migrate; he observes these phenomena around him every autumn and pines for transformation or even transplantation. Unable to cease chlorophyll production, he sadly must be “forever green.” His migrating friend Robin drops the bombshell news that palm trees are evergreens, too, and carries Doug’s letter bemoaning […]
Two stories are told in parallel: scenes of a dad with his child, rendered in mostly blue with English dialogue, and scenes depicting a mother and her child, portrayed in a yellow and sepia palette, in Vietnamese. Both kids are learning to ride a bike—a process marked by falls and tears of frustration. Phi’s succinct […]
When Mama Opossum goes out foraging, all 10 of her joeys come along for the ride, clinging to her back. When she stumbles and falls, all 10 roll off in different directions. Readers are invited to join Mama Opossum in searching the nighttime forest. (“There’s no time to lose. Let’s get to work!”) She finds […]
It’s March of 1942. Ireland is determined to maintain its neutrality in the war, which the government refers to as the “Emergency.” But there’s dissension all around; some favor the Germans, believing that they offer the best road to a reunited Ireland. Others favor alliance with the Allies. Mixed into this chaotic cauldron is a […]
Dolly Parton’s humble origins in a two-room Tennessee cabin in the Smoky Mountains with no electricity or running water were a surprising beginning for this global superstar. She was born in 1946 as the fourth of 12 children and her early years were characterized by minimal resources, but, as Parton says, they “were rich in […]
In what could ostensibly be called a “space opera,” Van Shamrai’s novel gets off to a rip-roaring start as a shuttle carrying astrophysicist Gaag Zorb and cryobiologist Zara Espen suddenly crashes over Arabia. The two protagonists emerge from the wreckage to discover a putrid world of sand and fog inhabited by strange humanoid creatures whom […]
“Like food, songs too can speak without words,” writes the Seattle-based author at one point in this offbeat memoir. “A melody stirs a memory as a dish summons nostalgia. Both speak the language of the heart.” This creative book isn’t merely about the author’s love of music, though, but also her love of cooking, and […]
As World War II winds down in 1945, Commander M.T. Kwan returns from serving with the British to his war-ravaged hometown of Guilin, China. As the Japanese pull back, Kwan—aka The Dragon—hopes to retrieve his family from where they’ve taken refuge farther inland. Colonel Lindsay Ride, his commandant with the British Army Aid Group, shows […]
First published in 1995 and 1996, Fosse’s Melancholy novels predate his much-admired Septology books, his best-known work among English readers. Fans of those books will detect the emergence of his signature style here—recursive, musical, stream-of-consciousness prose that circles hawklike over themes of art, faith, and death. Fosse’s subject is Lars Hertervig (1830-1902), a painter who […]