Mama says we must be ready, ready for that angel coming. High in the hills of Kentucky, a little girl eagerly awaits the arrival of a very special visitor -- an "angel" who, she is told, will come riding up the mountain on horseback, carrying a baby sister or brother in her saddlebag. Li'l sis is what I'm wanting. Li'l sis is what I'll call her. I'll braid her hair right pretty, brush it out most every night. But the "angel" is not exactly what the young narrator imagined, and neither is the precious bundle that comes when she least expects it. This gem of a story highlights a little-known piece of American history: the Frontier Nursing Service, a pioneering group of women who came to be called "angels on horseback."
How many times have you looked at a person and made a snap judgement of who and what the were? It is my opinion you should not make any preconceivieved judgements based on ignorance. Give that person an opportunity to show you who and what the are and most of the time you'll find an extraordinary individual, one you'd have missed if you'd based your acquaintance on your first glance. I made that mistake once and when I'd discovered my error, believe me, I have nerver done such a thing again. And that goes for persons of different, races, creeds and religions. We are all one, under the skin!
In this "raucous, moving, and necessary" story by a Pulitzer Prize finalist (San Francisco Chronicle), the De La Cruzes, a family on the Mexican-American border, celebrate two of their most beloved relatives during a joyous and bittersweet weekend. "All we do, mija, is love. Love is the answer. Nothing stops it. Not borders. Not death." In his final days, beloved and ailing patriarch Miguel Angel de La Cruz, affectionately called Big Angel, has summoned his entire clan for one last legendary birthday party. But as the party approaches, his mother, nearly one hundred, dies, transforming the weekend into a farewell doubleheader. Among the guests is Big Angel's half brother, known as Little Angel, who must reckon with the truth that although he shares a father with his siblings, he has not, as a half gringo, shared a life. Across two bittersweet days in their San Diego neighborhood, the revelers mingle among the palm trees and cacti, celebrating the lives of Big Angel and his mother, and recounting the many inspiring tales that have passed into family lore, the acts both ordinary and heroic that brought these citizens to a fraught and sublime country and allowed them to flourish in the land they have come to call home. Teeming with brilliance and humor, authentic at every turn, The House of Broken Angels is Luis Alberto Urrea at his best, and cements his reputation as a storyteller of the first rank. "Epic . . . Rambunctious . . . Highly entertaining." -- New York Times Book Review"Intimate and touching . . . the stuff of legend." -- San Francisco Chronicle"An immensely charming and moving tale." -- Boston GlobeNational Bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalistA New York Times Notable BookOne of the Best Books of the Year from National Public Radio, American Library Association, San Francisco Chronicle, BookPage, Newsday, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Literary Hub
The ninth novel in internationally acclaimed author Marie-Claire Blais’s extraordinary Soifs cycle, Songs for Angel is an impassioned interrogation of violence and hate that takes us into the soul of a white supremacist on the verge of a racist attack. In the penultimate installment of the magnificent and ambitious Soifs cycle, widely regarded as one of the most original and ambitious endeavors ever to be undertaken in contemporary literature, renowned novelist Marie-Claire Blais once again marries the highest artistic standards with the most pressing human and political concerns. Revisiting figures from the previous novels in a swirling fresco of more than a hundred characters, Blais also takes us into the soul of “the Young Man,” a white supremacist preparing to attack a Black church and murder its entire congregation. This is an extraordinary portrait of the times that jostles and discomboluates the reader while inviting us to see the world in all its injustice and distress, but also its promise and beauty. Songs for Angel reminds us that Blais is a writer who never ceases to situate us in the world and the roles we play in it, and that reading her is always an unforgettable human experience.
In the tiny French hamlet of Amitie, sixteen year old Angel Candalero anxiously awaits the promise of liberation. Coming of age under Nazi occupation, Angel is forced to conceal her beauty and exist in the shadow of obscurity. For Angel, freedom means a chance to shed the garb of deception, to step out of the darkness, to delight in awakening passion and find the love of her life. For Lieutenant Eric Gulbransen, news of his brother's death comes with forced reassignment. Although spared the brutality of combat, Eric faces the morbid reality of civilian detention. The senseless cruelty and endless misery cause this handsome young lover of the arts to lose all hope in humanity. Then, one night while his soul weeps, an innocent beauty climbs out of a truck and into his heart. NOTE: This novel is not for children, it contains strong language and adult situations.
Once you've seen, you can't unsee. Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She's come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and an incredible, numbing cold she can't seem to shake. Jake's the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption. Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what's going to happen. And a beauty brighter than either Brielle or Jake has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices begin. A realm that only angels and demons--and Brielle--can perceive.
