The author recounts the special relationship he had with his mother and explains how he worked to achieve the many goals and accomplishments she expected of him
Beloved Author Lauraine Snelling Launches New Immigrant Series When Signe, her husband, Rune, and their three boys arrive in Minnesota from Norway to help a relative clear his land of lumber, they dream of owning their own farm and building a life in the New World. But Uncle Einar and Aunt Gird are hard, demanding people, and Signe and her family soon find themselves worked nearly to the bone in order to repay the cost of their voyage. At this rate, they will never have land or a life of their own. Signe tries to trust God but struggles with anger and bitterness. She has left behind the only life she knew, and while it wasn't an easy life, it wasn't as hard as what she now faces. When a new addition to the family arrives, Signe begins to see how God has been watching over them throughout their ordeal. But after all that has happened, can she still believe in the promise of a bright future?
Romain Gary’s bittersweet final masterpiece is “epic and empathetic” (BBC) and “one of his best” (The New York Times) The Kites begins with a young boy, Ludo, coming of age on a small farm in Normandy under the care of his eccentric kite-making Uncle Ambrose. Ludo’s life changes the day he meets Lila, a girl from the aristocratic Polish family that owns the estate next door. In a single glance, Ludo falls in love forever; Lila, on the other hand, disappears back into the woods. And so begins Ludo’s adventure of longing, passion, and love for the elusive Lila, who begins to reciprocate his feelings just as Europe descends into World War II. After Germany invades Poland, Lila and her family go missing, and Ludo’s devotion to saving her from the Nazis becomes a journey to save his love, his loved ones, his country, and ultimately himself. Filled with unforgettable characters who fling all they have into the fight to keep their hopes—and themselves—alive, The Kites is Romain Gary’s poetic call for resistance in whatever form it takes. A war hero himself, Gary embraced and fought for humanity in all its nuanced complexities, in the belief that a hero might be anyone who has the courage to love and hope.
Spreading democracy abroad or protecting business at home: this book offers a new look at the history of the contest between isolationalism and internationalism that is as current as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and as old as America itself, with profiles of the people, policies, and events that shaped the debate.
A classic of modern French literature, the thrilling real-life story of the military hero, ambassador, ladies man, writer, and loving son "I grew up in the certitude that one day I should help give back the earth to those who ennoble it with their courage and warm it with their love." Promise at Dawn begins as the story of a mother’s sacrifice: alone and poor, she fiercely battles to give her son the very best. Romain Gary chronicles his childhood in Russia, Poland, and on the French Riviera and recounts his adventurous life as a young man fighting for France in World War II. But above all he tells the story of the love for his mother that was his life—their secret and private planet, their wonderland “born out of a mother’s murmur into a child’s ear, a promise whispered at dawn of future triumphs and greatness, of justice and love.”
Now back in print, this heartbreaking novel by Romain Gary has inspired two movies, including the Netflix feature The Life Ahead Momo has been one of the ever-changing ragbag of whores’ children at Madame Rosa’s boarding house in Paris ever since he can remember. But when the check that pays for his keep no longer arrives and as Madame Rosa becomes too ill to climb the stairs to their apartment, he determines to support her any way he can. This sensitive, slightly macabre love story between Momo and Madame Rosa has a supporting cast of transvestites, pimps, and witch doctors from Paris’s immigrant slum, Belleville. Profoundly moving, The Life Before Us won France’s premier literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.
Its 1634 and a ship of Puritans struggles through a storm on its way to Boston. Among them are John Lee, an ancestor of two future princes of England, and Grace Newell, both 13-year-old wards of William Westwood, their congregation’s lawyer. During the storm, John sees 19-year-old Richard Hawkes, a petty thief and murderer, steal their church’s gold inlaid silver chalice. The next day, when the chalice is missing, Richard threatens to kill Grace unless John swears to conceal the theft. John agrees if Richard returns the chalice. With few options, Richard agrees. Over the next 40 years, challenges and opportunities present themselves amidst Indian wars and witchcraft trials. Richard lies, steals, and murders his way to fortune and influence, while John becomes a soldier, civic leader, and Indian teacher. Each attracts followers, while both compete for the affection of the same woman. John’s guilt over his oath grows as he blames himself for unleashing Richard’s evil upon his community. At the same time, he believes breaking his oath would be a great sin. Nesehegan, one of John’s Indian students, tells John how he resolved his conflict between loyalty to his tribe and his belief in God. Months later, Richard calls John as a witness at Richard’s murder trial. Confronted with a question he can’t answer without breaking either his oath to God or his oath to the court, John remembers Nesehegan’s story.
Unlock the more straightforward side of Promise at Dawn with this concise and insightful summary and analysis! This engaging summary presents an analysis of Promise at Dawn by Romain Gary, an autobiographical tale about the author’s childhood, experience in the Second World War and, most importantly, his mother. The writer’s mother was divorced and had to raise her son by herself. However, she overcame the countless obstacles which stood in her way to give her child the brightest future possible. Promise at Dawn was published in 1960 and, although it contains many autobiographical elements, is not an autobiography in the true sense of the world, but more of a tribute to the person in Gary’s life who inspired him the most. Indeed, Romain Gary idolised his mother, from his childhood in Russia, Poland and France to the day she died, and even beyond the grave. Gary was a diplomat, novelist, film director and aviator, and is the only author to be awarded the Prix Goncourt under two different names. He committed suicide in Paris in 1980. Find out everything you need to know about Promise at Dawn in a fraction of the time! This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you: • A complete plot summary • Character studies • Key themes and symbols • Questions for further reflection Why choose BrightSummaries.com? Available in print and digital format, our publications are designed to accompany you on your reading journey. The clear and concise style makes for easy understanding, providing the perfect opportunity to improve your literary knowledge in no time. See the very best of literature in a whole new light with BrightSummaries.com!
Both a personal memoir and a French novelist's encounter with American reality, White Dog is an unforgettable portrait of racism and hypocrisy. Set in the tumultuous Los Angeles of 1968, Romain Gary's story begins when a German shepherd strays into his life: "He was watching me, his head cocked to one side, with that unbearable intensity of dogs in the pound waiting for a rescuer." A lost police canine, this "white dog" is programmed to respond violently to the sight of a black man and Gary's attempts to deprogram it—like his attempts to protect his wife, the actress Jean Seberg; like her endeavors to help black activists; like his need to rescue himself from the "predicament of being trapped, lock, stock and barrel within a human skin"—lead from crisis to grief. Using the re-education of this adopted pet as a metaphor for the need to quash American racism, Gary develops a domestic crisis into a full-scale social allegory.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the critically acclaimed author of Six Crimson Cranes comes the thrilling next adventure! A journey to the kingdom of dragons, a star-crossed love, and a cursed pearl with the power to mend the world or break it... Fans of Shadow and Bone will devour this soaring fantasy. Princess Shiori made a deathbed promise to return the dragon's pearl to its rightful owner, but keeping that promise is more dangerous than she ever imagined. She must journey to the kingdom of dragons, navigate political intrigue among humans and dragons alike, fend off thieves who covet the pearl for themselves and will go to any lengths to get it, all while cultivating the appearance of a perfect princess to dissuade those who would see her burned at the stake for the magic that runs in her blood. The pearl itself is no ordinary cargo; it thrums with malevolent power, jumping to Shiori's aid one minute, and betraying her the next—threatening to shatter her family and sever the thread of fate that binds her to her true love. It will take every ounce of strength Shiori can muster to defend the life and the love she's fought so hard to win.