Amid the backdrop of the 1820s, 'Mountain Sunday' tells the story of a family fleeing from Ireland to Canada, seeking freedom under borrowed names. Their pursuit of liberation takes them across the vast expanse of the New World, traversing forests, prairies, and rugged mountains, where they encounter both friends and foes. As they brave the untamed wilderness, their journey unfolds into a tale that weaves together themes of faith, love, and family.
My family originates from Romania, where they spent the chaotic decades of the 20th century as members of the largest Hungarian minority. During the darkest years, the feared dictator, Nicolae Ceauescu governed socialist Romania, where people were merely striving to survive. But what was happening beyond the Iron Curtain? These twelve tales of mine, based on true stories, convey this message. "Then the Wall fell, holes were shot into the rotten heart of the dictatorships, but in my youth, the shadow of the Eastern Bloc still bared its iron fangs at me."
When investigative journalist Katrina uncovers a devastating corruption scandal in the nation of Katsonga, where foreign aid for earthquake victims mysteriously vanishes, she makes it her mission to expose the truth. But the truth has powerful enemies. Captured and imprisoned by the very government she sought to bring down, Katrina is thrust into a harsh and unforgiving reality. Confined within her cell, Katrina's only escape is through the boundless landscape of her imagination. Each day, she retreats into the lives of other people from all walks of life, each facing their own unique struggles, dreams, and secrets. From the poverty-stricken streets of distant cities to the corridors of power in faraway lands, Katrina lives a thousand lives, even as her own remains trapped in captivity. "Worlds Within Her" is a compelling exploration of resilience, imagination, and the indomitable human spirit. Through the eyes of many, one woman discovers the strength to endure her darkest hours.
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays. "The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly “Any story that starts will also end.” As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores “what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self.” When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks’ short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both. A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer’s eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be. From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo’s children’s books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz’s Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author’s grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
In a Country draped in darkness and governed by an unyielding regime, one of its citizens is visited by an unlikely guest. She is given a chance to escape. There is one big obstacle in her way, though - a huge wall of barbed wire known only as "the Border". The journey she embarks upon unravels truths about her past, and the nature of the Country itself. Will she make it to the other side? Or be caught by cruel guards and perish? This is a story of defiance, will and perseverance.
"Carter has written a memoir that captures the quintessential America that now seems to be slipping away from us. A real treat." --John Tebbel, author, A History of Book Publishing in the United States "Deeply moving.The book is a delight, and, of course, you write like a dream.Your introductory comments on the subject of memoirs are interesting.Congratulations on what I believe we used to call a great read, and more than that, a deeply affecting record." --Ellen Feldman, author, Lucy "Robert Carter has that rare quality in a writer whose prose is transparent: nothing apparently stands between the reader and the world of the 1930s and early 1940s. That world is portrayed as essentially an unflinchingly revealed emotional one; there is a heartbreaking account of his mother's death--an event that drives his subsequent relations." James Scanlon, Professor Emeritus of History, Randolph-Macon College
