Rus’ is in a state of flux: the demons, spirits, nymphs and guardians of folklore are losing their hold on people as orthodox religion widens its reach. And winters here are of the harshest kind: where the bitter cold and hunger test even Vasya’s family, despite her father being the boyar, or local lord. So much so that I felt as if I lived through the seasons with Vasilisa (aka Vasya) Petrovna, whether she was running wild through the forest and discovering mysterious creatures alongside new talents of her own, or listening to the old family nurse telling them folktales around the oven in winter. Katherine Arden brings medieval Northern Rus’ alive in this, the first book in her Winternight trilogy. The Bear and the Nightingale is a coming of age tale with a difference and a gorgeous retelling of a Russian fairytale. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home, and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods. In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church.īut for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. The Bear and the Nightingale had been on my TBR shelf for far too long but with the final book in the Winternight Trilogy out last month, I decided to spend some of my winter nights reading all three books.
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in that foxhole," Ambrose explained, "was letting his buddies down. Kanfer notes that historian Stephen Ambrose described the soldiers of the Battle of the Bulge in much the same way. But they stay in their wet holes and fight, and then they climb out and crawl through minefields and fight some more." Mauldin wrote about Willie and Joe saying: "Their nobility and dignity come from the way they live unselfishly and risk their lives to help each other. I wanna see a critter I kin feel sorry fer." I already got a Purple Heart." In another, Joe, peeking out from his tent at a puppy shivering in the rain, says: "Let 'em in. In one, Willie remarks to a medic: "Just give me the aspirin. His drawings depicted, writes Kanfer, "two 'dogfaces,' unshaven battle-weary men known only as Willie and Joe." Willie's and Joe's remarks vividly illustrated the lives of the common soldier. Soon his cartoons appeared in Stars and Stripes, the Army newspaper. Having learned to draw from a correspondence course and later at the Academy of Fine Art in Chicago, he began contributing cartoons to the 45th Division newspaper. You may, however, remember his drawing of the Lincoln Memorial statue with its head in its hands, an act of mourning the day after John F. Willie and Joe In a recent City Journal retrospective of three American cartoonists, Stefan Kanfer recalled one whose name might not be familiar: Bill Mauldin. This is not the stuff of childhood dreams. Instead of a modern luxury apartment, his home is "Fort Wonton" in former Chinatown rather than a career as a lawyer, his profession involves killing undead stragglers left after a first pass by the military. Ultimately, he does make it to New York City but not in the way he imagined he would. A highly literary, humorous, and richly sensuous novel that reflects on the irony of fate in post-apocalyptic ManhattanĪs a child, "Mark Spitz" (the ironic nickname of the otherwise unnamed main character who can't swim) dreamed of living in Manhattan, captivated by the bright lights and soaring buildings of his family's visits to his Uncle Lloyd. In Larissa Theule’s retelling she has chosen to modernize Soupsey’s story and sends her on a scientific expedition full of fantastic possibilities. Kafka wrote in his final Soupsey letter that the the doll had gotten married and started a family. I also enjoyed learning that the author reinvented the ending from what Dora said Kafka had written. Larissa Theule talks about inventing the letters and the scenario, this done in much the same way as Kafka himself invented the story of the little girl’s traveling doll. But that the girl remains unidentified and that the letters were never found. There is a very interesting Author’s Note in the back of the book where Theule tells us that the story was documented by Franz Kafka’s partner, Dora, who witnessed the event. The first being to discuss the liberties that she took in writing this tale, which are similar to the premise that Kafka himself took when devising the doll’s stories. I’m intrigued by the way the author has used details about this legend to add to her own interpretation. Although this doll story has been known for a long time, Larissa Theule has come up with a clever and engaging way to incorporate it into a picture book. In the spread above, you see that we are shown each letter that is written to the little girl from her doll (the type is in blue which matches the color of the little girl’s dress). I believe it’s because my story also touched upon universal themes-our common quest for meaning and purpose and direction. When I wrote it, I had no idea that so many people, young and old, from different walks of life, would find my story so inspiring. I’ve been blessed by thousands of letters I’ve received over the years. Way of the Peaceful Warrior began my own journey as a writer and teacher. Find out why this book has changed lives. This classic tale, told with heart and humor, speaks to the peaceful warrior in each of us, moving readers to laughter and tears - even to moments of illumination - as they rediscover life’s larger meaning and purpose. Guided by an eccentric old warrior named Socrates, drawn to an elusive young woman called Joy, Dan moves toward a final confrontation that will deliver or destroy him. It also includes a new Afterword that tells the story behind the book-how it was born, “died,” then rose from its ashes to become a word-of-mouth bestseller that continues to inspire millions of men and women of all ages in 22 languages worldwide.īlending fact and fiction, the story relates an odyssey into realms of light and shadow, romance, and mystery. This edition of one of the most beloved spiritual sagas of our time contains hundreds of revisions by the author. Smita, as we learn, has very mixed feelings about returning to the country of her childhood-a place she had never wanted to visit again. But when she arrives in Mumbai, she is dismayed to realize that her friend doesn’t need her help personally, but expects Smita to cover a story that she had been working on. We meet Smita, a journalist who returns to India, a country she and her family had fled decades before, to help a colleague in need. Such prejudice and hatred are endemic to almost every country. Umrigar makes it clear that while India is the setting for this tragic story, the prejudice and hatred toward women, toward others of a different religion, toward others who are considered to be less worthy, are not confined to any one country. For while honor is a noble concept, the foul acts perpetrated in its name are not. “Honor” is a perfect title for Thrity Umrigar’s powerful novel about India and the horrors that are perpetrated in rural areas in the name of religion and honor. He is also the author of three different, completed series Broken Sky, an anime-influenced fantasy serial for children, Braided Path, a fantasy trilogy for adults, and Malice, a young adult fantasy that mixes graphic novel with the traditional novel as well as another, four-part series, Tales of the Ketty Jay, a steampunk sci-fi fantasy for adults. Since then he has written many more, including The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, which was silver runner-up for the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, and Poison, which won the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year. His first book, Crashing, which he wrote at the age of nineteen, was published in 1998 when he was twenty-one. JSTOR ( October 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭhris Wooding (born 28 February 1977) is a British writer born in Leicester, and now living in London.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. and whether she is willing to die for her faith. Torn between her nation and her Christian friends, Vibiana will have to decide where her true loyalties lie. The Boxer Rebellion is murdering Westerners and Chinese Christians alike. But China is a dangerous place for Christians. She finds friendship-and a name, Vibiana-in the most unlikely of places: Christianity. An unwanted fourth daughter, Four-Girl isn’t even given a proper name by her family. In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. His other comics works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), as well as Superman Smashes the Klan and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (both with Gurihiru). His nonfiction graphic novel Dragon Hoops received an Eisner Award and a Printz honor. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. His graphic novel American Born Chinese, a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner, has been adapted into a streaming series on Disney+. As the Library of Congress’s fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. He founded an art school near London and served with the British Red Cross Civilian Defense during World War II. He was born in 1912 in New York City but raised in England. White, Bedtime for Frances by Russell Hoban, and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Garth Williams is the renowned illustrator of almost one hundred books for children, including the beloved Stuart Little by E. Her writings live on into the twenty-first century as America’s quintessential pioneer story. The nine Little House books are international classics. After years of farming, Laura wrote the first of her beloved Little House books in 1932. The Wilders moved to Rocky Ridge Farm at Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894, where they established a permanent home. She married Almanzo Wilder in 1885 their only daughter, Rose, was born the following year. With her family, she pioneered throughout America’s heartland during the 1870s and 1880s, finally settling in Dakota Territory. Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867–1957) was born in a log cabin in the Wisconsin woods. But then this book wasn’t meant to make me feel good. Cameron suddenly obeying Angelo in his sexual demands felt…off. The extortion made me uncomfortable, as did the D/s relationship that felt a bit forced. I love morally ambiguous characters and Angelo is that. Except now he’s discovered his father was heavily indebted to the mob and Angelo is there to collect the debt. He decides to restore it and run it the way it used to be. He’s overwhelmed by nostalgia for the way the bakery was when his grandparents were alive and running it. When his father is killed, he plans to come home, sell the bakery, and move back out west. Cameron left town a long time ago and never intended to look back. A reprobate who left everything to his son. A reprobate who has died under mysterious circumstances. Book 2 finds Angelo calling a debt owed by a reprobate. Peter understands this is a devil’s bargain, as it were, and accepts his role. Lucien has taken over as head of the family business with his lover Peter by his side. Devil was born around the same time as Angelo so although he’s a cousin, he’s like close family as well. Alas, it’s too far from here so I had to simply enjoy reading about all those carbs. Man, my mouth was watering at all the Italian treats. Or in this case a cup of flour as there is serious baking involved. Anything that glorifies violence and criminal behavior has to be taken with a grain of salt, so to speak. |