Symbols and Motifs – We noted the symbolic use of physical cleanliness (toothpaste, baths, new clothes) to suggest Eli’s need to morally/spiritually cleanse himself (he often sought to be physically clean after a murder or argument).In our first session, we focused our discussion on language and structural techniques used in the novel, and split into groups to decide the significance of the following features: Fast paced, bloody and plot laden, the novel seems a surprising choice for the 2011 Booker shortlist, but behind the brightly coloured cover and the relentless hyper-violence, DeWitt’s novel is layered with complex themes and carefully employed motifs, which shed new light on modern issues such as masculinity, greed and the environment. Our first half term has drawn to a close with two weeks spent on Patrick Dewitt’s The Sisters Brothers: an allegorical picaresque novel that superimposes 21st Century concerns onto the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and the uncharted land of the Wild West. We just use it differently.” Eli, The Sisters Brothers
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Cromwell is a man with only his wits to rely on he has no great family to back him, no private army. The blacksmith's son from Putney emerges from the spring's bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master, Henry VIII, settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2009 Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2012 Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2012 Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013 Shortlisted for the Orange Prize 2009 Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2009 'A masterpiece' Guardian 'It is a book not read, but lived' Telegraph 'Her Cromwell novels are, for my money, the greatest English novels of this century' Observer 'If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?' England, May 1536. In “Immersed in West Africa,” the author tells of his adventures while exploring West Africa, specifically Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia, Guineau-Bissau, Gineau-Conakry, and South Senegal. So let’s step into this adventure together! While your experience will be your own, it is one guaranteed to inspire and motivate you to be the best version of yourself. If you are someone who’s been a bit afraid to travel into Africa beyond the big tours, this book will inspire you to step out with courage and faith. Travel is the best educator and Lister shows us that while Africa is still the brunt of many jokes and misconceptions, it is more than worth the visit. The ups and downs of travel, the people, the transport, the weather, the food, the haggling.he welcomed it all.įrom harrowing experiences with border police, to day-long travel on crowded mini-buses, Lister’s accounts of daily life shed light on the real side of Africa, and are sure to both entertain and educate you. What he experienced touched both his spirit and his soul. For roughly 60 days, Terry Lister traveled across Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. This is the powerful on-the-ground diary of one man’s solo journey through West Africa. Immersed in West Africa is NOT one of those cookie-cutter guide books. They've gotten sucked into an operation that is much more than simple cigarette smuggling and holds risks far greater than anyone could have imagined. Likeable losers (and Steph's former high school classmates) Walter "MoonMan" Dunphy and Dougie "The Dealer" Kruper have inadvertently become involved with DeCooch. He wouldn't mind shooting Stephanie next. He's already shot Loretta Ricci, an innocent old lady, and left her for worm food in his shed. Not such an easy job, it turns out, since DeCooch has learned a lot of tricks over the years and isn't afraid to use his gun. When DeCooch fails to show for a court appearance, bond enforcement agent Stephanie Plum is assigned the task of finding him and dragging his decrepit ass back to jail. Semiretired mob guy Eddie DeCooch is caught trafficking contraband cigarettes through Trenton, New Jersey. The ‘how’ and the ‘why’ slowly became less important as people got used to the ‘what’, and realized the big final ‘when’ was heading towards them like a storm front that not even the fastest, the richest, the cleverest or the most powerful were going to be able to outrun. No one knows what caused the “end of the world” although the narrator, Griz, has heard “as many theories as there were suddenly childless people-a burst of cosmic rays, a chemical weapon gone astray, bio-terror, pollution (you lot did make a mess of your world), some kind of genetic mutation passed by a space virus or even angry gods in pick-your-own-flavour for those who had a religion. The worldbuilding is one of the best things about A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World. The only reason I’m not kicking myself for not reading it sooner is that now is the perfect time to read it. Fletcher got shoved out of the way and I didn’t think about it again until I read Heather’s review at Froodian Slip and went in search of my copy (which turns out to consist of uncorrected page proofs, but I’m going to quote from it anyway to show you how great this book is). Somehow A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Last year I came home with the usual pile of books from ICFA and left some of them stuck into bookshelves around the house because I don’t have a special shelf for books I haven’t read yet. I also loved that it touches on some important topics, such as the beauty in Mother Nature and the danger in humans abusing the world we live in. I loved the short chapters and the changing of point of view between Bram and Eve. I found it so unique and it brought about some thought-provoking ideas. I can honestly say I have never read anything like this before and I was completely sucked in by the plot. However, life starts to take her down a path that her captors had never planned for her when she meets Bram. She is necessary to keep the human race going. Rounded down from roughly 4.5 stars ⭐️ the sci-fi and dystopian genres are something I haven’t explored much before, but I don’t know why because I really enjoyed this book!Įve of Man follows Eve, the only girl to have been born in 50 years. Books 1-3 follow Roan, his crush Gaiana and their other friends. In the Star Wars Jedi Academy books, we meet several of the young jedi-in-training. Can the young padawans conquer the challenges of school and become true jedi? But nobody said jedi school would be easy! As well as mastering the force, the pupils have to manage their friendships, crushes, bullying and studies in a galaxy far, far away. Training under Master Yoda, Roan realises he may have more potential than he thought. Usually the Academy trains children from just a few years old, but they make an exception for this young boy from Tattooine. But things take an unexpected turn, as he is mysteriously denied a place at the school and invited to attend the Jedi Academy instead. Roan dreams of attending Pilot Academy like his older brother, father and grandfather before him. In December, the newly formed African Brigade, a unit of these former slaves led by General Edward Augustus Wild-a one-armed, impassioned Abolitionist-set out from Portsmouth to hunt down the rebel guerillas and extinguish the threat.įrom this little-known historical episode comes Black Cloud Rising, a dramatic, moving account of these soldiers-men who only weeks earlier had been enslaved, but were now Union infantrymen setting out to fight their former owners. Thousands of freed slaves and runaways flooded the Union lines, but Confederate irregulars still roamed the region. Engrossing and complex, this will have readers riveted.”-Publishers Weekly (starred review)īy fall of 1863, Union forces had taken control of Tidewater Virginia, and established a toehold in eastern North Carolina, including along the Outer Banks. Etheridge is made a fascinating figure, well suited to serve as the focal point for Faladé’s exploration of the complexities of Etheridge and his comrades’s rapid shift from powerlessness to armed military duty. “The story of the African Brigade, a unit of Black freedmen who fought for the Union during the Civil War, gets its due in this superior adult debut from Faladé. The result is a truly psychotic urban nightmare. Engaging, honest and full of Chris's irrepressible humour, this remarkable memoir combines gripping storytelling with brooding menace as the Triads begin to cast their shadow over him. The book was written by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, Chris Lockey. Desperate, addicted and alone in the neon glare of Hong Kong's seedy backstreets, Chris was forced to survive in the world's most unforgiving city, addicted to the world's most dangerous drug. These diminutive amphibians are innocuous and beneficial, since they eat insects. Heavily in psychosis, he uncovered a huge global conspiracy, made all the more confusing by the 'Foreign Triad' - a secretive expat clique in cahoots with the Chinese mafia. Eating Smoke: One Mans Descent into Drug Psychosis in Hong Kongs Triad Heartland Thrall, Chris on. He began working for the 14K, the city's most notorious crime syndicate, as a nightclub doorman in the Wan Chai red-light district. Print Eating Smoke: One Man's Descent into Drug Psychosis in Hong Kong's Triad HeartlandĬhris Thrall left the Royal Marines to find fortune in Hong Kong, but following a bizarre series of jobs he ended up homeless and hooked on Crystal Meth. But Maddie’s most formidable enemy is the crushing loneliness she faces every day. After a rough start, Maddie learns to trust her own ingenuity and invents clever ways to survive in a place that has been deserted and forgotten.Īs months pass, she escapes natural disasters, looters, and wild animals. Her only companions are a Rottweiler named George and all the books she can read. With no one to rely on, no power, and no working phone lines or internet access, Maddie slowly learns to survive on her own. Alone, (2021), Hardcover Paperback Kindle. She’s alone-left behind in a town that has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases. When twelve-year-old Maddie hatches a scheme for a secret sleepover with her two best friends, she ends up waking up to a nightmare. Perfect for fans of Hatchet and the I Survived series, this harrowing middle grade debut novel-in-verse from a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet tells the story of a young girl who wakes up one day to find herself utterly alone in her small Colorado town. |