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Displaced Persons
'Recommended for a wide range of readers, and a perfect book club choice.' - Library Journal, starred review
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New Author
Interviews |
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Carol Lynch Williams
Carol Lynch Williams discussed The Chosen One, and what inspired her to write a book about polygamy.
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C. W. Gortner
A video interview with C.W. Gortner in which he talks about his 2010 historical novel, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici.
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Vanessa Woods
Vanessa Woods discusses her first book, Bonobo Handshake, and her experiences with the extrarodinary Bonobos.
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Kwei Quartey
Kwei Quartey talks about his childhood in Ghana and his first novel, Wife of the Gods, set in a small Ghanaian community where long-buried secrets are about to rise to the surface.
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Summary and Book Reviews |
A Case of Two Cities: Summary and book reviews of A Case of Two Cities by Qiu Xiaolong, plus links to an excerpt from A Case of Two Cities and a biography of Qiu Xiaolong. |
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Book Summary
Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Bureau is summoned by an official of the party to take the lead in a corruption investigation - one where the principle figure and his family have long since fled to the United States and beyond the reach of the Chinese government. But he left behind the organization and his partners-in-crime, and Inspector Chen is charged to uncover those responsible and act as necessary to end the corruption ring. In a twisting case that takes him from Shanghai, all the way to the U.S., reuniting him with his previous cohort from the U.S. Marshall's service - Inspector Catherine Rhon.
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| BOOK REVIEWS |
BookBrowse
In such a climate as modern-day Shanghai it could be argued that, in such a climate, it is not possible to remain strictly honest to the letter of the law, and thus it is up to the individual's own conscience to toe that very fine line between what is morally right and wrong. Inspector Chen's awareness of this quandary and his desire to do the right thing, coupled with his frequent revulsion at his occupation, are what make him a truly noble figure. The potential for corruption is constantly presented to him like tasty dim sum, but he resists, even though so many around him are gorging themselves on the opportunities.
Full Review  (members only, 1212 words).
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Media Reviews
Booklist - Thomas Gaughan
Character, poetry, insights into Chinese society and culture, and food all come before story in this unusual and compelling crime novel, the fourth in a fascinating series.
Library Journal
His characters are expertly drawn, his prose superb and interlaced with thought-provoking poetry that depicts what is being lost in China.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Chen stands in a class with Martin Cruz Smith's Russian investigator, Arkady Renko, and P.D. James's Scotland Yard inspector, Adam Dalgliesh.
The Washington Post - Richard Lipez
There's something especially brave and noble about a cop who perseveres under these circumstances. Readers who love China will be heartened, as this gritty, suspenseful tale unfolds, to discover that Inspector Chen is far from alone in his quest to build a humane Chinese society.
Kirkus Reviews
Chen's literary sensibility and Xiaolong's incisive portrait of modern China, mixed with traditional gumshoe exploits, make for heady entertainment.
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| Editor's Choice |
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Brodeck
Phillipe Claudel |
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Set in an unnamed time and place, Brodeck blends the familiar and unfamiliar, myth and history into a work of extraordinary power and resonance. Readers of J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace, Bernhard Schlink's The Reader and Kafka will be captivated by Brodeck. |
The Confessions of Catherine de Medici
C. W. Gortner |
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From the fairy-tale châteaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen. |
Bonobo Handshake
Vanessa Woods |
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A young woman follows her fiancé to war-torn Congo to study extremely endangered bonobo apes - who teach her a new truth about love and belonging. |
Rock Paper Tiger
Lisa Brackmann |
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American Ellie Cooper, deserted by her husband, has made a number of friends in China. But suddenly one of them disappears, and security organizations are hounding her for information. Contacted through an online role-playing game by a group claiming to be friends of Lao Zhang asking her for... |
Beirut 39
Samuel Shimon |
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An exciting collection of the best new writing from the Arab world, by thirty-nine writers under thirty-nine. |
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| Latest BookBrowse News |
Publishers Weekly accepting paid reviews (Aug 26 2010)
Publishers Weekly, one of the USA's oldest publishing industry magazines, today announced that they are accepting registrations from self-published authors...
Full Story |
Larsson's ex-partner hits out at renaming of trilogy (Aug 23 2010)
Stieg Larsson would not have approved of the renaming of the opening book to his Millennium trilogy from "Men Who Hate Women" to "The Girl with the Dragon...
Full Story |
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