Keep Saying Their Names

Keep Saying Their Names
Author: Simon Stranger
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2020-05-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0525657371

An extraordinary work of fiction, inspired by historical events--an exquisitely crafted double portrait of a Nazi war criminal and a family savaged by World War II, conjoined by an actual house of horrors they both called home On a street in modern-day Norway, a writer kneels with his son and tells him that according to Jewish tradition, a person dies twice: first when their heart stops beating, and then again the last time their name is read or thought or said. Before them is a stone engraved with the name Hirsch Komissar, the boy's great-great-grandfather who was murdered by Nazis. The man who sent Komissar to his death was one of Norway's vilest traitors, Henry Oliver Rinnan, a Nazi double agent who set up headquarters in an unspectacular suburban house and transformed the cellar into a torture chamber for resisters, a place to be avoided and feared. That is until Komissar's own son, Gerson, and his young wife, Ellen, take up residence in the house after the war. While their daughters spend a happy childhood playing in the same rooms where some of the most heinous acts of the occupation occurred, the weight of history threatens to pull the couple apart. In Keep Saying Their Names, Simon Stranger uses this unusual twist of fate to probe five generations of intimate and global history, seamlessly melding fact and fiction, creating a brilliant lexicon of light and dark. The resulting novel reveals how evil is born in some and courage in others--and seeks to keep alive the names of those lost.

Keep Saying Their Names

Keep Saying Their Names
Author: Simon Stranger
Publisher: Knopf
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2020
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0525657363

Inspired by historical events and by personal history, a shattering, exquisite double portrait of a Norwegian family savaged by World War II and of a man devoted to crimes against humanity, conjoined by an actual house of horrors they both call home. Once the Germans conquer Norway in 1940, they quickly discover a tremendous native asset: Henry Oliver Rinnan, a double agent so cruel and manipulative that he would become notorious as one of Norway's vilest traitors, second only to Quisling himself. In 1941, Rinnan and his gang set up headquarters in an unspectacular suburban house and transformed the cellar into a makeshift torture and death chamber reserved for Norwegian resisters. In the war's aftermath, this house became home to a Jewish-Norwegian couple still reeling from trauma. Here their two young daughters spend a happy childhood in the very same rooms where, only a few years before, some of the most heinous acts of the occupation had been committed. Many decades later, Simon Stranger married the daughter of one of those girls, and, learning the history of her family, soon realized that their story could not be told without including Rinnan's, provoking a plague of questions: What turned a bashful shoemaker's son into this despised criminal? How could a Jewish family have chosen to move into that house? And how could Stranger himself explain to his twenty-first century son this virtually inconceivable history, and what it means to be Jewish? He wrestles with these essential questions in this stunning novel, seamlessly melding fact and fiction, guiding us through five generations' worth of history, at once intimate and global, seeking to reveal how evil is born in some and courage in others. A tremendous contribution to the literature of the Second World War--focused tightly and specifically on a previously unseen corner of it--Keep Saying Their Names reveals core facets of the human psyche. This is an intimate, unforgettable account that compels us to confront the darkness of the past honestly and genuinely in order to build a better future for those we love.

Foster

Foster
Author: Claire Keegan
Publisher: Grove Press
Total Pages: 73
Release: 2022-11-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0802160158

An international bestseller and one of The Times’ “Top 50 Novels Published in the 21st Century,” Claire Keegan’s piercing contemporary classic Foster is a heartbreaking story of childhood, loss, and love; now released as a standalone book for the first time ever in the US It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas’ house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household—where everything is so well tended to—and this summer must soon come to an end. Winner of the prestigious Davy Byrnes Award and published in an abridged version in the New Yorker, this internationally bestselling contemporary classic is now available for the first time in the US in a full, standalone edition. A story of astonishing emotional depth, Foster showcases Claire Keegan’s great talent and secures her reputation as one of our most important storytellers.

Say Their Names

Say Their Names
Author: Michael H. Cottman
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2021-10-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1538737841

This definitive guide to America's present-day racial reckoning examines the forces that pushed our unjust system to its breaking point after the death of George Floyd. For many, the story of the weeks of protests in the summer of 2020 began with the horrific nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds when Police Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on camera, and it ended with the sweeping federal, state, and intrapersonal changes that followed. It is a simple story, wherein white America finally witnessed enough brutality to move their collective consciousness. The only problem is that it isn't true. George Floyd was not the first Black man to be killed by police—he wasn’t even the first to inspire nation-wide protests—yet his death came at a time when America was already at a tipping point. In Say Their Names, five seasoned journalists probe this critical shift. With a piercing examination of how inequality has been propagated throughout history, from Black imprisonment and the Convict Leasing program to long-standing predatory medical practices to over-policing, the authors highlight the disparities that have long characterized the dangers of being Black in America. They examine the many moderate attempts to counteract these inequalities, from the modern Civil Rights movement to Ferguson, and how the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others pushed compliance with an unjust system to its breaking point. Finally, they outline the momentous changes that have resulted from this movement, while at the same time proposing necessary next steps to move forward. With a combination of penetrating, focused journalism and affecting personal insight, the authors bring together their collective years of reporting, creating a cohesive and comprehensive understanding of racial inequality in America.

All Our Names

All Our Names
Author: Dinaw Mengestu
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2014-03-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0385349998

From acclaimed author Dinaw Mengestu, a recipient of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award, The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 award, and a 2012 MacArthur Foundation genius grant, comes an unforgettable love story about a searing affair between an American woman and an African man in 1970s America and an unflinching novel about the fragmentation of lives that straddle countries and histories. All Our Names is the story of two young men who come of age during an African revolution, drawn from the safe confines of the university campus into the intensifying clamor of the streets outside. But as the line between idealism and violence becomes increasingly blurred, the friends are driven apart—one into the deepest peril, as the movement gathers inexorable force, and the other into the safety of exile in the American Midwest. There, pretending to be an exchange student, he falls in love with a social worker and settles into small-town life. Yet this idyll is inescapably darkened by the secrets of his past: the acts he committed and the work he left unfinished. Most of all, he is haunted by the beloved friend he left behind, the charismatic leader who first guided him to revolution and then sacrificed everything to ensure his freedom. Elegiac, blazing with insights about the physical and emotional geographies that circumscribe our lives, All Our Names is a marvel of vision and tonal command. Writing within the grand tradition of Naipul, Greene, and Achebe, Mengestu gives us a political novel that is also a transfixing portrait of love and grace, of self-determination and the names we are given and the names we earn. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.

Their Names Are Mine

Their Names Are Mine
Author: Will Kasso
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 167
Release: 2019-04-29
Genre:
ISBN: 9781095998083

Rajnii's tongue is ancestral, and his spirit is free. In the tradition of sacred word-warriors, he names the fallen and the martyrs with extraordinary grace and a humbling consciousness that manifest light in all directions. His fiery poems ration out eternal wisdoms that call forth simply a substitution of love for hate and a spiritual reckoning so that we all can breathe. Sing on, dear brother. - Major Jackson (Poetry Editor of Harvard Review)Rajnii Eddins breathes through the written word. A full recital that allows us to see more clearly the dimly lit spaces of the black romantic. For over 2 decades, this poet, father, teacher and son has allowed the spoken word to be a guide and refuge. In his words, there is refuge for which I always felt drawn. When I'm with Rajnii, I often feel strong in his silence and watch him craft truth as he lives such that listening, breathing and writing become synonymous. It's rare that the light of hope shines so brightly these days and when it does we must stand forward and receive the light, lest we in our efforts, grow dim. Rajnii shares the long awaited letter from your dearest friend, your closest sister and the villain who attempts to steal our laughter. If you ride these poems, you will arrive at peace. Thank you Raj for your light. - Theaster Gates (Social Practice Installation Artist)

We Speak Your Names

We Speak Your Names
Author: Pearl Cleage
Publisher: One World
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2009-03-25
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 0307498646

For centuries, African American women have been remaking the world, giving testament to the power of hope, courage, and resilience. But it took the inspired generosity of Oprah Winfrey to honor fully the many gifts of sisterhood. For three amazing days–from May 13 to 15, 2005–a distinguished group of women was invited to celebrate the enduring achievements of twenty-five of their mentors and role models–and in the process pay tribute to the long, glorious tradition of African American accomplishment. The brilliant centerpiece of the weekend was the reading aloud of Pearl Cleage’s poem “We Speak Your Names,” written especially for the occasion and appearing here for the first time in this beautiful keepsake book. As deeply moving in print as it was during that weekend of love and praise, the poem names each of the women honored: Dr. Maya Angelou, Coretta Scott King, Diahann Carroll, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Rosa Parks, Katherine Dunham, and other legends of the brightest magnitude. With heartfelt eloquence, Pearl Cleage (herself a luminary of the younger generation) celebrates her distinguished elders’ strength, their magic, their sensuality, their loving kindness, their faith in themselves, and the priceless example of their lives. In her introduction, the poet shares: “My sisters, here, there, and everywhere, this poem is for you. Use it, adapt it, pass it on. . . .” Destined to become a classic, We Speak Your Names is a treasure to keep forever and a precious, inspiring gift for the ones you love.

Say Their Names: 101 Black Unarmed Women, Men and Children Killed By Law Enforcement

Say Their Names: 101 Black Unarmed Women, Men and Children Killed By Law Enforcement
Author: Campaign Justice
Publisher: Campaign Justice
Total Pages: 533
Release: 2020-12-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

BLACK HISTORY MONTH SPECIAL - $12.99 -> $0.99 until February 13 only. Black. Lives. Matter. Not more, and definitely not less. Why is a statement about lives having value, controversial? As SNL's Michael Che stated, "Black Lives Matter. Just Matter." George Floyd's murder was as shocking as it was common. In fact, there is an entire museum in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated to 4,400 lynching victims. But, the sad truth is, 4,400 were only the reported ones. And, if you look into the statistics, many of the lynchings were perpetrated by, or sanctioned by law enforcement. This compilation of lost lives is more of an encyclopedia and serves as a record for the 101 deaths of unarmed people of color attributed to law enforcement. From Tamir Rice to Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey to James Earl Chaney; many you have heard about, and many you have not. We document who they were as people, the details surrounding their deaths, as well as if there were any arrests or convictions of officers involved. Unfortunately, this is an incomplete record, but an important reminder just the same. We owe them that much.

The Thousand Names

The Thousand Names
Author: Django Wexler
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 541
Release: 2013-07-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101609516

Set in an alternate nineteenth century, muskets and magic are weapons to be feared in the first “spectacular epic” (Fantasy Book Critic) in Django Wexler’s Shadow Campaigns series. Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost—until a rebellion left him in charge of a demoralized force clinging to a small fortress at the edge of the desert. To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must lead her men into battle against impossible odds. Their fate depends on Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich. Under his command, Marcus and Winter feel the tide turning and their allegiance being tested. For Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to reshape the known world and change the lives of everyone in its path.

Verity

Verity
Author: Colleen Hoover
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2021-10-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 153872474X

Whose truth is the lie? Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Too Late and It Ends With Us. #1 New York Times Bestseller · USA Today Bestseller · Globe and Mail Bestseller · Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.