Nora Webster

Nora Webster
Author: Colm Toibin
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2014-10-07
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1439149852

From one of contemporary literature’s bestselling, critically acclaimed, and beloved authors: a “luminous” novel (Jennifer Egan, The New York Times Book Review) about a fiercely compelling young widow navigating grief, fear, and longing, and finding her own voice—“heartrendingly transcendant” (The New York Times, Janet Maslin). Set in Wexford, Ireland, Colm Tóibín’s magnificent seventh novel introduces the formidable, memorable, and deeply moving Nora Webster. Widowed at forty, with four children and not enough money, Nora has lost the love of her life, Maurice, the man who rescued her from the stifling world to which she was born. And now she fears she may be sucked back into it. Wounded, selfish, strong-willed, clinging to secrecy in a tiny community where everyone knows your business, Nora is drowning in her own sorrow and blind to the suffering of her young sons, who have lost their father. Yet she has moments of stunning insight and empathy, and when she begins to sing again, after decades, she finds solace, engagement, a haven—herself. Nora Webster “may actually be a perfect work of fiction” (Los Angeles Times), by a “beautiful and daring” writer (The New York Times Book Review) at the zenith of his career, able to “sneak up on readers and capture their imaginations” (USA TODAY). “Miraculous...Tóibín portrays Nora with tremendous sympathy and understanding” (Ron Charles, The Washington Post).

Say Nothing

Say Nothing
Author: Patrick Radden Keefe
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: True Crime
ISBN: 0385543379

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SOON TO BE AN FX LIMITED SERIES STREAMING ON HULU • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • From the author of Empire of Pain—a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. "Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." —New York Times Book Review "Reads like a novel ... Keefe is ... a master of narrative nonfiction. . .An incredible story."—Rolling Stone A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, and more! Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past--Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.

Bare Knuckle

Bare Knuckle
Author: Stayton Bonner
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2024-04-23
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1982650737

Father. Fighter. Champion. Outlaw. Hailed as an “exhilarating debut” by Publishers Weekly, Bare Knuckle by former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner (nominated for the Dan Jenkins Medal of Excellence in Sportswriting) takes readers into a previously unknown world: the underground circuit of illegal bare-knuckle fighting. Bare Knuckle is the remarkable true tale of Bobby Gunn, the 73–0 undisputed champion of bare-knuckle boxing. An inspiring underdog story that reads like a real-life Rocky. Bobby Gunn has been fighting for his existence since a childhood spent living under the hand of his volatile father, and would do anything to give his seven-year-old daughter a better life—including betting on himself in the underground world of bare-knuckle boxing. In 1984, Gunn was an eleven-year-old boxer in Ontario when his father woke him in the middle of the night to fight grown men in motel parking lots for money, his old man pocketing the cash. From there, Gunn traveled to Las Vegas, Tijuana, and beyond, competing in ringed matches as well as in biker bars and mobster dens on the side, brawling to make ends meet. But it was only with the birth of his daughter—and his desire to help her avoid his fate—that Gunn entered the big-time world of underground Russian-mob matches of up to $50,000 a night in New York City, hoping to finally raise his family above the fray. Former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner travels the underground for years with Gunn, the world champion of bare-knuckle boxing with a 73–0 record, shining a light on a secret circuit that’s never before been revealed. Along the way, we explore the fascinating history of this first sport in America, Gunn’s Irish Traveler community—a sect of religious fighters best known through Brad Pitt’s depiction in Snatch—as well as his part in the improbable rise of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the first legal revival of the sport. Bare Knuckle, a tale of triumph, loss, and a father’s love for his family, is a heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring story that will have you rooting until the end.

There You'll Find Me

There You'll Find Me
Author: Jenny B. Jones
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-10-03
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1401686591

Grief brought high school senior Finley Sinclair to Ireland. Love will lead her home. Eighteen-year-old Finley Sinclair is witty, tough, talented, and driven. With an upcoming interview at the Manhattan music conservatory, she just needs to finish composing her audition piece. But her creativity disappeared with the death of her older brother, Will. She decides to take a break and study abroad, following Will’s travel journal to Ireland. Her brother felt closest to God there, and she hopes to find peace about his death. Meanwhile, Beckett Rush—teen heartthrob and Hollywood bad boy—is flying to Ireland to finish filming his latest vampire movie. On the flight, he bumps into Finley—the one girl who seems immune to his charm. Undeterred, Beckett convinces Finley to strike an unconventional bargain. As Finley deals with the loss of her brother, the pressures of school, and her impending audition, she wonders if an unlikely romance is blossoming between her and Beckett. Then she experiences something that radically changes her perspective on life. Has everything she’s been looking for been with her all along? Don’t miss Finding You—the movie based on There You’ll Find Me—released in 2021 Contemporary Young Adult romance Stand-alone novel Book length: 78,000 words Includes discussion questions for book clubs

The Irish End Game

The Irish End Game
Author: Susan Kiernan-Lewis
Publisher:
Total Pages: 642
Release: 2013-11-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781494275785

It's the complete Irish End Game series that takes an average American family and puts them in the middle of a post-apocalyptic melt-down in a rural setting in Ireland. Free Falling is Book 1 and shows the family "when the bomb drops" and how they're able to learn what they need to do to survive. Going Gone continues their story in Book 2 when Sarah is brutally taken from the home she has created in Ireland and risks life, limb and much much more to return to her family. Finally, Book 3, Heading Home, tells the story of rescue finally coming--and how that turns into the biggest upheaval of all.Thrilling page-turners that will have you stocking your pantry for the apocalypse and wondering how well you really know your neighbors.

Things My Mother Never Told Me

Things My Mother Never Told Me
Author: Blake Morrison
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2003
Genre: Authors, English
ISBN: 0099440725

Through a series of letters from his parents' passionate World War II courtship, Morrison uncovers a startling, touching story. This follow-up to his critically acclaimed 1993 memoir paints the unforgettable picture of a quietly determined heroine and of a son's search to learn the truth about her.

Time After Time

Time After Time
Author: Tamara Ireland Stone
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2013-10-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1423185293

Anna and Bennett must find a way to stay together--or say goodbye forever--in this romantic and exciting sequel to Time Between Us

Murder in an Irish Pub

Murder in an Irish Pub
Author: Carlene O'Connor
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2019-02-26
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496719107

The luck of the Irish runs out for a professional poker player in this mystery set in County Cork that will “will leave cozy readers well satisfied” (Publishers Weekly). A poker tournament in the small village of Kilbane in County Cork is drawing players from across the country, but none more famous than Eamon Foley. A tinker out of Dublin, he’s called the Octopus for playing like he has eight hands under the table. But when Foley is found at the end of a rope, swinging from the rafters of Rory Mack’s pub, it’s time for the garda to take matters into their own hands. Detective Sargent Macdara Flannery would lay odds it’s a simple suicide—after all, there’s a note and the room was locked. But officer Siobhán O’Sullivan suspects foul play, as does Foley’s very pregnant widow. Soon it’s up to Siobhán to call a killer’s bluff, but if she doesn’t play her cards right, she may be the next one taken out of the game.