Book Reviews John K. Cox Jurij Koch / Courtesy of Domowina-Verlag In the 1950s, a girl whom Jurij Koch knew in high school moved away from their hometown of Cottbus in East Germany. It was a case, he says in his recent memoir, of “Weg von Ulbricht, hin zu Adenauer” (Away from Ulbricht, over to Adenauer). Her mother took the girl to the West, before the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. This is a familiar enough arc of events, but, as it turns out, the motivation behind the move is probably not something that most people outside of Germany would have considered. The reason was ethnic. Little Greta was growing up surrounded by Sorbs in the southeastern part of the country. The Sorbian language reminded her mother of Polish, and she had had quite enough of the Poles in her pre-1945 home farther east. In addition, Greta’s family was Protestant and they felt awash in a “Catholic sea.” So off they went, leaving the author of this autobiography—who, well, yes, had a crush on Greta—scratching his head. Like so many other scenes in this engaging book, this story blends the customary with the unexpected to stretch our understanding of what is “German.” Like so many other scenes in this engaging book, Koch’s memoir blends the customary with the unexpected to stretch our understanding of what is “German.” Windrad auf dem Dach (Domowina-Verlag, 2016) is the second volume of Koch’s memoirs to be published in German. Currently in his... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'
[ World Literature Today | 2020-01-27 20:47:13 UTC ]
Independent booksellers reported solid first-day sales of former President Barak Obama's 'A Promised Land.' There was a downside, however, as many store owners reported some cartons of the memoir arrived damaged. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-17 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld has bought a memoir by Dr Waheed Arian, billed as "the powerful story of a boy who dreamed about helping others, a tale of courage, ambition and unwavering resilience against all odds". Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-17 03:40:20 UTC ]
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"A Promised Land," out Tuesday in a worldwide release, eloquently and ruefully documents the first two and a half years of Obama's presidency. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-16 21:30:00 UTC ]
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“The temptation to hide the word because the reality of rape is so horrific only made it more critical that it stood front and center in my book.” Memoirist Michelle Bowdler on saying the unsayable. | Lit Hub Memoir “Like poetry, flash often relies on the tiny detail, the single image, or some... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-16 11:30:28 UTC ]
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I wanted to write a beautiful book, a book about hope, love, optimism and resilience. I wanted to show readers the life I had built, slowly and with intention. The fact that everything had been only aspirational for too many years, and hard-won in the end, only deepened my need to share. As joy... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-16 09:48:18 UTC ]
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Oprah Winfrey's interview with Barack Obama premieres on Apple TV+ on Tuesday morning, just as copies of the hotly anticipated former president's memoir lands on bookstore shelves around the world. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-11-16 05:00:00 UTC ]
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With Barack Obama's memoir out from Viking on Tuesday (17th November), PRH's UK media campaign will kick off this weekend. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-13 00:35:10 UTC ]
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She tried her hand at fiction, to no avail. So she wrote a memoir about a circle of strangers instead. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-11-12 10:00:04 UTC ]
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While books about the outgoing US president have been bestsellers for the last four years, Trump might be a step too far for some publishersFact-checkers are quaking in their boots amid reports that Donald Trump could be being “courted for a new tome on his time in the White House”. The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2020-11-11 14:24:45 UTC ]
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The painter known to many as Lucian Freud's one-time muse writes of her own muse, her mother, and provers herself a masterful writer as well. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2020-11-10 18:28:13 UTC ]
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Kamala Harris-related books have seen a sharp increase in popularity post-Biden/Harris presidential win. On Sunday, a whopping four books on Amazon’s Top 10 bestsellers list were either about or penned by the vice president-elect. The books in question: Harris’s memoir The Truths We Hold: An... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 17:37:24 UTC ]
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In “This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing,” Jacqueline Winspear recalls her upbringing in the British countryside. Continue reading at The Washington Post
[ The Washington Post | 2020-11-10 14:00:00 UTC ]
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An excerpt from “Loved and Wanted: A Memoir of Choice, Children, and Womanhood,” by Christa Parravani Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-11-10 10:01:00 UTC ]
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A young woman’s diagnosis is only the beginning of the mystery in “Lightning Flowers.” As Katherine E. Standefer tried to make sense of her heart condition, her conscience sent her on a trip across the world. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-11-10 10:00:08 UTC ]
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Yesterday, I attended a virtual book club where Heavy: An American Memoir was being read. When I clicked the link to join the Zoom, I saw the faces, necks, and shoulders of seven beautiful pixelated Black women from as far west as Las Vegas and as far east as Long Island. I assumed from their... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 09:49:30 UTC ]
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The Lit Hub Author Questionnaire is a monthly interview featuring seven questions for five authors with new books. This month we talk to: * Danielle Evans (The Office of Historical Corrections) Éireann Lorsung (The Century) Christa Parravani (Loved and Wanted: A Memoir of Choice, Children, and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-10 09:48:28 UTC ]
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Tinder Press has won at auction Christina Patterson’s next book, Outside, the Sky is Blue: A Memoir of Faith, Hope and Loss. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-09 23:01:40 UTC ]
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“The Babur Nama is an oddly modern text, almost Proustian in its self-awareness.” William Dalrymple on the 16th-century memoir far ahead of its time. | Lit Hub Biography “We have had no truth and reconciliation process.” On the renaissance of American white supremacy, a conversation with Isaac... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-11-07 12:30:24 UTC ]
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Don’t expect the usual bromides about hard work and resilience in “One Life.” The soccer star’s memoir gets into her political awakening as much as it does her sports career. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2020-11-06 10:00:28 UTC ]
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Monoray, part of the Octopus Publishing Group, has acquired Where Did I Go Right?: How The Left Lost Me by comedian and writer Geoff Norcott. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-11-05 03:36:21 UTC ]
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