This story and its audiobook narrative performance had me in an absolute chokehold. And I will also have to get the physical copy because this is one to own and keep on the shelf. I love the old story of Oliver Twist and in the way that Percival Everett’s “James” made Jim from Huck Finn a three-dimensional and unforgettable character that now seems completely organic to the original tale, so does Epstein succeed in making Fagin his own man and the character of Fagin will never again, for me, be anyone else but THIS Fagin. Never again will Bill Sykes and Nan Reed be anyone else but THIS Bill and Nan. Whew! I found this incredibly rich and moving and it will stay with me for a long time, maybe forever. Watt’s narration was also spectacular, and I recommend the audiobook, or reading immersively with both audio and physical book at once for the pure theatre of it. How do so many voices, accents, and intonations come out of one man’s mouth? He created a deeply immersive experience and I am one who normally has a hard time finishing audiobooks. I am like the princess and the pea; there always seems to be something wrong in the voice for whatever the story is, and I simply cannot continue. Not here. This was…Pitch. Perfect.
A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
"Fagin the Thief takes one of literature's greatest rogues and gives him a soul, a backstory, and a spotlight. Layered and clever, Epstein's story is as ambitious as it is deeply satisfying." --Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions for You
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish…
WINNER OF THE 2020 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER 2021 'Richly sensuous... something special' The Sunday Times 'A thing of shimmering wonder' David Mitchell
TWO EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE. A LOVE THAT DRAWS THEM TOGETHER. A LOSS THAT THREATENS TO TEAR THEM APART.
On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a sudden fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?
Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London.
Okay first of all, what did I just read? Second of all, I laughed, I cried. Third of all, I have never read a space western in my life but if it’s written by A.S. Miyazaki I will now read them ALL. What a storytelling gift this author has, and I do believe I detected the author’s own “soul signature” on this story. That’s what makes it connect. It’s a story about a lost, abandoned, grievously injured, and lonely little boy (11-ish? But this is not YA) who must first find a way to survive, but then also, to explore the meaning of love, family, belonging, and home. He is a unique and wonderful child I fell in love with. Irreverent as well as deeply vulnerable, a spitfire as well as heartbreakingly, sobbingly adorable. Half the time, I was weeping picturing my own adorable sons at that age, so in need and without their mom, and then half the time, I was weeping because my own inner child recognized herself on the page. The earnestness, the desire to do the right thing, the not being sure he was worthy of…well, anything. Okay, this is all the VIBES. Here are some particulars that I loved:
1. Great writing. You are in good hands with Miyazaki. 2. Fantastic world building, from food to technology to systems of government, languages, diverse species, and history. Check out her “Glossary” at the back and step even further into her nerddom (which I mean as the highest praise). She knows SO much more about her world than even makes it into the story, although it might well come in in later installments of the series. It’s a great supplement to the book and deepens the enjoyment when you have finished. 3. Beautiful communication of characters’ motivations, and desires, and the interiority of Farodun Down himself is heart-squeezing. I do not always expect deep interiority and character growth in sci-fi, which is why I am not normally a sci-fi fan. "Too much beep-boop," I sometimes say. This is very different. 4. Fun, fast-paced action, with high stakes and deep emotion. A story that lingers long after the last page. 5. It feels kind of like an origin story for a Luke Skywalker-type character, although I find Farodun to be far more interesting and complex than Skywalker.
In short, I’m a fan. This is an incredible start to a really fun new series. It’s a wild, unique, and emotionally satisfying debut and I will eagerly be awaiting the next book. Also #SaveFarodun at all costs! 🥹
In the first book of the Farodun Down series, Farodun is an adolescent Human boy growing up on Ilex. This outcast moon of Aylini Gynth is nothing like its lovely sisters, Ieus and Farodunus, and its treacherous, geologically young terrain and fearsome fauna seem to lie in wait just beyond its cities’ limits. Meanwhile, systemic neglect and corruption have allowed organized crime to take root here, leaving little burgs like Farodun’s hometown vulnerable.When Farodun wakes to find he has been left for dead in one of Ilex’s infamous acid swallets, he vows vengeance against those who put him there— if…
Alexandra Chan thinks she has life figured out until, in the Year of the Ram, the death of her father―her last parent―brings her to her knees, an event seemingly foretold in Chinese mythology.
A left-brained archaeologist and successful tiger daughter, Chan finds her logical approach to life utterly fails her in the face of this profound grief. Unable to find a way forward, she must either burn to ash or forge herself anew.
Slowly, painfully, wondrously, Chan discovers that her father and ancestors have left threads of renewal in the artifacts and stories of their lives. Through a long-lost interview conducted by Roosevelt’s Federal Writers’ Project, a basket of war letters written from the Burmese jungle, a box of photographs, her world travels, and a deepening relationship to her own art, the archaeologist and lifelong rationalist makes her greatest discovery to date: the healing power of enchantment.
In an epic story that travels from prerevolution China to the South under Jim Crow, from the Pacific theater of WWII to the black sands of Reynisfjara, Iceland, and beyond, Chan takes us on a universal journey to meaning in the wake of devastating loss, sharing the insights and tools that allowed her to rebuild her life and resurrect her spirit. Part memoir, part lyrical invitation to new ways of seeing and better ways of being in dark times, the book includes beautiful full-color original Chinese brush paintings by the author and fascinating vintage photographs of an unforgettable cast of characters. In the Garden Behind the Moon is a captivating family portrait and an urgent call to awaken to the magic and wonder of daily life.
