Alice McDermott offers a unique and compelling view of Vietnam in the early 1960s, told through the perspectives of American wives living there at the time. The novel provides beautifully nuanced insight into the mindset and social expectations of American women of the era, as well as the rhythms of daily life in Vietnam before the war fully escalated. McDermott avoids politics and military action, focusing instead on the quiet complexities of moral choice, privilege, and empathy.
As someone who came of age during that period and grew up on military bases in the U.S. and Germany, I found Absolution to be the most authentic portrayal I’ve read of both the Vietnam situation and the social realities faced by American women of that time.
Named a Best Book of the Year by Time, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Oprah Daily, Real Simple, and Vogue
A riveting account of women’s lives on the margins of the Vietnam War, from the renowned winner of the National Book Award.
You have no idea what it was like. For us. The women, I mean. The wives.
American women―American wives―have been mostly minor characters in the literature of the Vietnam War, but in Absolution they take center stage. Tricia is a shy newlywed, married to a rising attorney on…
Percival Everett’s Erasure is a sharp, daring satire that wields raw wit and playful style to provoke both thought and uneasy laughter. Beneath its layered humor lies a pointed commentary—sometimes mocking, sometimes mournful—on the pressures placed on writers to define and market themselves through racial identity.
The inspiration for the acclaimed film American Fiction, this novel is as entertaining as it is incisive—provided the reader isn’t easily rattled by Everett’s liberal use of the F-word.
Percival Everett's Erasure is a blistering satire about race and writing
Thelonious "Monk" Ellison's writing career has bottomed out: his latest manuscript has been rejected by seventeen publishers, which stings all the more because his previous novels have been "critically acclaimed." He seethes on the sidelines of the literary establishment as he watches the meteoric success of We's Lives in Da Ghetto, a first novel by a woman who once visited "some relatives in Harlem for a couple of days." Meanwhile, Monk struggles with real family tragedies—his aged mother is fast succumbing to Alzheimer's, and he still grapples with the…
A gripping domestic thriller that unfolds through multiple perspectives, Our House is an entertaining, original, and twisted page-turner that will keep you guessing until the very last sentence. Candlish masterfully builds tension with short, punchy chapters and perfectly timed reveals that make it impossible to stop at “just one more page.” The story’s clever structure and unpredictable turns deliver a genuine WOW factor, making it one of those rare thrillers that surprises even seasoned readers of the genre.
On a bright morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they've just bought on Trinity Avenue. Nothing strange about that. Except it's your house. And you didn't sell it. 'If 2018 brings a better book than Our House I will eat my hat. Addictive, twisty and oh so terrifyingly possible' Clare Mackintosh, author of I See You
'Property-porn looks set to become a staple of crime fiction and Our House is an excellent example of this burgeoning subgenre. Husband and wife pass the narrative baton between them in this masterfully plotted, compulsive page-turner' Laura Wilson, Guardian…
During the Nazi occupation of France, ordinary men and women risked everything to help Allied airmen escape capture. Drawing on personal interviews, eyewitness accounts, and newly uncovered archives, Vicki Olsen brings their untold stories to life.
From soldiers and secretaries to café owners, housewives, and teenagers, these courageous individuals defied impossible odds—guided by conscience, chance, and a shared determination to resist tyranny.
The Duty of Memory separates fact from legend, revealing the bravery, deception, and sacrifice that defined the French Resistance. A powerful testament to the human spirit, it captures the moral complexities and quiet heroism of those who chose freedom over fear.
