Book cover of Helen Button

Book description

Winner of the Eludia Award from Hidden River Arts.Daughter of a Collaborationist. Housekeeper to Gertrude Stein. An ordinary woman lives through extraordinary times.In this dual timeline narrative, a young French housekeeper lives out the years of World War II near Vichy France with her famous employers, Gertrude Stein and Alice…


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Why read it?

1 author picked Helen Button as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This provocative novel explores the challenges of living in an oppressive political environment. The springboard for the story is a character, a little girl featured in Gertrude Stein's 1940 book, Paris France. This author has taken that character from the Stein book and made her the protagonist of Helen Button--giving her a whole (fictional, but very believable) life. In the process the reader is led into considering not only Gertrude Stein's activities and sympathies during the Nazi Occupation of France--but also what each of us would have the courage, or the presence of mind, to do when confronted with situations…

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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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