A National Book Award Finalist "The best novel yet about 9/11.... A brilliant new comedy of manners, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country is about the way a conflict takes on a logic and momentum of its own." —Salon “Savagely hilarious.” —Elle Joyce and Marshall each think the other is killed on September 11—and must swallow their disappointment when the other arrives home. As their bitter divorce is further complicated by anthrax scares, suicide bombs, and foreign wars, they suffer, in ways unexpectedly personal and increasingly ludicrous, the many strange ravages of our time. In this astonishing black comedy, Kalfus suggests how our nation’s public calamities have encroached upon our most private illusions.

In this withering satire of American life, Marshall and Joyce are conducting a scorched-earth divorce campaign against each other. On the grim day when New York City is overcome with grief and shock, each thinks the other is dead, and each is visited by an intense, secret, guilty satisfaction. Both survive only to continue their fighting.

Russia, 1910. Leo Tolstoy lies dying in Astapovo, a remote railway station. Members of the press from around the world have descended upon this sleepy hamlet to record his passing for a public suddenly ravenous for celebrity news. They have been joined by a film company whose cinematographer, Nikolai Gribshin, is capturing the extraordinary scene and learning how to wield his camera as a political tool. At this historic moment he comes across two men -- the scientist, Professor Vorobev, and the revolutionist, Joseph Stalin -- who have radical, mysterious plans for the future. Soon they will accompany him on a long, cold march through an era of brutality and absurdity. The Commissariat of Enlightenment is a mesmerizing novel of ideas that brilliantly links the tragedy and comedy of the Russian Revolution with the global empire of images that occupies our imaginations today.

A young girl sets off on a journey of self-discovery in this “richly atmospheric” tale blending steampunk, adventure, and gothic romance (Kirkus Reviews). With her noticeably large hands and feet, Lena Mattacascar is undoubtedly different. Secretly, she’s wondered if she might actually be Peculiar, and if her father—who left when she was only five years old—may have been Peculiar too. On her eighteenth birthday, Lena receives a letter that inspires her to leave the safety of the City and search for her father in the northern wilderness of Scree—a place inhabited by people whose own unusual characteristics make them unacceptable to modern society. Her journey leads to romance, danger, and a darkness she’s never imagined. For in the wilds of Scree, she must confront her deepest fears . . . “Readers graduating from the stories of C.S. Lewis and Edward Eager will be right at home—and cat lovers will adore Jimson’s employer’s pet, Mrs. Mumbles. McQuerry’s extensive world-building leaves open the possibility of future installments.” —Publishers Weekly

"Reeling from the recent death of his invalid mother, an exhausted, lonely professor comes to our nation's capital to escape his previous life." "What he finds there - in his handsome, solitary landlord; in the city's somber mood and sepulchral architecture; and in the strange and impassioned letters and journals of Mary Todd Lincoln - shows him unexpected truths about America and loss. As he seeks to engage with the living world around him - a challenging student, the mother of a dead friend, even his landlord's neglected dog - he comes to realize that his relationship to his grief is very different than he had thought." "In Grief, Holleran summons voices from the past that eerily echo and speak to our own troubled times. It is a masterwork by one of America's singular voices, a writer who is beloved for his depth of feeling, his humor, the elegance of his prose, and his unflinching honesty."--BOOK JACKET.

Since the 9/11 attacks, many writers have represented its aftermath with varying degrees of success. 'Out of the Blue' focuses on narratives that move beyond patriotic clichés and cheap sensationalism and provides new insight into the emotions and ethics of these traumatic events - and what it means to depict them.

In 1996 Bryon MacWilliams left the relative stability of the United States for the chaos of post-Soviet Russia and stayed. Over the course of nearly twelve years he reported on academe and the sciences for the world's leading publications and sought out the best baths—or banyas—everywhere he went. His story of Russia through its cult of steam begins on a frosty Sunday morning in a gypsy cab traveling to a bathhouse in Moscow, where the steam is conjured by an out-of-work carpenter named Grisha, who takes on MacWilliams as a kind of apprentice, allowing him into an otherwise closed world through which MacWilliams could see himself, and Russia, with different eyes. The Russian bathers insist, only half-jokingly, that the American is a spy. Writing in a highly engaging style, MacWilliams travels the country to convey the breadth of banya culture and what it means to steam, a process that is at once a simple cleansing and a deep purification. It awakens the body and quiets the mind, generating waves of good feeling akin to an endorphin high. Each chapter of this splendid book is an episode—spanning from several hours to several days—from the Far North, Moscow, the Ural Mountains, the Solovetsky Islands, and a southern stretch of the Volga River. With Light Steam, the title is derived from the phrase used in banyas in lieu of goodbye, is the only book in English devoted to the banya and the only volume in any language to present Russia through the lens of its bath culture, the most Russian thing there is. General readers and scholars alike will be enchanted with this unforgettable portrait of a people and a millennia-spanning tradition.

A New York Times Notable Book and the March 2001 selection of Oprah's Book Club® ! Icy Sparks is the sad, funny and transcendent tale of a young girl growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky during the 1950’s. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s beautifully written first novel revolves around Icy Sparks, an unforgettable heroine in the tradition of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird or Will Treed in Cold Sassy Tree. At the age of ten, Icy, a bright, curious child orphaned as a baby but raised by adoring grandparents, begins to have strange experiences. Try as she might, her "secrets"—verbal croaks, groans, and physical spasms—keep afflicting her. As an adult, she will find out she has Tourette’s Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, but for years her behavior is the source of mystery, confusion, and deep humiliation. Narrated by a grown up Icy, the book chronicles a difficult, but ultimately hilarious and heartwarming journey, from her first spasms to her self-acceptance as a young woman. Curious about life beyond the hills, talented, and energetic, Icy learns to cut through all barriers—physical, mental, and spiritual—in order to find community and acceptance. Along her journey, Icy faces the jeers of her classmates as well as the malevolence of her often-ignorant teachers—including Mrs. Stilton, one of the most evil fourth grade teachers ever created by a writer. Called willful by her teachers and "Frog Child" by her schoolmates, she is exiled from the schoolroom and sent to a children’s asylum where it is hoped that the roots of her mysterious behavior can be discovered. Here Icy learns about difference—her own and those who are even more scarred than she. Yet, it isn’t until Icy returns home that she really begins to flower, especially through her friendship with the eccentric and obese Miss Emily, who knows first-hand how it feels to be an outcast in this tightly knit Appalachian community. Under Miss Emily’s tutelage, Icy learns about life’s struggles and rewards, survives her first comical and heartbreaking misadventure with romance, discovers the healing power of her voice when she sings, and ultimately—takes her first steps back into the world. Gwyn Hyman Rubio’s Icy Sparks is a fresh, original, and completely redeeming novel about learning to overcome others’ ignorance and celebrate the differences that make each of us unique.

If you're a parent of one of the more than one million children in this country with obsessive-compulsive disorder, you know how confusing, even frightening, the symptoms of OCD can be. You're terrified of losing your child and angry about the havoc this disorder has wreaked in your family. More than anything, you want to be able to unlock the secrets of OCD, understand the cause of your child's bizarre symptoms, and help your child break free of these disruptive, relentless thoughts and actions. In her landmark book, Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Dr. Tamar E. Chansky creates a clear road map to understanding and overcoming OCD based on her successful practice treating hundreds of children and teenagers with this disorder. In Part I, Dr. Chansky "cracks the code" of the peculiar rules and customs of OCD -- the handwashing, tapping, counting, and so forth. She explains how OCD is diagnosed, how to find the right therapist partner, and how to tailor treatment options to your child's needs. You'll learn how powerful behavioral modification can be and when medication can help. In Part II, you'll learn how not to be pulled in by your child's debilitating rituals at home or at school, how to talk to your child about the "brain tricks" OCD causes, and how to create an effective OCD battle plan that will empower your child to "boss back" the OCD monster. You'll also learn how to cope in moments of crisis. Part III offers specific advice for how to help your child handle the most common manifestations of OCD such as fears of contamination, checking, getting things "just right," intrusive thoughts, and more. Part IV is an indispensable guide to additional resources, including books, videos, organizations, and websites. Filled with Dr. Chansky's compassionate advice and inspiring words from the many children with OCD whom she has helped, this book will be your lifeline. Battling back from OCD is hard work, but with the comprehensive, proven guidance in this book, you can help your child reclaim a life free from its grip.

A “mesmerizing” novel of a family falling apart by the New York Times bestselling author of The Burning Girl. Set in colonial Algeria, the south of France, and New England, and narrated by a fifteen-year-old girl with a ruthless regard for the truth, The Last Life is the tale of the LaBasse family, whose quiet integrity is shattered by the shots from a grandfather’s rifle. As their world suddenly begins to crumble, long-hidden shame emerges: a son abandoned by the family before he was even born, a mother whose identity is not what she has claimed, and a father whose act of defiance brings Hotel Bellevue—the family business—to its knees. From the PEN/Faulkner Award-nominated author of The Emperor’s Children, named one of the best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review, this novel skillfully reveals how the stories we tell ourselves, and the lies to which we cling, can turn on us in a moment. “[A] tour de force . . . every step feels stunningly sure.” —Vogue