American Tales

"It is 1916 in a tuberculosis sanatorium on an alpine lake in the Adirondacks, a world away from WWI. Into this quiet world walks a wealthy patient who introduces weekly discussions that take over the lives of the inhabitants. Barrett uses the disease of tuberculosis brilliantly. The sudden appearance of the bacillus in lungs, the coughing fits, and the blood all evoke war itself, while fear of the disease creates an atmosphere of burgeoning suspicion and the lawless vigilantism that always seems to accompany war. A magnificent novel." --Betsy Burton, The King's English, Salt Lake City, UT

"A random group of men are assembled to work on a mysterious building project in Southern Idaho. As the reader gets inside the heads of these men and realizes how each has been damaged by events in his past, it becomes obvious that lives are being reconstructed as well. This is a very good reading group choice." --Sue Buschmann, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL

"Lalita Tademy weaves the stories of two families in the years following the Civil War into a compelling narrative bristling with distinctive voices." --Warren Wegner, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

"Song Yet Song is a compelling story of slaves' struggle for freedom in pre-Civil War Dorchester County, Maryland, where enslaved blacks lived alongside free blacks. The unpredictable human behavior that continues through the novel reinforces the idea that slavery came -- and comes -- in many forms, to money, to power, to ideas of others more powerful. This is a wonderfully readable book that questions what freedom really is, and it's an outstanding book club pick!" --Helen Markus, HearthFire Books of Evergreen, Evergreen, CO

"In a daring story of three unpredictable characters navigating the treacherous waters of class and race, of forbidden love, and of patriotism in the years right after WWII, Andrew Sean Greer renders an imaginative, moving, and wholly satisfying tribute to the real complexities of the human heart." --Marie du Vaure, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, CA