Other books that might interest you

• 

  Anna Karenina Book 1

  Leo Tolstoy

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage to follow her heart and must endure the hypocrisies of society. (Summary by Mary Anderson)

  Show book

• 

  Farmer and Servant - Short...

  H.I.E Dhlomo

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Set against the backdrop of rural South Africa during the early 20th century, Farmer and Servant by H.I.E. Dhlomo offers a poignant exploration of power, race, and class. In a society deeply divided by apartheid and racial hierarchies, this gripping short story tells the tale of a proud white farmer and his Black servant, whose relationship becomes increasingly fraught as power dynamics shift and tensions rise. 
  The farmer’s authority is unquestioned, and the servant is bound by the invisible chains of his social position—until a single event challenges the fragile balance between them. Through Dhlomo's sharp narrative, we are confronted with the brutal realities of racial inequality and the complexities of human dignity, loyalty, and identity. The story reveals how the racialised system of the time shaped the lives and perceptions of both characters in ways they cannot easily escape. 
  This timeless story is a powerful examination of racial tensions, human struggles, and the longing for personal agency. Farmer and Servant is an essential listen for anyone interested in stories that challenge social norms, history, and the human condition.

  Show book

• 

  My Government Means to Kill Me -...

  Rasheed Newson

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  This program is read by actor, singer, and dancer Jelani Alladin, who originated the role of Kristoff in Broadway's Frozen musical.A fierce and riveting queer coming-of-age story following the personal and political awakening of a young gay Black man in 1980s New York City, from the television drama writer and producer of The Chi, Narcos, and Bel-Air“Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor, Rasheed Newson’s debut novel has given us the story of Trey, set against the history of 80s queer Black New York, AIDS, and the movements that changed the era. A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we’ve needed for a long time. That—and a rollicking read! What more could you want?” —Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less  Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, Earl “Trey” Singleton III leaves his overbearing parents and their expectations behind by running away to New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. In the city, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that changes his life forever. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activists, becomes a member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life amid so much death.Vibrant, humorous, and fraught with entanglements, Rasheed Newson’s My Government Means to Kill Me is an exhilarating, fast-paced coming-of-age story that lends itself to a larger discussion about what it means for a young gay Black man in the mid-1980s to come to terms with his role in the midst of a political and social reckoning.A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.

  Show book

• 

  Miss Mackenzie

  Anthony Trollope

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The thirty-five year-old (hence utterly over-the-hill) Miss Margaret Mackenzie, having devoted her life to others, suddenly finds herself with no one to care for, and in possession of a moderate fortune. Having money, she is now much sought-after and no longer universally deemed too old to marry. Partly because she has spent her life taking care of the brother whose money she has now inherited, she has no experience of wealth or popularity. Miss Mackenzie is the definition of “other-oriented. (Indeed, Trollope originally considered naming the novel, and his heroine, “Griselda”, presumably to invoke the folkloric character’s qualities of stolid obedience and endless patience.) These circumstances are the perfect set-up for classic Trollopian swipes and snipes at various fortune-hunters and other obsequies, and more broadly at society’s sexism, classism, and Mammonism. She comes into her own and begins to try to enjoy life, at first juggling, but ultimately rejecting, three serious suitors. As the story unfolds, the particulars of her deceased brother’s life and death reveal themselves, Miss Mackenzie becomes increasingly able to know who she is and what she wants, and both she and the reader are better able to discern the true colors of those around her. The question is: Will her self-knowledge overcome both her personal history and various social prejudices, so as to allow her to fall in love with – and say “yes” to – a really good man? (Summary by Kirsten Wever)

  Show book

• 

  Lady Susan

  Jane Austen

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted novel of Regency manners and mores that will delight Austen enthusiasts with its wit and elegant expression.

  Show book

• 

  Bad Fruit - A Novel

  Ella King

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Just graduated from high school and waiting to start college at Oxford, Lily lives under the scrutiny of her volatile Singaporean mother, May, and is unable to find kinship with her elusive British father, Charlie. When May suspects that Charlie is having an affair, there's only one thing that calms May down: a glass of perfectly spoiled orange juice served by Lily, who must always taste it first to make sure it's just right. 
   
   
   
  As her mother becomes increasingly unhinged, Lily starts to have flashbacks that she knows aren't her own. Over a sweltering London summer, all semblance of civility and propriety is lost, as Lily begins to unravel the harrowing history that has always cast a shadow on her mother. The horrifying secrets she uncovers will shake her family to its core, culminating in a shattering revelation that will finally set Lily free. 
   
   
   
  Beautiful and shocking, Bad Fruit is as compulsive as it is thought-provoking, as nuanced as it is explosive. A masterful exploration of mothers and daughters, inherited trauma and the race to break its devastating cycle, Bad Fruit will leave listeners breathlessly questioning their own notions of femininity, race, and redemption. 
   
   
   
  Contains mature themes.

  Show book