Unforgettable Fiction
Simon Van Booy
Life Sentences by Billy O’Callaghan “Poignant . . . powerful.” — New York Times
The Presence of Absence by Simon Van Booy “A moving, brilliant book.” —Ann Beattie
One Irish family’s fight for survival makes for an unforgettable tale of love, abandonment, and redemption. At just 16, Nancy Martin leaves the small island of Cape Clear for the mainland, the only member of her family to survive the effects of the Great Famine. Find- ing work in a grand house on the edge of Cork City, she is irrepressibly drawn to the charis- matic gardener Michael Egan, sparking a love affair and a devastating chain of events that continues to unfold over three generations. Billy O’Callaghan weaves together the journey of an Irish family determined against all odds to be free. Based on stories told by the author’s
As a writer lies dying, he has one last story to tell: a tale of faith and devotion, a meditation on what lies beyond this life, and a prayer of gratitude that may lead to rebirth. This is Simon Van Booy at his visionary best. “Language is a map leading to a place not on the map,” announces a young writer lying in a hospi- tal bed. As he contemplates his impending phys- ical disappearance and the impact on his beloved wife, he realizes, “Life doesn’t start when you’re born . . . it begins when you commit yourself to the eventual devastating loss that results from connecting to another person.”
Infused with poetic clarity and graced with humor, Simon Van Booy’s innovative novella asks the reader to find beauty—even gratitude—in the cycle of birth and death. Simon Van Booy is not only a master storyteller but a writer whose fiction is rich with philosophical insights into things both mapped and undiscovered. The Presence of Absence parts the darkness to reveal what has been just out of sight all along. NEW · 184 PAGES · HARDCOVER · $24.95
parents and grandparents, the novel is so rich in life and empathy it is impossible to let go of his characters. This novel confirms O’Callaghan as one of the finest living Irish writers. 200 PAGES · HARDCOVER · $24.95
Beneficence by Meredith Hall “Electrifying beauty and grace.” — Boston Globe
Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy “It is a heartbreaking book, a gorgeous book.”—NPR In Kentucky, back in 1933, Carol’s daddy lost his 13-year-old daughter in a game of cards. This spellbinding novel spans decades as incidents intersect and lives unexpectedly change course in a masterfully interwoven story of chance and choice that leads home again to a night blessed with light. NEW in Paperback · 248 PAGES
When they meet in the 1930s, Doris and Tup’s love is immediate. They marry quickly, and Doris commits to the only life Tup ever wanted: working the Senter family farm. But even as they’re blessed with chil- dren, Doris is uneasy, and she confesses, “We can’t ever know what will come.” When an unimaginable tragedy occurs, everything the Senters held faith in is shattered. The family is consumed by a dark shadow of grief and guilt. Slowly, the surviving Senters must find their way to forgiveness—of themselves and of each other. New York Times bestselling author Meredith Hall’s
radiant debut novel is a study of love—both its gifts and its obligations—that will stay with readers long after the last page. With a rare tenderness and compassion, Beneficence
SOFTCOVER · $17.95 HARDCOVER · $25.95
illuminates the heart’s enduring covenants and compromises. NEW · 288 PAGES · SOFTCOVER · $16.95 · HARDCOVER · $25.95
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