Bøger af Joann Smith

Boudicca is seventeen and in love. It is 48 A.D. and Boudicca's father, king of the Iceni people of southeast Britain, has sworn allegiance to the Roman Empire. The Iceni are living in a tentative peace with the Roman invaders. But Boudicca and her lover, Tallus, can find no peace as long as Roman soldiers occupy Iceni territory. They see the acceptance of Rome as a betrayal of their people and a dire threat to their culture. Taking a stand against Rome, however, comes with the stiffest of penalties. Tallus attempts a revolt but he is captured and executed. Boudicca's father is dethroned. Forced to marry a man of Rome's choosing, Boudicca becomes a pawn in an imperial power game. But not for long. When her husband dies, Boudicca is stripped of her land, beaten, and forced to witness the rape of her daughters at the hands of Roman soldiers. The rebellious spirit of her youth now explodes into the full fury of an anguished woman. Determined to avenge her daughters and save her people from extinction, Boudicca turns the force of a mother's wrath on Rome. When I Was Boudicca takes the reader on a thrilling and intimate journey of love and loss. Told in the first person, this novel gives Boudicca her own voice, breaking the silence history has imposed on her and bringing the ageless heroine to vivid life.

A widow plans her husband's funeral feeling as much resentment towards him as grief. A mother believes her young son has the DNA of a long-dead ex-boyfriend. A woman becomes obsessed with a drifter who stands in the same spot every day in her neighborhood. A couple grieving a series of miscarriages set out to adopt in China, only to get pregnant again. In thirteen stories that explore the complexities and messiness of faith, marriage, illness, and grief, Joann Smith's A Heaven of Their Choosing is a wise debut collection for fans of Grace Paley or Alice Munro."e;Reading A Heaven of Their Choosing is like touring a set of rooms inside the enormous house of fiction. At the center of each sits a character, often isolated and regretful, whose interior is revealed with a candor and dead-pan irony reminiscent of the stories of John McGahern and even Joyce. Like them, Smith knows how to invade people's privacy while keeping a steady eye on the everyday world around them. And sometimes, lives defined by boredom and limitation are lifted by event into insight and wonder. She is a writerly writer, whose stories will appeal to readers who wish to experience not just what happens next but how, sentence by sentence, it manages to happen at all."e; --Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the United States 2001-3"e;Joann Smith's A Heaven of Their Choosing is a collection of authentic, gut-wrenching, raw, hold-your-breath, can't-put-them-down, stories. There is a miracle in these pages that transports the reader to the place where art transcends us, a place where it is possible to simultaneously feel pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, and reach an epiphany: there is hope for us all. It is a collection one will return to again and again and again."e; --Patricia Dunn, author of Rebels By Accident and Last Stop on the 6. "e;I was riveted by A Heaven of Their Choosing. With a flair for mesmerizing irony inside of unerring truths, Smith delves into the power of language in our lives. From a wife's correspondence hidden in a honeymoon suitcase to a young employee at a gun shop's curiosity about a customer's choice of target, Smith delivers a collection of exquisite stories that will make you look at yourself and the choices in your life anew."e; --Jimin Han, author of A Small Revolution and The Apology, forthcoming in 2023.

Janie loves to play pretend and make-believe. Imaginative and creative, she often feels like other kids just don't understand her! But then she meets Brio the Bear-at first, she isn't sure about him, because he has many flaws. But Brio doesn't let anything slow him down, and Janie learns to see his beauty as a unique, special friend. Brio may be imperfect, but he's perfect for Janie! This heartwarming book is a lovely fable for young children, with an important message that friendship can come from unexpected places, and everyone deserves to feel accepted and loved.