News
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June 4, 2009
The Unit picked for "Discover"
Ninni Holmqvist's American debut novel The Unit has been selected for Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great New Writers" program. It will be featured from August through October.
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June 1, 2009
Appassionata on NPR.org's "Books We Like"
Jessa Crispin reviewed Eva Hoffman's new novel Appassionata for NPR.org, calling it "a nuanced look at the role of music in our lives."
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May 29, 2009
HomeSpun wins ForeWord Editor's Choice Award
Nilita Vachani's HomeSpun was awarded ForeWord Magazine's Editor's Choice Award for Fiction, the award's highest honor, at the annual Book of the Year Awards ceremony at BookExpo.
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May 28, 2009
O'Dea discusses High on "Talk of the Nation"
Brian O'Dea, author of High, made an appearance on NPR's "Talk of the Nation" to discuss his memoir. An excerpt and archived audio are available at NPR.org.
Featured Book
The Unit
Written by Ninni Holmqvist, Translated by Marlaine Delargy
Following in the footsteps of such dystopian classics as Brave New World and 1984, The Unit is a startling reflection of our present time that asks the question: Are all people of equal worth?
One day in early spring, Dorrit Weger is checked into the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. She is promised a nicely furnished apartment inside the Unit, where she will make new friends, enjoy the state-of-the-art recreation facilities, and live the few remaining days of her life in comfort with people who are just like her. Here, women over the age of fifty and men over sixty—single, childless, and without jobs in progressive industries—are sequestered for their final few years; they are considered outsiders. In the Unit they are expected to contribute themselves for drug and psychological testing, and ultimately donate their organs, little by little, until the final donation. Despite the ruthless nature of this practice, the ethos of this near-future society and the Unit is to take care of others, and Dorrit finds herself living under very pleasant conditions: wellhoused, well-fed, and well-attended. She is resigned to her fate and discovers her days there to be rather consoling and peaceful. But when she meets a man inside the Unit and falls in love, the extraordinary becomes a reality and life suddenly turns unbearable. Dorrit is faced with compliance or escape, and...well, then what?
The Unit is a gripping exploration of a society in the throes of a system geared toward eliminating those who don't contribute by conventional means, in which the "dispensable" ones are convinced under gentle coercion of the importance of sacrificing for the "necessary" ones. It also looks deeply into the nature of the female psyche, at its resilience and creativity under dire conditions. Ninni Holmqvist has created a debut novel of humor, sorrow, and rage, that explores love, the close bonds of friendship, and a cynical, utilitarian way of thinking disguised as care.
Featured Book
A Girl's Guide To Modern European Philosophy
Written by Charlotte Greig
A sparkling, original debut novel that crosses Bridget Jones with the philosophies of Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Kierkegaard.
Susannah's official boyfriend, Jason, is the perfect foil for her student lifestyle. He is ten years older, an antiques dealer, and owns a stylish apartment that prevents her from having to live in the seedy digs on campus. This way, she can take her philosophy major very seriously and dabble in the social and sexual freedom of 1970s university life. But circumstances become more complicated than Susannah would like when she begins to have an affair with her tutorial partner, Rob. Soon she is dating two men, missing her lectures, exploring independence and feminism with her girlfriends, and finding herself in a particularly impossible dilemma: she becomes pregnant. Forced to look beyond her friends and lovers for support, she finds help and inspiration from the lessons of Kierkegaard and other European philosophers.
A Girl's Guide to Modern European Philosophy is a delightfully insightful, bittersweet coming-of-age romp, in which love is far from platonic and the mind–body predicament a pressing reality. It even succeeds where many introductions to philosophy have failed, by effortlessly bringing to life the central tenets of the most important European philosophers of modern times.
Featured Author
Brian O'Dea
Author of High
Brian O'Dea is now gainfully employed as a film and television producer in Toronto, where he lives with his wife and son. He also regularly speaks about his own experiences to young people struggling with addictions. High won the 2007 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Non-Fiction Crime and it is currently being adapted into a feature film.
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