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Tag Archives: survival

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild  

22 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in England, Fiction

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castles, Cornwall County, England, family relationships, survival

For more than 700 years, the vast, rambling Trelawney Castle in Cornwall–turrets, follies, a room for every day of the year, four miles of corridors and 500,000 acres–was the magnificent and grand “three dimensional calling card” of the Earls of Trelawney. By 2008, it is in a complete state of ruin due to the dulled ambition and the financial ineptitude of the twenty-four earls, two world wars, the Wall Street crash, and inheritance taxes. (from the publisher) Four women dominate the story and discover what really keeps a family together.  An utterly delightful and refreshing read.

“Rothschild is a witty, stylish storyteller and her overall message feels timely.”—Lucy Atkins, The Sunday Times

“A real page turner . . . sparklingly acerbic social satire . . . . Funny and absorbing, House of Trelawney is the perfect antidote to a grey, Scottish winter’s day.”—John Badenhorst, The Courier & Advertiser

“Nothing is left out in this madcap . . .  novel, which parodies British aristocracy on one hand and the social-climbing world of new money on the other. There are odd, unlikely romances, a suicide, and babies born out of wedlock . . . Ms. Rothschild is an intelligent writer and an elegant prose stylist. The first female chair of the National Gallery, she describes her characters’ physical characteristics with the eye of someone who’s spent a lifetime looking carefully at paintings . . . Britain, that “sceptered isle,” is a shadow of its former self. But one thing the British haven’t lost is their sense of humor, and Ms. Rothschild provides a large dose of it in this quirky satire.” —Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal

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The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

23 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Biography, case studies, Non-fiction

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hermits, Maine, nature, recluses, Smithfield region, solitude, survival, thieves

If you have ever dreamed of getting away from it all, then this is the book for you!

In 1986, a young man seeking a quiet and peaceful life, drove his car into the back woods of Maine, left the keys on the dashboard and disappeared for 27 years.  Where did he sleep, what did he eat, how did he survive the black fly season and the rain and the bitter cold and was he ever lonely?  All these questions and many more will be answered.  P.S. This book has a Metrowest Boston connection.

“A story that takes the two primary human relationships—to nature and to one another—and deftly upends our assumptions about both. This was a breathtaking book to read and many weeks later I am still thinking about the implications for our society and—by extension—for my own life.”—Sebastian Junger

“An absorbing exploration of solitude and man’s eroding relationship with the natural world. Though the ‘stranger’ in the title is Knight, one closes the book with the sense that Knight, like all seers, is the only sane person in a world gone insane—that modern civilization has made us strangers to ourselves.”—Nathaniel Rich, The Atlantic

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Ruthless River: Love and Survival by Raft on the Amazon’s Relentless Madre de Dios by Holly FitzGerald

26 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Non-fiction, Travel

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Amazon River region, description, hardship, survival, travel

True life story.  Holly FitzGerald and her husband set off on the adventure of their dreams a year into their marriage in the late ’70’s.  The harrowing story of what went wrong in the Amazon and how they survived, kept me racing through chapters as if my survival was bound up with theirs.  Short crisp chapters, excellent editing, and riveting determination make this a winner read.

“Both travel memoir and shocking adventure story, like a real-life Survivor or Naked and Afraid . . . A powerful story about survival, love, and faith in the face of impossible odds . . .  Unputdownable . . . absolutely fascinating.”—Katie Lawrence, Library Journal

“One of the great survival tales. An almost unbearable story told with a physical and emotional intensity that draws the reader in, not just as witness, but as virtual participant. It’s an exhausting, painful, inspiring read.”—Michael Palin, author of Traveling to Work

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The Evening Chorus by Helen Humphreys

15 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction, Historical Fiction

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airmen, England, husbands and wives, prisoner of war, survival, World War I 1939-1945

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In this quiet and contemplative book the author explores the topics of imprisonment and freedom while interweaving the story with bird-watching.  Both James Hunter, a young British pilot shot down in Germany during World War II and imprisoned as a POW, and his lonely wife, Rose, find solace during wartime. As the war comes to an end and perhaps the return of happiness, both characters find that they long for the wartime years.  The author’s love of nature in the British landscape is an added bonus. Many of the scenes are set in Ashdown Forest, the enchanted home of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin.

“Scintillating…What Humphreys does so well, in beautiful, precise prose, is convey the shock of that violence, how it rends the everyday. I am very glad to have spent some of my moments on earth reading The Evening Chorus. I reached the end with a sense of wonder that so much life and pain and beauty could be contained in so few pages.”
—The Boston Globe

“Humphreys (Nocturne, 2013, etc.) offers a heartbreaking yet redemptive story about loss and survival…Humphreys deserves more recognition for the emotional intensity and evocative lyricism of her seemingly straightforward prose and for her ability to quietly squirrel her way into the reader’s heart.”—Kirkus, starred review

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Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

09 Monday May 2016

Posted by Weston Public Library Staff in Fiction

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missing persons, survival, suspense, thriller, wilderness areas

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A powerful story of two women in the Colorado wilderness and of their survival, physical and emotional, that will keep the reader turning pages into the night!

“A visceral book, building suspense from sensory details…A page turning, two-pronged wildlife adventure.”—The Wall Street Journal

“A taut and thrilling narrative…Skillfully blending the emotional terrain of women’s fiction with a briskly paced adventure story.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A powerful story of survival, wilderness field craft, and fractured relationships packed into a suspenseful plot with more than a few surprises.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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