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Recommendations based on The Long Songby Andrea Levy
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Small Island
by Andrea Levy
A story of post-WWII immigration, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and racism.
Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received ... (Goodreads)
Half Blood Blues
by Esi Edugyan
Tale of a jazz band's tumultuous journey through the shadows of Nazi Germany.
The aftermath of the fall of Paris, 1940. Hieronymus Falk, a rising star on the cabaret scene, is arrested in a cafe and never heard from again. He is twenty years old. A German citizen. And he is ... (Goodreads)
Through Black Spruce
by Joseph Boyden
A journey of reconciliation, to uncover the truth and find peace.
A haunting novel about identity, love, and loss by the author of, Three Day Road, Will Bird is a legendary Cree bush pilot, now lying in a coma in a hospital in his hometown of Moose Factory, ... (Goodreads)
Half of a Yellow Sun
by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Story of two sisters navigating a civil war in Nigeria, and the effects of colonialism.
The novel takes place in Nigeria prior to and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70). The effect of the war is shown through the relationships of five people's lives including the twin daughters of ... (Wikipedia)
Cloudstreet
by Tim Winton
Two families share a house in Perth, Australia, and navigate their lives over two decades. A story of love, loss, and redemption.
In 1943, precipitated by separate personal tragedies, two poor families, the Lambs and the Pickles, flee their rural homes to share a large house called Cloudstreet in Perth, Western Australia. , The ... (Wikipedia)
The Sense of an Ending
by Julian Barnes
An exploration of memory and its impact on the present, looking at the choices we make in life.
By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be ... (Goodreads)
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.
Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)
We Need New Names
by NoViolet Bulawayo
A young girl's journey from Zimbabwe to America, encountering the struggles of adapting to a different culture.
The novel begins by following a group of mostly pre-teen children - the central character Darling and her friends Stina, Chipo, Bastard and Godknows - living in tin shacks in Zimbabwe after their ... (Wikipedia)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
by Marina Lewycka
A humorous tale of two sisters dealing with their father's marriage to a much younger woman.
The novel describes the reactions of two daughters when their widowed, 84-year-old father Nikolai marries a highly sexual and much younger Ukrainian immigrant, Valentina. Concerned about Valentina’s ... (Wikipedia)
Longbourn
by Jo Baker
A retelling of "Pride and Prejudice" from the perspective of the servants at Longbourn.
Sarah is a young woman of marrying age. Orphaned, she came to work for the Bennet family with whom she still resides along with the other servants including the married Mr and Mrs Hill and the much ... (Wikipedia)
The Double Comfort Safari Club
by Alexander McCall Smith
An adventure filled with humorous observations of culture and humanity.
Readers will agree that this touching and dramatic new installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved and best-selling series is the finest yet. In this story, Precious Ramotswe deals with issues of ... (Goodreads)
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
by Beth Hoffman
A young girl's journey of self-discovery, gaining strength and resilience in the face of adversity.
Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and ... (Goodreads)
Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger
Two sisters explore a haunted London estate, uncovering secrets of a mysterious past.
Elspeth dies of leukemia. Her apartment, located beside Highgate cemetery in London, is left for the daughters of Edwina, her estranged twin sister. Elspeth's nieces, identical twins Julia and ... (Wikipedia)
Brooklyn
by Colm Tóibín
A young Irish woman's migration to America, exploring themes of identity and belonging.
Eilis Lacey is a young woman who is unable to find work in 1950s Ireland . Her older sister Rose organises a meeting with a Catholic priest called Father Flood on a visit from New York City , who ... (Wikipedia)
Their Eyes Were Watching God
by Zora Neale Hurston
A woman's journey of self-discovery, liberation and empowerment.
Fair and long-legged, independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person – no mean feat for a black woman in the '30s. Janie's quest for identity takes her through three ... (Goodreads)
Glass Houses
by Louise Penny
A suspenseful murder mystery set in a remote Quebec village.
An instant, New York Times Bestseller, and August 2017 LibraryReads pick!, “Penny’s absorbing, intricately plotted 13th Gamache novel proves she only gets better at pursuing dark truths with ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
by David Mitchell
An epic tale of love and adventure set in an 18th century Japanese trading port.
The novel begins in the summer of 1799 at the Dutch East India Company trading post Dejima in the harbor of Nagasaki . It tells the story of a Dutch trader's love for a Japanese midwife who is ... (Wikipedia)
The Alice Network
by Kate Quinn
Two women in WWI join forces to unravel secrets of a spy network in search of a missing girl.
The plot follows pregnant American college student Charlie St. Clair in the aftermath of World War II , as she travels around France looking for her missing cousin, Rose. Her story intersects with ... (Wikipedia)
Death in a White Tie
by Ngaio Marsh
A murder mystery set in high society London, where a young man's death leads to a web of secrets and lies.
A body in the back of a taxi begins an elegantly constructed mystery, perhaps the finest of Marsh's 1930s novels.The season had begun. Debutantes and chaperones were planning their luncheons, teas, ... (Goodreads)
Wildflower Hill
by Kimberley Freeman
A woman uncovers her grandmother's past in Tasmania, discovering secrets and a family legacy.
Forced to take her life in a new direction when an injury ends her ballet career, Emma returns to her home in Australia and learns that she has inherited an isolated sheep station from a late ... (Goodreads)
The End of Everything
by Megan Abbott
A teenage girl goes missing in a suburban town, and her best friend tries to unravel the mystery of her disappearance.
Thirteen-year-old Lizzie Hood and her next-door neighbor, Evie Verver, are inseparable, best friends who swap clothes, bathing suits, and field-hockey sticks and between whom, presumably, there are ... (Goodreads)
Life After Life
by Kate Atkinson
A woman lives multiple lives, reflecting on choices and consequences and the power of love.
The novel has an unusual structure, repeatedly looping back in time to describe alternative possible lives for its central character, Ursula Todd, who is born on 11 February 1910 to an ... (Wikipedia)
The One & Only
by Emily Giffin
A small-town girl navigates love, loss, and loyalty in the world of college football.
In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved, New York Times, bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to ... (Goodreads)
Secondhand Spirits
by Juliet Blackwell
Lily Ivory, a witch, opens a vintage clothing store in San Francisco and solves supernatural mysteries.
Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance ... (Goodreads)
The Left Hand of God
by Paul Hoffman
A young boy escapes from a brutal religious cult and becomes embroiled in a war between two powerful factions.
Thomas Cale, a 14-year-old boy is just another recruit of the great conflict between Redeemers and Antagonists – or so he thinks. Along with his two "friends" (friendship is forbidden and Cale is in ... (Wikipedia)
Personal Demon
by Kelley Armstrong
Half-demon Hope Adams must navigate a dangerous world of supernatural politics and personal demons while trying to clear her name.
The initial story is mainly narrated by Hope Adams an Expiso half-demon with other events being narrated by Lucas Cortez, a sorcerer. In the latter parts of the story the narrating is more evenly ... (Wikipedia)
Say You're One of Them
by Uwem Akpan
Collection of stories depicting the lives of children in Africa, facing war, poverty, and adversity.
Uwem Akpan's stunning stories humanize the perils of poverty and violence so piercingly that few readers will feel they've ever encountered Africa so immediately. The eight-year-old narrator of "An ... (Goodreads)
Storm Clouds Rolling In
by Virginia Gaffney
A family saga set in the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction era, exploring themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Carrie Cromwell comes of age as the dark clouds of the Civil War swallow the country. Born with a fiery spirit and a strong mind, she finds herself struggling between the common wisdom of the South ... (Goodreads)
Labor Day
by Joyce Maynard
A single mother and her son take in an escaped convict over Labor Day weekend, leading to unexpected consequences.
Henry Wheeler, a man in his early 30s, recounts his thirteenth year. As Labor Day weekend approaches, 13-year-old Henry sees no reason why this weekend should be any different. He expects it to be as ... (Wikipedia)
North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell
A tale of two contrasting worlds, exploring the divisions of the industrial revolution.
Nineteen-year-old Margaret Hale has lived for almost 10 years in London with her cousin Edith and her wealthy Aunt Shaw, but when Edith marries Captain Lennox, Margaret happily returns home to the ... (Wikipedia)
