An Island: A Novel

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • A “beautifully and sparingly constructed” (The New York Times) novel about a lighthouse keeper with a mysterious past, and the stranger who washes up on his shores—An Island is the American debut of a major voice in world literature.\n“An Island by Karen Jennings is quite simply a revelation—a ferocious, swift chess game of a novel.”—Paul Yoon, author of Run Me to Earth\nSamuel has lived alone on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country for more than two decades. He tends to his garden, his lighthouse, and his chickens, content with a solitary life. Routinely, the nameless bodies of refugees wash ashore, but Samuel—who understands that the government only values certain lives, certain deaths—always buries them himself.\nOne day, though, he finds that one of these bodies is still breathing. As he nurses the stranger back to life, Samuel—feeling strangely threatened—is soon swept up in memories of his former life as a political prisoner on the mainland. This was a life that saw his country exploited under colonial rule, followed by a period of revolution and a brief, hard-won independence—only for the cycle of suffering to continue under a cruel dictator. And he can’t help but recall his own shameful role in that history. In this stranger’s presence, he begins to consider, as he did in his youth: What does it mean to own land, or to belong to it? And what does it cost to have, and lose, a home?\nA timeless and gripping portrait of regret, terror, and the extraordinary stakes of companionship, An Island is a story as page-turning as it is profound.

Literature & Fiction

Jennings, Karen

Literary

Hogarth

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE * LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE&nbsp;*&nbsp;A "beautifully and sparingly constructed" (The New York Times) novel about a lighthouse keeper with a mysterious past, and the stranger who washes up on his shores--An Island is the American debut of a major voice in world literature. "An Island by Karen Jennings is quite simply a revelation--a ferocious, swift chess game of a novel."--Paul Yoon, author of Run Me to Earth ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Vulture Samuel has lived alone on an island off the coast of an unnamed African country for more than two decades. He tends to his garden, his lighthouse, and his chickens, content with a solitary life. Routinely, the nameless bodies of refugees wash ashore, but Samuel--who understands that the government only values certain lives, certain deaths--always buries them himself. One day, though, he finds that one of these bodies is still breathing. As he nurses the stranger back to life, Samuel--feeling strangely threatened--is soon swept up in memories of his former life as a political prisoner on the mainland. This was a life that saw his country exploited under colonial rule, followed by a period of revolution and a brief, hard-won independence--only for the cycle of suffering to continue under a cruel dictator. And he can't help but recall his own shameful role in that history. In this stranger's presence, he begins to consider, as he did in his youth: What does it mean to own land, or to belong to it? And what does it cost to have, and lose, a home? A timeless and gripping portrait of regret, terror, and the extraordinary stakes of companionship, An Island is a story as page-turning as it is profound.

A woman in post-apartheid South Africa confronts her family's troubling past in this taut and daring novel about national trauma and collective guilt--from the Booker Prize-longlisted author of An Island. "Extraordinary . . . unputdownable."--Roddy Doyle Cape Town, 2028. The land cracks from a years-long drought, the nearby mountains threaten to burn, and the queue for the water trucks grows ever longer. In her crumbling corner of a public housing complex, Deidre van Deventer receives a call from the South African police. Her family home, recently reclaimed by the government, has become the scene of a criminal investigation. The remains of several bodies have just been unearthed from her land, after decades underground. Detectives pepper Deidre with questions: Was your brother a member of a pro-apartheid group in the 1990s? Is it true that he was building bombs as part of a terrorist plot? Deidre doesn't know the answers to the detectives' questions. All she knows is that she was denied--repeatedly--the life she felt she deserved. Overshadowed by her brother, then left behind by her daughter after she emigrated, Deidre must watch over her aging mother and make do with government help and the fading generosity of her neighbors while the landscape around her grows more and more combustible. As alarming evidence from the investigation continues to surface, and detectives pressure her to share what she knows of her family's disturbing past, Deidre must finally face her own shattered memories so that something better might emerge for her and her country. In exquisitely spare prose, Karen Jennings weaves a singularly powerful novel about post-apartheid South Africa. It is an unforgettable, propulsive story of fractured families, collective guilt, the ways we become trapped in prisons of our own making, and how we can begin to break free.

Crooked Seeds: A Novel

"HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner" provides vegans and non-vegans alike with delicious stress-free choices for dinner. Every recipe in this beautiful book has a colour picture showing the finished dish along with easy to follow instructions and readily available ingredients. There are also useful snippets of information covering topics such as "Do vegans eat honey?" "Vegan dairy substitutes" and "What is a Vegan Anyway?". Traditionally, food has brought people together at social events and family gatherings. But when someone becomes a vegan, things change. For people who eat a meat-based diet, the thought of entertaining a vegan can be quite overwhelming. "HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner" dispels the myth that vegans are impossible to feed, and has 100 recipes including delights such as not-chicken pot pie, roasted vegetable lasagna, lentil spaghetti bolognaise, apricot and vegetable tagine, and chocolate pudding.

Help! There's a Vegan Coming for Dinner!

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Entertaining & Holidays

art and soul interiors

Japanese food is becoming increasingly popular in the west, but for many it still conjures up images of raw fish served on a mound of rice. HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner - Japanese Style invites readers to look beyond this narrow preconception and sample delights such as noodle soups, gingered faux beef and tempura apples with whisky dip. Sometimes people who eat a meat-based diet find the thought of cooking for a vegan quite overwhelming. HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner - Japanese Style dispels the myth that vegans are impossible to feed, even when cooking up a Japanese style banquet. Every recipe in this beautiful book is free from meat, seafood, dairy and eggs but full of flavour. Each one has a colour picture showing the finished dish along with easy to follow instructions and ingredients readily available from major grocery chains or Asian supermarkets.

HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner - Japanese Style

Regional & International

"I've always wanted to go to Japan." For over twenty years this mantra was uttered after every Kurasawa movie, during every Japanese dinner and upon returning home after every holiday. Until finally, one evening after watching the classic Japanese movie Tampopo, something happened. As the movie drew to an end he turned to his wife and sighed deeply. "I've always wanted to go to Japan..." Much to his surprise, she replied "So let's go!" His 50th birthday was looming on the horizon and it seemed like the perfect time to buy some extra-legroom seats on a plane, spread their wings and fly away. After joining up with a small band of fellow adventurers, two British-Canadians headed off to the land of the rising sun to experience the delights of bullet trains, bento boxes, communal baths and eating pancakes on Mount Fuji. Told with gentle humour, this is the story of their trip to Tokyo, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Miyajima and Kawaguchiko. Grab a pot of green tea or a bottle of sake, curl up in your favourite armchair and experience the journey for yourself from the comfort of your own home. Over 100 beautiful photographs will help guide you on your way, and at the end you will find yourself sighing "I want to go to Japan."

Tall Travel Tales: Japan. Tokyo, Takayama and Beyond

Travel

Asia

India. The land of the Maharajas, spicy food and Holy cows. A country known for its open sewers, extreme poverty and crazy drivers. What kind of person would want to go there on holiday? Somebody who wanted to eat a curry in its homeland. Brave the crowded streets of Delhi. Sleep in a tent in the desert. Walk barefoot in a temple inhabited by hundreds of rats.  Somebody like Karen. So she booked herself and her bemused husband on a tour with a small adventure travel company and did all of these things and more. India was a wild, exciting, dirty, frustrating country. Is she pleased she went? And, perhaps more importantly, would she ever go back? Grab a cup of chai tea and a pakora or two, settle back in your favourite chair and find out for yourself as you read about her adventures in Tall Travel Tales: India. Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan and Rats.  This book contains over 200 colour photographs.

Tall Travel Tales: India. Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan and Rats.

The island eventually known as Sea Isle was first purchased by Joseph Ludlam in 1692 for use as a grazing pasture. The island changed almost overnight when Charles K. Landis purchased it in 1880, intent on creating a seaside resort. After adding a railroad and hotels, tourists soon followed. The boardwalk hosted beach parties; clam bakes; and bicycle, sack, and even motorcycle races. Wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and the back bays, commercial fishing companies shared the waters with casual anglers. Recreational sailing, yacht racing, and sport fishing have long been popular with Sea Isle’s year-round residents and visitors alike. Sea Isle City Revisited showcases the rich maritime and recreational history of this New Jersey coastal town.

Sea Isle City Revisited (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Horn, Donna Van

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

In 1722, Seven Mile Beach, covered in red cedar and holly, bayberry bushes and beach plums, was acquired by the Leaming family, who used it for grazing and whaling. Long undeveloped, the southern portion of the island was sold to the South Jersey Realty Company in 1907. The Risley brothers sold bonds to support their vision of a seaside resort serving the wealthy of Philadelphia. Dunes were leveled, roads laid out, and basins dredged, creating the ideal vacation destination. Grand hotels shared space with workmen's cottages, and businesses sprang up to serve the crowds who flocked to Stone Harbor. The maritime ties of the community are evident in the long history of the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor, which traces its beginnings to as early as 1895. The clubhouse, built in 1909 and standing on its original site, is host to sailing and social activities throughout the year.

Stone Harbor Revisited (Images of America)

Van Horn, Donna

Away from the Dead

Holland Park Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jennings, Karen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jennings, Karen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jennings, Karen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

An Island: A Novel

An Island: A Novel

Crooked Seeds: A Novel

Help! There's a Vegan Coming for Dinner!

HELP! There's a VEGAN Coming for Dinner - Japanese Style

Tall Travel Tales: Japan. Tokyo, Takayama and Beyond

Tall Travel Tales: India. Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan and Rats.

Sea Isle City Revisited (Images of America)

Stone Harbor Revisited (Images of America)

Away from the Dead