Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend (English) Paperback Book

Description: Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend Born to immigrant parents in Minnesota just before the turn of the century, Frances Frankowski grew up coveting the life of her best friend, Rosalie Mendel. And yet, decades later, when the women reconnect in San Francisco, their lives have diverged. Rosalie is a housewife and mother, while Frances works for the Office of Naval Intelligence and has just been given a top-secret assignment: marry handsome spy Ainslie Conway and move to the Galápagos Islands to investigate the Germans living there in the build-up to World War II. Amid active volcanoes, forbidding wildlife and flora, and unfriendly neighbors, Ainslie and Frances carve out a life for themselves. But the secrets they harbor—from their friends, from their enemies, and even from each other—may be their undoing. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Allison Amend, a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, is the author of the novels A Nearly Perfect Copy and Stations West, which was a finalist for the 2011 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Oklahoma Book Award. She is also the author of the Independent Publishers Award-winning short story collection Things That Pass for Love. She lives in New York City where she teaches creative writing. Review "Enchanted Islands is a many faceted jewel. Its a spy thriller, a survivalist memoir, and a portrait of a marriage. . . . Fabulous…. Will carry you away." —Chicago Tribune "An endearing chronicle of female friendship." —The New York Times Book Review, Editors Choice "A vivid picture of a woman surviving in a place where friends and enemies alike can both enthrall and harm. The result is beautiful, terrifying, and haunting, a deeply moving lovechild between Elena Ferrante and John Le Carré." —Chicago Review of Books "Steeped in the wondrous history of the Galápagos and bursting with the magic of pure invention. An elegant stylist and a masterful chronicler of the most hidden and luminous corners of the human experience, Amend is a spectacular talent." —Laura van den Berg, author of Find Me"A fascinating rumination on identity, friendship and love . . . [Amend] vividly evokes Duluths bleakness, Chicagos sparkling bustle, rural Nebraskas quietude and San Franciscos sophistication. Most enticing of all is the otherworldliness of the Galápagos." —San Francisco Chronicle "Dazzling." —Travel + Leisure "Amends novel manages to encompass a womans life, the story of a marriage, a tense standoff between Allied and Axis operatives, and a sensitive examination of womens friendship." —Minneapolis Star Tribune "Allison Amend is a wonderful writer—generous and psychologically astute—and Enchanted Islands is both a sweeping epic and a moving exploration of the intricacies of friendship. This is a beautiful novel that will stay with me for a long time." —Molly Antopol, author of The UnAmericans "Absorbing. . . . Amends spirited rendition of [Frances Conways] life reads less like a memoir and more like Jane Austen. It has acute interpersonal observations and subjective flights of fancy." —BookPage "In Enchanted Islands, Allison Amend distills the entire life of Frances Conway—one of, if not the, most fully realized characters Ive encountered in the last decade—into a captivating narrative. . . . Brilliant." —Jill Alexander Essbaum, New York Times bestselling author of Hausfrau "Mesmerizing and captivating. . . . The kind of book that will make you want to renew your passport" —Bustle "Secrets, lies, and spies on a faraway island. . . . Appealing characters and vivid local color make for an entertaining read." —Kirkus Reviews "In this shrewdly textured yet directly told tale of an unorthodox life, Amend fills Frannys worlds of poverty, intrigue, and indignant old age with rewarding vibrancy and touching vulnerability." —Booklist "A taut, powerful tale of human relationships and the sacrifices people make to maintain their balance." —Publishers Weekly "In this compulsively readable novel, exotic locales and international espionage bend before the greatest intrigue of all: the life of a captivating mind. . . . Enchanted Islands is as moving as it is impossible to put down." —Matthew Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of We Are Not Ourselves Review Quote " Enchanted Islands is a many faceted jewel. Its a spy thriller, a survivalist memoir, and a portrait of a marriage. . . . Fabulous.... Will carry you away." -- Chicago Tribune Discussion Question for Reading Group Guide 1. Despite everything that happens between them, why do you think Frances and Rosalies friendship lasts? What makes for a lifelong friendship? Do you have a Rosalie in your life? 2. Frances is alone for much of the novel. In what way does being an unmarried woman around the turn of the last century affect her choices and opportunities? 3. Do you think Frances should have known why Ainslie is so distant? Should Ainslie have told her sooner? 4. So much of Frances life on Floreana is spent pretending and keeping secrets. Why is she so conflicted about th is? 5. What draws Frances and Elke together? What do they have in common? Would they be friends anywhere else? 6. Frances and Rosalie have very different responses to their faith as they age. Why does Rosalie embrace her heritage while Frances leaves it behind? 7. Though Frances and Ainslie are not lovers in the traditional sense, they care for each other and need each other. Does that give love a different dimension or definition? Should Frances have stayed in her marriage? Why or why not? 8. How is life different for Frances after coming back from the islands? 9. Do you think Josef is good for Frances? Why or why not? 10. Why does Frances feel the need to tell her story at the end of her life? Excerpt from Book Chapter One Youre not allowed to read this--Im not even really allowed to write it. But now that Ainslie is gone and I will surely follow before too long, I dont see that much is the harm. I suppose the government will censor what it will. A curious effect of childlessness is that your story disappears with you. Of course, everyones does eventually, but the suddenness with which my history will be extinguished causes me much consternation. I am of the generation who came of age in the new century, though my formative years were spent in the last--I am therefore pulled between the past and the present. That my life will be of interest to readers I dare not assume. But it is an unusual one, and for that reason alone record should be made of it. * It is the usual manner with these memoirs to begin at the beginning and head toward the end, so I will start with my name: Frances Conway. It was not always thus. Still, this is the name you will read on the placard that is outside my room. I was born on August 3, 1882. I will save you the math--I am eighty-two. It is only thanks to Rosalies largesse that I can spend my last years in relative comfort in a private "retirement home" rather than one of those paupers adult day cares. At mealtimes I am supposed to go to the dining hall where the Mexican nurses serve food that is inoffensive to any palate, which is to say, offensive to all. They are surprised that I speak Spanish. I am in complete possession of my faculties, as much as I ever was. It is merely the corporeal situation that is in disrepair--my hands twisted like muyuyo branches and my back as bent as a burros. I have to wait for someone to push me in my wheelchair if I want to go anywhere, and that stands in contrast to my days in the Gal Details ISBN0804172048 Author Allison Amend Short Title ENCHANTED ISLANDS Pages 320 Language English ISBN-10 0804172048 ISBN-13 9780804172042 Format Paperback DEWEY 813.6 Year 2017 Publication Date 2017-04-18 Country of Publication United States AU Release Date 2017-04-18 NZ Release Date 2017-04-18 US Release Date 2017-04-18 UK Release Date 2017-04-18 Place of Publication New York Publisher Random House USA Inc Imprint Anchor Books Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:137921356;

Price: 47.45 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2025-01-12T03:39:20.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 AUD