Author: Hannah McQueen
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761189131
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
The must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. Financial conditions are tough. Back in the day, provided you spent less than you earned, you could pay off your mortgage and drift towards a comfortable retirement. This is no longer the case. In Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement, you will learn how to reset your finances to put yourself in a better position to make real financial progress. Hannah McQueen will show you how to set financial goals, how to save well, how to improve your money-management system and how to get your money working harder for you. This is aimed at anyone, not only high-income earners or those who start saving for retirement early. Your money habits are more important than your income level, and self-awareness is more powerful than financial literacy. With well-explained theory, real case studies and proven methodologies, this is a must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. It's not too late for anyone. This book puts you on the right track to maximise your forward momentum. Fully revised and updated edition for today's financial conditions. 'Anyone who is concerned about money needs to read this book.' Toni Street 'Hannah has empowered so many Kiwis to take control of their financial futures.' Jack Tame 'This book works! Hannah elevates your thinking, goals and results, whatever your financial situation.' Stacey Morrison
Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement
Author: Hannah McQueen
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761189131
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
The must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. Financial conditions are tough. Back in the day, provided you spent less than you earned, you could pay off your mortgage and drift towards a comfortable retirement. This is no longer the case. In Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement, you will learn how to reset your finances to put yourself in a better position to make real financial progress. Hannah McQueen will show you how to set financial goals, how to save well, how to improve your money-management system and how to get your money working harder for you. This is aimed at anyone, not only high-income earners or those who start saving for retirement early. Your money habits are more important than your income level, and self-awareness is more powerful than financial literacy. With well-explained theory, real case studies and proven methodologies, this is a must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. It's not too late for anyone. This book puts you on the right track to maximise your forward momentum. Fully revised and updated edition for today's financial conditions. 'Anyone who is concerned about money needs to read this book.' Toni Street 'Hannah has empowered so many Kiwis to take control of their financial futures.' Jack Tame 'This book works! Hannah elevates your thinking, goals and results, whatever your financial situation.' Stacey Morrison
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1761189131
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
The must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. Financial conditions are tough. Back in the day, provided you spent less than you earned, you could pay off your mortgage and drift towards a comfortable retirement. This is no longer the case. In Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement, you will learn how to reset your finances to put yourself in a better position to make real financial progress. Hannah McQueen will show you how to set financial goals, how to save well, how to improve your money-management system and how to get your money working harder for you. This is aimed at anyone, not only high-income earners or those who start saving for retirement early. Your money habits are more important than your income level, and self-awareness is more powerful than financial literacy. With well-explained theory, real case studies and proven methodologies, this is a must-have guide to navigating your money so you can have the life you deserve. It's not too late for anyone. This book puts you on the right track to maximise your forward momentum. Fully revised and updated edition for today's financial conditions. 'Anyone who is concerned about money needs to read this book.' Toni Street 'Hannah has empowered so many Kiwis to take control of their financial futures.' Jack Tame 'This book works! Hannah elevates your thinking, goals and results, whatever your financial situation.' Stacey Morrison
Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement
Author: Hannah McQueen
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1925268047
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
Get serious about your money, pay off your mortgage quickly and ensure you have enough for retirement 'We will now pay off our mortgage in five years rather than 30 years' Kirsten & Mike Mason, Fair Go 'It's a relief to be working with Hannah to sort our retirement' Mark Leishman Hannah McQueen shares her expertise so you can take control of your finances, save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest costs, and sort your retirement - once and for all. This is a must-have guide for those who want to get ahead now. Her unique approach to managing your money emphasises your psychology of spending and the role money plays in your relationships. Hannah does not shy away from the obstacles we all face in getting ahead, instead she offers clever tips on how cutting day-to-day costs will enable you to build a cash surplus so you have extra money for mortgage repayments. Her simple framework to calculate your retirement costs and practical solutions to sort retirement are a relief. Imagine if you could pay off your mortgage in ten years instead of 25, while still having a life! It's not too late for anyone - Hannah will set you on the right track.
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 1925268047
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
Get serious about your money, pay off your mortgage quickly and ensure you have enough for retirement 'We will now pay off our mortgage in five years rather than 30 years' Kirsten & Mike Mason, Fair Go 'It's a relief to be working with Hannah to sort our retirement' Mark Leishman Hannah McQueen shares her expertise so you can take control of your finances, save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest costs, and sort your retirement - once and for all. This is a must-have guide for those who want to get ahead now. Her unique approach to managing your money emphasises your psychology of spending and the role money plays in your relationships. Hannah does not shy away from the obstacles we all face in getting ahead, instead she offers clever tips on how cutting day-to-day costs will enable you to build a cash surplus so you have extra money for mortgage repayments. Her simple framework to calculate your retirement costs and practical solutions to sort retirement are a relief. Imagine if you could pay off your mortgage in ten years instead of 25, while still having a life! It's not too late for anyone - Hannah will set you on the right track.
The Thursday Murder Club
Author: Richard Osman
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1984880985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
Soon to be a Major Motion Picture The first installment in the beloved and New York Times bestselling series from Richard Osman, also author of We Solve Murders Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late? “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1984880985
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 385
Book Description
Soon to be a Major Motion Picture The first installment in the beloved and New York Times bestselling series from Richard Osman, also author of We Solve Murders Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first big case A brutal murder Welcome to... THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club. When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case. As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late? “Witty, endearing and greatly entertaining.” —Wall Street Journal
Kill Your Mortgage & Sort Your Retirement Updated Edition
Author: Hannah McQueen
Publisher: A&u New Zealand
ISBN: 9781991006783
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Get serious about your money, pay off your mortgage quickly and ensure you have enough for retirement 'We will now pay off our mortgage in five years rather than 30 years' Kirsten & Mike Mason, Fair Go 'It's a relief to be working with Hannah to sort our retirement' Mark Leishman Hannah McQueen shares her expertise so you can take control of your finances, save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest costs, and sort your retirement - once and for all. This is a must-have guide for those who want to get ahead now. Her unique approach to managing your money emphasises your psychology of spending and the role money plays in your relationships. Hannah does not shy away from the obstacles we all face in getting ahead, instead she offers clever tips on how cutting day-to-day costs will enable you to build a cash surplus so you have extra money for mortgage repayments. Her simple framework to calculate your retirement costs and practical solutions to sort retirement are a relief. Imagine if you could pay off your mortgage in ten years instead of 25, while still having a life! It's not too late for anyone - Hannah will set you on the right track.
Publisher: A&u New Zealand
ISBN: 9781991006783
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Get serious about your money, pay off your mortgage quickly and ensure you have enough for retirement 'We will now pay off our mortgage in five years rather than 30 years' Kirsten & Mike Mason, Fair Go 'It's a relief to be working with Hannah to sort our retirement' Mark Leishman Hannah McQueen shares her expertise so you can take control of your finances, save hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest costs, and sort your retirement - once and for all. This is a must-have guide for those who want to get ahead now. Her unique approach to managing your money emphasises your psychology of spending and the role money plays in your relationships. Hannah does not shy away from the obstacles we all face in getting ahead, instead she offers clever tips on how cutting day-to-day costs will enable you to build a cash surplus so you have extra money for mortgage repayments. Her simple framework to calculate your retirement costs and practical solutions to sort retirement are a relief. Imagine if you could pay off your mortgage in ten years instead of 25, while still having a life! It's not too late for anyone - Hannah will set you on the right track.
Killing Sacred Cows
Author: Garrett B. Gunderson
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 1929774516
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
Our culture is riddled with destructive myths about money and prosperity that are severely limiting our power, creativity, and financial potential. In "Killing Sacred Cows", Garrett B Gunderson boldly exposes ingrained fallacies and misguided traditions in the world of per-sonal finance. He presents a revolutionary perspective that can create unprecedented opportu-nity and wealth for individuals. Our financial lives are intimately connected to our societal contributions, and we must be financially free in order to achieve our fullest potential. Yet most people are held captive in their financial lives by misinformation, propaganda, and lack of knowledge. Through well-reasoned arguments and pitiless logic, Gunderson attacks these sacred cows with revelatory insights, such as: High returns without high risk; "Security" without a corporate job; Debt that increases your financial productivity; Enjoying your money instead of waiting for retirement. "Killing Sacred Cows" is a must-read for brave individuals willing to question common assumptions and teachings, overcome the herd mentality, break through financial myths, and live a purpose-ful, passionate, and prosperous life. Investors seeking financial advice in The Little Book That Makes You Rich will find this to be a must-read for anyone who wants to achieve their financial potential today.
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
ISBN: 1929774516
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 250
Book Description
Our culture is riddled with destructive myths about money and prosperity that are severely limiting our power, creativity, and financial potential. In "Killing Sacred Cows", Garrett B Gunderson boldly exposes ingrained fallacies and misguided traditions in the world of per-sonal finance. He presents a revolutionary perspective that can create unprecedented opportu-nity and wealth for individuals. Our financial lives are intimately connected to our societal contributions, and we must be financially free in order to achieve our fullest potential. Yet most people are held captive in their financial lives by misinformation, propaganda, and lack of knowledge. Through well-reasoned arguments and pitiless logic, Gunderson attacks these sacred cows with revelatory insights, such as: High returns without high risk; "Security" without a corporate job; Debt that increases your financial productivity; Enjoying your money instead of waiting for retirement. "Killing Sacred Cows" is a must-read for brave individuals willing to question common assumptions and teachings, overcome the herd mentality, break through financial myths, and live a purpose-ful, passionate, and prosperous life. Investors seeking financial advice in The Little Book That Makes You Rich will find this to be a must-read for anyone who wants to achieve their financial potential today.
Dear Debt
Author: Melanie Lockert
Publisher: Coventry House Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 126
Book Description
In her debut book Dear Debt, personal finance expert Melanie Lockert combines her endearing and humorous personal narrative with practical tools to help readers overcome the crippling effects of debt. Drawing from her personal experience of paying off eighty thousand dollars of student loan debt, Melanie provides a wealth of money-saving tips to help her community of debt fighters navigate the repayment process, increase current income, and ultimately become debt-free. By breaking down complex financial concepts into clear, manageable tools and step-by-step processes, Melanie has provided a venerable guide to overcoming debt fatigue and obtaining financial freedom. Inside Dear Debt you will learn to: • Find the debt repayment strategy most effective for your needs • Avoid spending temptations by knowing your triggers • Replace expensive habits with cheaper alternatives • Become a frugal friend without being rude • Start a side hustle to boost your current income • Negotiate your salary to maximize value • Develop a financial plan for life after debt
Publisher: Coventry House Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 126
Book Description
In her debut book Dear Debt, personal finance expert Melanie Lockert combines her endearing and humorous personal narrative with practical tools to help readers overcome the crippling effects of debt. Drawing from her personal experience of paying off eighty thousand dollars of student loan debt, Melanie provides a wealth of money-saving tips to help her community of debt fighters navigate the repayment process, increase current income, and ultimately become debt-free. By breaking down complex financial concepts into clear, manageable tools and step-by-step processes, Melanie has provided a venerable guide to overcoming debt fatigue and obtaining financial freedom. Inside Dear Debt you will learn to: • Find the debt repayment strategy most effective for your needs • Avoid spending temptations by knowing your triggers • Replace expensive habits with cheaper alternatives • Become a frugal friend without being rude • Start a side hustle to boost your current income • Negotiate your salary to maximize value • Develop a financial plan for life after debt
The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk
Author: William J. Bernstein
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 0071399577
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Time-Tested Techniques - Safe, Simple, and Proven Effective - for Building Your Own Investment Portfolio. "As its title suggest, Bill Bernstein's fine book honors the sensible principles of Benjamin Graham in the Intelligent Investor Bernstein's concepts are sound, his writing crystal clear, and his exposition orderly. Any reader who takes the time and effort to understand his approach to the crucial subject of asset allocation will surely be rewarded with enhanced long-term returns." - John C. Bogle, Founder and former Chief Executive Officer, The Vanguard Group President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center Author, common Sense on Mutual Funds. "Bernstein has become a guru to a peculiarly '90s group: well-educated, Internet-powered people intent on investing well - and with minimal 'help' from professional Wall Street." - Robert Barker, Columnist, BusinessWeek. "I go home and tell my wife sometimes, 'I wonder if [Bernstein] doesn't know more than me.' It's humbling." - John Rekenthaler, Research Chief, Morningstar Inc. William Bernstein is an unlikely financial hero. A practicing neurologist, he used his self-taught investment knowledge and research to build one of today's most respected investor's websites. Now, let his plain-spoken The Intelligent Asset Allocator show you how to use the time-honored techniques of asset allocation to build your own pathway to financial security - one that is easy-to-understand, easier-to-apply, and supported by 75 years of solid history and wealth-building results.
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN: 0071399577
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
Time-Tested Techniques - Safe, Simple, and Proven Effective - for Building Your Own Investment Portfolio. "As its title suggest, Bill Bernstein's fine book honors the sensible principles of Benjamin Graham in the Intelligent Investor Bernstein's concepts are sound, his writing crystal clear, and his exposition orderly. Any reader who takes the time and effort to understand his approach to the crucial subject of asset allocation will surely be rewarded with enhanced long-term returns." - John C. Bogle, Founder and former Chief Executive Officer, The Vanguard Group President, Bogle Financial Markets Research Center Author, common Sense on Mutual Funds. "Bernstein has become a guru to a peculiarly '90s group: well-educated, Internet-powered people intent on investing well - and with minimal 'help' from professional Wall Street." - Robert Barker, Columnist, BusinessWeek. "I go home and tell my wife sometimes, 'I wonder if [Bernstein] doesn't know more than me.' It's humbling." - John Rekenthaler, Research Chief, Morningstar Inc. William Bernstein is an unlikely financial hero. A practicing neurologist, he used his self-taught investment knowledge and research to build one of today's most respected investor's websites. Now, let his plain-spoken The Intelligent Asset Allocator show you how to use the time-honored techniques of asset allocation to build your own pathway to financial security - one that is easy-to-understand, easier-to-apply, and supported by 75 years of solid history and wealth-building results.
The Man Who Died Twice
Author: Richard Osman
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1984881000
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller! The second gripping novel in the New York Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series, soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment “It’s taken a mere two books for Richard Osman to vault into the upper leagues of crime writers. . . The Man Who Died Twice. . . dives right into joyous fun." —The New York Times Book Review Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—the Thursday Murder Club—are still riding high off their recent real-life murder case and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper’s Chase, their posh retirement village. But they are out of luck. An unexpected visitor—an old pal of Elizabeth’s (or perhaps more than just a pal?)—arrives, desperate for her help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from the wrong men and he’s seriously on the lam. Then, as night follows day, the first body is found. But not the last. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can our four friends catch the killer before the killer catches them? And if they find the diamonds, too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus? You should never put anything beyond the Thursday Murder Club. Richard Osman is back with everyone’s favorite mystery-solving quartet, and the second installment of the Thursday Murder Club series is just as clever and warm as the first—an unputdownable, laugh-out-loud pleasure of a read.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1984881000
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
An instant New York Times bestseller! The second gripping novel in the New York Times bestselling Thursday Murder Club series, soon to be a major motion picture from Steven Spielberg at Amblin Entertainment “It’s taken a mere two books for Richard Osman to vault into the upper leagues of crime writers. . . The Man Who Died Twice. . . dives right into joyous fun." —The New York Times Book Review Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim—the Thursday Murder Club—are still riding high off their recent real-life murder case and are looking forward to a bit of peace and quiet at Cooper’s Chase, their posh retirement village. But they are out of luck. An unexpected visitor—an old pal of Elizabeth’s (or perhaps more than just a pal?)—arrives, desperate for her help. He has been accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from the wrong men and he’s seriously on the lam. Then, as night follows day, the first body is found. But not the last. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim are up against a ruthless murderer who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at knocking off four septuagenarians. Can our four friends catch the killer before the killer catches them? And if they find the diamonds, too? Well, wouldn’t that be a bonus? You should never put anything beyond the Thursday Murder Club. Richard Osman is back with everyone’s favorite mystery-solving quartet, and the second installment of the Thursday Murder Club series is just as clever and warm as the first—an unputdownable, laugh-out-loud pleasure of a read.
Missed Fortune
Author: Douglas R. Andrew
Publisher: Business Plus
ISBN: 0446550019
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
Most of us dream of becoming wealthy. While some take steps to achieve it, few realize the goal. Why? According to financial planner Douglas R. Andrew, flawed financial strategis - or what he calls "money myth-conceptions" - lead us down the wrong road. In his revolutionary financial guide, Missed Fortune: Dispel the Money-Myth Conceptions - Isn't it Time You Became Wealthy?, Andrew rattles conventional attitudes about personal investments and challenges readers to build wealth with new and - and very contrarian - strategies.
Publisher: Business Plus
ISBN: 0446550019
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 341
Book Description
Most of us dream of becoming wealthy. While some take steps to achieve it, few realize the goal. Why? According to financial planner Douglas R. Andrew, flawed financial strategis - or what he calls "money myth-conceptions" - lead us down the wrong road. In his revolutionary financial guide, Missed Fortune: Dispel the Money-Myth Conceptions - Isn't it Time You Became Wealthy?, Andrew rattles conventional attitudes about personal investments and challenges readers to build wealth with new and - and very contrarian - strategies.
I Know This Much Is True
Author: Wally Lamb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780060391621
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 884
Book Description
With his stunning debut novel, She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb won the adulation of critics and readers with his mesmerizing tale of one woman's painful yet triumphant journey of self-discovery. Now, this brilliantly talented writer returns with I Know This Much Is True, a heartbreaking and poignant multigenerational saga of the reproductive bonds of destruction and the powerful force of forgiveness. A masterpiece that breathtakingly tells a story of alienation and connection, power and abuse, devastation and renewal--this novel is a contemporary retelling of an ancient Hindu myth. A proud king must confront his demons to achieve salvation. Change yourself, the myth instructs, and you will inhabit a renovated world. When you're the same brother of a schizophrenic identical twin, the tricky thing about saving yourself is the blood it leaves on your bands--the little inconvenience of the look-alike corpse at your feet. And if you're into both survival of the fittest and being your brother's keeper--if you've promised your dying mother--then say so long to sleep and hello to the middle of the night. Grab a book or a beer. Get used to Letterman's gap-toothed smile of the absurd, or the view of the bedroom ceiling, or the influence of random selection. Take it from a godless insomniac. Take it from the uncrazy twin--the guy who beat the biochemical rap. Dominick Birdsey's entire life has been compromised and constricted by anger and fear, by the paranoid schizophrenic twin brother he both deeply loves and resents, and by the past they shared with their adoptive father, Ray, a spit-and-polish ex-Navy man (the five-foot-six-inch sleeping giant who snoozed upstairs weekdays in the spare room and built submarines at night), and their long-suffering mother, Concettina, a timid woman with a harelip that made her shy and self-conscious: She holds a loose fist to her face to cover her defective mouth--her perpetual apology to the world for a birth defect over which she'd had no control. Born in the waning moments of 1949 and the opening minutes of 1950, the twins are physical mirror images who grow into separate yet connected entities: the seemingly strong and protective yet fearful Dominick, his mother's watchful "monkey"; and the seemingly weak and sweet yet noble Thomas, his mother's gentle "bunny." From childhood, Dominick fights for both separation and wholeness--and ultimately self-protection--in a house of fear dominated by Ray, a bully who abuses his power over these stepsons whose biological father is a mystery. I was still afraid of his anger but saw how he punished weakness--pounced on it. Out of self-preservation I hid my fear, Dominick confesses. As for Thomas, he just never knew how to play defense. He just didn't get it. But Dominick's talent for survival comes at an enormous cost, including the breakup of his marriage to the warm, beautiful Dessa, whom he still loves. And it will be put to the ultimate test when Thomas, a Bible-spouting zealot, commits an unthinkable act that threatens the tenuous balance of both his and Dominick's lives. To save himself, Dominick must confront not only the pain of his past but the dark secrets he has locked deep within himself, and the sins of his ancestors--a quest that will lead him beyond the confines of his blue-collar New England town to the volcanic foothills of Sicily 's Mount Etna, where his ambitious and vengefully proud grandfather and a namesake Domenico Tempesta, the sostegno del famiglia, was born. Each of the stories Ma told us about Papa reinforced the message that he was the boss, that he ruled the roost, that what he said went. Searching for answers, Dominick turns to the whispers of the dead, to the pages of his grandfather's handwritten memoir, The History of Domenico Onofrio Tempesta, a Great Man from Humble Beginnings. Rendered with touches of magic realism, Domenico's fablelike tale--in which monkeys enchant and religious statues weep--becomes the old man's confession--an unwitting legacy of contrition that reveals the truth's of Domenico's life, Dominick learns that power, wrongly used, defeats the oppressor as well as the oppressed, and now, picking through the humble shards of his deconstructed life, he will search for the courage and love to forgive, to expiate his and his ancestors' transgressions, and finally to rebuild himself beyond the haunted shadow of his twin. Set against the vivid panoply of twentieth-century America and filled with richly drawn, memorable characters, this deeply moving and thoroughly satisfying novel brings to light humanity's deepest needs and fears, our aloneness, our desire for love and acceptance, our struggle to survive at all costs. Joyous, mystical, and exquisitely written, I Know This Much Is True is an extraordinary reading experience that will leave no reader untouched.