Editorial Content for The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
The phrase “proximal alphabets” refers to the names of three odd people whose bonds form the focus of this unique, darkly rich debut. Ida, Jackson and James are a thick-as-thieves trio who remain so throughout their early childhoods and adolescence, well into the majority of their adult lives. The destructive power of their love begins to take on a life of its own, however, becoming evident in their earliest years and morphing into a thing that becomes ever more haunting and malicious, a force that quite literally tears them apart from the inside. Read More
Teaser
Ida, yearning to fill a void in her life from growing up in a single-parent household, forms a familial-like bond with her neighbors, two brothers named Jackson and James. Fissures form in the trio when Ida and Jackson start to fall for one another, discovering the dangers of love in the process.
Promo
Ida, yearning to fill a void in her life from growing up in a single-parent household, forms a familial-like bond with her neighbors, two brothers named Jackson and James. Fissures form in the trio when Ida and Jackson start to fall for one another, discovering the dangers of love in the process.
About the Book
Ida grew up with Jackson and James --- where there was “I” there was a “J.” She can’t recall a time when she didn’t have them around, whether in their early days camping out in the boys’ room decorated with circus scenes or later drinking on rooftops as teenagers. While the world outside saw them as neighbors and friends, to each other the three formed a family unit --- two brothers and a sister --- not drawn from blood, but drawn from a deep need to fill a void in their single parent households. Theirs was a relationship of communication without speaking, of understanding without judgment, of intimacy without rules and limits.
But as the three of them mature and emotions become more complex, Ida and Jackson find themselves more than just siblings. When Jackson’s somnambulism produces violent outbursts and James is hospitalized, Ida is paralyzed by the events that threaten to shatter her family and put it beyond her reach. Kathleen Alcott’s striking debut, THE DANGERS OF PROXIMAL ALPHABETS, is an emotional, deeply layered love story that explores the dynamics of family when it defies bloodlines and societal conventions.
October 2012
I love meeting our readers. It is lovely to hear feedback on the websites --- and more than that to hear about the books that you love that you discovered on the site and your suggestions, as well. This weekend I traveled to Bouchercon, the world mystery convention in Cleveland, Ohio. This is a true fan conference. Over the weekend, I heard from people who had attended this event for 30 years. As it travels from city to city each year, that is a real commitment from folks. I was there with our mystery/thriller reviewer, Joe Hartlaub.
| |||
—
—
—
—
The Last War by Ana Menendez
Photojournalist Flash chases conflicts around the globe with her war correspondent husband, Brando. Now Brando is in Iraq awaiting her arrival, but instead of racing to join him, Flash idles in Istanbul, vaguely aware that her marriage is faltering. As Flash spirals deeper into regret, she's forced to confront long-buried secrets and hard truths about her world, her marriage, her husband, and herself.
More books like the ones on this list »
Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis
Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city's opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law, Lucrezia, whose jealousy is as legendary as her beauty. The Borgia Bride is a richly compelling tale of conspiracy, sexual intrigue, loyalty, and drama.
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
When prostitute Luciana Vetra is asked by one of her most exalted clients to pose for a painter friend, she doesn't mind serving as the model for the central figure of Flora in Sandro Botticelli's masterpiece "Primavera." But when the artist dismisses her without payment, Luciana impulsively steals the painting--only to find that somone is ready to kill her to get it back.
The Canterbury Papers by Judith Koll Healey
AlaÏs, the king of France's sister, is abducted while on her mission for the wily Eleanor of Aquitaine, the former Queen of England, to retrieve hidden letters that, in the wrong hands, could bring down the English king. Now AlaÏs, along with help from the very intriguing leader of the Knights Templar, must unravel a tangled web of family secrets and lies.
Crossed: A Tale of the Fourth Crusade by Nicole Galland
Impeccably researched and beautifully told, Nicole Galland's Crossed is a stunning tale of the disastrous Fourth Crusade—and of the hopeful, brave, and driven who were caught up in and irrevocably changed by a corrupted cause and a furious battle beyond their comprehension or control.
Cruel as the Grave by Sharon Kay Penman
April 1193. England’s King Richard Lionheart languishes in a German prison, and treason scents the air. Richard’s younger brother, John, seizes Windsor Castle, and Dowager Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine summons her trusted personal “queen’s man,” Justin de Quincy, to do the impossible– mediate a truce with her rebel son.
Dina's Lost Tribe by Brigitte Goldstein
When Professor Henner Marcus receives an urgent plea from his niece, Nina Aschauer, he leaves Chicago behind and travels 5,000 miles to France. Nina has finally materialized after a five-year absence, and he is anxious to help her explore the Pyrenees Mountains for the location of her birth, which occurred as her parents fled the Nazis.
The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
An Instance of the Fingerpost intertwines three intellectual mysteries, three love stories—and three of the darkest moments in human history. United by a classical text called "The Dream of Scipio," three men struggle to find refuge for their hearts and minds...in the final days of the Roman Empire, in the grim years of the Black Death, and in the direst hours of World War II.
Figures in Silk by Vanora Bennett
When silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters‚ their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV‚ while her sister‚ Isabel‚ as the new silkweaver to the court‚ becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty?
The Fool's Tale: A Novel of Medieval Wales by Nicole Galland
Wales, 1198. A time of treachery, passion, and uncertainty. King Maelgwyn ap Cadwallon, known as Noble, struggles to protect his small kingdom from foes outside and inside his borders. Pressured into a marriage of political convenience, he takes as his bride the young, headstrong Isabel Mortimer, niece of his powerful English nemesis.
Forgiven by P M Kulseth
FORGIVEN is a story of a small valley in Norway terrorized by a brutal berserker and a boy terrorized by flashbacks from the trauma he experienced as a captive of this notorious Viking. It is a story of a discarded infant, her rescue and the influence her life has on so many people; a story of conversion and forgiveness, the restoration of broken spirits, and the discovery of a most unexpected love.
The Good Men: A Novel of Heresy by Charmaine Craig
In fourteenth-century France, a young woman from the mountain village of Montaillou was tried for heresy by the Catholic inquisition. Her name was Grazida Lizier and, by her own confession, her “joy was shared” with the wrong man: the village rector.
Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country (Guenevere Novels) by Rosalind Miles
Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told -- until now.
The House of Lanyon by Valerie Anand
Richard Lanyon answers to no one save the aristocratic Sweetwater family, owners of the land he farms. His bitter resentment is legend within the bounds of their tiny Exmoor community, but as their tenant, Richard must do their bidding. However, driven to succeed, Richard is prepared to take what is not his and to forfeit the happiness of his family to claim the entitlements he lusts for.
I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis
Florence, April 1478: The handsome Giuliano de' Medici is brutally assassinated in Florence's magnificent Duomo. The shock of the murder ripples throughout the great city, from the most renowned artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, to a wealthy wool merchant and his extraordinarily beautiful daughter, Madonna Lisa.
The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
England, late fourteenth century: For Lady Kathryn of Blackingham Manor, a widow and mother, it is a time made both sweeter and more perilous by the arrival of a master illuminator called Finn. Caught between the King's taxes and the Church's tithes, Kathryn strikes a bargain with the local abbot: she will take Finn and his pretty young daughter into her household in exchange for protection.
Kabbalah of Stone by Irene Reti
Girona, Spain, 1492-Rabbi Raphael Halevi seeks to save his community from the Inquisition. Help comes in the unexpected form of the spirit of the biblical prophet, Huldah, and a Christian scribe who has discovered his hidden Jewish identity. This lyrical and suspenseful novel of Jewish history, magic, and Kabbalah offers a feminist reinterpretation of an intriguing Hebrew prophet.
The King's Daughter by Barbara Kyle
Even as she plans for her own nuptials, Isabel Thornleigh is helping to lay the groundwork to overthrow Bloody Mary and bring Elizabeth to power. But none of the secrets Isabel has discovered compares to the truths hidden in her own family. With her beloved father imprisoned by Queen Mary, only Carlos Valverde --- a Spanish soldier of fortune --- can help Isabel.
Lady Macbeth by Susan Fraser King
Lady Gruadh, called Rue, is the last female descendant of Scotland’s most royal line. Married to a powerful northern lord, she is widowed while still carrying his child and forced to marry her husband’s murderer: a rising warlord named Macbeth.
The Lady Queen by Nancy Goldstone
In 1348, at the age of twenty-two, Joanna I, the queen of Naples, stood trial before the pope, accused of murdering her cousin and husband, Hungarian prince Andrew. Arguing her own case in Latin, she won her acquittal, and went on to become the only female monarch in her time to rule in her own name—until she herself was murdered.
The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
The Lady and the Unicorn is Tracy Chevalier’s answer to the mystery behind one of the art world’s great masterpieces—a set of bewitching medieval tapestries that hangs today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. They appear to portray the seduction of a unicorn, but the story behind their making is unknown—until now.
The Lady of the Sea by Rosalind Miles
The final thrilling chapter in the Tristan and Isolde trilogy: Isolde, heir to the throne of the queens, is now a sovereign in her own right. With the glories of the throne comes the responsibility of a queen, and Isolde knows she must return to her beloved Western Isle, where her lords face a growing threat from the warlike Picti, who live in the barren highlands to the north of England.
Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex
Isabella and Beatrice d'Este are as different as night and day. Wordly and ambitious, Isabella's beauty and intellect are legendary across the courts of Europe, while her younger sister, a tomboy, prefers horses and the hunt. When Isabella is betrothed to the Marquis of Mantua, all her ambitions seem to come true - until Beatrice marries Ludovico, the powerful Duke of Milan.
The Miracles of Prato by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
Italy, 1456. A Carmelite monk, the great artist Fra Filippo Lippi acts as chaplain to the nuns of the Convent Santa Margherita. It is here that he encounters the greatest temptation of his life, beautiful Lucrezia Buti, who has been driven to holy orders more by poverty than piety. But as painter and muse are united, a passionate love develops, one that threatens to destroy them both.
Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
Seven-year-old Bianca de Nevada lives on a farm perched high above the rolling hills and valleys of Tuscany. One day a noble entourage makes its way up the winding slopes to the farm—and the world comes to Montefiore. In the presence of Cesare Borgia and his sister, the lovely and vain Lucrezia—decadent children of a wicked pope—no one can claim innocence for very long.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
This is the tragic tale of the rise and fall of Camelot - but seen through the eyes of Camelot's women: the devout Gwenhwyfar, Arthur's Queen; Vivane, High priestess of Avalon and the Lady of the Lake; above all, Morgaine, possessor of the sight, the wise, the wise-woman fated to bring ruin on them all.
The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland
One of the few female post-Renaissance painters to achieve fame during her own era, Artemisia Gentileschi led a remarkably "modern" life. Susan Vreeland tells Artemisia's captivating story, beginning with her public humiliation in a rape trial at the age of eighteen, and continuing through her father's betrayal, her marriage of convenience, motherhood, and growing fame as an artist.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The building of a cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of this drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.
The Prince of Poison by Pamela Kaufman
Set amidst the pomp and savagery of twelfth-century Europe, the Alix of Wanthwaite trilogy renders a glorious mishmash of ruffians, peasants, troubadours, murderers, pretenders, barons, princesses, and popes in charming and disarming detail. This novel lampoons historical notables like Richard the Lion Heart and Eleanor of Aquitaine, spinning the historical novel in a fresh direction.
The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman
Eleanor of Aquitaine sits on England's throne. At seventy, she has outlived the husband with whom she had once scandalized the world. But has she also outlived her favorite, her first-born son? Richard Lionheart, England's king, has been missing these last months. It is rumored that he is dead. Only a letter, splattered with the blood of a dying man, can tell her if Richard still lives.
The Ruby in Her Navel: A Novel by Barry Unsworth
Set in the Middle Ages during the brief yet glittering rule of the Norman kings, The Ruby in Her Navel is a tale in which the conflicts of the past portend the present. The novel opens in Palermo, in which Latin and Greek, Arab and Jew live together in precarious harmony. But the peace and prosperity of the kingdom is being threatened, internally as well as externally.
The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin
When King Henry II's mistress is found poisoned, suspicion falls on his estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. The king orders Adelia Aguilar, expert in the science of death, to investigate. A reluctant Adelia finds herself once again in the company of Rowley Picot, the new Bishop of St. Albans...and her baby's father. Their discoveries into the crime are omens of greater danger to come.
More books like the ones on this list »
