Ceremony Of The Innocent

New York Times Bestseller: The quest for the American Dream soars to new heights in this coming-of-age story of a young woman and her country. Living with her aunt in poor, rural Preston, Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Ellen Watson loves books and music and is completely oblivious to her own beauty. But her extraordinary looks arouse envy and malice in the female townspeople--and lust in the males. Hired as a housemaid in the palatial home of the village mayor, Ellen soon catches the attention of his son, Jeremy Porter, who captures her heart in turn. He offers to send her to school, and four years later he proposes marriage. As the years pass, Ellen's life parallels the hopes, dreams, and fears of a no-longer innocent nation. As America's enemies gather, Ellen must face her own demons. The wife of the scion of a powerful political family, she has everything she could ever desire: security, children, and a successful, adoring husband. But when tragedy rips her life apart, Ellen will be forced to confront some terrible truths about her marriage, her family, and herself. Played out against the backdrop of early twentieth-century America, Ceremony of the Innocent intertwines Ellen's personal journey with America's emergence from the devastation of World War I. It raises vital questions, such as: Are we as good as we believe we are? And is faith enough to keep us moving forward even in the face of unimaginable loss?

New York Times Bestseller: The quest for the American Dream soars to new heights in this coming-of-age story of a young woman and her country. Living with her aunt in poor, rural Preston, Pennsylvania, thirteen-year-old Ellen Watson loves books and music and is completely oblivious to her own beauty. But her extraordinary looks arouse envy and malice in the female townspeople—and lust in the males. Hired as a housemaid in the palatial home of the village mayor, Ellen soon catches the attention of his son, Jeremy Porter, who captures her heart in turn. He offers to send her to school, and four years later he proposes marriage. As the years pass, Ellen’s life parallels the hopes, dreams, and fears of a no-longer innocent nation. As America’s enemies gather, Ellen must face her own demons. The wife of the scion of a powerful political family, she has everything she could ever desire: security, children, and a successful, adoring husband. But when tragedy rips her life apart, Ellen will be forced to confront some terrible truths about her marriage, her family, and herself. Played out against the backdrop of early twentieth-century America, Ceremony of the Innocent intertwines Ellen’s personal journey with America’s emergence from the devastation of World War I. It raises vital questions, such as: Are we as good as we believe we are? And is faith enough to keep us moving forward even in the face of unimaginable loss?

Young and beautiful Ellen Porter learns to distrust the men who wish to shape her destiny in a small Pennsylvania town at the turn of the century

Riots. Terrorist attacks. Neo-Nazi violence. In modern-day Germany, journalist Catriona McClelland has seen it all while covering the contemporary European scene for a Catholic news organization. Keeping herself above the political fray in her professional life, she has also managed to keep herself from personal entanglements-still hurt from the wounds of a broken relationship. Things come to a head when her boyfriend Dennis, frustrated with a lack of commitment, leaves her for Suzy Davis, an idealistic young Canadian who is involved with a left-wing protest movement. But when Suzy is murdered... who is complicit and who is innocent? Ripped from the headlines, Ceremony of Innocence is a very contemporary novel of Europe on the edge of social breakdown. Train stations are bombed and migrants targeted for violence as journalists and other tastemakers watch from their positions of privilege. Dorothy Cummings McLean's realistic narrative does not describe the feats of heroes. Rather, it unnervingly lays bare the way religious faith and moral reasoning can be easily manipulated and compromised.

Riots. Terrorist attacks. Neo-Nazi violence. In modern-day Germany, journalist Catriona McClelland has seen it all while covering the contemporary European scene for a Catholic news organization. Keeping herself above the political fray in her professional life, she has also managed to keep herself from personal entanglements-still hurt from the wounds of a broken relationship. Things come to a head when her boyfriend Dennis, frustrated with a lack of commitment, leaves her for Suzy Davis, an idealistic young Canadian who is involved with a left-wing protest movement. But when Suzy is murdered... who is complicit and who is innocent? Ripped from the headlines, Ceremony of Innocence is a very contemporary novel of Europe on the edge of social breakdown. Train stations are bombed and migrants targeted for violence as journalists and other tastemakers watch from their positions of privilege. Dorothy Cummings McLean's realistic narrative does not describe the feats of heroes. Rather, it unnervingly lays bare the way religious faith and moral reasoning can be easily manipulated and compromised.

This work presents a captivating story of an aristocratic family who faces its demise and encounters the belief that could save them as individuals. The story moves back and forth between the siblings of the family, touching on themes like love, responsibility, custom, society, change, and faith.

The long-awaited first short story-collection by the author of the cult sensation Convenience Store Woman, tales of weird love, heartfelt friendships, and the unsettling nature of human existence With Life Ceremony, the incomparable Sayaka Murata is back with her first collection of short stories ever to be translated into English. In Japan, Murata is particularly admired for her short stories, which are sometimes sweet, sometimes shocking, and always imbued with an otherworldly imagination and uncanniness. In these twelve stories, Murata mixes an unusual cocktail of humor and horror to portray both the loners and outcasts as well as turning the norms and traditions of society on their head to better question them. Whether the stories take place in modern-day Japan, the future, or an alternate reality is left to the reader’s interpretation, as the characters often seem strange in their normality in a frighteningly abnormal world. In “A First-Rate Material,” Nana and Naoki are happily engaged, but Naoki can’t stand the conventional use of deceased people’s bodies for clothing, accessories, and furniture, and a disagreement around this threatens to derail their perfect wedding day. “Lovers on the Breeze” is told from the perspective of a curtain in a child’s bedroom that jealously watches the young girl Naoko as she has her first kiss with a boy from her class and does its best to stop her. “Eating the City” explores the strange norms around food and foraging, while “Hatchling” closes the collection with an extraordinary depiction of the fractured personality of someone who tries too hard to fit in. In these strange and wonderful stories of family and friendship, sex and intimacy, belonging and individuality, Murata asks above all what it means to be a human in our world and offers answers that surprise and linger.