Crooked Hallelujah

“A masterful debut” that follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decades—from the Plimpton Prize–winning author (Sarah Jessica Parker). It’s 1974 in the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and fifteen-year-old Justine grows up in a family of tough, complicated, and loyal women, presided over by her mother, Lula, and Granny. After Justine’s father abandoned the family, Lula became a devout member of the Holiness Church—a community that Justine at times finds stifling and terrifying. But Justine does her best as a devoted daughter, until an act of violence sends her on a different path forever. Crooked Hallelujah tells the stories of Justine—a mixed-blood Cherokee woman—and her daughter, Reney, as they move from Eastern Oklahoma’s Indian Country in the hopes of starting a new, more stable life in Texas amid the oil bust of the 1980s. However, life in Texas isn’t easy, and Reney feels unmoored from her family in Indian Country. Against the vivid backdrop of the Red River, we see their struggle to survive in a world—of unreliable men and near-Biblical natural forces, like wildfires and tornados—intent on stripping away their connections to one another and their very ideas of home. In lush and empathic prose, Kelli Jo Ford depicts what this family of proud, stubborn, Cherokee women sacrifices for those they love, amid larger forces of history, religion, class, and culture. This is a big-hearted and ambitious novel of the powerful bonds between mothers and daughters by an exquisite and rare new talent. “A compelling journey through the evolving terrain of multiple generations of women.” —The Washington Post

The remarkable debut from Plimpton Prize Winner Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decades

The remarkable debut from Plimpton Prize Winner Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah follows four generations of Cherokee women across four decades

With the same brilliant combination of humor and warmth that marked Operating Instructions and Bird by Bird, her two bestselling works of nonfiction, Anne Lamott now gives us an exuberant richly absorbing portrait of a family for whom the joys and sorrows of everyday life are magnified under the glare of the unexpected. The Fergusons make their home in a small California town where life is supposed to resemble paradise, but for thirteen-year-old Rosie (last seen in Lamott's beloved novel Rosie), reality is a bit harsher. Her mother, a recovering alcoholic, is still beset by grief over the early death of her first husband. Rosie's stepfather is a struggling writer plagued by doubts and hilarious paranoia. And Rosie, aching in the bloom of young womanhood and obsessed with tournament tennis, finds that her athletic gifts, initially a source of triumph, now place her in peril, as a shadowy man who stalks her from the bleachers seems to be developing an obsession of his own. Written with enormous emotional honesty, inhabited by superbly realized characters, riotously funny and wonderfully suspenseful, Crooked Little Heart is Anne Lamott writing at the height of her considerable powers.

Our young narrator now heads deeper into the heart of the city and himself, accompanied by ancestors and spirits who help him and the reader see that Chicago was, is, and always will be Indian Country.

You escaped. But he will never let you go. Now a major Netflix series A windowless shack in the woods. Lena's life and that of her two children follows the rules set by their captor, the father: meals, bathroom visits, study time are strictly scheduled and meticulously observed. He protects his family from the dangers lurking in the outside world and makes sure that his children will always have a mother to look after them. One day Lena manages to flee - but the nightmare continues. It seems as if her tormentor wants to get back what belongs to him. And then there is the question whether she really is the woman called 'Lena', who disappeared without a trace over thirteen years ago. The police and Lena's family are all desperately trying to piece together a puzzle that doesn't quite seem to fit. 'Chilling, original and mesmerising. Hausmann is a force to be reckoned with' DAVID BALDACCI 'Couldn't put this book down, loved every minute' 5* READER REVIEW 'A peerless exercise in suspense' FINANCIAL TIMES 'So many twists and turns, you can barely catch your breath!' 5* READER REVIEW 'Will haunt you long after the last page' ALICE FEENEY 'A nail-biting page turner' 5* READER REVIEW 'Keeps you guessing' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Addictive' 5* READER REVIEW 'Intelligent and original' SUNDAY INDEPENDENT 'Loved everything about this book' 5* READER REVIEW 'Claustrophobic, terrifying and fiercely compelling' DAILY MAIL 'If you loved Room you will love this' 5* READER REVIEW 'Disturbingly good' LESLEY KARA 'Gripping, astounding, heart-pounding' 5* READER REVIEW 'Gripping, suspenseful and beautifully written' JO SPAIN

A heart-stopping story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil. The lush city of Palmares Tres shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that's sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June's best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Forty Stories is the first long-form work published under the aegis of Fifty-Two Stories, the short fiction blog of Harper Perennial. Since its inception in 2009, Fifty-Two Stories (www.fiftytwostories.com) has hosted work by writers both new and established, including Neil Gaiman, Louise Erdrich, Mary Gaitskill, Dennis Cooper, Jennifer Haigh, Tom Piazza, Lydia Peelle, Willy Vlautin, Marcy Dermansky, and more. Fifty-Two Stories has attracted particular attention for the early exposure it has given to innovative young writers such as Blake Butler, Ben Greenman, Amelia Gray, Seth Fried, and Catherine Lacey. Forty Stories features work by Harper Perennial authors including Butler, Greenman, Elizabeth Crane, Adam Wilson, Matthew Norman, and Greg Bardsley. It also includes stories by novelists Jess Walter (Beautiful Ruins) and Shane Jones (Daniel Fights a Hurricane), and acclaimed short-form writers Jamie Quatro (I Want to Show You More), Roxane Gay, and Lindsay Hunter. New voices include Nigerian writer Adetokunbo Abiola; recent Center for Fiction fellow Mitchell S. Jackson; and adult film actress Kayden Kross. The full list of contributors includes: Adetokunbo Abiola • David Backer • Greg Bardsley • Daniel Browne • Blake Butler • Elizabeth Crane • Laura Jane Faulds • Kelli Ford • D. Foy • Roxane Gay • Sharon Goldner • Ben Greenman • Jim Hanas • Brandon Hobson • Lindsay Hunter • Mitchell S. Jackson • Shane Jones • Kayden Kross • Catherine Lacey • O. A. Lindsey • Karon Luddy • Alexander Lumans • Scott McClanahan • Mesha Maren • Tessa Mellas • Kyle Minor • Matthew Norman • Nathan Oates • Eric Raymond • Alan Rossi • Jamie Quatro • Michael Ramberg • Joseph Scapellato • Eliezra Schaffzin • Matt Stewart • Jess Walter • David Williams • Adam Wilson • Paula Younger