Fiction

THE LIGHTS OF EARTH

gina berriault

"Gina Berriault has been writing superbly for thirty years. It's time she became an overnight sensation." -Newsday. From the author of the award-winning Women in their Beds, this short poetic novel is the study of three writers as they interact with one another, the world, and their art. Long out of print, this is the first paperback publication of The Lights of Earth.

counterpoint $12.50 paper

bookcover INTO THE FOREST

jean hegland

The acclaimed novel of two sisters who struggle to make sense of their world when near-future society collapses. As they go deeper into the forest, they find what it means to be human, female and alive in this new world. Unforgettable, startling and luminous, the profound impact of this novel is comparable to Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

bantam books $21.95 hardcover

bookcover YO!

julia alvarez

Yolanda, or Yo, is resented by friends and family for using their lives as material for her books. In this entrancing sequel to How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents her "characters" get the chance to tell their side of the story. "The voices of Yo's family and friends are magical...the writing is animated and wonderfully imaginative; the characters jump off the page." -Kirkus.

algonquin books of chapel hill $18.95 hardcover

IT BEGINS WITH TEARS

opal palmer adisa

PEN award-winner Opal Palmer Adisa deftly draws on Jamaican folklore in this story, universal in its themes of community and women's friendship. Monica returns to her rural village, stirs up women's dissatisfactions and men's desires, and rekindles old hopes and fears. As emotions erupt, the village women dig deep into their roots to restore tranquility and renew their sisterhood.

heinemann $13.95 paper

bookcover URBAN ORACLES

mayra santos-febres; translated by nathan budoff and lydia platon lázaro

"Fifteen erotic stories, rife with sexual encounters, voyeurism and daring sensual imagery from a highly acclaimed Spanish writer [offer] crystalline glimpses of the psychology of obsession." -Kirkus. Santos-Febres presents the reader with a rich and vital world that refuses to be limited to the realm of the socially acceptable - our own world as we wish it was: simple, honest, passionate, fearless.

lumen editions/brookline books $15.95 paper

SECOND SIGHT

rickey gard diamond

"A tragedy, a thriller, a mystery, and a psychological profile all rolled into one.... Superb." -Midwest Review. A haunting story set in 1973, when the problem of domestic violence was barely recognized, Second Sight is a portrait of one family's web of violence and a woman's will to survive. "Readers are richer for [Diamond's] courage." -Jean Hegland. "Heartbreaking and life-affirming." -Wally Lamb.

calyx books $14.95 paper

bookcover THE ACTIVIST'S DAUGHTER

ellyn bache

The compelling account of a young woman's rite of passage into adulthood against the backdrop of the 1960s civil rights movement. "Engaging and lively, The Activist's Daughter grapples with tough political and social issues and makes no bones about the need for human connection and a defined sense of human purpose...a moving and insightful novel." -Lilith.

spinsters ink $10.95 paper

bookcover THE LIGHT BEARER

donna gillespie

"Monumental!" -The Washington Post. Auriane was a warrior, a priestess and a threat to the powers of ancient Rome. This breathtaking saga from acclaimed newcomer Donna Gillespie unveils an unforgettable world of pagans and slaves, warriors and nobles - and the extraordinary life of a legendary woman they called the Light Bearer. "A stirring scenario!" -The San Francisco Chronicle. An international bestseller.

the berkley publishing group $7.99 paper

bookcover THE MAGICIAN'S ASSISTANT

ann patchett

A moving tale about the families we are born with and those we create for ourselves. "[In this novel] ordinary people drift into offbeat situations, kindness comes from unexpected sources, and the capacity to change and to endure is awakened in a dormant heart.... Patchett's sweet and plangent voice often reminds one of Laurie Colwin in its evocation of love that transcends sexual boundaries." -Publishers Weekly.

harcourt brace & company $23.00 hardcover

POPE JOAN:

A Novel

donna woolfolk cross

"A fascinating story [that] explores the extraordinary life of an independent, intelligent and courageous woman who overcomes oppression and ascends to the highest religious power." -The San Francisco Chronicle. In Pope Joan, Cross resurrects the legend of the ninth-century woman who rose to rule Christianity, vividly depicting an unforgettable figure who defeats restrictions her soul cannot accept.

ballantine books $12.95 paper