Lara

Lara is the heartbreaking story of lovers Boris Pasternak, the author of Doctor Zhivago, and Olga Ivinskaya—the true tragedy behind the timeless classic. “Anna Pasternak does not spare an ounce of drama nor detail from the story of her great-uncle’s love affair with Olga Ivinskaya, the inspiration for Doctor Zhivago’s Lara. The result is a profoundly moving meditation on love, loyalty and, ultimately, forgiveness.” —New York Times–bestselling author Amanda Foreman When Stalin came into power in 1924, the Communist government began persecuting dissident writers. Though he spared the life of Boris Pasternak—whose novel-in-progress, Doctor Zhivago, was suspected of being anti-Soviet—Stalin persecuted Boris’s mistress, typist, and literary muse, Olga Ivinskaya. Boris’s affair devastated the Pasternaks, and they were keen to disavow Olga’s role in Boris’s writing. Twice sentenced to work in Siberian labor camps, Olga was interrogated about Boris’s book, but she didn’t betray the man she loved. Released from the gulags, Olga assumed that Boris would leave his wife for her but, trapped by his family’s expectations and his own weak will, he never did. Drawing on previously neglected family sources and original interviews, Anna Pasternak explores her great-uncle’s hidden act of moral compromise, and restores to history the passionate affair that inspired and animated Doctor Zhivago. Devastated that Olga suffered on his behalf and frustrated that he could not match her loyalty to him, Boris instead channeled his thwarted passion for her into his novel’s love story. Filled with the rich detail of Boris’s secret life, Lara unearths a moving love story of courage, loyalty, suffering, drama, and loss, casting a new light on the legacy of Doctor Zhivago.

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and master of romance Bertrice Small welcomes you to the magical, sensual World of Hetar. For Lara, a half faerie, half human, her beauty is a blessing and a curse. Sold into a Pleasure House by her father, she commits herself to a lifetime of servitude. But even in a place where pleasure is not censured but encouraged, her otherworldly beauty proves too much for her suitors. When Lara escapes, she is introduced to a new way of life, and an incredible man who opens her eyes to the growing unrest among their people…and the extraordinary destiny that awaits her. Lara will journey the depths of desire and despair to find a love that will last an eternity—a love that will change Hetar forever.

This isn’t about me. This story, I mean. So already you got a reason to hang it up. At least that’s what Mrs. Smith, our English teacher, says. But the story is about ten-year-old Laney Grafton and the new girl in her class—Lara Phelps, whom everyone bullies from the minute she shows up. Laney is just relieved to have someone else as a target of bullying. But instead of acting the way a bullied kid normally acts, this new girl returns kindness for a meanness that intensifies . . . until nobody remains unchanged, not even the reader. In a unique and multi-layered story, with equal parts humor and angst, Laney communicates the art of storytelling as it happens, with chapter headings, such as: Character, Setting, Conflict, Rising Action, Climax. And she weaves an unforgettable tale of a new girl who transforms an entire class and, in the process, reveals the best and worst in all of us. This is a powerful and emotional story, which School Library Journal called “Thoroughly enjoyable and unexpectedly wry, . . . as intelligent as it is succinct.”

"Lara traces the two ancestral strands of a girl called Lara who grows up in London in the sixties and seventies. Her father, Taiwo, is Nigerian and her mother, Ellen, is English and it goes into both sides of her family history. On Taiwo's side it follows his grandfather's journey from slavery in Brazil in the eighteenth century, to freedom in the Brazilian Quarter of Lagos, Nigeria. It follows Taiwo's childhood in Lagos when Nigeria was a British colony, his journey to Britain to study in 1949 and his eventual meeting and marriage, to a white Englishwoman called Ellen. The book also traces Ellen's childhood in London during the war years, and her mother Edith's poor working class childhood in London at the turn of the century. Finally, all strands come together in Lara who begins her own odyssey as she grows up a mixed-race child in an exclusively white area of London." -- Provided by publisher.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice—inspired by the true story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago • A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK At the height of the Cold War, Irina, a young Russian-American secretary, is plucked from the CIA typing pool and given the assignment of a lifetime. Her mission: to help smuggle Doctor Zhivago into the USSR, where it is banned, and enable Boris Pasternak’s magnum opus to make its way into print around the world. Mentoring Irina is the glamorous Sally Forrester: a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit, using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Under Sally’s tutelage, Irina learns how to invisibly ferry classified documents—and discovers deeply buried truths about herself. The Secrets We Kept combines a legendary literary love story—the decades-long affair between Pasternak and his mistress and muse, Olga Ivinskaya, who inspired Zhivago’s heroine, Lara—with a narrative about two women empowered to lead lives of extraordinary intrigue and risk. Told with soaring emotional intensity and captivating historical detail, this is an unforgettable debut: a celebration of the powerful belief that a work of art can change the world.

Perfect for fans of Everything, Everything and Five Feet Apart, a bittersweet story of love and loss, told one journal entry at a time. Sammie McCoy is a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as possible. Nothing will stand in her way-not even the rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly steal her memories and then her health. So the memory book is born: a journal written to Sammie's future self. It's where she'll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime-crush Stuart, and where she'll admit how much she's missed her childhood friend Cooper. The memory book will ensure Sammie never forgets the most important parts of her life-the people who have broken her heart, and those who have mended it. If Sammie's going to die, she's going to die living.

For much of the Middle Ages, the Lara family was among the most powerful aristocratic lineages in Spain. Proteges of the monarchy at the time of El Cid, their influence reached extraordinary heights during the struggle against the Moors. Hand-in-glove with successive kings, they gathered an impressive array of military and political positions across the Iberian Peninsula. But cooperation gave way to confrontation, as the family was pitted against the crown in a series of civil wars. This book, the first modern study of the Laras, explores the causes of change in the dynamics of power, and narrates the dramatic story of the events that overtook the family. The Laras' militant quest for territorial strength and the conflict with the monarchy led toward a fatal end, but anticipated a form of aristocratic power that long outlived the family. The noble elite would come to dominate Spanish society in the coming centuries, and the Lara family provides important lessons for students of the history of nobility, monarchy, and power in the medieval and early modern world.

---Selected by the New York Times as one of the best cookbooks of 2020--- Be transported to the bountiful islands of Indonesia by this collection of fragrant, colourful and mouth-watering recipes. 'An exciting and panoramic selection of dishes and snacks' – Fuchsia Dunlop, author of The Food of Sichuan Coconut & Sambal reveals the secrets behind authentic Indonesian cookery. With more than 80 traditional and vibrant recipes that have been passed down through the generations, you will discover dishes such as Nasi goreng, Beef rendang, Chilli prawn satay and Pandan cake, alongside a variety of recipes for sambals: fragrant, spicy relishes that are undoubtedly the heart and soul of every meal. Lara uses simple techniques and easily accessible ingredients throughout Coconut and Sambal, interweaving the recipes with beguiling tales of island life and gorgeous travel photography that shines a light on the magnificent, little-known cuisine of Indonesia. What are you waiting for? Travel the beautiful islands of Indonesia and taste the different regions through these recipes. 'Start with Lara's fragrant chicken soup, do lots of exploring on the way whilst dousing everything with spoonfuls of sambal, and end with her coconut and pandan sponge cake' – Yotam Ottolenghi, author of SIMPLE 'An incredibly delicious Indonesian meal on your table every time' – Jeremy Pang, chef and founder of School of Wok

With a swift, compressed narrative style and compassionate vision, Santoro offers an indelible portrait of Africa in the throes of an epidemic. Smart, suspenseful, and ultimately heart-wrenching, this novel is a powerful tale of moral outrage and personal transformation.

Who ever said being nice would get you to the top? Certainly not Alexandra Miles. She isn’t nice, but she’s more than skilled at playing the part. She floats through the halls of Spencer High, effortlessly orchestrating the actions of everyone around her, making people bend to her whim without even noticing they’re doing it. She is the queen of Spencer High—and it’s time to make it official. Alexandra has a goal, you see—Homecoming Queen. Her ambitions are far grander than her small town will allow, but Homecoming is just the first step to achieving total domination. So when peppy, popular Erin Hewett moves to town and seems to have a real shot at the crown, Alexandra has to take action. With the help of her trusted friend Sam, she devises her most devious plot yet. She’ll introduce an unexpected third competitor into the mix, one whose meteoric rise—and devastating fall—will destroy Erin’s chances once and for all. Alexandra can run a scheme like this in her sleep. What could possibly go wrong? Lara Deloza’s crackling depiction of a perpetually two-steps-ahead popular girl makes for a fun, wicked story with a protagonist that readers will love to hate.