COLD MOUNTAIN by Charles Frazier

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FRAZIER

A love story and adventure featuring Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who walks out of a hospital ward, tired of war and senseless killing. He begins a long journey to see Ada, his sweetheart. Ada too has seen some hard times since her father's death. She has not a clue as to making the farm work and seems destined for failure until the arrival of Ruby.

Inman's trip back to his true love is long and treacherous, filled with solitude and savagery. Like Ada, Inman acquires the courage and tenacity to reach the end of his goal.

AFTER THIS by Alice McDermott

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MCDERMOTT

This novel depicts an Irish-American family in mid-century America. It spans the era from just after WWII through the seventies, covering the impact of the sexual revolution and the Vietnam War.

With the help of a spinster aunt, John and Mary Keane raise their four children in a middle class Long Island neighborhood. Their lives are through joyous and tragic events that affect all members of the family: the meeting of John and Mary, and outing at sea, the death of a son in the war, an unwanted pregnancy.

Everyone, on some level, can relate to the story of the Keane family. A moving and poignant book.