GAP CREEK by Robert Morgan

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MOR

This "Oprah" novel is set in turn-of-the-century Appalachia where life is all work and little pleasure. Teenager Julie supports her family's farm after her father dies. She expects life to be a little easier after she marries Hank, but tragedies befall their first year together. Julie deals with these difficult trials with grace.

A LESSON BEFORE DYING by Earnest Gaines

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GAINES

Jefferson, a poor and uneducated black man, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now he is in jail, convicted of murder. Jefferson's godmother does not want him to go to the electric chair like the ignorant hog is white lawyer says he is, so Grant Wiggins, the black schoolteacher, is under pressure to visit Jefferson. Grant's job is to make Jefferson a man before he is executed.

Grant Wiggins worried that he is not making a difference in the lives of his students. How he will make a difference in Jefferson's life in the short time he has Grant has no idea. He does know that the sheriff and Mr. Giteau, for whom most of the black people in the Quarter work, want him to fail. They do everything they canto take away the teacher's dignity. Grant Wiggins succeeds in a way he could never have foreseen, however, teaching not only Jefferson, but himself, a lesson before dying.

MIDWIVES by Chris Bohjalian

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BOHJALIAN,C.

Vermont midwife Sybil Danforth performs an emergency Caesarian to save a baby's life when the mother, Charlotte Bedford, dies during a difficult labor in her home, unable to get to a hospital because of an ice storm.

In the aftermath a question arises: Was Charlotte Bedford really dead when Sybil performed the caesarean? Midwives is a gripping story of the ensuing trial from the point of view of Sybil's 14-year old daughter.

HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG by Andre Dubus III

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DUBUS III, A.

Compelling, beautifully written story of two individuals' struggle for a house. Colonel Behrani, an Iranian immigrant, has purchased a house at public auction and hopes to sell it for a nice profit. Unfortunately, the house was sold due to an error by the county, and its owner, Kathy Nicolo, a recovering addict, is evicted.

Neither person sill back down when Deputy Sheriff Lester Burden becomes involved int he dispute, as well as romantically with Kathy, the results are tragic.

I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE by Wally Lamb

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LAMB

The topic covered in this sizeable novel are like a month's worth of Oprah shows-mental illness, dysfuctional family life, domestic abuse, SIDS. It was, in fact, and "Oprah" book. This is the story of family's secrets, focusing on a set of identical twins, one afflicted with schizophrenia and the other burdened by feelings of resentment, bitterness, and guilt.

A weighty tone, by the author of She's Come Undone, packed with drama, suspense, and humor.