David Plante's dazzling portraits of three influential women in the literary world, now back in print for the first time in decades.Difficult Women presents portraits of three extraordinary, complicated, and, yes, difficult women, while also raising intriguing and, in their own way, difficult questions about the character and motivations of the keenly and often cruelly observant portraitist himself. The book begins with David Plante’s portrait of Jean Rhys...

'An absorbing and zesty read, both high-minded and full of high gossip. In short, a rare and unexpected treat' Melvyn Bragg____________________The writer David Plante has kept a diary of his life among the artistic elite for over half a century. It is an extraordinary document, both deeply personal and a rare window onto disappearing worlds. This extracted memoir spans the 1980s, a period of exploration and growth for Plante and his lover Nik...

A landmark work dedicated to the author's partner, this set of linked poems explores love and loss through the lens of myth, faith, and art. Heavily influenced by the work of C. P. Cavafy, Plante's paen to his beloved will stay with readers long after the last verse.In 1965, the novelist David Plante met the poet and editor Nikos Stangos, with whom he lived until Stangos's death in 2004. Over those years, Plante learned Greek and immersed himself in Greek poetry an...

The first volume of National Book Award finalist David Plante's extraordinary diaries of a life lived among the artistic elite in 1960s London.“Nikos and I live together as lovers, as everyone knows, and we seem to be accepted because it's known that we are lovers. In fact, we are, according to the law, criminals in our making love with each other, but it is as if the laws don't apply. It is as if all the conventions of sex and clothes and art and music an...

In this short, masterful gem of a novel, David Plante’s seasoned narrator contemplates the connection between physical beauty and love, drawing on literary references and personal experiences to explore these themes.The unnamed narrator of this brief, urgent novel, a young novelist making his way in the literary world, writes of his fascination with two enigmatic, troubled young men, one a Boston Brahmin and the other a lofty undergraduate at England’s Cambridge Un...

In London, Ted, a lapsed American Catholic married to a British woman encounters a friend’s child who is studying for his first communion. The boy, Jonathan, is terminally ill and believes the ritual of his first communion might miraculously heal him. Ted sees himself in the boy, and vividly recalls his childhood self. The idea of an eternal afterlife comforts Jonathan, but for Ted the idea represents a kind of dislocation: Is life merely something to be endured in preparation for eternity...

A daughter of Jewish refugees searches for love and a spiritual home in this novel by the National Book Award–nominated author of Difficult Women.Brought up in a secular household on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Nancy Green knows suspiciously little about her parents' past. She knows they escaped Germany, avoiding the fate of so many of their fellow Jews during World War II, but the few family heirlooms they brought to the United States are reminders of a ...

An original and radiant novel about grief, obsession, and the need for meaning from the author of The Family, a finalist for the National Book Award.When his young son dies in a freak accident, Gerard struggles to find a reason in the smallest of details, including the scrap of paper containing the Sanskrit alphabet that is found at the site. Latching on to this final “clue,” he delves into the origins of Indo-European alphabets, his fascination taking him to England, Greece, and ...

Set in the seamy world of the Russian sex slave trade, The Age of Terror is the harrowing story of Joe, a disillusioned young American expatriate and lapsed Catholic who searches for life's meaning in the Soviet Union on the eve of its disintegration.Plante plays brilliantly with our assumptions of both the United States and Russia, and ultimately proclaims a universal theme of sacredness and redemption.

In Discovering Church Planting, J. D. Payne explores the biblical, historical, and missiological principles of global church planting as well as unfolding practical strategies for confronting contemporary challenges to our vital task in reaching a lost world.This comprehensive introduction to church planting shows the reader how to apply effective, international church planting practices to specific contexts. J. D. speaks from personal experience, research, and training an...

Discover the extraordinary role of plants in modern forensics, from their use as evidence in the trials of high profile murderers such as Ted Bundy to high value botanical trafficking and poaching. We are all familliar with the role of blood spatters or fingerprints in solving crimes, from stories in the media of DNA testing or other biological evidence being used as the clinching evidence to incriminate a killer. This book lifts the lid on the equally important evidence ...

Use the power of the humble house plant to combat the stresses of modern life!Succulents and indoor house plants may seem extra trendy right now, but these plants have more benefits than simply looking beautiful. Everyday products pollute the air in our homes and our mental wellbeing is threatened like never before. This gardening book reveals the best life-enhancing houseplants that can reduce stress, fight fatigue, and even lower your blood sugar....