Richard Bausch

 Never read first edition hardback from a smoke free home. One mark on bottom of the book. See pictures for full visual description. Enjoy! 

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Ohio

A Novel

"My heart stopped peacefully, its beating grew slow and weak, and then just -- stopped. I died young. There is, really, only a little to tell." And so ended, in 1900, the short but remarkable life of explorer and writer Mary Henrietta Kingsley, most of which was spent caring for her ailing mother, and attending to the business of her world-wandering father. But the moment she was unencumbered, she set out on her own journey of discovery. Blithely ignoring the narrowly circumscribed roles and rules for a young woman of her day, she traveled alone to West Africa, and went to places no European had ever been. "Oh, silent friend, if you ever come to read this ... I am in Africa. Soon I will be walking inland, heading to places unknown." It is almost a hundred years later, on her fourteenth birthday, that Lily Austin first hears the name of Mary Kingsley, the only female face in a book full of male adventurers. That night, as an ice storm rages outside, something awful and unexpected befalls Lily; and this is why, as she matures into a young woman, it is to the writings of Kingsley that she returns again and again for solace and comfort -- which she finds, especially, in a secret cache of intimate letters Kingsley wrote to an unnamed woman in the distant future. Lily, the child of professional actors, begins to write a play about Kingsley. "When they buried me at sea, off the coast of South Africa, the strangest thing happened. My coffin wouldn't sink. It floated away from the ship ... Imagine that. I was still sailing the seas, even in death. I was wandering away." On the surface, Lily Austin's life could not be more different from Mary Kingsley's. And yet, working on the play, she finds in her subject's wit and resourcefulness the inspiration -- the bravery -- she needs to navigate the complicated waters of intimacy and betrayal, kindness and love. A triumph of the imagination, Hello to the Cannibals is Richard Bausch's most dazzling and beautifully crafted novel to date.

Hello to the Cannibals

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At first, all Lily Austin knows about 19th–century explorer Mary Kingsley is that, 100 years before, she was the first white woman to venture into the heart of Africa. But as Lily begins reading about Mary Kingsley, she becomes more and more fascinated – and discovers in Mary a kindred spirit. In her own life, Lily feels trapped – on the one hand, she craves family and intimate connection; on the other hand, she has no healthy or satisfying role models. Consequently, as she nears graduation from the University of Virginia, she finds herself uncertain about what to do with her life. As she researches Mary's life – she has begun writing a play about her – Lily comes to witness Mary's incredible bravery and startling originality, qualities that prove inspirational to Lily, whose own bravery is required as she attempts to navigate dysfunctional and destructive relationships with her young husband, her extended family – and a legacy of abuse dating back to her childhood.

Category - Fiction / General Fiction

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Excellent

Listed - 3 months ago

Views - 2

Ships From - Ohio

Est. Publication Date - Sep 2002

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Hello to the Cannibals: A Novel

ISBN: 9780060192952

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Category - Fiction / General Fiction

Format - Hardcover

Condition - Excellent

Listed - 3 months ago

Views - 2

Ships From - Ohio

Est. Publication Date - Sep 2002

Seller Description

Additional Information

Hello to the Cannibals: A Novel

ISBN: 9780060192952

Publisher Description

Tags

Hello to the Cannibals

By:

$8.00

Meet the seller

Discover more

Hello to the Cannibals

By: Richard Bausch

More from this seller

Additional titles by Richard Bausch

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