Meet Ignatius J. Reilly, a 30-year-old medievalist who lives at home with his mother in New Orleans, and pens his magnum opus on Big Chief writing pads he keeps hidden under his bed. Considered by many a comic masterpiece that memorably evokes the city of New Orleans and whose robust protagonist is a modern-day Falstaff, Don Quixote, or Gargantua; other are not amused by a fat, flatulent, gluttonous, loud, lying, hypocritical, self-deceiving, self-centered...

Assigned to locate land in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma that can be converted into pig farms for his employer, a young man meets the residents of Woolybucket and comes to respect their fierce desire to retain their land.

Sons and Lovers is one of the landmark novels of the twentieth century. When it appeared in 1913, it was immediately recognized as the first great modern restatement of the oedipal drama, and it is now widely considered the major work of D. H. Lawrence's early period. This intensely autobiographical novel recounts the story of Paul Morel, a young artist growing to manhood in a British working-class family rife with conflict. The author's vivid evocation...

Odd Thomas, a short order cook at the Pico Mundo Grill, keeps his ability to speak with ghosts a secret from all but his girlfriend, Stormy, and the local police chief who he occasionally helps solve or prevent crime, but his unusual talent leads him and his fellow citizens into big trouble when a strange man comes to town followed by a horde of borachs--ghostly harbingers of mayhem.

The story of a young man who discovers that his rage at living in a world filled with failure and lies cannot be pacified by an empty consumer culture. Relief for him and his disenfranchised peers comes in the form of secret after-hours boxing matches held in the basements of bars.

A poignant and unforgettable novel from Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the monumental New York Times bestsellers The Deep End of the Ocean and The Most Wanted, A Theory of Relativity is a powerful tale that explores the emotional dynamics and dramas of two families fighting for custody of a young child. The very first author selected by the Oprah Book Club, Mitchard is a matchless, wise, and warm chronicler of families and their human foibles-and...

Now a grown man returning from Europe as a successful painter, Seth Quinn is settling down on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Still, a lot has changed in St. Christopher - and the most intriguing change of all is the presence of Dru Whitcomb Banks. But a secret Seth's kept hidden for years threatens to explode, destroying his new life and his new love.

A young man born of Indian parents in America struggles with issues of identity from his teens to his thirties.

Ian Bedloe is the ideal teenage son, leading a cheery, apple-pie life with his family in Baltimore. That is, until a careless and vicious rumor leads to a devastating tragedy. Imploding from guilt, Ian believes he is the one responsible for the tragedy. No longer a star athlete with a bright future, and desperately searching for salvation, he stumbles across a storefront with a neon sign that simply reads: CHURCH OF THE SECOND CHANCE. Ian has always...

In Manhattan, an elderly lawyer's business is growing. Having two scriveners in his employ, the lawyer advertises for a third to meet demand. Enter Bartleby, a glum albeit quality scrivener. However, the lawyer quickly discovers that something is off with his new employee. When asked to perform any duties outside of copying, Bartleby responds with a canned I would prefer not to. Soon Bartleby is living at the office and performing less and less at...