The certainties
In 1940, as the shadow of war lengthens over Europe, three mysterious travelers enter a village in Spain. They have the appearance of Parisian intellectuals, but the trio of two men and a woman are starving and exhausted from crossing illegally through the Pyrenees. Their story, told over a period of 48 tense hours, is narrated by one of the men, who slowly accepts his unthinkable fate. In a voice despairing and elegant, he calmly considers what he should do, and weighs what any one life means. As he does so, his attention is caught by a five-year-old named Pia who wanders near his cafe table. To Pia he begins to address all that he thinks and feels in his final hours--envisioning a rich future life for her that both reflects and contrasts with his own. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, a woman named Pia seeks solitude on a remote island in the Atlantic, where she works at an inn and reflects on her chaotic childhood. As Pia's story begins, a raging storm engulfs the island and a boat flounders offshore. Pia and her fellow islanders rush to help--and past and present calamities collide.
Available Copies by Location
Location | |
---|---|
Victoria | Available |
Browse Related Items
Subject |
World War, 1939-1945 > Fiction. Refugees > Fiction. Canadian fiction. Pyrenees > Fiction. |
Genre |
Historical fiction. |
- ISBN: 9780735276871
-
Physical Description
print
235 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm - Publisher [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 2020.
Additional Information
LDR | 02236cam a2200325 i 4500 | ||
---|---|---|---|
001 | 239621 | ||
003 | NFPL | ||
005 | 20201014091911.0 | ||
008 | 200727s2020 onca e 000 1 eng d | ||
020 | . | ‡a9780735276871 ‡q(hardcover) | |
035 | . | ‡a(OAUW)382267 | |
040 | . | ‡aCaOAUW ‡beng ‡erda ‡cCaOAUW | |
082 | 0 | 4. | ‡a[Fic] ‡223 |
100 | 1 | . | ‡aHunter, Aislinn, ‡d1969- ‡0(DLC)n 2001045778 ‡0(NFPL)24471 |
245 | 1 | 4. | ‡aThe certainties / ‡cAislinn Hunter. |
264 | 1. | ‡a[Place of publication not identified] : ‡b[publisher not identified], ‡c2020. | |
264 | 1. | ‡aToronto : ‡bAlfred A. Knopf Canada, ‡c2020. | |
300 | . | ‡a235 pages : ‡billustrations ; ‡c22 cm | |
336 | . | ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent | |
337 | . | ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia | |
338 | . | ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier | |
520 | . | ‡aIn 1940, as the shadow of war lengthens over Europe, three mysterious travelers enter a village in Spain. They have the appearance of Parisian intellectuals, but the trio of two men and a woman are starving and exhausted from crossing illegally through the Pyrenees. Their story, told over a period of 48 tense hours, is narrated by one of the men, who slowly accepts his unthinkable fate. In a voice despairing and elegant, he calmly considers what he should do, and weighs what any one life means. As he does so, his attention is caught by a five-year-old named Pia who wanders near his cafe table. To Pia he begins to address all that he thinks and feels in his final hours--envisioning a rich future life for her that both reflects and contrasts with his own. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, a woman named Pia seeks solitude on a remote island in the Atlantic, where she works at an inn and reflects on her chaotic childhood. As Pia's story begins, a raging storm engulfs the island and a boat flounders offshore. Pia and her fellow islanders rush to help--and past and present calamities collide. | |
650 | 0. | ‡aWorld War, 1939-1945 ‡vFiction. ‡0(DLC)sh 87008024 ‡0(NFPL)107329 | |
650 | 0. | ‡aRefugees ‡vFiction. ‡0(DLC)sh2008110582 ‡0(NFPL)116215 | |
650 | 0. | ‡aCanadian fiction. ‡0(DLC)sh 85019380 ‡0(NFPL)92956 | |
651 | 0. | ‡aPyrenees ‡0(DLC)sh 85109312 ‡vFiction. ‡0(DLC)sh 99001562 | |
655 | 7. | ‡aHistorical fiction. ‡2lcgft ‡0(DLC)gf2014026370 ‡0(NFPL)408 | |
905 | . | ‡utpeter | |
930 | . | ‡aMARCIVE (022023) | |
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