Songs in Ordinary Time is set in the summer of 1960 - the last of quiet times and America's innocence. It centers on Marie Fermoyle, a strong but vulnerable woman whose loneliness and ambition for her children make her easy prey for the dangerous con man Omar Duvall. Marie's children are Alice, seventeen - involved with a troubled young priest; Norm, sixteen - hotheaded and idealistic; and Benjy, twelve - isolated and misunderstood, and so desperate for his mother's happiness that he hides the deadly truth only he knows about Duvall. Among a fascinating cast of characters we meet the children's alcoholic father, Sam Fermoyle, now living with his senile mother and embittered sister; Sam's meek brother-in-law, who makes anonymous "love" calls from the bathroom of his ailing appliance store; and the Klubock family, who - in complete contrast to the Fermoyles - live an orderly life in the perfect house next door. An Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick.

Songs in Ordinary Time

Literature & Fiction

McGARRY MORRIS, mary

Genre Fiction

Bookcassette

Fiona Range

BRILLIANCE AUDIO ^

Songs in Ordinary Time (Oprah's Book Club)

Unabridged Library Edition

Fiona Range's thirty years have been the battleground between her good upbringing and the innate recklessness she defiantly attributes to the beautiful Natalie, the young unwed mother who abandoned her in infancy. Most of Fiona's troubles seem to be kindled by a mix of the wrong men and the excesses of her kind heart. Finally rejected by the embarrassed and highly regarded Hollis family who raised her, Fiona has spent the last weeks of summer trying to get her life in order. But it takes only a single careless night to further condemn her in the eyes of the community. Finding herself even further estranged from relatives and friends, Fiona is drawn to the one man who wants nothing to do with her. He is her rumored father, Patrick Grady, so cruel and unstable that her Aunt Arlene and Uncle Charles Hollis fear for her safety. But, as always, Fiona will listen to no one. Determined to make Grady acknowledge their relationship, she pursues him in spite of his threats and increasingly erratic behavior. This is a deeply moving and hauntingly tragic tale of goodness undermined by guilt, of obsession, and of the twisted bond of betrayal committed in the name of love.

Fiona Range (Nova Audio Books)

Romance

Fantasy

Martha Horgan is not like other women.  She stares. She has violent crushes on people.  She can't stop telling the truth.  Martha craves love, independence, and companionship, but her relentless honesty makes her painfully vulnerable to those around her: Frances, her wealthy aunt and begrudging guardian; Birdy, who befriends her, then cruelly rejects her; and Colin Mackey, the seductive man who preys on her desires.  Confused and bitter, distrusting even those with her best interests at heart, Martha is propelled into a desperate attempt to gain control over her own life. The sense of impending calamity is almost unbearable in this portrait of a woman who teeters on the edge of madness.  "Morris's magnanimous ability to portray her characters with so much tenderness and cruelty may be her novel's finest strength." (Boston Sunday Globe)

A Dangerous Woman

Contemporary

Fourth Estate

Une douloureuse absence.

FRANCE LOISIRS / BELFOND

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Books by McGARRY MORRIS, mary