The story''s narrator is a writer who works as a fact checker for a high-brow magazine—likely based on Harpers or The New Yorker, where McInerney himself once worked as a fact checker—for which he had once hoped to write. By night, he is a cocaine using party-goer seeking to lose himself in the hedonism of the 1980s yuppie party scene, often going to a nightclub called Heartbreak. His wife, Amanda, recently left him and he copes with this by pretending nothing happened and telling no one that she''s gone. Initially hopeful that she will return someday, he eventually resorts to searching for her at a fashion event. He obsesses over every item she owned in his apartment, every modeling photo and every club she visited, even repeatedly visiting a mannequin based on her. Also, his partying is affecting his work and he appears to be on the verge of getting fired by his temperamental boss. The novel would go on to be the source material for the 1988 film Bright Lights, Big City, which was also written by McInerney. In 1999, an off Broadway stage musical was produced by the New York Theater Workshop, written by Paul Scott Goodman and directed by Michael Grief, with orchestrations and musical direction by Richard Barone.

Bright Lights, Big City

In the French Lescun during the Second World War, Jo Lalande is a young shepherd who is enjoying his childhood, but when his father goes to fight in the war, Jo has to become the man of the house. After an incident with a bear, Jo meets a mysterious man in the forest. He follows the man to his home and learns his secret - he is a Jew named Benjamin that is responsible for smuggling Jewish children across the border into Spain, and safety, with the help of his mother-in-law (Widow Horcada). Jo starts helping them, and proving that he is one person who can be trusted. When German soldiers move into town, things becomes much more difficult. Although most of the town''s inhabitants come to accept the German occupation, the task of getting the Jewish children across the border becomes more dangerous. Jo, his grandfather[Henri], Benjamin and Widow Horcada devise a plan to get the children across. The plan requires the whole town help the children escape, and relies on the German soldiers not noticing what is happening. But if they are caught, their lives will not be worth living... There is only one question left un answered. Where is Anya?

Waiting for Anya

At the beginning the Hardy boys fly to Iceland to look for a man that an insurance company that is giving him a reward. Then at a party someone attempted to kidnap Frank. A clue is a glove by a sulfur pit in Iceland. It might mean the American astronauts that came to Iceland to study the volcanoes. They take a flight on a private plane to Akureyri. The pilot is an enemy and forces a landing on a glacier. After they land on the glacier they handcuff their enemy. They are fooled by a phony police helicopter that rescues the enemy. They tried to use the radio but the pilot hid the radio crystal. They found it and made contact with the radio tower at Reykjavik. Shortly another helicopter came to pick up the Hardys. They went to Akureyri and visited a phony Rex Hallbjornsson. Shortly after they see Chet wandering in front of the hotel. He looked funny. Then they realized he was drugged! They thought some one might be upstairs looking at their stuff! They rushed upstairs. It was the pilot and his phony rescuer .Joe tried to get the pilot and the wig came off. It was the phony Rex Hallbjornsson! They got away! Chet and Tony looked went to investigate a man named Hallbjornsson that might know rex while frank and Joe went with a coast guard officer to look for Hallbjornsson in the sea. After a devastating storm they saw a small raft, maybe with a motor. They thought it might be the criminals. Over the course of a day or two, they put on disguises and acted as phony crewman for Rex Mar (the real Hallbjornson—he changed his name). When they came on deck, Musselaman was there and was fooled by the disguises until Joe slipped up by speaking English in Iceland. The boys defeat the criminals in hand-to-hand combat and have them arrested.

The Arctic Patrol Mystery

The book starts with a funeral. The atmosphere is not, as one would assume, oppressive, but rather buoyant. When the coffin is carried to the graveyard, Helen remarks that her mother is still, even after her death, making her presence felt. As her mother had had a row with the priest when choosing the grave years ago, he keeps casting Helen and her brother distrustful looks throughout the funeral. From the very beginning of the book it is clear that Dorothy Glovers must have been a nasty woman. A woman who did not treat her children with love and affection, but ruled them and deprived them of life’s pleasures. Only Louise, her youngest daughter, had had the strength to escape from her dominant influence. When the ceremony of burying is held at the grave and the priest is giving his sermon, Helen thinks: „Eternal life is an appalling idea, especially in mother’s case.“ Slowly but steadily, Helen and Edward get used to their mother’s absence and they start to slightly change their lives. Helen feels much freer than before her mother''s death and falls in love with Giles Carnaby, their lawyer. She becomes more confident and starts to perceive life differently. Nevertheless, Dorothy, Helen''s and Edward''s mother still, even after her death, makes her presence felt. At one point, Helen finds love-letters that a former boyfriend of hers had written to her in one of her mother''s old cloaks. Her mother had never given these letters to her and therefore had caused the separation of Helen and her boyfriend. Helen is upset, but has to come to terms with it – she cannot confront her mother anymore. Edwards is a biology teacher. His mother’s does not change much about his life - he remains as reclusive as he had been before his mother''s death. He spends most of his leisure time in the wood that is part of the estate he and Helen live at. There he tends plants and watches birds. In the course of the book he turns out to be homosexual. Helen helps Howard through what seems to be a life crisis. By doing so she feels strong. Helen and Edward live modestly. They only buy what they absolutely need; their lifestyle is rather old-fashioned. This is in complete contrast to the life their sister Luise and her husband Tom lead, who every once in a while drop in at Helen and Howard''s place. Luise and Tom live an urban life in London, their problems are those typical of people that live in big cities: lack of time and psycho-somatic illnesses. Helen and Howard, by contrast, lead a calm, monotonous and rather rural life. Throughout the book it seems as though Helen and Giles Carnaby, the lawyer, will end up in a happy relationship. This does not happen, as in one of the last chapters Gilbert tells Helen that he does not want to see her anymore.

Passing On

Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby, a close friend of Henry Huggins, is perpetually infuriated by the imaginative antics of her younger sister Ramona, who frequently insists upon exhibiting imaginative habits and eccentricities such as wearing her beloved homemade paper rabbit ears while pretending to be the Easter Bunny, dragging a string along behind her pretending to lead an imaginary lizard named Ralph, and being read an irritating children''s book about an anthropomorphic, disgruntled steam shovel called Scoopy. Beezus is also commonly exasperated by actions on her sister''s part such as vandalizing a library book, inviting her classmates to a house party without the consent of her parents, and wreaking havoc during Beezus''s painting class. Beezus, however, is haunted frequently by the guilt of her animosity towards Ramona and the uneasy sisterhood that they share as opposed to that displayed by her mother and Aunt Beatrice, and is finally prompted to revealing this during her birthday celebration after Ramona has ruined a pair of birthday cakes intended for the party. However, after learning about memories from the childhoods of Aunt Beatrice and her mother, Beatrice accepts that she may not always love Ramona.

Beezus and Ramona

The story focuses on two women: the first is the beautiful Noelle Page, who is born to a fisherman in Marseilles; the second is well-read but shy wit Catherine Alexander, whose father had big dreams he was never able to fulfil. Catherine is embarrassed about the fact that she is a virgin. Noelle was born as a result of an extra-marital affair in Marseilles, France, but her mother never told her husband the truth. Her foster father always called her his ''princess'' and decided to exploit her beauty by taking money from dress shop owner Auguste Lanchon in exchange for letting Noelle sleep with him. Noelle falls in love with RAF pilot Larry Douglas when she escapes to Paris. He promises to marry her but disappears from Paris and does not return. Noelle, distraught, finds she is pregnant and terminates at five-and-a-half months along in grisly fashion. Catherine is an American born to a father who always had big dreams, but could never fulfil them. Because she is an aloof virgin, the people in her university call her a lesbian. She finds a job with a man called Bill Fraser with whom she begins a relationship, but falls in love with Larry Douglas instead. Larry and Catherine marry, unaware of Noelle''s plans for vengeance against the man who jilted her so carelessly. Larry''s lies gradually entwine the lives of these two women in a dazzling story of passion, vengeance, power and greed. es:Más allá de la medianoche fr:De l''autre côté de minuit he:מעבר לחצות ne:द अदर साइड अफ मिडनाइट ja:真夜中は別の顔 pt:The Other Side of Midnight ru:Оборотная сторона полуночи (роман) vi:Phía bên kia nửa đêm

The Other Side of Midnight

During the Oklahoma Land Run, Cissy and her parents arrive from the east to settle in Florence Town, a new settlement. Within a few days, it becomes apparent that a local railroad company wants to use the land for itself and attempts to purchase it from the people of the town. The townspeople don''t want to sell their land, and after falling foul of the railroad company, the director announces that no trains will stop at the town. Suffering hardship through having no railroad connection, the townspeople decide to make efforts - both legal and illegal - to stop the train that passes through their town. The story documents the life of Cissy as she grows and people in the town struggle to make some sort of living. Rumours of a young girl''s death under the wheels of a train sparked a sabotage of the railway removing a length of rail, and blocking the road crossing. Realising what damage to human life they might cause, the townspeople manage to reconstruct the track before the train comes through, thereby averting disaster. Deciding that they should take a more peaceful approach to persuading the trains to stop, the townsfolk hold a fair to show their community off to a trainload of passengers, hijacked by a group of the town''s men. Following the success of the Florence Fair, and the overwhelming response from the passengers pressuring the railroad company to stop ignoring Florence, trains begin to stop at the town after that, which allows the town to grow. To pay tribute to the town''s new start, and in a gesture of reconciliation towards the railroad company, it is renamed Olive, hence the "Olive Branch Line". The book may be partly influenced by the Enid-Pond Creek Railroad War, and is dedicated to the people of Enid, "who did stop the train".

Stop the Train

The book covers the period March 5, 1934 (the day after Jake Featherston''s inauguration as President of the Confederate States) to June 22, 1941 (the commencement of Operation Blackbeard). The United States is able to end a war with Japan, but is beginning to prepare for a fourth war against its southern neighbor. In the Confederacy, Featherston and his Freedom Party enact sweeping changes to all aspects of life, including purging and expanding the Army, abolishing the Supreme Court, and using camps to kill off Whig and Radical Liberal politicians before using them to eliminate the black population of the Confederate States. As these changes are taking place, representatives of the former Confederate states of Kentucky and west Texas (Houston) begin calling for a return to their rightful nation. Though this is done, Featherston is still not satisfied, and wants more territory that the U.S. had taken in 1917 (Sequoyah, and parts of Sonora, Virginia, and Arkansas). After his offer is refused by U.S. President Al Smith, Featherston issues the order to attack the United States in an effort to regain the Confederacy''s lost lands, as part of his ultimate plan to defeat the U.S.

American Empire: The Victorious Opposition

The story continues a few months after The Chocolate War ends. As the school year draws to an end, many students look forward to leaving for the summer but Carter and Obie, leading members of the ruthless secret society, The Vigils, can''t contemplate the future until they have destroyed the leader, Archie Costello. Obie has seen his relationship with the beautiful Laurie Gundarson ruined by one of Archie''s Vigil exploits and is out for revenge. But his plan involving a trick backfires and Archie hands over the leadership of the Vigils with his ruthlessly cool reputation still intact. During all of this, it''s also revealed what happened to Jerry Renault after the conclusion of the last book, that he had stayed in Canada, and even after a second scuffle with Emile Janza decides to return to Trinity High School. The story ends with Archie giving the role of the "Assigner" to his underling, Bunting, but only on one condition: Emile Janza becomes the Vigil''s second-in-command. At the end of the year, Janza suggests to Bunting many changes to the way Archie ran the Vigils, including the use of physical force rather than psychological force, taxing students, and the selling of marijuana and pills. Bunting agrees, not knowing that it was Archie recommending all of the various illegal activities. Archie thus engineers the "ruin" of Trinity in coming years. A side story is David Caroni''s pursuit of Brother Leon and in the end committing suicide after a failed murder attempt. The sequel was as well received as its predecessor, but notably darker undercurrents stream beneath its main plot. Principal among those is the spectre of sexual frustration in single sex schools, a sparsely explored theme of both "Chocolate War" books. Critics have argued that Cormier was alluding to Trinity being destroyed by the perversion of simple teenage urges, as the protagonists are frustrated by the compulsory all male environment. Cormier has never made any comment in relation to this claim.

Beyond The Chocolate War

The story is told in the first-person by Jestyn the Englishman as he recounts his life and how he ended up in Constantinople. After being orphaned, he is captured by Viking raiders and sold into slavery in Dublin. His owner Thormond frees him for good service, and Jestyn joins the crew of Thormond''s ship when they leave Dublin to return to Denmark. Upon return, Thormond finds his father killed by childhood friends, and swears the blood feud after which the novel is named. Jestyn and Thormond swear blood brotherhood and set off to pursue the killers. The journey takes them across the Baltic, up the Dvina and down the Dnieper to Kiev, where they enlist in the service of Khan Vladimir who has agreed to fight for Basil II in return for the hand in marriage of Basil''s sister Anna. The fighting is resolved, and both Thormond and Jestyn join the newly formed Varangian Guard. The feud is ultimately resolved, but with many twists and turns, and Jestyn finally settles to live in Constantinople. The theme of the novel revolves around Jestyn''s struggle to find belonging, as he is caught between conflicting values, conflicting cultures, and conflicting religions. The historical background depicts the Christianization of Kievan Rus'', and Jestyn''s mixed feelings as he carries an original Christian value system of his youth alongside the commitment of blood feud and blood brotherhood of Norse paganism.

Blood Feud

A teenager''s pregnancy is beginning to show. This causes her mother much grief, as the girl will not name the father. Suspicion in the village rests on a navetanekat, or migrant laborer. He denies any involvement. Nevertheless, one of the brothers of Khar Madaiagua Diob (the expectant mother) tramples the laborer''s crops. An angry mob searches for the navetanekat for a few days. Eventually, the girl tells her mother the truth: her own father is also the father of her child. The Money-Order centers on an illiterate, middle-aged Senegalese man named Dieng. Dieng has been unemployed for some time, and he has two wives and several children. Dieng receives word that a money-order is waiting for him at the post office. Dieng wants the money, but he faces much difficulty in obtaining it. He doesn''t have proper identification, and he even must pay a translator to read him the message with the order. Compounding Dieng''s troubles is the fact that Dieng''s neighbors are learning of his recent windfall. Enter Mbaye, a so-called "New African". Effective in his business dealings, Mbaye owns a villa on the other side of town. With a flourish of generosity, Mbaye promises to help Dieng cash the money-order.

The Money-Order with White Genesis

A relatively quiet evening at home in 1897 for the Emersons is disturbed by the appearance of Reggie Forthright and his grandfather, Viscount Blacktower. The two visitors have information about Blacktower''s older son, Willoughby Forth, who disappeared fourteen years ago in the desert west of the Nile in the Sudan. They tell the story of a lost civilization in the midst of the desert. Lord Blacktower''s story would have been discounted, except the map he produced was on the back of a page from Emerson''s own notebook, drawn by Willie Forth himself. Blacktower wants the Emersons to lead an expedition to find the missing heir, but the Emersons decline. Surprisingly, Radcliffe, Amelia and Ramses do travel to the Sudan, to excavate at Gebel Barkal and Napata, the first Nubian capital. The sudden appearance of Reggie Forthright causes them to alter their plans. Reggie is set on seeking his long-lost uncle, and when he disappears in the western wastes, the Emersons have no recourse but to go after him. But the rescuers need rescue themselves when all but one of their men desert them, and their camels die off one by one. Finally, the last faithful servant takes a chance, and looks for a promised oasis ahead. Nearly dead from heat and thirst, they suddenly find themselves in a world 3,000 years out of place. Amelia suffers the worst of it, taking weeks to fully recover. She is spurred on because they find themselves in a place where ancient Egypt is still alive and functioning. And they find that their servant was in fact one of two brothers struggling for power in the ancient land. They soon learn that anyone who thought life in ancient Egypt was simple would have been grossly mistaken. The intrigues, politics, and social mores push and prod the Emersons in ways they never expected, and they still need to discover what happened to Willie Forth, his wife, and his nephew. Dinner with princes and a queen, clandestine meetings with priestesses, and plans to escape all jumble together until the god Aminreh appears to make his decision, and all three Emersons are in the midst of the action when Aminreh makes the choice no one expected... Nefret Forth is introduced, and the source of her later wealth is established. So too is the devotion the family has to a young woman they did not know the existence of just a short while before.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Bright Lights, Big City

By Jay McInerney

Waiting for Anya

By Michael Morpurgo

The Arctic Patrol Mystery

By Franklin W. Dixon

Passing On

No Author Listed

Beezus and Ramona

By Beverly Cleary

The Other Side of Midnight

By Sidney Sheldon

Stop the Train

By Geraldine McCaughrean

American Empire: The Victorious Opposition

By Harry Turtledove

Beyond The Chocolate War

By Robert Cormier

Blood Feud

By Rosemary Sutcliff

The Money-Order with White Genesis

By Ousmane Sembène

The Last Camel Died at Noon

By Barbara Mertz