In the tradition of A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS, a sweeping tale of friendship, hardship and redemption set in North Korea. Gi lives behind North Korea's iron curtain under the watchful eye of Dear Leader. As an orphan, growing up on a diet of thin soup and propaganda, life is a constant struggle against hunger and fear. But when she meets headstrong Il-sun, tender Gi finds consolation in another human being for the first time, and their unlikely friendship grows as deep as the bond between sisters. Everything changes when they fall victim to a people trafficker and are indentured into the sex trade, first south of the border and then in America. The hardships they face on their journey from East to West test them to the very limits of what it is possible to endure. Perfect for fans of Khaled Hosseini and Chris Cleave, heart-wrenching but ultimately redemptive, ALL WOMAN AND SPRINGTIME provides an unforgettable insight into the most mysterious and unknown country on earth, and in Gi paints a portrait of a young woman who loses everything but refuses to be destroyed.

Fiction. The essays in WHAT CAME BEFORE say without saying. Combining and blurring the genres of myth, essay, and poetry, these small works explore subjects as diverse as the death of Moses, the special relationship between gay men and cats, the movie Titanic, rock collections, and the afterlife.

The death of a mother alters forever a family’s story of itself. Indeed, it taxes the ability of a family to tell that story at all. The Accounts narrates the struggle to speak with any clear understanding in the wake of that loss. The title poem attempts three explanations of the departure of a life from the earth—a physical account, a psychological account, and a spiritual account. It is embedded in a long narrative sequence that tries to state plainly the facts of the last days of the mother’s life, in a room that formerly housed a television, next to a California backyard. The visual focus of that sequence, a robin’s nest, poised above the family home, sings in a kind of lament, giving its own version of ways we can see the transformation of the dying into the dead. In other poems, called “Arguments,” two voices exchange uncertain truths about subjects as high as heaven and as low as crime. Grief is a problem that cannot be solved by thinking, but that doesn’t stop the mind, which relentlessly carries on, trying in vain to settle its accounts. The death of a well-loved person creates a debt that can never be repaid. It reminds the living of our own psychological debts to each other, and to the dead. In this sense, the death of this particular mother and the transformation of this particular family are evocative of a greater struggle against any changing reality, and the loss of all beautiful and passing forms of order.

A collection of essays, originally published in "The New Yorker," "Esquire," and other periodicals, includes the title piece about a New York artist who invites people to call and leave an apology on his answering machine.

The National Book Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Color Purple explores our modern world with “compassion, courage, and humor” (Booklist). Alice Walker once ached for retirement, but in the turmoil of the Democratic primaries and the economic collapse of 2008, she realized she simply had a great deal more to say. Leaving her meditation cushion behind, she found herself traveling the world once again to speak of our intertwined personal, spiritual, and political destinies through ruminations, poems, essays, and letters. At the height of her literary powers, this revered American novelist, poet, essayist, and activist invites readers on a journey of political awakening and spiritual insight. While visiting subjects she has addressed throughout her career—including racism, Africa, Palestinian solidarity, and Cuba—as well as addressing emergent issues, such as the presidency of Barack Obama and health care, Walker explores her conflicting impulses to retreat into inner contemplation and to remain deeply engaged with the world. Rich with humor and wisdom, and informed by Walker’s unique eye for the details of human and natural experience, The Cushion in the Road is “a heartfelt response to a new generation’s yearning for public service” (Kirkus Reviews). “Walker’s concern for the state of humanity and the planet comes through as impassioned and genuine.” —Publishers Weekly “Quintessential Alice Walker: edgy, demanding, prayerful, loving, and aware. An essential companion for those who wish to be a force for positive change in our perpetually challenging world.” —ForeWord Magazine “Infused with a quiet grace and gentle resolve to act responsibly.” —Kirkus Reviews