**A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK** In a sophisticated romp through the tribulations and joys of marriage and friendship, a group of college friends reunites two decades after graduation. After the sudden death of Douglas, once the ringleader of a clique of self-styled wits, his four best friends are summoned to his Catskills estate to mourn his passing. Responding to a mysterious sense of emergency in the call, Ned flies in from San Francisco with his wife Nina in furious pursuit; they’re at a critical point in their attempts to conceive and she won’t let a funeral get in the way. It is Nina who gives us a pointed, irreverent commentary as the men reconvene, while Ned tries to understand what it was that made this clutch of souls his friends to begin with—before time, sex, work, and the brutal quirks of history reshaped them. Filled with unexpected, funny, telling aperçus, Norman Rush’s Subtle Bodies is also a deeply moving exploration of the meanings of life.

This reference book details over 1,200 English-language works from a variety of genres, such as historical novels, romances, mysteries and thrillers. Arranged by author, the entries include bibliographic information on the books, a brief synopsis that sets the author's work in context, and a critical examination.

Throughout her astonishing fifty-year career - which has encompassed TV triumphs, a string of international hits, an Oscar statuette and a Las Vegas residency - Cher's personal life has continually made front-page news. In the shadow of her success, Cher has married twice, battled depression, defied the censors, and dealt with the tragedy of Sonny Bono's early death. Including exclusive interviews with Cher and those she has worked with on and off stage, Strong Enough documents the ins, outs, ups and downs of a one-name American icon at her outrageous best - by the writer behind Cher's Vegas tour programmes.