TNBBC has got a hot new giveaway for you!
Douglas Kennedy's The Moment
is out in paperback
is out in paperback
and we are giving away 3 domestic copies to US residents.
(sorry, no international this time!)
Here's the Goodreads description (where you can read an excerpt as well):
Berlin, during the period of perestroika in the 1980s. The male protagonist is a travel writer who falls desperately in love with a beautiful East Berlin woman, Petra. Their passionate relationship is destroyed when he finds out that Petra is a Stasi agent and, worse, that she has been using their relationship to gain information from him. He is devastated at such betrayal, believing that every element of their relationship had been false.
It is only years later, once Petra is dead, that the narrator discovers the truth. Petra was being forced to give information to the Stasi, who were holding her son captive under threats of death. Too late he learns that the relationship was a sincere one -- the feelings were real -- and it was only Petra's fear for her son's life that led to her betrayal of her lover. But the crucial moment, when he had the choice to commit fully to her and find the truth or to walk away, has gone for ever.
Like Kennedy's previous highly acclaimed novels, The Moment brilliantly illustrates the irrationality of love and the crucial moments which define whole lives.
Sound like something you might like?
I sure hope so!!
The contest will run through December 9th.
Winners will be announced here and via email on December 10th.
Here's how to enter:
1 - Comment here stating that you would like to receive a copy of the book and share with us your favorite, most disturbing, or heart-breaking moment.
2 - You must leave me a way to contact you (email is preferred).
That's it! Easy right?!
Of course, should you win, we'd love to know what you thought of it.
Good luck!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI’d love to get a copy of that book, so I’ll give it a shot:
ReplyDeleteSlovenia, 8 years after independence from Yugoslavia. I have fallen in love with a Slovene girl and have traveled to meet my future in-laws for the first time. In a desperate attempt to remain hydrated and ward off jet lag, I have drunk my body weight in bottled water during a grueling 3-stop flight across the states, the Atlantic, and Europe. This is followed by a two stop train ride and 2 or 3 more liters of water. We arrive exhausted, and late.
Instead of resting or heading to the bathroom, we are immediately ushered to the dinner table, where her extended family is waiting to break bread in our honor. Another two hours of eating and drinking passes until the well-wishers leave for home, and we are allowed to unpack and relax. Instead, we collapse in heaps onto our beds.
But the crucial moment, when I had the choice to go to the bathroom and empty my bladder, has gone forever. I awake, for the first time since childhood, in a pool of my own urine. I sit up wet and cold, and wonder how and whether to wake my fiancé, imagine what I will tell her parents, and consider running right out the door forever.
Luckily it all works out, and like Kennedy's acclaimed novel, this moment brilliantly illustrates the irrationality of love and the crucial moments which define whole lives.
Unfortunately, it’s also a true story.
Mac DeMarest
macevoydemarest@gmail.com
www.ShelfActualization.com
I'd love to win this book.
ReplyDeleteMy sad story is pretty simple. My best friend was an addict and alcoholic. He had periods of sobriety and periods of relapse. I had recently moved next to a bar. At the same time, he had bought a very distinctive car (expensive: only eleven made in the color he had). So when I saw the car at the bar, I knew he had relapsed. I called his brother to let him know, and my best friend decided not to talk to me (he often did that when he was angry at me.) 2 weeks later, he overdosed and died. I felt guilty for a long time because I had pushed him away those last 2 weeks. I've come to terms with his death over time, and no longer feel any guilt.
Joe
dogboijoe [at] gmail [dot] com
I would love to win a copy of the book. Two years ago, a friend of mine died suddenly. When I got married a few years earlier, he had hoped to be invited to my wedding, but due to space limitations, he didn't "make the cut." I think of the people now who didn't even bother to come (and who had RSVPd) and wish like hell I'd invited Tony instead.
ReplyDeletecasachristy@gmail.com
I'd love to win this book. A defining moment in my life was when my now deceased sister-in-law who had become paraplegic after a car accident and lost her 4 year-old daughter, confessed that the only thing she wanted was to have another child. I was completely blown away by this person, who I believed should have all the reasons to hate the world (the way I hated it after what had happened to her.) She showed me there is always room for hope and love in our hearts.
ReplyDeleteForgot to add my email ecofying@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThanks
My best friend's sister died last January. She was only sixteen. I took my friend to the funeral and it was one of the saddest events I've ever witnessed. I'd never seen anyone in as much emotional pain that day and there was nothing I could do to alleviate it. I never felt so hopeless. It was my first real experience with death and I think what made it so hard on everyone was her young age. No one should die so young. Her learner's permit arrived in the mail the day after she died and her parent's put it in her hands for the ceremony.
ReplyDeleteMy e-mail is rs_athlete1@hotmail.com
A very sad moment was when I heard my mother had died, when I had just resigned at my job in order to spend time with her. My heart was broken that I had not left the job sooner.
ReplyDeleteWould love to win this book.
harvee44 at yahoo.com
My comment hasn't shown up yet. I will write another...just to be safe!
ReplyDeleteI would love to win this book!
I would have to say that my most heartbreaking moment was leaving my 3 kids home in CT, while going to Long Island, NY for brain surgery. I was away for 7 days, and scared to death to have the surgery. It was awful! I wrote letters to each of them....just in case. Ugh!
So thankful for medical technology though!
Rose Ann
rsimo527@msn.com
This sounds like a great book! I'd love to win it. My moment happened in 2006 when I was diagnosed with Melanoma. I had to have surgery to remove a large chunk of my face and see if chemo and further surgery would be needed. In the days before my surgery I really learned to value my husband and 5 children. My youngest was barely 1 year old and I knew he wouldn't remember me at all if the outcome was bad. And when my 11 year old asked me how Daddy would be able to take care of everyone if I died, it broke my heart. Thankfully no chemo was needed and I am currently cancer free. Sometimes it takes bad moments to help us fully appreciate the good moments in our lives.
ReplyDeleteLahnicast@yahoo.com
Here's my entry:
ReplyDeleteFreshman year of College, I surprised my girlfriend by taking a flight home from Italy (to New Jersey). I go to her front step and her best friend calls her, telling her that a package was left on her porch. She comes running down the stairs and jumps into my arms when she sees me standing there, completely stunned, near tears.
We spend a week together, but things seem off and we end it. Two days before I leave, I go to her house at 3 am, it had just been snowing and we get into a huge argument. She keeps just defaulting into telling me to leave. I keep telling her I won't. Finally, I say "Audrey, if you want me to leave. Look me right in the eyes and tell me you don't want to be with me and you want me gone." She stares me down, remains silent, and then says:
"Alessio, you have to leave. I don't have feelings for you. Go."
I couldn't see falsity in her eyes, so I just turned around, got in my car and drove off.
Half way home, she texted me. She wrote "I lied."
I made an illegal U-turn at a red light and sped back to her house. I get out of my car, slam the door shut and start walking towards her. She starts running towards me with wet hair, in a purple robe, nearly slipping all over the place.
We hug and our lips meet effortlessly. She starts crying and just keeps repeating:
"I can't...I can't...I can't..."
----
Somewhere between Most heart breaking and favourite. Her name was changed in this recounting.
salvatoretummolillo@gmail.com
Thank you to everyone who entered. You've shared some wonderful, heartbreaking, impactful moments with us and I wish you could each get a copy of THE MOMENT.
ReplyDeleteAlas, we only have three copies, and those copies go to:
Joe (Dogboijoe)
Kartika (lahnicast)
Book Dilattante (Harvee44)
Emails have been sent to request your shipping address.
For those of you who did not win, keep those eyes out, I have another great giveaway coming up soon!!