danchamp says:

Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), is delighted to announce the publication of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu. A deeply moving novel covering the gap between immigrants' dreams and their harsh realities in America, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears goes on-sale March 1, 2007.

Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution after witnessing soldiers beat his father to the point of certain death, selling off his parents' jewelry to pay for passage to the United States. Now he finds himself running a grocery store in a poor African-American neighborhood in Washington, D.C. His only companions are two fellow African immigrants who share his feelings of frustration with and bitter nostalgia for their home continent. He realizes that his life has turned out completely different and far more isolated from the one he had imagined for himself years ago.

Soon Sepha's neighborhood begins to change. Hope comes in the form of new neighbors-Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter-who become his friends and remind him of what having a family is like for the first time in years. But when the neighborhood's newfound calm is disturbed by a series of racial incidents, Sepha may lose everything all over again.

Told in a haunting and powerful first-person narration that casts the streets of Washington, D.C., and Addis Ababa through Sepha's eyes, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears is a deeply affecting and unforgettable debut novel about what it means to lose a family and a country-and what it takes to create a new home.

#1 Posted 1 years ago

danchamp says:

This book has now been claimed.

#2 Posted 1 years ago

silentdesperation says:

I was wondering if I might be able to get it sent my way after who ever gets it is done?

#3 Posted 1 years ago

cedarwaxwing says:

I'm sorry. I assumed it was mine to keep and had Dinaw sign it for me - so don't want to part with it. Next time I'll know better.

#4 Posted 1 years ago

danchamp says:

It is yours to keep Dona. There will be clear guidelines about review copies soon in preparation for the Connect programme - in a nutshell you can do what you like with them, they are your property.

The most contentious question is whether you can sell them, but again all we can do is provide guideance.

#5 Posted 1 years ago

silentdesperation says:

would there be any way to get another copy? If not don't worry about it. I know I probably sound like a book hog.

#6 Posted 1 years ago