Cecily Wong

A dazzling and heartfelt novel about two sisters caught in their parents’ ambition, the accident that brings it all crashing down, and the journey that follows. Everybody’s heard of The Brightons. From rags to riches, sleepy Oregon to haute New York, they are the half-Chinese family that built Kaleidoscope, a glittering, ‘global bohemian’ shopping empire sourcing luxury goods from India and beyond. Statuesque, design savant, and family pet—eldest daughter Morgan Brighton is most celebrated of all. Yet despite her favored status, both within the family and in the press, nobody loves her more than Riley. Smart and nervy Riley Brighton — whose existence is forever eclipsed by her older sister’s presence. When a catastrophic event dismantles the Brightons’ world, it is Riley who’s left with questions about her family that challenge her memory, identity, and loyalty. She sets off across the globe with an unlikely companion to seek truths about the people she thought she knew best —herself included. Using the brightly colored, shifting mosaic patterns of a kaleidoscope as its guide, and told in arresting, addictive fragments, Kaleidoscope is at once a reckoning with one family’s flawed American Dream, and an examination of the precious bond between sisters. It reveals, too, the different kinds of love left to grow when tightly held stories are finally let go. At turns devastating and funny, warm and wise, sexy and transportive, Riley’s journey confronts the meaning of freedom and travel, youth and innocence, and what it looks like to belong, grieve, and love on one’s own terms.

A Novel

Kaleidoscope

A sweeping debut, crossing from China to Hawaii, that follows three generations of a wealthy dynasty whose rise and decline is riddled with secrets and tragic love—from a young, powerful new voice in fiction Frank Leong, a prominent shipping industrialist and head of the celebrated Leong family, brings his loved ones from China to Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century, abandoning his interests at the port of Tsingtao when the Japanese invade. But something ancient follows the Leongs to the islands, haunting them—the parable of the red string of fate. According to Chinese legend, the red string binds one to her intended beloved, but also punishes for mistakes in love, twisting any misstep into a destructive knot that passes down through generations. When Frank Leong is murdered on Oahu, his family is thrown into a perilous downward spiral. Left to rebuild in their patriarch's shadow, the surviving Leongs attempt a new, ordinary life, vowing to bury their gilded past. Still, the island continues to whisper—fragmented pieces of truth and chatter—until a letter arrives two decades later, carrying a confession that shatters the family even further. Now the Leongs' survival rests with young Theresa, Frank's only grandchild. Eighteen and pregnant, Theresa holds the answers to her family's mysteries and is left to carry the burden of their mistakes. On the day of her father's funeral, as the Leongs gather to mourn the loss of their firstborn son, Theresa must decide what stories to tell, with whom to side, and which knots will endure for another generation. Told through the eyes of the Leongs' secret-keeping daughters and wives—and spanning the Boxer Rebellion, Pearl Harbor, and 1960s Hawaii—Diamond Head is an exploration of whether there's such a thing as a legacy of the heart. Passionate and devastating, it is a story filled with love, lies, loss, and—most astounding of all—hope.

Diamond Head

Dylan Thuras

Atlas Obscura

Taste the World! It’s truly a feast of wonder: Created by the ever-curious minds behind Atlas Obscura, this breathtaking guide transforms our sense of what people around the world eat and drink. Covering all seven continents, Gastro Obscura serves up a loaded plate of incredible ingredients, food adventures, and edible wonders. Ready for a beer made from fog in Chile? Sardinia’s “Threads of God” pasta? Egypt’s 2000-year-old egg ovens? But far more than a menu of curious minds delicacies and unexpected dishes, Gastro Obscura reveals food’s central place in our lives as well as our bellies, touching on history–trace the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture–picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel–scale China’s sacred Mount Hua to reach a tea house. Festivals–feed wild macaques pyramid of fruit at Thailand’s Monkey Buffet Festival. And hidden gems that might be right around the corner, like the vending machine in Texas dispensing full sized pecan pies. Dig in and feed your sense of wonder. “Like a great tapas meal, Gastro Obscura is deep yet snackable, and full of surprises. This is the book for anyone interested in eating, adventure and the human condition.” –Tom Colicchio, chef and activist “This exquisite guide kept me at the breakfast table until dinner time.” –Kyle Maclachlan, actor and vintner

A Food Adventurer's Guide

Gastro Obscura

“Diamond Head is an intricate meditation on what is in our control and what is fate—and on whether children must bear the costs of their parents’ mistakes.” —Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything I Never Told You and Little Fires Everywhere At the turn of the nineteenth century, Frank Leong, a fabulously wealthy shipping industrialist, moves his family from China to the island of Oahu. But something ancient follows the Leongs to Hawaii, haunting them. The parable of the red string of fate, the cord that binds one intended beloved to her perfect match, also punishes for mistakes in love, passing a destructive knot down the family line. When Frank Leong is murdered, his family is thrown into a perilous downward spiral. Left to rebuild in their patriarch’s shadow, the surviving members of the Leong family try their hand at a new, ordinary life, vowing to bury their gilded past. Still, the island continues to whisper—fragmented pieces of truth and chatter, until a letter arrives two decades later, carrying a confession that shatters the family even further. Now the Leongs’ survival rests with young Theresa, Frank Leong’s only grandchild, eighteen and pregnant, the heir apparent to her ancestors’ punishing knots. Told through the eyes of the Leong’s secret-keeping daughters and wives and spanning the Boxer Rebellion to Pearl Harbor to 1960s Hawaii, Diamond Head is a breathtakingly powerful tale of tragic love, shocking lies, poignant compromise, aching loss, heroic acts of sacrifice and, miraculous hope.

EGZOTYCZNA PODRÓŻ OD CHIN DO HAWAJÓW Z BAGAŻEM W POSTACI OKRUTNEJ KLĄTWY Oto opowieść zgłębiająca losy czterech pokoleń zamożnego klanu. Na początku XIX-tego wieku, Frank Leong, bajecznie bogaty przedsiębiorca opuszcza Chiny, zostawiając swoją działalność i z całą rodziną udaje się na wyspę Oʻahu. Za nimi ciągnie się starożytne przekleństwo. Legenda głosi, że każdy człowiek na ziemi jest przeznaczony konkretnej osobie. Kiedy para dobierze się niewłaściwie, los może płatać okrutne figle. Pasmo błędów popełnianych przez poszczególne osoby pozostawia skazy na dziejach rodziny. Po dwudziestu latach na wyspę przychodzi przełomowy list z niezwykłym wyznaniem, które zatrzęsło światem całego rodu. To zapierająca dech w piersiach i niezwykle potężna baśń o magicznej miłości, szokujących kłamstwach, wymuszonym kompromisie, okrutnej stracie, heroicznych czynach, poświęceniu oraz nadziei o wymiarze graniczącym z cudem. FENOMENALNE DZIEŁO, KTÓRE PRZEDSTAWIA CAŁY WACHLARZ OSOBOWOŚCI I HAWAJSKICH KRAJOBRAZÓW ___ Perełka wśród sag. – Rebecca Wells, autorka Boskich sekretów siostrzanego stowarzyszenia Ya-Ya Oto liryczna powieść, która skradła moje serce od samego początku. Złamała mi je, ale to ten swoisty rodzaj zawodu, kiedy serce nie spełnia naszych oczekiwań, ukazując... prawdę. – Ploughshares

Diamentowa góra

We’ve been stuck at home for long enough! It’s time to get out and taste the world again. From those ever-curious, ever-quirky minds behind the #1 New York Times bestselling Atlas Obscura, with over 800,00 copies in print, comes an unputdownable guide that marries our endless appetite for travel with our insatiable interest in food. Continent by continent, country by country, Gastro Obscura takes up the mantle of Atlas Obscura to radically expand our sense of wonder about the world—in this case, what humans eat and drink, which turns out to be far more marvelous than we could ever imagine. Created by the founders of AtlasObscura.com, GastroObscura.com delivers fresh food stories daily to the millions of Atlas Obscura readers and Facebook fans, along with its own burgeoning dedicated email newsletter that is currently reaching over 192,000. And it is now serving up the best of it in a lavishly illustrated food-lover’s gift of nearly 500 dishes, ingredients, traditions, and experiences. Discover English bog butter. “Threads of God” pasta (only three women know how to make it). The best black bean fritter restaurant in Brazil. The world’s largest floating restaurant. A croissant museum in Poland. Focusing as much on food’s place in our lives as well as our bellies, the book covers history—the network of ancient Roman fish sauce factories. Culture—picture four million women gathering to make rice pudding. Travel—scale China's Mount Hua to reach a sacred tea house. Festivals—chase a wheel of double Gloucester at Britain’s annual Cooper’s Hill cheese rolling competition. And such truly surprising delicacies as sturgeon spinal cord, blood tofu, stinkbug tacos, and more.

Cecily Wong

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