At five and six years old, lying in the long grass and wildflowers near her family's house on the outskirts of 1940s Toronto, Judith Cowan was certain that what she experienced was the permanent nature of everything. Little by little, she comes to recognize threats: a leering neighbour asking strange questions about her gender, a lady who has died of an illness not revealed, the smell of something dead in the ditch. Her disapproving, resourceful, and frustrated mother, born to Methodist missionaries in China, tells frightening tales: how a pig will kill and eat a little girl, or how she herself as a small child was shot at by pirates on the Yangtze. Sharing memories from the nineteenth century, her grandparents recount their youthful follies, and she realizes that all of us are swept along in time's passing stream. But books seem permanent, and give access to a world of pleasure even if, because of her red hair, the boys torment her on the road to school, and she has to fight. A meticulous memoir of growing up in a Canada scarcely aware of itself as a country, The Permanent Nature of Everything rescues recollections from a vanished time and traces the emerging awareness in the emotional world of a child.
The conundrum at the core of Gambler's Fallacy, author and translator Judith Cowan's seven-story follow-up to her distinguished 1997 debut, More Than Life Itself, involves an impressively erratic cast of fearful and fragile Québécois characters, capriciously transformed into victims of the strange vagaries of chance and serendipitous circumstance. Not unlike Raymond Carver or Alice Munro, Cowan creates heartbreakingly felicitous portraits of Chekhovian elegance, featuring the ordinarily forgotten little folks who, for no apparent reason or logical explanation, have fallen through the cracks. ... Suffused with a largeness of spirit everywhere animated by moments of aching clarity and lyrical grace, Cowan's gritty minimalist vignettes will, if truth be told, simply break the most hardened of readers' hearts. You can bet the farm on it.
This handbook provides all those teaching in higher and further education with a reference on how to develop and use a "toolkit" which is capable of exploring and assessing all the relevant aspects of their students' learning. It discusses how readers can assess their own teaching quality.
Three couples find love and happiness in the west Whirlwind Redemption by Debra Cowan When a bullet left Quentin Prescott's spine and spirit shattered, he broke up with first love Zoe Keeler so he wouldn't be a burden. Now Zoe must burden him. She needs a fake fiancé to get her inheritance. Could this be Quentin's chance for redemption? The Maverick and Miss Prim by Lynna Banning Schoolteacher Eleanora Stevenson and her pupils are heading for safety after a renegade Indian attack when they stumble into the camp of gruff, trail-roughened Matt Johnson. From the glint in his eye and her body's tingling response, Eleanora suspects the trouble's just beginning…. Texas Cinderella by Judith Stacy Knowing she'll never tie the knot herself, Molly Douglas is content organizing other people's ceremonies. Adam Crawford is planning a wedding—for his brother—but Molly makes such an impression, he's seriously thinking about having one himself!
While Jane waits for renovations to be completed on her new permanent home, she remains in temporary accommodation under the watchful eye of her landlord Brian Dawes, chair of the governors at Wrayford School. Her work life is dominated by preparations for the all-important school play, but behind the scenes the threat of major cuts to the school's budget puts a strain on morale. Alongside these concerns are her landlord's deteriorating health and the odd behaviour of her neighbours - both mysteries she could do without. As events unravel and with her students' welfare at the forefront of her mind, can Jane unravel the curiosities in which she finds herself tangled?
Like the classic fairy tales, this fable provides an antidote for the malaise of our times. Set in a mythical kingdom, it inspires hope for those trapped in social roles beyond their control. Not everyone deals with fate's cards in the same fashion, but for the pure of heart both the natural and the supernatural can provide help, even in the shape of a dragon. Modern magic, scientific wizardry, and genuine myth all play their roles in the unfolding of the story. Its events are easy to relate to in terms of contemporary political and social turmoil, as we await the outcomes of court intrigues and predicaments. As in life, there are questions that leave us wanting more, even when the end brings resolution. The story pits diametrically opposed views of humanity against each other: the scorched-earth politics of kings versus the compassionate politics of hope. A tale for our times
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