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Resolving to become the world's greatest stand-up comedian despite less-than-funny challenges in his life, wheelchair-bound middle school student Jamie Grimm endures bullying from his mean-spirited cousin and hopes he will be fairly judged when he enters a local comedy contest.
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A House for Mr. Biswas follows the life of Mr. Mohun Biswas, a protagonist inspired by Naipaul's father, as he struggles to find his freedom and a house of his own. The son of a poor laborer in Trinidad, Mr. Biswas is forced to live as a guest in one crowded, inhospitable house after another. After his father dies, his family moves in with his mother's sister, Tara, and he is humiliated and beaten by Tara's brother-in-law Bhandat. Mr. Biswas vows,...
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In his search for identity, a middle-aged American millionaire travels to a remote area of Africa, where he encounters a tribe of natives. Henderson's awesome feats of strength and his unbridled passion for life win him the admiration of the tribe--but it is his gift for making rain that turns him from mere hero into messiah. A hilarious, often ribald story, Henderson the Rain King is both an examination of the forces that drive a man through life...
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Ignatius J. Reilly of New Orleans -- selfish, domineering, deluded, tragic and larger than life -- is a noble crusader against a world of dunces. He is a modern-day Quixote beset by giants of the modern age. In magnificent revolt against the twentieth century, Ignatius propels his monstrous bulk among the flesh pots of the fallen city, documenting life on his Big Chief tablets as he goes, until his maroon-haired mother decrees that Ignatius must work....
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"Stanley and Vera, academically precocious but awkward teenagers, form a bond when they tie for first place in the National Spelling Bee. Though their mothers have big plans for them -- Stanley will become a senator, Vera a mathematics professor -- neither wants to follow these pre-determined paths. So Stanley hatches a plan to marry Vera in a sham wedding for the financial freedom to pursue his one true love: crossword puzzle construction. In enlisting...
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"Charlie Mortdecai: degenerate aristocrat, amoral art dealer, seasoned epicurean, unwilling assassin, and acknowledged coward. With his thuggish manservant--the incomparably named Jock Strapp--Mortdecai endures all manner of nastiness involving stolen paintings, a vintage Rolls Royce, secret police, a whirlwind trip to the United States, a dead client, and a ravishing young wealthy widow...all just to make a dishonest living. He's not one to pass...
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"Looking at real estate isn't usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can't fix their own marriage. There's a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about...
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