Alexander Vaško Books

Dublin, 1962. Within the gated grounds of the convent of The Sisters of the Holy Redemption lies one of the city’s Magdalen Laundries. Once places of refuge, the laundries have evolved into grim workhouses. Some inmates are “fallen” women—unwed mothers, prostitutes, or petty criminals. Most are ordinary girls whose only sin lies in being too pretty, too independent, or tempting the wrong man. Among them is sixteen-year-old Teagan Tiernan, sent by her family when her beauty provokes a lustful revelation from a young priest. Teagan soon befriends Nora Craven, a new arrival who thought nothing could be worse than living in a squalid tenement flat. Stripped of their freedom and dignity, the girls are given new names and denied contact with the outside world. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has secrets of her own, inflicts cruel, dehumanizing punishments—but always in the name of love. Finally, Nora and Teagan find an ally in the reclusive Lea, who helps them endure—and plot an escape. But as they will discover, the outside world has dangers too, especially for young women with soiled reputations. Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, The Magdalen Girls is a masterfully written novel of life within the era’s notorious institutions—and an inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding courage.

From the acclaimed author of The Magdalen Girls and The Taster comes a powerful, unforgettable novel of strength and resilience, set against the backdrop of the Irish famine.Ireland, 1845. To Briana Walsh, no place on earth is more beautiful than Carrowteige, County Mayo, with its sloping fields and rocky cliffs perched above the wild Atlantic. The small farms that surround the centuries-old Lear House are managed by her father, agent to the wealthy, reckless Sir Thomas Blakely. Tenant farmers sell the oats and rye they grow to pay rent to Sir Thomas, surviving on the potatoes that flourish in the remaining scraps of land. But when the potato crop falls prey to a devastating blight, families Briana has known all her life are left with no food, no resources, and no mercy from the English landowner, who seems indifferent to everything except profit.Rory Caulfield, the hard-working young farmer Briana hopes to marry, shares the locals' despair--and their anger. There's talk of violent reprisals against the callous gentry and their agents. Briana's studious older sister, Lucinda, dreams of a future far beyond Mayo. But even as hunger and disease settle over the country, killing and displacing millions, Briana knows she must find a way to guide her family through one of Ireland's darkest hours--toward hope, love, and a new beginning.

Nekontrolovaná vášeň odoláva všetkým napomenutiam, dokonca aj od milovaných osôb. Až keď nastane tragédia, človek sa zastaví a chtiac-nechtiac musí znášať jej dôsledky, často kruté, tvrdé, bolestné. Niet hriechu, niet zločinu, ktorý by si nevyžadoval zadosťučinenie. To vo svojom živote zakúsil aj Jakub Luknár, aj keď nevinne odsúdený. Rozpad rodiny, väzenie, smrť manželky to je len niekoľko dôsledkov, ktoré zasiahli jeho najbližších. Kým však človek žije, nič nie je natoľko stratené, aby po úprimnom pokání nenastala katarzia, ktorou sa všetko obnoví, očistí, napraví.