{"product_id":"the-hidden-letters-of-velta-b-gina-oschner","title":"The Hidden Letters of Velta B; Gina Oschner","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom a critically acclaimed fiction writer comes the moving story of a boy with extraordinary ears who — with the help of a cache of his great-grandmother’s letters — brings healing to a town burdened by the sins of its past.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYoung Maris has been summoned to his mother’s bedside as she nears the end of her life; she feels she must tell him her version of their family history, the story of his early life, and the ways in which he changed the lives of others. Maris was born with what some might call a blessing and others might deem a curse: his very large, very special ears enable him to hear the secrets of the dead, as well as the memories that haunt his Latvian hometown. Nestled in the woodlands on the banks of the Aiviekste River, their town suffered the ravages of war, then the cold shock of independence. As a boy, Maris found himself heir to an odd assortment of hidden letters; a school project provided the chance to share them, forcing the town to hear the truth from the past and face what it meant for their future.   With \"luminous writing [and] affection for her characters\" (\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e), Gina Ochsner creates an intimate, hopeful portrait of a fascinating town in all its complications and charm. She shows us how, despite years of distrust, a community can come through love and loss to the joy of understanding — enabled by a great-grandmother’s legacy, a flood, and a boy with very special ears.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAugust 2, 2016 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGINA OCHSNER\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of two collections of short stories, \u003cem\u003ePeople I Wanted to Be\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Necessary Grace to Fall\u003c\/em\u003e, both of which won the Oregon Book Award. Her work has appeared in \u003cem\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Best American Nonrequired Reading\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGlimmer Train\u003c\/em\u003e, and others. She is a recipient of the Flannery OConnor Award, the Ruth Hindman Foundation Prize, Guggenheim and NEA Grants, and the Raymond Carver Prize. She lives in Oregon. \"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44647374356802,"sku":"","price":6.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/8735\/3154\/products\/25897791.jpg?v=1679191365","url":"https:\/\/shop.freeairbooks.com\/products\/the-hidden-letters-of-velta-b-gina-oschner","provider":"FREEAIR Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}