Alamosa Public Library

First Published in 1916, this story is one of the masterpieces of modern fiction. James Joyce's semi-autobiographical first novel, this is the story of Stephen Dedalus, a sensitive and creative youth who rebels against his family, his education, and his country by committing himself to the artistic life. Joyce's brilliant rendering of the impressions and experiences of childhood broke new ground in the use of language and in the structure of the...

Recounts the story of Martin Eden, a young seaman struggling to obtain social and intellectual recognition as a writer.

Discusses the rise to power of Julien Sorel who uses his love affairs to serve his ambitions. He tries to murder his first mistress when she betrays him to her successor.

When his father dies, Nicholas is sent by his uncle to a school to be a teacher, but when Nicholas finds that the headmaster bullies the students, he must decide whether to stay, or leave and allow his uncle to cut off support.

Regarded by Charles Dickens as his best novel upon publication, "Martin Chuzzlewit" relates a tale of familial selfishness and eventual moral redemption. First published serially from 1842 to 1844, it is the story of young Martin Chuzzlewit, who has been raised by his grandfather. He has fallen in love with his grandfather's ward and caretaker, the young orphan Mary Graham. Martin's grandfather does not approve and young Martin alienates himself from...

This is the story of Clyde Griffiths and his desperate pursuit of success. It is a depiction of the harsh realities of American life and of the dark side of the American Dream. It is a story vivid in its sense of wholesale human waste and unceasing in its rich compassion.

Tells the story of a New York couple who live a life of drinking and partying while waiting for the husband to come into his inheritance.

Time and distance have created a rift between Thorliff Bjorklund and Anji Baard, his childhood sweetheart. The only bright spot in his life is his job at the newspaper. When summer arrives, things are looking up at school, but Thorliff must return home and confront his faltering relationship with Anji. For Elizabeth Rogers, marriage seems out of the question. Since learning that her mother died giving birth to her, Elizabeth has determined to become...

At the start of Davis's beautifully written debut, 11-year-old Charlie York leads an idyllic life in the shadow of Angel's Rest, a mountain in the Virginia Alleghenies "so high the earth's caretakers took breaks on the peaks before they came down to help those in need of God's assistance." Then, one late afternoon in 1967, Charlie's father is killed by a shotgun blast and his mother is arrested for murder. Put in the care of Lacy Albert Coe, an old...

Discover the debut novel of James Lee Burke, before the creation of his now-famous Cajun detective, Dave Robicheaux , as he weaves together the struggles of three very different men.
Toussaint Boudreaux, a black docker in New Orleans, puts up with his co-workers' racism because he has to, and moonlights as a prize-fighter in the hope of a better life-but the only break he gets lands him in penal servitude. J.P. Winfield, a hick with a...