The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

Growing up in Montreal, Lilian Nattel soaked up the stories and customs of her Jewish culture and learned Yiddish from her parents: “My parents spoke Yiddish at home when they didn't want us kids to understand, so of course I learned it well.” The language has been useful while doing research for her novels, as she has been able to read prayers, poems and memoirs in the original. And for Nattel, adherence to historical fact is crucial to bringing her characters to life. As she explained in one interview, “I can’t bring myself to be inaccurate. If I’m writing about someone wearing a dress in 1895, I want to know the fashion in 1895, what colours were popular in 1895, I want to know the street names, what kind of people lived on that street, I want to know whether they have restaurants yet, how people cooked.”For Nattel, writing has always been an integral part of who she is and being a full-time author has always been her goal, but it took years for her to write and publish her first book. It was while working as an accountant that she realized she would have to take a new approach and make some sacrifices in order for her dream to come true. Casting aside the preconceptions we all have about writers being driven only by their art, at the expense of everything else in life, Nattel came up with a solid plan that allowed her to explore taking on writing as a profession. “What I did was actually write up a contract with myself,” she has explained in one interview. “It was a five-year contract in which I contracted to give myself five years to see what I could do with writing because it meant a lot of financial sacrifices to have a part-time accounting practice.” In that five years she sold some stories to literary journals and began her first novel, so she signed herself up for another five years. And it was then that The River Midnight caught the attention of her agent, Helen Heller, and then an editor at Scribners in New York. The book was also signed by Knopf Canada and featured in their New Face of Fiction program.The River Midnight was published in 1999 to international acclaim. Set in 1894, in the fictional village of Blaszka, Poland, the novel tells the magical and multi-layered story of four women who are brought closer together by unexpected love, an imprisoned daughter, and two orphan children sent home from America. One reviewer compared Nattel’s Blaszka, so full of “mythic significance,” to Gabriel García Márquez’s Macondo and William Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County. The River Midnight won the Martin and Beatrice Fischer Award, and rights have been sold in seven countries so far. After its publication, Nattel was finally able to devote herself to writing full-time, though she still approaches her work with the discipline she needed early on: “Writing is a combination of effort and effortless, but there’s always a lot more effort. If you just wait for inspiration to strike, it’s never going to happen. You really have to put in the hours.”After the success of The River Midnight, Nattel was determined to make sure that her second novel lived up to the expectations of her readers. So much so that she even tore up the third draft of what was to become The Singing Fire. Originally, the book was about a Victorian spinster, but the story just wasn’t coming together — all except for about thirty pages, which introduced a girl named Gittel. “I was attempting to write an easy novel,” Nattel has said, “and this other story was trying to push up from underneath.” Beginning again, Nattel created Emilia, and then Nehama, who would become the strongest voice in the finished book. As the story was gestating in Nattel’s mind, it was also strongly influenced by a major change in her own life: the adoption of two little girls. Her love for her new daughters inspired Nattel to explore what it meant to be a mother, and an adoptive mother, which became a major theme in The Singing Fire.But for Nattel, having her fiction influenced by her own experiences is nothing new. In fact, it is her own life history that has always driven her to explore, and then to write. “I'm fascinated by history, seeing our present being shaped in the past. This has led me to explore the issues that are important to me, whether it is women’s friendship, motherhood, reconciliation or adoption in the historical times and places that have so much influenced who I am now.” Today, Nattel is hard at work on a third novel, set in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and 1940s, which is narrated by an elderly Jewish woman recalling her youth.

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The River Midnight (signed)

by Nattel, Lilian

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Used - Fine
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Near Fine
Edition
First Edition.
Published
1998
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Hardcover
ISBN
9780676971538
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Fredericton, New Brunswick, CAN
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Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. Book. Illus. by Shelagh Armstrong-Hodgson (dust jacket illustration). Fine. Hardcover. Inscribed & Signed by author & subject. First Edition.. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Near the end of the 19th century in a small village near Warsaw, four women who have grown apart are brought together by two orphan children and an imprisoned… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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First Canadian Edition.
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1999
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Hardcover
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9780676971538
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Toronto: Knopf, 1999. This is a Near Fine copy of the author's first novel, a well-imagined and well-researched recreation of Jewish life in late 19th century Poland, filled with interesting, well-drawn characters.Black paper-covered boards with a turquoise cloth binding and gilt lettering. Clean text; 414 pages, including an Author's Note, Bibliography, and Glossary. This copy has been SIGNED by the… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight.

by NATTEL, Lilian.

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(Toronto): Alfred A. Knopf Canada, (1998). First edition. Octavo, black boards backed in green, pp. 414. Signed by Nattel. Fine in dust jacket..
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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First Canadian Edition
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1999
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Cloth
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9780676971538
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Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 1999. First Canadian Edition. Cloth. Fine/Fine. 8vo. 414 pp. The author's first novel.
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THE RIVER MIDNIGHT

THE RIVER MIDNIGHT

by Lilian Nattel

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First Edition; First Printing
Published
1999
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Hardcover
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9780684853031
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New York: Scribner. 1999. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 0684853035 . Near Fine in a Near Fine dust jacket. ; 6.5 X 1.25 X 9.75 inches; 414 pages .
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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1998
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Hardcover
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9780747222156
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London: Headline Review, 1998. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 448pp. A clean and sound novel with dust wrapper. All orders processed promptly an shipped from the UK.
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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1999
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Hardcover
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9780676971538
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Toronto: Knopf. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1999. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 0676971539 . Flat signed by author on title page. Few crinkles at lower tip of front d/j. Bruising to top tips of boards. A Good Read ships from Toronto and Niagara Falls, NY - customers outside of North America please allow two to… Read more about this item
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RIVER MIDNIGHT, THE

by Nattel, Lilian

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Used - Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket
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1999
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Hardcover
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9780684853031
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Scribner. Very Good+ in Very Good+ dust jacket. 1999. Hardcover. 0684853035 . 22 oz.; 414 pages; Unread/unmarked as new slightly aged. Myth meets history in Blaszka, a fictional village northwest of Warsaw, where angels and demons walk in the fin de siècle shadows, enticing the people of Blaszka to face their deepest wishes and fears. Listen. You… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Lilian Nattel

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First Edition, First Printing
Published
1998
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Hardcover
ISBN
9780747222156
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London: Headline Book Publishing, 1998 Book. Very Good. Dark Blue Cloth Boards. First Edition, First Printing. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Novel set in a Polish village at the end of the 19th century. 435pp.Silver lettering to spine. Slight bumping to base of spine and some marking to top edges, otherwise very good copy with no inscriptions. Unclipped… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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1999
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9780684853031
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Scribner Book Company. 1999. Hard cover. Fine in fine dust jacket.. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 416 p. Audience: General/trade. . No previous owner's name .
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The River Midnight

by Lilian Nattel

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1999
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9780676971538
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Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated, 1999. Hardcover. Very Good/very good.
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The River Midnight (signed)
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The River Midnight (signed)

by Nattel, Lilian

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First Edition
Published
1998
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Hardcover
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9780676971538
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Toronto, Canada: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 1998. First printing. Signed by author on title page. Fine. DJ has very faint dampstain on inside front top edge, else near fine. Protected in mylar.. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Lilian Nattel

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1999
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Scribner, 1999. Hardcover. Very Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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1999
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9780684853031
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Scribner Book Company, 1999. Hardcover. Very Good. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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1999
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Hardcover
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9780684853031
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Scribner Book Company, 1999. Hardcover. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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Used - Fine
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Fine
Edition
First Edition
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1999-01-25
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Hardcover
ISBN
9780676971538
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Toronto: Knopf Canada, 1999-01-25. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 9x6x1. Signed. We're happy to combine shipping to save you some money. We're also always buying collectible book collections. Contact us for details. We're happy to provide pictures of any and all books for you, please just ask! Inscribed by Author(s) Warmly inscribed and dated in 1998… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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Used - Near Fine
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First Edition, Full Number Line
Published
1999
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Hardcover
ISBN
9780684853031
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New York: Scribner, 1999. First Edition, Full Number Line . Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. The book's text is bright, seemingly unread. Hardcovers are unbumped and clean, hinging tight. Jacket very attractive, no tears or scuffing. In mylar wrapper. *We feel that books offered for internet sale should be described thoroughly and accurately. We assure the buyer that books… Read more about this item
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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Published
1999
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Paperback
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9780684853048
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Scribner Book Company, 1999. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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The River Midnight

The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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9780747222156
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Hardback. Very Good.
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The River Midnight

by Nattel, Lilian

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Used - Fine in Fine dust jacket
Edition
First Edition; First Printing
Published
1999
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN
9780676971538
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Knopf Canada. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1999. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 0676971539 . Stiff unmarked book in crisp dust jacket. ; 9.30 X 6 X 1.30 inches; 414 pages .
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