Bookshelf

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine. This list, which dates back to 2018, is updated periodically with books appearing alphabetically on the date of entry.

Naimah and Ajmal on Newton’s Mountain by Nancy (Avery) Dafoe K’74

March 1, 2022

Tags Alumni Book

(Georgetown, Ky.: Finishing Line Press, 2021)
Described by the publisher as “[a]n anti-war novella/contemporary fable written for YA and adults,” this book tells the story of a mother and son torn apart by war. According to reviewer and author Janine DeBaise, “In her compassionate telling of a heart-breaking (and yet sadly familiar) story — a mother cruelly separated from her child in wartime — Nancy Dafoe challenges her readers with a thought experiment about peace, a fable filled with wisdom and insight. The baby, swept away from the violent human world, grows up in a magical realm where spirit creatures teach him through story and song, encouraging him to listen beyond language. We follow the separate journeys of two people with an unbreakable bond: a mother transformed by pain, who realizes her vocation is to awaken in men the need for peace, and a son who never forgets the sound of his mother’s heartbeat.”

This is Avery Dafoe’s fourth book of fiction and her 11th published book.