Rules for Hearts: A Family Drama - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sara Ryan lives in Portland, Oregon. This is her first novel.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

ACT I - Are You Lost?

ACT II - Some Very Interesting Choices

ACT III - It ’s a Trick-Taking Game

ACT IV - Yeah, He’s a Runner

ACT V - I Got Lucky

Acknowledgements

BOOKS BY SARA RYAN

The Rules for Hearts
Me and Edith Head (with Steve Lieber)
Empress of the World

Author’s note: Some places that I’ve written about in this book are real, though I’ve changed details and added elements to suit my story. But Forest House and all its inhabitants are fictional.

VIKING

Published by Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.
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2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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(a division of Penguin Books Ltd)
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South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published in 2007 by Viking, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

All rights reserved

Lyrics quoted on page 122 are from “Palmcorder Yajna” by the Mountain Goats, C & P Cadmean Dawn [ASCAP], rights administered by Pacific Electric and used with permission of the artist.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA IS AVAILABLE

eISBN : 978-1-101-01486-8

for U. C., with love

CAST,IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE

BATTLE HALL DAVIES, 18-year-old high school graduate, accepted to Reed College

NICHOLAS DAVIES, 22, Battle’s older brother, a cab driver, resident of Forest House

MERYL DAVENPORT, 22, swimming instructor, resident of Forest House

AURORA KNEEDLER, 46, owner of Forest House and artistic director of Theater Borealis

ROBERT CRACKNELL, 50, resident of Forest House, set designer and builder, Aurora’s partner

CHARLES FAHEY, 27, gardener, bike messenger, designer, resident of Forest House

HENRY O’BRIAN, 55, donor to and actor in Theater Borealis

DAMIAN J. WOLF, 28, actor in Theater Borealis

A NNALISA TANNAHILL, 34, actor in Theater Borealis

ELLERY TANNAHILL-LIPPMAN, 11, Annalisa’s daughter, actor in Theater Borealis

THE MINIONS, assorted genders, ages, Robert’s helpers in the Theater Borealis scene shop

LUCKY, 3, a dog

PROLOGUE

Church basement, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, almost five years ago