Since the U.S. publication of Women of Sand and Myrrh--which has now sold more than 35,000 copies and was selected as one of the Fifty Best Books of 1992 by Publishers Weekly--Hanan al-Shaykh has attracted an ever larger following for her dazzling tales of contemporary Arab women. In these seventeen short stories--eleven of which are appearing in English for the first time--al-Shaykh expands her horizons beyond the boundaries of Lebanon, taking us throughout the Middle East, to Africa, and finally to London. Stylistically diverse, her stories are often about the shifting and ambiguous power relationships between different cultures--as well as between men and women. Often compared to both Margaret Atwood and Margaret Drabble, Hanan al-Shaykh is "a gifted and courageous writer" (Middle Eastern International).From Publishers WeeklyIn the first of these 17 finely honed stories, a stifled Lebanese wife feigns madness in order to get a divorce from her obtuse but, it turns out, surprisingly resilient and devoted husband. Asked her age, Fatin replies, "The age of madness." This combination of sangfroid and desperation, truly mad situations and sane protagonists, sets the tone for al-Shaykh's (Beirut Blues) fiction. Several stories, notably "The Marriage Fair," spin plots from the ostracism an unmarried woman may endure in the Arab world. In "The Land of Dreams," a female Danish missionary in a Yemeni village tries to find a third way past the impossible choice between a life in the church and a naive assimilation into the surrounding village, which takes an interest in her that has nothing to do with her religious work. The poignant "I Don't Want to Grow Up" concerns a young girl and her brother living in an oil-company compound whose conception of the world is shattered by their servant's clever pragmatism. Setting her tales in the Middle East, North Africa and London, al-Shaykh uses intellectual lightness to buoy even the most oppressive of situations: insanity, suicide, abandonment and immolation. These short narratives represent the faith of a dedicated rationalist whose favorite subject is the stubbornness of unreason in matters of the heart and hearth. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalA Lebanese writer, al-Shaykh has demonstrated her prowess in three previous collections (e.g., Beirut Blues, LJ 9/1/95). This latest work, a delightful collection of 17 stories, confirms al-Shaykh's rank among leading Arab women writers such as Nawal al-Saadawi. Strong, intelligent, and sometimes sorrowful voices dominate these narratives, exemplifying a diversity of contemporary Arab women. Throughout her career, al-Shaykh has confronted censorship in Arab nations for her fiction's sexual explicitness, politically sensitive topics, and portrayal of women. This collection may likely produce similar reactions. However, it should also bring al-Shaykh additional praise and attention for her powerful prose and soulful depiction of the Arab woman's struggle with modern society vs. traditional ways. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of Oregon Lib. System, EugeneCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Views: 58
The world blew out in 2001. Vast areas of what was the United States lie beneath an umbrella of noxious dust and radioactive debris, a mantel of destruction drawn over a land of doom. Much of the east coast has been obliterated; the Southwest is a land of fire; cities of smoldering ash have given birth to horrifically mutated life forms. Such is the Deathlands, legacy of global annihilation. But there were survivors, struggling to overcome a dark new age of plague, radiation sickness, barbarism and madness. Out of the ruins come Ryan Cawdor and his band of post holocaust survivors, whose odyssey of discovery takes them in search of other pockets of civilization. Emerging from a gateway in Maine, Ryan confronts a ruthless and brutal sea captain, a woman prepared to go to any lengths to get what she wants… Views: 58
Brick Flanders is wanted for stealing a passel of treasury notes. But he's sent to a smokey grave when someone sets his Denver rooming house ablaze. Tracking the greedy arsonist, Longarm winds up in Santee country, where the Indians are about to wage a land claims battle. Now, Longarm must fight one enemy to get to another. Views: 57
Money, Sex and Murder, Can you handle it? Views: 57
From Publishers Weekly The author of Beaches explores the emotional turmoil faced by single, surrogate and gay parents in this hilarious, warmhearted novel. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal With humor and poignancy, Dart probes the challenge of child rearing in the 1990s by depicting a group of nontraditional parents. At age 50, Rick, a single movie producer and avowed Casanova combatting a midlife crisis, decides to adopt a baby. Ruthie and Shelley, a successful comedy-writing team, resolve to create a child even though he is gay and she is straight. Lainie and Mitch, owners of a chic California clothing boutique, contract with a surrogate mother to produce their child. These parents form the Stork Club led by Barbara, the child psychologist who guides the group as they struggle to make their atypical family circumstances work. The author of Beaches and three other novels, Dart proves she knows how to gild the literary lily by creating a singularly good popular novel. Highly recommended for fiction collections.** Views: 57
Maddie, Bella, Emily, and Sam create rock star–worthy instruments with found objects in this second book in the brand-new Craftily Ever After chapter book series!Emily Adams, Maddie Wilson, Bella Diaz, and Sam Sharma are eight-year-olds with one special thing in common: they love to create. They each have unique talents, too! Emily is great at constructing and building; Maddie has an eye for fashion, fabrics, and sewing; Bella is a gadget whiz; and Sam is a gifted artist. Together, these four crafty friends dream up new projects to design, build, and create and through their experiences, they'll learn how to handle various obstacles at school and in their everyday eight-year-old lives. In the second Craftily Ever After book, there's a talent show at school and for the first time, Maddie, Bella, Emily, and Sam can't think of anything to do. That is, until an old tin can and some plastic tubing give them a musical idea! With easy-to-read language and... Views: 57
BOOK I - The Ring of CharonThe first book in the Hunted Earth series, published to tie in with the hardcover publication of its sequel, The Shattered Sphere.The Earth has disappeared, but was it destroyed by an unauthorized gravity experiment, or was the planet kidnapped by an alien race? Humanity must discover the answer before it's too late.BOOK II - The Shaterred SphereHumans face two enemies--the implacably powerful Charonians who kidnapped the Earth, and the mysterious Adversary, before whom the Charonians tremble in fear. Can an unlikely combination of scientists, corpses, dictators, and professional troublemakers withstand both threats and return the Earth to its proper place in the Solar System? Views: 57
“Clever and funny with an irresistible premise, this middle grade adventure/comic book hybrid will engage even the most reluctant reader. Somebody get me a golden cape, stat!” —Rick Riordan, author of the worldwide bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, and the Heroes of OlympusWhat if superheroes were real—and you had to become one? A boy is suddenly thrust into the role of a real-life superhero and tasked with saving Earth from an alien invasion in this action-packed novel from New York Times bestselling author Rob Venditti and award-winning illustrator Dusty Higgins.When twelve-year-old Miles Taylor unexpectedly inherits a golden cape that gives him amazing superpowers, his life instantly changes: he becomes a superhero. For real. With some help from a new friend named Henry, Miles does his best to protect his city. But his skills and courage are about to be put to the ultimate test—an alien horde is... Views: 57
Retired Marine Adam Montague has survived many war zones—but can he survive the war Karla Paxton has declared on his heart? Karla fell in love with Adam at 16; nine years later, she's determined to make 50-year-old Adam see her as a woman. But can she submit to his dominant personality? And will she be able to him to surrender to her and lay his ghosts to rest? (Rescue Me #3--not a standalone!) Views: 57
From the moment he sees Abbey at a charity fashion show, Russian tycoon Nikolai Arlov wants every inch of that curvy, creamy body. When she refuses him, he mercilessly switches tactics, aiming straight for her vulnerable heart… With her family's business in serious trouble, Abbey knows Nikolai's money is their only hope. She submits to his lethal brand of seduction and blackmail – ready and willing to do anything he desires. Only, Nikolai has no idea his reluctant mistress is.a virgin. Views: 57
Winner of the 2012 PEN Ackerley PrizeDuncan Fallowell sets out to odd corners of the world in pursuit of some extraordinary and improbable characters who were in most cases momentarily famous—or infamous—and then simply disappeared. The first to disappear is the author himself—to a ghostly hotel on a Mediterranean island. His subjects, though unmet or hardly met, live for the reader with remarkable vividness, such as the German artist who bought a large island in the Hebrides and vanished immediately afterward, to the astonishment of its inhabitants. Fallowell tracks down the recluse who inspired Evelyn Waugh's creation Sebastian Flyte, the legendary love object of Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited, who wants both to forget the past and to cling to it. He even pursues the ultimate disappearance—the death of Princess Diana—and the miasma of shock, wonder, and grief that followed, writing "Mystification is absolutely essential to our... Views: 57
Dreams have magic in them. A few of us have the power to make that magic real.
A masterwork by one of fantasy’s most gifted storytellers: a magnificent tale of love, courage, and the power of imagination to transform our lives. This is the novel Charles de Lint’s many devoted readers have been waiting for, the compelling odyssey of a young woman whose visionary art frees ancient spirits into the modern world.
Isabelle Copley’s visionary art frees ancient spirits. As the young student of the cruel, brilliant artist Vincent Rushkin, she discovered she could paint images so vividly real they brought her wildest fantasies to life. But when the forces she unleashed brought tragedy to those she loved, she turned her back on her talent—and on her dreams. Now, twenty years later, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied, and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams and bring the magic back to life.
Charles de Lint’s skillful blending of contemporary urban characters and settings with traditional folk magic has made him one of the most popular fantasy authors of his generation. Memory and Dream is the most ambitious work of de Lint’s extraordinary career, an exciting tale of epic scope that explores the power our dreams have to transform the world-or make it a waking nightmare. It is the story of Isabelle Copley, a young artist who once lived in the bohemian quarter of the northern city of Newford. As a student of Vincent Rushkin, a cruel but gifted painter, she discovered an awesome power—to craft images so real that they came to life. With her paintbrush she called into being the wild spirits of the wood, made her dreams come true with canvas and paint. But when the forces she unleashed brought unexpected tragedy to those she loved, she ran away from Newford, turning her back on her talent-and on her dreams. Now, twenty years later, the power of Newford has reached out to draw her back. To fulfill a promise to a long-dead friend, Isabelle must come to terms with the shattering memories she has long denied, and unlock the slumbering power of her brush. She must accept her true feelings for her newfound lover John Sweetgrass, a handsome young Native American who is the image of her most intense imaginings. And, in a dark reckoning with her old master, she must find the courage to live out her dreams, and bring the magic back to life.
Charles de Lint - Novelist, poet, artist, and musician, Charles de Lint is one of the most influential fantasy writers of his generation. With such warmly received works as Spiritwalk, Moonheart, Into the Green, and Dreams Underfoot(also set in the town of Newford), he has earned high praise from readers and critics alike, Booklist has called him “one of the most original fantasy writers currently working.” And The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction writes: “De Lint shows us that, far from being escapism, contemporary fantasy can be the deep, mythic literature of our time.” De Lint and his wife MaryAnn Harris, an artist, live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, where they are both Celtic musicians in the band Jump At the Sun.
“For more than a decade, Charles de Lint has enjoyed a reputation as one of the world’s leading fantasists.”— Toronto Star “A superb storyteller. De Lint has a flair for tales that blur the lines between the mundane world and magical reality, and nowhere is this more evident than in his fictional city of Newford.”— Library Journal “De Lint can feel the beauty of the ancient lore he is evoking. He can well imagine what it would be like to conjure the Other World among ancient standing stones. His characters have a certain fallibility that makes them multidimensional and human, and his settings are gritty. This is no Disneylike Never-Never Land. Life and death in de Lint’s world are more than a matter of a few words or a magic crystal.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer “There is no better writer now than Charles de Lint at bringing out the magic in contemporary life ... The best of the post-Stephen King contemporary fantasists, the one with the clearest vision of the possibilities of magic in a modern setting.” — Orson Scott Card “In the fictional city of Newford, replete with the brutal realities of modern urban life, de Lint’s characters encounter magic in strange and unexpected places ... In de Lint’s capable hands, modern fantasy becomes something other than escapism. It becomes folk song, the stuff of urban myth.” — The Phoenix Gazette Views: 57
"No one seems to refer to it by name." While London journalist, Richard, prepares to visit an anonymous Adriatic island, a girl on the island bides her time to escape its clutches as she is groomed for a sophisticated prostitution and human trafficking racket. When Richard's suspicions about the island are aroused he decides to investigate.Used to sharing professional success with girlfriend Trish and to enjoying the ups and downs of their sexually charged relationship, his investigations uncover a very different and merciless world of violence and cruelty and one girl's attempts at freedom. As he and Trish become caught up in the intrigues of this world, the disturbing consequences force Richard to face up to his laddish preconceptions and take a stand against the devastating effects of female exploitation.From Nemesis Island is a dark tale of relationships and intrigue, which propels chick lit into the world of the thriller. It tells of love, loyalty, corruption and... Views: 57
Mitch Crowne and Eveline Turner are joining forces to stop the man that formed and changed their lives, Richard Bennard Home. The man who recruited both former government assassins. In this phase finale it's Blood Season, because blood will be shed when justice is brought to those that took the law into their own hands at the cost of innocents. Washington will not be safe, this is where it ends... Views: 57
