A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine...A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa...And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims...Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: “Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help…”Will Ferguson takes readers deep into the labyrinth of lies that is 419, the world’s most insidious Internet scam.When Laura Curtis, a lonely editor in a cold northern city, discovers that her father has died because of one such swindle, she sets out to track down—and corner—her father’s killer. It is a dangerous game she’s playing, however, and the stakes are higher than she can ever imagine.Woven into Laura’s journey is a mysterious woman from the African Sahel with scars etched into her skin and a young man who finds himself caught up in a web of violence and deceit.And running through it, a dying father’s final words: “You, I love.”From Publishers WeeklyFerguson's African epic, which won Canada's Scotiabank Giller prize in 2012, details the linked lives of four individuals, three African and one Canadian, drawn together by Nigeria's bloody, exploited history. Laura seeks justice for her murdered father; amoral Winston chases wealth at any cost; Nnamdi and Amina seek only honest employment and a chance to raise Amina's child. Greed contends with generosity and vengeance with forgiveness in a world where the bad prosper and acts of charity are harshly punished. Despite the terrible events of the book, the author leaves room for hope of a better tomorrow. White North Americans grappling with the €˜matter of Africa' is an often fraught affair, bright white teeth contrasted with chocolate skin, where tides of causeless violence wash across the hopeless continent and exoticized, sexualized natives exist solely to provide a supporting cast for white protagonists. Ferguson avoids many of the pitfalls of this genre; every terrible action has a motivation, Nigeria's present calamities have a historical and international context. Most importantly, Winston, Nnamdi and Amina do not exist merely to cast an edifying light on Laura, but, as she belatedly comes to appreciate, have inner lives, goals and ambitions of their own. Ferguson provides a template for novels about Africa other Western authors would do well to contemplate. Agent: Grainne Fox, Fletcher & Company. (Sept.)From BooklistStarred Review According to Ferguson, Nigeria’s Igbo people believe that we each have a pair of souls, and that when we die, one soul leaves and the second attaches to someone else as protector. In 419 (named for the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code forbidding fraud), this belief in linked souls is wrapped with manipulation and revenge in a package nothing short of epic. In Canada, Laura Curtis’ father plunges his car from an embankment, and investigators discover he’s fallen prey to a Nigerian e-mail scam. Laura resolves to get both revenge and remuneration. In Lagos, the enterprising scammer who snared Laura’s father is snatched up by a local crime boss and forced to work for his violent crime syndicate. Amina has fled her northern desert village, seeking safety for her unborn child. Nnamde, a storyteller’s son from Nigeria’s oil-soaked Delta region, has been both oil worker and saboteur, using his sharp wits to avoid being killed by either side. Ferguson draws these characters closer with each page, finally hurling them together in a multilevel game of cunning and manipulation. His Nigeria is alternately mystical and grounded in harsh realities, tragic and hopeful, hard-boiled and soft-spoken. Absolutely worthy of its 2012 Giller Prize, 419 is a gift for both crime- and general-fiction readers, especially fans of Khaled Hosseini, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edwidge Danticat, and John le Carré. --Christine Tran Views: 162
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy. Views: 161
Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent appearances -- in their house, on the roadway, in the market.
Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron has spent his childhood fending off a sister who wants to manage him. When he meets Dorothy, a plain, outspoken, independent young woman, she is like a breath of fresh air. Unhesitatingly, he marries her, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable life together.
But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy's unexpected appearances from the dead help him to live in the moment and find some peace. Gradually he discovers, as he works in the family's vanity-publishing business, (turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trails of life) that maybe for this beginner there is a way of saying goodbye.
A beautiful, subtle exploration of loss and recovery, pierced throughout with Anne Tyler's humour, wisdom, and always penetrating look at human foibles.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 161
Police teniente Alex Rukow has spent his life trapped on Santuario, his people's isolated home-slash-prison-island. They've been living in poverty under the tyrannical regime of their own elite familias for the last two-hundred years, ever since their generation ship landed on the planet and found it already populated by earlier Earth settlers, the Skanians, who banished them to the inhospitable south.Increasingly shamed by the decisions of their ancestors, the Skanians seek to open their borders. But dissent exists on both sides, and in the midst of this explosive political situation, a dead body appears on the island.Bengt, a Skanian investigator, is shipped to Santuario to lead the murder investigation—which, he quickly realizes, the local teniente wants nothing to do with. As far as Bengt is concerned, things can't get worse than the brutal climate, his own memories, and a growing attraction to a partner who will barely say two words to... Views: 161
Laura anticipates two quiet weeks when she swaps London for a stint running her aunt's kitchen shop in a sleepy Welsh village. Disillusioned by a broken romance, she doesn't expect to fall for Alex Conway, local-born singer performing in the golf club fund-raiser. He takes her number but dashes back to audition for the lead part in Devilish Delights, leaving Laura fearful he'll forget her. So why not enjoy the attention of Jarratt Morley, well-known author and older man with a beguiling luxury life style? She knows what she risks by agreeing to model exotic lingerie so Jarratt can photograph her but why hasn't Alex been in touch again? Complications arise as the singer rings with an exciting invitation clashing with Laura's commitment to courier a manuscript to London for Jarratt. Laura's fascination for two very different men turns to love for West End musical star Alex but her emotions are blitzed by enigmatic Jarratt's shocking disclosure. How easily might her dream turn... Views: 161
A.E.W. Mason was a 20th century British politician, but today he\'s best known for the classic The Four Feathers, a story about the virtues and vices of wartime. Views: 161
A brand new sixpence fresh from the Mint! How it sparkled and glittered in the dancing sunlight! Such a treasure for a small girl to possess! But then, on the other hand, what a heavy responsibility! All day long it had been burning a hole in her pocket, and as for learning lessons, not an idea would enter her head. Everything went in at one ear and out of the other, as Miss Primmer sternly remarked when Nellie could not say her poetry. But, indeed, Nellie did try hard to learn her lessons; she squeezed her eyes together as tightly as possible, though how shutting her eyes was to prevent the lessons from coming out of her ears was not very clear. "But I must learn them now," she sighed, "or Miss Primmer will keep me in tomorrow, and I shan\'t be able to go out with Nursie and Reggie to spend my sixpence. Oh dear! I wish I could learn my poetry and keep it in, I guess I\'d better get a bit of cotton wool to put in my ears and then it can\'t come out. There, now! Views: 161
Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the obsessive, reclusive Oberon Venn. Jake is convinced Venn has murdered him. But the truth he finds at the snow-bound Wintercombe Abbey is far stranger ... The experiments concerned a black mirror, which is a portal to both the past and the future. Venn is not alone in wanting to use its powers. Strangers begin gathering in and around Venn's estate: Sarah - a runaway, who appears out of nowhere and is clearly not what she says, Maskelyne - who claims the mirror was stolen from him in some past century. There are others, a product of the mirror's power to twist time. And a tribe of elemental beings surround this isolated estate, fey, cold, untrustworthy, and filled with hate for humans. But of them all, Jake is hell-bent on using the mirror to get to the truth. Whatever the cost, he must learn what really happened to his father. Views: 161
Dylan has been looking forward to the Midwinter Meltdown Tournament for months. He knows this will be the year his hockey team wins. Then a pre-season injury takes him out of the game. Even though his wrist is healing, he's too weak to play. Can Dylan be part of the team if he's stuck on the bench? Views: 161
It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.
But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 160
In Tidings, one of America's best-loved authors paints a vivid scene of an unusual family Christmas. At an old mill in the French countryside, philosophy teacher Will and his wife Loretta await the return of their four adult children for the Christmas holidays. The house is swept, the fire is lit, and the scene is set. Will is determined to make this a Christmas to remember; however, he is unprepared for the personal troubles each family member will bring to the festivities. Unsatisfied desires, affairs, and the shadow of divorce threaten the Yuletide cheer. As they struggle to resolve their issues, the family and their holiday celebrations come alive in a heart-warming evocation of the traditions, magic, and unseen labour for a family Christmas. Views: 160
This is the story of a man in his later years who finds himself a very long way from home and hearth when the SHTF. It’s a tale of the drive to get home come hell or high water. I’m writing it about the way I myself would get home after an event. I can only hope I would do as well in real life. I have the will , drive and know how but maybe the ol body is low on fuel. Time will tell. Views: 160
Written from the maximum-security prison where he has lived for almost 30 years, this enlightening memoir chronicles the militant career of David Gilbert, a radical activist whose incarceration is due to his involvement in the 1981 Brinks robbery, an attempted expropriation that resulted in four deaths. From his entry into the world of political activism as the founder of Students for a Democratic Society at Columbia University to his departure from public life in order to help build the clandestine resistance to war and racism known as the Weathermen, Gilbert relates all of the victories he has achieved and obstacles he has encountered during his struggle to build a new world. In telling the intensely personal story he is stripped of all illusions and assesses his journey from liberal to radical to revolutionary with rare humor and frankness. A firsthand glimpse into the terrors and triumphs of the 1960s and beyond, Love and Struggle is as candid and... Views: 160
