How to tell a shattered story?
By slowly becoming everybody.
No?
By slowly becoming everything.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness takes us on a journey of many years – the story spooling outwards from the cramped neighbourhoods of Old Delhi into the burgeoning new metropolis and beyond, to the Valley of Kashmir and the forests of Central India, where war is peace and peace is war, and where, from time to time, ‘normalcy’ is declared.
Anjum, who used to be Aftab, unrolls a threadbare carpet in a city graveyard that she calls home. A baby appears quite suddenly on a pavement, a little after midnight, in a crib of litter. The enigmatic S. Tilottama is as much of a presence as she is an absence in the lives of the three men who love her.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is at once an aching love story and a decisive remonstration. It is told in a whisper, in a shout, through tears and sometimes with a laugh. Its heroes are people who have been broken by the world they live in and then rescued, mended by love – and by hope. For this reason, they are as steely as they are fragile, and they never surrender. This ravishing, magnificent book reinvents what a novel can do and can be. And it demonstrates on every page the miracle of Arundhati Roy’s storytelling gifts. Views: 770
The story of England’s medieval queens is vivid and stirring, packed with tragedy, high drama and even comedy. It is a chronicle of love, murder, war and betrayal, filled with passion, intrigue and sorrow, peopled by a cast of heroines, villains, stateswomen and lovers. In the first volume of this epic new series, Alison Weir strips away centuries of romantic mythology and prejudice to reveal the lives of England’s queens in the century after the Norman Conquest.
Beginning with Matilda of Flanders, who supported William the Conqueror in his invasion of England in 1066, and culminating in the turbulent life of the Empress Maud, who claimed to be queen of England in her own right and fought a bitter war to that end, the five Norman queens emerge as hugely influential figures and fascinating characters.
Much more than a series of individual biographies, Queens of the Conquest is a seamless tale of interconnected lives and a rich portrait of English history in a time of flux. In Alison Weir’s hands these five extraordinary women reclaim their rightful roles at the centre of English history. Views: 770
She made her choice, and it ruined our relationship. I was stuck with her, however, because I was blind and I needed her resources. I went from a grand warrior to a blind man. It was more than that she just had the resources to look after me, however much I might deny it. We had a bond. A tenuous bond that was being tested and shaken by a creature cloaked in black who haunted our every step.The Ragnarok has come to the Gods of Asgard. As predicted, Odin has fallen in battle to Fenris, the great wolf son of Loki, and he believes he will never awaken again. Yet, he is conscious of a change, of a place and a time he'd believed to be gone beyond the reaches of time.A new Ragnarok follows him, a new battle that he must win, lest the cycle be broken.Permanently. Views: 770
David Sedaris tells all in a book that is, literally, a lifetime in the making.
For forty years, David Sedaris has kept a diary in which he records everything that captures his attention-overheard comments, salacious gossip, soap opera plot twists, secrets confided by total strangers. These observations are the source code for his finest work, and through them he has honed his cunning, surprising sentences.
Now, Sedaris shares his private writings with the world. Theft by Finding, the first of two volumes, is the story of how a drug-abusing dropout with a weakness for the International House of Pancakes and a chronic inability to hold down a real job became one of the funniest people on the planet.
Written with a sharp eye and ear for the bizarre, the beautiful, and the uncomfortable, and with a generosity of spirit that even a misanthropic sense of humor can't fully disguise, Theft By Finding proves that Sedaris is one of our great modern observers. It's a potent reminder that when you're as perceptive and curious as Sedaris, there's no such thing as a boring day. Views: 770
Murder most foul comes to the cosy country lanes of a green and pleasant England. Poison darts, death cap mushrooms, footprints and DNA evidence all come together for some in depth detection work and with the help of forensic guru Antonette, Constable Elizabeth West is able to bring a diverse collection of murdering villains to account. Expect the unexpected.Constable Elizabeth West, Australia's greatest export, turns up in the North of England tracking a murderer across the Yorkshire Moors. Goyt Hall is a big old country house and lying dead, in front of the fireplace, is a beautiful young girl. Reviews: 'I'm delighted to have found Thorogood's books. Have raced through the Jack Hamma series and presently on 6th Elizabeth West. Googled his mini biography, fascinating! He really has been around the traps, no wonder he can produce volume after volume of improbable crazy exploits with that background to draw on, although it did have me wondering if he ever had time to sleep.''Not crazy like the rest of the books in the series but the book that inspired bedlam deserves to be read for itself alone. I'm the number one member of the Elizabeth West fan club so I had to read this book.''The stories that inspired the craziest whodunits ever written. I love the serious but tongue in cheek style.' Views: 769
Seven years ago, the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a “mockumentary” bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a maritime tragedy.
Now, a new crew has been assembled. But this time they’re not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life’s work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.
Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves. But the secrets of the deep come with a price. Views: 767
One night, when I am old, sick, right out of semen, and don't need things to get any worse, I hear the noises growing louder. I am sure they are making love in Zenab's bedroom which is next to mine.
Waldo, a f�ted filmmaker, is confined by old age and ill health to his London apartment. Frail and frustrated, he is cared for by his lovely younger wife, Zee. But when he suspects that Zee is beginning an affair with Eddie, 'more than an acquaintance and less than a friend for over thirty years,' Waldo is pressed to action: determined to expose the couple, he sets himself first to prove his suspicions correct - and then to enact his revenge.
Written with characteristic black humour and with an acute eye for detail, Kureishi's eagerly awaited novella will have his readers dazzled once again by a brilliant mind at work. Views: 766
James Shinoman, a young Spaceflight Participant goes on a voyage with a team of space explorers. He finds love along the way, however, things get out of control and he is left to make sense of his experience during their mission.Tommy spends his days riding his bicycle on the dust-drifted streets of Woodward, Oklahoma, delivering the chemical compositions of his adoptive father Sal to the few customers that remain. The fields pull up little but dust and poison, and the majority of the citizens have departed for greener pastures in resurgent post-war California. On his last day as bicycle courier/drug mule, Tommy makes his rounds - but with one vital difference. 9th Street Blues originally won the top prize in Chapterfy's inaugural short story contest. Views: 766
The Wrong Girl offers samples from books in the Still Life with Memories series. These samples give a taste not of Natasha (the girl Lenny loves) but rather of another woman, Lana, who appears time and again, in several scenes in the books. She is flirtatious enough to stir suspicion, upsetting the course of his life time and again.The Wrong Girl offers samples from books in the Still Life with Memories series. These samples give a taste not of Natasha (the girl Lenny loves) but rather of another woman, Lana, who appears time and again, in several scenes in the books. She is flirtatious enough to stir suspicion, upsetting the course of his life time and again. I hope you will find these samples not only delicious but also arousing an irresistible craving for more.So, you ask, what is this series all about?For a long time I had this idea of creating a series around the events in the life of a unique family. The characters had to have not only a compelling voice, but they had to see things in an entirely different light, which would create contrasts and conflicts, as each one of them comes from a different background and has different passions, needs, and aspirations. Views: 766
The acclaimed author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles launches a powerful new trilogy about a prince's desperate quest for a sorcerous library to save his people.
Fire. Wind. Pestilence. Earthquake. Drought. Lightning. These are the six Decimates, wielded by sorcerers for both good and evil.
But a seventh Decimate exists--the most devastating one of all...
For centuries, the realms of Belleger and Amika have been at war, with sorcerers from both sides brandishing the Decimates to rain blood and pain upon their enemy. But somehow, in some way, the Amikans have discovered and invoked a seventh Decimate, one that strips all lesser sorcery of its power. And now the Bellegerins stand defenseless.
Prince Bifalt, eldest son of the Bellegerin King, would like to see the world wiped free of sorcerers. But it is he who is charged with finding the repository of all of their knowledge, to find the book of the seventh Decimate--and reverse the fate of his land.
All hope rests with Bifalt. But the legendary library, which may or may not exist, lies beyond an unforgiving desert and treacherous mountains--and beyond the borders of his own experience. Wracked by hunger and fatigue, sacrificing loyal men along the way, Bifalt will discover that there is a game being played by those far more powerful than he could ever imagine. And that he is nothing but a pawn... Views: 766
When terror strikes, forever altering your life, it doesn’t ask permission or forgiveness.Madeleine and Amélie’s quiet lives are ripped apart by a creature they never imagined could exist outside a horror story. Their mother is murdered, their father is missing, and the only safe haven is with a family full of secrets. They soon learn some choices can’t be undone.When terror strikes, forever altering your life, it doesn’t ask permission or forgiveness.Madeleine and Amélie’s quiet lives are ripped apart by a creature they never imagined could exist outside a horror story. Their mother is murdered, their father is missing, and the only safe haven is with a family full of secrets. But rescue comes at a price.Ripped from the light of youth, the sisters are forced into the shadows—where they meet brothers Rafe and Rowan.It’s not the time for infatuation or love, but the heart rarely listens to reason. Now, the young women have decisions to make. Will they be able to achieve their unified goal of stopping evil, or will it consume them from the inside out? They soon learn some choices can’t be undone. Views: 765
When love is crime, who will save the guilty? ... After falling in love and fathering a child, a young criminal refuses to voluntarily throw himself into a lake of fire to gain his community's forgiveness. So he's sentenced to death and sold to the owner of a spaceship that buys criminals like him. But the ship and its crew are not quite what they appear to be.When love is crime, who will save the guilty?EPISODE 1: After falling in love and fathering a child, a young criminal refuses to voluntarily throw himself into a lake of fire to gain his community's forgiveness. So he's sentenced to death and sold to the owner of a spaceship that buys criminals like him. But the ship and its crew are not quite what they appear to be.MEET THE LONGVIEW - An Ancient Spaceship Resurrected To Transport ConspiracyInhabited by a crew of misfits fleeing nightmare pasts, with a cargo of Condemned slated to die at the hands of the highest bidders, and with a passenger roster made up exclusively of people NOT who they claim to be, The Longview serves the hidden agenda of an eccentric recluse bent on playing puppetmaster to all of Settled Space. Views: 764
Enter the Emerald Circus and be astonished by the transformations of your favorite tales. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics in tales that go well beyond Wonderland and Oz, down the rabbit hole and back again.
Where is Wendy? Leading a labor strike against the Lost Boys, of course!
It’s time to go back to—and beyond—the treasured tales you thought you knew: The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and many more. Ringmaster and internationally bestselling author Jane Yolen (Briar Rose, Sister Emily’s Lightship) spins modern fantasy classics for delighted readers. A girl blown away from Kansas returns as a sophisticate with unusual gymnastic abilities. A talented apprentice, forging her first sword, is suddenly left to the mercies of Merlin. Alice’s infamous nemesis has jaws and claws, but also lacks the essential: a sense of humor.
Witty and bold, and unexpected, these tales go well beyond the rabbit hole and back again.
Table of Contents
Andersen’s Witch
Lost Girls
Tough Alice
Blown Away
A Knot of Toads
The Quiet Monk
The Bird
Belle Bloody Merciless Dame
Jewel in the Toad Queen’s Crown
A Gift of Magicians
Rabbit Hole
Our Lady of the Greenwood
The Confession of Brother Blaise
Wonder Land
Evian Steel
Sister Emily’s Lightship Views: 764
When her island home is invaded by enemy soldiers, her family captured, and the town enslaved, Taylina must find a way to fight back and free her people. But their enemies have powerful warships, sorcerers, and dragons. Her simple people are no match. Her only hope is to venture onto the forbidden half of the island and seek the one individual powerful enough to battle their enemies, a dragon known for eating humans rather than helping them.
Find out what happens to Taylina and meet the dragon who thinks he’s a god in Dragon Rider, a prequel to Lindsay’s USA Today bestselling Dragon Blood series.
In addition to Dragon Rider, Beginnings features four previously published fantasy adventure novels, all with new introductions from the author:
Encrypted
The Emperor’s Edge
Balanced on the Blade’s Edge
Warrior Mage Views: 763
