Spanning over thirty years of writing, Dispatches and Diversions is a wonderful collection of articles that cross the globe and introduce readers to many characters, introduced as only Bill Barich can. As said by Time magazine, Barich's touch is always artful and compassionate."Broken up into two sections, Barich shares stories of the people, from those that have shaken him to the core, to others from a much lighter place.As he notes in his introduction, I've spent much of my writing life indulging curiosity, throwing myself into situations and subcultures to gain an education and acquire my own angle on the world. The dispatches collected here arose from that desire."From the troubles in Northern Ireland and the homeless in San Francisco to the US-Mexico borders, Barich went to the people to find the real story. These are his dispatches. They all explore stories the press had ignored or covered in a desultory way, at least in... Views: 51
Hailed as a remarkable collection of short stories when it was first released in 1992, We So Seldom Look on Love is Barbara Gowdy's wholly original and powerful look at what constitutes the ever-revolving realm of love. Views: 51
"Thoroughly well-written stories...fans of noir will enjoy this batch of sordid tales set in the sweltering heat of the tropics."--Publishers Weekly"Kingston Noir subverts the simplistic sunshine/reggae/spliff-smoking image of Jamaica at almost every turn...The collection amply rewards the reader with a rich interplay of geographies and themes."--The Los Angeles Times"Kingston Noir goes darker and deeper than any before...the purest of noir, and the richest depictions of Jamaica."--The Huffington Post“Kingston Noir is an eclectic and gritty melange of tales that sears the imagination . . . Kingston Noir proves its worth as a quintessential piece of West Indian literature—rich, artistic, timeless, and above all, draped in unmistakable realism.”--The Gleaner (Jamaica)"Some of these stories are mysterious, some are straightforward, but all are dark. There isn’t a single light-hearted story in the bunch, which falls in line perfectly with the noir theme. Readers beware, there are some stories in this book that address the darkest parts of human nature: rape, torture, murder. It’s not for the faint of heart. However, they are all well-written and tap into the true underbelly of another culture."--Examiner.com"Several of the stories in Kingston Noir succeed brilliantly in reproducing the simultaneously estranging and horrifying effects of urban violence in Jamaica. And there is something appropriately unsettling about the differences between the stories, collected and edited by Colin Channer, such that the sense of being dislodged somewhere puzzlingly dissimilar from the place one began sometimes mimics the feeling of moving through Kingston… traversing this collection as if going 'down the road,' with all the abrupt stops, shifts, and turns that Jamaicanism implies, does offer a way of connecting, piece by piece, story by story, to fragments of the city tucked away in consciousness and memory. It is a city rarely encountered in fiction; this collection satisfies a need and makes one hungry for more."--sx salon: a small axe literary platformOriginal stories by: Marlon James, Kwame Dawes, Patricia Powell, Colin Channer, Marcia Douglas, Leone Ross, Kei Miller, Christopher John Farley, Ian Thomson, Thomas Glave, and Chris Abani.From Trench Town to Half Way Tree to Norbrook to Portmore and beyond, the stories of Kingston Noir shine light into the darkest corners of this fabled city. Joining award-winning Jamaican authors such as Marlon James, Leone Ross, and Thomas Glave are two "special guest" writers with no Jamaican lineage: Nigerian-born Chris Abani and British writer Ian Thomson. The menacing tone that runs through some of these stories is counterbalanced by the clever humor in others, such as Kei Miller's “White Gyal with a Camera,” who softens even the hardest of August Town’s gangsters; and Mr. Brown, the private investigator in Kwame Dawes’s story, who explains why his girth works to his advantage: "In Jamaica a woman like a big man. She can see he is prosperous, and that he can be in charge." Together, the outstanding tales in Kingston Noir comprise the best volume of short fiction ever to arise from the literary wellspring that is Jamaica. Views: 51
A death. A new house. A new school. And hoardes of witches with evil intentions ... When Clara inherits a magical silver talisman from her aunt, she and her brother Neil are drawn into a more perilous and nail-biting adventure than ever before. As they adapt to life in a new school, can they protect the talisman from the Earth, Wind and Snow Witches who are desperate to find it and misuse its power? The fifth thrilling book in the Dragonfire series. Views: 50
Each chapter is bonne bouche, possessing its own particular flavour, from sweet to acrid-bitter. Hobson's characters are often wonderfully quixotic and so is the spirit she finds everywhere at this crux in Russia's history. She drinks with derelicts, hangs out with gypsies, and watches investigators go about the grim business of exhuming purge victims, and giving them the Christian burial they have been denied for seventy years. Her style is deft: she manages to render the scenes through which she passes with needle-sharp precision.' Financial TimesThis witty and yet deeply moving, acutely observed tale of Charlotte Hobson's year in Russia takes us to the heart of a country many of us continue to be fascinated by and struggle to understand. Or as the TLS put it: 'Hobson writes with such beguiling directness that it is hard not to feel intimate with her and her characters. Few books evoke so much of Russian life, with so little effort. Views: 50
Can first love last forever?1931 is the year that changes everything for Daisy Denham. Her family has not long swapped life in India for Dorset, England when she uncovers an old secret.At the same time, she meets Ewan Fraser - a handsome dreamer who wants nothing more than to entertain the world and for Daisy to play his leading lady.Ewan offers love and a chance to escape with a touring theatre company. As they grow closer, he gives her a golden chain and Daisy gives him a promise – that she will always keep him in her heart.But life on tour is not as they'd hoped, Ewan is tempted away by his career and Daisy is dazzled by the older, charismatic figure of Jesse Trent. She breaks Ewan's heart and sets off for a life in London with Jesse.Only time will tell whether some promises are easier to make than keep ... Views: 50
Ben wakes up in a hospital with a hole in his head he can't explain. What he can remember he'd rather forget. Like how he'd spent nights as a limo driver for the wealthy and debauched . . . how he and his wife, Maggie, drifted apart in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy . . . how his little brother, Cola, got in over his head with loan sharks circling.Maggie is alone. Again. With bills to pay and Ben in a psych ward, she must return to work. But who would hire her in the state she's in? And just as Maggie turns to her brother, Francis, the Internet explodes with a video of his latest escapade. The headline? Drunk Priest Propositions Cops.Francis is an unlikely priest with a drinking problem and little interest in celibacy. A third DUI, a looming court date. . . .When Maggie takes him in, he knows he may be down to his last chance. And his best shot at healing might lay in helping Maggie and Ben reconnect—against all odds."The poignant story of broken... Views: 50
Alice Taylor's gripping sequel to The Woman of the House.At Mossgrove, the Phelan family farm, long-time hired hand Jack plays peacemaker as widow Martha Phelan battles her young son, Peter, who wants to modernize the farm. Tensions on the home front are bitter enough, but at the Conway farm across the river, more trouble is brewing. Slovenly Matt Conway feels trapped and abuses his wife, Biddy. Spurred on by a misguided belief that the Phelans got the best of him in a loan to buy land, he keeps vigil at a fence post plotting revenge ... Views: 50
NINE LIVES KIKI SWINSON Wild-card Aiden. Dead-shot Ava. Efficient, fast, and brutal, this notorious brother-sister hit team grew up abused, unwanted—and in lethal tune with each other. Killing nine targets in ten days will be their biggest score yet. But as Ava sets up their final target, she falls hard for him and a chance at a normal life. And that's a betrayal she may not live to regret . . . THE CRUSHED ICE CLIQUE NOIRE At first all ghetto princesses Honore and Cucci want is quick cash-flow. But after sexing jewelry distributor Slimy Sam and learning his illegal tricks of the trade, they assemble a crack team of thieves for one dazzling scam. Replacing diamonds with fakes and selling the reshaped real deal on the black market is making them crazy-rich. But when Sam double-crosses them, these diamond divas must survive to steal another day . . ."Treachery, betrayal, and revenge add to the twists and turns... Views: 50
Hunger ached in her belly... the lioness slid forward as close as she dared. The little boy seconds away from death was two, maybe three years old. He was lost in the heat-soaked sand that was the Kalahari desert.Toddler Alex Theron is miraculously rescued by a passing clan of Kalahari Bushmen. Over the ensuing years, the desert draws him back, for it hides a beautiful secret... diamonds.But nothing comes easily from within this turbulent continent and before Alex can ever hope to realise his dreams he will lost his mind to love and fight a bitter enemy who will stop at nothing to destroy him. Views: 50
A new, fully updated edition of this critically acclaimed title featuring a new chapter covering the 'Arab Spring' and the Egyptian parliamentary and presidential elections. This is an authoritative analysis, in which Alison Pargeter follows the twists and turns of the Muslim Brotherhood as it battled through the years of oppression under authoritarian regimes to finally become a key and legitimate political actor. From Egypt and Syria to Tunisia and Libya, the Brotherhood and its affiliates are now faced with the complex task of transforming themselves from semi-clandestine opposition movements into legitimate political actors and, in some cases, into ruling powers. 'Authoritative, sober, perceptive ... A must read' Jason Burke. 'A tour de force' Alan George, University of Oxford. 'A highly lucid and approachable analysis of the Brotherhood' Richard Phelps, Perspectives on Terrorism. 'Highly recommended' New Statesman. Views: 49
