A remarkable debut novel and bittersweet tale of the unflinching love and devotion between a mother and daughter.Razor sharp and darkly funny Going Down Swinging chronicles two years in the life of the Hoffmans. Eilleen Hoffman has just told Danny, her con-artist lover and father of her youngest daughter Grace, to get out — for good. Once a teacher, Eilleen lived a middle-class life, but her taste in men coupled with a predilection for pills and booze has brought her down. Desperate to prevent her family from sinking deeper into poverty, Eilleen reluctantly goes on welfare. Eventually she turns to the only friends she has left, hustlers and hookers, to learn how a woman makes fast money, no investment necessary.With Eilleen on welfare and her older daughter Charlotte a teenaged runaway, child welfare authorities descend on the Hoffmans. As Eilleen trails through several attempts at drying out, the well-intentioned Children's Protection Society finally intervenes to apprehend Grace. With the threat of prolonged separation now a stark reality, Eilleen and Grace must rally to confront their demons with grit, determination and humour. Unblinkingly observed and brilliantly written, Going Down Swinging is about the powerful bond between mother and child. And with her skilful narrative interplay, Billie Livingston illustrates poignantly how the truth of our stories lies not so much in the black and white, as it does in the grey. Views: 28
Often seen as a magical paradise at the end of the world, Bhutan is inaccessible to most travellers. Set against the dramatic scenery of the Himalaya, this beguiling memoir recalls hardships and happiness in a land almost untouched by the West.When Britta Das goes to work as a physiotherapist in a remote village hospital, her good intentions are put to the test amid monsoons, fleas, and startling conditions. But as she visits homes in the mountains and learns the mysteries of Tantric Buddhism, the country captivates her very soul. Gaining insights into the traditions of the mystical kingdom, Britta makes friends, falls in love, and battles illness.Throughout it all, as she writes, she worries about the "destructive nearness of technology" and fears that Bhutan's charm and innocence may soon be lost. Still, Bhutan has endured for centuries, and there is no denying that the country has transformed her life forever. Views: 28
Claudia, single mom of two, pines for her past independent life. Her ex, after all, has moved on to a new wardrobe, new hobbies and—worst of all—new adult friends. But in Claudia's house she's still finding bananas in the sock drawer, cigarettes taped to wrestling figures, and colourful doodles on her MasterCard bills. Then Claudia receives the unexpected news that her mother has died. Shared through the hilarious, honest, and often poignant perspective of a single mother, Roost is the story of a woman learning about motherhood while grieving the loss of her own mother. And as she begins to mend, she's also learning that she might be able to accept her home—even as it is. Views: 28
"What the hell kind of great escape is this? No one escapes!"—L.B. Mayer, on the 1963 filmHe had 57 seconds of screen time in the most lavish POW film Hollywood ever produced. He was blond. A Gestapo agent. Sauntering down the aisles of a speeding train, he speaks in terse German to Richard Attenborough, Gordon Jackson, David McCallum. The film is The Great Escape (by John Sturges, starring Steve McQueen); the actor, though uncredited, is Michael Paryla. He was half Jewish. Shortly after filming he died.In This Great Escape, Andrew Steinmetz tenderly reconstructs the life of a man seen by millions yet recognized by no one, whose history—from childhood flight from Nazism to suspicious death twenty years later—intersects bitterly, ironically, and often movingly with the plot of Sturges's great war film. Splicing together documentary materials with correspondence, diary entries, and Steinmetz's own travel journal, This Great... Views: 28
For almost a decade, beloved storyteller E. Lynn Harris has welcomed you into his family with his passionate, warm and trail-blazing novels. Now, he invites you into the most intimate world ever--his own.Since his first book Invisible Life was published in the early 1990s, New York Times bestselling author E. Lynn Harris has wowed, charmed and romanced millions of readers. As a master storyteller, E. Lynn Harris has created an intimate and glamorous world centered around his signature themes of love, friendship and family. People all over the world have fallen in love with his characters and laughed and cried with them. Now, in his most daring act yet, E. Lynn Harris writes the memoir of his life--from his childhood in Arkansas as a closeted gay boy through his struggling days as a self-published author to his rise as a New York Times bestselling author. In What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, E. Lynn Harris shares an extraordinary... Views: 28
Enraged screams filled his head. Deadly shapes bore down. Animal and man driven by one single thought. Kill or be killed. Neither wanted to die.Falsely accused of a terrible crime, impetuous young aristocrat Lord Dallas Acheson is forced to flee his native Scotland, leaving behind the only woman he has ever loved - Lady Lorna de Iongh. From that day onwards, he must learn to live a different life in a land where danger is an ever-present partner.Fate takes him to southern Africa and the emerging seaport of Durban, from where he sets off to trade and hunt, seeking his fortune in the little-travelled midlands of Natal and the wilds of Zululand. Tested to the limit, Dallas discovers more than he could have imagined.Married to a woman he doesn't love, he yearns to abandon the restraints of nineteenth-century society to be with Lorna. And when the Zulu war breaks out, he finds himself torn between old and new loyalties, required to be an enemy of the land that is... Views: 28
A powerful magician. A magic sword. And a valley full of dragons ... Evil magician Lord Jezail has unearthed the terrible sword, Dragonslayer, from the depths of Edinburgh Castle, where it has lain buried for centuries. But the sword has its own agenda — to seek out and slay dragons. Ensnared by its magic, Lord Jezail sets out to kill Arthur, the wonderful red dragon who lives under Arthur's Seat, and attack the fabled Valley of the Dragons. As the World of Magic finds itself on the brink of war, human children Neil and Clara join forces with witches, wolf people and magicians to stop Lord Jezail, the Dragon Seeker. Can friends and enemies unite to save their world from destruction? Views: 28
From Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri: a voyage into the enduring myth of Arcadia and the mysterious painting it inspired.A lyrical novel about art and enlightenment that takes the reader from Waterloo Station in London to Paris and a four hundred year old enigma, the painting by Nicolas Poussin known as 'Et in Arcadia Ego'.'We never write the book we think we are writing. We never read the book we think we are reading' BEN OKRI. Views: 28
HE ALWAYS GOT HIS MAN...BUT WOULD HE GET HIS WOMAN? Nothing would stop U.S. Marshal Harlan Cole from capturing an escaped fugitive. Not even being forced to work side by side with his ex-lover, Wyoming Deputy Callie Glass, on a murder investigation. Harlan knows the case will open old wounds, but none as raw as the ones he inflicted on Callie long ago. Still, establishing an amiable partnership is vital if they are to complete their assignment. But the fury in her eyes and the fever in his blood prove too lethal a combination. The deeper they ride into the mountains on a manhunt, the more Harlan has to protect Callie from the chilling secrets of her past. Sensing the rekindling of an old flame, Harlan establishes one goal: keeping Callie alive long enough to win her back. Views: 28
NonfictionThe Sixties were a heady time for Africans. All over the continent colonial flags were being lowered and Africans looked forward to freedom and a glittering future. But for most of the continent the last forty years have been a shattering experience. Since independence Africans have been terribly betrayed by the Europeans, the superpowers, and tragically, by their own leaders.Can a new generation of leaders turn the tide? Will they learn from their predecessors' mistakes and fuel a new African renaissance? Or is Africa doomed to further decades of turmoil?In this witty and informative book, Alec Russell answers these questions by telling the stories of his encounters with Africa's Big Men. Each one represents a theme which has shaped the continent: Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, the "King of Kleptocracy" whose staggering corruption crippled Zaire; Jonas Savimbi, the life-long guerrilla and symbol of the Cold War's destructive legacy on the continent; the quixotic Hastings Banda, the ultimate product of colonialism; and, of course, Nelson Mandela, symbol of reconciliation and hope for an entire continent.By any measure, this has been a terrible century for Africa. However Russell detects signs of hope in the fledgling human rights troupe he encounters deep in the steamy heart of the Congolese jungle and in the group of journalists keeping Moi's tottering regime in Kenya on its toes.Big Men, Little People is a vividly written portrait of a continent, which avoids the usual stereotypes and dire prophecies and entertains from start to finish. Views: 27
EVERYONE HAS SECRETS. HERS MAY GET THEM KILLED. Breaking protocol and going
on the run with a protected witness wasn't in U.S. Marshal Ryan Jackson's
plans. And even though Jessica Delaney's testimony nearly put away a crime boss,
Ryan can't afford to trust her. Still, the duty-dedicated marshal will do whatever
it takes to protect Jessica and uncover the mole leaking her new identity. But staying
seconds ahead of the ruthless killers on their trail is easier than keeping himself safe
from Jessica's unexpected vulnerability and irresistible determination. Now, as the
net around them tightens, Ryan's deepest loss may be the one danger he never
anticipated. Views: 27
