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After the shot drops
By Randy Ribay. 2018
Told from alternating perspectives, Bunny takes a basketball scholarship to an elite private school to help his family, leaving behind…
Nasir, his best friend, in their tough Philadelphia neighborhood. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2018Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot
By Susan D. Peters. 2010
Sweet Liberia, Lessons from the Coal Pot is a delightful, painfully honest memoir that chronicles the thick slice of humanity…
sandwiched between Liberia's April 12, 1980 coup and the Civil War in 1989. Like many others who embraced Black Pride, Afros, African clothing and names in the 70's, Susan and thousands more took it one step further and immigrated to Mother Africa. This touching memoir is set against the author's personal growth, her cultural struggles, and her triumphs, and is an informative, personally revealing, and often-comical account of her family's eleven-year journey immersed in the rich culture of Liberia, West Africa. "Many have wondered what it would be like to pack up our things and move to a new country, but none of us have imagined having to flee our new homeland with our children and barely more than the clothes on our back. Yet, Susan Peters managed to do just that while maintaining her faith which would eventually help her rebuild her life and uplift her heart and soul. This book is a wonderful and eye-opening experience that shouldn't be missed!"---Naleighna Kai, National Best-selling author of Speak It into Existence.A Corner of the World
By Dick Cluster, Mylene Fernández Pintado. 2011
"Mylene Fernandez offers us a magnificent gift. Her story of lost love and the difficult pursuit of literature is at…
the same time an X-ray of life in Havana, set in a present where glimpses of the future have not yet arrived."-Leonardo Padura, author of The Man Who Loved Dogs and the Mario Conde novels of HavanaIn contemporary Havana, "Do I stay or do I go?" is always the question, and love doesn't necessarily conquer all.A cautious, reserved professor of Spanish Literature, Marian has no idea that her quiet life is about to be turned upside down. When she's asked to review the work of a young, ambitious first-time novelist, she meets Daniel, and their love affair leads her to question both the choices she's made so far in her life and the opportunities she might yet still have.Theirs is the story of an intense and impossible love, set in today's Havana, a city where there can be no plans, where chance is the order of the day and a fierce sense of loyalty and pride coexists with the desire to live beyond the island's isolation."The fresh panorama of Cuban society today is painted without taboos or constraints, with a faith in human possibilities, and above all with a courage that stems from what is most legitimate and durable in ourselves."-Nancy Morejón, author of Looking Within: Selected Poems and Piedra Pulida"A Corner of the World is about desires and dreams, and, of course, about love."-Achy Obejas, author of Days of Awe and Ruins"Like the best of Truman Capote, another master of the short novel, Mylene Fernández gives us a cast of unforgettable characters: contradictory, complex, and human."-Fernando Pérez, director of Suite Habana, Life Is to Whistle, and Madagascar"To read this book is to encounter one of the best and most intimate works of Cuban literature of the 21st century."-Mabel Cuesta, author of Cuba post-soviética: un cuerpo narrado en clave de mujer"A sad, erotic, tender, and sometimes ironic tale of passion and desertion. ... the city becomes a co-protagonist, a confidante, a point of departure and return, and of waiting."--Senel Paz, novelist and screenwriter of Strawberry and Chocolate, Things I Left in Havana, and In the Sky with Diamondsd. It's for readers curious about the interior adventures of their fellow human beings, adventures that come with literary pleasures and an alchemy of fiction and life."--Senel Paz, novelist and screen writer (Strawberry and Chocolate, Waiting List, Things I Left in Havana, and In the Sky with Diamonds)Mylene Fernández-Pintado's novels have won the Italo Calvino Prize and Cuba's Critics' Award. She currently lives between Havana and Lugano, Switzerland. This is the first of her works to be translated into English.Give It To Me
By Ana Castillo. 2014
Recently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently…
released from prison. As she checks out her other options, her sexual obsession with her cous' ignites but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Ana Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant for adventure. Give It to Me is Sex in the City for a Chicana babe who's looking for love in all the wrong places.Ana Castillo is one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature. She is the author of So Far From God and Sapogonia, both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, as well as The Guardians, Peelemselves onto love and desire are the same people who, at one time or another, must flee from it. An evocative page-turner."-Rigoberto González, author of Butterfly Boy, Memories of a Chicano Mariposa"Through deadpan humor, impulsive characters, and a romp across America, Castillo's absorbing novel is a search for twenty-first-century identity at a time when we find that very notion at its most unstable."-Tony Valenzuela, executive director of the Lambda Literary Foundation"In her new novel, Give It To Me, Castillo delivers a story that is both tawdry and transcendent. The sense of contemporary rootlessness chafes against deeply rooted Mexican-American culture creating a raw friction unlike any other story out there."-Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories"Give It To Me gives us a post-9/11, post-Bush, fast-talking, fast-walking multicultural, multiracial, multisexual panoply of characters...I thought I would die laughing."-Cheryl Clarke, author of The Days of Good Looks: Prose and Poetry 1980-2005"The novel, released last month, is a brave exploration of uninhibited feminine sexuality - at least on the surface. But it's also, in many ways, a great American novel, an examination of family, class issues and the search for happiness."-Las Cruces Sun-News"Full of drama and gossip (because who doesn't love chisme), this is a must-read for any chica in the process of finding her true self."-Krystyna Chávez for Cosmopolitan"Palma Piedras, 43 and divorced, tries on lovers of both sexes like a woman grabbing stilettos at a sample sale. She's a Latina Moll Flanders, cheeky and passionate, clawing her way up from some very mean streets. Raw, funny and real."-Marcia Menter for MoreRecently divorced, Palma, a forty-three-year-old Latina, takes stock of her life when she reconnects with her gangster younger cousin recently released from prison. As she checks out her other options, her sexual obsession with her cous' ignites but their family secrets bring them together in unexpected ways. In this wildly entertaining and sexy novel, Ana Castillo creates a memorable character with a flare for fashion, a longing for family, and a penchant for adventure. Give It to Me is Sex in the City for a Chicana babe who's looking for love in all the wrong places.Ana Castillo is one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Chicana literature. She is the author of So Far From God and Sapogonia, both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, as well as The Guardians, PeelAlexandrian Summer
By André Aciman, Yardenne Greenspan, Yitzhak Gormezano Goren. 2015
"A powerful novel of tensions-sexual, familial, religious, and political-and an affecting but unsparing portrait of the petit bourgeois world of…
Egyptian Jews standing obliviously on the edge of a precipice. Alexandria--sensual and enchanting--shimmers in these pages." -Dalia Sofer, author of The Septembers of Shiraz"A fine work of art . . . riveting from the first page to the last."-Zo Haderekh"A reason to rejoice. . . . You can't help but keep on smiling with great pleasure."-Maariv"A profound literary experience."-AhshavAlexandrian Summer is the story of two Jewish families living their frenzied last days in the doomed cosmopolitan social whirl of Alexandria just before fleeing Egypt for Israel in 1951. The conventions of the Egyptian upper-middle class are laid bare in this dazzling novel, which exposes startling sexual hypocrisies and portrays a now vanished polyglot world of horse-racing, seaside promenades, and elegant night clubs. Hamdi-Ali senior is an old-time patriarch with more than a dash of strong Turkish blood. His handsome elder son, a promising horse jockey, can't afford sexual frustration, as it leads him to overeat and imperil his career, but the woman he lusts after won't let him get beyond undoing a few buttons. Victor, the younger son, takes his pleasure with other boys. But the true heroine of the story-richly evoked in a pungent upstairs/downstairs mix-is the raucous, seductive city of Alexandria itself. Published in Hebrew in 1978, Alexandrian Summer appears now in translation for the first time.Yitzhak Gormezano Goren was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1941 and immigrated to Israel as a child. A playwright and novelist, Goren studied English and French literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. In 1982, he cofounded the Bimat Kedem Theater.The Tiny Traveler: A Book of Numbers
By Misti Kenison. 2016
How many gondolas float down the canal? Can you count the number of masks at Carnival? Toddlers will answer these…
questions and more in this new book from Misti Kenison in her Tiny Traveler series. Travel from Rome to Venice as you and your little one count your way through Italy’s most famous landmarks. From one leaning tower to seven fresh pizzas coming out of the oven, you’ll catch the travel bug while teaching children the basics of counting!The fourth book in Kenison’s Tiny Traveler board book series will exposure your child to another country and culture while teaching him or her the basic concept of counting and numbers. So sit back and explore the world with your little one from your very own living room. Traveling to foreign places has never been so fun, or educational, for young children before!A wonderful series for young toddlers (0 to 2 years), this book teaches the basic concept of numbers and counting. Can be used at home or in a childcare facility to teach basic concepts.The Tiny Traveler: A Book of Nature
By Misti Kenison. 2016
From the tiniest bonsai to the peak of Mount. Fuji, your toddler will follow a beautiful nature trail through Japan.…
This new book from Misti Kenison in the Tiny Traveler series explains natural elements in the simplest terms for the youngest of travelers. Cherry blossoms, bamboo, and volcanoes are all illustrated in bold colors to capture the imagination. Toddlers will love finding rocks in the Zen garden, floating lotus blooms, yellow Japanese plums, and more in this delightful board book.Traveling to foreign places has never been so fun, or educational, for young children before! The Tiny Traveler board book series is sure to give your child the travel bug early while transporting the whole family to exotic and fantastic places. Explore the world with your little one from your very own living room.A wonderful board book series for toddlers (0 to 2 years), this book teaches young children about different parts of nature—and important basic concept to learn before entering preschool.Molecular Biology and Cultural Heritage
By C. Saiz-Jimenez. 2003
This book contains forty reviewed papers delivered at the International Congress on Molecular Biology and Cultural Heritage held in Seville,…
March 2003. It is divided in four parts, the first one presents the state-of-the-art and reviews molecular techniques applied to the study of microbial communities colonizing monuments and cultural heritage assets. Part two covers specific molecular techniques used in biodetereoration studies, part three includes an updated overview on on-going biodetereoration European Commission projects, and part four presents selected biodetereoration case studies from all over the world.How to be Nowhere
By Tim MacGabhann. 2020
Life is finally on the right track for reporter and recovering addict Andrew: he is slowly coming to terms with…
the murder of his photographer boyfriend Carlos, pursuing sobriety and building a new home with a new partner. Andrew has almost forgotten about the story that ruined his life - but that story hasn't forgotten about him, and a series of deadly threats forces him into helping the very man whose gang murdered his boyfriend and left him homeless.A literary take on the classic chase movie, HOW TO BE NOWHERE is the sequel to Tim MacGabhann's genre-busting and critically-acclaimed debut CALL HIM MINE, and a blistering thrill-ride deep into the fog of Central America's murky present and tragic future.Empire of Wild: A Novel
By Cherie Dimaline. 2019
A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLEROne of the most anticipated books of the summer for Time, Harper's Bazaar, Bustle and Publishers Weekly'Deftly…
written, gripping and informative. Empire of Wild is a rip-roaring read!' Margaret Atwood'Empire of Wild is doing everything I love in a contemporary novel and more. It is tough, funny, beautiful, honest and propulsive' Tommy Orange, author of There There 'Dimaline turns an old story into something newly haunting and resonant' New York Times'Close, tight, stark, beautiful - rich where richness is warranted, but spare where want and sorrow have sharpened every word. Dimaline has crafted something both current and timeless' NPR'Revelatory... Gritty and engaging, this story of a woman and her missing husband is one of candor, wit and tradition'Ms. Magazine Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year - ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One hung-over morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher. By the time she staggers into the tent the service is over, but as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.She turns, and there is Victor. Only he insists he is not Victor, but the Reverend Eugene Wolff, on a mission to bring his people to Jesus.With only two allies - her Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, and Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with deep knowledge of the old Métis ways - Joan sets out to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor, his life and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon her success.Inspired by traditional Métis legends, Cherie Dimaline has created a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel.The Sixteen Trees of the Somme
By Lars Mytting. 2014
A family story of epic scale, by the author of NORWEGIAN WOOD and THE BELL IN THE LAKE."An intricate story…
about war, family, secrets and,yes, wood ... An engaging, satisfying read" The Times"So cleverly plotted, and it builds up such effortless dramatic momentum as it zeroes in on its conclusion" ScotsmanEdvard grows up on a remote mountain farmstead in Norway with his taciturn grandfather, Sverre. The death of his parents, when he was three years old, has always been shrouded in mystery - he has never been told how or where it took place and has only a distant memory of his mother. But he knows that the fate of his grandfather's brother, Einar, is somehow bound up with this mystery. One day a coffin is delivered for his grandfather long before his death - a meticulous, beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Perhaps Einar is not dead after all. Edvard's desperate quest to unlock the family's tragic secrets takes him on a long journey - from Norway to the Shetlands, and to the battlefields of France - to the discovery of a very unusual inheritance. The Sixteen Trees of the Somme is about the love of wood and finding your own self, a beautifully intricate and moving tale that spans an entire century.A TIMES BESTSELLERMytting's book is as much a romantic historical thriller as it is a book of promise, a page-turner as it is a reflective journey into selfhood, history, life's meaning and individual moral responsibility - Mika Provata-Carlone, BookanistaTranslated from the Norwegian by Paul Russell GarrettCall Him Mine: A Telegraph Thriller of the Year
By Tim MacGabhann. 2019
A TELEGRAPH THRILLER OF THE YEAR 'A wild ride' Ian Rankin'Tough and uncompromising: you'll be glad you read it' Lee…
Child'Hilarious, gripping, poetic. I loved it' Adrian McKinty, author of The Chain 'Gripping from beginning to end' Independent'Intoxicating and chilling' Observer 'Pacy and exciting' Daily Telegraph'Vivid and lyrical' Guardian'MacGabhann paints an extraordinarily vivid picture of Mexico, in all its seething, sweltering madness and beauty' Irish Independent Nobody asked us to look.Every day, every since, I still wish we hadn't. Jaded reporter Andrew and his photographer boyfriend, Carlos, are sick of sifting the dregs of Mexico's drug war: from cartel massacres to corrupt politicians, they think they've seen it all.But when they find a body even the police are too scared to look at, what started out as just another assignment becomes the sort of story all reporters dream of... ...until Carlos pushes for answers too fast, and winds up murdered, leaving Andrew grief-stricken and flailing for answers, justice, and revenge.Repentance
By Eloísa Díaz. 2021
A FINANCIAL TIMES 'SUMMER BOOKS OF 2021' PICK'An accomplished, inventive detective novel thrumming with tension and family secrets' Sanaë Lemoine,…
author of The Margot Affair'An astonishingly assured first novel, both funny and moving'The Times Crime Club'Very impressive... Repentance is an evocative crime thriller with a likeable, self-aware protagonist, but also skilfully explores the darkest period in Argentina's modern history'Financial Times'A powerful crime novel ... Opening old historical wounds that still strongly affect Argentinian society, this is a tale with many layers, many of them painful to evoke and a strong depiction of a country and a period that still simmers between the pages of history books and the crime novel is a perfect way of lancing the boil. Recommended'Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time BUENOS AIRES, 1981.Argentina is in the grip of a brutal military dictatorship.Inspector Joaquín Alzada's work in the Buenos Aires police force exposes him to the many realities of life under a repressive regime: desperate people, terrified people and - worst of all - missing people.Personally, he prefers to stay out of politics, enjoying a simple life with his wife Paula. But when his revolutionary brother Jorge is disappeared, Alzada will stop at nothing to rescue him.TWENTY YEARS LATER...The country is in the midst of yet another devastating economic crisis and riots are building in the streets of Buenos Aires. This time Alzada is determined to keep his head down and wait patiently for his retirement. But when a dead body lands in a skip behind the morgue and a woman from one of the city's wealthiest families goes missing, Alzada is forced to confront his own involvement in one of the darkest periods in Argentinian history - a time ofcollective horror and personal tragedy.Alternating between two key moments in the life of a man and his country, Repentance is a noir with a difference, featuring an unforgettable character on a quest to solve a case that offers both a painful reminder of all he has lost and a last chance at redemption.Call Him Mine: A Telegraph Thriller of the Year
By Tim MacGabhann. 2019
Jaded reporter Andrew and his photographer boyfriend, Carlos, are sick of telling just another story. From cartel massacres to corrupt…
politicians, sifting the dregs of Mexico's drug war, they think they've seen it all. But when they find a body even the police are too scared to look at, what started out as just another reportage becomes the sort of story all reporters dream of.Until Carlos pushes for answers too fast, and winds up murdered, leaving Andrew grief-stricken and flailing for answers, justice, and revenge. Caught in a web of dirty money that stretches from the boardrooms of the United States to the death squads of El Salvador, Andrew must decide whether to save himself - or find out who killed the man he loves, and destroyed the only home he's ever known.(p) Orion Publishing Group Ltd 2019The Sixteen Trees of the Somme
By Lars Mytting. 2017
A family story of epic scale, by the author of NORWEGIAN WOOD and THE BELL IN THE LAKE.Edvard grows up…
on a remote mountain farmstead in Norway with his taciturn grandfather, Sverre. The death of his parents, when he was three years old, has always been shrouded in mystery - he has never been told how or where it took place and has only a distant memory of his mother. But he knows that the fate of his grandfather's brother, Einar, is somehow bound up with this mystery. One day a coffin is delivered for his grandfather long before his death - a meticulous, beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Perhaps Einar is not dead after all. Edvard's desperate quest to unlock the family's tragic secrets takes him on a long journey - from Norway to the Shetlands, and to the battlefields of France - to the discovery of a very unusual inheritance. The Sixteen Trees of the Somme is about the love of wood and finding your own self, a beautifully intricate and moving tale that spans an entire century.A TIMES BESTSELLERTranslated from the Norwegian by Paul Russell Garrett(P) 2022 Quercus Editions LtdPepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean
By Peekash Press. 2014
"This wonderful anthology of fresh voices from the Caribbean...includes writers from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, and…
Trinidad and Tobago. The diverse textures of the stories by 13 established and new authors weave a tapestry of the islands, water, sand, ocean breeze, and rum. Vivid settings serve as backdrops for a dazzling display of personalities."--BooklistAkashic Books and Peepal Tree Press, two of the foremost publishers of Caribbean literature, launch a joint Caribbean-focused imprint, Peekash Press, with this anthology. Consisting entirely of brand-new stories by authors living in the region (not simply authors from the region), this collection gathers the very best entries to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, including a mix of established and up-and-coming writers from islands throughout the Caribbean.Featuring these brand-new stories:"The Whale House" by Sharon Millar (Trinidad & Tobago)"A Good Friday" by Barbara Jenkins (Trinidad & Tobago)"Reversal of Fortunes" by Kevin Baldeosingh (Trinidad & Tobago)"The Monkey Trap" by Kevin Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago)"The Science of Salvation" by Dwight Thompson (Jamaica)"Waywardness" by Ezekel Alan (Jamaica)"Berry" by Kimmisha Thomas (Jamaica)"Father, Father" by Garfield Ellis (Jamaica)"All the Secret Things No-One Ever Knows" by Sharon Leach (Jamaica)"This Thing We Call Love" by Ivory Kelly (Belize)"And the Virgin's Name Was Leah" by Heather Barker (Barbados)"Amelia" by Joanne Hillhouse (Antigua & Barbuda)"Mango Summer" by Janice Lynn Mather (Bahamas)and others!The Angels' Share: A Novel
By Garfield Ellis. 2015
"A fast-paced story of father and son, packed with misadventures and set against the backdrop of contemporary Jamaica....Ellis sets his…
story in 2008 Jamaica, where "old people are burnt in their homes for no reason at all; stubborn old men are slaughtered by gunmen"--where "it is so easy to get away with murder." This milieu adds a great deal of tension....Well-constructed....Admirable."--Kirkus ReviewsShortlisted for the Una Marson Award for Adult Literature, part of Jamaica's Lignum Vitae Awards"It takes a lot to stand out in the crowded field of Caribbean lit, but Garfield Ellis grabs mystery, family, love, hate, longing, and loss, boils them down to a Jamaica we don't always see, and rises to the top."--Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings"The Angels' Share is Garfield Ellis's passport to the center of the literary world. Ellis is a writer of tremendous talent with that rare quality that can only be called bigness."--Colin Channer, author of The Girl with the Golden Shoes"Ellis inhabits his story of a lost-and-found father and a host of engaging characters and breathtaking incidents with skill, humor, and honesty. A page-turning read."--Olive Senior, author of Dancing Lessons"Ellis's compelling novel joins the literature of the Caribbean to bring an exciting new view of our outer and subterranean landscapes whose ghosts are not victims, and whose survivors join a legacy of heroes."--Rachel Manley, author of In My Father's ShadeEverton Dorril, a rising star at a Jamaican beverage company, immediately fears the worst when his stepmother calls one morning to tell him his father is missing. Everton soon discovers that his father has run off to track down a woman he has been in love with for thirty-five years. An "outside" child born to his father's mistress, Everton deeply resents his father and hates the idea of jeopardizing the most important moment in his career to go find him, but feels he has no other choice.His father's stubborn refusal to return home leads Everton to reluctantly give up a week of work--one week only--to join him on his quest. By the fourth day, Everton is fed up with his father's lies and excuses. In spite of his better judgment, and worried his father might be dying, Everton finally confronts him one drunken night and airs his resentments. He discovers that his father, frightened and unhappy with the failings of his past, is seeking closure and reconciliation. Fearing this is his last chance to find out more about the father who had no time for him when he was growing up, Everton and his father set out on an adventurous quest across Jamaica, hoping to make up for lost time.Dance of the Jakaranda
By Peter Kimani. 2017
"Destined to become one of the greats...This is not hyperbole: it’s a masterpiece."--The Gazette"The author has built here not only,…
on these pages, not only a railroad, but the singular triumph of a highly diverting novel. Besides weaving an excellent plot-line, he offers the reader a classic, understated writing style that haunts much of this book, turns it into a minor masterpiece."--RALPH Magazine, Starred review"In his American debut, Kimani illustrates the discordant history of East Indians in Kenya through a fabulously complicated set of intriguing characters and events...Highlighted by its exquisite voice, Kimani’s novel is a standout debut."--Publishers Weekly"Kimani’s descriptive and inventive prose recounts personal stories of love and tragedy within a context of racial hierarchies and the fallout of colonial rule...Babu’s story feels weighted by history in a way that will remind readers of Gabriel García Márquez’s work...Kimani’s complex novel will leave readers questioning the meanings of citizenship and belonging during an era of significant social upheaval in Kenya’s history."--Booklist"African colonialism is confronted in this subtle, multilayered Kenyan tale...Lyrical and powerful...Kimani weaves together a bitter, hurtful past and hopeful present in this rich tale of Kenyan history and culture, the railroad, and the men and women whose lives it profoundly affected...This is a thoughtful story about a country's imperialist past."--Kirkus Reviews"Through lyrical, seductive prose, Peter Kimani weaves an impressively intricate tapestry of events and characters that give much-needed names and faces to an important facet of Kenya’s colonial history."--Black Books Quotes"The characters are human, teaching us that even someone who does wrong is not all bad, and Kimani writes with such vivid detail that one can easily visualize the vast scenery. Reminiscent of Iman Verjee’s Who Will Catch Us as We Fall, this novel will appeal to readers of historical and literary fiction."--Library Journal"In this clever and mesmerizing story, the author takes the reader on a journey to another time and place, where twists and turns provide a truly entertaining ride."--SusannesBooklist"Kimani steps into the minds and hearts of all his characters, regardless of the colour of their skin and decisions they have made, be they good or ill."--A New Day"Dance of the Jakaranda is a rare gem: a new story, a new voice, a new way of seeing the world. This is what a brilliant novel looks like. Peter Kimani is a rare talent, an important new literary voice in Kenya, in Africa, and the world."--Mat Johnson, author of Loving DaySet in the shadow of Kenya's independence from Great Britain, Dance of the Jakaranda reimagines the special circumstances that brought black, brown and white men together to lay the railroad that heralded the birth of the nation.The novel traces the lives and loves of three men--preacher Richard Turnbull, the colonial administrator Ian McDonald, and Indian technician Babu Salim--whose lives intersect when they are implicated in the controversial birth of a child. Years later, when Babu's grandson Rajan--who ekes out a living by singing Babu's epic tales of the railway's construction--accidentally kisses a mysterious stranger in a dark nightclub, the encounter provides the spark to illuminate the three men's shared, murky past.With its riveting multiracial, multicultural cast and diverse literary allusions, Dance of the Jakaranda could well be a story of globalization. Yet the novel is firmly anchored in the African oral storytelling tradition, its language a dreamy, exalted, and earthy mix that creates new thresholds of identity, providing a fresh metaphor for race in contemporary Africa.The Girl with the Golden Shoes: A Novella
By Colin Channer. 2007
Set in 1942 on the imagined island of San Carlos, a cultural cocktail of Trinidad, Cuba, and Jamaica, this is…
the story of Estrella Thompson, a headstrong fourteen-year-old girl who's forced to fend for herself when she's banished from the isolated fishing village where she's lived all her life. Colin Channer's major works of fiction include the novel Waiting in Vain and the story collection Passing Through, which Junot Díaz described as "a splendid collection by one of the Caribbean Diaspora's finest writers." He also edited Iron Balloons: Hit Fiction from Jamaica's Calabash Writer's Workshop (Akashic Books, 2006). Channer is an assistant professor of English and the coordinator of the BA creative writing program at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York.The Eagle and the Sun: Agents of Independence Series
By Dana James. 2015
During her trip to Mexico, jewellery designer Cass Elliot was to visit the Ibarra opal mines to see the origin…
of the lovely stones she used and gain inspiration for future designs. She’s unable to prevent Derek Prentice accompanying her, and as her boss’s son he’s not easy to deflect. It doesn’t help to discover that Miguel Ibarra is not expecting them. Just when Cass feels she’s begun to make a better impression on Miguel, Derek becomes difficult and Cass is introduced to Miguel’s fiancée. She no longer knows what to think – will Mexico be the summit of her dreams, or the loss of all hope?