Book picks similar to
The Hand of the Enemy by Kerima Polotan


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Catch A Falling Star


Cristina Pantoja-Hidalgo - 1999
    In this collection, Hidalgo returns to the writing of the realistic short story while remaining true to the style of the travel essays, which some critics believe to be her most inspired work.

Home of the Ashfall: A Memoir


John Jack G. Wigley - 2014
    Wigley, who gave us Falling Into A Manhole. This memoir starts with the author's getting lost, and ends with his finding home, the sacred space where he finds joy and fulfillment. Between getting lost and finding home, Wigley's quest takes us to all liminal regions--places in the world and places of the heart--that shaped him, making the journey emotional as well. He makes us laugh at his own foibles, weep over his narratives of loss and betrayal, hope that life gets better because his did, and still does. Jack Wigley is not only a gifted raconteur who can keep you turning the pages, but one with a high level of self-awareness who compels you to pause time and again, no matter how much you want to know what happens next, to savor his insights and reflect. Do yourself a favor--read this book.

13:55 Eastern Standard Time


Nick Alexander - 2007
    13:55 EST makes - she counts on her fingers - about 6pm in Berlin. He'll be on his way home. Alice settles into the armchair and dials the number...If Alice hadn't bumped into Will then she would probably never have phoned that afternoon. And if Alice hadn't called, then Michael, poor Michael, might still be alive today...In a digital age of world-spanning communications and easy travel these stories explore how interconnected and yet fragmented our lives have become, and how - no matter where we live or what we do, no matter how different our lifestyles - the universal desires for love and happiness draw us ever onward.Both short story collection and novel, 13:55 Eastern Standard Time finds Nick Alexander at his best. Sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, these are stories of lives that cross and collide in life-ending drama, or simply run peacefully alongside for a few hours - lives filled with characters who are attracted and repelled, hopeless and yet inspired. Narrated in Alexander's trademark tense prose, these interwoven stories explore the ripples emanating from our every act, ripples that alter distant destinies, and occasionally bounce back, catching us from behind to haunt or inspire.13:55 Eastern Standard Time repeats the success of Alexander's first novel, 50 Reasons to Say Goodbye because again, as with life itself, the whole is mysteriously greater than the sum of the parts.

The Mango Bride


Marivi Soliven Blanco - 2013
    Although her mother labels her life in exile a diminished one, Amparo believes her struggles are a small price to pay for freedom...Like Amparo, Beverly Obejas—an impoverished Filipina waitress—forsakes Manila and comes to Oakland as a mail-order bride in search of a better life. Yet even in the land of plenty, Beverly fails to find the happiness and prosperity she envisioned.As Amparo works to build the immigrant's dream, she becomes entangled in the chaos of Beverly's immigrant nightmare. Their unexpected collision forces them both to make terrible choices and confront a life-changing secret, but through it all they hold fast to family, in all its enduring and surprising transformations.

Catching Kelly


Sue Civil-Brown - 2000
    When she gets the news that a ruggedly handsome man has moved in on her grandmother -- and the family finances -- she rushes home to send him packing, without the Burke fortune!But once back in the center of her beloved but outlandish clan--pet tigers and all--Kelly discovers that Seth Ralston is far more of a threat to her heart than to her family. For his smile makes her traitorous pulse race, no man should have a body that sinfully gorgeous, and his kisses...oh, those kisses create total meltdown. Suddenly Kelly discovers an unexpected aptitude for being "wild and exciting" herself-- and loving it. The question is, is this just a fun fling? Or is Seth a man who'll stay...for life?Eight years ago, ultra-sensible Kelly Burke left her zany family in a desperate attempt to lead a normal life. When she gets the news that a ruggedly handsome man has moved in on her grandmother -- and the family finances -- she rushes home to send him packing, without the Burke fortune!But once back in the center of her beloved but outlandish clan--pet tigers and all--Kelly discovers that Seth Ralston is far more of a threat to her heart than to her family. For his smile makes her traitorous pulse race, no man should have a body that sinfully gorgeous, and his kisses...oh, those kisses create total meltdown. Suddenly Kelly discovers an unexpected aptitude for being "wild and exciting" herself-- and loving it. The question is, is this just a fun fling? Or is Seth a man who'll stay...for life?

Flashman At The Charge ;Flashman In The Great Game


George MacDonald Fraser - 1983
    

When One Has Lived a Long Time Alone


Galway Kinnell - 1990
    A collection of poems ranging from melancholy meditations of a solitary mind concerning estrangement and the longing for reconnection to the natural world and its creatures closely observed.

Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream


H.G. Bissinger - 1988
    Odessa is not known to be a town big on dreams, but the Panthers help keep the hopes and dreams of this small, dusty town going. Socially and racially divided, its fragile economy follows the treacherous boom-bust path of the oil business.In bad times, the unemployment rate barrels out of control; in good times, its murder rate skyrockets. But every Friday night from September to December, when the Permian High School Panthers play football, this West Texas town becomes a place where dreams can come true. With frankness and compassion, Bissinger chronicles one of the Panthers' dramatic seasons and shows how single-minded devotion to the team shapes the community and inspires-and sometimes shatters-the teenagers who wear the Panthers' uniforms. Includes Reader's Group Guide inside. Now a major motion picture starring Billy Bob Thorton.

Watching Baseball Smarter: A Professional Fan's Guide for Beginners, Semi-experts, and Deeply Serious Geeks


Zack Hample - 2007
    In this smart and funny fan’s guide Hample explains the ins and outs of pitching, hitting, running, and fielding, while offering insider trivia and anecdotes that will surprise even the most informed viewers of our national pastime.What is the difference between a slider and a curveball?At which stadium did “The Wave” first make an appearance? How do some hitters use iPods to improve their skills?Which positions are never played by lefties?Why do some players urinate on their hands?Combining the narrative voice and attitude of Michael Lewis with the compulsive brilliance of Schott’s Miscellany, Watching Baseball Smarter will increase your understanding and enjoyment of the sport–no matter what your level of expertise. Zack Hample is an obsessed fan and a regular writer for minorleaguebaseball.com. He's collected nearly 3,000 baseballs from major league games and has appeared on dozens of TV and radio shows. His first book, How to Snag Major League Baseballs, was published in 1999.

Paragon Place


Harry Bowling - 1990
    But it's taken its toll on a hard-working and tight-knit community. Despite going through the very worst of times - the never-ending fight against poverty, rationing and bombs - the residents of Paragon Place have been brought closer together by laughter and tears in the face of despair. There is Sally Brady, who is torn between two men, local drunk Alf Porter, the prim Carey sisters, the gossips and the villains. After surviving the horror of the war, they face new dramas as they rebuild their lives together...

Rolling the R's


R. Zamora Linmark - 1995
    In this daring first novel, tour-de-force experiments in narrative structure, pidgin and perspective roll every "are" and throw new light on gay identity and the trauma of assimilation. Rolling the R's goes beyond "coming of age" and "coming out" to address the realities of cultural confusion, prejudice and spiraling levels of desire in humorous yet haunting portraits that are, as Matthew Stadler writes, "stylish, shameless and beautiful."

Escape: Billionaire Island


Helen Hardt - 2021
    

Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah


Carlo Vergara - 2002
    With the ability to transform into the voluptuous and powerful Zaturnnah, Ada defends his hometown from dangerous otherworldly threats.Adding color to this simple tale is the fact that Ada is a homosexual, proprietor of his own quaint beauty salon. Joining him in his extraordinary adventure is his frilly-mouthed assistant Didi and his secret love Dodong. Because of strong language and suggestive imagery, the comic book is strictly for mature readers. Zsazsa Zaturnnah was first released in December 2002 as a two-part limited series, and since then has been prominently featured in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Businessworld, Manila Standard, Art Quarterly Manila, Culture Crash, etc. as well as the television show Knowledge Power.After winning a much-coveted National Book Award, given out by the discriminating Manila Critics Circle, the two part Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah has been compiled into a single trade paperback by Visual Print Enterprises, and hit shelves of major bookstores within the first half of 2004.

Anthropology


Dan Rhodes - 2000
    101 STORIESAnthropologyI loved an anthropologist. She went to Mongolia to study the gays. At first she kept their culture at arm's length, but eventually she decided that her fieldwork would benefit from assimilation. She worked hard to become as much like them as possible, and gradually she was accepted. After a while she ended our romance by letter. It breaks my heart to think of her herding those yaks in the freezing hills, the peak of her leather cap shielding her eyes from the driving wind, her wrist dangling away, and nothing but a handlebar moustache to keep her top lip warm.

Thriller: Stories To Keep You Up All Night


James PattersonEric Van Lustbader - 2006
    Offering up heart-pumping tales of suspense in all its guises are thirty-two of the most critically acclaimed and award-winning names in the business. From the signature characters that made such authors as David Morrell and John Lescroart famous to four of the hottest new voices in the genre, this blockbuster will tantalize and terrify.Lock the doors, draw the shades, pull up the covers and be prepared for Thriller to keep you up all night.