Man Equals Man: And the Elephant Calf


Bertolt Brecht - 1926
    Using Kiplingesque imagery, Brecht explores personality as something that can be dismantled and reassembled like a machine, in a parable that the critic Walter Kerr credited with a "curious foreshadowing of the art of brainwashing." This edition also includes The Elephant Calf, which was originally part of the main play. This translation by Gerhard Nellhaus (and by Brecht himself, who made his own English version of the first scene) has been equipped by the editors, John Willett and Ralph Manheim, with Brecht's own notes and relevant texts as well as with an extensive editorial commentary on the genesis and variant versions of the play.

Aftermath


George Weinstein - 2018
    Luring you in with atmospheric elements--a small town hiding dark secrets and a woman determined to uncover her questionable legacy-- Aftermath 's final, disturbing twist will jolt you and good. A gripping, suspenseful read." - Emily Carpenter, author of  Burying the Honeysuckle Girls Can Janet Wright complete the deadly puzzle connecting her father, his murder, and a hostile small town? After her father is murdered, New Yorker Janet Wright returns to her folksy childhood home of Graylee, Georgia to tie up loose ends and mend her broken heart. When Janet is met with hostility upon arriving to her hometown, she begins a relentless search for answers about her father’s death. The unwavering heroine soon discovers that there’s more than meets the eye within the enigmatic small town, including secrets, scandals, and lies. This suspenseful Southern thriller will have Wright facing pieces of her broken childhood and fighting for her life. Mystery, murder, and romance converge to keep you turning page after page.“Aftermath has everything I crave in a novel: the perfect blend of mystery and romance, flawlessly crafted dialog, and an unsinkable heroine with equal parts grit and heart.” - Erika Marks, author of The Last TreasureOUR SOUTHERN FRIED GUARANTEEIf you wouldn’t enthusiastically recommend one of our books with a 4- or 5-star rating to a friend, then the next story is on us. We believe that much in the stories we’re telling. Simply email us at pr@sfkmultimedia.com.

Mother of 1084


Mahasweta Devi - 1974
    This novel focuses on the trauma of a mother who awakens one morning to the shattering news that her son is lying dead in the police morgue, reduced to a mere numeral: Corpse No. 1084. Through her struggle to understand his revolutionary commitment as a Naxalite, she recognizes her own alienation—as a woman and a wife—from the complacent, hypocritical, and corrupt feudal society her son had so fiercely rebelled against.

Unhurried Tales: My Favourite Novellas


Ruskin Bond - 2017
    The stories in this book include time stops at shamli (written in 1956 and published for the first time in 1987); The blue umbrella, which has been a bestseller for the last forty years; Angry river, which was a longer work when it was first written, bus stop, (No Suggestions), night of the leopard, the last tiger and tales of (No Suggestions), his latest novella, which was published in 2013. These stories speak of a world that has long vanished, but it is a world that has lost none of its power to enchant. Whether we are accompanying Sita on her perilous journey down the angry river or bisnu as he gets the better of a dangerous leopard, whether we delight in binya’s joy at owning her blue umbrella or are saddened by the fate of the last tiger, whether we laugh uproariously at the antics of the eccentric guests at the ‘hotel’ in shamli, get involved in the adventures of the boys in Pipalnagar or plunge into the various goings-on in the ‘backwater’ of (No Suggestions), we are always entertained, always charmed. All the stories unwind in an unhurried way, even those that are filled with death-defying thrills and spills and it is this quality that enables us to sink into them and experience to its fullest the magic of the fiction that Ruskin bond has spun out of the hills and small towns of India for over sixty years.

The Spanish Prisoner & The Winslow Boy


David Mamet - 1999
    His dialogue--abrasive, rhythmic--illuminates a modern aesthetic evocative of Samuel Beckett. His plots--surprising, comic, topical--have evoked comparisons to masters from Alfred Hitchcock to Arthur Miller. Here are two screenplays demonstrating the astounding range of Mamet's talents.         The Spanish Prisoner, a neo-noir thriller about a research-and-development cog hoodwinked out of his own brilliant discovery, demonstrates Mamet's incomparable use of character in a dizzying tale of twists and mistaken identity. The Winslow Boy, Mamet's revisitation of Terence Rattigan's  classic 1946 play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. Crackling with wit, intelligent and surprising, The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy celebrate Mamet's unique genius and our eternal fascination with the extraordinary predicaments of the common man.

The Cider House Rules: A Screenplay


John Irving - 1999
    It tells the story of Homer Wells, an orphan who is raised and mentored by Wilbur Larch, the doctor at the orphanage. Dr. Larch teaches Homer eveything about medicine. Yet though his capacity for kindness is saintly, Larch is also an ether addict. He and Homer come into conflict, which is typical of many father-son relationships, but in this case, their conflict is intensified by their disagreements about abortion. The result is Homer leaves the only family he has ever known.Homer's new life provides more excitement than he could have imagined, especially when he falls in love for the first time. But, when forced to make decisions that will change the course of his future, Homer finally realizes that he can't escape his past. The Cider House Rules is ultimately about the choices we make and the rules that are meant to be broken.

Remarkable People: Extraordinary Stories of Everyday Lives


Dan Walker - 2020
    An uplifting tonic for the darkness and negativity of recent times.We live in an age of anxiety, besieged by bad news and uncertainty. But Dan Walker, the host of BBC1's Breakfast and Football Focus, is determined to shine a light onto stories of selflessness and compassion that seldom make the headlines. In the course of his professional life, Dan has encountered many inspiring stories of bravery and kindness. In Remarkable People, he recounts tales of incredible humanity, empathy, compassion, and a steely determination to transform lives, restore trust, renew hope.Remarkable People is the perfect book for these challenging times; an escape from the negativity of our everyday news cycle, and a tribute to courage and positivity.

Once Upon Us (Part I)


Abhiishek Mohta - 2019
    With the notes in his soul, he feels the rhythm in his rhymes and the beat of the instruments even when he closes his eyes. When he meets Saatvika Lakhiani, her voice and her form inspire that music and shine through every interaction they have. There is something about her that pulls him and calls to him… an underlying feeling that maybe she is the one who will complete him and be the partner he need. However, sorority princess Abhilasha walks and talks as if Arjun is already hers, a fact that seems surer by the day. While Saatvika is not exactly looking for a relationship, there is something about Arjun that makes her catch her breath – and ensures that a confrontation with Abhilasha is inevitable.

When You Finish Saving the World


Jesse Eisenberg - 2020
    The shifts between time frames in these characters’ lives span more than a decade and eloquently capture the complexities of growing up, having children, and fitting in.

The Ring of the Nibelung


Richard Wagner - 1853
    His own libretto to the operas, translated by Andrew Porter, is an intricate system of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration,combining to produce the music in text.'Andrew Porter's utterly natural, often poetic, faithfully rendered English text should be a revelation...The immediacy of instant comprehension gives the entire drama an added dimension.'--The New York Times

Sea of Poppies


Amitav Ghosh - 2008
    Her destiny is a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean shortly before the outbreak of the Opium Wars in China. In a time of colonial upheaval, fate has thrown together a diverse cast of Indians and Westerners on board, from a bankrupt raja to a widowed tribeswoman, from a mulatto American freedman to a free-spirited French orphan. As their old family ties are washed away, they, like their historical counterparts, come to view themselves as jahaj-bhais, or ship-brothers. The vast sweep of this historical adventure spans the lush poppy fields of the Ganges, the rolling high seas, and the exotic backstreets of Canton.

The Complete Plays


Christopher Marlowe
    In the victories of Tamburlaine, Faustus's encounters with the demonic, the irreverence of Barabas in THE JEW OF MALTA, and the humiliation of Edward II in his fall from power and influence, Marlowe explores the shifting balance between power and helplessness, the sacred and its desecration.

Heads Will Roll


Kate McKinnon - 2019
    Produced by Broadway Video, this is not an audiobook-it's a 10-episode, star-studded, audio comedy that features performances from Meryl Streep, Tim Gunn, Peter Dinklage, Queer Eye's Fab Five, and so many more. Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm (McKinnon) and her ditsy raven minion JoJo (Lynne) receive a prophecy about a peasant uprising. Together, they must journey to find the "Shard of Acquiescence," which will put down the rebellion and save the throne. Will their friendship survive sensitive generals, chatty sex slaves, whiny behemoths, princes with bird fetishes, and the notion of democracy? This raunchy satire also includes the wicked talents of Andrea Martin, Carol Kane, Audra McDonald, Aidy Bryant, Alex Moffat, Heidi Gardner, Chris Redd, Steve Higgins, Bob the Drag Queen, Esther Perel, and more. So, hold on to your head, and let the bad times roll.

Six Suspects


Vikas Swarup - 2008
    Now Vicky Rai is dead, killed at his farmhouse at a party he had thrown to celebrate his acquittal. The police search each and every guest. Six of them are discovered with guns in their possession.In this elaborate murder mystery we join Arun Advani, India's best-known investigative journalist, as the lives of these six suspects unravel before our eyes: a corrupt bureaucrat; an American tourist; a stone-age tribesman; a Bollywood sex symbol; a mobile phone thief; and an ambitious politician. Each is equally likely to have pulled the trigger. Inspired by actual events, Vikas Swarup's eagerly awaited second novel is both a riveting page turner and an insightful peek into the heart and soul of contemporary India.

Dealer's Choice


Patrick Marber - 1995
    It won the 1995 Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and, the Writers' Guild for Best West End Play."An exceptionally accomplished first play . . . though I know nothing about poker, I testify to the compulsive grip this play exerts and to the accumulation of meanings it ignites in your head."—Financial Times"Patrick Marber's enthralling close-up of the demons which drive compulsive gamblers is among the finest new plays in many a year."—Daily Mail