Book picks similar to
The Triumph by Frank Scozzari
short-stories
page-turner
adult-f
africa
Way Back Home
Niq Mhlongo - 2013
I am a volunteer fighter, committed to the struggle for justice. I place myself in the service of the people, The Movement and its allies. 13 August 1986, Angola Kimathi Tito has it all. As a child of the revolution, born in exile in Tanzania, he has steadily accumulated wealth and influence since arriving in South Africa in 1991. But even though everything appears just peachy from outside the walls of his mansion in Bassonia, things are far from perfect for Comrade Kimathi. After a messy divorce, accelerated by his gambling habit and infidelities, he is in danger of losing everything. And now, to top it all, he’s seeing ghosts. Sometimes what happens in exile doesn’t stay in exile. A caustic critique of South Africa’s political elite from the author of Dog Eat Dog and After Tears (both recently reissued).
Collector Bro: The Quixotic 'Thallals' of a Civil Servant
Prasanth Nair - 2021
An untold one that played out in the district of Kozhikode when a young IAS officer took charge as the District Collector in 2015. Over the next two years, he led the district and transformed the very concept of public administration with the use of social media, public consultation, usage of technology, volunteerism and public participation in governance. The two year tenure of 'Collector Bro' in Kozhikode transformed the landscape and narrative of district administration and communication with the citizens forever.Within a couple of months, 'Collector Kozhikode' Facebook page became a trendsetter in Kerala, and the most followed district administration page in India. It still is. With initiatives like Compassionate Kozhikode, Operation Sulaimani, Savari Giri Giri, Kozhipedia, Freedom Café, Yo Appooppa and Tere Mere Beach Mein, IAS officer Prasanth Nair, who was the District Collector of Kozhikode at that time, ushered in a new language of governance that endeavoured to bridge the gap between the district administration and citizens through the optimal employment of social media. The District Collector descended from the colonial ivory towers and mingled as one amongst the common man, totally dismantling the hierarchical stereotypes that the society was used to.This book traces the story of how exactly this happened and how and why the public responded so overwhelmingly to such an initiative. It also chronicles how these experiences transformed the young officer also - from a hesitant public speaker to a crowd-puller, from an introvert to a seemingly extrovert energetic leader. For the first time, the emotional roller-coaster of events that re-shaped the attitude and language of engagement by District administration is narrated with all the inside-stories. Straight from the horse's mouth. The author however takes pains not to take centre-stage in the book and manages that somewhat with wit and self-deprecating humour. This book has got nothing to do with government; but it is all about governance, life and compassion. At one level it is a collection of case-studies, the most readable and engrossing ones, narrated with fun and illustrations. At another level it is a chronicle of a personal journey of a compassionate administrator. This is not a typical arrogant bureaucratic ‘I did this’ book, but an ‘I went through this’ book. Not a high-horsed motivational ‘you can do it’ book, but a book that makes you think and prioritise what you want to do in life.As Dr. Shashi Tharoor says in the foreword, a must read for all civil servants, civil-service aspirants, students of public administration and all citizens who dream for a better tomorrow.
Vera & Linus
Jesse Ball - 2006
VERA & LINUS is a series of short sketches. The book's theme is the love between the two protagonists, Vera and Linus. They are mischief makers and tricksters of the most daring sort, and they are constantly up to no good, but the language holds them with a clear restraint, a restraint born perhaps out of the peculiar nature of their love, a love both for each other and the things of the world. Their mastery, and shifting natures allow them to compel the workaday world as they see it, but not to rule over each other, and so their game begins, as Vera struggles to outwit Linus, and Linus to outwit Vera.
Happy Birthday!
Meghna Pant - 2013
These finely nuanced stories provide a rare glimpse into the complex and mysterious inner lives of human beings.Happy Birthday was longlisted for the prestigious Frank O'Connor Award 2014. It has also been voted the TOP title on Flipkart’s editors picks for this month: http://www.flipkart.com/books/~editor...A dedicated friend undertakes one last labour of love for a childless woman. Nadia - married into money - finds herself facing uncomfortable truths about her comfortably numb marriage. A Mumbai slum-girl dreams of speaking words valuable enough to be translated into English. An American tourist seeking nirvana sets off a sudden chain of events when his bag is stolen, and destiny plays her hand. A retired civil servant of modest means struggles to support his snooty foreign-returned daughter.Meghna Pant’s knife - sharp stories are compelling, emotionally intelligent and provide a rare glimpse into the strange workings of the human heart. They evade neat categorization andare the perfect read for all curious spirits."These are stories with a large heart and a keen eye, deeply aware of the complex, sometimes uncomfortable realities of India, its many layers. Meghna Pant knows how to create characters that will surprise and move you." – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni "Deft, merciless and expertly-tuned parables for the new Indian century."– Jeet Thayil"Meghna Pant pierces one’s heart with the reality and depth of her stories, wrapping up her tales with unanticipated yet undeniable flourish. Exceptionally thought-provoking narratives that manage to be provocative and inspirational in the very same breath."– Ashwin Sanghi"These intimate stories juxtapose a range and register of aerial and emotional perspectives, with craft, delicacy and an intensely human sensibility."– Namita Gokhale
Gloom
Ricky Olson - 2018
In one, a model addicted to the internet gets invited to an elite party by a stranger. In another, a high school student obsessed with death tries to quench an ever-growing thirst. In others, embarrassing sex is explored, survival of the fittest is exercised, and death is redeemed. Throughout these twelve short stories one thing is common: Olson isn’t afraid to leave any rock unturned while exploring the dark side of the human condition.
The Little Duck Girl
Anita Nair - 2020
Until one December dawn, when the ducks and the little duck girl, not so little any more, return to the village after several years of absence and light up Maash's life again.The year is 2019, the Indian Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act and the question of identity-- especially religious identity--is at the forefront of everything. Suddenly, everyone wants to know: who is this duck girl, where does she come from, who does she pray to? In a matter of days, Maash finds himself in the middle of a conflict he couldn't have foreseen.Set in Kaikurussi - the near idyllic village which Anita Nair introduced to readers worldwide in her first novel The Better Man, The Little Duck Girl is a state-of-the-nation story that sensitively but unflinchingly explores the idea of who we are as a people.
The Book of Joshua
Zachary Schomburg - 2014
It is an epic journey not only affirming that “there is a difference between sadness and suffering;” but that Schomburg is one of the most unusual poets writing today, pushing his work beyond our familiarity. These poems have a thirst for blood, but they don't yet know exactly what to do with their hands. The Book of Joshua calls out in hunger and loneliness, “I didn’t feel like living in anything not shaped like me anymore.”
The History of Vegas
Jodi Angel - 2005
From the first page of each of the edgy and unrelentingly intense stories in this debut collection, the teenaged characters are headed for big trouble. The adult world has mostly failed them, and they find themselves entering into highly charged situations where they make their own rules, with misguided understanding of the consequences. The stories burn hot and fast, providing searing insights into their world of sex, drugs, drinking, violence, and accidental grace, played out in small, tough towns. Written with raw directness and understanding that makes these nine stories impossible to forget, The History of Vegas announces an exciting, fresh talent with the impact of Mary Gaitskill, Mary Karr, and Jayne Anne Phillips.
Red Sparrow Trilogy eBook Boxed Set (The Red Sparrow Trilogy)
Jason Matthews - 2018
Forced to become a “Sparrow”—a spy trained in the art of seduction to elicit information from unsuspecting marks—she’s been assigned to Nathaniel Nash, a CIA officer who handles the organization’s most sensitive Russian intelligence. The action in The Red Sparrow Trilogy careens between Russia, France, Hong Kong, Turkey, Greece, Italy, and the United States as these two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of deception and a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens both their careers and consumes intelligence agencies from Moscow to the highest offices in the US government. In each book they confront not only the shadows and intrigues of the Russian and American intelligence networks but highly trained, cold-blooded killers assigned to destroy them. With a plot ripped from tomorrow’s headlines, and written with sophisticated brio, The Red Sparrow Trilogy has been hailed as a monumental accomplishment “as suspenseful and cinematic as the best spy movies” (The Philadelphia Inquirer); “fans of the genre’s masters including John le Carré and Ian Fleming will happily embrace Matthews’s central spy” (USA TODAY). Collected together, the three novels form a stunning masterwork of suspense, intrigue, sex, and violence.
Good Days Start With Gratitude: A 52 Week Guide To Cultivate An Attitude Of Gratitude
Pretty Simple Press - 2017
The Mountain's Morning Song
William Graney - 2019
They know that a day of reckoning is approaching, but events in the United States, and around the world, cause an acceleration of the timeline.La Société de la Frontière Ouverte must awaken and prepare for the exodus.
ആദം | Aadam
S. Hareesh
DC Books' catalog primarily includes books in Malayalam literature, and also children's literature, poetry, reference, biography, self-help, yoga, management titles, and foreign translations.
How can you judge me
Robert Cost - 2015
Before you try to judge or condemn me like you walked in my shoes or experienced half the pain I had to endure, First read my story! My life was far from a fairy tale. I've been victimized, falsely imprisoned, and crossed by everyone I knew. My journey to finding love and having everything go wrong in the process has changed me. I had no choice but to fight... Fight for a love I so desperately wanted but was never worthy enough to find. A love that ultimately altered my mental for the worst!My prayers went unanswered!My cries weren't noticed!My plea for salvation was denied!After the numerous trial and tribulations I had to endure... And being the product of such an horrific environment... There's only one question I want to know. "Am I wrong for turning into the person I've become?"
The Last Maasai Warrior
Frank Coates - 2008
Seven years later, that promise is broken, and the Maasai must choose between war with a powerful enemy and a perilous trek to the land allocated them by the government. Ole Sadera has risen from village scapegoat to leadership of his people. Now, they look to him for answers, while he struggles with betrayal and rapid change - and his desire for another man's wife. British administrator George Coll arrives in East Africa to face impossible choices of his own. How can he do the job he has been given and stay silent? And how can he ask the woman he loves to share an uncertain future? The Maasai gather to make their historic decision...and an Empire holds its breath.
My Hard Bargain
Walter Kirn - 1990
The exalted, memorable characters in Kirn's acclaimed debut short story col lection confront the real hard bargains in life that spring up from the business of simply living, and Kirn transforms these hard-luck stories into strapping moral lessons which evoke the bonds that unite us all.