As she grows from an impetuous; spirited child to a lonely young woman; Swati is witness to the upheavals and joys of the Mitra family even as the country slides towards the promise of independence and the inevitability of war.Anxious to ensure that his daughters find suitable husbands; Rajen-babu realizes it is only a matter of time before his favourite child too must leave home. While the boorish entrepreneur Prabir Majumdar decides that she will make him a fitting wife; Swati finds herself increasingly drawn to Satyen; the young professor who introduces her to a world of books and the heady poetry of Tagore and Coleridge.First published in Bengali as Tithidore in 1949; When the Time Is Right is a moving tale of a family and a nation.

    He describes, without a trace of self-pity, the spartan life he had to lead under his father′s instruction. The sense of wonder and delight in the seemingly commonplace experiences of boyhood helped him become a great poet.

    She is addicted to the feeling of being on stage, looking out at expectant, up-turned mouths, waiting for the first laugh to hit. A first laugh that will not happen unless she creates it. But Brenda is clueless. The on-off girlfriend of a prolific comedian, it is only after she realises his best stage material consists of recycled versions of her own restless, smart-arsed energy that she begins to wonder whether she might be better off keeping her jokes for herself - and so she finds herself making her very first walk to the mark on stage in front of a bare brick wall, with just a spotlight and a PA system for cover, wondering what we all wonder from time to time: am I funny? A book as much about the thrill of performance as it is about what goes on when the microphone is switched off, Brenda Monk is Funny is a blackly humourous and devastatingly candid snapshot of the reality, the brutality and fragility of the comedy industry from an exciting new voice in fiction.

    Not wanting to surrender the package to the Post Office Kate opens it with the good intention of finding its owner. Through her search she elicits the help of a young British visitor and together they embark on a search for a missing heir and a family fortune. Kate’s personal loss of her fiancé Evan and feelings of guilt for having survived prevents her from forming any attachment to the young man helping her. Through the letters in the package Kate and her co-conspirator discover the life of a Boer War Lieutenant and a WWII Captain. Together the lives of these two men lead Kate to their descendant, heir and fortune.

    They opened up new worlds and cast light on all the complexities she encountered in this one.She was whisked away to Narnia – and Kirrin Island – and Wonderland. She ventured down rabbit holes and womble burrows into midnight gardens and chocolate factories. She wandered the countryside with Milly-Molly-Mandy, and played by the tracks with the Railway Children. With Charlotte’s Web she discovered Death and with Judy Blume it was Boys. No wonder she only left the house for her weekly trip to the library or to spend her pocket money on amassing her own at home.In Bookworm, Lucy revisits her childhood reading with wit, love and gratitude. She relives our best-beloved books, their extraordinary creators, and looks at the thousand subtle ways they shape our lives. She also disinters a few forgotten treasures to inspire the next generation of bookworms and set them on their way.Lucy brings the favourite characters of our collective childhoods back to life – prompting endless re-readings, rediscoveries, and, inevitably, fierce debate – and brilliantly uses them to tell her own story, that of a born, and unrepentant, bookworm.

    Despite being part of the country's small Hindu community, that is terrorized at every opportunity by Muslim fundamentalists, they refuse to leave their country, as most of their friends and relatives have done. Sudhamoy, an atheist, believes with a naive mix of optimism and idealism that his motherland will not let him down... And then, on 6 December 1992, the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in India is demolished by a mob of Hindu fundamentalists. The world condemns the incident but its fallout is felt most acutely in Bangladesh, where Muslim mobs begin to seek out and attack the Hindus... The nightmare inevitably arrives at the Duttas' doorstep - and their world begins to fall apart.

    A rare treasure of true stories that offer a deep insight into the glamorous and sensuous Lives of the Indian and European Maharanis of India. Intriguing as well as valuable. Maharani is at once a historical romance and a sociological document, as it vividly recounts a bygone era, an era perhaps never to return again. The author served Indian Maharajas for over 50 years accompanying them on their amorous trips to private retreats in India and abroad. He brilliantly recounts the extraordinary lives of the Maharanis of the richest Men the World has ever seen."

    Does it herald the apocalyptic departure of the gods or is there a more rational explanation? The Kahars, inhabitants of Hansuli Turn, belong to an untouchable "criminal tribe" soon to be epically transformed by the effects of World War II and India's independence movement. Their headman, Bonwari, upholds the ethics of an older time, but his fragile philosophy proves no match for the overpowering machines of war. As Bonwari and the village elders come to believe the gods have abandoned them, younger villagers led by the rebel Karali look for other meanings and a different way of life.As the two factions fight, codes of authority, religion, sex, and society begin to break down, and amid deadly conflict and natural disaster, Karali seizes his chance to change his people's future. Sympathetic to the desires of both older and younger generations, Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay depicts a difficult transition in which a marginal caste fragments and mutates under the pressure of local and global forces. The novel's handling of the language of this rural society sets it apart from other works of its time, while the village's struggles anticipate the dilemmas of rural development, ecological and economic exploitation, and dalit militancy that would occupy the center of India's post-Independence politics.Negotiating the colonial depredations of the 1939-45 war and the oppressions of an agrarian caste system, the Kahars both fear and desire the consequences of a revolutionized society and the loss of their culture within it. Lyrically rendered by one of India's great novelists, this story of one people's plight dramatizes the anxieties of a nation and the resistance of some to further marginalization.

    In this brave and searingly frank memoir, she describes those first horrifying moments and her long journey since. She has written an engrossing, unsentimental, beautifully poised account: as she struggles through the first months following the tragedy, furiously clenched against a reality that she cannot face and cannot deny; and then, over the ensuing years, as she emerges reluctantly, slowly allowing her memory to take her back through the rich and joyous life she’s mourning, from her family’s home in London, to the birth of her children, to the year she met her English husband at Cambridge, to her childhood in Colombo; all the while learning the difficult balance between the almost unbearable reminders of her loss and the need to keep her family, somehow, still alive within her.

    There are many legends about this man, but nothing definite is known about him. The famous Bengali writer, Sunil Gangopadhyay has pieced together this interesting biography, The Fakir, based on many legends.Lalan Fakir united people of different communities through his simple songs that expressed love of mankind and of God, without adhering to any particular religious creed or any traditional spiritual school. His simple teachings alienated the orthodox communities of Hindus and Muslims. But, he inspired thousands of simple folk who were attracted by his songs and by his universal message of love and hope.His simple compositions have since passed into folklore, and his uncomplicated message attracted people of different communities and bound them together during a time of strife and feudal oppression. But, there is no written record of the life history of this mystic. The Fakir is written based on the many legends that abound about him. The author describes Lalan Fakir as a simple young man whose gift of a sweet voice attracts the patronage of a local landlord.While on a pilgrimage with his patron, Lalu contracts smallpox and is presumed dead. His body is set afloat in the river Ganga. However, the young man is rescued and cared for by a Muslim lady. Due to these incidents in his life, he is considered an outcast by the both Hindu and Muslim communities.Based on these life experiences, Lalu then learns and amalgamates the teachings of various religions and preaches a universal path that does not subscribe to any traditionally defined beliefs. He is revered as Lalan Fakir and attracts a huge number of followers.

    Second families must go into hiding or be arrested. There is even a finder's fee for those who turn in their own. Ten-year-old Mary's father, a poor farmer, abandons Mary, her nearly-blind mother, and six brothers and sisters in the hills of the Wasatch Mountains to live in a shallow dugout not much better than a cave. Close to starving, the family is rescued by a nearby polygamist. As the much older man's intentions become more threatening, Mary finds it harder and harder to resist his proposal of marriage. Her family and friends, even her own mother, turn away from her. During the six-year period, from Mary's childhood to a forced marriage at sixteen, Mary must first survive, and then choose her fate. This is the story of survival, love, and compassion in a sometimes heartless existence. It is also the story of Mary's deep conflict with the Church's teachings on plural marriage, and with her father, who has abandoned them. Based on a true story."...filled with rich description that makes its early 20th-century setting and people come alive." -The Salt Lake Tribune"...an emotionally wrenching narrative out of U.S. history."-Kirkus Reviews

    When massive warehouses surrounded by metal fencing seem to go up overnight, local businesses are bought out, and more than 6,000 families establish residence in a community named Kingdom Come, the FBI begins to suspect cult activity. Agent Ben Atkins is sent to investigate, and though he does sense something major happening, he is not convinced it is sinister. In fact, as he moves in for a closer look, he begins to wonder if those on the inside of Kingdom Come are working to keep evil out. But time is running short for him to discover the truth, as unexpected enemies-law enforcement agencies, media groups, and even the church hierarchy-threaten the community's existence.

    In fact, it is two inter-related stories in one novel set in different timeframes, namely the past and the present. An Irish genealogist called Jed is commissioned by Tim, an American client, who needs to understand more about his mysterious maternal ancestry. Fate had dictated that Tim never got the chance to meet his grandparents, and he didn't even know the name of his mother's father. She refused to tell Tim, even on her death bed. Why? That was a question which troubled Tim as he witnessed his mother's melancholy throughout his adult life, and after her death he resolved to find some answers - and some peace of mind.It was also a question which intrigued Jed after he learned that Tim's grandfather simply "disappeared". No death record, no burial - nothing. Jed identifies the "missing" grandfather to be Merrill Harrison. Within weeks, Jed becomes obsessed with Merrill's life, as he embarks on a personal crusade to find Merrill's resting place on Tim's behalf. More fundamentally, Jed needs to fully understand the complex twists and turns linked to Merrill's existence and eventual disappearance which take the Irish researcher on a fascinating trail stretching back to the pioneering immigrants of Midwest America all the way to the White House during WWII.A web of worrying deceit woven by Tim's ancestors is gradually unraveled. Once hidden family secrets are exposed. Jed turns from genealogist into cold case detective as he comes to the conclusion that multiple criminal misdeeds have been covered up ... but where is Merrill?

    Renovating the home, Dock stumbles upon a treasure trove of Civil War memorabilia squirreled away in an old root cellar, including pictures and possibly even a recording of Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg. As he's forced to defend his new find from the onslaught of collectors, history buffs, and media hounds, Dock discovers that, much like Honest Abe himself, he's the right man for the fight--independent, funny, loyal, and stubborn as a Missouri mule. When the scallywags and opportunists--including an easy-on-the-eyes television reporter with one hell of an attitude--start crawling out of the woodwork, he'll need all of that and a bit more.

    In 2009, she saw an advertisement for a job at the University of Iceland and applied on a whim, despite having two young children and a comfortable life in an English cathedral city. The resulting adventure was shaped by Iceland's economic collapse, which halved the value of her salary, by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and by a collection of new friends, including a poet who saw the only bombs fall on Iceland in 1943, a woman who speaks to elves and a chef who guided Sarah's family around the intricacies of Icelandic cuisine.Sarah was drawn to the strangeness of Icelandic landscape, and explored hillsides of boiling mud, volcanic craters and fissures, and the unsurfaced roads that link remote farms and fishing villages in the far north. She walked the coast path every night after her children were in bed, watching the northern lights and the comings and goings of migratory birds. As the weeks and months went by, the children settled in local schools and Sarah got to know her students and colleagues, she and her family learned new ways to live.