The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened


Don Robertson - 1977
    But only in one direction—from simple to complicated. When he was nine, Morris Bird III learned the meaning of bravery. Now, at seventeen, he's on the verge of adulthood . . . and he's fallen in love. But it's 1952 and the Korean War hangs over his head like a dangling sword—and his prickly, complicated relationship with his cold and silent father has never been satisfactorily resolved. When Morris's own mortality stares him in the face, he learns what it truly means to become a man. The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened is the final book in Don Robertson's classic trilogy featuring one of the most endearing characters in American literature.

Amy Tan Collection: The Joy Luck Club / The Kitchen God's Wife


Amy Tan - 1998
    She visited China for the first time in 1987 and found it just as her mother had said: "As soon as my feet touched China, I became Chinese".

The Jewel in the Crown


Paul Scott - 1966
    No set of novels so richly recreates the last days of India under British rule--"two nations locked in an imperial embrace"--as Paul Scott's historical tour de force, " The Raj Quartet." "The Jewel in the Crown" opens in 1942 as the British fear both Japanese invasion and Indian demands for independence.

The Curse of Mohenjodaro


Maha Khan Phillips - 2016
    When footage of a team of archaeologists bursting into flames at the ancient site of Mohenjodaro goes viral, the world is horrified and shaken. While authorities suspect it to be an incendiary terrorist attack, Nadia Osbourne determines to find her archaeologist sister, Layla, convinced that she has survived. Her frantic search takes her to the ruins and forces her to confront her own demons – her inexplicable dreams about a woman named Jaya.3800 BC. The city of Meluhha is on the brink of a revolution and Iaf and his coterie of corrupt priests will do anything to maintain their power. Jaya is the only one who can read the Bloodstone, the heart of the Goddess Shakari, and divine the future. But with her daughter under Iaf’s control, will Jaya be able to prevent what is to come?Inspired by the legends surrounding the lost Indus Valley city, The Curse of Mohenjodaro is a gripping thriller about a powerful relic, a sinister cult, and family secrets that haunt generations.Maha Khan Phillips is a multiple award-winning financial journalist, and the author of Beautiful from This Angle and The Mystery of the Aagnee Ruby. She grew up in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a bachelors degree in Politics and International Relations and a masters in International Conflict Analysis from the University of Kent at Canterbury. In 2006, she completed a masters degree in Creative Writing from City University in London, where she currently lives with her husband and son.

To Kill a Mockingbird: The Themes · The Characters · The Language and Style · The Plot Analyzed


Mary Hartley - 1999
    This enlightening guide uses meaningful text, extensive illustrations and imaginative graphics to make this novel clearer, livelier, and more easily understood than ordinary literature plot summaries. An unusual feature, "Mind Map" is a diagram that summarizes and interrelates the most important details about the book that students need to understand. Appropriate for middle and high school students.

Hindustaan: An Epic Adventure of the Mughal Empire


Mainak Dhar - 2011
    That superpower was what we know today as India under the Mughal Empire. Years of internal strife, attacks by Afghan raiders and finally conquest by the British led to the decline and destruction of this mighty empire.But what if India had never been conquered by the British? What if it remained a mighty and prosperous nation under the rule of the Mughal Empire?A nation known as Hindustaan.Dilli, 1857. The Mughal Empire is at the peak of its power and is gearing up to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of its victory over the British, an occasion where the popular Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar is widely expected to announce his successor. The Empire is thrown into sudden chaos when the Emperor is assassinated and a new regime seizes power in a bloody coup. In this maelstrom, three unlikely companions find themselves thrown together by fate. Ranveer, a young officer in the elite Mughal cavalry, who is now hunted by the very Empire he served; Theo, a rakish English traveller with a mysterious past and Maya, a beautiful and spirited Princess they rescue. Together, they embark on a series of dramatic adventures across Hindustaan. A journey that takes them from bloody skirmishes with Afghan raiders, rescue missions in remote forts, joining a coalition of rulers who band together against the new despotic regime to protect their independence, and finally back into the heart of Dilli for a dramatic mission.The stage is set for a monumental struggle that will decide not just their fate, but that of the whole of Hindustaan.

Let Love Come Last


Taylor Caldwell - 1949
    . . Even when, brutally overriding her refined sensibility, he imprisoned her in a mansion of overwhelming opulence, an accursed house that brought all who lived there grief. . . Even when, before her eyes, she saw him destroying their children with his misguided indulgence. . . For here was a man more powerful, more truly gigantic than any she had ever known, a man she knew she would love until death. . .

The Flower Girls


Dee Williams - 2012
    The twins are the apple of their parents' eye, and each other's best friend - they always know what the other is thinking. Feisty Rose has a more rebellious nature than her sister, but it's never before interfered with their closeness. However, Rose's secret dissatisfaction with her humdrum lifestyle reaches a head when she meets the rich and handsome Rodger. To the shock of the Flowers family, she elopes with him to Gretna Green. Once Rose has the money and glamour she's always craved, nothing will persuade her to contact her family again; not even her father's death. And then, in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, everything changes. With her charmed life in shreds and with no one left to turn to, Rose is determined to build bridges those she has hurt the most. But can forgiveness be sought so easily - and can she ever truly escape her troubled past?

An Artist of the Floating World & The Remains of the Day


Kazuo Ishiguro - 2000
    

In the Time of Famine


Michael Grant - 2011
    The British government called the famine an act of God. The Irish called it genocide. By any name the famine caused the death of over one million men, women, and children by starvation and disease. Another two million were forced to flee the country. With the famine as a backdrop, this is a story about two families as different as coarse wool and fine silk. Michael Ranahan, the son of a tenant farmer, dreams of breaking his bondage to the land and going to America. The passage money has been saved. He’s made up his mind to go. And then—the blight strikes and Michael must put his dream on hold. The landlord, Lord Somerville, is a compassionate man who struggles to preserve a way of life without compromising his ideals. To add to his troubles, he has to deal with a recalcitrant daughter who chafes at being forced to live in a country of “bog runners.”In The Time Of Famine is a story of survival. It’s a story of duplicity. But most of all, it’s a story of love and sacrifice.

Untouchable


Mulk Raj Anand - 1935
    This novel describes a day in the life of Bakha, sweeper and toilet-cleaner, as he searches for a meaning to the tragic existence he has been born into - and comes to an unexpected conclusion.

Stinger


John Nichol - 1999
    But when a passenger plane is shot down by a stinger missile, the ghosts of a past conflict return to haunt him, and Sean is again forced into the cauldron of war.

The Fakir


Sunil Gangopadhyay - 2008
    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.

Wartime Girls


Anne Baker - 2014
    In a cruel twist of Fate, Susie discovers she is carrying Danny's child and, shunned by his parents, she turns to her mother for support. Louise Ingram, widowed during the First World War, knows how hard it is to bring up a family alone, but with the help of her eldest daughter, Martha, who lives next door, they manage to survive. When little Rosie is born there is no doubt that she is Danny's daughter, but it is destined to take many more years of heartache before the two families are united again...

The Painter of Signs


R.K. Narayan - 1976
    A man of simple, rational ways, he lives with his pious aunt and prides himself on his creative work. But all that changes when he meets Daisy, a thrillingly independent young woman who wishes to bring birth control to the area. Hired to create signs for her clinics, Raman finds himself smitten by a love he cannot understand, much less avoid-and soon realizes that life isn't so routine anymore. Set in R. K. Narayan's fictional city of Malgudi, The Painter of Signs is a wry, bittersweet treasure.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.