Tag Archives: Books

In My Hands Today…

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A Bollywood Affair – Sonali Dev

Mili Rathod hasn’t seen her husband in twenty years—not since she was promised to him at the age of four. Yet marriage has allowed Mili a freedom rarely given to girls in her village. Her grandmother has even allowed her to leave India and study in America for eight months, all to make her the perfect modern wife. Which is exactly what Mili longs to be—if her husband would just come and claim her.

Bollywood’s favorite director, Samir Rathod, has come to Michigan to secure a divorce for his older brother. Persuading a naïve village girl to sign the papers should be easy for someone with Samir’s tabloid-famous charm. But Mili is neither a fool nor a gold-digger. Open-hearted yet complex, she’s trying to reconcile her independence with cherished traditions. And before he can stop himself, Samir is immersed in Mili’s life—cooking her dal and rotis, escorting her to her roommate’s elaborate Indian wedding, and wondering where his loyalties and happiness lie.

In My Hands Today…

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The Strangler Vine – M.J. Carter 

Calcutta 1837. The East India Company rules India – or most of it; and its most notorious and celebrated son, Xavier Mountstuart, has gone missing.

William Avery, a down-at-heel junior officer in the Company’s army, is sent to find him, in the unlikely company of the enigmatic and uncouth Jeremiah Blake. A more mismatched duo couldn’t be imagined, but they must bury their differences as they are caught up in a search that turns up too many unanswered questions and seems bound to end in failure.

What was it that so captivated Mountstuart about the Thugs, the murderous sect of Kali-worshippers who strangle innocent travellers by the roadside? Who is Jeremiah Blake and can he be trusted? And why is the whole enterprise shrouded in such secrecy?

In the dark heart of Company India, Avery will have to fight for his very life, and in defence of a truth he will wish he had never learned.

In My Hands Today…

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Such a Long Journey – Rohinton Mistry

It is Bombay in 1971, the year India went to war over what was to become Bangladesh. A hard-working bank clerk, Gustad Noble is a devoted family man who gradually sees his modest life unravelling. His young daughter falls ill; his promising son defies his father’s ambitions for him. He is the one reasonable voice amidst the ongoing dramas of his neighbours. One day, he receives a letter from an old friend, asking him to help in what at first seems like an heroic mission. But he soon finds himself unwittingly drawn into a dangerous network of deception. Compassionate, and rich in details of character and place, this unforgettable novel charts the journey of a moral heart in a turbulent world of change.

In My Hands Today…

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The Great Indian Novel – Shashi Tharoor

In this award-winning, internationally acclaimed novel, Tharoor has masterfully recast the 2,000 year-old epic, The Mahabharata, with fictional but highly recognizable events and characters from twentieth-century Indian politics. Chronicling the Indian struggle for freedom and independence from Great Britain, Tharoor directs his hilarious satire as much against Indian foibles as the bumbling of the British rulers.

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Straight From the Donkey’s Mouth A Tail of a Greek Island, its People, their Politics – and their Donkeys! – Eleni Trataris Cotton

What is life like on a Greek island? Indigo and turquoise seas, white sands, wine, salads and cheese? Yes, and handsome dark-eyed waiters too! But why not delve deeper and discover the passions, feuds and exuberance of the islanders. Be ready to be charmed, captivated and maybe shocked!

Join Peter and Serena, an English couple, drowning in a quagmire of bureaucracy as they try to start a new life on the island and struggle to get a licence to open a business. Will they make it?

Meet Apollo (brown) and Hortensia (grey), two island donkeys owned by the sadistic Aristides whom Apollo has named Arsie . They see everything as they go with Arsie on his rounds, the effects of draconian government measures to raise money for the country’s debt, the rabid tax evasion, the manipulation of EU grants – everything. Unhindered by human logic their comments are pithy, straight on the mark, acidic even. But will Apollo be able to save himself and Hortensia, and Eleftheris, another farmer, from Arsie’s cruel plans?

Stay awhile with the warm, earthy inhabitants of Paradisaki island and join in the rollicking lifestyle, the fun, the laughter and the tears. Cheer them on in their struggle as they use all their wits to survive the political climate and never lose that determination to live, and live well, come what may.