Tag Archives: Fiction

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

Everything Is Illuminated – Jonathan Safran Foer

256566

A young man arrives in the Ukraine, clutching in his hand a tattered photograph. He is searching for the woman who fifty years ago saved his grandfather from the Nazis.

Unfortunately, however, he is aided in his quest by Alex, a translator with an uncanny ability to mangle English into new forms; a ‘blind’ old man haunted by memories of the war; and an undersexed guide dog named Sammy Davis, Jr, Jr. What they are looking for seems elusive – a truth hidden behind veils of time, language and the horrors of war. What they find turns all their worlds upside down…

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Venetian Betrayal – Steve Berry

1178039

Locating Alexander the Great’s final resting place-unknown to this day-remains a tantalizing goal for both archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for this coveted prize is about to heat up. After narrowly escaping a fire that consumes a Danish museum, Cotton Malone-former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer-learns from his friend, the beguiling adventurer Cassiopeia Vitt, that the blaze was part of a campaign of arson intended to mask a far more diabolical design.

From the ashes of the U.S.S.R., a new nation has arisen: the Central Asian Federation. At its helm is Supreme Minister Irina Zovastina, a cunning despot with the single-minded desire to surpass Alexander the Great as history’s ultimate conqueror. The Federation has amassed a harrowing arsenal of biological weapons, and only one thing keeps Zovastina from setting in motion her death march of domination: a miraculous healing serum, kept secret by an ancient puzzle and buried with the mummified remains of Alexander the Great-in a tomb lost to the ages for more than 1,500 years.

Together, Cotton and Cassiopeia must outrun and outthink the forces allied against them in order to unravel a riddle whose solution could destroy or save millions of people depending on who finds the lost tomb first.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Martian – Andy Weir

18007564

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get the word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

The Taj Conspiracy – Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

15422137

Mughal scholar Mehrunisa Khosa stumbles on a conspiracy to destroy the Taj Mahal when she discovers the murder of the Taj supervisor, and the Quranic calligraphy on the tomb of Queen Mumtaz altered to suggest a Hindu origin of the Taj Mahal….

That urban legend had always existed. Now, though, someone was conspiring to make it come true. In the case of the famed marble monument, all was not on the surface. A vast labyrinth ran underneath closed to visitors where Mehrunisa was trapped once.

In a series of suspenseful twists and turns, the action traverses from the serene splendour of Taj Mahal to the virulent warrens of Taj Ganj, from intrigue-laden corridors of Delhi to snowy Himalayan hideouts….

As a right-wing Hindu party ratchets up its communal agenda and Islamic militants plot a terror attack, in the dark corners of his devious mind a behrupiya, a shapeshifter, is conniving to divide the nation in two. To save the Taj Mahal, Mehrunisa must overcome a prejudiced police and battle her inner demons as she sifts the multiple strands that lead to the conspirator.

In My Hands Today…

Posted on by
Reply

Fistful of Colours – Suchen Christine Lim

2925120

Fistful of Colours is an elegant, multi-layered reflection on Singapore as experienced through one day in the life of Ong Suwen, a young teacher in search of her identity as a woman and an artist.

Peering into the rich history of her stepfather’s family, Suwen uncovers and reveals the hopes and struggles of Singapore’s first generation of immigrants and residents – from Chinese collies, Indian doctors and Malay waiters. It tells the story of the protagonist Suwen against the backdrop of Singapore culture at different times while interweaving the lives and histories of her family members and friends.

Readers are drawn into the rich culture of the different races; Baba, Chinese, Malay, Indian and the Westerners, while empathizing with the characters in the novel as they either suppress themselves or try to break social forces within the fixed social construct.

Nica goes against her father’s wish for her to be a doctor, choosing rather pursue her passion as an artist. Janice faces objection from her family as she decides to marry a Malay journalist. The novel shows how Suwen and her friends deal with external expectations, and at the end of the day, makes choices that lead to self-discovery.