Set in 1980s Bombay. Shyam Lal is a highly regarded voice teacher, trained in the classical idiom, but happily engaged in teaching the more popular songs to well-to-do women whose modern way of life he covets. Sixteen-year-old Nirmalya Sengupta is the romantically rebellious scion of an affluent family, and wants only to study Indian classical music. With a little push from Nirmalya’s mother, Shyam agrees to accept Nirmalya as his student, entering into a relationship that will have unexpected and lasting consequences in both their lives.
We Recommend
An informative, comprehensive account of one woman's rise in the literary underground. Influential San Francisco poet Diane Di Palma explores the first three decades of her extraordinary life. This memoir chronicles the intense, creative collisions of those years, as the Beat movement emerged on both coasts and America accelerated into the 1960s.
The story of a fallen angel and a 19th century vintner from Burgundy who become lovers. A tender tale of their relationship that becomes a kind of cautionary tale for angels who fall in love with humans and humans who love immortals.
An honest and lyrical memoir of a prairie upbringing by my favourite poet – an unflinching look at her difficult relationship with her alcoholic father and how she was guided by her mother who stayed tough and true throughout years of poverty and embarrassment. Particularly beautiful are the passages where she is coming to terms with her mother’s death.
In a dark, parallel, Dickensian universe, a huge birdlike being hires a hard-edged scientist to replace the wings he has lost, and together they battle creatures of unspeakable horror. This big, sprawling steampunk novel is a work of exquisite, fast-paced imagination which is not for the faint of heart.
Pulitzer Prize winning poet and environmental scholar Snyder has collected over a decade of insightful writings on topics ranging from Paleolithic cave art to his friend Allen Ginsberg to contemporary forest management.
When Christian Huxley follows the trail of his missing brother into Ryhope Wood, he enters another world, where he and his brother become rivals for the beautiful huntress, Mythago.
A Perfect Red recounts the colourful history of cochineal, a legendary red dye that was once one of the world's most precious commodities.
Alex and Ruth decide they must sell their New York apartment because they can no longer handle the stairs, but their beloved daschund Dorothy suddenly becomes ill, and there is news that a gasoline truck is mysteriously stuck in the Midtown tunnel. New York is plunged into turmoil over speculation about the truck and its driver, and the three characters are thrown into its midst. Strengthened by their love for one another, Alex, Ruth and Dorothy face each new challenge with courage, integrity and aplomb.
Paul Theroux, now an older "witness to the wobbling world," repeats the train trip he took through Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, China, Japan and Siberia 30 years ago in the Great Railway Bazaar. Theroux has strong opinions about the political and economic changes he sees this time round, but it is the conversations he has with fellow travellers, local residents and writers that make this book so interesting.
The story of two immensely compelling characters: Will Bird, a legendary Cree bush pilot who lies comatose in a remote Ontario hospital; and Annie Bird, Will's niece, a beautiful loner and trapper who has come to sit beside her uncle's bed. A powerful novel of contemporary Aboriginal life, full of the dangers and harsh beauty of both forest and city.
In this wise and often funny book, a philosopher/mechanic systematically destroys the pretensions of the high-prestige workplace and makes an irresistible case for working with one's hands. Crawford offers a brief for self-reliance and a sustained reflection on living concretely in an ever more abstract world.
Gwenni Morgan flies in her dreams to escape the painful secrets of her own family. As Gwenni moves from childhood to adolescence, she learns that the small Welsh town she lives in harbours many secrets and that while some secrets should be exposed, some secrets are best kept close to your heart.
Exquisite wood creations built for life among the tree tops, complete with sketches and basic plans. Translated from the French and full of large, colour photographs, this publication is a delight for the eye and the imagination.
Genealogist Nigel Barnes’s second case leads him into the dark heart of the Mormon church and a gruesome, century-old secret.
The captivating and amusing account of 25 books that have influenced the life of bibliophile Rick Gekoski.
Spending unfulfilling days working in a fabric shop in Amritsar, Ramchand is sent to a new part of the city to show samples to a wealthy family, an experience that introduces him to a different way of life and compels him to pursue the hopeful dreams of his childhood.
The Scalpel and the Soul explores how premonition, superstition, hope and faith not only become factors in how patients feel, but also can change outcomes.
Chabon recreates 10th century Khazaria, located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The novel follows two Jewish bandits, Amram and Zelikman, who get caught up in a plot to restore a displaced prince to the throne.
Crobots features a 20-strong army of adorable Japanese crocheted robots. The pattern for each design is simple enough for crochet novices, yet can be adapted to keep the experts interested and amused.
Morph your old, unwanted wheels into fabulous, fully functional vehicles. Instructions and plans for more than 13 projects.
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