SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE The stories of Kseniya Melnik`s debut collection are small-town miracles, each a miniature epic. Their focus is Magadan, a town in the Northern Far East of Russia, & the unvisited lives of its inhabitants & emigrants
- schoolchildren, doctors, teachers, mothers, daughters. Some characters span several stories. Some of their stories span decades & continents. The measure of their telling, though, is invariably the measure of everyday existence. Their dramas, too, are made from"idian stuff, each life with its own sly or suppressed tragedies, & its brief, often unexpected ecstasies. Kseniya Melnik`s sensibility is sober & humorous; her stories are moving & funny. In their patient, deliberate unfolding
- at once surprising & convincing
- & in the fitness of their details
- vital because they are suggestive
- we sense, above all, an assurance that is dazzling.




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Smuggling has been a way of life in Galicia for millennia. The Romans considered its windswept coast the edge of the world. To the Greeks it was from where Charon ferried souls to the Underworld. Since the Middle Ages, its shoreline has scuppered thousands of pirate ships. But the history of Cape Finisterre is no fiction & by the late twentieth century a new & exotic cargo flooded the cape`s ports & fishing villages. In Snow on the Atlantic, the book the Spanish national court tried to ban, intrepid investigative journalist Nacho Carretero tells the incredible story of how a sleepy, unassuming corner of Spain became the cocaine gateway into Europe, exposing a new generation of criminals, cartels & corrupt officials, more efficient & ruthless than any who came before. ...

` To those who went to the War straight from school & survived it, the problem of what to do afterwards was peculiarly difficult.` For H.W. ` Bill` Tilman, the solution lay in Africa: in gold prospecting, mountaineering & a 3, 000-mile bicycle ride across the continent. Tilman was one of the greatest adventurers of his time, a pioneering climber & sailor who held exploration above all else. He made first ascents throughout the Himalaya, attempted Mount Everest, & sailed into the Arctic Circle. For Tilman, the goal was always to explore, to see new places, to discover rather than conquer. First published in 1937, Snow on the Equator chronicles Tilman`s early adventures; his transition from East African coffee planter to famed mountaineer. After World War I, Tilman left for Africa, where he grew coffee, prospected for gold & met Eric Shipton, the two beginning their famed mountaineering partnership, traversing Mount Kenya & climbing Kilimanjaro & Ruwenzori. Tilman eventually left Africa in typically adventurous style via a 3, 000-mile solo bicycle ride across the continent-all recounted here in splendidly funny style. Tilman is one of the greatest of all travel writers. His books are well-informed & keenly observed, concerned with places & people as much as summits & achievements. They are full of humour & anecdotes & are frequently hilarious. He is part of the great British tradition of comic writing & there is nobody else quite like him. ...

In the frozen Antarctic, one curious little penguin decides to explore the ice & the snow & the sea. On his travels he sees two blue whales, a family of sea lions & a whole school of orca, but soon Penguin starts to miss his own family. Sometimes coming home is the best adventure of all. Told in rhyming couplets, this feel-good book is perfect for bedtimes & cuddle-up times. From bestselling author Tony Mitton, & beautifully illustrated by Alison Brown. ...

This title features two beautiful, compassionate animal stories from the snowy north, ” The Rainbow Bear & Little Albatross”, by internationally bestselling ” War Horse” author, Michael Morpurgo. Collected together for the first time & featuring Michael Foreman`s original stunning illustrations, this is a gem of a book to be enjoyed over & over again. ...

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing & reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. With skin as white as snow, lips as red as roses, & hair as black as ebony, Snow White soon arouses the jealousy of her wicked stepmother. Hidden away in the forest, can she escape the evil queen with the help of her new friends? ...

” Mirror, mirror on the wall, Who is the fairest of them all?” First Stories: Snow White is the perfect introduction, for young children, to this classic fairy tale. Push, pull & turn mechanisms bring the story to life & introduce all the main characters: Snow White, the dwarfs, the huntsman, the prince & of course the wicked queen. This well-loved fairy tale is beautifully imagined for a new generation by children`s illustrator Dan Taylor. Also available: Alice in Wonderland ...

The classic story of Snow White gets a fresh twist in this vibrant Japanese spin on the beloved fairy tale! Once upon a time, there was a princess called Snow White. She lived in a magnificent castle with her stepmother, a beautiful but wicked queen... The classic tale of Snow White gets a fresh twist in this debut title of a br&-new board book series, Once Upon a World. With Japan as the backdrop, & beautiful artwork from Japanese illustrator Misa Saburi, Snow White is still the same girl who meets seven dwarves & accepts a shiny red apple-but she`s totally reimagined. Once Upon a World offers a multicultural take on the fairy tales we all know & love. Because these tales are for everyone, everywhere. ...

In a small town in Germany a boy is accused of murdering his beautiful girlfriend. But this is no fairy story.. . On a September evening eleven years ago, two 17-year-old girls vanished without a trace from the tiny village of Altenhain, just outside Frankfurt. In a trial based on circumstantial evidence 20-year-old Tobias Sartorius was convicted & imprisoned for the murder of his childhood friend Laura & his beautiful girlfriend Stefanie -- otherwise known as Snow White. After serving his sentence, Tobias returns home. His presence in the little German village stirs up the events of the past. Events that the locals would prefer to remain hidden. When the Sartorius family is subjected to a number of attacks, Detective Inspector Pia Kirchhoff & DS Oliver von Bodenstein are tasked with monitoring the tense atmosphere in the tight-knit community. As the village inhabitants close ranks it becomes apparent the disappearance of Snow White & her friend was far more complex than imagined. Then history starts to repeat itself in a disastrous manner when another pretty girl goes missing. The police are thrown into a race against time. Can they solve the mystery before it's too late? ...

`A must for mystery fans.. .great customer reviews` The Bookseller The huge international bestseller -- with over 3 million copies sold. On a wet November day, Detectives Pia Kirchoff & Oliver von Bodenstein are summoned to the scene of a mysterious accident. A woman has fallen from a bridge onto the motorway below. It seems that she may have been pushed. The investigation leads them to a small town near Frankfurt, & the home of the victim, Rita Cramer. On a September evening eleven years earlier, two seventeen-year-old girls, Laura & Stefanie (also known as Snow White), vanished without trace from this same village. In a trial based entirely on circumstantial evidence, Stefanie`s boyfriend, handsome & talented, Tobias Sartorius, was sentenced to ten years in prison. He has now returned to his home in an attempt to clear his name. Rita Cramer is his mother. In the village, Pia & Oliver encounter a wall of silence. But when another young girl goes missing, the events of the past repeat themselves in a disastrous manner. The investigation turns into a dramatic race against time, because for the villagers, there is soon no doubt as to the identity of the perpetrator. And this time they are determined to take matters into their own hands. ` Ms Neuhaus is Germany`s top-selling crime novelist, & her work is catching on throughout Europe` Wall Street Journal ...