Julie Otsuka`s ” The Buddha in the Attic”, the follow-up to ” When the Emperor Was Divine” was shortlisted for the 2011 National Book Award for Fiction & the 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, & winner of the Pen Faulkner Award for Fiction 2012. Between the first & second world wars a group of young, non-English-speaking Japanese women travelled by boat to America. They were picture brides, clutching photos of husbands-to-be whom they had yet to meet. Julie Otsuka tells their extraordinary, heartbreaking story in this spellbinding & poetic account of strangers lost & alone in a new & deeply foreign l&. ” Sweeping, symphonic, empathic.. .subtle, infinitely skilful.. .an exhilarating, compulsive read. Otsuka`s haunting, heartbreaking conclusion, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, is faultless”. (” Daily Mail”). ”A tender, nuanced, empathetic exploration of the sorrows & consolations of a whole generation of women.. .the distaff equivalent of a war memorial”. (” Daily Telegraph”). ”A haunting & heartbreaking look at the immigrant experience... Otsuka`s keenly observed prose manages to capture whole histories in a sweep of gorgeous incantatory sentences”. (” Marie Claire”).” An understated masterpiece.. .she conjures up the lost voices of a generation of Japanese American women without losing sight of the distinct experience of each”. (” San Francisco Chronicle”). Julie Otsuka was born & raised in California. She is the author of the novel ” When the Emperor Was Divine”, & a recipient of the Asian American Literary Award, the American Library Association Alex Award, & a Guggenheim fellowship. Her second novel, ” The Buddha in the Attic”, was nominated for the 2011 National Book Award. She lives in New York City. ...

Karim lives with his Mum & Dad in a suburb of south London & dreams of making his escape to the bright lights of the big city. But his father is no ordinary Dad, he is `the buddha of suburbia`, a strange & compelling figure whose powers of meditation hold a circle of would-be mystics spellbound with the fascinations of the East. Among his disciples is the glamorous & ambitious Eva, & when `the buddha of suburbia` runs off with her to a crumbling flat in Barons Court, Karim`s life becomes changed in ways that even he had never dreamed of. ...

” My name is Karim Amir, & I am an Englishman born & bred, almost...” The hero of Hanif Kureishi`s debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London & experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving
- albeit with some rude & raucous results. With the publication of Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice & a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.
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” My name is Karim Amir, & I am an Englishman born & bred, almost...”. The hero of Hanif Kureishi`s debut novel is dreamy teenager Karim, desperate to escape suburban South London & experience the forbidden fruits which the 1970s seem to offer. When the unlikely opportunity of a life in the theatre announces itself, Karim starts to win the sort of attention he has been craving
- albeit with some rude & raucous results. With the publication of Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi landed into the literary landscape as a distinct new voice & a fearless taboo-breaking writer. The novel inspired a ground-breaking BBC series featuring a soundtrack by David Bowie.
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This title is about the `other` decimated twin Wonders of the World & the tragic country of Afghanistan. The Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, carved in the sixth century AD, represented two aspects of the Buddha, universal & historical. In March 2001 the Taleban destroyed them. They were massive, 55m & 38m tall, hewn out of the solid rock face & it took weeks to bring them down. The Buddhas have a remarkable story to tell, from their creation at a time when Greek culture left behind by conquest influenced Buddhism to their role in the lead up to the destruction of two other colossi from a different era in New York in that same year. This title about the Buddhas is also a book about Bamiyan, a place that occupies one of the most strategic positions on earth & is also stunningly beautiful. & about the remarkable Hazara people who live in that valley & have played a central historical role in the history of the whole region. It is rare that a historical account of an extraordinary monument can also be of urgent contemporary relevance. ...

When Pepe Carvalho`s uncle asks him to find his son, Raul, in Buenos Aires, Pepe is reluctant. All he knows about Argentina is `tango, Maradona, & the disappeared` & he has no desire to find out more. But family is family & soon Carvalho is in Buenos Aires, getting more caught up in Argentina`s troubled past than is good for anybody. As he gets nearer to finding Raul, he begins to realise the full impact of the traumas caused by a military junta who went so far as to kidnap the children of the political activists they tortured. A few excellent tangos, bottles of Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon & a sexy semiotician are no compensation for the savage brutality Carvalho experiences in his attempt to come to grips with Argentina`s recent history. ...

For over thirty years, Jeannie & Sam Chesterton have lived high in the hills of Spain`s western Andalusia at Finca Buenvino, their welcoming pink farmhouse, which they have run as a guesthouse
- achieving international acclaim for their cooking & also their cookery courses. On their 100-acre estate the Chestertons grow their own organic vegetables, fruits & chestnuts, & raise Iberian pigs which are killed for jamon Iberico, salchichon, & chorizo. violet Andalusian hens, a rare breed which they are helping to conserve, produce fresh eggs for breakfast, & homemade breads & jams are always on the table in the morning. Dinners are a social occasion, with summer dining under the stars, or in winter guests assemble at the table in the panelled dining room. Talk of food is of the essence always!
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Little boy bugs & little girl bugs are so completely different, they just can`t get along.. .can they? See what happens when Little Speckled Bug meets a mysterious new neighbour bug who has a strange but happy effect on him Written & illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, whose charming style of texture, applique & collage has never before been used in children`s books. A simple narrative with lovable characters that celebrates the differences & similarities between girls & boys. The Bug Next Door is one in a series of books by Beatrice Alemagna about the adventures of the little bugs. Other titles: Bugs in a Blanket (June 2009); Bugs in the Garden (August 2011). ...

All at once, it was as if the stars leapt closer. Grandma grabbed the boy, raising him high above the rooftiles on her head. She was alive! The boy`s grandma was a famous architect. Her garden is still full of old building materials. Unwilling to accept she has gone, the boy builds a giant structure from the bricks & girders he finds. & then.. . Grandma comes to life! The boy is whisked away on an epic adventure across fields, through oceans & atop roofs. But where is Grandma taking him? Beautiful, thrilling & extremely moving: the extraordinary debut picture book from much-loved author, Ross Montgomery. ...

From awe-inspiring Norman castles, to the homes we live in, Simon Thurley explores how the architecture of this small island influenced the world. The Building of England puts into context the significance of a country`s architectural history & unearths how it is inextricably linked to the cultural past
- & present. Saxon, Tudor, Georgian, Regency, even Victorian & Edwardian are all well-recognised architectural styles, displaying the influence of the events that mark each period. Thurley looks at how the architecture of England has evolved over a thousand years, uncovering the beliefs, ideas & aspirations of the people who commissioned them, built them & lived in them. He tells the fascinating story of the development of architecture & the advancements in both structural performance & aesthetic effect. Richly illustrated with over 500 drawings, photographs & maps, Simon Thurley traces the history & contemplates the future of the buildings that have made Engl&.
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