Listening for Water and other stories

This is a collection of 19 short stories by author Sandra Wallman.

From the cordial, formal and ludicrous (the authors' words!) interaction between the female protagonist and the old man in the van (complete with his dirty long johns) in the first story, Hitchhiker to the paternalistic eye of Lord Russell as he watches over everyone from children to street people, to tourists, students and office workers,  as they are involved in the Square Dance.

The stories are all real. That is not to say that they are all guaranteed to be 100% genuine incidents, but that they all pass what editor and writer Richard Ingrams used to describe as the "smell test."

They all smell real, having been lovingly and carefully crafted by a master of the short story, Sandra Wallman.

However... however, there might be more than that to some of the stories as they are based upon genuine incidents and are inspired by the lives of people she knows. Names and some fine details have been changed to protect the innocent.

A randy. elderly man, the honouring of the death of a neighbour in France, the horrific moment in time captured forever in the minds of a group of people in San Francisco who witness the plunge of a girl from the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. (Reviewers' note: At least 1600 people have thrown themselves from the bridge, although the true figure is unknowable for several reasons.)

The stories are all perfectly formed, microcosms of life.

Sandra Wallman is Professor Emerita in Anthropology at University College in London, and her anthropological eye has been put to very good use with her first collection of short stories. Hopefully she will be writing more, soon.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and can be purchased at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Hanuman

Hanuman is another in the brightly illustrated and well-written books in  the "Amma Tell Me" series written by Bhakti Mathur and illustrated by Maulshree Somani.

This is the first of a series of three books that tell the story of the character Hanuman, and the Hindu festival of Durga, introducing younger children to the Hindu religion,  yet doing so in a way that is not preachy and also fun.

Bhakti uses rhyming prose to tell the story of Hanuman, from his birth to his attempt to eat the sun (he mistook him for a juicy mango!) his attack by Indra and his miraculous recovery with divine power, strength and intelligence, when Indra repented of what he had done.

And how he forgot his powers until they would be called upon again.

The book helps youngsters to learn about characters from the Hindu religion, such as Anjana, Brahma, Indra, Shiva, Vaanars and Vayu.

It is a colourful, large format book published by Anjana Publishing and is available for purchase here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

For the Last Time They called him a murderer

This is a novel by Janet Kelly which looks at the life of a man who is just coming to the end of his life sentence for taking the life of another person.

Alan looks back over his life, at what he did, what he didn't do, and the sequence of complicated events that brought him to commit the act that earned him a life sentence in jail.

At this point in his life, Alan takes stock of who and what he is, and what brought him to be sitting, reflecting in his cell, after his cellmate and friend Trevor has just been let out of prison.

He wonders why Trevor's wife has remained faithful to him whilst he was incarcerated, yet his own wife and left him for someone else even before he had left the court having been given a life sentence.

The novel is gripping from the first page, as it moves forward and backward through Allan's life, showing that, in a very real sense, any other outcome would have been almost impossible to achieve.

Janet Kelly clearly understands her subject matter and she brings life to the characters who populate this book, which is a compelling and thoughtful read. 

Her first novel, Dear Beneficiary, has had an option for a film taken up on it, due for release later this year. And it would be a surprise if this novel was not also made into a film.

It's published by Bobaloo Books at £7.99 and can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Forgotten in Memory

Forgotten in Memory is a moving and gripping novel that relates the tragic story of three children who face an uphill battle as they attempt to overcome the loss of their parents in an accident.

Yet after nine years the physical pains and the emotional traumas of Joanna, Imogene and Jason are still just as real, the memories of the crash still just as vivid.

Imogene is particularly troubled to the extent that she has become somewhat distanced from her family.

Is it possible that, eventually, they will find some sort of peace, some rapprochement with each other?

Or will the memories of what happened, of who did what and why they did it still rankle and bite at them, keeping them strangely apart and isolated in their common misery?

The book deals with a range of deep subjects, but in a sensitive manner, loss, grief, rivalry, mental illness and more besides.  

I will not reveal any more about this book as it would risk spoiling your reading pleasure, so all I will say in conclusion is that author Chloe Grant-Jones  is a voice that deserves to be heard and I can only suggest,or implore, that you buy this book immediately.

It's published by the Book Guild at £8.99 and you can buy it here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Please look out for the name Chloe Grant-Jones, she will be a writing force to be reckoned with.

Dancing Paws of Magic

Dancing Paws of Magic is a book filled with... dancing paws of magic!

Maria McArdle loves the theatre and she loves ballet. In fact it was her attendance at ballet studios during her youth in Australia that gave her the idea for her stories about the cat ballet company, the Pusska Mogginsky Ballet Company.

The ballet studios, reveals Maria, always carried a certain pungent feline odour. Although no cats were, mysteriously,  ever seen in the studios.

Maria often wondered where, exactly, the cats disappeared to. Which became her inspiration for her stories of the feline ballet company, Pusska Mogginsky.

Pluckerslea Hall is an amazing place! For it is filled with cats who live there, in secret tunnels, the music rooms, the dormitories, the dance studios and also the theatre at Pluckerslea Hall.

The cats are all wearing their finest ballet costumes as they nervously prepare themselves for ballet performances such as Swan Lake.

However, a visit by a mysterious, but beautiful gypsy cat brings them a doomladen warning, things begin to go wrong for the ballet cats.

Bruiser Bumfluff who is evil and ruthless, aided and abetted by his dastardly crows and the vile and villainous Black Treacle Farm Gang, aims to destroy the ballet company.

But there's someone else, someone evil who hates the ballet company and  who is plotting a fiendish revenge against them and who is shadowing the members.

Are they doomed? Or can the ethereal presence of a magic-imbued Irish Lepremogg help bring about the restoration of the cats' "dancing paws of magic?"

The book is amusing, but it is also very moving too and Maria has added some utterly spellbinding illustrations, proving how talented she is.

Children who love cats, children who love the ballet and children who love both cats and the ballet will find this book utterly charming. Their parents and grandparents will find it utterly charming, too.

It costs £7.99 and can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG. Please do look out for other books in the series which are also available.

 

Come Sing With My People

Film and newsreel cameraman Freddie Miller had previously served as an intelligence officer with British Military Intelligence.

We meet Freddie in Berlin at the time of the controversial 1936 Olympic Games. In a cafe, he meets Arthandur Palmai and from this casual meeting a friendship blossoms and, eventually, Freddie is drawn into the shadowy world of a very special group, the Companions of the Circle, a secretive and clandestine organisation that was formed with  the express intent of rescuing and assisting Jewish people in Germany and protecting them from the horrors of the Third Reich.

The head of the group is a Baroness, Christina Von Harstezzen, who is taken from the circle far too early as she was a victim of the fiery Hindenburg disaster.

The story follows the son of Arthandur, Bathan, who the story then focuses on, following him through his life, examining not only him and his family but the other people in his life who influenced him and help him become the man he was.

It's a compelling story which is filled with interesting digressions and insights into human nature.

It is published by the Book Guild at £8.99 and can be purchased here  https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

The King's Tower Rascal

The King's Tower Rascal is the extraordinary story of an ordinary, working man.

Eric Bovin's life was hard and difficult. This even dated back to before he was born, when his furious grandparents to be threw out his mother when she revealed to them that she was six months into her pregnancy.

Their life is a struggle as his mother works hard to keep a roof over their head, clothes on their back and food on the table.

But then, tragically, his mother dies.

This incident shakes Eric's faith to the core and he questions the existence of God.

But, as people often do under such terrible circumstances, Eric survives and, eventually, he thrives, too.

His life becomes fulfilled and he finds himself to be happy. But this makes him wonder about life in general. How can a life consist of both happiness and misery? Can a life, in turn be both cursed and charmed?

The novel, set against a backdrop of north-west England, follows the life story of Eric Bovin, through multiple decade, from the desperation of his poverty stricken early years, his time working on a farm and later in life when he becomes a successful and respected entrepreneur and a loving and loved family man.

However, a devastating loss toward the latter part of his life brings him wisdom and a rediscovery of who he really is.

This is a charming and moving book that tells a story that probably lurks within many families.

It is published by The Book Guild at £9.99 and can be purchased here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.