The story of **Calon Arang** revolves around an evil old woman who practices black magic and feeds on human blood. Arrogant and ruthless, she eliminates her political adversaries and silences her critics. She revels in the suffering of others, committing acts of murder, theft, and violence. Possessing various magical abilities, she even forces her disciples to bathe in human blood. During her c…
A captivating narrative of narrow escapes, romance amid revolution, and heroic deeds on the battlefield, Victor Hugo's expansive 1862 novel delves into the depths of the Parisian underworld. It follows ex-convict Jean Valjean, who spent 19 years in prison for stealing bread, as he strives for redemption by aiding the oppressed. However, his every attempt is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Jav…
Set in the Deep South, this Newbery Medal-winning novel tells the story of the great coon dog, Sounder, and the poor sharecroppers who own him. During the difficult years of the nineteenth century South, an African-American boy and his poor family rarely have enough to eat. Each night, the boy's father takes their dog, Sounder, out to look for food and the man grows more desperate by the day…
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted "gin was the national drink and sex the nation…
Propelled by the same superb instinct for storytelling that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, the #1 New York Times bestseller A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once an incredible chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith, and the salvation to be found in love. “Just as good, if not better, than Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling f…
In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss and new hope for their daughters' futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Their daughters, who have never heard these stories, think their mothers' advice is irrelevant to their modern American lives - until their own inner crise…
Their mission: To take out the scuds. Eight went out. Five came back. Their story had been closed in secrecy. Until now. They were British Special Forces, trained to be the best. In January 1991 a squad of eight men went behind the Iraqi lines on a top secret mission. It was called Bravo Two Zero. On command was Sergeant Andy McNab. "They are the true unsung heroes of the war." -- Lt. Col. Stev…
A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry…
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of …
Arthurian legend comes to life in the first novel in this remarkable, award-winning saga Thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot lives on a manor, desperately waiting for the moment he can become a knight. One day his father's friend Merlin gives him a shining black stone - a seeing stone - that shows him visions of his namesake, King Arthur. The legendary dragons, battles, and swordplay that y…
Arthurian legend comes to life in the first novel in this remarkable, award-winning saga Thirteen-year-old Arthur de Caldicot lives on a manor, desperately waiting for the moment he can become a knight. One day his father's friend Merlin gives him a shining black stone - a seeing stone - that shows him visions of his namesake, King Arthur. The legendary dragons, battles, and swordplay that y…
This book provides eleven true ghost stories about famous Civil War figures and the places they continue haunt, complete with an eight-page photo insert, historical overviews and biographical information. Original.
The epic novel Beauty Is a Wound combines history, satire, family tragedy, legend, humor, and romance in a sweeping polyphony. The beautiful Indo prostitute Dewi Ayu and her four daughters are beset by incest, murder, bestiality, rape, insanity, monstrosity, and the often vengeful undead. Kurniawan's gleefully grotesque hyperbole functions as a scathing critique of his young nation's troubled p…
Aruna, seorang anak perempuan suku Dayak Bakumpai di pedalaman Kalimantan. Bumi Kalimantan yang ia kenal sejak kecil sebagai surga petualangnnya berubah enjadi sarang bencana. Hutan yang lebat, dengan segala keindahannya, harus termutilasi oleh penebangan liar. Seribu anak sungai di sekeliling Aruna terkontaminasi limbah beracun. Beribu-ribugalon limbah memadati air sungai, hutan dan laut setia…
"Many things I wish to express—what can hinder me, if in my conviction I feel compelled to speak? Because my way of articulating my beliefs may be criticized by some? Because the issues I raise are deemed taboo by others? Because I might be ridiculed? Because I may be insulted? When conviction has taken root like a banyan tree, all other considerations fall away. O my vessel of convic…
This novel tells the story of the life and struggles of Indonesia's prominent journalist R.M. Tirto Adhi Soerjo in establishing a national press. Told from a third-person perspective, it chronicles Tirto's journey from childhood to adulthood, highlighting key figures who support his efforts, such as Kartini. The narrative also paints a vivid picture of the social and cultural backdrop of Indone…
“If you truly refuse to be deterred in your intentions, soon you will sell your fortress of defense for money. Then you will remarry and distance yourself from your old friends or be distanced by them. You will find new companions, all living in fear. You will become prey, forced to run, continuously fleeing until you eventually collapse, drained of strength.”
Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of WW2. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley - but his new-found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London...This is the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Award.
Emma is young, rich, and independent. She has decided to never marry and instead spends her time organizing her acquaintances’ love affairs. Her plans for the matrimonial success of her new friend Harriet, however, lead her into complications that ultimately test her own detachment from the world of romance.
1970s Afghanistan: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what would happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return to an Afghanistan …