Download or read book The Double Life of Benson Yu written by Kevin Chong and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-02-13 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a Chinatown housing project lives twelve-year-old Benny, his ailing grandmother, and his strange neighbor Constantine, a man who believes he's a reincarnated medieval samurai. When his grandmother is hospitalized, Benny manages to survive on his own until a social worker comes snooping. With no other family, he is reluctantly taken in by Constantine and soon, an unlikely bond forms between the two. At least, that's what Yu, the narrator of the story, wants to write. The creator of a bestselling comic book, Yu is struggling with continuing the poignant tale of Benny and Constantine and can't help but interject from the present day, slowly revealing a darker backstory. Can Yu confront the demons he's spent his adult life avoiding or risk his own life ... and Benny's?
Download or read book The Son of the House written by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SHORTLISTED for the Scotiabank Giller Prize 2021 • WINNER of the Nigeria Prize for Literature 2021 • SHORTLISTED for the Chinua Achebe Prize for Nigerian Writing 2021 • WINNER of the SprinNG Women Authors Prize 2020 • WINNER of the Best International Fiction Book Award, Sharjah International Book Fair 2019 “The Son of the House is a compelling novel about two women caught in a constricting web of tradition, class, gender, and motherhood.” — FOREWORD REVIEWS, starred review The lives of two Nigerian women divided by class and social inequality intersect when they're kidnapped, held captive, and forced to await their fate together. In the Nigerian city of Enugu, young Nwabulu, a housemaid since the age of ten, dreams of becoming a typist as she endures her employers’ endless chores. She is tall and beautiful and in love with a rich man’s son. Educated and privileged, Julie is a modern woman. Living on her own, she is happy to collect the gold jewellery lovestruck Eugene brings her, but has no intention of becoming his second wife. When a kidnapping forces Nwabulu and Julie into a dank room years later, the two women relate the stories of their lives as they await their fate. Pulsing with vitality and intense human drama, Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia’s debut is set against four decades of vibrant Nigeria, celebrating the resilience of women as they navigate and transform what remains a man’s world.
Download or read book Batshit Seven written by Sheung-King and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2024-02-20 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 WRITERS' TRUST ATWOOD GIBSON PRIZE* From Governor General's Award-nominated author Sheung-King comes a novel about a millennial living through the Hong Kong protests, as he struggles to make sense of modern life and the parts of himself that just won’t gel. Glen Wu (aka Glue) couldn’t care less about his job. He’s returned to Hong Kong, the city he grew up in, and he’s teaching ESL, just to placate his parents. But he shows up hungover to class, barely stays awake, and prefers to spend his time smoking up until dawn breaks. As he watches the city he loves fall—the protests, the brutal arrests—life continues around him. So he drinks more, picks more fights with his drug dealer friend, thinks loftier thoughts about the post-colonial condition and Frantz Fanon. The very little he does care about: his sister, who deals with Hong Kong’s demise by getting engaged to a rich immigration consultant; his on-and-off-again relationship with a woman who steals things from him; and memories of someone he once met in Canada.... When the government tightens its grip, language starts to lose all meaning for Glue, and he finds himself pulled into an unsettling venture, ultimately culminating in an act of violence. Inventive and utterly irresistible, with QR codes woven throughout, Sheung-King’s ingenious novel encapsulates the anxieties and apathies of the millennial experience. Batshit Seven is an ode to a beloved city, an indictment of the cycles of imperialism, and a reminder of the beautiful things left under the hype of commodified living.
Download or read book The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf written by Timothy Taylor and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2024-09-10 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A sumptuously written story about culinary ambition, restaurant-world vice, and the frailties of the heart.” — KEVIN CHONG, author of The Double Life of Benson Yu Restaurateur Teo Wolf’s culinary fame is peaking just as a series of scandals and reckless decisions threaten to destroy everything. Teo’s life as a Paris brasserie apprentice is filled with challenges and triumphs, as well as all the regular abuses of slammed commercial kitchens. Still, he rises through the ranks, eventually returning to his hometown of Vancouver to open Rue Véron, a French restaurant that goes on to become a sensation. His second restaurant, Orinoco, is also successful. But on the cusp of opening his third, a news story breaks filled with troubling accusations against Rue Véron’s popular executive chef, Frankie. The media firestorm and subsequent public relations disaster threaten to destroy Teo’s empire, as well as his own personal life. And when the compounding consequences lead to unimaginable tragedy, Teo is left to question the impact of both individual action and people acting in great numbers.
Download or read book Buzz Books 2023 Spring Summer written by and published by Publishers Lunch. This book was released on 2023-01-13 with total page 1267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buzz Books 2023: Spring/Summer is the 22th volume in our popular sampler series. As always, Buzz Books presents passionate readers with an insider’s look at 54 of the buzziest books due out this season. Such major bestselling authors as Ryan Holiday, Nancy Horan, Kate Morton, and Abraham Verghese are featured, along with literary greats Jamel Brinkley, Eleanor Catton, Patrick DeWitt, and Cathleen Schine. Other sure-to-be readers’ favorites are a fiction debut by celebrated nonfiction author Helen MacDonald and an adult debut by acclaimed YA author Elizabeth Acevedo. Buzz Books has had a particularly stellar track record with highlighting the most talented, exciting and diverse debut authors, and this edition is no exception. Shelly Read’s Go As A River, one of a bumper crop of 23 debuts titles, has already been sold to 27 countries. Among the others are Monica Brashears, Tembe Denton-Hurst, Katherine Lin, Janika Oza, and Tyriek White. Our robust nonfiction section covers such fascinating subjects as the native peoples in America; a literary memoir of growing up with a reggae musician father who was a member of a strict Rastafari sect; and a definitive biography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Bestselling stoicism guru Ryan Holliday offers wisdom for dads, while David Von Drehle provides wisdom from a 102-year-old. Finally, we present early looks at new work from young adult authors, including: Throwback by Maurene Goo, Queen Bee by Amalie Howard, and Lucha Of The Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia. Be sure to look out for Buzz Books 2023: Fall/Winter, coming in May.
Download or read book The Plague written by Kevin Chong and published by arsenal pulp press. This book was released on 2018-05-29 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At first it was the dead rats. They started dying in cataclysmic numbers, followed by other city creatures. Then people begin experiencing flu-like symptoms as well as swellings in their lymph nodes. The citizenry reacts in disbelief when the diagnosis comes in and later, when a quarantine is imposed on the increasingly terrified city. Inspired by Albert Camus’ classic 1948 novel, Kevin Chong’s The Plague follows Dr. Bernard Rieux’s attempts to fight the treatment-resistant disease and find meaning in suffering. His efforts are aided by Megan Tso, an American writer who is trapped in the city while on a book tour, and Raymond Siddhu, a city hall reporter at a daily newspaper on its last legs from the latest round of job cuts. Told with dark humor and an eye trained on the frailties of human behavior, Chong’s novel explores themes in keeping with Camus’ original vision--heroism in the face of futility, the psychological strain of quarantine—but fraught with the political and cultural anxieties of our present day.
Download or read book How to Order the Universe written by María José Ferrada and published by Tin House Books. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A San Francisco Chronicle and Southwest Review Best Book of the Year and A World Literature Today Notable Translation of the Year “A dreamscape of a book. I adored this compelling, wise, and utterly unique coming-of-age tale.” —Tara Conklin For seven-year-old M, the world is guided by a firm set of principles, based on her father D’s life as a traveling salesman. Enchanted by her father’s trade, M convinces him to take her along on his routes, selling hardware supplies against the backdrop of Pinochet-era Chile. As father and daughter trek from town to town in their old Renault, M’s memories and thoughts become tied to a language of rural commerce, philosophy, the cosmos, hardware products, and ghosts. M, in her innocence, barely notices the rising tensions and precarious nature of their work until she and her father connect with an enigmatic photographer, E, whose presence threatens to upend the unusual life they’ve created. María José Ferrada expertly captures a vanishing way of life and a father-daughter relationship on the brink of irreversible change. At once nostalgic, dangerous, sharply funny, and full of delight and wonder, How to Order the Universe is a richly imaginative debut and a rare work of magic and originality.
Download or read book Chasing Zebras written by Margaret Nowaczyk and published by Wolsak and Wynn. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Margaret Nowaczyk immigrated to Canada with her family from Poland she was determined to be Canadian, whatever that meant, and she was equally determined to be a doctor. Arriving as a teen with an English vocabulary deeply influenced by the few English books she had, including Somerset Maugham's The Painted Veil, Margaret made her way through medical school at the University of Toronto, followed by residencies at Toronto's SickKids until she settled in at McMaster University Hospital as a clinical geneticist. From leaving Communist Poland to enduring the demands of medical school, through living with a long undiagnosed mental illness to discovering the fascinating field of genetics, plunging into the pressures of prenatal diagnosis and finally finding the tools of writing and of narrative medicine, Margaret shares a journey that is both inspiring and harrowing. This is a story of constant effort, of growth, of tragedy and of triumph, and most of all, of the importance of openness. In the end, Dr. Nowaczyk invites us all to see that "life is precious and fragile and wondrous and full of mistakes." And to keep trying.
Download or read book After Elias written by Eddy Boudel Tan and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2020-09-12 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2021 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction — Finalist A modern queer tragedy about a pilot's last words, an interrupted celebration, and the fear of losing everything. “Utterly engrossing. Coen is a hero for our era, darkly struggling amid the aftershocks of loss, but doing so with dignity, humanity, and passion.” — Timothy Taylor, author of The Rule of Stephens When the airplane piloted by Elias Santos crashes one week before their wedding day, Coen Caraway loses the man he loves and the illusion of happiness he has worked so hard to create. The only thing Elias leaves behind is a recording of his final words, and even Coen is baffled by the cryptic message. Numb with grief, he takes refuge on the Mexican island that was meant to host their wedding. But as fragments of the past come to the surface in the aftermath of the tragedy, Coen is forced to question everything he thought he knew about Elias and their life together. Beneath his flawed memory lies the truth about Elias — and himself. From the damp concrete of Vancouver to the spoiled shores of Mexico, After Elias weaves the past with the present to tell a story of doubt, regret, and the fear of losing everything.
Download or read book The Parcel written by Anosh Irani and published by Knopf Canada. This book was released on 2016-09-06 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and for the Governor General's Literary Award, this powerful new work, about a transgender sex worker in the red-light district of Bombay who is given an unexpected task, is a gripping literary page-turner--difficult and moving, surprising and tender. Anosh Irani's best novel yet, and his first with Knopf Canada. The Parcel's astonishing heart, soul and unforgettable voice is Madhu--born a boy, but a eunuch by choice--who has spent most of her life in a close-knit clan of transgender sex workers in Kamathipura, the notorious red-light district of Bombay. Madhu identifies herself as a "hijra"--a person belonging to the third sex, neither here nor there, man nor woman. Now, at 40, she has moved away from prostitution, her trade since her teens, and is forced to beg to support the charismatic head of the hijra clan, Gurumai. One day Madhu receives a call from Padma Madam, the most feared brothel owner in the district: a "parcel" has arrived--a young girl from the provinces, betrayed and trafficked by her aunt--and Madhu must prepare it for its fate. Despite Madhu's reluctance, she is forced to take the job by Gurumai. As Madhu's emotions spiral out of control, her past comes back to haunt her, threatening to unravel a lifetime's work and identity. This is a dark, devastating but ultimately redemptive novel that promises to be one of the most talked-about publications of the year.
Download or read book The Book of Hidden Things written by Francesco Dimitri and published by Titan Books (US, CA). This book was released on 2018-07-03 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four old friends confront their darkest secrets in this fantasy steeped in nostalgia, folklore, religion, and the seductive landscape of Southern Italy—by the Italian Neil Gaiman. “A tale of adventure, mystery, friendship and heart-wrenching beauty that will make you re-examine what is holy, what is true, and what is beyond the realm of possibility.” —BookPage Four old school friends have a pact: to meet up every year in the small town in Puglia they grew up in. Art, the charismatic leader of the group and creator of the pact, insists that the agreement must remain unshakable and enduring. But this year, he never shows up. A visit to his house increases the friends’ worry: Art is farming marijuana. In Southern Italy doing that kind of thing can be very dangerous. They can’t go to the Carabinieri so must make enquiries of their own. This is how they come across the rumors about Art—bizarre and unbelievable rumors that he miraculously cured the local mafia boss’ daughter of terminal leukemia. And among the chaos of his house, they find a document written by Art, “The Book of Hidden Things”, that promises to reveal dark secrets and wonders beyond anything previously known. Set in the beguiling and seductive world of Southern Italy, Francesco Dimitri’s first novel in English is a story friendship, landscape, love, betrayal, and mystery that will entrance fans of Elena Ferrante, Neil Gaiman, and Donna Tartt.
Download or read book Beauty Plus Pity written by Kevin Chong and published by arsenal pulp press. This book was released on 2011-10-11 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Asian American man meets the sister he never knew he had: a wistful novel about family, loss, and forgiveness.
Download or read book Bellevue Square written by Michael Redhill and published by Anchor Canada. This book was released on 2018-09-18 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Giller Prize-winning author Michael Redhill comes a literary thriller about a woman who fears for her sanity--and then her life--when she learns that her doppelganger has appeared in a local park. Jean Mason has a doppelganger. She's never seen her, but others swear they have. Apparently, her identical twin hangs out in Kensington Market, where she sometimes buys churros and drags an empty shopping cart down the streets, like she's looking for something to put in it. Jean's a grown woman with a husband and two kids, as well as a thriving bookstore in downtown Toronto, and she doesn't rattle easily--not like she used to. But after two customers insist they've seen her double, Jean decides to investigate. She begins at the crossroads of Kensington Market: a city park called Bellevue Square. Although she sees no one who looks like her, it only takes a few visits to the park for her to become obsessed with the possibility of encountering her twin in the flesh. With the aid of a small army of locals who hang around in the park, she expands her surveillance, making it known she'll pay for information or sightings. A peculiar collection of drug addicts, scam artists, philanthropists, philosophers and vagrants--the regulars of Bellevue Square--are eager to contribute to Jean's investigation. But when some of them start disappearing, she fears her alleged double has a sinister agenda. Unless Jean stops her, she and everyone she cares about will face a fate much stranger than death.
Download or read book Healthy Mum Happy Baby written by Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit and published by Random House Canada. This book was released on 2007-04-24 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The indispensable cookbook designed for the demanding, chaotic and sleep-deprived days of new motherhood. Mothers-to-be read all the manuals and are diligent about eating well and getting enough exercise, fully aware that their health directly affects their baby’s development. But what about after the baby is born? How can an exhausted new mother who is low on energy and time still manage to eat healthily? For new mothers, especially those who are breastfeeding, maternal health is more important than ever, and yet during those first few weeks of hazy, blurry,“What am I doing?” chaos, it can be tough to find the time or inclination to look after oneself. Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit, a new mum roaming the house at 3:00 a.m., desperately trying to find something, ANYTHING, to eat, decided she wanted to make mothers’ lives easier as they learned to cope with their new, harried schedules. Consulting other parents, as well as breastfeeding and nutritional experts, Annemarie began to devise strategies for fast, easy and healthy eating. Healthy Mum, Happy Baby is packed with creative, delicious recipes that don’t require exact measurements and won’t be ruined if they aren’t served immediately (while you deal with the cranky baby), as well as big-batch meals for the freezer, time-saving tips on how to stock your pantry before baby and useful ideas for healthy snacks you can eat one-handed while you nurse. You’ll find the most current breastfeeding guidelines from the Canadian Paediatric Society, up-to-date information on toxins in breast milk, the scoop on omega-3s, and even a few ideas for reclaiming a bit of your life before baby. The perfect shower or baby gift, Healthy Mum, Happy Baby is a practical, invaluable resource for every new mother.
Download or read book Baroque a nova written by Kevin Chong and published by Plume Books. This book was released on 2002-12-31 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A hilarious and heartbreaking debut novel hailed as a crossbreeding of The Catcher in the Rye and Don DeLillo's White Noise. --The Washington Post Book World.
Download or read book Gunpowder Girls written by Tanya Anderson and published by . This book was released on 2021-06-15 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outstanding. Thoroughly researched and beautifully written ... We can now add their names to the human toll of America's greatest conflict -- James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of Battle Cry Of Freedom With thousands of men off fighting in the Civil War, the U.S. and Confederate governments hired women and girls - some as young as ten - to make millions of rounds of ammunition. Poor immigrant girls and widows paid the price for carelessness at three major arsenals. Many of these workers were killed, blown up and burned beyond recognition. Hidden history comes alive through primary-source research and page-turning narrative. Gunpowder Girls is a story of child labor and immigrant hopes and the cruel, endless demands of an all-consuming war. A Junior Library Guild Selection and Benjamin Franklin Award gold medalist.
Download or read book The Ticking Heart written by Andrew Kaufman and published by Coach House Books. This book was released on 2019-09-10 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Expansive and imaginative.” —Kirkus Reviews “Irreverent and bursting prose... Fans of Mark Leyner will enjoy Kaufman’s messy string of outrageous scenarios.” —Publishers Weekly Part modern fable, part detective novel, a journey through grief in the imaginary world of Metaphoria. One cold winter night, Charlie shares a cab with a stranger in a purple hat. As they talk, a cloud of purple smoke overwhelms him and he wakes up to find himself behind the only desk in the Epiphany Detective Agency. Charlie, as it turns out, is trapped in Metaphoria, an otherworldly place that reality has forgotten, a place where everything means something else. His first client is Shirley Miller, who insists on hiring Charlie to find her husband's missing heart. In fact, she's so insistent that she replaces Charlie's heart with a bomb. He has twenty-four hours to find Twiggy Miller's heart - and its meaning - or his own will explode. Tender and brutal, optimistic and despairing, this modern fable by the author of the cult hit All My Friends Are Superheroes takes a fresh look at what it means to fall into, and out of, love.
