The Accidental Apprentice: A Novel

The Accidental Apprentice: A Novel

Vikas Swarup

Fiction / Cultural / India

From the author of the book behind the blockbuster movie Slumdog Millionaire, a brilliant novel about life changing in an instant. Life pivots on a few key moments. This is one of them. Sapna Sinha works in an electronics store in downtown Delhi. She hates her job, but she is ambitious and determined to succeed, and she knows without the money she brings in, her family won't be able to survive. Little does she know it but her life is about to change forever. As she leaves the shop on her lunch break one day, she is approached by a man who claims to be CEO of one of India's biggest companies. He tells her he is looking for an heir for his business empire. And that he has decided it should be her. There are just seven tests she must pass. And then the biggest lottery ticket of all time will be hers.
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Six Suspects

Six Suspects

Vikas Swarup

Fiction / Cultural / India

Vicky Rai, the son of a high-profile Minister, has been shot dead by one of the guests at his own party. They are a glitzy bunch, but among them the police find six strange, displaced characters with a gun in their possession. each of them steaming with a secret motive. India's wiliest investigative journalist, Arun Advani, makes it his mission to nail the murderer. In doing so, the amazing, tender and touching, techni-colour lives of six eccentric personalities unravel before our eyes. But can we trust Advani? Or does he have another agenda in mind...?
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Selection Day

Selection Day

Aravind Adiga

Fiction / Cultural / India

Manju is fourteen. He knows he is good at cricket -- if not as good as his elder brother Radha. He knows that he fears and resents his domineering and cricket-obsessed father, admires his brilliantly talented brother and is fascinated by CSI and curious and interesting scientific facts. But there are many things, about himself and about the world, that he doesn't know . . . Everyone around him, it seems, has a clear idea of who Manju should be, except Manju himself. But when Manju begins to get to know Radha's great rival, a boy as privileged and confident as Manju is not, everything in Manju's world begins to change and he is faced by decisions that will challenge both his sense of self and of the world around him. As sensitively observed as The White Tiger -- Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008 -- was brilliantly furious, Selection Day reveals another facet of Aravind Adiga's remarkable talent.
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Between the Assassinations

Between the Assassinations

Aravind Adiga

Fiction / Cultural / India

In his compelling new work of fiction, Aravind Adiga has imagined the small Indian city of Kittur, an everytown nestling on the coast south of Goa and north of Calicut. Through the myriad and distinctive voices of its inhabitants, an entire Indian world comes vividly and unforgettably to life. From a middle-aged Communist to an Islamic terrorist; from the young children of a Tamil building-site worker to a privileged and alienated schoolboy; from an idealistic journalist to a Brahmin housemaid, Adiga has produced a microcosm of Indian life in the 80s, the years between the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv. Muslim, Christian and Hindu, high-caste and low-caste, rich and poor: all of Indian life - the 'sorrowful parade of humanity' - is here. Journeying through Kittur's streets and schoolyards, bedrooms and businesses, its inner workings and outer limits, Adiga conjures a remarkable fictional landscape. Sizzling with acid observations, and textured with wicked humour and gentle humanity, Between the Assassinations is a triumph of voice and imagination.
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Last Man in Tower

Last Man in Tower

Aravind Adiga

Fiction / Cultural / India

A tale of one man refusing to leave his home in the face of property development. Tower A is a relic from a co-operative housing society established in the 1950s. When a property developer offers to buy out the residents for eye-watering sums, the principled yet arrogant teacher is the only one to refuse the offer, determined not to surrender his sentimental attachment to his home and his right to live in it, in the name of greed. His neighbours gradually relinquish any similar qualms they might have and, in a typically blunt satirical premise take matters into their own hands, determined to seize their slice of the new Mumbai as it transforms from stinky slum to silvery skyscrapers at dizzying, almost gravity-defying speed.
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The White Tiger

The White Tiger

Aravind Adiga

Fiction / Cultural / India

A stunning literary debut critics have likened to Richard Wright's Native Son, The White Tiger follows a darkly comic Bangalore driver through the poverty and corruption of modern India's caste society. The white tiger of this novel is Balram Halwai, a poor Indian villager whose great ambition leads him to the zenith of Indian business culture, the world of the Bangalore entrepreneur. On the occasion of the president of China's impending trip to Bangalore, Balram writes a letter to him describing his transformation and his experience as driver and servant to a wealthy Indian family, which he thinks exemplifies the contradictions and complications of Indian society.
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Q & A

Q & A

Vikas Swarup

Fiction / Cultural / India

Vikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, India, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all twelve questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question. Ram takes us on an amazing review of his own history - from the day he was found as a baby in the clothes donation box of a Delhi church to his employment by a faded Bollywood star to his adventure with a security-crazed Australian army colonel to his career as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal. Vikas Swarup's Q & A is a beguiling blend of high comedy, drama, and romance that reveals how we know what we know - not just about trivia, but about life itself. Cutting across humanity in all its squalor and glory, Vikas Swarup presents a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle between good and evil - and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive.
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Nan Violence

Nan Violence

Arun Krishnan

Cultural / India / Asian Literature / Indian Literature

It's hard to attain Nirvana - especially when you are accused of being a cross-dressing Muslim terrorist. Mr. Jain is a strict vegetarian who develops an unexpected fondness for meat. He tries to keep his new tastes secret from his fellow Jains by resorting to wearing a burkha -- but in the process falls afoul of the FBI.It's hard to attain Nirvana - especially when you are accused of being a cross-dressing Muslim terrorist. Mr. Jain strictly adheres to the principles of non-violence and vegetarianism. However, due to an an unfortunate turn of circumstances, he develops a taste for meat. He wants to buy meat at a neighborhood restaurant, but fears public condemnation. To avoid detection by fellow Jains, he conceals himself in a burka. In the process, he gets mistaken for a cross-dressing Muslim terrorist who is out to corrupt the moral fabric of American society. Will Mr, Jain escape the clutches of the law and find salvation? It is a far more difficult prospect than he can ever imagine.
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Rich Wives Association

Rich Wives Association

W. W. Tarn

History / Cultural / India

To be a part of the A-List life, some women have to pay dearly... The life of a celebrity wife is supposed to be all glitz and glamour. With red carpets, black cards, and tons of green money, who wouldn't want to be on the A-list? However, when the lights dim and the paparazzi fade, living life in the fab lane comes with a price. Some of these women pay severely for their membership into the Rich Wives Association. Don't believe? Here's their story.
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Heads Up

Heads Up

Bem Le Hunte

Fiction / Cultural / India

The first e-publication of The Royalties, a collective of Australian writers who have come together to create new models of publishing for writers worldwide.The Royalties is a writers' collective founded by Sue Woolfe, Bem Le Hunte, Libby Hathorn and Louise Katz, a group of much-published Australian women novelists who decided to come together to create precedent for innovative new publishing models that will benefit all Australian writers in an international marketplace.We are not particularly tech-savvy, but we all feel the urgency to participate in rapidly changing publishing structures. With current technology there is a real opportunity for writer-centric models to replace traditional legacy publishing models and promote a true renaissance in literature.With publishers nervous and bookstores closing, it's become clear to all of us that this is the time for writers to ride the times, take the risk and claim greater rights to their words. And who, we ask, would take control in these formative moments of opportunity, if not the writers themselves?We are all actively involved in experimenting with our literary work and the way that it is produced, distributed and marketed, and we'd like to share this experiment with other writers. If you're a writer you can join us in this experiment, share in our experience and reach out to a wider community of national and international readers.
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The Real Hoodwives of Detroit 2

The Real Hoodwives of Detroit 2

W. W. Tarn

History / Cultural / India

What up, doe! Welcome back to the mean streets of Detroit. With all the drama going down in Motown, I knew your nosey self couldn't stay away. Don't worry, you haven't missed a thing. We pick up the story right where we left off in The Real Hoodwives of Detroit part one. If you thought your first visit to the Motor City was crazy, you ain't seen nothing yet. Nikki, Gucci, and Chloe have been waiting for you, and boy do they have some fire! Lies have been told, relationships have been tested, and these women are out for blood. The heat amongst this group is real. This ain't no television show. No one sits in a director's chair and yells, "cut!" This drama is official. This is how the real, raw, and certified hoodwives from the Dirty Glove get down. We don't bump our gums; instead, we let our pistols do the talking. The way we live ain't for the weak-hearted. Where we come from, it's survival of the fittest, and only the strong survive. Scared? You...
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Married to the Money

Married to the Money

W. W. Tarn

History / Cultural / India

Greed is defined as an excessive desire to possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially wealth and power. A gold-digger is defined as a person who dates someone simply to extract money from them. Twenty-six-year-old Chanel Franklin fits both definitions to a tee. Her "Married to the Money" mentality leads her to make more than a few bad choices. On the road to riches, she gets caught up in a whirlwind affair with a certified baller. After losing her mind and common sense, she gives up a good job, a great man, and a comfy lifestyle just to live life in the fab lane. On Chanel's journey to obtain the finer things in life, she quickly realizes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. More money almost always means more problems! She's been betrayed by family, friends, and a few false admirers. She's also learned more lessons, both physical and mental, than she cares to remember. When she realizes money is the root of all evil, it may be...
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Cairo

Cairo

Arun Krishnan

Cultural / India / Asian Literature / Indian Literature

Kabir -- a private eye -- is grappling with a conundrum. His wife has left him only three days after the wedding. A client asks him to track down a missing cat called Luna. When Kabir sets out in the cat's pursuit, he hits upon a startling revelation about life and love.There are some questions that even a private detective cannot answer. Why doesn't my wife talk to me? Why does she spend all her time following the Arab Spring on the Internet? And did she leave me only three days after the wedding? Kabir -- Lucknow's most successful sleuth -- is grappling with all of these questions, when a client asks him to track down a missing cat called Luna. When Kabir sets out in the cat's pursuit, he hits upon a startling revelation about life and love.
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Gangstress

Gangstress

India

India

Janelle Doesher never wanted to be a hustler's bitch; she wanted to be a bitch that hustled, bottom line! She watched in awe as her father became notorious on the vicious streets of Detroit and silently waited for a shot under his umbrella. After tragedy strikes her family, Janelle is black-balled to the bottom. However, she's determined to re-gain control of the streets and take possession of the throne. The underworld ain't never seen a female boss like her. Hold on tight, as you are about to embark on a ride unlike none other! The breathtaking tale of the one and only Jane Doe is sure to leave you speechless.
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The Invitation

The Invitation

Anne Cherian

Fiction / Cultural / India

A moving story that redefines the meaning of family, friendship, and success among a group of first-generation Indian immigrants.When Vikram invites three of his college friends to his son's graduation from MIT, they accept out of obligation and curiosity, viewing the party as a twenty-fifth reunion of sorts. Village genius Vikram, now the founder of a lucrative computer company, is having the party against his son's wishes. Frances and Jay regret accepting: Frances, a real estate agent, hasn't sold a house in a year; Jay's middle management job isn't brag worthy; and their daughter is failing the eleventh grade. Lali plans to hide the fact that her once-happy marriage is crumbling because her American husband is discovering his Jewish roots. Each had left UCLA expecting to be successful and have even more successful children. At Vikram's Newport Beach mansion, the showmanship they anticipate dissolves as each is forced to deal with his or her own problems. The follow-up to...
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