The reader is drawn into the triad-infested locales of Hong Kong and immersed in the lives and tribulations of the foot soldiers and ordinary men making up these gangs. Ian Hamilton keeps up the pace while adding meat to the lively characters who pop off the page. The story is engrossing with the twists and turns of inter-group rivalries over property, business and bragging rights. Though "Fate" is the first book in the origin story series about Uncle Chow Tung, I found the stories about Uncle much better than the Ava Lee stories. Sometimes the spin-offs are better than the main offering.
The first book in a gripping new Ava Lee spin-off series featuring fan-favourite Uncle Chow Tung and his ascendancy to the head of the Triad gang in Fanling.
Hong Kong, 1969. The Dragon Head of the Fanling Triad has died and there is a struggle to replace him among senior members of the gang. Normally, the Deputy Mountain Master is next in line, but this one is weak and ineffectual and has only survived because of the protection of the Dragon Head. Up to this point, the Fanling Triad has operated in relative isolation from neighbouring gangs, but the Dragon…
A young girl starts her music training under a one-great musician. She ends learning much more than the intricacies of classical Indian music. Each note and raga has meaning and significance as the young girl grows up surrounded by beautiful music. The author, through a wonderful and masterful use of the setting and the variety in classical music, fleshes out relatable feelings and experiences. Though an understanding of Indian music is not required, the reader comes away with an healthy appreciation of the sublime majesty of the art.
When Namita is ten years old, her mother takes her to Kennedy Bridge, a seamy neighborhood in Bombay, home to hookers and dance girls. There, in a cramped one-room apartment lives Dhondutai, the last living disciple of two of the finest Indian classical singers of the twentieth century: the legendary Alladiya Khan and the great songbird Kesarbai Kerkar. Namita begins to learn singing from Dhondutai, at first reluctantly and then, as the years pass, with growing passion. Dhondutai sees in her a second Kesarbai, but does Namita have the dedication to give herself up completely to the discipline like her…
The author expertly takes the reader through the lives of two brothers and their eventful lives, first in Ethiopia and then in the US. The story arc takes the reader on a rollercoaster of an emotional journey. Though the characters might seem to be living out-of-the-ordinary lives, they are just ordinary people caught up in extra-ordinary circumstances. The heartaches experienced and the depth of love felt between the main characters grabs and holds the reader's attention till the last page. A wonderful book indeed.
My brother, Shiva, and I came into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of grace 1954. We took our first breaths in the thick air of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. Bound by birth, we were driven apart by bitter betrayal. No surgeon can heal the would that divides two brothers. Where silk and steel fail, story must succeed. To begin at the beginning...
To what extent will one respond to Insults, salve one's hurt, and make a name for oneself? What must one do to get out from under the shadow of one's worst deed? For these and many more intriguing and thought- inspiring questions, these stories, each imbued with the essence drawn from one of the nine basic emotions, provide the answers.
Read on to know more about the mother preparing for the empty nest in her life, a police force confounded by a macabre series of murders, and the serendipitous discovery of hidden truths down the untrodden path. The stories will charm you, send a shudder down your spine, and bring a contented smile to your face.
In the fine tradition of Saki, Jeffrey Archer, and W Somerset Maugham, nine engrossing tales have been woven in a beautiful tapestry, spanning multiple locales and engrossing characters, eloquently plumbing the depths of human feelings, and capping off with unexpected endings.
