Being Lena Levi by Bobbie Ann Cole Is she Marlene or Lena? For a fourteen-year-old English schoolgirl to discover ‘Mum’ is not her real mother and by birth she is a German Jewess is a life-shattering revelation. And who is the real ‘Mutti‘ is behind her glamorous but rather worldly façade; she’s quite a contrast…
Before The Storm 1685 by Paul C. R. Monk – an object lesson in creative historical fiction writing This free novella covers the same dramatic events as my work-in-progress, GédéGreet Suzon for me. In my opinion, Paul C. R. Monk has not only written a captivating prequel to his trilogy, The Huguenot Chronicles but presents a…
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett Edge of Eternity – the final book of Follett’s perspective-shattering Century Trilogy – traces the vibrant lives of the offspring of the British, Russian, German and American families that we got to know in Fall of Giants and Winter of the World. Relationships come and go and fates fluctuate, revealing…
Companies have discovered that working from home and video conferencing are viable business options, saving time and expense. School kids have lost the fear of speaking in front of a video camera and have learned to make sensible use of computers. They’ve also come to appreciate school! We are enjoying beautiful walks on our doorsteps…
Der Duft von bitteren Orangen, von Claire Hajaj Wer Eltern hatte oder selber eine Familie, der weiss, dass es früher oder später zu Meinungsdifferenzen, Spannungen oder sogar Konflikte innerhalb der Familie kommen kann. Wie, aber, wenn sprachliche, religiöse, kulturelle und vor allem ethnische Faktoren mitspielen? Oder kriegerische Auseinandersetzungen zwischen den Herkunftsvölkern? “Unsere Familien werden niemals…
Spring has come, nature bursts out in joy. But people panic and die. Lord, what are you saying to us? Are you judging the world?
For some months I have acted as a senior classroom assistant – one morning per week – in the fourth class (mainly 10-year olds) of the little village school where I live. What a shock for an old man like me! The printed T-shirts and hotpants, alternating with fashionable tops and ripped jeans were no…
During the first 20 years of the second century AD, Gaius Segusiavus Peregrinus is torque-bearer of the Gallic clan based near Lugdunum (Lyons). As master of the family’s cereal and luxury goods shipping enterprise, he constantly roams Mare Nostrum, visiting the trading posts in Ostia (Rome), Carthago, Alexandria, Antiochia and Ephesos. His faithful wife Fionna…
“Jurj?” the rebel fighter read from Tariq’s friend’s ID. “Then you’re a Christian!” And with that he shot his brains out. That was the final trigger. Tariq had to flee. To Europe. And arrange for his family to join him.
The Trump generation – including me – won’t be around when London and Houston sink. Along with Jakarta, Manila, Shanghai and half of the Netherlands. Nor when the last wild polar bear and Atlantic puffin has died because of habitat loss. And the Greta generation have time to adapt to the changing climate without too…
Another masterpiece of passion and insight! We experience the suspense and tragedy of WWII through the eyes of the offspring of the people we came to know in Fall of Giants, the first book in the Century Trilogy. These children grow up into realistic, passionate characters who travel the world, engage in devious pursuits and…
If you want the salutary facts – necessarily subjective but certainly typical – about what a refugee family experiences after arriving in Europe from a vastly different geographic and cultural background, this will fill you in.