reviews

The past is present... Author:  Patrick Chamoiseau Unexpectedly, some 177 years after her death, the Empress Joséphine was decapitated.  Her headless statue still stands in downtown Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique.  An overseas region of France, the Caribbean island has a horrific history of genocide and slavery dating back to the 1600s.  Joséphine's beheading in 1991 – along with the blood red paint that was subsequently splashed on her torso - was doubtless meant as a rather bold criticism of that violent heritage and served as a symbol for the emerging Créolité movement.  One of the founders of this movement – [...]

Corporate Conniving and Coffee Author: Cleo Coyle It’s an explosive summer at The Blend – literarily. A car bomb, targeted to wipeout frequent customer and ultra-successful technology mogul, Eric Thorner, tears apart the vintage coffee house instead; only Claire’s quick thinking and risky actions save the techie boy genius. Now Thorner, beaming gratitude and romantic intentions, sets Claire up for a wild ride through the world of big money, phone apps, and some corporate espionage. Along the way, Claire teams with Thorner’s company to create the world’s most decadent – and expensive – coffee sold only through their exclusive new phone [...]

Yes, this offbeat novel really does contain erotic stories Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal If nothing else, Balli Kaur Jaswal deserves five stars for coming up with one of the most inventive titles of any book I’ve read: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. At the same time, the title makes the novel literally difficult to crack open. At home, I had to hide it from my kids’ prying eyes; in public, I felt the need to shield the front cover lest anyone think I was reading soft porn in broad daylight. But I suppose I was reading soft porn in broad [...]