Guyanese Girl

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21 Jan: Of Marriageable Age

‘It’s a wonderful panoramic story and conveys such vivid pictures of the countries it portrays I was immediately transported and completely captivated. A terrific writer.’ Barbara Erskine

A vast canvas of memorable characters across a kaleidoscope of cultures… her epic story feels like an authentic reflection of a world full of sadness, joy and surprise.’ The Observer

A spellbinding story of forbidden love. Three continents, three decades, three very disparate lives:

Savitri, intuitive and charismatic, grows up among the servants of a pre-war English household in Madras. But the traditional customs of her Brahmin family clash against English upper-class prejudice, threatening her love for the privileged son of the house.

Nataraj, raised as the son of an idealistic doctor in rural South India, finds life in London heady, with girls and grass easily available… until he is summoned back home to face raw reality.

Saroj, her fire hidden by outward reserve, comes of age in Guyana, South America. When her strict, orthodox Hindu father goes one step too far she finally rebels against him… and even against her gentle, apparently docile Ma.

But Ma harbours a deep secret… one that binds these three so disparate lives and hurtles them towards a truth that could destroy their world.

‘A big book, big themes, an exotic background and characters that will live with you forever.’ Katie Fforde

‘Beautifully and cleverly written. A wondrous, spellbinding story which grips you from the first to the last page… I can’t recall when I last enjoyed a book so much.’ Lesley Pearse

From the first page I was hooked with this enchanting book… unputdownable.’ Audrey Howard

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21 Jan: Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture

In 1903, a young woman sailed from India to Guiana as a “coolie”—the British name for indentured laborers who replaced the newly emancipated slaves on sugar plantations all around the world. Pregnant and traveling alone, this woman, like so many coolies, disappeared into history. In Coolie Woman—shortlisted for the 2014 Orwell Prize—her great-granddaughter Gaiutra Bahadur embarks on a journey into the past to find her. Traversing three continents and trawling through countless colonial archives, Bahadur excavates not only her great-grandmother’s story but also the repressed history of some quarter of a million other coolie women, shining a light on their complex lives.

Shunned by society, and sometimes in mortal danger, many coolie women were either runaways, widows, or outcasts. Many of them left husbands and families behind to migrate alone in epic sea voyages—traumatic “middle passages”—only to face a life of hard labor, dismal living conditions, and, especially, sexual exploitation. As Bahadur explains, however, it is precisely their sexuality that makes coolie women stand out as figures in history. Greatly outnumbered by men, they were able to use sex with their overseers to gain various advantages, an act that often incited fatal retaliations from coolie men and sometimes larger uprisings of laborers against their overlords. Complex and unpredictable, sex was nevertheless a powerful tool.

Examining this and many other facets of these remarkable women’s lives, Coolie Woman is a meditation on survival, a gripping story of a double diaspora—from India to the West Indies in one century, Guyana to the United States in the next—that is at once a search for one’s roots and an exploration of gender and power, peril and opportunity. 
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17 Jan: Warm Bread and Honey Cake: Home Baking from Around the World

Containing a mix of familiar family favorites and unusual, exotic delicacies, this comprehensive collection of recipes for breads, cakes, biscuits and pastries is also a well-researched exploration of home-baking techniques and global ethnic history. Inspired by her multicultural background the author has drawn inspiration from all over the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.<P> All the recipes are simple to follow and beautifully photographed, with any unusual techniques illustrated step-by-step for ease. Try your hand at Azorean honey cake or Jamaican hard dough bread. Let your family's taste buds thrill to Azerbaijani cream cheese baklava or Dutch brown sugar coils.<P> The combination of delicious recipes and fascinating historical and anecdotal text make this book a fantastic read–a must for any home cook looking to truly broaden their repertoire or with an interest in the culture of food.

17 Jan: Chasing Happy (Chasing Happy Trilogy) (Volume 1)

Have you ever had to choose between a relationship and something you’ve dreamed about your whole life? That is the dilemma twenty-three-year-old Kieran Taylor unexpectedly finds herself in, and she’s not entirely sure how she got there. Deep down she knows that her violent and controlling boyfriend, Darren, is not the one for her and she quickly regrets choosing him. Trapped in a dead-end job and relationship, Kieran finds temporary solace in the arms of her first love, Joshua, who reappears after five years, though his return reopens old wounds. Confused and determined to be free of her painful past and pitiful present, Kieran goes on holiday to Greece where she meets the handsome Romeo. Unable to resist the temptation of romance and adventure, Kieran allows this perfect stranger to sweep her off her unsuspecting feet. Romeo, however, is not all he portrays and learning the truth leads Kieran on a downward spiral of destruction. One big secret leads to an even bigger heartbreak – one she did not see coming, and it changes her life forever.

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17 Jan: Where Is Home?

This is a story depicting the author's early life growing up in third world country Guyana, South America. The author reflects on her family's origin and her adolescent years spent in Bengal and Plantation Highbury. She writes about her travel, studying and working in various countries and how she was able to cope with the adversity, and diversity of life. Throughout the book the author writes about the different places she called home and how it impacted her life. Her stories cover four and a half decades living in western societies and how she was able to hold on to hope during the days of despair. It seems our life is just a shadow that does not linger forever and it's just a story.

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02 Jan: She Rocks! Meet Dr. Shabana Amanda Ali – Postdoctoral Research Scientist In Search of A Cure

At a time when many cultural forces continue to stand in the way of women pursuing careers in the science and technology fields, Dr.  Shabana Amanda Ali is proving to be a great role model for young female scientists.  A self-professed “Multidimensional Student of Life” her work speaks volumes of her level of commitment to the field of research science.  After witnessing the decline of her grandmother’s health due to osteoarthritis, Dr. Ali  decided to dedicate her career to finding a…

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30 Dec: Guyanese-born, London-raised, Letitia Wright, Among Actresses to Watch in 2018

Vogue.com has named Letitia Wright as one of the actresses to watch in 2018.  According to the fashion and beauty website, the Guyanese-born, London-raised actress will conquer the silver screen alongside Chadwick Boseman in 2018’s Black Panther before reprising her role as Shuri in Avengers: Infinity War. Expect her to swap out her superhero duds for pieces from Burberry and Prada. Back in February we shared that Letitia landed a role in the 2018 Marvel Comics…

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10 Dec: Guyanese, Marva Langevine, to Receive Queen’s Young Leaders Award

Congratulations to teacher and Miss World Guyana 2016 finalist, Marva Langivine, on receiving the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award! Langevine has been chosen in recognition of the work she is doing to transform the lives of bereaved, sick and underprivileged children and families in her community and beyond. Langevine will now join the Queen’s Young Leaders network of 240 Award winners, a unique community of influential change-makers, who represent all 52 Commonwealth countries. The winners…