In this novel of clandestine warfare, two Arab-American Marines must infiltrate a terrorist training camp . . . Operation Jericho takes the reader into the world of clandestine warfare, focusing on two Arab American brothers who face a formidable enemy in Afghanistan. Much like the story of Jericho in the book of Joshua, two spies are sent into a terrorist training camp to determine if there are any righteous people among the population. The brothers must escape only to return and destroy the village codenamed Jericho—in an attempt to strike a major blow against all enemies in the War on Terror.
Winner of the 2021 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction Aleya's world starts to unravel after a café customer leaves behind a collection of short stories. Surprised and disturbed to discover that it has been dedicated to her, Aleya delves into the strange book... A mad scientist seeks to steal his son's dreams. A struggling writer, skilled only at destruction, finds himself courted by Hollywood. A woman seeks to escape her body and live inside her dreams. Citizens panic when a new city block manifests out of nowhere. The personification of capitalism strives to impress his cutthroat boss. The more Aleya reads, the deeper she sinks into the mysterious writer's work, and the less real the world around her seems. Soon, she's overwhelmed as a new, more terrifying existence takes hold. The Lightning of Possible Storms blends humour and horror, doom and daylight, offering myriad possible storms. Praise for Jonathan Ball: "Cheerfully horrifying, and full of the unexpected, The Lightning of Possible Storms is an entertaining Borgesian foray into the existential dread of writing itself." --Saleema Nawaz, author of Songs for the End of the World "This collection is so beautifully written and expertly composed--it is rich, layered, and complex. In every story, characters are forced to confront their secret, subterranean selves, their suppressed longings and anxieties, and the stories will linger with you long after you've finished them, much like the last strains of a beloved song. Witty, sad, sardonic, each story is its own masterpiece. This collection confirms Jonathan Ball as one of Canada's very best writers." --Suzette Mayr, author of Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall
It's the first day of T-ball and Froggy can't wait. In his dreams he's hitting home runs and waving to the cheering crowd. But things never go quite right for Froggy. After he bonks his pal Max on the head with his bat, throws himself out at first base, and spends his time in the outfield catching real flies with his tongue, Froggy has one last chance to prove he's a T-ball star.
An edited collection of over 40 essays in tribute to Jonathan Ball, the founder of Jonathan Ball Publishers. It includes contributions from Andrew Franklin, Mark Streatfeild, Nigel Newton, Stephen Page, Tim Hely Hutchinson, Mark Gevisser, Jonny Steinberg, Jenny Crwys-Williams and Michiel Heyns. Jonathan Ball, the founder of Jonathan Ball Publishers, died on 3 April 2021 after a short illness. This collection of essays, commissioned in tribute to him, is edited by Michele Magwood. Jonathan Ball left a deep impression on many different people in different ways. The 40 or so essays reflect the many facets of Jonathan: businessman, friend, brother, colleague, husband, father. But it is in the reading that we begin to understand the shape of him: publisher extraordinaire, history expert, gourmand, liberal thinker, suitor, philosemite and so on. It cannot be exaggerated how deep an imprint Jonathan has left on the political and cultural life of South Africa, too. The shelves of Jonathan Ball Publishers are weighted with serious history and biographies of eminent figures, with books that other publishers didn't have the boldness to take on. But there are many smaller, more finespun stories that tell us too who we are as a people and as a nation. Jonathan Ball: A Tributeincludes contributions from Nick Britt, David Ball, Jonny Steinberg, Jeremy Gordin, Julian Askin, Jenny Crwys-Williams, Andrew Feinstein, Richard Steyn, Adrian Bourne, Thérèse Herbert, Hannes van Zyl, Claire Wright, David Welsh, Alison Lowry, Anika Ebrahim, Andrew Franklin, Mark Gevisser, Mark Streatfeild, Ebbe Dommisse, Michele Magwood, Tim du Plessis, Michiel Heyns, Doug Band, Michael Cardo, Anet Pienaar, Allan Greenblo, Gail Nattrass, Malcolm Edwards, Willem Burger, Kerneels Breytenbach, Milton Shain, Nigel Newton, Benjamin Trisk, Koos Bekker, Stephen Page, Antony Altbeker, Tony Leon, Tim Hely Hutchinson, Ton Vosloo, Jane Evans, and Belinda, Jamie and Jono Bowling
A country is policed only to the extent that it consents to be. When that consent is withheld, cops either negotiate or withdraw. Once they do this, however, they are no longer police; their role becomes something far murkier. Several months before they exploded into xenophobic violence, Jonny Steinberg travelled the streets of Alexandra, Reiger Park and other Johannesburg townships with police patrols. His mission was to discover the unwritten rules of engagement emerging between South Africa's citizens and its new police force. In this provocative new book, Steinberg argues that policing in crowded urban space is like theatre. Only here, the audience writes the script, and if the police don't perform the right lines, the spectators throw them off the stage. In vivid and eloquent prose, Steinberg takes us into the heart of this drama, and picks apart the rules South Africans have established for the policing of their communities. What emerges is a lucid and original account of a much larger matter: the relationship between ordinary South Africans and the government they have elected to rule them. The government and its people are like scorned lovers, Steinberg argues: their relationship, brittle, moody, untrusting and ultimately very needy.
Bounce along with this rhyming read-aloud about all kinds of balls From footballs to eyeballs, beach balls to meatballs, if you can roll it, this book has it! With his signature whimsy and wordplay, author Joshua David Stein compares and contrasts different kinds of balls in this part-reference, part-comedy act. The book invites readers to identify various sports balls, while simultaneously weaving in a whole selection of unexpected rollable objects. A winning formula for every young reader who loves to kick, throw, catch, or giggle.
Jonathan Ball was born in Bude, Cornwall, in June 1947. After qualifying at the Architectural Association, London, he set up practice in his home town in 1974. In 1992 he was appointed MBE for Services to Architecture. In 1994 he was approached by Tim Smit with an idea to create the largest greenhouses on planet Earth to tell the story of the great plant hunters. Smit and Ball took huge personal risks as co-founders of the innovative architectural and environmental vision that became the internationally acclaimed Eden Project. Ball was removed from Eden against his will. Without due recompense he lost his architectural practice. Three high profile appearances in the Royal Courts of Justice over four years followed to save his name, his family home and his professional reputation. This is the story of one man's unflinching resolve and success in righting a public wrong, of a Cornishman looking to the glory of his nation and finding that enthusiasm, brilliant ideas and promises are not always enough.
There's an entire generation of South African women who ought to read this book.' – Sara-Jayne King, author of Killing Karoline 'Ougat is masterfully written – raw, unpretentious, unsettling. Shana Fife captures all the darkness from her body, psyche and life with fearless honesty and transparency.' – Frazer Barry, award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and musician By the time Shana Fife is 25 she has two kids from different fathers. To the Coloured people she grew up around, she is a jintoe, a jezebel, jas, a woman with mileage on the pussy. She is alone, she has no job and, as she is constantly reminded by her community, she is pretty much worthless and unloveable. How did she become this woman, the epitome of everything she was conditioned to strive not to be? Unsettlingly honest and brutally blunt, Ougat is Shana Fife's story of survival: of surviving the social conditioning of her Cape Flats upbringing, of surviving sexual violence and depression and of ultimately escaping a cycle of abuse. A powerful, fresh and disarming new voice – Shana's writing is like nothing you've read before.
Winner of the 2013 Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry (Manitoba Book Awards) If Lisa Robertson were to collide with David Lynch in a dark alley, the result would be a lot like The Politics of Knives. From shattered narratives to surrealistic fantasies, the poems in The Politics of Knives bridge that gap between the conventional and the experimental, combining the intellectual with the visceral. The complicity of language in violence, and the production of stories as both a defensive and offensive gesture, trouble the stability of these poetic sequences that dwell in the borderland between speaking and screaming. She made hyphens and made me use them. From her back she pulled brackets. Saying: "These in your throat and these around your neck." Jonathan Ball teaches English, film, and writing at two universities in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is the author of Ex Machina and Clockfire, which was shortlisted for a Manitoba Book Award.
‘A compact and intense read full of twists, turns and intrigue’ Daily Express The bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Last Runaway returns with a tale of jealousy, bullying and revenge. Arriving at his fourth school in six years, diplomat’s son Osei knows he needs an ally if he is to survive his first day – so he’s lucky to hit it off with Dee, the most popular girl in school. But one student can’t stand to witness this budding relationship: Ian decides to destroy the friendship between the black boy and the golden girl. By the end of the day, the school and its key players – teachers and pupils alike – will never be the same again. The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970s suburban Washington schoolyard in Tracy Chevalier's powerful drama of friends torn apart.
