The twelve stories in this anthology are some of the most riveting narratives penned by Macario Pineda in a writing career that lasted for less than two decades. Retold in English by Ms. Soledad S. Reyes, Macario Pineda’s Love in the Rice Fields and Other Short Stories offer readers a series of scenes in which various characters come alive in their respective journeys through life’s various stages—the idyllic innocence of youth, the pleasure and agony of young love, the disillusionment of old age, and the experience of death. Each story slowly leads its characters to an epiphany, for example, of the unconditional nature of a mother’s love, of war and its evils, of death and what possibly transpires after. In this collection of short stories, Pineda is the consummate chronicler of the barrio, a gentle historian, a masterful painter, a great Filipino artist who painstakingly depicted the varied aspects of the past he loved—an age slowly disappearing from the consciousness of most Filipinos in a world slowly deteriorating due to colonialism and its aftermath.
The first novel from Madagascar ever to be translated into English, Naivo’s magisterial Beyond the Rice Fields delves into the upheavals of the nation’s precolonial past through the twin narratives of a slave and his master’s daughter. Fara and her father’s slave, Tsito, have shared a tender intimacy since her father bought the young boy who’d been ripped away from his family after their forest village was destroyed. Now in Sahasoa, amongst the cattle and rice fields, everything is new for Tsito, and Fara at last has a companion to play with. But as Tsito looks forward toward the bright promise of freedom and Fara, backward to a twisted, long-denied family history, a rift opens that a rapidly shifting political and social terrain can only widen. As love and innocence fall away, their world becomes defined by what tyranny and superstition both thrive upon: fear. With captivating lyricism and undeniable urgency, Naivo crafts an unsentimental interrogation of the brutal history of nineteenth-century Madagascar as a land newly exposed to the forces of Christianity and modernity, and preparing for a violent reaction against them. Beyond the Rice Fields is a tour de force about the global history of human bondage and the competing narratives that keep us from recognizing ourselves and each other, our pasts and our destinies.
Recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Susan E. Rice—National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations—reveals her surprising story with unflinching candor in this New York Times bestseller. Mother, wife, scholar, diplomat, and fierce champion of American interests and values, Susan Rice powerfully connects the personal and the professional. Taught early, with tough love, how to compete and excel as an African American woman in settings where people of color are few, Susan now shares the wisdom she learned along the way. Laying bare the family struggles that shaped her early life in Washington, DC, she also examines the ancestral legacies that influenced her. Rice’s elders—immigrants on one side and descendants of slaves on the other—had high expectations that each generation would rise. And rise they did, but not without paying it forward—in uniform and in the pulpit, as educators, community leaders, and public servants. Susan too rose rapidly. She served throughout the Clinton administration, becoming one of the nation’s youngest assistant secretaries of state and, later, one of President Obama’s most trusted advisors. Rice provides an insider’s account of some of the most complex issues confronting the United States over three decades, ranging from “Black Hawk Down” in Somalia to the genocide in Rwanda and the East Africa embassy bombings in the late 1990s, and from conflicts in Libya and Syria to the Ebola epidemic, a secret channel to Iran, and the opening to Cuba during the Obama years. With unmatched insight and characteristic bluntness, she reveals previously untold stories behind recent national security challenges, including confrontations with Russia and China, the war against ISIS, the struggle to contain the fallout from Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks, the U.S. response to Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the surreal transition to the Trump administration. Although you might think you know Susan Rice—whose name became synonymous with Benghazi following her Sunday news show appearances after the deadly 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya—now, through these pages, you truly will know her for the first time. Often mischaracterized by both political opponents and champions, Rice emerges as neither a villain nor a victim, but a strong, resilient, compassionate leader. Intimate, sometimes humorous, but always candid, Tough Love makes an urgent appeal to the American public to bridge our dangerous domestic divides in order to preserve our democracy and sustain our global leadership.
Inspired by her beloved blog, dinneralovestory.com, Jenny Rosenstrach’s Dinner: A Love Story is many wonderful things: a memoir, a love story, a practical how-to guide for strengthening family bonds by making the most of dinnertime, and a compendium of magnificent, palate-pleasing recipes. Fans of “Pioneer Woman” Ree Drummond, Jessica Seinfeld, Amanda Hesser, Real Simple, and former readers of Cookie magazine will revel in these delectable dishes, and in the unforgettable story of Jenny’s transformation from enthusiastic kitchen novice to family dinnertime doyenne.
In Bali, as in many parts of the world, rice is more than just a staple food-rice is life! In Bali, life revolves around the planting and harvesting of rice. While eels slip through the mud and dragonflies flutter overhead, farmers plant seedlings in the wet rice field, or 'saweh.' Soon each plant is crowned with flowers, and tiny green kernels appear. Rain nourishes the kernels, which grow plump and sweet. The green plants turn golden and ripe, and everyone helps harvest the grain. When the harvest is finished, the farmers give thanks to the goddess of rice for a successful crop. From planting the seeds to harvesting the ripe grain, this beautiful, poetic book tells the story of rice and of the Balinese people, for whom rice is life.
New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice has inspired the devotion of readers everywhere with her moving novels of love and family. She has been hailed by critics for her unique gifts--a rare combination of realism and romance, according to The New York Times Book Review. Summer Light is Luanne Rice at her most magical, an entrancing story of love at first sight, the true meaning of family, and angels right here on earth. May Taylor works as a wedding planner with her best friend and great-aunt, passing on the timeless traditions established by her grandmother and mother. The Taylor women have always believed in the presence of magic in everyday life--especially the simple magic of true love and family. Yet May's own faith in true love was destroyed years ago when she was abandoned by the father of her child. Still, she has found joy in raising her daughter Kylie--a special five-year-old who sees and hears things that others cannot. Her unique visions will lead May to a love she never expected and a life she never imagined. Martin Cartier is a professional hockey player and sports legend. But celebrity has never been enough for Martin. His father, Serge, a hockey champion, taught him to play the game ... and to win at all costs. Now his handsome, polished exterior barely hides a core of rage, heartache and isolation. It is Kylie who first glimpses the role Martin will play in May's life and her own. May and Martin feel an immediate attraction, but each fears being hurt again. Yet the intensity of their connection leads them to begin to believe in a shared future. But just as happiness as a family seems within reach, Martin's past threatens to tear them all apart. Only Kylie sees the way home--and only May can lead them there, if she can somehow finally believe that miracles can come true.... Deftly illuminating the everlasting bonds among mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons, Luanne Rice celebrates life's simple pleasures and the joy of meeting the one person you are destined to love forever. Summer Light is a moving tribute to the enduring power of love and an exhilarating testament to the magic always at work in the world for those with the courage to see it.
Nine-year-old Nat and his family are forced from their home on April 17, 1975, marched for many days, separated from each other, and forced to work in the rice fields, where Nat concentrates on survival. Includes historical notes and photographs documenting the Cambodian genocide.
2022 Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writers Association 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Awards Finalist in Memoir 2021 Foreword Indies Finalist This Jade World centers on a Thai American who has gone through a series of life changes. Ira Sukrungruang married young to an older poet. On their twelfth anniversary, he received a letter asking for a divorce, sending him into a despairing spiral. How would he define himself when he was suddenly without the person who shaped and helped mold him into the person he is? After all these years, he asked himself what he wanted and found no answer. He did not even know what wanting meant. And so, in the year between his annual visits to Thailand to see his family, he gave in to urges, both physical and emotional; found comfort in the body, many bodies; fought off the impulse to disappear, to vanish; until he arrived at some modicum of understanding. During this time, he sought to obliterate the stereotype of the sexless Asian man and began to imagine a new life with new possibilities. Through ancient temples and the lush greenery of Thailand, to the confines of a stranger's bed and a devouring couch, This Jade World chronicles a year of mishap, exploration and experimentation, self-discovery, and eventually, healing. It questions the very nature of love and heartbreak, uncovering the vulnerability of being human.
