When her sister dies, Collie Noonan gets custody of her ten-year-old niece. Hoping for a fresh start, they move to a small village on the outskirts of Suffolk. But in Hyam all is not as it seems. The locals are verging on hostile, and all the local shop seems to stock is meat—a problem for Collie’s vegetarian niece. Emily Lassiter is also new to the village, and Collie is drawn to the mysterious schoolteacher. Unknown to Collie, Emily is an undercover reporter looking into the disappearance of her brother. He warned her something was wrong in Hyam. Something was watching him. Emily believes the answers lie in the village, and she’ll do whatever it takes to discover the truth. But something not quite human is stalking Collie and her niece. It’s coming for them all, and they’ll need to work together if any of them want to get out of Hyam alive.
Patrick Hartigan's tableaux of a Slovak village, where his wife Lenka was born, draw us into the simple and sensory lives of a grandpa, grandma, Linda the dog and the villagers who go about their business. Hartigan chronicles the family relationships and rituals from the viewpoint of an outsider and yet the care he brings to these observations makes them feel like cherished heirlooms. The Village is Quiet is an exquisite collection of stories where strangeness and intimacy transport us into another world. 'Patrick Hartigan writes the same way that he paints: as if the world is standing still and he is walking through it.' -- Erik Jensen, author of Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen and On Kate Jennings 'The book is a gem.' -- Caroline Overington, The Australian
Field study of living conditions in a village of Bangladesh - describes historical background to poverty, the agrarian structure and agricultural production; mentions landowner attitudes, rural youth, rural women and children; examines the role of Islamic religion, marriage, the rural area social classes (particularly peasant farmers and landless agricultural workers); covers land and production relations, agricultural marketing, violence, corruption, development aid, etc. Photographs and references.
One day, a little cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. But the little cricket cannot make a sound. The cricket meets many insects, but it isn't until he meets a beautiful female cricket that he can finally chirp "hello!" Excerpt: Hello! whispered a praying mantis, scraping its huge front legs together. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.