A Ring of Truth is set in exotic, faraway Borneo, The Land of the Headhunter, about 600 years ago. This book is a collection of intriguing Ancestral fact-fiction short stories; Synthesised from ancient myths, Legends and oral histories. These intriguing short stories Are about the ancient Dayak ancestors. The main stories revolve around ancient Borneo adventours, And brave fierce warlike headhunter-warriors. These stories are but imperfect recollections From fading elder's memories. These stories are partly based on written historical facts. The rest are creative reflections Of the accumulated living historical facts. These stories are here written For your children to read and remember, The origin and tough challenges Along the footsteps of their great ancestors. It is also here written, That you may well come to know, How temporally and geographically far, Your ancient forefathers have to go. I name this book A RING OF TRUTH. A superstring of ancestral stories. A superstring of ancient heroes, In the adventour's genealogy. A Certain Kind of Story. A Certain Kind of History. A Certain Kind of Poetic Journey. A Certain Kind of Reality. A Ring of Truth.

In The Rise of Surrealism, Willard Bohn examines the various literary and artistic developments that prepared the way for the international Surrealist movement—including Cubism, Metaphysical Art, and Dada—as well as the triumph of Surrealism itself. In an analysis that spans the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, Bohn surveys writers and artists from France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and the United States, examining both their aversion to mimesis and the solutions they devised to replace it. Much of the book is concerned with competing artistic models and with different strategies for creating avant-garde works, and focuses on such figures as Guillaume Apollinaire, Max Weber, Marius de Zayas, Francis Picabia, Giorgio de Chirico, André Breton, J. V. Foix, and Joan Miró. The dynamics of the imagery that painters and poets chose to employ and the new roles this imagery assumed in their compositions are also discussed.

‘Right now, someone else’s life was in his hands. He couldn’t say whether it was a few seconds or minutes that they both stood staring at each other, but he had never been so scared in his life.’ In Truth or Dare we follow, spell-bound, as chance encounters bring violent pasts roaring into the present; we wait on tenterhooks as a woman sits by her husband’s hospital bed as both their lives hang in the balance; we watch anxiously as a homeless man begs a woman with her life and career stretching ahead of her not to jump to her death. By turns comedic, heart-wrenching and moving, these stories paint powerful pictures of pain, love and empathy, and celebrate the power we have over one another. From the rain-soaked waterways of London to the bustling streets of Dhaka, Truth or Dare is a stunning collection that spans two continents and sees the best and worst in both. 'The writer’s wonderfully crafted language and commendable flair make the characters’ emotions, their dreams, their fears, their disappointments, etc., recognisable and easy to empathise with. The plots are refreshingly different. The soul-stirring narrations as one engaging story follows another makes Truth or Dare a very worthwhile read. As we finish reading each story, we feel that we understand a little more about human nature, even though we experience a sense of loss at the same time.' The Asian Age 'Showcasing the best and worst of humanity, Truth or Dare is a powerful and riveting collection that will have you turning the pages until you’ve devoured every last word. Soaked in compassion, love and a host of other emotions, Nadia K Barb’s work will remind you of Gabriel Garcia Marquez at the height of his powers. Rich and evocative, this is a collection to be cherished and savoured.' Awais Khan, author of No Honour 'These stories draw you in, hold you, speak to you, tell you secrets, and show you worlds, and then let you go at just that point when you can’t stop thinking about them. Each one is a journey, each story a gem. Short fiction has a new torchbearer in Nadia Kabir Barb and this remarkable debut is just the beginning, I hope.' Nadeem Zaman, author of The Inheritors 'Nadia Kabir Barb writes with compassion and imagination about her characters, who are varied and richly drawn. She keeps the reader close to the stories, allowing us to experience their anguish, fears and joys on an intimate level.' Sharbari Z. Ahmed, author of Dust Under Her Feet 'Effortlessly switching between London and Dhaka, Nadia Kabir Barb’s humanity shines through in this tender and diverse collection.' Bee Rowlatt, author of One Woman Crime Wave 'Sharply observed and vivid in detail, Nadia Kabir Barb’s stories lay bare the poignant, the powerful, the traumatic moments on which our lives turn. These delicate, penetrating vignettes are glimpses that encapsulate a greater whole. Hers is a memorable short fiction debut.' Steven J. Fowler, author of The Guide to Being Bear Aware

King Edward VII School, 1965 - 1970, in Apartheid Johannesburg was a stick-wielding, traditional boys school of its times. But the Establishment did not count on a cohort that displayed an over-developed spirit of rebellion. In this unofficial, unauthorized and somewhat scandalous account, over 70 schoolmates used the Covid-19 lockdown to describe their complicated relationship with the institution that helped shape their lives over the last 50 years. Anyone who has ever reflected on their own schooldays will enjoy the humour and escapades of a group determined to resist the rules and constraints of a very rigid society.

Includes an afterword by the author In the Freud Archives tells the story of an unlikely encounter among three men: K. R. Eissler, the venerable doyen of psychoanalysis; Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, a flamboyant, restless forty-two-year-old Sanskrit scholar turned psychoanalyst turned virulent anti-Freudian; and Peter Swales, a mischievous thirty-five-year-old former assistant to the Rolling Stones and self-taught Freud scholar. At the center of their Oedipal drama are the Sigmund Freud Archives--founded, headed, and jealously guarded by Eissler--whose sealed treasure gleams and beckons to the community of Freud scholarship as if it were the Rhine gold. Janet Malcolm's fascinating book first appeared some twenty years ago, when it was immediately recognized as a rare and remarkable work of nonfiction. A story of infatuation and disappointment, betrayal and revenge, In the Freud Archives is essentially a comedy. But the powerful presence of Freud himself and the harsh bracing air of his ideas about unconscious life hover over the narrative and give it a tragic dimension.

Synopsis High School Memoirs: A Journey in Surrealism is a tear-jerking, hilarious ride for a less-than-ordinary High School student who battles bullies and librarians to become King of the Classroom. Set in a small Catholic High School on the north side of Chicago, author Sean Cusack takes us on a surrealistic journey through four fun-filled years of triumph and tragedy in this unique epic. The journey begins with Sean Cusack entering St. Bernadin High School in August of 1995 as a very young and innocent Freshman student. He focuses on several life changing experiences in his infant days of High School that change him forever. Innocence Lost traces the steps Sean Cusack took that ultimately lead him on a path toward frequent battles with students and the school faculty and Administration. As a Sophomore, The Ride most certainly takes us on a ride through fights, vandalism, and verbal debacles that continued to steer the vengeful ship that Sean Cusack had been building since a Freshman. He now had become the ships Captain as it set sail. The Ride takes us through many strange and mysterious encounters that add more of a surrealist element to this budding melodrama and comedic satire. Sean Cusacks roses bud Junior Year in Forever Remembered, when he becomes a charismatic hero and leader of a rebellious group of students that pillage and plunder the school and faculty in wild and zany antics. Forever Remembered embodies the humorous and more imaginative side of Sean Cusack as the journey through High School becomes more surreal. Senior Year wraps up the trials and tribulations that Sean Cusack had endured thus far in his High School experience culminating into one person after years of battling the Defunct Administration. He is molded by evil as the rebellious youth becomes totally hellbent on crippling the school. In the end, he loses friends, respect from teachers, but most of all, he loses faith in his cause, yet ends his High School experience with a fantastical and triumphant bow. Sean Cusack proves that not all High School stories are the same in this turbulent and chaotic autobiography. High School Memoirs: A Journey in Surrealism chronicles a strange and unique history that is truly a step above the rest.