A common Sinhala proverb states, "A woman's understanding reaches only the length of the kitchen spoon's handle." In this beautifully written book on the effects of female migration from Sri Lanka, Michele Ruth Gamburd shows that the length of that handle now spans several thousand miles, rather than a mere twelve inches.During the past twenty years, a great many Sri Lankan women have left their homes and families to work as housemaids in the wealthy oil-producing states of the Middle East. Gamburd explores global and local, as well as personal, reasons why so many women leave to work so far away. Focusing primarily on the home community, rather than on the experiences of the workers abroad, she vividly illustrates the impact of the migration on those left behind and on the migrants who return.As migrant women take on the formerly masculine role of breadwinner, Gamburd explains, traditional concepts of the value of "women's work" are significantly altered. She examines the effects of female migration on caste hierarchies, class relations, gender roles, and family interactions.The Kitchen Spoon's Handle skillfully blends the stories and memories of returned migrants and their families and neighbors with interviews with government officials, recruiting agents, and moneylenders. The book provides a rich and sensitive portrait of the confluence of global and local processes in the lives of the villagers. Gamburd presents a sophisticated, yet very readable, discussion of current theories of power, agency, and identity.

Naomi Shepherd is a prize-winning historian and biographer; here she turns her hand to fiction, revealing a razor-sharp eye, a finely attuned ear, and a keen sense of cultural dissonance. In each of these thirteen stories we see a different facet of a fast-changing country where the clash of cultures and of expectations creates situations rich in humour, poignancy, disappointment, and tragedy. 'The short stories in Naomi Shepherd's collection Ashes are a delight. In them we encounter themes of adultery, love, jealousy, loss, guilt, encroaching age, et cetera, set in an Israel of many modes, and Israel shaped by its heritage, its history, and, above all, its inhabitants, Jew and Arab, all gathered together not so much in a melting pot as in a stew concocted of intractable, discordant elements. We are presented, in short, with an anatomy of Israeli society, a species of social tragic-comedy.' Alan Isler, author of The Prince of West End Avenue

Edward and Elsie's daughter, young Elsie, is saddened by a separation from her beloved Lester, who is studying art in Italy. Shortly after Lester leaves for Europe, the family is devastated by Edward's sudden death. Elsie finds solace in the comfort of her father, Horace Dinsmore, and, more important, in the everlasting arms of her heavenly Father. The knowledge that Edward is in heaven with loved ones who have gone before is a great consolation to the Travilla family, but they struggle nonetheless to deal with the loss of husband and father.

"Gold Elsie" by E. Marlitt is a romance novel, set in Thuringia, about the German aristocracy. Excerpt: "Hans von Gnadewitz was to be found not only upon the boughs of the genealogical tree in the hall of the new castle but suspended by a rope around his neck to a bough of one of the actual trees in the forest. The beaten whipper-in expiated the deed upon the scaffold, but that could not bring the last of the Gnadewitzes to life again, for he was dead,—irrevocably dead, the physicians said; and the long tale of robber-knights, wild excesses, hunting orgies, and horse-racing came to an end."

Returning from his banishment, the Baladron, a sinister reptilian wizard, seeks retribution for past wrongs, forcing a legendary Weaponsmaster to train an endangered orphan, Flyn Toleran, in the ancient art of weapons lore. Despite being continually hunted by seedy Thieves' Guild assassins, the gifted young man strives for a normal life. In time, his true purpose as leader and Weaponsmaster arise, making him the vanguard in the hunt against evil. When dragons and dark magic take hold, Flyn undertakes more than his training has prepared him for. Will his fragile alignment with the Dwarven race, an obstinate blacksmith, an exquisite young woman and a naïve boy with a knack for the spectacular be enough? For out of a mysterious shroud of fog marches an undead enemy wielding paralyzing black blades; and the Knatkaki, outcast Elves, who travel through the evil currents of the land and attack mercilessly. Join Flyn as he sets off on the adventure of a lifetime; one that will change the face of his future forever.