In thirteenth-century Sri Lanka, Asanka, poet to the king, lives a life of luxury, enjoying courtly life and a sweet, furtive love affair with a palace servant, a village girl he is teaching to write. But when Magha, a prince from the mainland, usurps the throne, Asanka's role as court poet dramatically alters. Magha is a cruel and calculating king--and yet, a lover of poetry--and he commissions Asanka to translate a holy Sanskrit epic into the Tamil language spoken by his recently acquired subjects. The poem will be an olive branch--a symbol of unity between the two cultures. But in different languages, in different contexts, meaning can become slippery. First inadvertently, then deliberately and dangerously, Asanka's version of the epic, centered on the killing of an unjust ruler, inspires and arouses the oppressed people of the land. Asanka must juggle the capricious demands of a king with the growing demands of his own political consciousness--and his heart--if he wishes to survive and imagine a future with the woman he loves. The first novel from a remarkable young writer, River of Ink is a powerful historical tale set in the shadow of oppression--one with deep allegorical resonances in any time--celebrating the triumph of literature and love.

With grace, poetry, clarity, and expert knowledge, artist Etienne Appert brings us a book about the very origins of the art of illustration—what it means and why it exists.

With its title harkening back to the sack of Baghdad in 1258—when the Tigris ran black with the ink of books flung into the water by Mongol invaders—River of Ink is a collection of essays that range widely across time and cultures to illuminate the role of literature and art throughout history. Christensen draws from a panoply of subjects, from the writings of prehistoric Chinese cultures known only through archaeology to the heroic efforts of contemporary Afghanis to keep the legacy of their ancient culture alive under the barrage of endless war. Christensen's encyclopedic knowledge of world art and vast understanding of literature allows him to move easily from a discussion of the invention of moveable type in Korea, to Johannes Kepler's search for the harmony of the spheres, to the strange journey of an iron sculpture from Benin to the Louvre. Other essays cover the Popol Vuh of the Maya as exemplum of translation, the pioneering explorations of the early American naturalist John Bartram, and the balletic works of Louis–Ferdinand Céline. It is Christensen's gift to see the world whole, to offer a wealth of connections vital for us as citizens of a rapidly globalizing world.

'Superbly told' The Times 'Richly imagined' Sunday Times 'An engrossing, seamlessly written deliberation on the enduring power of art' Mail on Sunday Assyria, in the reign of Ashurbanipal. For Aurya and Sharo, every day is a struggle for survival. One evening, everything changes. Soon, they are on the barge of King Ashurbanipal, bound for the city of Nineveh. Their fates become inextricably bound to that of the king – and the injured lion captured by his men. Twenty-six centuries later, British-Iraqi archaeologist Katya joins a dig in Mosul to protect the ancient ruins of Nineveh from looters. But the real world crashes in to their studious idyll when ISIL storm Mosul – and take Katya, Salim and local girl Lola hostage. 'Dual timeline novels often fail: one strand is more interesting than the other, or the links between the two are contrived. Not here. Both stories are superbly told and share the same preoccupation – the coexistence of cruelty and creative beauty' The Times, Historical Novel of the Month

Soul of Ink: Lim Tze Peng at 100 pays tribute to the remarkable achievement of artistic renaissance at 100. It traces the lean beginnings of Lim Tze Peng's early years, relives the times of controversy over the artist's innovations in Chinese calligraphy, and celebrates his breakthroughs. Throughout the book, attention is paid to Lim Tze Peng the man, the foundation of everything that is admirable about Lim Tze Peng the artist. It looks at the man behind the art, and how art has given life to him and his family.Farmer, teacher, principal, and artist, Lim Tze Peng counts Lee Man Fong, Cheong Soo Pieng, and Liu Kang as his mentors. These men, like the others from the pioneering generation of Nanyang artists, are no longer around. Lim Tze Peng remains standing, a witness to and player in Singapore's art history since the 1940s.His life started late; everything got going only after the ripe old age of 80. A Cultural Medallion winner at 82 and a Meritorious Service recipient at 95, Lim Tze Peng is used to the twists and turns of life and has been trained by experience to endure the vagaries of fate. You could describe his art as the art of perseverance. The works he produces these days need to be seen to be believed. Bigger, bolder, and boasting far more colour than ever before, his art is as invigorating as that of a young man, whilst embodying the soul of a sage.At the heart of this book is the word 'soul'. What pushes a man at the age of 100 to continue breaking new ground in his life's work? How has he been able to surprise not just the art community but himself?This is Woon Tai Ho's second book on a Singaporean artist. His first, To Paint a Smile, is about the artist Tan Swie Hian.

Jed must confront the revelation of his true identity: he is the alchemist Fulcanelli who discovered the elixir of life and used it to become young again. He must take the elixir one more time in order to live for ever. If he doesn't take it he will die. But Jed only has nine months left to take the elixir. And he has absolutely no idea how to make it. The challenge is clear. Jed, Kassia and co. must hunt down the secret recipe.Their quest takes them to Prague and then on to Paris - but hot on their heels are NOAH, the secret organisation that will do anything to get their hands on the secret to eternal life. Jed has everything to live for. But who can he trust? The second in an action-packed series full of adventure, this book has an illustrated narrative running through it, helping readers to solve the mystery alongside the characters in the story.

A beautifully written story of friendship, discovery, myths, and magic that the London Times called "reminiscent of fantasy greats such as Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman." Legends say that the island of Joya was once a place where songbirds sang in every tree and the islanders were free to come and go as they pleased. That was before the harsh-ruling Governor arrived, and ravens drove out the native birds. Now there are no songbirds, and the people are forbidden to travel beyond the forest that separates them from the rest of the island. But for Isabella, the legends of her island home have always seemed like more than just stories. And when a series of mysterious events shakes the community, it’s Isabella—daughter to the island’s only mapmaker—who will lead a party of explorers into the forest in search of answers. As the group ventures deeper and deeper into the island, dark secrets begin to surface, and the legends Isabella has listened to all these years show signs of coming to life. Debut novelist Kiran Millwood Hargrave draws on the cultural folklore of the Canary Islands in this richly told story of a girl’s quest to map her own place in a world that legends alone have shaped. Advance Praise: "[R]eminiscent of fantasy greats such as Philip Pullman and Neil Gaiman." --The London Times

WINNER OF A NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD A USA TODAY BESTSELLER "A gifted writer, astonishingly adept at nuance, narration, and the politics of passion."—Toni Morrison Set in London of the 1660s and of the early twenty-first century, The Weight of Ink is the interwoven tale of two women of remarkable intellect: Ester Velasquez, an emigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi, just before the plague hits the city; and Helen Watt, an ailing historian with a love of Jewish history. When Helen is summoned by a former student to view a cache of newly discovered seventeenth-century Jewish documents, she enlists the help of Aaron Levy, an American graduate student as impatient as he is charming, and embarks on one last project: to determine the identity of the documents' scribe, the elusive "Aleph." Electrifying and ambitious, The Weight of Ink is about women separated by centuries—and the choices and sacrifices they must make in order to reconcile the life of the heart and mind.

“River of Stars is a major accomplishment, the work of a master novelist in full command of his subject.”—Michael Dirda, in The Washington Post “Game of Thrones in China.”—Salon.com Ren Daiyan was still just a boy when he took the lives of seven men while guarding an imperial magistrate. That moment on a lonely road changed his life in entirely unexpected ways, sending him into the forests of Kitai among the outlaws. From there he emerges years later—and his life changes again, dramatically, as he circles toward the court and emperor, while war approaches Kitai from the north. Lin Shan is the daughter of a scholar, his beloved only child. Educated by him in ways young women never are, gifted as a songwriter and calligrapher, she finds herself living a life suspended between two worlds. Her intelligence captivates an emperor—and alienates women at the court. But when her father’s life is endangered by the savage politics of the day, Shan must act in ways no woman ever has. In an empire divided by bitter factions circling an exquisitely cultured emperor who loves his gardens and his art far more than the burdens of governing, dramatic events on the northern steppe alter the balance of power in the world, leading to events no one could have foretold, under the river of stars.

***A STANDALONE novel*** Sometimes the things we shouldn’t want become exactly what we need . . . Waitressing at a seedy strip club isn’t ideal, but it pays Sarah Adamson’s tuition. Her goal is to finish her master’s program and get a job that doesn’t involve tight skirts and groping hands. She doesn’t need distractions. Especially not the one that comes in the form of a hot-as-sin tattoo artist who works across the street from her apartment. Kicked out at sixteen, and a high school dropout, Chris Zelter is familiar with wanting things he can’t have. His fractured life has never been easy. As the product of someone else’s bad decisions, he knows exactly what happens when the wrong person controls your marionette strings. Now an accomplished tattoo artist in a renowned studio in Chicago, Chris has it together. Mostly. Apart from his infatuation with Sarah. She’s way out of his league, and Chris knows it. But he’s willing to be her bad decision. At least for now.