The third volume of Catherine Hoffmann’s Lia Mendez trilogy is now available as an ebook. Find it on Amazon for $(US)4.99 a copy or the equivalent price in your own currency on your national Amazon site.
Taking Wing is a story about belonging to each other in family, loss of livelihood and hope in the much loved country of birth, and finally, arriving destitute in a new land far away to create a new home.
The third novel of the Lia Mendez trilogy, Taking Wing, was released in September 2011.
The Lia Mendez trilogy, spans three generations of the Mendez-Kremzier and Heiman families, the paths of their lives intersected by the conflicts and changes which shaped Central Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Of Exile and Yearning (2009) and Across the Burning (2010) are the first two books of the trilogy.
Set in the era when Europe’s thousand year thrust for universal fraternity detours into the Communist tyranny, Taking Wing follows an ordinary man and an extraordinary woman, Frederic and Lia, as they struggle to stay sane in the face of civic stupidity and individual evil.
Lia is called to open her arms to the difficult truth that has always been her pillar of fire. Frederic, as husband and father, strives to hold on to all that is real, and not be stifled by his natural scepticism. Their children, Regan, inheritor of a past of wonder and betrayal, fights for self-definition, and Mercedes, a child born wounded, seeks the source of healing within.
Taking Wing is a story about belonging and forsaking, the loss of all and the state of abandonment, and finally, the coming to nothing that turns out to be everything under another land’s new stars.
ISBN 9781920787202
Literary fiction
pb 233 x 151 mm
268 pages
$28.95 rrp
Special offer: In Australia, a personal order for one copy with postage included costs $30.00.
Catherine Hoffmann’s novel, Across the Burning, was released by Indra in October 2010.
Across the Burning is the second novel of the Lia Mendez trilogy, an epic which spans three generations of the Mendez-Kremzier and Heiman families, the paths of their lives intersected by the conflicts and changes which shaped Central Europe in the first half of the twentieth century.
Once enthralled by the grand vistas of travel, Frederic returns to Hungary as Europe is about to burst into the fire of World War II. He, a sharp and worldly non-believer, returns to Rudi Wolf, his soul friend, to Lia Mendez, his only love – his two Jewish friends now married, but still welcoming him as part of their life. With passion and loyalty to each other the three friends face the Nazi occupation.
A story of sensibility and identity, of exile, abandonment and returning to yourself.
Of Exile and Yearning, the first book of the trilogy, was released in September 2009.
ISBN 9781920787189
Literary fiction
pb 234 x 150 mm
290 pp
$29.95 rrp
Special Offer: In Australia, a personal order for one copy with postage included costs $30.00.
In Australian veterans’ magazine, Mufti, December 2007
Review by J R Bartram
Shadows of War, by Ryoko Adachi and Andrew McKay $(AU)27.95
This soft covered book of 250 pages is a genuine record of face-to-face interviews and thoughts of ex-POWs, loved ones and Veterans. The authors, both senior journalists (the former a Japanese), interviewed some 40 people who knew personally of events in fighting the Japanese in WWII and have direct contact with another 100. Some never thought they would tolerate having a Japanese in their homes – they will never forget or forgive the atrocities of the Japs.
The contrasting views are understandable and highlight the thought that the Japanese are still fighting the 100 year war – conquering by economic means – and some examples certainly make one think! Others spell out their hate with convincing reasoning. The lack of a formal apology to Australia will keep grievances alive.
***
As the Japanese keep dragging their feet on coming to terms with the terrors against Australia in the 1940s, such books can only assist in educating the young – both Japanese and Australian. An excellent read – buy a copy for the teenagers!
The revealing journal of an ex-Papua New Guinea Defence Force Officer, detailing against the historical background, the inside story of military operations against the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA).
This book is a sensitive treatment of civil war, from the inside. It provides a Melanesian perspective on a Melanesian war. Bougainville Campaign Diary describes the background to the secessionist crisis ( the discovery of copper, the establishment of the Bougainville Copper mine, and early seccessionist movements on the island.
The reader learns about the PNG military through Liria’s description of his own recruitment and training. As an Intelligence Officer, Liria briefed others on the BRA, and it is through his account of one of those briefing sessions that the reader learns about the BRA, and the support for the BRA among the Bougainvillean people.
As well as contributing to the history of the counter-insurgency campaign, the book is an entertaining account of life in uniform. Liria’s style is that of a natural raconteur. He shares the opportunities for humour, and is not afraid to tell his readers how he cried to see the burnt out villages of Bougainville, which could so easily have been villages in his own Southern Highlands district.
This is not a dry, academic work. It is a good read, and an informative one.
Dec 1993, 182pp
Paperback, 215 x 138 mm
Non-fiction, 1st Edition
ISBN 0 9587718 4 7
RRP $aud 19.95
The Author
Yauka Aluambo Liria is from Tunda village, Pangia District in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The second son of a traditional chief, Yauka was one of the first men in his area to attend school and become a military officer.
After joining the Papua New Guinea Defence Force in 1982, Yauka was commissioned into the rank of second lietenant on graduation from the Defence Academy in Lae in 1983. His military career included service as an infantry platoon leader, military arts instructor, defence intelligence analyst and in 1992, a Company Commander in the Bougainville counter-insurgency operations.
In 1993, after two tours of duty in Bougainville, Yauka, by then a captain, resigned from the Defence Force, to take up full-time studies at the University of Papua New Guinea. Bougainville Campaign Diary is Yauka’s first book.
On October 12, 2002, Bali seemed to crumble overnight, when hundreds of tourists and locals who were enjoying themselves became victims of two horrific bomb blasts. The bombs took the lives of 202 people – 88 of whom were Australians, and severely injured many more.
The Bali bombing brought Australians closer to the terror which had dominated world headlines for over a year. Dewi Anggraeni’s book – Who Did This To Our Bali? – presents a comprehensive summary of the event, the investigation and the main perpetrators.
Dewi’s work as an Indonesian journalist in Australia puts her in a unique position to observe and understand how the tragedy of the Bali bombing has played out in Australia, Bali and elsewhere in Indonesia.
Indonesians and foreign observers alike have been pondering whether “Indonesian Islam” remains as moderate, liberal and tolerant as many had believed. Part of this book is about Dewi’s own journey through this pondering.
Includes: Map of Eastern Indonesia;
Plan of Kuta, showing Sari Club and Paddy’s Bar;
4 colour plates of Kuta and the main perpetrators of the bombing
February 2004 200pp
Paperback, 210 x 138 mm
Non-Fiction category: war & revolution
1st Edition ISBN: 1 92078708 9
RRP $aud24-95
ISBN (13): 9781920787089
The Author
As a published writer of novels, short stories and essays, and an established role as a regional journalist, Dewi Anggraeni is well-known in both Australia and Indonesia, especially among those in both countries who maintain an interest in regional affairs.
Her major works have been published by Indra Publishing:
Who Did This To Our Bali?, 2003
Snake, 2003
Neighbourhood Tales: A Bilingual Collection, 2001
Journeys Through Shadows, 1998
Stories of Indian Pacific, 1992
Parallel Forces, 1988
The Root of all Evil, 1987
Dewi’s poetry, short stories and essays appear in anthologies from a range of publishers:
“Journey to My Cultural Home” in Weaving a Double Cloth; Stories of Asia Pacific Women in Australia (Ed. Myra Jean Bourke, Susanne Holzknecht and Annie Bartlett, Pandanus Books, 2002)
“Exposing Crimes Against Women” in The Last Days of President Suharto (Ed. Edward Aspinall, Herb Feith and Gerry van Klinken, Monash Asia Institute, 1999)
“Rejected by Ibu Pertiwi” in Motherlode (Ed. Stephanie Holt and Maryanne Lynch, Sybylla Feminist Press, 1997)
“From Indonesia to Australia and Back: Cultural Sensitivities” in Crossing Cultures: Essays on Literature & Culture of the Asia-Pacific (Ed.Bruce Bennett, Jeff Doyle, Satendra Nandan, Skoob Books, 1996)
“Illegal” in Our Heritage (Ed. Satyagraha Hoerip, Pustaka Binaman Pressindo, 1993)
“Irritations” in Striking Chords (Ed. Sneja Gunew and Kateryna O Longley, Allen & Unwin, 1992)
“Mal Tombé” in Beyond the Echo (Ed. Sneja Gunew and Jan Mahyuddin UQP, 1988)
“A Foreigner in East Gippsland” in Up From Below (Women’s Redress Press Inc., 1987)
Stories of Indian Pacific are three novellas, set in New Caledonia, Australia and Indonesia, written in Dewi Anggraeni’s engaging style that moves easily from one location to the next.
To Drown a Cat explores racial tension in New Caledonia; Uncertain Step is the story of an Indonesian bride in Australia; and in Crossroads two artists, an Australian and an Indonesian, meet in Bali.
To Drown a Cat is set in 1988, shortly after the violent confrontation between the French army and Kanak separists in the northern island of Ouvea. The story explores the tensions that explode in bloody confrontation, within a family divided by allegience to two sets of ancestors, the French Caldoche and the indigenous Kanak.
Uncertain Step tells the story of Aryani, and her relatively late marriage to Steve, an Australian teacher who already has two children, and is still good friends with his previous wife. Aryani finds the Australian scenery, Steve’s hometown, Adelaide and people’s response to herself very different from everything she is used to in Bandung. Her uncertain step into marriage with this warm but almost unknown Australian is the story of so many Asian brides and their Australian husbands.
In Crossroads, the young Australian rock singer, Justin is introduced to a new world of art and life, when he meets the Balinese poet and playwright, Nyoman. Justin sees for the first time, art as close to nature and art as important for political and social change.
Oct 1992, 265pp
Paperback, 215 x 138 mm
ISBN 0 9587718 3 9
RRP $aud 18.95
Fiction 1st edition
ISBN-13 978
The AuthorAs a published writer of novels, short stories and essays, and an established role as a regional journalist, Dewi Anggraeni is well-known in both Australia and Indonesia, especially among those in both countries who maintain an interest in regional affairs.
Her major works have been published by Indra Publishing:Who Did This To Our Bali?, 2003
Snake, 2003
Neighbourhood Tales: A Bilingual Collection, 2001
Journeys Through Shadows, 1998
Stories of Indian Pacific, 1992
Parallel Forces, 1988
The Root of all Evil, 1987
Dewi’s poetry, short stories and essays appear in anthologies from a range of publishers:
“Journey to My Cultural Home” in Weaving a Double Cloth; Stories of Asia Pacific Women in Australia (Ed. Myra Jean Bourke, Susanne Holzknecht and Annie Bartlett, Pandanus Books, 2002)
“Exposing Crimes Against Women” in The Last Days of President Suharto (Ed. Edward Aspinall, Herb Feith and Gerry van Klinken, Monash Asia Institute, 1999)
“Rejected by Ibu Pertiwi” in Motherlode (Ed. Stephanie Holt and Maryanne Lynch, Sybylla Feminist Press, 1997)
“From Indonesia to Australia and Back: Cultural Sensitivities” in Crossing Cultures: Essays on Literature & Culture of the Asia-Pacific (Ed.Bruce Bennett, Jeff Doyle, Satendra Nandan, Skoob Books, 1996)
“Illegal” in Our Heritage (Ed. Satyagraha Hoerip, Pustaka Binaman Pressindo, 1993)
“Irritations” in Striking Chords (Ed. Sneja Gunew and Kateryna O Longley, Allen & Unwin, 1992)
“Mal Tombé” in Beyond the Echo (Ed. Sneja Gunew and Jan Mahyuddin UQP, 1988)”A Foreigner in East Gippsland” in Up From Below (Women’s Redress Press Inc., 1987)
WORLD WAR 2 in the Asia-Pacific still casts many shadows. The shadows fall on the lives of Australian ex-POWs, soldiers and their families. Veterans are aged but recall horrors under Japanese Imperial Forces as fresh as yesterday. Dark, too, are the shadows cast on civilians trapped in the conflict – innocents who suffered through starvation, forced labour and prostitution.
Against this is the determination by reactionary Japanese powerbrokers to obliterate this history by rewriting school textbooks so post-war Japanese remain ignorant of their war history.
This book presents the deepest and innermost thoughts drawn from some 200 interviews and responses with Australian veterans. Critically all tell of what they think of the Japanese now. This is their record in their own words.
August 2005, 248 pp
Paperback, 210 x 138 mm
Non-Fiction, 1st Edition,
RRP $27.95ISBN: 1 92078713 5
ISBN-13: 9781920787011
The Authors
Ryoko Adachi has long experience as a journalist and author. As a foreign correspondent in Australia she has written for Japanese media including The Japan Times and Nichigo Press. She authored My Australia – Australia Through A Woman’s Eyes and translated Full Fathom Five by Mary Albertus – both published in Japan. Her weekly program, ‘Ryoko’s Letter From Australia’ was broadcast for years on Radio Australia.
Andrew McKay is a veteran journalist, working as a columnist in the Canberra Press Gallery, then as a foreign correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald in London. He worked for Murdoch publications in New York as the first Australian journalist on the New York Post and then covered North and South America for the News Ltd Bureau. Returning to Australia he became News Editor and then Victorian Editor of The Australian. Andrew has written numerous non-fiction books and TV scripts.
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Niqi Thomas, a young Czech Australian woman, returns with her father to Prague, to visit her ancestral city and to discover her grandfather, who was always ‘present’ in the family, but whom she had never met – Karel Goliath-Gorovsky, the Czech Solzhenitsyn.
For Niqi, it became a journey of self-discovery, through discovery of her grandfather. A rebel from birth, Czech lawyer, Karel Goliath-Gorovsky, was imprisoned in a Soviet gulag north of the Arctic Circle, because of his relentless political idealism. His potent black humour enabled him to survive those seventeen darkest years of his political life, which spanned from the brutal excesses of Stalin to the liberating hope of Dubcek.
His son, abandoned by his father at the age of one, developed his own black humour to survive Mischling status under the Nazi occupation, the Stalinist regime in his homeland, Czechoslovakia, and flight to Australia – his new land of opportunity where some people crossed the street when they saw a ‘wog’ approaching.
This family narrative includes a subversive retake on the biblical Goliath, who appears several times through the book, connecting Goliath-Gorovsky with the biblical character, who paradoxically, was killed by his Hebrew ancestors.
Minerva’s Owl is a literary treatment of national and personal history, which explores the effect of war and displacement upon the exiled individuals and their families. Throughout this book, the continually reinforced image is of the individual standing against the juggernaut of dictatorship and bureaucracy, and resolutely refusing to fear.
A sense of dark laughter – developed as a survival mechanism – in which the choice is to laugh or die, pervades the book. In Goliath-Gorovsky’s own words: “After the tragedy a humoresque. Instead of a conclusion.”
June 2003, 312pp
Non fiction, 1st Edition
Paperback, 216 x 138 mm
ISBN: 0 9578735 6 5
RRP: $aud 24-95
ISBN-13: 9780957873568
The Author With formal qualifications and teaching experience in creative writing at Victorian universities, Niqi Thomas has had several short stories and poems published in literary magazines during the 1990s.
Her works have appeared in New England Review, 8d Anthology of Erotica, Centoria Poetry Magazine, Journal of the Black Rose, Hidden Agenda, STET; Australian Writers and Writing, to name only a few. Niqi lives in Melbourne. Her next book is currently being considered for publication.
How can one man stand up against against the will of his own people and refuse to fight in a war he doesn’t believe in? What sort of courage does it take to refuse to become one more brave soldier going off to war?
Or is Gerry’s anti-war attitude just a selfish desire to continue his comfortable life with his girl-friend, his leftist poetry-readings and his botanical research?
Set in New Zealand and Italy during World War ll, this novel portrays the anxieties and dilemma for a man who is conscripted to fight in a war he doesn’t believe in. And when he is conscripted, Gerry Cook realises he is not heroic enough to refuse the call-up. Gerry’s resolution of his dilemma is as clear as it is shocking.
The intensely local setting of Lancewood portrays a very ordinary man and woman confronting universal questions of duty and love, honour and freedom.
In Alan Marshall’s first novel, he provides a perspective on war, in which rebellion against authority is the individual’s main defence.
1999, 210pp
Paperback, 215 x 138 mm
ISBN 0 9585805 1 0
Fiction, 1st Edition
RRP $aud 20.95
ISBN-13 978
The Author
Born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, Alan Marshall dropped out of high school to travel. He gained his BSc (Hons) from the University of Wolverhampton in England, his M.Phil from Massey University in New Zealand, and completed his doctorate at the University of Wollongong, New south Wales. Alan currently lives in Slovakia.
Lancewood is Alan’s first novel.