The Flat on Malabar Hill, ISBN 9781440146428, iUniverse, Paperback, 254 pages, $16.95 by Chitra Kallay.

The story follows the closely interwoven lives of the members of three generations of an Indian family through a number of years of life. Shanti and Vinod, are the well-to-do mother and father of two totally different sons. Kishore, the oldest, is a brilliant Mombai (Bombay) businessman who had been an honor student and is a graduate of MIT in the United States. Dev is a drop-out who plays drums in a Night Club, spends his time with wealthy friends consuming alcohol and drugs, and like many young people in many parts of the world today, has assimilated many American-like ways and thought patterns.

When Kishore returns from America he brings Anjali, his wife. She is Indian, but thoroughly Americanized as the daughter of a diplomat to the United States. Anjali does not show the traditional respect for Shanti and friction increases with birth of her son. The friction gradually is lessened but she persuades her husband to take a job in California.

Short years later, Anjali again is pregnant when they move back to Mombai, and things progress a little better. Meanwhile, Dev believes he has found a perfect mate in a singer hired by his band. The subdued remnants of the all-important caste system raises its ugly head and adds another set of problems to the already complicated relationships that have evolved by the subtle clash of cultures.

The story continues through a number of changes in the living conditions of each member of the family and provides a most intimate look at the manner in which the often incompatible, mores of the two societies affect each member as time progresses. The author also brings in to play the subtle changes that take place with aging in the family members, and how these conditions serve to exacerbate the troubling differences of the cultures, as well as between the different needs and thought processes of the different generations.

I am impressed with Chitra Kallay’s astute observations. A few years back, I was in India to check on a research project at the Tata Research Institute. I stayed with an officer who lived on Cumbala Hill overlooking “the queen’s string of pearls” mentioned in this book. Even at that time, I was aware of how the differences in mores already were beginning to present problems for traditionalists. As a result of this experience, I sincerely believe that The Flat on Malabar Hill is more than a timely novel. It provides an enlightened look at a clash of cultures that so typically is taking place throughout much of the world, and simultaneously, it graphically demonstrates an outlook by the younger generations that they may want to examine for their future peace of mind.

This book is a good novel, but, more importantly, should be on a must list for members of the younger generations.

I Promised You Daisies, ISBN 9780982060537, Paperback 302 pages, $15.00, is the second volume in a trilogy entitled Imperfectly Ordinary by Robert A. Benjamin.

This volume is an interesting, autobiography/memoir of a man who might be described as an unusual type of workaholic. To explain the classification of unusual: the usual workaholic concentrates on his main occupation with ancillary situations largely ignored. Benjamin frequently concentrated on three or more occupations simultaneously and did so for many years. He dropped out of Bowdoin College in Maine during his third year, returned to Boston, wandered through various menial jobs until meeting and eventually marrying Karen, the love of his life. Karen was a nursing student with a compulsive drive to study and ‘be the best’. The couple decides that Benjamin will work while Karen finishes her training, and then the two will return to Maine for him to finish his degree and become a public school teacher. From here, his workaholic life begins with a small position at Massachusetts General that gradually expands into numerous side functions resulting from his willingness to learn and his ability to equate with people. Karen graduates, and they move to Maine, where he completes his education. However, the scenario they had so studiously worked out, does not function in quite the manner they had expected and therein lies much of the story.

I read few autobiographies or memoirs but discovered this one to be particularly interesting. The author’s story reads like a novel centered in Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey and exhibits an intimate knowledge of Massachusetts General Hospital, Beacon Hill, and other places of interest, as well as Brunswick, Me, and some of State of New Jersey, but also skips to the western part of the United States for a few scenes.

In I Promised You Daisies, Robert Benjamin has provided a most enjoyable autobiography/memoire that reads like a very interesting novel. At its conclusion you find yourself with a desire to read the 1^st of the series, and look forward to the final volume of the trilogy.

The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt, 2nd Edition, ISBN # 9781607720003, Hardcover, 467 pages, by Rulka Langer is a powerful recounting of  the Siege of Warsaw, Poland at the beginning of World War II. It provides an intimate look at the horrors experienced by a woman who participated in, and survived, the attack on Warsaw from beginning of hostilities, through the siege with its daily artillery and aerial bombardment, and many months of the city’s occupation by the Nazi invaders and the atrocities they inflicted.

Rulka Langer has brought striking word description and copious pictures to depict happenings about which we read only secondary accounts in the newspapers of the day. And she has provided this material in an almost nonchalant, or cavalier, manner that make every action more graphically real. The monumental struggles in the simple matter of obtaining food, or even drinkable water, are described as an everyday occurrence. The need to find ways to keep snow, and deadly cold out of living quarters in buildings that are mere shells, and the means of implementing these procedures are described in a most factual manner, as well.

The author perhaps sums up the entire experience best in her own words in the Afterword where she states: “For war is not only a chamber of horrors. It also is the greatest personal experience any human can go through. War means facing death (not in the usual manner where sickness dims the sensibilities or an accident that happens so quickly there is no realization, but rather) perfectly healthy, fully conscious people face death for hours on end.” And the occurrences just continue day after day until death becomes an all pervasive numbing entity with which you must live.

Mrs. Langer, born to a distinguished family of Polish intellectuals, Statesmen and writers, gradually established herself as a prominent journalist, as well. And, she has brought every bit of the knowledge of reporting and journalism she had gained to bear in this book. Her descriptions of a horrendous period of time are set forth in a manner so fresh and lively that the reader is as intrigued as if he/she were reading a novel, or other book of far less import.

This appearance of a new edition of The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt seems particularly appropriate at this time when there are so many warring factions loose in the world. I believe people should read this book for content. However, because of the manner of presentation, I am sure they will enjoy it as well.

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This is a well researched novel of the very early days of Grecian history and the events leading up to formulation of the first non-aggression pact ever recorded between two adjacent warring factions. It deals fundamentally with three protagonists and the inter-involvement of the three and their City/States.

The story begins with the main protagonist as a quarry slave in one of the City-States of ancient Greece. It gradually unfolds as he is purchased by Antyllus, a wealthy statesman of the city who also is a horse breeder of renown within the country. Gradually the new owner discovers the true identity of the slave and adopts him as a replacement for the son he lost in the last war between his City-State and Sparta, and together they begin training a team for the next Olympics.

The story then shifts to Sparta, which we have discovered had been the original home of the slave, and the third main character, Teleklos. Another plot begins to develop here that not only involves Teleklos, Antyllus and the former slave, but the two cities as well.

The third portion of the book deals predominantly with the main protagonist, the former slave, and his position of rising importance in both the forthcoming Olympic Games and the welfare of the two City/States.

In the final portion of the book, numerous other characters assume positions of importance in the interplay among the various plots and sub-plots both within, and between, both cities. The manner in which these characters, and the political and physical factors, are intermingled is beautifully handled, and moves in a most satisfying manner to a coalescence of all plots and subplots to culminate with the Olympic Games, the climatic chariot race and the intra- and inter-city violence.

The book is replete with material and descriptions of artifacts and customs of the period that, for lovers of historical novels, are a welcome font of knowledge. Helena Schrader has produced a most enjoyable tale that will keep the reader in a sustained period of enjoyment.

Straight Down the Middle, ISBN 9780811863599, Chronicle Books, 253 pages, paperback, $23.95 by Josh Karp is a ménage of introspective observations, golfing tips and oddball bits of Eastern philosophy delivered by equally unusual pundits.

The author is a journalist with the usual family responsibilities (a suburban inhabitant with a wife and four children, with all that entails) and an 18 handicap. He conceives the idea of investigating the effect of Buddhism and similar Eastern philosophical practices on his golf game, and to write a book detailing the process. His description of the attempts to reach the “zone’ most coveted by players provide the main substance of the book.

The quest begins with a man who teaches the principles of Feldenkrais that concentrate on body movement and breath-awareness to increase range and motion. From there his journey takes him to confer with an unusual assortment of teachers throughout much of the United States and into Scotland, the original home of golf. His instruction is provided by an unseemly group of teachers and covers techniques that purportedly helped V. J. Sing and Jug McSpaden, and a kung fu drill that Jack Nicklaus did as a kid.  He is told that the swing starts with the arms, with the body, with the left knee, with the club head, and with pressure beginning on the inside of the left foot. Concurrently, he is given instruction in Aikido and several forms of quasi-eastern meditation. He also variously is informed that the answer to better golf is to use a glove, not to use a glove, employ an overlapping grip, and that a baseball grip is better.

Straight Down the Middle is an amusing look at the extremes to which a golfer will go to better his game. However, as one of those countless individuals who has been down the same road, some of the suggestions offered “just might work.” It would seem especially worthwhile since Josh Karp lowered his handicap from 18 to 11 and even found that what he had learned washed over into his daily non-golfing life – his quota of oppressive thoughts and anxiety attacks were fewer in number and lesser in intensity

So, a final thought – Read it! What have you got to lose?

Confucius Jade, ISBN 9780981929132, Dudley Court Press, 348 pages, Paperback, $14.95, by Frederick Fisher.

My review copy of this book is a recent edition of the original story published several years ago by Times International in Singapore. It is a fascinating account of discovery of a one of a kind boulder of jade and the course of events that follow.

The very young daughter of one of the descendents of Confucius accidentally discovers the rock and, with her brother’s help, adds it to her collection. An incident later reveals the unique quality of the stone to the child’s mother, who is a gifted carver of jade. Because of political and other changes, the family, living in exile in Burma, decides to return to China and secretly carry the stone with them. Upon arrival, the mother confers with a relative who is recognized as an even more gifted carver. Together they view the secret of the stone when they visualize the appearance of the Chinese God of Longevity, Shou-Xing Lao, arising life-like from it at a particular period of the moon’s appearance. They proceed to release the figure from the stone in a manner that produces the God and his counter image in carvings that provide a unique, life-like quality, for anyone observing the figures in a particular moon-lit setting.

The story moves from these early endeavors to a plan developed by the entire Wong clan to provide an institute for the teachings of their ancestor, K’ung Fu-tze, (whose name the Jesuit priests had anglicized to Confucius). From this point, the story rapidly moves forward to the modern world and encompasses an offer of the jade to collectors to obtain the money required to establish the institute. Because of the priceless nature of the jade figures, only three collectors are selected to bid on the work – an American media mogul, a Japanese pearl magnate, and a ruling, oil-rich, Arabian sheik.

The story of the Confucius Jade is an utterly fascinating one that begins slowly and gradually accelerates to an intriguingly complicated ending. On the way, the author  provides a most interesting, and believable, cast of characters, and introduces enough of oriental mysticism to make one want to accept the unusual possibilities that the actions of the God of Longevity might provide with respect to longevity and redemption in the face of the intertwining emotions of love, loyalty, deception, greed, generosity and treachery.

I have some personal knowledge of the areas of the world encompassed by Frederick Fisher’s descriptions, and can only admire the manner in which he uses his intimate knowledge to provide settings that the reader will find most intriguing. And here a word of warning to the reader. This is a book where descriptions of places, events and beliefs take time to develop properly, so do not allow the descriptive passages to be a deterrent. If the reader should allow this to happen, he/she will miss a thoroughly entertaining and intriguing story that moves beautifully to its most satisfying climax and provides wonderful descriptions on the way.

Guardian ISBN 9780984070886, 4RV Publishing LLC, Paperback, 158 pages, $15.50, by Katie Hines.

A pledge made to his dying mother leads the young Drew Newman, along with his friends and family members, on a sometimes terrifying adventure. He must find a magical book that holds the secret to his destiny, but before he is about to confide in his friends, he is interrupted by two evil strangers. This occurrence is followed by home invasions, a move to his grandparents’ home, and more confrontations with numerous other members of the evil sect, a group that wants the book because it provides the sole manner of opening the secret repository for a treasure of untold proportions.

The confrontations, with numerous chases, take place largely in territories surrounding, or within, Oak Island, Nova Scotia. This Island is home to the famous, or infamous “Money Pit,” believed by many to be the hidden depositary for treasure of immense proportions, and provides an ideal location for the tale.

Unfortunately, I have the opportunity of reading very few books directed to any level of reader below the middle teens. However, I suspect the story could be interesting to children of Middle Grade level. It intersperses  feats of magic, along with objects that range from Knight Templar swords and the missing treasure of their Order, to SUV’s, hand-held telephones and banter I have overheard by persons of this age – a variety not unlike the Harry Potter stories. Additionally, as suggested by the Oak Island Tourism Society, it probably could add another new level to the mystery surrounding their island.

Anjan ISBN 9780984187072, FireFly, an imprint of RoseHeart Publishing, 213 pages, Paperback, $12.95, U.S./9.95 U.K./14.95 Canada, authored by Larus Einarsson.

Larus Einarsson is a talented grandfather who lives in Iceland with his wife and three grandchildren and has produced this, the first of what is projected to be a series. It is a charming tale dealing with a mythical time when elves, humans, and netherworld creatures each existed in their own worlds, but sometimes found the secret entrances to that of the other and travelled into it for one reason or another.

Most of the action surrounds Anjan, a human boy whom a witch of the Light Elves discovers has been destined to fulfill a prophecy. He lives in his own world for a while, tutored by this “white witch”, but then must move through the magic door into the world of the elves to continue his journey to fulfill the prophecy.

The movement into this other world requires specific magical happenings and lead to many more. We encounter the Light Elves, the vicious Gray Elves, Fire Elves, trolls, dwarfs , demons and dragons, as well as sorcerers, both good and bad. All of these are incorporated into a story that moves along at a rapid pace with enough stumbling blocks thrown into the young hero’s way to leave his accomplishment of the mission in constant doubt.

Einarsson no doubt has produced a story for his, and other, grandchildren. However, it is a delightful tale that an adult just might want to find time to read after a miserably frenetic day, to recall the wondrous times of his/her youth when magic was not something an illusionist presented on a stage with obvious knowledge of trickery.

From a practical standpoint, aspects of the tale also are not unlike certain existent postulation about the existence of a parallel universe. Louis L’Amour, perhaps one of the most well-known of modern authors, among others, has dealt with this theme in several stories, and has described entrance and exit points to just such a world along with interesting ideas about activity existent therein.

So, to reiterate, Anjan is a charming, fast moving story that is sure to delight any reader who picks it up.

Her Mother’s Diary, ISBN 9781604943597, Wheatmark, Paperback, 232 pages, $18.95 by David Curry Kahn.

The protagonist is a teen-age girl left homeless upon death of both parents and the passing of her grandmother. The homeless state is the result of a quirky ownership clause in which the ranch, in a particularly remote part of Oregon, cannot be willed to family members – it must return to the family foundation, from which the grandmother originally had been banned because of a youthful indiscretion.

However, Allison has an uncle in Chicago who was her father’s partner in a business, but is not the place she wishes to move because aspects of the business were not legitimate. She understands that she does have another relative, an aunt who was an actor in Hollywood.  The story moves quickly from the details of Allison becoming homeless, to her travels attempting to find the aunt and beyond. These include aid by long-haul truck drivers, an elderly man devastated by the tragic loss of his wife, a housekeeper who is studying to become a nurse, and others. Along the way, she embarks upon a search for a missing million dollars her mother had hidden and cryptically described the whereabouts of, in a diary, the possession of which keeps eluding her. In her endeavors to find a home and the diary, she further encounters a vengeful prostitute, drug dealers, a killer, reappearances of her mother’s image, and enough action to keep the reader constantly awaiting the next move.

This book is highly praised by Marriage and Family Therapists and other members of the Psychological Counseling Profession, and the reason is apparent.  Allison endures countless hardships and yet refuses to be beaten down. Instead, she moves relentlessly forward because, “There’s a magic in believing,” and “Nothing is ever accomplished without believing.” These thoughts are the basis of what counselors are attempting to instill in teenagers in foster care and in others in difficult periods of their lives.

My assessment of Kahn’s book is a difficult one to make and is dichotomous in nature. From a literary point of view for most adults, the book has an uneven pace, a difficult to accept bending of the rules of law dealing with some legal matters, and a detached feeling with regard to character portrayal. However, from the viewpoint of a teaching tool, as a person once engaged in Psychological Counseling procedures, I quite readily agree with the reviews by members of this profession. The presentation of the young girl’s tenacity of purpose in the face of so many seemingly insurmountable odds can provide an often much needed stimulus to persons facing sets of adverse circumstances. One of the counselors states “I can imagine referring clients to this book to find connections with characters who are coping with life’s struggles.” Her Mother’s Diary well can serve in this capacity and provides an additional advantage in that it moves along at a pace that should satisfy the teen-age reader while absorbing the elevating aspects of its basic theme.

Personali Trees, ISBN 9781844091911, Findhorn Press, Hardcover, 112 pages, $14.95 by Joan Klostermann-Ketels is an allegorical tale that really belongs to another, more gentle, time. In fact, the book was not published in America, but by a Press in Scotland, where even today, people occasionally “take time to smell the roses”.

The book consists of a dedication, a forward that is split into “Awakening”, Dedication and “The Four Seasons,” followed by pages where the right side provides a picture of a tree and the left a quotation that the picture might bring to mind. The author’s intent of providing something upon which the reader may spend time in thought is quite subtly emphasized by the fact that the pages are without numbers. The reader is not aware of whether he/she is on the tenth, twentieth, fiftieth, or other page.

The pictures are vivid and the quotations are from an eclectic group ranging from Ovid, Plato and Aristotle, through Leonardo Da Vinci and Galileo, Victor Hugo, Tecumseh, Mark Twain and Henry David Thoreau to Albert Einstein and numerous others in between.

Joan Klostermann-Ketels has set forth a gentle, thought-provoking work that is a little nostalgic, a little sad and yet, in many ways, quite uplifting. The book is not for everyone, and most unfortunately in today’s frenetic world, perhaps will be enjoyed by few. However, if a reader will do themselves a favor and take the time to spend some time with this little book, they will be greatly rewarded.