An artificial radio signal from Barnard''s Star listing prime numbers (although the term "prime" is never used in the story) is received at the Mesa Radio Astronomy Observatory. One of the radio-astronomers is a Russian spy and tries to inform his superiors; however he is uncovered by his fellows and subsequently killed. The CIA hires James Bludd, a prominent astrophysicist, to try to understand what is going on. Several plotlines follow and intertwine, most of them centering around personal greed. News of the extraterrestrial message leaks to the outside world, with different consequences. A bum and a waitress build a cult, calling themselves the Star People, which seeks to find a new home on the Barnard''s planet. Multinational, a corporation, decides to invest money into the cult, in order to have an easy to manipulate spaceship crew ready to take possession of the inhabited planet on behalf of the company. A dying biologist, Dr.Crowben, decides to push on the creation of plant-human hybrids biologically suited to the planet environment, which also this plan falls within the scope of the Multinational. Meanwhile, the two surviving astrophysicists have been abducted by the KGB, and Bludd learns that Russians plan to answer to the signal using neutrinos. The international situation further complicates when a small fictional African state, Sidiami, burdened by debts with other countries, decides to "secede from planet Earth" and declares itself a colony of the planet around Barnard. The "Star People" decide to relocate in Sidiami, and the Multinational starts plans to launch a probe towards the Barnard''s planet from there. James Bludd finds himself implicated in the ongoing struggle between the USA, the Multinational and the "Star People" to get advantage of the situation. At the end, the space probe is launched towards the Barnard''s planet. Bludd, convinced that humankind is not ready for contact with aliens, has sabotaged it and after a while makes it explode with the aid of a remote control. When later, in the observatory, a new possible artificial extraterrestrial signal is received from space, Bludd destroys all evidence of it with a smile.

Life on Another Planet

Joseph and Harriet Blackstone, and Joseph''s mother Lilian, are immigrants from England on the SS Albert into the South Island of New Zealand in 1860s. After settling the two women into accommodation in Christchurch, Joseph travels to the foothills near the Okuku river to build their Cob House. Joseph returns to Christchurch once the house has been built and the three of them set off to start their new lives on their farm. The harsh first winter brings with it problems which threaten the viability of their farm, but Joseph''s chance finding of gold in the nearby creek changes the situation. Not telling Harriet about the find, Joseph abandons the farm and travels by boat to Hokitika on the West Coast of the South Island where major gold strikes have occurred. After Lilian''s death, Harriet also travels to Hokitika and delivers that news to Joseph. The search for gold, the ''colour'', goes on in difficult conditions. Joseph''s encounters with Will Sefton, a young man whom he met on the boat bringing them to the West Coast, and Pao Yi, a Chinese gardener befriended by Harriet, add flavour to the dynamics of the searching couple''s relationship which has become distant and strained. Joseph''s guilt surrounding events in England prior to their emigration impact on this separation.

The Colour

Partly autobiographical, the story is about Krish and Ananya who hail from two different states of India, are deeply in love and want to get married. The story begins in the IIM Ahmedabad mess, where Krish, a Punjabi boy from Delhi sights a beautiful girl, Ananya, a Tamilian from Chennai, quarreling with the mess staff about the food. Ananya was tagged as the "Best girl of the fresher batch". They become friends within a few days and decide to study together every night. In mean time, they become romantically involved. They both get jobs, and have serious plans for their wedding. At first Krish tries to convince his girlfriend Ananya''s parents and at last and convinces them by helping Ananya''s father to do his first PowerPoint Presentation, her brother, Manju, by giving him tuition and later convinces her mom by asking her sing in a concert organised by Krish''s office, i.e Citibank. She was convinced as she had her biggest dream of singing in a big concert comes to be true. She sang along with T.S Subramanium and Hariharan. Then they tried to convince Krish''s mom the problem was Krish''s mother''s relatives who doesn''t quite like this, they say that Krish should not marry a Madrasi but ends up agreeing with them when Ananya tries to help one of Krish''s cousin to get married and succeeds to do so. Now as they have convinced both their parents they now try to make their parents meet each other to know each. They go to GOA. But this dream of theirs ends as Ananya''s parents finds something fishy between Krish''s mom and him. Ananya''s family end up deciding that Krish and Ananya will not marry each other But at last Krish''s father who was like an enemy for Krish helps Krish and Ananya to get married as he convinces Ananya''s family well. They really do very hard to convince each other parents and finally make it. It is narrated in a first person point of view in a humorous tone, often taking digs at both Tamil and Punjabi cultures . The novel ends with Ananya giving birth to twin boys. They say that the babies belong to a state called ''India''; with a thought to end inequality. What is even more interesting is the continuation of character Hari of Five Point Someone in Krish.

2 States: The Story of My Marriage

At the end of The Mote in God''s Eye, Renner and Bury are secretly enlisted into Imperial Naval Intelligence. They spend the next twenty-five years investigating revolutions against the Empire so that the Imperial Navy can concentrate on blockading the Moties from entering into human space. While investigating economic abnormalities on the Mormon planet Maxroy''s Purchase, Renner and Bury encounter widespread use of the phrase "on the gripping hand". While the source of the phrase turns out to be innocuous enough &mdash; the Governor picked up the expression as an Able Spacer on INSS MacArthur on the expedition to Mote Prime &mdash; the memories dredged up by the incident are too much for Bury. Driven by nightmares and a deep-seated fear for humanity''s safety, Bury must confirm that the Empire is safe from the Moties. Renner and Bury travel first to Sparta, the Imperial capital planet, to obtain permission to inspect the blockade. Along the way, they discover widespread interest in a second expedition to the Mote, as well as disturbing evidence that the blockade may soon fail. In Mote, it is mentioned that a protostar is forming in the Coalsack Nebula. The Moties had studied it extensively and told the MacArthur expedition of their estimate that it would ignite in about 1,000 years. That estimate was deliberately falsified - the object was about to collapse and ignite at any moment. The newborn star would mean that a new Alderson Point would be created for interstellar travel, allowing the Moties a second exit from their system. Previously, the only Alderson Point accessible to them was positioned in the photosphere of the supergiant red star, "Murcheson''s Eye", making a human blockade practical since the Moties had not stumbled onto the secret of the Langston Field. Armed with the alarming new knowledge and carrying influential passengers, Renner, Bury, and their ship Sinbad depart for New Caledonia, the closest human system to the Mote. There the Imperial Commission decides that ships must be sent to the hitherto ignored star system where the new Alderson point is predicted to appear. Sinbad is among the ships dispatched. The point appears soon after the small, hastily assembled Imperial fleet''s arrival—and so do the Moties. The second half of The Gripping Hand is a convoluted tale of alliances, diplomacy, trade, and space combat between the Empire, led by Bury and Renner, and the many, many factions of Motie civilization. With the aid of the children of Lord and Lady Blaine, and an impressive piece of genetic engineering, Bury and Renner fight to stabilize the Mote civilization and save the Empire. At the end of the story, the Moties insist that they have to choose between the two equal but unpleasant options of staying bottled in their home system, or expanding and spreading their eternal war through the galaxy. The humans exploit the Moties'' idiom of "on the gripping hand" to present a third, stronger option: a genetic modification that would slow down the excessive reproduction rate of the Moties so that they can expand peacefully.

The Gripping Hand

The story centers on a witty, sly, illiterate and lazy protagonist called Wei Xiaobao, who was born to a prostitute from a brothel in Yangzhou during the Qing Dynasty. The teenage scamp makes his way from Yangzhou to the capital Beijing through a series of adventures. In Beijing, he is kidnapped and taken to the Forbidden City, where he impersonates an eunuch. While in the palace, Wei Xiaobao bumbles his way into a fateful encounter with the young Kangxi Emperor and they develop an unlikely friendship. Once, Wei Xiaobao is captured by some jianghu pugilists and brought out of the palace. He meets Chen Jinnan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth Society, an anti-government secret organisation, and becomes Chen''s disciple. He also becomes one of the society''s branch leaders and agrees to be an undercover agent for them in the palace. He is captured again by another group of pugilists and brought to Divine Dragon Island, where the sinister Divine Dragon Cult (神龍教) is based. Unexpectedly, he becomes the cult''s White Dragon Marshal by flattering its leader Hong Antong. Wei Xiaobao is lecherous and flirtatious by nature, and he encounters seven women on separate occasions and eventually marries them. Wei Xiaobao makes several seemingly impossible achievements through sheer luck and cunning. Most of the time, he uses despicable and immoral means to accomplish them. First, he assists the Kangxi Emperor in ousting the autocratic regent Oboi from power. Second, he discovers the whereabouts of the Shunzhi Emperor, who was presumed dead, saves him from danger, and then helps him reunite with his son, the Kangxi Emperor. Third, he eliminates the Divine Dragon Cult by stirring up internal conflict, which leads to the cult''s self-destruction. Fourth, he weakens the rebellion staged by Wu Sangui by bribing Wu''s allies to withdraw, allowing the Qing army to crush the rebels easily. Last, he leads a campaign against the Russian Empire and helps the Qing Empire reach a border treaty with Russia. He met the Russian regent Sophia Alekseyevna earlier and helped her secure her rule over Russia. Wei Xiaobao is also responsible for recommending talents to the Kangxi Emperor, among whom include the admiral Shi Lang, who led the naval campaign against the Kingdom of Tungning. Throughout the story, Wei Xiaobao exhibits devout loyalty to both the Kangxi Emperor and personal friends in the anti-Qing forces. He instinctively shields the emperor with his body from assassins twice and saved the emperor''s life. He plays an important role in assisting Kangxi in consolidating power. On the other hand, he helps anti-Qing forces escape from danger on numerous occasions by distracting imperial forces. He undermines the attempts by the society on the emperor''s life and uses his status in the imperial court to prevent the society from being destroyed by the government. For his numerous accomplishments, Wei Xiaobao is rewarded with immense wealth and titles of nobility. His highest rank ever was "Duke of Luding" (鹿鼎公). He also gained respect from the anti-Qing factions for eliminating tyrannical Court officials and defending China from foreign invaders. Ultimately, Wei Xiaobao''s conflicting loyalties reach a disastrous conclusion. The Kangxi Emperor discovers Wei Xiaobao''s relationship with the Heaven and Earth Society, and forces Wei to make a choice, putting Wei in a dilemma. If Wei Xiaobao chooses to side with the society, he will become an enemy of the state and be forced to turn against the emperor, whom he regards as a childhood friend and master. If he chooses to follow the emperor''s orders, he will have to eliminate the anti-government forces and be branded an ethnic traitor. Wei Xiaobao refuses to help Kangxi destroy the society and is forced into exile. However the emperor still regards him as a close friend and loyal subject so he pardons Wei Xiaobao and allows him to return to the palace later. Towards the end of the novel, Kangxi tries to force Wei Xiaobao to help him eliminate the Heaven and Earth Society again. On the other hand, Chen Jinnan had died and the society''s members want Wei Xiaobao to be their new leader. Wei Xiaobao ponders over the issue and realises that he will never be able to reconcile between the two rivaling parties. He feels that his divided friendships and split loyalties are tearing him apart. He decides to leave and lead a reclusive life away from society, taking with him his immense wealth and family. Wei Xiaobao is never heard of again. It is said that later the Kangxi Emperor went on inspection tours to Jiangnan to look for Wei Xiaobao but never found him.

The Deer and the Cauldron

The novel begins on the night before Guinevere''s departure from her home, the kingdom of Rheged to Logres, in order to marry King Arthur. Along the journey, Guinevere recalls scenes from her childhood. Later, Bedivere retells the story of Arthur''s ascension as High King, focusing on the events that surround Arthur meeting his father Uther, his investiture of Excalibur by Vivien the Lady of the Lake (and her subsequent death at the hands of Sir Balin) and the subsequent war with King Lot of Lothian. Afterwards, Guinevere retells how the war with Lot affected Guinevere''s people directly. The book continues to show episodes of her youth and several proposed offers of marriage, including, among others, Gawain, Uwain, her cousin Maelgwn (who was willing to put aside his own wife in order to marry her), Gildas and King Mark of Cornwall (made on his behalf by his nephew Tristan). Arthur and Guinevere''s marriage is a hasty affair, due to an invasion that was timed to coincide with the wedding celebrations, an act attempt at catching Arthur unaware. During this time Guinevere is left with Igraine and Morgan le Fey, the latter leaves when Guinevere discovers her and her paramour Accolon. Following Arthur''s return there is the first meeting of the Round Table, which is a suggestion of Guinevere''s.

Child of the Northern Spring

Fight Club centers on an anonymous Narrator, who works as a product recall specialist for an unnamed car company. Because of the stress of his job and the jet lag brought upon by frequent business trips, he begins to suffer from recurring insomnia. When he seeks treatment, the Narrator's doctor advises him to visit a support group for testicular cancer victims to "see what real suffering is like". The Narrator finds that sharing the problems of others -- despite not actually having testicular cancer himself -- alleviates his insomnia. The narrator's unique treatment works until he meets Marla Singer, another "tourist" who visits the support group under false pretenses. The possibly disturbed Marla reminds the Narrator that he is a faker who does not belong there. He begins to hate Marla for keeping him from crying, and, therefore, from sleeping. After a confrontation, the two agree to attend separate support group meetings to avoid each other. The truce is uneasy, however, and the Narrator's insomnia returns. Whilst on a nude beach, the Narrator meets Tyler Durden, a charismatic extremist of mysterious means. After an explosion destroys the narrator's condominium, he asks to stay at Tyler's house. Tyler agrees, but asks for something in return: "I want you to hit me as hard as you can." Both men find that they enjoy the ensuing fistfight. They subsequently move in together and establish a "fight club", drawing countless men with similar temperaments into bare-knuckle fighting matches, set to the following rules: Later in the book, a mechanic tells the Narrator about two new rules of the fight club: that nobody is the center of the fight club except for the two men fighting, and that the fight club will always be free. Marla, noticing that the Narrator hasn't recently attended his support groups, calls him to claim that she has overdosed on Xanax in a half-hearted suicide attempt. Tyler returns from work, picks up the phone to Marla's drug-induced rambling, and rescues her. Tyler and Marla embark on an uneasy affair that confounds the Narrator and confuses Marla. Throughout this affair, Marla is unaware both of fight club's existence and the interaction between Tyler and the Narrator. Because Tyler and Marla are never seen at the same time, the Narrator wonders if Tyler and Marla are the same person. As fight club attains a nationwide presence, Tyler uses it to spread his anti-consumerist ideas, recruiting fight club's members to participate in increasingly elaborate pranks on corporate America. He eventually gathers the most devoted fight club members and forms "Project Mayhem," a cult-like organization that trains itself as an army to bring down modern civilization. This organization, like fight club, is controlled by a set of rules: While initially a loyal participant in Project Mayhem, the Narrator becomes uncomfortable with the increasing destructiveness of its activities. He resolves to stop Tyler and his followers when Bob, a friend of his from the testicular cancer support group, is killed during one of Project Mayhem's sabotage operations. However, the Narrator learns that he himself is Tyler; Tyler is not a separate person, but a separate personality. As the Narrator's mental state deteriorated, his mind formed a new personality that was able to escape from the problems of his life. Marla inadvertently reveals to the Narrator that he and Tyler are the same person. Tyler's affair with Marla was actually his own affair with Marla. The Narrator's bouts of insomnia had actually been Tyler's personality surfacing. Tyler would be active whenever the Narrator was "sleeping." The Tyler personality not only created fight club, but also blew up the Narrator's condo. Tyler plans to blow up a skyscraper using homemade bombs created by Project Mayhem; the actual target of the explosion, however, is the nearby national museum. Tyler plans to die as a martyr during this event, taking the Narrator's life as well. Realizing this, the Narrator sets out to stop Tyler, although Tyler is always thinking ahead of him. The Narrator makes his way to the roof of the building, where he is held at gunpoint by Tyler. However, when Marla comes to the roof with one of the support groups, Tyler vanishes, as he "was his hallucination, not hers." With Tyler gone, the Narrator waits for the bomb to explode and kill him. However, the bomb malfunctions because Tyler mixed paraffin into the explosives. Still alive and holding Tyler's gun, the narrator makes the first decision that is truly his own: he puts the gun in his mouth and shoots himself. Some time later, he awakens in a mental hospital, believing that he is in Heaven arguing with God over human nature. The book ends with the Narrator being approached by hospital employees who reveal themselves to be Project members. They tell him that their plans still continue, and that they are expecting Tyler to come back.

Fight Club

The plot centers on Jim Willard, a handsome youth in Virginia in the late 1930s, who is also a very good tennis player. When his best friend Bob Ford, one year his senior, is about to leave high school, the two take a camping trip into the woods. Both are elated to be in each other''s company and, after some moaning from Bob about how difficult it is to get the local girls to have sex with him, the two have sex, even though Bob thinks this is not a "normal" thing for two men to do. Jim, who does not find girls so appealing, hopes Bob can stay and is crushed when Bob is insistent on joining the United States Merchant Marine. The next seven years of Jim''s life will be an odyssey, at the end of which he hopes to be happily reunited with Bob. Jim decides he wants to go to sea too and becomes a cabin boy on a cruise ship after going to New York to look for work. Another seaman on his ship, Collins, goes out with him in Seattle, but is more interested in a double date with two girls than in sex with Jim. The date is a disaster for Jim, who must realize that he is unable to drink enough to overcome being repelled by the female body. When he finally storms out, Collins calls him a queer, which causes him to think about this possibility. He quits his job, fearing another confrontation with Collins, and becomes a tennis instructor at a hotel in Los Angeles. One of the bellboys, Leaper, whose advances he has spurned previously, introduces him to the circle around the mid-thirties Hollywood actor Ronald Shaw, who immediately takes interest in Jim. Eventually, Jim moves in with Ronald, even though he is not really in love with him. Their affair is ended when Jim meets the writer Paul Sullivan, who is in his late twenties, at a party. Jim is drawn to Paul because he seems so different from the other, more stereotypical homosexuals he meets at Hollywood parties, even having married once (although that marriage was later annulled). When Shaw learns of their relationship, Jim is quite happy to move with Paul to New Orleans. Again, he is not in love with Paul but with his boyhood pal, but he considers Paul adequate for the time being. Paul however, needing some pain in his relationships for artistic inspiration, introduces Jim to Maria Verlaine, who seems to specialize in seducing homosexuals, hoping his relationship will end in a suitably tragic way. Together, the three go to Yucatán, where Maria has made an inheritance. Jim does feel vaguely attracted to Maria, but he is unable to perform sexually. All the same, for Paul even an imagined affair of his boyfriend with a woman is as painful as he had hoped and warrants a breakup. In the meantime, World War II has started in Europe and Paul and Jim are determined to go to New York to enlist in the Army. This of course also means their separation. Jim gets transferred to a Colorado Air Force base, where his sergeant is clearly sexually interested in him. But Jim has set his sights on a young corporal. Unfortunately, the corporal does not seem to like him in "that" way, even though the sergeant later seems to succeed with the corporal. Due to the cold Colorado weather, Jim contracts rheumatoid arthritis and is eventually discharged from service. He goes back to New York, where he meets Maria and Ronald again. Ronald has been forced to marry a lesbian by studio executives to uphold his public image and tries unsuccessfully to become a stage actor. He also introduces Jim to his local friends like an effeminate millionaire. Jim begins frequenting gay bars to find sexual relief. Later, he meets Paul at a party and the two start an open relationship, not because of passion, but out of loneliness. When Jim finally goes home for Christmas, he learns that his father is dead and (more alarming to him) that Bob has married. Hoping their affair can resume despite this, Jim is anxious to see him again. The resolution of their relationship comes again in New York, where they end up on the bed in Bob''s hotel room. But when Jim finally thinks he has attained what he wants and moves closer, grabbing his "sex", Bob panics, is outraged to be thought of as gay, and even punches Jim in the face. The two struggle and Jim wins because he is stronger. In the original version, Jim is infuriated enough to murder Bob while in the revision he rapes Bob and then leaves the room.

The City and the Pillar

The Scarlet Pimpernel is set in 1792, during the early stages of the French Revolution. Marguerite St. Just, a beautiful French actress, is the wife of wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, a baronet. Before their marriage, Marguerite took revenge upon the Marquis de St. Cyr, who had ordered her brother to be beaten for his romantic interest in the Marquis'' daughter, with the unintended consequence of the Marquis and his sons being sent to the guillotine. When Percy found out, he became estranged from his wife. Marguerite, for her part, became disillusioned with Percy''s shallow, dandyish lifestyle. Meanwhile, the "League of the Scarlet Pimpernel", a secret society of twenty English aristocrats, "one to command, and nineteen to obey", is engaged in rescuing their French counterparts from the daily executions (see Reign of Terror). Their leader, the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel, takes his nickname from the drawing of a small red flower with which he signs his messages. Despite being the talk of London society, only his followers and possibly the Prince of Wales know the Pimpernel''s true identity. Like many others, Marguerite is entranced by the Pimpernel''s daring exploits. At a ball attended by the Blakeneys, a verse by Percy about the "elusive Pimpernel" makes the rounds and amuses the other guests. Meanwhile, Marguerite is blackmailed by the wily new French envoy to England, Citizen Chauvelin. Chauvelin''s agents have stolen a letter incriminating her beloved brother Armand, proving that he is in league with the Pimpernel. Chauvelin offers to trade Armand''s life for her help against the Pimpernel. Contemptuous of her seemingly witless and unloving husband, Marguerite does not go to him for help or advice. Instead, she passes along information which enables Chauvelin to learn the Pimpernel''s true identity. Later that night, Marguerite finally tells her husband of the terrible danger threatening her brother and pleads for his assistance. Percy promises to save him. After Percy unexpectedly leaves for France, Marguerite discovers to her horror that he is the Pimpernel. He had hidden behind the persona of a dull, slow-witted fop in order to deceive the world. He had not told Marguerite because of his worry that she might betray him, as she had the Marquis de St. Cyr. Desperate to save her husband, she decides to pursue Percy to France to warn him that Chauvelin knows his identity and his purpose. She persuades Sir Andrew Ffoulkes to accompany her, but because of the tide and the weather, neither they nor Chavelin can leave immediately. At Calais, Percy openly approaches Chauvelin in a decrepit inn (the Chat gris), whose owner is in Percy''s pay. Despite Chauvelin''s best efforts, the Englishman manages to escape by throwing pepper in Chavelin''s face. Through a bold plan executed right under Chauvelin''s nose, Percy rescues Marguerite''s brother Armand and the Comte de Tournay, the father of a schoolfriend of Marguerite''s. Marguerite pursues Percy right to the very end, resolute that she must either warn him or share his fate. Percy, heavily disguised, is captured by Chauvelin, but he does not recognise him, and he is enabled to escape. With Marguerite''s love and courage amply proven, Percy''s ardour is rekindled. Safely back on board their schooner, the Day Dream, the happily reconciled couple returns to England. Sir Andrew marries the Count''s daughter, Suzanne.

The Scarlet Pimpernel

New Day recounts the story of Jamaica''s first outcry against the English Crown rule that cemented a socio-economic and political framework of oppression three decades post-emancipation. New Day is framed as the aged narrator John Campbell''s account of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865 and the series of uprisings and negotiations that finally culminates in the creation of the New Constitution in 1944. Recognized for its particular approach to the historical novel, the narrative opens with the elderly narrator John Campbell reminiscing of his family and country''s longstanding history over the course of seventy-nine years, as he lies awake on the eve of Jamaica''s Constitution Day and his memory refuses to elude him. The narrative quality of New Day is evident when the aged narrator transitions from past-tense into present voice as old Campbell struggles to recall the events of the past (“remember I remember”). The protagonist John Campbell, of both African and European descent, is a member of a family that has risen to greater standing with each generation. Since the abolishment of slavery, Campbell explains that the large estates in Jamaica have ceased to function. Many droughts devastate the island and the state of the poor population only worsens. Anger and resentment grow towards the Governor''s administration and the wealthy land-owners, in turn sparking the Morant Bay Rebellion. John''s older brother Davie Campbell, whom John idolizes, joins forces with the Jamaican radicals of Stoney Gut. The British open fire on and kill forty men from Stoney Gut and Morant Bay. The rebels kill forty militiamen in retaliation. Although John''s father, Pa John Campbell, is a peaceful and devoted Christian, he and all of his family, excluding John and Davie, are eventually killed by the time the English stop the reign of terror that Governor Eyre deemed to be the solution to the rebellion. Subsequently, John escapes with Davie and Lucille Dubois, the girl who marries Davie. The three proceed to live on a small cay until the English have stopped hunting them. It is not James Creary, son of Lucille and David, but their grandson Garth Creary who assumes leadership in the struggle. Garth, a wealthy lawyer and businessman, is ultimately responsible for executing the series of propaganda, law-suits, strikes, and negotiations that eventually pave the way for a new Jamaican constitution. The new political day is celebrated on the morning following old John Campbell''s long and restless night. Jamaica''s partial self-government gives way to the country''s "New Day".

New Day

An Evening of Long Goodbyes is about a 24-year old wealthy layabout who prefers to watch Gene Tierney movies in his chaise longue, with a gimlet in hand, rather than go out and find a job. Charles Hythloday is a Trinity College dropout living with his sister, Christabel ("Bel"), in their parents'' mansion, Amaurot (named after the capital city of More''s Utopia). There are only two things that Charles loves more than the film actress, Gene Tierney; his home and his struggling actress sister. While Charles loves his childhood home, Bel notices it makes people become phony, and wants out of the mansion. Charles argues that his time is well spent building a folly in the back garden and perfecting sprezzatura, the art of acting like a gentleman while making it appear like one is doing nothing at all. Charles dreams of a return to a time when men wear top coats and women have white gloves. But the fantasy ends when the bills pile up and the bank threatens to repossess the house. Charles devises a plan to blow up the folly, fake his death, use the insurance money to save Amaurot and move to South America. His plans go awry when he finds out that his Bosnian maid, Mrs P, has her children living in the folly. The folly explodes and a large stone gargoyle falls on Charles''s head, putting him into a coma for a few weeks. He dreams of living in Chile with W. B. Yeats, where they spend their time perfecting sprezzatura, drinking gimlets, wearing sombreros, and tending the vineyard. Eventually, Charles is forced to work in a Latvian factory. In his spare time, Charles pens a play entitled There''s Bosnians in my Attic! A Tragedy in Five Acts. The Latvian factory suddenly upgrades, swindles its employees out of their wages, leaving Charlie and hundreds of immigrants jobless. In order to make some fast cash, Charles lays down all his winnings on the local underdog, An Evening of Long Goodbyes, who narrowly wins the race despite being severely injured in the process. Affected by the little dog''s plight, Charles decides to give him to Bel to smooth their rift. Charles is shocked to learn that Bel is planning a trip to Chekhov''s home town in Russia to study The Cherry Orchard, her favorite play. The next morning, however, Bel drives her car into a wall at full speed, smashing through the windshield and flying into the sea. The circumstances surrounding her death are strange and mysterious, and life for everyone in the house falls into disarray. Charles takes a night job, sweeping the floor of a factory. He has begun writing a novel describing his fall from wealth, and that he likes his new life, in a way. One night, he finds Bel''s mobile phone and receives a mysterious call from her. She says that she might come back to him one day, and Charles ends his story walking out into his decayed Ireland, bleakly anticipating her return.

An Evening of Long Goodbyes

Halberstam''s book offers a great deal of detail on how the decisions were made in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations that led to the war, focusing on a period from 1960 to 1965 but also covering earlier and later years up to the publication year of the book. Many influential factors are examined in the book: *The Democratic party was still haunted by claims that it had ''lost China'' to Communists, and it did not want to be said to have lost Vietnam also *The McCarthy era had rid the government of experts in Vietnam and surrounding Far-East countries *Early studies called for close to a million U.S. troops to completely defeat the Viet Cong, but it would be impossible to convince Congress or the U.S. public to deploy that many soldiers *Declarations of war and excessive shows of force, including bombing too close to China or too many U.S. troops, might have triggered the entry of Chinese ground forces into the war, as well as greater Soviet involvement, which might repair the growing Sino-Soviet rift. *The American military and generals were not prepared for protracted guerilla warfare. *Some war games showed that a gradual escalation by the United States could be evenly matched by North Vietnam: Every year, 200,000 North Vietnamese came of draft age and potentially could be sent down the Ho Chi Minh Trail to replace any losses against the U.S.: the U.S. would be ''fighting the birthrate'' *Any show of force by the U.S. in the form of bombing or ground forces would signal the U.S. interest in defending South Vietnam and therefore cause the U.S. greater shame if they were to withdraw *President Johnson''s belief that too much attention given to the war effort would jeopardize his Great Society domestic programs *The effects of strategic bombing: Most people wrongly believed that North Vietnam prized its industrial base so much it would not risk its destruction by U.S. air power and would negotiate peace after experiencing some limited bombing. Others saw that, even in World War II, strategic bombing united the victim population against the aggressor and did little to hinder industrial output. *The Domino Theory rationales are mentioned as simplistic. *After placing a few thousand Americans in harm''s way, it became politically easier to send hundreds of thousands over with the promise that, with enough numbers, they could protect themselves and that to abandon Vietnam now would mean the earlier investment in money and blood would be thrown away. The book shows that the gradual escalation initially allowed the Johnson Administration to avoid negative publicity and criticism from Congress and avoid a direct war against the Chinese, but it also lessened the likelihood of either victory or withdrawal.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

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Life on Another Planet

No Author Listed

The Colour

By Rose Tremain

2 States: The Story of My Marriage

By Chetan Bhagat

The Gripping Hand

By Jerry Pournelle

The Deer and the Cauldron

By Louis Cha

Child of the Northern Spring

By Persia Woolley

Fight Club

By Chuck Palahniuk

The City and the Pillar

By Gore Vidal

The Scarlet Pimpernel

By Baroness Emma Orczy

New Day

No Author Listed

An Evening of Long Goodbyes

By Paul Murray

The Best and the Brightest

By David Halberstam