Snowfed Waters
… Another super story, is Jane Wilson-Howarth's Snowfed Waters, her fictional sequel to her non-fiction book, A Glimpse of Eternal Snows. Jane, who is based in Cambridge, spoke at Words in Walden a few years ago about her very moving experiences in Nepal on which A Glimpse is based. And it is immediately clear when you read Snowfed Waters that it is shot through with cultural insights and anecdotes which could only have come from personal experience.
The story is related through five voices - Sonia, the English woman travelling to Nepal, Rekraj, a young Nepali man who has been appointed to look after her; Guliya Tharu, a Nepali village woman, Regimental Sergeant-Major Bom Bahadur Gurung, and Moti, a Nepali teenage girl. Much of the humour in the story comes from their often perplexed accounts of each other's reactions to particular circumstances, highlighting their false cultural assumptions.
Rekraj, for example reports on the following exchange between himself and Sonia:-
'"Where exactly is England in America?"
She is angry when she answers. "England is NOT in America. England, Britain actually, is very, very different!"
I do not know how I have offended her. I feel I should apologise but I do not see what the problem is. Perhaps she has tasted some alcoholic drinks...'
Very quickly one warms to each of these characters and the story, which becomes unexpectedly dramatic and is full of vivid local description, unfolds through their joint narrative. This is a really lovely, uplifting, gloriously humane read.
Jo Burch in Hub Magazine (Saffron Walden)
Himalayan Hideout
This is another romping himalayan adventure. This time the boys end up in the high himalayas where they meet some beautiful wildlife, but also encounter a family of bears and even a snow leopard and many other rare beasts as they wander, lost, amongst the crags and deep into terrorist territory.
The Reading Agency
Himalayan Heist
This a fast-paced and gripping adventure story is set in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal. Jane Wilson-Howarth clearly has an amazing knowledge of Nepal and the details of wildlife and landscape add to the richness of the storytelling. She tackles difficult subjects such as climate change and the trade in rare wild animals but the story never loses its momentum. Alex and James and their Nepali friend Bim survive crashes, captures and the hazardous landscape on their journey through the mountains. The reading is never dull and includes sound effects from Nepal to give it a sense of the real place.
Penny Speller
Himalayan Kidnap
This exciting adventure for children (and others) over the age of eight features two scruffy English boys and their fiesty no-nonsense Nepali friend Atti. The children have the huge challenge of rescuing the boys' parents from kidnappers and as they chase the grownups through the jungle, they encounter all kinds of dangerous animals - beautifully drawn by Betty Levene.
The Reading Agency