Himalayan Kidnap
This is an exotic adventure story about two brothers who have found out their parents have been kidnapped and must travel through the jungles of Nepal to find them. Their travels encounter fast flowing rivers and a maze of long dark cavernous caves with murderous men hot on their heels. I read this book not knowing if I would like it or not but by the first chapter it was hard not to get glued. I loved that this book gives you a taste for Nepali culture and an understanding of the animals that live there. Each chapter includes pictures of Nepalese animals some of which were new to me. I recommend this book to people age 8 and above.
Tess, aged 13
Snowfed Waters
Deserted by her husband and forced out of her job as a schoolteacher, Sonia Swayne flees the sullen climes of Cambridge, England, to work for a charity which trains teachers in the plains of Nepal. She ends up on the green, exotic island of Rajapur in the middle of the Karnali river.
Armed only with an amulet and a mantra, and vague stories of an ancestor who lived in Kanpur and died during the Revolt of 1857, she finds herself among people and in a culture very different from her own. Guliya Tharu, Sonia’s host in Nepal, is forever befuddled by her jumpy guest; Guliya’s young daughter Moti spoils her with ‘bad tea’ in the mornings and takes her on an epic pilgrimage to a holy shrine; while the handsome and courteous Rekraj, a colleague, acts as her local guardian, and protects Sonia from spicy food and his lecherous cousins.
Nursing a low self-esteem and umpteen anxieties about her new surroundings, Sonia gingerly navigates the peculiar yet charming customs, the spirituality and the spontaneity of her hosts. As Sonia’s bonds with her newfound family grow, and she falls in love with the countryside, she gains new perspectives, which allows her to fully embrace not only her own flawed self but also the people around her.
Raajkart
Lemurs of the Lost World
“fascinating firsthand account of expedition life and work, as well as an exciting glimpse of the flora and fauna of Madagascar.”
Geographical Magazine, London