Browse Sections

• Music
• Bollywood
• Arts 
• Film trailers
• Food and drink

Autumn reading

27/ 9/2008

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

Paperback: £11.99. Published by Abacus

Synopsis: What does somebody with a wealth of common sense do if retirement palls?

Why, open a marriage bureau of course.

And soon Mr Ali, from beautiful Vizag, sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs Ali and assistant Aruna look on with careful eyes.

But although many clients go away happy, problems lurk behind the scenes as Aruna nurses a heart-rending secret while Mr Ali cannot see that he rarely follows his own sage advice dished out so freely to others.

And when love comes calling for Aruna, an impossible dilemma looms...A colourful coastal town proves the perfect backdrop for a splendid array of characters in this witty yet acutely observed debut novel.

Indeed The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is just what Jane Austen might have written if she had ever been lucky enough to set foot in a contemporary Indian marriage bureau.

The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam

Hardback: £17.99. Published by FABER & FABER

From the author of "Maps For Lost Lovers" comes this moving, epic and beautiful novel of family secrets, forbidden love and the tragedy and consequences of war in of the same quality and popular appeal as Kazuo Ishiguro and Orhan Pamuk, and this is their major literary fiction publication for the autumn.

Publisher's description: A Russian woman named Lara arrives at the house of Marcus Caldwell, an Englishman and widower living in an old perfume factory in the shadow of the Tora Bora mountains.

It is possible that Marcus' daughter, Zameen, may have known Lara's brother, a Soviet soldier who disappeared in the area many years previously.But like Marcus' wife, Zameen is dead; a victim of the age in which she was born. In the days that follow, further people will arrive at the house: DavidTown and James Palantine, two Americans who have spent much of their adult lives in the area, for their respective reasons; Dunia, a young Afghan teacher; and Casa, a radicalised young man intent on his own path.

The stories and histories that unfold - interweaving and overlapping, and spanning nearly a quarter of a century - tell of the terrible afflictions that have plagued Afghanistan. A work of deepest humanity, "The Wasted Vigil" offers a timely portrait of this region, of love during war and conflict.

At once angry, unflinching and memorably beautiful, it marks Nadeem Aslam as a world writer of major importance.

The Real Deal by James Caan

Hardback copy £18.99. Published by Virgin books

JAMES Caan is one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs.

Dropping out of school at just sixteen, he started his business life with no qualifications and two pieces of advice: ‘observe the masses and do the opposite’ and ‘always look for opportunities where both parties benefit’.

Armed with just these two pieces of fatherly wisdom, extraordinary charm and the yellow pages, James Caan built a market-leading business with a turnover of more than £130 million from a broom cupboard.

The Real Deal is the incredible story of James’ remarkable life.

From his childhood as a Pakistani immigrant to the phenomenal success of his first company, this book traces James Caan’s journey to both financial and personal maturity.

It deals with his fear at realising his goals too early, and offers a frank account of what success at 30 really means.

The Real Deal brings us bang up to the present, including the truth about his role on Dragons' Den, what his charity work in Kashmir means to him, and how he has come to completely re-evaluate what money is really worth.