Anushka Ravishankar:One Two Tree!
- signiertes Exemplar 2007, ISBN: 9788186211809
Taschenbuch, Gebundene Ausgabe
Asia Books. Very Good. 5.5 x 0.75 x 8 inches. Paperback. 1998. 206 pages.<br>Phnom Penh is a city of beauty and degradation, tra nquillity and violence, and tradition and transforma… Mehr…
Asia Books. Very Good. 5.5 x 0.75 x 8 inches. Paperback. 1998. 206 pages.<br>Phnom Penh is a city of beauty and degradation, tra nquillity and violence, and tradition and transformation; a city of temples and brothels, music and gunfire, and festivals and cou ps. But for many, it is simply an anarchic celebration of insan ity and indulgence. Whether it is the $2 wooden shack brothels, t he marijuana-pizza restaurants, the AK-47 fireworks displays, or the intricate brutality of Cambodian politics, Phnom Penh never c eases to amaze and amuse. For an individual coming from a modern Western society, it is a place where the immoral becomes acceptab le and the insane becomes normal. Amid this chaos lives an extr aordinary group of foreign residents. Some are adventurers whose passion for life is given free rein in this unrestrained madhouse . Others are misfits who, unable to make it anywhere else, wallow in the decadent and inviting environment. This unparalleled firs t-hand account provides a fascinating, shocking, disturbing and o ften hilarious picture of contemporary Phnom Penh and the bizarre collection of expats who make it their home. As they search for love in the brothels or adventure on the firing range, Phnom Penh Journey follows them into the dark heart of guns, girls and ganj a. Editorial Reviews Review There is a beast in all of us, but in Cambodia that beast is let out into the open, says Amit Gilboa of the country he calls a fiction writer's dream. The Bangkok-ba sed Gilboa's debut book, Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, is not a wo rk of fiction, however, even though it reads like one. It is a ra cy, disturbing, fantastic, and sometimes funny account of the exp loits of a motley group of expatriates in 1990's Phnom Penh, who spend their days visiting $2 brothels, eating ganja-topped pizzas , snorting heroin and shooting rockets at firing ranges. -- South China Morning Post, April 4, 1999. By Kavitha Rao As a literary genre the travel narrative is often genteel to the point of yawn -inducing boredom. Maybe that's why first-time author Amit Gilboa 's recent book, Off the Rails in Phnom Penh, is causing such a st ir in Southeast Asia. Just one glance at the subtitle--Into the D ark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja--tells you his hellish holida y in Cambodia will unfold more like a gonzo rant from Hunter S. T hompson than an erudite essay by Paul Theroux. Gilboa spins a f ascinating if somewhat fractured tale about a beautiful country w hose people have been ravaged by decades of turmoil. With its m ix of random jottings, bizarre character sketches and diary entri es, Gilboa's account plunges readers into the center of the Khmer storm. -- Time Magazine, February 1, 1999. By Jeffrey Ressner T he book is phenomenal. On a scale of the amount of muck raked it must come very high in the annals of reportage... The book...is b y turns attractive, repulsive and frightening but never boring. I found it hard to put down, and will never forget it. -- The Nati on, Bangkok, August 30, 1998. By Simon Johnstone The debut work of young writer Amit Gilboa is a helter-skelter low-life travelog ue through that neighboring madhouse named Phnom Penh. A book eas y for old hands to dismiss as immature or nave, it's invigorating , exciting, packed full of fun and infectious youthful exuberance . -- Bangkok Metro Magazine, September 1998. By Ian Crawshaw Ab out the Author Amit Gilboa was born in Israel, grew up in America , and currently lives in Bangkok. Over the past 10 years, he has studied in China, entrepreneured in Viet Nam, worked and research ed in Cambodia, and written in Thailand, as well as working as a consultant in Washington, DC. Gilboa is fluent in Chinese, Khmer and Hebrew, and proficient in Thai and Vietnamese. While in Cambo dia, Gilboa developed customer service training for Royal Air Cam bodge, began a call-back partnership, and sold airline tickets, a s well as teaching English and learning Khmer. In addition to his recent book about Cambodia, Gilboa has published numerous articl es in North American magazines and newspapers. Gilboa is a 1991 g raduate of Wesleyan University. About the Author Amit Gilboa was born in Israel, grew up in America, and currently lives in Bangk ok. Over the past 10 years, he has studied in China, entrepreneur ed in Viet Nam, worked and researched in Cambodia, and written in Thailand, as well as working as a consultant in Washington, DC. Gilboa is fluent in Chinese, Khmer and Hebrew, and proficient in Thai and Vietnamese. While in Cambodia, Gilboa developed customer service training for Royal Air Cambodge, began a call-back partn ership, and sold airline tickets, as well as teaching English and learning Khmer. In addition to his recent book about Cambodia, G ilboa has published numerous articles in North American magazines and newspapers. Gilboa is a 1991 graduate of Wesleyan University . Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Almos t immediately, I became committed to the idea of investigating th is madhouse of a country and its foreign-born inmates. I wanted t o understand the details of this country which seemed to consist entirely of the perversion of what would be called 'normal' in ma ny other societies. I also wanted to understand the attractions t hat this country held for the people who chose to come here to li ve. Finally, I was determined to successfully relate all of this to those who have never been to Cambodia. Between September 199 6 and October 1997, I made several more trips to Phnom Penh, each time taking about a month off from my less-than-explosive journa listic career in Viet Nam. The standard place to eat and sleep fo r backpackers, low-budget visa runners, and also many longer-term residents in Phnom Penh is the sadly misnamed Majestic Restauran t and Guesthouse. During my visits I spent my time, using the Maj estic as a base, learning about a range of extraordinary lifestyl es from the people who were actually living them. I talked with t hem over quick breakfasts before their classes, and over long lun ches before their brothel trips. I listened quietly as they talke d in groups, and I interviewed them earnestly one on one. Most of my conversations revolved around the sensationalistic aspects of living in Phnom Penh, and all of these are addressed throughou t this book covering: The bizarre political system, and the anarc hy and violence that result; the permissiveness and recklessness regarding sex, AIDS, and drugs; the ease with which the foreigner s earn money from the Khmers; some interesting observations about the foreigners of Phnom Penh; and observations on the Khmers the mselves. While these chapters detail the more outrageous aspects of life in Phnom Penh, there are other, more subtle facets of liv ing in the Kingdom of Cambodia that make it a mind-altering exper ience. It was these subtleties, as much as the sex, drugs and vio lence, that entranced me to Cambodia. Khmer culture undeniably accommodates one of the world's greatest artistic traditions. No matter how many times I go past the Royal Palace, it never ceases to amaze me. The beautiful colors, the intricate patterns, the f our giant faces looking out from the top of the central tower. It 's as if, just by appreciating it, I'm somehow a part of this mon umental culture. As millions of tourists and travelers will att est, the massive size and incredible artistry of Angkor Wat, the country's greatest monument, is an easy way to understand the glo ry of the Khmer Empire and the cultural heights it reached. But t he strength of Khmer culture is not limited to monuments. I have traveled all around East Asia and the popular radio stations play American rock and roll, or dreadful local imitations of American rock and roll. Cambodia is the first Asian country I have been t o where I actually heard mostly traditional music. And the music itself is so beautiful, the way they slide up and down the scale, all in these mournful minor keys. The very traditional music is played on an ensemble of musical instruments including gongs, bel ls, drums, and various other string and percussive pieces. As a p erson not usually given to romanticizing exotic cultures, I was t otally unprepared for the effect this strange and exquisite music has on me. Whenever they start playing, I always feel as if some part of me is being transported to a mythical Angkorian kingdom of princes, warriors, dancers, and gods. The clash between this traditional culture and the modern world is part of the energy o f Phnom Penh. A journalist remarks that, This is a society that's been through hundreds of years of agrarian feudalism, twenty-thr ee years of civil war, ten years of Communism and isolation, ten years of foreign occupation, and then the world just flipped a sw itch and turned Cambodia into this democratic, capitalistic, open , developing country. You think there might be some tension creat ed? The fact that the process of Cambodia's 'development' is st ill in the early stages is clearly an attraction for many. One is constantly jarred by the contrasts. Wealthy generals drive by in Landcruisers or BMW's flanked by bodyguards, past cyclo (three-w heeled pedicab) drivers who own nothing but the cyclo and one cha nge of clothes. While the generals own two or three villas, the c yclo drivers actually live in their cyclos because they can't eve n afford to rent an $8-a-month shanty. There is an overwhelming r awness that confronts the visitor; the trash in the streets, the little children running around naked, the dust, the unpaved roads , and the shacks. And among all of this one regularly chances upo n a beautiful wat (Buddhist temple) rising up into the sky. While stunning in its own right, the sight is even more amazing in the middle of all the shit that surrounds it. Similarly, many peop le cite their own bizarre reasons for finding Cambodia so interes ting. A long conversation I had with a tourist provided the subti tle for this book. He expounded about why Phnom Penh is nothing l ess than a real-life version of the movie Apocalypse Now. Think a bout it, Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness [the Joseph Conrad novel on which the movie is based], are built on the premise of w hat happens when people live without the normal restraints of soc iety. That's exactly what we're seeing here. The foreigners here have absolutely nothing stopping them from behaving completely ir rationally, and completely without judgment or inhibitions. I'm t elling you, it's no coincidence that they put Colonel Kurtz in Ca mbodia. </div ., Asia Books, 1998, 3, Paekakariki: Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop. Very Good. 130 x 190mm. Paperback. 2007. Signed by author on title page . 152 pages. <br>In this richly textured collection Isa Moynihan we aves a tapestry of places and times, past and present. In New Zea land on a Sunday afternoon in spring the serpent whispers fantasi es of murder, cross-dressing, adultery and exotic lovers. On a su mmer beach a couple recognise the end of the golden weather. On a nother beach a child watches a drowned girl being carried ashore. A country grandmother fights back against family and other threa ts to independence. A mother is tempted to destroy her adult daug hter's image of Daddy dearest, and in 'True Colours' an artist an d his child paint their pictures of separate realities. In our So uth Pacific playground a writer looks for more quirky angles and a perfectionist looks for more malleable raw material for his ide al woman. Farther afield on a cruise in the Greek Islands a New Z ealand family is almost collected by a strange 'family' from a ya cht, and in Finland a New Zealand writer tries to turn straw into gold. In 1957 in upcountry Malaya a Thai woman offers a spell fo r lonely wives, and two young women, one Kiwi, one Irish, compare their colonial pasts and plan for the future. In contemporary Si ngapore an expatriate finds herself out of place and, finally, ou t of time. In an imaginary world a kindly giant solves the proble m of upwardly mobile women, And in the distant future on separate planets, men and women breed creatures for different purposes. ., Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop, 2007, 3, Tara Publishing, 2003. Hardcover. Used: Acceptable. Hardback no D/J in good condition, little signs of being read. Also with Sirish Rao and Durga Bai. This visually stunning read-aloud book invites young children to count the improbable number of animals that clamber up an ever-expanding tree. Illustrated with art from the Gond tribal tradition of central India, One Two Tree! is a number book, a picture book, a nursery rhyme and a fable of living together. About the Author One of our most prolific children's book writers, Anushka Ravishankar has slowly but surely been securing her status as one of the best children's writers of her generation. Her expansive talent shines most brilliantly in her works of nonsense verse; jubilant and artful adaptations of this difficult genre to the cadences of Indian English. Said to be the pioneer of this form, she has earned national and international acclaim for her nine verse books released over the last decade. Rights to her books have been snapped up around the world and she has over 12 awards to her name. Her books owe their success not only to her fabulous verse, but to her willingness to collaborate and experiment with many different artists and designers; whether working with Swiss textile artists or veteran Indian illustrators, the best aspect of Anushka's work is the cohesion she creates between the text, typography and artwork of each scene. Durga Bai is a young tribal artist from the Gond tradition of central India. Gond is a ritual and functional art style with distinctive decorative elements, mostly painted on walls of houses, using natural colours. Durga constantly re-works and pushes the borders of the form to create art that sparkles with a distinctive energy. Sirish Rao is one of the most exciting new voices in contemporary Indian writing. He has authored 16 books, ranging from novels and children's books to re-tellings of myths, and collections of pop art; several have won international awards. His writing reflects his interests. ISBN 8186211802., Tara Publishing, 2003, 2.5<
