Religious 15 Seder Steps, The

Persistent Rumours

Read by Suzy Korson (1 Cd)

A childhood mystery has haunted James Oakley all his life: the disappearance and unexplained death of his mother far away in India. Years later, in an attempt to unlock the past, he returns with his unhappy wife Daisy to the island where he was born, a place of treacherous seas and hurricanes, which conceals an appalling secret. This book contains flashbacks which may make the story difficult to follow in places.

No. 1616
Portnoy’s Complaint

by Philip Roth

Read by American reader
Portnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933-)] A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature. Spielvogel says: 'Acts of exhibitionism, voyeurism, fetishism, auto-eroticism and oral coitus are plentiful; as a consequence of the patient's "morality," however, neither fantasy nor act issues in genuine sexual gratification, but rather in overriding feelings of shame and the dread of retribution, particularly in the form of castration.' (Spielvogel, O. 'The Puzzled Penis', Internationale Zeitschrift fur Psychoanalyse, Vol. XXIV, p. 909.) it is believed by Spielvogel that many of the symptoms can be traced to the bonds obtaining in the mother-child relationship. 'The most outrageously funny book about sex yet written' Guardian WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT OF A SEXUAL NATURE

No. 1740

Post Office Girl, The

Read by Rita Rosenbaum (1 Cd)

This is the story of Christine, who works in a provincial post office in Austria just after World War l. Life is hard in a country wracked by unemployment and financial ruin. Her rich American aunt invites her to a resort in the Swiss Alps where she is swept up into a world of inconceivable wealth and desires. She feels transformed and as if nothing is now impossible. Then her aunt suddenly cuts her loose and Christine is forced to return to the post office, but life will never be the same. In this haunting, beautifully written reworking of the Cinderella story Stefan Zweig shows us the human cost of the boom and bust of capitalism. The Post office Girl was completed during the 1930s as Zweig who came from a wealthy Austrian- Jewish family) was driven into exile by the Nazis. The manuscript was found among his papers in Brazil after he and his wife committed suicide in a pact in 1942. It is available here for the first time in English.

No. 1553

Prayers For The Dead

Read by Alan Lewis (1 Cd)

Dr. Sparks is a gifted and renowned heart surgeon who is respected by millions. So when Peter Decker is called to a gruesome crime scene in a dark back alley he is shocked to find the very same doctor is the victim. In his new role as Lieutenant, Decker and his detectives go about the task of finding out who and more importantly why someone murdered this great man. At the same time, Decker has to deal with Sparks' family, who have all turned to eldest son Abram to take over Spark’s duties as patriarch. Kellerman is wonderful at weaving together classy whodunits with her obvious passion for Judaism. This is a complex plot that exposes some of the darker areas of human nature.

No. 1579

Prism

Read by Valerie Goodhardt (1 Cd)

A school trip goes wrong when the bus that the teenagers are on overturns and catches fire. All struggle out and find a nearby cave to shelter in until another other bus comes for them. As they wander in the cave they fall down a crevasse. The next they know they wake up in their own beds and homes. Everything seems as it should be, but as time goes by they come to realise that there is a strange phenomenon, a parallel world. With a very 'Twilight Zone' feel to the story, PRISM is a book that will keep you entranced until the very end. The concept of a world without any health-care is frightening. With dark images of the clean-up crew and a town of dying and ill people, you'll be left to wonder how society survived without everyday staples such as pain medications or antibiotics.

No. 1609

Promise, The

Read by Daniel Gee (1 Cd)

A story of young love, parted by tragedy and the struggle to reunite, overcoming the odds. This short novel is a compelling tale that pans the United States and tugs at the heartstrings throughout.

No. 1300
Purple Rose, The

by Charlotte Gringas

Read by Ita Rubin
In this vivid first novel, Charlotte Gringras invites us into the lives of Nicki and her tribe. Meet pre-teen son Jake, who is researching the family tree; Uncle Ernie, a Kindertransport refugee with an unlikely new lady friend; and the late Grandma Freidl, a seamstress and suffragette whose letters reveal some surprising secrets. Through the captivating stories of three generations of feisty Jewish women and one fraying heirloom, The Purple Rose recounts a century of history and struggle against the backdrop of Manchester's changing cityscape. Engaging and entertainging, it raises questions about loyalty, identity and marriage which remain open to the emotive final page.

No. 1751

Puttermesser Papers, The

Read by Helen Mignano (1 Cd)

This is a strange book, a weird mixture of comedy and quite nasty happenings. There is some swearing and one or two distressing happenings. An enjoyable book; however it may not be to everyone's taste.

No. 1355

Quality of Mercy,The

by Faye Kellerman

Read by Hilary Michel
This is a book that you won't want to stop reading. Based on historical truth it is entertaining, mysterious, romantic, adventurous and original. Set in Elizabethan London 1593, Roderigo Lopez, the Queen's physician is a loyal subject of the Crown and secretly is a Jewish converso. Together with his family, they are secretly hiding their illegal religion while smuggling ashore Portuguese refugees fleeing from persecution and the flames of the Spanish inquisition. Roderigo's daughter Rebecca is torn between her duty to her family and her love for Will Shakespeare an ambitious young dramatist. Together they embark on an adventure.

No.1700