Mantua Books' newest release by author Stephen Schecter is NOW AVAILABLE!
Grasshoppers in Zion - Israel and the Paradox of Modernity, by Stephen Schecter
For far too long we have been telling ourselves the wrong story about Israel, the Arab Muslim world and modernity. Western democracies think the Arab Muslim world is full of people just like us, never understanding that the normal conduct of business in that part of the globe is totally different from what we expect at home. The Jews, in and outside Israel, besides being good moderns and good democrats, continue to act as a family trying to outsmart God. The combination is lethal, Israel is vilified. The Arab Muslim world is allowed to get away with murder. And no one seems to have learned from experience what modern society really is and how to defend it.
Get your copy of Grasshoppers in Zion today!
WATCH for our NEW RELEASE by author Clair Symonds COMING SOON!
Romance and Revolution - A Leap of Faith at the Iranian National Ballet, by Clair Symonds
Set against the glamorous backdrop of the Iranian National Ballet Company in 1970s Tehran, awash with money thanks to the generous patronage of the Shah’s wife Farah Pahlavi known as the Shahbanu, ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION is the true story of Clair Symonds, a naïve 19 year old Jewish ballet dancer who grew up in South Africa during the era of apartheid and who sets off to Iran without even knowing where that country is, let alone anything about its rich history and culture.
Within a few months of her arrival she has met and fallen in love with Arash Alizadeh, a dashing student of architecture five years her senior and whose passion in life, much to his father’s disdain, is classical dance - in addition to being a fierce critic of the Shah’s dictatorial regime.
Nothing, it seems, can prevent Clair and Arash’s romance from moving rapidly towards marriage - even the opposition of their respective fathers. Having been seduced by the charm and allure of her dashing Iranian knight, Clair fails to take a stand against the Alizadeh family’s policy of keeping her Jewishness strictly under wraps. There were dark mutterings, even from Arash, of the Holocaust being a myth to justify the existence of Israel and to dampen down sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians.
Not that such grand issues are of much concern to Clair - she is preoccupied with dancing the role of Zarema in The Fountain of Bakhchesarai and the great ballet classics which are part and parcel of the company’s lavish repertoire. Besides, she is hopelessly in love and any criticisms of Arash’s increasingly erratic behaviour fall on deaf ears.
But Arash proves to be considerably more charming in courtship and seduction than in wedlock and matrimony - Clair seeing herself thrown into the arms of her new family rather than those of her husband. And in accepting the status quo she reluctantly becomes more sister than wife. Undeterred, Clair decides to marry Arash for a second time.
Does love conquer all? Are religious and cultural differences insurmountable, as many would have us believe, meaning that any union between Jew and Muslim is doomed to failure from the outset?
ROMANCE AND REVOLUTION is the uplifting, eye-opening true story of contemporary relevance of one young woman’s long, lonely and often painful journey of empowerment as, with the Revolution and the advent of the Ayatollahs in Iran, she begins to search for solutions which, hitherto, have eluded her. Is absolutely any behaviour acceptable relating to romance? Are there are any limits at all when it comes to unconditional love?
Mantua Books is proud to announce the availability of its books on Chapters.ca!
A selection of Chapters/Indigo locations stock some of the books and any of our books may be ordered at any of their brick-and-mortar locations.
THREE Important New Books are Available to order NOW directly from our website, or from a number of other sources! See our Book Ordering section for details on these latest releases.
Delectable Lie by Salim Mansur - NOW AVAILABLE
And:
Chienke's Motl and Motl's Chienke by Jacob Sivak - NOW AVAILABLE
And:
Those That Bless You, I Will Bless by Paul Merkley - NOW AVAILABLE
Mantua Books is proud to announce the availability of the following titles in 'Kindle' format through Amazon.com:
Watch for all of our titles to be available in our website store in e-Book format soon!
