Gottika

12-year-old Dany lives with his father, the scholarly Rob Judah, and his silent mother Rachel in the Stoon ghetto on the outskirts of Gottika. Under the ruthless Count Pol, the Stoon community are subject to military raids, prejudicial laws and restrictions on their culture and freedom. When Pol marries Dany’s cousin Dalil, stoking further tension between Gottikans and Stoons, life gets harder still. Urged on by Dany, Rob Judah finally runs out of patience. Something must be done. One night, Rob Judah breaks curfew and goes down to the river. Dany follows and secretly watches as his father invokes illegal Stoon magic to raise a creature, in human form, from the mud. The Gol comes to live with the family and becomes the invincible protector of the Stoons. He foils plots, prevents violence against them, and starts to bring hope and happiness back to Dany’s family. But then Rob Judah is framed for a brutal murder and thrown in Pol’s dungeon. Now it is Dany’s time to act. With the help of Moishe, Dalil and a wolf-dog hybrid named Khan, Dany sets out to save his father and defeat Pol once and for all. Along the way, he uncovers shocking family secrets, learns where Pol’s vicious hatred of the Stoons comes from and is gifted with an understanding of the sacred mysteries of life itself. Compelling, clever and full of twists and turns, Gottika reimagines the powerful Golem legend as a futuristic fantasy with a universal message.

12-year-old Dany lives with his father, the scholarly Rob Judah, and his silent mother Rachel in the Stoon ghetto on the outskirts of Gottika. Under the ruthless Count Pol, the Stoon community are subject to military raids, prejudicial laws and restrictions on their culture and freedom. When Pol marries Dany’s cousin Dalil, stoking further tension between Gottikans and Stoons, life gets harder still. Urged on by Dany, Rob Judah finally runs out of patience. Something must be done. One night, Rob Judah breaks curfew and goes down to the river. Dany follows and secretly watches as his father invokes illegal Stoon magic to raise a creature, in human form, from the mud. The Gol comes to live with the family and becomes the invincible protector of the Stoons. He foils plots, prevents violence against them, and starts to bring hope and happiness back to Dany’s family. But then Rob Judah is framed for a brutal murder and thrown in Pol’s dungeon. Now it is Dany’s time to act. With the help of Moishe, Dalil and a wolf-dog hybrid named Khan, Dany sets out to save his father and defeat Pol once and for all. Along the way, he uncovers shocking family secrets, learns where Pol’s vicious hatred of the Stoons comes from and is gifted with an understanding of the sacred mysteries of life itself. Compelling, clever and full of twists and turns, Gottika reimagines the powerful Golem legend as a futuristic fantasy with a universal message.

A Classic Authoritative Work On Sri Lankan History.

Joseph Malin loves his grandmother’s fried fish, which she makes according to an old family recipe. It’s so good, he thinks he might be able to make some money from it; money that his immigrant Jewish family desperately needs. He takes it into the marketplace of 19th Century London’s East End and calls out to passers-by: ‘Fresh from the ships, Hot n’ tasty fried fish'. Before long, people are coming from far and wide to try the delicious snack. But his success inspires a rival. Annette, the greengrocer across the street, sees an opportunity to hawk her own family favourite: Belgian-style fried potatoes. “Piping hot chips!”/So crisp, so delish”, she calls. And they’re a hit too. The competition between Joseph and Annette heats up as they try to outsell each other at the market. And then one day… crash! The two collide. Chips slip. Fish fly. It’s a disaster. Or perhaps not… This is the playful, fictional account of how the real-life Joseph Malin, a poor Jewish immigrant, invented fish and chips, the iconic British fish and chips dish.