The Train That Had Wings

The Train That Had Wings presents modern life in Kerala in terms of a shared but tragically compromised humanity. Mukundan dares to look beneath the routines and facades of everyday life in order to probe depth of sin, greed, and hypocrisy but also to rediscover what brings joy and hope. Sixteen short story translations and a critical introduction, offering examples of Mukundan's realistic, existentialist, psychedelic, and parabolic stories, show his range and talent for the very short story. If Hawthorne wrote “twice told tales,” Mukundan writes half-told tales, stories that jump in the middle, stomp around for just a minute, and leap away almost before the reader can settle in. Half-told, but a powerful and infectious half.

Women Without Wings is a study of the lives of three young women and their mothers who lived out their lives in a time when Vietnam standards of gentility dictated the conduct of all classes. These standards did indeed insure that women had clipped wings. Myra, Anne, and "Pet" are of marriageable age the summer they received invitations to a house party, the social event of the season. This event took the happy thoughtless days of the three teenagers to the realization they were caught within the structured world that defined their behavior and had the power to choose their life partner. As the story unfolds against the background of upper-class life in the years following the civil war, we see how circumstances begin to shape the lives of the three girls whose wings are symbolically clipped. We see each girl handling the situation differently. Myra defies, Anne manipulates the system, and "Pet" succumbs and in deteriorating health; dies. This message of mothers and daughters still resonate in a powerful way for women who, today, have wings.

From three bestselling authors comes an interwoven tale about a trio of World War II nurses stationed in the South Pacific who wage their own battle for freedom and survival. The Philippines, 1941. When U.S. Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, U.S. Army nurse Penny Franklin, and Filipina nurse Lita Capel forge a friendship at the Army Navy Club in Manila, they believe they’re living a paradise assignment. All three are seeking a way to escape their pasts, but soon the beauty and promise of their surroundings give way to the heavy mantle of war. Caught in the crosshairs of a fight between the U.S. military and the Imperial Japanese Army for control of the Philippine Islands, the nurses are forced to serve under combat conditions and, ultimately, endure captivity as the first female prisoners of the Second World War. As their resiliency is tested in the face of squalid living arrangements, food shortages, and the enemy's blatant disregard for the articles of the Geneva Convention, the women strive to keep their hope— and their fellow inmates—alive, though not without great cost. In this sweeping story based on the true experiences of nurses dubbed "the Angels of Bataan," three women shift in and out of each other's lives through the darkest days of the war, buoyed by their unwavering friendship and distant dreams of liberation. "A novel rich in historical detail that immerses readers in the dangers and deprivation WWII nurses suffered in the Pacific, wrapped up with a hopeful ending." -Booklist

Born a champion. Destined for even more. Moonhunter’s dragon mother gifted him the last of her magic when she died giving birth to him and left him in the hands of his dragon brother, Balthier, to train. But when a botched recovery mission leaves Moonhunter and Balthier hiding information from each other, it jeopardizes the next assignment, one that Balthier himself already failed once. Now Balthier faces the demons of his past and the prospect of Moonhunter leaving him, while Moonhunter no longer has Balthier’s tough protection keeping him from those who want to use Moonhunter’s special powers. Separated, they must both draw deep down on their individual strength reserves to survive this operation. Even dragon born can die. Welcome to the Wells of the Onesong, where not even sanctuaries are safe and lies held silent can tear even the tightest of dragon brothers apart.

This book consists of forty-four tales or fairy tales or recollections of the author or of others the author spoke to or listened to. It deals with modern-day fairy tales, most of which are more for an older child or adult reader than for little children.

I was born and raised in Germany. After my father’s death, my mother spent many winters with my husband and I here in Florida. During these visits, she and I transcribed my father’s World War II diaries into German from the old “Gabelsberger” shorthand, which only Mama was able to read. Subsequently, I translated them into English. These diaries fortunately were discovered by my sister Sigrid in the attic upon the sale of the old family home after my father’s passing in 1989. She felt Mama and I should translate these books for the family. At a later point many friends and acquaintances encouraged me, to publish this diary, to document his thoughts, experiences, and innermost feelings from the beginning of his conscripted military service in 1939 through 1946, when he returned home after being released from a French POW labor camp. During the latter part of 1946 and into 1947, an epilog describes his daily struggles to return to normalcy, the resumption of his teaching career, and the search for food to feed his family. He describes his touching love for his family, as well as his anger and hatred for the insane war and its inept leaders. A war, he was forced to participate in as an ordinary German soldier. Many times he naively commented very unfavorably, sometimes using “choice words” about Hitler, the Nazi Party, and his superiors, a risk, if found out, could have cost him his life. I myself have many memories of the war and its horrors as a little girl without a father, spending night after night in a bunker, the “liberation” of our small town by the Americans. This has left deep and lasting impressions on me. Later on, I met a wonderful American with whom I fell in love and married, with my father proudly walking me down the aisle. This, in spite of the resentment he held against Americans, for shamefully turning him over to the French as a forced labor POW. I remember his sadness, when his little “Murschel”, as he used to call me, left for America with his conviction that if he was lucky, he may be able to see me only once more during his lifetime. However, he was able to enjoy many trips to the United States and I with my family visited my parents often in Germany. After reading his legacy, I knew, I have my beloved father’s permission to share his writings with others, and by doing so, honor his memory.