Kirjahaku

In tis coming of age story, teen Chooka grows up in the weird world of 1950s Aussie pub life. When his alcoholic dad dies, he searches for his identity, and that of his shadowy underage girlfriend, Iris. Captivated by the pub's many crazy customers and their raucous stories, Chooka becomes a boozer just like them. But Iris, after a miscarriage, disappears and Chooka sets out on a search that takes him to foreign places including Melbourne university and Vietnam. The search ends in a Melbourne pub, where they start over, but this time there's a different ending. "...a brilliant, unforgettable book about real people...a sensitive, touching and poignant story." - Reader's favourite

The opening story of MONA, inspired by the Museum of Old and New Art located in Hobart, Tasmania, sets the stage for this collection of short stories that adds an Australian flavor to Colin Heston's acclaimed The Tommie Felon Show. As one reviewer of that collection noted "...vivid and real, some of the stories seem to jump out of the pages... engaging, hilarious, unique... a commentary on human desires, shortcomings and the society we live in.... one has to look beyond the words and the events in these stories to really appreciate them." (Readers' Favorite). The stories range across many styles, prose poems, jottings that are almost aphorisms, classic stories of human emotion and the contradictions of human existence, dystopian themes and settings, all engaging, never dull. The stories in this volume are: 1. MONA. 2. The Tommie Felon Show. 3. Easter Story. 4. Veggies. 5. Wombattered. 6. Death at the Y. 7. Seductio ad absurdum. 8. Head's Up 9. Parodisiac. 10. A Meeting of Relative. 11. Leap of Faith. 12. Civilization. 13. Deconstruction. 14. Fake Truth. 15. Secret of the Sand. 16. Mixed Blessings. 17. Rounding Error.

In this collection of short stories, follow the exploits of supreme psychiatrist and criminologist Franco Ferrapotti as he weaves a web of intrigue in the labyrinths of the United Nations and the surreal world of Italian politics, big money, and of course, the Vatican. Other stories of high achievement explore the ancient origin of the animal species and gendered humans, the exciting zoo of enlightenment installed on the island that once housed Alcatraz, making it into the dream University of the Chosen, or if you prefer, getting elected the new Secretary General of the United Nations. But that's not all. Get a brief glimpse of the future where precision doctors edit who you are or who you want to be.

It's politics as usual in New York City when Larry MacIver, world renowned criminologist, is tapped by NYC Mayor Ruth Newberg to save NYC from a second 9/11 attack. Will it be nuclear? Will it be bio? MacIver and his geeky assistant Manish Das must overcome FBI ineptitude, CIA intrigue and, most of all, the evil and ruthless Iranian terrorist Shalah Muhammud, to save the city. Written under the pen name of Colin Heston by a criminologist of international repute, this gripping and sometimes comical story offers a glimpse into the real world of counter terrorism. It would be funny, if it weren't for the terrible destruction and suffering that a second 9/11 would bring.

Bordering on the cynical, toying with the absurd, this collection of original stories probes the depths and edges of human existence. The Tommie Felon Show is a story that's so post modern, it's very funny. Death at the Y is a salute to Thomas Mann, or is it a parody? And then, Rounding Error is anything but statistics. All of the twelve stories are engaging, entertaining, and perhaps best (or worst) of all, Colin Heston will have you wondering, "is civilized society really so screwed up?"

Set against the bawdy life of a 1950s Aussie pub, young Chooka searches for his identity, and that of his underage girlfriend, Iris. Chooka's alcoholic father dies and Eddie, the bar owner, takes him in. When Iris's best friend Millie is murdered, Iris disappears, and Chooka's nemesis, The Preacher, accuses him of the murder. Challenged by tragedy and tempered by humor, the search for identities intensifies until this raw young couple finally discovers what it truly means to love each other.