Kirjahaku

Add a conniving servant and his amoral master; a murderous priest and his equally homicidal sidekick; a beautiful but barren wife wed to an ancient attorney; and a potion brewed from Mandragora, a plant alleged to help women conceive, and you have a prescription for pandemonium, especially when Mandragora (known in less reputable circles as "God's Little Joke"), possesses a Fatal Flaw.Filled with bawdy and irreverent wit, outrageous situations, characters it would be grossly unwise to invite for dinner, and lots of good old-fashioned belly laughs, this literate and sophisticated satire is a joy to read from start to satisfying-and most surprising-finale.Based on The Mandrake, notorious Niccol Machiavelli's Italian Renaissance comedy, Mandragora is the only novel ever created-even after five centuries -from his infamous play.

Growing up is never easy, but as everyone knows, it can sometimes be exceptionally difficult. This coming-of-age story, a true Bildungsroman, rich in detail, much of it seriously disturbing, is yet rich with humour, friendships, and wisdom. Beginning on the Caribbean island of Trinidad during WWII, the story moves to the Pacific Northwest, then to California, and back to Trinidad, as we follow the triumphs and the tragedies of Arthur (nicknamed Poonky Doodles by his godfather), through his childhood and his teen years, as he tries to find out who he is, who and what he wants to become, and why life can be very cruel even when he tries to do all the right things. This novel of growth, of strength, and of survival, though told through the mask of fiction, is a true story about real people and events. It is a tale you will long remember.

In this unusual collection, H.D. Greaves displays a variety of unique narratives with stories - many fact-based - that span the past and the present in locales real and imaginary, while embracing humour and irony, intrigue and suspense, love and compassion.Characters range from young to old, including animals, especially a "cat from hell," and - in an amazing story called A Cuckoo's Lament - the cuckoo in a cuckoo clock, a distinctly adventuresome bird who wants to "fly beyond that Midnight Twelve, to fly beyond Infinity "In the novella, The Witch of Tabaquite, you'll find voodoo, madness, and murder on an island in the Caribbean.Take the voyage into these stories. You won't be disappointed.

Should you be sufficiently adventurous as to purchase this volume of poetry, I thank you. I do not now nor ever have written poetry with the intent of publication, but only for my personal enjoyment, be it cathartic to cleanse tragedy of its bile or whimsical to celebrate a comic vein.Don Marquis, the poet whose wonderful creations, Archy the Cockroach and Mehitabel the Alley Cat, have given so much pleasure to so many people, wrote, "Publishing a volume of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo."He was right, of course, and still is right, at least when it comes to publishing a volume of poetry the traditional way, that being with the help of a literary agent, an editor, and a publishing company.However, with the invention of Ebooks and Print-on-Demand, all writers calling themselves poets can now inflict upon the public their work, be it good, grand, insufferably execrable, just plain bad, or (worst cut of all) indifferently mediocre.The poems you will find in this volume may be in all of those States of Siege, according to your taste and my talents. Written over several decades, and being now an old man, I have long since lost all objectivity about them.As for why I decided to publish what I never intended to publish: over many years, my friends urged me to do this rash deed and, to please them, as well as curiosity about how my work will be received by strangers (well, badly, or ignored), here it is, to use a fine old clich , warts and all.

Isak Dinesen wrote about a friend that he "ate of the ripened heart of life." This is a tale of two such people. One, an eccentric old woman, the other an embittered and lonely man; they meet, and a friendship develops that gives renewed hope to one and which completely transcends the other. This story is true; only the locations are changed. Dear friends of the author, he felt compelled to write about them, and what they show us of compassion, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, and the wondrous quality of bliss. This is the LARGE PRINT paperback edition.

Turandot's Ukulele is an endearing story about a boy's love for his aunt, an elderly spinster who introduces him to grand opera at the Metropolitan. It also validates great music's power to remove the stings of tragedy, transform the simplest lives, and inspire startling ideas.Fascinated by the Hawaiian ukulele, as well as loving Puccini's Turandot, our young operagoer sees no reason why "the plinky-plunky splendour of the leaping flea" can't be part of the Met's huge orchestra, right in there with the loudest trumpets and the big Chinese gong.Told as a fond remembrance filled with droll humour and gentle wisdom, this is a tale for all ages and begs reading aloud.

'Akiro Maru did not look like a chef, far less a man of thirty. Thin, pale, and possessing a boy's face, everyone mistook him to be no more than sixteen. Everyone mistook him in other ways as well.'So begins this droll comedy of lust, deception, adultery, and an Ambassador's obsessive desire for superb Japanese cuisine. It may leave you wondering just how high, really, is the cost for a pot of hot green tea and fresh conch sushi.Heartburn, or . . . ? The answer will astonish you.

LUST, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, is the motivating force throughout CLIZIA, H.D. Greaves' novelization of Niccol Machiavelli's bawdiest and most scandalous comedy.We are introduced to CLIZIA, a beautiful little orphan, who has been raised by a wealthy and respected family as their foster daughter. All is well until she turns sixteen and matures into a succulent young woman, all innocent virginal sexuality.This condition enflames her foster brother - as well as her foster father - each desiring to possess the young woman.Sofronia, wife and mother, aware of their dangerous folly, must find a way to bring her husband back to his senses, as well as discipline her errant son. Success in returning integrity and decency back to the family depends on her use of a shocking sexual deceit -one of many unusual surprises - with CLIZIA'S fate hanging in the balance.An irreverently humorous look at Renaissance mores, CLIZIA is generously filled with outrageously droll, ribald, and robust Machiavellian misadventures.Greaves' adaptation vividly shows this unusual tale still possesses considerable power to shock and amuse-five centuries after it first appeared LUST, it would seem-and as we who are wise well know-is never out of fashion.

"Atascadero " (Spanish slang for 'pigpen' or 'big mess'), premiered at The Santa Barbara Playhouse, Santa Barbara, California, in 1974. Since then, it has been successfully produced by community theatre organizations, as well as college and university theatre departments. It is adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Swineherd, a story he first heard as a bawdy German joke.The Santa Barbara production used two real pigs, and those beasts were as charming as they were alarming. Human actors have since played the pigs, adding an entirely new and welcome dimension to the play's humour.Whereas other versions change the ending to 'happily ever after', this play retains the bittersweet ending as in the original Hans Christian Andersen folk tale.

H.D. Greaves, taking his cue from the great Nineteenth Century melodramas-lavish entertainments that featured moments of whimsy and pathos balanced against moments of terror-has fashioned a spectacular three-act play that delights with its comedy and, for the very young, terrifies with its intensity.This magical retelling of the famous Grimm Brothers folk tale has been successfully produced by avocational theatre companies using large casts comprised of adults and children (and even a well-behaved cat).Should you be interested in producing this play, important production information is included.