Cirrus@Austlit

'When Faisal, an Afghani from the Pashtun tribe, begins attending Michael Farril’s English as a Second Language class, Michael has every reason to be terrified. This Faisal has all the external signs of being a Muslim extremist and a potential terrorist. However, as Michael gets to know Faisal, he realises that things aren’t what they originally seemed. Eventually a very strong friendship develops between these two men. In doing so, each man has to adjust his thinking to the other’s beliefs and outlooks on life.

'In a marketplace in Afghanistan, a son watches his father die at the hands of the Taliban. Karim Mazari knows he must flee his homeland if he is to have any chance of survival, but at a time of international uncertainty and terror, compassion can be hard to find. But a passport and a ticket to Australia can be bought...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Capturing the voice of an Australia you haven't heard in fiction before ... Meet Zeke Togan, a small-time crim in big-time trouble. A quintessential Australian larrikin - whose biggest problem is that he isn't actually Australian. 19 year old Zeke was born in the Old Country but has been in Australia since he was six months old and considers himself as Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi as the next bloke. But due to a mix-up at the naturalisation ceremony (Zeke was in the pub when the rest of his family were getting their certificates and sprigs of wattle) and some unfortunate brushes with the law, Zeke finds himself awaiting deportation from Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre.

'A disparate group find themselves in the close confines of a boat escaping a conflict zone. Will a series of unfortunate events precipitate disaster on them before nature unleashes a savage storm? Only time will tell as they race inexorably toward their destiny.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Zein, Farhan, Rayya and their circle are migrants of the fifties, yearning for both their future and their past. Their children, Salah, Rima, Hussein and their friends are young Australians with a distinctive voice and place succeeding or failing in the clash between generations, struggling for independence in the face of their parents' hopes and dreams. Abd al-Rahman is an Iraqi refugee who has lost everything. And Ali, Ahmad, Akram and Yusuf are children in Palestine and Baghdad who have no future, but whose stories soar.

'Set in a mining town in the Australian outback, Nights in the Asylum is the story of three people seeking shelter. Stricken with grief and guilt following the death of her daughter, Miri flees the city for the quiet calm of Havana Gardens, a once fine but now dilapidated mansion built for her grandmother. On the road, she rescues Aziz, an Afghan refugee on the run from detention; then, in the attic of the old house, Miri discovers Suzette Moran and her baby daughter hiding, and grants them refuge.

Raki (which means rope) is set in Australia and Bosnia and deals with issues of black and white relations, ethnic conflict and multi-culturalism. Gara is an Aboriginal youth who is adopted by a Yugoslav family and taken bak to Bosnia. Caught up in the conflict there, he returns to Australia, only to end up in jail, where he hangs himself. (Source: Koori Mail Ed. 85 21 Sept. 1994)