Kindle Edition Amazon Off On A Tangent Amazon Kindle Category:  Romance Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing ISBN-10:  0615819168 Type: Fiction Pages: 314 Copyright: October 15th, 2012 Price: $3.99 (eBook) A saga with elements of romance, mystery and drama, loss and gain, religion and redemption played out in exotic locations over a timespan of thirty years. It addresses the issues of celibacy within the Catholic church, the heartbreak of rejection and separation, the difficulties of raising a child as a single parent, the effects of post natal depression on a marriage and the family, the healing power of forgiveness, and culminates in what we all dream of … a happy ever after scenario. 1968, Srinagar, Kashmir and Nina is devastated by the death of her new-born baby girl. Sister Angela and Father Michael at the mission hospital step in to nurse Nina back to health but when the friendship between Nina and Father Michael turns to love, Michael makes a decision which will resonate through the years. It is 1981 and in Kinsale, Ireland, Nina, devoted to her son Joshua, lives a loveless existence, but a chance encounter changes everything. Michael is back in her life, he leaves the priesthood and happiness is within their grasp. But when past and present collide, their whole world is turned upside down. Only by facing the consequences of what has gone before, can Nina and Michael embrace the future. Excerpt The remote hamlet of Kilingiri was a cluster of simple, white-washed huts sprinkled like sugar cubes along the ribs of a thickly wooded hillside, and in the valley a tartan of fields in every imaginable shade of green stretched to the skyline. A stream meandered through the area like a slender brown snake, culverts branching off in all directions to irrigate crops and provide the villagers with water for bathing and cooking. The clinic, set in a fenced compound, was comprised of four white-washed mud and stone buildings and the most basic of medical equipment. Day after day the ill and the maimed queued with infinite patience to see Father Michael, firm in the belief he would cure their ailments. Nina marvelled at his ability to communicate with his patients in their own language, smiling when cantankerous old men berated him with shaking fists, soothing fractious, snotty-nosed babies and advising anxious mothers. She helped him dispense his meagre supply of pills and potions, cleaned suppurating sores and bandaged wicked wounds. Initially all the blood and pus made her want to throw up and she had to force herself not to gag when faced with open wounds crawling with maggots which he assured her were a cheaper, albeit revolting alternative, to antibiotics. But, after a couple of days she became a pro at removing embedded stones from puffy, angry-red flesh and even managed to sew up several gashes with stitches the nuns at the convent school in Ascot would have been proud of. ‘How do these people cope when you aren't here?’ she asked one evening, over a simple meal of rice and dhal. ‘Jaishree and Sushila – the two women who were helping out today – do the honours. They've learned a lot from Sister Angela over the last couple of years and are pretty competent unless there's an emergency.’ ‘What happens then? What if they’re faced with a situation that’s beyond their capabilities?’ Michael pushed aside his tin plate and lit a cigarette. ‘They do what they can, Nina. If they can't cope, the patients die. It's as simple as that. Out here in the boonies the sick rely on Jaishree and Sushila and God ... when he can tear Himself away from the Vatican.’ Yet again she detected in him signs of dissatisfaction and unrest. He looked exhausted; raccoon-black rings encircled eyes that loomed bleak in a face grey with fatigue and in need of a shave. The one time she’d suggested he ease up, he'd snarled at her and she'd crept away to avoid the sting of additional harsh words.

A Beautifully Painted Picture
This is a beautiful painting of a book, its exotic location magnificently woven such that you can feel yourself right there with Nina as she moves through the ups and downs of her life. Right from the beginning I was hooked into wanting to know where we were leading. Nina's story may be universal but that is precisely what makes it so appealing in so far as the reader can readily identify with her dilemmas and reactions - and agree or disagree with her decisions, which draws you further into the plot. I loved the fact that we see the saga right through to the end and the story is much the richer for allowing us to visit Nina's life as she gets older and to witness the effect that her younger life has on her more mature self.

Kilingiri by Janna Gray
Kilingiri by Janna Gray. In my busy life I don't find much time to devote to a good book without guilt stabbing me in the back as commitments elsewhere beckon. This book put an end to that and I highly recommend it - an absolute page turner. Janna Gray is a brilliant story teller, her descriptions allowing the images to burst forth in 3D around the reader. She writes with humour and passion enticing one to speed up so as to discover what's to come or slow down in order to absorb the beauty of her descriptions. I'd encourage everyone I know to read this first novel by Janna Gray and wait eagerly to see the publication of a second. In fact, this book is worthy of the Big Screen. Don't hesitate to buy it.

Beautiful, vivid storytelling
Janna Gray is a natural storyteller and her debut novel, 'Kilingiri' is an absolute delight.

It is both epic, spanning decades and crossing continents, and deeply personal, as the story of one woman's journey through love, heartache and redemption. The descriptions in the early part of the novel, set in 1960s Kashmir are stunningly vivid, full of tastes and smells and beautiful details that transport the reader to the time and place. The writing throughout the novel is wonderful: warm and funny at times, emotional and heart-wrenching at others. Janna Gray draws you into Nina's life and you cannot put the book down until you find out how her story turns out.

The novel also deals with sensitive themes, such as depression and religion, with thought and care that give it an added depth.

An absolute must-read for anyone who loves to curl up on the sofa and get lost in a book. I cannot wait to read more from this brilliant author.