Hi-En Montijn Books

A young woman from Nigeria leaves behind her home and her first love to start a new life in America, only to find her dreams are not all she expected.

A collection of twelve stories includes the tale of a medical student in hiding with a poor Muslim woman, and a woman who discovers a devastating secret about her brother's death.

"Smart, warm, uplifting, the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes the only way to survive is to open her heart. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. That, combined with her unusual appearance (scarred cheek, tendency to wear the same clothes year in, year out), means that Eleanor has become a creature of habit (to say the least) and a bit of a loner. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kind of friends who rescue each other from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond's big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one"-- Provided by publisher

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

From the author of the 2 million+ copy, worldwide bestseller, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, an exquisite, funny and heartrending parallel story. When Queenie Hennessy discovers that Harold Fry is walking the length of England to save her, and all she has to do is wait, she is shocked. Her note had explained she was dying. How can she wait? A new volunteer at the hospice suggests that Queenie should write again; only this time she must tell Harold everything. In confessing to secrets she has hidden for twenty years, she will find atonement for the past. As the volunteer points out, âe~Even though youâe(tm)ve done your travelling, youâe(tm)re starting a new journey too.âe(tm) Queenie thought her first letter would be the end of the story. She was wrong. It was the beginning. Told in simple, emotionally-honest prose, with a mischievous bite, this is a novel about the journey we all must take to learn who we are; it is about loving and letting go. And most of all it is about finding joy in unexpected places and at times we least expect.

Beloved author Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction with a unique love story set in the New York City theater world of the 1940s. Through the perspective of an older woman reflecting on her youth, the narrative explores themes of female sexuality, promiscuity, and the nuances of true love. Nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris is sent to Manhattan after being expelled from Vassar College due to her lackluster performance. She moves in with her Aunt Peg, who owns the flamboyant, crumbling Lily Playhouse. There, Vivian encounters a vibrant array of characters, including fun-loving showgirls, a charming male actor, a grand-dame actress, a seductive writer, and a pragmatic stage manager. A personal misstep leads to a professional scandal, turning her world upside down and prompting years of introspection. Ultimately, this tumultuous journey guides her toward a deeper understanding of her desires and the freedom needed to pursue them. It also leads her to the love of her life, a relationship that stands apart from all others. Now eighty-nine, Vivian reflects on how these formative experiences shaped her life, revealing a powerful truth: at some point, a woman can shed the burden of shame and embrace her true self. Written with profound insight into human desire and connection, this is a love story like no other.

Get ready for the biggest thriller of 2018... What did she see? It's been ten long months since Anna Fox last left her home. Ten months during which she has haunted the rooms of her old New York house like a ghost, lost in her memories, too terrified to step outside. Anna's lifeline to the real world is her window, where she sits day after day, watching her neighbours. When the Russells move in, Anna is instantly drawn to them. A picture-perfect family of three, they are an echo of the life that was once hers. But one evening, a frenzied scream rips across the silence, and Anna witnesses something no one was supposed to see. Now she must do everything she can to uncover the truth about what really happened. But even if she does, will anyone believe her? And can she even trust herself?

One green notebook. Six strangers. The chance to start being honest ... Six strangers with one universal thing in common - their lives aren't always what they make them out to be. But what would happen if they told the truth instead? Julian begins The Authenticity Project - a small green notebook containing his 'truth' - to pass on and encourage others to share their own. Little does he know that this small act of honesty will impact all those who come into contact with the book, and lead to a life-changing world of friendship and forgiveness ...

A Long Way from Home follows Irene Bobs, a fast-driving enthusiast, and her car salesman husband as they tackle the grueling Redex Trial in 1950s Australia. This thrilling tale explores the nation's connection to its ancient culture amid the challenges of love and pain during a brutal car race.

Born into the lowest class of her society, Flora 717 is a sanitation bee, only fit to clean her orchard hive. Living to accept, obey and serve, she is prepared to sacrifice everything for her beloved holy mother, the Queen. But Flora is not like other bees. Despite her ugliness she has talents that are not typical of her kin. While mutant bees are usually instantly destroyed, Flora is removed from sanitation duty and is allowed to feed the newborns, before becoming a forager, collecting pollen on the wing. She also finds her way into the Queen's inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous. But enemies are everywhere, from the fearsome fertility police to the high priestesses who jealously guard the Hive Mind. And when Flora breaks the most sacred law of all her instinct to serve is overshadowed by an even deeper desire, a fierce maternal love that will lead to the unthinkable . . . Laline Paull's chilling yet ultimately triumphant novel creates a luminous world both alien and uncannily familiar. Thrilling and imaginative, 'The Bees' is the story of a heroine who, in the face of an increasingly desperate struggle for survival, changes her destiny and her world

On 21 January 1804, Anne Sharpe arrives at Godmersham Park in Kent to take up the position of governess. At 31 years old, she has no previous experience of either teaching or fine country houses. Her mother has died, and she has nowhere else to go. Anne is left with no choice. For her new charge - twelve-year-old Fanny Austen - Anne's arrival is all novelty and excitement.The governess role is a uniquely awkward one. Anne is neither one of the servants, nor one of the family, and to balance a position between the 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' members of the household is a diplomatic chess game. One wrong move may result in instant dismissal. Anne knows that she must never let down her guard.When Mr Edward Austen's family comes to stay, Anne forms an immediate attachment to Jane. They write plays together, and enjoy long discussions. However, in the process, Anne reveals herself as not merely pretty, charming and competent; she is clever too. Even her sleepy, complacent mistress can hardly fail to notice.Meanwhile Jane's brother, Henry, begins to take an unusually strong interest in the lovely young governess . . .And from now on, Anne's days at Godmersham Park are numbered.

'LOVED it. I read it in 3 hours in one sitting' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ THEIR FIRST MISTAKE WAS INVITING HER IN... Rose has it all - the gorgeous children, the husband, the beautiful home. But then her best friend Polly comes to stay. Very soon, Rose's cosy world starts to fall apart at the seams - her baby falls dangerously ill, her husband is distracted - is Polly behind it all? It appears that once you invite Polly into your home, it's very difficult to get her out again... The original psychological thriller: a dark, deliciously unsettling drama, perfect for fans of I Let You Go, The Couple Next Door and The Girl on the Train. Readers LOVE Cuckoo! 'Brilliant... truly chilling' Sophie Hannah 'Wow. This book is truly amazing... I devoured it' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Totally compelling'Daily Mail 'This is one smart and sharp psychological thriller... a shiveringly good read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A read-in-one-sitting book!... Julia Crouch writes with disturbing brilliance' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Completely thrilling, I promise anyone, male, female, young, old, this book won't disappoint!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'I was more and more gripped with the more I read... the ending still managed to blow me away. This was a book that stayed with me for days' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Seven-year-old Che was abandoned by his radical Harvard-student parents during the upheaval of the 1960s, and since then has been raised in isolated privilege by his New York grandmother. He yearns to see or hear news of his famous outlaw parents, but his grandmother refuses to tell him anything.

In 1972, two seconds were added to time. It was in order to balance clock time with the movement of the earth. Byron Hemming knew this because James Lowe had told him and James was the cleverest boy at school. But how could time change? The steady movement of hands around a clock was as certain as their golden futures. Then Byron's mother, late for the school run, makes a devastating mistake. Byron's perfect world is shattered. Were those two extra seconds to blame? Can what follows ever be set right?

In a crumbling house in the remote northeastern Himalayas, an embittered, elderly judge finds his peaceful retirement turned upside down by the arrival of his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, but their world--and Sai's romance with her handsome Nepali tutor--is threatened by a Nepalese insurgency. By the author of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. Reprint. 50,000 first printing.

At the centre of this intriguing, irresistible novel are the young Lambs: Charles, constrained by the tedium of his work as a clerk at the East India Company, taking refuge in a drink or three too many while spreading his wings as a young writer, and his clever, adoring sister Mary, confined by domesticity, an ailing, dotty father and a maddening mother- Into their lives comes William Ireland, an ambitious 17-year-old antiquarian and bookseller, anxious not only to impress his demanding showman of a father, but to make his mark on the literary world. When Ireland turns up a document in the handwriting of Shakespeare himself, he takes Mary into his confidence - but soon scholars and actors alike are beating a path to the little bookshop in Holborn Passage. Touching and tragic, ingenious, funny and vividly alive, this is Ackroyd at the top of his form in a masterly retelling of a nineteenth-century drama which keeps the reader guessing right to the end.

A year after his divorce, Jayojit Chatterjee, an economics professor in the American Midwest, travels to his native Calcutta with his young son, Bonny, to spend the summer holidays with his parents. Jayojit is nomore accustomed to spending time alone with Bonny-who lives with his mother in California-than he is with the Admiral and his wife, whose daily rhythms have become so synchronized as to becomecompletely foreign to their son. Together, the unlikely foursome struggles to pass the protracted hours of summer, each in his or her own way mourning Jayojit's failed marriage. And as Jayojit walks the bustlingstreets of Calcutta, he finds himself not only caught between clashing memories of India and America, but also between different versions of his life, revisiting lost opportunity, realized potential, and lingering desire. As he did in his acclaimed trilogy "Freedom Song, " Amit Chaudhuri lovingly captures life's every detail on the page while infusing the quiet interactions of daily existence with depthand compassion." " "From the Trade Paperback edition."