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<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Tue, 29 May 2012 05:00:35 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Books</title><subtitle>Books</subtitle><id>http://www.elsiesze.com/books/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.elsiesze.com/books/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.elsiesze.com/books/atom.xml"/><updated>2012-05-19T06:13:34Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.11.81 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>The Heart of the Buddha -- a novel by Elsie Sze -- published in October, 2009</title><id>http://www.elsiesze.com/books/the-heart-of-the-buddha-a-novel-by-elsie-sze-published-in-oc.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.elsiesze.com/books/the-heart-of-the-buddha-a-novel-by-elsie-sze-published-in-oc.html"/><author><name>Elsie</name></author><published>2009-07-01T19:02:18Z</published><updated>2009-07-01T19:02:18Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p><span style="font-size: 80%;">
<h2 style="padding-left: 30px; font-size: 140%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;<span class="full-image-float-left ssNonEditable"><span><img src="http://www.elsiesze.com/storage/Heart%20of%20the%20Buddha%20Cover.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1251448435375" alt="" /></span></span>When Marian goes missing at the end of her six-month work contract in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, her twin sister Ruth journeys from Canada to Bhutan to look for her. Learning of Marian&rsquo;s love for a Bhutanese monk and her hazardous trek over a mountain pass to Tibet, Ruth fears for Marian. A sinister Tibetan also in pursuit of Marian adds to the mystery and intrigue. The novel is a tale of mystery, adventure and romance set against an enchanting backdrop of Bhutan, while it recounts two sisters&rsquo; physical and spiritual journeys to reach each other and find their true selves.</h2>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;Here's what some literary authorities say of <em>The Heart of the Buddha:</em></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em>&nbsp;</em></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&ldquo;Elsie Sze&rsquo;s <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Heart of the Buddha </em>is a passionate story of two sisters&rsquo; adventures in Bhutan. Part travelogue, part love story, Sze&rsquo;s elegant prose tells a suspenseful story. I couldn&rsquo;t put this book down.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;--&nbsp;Leanne Lieberman, author of <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gravity</em></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em>&nbsp;</em></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><em>"</em>In a captivating novel that sets the joys of the sisterly bond against the allure of impossible love, Elsie Sze spins a fluid story of determination, devotion and ethical dilemma. As Sze's characters grapple with disparities in cultures and spiritual beliefs, heart-rending questions are laid bare &ndash; questions of love's meaning and its ultimate costs.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;-- Ania Szado, author of <em>Beginning of Was</em></p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em>&ldquo;A triple-treat, <em>The Heart of the Budd</em><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ha</em> satisfies as a puzzling mystery, a heart-wrenching love story and a vivid travel guide to an exotic land.&rdquo;</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;--<em>Cairns Media Magazine</em></p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p>]]></content></entry><entry><title>Hui Gui: a Chinese story, by Elsie Sze</title><id>http://www.elsiesze.com/books/hui-gui-a-chinese-story-by-elsie-sze.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.elsiesze.com/books/hui-gui-a-chinese-story-by-elsie-sze.html"/><author><name>Elsie</name></author><published>2008-11-12T20:25:00Z</published><updated>2008-11-12T20:25:00Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p><span class="full-image-float-left ssNonEditable"><span><img src="http://www.elsiesze.com/storage/Hui%20Gui%20cover.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1251470810062" alt="" /></span></span><strong><em style="font-size: 90%;">Hui Gui</em>, "returning home" in Chinese, has come to designate the British handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the pivotal event that launches this epic novel of twentieth century China and Hong Kong. <em>Hui Gui</em> transports the reader through time and place with the memorable story of Lee Tak Sing growing up in war-torn China of the thirties and forties, and leaving the mainland for Hong Kong as a refugee following the Communist takeover in 1949. Years later, as the clock ticks&nbsp;towards the handover, Tak Sing's daughter, Serena, recalls her family's stories of love and loss, courage and survival.&nbsp;This is a tale of a homecoming, extolling the triumph of the spirit over the inevitabilities of the human predicament.&nbsp;</strong></p>
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<p>"I think that what makes this moving novel so extraordinary is the author's profound understanding of how events shape and direct our lives, and how we are all a part of an ongoing process. Elsie Sze grasps what History is made of: Stories. And she tells her stories beautifully."</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -- Isabel Huggan</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>"With grace and sensitivity, Elsie Sze shapes the poignant story of one family's struggles and convictions amidst the maelstrom of Chinese political history. Hui Gui is a moving and memorable portrait of dignity, sacrifice and enduring love."</p>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;-- Ania Szado, author of <em>Beginning of Was</em></p>
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p>
<p>Read the review of <em>Hui Gui</em> in Cairns Media Magazine:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cairnsmedia.com/Archives%20-%20bookreview_Hui%20Gui%20A%20Chinese%20Story_01292007.htm">http://www.cairnsmedia.com/Archives%20-%20bookreview_Hui%20Gui%20A%20Chinese%20Story_01292007.htm</a></p>
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<p><em>Hui Gui</em> is available on <a href="http://www.amazon.com">www.amazon.com</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.ca">www.amazon.ca</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com">www.barnesandnoble.com</a>,&nbsp;and at&nbsp;select Chapters/Indigo bookstores in Canada.&nbsp;It is in&nbsp;various public libraries and academic libraries in&nbsp;Canada and the United States.</p>
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<p>Read&nbsp;Elsie's blog entry "My Road to Self-Publishing."</p>]]></content></entry></feed>
