Cultural genre books (281)
1.
99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai EN
Country: Asia / 
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
"Twelve-year-old Marwand's memories from his previous visit to Afghanistan six years ago center on his contentious relationship with Budabash, the terrifying but beloved dog who guards his extended family's compound in Logar. Eager to find an ally in this place that's meant to be 'home, Marwand approaches Budabash the way he would any dog on his American suburban block--and the results are disastrous: Marwand loses a finger and Budabash escapes. The resulting search for the family dog is an expertly told adventure, a ninety-nine-night quest that sends Marwand and his cousins across the landsca... continue
2.
A Bookshop in Algiers by Kaouther Adimi EN
AlgeriaDescription:
In 1936, a young dreamer named Edmond Charlot opened a modest bookshop in Algiers. Once the heart of Algerian cultural life, where Camus launched his first book and the Free French printed propaganda during the war, Charlot's beloved bookshop has been closed for decades, living on as a government lending library. Now it is to be shuttered forever. But as a young man named Ryad empties it of its books, he begins to understand that a bookshop can be much more than just a shop that sells books.
A Bookshop in Algiers charts the changing fortunes of Charlot's bookshop through the polit... continue
3.
A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare EN
AlbaniaDescription:
Longlisted for the International Booker Prize The Wall Street Journal, A Best Book of the Year Using a sophisticated and literary version of the ever-popular game of telephone to examine the relationship of writers with tyranny, Ismail Kadare reflects on three particular minutes in a long moment of time when the dark shadow of Joseph Stalin passed over the world In June 1934, Stalin allegedly called Boris Pasternak and they spoke about the arrest of Osip Mandelstam. A telephone call from the dictator was not something necessarily relished, and in the complicated world of literary politics it w... continue
4.
A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov EN
RussiaDescription:
A masterpiece of Russian prose, Lermontov's only novel was influential for many later 19th century authors, including Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov. Lermotov's hero, Pechorin, is a dangerous man, Byronic in his wasted gifts and his cynicism, and desperate for any kind of action that will stave off boredom. In five linked episodes, Lermontov builds up a portrait of a man caught in and expressing the sickness of his times.
5.
A Life at Noon by Talasbek Asemkulov EN
Country: Asia / 
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Description:
"Azhigerei is growing up in Soviet Kazakhstan, learning the ancient art of the kuy from his musician father. But with the music comes knowledge about his country, his family, and the past that is at times difficult to bear. Based on the author's own family history, A Life at Noon provides us a glimpse into a time and place Western literature has rarely seen as the first post-Soviet novel from Kazakhstan to appear in English"--
6.
A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe EN
JapanDescription:
First pub. 1964. Author's most dramatic work, won him the prestigious Shincho Literary Prize. In the novel the narrator tells how he responds to the birth and problems posed by his handicapped child. Recipient of the 1994 Nobel prize.
7.
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid EN
Country: North America / 
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda
Description:
Lyrical, sardonic, and forthright by turns, this memoir is a brilliant look at colonialism and its effects in Antigua, by the author of "Annie John."
8.
A Spell of Good Things : A novel by Ayobami Adebayo EN
NigeriaDescription:
A dazzling story of modern Nigeria and two families caught in the riptides of wealth, power, romantic obsession, and political corruption from the celebrated author of Stay with Me • "A stunning debut novel ... in the lineage of great works by Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie." —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Eniola is tall for his age, a boy who looks like a man. Because his father has lost his job, Eniola spends his days running errands for the local tailor, collecting newspapers, begging when he must, dreaming of a big future. Wuraola is a golden girl, the perfect child of a... continue
9.
A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes EN
Country: North America / 
Jamaica
Jamaica
Description:
'Brimming with magic, passion and history' New York Times 'Captivating from the very first page' Jennifer Egan Shortlisted for the Fiction category in the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature Shortlisted for the Kitschies Red Tentacle Award Discovered amidst a tangle of sea grape trees, Moshe Fisher’s provenance is a thing of myth and mystery; his unusual appearance, with blueish, translucent skin and duo-toned hair, only serves to compound his mystique. Equally feared and ridiculed by peers as he grows up, he finds a surprising kindred soul in the striking and bold Arrienne Christie, but ... continue
10.
A Woman Like Her : The Short Life of Qandeel Baloch by Sanam Maher EN
PakistanDescription:
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020'The powerful story of a woman who was ahead of her time' Mishal Husain, presenter at BBC News'Terrific and necessary' Sonia Faleiro'This book is brilliant and terrifying' Meena Kandasamy_________________________ A beautiful woman in winged eyeliner and a low-cut top lies on a bed urging her favourite cricketer to win the next match. In another post, she pouts at the camera from a hot tub. She posts a selfie with a cleric, wearing his cap at a jaunty angle. Her posts are viewed millions of times and the comments beneath them a... continue