Book type: fiction (6008)
4941.
The Past Ahead : A Novel by Gilbert Gatore EN
RwandaDescription:
The Past Ahead is the story of the destinies of two people after their experiences of the genocide in Rwanda. Isaro is orphaned, exiled, and now returned to her native country. Niko is a character in a novel that Isaro writes to help her understand her country's recent horrific past. Isaro's quest to recover the memory of the life she has lost is haunted by her nightmare imaginings, whose horror is given expression through Niko, a mute social outcast. When an army intent on massacre reaches his village, the once gentle young man is forced to become a killer. After the fighting ends, Niko retre... continue
4942.
The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi EN
Country: Asia / 
Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
In Persian folklore, Syngue Sabour is the name of a magical black stone, a patience stone, which absorbs the plight of those who confide in it. It is believed that the day it explodes, after having received too much hardship and pain, will be the day of the Apocalypse. But here, the Syngue Sabour is not a stone but rather a man lying brain-dead with a bullet lodged in his neck. His wife is with him, sitting by his side. But she resents him for having sacrificed her to the war, for never being able to resist the call to arms, for wanting to be a hero, and in the end, after all was said and done... continue
Hungary4944.
The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili EN
GeorgiaDescription:
Lela knows two things: her history teacher must die and she must start a new life beyond the pear field. On the outskirts of Tbilisi, in a newly independent Georgia, is the Residential School for Intellectually Disabled Children – or, as the locals call it, the School for Idiots. Abandoned by their parents, the pupils here receive lessons in violence and neglect. At eighteen, Lela is old enough to leave, but with nowhere to go she stays and plans, both for her own escape and for the future she hopes to give Irakli, a young boy at the school. When a couple from the USA decide they want to adopt... continue
4945.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck EN
Country: North America / 
United States of America
United States of America
Description:
“There it lay, the great pearl, perfect as the moon.” One of Steinbeck’s most taught works, The Pearl is the story of the Mexican diver Kino, whose discovery of a magnificent pearl from the Gulf beds means the promise of a better life for his impoverished family. His dream blinds him to the greed and suspicions the pearl arouses in him and his neighbors, and even his loving wife Juana cannot temper his obsession or stem the events leading to tragedy. This classic novella from Nobel Prize-winner John Steinbeck examines the fallacy of the American dream, and illustrates the fall from innocence e... continue
4946.
The Pearl Sister by Lucinda Riley EN
IrelandDescription:
The Pearl Sister is the fourth book in the number one international bestselling Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. After her beloved sister, Star, breaks free of their close relationship, CeCe is bereft and feels totally abandoned. Struggling to cope alone, she decides that she too must try to move on and endeavour to find her own life outside the sibling bubble that has formed her entire world. Wishing to run as far away as she can from the pain of her loss, she decides to head for the farthest corner of the earth - Australia, a country she has always had an irrational fear of visiting, y... continue
4947.
The Pearl that Broke Its Shell : A Novel by Nadia Hashimi EN
Country: Asia / Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Description:
Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See. In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young Rahima to dress and be treated as a boy until she is of marriageable age. As a son, she can attend school, go to ... continue
4948.
The Pearl Thief by Noor Al Noaimi EN
BahrainDescription:
This is a lovely little short story about Hassan, a poor Bahraini islander, who finds himself in desperate circumstances. Driven by the need to take care of his aging parents, he embarks on the unthinkable; a pearl diving quest... when he can't even swim! But can Hassan be more than he is? Can he leave his world of poverty and being looked-down upon, to finally be someone in life and provide for his family? Or will he always be a poor man's son, destined to a life of destitution and struggle?
4949.
The Peasant King by Tessa Afshar EN
IranDescription:
Jemmah has always thought of herself as perfectly ordinary . . . until she faces extraordinary circumstances. When her mother, the Persian king's famous senior scribe, is kidnapped, Jemmah and her sister must sneak undetected into enemy territory to rescue her. But infiltrating their adversary's lands proves easier than escaping them. Fleeing through dangerous mountain passes, their survival depends on the skills of a stranger they free from prison: a mysterious prince named Asher. Asher is not who the world believes he is. Despite his royal blood, he has had to climb his way out of poverty to... continue
4950.
The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault EN
Country: North America / 
Canada
Canada
Description:
This short novel conjures up the solitary daily life of Bilodo, a postman who shares his Montreal apartment with his goldfish, Bill. As a result of his indiscretion (the steaming open of personal correspondence), Bilodo becomes involved in an exchange of haiku between the woman of his dreams, a Guadeloupean beauty, and Gaston Grandpre, an eccentric intellectual whose mail Bilodo delivers. Around these events, Denis theriault weaves a passionate tragicomic love story full of twists and turns, but also rich in dazzling descriptions of lush, tropical landscapes and subtle evocations of the sober,... continue