“One Night, Markovitch” by Ayelet Gundar-Goshan (Israel) Review Readers enjoyed this book describing it as an intriguing and refreshing read. They found it easy to get into and sympathised with most of the characters. They liked how the two protagonists develop from caricatures to individuals with depth and substance. Readers agreed that the story was both funny and annoying at the beginning due its exaggerated … Continue reading One Night, Markovitch
“Reckless” by Hasan Ali Toptas (Turkey) Review From a classic plot-driven novel to an unusual collective ‘novel-essay,’ the four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in structure, style of writing, and point of view. Our summer readers also noticed a recurrent theme in all four of dreams and their many meanings. “Reckless” is largely set on the Turkish-Syrian border and tells … Continue reading Reckless
“The Gaze” by Elif Shafak (Turkey) Review Readers had a difficult time getting into this book finding both the language and the narrative hard to follow. Some didn’t manage to finish it, but those who did were very glad they had persisted, because about a third of the way through they felt that the pieces started to fit together. The main story is told from … Continue reading The Gaze
“Samarkand” by Amin Maalouf (Lebanon) Favourite Quote Travellers are in too great a rush these days, in a rush to arrive – whatever it takes. But you do not arrive only at your destination. At every stage of the journey you arrive somewhere and with every step you can discover a hidden facet of our planet. All you have to do is look, wish, believe … Continue reading Samarkand
“The Blood of Flowers” by Anita Amirrezvani (Iran) Review Describing it as a rich book, readers liked the setting of the story (both time and place) most of all. They were absorbed by the detailed descriptions of the rug making, the preparation of the meals, the cleansing rituals at the hammam and life within the family home. They felt the city of Isfahan, with its … Continue reading The Blood of Flowers
Nicola's Book Club 