“The Solemn Lantern Maker” by Merlinda Bobis (Philippines) Favourite Quote Foolish men. Not for a moment do they think of their wives who will be widows or their mothers who will be childless, but about country and integrity, the bigger picture. Always the home is too small. The heroic resides somewhere else. If not the streets, the halls of government, or a war. Would they … Continue reading The Solemn Lantern Maker
“Burnt Shadows” by Kamila Shamsie (Pakistan) Favourite Extract War is like disease. Until you’ve had it, you don’t know it. But no. That’s a bad comparison. At least with disease everyone thinks it might happen to them one day. You have a pain here, swelling there, a cold which stays and stays. You start to think maybe this is something really bad. But war – … Continue reading Burnt Shadows
“A Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson One of Nicola’s 100 best books for inspiration in the 21st Century! Favourite Extract Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who … Continue reading A Return To Love
“A Heart so White” by Javier Marias (Spain) Favourite Quotes The world is full of surprises and secrets. We think we know the people close to us, but time brings with it more things that we don’t know than things we do, comparatively speaking we know less all the time, there’s always a greater area of shadow. Even if the illuminated area grows larger too, … Continue reading A Heart so White
“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
“Death and the Penguin” by Andrey Kurkov (Ukraine) Favourite Quote He had, it seemed, divined the secret of longevity. Longevity depended on peace. Peace was the source of self-assurance, and self-assurance allowed one to cleanse one’s life of needless upsets, twists and turns. Self-assurance allowed one to take decisions for the prolonging of one’s life. Self-assurance led to the future. Synopsis Viktor is an aspiring … Continue reading Death and the Penguin
“Too Loud a Solitude” by Bohumil Hrabal (Czech Republic) One of Nicola’s 100 best books for inspiration in the 21st century! Extract and Comment … I pick up a book, and my eyes open panic-stricken on a world other than my own, because when I start reading I’m somewhere completely different, I’m in the text, it’s amazing, I have to admit I’ve been dreaming, dreaming … Continue reading Too Loud a Solitude
“Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon” by Jorge Amado (Brazil) Favourite Quote Life was good, one had only to live it. To warm oneself in the sun, then take a cold bath; to eat guavas and mangoes, to chew peppercorn, to walk through the streets, to sing songs, to sleep with a young man. And to dream of another. Synopsis Ilheus in 1925 is a booming town … Continue reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon
Nicola's Book Club 