Loving Sabotage

“Loving Sabotage” by Amélie Nothomb (Belgium) Synopsis The daughter of diplomats posted to Peking in the mid-seventies, our unnamed narrator charges about her tightly enclosed world on her ‘horse’ (bicycle) with the dictatorial clarity and loneliness of a warrior-philosopher. ‘From puberty onwards’, she announces at one point, ‘life is just an epilogue’. There, on the asphalt-playground-battlefield, she discovers her first love: six-year-old Elena, her very … Continue reading Loving Sabotage

Nicola01/12/201003/05/2025Leave a comment

Europe, Finland

The True Deceiver

“The True Deceiver” by Tove Jansson (Finland) Synopsis In the deep winter snows of a Swedish hamlet, a strange young woman fakes a break-in at the house of an elderly artist in order to persuade her that she needs companionship. But what does she hope to gain by doing this? And who ultimately is deceiving whom? In this portrayal of two women grappling with truth … Continue reading The True Deceiver

Nicola01/10/201019/09/2025Leave a comment

Lebanon, Middle East

Samarkand

“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

Nicola09/06/201003/05/2025Leave a comment

Middle East, Saudi Arabia

Girls of Riyadh

“Girls of Riyadh” by Rajaa Alsanea (Saudi Arabia) Synopsis Gamrah’s faith in her new husband is not exactly returned …Sadeem is a little too willing to please her fiancé …Michelle is half-American and the wrong class for her boyfriend’s family …While Lamees works hard with little time for love. The girls of Riyadh are young, attractive and living by Saudi Arabia’s strict cultural traditions. Well, not quite. … Continue reading Girls of Riyadh

Nicola20/04/201020/02/2025Leave a comment

Iraq, Middle East

Cell Block Five

“Cell Block Five” by Fadhil Al-Azzawi (Iraq) Synopsis Being plucked from a Baghdad café and deposited in a cell block for political prisoners is a wakeup call for Aziz, the novel’s hero and narrator, a young man who has been living on automatic pilot as if he were a guest visiting his own life and he is finally forced to come to terms with the … Continue reading Cell Block Five

Nicola01/03/201018/03/2025Leave a comment

Europe, Ukraine

Death and the Penguin

“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

Nicola06/01/201012/10/2024Leave a comment

Czech Republic, Europe

Too Loud a Solitude

“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

Nicola17/10/200916/10/2024Leave a comment

Chile, South America

Inés of My Soul

“Inés of My Soul” by Isabel Allende (Chile) Favourite Quote It bothers them that instead of taking on the role of abandoned lover, I have become a happy wife. They relish seeing strong women like you and me humiliated. They cannot forgive us that we triumphed where so many others fail… Courage is a virtue appreciated in a male but considered a defect in our … Continue reading Inés of My Soul

Nicola11/05/200903/05/2025Leave a comment

Nicola's Book Club

Another Way to Travel the World

Tag: creative reading