“The Ventriloquist’s Tale” by Pauline Melville (Guyana) Review Readers described the book as interesting, fascinating and beautifully written. They found it easy to get into and felt that it broached serious topics in a light manner. They liked the parallels between the past and the present, between the modern and primitive worlds, and liked the historical context and insights into the Amerindian culture and life. … Continue reading The Ventriloquist’s Tale
“In the Country of Men” by Hisham Matar (Libya) Review Most readers enjoyed the book finding it beautifully written and insightful, with one reader going so far as to describe the author as a wizard with language! They loved the setting and the descriptions of the house and its surroundings. They liked how the characters were portrayed and warmed in particular to Suleiman’s mother. They … Continue reading In the Country of Men
“A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry (India) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Synopsis Set in mid-1970s India, “A Fine Balance” tells the story of four unlikely people whose lives come together during a time of political turmoil soon after the government declares a ‘State of Internal Emergency.’ Through days of bleakness and hope, their circumstances – and their … Continue reading A Fine Balance
“No Man’s Land” by Duong Thu Huong (Vietnam) Synopsis Set in a hamlet in the countryside of central Vietnam immediately following the end of the war in 1975, the novel’s plot is set in motion when a young woman, happily married to a successful farmer, comes home one day to find a throng of villagers assembled around her gate. She learns that her first husband, … Continue reading No Man’s Land
“Three Day Road” by Joseph Boyden (Canada) Synopsis It is 1919 and Niska, the last Canadian medicine woman to live off the land, has received word that one of the two boys she saw off to the Great War has returned. Xavier Bird, her sole living relative, is gravely wounded and addicted to the army’s morphine. As Niska slowly paddles her canoe on the three-day … Continue reading Three Day Road
“One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia) Synopsis Equally tragic, joyful and comical, “One Hundred Years of Solitude” inhabits a strange dream-like space where very little makes real sense, but everything is mysteriously and vividly alive nonetheless. Blending fantasy and reality seamlessly, the characters struggle hopelessly against a merciless backdrop of madness, corruption and death… all measured out equally with farce and … Continue reading One Hundred Years of Solitude
“Wizard of the Crow” by Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Synopsis In exile for more than twenty years, Ngugi wa Thiong’o has become one of the most widely read African writers of our time, the power and scope of his work garnering him international attention and praise. His aim in “Wizard of the Crow” … Continue reading Wizard of the Crow
“I Am A Cat” by Soseki Natsume (Japan) Synopsis ‘I am a cat. As yet I have no name.’ So begins one of the most original and unforgettable works in Japanese literature. Richly allegorical and delightfully readable, “I Am A Cat” is the chronicle of an unloved, unwanted, wandering kitten who spends all his time observing human nature – from the dramas of businessmen and … Continue reading I Am A Cat
Nicola's Book Club 