“The Way to Paradise” by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru) Synopsis The Way to Paradise interweaves the story of the painter Paul Gauguin with that of his grandmother, Flora Tristan. In 1844, Flora embarked on a tour of France to campaign for workers’ and women’s rights. In 1891, her grandson set sail for Tahiti, determined to escape civilisation and seek out inspiration to paint his primitive masterpieces. … Continue reading The Way to Paradise
“Empress Orchid” by Anchee Min (China) Book Club Favourite of Season 1 Synopsis To rescue her family from poverty and avoid marrying her slope-shouldered cousin, seventeen-year-old Orchid competes to be one of the Emperor’s wives. When she is chosen as a lower-ranking concubine she enters the erotically charged and ritualised Forbidden City. But beneath its immaculate facade lie whispers of murders and ghosts, and the … Continue reading Empress Orchid
“Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) Favourite Quote Some months ago, he wrote that he did not want me to seek the whys, because there are some things that happen for which we can formulate no whys, for which whys simply do not exist and, perhaps, are not necessary. Synopsis Fifteen year-old Kambili lives in fear of her father, a charismatic yet violent Catholic … Continue reading Purple Hibiscus
“Masters of the Dew” by Jacques Roumain (Haïti) One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century! Synopsis Manuel returns to his native village after working on a sugar plantation in Cuba only to discover that it is stricken by a drought and divided by a family feud. He attacks the resignation endemic among his people by preaching the kind of political … Continue reading Masters of the Dew
“Oracle Night” by Paul Auster (U.S.) This was the first book we read for Nicola’s Book Club on 3rd March 2005! Synopsis Several months into his recovery from a near-fatal illness, novelist Sidney Orr enters a stationery shop in Brooklyn and buys a blue notebook. It is September 18, 1982, and for the next nine days Orr will live under the spell of this blank … Continue reading Oracle Night
Nicola's Book Club 