“The Guru of Love” by Samrat Upadhyay (Nepal) Synopsis Ramchandra is a math teacher earning a low wage and living in a small apartment with his wife and two children. Moonlighting as a tutor, he engages in an illicit affair with one of his tutees, Malati, a beautiful, impoverished young woman who is also a new mother. She provides for him what his wife, who … Continue reading The Guru of Love
“How to Stop Time” by Matt Haig (U.K.) Synopsis Tom Hazard has a dangerous secret. He may look like an ordinary 41-year-old history teacher, but he’s been alive for centuries. From Elizabethan England to Jazz-Age Paris, from New York to the South Seas, Tom has seen it all. As long as he keeps changing his identity, he can stay one step ahead of his past … Continue reading How to Stop Time
“It’s Fine By Me” by Per Petterson (Norway) Synopsis Audun is the only one of his family who remains with his mother in working-class Oslo. He delivers newspapers when he is not in school and talks for hours about Jack London and Ernest Hemingway with his best friend – but there are some things Audun won’t talk about. Stories about his family, the weeks he … Continue reading It’s Fine By Me
“Lila” by Marilynne Robinson (U.S.) Synopsis Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church – the only available shelter from the rain – and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the life … Continue reading Lila
“The Travelling Cat Chronicles” by Hiro Arikawa (Japan) Review The four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in style of writing and author’s experience, from the seasoned writer to the relative newcomer. When it came time for voting for Best Summer Read 2018, two books tied for first place: “The Travelling Cat Chronicles” and “Warlight”. One reader commented on this result saying how … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2018 – The Travelling Cat Chronicles
“Warlight” by Michael Ondaatje (Canada) Review The four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in style of writing and author’s experience, from the seasoned writer to the relative newcomer. When it came time for voting for Best Summer Read 2018, two books tied for first place: “The Travelling Cat Chronicles” and “Warlight”. One reader commented on this result saying how she couldn’t quite … Continue reading Best Summer Read 2018 – Warlight
“Welcome to Lagos” by Chibundu Onuzo (Nigeria) Synopsis Five runaways ride the bus from Bayelsa to a better life in a megacity. They are unlikely allies: a private, a housewife, an officer, a militant and a young girl. They share a need for escape and a dream for the future. Soon, they will also share a burden none of them expected. Review The four shortlisted … Continue reading Welcome to Lagos
“To the Back of Beyond” by Peter Stamm (Switzerland) Synopsis Happily married with two children and a comfortable home in a Swiss town, Thomas and Astrid enjoy a glass of wine in their garden on a night like any other. Called back to the house by their son’s cries, Astrid goes inside, expecting her husband to join her in a bit. But Thomas gets up … Continue reading To the Back of Beyond
Nicola's Book Club 