Set in the author's own Nile-side neighborhood of Warraq, Aslan's second novel, the first to be translated and published in English, chronicles the daily rhythm of life of rural migrants to Cairo and their complex webs of familial and neighborly relations over half a century. It opens with the mysterious disappearance of the tiny grandmother, Hanem, who is over 100 years old and is last seen by her daughter-in-law Dalal. Dalal does not have the heart to tell Hanem that her grown children N...

Afghan-American Nadia Hashimi's literary debut novel is a searing tale of powerlessness, fate, and the freedom to control one's own fate that combines the cultural flavor and emotional resonance of the works of Khaled Hosseini, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lisa See.In Kabul, 2007, with a drug-addicted father and no brothers, Rahima and her sisters can only sporadically attend school, and can rarely leave the house. Their only hope lies in the ancient custom of bacha posh, which allows young ...

"All girls [should read] The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis." — Malala Yousafzai, New York TimesThe first book in Deborah Ellis’s riveting Breadwinner series is an award-winning novel about loyalty, survival, families and friendship under extraordinary circumstances during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan in the late 1990s.Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan’s ca...

Major-General Farhan Al-Balawi is a loyal soldier in the Saudi Arabian army who dotes on his beloved daughter, Maryam, his pride in her learning and independent spirit sharpened by the death of his elder son and his estrangement from the younger who has opted to pursue a hedonistic western lifestyle in the USA. Despite the love she shares with her family, her respect for her father, the pride she takes in her Arabian heritage and her loyalty to Islam, Maryam yearns for travel and the opportun...

A Palestinian P.I. investigates the death of a pregnant Saudi teenager in a mystery that offers " a fascinating glimpse into the workings…of Saudi society" ( Publishers Weekly).When sixteen-year-old Nouf ash-Shrawi goes missing, her prominent family calls on desert guide Nayir al-Sharqi to lead a search party. Ten days later, Nouf's body is discovered. The coroner determines that she was several weeks pregnant. But even more unsettling is ...

August Book Sense PickA fading aristocrat and self-proclaimed 'scientist of women.' A purring, voluptuous siren. A young shop-girl enduring the clammy touch of her boss and hating herself for accepting the modest banknotes he tucks into her pocket afterward. An earnest, devout young doorman, feeling the irresistible pull toward fundamentalism. A cynical, secretly gay newspaper editor, helplessly in love with a peasant security guard. A roof-squatting tailor, schemi...

In 1950s Sudan, the powerful and sprawling Abuzeid dynasty has amassed a fortune through their trading firm, with Mahmoud Bey at its helm. But when Mahmoud’s son, Nur, the handsome heir to his business empire, suffers a debilitating accident, the family is suddenly divided in the face of an uncertain future.As British rule nears its end, Sudan is torn between modernizing influences and the call of traditions past—a conflict reflected in the growing tensions between Mahmoud’s two wi...

WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE • In this “courageous” (The Washington Post) memoir of survival, a former captive of the Islamic State tells her harrowing and ultimately inspiring story.Nadia Murad was born and raised in Kocho, a small village of farmers and shepherds in northern Iraq. A member of the Yazidi community, she and her brothers and sisters lived a quiet life. Nadia had dreams of becoming a history teacher or opening her own beauty salon.

Best friends Tamanna and Yasmine cannot believe their good fortune when a school is set up in their Afghan village; however, their dreams for the future are shattered when the Taliban burns down the school and threatens the teacher and students with death. As Tamanna faces an arranged marriage to an older man, and the Taliban targets Yasmine’s western-educated family, the girls realize they must flee. Traveling through the heart of Taliban territory, the two unaccompanied young women find ...

This "beautifully written," international bestselling novel charts the triumphs and tragedies of an Iranian family on the brink of national revolution ( Daily Mail, UK).Senejan, Iran, 1969. The family of Aqa Jaan has lived for eight centuries in the house of the mosque. Now it is occupied by the families of three cousins: Aqa Jaan, a merchant and head of the city's bazaar; Alsaberi, the imam of the mosque; and Aqa Shoja, the mosque's muezzin. The ...

Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now.In Istanbul - the golden city on the Bosphorus - ancient myths and modern evils are at work...On the Bone is the eighteenth novel in the brilliant Istanbul crime thriller series starring Inspector Cetin Ikmen, 'the Morse of Istanbul' (Daily...

They're not called the Awesome Egyptians for nothing! The foul pharaohs and their suffering slaves got up to all sorts of terrible tricks. Read this book to... * Meet some fabulous pharaohs... and their mummies * Make revolting recipes for 3000 year old sweets * Discover which king had the most blackheads * Find out why some pharaohs wore false beards * Learn to become an Ancient Egyptian in 10 not-so-easy steps! If you like your history horrible, the Awesome Egyptians and their moaning mu...