I heard about this book from my mother but dismissed it as too dated since it was published in 1933. It is old, but I think it taps into something timeless. This book is credited with bringing the idea of Shangri-la to the Western consciousness. After finally reading it, I can see why this is such a different and mind-blowing concept for most of the world.
The author draws from the Buddhist view of Shambhala, which is a perfect and eternal place. Hilton weaves a tale of adventure amid the snow-capped Himalayas. Five survivors of a small plane crash find themselves somewhere in the higher reaches of Tibet. Instead of a frozen death, however, they find sanctuary in a mysterious monastery. While some clamor to leave, others find their haven to be somewhere they could live forever.
This book makes me debate with myself: if I found such a perfect place, would I want to leave? And why? Or why not? The writing is rather old-fashioned but beautiful and courtly. I love this story.
I love books about families and secrets. Of course, like most people, I’m very aware of the events of World War II, especially the role of Germany in the conflict. I’m currently living in Germany, so this book appealed to me because I now have a deeper cultural and geo-political understanding of the country.
Miriam’s uncovering of her family’s secrets reveals many disturbing truths. It is partly a story of doomed love, duty, regret, and compromise against the backdrop of war atrocities. I found it a very gripping story that kept me engaged from beginning to end.
Berlin, 1989. As the wall between East and West falls, Miriam Winter cares for her dying father, Henryk. When he cries out for someone named Frieda-and Miriam discovers an Auschwitz tattoo hidden under his watch strap-Henryk's secret history begins to unravel.
Searching for more clues of her father's past, Miriam finds an inmate uniform from the Ravensbruck women's camp concealed among her mother's things. Within its seams are dozens of letters to Henryk written by Frieda. The letters reveal the disturbing truth about the 'Rabbit Girls', young women experimented on at the camp. And amid their tales of sacrifice and…
This was a harrowing read and rather claustrophobic because the writing is so intimate. I felt like I was part of Olga as she experienced many crises after her husband's unexpected departure. It was impossible not to feel her anguish, rage, loss of identity, loss of self, and every other shade of uncomfortable emotions.
She’s left alone with her two young children while her ex-husband cavorts with an uncomfortably young new lover. This book sucked me in right inside Olga. Her actions and thoughts took me on a journey that was unexpected yet strangely predictable in many ways. Wonderful writing and a simple but great universal story.
From the New York Times–bestselling author of My Brilliant Friend, this novel of a deserted wife’s descent into despair―and rage―is “a masterpiece” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).
The Days of Abandonment is the gripping story of an Italian woman’s experiences after being suddenly left by her husband after fifteen years of marriage. With two young children to care for, Olga finds it more and more difficult to do the things she used to: keep a spotless house, cook meals with creativity and passion, refrain from using obscenities. After running into her husband with his much-younger new lover in public, she cannot even…
In the late 1970’s small-town India, the victim of a brutal gang rape, Aastha, becomes pregnant. The 17-year-old is then forced to marry one of the rapists.
Aastha struggles with the long-term effects of her trauma, becoming cold and isolated, especially from her son, Prayag. When she meets Reshma, Aastha’s past inadvertently pushes Reshma into mortal danger. Her unwillingness to deal with her past also puts Prayag on the same path as Reshma. The lives of the four rapists, their families, as well as Aastha, Prayag, and Rehma clash with explosive results.
The book tackles a thorny question: what do you do when you find out that someone from a group of people you hate is actually one of you?
